Cause of the US Civil War

For John, BLUF:  In a nation where half the young folks think the Holocaust is a myth, we can't expect a lot of nuance regarding the origins of our Civil War, a war the Federal government is trying to erase from memory.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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New York Times' Nikole Hannah-Jones tweets the North didn't fight to end slavery in Civil War

From Fox News, by Reporter Lindsay Kornick, published May 24, 2022, 5:24pm EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones claimed on Sunday that the North did not actually fight to end slavery during the Civil War.

On Saturday night, Hannah-Jones tweeted out a quote from her controversial 1619 Project that argued that Black people "posed a danger" to the United States' perspective of itself and therefore led to the inhumanity brought by White America.

"Black people posed a danger to the country’s idea of itself; they held up a mirror into which the nation preferred not to peer.  So the inhumanity visited on Black people by every generation of white America justified the inhumanity of the past and the inequality of the present," Hannah-Jones tweeted.

Reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, tweeting with the tribute handle Ida Bae Wells, said, on 22 May 2022

How silly. The South fought to preserve slavery, the North fought to preserve the Union. Basic history.

That actually makes sense.  Candidate Abraham Lincoln didn't run in 1860 to abolish slavery, although he was a free soiler.  However, that stance was seen as a long term threat to the Southern economic system.

The controversy over Presidential Candidate Nikki HGaley's ressponse to a question regarding the cause of the US Civil War sparked this item from NPR on 28 December

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is facing significant backlash after failing to mention slavery as a driving force behind the Civil War during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.

At an event on Wednesday, a voter asked Haley: "what was the cause of the United States Civil War?"

She replied that the cause "was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms, and what people could and couldn't do."

"I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are," Haley continued. "And I will always stand by the fact that, I think, government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people."

Actually, not a bad answer on Candidate Haley's part.  The claque may not like it, but it is as good an answer as most, and shows some nuance.  However, good move by the Democratic Party to try and derail a Republican Candidate.

For Lincoln it was about preserving the Union.  Like the foolishness of the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor, and Germany then declaring war on us, the South played into Lincoln’s hands by attacking Fort Sumpter.  Silly rabbit. Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Family Feud

For John, BLUF:  My Middle Brother, Lance, lives out on the Coast, at the bottom of the Peninsula that contains San Francisco.  And he fits right in.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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My Middle Brother, a Progressive Democrat of the first order, and a life-long debater (we had the same Debate Teacher in high School, M Gilliam) continues to needle me about the events of 6 January 2020.

As to the idea that 6 January was an “Insurrection,” it is an idea that is ludicrous. If you are going to stage an insurrection, a coup, you seize the communications points, you have people with weapons; a fair number of weapons. This was a demonstration that turned into a riot. A common day occurrence in Portland or Seattle in 2020. It wasn’t as organized as the CHOP (CHAZ) event in Seattle.

It is your right to claim it as an insurrection, but it makes you sound like San Fran Nan and Joseph Robinette Biden, and just as senile.

On the other hnd, the current efforts to remove Citizen Donald J Trump from the 2024 Presidential Ballot, Primary or General, does seem like an effort to subvert our democratic system.  Does this show a lack of consistency?  Not that I am suggesting my Brother lacks consistency on this issue.

Regards  —  Cliff

AP Suppresses the Truth

For John, BLUF:  If we can't use correct terms we can not effectively communicate ideas.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Bipartisan House Coalition Urges AP to Change Stylebook Rule Advising Against ‘Terrorist’ Term for Hamas

Here is the sub-headline:

“The decision by the AP to avoid using terms such as ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorist’ due to their perceived politicization is deeply unsettling.”

From Legal Insurrection, by Blogger Stacey Matthews, 23 December 2023 at 06:00pm.

Here is the lede plus two:

For several decades now, the Associated Press Stylebook has become the gold standard among many mainstream media organizations for, among other things, guidance on terminology that they suggest journalists should either use or avoid using when covering stories.

Unfortunately, this has meant that these same outlets over the years have willingly subjected themselves to falling in line with the AP‘s politically motivated evolution on the use of words like “abortion,” “riots,” “man” and “woman,” and even “the,” an evolution that conveniently almost always seems to match up with whatever Democrats and their affiliated special interest groups happen to be calling for at any given time.

As Legal Insurrectionc reported in October, the AP was, per their Israel-Hamas Topical Guide, only allowing their reporters to refer to Hamas terrorists as “militants,” “fighters,” “attackers,” or “combatants” despite confirmed reports of the atrocities committed against 1,400 Israeli civilians, including kidnapping, torture, rape, murder, and the beheading of infants.

At the risk of appearing arrogant, I would posit that the Hamas strategy is to evoke an over reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamib "Bibi" Netanyahu, thus garnering condemnation on the part of other nations, isolating Isreal on the international stage.  How would one provoke Bibi?  Through acts of depravity against the Israeli People.  In common parlance this is terrorism.

So, why is the AP (and others, like the BBC) avoiding words like "terror"?  I would say it is a way to clean up Hamas and make them more attractive to the West.  Change them from the ruthless fighters they are into peaceful people yearning ot be free and forced by circumstaances to kill their oppressors.  It is a much better sounding story.  Yes, it is a distortion of the truth, but for a "good cause".

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hamas University Chief Change?

[Merry Christmas!]

For John, BLUF:  I admit I think she should go, but then I also think the faculty needs a lot of pruning also.  And the Administrative Staff  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Rumor on President Gay

From ✘, by CEO Bill Ackman, 24 December 2023, 6:22 PM.

Here is the text message:

Bill Ackman
@BillAckman

I have heard from a source that is reliable but a step or two removed from the situation that the @Harvard Corporation has asked President Gay to resign and she has refused.

Gay has apparently said that if she is fired, she will sue. Gay has retained her own counsel.

I can’t 100% confirm the above is true, but if it is, I am sure the Board is concerned about what may emerge in legal discovery in the event of litigation.

At this point, however, what choice does the Board have?

If the Board makes an inappropriate deal on severance or gives Gay a guaranteed position at Harvard, it will look like a payoff to keep her quiet. I can’t see how she stays at Harvard in any capacity.

President Gay’s performance and her academic record issues provide plenty of cause for termination without compensation.

But at every step so far, the Board has made the wrong call and dug a deeper hole for themselves and Harvard.

As we all know, the best time to start making good decisions is now.

The sooner Gay is gone, the sooner repairing the damage can begin.

this is, apparently, an age thing.  People of my age, and a couple of decades younger, find the pro-Hamas demonstrations at Harvard and other high class Universwities in the Northeast to be disgusting.

And, frankly, I find it ridiculous to clasify all of Europe as one culture and call it Western.  I blame President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weigarten, and her ilk.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Unbounded Ignorance

For John, BLUF:  It appears the teching of history is a disaster.  The author, below, Professor Reynolds elsewhere quotes his Daughter as sayiing World War Two was a long time ago, but Slavery was yesterday.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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FRUITS OF THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

From InstaaPundit, by Professor Glenn Reynolds.

Here is the lede plus one:

POLL: 50% of young Americans think the Holocaust may be a ‘myth.’

Putting the enemies of civilization in charge of educating our kids may have been a mistake.

You think I exaggerate?

Check out this post on X.

I take this 50% Holocaust denial amongst the youth of the nation as a sign that I am ancient.  I remember learning that General Dwight D Eisenhower arranged for the Press to record what conditions were in Germam camps.  Six million Jews died in German death camps and other exterminatino efforts.  Six million others also died in the same process.  It was horrendus.  People from that time vowed "Never Again".

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

FISA Continues

For John, BLUF:  FISA, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,, which allows a secret panel to allow wiretaps of American Citizens. was reauthorized.  This is not good for the Republic or for our individuaal Rights.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Congress Approves Extension of Warrantless Surveillance as Part of the Defense Policy Bill

Here is the sub-headline:

Why won’t the Supreme Court hear cases challenging surveillance under Section 702?

From Legal Insurrection, by Ms Mary Chastain, Thursday, 14 December 2023 at 03:00pm.

Here is the lede plus one:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

What did Congress do today?

It extended Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) until mid-April. The vote was 310-118.

Section 702 of FISA became official in 2008. Do you know what it contains?  A provision that it should “be conducted in a manner consistent with the fourth amendment.”

Except it allows too much wiggle room that allows warrantless surveillance of Americans in America.  (By the way, the Constitution applies to citizens no matter where the citizen is in the world.)

The good news is that neither of our Senators (E Warren or E Markey) voted for it.

The bad news is that it is still out there to be abused by Federal Law Enforement, as it was in 2016 aginst those associated with the Trump Campaign, like4 Mr Carter Page.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Don't Send Your Kid to Harvard

For John, BLUF:  Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi pointed out that change will come ot Harvard when the Menorah doesn't have to be packed up every night.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Harvard forces a Jewish student group to hide its menorah each night after its lighting over fears of vandalism that “won’t look good” for the Ivy League school, the rabbi of Harvard Chabad said.

From Hot Air, on 14 December 2023.

Not the actual headline, which is a bit too outrance.

Harvard is an embarrassment.  Brown, however, is on the correct path.  Rudi Dutschke warned us, but we didn't listen.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Collegiate aconfusion

For John, BLUF:  It is a bad sign that University Presidents worry about pronoun errors but not virulent antisemetism.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why you can be a free speech absolutist and still think the presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn should resign in disgrace

Here is the sub-headline:

From Samizdara, by Ms Natalie Solant.

Quoting from Iowa Hawk Blog, by Law Professor David Burge.

Here is the X Post:

Fun facts:

(A) calling for genocide against Jews, if not delivered to incite a mob to violence, is 100% Constitutionally protected speech- only in the sense it can't be punished by government.

(B) You are not the government, you are a cowardly college administrator and in no way does the 1st Amendment force you to accept brain dead neo-Nazis in your student body.

Pretty much sums it up.

We can,t be getting in a twist over pronouns while folks are urging genocide and inciting it.  Hurt feelings are not as permanent as death.

Hat tip to the Samizdata.

Regards  —  Cliff

Striving to be Better

For John, BLUF:  The author makes the case that the Constitution changed government by providing room for Jews to participate.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Christian Support for American Jews Began at the Founding

Here is the sub-headline:

The Hamas terror attack of Oct. 7 triggered an overwhelming display of support among American Christians for Jews and for Israel.  This continues a long history.

From The Epoch Times, by Constitutional Law Professor Rob Natelson, 12 Recember 2023 12/12/2023

The Author notes that on 18 August 1790 President G Washington wrote to the congregation of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI.  President Washington’s letter concluded:

May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.  May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.

President Washingon has several nice turns of phrase.  Credit to him or his Clerk who might have helped him draft the letter.

Not that the road to today was always smooth. , For example, there was the lynching of Leo Frank in Marietta, Georgia, in 1918.  Historians are generally agreed he was wrongfully convicted for a crime he didn't commit, and when his sentnce was commuted, he was lynched.

We should all strive to eliminate religious intolerance.  The recent demonstrations and actions of students (and faculty) at Harvard and MIT are a blot on our record, and as a resident of Middlesex County I am disgusted.

Regards  —  Cliff

Seeking a Dismount Point

For John, BLUF:  the major problem with the war in Gaza is that no one has a clue as to how this ends.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Israel's War Against Gaza Should Not Be America's War Too

Here is the sub-headline:

In the wake of the atrocities committed on October 7th and Washington’s tacit acquiescence in Israel’s maximalist war aims, the dubious notion that vital American interests are still at stake in the Greater Middle East has taken on new life.

From Common Dreams, by Dr Andrew Bacevich.

Here is the lede plus three:

One way of understanding the ongoing bloodbath pitting Israel against Hamas is to see it as just the latest chapter in an existential struggle dating back to the founding of the Jewish state in 1948. While the appalling scope, destructiveness, and duration of the fighting in Gaza may outstrip previous episodes, this latest go-around serves chiefly to reaffirm the remarkable intractability of the underlying Arab-Israeli conflict.

Although the shape of that war has changed over time, certain constants remain. Neither side, for instance, seems capable of achieving its ultimate political goals through violence. And each side adamantly refuses to concede to the core demands of its adversary. In truth, while the actual fighting may ebb and flow, pause and resume, the Holy Land has become the site of what is effectively permanent conflict.

For several decades, the United States sought to keep its distance from that war by casting itself in the role of regional arbiter. While providing Israel with arms and diplomatic cover, successive administrations have simultaneously sought to position the U.S. as an “honest broker,” committed to advancing the larger cause of Middle Eastern peace and stability. Of course, a generous dose of cynicism has always informed this “peace process.”

On that score, however, the present moment has let the cat fully out of the bag.  The Biden administration responded to the gruesome terrorist attack on October 7th by unequivocally endorsing and underwriting Israeli efforts to annihilate Hamas, with Gazans thereby subjected to a World War II-style obliteration bombing campaign.  Meanwhile, ignoring tepid Biden administration protests, Israeli settlers continue to expel Palestinians from parts of the West Bank where they have lived for generations.  If Hamas’s October assault was a tragedy, proponents of a Greater Israel also saw it as a unique opportunity that they’ve seized with alacrity.  As for the peace process, already on life support, it now seems altogether defunct.  Prospects of reviving it anytime soon appear remote.

Reading Andrew Bacevich's article I find it doesn't answer the long term question—How does this end?

There are possibly two questions there for Americans.  The first is how we avoid a repeat of the outcome of the Wannsee Conference of 1942.  In the wake of World War II we committed to "Never Again".  Are we backing off that commitment?

While I have great hope the Abraham Accords will create a new Middle East (notwithstanding Iran's opposition), I think success depends on Israel's confidence that it will not being abandoned.

But, if the Abraham Accords fail, then what?  A second Holocaust?  What a blot that would be.

Dr Bacevich offers nothing in that direction.

Then there is internal American politics.  While the Coastal Elites may not give a fig, across the fruited plain are God fearing people who believe "Those who support my People, I will support."  This is a political fact of life.  The students and faculty of Harvard, MIT and Penn may laugh at such silly thinking, but I expect politicians like Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio hear it.  Then, with this crisis you have the Second Reading for the Second Sunday of Advent, which sounds a little like global nuclear war (That is Roman Catholic liturgy, but Protestants read the same Bible).

If Israel goes down, there may be millions of refugees.  Are they coming here?  Worse would be no refugees.  Then it would be more like the Vendee during the French Revolution.

My conclusion is there is no plan there.  No "what if" thinking.

And, here is a comment on the original article by retired Atmy Ranger Colonel Keith Knightingale:

Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any viable solution other than some sort of military occupation which is a transitory solution.  Worst case is the IDF occupies.  Best case is some form of mixed Arab/Western/Asian force.  Good luck in forming the latter.  So, for the foreseeable future, we have no possibility of a permanent solution.  Both sides will continue to hate each other and the US will be pilloried for its support choices and our forces imperiled for the foreseeable future.  And Iran will find many ways to keep the pot boiling and we will do little to contain those efforts.

