Philosophy
Today is 135th anniversary of the birth of Ferdinand Porsche, the Austrian engineer who created some of the most iconic automobiles in history. While he did design and build some of the early sportscars, the company bearing the family name was actually started by his son, Ferry. The father, on the other hand, is responsible for the greatest of the anti-sportscars, he is the brain behind the Volkswagen Beetle.
Porsche's original concept in the early 30s was a "car for everyone," a vehicle that would take automobiles from being playthings of the wealthy to standard means of transport and he had made long strides in making it. When Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, he liked the idea and brought it under the Reich's umbrella, changing the name slightly to Volkswagon -- the People's Car.
The great irony of this story is that the general who led the American troops in the World War Hitler started, Dwight D. Eisenhower, would become president and create the interstate highway system. These roads, envisioned originally in part as a means for moving military resources quickly about the country, combined with this vehicle and its microbus offspring with their facist roots to become the American symbol of life on the road, of the counter-culture with its anti-war commitments. War gave us our symbol of peace and fascism gave us our symbol of freedom.
- The Cultural Meaning Of Hitler
Today would be Adolf Hitler's 122nd birthday. Author of Mein Kampf and architect of genocide, his name is used to imply extreme evil, but all too often that is equivalent to "someone who doesn't agree with me." It seems as if the power is diminished...
- Passing The Plate/crossing The Road
Brothers, sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere: This week saw the 51st anniversary of the passing of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 which created the interstate highway system in the United States. To celebrate this "milestone," we will...
- I Still Don't Get The Flag Burning Thing
Since the Senate is now considering the constitutional amendment to ban flag burning thing, yet again, I figure it is time to pull out the question again. Why? I understand that the reason this continues to come up is that it is red meat for the conservative...
- Stephen Fry On Richard Wagner
Do you like Wagner's music? Do you know who else did? Hitler! Of course, he was also a vegetarian and was opposed to animal cruelty, so maybe we need to disentangle some ideas before we draw any premature conclusions about Wagner. Yesterday's...
- Max Planck's Son Erwin Planck
Erwin Planck March 12th, 1893 to January 23rd, 1945 Did you know... The law scholar Erwin Planck was a son of the physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Max Planck. In the 1920s Erwin Planck was a senior ministerial official in the Reich Chancellery and...
Philosophy
Porsches, Beetles, and Freedom
Today is 135th anniversary of the birth of Ferdinand Porsche, the Austrian engineer who created some of the most iconic automobiles in history. While he did design and build some of the early sportscars, the company bearing the family name was actually started by his son, Ferry. The father, on the other hand, is responsible for the greatest of the anti-sportscars, he is the brain behind the Volkswagen Beetle.
Porsche's original concept in the early 30s was a "car for everyone," a vehicle that would take automobiles from being playthings of the wealthy to standard means of transport and he had made long strides in making it. When Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, he liked the idea and brought it under the Reich's umbrella, changing the name slightly to Volkswagon -- the People's Car.
The great irony of this story is that the general who led the American troops in the World War Hitler started, Dwight D. Eisenhower, would become president and create the interstate highway system. These roads, envisioned originally in part as a means for moving military resources quickly about the country, combined with this vehicle and its microbus offspring with their facist roots to become the American symbol of life on the road, of the counter-culture with its anti-war commitments. War gave us our symbol of peace and fascism gave us our symbol of freedom.
- The Cultural Meaning Of Hitler
Today would be Adolf Hitler's 122nd birthday. Author of Mein Kampf and architect of genocide, his name is used to imply extreme evil, but all too often that is equivalent to "someone who doesn't agree with me." It seems as if the power is diminished...
- Passing The Plate/crossing The Road
Brothers, sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere: This week saw the 51st anniversary of the passing of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 which created the interstate highway system in the United States. To celebrate this "milestone," we will...
- I Still Don't Get The Flag Burning Thing
Since the Senate is now considering the constitutional amendment to ban flag burning thing, yet again, I figure it is time to pull out the question again. Why? I understand that the reason this continues to come up is that it is red meat for the conservative...
- Stephen Fry On Richard Wagner
Do you like Wagner's music? Do you know who else did? Hitler! Of course, he was also a vegetarian and was opposed to animal cruelty, so maybe we need to disentangle some ideas before we draw any premature conclusions about Wagner. Yesterday's...
- Max Planck's Son Erwin Planck
Erwin Planck March 12th, 1893 to January 23rd, 1945 Did you know... The law scholar Erwin Planck was a son of the physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Max Planck. In the 1920s Erwin Planck was a senior ministerial official in the Reich Chancellery and...