During the time of Covid, governments on all levels eagerly grasped powers far beyond any degree of reasonableness.  Governors acted like dictators, issuing edicts and executive actions unrestrained by any form of check and balances.  The result was a loss of personal freedom for the average citizen which can never be fully undone.  That abuse of power was a disaster and most often, not founded any “science” despite the claims of the politicians.

After the pandemic however, other politicians decided to test the limits of their power in ways that were often, far worse than the abuse by governors.  An example of this was a bill passed in California by the Democratic super-majority, which limited the ability of physicians and others to disagree with any form of “approved” science.  While claiming to “follow the science”, the State Assembly of California threatened to “unlicensed” any physician who did not adhere to the official line on science.  It was unclear who exactly determined what that official line was, what it was based on, or how it was to be communicated. 

Given the record of false science that we experienced during the time of Covid, and the harm that such false science inflicted on all levels to individuals and the economy, what safeguard was in place to insure that there would not be any repeat of the erroneous directives from the individual, individuals or group that was to decide and bless the sanctified, official science?  Would there at least be a grace period so that the soon to be neutered physicians, for example, could adjust their advice to their patients  and were they officially freed from their Hippocratic Oath?

The more one thinks on the subject, the more one must be in awe at the nerve, the sheer chutzpah of the body of legislatures who could pass such a law. Fortunately a recent court decision has deal a blow to the egos and inflated sense of intelligence possessed by the State of California legislatures and the State Governor who so enjoy issuing literally hundreds of proclamations during the time of Covid.  I invite you to use the link below to read the story of the Courts’ decision which is a decision of freedom of thought and action.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/california-loses-on-medical-censorship-gavin-newsom-doctors-coivd-misinformation-pandemic-medical-board-11675024552?mod=opinion_lead_pos3

I must admit that I am reluctant to post this link as the subject covers numerous actions by governmental officials which I find personally disgusting.  But, we need to be aware of the laws and the impact of the laws have on so many of our fellow citizens.  Thanks to the actions of our lawmakers, prostitution, sex trafficking, rape, drug dealing, pimping, and more will be easier to commit.  The first rule of any law should be: will it make the lives of our citizens better and easier? Somehow, this rule never seems to enter the minds of so many governmental officials.

Unfortunately, we have politicians who either are openly evil (yes, I did write that moral statement) or stupid which is easier to believe.  They either are more concerned about the 1-5% of the population they represent or simply do not give a damn about the other 95-99% of humanity.  While they may pass laws that seem to satisfy their perceived version of reality, they seem to remain woefully ignorant of the rest of society and humanity. 

How is it that single individuals can wield such power?  Is that individual amazingly brilliant or at least more intelligent than others?  Is their rhetoric so convincing?  Or are they simple surrounded by fools and buffoons who are so cut off from the realities of the concept of cause and effect that they have no concept of the consequences of their actions?  I have to say, that as we seem to have a professional political class which has little contact with those they claim to represent, it must be the latter.  Our politicians by and large, do not have any idea what it is like not to have a free car which has free fuel, who are provided security at no cost and who have little if any accountability. Seldom if ever do they deal as you in the everyday world without a staff of highly paid sycophants who commend their every utterance.  You, the average citizen are left to deal with the policies they create which cost you tax dollars, which lower the quality of your living, which degrade the city in which you live and which make your life more difficult.

The attached article is about the direction that California is going, but believe me, if history is any indicator, it may be the direction for your town, city, state, etc.

https://www.city-journal.org/predators-paradise

Above is the title of a column in the New York Times (really) by Jesse Singal, who has been labeled a “woke-skeptical progressive” by the editor of The American Conservative who published another of Mr. Singal’s articles, DEI Training: Harmful, Phony and Expensive.

In the two articles (sorry I cannot provide a link to the NYT article at this time), the author points out that there are no studies that show such “training” (otherwise known as propaganda) is of any value.  In effect, businesses are spending billions on useless classes while hoping to starve off lawsuits from activist and wishing that such dollars might buy them some good will.  Such classes have spawned lawsuits against the companies by some of the forced participants.

The problem with DEI is that it comes decades too late and is hardly equitable.  Firstly, by the time any rational human being enters the workspace, his/her family, educational, and social experiences have set them up with a certain mind set.  They may think of themselves as fair individuals or as victims, as openminded or as having a firm set of opinions on any given topic. Individuals may or may not change as they progress in life, as they interact with individuals with different backgrounds, religions, political views, etc. but few respond well to forced self-examination. It use to be called “brain-washing”.

