AN EVENTFUL DAY IN WASHINGTON

Two events of this day in Washington will resonate for years to come. One was unexpectedly reassuring  for anyone concerned about the state of our political institutions. The other was, unfortunately, depressing and potentially disastrous.

Listening to the Supreme Court justices question the man trying to defend Colorado’s (and for that matter other states) arbitrary removal of a presidential candidate from the ballot was informative, even enlightening and inspiring. All of the justices asked cogent questions, and postulated “what-ifs” were this kind of action was to be allowed. Needless to say other states could then go their own way on balloting as well. 

They all were clearly being detached and objective in their statements, and devoid of any political or ideological blinders. I was pleasantly surprised to see both the liberal and conservative justices mostly consonant in their queries, and treating the subject at hand as a matter of law and justice without regard to the particular political context. It certainly reassuring to see this level of professionalism in our justice system, at least at the highest level. There is clearly a lot more to be done to restore confidence in lower levels where power has been abused, or inconsistently applied. 

Attempts to alter or restructure the court because some people are upset about a particular decision, is ill-advised. You don’t upend the overall constitutional design because a case didn’t go your way. Now, more than ever, we can see the value of the wisdom of our founders in making these lifetime appointments. That is the only way to assure that personal interests or beliefs are set aside when external pressure manifests itself, because the justices cannot be easily threatened with a ruined career. That is what enables them to step back and see things from a broader, long-term standpoint.

This is clear in the way the court deliberates. They necessarily must see things from the position of how it effects the overall process, rather than the particulars of a case. For the pendulum often swings from one side to another. Even though a particular case outcome may be perceived to be detrimental to a particular heated stance, the justices know that things can change over time, so that the roles of the disputants can be completely reversed over time. 

Consider where this particular case positions each side. There is a clear ideological anomaly. The Democrats are essentially arguing for state’s rights vis a vis the federal government, which they usually oppose,  while Republicans are arguing for federal primacy in this instance, which is inconsistent with their usual position. Only the Supreme Court can be detached enough to see this in a broader, constitutional context. The court took a major step today in demonstrating how the system should work, and though a decision is still pending, the overall sentiment of the justices is fairly clear.

The other item, the report of the Special Counsel on President Biden’s handling of classified documents, is far more disturbing. It is not the particulars of the documents that is troubling, but rather the devastating conclusions regarding his mental health and competency.  It was only further compounded by his blustering press conference this evening. My own sense is that his handlers couldn’t control him this time because of how angry he was, so he ignored their advice and decided to storm out to the podium. But rather than setting the record straight the way he thought he would, his dismal performance  only made things worse by confirming the efficacy of the observations made in the report. 

It isn’t necessary to deliberate how precarious he has made things, not just for the USA, but for the entire world. It is compounded by the fact that we really don’t know who is running the country now, or perhaps even for much of his term. What he did do was enable what effectively has been a radical coup over the Democratic Party, with disastrous policy consequences that have seriously alienated a solid majority of the country. This is all on the leadership of that party for failing to address this problem, and especially on his selfish handlers, for hiding the truth and propping him up in order to maintain their own grip on power. 

There were already ample conditions based on his action or inaction in maintaining the territorial integrity of the country, but the votes aren’t there for impeachment. However, they should at least see this crisis as an opportunity to now deal with a very serious problem. If they instead go about attacking the prosecutor, (who was appointed by his own justice department) in an effort to delegitimize his report, or attempt to ride it out, relying on a pliable media to make it disappear, it won’t work. They will not only seriously erode their own prospects, but also make them culpable in this disaster. 

Even if you loathe Donald Trump, who by no means is empowered by these conditions, that is not the real choice that has to be made. Indeed it is conceivable, if not likely, that neither man will be on the ballot by November. The problem is more fundamental, and apolitical. We have a President who clearly lacks the cognitive competence to remain in office. We see him further deteriorating before our eyes, as does the entire world, including a number of powerful bad actors. They would be foolish not to seize the opportunity afforded them by a dysfunctional government, and worse, if they do act, we are not in a position to do a damn thing about it. We may further stumble into a war that no one wants, and which we are simply not prepared for. If this situation is not ameliorated soon, there are surely darker days ahead. 

ADDENDUM:

 The likelihood of different presidential candidates in November is increasing. If Biden stetps down and the Supreme Court refuses to consider Trump's immunity claim it all may change.

AIR TRAVEL MISERY

 I’ve just gotten back from Aruba, after several days, for the seventh time, because the weather is always perfect there. But as with airline tripS these days, getting to and from any destination is consistently awful. What really infuriated me this time is that I am TSA pre-cleared, paid more for better seats, had lounge access and whatever other insulating perk there are, and still wound up basically enduring  the same lousy experience as everyone else anyway. 

