Welcome to Saturday's Potluck - 4-9-2022

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

Life sometimes feels as if one is living in a fairy tale or other work of fiction. Maybe because some of our favorite stories growing up were actually more complex than simply skipping down the yellow brick road.

I was still simply looking at the pictures of books when Littlfield proposed his ideas on The Wizard of Oz. I have been a little slow on comprehending the full meaning of skipping down the yellow brick road.

In 1964 Henry Littlefield, a Columbia University-trained historian, wrote a breakthrough article in the scholarly American Quarterly titled “The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism.” In the article, Littlefield made the bold claim that Frank Baum's 1900 book "conceals an unsuspected depth." The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was, Littlefield thought, “a Midwesterner’s vibrant and ironic portrait of this country as it entered the twentieth century.” Specifically, Littlefield argued that the story of The Wizard of Oz was an elaborate metaphor for the Populist movement (a rising political force in the 1890s) and a critique of the complicated national debates over monetary policy. What made Littlefield's claim bold was its departure from common wisdom. Up until this point The Wizard of Oz was well known in the United States, but only as a popular children’s fairy tale (written in 1900), a successful musical stage production (opened in 1902), and an iconic motion picture (debuted in 1939).
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In his close reading of The Wizard of Oz, Littlefield argued that most of the characters and settings in Baum’s fictional world represented real people, places, and ideas from the Populist movement of the 1890s. He expected that most adult readers of the time would have understood Baum’s allusions. A few of the highlights from the article were:

1.) The Silver (Ruby) Slippers
...Littlefield believed that Dorothy was a stand-in for the average American, and that the magic silver shoes represented the late 1890s free silver movement. During the severe depression of 1893-1896, many Populists believed that the federal government should adopt an inflationary monetary policy, freely minting silver money, in order to re-energize the national economy. In contrast, Littlefield thought Oz’s yellow brick road represented the existing gold standard, which fixes U.S. paper currency to a specific price for gold bullion. In his reading, the Emerald City, the terminus of the yellow brick road, is Washington, D.C.

2.) The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman
On her journey to visit the Wizard, Dorothy meets the scarecrow and the tin woodman. According to Littlefield, the scarecrow, displaying “a terrible sense of inferiority and self doubt,” represents the American farmer (who made up the bulk of the Populist Party). Littlefield cites an 1896 article which accuses Kansas farmers of “ignorance, irrationality and general muddle-headedness.” By extension, the tin woodman represents the hoped-for other faction in the People’s Party—the factory worker. Dehumanized, the simple laborer has been turned into a machine.

3.) The Cowardly Lion
William McKinley ran for president on a protectionist plank. Pledging support for American workers, he sought high tariffs to make foreign manufactured goods unattractive and he supported the gold standard. His opponent, William Jennings Bryan (who Littlefield suggested was represented by the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz) was famous for his “Cross of Gold” speech. He favored the monetary policy of free silver.
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The country to watch to assess United States global soft power. It is one of the few countries without an American Military base.

Why US is angry at India buying Russian oil Asia Times April 8, 2022
India’s reluctance to toe the US line against Russia threatens the credibility of the Biden administration

On the eve of an already overdue fourth round of the India-US 2+2 dialogue, which will see Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh sitting down with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington early next week, the US establishment has gone whole hog in its rhetoric of nudging India to toe the American line on the Ukraine crisis.

Therefore, in the wake of this “pitched battle” to persuade India to join US in its pushback on Russia, this revival of their 2+2 dialogue – last held in October 2020 – may not mean much for either synergizing their bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region or providing an impetus for their overall Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

India has, meanwhile, tried to adjust its semantics from showing concern, to regret, to deploring, to then calling for respect for UN Charter, for international law and for national sovereignty and territorial integrality. This is the closest New Delhi would get to placating US President Joe Biden’s administration, but to little avail.
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Way beyond India’s abstentions on UN resolutions on Ukraine, India buying deeply discounted Russia oil has become the new Achilles heel not just for bilateral Indo-US ties but for the credibility of the Biden presidency. India had earlier complied with American dictates to stop importing oil from Iran and Venezuela, emboldening the Americans to try their luck a third time, hoping for India to fall in line once again.

But the target country this time is Russia, which has been the most enduring defense and strategic partner for New Delhi. The nearest possible comparisons could be the 1950s Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia and Hungary. India was then neither as closely aligned to the US nor as visible.

India this time was also restricted by the fact of having more than 22,500 of its citizens stuck in the middle of the Ukraine crisis. This surely necessitated India staying in close coordination with both Moscow and Kiev.
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While the potential of India’s buying Russian oil and their rupee-ruble swap may never herald tectonic changes in global geopolitics, their present transactions have already touched a sensitive nerve in the Biden presidency. India’s defiance in buying Russian oil can be compared to the detonation of its first nuclear device in May 1974, where India had challenged the US-led “discriminatory” non-proliferation regime.

But reactions of US officials perhaps also betray their frustration at failing to make Moscow comply. While it is true that Australia, Britain, Canada and the US have banned purchase of Russian oil, none of them are major buyers in any case.
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In fact it is interesting to note the recent BBC report that 55% of India’s oil imports come from the US and its close allies Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This therefore has little to do with New Delhi’s oil imports. The Biden presidency seems completely geared to deprive Russia of all its defense and economic partnerships, such that India’s close connections with Moscow make it a collateral of American agenda-setting.

