How could this happen?

Any school kid has seen pictures like this of pre-WWII Germany where hundreds of thousands of ordinary Germans flocked to get even a glimps of Adolf Hitler as he promised to pull them out of the hard times they were in.  

"How could this happen?  Didn't they see Hitler for the hateful madman he was?"  

Well, no, not really.  Hitler inflamed even the slightest prejudices most people had and convinced them better times were ahead if only they would trust him.  Prejudices against Jews of course, and the mentally and physically handicapped, and Slavs, and pretty much everyone who had it better than they did, too. 

"Times were simpler then, and people were just very naive.  That could never happen today.  We're much better educated and too sophisticated to fall for anything like that."

Really?  Have you not seen FOX News, or MSNBC, or read Breitbart or Huff Post or any number of other slanted sources of information?  We all have our prejudices, and there is one group or another out there looking for you, hoping to turn you into one of their disciples.  IMO we're even MORE susceptible today of falling into the camp of one evil group or another than Germans were back in the 1930's.

Examples?  President Trump has his "base", those who refuse to believe anything at all negative about him.  Any evidence of a tainted election victory is just sour grapes, "flip-flopping" on issues is just his way of keeping his opponents off balance, etc.  They have tasted his brand of Kool Aid and apparently loved it.  They aren't going back.

Then you have the anti-Trumpsters who can find absolutely nothing good to say about the President.  Everything he says is dismissed out of hand.  THEY are always right, and HE is always wrong.  More Kool Aid consumed.  They aren't going back.

Antisemitism is still with us.  Racial tensions are flaring...White Supremacists, Antifa...Charlottsville was NOT spontaneous.  Protestants still view Catholics warily.  My generation looks unfavorably at today's kids and their dress, music, attitudes, etc.  Gay/straight, Believers/atheists, stand or take a knee...the issues, and ardent followers of each, are almost endless.  And however they might believe, they are unlikely to ever go back.  Some believe those who own guns are just a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Tea Party bubbas.  Umm...I own guns, and I am ANYTHING but a knuckle-dragging, Tea Party bubba.  Ewww!  *Oops, even I have prejudices*

My point is, we are NOT too sophisticated to fall prey to being radicalized.  If you think you're too smart to fall for such shenanigans, they're probably already reeling you in.  Apparently we haven't learned the old lesson of history repeating itself.  I hope this ends better than last time.

S

Trust Putin at your own risk

I remember somewhere back during our recent presidential campaign when Donald Trump referred to Vladimir Putin as a "great leader", and his critics and political opponents went wild.  "How could he call Putin, a certified gangster if there ever was one, a 'great leader'" they asked.  How? Simple....because Putin IS a great leader.

When we think of a leader we think of someone good and virtuous and kind.  Webster stops short of that.  It defines "leader" as (1) :  a person who directs a military force or unit (2) :  a person who has commanding authority or influence.   It doesn't say anything about being good or virtuous or kind. 

Just like Adolf Hitler was obsessed with restoring Germany to its place at the pinnacle of the World Order (as he saw it at least) after WWI, Vladimir Putin is today obsessed with restoring Russia to the superpower status it enjoyed during the heyday of the Soviet Union.  He famously once called the breakup of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th Century."

Everything I've read about Putin suggests this is all he thinks about.  If he makes a deal to sell oil or natural gas, for example, he sees it only as a means to an end, that being to return Russia to its glory days. He tolerates his oligarchs because he sees them as influential political allies.  He can count on them to stamp out dissent, thereby keeping their fortunes intact, and keeping his dreams of national glory alive.

There is no appealing to Putin's "good side" because he doesn't have one.  Dubya Bush said he looked into Putin's eyes and "saw his soul", and felt he was a man he could trust.   Barack Obama had his "Russian reset" back in 2010 where he hoped to reestablish good relations with Russia.  Both failed miserably.  Putin can't be trusted, and he doesn't care about being liked.

Putin's modus operandi is to nibble away at his neighbors by annexing area where he can (like Crimea), just like Hitler annexed Czechoslovakia, and stirring up trouble in other areas like Ossetia (part of Georgia) and Transdniestria (part of Moldova).  Many believe he has the Baltics in his sights again, too.  He is slowly-but-surely trying to reassemble the old Soviet Union, and he's using his feared KGB persona to "command authority"....Webster's definition of a "leader". 

My fear now is that President-elect Trump will try to make Vladimir Putin a partner, like he makes influential foreigners partners in his property deals.  He'll expect his Sec of State Rex Tillerson to smooth talk Putin into a win-win "deal".  I don't think that's a concept Vladimir Putin can grasp.  

The smart money says we would be wise to NOT turn our back on him.

S

The linchpin of 20th Century history

Here's another Paul Harvey-ish "The Rest of The Story" (stay with me here):

Those of us who stayed awake in history class already know the story of how this meek looking Serb...

 ...Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the heir to the Austo-Hungarian throne, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia 100 years ago in Sarajevo. 

 The last photo taken of Ferdinand and Sophia before they were killed moments later.

This led to war between Austro-Hungary and Serbia, which also brought in Germany, England, France, Russia, the US, The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and others to what we know today as...

...World War I.