We have no idea.  Do you?

Regards  —  Cliff

Quick Response

For John, BLUF:  Sometimes we are cranky over the responsiveness of our City Employees, but here is a very positive example of good service.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Within two hours of my publishing my Blog Post "Protecting Elections From Bad Data", last evening, noting that the City's Web Site needed to be update as to the members of the Election Commission, I had an EMail from Mirán Fernandez, Chief Information Officer.  He pointed out that it was the responsibility of the various department heads to update their individual web pages.

I think this speaks well for the employees of our fair City, and their responsiveness (under two hours, on a Saturday evening).

Regards  —  Cliff

The Last Days

For John, BLUF:  Are we close to the End Times?  It is just possible.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Second Sunday of Advent, Reading 2

Here is the citation:

2 Peter 3:8-14

From The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Here is the reading:

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,”
but he is patient with you,
not wishing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,
what sort of persons ought you to be,
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.

When I was listening to the Second Reading, by Eileen, our Reader, for the Four this week, the thing that jumped into my mind was global nuclear war. : I have several years experience planning nuclear delivery routing and the overall impression was a lot of nuclear weapons going off in a short period of time.  (My job was to plan routes so that no one flew through another designated explosion enroute to or from their target.)

Yes, I think it would look as Saint Peter described it.  The end times may not be all fun and games.  Perhaps Jesus will come before the last gasp and take away all those to be save.  (Which is why Saint Peter tells us to to live right.)  Anyway, we can hope.  In the mean time, as the song says, "straighten up and fly right."

Regards  —  Cliff

Protecting Elections From Bad Data

For John, BLUF:  Voter Roles need to be cleaned up across the fruited plain.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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'Dirty voter rolls’ slammed, 131% of eligible DC voters registered

From The Washington Examiner, by Washington Secrets Columnist Paul Bedard, 8 December 2023, 11:45 AM.

Here is the lede plus one:

Several states and the District of Columbia have been hit by an election watchdog for failing to clean up their voter rolls of the dead and ineligible.

Judicial Watch said it just finished investigating registrations and sent letters to the district, California, and Illinois warning that they are violating the National Voter Registration Act by not cleaning up the rolls.

I actuzally think the head of our Electionx Office here in Lowell, Mr Greg Pappas, is working on clearing up our election rolls.  And it is needed.  Somnetimes a typo entering data gives us a strange entry, like the person on a recent (last eight months) Lowell roll with a birthyear in the 1600s.  Just a typo.

On Tuesday Evening the Lowell City Council voted to appoint Ms Lynda Clark to the Election Commission, replacing Ms Bev Anthes, who moved to Conneticutt four or five months ago.  I was sorry to see her leave our fair city.  Apparently so was the City's IT Department.  Today the Election Commission Web Page still shows Bev on the Election Commission.  Maybe next week.

I think Ms Clark is a solid choice.  Her background is in local government, where she is knowledgeable and tenacious.  Good luck, Lynda.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

False Elites

For John, BLUF:  Higher Education has left the path of the Enlightenment, and like Tootle, is lost in a field.  And they can't even see the Red Flags waving.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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How Were the Universities Lost?

From The Sword of Perseus, by Professor Victor Davis Hanson, 7 December 2023.

Here are the last five paragraphs:

The Ivy league and their kindred so-called elite campuses may soon go the way of Disney and Bud Light.

They think such a crash in their reputations is impossible given centuries of accustomed stature.

But the erosion is already occurring—and accelerating.

At the present rate, a Stanford law degree, a Harvard political science major, or a Yale social science BA will soon scare off employers and the general public at large.

These certificates will signify not proof of humility, knowledge, and decency, but rather undeserved self-importance, vacuousness, and fanaticism—and all to be avoided rather than courted.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18 [King James Bible (The one Paul used).]

As an American, I am embarressed.  However, Professor Victor David Hanson bnails it.

Hat tip to my Classmate, Joe Griffith.

Regards  —  Cliff

New York City Failing

For John, BLUF:  The Voters are turning against Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams.  Who will they back?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Horrible poll is a wake-up call for Mayor Adams

From The New York Post, by Columnist Bob McManus, 6 December 2023, 8:03 p.m. ET.

Here is the lede plus one:

Eric Adams’ mayoralty is dropping like a rock down a well, and it’s all his fault.

Quinnipiac University pollsters Wednesday detailed the mayor’s astoundingly dramatic fall – a decline with ominous implications as New York enters a new budgeting cycle, never mind all its other problems.

The new poll shows Adams with 28% registered voter approval – and a whopping 58% turning thumbs down. It’s the worst mayoral showing since Quinnipiac began keeping tabs in 1996!

Thus Adams, it seems, is that rare bird who can’t fool any of the people, any of the time.

I am disappointed.  I had hoped that Mayor Adams was a new form of Democrat, one with a more practical bent.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Twilight of the Elites?

For John, BLUF:  Here is an analysis of the current political malaise among the Working and Middle Classes.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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La République’s Last, Best Hope

,

Here is the sub-headline:

The French people can save France.

From The Free Press, by Demographer Christophe Guilluy, 28 November 2023.

The article talks about how the Working and Middle Classes have been ignored, but here is the nub of the analysis:

It is this loss that is at the heart of the malaise from which many democracies are currently suffering—and it is this loss that explains the singular nature of the political, social, and cultural protests that have swept across the nations of the West over the past 20 years.  In France, this fundamentally psychosocial movement has proven irrepressible, unstoppable, and always ready to resurface, to rearm, whenever the occasion arises (a reform, an election, a referendum).

Liberated from the constraints of the political left and right, this force takes hold of any protest going—joining it to invoke the inexorable return of power to the people.

The energy and confidence of this movement is rooted in its long-termism.  Indeed, the deep strength it draws on—and this is what makes it different in the history of protest groups—is not of a material, but rather of an existential nature.  It is its immaterial dimension that makes it so unstoppable and, from the point of view of ruling classes who have thus far managed to sort everything out in material terms (by writing checks), so undefeatable.  For despite what the zeitgeist may suggest, this protest doesn’t distinguish between those who are concerned about making ends meet (ordinary people) and those worried about the end of the world (the intelligentsia).

We see the outcome of the Presidential Election in Argentina and the surge of Geert Wilder's party in the Netherlands.  We see the continuing popularity of Donald J Trump and his MAGA Movement, in spite of the efforts of bureaucrats and the Media.  There is a yearning on the part of the Working and Middle Claases to reclaim their place in society.

This article was originally published in the New Statesman, as "Emmanuel Macron does not understand France," subheadlined "A leading French thinker on the forces of a new movement that is neither left nor right".

The author's book, Twilight of the Elites:  Prosperity, the Periphery, and the Future of France, is available, in English, from Amazon.

Hat tip to the The Chicago Boyz.

Regards  —  Cliff

Trump the Tyrant

For John, BLUF:  This week the media has been talking about the potential for Donald J Trump in a dictator in his second term.  They do know he voluntarily left the White House in January 2023, don't they.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From Instapundeit, by Law Professor Glenn Reynolds, 6 December, 2:00 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

THE NEW YORK TIMES IS CONCERNED TRUMP MIGHT DO WHAT BIDEN HAS BEEN DOING: “He has threatened to use the power of the presidency against his political opponents, including President Joe Biden and Biden’s family.”

