Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries seem to hold the promise of solving the problem drivable distance in the electric car industry. Long used in camcorders and laptops, they are dropping in price and seem to be a threat to the dominance of oil and gas. This excellent article goes through the history and seems to point to a major breakthrough in further price decreases in the near future. Near the end of the article however, it point out two problems; 1) Charging stations and 2) energy supply. In SF for example, the city will need to increase the number of charging stations by over 600% by 2030; those charging stations will require 107% of the current electricity used by the entire city. So, where is the plan to increase power generation in SF alone by over 100%? https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-battery-is-ready-to-power-the-world-11612551578?page=1

As we march bravely into the 14th century (with wide spread use of wind power), there are certain truths that we all need face; in order to produce “clean energy”, we have to use more traditional (meaning based on fossil fuels) production methods. There is simply no way to create “clean energy” by using “clean energy”. The old adage that nothing is free holds true regarding energy. You may believe that the cost is worth the price, fine, but please be honest at least with yourself and face the cost. https://www.cnsnews.com/index.php/commentary/vijay-jayaraj/clean-renewable-there-no-wind-energy-without-fossil-fuels?fbclid=IwAR0X5Zz1ngnLGwGNED2WWH2rZz-ZoV35tnX9Mue5KPrkqmlliZjBdQt2KJA

Just two weeks ago I posted the possibility that once again, due to Europe’s poor banking system, economies, international policies, etc., the U.S. might have to save Europe from themselves. Now comes news of the European debt crisis which could be larger than the one in 2007-8. It seems especially true that the Western European nations cannot learn from history, even if it is only a few years ago. https://www.wsj.com/articles/european-regulator-worries-banks-are-ignoring-borrower-troubles-11611839084?mod=markets_major_pos13

This story is getting some national play as it should; 3rd graders learning about critical race theory instead of learning math. What is wrong with our school system, the school boards and our political leaders who mandate these types of classes? Greater skills are needed by our children yet classes such as this harken back to racial theories discredited by science and those that were destroyed with the destruction of Nazi Germany in 1945. Those who teach this instead of skills needed throughout life should be ashamed of themselves. Thank goodness there are parents who are paying attention to their children’s education. https://www.city-journal.org/identity-politics-in-cupertino-california-elementary-school

We seem to love to argue back and forth about government spending, where the money is going, who made how much money out of what crisis, etc. What is the source of our information? Talking heads? Policy makers? The newspapers? Social media? We are in trouble! This article points out that those who we cite often are as ignorant if not more than each of us. Maybe we should be a bit more skeptical of our sources ignorance and motives? https://www.city-journal.org/the-facts-we-take-on-faith

When we think of saving Europe from itself, we think of our involvement in World War I when our fresh, if inexperienced Army tipped the scales for an Allied victory. Then there was World War II when our production capacity and military literally buried the Axis powers and pulled Europe from a blood letting of its own making. After that, there was the Marshall Plan when the infusion of U.S. capital and technical expertise restarted the Western European economies which lead to decades of unimagined growth. During that time, we played parent by stationing hundreds of thousands of troops in Europe and for the first time in a thousand years the Europeans were not killing one another. After the Cold War, we saved Europe again during the economic crisis of 2007-8; due to their poor accounting and banking regulations, “at least half the liquidity support it (the Fed) provided went to banks not headquartered in the United States, but located overwhelmingly in Europe.” (Crashed by Adam Tooze, pp13). Without that help from the U.S. taxpayer, most European banks would have gone under. But, the Europeans seem to be a bit slow to learn as we see from this article on the Zombie firms in Europe and the poor state of the European banking community. With the Europeans signing a major trade deal with the Communist Chinese, maybe this time they will be rescued by someone other than our taxpayers, but I am sure the terms shall be much more difficult. https://www.wsj.com/articles/zombies-could-stunt-the-bank-recovery-11610447847?page=1

It seems that old values and history are going onto the trash heap, to be replaced by what? As the author says, do those who flock to the U.S. come for the Green Deal or the environmental programs? Or, do they come for the promise of more freedom, the opportunity to create personal wealth and a better opportunity for their children? How is it that those who give up so much and risk so much have a better image of America that those born and raised here who have feasted at the American table with such little effort? What do those who degrade our nation and it’s history offer in the place that which they destroy? Can they show in any manner, that their goals and policies are actually beneficial to all of us? This article asks these and other questions and if the leadership of those who destroy offer any positive image or program. https://amgreatness.com/2021/01/03/defenders-of-civilization/

FDR was a master politician, as long as he was dealing with American politicians. Prior to his first meeting with Stalin, Churchill offered his experience from meetings with Stalin but FDR turned him down; he was confident that he could win over Stalin with the power of his personality. After the conference in Teheran, FDR said, “The Russians are perfectly friendly. They aren’t trying to gobble up all the rest of Europe or the world”. Many tens of millions paid the price for his hubris.

Even today, stories of World War II are fascinating. A positive story of those terrible years is like a small gem, something to be valued and shared. This story of an ex-Infantryman and three Italian children is one such gem. For decades Martin Adler remembered one incident in the war when he hesitated for a second while searching for the enemy. Thankfully, he found three children and a potential tragedy was turned into a positive life time memory. Mr. Adler always wondered what happened to those three children recently he found out during a virtual reunion. A nice story, fitting for the Christmas season. I hope you enjoy it. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/26/world/europe/Italy-World-War-II-American-soldier-reunion.html

There is a saying, “What the Left touches, it destroys”, so their target here seems to be an education; they prefer ideology. Such a waste of young minds. https://www.city-journal.org/racial-equity-programs-seattle-schools