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.

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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.

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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.

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'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.

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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.

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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.

The Media and The Big Lie

For John, BLUF:  The "Big Lie" about the 2020 Election is a concoctioon of the media and the Democrat machine.  It is a disappointment.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Big Lie about 'The Big Lie'

From American Thinker, by Reporter William Sullivan, 4 November 2022.

Here is the lede plus four:

With only a few days left until the 2022 midterms, Newsweek laments a new poll by Redfield and Wilton Strategies showing that 40 percent of Americans still believe that the 2020 presidential election was "rigged or stolen."

This is presented as a shocking revelation about the number of Americans who still buy into the "Big Lie," despite its "being proven false," according to the article.

Newsweek buries this particular poll's more interesting observations.  For example, only 36 percent of respondents disagree that the 2020 election was rigged or stolen.  Of that group, more than one in three find it "understandable" that others might believe that the election was rigged or stolen. Another 15 percent of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed, and 8 percent signified that they "didn't know."

One way to characterize these data is the manner in which Newsweek does, which is to suggest that a horrifying 40 percent of Americans believe in what a bipartisan mainstream media blitz has promoted as "the Big Lie" for nearly two years.

A far more accurate way to characterize these data, though, is to recognize that there are more Americans confident that the election was rigged than there are Americans who are confident that it was all on the up and up.

Using the Newsweek data, only 25% are shocked that folks question the election.  Well, 25% plus President Biden.  That the media does not recognize this is a disappointment, and it is dangerous to our Democracy.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hope for Next Week

For John, BLUF:  This 2022 election is about economic visions, the Proogressive vision vs the old fashion Adam Smith approach.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why suburban women are flocking to the GOP: As simple as A,B,C

From The New Yoork Post, by Law Peofessor Glenn H. Reynolds, 4 November 2022, 6:18 pm.

Here is the lede plus four:

Something’s happening in the suburbs.  On the one hand, polls indicate that white suburban women are shifting — hard — toward the Republican Party.  On the other, lots more parents are homeschooling their kids, post-pandemic.  These phenomena are not unrelated.

Suburban women are shifting Republican — by 27 points, a Wall Street Journal poll found, with 74% saying the country’s headed the wrong direction — because the Democrats have let them down.

When people complain about taxes, the usual response is something along the lines of “what, you don’t want police and schools?”

Of course, as my father-in-law once said, when they raise taxes they tell you it’s for teachers and police, but when they get the money it goes to buy a fancy leather chair for some guy you never heard of in an office downtown.

But if you’re going to justify the whole of government by invoking police and schools, maybe it would be a good idea to . . . actually provide police and schools.  And Democrats across the nation went out of their way not to deliver either.

Proofessor Reynolds poses the impoortant question (IMHO), if Tueday is a Red Wave, will it result in the Democratic Party adjusting its direction, away from the Proogressive path?  If it does, then the 2024 election could well be about competent management of the economy, the border and the Government.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Knowledge Problem

For John, BLUF:  This article is twelve and a half years old, but it is ever true. centralized economies are hampered by the inability to absorb and sort all the signals from a given economy.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Progressives can't get past the Knowledge Problem

From The Washington Examiner, by Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds, 4 April 2010, 12:00 AM.

Here is the lede plus six:

"If no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?" -- President Reagan, Jan. 20, 1981.

Economist Friedrich Hayek explained in 1945 why centrally controlled "command economies" were doomed to waste, inefficiency, and collapse: Insufficient knowledge. He won a Nobel Prize.  But it turns out he was righter than he knew.

In his "The Use of Knowledge In Society," Hayek explained that information about supply and demand, scarcity and abundance, wants and needs exists in no single place in any economy. The economy is simply too large and complicated for such information to be gathered together.

Any economic planner who attempts to do so will wind up hopelessly uninformed and behind the times, reacting to economic changes in a clumsy, too-late fashion and then being forced to react again to fix the problems that the previous mistakes created, leading to new problems, and so on.

Market mechanisms, like pricing, do a better job than planners because they incorporate what everyone knows indirectly through signals like price, without central planning.

Thus, no matter how deceptively simple and appealing command economy programs are, they are sure to trip up their operators, because the operators can't possibly be smart enough to make them work.

Hayek's insight into economics and regulation is often called "The Knowledge Problem," and it is a very powerful notion.  But recent events suggest that it's not just the economy that regulators don't understand well enough -- it's also their own regulations.

The author then goes on to use the rollout of obamacare in 2010 as an example of theegulations being to complicated.

We need to think carefully whenever someone suggests nother effort to centralize our economy.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff