Just how bad are things?

[alvarezadams]

I'm an American living and working in Spain. As the son of a Spanish father and an American mother, I've spent my life crossing the Atlantic, living one year in either country for most of my youth.

My current business partner is an unapologetic Falangist, a fascist supporter of Franco, of the Opus Dei, of many extreme RW movements - some of which are only "legal" over here by the width of a hair.

While we get along in business we often have political arguments - not surprising since I am most definitely left-leaning compared to his extreme RW pov. Yet when discussing US politics (both domestic and foreign-relations), he finds the GOP to be even more RW than his own stance. In fact, he thinks that Hillary is hunky dory, that Dubya is more of an extremist than Franco, and that the US under the GOP is borderline insane.

Makes ya think, eh?

[peacebird]

1. reminds me of the old days, when Repub friends and I could have civil

discussions and agree to disagree.....

Our differences were there but so was a fundamental concern for America and the worlds people....

NOW the Repukes in power scare the crap out of me - these people are either just greedy, selfish bastards or pure evil - or both.

[bdamomma]

2. Geez, I am pissed

how many are? okay, it isn't happening in our own backyard, but we can all see what is happening, this idiotic RW Authoritianism is getting us all, who can we send in to mediate, Condi Rice??? after Israel told her back off? who than can stop this madness, who Bill Clinton, Baker, George's father, this is all from a man who didn't go outside of US, who conducts himself as an ass, who doesn't understand other cultures. Who can we send in to diffuse this crisis. Innocent people are getting killed, yes, I am pissed how many out there are pissed.

Yell it out now.

[TomClash]

3. Wow.

Being to the Right of Franco is . . . well . . . insane. But that's Bush!

[Hardrada]

4. Franco didn't side with Hitler.

He was a prgmatist and only considered with Spain's welfare. Bush is not concerned with the welfare of the US only with Bushco's profits.

[alvarezadams]

5. That's propaganda for you

Franco most certainly DID side with Hitler - and only afterwards did his apologists try to paint a different picture.

Franco's POV was always a combination of self-interest and the rather twisted view of the Swiss "Entente" group - a rather shallow RW anti-communist, anti-Masonic group. He was a comic-opera dictator with a suitable "ideological" veneer that was initially monarchic, then fascist, then... Francoist.

Franco was, ultimately, a shallow fool. Which, come to think of it, is what Dubya is.

[Hardrada]

6. Hitler sided with Franco first actually but then Franco would

not allow the Wehrmacht to use Spain at all. Hitler wanted Gibraltar to get at the Royal Navy. Franco DID allow Spaniards to volunteer to fight in Russia. That part is true.