Adolf Has A Birthday - And A Pin In His Cushion

Yes, today is Der Fuhrer's birthday. We remember him solely as the last century's foremost mass murderer, challenged only by Mao Zedong, and followed by runners-up, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Pol Pot. Perhaps this day will remind us that our president is pandering for votes from his party's Jew hating faction as they chant "Death to Israel" and equally disturbing, "Death to America". Already, analysts are saying the group could easily cost him the presidential election in November. It reminds me that our national experience today walks uncomfortably close to that of Weimar Germany, the breeding ground for the rise of Adolf and his National Socialist party to victory in 1933. Given the Holocaust and World War II that followed we cannot associate Adolf and his party with any kind of win. 

We could remember Der Fuhrer by listing his atrocities which remain well documented and commemorated in western culture. I choose to build on that foundation through the forms of humor we know as satire and parody. Both have been described as the most effective forms of ridicule by far and a staple in public discourse and entertainment beginning with the Greeks 2500 years ago. Therefore, I present to you the Adolph Hitler Pin Cushion, a most popular item in American households during World War II. The fine specimen pictured below comes from my great aunt's home.

In our time the film industry has produced some wonderful examples of humor applied to Der Fuhrer. For some individuals and groups it is difficult to understand. In a 2018 National Public Radio interview, Mel Brooks, the comic who brought us The Producers (1967 and 2005) and many other masterful comedies, explained his motivations for making the original film:

. . . Listen, get on a soapbox with Hitler, you're gonna lose — he was a great orator. But if you can make fun of him, if you can have people laugh at him, you win. . . . The comedy writer is like the conscience of the king . . . . He's got to tell him the truth. And that's my job: to make terrible things entertaining.

I would add the terrible things not only become entertaining but also allow us to survive, understand, and accept their reality. Yes, there is healing in this humor.

Here are four examples of satire and parody at work from Charlie Chaplin's, The Great Dictator (1940) where Hitler meets Italy's Mussolini; Mel Brooks's, The Producers (1967); and the British Ministry of Information's Schichlegruber Doing The Lambeth Walk (1942).

Horrible voice, bad breeding, vulgar manners, you have everything you need to be a politician.

          from The Knights, a play by Aristophanes, 424 BCE





Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Hitler pin cushion figurine, World War II era, OTR personal collection

Text:
NPR Morning Edition interview with Susan Stamberg, April 26, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/04/26/605297774/mel-brooks-says-its-his-job-to-make-terrible-things-entertaining

Charlie Chaplin: The Consumate Comedian

If you took a photograph of the "Little Tramp" to almost any corner of the world touched by Western culture, chances are, someone would recognize it. That's a powerful statement given that the character hasn't appeared in a film for over seventy years. Greatness persists. And so it is with Charlie Chaplin, born on this date in London in 1889.

In his 88 years, he graced the world of entertainment as a performer, director, producer, businessman, and composer. His concern for everyday people and their often difficult lives was a common theme in virtually all his films as well as his private life. Such humanitarian sympathies led him to ally with well-known leftist in the U.S. and eventually leave the country in the early 1950s'. Through it all, his endearing, bumbling yet refined tramp brought laughter and awareness to millions.


Take some time today to visit Chaplin's official site. The biography page is especially useful, providing information about nine "masterpiece features" and a complete filmography. Chaplin has three films on the American Film Institute's Greatest Films of All Time list. They are: City Lights (1931) at #11, The Gold Rush (1925) at #58, and Modern Times (1936) at #78. It's important to keep in mind that Chaplin was the director, producer, writer, star, composer, and editor for all of these films except Modern Times, edited by Willard Nico.

My personal favorite among all of his films is The Great Dictator (1940). Interestingly, this film was Chaplin's first "talkie." In it Chaplin portrays two characters, the "Little Tramp" variation of a Jewish veteran of World War I attempting to reestablish his life as a barber, and Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomainia. Any resemblance between Adenoid Hynkel and Adolph Hitler is completely intentional. The film is a masterful piece of political satire made as an appeal to Americans and their leadership to wake up to the threat of Nazi Germany. It's often cited as the finest example of the use of ridicule in film in the twentieth century.

Here are two clips from The Great Dictator. First is the famous "globe scene," and second, "Benzino Napaloni - played to ridiculous perfection by Jack Oakie - meets Adenoid Hynkel at the train station." These clips are restricted and can be viewed by clicking on the YouTube link provided. 

