And more juvenile GOP rhetoric
(Photo: sweetness-light.com)
I refer to Rush Limbaugh here. What can I say? The gasbag’s an easy target, and he’s also one of the most powerful members of the Republican Party. Considering that he doesn’t even hold a political position within the party, that’s saying something for the buzz he creates with his crackpot little radio show. Conveniently following a critical statement made by Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that the thuggish protests at health care reform town halls have inappropriately featured Nazi symbols, Rush is ready to latch on to the notion (fabricated by the right-wing blog Sweetness and Light) that the Obama health care logo bears all-too-close resemblance to Nazi symbols, sans only the swastikas.
Quite a stretch, Rush
But then, informed individuals have known for some time that your musings are just that: musings. You are an entertainer whose pronouncements bear little or no real-world political relevance. There’s no reason to start taking you seriously here, either. If I had cash advances or payday loans for every time you’ve made a fool of yourself, I’d be a rich man for two weeks (because I’d have to pay it all back like a responsible consumer)…
And your righteous indignation over Pelosi indirectly calling the town hall protesters Nazis: first class stuff! You’re quite an actor, Rush. Some people actually believe you used to be a serious football analyst on “Monday Night Football,” too. Yet I know better. Here are some of Rush’s pearls, straight from the swine’s mouth:
This woman is deranged. They’re unraveling, but that is not insignificant. You have the Democrat Speaker of the House saying that people, citizens who are concerned about health care are now wearing swastikas. She’s basically saying that we are Nazis.
Obama has been compared to Hitler
Does this look AT ALL the same to you? No coaching from Rush, he isn't here! (Photo: sweetness-light.com)
Do you seriously think that’s accurate, Rush? Do you expect anyone to take you seriously after you stand behind such a claim? I’m offended that you’d cheapen what Jews went through during World War II by using the image for political grandstanding. Do you understand history, Mr. Limbaugh? Yet there he goes. Limbaugh promises to point out how Nazi the Democratic Party is, while polishing the accomplishments of Republicans. It’s a tired act. He has the right to say what he says, but people also have the right to begin thinking for themselves any time now. “Rush is Right” people may not have to turn around and begin to love Democrats, but they need to see what an embarrassment Rush Limbaugh truly is.
And the Obama health care logo?
If I was under the influence of a heavy drug like Oxycontin and wanted (for some unknown reason) to go about proving that the Lucky Charms leprechaun was a terrorist, I could in my haze mutter something as brilliant as what Rush Limbaugh and Sweetness and Light are saying about the Obama health care logo and Nazi symbols. I could claim that the rainbows and pots of gold represent the homosexual community’s plot to take control of America’s gold supply (rainbows and pots of gold… brilliant, right?). Rush Limbaugh’s claim that the Obama health care logo is Nazi is similarly coherent.
Simon Maloy of Media Matters for America gives us the straight story on the Obama health care logo: “In reality, Obama’s logo incorporates the caduceus — the ancient symbol for medicine.” That fits with the health care theme, doesn’t it? Oh, and because there’s a bird in the Obama logo, the same as their is in the Nazi symbol shown here, that makes the Obama health care logo Nazi? Does it also make the American bald eagle Nazi? Or Sam the Eagle from “The Muppet Show?”
Riconkulous, Rushapotamus
As is your Nazi-Democrat connection:
LIMBAUGH: They accuse of us being Nazis, and Obama’s got a health care logo that’s right out of Adolf Hitler’s playbook. Now, what are the similarities between the Democrat Party of today and the Nazi Party in Germany? Well, the Nazis were against big business — they hated big business. And of course we all know that they were opposed to Jewish capitalism. They were insanely, irrationally against pollution. They were for two years mandatory voluntary service to Germany. They had a whole bunch of make-work projects to keep people working, one of which was the Autobahn. They were against cruelty and vivisection of animals, but in the radical sense of devaluing human life, they banned smoking. They were totally against that. They were for abortion and euthanasia of the undesirables, as we all know, and they were for cradle-to-grave nationalized healthcare.
That’s lovely, Rush.
However, you fling around these bits of information like someone who dreams of being Jackson Pollock but has not real sense of how the facts fit together. The racial ideologies of Nazi Germany were abominable. I’m not a fan of mandatory federal service for all citizens, either. But Rush, are you really making a strong point for your side when you point out their stand against pollution, smoking and cruelty to animals? Are those bad things? Then you include their support of abortion, the death penalty and nationalized healthcare. Arguably, these are also things that can benefit a free society. As do cash advances and payday loans.
I see where you’re attempting to manipulate listeners, but what I also see is a mental muddle from an Oxycontin addict who supposedly leads the Republican Party. Rush, Sarah Palin, Michael Steele and Dick Cheney? That would have me seeing something if I were a Republican, and it wouldn’t be swastikas; it would be a non-Republican taking the election in 2012.
