For several decades, the U.S has been the “big dog” in the world.  It’s military, financial expertise, technology and stability have given it tremendous power in keeping the peace, holding non-friendly players in place, and keeping its allies willing to support the goals of the U.S. 

There has arisen a potential power bloc which aims to upset the dominance of the U.S. on the world stage.  China, Iran, and Russia seek to reshape the world order to their liking at the expense of the U.S. and many of their immediate neighbors.  Unfortunately, the primary player to counter their plans continues to be the U.S.  I say “unfortunately” because simply put, there is no other pro-Western nation capable of either helping the U.S. Who else has any of the strengths that could make it a possible replacement for the U.S.?  France?  With hundreds of no go zones in their own cities, France cannot control it own territory.  The U.K.?  A great ally but it has seen its best days as they face their own migrant challenges.  The list goes on and on.

Unfortunately, many of the allies of the U.S. are willing to kowtow to one or more of the challengers in the hopes of financial gain through business opportunities.  And, just as unfortunately, the U.S. under two of the past three administrations seems to have and currently operate as if appeasement can turn those other powers from their plans and vision of a new world order.

The linked article outlines what needs to be done to successfully stop the new challengers from achieving their goals, but in each case, resolute and realistic actions and policies must be introduced.  That sort of action requires dynamic leadership which seems to be wanting.  Can the U.S. and the rest of the world afford to wait?  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/only-america-can-restore-world-order-ukraine-israel-taiwan-4bd37b92?page=1

I recently read an article that stated that it is nearly impossible to eliminate a government agency; in fact, it has never been done.  One of the prime reasons was that, for example, if one were to eliminate the Federal Department of Education, who since being formed has seen a decrease in the reading/math/language skills of children, the funding provided by that department would stop and that would be bad for local schools (who depend on it) and the politicians (who claim they bring home the bacon).

What an amazing rationale for not reducing an agency.  First, the money they send to the school districts are the taxes the citizens of those districts paid!  The money was not produced or generated by that department, it was collected and some of it was returned to the local schools after taking a sizable chunk of the funds for overhead of the department!  It would be more efficient if the money stayed in each district and was used according to local needs.  That would mean no “haircut” going to some far away bureaucracy which has no accountability.

The report below gives us a glimpse into the vast administrative state.  This state, accountable to no one, operating with guidelines favorable to its own existence and spewing studies which are clearly slanted, will cost literally hundreds of billions of dollars a year with no sunset clause, no oversight, and the prospect of future rules in the future.

Looking at the new rules generated by the current and past administrations, no one has yet to ask a simple question; for all the wealth spend creating and adhering to new reports, regulations, guidelines, etc., can anyone point to how the average citizens life has become better or easier?  When was the last time you, personally, said to yourself: “I am so glad that such and such administrative rule was written as it really makes a positive impact on my life.”  I doubt if anyone could say that because the burden of adhering to all these new rules is carried by the system which has created the greatest boon for mankind, the American capitalist system.  The farmers, business managers, employers, small business owners, etc. are the ones who need to spend more time doing paperwork and less time taking care of their businesses and their customers.  They are the ones who must hire a new person just to complete the reports, logs, etc., that are fed back to an administrative state that has no accountability and produces little if anything of value.

The next time a President signs an executive order, sit up, look at it and figure out how much it will cost you in future taxes.

Please copy the link below and paste it to your search engine

https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CTUP_BurdenisBack_ComparingRegulatoryCosts.pdf

Let us be honest: we have a major problems in our public education system. Let us look at some basic data:

1. Nationally, 29% of students read at grade level.
2. Only 26% do math at grade level.
3. In Chicago, only 11% of Blacks and 17% of Hispanic students read at grade level.

Somehow, most of these students pass from year to year until they either drop out or graduate unable to read or do basic math. Amazing. What kind of life awaits them?

Yet there is more:

• In Washington State, while the student population has increased by 3%, the staff has increased by 20%.
• In Massachusetts, the number of students has fallen by 42,000 but the number of staff has increased by 18,000.

