Back to the Future

Crosby's ears were burning. Telling the Pens they had to wake up evidently worked. The one player that almost single-handedly turned around the franchise, and is well known as the future of the team, was the obvious difference maker.

Sidney Crosby was on his game and so were his teammates. They showed up when their backs were against the wall. That is exactly what I was looking for in the team that I knew could play some spectacular hockey. It was a nail biter, and an example of some beautiful hockey, but prevail they did. Thank you, Pittsburgh, for nearly giving me a heart attack, but bringing me victory. Game On.....
CZ

A Single Goal

That's all I want. A goal. Please, Pittsburgh. Just score. I've been watching for months now as the offensive firepower for the Pittsburgh Penguins has come together, great defense was formed, and an awesome team has grown from a collection of draft picks. This success was evident all through the first three rounds of the playoffs, but has since disappeared with the finals in their chase for the cup. I'm not an idiot, and I was not delusional. I know the Detroit Red Wings are a phenomenal team. They've made that perfectly clear in the first two games. Perfect passes and excellent defense-the very thing the Pens were doing against the Senators, Rangers, and Flyers.

The Penguins have not shown up for their final series. They did, briefly, in the second period of the second game, but have for the most part, been mailing in their effort. I saw life in the latter part of the second game, but again it was put down by a ridiculous goal by yet another diving Red Wing. Hopes were dashed and desires turned into frustration. At least they were showing emotion and passion in the elbows and punches they were throwing. They'll need every bit of that fire tonight. The Pens are at home, finally, where they are undefeated in the playoffs this year. I am just hoping for a good showing, culminating in victory for my Penguins. That's the least they could do to put an end to my depression over the derailment of their fast train to Lord Stanley's Cup.

I knew this series would be their toughest challenge yet, by a long shot, but never in my wildest expectations did I think Detroit would pitch two shutouts in the first two meetings. Hossa, Malkin, Ruutu, and most of all Crosby, you have to show up tonight. Otherwise, the brooms will be coming out of the closet, and that is something I can't bear to watch.

In other news, I've not been too excited about the reality that is trading news of late. This market is ridiculous and completely unpredictable. I finally bought a position in Visa (V) when it took a hit late last week and early this week. I noticed it was up almost two dollars (4%) today, and I'm hoping it will keep climbing. I hope the recent downturn was just a pullback, and that it's all uphill from here. My retirement is banking on it. Of course, my most successful stock in recent months has been Petro-Canada (PCZ), and while it has also seen a pullback (ouch), I'm hoping it is also on track for a major uphill climb. Time will tell, and I hold several options with both July and September expirations, but I think I'm right in that oil stocks will again be up over the long hot summer. I'll liquidate my positions in late summer if all goes well, then buy again in mid to late fall before home heating costs skyrocket this winter. It's a plan, anyway.

CZ

Kick for Nick

Crying like a baby is a good thing once in a while. As I wipe the tears from my face, I had to sit down and write this entry. Even through all of the negativity and bad things going on in the world, there is still plenty of good.

Yes, a nineteen year old selfless soldier gave the ultimate sacrifice. This is only one soldier, but he is accompanied by more than four thousand others. We should all, as proud Americans, remember all of those that have served in the past and those that are serving now. They all make more of a difference than most of us will ever know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo0iPO8uYFk

Frog in the throat

I just got an email that my beloved sister is celebrating her fifth wedding anniversary. That feat, in this day and age, is something to be celebrated by itself. The fact that she is having to celebrate it with Tony halfway across the world is a shame. Tony is still in Afghanistan fighting and serving you, me, and everyone in this beloved country. Who knew my lil' sister could be so eloquent.

The email was a confirmation of her comment on yesterday's post. I wanted to bring her comment to the forefront of my blog because it deserves to be on the front page. Congratulations, Mandi and Tony. I love you both. Here's to fifty more.

