[CTRL] Hitler's Playbook

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Hitler's Playbook: Bush and the Abuse of Power

by W. David Jenkins and Sara DeHart   July 4, 2002

"Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of
state and corporate power." (Benito Mussolini, Encyclopedia Italiana)

According to David Gergen (1999), the 2000 election was about raw political power.
He termed it a hinge point in history. The last time the GOP controlled the White
House and the Congress was when "Ike" was in charge and he didn't want to rock
the boat. "Conservatives have very different ideas in mind if they can grab the helm
now." What Gergen and other members of the media didn't mention to the
American people is that if the Far Right could control the White House and
Congress, they could also control the judiciary and the fate and face of America for
generations to come.

And grab the helm they did, not by winning the White House by a majority, but by
Supreme Court fiat ( with at least two judges violating several statutes of Title 28
Sec. 455 of the Judicial and Judiciary Procedure). Even with the legitimacy of the
Bush presidency in question, the Conservatives -- those with the Far Right agenda -
- grabbed the raw political power that Gergen predicted would be the outcome of
that election. The abuse of power in the guise of pushing an agenda which the
majority of the electorate voted against would now become a perverted rule of law.
The Far Right transformed into the Far Reich. We need only to look at Bush's
nominations and appointments to fully appreciate this tactic. Corporate America's
cronies were placed in every powerful position within the Bush administration. From
Alcoa's O'Neil as Secretary of Treasury to Enron's White as the Secretary of Army,
this administration represents Totalitarian Corporatism. And what precisely does
Totalitarian Corporatism look like and how does this play out in the United States?
Will the outcomes be any different for America than they were for Germany?

When most people hear the word "fascism" they think of racism and anti-Semitism,
the hallmarks of the totalitarian regimes of Mussolini and Hitler. But do not forget
there is an economic policy component of fascism known as "corporatism," an
essential ingredient of economic totalitarianism (DiLorenzo 1994). This is why
corporate leaders played key roles in financing Hitler as Chancellor and George W.
Bush's run for the White House. Corporate heads from the United States, England
and Germany financed Hitler's rise to power. These same powerful worldwide forces
from the Military-Industrial Complex, Oil, Energy, and Media spent millions of
dollars to influence the American 2000 election. And when the election could not be
bought, they used five members of the United States Supreme Court to stop the
Florida vote, thereby giving election "victory" to the eldest son of George Herbert
Walker Bush. Now why was this election so important to the Far Right forces? And
having gained the White House, what -- besides greed and power -- motivates them
to change the face of America? Why would a political party supposedly dedicated to
"states' rights" use the Supreme Court to usurp those rights? Why would a political
party with slogans such as "get the government off our backs" move to take over
the government and all its vast financial resources? There is only one explanation.
Totalitarian corporate industrial policy. From the Department of Energy to the
Departments of Justice and Defense, the Bush administration has worked to
establish policies that do not serve the interests of the people, but serve the
interests of rich and powerful corporations.

"Totalitarianism is a form of government in which all societal resources are
monopolized by the state in an effort to penetrate and control all aspects of public
and private life, through the state's use of propaganda, terror, and technology.
Totalitarian ideologies reject the existing society as corrupt, immoral, and beyond
reform. They project an alternative society in which these wrongs are to be
redressed, and provide plans and programs for realizing the alternative order."
http://www.remember.org/guide/ Facts.root.nazi.html

These ideologies are supported by propaganda campaigns and demand total
conformity on the part of the people. Can we honestly say that the Bush Far Reich
agenda is any different from that of Hitler's Third Reich when it comes to this form
of ideology?

Parallels Between Hitler's and Bush's Power Game Plan



As Chancellor, Hitler manipulated President Hindenberg into dissolving the
Reichstag to permit new elections. He sought a Nazi majority in the Reichstag to
rubber-stamp whatever laws the big corporations that financed him wanted. Hitler
abused democracy to establish his dictatorship. Is this any different from the
methods Mr. Bush used to secure the presidency -- by Supreme Court fiat rather
than an election by the people? And then he used a slim Congressional majority to
push through legislation favorable to corporations.

