Six Contradictions of Socialism

By Grouchy Old Cripple in Atlanta.  Brilliant:

1. America is capitalist and greedy – yet half of the population is subsidized.

2. Half of the population is subsidized – yet they think they are victims.

3. They think they are victims – yet their representatives run the government.

4. Their representatives run the government – yet the poor keep getting poorer.

5. The poor keep getting poorer – yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.

6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about – yet they want America to be more like those other countries.

Saturday Afternoon Cigar

One last chance before the next ice age.  Today's cigar: a Rocky Patel Edge.

We're still reading about the Berlin Airlift.  It is amazing that the US, specifically Truman, had complete knowledge of the evil within the Soviet Union just a couple years after WWII. We knew Stalin showed a lot of his cards in the talks at Yalta and later, but we recall from our readings that only some (Churchill) saw him for the tyrant he was while others (Roosevelt) saw him as an ally.

Our Lend Lease material found its way in the Gulag system, and we never were paid for that billion in hardware.  And war fatigue obviously played a huge factor in how we would respond when the Soviets cut us off from 2 million in Berlin. 

I haven't read anything about ideas or proposals to take on the Soviets shortly after WWII, albeit the generals, especially LeMay and Clay, we enthusiastic anti-Communists.  We are reading about a tough Truman, but we also know he turned a blind eye on the accusations, later proved true, of Communist infiltration within the US government. 

Can anybody point me to a general or politician who argued for an aggressive posture towards the Soviet Union?  Someone who argued that risking war with the Soviets then would be better for everyone?

Ukraine - The Liberation

Putin is determined to "liberate" Ukraine much like his idol, Stalin, "liberated" Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, among others.  We anticipate a speech soon to tell us "it's for the children," or "it's for the greater good," or "If you like your Russian occupation forces you can keep them."

From ZH - Russian APCs follow the liberation of two Ukrainian airports:

Hey Obama - how about a "smidgen" of A-10 support?  It'd take less time to push the Russians back on their asses than it did to ignore Ambassador Steven's calls for help.

Or, Mr. President, does the new conflict in Europe fit in your vision for a future driven by a Crisis-as-a-Means philosophy?

To the freedom-fighters in Ukraine:  You are 1-0.  Take it to 2-0.  Apply the same will-to-fight and the same excellent use of social-media.  Just use different tactics.  You know what to do.

UPDATED 3.1.14 10am:

Thousands of foreign troops are now in Ukraine.  We saw this photo at WZ and wondered what the ___ the Ukrainians are waiting for.  Those same Ukrainians who deposed their president with flimsy shields and burning tires.

Remember, focus on the front sight.

Permission granted!

Quote of the Day

From Glenn:

Sounds suspicious.

In response to the 90% burns a Georgia Tech PhD student suffered in his dorm when his Molotov Cocktail exploded:

[Saamer] Akhshabi was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital. His biography on Georgia Tech’s website says he’s a PhD student in the school’s College of Computing and attended the University of Tehran in his native Iran before coming to Georgia.

(Photo at top is from a different self-conflagrant Muslim here in America)

Symbolism

Symbolism - It happens.

Some recent Hammer and Sickle sightings:

At MoonBattery:

Western Rifle (I think):

From our comrade at The Looking Spoon:

The Prepper's Dilemma

Urban Dictionary Definition - The Prepper:

Someone who focuses on preparedness, generally for various worst-case scenarios like peak oil or armageddon. Sometimes used to avoid the more loaded term survivalist.

 Our Definition - The Prepper's Dilemma:

Warning people of the coming end has, up until this point in human history, been wrong.  Therefore, warning others of the end will make you look like like the latest in a long procession of fools.  If you think the end is near, do you warn others, or not?

 A FB comrade recently linked to this article at PreppersWorldUSA:  More Unusual “Activity” at Yellowstone Super Volcano! Releasing Thousand More Times Of Helium Steam Than Anticipated

Read it, and you'll hear how the Yellowstone Super Volcano is going to blow any day now.  Don't look for any graphs of changing Helium levels, or scientific references or other measurable data.  You won't find any, as this article was written for the casual end-of-the-world reader who doesn't want to be burdened with critical thought, or even curiosity.

