Nah, that's far too machiavellian. If you're going to set up a dictatorship, you need to strike while the iron is hot. Like, say that Bush had gone nuts with closing borders and bugging phones and all those other horrible things the day after 9/11 -- everyone would have lapped it up like sweet milk. Trying to gain the kind of power a fascist dictator needs by instituting a bunch of incremental changes takes way too long. He's only got 4 years at a time to get this done. If he wanted to Rule The World, he would've moved much faster.

He did strike while the iron was hot and we did lap it up. The deal is sealed. "He" doesn't want to "rule" anything, these guys are figure-heads. The oppurtunity was taken full advantage of, it's irriversible, we've accepted it. We rolled over.

But his power has diminished, not increased. Castro knows how to run a dictatorship -- you do what you want, and kill anyone who argues. Bush fails on all counts as a dictator -- all he's done is piss people off and make them scared that the feds are looking at their porn collection.

Then who is the dictator-behind-the-curtain, Flint? Who is really in charge of these "irreversible" changes (whose influence we will presumably continue to see after 2008?)

..and successfully kept the courts and congress from making any foreign or domestic security decisions other than to rubber stamp his programs.

This will restore executive power and privilege to well above that wielded by Nixon, and possibly FDR.

Which, if true, maintains the status quo established by the previous 3 administrations. Which thwarted security policies are you referring to? The recommendations of the 9/11 commission?

edit:fixed quote

And when they find you with your porn collection, they take you to secret prisons and torture you!

Unless your porn is all bondage/discipline. Then, they figure out if you're a dominant or a submissive. If you're a sub, they let you go. If you're a dom, they hire you.

Ek-tuelleh... I think the Fed guys can just go to the same pornsites and assemble their own collections... just don't download onto gov't computers; they get their peepees whacked, and non-eroticizably, for that.

Unless maybe your entire collection is Bondage Fairies, naughty tentacles, and middy-blouse girls neatly packaged in multicolored poly cordage, in which case they might send a Japanese-speaking very Special Agent to wank you into an Atomic Wedgie.

[Bondage Fairies is, um, individual. You've got bondage -- and entomology. On the same page.]

Umm, I don't want more details, but you're saying there's a market for insect pron? ew, just ew:bolt:

wait, missed part of that, it's BONDAGE insect porn?? :scream:

Think spiders. OK, spiders aren't insects, but close enough.

At the end of each administration we all hop in a magic time machine ???

You keep saying "these guys" are "figure-heads." If someone is just a figure-head, then whoever is really in charge won't lose whatever mysterious secret power they have just because the figurehead is out of office. If they're capable of putting a puppet into the office of President of the United States, surely they could and would control the next administration as well, right?

But fine. I'll give you some leeway and assume that perhaps the Wizard of Oz still requires the Republican party to be voted in before he can run the show. So forget the next administration. Just tell me, precisely WHO is behind our figurehead president? I mean, you wouldn't just throw around the declaration that Bush is a completely powerless puppet without something to back it up, would you?

I'm confused...are you talking to me? I am not familiar with the "positions" you are citing. Maybe you accidentally quoted me, and then responded to a series of random comments by other people (so it only looks like you are putting words in my mouth)...???