Secondly, such courses do not foster equity for they are one sided.  They act as a gun aimed at one group of participants and any attempt by one of those participants to object or offer a counter opinion only leads for further accusations. In effect that individual is singled out as an example of someone who does not even realize how incorrect is their outlook on life. No one wants to be a poster boy for the negative whether deserved or not.

In effect, one group of people who have their lives guided by such ideals or rules like importance of being on time, or good spelling, believing one plus one always equals two, etc., are seen as the worse kind of individuals.  By respecting the yes, “rules” of a successful society, they are labeled as the worse type of person. Is there any wonder that they sit there, put in their required time, and then walk away perhaps being harder in their attitude than before?

Please right click on the block below and click on “open link in new window” for access to the article in The American Conservative. Here is a rational voice in the wilderness but let us hope they are only the first in what shall be a growing tide. 

I must admit that prior to reading this book, I had mixed thoughts about Mr. Kushner.  Was he a case of nepotism, what was his background, did he have any thoughts of his own or was he merely a puppet of the President who was his father-in-law, did he marry into the Trump family in a bid for easy wealth, and so on.  By the end of the book, admitting that it may be at times self-serving (how unusual for a political memoir), my attitude toward him turned to admiration. 

Here was an individual from outside the belt way who took on tasks which were not easy, fought against individuals with their own agendas and who did not necessarily supporting the goals of the man they worked for, the President, entered into the very real dark and self-perpetuating deep state and came out with his love of country intact, his family intact and could realize that he helped to accomplish successes where “insiders” had failed for decades. 

How was he able to accomplish anything being an outsider in the Capital.  For one, he brought a level of expertise that was missing in the Capital and the hallways of power, for rather than trying to merge into the bureaucracy and traditional power games, he brought his business sense to the table.  This means that as every businessman knows, you cannot move ahead if you do not offer a good product and work at every level to provide that product to the market.  His approach was very often one of being willing to listen.  An example is the dogma given by John Kerry that “There will be no separate peach with the Arab world without the Palestinian process and Palestinian peace.  Everybody needs to understand that.  That is a hard reality.”  Kushner realized that the same old programs with ill-defined promises had been the bedrock of Middle East discussions for decades with the same result, failure.  Instead of doing the “same old, same old”, why not do something different. It was Henry Kissinger who advised him that the foreign policy of the nation had to be run by the White House as opposed to the State Department where ideas seem to go to die. 

While Trump may have been mocked by the Germans and others when he cautioned them about relying on cheap energy from Russia, in the Middle East he was respected for his openness and willingness to be bold and speak openly.  His image played well in the area as opposed to the apology tour concept and he was willing to listen to what Arab leaders had to say in very frank discussions, including when he told them that a deal could be made but that they had to handle the terrorists in their own countries who go out and murder Israelis. No action, no deals.  The Arab leaders also liked that Kushner was the President’s son-in-law which gave creditability to his voice.  Finally, he found by listening that a major stumbling block to Middle East movement was not necessarily the Palestinians who were getting to be a burden, but rather guaranteed and safe access to the al Aqsa Mosque which was under the control of Israel.  By finding the one thing that all the Arab leaders could agree on, it enabled him, by working hard and creating a strong team, to develop and close the Abraham Accords, an action that has led to greater trade and development in the area.

The book notes some of the personalities in the administration including Tillison, Kelly, Fauci, Bolton and others in a way that allows one to read between the lines and understand his opinion without being insulting.  In each encounter, Kusher seems to better realize the difference between the government game and that of business, but he absorbs each and uses the experience to better his results.

One of the finest sections is in the episode regarding the successful strike against Soleimani.  The Iranian general had been responsible for the deaths and wounding of thousands of U.S. military personnel and Trump felt that a message needed to be sent that there was no safe ground for those who attacked Americans. The killing of Soleimani sent a strong message to the Iranian leadership and despite the threats made by that leadership, their reaction was one that was feeble at best.

Other chapters cover Operation Warp Speed, the bi-partisan passage of the First Step Act, and of course, the wasted energy over the Russian collusion investigation. 