Following his inauguration Vice President Dick Cheney was all over the Congress
and Senate imposing the Far Reich agenda. This is the "raw power" that Gergen
meant in his "Hinge Point in History" editorial. Deals from energy to defense were
made in secret in the Vice President's office. Enron wrote Cheney's Energy Policy
that cost Californians and North Western citizens billions. Texas and international
oil interests had the entire country by the tail and a Republican majority in Congress
rubber-stamped everything from the tax cut for the wealthiest 2% to the rape of the
environment. And with few notable exceptions, the media were silent. How very
much like Hitler's Third Reich and his propaganda machine.

Bush's cabinet was installed to serve the interests of corporations, not the people.
His actual disdain for regular American citizens is typified by his quote about those
citizens who objected to his administrative choices. "My picks obviously activated
the voices of a few, the fringe people, the special-interest groups whose job is to
make a lotta noise in Washington, DC." If you are not with Bush, you are fringe. If
you want to stop global warming, you are fringe. If you object to any of his policies,
you are fringe. How very much like Hitler's marginalization of the people, group by
group.

And then came September 11, 2001, with the direct attack on America followed by
the counter-attack on Afghanistan. This unleashed a whole new level of Far Reich
control over the American people and the agenda. To keep a population in line, both
Hitler and Bush declared perpetual war. Or in Hitler's words: "Another weapon I
discovered early was the power of the printed word to sway souls to me. The
newspaper was soon my gun, my flag-a thing with a soul that could mirror my own."
But in this case technology has moved light years ahead of Hitler's time and Bush's
Far Reich uses the power of television, controlled by a few corporate heads, to
control and sway. Following 911 the patriotism of the American people was twisted
to suit the purposes of the Far Reich Agenda just as patriotism of the German
people was twisted following the Reichstag fire to suit the purposes of the Third
Reich.

You are with us or against us. In Germany if you were

against Hitler and the Nazis you were subjected to tribunal "justice." Civil rights 
were
discarded and many ended up in concentration camps. In Bush's America, an
unknown number of Arab detainees are being held in U.S. jails and the
Guantanamo Naval Base. They do not have access to legal representation. Their
resources are frozen, and the American public is assured that if they are charged
they will have access to legal representation. Though their actual numbers and
identities were kept secret, we were told that these detainees were not American
citizens. Now we learn that an American citizen, Jose Padilla, is being held without
legal counsel in a catch-22 situation that is worthy of a Joseph Heller plot.
Secrecy is the Far Reich Bush policy and if you question

that policy, you are unpatriotic. German citizens learned very early to keep quiet
and not ask questions. American citizens are learning the same painful lesson. The
Bush administration is the most secret in our recorded history and those who dare
question the administration's secrecy are labeled "unpatriotic."
Fear and isolation are weapons. The German people

were not stupid or unaware. They saw their neighbors beaten and threatened. They
saw them disappear. And they did not want this to happen to themselves or their
families. Now we are seeing the same situation in the United States as members of
the FBI intimidate people who dare dissent. Those who choose not to stand miles
away in the "First Amendment Zones" whenever a Bush official speaks in a public
arena do so at risk to their freedom. This happens and the media remains silent.
The TV cameras focus on those in agreement with Far Reich policies and ignore
those who dissent. News people who dissent lose their jobs. Professors who dissent
are held up to ridicule by university administrators. It did not take long for all in 
the
news business to realize that Bush praise is the secret formula for survival in a
tough competitive market.
Attack Intellectualism. Hitler's Playbook specified that

Intellectualism must be attacked and did so by book burning and destruction of
news sources unfriendly to the Third Reich. Goebbels presided over a
communications monopoly. Nazi youth groups heckled professors until
administrators forced them out of universities. We need go no further than Lynne
Cheney's American Council of Trustees and Alumni
(http://www.counterpunch.org/foley0522.html) to see the corollary of Bush's Far
Reich. "Lynne Cheney's right wing, not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization collected
"unpatriotic" utterances and issued its report, "Defending Civilization: How our
universities are failing America and what can be done about it" (Foley, 5/22/02).
Germany lost incredible intellectual talent in the 1930s (e.g., Einstein, Freud). Will
the United States lose its most talented university people by 2004?
Closely allied with Cheney's ACTA is William Bennett's

Americans for Victory Over Terrorism (AVOT) project. According to their campaign
literature "AVOT is designed to combat those who would weaken the nation's
resolve and erode our commitment to end the international menace of terrorism."
One of their articles stated that "anti-war ferment in America is growing." In other
words, speak praise of Far Reich policies or expect to be attacked. Will ACTA and
AVOT grow so powerful that we will be afraid to dissent? At what point will the
media notice that our right to free speech is gone?

