A Toronto Satr columnist disclaims comparing George Bush with Hitler - then procedes to do just that! ------------- "Some refer to George W. Bush as another Hitler. This is a gross exaggeration.... "True, both came to power constitutionally (although under dubious circumstances and with the support of only a minority of voters). True, both masterfully used traumatic events at home (the 1933 Reichstag fire for Hitler; 9/11 for Bush) to make a frightened and resentful populace accept restrictions on civil liberties. True, also, that the U.S. leader shares Hitler's taste for military costumes — although to be fair to the German dictator, he did serve on active duty in wartime. "But overall, the comparison is far from exact, lending credence to Karl Marx's famous comment that when history repeats itself, the first time is tragedy, the second, farce. "Still, for Canada and novice Prime Minister Paul Martin — currently trying to engage Bush in Monterrey, Mexico — there are certain similarities. Like central European nations of the 1930s, Canada finds itself next door to a powerful nation led by an unusually aggressive and perhaps slightly unhinged man. What to do? It's generally forgotten now, but in the mid-'30s Hitler was not universally condemned as evil personified. Indeed, he had many admirers in Europe and North America — people who lauded his "leadership," who lionized his moral certainty (no namby-pamby moral relativism there) and who either forgave, or actively applauded, what was then called anti-Semitism and today would be labelled racial profiling. "World leaders were wary and respectful. Canada's then-prime minister, Mackenzie King, confided in his diary after meeting Hitler in 1937 that the dictator was 'one who truly loves his fellow men and his country and would make any sacrifice for their good ... a man of deep sincerity and a genuine patriot ... a teetotaller.'" http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1073908426223&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795 -------------- AND Hitler abhored smoking as much as you, dear author, probably do! And I thought Dean's equivocation between Bush and Nixon (a recent New Yorker? The Atlantic?) was unhinged. And finally, the "dubious circumstances" of Bush's election include the US Constitutional requirement of winning not a majoriy of votes - it never mentions "democracy" - just a majority of states electoral votes. But then, in this regard, rediculous left-wingers up North are no different than the socialists down South! --Orson
So what the author is saying is that Hitler was no worse than George Bush. I am not sure that was his intention.
I agree that is what the author implied (I don't agree w/ the statement ) ... The "mid-'30s" Hitler. I also think, however, he was implying that Bush was following the same path as Hitler did. He's talking crap and he's talking loud. Bill
The Toronto Star is owned by an ultra-liberal supporting anti-American Entrepreneur (I believe it's Conrad Black). The reporter who wrote this article has forgotten that Canada has recently been lead by an incompetent, somewhat socialist, dictator who nearly turned the economy of this country upside-down. If Bush can be compared to Hitler, then Chretien can be compared to Stalin!
As is often the case with Orson's posts, his subject line is more interesting than the text he quotes. What is it with those crazzzy Canucks? My reply would be nothing. We have one over-the-top newspaper column from the Toronto Star. Well, that's the price of free speech. We all know that one never finds any bullshit printed in American newspapers. Frankly, I like, respect and am a little confused by Canada. Canada is kind of a mystery, hidden in plain sight. We are all so familiar with it that we can't see it. It's the second largest country on earth, geographically. It has a GDP larger than Russia's. But it lives in America's shadow to such an extent that outsiders don't often think about it. Personally, I'd like to see Canada act a little more independent. By that I don't mean the knee-jerk anti-Americanism that so often passes as nationalism there, but something more positive and creative. I'd like to see Canada taking more of a leadership role internationally, undertaking some Canadian initiatives and showing the world some cool Canadian things. I'd like to see Canada acting a little more like the major power that it most definitely is. Well, if they do that, it's going to mean that they won't be slavishly adhering to the American line in every instance. If Canadians have their own ideas that disagree with American orthodoxy, they not only can but should voice those ideas. They aren't America's puppets, they are America's friends. I think that this 'Hitler' stuff is colored (coloured?) by that lazy Canadian reflex to express Canadianism simply by attacking the United States. But Canadian nationalism doesn't need to imply an adversarial relationship, it just means that Canadians are proud of Canada and that Canada has some cool things happening of its own. So ultimately I hope that US-Canada relations can find a middle course between a slavish shadow-existance as the 51'st state, and a culturally anti-American reflex in which Canadians mistakenly believe that pulling America down equates to building Canada up.
"Canada has recently been lead by an incompetent, somewhat socialist, dictator who nearly turned the economy of this country upside-down. If Bush can be compared to Hitler, then Chretien can be compared to Stalin!" As a Canadian...i find that very hard to swallow.........i dont think you understand our economy and nature of our country to make a statement as "retarded" (because it is) as that
Roy is Canadian and astute identifier of characteristics of incompetence among the morons in the Liberal Party.
I think you need to wake up and smell the coffee. If you look at the history of Canada since the Trudeau era, you will see that the Liberal party has been responsible for initiating separatism, demoralizing the relations between the prairies, Ontario and the West coast. No to mention the fact that we've taken a "hide our head in the sand" approach to international affairs and Canada/U.S. relations. The amount of corruption in Ottawa has tripled since the Liberals took power. Is my statement retarted? Why don't you do a little research and see just how much your taxes have increased under the Liberal government - then find out who's been pocketing the change.
My "retarded" comment was simply related to your comparison between chretien and stalin......nothing more......as to the traits described by yourself regarding the liberal party in general, you are on point to some extent, however, it will be interesting to see what you will eventually have to say after having one term with Paul Martin in office particularly regarding the corruption you mentioned.
