It is not often that you can watch a nation crumble in real time, but this is what is happening to Germany. On February 14 and April 12 of this past year, this blog posted “The New Sick Man of Europe”, parts I and II. Here is part III, the story of how a government is following an ideology no matter what the costs. In fact, the German fanatical adherence to going “Green” has increased the pollution which is the very item that their program is designed to defeat!

It has gotten to the point where the politicians who lead Germany are actually a danger to the average German. After spending billions and billions of Euros and seeing increases in pollution, jobs lost, a high rate of business bankruptcies, lay offs in the auto industry for the first time in the history of that industry and skyrocketing energy costs, the “leaders” of Germany are unable to keep hobbled together a government which can address the problems created in the past several years. And we must not forget the problems caused by an immigration system which, instead of bringing in skilled workers, does in effect, do the exact opposite (not the mention the wholesale rejection of Western values by those same immigrants).

Now is really the time to ask, Quo Vadis, Germany? And, if Germany continues on its current path, why?

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21244/europe-germany-renewable-energy

By 1945, the Communist had developed the restructuring of a nation to a fine art. Why not? They had broken the peoples of the Ukraine, the Baltic nations, the Poles, and others who lived as far away as the Pacific Ocean. The formula is easy; denounce and arrest the leaders of any society. Priests and nuns? Of course, as they preach adherence to a power other than the State. Teachers? Definitely as who knows what anti-Communist thoughts they would offer to students. Former politicians, civic leaders, police officials and university professors? Why not as who will stop the new government?

But what to do with them? After nearly thirty years of practical experience, plus having watched the policies of the Nazis for a decade and a half, the answer was simple; degrade them, push them down, down, down and break their spirits. They could never be resurrected as a new, Soviet man, but they could be a living example of what happens to those who oppose the power of the new Communist regime.

What would happen if the United States was hit by a limited nuclear attack; an attack that because of the electromagnetic pulse given off by atomic weapons, all auto engines, computers, telephones, refrigerators, in fact, anything build after the mid-1970’s that ran on electricity was simply fried, incapable of working? That is the premise of this novel and no, it the attack was not carried out by terrorists but by the Soviet Union (the book was originally published in 1984. Yet, because of our concern over the possibility of terrorists getting a nuclear weapon, this book has suddenly had a second resurrection.

Aside from the obvious problems of tens of millions of Americans suddenly being forced to live as their great-great-great-great grandparents did, suddenly learning to farm, seldom being able to travel more than a few miles from their homes unless they had a horse, there could be the problems of parts of the United States going off on their own as the Federal government is either destroyed in the attack, or unable to impose its will beyond a short radius from their offices. Suddenly California, the Golden State creates heavily policed border crossings, not to keep out Hispanics, but to keep out millions of Americans who do not want to face typical winters and food shortages because coal is not available to heat their houses. Perhaps the old border between Mexico and Texas will become a no man’s land as local war lords fight both the Texas and Mexico governments as they try to create their own country. For those lucky enough to have cars or refrigerators build before they relied on computers, where will the fuel come from and how long will electricity be provided each day.

Finally, will countries like Japan, China and the Europeans see the natural resources of the United States as easy pickings to be plundered as the price paid from medicines and basic technologies will be provided on a rationed basis to the United States? Which of those countries would have a vested interest in having the U.S. become strong again when we could be kept weak and provide a willing work force.

Think it cannot happen? Think we could bounce back quickly? Then let me ask you this; if we had that type of catastrophe, if suddenly your car, your computer, your phone could not work, how long could you survive in such a brave new world?

Well written, thought provoking. Worth a read.

