Peace in the Holy Land

For John, BLUF:  The differences between the State of Israel and the People of Gaza, represented by Hamas are, at this time, irreconcilable.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why America Has Failed to Forge an Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire

Here is the sub-headline:

Pressuring Belligerents to Talk Rarely Works—and Sometimes Backfires

From Foreign Affairs, by Professor Eric Min, 24 July 2024 .

Here is the lede plus two:

On May 31, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a three-phase proposal to end the war in the Gaza Strip.  He called, first, for a temporary cease-fire tied to partial withdrawals of Israeli forces, limited hostage exchanges, and an influx of aid.  Negotiations would then begin and, if successful, lead to the second phase, involving a permanent cessation of hostilities, tied to full withdrawals and complete hostage exchanges.  The final phase would see reconstruction efforts begin in Gaza, and the exchange of the remains of Israeli hostages.

Despite the fanfare with which it was announced, this proposal was just one of many to have been made since the war began.  Indeed, Israel and Hamas had previously rejected similar plans advanced by Egypt and Qatar.  And, like the other proposals, the Biden plan has fallen flat.  Although these mediated initiatives have not succeeded in forging peace, they represent attempts to end the ongoing suffering caused by the war.  It can’t hurt to try.

Or can it?  The historical record reveals that such diplomatic interventions often have hugely negative consequences.  Outside powers have almost never been able to impose lasting cease-fires without support from the belligerents themselves and, perhaps more troublingly, external efforts to facilitate diplomacy can make wars worse. Rather than bringing peace, there is the uncomfortable likelihood that diplomacy which takes place regardless of what is happening on the battlefield, can actually exacerbate a war.  The United States and its allies should pressure Hamas and Israel to change their wartime conduct, instead of seeking to impose negotiations when neither side has expressed an interest in a settlement.

I began reading this article with a degree of skepticism, and in the end remained skeptical.  I am not a diplomat, and don’t even play one in Summer Stock.  However, I am married and have three adult children.

Professor Eric Min lays out the issues involved in obtaining a cease fire in Gaza.  However, the author has reconvinced me that peace between Hamas and Israel is not possible.  Hamas thinks Israel should cease to exist.  Israel holds a “Never Again" mentality.  How can that be reconciled?  A two-state solution does not meet the goal of Hamas.  Without Palestinian acquiescence the two-state solution is not viable.

The author talks about "providing valuable humanitarian aid to innocent civilians caught in war’s crossfire."  Given that, from a Hamas point of view, this is a Peoples War, the concept of innocent civilians differs from the idea of the Residents of Dresden in 1945.  Hamas, with a majority support in Gaza, uses civilians as a shield behind which to operate.  They place military facilities in tunnels under schools and hospitals.  Further, we have long term stories of Hamas "taxing" humanitarian aid.  Civilians in Gaza, are, in a way, part of the Hamas way of War.

We hear about the International Criminal Court, but the focus is on Israel.  Which, COL John Spenser tells us is working harder than anyone in the past to protect civilians.  US Rep Rashida Tlaib holds up a sign to Prime Minister Netanyahu calling him a war criminal.  Yet, I don't hear people talking about how the ICC has indicted Yahya SINWAR (Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (“Hamas”) in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim AL-MASRI, more commonly known as DEIF (Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail HANIYEH (Head of Hamas Political Bureau) for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023.

We seem to have forgotten that Hamas has promised future repetitions of Operation al Aqsa Flood (7 October 2023).  Do we doubt this promise?  I would not.

Our Vice President recently said:

It is time for this war to end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self determination,

From my time in the Air Force Procurement dodge, I remember that the goal was a contract that provided a product on time, to specification and at price.  The tag line was “pick two.”

The Palestinians in Gaza wish to return to their homes in what is now Israeli national territory, homes abandoned in 1948, with the hope of returning after the Arab Armies had defeated Israel.

There is nothing to be had in the way of a cease fire in Gaza as long as Hamas has a degree of control in Gaza.  Why would they (Hamas) agree to a cease fire?  They gain nothing by accepting a cease fire.  The status quo results in Israel being more and more branded as evil.  We can see the impact as we look at demonstrations on US Campuses, or in front of Washington, DC's Union Station.

America hasn’t failed to forge an Israel-Hamas cease-fire, because there is none to forge.  We need either a form of metanoia within Hamas or a mass migration of Israeli Citizens to another land (the US would be OK with me).  The author, Professor Min, seems to miss this point.

Regards  —  Cliff

See Naples and Die

For John, BLUF:  We learn:  "Vedi Napoli e poi muori ("See Naples and then die") was a common expression, echoed most famously on his grand tour by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, to identify Naples as the most naturally and artistically beautiful city in the world; so beautiful that one needn't look upon anything else after seeing it.".  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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May the Wolf Die
Author:  Elizabeth Heider
Kindle Version:  368 Pages
Publisher:  Penguin Books
Language:  English
ASIN:  B0CKBD4PZT
Publication Date:  July 2, 2024

This is a murder mystery, with a number of plot twists to keep the reader engaged to the end.  Also keeping the reader engaged is the ongoing life of the heroine, Investigator Nikki Serafino, of Pheonix Seven, an Italian liaison organizaation embedded within the US Military stationed in Naples, Italy.

The locale for the murder mystery is the City of Naples (Napoli), and for those of us who have lived there the geography and the monuments are familiar.  I could almost think that the author saw her target audience as the thousands of US military and civil servants who have been assigned in Naples or who were there on Port Calls.

