Still Fighting the Cold War

I just viewed a link to the Victims of Communism web page today, where we are told how bad Communists have been. If you scroll to the bottom, you will see this footnote: The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, Copyright 2007 Established by Authorization of Congressional Resolution H.R. 3000 & Presidential Approval, Public Law 103-199, The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. A tax-exempt organization that is created with the express purpose of procreating an irrational fear of "-isms", implying that current "Communist" regimes bear the slightest resemblance to real Communism. The slant on the topic is acute: FINDINGS- Congress finds that-- (1) since 1917, the rulers of empires and international communism led by Vladimir I. Lenin and Mao Tse-tung have been responsible for the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial communist holocaust through conquests, revolutions, civil wars, purges, wars by proxy, and other violent means; (2) the imperialist regimes of international communism have brutally suppressed the human rights, national independence, religious liberty, intellectual freedom, and cultural life of the peoples of over 40 captive nations; "Imperial regimes of international Communism"? An oxy-moron, if ever there was one. In doing a little digging with respect to the Federal authorization of the memorial, we find the description of HR 3000: H.R.3000 Title: For reform in emerging new democracies and support and help for improved partnership with Russia, Ukraine, and other new independent states of the former Soviet Union. Hmmm... Reading into the resolution, we find Title IX, Section 905, which describes the creation for the memorial itself: (b) AUTHORIZATION OF MEMORIAL- (1) AUTHORIZATION- (A) The National Captive Nations Committee, Inc., is authorized to construct, maintain, and operate in the District of Columbia an appropriate international memorial to honor victims of communism. (B) The National Captive Nations Committee, Inc., is encouraged to create an independent entity for the purposes of constructing, maintaining, and operating the memorial. (C) Once created, this entity is encouraged and authorized, to the maximum extent practicable, to include as active participants organizations representing all groups that have suffered under communism. (2) COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS FOR COMMEMORATIVE WORKS- The design, location, inscription, and construction of the memorial authorized by paragraph (1) shall be subject to the requirements of the Act entitled `An Act to provide standards for placement of commemorative works on certain Federal lands in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes', approved November 14, 1986 (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). That's alot of words - use them to draw your own conclusions, if you can. An interesting discussion on this is found here. Ariel Cohen's comments regarding Russia post-USSR are cited: Mr. Cohen stated that Russia is quickly degenerating into a totalitarian regime... According to Mr. Cohen, the outlook for Russian progress toward democracy is bleak. Well, it's a good thing we got rid of the Soviets; totalitarianism may have resulted (sarcasm). I especially like the account of the statements by Frank Calzon, published August 12, 2001: Mr. Calzon spoke briefly, outlining the history of communism in Cuba, and deriding Fidel Castro as oppressive, saying that the structures in Cuba are similar to those that existed in the Soviet Union in the 1950s. According to Mr. Calzon, internment, torture, human rights violations and imprisonment are all standard practices of the Castro regime. I guess Calzon should have held off on the " internment, torture, human rights violations and imprisonment" discussion until he got a good look at Guantanamo Bay. Maybe it's all moot - after all, Guantanamo Bay IS in Cuba...