I mean, I know these people are utterly lacking in self-awareness, but. . . .

Yes, last night he joked with News Host Sean Hannity about issuing orders to stop illegal immigrants and to drill, first day in office.  He then said, aside from those two executive orders he would stay calm in office.

On the other hand, he was been badly abused, in and out of office, by the Fifth Estate, the permanent bureaucracy.  Even President Biden is finding that the bureaucrats have a mind of their own and don't like to be contridicted.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Funding Hate

For John, BLUF:  George Soros doesn't seem to like 'the West" which made him a rich man.  How weird.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Guess Who Funded the Pro-Palestinian ‘Insurrectionists’ on Capitol Hill

From PJ Media, by Reporter Matt Margolis, 25 October 2023, 11:42 AM.

Here is the lede plus four:

Last week a group of pro-Palestinian protestors stormed the Cannon House Office Building and staged a protest inside the Rotunda.  Protests are not allowed in congressional buildings, so they had no right to be there.  Roughly 300 of these protesters were arrested for illegally demonstrating, and a few more were charged with assaulting police officers.

The protest, which promptly met the qualifications of an insurrection (according to Democrats), was organized by the supposed “Jewish” organizations Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow.  How Jewish are these groups in reality?  I dare say very little.

IfNotNow claims to be an organization of Jews but doesn’t appear to have any good relations with longstanding Jewish advocacy groups.  Similarly, JVP is likely no more Jewish than Joe Biden.  JVP doesn’t even claim to be an organization exclusively for Jewish anti-Zionists but merely “an organization that is inspired by Jewish values and traditions to work towards peace and justice.”

How did such fringe groups acquire the resources to stage a massive protest at the Capitol? Just follow the money, which leads us to George Soros.

“Through Soros’s philanthropic work, JVP was awarded several grants totaling $650,000 that bankrolled its ‘human rights’ campaign and ‘social welfare activities’ in the Middle East, according to a grant database maintained by the Soros-funded Open Society Foundations, the central hub of the financier’s anti-capitalist, redistributionist network,” writes Mia Cathell over at our sister site Townhall.  “The Soros-branded Open Society Policy Center Inc. — once the second-largest spender on federal lobbying after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — donated $150,000 and $200,000 in 2021 and 2019, respectively, to the Jewish Voice for Peace Action Incorporated, JVP’s tax-exempt 501(c)(3).  And, in 2017, Soros’s primary grant-giving vehicle, the Foundation to Promote Open Society, gifted JVP $300,000.”

I am shocked, shocked, to find the finger prints of Mr George Soros on this.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Renting a Home Shortens Life

For John, BLUF:  I wonder if planners take this into consideration?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Research finds that renting ages you faster than smoking, obesity

From The New York Post, by Reporter Georgina Noack, 3 December 2023, 10:45 a.m. ET.

Here is the lede plus two:

No, renters, you are not imagining those grey hairs springing up on your head – your living situation is actually making you older, faster.

A landmark study out of the University of Adelaide and University of Essex has found that living in a private rental property accelerates the biological ageing process by more than two weeks every year.

The research found renting had worse effects on biological age than being unemployed (adding 1.4 weeks per year), obesity (adding 1 week per year), or being a former smoker (adding about 1.1 weeks).

It turns out that living in public housing does not have this impact on lifespan.

This is another reason why Beacon Hill should be working on giving us a major increase in affordable housing.  Affordable housing is not something we have in Lowell.  Our median income is $65,000, but the annual income needed to purchase the median home in this City is $140,000.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Intellectual Rot

For John, BLUF:  Yes, there does seem to be Intellectual Rot in our Ivy League Schools, and it is disturbing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Mean Tweet

Here is the tweet:

Victor Davis Hanson
@VDHanson
The overt support for Hamas killers by the diversity, equity, and inclusion crowd on a lot of campuses exposes to Americans the real moral and intellectual rot in higher education. https://victorhanson.com/hamas-and-amoral-clarity/ via @VDHanson

Do you think these people identify with those calling out "Gas the Jews"?  In my lifetime 6 million Jews were killed, a couple of million of whom were gassed, along with others.  A total of 12 million died, including Roma and Sinti.  And that was just in Germany and German occupied territory.  And about a decade before I was born there was the Holodomor, brought to Ukraine by Joseph Stalin.  The death toll is estimated as being between 3.5 and 5 million human beings.  And that was just in Europe.

We, as a People, need to do better.  We need to view individuals as individuals, and not as lumps of people to be praised or despised.  We need to do better in this Century.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Supporting Each Other

For John, BLUF:  In this time of troubles for Israel (and Gaza) we should all be standing together, but we are not.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Actress Julianna Margulies Speaks Out About Black Antisemitism and Feels the Backlash

From Hot Air, by Reporter Karen Townsend, 1 December 2023, 1:31 pm.

Here is the lede plus three:

Actress Julianna Margulies is feeling the heat after making some comments on the antisemitism she sees from black Americans.  She dared to express her opinion about the lack of support by the Black and LGBTQ communities for Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

Now she must be punished.  I don’t make the rules.  Margulies is Jewish.  She was a guest on the Back Room podcast hosted by Andy Ostroy.  Margulies commented that “the entire black community” may have been “brainwashed to hate Jews.”  She pointed out that they would likely be the first people to be beheaded in a Muslim country.  She went on to say that their heads would be used like soccer balls.  Tough stuff, to be sure, but she didn’t say anything ground-breaking.

Her sweeping generalization that the entire black community is conditioned to hate Jews was what probably got her into trouble.  White people aren’t allowed to criticize black people on just about anything.  When making an argument, it is best to avoid generalizations because they are easily debunked.  Are all black people antisemitic?  Probably no more than all white people are antisemitic.  We’ve seen people of all colors participating in anti-Israel demonstrations.  Sadly, the massacres by Hamas in October and Israel’s right to defend herself have unleashed a wave of antisemitism that few realized was lurking just under the surface of civil society.

The antisemitism seen since October 7 has been an eye-opener.  Most offensive is the general ignorance displayed by young people, college students, and those who will one day lead America.  Decades of liberal power grabs on American higher education campuses has taken a toll.  To some extent, Margulies is right about the brainwashing of Americans against Jews.

Yes, I agree that Ms Margulies should not have made a sweeping generalization about blacks.  It is important to see all people as individuals, and not assume that as one group or another they all act in unison.  On the other hand, Ms Margulies is spot on to say that Jews marched with Blacks over the issue of civil rights and now many Blacks are turning their backs on Jews, as Antisemitism raises its ugly head.  And, for the LGBT Community to support Palestine and Hamas is just blind ignorance.  The sign bearing "Queers for Palestine", mentioned in the article, jumped out at me weeks ago.  The Islam of Hamas is not tolerent of the LGBT agenda.

In a desire to prove themselves morally superior to their Grandparents, the youth of today have abandoned morality and rational thought.  It is tragic.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Global Migration

For John, BLUF:  I picked this item because of the acronym:  "WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic)".  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

What Cannot be Discussed

Here is the sub-headline:

Immigration and the North-South Conflict

From In My Tribe (Substack), by Blogger Arnold Kling, 3 December 2023.

Here is the lede plus three:

In his new book The Geek Way, Andrew McAfee quotes Marc Andreessen as having tweeted:

The most serious problem in any organization is the one that cannot be discussed

McAfee stresses that when top executives make it clear that a certain topic is taboo, there is a good chance that the firm is vulnerable on that issue, both financially and morally.  He argues that openness and transparency are better for the organization, even if in the short run it makes executives uncomfortable.

I think that we can interpret the political tension in the United States and Western Europe in Andreessen’s terms.  The political elites do not want to discuss the issue of how to handle large-scale migration of people from the global South to the global North.  Underlying this is an unwillingness to discuss cultural differences between the WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) and the rest.  And an unwillingness to favor the former over the latter.  Consequently, these leaders face populist revolts, surprising them with Donald Trump, Brexit, Geert Wilders, and the Irish anti-immigrant riot.

The Blogger then goes on to discuss the recent riots in Dublin, Ireland, over an Immigrant who knifed several people.

The Blogger then describes how the elites differ from the general population on immigration and how the elites try to stiffle discussioon of the subject, demonizing those from the proletariat who do not see immigration as a wonderful moral success.

One of the issues is the ability or willingness of new arrivals to assimilate into the existing society.

But people outside the progressive elites can see with our own eyes that immigrants from the global South into Western Europe are not assimilating.  Right-wing intellectuals use expressions like “invasion” or “great replacement.”  But their fears are not allowed to be discussed in polite company.  As Matt Goodwin has pointed out repeatedly, in the UK even the Tory party is unwilling to raise the issue.

I am optimistic that the assimilation model can still work in the United States. Immigrants from Latin America tend to believe in assimilation.  They do not belong to a Muslim culture that is hostile to ours.  But the Democratic left does not want to champion assimilation, because doing so would concede the conservative proposition that our culture is in some respects superior and worth assimilating into.

Agreed!  He then goes on to talk about illegal immigration.

What annoys many Americans is illegal immigration.  This in turn is encouraged by the perverse way that we deal with asylum requests

I differ with the Blogger in that what annoys me is that those trying to immigrate legally face large bureaucrstic hurdles, hurdles not faced by those who are jumping the Southern Border.  I have been following the plight of a Canadian woman who had previously lived in the United States, and worked here, and has children who live here.  Her path has been long, expensive and bureaucratic.  It is not a path that is a credit to Emma Lazarus and her words "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free".

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

No Cigar

For John, BLUF:  Actress Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) appears to have whiffed on a question on Celebrity Jeopardy, but she actually got a bit of it.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

And just like that … Cynthia Nixon loses ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ with embarrassing history clue flub

From The New York Post, by Reporter Lauren Sarner, 30 November 2023, 1:53 p.m. ET.

Here is the lede plus seven:

And just like that … Cynthia Nixon blows it on “Celebrity Jeopardy!”

On the episode of “Celebrity Jeopardy!” aired Wednesday, the “Sex and the City” and “And Just Like That…” star lost, with stand-up comedian Heather McMahan beating both Nixon, 57, and fellow celeb participant Cedric the Entertainer, 59.

During the episode, going into the new Triple Jeopardy! round, Cynthia led with $7,100, while Heather had $6,600 and Cedric, $3,200.

The game between Nixon and McMahan was close, but Nixon got the last Daily Double, adding $2,000.

By Final Jeopardy!, it seemed like Nixon would win, as she had $19,700, Cedric had $4,000 and McMahan had $15,600.

The clue under “Unique Buildings” read: “Despite 17.5 miles of hallways, you can walk anywhere in this Virginia building within about 5 minutes, due to its concentric layout.”

Nixon revealed that she scribbled something that looked like “VA Hospital” and tossed up her hands, in apparent confusion.

Cedric and McMahan both correctly guessed, “The Pentagon.”

This topic was discussed on The Grace Curley Show on Thursday, the 30th of November.  I tried to call in to give them the 'gen, but after keeping me holding for about 15 minutes, they dropped me.  Such is life.

It turns out that the building, as originally designed and build was intended to be a Veterans Hospital with the close of World War II.  You could see it in the 1980s, with the large elevators, capable of holding two gurneys and in the gently sloping ramps between floors, allowing equipment to be pushed between levels.  It is just that the conversion never happened.

As Agent Maxwell Smart often said:  "Missed it by that much."

So, while i think her views on the Hamas war on Israel need some more insight, her insight into the Pentagon was very good.

Hat tip to the The Grace Curley Show.

Regards  —  Cliff

"What utter pukes."

For John, BLUF:  When I was in high school, contemplating college, the only institutions in the Northeast I thought of were the Coast Guard Academy (accepted) and Webb Institute (rejected).  I had no idea about the Ivy League.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Ain't No Privilege Like the Harvard Privilege

From Hot Air, by Beege Welborn, 24 October 2023, 2:01 PM.

Here is the lede plus three:

Once upon a time, there was a hallowed aura about even the word, “Harvard.”

People might kind of snicker at replicating that atrocious, grating Massachusetts accent while saying it, but it was still “Harvard.”

And you weren’t getting anywhere near it.

It was one of those special places nestled firmly in American lore.  One of those iconic giants so established in the collective national picture where even just the word conjures up deep thinkers of the past.  The birthplace of movers, shakers and a incubator for brilliance.  John Adams – those kinds of guys.

I will say, the one Harvard Graduate I know, my Wife's Cousin, is a fine fellow, engaging to talk with and very educated.  On the other hand, he was there with another student from Illinois, Ted Kaczynski.

Someone referred to Harvard as a Hedge Fund with a University Attached.

The good news is Harvard is down county.  Down in Cambridge, with strange people, with strange ideas.  We live in the North end of the County, almost on the New Hampshire border.  Praise God.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Getting the Truth

For John, BLUF:  Initial News reportds on the explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza blsmed it on Israel, but it sorted out that the explosion in the Hospital parking lot was the result of an Hamas short round incident.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

BBC confronts its own journalist over false reporting about Gaza hospital strike — and a stunning response follows

From The Blaze, by Reporter Chris Enloe, 27 November 2023.

Here is the lede plus five:

journalist who helped fan the flames of misinformation about the alleged Al-Ahli Arab Hospital strike is refusing to apologize for his mistake.

After a jihadist rocket fell on the parking lot of the hospital last month, the legacy media uncritically regurgitated Hamas' claim that Israel struck the hospital, totally destroying it and killing more than 500 people.

BBC international editor Jeremy Bowen is one such journalist who joined the chorus claiming the hospital was destroyed. He reported:

The missile hit the hospital not long after dark. You can hear the impact. The explosion destroyed Al-Ahli Hospital. It was already damaged from a smaller attack at the weekend. The building was flattened.

In a recent interview on the BBC's "Behind the Stories" program, Bowen was asked if he regrets his false reporting.

"To answer your question: No, I don't regret one thing in my reporting because I think I was measured throughout. I didn't race to judgment," Bowen answered.

It is a sign of arrogance, and a lack of humility for a reporter to get it wrong in an initial report and to not feel some regret.  What kind of an upbringing did this person have?

This reporting fail does not reflect well on the Beeb, maring its reputation as an excellent news source.

In a Democrcy, or a Republicsan form of Government, we, as Citizens, need to sample a number of differenta sources.  As Luther "Suitcase" Simpson says:  "The truth is out there.  All you have to do is let it in."

Regards  —  Cliff

Democrats and Jews

For John, BLUF:  I give a lot of credit to Hamas for an effective propaganda campaign that has pulled in a large number of well meaning people.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

How the Democrats betrayed the Jews

Here is the sub-headline:

The sick thrill of antisemitism has a price

From UnHerd, by DAVID MAMET, October 23, 2023.