Murder, mayhem, criminal gangs and emotional stress are a part of Naples, and a part of this novel.  On the other hand, Naples is seen as a City it is safe to visit.

As the story begins our Heroine, Nikki, is out on a sailboat, of which she is part owner.  After some acquatic adventure they are headed back to port when they realize they have snagged a body floating in the bay.  While not involved in the ensuing murder investigation, Nikki finds herself drawn further and further into the case.  Her powers of observation and her reasoning skills allow her to help the official investigators, Italian and American, as the murder victum is a US Naval Officer.  I drop-shipped a copy of the book to a friend, a former Commander of the US Naval Support Activity in Naples.  Having quickly checked the back cover, he called me and asked "When do I die?"  It turns out the murder victim, although of the same rank, occupied a different slot in the organization.

Nikki, not a favorite of her boss, is outside the investigstion, and embroiled in problems of her own, but the investigation continues to intrude on her life, and she, in turn, continues to think about it and draw conclusions of value.

As a thread through the book is Nikki's own story, as she tries to establish herself as an independent and self-suffient woman, not to be pushed around by others or owned by any single man.  This problem is its own battle, and apparently not concluded by the end of the book, leaving space for a sequel.

Typo:  In Chapter Thirteen A NCIS Agent explains to the Italian Police Inspector, Sonia, that the murder victim was not, as he had told his wife, on TAD.  This acronym is defined as "Temporary Active Duty".  Per the DoD Dictionary, the meaning is "temporary additional duty".  Aside from that slip, the novel seems very faithful in reflecting the US Military in Naples.

For me, a good read.

Regards  —  Cliff

St Paul on Our Love for Others

For John, BLUF:  Respond to others in love.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Today's Second Reading Here is Saint Paul's Letter to the Ephesians (4:1-6e):

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

I was especially struck by the line "bearing with one another through love".  Yes, there are irritating people out there.  People who are ignorant or stupid or overly self-centered.  But, St Paul calls us to love them, in Christ.  Every morning is a new day and a new chance to act in love.  Yes, if Person X is out to knife you, you have the right to protect yourself from damage, but you need to be open to the idea that today may be different and Person X may have turned over a new leaf.  And when you must respond, do it in love.

In responding to someone who is against us our response must reflect truth and support justice.  We are not dealing with a space alien, but with a fellow human being, although perhaps one we find grating, "striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace".

Regards  —  Cliff

Running Against Ms Harris, Alternative View

Mr Trump's private life has not been off limits in 2016, 2020 or today.  An important question for Republicans in the 2024 Presidential Race is if Democratic Nominee Harris' personal life should be off limits.  Will the Republicans gain more votes by scuffing her up or by walking past the issue in a dignified manner.  The answer turns on how we view the female voting block.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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YOU DON’T HIT A GIRL

From According to Hoyt, by Author Sarah Hoyt, 25 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus seven:

I’m tired. Maybe the fact that Canada is burning and in the air again has to do with this, or maybe it is the eternal wishful stupidity of the right.  Could be either or.

Unfortunately this means I have a fever, which lately happens when I’m having an auto-immune outbreak.

For those of you who are new here, when I get a fever it’s like when other people are on prednisone.  I lose what little governor I have. , Also, because my head hurts, I become very short on patience.

What does this mean?  Well– The old hands will tell you.

It means I roll up my sleeves, turn the Heinlein picture to the wall and speak without prettifying it for the sensitive souls.  I’m sorry.  But in case I haven’t mentioned it, I’m tired.

On facebook, someone took offense at my “Getting it out of the way” post.  First at my saying that Kamala probably has less recent African ancestry than I do — and mine isn’t that recent.  It’s someone who comments here, but he primly informed me that a little research would have prevented my embarrassing faux pas, since her father is of Jamaican ancestry so, obviously she has recent African ancestry.

Head>desk, repeat with gusto.  He then insisted the “cast of her father’s features” meant he was black.  I know that what y’all are conditioned to think of as “black” reads as “What?” to me, but seriously, the man looks Mediterranean with some English and I checked with people born here.  Also, I’m not going to post my own family photos, but the side that so far as we know (unless that’s the tiny amount of Nigerian in my 23 and me.  Yes, that’s right.  I’m a princess!) has no African blood looks more African than Kamala’s father.  Because, well… Portugal is a very mixed place, but also because what American’s consider “black” is not.

But even so, my contention in making that statement was not to dispute one-drop rules, because frankly who cares, but to argue that Kamala is no more black than I am:  She’s not black American by culture or ancestry.  Meaning that as far as there is a common (and there is) experience among Americans of (some) African ancestry whose ancestors were brought here as slaves, she ain’t got it.  She got made “black” because Joe wanted a “black woman” vice president and it was her or the “real governor of Georgia.”  That was it.  Which is disingenuous.

For those who don't follow Sarah, she is an immigrant from Portugal, having come here initially as a high school exchange student.  There is much more to the blog post.  Read the whole thing.

I take Ms Hoyt's point about is Vice President Harris Black.  When I look at her, or listen to her, I do not think Black.  I think Indian Subcontinent.  I am sure some would suggest I am in some form of denial.  Perhaps I am.  However, in my dillusion I am not denigrating her.  I liked Governoors Bobby Jindal and Nicky Haley and I liked Vivek Ramaswamy.