Our motive for this post isn't the article, but the comments:

alvin - all of that helium means everyone will soon start talking like chipmunks!!!!

Dan - It’s on the Internet, it must be true! Here’s a few minutes of my life I’ll never get back. I’ll tell you what, my family and I live close to the park. We will keep you updated year after year after year of its progress.

Stephanie - Helium-4 (42He or 4He) is a non-radioactive isotope of the element helium. It is by far the most abundant of the two naturally occurring isotopes of helium, making up about 99.99986% of the helium on Earth. Its nucleus is identical to an alpha particle, and consists of two protons and two neutrons. (you can find this information with the simplest of google searches).

And it didn’t just “suddenly” appear. The helium has been venting that way for millions of years – they just now measured and studied it.

There were many more comments, including from those who believe the Yellowstone Super Volcano will be blowing any day now.  Very sad.

We make light of the thinking behind this article because, if it is true, nobody will be around to tell us we were wrong.

Ukraine Photos

From English Russia.

The former customs chief on display:

Counter-Revolutionaries visit the former president's mansion:

UPDATED 6pm:

Supposedly a Ukrainian sniper forced to bow at the memorial for the dead.  Source: Imgur.

Having watched these videos (WARNING: GRAPHIC) - here and here and here - of what those snipers did, I'd say this guy should consider himself lucky.

Caddyshack, Ukrainian style.  Protesters playing gold on the president's course!  Imgur.

UPDATED 2.25.15 9:30pm:

The cost of confronting tyranny - Imgur:

Ukraine's Lenin Statues

The Lenin statues in Ukraine are dropping like starving peasants in a man-made famine...

Apparently there is one very large glass box somewhere where these statues will be maintained and displayed.  Or is that truck headed to Siberia?

The Workers of The Ukraine will have to unite to clear out all of the Lenin statues.

For you see comrades, The Ukraine is under new management.  Ladies and Gentlemen, Yulia Tymoshenko:

 
Statue pics from People's Cube.  Map from Western Rifle.  Tymoshenko photo from Doug.

UPDATED 3:45pm:

Google News:  the media, like their idol in the White House who is still voting "Present," are still unsure what to make of the news out of Ukraine.  It doesn't look like communism.  It doesn't smell like communism.  What could it be?

UPDATED 2.25.14 9am:

Lenin Statues in harmony with gravity, via MoonBattery:



60k views in 3 days.  Good.

Wasn't Me

Here in Cincinnati on Friday a dog went postal on a lady, and a postal worker attempted to stop the attack.

During the struggle, a passer-by, presumably someone licensed to carry a concealed weapon, pulled his gun and shot the dog dead.  He then continued walking in the same direction and his identity is not known.

We have the weirdest news here in Ohio.  I'm glad the lady and the postal worker are ok.  I'm also glad to see a dog shooting that did not involve the police.

Bob Owens has the full story.

They Said "Enough" UPDATED and BUMPED

[orig post 2.16 4:22pm]

 This Connecticut gun owner is leaving:

When do you finally say, "Enough," decide to sell your house, pack up your things and move your life to another state that offers more freedom and liberty?

—

There was no way we were going to submit to registration of anything that we owned, nor were we going to be restricted in defending ourselves by limiting the number of bullets in our magazines as a result of the state's new gun laws.

Our guns did not kill those children in Sandy Hook, and yet Connecticut wanted to punish us for it. We are cheering for those who have decided not to register and we respect others who decided not to risk becoming instant felons. Our choice was simply to leave.

As someone who saw the writing on the wall and fled California back in 2008, I say "BRAVO!"

Lets see some more stories like this.

U/T: Sipsey Street

UPDATED and BUMPED 2.23.14 11am:

 Doug posts this telling screenshot - worthy of a bump: