Dear FreedomFest Attendees,
Fidel Castro was a brutal communist dictator and war criminal whose life spanned almost the entire era of the rise and fall of Communism. He was born just nine years after the Bolshevik Revolution began in Russia, and lived to see the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But Communism is still not dead. Under Fidel’s brother Raul, the Castro regime still dominates economic and political life on the island, controlling nearly three quarters of the economy, and suppressing dissidents. Expect another crackdown when the economy founders soon due to the loss of oil from Venezuela (which is another communist disaster).
Castro and his heavy-handed bullies destroyed the lives of millions of freedom-loving Cubanos. Thousands fled to Florida. When I was in Miami two months ago, I visited the Freedom Tower and read the tragic “Peter Pan” story about the 14,000 children who were flown to the US by their Cuban parents so they could escape being indoctrinated in the class room by Castro and the Communists. Then I watched the 7-minute video put out by the Beckett Fund on the brutal nature of the Castro regime. It’s the story of the “blood poet” Armando Vallardares, who was tortured for 10 years by the Castro regime. We will be showing this moving film at the Anthem Film Festival this year.
Capitalism vs. Communism: Who’s Winning the 100-Year War?
With the Berlin Wall coming down in 1989 and the Soviet Union collapsing in 1991, you would think that Communism is dead. But like a virus, it keeps coming back…in Cuba, North Korea, China, and even the Middle East.
That’s why next year at our 10th anniversary of Freedom Fest (July 19-22, 2017, Paris Resort, Las Vegas) are going to present a major session on “Capitalism vs Communism: Who’s Winning the 100-Year War of Ideas?” The year 1917 marked the start of two opposing forces: the publication of Forbes magazine, America’s first pro-capitalist business magazine, and the Bolshevik Revolution and the march of Marxism-Leninism.
We will have special sessions on communist influence through the so-called “romantic revolutionaries” such as Saul Alinsky, Antonio Gramsci, John Reed, and Che Guevera.
Saul Alinsky famously trained a young Hillary Rodham in political warfare. In fact, she wrote her master’s thesis on his tactics to make radical change for America. Hillary almost rode his strategies all the way to the White House. (Alinsky also influenced Barack Obama.) We are planning a big debate, “Saul Alinksy, Community Organizer: Radical Communist or Freedom Fighter?” Dinesh D’Sousa will argue that Alinsky advocated Machiavellian methods to achieve radical goals. Defending Alinsky will be Ralph Benko, director of the Alinsky Center. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, will moderate this debate.
100 Years of Forbes Magazine – “Bastion of Capitalism”
But there’s good news too. We are also celebrating 100 years of Forbes Magazine, calling it “The Year of the Businessman,” especially with Donald Trump being elected president. We’ll have a special session on the impact Forbes had on business and investing, with Steve Forbes; Rich Karlgaard, the publisher since 1998; and Ken Fisher, who holds the record for writing a Forbes column for 33 years and is a member of the Forbes 400 Richest People in America.
Steve Forbes Turns 70 at Next Year’s FreedomFest!
Steve Forbes turns 70 years old during the week of our conference, so we are celebrating Mr. Forbes’s life and work with several important session and a birthday party on Saturday night. My wife Jo Ann and I met with him last week and he graciously and enthusiastically agreed to our plans. We expect major media coverage for this event, as well as members of the Forbes 400 and a record audience.
Who knows, maybe even the new President will show up! We were surprised and pleased to see Donald Trump adopt next year’s FreedomFest theme in his Thanksgiving message last week: “Let us boldly face the new frontiers that lie ahead.” Our theme is “Exploring New Frontiers” with the Captain of Free Enterprise, our keynote celebrity speaker, William Shatner.
This is going to be our biggest and best FreedomFest ever, so now is the time to plan a trip to Vegas in July. We are expecting a record turnout, so I encourage you to sign up now and take advantage of our “early bird” discount — save $100 per person/$200 per couple over the registration fee — which ends on January 15.
Our registration page is now up and running, so go to https://archive.freedomfest.com/register-now/ You can also register by calling our toll-free number 1-855-850-3733, ext. 202, and talk to Jennifer, Amy, Heather or Karen. Call today!
In liberty, AEIOU,
Mark Skousen
