The Soviet Archives

Crusader Rabbit makes a brief point about the history of the Soviet Union and its archives, and the fact that while the atrocities of the so-called right-wing Nazi Party (because right-wingers are all about implementing socialist policies like the Nazis were) are widely publicized, the atrocities of the Communist Soviet Union are largely ignored.

[T]he modern left- who prefer now the label “progressives”- are the direct inheritors of the mindset responsible for the carnage and misery caused by communism.
Oh sure, it’s been given a poodle clip and been well deodorised by its media and political handlers, but it’s the same ravening beast it always was, rehabilitated to the point where anyone using the word “communist” is derided as a throwback.

The same holds true for the atrocities of other hard communist nations like North Korea, China, and Cuba. Socialism in its various forms has resulted in more deaths than any other force in history, and that fact is widely ignored by a progressive movement that not only is unconcerned with the human cost of such ideologies, but often seeks to duplicate such policies, assured that they will work properly if only they tweak them a bit and try again.

Whitewashing Progressivism

David Bernstein at the Volokh Conspiracy takes a look at a recent monograph on the Progressive  movement in America as presented by the Center for American Progress. The problem is, Bernstein points out, that CAP has whitewashed the nastier policies of progressivism out of its history, and even tried to blame some of them on conservatives.

Knee-Jerk Anti-Bullying Legislation

Recently, a teenage girl committed suicide in Suffolk County, New York. Her parents are contemplating prosecuting other students who posted bullying and harassing comments on their daughters Facebook page, even though they do not believe that those comments caused her daughter to commit suicide. They just want the “hurtful” comments, which are still being posted to her Facebook page,  to stop.

Well, none too soon, the government has come to help! Suffolk County is drafting legislation to stop “cyber-bullying,” whatever that is.

The Great Condescending Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi is better than the rest of us. She knows what’s best, and we should defer to her wisdom. We don’t need to know the details of Obamacare, or the consequences or effects of it — we just need to trust that it’s good, because she said so.

Actually, that’s not what she said. This is:

”It’s like the back of the refrigerator. You see all these wires and the rest,” said Pelosi. “All you need to know is, you open the door. The light goes on. You open this door, you go through a whole different path, in terms of access to quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans.”

Why Obamacare is Morally Wrong

There are plenty of legal arguments being raised against Obamacare right now, so I figured I’d make a moral one. Well, I suppose its an argument against socialism in general, but it certainly applies.

One of the basic principles underlying the US Constitution is that government has its authority based upon the consent of the governed. The way this usually works is expressed quite simply by the general axiom that the government shouldn’t be allowed to do something that you can’t do either. With the exception of war and international treaties and whatnot, this basic, general principle usually holds true.

The Obamacare Abomination: Pricetag

So, having seen some conservative reactions to Obamacare, and looked at some possible recourse to it, why not look at what’s at stake? What will this really cost us, and how has that been misrepresented?

I’ve already talked about the problems with the CBO report that the Democrats relied upon to get Obamacare passed. There’s enough there to warrant me repeating some of it:

The Obamacare Abomination: Backlash

Sure, Obamacare has been passed and will likely be signed into law. We’ve seen some of the conservative responses, but there is still some recourse to strike the bill down, and there will be a massive backlash against the progressive Democrats for this. Legal challenges to the constitutionality of Obamacare — mostly against the individual mandate — are already underway. I can also see a November election cycle where Republicans win (easily) on a “repeal the bill” platform. Either way, it is highly likely that those who supported and voted for this bill will face dire political consequences.

The Nazis Were Leftists

Van Helsing at Moonbattery takes arms against the biggest political propaganda smear campaign in history: the claim that the anti-capitalist, pro-union, pro-socialized medicine, pro-government-run education German Socialist Worker’s Party was somehow right-wing:

The most impressive example of sleight of hand in the history of propaganda may be the liberal establishment’s alarming ability to pass off Nazis as right-wing rather than left-wing. Nazism and Stalinism were highly similar, rival variants of the totalitarian socialism longed for by progressives. When the Hitler-Stalin pact collapsed, the left was forced to choose between them. Nazis certainly deserved the demonization that followed, though no more than their Bolshevik brethren.

New York Cracks Down on “Smoke-easies”

From Jacom Sullum at Reason Magazine:

New York City is cracking down on “smoke-easies,” bars and clubs that let their customers light up despite a municipal edict that forbids such accommodation …  Because many of the targeted night spots are defended by nearly impregnable barriers of coolness, the health department “has deputized a team of inspectors—many of them younger and hipper-looking than the stereotypical bureaucrat—to work into the wee hours, posing as patrons and hunting for tolerance of smoking by clubs’ employees.”

Obama and Cuba

Megan Smith at American Thinker compares some of President Obama’s progressive policy proposals to those currently being enacted in Cuba:

Interested in seeing Barack Obama’s dreams for the U.S. in real time? Pack some toilet paper, Tylenol, and towels. Then hop a plane to Cuba. Just ninety miles off Florida’s coast, Obama’s ideas are alive and kicking.

In fact, visiting Cuba today may be more meaningful than ever before. Touring the country of 11 million lets you see everything the far left “knows” is right, just, and good for all of us.