Hitler and Stalin and (Insert Name Here)

One of the things we've lost in recent years in our political discourse is any sense of proportion in extreme positions (well, yes, any sense in the larger ... uh ... sense). The problem is summed up for me in the use, by hyperpartisans of both the left and right, of comparisons to Hitler and Stalin.

If there is anything more utterly ridiculous than comparing a President Bush or a President Obama to  either Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin, I can't imagine what it is. People who make these comparisons clearly demonstrate their own complete stupidity and profound ignorance of history.

Don't like President Obama's health care reform? Despise ultraconservative Republican policies? Draw comparisons to Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, two of the most murderous and amoral monsters in history, who together gave us:

- Six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust;

- A war that utterly devastated Europe and left more than 20 million dead (the exact number will never be known);

- The death by starvation of millions in the forced collectivization of agriculture in Russia; and,

- The depravity and utter moral squalor of Nazi and Communist policies that echoes to this day in the words and deeds of people too stupid to understand what they're talking about.

I'm totally appalled by Catholic bishops who compare the policies of President Obama to those of Adolph Hitler. These individuals have no idea what they are talking about, and have squandered whatever moral authority their deeply-held beliefs might otherwise command. I'm equally offended by the ass clowns of the far left who would compare former President Bush ("W") to Hitler. Bush was guilty of hubris at best, stupidity at worst ... but a murderous tyrant? Come on, now ...

Sorry for the rant, but I finally hit the edge this morning. I think I'm ready for the weekend.

Have a good day. Maintain your sense of proportion and understand the history you invoke in support of your ideas.

Come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday.

Bilbo