Teach Them Early

Teach a child the hard-learned lessons of Socialism early, and you've given him or her a full life of clarity.

If this quote is really from him, then his father deserves the credit.  The fact that his father was just elected President says America will be in good hands in the coming years.

Quote of the Day

Comedian Dana Carvey:

To me, capitalism is an Apple store. Socialism is the Department of Motor Vehicles … sweaty, pissed off workers who can’t get fired. And they laugh at you … ha, ha, ha ha … you got the wrong line you f***ing idiot.

U/T: Instapundit

FB Post of the Day

A FB Comrade shared this post from Tom:

A guy looked at my Corvette the other day and said I wonder how many people could have been fed for the money that sports car cost.

I replied I am not sure, it fed a lot of families in Bowling Green, Kentucky who built it, it fed the people who make the tires, it fed the people who made the components that went into it, it fed the people in the copper mine who mined the copper for the wires, it fed people in Decatur IL. at Caterpillar who make the trucks that haul the copper ore. It fed the trucking people who hauled it from the plant to the dealer and fed the people working at the dealership and their families. BUT,... I have to admit, I guess I really don't know how many people it fed.

That is the difference between capitalism and welfare mentality. When you buy something, you put money in people's pockets, and give them dignity for their skills.

When you give someone something for nothing, you rob them of their dignity and self worth.

Capitalism is freely giving your money in exchange for something of value.

Socialism is taking your money against your will and shoving something down your throat that you never asked for.

I've decided I can't be politically correct anymore. (I never was, actually)

 

 Remember, you can show Tom your support by voting Trump in three weeks!

Holding Family to a Standard

And that standard, comrades, is always: anti-communism.

A FB Comrade of mine shared this post last night.  He was a Vietnam refugee and is now an American citizen who has an incredible story - a story some in his family are rejecting.

On April 24, 1975 my comrade was 12 years old.  His father, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the VN Army who was owed a favor or two, picked up my comrade and his 16 year old brother from school.  He drove them to the main airbase in Saigon and put them on a C-130 to the Philippines with the message: "you may not see your family again."  Six days later Saigon fell. 

Just got home from church. Raiders won. Debate... I missed it. Then I had to type this to educate one of my young relatives who somehow is misguided:

So you all know, I am the evil uncle in the family. Let me just state this then I will get out of your hair. I am surprised so many of you Vietnamese Americans are democrats. Do you know why you're here? What event brought you, your parents, and your grandparents here. The democrat 93rd and 94th congress defunded the war efforts to SE Asia, causing the Fall of Saigon. Millions of people died after 1975 including the killing fields of Cambodia. YOU of all people should align with the party of death. You actively piss and shit on the graves of nearly 250,000 who died at sea and millions more executed or died in re-education camps. Shame on you if you didn't know the history of the 93rd and 94th congress. Shame on you if you knew and still vote democrats. Shame on you if you won't read about it after reading my comments. So get off your high horses talking about rapes when millions of babies are killed. Are any of you defending them? NOT a fk soul here. You dishonored those names on the VN Wall. I don't give a flying shit how old you are or even if you were born here. History is a precious thing if you know what it is. Done here.

My comrade and his brother left the Philippines for Guam, then California, and then Arkansas.  They were re-united with their parents and two other siblings a year later, so a happy story for them.  He lives in Arizona now and spends a generous amount of time sharing his stories and love for America with Vietnam Veterans, high school students, and anyone else who will listen.

Some in is family refuse to listen, but he refuses to let up.  Good. 

He holds his family to a standard.  He's an example for all of us.

(Yes, he owns a Glorious Hat.)

The Obama Legacy

This is just more evidence of what a total disaster Obama and the Democrat Party have been for the United States.  Harvard has published a review of problems in America that went unsolved in Obama's 8 years: Problems Unsolved and a Nation Divided.

ZH linked to this report and posted these nine graphs.  You can click to enlarge.

The national debt would make a nice tenth graph.  And if I were to wish to spend anymore time than is necessary to post this and move on, I could come up with a good dozen more graph ideas.

