Fascism in America

Not yet, but after reading this article, can you state with conviction that none of these things are happening?

To varying degrees I could cite examples of each and every one of the 14 key points. Where does your mind balk?

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism
5. Rampant sexism (solid examples are extremely rare)
6. A controlled mass media (the article explores this with subtlety)
7. Obsession with national security
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together
9. Power of corporations protected (the very basis for this blog!)
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts (Sarah Palin, anyone?)
12. Obsession with crime and punishment (I think this one is actually easing...)
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption
14. Fraudulent elections (rare at the federal level...but notable)

I urge you to read this article and ponder the thoughts behind each of these topics. Then turn off your preferred news source and look at those that are "other". What do you see when you change your filters? Where does this list stack up? I had a coworker forward me an email in the months after 9/11 touting the evils of some "fascist" college professor. The email was a rant agains this professor, calling him a fascist, yet the arguments used against him (for questioning our involvement in Iraq) ticked off about 9-10 of the 14 items on the above list. I copied the definition of fascism and sent it back to my cowerker with the question, "Which one of these two is the real fascist?" Please note in the linked definition that fascism can emerge from either the political Left or Right, or some combination of them both.

To those who think I am crazy, please read THIS article and also the comments. Then tell me I'm crazy, bearing in mind #4, 7, 8,9, and 11.