This era ended in 1954 with censuring of the idiot. Knowledge and technology has advanced since the fities but the majority of right-wingers have chosen the fundamentalist position to remain far behind Liberal Progressive intellect in America. This is their choice but we keep trying to enlighten them despite their own self-inflicted ignorance.
Like ronnie raygun, right-wingers in dire need of leadership are attempting to resurrect another one of their idols; Joseph McCarthy.
McCarthyism is the politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term specifically describes activities associated with the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by heightened fears of communist influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents. Originally coined to criticize the anti-communist pursuits of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, "McCarthyism" soon took on a broader meaning, describing the excesses of similar efforts. The term is also now used more generally to describe reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as well as demagogic attacks on the character or patriotism of political adversaries.

During the post–World War II era of McCarthyism, many thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. Suspicions were often given credence despite inconclusive or questionable evidence, and the level of threat posed by a person's real or supposed leftist associations or beliefs was often greatly exaggerated. Many people suffered loss of employment, destruction of their careers, and even imprisonment. Most of these punishments came about through trial verdicts later overturned,[1] laws that would be declared unconstitutional,[2] dismissals for reasons later declared illegal[3] or actionable,[4] or extra-legal procedures that would come into general disrepute.

The most famous examples of McCarthyism include the speeches, investigations, and hearings of Senator McCarthy himself; the Hollywood blacklist, associated with hearings conducted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities; and the various anti-communist activities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under Director J. Edgar Hoover. McCarthyism was a widespread social and cultural phenomenon that affected all levels of society and was the source of a great deal of debate and conflict in the United States

Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread Communist subversion.[1] He was noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the United States federal government and elsewhere. Ultimately, McCarthy's tactics and his inability to substantiate his claims led him to be censured by the United States Senate. The term McCarthyism, coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist pursuits. Today the term is used more generally to describe demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.[2]

Born and raised on a Wisconsin farm, McCarthy earned a law degree at Marquette University in 1935 and was elected as a circuit judge in 1939, the youngest in state history.[3] At age 33, McCarthy volunteered for the United States Marine Corps and served during World War II. He successfully ran for the United States Senate in 1946, defeating Robert M. La Follette, Jr. After several largely undistinguished years in the Senate, McCarthy rose suddenly to national fame in February 1950 when he asserted in a speech that he had a list of "members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring" who were employed in the State Department.[4] McCarthy was never able to prove his sensational charge.

In succeeding years, McCarthy made additional accusations of Communist infiltration into the State Department, the administration of President Truman, Voice of America, and the United States Army. He also used charges of communism, communist sympathies, or disloyalty to attack a number of politicians and other individuals inside and outside of government. With the highly publicized Army–McCarthy hearings of 1954, McCarthy's support and popularity began to fade. On December 2, 1954, the Senate voted to censure Senator McCarthy by a vote of 67 to 22, making him one of the few senators ever to be disciplined in this fashion. McCarthy died in Bethesda Naval Hospital on May 2, 1957, at the age of 48. The official cause of death was acute hepatitis; it is widely accepted that this was exacerbated by alcoholism.[5]

quote:

This era ended in 1954 with censuring of the idiot.

Apparently not, you're still posting.

There's a red....under ma bed....

quote:

Originally posted by ferrellj:

quote:

This era ended in 1954 with censuring of the idiot.

Apparently not, you're still posting.

I second that.

Hi Blaknwite,

It is very obvious that you copy/pasted a major portion of your post. When you do this, you should give a link and other information about where you copied it. Otherwise, you are guilty of plagiarism and misrepresentation.

Express your thoughts; but, give others credit for their thoughts and writings.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill

b/w,

You should google the "venona project" http://www.nytimes.com/books/f...h/haynes-venona.html

and read up on a well known part of history.

quote:

By 1948 the accumulating evidence from other decoded Venona cables showed that the Soviets had recruited spies in virtually every major American government agency of military or diplomatic importance. American authorities learned that since 1942 the United States had been the target of a Soviet espionage onslaught involving dozens of professional Soviet intelligence officers and hundreds of Americans, many of whom were members of the American Communist party (CPUSA). The deciphered cables of the Venona Project identify 349 citizens, immigrants, and permanent residents of the United States who had had a covert relationship with Soviet intelligence agencies

The deciphered Venona messages also showed that a disturbing number of high-ranking U.S. government officials consciously maintained a clandestine relationship with Soviet intelligence agencies and had passed extraordinarily sensitive information to the Soviet Union that had seriously damaged American interests. Harry White--the second most powerful official in the U.S. Treasury Department, one of the most influential officials in the government, and part of the American delegation at the founding of the United Nations--had advised the KGB about how American diplomatic strategy could be frustrated. A trusted personal assistant to President Franklin Roosevelt, Lauchlin Currie, warned the KGB that the FBI had started an investigation of one of the Soviets' key American agents, Gregory Silvermaster.

If you do your own research, you will very quickly learn that Mcarthy was spot-on with most, if not all of his leads.

Names are named.

McCarthy's sin was barking up the wrong tree, describing parlor pinks as reds, and identifying the wrong people.

There were plenty of red agents in the US, the Venona proves that. KGB files, now open to review, as well.

Barking up the wrong tree?

How do you mean?

IDing persons as major red agents who were merely sympathizers, not NKVD agents or worse.

Don't bother asking BNW for his sources.

Google found them for me.

The first section of his post:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism

The second section:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy

Seems he might have actually written the first... three sentences of this gem of a post.

BNW has shown he's mostly cut'n paste. It when he takes credit for them is what I object to. TB does the same thing, sometimes.

quote:

Originally posted by interventor1:
IDing persons as major red agents who were merely sympathizers, not NKVD agents or worse.

It's been years since I studied what mcarthy did so I might have forgotten things.

But from what I remember, much of the reason he got started on the red hunt was in response to the hollywood actors union who black listed non communists who were not sympathetic to communism and the actors unions subversion.

Are you saying he put too much attention on the hollywood wing of the communist infiltration of America in mid century who were merely sympathizers or minor players?

Didn't he out some high ranking state dept subversives, too?

The real reds in Hollywood were excised from SAG by Reagan.

I'm mainly referring to the McCarthy-Army hearings where McCarthy claimed a large spy ring was operating out of Ft Monmouth, which came to nothing. Army intell operates out of Ft. Monmouth.