It's World War II, not the Great Patriotic War

Ooops, he did it again.

In a press conference with Russian President Medvedev, Obama was attempting to convey a positive message oncerning the meeting between the two leaders. In reality, Russia got the technology it wanted, and the United States got some patronizing smiles and the promise of cooperation with an embargo of Iran that would not hurt the citizens of that nation. Basically, a promise of a poodle with no teeth. Just a little annoying barking against Iran. That should scare them into giving up the nuclear bomb!

As usual, Obama couldn’t control himself and had to mention the poor relations that existed between the two nations when he became president, as if the deterioration of relations was somehow related to President Bush, conveniently forgetting the invasion of Georgia by the thugocracy in Moscow. Obama then proceeded to mention the improvement of relations that resulted from his administration diplomatic breakthroughs. Just to show that he didn’t agree with Medvedev on everything, he reminded us that there were actually disagreements over Georgia. Obama then continued as if a disagreement over Georgia was a disagreement over whether to eat hamburgers or borscht and blinis for lunch.

Obama gave us a note of optimism and the hope that we could return to the “good old days” of the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union during the “Great Patriotic War.”

The Great Patriotic War? Is Obama insane, or is it that he just cannot avoid using the terminology of his leftist upbringing? The Great Patriotic War was a term developed by Stalin after the USSR was betrayed and invaded by its German allies. The rest of the world calls it World War II. Only Russia continues referring to it by Stalin’s term.

Is Obama so insecure as to feel the need to ingratiate himself with every dictator around the Globe?

Given the fact that Obama is destroying NASA and will use Russian rockets to place American satellites, perhaps we should begin calling astronauts cosmonauts.

What do you say, tovarich?

The New Fascism

Let’s see if I remember my social studies lessons. There was a special definition for a government that denounced democracy as inefficient, scoffed at civil liberties, praised dictatorships, was extremely nationalistic and controlled every aspect of life, including the economies and workers organizations. Mmmmmm...what was it called? Oh, I remember…it was the definition for fascism!

Today’s New York Times is carrying an article under the banner Russia’s Leaders See China as Template for Ruling. What a surprise and how ironic that the tables have turned and it is Russia that does the emulating sixty-two years after being the role model for the Communist takeover of China. Putin has discovered the formula for success. Be fascist but call yourself a socialist. The West will love you.

Sixty-four years after the defeat of fascism, nations are using the templates of Hitler and Mussolini without hearing one word of condemnation from Western democracies. The reason is simple and exemplifies the power of words. Instead of calling themselves fascists, they use the terms People Democracies, Communists, Socialists or just plain Revolutionaries. But; a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Whether it is China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Bolivia or any of the many nations that are in the grip of despotic governments, the West accepts it because they use the mantle of the left.

And so it is that in the United States we can have Bill Maher, intellectual comic of the Left, announce that he envies China because it’s a dictatorship. Van Jones states that he is a communist, Anita Dunn quotes chairman Mao as her favorite political philosopher, the Hollywood elite, with high numbers in their bank accounts, and low numbers in their IQ’s, travel to Venezuela or Cuba praising the achievements of Castro and Chavez. Michael Moore continues making millions blaming millionaires. The UN blames Israel for everything, MSNBC gives a platform to the Left, the Dalai Lama is denied access to the White House, and we kowtow to Russia getting nothing in return.

All this because despots have discovered the magic of the Red banner. A few others are even shrewder. They know that they can destroy democracy, freedom and free markets under a different banner. The green one.

Weekend Ramblings

Thank God we didn't elect Sarah Palin. She was so low class. Not like the erudite Biden who this week retorted to a question with a classy "Give me a fucking break!"

In the meantime another test for the Obama administration. Russia has just announced that it has an interest in using Cuban airfields for their patrolling bombers. Hugo "I wannabe Castro" Chavez has also offered his airfields to the Russians. Why is it that I have zero confidence in this administration standing up to Russia. It must be because of Obama's slogan in the campaign "restore diplomacy" and the "reset" button Hilary offered the Russian foreign minister. Hey Obama, remember these two words: "Monroe Doctrine."

Experts have warned us that we are in danger of losing 75% of the rainforest in Brazil. This brought back memories of my early teaching career. In the 1970's and 80's, social studies textbooks dedicated many pages to environmental disasters. Desertification, Global Cooling, Acid Rain, Population Growth were terms used in every Regents Examination. As I was preparing a lesson plan and looking for newspaper articles to motivate the lesson, I came across one that stated that every week we lose in the rainforest an area the size of Rhode Island. Well, this meant 1,545 square miles a week, which translated to 80,340 square miles a year. Therefore, according to the "experts" in thirty years we were going to lose 2,410,000 square miles. Now, the total area of Brazil is 3,287,597 square miles, thus, the rainforest in this country has to have become extinct in the last decade. But no, it didn't, and a new generation of experts will make sure that the supply of grants continues to support them by claiming that in twenty years the rainforest will disappear. I am not worried, because according to Al Gore, the world will self-destroy in ten.