California is politically, a one-party state. Those who belong to that party decide when to enforce a law or ignore it and anyone who questions their right to function as they do must be “corrected.” This leads to, as Pierre Manent calls it, “the fanaticism of the center;” a fanaticism which seeks to eliminate those who resist their power and position.

In pursuit of solidifying the one-party control, the California legislature has taken upon itself the authority to dictate to businesses the pay of the employees for fast food workers, the transition from cheap, reliable power to inefficient and expensive power and most recently, has decided not only to eliminate the free speech of doctor’s but has also become the final arbiter of medical science.  Under Assembly Bill 2098, all information provided by doctors regarding Covid-19 can be reviewed for misinformation or disinformation. Statements, writings, interviews will be subject to review the states medical board. This means that a statement by a doctor contrary to or perhaps not enough in favor of the “consensus” medical opinion will be a basis for review. Who exactly, will determine the “consensus” on any given day and how will it be disseminated? Will doctors received tweets or emails with the latest “consensus”? Will each new “consensus” be read out at the beginning of the new day, and will intra-day updates be provided?

This new law which is sitting on the Governor’s desk comes after the confusing and contradictory statements from the NIH, CDC, Dr. Fauci and President Biden. How exactly can any doctor keep track of the “truth of the day” when agencies and “experts” are often at odds with one another as they practice during a time of great stress, ignorance, and misinformation from those at the very top of the power pyramid?

The attached article by James Breslo provides more information on the proposed “Ministry of Truth” in California. Then, be sure to only speak in whispers with your doctor as someone may hear the two of you and turn in your doctor.

https://thescotfree.com/opinion/californias-legislature-votes-to-ban-all-covid-19-vaccine-dissent-by-doctors/

Here is the good news:  Canada is increasing its military budget in an attempt to reach the NATO target of 2%. Here is the sad news: the increase will only increase the spending to 1.59% from its current 1.36%.

While the increase does not sound like much, Canada is making a major change in its uniforms which have seen minor change since 1945. Why is this important? Because as several NATO members have stated, Canada is several years ahead of other nations in this area. How have they managed to move ahead of the U.S., the U.K., and all the other NATO nations? By liberalizing the dress codes to allow cross gender dressing, earrings, nose rings, green hair (if it does not conflict with the camouflage uniforms, and more (much, much more). It is wonderful to see Canada step up and assume its rightful place of leadership with these important improvements.

I am confident that when a Canadian color guard is on display at some international conference, the attendees will appreciate the wonders of diversity and individuality. Lucky the officer who will command that unit.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/first-reading-get-ready-for-green-haired-soldiers-inside-the-militarys-new-dress-code/ar-AAZjuCm

Pity the small business owner in Great Britain! Imagine their feelings of trepidation as they are ready to renew their three-year energy contract with their local provider. They know the price of energy has been going up and the last contract was a just bearable $31,000 but the new contract has finally arrived. They open it and there must be a misprint! $135,000! (NYT, 9/3/2022, B1) No, it is not a misprint, it is the result of years of just in time energy deliveries (not enough storage), the war in the Ukraine and most importantly, two decades of green energy policies which has cut into the North Sea oil fields and stopped fracking.

Unfortunately, the above story is all too common in Great Britain today. Energy bills are going up 80% for homeowners and the new Prime Minister has moved quickly to put a cap on these increases for the next two years. The cost? About $115.35 billion or 4% of annual economic output. Given that the government debt is already at 95.5% of annual economic output, such subsidies will cause higher inflation for years to come. All this while estimates are that 100,000 businesses could close due to high energy prices. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of workers in transportation, trash services and energy have walked off their jobs to protest the excessive cost of energy and the resulting inflation.

Not the best of time to be the new Prime Minister! Fortunately, she has acted quickly and has eliminated the band on fracking and hopes are that it will pay off as soon as March 2023 which will help. Some people do learn and are willing to lead from the front.

The world is facing a crisis in its climate policies. The U.S. has gone from energy independence and being an exporter of fossil fuels to being an importer; will our leadership continue to ignore reality as Janet Yellen has (see link below) or will some adults appear and take the children in hand? The time for daydreaming and wistful ideals is over.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/janet-yellens-fantasy-economy-biden-administration-inflation-wages-dearborn-michigan-11662674409?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-coming-global-crisis-of-climate-policy-europe-germany-energy-prices-bankruptcy-winter-subsidies-borrowing-green-nuclear-11662651070?mod=opinion_featst_pos3

The riots and political upheaval in Sri Lanka demonstrate that food and energy are the basic building blocks of a modern society. Political leaders who temper with them in the name of “going green” or other “enlightened” ideals are putting their nation at risk as they increase energy costs, decrease the food supply, and disrupt the equilibrium in society that is the result of many years of growth and compromise. Humanity has seen this type of upheaval before, during the “famine” years of the Soviet Union when Stalin imposed collectivization as well as the Cultural Revolution inspired by Mao. In fact, it is difficult if not impossible to find any radical restructuring of society in human history that has produced a better society. It is an unfortunate truth that those type of disruptions come had a high cost of human suffering and pain.

