Fascism is a system by which enterprise remains owned privately but is marshalled by the power of the state to serve its ends. Fascists use the state’s power to suppress opposition. Take a look at what Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is trying to do to the firearms industry.
The mayor is urging that banks to stop lines of credit, financing for acquisitions and expansions and financial advising.
In a letter sent Friday to the CEOs of Bank Of America and TD Bank, Emanuel said: “In the past, the gun industry has stood in opposition to these safety measures. They opposed a ban on assault weapons on America’s streets, opposed a ban on military-style clips, opposed a criminal background check on all gun purchases and opposed any effort to crack down on criminal gun traffickers.”
In the letter, Emanuel says TD Bank offers a $60 million line of credit to Smith & Wesson, which produces the AR-15. That is the weapon used by James Holmes in the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre that killed 12 people. Emanuel wrote.
Emanuel told CEO Bharat Masrani “to use your influence to push this company to find common ground” on an assault weapons ban and gun background checks.
He sent a similar letter to Bank of America, regarding its relationship with Ruger.
This isn’t creeping fascism. It’s fascism in full bloom. Emanuel has taken nowhere such a hard line on the gangs infesting his city.
Of the nearly 520 murders committed in Chicago in 2012, none were committed with so-called “assault weapons.” Most were gang-related murders, and Emanuel’s remedies included asking the gangs to play nice, and putting the racist Nation of Islam on the streets to patrol.
Chicago is on pace for more than 700 murders in 2013.
Update: More fascism on the march here.
I can’t repeat this often enough –
BofA is important because they control the largest Bank Card clearing resource. Even if you use a smaller processor, it’s usually via a subcontract with BofA. They do have the ability to starve any business who depends on Card payments for business.
I hope the gun manufacturers dig in and refuse to sell their products to Chicago. I think they use Glock pistols (and an Austrian company probably won’t involved). But the Chicago police also use the Smith & Wesson M&P15 carbine, as well as Remington shotguns and rifles.
Just stop selling them to the city and state.
Never underestimate our ability to eat our own.
From the Chicago Observer:
http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/gun-makers-supporting-rahm-emanuel-while-emanuel-demands-banks-stop-supporting-gun-makers/
One of Rahm’s major backers is on the board of General Dynamics. General Dynamics makes a whole catalog of firearms.
Any firearm manufacturer, distributor, or dealer affected by his efforts to get a bank to cancel credit or other agreements should spring forward a suit for the tort of interference with business relationships. Rahmbo is not immune from such suits as his status as mayor of chicago does not make him a little emperor beyond his corrupt little enclave…
Cheers, Phil Cobbin
Personally, I’d like to hear from the Illinois and New York firearms manufactures on why they remain in those states and subsidize this idiocy with their tax dollars. Starving the beast is the only way to deal with these folks.
Oops, forgot something, Sorry.
So, in addition to the tort count one might want to consider 1983 counts and a consipiracy count to violate the dealer, distributor, manufacturer’s rights on the U.S. Constitution.
Have fun…
Phil
I can’t truthfully tell you I’m at all surprised by this most recent development: the Chicago way is not only to break any law that stands in the way of the politically powerful, but do so publicly and sneer at anyone who might dare object. It’s a round-about form of state terrorism: a way to remind the commoners the rule of law is a platitude with historical, but no contemporary meaning.
Can we count on banks to resist political pressure that would amount to a violation of RICO laws if it were applied by non-governmental criminals? I’m sure not. All too many banks are all too glad to dance to government’s tune in the hope of “earning”—a stretch, I realize—additional favors and business and nods of recognition from the oligarchs.
None of the record-setting number of murders last year was committed with a so-called “assault weapon?” I’m unsurprised again, and sure that’s completely irrelevant to the Chicago way oligarchs: their goals and President You Didn’t Build That’s are to deliver the hardest possible slap across the NRA’s face and let us commoners know once and for all our rights exist only to the degree they permit.
Welcome to post-constitutional America.
If we could just cut off the flow of arms and ammunition – to Chicago law enforcement – this problem would eventually take care of itself.
Yeah, I can see the historian now–”the insurrection could be said to have started in many hearts, in a sense, when banks that they had bailed out started making it impossible for them to function in society. Having taken their money to once save themselves, the major banks now tried to make that money worthless unless it was spent in politically fashionable ways. Becoming increasingly convinced that a neo-aristocracy was trying to shove them into a corner by any means possible, the resistors began to…..”
The gangs are needed by the Obama Flyscists for their next phase: gang checkpoints.
This is where the Homeland Stasi agents will search for guns to confiscate, then put you on a no-drive list. They’ll be looking to take back the unhealthy drugs their cartel buddies brought over the border too. Imagine the efficiency of Obama’s second term where Bend-O for JaNo checkpoints can be combined with Obamacare prostate exams.
Fascism. It’s more efficient than you think!
On the other hand, Chicago native David Mamet has published a long article in The Daily Beast which eviscerates Marxism in general and Obamaism in particular while explaining very clearly the unique importance of U.S. Constitutional Law & Liberty. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/01/28/gun-laws-and-the-fools-of-chelm-by-david-mamet.html