Tag: Hitler

Why Your Vote Is So Important

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Why Your Vote Is So Important

Why Your Vote Is So Important

By D.S. Mitchell

 

The 2024 Election

I talk to people; lots of people everyday, and I am sad to tell you folks that a surprisingly large group of my friends, neighbors, co-workers, and even my favorite barista did not vote.  I’m genuinely surprised. I thought it was just someone else, somewhere else that did not vote. How could it in fact be people I know, lots of people I know. Usually, a federal election brings the voters out, but not in 2024. I’ve heard the low voter turnout related directly to Trump winning.

Staying Away From the Polls

When I asked each of them why they hadn’t voted the answers varied. Several people said they were busy and totally spaced it out. What? How is that possible? I don’t believe them. But, why are they lying? A handful of others said they didn’t vote because politicians are all a bunch of crooks just with a different party affiliation. So why bother? A few commented that the whole election system was rigged. One woman even told me she was “protesting” by not voting. How can not voting be a protest against anything; you are doing nothing. Several said they didn’t like any of the candidates. And finally the last half a dozen people I quizzed said their one vote didn’t make a difference. How could it; its just one of millions.

What Can I Say?

To those who said they had been “too busy” I can only say, shame on you for not taking the few minutes required to vote. We have few covenants with our democracy;  the principle one is that we vote. Regarding the “all politicians are crooks” belief is understandable. Lobbying is a bad practice and weakens our system. However, it is up to us to demand our officials are accountable for any misdeeds in office. Some ways that is accomplished is with term limits and strict ethics rules, but most importantly a vigilant electorate. The rigged election ‘reason’ is based on a politically motivated attack on our independent state voting system by powerful people with loud voices and a significant bully pulpit. Even a lie, told repeatedly will find believers. As far as not liking either candidate; do a little research and I bet you discover there is a huge difference between the candidates and you might find you really do like one better than the other. The last and most often stated reason people didn’t vote was because they believed that their one vote doesn’t make a damn bit of difference. This last reason I am going to spend some time on. Just like the late Reverend Jesse Jackson I know enough of history to know that one vote has changed the course of history more than a few times.

When One Vote Changed History

  • One vote made Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and gave him control of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1553 until his death in 1558.
  • One vote caused Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland to lose his head.
  • One vote kept Aaron Burr (later charged with treason) from becoming President of the United States.
  • One vote made Texas part of the United States and led to the Mexican American War and the acquisition of a lot of real estate, including, California, New Mexico, and Arizona.
  • One vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.
  • One vote per precinct would have elected Richard Nixon rather than John Kennedy as president in 1960.
  • One vote in the German Reichstag in 1933 gave Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers and launched catastrophic global upheaval and led eventually to WWII.
  • One vote maintained the Selective Service System only 12 weeks before Pearl Harbor.
  • In 1920, Tennessee became the final state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. The state legislature was deadlocked on the issue, and a single vote—cast by Harry T. Burn—secured its passage.
  • The acquisition of Alaska from Russia, commonly known as ‘Seward’s Folly’ was approved by a single vote in the Senate in 1867.

Part 1-Trump Racism is Bad for America

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Part 1-Trump Racism is Bad for America

Part 1- Trump Racism Is Bad For America

Editor: This article is an updated version of a much longer 2018 article. Despite valiant efforts by our society to end bigotry and injustice nothing changes when it comes to hate. 

By Trevor K. McNeil

A dark history: After the end of the Civil War a period of Reconstruction was begun in the south. Resistance to the northern oversight quickly formed. Southern activists formed paramilitary groups of White supremacists to thwart forced Reconstruction. Military groups lynched blacks and burned their homes. Disenfranchising and terrorizing the black population was the central goal of the white supremacy groups of the period. Of those 19th century hate groups the Ku Klux Klan was the most infamous. After the cementing of Jim Crow laws the original Klan disbanded, their goals achieved.

