On Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was pulled down to the consternation of leftists, who still had faith socialism could work with the right leaders, and to the delight of conservatives, who believed that socialism and communism guaranteed mutually-shared poverty.

Two years later, the Soviet Union crumbled. Soviet communism might not have endured for 70 years had it not been for enablers in academia, religion and journalism. Lloyd Billingsley has written about them in "The Generation That Knew Not Josef," as in Stalin.

When the wall fell, leftists could not bring themselves to admit they had been wrong, much less apologize for their misplaced faith. So they did what they do best: they made excuses.

The Media Research Center (MRC) has compiled reports, editorials, articles and commentary that extend over the last 22 years revealing how the pre-Fox, pre-talk radio liberal media were the handmaidens of one of the greatest totalitarian evils to strike the planet. The underlying myth in much of their "reporting," notes the MRC's Rich Noyes, was that free market capitalism was a greater threat to human happiness than communism.

Reading these quotes, in light of history, resembles a "Saturday Night Live" comedy skit. Read On

It makes no sense to see Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, as represented in at least one family account, as the victim of "harassment" by fellow soldiers (and therefore a candidate for "understanding"?) He's an officer. Soldiers don't harass officers.

It makes no sense to suggest he'd been traumatized by narratives he had heard concerning the awfulness of combat in Iraq and therefore resisted the idea of deployment there. He's an Army psychiatrist, not a rifleman. Since when, anyway -- read "The Iliad" for confirmation -- has combat been other than awful? Read On

YOUR POWER TO INVEST In June, financier Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running a $50 billion investment con that fooled bankers, economists, insurance executives, pension-fund managers, and thousands of individual clients — including film mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, actors Kevin Bacon and John Malkovich, and baseball great Sandy Koufax.

The fact that Mr. Madoff's operation had once seemed to be a reputable business run by an experienced investor with a solid reputation had many investors rightly wondering, "Can I really trust the people handling my money?"

Trust is a necessary ingredient in the investment arena, as well as in life generally. But a wise investor should adopt the standard President Ronald Reagan used in dealing with the Soviet Union: "Trust, but verify." Before entrusting money to a company or an adviser, an investor has the right to ask questions and examine evidence related to what will be done with the money. Read On

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