Apparently I am one of the few people who did not know “o’clock” is the contraction for the phrase “of the clock.” The explanation is listed on several sites, including Answers.com.
The Road to Communism: The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
This book by Ted Gottfried is in first of a series covering the history of the Soviet (meaning council of workers, peasants and/or soldiers) Union. The illustrations by Melanie Reim are in the style of Soviet propaganda posters. The book is easy to read, and the key players and events are presented in sufficient detail to give someone new to the subject a good introduction to the remarkable series of events that led the Communists to take over Russia and begin the experiment called the Soviet Union that wouldn’t end for nine decades. Other books take many more pages to present the information in greater detail, which is a validation of the value of this book for someone who wants to read the basic facts.
The peasants who produced the food and wealth for the Romanov Empire lived in primitive and deprived conditions. The tsar and aristocrats seldom if ever considered what was in the best interest of the peasants. Tsar Alexander II issued an emancipation proclamation to free the serfs, but the mortgages and interest on the land sales kept them enslaved. Undeveloped infrastructure often resulted in failure to transport what was produced on the farms to markets and population centers, and there were frequent famines while food rotted near where it was produced.
The eventual success of the Communist revolution was possible because no one other than the Communists promised to do anything to ease the suffering of the peasants. The seeds of the revolution began in the early 1800s when Georg Hegel began campaigning to improve the lives of the poor and downtrodden. Karl Marx was one of Hegel’s disciples, and would write The Communist Manifesto in 1848. Marx also wrote Das Kapital, which predicted that revolution had to occur in an industrialized country and would not occur in pre-industrialized Russia. The teachings of Marx became the basis of the views taken by Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, and Zinoviev. Marx suffered from many medical problems and went through many periods of poverty. Only one of his children lived to see the successful Communist revolution. Marx received financial support from Friedrich Engels, whose money came from an inherited mill.
The landowners and aristocrats often lived beyond their means, and by the 1880s many were deeply in debt to the tsars. They were baffled that their university-educated children became radicals dedicated to bringing down the monarchy. Alexander Ulianov was in that category, and was hanged for being part of a plot by the ultraviolent group called “People’s Will” to assassinate Tsar Alexander III. Ulianov’s brother was Vladimir Ilich Ulianov, who would change his name to Vladimir Lenin. Lenin had a checkered history as a Communist leader, since he often ran away from conflict. He fled to Finland soon after shooting broke out in the rebellion that began in 1905 and didn’t return to Russia until the revolution was a reality in 1917.
Tsar Nicholas II and his family were protected from assassins in the early 1900s by a well-funded secret police that carried out “a hideous reign of terror” that “spread all over Russia.”
A bizarre part of the Romanov story involved the frantic efforts of the tsarina to save her son Alexis from hemophilia. She found a holy man in Siberia named Rasputin, or the “Mad Monk,” who seemed to be the only person who could control the bleeding. Rasputin gained immense influence over the tsarina. He was soon courted by everyone who wanted some appointment or favor from the tsar and tsarina. He was described as a filthy man who had hypnotic power, and he often demanded sexual favors for his assistance. There was a plot to murder him, and he did not die easily. Food spiked with cyanide seemed to have no effect. A gunshot to the head momentarily stunned him, but he wandered off and didn’t die until he was hit with more bullets.
The book describes the frequent and violent oppression of Jews in Russia based on rumors that Jews were using the blood of Christian children to prepare for the Passover feast. Jews were savagely murdered in pogroms fostered by the reports. Tsar Nicholas used the anger at the Jews to defuse unrest against his regime among the oppressed peasants. By 1917 more than a third of the surviving Jews had left Russia and immigrated to the United States.
The Second Party Communist Congress was held in Brussels in 1903, and Lenin dominated the meeting. He insisted party membership be restricted to professional revolutionaries, and they called themselves Bolsheviks (those of the majority). Those who didn’t agree with the restrictions were called the Mensheviks (those of the minority). The Communists held several congresses, and effectively made little progress. World War I gave them their chance. Millions of poorly supplied Russian soldiers died, and the tsar decided he had to take direct control of the military at the front. That of course took him out of the royal court and gave more power to Rasputin. Crops rotted in the fields because most of the young men who would normally have done the harvesting were dead or still with the army. Protests and troop rebellions were common. Nicholas was forced to abdicate, his brother refused the crown, and three hundred years of Romanov rule ended. The charismatic Kerensky established a provisional government.
The Germans paid Lenin with millions of dollars in gold to destabilize the Russian regime and transported him and thirty-one other radical Russians in a sealed rail car to St. Petersburg. Lenin’s collaboration with the Germans was eventually revealed, and he was forced to escape to Finland. However, Bolshevism was on a steady rise as more and more thousands joined. The Provisional Government faded away and the Bolsheviks took over in an almost bloodless revolution. The tsar and his family would eventually be executed and buried in secret.
The Communists began to be attacked from all sides. Approximately 60,000 Czechs who had volunteered to fight Germany began attacking via the Trans-Siberian Railway. White Russian forces attacked from several fronts. Western countries including the United States landed troops in Russia to oppose the Communists. The Japanese seized Vladivostok. Trotsky organized the Red Army under former tsarist military officers, and they prevailed. Stalin would never forgive Trotsky for enlisting the tsarists, and probably also never forgave him for being credited with winning. Lenin wanted to expand the revolution and ordered Stalin to invade Poland against Trotsky’s advice. The Poles counterattacked and defeated the Reds. Stalin was recalled to Moscow and censured by Lenin. (George Orwell’s fairy story “Animal Farm” is about how Stalin eventually vilified Trotsky to gain complete control.)
World War I and the civil wars that followed left Russia in a devastated state. The peasants balked at planting crops when they were told they didn’t own the land. Lenin violated Communist principles by granting peasants ownership of their farms. However, famine had already begun. Lenin appealed to the Capitalist nations for food, and it began to arrive. Herbert Hoover organized a massive international relief effort that saved millions of Russians.
Stalin had taken complete control by the time Lenin died in 1924, and millions would die in purges and as slaves in the Gulags during his thirty-year reign.
Deadbeat
Matt Ball on Words@Random has a fascinating description of the origin of this word. It is used today to describe someone who is doesn’t pay debts, is lazy, or both. The verb “beat” in the 1800s meant “to swindle or cheat.” Deadbeat was used in military slang in the Civil War to describe a soldier who shirked duty, especially by faking injury or illness. I believe the most common usage today goes to those who don’t meet their financial obligations, such as “deadbeat dads.”
It’s My Fault
Art Buchwald (bless him) wrote an unforgettable article apologizing that the Vietnam War was his fault. The gist of the article was that several people warned him that there would be a full scale shooting war in Vietnam if he voted for Barry Goldwater for President. I haven’t found documentation of the article, although I remember it quite well. What I have found is the introduction to a 1965 Time Magazine article that asks the question, “How would the U.S. have fared if Barry Goldwater had been elected President? The mind boggles to think of it, mused Columnist Art Buchwald last week in the New York Herald Tribune. Nonetheless, Buchwald did his deadpan best to guess how things really would have turned out under Goldwater. To begin with, he wrote, the Viet Cong would have blown up an American barracks. Goldwater would have immediately called for a strike on military bases in North Viet Nam and announce a ‘new tit-for-tat policy.’ Democrats would make speeches that Goldwater was ‘trigger-happy’ and was trying to get us into…”
Unfortunately, the link ends at that point and indicates, “To read the entire article, you must be a TIME Subscriber.” However, I will ask you to depend on my less-than-reliable memory. I recall what followed was humorous and thought-provoking. I remember that Mr. Buchwald apologized (in this or some other article), saying something to the effect, “They told me there would be a war in Vietnam if I voted for Goldwater. I voted for Goldwater, and they were right. It’s my fault.”
That brings us to the current political situation. I was told that several bad things would happen if I didn’t vote for Barrack Obama. I was told the economic condition of the country would not improve. I was told that the unemployment rate would continue to exceed eight percent (not counting people who are underemployed or have given up on finding a job). I was told Guantanamo would remain the imprisonment site for suspected terrorists. I was told Guantanamo and military tribunals that would be held there would be the source of recruitment of others who wanted to commit terrorist acts against the U.S. In summary, I was told there would be many, many bad things that would happen if I didn’t vote for Barrack Obama. I ignored the warnings and didn’t vote for Obama. How can I possibly atone for my mistake?
I’ll end the sarcasm with the observation that I understand politicians will say many things to be elected. Newly elected Presidents then sit at the desk in the Oval Office and begin to receive classified intelligence briefings which explain why some of their promised policies might not be wise. They also apparently learn (perhaps to their dismay) that they do not control the legislative branch of government or the private economy. They are the leader of the most powerful country in the world, but there are limits for even them. I suggest we all keep that in mind as the Presidential campaign, which is predicted to be the most vicious in at least recent memory, proceeds.
Common Sense in 2012: Prosperity and Charity for America
This book was written by Art Robinson, and in his words, “…for the voters of Congressional District 4 in Oregon. It explains, to the best of my ability, the issues facing us all in the 2012 elections.” A copy of the book was mailed to all subscribers of Dr. Robinson’s newsletter “Access to Energy” along with a request for donation. I donated despite the fact that I am a resident of Colorado. I believe it is important to support someone offering to serve as a citizen volunteer in Congress who promises to use common sense. His son Matthew is running against the incumbent Peter DeFazio in the Democratic primary. Dr. Robinson judges that Oregon’s District 4 will have a significantly better representative regardless of the general election outcome should Matthew win the primary.
I’ve followed developments in Oregon District 4 since Dr. Robinson and his family began his campaign for the 2010 election. I donated to that campaign in hopes of helping an honorable and ethical scientist who was willing to take the slings and arrows of a long time politician. The back cover of the book provides endorsements of Dr. Robinson from several renowned scientists. However, to illustrate my point about what he faces, the back cover ends with a quote from opponent Peter DeFazio, “Robinson is a ‘pathological nut job’.” I suggest readers consider donating to the campaign to replace DeFazio and request a copy of Dr. Robinson’s book.
The book is provides details of the Constitutional. Countless quotes by the Founders and other great thinkers explain Dr. Robinson’s positions. The erosion of liberty created by growth in government is documented with several examples. There is a graph that shows the percentage of U.S. population with jobs. Jobs began to be lost by the year 2000 “…in an economy that was gradually being strangled by Big Government.” Government has expanded relentlessly since taxing of income began in 1913. Manufacturing jobs have been hit especially hard. Reference is given to the astonishing mass of regulations that have been created that has made the U.S. increasingly unfriendly to all businesses. The federal debt “…has grown so large that service of this debt is draining away huge amounts of resources that are needed for the production of goods and services by American industry and workers.”
Chapter 1 is titled “Who is Art Robinson,” and introduces him as “…a successful scientist, businessman, and father. He lives with his family on their family farm…and works at the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine.” He introduces his wife Laurelee and their six children. The children were all home schooled and developed a home schooling curriculum that has been used by 60,000 American children for grades 1 through 12. The family business, which also publishes children’s books, has allowed the children to put each other through college and graduate school.
Laurelee tragically died after a 24 hour illness in 1988, but the strength of the family’s belief in each other and God led to “A silent, almost eerie calm…” I challenge anyone to read about the family and their successes and not be both touched and impressed.
It also is not difficult to be the opposite of impressed with the Congressional opponent. There was a billboard prominently displayed that showed Art Robinson and the words “Energy company CEO’s shouldn’t pay taxes.” The only very thin thread that connects this statement to the truth is that Dr. Robinson had suggested solving a national energy crisis by “…forgoing taxes on the industries and workers required to solve this problem…” It is true that CEOs are energy company employees. DeFazio, in the same vein as saying “Robinson is a ‘pathological nut job’,” also said that he lived in a “survivalist compound” and his campaign was supported by “money launderers.” In fact 99.3% of Robinson’s campaign contributions came from individuals. DeFazio also said that Robinson wanted to allow drinking water to be contaminated with nuclear waste.
There are some personal stories in the book that are quite interesting. Some are sad stories. One of those is about the Robinson’s research on “metabolic profiling,” which could have had significant impact on diagnosis of disease. They learned years later that a competing scientist entered the laboratory and scrambled the labels on the samples, which of course destroyed the experiment. You can almost feel the pain as Dr. Robinson wrote that the research “…could have saved Laurelee’s life in 1988, by getting her to surgery in time, and the lives of countless other people.”
There are also some fun stories. I particularly enjoyed one about Dr. Robinson being stopped by an officer who asked to see the permit for the wide load he was hauling. The officer inquired why the map for the route wasn’t attached to the permit. He was told it had been taken apart to allow the map to be unfolded and read. When asked where the staple was that had been removed to separate the map, he was told that the staple hadn’t been saved. Dr. Robinson was allowed to proceed if he promised he would get a staple at the next station. He was stopped again, and informed, “We know all about you. We heard about you on the radio. You’re the guy without the staple.”