A rebirth:  New leaders revived the Klan in the 20th century for a new cause. The revival was  a defensive reaction to the massive wave of immigrants arriving in America. The “new” Klan refused to limit its hate. The new version of the Ku Klux Klan expanded their targeted hate campaign beyond the Blacks to include immigrants, most particularly the Jews, the Mexicans, the Catholics, the Asians, the Irish, and the Poles. In effect, anyone not white and native-born.

Tell tale surge:  There has been a palpable uptick in terms of hate groups since the ascension of Trump and Trump-racism. The Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan claim to be the fastest growing hate group in America, proclaiming their membership numbers have gone up by thousands since Trump was re-elected, particularly in predominantly African-American cities such as St. Louis and Baltimore. Quite simply Trump racism is setting the tone. The re-election of Donald Trump has emboldened hate groups in the United States.

Change is in the air:  Attitudes are changing and that isn’t necessarily a good thing. In August 2018 there was a White Power group rally in the small rural Pennsylvania town of Ulysses. The town was proudly awash with Nazi flags and swastikas one year after Charlottesville, Va where a group of “very fine” white supremacists rallied, terrorized the town and left one counter-protester dead.

Trump racism shows itself: Trump racism is right there in his rhetoric. His near constant use of “they” and “them” is classic moral dissociation. He might as well say, “us” and “them”.  Is Trump a member of the KKK, or the Nazi’s? Not demonstrably. Evidence indicates Trump Sr, had ties to the KKK.  Although there is not direct evidence of such an affiliation for Donald Trump it doesn’t mean it is not true. David Duke, Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan fully embraces Trump and Trump does not criticize the Grand Wizard, because they are all “fine people.”

Racism isn’t such a new thing: There have been many openly racist politicians in American history, at least 10 of them became American presidents. Slowly over the past 60 years public pressure has mounted against hate speech and racial inequality. The N-word was, due to social  pressure, going the way of other extinct epitaphs, effectively banned from civil discourse. Until Trump came into office, we as a nation discouraged openly expressed hatred and bigotry. In fact, we wrote laws to punish people for hate crimes.

Times change: No longer would Presidents like William Henry Harrison publicly relive their ‘Indian Wars” exploits of murder and atrocity committed against the continent’s Indigenous Peoples. The display of overt hatred based on ethnic targeting was coming to an end in America…………. Or, was it?

Increased episodes of violence: There are some similarities between the racist ideas of Trump and a particular German Chancellor whom I will leave unnamed so as not to confirm Godwin’s Law. One of the most striking similarities to me at least has been the conduct of Trump’s supporters.  I’m thinking most particularly of the Proud Boys. In the lead up to the 2016 election Canadian white supremacist Gavin McInnis and his followers seemed to be instigating violence at rallies across the United States. Watching the Proud Boys I could not help but draw similarities between them and the goon tactics of Hitler’s Storm Detachment, better known as the “Brown Shirts”, prior to the 1933 election in Germany. Whenever a president encourages violence the most likely result, is violence.

Media savvy:  As noted by some, Trump is also very similar to a different World War II dictator. Mussolini used “Make Italy Great Again” as a major catchphrase. He was a former journalist. Mussolini, like TV-savvy Trump, knew how to manipulate the news cycle in his favor. While Trump revs up his crowds with screams of “Fake News” Mussolini’s preferred the more traditional guns to the head method of control.

Facism (Fascismo in Italian): Mussolini is the guy that coined the term Fascism to describe his political world view. The main difference noted between Trump and Il Duce is that for the Italian strongman the “state” was all, it was everything. For Trump his only belief seems to be that he should be in total control of everything, which is a lot scarier.

Where are we headed?: Mussolini was shot and killed by partisans as he attempted to escape Italy for Switzerland, just 2 days before Hitler killed himself in Berlin. I’m not suggesting Trump will commit suicide, or be shot, but Trump’s racism frightens many historians. Less than 100 years ago a drug crazed demagogue set the world on an irreversible path to world war. Race fueled hatred stoked by Hitler led to death squads, concentration camps and gas ovens where 6,000,000 Jews were exterminated. Take notes people. History really does have lessons. We only need to pay attention to them.

