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With the C.P.U.S.A. reconstituted, virtually every Communist who had hailed Browder for years as the symbol of an Americanized Communism then shunned him. He was even forced to find a new dentist and a different insurance agent.

Public displays of Soviet control over C.P.U.S.A. policies were hard to miss. After years of attacking Franklin D. Roosevelt for fascist policies and denouncing the New Deal as an elaborate plot to deceive the working class, the C.P.U.S.A. was stunned in 1935 when the Comintern, alarmed by the growing menace of Nazi Germany, abruptly changed course and called for a popular front against fascism. In place of the Cominterns previous policy of treating any alliance with socialists and liberals as anathema, Moscows U-turn involved demanding that its constituent parties reach out to all and sundry to stop fascism.

Running for president in 1936, Browder offered indirect support to Roosevelt. Two years later, Communists who had formerly regarded Roosevelt as a harbinger of American fascism hailed the president for his calls for a democratic alliance against Hitler.

The hosannas for antifascism ended suddenly in 1939 with the Nazi-Soviet Pact. The same Communists who had lauded Roosevelt now denounced him again, this time as a warmonger for such policies as Lend-Lease aid to Britain. The somersaults demanded by Moscow continued when Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941: The C.P.U.S.A.s calls for peace were quickly replaced by demands that the United States do everything possible to aid the Allies.

Such major shifts in party line were only the most dramatic and public signs of fealty to the Kremlin. In 1938, at the height of the popular front policy, the C.P.U.S.A.s slogan Communism Is 20th-Century Americanism demonstrated its effort to prove its patriotism. But that same year, a C.P.U.S.A. representative in Moscow sent a secret letter warning that Comintern leaders thought the slogan ideologically incorrect and subversive. Without any discussion or debate, the party stopped using it.

While most of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who joined the C.P.U.S.A. over the years did so because they supported the policies or ideals the party promoted, a great majority quickly abandoned it after a policy reversal occasioned by a shift in Soviet foreign policy. Anyone who remained a Communist for more than a few years, though, had to be aware that the one constant was support for whatever policy the Soviet Union followed. Open criticism of the U.S.S.R. was grounds for expulsion. For all members of the C.P.U.S.A., the Soviet Union was the homeland of socialism, the first workers state, which had to be defended against the machinations of capitalism.

The C.P.U.S.A. dutifully spread the lies put out by Moscow. The party thus insisted that the show trials during Stalins purges had uncovered a vast capitalist plot against the Soviet leader. Party members dutifully repeated Soviet fabrications that Trotsky had been in the pay of the Nazis. Worst of all, many Communists applauded the execution of tens of thousands of Soviet comrades, denouncing those who were executed as bourgeois spies and provocateurs. When Finnish-Americans who had returned to Soviet Karelia in the late 1920s and early 30s to build socialism were purged, their American relatives were warned by party authorities to remain silent, and most did so.

Neither did the Communist movement limit its disinformation to Russian matters. In the 1960s, the K.G.B. secretly subsidized a left-wing publishing house in New York run by a former party member, Carl Marzani, that published the first book claiming that John F. Kennedys assassination had been arranged by a cabal of American right-wing businessmen and C.I.A. operatives.

It was not until 1956, when Khrushchev told Soviet Communists that Stalin had been a mass murderer, that American Communists were willing to believe what had been widely known for years. The persecutions of McCarthyism and the Cold War seriously depleted the ranks of the C.P.U.S.A., but it took the word of a Soviet Communist leader to destroy the faith in Communism that had sustained many Americans. By 1959, the C.P.U.S.A., which had once numbered nearly 100,000 members, was reduced to fewer than 3,000.

The C.P.U.S.A.s vulnerability had a great deal to do with its dependence on Moscow. For much of its existence, the party could not have functioned without Moscow gold. One of its first leaders, the journalist John Reed, was given more than a million rubles worth of czarist jewels and diamonds to smuggle into America to support the fledgling American movement. In the 1920s, Armand Hammer, the future head of Occidental Petroleum, used money derived from Soviet concessions to underwrite The Daily Worker and fund communist operations in Europe. Without Soviet money, the C.P.U.S.A. would not have been able to hire the hundreds of full-time organizers and support an array of front groups and publications that enabled it to outspend and out-organize its left-wing rivals.

Beginning in the late 50s and continuing into the late 80s, the K.G.B. delivered millions of dollars to the C.P.U.S.A. through two brothers, Jack and Morris Childs, both of whom were actually working for the F.B.I. as double agents. These subsidies, carefully monitored by the F.B.I., kept the C.P.U.S.A. alive as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Soviet Union. In return, the longtime party leader, Gus Hall, faithfully supported every Soviet foreign policy initiative, ranging from the U.S.S.R.s conduct during the Cuban missile crisis to the crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968 and the partys subsequent denunciations of Eurocommunism.

Several hundred American Communists carried their devotion to the Soviet Union even further, working, mostly without recompense, for Soviet intelligence agencies. Virtually all of the approximately 500 Americans who served as Soviet spies between the 30s and early 50s, including senior government officials like Alger Hiss, Harry Dexter White and Laurence Duggan, were either Communists or Communist sympathizers. The C.P.U.S.A. had a clandestine apparatus that cooperated with the K.G.B. and the Soviet intelligence directorate, vetting potential recruits and occasionally suggesting useful sources. Three successive party leaders Lovestone, Browder and Eugene Dennis knew and approved of this relationship.

That the leaders of an American political party always under attack for its Soviet connections would take the incredibly risky step of actually working with Soviet intelligence speaks volumes about the ultimate loyalties of the American Communist Party. Rank and file members might have had no idea of such behavior, but anyone who remained in the C.P.U.S.A. for more than a short spell had to be aware that criticism of the Soviet Union was not tolerated. Those who stayed in the C.P.U.S.A. through one of its many changes of line knew that fealty to the homeland of socialism took precedence over any other allegiance. The dream of those who believed in an Americanized Communism was killed by this lie.

Harvey Klehr, an emeritus professor of politics and history at Emory University, is the author of numerous books about American Communism and Soviet espionage.

This is an essay in the series Red Century, about the history and legacy of Communism 100 years after the Russian Revolution.

Read more from the original source:
American Reds, Soviet Stooges - New York Times

Gary Bettman longs for parity and Adam Silver strives for excellence. This is the fundamental difference between the NHL and NBA and their respective commissioners, and that difference is never more clear than right now in the aftermath of each final and on the eve of free agency.

But for all the faults of Bettman and the NHL none more short-sighted than limiting revenue by constantly undercutting big-market teams through more ways than the salary cap it is still a preferable system. The NHL Players Association has fought tooth and nail for more freedom, but look to the NBA to see what too much player freedom can look like.

There are, what, 20 teams in the NBA that have absolutely no chance to sign a big-name free agent? And apparently you need three or four stars now just to be in the conversation for making a conference final. Forget actually winning a championship.

So lets say youre the general manager of the Nuggets or Blazers, or a fan of the Kings or the Magic now what? Is the only way to build a winner by tanking, picking a terrifically talented and totally inexperienced kid in the draft, and then hoping that people want to come play with him?

How many NBA players are getting max contracts who dont deserve them, too? Then they have these opt-out clauses, so they pretty much can go play wherever they want. From what I can gather, Chris Paul didnt just demand a trade from the Clippers, but demanded he be sent to the Rockets. He said either he was going to opt out of his contract and sign with the Rockets as a free agent, meaning the Clippers would get nothing in return, or hed opt in and they could trade him. Hows that for owner Steve Ballmers $2 billion investment?

Meanwhile, the NHL salary cap enforces a strict system of communism. Last season, 25 of the 30 teams spent within $4 million of the $73 million cap, which goes up to just $75 million this season. The Predators, out of small-market Nashville, were a blast to watch while losing just four games in the first three rounds before losing to the Penguins pseudo-dynasty in the Stanley Cup finals. The Predators also had the seventh-lowest payroll in the league.

For even more contrast, Thursday was the one-year anniversary of the Predators making the biggest trade in franchise history and one of the biggest trades the league has seen in years. They sent their indomitable captain, Shea Weber, to the Canadiens in a one-for-one deal bringing back the electric P.K. Subban. For the longest time, Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin denied he was ever shopping Subban. Yet despite the enduring love of the majority of the fans, Subbans flashy style never quite fit the current culture of the organization. So despite all the protests that he wasnt going to be traded, he was shipped out and it changed the face of both franchises.

