Are you concerned that Socialism is gaining ground in America?

Posted By on May 6, 2026

It’s interesting how career journalists and editors make decisions regarding content. A few days ago I submitted a provocative editorial that reflects what some see as a political concern for our country … and I thought it would be fitting for the “right-leaning column” of TheHustings. I expected “some” pushback based on some The Hustingsof the commentary I previously submitted, but figured even a left-leaning editor could see the tension among his fellow Democrats.

On the other hand, I expected that the premise of the three columns is to represent different political views and permit those thoughts so that others can agree or disagree. Unfortunately, much of that has been lost these days … even where opposing views are supposed to be represented. Instead, the political left and the right are almost forced to head off into separate “safe spaces” where they and the social media algorithms can feed readers and viewers what they want to see. ☹️  

The longer I participate and attempt to submit commentary representative of what the thinking is on the political right, the more I recognize that it is not what website and publication Freedom Press Day May 3rdeditors really want (perhaps it is reflective of the overall MSM and “schools of journalism” these days – even on World Press Day: May 3rd).

What I’ve written about are the noticeable inroads Marxist teaching and socialism had made, and is making, especially with the younger college educated crowd. That opinion is a widespread concern among conservatives who love liberty and free market capitalism. It is especially poignant for those of us who grew up during the Cold War and recognize the path different countries took in getting to a repressive state. Expressing this opinion should be at least represented in a free press  … and is the concern  many conservatives highlight these days. 

Here’s the editor’s reply in rejecting my commentary that I’ll include below the break:

I did not intend to ignore this column, though right off the bat I have an issue with you interchanging “socialism” with “Marxism” and “communism.” 

Mamdani, AOC and Bernie Sanders are not advocating the end of all personal property, as Marx would. It’s the flip side of associating anyone who is MAGA with the Proud Boys.

You be the judge – is the history and editorial commentary below too extreme … or an acceptable warning to America? 

America Must Reject the Siren Song of Marxism

In the decades since the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, too many younger Americans have come to view Marxist ideas not as a cautionary tale but as a fashionable alternative worth considering. From college campuses to city halls—where even some mayors have flirted openly with socialist rhetoric—the under-30 generation often sees “equity” and state-directed economics as compassionate solutions to inequality. They know little of the gulags, the engineered famines that killed millions of Ukrainian kulaks, Mao’s Cultural Revolution or the drab, hopeless lines for bread in communist capitals. Raised in a post-Cold War world of smartphones and social media, they mistake the sanitized slogans Liberty Over Communismof “democratic socialism” for something new and humane. This historical amnesia is dangerous. It erodes the hard-won understanding that communism is not a noble experiment gone wrong, but a proven destroyer of human freedom.

Liberty and free-market democracy have delivered the very prosperity and opportunity that critics now take for granted. Private property, individual rights and limited government—rooted in America’s founding principles and reinforced by Judeo-Christian morality—created the most dynamic economy and generous society in history. Contrast that with the communist record: state control of production led to chronic shortages, innovation stalled by bureaucrats and personal initiative crushed under the weight of the collective. Even China’s much-touted “market reforms” under Deng Xiaoping succeeded only where the Communist Party loosened its grip—yet Beijing still maintains one-party rule, surveillance and the power to dictate every citizen’s future. Sustainability, population control and utilitarian “greatest good” rhetoric may sound enlightened to academic elites, but they inevitably subordinate the individual to the state. History shows where that road leads: not to utopia, but to tyranny.

Democracy without liberty is merely mob rule dressed up in nice slogans. America’s genius has always been the constitutional republic that protects the rights of the minority—even the single citizen—against the whims of the majority or the dictates of self-appointed experts. Communism, by design, rejects this. It replaces God-given rights with government-granted privileges, private enterprise with central planning and personal conscience with state-approved morality. The left’s long march through our institutions has normalized these ideas in one major party and much of the media. But the American people have rejected them before and we must do so again—through education, honest debate and an unapologetic defense of the principles that made this republic exceptional.

The fight is not merely partisan; it is existential. Younger Americans deserve to hear the unvarnished truth about life under communism—not from dusty textbooks, but from the clear voices of those who remember the Iron Curtain and the boat people fleeing Castro’s paradise. We cannot afford complacency. Private property, individual liberty and faith in the Creator—not the state—remain the only proven path to human flourishing. Resistance to the collectivist tide is not nostalgia; it is patriotism. Our heritage of freedom must be reclaimed, defended, and passed on—before another generation learns these lessons the hard way.

High gas and diesel prices have us planning Tesla EV road trips

Posted By on May 5, 2026

Wawa IONNA Charger - Breeze Road Lima OH

After a Tesla Mobile Service upgrade for our 2019 Tesla Model 3 last week, we made a couple of test stops on our weekend trip. The DC CSS Fast Charging at an interstate Wawa IONNA near Lima, Ohio (non-Tesla SuperCharger network) made an excellent stopping point for our Wawa Lima Breeze Road Fuel Prices 260504slightly older “standard range” EV. Since we had never charged outside the SuperCharger network, this was more of a test for future travel, but with very clean bathroom, coffee that cost me only $1 and a very fair $0.39 kWh, this ends up being a preferred stop on our way up to see our granddaughters (more on WattHours/mithe “piano recital” later this week).

We had great weather, but my heavier foot kept our speeds higher than EV efficiency.

