> Cops have been torturing people forever in the USA. And there were
> far greater violations of civil liberties in the past too - Lincoln
> suspending habeas corpus, Wilson & Palmer banning magazines from the
> mails, Palmer's raids. Let's not get carried away with the alleged
> novelty of the Bush years.
Well I think it would be just plain wrong to call Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus "fascist," but the Palmer raids probably qualify.
So fascist sentiments ebb and flow over the years -- doesn't this make it all the more important for regular people to be able to identify what fascism is? Most people have no clue what kinds of attitudes and politics are typical of fascism, and so the term is thrown around willy-nilly to smear one's political opponents. I think it would be helpful to de-sensationalize the term and give it some meaning, which is what a US fascism awareness month would attempt to do.
The term "Christofascist" nails down pretty well where a good part of the US right is today. -WD