Stepford Citizen Syndrome: Top Ten Signs Your Neighbor is Brainwashed
September 5, 2002
By Maureen Farrell

Though much of the world is convinced the 2000 election was a coup
d’etat, and many believe we’re being lied to regarding 9/11, we
Americans are unaware of how numb we seem. Not only are we being
coerced into World War III, but at this very moment, unnamed souls
are secretly locked away, the Army’s drafted plans for civilian
detention camps and there’s a shadow government buzzing beneath our
streets. And yet, we continue to ignore the oily elephant in the
living room.

The administration’s Iraq war dance is likewise baffling, particularly
when Dick Cheney says Saddam can’t be trusted - even though, not
too long ago, he was trusted to the tune of $73 million during
Halliburton/Iraq transactions. Moreover, newly discovered memos
reveal that Cheney was also involved in a 1975 cover-up involving
the CIA’s mind-control experiment, MK-ULTRA. Back then, the government
paid $750,000 restitution to Army biochemist Dr. Frank Olson’s
family, after admitting the CIA slipped Dr. Olson LSD days before
his 1953 fall from a New York City building. When the Ford
administration finally came clean, they promised they’d revealed
everything. Yet according to an article in the “Mercury News,”
(Scientist’s death haunts family, August 8, 2002) key officials,
including White House aides Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld pushed
to continue to conceal information.

But not only has the government tried to control people’s minds,
they’ve copped to controlling the media, too. Operation Mockingbird,
the CIA’s plan to infiltrate America’s newsrooms, was such a success
that former CIA director William Colby boasted, “the Central
Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any major significance in the
major media.” Carl Bernstein substantiated this, revealing that
hundreds of journalists and news organizations were involved in
this subversion. And though officials have admitted to planting
fabrications in the past, it seems they’re still at it. Remember
the story about the terrorist’s passport surviving the fiery crash
into the World Trade Center? What could that be but government-issued
pabulum? And what else but full-scale public brainwashing accounts
for the rash of Stepford Citizen Syndrome spreading throughout the
country?

Which brings us to the case in point. Researchers have identified
the following symptoms. If you overhear anyone making the following
statements, assume they’ve been brainwashed and intervene immediately:

1) “George Bush is a decent man.”

Abraham Lincoln once said, “[I]f you want to test a man’s character,
give him power.” If he steals power, however, the nature of his
character is no longer in question. This week’s out of court
settlement with the NAACP over Florida’s foray into election fraud
confirms BBC’s Greg Palast’s report that the election was rigged.
Yet pundits ignore this travesty, while referring to Dubya’s decency
in much the same way our ancestors spoke of Earth’s flatness.
Overlooking our thrice-arrested president’s blatant disregard for
civil rights, human rights and the environment, they continue to
downplay scandals and downgrade their role as protectors of the
public trust. But with oft-repeated quips like, “lucky me, I hit
the trifecta” and “if this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck
of a lot easier,” G.W. offers a glimpse at his indecent inner frat
boy. Especially revealing was a Talk Magazine interview, in which
he mimicked death row inmate Karla Faye Tucker. “Please,” Bush
whimpered, mocking Tucker’s plea for clemency, “don’t kill me.”
Gallows humor is only funny when those telling jokes don’t have the
power to save people from the gallows.

2) “I have faith in our system of checks and balances.”

Certainly, the uproar over Operation TIPs and recent court decisions
on FBI abuses and secret deportation hearings are healthy signs.
Except, of course, that controversial findings against Ashcroft’s
Justice Department will most likely be appealed before the same
felonious five who handed down the 2000 selection. Chief Justice
Rehnquist has already warned that, “in times of war, the laws are
silent.” Then, too, though the Constitution grants Congress the
sole right to declare war, since 1948, America has been involved
in approximately 250 military incursions without one single declaration
of war. The Bush regime has already said they don’t need Congress’
approval on Iraq. So much for checks and balances.

3) “We have to defend ourselves, and the war on terrorism is the
only way to do that.”

Anyone who believes this war is simply a drive to eradicate terrorism
must be brainwashed. The U.S. has been building military bases along
proposed oil pipeline routes, and has its eye on the oil and gas
reserves in the Caspian Sea region. All anyone need do is read
Zbigniew Brzezinski’s “The Grand Chessboard” or brush up on the
Wolfowitz Doctrine to understand the not-so-hidden agenda behind
U.S foreign policy. In recent appearance on Crossfire, Insight
Magazine’s Jamie Dettmer deftly addressed America’s aim to control
the oil fields in Iraq. “Nobody has suggested the United States is
going into Iraq to control the oil,” Tucker Carlson asserted, leaving
some to wonder if Tucker’s bow tie isn’t too tight. “Let’s not be
unsophisticated about this,” Dettmer replied, warning that, “in the
end, if America doesn’t restrain itself, [it’s] going to provoke
groupings of countries which will restrain America instead.”

4) “Since September 11, George Bush has shown strong leaderships
skills.”

Since September 11, George Bush has led us away from progressive
policies and alienated us from the rest of the world. British papers
describe the biggest rift between Europe and the U.S. in more than
50 years, 85 percent of Germans no longer trust America, and veteran
reporter Helen Thomas bemoans how, “friends and allies wonder what’s
happened to the United States.” Our $7 trillion surplus has followed
the president’s example and gone AWOL, while unemployment, crime
and intellectual numbness are on the rise. Under Bush’s “leadership,”
the U.S. has become the kid who picks his nose in class. Those of
us who love America are embarrassed; others are repulsed.