Because of Russia's disastrous showing under the corrupt Czar Nicholas his people revolted, eventually leading to the rise of....

...Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks/Communists.

After The Great War the victorious Allies put in place very harsh terms on the vanquished which brought great misery to average Germans, eventually leading to the rise of....

...Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party and World War II.

The new Post War League of Nations gave administration of the Mid East to France and Britain, who set up the boundaries of many of the present day countries there.

The newspapers still remind us every day how well THAT worked out! 

And of course Lenin's legacy brought us the Cold War...

 ...which lasted until the end of 1991.

All things considered, it was a pretty crappy century.

Now for The Rest Of The Story:  How exactly did Princip come to assassinate the Archduke and his wife?  He had fashioned a crude bomb which he dropped from a bridge onto the Archduke's automobile, but it bounced off the car's folded-back canvas top and exploded without causing injury to the Royals. 

To avoid capture Princip ducked into a nearby business to hide.  The Archduke insisted on completing his ceremonial rounds in Sarajevo so he set out again, but his driver MADE A WRONG TURN which took them right by the shop where Princip was hiding.

Seeing his opportunity, Princip came out and fired 2 shots at Ferdinand and Sophia, killing them both.  Many would argue that that wrong turn set off the chain of events that defined the 20th Century.

Without that wrong turn there might not have been an assassination, WWI, Lenin's revolution, Hitler's WWII, the Cold War, or the current Mid East debacle. 

It goes to show the tiniest things can have the most profound effects on history.

S

History really DOES repeat itself

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

That has been true many times throughout history, the rise of a small group of radical, hate-filled nut cases in 1930's Germany being one of the more prominent recent examples.  Good people sat back, sure that "someone" would step forward and put the embryonic National Socialists (Nazis) in their place.  "Someone" never did and the loud-mouthed Nazis bullied their way into power.

The Tea Party is the Nazi movement of our era.  Just think about the similarites:  Thirty or so Republican congressional bullies led by Rafael "Ted" Cruz (R, TX) and urged on by a core of hate-filled strongly opinionated citizens have stiffled responsible dissent from within their own party, their Storm Troopers threatening to crush anyone who dares cross them in the next election primary.  

They have launched hostilities against their neighbors, and I predict unless a revolt is started soon they will lead their party to ruin, just as Hitler led his country to ruin.

But good news!....a coup d'eta may quietly be underway as I write this.  A growing chorus of thinking congressional Republicans as well as Republican state legislators and state party chairmen are becoming more vocal, speaking up for sanity.  House Speaker John Boner is now saying he will not allow a default on our nation's debt payments.  (Default has been one of the Tea Party's major Weapons of Mass Destruction.)

Two responsible parties working together are good for our country.  (IMO three would be better.)  Are we witnessing the formation of a backbone in Mr. Boner?  If you have a Republican congressman or Senator, I strongly suggest you correspond with them and urge them to show some courage, too.

Our generation's tipping point is right here, right now.

S

The Tea Party Unmasked

I can't believe the bald-faced lies I hear coming out of the mouths of these Tea Party brown shirts (Nazi reference).  Just as Adolf Hitler, with a straight face no less, said his invasion of Poland in 1939 was in self defense after a series of German-staged "incidents", Rafael Cruz & Co. are saying they are shutting down the government in order to de-fund Obamacare and "make a down-payment on fiscal discipline and reform".

Well gag a maggot!  Let's just call 'em what they really are:  Class Warfare Storm Troopers.

If they're so hell-bent on cutting spending, why didn't they just jump on the Simpson / Bowles bandwagon? 

[Simpson / Bowles was a true bi-partisan committee....technically the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform....appointed in 2010 to "achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run".  Its recommendations were severe yet fair to all, meaning everyone took a serious haircut.  Rich, poor, entitlements, homeowners, business subsidies, labor unions, The 1%....everyone would have to give up something.]

The Tea Party couldn't run from it fast enough!  

"What?  No subsidies for Big Oil, Big Banks, Big Ag, no tax loopholes, no special deductions, tax increases, a hit on capital gains?  BLASPHEMY!"

Truth is, The Tea Party wants to cut spending for everyone except their own.

In fairness, the ultra-left wants to protect their labor union buddies, welfarians, minorities, entitlements, etc, while cutting everything near and dear to the wealthy.  (There can't be a Class War with just one combatant.)

But back to the problem at hand:  there are soundbites all over TV showing Tea Party candidates campaigning in the last election promising to "shut down the government".  They said it out loud, and there is video to prove it.  There is absolutely no way in hell they can honestly say this current mess is the fault of the Democrats.  They picked their fight and got their wish.

And when the economy stumbles, when / if our nation's credit takes another downgrade, when / if we default on paying our bills, when / if interest rates rise, those soundbites are going to come back to haunt them.  

Americans always love to pin blame on someone when things go bad, and the Tea Party will be a sitting duck....it's their mess.  And then maybe....just maybe....rational Democrats and Republicans can get back to work on The People's Business.

Show some spine, Republicans, and give the Tea Party hijackers the boot.  I only pray Rafael "Ted" Cruz' 15 minutes of fame is about over.  Let him go stand in the corner with the ghost of Joseph McCarthy.

S