Leftism - dressed up as Democrats, Nazis or Bolsheviks - ALWAYS leads to suffering and despair. It is a cancer on the human race.

Redistribution: The 401k Grab

The next front in the left's redistribution-of-wealth 'struggle' to make things 'fair' is in our retirement accounts.  Those 401k's and IRA's where private citizens privately manage their own retirement funds, and do so with a FAR higher rate of return than union pensions and Social Security.

We've seen other redistribution schemes win presidential elections in 2008 and 2012, pass with Congressional majorities, and even win the blessing of the Supreme Court.  Some small, like Cash for Clunkers, Tanning Salon tax, Solyndra, and auto-maker bailouts.  And some large: Progressive Tax Code, ObamaCare, Stimulus, Quantitative Easing (QE), Zero Percent Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP), and trillion-dollar deficit spending.

So, to sit back and think nationalizing private retirement accounts is not possible would be ignorant of both recent history and the events from 98 years ago.  Redistribution, with comforting promises of hope and change, always come first.  Only tremendous suffering follows.

The Set Up

The timing has to be right, but the groundwork can start now.

We've seen more than one Global Warming Summit get snowed out.  We've seen the math that says crop yields will go up with the temperature changes the left believes will occur if we do not address climate change stop Capitalism immediately.  We've also seen the science that says this movement is a fraud.  For the Global Warming folks to get any traction, they must exploit hot weather as it occurs.  This is tough to plan for and organize around, hence the failed attempts so far.

The same for the retirement-redistribution movement.  Timing is everything.  The Liberals Progressives Communists have to act when retirement accounts suffer and account holders panic.

Despite the $20T in debt (was $6T under Bush), the stock market has had record gains.  That may be more related to the increase in money supply to $4.5T (was $800B under Bush), and the funneling of that new money into the markets.  (Of course, do your own research as I am the product of the public schools.)

If QE were to end (the last QE was two years ago), and if ZIRP were to end ('ended' last week after 9 years), one might expect the economy to slow a bit.  "But we have such a strong economy," say those in power at the moment.  They will point to the 5.5% unemployment rate, but not the 9.9% U6 Unemployment rate.  They will point to iPhone sales, but not the fact 35.4% of Americans are receiving government assistance. 

And we are not alone here in the States.  The global economy isn't doing any better.  The price of oil has dropped two-thirds off its recent highs.  New supply gets some credit, but demand plays the bigger role here.  Are the benefits of Capitalism (innovation, faster growth, improved quality of living, increased trade, and retirement savings increases) linked at all to oil consumption?  Is it possible the economy is not doing as well as some say?

Selling a retirement 'modernization' policy that redistributes the trillions in wealth to a government IOU program, with promises of continued account growth, is easier in an economic decline than it is during an economic boom.  One question to ask yourself: Looking at the national and international scene today, do you think it is more likely an unexpected event or discovery will trigger a 10% jump in stocks, hiring, and/or personal income?  Or, is it more likely that a 10% drop would occur?

Ask the same, but with "25%" as the number.  Ask: 50%. 

Last, imagine the panic that will enable a total redistribution of retirement accounts, by consensus.

Meet the New Communists

Big government enthusiasts, Tony James and Teresa Ghilarducci, are setting the ground work for the redistribution of retirement accounts from the individual American citizen to the government.  Calling the 401k retirement plans "a faulty experiment," Tony concludes:

There’s really no alternative. It needs to be mandated.

The Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is available to any American who may or may not have access to a 401k plan.  It is, by definition, exactly an alternative.  Tony knows this, but assumes you do not.

I have used both types of accounts, and despite my public school education, my accounts have made more than the 1% return the government currently brags of Social Security. 

Control is the Goal

Bernie, Hillary, Pajama Boy, and every other leftist wants to control everything in your life, including your wallet.  They talk about it when they drink coffee.  They think about it when they go to bed.  They dream about it as they sleep.  And they get up in the morning to pursue it. With enthusiasm.  It is in their DNA.

To gain control over your health care, they had to first paint the picture of everyone getting top-quality care.  The actual results: lower quality and higher prices for all.  Promises broken but goal attained: control.

