
<p>Out of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has arisen yet another of those tempest-in-a-teapot controversies. ; The current slander is the shape of the CPAC stage. ; It was similar to a letter in the ;ancient Nordic alphabet &#8212; known as the Odel or Oden Rune. ; It represented the “o” sound. ; The symbol is still used in Scandinavia in conjunction with Odel Law – dealing with property.</p>



<p>Like the swastika – an ancient Asian symbol – the Odel Rune was expropriated by the Nazis as a military unit badge. ; There is very little public awareness of the obscure symbol in ANY of its historic manifestations, however.</p>



<p>Many people carry surnames relating to the Odel Rune letter or symbol. ; Check out your telephone book – if you even have one – and you will find oodles of Odels and Odells – and a number of other variations. ; Perhaps those folks should change their family name or risk accusations of being part of a white supremacist cult.</p>



<p>None the less, the radical left has found the shape of the CPAC stage to be yet another opportunity to malign CPAC and conservative movement in general – and to build on their disgustingly FALSE narrative that conservatism and white supremacy are synonymous. ;</p>



<p>One might expect such exaggerated comparison to rise from some nutcase radicals consumed by paranoid conspiracy theories – the kind of folks who interpret the most benign events and images as international plots that are only credible among fellow-travelers in the dark corners of the Internet. ; But noooooo.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"> ;The <em>Washington Post</em>, <em>USA Today</em> and the left-wing cable news have given the story high priority. ; </h4>



<p>It is ;a major news(?) story across the left-wing media-sphere. ; ; It is yet another example of how far one-time mainstream journalism has descended into the political propaganda rabbit hole.</p>



<p>The Hyatt Hotel convention center – where the CPAC event was held – piled on with a statement that a Nazi a symbol on their stage is “abhorrent and unequivocally counter to our values as a company.” ; They did not seem to care about the history of the symbol or the legitimacy of its linkage to CPAC. ; Is that an indication of political correctness intimidation gone amok – or because the hotel chain is owned by the uber liberal Democrat Pritzker family.</p>



<p>Now let’s face it. ; The stage does look like an upside-down version of the Odel Rune. But that is about as far as the story goes. ; The left’s baseless interpretation defies fact and reality.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">First of all, CPAC is by far not a racist or white supremacist operation no matter what the media says. ; </h4>



<p>They are engaging in <a href="https://punchingbagpost.com/the-media-maligns-of-cpac/">false conspiracy theories</a> and … lying. ; As I have written in a recent commentary … in the more than 40 years that I have attended CPAC, I have NEVER heard racist or white supremacist talk from the platform or in the hallway. ; To suggest otherwise – by intimation – is dishonest reporting at its worst.</p>



<p>CPAC would never use an anti-Semitic or Nazi symbol on their stage for any reason. ; The organization has been a most ardent supporter of Israel. ; The Jewish community is a significant participant in CPAC events and activities.</p>



<p>If the intent was to symbolize Nazi Aryan dogma, why is it upside down and unrecognizable from an audience perspective? Even if the audience could see the upside-down symbol, most would not have recognized the design if it were put on the front page of the conference program. ; A symbol has little meaning if the audience cannot see it and would not recognize it if they could.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Still … the media plays to the ignorant, the hateful and the gullible. ; </h4>



<p>There are actually people who will now believe that the stage of CPAC was a secret (wink) (wink) (wink) signal of white supremacy. The elitist east coast media is spreading this conspiracy theory. I have gotten a comment on this website from a guy who has already been drawn in. ;</p>



<p>And we get this bit of propaganda from folks who speak out against bogus and dangerous conspiracy theories ; &#8212; only to wallow in the ones they choose to advance for partisan political purposes. ; We should never forget that those on the left created and proffered the two-year long false conspiracy theory that Trump criminally conspired with Russia in the 2016 election – and even after Special Council Robert Mueller totally debunked that nonsense.</p>



<p>Readers of my commentaries know that I am no fan of conspiracy theories – emanating from the left or the right. ; I am disgusted, however, that the bull***t theories of the left are given a hyped voice and undeserved credibility by the powers-that-be – both Democrats and the corrupt media.</p>



<p>I do not know why the stage took the shape it did and I do not know if the leaders of CPAC were even involved in the design. ; It would be interesting to find out who designed it and why. ; Maybe it was some left-winger who wanted to embarrass CPAC. ; Oh … but that would be an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory. It would be no more or less credible than the current reporting on the shape of the CPAC stage, however.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>