BUSH = HITLER

I found this article on a forum, which didn't list a source, but I like whoever wrote it(I'm thinking The Nation).

On February 27, 1933, a mentally deranged Dutch Communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, lit a few small fires in the German parliament building, the Reichstag, in Berlin — not enough to set the building alight, but sufficient to get him hanged as the sole perpetrator afterward. The happenings prior to that fateful evening, and the events following it, carry some lessons for those wanting to understand September 11, 2001, and the subsequent developments.

van der Lubbe, a petty criminal and arsonist, hated the Nazis, and had bragged about intending to set the Reichstag on fire while having a beer in a pub. The Nazi SA, with ears everywhere, found out, and, unbeknownst to van der Lubbe, an SA detachment entered the building through a disused central heating tunnel. While the Dutchman was busy lighting insignificant fires, using his shirt as tinder, the SA planted gasoline and incendiaries, and within minutes, the Reichstag was burning out of control. Why did the Nazis do this?

At the time, Hitler had a problem. Based on the success of the Nazi party in the previous election, Hitler had become Reichskanzler, or Prime Minister, but he lacked a majority in both the government and the parliament. Having no intention of playing second fiddle to his rivals, a coalition of moderate parties, he needed a decisive victory in the March 5 election. He also was uncomfortable with the democratic process, and wanted to proceed directly to Nazi supremacy and dictatorship.

Hitler's solution was to eliminate the Communist party and its 100 deputies, which would give his Nazis a majority in the remaining parliament. By ensuring that van der Lubbe succeeded in destroying the Reichstag, he could pronounce the fire a Communist conspiracy. By the next morning he had secured the signature of the aging President, von Hindenburg, on legislation that changed Germany from a democracy to a tyranny. The one hundred Communist deputies were arrested, civil rights were abrogated, and the country embraced Hitler as its Leader.

In mid 2001, the Republican government in the United States was having a problem. It was seen as merely presiding over a recession, having accomplished nothing of significance, and it faced an uphill battle in getting the largest peacetime defense budget increase approved in Congress. The corporate sponsors of the Bush administration were, no doubt, getting impatient: the stocks of the defense industry were still losing their value, and, lacking a credible enemy, there were serious reservations in Congress against spending more on defense.

During the weeks prior to September 11, 2001, Muslim terrorists made it known that they were going to hit some notable landmarks in America, and hit them hard. These boasts surfaced on the Internet, much the same as van der Lubbe's bragging in the Berlin beer hall. Much as in Germany in the '30s, help was forthcoming, and for the same reasons.

Fully aware of the threat to the nation's aviation from slipshod security in US airports, the government did nothing to improve it; in fact, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) top management intentionally hid reported security weaknesses.

On the morning of September 11, four large passenger jets with full fuel tanks went off course over the US Northeast, and ceased communicating with Air Traffic Control. Flight controllers overheard sounds of a struggle from the cockpit of one plane. Passengers made cellular phone calls from two of the flights, reporting that the planes had been hijacked. Normally, when something like this happens, the US Air Force, which has fighter jets ready to intercept troubled or suspicious civilian aircraft on short notice, begins escorting the offending plane, and, if necessary, forcing it to land, within ten minutes of being alerted by the FAA.

But that day, each of the four planes was allowed to continue off-course for as long as half an hour or more. Finally, after the first one had hit the World Trade Center in New York, a couple of fighter jets were scrambled from Boston, which ensured that they couldn't reach New York before the second impact.

Interestingly, in a TV interview on December 4, 2001, Laura Bush let it slip that already back in July, the White House, knowing that the country would be in mourning at the end of the year, had begun redesigning the 2001 Christmas cards on a more somber note than usual.

So far, the parallels with what happened in Germany in February 1933 are evident. They become clearer still when we look at the results of the attacks. Just as in Germany in 1933, the text of the new US legislation abrogating constitutionally guaranteed civil rights was ready at the time of the WTC and Pentagon attacks. Unprecedentedly, the Federal laws needed were enacted within less than a month after September 11, without significant opposition or debate. Capitol Hill legislators barely bothered to read the bills they approved. As a result, as if by flipping a switch, anyone suspected of terrorism in America is now presumed guilty until proven innocent. The authorities are free to accuse anybody of being or supporting a terrorist. Conveniently, terrorism has not been defined; however, it already has become clear that it includes exercising one's First Amendment rights.

Likewise, the record-breaking Federal defense budget, along with an extra $20 billion for fighting terrorism, was approved by December 8, 2001. The shares of the defense industry began rising sharply and are rising still. Need it be added that Mr. Cheney came from a leading position in the Carlyle Group, a large defense industry holding company, where the Bush family has substantial interests? Need we be reminded that, already in 1998, oil giant Unocal went to the US House of Representatives to demand a "recognized" (read corruptible) government in Afghanistan, so it could build a natural gas pipeline through that country and profit from the booming energy market in the Far East? Could it be that the 4,000 Afghani civilians killed by US precision bombs just happened to live along the proposed route of that pipeline, now conveniently cleared of homes, schools, mosques, and hospitals that used to stand in its way? We'll be watching Unocal and finding out.

