A personal account of the suffering under the communist oppression in the Soviet Union experienced by three generations of a family.
The Iron Broom <<Link to Amazon
This book is extremely well-written and hard to put down. It reads much like those Reader’s Digest “Drama in Real Life” stories.
Every young person in America who has been duped into believing that we should abandon our current form of government for communism should read this book. The author, his parents and grandparents suffered unbelievable oppression, poverty and misery trying to survive a government system designed to pulverize the human soul and destroy families.
One example was when the author’s grandfather was suddenly taken away as political prisoner, and his grandmother and mother were left to starve to death. But scouring the home for anything they could eat, they found in a closet a small pile of grains left by a mouse who could access the government grain bins without being arrested or shot. They ate the grains, and discovered the mouse gathered another pile the next night. For two weeks they survived eating the grains brought by the mouse.
But the tactics of the Soviet government, the corruption, the control of media, weaponization of government, the punishments given out to those who spoke in protest, all too eerily remind this reviewer of the behavior of Democrats in America in 2026.
My only caution about this book is if you start it, be sure you have time in your schedule because you won’t be able to put it down.
“The Iron Broom sweeps away human trash,” as the Soviet saying went. If communists gain control of the USA, you won’t have to wait long to find out who they deem to be human trash.
Read this book and get a glimpse of our future if Mayor Mamdani and his ilk have their way with us.
There are only three options to describe the people who advocate that we give up our current system of government in exchange for communism.
They are either ignorant, insane, or evil. There are no other options.
The Hedgehog Report - Phoenix Edition 
55 responses to “New Must-Read Book”
First
LikeLike
The author said that everyone was glad to receive the Pravda newspaper. Otherwise, they would have no means to afford toilet paper, sandwich wrappers, and a host of other uses to which the paper could be put.
LikeLike
Interesting. My friend who was born and raised in the Soviet Union is a Trump supporter. His family were allowed to move to the U.S. as refugees when he was 12 (sorry, Tina). He can’t stand Democrats. He calls Jews who don’t support Israel self-hating Kappos. However, he rejects the comparison of Democrats to communists and Marxists because he lived under the real system.
LikeLike
“However, he rejects the comparison of Democrats to communists and Marxists because he lived under the real system.”
A fair point, and I suspect the author of the book above would agree. However, the seed ideas are there. Sure it’s not a one-for-one comparison, but many Democrats in power love controlling information, and getting away with no pushback to their lies. They desperately long for ONE national opinion on everything (theirs), government indoctrination in schools to prevent resistance, and they hate the fact that the people are armed. They want to destroy wealth and make everyone equally impoverished. And they want to, and already have, used government agencies to persecute those who have not committed crimes but are considered political enemies.
So yes, its not fair to compare the Democrat Fetterman, Andy Beshear, or even Mark Warner, or others like that. But those people are quickly shrinking in the Democratic Party. The new direction is clearly Mamdani, AOC, Omar, and the others. They now control the party. Don’t forget the state of the union speech where Dems were turning around to see Omar to know if it was okay to clap or stand.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Furthermore, when you consider all the university educated young people in our country who have been brainwashed to pursue communism here in the USA, which party to do they turn to in order to see this dream realized? The GOP or Dems?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tavern Research now has the Maine Senate race:
Collins 49
Nazi whacko pervert 51
LikeLike
DW – I see your point. Cream soda.
LikeLiked by 1 person
and I believe that Tavern Research is a Dem polling firm.
LikeLike
oil prices are down over $2 today
trade deficit came in below expectations.
LikeLike
Another gem from the book, when the author was a teenager and needing an emergency appendix removal, he waited in the Soviet hospital, but the expected call into surgery never came the day they said it would. So the boy’s father mumbled something about getting a bag of grain and disappeared.
The next morning the boy was wheeled into surgery. But then the horror began as it was performed with NO anesthesia. Turns out the father could only afford to grease the palm of the surgeon with enough grain to get the surgery done, but not enough to also get anesthesia to knock him out.
LikeLike
Looks like the Ds will win the ca governors race by 20%. It’s the registration advantage that Ds have fueled by fraud and cartels.
LikeLike
Be nice if the supreme ct dropped the opinion on Election Day vote counts.
Not sure if beotchy or Souter go rino
LikeLike
There was another story about a Soviet style tooth extraction. I will spare you the gory details.
LikeLike
Another theme in that book was the common practice that whenever someone in the Soviet system ran into a question that couldn’t easily be answered, one turned to Vodka, not to answer the question but to forget it. And apparently there were many of these tough questions.
LikeLike
To ensure the gulag prison guards would shoot to kill anyone trying to escape, they were promised three weeks of leave if they successfully killed an escaping prisoner.
LikeLike
DW,
thanks for the recommendation.
Another very enlightening book is “Why They Behave Like Russians” by George Keenan. It is a fascinating look into the mindset of Russians, particularly under communism.
An easy read, but an eye opener. Their view toward negotiation with other countries…their view of the low value of human life (unlike the high value in the western world), how they deal with “the system”, etc.
