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.
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.
I am re-reading Orlando Figes’ (for the third time) excellent The Crimean War and I was struck by the plight of all the soldiers (particularity the British, Russian and Ottoman). The daily trials of poor food, lack of medical facilities, diseases, abuse from officers including whipping enlisted men can make the horrors of actual battle seem less terrible.
In this reading, I have come to realize that alone among armies in the West, the Russian army seems to have consistently been the worse abuser of its own men. From the time of Peter the Great, through the list of Czars, into the First World War, to today, the average Russian soldier has been seen as truly expendable and faceless. With that mindset, we have seen repeatedly the failure of the Russian Empire and today, the ability to field a successful fighting force against a lengthy list of enemies. Yes, the military was effective in WWII, but in face of the brutality of the German opponents and given the total ruthlessness of Stalin and his generals, the average Russian soldier had nothing to lose by throwing himself into the cauldron of war. Throughout history, the Russian soldier has been poorly led, poorly equipped, lacking in logistical support and abused by his own officers. Indeed, such a luxury as a graves unit was virtually unknown. During Czarist times, until WWI, returning soldiers were often not allowed to return to their own villages (to disguise the human losses). When peasants were drafted for the military, their send off was an actual funeral procession while in WWII, when a high Soviet officer was asked about the lack of care for the dead, he is reported to have said that if a man does not return home, it will be assumed he was killed in the war.
The following from Figes’ book captures the pity those soldiers at the time of the Crimean War earned. As Figes writes,
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.
No one ever said that being a parent was easy, but traditionally the parents were given the benefit of the doubt regarding the raising of their children. Cases of parental abuse were dealt with by the court system and while not perfect, the welfare of the child as a minor incapable of rational choice was the main concern of the state. In the public school system, there was a goal of parent/teacher co-operation and trust.
The one benefit of the lockdowns-admittedly at a huge cost-has been a re-examination of the parent-teacher relationship as parents have become more aware of the curriculum which has taken over many public schools with the full support of the teacher’s unions and power forces which are immune to parental concerns and desires. Amazingly teachers who have failed to provide the three “R” s to students at a time when future employment and self-sufficiency will be more and more dependent on these basic skills more than ever, has seemingly taken onto their broad shoulders’ the sexual lives of children five years old and older. Thank goodness for their expert help! It is clear that teachers in many locations across the country are unable to fulfill the basics of their position so why would anyone believe they are competent to take on the sexual education of the children in their classes?
As if the arrogance of the teachers is not enough, corporate America has also decided that it is their responsibility to jump into the fight and help parents across America raise their children to be happy, responsible, and sexually fulfilled minors. It is obvious that if you take your child to Disney World, you are taking them there so that they will be exposed to the correct sexual role models, not to provide an innocent, if expensive, lapse into fantasy. At the same time, summer camp may now be available for parents to allow individuals with no professional expertise to provide their children with sexual toys, lessons on BDSM and other sexual advice that those foolish parents thought would be best handled by the parents themselves.
The two links to short articles by Christopher F. Rufo should be read by parents so that they may ask pointed questions when they decide to turn their children over to what has traditionally been a time of innocent fun, experience, and growth. It seems that it is the view of more and more organizations and special interest groups that the role of parents is one to merely provide shelter and food to children and that parents should leave the moral and sexual education to those who know better or at the very least, have a self-serving agenda totally opposed to the will of those foolish parents.
It was not that many years ago that our friends on the left were outraged and certain that the Russians had interfered in our national election, enough so that Donald Trump became President over the more highly qualified Hillary Clinton. Although they could not provide any proof, other than a “Russian” dossier bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton, they (along with Hillary) disputed his Presidency, claiming (again without any proof), that Donald Trump was in the pocket of Putin. Their moral outrage lasted the full four years of a stormy Presidency and nothing he could do regarding Russia could convince the moral arbitrators of the left that he was not guilty. Not when he hit the Russians with sanctions, not when he began to arm the Ukrainians, not when he gave the go ahead for U.S. troops to track down and kill Russian troops in Syria, etc.
The article linked below shows how the Russians at the direction of Putin have been funneling funds and other support to the advocates of the “green” agenda. Putin fully understands that getting the U.S. and other Western nations to move toward inefficient “green” energy and away from efficient fossil fuels will slow the growth of the West and allow Russia with its oil reserves to profit and provide the funds for his strategic vision. While the West is banning plastic straws, Putin works to gain control over much of the energy needs of Europe.
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 19th 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.
With a Masters Degree in Guerrilla Warfare and Totalitarianism, Mr. Klazura was well prepped for a career in Sales and General Management, consulting on corporate startups and turnarounds as well as lecturing on history and politics. For the past twenty years he has focused on being a financial advisor and consulting.
