JONAH'S COUSIN???

In the last 2 months or so, there have been a number of posts on AOL's The War in Iraq message board that have nothing to do with the war. I've noticed more than a few anti-abortion posts and some that try to equate Nazism with Liberalism. In the latter category, this post stands out:

Soviettrawler
#1 - 4/24/07 09:36 PM (Msg Id: 523441:3281398)

Nazi Party Originated Social Security, Deficit Spending, Universal Medical Care, Camps, Propaganda, Etc. Add to that state sponsored abortion and euthenasia.

The ignorance here is pretty much invincible but I would like to share a few reality-based corrections. In the West, Otto von Bismarck was the first to move in the direction toward what we now know as Social Security and Universal Medical Care.¹ This change was improved upon by Sweden's Social Democratic Party (SAP) in the 1930's²:

the SAP created one of the world's most comprehensive systems of welfare. The program was begun during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and by the end of the decade it had helped revive the Swedish economy. Measures included allowances for children and for housing, health insurance, pensions, and a reform and expansion of the educational system.

¹Bismarck, Otto von. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9614

²Swedish Social Democratic Party. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9389395