Post by 10010 1111 10 on Sept 29, 2006 16:36:43 GMT -5
It's been my sig for a long time now but today I have to put it in big capital letters because 22 hours ago it took on an entirely new meaning.
First they came for the suspected terrorists, but I was not a suspected terrorist, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the enemy combatants, but I was not a combatant, so I did not object. Then they came for the protestors resisting "free speech zones" near Bush campaign rallies, but I was not a protestor and so I only voiced my unease. Then they came for me....and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Until the 1930s Germany was a democracy, a fairly successful one that, during the 1930’s, suffered a serious depression (not unlike the American depression). On Feb 27 1932, one week before a national political election, Germany’s Parliament(Reichstag) buildings were burned down. Historians believe that the Nazi party either orchestrated the act, or at least was aware of and allowed it to happen. Hitler and his cronies blamed the attack on the communists but not one single piece of proof was ever offered. The next day Chancellor Hitler bullied the then president of Germany into suspending several main articles of Germany’s constitution, “For the Protection of the People and the State.” justified as a “defensive measure against Communist acts of violence endangering the state,” the decree suspended the constitutional guarantees pertaining to civil liberties. The Nazi propaganda machine then began convincing the German people that they were under attack by an awesome force that, if left unchecked, would destroy their nation and it’s people. Two weeks after the Reichstag fire, Hitler requested the Reichstag temporarily delegate its powers to him so that he could adequately deal with the crisis. Denouncing opponents to his request, Hitler said, “Germany will be free, but not through you!” When the vote was taken the result was 441 for and 84 against, giving Hitler the two-thirds majority he needed to suspend the German constitution. On March 23, 1933 the “Enabling Act” made Hitler dictator of Germany. Immediately Hitler passes laws stating that anyone considered an enemy of the state is to be captured, held without trial or appeal, tortured, and put to death. The deciders of who was an enemy of the state would be the Nazi party. People begin to disappear. Jews, the handicapped, homosexuals, all foreigners, anyone who openly speaks out against the government, are rounded up for being “enemies of the state”. Their crimes……? We all know the rest.
Sound at all familiar?
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-Herman Goering(leading member of the Nazi party, second in command of the Third Reich, and commander of the Luftwaffe) at the Nuremberg trials, 1946
Good luck everyone, see you all in Gitmo soon enough.
Heil Hitler...I mean Bush
IF YOU'RE NOT OUTRAGED THEN YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION!!!
First they came for the suspected terrorists, but I was not a suspected terrorist, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the enemy combatants, but I was not a combatant, so I did not object. Then they came for the protestors resisting "free speech zones" near Bush campaign rallies, but I was not a protestor and so I only voiced my unease. Then they came for me....and there was no one left to speak out for me.
- On Sept 28th 1787 the Congress voted to send the newly drafted Constitution to all the States for approval.
- On Sept 28th 2006 the Congress sent the Constitution to it's grave by giving President Bush the ultimate authority to declare any American citizen, or foreigner, who disagrees with his policies as an "enemy of the state" based solely on his word, with no hope for appeal or even trial, who can then be tortured without question or oversight for the rest of their lives.
Until the 1930s Germany was a democracy, a fairly successful one that, during the 1930’s, suffered a serious depression (not unlike the American depression). On Feb 27 1932, one week before a national political election, Germany’s Parliament(Reichstag) buildings were burned down. Historians believe that the Nazi party either orchestrated the act, or at least was aware of and allowed it to happen. Hitler and his cronies blamed the attack on the communists but not one single piece of proof was ever offered. The next day Chancellor Hitler bullied the then president of Germany into suspending several main articles of Germany’s constitution, “For the Protection of the People and the State.” justified as a “defensive measure against Communist acts of violence endangering the state,” the decree suspended the constitutional guarantees pertaining to civil liberties. The Nazi propaganda machine then began convincing the German people that they were under attack by an awesome force that, if left unchecked, would destroy their nation and it’s people. Two weeks after the Reichstag fire, Hitler requested the Reichstag temporarily delegate its powers to him so that he could adequately deal with the crisis. Denouncing opponents to his request, Hitler said, “Germany will be free, but not through you!” When the vote was taken the result was 441 for and 84 against, giving Hitler the two-thirds majority he needed to suspend the German constitution. On March 23, 1933 the “Enabling Act” made Hitler dictator of Germany. Immediately Hitler passes laws stating that anyone considered an enemy of the state is to be captured, held without trial or appeal, tortured, and put to death. The deciders of who was an enemy of the state would be the Nazi party. People begin to disappear. Jews, the handicapped, homosexuals, all foreigners, anyone who openly speaks out against the government, are rounded up for being “enemies of the state”. Their crimes……? We all know the rest.
Sound at all familiar?
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-Herman Goering(leading member of the Nazi party, second in command of the Third Reich, and commander of the Luftwaffe) at the Nuremberg trials, 1946
Good luck everyone, see you all in Gitmo soon enough.
Heil Hitler...I mean Bush