The abuses of power before and, especially, after 9/11 by the Bush Reich have
been unsettling, to say the least. The world is watching us, believing we all support
the policies Bush and his thugs are pursuing. They see the similarities. But our
former main source of information, television and the newspapers, seems silent in
the face of such a threat to what our founding fathers had in mind.

There has been no attention paid to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn
where uncounted numbers of American citizens are being held without charge while
Ashcroft petitions the courts to allow their deportation. The defense counsels of
John Lindh, Zacarias Moussaoui, Richard Reid and Jose Padilla have had their
hands tied by the DOJ in the name of "national security." If George and his gang
decide to call you a "hostile combatant" then you can just kiss your rights goodbye.
Some still argue that these people and others like them are proven enemies of the
country or just "very bad people," but how long will it take before the precedent
being set with these accused "terrorists" trickles down to folks like you and me?

There is an ugly secret being kept from all of us. Some of us recognize this --
especially those who see it from afar -- and then there are those who continue to
refuse to believe it could happen here. And there lies the danger. Arthur Livingstone
(2001) asked the question, "Does history repeat itself?" and the answer,
unfortunately, is yes. (http:// www.goodwriters.net/dhri1.html) We, in America, are
seeing a reincarnation of the Third Reich, and its name is Corporatism. If left
unchecked, the worst case scenario will be that Americans will be left without liberty,
justice or freedom. Thomas Jefferson saw the threat in 1816: "I hope we shall crush
in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to
challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance of the laws of our
country."

The only thing standing in the way of the Far Reich's goal of corporatism is the
American public. One stumbling block that Bush faces that Hitler didn't have to
contend with, is the vast amount of information available with today's technology.
The Internet has brought a world together in ways never dreamed of in the days of
WWII. It is both a source of comfort that we are not alone and a source of
frustration as it causes us to wonder when will the rest of the country catch up?

We all know that our European neighbors notice the similarities discussed in this
series. They wonder when we are going to finally wake up. So many Americans
have given their lives to defend that which makes this country a unique and special
place. Will we let the noble experiment in democracy die in the 21st Century? Will
we let it die at the hands of George W. Bush's version of the Third Reich?


Note: This is Part III in a series. Parts I and II are below. Also published in America
Held Hostile



Citizen "Combatants," Robot Warnings, And Endless "Wars"
by W. David Jenkins   June 24, 2002

I was a child of the '60s and it finally dawned on me what all the warnings and
threats and manufactured mayhem emanating from Bush II and Co. remind me of.
Just how many of you good people remember "Lost in Space?" There we were as
kids every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. glued to the TV. The Robinson family, Dr.
Smith, the robot and some goofy monkey type thing named "Bloop."

It seems like every time we turn around, here comes another warning of those
dastardly terrorists! Whether the warnings come from Rummy, Cheney, Ridge,
Mueller or "Mr. Salty" himself, I get the same picture in my head. That robot from
"Lost in Space" waving its "arms" while announcing,

"Warning! Warning! Aliens approaching! Danger, Will Robinson!"

So it seems that I can no longer hear these endless, precisely scheduled rantings
from the White House, or thereabout, without shaking my head and laughing. Don't
get me wrong, I'm not trying to say there's no threat of further terrorist attacks. I'm
absolutely positive that as long as Bush The Appointed and his gang continue to call
various countries "evil" or threaten first strikes in the name of defending democracy
that the threat will remain. But, come on already! Really, just how long will it take
before the fear mongers in DeeCeeVille run out of things to name as "potential
targets" before we have to go back to the top of the list?

This weekend it was synagogues and other targets named special to infuriate our
Jewish population. Then there were the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty,
compliments of the movie "Godzilla." Somewhere in the middle, we were supposed
to be afraid of the nuclear power plants as potential targets. Heck, I was leery of
those back in the '70s. I didn't need any "maybe terrorism" to put those things on my
list of things to be wary of.

Warning, warning! They're coming for the Golden Gate Bridge! They're coming for
the subways! They're trying to rent or buy moving vans and ambulances! Watch out
for the big trucks and lobster boats! They've got anthrax, small pox, chicken pox,
hangnails and dandruff! They hate us because of our freedom! They hate us
because we can buy houses! They hate us because we have express lanes at the
grocery store! Fight back, Americans! Go shopping but be careful because they
hate us because we have shopping malls! Be aware of that checkout person who
comments that the picture of George Washington on your one-dollar bill looks like
Barbara Bush! She might be a terrorist!

