Treason. And its foes.

If you've seen the animated version of Orwell's "Animal Farm," then you might have been a tad confused by it. As I learned on NPR's Weekend America today, there's a very good reason for that: it was made by the CIA.

No, this isn't tin-foil hat stuff. It's well-documented and makes perfect sense. As for the film, aside from the artificial, 'Hollywood' ending, it does away with any criticism of capitalism (which, in reality, beats the pants off of communism, but isn't perfect).

But that wasn't even the most surprising aspect of the story. As it turns out, the CIA chose many leftists-- especially poets and authors rightly concerned by the advance of McCarthyism-- to fight the Cold War and the Soviet propaganda machine. Any thoughts, Ann Coulter?

The story link is above, you can listen to the show online, and there's a link to the book that the interview is all about. Docuimented and fact-filled it may be, but I'm going to guess that it doesn't sell as many copies as a reactionary jeremiad. Particularly among those who can't define the final two words in the previous sentence....

P.S.- The later story on cults is also worth hearing. Particularly if Ann Coulter is still on your mind.