No longer left vs right or liberal vs conservative.

 IT IS NOW GLOBALIST ELITES VS THE PEOPLE

ACADEMICS, SOCIAL THEORISTS AND THOSE WHO PROFIT FROM BIG GOVERNMENT ARE THE NEW RULING COALITION

The old labels of political parties and political positions are no longer valid. It used to be that the liberal or left were concerned with the plight of working class workers, those who actually maintain and sustain a society. 

It used to be that the left or liberals were mostly opposed to war that was not in the interests of their nation. Mostly because it was the working class that was drafted and forced to fight and die in some wars that did not seem to matter to their future life.

The so called right or conservatives were concerned with keeping  a strong cultural identity and often sided with business and also were more likely to support foreign wars. Or at least that was the narrative we  all believed.

Today those labels are no longer valid, they began to morph into different policies and objectives in the 1990's with the implementing of global trade arrangements. Trade polices that were embraced by both Democrats and Republicans. Policies that devastated the working class and manufacturing base of the country. This was true not only in the U.S. but also western Europe.

The left embraced some big business, particularly those who were reaping huge profits from trade with China, they began taking political money from China in the early 90's. This was also true of many of those on the conservative or right side as they were also able to reap increased profits and avoid increasingly restrictive and uncertain effects of domestic regulation. This was also true in western Europe.

As more and more of the economy was becoming dependent on foreign trade and also at the same time more of the citizens were becoming dependent on government money the political identities began to change. 

The left began to cater to those who either worked for the government or were dependent on the government, this did not just limit itself to the poor and underprivileged, but to most of academia from public schools to higher education as they became increasingly dependent on government money and with it government mandates. The same was true of most research which seemed to be directly or indirectly dependent on government grants and subsidies, often funneled to those with political influence.

The economy was increasingly governed and influence by those who no longer produced anything, Those who lived on philosophical theories that were actually not part of the reality of everyday life. They often embraced Utopian Marxist theories and unproven ideas like Modern Monetary theory. Did not understand things like money being and asset or the dangers of unbridled debt. Things like looking down on anyone who worked with their hands or produced food or energy, the basics of everyday life.  They believed such things were far below them.

The western world became increasingly ruled by people with no experience in everyday life, obsessed with ideas without foundation to actual life supporting realities. Their theories were not based on any solid foundation of truth, but on an ever changing unrealistic view of life itself. They became even more detached and out of touch with the general population than autocratic royal rulers of the past. 

They put unproven theories over the things that sustain life, and also believe they had the power to persuade and even force those ideas not only on the domestic population, but on the world. It is a delusion of grandeur that has overcome the leaders of whole western world. Rather than learning from history the disastrous result of former ideologies that were so out of touch with reality, they are now locked into a headlong rush to catastrophe.

.

Planting seeds of future social and economic crisis.

CRISIS! PATH TO TOTAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL 

PANDEMIC, SOCIAL UNREST AND ECONOMIC CRISIS

While many view the policies of the current administration as just poor judgement and incompetence that is not the case. It is a well thought out plan to move this country from a country of opportunity and freedom to one of total government control. A country were individuals do not count, it is all about implementing a system that will look more like feudalism than liberty. Worldwide feudalism.

We see the intentional uncontrolled migration across the borders of the world, not just in the USA, but into every major country. It is an intentional creation of a divided populace, the more divided, culturally, religiously and ethnically the more opportunity for government to become bigger and more controlling to deal with the chaos. 

With this huge influx of people we will see the breakdown of the social safety net, the healthcare system and the education system. The remedy will of course be more government control of all aspects of human life.

Add to this the climate debate which will again require more government control, more sacrifice by the common people, but unlikely to affect the elite decision makers.

Now we see the administration and the democrats in general embarking on a spending spree that will very likely end in a economic crisis. The debt, which no one seems to consider anymore, except that we see that interest rates to be now permanently near zero. They will remain at near zero because the government could not service the debt if interest rates were in the historic 5% range. This has been a tax on seniors and savers and a boon to speculative investors. Not the plan that encourages a stable economy. 

By the way, this condition has been in all administrations of late, both democrat and republican. It is unlikely that politicians are in control of the direction of any monetary policy.

The alternative to raising interest rates, which would cause a debt crisis, is inflation. It is likely we will see a permanent uptick in inflation. Historically inflation can only be brought under control by drastic action. That action has been raising interest rates, but it is likely that in this new era it will be the declaration that capitalism is a failure and only a totalitarian socialist government will produce economic stability. Possibly a change in currency with a severe devaluation and other radical solutions.

The New Democrats have embraced the Modern Monetary Theory, which believes that deficits and debt are not relevant nor to be considered. The plan is to control all aspects of the economy by government spending and taxes.

With this theory they can spend on social programs without restraint, debt, deficits and even interest as far as the government is concerned would be eliminated. They also believe that to restrain the economy from overheating, taxes, licenses, fees etc would be raised to restrain inflation and also to target the wealthy to achieve income equality and social justice. They also propose to adopt Asset Taxes, starting with the very wealthy, but as one could imagine it would soon apply to anyone with assets.

This theory is without simple common sense and attempts to defy the laws of simple economics and human nature. Implementing such a policy would destroy the economy in short order. Their policies would force people to shift assets from paper to hard currency and simply shut down much private economic activity.

