Wither the Mass GOP

For John, BLUF:  Yes, the Editorial Board of The Boston Globe is correct to be concerned about the current state of the Massachusetts Republicans, but there is hope.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Time to fix the Massachusetts Republican Party

Here is the sub-headline:

It is on life support.  New leadership is crucial to revitalizing two-party politics in the Bay State.

From The Boston Globe, by The Editorial Board, 27 December 2022, 4:00 a.m..

Here is the lede plus two:

It can’t be fun being a Massachusetts Republican these days.  The party experienced not only a disappointing midterm season on the national level but also an absolute blowout in state elections.  The Grand Old Party of Massachusetts is not just impotent.  It has flatlined.

The numbers have been counted, but let’s count them again.  Come January, there will be zero Republican statewide officials; zero Republicans in the 11-member congressional delegation; and the Democratic supermajorities in both the state House and Senate will have actually grown larger.  Today the party has its lowest percentage of registered voters in Massachusetts since World War II and perhaps since its founding: under 9 percent.

No wonder Republican state Representative Shawn Dooley told the Globe earlier this month that “there is either real change on the horizon or there is no Republican Party in Massachusetts.”  Or that Ed Dombroski, who lost a state Senate race last month, wrote in CommonWealth magazine:  “No, we’re not tired of winning.  We’re tired of losing.”

I think The Boston Globe is identifying a problem for the MassGOP and for our Commonwealth.  Yes, our (my) MassGOP does not have enough elected officials to do the job of loyal opposition.  In fact, it is a pretty toothless tiger, and a lot of folks mock us for it.

The article has a rece3nt orientation; Governor CXharlie bwker, Chairman Jim Lyons, President Donald trump.  My experience, which goes back to before 2000, suggests that is a short range view aand ignoores the failures that have been with us for a couple of decades, perhaps longer.  When I ran for State Rep against Incumbent David Nangle (hope over reality) (2000, 29002), I received precious little help from the Mass GOP.  Later, when I was the City Chairman, I have one visit from a staffer, over a number of years.  My successor, Kam Kay, had the same experience.  In fact, the Governor or Lt Gov would come to Lowell, but instead of inviting me to meet them at the Owl Diner, they were off the local Democrats, building relationships  While tht might hve helped them on Beacon Hill, it did nothing for building the Mass GOP.

The idea that this decline of the MassGOP is related to President Donald Trump or the MAGA movement shows poor analysis.  The problems began before 2016.  For at least several decades there has been a divide between what my wife calls the "Downtown (Boston) Republicans and the GOPers in the hinterlands.  The Downtowners are more oriented with the Progressives in the General Court and those in the hinterlands are more conservaataivre.  It is no wonder to me that Jim Lyons was elected Chairman of the MassGOP, as many Committeemen anbd women are from areas disconnected from Boston and Cambridge.

Is there a future for the MassGOP?  In my lifetime a Massachusetts US Rep was Speaker of the Hoouse.  And, when I was youong the Primary Election in a number of Souothern States were determinative, since the Republilcan Party in those States barely existed.  Histoory suggests the Republican will bound back.  If not, it will bw replaced, as the GOP replaced the Whigs in the 1850s.  I expect the power of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts will result in overreach and thus lead to a rebound of the Republican Party in the stte. Regards  —  Cliff

Books Live On—I Hope

For John, BLUF:  Some people are collectors of books and some aren't.  I doubt the two groups will ever understand each other.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Recently, I threw some books in the trash... well, the recycling bin... but you know what I mean: I threw books out.

From Althouose, by Professor Ann Althouse, 18 Decembeer 2022, 12:36 PM.

Here is the lede plus two:

Recently, I threw some books in the trash... well, the recycling bin... but you know what I mean: I threw books out.  I wanted to tell you to help you.  I'm prompted by "We’re drowning in old books. But getting rid of them is heartbreaking.  'They’re more like friends than objects,’ one passionate bookseller says. What are we to do with our flooded shelves?" by Karen Heller (WaPo).

Book lovers are known to practice semi-hoardish and anthropomorphic tendencies.  They keep too many books for too long despite dust, dirt, mold, cracked spines, torn dust jackets, warped pages, coffee stains and the daunting reality that most will never be reread.  Age rarely enriches a book.

“Nobody likes to throw a book away. Nobody likes to see it go into a bin,” says Michael Powell of Powell’s Books in Portland, Ore.  Owners never want to see their hardback babies pulped.  Bibliocide seems particularly painful in this fraught era of banned books.  Hence, the sprouting of Little Free Libraries everywhere, and donations to public ones for resale, which enable staff to purchase new books.

At the Memorial Service for my late colleague and friend, Mark Hemenway, his Wife told the story of Mark saying to her "The difference between us is you love reading, but I love books."  That immediately resonated with me.  I worry that, upon my passing, my books will not go to people who appreciate them, but rather to a pulping machine.

It is a tragedy  On the other hand, by that point I may be focused on other things.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

The FBI and Social media

For John, BLUF:  I am seeing indications in the fringe media that folks think the FBI and other members of the Intelligence Community are in relations with the media, which are too close.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"The FBI and other law enforcement organizations treated Twitter as a 'subsidiary,' flagging numerous accounts for purportedly harmful 'misinformation'..."

From Althouse, by Professor Ann Althouse, 17 December 2022, 10:23 AM .

Here is the lede plus two:

"The FBI and other law enforcement organizations treated Twitter as a 'subsidiary,' flagging numerous accounts for purportedly harmful 'misinformation' since January of 2020, according to the sixth installment of the 'Twitter Files' released Friday. Independent journalist Matt Taibbi described the FBI’s relationship with Twitter as having a 'master-canine quality' with 'constant and pervasive' contact between the bureau and the social media giant.... Friday’s Twitter Files also revealed that the company participated in monthly meetings with not only the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, but also with the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.... Instead of chasing child sex predators or terrorists,' Taibbi summed up in a tweet following the file drop, 'the FBI has agents — lots of them — analyzing and mass-flagging social media posts. Not as part of any criminal investigation, but as a permanent, end-in-itself surveillance operation. People should not be okay with this.' The FBI told the Post on Friday that it... 'regularly engages with private sector entities... [which] independently make decisions about what, if any, action they take on their platforms and for their customers after the FBI has notified them'...."

The NY Post reports.

ALSO: There's this other article in the NY Post: "Twitter’s top ranks riddled with ex-FBI employees" ("More than a dozen former feds flocked to the company in the months and years prior to Elon Musk’s purchase of the social network in October").

I think the new Congress should look into the FBI, and the broader Intelligence Community.  If they can't get witnesses to testify, there is always the power of the purse.  While I think RFK, Jr, may be over the top in claiming his uncle (President John F Kennedy) was killed by the CIA, we have had to much ""trust me" and not enough Congressional Investigations.

We need a more open federal Government.

Hat tip to the Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Lord Nelson's Blind Eye

For John, BLUF:  Admiral Nelsoon was famous for putting his telescope to his blind eye when he did not like the signal he was getting.  In his case it worked out well.  Our Media, not so much.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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HE’S NOT WRONG, YOU KNOW:

Here is the Tweet:

Dinesh D'Souza
@DineshDSouza

The mainstream media can’t risk covering #TwitterFiles.  If they admit rampant collusion between govt agencies and Twitter, they’ll have to inquire about Facebook, YouTube, Apple, Google.  The whole censorship regime would unravel.  Better to pretend nothing’s happening! @elonmusk

This does seem to be the logical explanation.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Bad Legislation

For John, BLUF:  The Democrats seem to still be concerned by the possibility President Trump might run again in 2024.  They are prepared to go to strange extremes to prevent such a thing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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H.R.9578 - To provide that Donald J. Trump is ineligible to again hold the office of President of the United States or to hold any office, civil or military, under the United States.

