The twentieth century was not especially wonderful for Italy.  In World War I, although on the victorious side, the cost in manpower was terrible and most of the fighting took place on some of the most inhospitable land on the planet.  That generation was scared and almost immediately fell under the influence of Mussolini, a charismatic, blustering and to be honest, not a very bright individual.  Following his dreams of glory, all of Italy became a vicious battle ground and the nation, ill-prepared for war, was bombed and shelled into submission.  As if those experiences were not enough, Italy suffered bouts of Red terrorism, economic stagnation, and political instability.  The United States on the other hand had a pretty good twentieth-century. Victorious in two World Wars, the victor of the Cold War and huge economic growth, the nation became a super-power.  While the twenty-first century has not been all that great, the nation is still the magnet to hundreds of millions of people around the world who still believe that we are the land of opportunity.

How is it then that we see mobs in the United States, attempting to destroy statues of imperfect men who did great deeds, improved the health of millions of people or who fought for their noble and not so noble ideas but with an honest belief?  We do not see this type of activity in France were Napoleon who was responsible for the deaths of a million of his countrymen and who knows how many of other nations is still honored. Do the French tear down the beautiful palaces created by their despotic kings?  How about the British who first outlawed the slave trade?  Should statues of great explorers be torn down because they dared to believe that their values and system could help people in other lands? 

Why do we suffer they type of self-flagellation?  Who are these self-centered, intolerant racists that create such havoc in their attempt to show us how they have found the Truth?  How can they even dare to make suggestions about how things could be better when they are so woefully ignorant of what truly came before them. 

Which brings us to the article linked below.  Today, one can run across houses, commercial buildings, stadiums, statues and more that were built to glorify the Fascist regime of Mussolini.  They are literally everywhere, and no one defaces them or attempts to tear them down.  Why?  Perhaps it is the realization that those times were three generations ago and that Italy is a different country.  Perhaps it is because people understand that they can learn from history and that to discard it is another step toward totalitarianism.  The line from 1984 that “he who controls the present, controls the past and he who controls the past controls the future”. Perhaps we need to force feed some history to those silly children who believe they have found the “Truth” and that it will be different this time.  If we do not and they continue their ignorant ways, we should not be at all surprised at the result.

https://www.city-journal.org/article/italys-non-cancel-culture

Just as the pandemic revealed to millions of parents the hidden agenda that was being inflicted on their children, so too the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk was one of the most important actions in the past several years.  With the purchase, the citadel of the Left was pierced, and the many secrets contained within its walls revealed.

To say that the secrets were important is a huge understatement for the terrible alliance between the police powers of our nation and social media stood for all to see. A police agency, the F.B.I, known to have openly interfered with the last two Presidential elections, was exposed along with the Deep State bureaucracy of demanding censorship of political and medical opinions which they believed to be dangerous. Demands for censorship poured into the Twitter headquarter from FBI offices across the country, demanding that opinions by American citizens be silenced.

This was possible because, as the linked article points out, “…the administrative state has metastasized into a destructive deep state that threatens to bring about the collapse of America’s constitutional system within our lifetimes.  The unchecked, to this day, power of that deep state in alliance with national police power has gone from being a post 9/11 war on terror to a war on opinions which are contrary to those in political and bureaucratic power.

Years ago, even before being sworn into office, candidate Obama swore to fundamentally transform the United States.  It sounded like just another campaign slogan, but we are seeing just how much the nation has been changed, not by Congress, but by bureaucratic directives and overreaching of police powers.  The adage that the larger the government, the smaller the citizen is being played out before our very eyes and it appears that no one is acting to reverse the capture of power by individuals and groups with little if any accountability.

History has shown us time and time again, that economies which are centrally planned fail and that economies which offer freedom of choice and competition provide not only wealth, but long term stability.  We may expect that this lesson will be repeatedly ignored by Marxists and their ilk, but it is shocking to see it ignored by leaders of what use to be called, “the free world” (a term which we have not heard since the fall of the Soviet Union).  Perhaps it is time for the leaders of the Western world to go back to school and take some lessons on basic economics.