Of course, that is precisely their goal, no private economy, it would be a 100% Government controlled economy which would lead to an economy like Venezuela or Cuba.

I suspect that these policies will culminate in a worldwide economic crisis unprecedented in history.

originally published: Aug. 13, 2021

West ups the ante, whats next?

 PRESSURE WILL NOW BUILD IN RUSSIA TO GET THIS OVER WITH  

IS FIRST STRIKE NUCLEAR OPTION NOW ON THE TABLE?

NATO agreed yesterday to send 200 advanced tanks to Ukraine. We will see how many can actually get to the fighting. Russia could start targeting this equipment as soon as it crosses the border. Will it now do so, or will it stick to its strategy of allowing western equipment and Ukrainian soldiers to fight and die in the east. I suspect we will know soon.

There is a lot of pressure in Russia by the military and the population to finish this nasty business sooner rather than later. Sooner would be better for Ukraine in the long run, later would be better to drain the resources of NATO. I suspect that Russia could take out all the bridges in Ukraine and make it difficult for these tanks to come within range of any Russian. It may like to test their new equipment to see how long it would take to destroy these tanks. Will Russia stick with their strategy that has been effective at grinding down the Ukrainians and western equipment or will it decide to finish this off? We will probably know soon.

While the narrative from Washington and Kiev has been that Russia is losing and about to collapse at any time it is just that, a narrative of wishful thinking. Then they opening hope that Putin is overthrown and a more flexible leader takes his place. Putin is most likely the most restrained and pragmatic leader they west will see. Then of course, we hear that the Russian people are going to rise up and join the west to bring Russia into the western fold. After 20 years of demonizing Russia, Germany announcing they are sending German tanks into Ukraine to kill Russians and bringing back their historical memory of confrontations with the west, I suspect they will now be hardened into the reality there will never be any good relations with the west in our lifetime.

Are our leaders being advised by the same people who claimed weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, or perpetrated the Russian conspiracy theory of Trump being a Russian agent, if so, the world should prepare for destruction.

When the tanks do not produce a Ukrainian victory, what is next?  Does anyone really believe the narrative that this conflict can be financed and supplied by the west for much longer? Does anyone believe the poor Ukrainians can continue to fight and die for years? Are we ready to institute the draft in the U.S.and Europe to fight a ground war in Ukraine? 

These actions will also force other nations of the world to face the reality that the past world order is over and that it is entering a period of duel economic and political realities. If this does become a reality the U.S. and its western allies can expect to experience its first long term economic decline in history.

It is obvious the West is led by diplomatic midgets, who believe they are master of the universe and can dictate to the world their supremacy either by economic intimidation or military force. They have showcased this approach in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Ukraine and many other countries and resulted in death and destruction, but no real peaceful reality.

I believe the United States has been a light on the hill for many nations until its leaders have succumbed to the delusion of  world control by any means. An idea built on lies and prolonged by more lies. 

A famous French observer declared that "America is great because America is good". American needs to introspectively ask, Is America still good? Are we still able to objectively understand the difference between good and evil. If we cannot, we will end as other great but delusional and corrupt nations have ended.

Poor minds and poor decisions have  placed the world in a dilemma. There is no way out without one side or the other losing face and credibility. A situation that wise military leaders and diplomats realize is the ultimate situation to be avoided. Russia can never back down, there very existence is at stake. Biden will not back down, he does not have the wisdom, courage or capacity to change direction. 

Democrat policy makers continue to believe their own spin.

 THEY NEVER HAD ANY POLICY, ONLY ANTI-TRUMP

RESULT IS DISASTER ON THE ECONOMY, BORDER, FOREIGN POLICY

Democrat policy makers and their cohorts in the media never had a serious agenda for the future of the country. They ran on reversing any initiatives put forward by Donald Trump. They actually believed that simply overturning Trumps policies would result in a positive result. They believed their own lies and misinformation about Trump's policies, while never having any of their own. This is why everything they touched has turned into brown smelly stuff.

You can start with the border, Biden's first day wish, cancel the remaining wall, sending a message to those south of the border and beyond, that you are welcome. Promising free health care and benefits if you can just plant your feet on U.S. soil. All Biden had to do was maintain the inherited policy and he would have avoided disaster.

Then there was energy independence, Trump's policy had insured energy independence for the USA. It had guaranteed a stable price of gas and heating oil, a requisite for a sound economy. Another first day act of canceling permits on pipelines, banning drilling on federal land and any other edict he could think of to reverse Trump's policy has caused energy chaos here and around the world. This policy will lead to economic disaster in the near future.

If Biden was serious about replacing fossil fuels with other energy, then he should have had a policy to provide a real substitute, like nuclear fusion, but no, he just thought we would raise the cost of fossil fuel so high, that no one can afford it. Is this a serious policy for our country?

Of course, we had the economy, which was performing the best in decades, with record employment for black, hispanic, women and every other group. Rising wages on all. Then covid, with un thinking lockdowns and other draconian measures by democrat governors that dinged the economy, but it was running along at a reduced level, until Biden made it more lucrative to be unemployed than to be employed and now hopes to punish those who will not submit to his unconstitutional overreach. This economy is on the brink of freefall and his plan is to raise taxes, spending, debt and add more regulations. Yes, it is the reverse of Trump policy, that is all they know.