What conditions must exist for a majority consensus behind the redistribution of private retirement funds?  Envy, from the envy crowd, isn't enough this time.  But panic, caused by liberal policies within the private sector, will be enough.  Of all the solutions that will be offered if/when the market drops 50%, only Obama's will be simple, easy, and attractive to the historically ignorant and panic-stricken.  He'll promise to restore prior balances as he confiscates remaining balances.  His IOUs will be "backed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America." 

What could go wrong?

Political Solutions (assuming you trust politicians):
Double down on 401k and IRA accounts.  Remove the deposit limits, and tax incentive limits, for 401k's and IRA's.  If an employee wants to save 80% of his salary tax free, he should be allowed to.  Or even better, turn all accounts into IRA accounts by replacing all federal taxes (Income, gas, etc.) with a single-rate consumption tax.

Further protect retirement savings from litigation and confiscation with an amendment.  "The right to save for retirement shall not be infringed."

Individual Solutions:
Ann Barnhardt has advocated moving digital assets into hard assets (real estate, gold, etc.) with this truism: "You don't own it unless you can stand in front of it with an assault rifle."

Jim Rickards offers an asset allocation suggestion, based on the hard times he sees coming, in his latest book, The Death of Money.

Sources:
Story and photo - New York Times
Dow and Oil charts - MarketWatch
Unemployment chart - MacroTrends
Welfare Data:  Statistic Brain

See Also:
David Mills (via Doug Ross) - IF YOU LIKE YOUR 401(k), YOU CAN KEEP YOUR 401(k): Obama Labor Dept. Sets Stage for Nationalizing Retirement Accounts

The Obama administration has its sights set on an incredible amount of your money. By some estimates, Americans are holding well over $10 trillion in private retirement accounts.

For a country with debt that is clearly "unsustainable" (source: the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office), flashing that kind of figure to a Democrat politician is akin to showing a kilo of heroin to a desperate junkie.

THE GOAL: FINANCIAL REPRESSION

---

...the real goal of the Obama administration is to nationalize your retirement account and to invest it in debt that will become increasingly unsellable in the open market.

Chart of the Day

Comrade Doug Ross shares:

This chart has so much to offer, and I couldn't agree more.

Here are my interpretations:

Doug uses it to justify his support for Sen. Cruz.  Correctly.  I use it to support my current favorite in the GOP race.

A comrade, who will remain nameless, recently fell into the liberal/media trap by saying 'America hasn't had a conservative to vote for since Reagan.'  Wrong-o!  W. was the second most conservative in 2000, behind Keyes.  Keyes got my vote in the primary, and W. got my vote in the election.  A lot of historic revisionism has been pushed on us about W.  Do you remember he ran on a $1.6B tax cut.  Then, under pressure in the general election dropped it to $1.2b?  Do you remember what it ended up being?  $1.6B.  Then he passed a second tax cut - $1.2B - I recall.  Do you remember W.'s position on abortion?  Do you remember him calling out not just terrorists after 9-11, but the states that harbor them?  Liberals don't do that.  RINOs don't either.  I am amazed at the power the media, and what war fatigue can do to a class guy like W.  And please, save the space in the comments about his deal with Teddy Kennedy on education.  No excuses here, but that was pre-9-11 status quo DC.  The prescription drug benefit?  Pretty brilliant taking an issue away from the Democrats when emerging generics made it a cheap win.  TARP - a desperate measure in desperate times that was abused by the subsequent administration. 

And yes, I too put W. as more conservative than Reagan, but that could be that I was paying closer attention to W. than Reagan.  Reagan made a bigger impact - remember the USSR? - but I would argue that is more a measure of leadership and determination than ideology.  This comparison is also flawed as Reagan had Democrat majorities in Congress whereas W. did not in his first six years.

The only data I question is that of McCain, which is also the problem with these concepts.  Who is measuring the 'conservativeness' of each?  What is their criteria?

Last, and only partially related: Trump.  He is bitch-slapping the GOP lineup right now, yet he isn't a conservative.  Did you know his solution to ObamaCare is to replace it with another government healthcare law?  It isn't ideology that is putting him on top.  It is a combination of common sense, a command of his message and the media, and his tapping into an anger within the silent majority.  I expect Trump to flame-out before the primaries, but at the moment he is in a position to prove this chart wrong.

