Another Country Heard From

 This is the first I have heard about the former Soviet captive nations slipping back into communism, but I have commented in the past that Russia itself seems to be doing just that.  Uncle Ken advanced the theory that it wasn't communism that made Russia bad, it was Russia that made communism bad, and I tended to agree with him at the time.  I can understand why some people like Marx's version of communism, it does indeed have a certain appeal, at least on paper.  What Stalin and Mao did with it, however, must have caused Marx to turn over in his grave.  I fail to see what all this has to do with my stand on immigration.  The commies built walls to keep people in, while I want to build walls to keep people out.  As for the gays, I don't believe they should be persecuted, but I don't think they should be allowed to marry each other or adopt children. I mean, you have to draw the line somewhere.

My understanding of the immigration problem in Poland is that they are in the process of changing their laws by legitimate legislative process.  As for treaties, they get changed all the time.  Unless a treaty specifies otherwise, any party can opt out if they want to.  Nothing lasts forever.  If it did, the government in exile in Taiwan would still be the recognized as the legitimate government of all of China except for Hong Kong, which would still be under British rule, and The US would still own the Panama Canal.  

I agree that equating Trumpism to Stalinism isn't much of a stretch.  I have said before that the Republican Party is doomed unless they manage to purge themselves of Trump and his ilk.  This should make Uncle Ken happy because it would make the Democrats the only show in town.  Of course the Democrats might be rent asunder as well.  Last I heard, their radicals didn't like Biden because he was too moderate, while many of their moderates think he is being too radical.  One can only hope.

Most of our guard posts in Berlin were around ammo dumps and motor pools, both of which would be tempting targets for thieves of any political stripe.  We also guarded gates to our compound and Spandau Prison, where seven of the Nuremburg war criminals were incarcerated.  There were only three of them left by the time I got there. Two were released about the same time I was, and the last one died some years later.

I only peeled potatoes one time in the army when their peeling machine broke down.  I also did it a few times in civilian life when my wife broke her hand last winter.  It's not a bad job.  It's not nearly as messy as cleaning fish and game or butchering poultry and livestock, which I don't mind either.  As Marx or Lenin said, "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs."