Saturday, February 2, 2008

Joe McCarthy, Communism and Fellow Travelers

I watched the movie, Good night and Good Luck, and noticed it when Ed Murrow said McCarthy accused people of being either communists or "fellow travelers." I'd never heard this used in reference to McCarthy, but when I went to look it up I found it was used by McCarthy. Isn't fellow traveler also the "secret" codeword for Freemasons?

An article by Ronald Radash tempers the fact that "McCarthy did identify some Communists who escaped the net" with the fact that he also began investigating some others who were not. This reminds me of one of the responses to Alan Stang's article on MLK Day, where one crticic asserted that MLK's plagiarizing (1/3 to 1/2 of) his doctoral thesis is no big deal in light of all the "good work" he did. Who were the Communists who escaped? Where did they escape to? What did they do after that? Is there a list of these people? I bet there is.

From George Mason University's History News Network:

Ronald Radosh: Is the new biography of Joe McCarthy trustworthy?

Source:
National Review Online (12-17-07)
http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/46544.html

"While McCarthy did identify some Communists who managed to escape the net, he also began to investigate and pillory many who were in no way connected with the Soviets as agents, spies, or couriers. He often failed to distinguish between actual Communists, fellow-travelers, and anti-Communist liberals and social-democrats. It was enough for him to know that they were critical of his methods and tactics: That made them as good as Communists. Many of these people were indeed Communists, fellow-travelers, or dupes. But they were not engaged in any activity except that of public pronouncements that could be accepted or rejected on their merits. Nothing in the area of their work made them a security risk."

I'm tending toward the belief (because we can never really know who any of these players were.. can we?) that McCarthy was just a little too perfect for the dialectic. Look at the necessary role he fulfilled; he took the spotlight off other extremely credible Congressional investigations and became the perfect target for the opposition. After the Senate censured him the communist agents had ZERO official opposition. Look at what happened after that to anyone who suggested investigations of communist subversives. And when I first recognized the communist language used by city planning officials in Seattle, Democrat Nancy Rising warned me I needed to stop sounding so much like McCarthy.

Throughout my entire lifetime, calling someone (in the USA) a communist was returned with an accusation of "red baiting" or worse. So what happened to the OTHER accusation McCarthy made. What exactly did he mean by "either a communist or a fellow traveler?" Doesn't the either/or question imply they're two different things?

Here's a few places using the term "fellow traveler":

This first one is an amazing letter directed at Communism and Freemasonry:

An Open Letter to Confused Catholics, By His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, 12. Comrades and Fellow-Travellers
http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Society_of_Saint_Pius_X/OpenLetterToConfusedCatholics/Chapter-12.htm


Ron Paul War Room
http://www.ronpaulwarroom.com/?p=3435

9th MasonicDistrict of Ohio Forums-Fellow Travelers:
http://9thdistrict.ohiofreemason.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=3

The Masonic Traveler blog:
http://masonictraveler.blogspot.com/2006/04/marketing-freemasonry.html

The Masonic Traveler has an article on Oprah's endorsement of The Secret:
http://masonictraveler.blogspot.com/2007/02/oprah-and-secret-of-secret.html

I've spent my whole life hearing about the poor innocents who were wrongly investigated by McCarthy, but I never heard of the Reese Committee until I started doing ACL research. I just went to find Iserbyt's links to the Reese transcripts and guess what????? Her book is now downloadable for FREE online! http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/

Here's Charlotte's site with a wealth of references from the 20s, 30s and 40s (when communism was still a topic considered politically correct and appropriate for national discussions):
http://www.americandeception.com/

What an interesting day this is becoming. I just got an email about a bill introduced in 1992 in the U.S. Congress regarding adopting Agenda 21 goals in the U.S. I couldn't find the right link so I did a search for it. Nothing came back for Agenda 21, but this one came in as closely related:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.RES.873
:


109th CONGRESS
2d Session

H. RES. 873

Recognizing the continued importance of the transatlantic partnership between the United States and the European Union by expressing support for the success of the forthcoming US-EU Summit in Vienna, Austria, on June 21, 2006.

