Tag: Communism

Can You Spot Them?

By “Them” I am referring to those socialist/communists…..

Now that the Dems are in control of the House we are hearing the “S” word more and more….plus there are some that will equate them with communists….those boogey men from the past…..just more fear mongering by conservs that need this to save their base.

But do you know how to spot a dreaded “communist”?

Let’s jump into the “Way Back Machine” and visit 1947 (a good year for it was when I was born)…..

The magazine “Look” published an article on telling Americans how to spot those elusive “enemies”……

In March 1947 the American magazine LOOK published an article by Leo Cherne, entitled ‘How to spot a Communist’. A typical piece of Cold War propaganda, it provides readers with advice on how to recognise potential communists and communist sympathisers in their midst:

https://alphahistory.com/coldwar/how-to-spot-a-communist-1947/

Take a good look at #s 4 & 7…….do they sound familiar to anything said today?

There is your history lesson with a good look at the hysteria drummed up by your fellow citizens.

Learn Stuff!

Class Dismissed!

US First War on Communism

From time to time I do watch the idiot tube especially if the here is something historical being shown.  I occasionally watch the American hero channel, formerly known as the Military Channel…..most times these shows have a bit much propaganda attached to them.

Recently there was a documentary about he Korean War……Korea: America’s First War On Communism…..apparently this is, according to AHC, when Americas came face to face with Communism and turned it into a war.

The truth is the first war was in 1918 when the US and allies joined forces with the forces of the czar in Eastern Russia to combat the Bolsheviks (Communists).

Many Americans would be surprised to learn that the USA, along with Britain, France, and Japan, fought a campaign in Russia just after the Great War (World War I). The primary objective of this action was the re-establishment of an Eastern Front following the collapse of the Russian government during the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, but Allied fear of communist ambitions in other countries also played into the intervention as will be seen below. The overall campaign was named the Polar Bear Expedition, but was also known as the Northern Russian Expedition, the American North Russia Expeditionary Force – ANREF or the American Expeditionary Force North Russia – AEFNR.

These efforts are not mentioned in most history survey courses, and few texts even mention that US troops (or those of any other nation) fought against the Bolsheviks during this period. The presence of US Army units from Michigan in Vladivostok, Archangel, and other Russian locations is rarely noted although the University of Michigan maintains an archive of photographs and other primary evidence relating to the period.

Source: Allied War in Russia, 1918-22

And that was the FIRST war on communism by the US.

If you are going act like some historical authority then maybe get the facts right would help out your credibility.

Class Dismissed!

The Prague Spring–1968

1968 was a good year for history…..wars, protests, naval disasters, etc…….

Long before the Arab Spring there was the Prague Spring in 1968…..it was billed in the West as the Czechs attempt to throw off the bonds of communism and step into the light of democracy.

There were volumes written in support of this action here in the West….but was it about Communism and democracy?

On the morning of Aug. 21, 1968, Mr. William Teltscher realized that his trip to Czechoslovakia had ended before it really started. Being a descendant of a traditional wine-trading Jewish family from Mikulov, south Moravia, he decided to visit his native country for the first time since his family left Czechoslovakia in 1939 for England, escaping the Nazi furor. However, he landed in Prague’s Ruzyne airport only to see the tanks being unloaded from Soviet transport planes, so he turned around and left the country on the next plane for London.

He was apparently one of those who believed the Prague Spring might eventually lead to significant changes to the totalitarian system or at least give the citizens of Czechoslovakia the feeling that they are once more able to determine their country’s destiny. Like many other hundreds of thousands, he was deceived.

Source: Exploding the myth of Prague Spring | Prague Post

Once again history was not exactly as it has been painted by the media…..but we already knew that…..right?

Was He A Commie Spy?

I feel I must throw some history in today….to some this is a waste of time (to them I say….Sesame Street is on at 3  pm)……there have been lives ruined by the accusation of being a “Commie”…..a popular accusation from the days of the Cold War….now it has been replaced by socialist or Marxist….even liberal.

Sorry I digress.

