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The Secret History of a Holiday

Jesse Walker | 12.27.2002 10:11 AM

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Q: What does it take for Ann Coulter, not recently a friend to civil liberties, to criticize COINTELPRO and the FBI's subversion of radical groups?

A: A chance to take some potshots at Kwanzaa.

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Jesse Walker is books editor at Reason and the author of Rebels on the Air and The United States of Paranoia.

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  1. Jesse Walker   22 years ago

    I don’t. United Slaves bad, COINTELPRO bad, Kwanzaa silly at best. Hooray for Coulter — this time.

  2. scott   22 years ago

    Seventh sign of the apocalypse-I actually agree with an Ann Coulter column. God, I feel so dirty.

  3. John McCall   22 years ago

    True enough, but Christmas was originally a Winter Solstice celebration; invented by pagans as an excuse to drink even more beer than usual.

  4. Billy Oblivion   22 years ago

    Even a broken clock is right once or twice a day, depending on whether you go by military time or “normal” time.

    Unless the clock is digital, in which case it’s probably not working at all, so it’s never right.

    Oh, yeah, this is applicable more or less directly to the bombastic blond bimbo.

    Yeah, Kwanza is stupid, and so are most of it’s adherents.

  5. Michael Wagner   22 years ago

    Hmmmm. I must have been out sick the day Ann Coulter came out against civil liberties. Missed it completely.

  6. David Gillies   22 years ago

    I appreciate that Ann Coulter isn’t exactly flavour of the month round these parts, but which parts of her article do you disagree with?

  7. Ranald   22 years ago

    It isn’t Kwanzaa that is stupid: It’s Karenga’s set of underlying marxist principles. Coke and Hallmark have two rather banal principles; profit and entertainment. Moreover, Coke & Hallmark don’t promote Santa and Mom’s Day as “white” phenomena.

    It really doesn’t matter whether Ron Karenga is black or not: He’s a bigot. It does matter that bigots are stupid, and that no one group of people has a patent on political stupidity. And it does matter that Karenga hoped his holiday would promote his stupid politics.

    The notion that Kwanzaa is celebrated uniquely by idiots just doesn’t conform to reality. A lot of smart people – of all races – are adopting and transforming Kwanzaa into something universal and enjoyable.

    Karenga and his politics will be washed away by the marketplace of ideas. Irony as poetic justice. That’s Kuumba.

  8. Stacey Nutterbutter   22 years ago

    One man’s counter radical group is another man’s counter radical group.

  9. Steve Ayers   22 years ago

    So, Coca Cola and Hallmark can invent Santa Claus and Mother’s Day but if a black guy does it, it’s stupid.

    Ann Coulter is a joke.

  10. Anonymous   22 years ago

    Michael: Day? Try *year*…

  11. pepe   22 years ago

    like anyone i have friends, usually quite unusual friends w/ unusual backgrounds. some of us had a discussion then debate about the coca cola and santa clause issue and is he fabricated from advertising and if its not true why does only coca cola have them on their cans and trucks….

  12. Maceiras Rachel   21 years ago

    EMAIL: nospam@nospampreteen-sex.info
    IP: 212.253.2.204
    URL: http://preteen-sex.info
    DATE: 05/21/2004 06:31:24
    There is no end to the adventures we can have if we seek them with our eyes wide open.

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