H. RES. 873 tells a LOT about how closely we're tied to to E.U. Let us not forget the E.U. was established under the Supremacy of Communitarian Law clause.

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
      (1) reaffirms the importance of the transatlantic relationship between the United States and the European Union;
      (2) recognizes that both the United States and Europe face multiple and common challenges at home and abroad and to deal effectively with many of these challenges the United States and the European Union must continue to adapt the transatlantic partnership which has served both so well;
      (3) acknowledges that the relationship between the United States and the European Union should continue to be strengthened through regular and intensive consultations;
      (4) expresses its support for the success of the forthcoming US-EU Summit on June 21, 2006, in Vienna, Austria, and encourages agreements on issues such as the continued support for global freedom, democracy, and human rights, a successful conclusion of the World Trade Organization Doha Development Agenda, and a workable transatlantic energy security strategy; and
      (5) joins with the European Parliament in agreeing to continue to strengthen the transatlantic partnership by enhancing the dialogue and collaboration between the United States Congress and the European Parliament through the framework of the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue and other legislative exchanges.
Anyone who doesn't believe there's an integration into an emerging global parliament should go here: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/intcoop/tld/default_en.htm

"The economic relationship between the European Union and the United States is perhaps the most defining feature of the global economy. The integration is broader and deeper than between any two other political regions in the world. The EU and US account for 35 percent of global merchandise trade, 45% of world trade in services and produce 57% of world GDP. The partnership is also the single most important driver of global economic growth, trade, and prosperity. And bilateral economic ties are increasing every year."

Does it matter to Americans that the E.U. economy is governed by communitarians? Weren't the two "competing" theories called capitalism and communism? Is communitariansm the blend?

Okay she emailed me the correct link. This was PASSED by the House:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c102:H.CON.RES.353:

102d CONGRESS
2d Session

H. CON. RES. 353

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should assume a strong leadership role in implementing the decisions made at the Earth Summit by developing a national strategy to implement Agenda 21 and other Earth Summit agreements through domestic policy and foreign policy, by cooperating with all countries to identify and initiate further agreements to protect the global environment, and by supporting and participating in a high-level United Nations Sustainable Development Commission.

HCON 353 EH

102d CONGRESS
2d Session

H. CON. RES. 353


CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (hereinafter in this preamble referred to as `UNCED'), known as the Earth Summit, assembled in June of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the largest summit of heads of state in history and outlined a comprehensive action plan for environmentally sustainable development, known as Agenda 21;

Whereas the United States has a strong national interest in the environmental sustainability of global economic development, and many pressing environmental and economic problems are inherently transboundary and not susceptible to resolution by the actions of any single nation acting alone;

Whereas Agenda 21, a plan of national and international actions to integrate environment and development, negotiated and adopted by the United States and 177 other countries, offers a significant starting point for continuing progress in avoiding environmental degradation and social and economic disintegration in the 21st century;

Whereas the role of the United States, as a major economic force and a country that has long been in the forefront of environmental protection activities nationally and internationally, should be one of leadership and positive action in the implementation process of Agenda 21 and all decisions of UNCED;

Whereas Agenda 21 urges all governments to adopt national strategies for sustainable development;

Whereas Agenda 21 urges all countries to `make significant progress' in incorporating environmental costs into economic decisions, to undertake research or sustainable production methods and consumption patterns, and to undertake other actions to make their economies more environmentally sustainable;

Whereas Agenda 21 calls for a `supportive international climate for achieving environment and development goals,' by `providing adequate financial resources to developing countries and dealing with international debt,' and calls for `the reallocation of resources presently committed to military purposes' to support United States policies and the efforts of developing countries to implement Agenda 21;

Whereas UNCED recommended that a high-level United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (hereinafter in this preamble referred to as the `Commission') be established by the 47th United Nations General Assembly to provide a vital forum in which the member states of the United Nations may review progress made by considering reports from national governments, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations;

Whereas the United States was an active and positive participant in UNCED negotiations regarding the Commission, and will play a major role in the decisions of the 47th United Nations General Assembly regarding the specific modalities and effectiveness of the Commission;

Whereas the agreements adopted at UNCED are milestones toward the achievement of environmentally sustainable economic development and for holding governments accountable for progress toward integrating environment and development;

Whereas many opportunities for agreements concerning more extensive actions on critical issues remained unresolved at UNCED and will require further attention by the nations of the world; and

Whereas the ultimate success of achieving sustainable development and a healthy environment at the national and international levels depends upon actions taken at the State and local community levels, and on actions by schools, public offices, businesses, and citizens: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
      (1) effective follow-up to achieve the many goals of the agreements reached at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (hereinafter in this resolution referred to as `UNCED') will depend on the following actions by the President and the United States Government:
        (A) The United States should adopt a national strategy for environmentally sustainable development, based on an extensive process of nationwide consultations with all interested organizations and individuals, including State and local governments, nongovernmental organization, businesses, and labor groups.
        (B) The United States Government should encourage and facilitate, at all levels of community and sectors of society, appropriate means for adopting individual Agenda 21 plans of action, including the establishment of local, county, State, business, and other boards and commissions for achieving sustainable development. Each member of the Congress should help initiate this process within their States or districts.
        (C) The President should establish an effective mechanism to plan, initiate, and coordinate United States policy for implementing Agenda 21. Responsibility should be vested in a duly constituted office, headed by an appropriate high level official, and the necessary staff support structure should be provided.
        (D) Policies should be formulated for foreign policy and foreign assistance in order to help developing countries, and for domestic actions in order to assure appropriate action by the United States to implement Agenda 21;
      (2) in order to contribute to a transition to a sustainable United States economy, the research and policy initiatives urged in Agenda 21 should be pursued, including research on sustainable consumption and production patterns, creation of a policy framework for sustainable consumption patterns, identification of a strategy to eliminate or reduce subsidies for unsustainable natural resource exploitation, and to improve pricing policies;
      (3) the Congress should adopt a plan to reallocate an appropriate amount of savings from reduced defense spending in order to achieve its goals of global environmental protection and sustainable development over the next decade;
      (4) the President should urge and actively participate in new and existing multilateral efforts aimed at creating a more favorable international economic climate for developing countries to practice sustainable development, and such efforts should include international consultations regarding reduction in developing country debt linked with environmental policy reforms, and increased loans and concessional assistance upon development and implementation of national sustainable development strategies in developing countries;
      (5) the United States should actively support, at the 47th United Nations General Assembly, the effective establishment of a high-level United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (hereinafter in this resolution referred to as the `Commission'), including the establishment of provisions for meaningful participation by organizations of the United Nations system, international financial institutions, and other relevant intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations recommended by UNCED;
      (6) the President should affirm strong United States commitment to the Commission by appointing a high-level representative from the United States to the Commission, and by encouraging the United Nations Secretary General to appoint an Under Secretary General for Sustainable Development to coordinate the implementation of Agenda 21 in the United Nations system and to head the secretariat support structure for the Commission;
      (7) the President should submit a national report to the Commission on activities the United States has undertaken to implement Agenda 21, both domestically and internationally, on progress made toward fulfilling other commitments undertaken at UNCED, and on other environmental and developmental issues that the United States finds relevant, and should strongly encourage all United Nations members to submit national reports;
      (8) the United States should encourage the Commission to call for periodic international meetings to continue the process toward developing and advancing international agreement to facilitate sustainable economic development for the protection of the global environment and the promotion of human dignity of current and future generations; and
      (9) the President should submit an annual report to the Congress on the steps taken by the United States to implement Agenda 21 and the recommendations made by this resolution, and should make information regarding such steps available to members of the Congress upon their request.

Passed the House of Representatives October 2, 1992.

Attest:

Clerk.

