Free Republic

The Swiss actor died at home in Zurich on Friday night, his management said. Ganz was well-known in German-language cinema and theatre and also had roles in English-language films including The Reader and The Manchurian Candidate. His most famous role, however, was as Adolf Hitler in Downfall. One particular scene depicting Hitler in apoplectic fury became a meme and spawned thousands of parodies online. The film, called Der Untergang in German, told the story of Hitler's final days in his Berlin bunker. It grossed $92m (£71.3m) at box offices around the world when it was released. t was named winner...

Hawaii is widely known as one of the most liberal states in the Union, despite the deep Christian convictions of hundreds of thousands of hard-working voters. One-party Democrat rule has gripped state and county governments since Hawaii’s Statehood in 1959 — when a single watershed election created a power structure that still exists. Hawaii’s legislature regularly backs the most “progressive” policies of any state, imposing heavy taxes, massive bureaucracies and lavish government programs, and leading the leftward charge on social issues from same-sex marriage to abortion. There is more political pluralism in Venezuela today than there is in the State...