Can you pass this short quiz?

? 

So with all the political stuff that’s going on, I’m going to ask you to name two people.

But first,  I’m going to redact some place names so as not to give away the answers. That said, please read the following quote.

“I speak differently in _________ than I do in ______, and when I speak in _______, I say different things than I say in the ____________ Hall. That is a matter of practice, not of theory. We do not want to be a movement of a few straw brains, but rather a movement that can conquer the broad masses.”  

In other words, the person who said this was talking about Etch-A-Sketch politics and the technique of making flip-flopping statements. The theory is, say whatever it takes, lie if necessary, tell one audience one thing and another audience another, so long as you manage to fool lots of people into following you.  

So who was it? It was….

Well, let me give you a hint that may give it away. The speaker delighted his boss, who himself said, 

But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success

I guess you’ve guessed by now. But in case you haven’t:

The first guy was Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister of Nazi Germany. And the one who urged repeating a the few points over and over again, the guy who praised persistence, was Adolph Hitler.

Hey, I’m not accusing anyone presently living of anything. I’m only pointing out what Goebbel and Hitler said. You’re grown up enough to draw your own conclusions.

  

Political, partisan, petty, censorship-championing Rudy.

Hey, do you think Rudy Giuliani would make a the White House anything other than a truth-be-damned propaganda organ of the Republican party?

Think again.

Back in May I reminded you of Rudy’s “you have to take a bullet for me” mentality and tendency to pass the buck for his own mistakes. http://thenewyorkcrank.blogspot.com/search/label/Rudolph%20Giuliani

Now this in an e-mail sent to me by Richard Rosenthal, a New York journalist and advertising copywriter who specializes in bicycle-related subjects and found himself justifiably teed off last week when Giuliani pretended to take offense at the “General Betray-us” ad run by moveon.org. It's enough to make you think Rudy studied politics on the lap of Karl Rove:

Today's Times has an article, "Angered by an Antiwar Ad, Giuliani Seeks Equal Space". In 1998 I was hired by the NYC Department of Transportation to create ads promoting bicycling in the city in conjunction with Bike Month. Cycling is a non-partisan activity. The DoT is a non-partisan agency. Funding for the ads was paid by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, a non-partisan agency.

After the NYC DoT turned down ads that said cycling was better for the city than driving because bicycles were non-polluting, quiet, and reduced congestion--they wouldn't permit me to say that--I submitted an ad with the headline, "We Bike Here." Around it were the names of hundreds and hundreds of New York cyclists, possibly with their professions: doctors, lawyers, professors, journalists, laborers of all stripes, even a subway repairman and a bus maintenance man--all in small, 6 pt. type.

The DoT pored through the names and pulled out the names of Ruth Messenger (Manhattan borough president), Fernando Ferrer (Bronx borough president), and John Kennedy, Jr., all of whom rode bikes in the city, and said I would have to remove them, then asked me if Robin Williams was a Democrat and, if so, I would have to remove his name, too.

Why, I asked? Answer: Because we can't have anyone identifiably a Democrat in the list. The names have to be vetted at City Hall.

The DoT was not amused by my asking could they vouch that young Andrew Giuliani, the son of the mayor, rode a bike here. If so, I would be glad to add his name. (I quit rather than comply.)

While Rosenthal had the backbone to tell Giuliani’s little hatchet men to take a flying leap, I wonder how many Republicans will follow in his footsteps?