This stupid pussy just admitted paying a $2 million ransom to N. Korea for Otto Warmbier, knowing they had tortured him into a coma, then went on to praise Kim's great leadership skill for years since.

Making America Grovel to Anyone

The article linked above mentions Röpke and Eucken as champions of free market capitalism, so to speak. Ironically, Bernie Sanders is quite in line with many of Walter Eucken's core ideas. For instance, Eucken declared legal responsibility to be an absolute necessity for competition within a market economy. Meaning that under Eucken's notion of capitalism, US prisons would be filled to the brim with white collar criminals from Wall Street and just about every multinational corporation, including Volkswagen.

Ludwig Erhard, credited by many to be the main figure behind the German "Wirtschaftswunder" (nothing wonderous about it), postulated real wage growth in line with productivity and target inflation as an imperative for a working social market economy. Again, very much in line with Bernie Sanders. Maybe even to the left of Sanders. A 5% increase in productivity and a target inflation of 2% requires a wage increase of 7%, otherwise your economy will starve itself of the demand it requires to absorb its increased production. You can steal it from foreign countries, like Germany's been doing for more than a decade now, but that kind of parasitic behaviour is generally frowned upon. Minimum wage in the US according to Erhard would be what now, $25-$30? So much for Sanders' $15...

Sennholz further mentions the CDU as a counterweight to the SPD. Well, the CDU's "Ahlener Programm" in 1947 declared that both marxism and capitalism failed the German people. In fact, it put significant blame for Germany's descent into fascism at the feet of the capitalistic system and called for a complete restart with focus NOT on the pursuit of profit and power, but the well-being of the people. They called for socialism with Christian responsibility, later watered down and known as social market economy or Rhine capitalism.

As for the economic policies conducted by the occupation forces: German industry, and large corporations in particular, were shackled for the role they played during the war. If you work tens of thousands of slaves to their death, you lose your right to... well, anything. If they had stripped IG Farben, Krupp and the likes down to the very bone, nobody could have complained. No economic liberties for the suppliers behind a genocide.

Next in line, the comparison with Germany's European neighbours. Sennholz wrote that piece in '55, so you can't really blame him for it. Italy had more growth from '58 onwards, France had more growth than its devastated neighbour from '62 onwards. The third Axis power, Japan, had significantly more growth from '58 onwards.

Why did some European and Asian countries grew much more rapidly than the US? Fair Deal? Nope, Bretton-Woods. Semi-fixed exchange rates caused the Deutsche Mark and the Yen to be ridiculously undervalued compared to the Dollar, thus increasing German and Japanese competitiveness at the cost of the US. Stable trade relations created by the semi-fixed exchange rates plus the highly expansive monetary policy in the US – that's what boosted Germany's economy most of all. Sort of like China over the last two decades, except we were needed as a bulwark against the evil, evil Commies, so the US kept going full throttle.

Our glorious policians tried the same policies (Adenauer/Erhard) in East Germany after reunification, even though global conditions were vastly different, and the result is the mess we now have over there. The entire industry was burned to the ground when they set the exchange rate too high, thus completely destroying what little competitiveness remained. Two trillion DM later, still no improvement. A job well done, truly.

Anyway, if anything, Bernie Sanders' program is closer to post-war German social market economic principles than to the East-German bastard of socialism, state capitalism and planned economy imposed by an autocratic system. However, even that messed up system produced significantly less poverty, both in quality and quantity, than the current US corporatocracy. No homelessness, no starvation, proper healthcare for everyone – reality in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). And despite the fact that they were used as cheap labour for western corporations, no less. My first Ikea shelf was produced by our oppressed brothers and sisters in the East. The Wall "protected" the West from cheap labour while letting goods pass right through – splendid membrane, that one.

PS: Since that article was written in '55, I have to mention one of my city's most famous citizens: Otto Brenner. He was elected head of the IG Metal, this country's most influential trade union, in 1956 after having shared the office since 1952. The policies he fought for, and pushed through, during his 16 years in charge of the union are very much in line with what Sanders is campaigning for.

They call 'em fingers, but I never seen 'em fing.

Oh, wait, there they go.

- Otto

Over here, the union of railroad engineers is currently showcasing what a union was supposed to be doing, and almost the entire establishment is fuming. You just got to love how a proper strike reveals so many of them for what they are: corporatists who couldn't give a shit about workers.

"How can such a small group of people exploit their positions to grind an entire country to a halt? How can they hold us hostage like this?"

Ironically, it's the same people who (partially-)privatised our railroad in the first place. Railroad engineers used to be civil servants, no risks of strikes there.

The press is demonising them, brass from both government parties is demonising them, laws are proposed to practically strip them of their right to go on strike...

All major unions have been in bed with corporations for so long now that people barely remember what it looks like when a union fights for its members. They used to fear union leaders like Otto Brenner (Otto the Great, Iron Otto), now they're playing golf with his successors.

>> ^probie:

Grew up watching Jim Varney. Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam anyone? One of my favorite spots of his was an anti-smoking PSA he did, where he chided Vern for smoking. "I care about ya buddy! But if you keep going like this, the groundhogs will be deliverin' yer mail, know what I mean?"
If they ever do a biopic, I nominate Mike Rowe.


Mike Rowe is like Ernest's evil twin Nash. All that workin out in prison. It'd be interesting to see him behave with such... timidity? Ernest isn't what I'd call a man's man. His strength lies in his pure ignorance and ingenuity, such that he holds to antiquated notions of chivalry and, not realizing the true nature of his enemies, fear does not hold sway.

Ernest underestimates his enemies and is easily defeated, coming back with something so wacky it works. Like someone that doesn't know how to play chess throwing off a chess master. Mike Rowe would not underestimate the enemy and would create a more logical and less fantastical battle plan.

Grew up watching Jim Varney. Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam anyone? One of my favorite spots of his was an anti-smoking PSA he did, where he chided Vern for smoking. "I care about ya buddy! But if you keep going like this, the groundhogs will be deliverin' yer mail, know what I mean?"

If they ever do a biopic, I nominate Mike Rowe.

I love the random Otto von Bismark! Hilarious music too. Ragtime rocks.

Well then I'll definitely have to see it. I'll probably have to stream it, seeing as my town has NO more video stores. Or you could send me the DVD. Shipping it here shouldn't cost more than a first class plane ticket, I imagine.

In reply to this comment by Ornthoron:
I have seen it, and it is hilarious! The opening could fool you into thinking you are watching a bad parody of The Blair Witch Project, but you would be sorely mistaken. It's mostly a parody of conspiracy theories and naïve journalism students. Some of the humour is based on references to norwegian folklore and funny norwegian synonyms for 'troll', but a lot of it is accesible to foreigners as well. Otto Jespersen (a well-known norwegian comedian) is brilliant in his parody of a grumpy old loner. Besides, you get a lot of bonus footage of beautiful norwegian nature.

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Have you seen this, or heard anything about it? It looks like fun, but sometimes mockumentaries just fall flat.

I have seen it, and it is hilarious! The opening could fool you into thinking you are watching a bad parody of The Blair Witch Project, but you would be sorely mistaken. It's mostly a parody of conspiracy theories and naïve journalism students. Some of the humour is based on references to norwegian folklore and funny norwegian synonyms for 'troll', but a lot of it is accesible to foreigners as well. Otto Jespersen (a well-known norwegian comedian) is brilliant in his parody of a grumpy old loner. Besides, you get a lot of bonus footage of beautiful norwegian nature.

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Have you seen this, or heard anything about it? It looks like fun, but sometimes mockumentaries just fall flat.

Otto the ostracizing ostrich chasing down Gary the giddy Giraffe

I think the artists mixed up...during that first part they were supposed to draw the effects of smoking weed not tripping on shrooms/acid. Whoops! It seems they fixed it later with the Homer/Otto TV scene.

*promote for Otto Walta!

Tags for this video have been changed from 'jeff mangum, anne frank, otto, margot, edith, holocaust' to 'jeff mangum, guitar, anne frank, otto, margot, edith, holocaust' - edited by calvados