Why then is humanity still plagued by “enlightened” groups who believe they have found a faster, surer path to nirvana? Their blind faith in their righteousness and lack of historical perspective seems to be a never-ending curse on humanity.

Check the link below for a short overview of the disaster in Sri Lanka and what we can learn from it.

https://www.dailyindependent.com/opinion/john-stossel-going-hungry/article_d07aa7b6-2ede-11ed-b130-13c01a03210c.html

There is certainly no shortages of histories and biographies of Stalin, one of the greatest mass murderers in history. His crimes, his murders were taken unlike his contemporary, Hitler, against for the most part, his own people. He did not have a policy of racial superiority or any underlying moral rationale for his crimes; his sole purpose was to achieve and maintain his power and in this, he is unique among the “big three” of mass murderers: Mao, Hitler, and Stalin.

Robert Conquest, perhaps the top historian of the Soviet Union has in this short book (just over three hundred pages), an excellent overview of Stalin’s drive, achievement, and maintenance of power. Although not as detailed as his other excellent histories which go deeper into the Stalin regime (The Harvest of Sorrow, The Great Terror: A Reassessment, Inside Stalin’s Secret Police: NKVD Politics 1936-39, etc.), Conquest along with Robert C. Tucker and Orlando Figes (and others) has provided a comprehensive analysis of the man and his times.

Conquest as always, manages to provide a certain analytical approach that can bring the reader up short: in this case, it is his comparison of the followers of Nazism and Communism. He quotes Hugh Seton-Watson’s comments that:

“Hitler’s Nazis were ‘fanatics with an ersatz religion,’ who rejected not only Christianity but also traditional morality as such. Nazism’s central feature was ‘moral nihilism’…. (it) is not only the central feature of National Socialism, but also the common factor between it and Bolshevism.” 

This statement is backed up by a review of leading Nazis, including Hitler, Goebbels, Mussolini, the dreaded Gauleiter of the Ukraine, Koch, and others who all started out as Socialist and ended up as either Fascists or Nazis. And it was not unusual after the war for die hard Nazi’s to reverse their coat and be taken into the Soviet camp. On one hand, the Nazis use race, the Communist used social origin as the determining factor for life or death; both were (are) based on “moral nihilism.”

Conquest is an outstanding historian, but for the amateur historian, his writing may be a bit too intellectual. He has a firm grounding in the Russian mindset and his analysis of Stalin’s legacy on modern day Russians is excellent. His works not only encompass history, as he has had published a collection of poetry, verse translation, fiction, and criticism so to read Conquest is to be exposed to a man of great intellect. A faster read but no less excellent Soviet historian is Orlando Figes brings a more human touch to his histories.

As one learns Conquest’s style, one is drawn increasingly to it and like a favorite composer, one eagerly looks forward to the next work of his that one shall read.

The prime function of a military is to be prepared to inflict and sustain violence. Other functions include socializing an individual into a given society, creating a sense of order and discipline in the individual and creating a bond which will, when needed, allow the individual to take an action that is more important than the narrow self-interest of that individual. We see this in what we call “heroic actions” or acts of “bravery.” It is reinforced through group recognition and the awarding of medals and citations. To achieve its goals, the military must constantly be involved in training which will not only help to achieve those goals but will also enhance the individuals’ chances of survival if there is a call to violence.

Anything during an individuals’ time in the military which lessens or diminishes either the period of training, or which hinders the creation of the military bond is a distraction which could put the individual and the group in greater danger due to the loosening of that bonding process or the missed training.

The link below looks at the rise of Wokeness and its cost in the military. What exactly is the upside to such a program and what sort of measurement if any, is being used to judge its impact? For generations, the U.S. military was seen by most as an equal opportunity operation. Not always, not perfectly, but its mindset like society’s and like the weapons it employs has been in a constant state of evolution. Does the ideology of Wokeness enhance or subvert that natural evolution and distract from the primary functions of the military? The margin for error in the military is small and can easily be a mater of life and death. Is it correct to experiment with an organization on which the fundamental security of the nation depends? Read the article which may help you decide.

It has been said that the parable of the three sieves by Socrates is but a myth, but be that it may, it is still worth repeating: 

One day, when Socrates had just left the place where he used to interact with young people about their way of conceiving life, he met a man he knew who told him, in a confidential tone:

Listen, Socrates, there is among your listeners a disreputable young man, unworthy of your trust. When I tell you what he’s doing, I think you’ll ban him from your group.

I am ready to listen to you, replied Socrates, and to take the necessary measures. But let me first look closely at what you are about to tell me. Have you passed your words through the three sieves?

The three sieves, questioned the man, what is it?

The first is the sieve of Truth. Are you sure that what you are going to tell me is true? Have you heard it yourself or watched with your own eyes?

To tell the truth, said the man, after a moment of hesitation, I just overheard it.

