Wednesday Afternoon Cigar

I smoked a Rocky Patel Edge as I made my way through an excellent book about a boy who lived through the North Korean famine of the late 90's: Under the Same Sky by Joseph Kim.  I'll post a review here shortly.

Old Media Tribute #52

On February 10th NBC suspended top anchor Brian Williams for six months without pay.

I collected over 60 meme images mocking Brian Williams’ lying and, by extension, the loss of credibility within the old media.

I will post one of these images every three days until his suspension is over. . .  and trust is restored.

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:

Status Update: Venezuela

Michael Johnston is a senior analyst at All Emerging Markets.  He has an article up today explaining current challenges facing the worker's paradise in Venezuela: A Visual Guide to Venezuela's Failed Economy.  This is a great status report for anyone interested in the spin-off effects of socialist policies.

While he covers many areas of the Venezuelan economy and conditions on the ground there, his main point is the country's 94% dependence on oil.  Like Russia, but even more so, Venezuela's nationalized economy runs parallel to the price of oil.

Johnston's chart:

Crude's one-year chart (MW):

You'll pick up a lot of good information in this article, such as the 6-month timeline it takes to start a business there, their 27% inflation rate since 2005, or this: a comparison of Venezuela's deficit to some of the worst on the planet. 

Did you notice Greece?

I've hit on many of these areas in the past as part of the Ushanka mission to warn of what may come here at home.  The decline into full-blown Socialism doesn't have to be instant, nor is it even guaranteed.  But Venezuela is an example, like Detroit, where prosperity was expected to counter any political moves to the left, but didn't.  How come leftists don't measure the risks in their ideas before they act on them?  (That was rhetorical)

While one can assume violence increases in a decline, I was shocked at Johnston's data for Venezuela.  The country is sporting a very high 54 per 100k murder rate.  And worse, Johnston informs us that "the police killing rate in Venezuela is more than twice the homicide rate in the US."

More proof that liberal progressive communist inspirations ALWAYS lead to more suffering and death.

Click here to read the full article.

U/T: Michael Johnston

China's Labor Camps

ReasonTV released this video today.  It is an interview with Harry Wu, a prisoner in China's Gulag system from 1960 to Mao's death in 1979, and now the head of the Museum in DC dedicated to the Gulag prisoners.  He thinks communism is coming to an end in China.  His thinking: Chinese citizens all believe communism is in their past.  Maybe that is enough.




Harry Wu's museam in DC: Laogai Museum.  Wiki: Laogai.

Photo of the Sabbath

As our decline continues, it is natural for many to turn to religion.  Partly for comfort.  Partly to do their part to reverse the nonsense.

I hope the current pope - a Marxist in word and deed - does not deter those who are otherwise ready to move in that direction.  This pope is God's way of reminding us that all men are flawed.  Some more than others.  Christianity is far bigger than any man.  He is disconcerting, nonetheless.

The pope met with the Bolivian president this past week, and was given two gifts: a hammer and sickle cross, and a necklace with a hammer and sickle.  No, the pope didn't reject these symbols that represent vast suffering and death as one would expect.  He accepted them, and empowered aspiring tyrants around the globe.

There was another time of tension and uncertainty: the 80's.  Terrorism was on the rise in Ireland, Germany and Libya.  The Soviet Union was an unpredictable danger while the actions of strong leaders, including a strong pope, were tearing the evil empire apart from within.  I highly recommend The President, The Pope and the Prime Minister to understand the dangers and bravery of that time.  I plan to re-read this 2006 book in the coming weeks.

The opposite seems true today.  Socialism is embraced, standards are lowered, values are diluted, and Christianity is under attack from all directions.  It appears our way of life - liberty, freedom of religion, capitalism, etc. - is in the cross hairs.  We have the absence of leadership and the embrace of socialism in Obama and this pope.  One wonders what the future version of that book will say?

Related:

Ann Barnhardt has more.

Old Media Tribute #51

On February 10th NBC suspended top anchor Brian Williams for six months without pay.

I collected over 60 meme images mocking Brian Williams’ lying and, by extension, the loss of credibility within the old media.

I will post one of these images every three days until his suspension is over. . .  and trust is restored.

Low On Ammo

It has been a while since we've enjoyed a Ushanka Babe post.  My apologies.

Shared by Mat Best on FB.  His t-shirt company: ART15 Clothing.  His YouTube channel.

Give him clicks.  Give him cash.  He posts some VERY funny stuff (try this one), and he is doing God's work on behalf of his fellow veterans.  I think he likes guns, booze and girls too.

Friday Morning Cigar

I smoked a Romeo y Julieta while I did a little cleaning this morning.

I'm reading a great zombie book called These Dead Lands: Immolation, by Stephen Knight.  It is fast and all-tactical.  A surviving element of infantry escape New York after a near-total zombie takeover.  You move fast with them and experience their every challenge.  I'll be adding this to my Top Zombie Books post.

DC Stabbing - 4th of July

Kevin Sutherland on gun control:

Since I am in politics, there is one phrase coined by our Founding Fathers that really strikes me. When they founded this nation, they set out to create a “more perfect Union.” The important distinction in this phrase is that our Union is not perfect. More than 225 years later, despite so much change, this is still true. It is likely that we will never achieve absolute perfection, but I believe that the heart of American exceptionalism is that we never stop trying. If history is any guide, the forces for progress always succeed eventually, no matter how formidable their opposition is. Our fight is not merely for new gun control measures or even new mental health programs. It is for the creation of an even more perfect Union.

That is why I am a liberal. . .

Kevin Sutherland on race relations and the SC church shooting:

In my opinion there are few things that are more offensive to the victims of this crime than refusing to address the racism, much of which is institutionalized, glorified and celebrated in the South (including with the help of symbols like the Confederate flat), that cultivated this incident.

Kevin (right), a Democrat Party operative, was stabbed (40x) to death on a DC Metro train on July 4th by Jasper Spires (left).

I am posting FYI only.  I have no comment.

However, if you want to buy me a drink I could probably come up with something.

More info at Conservative Headlines.

U/T: Donald Joy

Thanks for linking: WSRA 

UPDATED 7.10.15 4pm:

Davidson at The Federalist has some comments.