At the end of World War II, Europe lay destroyed; millions displaced, millions dead, tens of thousands of cities, towns and cities burned out and a manufacturing base almost totally bombed out of existence. During several meetings between Stalin and George C. Marshall, it became clear to Marshall that the Soviets were not going to co-operate with the rebuilding of Europe. The main point of contention centered on Germany; it was Marshall’s belief that Germany was the main economic powerhouse of continental Europe and that it’s resurrection would lead to growth and political stability in Europe. Stalin also realized that, but a strong and productive Europe was not in his best interests; let Europe continue to live in poverty and hunger and the political instability will benefit Stalin.

After their last meeting, Marshall knew that it was in the best interest not only of Europe, but also the United States to rebuild Europe. Just seven weeks after his meeting with Stalin, Marshall developed a plan for the rebuilding of Europe and presented it to the President Harry Truman. The thought of spending billions of dollars to rebuild Europe was not popular but President Truman was firmly in favor of the plan. But how to get Congress to go along with the plan? Truman was considered a political hack by many and achieved the office of President only due to the death of the venerated Roosevelt.

Clark Clifford, then a political advisor to the President, recommended that the bill be called the Truman Plan, but Truman replied, “If I send the plan up the hill (with Truman’s name), it will quiver a couple of times, go belly up and die. Even the worst Republican will vote for the plan if Marshall’s name is on it” and so the European Recovery Act became known as the Marshall Plan.

George C. Marshall, also honored as the “Architect of Victory” for his work building the U.S. military both before and during World War II, went on to give an eleven-minute speech at Harvard in front of fifteen thousand which changed the course of history. As predicted by the President, Congress in part because of the great esteem they had for Marshall, appropriated billions for the rebuilding and resurgence of Western Europe. Monies were offered to Eastern European nations but being under the control of the Soviets, they were directed to refuse any monies, as Stalin feared a strong U.S. presence in the captive nations.

The plan was a remarkable success and lead to the West German state, the regrowth of Europe and the economic boom of the United States. In the background, the political realism and concern for actual success stood President Harry Truman. His ego, self-confidence and political savvy was strong enough to ensure the success of a plan that saved Europe. That is a test of a true leader.

The desire we must “do something” by government fiat to “solve” a problem has always been an amazing idea to me. It seems that if there is a problem, we expect government to fix it by making new laws, creating new forms and applications, hiring more people to oversee the forms and of course, spending more money all in an effort to “do something.”  In the end, all we have done is create a vast bureaucracy which manages to increase in size each year while not really solving the problem. How has that Federal department of education worked out, or the Federal energy department? Have you noticed how the schools are better or how we eliminated rolling black outs? No? But the government “did something” didn’t it?

The attached article says it all so much better than I every could (which is why the author writes for the Wall Street Journal), but it should make you stop and think about what we should really expect from our governments at all levels. Recently, a U.S. Senator was attacked (verbally) because he dared to suggest that Federal laws have a “sunset” clause, which simply means that every five years, those laws and yes, agencies would be reviewed to see what they have accomplished and if they should continue to be funded. Imagine that! Accountability in government? What a crazy idea! Maybe, just maybe, that is a revolutionary idea whose time has come.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-do-something-wont-work-uvalde-texas-shooting-gun-control-policy-politics-11654115980?mod=opinion_featst_pos2

I am just back from a quick (four night) visit to Montreal: the weather was beautiful, spring is in full bloom, and it was great to see the smiling faces of those who faced such a difficult Covid trial, with lengthy lock downs, strict police enforcement of family holiday celebrations and of course a frigid winter. It is also a city that is both beautiful and yet facing several challenges on many fronts. In a way it is a glimpse into the future and a real revelation.

Firstly, I call it the city of dandelions as I was struck by how that weed has taken over vast patches of lawns and green belts along the highways and around industrial parks. The government, to help the environment has banned several consumer weed killers so if a homeowner or park manager wishes to maintain a weed free lawn, they must use the services of licensed commercial lawn maintenance companies which can be quite costly. Or they can get down on their hands and knees and manually root out hundreds of dandelions which are in full bloom and determined to increase their numbers even further. My dislike of dandelions may sound silly to some, but image driving down a typical neighborhood block and all one sees are thousands, no, tens of thousands of dandelions up and down the block, all waving gracefully in the wind. It looks apocalyptic, as if humanity has suddenly disappeared from the area. In fact, a local attitude seems to have developed as if to say that there is nothing you can do about it, so the pride of home ownership seems to have taken a step backward. I admit, I grew up in a time when lawns were considered a sign of order, cleanliness and were envied. Perhaps time has passed me by, but then I was never happy with the concept of mankind regressing.

Jordan Peterson once answered when asked his decision-making process regarding a new policy, said that he would not look at the upside, but rather at the downside, the consequences if things do not work out as planned. This goes along with the idea of playing the odds in life; if you follow the basic rules of society, chances are you will come out ahead. On the other hand, if you go against the rules, the odds are that you are not going to do particularly well. In fact, the only time you go against the rules is if the reward is so great that you are willing to face the consequences.

Victor Davis Hanson in his article points out the failures (in most American’s minds) of the Biden administration. It would be fascinating to be able to ask President Biden, or whomever is making these decisions, what exactly do they perceive as the upside of the open border policy, the negating of U.S. energy independence, the upside of inflation, etc. Of course, we shall never really be able to logically understand that type of thinking as it goes against not only the history of our nation, but against the lessons we have learned throughout history.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when the Administration makes their decisions.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/05/20/is-bidens-success-our-mess/

Chicago use to be know as the “city that works” while under the control of the last of the old-time political bosses, Mayor Richard J. Daley from 1953-1976. Personally honest, he created a patronage system and managed to balance the greed of his cronies, the demands of the teachers’ unions, the civil rights community and collaborated with the interests of big business to remake much of the Chicago landscape while other cities such as New York, Detroit, etc., began their long slide into disaster. With his passing, the power of his machine began to decline and after him, a series of weak, ineffectual Mayors managed to lose control of the city. Certainly the city was not perfect, but for the average citizen, the city seemed to be on the right course.

Today, Chicago is a city in chaos; murder and crime rates have reached record highs, the teachers union dictates educational policies while test scores are in free fall and the city is in debt as services are cut and the middle class flees for other cities and states.

The attached article from Imprimis points out how Chicago has followed other cities in manipulating statistics in a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. This is not unique to Chicago by any means and is happening in your own city. How is this possible?

One reason is that during the reign of Mayor Daley, there was a strong, independent press which was willing to take the mayor, his cronies, and his policies to task. Real journalists such as Mike Royko, Alex Dreyer and others who took immense joy in lampooning the powers that be in Chicago. Yet, despite their barbed words, I believe they felt that Mayor Daley was working for the people of the city.

It is hard to believe that today’s power managers in Chicago have the best interests of average citizens at heart. How can they when they manipulate crime numbers such as:

• Killings on the cities expressways (freeways) are not included in city statistics as the expressways are not under the city’s authority (unless you are speeding in which case the Chicago police will act)
• According to records, only 147 felony defendants were released in one fifteen-month period when the actual number was 400% higher
• To make the numbers look better, County Chief Judge Timothy Evans failed to count at “at least six different felony crime categories as felonies.”

The list goes on and on and a close examination of crime numbers in your city may show the same type of duplicity by officials.

Finally, the article addresses issued which is so carefully ignored, births by single women. It is well known that broken homes are in neighborhoods with the highest murder rates. There are numerous studies that show that children, especially boys born into single parent households suffer the most from lack of education, earn less as adults and have a higher rate of incarceration.

The truth can be ugly, and the answer has been shown is not in additional money. We spend more than ever on education but test scores and reading levels continue to decline. Despite the best efforts of the police, the unwillingness to punish the criminals only leads to more death and destruction in the poorest neighborhoods (in 2021 Chicago police took over 12,000 guns off the streets but we know that we have not locked up 12,000 criminals for illegal possession).

There is not easy set of answers but the combination of lack of moral leadership, and lack of accountability over the past years has led a once proud city that worded into a dead end that is costing the lives and futures of tens of thousands.

What is wrong with this picture? An individual to help mold the minds and values of children is caught in a swindle regarding the achievements of the children he is there to help. Instead of firing him quickly, to make an example of him to the children, he is awarded a multi-year contract that will pay him nearly $2,000,000.

A system that operates like this, which rewards a thief and liar is in major trouble. At the very least, the teachers and their union should demand this type of reward for bad actions. We always hear the teacher’s union yelling about how what they do is “for the children.”  Then why not take a strong stand and demand his expulsion without pay from their ranks. And those folks at the local DOE are examples of why the average citizen looks on distain at government bureaucracies. Is there a more glaring case of lack of leadership, morals and doing what is best “for the children.”

It appears that the old saying that “crime does not pay” only applies to the taxpayers but not to those who are entrusted to help create well educated future citizens with solid values. What a shame.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/16/queens-principal-booted-for-fraud-will-get-paid-for-7-years/

Is a call for election integrity really a disguise for voter suppression? Are American minorities less competent than six hundred million citizens of India who voted after showing government issued identifications? When South Carolina introduced the secret ballot, in 1950, the percentage of people who voted fell by twelve percent; was the secret ballot really voter suppression or did it simply stop voter fraud by eliminating voters getting paid for voting a certain way under the eyes of election judges.

We seem to have in the United States two streams of thought regarding voting; on one hand are those who believe that voting should be made as easy as possible while neglecting the possibility of fraud. On the other side is a party who wants to impose what they see as safeguards to eliminate voter fraud. Is there a middle way?

The article linked below examines some of these questions and puts our voting system in perspective to the Europeans, Mexico, and Canada. Are their cries of voter suppression in the dozens of nations which require voter id? If six hundred million citizens of India can vote and hear the results in a timely manner, what exactly is our problem? As usual, John Lott Jr., has authored an article that may make you a bit more skeptical when politicians make their usual defenses for their solutions.

The “Great Game” of the 19^th century is starting anew only instead of Britain and Tsarist Russia being the main players, we now see on one side Communist China and Putin’s Russia and on the other side, the United States and hopefully, most of the European states. I say hopefully because while the recent about turn by Germany regarding its military and Britain’s fledging steps towards fracking are encouraging, one must wonder if the Western European states will stay the course. And, what of the United States? The navel gazing centering on “white privilege” and the drive to the “green” agenda no matter the costs are hardly the policies on which survival against relentless and ruthless foes are successful.

The excellent article linked below lays out in realistic and stark terms fundamental issues and questions which we need to face if we hope to survive. It is said that liberty is always only one generation away from extinction and we may have already begun a journey down a dark path to that extinction. Let us hope that Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine will awaken in each of us, the realization that the world is a dangerous place and if we wish to continue our liberties and freedoms, we need to focus firstly on policies which strengthen our defenses.

https://quillette.com/2022/03/09/the-new-great-game/

Given the war in the Ukraine, I thought this might be a good time to repost this review which I originally posted in December 2019. Although as written it could be a history, it was written before so many events and was ignored by so many “leaders” in the West who were more concerned about their ideology or keeping their power. Why face reality when those who yell the loudest and demand the most of you are among the villians in this book. I guess that is the story of mankind; take the easy way and let someone else clean up the mess.

Mao Tse-tung once said that “political power comes from the barrel of a gun”, but Vladimir Putin could just as easily say that “political power comes from the end of a pipeline”.  This excellent book analyses how Putin uses his countries gas companies for both tactical and strategic means to his end; to regain the power, and perhaps the territory which was lost by the collapse of the Soviet Union.  How can he do this?  By providing the European nations the energy they need at a below market price and by letting them know that he holds the comfort and economies of many nations within the EU in the palm of his hand.

Of course, he could not pursue this course if it were not for the lack of political will on the part of numerous European leaders and their own ideology regarding energy in the 21^st century.  By pursuing “green energy”, being intimidated by the “green” movement (which is often subsidized by Russia to serve its own ends) and by insuring that the social safety net is kept in place. European leaders have mortgaged their energy futures to a nation which uses its energy reserves almost regardless of short term financial considerations all in the pursuit of increased European dependence on Russian energy.

Consider that the EU has reserves of shale oil and natural gas, but refuses to spend the monies to exploit them.  They would rather purchase the oil and natural gas from the Russians and the U.S. They don’t want to spend their money on their defenses and are more concerned with maintaining their social programs; in short, they are living at the sufferance of other powers.

The concept of “broken windows” policing should apply on a national level; when we see politicians or bureaucrats ignoring the laws and traditions that have been the basis of our nation, we need to take corrective action. When our basic rights are abused, we need to act. When the very value of our citizenship is discounted, we need to respond. These are the premises and foundation of Victor Davis Hansons’ excellent new book, The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America.

I purchased the book because I have been increasingly concerned about the decreasing value of my personal citizenship. How is it that citizens can be mandated to limit travel, wear masks, show proof of vaccination while during the last year, two million individuals from over 150 countries have entered our nation illegally and be allowed to disappear into the vastness of our nation by the government officials who have sworn to uphold our laws? How is it that those who enter our nation illegally are not 100% assessed for Covid, quarantined, etc.? In a naked power grab, politicians in various cities decree non-citizens can vote in local elections thus decreasing the power of our citizenship. The supremacy of national laws? Worthless as hundreds of cities openly ignore Federal law, making tax paying citizens pay for the education, health care, etc., of those who decided that they and not we the citizens should decide our rules for living in our nation.