I think Palpatine is my hero.

[HemlockGrey]

What a minute...let's go back a few pages...

What the hell is wrong is Julius Caesar?

[kojikun]

nothings wrong with julius. people are just taught that he was an evil dictator trying to conquer the world when in fact he was VOTED into the position of dictator and when he recieved it he made sure noone in Rome when hungry all payed for by himself not the Republic.

[Sparkticus]

Reference from ANH: Obi Wan Kenboi: "For over a thousand
generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the
Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire."

[Setzer]

Describes the Empire even better.

The Empire protected it's *loyal* citizens.

The Rebels never even did that. Face it, they were backed by senators who wanted to keep looting the galaxy

No. The Trade Federation gains nothing from the invasion of Naboo beyond what Sidious has agreed to do. It is clear that the Trade Federation would not invade Naboo, nor any other obscure planet were it not for their "bargain" with Sidious. Without Palpatine/Sidious there is no invasion of Naboo, and there is no Separatist movement.

That's like saying that if Exxon controlled the government of Saudi Arabia, it wouldn't benefit. Or even just a smaller country. Governments, through taxation, often can gather more money than businesses

That doesn't make it right, or just.

Of course not, but Palpatine should not be singled out as so despicably evil because he did it, too.

The Noghri, Wookiees, and the Mon Calamari are not propaganda.

So say the Rebels.

Well, admittedly the wookies and Mon calamari may have been enslaved, but the Noghri agreed to serve the Empire. That they were hoodwinked is irrelevant, the Noghri served Thrawn of their own free will [/i]

[Spartan]

nothings wrong with julius. people are just taught that he was an evil dictator trying to conquer the world when in fact he was VOTED into the position of dictator and when he recieved it he made sure noone in Rome when hungry all payed for by himself not the Republic.

Julius was voted into power after he had already seized it! Think Sadam Hussien (spelling?). And as far as his coughing up his own cash to feed the hungry, that's bull. His money came from taxes, and taxes come from where? That's right the people. He was a power hungry oportunist nothing more, any piety on his part was an act. Machiavelli anyone?

[consequences]

He was also a bastard who routinely violated the laws of war of the time, and the biggest sexual pervert this side of Mao Tse-Tung.

[Illuminatus Primus]

I think the Emperor is fine the way he is, not a good person but his end goals are in the best interest of the galaxy, as the Vong proved.

Someone isn't aware of Palpatine's eventual plans for the Empire.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Palpatine could have been looking at history though.

I.e. the Star wars galaxy was unified by Xim the Despot 25,000 years ago.

In AOTC, Palpatine said that the Republic had stood for 1,000 years.

Therefore, a dictator-like government had lasted for 24,000 years, but the Republic had lasted for 1,000, and was falling apart as he watched.

Wrong. The Republic had lasted for 24,000 years and was supported by the people of the Galaxy while it simultaneously survived one near-galaxy-wide war and a massively destructive conflict with neo-Sith followers. It was Palpatine's predecessor, Darth Bane, and his Brotherhood who ignited the war that all-but-destroyed the Republic....leaving it in tatters. It was Palpatine's descendents which caused the destructive reforms which paralyzed the reformed Republic (this is "this Republic which has lasted for 1,000 years" that Palpatine spoke of) and the emasculated and newly-orthodox Jedi Order.

From that, he was trying to go with a government that had worked, for a long time, and his decision to turn the Republic into an Empire was an attempt to preserve Galactic Unity.

Multiple sources say corruption was nearly as bad under Palpatine's Empire as the Republic, plus citizens enjoyed the plus's of conscription, slavery, ideological testing, and a police state.

Of course, there were some short-sighted people who disagreed with that. Not to mention that most people thought the Empire was evil (Luke Skywalker in SW4), but didn't Luke put in an application to the Imperial Academy?

Where else was he to go? Just because getting an education was closer to his priorities and a more practical option then somehow getting into the Rebellion....Biggs Darklighter joined the Academy to get training and off Tattoine where he could join the Rebellion.

So Luke could either believe that the Empire was evil, but he was willing to work for it, or he believed he could change the system from within. The first option allows for a grey area of evil, while the second allows the Emperor to get millions of self-motivated individuals to join his military machine.

Either way, Palpy wins.

Doesn't work that way. Palpatine's planned Empire would have been where the Dark Side ruled supreme (ref: Dark Empire). A totalitarian oppressive regime where authority under Palpatine's whim, a Sith Lord who's only motivation was "squeezing the life out of the galaxy that spawned him" (NEGTC) and controlling everything.

[Illuminatus Primus]

[

The Noghri, Wookiees, and the Mon Calamari are not propaganda.

So say the Rebels.

Well, admittedly the wookies and Mon calamari may have been enslaved, but the Noghri agreed to serve the Empire. That they were hoodwinked is irrelevant, the Noghri served Thrawn of their own free will [/i]

So say the Rebels? You can't label third-person prospective sources as Rebel-biased propoganda. They're not dialogue or written from a specific in-universe point of view. Third person omniscient knows and sees all, and is thus unbiased as a literary perspective. I could label any source you deem as pro-Imperial trash, but then this argument would be meaningless.