--- Silly, silly Nebraskans! The

--- Silly, silly Nebraskans!
The husband sent me this link. He always enjoys a chance to poke fun at
my home state and takes full advantage of it. And I get this grief from
a guy who grew up next to the Amana Colonies. Sha. Like he should talk.
I find myself consistently reminding him that not a whole heck of a lot
goes on in the vast region between Lincoln and the Colorado border. Just look at Lexington on the map.

There is a reason, you know, why most people in Nebraska live in either Omaha or Lincoln.

--- Vodkapundit has some interesting things to say about Putin's cabinet reshuffle today.

If you ask me, the cabinet sounds pretty damn good. Let me explain.

1) More real economic freedom.
2) A strong hand to keep everything from blowing up before freedom sinks in.
Now, I can see where he's coming from on this. Russians, traditionally,
favor strongmen when it comes to their government. They just do. Don't
throw me any of that politically correct hokum about how things have
changed in this respect now that they have the chance to choose their
governmental representative. Phooey. I don't believe it. And any
Russian scholar will tell you this is the truth. We in the west may
think Ivan the Terrible was actually, you know, terrible,
but there is a significant part of their society today who respects the
authority the man wielded---five hundred years later. Putin is widely
believed to overwhelm the polls on Sunday---why? Because he's a
strongman. He's got terrific public support because of what he's done
with the Chechen terrorists that keep blowing up stuff and people in
Moscow. While bombings are still occurring, they think they've got the
right man in place to deal with the problem because he's strong.
This is Russia's first taste of democracy. They have no practical
experience with actually having a say in how their government is run,
so it was no surprise to me that they stumbled so frequently in the
first few years after the coup. Nor was it a great surprise to me that
the mafia stepped up and took over the running of things. Nor that the
oligarchs have the power they have. It would have seemed like a
godsend, I have to think, to most people when Yeltsin resigned and
Putin stepped up. Control would soon be regained over the wild west
that Russia had become. So, like I said, I can see where Stephen's
coming from on this one. It does sound like a good, power consolidating
deal that will further Russia along toward its democratic---free
market---goals. But I'm still leery, and for exactly the same reasons
Mr. Citron gives for furthering his argument. And don't let the KGB bogeyman scare you. Back in the bad old
days, it was Leonid Brezhnev's KBG {sic} who tried to put Mikhail
Gorbachev in power. They failed on the first attempt -- and we got the
brief gerontocracy of Konstantin Chernyenko. After he died, the KGB
finally got their man as General Secretary.
Ah, actually no. Yes it was true: Brezhnev wanted Gorbachev in power.
But Brezhnev failed in that goal. Russia wound up with Andropov as
Brezhnev's successor mainly because too many of Brezhnev's cronies had
died before he could get the pieces in place. The hard liners
apppointed Andropov. Make no mistake about it: Andropov was
Brezhnev's KGB---part of the KGB originally reformed by Khruschev after
Stalin bit the big one. He'd moved up to become a controlling member of
the Politburo in the waning days of Good Ol' Eyebrows chairmanship;
politics had taken center stage in his life, but he knew how to be
harsh when he needed to be. Fortunately for all of us however, he
cacked. Then they got Chernyenko---an old Krushchev ally, if I'm
remembering correctly---who was elected Chairman, once again, by the
hard liners. Then, he cacked and then we got Gorby.
Gorbachev may have been crafty enough to get himself into the top spot
eventually, but he was thwarted twice in the meantime.
Putin was a part of Gorby's KGB, but would have been trained in the
harsh ways of Andropov, who---if I'm doing the math correctly---would
have been still been the head honcho at 2 Dzerzhinsky Square when young
Vladmir came into the ranks. The point that I'm struggling to make is
that no one should think that because Gorby was this lovable
birthmark-sporting guy who brought Russia closer to the West, that
Putin has forgotten the lessons of his forefathers. Particularly not
forefathers who had to fight for their careers and did so by means of
arresting their competitors and all that implied in terms of repeated
torture, Siberian labor camps and firing squads. Ah, the good old days.
It bears keeping in mind that we know next to nothing about what Putin really
did for the KGB. All we know is that he was stationed in East Germany.
I've read reports that say he worked the propaganda angle of things. Or
that he monitored East German compliance of all things communist. Now,
knowing what we know of Putin and how smart he is, does it sound like
either of these jobs are ones the talent scouts at the KGB would have
set him up in? Not to me. Putin is crafty, and he didn't learn how to
be crafty by making sure people didn't want to climb over the wall in
the first place. Putin is more the type who would have been involved
with the direct intervention---and punishment---of people trying to
climb over the wall. Tin foil hat territory, I know, but still...the
lack of information leads one to think that there's more going on there
than has been disclosed.
So, we don't know a lot about Putin's KGB days. We don't know a lot
about Putin other than what he wants us to know. With that in mind, it
seems like highly specious logic to assume a cabinet reshuffle by
Putin---one that consolidates his power before an election and puts his
people in place---is a good
thing simply because some of the appointments are from the KGB and
ultimately because of the KGB's reputation for bringing things into
line. Control over this fledgling democracy is a good thing, but it's
an awfully fine line Putin's walking right now. No one would dare
thwart his ambitions, but no one's really going to object, either, if
he steps over the line in to autocratic rule, if he hasn't already.
Russians do like a strongman after all.