The Earth is Flat Award
A celebration of the inane, insipid and asinine...
Considering that the editorial position of Enter Stage Right is pro- laissez-faire capitalist, it shouldn't be too surprising that this month's Earth is Flat Award goes to none other than George Soros.
Soros is a billionaire who has been spending hundreds of millions of dollars attempting to bring about his agenda of the open society. Last month Soros decided that capitalism itself is threatening freedom itself and published those thoughts in a piece entitled "The Capitalist Threat" in the February 1997 issue of The Atlantic Monthly.
A man in the unique position of defending capitalism, of providing an example to people about the power of reason, has decided to instead attack the institution that rewarded him for his gifts. Soros may have billions but this Earth is Flat Award costs more than Soros could ever hope to have. And for him it's free this month.
The Vinegar in Freedom Award
There is an old Serbian proverb that says vinegar in freedom tastes better than honey in slavery. This award is meant for events and people I consider to be positive. The inaugural award goes to:
Deng Xiaoping!
The world was blessed when China's paramount leader died on February 18. While people like George Bush lauded him for "giving his people choice with market reforms" and Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright thought he was peachy for "normalizing" relations with the United States, some of us remember that Deng ordered the People's Liberation Army into Tiananmen Square to crush the pro-democracy revolt. That order resulted in the death of 3 000 to 5 000 people, and injury to another 10 000.
Deng was nothing but a Communist butcher, one out of a long line of collectivist butchers. The fact that he was not a strict Maoist only means that he was a pragmatist, one of the more evil ways to lead a nation. His death is a breath of freedom.
Goodbye Deng! Democracy will come sooner or later to China! 