Your sister has been married for 5 years as of May 19th, 2008! Can you believe it, and here I type on my brother's "theMarriedYears", blog. Who would have guessed? I hope you and Karen in five years can look back on your marriage and think the same as I do about mine. ~ I am blessed to have found the one man who completes that of me which is not whole. I am blessed to have found someone that has surpassed my thoughts of what a husband should be. I am blessed to have a comfortable life in which I do not want for anything. I am blessed that my girls will grow up to know they do not have to settle for less in a man; they will see what a true man is through the eyes of my husband. I am blessed to be with the one man I look forward to growing old with.~

May 20, 2008 6:24 PM

I couldn't have said it better myself, and I can only hope to have it as good with my future wife.
CZ

Charisma

I checked my regular blogs today and came across Scott's blog about a huge rally for Obama in Seattle.
http://yearofscott.blogspot.com
It is impressive. I'm glad to see that more of the public is taking an interest in this election than they historically have shown. We must be sure, though, that support is properly placed. It got me interested in what a charismatic leader is, and historical leaders that were just that. Several came to mind, and most of them turned out to be bad for the people so soon after appearing to bring such hope and promise. An interesting article from a cambodian named Socheat Som in 2001 caught my eye and really pinpoints what I'm talking about. Here is a piece that gets my point across:

Charismatic Leadership Theory

The word Charisma is derived from a Greek word meaning "gift of grace." For years, social scientists have analyzed and debated the origin of charisma and why people gravitate toward charismatic leaders. Influential sociologist Max Weber was one of the first to study the theory of charismatic leadership. According to Weber, social actions are controlled and directed by a general belief on the part of the members of a society that a legitimate social order exists. The probability that social behavior will be oriented in terms of that order constitutes the basis for its authority. Weber postulated that there were three ways to convert power into legitimate authority: rational, traditional, and charismatic, and that each type of authority was validated differently. Established orders such as educational institutions or courts of law give rise to rational authority. Traditional authority arises when leader and follower relationships such as parent/child, teacher/student, or officer/soldier are bounded by long-standing traditions. Traditional and rational bases of authority are not effective forms of authority to bring social or organizational changes.

Charismatic authority, on the other hand, is part of the expression of schismatic tendencies in society. In contrast to legal or traditional authority, charismatic authority is the antithesis of routine activities and represents the desire for disruption and change of the prevailing social order. It is a necessary part of the dialectic between the human need for structure and the equally human need for variation and innovation in society. Charismatic authority is different from rational or traditional authority in that it spawns not from established orders or traditions, but rather from the special trust the charismatic leader induces in his followers, the peculiar powers he exhibits, and the unique qualities he possesses. According to Weber, it is difficult for charismatic leaders to maintain their authority because followers must continue to legitimize this authority. There is a need for the charismatic leader to constantly exhibit leadership performance to his followers to reinforce the legitimacy of his authority.

Several theoretical frameworks have been put forth to explain the crucial elements that give rise to charismatic leadership. Our psychological sense of self worth or self-esteem is a function of the status of our identifications with certain self-objects. These self-objects may be tangible (i.e., a social class to which we belong or a car we drive) or intangible (i.e., a belief or a cause). When the status of the self-objects with which we identify increases, our self-esteem increases. When the status of the self-objects with which we identify diminishes in value, our self-esteem diminishes. Effective leaders elevate the status of the self-objects with which their followers identify, raising their followers' self-esteem to new heights. When followers identify with a leader, and that leader enhances their self-esteem, the followers perceive the leader as charismatic.

Another theory states that individuals who have solved for themselves problems the followers have not been able to solve for themselves are perceived as charismatic. The perception of charisma is of great importance only between the leaders and their followers. How non-followers perceive the leaders has very little relevance to the notion of charisma. According to Weber, people have extraordinary needs, especially in times of great stress and crisis in a society, and leaders who are able to satisfy these needs are considered charismatic. Charismatic leaders help their followers achieve a state of transcendence by becoming the embodiment of the qualities they wish that they possessed. Charismatic leaders appear most frequently in times of societal crisis.

