Bill Mandel has expressed something that had been vaguely troubling me since sometime during the "s/election" [not the greatest term here]--the possible vulnerability to fascism that has been opened by this installation of a non-elected ruler (really, the image of pre-Caesarean/imperial Rome has been popping up lately re this). --In some sense, there is a vacuum situation--the lack of a "legitimate" executive--and, as Stew has so well said, the collapse of socialist states has meant the left is very weak to deal with this. Still, there have been Seattle and, to lesser degree, the convention protests, etc.; there has been some s/election protest organizing on the net--hopefully there'll be more. But I think Bill has answered the too calming "there's time" response someone made to my urging of demonstrations. No, it's not clear how much time there's--not if an extreme right, quite possibly fascist, moves into that waiting space. Let us hope the greens (not nec'ly "Greens"), and students, and labor, the many groups of the anti-WTO, etc.--can hold, for instance, a "day of mourning for democracy", can run petitions "We cannot acknowledge a government not elected by the people..." etc. in major media [I'm not usually a petitions fan, but there are times), can build, as is now needed, in this moment from the left? Paula
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