Thiss bill has been introduceed by Repreentative David N. Cicilline, Demoocrat of Rhode Island.  It is based upoon Representative Cicilline's understanding of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which states:

‘‘No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.’’.

I found this little jewel in Conservative Review, in an article titled:  "House Democrats Introduce Legislation That Would Bar Trump From The Presidency". This Bill has picked up 40 co-sponsors, includiing Representative James P. McGovern, Democrat of Masssachusetts Disterict 2.  The good news is that our Representative, Ms Lori Trahan, has not signed onto this legislation.♠

This proposed legislation, based on a Post-Civil War Amendment to the Constitution (14th Amwndweent), seems deficient to me.  It is an attempt to bar Former president Trump from serving as President again.  Or serving in any other office.

The problem is, President Trump has not yet been convicted of any crimes under the 14th Amendment.  Almost two years after the 6 January 2021 riot on Capitol Hill he has not yet even been indicted for any crime.  As an aside, if it was an insurrection on the part of President Trump isn't it the height of incompetence that the legal institutions have not yet done anything to bring him to "justice"?  Are we looking at one more self-indictment on the part of the Biden-Harris Administration?

Then there is the American voter.  While the media is moving to minimize the importance of the Twitter suppression of the original New York Post article on the Hunter Biden Laptop, the American People are giving it credibility..  Breitbart told us on 12 December of this year:  "Poll: 71% Say Accurate Reporting of Hunter’s Laptop Could Have Altered 2020 Election".  That is could vs would, but it is still an indication that the voting public is not to be toyed with for perverse political gain.

I think the US House of Representatives needs to let this piece of legislation die with the end of the 117th Congress.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Yes, I did take the time to Call Representative Trahan's Lowell Office and say that I thought this was a bad piece of legislation.

2020 Election Campaign Reexmined

For John, BLUF:  It is not possible to go back and say what would have happened if information had come to light before an election, but it should make us careful to ensure such information manipulation is reduced in the future, which falls on the Press and other media.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Kash Patel wants to know about the role of Wray and Barr in the FBI and DOJ liaison with Twitter

From The New Neo, by Herself, 14 December 2022.

Mr Kash Patel asks sojme questions. Here is the lede, a tweet:

The Dirty Truth (Josh)
@AKA_RealDirty

#KashPatel: The only way there would be this level of engagement from the FBI/DOJ with Twitter is if Bill Barr and Christopher Wray personally authorized it. If @elonmusk doesn’t release, everything subpoenas need to go out because nothing is ever deleted at the FBI.

Further down she writes:

I would guess that Wray and Barr would say the briefings were to warn about “Russian disinformation” that might affect the 2020 election. But weekly face-to-face meetings? Seems like a lot more must have discussed than that.

What are the legal ramifications of what happened between Twitter and the government actors, whomever they were? Philip Hamburger writes about it in the WSJ (I can’t read the whole thing because of the paywall, but Instapundit has a hefty excerpt):

Cooperation between government officials and private parties to suppress speech could be considered a criminal conspiracy to violate civil rights. The current administration won’t entertain such a theory, but a future one might.

The fundmentl question for the Voters is if the 2020 Election was perverted by forces inside our Federal Government.

As far back as August of this year The New York Post headlined:  "79% say ‘truthful’ coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop would have changed 2020 election".

And, one wonders how the political science professors in academia are looking at this?  Are their Progrewsive views at war with any insights that President Trump would have won if a cabal had not suppressed the truth about the Hunter Biden Laptop?  I don't believe the likes of Speaker Nsncy Pelosi give a fig for clean and fair process, but it could come back to bite them if other parties adopt the same approach to elections.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Today's Election

For John, BLUFI thought we were making progress on race relations and integration, but then I read something like this:  .  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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HERSCHEL WALKER IS AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY

Here is the sub-headline:

Black bodies, white agendas

From , by Poet Caroline Randall Williams, DECEMBER 06, 2022.

Here is the lede plus one:

Commodity.  Chattel.  Contraband.  Capital.  What is a Black body in the South?  What is a Black southern man, carted out to work a white-owned field?

It’s impossible today to talk about Black men and white agendas without talking about Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for Senate in the runoff election in Georgia.  But in order to talk about Walker, I’ve got to start in what may be his actual state of residence, Texas.

Per The Atlantic, the author, Ms Caroline Randall Williams is a poet, the television host of Discovery Plus’s Hungry for Answers, and a writer in residence at Vanderbilt University..

It is interesting to me that in my lifetime the roles of the political parties have reversed.  When I was young the Democrats were, mostly, the party of racism and the Deep South.  If not all the politicians, at least the power in the US Congress.  The Republicans were the party of integration and equal rights.♠

Ms Williams sees Candidate Hershal Walker as a mere schill for cynical Republicans.  Senator Warnock, by implication, is seen as the paragon of virtue.  She is apparently not aware of the small demographic shifts that see Black and Hispanic Voters moving toward the GOP.  This shift is, apparently, driven by the issues facing the nation, such as jobs, crime, immigration, inflatin and education.

This is sad.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠ As is always the case, there were exceptions.  I spent Elementary School in a Sundown Town in South Jersey.  The Mayor conceived of the town as Republican.
♥   This is notwithstanding the actions by Reverend Warnock, such as his actions during his divorce and his actions with regard to his Church's housing project.

A Secret Insight

For John, BLUF:  The Biden Administration has been dooing almost everything in its power to weaken US Oil Production.  Why?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Did Biden Seal a 'Clandestine' Saudi Oil Deal to Manipulate Prices Ahead of the Midterms?

From PJ Media, by Reporter Ryan Ledendecker, 5 December 2022, 10:30 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

Back in July, a seemingly desperate President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia on a high-stakes trip where he met the Saudi Royal family, including the controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The president took a lot of heat for the trip for several reasons, including his scheduled meetup with the crown prince, who had previously signed off on the murder of WaPo journalist Jamal Khashoggi.  Biden was also criticized for appearing to use the trip to request help from a foreign nation on the oil production front, though the White House denied that was the case.

However, in a bombshell revelation this week, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who will soon lead the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee, announced that his committee will investigate what he believes to be a “secret deal” with Saudi Arabia regarding increasing OPEC+ oil production to manipulate the U.S. energy market ahead of the 2022 midterms.

I find it fairly cynical to think that the Biden Administration would manipulate world oil markets for the purpose of winning Congressional races in a mid-term election  That would have been a very cynical move, one disrespectful of petroleum woorkers across the nation.

Calling for increased oil production around the world, in the face of perceived climate change makes no swnse, unless there are other humanitarian factors in plan.

I think the Biden Administration has stumbled onto a problem in the mid- to long-term.  I don't knoow what it is, but I would look at the coming winter and Europe's shortage of energy, given the War in Ukraine and the various embargoes ongoing around the world.  What if President Biden is trying to increase oil production around the world, with the US as the hidden backup, when all else fails?  That makes much more sense.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Ms Clinton equates Pro-Life with Terrorism

For John, BLUF:  I think Senator Clinton just got carried away with her rhetoric; at least I hope that is the case.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Hillary Clinton Says Saving Unborn Babies from Abortion Is Like…Terrorists Killing, Raping Women

From , by Reporter Catherine Salgado, 27 December 2022, 4:06 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

Iranian protests against oppressive, misogynistic laws have led to over 14,000 arrests and a government decision to execute an unknown number of protestors.  Afghanistan’s ruling power, the terrorist Taliban, murders, rapes, and abuses women on a daily basis.  Russian soldiers reportedly weaponized rape in Ukraine.  All of which, in Hillary Clinton’s mind, is equivalent to Arkansas’s pro-life legislation restricting the abortion of innocent unborn babies.