During a recent trip which included Budapest, Hungary, I visited the House of Terror which was originally called the House of Loyalty by the fascist Arrow Cross party until the end of the Second World War, and then the House of Terror when it was taken over by the newly installed Communist regime. This was not the first visit to the building, but it is so stark that it merits multiple visits to begin to understand the horrors that Communism has foisted on individuals around the world.
Many years ago, my first Political Science professor was a Hungarian immigrant. He had a “life”; he was in the Hungarian army during World War II, was critical of the Germans, was arrested and thrown into a camp. When the Soviets “liberated” Hungary, they put him into the new communist government since the Nazis had arrested him. He survived the purge of Laszlo Rajk and was designated to be the Minister of the Interior by during the Hungarian revolution in 1956. When the revolution failed, he fled Hungary and ended up in Detroit in the Hungarian neighborhood. Given his background, he had an honored place in the community, but as he said, “I would be a big fish in a little pond”. He learned English, went to university in the U.S. and moved into the big pond (all of the U.S.) where he became a professor and real estate developer: a real capitalist!
He brought his real-world experiences to the class and was instrumental in making his students realize that those who believe in Socialism or Communism are not open to rational thought. Because of their religious like belief in their dogmas, compromise is not an option,
At various points in the House of Terror are excellent handouts explaining various sections and actions of the prison. I shall forward one each week so that you may better understand what the reality of life under a Communist system offers.

Living in a year-round vacation land (Southern California), my wife and I enjoy going to colder areas for December as a real change of pace. Eastern Europe (or as the Europeans prefer to say, Central Europe) offers advantages, such as fewer tourists, lower prices, a lower crime rate and world-famous Christmas fairs. Although it takes a bit longer to get there, the effort is well worth the time.

HUNGARY: Unfortunately, our connecting flight out of London was missed (for details, read the section on travel considerations) so we arrived in Budapest late in the evening, thus losing about half a day of our stay. Yet we made the best of it and walked through some of the Christmas fairs that are centered around the high-end shopping district. The weather was just above freezing but dry with no wind, so it was great to purchase a hot drink at any of the stalls which offer all sorts of traditional Hungarian foods and sweets as well as handy crafts, Christmas ornaments, etc. Take your drink, grab a sausage or a Hungarian pizza called a “Langosh,” sit at one of the tables and enjoy the sights and sounds of the holiday. You will not mind the temperature as everyone is smiling and having a wonderful time. The evening was a success, and we looked forward to the next couple of days in a beautiful city along the Danube.

The next day, to help you counter your jet lag, you might want to visit one of the thermal baths that are around Budapest. I suggest you try the Szechenyi bath which was built around 1910. All you need is a swimsuit, a towel and flip-flops and you are set to go. For a small fee you get a cubby hole locking changing room in which you can leave your valuables and you are set to go. As the temperature was about 37 degrees, we covered the distance from the changing room to the water quickly and then immersed ourselves in the wonderfully warm water. The steam coming off the water, the darkness of the day all served to welcome us to a wonderful experience. There were others already in the water including couples, two men seriously discussing either politics or business, families (children must be at least fourteen). Of course, there were those who were taking selfies and others who were just floating, enjoying the warmth as it soaked into every bit of your body. There is also a sauna and indoor pools, plus a pool just for swimming. I suggest you make a reservation as the baths are extremely popular and check to see what services are available (some have single sex days, wave machines, etc.). Do not worry about being gawked at, you will see all kinds of body shapes, but each one is concentrating on enjoying the thermal waters.

The city has a large number of museums, but we had been to Budapest before and there are sights which are not on most tourists’ radar. One is the House of Terror. No, it is not a Disney sight gone bad, but rather the old center of the Hungarian Soviet secret police. It was originally known as the House of Loyalty when it was the headquarters of the fascist Arrow-Cross party during World War II. After the war, the Soviet imposed government took over the building, execution, and torture cells and all. On display are the actual execution chambers, interrogation rooms and devices, plus the thousands of photos and stories of individuals who ran afoul of the Communist regime through thought, word, or deed. It is good to see young adults in the museum so that the reality of that brave new world can be remembered.
There are two items which are so important to understand the Hungarian psyche; the revolution of 1848 when Hungary tried to gain total independence from the Hapsburgs and the decades of Communist rule when at least 20% of the population was either arrested, tortured, investigated, spied upon or sent to Hungarian political prisons. The Hungarians have lived under Communism, so they are hardly likely to put up with any form of authoritarian rule; they want order but not order at any price, so Budapest is blessed with wonderful statues of Hungarian hero is going back hundreds of years. In fact, one of the first things the Hungarians did after the overthrow of Communism was to remove the imposing and brutal Soviet statues, busts, and plaques and deposit them in the “Memento Park” which is open 365 days a year. It is filled with Communist statues of the “heroic realism” school and well worth a visit to see the mindset of the totalitarians.

Handy Tips
• American Express is not used in Hungary: Master Card and Visa, no problem.
• Hungarians also accept cash (with a relish)! It is common if you hail a cab for the driver to ask you, “Cash or card.” You will find life easier if you say, “Cash.” And forget about getting a receipt for your taxi; writing War and Peace is easier than going through the procedure to secure a receipt.
• Tipping is fine, normally 10% will bring you a smile and a warm “Koszonom” (thank you).
• In the past several years, cigarette smoking has been largely replaced by vaping which can be done only out of doors, just as with tobacco smoking.
• The streets are clean, the people obey the walk/do not walk signs at intersections so pretend you are a native and everything will be great.
• As with most of Europe, making reservations for dinner is strongly encouraged. You do not want to scuttle restaurant to restaurant, hat in hand, trying to find a table.
• Hungarian is not an easy language, especially if you have no ear for languages like mol,
but it is always nice to try to have a couple of phrases while visiting a foreign land. Take the time to look up simple terms or words, (Koszi for “Thanks” or Koszonom for “thank you) even names of foods; English is widely understood and spoke in Budapest but even if you slaughter a word in Hungarian, a local will appreciate your bold attempt. Be the “good American” ambassador.
• If you have a connecting flight through Heathrow, make sure you allow more than 1/1/2 hour to catch your connector. Weather days and a very inefficient security system can make a simple procedure into a major British project.

Budapest has no shortage of good restaurants, from “new age organic” like Tati (From Farm to Table), to Italian, Mercatino (try their black pasta with shrimp). The real fun is the traditional Hungarian restaurants such as Punakorzo or Rez Kaakas. Hungarian food tends to be hardy so order accordingly.

VIENNA: Travel to Vienna from Budapest is easy, with a flight, train, or private car. A private car, while more expensive, is door to door, eliminates security checks and is much easier on the psyche.
What to say about Vienna that is not already known? A wonderful city full of history, excellent restaurants, and very good and proper Viennese service. Here are a couple of highlights which you might consider if you are looking for something different:
• Austrian military museum: Housed in a former military garrison, you are introduced to hundreds of years of military commanders as you enter the building. Their life size marble statues reflect the time when war still had a mystique of honor, rules, and glory. The building itself is one room after another of statues, paintings and exhibits tracing from the time of the Ottoman invasions to the end of World War I (although this was our second visit, the period from 1933-1945 does not seem to be covered for some strange reason). There is also a panzer and naval section which is worth a visit. The price is right (no charge), and you will understand a bit better the beautiful palaces and government buildings that you will see in the city center.
• Museums: There are museums enough and it is wise to plan your visit as not all museums are open on all the same days. The typical guide, available for no charge at your hotel, will not only give you an excellent overview of each museum and how long to budget for each (five hours is not unusual). Do not overextend yourself!
• Public Transportation: Inexpensive and on time (especially the trams and subway). And, easy to use even if you do not know German.
• Tipping: Most restaurants include a 14% service charge (often marked on the menu or on the listed on the bill) but do not be afraid to ask your server if it is included. Cabs appreciate a 10% tip and do not forget a little something for your concierge if they help you with bookings, etc.
• Central Cemetery: Although Vienna has over fifty cemeteries, this is the largest with over 300,000 monuments and over three million burials. Beethoven and Salari are both buried here as well as from all occupations and religion. The Jewish section is interesting for it is well preserved but I was not able to find out if it was destroyed during the war, rebuilt or what as most of the monuments are beautiful and look new. It was a cold, overcast day and the stillness of the grounds with the black crows perched on some monuments introduced many interesting thoughts.

No visit to Vienna is complete without a visit to Schonbrun which was the residence of the Hapsburg Emperor’s. Unlike Versailles, which was built by the French King’s to overawe the French nobles, Schonbrun was an actual residence for the emperors. Yes, there were balls and meetings at the palace, but they were based on invitations from the emperors themselves.
A treat is a dinner at Schonbrun followed by a Mozart concert in one of the beautiful rooms. They have a number of options (based on where you will be seated) from about 107-170 Euros per person, dinner included. I would recommend only signing up for the concert (about 1/1/2 hours long with a break) as only one entrée is provided and you might want to have a wider selection for your meal. The selection of pieces, both musical and vocal, are excellent and you are sitting close enough to really enjoy watching and matching the sounds to the various instruments. Enjoy!
Another meal treat is lunch or dinner at Figlmuller, for the best wiener schnitzel in Vienna. I have been there several times over a period of thirty years and the quality of service and food is always top notch! It is a real treasure to the locals, and they have two locations, yet I strongly recommend reservations. Do not make them at your own peril!
Finally, if you are looking for a good steak at a reasonable price, try Steak Point. We met a couple from Riverside during the Schonbrun concert, and they wanted to tell us about this place, but we already knew about it. Nice steaks, good sides and very reasonable.

Warsaw: A flight of just over one hour brings you to one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. A people who has long viewed themselves as the Christian bulwark against the Mongols, Turks, and Communists, they like other Eastern European nations (such as the Baltic nations, Hungary, etc.) can be a stubborn in the EU, but they know too well the price of collectivism.
We managed a one-bedroom suite at the beautiful Hotel Bristol, the hotel where Madam Curie accepted her Nobel Prize. It is next to the Presidential palace and a few steps from the Old Town city center. It is in that center where one of my grandfathers drove a taxi (horse and buggy in those days). If he were late coming home, his wife would worry that that he was caught up in one of the usual Cossack raids where people could be cut down in the streets (Warsaw at that time was under Imperial Russian control). It was because of that fear and the danger of being drafted into the Russian army that they left for the new world. A very personal thank you from me to them!

Although 90% of Warsaw was totally destroyed in WWII, especially after the Warsaw uprising, rather than leaving the ruins as an example of what war can do, the stubborn Poles dug out the old drawings, maps, etc. of the old town area and rebuilt it as it was in 1939. The Christmas market there is very special with stalls, lights and the wonderful warm windows of the restaurants which surround the central plaza. Then they did the same for much of the rest of Warsaw so the wonderful baroque buildings you see were all built after the war. I have not been in Warsaw for about ten years so to see so many beautiful high-rises around the “gift from Stalin” is really amazing. It is an example of the strength of the nation.
We had dinner at Fukier, a classical Polish restaurant which certainly has not changed since I was first there about twenty years ago. It looks out onto the square and is just as you would expect an old-world” restaurant to be decorated. In fact, the interior looks like an old country inn (only cleaner, with better art, etc.). Another excellent but newer restaurant is Elixer where each course offers one or two suggested vodkas to soothe your palate! I suggest asking for the cold vodka for as the Poles say, “it only hurts once.” Not all meals need to be grand events and there are plenty of pierogi shops throughout the city. Pierogis are like ravioli’s, filled with meat and onions, cheese, fruit, etc. The fun part is to order nine or so and sample different fillings. You will be set for the day and be able to brave the colder weather! The Poles love their pierogi’s; they are Poland’s hamburgers or hot dogs.
Food as in Hungary is relatively inexpensive. A dinner with two glasses of wine, three shots of vodka, a service of pierogi and two main courses, including service is about $100.00. You better be prepared to walk off those hearty meals! Around the Belvedere palace is a huge, beautiful park (Lazienki Park) which also contains several palaces. Although it is winter, the park is still beautiful and the rich furnishings and paintings of the palaces along with the flock of peacocks create a nice contrast to the bare trees.