Then there is Biden's proven record on foreign policy, proven a disaster at every turn. From a amatuer withdrawal from Afghanistan, to withdrawing missile defense from Israel and Saudi Arabia,  to backing down on sanctions on Iran, which is now full speed ahead with their nuclear ambitions. Worse signals to North Korea, China and possibly surrender of Taiwan. I have not seen 1 positive development or real plan on foreign policy. Just more reversal of Trumps initiatives. 

I could go on and on, but the reality is these unaccomplished, mediocre bureaucrats who have never had a real job with consequences and expectations, who always got participation awards for trying, even if there were no results, these are the people running the country under the Biden administration and like their cohorts in the media live in an artificial world and everything has always been ok. It is not now OK and it is going to get a lot worse in the near future. Sadly they have no clue how to fix anything. 

originally published 10/13/21

3/21/22

We also now see the foreign policy disaster in Ukraine. A war that could have been avoided. An administration which could not think to make an accommodation. Which advised Ukraine to continue in the the failed NATO expansion idea. Now Ukraine is suffering for not making decisions for themselves. Of course, these infantile political puppets are still spinning. Ukraine is winning. Russia is collapsing. Their policies are working.  Spinning may work on the American voters, but you cannot spin up more gas or heating oil, nor can you spin a war into what you desire.

10/5/22

We now see with the destruction of the pipelines to the Germany and the EU another miscalculation by this administration. A miscalculation in an attempt to hold NATO together, that will spell doom for most of western Europe. We had better hope that this administration is stopped soon or they may believe that their only hope is a preemptive strike on Russia. 

Giving incompetents and fools dangerous power  may soon lead to the end of civilization as we know it.

1/25/23,

The doomsday clock is now moved to 90 sec. to midnight. The Biden administration is miscalculating Russia's resolve to stop NATO expansion even to the point of nuclear war. Their intransigence and their denial of the realities of the situation in Ukraine is to the point that one side or the other seems to be willing to risk it all, rather to step back. Russia will never accept Ukraine in NATO, period. Just as we would  not accept a hostile alliance with missiles in Canada or Mexico or in any country in the western hemisphere. Our delusional foreign policy experts who have caused the deaths of 100,'s of thousand in the past 30 years have now gone all in on the big enchilada and the result is predictable even to those observing from the sidelines.

 

Ukraine now in military and political crisis.

 MILITARY IS DECIMATED AND DISSENSION RISES IN GOVERNMENT

EUROPEAN PARTNERS BALKING AT ESCALATION

It looks that a change in direction will soon need to be made in the Ukraine conflict. The military has been seriously degraded where most of their experienced well trained troops have been killed. While equipment is still being poured into the country from NATO it has fewer trained troops to use and maintain this equipment. Some of this being made up for with U.S., UK and Polish troops. If the tide of war is to be turned it will most likely require an increased number of NATO troops. This will then shift this from a proxy war between Russia and NATO to an all out NATO Russian confrontation. 

On the political side, the members of the Zelensky's cabinet are dropping one by one. The Secretary of Internal affairs, not interior by the way, was killed in a helicopter crash. His chief adviser was forced to resign after stating that the apartment building disaster was the result of air defense over a populated area. He has now spent the weekend being interviewed by numerous media and had a lot of criticism of the cause of the war and the direction of the war and the attacks by the government on the Church. Several other members have resigned for allegations of corruption.

It has also been reported that Zelensky has been advised by his benefactors to withdraw his troops to a more defensible position to save their lives to fight another day, so far he has refused. It seems the Russian's are moving to expand their offensive to the south and to keep up a slow calculated destruction of men and equipment.

Germany has still not agreed to send Tanks to Ukraine mostly because their analysts do not believe escalation will change the outcome of the conflict and will just increase the likely result of  permanent alienation of Europe from Russia. The Germans and others now realize they cannot really have economic success and be dependent on the U.S. for energy. Germany is the industrial leader of Europe in many areas and its economy will not succeed without a realizable source of energy.

Other NATO countries increasingly fear they are jeopardizing their security by thinning out their military equipment.

Turkey, the lone Muslim member of NATO, pledged it will never endorse Sweden into NATO after a weekend of anti Muslim demonstrations. They also do not want to be in a position to be permanently disengaged from Russia for obvious geographical reason. 

The Zelensky government has become increasingly authoritarian, no independent press, outlawing opposition political parties, even stripping the citizenship of his political opponents. An attack on the major religion of Ukraine may have been a major mistake.This coupled with forced service to the eastern front with large loss of life is going to put enormous political pressure to bear. Some predict the possibility of a coup or even civil war.

Whatever the near future brings for Ukraine it will be a serious crisis for the civilian population which is soon to enter their second year of escalating disaster.

The story behind tanks for Ukraine.

UKRAINE WAR IS CEMENTING U.S. ARMS INDUSTRY MONOPOLY

WILL ALL NATO COUNTRIES NOW BE DEPENDENT ON U.S. ARMS 

While there is much discussion on whether NATO countries are going to send advanced tanks to Ukraine, there is more to this story than just more arms to Ukraine. It seems that Germany is not too excited about either giving their Leopold tanks or allowing the other NATO countries that use these tanks to transfer them to Ukraine. There is a very important reason for this for Germany.