Did I miss anything?

Iran

Obama is making deals outside the US because he is blocked from doing anything domestic, thanks to a Republican congress.  Bash the RINOs all you want - and you won't find me in disagreement - but they do serve a purpose.  They are the next best thing to an activist conservative congress, something we are trending towards. 

The announcement today was Obama and his gimp, Kerry, gave away the kitchen sink and came back with a piece of paper.  For the affirmative-action/lowest-common denominator Democrats, this is 'progress' and an 'achievement.'  They have no sense of history or consequences, and they have no love for America.

Wasn't it a Democrat who blocked steel exports to Japan and forced their hand in WWII?  Was it not the same Commander in Chief who parked destroyers and carriers in perfect lines at Pearl Harbor too.  Luckily the latter were out to sea that December morning.

And Carter - the 2nd worst president in US history - got away with similar crap with the SALT talks.  Remember the Cyrus Vance capitulation re: Backfire Bombers?  To get the Soviets to sign SALT II Secretary of State Vance allowed the Soviets to classify their strategic Backfire Bombers as regional bombers.  To do so, the bomber's radius (50% of its range) was considered its full mission range for treaty purposes.  The Soviets - with a full history of cheating, lying and aggression - also agreed to deploy their Backfire Bombers in non-strategic roles.  Those communists invaded Afghanistan six months later and derailed the treaty.

And let's not forget Mr. Impeachment who vowed North Korea would be kept from developing nuclear weapons.  Here is a great pic that is making the rounds today:

I was at the DMZ in February 1994 1993, two days after the North announced their intention to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

I didn't know what a Republican or Democrat was back then, but I saw Communism up close and personal, albeit briefly.  I did know evil - some occurring near that bridge behind me back in August 1976.

It is a good thing Netanyahu understands evil too - probably one of the very few who understands the destructive power of a nuclear weapon.  If Israel acts, and I hope they do, we'll hear words like "rash" and "overkill" from the whiny crowd in the MSM.  Better than the alternative.

UPDATED 7.15.15:

Correction.  I was in South Korea in February 1993.

Shared by a FB Comrade:

A History Lesson

Bill Whittle gives a quick history lesson to this year's college graduates. 




Excellent comparisons between our leaders today (Obama and Hillary) and those leaders of mass death (Stalin, Hitler and Mao) of the recent past.  They are not the same, yet....

10:56:

The final ultimate tragedy here is that the people, that idiots like this [professors] protest against, are the ones who are actually trying to protect the lives of idiots like this [liberal graduates] and their right to live in a society comfortable enough to allow them to be so spectacularly stupid. 

So, you want some irony class of 2015?  Here's your irony.  Your peace-loving socialist professors are laying the foundation for the all-powerful state that annihilates individuals like twigs in a bonfire.  

Just look at the NSA spying on every single email.  Or the IRS punishing political enemies.  And film makers thrown in jail to protect the political careers of presidents and secretaries of state. 

 

Videos of the Day

Two minutes total.

This one from 90 Miles:




This one from FB Comrade Doc:



This wall is now a display thanks to a president who invested in, and threatened the use of, the US military.

UPDATED 4.22.15 8am:

Oh man, is this a treat or what?!

I shared this post with Comrade Doc and he sent this photo and message via FB:

Karl, here's a picture of my wife in front (or could be behind) the Berlin wall in 1971...before graffiti was invented.

Just some background on Doc (pictured below).  He fought in the last shooting war with the Communists - Vietnam.  He served with Marine infantry as a Navy Corpsman.  He patched up countless wounds and suffered more than one himself.  He's the guy I want by my side when the commies start the next war.

Oh ya, he also has a hat.

American Leadership. Not Surrender.

A new video from American Legacy PAC.




I was glad to see this wasn't produced by John Boehner's party.  The GOP should have been out in front of all the foreign policy failures of Barack Hussein Obama years ago. 