Now if Subban was moved to, say, Carolina, and he lost a lot in a dreary environment, it might be pointed out that the teams have too much control and the players too little. But there are no-trade clauses now all around the NHL too many, actually. The market has come to bear that marginally good players are in line for at least some sort of movement protection, and it limits teams mobility, and hence their ability to compete.

The balance has to be struck between the want of a full-league competition and that of a few teams that are so much better than the rest of the league. People might point to the NHL as a model for parity goodness knows Bettman does but they still have had three teams combine to win eight of the past nine titles. Theyve done that through generational players such as Sidney Crosby (Penguins, three Cups), Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks, three Cups) and Drew Doughty (Kings, two Cups). But their general managers have had to make moves on the fly to keep up, and thats what makes it interesting.

Meanwhile, the NBA has one two-week period to look forward to the NBA Finals. For the past three years, everyone knew it was going to be the Warriors versus the Cavaliers, so why would there be any interest for the first three rounds of the postseason? Forget having any interest in the regular season.

The difference is in the amount power the players hold, and it creates a league that is either competitive for nine months or competitive for two weeks. Put aside the entertainment value of the game itself, and Id still go for the former.

Its been a dramatic fall for Scott Hartnell, from his days as a heart-and-soul player for the 2009-10 Flyers who made it to the Stanley Cup final to now getting bought out by the Blue Jackets. The 35-year-old had just 13 goals and 37 points this past season in 78 games for John Tortorellas club, which finished in third place in the cutthroat Metropolitan Division with 108 points. The No. 6-overall pick from 2000 is now an unrestricted free agent, and he is going to have to prove hes still got more in the tank.

. . . to the opening of free agency on Saturday at noon. Its not exactly the strongest free-agent class, and thats exemplified by defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk being the No. 1 name out there. Someone is going to give him a huge deal and likely end up regretting it down the road. There are also questions with the Sharks big two, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. If they move on (and to different places), then things around the league might start to get interesting.

RIP to Dave Semenko, who for years was Wayne Gretzkys bodyguard with the Oilers. From all accounts, Cement Head was a true character, and he even once fought Muhammad Ali for a charity event in 1983.

Read more:
Why NHL's communism works, just look at the alternative - New York Post

Stilyagi, hippies, bikers, punks, rockers, and metalheads formed countercultures that often invited the wrath of the Soviet authorities. With the help of artist Alexander Petlura, who has the biggest collection of all things Soviet in Moscow, and a book titled Hooligans of the 80s by Misha Buster, RBTH takes a look at the rebellious youth of the Soviet Union.

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Counterculture in the Soviet Union, a country cut off from the West by the infamous Iron Curtain, consisted of an open youth rebellion against ideological and cultural stagnation, writes Misha Buster, author ofHooligans of the 80s. His book is one of several reputable sources that records stories of people who lived in the final days of the USSR. It also has a unique collection of personal photos.

Don't miss our awesome video atthe end.

Stilyagi (a derogatory appellation for members of a youth counterculture), hippies, rockers, punks, and metalheads coexisted until the end of the 1980s although each group experienced varying degrees of popularity during different periods.

Each group had a popular meeting point. Attraktsiya, a spot on Moscows Arbat Street was a magnet for breakdancers, while Zheltok Restaurant on Chistye Prudy Square was popular with hippies. Countercultural groups often fought each other, but sometimes united against policemen, who would later arrest them.

The Soviet media called them non-conformists, who deliberately devoid of all the good qualities possessed by a diligent Soviet citizen. They were even referred to as lazy parasites and fascists.

Many people interviewed in Busters book said many members of counterculture groups moved abroad, while some managed to start a business or a get a normal job.

The term Stilyagi, often translated as hipsters, dandies or beatniks, is the name of the first counterculture group from the Soviet Union. Born in the late 1940s, their heyday was in the 1960s, during the Khrushchev Thaw period, when censorship was relaxed (when compared with the Joseph Stalin era).

Moscow mods of the late 1950s dancing twist. / Valeriy Shustov/RIA Novosti

Having apolitical views and an admiration for foreign fashion, they tried to wear foreign labels and listen to western music. They greatly favored swing and boogie-woogie. Women wore dresses and high-heeled footwear, while men chose narrow checkered pants and shiny winkle-pickers.

Though their style changed a bit over time, the Stilyagi always wore unapologetically bold colors and bright jackets. Alexander Petlura says, keeping footwear shiny was so important, that they had a habit of wiping the tips of their shoes on the back of their pants, which eventually grated the fabric.

After the Soviet youth got acquainted with the Western world during the Khrushchev Thaw period, many other common subcultures became popular in the country, including hippies. On the surface, hippies in the USSR were quite similar to those in the United States. However American hippies mainly rebelled against consumerism, while their Soviet counterparts defied a conformist state, writesWilliam Jay Risch in his bookSoviet Flower Children.

Hippies / Lev Nosov/RIA Novosti

Soviet Hippies heavily used English slang and loanwords, and were heavily influenced by folklore. They often used to narrate their life stories, which were used as an alternative to anecdotes. The stories, called telega (carts), were later compiled into a book called1001 Party Telegaby Stepan Pechkin.

Soviet hippies, who generally shrugged off the idea of working, chose to beg for a living, says Petlura. They preferred to imitate the dressing style of fellow hippies in the United States, he adds.

The biker counterculture, just like that of the hippies, was also adopted from the West. In the USSR, where people usually could not afford a car, bikes became a common substitution. However, only a miniscule minority of Soviet bikers actually owned a bike, adds Petlura.

A female biker sitting on a motorcycle. / Oleg Porokhovniko/TASS

Many of them called themselves rockers and the two terms were often interchanged.

They liked hard rock music, which was illegally distributed in the USSR. The bikers tried to imitate their Western counterparts, but the lack of real leather jackets in the Soviet Union forced them to improvise. Some bikers tried to sew their own leather jackets, while most wore fake leather. A few just used plain black fabric instead.

In Busters book, which consists of multiple interviews with important figures of the era, Feddy Begemot recalls that his his first leather jacket was sewn by his sister Anya. Bikers were also fond of paddings just like their associates abroad. While they liked Naval Jacks, skulls, crosses, and other symbols, they were very much against alcohol and drugs.

Despite having to penetrate the Iron Curtain, the breakdance movement was popular among the Soviet youth. Most of them learned the moves by themselves or by copying them from Western movies. Mila Maximova in an interview forHooligans of the 80sremembers that many of them preferred to make arm waves and robotic moves, while just a few people actually managed to master spins or other power moves.

Breakdancer Performing in Gorky Park / Getty Images

We knew them by name, there were about five of them in Moscow, she adds. By the time the breakdance movement gained massive popularity as a counterculture, the Soviet youth developed their own fashion style. White sneakers and gloves were important, says Maximova. It was close to impossible to find white sneakers since most pairs available in the market were brown or black. Breakdancers often bleached their shoes.

They also liked knickers that did not look anything like jeans and a lot of additional accessories such as chains, sweatbands, bracelets, and sweatshirts with foreign logos.

A special project dedicated to Soviet counterculture by Look at Me and Adidas Originals saysthe dancers later managed to get skateboards and spray paint.

With banned foreign music growing in popularity, alternative genres, including heavy metal, became a fad among young Soviet citizens. Heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas Priest, and Megadeth were popular among the rebellious youth.

The scene from "The Commentary on the Appeal for Pardon" movie directed by Inna Tumanyan. Metalheads / S. Ivanov/RIA Novosri

Nikolay Korshunov wrote in an article for RussiasHooligansmagazine that Soviet metalheads took their counterculture very seriously and would try and stop posers. Youngsters, dressed as metalheads, would be stopped on the streets and questioned about their knowledge of heavy metal. They would be asked to name at least 15 heavy metal bands. Many new fans would fail the test, Korshunov added.

Since getting a real leather jacket or jeans was close to impossible, many metalheads improvised.

We couldnt be bothered with wearing American clothes, Sergei Okulyar says inHooligans of the 80s.We needed to have something of our own, which looked as intimidating as possible.

Sometimes people would make sweatbands from handbags and then sell them to punks or other metalheads.