Since the beginning of this conflict, NATO countries, especially former Soviet countries, have been prodded by the U.S. to transfer their Soviet era weapons, including tanks, to Ukraine. This was publicly stated as a good idea, because Ukrainians are familiar with and trained on these weapons. One important part of this equation is that the U.S. has been promising to replace this equipment with modern U.S. made equipment, much of it paid for by U.S. taxpayers. This is a no brainer for these countries with a promise of a free upgrade to their older equipment. If you remember Poland volunteered Russian made MIG jets if the U. S promised to replace them with new U.S. jets. It is expected that all the weapons and supplies donated by these former soviet countries will be replaced by the U.S..

Now the question of German tanks, tanks that are part of Germany's weapons exports. If these NATO countries transfer Leopards to Ukraine, they will be replaced with U.S. tanks and then will have in effect destroyed Germany's business for tanks, parts, technology upgrades and maintenance forever. so this is why Germany is reluctant to go down this road. Germany asks why Washington is not sending U.S.tanks to Ukraine and the answer is they are too complicated and may fall into the hands of the Russians for reverse engineering. This would also be true of German made Leopard tanks.

If Germany agrees to this transfer you can bet it will be part of some large transfer of money from the U.S.

Up to now many NATO countries, and of course, other countries around the world have their own arms industry. There is a strong competition for these sales, not just for the initial sale, but for the years of parts, upgrades and maintenance. In fact, war is a perfect advertisement that these arms are the best in the world. Of course, everyone want the best when it comes to defense. Does anyone doubt that after a war the sales of the new arms used on the latest battlefield suddenly become good sellers or maybe fall out of favor. So there is in fact a strong advertising campaign by governments and their media cohorts. I suspect that Himars are now selling well.

An example was the outrage from Washington when Turkey a NATO country, bought S-400 anti-aircraft missiles from Russia, because at present they are considered by some to be the best. 

So far, Russia has used very little of their advanced weapons, but in the future they may very well be interested in show casing them to the world, I expect they are the number 2 arms seller in the world. A direct competitor of the U.S. in arms sales.

So anyway, this is the story behind the story of  tanks for Ukraine.

Is Biden on his way out?

 LOOKS LIKE BIDEN IS GOING TO BE JETTISONED

WILL KAMALA BE THE FIRST TO GO ?

It is looking like the people who put Biden in office may have decided he has served his purpose and now is time to make some changes. His reelection chances are not good and his corruption scandals can no longer be blamed on Russian disinformation. That an the combined risk of nuclear war with Russia and soon China needs to be blamed on someone before it becomes a reality. So how do they arrange a exit for both Biden and his failed vice president Kamala Harris.

Getting rid of Biden is the easy part, he can be forced to resign by those around him with the promise to spare his legacy or they will drop the hammer and have him indicted on the stupid and massive corruption he and his son have perpetrated. 

Forcing out Biden and then having Kamala as president would be a disaster for the Democrat party. Even their massive election machine may not be enough to get her elected.

Kamala has to go first, then Biden needs to appoint a replacement that will be electable and serve the needs of those who are running this government. She may be just offered a deal that she literally can not refuse. Then the question is who can they appoint that is popular with the democrat base and electable in 2024.

Will it be Michele Obama? Or John Fetterman, Or some person without much of a record? Someone that they and their media collaborators can fashion a wonderful background to win an election?

Then there is still Hillary waiting in the wings to be the savior of the party and the country. She wants it probably more than anyone else and has the loyalty of the  bureaucratic state. She would finally realize her dream of being the first female President.

So, force Kamala to resign or be forced out in some way, then appoint a new Vice-President and then in some time poor Joe's time will be up and he can resign for poor health or whatever will make him happy and then the Democrats will have a new viable candidate for 2024. 

Whether this will be a reality is yet to be seen, but don't doubt that this is clearly in discussion behind the scenes. It would be a way to have a new fresh start for the upcoming election.

Dnieper river bridges, indication of Russian strategy

 IS TALK OF MAJOR RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE REAL?

OR IS RUSSIA COMMITTED TO ITS BAIT AND DESTROY STRATEGY

We have been hearing of a major Russian offensive that is supposed to begin any day now. While it is true that Russia has massed troops and equipment that could enable such an offensive, it remains to be seen if this is real or just posturing by the Russians to entice Ukraine and their benefactors to send more men and equipment to the eastern battlefield.

This eastern battlefield has been the scene of much of the action for the last few months and has been devastating to the Ukrainian military. Russia has made incremental advances, but no major push to take territory, it seems the Russian strategy has been not about territory but the elimination of the resources of Ukrainian men and the Wests equipment. It has been a bloody death mission for Ukrainians and a junkyard of western supplied equipment.

The Dnieper river is the dividing line between western and eastern Ukraine. Supplies of any size or weight have to cross this river. There are a total of 37 bridges from Kyiv in the north to Kherson in the south. Does anyone ever wonder, why Russia has yet to destroy these bridges? It is certainly within the capability of Russia to take out these bridges in a very short time. Do they want Ukraine to have the ability to move men and equipment to this eastern battlefield where they are close to the Russian supply line, enabling Russia to have a very efficient way of continuing this battle.

There are only 18 bridges across the Dnieper in the middle and southern part, these are big long bridges and it can be assumed much of the supplies have to cross these bridges. There are only 6 in the lower section around Zaporizhia and Kherson.