Back in the thirties, Hitler proceeded to rearm Germany and attack his neighbors on trumped-up charges of jeopardizing German interests and mistreating German minorities. Germany became the bully of the decade and started the Second World War. Although Germany lost the war and Hitler committed suicide, her arms industry, including the German subsidiaries of US car giants GM and Ford, profited handsomely. The profits due to Ford and GM were paid out after the end of the war.

Following the 9-11 attacks, President Bush readily stepped up to the challenge and declared war on terrorism on the evening news of September 11. His battle cry "If you're not with us, you're against us" is a round statement by a world-class bully, much like the accusations of treason Hitler liked to level at countries that attempted to preserve their independence before the onslaught of the supposedly invincible German war machine.

America has undergone a Fascist takeover, the beneficiaries of which are the owners of big business. The system is rapidly being exported all over the world, and it is intended to become permanent. To prevent citizens from getting in the way of the massive enrichment of the already rich, and to help them accept their new position as mere consumers and sweatshop laborers without the right to uncorrupted political representation,, all objections to the process are labeled "terrorism."

Here's a quote from Douglas Reed, writing about the loss of freedom Germans experienced the night of the Reichstag fire.

"When Germany awoke, a man's home was no longer his castle. He could be seized by private individuals, could claim no protection from the police, could be indefinitely detained without preferment of charges; his property could be seized, his verbal and written communications overheard and perused; he no longer had the right to foregather with his fellow countrymen, and his newspapers might no longer freely express their opinions."

The Bush administration's 2001 antiterrorism legislation, introduced using a similar ruse, effects the same changes in America, and is being copied in every country that has a popular or ethnic opposition to deal with. It is a well proven method: Roosevelt knew about, encouraged, and facilitated the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, sending the Pacific Fleet there to act as a target, keeping the local military commanders in the dark, and proscribing all defensive action. He then used the public's outrage over the attack to draw America into WW II and provide the American arms industry with its fair share in the proceeds of that great conflict, along with its overseas competitors.

You may ask: What, if any, are the differences between Hitler and Bush? Not many, but one stands out: Hitler was elected to his office democratically. Bush was installed against the will of the majority of US voters, through the machinations of his brother, the Florida Governor, and the Supreme Court judges appointed by his father. Another difference may lie in the span of their reigns: Hitler killed himself after 12 years in office, while Bush stands under the curse of Chief Tecumseh, and is bound to die before his term expires in January 2005

There you have it. Stimulating, no?

NON-POLITICAL THOUGHTS FROM TYS

Life is a series of dramas. Anyone who's gone through high school knows this. I'm currently in high school, and let me tell you old timers: it's still drama. Grades, courses, studying, schooling; it's all a background to the real purpose of high school: to learn to interact with and manipulate, or be attacked and ridiculed by, your peers. It's a daily struggle to maintain school work, extracurricular activities, and a careful balance of alliances with those who you share perspective with, and a balance of enemies, who you work to counteract at any possible opportunity.

How do we go through this? How do people continue to live through such a trying time? I must say, I am having a difficult time. Those I thought were friends are not. Those I think are enemies, tomorrow, next week, will not be. Life is hard enough, and now I am thrust into a totally new environment. I am expected to keep up with all of these useless classes, learning material I will never use outside of that classroom. I am expected to deal with the curveballs I am thrown through my life and keep going. What happens if I can't? What happens when I just say to myself, "fuck it." I've been close to there before. Why have I kept going? I always tell people that suicide is the coward's way out. In some ways, I still believe that. Life is just too hard sometimes. I promised someone I love very much that I would stay alive, and that promise to her kept me alive for the week when I was at my lowest. You see, a couple weeks ago, my mother and I had a rather large, multi-day fight, about her alcoholism(which she has promised to give up drinking since then, though she has broken the promise a couple of times). She left, and told my dad to come stay with me for the night, because she wasn't coming back. He called the police, and they told him to come get me and have me in family court the next morning. I talked him out of that, and went back home the next morning after talking to my mom. All this also resulted in me writing a song called "All Alone", but that's another story.

I can see you now. I mention the word 'suicide,' and people start tripping out. I'm sick of hearing the "You have blah blah to live for" cliches. Will I still be alive tomorrow? Most likely. Will I ever find someone to end my lonliness? Hopefully, eventually. That's all from TYS2 tonight. Have a good night.

GUESS WHO'S BACK
BACK AGAIN
EDDIE'S BACK
TELL SOME FRIENDS..

That's right sports fans, everyone's favorite liberal radical is back to the blogging scene. I hit a dry spell for a while after some personal problems, and honestly this became more a chore than the fun hobby it started out as, but after the many e-mails I got from readers asking where I had gone, I decided it was time to get back into the game. Thus begins The Young Socialist 2.0: Bigger, Badder, and More Liberal Than Ever.