And, Vice President Harris was mentored, may still be being mentored, by the smartest politician in California, and perhaps in the US, former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

Besides the issue of is Ms Harris a Black candidate or a Middle Class "White Adjacent" candidate is the question of if her previous sex life is fair game for criticism.  I think it is disrespectful of her Husband. : Blogger Hoyt thinks we should not be delicate about this, just as Democrats and the Media (and the courts) have not held back in going after Mr Trump's private life.  We are in the big leagues now.

I still wish to focus on policy and Ms Harris' policy record as VEEP, Senator and California Attorney General. : For others, your milage may differ.  The question is, will US female voters clutch their pearls or will they be willing to take a hard 360 degree look at Ms Harris?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Who is Our President?

For John, BLUF:  Sadly, our President is dishonest, not in the exagerated way President Donald Trump is, but in the very marrow of his bones, from early in his life.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A Not-So-Fond Farewell to Joe Biden

Here is the sub-headline:

The old boy’s winking Irish charm never worked on me.

From The Wall Street Journal, by Opinion Writer Joseph Epstein, 24 July 2024 at 3:27 pm ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

I’m pleased that Joe Biden has left the 2024 presidential race.  I’ll be even more delighted when his term ends.  Even though the old boy has limited his interviews and public appearances more than any other president in the modern era, I long ago had more than my fill of him.

After more than 50 years in government, Mr. Biden has become the emblematic politician, which is no compliment.  He came into office promising to heal the rifts dividing the country, and instead widened them by his own leftward political turn.  He continues to call himself Catholic yet is blithely pro-choice on abortion.  Everything about him—his ideas, his language, his very smile—seems fake.

Mr. Biden doesn’t lie as often as Donald Trump, but his lies are grander.  He claims to have inherited high inflation and worked sedulously to lower it.  He claims to have enlarged and held the North Atlantic Treaty Organization together.  He claims to have created millions of new jobs.  None of these claims hold up under even cursory investigation.

He frequently recounts uninteresting advice his working-class father gave him.  He never misses a chance to tell you that he lost his son Beau, who served in Iraq but didn’t die there.  No Irishman is ever taken in by Irish charm.  If I am any measure, it doesn’t work so well on Jews either.

So many of Mr. Biden’s sentences begin with the word “look.”  A great many others never find their ending.  During speeches he is imprisoned by the teleprompter; interviews often find him clutching his notes.  When he leans in to whisper what he takes to be crucial sentiments, as if speaking in italics, he doesn’t deliver.  He has managed to seem, somehow, fragile yet unsympathetic.

President Biden can not seem to let the truth be the truth.  He must embelish it, not by polishing it, but by blowing it all out of proportion.  His exageration of the truth is so bad that people are able to easily see through it.  It is blatant and even the best efforts of his Press Secretary, Ms Karine Jean-Pierre, can not sustain his fabrications.♠

What disappoints me is that my friends tend to trust President Biden as a truth teller and to believe what he dishes out to us.  Otherwise, how do we explain his election in 2020?  In a previous bid for the White House he stumbled when he took Welsh MP Neil Kinnock's life story and made it his own and the trick became public.  But, it wasn't his first act of plagerism.  He seems not to have learned from his time in Law School.  Isn't this something he should have learned in High School?

Hat tip to the Howie Carr Show.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  I do not envy the Press Secretary her job.  She must keep straight President Biden's fantasy life and continually provide support to his tall tales.  She is doing a hard job very well.

The Best Line

For John, BLUF:  Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a great speech before a Joint Session of Congress today at 2:00 PM.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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‘Iran’s Useful Idiots’:"  Bibi Netanyahu Delivers Harsh Dose Of Reality To ‘Gays For Gaza’ Protesters

From Daily Caller, by Reporter Harold Hutchison, 24 July 2024, 5:09 PM ET.

Here are two key paragraphs:

“For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building, not that many, but they’re there, and throughout this city,” Netanyahu said."  “Well, I have a message for these protesters, when the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”

“Some of these protesters, it’s amazing, absolutely amazing, some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza,’” Netanyahu continued."  “They might as well hold up signs saying chickens for KFC."  These protesters chant ‘from the river to the sea,’ but many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they are talking about."  They not only get an F in geography, they get an F in history!”

The Prime Minister says Protestors "might as well hold up signs saying chickens for KFC."  Amazing good comparison.

I listened to his speech before a joint session of Congress and it was excellent.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Be Careful How You Fight Ms Kamala Harris

For John, BLUF:  Don't fight the new Democratic Candidate, Ms Harris, by bringing up her past life.  Stick to the policy issues.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Men, This Is the Best Campaign Advice You'll Get  (Ladies, Tell Them I'm Right)

From PJ Media, by Opinion Writer Stephen Green, 23 Jult 2023, 1:00 PM.

Here is the lede plus five:

"No, we’re not winning.  We’re 10 points behind," my friend and Townhall colleague Kurt Schlichter advised on Sunday when Vice President Harris became the de facto Democrat presidential nominee.  "GET TO WORK!"

Fight like you're 10 points down, even when you aren't, is always good election advice.  It is not, however, the best advice you'll get during this campaign season.  Because there's fighting just to throw some punches, even if some of them miss or end up hitting yourself or your friends.  And then there's fighting smart.

On Sunday, Collin Rugg made a perfectly fair comment about Harris.  "Kamala Harris is proof that women can sleep their way to the top," he posted.  "How inspiring."

