How Germans Fell for the 'Feel-Good' Fuehrer. A well-respected German historian has a radical new theory to explain a nagging question: Why did average Germans so heartily support the Nazis and Third Reich? Hitler, says Goetz Aly, was a "feel good dictator," a leader who not only made Germans feel important, but also made sure they were well cared-for by the state.

Online Irish immigrant database. I was listening to NPR today when I heard this piece about a "missing persons" column that ran for many years in an old Boston Catholic newspaper; maybe you can find your relatives in the database of mainly Irish immigrants to the U.S. who were listed in the missing persons column. Also, check out this database including some 70 percent of immigrants who entered the U.S. through the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924. more inside

Housing the Spectacle: The Emergence of America's Domed Superstadiums. I was about to make a "humorous" remark in another thread about the Houston Astrodome being the 8th Wonder of the World when I came across this site, which I think is pretty cool. Housing the Spectacle is a traveling multimedia exhibition tracing the post-WWII development of longspan, lightweight roof structures covering public stadia.

New Yorker satire by Ian Frazier. Biting and funny take on Jerry Falwell's autobiography.

Was the U.S. really founded as a "Christian nation"? Our nation was founded not on Christian principles but on Enlightenment ones. God only entered the picture as a very minor player, and Jesus Christ was conspicuously absent. . . . Though for public consumption the Founding Fathers identified themselves as Christians, they were, at least by today's standards, remarkably honest about their misgivings when it came to theological doctrine, and religion in general came very low on the list of their concerns and priorities--always excepting, that is, their determination to keep the new nation free from bondage to its rule.

Curious George: Time Travel If you could travel any"where" in time, to what time period would you travel, and why? more inside

Vatican offers exorcism courses. In 1999, the Vatican issued the first new exorcism ritual since 1614, so formal lessons make sense, I guess. I hope the exorcism students aren't paying much for their classes, though, since the rites are available on the Internet. more inside

The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop music meta-poll, including Christgau's Dean's List.

A Literary Life Born of Brutality. J.T. Leroy has published three books already, and he's just in his mid-20s. According to the New York Times article linked to at the head of this FPP: He has become the de rigueur literary recommendation for a certain set of hipsters — Tom Waits, Bono and Liv Tyler have singled out his writing in interviews — and has been embraced by established writers including Tobias Wolff, Michael Chabon and Mary Gaitskill, and by a cadre of celebrities with, as it happens, their own troubled pasts, like Courtney Love, Winona Rider, Tatum O'Neal and Billy Corgan. He's been profiled in the Village Voice, writes lyrics for the band Thistle, and just had his book of stories made into a movie by Asia Argento, his friend. more inside

U.S. 'in for a shock': In early election results, Shiite cleric's alliance trouncing Washington's favorite.

F*ck Gramaglia Up. Documentary? Mockumentary? Regardless, while this short film may be difficult to watch (due to the psychological manipulation it depicts), you'll likely be unable to stop watching it. You may even find yourself laughing at it -- and if you do, you'll probably feel guilty about it.

Interesting piece on 60 Minutes tonight. A story about Intravenous hydrogen peroxide [three links] therapy and a doctor who administered the treatment to a patient who ended up dying, and has been charged with murder as a result. more inside

Greg Palast is angry again. ("CBS' cowardice and conflicts behind purge: Network's craven back-down on Bush draft dodge report sure to get a standing Rove-ation at White House," 11 November 2005.)

Curious George: the Best of 2004. What were your favorite music recordings of 2004? Your favorite books of 2004? Favorite movies? Favorite blogs? more inside

The Social Security Act of 1935 is one of the most important pieces of legislation in American history. Now the Bush administration is going to try to reform social security by letting individuals invest their Social Security money. It's a Republican-ideology thing, mainly, though Wall Street is likely to profit handsomely from reform. But lots of folks are critical of the reform effort. Even some conservatives acknowledge that there are problems with the reformers' ideas.

Antony Flew, "negative atheist," responds to Internet rumors that he's found God. Follow-up to this MoFi thread.

Curious George: Ever seen a UFO? Curious George: We've had posts on ghosts and strange streaks in the sky. We've told our ghost stories. What about our UFO stories? Have you ever seen an unidentified flying object? more inside

A Generation Weighed Down by Debt. Does this story hit home for you? (Also: Are non-USian monkeys in the same up-the-creek-without-a-paddle boat as many younger Americans are?)

Witnessing to Liberals. By elevating science to supreme authority, [liberal Christians] assume the Bible is a fallible human document, approach Scripture with an antisupernatural bias, and dismiss miracles as the fantasies of ignorant people in biblical times who did not understand the laws of nature. . . . Confronted with such a plethora of unbiblical ideas, conservative Christians might wonder how to begin in evangelizing their liberal counterparts. Following are some guidelines I have found helpful when dialoguing with liberal Christians.

What is an American movie now? (NYT) Talk amongst yourselves.