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Working Families Vote 2008

Rep. Ellison: Bush is Like Hitler, 9/11 Like the Reichstag Fire

Posted by Adam Howard at 11:00 AM on July 16, 2007.


Adam Howard: Democratic congressman Keith Ellison reveals some uncharacteristically tough views on Bush and 9/11 to a crowd of atheists.
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America's first and only Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison (D-MN), had some very harsh words for President Bush and repeated some controversial theories on 9/11 this weekend, both of which people are sure to be talking about a lot this week. The London Telegraph reports:

Addressing a gathering of atheists in his home state of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, a Democrat, compared the 9/11 atrocities to the destruction of the Reichstag, the German parliament, in 1933. This was probably burned down by the Nazis in order to justify Hitler's later seizure of emergency powers.

"It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that," Mr Ellison said. "After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it, and it put the leader [Hitler] of that country in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted."

To applause from his audience of 300 members of Atheists for Human Rights, Mr Ellison said he would not accuse the Bush administration of planning 9/11 because "you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box - dismiss you".

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Vice-President Dick Cheney's stance of refusing to answer some questions from Congress was "the very definition of totalitarianism, authoritarianism and dictatorship", he added.

Mr Ellison also raised eyebrows by telling his audience: "You'll always find this Muslim standing up for your right to be atheists all you want."

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Tagged as: bush, 9/11, atheists, ellison

Adam Howard is the editor of PEEK.


Return to PEEK  » Post Tools: email EMAIL print PRINT 29 COMMENTS PERMALINK
Also in PEEK
Bipartisan Concern About the Dangers of McPalin’s Hate-Mongering
"I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate ..."
Post by Emptywheel. October 10, 2008.		 Stock Market Drops 107 Points During Bush's Speech on the Economy
That's the kind of confidence Bush inspires these days.
Post by Amanda Terkel. October 10, 2008.		 McCain-Palin Rally Attendees Say Incredible, Ridiculous Things
File this one under the "give 'em enough rope" column.
Post by Seth Colter Walls. October 10, 2008.

Comments Turn comments off sitewide Give us feedback »
Comments closed.
The comments for this story have been closed. Thank you to everyone who participated. 		View:
Echoed by Ron Paul
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Russ Wellen on Jul 16, 2007 11:26 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"Republican Congressman and 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul fears a staged Gulf of Tonkin style incident may be used to provoke air strikes on Iran as numerous factors collide to heighten expectations that America may soon be embroiled in its third war in six years.

"Writing in his syndicated weekly column, the representative of Texas' 14th district warns of "a contrived Gulf of Tonkin-type incident (that) may occur to gain popular support for an attack on Iran."

-- Prison Planet

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

A unstable Dutch communist Rinus van der Lubbe burned the Reichstag.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: albrechtkrausse on Jul 16, 2007 11:32 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Despite the conspiracy theorists it is widely accepted that he was somewhat mentally disturbed and he burned the Reichstag. There are still some doubt whether he acted alone, was a pasty, or what but at least late date we will never know the whole truth. Some claim the Nazis were outright behind the fire but most historians do not agree with that conspiracy assessment. However, even if van der Lubbe acted alone, or with support of other communists, this doesn't mean that Hitler and his Party didn't use the act to further their political goals. Similiarly, you can fault Bush, Guiliani, etc for exploiting 11-Sept to advance the corporate-globalist agenda police state agenda without believing that Bush et al actually "bombed the towers".

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Thanks,
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Wacre on Jul 16, 2007 11:47 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Congressman Ellison, for saying what many of us have been thinking for quite awhile, namely that as hard as it is to imagine that someone would do something as terrible -- including the terrorists -- as ramming airplanes into the Twin Towers and killing thousands of people, it is kinda strange how it provided the opportunity for the Bush Administration to assume all sorts of powers that they would not have been able to do otherwise.

I personally don't follow the 'conspiracy view' of such matters, but at the same time one has to admit that 9/11 has worked really well for the Bush Administration (this working on the assumption that the granting of excessive political power to the Executive branch is/was the primary goal, as opposed to the saving of civilian lives).

So either the Bush Administration was quick to take advantage of circumstances -- which considering the speed that government tends to react to things, such as Hurricane Katrina, is remarkable in and of itself; or they had some prior knowledge that something was going to happen. That is not to say that they planted explosives in the Towers or upon the planes, though they might not have been as unaware that something was coming as they pretended to be.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Nice going, Keith
[Report this comment]
Posted by: trampoline on Jul 16, 2007 12:29 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Fox is going to have a field day with this.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Nice going, Keith Posted by: Wacre
Missing the point
[Report this comment]
Posted by: drmflorida on Jul 16, 2007 12:55 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Once again, we're missing the point. There is an undeniable similarity between 911 and the Reichstag, and it is the result. We don't know that NAZIs burned down the Reichstag any more than we know that Bush had foreknowledge or complicity in 911. What we do know is that both used this for political ammunition, to grab power, to limit democracy, and to secure public support and public fear.

That is what Ellis was saying, and he was right.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

. Conservative Republican arrives at same conclusion
[Report this comment]
Posted by: aurora2484 on Jul 16, 2007 2:20 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
When even an ultra-conservative Republican arrives at the same conclusion as Rep Ellison, being that the current US Presidency has taken on the role of Nazi Germany's Fuher, then one wonders how long the media can continue their farcical charades of denial.

transcript

Excerpt:
Bill Moyers: That was a great moment when Sara Taylor said, "I took an oath to uphold the president." Did you see that?

