Is Donald Trump the New Hitler?

Yesterday, I watched the documentary Apocalypse Hitler. While watching the documentary, I was alarmed by the similarities between Nazi Leader Adolf Hitler and Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In Germany, there was a devastating economic depression. In order to ascend to power, Hitler exploited the German people's fear and the feeling of powerlessness. Using his superior oratory skills and theatrical effects, Hitler projected strengthen at time when a weak people needed a protector. Hitler studied theater and used that knowledge to inflame the passions and emotions of the people.

Similarly, in the wake of terrorists attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, many of the American people are fearful and vulnerable. They want a strong President who will keep the American people safe. Using his good oratory skills and talent as a reality show actor, Trump projects strengthen at a time when the American people need someone to protect them from terrorism. In fact, Trump boasted about how he rises in the polls whenever a tragedy occurs. Similar to Hitler's mastery of theatrical technique, Donald Trump learned how to appeal to an audience through his successful reality television program, the Apprentice.

As documented on Apocalypse Hitler, Hitler was a master of falsifying history. Recently, Trump has been falsifying history of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Despite the complete lack of any evidence whatsoever, Trump continues to fan the flames of hate by lying about Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the horrific 9/11 terror attacks. No matter how many news reports debunk his fallacious assertions, Trump's supporters, like pigs to a slop, devour his untruths to satiate their deep-seated prejudice and hatred against Muslims.

Like Hitler, Trump practices demagoguery. Trump stokes fear and panders to hate and prejudice.  Hitler despised an entire religious group, the Jews. Hitler was an anti-Semite. In his demented mind, Jews were responsible for all of Germany's problems.  Prior to carrying out the "Final Solution" of genocide, Hitler discriminated against the Jews. He forced Jews to wear badges to distinguish themselves from the rest of the population. As noted on Wikipedia, Hitler excluded Jews from civil service, barred Jews from owning farms, barred Jews from owning newspapers, disbarred Jewish lawyers and excluded Jews from schools and universities. Hitler burned down synagogues.

Similarly, Trump despises an entire religious group, the Muslims. Trump is an Islamophobe. If elected, Trump plans to discriminate against Muslims. In his twisted mind, all Muslims should be collective blamed and punished for the actions of a maniacal, barbaric fringe minority.  Like the Nazi badges for Jews, Trump does not oppose requiring Muslims to carry special IDs.  He does not oppose requiring Muslims to register in a database. Furthermore, Trump advocates increased surveillance of Muslims and the closing of mosques. Despite opposition from Republicans and Democrats, Trump wants to ban all Muslims from entering the country. Unfortunately, the political establishment's opposition only emboldens Trump and fires up his delusional supporters.

At least for now, Trump's proposed discriminatory measures are not nearly as draconian as Hitler's discriminatory measures. However, if Donald Trump is elected President, we do not know what will happen. He could be the new Hitler. The Nazi Party started with gradual discriminatory measures that eventually led to unspeakable horrors. We must do everything in our power to prevent Trump from the Republican nominee. The world cannot afford another Hitler.

White Terrorist Attacks Jewish Centers in Kansas

Today, a white supremacist allegedly committed despicable and cowardly attacks of terrorism against the Jewish community in Kansas. The Washington Post reports that:

The 73-year-old man accused of going on a deadly shooting spree Sunday at Jewish facilities in Kansas has been identified as a former ‘grand dragon’ of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The shootings took the lives of three people before he was arrested.

Two of those shot were at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. The other was at the Village Shalom Retirement Center. Both are located in Overland Park, Kan., south of Kansas City.

The shootings occurred about 1 p.m. central time a day before Passover, the eight-day holiday in which Jews celebrate their freedom from slavery in Egypt.

The Kansas City Star said that the gunman fired at five people Sunday afternoon, but he missed two of his targets, who were not injured. Police said the man had not only a shotgun but also a handgun and possibly an assault weapon.

According to the Star:

Matt Davis, who lives near Valley Park Elementary where police arrested Miller, was shopping with his son for a suit for his upcoming bar mitzvah when he heard about the shooting. Davis was outside the school when Miller was hauled off.

The man was smiling.

‘I was wondering, Why is the guy smiling when he’s being arrested,’ said Davis, whose daughter was inside the Jewish Community Center when the shooting occurred in the parking lot. She and the hundreds of other people inside the center were not injured.

Rabbi Herbert Mandl, chaplain for the Overland Park Police Department, told CNN that the shooter was shouting neo-Nazi slogans as he was taken away. Mandl also said he was asking people whether they were Jewish before he fired. And KCTV reported he was yelling “Heil Hitler” during the arrest.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a respected activist organization that tracks hate crimes and racist activities, said the man arrested and identified by police as Frazier Glenn Cross is actually Frazier Glenn Miller. Miller, the SPLC said, founded and ran the Carolina Klan before he was sued by the SPLC “for operating an illegal paramilitary organization and using intimidation tactics against African Americans.”

Read more here.

I send my condolences to the victims' families. May God bless them and keep them. May justice prevail over hatred.

Peter King Should Cancel His Despicable Witch Hunt Now!

This Thursday, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King (R) plans to hold hearings on the radicalization of Muslim Americans. Rep. King told the Associated Press that:

"There is a real threat to the country from the Muslim community and the only way to get to the bottom of it is to investigate what is happening."

Peter King should cancel his despicable witch hunt for four reasons.

First, the hearings will only fuel bigotry and hatred. Rep. King's broad generalizations create the misconception that most Muslims Americans are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. As a matter of fact, the terrorists are a tiny minority within the Muslim world community. We must bear in mind that none of the 911 terrorists were Americans. An entire religion should not be put on trial because of the actions of a few heinous murderers.

Second, the hearings will discourage many Muslims from cooperating with law enforcements thereby making us all less safe. Instead of perpetuating fear and suspicion, the government should look for ways to build bridges of communication and trust with the Muslim American community.

Third, the federal government has more far important things to do. Instead of wasting the American people's time and money demonizing Muslims and fear mongering, Congress should focus on issues that really matter to the American people like unemployment, poverty, the war in Afghanistan, etc.

Finally, the hearings will pave the way for the harassment and persecution of other groups. During the McCarthy era, it was the communists. Today, it is Islam and Muslims. Tomorrow, it could be Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists or your particular religious or ethnic group.

The Tea Party is a Haven for Racists, Bigots, Anti-Semites and Islamophobs

Disclaimer: As usual, the views expressed in this article are my own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, my associates or my advertisers.

Today, the NAACP and the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights issued a report entitled Tea Party Nationalism: A Critical Examination of the Tea Party Movement and the Size, Scope, and Focus of its National Factions.  All people of goodwill should read the report.  The report "compiles polling data, documents significant examples of racist vitriol on the part of Tea Party leaders, shows incidents where well know anti-Semites and white supremacists have been given a platform by Tea Party and analyzes the attempt by white nationalist organizations to find new recruits in Tea Party ranks." 

Describing how the Tea Party has provided a platform for racists, anti-Semites and Islamophobs, the report states that:

"Dale Robertson, the chairman of the 1776 who displayed the infamous “n****r sign,” for example, brought Martin “Red” Beckman on as a guest to the Tea Party Radio hour ....Beckman has been known for over twenty-five years for his anti-Semitic writings and his defense of militias."

"In a separate incident, Robertson endorsed Pastor John Weaver on the 1776 Tea Party Meet Up website...Weaver, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, has a sprawling set of connections to neo-Confederates and those preaching the so-called Christian Identity doctrine. He is the former Chaplain in Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.[205] He has spoken at “Christian Identity” gatherings in Branson, Missouri in 1998 and 1999.[206] According to this particular theology, Jews are considered a satanic force (or the incarnation of Satan himself), and people of color are considered less than fully human."

The notoriously Islamophobic Pamela Geller has been a featured speaker at several Tea Party events. The report notes that:

"Geller maintains a tight-knit trio of organizational fronts: Atlas Shrugs, SIOA (Stop Islamization of America), and the Freedom Defense Initiative. All are listed as official “partner” organizations of the ResistNet Tea Party faction."

With leaders like Geller, it is not surprising to find language on a ResistNet Tea Party website that denigrates an entire grouping of people because of their faith. “We are at a point of having to take a stand against all Muslims. There is no good or bad Muslim. There is [sic] only Muslims and they are embedded in our government, military and other offices...What more must we wait for to take back this country of ours...”[260]

In addition, the report details how white supremacist groups have attempted to join the Tea Party Movement:

"In preparation for Tea Party protests held on July 4, 2009, national socialists and other white supremacists created a discussion thread on Stormfront.org, the largest and most widely accessed of the many white nationalist websites...the Stormfront discussion board aimed at a highly conscious intervention. One group decided against wearing any gear with swastikas or other symbols of their actual core ideologies. They would carry Confederate battle flags and other more generic symbols of white protest."

"The Council of Conservative Citizens, headquartered in St. Louis, with its strongest chapters in the South and Mid-South, is the largest white nationalist organization in the country and the group most active in the Tea Parties. A direct lineal descendant of the white Citizens Councils that fought to defend Jim Crow segregation during the 1950s and 1960s, the Council of Conservative Citizens promotes the idea that the United States is or should be a white Christian nation; and that Barack Obama and black people generally oppress white people."

"Through its periodical tabloid, Citizens Informer, and its website, www.cofcc.org, the Council of Conservative Citizens both led and promoted Tea Party protests."

Former Klu Klux Klansman David Duke embraced the Tea Party.  As the report states, "[h]e used the Internet to broadcast a ten minute video speech, “Message to the Tea Party.” Duke began the “message” by paying homage to the Tea Parties and the “Founding Fathers,” and ended with his usual roundhouse attack on “the Zionists” (meaning Jews)." 

Mocking African Americans attending a Tea Party rally, David Duke states that there were more blacks on stage than in the crowd.  Below check out Duke's racist appeal to the Tea Party.

The Tea Party Nationalism report also cites disturbing opinion data regarding the racial attitudes of Tea Party members.  The report states:

"Partiers are more likely than white people generally to believe that “too much” has been made of the problems facing black people: 52% to 39%.  Of those who strongly approved of the Tea Party, only 18% agreed with the statement that black people were “VERY hard working.”In fact, 68% of the Tea party “approvers” believed that if only they would try harder, then black people would be as well off as white people.  Indeed, a quarter of Tea Party supporters polled on the question admit that they think that the Obama “administration favors black people over whites.”[247] When asked whether or not Barack Obama understood the “needs and problems of people like you,” almost three-fourths of Tea Partiers (73%) said “no.” A similar number (75%) said he did not “share the values most Americans try to live by.”

Basically, this report reveals that the Tea Party is a haven for racists, bigots, Anti-Semites and Islamophobs.  Why would any African American, in his right mind, join the Tea Party?  How many shoe shining, tap dancing uncle toms, sellouts, black conservatives will come before the media to defend the Tea Party now?  Many black bloggers and journalists criticized the NAACP for tracking the Tea Party.  Those critics have egg on their faces right now.

Wake up people! The Tea Party must be purged and defeated!