This morning I came across a great piece by Ron Christie on the Hill's Pundits Blog commenting on President Obama's speech this past Tuesday to the graduates of the New Economic School in Moscow.

As Mr. Christie notes, President Obama provides quite the revisionist take on the Cold War and how communism met its ultimate demise.

According to the President:

"And then, within a few short years, the world as it was ceased to be. Now, make no mistake: This change did not come from any one nation. The Cold War reached a conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years, and because the people of Russia and Eastern Europe stood up and decided that its end would be peaceful."

Sounds great, but too bad it didn't happen that way. First off, communism's reign was not a short and sanguine one, and its end did not come arbitrarily. As Mr. Christie notes:

"The ignorance of American and world history, evinced in just two short sentences, is shockingly revealing. First, Mr. President, I daresay the people of Russia and Eastern Europe hardly decided to stand up and decide that the Cold War's conclusion would be peaceful. You might ask the citizens of Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria to name a few countries if their polite request for the Soviet Empire to withdraw from their borders was met with a peaceful response."

Second, there was one nation that can be credited above others for the fall of communism, and that's the United States:

"The United States held the Russians at bay while supporting the Solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa in Poland and others who dared to rise up against the Soviet Union in their quest for freedom and democracy."

I don't understand why the President can not give our nation the credit it's due when he travels abroad. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Mr. President; we live in the greatest country in the world.
 

Last week, I was surprised to hear Congressman Tim Walz (MN-1) come out in favor of holding Guantanamo Bay terrorist-detainees at facilities in Minnesota.

Congressman Walz agrees with President Obama that Guantanamo Bay should be closed and he’s willing to house the detainees right here on Minnesota soil.  The President has been unable to get other nations of the world to take them, but apparently Minnesota’s First District will step up to the plate.

Congressman John Kline (MN-2) and I introduced legislation that would keep any detainees from coming to Minnesota – anywhere in Minnesota. I am also a co-sponsor of H.R. 1012, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to transfer these terrorists to anywhere in the U.S.

It is simply irresponsible to shut down a facility that houses dangerous terrorists and transfer them to our neighborhoods. To transfer terrorists anywhere near Minnesota residents – or any American citizen for that matter, is a risk we cannot afford to take.