Posted on 03/22/2006 7:26:16 AM PST by sinkspur
Who says time travel isn't possible?
I got a bona fide '60s flashback last week when I attended a meeting of the John Birch Society.
Remember them?
Frankly, I was astonished to learn the Birch Society still exists. Shouldn't it have crumbled along with the Berlin Wall?
For those too young to remember, the Birch Society was one of many groups fighting the global menace of communism.
But of all the patriots standing foursquare against communism, the Birchers were always the ones in tin-foil hats.
Or so it seemed. Bless their hearts, they were sort of the kooky cousins of anti-communism – the folks who never met a conspiracy theory they didn't bite.
And sure enough, last week's meeting had barely started before there was a sneering reference to the Council on Foreign Relations.
I got a nostalgic little shiver. How cute! They still hate the CFR.
You know in the cartoons how the Super Friends always battled the evil Legion of Doom?
Well, for Birchers, the starchy Council on Foreign Relations is the Legion of Doom. It's part of the nefarious "invisible government" that really runs the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Hmmmm... let's think of the folks that have mentioned a One World Government.
Oh brother, I have truly seen it all with that "commentary"...(*snicker*)...
I'll bet you avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk, too, don'cha?
Don't think the communists want to abolish private property or eliminate capital. What they really want is for you not to have capital but for you to BE their capital, you to be their private property. Communism is not the absence of capitalism, it is state capitalism where the elite, those who run the state, are the only capitalists and the rest of the people are the capital, i.e. slaves. Under our system, I have a chance to be a capitalist by having a small business and running it. Under theirs, they run me. Communism is nothing more than a gigantic state-run slave plantation.
This is typical Steve Blow liberal crap. Here's another example of a group he thinks is out of step with his socialist agenda.
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Steve Blow:
Turning textbooks into the Good Book
10:05 AM CST on Sunday, March 5, 2006
Did you know that liberal elected officials don't understand biblical principles?
Or that all liberals worship man rather than God?
I didn't. But it must be true. It's being taught in schools.
It's kind of funny. A front-page news story the other day said conservatives want more control over textbooks in Texas public schools.
Well, it looks like liberals – those godless rascals – better pay attention to what's being taught in some private schools.
Now, I realize private is private, and such schools can teach anything they want. But when does education become indoctrination?
And when does it begin to affect us all?
I'm not talking about one or two little schools. This involves curriculum used by private schools and home-schoolers all over the nation. Indeed, all over the world.
The curriculum is published by Accelerated Christian Education. And that company started right here – in Lewisville.
Though ACE is now headed up in Florida, its distribution and other facilities in Lewisville are valued at more than $20 million on county tax rolls.
So we're not talking about some little fringe operation.
A concerned mom called my attention to the politically loaded lessons. She was troubled by some of the Texas history worksheets her son was bringing home.
That's where he had learned the definitions of liberal ("referring to philosophy not supported by Scripture") and conservative ("dedicated to the preserving of Scriptural principles").
The mom said she sent him to a small Christian school for more personal attention. But she didn't know that would mean such lopsided political ideology.
After talking with her, I ordered sets of American and Texas history workbooks from ACE.
The booklets are designed for individual, self-paced work. For the most part, they offer a straightforward, rather dry, dates-and-names approach to history.
But there are some definite quirks – like a certain egocentric sense of history. Care to guess what is "the most marked development of modern Texas?"
Right. "The growth of church schools." Of course.
And fill in this blank: "The single most important event in American history is surely ____."
Don't strain too hard. Surely you're not about to say "the Great Awakening," the religious revival that swept the colonies in the mid-1700s.
In more recent history, the re-election of Bill Clinton is explained thusly: "To some Americans, a healthy economy is more important than the moral fiber of their country."
Interestingly, the various investigations of Mr. Clinton get more than twice the space in the workbooks that Watergate gets.
And Jimmy Carter is described as someone who "claimed to be a Believer."
I can almost hear the Church Lady delivering that line, eyebrow arched steeple high.
On the matter of evolution, there is no pretense of balance. "The theory of evolution has no real scientific basis. ... There is simply no true scientific support for the theory," according to the ACE version of American history.
(In the interest of balance, type "statement on evolution" into Google and you will find solid support from virtually every scientific organization.)
The textbook goes on to set up a false choice between evolution and God. "Both cannot be right. Is it logical to trust Darwin or God? It is odd that whenever given the choice of accepting the Bible or some man-written book, the liberals always reject the Bible and accept the other book."
I had hoped to discuss educational philosophy with officials from ACE. But after they heard my questions, I got a polite decline.
I'm sure they're nice, well-intentioned folks and all that.
But a question comes to mind: If they teach that God is only on their side, how is that different from those we fight in Iraq?
E-mail sblow@dallasnews.com
From what I heard, he was a Christian missionery who became a US Army officer in WW2 and was later was killed by the Communist Chinese. That is what I heard, and it is possible he would never have wanted his name to be used for anything.
where they belong --- but you missed the point
John Birch was an American Marine I believe killed in 1951 in Korea
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2000/04-24-2000/vo16no09_birch.htm
Congressman Larry McDonald, a conservative Democrat from Georgia, was an official in the John Birch Society. He was killed on the Korean airliner that was shot down by the Soviets.
I'm not so worried about an invisible government as I am a permanent government populated with Gorelicks and Clarkes. People who were hired not elected making big decisions for us all during careers that span decades.""
A perfect description of the NAIS-National Animal Identification System that is running under the radar, and getting pushed on ALL animal owners- no matter the species or how many or how they are raised and used. Look it up here on FR and get the shivers.
The Birchers were (are) admittedly extreme. They saw conspiracy everywhere and took plenty of unfair shots against President Eisenhower and others. They were also the victims of unfair accusations themselves, such as the claim that they were anti-semites (they weren't) and that they were racist. In fact, George Schuyler, one of the greatest black journalists of the 20th century, joined the Birch Society and wrote for their magazine after his conversion to conservatism in the 1950s.
From what I know of them today, they take sort of a Paul Craif Roberts type view of the world. Many of their stands on the issues are fine (pro-life, supporting low taxes, etc.) but they still see conspiracy everywhere and think George W. Bush is the latest "internationalist" conspirator Republican, trying to lead us into a world government (New World Order) of some sort.
The Birchers are a fringe group, to be sure. Conspiracy everywhere!
TYPO: Paul CRAIG Roberts!
"Anyone who believes communisim is dead is a fool."
Correct, 100% correct! Good reply.
I attended JBS meetings and was a member of the Young Americans for Freedon while in college in the early 70's. Needless to say it was tough for a conservative back then especially at a Kalifornia College. Much of what the JBS were saying back then has come true.
Naysayers should read up on the JBS before bleeting out MSM talking points.
Thanks
I heard otherwise, but ok..
The New American is their bible
An odd thread to be posting here on FR, wouldn't you say? Buckley had some legitimate objections to the Birchers, but I'd prefer having a Bircher friend than a FROBL any day. At least I'd start out trusting the honor of a Bircher.
Years ago, I read The Politician. Welch does, indeed, present a lot of evidence--albeit selectively--to support his argument. Nevertheless, I find it hard to believe that the administration that threw the Reds out of Guatemala, stared down Khrushchev at Berlin, Mao at Quemoy, and Nasser at Beirut, toppled Iran's leftist regime, revitalized the Strategic Air Command, and successfully rallied the nation to the challenge of Sputnik was headed by a Communist sympathizer.
Malcolm X said that.
Larry McDonald was a great Congressman. I wish we had more Larry McDonalds in Congress.
Oddly enough, you posted to one of the prime suspects. I haven't gotten through all the posts, but wondering when the 'darkie' comment comes out.
Sinky should stick to castigating the Pope for 'being wrong'.
The Pope is in favor of open borders.
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