Ever heard of the Manhattan Project?

In case you have not…it was a secret program during WW2 to develop an atomic bomb…..some of our brightest minds were part of this program and even a few old Germans that fled prosecution for crimes by working with the US under the handle of Operation Paper Clip….

One of the great minds in this program was Robert Oppenheimer, a physicist…..the reason I bring this up is because he was accused of being a communist spy during the witch hunts of McCarthy and his band of inquisitors….

But was he as accused….a spy?

The relationship of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to communism and Soviet espionage has been a controversial subject since 1954, when the decision of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to decline renewal of his security clearance put the issue firmly into the public arena. Journalists and historians addressed the issue repeatedly in the decades that followed. Nothing fueled the liberal/left critique of the so-called “national security state” more than the supposed excesses of the US government in the Oppenheimer case, save the cases involving Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs.[1]

But while the emotional level, even shrillness, of the debate continued, the substance of the argument became increasingly stale and repetitive; there was little new evidence to clarify the ambiguities of the matter. In the last two decades, however, new evidence has emerged that, while not resolving all ambiguities and still leaving a number of details unclear, nonetheless allows confident answers to the question of whether Robert Oppenheimer was a Communist and a spy. It demonstrates that he had, indeed, been a Communist but had not been a spy.

Source: Washington Decoded: J. Robert Oppenheimer:

Many lives were ruined by the mere accusation of being a communist sympathizer…..especially when the Congress led the charge for awhile….but was he, Oppenheimer, a spy or not?

Russia: Back To The Future?

In am old enough to remember the days of the USSR….the days of hiding under desks in case of a A-bomb attack…..the days of HUAC….and the days of a communist under every rock…..kinda like the rocks that ISIS is hiding under these days.

We were told that the communism/socialism was a bad thing…..that you would be oppressed if it were instituted….and they gave the Russian peasants as an example…..all that propaganda has lead to a situation today in Russia……

A recent poll revealed that most Russians would like to see the return of the Soviet Union and socialism.

The majority of Russians polled in a recent study would prefer living under the Soviet Union and would like to see the socialist system and Soviet state restored.

According to the latest poll conducted by the Levada Center, over 50 percent of Russian citizens believe the collapse of the Soviet Union was bad and could have been avoided. Only 28 percent of the population surveyed feels positive about its collapse, while 16 percent were unable to answer such a complex question.

Source: Poll: Most Russians Prefer Return of Soviet Union and Socialism | Informed Comment

Does that surprise you?

It shouldn’t!  You see there was a study here in the US and the ages between 18-29 were polled and they said that they would have no problem living with socialism.

Millennials are simply not that alarmed by the idea of socialism. For instance, a national Reason-Rupe survey found that 53 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds view socialism favorably, compared to only a quarter of Americans over 55. A more recent January YouGov survey found that 43 percent of respondents younger than 30 viewed socialism favorably, compared to 32 percent thinking favorably of capitalism.

It is an interesting stat….the problem, for me, is I am not sure that those polled have any idea just what socialism is and how it effects the country.

Back to Russia…..what are the chances of a return to the days of yore and the days of the USSR?  Could Putin make the adjustment?

If communism returns to Russia, just how contentious will the world become?

This is like any other “survey” it will probably change tomorrow….take it with a grain of salt….but it was an interesting survey.

But what does it matter?  Most will wait and see what happens then go about bad mouthing someone….I just think ahead not in reverse.

America’s First War On Communism

Inkwell Institute

I was watching the History Channel the other night, and believe it or not they actually had a program that dealt with history and not some moronic reality crap…….anyway the show was a bout what the narrator called America’s first war on communism…….the show was about the Korean War and its situations……..

Basically, the premise was that the US began fighting communism straight on during the Korean War……and all else was just a continuation of that conflict……as a political historian I disagree with that assertion….actually America’s first war on communism was in 1918…….(pause here for the facial expressions of derision…….)  That is right…..1918!