I shared some of this with my students when I taught world cultures years ago…
Funny that you were going to have a post recommending this book today and last night I had recommended the books by Phillip Gulley.
Great minds think alike….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Both DW’s and Walt’s book recommendations seem eye-opening, especially to people who might take our freedoms for granted. Unfortunately, with some of the election malfeasance going on throughout the country, such governance is not an impossible reality here. Looking at our CA elections is a prime example of how elections can be manipulated.
Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
·
HOLY SMOKES. Governor candidate Steve Hilton just revealed the stunning reality of California fraud: They ALLOW mail-in ballots to BACKDATE by HAND so they can be counted late, and not invalid “It’s NOT just the postmark. YOU CAN HAND-WRITE THE DATE!” “Just to be really clear: you can BACKDATE YOUR BALLOT.” “BY HAND.” “And it will be counted.” “That’s how insane this system is.”
LikeLike
“how they deal with ‘the system’”
the author of The Iron Broom pointed out that the system is designed so that the only way you can climb the ladder is if another human is under your foot, each step up.
LikeLike
Cornyn vs Paxton was a controversial choice for Texans to make. However, only a few weeks after Cornyn lost the primary he became more honest about what kind of a conservative player he really was.
” Two weeks after losing the Republican runoff to Ken Paxton, he was asked by CNN’s Manu Raju whether his defeat had given him more freedom to break with President Trump. Cornyn did not hedge. “Are you kidding? Of course. Absolutely. MY LIBERATION DAY: MAY 26.“ Read that again with the care it deserves. A man describes the obligation to support the president of his own party as a captivity, and he assigns the date of his release to the precise day the voters stripped away his electoral incentive. He was not liberated from Democrats, who never had a claim on him. He was liberated from Texas Republican primary voters, and from the daily labor of pretending to be something he was not.”
LikeLike
the book I mentioned last night was not written bt George Kennan. The authors last name is Fischer.
LikeLike
John Fischer, I think…
LikeLike
Zzzzzzzzz Cornyn is a conservative. Trump is not. Cornyn was not required to rubber stamp Trump’s policies if he disagreed with them.
LikeLike
Bitter, if Cornyn is a conservative why didn’t he support the SAVE Act to ensure voter ID and citizenship would be part of voting?
LikeLike
Bitter, what legislation or positions has Cornyn taken, over 4 terms in office, which were memorable in showing him to be a rock solid conservative, rather than a self-serving politician.
LikeLike
Jan – Because he did not want the Republican Party to destroy itself by ending the filibuster
. That would be a nightmare for the country the next time Democrats control the Senate.
LikeLike
Jan and the rest of the Cult confuse conservatism with blind devotion to Trump. It is ironic since Trump was supporting hard-core leftists with donations for decades.
LikeLike
The verdict is in but not announced yet in the Anthony case in Texas. From what I heard, I believe it was first degree murder but Jury might compromise on manslaughter. Developing…..
LikeLike
Bitter, what legislation or positions has Cornyn taken, over 4 terms in office”
Cornyn defended conservative causes and voted for conservative judges for decades while Trump was funding Planned Parenthood, the DSCC, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer.
Cornyn EARNED the right to be called a conservative Republican because he WAS and IS a conservative Republican.
He didn’t borrow the terms in the last 5 minutes of his political life like Trump did.
Let’s get real.
LikeLike
He was liberated from Texas Republican primary voters, and from the daily labor of pretending to be something he was not.”
No, he was liberated from pressure to agree with Trump 100% of the time.
LikeLike
Guilty of murder.
LikeLike
who is Anthony?
LikeLike
DW – High school student Karmelo Anthony was convicted of murdering another high school student at a track meet by stabbing him. It started off with Anthony being asked to leave the other team’s tent and he refused multiple times. It escalated with the killer saying don’t put your hands on me or you’ll find out. Victim touched him but not violently. Idiotic teen boy stuff that left one boy dead and the other boy ruining his life. Self-defense claim did not fly.
LikeLike
More details on the trial.
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15886439/karmelo-anthony-austin-metcalf-murder-verdict.html
LikeLike
And now the protesters outside the court start attacking anyone they deem to be aligned with the deceased. 🙄
LikeLike
okay, so it was a situation that showcased man’s depravity where there are 100 losers and no winners.
LikeLike
The moral of the murder case is do not bring a knife to a track meet and do not name your kid after a candy bar.
LikeLike
Just saw another picture of James Talarico. I knew he reminded me of someone. Just couldn’t put a finger on it.
Then it dawned on me. The guy looks like an older version of Richie Cunningham of Happy Days-without the red hair.
LikeLike
Why is this Rino moonlighting? He should be stripped of all committee assignments.
https://x.com/VinceCoglianese/status/2064451551872299455
LikeLike
LikeLike
Republicans pass bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the end of President Trump’s term, bypassing Democrats’ demands for reforms.
Does that include all of the Republicans Tina hates?
LikeLike
Congrats to Steve Hilton for being in a runoff. That said, I can’t see Mr. Hilton being elected Governor of California.
The math is just not on his side.