At the current time, one in seven workers in the United States earns their living by being connected to the auto industry.  One in seven, that is about 14%. In Europe, the auto industry provides employment for just over 6% of all workers and about 8.5% of all manufacturing jobs.  Those numbers represent a huge portion of the tax revenues of the U.S. and European economies. Economies which have successfully lifted millions out of poverty around the world by offering competition and choice.  Yet we see today central governments attempting to mandate a product which can only be sustained at this point by huge amounts of corporate welfare and adjustments to wealth distribution. This product offers a developing technology and while it may in the future become viable, those same central governments are not creating the infrastructure to sustain the product they see as the wave of the future.

Consider these facts:

• Ford announced that it will lose $3,000,000,000 (billion) on EVs in 2023
• Ford spends $220,000 to produce each Rivian electric pick up truck which it then sells for $81,000
• Ford plans to make 2 million electric cards every year by 2025, but,
  • Ford only sold 61,575 in 2022
  • In February 2023 it sold 3,624 EVs
• GM loses up to $9,000 for each electric Bolt, it’s “affordable” EV
• GM plans to sell 1 million electric cars by 2025, but is sold less than 40,000 in 2022

How would you like to be the marketing and sales manager facing those sales goals?

Additionally, with high interest rates, a slowing economy and what looks like major job layoffs and a possible recession, the centralized planning from government faces a daunting task.   

If anyone is in doubt as to the impact this war will have on employment, loss of taxes and basic freedom, one need only think back to the last time one in seven workers were involved in another “wave of the future”, that being the implementation of “Obamacare”.  Since then, we have seen hospitals close, many doctors leaving the health care industry, premiums increase and for the first time, a decrease in the life expectancy of certain portions of the citizens it was designed to serve.

If a product is truly good, it does not have to be mandated.

I will say this for Mike Pompeo; he does not give an inch.  His book primarily deals with his time as head of the CIA and then Secretary of State during the Trump administration is probably the most direct political memoir I have read.  He states his positions very clearly and makes note of his successes and failures for all to see.  There is no doubt where he stands and what he stood for while holding those two positions. I can see that if he had been in different administrations, he would not have achieved what he did and certainly would not have lasted as long as he did.

A staunch believer in his country, he is not ashamed to admit that he gathers much of his strength from his family, especially his wife and their strong religious beliefs.  He will quote scripture to show how the Bible has helped him achieve his successes and in more than one situation, his knowledge of scripture won him high marks in the international field.

To a greater extent than normal, his freely gives credit to those who work for him praising their dedication, knowledge and patriotism.  The list is long and is referenced throughout the book; here is a man who has built businesses and has signed paychecks and who knows that a successful manager is one who surrounds himself with the best people possible.  On the other hand, he names names and gives examples of D.C. professionals who are shallow, seek to feather their own nests and are certainly not beholding or supportive of any particular occupant of the White House. Unlike other Trump officials, he always remembered that he signed onto the Trump administration and that while he may have disagreed with the President on certain matters, he was free to voice his opinion and then his job was to soldier on, as long as the job did not cross the line of his own conscience.

In a post dated 8/22/2022 entitled “Trust Deficit”, I wrote that there seems to be an increasing gap between those who govern us and we the people.  Unfortunately, this gap appears to be growing as the belief of those who govern in their ability to fool us only gets stronger.

How often do we find that the government, at any level, introduces a program designed with the (hopefully) best of intentions only to see it flounder on the shores of reality?  The response?  “Let’s form a study group to find out what can be done”, or “we need to fund the program so we can realize it’s full potential”, etc. Often, the correct response would be, “Man, did we screw that one up, how do we stop the program and not waste any more money”.

The attached article by Andy Kessler gives examples of how those in authority never admit (do they realize?) that their actions and programs are the cause of problems.  A famous politician once said “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste”, meaning that each crisis is an opportunity to fool the public into thinking the reacting politician is a hero.  Of course, he/she is a hero on your dime; they may even claim that the solution is “free”, but never fear, there will be enough people out there to give credit where no credit is due.