Another quite sad story is the targeting of the Robinson children at Oregon State University. The remarkable academic achievements are listed for each of the Robinson children. Three of the children are in graduate studies at Oregon State University, and after Dr. Robinson began his campaign against DeFazio, “…DeFazio supporters at OSU seriously interfered with their graduate work. The actions against them were, in my experience, unprecedented in American academia.” It was difficult to misrepresent Dr. Robinson’s academic achievements when “Everywhere DeFazio looked there were Robinson young adults with doctorates…or earning doctorates at Oregon State University.” An OSU professor stepped in to assist the three students, and was blackballed. “An outpouring of public support for the students and Professor Higginbotham made the rescue of the students possible.” Dr. Robinson writes that he did not want to make this public, but was forced to do so when he learned that one of his children and the professor were in immediate danger of permanent dismissal without cause from OSU.
There are always two sides in a dispute, and I’ll be open to considering the other side when Mr. DeFazio publishes his book. In the interim, I suggest you donate to Art Robinson’s campaign and request a copy of his book.
Underground Economy
Dr. Art Robinson’s wrote a book “Common Sense in 2012,” and a quick summary is that it presents his positions for his campaign to be elected to the House of Representatives from Oregon. He is running for Congress as a citizen volunteer committed to help stop Congress from exceeding the powers granted by the Constitution. I mention in the review that reading the book prompted me to send a donation to Dr. Robinson’s campaign despite the fact he is running for office in Oregon and I live in Colorado.
Reading the book made me wonder how many more businesses are going underground to avoid the interference of government. I want to make it clear that Dr. Robinson does not mention or suggest “going underground.” An article with the title “The Rise of the Underground” in the Wall Street Journal by Patrick Barta looked to be a good place to start in researching the subject. Most of the article is about people in India peddling on street corners because they have been laid off or couldn’t find a job in the first place. There are several examples given, and most people make a few dollars a day selling food and other commodities. One creative woman was earning $10 a day selling shots of “medicinal wine,” wine mixed with herbs, to truck drivers and motorcyclists. The article called it “…an adult version of the neighborhood lemonade stand.” Of course such a stand would face numerous problems in the United States. There are many localities that require a license to operate a lemonade stand, and I doubt that could be expanded to selling alcohol.
The article also describes “informal workers” in the U.S. “…including off-the book maids, gardeners and ‘gypsy’ cab drivers…” It is estimated as much as 10 percent of the U.S. economy is off-the books (not including the large illicit drug trade,) and the percentage is undoubtedly growing as people are laid off and are forced into doing all manner of part-time contract work.
An article titled “The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Prosperity” by Baron Bodissey provides some interesting analysis about why the underground economy exists. It is no surprise that taxes play a role. An example is given of someone repairing a computer, and the job is worth $200. You can accept the job to do the repair and reduce your income by paying taxes, demand that the purchaser pay more so you can pay the taxes and still make the $200, or both of you can agree that the money will change hands without the government being told. Massachusetts has created a bureaucracy with the strange title, “Joint Task Force on the Underground Economy and Employee Misclassification” with a toll-free number to allow crooks who aren’t reporting income to be reported. Apparently that allows some people to earn money by being a paid government informer.
The federal government also wants to get its share of any “earned income.” There is a part of Obamacare that requires businesses to file forms not only for non-employees who are paid more than $600 but also for every business they paid more than $600. That’s good news for people with accounting experience, because businesses will need more employees to file all the required forms. That will give government more money to mismanage, but I can’t think of a benefit to the businesses.
Barter is also becoming more popular. Perhaps someone offers to mow your yard if you will prepare them a resume. No money changes hands, although I expect Massachusetts would expect both parties to pay taxes on the value of the services exchanged if they are reported by an informer. The IRS certainly believes taxes must be paid on barter. The link gives instructions on which forms are to be submitted to “…include in gross income in the year of receipt the fair market value of goods and services received in exchange for goods or services you provide.” The IRS is aware that “The internet has provided a medium for new growth in the bartering exchange industry.”
The article by Mr. Bodissey and Dr. Robinson’s both mention a comment by Ronald Reagan. “The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases. If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it.”