The test of the first sieve is not successful, says Socrates. Let’s examine the second: the sieve of Goodness. Will you tell me something good or positive about this man?

On the contrary, said the other, I was going to say bad things about him.

Your words do not pass the second sieve, says Socrates. Let’s use the last sieve. Is it necessary to tell me what you’re so excited about?

No not necessary, the man says.

Well, Socrates says with a smile, if the story you’re about to tell me isn’t true, good or necessary, just forget it and don’t bother me with it.

There are voices in the land forecasting a new American Civil War; I disagree. I do believe however, that we have unknowingly been in a revolution for a few decades. It is a revolution from the radical Left which has sought to alter many of the fundamental institutions and beliefs which has driven our nation. Attacks on the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, Electoral College, the police, and others has served to split our Republic into a variety of warring tribes. Add to this the attack on the rights of parents from the medical and educational establishments and the flaunting of basic biological facts have driven many on the center and right to demand a counter revolution.

The failures of highly touted and well-funded governmental agencies during the recent pandemic have shown that they have lost sight of their primary responsibilities; working to protect the public from the exact type of challenge offered by Covid. Where have they gone wrong and how do they regain any degree of legitimacy in the eyes of those not aligned with the radical Left? The attached article suggests that those charged with specific duties have gone astray and need to be brought back to center

https://www.dailysignal.com/wp-content/uploads/220823_Fauci-1260×650.jpg

There are many beautiful locations in France and during a month-long driving trip across the country, one can find many of the wonderful locations shelter cemeteries commemorating the many battles that have been fought on French soil for centuries. One of the most peaceful is at the Verdun battlefield, that ten-month battle (twice as long as Stalingrad in WWII) where three-quarters of a million men were killed, wounded, or listed as missing. But the missing are not really all missing, for at the battlefield stands the Ossuary, a building of unique design. The cloister itself is 450 feet long and in the center is the tower, some 151 feet high which houses the great bronze bell. In front of the Ossuary are the graves of over sixteen-thousand French troops. As one walks around the great monument, one notices small windows set just above ground level and peering in, one sees stacks of skulls, or the various bones that make up the human body. These bones, the remains of over one hundred-thirty thousand French and German soldiers are some of those missing. Their bodies were simply blown apart, entirely or partially vaporized in the hail of artillery fire that stripped the surrounding hills of trees, animal life and even the topsoil.

I first read this book in the late 1970’s and I return to it every few years, each time learning more about the battle and being amazed at the ability of men to endure months of slaughter, in the snow and rain, often without food for days, covered in mud, trying to dig themselves deeper in the deep sucking mud in a vain attempt to escape some of the 37,000,000 artillery shells which were fired during the battle. The author puts a face on many of the combatants, using letters and diaries written at the time and long forgotten when their authors were destroyed later in the war. He was also able to interview veterans of both nations as well as widows and children which he mixes in to keep us focused on the humanity of the combatants.

Going further, the author portrays the key military leaders involved in the battle and how some jockeyed for advancement and how a few, such as General Petain, did what he could to save the army while at the same time showing a rare compassion for the lowly Poilu. While German general Erich von Falkenhayn designed the battle to bleed the French army dry using overwhelming fire power, in two instances he hesitated to act which could very well have brought not only victory at Verdun, but also for Germany in the war. In the end, both armies were bled dry but with a war on two fronts for the Germans with a poor ally (like being tethered to a corpse according to the German high command), command failures such as exhibited by von Falkenhayn were simply unacceptable.

Wars are always terrible, unimaginable for most people, but this history brings out not only the tragedy, but the sheer determination of men in war to survive and achieve. Reading this book will always make the reader thank any veteran they meet for what they were willing to do to keep the walls of society safe.

The California Air Resource Board (an unelected regulatory body) is pushing for California to join the EU and Canada in only allowing EVs to be sold in the state by 2035. The state (like the EU and Canada) is unprepared for such a change over as it only has about one-third of the necessary charging stations, plus the electric grid is not able to manage hundreds of thousands of EVs all charging at the same time.  One of the suggestions is that EV owners should spend several thousands of dollars (on top of the already inflated EV prices) to install solar panel at their homes. At the same time, there is no industry in place to dispose of or recycle either old EV batteries millions of solar panels which are nearing their twenty-five-year life cycle.

Of course, powering all the EVs will require either additional nuclear generating plants, or a vast increase in fossil-based plants which will hardly insure the zero-emission goal for 2035. There are no plans, funding or clearing of environmental lawsuits from numerous special interest groups for an expansion of fossil or nuclear facilities so the practical feasibility of success by 2035 would require a crash program of funding and construction. There is no such talk to support the reality of sufficient supply except for the thirty billion in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act which will have to spread over all fifty states. The Watts Bar Nuclear Plant #2 in Tennessee took forty years to build and two new plants in Georgia have seen their costs rise from fourteen to twenty-three billion ($14 billion to $23 billion).

The linked article points out that “the future is eclectic, not electric.”

https://www.city-journal.org/how-hybrids-can-beat-electric-vehicles-on-emissions