So. now, who voted yes to pass this in 1992? Here's the 62 co-sponsors:

Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-7] - 8/11/1992
Rep Andrews, Thomas H. [ME-1] - 8/12/1992
Rep Atkins, Chester G. [MA-5] - 8/12/1992
Rep Bacchus, Jim [FL-11] - 8/11/1992
Rep Beilenson, Anthony C. [CA-23] - 8/5/1992
Rep Blackwell, Lucien E. [PA-2] - 8/11/1992
Rep Blaz, Ben G. [GU] - 8/5/1992
Rep Collins, Cardiss [IL-7] - 8/5/1992
Rep Cox, John W., Jr. [IL-16] - 8/11/1992
Rep Dellums, Ronald V. [CA-8] - 8/11/1992
Rep Dymally, Mervyn M. [CA-31] - 9/21/1992
Rep Edwards, Don [CA-10] - 9/9/1992
Rep Evans, Lane [IL-17] - 8/11/1992
Rep Fascell, Dante B. [FL-19] - 8/5/1992
Rep Feighan, Edward F. [OH-19] - 8/5/1992
Rep Flake, Floyd H. [NY-6] - 9/9/1992
Rep Foglietta, Thomas M. [PA-1] - 9/21/1992
Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] - 8/11/1992
Rep Frost, Martin [TX-24] - 8/12/1992
Rep Gejdenson, Sam [CT-2] - 9/9/1992
Rep Gilman, Benjamin A. [NY-22] - 8/11/1992
Rep Green, S. William [NY-15] - 8/5/1992
Rep Hertel, Dennis M. [MI-14] - 8/5/1992
Rep Hochbrueckner, George J. [NY-1] - 8/11/1992
Rep Horton, Frank J. [NY-29] - 9/9/1992
Rep Hughes, William J. [NJ-2] - 8/11/1992
Rep Jefferson, William J. [LA-2] - 8/11/1992
Rep Johnson, Tim [SD] - 8/11/1992
Rep Jones, Walter B. [NC-1] - 8/5/1992
Rep Kleczka, Gerald D. [WI-4] - 8/11/1992
Rep Klug, Scott L. [WI-2] - 9/21/1992
Rep Kolter, Joseph P. [PA-4] - 8/11/1992
Rep Kostmayer, Peter H. [PA-8] - 9/21/1992
Rep Lantos, Tom [CA-11] - 9/21/1992
Rep Lehman, William [FL-17] - 8/11/1992
Rep Machtley, Ronald K. [RI-1] - 8/11/1992
Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7] - 8/11/1992
Rep Mazzoli, Romano L. [KY-3] - 8/11/1992
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 8/11/1992
Rep Miller, George [CA-7] - 8/5/1992
Rep Miller, John R. [WA-1] - 8/5/1992
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 8/11/1992
Rep Morella, Constance A. [MD-8] - 8/5/1992
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - 9/9/1992
Rep Owens, Major R. [NY-12] - 9/9/1992
Rep Owens, Wayne [UT-2] - 8/11/1992
Rep Panetta, Leon [CA-16] - 8/12/1992
Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10] - 8/11/1992
Rep Pease, Donald J. [OH-13] - 9/9/1992
Rep Porter, John Edward [IL-10] - 8/5/1992
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-16] - 9/9/1992
Rep Sanders, Bernard [VT-98] - 8/11/1992
Rep Scheuer, James H. [NY-8] - 8/5/1992
Rep Schroeder, Patricia [CO-1] - 8/11/1992
Rep Schumer, Charles E. [NY-10] - 8/11/1992
Rep Sikorski, Gerry E. [MN-6] - 8/5/1992
Rep Studds, Gerry E. [MA-10] - 8/5/1992
Rep Swett, Dick [NH-2] - 8/11/1992
Rep Tallon, Robert M. (Robin) [SC-6] - 8/12/1992
Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-11] - 8/11/1992
Rep Traxler, Bob [MI-8] - 8/12/1992
Rep Unsoeld, Jolene [WA-3] - 8/5/1992
Rep Wolpe, Howard E. [MI-3] - 8/12/1992

Hmmm. No voting record, it was agreed to under supsension of the rules. WTF does that mean?

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