Drew asked about our watt-hours per mile number as that is what he uses to evaluate efficiency and driving speeds. Apple Card ChargesI mentioned to him that we had a strong headwind coming back for much of the drive south and suspected that may have dinged our energy efficiency. No matter how you slice it with fuel costing so much this spring, driving the Tesla and charging is A LOT less expensive than driving the BMW X5 35d “diesel” at $5.86/gallon! (data above was from our return)

One thing that I expected or may not have understood correctly is that “I thought” the CSS chargers with the NACS plugs (Tesla) would exchange billing data like the Tesla SuperChargers … making them plug and go. ABRP app review of IONNA in LimaBut no, the charging stations still require a transaction to occur as well as plugging the correct plug (or CSS adapter) into the vehicle if needed. Charges above were for our trip north to Toledo and back at the same location I used ApplePay on my AppleWatch for simplicity (receipts above)besides the Apple Card currently rewards 2% back for fueling/charging vehicles

Brenda's Tesla

I was also experimenting with a third-party “trip planning” navigation app called A Better Route Planner (ABRP) that includes a bit more planning data as well as charging stations other than SuperChargers. The FREE version seems to work just fine, even with the delays updates to every 5 minutes. I tend to turn off the iPhone display and didn’t have it charging in the car … BUT it was streaming SiriusXM radio via Bluetooth; I ended up with about 50% charge on my iPhone 16 Pro after the drive, so charging while using it might be a good idea (BTW: We are currently going without the $10/mo Tesla Premium subscription — so far, so good, but having traffic and re-routing would be nice).  

(more…)

Music Monday: Depressed to hear of the passing of Dave Mason

Posted By on May 4, 2026

Dave MasonWe are steadily losing too many of the great musicians of my youth. Last month it was Dave Mason, from the 1960’s English rock band Traffic, and solo singer/songwriter from my music listening years in the 1970s. He had been having serious heart issues and suspect most knew that his time was near. Still, reading that he was 79 has me thinking “that is way too young.” ☹️ 
 

  Dave Mason
  “We Just Disagree”

I remember his music most from his ballads, like “We Just Disagree” – below is a live version from 2013 from YouTube. I can recall listening in the car with my friend Dallas on a college break trip to Florida. We had a good time on the beach during the day and listening to music while camping at Collier Seminole State Park at night. Great memories

Take 2: Web apps for Proportions, PosterMaker and GifMaker

Posted By on May 3, 2026

Proportions CalculatorLast week I posted a TIDBIT and before fully using it, I found a couple of minor errors. So today I’m updating the code a little bit and will give it another try and add another web app: MP4 to GIF-maker

  1. First up was a Proportions Calculator
    => LINK
  2. Second a Poster Maker for .MP4 videos
    => LINK 
  3. Third – added a Gif-Maker that converts small .MP4 videos (still a size problem)
    => LINK 

*** disclaimer *** subjected to change due to
    improvements and tweaks

Another test video using the PosterMaker:
 

Another minor Tesla Mobile Service call: CCS charging upgrade

Posted By on May 2, 2026

Tesla CCS upgradeAfter having a positive Tesla Mobile Service call on our 2019 Tesla Model 3, I opted to schedule another “not all that important” upgrade. This particular improvement switches out a circuit board in the rear of the car, near the NACS plug, that will allow us to charge at non-Tesla DC Fast Chargers. I say this is not necessary unless the SuperCharger network is busy or at inconvenient intervals while traveling.

Charging Plugs

Personally, I thought it would be handy to be able to utilize some of the newer high-speed DC chargers at some of the plazas and larger fuel centers (ie. IONNA, Wawa, Flying-J, etc). I’m planning to give one a try this weekend … just so that I’m familiar with them in the future. Some of the non-Tesla charging location use the NACS (Tesla) plugs, but other use a different CCS plug which requires an adapter … similar to the J-1772 AC adapters that are used for slower overnight charging (Hm, are the DC CCS and CCSi adapters also called J1772 … at least according to the chart above?)

(more…)

Tech Friday: Embarrassed to mention a simple Apple Watch fix

Posted By on May 1, 2026

Apple Watch ZoomFor over a year, my Apple Watch occasionally changes the look of the face and created a frustrating restart “fix” for me. Over our beach walks this winter, I noticed that it was happening a bit more often — which starting me thinking that it might be my jacket sleeve or bumping my Toggle Offarm into Brenda.

Finally I did a little more digging into the problem, looking for software updates or reported issues causing the screen to balloon to a large size. Eventually I stumbled on the two-finger toggle and realized that I could have just two-fingered tap of the watch display to return to the normal size.

Since I’ve never used the setting, Goofy Emoji with tongue outit was a no-brainer just to toggle it off. What a simple fix. DUH! 

Tidbits: A couple of html helpers: Proportions and PosterMaker

Posted By on April 30, 2026

Proportions CalculatorWhile attempting to move away from the computer based software helpers (used for years – Parallels tools) or stand-alone “multi-step” software like Photoshop, Preview or Gimp … I’m tinkered with programming and setting up a couple of web-based “single purpose” apps to solve my everyday needs.

  1. First up was a Proportions Calculator
    => LINK
  2. Second a Poster Maker for .MP4 videos
    => LINK 

*** disclaimer *** subjected to change due to
    improvements and tweaks

Below is a test video using the PosterMaker:

(more…)

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog