1. Have you ever been Time Magazine’s Person of the Year? (add 4 points)
2. Did you rise to power with less than a majority of the votes? (add 3 points)
3. Have you used a terrorist attack as an excuse to invade another country? (add 5 points)
4. Have you secretly opened and read people’s mail? (add 2 points)
5. Have you secretly eavesdropped on people’s phone conversations? (add 2 points)
6. Have you temporarily revoked founding freedoms because they endangered the homeland to terrorists? (add 4 points)
7. Have you used a campaign based on fear to try and make temporary laws permanent? (add 3 points)
8. Have you frequently imprisoned a particular Middle-Eastern ethnic group without specific charges or the right to fair trials? (add 8 points)
9. Have you marketed yourself as deeply religious, and have you called for a revival of Christian faith across the nation? (add 3 points)
10. Have you appointed your corporate cronies to high government positions? (add 3 points)
11. Have you made corporations wealthy and rewarded society’s richest individuals through an ever-expanding war against terror? (add 5 points)
12. Have you claimed the right to strike another nation preemptively in self-defense? (add 6 points)
13. Have you actively promoted nationalism and questioned the patriotism of everyone who opposes you? (add 3 points)
Results
40 or more points: You’re a full-blown dictator. Tell Congress you have the legal authority to do anything God tells you to do. Refuse to negotiate with the enemy; send more troops.
35 to 39 points: You’re almost a dictator. Stop apologizing, and write more Presidential Signing Statements.
25 to 34 points: You’re probably not at war yet. A new war would improve your poll numbers and dramatically excuse your abuse of executive power. What are you waiting for? Invade somebody, quick.
24 points or less: You probably still feel uncomfortable telling lies. Overcome this weakness by lying about intelligence reports and denying anything your science advisors tell you. With a little practice, you’ll be dominating your nation and raping the world in no time flat!
Lessons in Dictatorship
Watch Thom Hartmann: Parallels between the rise of fascism in the US and 1930s Germany.
[tags]fascist, dictator, adolf hitler, george w. bush, you[/tags]
Your not playing fair Joe. You knew I would try and take that test, and that I would use my fingers and toes to count, and therefor could not complete it.
It is a shame how many people still don’t realize what is really going on and blindly play follow the leader.
Hahaha. I think, to some extent, power corrupts, no matter who you start out as. Who knows what we might “think is best for everyone” at those levels of power. But, being a psychopath helps get you points, too. And one good clue…if you’re having to repeatedly break the law and lie to people…probably on the wrong path ;-)
Can I have two tests please?
One for me and one for my friend?…he’s a skitzafrenik.
This is great Joe. I can distribute the hell out of this.
Thanks Xman. It’s not exactly the side-by-side comparison you were asking for, but I thought the “test” was less in your face, and might get past more people’s “head-in-the-sand” defenses…
Brilliant, just Brilliant!
Really, Cheney is the man to watch.
He served as advisor to 2 presidents — specifically, Papa Bush — and was House Minority Whip during the Reagan years.
he is the Puppet Master.
That’ll be so nice in 2 years when that man (Cheney) is out of there. Has any other Vice President had such a sour, dark influence on policy? And even with the stuff that’s leaked out about him, we still probably don’t know the half of it.
Thanks, Joe,
You are correct. This is “less in the face”, and will be a honey vs vinegar approach.
After a while, I may try the “in your face approach”…just to pick up the stragglers :-)
btw, for anyone who missed it, rent “Why we fight” at Netflix or your local video store. It brings a lot of this stuff together in one stinking bouquet.
Highly recommended, if like me, you are still working on putting all the pieces together.
“Why we fight” is an excellent documentary and definitely worth a purchase.
The test is a perfect way to prove your points but still do some saber rattling and show the similarities.
I agree on the merits of “Why We Fight.” It should be required viewing in any high school that allows military recruiters to stalk students. You can also view it online here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4924034461280278026&q=why+we+fight&hl=en