Years ago it used to be pleasant and simple. For example one time I was late for a flight to Chicago on American Airlines, but was able to easily walk over to United Airlines and catch another flight with the same ticket and no fuss. You could go up to a counter anywhere and still get a ticket for an imminently departing flight. There was a lot more comfort and space without any extra charges. There was a time when you could even go to the top of the Pan Am building in New York City and take a New York Airways helicopter flight straight to the airport. Those days are long gone now,  compounded by the massive security apparatus now in place. 

 After countless billions poured into the ridiculously named “Homeland Security” department, It would be one thing if all of the convoluted processes involved actually improved anything, but they clearly don’t. I’m not talking about the non-existent border here, but  just basic safe and convenient travel. This really struck home when I opened my luggage at my hotel and found a box-cutter I’d forgotten about in my carry-on luggage. That should have been readily spotted with all the machinery and personnel deployed, but it wasn’t. Given that was the instrument of of choice for the 9/11 monsters and how much they were able to get away with, I am left wondering if anything works right anymore. What is the point of having to arrive hours before your flight, stand on line to pass through a series of security checkpoints, if in the end it  still can simply be  breached anyway? 

As with so many other aspects of our lives, we have surrendered a significant amount of our personal liberty over the years based upon false promises. Of course we need security, but how about some smart security, with better equipment, that doesn’t require an army of personnel controlling everyone? Security is important, but it is only one consideration among many that could so easily improve this process. Most other businesses strive to maintain good customer satisfaction. Not here. How little attempt has been made to increase comfort and convenience. 

It’s as though passengers are just an afterthought, a given, and without any other real options. Arranging seating to maximize the number of people that can be squeezed into uncomfortable seats shows no consideration for human beings at all. Of course, if you don’t like that you can shell out more money for basically the same seat with just a few more inches of legroom. Worse, how about significant differences in price for passengers purchasing the same seats? 

It’s past time to put together something that could evaluate the system from the standpoint of people first. I’m still astonished at what I thought the future of aviation was going to look like fifty years ago. It should have been indescribably better, but instead it is sadly far worse than we could possibly have imagined.  

CARS AND CLIMATE

After a couple of relatively mild winters, cold and snow have returned here to the mid-Atlantic USA. People in other places, particularly Europe, and for that matter California, simply don’t grasp how severe weather conditions are in much of this country, and hence how important SUV’s are to a good segment of the population. Or worse, how the present regime doesn’t care and wants to punish people for the rational choices they make thanks to their prevailing ideological lunacy. 

As a result we have been forced to provide billions of dollars in subsidies for wealthier people to purchase electric cars that are virtually useless in these kinds of weather conditions, and will be so for the foreseeable future. Our tax dollars have been further diverted to enrich their green, crony capitalist supporters and at the same time to attack and undermine the basic natural resource industries that created much of the wealth in this country.  Our greatest advantage is our abundance of these materials, which they have done everything possible to discourage and raise the cost of. They are happy with the increased cost of oil even though it permeates our economy and is the most important driver of inflation apart from out-of-control government deficit spending. 

How much more will it take before people fully realize how wrong these charlatans have been and the extent to which their claim to know far more than they actually do know has caused so much needless pain among ordinary people?

In a rational world if a climate problem were perceived and it was decided to “transition” away from fossil fuels that power everything, would it not make sense to do so only when the technology was easily and widely available at minimum additional cost? Would it not make sense to have instead focused on encouraging a truly transitional technology, like hybrids, that are far less disruptive, inconvenient, or costly for people who live in the present world? Would it not make sense to encourage, but not subsidize the development of electric vehicles that simply are not ready for the day to day reality people live with now, and before they are anywhere near as cost-efficient as gas powered vehicles? Is it not possible that in the not -too-distant future even better alternatives may be found, given constant technological change? 

The government has essentially taken control of the American auto industry for years now with disastrous results for those once great companies. Great change only makes sense, and only works if it is developed organically in response to an actual need of the user population. In other words, if something comes along that can run more efficiently, more economically, and less costly than the present mode of transportation it makes sense and is to be welcomed. But when it is something that costs more, not less, provides no real benefit to anyone other than those receiving government funds, and on top of that doesn’t even work as promised it is utter lunacy, and as wrong-headed as every other policy of the current regime. 

PANIC IN THE FLOUNDERING PRESS

 The other day I was reading The NY Times opinion and editorial pages. These have been the work of pretentious mediocrities for some time now, but it has gotten worse, It was mind-boggling to find virtually every opinion piece playing the same note- that Trump will be a dictator, destroy democracy, etc.  The issue here is not Trump and what we think about him, but rather the lockstep monotone groupthink that too many people are uncritically swallowing.