The winter fair in Warsaw is quite special. Darkness arrives about 3:30 PM and on this Saturday there were already thousands of people in the old city square, and. along the wide walkway in front of the Royal Palace. The children look in awe at the display of lights, the tall Christmas trees and it is a treat to see how they light up and laugh at the festive mood. Unlike Vienna where there are a number of festivals, the one around the old town in Warsaw is the one that you will want to see. And, during this season, the churches (all of them rebuilt) join in the festive feel and are beautifully lit. It is an amazing sight to see thousands of people, most of which are families with young children, walking in the cold, laughing, enjoying food from vendors, hot toddy drinks, shopping for those special “somethings” and enjoying the Christmas spirit. I tried to think of where we could experience that joy and experience in the U.S. but just came up short.
Although cabs are plentiful and inexpensive, we did a lot of walking (almost ten miles one day). It really is the best way to see the city and experience its special feel. There are wide boulevards lined with trees, shopping areas which are clean and devoid of graffiti, even during the winter when the temperature hovers about 32 degrees, it is a pleasure to bundle up and breathe in the fresh air.

Like all great cities, Warsaw has its share of museums. Yes, Warsaw, like Budapest and Vienna has its classical museums, but it also has unique attractions (like Budapest’s House of Terror). For example, the Katyn Museum features the murder of 20,000 Polish officers by the Soviet Union during World War II. The murder, denied for decades by the Soviet Union, was finally admitted during the reign of Gorbachev. Yet the sad episode did not end there are a special Polish delegation on its way to a special service hosted by the Russians was killed when their aircraft crashed outside of Smolensk, including the President of the Polish republic. Permanent plaques outside of the Presidential Palace commemorate the tragedy. Those plaques are part of the Polish conscious as there are plaques can be found around the city commemorating the hanging or execution of Poles during the German occupation. It helps the Poles to remember what they have suffered and why they will not go backwards.
Other excellent museums include the Polish military museum, the award-winning museum on the Warsaw uprising and the Polish museum of the history of Polish Jews.

There were numerous memorable times and sights during the trip, including the outdoor thermal bath in Hungary experienced before dawn, the concern at the Kaiser’s house, the Christmas fair in the old town of Warsaw. While we allowed four or five days in each city, it showed that one really needs more time to explore those cities as there is so much to experience. Considering we have been to each city one or more times in the past, you must simply admit that you will not “see it all” and that you will only be getting a sample of the treasures in each location. Just relax and enjoy it all!

Herodotus according to Cicero is the Father of History. Does that mean that before Herodotus no Greek or Persian did not write history? Hardly, but Herodotus brought discipline to the subject by going out and speaking with locals, comparing their stories, examining the area of which he was writing and then drawing a conclusion as to the validity of any given narrative. This may not sound terribly new or exciting, but remember that he was writing history of the Greek and Persian wars around 460 B.C.
The book itself can be a hard read; imagine reading a novel by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, only instead of Russian names you have ancient Greek names (with no modern equivalent) and the story is in an area of the world where the locations have entirely different names than the areas are called today. Added to that, there are numerous “tribes” and “nations” that are long gone and that you have never heard of before in your life. Yet, in this translation (by Tom Holland), there are traces of wit and even sarcasm sprinkled throughout the six hundred plus pages. One learns from practices and a view of the world that sound strange and often silly, yet they are no sillier than the fears that the sailors of Christopher Columbus’ time had as they embarked on those voyages.

To be sure, historians after Herodotus have taken him to task. An example is provided by the German military historian, Hans Delbruck when he questions if Xeres could really field and army of 4,200,000 men. In volume one of his History of the Art of War, Delbruck points out that a German army corps of 30,000 men covers about fourteen miles even without its supply train. Given that modern fact, Xeres army would have a column of march of about two thousand miles! Additionally, Delbruck uses other historical records to shoe that certainly the numbers on the Greek side could not be realistic due to the known population of various cities at that time. Further, Delbruck questions the battle tactics as described by Herodotus, especially on the Greek side given the distances and the weight of their armor. Yet even with his numbers and logic, the detailed description of the Persian and Greek forces is excellent and believable.