What are some of the common qualities and characteristics of charismatic leaders? Charismatic leaders are able to distill complex thoughts and ideas into simple messages through the use of symbolism, analogies, and metaphors. Charismatic leaders embrace risk and feel empty in its absence. And, they take chances without fear of failure. Charismatic leaders rebel against the status quo and conventional wisdom. According to Weber, charismatic leaders reject rational, economic objectives and orders, choosing more "irrational" but more humanistic pursuits, and that one of the signs of charismatic leadership lies in the leader's ability to leave a significant mark on the traditional institutionalized structure that he rejects. Charismatic leaders have robust empathic capacity - they attempt to see the world through their followers' eyes. Finally, charismatic leaders challenge, prod, and poke their followers to test their courage and their commitment. Charismatic leaders score high on expression of values, emphasis on commitment, setting high standards, stressing a sense of mission, talking optimistically about the future, expressing confidence, making personal sacrifices, providing encouragement to followers, and displaying conviction in ideals. End of piece.

This excerpt was pulled from an article about Pol Pot. If you don't know about who he is, find a Cambodian that escaped that country in the mid to late seventies.

CZ

Five Hole & Six On the Board

Cascading down, like a beautiful snowfall. The air trapped in the nearly perfect head of a freshly poured Guinness draught looks like a snowfall in the darkest of nights. It tastes even better than it looks when it finally settles and flows down my throat just as smooth as if it weren't there at all.

It's perfect weather outside, too, and I'm enjoying this beer as I type with the doors and windows open, fresh air blowing through. The back side of the house is where the sun room is, and it's perfect because the sun sets on the front side, keeping the scorching sun at bay for the end of a perfect day.

I'm in a fantastic mood and a perfect state of mind because the day was nearly perfect. A perfect breakfast was followed by great lounging time on the couch and the drinking of a nearly perfect cup of coffee. This afternoon I got to see the Pittsburgh Penguins absolutely annihilate the Philadelphia Flyers. I got to a point where I couldn't remember each goal to savor it, because after three, they just kept coming. My Pens were relentless. Six to nothing was the final, and it was very close to perfect.

A perfect storm is what they had to be today, and they came through with flying colors. I can't believe it's been sixteen years since I've seen them in the finals for the Stanley Cup. Many heartbreaking games I've seen. I watched a gut wrenching five overtime game, I think one of the longest in NHL history, a few years ago against, ironically, the Flyers. I've been there through the lean years. The years when Lemieux was hanging on to help a young, struggling team. Coming out of retirement, retiring again. Bringing the team back from the brink of actually moving out of Pittsburgh. He's been everything to the Pens. He brought in two giant TRANE air conditioners to pump cold air into the Igloo today after a few of the Pens voiced their opinions that the rink was a little warm. Nothing like a little cold air to fire things up a little.

Now is the time. Perfect poke checks, pretty passes on the tape, and a perfect goalie. That's what it will take in the next round. We got a glimpse of it today, and they'll have to bring a few more of those for the team from the west.

The Prince of Wales cup was brought out at the end of the game, and like a captain should, Crosby posed for the requisite picture with the trophy, but didn't get closer than a foot. Tradition. History. Being champion of the east means nothing if you don't win it all. That is the goal. Win it all. Lord Stanley's Cup. Now there is history. I feel it. Or maybe that's just the second beer....

Link to the World

The one commodity that nearly everyone in the civilized world uses today, and will continue to use in the future, is the black gold. I read an article from Bloomberg this morning that was spot 0n for how I see things in the world oil dynamic.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abpMGfi3wMVk&refer=home

There are countries who have oil, and those that do not. How these countries without it align themselves and vie for the commodity in the future, will be absolutely paramount for their survival as not only a successful country, but one that can even function on a daily basis. Without oil, any given country could not exist for long. If oil is not available or obtainable, there would be anarchy, riots, and general upheaval. Try to think of the United States if there was no oil for the masses. Think of how everything would stop. No air travel, no car travel, no electricity. Nothing. Back to square one. It would be a crazy world, indeed.