Here is an excerpt:

Why do Jews vote Democratic?  Partly from tradition — conservatives have heard a Liberal Jew, when asked to defend or explain various absurd or inconsistent Democratic positions, shrug and joke:   “I’m a Congenital Democrat.”  I understand, for I was one, too.

But there is no more cosy mystery in the antisemitism of the Democratic Party; Representatives are affiliated with the Democratic Socialists and pro-Palestinians, calling for the end of the state of Israel — that is, for the death of the Jews.  And Democrat Representatives repeat and refuse to retract the libel that Israel bombed a hospital, in spite of absolute proof to the contrary, and will not call out the unutterable atrocities of Hamas.  The writing is on the wall.  In blood.

I can see why many Jews are Democras.  I used to be one myself.  But, when you find yourself with strange bedellos it may be time to change beds.  There now seem to be a number of Critical Race Theory, Antonio Gramsci loving, Green Thinking Democrats who have abandoned the ideals of The Land of Opportunity for mythical future state where all are equal and looved and there is no competition or pain.  There is no such place this side of Heaven.  But, in search of their goals, some of these Democrats will abandon their friends and past partners.

Good luck to t rest of us.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The End Times; An Alternate View

For John, BLUF:  There is no doubt the earth will end, but when and how are open questions.  One point of view is that the Creator will end His crestion and msy well do it soon.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

End of Daze
Author:  Andrew Fox
Kindle Version:  265 Pages
Publisher:  Aggadah Try It
Language:  English
ASIN:  B0BYHC3YGM
Publication Date:  30 March 2023

I picked up this book on the recommendstion of Blogger and Writer Sarah Hoyt.

I am glad I did.  Recent events in the Middle East raise the question of if these are the End Times.  If we pay attention to the likes of Author Hal Lindsey (The Late Grest Plsnet Earth) we note the return of Jews to the land of Israel (1900 years ago the nation of Judea).  This is a possible sign of the fulfillment of Biblical End time Prophecy.

The perspective of The End of Daze is a combinstion of science Fiction and of Jewish prospective.  It is this second view, with its liberal sprinkling of Yiddish and Jewish practices and traditions that made it interesting. 

Another aspect of a fictoinal look is thst the writer can pose some interesting situstions, such as when a radical Muslim group acquires a nuclear artillery shell from a nation from the former Soviet Union.  Such a weapon can be a game changer. . But the story also deals with those who cannot accept what G_d is trying to do and fight Him.  That is a story as old as time.

A quick read, with an interesting alternative perespective.  Well worth the effort to read, and available on the Kindle.

Regards  —  Cliff

A River of Power

For John, BLUF:  The author wonders if we know who is really running the Country and suggests it is a collection of Ivy League graduates.  That doesn't give me much confidencde.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Who Are the Commissioners?

From Chicago Boyz, by Blogger David Foster, 13 November 2023.

Here is the lede:

If you read English naval history, you are sure to run into a reference to The Commissioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral.  Your first reaction is likely to be something like, “Huh?  WTF?  Why couldn’t the Lord High Admiral execute the duties of his own office?  Lazy, much?”

The Lord High Commiioners of the Admiralty were the officials who managed the affairs of the Royal Navy.  I would say, over the centuries they did a pretty good job, except maybe for the Dardanelles (The Gallipoli Campaign).

The discussion of the Lord High Commissioners leads to a discussion of the backstage managers of the Biden Administration.  [You didn't think President Biden was running things on his own, did you.]  The term "river of power" comes from President Biden and refers to the Ivy League.♠

The Blogger ends with:

In less than two years, Biden and his ‘Commissioners’ have done tremendous damage to the United States and the world.  It is hard to imagine that any future Democratic administration would not also be heavily subject to the influence of Obama and the other ‘commissioners’ I mentioned above, leaving aside only Doctor Jill Biden.  The best hope of minimizing this damage lies in the potential for a Republican House and and Republican Senate.  True, many of the candidates are not what we would wish.  But ‘the best is the enemy of the good’, and the issue of the moment is not establishing ideal policies but rather avoiding multiple catastrophes.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff
♠  Just as a reminder, the Ivy League is that collection of Universities where over the last few weeks the students have been marching for Hamas and the chant, "From the River to the Sea, Palestine must be free."  Heaven help us.

If Not Now, When

For John, BLUF:  The current conflict between Israel and Hamas may well represent God acting to gather the Jewish People from where they have been scattered for the last 1900 years.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

First Reading

From Ez 34:11-12, 15-1.

Here is the Reading:

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.

If Scripture is to be believed, and it is, God will gather the People of Israel, who have been scattered.  Do we wish to get in the way of God?  Do we wish to stand athwart the path of history, yelling "STOP"?  I would think not.

As a result of the Jewish-Roman Wars the Jewish population in Judaea was greatly reduced and many Jews were killed, sold into slavery or driven away.  The Roman Government renamed the area Syria Palaestina.

Would it not be possible that God is correcting this injustice toward His People?

Regards  —  Cliff

American Support for Israel

For John, BLUF:  I have been surprised and disappointed by the reactions to the Hamas slaughter of Israelis on 7 October.  But, these outbreaks do not represent all of America.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

In red America, standing up for Israel isn’t controversial

From The New York Post, by Professor Glenn H. Reynolds, 21 Novwember 2023, 6:48 p.m. ET.

Here is the lede plus seven:

In some parts of the country, standing up for Israel is controversial, even dangerous.

On the campuses of places like Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, anyone who dares to wave an Israeli flag — or, increasingly, wear a kippah in public — is at risk of being assaulted by angry mobs of people with their faces covered.

In Los Angeles, a pro-Israel protester was allegedly killed by a pro-Palestinian computer-science professor.

(Judge Ryan Wright slashed the prof’s bail from the original $1 million to just $50,000.)

Many parents of Jewish students are concerned, and rightly so, about their kids’ safety at these institutions.

Even off campus, the streets of New York and many other big blue metropolises seem kind of dangerous for Jews these days.

Things are a bit different in my neck of the woods.

I live in Knoxville, Tenn., home of the University of Tennessee, where we’ve seen none of this sort of violence.

I think it is fair to say that in much of the United States citizens of the Protestant faith have been caught up in what some call Christian Zionismn.  This understanding that the Jewish People have a role in God's plan for the end times.

To the larger issue of civility in today's America, I think the Professor captures the point in a quote from Adlai Stevenson, "A free society is one in which it is safe to be unpopular."  When I think about it I think Free Speech includes the right to be wrong.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

President Biden Disrespects the Constitution

For John, BLUF:  In our name, but without our agreement.  This is government by experts over government by democracy.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden Uses Cold War Law to Nuke Your Gas Furnace

From PJ Media, by Blogger Stephen Green, 20 November 2023, 9:21 AM.

Here is the lede plus four:

Remember when it was nothing more than right-wing fearmongering that Democrats were going to outlaw your gas appliances? It was a more innocent time, way back in [checks notes] January of this year.

I sure do miss those days. So does my gas furnace.

Democrats went very quickly from "Nobody is going to take away your gas appliances" to "Biden invokes wartime powers to fund electric heaters as he cracks down on gas appliances."

"Wartime powers?" "Electric heaters?" One of these things is not like the other unless there are millions of dollars to throw around to your cronies while putting their competitors out of business. And sure enough, Biden will dole out $169 million of your tax dollars to boost the production of electric heat pumps.

What gives Biden the authority to throw money around like a drunken Congress to further an environmental agenda that the House rejected back in June? A 1950 law called the Defense Production Act (DPA) was meant to protect and promote the production of war materials. Biden is using it to make heat pumps.

