There is an article on current politics I enjoyed by Joseph Farah, of which so for anyone reading that it was written before President Bush came into office, so if anyone is curious as why he isn�t included:

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I've believed for some time now that the greatest threat to America's freedoms is not from socialism or communism but rather an "ism" you seldom hear much about these days -- fascism.
We're not just slouching toward Gomorrah, as Robert Bork has written. We're slouching toward Rome.
To understand what I mean, most people need to rethink their notions about the political spectrum. At the left end, most people agree, you have communism -- total government control over the means of production and property. It's at the other end of the spectrum that many get confused.
Ask most left-wingers and they'll suggest that fascism is on the extreme right -- 180 degrees from communism. Unh-uh. I've got news for you, friends. Fascism and communism are ideological kissin' cousins. I would place fascism and any other brand of socialism just a few degrees to the right of communism.
Remember, both fascism and socialism mean -- to one degree or another -- government control of production and distribution. The only thing that distinguishes fascism from socialism in economic theory is how they get that control and how they maintain it.
Fascists realize the government doesn't need to own industry to control it. Through regulation and taxation, fascists know they can achieve the same results without nearly as much work and responsibility.
Fascism, of course, has become a dirty word because of its association with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. But just because none dare speak its name doesn't mean it is dead. Fascism is actually on the rise today precisely because no one recognizes it for what it is and calls a spade a spade.
It is in wide practice today in what we call Communist China. Beijing has not achieved communism. And instead of moving toward the Marxist-Leninist goal, it is moving steadily toward fascism -- a hideous blend of state and private partnership. And guess what? The United States is moving in the same direction. Every time you hear Bill Clinton or one of his fellow travelers talk about "public-private partnerships" I want you to understand what they are talking about -- fascism, pure and simple. Is it any wonder Clinton gets along so well with his buddies in Beijing? Think of how Rome, Berlin and Tokyo matched up so well in 1939.
So what's at the other end of that political spectrum? This surprises a lot of people, but it's really quite logical, if you think about it. If total government control in the form of communism is at the left end, wouldn't it make sense that anarchy -- no government control -- is at the extreme right?
I envision many libertarians nodding in agreement as they read this. So where do they fit in? Just a few degrees to the left of the anarchists, of course. Conservatives, favoring less government as they do, would find themselves 20 or 30 degrees to the left of the libertarians, while liberals could shake hands with the socialists and fascists to their left.
And that's really why we're facing a serious threat today. You see, most liberals think they hate fascism. They equate it, understandably, with Nazism, Hitler, Mussolini, racism, anti-Semitism and imperialism. But they forget what the definition of fascism is.
Listen, Bill Clinton is no democratic socialist. He's no Marxist. He's a pragmatic politician -- just like Mussolini. Like his predecessor's dream of making the trains run on time, Clinton's goal is for the economy to lumber along at a 2.5 percent growth rate. Whatever deals need to be cut with big business to make that happen are OK with him. If he needs to sell some corporate favors for campaign contributions, that's just political expediency. If he feels it's time to arm the Environmental Protection Agency to put more teeth into enforcement of the Endangered Species Act, who could blame him?
It's not just economic, either. Look at the way we have abdicated our individual liberties in favor of "group rights." That's a fascist concept. Look at the way we demonize certain groups (whether you're talking about smokers or Bible-believing Christians) and elevate others (native Americans and homosexuals come to mind as the new noblemen or chosen people) in our society. That, too, is a fascist concept.
One of the reasons America is moving toward fascism today is because it has lost its constitutional moorings. We're supposed to believe in limited government in the United States. The federal powers are enumerated in the Constitution. But, in recent years, Washington has far exceeded its authority. And very few politicians -- Democrats or Republicans -- seem to give a darn.
Even worse, most Americans don't even seem to be aware of the problem.
Is there any hope? Well, unless we understand what we're up against, it's difficult to fight it. We have to redefine our terms, comprehend the nature of the beast. That's always a good first step on the road back to freedom.

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"We begin from the recognition that all beings cherish happiness and do not want suffering. It then becomes both morally wrong and pragmatically unwise to pursue only one's own happiness oblivious to the feelings and aspirations of all others who surround us as members of the same human family. The wiser course is to think of others when pursuing our own happiness."
-- Dalai Lama, Awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1989

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and abolitionist

"Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it... It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."
-- Erica Jong, American author and educator

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh

�Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.�
-- Martin Luther King Jr., Awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1964

"Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace."
-- Albert Schweitzer, Awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1953

"Change and Growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life."
-- Herbert Otto

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
-- Mother Theresa, Awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1979

"Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."
-- Albert Camus, French author and philosopher

"What would you call President Clinton? A conservative? No, no, no. A liberal? No, no, no. He wouldn`t like that. Well, then, what do you call him? And if the word "conservative" meant anything, why would George Bush have to come from Texas, where he was a conservative, and suddenly become a "compassionate conservative"? And if "Democrat" meant anything, why would you have to run as a "new" Democrat? Why would you need those mitigating muck-up words attached to the label, if the label told you about the -- so the labels don`t mean anything."
-- Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician

"True love of country is not mere blind partisanship. It is regard for the people of one's country and all of them; it is a feeling of fellowship and brotherhood for all of them; it is a desire for the prosperity and happiness of all of them; it is kindly and considerate judgment toward all of them. The first duty of popular self-government is individual self-control. The essential condition of true progress is that it shall be based upon grounds of reason, and not prejudice. Lincoln's noble sentiment of charity for all and malice toward none was not a specific for the Civil War, but is a living principle of action."
-- Elihu Root, Awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1912

�You think that good is hating what is bad. What is bad is the hating mind itself.�
-- Bon Kai, Buddhist monk

�Ten years ago I saw peace as a tangible goal. Today I see peace a little differently. Peacemakers, I have gradually recognized, function in the world much like kidneys function in our bodies, constantly, unendingly removing the wastes and poisons which are an inevitable part of our lives. As long as we live, the poisons of hate, injustice, and misunderstanding will be produced, and peacemakers will be needed to clean up the mess.�
-- Barbara Stanford

�We know that dominating does not work in normal circumstances. Authoritarian organizations are much less effective than participative ones. In authoritarian organizations morale is low, people cease to care and tend to work against each other instead of co-operating with each other for the benefit of the organization.�
-- Manfred Davidmann

"The potential for violence and abuse in an authoritarian cult is always there, not only because whatever the leader says goes, but also because outsiders are made into "the Other," which has always been used to justify violence."
-- Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad, from The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian

"Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others."
-- Edward Abbey, American author and essayist

"I think this is the case in the great majority of authoritarian states: on the surface, because of repression, everything seems frozen, but when the sun comes out and the ice melts, you find that there was a lot of life underneath all along."
-- Aung San Suu Kyi, Awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1991

"We are at heart so profoundly anarchistic that the only form of state we can imagine living in is Utopian; and so cynical that the only Utopia we can believe in is authoritarian."
-- Lionel Trilling, Literary critic, author, and educator

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