Radical fun and running from the censors, with the Smothers Brothers...

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The New York Times, which is trying its best to provide historical context to this period of fascist revolution, found yet another clever parallel:   the censorship of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

OK, yes, I'm biased.   I did in fact sit in my living room and watch Tom and Dick--and Pat Poulson--every week with my family.   But still.   This stuff is funny.

And it reminds me of how invasive the government seemed then.   Every one knew it.   How could any one claim to be surprised by the simple disclosures of Edward Snowden that the government is lying to us about surveillance, all those years later.   Phones were tapped then, and privacy was a joke.  And you could get your head bashed in in Chicago and elsewhere--or your successful TV show cancelled--for saying the obvious.

So here's to the two subversive guys who could turn Paint Your Wagon into a text for revolution.

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