25 Years Ago Today: The Berlin Wall

Reagan said "Tear down this wall," and they tore it down.  And he saw that it was good.

The fall of the Berlin Wall, 25 years ago today, was a major milestone in the war against Communism.  The fall of the world's largest labor union, The Soviet Union, two years later was another.

This war against the other half of the bell curve will never end.  As long as one person has a dollar, there is someone else who feels the victim and claims that dollar as their own.  We've lost quite a few battles, but won one just this past week.  The fight continues....

I'd recommend the movie, Goodbye Lenin, if you haven't seen it.  A lighthearted look at an East German family as the wall fell.

Marion Smith is the executive director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in DC.  He wrote in Friday's WSJ: The Berlin Wall Fell, but Communism Didn’t.  Check it out.

As important as the fall of the Berlin Wall was, it was not the end of what John F. Kennedy called the “long, twilight struggle” against a sinister ideology. By looking at the population statistics of several nations we can estimate that 1.5 billion people still live under communism. Political prisoners continue to be rounded up, gulags still exist, millions are being starved, and untold numbers are being torn from families and friends simply because of their opposition to a totalitarian state.

DailyMail has posted some great photos of the Berlin 25-year celebration: Wall of light: 8,000 glowing balloons recreate the route of the Berlin Wall, 25 years after it fell.

Here are two:

And related, here is my Hillary Campaign commercial from 2008.  Back when I thought she was going to be the nominee.  So long ago....




UPDATED 11.10.14 7am:

Reason 4-min video:



The memorial will be my first stop during my next visit to DC. I hope that it is not just a Soviet and China museum, but instead presents the all-important and ongoing lesson of evil, and the power of envy and resentment.

Another Reason video (2-min) of yesterday's celebration.

UPDATED 11.11.14 5:30pm:

Via CRASHR, The Gasoline Station has some great Berlin Wall gifs.  Here is my favorite:

Wirecutter's Sheltered Life

One of Wirecutter's readers suggested he lived a sheltered life as a kid in Central California. 

Wirecutter reminds us all that perspective is a bitch: My Sheltered Life:

My Uncle Gary was 4 years older than I was so he got the job of ‘babysitting’ me. He was my best friend and my uncle, so when he started running wild at 13, I was right along with him. Like any poverty stricken area, drug and alcohol use was rampant. I smoked my first joint at 9 and was breaking into cars at about the same age. I stole my first car at 10.

My life was, and still is, "sheltered" in comparison.  I've come to believe that we all face our challenges and choose to overcome.  Family, goal-setting and hard work determine the outcome.  Of course a strong, safe and prosperous country led by honest and selfless men is helpful.

Related:  Did you hear what the Alibaba founder said?  Jack Ma: If you're poor at 35, You Deserve It.  He lives in a Communist country, and it is safe to say he too overcame some hardships.

And there is always Bill Burr:

Going Home

Fred on Everything is headed back to the states for his 50th high school reunion.  His first reunion since graduating, no less.

Here is a sample of his thoughts on this big trip: King George Days

The names in the yearbook are just names: Sonny, Rosie, Butch, Kenny, Joyce, Cecil, Ricky, Kit. Just names. But. But, but, but. With any of these people you could leave your keys in the car—we did—or the front door unlocked—we did. We had one cop in the country, Jay Powell, a state trooper, and he had little to do. The high school did not have metal detectors or police patrolling the halls. We had none of the behavior that now makes these things necessary. It wasn’t in the culture. We could have raped, killed, robbed, fathered countless illegitimate children like barnyard animals. We didn’t.

It wasn’t in the culture.

We were not obsessively law-abiding. It may be that a certain amount of beer, even a substantial amount, was consumed in contravention of the law. I may know somewhat of this, though I can’t swear to it.

Well, OK, I can swear to it. The statute of limitations has run. I remember my first encounter—don’t we all?—with the demonic grape. One summer night...

Fred was out of school two years before "the culture" suggested clock tower avoidance.  It was all down hill from there.

He really did grow up in a great time.

Safe time-travel to you Fred!

Some Chile History

A little commie trivia for you.  Possibly a timely history lesson too.