And now, for our first 2.0 post:

The Party of Turncoats

The joint resolution to grant pResident Dubya Bush authority to use military force in Iraq passed the House 296-133, and the Senate 77-23 hours later. Led by such political traitors as Senator Tom Daschle, a large portion of the Democratic representatives and senators votes yes on the resolution, turning their backs on the people they represented, the growing amount of people against this invasion into Iraq. Behind their voting: the desire to be re-elected. Their desire to be re-elected, rather than represent their constituents, rather than vote how they felt was right, influenced them to pass this resolution, allowing the real Axis of Evil(Cheney, Ashcroft, and their puppet stooge Bush) the chance to further increase the size of their empire.

When thousands of Americans are being killed in brutal, bloody, house-to-house fighting against the Republican Guard stationed in and around Baghdad, I hope it rests on the heads of these men and women, who turned their backs on them to further their own goals. The Nation editors summed it up well, in their Open Letter to the Members of Congress where they say:

The silence of those of you in the Democratic Party is especially troubling. You are the opposition party, but you do not oppose. Raising the subject of the war, your political advisers tell you, will distract from the domestic issues that favor the party's chances in the forthcoming Congressional election. In the face of the Administration's pre-emptive war, your leaders have resorted to pre-emptive surrender. For the sake of staying in power, you are told, you must not exercise the power you have in the matter of the war. What, then, is the purpose of your re-election? If you succeed, you will already have thrown away the power you supposedly have won. You will be members of Congress, but Congress will not be Congress. Even the fortunes of the domestic causes you favor will depend far more on the decision on the war than on the outcome of the election.

The Democrats think they will be able to turn the public eye to domestic issues if they quickly vote through this resolution. I hope they realize how wrong they are when they lose their chance at a majority in Congress.

Can anyone say, Gestapo?

James Capozzola, editor of The Rittenhouse Review, has very generously paid to have the ads taken off of this site. I can't thank him enough, and I definitely owe him a debt of gratitude.

HUGE thanks to Mr. Capozzola for this.

Ok, it's not political, but this is one of the funniest things I've ever heard.

The court ruling against the Pledge of Allegiance has sparked a battle between lawmakers and religious nuts to see who can show their support for the Christian god in the most spectacular, vomit-inducing, and constitutional rights-violating way. Here is an article that makes me wonder how the hell this country hasn't started stoning those who aren't obsessed to the point of no return with christianity.

When public school students in Virginia return to their studies in September, they will find a new poster on the wall.

It will declare, "In God We Trust."

That's the national motto, established by Congress in 1956; a state law that took effect July 1 requires all public schools to post it.

Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah are the only other states with such laws. South Carolina's law, passed this year, fur- ther requires the motto to be displayed in every classroom.

I live in South Carolina and I'm damned if I'm going to go to a school with "In God We Trust" plastered on every wall. Once again, the Southern religious republican morons in Columbia have totally disregarded the rights of others in favor of promoting their own superstitions. I will not stand for this, and I encourage the residents of Virginia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Utah to oppose these laws born of ignorance as well.

AN OPEN LETTER IN SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE OF IRAN FROM THE WEBLOGGING COMMUNITY

To show our support for the Iranian people, we each have agreed to display this letter, in English and—if possible—in Farsi, on our pages from sunrise to sunset today, Tehran time; some are displaying it longer.

We are not politicians, nor are we generals. We hold no power to dispatch diplomats to negotiate; we can send no troops to defend those who choose to risk their lives in the cause of freedom.

What power we have is in our words, and in our thoughts. And it is that strength which we offer to the people of Iran on this day.

Across the diverse and often contentious world of weblogs, each of us has chosen to put aside our differences and come together today to declare our unanimity on the following simple principles:


That the people of Iran are allies of free men and women everywhere in the world, and deserve to live under a government of their own choosing, which respects their own personal liberties


That the current Iranian regime has failed to create a free and prosperous society, and attempts to mask its own failures by repression and tyranny

We do not presume to know what is best for the people of Iran; but we are firm in our conviction that the policies of the current government stand in the way of the Iranians ability to make those choices for themselves.

And so we urge our own governments to turn their attention to Iran. The leaders and diplomats of the world's democracies must be clear in their opposition to the repressive actions of the current Iranian regime, but even more importantly, must be clear in their support for the aspirations of the Iranian people.

And to the people of Iran, we say: You are not alone. We see your demonstrations in the streets; we hear of your newspapers falling to censorship; and we watch with anticipation as you join the community of the Internet in greater and greater numbers. Our hopes are with you in your struggle for freedom. We cannot and will not presume to tell you the correct path to freedom; that is for you to choose. But we look forward to the day when we can welcome your nation into the community of free societies of the world, for we know with deepest certainty that such a day will come.

I found this letter here, and I fully support this sentiment. Opression, whether from capitalists, kings, emperors, or Islamic extremeists is oppression nonetheless.