Hey! What the hell are we reading to our kids anyway?

Many of us grew up hearing the classic tales of the brother's Grimm, but many of us never think of the hidden messages within. What am I talking about? Take for example Hansel and Gretel. In many versions, including 20th and 21st century versions, the witch is often depicted as hook-nosed, a common stereotype of Jewish people of 19th century Europe. She also wants to cook children, similar to the myth of blood libel. This claimed that Jews would steal Christian children and use their flesh and blood to make meals for their rituals. Also consider the overt contrast between the witch and Hansel and Gretel. The children are portrayed as sweet Christian children led by a dove, a common Christian symbol. Also consider the end of the story when they come upon the witch's piles of gold and wealth, another common anti-Semitic stereotype of the wealthy money hoarding Jew. And, finally, they are once again led home by the dove. All in all, although it is not overt, if     you know the history of anti-semitism in Europe those symbols are clear as day. Next time you think the books on your child's shelf are just harmless stories, think twice.

Hey Lady! Who's Brain is this Anyway?

If there's one thing I hate it's something I like to call backseat thinking, analyzing someones actions and guessing what their motives are. Such is the case with a young woman named Abby Martin on the RT political network, who spoke on the topic of Bill Maher's opinion of the NSA surveillance program. He said, "I really don't see why everybody's so outraged. I support surveillance. I'll admit, it's not because I'm brave. It's because I'm scared." To which Martin responded, "Oh Bill, still kissing the ass of your establishment masters?" As you can tell by this statement you can see where Martin stands concerning surveillance. Even though I agree with Martin more than Maher on surveillance, I really hate this idea that if you disagree with someone and you're in the public eye, your only doing it because your corporate puppet masters tell you.
The same goes for Rahm Emanuel and Cenk Uyger. Recently, on his Young Turks program, Uyger criticized Emanuel for his decision to close several schools with mainly African American students, with the explanation that they were low performing schools. Quoting Uyger, "This decision proves that Rahm Emanuel is not a progressive democrat. He's just a dirty Chicago politician who loves picking on the powerless while keeping his rich friends happy.
My issue with both of these statements is that neither of these self proclaimed mindreaders seem to see beyond the disagreeing statements so they dislike the person.

Will the Real Paul McCartney Please Stand Up

Many of us have seen the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers but have you ever thought of this possibility in real life. No, not aliens; I'm talking about people disguising themselves as politicians and celebrities to either keep these people safe or take the fall. Saddam Hussein, for instance, was famous for having a body double when he would go out into crowds. But you may be wondering why I called this post Will the Real Paul McCartney Please Stand Up. Well, according to some conspiracy theorists, Paul McCartney was murdered in a car accident in 1967 and was replaced by a look alike body double so that the CIA could monitor John Lennon for his views on Vietnam. But there's a big whole in the doppelganger theory. Say you were a politician, perhaps a rather unpopular politician. You would probably have many death threats on your life. If you were to hire a body double to go out into a crowd, do you really think he would risk his own life for yours? Probably not. Personally, I think this is just another insane trip down the rabbit hole but it's interesting to think about.