5) “Europeans don’t agree with us because they’re effete appeasers.”

Europeans don’t agree with us because we’re wrong. They understand
the geopolitical motivations behind this war, as their press isn’t
as censored. In America, however, stories about Enron’s involvement
in the proposed oil and gas pipeline though Afghanistan were squashed,
and if you wanted to know about the Taliban’s trip to Texas, you
had to learn about it in the National Enquirer rather than on Meet
the Press.

6) “George Bush’s administration is filled with solid, foreign
policy pros.”

Aside from Colin Powell, George Bush’s cabinet is swarming with
neo-conservative ideologues who’d be clamoring for an attack on
Iraq even if the atrocities of 9/11 hadn’t occurred. Despite the
chorus of countries opposed, Dick Cheney unilaterally forges ahead,
while Donald Rumsfeld says he’s certain America will receive backing
from the international community. Meanwhile, the international
community scratches its head and wonders what’s become of our once
great nation.

7) “George Bush is doing an excellent job in the war on terror.”

Given limited media coverage, how would anyone know? Unless one
digs through foreign press and alternative media reports, there’s
little to go by. When one reads reports from journalists like Seymour
Hersh, however, a different picture emerges. Stability in Afghanistan
is but a myth, warlords carry out atrocities without intervention,
and the State Department is forced to guard President Karzai.
Meanwhile, many warn that Bush’s plans for Iraq could lead to
Armageddon. Yet “Bush is doing an excellent job in the war on
terror?” How?

8) “People who say the Bush administration ‘let 9/11 happen’ are
conspiracy nuts.”

Forget the president’s odd behavior on September 11. Ignore that
jets weren’t scrambled from Andrews Airforce base, or that the FBI
reportedly thwarted investigations. Pretend there are no connections
between the Bushes, bin Ladens and the Saudis or that Bush #41
doesn’t profit from this war through his connections with the Carlyle
Group. Imagine, for a moment, it doesn’t matter that those heading
the closed-door investigation into 9/11 met twice with the former
Pakistan intelligence chief, who reportedly helped finance Mohammed
Atta. And never mind that, despite warnings, only 14 planes were
defending our mainland on September 11. These oddities could be
explained through coincidence and incompetence rather than complicity.

That said, remember this: After World War II, the CIA recruited
Nazi scientists to share information later used in the aforementioned
MK-Ultra program. In the ‘60s, the Pentagon drafted plans to kill
American citizens and blame it on Castro as a pretext for war with
Cuba. And Army-based concentration camps aren’t merely a gleam in
Ashcroft’s eye. The brainwashed are conditioned to hear “conspiracy”
and shut down, however, immediately deducing information isn’t true
and the messenger is daft. But even Bill Clinton reportedly asked
Webster Hubbell to find answers to two questions: “One, who killed
JFK? And, two, are there UFOs? “ He never found out. And odds are
we won’t either. Even so, it’s not crazy to demand an independent
investigation into 9/11. Nor is it nuts to wonder why the administration
is doing everything in its power to make certain we never uncover
what went wrong.

9) “The media is liberal.”

Ann Coulter complains about the liberal media through the “liberal
media,” where she’s regularly given a forum, yet Michael Moore has
appeared on less than a handful of shows, though his book’s been a
bestseller for six months. During the election, the corporately-controlled
media portrayed Al Gore in a negative light, while touting Bush’s
phony ranch-hand charm, and according to a report in F.A.I.R (Fairness
and Accuracy in Reporting), 75 % of the dominant sources of opinion
on all three major networks are Republican. Yet the brainwashed
continue to believe the media has a liberal bias. Go figure.

10) “Saddam has weapons of mass destruction!”

This phrase has replaced, “Saddam gassed his own people!” as the
#1 mantra of war-mongering dittoheads. But despite former weapons’
inspector Scott Ritter’s assertion that there’s no proof Hussein
has amassed weapons of mass destruction, Dick Cheney says there’s
”no doubt” he’s got them and plans to use them. During the Cuban
missile crisis, John F. Kennedy relayed photographic evidence proving
the Soviet Union was up to no good. Where’s the proof now? Why
hasn’t the administration won over our allies? Why do so many doubt
there is “no doubt?”

Latest polls indicate that nearly half of all Americans believe the
First Amendment “goes too far,” proving that Stepford Citizen
Syndrome is now a national crisis. We have an obligation to rouse
our loved ones out of their stupor. If we don’t, the thugs who’ve
stolen America will steam-roll right over us. And if you can’t see
that, chances are, you’re brainwashed.

  Democratic Underground, LLC
====================================================================

IRAQ ATTACK BEGINS:
http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html

IRAQGATE
The Secret History Of How The United States
Illegally Armed Saddam Hussein
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraqgate.htm

Thursday, 21 November, 2002, 16:38 GMT
Nato creates rapid response force
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2499455.stm

George Bush, US President
”We will refresh the spirit of this great democratic alliance”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/38493000/rm/_38493483_nato09_bush_vi.ram

Back to the Domestic Decay Homepage

Back to the documents and articles listing