In the end, I believe most readers will put the book down and believe that Jared Kushner, a religious and strong family man, put his best efforts into projects during that four year period.  He is proud of his accomplishments and the service he provided to the country and at the same time, it is easy to understand why he has openly stated that he would not wish to go back to such service again.  Somehow, we need to create a system where good and honest individuals can enter government service, and not face the possibility of huge legal bills created by political gamesmanship, where new ideas can be put forth after decades of failed policies.  This is one of the best post-Administration memoirs I can remember and it does provide hope for the future.

It seems that we live in a world of panic; the oceans are rising, the fascists are about to take over our nation, the Russians are manipulating our elections, all Whites are racist, in fact, the entire society is racist, etc.  The list goes on and on.  It is almost as if there is a crisis de jour that can only be handled by an investigation, more funding for programs, a new set of rules and guidelines, etc. It goes on and on, week in and week out.

Much of this panic peddling comes from our politicians who we expect to be full of hot air.  They need to keep coming up with problems and causes to keep our eyes and minds off the terrible job they are doing with the economy.  After all, if you tried any of their budget tricks, you would end up in jail. But the pols are not alone for we have our friends in the press.  Hey, each problem sells papers so why should they act any more responsibly?  I bet the questions they ask the pols are not the ones you would ask as you probably have more common sense.  Can you believe the silly questions they ask?

Why is it that when an election goes smoothly, the cries of “democracy is in danger” are heard no more?  Why is it that when a climate report comes out stating that the “existential threat” to our future is not real, it is never splashed across the headlines or discussed by the “expert” talking heads?

We cannot, however, place all the blame on the pols and the special interest groups who need to keep the fires of silliness going to justify the money they want and receive.  No, we also need to look at ourselves. All of humanity seems to thrive on the crisis de jour and we don’t hold those who peddle and report on each crisis accountable for their theatrics and false concern. 

The attached article will, I hope, make you take a couple of extra breathes the next time a new “crisis” is proclaimed.  Maybe, just perhaps, you might also laugh and be a bit more disconcerting about what to believe and who to believe.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-year-in-exaggeration-media-bias-hysteria-election-voters-railroads-2022-fbi-investigation-democracy-11672783427?mod=opinion_featst_pos3

There seems to be some sort of rule that any government program, no matter how well intentioned or structured, ends up in creating more problems.  They seem to create winners and losers and if you are the latter and cannot take a joke then it is just your hard luck to get the short end of the stick.  Perhaps this happens because in an unaccountable bureaucratic state (or swamp if you prefer), there is a natural tendency to “make things better”, or “correct an historical wrong”.  After all, it is hard to image that any bureaucrat would ever say, “The program was a success, and we can all go home now”.  Instead, there is a constant need to show that the government can do more to make someone’s life better while at the same time, keeping oneself employed.

While the original intent of Title IX was fine, it immediately created losers; males who participated in certain sports which were deemed unnecessary or perhaps, did not create enough mass interest or even, hard to believe, generate enough income to the schools were cast aside in favor of female athletics.  Scholarships were lost by some to be shifted to those who were more deserving.  As time went on however, even simple sports programs became “politicized” as “Dear Colleague” letters were introduced during the Obama Administration.  Ah, a bureaucrat’s work is never done. The result of a “Dear Colleague” letter led to a cancellation of basic rights found within our Constitution.  Under Title IX and other Titles, the right to face an accuser, examine evidence, etc. were eliminated.  The result was numerous lawsuits and victories for those denied their rights although such victories came years after the ruination of one’s reputation, loss of scholarships, etc.

The problems continue to morph as now Title IX is used against those who were originally marked as the winners (biological women) in favor of males who for whatever reason, now decide they have found themselves to be non-biological women.  The result is that biological women are losing the very scholarships that were awarded to them thanks to Title IX. 

The link to the article below provides an overview and discussion of one possible answer: the repeal of Title IX.  I would enjoy seeing a rebuttal to the article.

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2023/01/repeal-title-ix

New York city has decided to go green with its buses; they will be purchasing 500 electric buses for a cost of $1.1 billion.  This is the first of a total of 5,800 electric buses (total cost of nearly $12 billion?).  The only problem is that the current 15 (fifteen) electric busses cost two to three times as much to operate as the diesel or natural gas buses in service.  In order to complete the deal, the NY MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) is asking for a discount on its electrical cost.  Naturally, the energy department is balking at the request.

