Spinning Everything

For John, BLUF:  i accept that the job of the Press Secretary is to spin the story, but there has to be a strong vein of truth or no one will buy the spin.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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If Joe Biden’s Team Will Lie About His Dog Biting People, What Won’t They Lie About?

Here is the sub-headline:

The White House press secretary showed once again that the administration has misled us even about small things since the very beginning.

From The Federalist, by Attorney John Lucas, 30 August 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

Jen Psaki’s press conference last Friday illustrated how she, and by extension, her boss, the president, have continued to destroy their credibility with the American people. The White House press secretary showed once again that the administration has misled us even about small things since the very beginning. And if they will lie to us about small things, then they will lie about big things.

In common law, there is an expression, “Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.” It means “false in one thing, false in everything.” It is a principle judges have used for centuries to instruct juries on how to evaluate the truthfulness of witnesses’ testimony.

Psaki’s performance on Friday provided another example of that maxim. With no visible trace of irony or self-awareness, she attempted to pass off a blatant evasion as a responsive and truthful answer. It illustrated why we cannot believe anything this president or his administration says.

On Friday, a reporter from The New York Post asked Psaki why anyone should believe her and the administration about big things when they don’t tell the truth about small things. He illustrated his point by asking about a misleading briefing Psaki gave on March 9, on a relatively insignificant matter.

Then, less than two months into the administration, Psaki responded to a question about an incident when the president’s younger dog, Major, had bitten a Secret Service agent. At that March 9 briefing, Psaki misleadingly glossed over the incident as a minor matter caused by the fact that the dogs were still getting acclimated to the White House. She identified only a single bite one day earlier, saying that “on Monday” (the previous day), Major had been “surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury”.

The dog bit eight people, not just one.

The author quotes Aesop:

A liar will not be believed even when he speaks the truth.

.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Thwarting GOP Governors

For John, BLUF:  In what looks like another attempt to erase the concept of Federalism the Biden Administration Department of Education is suing several states over prohibition of mask mandates.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden administration opens civil rights investigations over bans on school mask mandates

From The Wash Post, by Reporter Laura Meckler, 30 August 2021, 1:17 PM.

Here is the lede plus two:

The Education Department opened civil rights investigations Monday into five states for policies banning school districts from requiring masks, upping the Biden administration’s battle with Republican governors over pandemic policies for schools.

The letters were sent to officials in Iowa, South Carolina, Utah, Oklahoma and Tennessee, all of which bar local districts from mandating masks.  The letters allege that these states may be preventing districts from meeting the needs of students with disabilities who are at heightened risk for severe illness should they contract the coronavirus.

The move follows up on President Biden’s promise earlier this month that the Education Department would use its authority to try to stop states from interfering with school districts that want to require masks.  Governors argue that masking should be a personal choice for parents and families, and over the last few weeks, the disputes have reflected the larger national pandemic debate over personal freedom vs. public health.

Does this qualify as Lawfare?  Could meet the definition.  And it makes the Administration look petty.

This effort seems to turn the terms personal freedom and public health on their head.  It is further complicated by rumors of the CDC being about to announce the end of mask mandate recommendations, the findings that most common masks are 10% effective and the recent finding that plexiglass barriers, the ones we see at service counters, may actually make things worse.

Is this really about Social Control?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Perhaps Another California Earthquake

For John, BLUF:  What is behind the Recall effort against California Gavin Newsom is still be be sorted out.  Does this represent a quirk in the California voting system, which has several?  Or does it represent a change in voting patters?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Progressives have ruined California

Here is the sub-headline:

Governor Gavin Newsom's hapless reign exposes the rot at the heart of America's liberal elite.

From Sp!ked, by Professor Joel Kotkin, 25 August 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

The very idea of a recall vote seemed absurd at first in California, this bluest of US states.  Yet Californians’ surprisingly strong support for the removal of Democratic governor Gavin Newsom has resulted in precisely that, with the vote scheduled for 14 September.  This reflects a stunning rejection of modern progressivism in a state thought to epitomise its promise.

Some, like the University of California’s Laura Tyson and former Newsom adviser Lenny Mendonca, may see California as creating ‘the way forward’ for a more enlightened ‘market capitalism’, but that reality is hard to see on the ground.  Even before the pandemic, California already had the highest poverty rate and the widest gap between middle and upper-middle income earners of any state in the US.  It now suffers from the second-highest unemployment rate in the US after Nevada.

