How to bring down a democracy: the steps toward totalitarian rule, in the order followed by Hitler and the Nazi Party SEE IF THEY SOUND FAMILIAR.
1. Improvise an attack (or take advantage of an attack) on the country
2. Declare the country under attack by an enemy; real or improvised
3. Force legislation that limits civil liberties and gathers broad powers unto government
4. Brand dissenters and peacemakers as unpatriotic and browbeat them into submission
5. Keep the fear factor high to make the public easier to manage
6. Institute massive propaganda campaigns using state-controlled no-longer-free media and fear of government retribution
7. Law enforcement and government personnel are used to spy on, control and break dissent 7. Institute the equivalent of a national homeland security department, overseen by one person with unlimited powers
8. Confiscate all firearms from the citizenry
9. Institute the mass murder and imprisonment of any who resist the new ideology.
10. Launch pre-emptive strikes into other countries in an attempt to spread the new ideology
Sound familiar? It should, its not only the direct path of Hitlers rise to power, but also parallels the events starting with and following 9/11. President Bush was very familiar with the game plan, as his Grandfather and his Grandfathers father-in-law were supporters of Hitler and Nazism, both before and after the war.
Of course, theyve skipped a couple of the items on the list, but theyll get to them if theyre allowed to remain in power, because it will be the only way for them to retain power.
The Reichstag Fire: the funeral pyre of German democracy parallels 9/11 and the loss of American civil liberties
http://www.essortment.com/all/nazireichstag_rghx.htm
THE BEST REASON TO VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA THIS ELECTION YEAR
Palin, McCain and the Weeks Ahead
Palin's ties to 'everyday Americans' aren't an argument for her candidacy. But let's treat her ability to inspire the public for what it is: an asset, not a liability.
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With respect, Jon misses the principal arguments for Sarah Palin. She is the governor of a state with an $11 billion operating budget, a $1.7 billion capital budget and nearly 29,000 employees; she's got more executive experience than any candidate for president or vice president this year. In Alaska she took on the state political establishment, the incumbent Republican governor and the oil companies. She's a rising star who accentuates John McCain's maverick strengths and a "hockey mom" who has developed a powerful tie to ordinary voters.
That link isn't itself an argument for Palin. But being able to connect with, and inspire, the public is an asset —not a liability. As for Jon's argument against "everyday Americans" as political leaders, many great presidents have been more average than elitist. Ronald Reagan, from Eureka College, was a far better leader than Woodrow Wilson, a former president of Princeton. Wilson would have given you 100 Supreme Court opinions he disagreed with, whether you wanted to listen or not.
Barack Obama has also introduced Joe Biden as a Joe Six-Pack, saying, "His family didn't have much money … sometimes moving in with the in-laws or working weekends to make ends meet." Biden himself rarely misses a chance to say, "I was an Irish Catholic kid from Scranton with a father who, like many of yours in tough economic times, fell on hard times." Both veep candidates are trying to portray themselves as ordinary folks.
On experience, I'm all for it. But judgment is at least as important. Biden has 35 years in the Senate, yet his record on national-security issues during that span has been atrocious. He might be able to name Germany's chancellor, but he was wrong in his fierce opposition to Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and to the surge in 2007. Even Democrats don't see Biden as president. He got 0.9 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses. Forced out of the 1988 White House race for plagiarizing, he is that blend of longevity and long-windedness that Washington accepts as statesmanship.
McCain and Palin face an uphill struggle. Economic woes, war and the natural desire of Americans to give the other side a chance (after eight years with one party in the White House) should mean a big edge for Obama and Biden. But the race is tight, no candidate can get above 50 percent for more than a day or two, and it is likely to stay close right to the end.
The reason is, people have persistent doubts about whether Obama is qualified. NEWSWEEK's poll last month found that 47 percent felt Obama "has enough experience in politics and government to be a good president" but 46 percent said he didn't. In the recent ABC/Washington Post poll, 45 percent said Obama doesn't have "the needed experience," the same as last March. Even the late-September CBS News/New York Times poll found that while 46 percent feel "Obama has prepared himself well enough for the job of president," 45 percent do not. For good reason: Barack Obama has less than half a term in the Senate, where he's proposed little, accomplished less and spent virtually every day campaigning—as if being on the trail is a principal qualification for president.
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