And where is this money coming from?  The mislabeled Inflation Reduction Act.

So, the Federal Government isn't exactly banning gas stoves and furnaces, but it is using its power to give heat pumps a price advantage over other options.  This is the Government putting its thumb on the scale.

To me the big question is why the Administration didn't go to Congress to get these funds authorized and apropriated.  That would seem like the proper way to do things.  This makes the actions of Senator Tommy Tuberville (holds on military general and flag officer promotions over violation of the Hyde Amendment) make even more sense.  It is like the Biden Administrstion doesn't really respect the Constitutional process.  In the end, the ends do not justify the means.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Slavery and Capitalism

For John, BLUF:  I have heard it suggested that Slavery creates production and wealth through the power of the oversear.  Not everyone agrees.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Father of Capitalism and the Abolition of Slavery

From Quillette, by Blogger Matthew Lesh, 22 Jun 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

It has become a common trope that slavery and the slave trade is responsible for the industrial revolution, if not our entire modern prosperity.  Slavery is often called capitalism’s “dark side.”  A recent column in the Guardian claimed the slave trade “heralded the age of capitalism” and Guardian columnist George Monbiot said on Twitter:  “The more we discover about our own history, the less the ‘trade’ on which Britain built its wealth looks like exchange, and the more it looks like looting.  It meant extracting stolen resources and the products of slavery, debt bondage and land theft from other nations.”  The same line has been taken by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who tweeted:  “It’s a sad truth that much of our wealth was derived from the slave trade.”

But what did the “father of modern economics,” Adam Smith, actually think about slavery?  And is it responsible for our modern prosperity?

Adam Smith argued not only that slavery was morally reprehensible, but that it causes economic self-harm.  He provided economic and moral ammunition for the abolitionist movement that came to fruition after his death in 1790.  Smith was pessimistic about the potential for full abolition, but he was on the side of the angels.

Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, contains perhaps the best known economic critique of slavery.  Smith argued that free individuals work harder and invest in the improvement of land, motivated by their interest in earning a higher income, than slaves.  Smith refers to ancient Italy, where the cultivation of corn degraded under slavery.  The cost of slavery is “in the end the dearest of any,” Smith writes.

There is a lot of bad history out there.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Not Unified

For John, BLUF:  The Biden Administration is not united on Israel vs Hamas, and neither is the nation.  It is not like the situation in the wake of 911.  And this is not good.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

400 Government Officals Sign a Letter Objecting to Biden's Israel Stance

From PJ Media, by Columnist Lincoln Brown, 14 November 2023, 12:46 PM.

Here is the lede plus three:

Many years ago, after a hard day of radio journalism and program directing, I stopped at my favorite brewpub for an IPA and some chicken wings.  I noticed a few friends who worked for a government agency and struck up a conversation.  I mentioned having seen a story on TV at the gym about the federal government offering free health care to illegal immigrants.  I opined that there were plenty of Americans who should receive that consideration before it was extended to people who entered the country unlawfully.  One of the women looked at me, blinked, and said, "Well f**k you!"

Alright, then.  Good talk.  It wasn't the response I expected but considering the fact that people in the federal ecosystem function in an echo chamber, I guess I should not have been surprised.  Mike Lee once told me that the people inside the Beltway are essentially unaware of the America or the world outside the Beltway.  And with the advent of curated media, it should not be an eye-opener that the same mentality extends to many federal employees.  That may go some ways to explaining the letter sent Tuesday to President Joe Biden that was signed by over 400 government officials.

The New York Times obtained a copy of the letter, signed by appointees and staffers across 40 agencies.  It began by denouncing the Hamas attack on Israel but also stated:

We call on President Biden to urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity, and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

As an aside, that extract is 53 words in a single sentence.  One should avoid sentences over 20 words! or so I was taught.

The thing that fascinates me is the people calling for a cease fire with no idea of what comes next.  Nor any indication of how Hamas would respond.  My understanding has always been that staff are not supposed to bring problems, except with propsed solutions.  A ceasefire is not a solution.  A plan for getting Palestine (with or without Hamas) is a solution.  I am not seeing such a thing.

The author may be close to the mark with his remark about those inside the Beltway not having a feel for the rest of the nation.  Not all of them, but a significant portion of them.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Larger Issue in Gaza

For John, BLUF:  The war between Hamas and Israel is being blown up into a bigger conflct.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

THE ISSUE IS NOT THE ISSUE

From Power Line Blog, by Blogger Steven Haywrd, 30 October 2023.

Here is the lede plus one:

Ever since David Horowitz broke from the radical left back in the 1980s, he has been trying to warn conservatives that they don’t really understand the core principle of the left, and the depths of the left’s power-mad depravity.  Conservatives too often think that the Israel-Palestine conflict, or civil rights, crime, income inequality, transgender ideology, climate change, etc, etc., are discrete issues to be argued against the left with reason and facts.  To which Horowitz replies:  The issue is not the issue—the issue is revolution!  (And a key corollary is: the more violent, the better.  Hence the approval and celebration of Hamas on October 7.)

The aftermath of October 7 ought to have revealed this truth more vividly than any event of the last 50 years.  October 7 provided the spark for massive pro-Hamas demonstrations throughout the world and especially on college campuses.  It is legitimized and brought out of the shadows the anti-Semitism long latent on the left, just waiting for a catalyst to organize spontaneously to vent their rage and hate.  But it represents more than this.

I believe the larger view is captured in this news photo out of London:

I object to the banner for using the term "White".  I think they mean Caucaasian.  The banner suggests some eugenics issues, perhaps that Caucasians are genetically unable to coexist with homo sapiens.  Shades of Adolph Hitler and Msrgsret Sanger.

I think this local dustup between Hamas nd Israel is being blown up into a Caucasians vs People of Color conflict.  One can substitute Colonialist for Caucasian.  It is “The West” vs the rest.

With those Jewish Faith in Israel being descendants of those who lived there two thousand years ago and the Palestinians being descended from those who lived in the same general area two thousand years ago, I am not sure I would be drawing stark racial comparisons, but then I am not someone who is against the free market, common law, freedom of expression and the renaissance and scientific revolution.  I guess these demonstrators think that Genghis Khan was a Caucasian, or at least Caucasian adjacent.

I am hoping President Joe Biden will come up with a way of calming these younger Americns of college age.  For one thing, I don't like hearing chants of "Genocide Joe."  I would hate to see all those expensively educated men and women turned into a modern day Klan, riding against the Jews and those of us who support them.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Conversion

For John, BLUF:  To steal from the British, we are a land of hope and glory.  I am happy that Ms Ayaan Hirsi Ali decided to come to our shores and I appreciate her contributions to our nation.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Why I am now a Christian

Here is the sub-headline:

Atheism can't equip us for civilisational war

From UnHerd, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, November 11, 2023.

Here is the lede plus three:

In 2002, I discovered a 1927 lecture by Bertrand Russell entitled “Why I am Not a Christian”.  It did not cross my mind, as I read it, that one day, nearly a century after he delivered it to the South London branch of the National Secular Society, I would be compelled to write an essay with precisely the opposite title.

The year before, I had publicly condemned the terrorist attacks of the 19 men who had hijacked passenger jets and crashed them into the twin towers in New York.  They had done it in the name of my religion, Islam.  I was a Muslim then, although not a practising one.  If I truly condemned their actions, then where did that leave me?  The underlying principle that justified the attacks was religious, after all: the idea of Jihad or Holy War against the infidels.  Was it possible for me, as for many members of the Muslim community, simply to distance myself from the action and its horrific results?

At the time, there were many eminent leaders in the West — politicians, scholars, journalists, and other experts — who insisted that the terrorists were motivated by reasons other than the ones they and their leader Osama Bin Laden had articulated so clearly.  So Islam had an alibi.

This excuse-making was not only condescending towards Muslims.  It also gave many Westerners a chance to retreat into denial.  Blaming the errors of US foreign policy was easier than contemplating the possibility that we were confronted with a religious war.  We have seen a similar tendency in the past five weeks, as millions of people sympathetic to the plight of Gazans seek to rationalise the October 7 terrorist attacks as a justified response to the policies of the Israeli government.

The author is a very intelligent and accomplished woman, arriving in the United States after being born in Somali and living in Saudi Arabia, Etheopia, Kenya, Germany and the Netherlands, where she served in Parliament.  Today she works at the Hoover Institute and is associsated with the American Enterprise Institute.

Ms Ali's movement to Christianity is not of the type of a good old fashioned revival, complete with Alter Call.  Rather, it is an intellectual journay.  As a Roman Catholic, I am not bothered by that path.  The journey is not as impoortant as the goal, the end state.

further down in the esssay, Ms Ali quotes G K Chesterson:

The line often attributed to G.K. Chesterton has turned into a prophecy:  “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”

We are a land of immigrants, of colonizers if you are an extreme Progressive.  That is our strength, and liberty to grow is our promise.  We are foturnate to have Ms Ali as one of us and I wish her well.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Happy Veterans Day

For John, BLUF:  Being a Military Veteran is an honor, but an honor gained at some risk, small for some and large for others.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Veterans Day

From Wikipedia.

Here is the lede:

Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces.  It began, and now coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are commemorated in other countries, marking the anniversary of the end of World War I.  Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect.  At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

Below is the Veterans Day Proclamation for this year, by President Joseph R Biden, Jr, and the 1954 Proclamation on the first "Veterans Day", by then President Dwight D Eisenhower.

• A Proclamation on Veterans Day, 2023
• Proclamation 3071—Veteran's Day, 1954

To all who have wished me a Happy Veterans Day, I say, "Thank You."  Thank you for paying taxes so that I could enjoy a fun and rewarding life and fly some of the finest aircraft in the world.  You, and the legislators you elected made it possible.

Regards  —  Cliff

Approaching the Homeless Problem

For John, BLUF:  Homeslesness is a problem that is beginniing to overwhelm both Government and the People.  Action is needed.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Menace of the druggies’ canvas cities

From The Conservative Woman (UK), by Mr David Raynes, November 7, 2023.

Here is the lede plus one:

THE Home Secretary’s proposals to restrict the use of tents for rough sleepers within cities and fine the charities that provide the tents have been condemned as ‘heartless’ and ‘disgraceful’.

Defending her ‘hardline’ stance Suella Braverman tweeted: ‘The British people are compassionate.  We will always support those who are genui nely homeless.  But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.’  She said such people are causing nuisance and distress.

Here is a short bio (from Wikipedia) on the UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

People living on the streets is as old as time out of memory.  It will continue until the end of days.  The job of Government is to find those among the homeless who need mental health help, and provide it in a serious manner.  Further, Government should also be working to help those who are falling out of housing due to increasing costs at a time of stagnant or falling wages.♠  Finally, Government needs to ensure Citizens are not prevented from going about their normal routine and enjoyment by the congregation of homeless interrupting normal commerce.♥

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  As part of this, Government should work to create an enviornment which encourages private capital t provide additional affordable housing, to include ensuring needed infrastructure.

♥  It may not be obvious, but the ability to provide help to the homeless depends on the ability of communities to conduct normal commerce, which is taxed to fund the Government.  No commerce, no tax, no Government.

We Need Leadership in this Current Crisis

For John, BLUF:  If we want to keep our Republic we are going to have to stand up to hate across the spectrum.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Courage, Cowardice and Leadership

Here is the sub-headline:

Two case studies

From , by Mr John A Lucas, 7 November 2023.

Here is the lede plus two:

Our leading business and law schools use case studies to analyze actual, real-life business or legal problems or cases. The students study and learn from those prior cases to draw conclusions that hopefully will inform their future analyses when confronted with similar problems.

One quality essential for leaders today, whether in business, law, academia, the military, politics, or any other field, is courage. For the military that includes both physical and moral courage. For most other fields, the focus necessarily is on the need for moral courage in the face of adversity or danger, whether that danger is to a business or to one’s personal career and future.

Let us then look at two cases to see what they may tell us about courage (or cowardice), and leadership.

The cases are:

• CASE STUDY NO. 1 – STALAG IX A, 1945
• CASE STUDY NO. 2 – WHITE HOUSE PRESS ROOM, OCTOBER 30, 2023

Well worth the read.  One is an example to live up to and the other is an example of equivocation in the face of a moral challenge.

While I feel for the Palesatinians in the Gaza Strip, I have no sympathy for Hamas and its efforts to eliminate Israel and Jews in the Middle East.  The chant "River to the Sea, Palistine must be free" is not about negotistion and compromise.  It is about a second Holocaust in my lifetime.  It is time for Americans who know a little history to stand up and say no to Hamas and its approach and to its supporters.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Kudus to Sanders

For John, BLUF:  Many from the Democratic Party are calling for israel to back down with regard to Hamas and Palestine, but not all.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Wait... Who Actually Just Said NO to a Ceasefire with Hamas?

From PJ Media, by Writer Stephen Green. 6 November 2023, 8:00 AM.

Here is the last part of the Post:

But back to Bernie Sanders who, despite the growing pressure on the Left to force Israel into a ceasefire, stood fast on Sunday.  On CNN's "State of the Union," anchor Dana Bash asked, "Some of you fellow progressives say that there should be a full-on ceasefire which would require an agreement on both sides to halt the fighting.  Do you support a ceasefire and if not, why not?"

Sanders didn't hesitate when he answered, "I don't know how you can have a permanent ceasefire with an organization like Hamas, which is dedicated to turmoil and chaos and destroying the state of Israel."

"And I think what the Arab countries in the region understand is that Hamas has got to go," Sanders added.

He's right on both counts and kudus to Sanders for getting it right this once.

I agree, kudos for Senator Sanders.  I don't always agree with the Senator from Vermont, but I find his position here straight forward and correct.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Tone is Important for Our Representatives on Capitol Hill

For John, BLUF:  Quotng the Article's lede sentence:  "The arch Jew-hater of the House of Representatives – and believe me, that sobriquet takes some doing to earn with all the contenders there – has been called on the congressional censure carpet again today."  That seems a bit extreme, but perhaps fair.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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BREAKING:  The House of Reps has voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her anti-Semitism.  22 Democrats voted in favor of it.

From Hot Air, by Reporter Beege Welborn, 7 November 2023, 8:41 PM.

Here is a quote from the UPI:

…Tlaib again inspired bipartisan criticism over the weekend when she posted another video on X, this one blasting President Joe Biden for supporting “the genocide of the Palestinian people.”  It also included footage of demonstrators chanting, “from the river to the sea,” which the Anti-Defamation League points to as antisemitic.

I don't see "From the River to the Sea, [Palistine must be free]," as anything but a call for the elimination of Israel as a nation and the extermination of the eight million Jews living there.

Good on Congress for this action  Not that I think it will cause Rep Rashida Tlaib to change her tune.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff