You Can Put Lipstick On a Nazi, But.......

The photo is from the film "Triumph of Will," by Leni Reifenstahl. Reifenstahl was one of Hitler's favorite Nazis, as well as being an accomplished film-maker.

The torchlit parade seen here was the culmination of the Nazis' assimilation of power; "Ein Reich, Ein Volk, Ein Furher"...one nation, one people, one leader.

So why would this come to me now? Because the McCain/Palin campaign is using the same playbook of Adolph Hitler. Steve at "Out Of The Bingo Ditch" once related a law professor who said, "If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have the truth on your side, pound the truth. If you have neither, then pound the table."

There is a lot of table-pounding going on, and this is not politics as usual. No, the last few days are revealing something about modern America that is scary as hell. So far, in response to the drumbeats of Palin and McCain has generated shouts from their rallies that included the words "Terrorist!", "Kill him!", and "Treason!" The McCain campaign is inciting violence against a candidate for the presidency of the United States. Used to be against the law.

But, after the last eight years "the law" is apparently a very flexible thing. Perhaps, like after defending the Confederate flag in South Carolina, John McCain will apologize for lying; for betraying his precious "principles" to win an election.The fact that it might result in the death or maiming of Barack Obama would never, of course, be his responsibility. Nor Palin's; after all, she's only been at this what, five weeks? Totalitarian tactics don't need a lot of practice.

It should be borne in mind that the Bush years, or the Rove years, if you will, have gone way beyond polarizing the populace of America. No, they have been teaching the sweet scent of intolerance of others; of that wonderful feeling of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with another soldier of righteousness. Compromise, reason, honor, patriotism....all are perverted into only one interpretation. Everyone not like us is an enemy, not a fellow countryman.

This disturbs me the most about Sarah Palin's latest rounds of invective. She is actually telling listeners, over and over, that Obama/Biden are not "real" Americans. Anyone with any semblance of education, life experience, or just plain intelligence would recognize the fact that there are many people out there just waiting for guidance to violence. It is dangerous, disingenuous, and frankly, un-American.

On a personal note, I've reached the limit of John McCain's constant referral to his POW years. ("Now goshdarnit, John, there ya go, talkin' about the past again"). Two of my uncles were prisoners of the Japanese for three and one half years. Rats and rice were a delicacy for them. They were starved, beaten, worked as slaves, tortured...and so on. I don't know how they survived, but they did return home (unlike 40% of Japanese POW's who did NOT) to learn that their brother had died the previous year fighting the Nazis.

I'll never forget what one uncle told me growing up,"Don't ever trust a government. They are designed to lie no matter what. But, always respect and love the flag. Too much has been sacrificed for it." Wise words, I think, and the man who told me this was a man of honor, through and through. He was a Republican; a very honorable one til the day he died in 1986. May he rest in peace, for I sure do miss him.

And I really miss the party he once belonged to. I think it died this year.

The Hurricane Ike Election

In the year 1900, William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan fought for the presidency. McKinley, the Republican, beat Bryan in that election. At one campagin stop in West Virginia, Bryan was cussed out on the train platform by my great-grandfather. Bluntness runs in the family I guess.

But then, my great-grandfather had two brothers who fought in the Civil War, and being the only state formed because of that Civil War, it was reasonable to assume no Democrat was going to get a warm welcome in that state. The scars from the Civil War still ran deep forty years after the firing upon Ft. Sumter.

Also in 1900, the city of Galveston was destroyed by a hurricane. Not damaged, but destroyed, along with over 6,000 people. It was the worst loss of life in U.S. History. The scars and memories from that ran very deep.

But scars heal and sometimes fade a bit. People forget things, or memories of one generation fail to get passed on to another. Not to sound like a prig, but that is what history is for; it lets us travel the future with references from the past.

So I'm a little taken aback by those in Galveston who ignored dire warnings, and decided to "tough it out" while Hurricane Ike chewed up the Texas coast. Anyone who has lived through a hurricane knows that you don't "tough it out." You boogey, and then some.

Yet thousands didn't, and now await rescuers out risking their own lives needlessly. Despite all the technology available to warn people, these foolish souls decided to ignore what Galveston had gone through a century earlier.

I thought there is an anology here. It's why there is such a "buzz" about a former P.O.W. turned bald-faced liar and a neophyte neocon sycophant running for national office. The American electorate (or at least a sizable portion) are fascinated by the soap-opera aspect of this. It's fun, and let's just not get bogged down in details. Details like, oh, maybe at least four more years of policies (or non-policies) inflicted on those who adhere to Einstein's observation that insanity is doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results.

2008 is the year Americans actually vote on a hurricane. Oddly, instead of wanting it to go away and let the damage control begin, there is this narcotic effect luring people to ask for a hurricane's return. It's insane, but let's try the same way just one more time.

Indeed.

JOHN MCCAIN RATTED OUT FELLOW POW'S WHILE CAPTIVE!!!

There is someone I've known for many years who, while totally opposite my views on most things, is at least consistent in her approach. Should I put forth the observation that I question Barack Obama's ability to keep his promises, she agrees. If I question Joe Biden's temperment, or ability to compromise, she agrees. But, that is not enough. Much more follows in the form of those "talking points," whereby one recites that which is pushed daily. There is no questioning these things; they are repeated without question or thought.

For example, she will volunteer, in hushed tones, that Obama is not really American; that he is secretly a Muslim; that he's a pervert wanting to teach kindergartners about sex. And so on. And on. And on.

So, I thought...why not join 'em if I can't 'beat 'em? Why not let the McCain campaign thugs (separate, in my mind, from decent Republicans) have fun fending off something?

JOHN MCCAIN RATTED OUT HIS FELLOW POW'S WHILE IN THE HANOI HILTON.

MCCAIN TRIED TO HELP MANUEL NORIEGA ESCAPE U.S. TROOPS IN PANAMA.....BECAUSE MCCAIN, LIKE NORIEGA, WAS BORN IN PANAMA, NOT THE U.S.

JOHN MCCAIN ROLLED A WAR PROTESTER DOWN 3 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS....IN HER WHEELCHAIR!!!

Are the above lies? Of course. But what difference does that make this year? All you have to do is keep repeating them. Like symantic fatigue, you just drone them over and over until you don't really CARE what you're saying any more.

Please note: you will not hear anything about healthcare, a few pesky wars going on and what new ones may be rolled out in the future, the ridiculous state of our energy non-policy, home ownership (or the increasing lack thereof).

No, because all that boring stuff involves governing, and we don't do that now. No, now we win, and winning is all that matters.

Is there honor in this? Absolutely not, but what has honor got to do with being president these days? Opportunity is the key: use every opportunity to do whatever you want.

Lying has reached new heights in politics. It's not an art form, because lying repeatedly and with malice requires no imagination nor character. It's perfect for the Rovian Rule of Deceit.

It does, if you think about it, show an awfully deep contempt for people in general.

And so does the "governing" that follows.