Free Republic

Once upon a time, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, was the skinny Elvis of Soviet communism. His carefully constructed image symbolized for many the purity of the communist ideal before it was corrupted by the fat Elvis of Stalinism and the dead Elvis of late Soviet bureaucracy. The truth about Lenin, however, is something else. Most of the horrors we associate with Soviet communism—the KGB, the gulag, the show trials, the use of famine to control large populations, the crushing bureaucracy—weren't Stalin's creation, but Lenin's. Stalin was more ruthless, it's true, but excusing Lenin on those terms is...

In downtown Seattle, they light a big Christmas tree for the holidays. But in Fremont, they're going to light up -- what else? -- the big statue of Vladimir Lenin. Lenin will be lighted at 5 p.m. Dec. 3 at the corner of Fremont Place North and North 36th Street. (It's the intersection with the big statue of Lenin.) The monument will be bedecked with garland and lights -- and probably not just red ones. It will be the first time the 18-foot bronze statue has been lighted since it came to the Center of the Universe in 1995 by...

Archaeologist believes find is proof of lost Indian culture By The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- A government archaelogist believes ancient fire pits and pottery recently unearthed in south-central Montana are the works of an Indian culture that disappeared hundreds of years ago from its home range in modern-day Colorado and Utah. Glade Hadden, a Bureau of Reclamation archaeologist, said evidence found at the site near Bridger strongly suggests the area was inhabited by Fremont people, an Indian culture known for its masonry work and fine pottery. "There is no doubt in my mind," Hadden said. His could be...