What exactly are all those new administrators and teachers doing aside from pushing transgender studies and asking the students if they would like to use ziv, zim or some other meaningless scramble of letters that are proclaimed pronouns. Pronouns that are made up from thin air by ideologues who are only seeking to further their own agendas, regardless of the negative impact on others.

Does anyone other than those who are getting paid by the system believe that we are getting our monies worth? That the children are being prepared for the real world? Do they honestly think at the end of each day that they have contributed to a better world?

The real crime, yes crime, of the system, is that millions of individuals who pass through the system are being cheated and denied an opportunity at living a full life. They graduate unprepared and ill-equipped to get a decent job, to be good parents, and to look forward to a life of increased beauty and ease. They are condemned by the system and their lives that will be harder and less rewarding than necessary. This is a moral failure on the part of those who profit from the system and who accept it.

The attached article should shock you and make you ask who is accountable for the failings of the public school system other than the children themselves.

Low Grade Schools | Frontpage Mag

As we are growing up, we have a tendency to either ignore or tune out the stories and experiences of our parents.  We think their ideas are so old fashioned, or that their experiences do not impact on our lives, little realizing that their stories and memories are in reality subtle learning tools for us to lead better lives.  Later, when they are old and we have families and real lives of our own, we sometimes ask them about some memory or story they mentioned years ago, but with failing memories or sadness caused by those stories, they may be reluctant to dredge them up.  We then are sad and realize that experiences in their lives will be lost forever and that someday, we shall be like them, trying to remember the good and trying to keep their sorrows and mistakes buried.

This book was written by a woman whose father (Waclaw=Walter) was 19 when Poland was invaded by the Nazis and Communists.  Barely two weeks into cadet school, he was captured by the Soviets and like 3,000,000 other Poles, was shipped off to a gulag camp in Siberia.  Along the way, tens of thousands died from malnutrition, disease, beatings or simply giving up.  But he was lucky, for unlike tens of thousands of Polish officers, he was executed in the forests of Katyn, hands tied by a bullet to the back of the head and thrown into mass graves (over 10,000 were executed by two executioners!).

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviets offered to release some of the Poles so they could fight for Stalin against the invaders.  Another young man, standing next to Irena’s father, after surviving years of cold, hard labor and beatings said that he would not fight for Stalin and was immediately executed with a shot to the head, splattering brains and blood on everyone around.

Finding his way to Iran over several months (no money or food was provided to the men on their journey), he was nursed back to health by the British army and enlisted in the Polish Corps which was to fight in Italy.  He fought in the battles at Monte Cassino, Ancona and Bologna and at the wars end managed to emigrate to England as going back to Poland would have been a sure way to be executed as a spy.

He was not able until about 1966, and still at risk, to go back to Poland for a visit, to see his mother (his father had died), the girl he had dreamed of throughout the war, to see the farm on which he had grown up on, etc.  All the while, despite the continued nightmares of the gulag experiences, he never really spoke of his earlier life and it was only when Irena was a grown woman did you begin to gradually pull the story of his life from him, bit by bit.

This little book is a sobering look at the mostly unknown brutality that millions endured at the hands of the Soviet Union as they attempted to destroy the will of a nation instill a system of government in which the individuals only purpose was to serve the all powerful state.  The idealism of the early 1920’s had been long crushed by the slaughter of the kulaks, the collectivization of the farms and the bloody purges of the Party and military.  Poland, like the other countries of Eastern Europe were given to the Soviets by Churchill and Roosevelt (one did it from practicality, one from personal indifference).

If nothing else, after reading this book, you may sit down with your parents and gently listen to some of the stories and lessons their offered when they went in one ear and out the other during your youth.

Billions of dollars have been spent in the past few years by governments at every level as well as industries and special interests’ groups in the quest for going “green”.  Despite the auto manufacturers losing huge amounts of money, there are those who profit from the largess of governments and who manage to rake in huge subsidies in a futile effort to stay afloat.  Examples can be found across the United States where wind farms are suddenly not welcomed and those who plan such projects scramble to gain new subsidies and tax breaks as they realize their business model is not sustainable.