Today, class drives Californian politics, and Newsom is peculiarly ill-suited to deal with it.  He is financed by what the Los Angeles Times describes as ‘a coterie of San Francisco’s wealthiest families’.  Newsom’s backers have aided his business ventures and helped him live in luxury – first in his native Marin, where he just sold his estate for over $6million, and now in Sacramento.

The author of this piece, Mr Joel Kotkin, is the presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, not someone who strikes me as following the line of the Progressives.  That said, he does not hold out a lot of hope for the Republicans in California.

This election, this recall election, should be of interest to all Americans.  It could signal a lot of changes, or none.  If Governor Newsom survives then Progressivism survives.  If half the Latino voters vote to recall the Governor it could indicate that those Latino voters have shifted their understanding of who they are and what it means to them to be Americans.  That could be big.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Science is Unsettled

For John, BLUF:  it tuns out "Peer Reviewed" scientific studies are often dubious.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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We’re told to ‘follow the science’ — yet some of it is just plain wrong

From The New York Post, by Professor Glenn H. Reynolds, 26 August 2021, 8:54pm.

No, this isn't about the COVID-19, although the moving goalposts for immunity should be a big signal, as should public school mask mandates (at best a 10% protection).

No, this is about "scientific" studies, peer reviewed, influencing government programs, that are later found to be dubious.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

What Should Congresscritters Do?

For John, BLUF:  The Boston Herald seems to have lost its rudder, at least judging by this item from Mr Joe Battenfeld.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Battenfeld:  Seth Moulton’s ‘moronic’ trip to Afghanistan backfires

Here is the sub-headline:

If Seth Moulton thought he was unpopular before, he may be in for a shock.

From The Boston Herald, by Newspaperman Joe Battenfeld, 26 August 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

The Massachusetts congressman, previously best known for his failed presidential campaign and failed coup of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, now has another venture to live down — a secret, unauthorized trip to Afghanistan that has enraged the Biden administration, Pelosi and other Democrats.

Hey, if the shoe fits.

Moulton has a well-earned reputation as grandstanding and egotistical, and hasn’t shied away from the cable TV spotlight, speaking frequently from his position as a Marine and Iraq War veteran on foreign policy and war — even when his views differ from his party.  Contrast Moulton to another war veteran in the Massachusetts delegation, Rep. Jake Auchincloss.

And on it goes.  What a cynical, sarcastic look at part of our State's DC Delegation.  The Congressman did what needed to be done.  And he wasn't alone.  He was partnered up with Rep Peter Meijer, Republican of Michigan.  If the last name, Meijer, doesn't ring a bell, think the DeMoulas family of the Midwest.

While President Biden, aided and abetted by Vice PresidentWatren and Speaker Pelosi, has tried to put a nice gloss on this train wreck of a rescue operation in Afghanistan, Reps Moultons and Meijer acted like Congressmen and went to see what was really going on.

I met Rep Moulton a few years back.  Dr Janet Breslin-Smith and I were trying to round up someone in the House to pick up the mantel of recently retired Rep Ike Skelton who had maintained an overwatch of Professional Military Education.  Congressman Moulton turned us down, but he was professional and understood our issues.♠ 

Thank you Congressmen Moutlin and Meijer.

As for Newspaperman Battenfelt, he leaves a lot to be desired.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠    We also approached Congresswoman Nikki Tsongas, who was gracious, but felt it wasn't in her lane.

Afghanistan is Not Becoming Better

For John, BLUF:  This is a very insightful article, a warning that it isn't over just because we are pulling out of Afghanistan.  Their goal is to expand Islam by the sword.  Spain is not safe.  None of us are safe.  Even China should be concerned.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Afghanistan, Again, Becomes a Cradle for Jihadism—and Al Qaeda

Here is the sub-headline:

The terrorist group has outlasted the trillion-dollar U.S. investment in Afghanistan since 9/11.

From The New Yorker, by Robin Wright,♠ 23 August 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

In March, I travelled to Afghanistan and the Middle East with General Kenneth (Frank) McKenzie, Jr., the Alabama-born marine who heads Central Command.  He has been overseeing the frantic evacuation out of Kabul.  During one of several interviews aboard his plane, I asked him, “Do you really think, given the intermarriage, the interweaving of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, that the Taliban is really ever going to be able or willing to restrain Al Qaeda from doing anything against us?”  By then, the Taliban held roughly half of Afghanistan, a country about the size of Texas. McKenzie was chillingly candid.  “I think it will be very hard for the Taliban to act against Al Qaeda, to actually limit their ability to attack outside the country,” he replied.  “It’s possible, but I think it would be difficult.”