Salvador Allende was an elected Marxist.  His policies sucked, and the nation of Chile rose up against him with the helping hand of the Christians In Action (CIA).  Above is the last photo of Allende before his death - reportedly a suicide, but in question.  Augusto Pinochet took over and reversed Allende's policies, thus ... waaaaait for it ... restoring prosperity.

From Salvador's Wiki page:

Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens, 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973, was a Chilean physician and politician, known as the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country through open elections. 

---
As president, Allende adopted a policy of nationalization of industries and collectivization; due to these and other factors, increasingly strained relations between him and the legislative and judicial branches of the Chilean government – who did not share his enthusiasm for socialization – culminated in a declaration of a "constitutional breakdown" by the congress. A centre-right majority including the Christian Democrats, whose support had enabled Allende's election, denounced his rule as unconstitutional and called for his overthrow by force. On 11 September 1973 the military moved to oust Allende in a CIA-sponsored coup d'état. As troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, Allende gave his last speech vowing not to resign. He died later that day in uncertain and controversial circumstances.

From Pinochet’s Wiki page:

In 1973, the Chilean economy was deeply hurt for several reasons, including the expropriation of 600 businesses by the Allende government, a tiered exchange rate that distorted markets, protectionism, and the economic sanctions imposed by the Nixon administration, inflation was 1000%, the country had no foreign reserves, and GDP was falling rapidly.  By mid-1975, the government set forth an economic policy of free-market reforms that attempted to stop inflation and collapse. Pinochet declared that he wanted "to make Chile not a nation of proletarians, but a nation of proprietors."

Dig deeper and you'll find the Chile story isn't a pure black & white, good vs. evil story.

But you'll be hard-pressed to find a single benefit to electing a Marxist.

And don't you just find these "last" photos fascinating?

December 25, 1989

March 1953

January 1924

September 1976

March 2013

2011

Why not end with a photo of a healthy person?  This is New York nightclub owner Jack L. Hickman on a leisurely walk through Times Square on April 26, 1965 (Source).

70 Years Ago Today

Good united against Evil.  Good confronted Evil.  Good risked everything.  Good prevailed.

There is a lesson in here.

Somewhere.

UPDATED 6.6.14 6pm:

Found at Imgur:

A Reminder

from comrade Ann:




Thanks for visiting Ushanka, but remember what is important.

I had a great time today.  I drove down to Louisville to meet with comrade Don, a gent who I've see at several of the Indy blogmeets.  We filled a two-hour lunch with Marine (him) and Army (mine) stories, and discussions about history. 

I followed the advice in this video, before I saw the video.  Do you?  If not, let's do lunch.  It is the most important meal of the day, until dinner.

17 million views in less than two weeks.  Good.

Evil Uncovered

The Russians moved so fast under the leadership of Georgie Zhukov that zGermans couldn't destroy the evidence of their labor and death camps in Poland.  The world discovered.

The patriots swarmed the Bundy Ranch and pushed FedGov off the property.  And the world discovered.

Lesson: You will learn the truth when you catch the tyrants flat-footed.

More about the cattle mass graves at:
MoonBattery
ClashDaily (video)

U/T: America's patriots who put it all on the line in Bunkerville.

The Soviet Story

Our Commie Obama hat model has shared this excellent 1.5 hour video, from PeoplesCube, called The Soviet Story.



Some parts are in Russian and not sub-titled, but this is otherwise a great presentation of the evil of Communism.

The video includes good Nazi-Soviet comparisons too, such as this graph (10:22 mark) comparing the killing efficiency of the Nazis vs the Soviets.

You'll hear how the Nazis and Soviets, both following a Marxist principle, were committed to killing at least 10% of their populations in order to rid their countries of inferior people.  For the Soviets, the Ukrainians in the early 30's were the easy targets.

The good news: this will never happen again.  (If you agree with this, you didn't watch the whole video.)

Book Notes: Forest Brothers

We just finished the 2010 book, Forest Brothers by Juozas Luksa (center).

The links to the book and to our book notes are now posted in the Library section to the left.

It is a children's book, assuming your children like to hear stories about patriots slaughtering communists by the dozen.