To his credit, Herodotus presents an entirely different picture of the Persian king, Xeres. Contrary to popular history, Xeres is presented to be a brave, loyal and wise ruler, willing to take counsel and suggestions from those trusted individuals around him. He certainly must have been an interesting individual in an age of petty lords and tyrants.

I found that the best way to read this enjoyable history was to take it in small doses; a few pages so that the names and locations do not overwhelm the enjoyable writing. There are age old lessons to be learned from this book; nations and peoples come and go as other peoples move due to famine, drought, or pressure from other peoples; bravery in battle is honored as is loyalty and honesty, and war is and shall always be with us. This is the perfect book to read while one has a good cigar, a fine beverage, a comfortable seat, and the time to savor what one learns.

First published in 1942 in Italy, Luigi Albertini’s The Origins of the War of 1914 (three volumes, about 2200 pages) traces the political, diplomatic, and military causes of the war, going as far back to the compromise between Austria and Hungary in 1867 and its impact which would ripple through Europe for decades. He takes the reader step by step along a path that ends in war. The way he lays out the events in Europe, one can see with the advantage of hindsight how so many European decisions naturally led to war.
The work itself is recognized as one of the two or three most important books on the subject and Albertini provides the reader military and diplomatic dispatches, notes on policy meetings held by France, Germany, Russia, and other nations. We are exposed to the lies, corruption, political back biting and conflicting interests of the leaders of nations and those who serve them. Just as today we face what is known as the “deep state,” in nineteenth and early twentieth century nations, generals, bureaucrats, industrialist, and others followed their individual interests, often at the expense of their own nations.
Humanity with all of its weaknesses and faults parades before the reader who is left shaking his or her head at the sheer number of foolish decisions. There is little nobility to be seen as:
• We see the stupidity of the Russian Czar who did not realize that he could not mobilize only a portion of his forces and the generals who lied to him.
• We see the Italian leaders who dreamt of expansion in the Balkans with the result that they sold their nation to the highest bidders.
• We see the German Kaiser, known for his bluff and bluster who pales as he realizes what is about to be unleashed thanks to his overweening ego.
• There is the Kaiser Franz Joseph, an old, tired man used by his Chief of the General Staff into issuing an ultimatum which no nation could accept.
• The assassin, Gavrilo Princip never regrets unleashing a war that would lead to millions of deaths and would open the door to a second war with tens of millions of dead, all in the name of a “Greater Serbia.”
• Britian’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey did not realize the danger Europe faced even though his nation had been in a naval race with the strongest land power in Europe.
• France fueled the rearmament of Russia in order to encircle Germany in a war of revenge using tactics that had cost them the last war with Germany.
There is no end to the players who each did their part to bring on the war. The list of long forgotten European foreign ministers, generals and officials can be daunting to keep straight precisely because none of them acted in a responsible manner, one which would slow down the slide to war.
Nations and their leaders have long memories. A quick decision by one nation can lead to a grievance of another that will last for decades. Yesterday’s allies are tomorrow’s foe for as Charles de Gaulle said decides later, “Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last.” Unfortunately for Europe, the treaties of both sides were honored and paid for with the blood of millions.

The Origins of the Democrats DefeatFirst published in 1942 in Italy, Luigi Albertini’s The Origins of the War of 1914 traced the political, diplomatic, and military causes of the war, going back to the consequences of the compromise between Austria and Hungary in 1867. He took the reader step by step along a path that ended in that war. The way he laid out the events in Europe, one can see with the advantage of hindsight how so many European decisions naturally led to war. When one finishes the book, one is forced to look at one’s own life while analyzing one’s successes and failings.
Today in the United States, there is much discussion over the causes of the victory by Trump and the defeat not only of Harris, but the major shift within the Democratic bloc. In looking for the causes of Harris’ defeat, numerous reasons are offered but seldom condensed into a simple, logical path to defeat. Using the system laid out by Albertini, let us consider if you will, the following steps which if viewed objectively, should have told the Democrats that they were setting up their own defeat even as they made their decisions.
1) The election victory of the Democrats of 2020: In that election, the victor was a weak, seventy-eight-year-old Joe Biden, a man who was already suffering from mental and physical weakness. He promised, recognizing his weakness, that he would be a one term President. Like Hillary Clinton before him, he was not so much nominated as chosen by the Democratic powers that be as it was “his time.” He was, according to the party, the best they had to offer.
2) Pick of a Vice President: Being a good Democrat, the President Elect chose as his Vice President, a Black female who represented the far left of the party. This painted the Democratic party into a cornet, for if Biden were to honor his pledge, his Vice President would have to be the acknowledge front runner in four years. If she were not, for any reason, the Black wing of the party would be outraged and endanger the 2024 election. Worse still, if she did not perform, she could not be jettisoned without alienating the party’s Black people. It was contingent on her to perform and do her job in a way that would allow the party to go into the 2024 election with confidence.
3) Lying to the public: As President Biden’s mental wellbeing went downhill, the truth could not be allowed to be known. Fortunately, the legacy media and much of the cable media was willingly co-opted to go along with keeping the secret. The President’s weekly visits to Delaware were represented as “working” weekends and the public was told that the President was strong, sure and at his peak. In reality, the Democratic party hoisted upon the citizens a weak man whose record as Robert Gates once said, “He has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades,” This put the American people in danger as Iran, China, Russia and others saw a leader who was weak and who believed that appeasement was a positive strategy.
4) A broken promise: Despite his weakness, President Biden decided to seek a second term. The party was in a dilemma: how long could Biden’s mental and physical weakness be concealed from the public? He could not repeat his campaign of 2020 which was often referred to as the “basement” strategy. Somehow Biden had to be protected.
5) The debate: The house of cards collapsed with the Presidential debate with Trump. In a few minutes, the truth of Biden’s weakness could not be concealed any longer and overnight the polls pointed to a disastrous 2024 election.
6) The Putsch: The powers that be in the Democratic party decided that they had to find a way to save the 2024 election. Their answer was the first Putsch in American history: get Biden to reverse his decision and place his Vice President, Kamala Harris in his stead. Yet only a few short weeks before there were discussions of how to replace Harris with someone who could be shown as a staunch support of a weak Biden. It had been recognized that nationally, Harris was viewed even more negatively than Biden and she brought little of positive worth to the ticket. Yet to try to replace her as the Democratic candidate would all but destroy the Black vote in the party’s coalition. The cost of DEI was coming home to roost and the party had extraordinarily little time to market Harris.
7) The Election: Despite over a billion dollars of campaign spending, Harris was not able to “close the deal.” Her total misreading of the public mood and experience of the Biden administration was shown when she said that she could not think of a single thing she would do differently. Yet at the same time she was marketing herself as the agent of change, the one who wanted to start a new page. A new page of what? If she would not do anything different than Biden, what was she changing? The campaign was a dead-end of contradictions and hype. At that point, the Democrats could have saved a lot of money if they had just admitted defeat.
My intention is not to go over all of the policy decisions made during the Biden administration that led to the highest inflation in forty years, the weakening of the U.S. militarily and diplomatically, the relentless push for an energy policy that is inefficient and too expensive, the perceived use of lawfare against an opponent, the inability to track 300,000 immigrant children who were entrusted to “authorized personnel”, etc. Rather, we are, like Albertini to view, in hindsight what political decisions turned a victory into a defeat in an amazingly brief period of time.
It is now up to the Democratic party to realize that it was their decision in 2019-2020 that all but assured their defeat in 2024. When an administration starts with a lie, such as the excellent health of the candidate, it is acting like a child or teenager who lies, hoping that tomorrow and the truth will never come. The central lie that was sold, held within itself the very seeds of its own destruction, and should be a lesson for all of us to learn.

The day after this election, I made it a point to listen to the BBC news service to hear the reaction from the U.K. I was amazed and disappointed by the comments from the British pundits and reporters to the election results. They echo the comments from American reporters and pundits such as Charles Blow, Ruth Marcus, Joe Scarborough, Nikole-Hannah Jones, and others. As Americans they openly admit that somehow, they have misunderstood the average American. I do not believe that was ever in doubt. Those reactions brought home to me what I have believed for so long, that there is a deep misunderstanding of the U.S. by those living outside of the U.S. I have also seen this in Canada. Those who are closest to understanding the U.S. reside in the former Soviet bloc countries, such as Poland, Hungary, etc. Why is that? Perhaps it is because those countries lost decades of freedom and progress, and they see the U.S. and not western Europe as the model for what they want to achieve.

In order to help the good people of western Europe to better understand we Americans, the link below might be of service. Konstantin Kisin is a conservative satirist based in the U.K., but he shows that he has an understanding of most Americans.

One of the primary results of the election, will be, as most Americans hope, the death of the racist and unproductive DEI experiment. Kisin points out the ideal of American virtues, not always attained but rooted deep in the American psyche. I know that millions across the world love these virtues as they attempt to come in their millions to our beautiful land.

https://www.konstantinkisin.com/p/10-reasons-you-didnt-see-this-coming?publication_id=746128&post_id=151272099&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=71qjf&triedRedirect=true

It used to be that you could look to the future and see a never-ending landscape of progress for humanity. Medical care will be better, technology will make our lives better, famine and warfare will gradually disappear as increased wealth will eliminate the need for people to struggle. This history is about the building of the nation we know as France, a nation facing fundamental questions and challenges. As I was reading this history, I was struck by an almost mirror image of the building of France and the decline of modern-day France.
The area we know as France in the late tenth century was a patchwork of little more than warlords, robber barons and petty “nobility,” each vying for advantage over each other. Alliances were made and broken, religious persecution was widespread, and government was a concept that could only be viewed as an idea. It was a time, as Hobbs would say, when life was, “solitary, poor nasty, brutish and short.” Yes, there was the concept of the Holy Roman Empire, but true government in most of Europe was a dream for philosophers.
Out of this time however, through a series of wars and marriages, one family, the Capetians, became the most powerful monarch in Europe for nearly three-hundred and fifty years. From an area centered around Paris but dwarfed by more powerful lords in Burgundy, Aquitaine and several others, the Capetians managed to not only survive but came to master those other lords and create a more centralized, feudal state. It was no easy task as with each success came not only more power and responsibility, but also more demands. The Pope wants a crusade, a powerful baron has ambitions of his own, the cost of a state requires enormous amounts of money on a consistent basis, and more. Those demands must be met but there was no blueprint on how to manage those demands and thus there were times when the growing Capetian kingdom was close to failure time and time again. Yet the men and powerful women who headed the growing kingdom managed to keep forging ahead.
This book brings together a number of figures from the past that helps to give us an image of the times. Edward I of England, also known as “Longshanks” and the “Hammer of the Scots” (think of the movie “Brave Heart”), Eleanor of Aquitaine (the movie “The Lion in Winter”) and others. They all lived, fought, created, and ruled during a common time of political and economic consolidation. Yet despite such a prolonged period of power and the ability to deal with the challenges of time, the Capetians fell from power. They were not defeated by a stronger military challenger, but rather by the great weakness of a dynastic power; they died out. While there were still individuals who could lay claim to the Capetian throne, the one direct descendent of a Capetian king was fathered by a Valois which was the next dynasty to claim the throne.
The period involved in this history is not exactly a topic for everyday conversation, so the numerous and overlapping names may be a bit confusing for the average reader. But the book is well written, full of interesting historical tidbits and humor. Not exactly a “I can’t put it down” but a history that will bring you back simply to see how it all ends up.