Most of us did a double take on that, but not PBS’s Christiane Amanpour.  When failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton went on Amanpour and Company to discuss the women’s rights summit the Clinton Presidential Center is hosting, Amanpour didn’t seem disturbed by Hillary equating the saving of unborn babies with raping and shooting women, according to LifeNews.

Amanpour asked Clinton about the “unfinished business” of women’s rights, and Hillary knew exactly which countries to bash.  “But we are also in a period of time where there is a lot of pushback and much of the progress that has been, I think, taken for granted by too many people is under attack,” Clinton pontificated. “Literally under attack in places like Iran or Afghanistan or Ukraine, where rape is a tactic of war, or under attacks by political and cultural forces in a country like our own when it comes to women’s health care and bodily autonomy.”  Because pro-lifers are so similar to the Taliban!

We don't really think that Senator Clinton equates Pro-Life people with Terrorists, do we?  That would be equating criminal activity with the right of the State to protect, at some point, the life of an unborn child for the convenience of the Mother carrying the child.  That seems like an unbalanced argument.

In our pluralistic society it does not seem unreasonable to allow abortion to save the life of the Mother, or, early on, in the event of rape.  Incest as a separate category ignores that it is usully rape, and when it is consenual the idea of abortion sounds more like eugenics.  At some point the child conceived should begin to gather his or her own rights.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Avoiding Peace in the Middle East

For John, BLUF:  J Street?  A Progressive Jewish Advocacy group..  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Welcome, Bibi:  Blinken To Headline Anti-Israel J Street Conference

Here is the sub-headline:

Move seen as shot at incoming Israeli prime minister Netanyahu

From Washington Free Beacon, by Adam Kredo, 1 December 2022, 4:50 pm.

Here is the lede plus four:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to headline a conference held by one of the foremost anti-Israel groups in the country, a move that is being interpreted as a shot at Israel's newly elected government led by incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Blinken on Wednesday announced that he will serve as the headline speaker at the annual conference for J Street, which as recently as last month trashed Netanyahu, accusing the incoming prime minister of "building and bulldozing [his] way to permanent, undemocratic control of the West Bank."  The group also advocates conditioning U.S. aid to Israel, routinely attacks the Jewish state for defending itself against Palestinian terrorism, and employs notoriously terrible pumpkin carvers.  It is funded by liberal anti-Israel billionaire George Soros, though the organization initially tried to hide this fact, as well as by far-left groups such as the Ploughshares Fund, one of the chief proponents of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

The conference kicks off this weekend, with Blinken set to address the confab on Sunday, alongside former Bernie Sanders adviser and longtime Israel critic Matt Duss, Daily Beast writer Wajahat Ali, a cadre of pro-Palestinian activists, and several Democratic members of Congress, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) and senator-elect Peter Welch (D., Vt.).

Blinken's decision to attend J Street's headline event is eliciting concerns at Foggy Bottom and sparking outrage among friends of the Jewish state already aggrieved at the Biden administration's decision last month to launch an unprecedented FBI investigation into the death in Israel of a Palestinian-American journalist.  Israel determined that the journalist was unintentionally shot by its security forces during a standoff with Palestinian terrorists.

Multiple sources, both within and outside the State Department, who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon said Blinken's decision to attend J Street's conference is part of an effort by the Biden administration to undermine the new Netanyahu government and distance itself from the incoming prime minister's conservative coalition.

While some may think of the Democrats as being anti-Jewish, I think it is more a case of President Biden viewing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an ally of Former President Donald Trump, and therefore baiscally persona non-grata.  It follows the pattern of the Biden Administration seeming to ignore the Middle East initiatives of the Trump Era,  I am surpriaed that SecState Blinken did not return the US Embassy to Tel Aviv.

During the Presidency of Donald Terump progress was made toward a broader peace in the Middle East.  That progress and momentum seems to have been lost.  I wonder if we can get it back?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Cause of Firing

For John, BLUF:  Not exactly fired.  They just didn't pick up his contract renewal for next year.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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San Fran's election director fired because he’s white

From Tilting At Windmills, by Tom Knighton 23 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus eight:

Some of us like to just think the best about our nation, but the honest among us have to admit that we haven’t always gotten it right.

One of the sins of our past is institutionalized discrimination based on the color of one’s skin.  As a born and raised Southerner, it’s something I couldn’t hide from if I wanted to.

Luckily, those days are over.

Right?

Right?

It seems that San Francisco elections director John Arntz appeared to do a satisfactory job running elections for the city. Despite that, though, his contract was not renewed.

Now, contracts don’t get renewed for a number of reasons.  Maybe the person wants more money or, conversely, maybe the funding for the job dropped due to budget cuts.

Yet that doesn’t seem to be the issue with Arntz.

In fact, according to one elections commissioner, the problem is that Arntz is white.

I am hoping the reolacement for Mr Arntz is competent to run the Election Office.  What if the Election Commissioners had to bring Mr Arntz back at the last minute for the next election?

The deeper question is what does this mean for Caucasians in the US?  Are they now all at risk of being replaced in order to give a minority another employment option?  What is a fair employment promise to employees?  While I don't see this mushrooming up into a major issue everywhere, it is something we should discuss now, rather than wait for the A4 Protests.

Regards  —  Cliff

Humor Before the Bar

For John, BLUF:  I am worried that between the Progressives and Corporations, we will kill Free Speech in these United States.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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No joke:  Supreme Court case could take a big bite out of the First Amendment

From The Hill, by Opinion Contributor Jonathan Turley, 26 November 2022, 10:30 AM ET.

Here is the lede plus one:

The court system often is where humor goes to die. For those seeking to use satire or parody of corporations, jokes often run into trademark or other lawsuits and result in a little more than “ha, ha, thump.”

The same bad audience could await the defendant in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC.  The Supreme Court just accepted a case involving a tongue-in-cheek dog chew toy made to resemble a Jack Daniel’s whiskey bottle.  VIP prevailed in defending the toy as protected speech, but the distiller wants the Supreme Court to declare such parodies to be trademark violations.

If the Supreme Court quashes parody the reach of the First Amendment protection of Free Speech, and especially humor, will be severly surtailed.  Which would be bad.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Is Thanksgiving Bad?

For John, BLUF:  A number of people see traditional Thanksgiving as bad, calling for people to view it as a "National Day of Mourning, given the fate of Native Americans.  The Author is an Americaan Expat in France.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Is Thanksgiving a "Myth" or a "Problematic Holiday"?  What Nobody Tells You About Indians and Other Native Americans

From No-Pasaran, by the Unnamed Author, 25 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus three:

Every time I hear about the tragedy (the tragedies) suffered by the Indians of North America (whether at Thanksgiving or at any other time), I bring up some variant of the following questions: Do the calamities also include the theft of the lands of the Apaches? Does the genocide, real or alleged, of the Native Americans also concern the extermination of the Huron tribe (Huronia)?

This type of question usually boondoggles the leftist, whose eyes grow like saucers and who waffles trying to reply, since in his eagerness to sum up American and world history by meting out simplified explanations in one-sentence platitudes (that conveniently, and invariably, happen to be damning towards Americans, i.e., white Americans), he has neither had nor taken the time to think any details through as he attempts to display his alleged expertise as a modern-day genius. The most intelligent leftists will be — rightly — suspecting that the questions are in some way or another some form of trap…

The problem, of course, is that the lands of the Apaches were stolen by the Comanches.

While the Hurons were wiped out by the Iroquois.

The Author paints a rather grim picture of some of the tribes across the continent.  He doesn't get into human sacrifice, which was practiced in the lower parts of North America.  On the other hand, he passes over the helpfulness of the local eastern Massachusetts Native Americans.  We commemorate that cooperstion when we celebrate Thanksgiving.  For sure, the Native American population can not be taken as a uniform collection of tribes,  Rather, they are a large number of groups, with unique cultures, from the Wampanoag to the Mississippian Culture to the Iroquois to the Comanches.

