Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!linac!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken!taurus!huxley!jxxl From: jxxl@huxley.cs.nps.navy.mil (John Locke) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Re: I have here.. Message-ID: <1659@huxley.cs.nps.navy.mil> Date: 16 Nov 90 21:44:03 GMT References: <1990Nov16.143708.14514@com50.c2s.mn.org> Reply-To: jxxl@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil (John Locke) Organization: Random Insect Doom Lines: 31 In article <> craig@com50.c2s.mn.org (Craig Wilson) writes: > The reason McCarthy should be studied is that he did a great deal to remove > the freedom and liberties from a number of Americans. He started the ignition > on a steamroller that was very difficult to stop. Agreed that he should be studied, but the mess was started by others, e.g. the first Hollywood tribunal by the HUAC in 1947. But McCarthy and the HUAC are merely the best remembered of the inquisition because they sought the most publicity. The real work was done through a number of legislative acts in the forties which canonized vague offenses such as "sedition" and "disloyalty." McCarthy accomplished nothing tangible himself--uncovered no subversion, signed no legislation. Not only did he not know of any communists, he probably couldn't have provided a reasonable definition of the word. He was a political opportunist first and last. He tooted the whistle of a steam- roller that was already up to speed. Ultimately, it's not the loudmouth McCarthy's that do the most damage--it's the quiet bureaucrats who tighten the screws ever so slightly with subtle contributions of regulation and law that alter the rules under which we live. > The reason his words should be studied is because that is how he did it. > Hard and fast evidence against many of the accused did not exist. They > were prosecuted based upon lies, hearsay, and innuendo. Very similar to the > lies, hearsay, and innuendo that is so prevalent in the political campaigns in > the United States today. Americans need to learn how to listen to our leaders > and try to cut through the bullshit to the truth. This is not easy. Let's not forget Tricky Dick. He was an accomplished "anti-communist" before McCarthy had even gotten his toes wet. If American politics failed in allowing these two scoundrels to run loose in the land, then at least American politics redeemed itself to the extent that the two were eventually disgraced.