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 ...
No thanks. The last Bircher I had extensive contact with on here was a goofball under the moniker of Inspector Harry Callahan.
He believed Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon was done on a soundstage in Hollywood, and that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, an innocent organization of rich Catholics who support shrines in the Holy Land, were plotting a modern-day crusade against Protestants.
In the first edition of The Politician, removed in teh second edition.
To qutoe Russell Kirk again, "Eisenhower's not a Communist; he's a golfer."
John Rousselot (R-Cal.), John Schmitz (R-Cal.), who was the AIP candidate against Nixon in '72, and John R. Rarick (D-La.) Interewsting that they were all named John.
I was a member of the Birch Society for a time, having been enticed to join by reading the Blue Book and some of their early publications. However, I quickly soured on the "master conspiracy" theory, which is oddly similar to V. I. Lenin's view of how the world works as expressed in his pamphlet, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism.
After I left, a friend of mine joined and became a chapter chairman in the mid-1980's. I was about to rejoin the society so I could become a member of his chapter, but before I could do so, he got purged. At chapter meetings, my friend had been trying to instill in his listeners an awareness and understanding of such real world issues as the Soviet threat and President Reagan's domestic agenda, while paying little or no attention to the "master conspiracy." Furthermore, rather than relying solely on Birch Society publications, he made available to his chapter publications from conservative journals and think tanks, and the Defense Department pamphlet, The Soviet Threat.
The Birch honcho for the region disapproved of this and dismissed him for not toeing the party line. His chapter quickly folded, but the society's ideological purity was preserved.
For anyone who thinks the Birchers are way out there, I'd suggest a good look at the 10 planks of the Communist Manifesto and compare that to how the fedgov runs this country.
Great name, and if you say it backwards it's the same.
Ewige blumenkraft.
Surprise me by showing me some proof that JBS ever said that!
From Wikipedia:
"Republican mainstream unhappiness with the Birch Society intensified after Welch circulated a letter calling President Dwight D. Eisenhower a possible “conscious, dedicated agent of the Communist Conspiracy.” Welch went further in a book titled The Politician, written in 1956 and published by the JBS in 1963, which declared that Eisenhower’s brother Milton was Ike’s superior within the Communist apparatus and alleging that other top government officials were also Communist tools. Included were ex-president Truman, Roosevelt, the last Sec. Of State John Foster Dulles and former CIA Director Allan W. Dulles. Conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr., an early friend and admirer of Welch, regarded his accusations against Eisenhower as "paranoid and idiotic libels" and attempted unsuccessfully to purge Welch from the JBS. Welch responded by attempting to take over Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative youth organization founded with assistance from Buckley."
Invisible?
Here's another Blast from the Past. I thought they were pretty good at naming names.
Robert Welch was a dedicated, conscious agent of the Communist conspiracy.
Yes, I once heard Revilo P. Oliver called the Grand Palindrome.
I thought eh John Birch Society was here almost since the countries founding. Wasn't it hte John Birch society that opposed the spending of federal monies on the re-building of Georgetown after the great fire?
I bet he put that on his business cards!
I think Congressman James B. Utt was another member of the John Birch Society, despite not being named John.
Guess I was wrong.
"Ever since its founding in 1958 by Robert Welch"
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
"Get U.S. Out of the UN!" is more valid today than it was back in the 60's. Of course, now that Bolton is there everything will be just so soft and comfy for the BushBot FReepers.
Continually hitting the snooze alarm remains the worst habit that so called 'conservative' Americans have ever developed.
One thing I have noticed, is that their magazine takes one stance: that which is lawful under the Constitution.
Read that, then go back and read an issue or two of TNA.
You will find that despite offending your sensibilities on occasion, they have a good track record for being right.
I have seen no evidence of racism of any stripe, either.
What I really want to know is why so many here are willing one minute to refute chapter and verse what the MSM says, and the next minute they are clamoring to get on the Dino-Media bandwagon, especially when it comes to smearing a Conservative group?
No thanks.
In other words, don't be bothered actually substantiating any of your assertions of anti-Semitism and the like...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.