On...200th Post...The Day the Wall Came Down

20 years of Freedom

This is a glorious anniversary, and one that become more and more distant. And with it the pure impact fades. This is a saddening truth of history. I was thirteen when the Iron Curtain began to shudder and creak. I imagine people younger than me don't have the same sense of what communism was (is) and the havoc it unleashed upon the world. Americans born right around 1976 may be that last group of citizens who can begin to understand the significance. Younger than that might not grasp the conflict. I know I have trouble relaying the magnitude of the Cold War to my students. Though certainly not as strong as those kids growing up in the 60s, anyone say born after 1981 never realized how it felt living on a planet where World War III was not merely fiction, but something very real. You lived under that realization that the whole world might be gone any minute. Movies like War Games, Red Dawn, The Hunt for Red October, Red Heat, The Day After, etc were locked into that era. But they will slowly seem like time capsules from a weird age.

This week is an appropriate time to reflect and relearn what really went down in Berlin twenty years ago and feel the powerful echo of liberty casting aside tyranny one more time--learn how free expression and free markets are longer lasting than state planning and single vision. Lessons many Americans need to think more deeply on.

I do regret that President Obama is not in Berlin just as Presidents Kennedy and Reagan were. What a missed opportunity for inspired leadership. I guess the Olympics and Greenhouse Gases are more important to him than universal examples of freedom.

The current issue of the Economist covers the anniversary and the History Channel is playing a couple of good specials on the event.

Here are other similar themed posts:

After the wall fell: Central Europe's success deserves more attention by Anne Applebaum, Washington Post

The Berlin Wall fell and a new Europe rose: Daily Telegraph UK Edition

The Lessons of 1989 by Christopher Hitchens, Slate.com

Why Berlin Mattered by Fred Kaplan, Slate.com

Reagan and Leadership

Tear Down This Wall Speech

Four Little Words by Anthony R. Dolan, Wall Street Journal

Ronald Reagan's unyielding style won the Cold War by Rudy Guiliani, NY Daily News

Video Highlight
ABC NEWS Breaking News November 9th, 1989 with Peter Jennings

NY POST Agrees that President Obama not going to Berlin is a missed opportunity.
Berlin Wall Blunder

On...Being Busy and not Blogging

NO TIME

I've been meaning to blog on President Obama's first 10 months (it was 9 when I had the idea) however I haven't had anytime to really do it right. Heck, I had to take a 55 minute break within the space of this blog to give the baby a bath, take the garbage out, etc.

So in loo of that here are two really interesting pieces from Slate.com

The first is an overview from the new Supreme Court session. I admit I've really come to enjoy the Supreme Court as a concept and would love to actually watch a round or two live.

HERE

Second is the bizarre "shell" process of law-making that both parties use that is a bit seedy.

HERE

On...Fall Books

An Autumn Read

Quick link also from Slate.com that lists a number of books/novels coming out this fall. Sort of a small Fall Book Preview.

HERE

On...The Chicago Way

Less than Six Months

That's all it took for our POTUS to start being the realist hypocrite. He is having a tougher and tougher time keeping the mask on. Sure he will fool lots of the mob for the duration but the rest of us are starting to see the image we had an inkling about for some time. The glorious leader is welding power in all sort of "Bush-Ways" with a Chicago flavor.

The Chicago Tribune looks at his firing of an inspector general and the Chicago threats on others.

Newsweek looks at how the Obama Administration is not as transparent as it said it was going to be. Big surprise.

PS: Slate.com sums up the weeks dialogue on how Obama remains personally popular while the popularity of his ideas sink and sink.

ON...Stuff in General

What a world

I've been a bit busy lately preparing my students for the big AP US History test tomorrow so I haven't had much time to post. Here are a bunch of articles that I thought interesting the last day or so.

The first is a follow up of my BLOG on Jon Stewart. It's nice to see that he commented later on his mistake. See HERE

The second is from Slate in regards to The Case for Colorblindness

The third is a trio about the foolishness of the UAW/GOV take over of dying Chrysler from The Economist, George Will, and Michael Barone. All sound minds.

The Economist: Mismanaging the Collapse
Sunbeams from Cucumbers by G Will
White House puts UAW before Property Rights by M Barone

The fourth is by Newsweek's David Ignatius on The Baby Boomers, The Whining Will get Louder (My Title) Good Stuff.

The Fifth is by Victor Davis Hanson on our modern obsession with Having it Both Ways.

From...Christopher Hitchens on Turkey and the EU

Just an article from Hitchens on Turkey's games at the NATO conference and their desire to be in the EU. HERE

From...Slate: Incredible Shrinking Job Market

Great Link from SLATE.COM

Interactive Map of the USA showing job growth/loss in every county nationwide for the last 2 years. The map made me think of nuclear hits.

On...Nukes, Exageration, and TARP

For your daily consumption

Anne Applebaum from Slate.com on "Obama's Odd Obsession with Universal Nuclear Disarmament."

John Dickerson also from Slate.com on "The Careful Exaggerator."

And

Investor's Business Daily on more of why Obama and Geithner won't accept TARP money back.

And is it me or does every other day Obama have a new challenge or topic on how to save the world? Who is this guy? Does hubris mean anything to him? He has to know he can't accomplish half this stuff. He was elected President of the USA not President/Celebrity of the Planet Earth with magical powers.

On...Jedi Mind Tricks

May the force be with you!

Here's an article regarding how the whimsy of Star Wars conquers each new generation of kids. My guess it because it rocks. (Not counting the lame love dialogue of the prequels.)

SLATE: Why Does Star Wars Still Take Over the Minds of Little Boys?

On...The Answer to Totalitarian Democratic Republics

Thanks Slate.com

Someone has finally given a decent answer to a question that has bugged me for some time. Why do the most oppressive nations use monikers like Democratic and Republic in their official names when they are anything but? Especially when the hate the West and all the traits that we stand for.

Well, here is the answer.

SLATE.COM: The Undemocratic People's Republic of Korea

From...Slate: Obama Week One

John Dickerson and Slate tackle Obama's first moves.

SLATE.COM

On...Becoming Canadian under President McCain

Slate.com has just posted this public service video commercial just encase McCain wins in November.