I am sure that all you that worry about creeping communism will recall the Bolsheviks led an upraising against the czar, Nicholas and thus began the paranoia of creeping communism (granted a bit simplistic but any more and I will lose so many readers)……..after the Bolsheviks took power there was a civil war between the communists and the imperialists and this is where the US happened to invade Russia along with other countries like Britain, France, Japan and Italy and other lesser allies…….but why would the US invade Russia?

I will let Wikipedia take it from here………..

The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched during the Russian Civil War in 1918. Its operations included forces from 14 nations[1] and were conducted over a vast territory. The initial stated goals were to help the Czechoslovak Legions, secure supplies of munitions and armaments in Russian ports, and re-establish the Eastern front. After winning the war in Europe, the Allied powers militarily backed the pro-Tsarist, anti-BolshevikWhite forces in Russia. Allied efforts were hampered by divided objectives, lack of an overarching strategy, war weariness and a lack of public support. These factors, together with the evacuation of the Czechoslovak Legion and the deteriorating situation compelled the Allies to withdraw from North Russia and Siberia in 1920, though Japanese forces occupied parts of Siberia until 1922 and the northern half of Sakhalin until 1925.[2]

With the end of Allied support, the Red Army was able to inflict defeats on the remaining White government forces, leading to their eventual collapse. The Allied intervention and its foreign troops were effectively used by the Bolsheviks to argue that their enemies were backed by Western capitalists. The Bolsheviks were eventually victorious and established the Soviet Union.

America’s involvement was no small participation……about 13, 000 American troops were involved……..

My intent is to set the record straight….Korea was NOT the first face to face war on communism……..and it would not be the last.

BTW…..I am sending a copy to the History Channel…..

How Many Communists Are There?

From the VOMITORIUM

How many of you saw the original “Manchurian Candidate”?  Not the cheap knock off with Denzel Washington.  In case you missed it (you missed a great movie) there is an idiot senator in the movie named Johnny Eislin (?) and his way of stay in the news was to accuse this department or that in the government that have card carrying Communists working there….keep in mind the first movie was made during the Great Red Scare of the 50’s and 60’s…….

I will bet that you are wondering where I am going with this post…….

There seems to be a return to the days of that scare…..

What’s the quickest way to get in the news? Say something unsubstantiated and controversial. In politics, the quickest way to get attention, besides a full-fledged sex scandal, is to call someone a derogatory name. Or, for results just as quick, label another politician a Socialist, Nazi, or Communist.

Rep. Allen West (R-FL), who is running for re-election, did just that this week at a town hall meeting. In fact, he labeled several dozen Democrats as communists…

The question posed was: “What percentage of the American legislature do you think are card carrying Marxists…?”

“That’s a good question. I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party,” West told the crowd of about a hundred at a townhall meeting in Palm City, according to the Palm Beach Post.

For several seconds after the answer was given, the crowd talked among themselves. Finally, after about ten seconds, West clarified just who he meant by Democrats that he thought were communists: “… It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus.”

Recently there has been an uproar because a CNN pundit made a comment about Anne Romney….let me interject here that it is unacceptable to criticize anyone who has chosen to stay home and raise kids…..but of course the Right has used this statement to strengthen there push to claw the gender gap closed……as they should…it is a perfect situation to further their attempts…..but NOT one GOPer has condemned West for his comments……he has accused elected officials of being communist and has not offered any proof other than his say so……the West people have tried to push back….but all you need to do is watch the video and tell me what he meant……..

Rosen’s comment was insulting…….Rep. West is not only insulting but an out right lie!  If everyone wants this type of bullshit to stop then man up and call it what it is….until that is done all concerned, notice I said ALL, are COWARDS!

The Man Who Defeated Communism

I know that I have been a bit mean to the leading GOP candidate, Newt Gingrich,  in the past and I am not proud of it but I wish I could say something kind on his behalf but alas….I CANNOT!

Personally, I think he is an arrogant and demented little toad…..his most recent delusion was that he helped defeat communism…..his exact quote was…..

“I helped Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp develop supply side economics. I helped lead the effort to defeat communism in the Congress.”

