Marxists, Marxists Everywhere!

Communism was (and may still be) one of the great evils to afflict humanity. I don't have the numbers handy but Stalin's and Mao's murders surpass Hitler's by an order of magnitude. The Holodomor alone (Stalin's induced famine in Ukraine in 1932-33) was a great evil that killed some 2 million innocent people.

Every American civilian knows the Hitler story but few understand the scope of the perfidy of Stalin and Mao (and the lesser players  like Pol Pot and Castro). Well, here's a little article on Seven Great Marxist Leaders that may help enlighten people.

Harrison Bergeron Call Your Office

What is the end state of egalitarianism? Back in 1961 Kurt Vonnegut wrote a prescient short story called Harrison Bergeron in his book Welcome to the Monkey House. In the book, all citizens are forced to be equal by the state. I recommend finding and reading the short story.

Now transgender athletes are competing across the sexes with predictable results.

I wonder how this will unfold?

It's Spooky In Here

I am not a physicist but I am curious. Years ago I learned of Einstein's Spooky Action at a Distance, the quantum entanglement of particle charges of a (theoretically) infinite distance.

It seems researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia has successfully demonstrated quantum entanglement at a 15 micrometer distance (check the link). Can StarTrek transporters be far behind? (Actually, they can but it's fun to ask the question.)

What's On The Other Side of the Peak?

The concept of Peak Oil may be a forerunner of the concept of Global Warming. In that, I mean Peak Oil is a dead concept even though it was on everyone's lips on 2007-08. Check out this interesting article at American Thinker.

Look What I Found!

It seems I'm fixated on the practical definitions of capitalism, socialism, fascism, and communism. Well, I found this chart which makes excellent points about the distribution of beliefs between and among the systems. It makes a handy quick reference.

So You Think Donald's a Fascist.

The modern misconception of Fascism still amazes me. I was looking through some old paperwork and ran across an article from 2002 call The Mystery of Fascism that does a pretty good job of explaining things.

A quick post is no way to get into the weeds. The article does that but prepare to spend some time with it; it's a complicated topic.

I'll just say this: Fascism is not modern western political conservatism. It is (was) anti-capitalist, it was extremely nationalistic, and every aspect of life was to serve the state.

Batteries are the Future!

And, of course my tongue is in my cheek. Check out this article at SeekingAlpha on the cost-to-operate of an electric car. The Tesla costs more than an equivalent hybrid, the driving range is considerably less, the charging (refueling time) is considerably longer and every 10 years you have to replace a $10,000 battery.

Tesla's sure are pretty but I think gasoline cars will be around for a while.