Posted on 07/23/2005 4:50:34 AM PDT by Liz
Proves liberals can too hold a grudge.
This should be turned into a movie:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/sim-explorer/explore-items/-/1893554961/0/101/1/none/purchase/ref%3Dpd%5Fsxp%5Fr0/103-8520355-7773452
I reckon it never will be, for some strange reason...
One of the enlightening postscripts to the Foreman story: when the blacklisted Foreman finally came back to the US, he ran into John Wayne in a restaurant---Wayne was cordial and embraced Foreman even though Wayne was a dedicated McCarthy-era conservative. OTOH, when Foreman ran into Kramer in an elevator, Kramer looked right past him, and uttered not a word.
That would be interesting---heheh---watch the libs run scared.
Yeah, I did a thread on that book. I believe there's also a book out there centering on conservative Hollywood.
What's true, or not true, is subjective because of the time span between the HUAC hearings and now, as well as the people who are still alive to tell their story.
The fall of the Soviet Union did leave behind a lot of documents from that time relevant to the HUAC hearings. Add to that liberal Hollywood's fascination with communism at the time, and it's hard to tell what is or isn't "truth".
As far as PBS goes, PBS has a liberal bent and any documentary it shows is suspect in advance.
"The fall of the Soviet Union did leave behind a lot of documents from that time relevant to the HUAC hearings. Add to that liberal Hollywood's fascination with communism at the time, and it's hard to tell what is or isn't "truth"."
I would disagree that it is hard to tell what is or isn't the truth...as far as I can see, the the release of documents related to the Venona Project have pretty much vindicated Whittaker Chambers, HUAC and Joseph McCarthy, and nailed Alger Hiss, the Rosenbergs, Latimore and others.
And yet, many STILL cling to the fantasy the Hiss was innocent, the Rosenbergs were innocent victims, and McCarthy was an evil man.
McCarthy was a genuine American Hero who gave his life and reputation in the service of his country. He should be exhumed and taken to Arlington National Cemetary and interred with full honors, his reputation restored. He can rest next to my dad.
The Venona papers uncovered a lot from that era, and beyond.
However, liberal's penchant for reinventing themselves, their massive egos, and their obsession with refurbishing their tarnished reputations all have to be factored into the latter day retelling of the McCarthy era.
McCarthy was without a doubt doing the right thing---however, judging by the way history characterizes him----he went about it in the wrong way.
At hearings, he waved papers around, injudiciously named names without having proof, and so on. He was also not a very good subject for the TV camera---at a time when hearings were first televised, I believe.
McCarthy's worst move was giving the calculated liberals plenty of ammo to denigrate his activities. He had no sense of the collateral effect.
Nevertheless, he did perform a public service outing the libs.
I maintain McCarthy's biggest contribution to history was to allow the libs to be seen as vile, vengeful individuals.
They were not aggrieved b/c they were outed for their communist leanings---they were proud of being lefties----but b/c the everlasting view of them is as hateful human beings pushing an anti-American agenda. This they can never forgive.
Is there much material in the Venona papers regarding Soviet support for Hollywood? There sure is plenty to support McCarthy's charges against many in FDR's administration, and the Dem Party of the time in general.
And this rant makes the familiar mistake of vaguely tying McCarthy to HUAC, which is absurd, as he was a Senator, not a House Representative. If they're confusing things as basic as that, what else do they have wrong? "Much," seems likely.
McCarthy and HUAC????. The Hollywood Ten were brought before HUAC in 1947 - BEFORE McCarthy was elected to the House. McCarthyisn and HUAC are not the same thing. HUAC also convicted Alger Hiss and several others.
This is all documented in Ann Coulter's book "Treason."
The blacklist brought out the worst in people; the poisons of political partisanship and the cowardice when one's livelihood is threatened.
All these events related to outing Communists telescope into a single mis en scene when looking back on history.
Everything they did or said was related to protecting their well-paid positions.
These guys were all children of the '30s - when people were fighting much different battles. They - correctly for the most part - identified their enemies as anti-union bigots. Only the really clever lefties saw the evil in Russian communism and these guys weren't that clever.
But then only the really clever righties saw the evil in Hitler - until he declared war on us. Even Churchill was pro-Hitler until he realized that the latter aimed for European domination, not just the conquest of Russia.
At the time? Do you go to the movies much?
I laughed so hard after reading that---when caught with their pants down---the lefties whined they had no idea Communism was to be America's great enemy. As if the Commie rhetoric they ate up gave them nary a clue.
What the libs refuse to admit is that the Democrats or liberals used the HUAC to further their own agenda, as often as the Republicans, and not necessarily for altruistic purposes.
My own grandfather was a Democrat politician who refused to tow the party line, so when he came up for re-election, his opponent in the primary, accused him of being a communist. It was an easy mark, he was a former union officer. The only evidence against him was that he was seen reading the headlines on a communist newspaper at a news stand. The FBI ruined his life and even attended his funeral.
Thanks for the realtime input.
The after-effects of the era continue to roll on.
It's been postulated that there are 1001 stories that emanate from the period---none of them clearly black or white---as you so poignantly illustated.
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