I think the appreciation of Thanksgiving is in the fact that a group of people faced bad odds, and beat them, and took the time to thank God for seeing them through their trials.  I think we should apprecite that at the first Thanksgiving the European Immigrants welcomed and thanked the Native Americans who helped them survive.  If we load the feast down with too much analysis we are impoosing our current understanding on people who might never have contemplated such complications.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Getting Trump

For John, BLUF:  Our politics appears to be becoming more and more partisan.  Is there a way we could pause?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Special prosecutor won’t be Mueller sequel

Here is the sub-headline:

From The [Lowell] Sun, by Noah Feldman, 26 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus three:

To no one’s surprise, Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special prosecutor, Jack Smith, to investigate former President Donald Trump. You might think that you’ve seen this movie before. But there’s little reason to think this will be a repeat of the Robert Mueller investigation that declined to bring charges against Trump. Charges are more likely this time around — though that doesn’t guarantee they will stick.

Remember how worried we were about whether special counsel Mueller would be fired? And remember how then-Attorney General William Barr subverted Mueller’s report by misrepresenting its contents in advance of its release?

Garland is no Barr. He will respect the special counsel’s independence. It would be almost impossible for him to insist on prosecution if Smith judged it inappropriate. And it would be astonishing if he blocked charges that Smith wanted to bring. Either method of contravening the special prosecutor would politicize the prosecution decision. Garland’s whole emphasis at the Department of Justice has been to restore the department to its traditional (and desirable) status as nonpartisan.

Smith is by all accounts a straight shooter, free of partisan bias. He won’t be afraid to charge Trump with federal crimes if the evidence supports it. That’s bad news for Trump. Especially because, with respect to the classified documents Trump took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, it already seems clear there is enough evidence for criminal charges.

The article is kind of disrespectful of former US Attorney General William Barr, while puffing up Attorney General Merrick Garland.

More interesting to me is how the author sees Special Council Jack Smith as "a straight shooter, free of partisaan bias."  Not everyone sees it that way.  Take Ms Mia Cathell, of Town Hall.  Her 25 November 2022 (11:00 AM) article, "There's Something Fishy About the Special Counsel Investigating Trump" brings up how Mr Smith went after Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, esentially knocking him out of the 2016 GOP Presidential Primary Race.  The fact that the US Supreme Court reversed the conviction 9 to 0 doesn't erase the blot at the time, which disrupted our political process.  I would mark him down for this.

Then, there is Mr Smith's close association with the former IRS Official, Ms Lois Lerner.  Enough said.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The World Economic Forum and Our Future

For John, BLUF:  There are a lot of concepts being presented for managing world affairs, which really all break down into oligarchies running the world.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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World Economic Forum chair Klaus Schwab declares on Chinese state TV:  'China is a model for many nations'

Here is the sub-headline:

Schwab praised China's achievements at modernization since the late 1970s

From Fox News, by Bradford Betz, 23 November 2022 7:58pm EST.

Here is the lede plus four:

World Economic Forum founder and Chair Klaus Schwab recently sat down for an interview with a Chinese state media outlet and proclaimed that China was a "role model" for other nations.

Schwab, 84, made these comments during an interview with CGTN’s Tian Wei on the sidelines of last week’s APEC CEO Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

Schwab said he respected China’s "tremendous" achievements at modernizing its economy over the last 40 years.

"I think it’s a role model for many countries," Schwab said, before qualifying that he thinks each country should make its own decisions about what system it wants to adapt.

"I think we should be very careful in imposing systems.  But the Chinese model is certainly a very attractive model for quite a number of countries," Schwab said.

One wonders if Mr Schwab (WEF) is an advocste for ESG (environmental, social and governance) scoring for what he calls stakeholder capitalism?  One further wonders if he sees an equivelance with China's Social Credit System.

This line of thinking sometimes comes under the heading of The Great Reset.

For those of us who believe in individuaal freedom and the ability of peopl3e to rise or fall within their locl hierarchy, who believe in providing opportunities for the best to flourish, the idea of Mr Klaus Schwab and of Xi Jinping should be frightening.  They are about taking away individual autonomy and forcing conformance to the views of the State.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

This Thanksgiving

For John, BLUF:  There is a lot to be thankful for today.  This is just a partial list.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Happy Thanksgiving

What I am thankful for:

• That Christ came to redeem us.
• That I was born in the United States of America.
• That my Wife agreed to marry me and become my life partner.
• For my children and grandchildren and greatgrandchildren, who give me joy.
• And my relatives, both physical and in law.
• For my friends and neighbors here in Lowell, who work to make this a City to be proud of.
• For having my health and still being engaged in life.
• For Johannes Gutenberg.
• For Abner Doubleday.

Regards  —  Cliff

Enjoy Thanksgiving?

For John, BLUF:  I intend to enjoy Thanksgiving and to tdhank Good that I am lucky enough to live in the United States of America.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Don’t Allow Wokism To Ruin Thanksgiving

From The Lid Blog, by Blogger Jeff Dunetz, 21 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

The Pilgrims celebrated the “First Thanksgiving” after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621.  This feast lasted three days, and—as accounted by attendee Edward Winslow, it was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims.

The 2022 celebration is the 401st anniversary of the very first Thanksgiving.  Abe Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday.  When Lincoln declared it a national holiday celebrated on November 26, it superseded Evacuation Day held on November 25, commemorating the British withdrawal from the United States after the American Revolution.

Woke America, however, tells us not to enjoy the day.  They say Thanksgiving is a bad day, a celebration of genocide.  However, some Woke people believe we should have kept Evacuation Day because Thanksgiving is inherently racist and evil.

Is there nothing good in our past, which we can celebrate?  The New York Times Writer, Nikole Hannah-Jones thinks the American Revolution is all about slavery.  There are those who take no pleasure in what Capitalism or Democracy have accomplished in the last 200 years, seeing it instead as exploitation by the wealthy and strong.

Is this holiday to be a day of regret and repentence?  Some would seem to think so.  However, aside from the fact that I disagree with the idea of regret and repentence, there is the question of what would be the course ahead if we (the descendents of those at the first Thanksgiving, 400 years ago, and we the descendents of subsequent immigrants) did repent, what would we do?  Should all of us immigrants return to the nations from which we came?  If we do, what do we do with the nuclear weapons we developed and produced?  What about Wall Street?  The gold in Fort Knox?  Will we be welcomed back, and if not, then what?  What do the woke suggest?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Divided on Illegal Immigration

For John, BLUF:  There are at least ten US States with a population less than the number of illegal immigrants coming over the Southern Border in the last 12 months.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

No, Thanks: Schumer Wants Amnesty For ’11 Million Or However Many’ Illegal Aliens Are In The U.S.

From The Daily Wire, by Reporter Tim Meads, 16 November 2022.

Here is the money quote:

“Now more than ever, we’re short of workers. Uh, we have a population that is not reproducing on its own with the same level that it used to. The only way that we’re gonna have a great future in America is if we welcome and embrace immigrants -- the DREAMers and all of them. ‘Cause our ultimate goal is to help the DREAMers, but get a path to citizenship for all 11 million or however many undocumented there are here.”

Senate Majooority Leader Chuck Schumer

Based on this quoote, I don't see the next Congress coming to a solution to the immigration issue,  However, I an thinking that, at some point, the Democrats will figure out that immigrants are not a long term stream of Democratic Party voters.

Exit Question:  Why, in my web search, did the first dozen responses all come from non-standard media sites,  No big name newspaper or TV Network.

Hat tip to a friend down in Orlando.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Other Point of View

For John, BLUF:  Political Pundis are jumping the gun with regard to Mr Trump's announcement of a third run.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Mick Mulvaney:  Donald Trump is the only Republican who can lose in 2024

Here is the sub-headline:

Former White House chief of staff said his ex-boss’s planned third run for presidency is bad for Republican party

From The Guardian, by Reporter Martin Pengelly, Wednesday 16 November 2022, 07.28 EST.

Here is the lede plus one:

Donald Trump’s announcement of a third consecutive run for the presidency is bad for the Republican party because he is the only Republican who could lose in 2024, Trump’s own former White House chief of staff said on Tuesday night.

Asked on CNN if he thought Trump’s announcement at Mar-a-Lago was good for the Republican party, Mick Mulvaney said: “No I don’t. I think he’s the only Republican who could lose.”

I think Mr Mulvaney is premature in judging the Former President's odds in a 2024 run.  Yes, Mr Trump is facing some headwinds, but so is President Biden, should he chose to run.  Further, Democrats, as a party, face some issues that might mature in the next two years, including the economy and crime.  And how will Mr Hunter Biden's laptop play out?  Will some admit that 2020 saw a major coverup of serious issues?

I would argue that the half-life of a political opinion in these United States is 90 days.  At that point half the Voters have forgotten the issue or don't care.  Yes, the Media can lengthen that time, but not without effort.  Before we start counting folks out we need to wait for the calendar to show at least the second half of 2023.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Great Reset Issues

For John, BLUF:  No, not safe for children.  Also not safe for those without a history exploring mindset.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Brave New Whirled

Here is the sub-headline:

When fascism is sold as progress, and eugenics is sold as a transhumanist upgrade to nature’s random mistakes, you’re at the mouth of the elite’s man-made maelstrom

From Protein Wisdom Reborn, by Blogger Jeff Goldstein, 18 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

So begins the mission statement of the World Economic Forum, one of a constellation of global NGOs whose vision for the future is dressed in the rhetorical finery of “sustainability,” “renewables,” and “transhumanism” — all marketed as upgrades to the human condition — but whose roots are tied inextricably to what I’ve called neo-feudalism, which conjoins a central global currency, a punitive surveillance state, and the rebranding of eugenics to make it more palatable to those in an increasingly stratified global class system who (the plan is) will be pushed by a love of convenience into accepting a form of paternalistic feudalism, while also being subjected to a reworking of their consciousnesses and the deliberate reduction of their numbers. Chip technology, injectables, and bio-electronic nano tech are meant to “improve” humanity, the promise goes.  And yet, it is being designed more to control us, to the point where changes in DNA structure are both possible and patentable.

Somewhere in man these is this believe that mankind is perfectable.  When it is tied to a belief in God it leads to people trying to improve themselves.  Sometimes it leads to the idea of imposing that improvement by cohersion.  That is bad.  Whatis worse is some pseudo-scientif belief in eugenics.

This article lays out a look at perfecting man, and the mating of government to corporations to the selective breeding of a better race (and elimination of inferiors).

The take away for us all is to be wary of those promising to remake society as a better version of itself.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Missing Clams

For John, BLUF:  We think we know our planet, but science means being open to new understandings.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

'Extinct' Clam From 30,000 Years Ago Turns Up Just Fine in California

From Science Alert, by ReporterCarly Cassella, 18 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

A species of clam known only by the 28,000-year-old fossils it left behind has turned up alive and well on an American shoreline.

The small, translucent bivalve, known as Cymatioa cooki, was recently discovered hiding in the rocky intertidal zone of southern California – a place carefully combed over by scientists for many, many years.

"It's not all that common to find alive a species first known from the fossil record, especially in a region as well-studied as Southern California," says marine ecologist Jeff Goddard from the University of California Santa Barbara.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Missing Housing

For John, BLUF:  Massachusetts is about 100,000 housing units short.  This is not helping.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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US Homebuilding Tumbles to Two-Year Low Amid Soaring Mortgage Rates

From The Washington Free Beacon, by Reporter Lucia Mutikani, 17 November 2022, 12:35 pm.

Here is the lede plus one:

U.S. homebuilding fell sharply in October, with single-family projects dropping to the lowest level in nearly 2-1/2 years, as the housing market buckles under the strain of surging mortgage rates, which are pricing out potential homeowners.

> Housing starts decreased 4.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.425 million units last month, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday.  Data for September was revised higher to a rate of 1.488 million units from the previously reported 1.439 million units.

We have a homeless problem in our Commonwealth, worse in Boston than in Lowell.  There are building assets available, and we need free market efforts to put them to work.  By free market, I do include our General Court making monies available to allow building of homes.  For sure, rent control will only make this worse, as will the influx of refugees coming across our Southern Border by the thousands.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Nancy to Step Down in January

For John, BLUF:  I caught the last portuon of her decision speech to the House at noon this day.  She was refined and generous, towering over the President and Vice President.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

BREAKING: Nancy Pelosi Announces Her Future in Politics

From PJ Media, by Reporter Chris Queen, 17 November 2022, 12:45 PM.

Here is the lede plus two:

With the balance of power in Congress in question through the 2022 midterm election season, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declined to speculate on her future. Now that Republicans have secured a House majority, Pelosi announced that she will not seek re-election to leadership among the Democratic caucus.

Pelosi has led the Democrats in the House since 2003 and is one of the longest-serving leaders in either party.  She first ascended to House Speaker in 2007, and she served until 2011, when Republicans took a majority.  When the Democrats achieved a majority eight years later, she became Speaker of the House again.

“After leading the Democrats for the last two decades, the House Speaker announced Thursday that she will step down next year from her spot at the top of the party, closing a momentous run for the most powerful woman in U.S. history while clearing the way for a younger generation of up-and-coming lawmakers to climb into the leadership ranks,” writes Mike Lillis at The Hill.

There is no doubt that Ms Pelosi has been an historic figure in American hisory.  Here tenure as Speaker alone is enough for the record books.  On top of that are her accomplishments as Speaker.

On the other hand, she is pretty petty when it comes to Republicans

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Youth Voter Was Important Last Week

For John, BLUF:  All of us with an interest in politics need to exmine all the possible reasons for the outcome we had on 8 November.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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There WOULD Have Been a Red Wave, but One Group Saved the Left From Being Completely Obliterated

From PJ Media, by Columniat Robert Spencer, 9 November 2022, 10:58 AM.

Here is the lede plus one:

John Della Volpe, a hard-Left pollster and author of a deathless tome entitled FIGHT:  How Gen Z is Channeling Their Fear & Passion to Save America, is claiming that his favorite age group saved the midterm elections for those who love skyrocketing inflation, open borders, rising crime, international ridicule and brinksmanship, and accelerating authoritarianism.  Della Volpe tweeted, “One thing I know already. If not for voters under 30 … tonight WOULD have been a Red Wave.  CNN National House Exit Poll R+ 13 65+ R+ 11 45-64 D +2 30-44 D +28 18-29 #GenZ did their job.”  He added, “& young #millennials :)”  If Della Volpe’s numbers are correct, and 64% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 really voted for Democrats, then one thing is clear:  the corruption and politicization of our educational system has worked.

What he is crowing about is the apparent fact that the voting group with the least life experience and the most recent subjection to the Leftist indoctrination that dominates America’s educational system ended up voting as it was brainwashed to do.  Gee, that’s terrific, if you like evidence of the success of the relentless propagandizing of a vulnerable and impressionable captive audience, but neither John Della Volpe nor anyone else should be proud of it.  What it shows is not that the Leftist case is compelling or persuasive; it shows that patriotic Americans have been far too complacent in allowing public schools to become centers of Leftist indoctrination and hatred of our own nation and heritage.