Bruce Fein: Yes. And that was like the military in Germany saying, "My oath is to the Fuhrer, not to the country."

She took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I did, too, when I was in the government. There's no oath that says, "I'm loyal to a president even if he defiles the Constitution."

John Nichols: Ever.

watch here
Bill Moyers Journal: Impeachment Part 3. youtube

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

For anyone...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: wal55 on Jul 16, 2007 2:25 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
For anyone who still thinks that 911 was an inside job - would Bush have run scared all day if he had known? His pattern is to express bravado when he feels safe (such as on a flight deck near US shore)...

Bush et al are skilled opportunists. They didn't need any connection with the tragedy of 911 to use it to usurp power - the same as Hitler with the Reichstag.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: For anyone... Posted by: JSquercia
» RE: For anyone... Posted by: redfrog
» RE: For anyone... Posted by: wal55
» RE: For anyone... Posted by: channing
» PRE-PLANTED EXPLOSIVES Posted by: AsteroidMiner
» RE: PRE-PLANTED EXPLOSIVES Posted by: channing
» RE: For anyone... Posted by: Wacre
How BushCo can plann 9-11...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: eosrk on Jul 16, 2007 4:16 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...hell, they can't even plan an emergancy plan for their own friggin' FEMA, or follow through on an illegimate invasion of an foriegn country, whom didn't have anything to do with it.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

There's nothing controversial here.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: thoughtcriminal on Jul 16, 2007 5:09 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The evidence is clear that Bush used 911 to secure his stolen election and to provide a false justification for invading Iraq. They knew from day one that Iraq had no relationship to 911 (unlike the case with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia), but added that lie to the ones about nuclear and biological weapons without blinking.

Thus, any time there is a violent event in a country that is used by the ruling powers to engage in a clampdown on the population (the Patriot Act) and as an excuse for militaristic foreign adventures, well, several questions come to mind.

Such as:

Could 911 have been prevented? If Bush had taken action after the Aug 6th PDB instead of remaining holed up in Crawford, would the hijackings have been prevented?

And:

Exactly how much did Bush and Cheney know about plans for hijackings (note: not suicide hijackings) before 911? Did they deliberately allow planes to be hijacked, thinking that this would result in a standoff on an airport tarmac?

Recall how easy it was to start the Vietnam war? Bush and Cheney could probably have maneuvered the US into a war over airplane hijackings and anthrax attacks...

Oh right, the anthrax attacks that everyone seems to have forgotten about. Months of terror for the whole population, and now we're all suffering from collective amnesia. Where did the anthrax come from?

Try Anthrax Powder: State of the Art? Gary Matsumoto, Science Magazine, 2003

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» The US and LBJ... Posted by: Bbear41
Glad someone's not afraid to say it
[Report this comment]
Posted by: elgeck0 on Jul 16, 2007 7:55 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's beside the point whether Marinus van der Lubbe personally started the fire or one of Hitler's thugs. The point is that Hitler instantly declared it a "sign from heaven" and exploited it to the maximum as the pretext for seizing control of Germany. Which is exactly what the Bush administration did after 9/11. That, I believe, is the take-home message.

But IF it could be proven that 9/11 was engineered by the Bush cabal or others in their employ... that would spell revolution.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

frank69
[Report this comment]
Posted by: frank69 on Jul 17, 2007 7:57 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Remember that on 9-11 the Imposter hid UNDERGROUND at SAC Headquaters Command Center outside Omaha! Twerp! CIC indeed - Chicken-Is-Chicken!!!!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

It's about time
[Report this comment]
Posted by: BitcoDavid on Jul 17, 2007 11:29 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
With all due reverence to Godwin's law, on Wed, 28 Jul 2004, I wrote the following for an E-mail signature:

'By playing on the fears and prejudices of the electorate, and
through manipulation of the courts, a man came to power as the leader of the Country. Shortly after his rise, a National tragedy resulted in the loss of an architectural Icon.

The leader immediately blamed the "evil ones who hate us for our way of life". Laws were enacted to help the people root out this evil.

Sure, a few rights and freedoms had to be surrendered for the greater good, but it was necessary for the safety of the
Homeland. A special security force was created.

Soon it became essential, due to the imminent threat posed against the security of the people, to preemptively invade a sovereign nation and to impose upon them the way of life of this newly formed government.

Who do you think I'm writing about?

Adolph Hitler. '

It is my sincere hope that the aforementioned netiquette edict can be temporarily suspended in this case.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I'm absolutely convinced that
[Report this comment]
Posted by: bettyn on Jul 17, 2007 2:23 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Bush/Cheney will allow some major incident with Iran to take place right before November 2008. Then they can declare martial law and stay in power or allow some hawkish Repug ticket like McCain/Jeb or Guiliani/Jeb to be leected BY ANY MEANS POSSIBLE.

The FIX will be in. Count on it.

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wcox
[Report this comment]
Posted by: wcox on Jul 17, 2007 3:02 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Bush administration couldn't plan and carry out a one man picnic much less a attack on the NY Towers. They are, however, world class opportunists. Cheney knows how to take advantage of fear and confussion to give the executive branch of government unlimited power. Cheney is the evil brains behind Bush as we all know by now. Bush would have to use a calculator to figure a 20% tip on a $100 meal.

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