There are solutions such as put forth by California where commercial EV chargers were given a 100% discount on demand chargers for five years.  Presto!  EV are a cost savings to the public as it costs less to run them. (NY Post 12/26/2022, pp 2)

Another trick and this is was started during the Obama era; the bus drivers who drove diesel or natural gas buses and who were switched to EVs were consider “new green jobs”.  Same person, different vehicle, new title.  Government speak at its finest.

It is unfortunate that over the past several years we have seen a politicization of the Department of Justice.  Going back to the Obama administration and the notorious Lois Lerner episode, through the falsification of documents by the FBI in presentations to the FISA courts regarding the Steele documents, the manipulations of James Comey, into our current day with the raids on Project Veritas, the mobilization against parents who speak out at school board meetings, and more, the integrity of the DOJ is seriously in question.

These actions call into question the security of our foundations of freedom.  As pointed out in the article linked below, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “the most sacred of the duties of a government (is) to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens”.  We can be thankful that the head of the DOJ, Merrick Garland did not achieve a seat on the Supreme Court for his actions in his current position have shown him to be willing to bend to political winds.  Let us hope that future damage can be avoided and that a future administration will work to bring back integrity to the department.

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Imprimis_Aug_9-22_8pgweb.pdf

“Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”

― Winston S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm

If Churchill could say that about Russia, what would he say about China today? The link to the article below takes us on a journey into totalitarianism in its most perfected form. Using the tried-and-true methods of population control (secret police, informers, intimidation, etc.) and the worse applications of modern-day technology (millions of cameras, tracking of mandatory cell phones, etc.), China has become a state ruled by the whim and power of one man.

The article provides a glimpse into the tensions of being a subject of the Chinese Communist Party; it rules without a popular mandate and has imposed a regime of spying and intimidation on Chinese citizens around the world. How long can such a regime maintain its power? Who is there to stand up to the power of such a State? Finally, we must remember that the man at the very top of the totalitarian regime, China’s Xi has learned from the failures of the old Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc in terms of survival. Xi sees himself as a modern-day Mao, a man who instituted policies which lead to the deaths of millions of his own subjects. He realizes that there is no retreat from his pinnacle of power and if challenged there is little doubt that he would take actions which would make the ten-thousand dead of Tiananmen Square pale in comparison.

Being a subject of the CCP means always being vigilant.

https://quillette.com/2022/11/27/the-loneliness-of-the-bridge-man-generation/

America, unlike so much of Europe, does not have a long history of notable and/or noble families who have served the State for so many generations.  We do not have a history of producing and respecting great philosophers, such as Hagel, Kant, Nietzsche, Voltaire, Hume, etc. In fact, the closest thing to a group of philosophers that we have ever produced was our Founding Fathers who are held up to ridicule by so many of our self-appointed elites today.  There are those in the Ivory Towers of universities, those in many of the newsrooms and even political leaders who look down on the great mass of American citizens and think of them as rubes and deplorables who do not understand that only these same elites know what is best for the nation.  And yet, it is the great gray mass of our citizens that have and continue to create the jobs and means for the next generation to go further and create an even better life for themselves. It is that very gray mass that creates the wealth that is such a magnet for millions around the world.  Why is that?  It is because the mass of Americans are mediocre; they simply do not realize and do not believe that they are gifted or chosen. They succeed because they do not know what obstacles are before them and do not believe they will fail.  American is great and was built on a system of mediocracy, a place where the mass of citizens simply tries; tries to survive, tries to create a business, ties to be the best they can be. If you tried and failed, then you were encouraged to try again, and again until you succeed or quit. For much of our history, government pretty well stayed out of the way of those who tried although we see more rules, and more regulations as an ever expanding government at all levels attempts to justify their very existence.  

This is not true in Europe. Europe developed a bureaucratic and elitist mindset that was shunned by our Founding Fathers; America has traditionally encouraged entrepreneurs, Europe does not.  It takes a brave European to attempt to become an entrepreneur.  The laws for incorporation are more difficult than in America and, if you should fail with your dream in Europe, getting a second chance is much more difficult and possible only after a number of years. 

The linked article discusses this concept of American mediocracy.  It has resulted in more freedom, an easier life, and more choices for all.  Let us hope that “those who know better”, stay in their Ivory Towers and newsrooms. While they are untouchable and will continue to tell us how we should live, but at least we can try to defend ourselves against the professional politicians who write laws and regulations to guide those whose lives they little understand.  If we are successful, we will help to create a better union, a better land for all.

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2022/11/a-more-perfect-mediocracy