'Proof through the night'

“ … gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."

The bodies of 18 Americans arrived at Dover Air Force Base during the night, the first to be honored by their commander-in-chief since the inception of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama left the White House at midnight on Marine One for Dover, where he met with the families of the fallen and participated in the transport ceremony from plane to mortuary.

Fifteen soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Agency agents were killed Monday in Afghanistan in separate helicopter crashes and in a roadside bombing. The Associated Press reports this has been the deadliest month of the war with 55 American deaths.

The president who took this country into two wars explained his refusal to attend a Dover ceremony by saying he believed the best way to honor the dead was to meet with victims’ families.

President Obama was expected to be back at the White House by dawn. I woke at 3 a.m. to find this breaking news and have had my own private thoughts about it all. Certainly, this is a reminder that we are still engaged in two deadly wars.

Finally, after thousands of American war dead have returned to our shores, an American president has given proof through the night that our flag is still there for them.

READ THE AP ARTICLE.

'Whore'

There are certain words which when aimed at certain individuals can be very volatile. Ask Don Imus.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) became the darling of the Democratic Party when he aimed a volley of very fitting words at Republicans attempting to stop passage of healthcare reform.

But now, Grayson is on the hot seat and so he should be. In a radio interview last month, just now coming to light, Grayson called Linda Robertson, an aide to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, “a K Street whore.”

A spokesman for Grayson came to his defense with lots of reasons for the remark, and you can read them in a CNN report HERE.

He can enumerate reasons to his heart’s content, there is no excuse for calling this woman a “whore.”

Public figures within a mile of a microphone need to learn to measure their words. Ask Virginian George Allen who mouthed the racial slur “macaca.”

Congressman Grayson has not only hurt himself with his remarks about Ms. Robertson; he has hurt his party.

Sir: take a big safety pin and attach this little saying to your lips:

“Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff and nudge me when I’ve said enough.”

Canvas

Jenny has become a good friend in every sense of the word since she volunteered to help me with my grocery trips several months ago.

After days abed with not a praying-to-die case of the flu, but close, with weakened vision and no appetite, I called Jenny to tell her I was feeling a little better. “I don’t want anything I have here to eat,” I told her. “All I can think of is a big, real-beef burger with lettuce and tomato.” (Fast food is an obsession with those who cannot see to drive.) Two hours later, Jenny was at my door with two burgers. By nightfall, I felt like myself for the first time in days.

Jenny, whose late husband was visually impaired, spends most days of her month making life better for those with vision problems.

On Friday she will drive a group up into the mountains to a camp owned by the National Federation of the Blind. She really wants me to tag along. “It’s peak time for the fall foliage,” she said. “I can’t see it now,” I replied. “That’s why I’m going to describe it to you,” she said.

I do not want to go. I told Jenny I don’t want to go. I cannot explain to her why. But the why of it has been on my mind.

As a child I was never satisfiled with Crayola’s box of eight and can still name every coolor in the box of 64.

I have been on mountain drives hundreds of times. I’ve seen the foliage at Clingman’s Dome and Newfound Gap in the Smokies and across the peaks along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have stood at the highest point east of the Mississippi River, at the center of a 360-degree palette of every imaginable hue and shade.

In those moments, through the years, I felt closest to God. Now, the canvas will be white. He will trust me to fill in the colors. If I am to fill it in from memory, I need to be alone.

Only then can some who were blessed with sight for most of their lives become true artists.

The imagination is full not just with colors, but with experiences which have colored one's life. The present can be intrusive.

Perhaps I can better explain my reluctance to return to the mountains this way. Have you stopped at a passage in a book and realized the author has touched a thought or a memory inside you? That the words are more meaningful because you’ve experienced them, and you need a quiet moment to reflect?

Because I had lived it with a husband and five cats I loved, I closed my eyes and felt the following scene from James Lee Burke’s “Crusader’s Cross.” In it, his fictional character, New Iberia Parish sheriff’s detective Dave Robicheaux, his three-legged raccoon Tripod, his cat Snugs and his new wife Molly share a backyard breakfast.

