During the past decade we have seen a deterioration not only in our political discourse, but also in our sense of the validity of our election process. Demands for recounts, legal action in response to an election, claims of voter suppression, international conspiracies, changes in the Electoral College and more have made many Americans tired and disillusioned with the election process. The politicians seem to look for ways to get around election results which reject them and their programs. It was suggested to Richard Nixon after his loss to JFK that he demand legal action due to the late results from Illinois which all but cost him the Presidency, but Nixon refused because of the harm he believed such action would cause the country. Today’s politicians do not seem to have such qualms or concerns about the moral fiber of the country. The attached article, while pointing out the actions of one political party should make us think of the cost to all of us when politicians of any party seem to lack faith and confidence in our Constitution and our political process. We need to demand that politicians of either party put the welfare of our nation above their own personal quest for power. The first step in such a movement though is for each of us to accept that our side may not always win, that we may not always agree with the political agenda of the winner or agree with the winner’s policies or personality and get on with life. Fortunately there is another election in just a few months! If you do not agree with the outcome of an election, don’t pout and stamp your foot, but work with a sense of purpose and dignity to insure that your candidate and agenda will be viewed as better for the nation as a whole. As you read the article, forget the party being cited and instead think of the impact of actions like those cited have on our sense of national identity and unity. They should make you cringe. No one likes to lose, but we need to restore a sense of dignity and belief in our electoral process.

This classic of political writing features essays by some of the brilliant intellectual minds from the 1930s through the mid-1950s.  The studies include those of Arthur Koestler, Ignazio Silone, Andre Gide, Richard Wright, Louis Fischer and Stephen Spender.  All had joined (some for only a few days) their local Communist parties and all had rejected it for a variety of reasons.  Each sought to find a solution to the problems they faced, such as the fall of Capitalism (often predicted, none accurately yet), artistic freedom, someone to stand against Fascism, the end of racism, etc.  Each found that while the theory was supposedly “scientific”, the practical application of the theory in fact worked against the solutions they sought and were run by humans with the same emotions, fears, etc. that have always existed

Published in the United States in 1943, this interesting novel the decline of the French intellectual class prior to the outbreak of World War II.  Not all of the characters are French, for we also find a Soviet Ambassador, paranoid and corrupt, an elderly Russian Revolutionary who is only a seeking a quiet exit from a life and efforts that he has come to doubt and a young Soviet secretary who loves to buy Paris clothing but keeps trying to convince herself that life in the Soviet Union of 1938 is better and happier than Paris.

If you are confused (which is easy to do) with what “woke” means, or “othering”, the difference between the Anywheres and the Everyones or how one can achieve, as demanded by those who are “woke” both diversity and inclusion (aren’t they self cancelling?), then this excellent article from the Claremont Review of Books is a must read. I doubt if in the end you will be able to accurately define each of the terms and how one could possible balance them in one’s life, but it will help you to better understand why your friends on the Left seem to willingly participate in a circular firing squad. https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/the-chosen-and-the-woke/

If you like history, you probably feel comfortable in a discussion about most Western European states including their history.  But how much do you really know about the real foundations upon which the modern states were built?  Norman Davies has put together a book which is exhaustive in detail about those communities, smaller states and some greater states which are bypassed in most history courses.  What role did the Kingdom of the Rock play in the formation of Scotland?  Did you know that Prussia was once a fiefdom of Poland (a fact which most German history tends to miss)?  How about the long history of Burgundia which covered over thirteen hundred years and yet is seldom taught? Of course, you do not want to miss the history of Litva which was a Grand Duchy with Kings.

John Locke in his Second Treatise of Civil Government wrote: “The Legislative cannot transfer the Power of Making Laws to any other hands. For ti being but a delegated Power from the People, they, who have it, cannot pass it over to others..” Yet today, Congress routinely passes laws giving wide discretionary powers to numerous Federal agencies with little or no oversight. As a result, the Federal Courts often end up providing oversight of the agencies as law suits are filed by those negatively impacted by the rules and enforcement of same rules by quasi-independent agencies.

This excellent review of Judicial Fortitude: The Last Chance to Rule in the Administrative State by Peter J. Wallison should make you wonder why Congress has given up it’s power to unnamed bureaucrats. Is it because actually doing their job might be a bit too difficult? Are they that lazy? And, why do we as a people in our Republic allow it to continue? https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/full-court-press/

Although Valentin Berezhkov was not Stalin’s primary interpreter, he did attend many important meetings with Stalin during the Second World War, including Yalta and in Moscow.  With a natural flair for languages, Berezhkov found that he was chosen for important work by Molotov and was suddenly thrust into the middle of history making events.  His memoirs are interesting as they reflect the mind set of suspicion, fear and ambition at the very highest levels of Soviet government. The leaders of the State were constantly looking over their shoulders and testing the ground beneath their feet as their leader, Stalin, the consummate politician watched them for any inking of disloyalty or lack of duty.

Mark Twain one said, “Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated”. From this excellent article by Craig S. Lerner in the Claremont Review of Books, it would appear that the rumor of the the death of the death penalty are also greatly exaggerated. Is there a role for the death penalty in the 21st century? Is it revenge or barbaric or a statement of the ultimately belief in the value of human life and an orderly society?

From the early 1960s through 1973, the U.S. was engaged in a secret way in Laos.  While President Kennedy and Khrushchev signed accords in Geneva to ensure the neutrality of Laos, the accords were immediately violated by the North Vietnamese.  The Ho Chi Minh Trail ran the length of Laos and was key to supplying their forces in South Vietnam and Cambodia.  The government of Laos requested help and the result was a group of air force flyers who volunteered for a secret and dangerous mission.  Their goal was to help the Hmong tribesmen (aka Meo which was a Chinese term meaning barbarian) in their fight against the NVA.  The Hmong army led by General Vang Pao was outnumbered, out gunned and poorly supplied.  It suffered huge casualties, and, in the end, the army consisted of boys as young as thirteen who carried M-16s almost as long as they were tall.

This article is important not only because of what he has found about Coronavirus, but also because it points out that he has found over 200 scientific biases that are common in “scientific” studies. An article that may impact how you view major scientific announcements in the future. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-bearer-of-good-coronavirus-news-11587746176?mod=opinion_lead_pos5