So I'm in the middle of Orwell's ANIMAL FARM and came across this...

[Hatalles]

"The animals now also learned that Snowball had never--as many of them had believed hitherto--received the order of 'Animal Hero, First Class.' This was merely a legend which had been spread some time after the Battle of the Cowshed by Snowball himself. So far from being decorated, he had been censured for showing cowardice in battle. Once again some of the animals heard this with a certain bewilderment, but Squealer was soon able to convince them that their memories had been at fault."

Cowshed Veterans for Truth, anyone?

I'd previously read 1984 and am amazed at how Orwell's predictions are becoming reality all over again on our own soil. Did the Bushies read his works and take notes? The Goldstein/Snowballization of the War on Terror...?

Burmese Days is next on my list.

[UL_Approved]

1. Bush loves "Canadian Bacon"

Ironically, the old Michael Moore movie, "Canadian Bacon", is one of the shrub's favorite movies. Kinda creepy, huh.

[DemBones DemBones]

2. Truth is stranger than fiction. . .

damn it!

[mikh]

3. ...great reading

...and at last all the animals were equal (brave new world!) but the pigs were more equal than others....
Echoes of Nth Korea maybe?
A wonderful and prescient parody of socialism.

[mikh]

4. Comrade George...

...a true hero of the last century - whose ideals were faultless, and whose observations of socialist utopia still ring true.

[Hatalles]

5. Socialism?

I think his works are more of a critique on authoritarianism and the abuse of power rather than socialism. Snowball seems like a socialist to me, one who wanted to build the windmill to ease the lives of all the animals on the farm--while Napoleon had it built to mill corn and bring in more money for himself and his cronies.

[yardwork]

6. Orwell is relevant today because he was relevant then

"1984" is a critique of the Soviet Union at the time he wrote the book, which was 1948. He switched the numbers but his message was clear.

Totalitarianism is the same whether it is called socialism, communism, or democracy. There's a fundamental truth in Orwell's books, and that is that people behave badly when they have absolute power. To hang onto that power they will lie and cheat and steal. Most crucial, those in power must control the media and the message.

bushco understands this very well. So did Stalin.