Thursday, October 23, 2003
The 30 Second Drum Sound
Recording music is often a challenge of doing the most amount of work within the shortest amount of time. The demand is that the work be done well and immediately, if not sooner. This is usually due to not only time being in short supply, but energy and patience as well.
Drummers are often the most competent of studio musicians. They generally know much more about their instruments and the sounds they produce than any other member of a band.
Most musicians play one note at a time on one instrument and generally leave the maintenance of their instruments to professionals in that field.
In contrast, a drummer plays eight or more instruments, many of which they have rebuilt or modified several times, and six of which change their sound every time the drummer changes rooms. This makes it necessary to retune and play the drums differently for each gig. Because of this, drummers become expert at generating nearly any sound they want from their kits. Good drummers will listen to the first playback, do some light retuning, make adjustments in performance, and then by the next playback, have a sound they like.
All the engineer really needs to do is give the drummer a setup that produces a fair picture of what the kit sounds like, sit back, and let the expert do the work.
Eight of anything besides drums would be called a section, and a form of section micing is appropriate on a drum kit. While single or stereo micing isn’t usually acceptable for contemporary work, the opposite extreme of overmicing a kit to the extent of removing all perspective is even worse. It takes the control of the sound away from the drummer and also creates numerous phase problems.
A little bleed on a drum set is a good thing. A little, that is, not a lot. The two mics sometimes used a couple of feet above a drum kit not only pick up everything else in the studio during a live session, they are also very dangerous in terms of phase cancellation. They can be adjusted to prevent cancellation, but that takes time and still leaves one with the stray pickup problem. What’s recommended then is to use the least amount of mics to get the job done. This follows Occam’s razor, which means that the simplest of two or more competing theories is always preferable. In other words, keep it simple, stupid.
The object is to reproduce the sound of a drum kit as quickly, simply, and as faithfully as possible. If a good sound is to be modified by signal processors, great, but it’s incredibly time consuming to save a bad sound through processing.
No two drummers set up a kit exactly alike, and there are variations on the number and size of the instruments, so a basic setup can’t be absolute. However, with judicious adjustments in mic positions and the addition of a mic here and there for the drummer who brings everything, the following will yield a very good representation of the sound, allow for balancing in about thirty seconds, and encourage the drummer to make performance changes to get exactly what is intended from the playback. I learned this technique from legendary mixer Malcolm Chisholm and would like to share it here.
A kick drum is usually miced inside the drum case by a large dynamic placed an inch or two off one side of the case and pointed more at the case then the drumhead. Used in this manner the mic acts as a PZM, picking up the sound traveling along the case edge and exhibiting little or no proximity effect. Dynamics are generally used because they will stand up under the extreme sound pressure levels inside the drum, their patterns are tight enough to sidestep the phase maze inside the case, and their slow transient response discriminates against the snapping attack sound generated by some kick drum heads.
For a floor tom, the choice would again be a large dynamic, placed an inch off the head at the outside and pointed toward the middle of the drum kit.
The snare and hat are often a problem. Mics usually do a poor job of picking up the hat, and using two mics puts them so close to each other as to make phase cancellation inevitable. A solution is available in the form of tiny condenser mics known as lavaliers. They work very well when used for both the snare and hat partly due to their omnidirectional pickup pattern and partly because the pickup element is very small and much faster than other mics. The lav is hooked to the side of the snare under the hat.
Finally, for the rack toms, any small condensers that fit over them will work. Placement is two to three inches off the center side of the tom head pointed down at about thirty degrees and toward the ride or crash cymbal. This placement allows a trick solution to micing these two instruments. A reasonably quick mic looking at the tom sees the big cymbals reflected off the head and again acts like a PZM. The cymbals may come through a little weak, but the drummer can correct that by hitting them harder.
Most of the panning with this technique should be obvious, but since there are no dedicated mics on the big cymbals, a trick is used that requires a small explanation. The main pickup for each big cymbal is a bounce off the head of the closest tom, but there is also a bit of bleed on the floor tom and snare/hat mics. This bleed on mics panned to the outside of the kit pulls the cymbals towards them, and with a small 10khz boost on the floor tom mic, results in their appearance about halfway between the rack toms and the floor tom and snare/hat. For lack of a better term, this may be called “phantom” panning.
With practice, these techniques will yield a simple and satisfying drum sound, especially when needed in a hurry.
Drummers are often the most competent of studio musicians. They generally know much more about their instruments and the sounds they produce than any other member of a band.
Most musicians play one note at a time on one instrument and generally leave the maintenance of their instruments to professionals in that field.
In contrast, a drummer plays eight or more instruments, many of which they have rebuilt or modified several times, and six of which change their sound every time the drummer changes rooms. This makes it necessary to retune and play the drums differently for each gig. Because of this, drummers become expert at generating nearly any sound they want from their kits. Good drummers will listen to the first playback, do some light retuning, make adjustments in performance, and then by the next playback, have a sound they like.
All the engineer really needs to do is give the drummer a setup that produces a fair picture of what the kit sounds like, sit back, and let the expert do the work.
Eight of anything besides drums would be called a section, and a form of section micing is appropriate on a drum kit. While single or stereo micing isn’t usually acceptable for contemporary work, the opposite extreme of overmicing a kit to the extent of removing all perspective is even worse. It takes the control of the sound away from the drummer and also creates numerous phase problems.
A little bleed on a drum set is a good thing. A little, that is, not a lot. The two mics sometimes used a couple of feet above a drum kit not only pick up everything else in the studio during a live session, they are also very dangerous in terms of phase cancellation. They can be adjusted to prevent cancellation, but that takes time and still leaves one with the stray pickup problem. What’s recommended then is to use the least amount of mics to get the job done. This follows Occam’s razor, which means that the simplest of two or more competing theories is always preferable. In other words, keep it simple, stupid.
The object is to reproduce the sound of a drum kit as quickly, simply, and as faithfully as possible. If a good sound is to be modified by signal processors, great, but it’s incredibly time consuming to save a bad sound through processing.
No two drummers set up a kit exactly alike, and there are variations on the number and size of the instruments, so a basic setup can’t be absolute. However, with judicious adjustments in mic positions and the addition of a mic here and there for the drummer who brings everything, the following will yield a very good representation of the sound, allow for balancing in about thirty seconds, and encourage the drummer to make performance changes to get exactly what is intended from the playback. I learned this technique from legendary mixer Malcolm Chisholm and would like to share it here.
A kick drum is usually miced inside the drum case by a large dynamic placed an inch or two off one side of the case and pointed more at the case then the drumhead. Used in this manner the mic acts as a PZM, picking up the sound traveling along the case edge and exhibiting little or no proximity effect. Dynamics are generally used because they will stand up under the extreme sound pressure levels inside the drum, their patterns are tight enough to sidestep the phase maze inside the case, and their slow transient response discriminates against the snapping attack sound generated by some kick drum heads.
For a floor tom, the choice would again be a large dynamic, placed an inch off the head at the outside and pointed toward the middle of the drum kit.
The snare and hat are often a problem. Mics usually do a poor job of picking up the hat, and using two mics puts them so close to each other as to make phase cancellation inevitable. A solution is available in the form of tiny condenser mics known as lavaliers. They work very well when used for both the snare and hat partly due to their omnidirectional pickup pattern and partly because the pickup element is very small and much faster than other mics. The lav is hooked to the side of the snare under the hat.
Finally, for the rack toms, any small condensers that fit over them will work. Placement is two to three inches off the center side of the tom head pointed down at about thirty degrees and toward the ride or crash cymbal. This placement allows a trick solution to micing these two instruments. A reasonably quick mic looking at the tom sees the big cymbals reflected off the head and again acts like a PZM. The cymbals may come through a little weak, but the drummer can correct that by hitting them harder.
Most of the panning with this technique should be obvious, but since there are no dedicated mics on the big cymbals, a trick is used that requires a small explanation. The main pickup for each big cymbal is a bounce off the head of the closest tom, but there is also a bit of bleed on the floor tom and snare/hat mics. This bleed on mics panned to the outside of the kit pulls the cymbals towards them, and with a small 10khz boost on the floor tom mic, results in their appearance about halfway between the rack toms and the floor tom and snare/hat. For lack of a better term, this may be called “phantom” panning.
With practice, these techniques will yield a simple and satisfying drum sound, especially when needed in a hurry.
Equalization
Equalization is a powerful weapon. Only to be used for defense and handled with respect and caution. Or else it becomes very dangerous to the one that wields it and those around them. It is another of the mysterious voodoo arts within the craft of recording. It’s something that can be abused and overused. Some don’t know how much or when to use it. We know frequencies are divided into lows, low mids, high mids and highs, but how helpful is that in terms of music? How and when should one use eq?
Too much equalization causes frequencies to be pulled out of phase, potentially harming a mix, making it uncomfortable to listen to. Therefore, a good general rule when using it is to have no more than 12 dB of added eq across an entire mix. Keep it simple.
I think that if you’re somehow not happy with the sounds you are getting, you change the variables at the source as opposed to “fixing” it later with eq or other processes. This means trying different mic positions, different mics, different mic pres, changing drum heads, changing amps, switching instruments, or repositioning the source in the room, before using eq. So to have no more than 12 dB of added eq with that approach isn’t difficult in practice and keeps you confined to finding the right sound before committing it to tape. Obviously, there are certain special effects that one will try to achieve using eq. That is a special application and is not being discussed here. What I’m suggesting is not to use eq as a crutch when getting sounds, but rather a subtle solution to problems encountered during mixing.
Try eq by panning. Try moving a signal around in the stereo field before applying eq. Often, something that is difficult to hear in one area of a stereo image will clearly emerge when moved to another area.
The idea of subtracting as opposed to adding is a valuable lesson. If something needs more highs, try subtracting lows before adding highs, and vice versa. It can mean the difference between a clear and enjoyable mix and one that’s overloaded with harmonic distortion and fatiguing to listen to. I would like to share with you the terminology used by legendary mixer Malcolm Chisholm, to describe frequencies as related to music. The frequencies given are general starting points and are to be thought of as a range, not absolute values. These are subjective terms, so you may apply your own.
They may be used with either shelf or notch type eq’s. It’s up to you to decide which type is to be utilized. Shelving eq will affect everything from the center frequency and beyond. Notch or peak eq will affect only the center frequency chosen plus a few dB of frequencies on either side depending on the Q value or bandwidth of the filter.
Let’s start at the bottom with 30hz, or “balls”. Need more of that weight of the kick? Add some “balls” to it. 80hz is the “rumble” of a sound. At 100hz you get into the “useless” range.
At 200hz is where you start adding or taking away the “warmth” of a signal. I sometimes add it for lack of an audible proximity effect. At 700hz you’ll find “bass presence”. Not hearing enough of the bass? Instead of raising the level, try adding some 700hz to it and see how it feels after that.
As we get into the upper ranges we should consider that humans hear and respond best to frequencies between 1-5khz. The reasons are simple. A newborn baby cries at around 3khz. We also speak and sing within that range. Evolution has tuned our brains to hear best at those frequencies.
Let’s move onto 1khz, or “level”. Not hearing a track well enough? Instead of raising the fader and bringing up all the frequency content, try adding a little 1khz. Or cut a little 1khz to bring a signal down in level. With 3khz you have “presence”. Keeping in mind the idea about the frequencies of human speech, if a vocal is too present or not present enough, try adding or subtracting some 3khz.
My favorite term is for 5khz. This is known as “poison”. A little 5khz sounds wonderful but too much will kill you, so use caution. It’s a magical frequency that mixers often abuse. I once was talking with a mastering engineer and joked that when my clients can’t really afford mastering, I’ll just squash the hell out of everything and add a lot of 5k. He just stared at me and said, “oh, you’re one of those”. So beware of 5khz. It sounds good, but it’s poison, like a drug, and people will look down on you.
Finally at 8khz and up we get to “brilliance”. I think the term “brilliance” is self-explanatory. It’s the shine or the sparkle of something.
Hopefully this has helped some people to get a better idea of EQ and that in using this knowledge they will remain cautious and respectful of this weapon being wielded. It’s ok to keep it simple and to be frugal in the processing of sounds.
Too much equalization causes frequencies to be pulled out of phase, potentially harming a mix, making it uncomfortable to listen to. Therefore, a good general rule when using it is to have no more than 12 dB of added eq across an entire mix. Keep it simple.
I think that if you’re somehow not happy with the sounds you are getting, you change the variables at the source as opposed to “fixing” it later with eq or other processes. This means trying different mic positions, different mics, different mic pres, changing drum heads, changing amps, switching instruments, or repositioning the source in the room, before using eq. So to have no more than 12 dB of added eq with that approach isn’t difficult in practice and keeps you confined to finding the right sound before committing it to tape. Obviously, there are certain special effects that one will try to achieve using eq. That is a special application and is not being discussed here. What I’m suggesting is not to use eq as a crutch when getting sounds, but rather a subtle solution to problems encountered during mixing.
Try eq by panning. Try moving a signal around in the stereo field before applying eq. Often, something that is difficult to hear in one area of a stereo image will clearly emerge when moved to another area.
The idea of subtracting as opposed to adding is a valuable lesson. If something needs more highs, try subtracting lows before adding highs, and vice versa. It can mean the difference between a clear and enjoyable mix and one that’s overloaded with harmonic distortion and fatiguing to listen to. I would like to share with you the terminology used by legendary mixer Malcolm Chisholm, to describe frequencies as related to music. The frequencies given are general starting points and are to be thought of as a range, not absolute values. These are subjective terms, so you may apply your own.
They may be used with either shelf or notch type eq’s. It’s up to you to decide which type is to be utilized. Shelving eq will affect everything from the center frequency and beyond. Notch or peak eq will affect only the center frequency chosen plus a few dB of frequencies on either side depending on the Q value or bandwidth of the filter.
Let’s start at the bottom with 30hz, or “balls”. Need more of that weight of the kick? Add some “balls” to it. 80hz is the “rumble” of a sound. At 100hz you get into the “useless” range.
At 200hz is where you start adding or taking away the “warmth” of a signal. I sometimes add it for lack of an audible proximity effect. At 700hz you’ll find “bass presence”. Not hearing enough of the bass? Instead of raising the level, try adding some 700hz to it and see how it feels after that.
As we get into the upper ranges we should consider that humans hear and respond best to frequencies between 1-5khz. The reasons are simple. A newborn baby cries at around 3khz. We also speak and sing within that range. Evolution has tuned our brains to hear best at those frequencies.
Let’s move onto 1khz, or “level”. Not hearing a track well enough? Instead of raising the fader and bringing up all the frequency content, try adding a little 1khz. Or cut a little 1khz to bring a signal down in level. With 3khz you have “presence”. Keeping in mind the idea about the frequencies of human speech, if a vocal is too present or not present enough, try adding or subtracting some 3khz.
My favorite term is for 5khz. This is known as “poison”. A little 5khz sounds wonderful but too much will kill you, so use caution. It’s a magical frequency that mixers often abuse. I once was talking with a mastering engineer and joked that when my clients can’t really afford mastering, I’ll just squash the hell out of everything and add a lot of 5k. He just stared at me and said, “oh, you’re one of those”. So beware of 5khz. It sounds good, but it’s poison, like a drug, and people will look down on you.
Finally at 8khz and up we get to “brilliance”. I think the term “brilliance” is self-explanatory. It’s the shine or the sparkle of something.
Hopefully this has helped some people to get a better idea of EQ and that in using this knowledge they will remain cautious and respectful of this weapon being wielded. It’s ok to keep it simple and to be frugal in the processing of sounds.
Microphones
Engineers are good at spreading information about recording techniques. In fact, most love to talk about recording as much as they love to make recordings. This magazine you’re reading right now is an obvious example of that. The result is a folklore of recording techniques that’s ever growing and ever changing. However, no two people hear sound quite the same way, so no two people use all the same techniques. Finding out why something works or doesn’t work is fun, but it can take a lot of time. Often, there’s no time. So if it sounds good, use it, and if it doesn’t, don’t.
That’s very practical thinking. Most ideas passed around concern specific solutions to specific problems rather than broadly useful methods. An example of this would be microphone techniques.
Microphones are sometimes like a voodoo art. Yet it’s really just smoke and mirrors, and personal preference. For every person who likes dynamics on an acoustic guitar, there’s another who thinks condensers are the way to go, and a third who knows those other two are crazy, because ribbons are IT. If they all get paid to do what they do, they’re all correct.
There are badly made microphones but microphones are not good or bad. Microphones have characteristics. Those characteristics are a function of how a microphone converts sound to electricity. There are certainly some variations in sound from one dynamic to another, but no dynamic sounds like a condenser or a ribbon. Each picks up sound differently because they each work differently. Using that information eases the confusion of endless combinations of microphone models and applications. Just select a microphone “family”.
The primary characteristics of a family will be the same for all the mics in it. Since the characteristics are a function of the pickup element, we should consider those elements first.
Condensers have an extremely light pickup element made of thin plastic with a metal coating a few molecules thick, resulting in a very flexible diaphragm. Almost no energy is needed to put it in motion, and it will move very fast.
Dynamics are somewhat the opposite. A dynamic is like a teeny tiny loudspeaker used in reverse and is very rigid. It won’t move fast, and takes a fair amount of energy to move it at all.
