The Nazis. A Warning from History. Part 2

The DVD of the BBC television production with this title intensifies in part 2 as Nazi rule over Germany is described. The major surprise is that the Nazi system was -- in important respects -- run from the bottom up. That is, the German people for various reasons supported Hitler and the Nazis and made the whole system work through voluntary denunciations of fellow citizens to the Gestapo.

In interviews, vignettes, historical film footage, and state-of-the-art graphics this documentary film explores the social functioning of the Third Reich. While the influence of Hitler cannot be denied, it is clearer than ever before that the German people had in them a desire for arrogance and superiority which the Nazis brilliantly fed.

But while the outward forms of the regime were impressive, behind the scenes party and government functioning was chaotic with two people often being given nearly identical jobs. Overlap and jealousy was bound to develop.

Ambition trumped good sense in a system in which people scrambled to please the Fuhrer. Heinrich Himmler took action which resulted in the death of the brown shirt movement and the assassination of its leader because Himmler wanted greater personal power.

In an age of forgetfulness, this documentary provides a vital memory check. Indeed, we must never forget the atrocities of this brutal fascist Nazi regime in which anyone who didn't seem to fit in was in many cases jailed or even murdered. With grave peril do we dismiss or denigrate the meaning of the Nazi horror in twentieth century Germany.

The Nazis. A Warning from History

Tonight I have begun watching an important BBC series entitled "The Nazis. A Lesson from History."

Although I have only watched the first portion of part 1, it is already clear this is a beautifully produced documentary. My only criticism to this point is the earliest history of Hitler's involvement in the Nazi Party is very sketchy. Otherwise, the information appears correct, the production values are first-rate, and the point of view is correct.

I highly recommend this series, available on DVD.

Catching Up with Philip Berg

Here is the latest news regarding the efforts of Attorney Philip Berg to explore legitimate questions of Barack Obama's ability to Constitutionally serve as President.

This issue continues to simmer. What is heartening is that Philip Berg refuses to back down and give up in the face of a deafening indifference on the part of the media establishment in the U.S. He has a feel for history as well as current events, in this regard. He seems to sense that history will be on his side. In any event, there is nothing wrong with seeking the truth, a commodity seemingly in short supply these days.


http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/134332/william_greider_and_bill_moyers_on_washington%27s_unholy_alliance_with_wall_street/

Congressional Panel Has a Better Plan!

As a follow-up to last night's post about Bill Black (see post below), this article tells of a new report by a Congressional panel which advocates firing bankers and getting control of the balance sheets of the banks, liquidating banks where appropriate. Account holders -- average citizens -- would still be protected by FDIC insurance as in the past.

This is the way to go! We must stop throwing money at the rich bankers who got us into this mess!



http://www.truthout.org/040809T

Bill Black Investigates the Crime Scene

On last Friday's Bill Moyers Journal, former special regulator dealing with the Savings and Loan debacle of the 1980s, Bill Black, talks about the recent criminal actions of bankers, financiers, and, yes, even the Bush and Obama administrations. Thus, there is plenty of blame to go around. The transcript is worth reading and the interview is worth watching. See below or click on the title above.


http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/profile.html

It's a Depression

This is still not the Great Depression of the 1930s, but it is a Depression.

-- Robert Reich

Former Clinton Administration Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, has the facts straight. And his heart is very much in the right place. We need to stop worrying about Wall Street and start worrying about Main Street -- and now!


http://www.truthout.org/040409C

The Plight of Children Under Capitalism

Earlier today I was reading about the exploitation of children in the England of the early nineteenth century. Coal was the fuel that fired the early Industrial Revolution in England, turning skies and skin black with soot. Making profits for the coal company ever so much easier were little children who could crawl into spaces too small for adults. Such work foisted upon needy families is almost unthinkable today. Yet it was the norm in the early 1800s, though largely obscured from the general public.

In our time, though children no longer are made to become miners, they nevertheless are exploited by a rapacious capitalist economy which sees children in aggregate as a multi-billion dollar profit center. The article linked below has much more to say about this subject with some valuable footnotes.


http://www.truthout.org/040309J

William Greider Is Impassioned and Sober on Subject of Wall Street Power

As William Greider says in this week's Bill Moyers Journal program, we the people need to say to the politicians in Washington, including Pres. Obama, that we see through the latest Treasury plan to buy up "troubled assets." Already protests are happening and more are planned over this outrageous corporate give-away scheme.

Before tonight's broadcast the other well-known writer to speak out on the general subject of the economic swindling now rampant has been the economist James K. Galbraith.

It is clear that scholars and average Americans alike are waking up to the corporate take-over and shake-down of this country. I heartily invite you to view the Greider interview for some solid and inspiring information.


http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03272009/profile.html

Secret Bush Memos Amount to Treason, Says Constitutional Scholar

A look at the secret Bush memos recently released shows men at the top levels of power in the process of enacting a coup d'etat against the United States. Of course, the world regarded the coming to power of G. W. Bush following the 2000 election fiasco as a coup d'etat in and of itself, though Americans generally did not realize it at the time.

We desperately need an official accounting of matters so this will not be attempted in the future. We had become so used to Constitutional government in the United States we forgot, if we ever knew, how common such coups are in world history. May those guilty of crimes or even treason be held accountable in a near time.


http://www.truthout.org/032609L

Pithy Quote from James K. Galbraith

There is no way the project of resurrecting the economy by stuffing the banks with cash will work.


-- James K. Galbraith

(See post below.)

James K. Galbraith's Enormously Useful Article on the Economy

I have just started reading James K. Galbraith's article in the March/April 2009 Atlantic Monthly. Since I have not yet finished the article I will save definitive comments for later. However, this article is extremely informative and most useful in understanding what is going on with the young Obama Administration.

What is clear from the opening paragraphs are two points: First, the stimulus package was based on assumptions of the Congressional Budget Office which may be seriously out of date. And, second, the components of the stimulus package were based on consensus, a strategy which was not valid in this case.

President Obama has around him certain advisers who are acolytes of Robert Rubin, the Wall Street tycoon and purveyor of market solutions in the Clinton Administration. Their philosophy is What's good for Wall Street is good for Main Street. If there is any philosophy which has been thoroughly soiled it is this one!

If the pro-market approach of the Wall Street crowd continues to dominate White House policy our economy is doomed for the foreseeable future.

That is one reason I was on the phone with the office of Senator Dodd (Head of the Banking Committee) today opposing the latest bail-out announced on Monday by T. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury.





http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2009/0903.galbraith.html

New Ways of Relating in Tough Economic Times

Russian-American, Dmitry Orlov, having experienced the economic crisis in Russia following the break-up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's, has an unusual ability to describe the current economic crisis in the West, especially in the United States. He lays out a vision of the future which is rather frightening. I must say at the outset that I do not see this vision as inevitable. However, I do see it as likely given the path we are currently on. And with the size of the economy, the ingrained habits of persons and institutions, it is all the more likely that conditions will deteriorate further.

What makes Orlov truly different is his view that certain changes are permanent. The current crisis is not some temporary "slow-down," a "bump in the road," a "slump," or any other innocuous-sounding temporary situation. What he is saying is we will have to have a different way of relating to each other in order to get ourselves through this crisis. As Orlov says, justice will have to be part of everyday life, not a government department. This is very interesting, and valuable reading.


http://www.cluborlov.blogspot.com/

Former Vice-President Cheney Connected To Death Squads: Seymour Hersh

In an astounding on-line article, Raw Story is reporting that respected writer, Seymour Hersh, has alleged that former Vice-President Richard Cheney had a secret assassination squad reporting directly to him. The details are at the link below (or you may click on the title of this post above).

We are still waiting for further information on this startling allegation. Knowing everything else I know, it would not surprise me. There has been "mission creep" in this area for decades. There are and have always been people willing to skirt around our Constitutional system for reasons of private gain. It is more evidence that the Founders were right when they advocated eternal vigilance on the part of the people over their government.


http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Hersh_US_has_been_running_executive_0311.html

Give Me Liberty Redux

I am currently re-reading Naomi Wolf's fine book, Give Me Liberty. I was very much taken the other evening with her section on public demonstrations. She points out that what happened in the street demonstrations of the Civil Rights era and the Viet-Nam war era would now be illegal due to the stopping of traffic. In terms of a tactic, then, the ordinances which make the stopping of traffic must be reversed or made inert. Ironically, one way to accomplish this would simply be through having a street demonstration stopping traffic. Of course, only those willing to suffer the humiliation of arrest should consider doing this. Otherwise, the regular route of lobbying should be employed.

Court Cases Against Barack Obama Still Alive

In one sense it is amazing that the several cases against Barack Obama which Philip Berg has brought to court are still alive. Considering everything against them, it is a wonderment. At the same time, it tends to add credibility to their merit. You may see the latest news about these cases at this web link:

http://www.obamacrimes.info/

Alternatively, you may click on the title above.


See also previous posts on this subject on this blog.