reply to post by Justin Oldham
. . a civilian Homeland Security force. It's worth noting that such a thing as authorized in the Revised Patriot Act of 2006. Critics of this
initiative will liken it to the creation of Hitler's SA, or Mussolini's Black Shirts. I think it's just one more cadre for us to be worried
about.
Well, look here, the Nazis had a real agenda. As opposed to the Hitler Youth, the German SA was the Nazi adult light armor types who were engaged in
street warfare. I take it there must have been others they engaged with? SA leader Ernst Röhm had ambitions the reach of which exceeded his grasp.
Reined in by Hitler, Röhm was killed during the Night of the Long Knives. Some historians say Hitler himself shot his co-conspirator to death
although others say no.
See Note 1.
The same political purpose of uniformed “gangs” applied to the Italians and to other fascist regimes in the 1930s Europe. It was done there in
part for the same reason we instituted what we called the Civilian Conservation Corps here. The CCC. To get unemployed, restless young men OFF the
streets. There was much opposition here from the beginning largely due to the unjustified - IMO - comparison of the uniformed CCC with the SA and
Black Shirts. Ignorance compounded with a heavy dose of anti-government predisposition. On the positive side, you can still see and use the work done
by the CCC in many state and National Parks. Talk about value for money!
See Note 2.
We do not have the culture here that makes obedience the norm. We are basically a society that resists “group think.” I see no danger in a
Century21 CCC make over. In fact, the need for such a 12 to 24 month program for America’s urban youth is so glaring that you must be wearing
blinders not to see it. Or do you prefer to continue putting 30% of them into PRISON?
Note 1. Hitler ordered the arrest and subsequent execution of the leadership of the SA, on June 30-July 2, 1934, on what is known as the Night of
the Long Knives. Hitler personally led the SS raid on the Hanselbauer Hotel in Bad Wiessee. The SA organization declined from 2.9 million in 1934 to
1.2 million in 1938. It became little more than an old comrades association, appearing at the Nuremberg Rallies. [A German “American Legion?”]
Another factor contributing to the decline of the SA was the reintroduction of conscription in 1935 and the buildup of the German Army. The SA
remained active until the end of the war, but its only significant action after 1934 was Kristallnacht, when it was activated to riot against Jews,
destroying Jewish businesses and synagogues.
en.wikipedia.org...
Note 2. I have visited Watkins Glen State Park in New York. It is the land around a peculiar geological feature. The earth is coming apart! There
is a gorge about 50 to 200 feet wide. It is plain to see from the visible rock strata exposed on the two sides of the gorge that the widening space
did not always exist. Probably 1-2 million years old. Somewhere deep in the earth there is a split!
Carved in-place by hammer and chisels out of the stone, the CCC fashioned 1,100 odd steps down the gorge, so it is now a popular hiking trail. About
10 feet wide and spaced well for climbing, old people tend to go down the steps as in my case, but young people like to climb up the stone stairway
for the exercise. The CCC carved those steps in the 1938-1939 time frame. For $30 a month, plus clothes, room and board. I’ve also seen CCC work at
Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia. OUR Georgia, not the Russian’s Georgia!
nysparks.state.ny.us...
[edit on 11/6/2008 by donwhite]