If Steve Hilton garners at least 45% of the vote in November it will be a huge accomplishment.
But the math is just not there in California for him to win.
LikeLike
Unfortunately, John, you’re probably right about Hilton’s chances.
LikeLike
Today was national Donald Duck day.
Surprised none of you all mentioned this…
Donald Duck was in more Disney movies than any other character.
It always surprised Mr that Donald did not have a stoke. He always got extremely agitated and I am sure his blood pressure was always through the roof.
never understood why he wore a coat , but no pants…
LikeLike
Donald Duck’s middle name was Fauntleroy.
LikeLike
The Obergruppenfuhrer officially wins the D nod in ME; Ribbentrop has worked it out with Molotov, Bernie and AOC will show up to stump for him throughout the Fall.
LikeLike
I was worried about Maine. But, now I think the a-hole will likely beat Collins.
LikeLike
Momtgery CountyMD County school system
156,000 students
what do you think the school budget is for next year
●●●●●
$3.72 BILLION
———
156,000 students
How many times teachers a d other staff ( central office, school secretaries. Custodians, cooks, principals vice principals, guidance counselors, security guards, bus drivers, aides, etc?
A. 15,000 school employees
B. 18,000
C. 20,000
D. 22,500
E. 25,000
■■■■■■
answer is E. 25,000…yes, one school emploee for every 6 students.
——
The County government voted to increase next year’s cointy school budget by 3% over current year.
This is less than the school board was asking for.
The County school board has now voted to cut 415 positions for next year.
The County school employees instead wanted the school board to raise property tax by another 6%, UT that did not happen.
LikeLike
https://nypost.com/2026/06/08/us-news/trump-admin-live-updates-on-iran-war-congress-june-8-9-10-11/
I do not believe people can change.
LikeLike
The AVERAGE Teacher in Montgomery County MD makes $87,000 a year.
In WV, with 33 years experience and a B.A. and an M.A. degree and almost 60 graduate hours beyond that my highest teacher salary (in 2002) was $46,000.
My wife continued to teach while I served in the legislature and when she retired after 45 years in the classroom and with a B.A. and an M.A. plus 60+ hours beyond that and she was selected as Young Educator of the Year early in her career, and was selected as Teacher of the Year in her county late in her career her pay was about $65,000 a year.
Had I stayed in the classroom and taught another 15 years instead of serving in the legislature for $20,000 a year salary (plus per diem given to cover living expenses over and above what I actually spent, and per day pay for special sessions bringing total annual compensation to about $41,000 to $42,000 a year) I would also have retired with final salary being about $65,000 in my county as there were a number of state pay raises that were given between 2003 and 2018.
As a result her monthly retirement check is twice what mine is.
In the legislature we were also given transportation reimbursement for every mile we drive back and forth to the capital during regular legislative sessions, special sessions, interim meetings that was so much per mile…It was very generous…, something like 54 cents per mile…
LikeLike
in WV the number of student per school employee is something like 1 school employee for every 12 or so students.
●●●●
Montgomery county MD it is one school employee for every 6 students.
LikeLike
Graham Platner appears to be fully formed. He is the same guy today as the one who was trying to pick up women a few years ago and the same guy who inflates his importance by being a keyboard warrior.
Is Angry the recipe to win this year?
LikeLike
Goofball update
So far the guy living at the Rescue Mission has called to have me come take him somewhere on:
June 2 (Dr appt, shopping at two different stores like Family Dollar and Super Shoes, bank to withdraw so.e mo wy to pay me my $10 and of course a trip to McDonalds)
June 3 (Dr. Appt. Walgreen sbopping and McDonalds) He made another appt for this doctor for July 2. I told him wife and I will be in Canada that week on a trip. Told him to call them and change appt. Far as I know ow he has uet to do that…
June 4 Dr. Appt, post office to mail a letter, shopping and McDonalds)
June 8 (Drop off a bag of his clothes at Goodwill, post office to get stamps, Family Dollar and McDonalds)
June 10 (tomorrow) (Walgreens, drop off a housing application and McDonalds)
■■■■
Yes, I charge his dumb ass $10 every day I have to drive to town to run him around…
I am about ready take it $20 a trip…
—–
LAST WEEK, I TOOK THE TIME TO WRITE DOWN ALL THE DAYS IN JUNE AND JULY THAT I AM NOT FREE TO TAKE HIM ANYWHERE. He thanked me and put it in his wallet.
BUT EACH TIME HE CALLS GOOFBALL SAYS, “I have not looked at the list of days you gave me where you are not avIlable, but can you take me somewhere tomorrow?”
LikeLike
5 times hauling Goofball in a ten day stretch….too much…
Wife is p!ssed that I have not spray painted the fence posts that were replaced and about 80 feet of fence on the outside facing the highway on the bottom 4 or 5 inches of the board fence where it has faded a little and you can notice that if you bother to look hard.
If I did not use the weed wacker on the outside of the fence, the 6 inch high grass would prevent it from being seen.
Hope to get the paint spraying done tomorrow afternoon…
LikeLike
Bon giorno!
LikeLike
new thread
LikeLike