I intensely dislike the Bush/Hitler comparisons-- I think it sometimes demonstrates an ignorance of history, politics, society, and culture.

But the WTC/Reichstag comparisons are valid-- all statist governments capitalize upon terrorism and exploit it towards authoritarian ends. The State desperately needs terrorist violence to justify its ever-increasing interference into people's lives and terrorists happily corroborate with them, since terrorists need a repressive State to justify the ever-increasing intensity of their violence. The textbook example of this is what went down in Italy in the mid-1970s.

The Bush-Cheney regime didn't plan and execute the attacks on 9/11; they did, however, take full advatange of the chaos and fear that followed for their own benefit.

That said, Ellison is a [DUMBASS] because he's a professional pandering politician, not because he sees parallels in the way that rulers have authoritarian responses to civil crises. Subby was right but for all the wrong reasons.

[image from i27.photobucket.com too old to be available]