For more than a year, both the Trump and Biden Administrations had reams of warnings—from the military and diplomats, congressional reports and a commissioned study group, its own inspector general, and the United Nations—that the collapse of the Afghan government, an ever-growing possibility, would also mean a resurgence of Al Qaeda.  In April, a U.S. intelligence assessment warned Congress that Al Qaeda’s senior leadership “will continue to plot attacks and seek to exploit conflicts in different regions.”  The jihadist group, which carried out the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, was active in fifteen of Afghanistan’s thirty-four provinces, primarily in the eastern and southern regions, the United Nations reported in June.  The Taliban and Al Qaeda remained “closely aligned and show no indication of breaking ties,” it noted, as like-minded militants celebrated developments in Afghanistan as a victory for “global radicalism.” In a haunting final report on the lessons learned from America’s longest war, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, warned that the U.S. decision to pull out the last U.S. troops “left uncertain whether even the modest gains of the last two decades will prove sustainable.”  The decision to pull out was made by President Trump in February last year, with the timetable decided by President Biden in April this year.

She goes on:

As the core of the movement came under U.S. military pressure, he [Al Qaeda’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri] and bin Laden advocated for the creation of Al Qaeda branches across the Islamic world as part of its survival strategy, according to Ali Soufan, a former F.B.I. special agent for counterterrorism and the author of “The Black Banners:  The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda.”  Zawahiri’s more patient strategy has worked, while the more aggressive strategy of the rival Islamic State has flamed out, Soufan told me.  ISIS had many times more members, but Al Qaeda fighters were far more experienced, more strategic, and hardened in battle.  Al Qaeda’s strategy—dubbed the “management of savagery”—has three phases.  The first includes terrorist attacks to weaken the international and regional order.  The second, as government authority erodes or collapses, is to prevent other political forces from filling the vacuum, so as to allow Al Qaeda’s movements to “take pride of position,” Soufan said.  The final stage is to establish a state and stitch the other regions together into a caliphate.

And further:

The common flaw in U.S. policy has been the focus on the fight rather than the economic, political, and social flash points that gave rise to multiple jihadist movements among both Sunni and Shiite Muslims, dating back at least four decades, Soufan said.  “We’ve been spiking the ball at the five-yard line,” like a football player claiming points before actually scoring a touchdown, he told me. “Yes, we defeated the physical manifestation of the caliphate in Iraq and Syria, but we never dealt with the ideology.”  The extremist brands of politicized Islam have usually emerged in countries plagued by poverty and high unemployment, autocratic rule and political alienation, sectarian or social marginalization, and heavy foreign influence.  “All the elements that gave rise to these movements, they’re all worse than they were immediately prior to 9/11,” Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British diplomat who is now the coördinator of the U.N. Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team that tracks extremist movements, told me.  “I can’t think of a serious underlying factor in the rise of isis or Al Qaeda that has been mitigated, and some are worse.”

Al Qaeda’s resurgence may not have immediate consequences for the U.S. homeland, the experts said.  “Al Qaeda probably does not pose, right now, a direct threat to the West,” Fitton-Brown said.  “But it intends to do so and has a route to do so, which may bear fruit in one or more of these locations,” whether Syria, Yemen, Somalia, the Sahel and West Africa, or elsewhere.  “It would be premature and risky to regard Al Qaeda and isis as defeated, and to relax that counterterrorism pressure.”  Al Qaeda’s broader focus, Soufan said, will be on destabilizing Muslim countries where, as in Afghanistan, governments are frail, have fled, or do not exist.  The goal now is to replicate the victory in Afghanistan elsewhere—phase two.  “Their plan,” he said, “is much more dangerous than a terrorist attack.”

It won't be over when we finally pull out of Afghanistan.  Our opponents have longer term goals and the are bigger than Afghanistan.  They are bigger than Iraq and Syria.  The leaders of the Taliban, al Qaeda and ISIS see themselves restoring the reach if Islam, reaching into Spain and the gates of Vienna and into India (and, I suspect, into China).

We can ignore where we are going, but it will be costly.

Regards  —  Cliff

< ♠  Robin Wright, a contributing writer and columnist, has written for The New Yorker since 1988. She is the author of “Rock the Casbah:  Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World.”

What Makes an Astronaut?

For John, BLUF:  This is a tempest in a teapot, but it is being stirred up, perhaps as a way of diminishing the accomplishment of those who paid for a flight out of our atmosphere.  I envy them.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Is it time to create the designation of non-governmental astronaut?

by Michael Listner Monday, August 16, 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

The flights of Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin with their respective founders has reinvigorated the debate as to what an astronaut is and, specifically, whether non-governmentals are indeed astronauts.  Nevertheless, these two flights open a broader discussion as non-governmental space activities increase in measure and scope how they will be looked upon and treated by international law, especially as outer space activities expand. What is an astronaut? By and large, the term “astronaut” has been thrown around by the media and the providers of the launch and reentry flights without thought of what the term really means.  A popular reference to the term that is overused is found in the definition provided by the Merriam-Webster dictionary:  “a person who travels beyond the earth's atmosphere also : a trainee for spaceflight.”

Given the etymology of the “astronaut” predates the era of spaceflight, the usage of the word applying this definition is understandable.  Certainly, there are variations of this definition that one could quibble over; however, in the context of outer space activities, including activities by non-governmentals, the term astronaut is not a defined term but rather a legal status that confers rights and benefits and invokes duties and obligations to states under international law.  This means whether one is an astronaut is determined by a legal test and not a dictionary definition.  While international law does not specifically define the term, three tests have been proffered.  Of the three, it is the test offered by Professor Yasuaki Hashimoto that is the test that best harmonizes with international law through the Outer Space Treaty.

For the legal status of “astronaut” to apply under Professor Hashimoto’s test the person must be:

1. in an object located in space
2. conducting their activities for the benefit and in the interests of all countries
3. regarded as an envoy of mankind in outer space.

Obiously the folks who have gone into space of late meet Test 1, but not Test 2.  The author contends they don't meet Test 3 either, but I would content that if they met and interacted with Extra-Terrestial folk while in space that they would, de facto, be envoys of mankind in outer space.  How else would they be classified?

The author sums it up:

This means absent legislative action, non-governmental personnel would not have any legal status in the eyes of domestic and international law.

Who cares?  They have gone there.  The drafters of laws have not.  I would assert that we, the People, can designate these folks as astronauts.  We do that by saying they are astronauts.  We give them the title by aclamation.

Don't let the lawyers push you around.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Social Media and Neutrality

For John, BLUF:  Those who think the Internet is neutral haven't been paying attention.  It has developed a political point of view.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Wikipedia Co-founder Warns:  ‘Wikipedia Is More One-Sided Than Ever’

From The Epoch Times, by Mr Jack Phillips, 5 July 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

Larry Sanger, a co-founder of Wikipedia, warned that the online encyclopedia is “more one-sided than ever” in light of the website’s entries for Black Lives Matter, the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump’s two impeachments, and other contentious topics.

Sanger, in particular, took issue with how some Wikipedia entries are sourced.

“In short, and with few exceptions, only globalist, progressive mainstream sources—and sources friendly to globalist progressivism—are permitted,” he wrote in an article on his website.

And, yet, I use it.  Because it is better than nothing.  But, I apply judgment in its use.

We are in an era where those involved in directing high tech are left leaning.  Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and so on.  It is time for our legal system to adjust, no longer treating these organizations as neutral.  They are not.  They are partisan.  Think of Twitter putting out the words of the Taliban, but banning a former US President.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Late, But Important

For John, BLUF:  Part of the value of history is finding good things to build on.  Our positive relationship with Singapore is one such good thing.  It is due, in large part, to the late Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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PM Lee commemorates 70th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew being called to S'pore Bar

Here is the sub-headline:

He was called to the Bar on Aug. 7, 1951.

From , by Reporter Jane Zhang, 8 August 2021, 05:31 PM.

The article is interesting and enlightening, but the key point is Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew himself.  When Singapore separated from Malasyia, Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister.  From that position he was an important person in the progress of Southeast Asia and in resisting further Communist agression in the area.

We, the United States, owe thanks to Mr Lee for helping to hold things together in the 1960s and 70s.  I hope we don't forget.

Regards  —  Cliff

Mindless

For John, BLUF:  I would like to see US Main Stream Media explain the juxtaposition.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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IT’S COME TO THIS:  Taliban Spokesman Gives Updates On Twitter, Trump Remains Suspended.

The InstaPundit Blog Post is by Author Ed Driscoll, 16 August 2021, 2:22pm.  The author of the linked article at Out Kick is Mr Joe Kinsey, 16 August 2021.

Here is the lede from the linked article:

We’re currently living in a world where a Taliban spokesperson is allowed to give operational updates in Afghanistan via a Twitter account that is being cited by mainstream news outlets from around the world, while Donald Trump’s account remains suspended.

Is former President Donal Trump really that much of a threat to the American People, or to the would, that he should be suspended, but the Taliban are OK.  I am listening to President Biden talking about the threat of terrorism.  He makes the case that terrorism is a threat.  Yet we quivver at the thought of Donald Trump on Twitter.  Sad.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Evacuating the Non-Taliban

For John, BLUF:  I don't think we can evacuate every Afghan who has seen a new way of life and does not wish to again be under the Taliban.  That said, I think we should try.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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In desperation U.S. scours for countries willing to house Afghan refugees

From MSM, by Reuters Reporters Idrees Ali, Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay, 14 August 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

President Joe Biden's administration has been holding secret talks with more countries than previously known in a desperate attempt to secure deals to temporarily house at-risk Afghans who worked for the U.S. government, four U.S. officials told Reuters.

The previously unreported discussions with such countries as Kosovo and Albania underscore the administration's desire to protect U.S.-affiliated Afghans from Taliban reprisals while safely completing the process of approving their U.S. visas.

Does that mean Afghan Refugees are like Cubans, not worthy of being allowed into the United States?  Or does the Administration wish to land them in Mexico, so they can enter via the established immigration process along the Rio Grande?

Which raises an additional question.  Why is Catholic Charities considered worthy by the Federal Government to deal with these immigrants along our Southern Border when it (Catholic Charities) is offering neither birth control nor abortion services?.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

I saw this Reuters headline this morning:

Following the Science

For John, BLUF:  I am not convinced that those who are urging us to follow the science know what the science is, or even what science is.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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This month’s heresy is next month’s orthodoxy

From Samizdata, by Blogger Natalie Solent, 11 August 2021.

Here is the post, or most of it:

“YouTube suspends Rand Paul for a week over a video disputing the effectiveness of masks”, reports the New York Times.

I have no strong opinion on the question, but Senator Rand Paul is also Doctor Rand Paul, so his medical opinion holds some weight. This post on Rumble takes you to the video that got him banned: “It Is Time For Unfiltered News”

As Glenn Greenwald points out,

JUST LAST WEEK: Biden’s former COVID adviser, the epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, told @camanpour [the CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour] exactly the same thing.

YouTube and Facebook* play a merry game. On April 16 2020, Guy Rosen, Facebook’s “VP Integrity”, posted “An Update on Our Work to Keep People Informed and Limit Misinformation About COVID-19”. That post is as good as a soap opera; the writers are always adding new and dramatic plot twists.

On February 8, 2021 at 10:00AM PT, they announced that claims that “COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured” would be removed.

On May 26, 2021 at 3:30PM PT, they said, “In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured from our apps.”

In like spirit, Dr Paul is doing no more than returning to the medical orthodoxy before last. From the Independent, Thursday 12 March 2020:

Coronavirus: Face masks could increase risk of infection, medical chief warns

Members of the public could be putting themselves more at risk from contracting coronavirus by wearing face masks, one of England’s most senior doctors has warned.

Jenny Harries, deputy chief medical officer, said the masks could “actually trap the virus” and cause the person wearing it to breathe it in.

Science is about better explaining what we think we know to be true.

Once, a long time ago, about 1986, I heard someone say on CNN that 90% of what we knew to be scientifically true in 1900 we now know to be wrong.

I know we all think we are a lot smarter than we used to be, but a dash of humility is never out of order. I expect Government officials, elected or appointed, are not open to saying that they aren't certain, but it would help sell things to me.  And even "circling back" once in a while and saying "here is where we got it wrong" might do wonders to build my confidence in the job they are doing.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hurting Our Neighbors

For John, BLUF:  Abusing one's neighbors is not good locally, nor is it good on the international stage.  We have been abusing Canada, regarding their oil production, in the name of the environment.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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'Smacks of hypocrisy':  Alberta slams White House for demanding more OPEC oil after cancelling Keystone XL

Here is the sub-headline:

Biden is taking the heat for higher gasoline prices during the summer driving season

From the Canadian Financial Post, by Reporter Colin McClelland, 12 August 2021 .