This is literally a party line that was also echoed in mainstream magazines, as though someone gave a signal and everyone followed. It is really rich to hear cries and “warnings” about the ominous return of Trump by supposed professionals who have lost any capacity to think independently or objectively. These are stupid people who fancy themselves accomplished seers that never get past their navel. 

What is clear is that there really are no mainstream publications left that are even nominally independent of any consequence., so it is hilarious to hear that Trump is a threat to the “free press” when it basically doesn’t exist anymore. In the past there was at least some diversity in publications, with alternatives to this cabal, mainly due to the presence of the founding owners. But once departed they all degenerated into the same corporate media structures that now dominate the “news” and there is little to distinguish one from another. As a result you have a bunch of well-versed ideologues who are otherwise abysmally ignorant of the real world, and having such people control the flow of information has lead to an  ever-increasingly dumbed down public. But that is how they want it; they want to control the agenda with skewed information, along with the direction of things. 

What is even worse is that there is no single sinister figure or group behind the scenes to expose. It is rather a shared mindset that is so governed by ideology and narrow-mindedness that it predetermines the same judgements and conclusions they all make. This is the sort of obtuseness they are constantly projecting on others, when they are the worst practitioners. These are people who should know better, but having been cranked out by radicalized “higher education” they have learned nothing, lacking even the critical thought capacity of ordinary people with simple common sense, which is why they have lost all credibility with the public. But it doesn’t matter to them because they are myopic enough to think that what is important is what is floating around in their bubble. In other words they are more concerned with validating and pleasing their peers than any sort of actual “journalism.”

Contrast this with other countries, including most of our allies. In the U.K. for example, there is a rich variety of publications that reflect the full political spectrum, along with special interest publications that exceed ours in quality beyond all measure. In the rest of Europe there are a variety of publications that are generally affiliated with, or sympathetic to various political parties. In truth that is the historical norm, and effete notions of journalism above it all has never existed here apart from the mid-twentieth century period. Our newspapers in particular were started by political partisans with opposing points of view, usually contemptuous of whatever other side there was. This goes all the way back to the founding of this country with figures like Jefferson and Hamilton, with even more vitriol than we see today. But here they have use of the phantom of “journalism” to cover their ideological monopoly. 

Everyone is for “democracy” based on their own interpretation of it, and while people may express devotion or concern about it, they for the most part have far more immediate concerns, like how they are going to get by, feed themselves and their families, have a home, basic transportation, all the necessities of life, as well as a little left over for discretionary spending. When inflation has driven prices and credit card debt up, it is the latter that gets cut off first, and they are not at all happy about it. People who are affluent enough accept higher taxes and prices because they have more than enough left over for their pleasurable pursuits, but most people today do not have that luxury. Still the media may be shocked at the extent to which the public could care less about their free press/free speech mantra (that they have themselves disregarded) when faced with basic standard of living questions: food, shelter, transportation, health care, spiritual matters and at least some recreation. If they are provided with that, if their living standard is uplifted at the cost of freedoms mostly exercised by the elite that they themselves have no real means of enjoying, they will opt for safety, security, a brighter future for themselves and their families over anything else. The resultant choices between an affluent life and vague principles should be clear.  

That is why totalitarian or even mildly authoritarian regimes have failed; not because of the repression, supposed lack of freedom, etc. which really only matters to those who have the luxury of meddling in politics. They collapsed because they failed miserably to deliver for the people. That is why communism failed, and why the Chinese regime’s grip on power is more tenuous than we realize because they can only maintain legitimacy as long as they can deliver. People easily forget that even Hitler was quite popular in the early years because his government did deliver for the people before stupidly going to war and degenerating into hideous mass murder. People making words just don’t seem to understand that actions speak louder than words, or that the every day reality people face is what determines their outlook and preferences. 

So those who are so fearful of Trump have thrown everything at the man and nothing sticks, and the more they rage this way the more they are tuned out. They still don’t get the big picture. They created the pathway for Trump in the first place, and it is the incompetent, self-serving rotten elite that have made his rise possible through their miserable failure to get virtually anything right. While I doubt that the doomsday retribution scenario they envision will ever be realized, and may in fact be more reflective of their own guilt in mismanaging all the privileged affairs they have had control of, they sure as hell deserve it. 

BLATANT, OPEN ANTI-SEMITISM EVEN IN NEW YORK

I am truly astonished at the spectacle of anti-Semitic demonstrations in the 21st century, in New York City of all places. These appalling activities are yet another indication of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of what passes for “higher education” in this ever more dumbed-down society, and that entire system needs a complete overhaul.