I believe that in his own mind he believes exactly what was said….but the facts do not quite confirm his assertion….

One indicator that has been tabulated, if not quantified, to everyone’s satisfaction is that of the Soviet economy. It is know, for example, that in the 60s and 70s Soviet productivity in steel and coal caught up with and even surpassed that of the United States. But declines already had commenced in labor productivity and the quality of machine tools, while advances in science and technology increasingly proved illusory.

Nevertheless, economic reports drawn by Western experts basically found that the Soviet situation, while somewhat gloomy, was still redeemable. These half-way optimistic measurements were even seized upon by the Soviet leadership to buttress their own traditionally overly optimistic assessment. Consumer goods, meanwhile, increased in number during these years but the distribution system was so broken down that milk rarely got delivered before souring and, though Soviets produced more shoes than anyone else in the world, customers were forced to stand in line time and again to buy several pairs because the sizes were so askew that it was necessary to acquire many pairs to make a fit. Housing meanwhile was atrocious with couples required to wait years before qualifying for a small apartment; the wait for cars also dragged on interminable, and after one finally arrived, it was not unusual for it almost immediately to experience mechanical problems.

Defense costs, furthermore, were eating up an inordinate portion of Soviet expenditures. Because of the difficulty in measuring the Soviet GNP it was not always clear what percentage was being spent to this end. Experts now claim the West routinely underestimated the numbers. It is now believed that in years just prior to 1991 as much as 30 percent of the economy went toward the defense sector putting an enormous burden on the average citizen in terms of delayed consumer satisfaction. Then there were the costs incurred by shoring up overseas adventures such as those in Africa, not to mention the drain of the war in Afghanistan and the expense involved in maintaining Castro’s lifeline.  (Thanx to Tom Lovell for the facts mentioned)

In other words the USSR killed itself….but I guess if you point to the expenditures in the arms race as a major contributor then it is possible to make the connection that Gingrich assisted because all spending bills originate in the House and he was a member to that part of the government…but to say that he helped defeat communism is just as ludicrous as me saying my writings 40 years ago gave birth of the OWS  (although I would like to believe that…I know it is not necessarily true)….

So, with all that said….I still stand by my assertion that Gingrich is an arrogant demented toad….

Coming soon to a blog near you……”The Man Who Invented Supply Side Economics”…….

Do They Have Buyer’s Remorse?

Inkwell Institute

Eastern European Desk

There are great speeches in history like Gettysburg Address, or FDR’s Day of Infamy speech…but the one I want to talk about is the “Tear Down This Wall” speech given by Reagan in Berlin in 1987…in case you are fuzzy…..he stood by the Berlin Wall and ask the Soviet premier to tear down the wall…there was lots more to the speech but that is the part that people, mostly Repubs want to remember…kinda like the “give me liberty” speech by Henry…all that is remembered by most Americans is some slogan fit for a bumper sticker……..

Reagan rambled on and on about the Cold War, the Iron Curtain, missiles, Asia….but the part that I remember most was when he was addressing the USSR and its lack of freedom………

Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.

About two years after his speech the E. German authority opened the wall up and it was truly torn down……a great day…especially for Repubs they could claim their ideology was the cause of the collapse of the USSR………

Meanwhile back to the quote….with the fall of communism the whole region of Eastern Europe opened up to the idea of capitalism, which some equate with freedom……..but after about 20+ years of capitalism what has Eastern Europe learned?

Pick a country….any country…..say ….Hungary….what is happening there with all this freedom and democracy?  A Pew Research poll shows…….

With parliamentary elections approaching, Hungarians are in a funk. Nearly unanimously, they say the economy is in bad shape, and a stunning 72% say most Hungarians are actually worse off now economically than they were under communism. But Hungary’s malaise is not all about economics — most are frustrated with politics too. Overwhelmingly, Hungarians are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working and discontent with political elites, with about three-in-four saying political corruption is a major problem. A fall 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project highlights the degree to which, even in a region where disillusionment is common, Hungarians stand out.