I think there was a bigger reason for the Iraq war. The US felt the need for a presence in the Middle East to guarantee a solid source other than the Saudis. There is no other reason for us to get in there and throw a country upside down. We haven't gone into North Korea or Syria and they have even crazier leadership that pose more of a threat with nuclear capabilities. There is a reason we didn't go into either country. They have no oil, and their neighbors would undoubtedly get into the fray, making things very difficult for the big, bad, US of A. Funny how politicians think the public is stupid.

It's good to see a few oil big wigs (even in Italy) speaking the truth. The US better start acting fast in overturning their laws preventing drilling in Alaska , the Gulf of Mexico, and off the west coast. Otherwise, we could be in a deeper quagmire than anyone ever imagined.

CZ

Big Night

I'm really looking forward to this evening because a friend of sister-in-law Marie that is now a friend of the family is coming over tonight to watch the Penguins with us. He's currently in town to visit his family that lives here, do a little business in Rolla, MO, and squeeze in some good times. Tim lives in Pittsburgh, PA now, and is wanting to get away from the fam to enjoy a little piece of home with good people. I'll be stopping by Papa's Pub to pick up some of the best Pizza in the area and I'll be washing it down with some new tasty beverages I picked up at the grocery store last night.

Bohemian Black Lager by Shiner Brewery is a dark brew (made obvious by the choice in name), and was originally a special edition that's now become a regular as of late '07. As most of my friends and family are aware, I'm a huge fan of solid, flavorful beers, and the thicker the better. I couldn't think of a better combination for hockey night. Good beer, good people, and good pizza. Not necessarily in that order, depending on my level of hunger and thirst for the barley & hops.

My good friend Sean Brown is watching his team go down in flames against my other good friend Craig's team, the Detroit Red Wings. Last night the Red Wings should have swept up the ice with the Stars, but the worst ref call in my sixteen years of watching hockey robbed them of a go-ahead goal. The ref called the player illegally in the crease, but replay clearly showed he was no where even close to 'in the crease'. A travesty, and I'm sure the NHL brass will be having a word with him. Of course, SB's NFL team is the Cowgirls, so he's always being chided by one or more of us in the group, including his own wife. Ironically, Brown's wife Tammy is a Philly fan, so she gets to watch the Flyers get pasted, and hopefully swept tonight, by my beloved Penguins. Sorry, Brownie and Tammy- not this year. It's the year of the Pens, baby, and I can't wait to see them hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.

Double Dip

One out, bottom of the eighth inning. Pirates are up 4-3 in a rare game on television for me. The color guy in the booth is rambling on about the decision that the Pirates' manager made to bring in lefty Grabow this inning to face the meat of the Cardinal lineup. He just wouldn't shut up about it. Wham...Deeeeep left field, and it's gone. Exactly what the announcer was talking about. Punk. Tied 4-4 and suddenly it seems like the same old Pirates that I've been following since the Killer B's were put out of contention 15 years ago. Yes, that's Barry Bonds, and Bobby Bonilla for you kids that can't think back through the fifteen years of consecutive losing seasons. Painful.

Anyway, the Pirates held on (after yanking Grabow and two pitchers later) until the tenth and piled it on for an 8-4 victory. Yes, they're actually a victory away from .500 now. Maybe they can end the decade and a half long slump and have a winning season. That would be nice. I'd really hate to see them set the modern day record with the most consecutive losing seasons by a franchise ball club.