I am beginning to doubt the statement by Abraham Lincoln that, “you can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.”  Even in the age of digital video and real time reporting, we see and hear our political leaders lie and insult our intelligence with a smile and shock when the proof is presented.  They must realize that at the least fooling all of the people some of the time is the acceptable standard.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-zero-to-hero-biden-inflation-fed-fdic-svb-deposit-insurance-bailout-interest-rates-oil-gas-willow-643b9f2d?page=1

We seem to be living in a time when the only people who are held to account are private individuals who play by the rules.  These are the people who go to work, raise a family, pay their taxes, make sure they get all the licenses and permits they need to drive a car, purchase a gun, upgrade the electrical in their homes, etc.  Heaven forbid if some line on their increasingly incomprehensible tax form should be incorrect, the heavy hand of the IRS shall land upon them.  Drive your car with a yearly license sticker that is out of date?  Get a ticket!  Park too far from the curb? Get a ticket! Use a gas powered lawnmower? You are personally destroying the planet. The list goes on and on how government agencies/bureaus/districts, etc. lay down rules and regulations that the average man or woman on the street must abide by or face the consequences. 

On the other hand, we see:

• Bums (is that term still used?) who boldly steal hundreds of dollars of merchandise from a shop, yet they walk free as it is not worth the time to capture them.  Don’t worry, the cost will be passed onto those who play by the rules. 
• We see government official perjure themselves in front of Congress but they pay no penalty.  Hey, he only did it once that we know of.
• The IRS targets certain groups as you do not like their politics, but when the leaders are caught, they are allowed to retire with their pensions. Trust us, it will not happen again.
• Bank failures?  There are calls to lock up the bankers but what about the multiple government agencies who failed to act on the problem in a timely manner?  Don’t worry, the cost will be passed onto those who play by the rules.

Everywhere we see systemic failure but the buck only seems to stop at one door, the average person who plays by the rules. The two articles attached should make us all sit up and take notice.  What is wrong with our system?  How have we managed to get so far off track that such degrees of stupidity, greed, lack of honesty and incompetence are viewed as just another normal day.

I have often heard that you cannot change the system and that is just how it works.  I have also heard that it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.  I must admit I prefer the latter of the two and that means that each of us, every day, must demand and battle for what we know is right: for honesty, excellence, justice and the value of merit and honor.  We may not make much of a difference in the big picture, but each of us must use each day to hold back the forces which degrade our standards and our possibility for the future. Great societies are built on ideals and doomed societies are destroyed by the acceptance of sloth, lies, deceit, and greed.   

https://www.wsj.com/articles/careless-supervision-sank-svb-fdic-federal-reserve-dodd-frank-act-bank-policy-instittue-bailout-treasury-cro-7340e6ad?mod=opinion_lead_pos7

There are some simple truths in life which are extremely unpalatable to some people.  These truths have been proven over the centuries as leading to better adjusted individuals, a stronger society, increased wealth, and less violence.  They include such concepts as:

• Get an education.
• Get married.
• Do not have children before you are married.
• A child needs both a mother and a father.

Somehow, despite the failures of societies which ignore these rules, there are those who preach that “this time it will be different”.  It never is, but there is not much that you can do with slow learners who are “believers”.

Another group which tends to ignore reality is called the “bleeding heart brigade”.  They truly want to help people, but just want to take the clean sanitary way of throwing money at a problem in the belief that money in itself can solve a problem.  A prime example of this was the “Great Society” movement during the 1960’s, when poverty was thought to be an outcome a lack of income.  The result of that movement, which has cost the taxpayers of the United States over twenty trillion dollars, was the break up of the traditional Black family, a higher crime rate, a decrease in house ownership in the Black population, etc..  Do not forget that it has also come with another price, a permanent welfare bureaucracy at the Federal, state, and local level with a vested interest in self-preservation.