“Tripod climbed down from his perch in the live oak, and Snugs appeared out of the bamboo, his tail pointed straight up as stiff as a broomstick. The four of us commenced to share breakfast at the redwood table.

“When the world presents itself in the form of a green-gold playground, blessed with water and flowers and wind and cenuuries-old oak trees, and when you are allowed to share all these things on a fine Sunday morning with people and animals you love, why take on the burden of the spirituality afflicted?”

***

The week of illness turned out to be a respite from the news, the blogs, the daily reminders of the “spiritually afflicted” who put fault-finding and self-seeking before the greater good.
There is a world of difference between being lonely and being alone. Sometimes we just need the quiet moments, however they might come.

1-800-CATCH-22

For years when there has been good, ground-soaking rain, my phone line develops static and an annoying squiggly sound which prevents conversation and access to the Internet.

Although I would rather eat a green snake than to make such a call, on Wednesday, 14 October, I called the toll-free number for “AT&T Home Repair.” There was no need to explain the problem as the representative could hear it quite well for herself. I was adamant that the problem is not inside my home, that I am not going to pay for repair and that the problem only occurs after much rain.

“We will send a tech out by the 21st,” she said .

Today.

The static problem finally clearen up around noon yesterday. At 3 p.m. a very nice lady from AT&T called. Briefly, here’s how the conversation went:

AT&T: Good afternoon, Ms. Trotter. I’ve just checked your phone line, and it is clear. The tech has a ticket to come out and check your phone line, but he cannot do so if the line is now clear.

Me: Well, if he had come any time in the last week, he could have check my line. The static has just cleared up.

AT&T: He has an instrument which can pinpoint the area on the cable where the problem exists, but it has to be causing the static when he does it. I’ll have to pull his work ticket for today.

Me: So, you are saying I will have to wait until another good rain, call then and hope the repairman pulls the work ticket before the problem clears up?

AT&T: Why don’t you do this: keep up with the weather report, and if rain is predicted, go ahead and call and set up a work ticket. You can always cancel it if you have to.

Me: I’m not playing that game of caling, then calling again to cancel.

AT&T: I’m sorry. I guess it’s a “Catch-22” situation.

Me. I guess it is.

***

At 5 p.m., I was typing a rather long email to friend Frodo – a discussion about immigrants who settled in the Mississippi Delta – and got kicked offline.

Static.

Rain check

Noah’s Ark (AP) After 40 days and 40 nights of rain, the blogger known as DemWit cannot access the Internet due to static on her dial-up connection. Author BJ says she will send an olive leaf when AT&T corrects the problem. Check back, please!

In the catbird seat

FROM GALLUP TODAY

Hillary Clinton Now More Popular than Barack Obama

President Barack Obama’s favorable rating is down 22 points since January, to 56 percent. Meanwhile, his chief rival for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination (and current Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton has a favorable rating of 62 percent, little changed over the same time span.

Read the Gallup Poll.

BOTH POPULAR

Let me hurriedly point out that 56 percent of Americans view President Obama favorably. That rating still can be viewed positively given the blatant hatred of Obama coming from the right.

Hillary Clinton’s popularity has always been consistent. Maybe those who don’t like her are very vocal, but she always ranks high in such polls.

OLD DEMWIT

Here is one of DemWit’s earliest posts:

12.28.2007

A love-hate thing

In the annual USA Today-Gallup poll released 26 December, the following were named as the men and women most admired by Americans:

MOST ADMIRED MAN

President George W. Bush – 10 percent
Former President Bill Clinton – 8 percent
Former Vice President Al Gore – 6 percent
Senator Barack Obama – 5 percent

MOST ADMIRED WOMAN

Senator Hillary Clinton – 18 percent
TV host Oprah Winfrey – 16 percent
First lady Laura Bush – 3 percent
Actress Angelina Jolie – 3 percent

So, let’s get this straight: the most-hated man in America, presumably, President Bush, making his 7th appearance atop the list, and the most hated woman in the country, former first lady and New York State Senator Clinton, topping the list for the 12th time, are also the most admired.

Tell me this is not a “house divided.”