But, whatever you do, don't pay attention to those leaks that undermine our national
security. So what if we've arrested people without charge and won't let them talk to
a lawyer? So what if we arrest and suspend college graduates for turning their backs
to the "president?" So what if the Attorney General is in Moscow discussing tactics
concerning the "war" on terrorism? So what if we're doing everything possible to
make sure that you have no idea what is really going on? Americans have more
important things to do to make this country strong! You people need to . . . to . . . 
oh
yeah, you people need to EXERCISE!

That's right, you heard them correctly. That's this week's version on how to keep
America strong! Just how are you supposed to maintain constant vigil on your
neighbors' suspicious activities if you're too busy gorging yourself in front of the 
TV?
C'mon, give good old George a "squat thrust" in his honor. Who cares if he thinks
he's Jack LaLanne this week? You have to admit it's easier than watching him act
like "Gilligan." Besides, it'll give you something to do as you ponder next week's
"target for terrorism."

I don't know about all of you, but it's become a kind of guessing game for me and
others. Like I said, how long before they run out of things to scare us with? Think
about it. We have the big old July 4th weekend coming up. They're already putting
up security fences all over DeeCeeVille landmarks. They have a little less than two
weeks to have us all waving the flag in celebration of our disappearing freedoms
from the safety of our basements.

"Warning! Warning!"

There's another bit of media history that comes to mind amidst all this
mindlessness. Back in the late 1930s on the night before Halloween, Orson Welles
scared the crank shaft out of the nation with a little program called "The War of the
Worlds." For those of you unfamiliar with this production, it was a radio broadcast
which depicted the invasion of the East Coast by Martians. Many people hadn't
heard the disclaimer that it was only a play and many citizens became so terrified
that widespread panic in the streets ensued. Water towers in New Jersey were shot
at for fear they were the invaders and many people had to be treated for shock and
other injuries. When they woke up the next morning they felt embarrassed and more
than a little angry for having been duped.

Well, I can't help but feel that we are currently experiencing a combination of a
constant airing of "The War of the Worlds" while listening to the robot from "Lost in
Space" broadcasting warnings all over the place. With all of this fearmongering and
saber rattling going on, not to mention American citizens being denied their basic
rights because John and George like to call them "enemy combatants," I'm finding it
difficult to find a reason to celebrate the 4th of July.

Besides, I hear the terrorists hate us because we have backyard barbecues too.



Is The BushAdmin The Fourth Reich?
Part Two: The Propaganda Machine

By W. David Jenkins and Sara DeHart

Propaganda isn't really a dirty word. Basically, it's nothing more than information
from one group to sway another to the source's way of thinking. Campaign
promises, political messages, heck, even deodorant commercials fall under the true
definition of propaganda. The old adage "Everybody does it" is true. Democrats and
Republicans utilize propaganda to do their best to influence the masses to help
them pass legislation or kill a bill. Propaganda is nothing more than a tool and a
very powerful one. And like all powerful tools in politics and the media, it's fair 
game
for abuse against those of us on the receiving end.

In the early days of Bush II's appointed reign, both members of his administration
and their media supporters used the word "elected" every chance they had when in
front of the TV cameras. There's an old rule that if you tell the same lie over and
over that people will eventually believe it. Bush was heard to say repeatedly, "I was
elected because…" or I'm doing this because that's what the American people
"elected me to do." Ari Fleischer continues to remark about the will of the American
people in reference to Bush II's latest attack on us without pausing to think that the
majority of the American people wish Ari was nothing more than an occasional right
wing blow-hard guest on MSNBC and his boss was still governor of Texas trying to
figure out why his Daddy's plan didn't work. Their claim to speak for the American
people is a clear example of the abuse of propaganda. But it doesn't stop there.
There is also this little problem with the mainstream media. Like pigs at the trough,
they line up to feed on whatever garbage Bush II throws their way with an
enthusiasm that would make Goebbels envious.

Democracy is not simply a matter of being able to vote, it is a matter of being
sufficiently informed about crucial issues to participate in decision-making
processes. Why are mainline news sources denying the American public such
information? In regards to Nazi Germany the entire world agrees that the German
people were misled by an organized propaganda campaign. Is this currently
happening in the United States? Why is there such a disparity between what is
reported in the European and American press? Why, with each new revelation from
the coup d'etat in Venezuela to the new information on what the Bush administration
knew about a potential al Qaeda strike prior to 9/11, do American citizens trust the
word of the American media? What seems to be the need to hide what's actually
happening? What is so wrong with the truth other than the fact that it threatens the
only court appointed president in history?

We are not referring to the press revealing state secrets, military intelligence or
sensitive negotiations with foreign powers. We are talking about information that is
basic to understanding what goes on in the current administration and our
government. In other words, information that is crucial for American citizens to be
informed voters and part of the democratic process. How has the esteemed
American press fallen to such depths that we can no longer trust its journalists as
bearers of truth? Even a cursory glance at major newspapers and the way that they
covered the recent coup d'etat in Venezuela by misnaming it a "transition" as the
White House released their spin to a welcoming and uncritical press. For days
almost all newspapers originating in the United States used almost identical words
to describe Chavez, Venezuela's legally elected president: "Socialist," "dictatorial,"
"unpopular" and "resignation". The Washington Post's editorial stated "the violation
of democracy that led to the ouster of President Hugo Chavez Thursday night was
initiated not by the army by Mr. Chavez himself." The Washington Post accepted
Condoleeza Rice's version and words without question.

What sort of nonsense is this? The United States of America's media, as
representatives of a free and unfettered press, supporting a coup d'etat without a
single question asked about the official White House version? Had this been
Germany 1934 with the threats of armed SS and SA thugs beating down doors and
crashing windows of newspapers, it might be comprehensible. But in the United
States, 2002 with no evidence of armed thugs beating publishers and closing them
down, one has to wonder who is calling the shots? Could it be the same financial
sources that put Mr. Bush into the office of president? Who put Adolf Hitler's
playbook into action? And there is ample evidence that the playbook of the Third
Reich is now in effect.

A propagandized media has to have a director and sub-directors. In 1930 Germany
it was Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Is this the role that Karl Rove holds?
Are there others now that Karen Hughes is slated to leave the White House? Is
Michael Powell's role as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission to
facilitate mergers so that a single-voiced media is fully operational by 2004? It is
hard to come by accurate news in this administration, but certain facts are
indisputable. Secrecy is the tool of the day. "Secrecy is a tool the leadership uses to
maintain power and control over issues of controversy" (Sr. Nancy Sylvester,
5/2/02). The good sister was not speaking about either Nazi Germany's leadership
in 1933 or Mr. Bush's administration in 2002. She refers to the way the Catholic
Church is handling it's current controversy of pedophilia amongst its priests. The
quote is striking though because it reflects the way that both Hitler and Bush II
seized and used power.

The cast of characters in place for Mr. Bush's Propaganda machine:

The most likely key players in the Bush propaganda machine include Karl Rove and
Karen Hughes, but who else is involved? What official roles do former Iran-Contra
operatives, Otto Reich and John Poindexter play? How does the U.S. Army's 4th
PSYOPS fit? This was the military unit assigned to carry out policies of the Office of
Strategic Influence (OSI) that planted stories in the U.S. media supporting the
Reagan Administration's Central American policies in the 1980s. This is also the
group that staffed the National Security Council's Office of Public Diplomacy (OPD)
of the Reagan-Bush (the elected) administration. And while both the OSI and the
OPD are officially disbanded, two players are back in the current Bush
administration, Otto Reich (Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere
Affairs) and John M. Poindexter as head of a new agency, Information Awareness
Office. These are interesting appointments if an administration is choosing to set up
a propaganda network, and both bring considerable propaganda skills to their new
jobs.

One of the striking similarities between the Third Reich and the Bush Reich is the
list of euphemistic names given to agencies responsible for propaganda. Mr. Bush
created a new agency called the Information Awareness Office in 2002 and named
John M. Poindexter as its head. Hitler created the Ministry for Public Enlightenment
and Propaganda and named Joseph Goebbels as director. It is more likely that Karl
Rove is the power behind the Bush propaganda machine, but he holds the official
title of Director, Office of Political Affairs. Mr. Rove's increasing circle of 
influence
may be a factor in pushing Karen Hughes from the White House Inner Circle.

Karen Hughes, Bush's former official spinmaster held the title, Counselor to the
President and though she is in the process of "resigning," she is currently traveling
in Europe with Mrs. Bush as her adviser. According to press reports, Hughes will
continue to travel to the White House to consult with Mr. Bush.

