It All Depends on Who Says it

In discussion on the topic of the Middleborough Town Meeting Articles, there was a comment by
fiferstone Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:21 pm

Hi Nemasket:
Sounds like a stock statement, sorta like the Reichstag convening once a year to rubber-stamp Herr Schickelgruber's emergency executive powers. After voting in favor of the extension, it dissolved itself for another year. Believe it or not, that's how the National Socialist "Government" operated in Nazi Germany, Hitler ruled by "emergency" fiat. Anyone who doesn't believe me can look it up, I recommend "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William L. Shirer, an American journalist who was in Nazi Germany and witnessed the rise of the Nazi party firsthand...but I digress. Seriously, the bit that scares me is the "by other means" bit. In other words, raid the emergency fund for ongoing expenses. The main thing that we do wrong around here.

Is this a Godwin issue? Is the Town's Town Meeting process being compared to Nazi Germany? Are the BOS being compared to "Herr Schickelgruber" and other evil men of the Nazi regime?
I really DO NOT think so. This is a historical analogy and an academic point.

However, I imagine that anyone with an opposing agenda could take great offense to this statement and try to pull the greatest amount of controversy and coverage as possible to slam fiferstone for this analogy. I have heard none--nor do I expect to. In fact, I actually expect that having pointed this out in a friendly way will simply create more criticism aimed at me. Can the nay sayers resist--I think not. Have at it!