Do you know the significance of February 27?

[DemBones DemBones]

This weekend - February 27th - is the 72nd anniversary, but the corporate media most likely won't cover it. The generation that experienced this history firsthand is now largely dead, and only a few of us dare hear their ghosts.

It started when the government, in the midst of an economic crisis, received reports of an imminent terrorist attack. A foreign ideologue had launched feeble attacks on a few famous buildings, but the media largely ignored his relatively small efforts. The intelligence services knew, however, that the odds were he would eventually succeed. (Historians are still arguing whether or not rogue elements in the intelligence service helped the terrorist. Some, like Sefton Delmer - a London Daily Express reporter on the scene - say they certainly did not, while others, like William Shirer, suggest they did.)

But the warnings of investigators were ignored at the highest levels, in part because the government was distracted; the man who claimed to be the nation's leader had not been elected by a majority vote and the majority of citizens claimed he had no right to the powers he coveted.

He was a simpleton, some said, a cartoon character of a man who saw things in black-and-white terms and didn't have the intellect to understand the subtleties of running a nation in a complex and internationalist world.


Read the rest of this article by Thom Hartmann at

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0222-22.htm


Thom Hartmann (www.thomhartmann.com) lived and worked in Germany during the 1980s, is the Project Censored Award-winning, best-selling author of over a dozen books, and is the host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk radio program.

This article, in slightly altered form, was first published in 2003 by CommonDreams.org and is now also a chapter in Thom's book What Would Jefferson Do?, published in 2004 by Random House/Harmony.


Personal note: I get Thom's newsletter and I love it. Wish I had Sirius to hear his daily radio show.

[Catamount]

1. Thank you, what a fantastic and terrifying article!

Not only does * bear the #666, but seems to be the reincarnation of Hitler.
The similaraties are very freaky, in every way.

[DemBones DemBones]

2. It's one everyone should read, I think, but

it doesn't seem people are reading this thread. :-( Many DUers will have read it before but I'm glad he "recycles" it every February as it hasn't gotten less important!

[phish420]

3. Wow...

at first, I have to say I had absolutely no idea what the hell this thread or article was about...
...but then I read the whole thing, and it all comes together at the end. Ive heard many comparisons before (and the similarities are obviousin many ways), but these couple paragraphs are...well, very well put:

"Today, as we face financial and political crises, it's useful to remember that the ravages of the Great Depression hit Germany and the United States alike. Through the 1930s, however, Hitler and Roosevelt chose very different courses to bring their nations back to power and prosperity.

Germany's response was to use government to empower corporations and reward the society's richest individuals, privatize much of the commons, stifle dissent, strip people of constitutional rights, bust up unions, and create an illusion of prosperity through government debt and continual and ever-expanding war spending.

America passed minimum wage laws to raise the middle class, enforced anti-trust laws to diminish the power of corporations, increased taxes on corporations and the wealthiest individuals, created Social Security, and became the employer of last resort through programs to build national infrastructure, promote the arts, and replant forests.

To the extent that our Constitution is still intact, the choice is again ours."

[phish420]

4. btw...

...i think that is why the thread hasnt been well read...its hard from what is quoted in the original thread what the hell is being talked about...I think people are probably too lazy to go to the page and actually read it. Let me tell you though guys/gals - its well worth the read. Very good summary of the similarities between Bush and Hitler and a very unique way of putting it.

[DemBones DemBones]

6. Complying with copyright laws is a drag sometimes and I'd bet

Thom Hartmann wouldn't care if I'd posted the whole article here but w/o his permission, I wouldn't feel right doing it. I did think about it but I care about protecting intellectual property rights.

I think this and Dennis Kucinich's "A Prayer for America" are two of the best political articles of our time, just great stuff.

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated!

[BlueTarheel]

5. great article

thanks for posting

[Padraig18]

7. Kick, because this is important. n/t

[mwb970]

8. Here's another thread on the same article...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x108649

[auburngrad82]

9. More importantly, it's my birthday

Interesting article though.

[Catamount]

10. I kick, because it's worth it!

[phusion]

11. kick..READ THIS!

There are very eerie historical parallels here...

Gives me the heebie-jeebies!

[chicagojoe]

12. Excellent article.

This is proof that Bush and his puppet masters have to be stopped-NOW.
The politically correct crap has to stop. Bush has to go in order to save America. Consider anyone in government who does not support the removal of Bush from office the enemy. This fucking madman is going to destroy our nation if he is not brought to a screeching halt.
TAKE BACK AMERICA.