There are, however, deeper problems in the rush to “green”, and one major problem is the rather dull but necessar area of infrastructure.  It is estimated that 49.7 million miles of transmission lines will need to be built or replaced to achieve the 2040 deadline of net-zero emissions.  The winners in that silliness will be the Chinese who will have to build more coal plants to produce the transmission lines. 

The link below will take you to an article which raises serious questions regarding the world’s ability to reach the 2040 goal.  Indeed, the question is not how much of the 2040 goal is attainable, but rather is the goal necessary or positive for humanity. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-green-power-grid-isnt-coming/ar-AA1ix3ej

I believe that most Americans have a positive view of Canada, and why not?  Visiting Canada is easy, the people are friendly and courteous, and they drive on the same side of the road.  The cities are orderly and clean, they seem to have a good government and by and large we all share the same values. There are some differences in our outlooks, but by and large they reflect our different historical experiences.

As of late however, the Canadian government has embarked on a program which leads to a dangerous path.  Their national program of assisted suicide could be viewed as a bit too easy.  I can understand assisted suicide if an individual is terminally ill, in constant pain, is worried about the cost to their family, etc.  The Canadian plan, however, goes further however and is much easier to access.  Are you depressed?  Have you lost your job and are facing financial ruin?  Perhaps you are in your late teens and are not happy with your looks? Can’t afford proper medical care (in a system that claims to cover everyone)?  How about you have just suffered a stroke and are depressed and angry?  What if you cannot engage in your favorite activity or sport, is that enough reason to end one’s life? Are you mentally ill and not capable of making sound judgements? Do we really want to make government assisted suicide that simple?

Although it has not reached the level of Germany’s system of the 1930’s eliminating those who were guilty of having a “life unworthy of life”, it should make us wonder what guidelines are in place to ensure a policy of governmental support of assisted suicide cannot be abused. At the current time there are no requirements for psychological or medical counseling, so approval of any request is in the hands of governmental bureaucrats and doctors?

What does such a wide-open program say about the value we place on human life and how have we come to this place?

https://www.city-journal.org/article/canadian-death-cult

As I have written several times, governments have a habit of creating a new program funded by your tax dollars, then when the programs do not work out, decide that taxpayers need to pour more subsidies into the bad program to “rescue” their failure.  Wouldn’t it be wiser to re-examine the failing program, figure out why it is failing and then insist that those who manage the disaster fix the problems which are creating failure?  Sorry, I said a word that is verboten in government speak; wise.

For years the government has been taking your taxes to subsidize an idea whose time (and technology) has not really come, but they continue to create government made millionaires who receive subsidies for a concept that is not especially popular with consumers.  They also have decided that in the name of “green” energy, they have all but taken over another one-seventh of the U.S. economy, the auto industry (thanks to Obamacare they took over that one-seventh of the economy and it is working so well).  Watch on the horizon for more government bailouts funding by borrowing which you, the taxpayer will have to fund. 

Read the linked article below and count the days.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/brace-for-the-wind-and-electric-vehicle-bailouts-506383a8?mod=opinion_lead_pos6

Many tens of millions of people have flocked to the United States to lead a better life for themselves and their families.  Most have succeeded but not all; in fact, up to thirty percent of immigrants went back to their native land when they found that the streets were not paved with gold.  This meant that overall, we retained the best, the most stubborn, the most determined and as a result, we all prospered. 

Somehow that has changed.  There are those who come here to enjoy our wealth but who do not realize that one must adapt to the standards and norms of the nation as those were the forces that helped us to create that wealth.  There are those who wish to share in the national wealth but who do not contribute to the creation of wealth and who demand to be respected even though they have fled from their native lands due to the poverty in those lands.  Unfortunately, due to geography and poor political leadership, Western Europe has come to see the worse of that type of immigrant.  Increased crime, expanding welfare costs and less services to those who have adhered to the norms and laws has created increased tension and disillusionment.  That means political instability and that seldom ends up well. The article linked below should be a warning to all; actions have consequences when pushed enough, the State can use its power to a terrible effect.  The major errors of Western European leaders have consequences and the longer those leaders refuse to take appropriate action, the more difficult and the more extreme will be their choices.  Somehow the lesson we all know, address a problem when it is small and it is easier to correct, seems to have been missed by our political leaders.  Their desire to please all and retain power only goes to create larger problems.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20103/europe-civil-war

French President Charles de Gaulle once said, “The State is a harsh mistress”.  He may have said that thinking about the French members of the long-range recon groups who were left behind to wither and die as France left Viet Nam.  Living with the locals, fighting without resupply against the Viet Minh who were relentless in hunting them down, they pleas and curses asking for support finally tapered off as the last were killed in unknown and unremembered hills and valleys.

So, it was after the Allied victory of World War II.  Former enemies, including known war criminals were suddenly provided shelter, jobs, and safety in many of the victorious nations.  The United States, Canada, France, the Soviet Union all began to recruit German scientists as the new lines of the Cold War were being drawn.  Much of the recruiting was done secretly in the United States by military officers who were concerned that the new missile technology and secrets of biological warfare could not be left to the Soviets who, aside from plundering a conquered Germany, was abducting every scientist they could find. 

In Operation Paperclip, Jacobsen provides a detailed history of the various forces who struggled with the physical and moral choices which had to be faced.  There were those who believed that having defeated the Nazi war machine, that enlisting the scientists who worked on missiles, nerve/poison gasses and who had in fact committed war crimes was beyond the pale for the U.S.  Others viewed the victorious Soviet Union as the next great enemy, once which had shown that the difference between them and Nazi Germany was at best, minimal.  It was a time of moral questioning and a time of future planning.

Infighting between the CIA, the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, State Department, and the FBI continued for years with the CIA showing its ability to operate outside of normal channels and continue to pursue its own policies. Some of the arguments against the use of German scientist were moral, as is today arguments of using medical results from the doctors at the concentration camps.  Some were political as a growing Germany resented their best scientist being employed by other nations.  In the end, thanks to the space race, reality won the day as the competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union became hardened.

This is not only a history, but also a morality play, one which could have been used when ethics classes were not so political.  It is well written, and it would be easy to understand how the reader could have a difficult time balancing the morality of the program vs. the fears and beliefs of those years.  Indeed, the State is a harsh mistress.

In August 1914, the Imperial German Army won a total victory over the Imperial Russian Army which had invaded East Prussia.  Total losses for the Russians were about 250,000 (78,000 killed and wounded) while the Germans suffered only about 15,000.  For the Germans, it was a revenge for their defeat 500 years before at the Battle of Grunwald at the hands of the Poles and Lithuanians (a Slav is a Slav) and gave the homeland something to cheer about after the losses in France, while for the Russians, it showed the failure of the reforms within the Russian Army that had been in process for decades.  When the French Ambassador to the Tsar offered his condolences for the Russian losses, the Tsar is reported to have said that he was glad to have fulfilled his obligation to this French allies.

Solzhenitsyn provides an interesting look at the battle from the standpoint of several characters including a staff officer who is privy to various headquarters.  As such, he sees the inability of the Russian Army to have a united strategy (there were two Russian armies whose generals had not met to create a strategy and whose commander represented the worse stereotype of Russian commander who owed his rank to his favor at the Russian Court).  Moving from one HQ to another, we see the lack of maps, poor logistics, almost lack of communications and general stupidity among the officer corps (especially above the field level), condemn the mass of Russian peasant soldiers to futile attacks and brave defensive actions which only led to further confusion and the eventual defeat of the Russian armies.

As with all novels with Russian characters, the names can be confusing and the book is not an easy read, but it does provide the reader with a good feel for the fog of battle.  It offers a good overview if the reader is not familiar with the battle and will leave the reader with a feeling of wonder at how the Russian army was able to survive the First World War for so many years.