This'n'That; March 21st[Definitions;HitlerRise2Power;Parallels]

Definitions To Heed And Remember:

• COMMUNISM: advocacy of a classless society in which private ownership has been abolished and the means of production and subsistence belong to the community; any social, economic, or political movement or doctrine aimed at achieving such a society.
• DEMOCRACY: The political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives; a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
• FASCISM: A philosophy or system of government that is marked by stringent social and economic control, a strong, centralized government usually headed by a dictator, and often a policy of belligerent nationalism.
• REAGAN CONSERVATIVES: Those who don't compromise their values. The Republican party needs that these days...yet it seems difficult to find them. Republicans also need someone who can actually orate--someone who is not like a McCain. The Democrats seem to find plenty of skilled salesmen for their cause...but the Republicans are the ones who need them.
• REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC: In other republics, such as the USA and France, the executive is legitimized both by a constitution and by popular suffrage; in the United States "republic" refers to representative democracy as opposed to direct democracy.
• SOCIALISM: An economic, social and political doctrine which expresses the struggle for the equal distribution of wealth by eliminating private property and the exploitative ruling class. In practice, such a distribution of wealth is achieved by social ownership of the means of production, exchange and diffusion.

We all know about 'communism;' China, Viet Nam, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, all who have the Communist Party as the ruling class. Many European, African and Asian countries have the Communist Party as part of the ruling coalition. Those noted 'communist countries' all subscribe to having the central government owning all of the nations' assets, then allow its' workers to labor in them.
We Americans are quickly becoming familiar with 'socialism!' The obamacRATic 'ruling class' are advancing the practice of wealth re-distribution. The "too-big-to-fail" theory which promulgated the banking takeover; the auto industry takeover; the pay self determination takeover; and others are clear illustrations of obamacRATic socialism.
Fascism has the underlying principle that the people own the country's assets and as the owners--labor and hire laborers--to work in those assets. In truth, those assets are so tightly controlled as to parallel communism. Although 'fascism' no longer openly exists, there are examples that the principle is alive-and-well! Several central and South American countries have fascist leanings in their governance. Some say--as I do--that these very principles are alive-and-well in the obamacRAT party!!
The most prominent fascist was-and [temporarily] still is-Adolf Hitler. There's a common misperception that Hitler took power; as we shall see, he was given power!!
There was deep-seated anger over Germany's losses in the First World War and the resulting Treaty of Versailles. This created an underlying bitterness to which Hitler’s expansionism appealed--thus he gained support.
During the period after the first World War, the Weimar Republic drafted and enacted a weak, ineffectual constitution. For example:

Nobility was abolished by the Weimar Constitution, and "Prinz" or "Graf" or "Freifrau" or whatever isn't a title anymore but only part of one's surname. Therefore the correct name for former masseur Hans-Robert Lichtenberg is "Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt" and not "Prinz Frédéric blah-blah-blah" but that doesn't sound very impressive. He made a lot of money selling the Anhalt name to other individuals.

Weaknesses in the Constitution crippled the government. There were many Germans who wanted a return to dictatorship. When the worldwide "Great Depression" came in 1929–1933, there was no one who was prepared or able to fight to stop Hitler. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the US called in its loans to Germany, forcing the German economy collapse. The Number of unemployed grew; [1928-2 million; 1929-2.5 million; 1930-3 million; 1931-5 million; 1932-6 million] people starved on the streets. In the crisis, people wanted someone to blame, and looked to extreme solutions – Hitler offered them both, and Nazi success in the elections grew. The number of Nazi seats in the Reichstag rose from 12 in 1928 to 230 in July 1932. In November 1932 elections the Nazis again failed to get a majority of seats in the Reichstag. Their share of the vote fell – from 230 seats to only 196. Hitler was rescued by Hindenburg. Franz von Papen (a friend of Hindenburg) was the Chancellor, who could not get enough support in the Reichstag. Hindenburg and von Papen were having to govern by emergency decree under Article 48 of the Constitution. They offered Hitler the post of vice-Chancellor if he promised to support them.
[Article 48: If a state (8) does not fulfill the obligations laid upon it by the Reich constitution or the Reich laws, the Reich President may use armed force to cause it to oblige. In case public safety is seriously threatened or disturbed, the Reich President may take the measures necessary to reestablish law and order, if necessary using armed force. In the pursuit of this aim he may suspend the civil rights described in articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 154, partially or entirely. The Reich President has to inform Reichstag immediately about all measures undertaken which are based on paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article. The measures have to be suspended immediately if Reichstag demands so.If danger is imminent, the state government may, for their specific territory, implement steps as described in paragraph 2. These steps have to be suspended if so demanded by the Reich President or the Reichstag. Further details are provided by Reich law.] Hitler refused--on 30 January 1933 Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor. He thought he could control Hitler--how wrong he was. In the end, Hitler did not TAKE power at all--he WAS GIVEN it.
Many German industrialists bankrolled the Nazis, including allegedly: · Hjalmar Schacht, Head of the Reichsbank, organized fund-raising parties for Hitler. · Fritz von Thyssen, the German steel businessman · Alfred Krupp, the owner of Krupp steel firm · Emil Kirdorf, the coal businessman · IG Faben, the German chemicals firm, gave half the funds for the 1933 elections. · The German car firm Opel (a subsidiary of General Motors) · Schroeder Bank – on Jan. 3, 1933, Reinhard Schroeder met Hitler and asked him to form a government. And many foreign firms including: · Henry Ford of Ford Motor Company, Hitler borrowed passages from Ford's book The International Jew to use in Mein Kampf and had a picture of Ford on the wall of his office. · Union Banking Corporation, New York · W.A. Harriman and Co., the shipping and railway company · Irenee du Pont, head of General Motors; he advocated the creation of a super-race by spinal injections to enhance children of ‘pure’ blood.
www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/named.htm

• Can you--as I--see the parallel situation Americans face today??
• There need not be a great stretch of the imagination to see how obama is toeing "the fascist line" in his governance;
• The massive spending to destroy the economy;
• The massive takeovers of various areas of American commerce;
• The huge growth in the U.S. governmental agencies and control;
• The recent takeover of 18% of the economy through the quasi-reform of the health insurance industry;
• The complete shredding of the U.S. Constitution; et al!!

Til Nex'Time....