The Kisseloff Collection

I miss the John Birch Society. Actually, they’re still around. They even have a Web site where you can not only get some great books about the international conspiracists, but you can also purchase official John Birch Society pens, mugs, even water bottles. When I was kid growing up in East Meadow, right across the street from Ed’s Glassworks (famous for the “GL” in its sign constantly being whitewashed) was our local John Birch Society bookstore. We never actually saw anyone inside, but we loved their prominent display of books (None Dare Call it Treason, being the one I remember. Its author,  by comparison, makes Ann Coulter look like Noam Chomsky.) and riotous bumper stickers (“Don’t like the police? Next time you get in trouble, call a hippie”).

Below is my favorite piece of John Birch propaganda, for very personal reasons. They must have sold thousands of these.

On an unrelated topic, I got an email today from my friend Bill Barol, pointing me to this great early TV video on YouTube. It’s actually a  World War II propaganda film on the future of television. I recognize several of the people in the film, including Ray Forrest, the aforementioned WNBT television announcer. Click here to see the video.