Author: Rex Nipper

So when did it become fashionable to compare people to Hitler? What has happened in this country for someone to really think that our President, or any other member of our government for that matter, could be compared to the most infamous mass murderer of the 20th century? I find it very disturbing. Free speech aside, it is frightening to me to hear people, and even entire organizations, demonize another individual or group in order to get their point across. It reminds me of the old saying “When you point your finger at someone, just remember you have three pointing back at you.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Adolf Hitler began making a name for himself as a dynamic speaker. He also began his demonization of an entire race. By 1934, he was the President of Germany, and by 1936 he made himself Chancellor. It should be noted that Hitler came to power by doing the things which seem to be prevalent on talk shows, especially Fox News and conservative A.M. radio. He demonized an entire people for the benefit of his own political agenda.

Hitler’s hate agenda was so successful, that also in 1936, camps opened and Jews from all across Europe were thrown into pits and shot. It didn’t matter if they were young children. It didn’t matter that these people had done nothing wrong. They were the enemy. Albeit a fictional enemy created through propaganda. Does asking for a 1% tax hike on the rich really garner this type of comparison?

There was a Senator recently who campared the Obama financial plan to socialism, and that Obama was just like Hitler.  The Senator was saying that his $600,000 per year salary wasn’t enough for him to protect his children, and that Obama was going to be responsible for their plight.  Seriously?  How can he even make the comparison of what these people went through?  It’s an insult to the people who suffered during the holocaust even more than it is for the people he’s attacking.  It’s shameful. 

I have heard from a few people that the Obama healthcare plan is just like Nazi Germany. I think anyone that says that should really buy a history book and learn to read. How anyone can make that comparison is ridiculous. By the 1940s Hitler had determined that shooting Jews just wasn’t working quickly enough. He had to find a better solution…a Final Solution. That is when the gas chambers and furnaces were brought into play. Over several years, millions of people were herded into chambers and poisoned with gas. Their bodies were then put in furnaces and set ablaze. However this was after their gold teeth were pulled, heads shaved, and in some cases mutilated through experiments.  I don’t think any sane person would make a similar comparison with our healthcare system.

I have heard that the current Congress is pure evil. They have no care of anyone but their own political agenda. They would rather see their people starve and die than help them. They would run over babies in the street if they thought they could blame it on the current administration. Seriously, this is just rediculous. During Hitler’s rein there were true atrocities. People really were starving. They were caged and treated like animals. I’ve been traveling around the country.  I haven’t seen it.  Do you see things like this in your back yard?

The next time you hear someone compare anyone in our country to Hitler, change the channel. This is not a person to be given a public stage. Sure, they have the right to speak like fools, but you don’t have the obligation to listen. Hitler was a mad man.  In the world today we definitely have people capable of the atrocities for which Hitler is so famous. However, by no means are they currently serving in the U.S. government. Nor, I imagine, trying to take over our country by getting a job picking fruit. I think it’s time to calm down the rhetoric. There is true evil in the world.  Trying to make something, even if you don’t agree with it, evil, is just a waste of time.

There have been a lot of protests recently around the country against the criminals on Wall Street. I applaud the protesters for what they are doing. They are participating in the political process. Peaceful demonstration is part of the political process, just in case you’re wondering. Most people just sit around and complain about their check book getting smaller, the fees imposed on them for doing something so crazy as having a savings account, or the embarrassment they experience by being laid off from their job for having the misfortune of being an American worker. Very few of them try and do something about it.

I am a little confused by Fox News however stating that they don’t understand the reason for the protests. They are confused why anyone would speak out against corporations. According to them, it’s just un-American. I guess threatening the government, criticizing our leaders, and comparing them to Hitler IS American. Don’t speak out against Bank of America though! That’s just wrong. I’m sorry…anyone who takes Fox News seriously, needs professional help. They remind me of the grade school rumor mill. Present something as fact that is so outrageously ridiculous that only an idiot would believe it, and then see who the idiots on the playground might be. Then…when you have a full count, sell them dirt and tell them it’s candy.

I don’t agree with much that the Tea Party says. For the most part they seem to be a group of Medicare recipients complaining about government entitlements. That’s a bit like a glutton complaining the food’s too good. However, I will applaud them for at least getting involved. They don’t make sense, but at least they are part of the process.

Nothing irritates me more than someone telling me that they never vote because “Politician are all crooks anyway.” Well, perhaps they are all crooks because you’re too stupid to vote? Think about it. You’re the sheriff. You have a gun. You have a jail. You have a court of law. But then you sit on your ass in your office and complain that crime has just gotten way too out of hand. Guess what. That’s what happens when you don’t vote. You have all the tools at your disposal to dispose of the people you don’t like but you would rather sit on your ass and whine. Well guess what…you get what you pay for. Your payment is the vote. If you don’t pay, you get nothing.

I love to have discussions with educated, passionate people. I will admit that in the political arena, they are hard to find, however, they are out there. If you take the time to listen you can find them. However, since people are too lazy to do even the slightest amount of research, they end up listening to the hype rather than the reality. It makes it easier for them. Most people really are sheep. They want to have someone make a decision for them rather than taking the time to do it themselves.

So…if you don’t vote. Don’t bitch. You have no room to complain about any leader, public official, taxes, water bill, job, restaurant, automobile, grocery store, insurance company, bank, ink pen, or dust on your kitchen counter. You can complain about nothing. Because unless you are living off the land, growing your own food, cleaning your own drinking water, and living in a hole, you are part of society, and you have an obligation to participate. You can’t just sit back and complain, and not take part. Sorry…if you want to bitch. You have to vote. Otherwise…shut up.

Let me know if I need to clarify.

According to Mitt Romney, “Corporations are people, my friend.” I really do understand what he was getting at. He was postulating that corporations are made up of people, and those people benefit from the corporation. I agree…to a point. However, when you break decisions down to a spreadsheet, and your goal is for the profit of the corporation, and not for the benefit of it’s customers and employees, then your argument loses all its foundation.

Mitt himself is a perfect example of corporate irresponsibility. He served over a company whose prime goal was to cut costs, and eliminate overhead. That overhead, always, was the people hired to do the work. There is very little consideration of the human element when determining how to streamline the business process. I can think of few instances where the reorganization of the corporation ended with increased benefit to the customer, and even fewer which benefitted the employee.

Mitt is definitely the spreadsheet politician. The problem with the spreadsheet, is that no matter how much data you put together, you’re still not getting the whole picture. Also, contrary to popular opinion, numbers lie. More to the point, numbers can prove your already incorrect preconceived notions. You most likely need an example.

If you ask 100 American’s whether they are against flag burning, at least 99 of them will say yes. By that answer you can assume that American’s believe in limits on free speech. Now, if you ask that same group of people “Do you think there should be a limit on freedom of speech?” That same group of people would give you an emphatic “No.” Depending on your agenda, you can ask the question, and get the numbers you want to forward your own goals.

Corporations and politicians do this all the time. They spend millions on research to get proof for the outcome they already support. There is very little interest in understanding what the best way is to do something. The only real goal seems to be to support whatever prejudices one already has. I’m no less guilty. However, more than once, I have been proven wrong, and changed my preconceived view. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a politician do that, and I’m not sure a corporation is capable.

I will admit that you can make a business very successful by looking primarily at the numbers. However, government is not a business. It is not a for-profit enterprise. Government, at least our government, is For The People, and By The People. Therefore if our government is for the people it is not for corporations. Government needs a human element to be successful. And let’s face it. While corporations might be people, they are definitely inhuman, and no matter how you look at it, they are nobody’s friend.

Tomorrow I will be 46 years old. Even looking at that in print it makes it hard for me to believe I’ve made it this far. I can honestly say, I’m not as successful as I would like to be, but I’m definitely farther than I was ever given credit, by anyone outside my own family.

