Abe and the Avante festival in Lisbon: a coincidence?

Iberian Marxist monkeybusiness
Portugal, once one of the most aggressive imperialist nations on earth, is now reduced to being merely quaint. Of course, one might say Portugal (and, to a lesser extent, Spain) never really had much going for them. Their golden days of yore were built on stolen goods and slave labor. Without their 'colonies' to fuel their economic growth, the Portuguese are back to sardine fishing and wine making. And sharing, like the good Marxists many of them are.

The remains of former grandeur, properly maintained and managed, can do much to prop up an otherwise sorry socialist economy. The city of Lisbon has these assets in spades. As a tourist destination, (read: trap) it is a natural. Same goes for business travellers. Where would you rather have your convention, Lisbon or Omaha?

Like I said, they are 'good Marxists': they don't act crazy like North Korea; they don't have any oil like Argentina; they don't throw their weight around like China or thumb their noses at us like the rest of Europe. (Actually, they do, but it is such a small nose, nobody notices.) They don't even make us feel bad about ourselves like Cuba does for allowing Marxist abuses right in our front yard.

The Big Airlines and Big Hotel Industry will ensure you enjoy your visit to Lisbon. And the cash you drop there will enable the natives to continue living the dream in a Marxist la-la land.

Come on over! The accommodations are great, the food is excellent, and the wine, well, at least it is widely known. Don't let the commies scare you, they are harmless!

So the old feeder was wondering what kind of business Abe, of Don't Let Me Stop You, had in Lisbon recently. I wonder if it was the big anniversary celebration for the "Advance" (Avante!), the newspaper of the Portuguese Communist Party. many big-wigs from the not-so-free world are there, along with great entertainments. It must be a coincidence; Abe wouldn't, would he? Maybe he is spying on the Reds for Nebraska or the Feds. Anyhow, New Values is the theme of the Festa Avante, as their logo clearly illustrates:

Here are some of the featured acts that hail from the USA appearing at the big commie love fest:

Buffy St. Marie, Charlie Haden, Chicago Blues Explosion!, Eddie Bo, Holly Near, Jon Fromer, Kermitt Ruffins & The Barbecue Swingers, Max Roach Quartet, Melanie, Mike Glick and The New Song Trio, Odetta e Josh White, Rebel Voices, Richie Havens, Si Kahn, The Band.

These cats don't have to work State Fairs! Not when espousing Marxist thought in your act can get gigs like this for them. Lisbon is their kind of town. New values, indeed. New and improved values. So new it takes the new Marxist man to appreciate them. All others will be reeducated or shot. But not by the happy dancing dreamers in Lisbon. They are harmless. I hope Abe enjoyed the imperialist relics.

My mother was genuinely upset the first time she saw the Acropolis. Of the much vaunted Parthenon, she said, "If this is the most beautiful building ever, you'd think the Greeks would have kept it up better."