Stark contrast from the futility that is the Pirates are the surprising Pittsburgh Penguins. They treated me to a great game on enemy ice earlier in the evening to make for a Pittsburgh double header with a victory over the Flyers. The Philly fans all had on orange shirts to try and pump up their home team and get a much needed victory on home ice. Ha! Not happening. They were all left with looks of disbelief and long faces when Hossa snapped in a wrister from the point and Whitney followed with a turnaround five-hole in the first period. The Penguins line with Hossa and Crosby gels more with every game and their defense has stepped up with huge performances by everyone, so I think they are in the fast lane to a meeting with the Detroit Red Wings for a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup. I can't wait.

Baby, I'll say it now, even though we've recently been introduced to the world of DVR, I won't be recording the NHL Finals. Consider me unavailable for painting or anything else during those games. There may only be four, but most likely seven. Craig understands.

CZ

Slump

Like a major league hitter, I feel I've been in a bit of a slump over the last couple of weeks. I guess I feel like my life has been filled with nothing but work. I finished painting the office yesterday, after my beloved painted the majority Saturday, and it just doesn't seem like fitting material for my blog. I haven't come across any interesting characters lately, either, like the mover with four kids (plus one he forgot about).

I did go to Aldi yesterday, as well, but I think I've mastered the quarter deposit lock system on the carts, so no funny supermarket blog stuff there. We haven't really had any solid friend time, either. It's been a few weeks since we've been to Jason and Angie's, so there haven't been any late night drunken Wii sessions of bowling, baseball, and golf. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few brief good times sprinkled in. We went to the big Catholic Church spring carnival with the Faldons for a couple hours, and that was a good time of filling my gut with greasy brats and funnel cake. And we had dinner with acquaintances of Karen's this weekend with veeerrry good family-farm-grown steak. Delicious. I'm just not feeling that my coffee mug of good times has been filled to the brim lately.

Mother's day came and went with good quality family time, but I'm sooo ready for a weekend of fun. I'm going to get started on working up something for this weekend. The weather is too good not to, and I have far too many good friends around to not be enjoying it with them. CZ

Victory!

It's the first night of the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Penguins are victorious against their much hated rivals, The Philadelphia Flyers. The Pens started slow and looked lethargic in the first, which caused them to dig themselves into a 2-1 deficit. They came back screaming in the second with spot-on passes and Malkin scoring two of their last three goals for the 4-2 win. The fighting attitude wasn't there until late in the third, but it was good to see some good forechecking and roughing later in the game. A little skirmish in the zone toward the end of the game showed me some heart when Malkin started facewashing a few Flyers. Love it. I'm excited for our prospects for the finals, but yes, I see the Red Wings looming in the background-they too have a 1-0 lead in their final. I can't wait....See you in a few games, Craig.

CZ

Windy City Failure

I normally don't talk on and on about the stupid city administrators and people in office where they enact dumb laws to outlaw firearms. This one is affecting my beloved Stillers, though, and I've gotta say, Chicago is in a sad state of affairs.

CHICAGO (AP) - Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall was robbed at gunpoint along the Chicago lakefront early Monday, his mother and agent said.

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The former Illinois running back was not hurt in the robbery, during which two people stole Mendenhall's wallet and cellular telephone, his mother, Sybil Mendenhall, told the Chicago Tribune.
"He didn't get hit or anything, he didn't get hurt or anything," Sybil Mendenhall said. "He's fine."
Police spokesman John Mirabelli said a man and a woman were robbed at the lakefront around 2 a.m. Monday by two offenders, but declined to identify the victims. No one was in custody for the crime, he said.
"It was obviously a scary moment," Mendenhall's agent, Mike McCartney, told the Chicago Sun-Times. "But he is fine. He is doing great. He said he doesn't have anything that is worth his life."
The Steelers selected Mendenhall with the 23rd pick in this year's NFL draft.
The 20-year-old Mendenhall skipped his senior year at Illinois to enter the draft. He was the 2007 Big Ten offensive player of the year.


Chicago has recently experienced a spate of gun crimes rivalling all but the worst cities for crime, per capita. The mental midgets that thought it would be a good idea to outlaw firearm possession by law abiding citizens in the city and state now get to lie in the bed they made. Common sense will tell anyone with a brain larger than a pea that if a criminal thinks a potential victim may be armed, said robber is less likely to try to extort from him money or his possessions.

And people think the government can keep them safe from everything. A common misconception, unfortunately, and it will take a few more deaths for everyone to realize that the government takes only our liberty. In return, we get no more safety, only repression.

I only wish Mendenhall would have had a weapon and put a cap in the perp's ass. Stupid theives make me angry.

CZ

Latest Infatuation

Most people who know me are aware of my quirky tendency to absorb everything I can about a new subject that interests me until I finally tire of it. There is one that has a vice grip on me, lately. I have to warn you that it isn't for the faint of heart, and if you think it can't happen, Google the Olduvai Theory and look at the references on everything--PhDs galore.

http://dieoff.org/page125.htm

These guys know their shit and know what they're talking about. The only thing I can say is buy alternative energy now, and accumulate all the cash you can. I think we're in for a bumpy ride.
CZ

Plush

"This your place or you live here wit mommy and daddy, mayn?"

Confused, and not knowing how to respond, I reply,
"It's my house."

"Awww, you got it goin' on den, eh, mayn?"

"Yeah, man, ya gotta do it right if you're gonna do it."

"Haaaa, yeea, yeeeea.."

I wasn't sure if the guy thought I was too young to have a house or if I looked too young to have a house this big and nice. I'm still not sure.

"Whatchoo do, mayn?"

"I'm the Parts & Accessories manager at Wheeler Powersports."

"Awww, you got da hookup den, huh, mayn?"

"I guess you could say that."

This joker was quite the character and wanted to chat it up about my Jeep that I was half hanging out of whilst trying to align my transfer case shifters. I'm not, at this point, wanting to engage in a full on discussion about rock crawling and the like, so I think he gets the picture and gets back to installing the carpet.

Karen and I are getting nice carpet in the office because the carpet that came with the house was a blue-green aqua color that looked like there should be a pimp and a harem of girls on a heart shaped couch in the corner.
We will probably put tile in the bathroom as well, but that will have to wait a bit on other higher priority items.

The Penguins were good to me Sunday. They successfully eliminated the Rangers after a pretty good nail-biter of an overtime game. It was their first overtime game during the playoffs this year, and they did well. They've only given up a single game this second season, and I think we'll have our hands full with the Flyers. They're the team I hate the most, and the one I really think we can beat on our way to the finals. I'm anticipating a six or seven game series. I think we should come out on top in the end, though. Time will tell. Friday is the big night for the first game, and I'm not available for anything unless it includes watching the game and having a pint or two.

I've finally watched Episode II and III over the last two weeks. George Lucas is a brilliant man, and the Star Wars films are his greatest legacy. I saw the first three films (*IV, V, & VI) when I was a kid and never got around to watching the other, later films (earlier timeline in the movies) since it seemed so awkward to have the timeline all backward. Well, I never bothered at all with Episode I because my good friend and group Movie Guru JohnL said it wasn't worth my time several years ago.

I've got to say that Anakin Skywalker was not impressive at all in Episode II and the film wasn't that good. It was definitely not up to the standards set by the original Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, or Return of the Jedi. Episode III Revenge of the Sith on the other hand, was a good movie. One that I can say is worthy of the saga. I watched it while I ate my delicious ham, egg and cheese biscuit with coffee (no, I made it-I stay away from fast food breakfasts for fear of retribution on my internals). It was a good relaxing morning of cinema, I must say.

In thinking more about the carpet guy and my position in this crazy experience we call Life, I've come to the conclusion that I am very lucky. I've grown to appreciate everyone and everything in my life as the months and years fly by. Maybe he'll be here when Karen gets home so he can see how truly lucky I am. CZ

Light on Cash

Looks like there's another company with a local business filing for protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. First, I read a few weeks ago that The Village Inn had filed bankruptcy, now I see that the place where Karen and I are registered for wedding gifts is crying uncle. Linens 'n Things filed today and will be closing a few stores nationwide. I wonder if our local store is one of the 120 to say goodbye. I think we'll see a new rash of businesses going under with this economic slowdown. Good thing we've got a Target on the way, eh ladies?

