Kerry spoke of "tired labels" in a debate after Bush cited his liberal voting record, of which he seemed not proud.
Liberal pols are more often on the defensive about their liberalism than conservatives are about their conservatism – Bush flaunted his and that was a winning strategy – which is why "ultra" and "far right" (never far left) have such appeal to mainstream media (MSM) reporters and editors.
For instance, Chi Trib’s Charles Madigan uses a blog column to deny the difference. He may see it that way, but it’s a tack taken by libs trying to shed unpopularity.
LA BELLE NOTHING . . . Alfred Hitchock’s two French-language war-effort (propaganda) films, "Bon Voyage" and "Aventure Malgache," were suppressed by the British government as "inflammatory," apparently because they featured Vichy-French pro-German treachery. Both were made in England, 1944, in black and white, were released on video by the British Film Institute in 1993. The video is at OPPL, which stocks a number of films unavailable elsewhere in the vicinity – but should try stacking them as they stack books, by genre.
The suppression of these films exemplifies the French problem, rather, the problem of what to do with them. Vichy, headed by WW1 hero Petain and Laval, was enthusiastically fascist and anti-semitic. It shipped thousands of Jews to camps. The SS "Charlemagne" Division consisted of French soldiers who died defending Hitler. (There was a Dutch equivalent, also SS.) There was very little French resistance during war. The French liked Vichy. Fascism was popular.
Meanwhile, DeGaulle was a big problem for the Allies, demanding this and that and being unwilling to condemn the deadly resistance by Vichy French to U.S. troops invading N. Africa. Read Miller & Molesky’s excellent Our Oldest Enemy: A History of America's Disastrous Relationship with France.
SECOND THOUGHTS . . . Newspaper retractions, or skinbacks, are worth reading. It’s the first thing radio talker Teri O’Brien, recent replacement for Don & Roma on WLS, reads in NY Times. Chi Trib skinbacks for 11/2/04:
* Two green radical groups are not "formally linked" with a play about which they were interviewed. (The play’s producers wanted to make that clear, probably lest they get tarred with radicalism when all they want is to be artistic and make a few bucks.
* CBS’s "60 Minutes" producer had nothing to do with the botched Bush-Texas Air Natl Guard (TANG) story. It was "60 Minutes-Wednesday." (Don’t blame us.)
* The Oklahoma quarterback threw four TD passes, not four interceptions in Saturday’s victory. (Oh. His mother thanks you profusely.)
DRINKING OUT . . . The new Caribou at OP & Lake is very good. On a recent week day morning, I was greeted nicely, given a china cup as a stay-there drinker (was later offered a refill!). Regular (refillable) was $1.52. Sat at window table. It wobbled a little, but gave me a view of Sco Park across street kitty-corner. Pleasant clientele came and went with coffee for Green Line ride downtown. The two serving guys were chatty and not annoying. Piped music was not too loud. There was bustle not chaos. All in all, a nice place. Sat there a good 45 minutes reading and note-taking. Old Oak Parker Henry P. spotted me, made faces in window. Good, good spot.
FOR YOUR CREATIVE MISREADING COLLECTION . . . "Non-plussed" means confused, not unimpressed or unfazed, as Wed Jnl writer Bill Dwyer used it 10/26/04, in a story headed "Sparks fly as Davis debates Davis-Fairman," about candidates for U.S. Congress.
BIG COUNTRY, FUNNY GUY . . . Canada has more geography than history, quipped Mackenzie King, its prime mininster 1921-30 and 1935-48.
LITTLE MONEY, FUNNY GUY . . . A free-lance writer, said Robert Benchley, is "a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps."
– From Michael J. Rosen, ed., Thurber Collecting Himself: on Writing and Writers, Humor, and Himself.
posted by Jim Bowman @ 11/30/2004 08:38:00 AM
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