Richard Arens Quotes

This quotation appears to be the origin of the ultra-right wing conspiracy theory that a communist will become President of the United States without the public ever knowing that he was a Communist. During the Obama administration, there were a number of ultra-rightists who believed that Obama was the culmination of this plan which the communists began in the 1950s and was only "discovered" Fred Koch and the John Birchers in 1963.

Although the U. S. denied propaganda and dirty tricks efforts interfering in the internal affairs of South American Countries, this memo proves that there were some instances of just that.

Even the President was not spared during the McCarthy era. The red scare was so pervasive, that a lunatic fringe ultra right wing organization could call the President a “communist dupe” and be taken seriously be much of the media who were themselves intimidated and might be accused of being communists at any moment. It was a very low point in America’s history.

The Red Scare had already reached most conservatives and Truman and most others had not yet been affected by the fear of Communism that so many people had through the 1970s.

Seeger had been a member of the Communist Party and had left it in 1950. See {635866}. He was later called before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee and asked to reveal the names of others who had been members. In those days of the red scare and McCarthyism, most people asked to name names and not wanting to do so “took the 5th Amendment” and could not be legally forced to reveal the names. Seeger as a matter of principle refused to plead the 5th Amendment because he was not afraid of incriminating himself and had done nothing criminal anyway. So he, a war veteran of WWII, instead refused to answer citing his First Amendment right of freedom of association. There was no legal precedent for this, and he was indicted and convicted for Contempt of Congress. However, his conviction was overturned as unconstitutional by the U. S. Federal Appeals court. Seeger had prevailed legally. But in retaliation Seeger was blacklisted and none of the radio of TV networks or Hollywood Studios would allow him (and other blacklisted artists) to appear. See {642545} Today most Americans view what McCarthy, The Congressional Committee, the networks, and Hollywood studios had done as contemptible.

Donovan had been criticized for utilizing "leftists" for intelligence activities. Precursor to CIA. Donavan was a prominant attorney, banker and financier as well as a Medal of Honor Winner when he was asked to organzie the OSS. America was far behind the axis and even our allies in spy craft. J Edgar Hoover focused the FBI on leftists and had veritually no capability for spying in Western Europe and Asia. Donavan's OSS produced almost all of the actionable intelligence and did a wonderful job in organziaing covert operations. He used people who would normally never be considered by an espionage agency including many scholars, intellectuals, scientists, and entertainers. His agents ranged from Julia Child, the gourmet chef. to Moe Berg, a New York Yankee Baseball Player who spoke many languages. Hoover and some if the military intelligence agencies were jealous of his success and his access to President Roosevelt, and complained about anything they could find and hisi agents were an easy target for their wealth, societal connections, sexual indescretions, liberal politics, Bohemians, upper class right wing politics and culture. None of thus phased Donavan. After the war and FDR's death, Donavan's enemies got the OSS disbanded. Soon, something was needed, and the CIA was organized along the lines of Donavan's recommendations.

After this, no other member of the Executive branch went before McCarthy again

In 1937 four nationalist army columns were converging on Madrid in the Spanish Civil War. General Mola was asked which column would take Madrid. His reference to the sympathizers inside the city became a universal term for traitors.

A theater arts program that operated nationally under the WPA.

He lists a number of employees including his own wife. The foundation was the L. Ron Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation Inc. In this case a religious leader was asking the government for assistance in determining who was and was not fit to be a member and an associate of his organization. The FBI apparently ignored his accusations, and there was no government action though he continued to accuse associates throughout his life. The FBI agent who met with Hubbard to investigate his charges wrote “mental case” on the file.

Hollywood was actually very diverse but very tolerant. Hoover, an intolerant racist himself, saw the encouragement of civil rights for Blacks as support of Communism because the Communist Party made a major issue over American Racism. Most Communists were also opposed to racial discrimination, but most of those advocating an end to discrimination were not communists although Southern Politicians almost always claimed that they were.

Yale University had announced the discovery of a Norse map called the Vinland Map. It was an old Viking map that showed the East Coast of America and Canada as well as Greenland and Iceland. It purported to prove that the Vikings had been to America before Columbus. This was shocking and unbelievable to large numbers of Italian Americans many of whom lived in New York City. Most Italian Americans rejected the possibility that the map could be genuine, but there had to be a reason that it was forged. In the midst of the Cold War, there was an obvious villain and it did not take long before large numbers of people believed and repeated the headline. The quotation shows how rabid the anti-Communism of the Cold War was. The authenticity of the Vinland Map is still debated. Ironically, Columbus—the “discoverer” of America, never got to North America at all. He landed in and captured some islands in the Caribbean. The Daily News was then the largest circulation newspaper in the United States.

The CIA, like most intelligence services, attract some unusual and abnormal people who in many settings might be considered mentally unbalanced or sociopathic. Many intelligence service operatives are often recruited for some of these qualities. This is always a risk for the agency both from the potential scandal such as when the Central Intelligence Agency utilized war criminals at the end of the Second World War and the unbalanced agent going off on his own. Pope flew unopposed Central Intelligence Agency armed planes over communist controlled Northeastern Indonesia, attacking both military and civilian targets. He was captured and although sentenced to death, spent 4 years in jail before his release was negotiated while the United States government denied that we had anything to do with the death and destruction that the CIA planes produced.

Seeger’s admission was typical of tens of thousands of Americans who had become disillusioned with the fairness, equity, and effectiveness of capitalism during the depression. They were easy prey for Communist propaganda which pointed out all the problems in American society from legal racial discrimination to lack of a social safety net while at the same time lying about the Russian achievements and hiding the horrible abuses of human rights—especially the political murders of millions of people. Then the truth about Russia emerged, Seeger and so many others abandoned the Communist Party as at the same time America was improving its society and beginning to try and deal with the great problem that had plagued America from its inception—racism and slavery.