Here is the lede plus one:

Wounded after U.S. President Joe Biden cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline that would have shipped Alberta crude to the United States, the province snapped at the White House’s call on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Wednesday to raise production faster than planned.

“The Biden administration pleading with OPEC to increase oil production to rescue the United States from high fuel prices months after cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline smacks of hypocrisy,” Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said in a statement Wednesday.  “Keystone XL would have provided Americans with a stable source of energy from a trusted ally and friend.”

This is the kind of good relations with our neighbors to the north that I desire.

Or maybe it is just that Alberta is one of those "Western" Provences, and thus doesn't really count, sort of like those fly-over states in the US.  This is why Speech Boy♠ is wrong when he calls for abolition of the US Senate, at least in my opinion.  The people in different regions have different needs, values and goals and governments should be structured to show some deference to that fact..

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  "Speech Boy" from his time writing speeches for President Bill Clinton.  Thzt would be Michael A Cohen.  And just like Michael, he dropped notice of a new book to read, MacArthur at War, by Author Walter Borneman.  Great, as thought I am not behind already.

Is Social Credit Coming?

For John, BLUF:  Social Credit, as understood here is the Chinese Communist Party System, calling "for the establishments of unified record system for individuals, businesses and the government to be tracked and evaluated for trustworthiness."  If you don't have credit, you can't do business.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Democrats Move to Take Over Your Credit Score and Go Full 'Woke' – Just Like Communist China

from PJ Media, by Reporter Victoria Taft, 11 July 2021, 3:21 PM ET.

Here is the lede plus three:

That was fast.  Here come the Chinese-like social credit scores.

Leftist Democrats, but I repeat myself, are making no secret of their plans to become more like their comrades in China.  They support vaccine passports for COVID mRNA shots in order for people to receive certain social rewards such as going to school or attending a Major League Baseball game, just like the social credit score system in the People’s Republic.  Now, Democrats and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, want your FICO score to go full “woke.”

They’re not even trying to hide it.

USA Today reports that in testimony before Waters’s committee on June 29, the counsel for a group called the National Consumer Law Center, Chi Chi Wu, a product of Harvard and Johns Hopkins, gave away the game on how her law-fare grifting group and people like them want to change FICO credit scores.  Wu and her fellow travelers got a warm reception at the three-hour-plus hearing.

Plainly, social credit, as understood in this context, is anathma to democracy.  When the Government and industry tracks your life based on their perception of your trustworthiness, then you are not free, but are a puppet.  The social credit score determines you educational opportunities, your job progression, your standing in your society.

It is all bad.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hiroshima Revisited

For John, BLUF:  Friday last was the Anniversary of the dropping of a nuclear weapon on the Japanese City of Hiroshima.  Yesterday, Nagasaki.  Many see that action as a terrible blot of our American narrative.  The Writer of the blog mentioned does not think so.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Horrific Treatment of Civilians During Japan's "Reign of Terror":  Uncle Sam's 2 Atomic Bombings Prevented Unit 731 From Dropping Bubonic Plague Bombs on America; + 18 Other Reflections on Hiroshima

From ¡No Pasaran!, by the Blogger, 6 August 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

Among the many things we are not conversant with regarding World War II is the sheer number of Chinese civilians wiped out subsequent to the Doolittle raid on Tokyo. Try to imagine the number of Chinese "collaborators" (from the Japanese point of view) punished (killed) for providing solace to 80-some American stranded airmen whose war exploits they knew nothing about, and said exploit having in any case resulted in less than 90 Japanese deaths.

Do you think it might be about 25 Chinese civilians? 250? Perhaps 2,500? Certainly not 25,000? The answer is perhaps ten times that: close to a quarter of a million! Yes, you read that right: the Japanese army killed an estimated 250,000 Chinese civilians as punishment for aiding the escape of Doolittle’s Raiders from Chinese territory.

How to end a war is a complicated issue, made more complicated by those on the losing side not being willing to give in.  The losing side has to acknowledge it is the losing side.  In the Summer of 1945 it did not look like Japan had realized it was on the losing side of the conflict.  In Germany, with the suicide of Chancellor Hitler, there were those willing to sign a surrender document.  In Japan that was not the case.  However, two nuclear weapons were very sobering for the Emperor.  Even so, there were those who were willing to fight it out to the bitter end.  Fortunately, in the corridors of power they did not prevail.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Jacksonian Voters

For John, BLUF:  Yes, it is time for Republicans and other Trump voters to understand what they have in common.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Where'd you go, Ohio? How a swing state went red

From The Washington Examiner, by Reporter Salena Zito, 1 August 2021, 12:00 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

The old adage in politics used to be, “As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.”  And for the most part, since the start of the 20th century, the Buckeye State had earned that adage, only twice failing to support the national presidential winner — once in 1944 and again in 1960.

That all changed last November when Joe Biden became the first person since 1960 to win the presidency without carrying Ohio.  Many in the Washington, D.C.-based political class decided that the people of Ohio had changed.

Well, they haven’t.  This misapprehension comes from many Washington journalists having more of a cultural connection with the Democratic candidates they cover than with the voters.  The key to understanding Ohio in 2021, and its election in 2022, is to understand how the political parties have changed.

So, we hve a sea change in politics in Ohio.  While it didn't change the outcome of the 2020 Election, it could play a future role.  Thus it is worth paying attention to the change.  That does not mean the Democratic Party can do anything about it, but it would help to understand it.

Further down in the article, Report Zito advances the thesis that Republicans are becoming Jacksonians, while the Democrats are moving away from our 7th President:

More than 20 years ago, Walter Russell Mead identified a certain type of American as “Jacksonian,” after the former Democratic president of the 19th Century, identifying their political attitudes with a region that overlaps with much of Appalachia.  Jacksonianism originated with the Scotch-Irish who had come to the country in its early days and settled there.  Many of the later Irish and Italian immigrants, who came to work in factories around the turn of the last century, were eventually assimilated into this culture and adopted Jacksonian values, including a sense of self-reliance, a distrust of authority, patriotism, loyalty to community, and admiration for the police and military.

“Jacksonians were attracted to law and order Republicans such as Nixon, or the patriotic anti-communist, Ronald Reagan,” [Youngstown State University political science professor Paul] Sracic said.  "But they usually considered themselves Democrats since they tended to be working class and associated the Republican Party with the wealthy.  Trump converted the Republican Party into the Jacksonian Party; this change is likely permanent, and future Republican candidates will adopt this message.”

This brings us to the Pauline Kael quote from back in 1972:

I live in a rather special world.  I only know one person who voted for Nixon.  Where they are I don't know.  They're outside my ken.  But sometimes when I'm in a theater I can feel them.

Yes, there is a cultural circle that does not have empathy for Republicans.  In fact, in that circle many think of Republicans as deplorables.  However, we are a diverse nation and while there are inter-pentatrations, we tend to group in regions.

It might reduce the back and forth rancor a bit if the Main Stream Media were more aware of the "other" America.  It might not change political minds, but it might allow for a better understanding of each other's viewpoints.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Ever Green Question

For John, BLUF:  How long has US Attorney John Durham been at this?.  A long time.  John Durham was given the task in April 2019.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Will Biden DOJ Allow Us to See the Durham Report?  I’m Skeptical

From PJ Media, by Columnist Matt Margolis, 26 July 2021, 11:24 AM ET.

Here is the lede plus one:

Joe Biden’s Department of Justice says that the John Durham report into Obamagate should be submitted in a way allowing for public release, reports the Washington Examiner.  This, on its face, sounds like good news.

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) had requested answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the status of the investigation, but Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joe Gaeta wrote in response to their inquiry that he could not comment on an ongoing investigation.  However, he did note that “the Special Counsel, to the maximum extent possible and consistent with the law and policies and practices of the Department of Justice, shall submit to the Attorney General a final report, and such interim reports as he deems appropriate, in a form that will permit public dissemination.”

Today the Department of Justice released its latest Inspector General Report on the 2016 Election, finding it didn't know who, if anyone, leaked information to Mr Guiliani.

I don't think the Department of Justice is all that good at investigating itself.  And maybe even others.