Posted by B.J. at 4:49 AM

THREE CONCLUSIONS

Some of my readers came over to DemWit from my archived blog, “I See My Dreams.” They know I’ve been unwavering in my support of Hillary.

They also know that when Barack Obama became the Democratic Party nominee, I voted for him and have supported him.

In my opinion, today’s Gallup figures reflect three conclusions:

President Barack Obama is in the catbird seat in the Oval Office. Perhaps the 40 percent who view him unfavorably is reactionary: he and our country inherited difficult issues which require difficult solutions.

Sadly, it is my belief that some in that 40 percent are racists – plain and simple. This is reflected across the right-wing blogosphere and in remarks by conservative politicians and pundits.

Finally, and possibly primarily, the 22 percent drop in Obama’s popularity might indicate the powerful influence of a well-oiled propaganda machine headed by Fox News and right-wing radio. And, never underestimate the impact of those anonymous and false emails continually circulated via the Internet.

Bolstering this last point is this fact: there are an awful lot of people in America who don’t keep up with the day-to-day minutiae of politics. I talked with four persons this week who had no idea who had won the Nobel Peace Prize. I’m not even certain they know what the Nobel Peace Prize is!

This Gallup poll was conducted October 1-4, before the Nobel jury honored Obama. Given the caustic reacton from the right - and Gallup points this out – it is unclear whether that honor will affect Obama’s upcoming ratings.

A SIMPLE QUESTION

I have been struck by the vitriolic hatred of America which bleeds through many right-wing blog comments. These people not only belittle Obama, they frolic in his failure.

Granted the same could be said for the eight years of the Bush administration. But, that was eight years, and Bush’s record speaks for itself.

The attacks which are dragging Barack Obama’s numbers down began before he took the oath of office.

We all – conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats alike - know that our country’s future depends largely on the success of our president.

Can’t we give him that?

OMST: She's all that!

My dear DemWit:

WTG on putting in a word for education, particularly “proper English grammar.” Our lackluster school systems are evidenced across the American blogosphere.

And, what sort of simpletons would make light of the Nobel Peace Prize? I tell you, honey, a couple of those wingnuts, as you call them, made me get out my smelling salts!

Right now, I’m pretty upset about that.

The word “that,” that is. So, today I’d like to mention both the unnecessary and the incorrect uses of the word, which abound on blogs!

UNNECESSARY use of the word “that:”

Rule: If the sentence reads the same without the word “that,” leave it out. Example:

Incorrect: The boy knew THAT he was in trouble.
Correct: The boy knew he was in trouble.

INCORRECT use of the word “that:”

Rule: Never use “that” when referring to a person. Examples:

Incorrect: He is a man THAT gets things done.
Correct: He is a man WHO gets things done.

Incorrect: The president is a leader THAT gets things done.
Correct: The president is a leader WHO gets things done.

Correct: I am listening to a book THAT is boring me to tears. (Very correct, it’s “The Wings of the Dove” by Henry James!)

The first cold nights of autumn put me in a romantic mood, and I’m into English novels about unrequited love.

And, that, my dear, is that!

Respectfully,

OMST

'A very good place to start'

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

“Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

“For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that ‘Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.’ ”

- Oslo, October 9, 2009

***

Call it nationalism, boosterism, jingoism, the kick-ass, it’s-cool-to-be-dumb attitude which has characterized America over the last decade is both shameful and embarrassing.

This era of failure to exist within the framework of a world community is symbolized for me by that straddle-legged, codpiece strut across the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Remember? Under the banner “Mission Accomplished.”

That mission is not yet accomplished. Our men and women in uniform are still engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq, and they are still coming home in body bags.

These and other challenges Baract Obama willingly took on. Only with the backing of a united America can they be overcome.

Republicans are very angry that the Nobel Committee never honored George W. Bush with a Peace Prize. This anger raged when Jimmy Carter won for The Carter Center’s humanitarian efforts around the world and when Al Gore won for his devotion to abating climate change which will, if unchecked, destroy our planet.