When I look back on my life, I think about the times I had teachers and other professionals telling me that “You should just give up. You’re worthless. You might as well just get a job at McDonalds.” They were not the most kind or supportive of individuals. I can count on one hand the number of educators that were worth the title. I can honestly say that I never had a job that required wearing a paper hat. However, I made one for myself to wear while writing this article. In my opinion it’s the best use for the sports page.

I’m not saying my teacher’s opinions were totally unfounded. I was a horrible student. I had, and still have, an innate distrust of authority. Also, and this is very true even today, I believe that respect is earned, and not given. If you don’t earn it, you don’t get it. That doesn’t mean I am, or was, rude. Even so, I refuse to offer any consideration to anyone who thinks that just because they occupy a perceived station in life, that I should bow to kiss their ass. Sorry…it doesn’t work that way.

There’s something to be said for self-reliance, and self-confidence. That is the greatest gift my parents ever gave me. I was born on my father’s birthday. Between the gift he got, and the ones my parents gave me, I’m well ahead of the game. I owe them more than I will ever be able to repay. They taught me that I could do anything I set my mind to. When I put their lessons into practice, I have to say that I have been successful every single time.

I’m not saying those lessons have worked in all areas of my life. I’m still single, with no children, and my longest relationship lasted less than a year. I always wanted to be married and have a family, and consider the lack of one to be my only true failure in life. I have always felt I had a lot to offer someone, but in the end, it never worked out. Those closest to me know that, while I exude confidence in the workplace, on the race course, and in all other aspects of my life, I have none when it comes to the opposite sex. It’s not that I think I am ugly. I’m not Cary Grant by any means, but I’m not hideous either. The problem is, and has always been, my total and complete fear of the opposite sex. Women terrify me. Anything that unpredictable should come with a warning sign.

There have obviously been some bumps along the way. Life is never easy. But I have found that no matter how many times you fall down, if you get back up, you never lose. You don’t have to be first, but you do have to finish the race. If you think you always have to be first, to win, then I invite you to watch a marathon. The racer with the most applause isn’t the first one in, it’s the last. It’s their effort that generates the most respect and admiration. Because we all know, that for them, the race was the most difficult. Make no mistake: It’s not the destination that makes us who we are, it’s the journey.

Rex

It turns out that Harold Camping, an 89-year-old one-time civil engineer and once Christian radio host, was right, and the rapture did come last night as predicted. However, not everyone was able to participate. As midnight rolled around all over the world, evidently only the most devout right wing Christian Evangelicals were privy to the experience. Said Camping at 11:59 last evening just before he burst into flames “Stand back.”

It appears that Camping was not the only one to be taken by the almighty during last night’s rapturing. Rabbi Amiel Hirsh said “I vas standing here talking to my friend Reverend Patrick, and ‘poof’. There vas a big burst of flame and he vas gone!” When asked if Rev. Patrick had anything to say before he left, Rabbi Hirsh said “Nope…just…poof!”

Not all Evangelicals were able to experience last night’s rapture. It was noted today that Fox News, who for years has espoused their Evangelical Christian values, is still reporting. There’s still no word however, if Sarah Palin, or Mike Huckabee were unlucky enough to escape last night’s events. As of this report, no one has heard a word from them. As Mike Smith, spokesman for Fox News states: “We’re not sure, but it’s a rare hour that we don’t hear Sarah’s vast wisdom.”

According to Mike Jones, economist for the Obama Administration, “It appears to be a win-win for everyone. With millions of ultra right wing Evengelicals now out of the workforce, unemployment has taken a dive to 3%.” However, economists from a prominant Washington think tank don’t agree. “It is true that millions of jobs are now open. However, these were jobs that most people wouldn’t do. It appears that the most devout of Camping’s followers had little or no education. They were easily influenced, and lacked really the basic skills to stand erect for long periods of time. Therefore, the jobs that are left behind, will most likely have to be filled by house plants and trained monkeys.”