#McCarthyism

[victusinveritas]

The administration is relying on the McCarthy-era McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 in its case against Mahmoud Khalil. This image is from a CIO pamphlet from November of that year denouncing the bill. Both the AFL and CIO opposed the law, because, as the authors of this pamphlet wrote, "anti-foreignism is a tactic of political reaction," which "has been supported to an increasing degree in recent years by reactionary industrialists."

[alanshemper]

“If you’ve got a blacklist, I want to be on it.”

—Billy Bragg

[thetasteofsaccharine]

[juniperandmoonlight]

So I looked this up to see if it was really a McCarthy era poster. The answer is no, but the truth is actually equally entertaining. Apparently the quote is paraphrased from a letter sent from Leopold of Belgium to Queen Victoria in 1845 :

"The dealings with artists, for instance, require great prudence; they are acquainted with all classes of society, and for that very reason dangerous; they are hardly ever satisfied, and when you have too much to do with them, you are sure to have des ennuis..."

(I found this on Snopes, they were not able to determine who created the modernized version).

“Beware of Artists” - Actual poster issued by Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1950s, at height of the red scare.

[boymanmaletheshequel]

I have yet to see an argument against rednote that is valid and not just the manifestation of the red scare and American exceptionalism. “But.. but the CCP is stealing your data and selling it to their government!1!” WOAH REALLY? wow, I sure am glad that I use Facebook and Instagram instead, American apps that were some of the first ever worldwide to specifically steal and sell Americans information to the us government! I Really dodged a bullet there! “But, but the CCP is commiting a genocide?!!” Yeah, and that’s horrible, reprehensible, but so is what the United States has done, multiple genocides in the past few years alone actually, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, all genocides funded and influenced if not outright carried out by the United States government. “Yeah well, well did you know that the Chinese are only nice to foreigners? They HATE eachother!!!” ???? Have you??? Seen ??? How?? We?? Have?? Treated?? Eachother?? The?? Past?? 8?? Years??? Like really? THATS your bombshell mic drop argument?? And finally, of course, “but-but China wants to sell you PROPAGANDA!!” Like what? That the United States is an oppressive imperial entity that controls the world through fear?? Yeah, no fucking shit bitch, I’ve BEEN knew, I LIVE here. All of these arguments, all of these claims of American superiority, are the result of DECADES of carefully crafted propaganda and paranoia campaigns designed specifically to convince you that communism is some great unimaginable evil in order to shift your eyes away from the actions of our OWN government. We are no better, and no worse, than the CCP, and anyone who believes otherwise, is one of the hundreds of millions who has been successfully duped by the most powerful empire in the world.

[jisreal64]

Here’s a meme I made out of frustration towards the anti-AI movement:

[princetonarchives]

“Throughout their whole history universities, when they are alive and kicking, have been attacked as challengers and underminers of tradition.”

--Princeton president Harold W. Dodds, defending Princeton against charges that it and other universities “are full of Communists and subversive fellow travelers,” at an address before the Princeton National Alumni Association, March 19, 1954

[porterdavis]

Truth to power

“It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques—techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.”

Senator Margaret Chase Smith (ME) in a Senate speech in 1950 denouncing McCarthyism (with McCarthy himself sitting two rows behind her). In a word -- courageous.

[h/t - Heather Cox Richardson]

[victusinveritas]

Fannin County High School (Georgia) officials have addressed concerns about this past weekend's scheduled production of "The Crucible" being canceled.

Reddit thread.

Blog post.

Excepts from blog on Reddit and some comments:

[alanshemper]

“If you want to be against McCarthy, boys, you’ve got to be either a Communist or a cocksucker.”

—Sen. Joe McCarthy, helpfully explaining how the red scare and the lavender scare intersected with each other

[oldshowbiz]

Brent Bozell Jr. was a speechwriter for Joseph McCarthy and ghost writer for Barry Goldwater. He attacked TV shows like Maude starring Bea Arthur. Brent Bozell III was finance chairman for Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign. He attacked TV shows like Roseanne and Picket Fences. He was responsible for the Janet Jackson nipple controversy.

Brent Bozell IV was arrested for storming the Capitol Building on January 6, charged with committing acts of physical violence, and six other counts.

[embodiedfutures]

introductory excerpts on COINTELPRO

it came to my awareness that some folks don't know what COINTELPRO is still, so imma drop some excerpts from the wikipedia page. ofc there are a billion other resources you can check out, especially firsthand accounts, but this is always a good place to start! link attached below:

[Note that the embedded link above's photo has the following caption: "COINTELPRO memo proposing a plan to expose the pregnancy of actress Jean Seberg, a financial supporter of the Black Panther Party, hoping to "possibly cause her embarrassment or tarnish her image with the general public". Covert campaigns to publicly discredit activists and destroy their interpersonal relationships were a common tactic used by COINTELPRO agents."]

The Introduction:

COINTELPRO (syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program; 1956–1971) was a series of covert and illegal[1][2] projects actively conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic American political organizations.[3][4] FBI records show COINTELPRO resources targeted groups and individuals the FBI[5] deemed subversive,[6] including feminist organizations,[7][8] the Communist Party USA,[9] anti–Vietnam War organizers, activists of the civil rights and Black power movements (e.g. Martin Luther King Jr., the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panther Party), environmentalist and animal rights organizations, the American Indian Movement (AIM), Chicano and Mexican-American groups like the Brown Berets and the United Farm Workers, independence movements (including Puerto Rican independence groups such as the Young Lords and the Puerto Rican Socialist Party), a variety of organizations that were part of the broader New Left, and white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan[10][11] and the far-right group National States' Rights Party.[12]

Methods COINTELPRO Utilized

According to attorney Brian Glick in his book War at Home, the FBI used five main methods during COINTELPRO:

Infiltration: Agents and informers did not merely spy on political activists. Their main purpose was to discredit, disrupt and negatively redirect action. Their very presence served to undermine trust and scare off potential supporters. The FBI and police exploited this fear to smear genuine activists as agents.

Psychological warfare: The FBI and police used a myriad of "dirty tricks" to undermine movements. They planted false media stories and published bogus leaflets and other publications in the name of targeted groups. They forged correspondence, sent anonymous letters, and made anonymous telephone calls. They spread misinformation about meetings and events, set up pseudo movement groups run by government agents, and manipulated or strong-armed parents, employers, landlords, school officials, and others to cause trouble for activists. They used bad-jacketing to create suspicion about targeted activists, sometimes with lethal consequences.[74]

Harassment via the legal system: The FBI and police abused the legal system to harass dissidents and make them appear to be criminals. Officers of the law gave perjured testimony and presented fabricated evidence as a pretext for false arrests and wrongful imprisonment. They discriminatorily enforced tax laws and other government regulations and used conspicuous surveillance, "investigative" interviews, and grand jury subpoenas in an effort to intimidate activists and silence their supporters.[73][75]

Illegal force: The FBI conspired with local police departments to threaten dissidents; to conduct illegal break-ins in order to search dissident homes; and to commit vandalism, assaults, beatings and assassinations.[73] The objective was to frighten or eliminate dissidents and disrupt their movements.

Undermine public opinion: One of the primary ways the FBI targeted organizations was by challenging their reputations in the community and denying them a platform to gain legitimacy. Hoover specifically designed programs to block leaders from "spreading their philosophy publicly or through the communications media". Furthermore, the organization created and controlled negative media meant to undermine black power organizations. For instance, they oversaw the creation of "documentaries" skillfully edited to paint the Black Panther Party as aggressive, and false newspapers that spread misinformation about party members. The ability of the FBI to create distrust within and between revolutionary organizations tainted their public image and weakened chances at unity and public support.[49]

The FBI specifically developed tactics intended to heighten tension and hostility between various factions in the black power movement, for example between the Black Panthers and the US Organization. For instance, the FBI sent a fake letter to the US Organization exposing a supposed Black Panther plot to murder the head of the US Organization, Ron Karenga. They then intensified this by spreading falsely attributed cartoons in the black communities pitting the Black Panther Party against the US Organization.[49] This resulted in numerous deaths, among which were San Diego Black Panther Party members John Huggins, Bunchy Carter and Sylvester Bell.[73] Another example of the FBI's anonymous letter writing campaign is how they turned the Blackstone Rangers head, Jeff Fort, against former ally Fred Hampton, by stating that Hampton had a hit on Fort.[49] They also were instrumental in developing the rift between Black Panther Party leaders Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton, as executed through false letters inciting the two leaders of the Black Panther Party.[49]

...

In order to eliminate black militant leaders whom they considered dangerous, the FBI is believed to have worked with local police departments to target specific individuals,[78] accuse them of crimes they did not commit, suppress exculpatory evidence and falsely incarcerate them. Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a Black Panther Party leader, was incarcerated for 27 years before a California Superior Court vacated his murder conviction, ultimately freeing him. Appearing before the court, an FBI agent testified that he believed Pratt had been framed, because both the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department knew he had not been in the area at the time the murder occurred.[79][80]

...

In 1969 the FBI special agent in San Francisco wrote Hoover that his investigation of the Black Panther Party had concluded that in his city, at least, the Panthers were primarily engaged in feeding breakfast to children. Hoover fired back a memo implying the agent's career goals would be directly affected by his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that the Black Panther Party was "a violence-prone organization seeking to overthrow the Government by revolutionary means".[84]

Hoover supported using false claims to attack his political enemies. In one memo he wrote: "Purpose of counterintelligence action is to disrupt the Black Panther Party and it is immaterial whether facts exist to substantiate the charge."[85]

Intended Effects of COINTELPRO

The intended effect of the FBI's COINTELPRO was to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, or otherwise neutralize" groups that the FBI officials believed were "subversive"[58] by instructing FBI field operatives to:[59] 1. Create a negative public image for target groups (for example through surveilling activists and then releasing negative personal information to the public) 2. Break down internal organization by creating conflicts (for example, by having agents exacerbate racial tensions, or send anonymous letters to try to create conflicts) 3. Create dissension between groups (for example, by spreading rumors that other groups were stealing money) 4. Restrict access to public resources (for example, by pressuring non-profit organizations to cut off funding or material support) 5. Restrict the ability to organize protest (for example, through agents promoting violence against police during planning and at protests) 6. Restrict the ability of individuals to participate in group activities (for example, by character assassinations, false arrests, surveillance)

When did they start?

Centralized operations under COINTELPRO officially began in August 1956 with a program designed to "increase factionalism, cause disruption and win defections" inside the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Tactics included anonymous phone calls, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, and the creation of documents that would divide the American communist organization internally.[9] An October 1956 memo from Hoover reclassified the FBI's ongoing surveillance of black leaders, including it within COINTELPRO, with the justification that the movement was infiltrated by communists.[31] In 1956, Hoover sent an open letter denouncing Dr. T. R. M. Howard, a civil rights leader, surgeon, and wealthy entrepreneur in Mississippi who had criticized FBI inaction in solving recent murders of George W. Lee, Emmett Till, and other African Americans in the South.[32] When the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an African-American civil rights organization, was founded in 1957, the FBI began to monitor and target the group almost immediately, focusing particularly on Bayard Rustin, Stanley Levison, and eventually Martin Luther King Jr.[33]

How did the news get out about COINTELPRO?

The program was secret until March 8, 1971, when the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI burgled an FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania, took several dossiers, and exposed the program by passing this material to news agencies.[1][54] The boxing match known as the Fight of the Century between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in March 1971 provided cover for the activist group to successfully pull off the burglary. Muhammad Ali was a COINTELPRO target because he had joined the Nation of Islam and the anti-war movement.[55] Many news organizations initially refused to immediately publish the information, with the notable exception of The Washington Post. After affirming the reliability of the documents, it published them on the front page (in defiance of the Attorney General's request), prompting other organizations to follow suit. Within the year, Director J. Edgar Hoover declared that the centralized COINTELPRO was over, and that all future counterintelligence operations would be handled case by case.[56][57]

[newyorkthegoldenage]

From the shoulders of cheering, singing supporters, Dalton Trumbo and John Howard Lawson make farewell speeches as they prepare to leave Penn Station for Washington, where they were to start serving one-year prison terms for contempt of Congress, June 9, 1950. The "Hollywood 10" had appeared before the House Un-American Affairs Committee in October, 1947, and refused to answer questions regarding their possible affiliations with the Communist Party. After they were released, they were blacklisted by the Hollywood studios.

Photo: Marty Lederhandler for the AP

[conformi]

Giovanni Agostino da Lodi, Christ washing the feet of the Apostles, 1500 VS Ron Nyswaner, Fellow Travelers, 2023

[existennialmemes]

"DOGE is demanding a list of all employees suspected to be a part of DEIA initiatives"

So silicon valley has reinvented McCarthyism.

[autumngracy]

Trump Openly Defies 9-0 Supreme Court Decision, Promises US Citizens Will Be Sent To Gulag

Laughing, Trump tells Bukele he needs to “build about five more [prisons]” to fit all the “homegrowns” (i.e. American citizens) that Trump wants to deport.

Later, in response to a reporter asking if he planned to return one of the wrongly deported Americans swept up in recent ICE raids and sent without trial to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, despite having no criminal record, Bukele laughs, saying “how can I return him to the United States?” while repeatedly calling the man a terrorist and referring to the act of returning him as “smuggling”. “Of course I’m not gonna do it,” Bukele says, “The question is preposterous! How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States!” “Well, they’d love to have a criminal,” Trump says, pointing to the press members (presumably referring to his political opponents as a whole), “They would love it. They’re—these are sick people.” The man in question, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, immigrated to America from El Salvador around 2011. He has a wife who is a US citizen, and three special needs children. He is currently being held in the mega-prison CECOT. Previously, in 2019, an immigration judge, after reviewing Garcia’s case, refused his plea for asylum, but ruled that he could not be deported back to El Salvador due to safety concerns, as gangs had been “targeting him and threatening him with death because of his family’s pupusa business,” saying that Garcia “would more than likely be harmed if returned to El Salvador.”