That anger has reached a fever pitch. Right-wing guru Rush Limbaugh told his Dittoheads that Obama hasn’t done “diddly squat,” that the awarding of the Peace Prize to our president is “laughable,” and that Obama is “the laughing-stock of the world.”

In whose eyes?

When a Republican can make this statement – “The Nobel Peace Prize has always been a joke” - a message reverberates around the world that in America ignorance continues to exist.

The right-wing dog-and-pony shows of Fox News and talk radio know their audiences. For years they have hammered their propaganda into the very brain cells of an uneducated and unsuspecting following. For profit. Their worst nightmare is an educated citizenry.

Mr. President, let’s begin our better world with the little children playing on the street corners and sandlots of this country. Let’s don’t stop until they once more have a love of math, science, history, music, art, classic literature and proper English grammar. Then, and only then, will there be an America united to help you and future visionaries build a better world.

When I face a formidable problem or task, I find myself singing, “You start at the very beginning, a very good place to start …”

UPDATE:

Serendipity! I have just read “The Uneducated American” by Paul Krugman, an examination of the state of education in America today – and a perfect addendum to this post. Mr. Krugman writes:

“(W)e need to wake up and realize that one of the keys to our nation’s historic success is now a wasting asset. Education made America great; neglect of education can reverse the process.”

Read his column HERE.

A surprising Muslim world

I am a daughter of the Deep South, and I can attest that not all white Southerners are members of the Ku Klux Klan.

Sometimes the concentrated focus on the worst in any group leads to the belief that the entire group is bad. Isn’t this the basis of prejudice?

In my opinion, one in every four persons in the world is getting a bad rap. Not all Muslims are fanatical, America-hating killers.

With this in mind, a survery caught my attention early this morning as I scanned CNN headlines.

An intensive study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life concludes there are 1.57 billion Muslims in the world, and approximately 9 out of 10 are Sunni.

By contast there are 2.2 billion Christians in the world population of 6.8 billion. It’s pretty apparent to me and should be to you that the future of this planet depends on these two groups learning to coexist peacefully.

What makes the Pew study results so fascinating is the location of the world's Muslims.

CNN reporter Richard Allen Greene writes:

“India, a majority-Hindu country, has more Muslims than any country except for Indonesia and Pakistan, and more than twice as many as Egypt.

“China has more Muslims than Syria.

“Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon.

“And Russia has more Muslims than Jordan and Libya put together.

“Nearly two out of three of the world's Muslims are in Asia, stretching from Turkey to Indonesia.

“The Middle East and north Africa, which together are home to about one in five of the world's Muslims, trail a very distant second.”

The Pew research team analyzed data from 232 countries and territories over a three-year period.

The CNN article addresses the implications on U.S. policy in light of the surprising population distribution. A brief article highly recommended: LINK

'The Conservative Bible Project'

DemWit’s readership, that I know of, is made up mostly of Christians, a few Jews, at least four atheists. I am certain that among my Middle East visitors there are Muslims. I do not personally know a Rastafarian, but everyone is welcome here.

All, I believe, will find this post of interest. Oh, I thought about being really clever and writing a conservative version of The Beatitudes – “Wretched are the peacemakers, for they shall not be called neocons” - and The Ten Commandments – “Thou shalt not commit adultery unless you are a televangelist or a holder of public office” – but the “Conservative Bible Project” is far too serious to make light of.

The Project is headed by attorney and teacher Andy Schlafly, son of conservative standard-bearer Phyllis Schlafly. Its goal is to expunge “liberal bias” from the Holy Bible. So help me, God!

There are a lot of articles via Google, and I might be one of the last persons on the planet to hear of this project, but I pass this article from The Huffington Post along to you, dear reader. Although I will have a few words to say following it, I cannot improve on this “just when you thought you’d heard it all” story:

Conservative Bible Project Cuts Out Liberal Passages

The Huffington Post Rachel Weiner
October 5, 2009

Lo and behold, the Bible has gotten too liberal, according to a group of conservatives. And it needs a little editing.
That's the inspiration behind the Conservative Bible Project, which seeks to take the text back to its supposed right-wing roots.

