How do you scare a New Yorker on Halloween? Dress as a Republican. (Or, A “Bête Noir” Party)

-- from the 1912 edition of "Dame Curtsey's book of party pastimes for the up-to-date hostess," by Ellye Howell Glover:

"Chapter X: Pastimes for October. For Allhallow Eve"

Did you ever attend a Bête Noir party? Well, they are great fun. Of course, everyone knows that "bête noir" is the French for whatever a person detests or cordially hates. So all the guests appeared wearing what to them was their greatest horror.

So, what would be an example of a "Bête Noir" costume?

An unmarried girl of uncertain age convulsed the crowd when she appeared with a fringe of lemons around a green overskirt and passed lemons, which were candy boxes filled with candy in exact imitation of lemon quarters. *

Which brings me to my point: Why not organize a group to dress up and march in this year's Village Halloween Parade? How can we, as conservatives, Republicans, libertarians, and others who detest or cordially hate Barack Obama (our greatest horror) convulse the throngs of parade-goers?...

What sort of outrageous tomfoolery could we engage in to make a political point and offend all the right people, namely, New York liberal Village idiots?

Now, it may be too late to construct a two-story, animated stick puppet in the likeness of Our Great Leader, but I'm sure if we put our heads together, we can think of something.

One idea I had today, after viewing a new video of New Jersey schoolchildren singing praises to Obama during Black History Month, would be to dress as school children, and sing "Praise Obama" repeatedly to the tune of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, and "Jesus Loves the Little Children," with Obama's name instead of Jesus. We could be led with a banner for the "B. Bernice Young Elementary School, Burlington Township, New Jersey," and carry socialist propaganda placards. Maybe if we're lucky, people will call us racists!

If you think this is a bit over the top, you can read the actual lyrics of a song sung by children at this very school.

If you have ideas for the parade, or wish to participate by marching, designing, or planning, please leave your ideas as comments to this article, and send me a UE mail with your contact information.

In the next few days, I hope to have a planning meeting set up for anyone interested.

-- Paul Klenk

* This is from a book that, in its own words, is written "for the benefit of the thousands of people who have no time to do their own thinking." Sounds like the Democratic Party Handbook.