That famous phrase was uttered early on by Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his first Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933. Although many, yours truly included, have erroneously attributed it to America's entry into World War II, he was speaking about the raging Depression. It set the tone for the rest of the speech, his next four years in office, and, as fate would have it, the balance of the man's life.
Being neither oracle nor prophet, FDR could not possibly have known of the impending births of a relatively small bunch of individuals, and the havoc their existences - once brought together -- would thrust upon our Nation and the rest of the Planet.
Neither could he have foreseen the event, just shy of 60 years after his own forthcoming Pearl Harbor, that would open the door for these brigands to put their plot into full motion.
As I've noted here in this column, during both his speeches to the Conservative 1% privileged folks of New York State and more recently the RNC, the Minister of Pulling W's Strings has no new ideas to introduce to the voters of America.
Why would the GOP need any? There's already misaligned voting districts unfavorable to minorities and other Democratic-based demographics; contracts for electronic voting machines hard-wired to deliver pro-GOP votes; voting officials in key precincts who are certain to do their duty and keep the riff-raff out; states like Georgia with new laws, enacted by Republican-dominated legislatures, that make it difficult if not impossible for minorities and poor to vote.
FDR's line, and I've never before read or heard the rest of it quoted, went like so: --the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
This is exactly what Rove has counted on, and gotten away with - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror. Terror from what? This filters down from Herr Karl through Bush #43, Dark Lord the Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, Condi "But I really am a single, middle-aged Black woman?" Rice, Ken "Can't Hold a Real Job" Mehlman, and the rest of the war-loving, torture-approving members of the Senate, Congress, the Military hierarchy, to be spread like manure by the mainstream press, then beaten into far too many skulls by the extreme rightist talk radio clucks.
According to one poll I noticed the other day, 76% of Republican respondents are still buying his bullshit that somebody is going to attack us, and it's a good idea that we send our young adults into Iran to be slaughtered there, too.
What we genuinely have to fear are the Republicans who spout "Constitution this" and "Liberty that" and "our real Democracy" - while in the meantime they've got the machinery in high gear dismantling each and every personal freedom that makes America great.
And with each passing second and every shady deal these guys' money clips just keep getting heavier and fatter.
Tom DeLay has lost his position as House Majority Leader, thank Heaven. So who's the frontrunner for the position? Roy Blunt, the very guy Smiler Tom groomed to be his Capo. What in the hell kind of reform is that?
(As we know, John Boehner of Ohio, another DeLayist, edged out Blunt for the leadership position - and has subsequently altered nothing.)
While we're on the subject, it seems that a wise move for the House Republicans might be to get rid of Dennis Hastert as Speaker. He's not without stink and manure-encrusted shoes from the K Street lobbyist fiasco.
Even when Hastert suggested changing the rules about lobbyists, many within the GOP rank and file went ballistic. These good folks don't want any reform at all, schmucks like Jerry Weller, the DeLay/Hastert bootlicker of my 11th Illinois District, a taker of Abramoff money, who rubber stamps anything the White House or Smiler Tom says to approve.
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