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First and foremost canada only guarantees basic treatments. Therapies and the like are NOT paid for! Eat that Lola! OK Stevie sinc eyou want to talk facts why does a healthcare bill require volunteerism from children and to wear a uniform while doing the volunteer work and may not pray or go to church while their volunteer term is served????? Ya nobody want to talk about that one??? As a conservatist and I repeat a CONSERVATIST! As in NOT a republican. First and foremost ANY bill that requires the relinquishment of freedoms and fining people for not purchasing something and leaving elderly out in the cold with NO healthcare for even 6 months is UNACCEPTABLE! Honestly I dont care what the symbol is comprised of the fact that it has a symbol is what I consider most of all disturbing. THe fact that we think its OK in this country to teach children anything against their parent wishes wreaks of naziism! Look at the census people the workers arent even told what people actually do and dont have to answer! they are just told its the law! THis is nothing more than our own government bullying us! Has everybody already forgotten BARRY had his hands in this economies downfall as well! Go back and look at what he's done for Acorn and substandard loans!!! All you want to talk about is what Rush sounds like while your rights are being pulled right out from under you! You ewant to talk about people thinking for themselves? HELLO? Socialism is NOT a good thing! And Eddy if all you can pick on or reply about is spelling I knwo some great teen Blogs that you would fit right in! Luigi EXCELLENT STATEMENT!!! Lets go over who Barry's friends are and why he's called "Obama"!! As far as "Educated" goes Educated idiots are everywhere and just as often a nuisance as any other class of people! And lastly SORRY STEVE!! Rush's "Little Radio Show" reaches more people in its first 5 minutes of airtime than you will likely EVER reach your entire career! Where I am from thats called "smack talk" Because it has no truth or value to it other than YOUR rhetoric sir! And just for the record NO I dont think Obama is comparable to hitler at all. I dotn think he is looking for a holocaust or anything of that nature but the man isnt as intelligent as he thinks and that makes him dangerous. So Stevie why dont we start talkign about some REAL FACTS that are actually important to this nation???
"Look at the facts," thank you for your comments. I will be responding to your rhetoric presently as time allows.
Maybe the Democrats are right and socialism is the way to go. Now that Obama's administration owns the banks, car companies, and soon the health care industry, can collective farms be far away? Everyone should be taken care of by the government no matter how lazy and worthless they are. Free everything! Soon we will be standing in line at state-run grocery stores waiting for our daily allotment of beets.
FACT: I spoke to a Canadian friend. Canadian doctors come here to practice for ONE reason only: $$$$$$$$$$.
Canada does NOT let their old people or cancer-ridden patients just die off! How stupid a remark is that? Do you really think Canadians are dumb and would let that happen? Give me a break. And just b/c you say something does not make it true. Obama is going to let old people and handicapped babies just die???!! Are you completely NUTZ!!!!!!!!!!!!????
You know the problem is simple…..a two party system and lack of term limits.
I am 70 years old and 0bama has already said that if I have a terminal disease and need a hip replacement (let's say) his program will not permit it. Look what he said about his grandmother and you know I am not kin to him, I am 100% black and scared to death of his health care plan. I am very, very satisfied with the way things are. If those who don't have health insurance want a government run program then give them one and leave the rest of us alone.
I can't read all the babbling on here, but:
1. If you can't see the resemblance (circular bottom, wings on top) you are a moron. That being said, it doesn't mean Obama is a Nazi
2. Regarding comparisons to Nazi-ism, you idiots need to pick up a d***ed history book just ONCE in your life and examine 1930's Germany and the rise of National Socialism. Take away the attempted genocide of the Jews and look at how Germany was restructured, how industries were systematically nationalized, etc. Quit being such thick headed, blind dolts that follow whatever your Furor…er…Obama says. You…the guy that says anyone that disagrees with him should shut up…the guy that openly has a snitch web-site for you to turn in your neighbors when they send you an inappropriate e-mail.
Wake up, you stupid fools! No country ever thought it could be overthrown until they looked back and realized it had already been accomplished…
And it will be the worst health care!!!
Earth to Obama worshipers. they wont post it unless it says hail furor obama. when you sheep get your socialized nazi health care dont come crying to post it here. obama will say anything you want to hear and then take away all of your civil rights. oh please wake up america you cant get a free ride you will pay for health care with taxes on everything from soda pop to gasoline and right out of your paycheck and I promise you you will be so sorry for every electing this communist congress so sorry mark my words. you will be forced to pay for health care insurance right off the top of your check its in the bill.
not really a streach at all I see the likeness and obamas polices are pure nazi he hates capitolism like the nazis and wants control of everything just like a commie.
I came across your article when i was looking for some more information about Obama's health care logo…
How you cannot see the resemblance eludes me. Despite the administration's reasons for using their design choices, they clearly created a symbol that is a near mirror image…the only difference being the replacement of the swastika. If you cannot see the resemblance, then your love for Obama has indeed made you blind.
You also state, "You include their [Nazi] support of abortion, the death penalty and nationalized healthcare. Arguably, these are also things that can benefit a free society. As do cash advances and payday loans." What? Please explain that one without sounding like you have the God-given right to decide who lives and dies (like the the Nazis felt they had such a right). And you mention cash advances and payday loans following such a statement? And without a transition? Strange…you need an editor.
The name of your "blog" sells your services. Your motto is "Promoting the Responsible Use of Money." But somehow, all your posts seem to be about recipes and celebrity gossip. What that has to do with "responsible use of money" or the promotion of such, also eludes me.
Don't think you have anything on Rush. If you did, he'd have a confused blog like yours, and you'd have a huge radio show with millions and millions of devoted listeners.
OK, how a person can see a resemblance is that there is a wing figure that is placed above a circular figure- there's a resemblance there, but there is no way, in all realms of possibility, that it was intentional – I covered this already – there are two different things.
The Obama symbol, the caduceus, is a symbol used by the medical profession. The Nazi Eagle is a Roman Aquila – which was symbol for the Roman Legions, the military. The only thing they have in common is the wings, but if you look at any other official US insignia, that has wings too. (Also a nod of the hat to the Roman Empire, as most of our Founders had the benefit of a Classical Education.)
The connection between the two constitutes several logical fallacies – one being what's called Reductio ad Hitlerum, or reducing to Hitler, meaning that anything having to do with the Nazi's whatsoever is automatically evil – for instance, the Autobahn was built as a public works project – and so were our own highways – or driving a Volkswagen or a Mercedes – and therefore, since the Nazis drove Volkswagens and Mercedes, therefore anyone who does so is therefore a Nazi, which is just stupid.
Second, the very limited resemblance of the two logos makes for several logical fallacies of its own – for one, a Red Herring, a diversionary or tangential argument which doesn't make sense and has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Second, post hoc ergo propter hoc – or literally "after this, therefore because of this"- or more commonly, correlation does not imply causality. Which also makes it a non sequitur, in that it doesn't follow. (You get this in English 101 or 201 – the most basic stuff.)
In other words, taking some of the broader aspects of Nazi government – like their policy on health care, or public works projects, or controlling inflation, whatever – and finding a similarity to what any other government does, cannot prove the two have anything to do with each other. For instance, if they wanted clean streets and appointed people to haul garbage – if we therefore had a garbage service….you see where I'm going.
There's only a limited resemblance, and quite frankly the Right wing has far more terrifying things in mind than the public health care option. None other than Ayn Rand said that the conservatives would ruin this country before the liberals did – and after the last 8 years….QED.
Think of this then, we, as Americans are all guilty of being part of a nation whose symbol is exactly the same as that which the Nazis' used in their reign of terror; the Eagle. Hitler adopted the Eagle just as the Romans had centuries before him. Secondly, the symbol used in the Health Care Logo, the Caduceus, has been associated with the Army Medical Department since 1901 or 1902, long before Hitler took control. Nice try.
I have to say, it does look a littl simular.
Have any of you obamabots even read the healthcare bill, even a sentence? It clearly says with out right saying in in laymans terms we will let old people and handycap born children die on there own with out medical treatment. We will offer pain pills and end of life care. What do you idiots not get about what end of life care means? Look every where else socialized medical care is used. They basicly give death sentences to cancer patients because they dont want to spend the money on them. If it was so great why do so many people come to the U.S. for medical treatment? Why do so many Canadian doctors move there practices to the U.S.? Now I know you guys hate any opposition to the great obama (peace be on his name, "sarcasm") but seriously you guys are so far up his rear its a disgrace, if Bush did half the stunts this guy has pulled you would be setting cars and buildings on fire in the streets and causing riots. You guys (main steam media, talking heads) would do a 2 hour special on how good obams farts smelled, and you obamabots are not any better you guys practicly shine his shoes for him. It only took him 8 months to get very low approval ratings, something that took Bush 8 years to do (I guess thats your hope and change). You all need to step back from your party lines and take a unbiased look at whats going on around you, and if your an honest person you would admit we are heading in the wrong direction. I'm sad to admit none of you will and in the end we will have a much much longer road to recovery that even your childrens children will be sorting out and I hope all of you can live with what you have done because I know I couldnt if I were as ignorant as you all have been.
First of all, how can we take any of you haters seriously when you cannot even spell.
SHARTNE- Worshipers,furor, streach . . .CAPITOLISM?