It's fair.  It's true.  But was it smart?  "You cannot build a successful political movement by a process of subtraction," Stacy McCain warned during the 2008 presidential race, and I took those words to heart.

Film Ladd is one of my two favorite conservative movie critics (the other is Christian Toto, naturally), and he had a gentle correction for Rugg that stuck with me until the issue cropped up again on Tuesday morning.  Ladd posted on Sunday that "From a tactical standpoint men on the right need to stay out of mentioning Kamala's raunchy past" because "women in the know will be more than happy to tell low-information women voters all about it."

"Men watch team sports where valiant men band together to confront the opposition head-on," he added.  "Women love to watch other women tear each other apart.  Just stay out of it."

The Republican Campaign Team, and its supporters, need to act like gentlemen.  They need to be polite toward the opposition.  They need to focus on the policy facts.

Otherwise they will look small and Ms Harris will benefit as a result.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Distopian View

For John, BLUF:  Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard takes a look at VEEP Kamala Harris as 2024 Presidential Candidate.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Tulsi on Kamala

From 𝕏, by Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

Here is the post:

Tulsi Gabbard 🌺
@TulsiGabbard

Biden’s out, Kamala is in.  Don’t be fooled: policies won’t change.  Just like Biden wasn’t the one calling the shots, Kamala Harris won’t be either.  She is the new figurehead for the deep state and the maidservant of Hillary Clinton, queen of the cabal of warmongers.  They will continue their efforts to engulf the world in war and taking away our liberty.

Not an optomisatic view, but not incorrect either.

The Republican Ticket is going to need a new playbook against Ms Harris

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

University Indoctrination

For John, BLUF:  We have thought of higher eductioin as being about expanding one's knowledge, but now it appears to be about indoctrination.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Samizdata quote of the day – The American University Madrassa System

From Samizdata, by Samizdata Illuminatus (Arkham, Massachusetts), 21 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus two:

You might be wondering, where does all this come from, can we blame those French thinkers?  Is Foucault to blame?  No, not really.

It’s the American University that has whipped up this dish, and it all really started to take shape and form in the early nineties, so about 40 years ago.  The second generation “thinkers” then were building on Neo-Marxist and Post-Modern ideas sourced from the 60s and 70s, but those ideas would not have had the influence they have today without a second and third generation of thinkers and professors in American Universities that have ended up influencing a generation that has then gone out into the world and redesigned that world along those ideas.  We are all paying the price today.

The right way to think about the American University as a generator and propagator of these ideas is the way that you already think about The Madras as a potentially indoctrinating breeding ground for Islamic Extremism.

And there is more ar the link.

I do think this theory explains univerity student response to the Hamas attack on Israel, back on 7 October.  Not every university student, but quite a few amongst the Ivy league.

One wonders about the future of our democratic experiment, given the ignorance of those being groomed to join our elites.  On thw other hand, Senator J D Vance, and his Wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, are both graduates of Yale Law School and seem to have turned out OK.

Regards  —  Cliff

Boeing in Uncontrolled Descent

For John, BLUF:  A tad sctalogical, but the point is a shift in focus from engineering and flying to management has damaged the performance of Boeing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Boeing is everything wrong with American capitalism

Here is the sub-headline:

Boeing’s descent is a case study in how American capitalism has become so rotten. Robert Reich explains.

From Nation of Change, by Professor Robert Reich, 16 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus six:

Excuse my language, but why is Boeing such a shitty corporation?

Their planes are literally falling apart in the sky.

At least six Boeing planes have had parts fall off this year—including an exit door in mid-flight. A whistle-blower has accused Boeing of a “criminal cover-up” of its safety failures.

But beyond this one company, Boeing’s descent is a case study in how American capitalism has become so rotten. Let me explain.

I’m old enough to remember when people used to say “If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going.”

But in 1997, everything changed when Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas and became the only major maker of commercial aircraft in America. With no domestic rivals, it no longer needed to stay on the cutting edge of innovation.

Executives at Boeing who once specialized in engineering were replaced with Wall Street types who looked down on the engineers. One money-hungry CEO described those who cared too much about the integrity of Boeing’s planes, and not enough about its stock price, as “phenomenally talented assholes.”

It took the Professor a few paragraphs to get to the punchline.  An emphasis on "management' rather than engineering, has caused Boeing to lose its edge as an aircraft producer.  This issue has recently been discussed by Doctor Matthew Stewart, in his book:  The Management Myth:  Why the Experts Keep Getting it Wrong:  Debunking Modern Business Philosophy.

Here is the link to the Post on Professor Reich's own blog page.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

What Was Seen

For John, BLUF:  This Blog Post by Professor Ann Althouse csptures the struggle of the Press to capture what had happened in the minutes after the assasination attempt yesterday, in Butler, PA.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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TRUMP SHOT!

Here is the sub-headline:

ALIVE

UP AND WALKING.

From Althouse, by Law Professor Ann Althouse, 13 July 2024.

This is an initial impression report, and captures the confusioin in the minutes after shots rang out in Butler, Pennsylvania

Here is a key oaragraph:

PLUS: I'm seeing a lot of criticism of the press, especially the CNN headlines "Trump speech interrupted by Secret Service" and "Secret Service rushes Trump off stage after he falls at rally."  And don't tell me that's a just-the-facts approach, because it's easy to see in the video that Trump did not fall, he crouched.  The NYT headline at the moment is:  "Trump Rushed Off Stage After Chaos at Rally."

It is a commonplace in the military that first reports are always wrong.  My views on this incident were formed by watching it live on television.  Even so, i did not have the full picture at the moment.  This Blog Post captures this  And the chaos of the moment.

Our condolenses to the family of retired Fire Chief Corey Comperatore, of Sarver, Pennsylvania, who was killed when he dove on top of his family to protect them from the hail of bullets.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Protecting Who?

For John, BLUF:  The question before us is if Title IX is to protect women in sports or if it is to allow transgender people to disrupt women's sports.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Federal judge rules in favor of Carroll ISD, blocks expanded Title IX protections

From MSN, by Reporter Elizabeth Campbell, 12 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus one:

A federal judge issued a temporary ruling Thursday in favor of the Carroll school district’s lawsuit, blocking expanded Title IX protections for LGBTQ students from taking effect in August.

In his ruling, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas said the injunction covers the Carroll district for now, but requested briefings by July 18 on possibly broadening the ruling to include other school districts.

The Judge's ruling can be found here (MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER, Civil Action No. 4:24-cv-00461-O).

This garnered a number of posts on X. Here is the X Post from Brant Hthawy (@BrantHadaway), followed by the original X Post:

Never let it be forgotten that an attorney for the Biden Administration characterized girls' and women's concerns about sharing locker rooms with biological males as "niche."

This is, unfortunately, the kind of reckless arrogance that we have come to expect. Especially since the Obama Administration, the Executive Branch took license from Chevron to weaponize existing law by reinterpreting statutes for obviously political reasons.

That is not to suggest that they won't continue to do so.  But in a post-Chevron world, the Courts of the United States have no excuse for playing along.

From Political Sock (@politicalsock)

*Breaking*

Federal court in Texas eviscerates Biden’s Title IX rule which would force schools to accommodate boys (who identify as girls) into girls’ sports, showers & locker rooms.

Perhaps the most incredible part of this opinion is how the government lawyers described the concerns of school age girls who don’t wish to dress & undress with boys as “niche.”

The government literally argued that it’s wrong for a trans kid to feel uncomfortable in a locker room, but if a non-trans kid feels uncomfortable? Well, that’s a rather niche issue.  Amazing!

(The court unsurprisingly rejected this argument.)

The court also recognized the obvious - that Biden’s proposed executive re-write of Title IX impermissibly grants special privileges to kids who identify as trans.

Alliance Defending Freedom argued the case for Carroll ISD.  The Biden DOJ brought in a hotshot young lawyer who previously clerked for ACB.  Unfortunately for Biden but fortunately for us, the proposed rule is so nonsensical that no argument could save it.

Our situation is how to reconcile the idea of (some) women not wishing to find themselves in relatively close situations with people who still have the equipment of men, as opposed to recognizing the female nature of people who are going through the transition from male to femaile or visa-versa.  Perhaps we need a "third bathroom" option, so those in transition are neither threatened or threatening.

What exists currently is not acceptable.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Watch Your Tongue

For John, BLUF:  It should be a "No No" for people to publically call for the assassination of a President or Presidential Candidate.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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New York Times Columnist Promotes Political Murder

Here is the sub-headline:

A study in dangerous cluelessness

From Bravo Blue, by Attorney John A Lucas, 10 July 2024.

Here are two key paragraph from the article:

A more recent example of this homicidal fixation was on display in an interview of a New York Times columnist, John McWhorter. He appeared on June 28, on The Glenn Show which is a podcast by Brown University economics professor Glenn Loury. McWhorter, who is a regular Loury guest, had appeared on an earlier episode when he said that someone should kill President Trump. Although McWhorter sprinkled his June 28 comments with half-hearted regrets, he essentially doubled down on his earlier comments, saying only that he should not have made his statements publicly and promised that “I’m gonna say it again.”

McWhorter is an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University and a regular New York Times columnist. Most of his Times columns discuss the use of language and words. Think about that as you listen to and read his words about his desire to see President Trump murdered.

Professor and New York Times Columnist John McWhorter has called for the assassination of Donald J Trump, to prevent him from again becoming President.  This is a question of acceptability at two levels.  The first level is that of the Secret Service.  Is this something that the Secret Service needs to take seriously?  I would think that had I uttered those kinds of words and the Secret Serice became aware they would take it seriously, as should the rest of us.  Threatening the life of a President or Presidential Candidate is unacceptable.♠

At another level there is the question of civil society accepting this kind of talk.  As the Author points out, at The New York Times the Newsroom forced out an Editor for allowing an Opinion Piece by a sitting US Senator, Tom Cottom, to go to print.  Why not a ssimilar response to a suggestion by an opinion writer that someone assassinate Candidate Donald J Trump?

It is one thing to call for the President to stand down or for him to face the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, or to say the President, or a Candidate is not fit.  That is all legitimte.  It is wrong to suggest physical harm or violence against a President or a Candidate.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Which is why I find it so strange that the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, does not provide security for Independent Candidate Robert F Kennedy, Junior.  Is the assassinatoin of his fsther, a Presidential Candidate, by Sirhan Sirhan, not informing their thihking?

Deadly Chicago

For John, BLUF:  Chicago sufferss from shootings every weekend, but Mayor J9hnson has not broken the code on the problem.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Chicago Mayor Blames Richard Nixon as Over 100 People Shot at Weekend

From Newsweek, by Reporter Khaleda Rahman, 9 July 2024, 4:35 AM EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appeared to suggest President Richard Nixon was to blame for the city's pervasive gun violence problem.

More than 100 people were injured in shootings in Chicago, at least 19 of them fatally, over the Fourth of July weekend, when there is often a spike in gun violence.

"We are standing here today talking about a violent weekend because of generations of disinvestment and deep disenfranchisement in the exact communities where so much of the violence has taken place," Johnson, a Democrat who took office last year, said during a press conference on Monday.

Further down we have this from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson:

"Black death has been unfortunately been accepted in this country for a very long time. We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes. And people mocked President Johnson, and we ended up with Richard Nixon. I'm going to work hard every day to transform this city. That's what it takes to build a better, stronger, safer Chicago."

The article then goes on to say:

Johnson did not elaborate further on his remarks about Nixon. His office has been contacted for comment via email.

The Richard Nixon Foundation responded to Johnson's remarks on social media.

"Mayor Johnson's reference to President Nixon is gratuitous and the facts are not on his side in his characterization of Richard Nixon and the Nixon administration's civil rights record," the foundation wrote in a thread on X, formerly Twitter, along with a list of the administration's accomplishments.

Firat, the situation in Chicago is very bad.  It is way past time to note the deaths of Black youths, often as innocent bystanders in gang like shootings.  This seems like an issue regarding parental responsibility.  What is it in the culture of Chicago where parents do not feel responsibility for teaching their children it is not OK to shoot your way out of a problem.

Which leads to the issue of blaming President Richard Nixon, who left office in 1974 and passed away in 1994.  A better historic look-back should expose us to the fact that President Johnson's welfare reforms, meant to help Blacks succeed, seerved to badly damage the Black family.

This view was presented in 1965, by then Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan, in his report The Negro Family:  The Case For National Action, commonly known as the Moynihan Report.  Wikipedia summed it up by "Moynihan argued that the rise in black single-mother families was caused not by a lack of jobs, but by a destructive vein in ghetto culture, which could be traced to slavery times and continued discrimination in the American South under Jim Crow."

Culture matters and Mayor Johnson would help the problem by strengthening the culture in Chicago, with an emphsis on families.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Crashing the System

For John, BLUF:  We face continuing problems with illegal immigration, which is not being fixed by small moves from the Biden Administration.  It will soon become overwhelming.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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In a recent post (3 July 2024) (Stop Asking For Uncle Sam to Pay Your Bills) I talked about the costs of illegal immigration to the individual States♠  and how even the Federal Government can not fund this problem.

This is not a good situation.  It is only adding to the inflation problem we are alredy facing.  The TV Network CNBC said, in March of this year, "The U.S. national debt is rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days".  In February of this year Forbes reported that the Congressional Budget Office now says tht the interest on the US Federeal debt now exceeds the Defense Budget.

This growing debt will eat our budget.  Not just Defense, but also things like Social Security and Medicare.  It will damage, and then destroy the US Dollar as the world reserve currency.  As US News and World Report told us in February of this year, "For the U.S., it would likely mean less access to capital, higher borrowing costs and lower stock market values."  That is bad news for all families as they try to live from paycheck to paycheck.  It also means, in the end, less support for those who need Government support.

We need to wake up and realize that we can not do everything.  We need to prioritize and look for cheaper solutions.  We need to start paying down our national debt before it eats the budget.

And, perhaps we should turn off the flow of illegal immigrants, who are costing us a lot of money, and interest payments.

As I thought about this problem I was reminded of a course in American History I took at UMass Lowell Continuing Education.  The authors of the textbook we used were Profesors Richard Cloward and Francis Fox Piven, of Columbia Univerity.

The Cloward–Piven strategy is a political strategy outlined in 1966 by American sociologists and political activists Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven.  The strategy aims to utilize "militant anti poverty groups" to facilitate a "political crisis" by overloading the welfare system via an increase in welfare claims, forcing the creation of a system of guaranteed minimum income and "redistributing income through the federal government".

Do you think it is possible that someone on that behind the scenes team running the Biden Administraion has hit on the idea of fundamentally changing our welfare system by crashing it with illegal immigrants?  Fixing such a crash could involve reallocating resources within the Federal Budget or it could involve changing tax types and rates, or both.  As we mix poverty, unemployment, homelessness illegal immigration and medical coverage we could see radical shifts not seen since the 1930s.

This is one of those things which will appear all of a sudden and overwhelm the Administration and Congress.  If someone is prepared with a solution, no matter how foreign to our culture, they will have an edge in presenting that solution and getting it approved.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  According to Brilliant Maps, as of 4 June 2024, only 7 states have 5,000 or fewer illegal immigrants:  Alaska, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming.  Two more had 5,000 to 15,000 illegal immmigrants, New Hampshire, South Dakota.  The rest had more, some up over a million.  Is the Federal Government trying to break the Republican Government of Texas?

Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader Goes Thumb Down

For John, BLUF:  Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader wants to thrwart Mr Donld Trump's run for the Presidency, no matter what.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Nader urges judge to imprison Trump, citing grave threat to democracy

Here is the sub-headline:

Ralph Nader calls for a prison sentence for Donald Trump, arguing his actions endanger the peaceful transfer of power.

From Nation of Change, by Reporter Alexis Sterling, 4 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus two:

Ralph Nader, the renowned consumer advocate and attorney, has called on the New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial to sentence the former president to prison. Nader argues that the case for jail time is “open and shut” and asserts that Trump poses a grave threat to the peaceful transfer of presidential power and to democracy itself.