I am not expecting to see much in the near or medium future.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Ending Homelessness

For John, BLUF:  The Homeless are a problem that will never go away, but it shouldn't be as bad as it is.  And, mental health is probably a large part of the solution.  But, not the whole solution.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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It’s time to finally end homelessness

From The [Lowell] Sun, by Messers Donald Whitehead and Joel Segal, 23 June 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

On any given night in the United States, upward of a halfmillion people are homeless. And that doesn’t include the millions of others who are living hand- to- mouth in hotels, or doubled up with family members or acquaintances, in often highly stressful temporary housing situations.

A recent study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates a shortage of more than 6.8 million affordable housing units for low- income Americans. “ The crisis created by COVID-19 has made it clearer than ever that stable, affordable housing for all is an imperative for public health, individual well- being, and our country,” said Diane Yentel, the group’s president and CEO.

We have the problem of homelessness, but we also have the problem of not enough housing stock.  Up here in Northern Middlesex County, in Massachusetts, we are expecting an increase of 200,000 people between 2015 and 2040.♠  Who is going to build the needed housing?  I am not sure we have the incentives in place to create that housing.

We need to start looking at this.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  That is not counting our "fair share" of illegal immigrants coming across our Southern Border, which could be a million this year.  Thet are not all stying in Texas, or New Mexico, or Arizona, or California.

Food-flation

For John, BLUF:  It seems inflation is threatening, but the Federal Government is not concerned.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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World’s Largest Food Company Will Raise Prices Amid Inflation

From The Daily Wire, by Reporter Ben Zeisloft, 30 July 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company, announced it would hike prices in response to inflation.

As of June, inflation in the United States reached a year-over-year rate of 5.4%.  Businesses and consumers are therefore seeking to retain their margins in the face of the diminishing purchasing power offered by the dollar.

Inflation is coming, and not just in food and gasoline and Christmas toys.

I hope it won't turn into galloping inflation.  That would be bad for the Middle and Lower classes.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Former Cardinal Indicted

For John, BLUF:  This is an embarrassment to me as a Roman Catholic, yet we should not hide from it  Sin abounds.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Ex-Cardinal McCarrick charged with sexually assaulting teen

Here is the sub-headline:

Disgraced former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy during a wedding reception in Massachusetts in 1974

From ABC News, by Reporter Alanna Durkin Richer, 29 July 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked after a Vatican investigation confirmed he had sexually molested adults as well as children, has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy during a wedding reception in Massachusetts in 1974, court records show.

McCarrick is the first cardinal in the U.S. to ever be criminally charged with a sexual crime against a minor, according to Mitchell Garabedian, a well-known lawyer for church sexual abuse victims who is representing the man alleging the abuse by McCarrick.

This says to me that we need to listen to those who say they have been molested in some way.  Not that all allegations are true, but we should not be dismissing them out of hand.

On the other hand, to go back to 1974 raises a question in my mind.  Is there a chance that he has repented and changed his actions over time?  Conversely, what do the mental sciences tell us about the ability of people to reform themselves?  I accept that perhaps someone who is a pedophile is a pedophile for ever, sad as that may be to consider.  However, if not, then what is the law and the reform of the individual for?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Democrats Divided

For John, BLUF:  Are the Democrats divided, between their environmentalis wing and their humanitarianist wing?  It could be a problem trying to get things done in DC.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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'Climate Change' vs. the Uyghurs

From The Pipeline, by Mr Tom Finnerty, 8 July 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

Pretty shocking -- Politico reports on growing tensions within the Democratic coalition, with the environmental activist faction of the party objecting to even the mildest attempts by the Biden administration to confront China over its human rights violations and international aggression.

As a new Cold War takes shape between the U.S. and China, progressives fear the result will be a dramatically warming planet.  Over 40 progressive groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden and lawmakers on Wednesday urging them to prioritize cooperation with China on climate change and curb its confrontational approach over issues like Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong and forced detention of Uyghur Muslims.

The problem for the Biden administration is that American public opinion has shifted significantly against China in recent years, such that according to a recent Pew survey, 89 percent of Americans "consider China a competitor or enemy, rather than a partner."  This move began with Donald Trump calling out China's predatory trade policy and intellectual property violations before he was even president and continued through then-President Trump and Chairman Xi's trade war.  It was cemented, however, by the CCP's handling of the Covid-19 outbreak last year, which, if the no-longer-a-conspiracy-theory lab leak hypothesis turns out to be true, would mean that China is responsible for the most significant man-made disaster in human history.

No comment.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff