Moe has it right here

I fucking despise Communism.

And he can't say it at RedState, for obvious reasons. But he sure can say that here!

I agree with him. for all the reasons there are. Historical, economic, individualist. Whatever. There is nothing, in my opinion, that communism has to show for itself, except pain and grief. And dedicated fans in the prosperous West, who don't or won't recognize that they can't have what they have now if they get the regime they want.

Moe and I are roughly the same age with just as roughly similar backgrounds (Union and Democrat parents), we were born in the midst of the Vietnam war and grew up in it's aftermath. We both were taught by teachers who cut their teeth on the "peace" and "antiwar" movements. It WAS the '70s and '80s after all. He got much more of it than I - he went to college and got "a liberal arts major with a degree in English lit and some grad school work in library science". I joined the Navy. We both came out alright. I think he had a harder time of it, though. Much more to wade through.

He makes the point that communist countries can't even feed themselves, and therefore they are by definition illegitimate. This is true. Many of us who are our age and older remember Carter's wheat sales to the USSR, and we wondered then, why do they need our wheat, if they are this huge country pledged to our destruction? Why can't the feed themselves? Why do we need to feed them so they can kill us?

But it's more than that. Communism killed the soul of those it let survive. Everything for the state, no individuality please, thank you. That's why they had cars like the Trabant (and were grateful for it) and not cars like the Syrena Sport.

The West, relatively (and more in some places than others), was a "work hard, play hard" kind of place. And it let you play hard, if that was your wont. Behind the iron curtain, it was "work harder" and all glory was to the state, prole, be happy you are furthering the glorious revolution! Isn't that what you want? To be part of something larger than yourself?

That last sentence is key, I think, to the mindset of those who were caught behind the curtain and those who hold nostalgia today. We ALL want to be part of something larger than ourselves. It gives us meaning and a sense of belonging and purpose. I joined the Navy for that very reason. But I think those that fetishize communism and socialism feel the same way, that they are furthering a cause. That makes them dangerous. They're not doing it for themselves, you see, but for humanity. And nothing, not even human bodies, are too high a price for human perfection.

But Moe, you, and I know that the perfect is the enemy of the good.

MrMaryk out.

Fuck John McCain, THIS is straight talk

Chris Christie for President!

I'm not fucking kidding. Did you see the look on the people's faces? Even those who you KNOW would normally disagree?

This guy has an ability to connect at a visceral level, and speak truths that no one can deny, no matter their political persuasion. I don't give a shit if he's fat. He gets the job done, and that's always been the criteria, hasn't it? Compare this to last night's Oval Office speech.

Yes, I'm a fan. I've seen the man work.

UPDATE: From Ed Morrisey at Hotair, who has been doing this much longer and better than I (and for filthy lucre - is there a correlation?):

One of the questions that often comes up in analysis is whether the American electorate is really prepared for the kind of tough budget cuts that are necessary to get the country back on the right track of fiscal responsibility. Christie is making New Jersey into a test case. Its electorate tilts towards the Democrats, but they elected Christie handily to reject the Leftward policies that ran the state aground. Christie has publicly and explicitly challenged the public-sector unions, has already enacted significant cuts to the budget and some services, and offers this kind of defense of conservative policies on a regular basis. If New Jersey voters wind up rewarding Christie for his clear-eyed and honest work, it should serve as a lesson that voters really do understand that there is no free lunch, and that they’re prepared to reward fiscal responsibility over pork-barrel politics.

Says it better than I. Could be why I'm a dilettante and he's a professional, methinks.

MrMaryk Out.

Crossposted at Redstate

Things To Make Matthew Yglesias's Mangina Hurt. Part II

Via Smitty, the Senior Fellow over at The Other McCain Institute.*

Yglesias doesn't have anything about this yet but it's still early in the morning. Which will consist of something about right wing militias and violence and Congressional outreach to embrace the public.

Oh, wait. That last one was Democrat Congressman Bob Etheridge attacking strangers on the street in a drunken haze. Or something.



*If a useless tool like Eric Boehlert can be considered a 'Senior Fellow' at Media Matter, why not someone who actually deserves the title? Unless Boehlert has sullied the title to the point no one wants to touch it.