Given that we have 12 years of indoctrinated youth in the youth voting brackets, and more coming, it is incumbent on Republicans to develop and mount a campaign to show these cohorts the proper political path.

Is the Republican Party in Massachusetts capable of doing that?  If not, it will be more years in the wilderness.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  — Cliff

Looking for Justice, Andy Ngo Version

For John, BLUF:  The conflict between Anftifa and a free press has been around for a couople of years.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Portland's Antifa 'Justice' Strikes Again

From PJ Media, by Reporter Victoria Taft, 16 NOVEMBER 2022, 9:17 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

A Portland “anti-fascist” activist has been found not guilty of being a fascist by roughing up a journalist and stealing his phone because he didn’t like what the reporter said about his Antifa friends.  After the Portland judge let off the notorious Portland Antifa attacker, he delivered a lecture to the victim, reporter Andy Ngo.

There’s your justice, Portland.

Ngo sought justice in court for three-and-a-half years against John Hacker, one of a mob of activists that has made a point to follow, chase, hassle, and attack Ngo multiple times.

Is there justice to be found in Portland, Oregon?  Is that part of Oregon really part of America?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

DJT in for 2024

For John, BLUF:  The 2024 campaign had to start sometime, but this does seem early.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump makes 'special announcement' from Mar-a-Lago

Here is the sub-headline:

Former President Trump delivers remarks from Florida.

From Fox News, by Host Sean Hannity, 15 November 2022.

It is a video of his announcement. I was immpressed by his calm approach, laying out his case for himself, and for the Republican Party in 2024.

I wonder who this will flush out early?  President Biden, for example?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Our Lost Hope For a Western Oriented Russia

For John, BLUF:  We sent some talented people to help in the transition from the Soviet system, but they failed.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Russia’s Great Transformational Failure

Here is the sub-headline:

Hopes that post-Soviet Russia would join the ranks of prosperous liberal democracies have proven to be a chimera

From Tablet Magazine, by Postdoctoral Fellow Ms Maria Snegovaya, 28 September 2022.

Here is the lede plus one:

The collapse of the Soviet system led to a period of hope in Russia.  Throughout the 2000s, it was popular to describe Russia as a “normal country.”  The changes it went through during its transition from Soviet communism to a Westernized, market-based economy and parliamentary system were agreed to be irreversible, setting the stage for the country to eventually join the club of liberal democracies.

Thirty years later, however, it seems clear that Russia’s much-heralded modernization effort was a failure.

In the early 1990s, the political scientist Claus Offe explained the nature of the unique challenges faced by countries across the post-communist region, which he called the triple transformation:  the political transition from autocracy to democracy; the economic transition from planned to market economy; and a national transition from empire to nation-building.  While post-communist countries saw varying degrees of success, it is the failure to modernize along all three dimensions that distinguishes Russia.

As we look across the Globe we see Democracy, in various forms, the Communist Chinese approach of Social Credit and the Russian approach of authoritarianism.  To my surprise, and disappointment, the Russian model is gaining support in some areas.  However, notwithstanding the bleating from some in the US, authoritarianism does not appear to have a foothold here.

This is where a good foreign information program might be of value.  While I doubt such a program could overthrow the Social Credit syetem (it will have to undo itself by thwarting all aspects of freedom) it can help other nations cope with authoritarian aspects of thei government.  We have Madison Avenue.  We should be able to sell democracy and the freedom aspects of capitalism.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Amen to That

For John, BLUF:  This is proobably just me.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Amen

After the Eucharistic Prayer

We say it, or sing it, on our knees.  Wouldn't it be liturgically more fitting if we were rising to our feet during this short period of the Mass?

Regards  —  Cliff

The Mentally Ill

For John, BLUF:  In fighting homelessness, part of what we are fighting is mental illness.  And we aren't doing a very good joob.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Dual Diagnosis

From Outnumbered, by Reporter Dagen McDowell, 14 November 2022.

While we were driving North on I-93 today we were intermittently listening to the Fox News Show, Outnumbered.  We caught Ms Dagen McDowell talking about the poor job we are doing with regard to the Mentally ill.  She was on target.

In particular, I was impressed by her analysis of how Cities are responding to those with a dual diagnosis (a mental illness and a comorbid substance use disorder).  Her point was that while the Cities (and their Counties and States) haven't funded mental health treatment, they are moving to provide free drug injection sites.  Thus, the mentally ill are being allowed, perhaps encoruaged, to self medicate.  This seems like malpractice.

Thanks for this insight, Dagen.

Regards  —  Cliff

Peace for Ukraine

For John, BLUF:  This is a few days late, but the problem persists and the need is there.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The growing chorus for peace in Ukraine

Here is the sub-headline:

There is an alternative.  We can and must resolve this conflict through peaceful diplomacy and negotiation, to end the killing and destruction and let the people of Ukraine live in peace.

From Nation of Change, by CODEPINK Members Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies, 31 October 2022.

Here is the lede plus three:

Ukraine has been wracked by shocking destruction and deadly violence since Russia invaded the country in February. Estimates of the death toll range from a confirmed minimum of 27,577 people, including 6,374 civilians, to over 150,000.  The slaughter can only get more horrific as long as all sides, including the United States and its NATO allies, remain committed to war.

In the first weeks of the war, the United States and NATO countries sent weapons to Ukraine to try to prevent Russia from quickly defeating Ukraine’s armed forces and conducting a U.S.-style “regime change” in Kyiv.  But since that goal was achieved, the only goals that President Zelenskyy and his Western allies have publicly proclaimed are to recover all of pre-2014 Ukraine and decisively defeat and weaken Russia.

These are aspirational goals at best, which require sacrificing hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of Ukrainian lives, regardless of the outcome.  Even worse, if they should come close to succeeding, they are likely to trigger a nuclear war, making this the all-time epitome of a “no-win predicament.”  At the end of May, President Biden responded to probing questions about the contradictions in his Ukraine policy from the New York Times Editorial Board, replying that the United States was sending weapons so that Ukraine “can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.”

But when Biden wrote that, Ukraine had no position at any negotiating table, thanks mainly to the conditions that Biden and NATO leaders attached to their support.  In April, after Ukraine negotiated a15-point peace plan for a ceasefire, a Russian withdrawal and a peaceful future as a neutral country, the United States and United Kingdom refused to provide Ukraine with the security guarantees that were a critical part of the agreement.

Regarding the headline, I don't hear this growing cry.  Yes, on Democracy Now and some parts of the GOP, but not across the Democratic Party or the Nation as a whole.  Should we be striving for peace?  Absolutely.  For the People of Ukraine, and for the rest of us, who suffer the knock on effects of war, such as grain and oil shortages.

As Mr Fred Iklé says, Every War must end.  What we creatively need is a peace proposal that does not back one party or another into a corner, from which they will fight for survival.  While there are issues of justice to be considered, they should not overwhelm the political issues.  For example, while I might think that President Putin deserves punishment for starting the latest military phase of this war, that is not as important to me as finding an exit ramp that would allow Mr Putin to pull back without plunging Russia into a coup or revolution, which would be a reason for Mr Putin to not go there.  There is no King Solomon here.  We have to work it out ourselves.

Don't count on the United Nations to solve this.  The various nations are going to have to agree to treaty boundaries and reparations and other nations are going to have to offer up guarantees, which means enforcement against violations.  Which we would hope would work this time, unlike the Budapest Memoorandum of 1994.

Regards  —  Cliff

Where Goes Mr Trump?

For John, BLUF:  Has Donald Trump, who many of us love, crested and turned politically toxic?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump's shadow loomed over Pennsylvania's Republican bloodbath

From The Washngton Examine, by National Political Reporter Salena Zito, 9 November 2022, 03:02 PM.

Here is the lede plus six:

The red wave that had been predicted to sweep through the Keystone State never materialized.  Instead, Democrats captured the governor’s office, flipped a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat, kept all nine of their congressional seats, flipped several state House seats, and lost just one state Senate seat.

It was a bloodbath so bad for the GOP that it can only be now seen as a solid blue wave that countered the solid red wave Republicans had in this state just two years earlier in down-ballot elections in 2020, when Republicans swept those elections despite President Joe Biden's top-ticket victory.

Democrat Josh Shapiro did as expected and won the governor’s office handily over Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano.  Democrat John Fetterman won as well, by not as much, but the work he did before his stroke in the past few years in his previous failed run for the Senate, and in his successful run for the lieutenant governor’s office, held.  All of the goodwill he had built up in rural counties gave him just enough votes to overcome Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz's efforts to win the election.

Both men swept away all chances of Republicans gaining any new seats in the House and nearly erased their majority in the state House — one seat hangs in the balance and is too close to call.  It was an utter and complete repudiation of the state's Republican Party.

G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Millersville University, attributed Tuesday night's results to three things that had been missed by analysts, pollsters, and reporters, including me.

The first, he said, was "Fetterman holding onto the relationships he developed in the rural counties long before he ran for election this time."  The second was abortion.  The third was that although voters were unhappy with Biden, they were even more unhappy with Trump’s presence during the last week before the election.

Trump's rally in Pennsylvania the Saturday before the election, and his signaled intention to announce another presidential bid later this month, may have done more damage than anyone knew.

If Reporter Zito says the voters were turned off by President Trump, then you can take it to the bank.  I am not sure Mr Trump's prnouncements toward Gov DeSantis and Gov Youngkin these last few days have added to his luster.  In the end it will be on the primary voters, but in the mean time Republican national, state and local leadership should be working to develop an open and inquiring population of Voters.  Voters capable of compromise and asking themselves about the long game.  None of us will get all we want.  All of us should, however, be focused on maintaining our Republican form of ggovernment, with rights for all and a welcoming of all people who have our faith in capitalism and the basic goodness of the Amercan People.

Exit Question:  Does the electin of Lt Gov John Fetterman as Senator signal that the Voters will be happy enough to support Presdent Biden for a second term?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

What is it With Maricopa County?

For John, BLUF:  No, I am not denying that Joseph Robinette Biden is President, duely elected in 2020.  But, I am saying we need to avoid even the appearance of fraud in our elections.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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How Maricopa County defeated election disinformation — for now

Here is the sub-headline:

From NPR, by Reporter Kirk Siegler, 11 November 2022, 11:37 AM ET.

Here is the lede plus three:

Maricopa County Chairman Bill Gates is the first to tell you he's in a bizarre position.

The longtime Republican activist, who once even served as the Arizona state GOP's own election lawyer, is now the target of violent threats and other intimidation by far right extremists.

"This isn't about partisan politics. It's not about conservative versus liberal.  This is about truth versus lies," Gates told NPR.

He's incredulous that he is being attacked by members of his own party, "given my background, all the Republican clubs that I started up, the things that I did to make sure that there wasn't fraud going on in elections on behalf of the Republican Party."

I guess that is one spin on the story, but it misses the elephant in the rooom—the inability of Maricopa zcounty to get the ballots counted.  And, apparently, of Arizona Law to work toward getting the bsllots counted,  Even third woorld countries do a better job at counting than Maricopa County  Worse, the constant adding of ballots offers the opportunity for individuals to introduce new, fraudulent, ballots.

I am not alone in thinking something is wrong with the inability of Maricopa County to get their ballots counted.  Blogger Ssrah Hoyt referenced an item from Legal Insurrecction.  The New Neo, who is from Massachusetts, links to the same article.

Taking days and days to get the results of an election is both undemocrtic and unAmerican,  Arizona, and other places, like Nevada, can, and should, do better.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Happy Veterans Day

For John, BLUF:  And thank you to the taxpayers who financed my grand adventure.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

And Especially to those who carried home the wounds of war.

Duke University Law Professor Charlie Dunlap, himself a retired Air Force Officer, offered up today, A thought for Veterans Day 2022:  Who will be tomorrow’s veterans?

If you wish to learn about Professor Dunlap's question, you can tune into City Life Show on Monday, the 14th of November.  View it on Facebook (City Life Show) or on-line at LTC.com, Channel 8.  At 0700.

Regards  —  Cliff

A New Game Plan?

For John, BLUF:  Some think the Grand Old Party is on the wrong path and needs to change up its gme plan.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Fox News pundit says election was 'searing indictment' of GOP — and Republican vote margins prove it

From The Blaze, by Editor Chris Enloe, 9 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

Conservative writer Marc Thiessen implored the Republican Party to engage in deep introspection after failing to deliver the promised "red wave."

In a political environment unfavorable to Democrats, how could Republicans not decisively win nationwide, especially when they are generally on the favorable side of important issues like the economy and crime?

The result, according to Thiessen, is a "searing indictment" of the Republican Party.

Could it be that the Republicans need to move more toward the Center?  For wxample, would Republican Primary candidte Chris Doughty have done better against Democratic nominee Maura Healey than did Candidate Geoff Diehl?

In asking this question, one must also ask where the backers of a Geoff Diehl would go.  If those people stalked off and formed their own party the GOP would not benefit  Would the GOP be able to pick up enough from Democrats and Independents to outweigh that loss?  I hope there are GOP number crunchers working that problem.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Pink Puddle of November

For John, BLUF:  Mr ROGER KIMBALL asks:  How did I get the midterms so wrong?.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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How did I get the midterms so wrong?

Here is the sub-headline:

I was hardly alone but that is no consolation

From The Spectator, by Author Roger Kimball, November 9, 2022, 11:06 am.

Here is the lede plus three:

About as wrong as I was about the character of the midterm elections.  I thought there would be a red wave, fueled in part by high-octane orange fuel.  Clearly I was wrong.

It is no consolation to know that I was hardly alone in my assumptions.  Nor is it much consolation to hear from Donald Trump that it was a “GREAT EVENING” because there were “174 wins and nine losses.”

I didn’t check his math, but even if accurate it is obvious that there was no red wave. Several of his high-profile candidates lost, most conspicuously Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania.  The fact that he lost to a man who is ostentatiously a mental incompetent added insult to injury.  The most that John Fetterman will be able to do is show up to the Senate in his hoodie and vote “yea” or “nay” on the orders of his handlers.

A friend suggests that perhaps the Democratic strategy is to let Fetterman assume office and then have him resign, leaving Josh Shapiro, who won the gubernatorial race handily against Trump-endorsed Doug Mastriano, appoint a mentally competent successor.  Rumors suggest that Scranton mayor Paige Cognetti is the likely replacement.  That scenario appeals to the Machiavellian in me, but who knows if it is in the offing.

This is why Law Profesor Glenn Harlan Reynolds keeps saying, "don't get cocky."

I aqm with Mr Kimball in wondering what happened,  Perhaps President Biden's claiming that "democracy is on the ballot" got through to otherwise lethargic Democrats and Independents. l Whike I think it is overbkown hyperbole, others, based on media disinformation, may see it as a threat.  For sure I thought the bread and butter issues of inflation and crime would be determinitive.  I was wrong,

Maybe in twao years,

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Early South Americans

For John, BLUF:  The DNA being extracted from very early residents of South American raise questions about how this hemisphere was populated, questions tht could change our view of history.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Ancient DNA analysis sheds light on the early peopling of South America

From Science X, by Florida Atlantic University, 1 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus three:

The Americas were the last continent to be inhabited by humans. An increasing body of archaeological and genomic evidence has hinted to a complex settlement process. This is especially true for South America, where unexpected ancestral signals have raised perplexing scenarios for the early migrations into different regions of the continent.

