One of the characteristics of fascist states is that ownership of the means of production remains in private hands, but the government co-opts control of the operations. The Obama Administration is moving in that direction with due haste. Obama has made no secret that he intends to reward those who do as he says, and punish those who oppose his policies. He appears to be a fascist, but many people argue that he simply reflects the rough and tumble politics of the Chicago Democrat machine where you have to pay to play. Here is an article discussing two companies' recent interaction with the Obama Administration. If you support Obama you can get away with a lot of illegal stuff, but if you just criticize the Obama Administration policies, you are attacked by Obama's friends. If those fiends of Obama continue to morph into "brown shirts" we are in serious trouble.