The link to the article by Steven Malanga points out how past policies have led to a debasement of life in the Black community.  At some point we have to realize that the failed policies of the past have helped to ruin the opportunities for millions of our citizens.  That is not only a financial failure, it is a moral failure and one which cannot be hidden by new programs based on the same policies which have been proven to be worse than worthless; they are criminal.  We see not that poverty is not merely a matter of money, but it is also a failure of recognizing the value of the individual and destroying that individual’s belief in themselves.  It is time for a change.

https://www.city-journal.org/marriage-then-mortgage

Did you know that to mine enough minerals to meet the production needs for all the new batteries, windmills, etc. in going “green”, we will need to open hundreds of new mines.  Yet, it takes an average of sixteen years to open a new mine, not one new mine is being proposed and the mining industry is decreasing it’s investments in new mines.  Yet somehow, for all of the gladhanding of our political class and the stary eyed activists, this one fundamental fact, this one overwhelming need is never discussed.

But it does get better.  Suppose through some miracle, the huge investment cost of all the new mines became available, and suppose that the environmentalist did not file hundreds of lawsuits to stop the mines, the fact remains that given the projected need for batteries and the change in the infrastructure, we would exhaust the world’s supply of copper in one year.  And, no, there is no known replacement for copper.

The plans for going “green” also happens to ignore one small fact: the need for energy will only increase.  Before the auto was invented, there was no need for more energy, but once the tires hit the road, the need for energy became apparent.  The same is true for the airplane, the computer, the television, the dishwasher, etc.  Today, the energy needed to operate the “cloud” demands more energy than the entire commercial aircraft fleet of the world.  How much energy will AI require?  Or, is the answer to stop man’s natural instinct to move forward, to find a better way to do a job, to create more opportunities to create a higher standard of living by creating wealth around the world? The poverty rate of the world has decreased due to the availability of greater energy.

The link below to the excellent video of Mark Mills of the Manhattan Project points out those simple facts and many others which show that for all the fuss, fire and proclamations, the current dreams of doing away with fossil fuels is an unreachable dream. Unreachable due to time, costs, mineral availability, and the natural increase in the need for energy as humanity moves forward.  Or is the answer really to move boldly into the fourteenth century as the “green” movement demands?

The legalization of marijuana in California has led a surge in murders, assaults, water theft and corruption in several counties of California.  It is estimated that in one northern California county alone, the cartels have generated nearly fifty-billions dollars ($50,000,000,000) of profits, all of which is untaxed and supported by numerous crimes.  The local authorities are outmanned, out gunned and out lawyered by the cartels, yet the problem is entirely ignored by Governor Newsom and the powers that be in Sacramento.

This video helps to reveal the size and scope of the illegal marijuana industry in only one county of California. 

For many on the Left, Sweden is held up as a model of a successful Socialist state, but one can only do that if one is ignorant of the Swedish model of government.  In the late 1990s in response to a looming national debt and a high level of unemployment, a new Swedish government began to move more government functions to local areas and municipalities and to individual efforts, in other words, away from socialism and more toward capitalism.  This revitalized the economy and created a better functioning economy with greater wealth.  The first major challenge to this model occurred with the influx of immigrants who refused to assimilate into a western model of work, individual initiative, etc. Wide spread welfare fraud was found and a rise in violent crimes across the nation tarnished the Swedish model.

Sweden also, like most western nations, began to feel the impact of a falling birthrate among its’ citizens and the traditional Ponzi scheme of social security was called into questions.  The link below outlines how Sweden saved its social security system through a combination of mandatory public and private savings plans.  As predicted, since the reforms of 1994, the average Swede has average a roughly 10% return on their private accounts and the crisis passed.  Although not perfect, it has worked and even the burden of the immigrants has not negatively impacted the social security system.

We can only hope that the politicians in D.C. will act responsibly and not play politics with the very real threat to our social security system.  They may be counting on massive tax increases at the last minute to save the system, but such an impact on the overall economy will be felt across all age groups.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-sweden-saved-social-security-privatization-insolvency-market-brake-risk-contribution-biden-ef1583d3?page=1