Yes, even scripture is not orthodox enough for the modern conservative. Not that it's the fault of the author(s), exactly. The group cites a few reasons why the Bible is too progressive: "Lack of precision in the original language ... lack of precision in modern language" and "translation bias in converting the original language to the modern one."

So how can the Bible be conservatized? The group has proposed a Wikipedia-like group editing project. Some of the ideas would only bring the translation closer to the original. But others would fundamentally change the text.

1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
2. Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, "gender inclusive" language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity
3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level[3]
4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop;[4] defective translations use the word "comrade" three times as often as "volunteer"; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as "word", "peace", and "miracle".
5. Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as "gamble" rather than "cast lots";[5] using modern political terms, such as "register" rather than "enroll" for the census
6. Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
7. Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
8. Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story
9. Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels
10. Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."

Among the words to be eliminated: "government." A conservative columnist at Beliefnet described the effort as "just crazy ... like what you'd get if you crossed the Jesus Seminar with the College Republican chapter at a rural institution of Bible learnin'."

***

In a post titled “Conservative Bible Project Draws Predictable Liberal Scorn,” the conservative media site NewsBusters warns:

“But whether the Conservative Bible Project is inspired or misguided, liberals should exercise some circumspection before piling on. Even Weiner explained that, ‘Some of the ideas would only bring the translation closer to the original.’ "

NewsBusters omits the rest of her quote: “But others would fundamentally change the text.”

I have had my own problems with the King James Version (KJV) translation, but it’s the version I grew up with and since I am not fluent in Greek or Hebrew, it suffices.

In instances where the original talks about “agape” (the love of God), “philial” (brotherly love) and “erotica” (sexual love), the KJV uses only the word “love.”

Churches base foreign mission work on “The Great Commission,” which in the KJV begins, “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations. …” But, the original version means “As you go into the world. …” The latter challenges persons to witness by their daily lives. Two good concepts, two different meanings.

But, I’ve got a little news for NewsBusters: conservatives all over this country grew up with the King James Version of the Holy Bible, and they are not going to cotton to the removal of words like “Jehovah,” “Yahweh” and “Lord God.”

What these new translators really want is an American theocracy, while at the same time – in their zealotry – condemning theocracies like Iran.. Do we really want persons of such reasoning ability to interpret scriptures for us?

I would challenge any members of this project to read Matthew 5: 1-48 – The Sermon on the Mount – and tell me how they would improve this essence of Christianity, this passionate passage of great literature.

A week for Greeks

My friend Jenny and I had planned to have lunch at Applebee’s Sunday before she helped with my grocery outing.

It’s been a week for Greeks, as I’ve thought about the athletes of ancient Olympia, their current counterparts and the right-wing pea-brains of our own fairly new civilization – and I use the term loosely – who don’t have a clue about their significance.

These are the intellectual heavyweights who thought America’s loss of the 2016 Olympics was really funny and might know Homer is a character on “The Simpsons” and Athens is a town in Georgia.

I also had followed the story this week of Grrece’s upcoming Sunday election with the Socialist party challenging the ruling center-right New Democracy party.

Socialist leader George Papandreou had campaigned on the promise of open and honest government and a proposed massive stimulus to jump start Greece’s weak economy

So, when Jenny arrived yesterday and wondered if there was any chance I might prefer the Greek Festival at our local Farmer’s Market to Applebee’s, I had one thing to say:

“Moussaka!”

Moussaka is a Greek meatloaf made with lamb and sweet spices and layered with sliced eggplant. It’s the single most difficult – and delicious - recipe I’ve ever prepared, so I welcomed the chance to sample the efforts of Greek chefs.

Apparently the local Greeks find the recipe a tad formidable, too, so we settled for gyros and baklava as we ate al fresco and enjoyed a live band and dancers from Atlanta. I couldn’t see the entertainers so I visualized Zorba’s happy dance and wondered whatever happened to my old Internet buddy, Greek warrior Ted Neros..

We had joined a group of Jenny’s friends, and I was surprised to hear these seventy-something steel magnolias turn the conversation to criticism of George W. Bush. All I could say was, “Don’t get me started.”

There was a time when, unhampered by needing someone to assist me, I would have grabbed a reporter’s notebook and granted our Greek hosts first-person opinions about the day’s events in their mother country. Their insight would have made this post far more informative.

On Sunday, the Socialist party won and will now control 160 seats in the 300-seat Greek parliament (LINK).

I’m not promoting socialism over capitalism here as my acumen of economics is pretty scant. I am just trying to say to the yahoos who are lambasting Obama’s stimulus spending that some folks get it.

Especially the Greeks.

He Brooks no BS

Hats off to David Brooks, conservative op-ed columnist for the New York Times, who wrote on October 2 about ineffectual right-wing “talk jocks.”

Microphone huggers like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly are caught up in “the myth of their own power,” Brooks writes, as he points out their negative effect on the Republican Party.

Of course, the blowhards are blowing back, calling Brooks “irrelevant” and “incoherent.” Limbaugh called him “jealous.” (Of what? Dittoheads vs. intelligent readers?) And, they all just love one more opportunity to blast the New York Times.

But, Brooks makes his case – that “the rise of Beck, Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and the rest has correlated almost perfectly with the decline of the G.O.P.” – with indisputable facts from recent election history.

Hey, this column has ticked off the big boys of right-wing talk, so why wouldn’t you want to read it?

"The Wizard of Beck," David Brooks, New York Times, October 2, 2009.

'Bloody battle'

I have been telling my Democratic friends – liberals and progressives: “We’re not the ones collecting guns and stockpiling ammo.”

Over the top? What is happening in this country is moving beyond partisan bickering. If loving this country makes me a patriot, then I am a patriot of the first order. i am neither blind to its warts nor its worth. As a patriot, I am both heartbroken about and scared to death of what lies ahead.

Some DemWit readers might already be aware of what transpired in St. Louis, Mo., last weekend. The following post from ThinkProgress, in case you missed it, reveals what should be a source of angst and alarm for any American:

Right-Wing Conference Tells Activists To Get Their Guns Ready For ‘Bloody Battle’ With Obama The Nazi

By Lee Fang
ThinkProgress, September 28, 2009

At the How To Take Back America Conference last weekend, conservative speaker Kitty Werthmann led a workshop called “How to recognize living under Nazis & Communists.”

Announcing the panel in a column preceding the conference, talk show host Janet Porter gushed how Werthmann’s description of Austria in the 1930s is a “mirror to America” today — noting “They had Joseph Goebbels; we have Mark Lloyd, the diversity czar.” The room was packed over capacity to hear Werthmann, who grew up as a Christian in Austria and serves as Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum South Dakota president.

During her session, Werthmann went through a litany of examples of how President Obama is like Adolf Hitler. She noted that Hitler, who acted “like an American politician,” was “elected in a 100 percent Christian nation.” Although she failed to once mention anti-Semitism or militarism, Werthmann explained how universal healthcare, an Equal Rights Amendment, and increased taxes were telltale signs of Nazism.

Werthmann also warned the audience:

“If we had our guns, we would have fought a bloody battle. So, keep your guns, and buy more guns, and buy ammunition. [...] Take back America. Don’t let them take the country into Socialism. And I refer again, Hitler’s party was National Socialism. [...] And that’s what we are having here right now, which is bordering on Marxism.”

Werthmann noted that her Nazism speech is gaining popularity. She not only has delivered it to several tea parties, but has been asked by “a group of bankers” to address them this month.

Before the event, ThinkProgress asked Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), one of several Republican members of Congress also speaking at the conference, to autograph Werthmann’s DVD about National Socialism. She happily obliged:

See photo of Bachmann’s autograph and watch video of Werthmann’s remarks HERE.

***

For the record, the number one argument against Social Security: it was a program begun by Adolph Hitler.

How To Take Back America? I would say that is the foremost problem facing our country today. How to take back America from a lunatic fringe preying on the fears of poor ignorant souls.

Frightening.

***

UPDATE – A friend just emailed me the following column, and I urge you to read it.

“Somethng very dangerous is happening …”

- “Where Did ‘We’ Go?” Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, 29 September 2009