Another player is Charlotte Beers, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs chief. She
has recently (May 1, 2002) asked Congress for $600M for the Propaganda budget.
Ms. Beers comes from an advertising background and sees her role as public
persuasion. She is careful to use the term "persuasion" rather than "propaganda",
but the net effect is the same. The Bush administration is managing perception, and
up until the foreknowledge about a potential attack with too many details provided in
presidential briefings came to light, the mainline media bought into perception
management. Lewis Lapham, Harper's editor, views it as "the media is hand in hand
with the government." (Fost, Dan 4/24/02, SF Chronicle). It remains to be seen if
this latest wrinkle in Mr. Bush's façade continues to be noticed by the
somnambulant American public.

John Rendon and his public relations firm, The Rendon Group, specialize in making
images, manipulating scenes and managing news. He is currently under a $100,000
per month contract to track foreign news reports and offer advice on media strategy.
Rendon consulted with the Pentagon when it created the Office of Strategic
Influence. Supposedly this office was snuffed after publicity leaked that the
Pentagon planned to use it to spread disinformation. But, whether it is gone or just
gone underground is a legitimate question.

"Persuasion works best when it's invisible. The most effective marketing worms its
way into our consciousness, leaving intact the perception that we have reached our
opinion and made our choices independently" (George Monbiot, The Guardian, UK
5/ 14/02). This is what Beers and Rendon do best and it is why Mr. Bush's
administration hired them.

Whether it was the Reichstag fire in February 1933 or the 9/11 attacks on the World
Trade Center and Pentagon, perceptions of the events were orchestrated and
managed for political gain. Hitler used the Reichstag fire to mobilize the German
population for Hitler's National Socialist German Worker's Party (Nazi Party). Mr.
Bush's propaganda machine is using 9/11 for political advantage. Any call for a
Congressional investigation of 9/11 has been met with sneering propaganda tactics.
Fear, intimidation, loss of one's livelihood, public ridicule are the Bush tactics.
Hitler's SS and SA troops beat publishers to a bloody pulp. To date, Bush has not
resorted to public beatings; people just lose their jobs as TV's Bill Maher learned for
being Politically Incorrect.

The Republican National Party is currently selling photographs of Mr. Bush
depicting the "resolute leader" on 9/11 and it's aftermath (even after he told a
German reporter he was trying "to stay out of harm's way" that day). This is one
example of perception management that may come back to haunt him and his
administration. Goebbels used exactly the same strategy to sell the image of Hitler
even though his weaknesses were known to those close to him. "Give me ten years
and you will not recognize Germany" (Adolf Hitler, 1933). Between his Gestapo
troops and propaganda machine, he transformed Germany in four years. The
United States has changed dramatically from January 2001 to May 2002. What role
has a propagandized press played in this?

John Stanton and Wayne Madsen state that "A crisis without precedent is underway
in the United States. And its consequences will be far graver than those wrought by
the U.S. presidential election of 2000 and the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001. The collapse of the Jeffersonian 'free and uncensored press' in America
endangers the liberties of all Americans. --The only remaining barrier to monstrous
U.S. totalitarianism is a sickly and crippled U.S. media, an aggressive foreign media
and the hope that the heretofore somnambulant American public will awaken from
its stupor." (Stanton, J & Madsen, W. (4/25/02) U.S. Media Profit, Propaganda and
Puffery, Counterpunch.org).

"Secrecy is a tool the leadership uses to maintain power and control over
controversy" (Sr. Sylvester, 5/2/02). Mr. Bush has learned that lesson well. And
when secrecy doesn't work, then resort to propaganda and perception management.
If things get to close to the truth then they offer up another "terrorist alert" so
everybody stays too scared to ask any questions. Or Ashcroft can bust another
former gang member and call him a terrorist and wave the flag some more. And
when perception management doesn't work, what then should Mr. Bush do? Does
he go home to Crawford or does he continue to raise funds for Far Reich/Right
causes by telling that God awful sick Trifecta joke?

What it boils down to is that we are being subjected to a form of propaganda that
even the Europeans recognize. The American people are being ruled and controlled
through fear tactics. The media shows us images of America standing tall and then,
in the same breath, does its best to work with Bush II to send us cowering into our
basements for fear of another attack. America waves the flag while it covers its
eyes and ears to the real threat to this country.