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What is on your mind today? (Responses to Covid questions and dialog to be conducted at The Dose diary)

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Lookout's picture

in a silver vs gold debate....wearing silver shoes on the yellow brick road.

Baum's daughter says it is BS, that the name Oz was from his filing cabinet a-n and o-z.

The mother goose stories and rhymes also were lampooning political figures of the day.

The US has created a Russia, China, India alliance. I hope our attempted coup in Pakistan fails, instigated because of a lack of sanctions. I can't believe Europe ...destroying themselves to appease the US. It is like living in a work of fiction.

Well, have a good day. Gray and chilly here...dogwood winter. Thanks for the OT!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

lotlizard's picture

@Lookout  
…that’s for doubleplus-sure.

When it comes to a German politician or party standing up to Washington DC, Paris, Brussels, Tel Aviv, and Riyadh in the interests of what is still the normie majority in Germany, not a backbone in the lot.

Unless you count right-wing populists — but everyone who is still allowed to be anyone anymore has to agree to treat them as Nazis, connive to cheat them out of their due even though they are a legitimately elected party, and airbrush them out of the picture. Except, of course, when as a bogeyman they are useful for fear-mongering when ideologically-captured agencies, NGOs, and tax-financed media are trying to wangle a bigger budget for their non-productive propaganda “education” campaigns.

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@lotlizard

that in the Bundestag votes defeating the government's proposed vaccine mandate for over-65 that both die Linke and AfD voted against the mandate while the Greens, as part of the ruling coalition, voted in favor...

BTW - a forgotten hero of 1896 and thereafter - South Dakota Senator R.F. Pettigrew:

In 1896 Pettigrew shocked America when he bolted the Republican national convention as an act of protest over the money controversy. He fought for "free silver" and opposed the gold standard, again the champion of the common man over big business. This led him into Populism, and Pettigrew became one of the leaders of the Peoples Party.

In 1899, in response to American aggression in the Philippine Islands, Pettigrew raised his voice in the Senate against imperialism, instead supporting the ideals of national self-determination. Although he lost his Senate seat as a result of this fight, he emerged as one of the great American statesmen of his time. In an era when politicians were thought of as celebrities, his name became a household word.

After he left office, Pettigrew remained active in political and intellectual circles. In 1917, he was indicted under the Espionage Act for his opposition to America's involvement in World War I

Pettigrew also led opposition to US annexation of Hawaii and spearheaded creation of the National Forest system and the US Forest Service.

source

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of the wizard / oz. Somewhat less financial and more political, if I recall correctly.
I just loved watching as a kid, without being aware of the connotations.

~

Hope the ranch is good in the spring time.
Thanks for the OT!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

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@humphrey to be king.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

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snoopydawg's picture

Lots of people also see nothing wrong with NATO expanding right up to Russia’s borders either. It’s weird how many people are telling Biden that he must do a no fly zone, send jets and more lethal weapons into Ukraine while insisting that the Nazis are now the good guys just because they are fighting Russia. We watched as the war movement died during Obama’s tenure when he did much worse than Bush did that they were against. Still loved learning that drones were good because they saved American lives even after they bombed weddings, funerals and even hospitals. Doh!

More from Cook.

https://www.veteranstoday.com/2022/04/09/liberals-are-adopting-an-old-so...

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

snoopydawg's picture

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

enhydra lutris's picture

that oughta do it

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

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@humphrey
compared to the awful Macron. (Like HRC she never seems to go away regardless of how many times she loses.)

2017 - First round:
Macron - 24% (new political party; excited young voters)
Le Pen - 21.3% (far right)
Fillon - 20% (republican - ie Sarkozy, Chirac, etal.)
Melenchon - 19.6% (socialist)
Hamon - 6.4% - (socialist)
Dupont-Aignan - 4.7% (fmr republican, endorsed LePen in the runoff)
Arthaud-x - 1.7% (socialist)
others - 2.3% (includes far-far right)

Latest 2022 polls:
Macron - 26%
Le Pen - 24%
Melenchon - 18%
Zemmour - 8% (hard right)
Pecresse - 8% (republican)
Jadot - 5% (Greens) (2017 withdrew in favor of Hamon)
Hildago - 2% (socialist)

The hard right vote tends to be soft and the republican vote more solid than the polling. However, at 8% Pecresse might do serious damage to the party.

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@Marie

I would prefer that Melenchon would be the winner.

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@humphrey
Unfortunately, Melenchon isn't inspiring and it's only five years since the last socialist president who was more or less a disaster.

Unknown if the Mouvement des gilets jaunes is a factor.

An opinion poll published by the Elabe Institute showed that in the presidential election in May 2017, 36% of the participants voted for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and 28% for far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon in the 2017 presidential elections.[79][126] Five Le Monde journalists studied the yellow vests' forty-two directives[39] and concluded that two thirds were "very close" to the position of the "radical left" (Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Philippe Poutou and Nathalie Arthaud), nearly a half were "compatible with" the position of the "far right" (Nicolas Dupont-Aignan and Marine Le Pen), and that all were "very far removed" from economically "liberal" policies (Emmanuel Macron and François Fillon).

Not sure how 66% can be compatible with the left and 50% compatible with the right. However, they may also be the least likely to vote.

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lotlizard's picture

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CB's picture

Clare Daly is an Irish representative in the European Parliament, and among the few willing to speak out against NATO, call out the organization’s lengthy history of aggression around the globe and criticize western nations’ role in fomenting the Ukraine crisis.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANoZI3tpVmA]

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