Ribbons don’t have a diaphragm but instead usually have a corrugated aluminum ribbon, from around 4 inches to 3/8ths of an inch, hung in an extremely powerful magnetic field. The element needs very little energy to move.
According to legendary mixer, Malcolm Chisholm, based on his experience and thought, condensers sound best on instruments in the 5hz to 12khz range, will react very fast to transient sounds, are terrible for isolation, and have a three dimensional pickup “balloon” of around 20 feet.
Dynamics are used for any instrument within the 80hz to 8khz range, will react terribly to transient sounds, have moderate isolation, and a balloon of 6 feet.
Ribbons are used for a 40hz to 9khz range, with a variable sensitivity to transients, extreme isolation, and a small balloon.
Bongos from a close distance, for example, require a mic with a slow response such as a dynamic.
None of these opinions are scientific nor do they take into account the increased durability of modern ribbon mics.
The reason for all of this reorganization of microphone specifications is due to the lack of usefulness of the published specs because they don’t have anything to do with music so much as with sine waves. This isn’t any fault of the manufacturers, there’s just no practical way to test mics with music so they only publish demonstrably accurate data.
So forget the models, forget the makes, and forget the specs. Just go by family and characteristics and keep it simple, stupid.
That’s very practical thinking. Most ideas passed around concern specific solutions to specific problems rather than broadly useful methods. An example of this would be microphone techniques.
Microphones are sometimes like a voodoo art. Yet it’s really just smoke and mirrors, and personal preference. For every person who likes dynamics on an acoustic guitar, there’s another who thinks condensers are the way to go, and a third who knows those other two are crazy, because ribbons are IT. If they all get paid to do what they do, they’re all correct.
There are badly made microphones but microphones are not good or bad. Microphones have characteristics. Those characteristics are a function of how a microphone converts sound to electricity. There are certainly some variations in sound from one dynamic to another, but no dynamic sounds like a condenser or a ribbon. Each picks up sound differently because they each work differently. Using that information eases the confusion of endless combinations of microphone models and applications. Just select a microphone “family”.
The primary characteristics of a family will be the same for all the mics in it. Since the characteristics are a function of the pickup element, we should consider those elements first.
Condensers have an extremely light pickup element made of thin plastic with a metal coating a few molecules thick, resulting in a very flexible diaphragm. Almost no energy is needed to put it in motion, and it will move very fast.
Dynamics are somewhat the opposite. A dynamic is like a teeny tiny loudspeaker used in reverse and is very rigid. It won’t move fast, and takes a fair amount of energy to move it at all.
Ribbons don’t have a diaphragm but instead usually have a corrugated aluminum ribbon, from around 4 inches to 3/8ths of an inch, hung in an extremely powerful magnetic field. The element needs very little energy to move.
According to legendary mixer, Malcolm Chisholm, based on his experience and thought, condensers sound best on instruments in the 5hz to 12khz range, will react very fast to transient sounds, are terrible for isolation, and have a three dimensional pickup “balloon” of around 20 feet.
Dynamics are used for any instrument within the 80hz to 8khz range, will react terribly to transient sounds, have moderate isolation, and a balloon of 6 feet.
Ribbons are used for a 40hz to 9khz range, with a variable sensitivity to transients, extreme isolation, and a small balloon.
Bongos from a close distance, for example, require a mic with a slow response such as a dynamic.
None of these opinions are scientific nor do they take into account the increased durability of modern ribbon mics.
The reason for all of this reorganization of microphone specifications is due to the lack of usefulness of the published specs because they don’t have anything to do with music so much as with sine waves. This isn’t any fault of the manufacturers, there’s just no practical way to test mics with music so they only publish demonstrably accurate data.
So forget the models, forget the makes, and forget the specs. Just go by family and characteristics and keep it simple, stupid.
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Any of this ring a bell?
The 14 Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
by Dr. Lawrence Britt
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism -
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights -
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause -
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military -
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism -
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homo-sexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media -
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security -
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined -
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected -
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed -
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts -
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment -
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections -
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections
http://www.couplescompany.com/FEATURES/Politics/Structure3.htm
Here is the article
Characteristics Of Fascism
by Dr. Lawrence Britt
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism -
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights -
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause -
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military -
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism -
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homo-sexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media -
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security -
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined -
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected -
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed -
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts -
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment -
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections -
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections
http://www.couplescompany.com/FEATURES/Politics/Structure3.htm
Here is the article
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
The gentleman from West Virginia