 

Happy birthday, Little Tramp. Thank you for being the comedian you were and for helping shape the comedy we enjoy today.

A day without laughter is a day wasted.

                    Charlie Chaplin

Leni Riefenstahl: She Defined Propaganda As Documentary Persuasion

Leni Riefenstall in 1933

Today marks the birthday in 1902 of the German Expressionist film maker, Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003). If you were in school during the third quarter of the 20th century there's a likely chance you are familiar with her landmark 1935 film, Triumph of the Will. This legendary propaganda piece was the product of her fascination with Adolph Hitler, the National Socialist movement and his desire to document the party rally in Nuremberg in 1934. It was the second film she produced for Hitler. Its success, as well as their ongoing friendship, resulted in other notable projects but nothing approached the success of Triumph of the Will. At the same time, her association with the party, its principals, and her use of the enforced labor of talented Jews brought her a brief prison term at the end of World War II. She was also shunned for three decades by the world-wide film industry.

Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler greets Leni Riefenstahl, 1934

In the last quarter of her life of 102 years she focused on still photography of nature and culture in Africa. At age 72, she developed an interested in underwater photography, became a certified diver, and went on to produce two books and one film featuring marine life.

Riefenstahl reached the heights of creativity and controversy in her lifetime. I don't expect interpretations of her legacy will change. To admire her amazing technical innovation in documentary film making one has to ignore her association with evil. It is an association she denied but the evidence was deeply embedded in her life and work. We are also left with hard evidence that she was a genius behind the camera.

Here are some highlights from her films:


The 1932 film, Das Blaue Licht (The Blue Light) is based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Riefenstahl directed, produced, and starred in the film. It is notable as an example of Alpine cinema, one of the first sound films to be shot on location, and the film that attracted Hitler to Riefenstahl.

Triumph of the Will (1934) is a propaganda masterpiece documenting the Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg directed, co-written, produced, and edited by Riefenstahl. Its imagery has defined National Socialist leaders and the movement to this day.

The film also produced some viciously effective humor including this propaganda short by Charles A. Ridley in 1941. The Lambeth Walk dance craze swept across Europe - including Germany - after it was featured in a 1939 film. Resistance movements in German occupied territories had a dangerous but effective habit of splicing the parody into feature films and shown to local audiences that often included German soldiers. The practice infuriated The Furhrer and members of his leadership circle, especially propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Both the song and dance were eventually banned in Germany but the ridicule had already achieved its objective.

And from the prologue of Olympia (1938) her documentary - written, directed, and produced - of the famous Berlin games of 1936. Image and sound quality are marginal in this clip but the intent shines through. Viewer warning: be prepared for skimpy 1930-style thongs and bare breasts.

For an interesting assessment of Riefenstall's impact on film making, here is D.L. Booth writing in the Bright Lights Journal about the "body beautiful," particularly in the James Bond film series beginning in 1962.






Sources


Photos:
portrait, Невідомо [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
with Hitler, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R99035 / CC-BY-SA [CC BY-SA 3.0 de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons


Text:
wikipedia.org, Leni Riefenstall
leni-riefenstall.de
theguardian.com/film/2003/sep/09/world.news1, Leni Riefenstahl

A Birthday For Adolf

Yes, today is Der Fuhrer's birthday. We remember him only as the last century's foremost mass murderer, challenged only by Mao Zedong, and followed by runners-up, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Pol Pot.

We could remember Der Fuhrer by listing his atrocities which remain well documented and commemorated in western culture. I choose to build on that foundation through the forms of humor we know as satire and parody. Both have been described as most effective forms of ridicule by far and a staple in public discourse and entertainment beginning with the Greeks 2500 years ago.

In our time the film industry has produced some wonderful examples of humor applied to Der Fuhrer. For some it is difficult to understand. In a 2018 National Public Radio interview, Mel Brooks, the comic who brought us The Producers (1967 and 2005) explained his motivations for making the original film:

. . . Listen, get on a soapbox with Hitler, you're gonna lose — he was a great orator. But if you can make fun of him, if you can have people laugh at him, you win. . . . The comedy writer is like the conscience of the king . . . . He's got to tell him the truth. And that's my job: to make terrible things entertaining.