History repeats itself.



Is The BushAdmin The Fourth Reich?

By W. David Jenkins and Sara DeHart

George W. Bush is not Adolph Hitler. Although we've seen the sentiment in so
many different places and in many different ways, the fact still remains that Bush II
has not yet achieved Nazi Germany's horror at its apex, but it is like waiting for the
other shoe to drop. It's sincerely hard to believe that Bush II's "Final Solution"
includes the elimination of an entire race. Although we still have reportedly over one
thousand people of Arab descent being held without charge or access to legal
counsel, these are not the real enemies of Bush's America. Ever since December of
2000 and especially since September 2001, George W. Bush and his administration
have made it more and more apparent just who they consider the real enemy. The
enemy is anyone who does not agree with or follow Conservative Far Right dogma.
He refers to these Americans as "the fringe."

One of the main differences between Bush and Hitler as leaders is that the later
built a nation out of rubble. Germany post WWI was left virtually castrated after the
signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The people of Germany were ostracized on an
international level and needed a scapegoat. Hitler initially selected Jews and
Communists to fill that slot. Hitler helped to create and then triumphed over the
political unrest that plagued post war Germany. During the early years under his
leadership, Germany experienced a period of rebirth and pride in the Fatherland.
The economy improved greatly and, as witnessed during the 1936 Olympics, the
world was introduced to a new Deutschland. The world saw a proud and thriving
country rise out of a once devastated enemy.

George W. Bush, on the other hand, has taken a country that enjoyed peace and
prosperity for almost a decade and trashed it completely. But when we look at the
similarities, however, between post September 11th, 2001 and post February 27th,
1933 (The Reichstag Fire) is where the rise of the Third Reich and today's Bush II
administration look remarkably alike. The attacks of September are Bush's
"Reichstag Fire."

On February 28th, 1933 President Hindenburg and Chancellor Hitler invoked Article
48 of the Weimar Constitution, which allowed the suspension of civil liberties in time
of national emergency. This Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the
People and State abrogated the following constitutional protections:

1. Free expression of opinion
2. Freedom of the press
3. Right of assembly and association
4. Right to privacy of postal and electronic communications
5. Protection against unlawful searches and seizures
6. Individual property rights
7. States' right of self-government

A supplemental decree was also added to create the SA and SS federal police
agencies. Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it?

Although Bush has not yet proposed the elimination of these rights formally, in the
wake of "Election 2000" and especially after 9/11, they have all been placed on the
"endangered species" list to the point where many people are finally starting to wake
up and ask questions. Just last week, Attorney General John Ashcroft placed #3 and
#4 in the crosshairs with his proclamation of new powers to be given the FBI. The
rest of these rights have been tested and tainted ever since Bush slipped through
the back door of the White House. Like Hitler, Bush has surrounded himself with
experienced thugs or just plain thugs with a perverted sense of what it right for the
country. Yet both leaders were blessed by a common mindset of the people they
lead. A mindset that allowed both leaders to inflict their tunnel view of the world and
its people on their own countrymen in order to achieve their personal goals. The
mindset of apathy.

21st century America and 1930's Germany share a form of apathy even though its
root is of different sources. Germany's apathy stemmed from the population so
content with its new found prosperity that it trusted its leaders overall in their
endeavors. Today's American apathy is based upon their being manipulated by their
leaders and the media in a time of national grief and xenophobia. Both populations
were and are being played like marionettes and their apathy and paranoia allowed
and allows them to be blind to the blatant evil of their leaders. Two weeks ago in the
wake of the "What did they know" reports, Cheney, Mueller and Rumsfeld took a
chapter from Hermann Goering book of mass manipulation. They use this rule of
Hitler's Third Reich every time things get a little too warm for them.

"Why, of course the people don't want war ... But after all, it is the leaders of the
country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the
people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or
a communist dictatorship...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 to tell them they are
being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the
country to danger."

This is the rule now. In less than a century, things have come full circle. The only
difference is that it's not happening "over there." It's happening right here. In
America. What used to be the Land of the Free.

No, Bush is not Hitler. The current administration is not the Third Reich. It's subtler
and yet, it's just as dangerous. It's just as threatening. And worse yet….

.....it's here...…right now.

Next: "The Propaganda Machine."




more Lost In America



The views expressed are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect those of
Bush Watch.
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