When the late William Shirer was asked if the world will ever see a

[KlatooBNikto]

resurgence of Nazism in Germany, he replied no, mainly because the deterrent effct of nuclear weapons made it unthinkable.

I wish the question was put to him differently.Whether any of the great powers had the potential to copy the nazis? I am sure his answer would have been unequivocally yes and he would have pointed the finger at us.I say this with some confidence because in his Epilog to the last edition of THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, he says that the courtiers in Washington D.C. reminded him of the people at Hitler's court, all true believers, with no doubt about the potential for evil among our rulers.He was appalled by the sophistry and euphemisms and jargon that concealed the mass evil that was the War on Vietnam.He would have been even more repelled by Iraq.

Sad to think a man as wise as Shirer is not here today.

[thebigidea]

1. his "Nightmare Years" journals are incredible reading

so many unsettling parallels... I remember reading them in 2002, and almost mentally checking off the similarities...

[KlatooBNikto]

2. Yes. I am a great admirer of Bill Shirer and had the great good fortune to

meet him at a lecture he gave. A warm hearted individual and a towering figure of our time.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Rise & Fall Is Definitely Worth A Read

Or re-read. Shrirer's broadcasts are also available in libraries and online...compare his reporting to the corporate asshates today and you'll see how far we've fallen.

All governments have attempted to manipulate its environment...it's how far they go and how complicit their people are, that makes this story far more comparable to our current situtation.

I'm tired of the Nazi/Repugnican/Bunnypants references as I think we've pretty much covered that this regime is fascist...why do we need to say it a 15,000th time? Since most people don't understand what fascist or totalitarianism is...and only seeing Nazis as mean, ugly Germans in the movies...no wonder there's not a connect.