I would add the terrible things not only become entertaining but also allow us to survive, understand, and accept their reality. Yes, there is healing in this humor.

Here are four examples of satire and parody at work from Charlie Chaplin's, The Great Dictator (1940), Mel Brooks's, The Producers (1967), and the British Ministry of Information's Schichlegruber Doing The Lambeth Walk (1942). 

Horrible voice, bad breeding, vulgar manners, you have everything you need to be a politician.

                                      Aristophanes 

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Hitler pin cushion figurine, World War II era, OTR personal collection

Text:
NPR Morning Edition interview with Susan Stamberg, April 26, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/04/26/605297774/mel-brooks-says-its-his-job-to-make-terrible-things-entertaining

The Little Tramp: Charlie Chaplin So Very Much Remembered

If you took a photograph of the "Little Tramp" to almost any corner of the world touched by Western culture, chances are, someone would recognize it. That's a powerful statement given that the character hasn't appeared in a film for over seventy years. Greatness persists. And so it is with Charlie Chaplin, born on this date in London in 1889.

In his 88 years, he graced the world of entertainment as a performer, director, producer, businessman, and composer. His concern for everyday people and their often difficult lives was a common theme in virtually all his films as well as his private life. Such humanitarian sympathies led him to ally with well-known leftist in the U.S. and eventually leave the country in the early 1950s'. Through it all, his endearing, bumbling yet refined tramp brought laughter and awareness to millions.

Take some time today to visit Chaplin's official site. The biography page is especially useful, providing information about nine "masterpiece features" and a complete filmography. Chaplin has three films on the American Film Institute's Greatest Films of All Time list. They are: City Lights (1931) at #11, The Gold Rush (1925) at #58, and Modern Times (1936) at #78. It's important to keep in mind that Chaplin was the director, producer, writer, star, composer, and editor for all of these films except Modern Times, edited by Willard Nico.

My personal favorite among all of his films is The Great Dictator (1940). Interestingly, this film was Chaplin's first "talkie." In it Chaplin portrays two characters, the "Little Tramp" variation of a Jewish veteran of World War I attempting to reestablish his life as a barber, and Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomainia. Any resemblance between Adenoid Hynkel and Adolph Hitler is completely intentional. The film is a masterful piece of political satire made as an appeal to Americans and their leadership to wake up to the threat of Nazi Germany. It's often cited as the finest example of the use of ridicule in film in the twentieth century.

Here are two clips from The Great Dictator. First is the famous "globe scene," and second, "Benzino Napaloni - played to ridiculous perfection by Jack Oakie - meets Adenoid Hynkel at the train station."

  A day without laughter is a day wasted.

                                                                               Charlie Chaplin

Leni Riefenstahl: The Fuhrer's Remarkable Filmmaker

 

Leni Riefenstall in 1933

Today marks the birthday in 1902 of the German Expressionist film maker, Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003). If you were in school during the third quarter of the 20th century there's a likely chance you are familiar with her landmark 1935 film, Triumph of the Will. This legendary propaganda piece was the product of her fascination with Adolph Hitler, the National Socialist movement and his desire to document the party rally in Nuremberg in 1934. It was the second film she produced for Hitler.  Its success, as well as their ongoing friendship, resulted in other notable projects but nothing approached the success of Triumph of the Will. At the same time, her association with the party, its principals, and her use of the enforced labor of talented Jews brought her a brief prison term at the end of World War II. She was also shunned for three decades by the world-wide film industry.

Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler greets Leni Riefenstahl, 1934

In the last quarter of her life of 102 years she focused on still photography of nature and culture in Africa. At age 72, she developed an interested in underwater photography, became a certified diver, and went on to produce two books and one film featuring marine life.

Riefenstahl reached the heights of creativity and controversy in her lifetime. I don't expect interpretations of her legacy will change. To admire her amazing technical innovation in documentary film making one has to ignore her association with evil. It is an association she denied but the evidence was deeply embedded in her life and work. We are also left with hard evidence that she was a genius behind the camera.

Here are some highlights from her films: 

The 1932 film, Das Blaue Licht (The Blue Light) is based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Riefenstahl directed, produced, and starred in the film. It is notable as an example of Alpine cinema, one of the first sound films to be shot on location, and the film that attracted Hitler to Riefenstahl. 

Triumph of the Will (1934) is a propaganda masterpiece documenting the Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg directed, co-written, produced, and edited by Riefenstahl. Its imagery has defined Nazi leaders and Nazism to this day.

The film has also produced some viciously effective humor including this propaganda short by Charles A. Ridley in 1941. The Furhrer and members of his leadership circle, especially propagandist Joseph Goebbels, hated both the Lambeth Walk as well as this parody. 

And from the prologue of Olympia (1938) her documentary - written, directed, and produced -of the famous Berlin games of 1936. Image and sound quality are marginal in this clip but the intent shines through. Viewer warning: be prepared for skimpy 1930-style thongs and bare breasts.

For an interesting assessment of Riefenstall's impact on film making, here is D.L. Booth writing in the Bright Lights Journal about the "body beautiful," particularly in the James Bond film series beginning in 1962.

Sources


Photos:
portrait, Невідомо [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
with Hitler, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R99035 / CC-BY-SA [CC BY-SA 3.0 de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons


Text:
wikipedia.org, Leni Riefenstall
leni-riefenstall.de
theguardian.com/film/2003/sep/09/world.news1, Leni Riefenstahl

Remembering The Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplin, On His Birthday

 \

If you took a photograph of the "Little Tramp" to almost any corner of the world touched by Western culture, chances are, someone would recognize it. That's a powerful statement given that the character hasn't appeared in a film for over seventy years. Greatness persists. And so it is with Charlie Chaplin, born on this date in London in 1889.

In his 88 years, he graced the world of entertainment as a performer, director, producer, businessman, and composer. His concern for everyday people and their often difficult lives was a common theme in virtually all his films as well as his private life. Such humanitarian sympathies led him to ally with well-known leftist in the U.S. and eventually leave the country in the early 1950s'. Through it all, his endearing, bumbling yet refined tramp brought laughter and awareness to millions.

Take some time today to visit Chaplin's official site. The biography page is especially useful, providing information about nine "masterpiece features" and a complete filmography. Chaplin has three films on the American Film Institute's Greatest Films of All Time list. They are: City Lights (1931) at #11, The Gold Rush (1925) at #58, and Modern Times (1936) at #78. It's important to keep in mind that Chaplin was the director, producer, writer, star, composer, and editor for all of these films except Modern Times, edited by Willard Nico.

My personal favorite among all of his films is The Great Dictator (1940). Interestingly, this film was Chaplin's first "talkie." In it Chaplin portrays two characters, the "Little Tramp" variation of a Jewish veteran of World War I attempting to reestablish his life as a barber, and Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomainia. Any resemblance between Adenoid Hynkel and Adolph Hitler is completely intentional. The film is a masterful piece of political satire made as an appeal to Americans and their leadership to wake up to the threat of Nazi Germany. It's often cited as the finest example of the use of ridicule in film in the twentieth century.

Here are two clips from The Great Dictator. First is the famous "globe scene," and second, "Benzino Napaloni - played to ridiculous perfection by Jack Oakie - meets Adenoid Hynkel at the train station."

A day without laughter is a day wasted.

                                                                                                   Charlie Chaplin

Remembering Charlie Chaplin: The Little Tramp

If you took a photograph of the "Little Tramp" to almost any corner of the world touched by Western culture, chances are, someone would recognize it. That's a powerful statement given that the character hasn't appeared in a film for over seventy years. Greatness persists. And so it is with Charlie Chaplin, born on this date in London in 1889.

In his 88 years, he graced the world of entertainment as a performer, director, producer, businessman, and composer. His concern for everyday people and their often difficult lives was a common theme in virtually all his films as well as his private life. Such humanitarian sympathies led him to ally with well-known leftist in the U.S. and eventually leave the country in the early 1950s'. Through it all, his endearing, bumbling, yet refined, tramp brought laughter and awareness to millions.

Take some time today to visit Chaplin's official site. The biography page is especially useful, providing information about nine "masterpiece features" and a complete filmography. Chaplin has three films on the American Film Institute's Greatest Films of All Time list. They are: City Lights (1931) at #11, The Gold Rush (1925) at #58, and Modern Times (1936) at #78. It's important to keep in mind that Chaplin was the director, producer, writer, star, composer, and editor for all of these films except Modern Times, edited by Willard Nico.