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=avsboiuSWKCI&refer=news

CZ

Bustin' 1400

I'm looking for the breakout I've been waiting on for months, now. I've talked about the market reaction if the S&P closes above 1400. We got that today, and if traders react favorably to the employment report tomorrow morning, we could see a nice reprieve from this stagflation market. I'm so ready. If only I had bought a call contract a month ago when Craig and I were discussing Visa (V) instead of my stupid Delta airlines wager. I'm looking to close that postition at even money. Damn airlines. I should have known better. Congratulations, Craig. If you stick with that one for the long haul, you should be rewarded handsomely. CZ

Mac it up

I noticed a contract for control of shares in EMC that I bought a little while ago just jumped into the money today-trading at $16 a share. This company owns a company called Mozy, Inc. which allows users of computers at home that want an off site safe storage of digital information to store information on company servers for a nominal monthly fee. The reason the stock jumped today is because of news that it just released a program for Mac users. My great friends Scott and Jen are diehard Mac users, and it put a smile on my face when I saw the story, not to mention the stock was finally making me some money. Here ya go, kids.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-01-2008/0004804199&EDATE=

Jen, I know how you like your pics.

CZ

May Day

It's International Labor Day, and it is very fitting. It's also referred to as "Socialists Day", and all over Europe, many people do not go to work today. That's all well and good, but isn't it a little hypocritical to be celebrating Socialists Day in countries where this very socio-economic system was denounced, revolted against, and ultimately eradicated by many of the same countries?

After the October Revolution of 1917, Lenin and Trotsky immediately implemented their idea of a Utopia in the Soviet Union. This was followed shortly by several other countries in Europe who were a part of the Communist International. Of course, these lemming countries that blindly bought into the socialist ideal also were quick to figure out how horribly wrong this new direction was for the welfare of the majority of the people. Germany was first in 1918, and Kurt Eisner was put down in blood by 1919. Lenin was even under siege in his own country. The US, UK, and Germany had implemented a trade boycott against the Soviet Republic, and under growing threat from his own country, he declared private enterprise illegal and striking workers could be shot on site. This War Communism obviously didn't work out and was soon all but dead with Lenin by 1924.

Starvation and revolt exploded across Europe and western Asia within a year of these socialist and communist movements, and it is common knowledge among those that actually paid any attention in any history class that even skimmed over the century that brought rise to the two world wars.

I'm not sure Hillary Clinton took any history classes. I saw an "exclusive" interview with her on Bill O'Reilly last night. Now, normally, I don't ever watch this show. I think O'Reilly is an idiot blow-hard that is an absolute hypocrite. I stopped to listen to what Hillary was saying only because I like to know about people that are trying to rule the greatest country in the world. O'Reilly was talking to Hillary about her universal health care and her ideas about her "income distribution".

O'Reilly rightly snapped this up and told her this was pure socialism. She responded that it was NOT socialism. Huh? Has she been so blinded by her goals these many years that she just didn't pay attention during this lesson? Or is it that she's so high on herself that she thinks all of America will buy into her soft, nondescript terms like "income distribution". Wow. It's just not pretty any way you paint it, and I just can't believe someone would think this is a good thing.

I see alot of this Socialist Movement today as well. - Hugo Chavez in Venezuela? European Union, anyone? and it's very scary because I see how it could easily mirror what began in 1917. This turmoil right after WWI all the way through until after WWII is not something the world can handle right now. Hillary and her policies will be bad for America, plain and simple. Obama is no better, and some will say he is actually even more of a socialist than Hillary. It's crazy to think that the greatest country in the world is close to buying into this 21st century socialist rhetoric. When did we stop paying attention to history?