Nader, along with constitutional law expert Bruce Fein, addressed their concerns in a letter to New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan. They urged the judge to exercise his discretion and impose a prison sentence of up to four years based on the circumstances of the felonies and the character of the offender. “Your task is to ensure that the sentence matches the character of the offender, including his clear and present danger to the peaceful transfer of presidential power,” the letter stated.

Nader released the letter on June 28, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court’s right-wing majority ruled that current and former presidents are entitled to sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution. This decision complicated the hush money case and the separate election-subversion case led by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Candidate Donald Trump is accused of paying hush money to Ms Stormy Daniels and Lawyer Ralph Nader wants him locked away for it?  What about Mr Hunter Niden, who his Baby Moma, Ms Lunden Roberts, claims he offered her hush money in exchange for a Non-Disclosure Agreement?  Should Mr Hunter Biden go to prison?  I am sure the disclosure of this indiscretion would impact votes for his Father.

No, this is about animosity toward Republican Candidate Donald Trump.  This proposal is unworthy of Mr Nader.

And, Candidate Trump would not be the first to run for President from Prison.  In the Comments ChetDude_Redux2 (KootenayCoyote) noted:

The ONLY Constitutional qualifications for a pResident is to be born as a citizen, over 35 years of age with 14 year's continuous residence in the U.S.

A felony conviction (if upheld, which is possibly unlikely) does not disqualify someone from being (s)elected pResident.

The last 3rd party candidate to seriously threaten the power structure, who got the highest percentage of the vote, ran from a prison cell, Eugene Debs, who was put there by Wilson's Espionage Act, the same execrable law that USAmerica used to persecute Julian Assange for 14 years and that Obama used to imprison the most whistleblowers in history.

The decision on th susitability of Mr Donald J Trump to be President of these United States should be left to those with the highest office, the Voters.

Regards  —  Cliff

Happy Independence Day

For John, BLUF:  He may be remembered as Silent Cal, but this is a great discussion of Independence Day.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Address at the Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

From The American Presidency Project, by President Calvin Cooledge, 5 July 1926.

A great speech, but I wish to highlight this paragraph:

About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.

We have not done a perfect job implementing these principles, but we retain them and try our best to hew to them.

May god bless our efforts.

Regards  —  Cliff

State of the Supreme Court—Bernie Sandeers' Version

For John, BLUF:  I don't think Senator Bernie Sanders, and other Democrats, analyze Supreme Court decisions in terms of our freedoms, but tahrough a partisan lense.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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‘Out of control’:  Sanders calls for urgent Supreme Court reform following controversial rulings

Here is the sub-headline:

Bernie Sanders calls for immediate reforms to the Supreme Court, citing recent rulings that grant presidential immunity and criminalize homelessness as threats to democracy and justice.

From Nation of Change, by Reporter Alexis Sterling, 3 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus two:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has issued a strong call for Supreme Court reform in response to a series of controversial rulings that he argues threaten the foundations of American democracy. Sanders criticized the Court as “out of control,” pointing to its right-wing bias and the influence of corporate interests in shaping its decisions.

Sanders highlighted the 2010 Citizens United decision as a pivotal moment that ushered in a “corrupt, billionaire-dominated political system.” He also pointed to more recent rulings, including the removal of abortion protections, the criminalization of homelessness, the limitation of federal regulatory power, and the granting of unprecedented presidential immunity as evidence of the Court’s extreme agenda.

“These are just some of the dangerous rulings from a right-wing, corporate-sponsored Supreme Court that continues to serve an extremist agenda,” Sanders said. He emphasized that if conservative justices wish to make public policy, they should resign from the Supreme Court and run for political office instead.

I think the Good Senator is a bit over the top in his criticisms.  Abortions are up since Dobbs.  Yes, some Stat4s in the US have changed their rules, but that shows diversity.  As for the homeless (I have been on my City’s Hunger Homeless Commission), it is a question of balance.  Residents and visitors, walking the streets, should not have to step around those sleeping on the streets or the refuse of their lives.  Shelters should be provided, and mental health help provided (but ism’t, because of decisions from Government).  As for Presidential immunity, that is what Impeachment is about.  If Congress won’t do its job, why should the following Administration be allowed to pick up the cuddgle and do the work Congress should have done?.

With regard to Senator Sanderes' concerns for billionaires running the Republican Party and the Conservative Wing of the Supreme Court, he is 60 years out of date.  When I hear billionaire I immediately think of Mr George Soros.  He is the man who has funded numberous District Attorney campaigna, resulting in a slew of communities with weak enforcement of laws  In the long run this is counter-productive, in that the Citizens will eventually realize their safety is in their own hands.  That is not good for a civilized society.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

To Keep Mr Biden on the Ticket

For John, BLUF:  While my view of the situation in DC is different from Mr Cohen's in some respects, I think he does a good job of laying out why the Democrats should stick with Mr Joseph Biden.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Ridin' With Biden

Here is the sub-headline:

I look at both sides of the Biden vs. Harris argument and conclude that we're not living in an Aaron Sorkin and Democrats have one choice -- stay the course

From Truth and Consequences, by Opinionator Michael A Cohen (Speech Boy), 1 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus six:

Not Good Bob, Not Good

Over the last few days, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and talking to smart political observers about the dilemma facing the Democratic Party since the Apocalypse in Atlanta (trademark pending). I’ve tried to approach this issue in the most analytical and empirical manner possible. But I want to make one point at the outset.

I have no particular affection for Joe Biden.

He’s a politician and a means to an end. In an era of deep partisan polarization— and as the Republican Party has been taken over by a raving lunatic and has no attachment to basic democratic norms — no Democratic president or politician is sacred. They are all replaceable. The only question is a political one: who is best positioned to keep Trump and the GOP out of the White House?

Don’t get me wrong—Joe Biden has been an excellent president. He pulled the United States out of Afghanistan, handled the wars in Ukraine and Gaza with deftness and effective diplomacy, and his legislative agenda is one of the most impressive since LBJ. I’m not overly concerned about this ability to carry out his duties as president in a second term.

But, if I thought he was likely to lose in November and there was a better option in the wings to take his place, I’d be the first person to push him under the bus. This is not the time for sentimentality.

The problem is I don’t.

I think Michael Cohen makes a good case for retaining Prewident Joe Biden on the Democratic Party Ticket.  You may be a supporter of Candidate Trump, but it is good to undertand the terrain from other points of view.  This is such a chance..

And, you can subacribe to this substack at no cost for the basic output.  For the duration of the Election.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Stop Asking For Uncle Sam to Pay Your Bills

For John, BLUF:  We can't have it all and trying to do it will bankrupt the nation.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Pols want data on migrant sponsors

Here is the sub-headline:

Letter demands Gov. Healey conduct review, require reimbursement

From The Lowell Sun, by Boston Herald Reporter Gayla Cawley, 3 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus one:

A group of Massachusetts senators are demanding that the governor review how many migrant families being supported by taxpayers entered the U.S. on the condition of having their expenses covered by a sponsor, and that she make those people pay up.

Eleven state senators, led by Democrat Michael Moore and Republican Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, sent a letter to Gov. Maura Healey and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Edward Augustus, calling for accountability for those who have made commitments to provide financial support for migrants under the federal Humanitarian Parole Program, “but have not fulfilled that commitment.”

All good stuff, but I want to focus on a paragraph further down in the story;:

“We appreciate the pressure you have placed on the federal government, and we continue to hope that Congress will act,” the June 25 letter states. “However, we ask that you also seek to hold to account those who have legally committed themselves to provide financial support for these migrants.”

While I am relatively confident immigrants are not clamoring to go to Alasks or North Dakota.♠  That said, immigrants do tend to be spread out across the fruited plain, if not by choioce, then by the acts of certain State Governors.

This, in turn, means that there are not large pockets of US tgaxpayers who can pony up the money for Massachusetts or New York City or Chicago to house immigrants.  The only way the Federal Government can hep the individual states to pay for the care and feeding of our millions of illegal immigrants is to print money.  We are financing it with debt.

As Senator Evertt Dirkson (R-IL) is reported to have said:  "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money."

This is not a good situation.  It is only aqdding to the inflation problem we are alredy facing.  The TV Network CNBC said, in March o fthis year, "The U.S. national debt is rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days".  In February of this year Forbes reported that the Congressional Budget Office now says tht the interest on the US Federeal debt now exceeds the Defense Budget.

This growing debt will eat our budget.  Not just Defense, but also things like Social Security and Medicare.  It will damage, and then destory the US Dollar as the world reservre currency.  As US News and World Report told us in February of this year, "For the U.S., it would likely mean less access to capital, higher borrowing costs and lower stock market values."  That is bad news for all families as they try to live from paycheck to paycheck.  It also means, in th end, less support for those who need Government support.

We need to wake up and realize that we can not do everything.  We need to prioritize and look for cheaper solutions.  We need to start paying down our natoinal debt before it eats the budget.

And, perhaps we should turn off the flow of illegal immigrants, who are costing us a lot of money, and interest payments.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  An old Air Force expression about Montana is "Why not Minot?  Freezin' is the reason."

Fire the DNC

For John, BLUF:  The author sees the current problems of the Democratic Party as a collective problem of the Democratic Natinoal Committee, reflecting on the broad leadership of the party, which seems to have adopted "go along to get along".  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Memo to the DNC:  You share the blame for Biden’s bait-and-switch

Here is the sub-headline:

The loyalty of millions of voters is being sorely tested by the failure of the Democratic National Committee to hold the president to his implicit campaign pledge to serve one term

From The Boston Globe, by Columnist Larry Edelman, 1 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus four:

If the Democratic Party were a publicly traded company, the mishandling of the presidential nomination process by its board of directors — the Democratic National Committee — would likely have sparked a revolt by investors. Here’s how an activist investor might respond.

To: Jaime Harrison, chair, Democratic National Committee
Re: Thanks for nothing

A lifelong Democrat, I’ve voted for each and every one of our party’s presidential nominees since 1980 — sometimes enthusiastically, other times not. I think I’ve pulled the lever for exactly one Republican in an election at any level: Bill Weld, for governor of Massachusetts. And he might as well have been one of us. (Even the Globe endorsed him in 1990.)

But my loyalty — and the loyalty of millions of Democrats like me — is being sorely tested by the failure of you and the rest of the DNC leadership to hold President Biden to his implicit campaign pledge to serve one term.

This is a view, and one worth considering.

I am a Registered Republican, but even I see the present problems within the Democrstic Party as not being good for our Democracy.  We do not need for the Democratic Party to implode, and then perhaps fragment,  While I don't expect the Democratic Party to emerge as the Party of my youth, I do hope it emerges as a party capable of winning elections, not as the representative of some angry minority that fails to reflect the values of the average American.

Regards  —  Cliff