Many unanswered questions still persist, such as whether the first humans migrated south along the Pacific coast or by some other route. While there is archaeological evidence for a north-to-south migration during the initial peopling of the Americas by ancient Indigenous peoples, where these ancient humans went after they arrived has remained elusive.

Using DNA from two ancient human individuals unearthed in two different archaeological sites in northeast Brazil—Pedra do Tubarão and Alcobaça—and powerful algorithms and genomic analyses, Florida Atlantic University researchers in collaboration with Emory University have unraveled the deep demographic history of South America at the regional level with some unexpected and surprising results.

Not only do researchers provide new genetic evidence supporting existing archaeological data of the north-to-south migration toward South America, they also have discovered migrations in the opposite direction along the Atlantic coast—for the first time. The work provides the most complete genetic evidence to date for complex ancient Central and South American migration routes.

What was surprising to me was the presence of Neanderthal (and Denisovan) ancestory.  I had thought that the Neanderthal were centered on the Eurasian Continents.  Further, ancestory from Australasian (Australia and Papua New Guinea) was found in an ancient genome from Panama.

It appears that the populating of South America is more complex than we previously understood.  There is a lot of history out there still to be learned.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Those Terrible Coal Fired Power Plants

For John, BLUF:  In a move that seemed counter-intuitive, President Biden came out a couple of days ago and said coal fired power plants are going away, but withouot an apparent plan.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden says coal plants 'all across America' will be shut down, replaced with wind and solar

Here is the sub-headline:

Biden argued that it's 'cheaper' to generate electricity from wind and solar than it is from coal

From Fox Business, by Reporter Andrew Miller, 4 November 2022, 6:22pm EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

President Biden said Friday that coal plants are too expensive to operate, and "we're going to be shutting these plants down all across America" in order to shift to wind power in a comment that drew criticism from the Republican National Committee.

"I was in Massachusetts about a month ago on the site of the largest old coal plant in America," Biden said at an event in Carlsbad, California, on Friday.  "Guess what?  It cost them too much money.  They can't count.  No one is building new coal plants because they can’t rely on it.  Even if they have all the coal guaranteed for the rest of the existence of the plant.

"So it's going to become a wind generation.  And all they're doing is it’s going to save them a hell of a lot of money and using the same transmission line that they transmitted the coal-fired electric on, we're going to be shutting these plants down all across America and having wind and solar power, also providing tax credits to help families buy energy efficient appliances, whether it's your refrigerator or your coffee maker, for solar panels on your home, weatherize your home, things that save an average, experts say, a minimum of $500 a year for the average family."

There are a number of views on the cost of wind and solar vs coal.  Here is an example from last year of someone saying coal is actually cheaper.  On the other hand, at about the same time The Guardian told us that solar and wind were coming in cheaper.  Some point to the subsidies provided by Governments to make renewable energy cheaper.

Reoorts show coal fired power plans are being closed, or will become more expensive than nearby renewable efforts, by four-fiths by 2025.  But, what about picking up the slack when thew wind does not blow or the sun does not shine.  Tht will be on hydropower or carbon or nuclear fueled power plants.

From a "Climate Change4" point of view it isn't just about the US and Europe.  China has recently approved 8.63 gigawatts (GW) of coal power just in the first three months of 2022.  China has pronmised to limit climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, but that is off in the future.

What is missing from President Biden's untimely proclamation was a time schedule.  When is this going to happen?  Will he still be President.

What is missing is a program to inform the voters of the United States as to the long term plan for providing consistent electric power across the fruited plain, withouot the use of carbon fuel.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

What is a Woman?

For John, BLUF:  the theme iw thaat the Left has denied women has a nature given nature and it has only hurt women.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Leftist policies have driven women mad

From American Thinker, by Ms Andrea Widburg, 6 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus three:

At the forefront of the BLM riots in 2020 were women—screaming, hysterical, angry, irrational women, seemingly college-educated, and both Black and White. These women were obviously broken, and a poll now confirms that observation. The left, by denying these women their biological mission, is destroying them. However, those women who embrace that mission may save America.

For the past 60 years, especially in academia, leftists have told the vulnerable young women in their charge “You are a victim. If you are White, you’re not only victim of the patriarchy, by virtue of your skin color, you’re also a victimizer and undeserving beneficiary of systemic racism. If you are Black, no matter your ability or accomplishments, you will always be a victim, whether as a woman or as a Black person.”

It’s impossible to imagine more toxic messages, whether by creating unsustainable cognitive dissonance in young White women (“you’re both victim and victimizer”) or demeaning Black women beyond all reason (“no matter what you do, you’ll always fail”). Leftists didn’t stop there, though. They also attacked the very nature of being a woman.

For decades, young women have been taught that motherhood is devoid of meaning and purpose, erasing a woman’s natural intelligence and ability. The secret to fulfillment, young women are told, is a career. Moreover, if you want to ride that career to the top of corporate power, you’d better be all-in for abortion because those babies will get in your way.

Are we, as humans, driven by millenia-long evolution, to feel part of a process for perpetuating our existence?  It would seem so, and the Democrats are losing voters because they have taken the unnatural path and tried to bring womanhood along with it.  Are there women who feel mis-gendered?  At least as far back as Christine Jorgensen.  Today we seem to be taking the normal emotional sorting out of yooung people growing to maturity and creating permanent changes based on temporary moods.  We are ignoring the insight into the need for maturity that causes us to not give drivers licenses before sixteen or sell alcohol before twenty-one.

Yes, we have to absolutely open up opportunities for women.  It is one of the underlyiung principles of our Republic.  That said, we need to have a variety of paths, so we do noot end up stifflying the dreams and aspirations of women who would like a different path.  And we should not discourage continued repopulation of our nation and the planet.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Public School Failure

For John, BLUF:  By Publilc School failure I mean a failure of the public school to teach certain topics, thus allowing the now adult graduates to draw bad conclusions about ongoing events.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Joy Reid: Inflation was never part of the “normal lexicon” until Republicans “taught people the word”

Listen to the 40 second Tweet.

By MSNBC Host Joy Reid, 4 November 20222.

Here is the Fox News report, lede plus two:

MSNBC anchor Joy Reid joined her colleague Stephanie Ruhle in arguing that inflation is not, in fact, an issue in the economy.

On Wednesday, "The ReidOut" host discussed the growing fears over rising inflation affecting the economy.  However, Reid immediately framed concerns over inflation as a Republican talking point.

"So Republicans want you to believe the economy isn’t doing well, that it’s terrible.  Unemployment is at the lowest point since the pandemic began.  Prices are higher, which is never good, but Americans are spending a record amount of money that was pent up during the pandemic, which economics 101 will tell you drives prices up, aka inflation," Reid explained.

So, Ms Reid has never heard of inflation?  By the end of Elementsary School I knew that the peace that settl4ed World War One was flawed and led to runaway inflation in Weimar Germany.  It was so bad that Academic Hebert Marcuse said:  "Abolish the Weimar Republic.  Whatever replaces it has to be better."  And what replaced it was Chancellor Adolph Hitler.  We all know how that turned out.♠

I think Ms Reid's inability to appreciate the issues of inflation are a reflection of a very poor public education.  And, indirectly, it reflects on the fct that the MCAS still doeds not cover history as a test topic.  What are we waiting for?

Here is a short article on Weimar Germany's hyper-inflation after World War One.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  On the other hand, Congressman James CLyburn (D SC) worries we that this Tuesday's Election will move us toward being Nazi Germany:  "House Majority Whip:  US 'on track to repeat' Nazi Germany, downplays inflation ahead of midterms".  But, he does miss the Inflation tie-in.