How did we (the United States) come to this point where our politicians and the highest institutions in the land have come to be viewed by so many Americans with such suspicion, cynicism, and disrespect?  By Americans, I am not including the youth of the country, for they do not know any better having been indoctrinated, not educated. Their excuse is that they do not know any better.  No, I am speaking about most adults who lead productive lives, working, raising a family, and paying their taxes.  These adults have been able to observe and judge the actions of our nation’s leaders at so many levels and have found them wanting over the course of their everyday lives.

While the article does point out a series of faults, the beginning of our disillusionment began earlier, notably in the mid-1960’s, during the Viet Nam war. It did not take long for the average person to see that the two wars being fought, in View Nam and the one on poverty were being managed poorly and were leading to multiple disasters; the hollowing out of our military, the destruction of the Black family, the rise of a bureaucracy which did not have any degree of accountability, the shrinking ability of the middle-class to survive, the ability of politicians to openly lie and their belief in the gullibility of the voter, etc. all started us on the path to what we see today.

The article provides ideas of how we can regain our footing, but each one comes down to the need for the average citizen to hold the press, politicians, educators, and others accountable.  It all starts at the grass roots level and can only grow by a day-to-day attention from the voters. I once had a political science professor who had fled to the U.S. during the Hungarian Revolution who wondered why we would expect our leaders to be any better than we were in our everyday lives.  I believe it would be nice to at least expect our leaders to be equal to each of us, as it would be a step up.  All that we need to do to lift them to our level is to hold them as accountable as each of us tries to be in our everyday lives; we try to live within our means, we don’t treat others as being stupid and gullible and we tell the truth.  Is that really so much to expect?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-institutions-went-from-trust-to-bust-media-schools-business-promises-43c8d18?page=1

What is the correct number?  Thirty-Two million?  Thirty-Seven million?  Forty million? The correct number of those who died during the period of 1958-1962 as Mao and the Communist Party of China instituted a command economy will never be known.  The exact number will never be known because so many people were dying, primarily of starvation but also because of beatings, executions, and torture that records could not be kept.  The millions did not die because they were some foreign enemies or, as is the case with the Holocaust because of some racial theory; they died because of government incompetence, bureaucratic lying and ignorance of the basic laws of nature.

What exactly is a “command economy”?  The “phrase comes from the German Befehlswirtschaft. It was originally applied to the Nazi economy but was later used to describe the Soviet Union.  Instead of allowing dispersed buyers and sellers to determine their own economic activities according to the laws of supply and demand, a higher authority would issue commands determining the overall direction of the economy following a master plan.  The command principle entailed that all economic decisions were centralized for the greater good, as the state determined what should be produced, how much should be produced, who produced what and where, how resources should be allocated and what prices should be charged for material, goods, and services.  A central plan replaced the market. (Mao’s Great Famine, pp 127).

A “command economy”  then is a top-down system by which the leaders provide objectives and quotas for the amount of grain to be produced, how many tons of steel will be produced, what type and how many shoes, socks, shoelaces, etc. will be produced in what time period, etc.  Operating in a totalitarian system like Communism, each layer below that top simply takes the quota they are given and adds a little more to please the powers that be.  By the time the quotas reach those who produce any given item, the numbers are so large that they are totally unrealistic.  Rather than argue against the numbers (and labeled a right-wing reactionary), the producers “fudge” the numbers to meet the quota.  And an example is the production of rice, a staple of the economy.  If the actual quota is not met, the rice crop is soaked in water to increase the weight as the rice absorbs the water.  Amazing, the quota is met!  The problem with that technique however is that the rice quickly rots and as the price of rice goes up (inflation), the consumers literally have to sell the clothes off their backs to pay for rotting rice.

Ever since the unification of Germany in 1870, the Germans have enjoyed a steady move up in their standard of living.  For decades Germany has been the economic engine that has driven Europe to greater wealth and a lifestyle that is envied by many in the world.  That economy has provided the German people with a welfare state that seemed to know no limits.

Welfare states, however, depend on a common consensus as to values and acceptable activity; each member of the society fulfills their function through work and obedience of the laws and societal norms.  The inclusion of millions of individuals who do not accept those norms, who are a cost not a benefit to the state upsets the smooth running of the state and creates friction which is outside the ability of the average citizen to correct.  Germany faces a challenge to its very existence from a large number of immigrants whose very value system is diametrically opposite to that of the German state.

Additionally, Germany faces an economic power that has learned quite a bit from the German model and who has the finances, education and will to challenge Germany.  That economic power is Communist China.  For decades China has studied, copied, and committed crimes against the intellectual property of Germany (and other states) and suddenly the student is rising up against the teacher as China begins to strike at the very basis of German strength.

The attached interview and overview of the problems Germany faces, economically and politically should be viewed at a minimum by every German.  It should be viewed by every citizen of the Western World as Germany’s problems and challenges are the same faced by every other Western state. 

Can Germany rise to the challenge or has the will of the German people been stifled by decades of easy living.  We can only hope.

Winston Groom is best known for his book (and the hugely successful movie), Forrest Gump.  He is the author of six books as well as the co-author of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize nominee, Conversations with the Enemy.  In this excellent book, he focuses on the Confederate General John Bell Hood and his invasion of Tennessee late in the Civil War.

During that campaign, he attempted to distract Union General William Tecumseh Sherman from his famous campaign which burned out the very heart of the Confederacy during his march from Atlanta to the sea.  Hood was unsuccessful in deterring Sherman and managed at the same time to destroy his army in futile attacks against Union forces.

His failure was not preordained, for his record prior to the Battle of Atlanta had been one of a brave and ferocious fighter.  Although not the brightest of the Confederate generals (he graduated 44^th out of a class of 52), he had served well in several campaigns and was until the Battle of Atlanta, considered a dashing and rising Confederate star.

Although Hood was criticized for his failure to hold Atlanta, one must remember that he entered the campaign late in the game as his predecessor General Joseph E. Johnston had failed to stop Sherman as he advanced on Atlanta.  Yet, despite Hood’s experiences with the power of defensive firepower, Hood threw his army at Sherman in an effort to sweep him from the field.  The attack resulted in thousands of Confederate casualties at a point in the war where they could not be easily replaced.  Hood had to leave Atlanta and some of his glory was lost.

The invasion of Tennessee was a prime example of “what might have been”, as within a short span of forty-eight hours, Hood lost not one, not two, but six opportunities to destroy the Union army that would later turn and destroy his army.  The battle of Franklin decided the campaign but there would be one more defeat at Nashville and with it, the fate of the South was sealed.

Groom provides excellent cameo descriptions of many Union and Confederate leaders throughout the book and his descriptions of the battles will keep the reader going back to read passages for their excitement and detail.  He also goes into the politics and schemes of various senior officers as they attempt to enhance their reputations and positions through a variety of nasty and dubious tricks.

I have often wondered why, aside from an attempt to sooth Southern feelings, a major military based was named after a General who after years of war, did not understand the days of massed Napoleonic charges were over.  He, like General Lee, seemed to have a blind spot to the realities of not having a numeric advantage and the deadliness of “modern” weapons.  Perhaps it is well that the name of Fort Hood has been changed.  Hopefully it is to the name of a more realistic General.

I post this as I have some real-world experience with this type of conversion.  Quebec Canada mandated that all oil furnaces be replaced by heat pumps, and this impacted my retired in-laws.  As they could not find any source for heating oil, they reluctantly had the old furnace removed and had a new heat pump installed. 

During their first winter, they found that the warmest room in the house was in the basement due to the equipment for the heat pump.  They found that the second-floor bedrooms were not receiving enough heat and took to using more blankets and even wearing a knit cap during the coldest weather. To help remedy the problem, they looked at adding additional insulation and installing siding over the second story brick outside walls.

In the end, it cost them tens of thousands of dollars, all of it from their retirement funds. 

While subsidies may be available with the California plan, where does the money come from?  The government?  No, the government does not produce anything of value in the open market.  It comes from TAXES. So, the old law of government is proven:

The government creates a problem, then to solve the problem they create a bureaucracy which needs to be paid for by raising taxes.  In some places, this is called (excuse the French) a circle jerk.

https://www.city-journal.org/article/californias-heat-pump-fantasy

Confused about climate change/warming/etc.?  You should be. Especially when the average weatherman, if he was a ballplayer, would not be in the big leagues (oh, I forgot, the “experts” can tell us what is going to happen in fifty-years, but not next week).  OK, maybe a cheap shot, but still, we hear that we only have twelve years until the end of the world while others tell us we have twenty-five years.  What is the real answer?  In reality, no one knows and anytime we are shown computer models, how many of us remember the first rule of using computers: garbage in, garbage out.

The link below will take you to a video which explains some of the problems involved with computer modeling, especially modeling based on a worldwide events over which we have no means of control.  Even assuming the most objective of modeling, the slightest difference of input can make major differences in outcomes.

Watch the video and you will be better able to judge the various projections and put them in a better context.

https://www.policyed.org/policy-stories/challenges-and-realities-climate-modeling/video?_hsmi=271572052&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_wpSAspWFv9mxFHYDWE_PhRoY2xr4q6t11I6NIKT32UDyuXYoyXCP851r3nzV8MPUck0Cc0NsakeNKmsprX8N6NKHhcA

After the fall of the Soviet Union, many archives were temporarily opened, and historians and researchers were given access to files which had been locked away for decades.  The authors chose to focus on the average Soviet citizen and how they dealt with the system that was evolving as the country and economy was undergoing huge changes.  How would an almost illiterate peasant react to the collectivization of his farm?  To whom would he write and what would he request?  Or, a young girl whose father, divorced from her mother, was arrested as an enemy of the people and thus she was not allowed to enter the University and pursue her goal of becoming a doctor.  Who could help her or even attempt to make her understand her great genetic sin as passed to her through her father?  With over 157 documents, we reach back in time to feel the pain, the anguish, the confusion and in some cases, the hopes of people lost in the dustbin of history.

Many of the letters were written to Stalin himself.  Why not?  Stalin was portrayed as the “best friend of all children”, as being “wise and just”, “farsighted” and the best of “Leninists”.  He was concerned about the people, for hadn’t he written his famous article, “Dizzy with Success” that temporarily halted some of the worse aspects of collectivization?  He wrote it as soon as he heard that some had gone beyond sound judgement and he wanted to correct the wrongs done.  So, individuals wrote to Stalin, because if Stalin knew of that individuals’ problems, they were sure he would correct the error.  When nothing was done, it was because those around Stalin kept the truth from him and of course, the proof was in the confessions during the show trials of those closest to him.  The letters were received by the Kremlin, or the local administrator and filed for safe keeping in case the writer was ever accused of anti-Soviet behavior.

There where also those who wrote to praise the hard work of the local Soviets, but they were mostly the letters of the young who had been raised within the system that was systemically murdering millions of its own citizens.  For the youth believed in the opportunity before them and only asked for more opportunity to prove they were worthy of the great Revolution.

In many ways, this is a sad book, filled with the hopes, dreams and questions of individuals who could not and did not understand the system they inhabited.  So much was so illogical, so set against the known norms of Western man, that there had to be an answer somewhere, some beam of knowledge that could come to the writers to help them cope with their lives and dreams.  But the letters only gathered dust as the individuals would have gradually lost hope and accepted their broken dreams and lives.

It has taken more time than it should have, but corporations are finally waking up that dealing with Communist China is a poor deal with the devil. 

Recent security laws issued by the Communist Party totally ignore international legal standards of lawyer-client privilege and opens the door to a complete breakdown of trust between the attorneys and their clients.  The action by Denton is a bold move and should make every individual or corporation which does business in China seriously question their legal counsel.  If that counsel does not provide a solid, positive answer, change your counsel.  It is the only answer to give to the Communist government which disregards international norms.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/law-firm-dentons-splits-with-chinas-dacheng-counter-espionage-law-takes-hold-2023-08-08/

Prior to the invasion of Sicily during WWII, the United States government released the notorious Lucky Luciano on the belief that he would help the Allied cause prior to the actual invasion and with the administration of the island after it’s conquest.  The result of that action was a rejuvenation of the Mafia which had suffered but not been eliminated under the rule of Mussolini.

Lewis who had been stationed in Sicily and had access to court files about the Mafia, certainly strips away any glamour of the organization and show it to be medieval in its rule and pillaging of Sicily.  The local “Dons” hold complete power of life and death over the peasants and the central government of Italy is merely a milk cow to be used to feed the power of the Mafia.  During one of the conferences between the Dons, one suggested that the peasants not be allowed to have any metal plows, that they should use the same type of farm implements as was used in ancient Roman times; they did not need pants and shirts as they could wear simple smocks of the most primitive type and be fed on a diet of gruel just as the Roman legionnaires had been two thousand years ago.

Added to the exploitation of the peasants were the murderous vendettas which in the village of Corleone (yes, there is such a place), 153 Mafia murders took place between 1944-48.  Many of the murdered simply disappeared into the deep gullies around the island while others were left as a warning to others. 

With the end of the war, thanks to the American army and Luciano, the Mafia was given prime administrative jobs as since they were the enemy of Mussolini they could not be all bad.  The result was a rapid filling of the Mafia’s coffers from construction projects in the middle of nowhere, land grabs and massive building reconstruction in the major cities.  Poor workmanship and siting did not matter as any legit business was quickly silenced.  All this while the Dons dreamed of getting U.S. statehood for Sicily!

In the end, over 10% of the population left the island, many to the U.S., many to South America and many to Northern Italy where, freed from the Mafia, they joined the Communist party and fueled the Italian political unrest which still simmers today.

An excellent book which shows the brutality and venality of an organization which only cared for their own to the cost of everyone else.  No saving grace, only corruption. It also shows the short sightedness of government agencies who somehow manage to operate in ignorance of those they use for short-term goals.

During the Obama administration, there were voices who claimed that the United States was on the verge of having a two-tiered system of justice.  A claim of this sort was nothing new as it has always been acknowledged that an individual’s ability to hire the best mouthpiece (lawyer) for the money impacted the justice system.  Our nation has had a long litany of unequal justice, but they have been addressed and attempts have been made to correct the errors within the system.

The claims of a two-tiered justice system during the Obama administration were different, for the abuses were not the actions of a local sheriff or a misguided judge but were rather abuses from the very top of the law enforcement system.  The beginnings of the politization of Federal agencies, such as the IRS, the office of the Attorney General, the Department of Justice, the FBI and others stuck at the very foundations of the Republic. That politization of the DOJ and FBI, carried through into the Trump administration as officials within those departments turned their powers against the duly elected President.

Today, we see a lengthening record of a two-tiered system of justice, and it is more open, more repugnant than ever before.  The linked article by Victor Davis Hanson outlines only the most grievous examples as our system of justice is being warped for political ends.  It is unfortunate that despite the best of intentions, our justice system has never reached perfection, but have we gone so far down the other path that we can still regain our sense of dignity and some sense of idealism?  I hope not.

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/hanson-two-sets-of-laws-for-two-americas