My personal favorite among all of his films is The Great Dictator(1940). Interestingly, this film was Chaplin's first "talkie." In it Chaplin portrays two characters, the "Little Tramp" variation of a Jewish veteran of World War I attempting to reestablish his life as a barber, and Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomainia. Any resemblance between Adenoid Hynkel and Adolph Hitler is completely intentional. The film is a masterful piece of political satire made as an appeal to Americans and their leadership to wake up to the threat of Nazi Germany. It's often cited as the finest example of the use of ridicule in film in the twentieth  century. 

Here are two clips from The Great Dictator. First is the famous "globe scene," and second, "Benzino Napaloni - played to ridiculous perfection by Jack Oakie - meets Adenoid Hynkel at the train station."

A day without laughter is a day wasted.

                                                                           Charlie Chaplin 

Leni Riefenstahl: Pioneer Propagandist

Today marks the birthday in 1902 of the German film maker, Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003). If you were in school during the third quarter of the 20th century there's a likely chance you are familiar with her landmark 1935 film, Triumph of the Will. This legendary propaganda piece was the product of her fascination with Adolph Hitler, the National Socialist movement and his desire to document the party rally in Nuremberg in 1934. It was the second film she produced for Hitler and its success, as well as their ongoing friendship, resulted in other notable projects but nothing approached the success of Triumph of the Will. At the same time, her association with the party, its principals, and her use of the enforced labor of talented Jews brought her a brief prison term at the end of World War II. She was also shunned for three decades by the world-wide film industry.

Hitler greets Riefenstahl in 1934

In the last quarter of her life of 102 years she focused on still photography of nature and culture in Africa. At age 72, she developed an interested in underwater photography, became a certified diver, and went on to produce two books and one film featuring marine life. 

Riefenstahl reached the heights of creativity and controversy in her lifetime. I don't expect interpretations of her legacy will change. To admire her amazing technical innovation in documentary film making one has to ignore her association with evil. It is an association she denied but the evidence in her life and work cause us to suspect otherwise. At this point we are left only with the hard evidence that she was a genius behind the motion picture camera.

Here is the evidence of her talent: The opening sequences from Triumph of the Will...

...and the opening sequence from Olympia (1936) documenting the famous Berlin Games. NEAR-NUDITY AND BARE BREAST WARNING

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R99035 / CC-BY-SA

Text:

wikipedia.org, Leni Riefenstahl
leni-riefenstahl.de
theguardian.com/film/2003/sep/09/world.news1, Leni Riefenstahl

Charlie Chaplin: A Tramp Is Born

If you took a photograph of the "Little Tramp" to almost any corner of the world touched by Western culture chances are someone would recognize it. That's a powerful statement given that the character hasn't appeared in a film for over seventy years. Greatness persists. And so it is with Charlie Chaplin, born on this date in London in 1889.

In his 88 years, he graced the world of entertainment as a performer, director, producer, businessman, and composer. His concern for everyday people and their often difficult lives was a common theme in virtually all his films as well as his private life. Such humanitarian sympathies led him to ally with well-known leftist in the U.S. and eventually leave the country in the early 1950s'. Through it all, his endearing, bumbling, yet refined, tramp brought laughter and awareness to millions.

Take some time today to visit Chaplin's official site. The biography page is especially useful, providing information about nine "masterpiece features" and a complete filmography.

Below, watch Chaplin at his best - with a variation of the "Tramp" - portraying Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomainia, as he contemplates ruling the world. Any resemblance between Adenoid Hynkel and Adolph Hilter is completely intentional. If you have not watched The Great Dictator (1940), add it to your queue today. You'll love it.  The film is often cites as the finest example of the use of ridicule in film in the twentieth century.

Charlie Chaplin: "A Day Without Laughter Is A Day Wasted."

In his 88 years, he graced the world of entertainment as a performer, director, producer, businessman, and composer. His concern for everyday people and their often difficult lives was a common theme in virtually all his films as well as his private life. Such humanitarian sympathies led him to ally with well-known leftist in the U.S. and eventually leave the country in the early 1950s. Through it all, his endearing, bumbling, yet refined tramp brought laughter and awareness to millions.

We are of course talking about the irrepressible Charlie Chaplin, born on this day in 1889 in London. On a tour of the United States in 1913 he caught the eye of film producer Max Sennett. In was in preparation for his second film that he stumbled upon his persona as the "Little Tramp" a role that would become his signature. Today, if you took a photograph of the "Little Tramp" to almost any corner of the world touched by Western culture, chances are someone would recognize it. That's a powerful statement given that the character hasn't appeared in a film for almost eighty years. We should be pleased that such greatness persists. 

