Free Republic

At the dawn of the USSR, hopes of the imminent global rule of communism soared high among leftists of the world. But in a few decades, it became clear that the socialistic ideals of Lenin had failed. How did this come to happen? “It is important to distinguish socialism from communism,” says Elena Malysheva, dean at the Division of Archival Studies at the Institute for History and Archives. “While socialism was the formal type of state administration of the USSR, communism was the ruling ideology. The project of the socialist state was initially utopian and populistic.” “The Soviet project contained...

Soon it will be 50 years since Woodstock. Not sure what surprises more: the fact that seminal cultural event is coming up on a half-century or that some of its featured acts are still touring. Wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll a youth movement? Didn’t The Who’s Pete Townshend write the immortal line “Hope I die before I get old?” and sing it at Woodstock? Answers: Yes but not anymore. And yes Pete did, indeed, sing that line from “My Generation” on the third and last day of Woodstock on Aug. 17, 1969. This week, The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts...

Limp-fisted Democratic Party opponents have not done it. Term limits he himself championed when first elected to Congress in 1988 have not done it. (He has been reelected every two years since.) And too-close associations with slimeballs like Mike Carona, Dave Garofalo, Jack Abramoff, Jeffrey Ray Nielsen, Joseph Medawar and even his felony fraudster wife Rhonda have not done it. No, the only way the Orange County congressional delegation is finally going to rid itself of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Havana) is if Donald Trump nominates him for Secretary of State. Years ago, working at a daily newspaper, it was revealed...

But this one led to over a ton of coke and was 800 yards longFederal officials announced today (April 20) that they made arrests related to what is believed to be the longest cross-border drug transportation tunnel (800 yards in length), stretching from a house in Tijuana to a commercial lot in an Otay Mesa industrial park. Following an investigation that began on April 12, authorities seized 2242 pounds of cocaine and more than 14,000 pounds of marijuana. The cocaine stash is believed to be the largest ever seized from a tunnel. Six men (believed to be of Mexican descent,...

U.S. authorities seized another cross-border tunnel, this time in San Diego, just weeks after a similar tunnel was uncovered in Calexico, Calif., a two-hour drive to the east. The 874-yard-long tunnel was uncovered, on Wednesday, after a months-long investigation, authorities said. The tunnel was equipped with a rail system, lighting, a ventilation system, and even a commercial elevator on the Mexico-side that could fit up to ten people, authorities said. Laura Duffy, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, said the tunnel was “a bit ingenuous” and “completely different” than any of the tunnels her office had seen before....

President Obama vigorously defended his nuclear negotiations at the end of a summit of Persian Gulf state leaders and a rocky visit to Saudi Arabia aimed at reassuring the anxious ally and seeking more support for the fight against the Islamic State. While the president acknowledged Saudi concern that the United States should not be "naïve" when dealing with Iran, he cited previous presidents' willingness to engage in talks with Russia during the height of the Cold War as models to follow. "John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan still negotiated with the Soviet Union even when the Soviet Union was...

A girls high school soccer team in Wisconsin walked off the field after they were the target of Donald Trump chants from people on the sideline, according to WISC-TV. It was the Beloit Memorial girls varsity soccer team, which took on Elkhorn Area High last Thusday. Reportedly there were kids on the side of the field yelling "Donald Trump, build that wall," toward Hispanic and African American players.

Mark Zuckerberg opened Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference with a thinly veiled attack on Donald Trump. ....Zuckerberg said that “it takes courage to chose hope over fear” and criticized “fearful voices talking about building walls”. He added that immigration was essential to the economic success of the country.

Germany is marking twenty-five years of unity with celebrations across the country. Frankfurt takes center-stage for this year's public events while German Unity Day is also being marked around the world.

(Aug 2, 2012) POLISH officials have unveiled a statue of former President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, honouring two men widely credited in this Eastern European country with helping to topple communism 23 years ago. The statue was unveiled in Gdansk, the birthplace of Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement, in the presence of about 120 former Solidarity activists, many of whom were imprisoned in the 1980s for their roles in organising or taking part in strikes against the communist regime. The bronze statue, erected in the lush seaside President Ronald Reagan Park, is a slightly larger-than-life rendering of the...

Soviet Communism, the dark tyranny that controlled nearly 40 nations and was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 100 million victims during the 20th century, suddenly collapsed 20 years ago without a shot being fired. In just two years--from 1989 to 1991--the Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union disintegrated, and Marxism- Leninism was dumped unceremoniously on the ash heap of history. There was dancing in the street and champagne toasts on top of the Brandenburg Gate. For 40 years, the United States and the West had been following a policy of containment, détente, accommodation. Ronald Reagan decided it was...

25 Year Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Because the Kenyan squatter is in town, Tim Conway show was discussing fundraisers. Callers, who have attended fundraisers, were phoning in and telling what happens at the events. Here is the best anecdote. A young cadet from Cal State Fullerton was there with other cadets as part of the Honor Guard. When Reagan greeted them, he asked the cadet his name and was open to a question from him. The cadet said, "Can I ask anything?" The President said he could. So the cadet said (paraphrasing) - Cadet - Mr. President, do you remember when you were doing a sound...

Today is the 27th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's famous speech demanding the Soviet Union tear down the Berlin Wall. In a speech on June 12, 1987, President Reagan stated: General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

On this date in 1987, in a speech in West Berlin, President Ronald Reagan issued a challenge to Soviet leader Gorbachev which became some of the most famous words Reagan would say during his presidency: "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Two and a half years later, in November 1989, the Berlin Wall would indeed begin to be dismantled, one of the biggest symbols of the collapse of...

Twenty-six years ago today, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at the Brandenburg Gate near the Berlin Wall.And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control. Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the...

Mideast: As Moscow tests a new ballistic missile, our secretary of state expresses concern that Moscow is sending attack helicopters to the murderous regime in Syria. The only thing changed is the degree of our naivete. On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan spoke to the people of West Berlin at the base of the Brandenburg Gate, near the Berlin Wall, and uttered this famous demand: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" A quarter-century later to the day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. was "concerned about the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on...

President Reagan's remarks on East-West relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987.

On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan spoke to the people of West Berlin at the base of the Brandenburg Gate, near the Berlin wall. Due to the amplification system being used, the President's words could also be heard on the Eastern (Communist-controlled) side of the wall. The address Reagan delivered that day is considered by many to have affirmed the beginning of the end of the Cold War and the fall of communism. On Nov. 9-11, 1989, the people of a free Berlin tore down that wall. Thank you. Thank you, very much.Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and...

It’s bad enough that President Obama could not be bothered to attend the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But Hillary Clinton’s refusal to even acknowledge the role played by Ronald Reagan in the Wall’s demise as well as the downfall of Communism was highly insulting towards one of the greatest figures of our time, and reeked of petty and partisan mean-spiritedness. The Secretary of State’s remarks yesterday in Berlin completely erased from history the huge contribution played not only by President Reagan but also by the United States in confronting the Soviet Empire....