These bridges may be an indication, if a major Russian offensive is to take place. It also may be a way to trap the Ukrainian army on the east side of the river whenever Russia believes it has overwhelming advantage.

There is much talk of the west sending a couple dozen western tanks, most are leary of diminishing their already depleted supply of military equipment. Does anyone believe that a couple dozen more tanks will change the direction of this conflict. Will this just turn into a extension of the massive junkyard that is eastern Ukraine? Is this nothing more than symbolism to encourage the Ukrainians to keep fighting and dying. 

I suspect that time is running out for Ukraine. The present strategy of Ukraine fighting a proxy war for the west is coming to end. While we hear elitist talk of supporting Ukraine for decades, only out of touch bureaucrats with no consideration for the lives of Ukrainians would entertain such an idea.The question for western strategists is do they now commit the men and resources of the U.S. and NATO to an all out war with Russia? A war requiring a resumption of selective service in the west and the real danger of nuclear war. This is where the war will become real for the citizens of the western alliance.

World economic forum's vision: The New Feudalism

 MANY OF THE SPEAKERS AT THE WEF SOUND FRIGHTENINGLY LIKE A BLAST FROM THE PAST

THE WORLD NEEDS TO BEWARE OF THESE DANGEROUS ELITISTS 

Early yesterday morning, I happened to catch the speech by Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU. She was very excited at her vision of the future, much of it had to do with being fossil fuel free in the near future. She claimed that after the pain of, "Creative Destruction", the EU would be the leader of the New World. It would be positioned to be the leader of this new world by manufacturing renewable energy and the new reality of the future. She obviously is sincerely a believer in her vision, a deluded elitist who has no idea what she is talking about. Her vision has a lot of destruction, but in reality not much chance of creating a better world.

Listening to many of speakers there is a chilling resemblance to speeches from the government officials of the leading European power of the 1930's. A godless, amoral view of the world that revolves around their view of their hope for a Utopian future. A future to be crafted by these elitists without any consideration for the lives of the those living on this planet which they claim to be saving.

A word about "Creative Destruction".Real creative destruction is the economic reality of when a better product or invention supplants an inferior by market forces, not by elitist government manipulation and force. Examples are kerosene supplanting whale oil and fat as lighting, then electric lights supplanting kerosene lamps. Or the automobile supplanting horses and wagons, it was a gradual evolution that often took decades and some of those older technologies are still used in some instances. It was a natural free market transition to a better solution. 

These people have the idea that THEY have the ability and the power to decide what should be done and it should be now and it should be by government force. Government force and the collaboration with corporate cooperation, again the real definition of Fascism and why these people are not much better than the leaders of 1930's Germany, but on a global scale. 

They talk of how the population should be learning how to live with less, less energy, less food, less travel and less freedom. All in the name of saving the planet. While some of these virtues are worthy goals, it should be by education that we all should be more conservative in our use of resources. Not by mandates from a group of elitists who fly around the world in their private or government paid for jets bloviating a lot of hot air that may be contributing to global warming.

Their vision of the future, is not, self government, socialism or communism but actually a reversion back to the feudalism of the past. A system that an elite bunch of Kings, Queens and aristocrats, ruling with an iron hand. Deciding who should live and die and in what fashion. A system of autocratic totalitarianism that was rejected in the 18th century by a planet changing revolution in North America.

A revolution they hope to reverse by appealing to those who believe the planet is in jeopardy, those who believe that they advocate for a socialist global government with happiness for all. The world should beware and resist and denounce the plans of this elitist group of fascist authoritarians before they can, in effect, destroy civilization as we know it.

Military spending by country for 2021

 U.S. MILITARY SPENDING TO BE $857 BILLION FOR 2023

U.S SPENDING 38% OF WORLD DEFENSE SPENDING

Military spending for the last full year of 2021 was as follows:

U.S. $801 billion

China $293 billion

India $76 billion

U.K $68 billion

Russia $65.9 billion

France $56.6 billion

Germany $56 billion

Saudi Arabia $55 billion

Japan $54 billion

South Korea $50 billion

Saudi Arabia has the highest spending per GDP at 6.6 %, Japan the lowest at 1.1 % . Most countries spend around 2.5% of their GDP.

The U.S. spending is 38% of global defense spending, China is second at 14%, most others is just under 3%.

It is interesting that the U.S. has never audited the Pentagon for an accounting of this massive spending. One must wonder where is all this money going? Does anyone have any idea? 

I am not questioning that a strong defense is vital for this country. A well equipped military, able to defend the vital interests of this country if needed.

I am questioning were exactly all this money is going? We keep hearing that the military is short on ammunition, rockets and other ammunition. How could this be? Or is the money being spent in the maintenance of bases in 150+ other countries? Grants to other countries to keep them dependent on U.S. protection. 

We hear that the EU countries are now short on ammunition and supplies because of their contributions to Ukraine. Contributions that are to be replaced by the U.S. Are we in fact supplying the world except for China and Russia. If so, it would be good to know by congress and the taxpayers.

We can assume that Russia and China are getting a lot more BANG for their Rubles and Yuan than the U.S. taxpayers are getting for their dollars.

Has Europe's ability to maintain their generous social programs been actually subsidized by the U.S. for providing them with a security umbrella.

Have we intentionally littered the world with expensive weaponry that we left in Viet Nam, Afghanistan and many other countries, claiming it is too expensive to bring home? Just so that we could buy more.

Does all this spending encourage the intervention in other countries disputes just to try out all these new weapons and also dispose of it so more is needed?

While I do support a strong military, it does seem that the U.S. has an oversized budget compared to the rest of the world. Do we in fact provide most of the weapons existing in the world today? If so, is that a concern or something that should be debated?

While a massive undertaking, it is time for some accountability by the defense department as to where all this money is going. Such a budget without ever being audited is an open invitation for severe problems of graft and corruption.

Something fishy about Biden's stolen documents.

 AFTER 5 YEARS, SUDDENLY DOCUMENTS SHOW UP

WE HAVE TO SUSPECT MORE TO THIS STORY

A good question is, why have these secret documents surfaced now? We are told that Biden's lawyers just happened to find these documents while cleaning out an old office. Who hires lawyers to clean out an office? We are also supposed to believe that these same lawyers immediately contacted the archives to take control of these documents.

I do not assume I am an expert on the logs and tracking of classified documents, but from what is being reported these types of documents need to be signed for when taking possession and there is record of what they are and who last had possession of them. So, one explanation is that someone or some organization has been requesting, through the freedom of information act, access to these particular documents. Someone at the archives may have tipped off the Biden people that they are about to be exposed for having these missing documents. So, the only resort could be to just claim they were misplaced for the last 5 years and now they have made it right by turning them over. In effect, getting ahead of the coming story, exposing the missing documents.

We hear that some of these documents pertain to Ukraine. Ukraine again, Biden sure has a lot of red flags concerning Ukraine, a very corrupt country that seems to be the laundromat for the democrat party. It would be interesting to see if anyone will ever reveal what these documents are all about.

Some believe it it an attempt to discourage Biden from running again. After all, it has been anticipated that he is running and was supposed to announce in the immediate future. We will have to see, but I don't see a viable candidate for the democrats on the horizon, but they may be programming and developing a dark horse candidate. After all, they were able to push the likes Biden and Fetterman to victory, so anything is possible.

So far, the media doesn't seem to have perfected and coordinated their talking points, I suspect by today we will see that all materializing into some unified message. I expect it may reveal what behind this story, not by what they say, but what they don't say.

Restoring Democracy to the House of Representatives.

 MAKING HOUSE MEMBERS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON

NOT REPRESENTATIVES OF WASHINGTON TO THE PEOPLE

While there has been much anguish over the refusal of some 20 Republican Representatives to vote for the Speaker of the House. It it is all a step in the right direction. Will these concessions lead to a resolution of all the problems and the corruption of the process in Washington? No, but it is a step that should be applauded by Representatives on both sides of the isle. It was without a doubt a very brave and bold step taken by these representatives and the precedent will not be lost on members from all parties who have found that being a representative is often nothing more than being a bobble headed yes for the party leaders. This is often accomplished by rules that are designed to keep them quite and in compliance with the leaders of their party and often to forces outside the House of Representatives.

The SPEAKER of the house as the title signifies is a representative of the body of representatives. He was never meant to be the dictator of the house, who uses his power to intimidate, coerce or bribe the members to vote in a way that he or his fellow leaders dictate. If they attempt to rock the boat, they will be punished by refusing to give them any positions of authority, deny them resources for their re-election or attempt to smear them with some scandal or maleficence. This whole process minimizes true representation of those approximately 750,000 citizens that these elected people are supposed to represent.

Much of this has now been accepted by the populace as how it works and it should just be acknowledged as the usual practice in Washington and also most state capitals. It should be unacceptable by the electorate.

Much of this has to with seniority idea that seems to be in place. So, the person who has gone along to get along and reaped lots of pork for their district will enjoy all the perks and privileges bestowed by leadership. Lots of money for reelection, good reviews and praise by the media as to what a great and honorable self sacrificing citizen they are in the service of the people. Of course, this is all an effort to keep these people in the body and then into leadership because they help to keep the whole corrupt scheme in place. This is of course true for both parties.

The leadership of the House and Senate both have way too much power to craft and force through legislation that in a free and open debate by members would most likely be much different. 

Much of this past weeks debate is addressing the piling on of far reaching additions to legislation that is forced to be passed in a huge package. It is a way to perfume the corrupt smell from these addons that could never be passed on their own. 

Another is allowing for time to analyse and amend legislation, that become impossible when they delay bringing timely bills to the floor and then give them just hours to be passed. This is another outrageous abuse. All intended to force through things that are only apparent weeks and sometimes months and years later. Are these tactics meant to improve the lives of average citizens or for special interests?

More and more of this country and many foreign countries are now dependent on the largess dispensed from Washington. A largess that is going to be paid by U.S. citizens and their descendants through taxes, inflation or withering opportunity. A largess that benefits mostly special interests who have direct access to the greatest money machine in history, the United States government. The result is a national debt of over 30 Trillion dollars, a unfunded liability for social programs of over 100 Trillion dollars and the possible rejection of the dollar as the mainstay of world economic transactions. These abuses that have created a system that has not had a balanced budget since 1969, except for a couple years after the demise of the Soviet Union.

This is only a few of the reforms negotiated, time will tell if they will be sincerely implemented or will the punishment of the dissidents be swift and a lesson to the rest of the members.

We will see if Speaker McCarthy can become a Representative for the good of the country or will he fight to keep the gravy train going. 

In the meantime, we will be subjected to the labels placed on these brave individuals as traitors, insurrectionist, right wing crazies or whatever adjective they feel will bring the greatest condemnation. Do not be surprised that some will be accused of all types of moral inadequacy such as human trafficking and child abuse of some kind.  I assume when they took this bold step they were prepared to risk their future for the sake of reform of this corrupt system. I hope more appreciate their sacrifice.

West's sanctions on Russia: Symbolism over substance

 EU IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA INCREASED IN 2022

WIDE RANGE OF IMPORTS, NOT JUST ENERGY

There are several reports now indicating that the sanctions against Russia are in fact having very little effect in damaging the economy of Russia. It seems that the reality is that sanctions are damaging the economies of those who have imposed sanctions more than the damage to Russia. Exports from the EU into Russia were down 37% while imports from Russia into the EU were up 69.9%. Below is graph of imports and exports between EU countries and Russia.

It was also reported this week by the U.S. treasury department that sanctions on oil will not apply to products from Russia that are refined by third party countries. So any crude oil that is piped or transferred to China, India or other countries and then refined into diesel, heating oil or gasoline are exempt from sanctions. It is clear that sanctions are not damaging Russia's ability to make money. It is also clear that many countries are in fact being damaged by their inability to sell products and services to Russia. It appears all the companies that have lost billions on their exit from Russia will never be able to recoup their losses and will not likely ever be going back to those markets. Those voids have been filled by other countries and companies and domestic business.

The point is that sanctions have mostly been ineffective in changing political outcomes. Dialogue and diplomacy has always been more effective in the long run. We have seen sanctions imposed on North Korea and Iran that have been in place for over 40 years with little effect. While sanctions have hurt many of the small countries with limited export capacity, it is very difficult for such measures to have lasting effects on large countries with resources on which that others are dependent.

While at this point it is unlikely that this scene will ever be reversed, it should be noted for future reference that sanctions can be damaging to all involved and should be calculated carefully. 

House members practicing their biggest power, saying NO

 NEW HOUSE HAS LITTLE LEGISLATIVE POWER

THEIR FUNCTION WILL BE OVERSIGHT AND RESTRAINING THE NEXT 2 YEARS OF BIDEN

The failure to elect Kevin McCarthy to House speaker is now looking like the first indication of what will be the function of this new House.  Many of the members, not only the 20 who have voting no, are disturbed by the leaders of the Republican Senate and House passing a continuing resolution on the budget. This action denied them the ability to use their positions to insure restraint on the spending until next fall. 

They now feel that the present leadership will cave in any negotiations in fashioning an actual budget resolution, a duty of the House, that has not been enacted since 2015. This and their concern for the raising of the annual debt limit as just another simple procedure, without any effort to control debt, is at the heart of much of this controversy. Without support of the Speaker there will be no restraint in fashioning an actual budget or raising the debt ceiling.

In actuality, this House will have no power in enacting any legislation, only in the ability to either deny or amend such legislation. Again, without a Speaker who is dedicated to these objectives it will just be more of the same. It seems many of the House members do not believe that McCarthy will be willing to use the power of the majority to attempt to change direction of the rubber stamp demanded by ever recurring threats of government shutdowns and a history of last minute voting or crisis. 

The other power of the Congress will be in oversight and investigation of the abuses and corruption in the Intelligence agencies of the government. The fascist cooperation of the media and the government to restrain free speech, the bedrock of a free country. The involvement of the intelligence agencies in actually pushing false and misleading information through all the major media outlets. This is the biggest threat to this country in its history. If not corrected and accountability defined it will be the end of this experiment in self government. Some believe that McCarthy will not be able to withstand the pressure from within the bureaucratic state to actually engage in meaningful action.

There is little risk to the country of the House being on hold for even months, if not days. The country will continue on and lives will go on without a working House of Representatives.

So, this is where we are. Those members who have now staked their political futures on the line have no choice but to hold fast or they will be destroyed by the leadership. It has already been made clear from the leadership that they will be put in the corner for the next two years. It is now one of those situations were they will either hang together and prevail or hang separately, one by one.

Democracy at work in House

 SOME MEMBERS WANT RULES THAT ALLOW FOR DEBATE AND GUARANTEES BEFORE VOTING FOR MCCARTHY

MAY HAVE DOOMED SPEAKERSHIP WITH THREATS

For the first time in 100 years the speaker of the House has failed to win the necessary votes on the first ballot. While many claim that this is a sign of dysfunction, it is actually just democracy at work. It also magnifies a lack of trust by some in the direction that the House will take in the next session.

So, today after some discussion they will try again. Maybe they will be reassured of their concerns, it seems they want these assurances in writing. While McCarthy has support of a broad range of members it is now possible that an alternative is going to prevail. It seems that some would prefer Jim Jordan as Speaker, he has proven his determination and also knows the issues that many members are concerned about. We will see later today.

Actually the House will survive even if there is no speaker for some time. It of course would stop all business in the House and we can surely survive that development. We can all survive without new spending and new legislation, something that is not in short supply.

Many members have complained for years that the House rules make the speaker the dictator of the House. Rather than the speaker doing the will of the representatives, who should in fact have the ability to represent their districts rather than be servants of the speaker who can be influenced by others. If you have influence over this one representative you indeed have eliminated the power of the other members. The speaker has enormous power to control the direction and also to pressure and intimidate other members with many sticks and carrots.

One such carrot is earmarks, which were banned for 10 years and are now back. It is in fact legalized bribery and opens the rules for extortion. Members can be promised money for projects in their districts and members can refuse to support some things unless they get such earmarks. It is a corrupt practice that many advocate because it gives the leadership much power to get members to vote for their favored legislation. It should be done away with permanently.

The other stick and carrot, one that McCarthy used yesterday was to threaten to withhold committee assignments to members who do not cooperate. These assignments can also be used as trading leverage to get cooperation. I think it would be better for the house member's to vote on committee leaders, rather than it being used again as a form of bribery or extortion. Some of these rules are the rules that some members want assurances about.

This is the House of Representatives, all members should have equal ability to represent their districts in a way that they feel is in the best interest of their voters. Such a system would surely be slower and more chaotic. There is very little that needs to be done in a hurry. We are constantly being subjected to the narrative that all these votes need to be made quickly, without debate and very likely without any scrutiny of what they are voting on. Most members never read or understand what is in much of this legislation, thousands of pages of legalese, all with the intended motive to make the consequences harder to foresee. Debate and scrutiny should be months not hours. That would be in the best interest of the nation, not just special interests.

2023, more of the same.

 EXPECT A CONTINUING OF THE TRENDS OF 2022

POLICY CHANGES UNLIKELY

While many hope that 2023 will bring about some solutions to the ongoing problems faced around the world, it is very unlikely that any changes in direction will come. In fact, we can expect a doubling down on many fronts. Without a free and objective press, we can expect more of the same.

Biden will most likely not be able to resist running for president, after all, he was elected from his basement in 2020 and John Fetterman is the poster child of the Democrat election machine. The media will continue to support Biden for President.

Trump will also continue his campaign and it is possible that he will be able to run unopposed. No one is willing to take on Trump, no republican can win the presidency without the die hard Trump voters. Only a Trump decision to support another candidate would create the climate for another to run.

The conflict in Ukraine will continue to grind up NATO equipment and money and Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. It appears neither side can compromise at this stage and only military victory will end this conflict.

Governments around the world will continue to move to more authoritarianism, censorship, using the legal system to punish dissidents and non conformists. We can expect an increase in social unrest across Europe. It is likely that there will be many government changes.

The media's credibility is at an all time low and it seems it is impossible for the major media to change direction. They are locked into their partisan narrative and only financial collapse and replacement will offer any relief. I find very few who believe anything they are pushing. 

Energy and food will continue to be a source of shortages and supply problems.

It is likely to see a further flight from paper assets as the world economy appears to be increasingly unstable.

The move to a bi-polar world economic system will spell long term financial hardship for the western world. A rejection of the dollar for a more sound and uninflated currency will cause a massive amount of inflation and possibly a bond market collapse. If this trend is not reversed it will require major changes in the social fabric of the western world with all the related chaos. It seems there is no indication again of any move to change the direction of world economic policy.

One positive indication is an increasing awareness of the corruption and dysfunction of this unholy alliance between the socialist's, war interventionists, business and the media. Whether this awareness can be directed into positive changes will be another story. Again, without an objective press and media it will be a difficult task to change direction by electoral means, it may only be possible after a collapse of the corrupt institutions by the natural laws of consequences.

While things may be dire for the coming year, we all have the ability by sound decisions to survive and possibly prosper both financially and spiritually by rejecting the false choices and choosing truth and sound virtues that are eternal.

Trump's personal tax returns meaningless

 WHILE PRESIDENT HE COULD HAVE CLAIMED NO TAXES DUE

JUST ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING

For years the media and the democrats have been fighting to get Donald Trump's tax returns, a meaningless political exercise. The Democrat house claimed it needed to see his returns to make policy decisions, because just wanting to go on a fishing expedition would not be legal. The court finally gave in to their demands and they promptly proved their insincerity by releasing his returns to the public. 

I assume the media will try to either indicate that he has avoided taxes or that he is really a failed business man. It is just so much political hysteria without any substance.

In reality, Trump could have very easily claimed no income for all the years he was in the White House. He could have abstained from taking any income from his business interests and  he took no pay while serving as president. 

A 1040 is a personal income tax return, it does not necessarily indicate any income for Trump Inc. While president and his family were provided with housing, transportation, healthcare, security, food and entertainment expenses. There is not one item other than gifts he may have purchased that were not paid for by the United States. His business's could have made money that he has not drawn from and would not be part of his 1040 form. 

The media and democrats have been claiming for years that his sole reason for wanting to president was to make money, something that is clearing not the case. I would expect Trump has lost more money for being president than any other president in history. It was the goal of the opposition politicians and the media from the beginning and has not stopped, I expect they will still be demonizing Trump after he has left this earth. Much of this is to not only to damage Trump, but to send a message to any others to not take on the corrupt entrenched bureaucracy that runs this country.

This whole exercise was just another pathetically obvious political strategy that actually demonstrates the hysterical and desperate attempts to trash Trump. It just shows who and what these people are.