Part 2- Trump Racism is Bad For America-by Trevor K. McNeil @www.calamitypolitics.com

WATCH FOR IT!

 

EDITORIAL: Flirting With Nazis Is Dangerous

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EDITORIAL: Flirting With Nazis Is Dangerous

The dark days of the Nazi control of Europe led to the death of millions.

EDITORIAL:

Flirting With Nazis Is Dangerous

A Neighbor’s Nazi Experience

D. S. Mitchell

Martin Hartman is a tall slender man. His thinning white hair is brushed back, his jacket zipped against the winter wind, as he leans against his cane for support. There is a deep sadness in his eyes and a soberness in his demeanor. You can tell he has a story, and he wants to share it. Martin Hartman is my neighbor.

Martin was born in Holland in 1924. Prior to the Depression of the 1930’s, his family had owned a prosperous construction business. His family like many others had suffered during those economically depressed times, but by 1940, the 97-year-old said, the economy “had begun to turn around,” things were looking up he confirmed. The future looked promising.

There had been rumblings of war, but few took them seriously, after all WWI was a mere twenty two years in the past. No one could imagine the world once again plunging into conflict. The next few days would change his life and those of his friends and family forever. “I was 16. It was May 10, 1940. We heard bombing and saw planes. It was the German invasion, and the blitz was over in three days.” The squashing of Holland’s defenses was quick, but far from painless.

After the German invasion, they began barricading city blocks and then sweeping the apartments for young men to fill the military ranks due to troop loss. Hartman describes it, “Gradually Nazism crawled into Holland. Good people were killed, or sent to prison . . . Jews and ministers.”

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NO GOOD CHOICE

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NO GOOD CHOICE

By Trevor McNeil

Lest We Forget

The idea of Veteran’s day is to remember. This only stands to reason. Though it can also, ironically, be a way to forget. To paraphrase Alan Bennett in his play, History Boys, there is no better way to forget something than commemorating it. It is not that people forget the event happened, but it can lead to a disconnect with younger generations, not sure what it has to do with them. Particularly, if enough time has passed for society to change significantly. A prime example of this is the repealing of the general military draft after the Vietnam era.

In The Shadows

Nine eleven

Remembering 9/11 terrorism attack on the World Trade Center, New York City eighteen years ago.

Despite the general sense of nothing being the same, things have changed surprisingly little since the Vietnam era and in some ways have gotten a good deal worse. Conflict remains a major factor of American life with soldiers still being deployed to Afghanistan to continue a war that started before some of them were even born. The fight against terrorism groups like ISIS, al Ouida and the Taliban goes on. There is no official draft into military service in the U.S., but there is still the Selective Service which every American-born male must register for when he turns eighteen.

War Propaganda

While not strictly the same as the draft, the Selective Service creates a list of potential draftees. Anyone on this list can technically be called up for military service at any time. A situation not a million miles away from what it was like during the two world wars and Vietnam. The only major difference is the absence of effective or at least overt war propaganda. There are no government sponsored ads, at least that I have seen, encouraging fighting age men to go kick ISIS like there was with Hitler in the 1940’s and the Kaiser two decades before that. Enlistment propaganda is always preferred over conscription.

The Thorn In Everybody’s Side

Vietnam is also a major factor in the current situation few want to acknowledge. One of the fall outs from the Vietnam fiasco was a hard drop-off in enlistment numbers after the repeal of the draft. As author Robert O’Connor wrote in his novel, Buffalo Soldiers, “Vietnam was the thorn in everyone’s side.”

Low Enlistment Levels

By the beginning of the Reagan era military enlistment had dropped to an all time low. Low enlistment shouldn’t have been a problem considering it was officially peace time, the last remnants of the Cold War the worst thing most people had to worry about. But, the military meant both money and power, particularly for a Republican administration. In lieu of the draft, several programs emerged to “encourage” enlistment. These tactics in fact, compelled people to sign up for military service.

You Call This Choice?

Among the worst of these was an initiative by which those convicted of minor non-violent criminal offenses were literally offered a choice between prison or military service. There are also some pretty questionable scholarship opportunities available only to those who join the military. It is also one of the few jobs, one can get without a high school diploma. A not unintentional play to attract people from economically depressed backgrounds, particularly African-Americans, Latinos and immigrants.

Then and Now

Don’t get me wrong, things have changed since Vietnam, but not as much as many assume. Remembrance of the past, need not be an empty exercise; alienating us from history, but instead a serious examination of what went before, to give valuable context to the present.

 

Trump Racism Is Bad For America-Part I

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Part I:Trump Racism Is Bad For America-

 

By Trevor K. McNeil

Trump racism, antisemitic attacks, and political threats: *”The die hath been cast” my friends and the writing is on the wall. In twenty-foot high blood dripping letters. Donald Trump is a racist; or, *”at least all the racists think he is”. Donald John Trump, Defiler of Democracy and Desecrator of Innocents has well and truly gone too far. With a wink and nod, accidentally on purpose, Trump inspired the worst instance of mail bombing since the Unabomber.  Trump has made shifting lies, heated rhetoric and vicious attacks on his rivals a winning strategy for small base election victory.

Words matter: Clearly Trump has moved the thermostat of racial hatred to high. The endless attacks on his political rivals, people of color, and immigrants ignite his narrow support base. His reckless inflammatory comments, his race baiting, his name calling have made him an idol of the alt-right. What is becoming ever more clear is Trump’s racism.

A bomber’s agenda: Let’s be very clear the names on the bomber’s hit list were taken right off the Trump rally hate list. Mind you, four of the people on the bomber’s hit list were two former U.S. presidents and their wives! This is the worst attack on a political party in American history. Investigators revealed that the bomber’s list included over 100 people. One hundred people, from the “Other” side. As far as we know the bomber mailed only 14 pipe bombs.

The common theme is hate: A white gunman known for posting disturbing  online threats against blacks was seen attempting to break into a black church in Jeffersontown, Kentucky. Failing at the church break-in the he headed to the local Kroger grocery store where he approached two black customers and shot them point blank in the head. He was arrested near-by after the event without resistance. Authorities have charged him with multiple hate crimes.

Ak-15 the weapon of choice: On Saturday, Oct. 27th, 2018 the worst attack on Jewish citizens in U.S. history occurred. A radical voice of extreme right messaging walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue and massacred eleven Jews while they prayed. The gunman, using an AK-15 seriously wounded six more, three of the wounded included responding police officers. Prosecutors have charged the suspect with multiple hate crimes.

More inappropriate response: Inconceivably, several self described vigilante groups have formed in response to a caravan of immigrants from Central America reportedly headed north toward the U.S. southern border. The migrant caravan is at least a 1,000 miles away, and consists mostly of women and children. The right wing propaganda machine is fueling fear and anger among American citizens. The vigilantes vow to shoot the immigrants “if need be.” My question is, will we soon be witnessing a massacre of asylum seekers at our southern border? My God, I pray not.

Dark history: After the end of the Civil War a period of Reconstruction was begun in the south. Resistance to the northern oversight quickly formed. Southern activists formed paramilitary groups of White supremacists to thwart forced Reconstruction. Military groups lynched blacks and burned their homes. Disenfranchising and terrorizing the black population was the central goal of the white supremacy groups of the period. Of those 19th century hate groups the Ku Klux Klan was the most infamous. After the cementing of Jim Crow laws the original Klan disbanded, their goals achieved.

A rebirth:  New leaders revived the Klan in the 20th century for a new cause. The revival was  a defensive reaction to the massive wave of immigrants arriving in America. The “new” Klan refused to limit its hate. The new version of the Ku Klux Klan expanded their targeted hate campaign beyond the Blacks to include immigrants, most particularly the Jews, the Mexicans, the Catholics, the Asians, the Irish, and the Poles. In effect, anyone not white and native-born.

Tell tale surge:  There has been a palpable uptick in terms of hate groups since the ascension of Trump and Trump racism. The Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan claim to be the fastest growing hate group in America, proclaiming their membership numbers have gone up by thousands since Trump was elected, particularly in predominantly African-American cities such as St. Louis and Baltimore.

Change is in the air:  Attitudes are changing and that isn’t necessarily a good thing. In August 2018 there was a White Power group rally in the small rural Pennsylvania town of Ulysses. The town was proudly awash with Nazi flags and swastikas one year after Charlottesville, Va where a group of “very fine” white supremacists rallied, terrorized the town and left one counter-protester dead.

White supremacists groups surge in membership:   Quite simply Trump racism is setting the tone. The election of Donald Trump has emboldened hate groups in the United States. The Traditional Worker’s Party, formed after the 2016 presidential election reports large numbers of new recruits.

Trump racism shows itself: Trump racism is right there in his rhetoric. His near constant use of “they” and “them” is classic moral dissociation. He might as well say, “us” and “them”.  Is Trump a member of the KKK, or the Nazi’s? Not demonstrably. Evidence indicates Trump Sr, had ties to the KKK.  Although there is not direct evidence of such an affiliation for Donald Trump it doesn’t mean it is not true. David Duke, Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan fully embraces Trump and Trump does not criticize the Grand Wizard, because they are all “fine people.”

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Racism At The White House

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Racism At The White House

D. S. Mitchell

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Those words were put to paper 240 plus years ago when the founding fathers joined together to form the United States of America, a democratic nation.

Several days ago, in Charlottesville, VA, torch carrying, chanting protesters identified variously as Neo-Nazi’s, KKK, skin heads or white supremacists, carrying AK47’s and baseball bats threatened the peacefulness of one of America’s most charming cities.

Twelve separate white supremacists groups from around the country gathered together in Charlottesville, VA last week in a stated effort to start a race war.  The particular event drawing them together last week end was the advertised removal of a commemorative statute sitting on public property celebrating Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The Confederacy consisted of eleven Southern states which seceded from the United States in 1860 in a failed effort to protect and sustain the disgusting custom of slavery.  The south an agrarian society was “perfectly” suited to slave ownership.

The remaining states, known as the Union rejected the secession effort and a four and a half year long war tore the country apart. Affects of the social schism, war atrocities and the failed reconstruction have left an ugly scar on the face of this nation.

As severe reaction to the Confederate loss of the Civil War, a practice of “separate but equal” was instituted throughout the south, effectively separating the races in all aspects of life, whether it was using the a public bathroom, eating at a lunch counter, drinking from a water fountain, or riding a city bus.

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A Neighbor’s Nazi Experience

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A Neighbor’s Nazi Experience

D. S. Mitchell

Martin Hartman, a tall slender man, his thinning white brushed back leans against his cane for support. There is a sadness in his eyes and a soberness in his demeanor. You can tell he has a story, and he wants to tell it.

He was born in Holland in 1924. He looks to the ground, before looking back into the reporters eyes. His family had owned a prosperous construction business, until the Depression he tells us. His family like many others had suffered during those economically depressed times, but by 1940, things he explains slowly as memories cloud his 93-year-old face, the economy “had begun to turn around”.

The turnaround was slow, but things had been looking up.  Within just a few days his life, and the life of friends and family were inexorably changed forever.

“I was 16. It was May 10, 1940. We heard bombing and saw planes. It was the German invasion, and the blitz was over in three days.” The squashing of Holland’s defenses was quick, but far from painless.

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Moving Backwards With Trump

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Moving Backwards With Trump

D. S. Mitchell

As a Progressive liberal I have clung to the base expectation that we, as Americans were moving forward, arguably slowly, but always in a forward trajectory toward social justice.  A journey toward more respect and equality between the sexes, the races, and the various religions. To a more open and honest place, where conversation about racism, sexism and every other negative-ism which have for so long separated us could be discussed. In that perfect progressive dream, people of varied colors, sexual orientation and diverse faiths came together without distrust or hate and together worked for the betterment of their community and the country.

The election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States was a gigantic step backward for the country in so many ways.  From a historical perspective, there is usually no continuous imaginary “forward trajectory.” In fact, regression often comes after a period of steady social forward movement. This Trump Regression has caused many people that have never been active in politics to come out and join in a resistance movement against the hatred, bigotry and isolationism of this small, mean spirited man.

Trump attacks anybody and everybody. The man is not only a deranged narcissist, but a bigot, a racist a xenophobe , homophobe and probably two dozen other “phobics” that I don’t want to get sidetracked on,.  Trump is immoral.  And because of that immorality he is a danger to the morals, ethics and norms of propriety that guide our collective sense of civility.  His contempt for rules and his ignorance of policy is demoralizing and embarrassing.

Trump uses Twitter to attack his former opponent Hillary Clinton, his predecessor Barack Obama, his AG Jeff Sessions, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Rosie O’Donnell, Mexicans the transgender community, pipeline protesters and multiple other groups.  In fact, his attacks are nearly universal, except for Russia and Vladimir Putin.  He uses Twitter to inflame and agitate, to divide and aggravate, to humiliate and degradate.

Charles Blow in the NY Times described it this way, “multiple populations are being assaulted at once, across race, ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual identity.” He further added, “we were unprepared for the daily reality of living in a nightmare.”

Blow finished his piece with a reprint of the famous Martin Niemoller’s poem, which is seen in many versions.  Moeller was an anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor who was quite outspoken against Hitler and the Nazi movement and was imprisoned by German authorities until the end of WWII.  Niemoller’s poem and the “bystander” speech by Elie Wiesel are threads of the same theme.  Do not allow yourself to stand back and do nothing, do not be complicit through silence to the subjugation, persecution, and murder of your fellow man, no matter what color, race or ethnicity.

In an earlier post I talked about Wiesel and his bystander speech, so  like Charles Blow, I will reprint Martin Niemoller’s famous and frightening reminder that we must always be alert to injustice and when seen, point it out and push back against its dangers.

“First they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out–because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out–because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Wow. That pretty much sums it up.  Doesn’t it ? I wish I could put such simple words together for such perfect impact.I pray this period of Trump Regression will be only temporary. And hopefully, this disgusting vision from the past will be short lived and in fact will be the catalyst for a new generation of Progressivism and tolerance. Don’t allow the targeting of individuals or groups to occur on your watch. Speak up, speak out. Do not be silenced. Join the Resistance.

Calamity Politics is here to be a voice for the Progressive community.  I try to present a relevant and engaging article on a near daily basis. I admit right now that I am pretty irritated with the activities in Washington, D.C. and am airing my anger and frustration through my somewhat snarky posts.  But, in the current irritable political climate it is understandable.  Have a great day. It is beautiful and the beach and Lily thinks it’s time for a walk.

Join the Resistance

Dar

Trump Derangement Syndrome

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Trump Derangement Syndrome

D. S. Mitchell

The first place I ever saw the term ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ was in a December 2016 LA Times Op Ed, written by Justin Raimondo, the editorial director of Antiwar.com. Justin Raimondo, a Republican, is a self described “conservative-paleo-libertarian” whatever that is supposed to mean. Wikipedia calls it a philosophy that is “in opposition to social progressivism”. I give you this little tidbit to allow you to appropriately weigh his comments.

In his Op Ed, Raimondo states the Trump Derangement Syndrome disorder developes in stages. I will briefly outline those stages of development as Raimondo describes them:

In the early stages of his described ‘disease,’ the victims “lose all sense of proportion.” In Trump’s case, “every tweet arouses a firestorm” of reaction.

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