This little jewel might be appropriate to our discussion:
Bush Blair - Endless Love
Sandra, I by no means use the parallel with Hitler lightly. What is happening in this country is chilling. I suggest you look a little more closely at what Congress is doing. Look at their tactics (such as passing bills at midnight on a Friday to minimize media exposure), the type of bills they pass and the ones they let fail. Step #1 is to get informed.
Dr. Lawrence Britt has done a well-regarded study of the growth of fascism in America. This link covers his 14 characteristics common to the fascist regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pinochet. It includes links to articles supporting each of his contentions:
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htmThere's a lot of links here, but you should read up on what the so-called Patriot Act did to our civil liberties. I'd start with the Analysis section:
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/USAPA.htmlThis article does a nice summary of this trend starting back in 1996:
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/theOtherWar.htmlMy sister, by the way, is on the front lines of the "War on Terror"--trying to anticipate biochemical warfare. In her direct experience, this Act made her job
worse. It requires tons of paperwork instead of the practical procedures, which she'd been busy implementing before the Act passed. (Remember how the new Homeland Security rules fouled-up Katrina rescue efforts.) All her suggestions of direct ways our food, water, and public health could be at risk of terrorist attack have yet to be acted upon years after she identified them. Is our government serious about keeping us safe?
There's also this, just released yesterday: "The Evangelical Christian Takeover of the Military"
http://www.alternet.org/asoldierspeaks/67385/?page=1 - a well-written heartfelt article by a retired Lt. Col. This isn't hype or hysteria. Check out this paragraph, about what our own Congress did:
"the House of Representatives, with little public notice, passed a chilling bill that undermines enforcement of the First Amendment's separation of church and state. The Public Expression of Religion Act, H.R. 2679, provides that attorneys who successfully challenge government actions that violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment shall not be entitled to recover attorney's fees. According to The Washington Post, the purpose of this bill is to prevent suits challenging unconstitutional government actions advancing religion."
These are all verifiable facts. The deal is, we're being told that everything is okay, we're the best, we're #1, etc. etc. and the country that we grew up in is becoming increasingly corrupt. We're going to be in a world of hurt if we don't demand accountable behavior from our elected representatives.