With Hitler It Was The Reichstag And With Bush It Was 9/11
With Hitler it was the Reichstag and with Bush it was 9/11
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=47546
12/30/2005
VHeadline.com commentarist Mary MacElveen writes: In answering the terrorists back who attacked the United States on September 11th, 2001, George W. Bush was quoted as saying: "They (the terrorists) hate us for our freedoms."
Well, those freedoms can be found in the United States Constitution.
Contained within the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are the very laws that separate us from those we have always abhorred. By enacting the Patriot Act, we told Osama bin Laden and others just like him, that they won.
Those sacred documents are our freedoms.
In the movie 'The Majestic' the character Pete played by Jim Carrey is summoned before the House of Un-American Activities Committee who were searching for answers from him as to whether or not he was a communist. The character Pete stated: "That's the First Amendment, Mr. Chairman. It's the backbone of this nation. It's everything that gives us the potential to be right and good and just -- if only we'd live up to that potential. It's what gives me the right to sit here and say my peace before this committee without fear. It's the most important part of the contract that every citizen has in this country. And even though this contract -- (he holds up the book) ... the Constitution and the Bill of Rights -- even though they're just pieces of paper with signatures on them -- they're the only contracts we have that are most definitely not subject to renegotiation. Not by you, Mr. Chairman, not by you, Mr. Clyde, not by any member of this committee -- or anyone else -- ever."
While this was just a movie, what the character states goes to the heart of the debate going on in Washington, D.C. ... and what happens there has an affect on the rest of the world and how we do business with others.
You may be asking yourself, why I am writing this particular column and I shall gladly answer you. In an email today, someone took exception to a column where I compared Bush to Hitler. I was battling with myself whether or not to answer this man and decided to do so in a column. This way, you the reader can see for yourself why I used that comparison.
If we are to believe that the United States Constitution is not subject to renegotiation, then that means that no one gets to break any of the amendments contained within it. No matter who they are. President Nixon was driven from office for listening in on the Democratic National Committee for doing just that. Yet, many are making excuses for Bush? I think we all owe an apology to President Nixon for holding him to a higher standard. As we all know, President Nixon was just as power hungry as Bush is today.
Would he have stopped had he not been caught?
Who would have been his next target?
As it has been reported where Bush is listening in on Americans particularly as reported those who are anti war: What group will be next?
Some of you will say, well, we are at war. At that time when President Nixon was illegally wiretapping the Democratic Party we were also involved in another war. Did we see President Nixon enact a Patriot Act?
When do Americans say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?
Which leads me to cite this famous quote: "When they came for the gypsies, I did not speak, for I am not a gypsy. When they came for the Jews, I did not speak, because I wasn't a Jew. When they came for the Catholics, I did not speak, for I am not a Catholic. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak." This quote now stands as a testament to us all on the Wall at the Holocaust Museum in Washington.
Reading Myth: Democracy elected Hitler to power this quote stood out: "Critics of democracy often claim that Hitler was democratically elected to power. This is untrue. Hitler never had the popular votes to become Chancellor of Germany, and the only reason he got the job was because the German leaders entered into a series of back-room deals." That sounds awfully similar to how Bush seized power as well.
According to Take Back the Presidency: "In collusion with the Bush campaign, five Supreme Court justices stopped the counting on the grounds that it would cause Bush "irreparable harm" in his aim for the Presidency. They then cited the Equal Protection (14th) Amendment to justify their denial of equal protection to the voting public, for whom it was intended. Instead, they used the Amendment to protect their candidate from being rejected by the electorate."
The phrase "irreparable harm" has always bothered me. In the Bush V. Gore decision, the United States Supreme Court harmed us all not only here in the United States but globally.
Both men needed a national disaster to rally their citizens behind them.
With Hitler is was the Reichstag and with Bush it was 9/11.
Both events created an atmosphere of fear and that was the basis of Hitler's rule over the German people and it is Bush's most powerful tool over the American people. Someone had to be blamed.
After 9/11, Bush stated to the American people that he would capture Osama bin Laden "Dead or alive" So far, he has not kept that promise. Again, excuses are made for him in failing to do so. He then said we would target al Qaeda, and we stood behind him as he went into Afghanistan. But, that was short lived and non productive.
So, let us blame the Iraqi people.
As we all know, Hitler blamed the Jews.
The person who emailed me stated that I was wrong in saying: "you do not spy on Americans under the guise of terrorism and pressure the press to keep quiet about it." He shot back at me: "Tell that to the 3,000 spouses of the people that were murdered in the World Trade Center." If we are to treat this as a murder case where 3,000 people are murdered, you follow the law. When Timothy McVeigh bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, President Clinton followed the law and our Constitution. In 1993 when the Twin Towers were bombed one month after President Clinton took the oath of office, he followed the law. In both events, no Patriot Act was enacted.
As horrific as that day was, are we right in targeting innocent Iraqi people who had nothing to do with the events on that day?
The images that many like me have seen coming out of Iraq are just as horrific as those in the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. In fact in previous pieces published here, I took the time to embed them within those pieces.
Just as Hitler used gas on innocent people in those camps ... and they were not only Jews, they were people who openly spoke out against him like Fritz Gerlich ... Bush did the same. Just last year when we bombarded Fallujah, we used white phosphorous. If the person who emailed me wishes to view this feed, it can be seen at: Why are they not in front of their cameras calling Bush a butcher?
The emailer asked: "Perhaps you can enlighten us on who YOUR perfect leader of the free world should be."
I will go on record as stating former Vice President Al Gore ... for so many reasons. First of all, I think he would have worked hand in hand with President Hugo Chavez on not only the environment, but also on poverty. I do not believe that there would be this tension between Venezuela and the United States today had Al Gore become our President. I do not think he would have allowed Pat Robertson to threaten the life of a foreign President. He would have followed the law. I believe that both men would have been great partners in leading the world where people do matter. I seem to remember Al Gore saying at the DNC convention in 2000: "I will fight for you! Are you with me?" and I do believe that he would.
When Al Gore was vice president, he traveled the world and was always welcomed unlike Bush who is always met with protesters. Case in point the riots in Argentina. Al Gore carried himself with dignity and never looked to divide anyone.
I do believe that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina had Al Gore been president, he would have accepted the aid coming from Venezuela. He would have put the American people first. During Hurricane Katrina, Al Gore paid for a private jet to fly patients out of harms way to Tennessee with a doctor on board to monitor them. On landing in Tennessee, they were placed in hospitals. He wanted no press coverage of the event. What that shows me is humility and where he was respecting the privacy of those who he was trying to help.
I do not think for one moment that Al Gore as President would have denied President Chavez his security detail during the World Summit back in September. If you remember President Chavez spoke in detail concerning the environment and I know for a fact that that is one of Gore's leading causes. I could almost envision both men comparing notes before hand and after.
I have written many faxes pleading to Mr. Gore to run in 2008. History proves, through the late President Nixon, that there is indeed a comeback kid.
The future perfect leader I see is one that looks to calm the world and not make enemies. That leader will look to heal and not harm. That leader will be on the side of the angels.
I do hope that someday, we can present to the world such a leader where he/she will reach out and not dictate and where I can watch that future President on TV and swell with pride.
Where I can say to my children: "That's the President of the United States!"
America ... don't you want that too?
