Sic Semper Tyrannis - Maybe
This is a summary of my research into "What finally happened to some of history's dictators and tyrants?"
Pol Pot (Cambodia). Sentenced to life in prison. Died of heart failure, age 73. His widow remarried.
Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union). Remained in power, experienced years of poor health, died of cerebral hemorrhage, age 74.
Benito Mussolini (Italy). Trying to sneak out of the country, he was recognized and shot to death, age 62, along with his mistress, age 33. The crowd displayed their bodies, suspended upside-down.
Adolf Hitler (Germany). Defeated in war, he and his wife committed suicide, ages 56 and 33. Their bodies were burned.
Francisco Franco (Spain). Remained in power. After a period of ill health, died of natural causes, age 83.
Idi Amin (Uganda). After several coup attempts and violent conflicts, he fled the country and settled in Saudi Arabia, where the royal family supported him. He died of kidney failure, age 77.
Fidel Castro (Cuba). Facing health problems, he retired. After a period of declining health he died, age 90.
Juan Perón (Argentina). After a violent coup, he spent 18 years in exile, then returned for a 3rd term. Facing much opposition and in failing health, he had a series of heart attacks and finally died, age 78.
Gaius Caesar “Caligula” (Roman Empire). Assassinated in a plot involving the army and the senate, age 28.
Mau Tse Tung (or Mao Zedong) (China). Remained in power, although in poor health. Died after major heart attacks, age 82.
Nicolae Ceausescu (Romania) He and his wife were tried for genocide, found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad, aged 71 and 42. The execution was videotaped and televised.
Queen Mary “Bloody Mary” (England). Remained in power. Died of natural causes, age 42.
Maximilien Robespierre (France). The members of the National Convention turned against him and ordered his arrest. He attempted suicide, seriously injuring his jaw with a pistol shot. He was executed by guillotine to the cheers of the crowd, age 36.
Muammar Gaddafi (Libya). After the fall of his government, he was on the run with a small group of loyalists. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for crimes against humanity. After a NATO bombing attack on his convoy, he was captured by a militia and died violently, age 68.
Saddam Hussein (Iraq). His government fell after a U.S. military invasion. After hiding for several months, he was captured, tried for crimes against humanity, and found guilty. He was executed by hanging, age 69.
Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines). Ousted by a revolution or coup, he fled to Hawaii with millions in cash and jewelry. He died of natural causes, age 72. His widow returned to the Philippines and remained influential in politics.
Augusto Pinochet (Chile). Voted out, he moved to the U.K. He was arrested on charges that included genocide and terrorism, but was released on medical grounds. He returned to Chile and was granted immunity from prosecution, plus financial support. He lost his immunity and was indicted for many crimes and placed under house arrest, but was never tried. He died of natural causes, age 91
Kim Jong Il (North Korea). Remained in power. Died (probably natural causes) age 71.
Chop it Down and Sell It
Some people do not see any beauty in nature. They do not understand why people will line up and pay a fee to visit a national park or nature preserve. These materialists look at a landscape and think about its potential to be used for monetary gain. Can the trees be chopped down and sold for lumber? Can the hills be scraped away and mined for precious minerals? Can the river be diverted for sale to farmers, or used as a dump for factory waste?
This inability to value or appreciate nature's beauty and wholesomeness is often accompanied by an inability to appreciate the arts. These guys don't read books, attend concerts, or visit museums. Most of us derive pleasure from beautiful and interesting creations, contemplating works of art, listening to music, reading engaging stories, seeing a skillful performance. The materialists are strangers to emotional or intellectual pleasure. For them, there are only two kinds of pleasure. One is ego gratification, which may be derived from receiving other people's attention, admiration, and obedience, or from acquiring material possessions, which they see as the only real measure of human worth. The other pleasure they recognize is physical: sex or goal-oriented sporting activities that emphasize individual achievement rather than teamwork, like golf or trophy hunting. Those activities also provide ego gratification.
These materialists do not perceive human beings as having value, except to the extent that they have wealth or can be used to create wealth. Workers, as a group, have value because their labor generates wealth for the employer. The individual worker is not of much value, but is disposable and replaceable. People who are unable to generate wealth for the master class, such as retired or disabled persons, are seen as completely valueless. Young children are valued for their potential as future workers. More and more, the materialists look for ways to turn children into workers at younger and younger ages, setting up systems to remove kids from school and place them in physically demanding jobs.
The materialists' ideal world is one in which they are universally recognized as superior beings and they have complete dominion over everyone and everything they see.
Random Thoughts
Prophecies of Apocalypse (ca. 1861), Raphael’s Almanac
Wastefulness, destruction, and vandalism are not traditional conservative values.
Rudeness and vulgarity are not traditional conservative values.
Many who label themselves conservative are the kind of people their genuinely conservative predecessors would have found disgusting.
Once upon a time, the world could count on America to be American. No matter who the president was, or who got elected to Congress, we knew who our allies were, and they could count on us. We knew who the bad guys were, and we were on the side of the good guys. And then...
Here's an idea for a law that will never pass. Require the top executives of industrial corporations to drink the water where they dump their chemicals.
I am so tired of women's stroke and heart attack symptoms being labeled "atypical". No! Women are half the human population. Our health issues are a normal part of human life. Our symptoms are typical. Start calling men's symptoms atypical, because they aren't the same as those of normal women.
Terrorists want the population to be frightened, uncertain, and constantly on edge. It's working. Millions of seniors and disabled people are terrified of losing their financial support; whole communities fear that their neighbors will be disappeared; anyone with investments is on edge, expecting a crash any day now; people in general are outraged to see history purged from government websites; veterans are losing their jobs or expecting to lose them; families are stunned to see parks closed; and everyone is reeling from rising prices, the threat of government-sponsored identity theft, despair over the end of medical research, and the realization that we are now ruled by a regime that defiantly ignores the will of the people and would gladly see us all die.
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