Punks were less uniform in their style, which mainly depended on which part of the USSR they lived in, Siberian punks were offshoots of hippies, while punks from Tallinn were indistinguishable from their European counterparts. St. Petersburgs punks led a half-Bohemian lifestyle, and those in Moscow fused styles from across the country.

Punks in Moscow / Iliya Pitalev/RIA Novosti

The inner nihilism was in contrast with their outer appearance, which comprised of brightly colored Mohawks, piercings, jackets, T-shirts with images of their favorite bands, and handmade belts with rivets.

Misha Clash says inHooligans of the 80sthat their dress code changed to long leather coats, heavy dark makeup and haversacks.

Their performances often turned violent and ended with the smashing of the windows of major stores. This eventually led to arrests and detentions. There are also stories of loud punks coming to the civil registry office in an inebriated condition. It was a part of the punk culture to shout profanities while getting married.

Costumes: Alexander Lyashenko (Petlura)

Make-up artist: Zinaida Saplina

Place: DK Petlura

Actors: Aleksey Lyubimov, Nikita Schetinin, Ekaterina Sinelschikova, Anastasiya Karagodina

Excerpt from:
Soviet counterculture: How rebellious youngsters opposed communism - Russia Beyond the Headlines

Firebrand Ann Coulter on Wednesday tore into fellow conservative Sean Hannity on Wednesday, saying the Fox News host "would endorse communism" if President Trumpthought it was a good idea.

Sean Hannity, bless his heart, has the zeal of the late Trump convert, Coulter wrote in a blog post.

He would endorse communism if Trump decided to implement the policies of The Communist Manifesto, she wrote, also claiming that the Senate GOPs healthcare bill actually does fall under that category.

In the post, titled "Even Trump Can't Make Goldman Sachs Popular," Coulter went after Goldman Sachs and Wall Street, claimingTrump is at risk of falling under their influence and that he should stay the hell away from them.

On his show last Thursday, he tried to get me to defend Trump's rich person remarks about Cohn. I wish you could see the segment ..., Coulter said, explaining that the show ran out of time.

With the zealotry of those who came late to the Trump party, Hannity fully endorsed Trump's faith in Cohn, adding, I never got a job from a poor man! She continued.

Hannity did not mince words in his response to the blog, saying on Twitter that Coulterhad fallen "in and out of love" with Trump, among other Republicans.

Ann, u fall in and out of love with Christie Romney Trump and how many others. Frankly you just bore me. https://t.co/ERf1TUUk8U

Coulter said blunt honesty will help the president in the long run rather than people who blindly agree.

The best way we serve the people we admire is to tell them the truth, she added.

The rest is here:
Ann Coulter: Hannity 'would endorse communism' if Trump thought it was good - The Hill

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Conservative provocateur Ann Coulter slammed Sean Hannity in a blistering column on Wednesday, saying the Fox News commentator "would endorse communism" if Donald Trump did.

"Sean Hannity, bless his heart, has the zeal of the late Trump convert," Coulter wrote in the column on her website. "He would endorse communism if Trump decided to implement the policies of 'The Communist Manifesto.'"

The two firebrands have been feuding since last week, when Coulter accused Hannity of censoring from his show her comments about Trump's relationship with Goldman Sachs.

Coulter said she had criticized Trump's praise for his chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs president, whom he called one of the "great, brilliant business minds" on his Cabinet during a rally in Iowa last week.

Trump added that he did not want a "poor person" running the economy, and "that's the kind of thinking we want" a line Coulter told Hannity she objected to.

"On his show last Thursday, he tried to get me to defend Trump's "rich person" remarks about Cohn," Coulter said. "I wish you could see the segment, but, unfortunately, Hannity decided no one would ever see it."

The pre-recorded segment was cut for time, Hannity said. The host has faced criticism for his unceasingly pro-Trump coverage.

But to Coulter, who bills herself an early Trump supporter, it does no good to blindly praise the president.

"Those of us who have been here for a while know how to party responsibly," she said. "The best way we serve the people we admire is to tell them the truth."

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Original post:
Ann Coulter shreds Sean Hannity: 'He would endorse communism' if Trump did - SFGate