Notes From NPR

I was listening to NPR yesterday, and I heard a discussion on whether a man named Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL) could win the presidency of the United States of America. The question has arisen because CNN (and Senator Edward M. Kennedy) have referred to him as "Osama"; and, because his middle name, Hussein, is the same as the surname of dead dictator, Saddam Hussein.

In order to punctuate the point, a man called Charles Himmler called in and related the difficulties that he had sharing the surname of Heinrich Himmler, the head of the German Schutzstaffel (SS). He said that only once had his name been an issue, and he urged Obama to run for president.

This reminded me of a story told to me by an uncle, who grew up in the midwest. It seems that there was a man named Adolf Hitler, which might have been problematic in 1940s America. Under intense pressure, the man changed his name, to John. John Hitler.

Which reminded me of the excellent series, Hill Street Blues, and a storyline involving a struggling comedian that Detective J.D. LaRue managed. Vic Hitler.

That is all.