Please, please please . . .the GOP is now saturated with people like you and that is why they are no longer respected by the moderate americans such as myself.
Go back to grade school and learn to spell.
Way to go Rush. You keep the truth in front of them all of the time. You won the election. Why so bitter.
Well I find it funny; I was looking for the two pic's and I came on this… What ever this is I do not know. But yes, the left in this country is more like Nazi Germany then any political party since. 1. They murder millions every year (but it's ok, they call it choice, I wonder if Hitler called it the same thing?) 2. They are trying to take away the rights of people (the ones who do not agree with them.) 3. And now they have their own SS troops out there. Feel free to turn me into the SS @ flag.whitehouse.gov. Obimbo is a joke and he is going to (if he hasn't already) ruin this great country. Stop the free hand outs. Get off your butt and work hard for what you get. Stop murdering helpless children and take care of the elderly.
In simple text. 'Show me your friends and I will tell you what kind of person you are'. Now you can fill in the blanks!
What is wrong with socialized medicine? What is wrong with government controled banks? What is wrong with govt. owned car industries? What is wrong with socialism? If this is all so great lets all move to Russia and enjoy the benefits of govt. owned entities. But we live in the United States of America. Founded on capitalism. We are great because we are capitalist. The world banks fail when we fail. That is capitalism. Why don't we fail when Russias economy failed. Beacause Socialism does not work. God Bless America and all the people in it. IF Rush is so small and insecure why are so many democrats worried about him.
Rush maybe a little extreme,but the White House website is asking Americans to "turn in" any "fishy"stories attacking the health plan.That smacks of "Big Brother" to me and has me worried. The "fishy stories" I've seen are actual excerpts of the bill itself.
The Democrats passed the biggest spending bill in our Country's history without even reading it.That has me worried.Our Government was elected to serve the people and since the Democrats
have taken power,that is being reversed.That has me really worried.
I can't stand Rush, just like most people who can think for themselves. The thing that irritates me from both sides is when the talk about being "educated" means having a college degree. I have my AAS and going for Bachelors. I have spent alot of time with fellow graduated, just because you have a degree doesn't mean your brain is worth anything! Look at half our presidents, Dems and Repubs alike, you can be 'college educated' and still be a worthless pile of rubbish. I'm not defending Rush, again, I can't stand him, but the whole thought of your stupid unless you went to college is a bunch of crap.
As far as the Nazi stuff, people are going to believe what they want to believe. Its human nature to blame our own personal problems on everyone else instead of fixing them ourselves. Its even easier to do when we live in a money hungry nation were its how much money you can spend of lawyers and not that your 100% innocent to begin with.
UNless somebody in the Republican party has the balls to stand up and denounce this imflammatory rhetoric, there wil be more violence, such as calling the abortion doctor a Nazi then one of their fringe listners kill him. By calling Obama and other congressmen nazi's seems to kegitimize hatered and violence-gives these fringe elements an excuse. When will Democrats fight back and expose this anti american behavior?
Once again, the right wing is showing off it's roots in anti-intellectualism – never mind that Rush Limbaugh, the supposed leader of conservativism doesn't have a college education – that aside, the person who published the original article in the first place, Sweetness and Light (light on intelligence), obviously doesn't know their history, so here we go:
The symbol used in the Health Care Logo, does feature wings – which is where the similarities end. That symbol is called a caduceus (ka-doo-see-us), and the caduceus is a symbol for medicine, although the traditional symbol is a single serpent around a staff, or the Rod of Asclepius. (ie. the logo of the AMA.) That said, the caduceus is also the symbol for Hermes, the Greek messenger of the Gods. The use of the caduceus for medicine is thought to be due to a confusion on someone's part long ago that's been perpetuated, as the rod of Asclepius (who was a mythological healer) is thought to be the more appropriate symbol.
The Eagle in Nazi emblems is obviously unrelated. Why an eagle? Simple – Hitler fancied Germany as the New Roman Empire. The eagle was the symbol of the Roman Legions, called an Aquila, and it was carried largely by the infantry. Therefore, he adopted one of the biggest symbols of Rome in the Nazi's symbols. And WHY, then, would we have adopted an eagle as the symbol for America? All roads, folks, lead to Rome – don't kid yourself for an instant that they don't. As ignorant as most people are of it, the Roman Empire was perhaps the most influential civilization to have existed, and the number of vestiges that remain are legion.
The health care logo and the Nazi emblem being similar…is grasping at straws.
Man, oh man, oh man. This is becoming more and more of a joke. To call Obama a Nazi is absolutely, ridiculously outrageous. Have they run out of other ways to target the man and his cause? There is so much hatred and spite spiraling though the atmosphere. And if you have not equipped yourself with the proper knowledge and understanding, this energy will feed into you and contaminate every ounce of good in you