Take some time today to visit Chaplin's official site. The biography page is especially useful, providing information about nine "masterpiece features" and a complete filmography. Chaplin has three films on the American Film Institute's Greatest Films of All Time" list. They are: City Lights (1931) at #11, The Gold Rush (1925) at #58, and Modern Times (1936) at #78. It's important to keep in mind that Chaplin was the director, producer, writer, star, composer, and editor for all of these films except Modern Times which was edited by Willard Nico.

My personal favorite among all of his films is The Great Dictator (1940). Interestingly, this film was Chaplin's first "talkie." In it Chaplin portrays two characters, the "Little Tramp" variation of a Jewish veteran of World War I attempting to reestablish his life as a barber, and  Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomainia.   Any resemblance between Adenoid Hynkel and Adolph Hitler is completely intentional. The film is a masterful piece of political satire made as an appeal to Americans and their leadership to wake up to the threat of Nazi Germany. If you have not watched The Great Dictator (1940), add it to your queue today. You won't regret it.

Here is a 25 minute, French documentary on The Great Dictator produced in 2003. I normally do not link to long videos here but this one is exceptionally well-made. It's packed with important background information and features several scenes including the "globe scene" [19:26] rightfully described as "one of the most brilliant scenes in all of cinema." 

Anti-Semitic Campaign In San Francisco

The media and blogosphere had some fun this past week over San Francisco's upcoming November referendum on banning circumcision. The fun ended today with the appearance of some disturbing anti-Semitic campaign literature. Regardless of how you feel about the referendum or its subject, propaganda in the best tradition of the Third Reich has no place in the American experience.











Reason, rationality, and moderation have been in short supply in the City by the Bay for some decades now. Let's hope the leftists behind this campaign see the hatred and bring it to a quick end. Here is your link to more pictures and commentary.

Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for aggregating this story.

More Weimar History Repeats Itself

A festival in Hanover, Germany was interrupted today when Arab youths stoned a Jewish dance group. The politics may be different, but the very act and message are hauntingly like the Germany we saw almost a century ago. John Hinderaker has some comments and a link to the full story here.




"Marxism [communism] is the guardian angel of capitalism." - Nazi propaganda poster, 1932

Child Sacrifice

Here is another example of the pathology presented by radical Islam. This video is making the rounds today on several blogs. It is unfortunate that peaceful elements within Islam do not condemn this horror.

A Merry Little Nazi Christmas

Building on the destructive and humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the National Socialist movement in Germany wasted no time in using patriotism and propaganda to remove Christ from Christmas beginning in 1933. World War II, which began with the invasion of Poland in 1939, made them even more determined. The goal was a holiday without Christianity and its Jewish antecedents.














Imagine baking your own swastika cookies for the holidays or decorating the tree with ornaments glorifying Germanic culture. Mail OnLine has the story and additional illustrations here. "Chilling" is a reasonable description.

The article notes that German churches did not protest the attempts to cleanse the holiday, probably out of fear. That should please the ACLU.

Source: Jonah Goldberg, NRO, The Corner

Pay Raises Count As "Saved" Jobs

Never in my lifetime have words coming out of my country's government lost so much meaning. If you have a working brain cell, you can see straight through this deception. It leads me to believe this administration holds its citizens in complete contempt. Here are the details as reported by Hot Air. Note that Chicago officials are reporting that stimulus money saved more jobs than exist. Madness.

Manufacturing Consent

The Obama administration is poised to use the National Endowment for the Arts to affect policy. Read about it here.

In it's 45 year history, the NEA has never been used this way. One could expect it in collectivist regimes, the usual set of socialists, communists and fascists, but not in the United States unless there is a national emergency. We did have Federal Project Number One under the Works Progress Administration during the Roosevelt years. It was devoted to promoting the arts, but not as propaganda. That would change with the coming of World War II when the arts did play a policy role under the U.S. Office of Emergency Management.

Our times may be tough, but this recession is not as difficult as the one many of us faced in 1982. This issue bears careful watching as it has its roots in the leftist Saul Alinksy playbook for community organizers. Obama knows this playbook well, as does Hillary Clinton.