All of this bodes well for the electoral prospects of Fidesz, the right-of-center opposition party, which is expected to soundly defeat the incumbent social democrats in the upcoming elections.1 However, these findings do not mean Hungarians are rejecting democratic values. In fact, as the survey illustrates, they are more likely than other former Eastern bloc publics to say it is very important to live in a country with democratic rights and institutions. But few believe Hungary currently has these democratic freedoms.

In the 2009 poll, more than three-in-four (77%) said they were dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in Hungary, the highest percentage on the survey. In the other former Eastern bloc nations, there were notable generation gaps on this question, with people under age 40 — essentially, the “post-communist” generation — more likely to be satisfied than older respondents. Not so, however, in Hungary, where old and young alike tended to give the current state of democracy a grim assessment.

As with any so-called democratic country, Hungary’s new constitution is in contention……a report in the BBC……

The legal and constitutional experts said the charter was rushed through without proper debate.

They said the governing Fidesz party could use its two-thirds majority in parliament to push through laws which might prove impossible to overturn.

This meant, they said, “the principle of democracy itself is at risk”.

They also said other social issues – including the rights of the unborn child, marriage between a man and a woman, and the definition of life sentences – “should be left to the ethical debates within society” rather than enshrined in the constitution.the new constitution

Hungary has a right of center government…….actually it is more nationalistic…..and we know what that means….right?

There is growing resentment for capitalism in the Eastern bloc (to use an old Cold War term)….it is becoming more and more clear that the people are not better off with capitalism…that they may NOT be freer with capitalism…..and the population may NOT be more prosperous with capitalism…..one problem is that old hatreds are becoming more and more to the forefront of politics……..so some are having a bout with buyer’s remorse…..

Is It “Corporate Communism”?

I have begun to appreciate MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan…..he seems to be one of the few that are calling a spade …a spade….he is an irritating individual to some of his guests because he will interrupt try and force them to answer a question, instead of the BS talking oints they want us to hear…I give him his props on that….

Back to the point Dylan has been using a term, corporate communism, at lot and I have been meaning to write a post on this and just today he had Elliot Spitzer, the ex-governor of New York, on his show….a side note, Spitzer is a very knowledgeable man on economics,  we as a country could do a lot worse then him on understanding the economics of the bailout……back again….corporate communism…..

Ratigan writes in the Huffington Post:

Lack of choice, lazy, unresponsive customer service, a culture of exploitation and a small powerbase formed by cronyism and nepotism are the hallmarks of a communist system that steals from its citizenry and a major reason why America spent half a century fighting a Cold War with the U.S.S.R.

And yet today we find ourselves as a country in two distinctly different categories: those who are forced to compete tooth and nail each day to provide value to society in return for income for ourselves and our families and those who would instead use our lawmaking apparatus to help themselves to our tax money and/or to protect themselves from true competition.

If you allow weak, outdated players to take control of the government and change the rules so they are protected from the natural competition and reward systems that have created so many innovations in our country, you not only steal from the citizens on behalf of the least worthy but you also doom them by trapping the capital that would be used to generate new innovation and, most tangibly in our current situation, jobs.

If you have just a small amount of understanding of economics then you will see that Ratigan is correct and he should be applauding for saying so…..Americans HATE communism or socialism or whatever you would choose to call it…but they accept the protectionism that prevails in the financial world……they take from the taxpayer and do as they desire with NO checks and balances (where are those people that pitch a bitch about checks and balances as talked about in the Constitution?)

I seldom….I repeat SELDOM recommend a news show because people have their own likes and dislikes, but “The Morning Meeting” with Dylan Ratigan on MSNBC should be required veiwing for any and all economics courses…..whether you agree or disagree with him, it is thought provoking and excellent news source….

NO I do not get anything in return for recommending Ratigan…just the satisfaction of helping people understand what is what with all the bailout cash….and hopefully it will help make the people more angry that they are being screwed without even a kiss….I put this disclaimer in there because in the past I was accused of being a shill for other people….personally I do not agree with Ratigan on some things but I appreciate his effort to get news makers to answer questions, not put forth some talking point given to them before the show.