Having been born and spent much of my life here, including college and graduate school, at a time when there was a very substantial Jewish presence among both students and faculty, it never occurred to me that things could possibly change so much. It is just mind-boggling to see the extent to which these failing institutions have degenerated into wellsprings of anti-semitism. Anti-semitism New York!  That is absolutely is what we are seeing because there is no rational analysis going on here. For even if a normal person disapproved of some aspect of Israel’s strategy they would express it in a civilized fashion. This is something else, something very sinister and deep. 

On top of that they are already claiming that the atrocity photos, that Hamas themselves took are “fake.” Worse there are people dumb, blind, or hateful enough to give this nonsense possible credence. Given these tactics this is not ordinary people objecting to a policy, but dedicated, despicable, unapologetic campaigners for evil.

Whatever moral legitimacy of human concern might once have been there on the left, it is gone now. I have been struggling against them all my life, but in earlier times you could at least take them seriously and even have a civil discussion. That hasn’t been true for a long time now, and in graduate school I had my own problems with them, had to abandon an academic career, and saw all this emerging decades ago. What we have now is beyond even that; it is pure evil and the political will must rise to crush it once and for all.

If nothing else all of this certainly confirms the utter lunacy of believing in nefarious Jewish cabals, secretly all-powerful and controlling things behind the scenes, etc.  It isn’t there, never was, and the way these events have unfolded,  it is clear that “the Jews” are nowhere near as powerful as hateful psychopaths have imagined over the years. Not when anti-semitic demonstrations are blithely accepted in New York. Not when there is no retribution, no sanction, no cost, no strong pushback. 

But beyond that it isn’t just the Jews, it’s Christians as well. You can’t have a public event even as innocuous as lighting a Christmas tree without it being ruined, or attempted to be ruined by these devils. This is nothing less than a civilizational struggle directed against everything we have achieved and built over many centuries- our exceptional, and yes great, western civilization. This is not only an assault on religion of ages, but everything that came of Greek rationalism, considered critical thought, and reason itself. We’ve sat still for more than a generation of academic nonsense and relativism  disparaging the concepts of reason and truth which is the fundamental basis of anything being “academic” in the first place. Along with this fuzzy-headedness our standards not simply degenerated, they have collapsed. 

For too long we have allowed people who don’t represent anyone take the initiative and set the agenda. This has to end now, once and for all. What has been unmasked in all of this is the darkest impulses of human experience, always festering below the surface, now arisen nakedly in the open and spreading. The solution is not in passing more laws or resolutions on these things, which only address symptoms of a deeper malady rather than the disease itself. It is a cancer, and like a cancer it must be completely excised. That can only be done at this stage with the re-establishment of legitimate authority that people can again trust, with confidence to resolutely act strongly and decisively to root out this evil wherever and however it appears.  

UNIVERSITIES, ANTI-SEMITISM, AND OVERDUE REFORM

 WHO ARE THE ANTI-SEMITIC DEMONSTRATORS?

Demonstrations have broken out against Israel, Jews generally, and for Palestinians around the world and especially at universities in the U.S. These are often photographed with many hijab-wearing woman near the front, but there are simply nowhere near as many Palestinians in this country to assemble such crowds. 

So obviously there are others. Just who are they? First you have a coterie of old-school peace demonstrators who turn out for any war. But beyond that, and most significantly, these crowds are primarily composed of left-wing white radicals. These are the same sort of people we’ve seen at “anti-racist,” “anti-imperialist,” anti “fascist” BLM, anti-American, and anti-western demonstrations. They are the same ones that dominate American universities, even though they are far from a majority but possess a noise machine and “actions” that tend to intimidate even non-left liberal administrators, and who have managed to too often silence any opposition or other voices.

TIME FOR REFORM

I watched this university degradation accumulate over five decades, beginning with the 1960s generation who then became tenured radicals and undermined beyond repair the whole, supposedly open and rational undertaking. At this point things are so far gone that just having some newly and belatedly alarmed alumni withdraw support is simply not enough. A wholesale reconstruction and reform must take place, hopefully under the next administration. Thanks to the way the left has brought about government intrusion into more and more aspects of life, mostly via federal funding, followed by regulation on those funds, it will be possible to use these same tactics to undo all the damage they have done. 

Then there is the sheer hypocrisy of people oh-so-committed to “social justice” participating in the most unjust, exploitative, labor situation anywhere, with much of the actual work shouldered by underpaid graduate students and adjunct faculty rather than the privileged professoriate. 

American universities now enjoy a better reputation than they actually deserve, especially in supposedly “elite” quarters. Outside of science, engineering, music and art, “education” consists largely of basically bullshit courses and preposterous, laughable topics, reflecting narrow faculty interests, political brainwashing, intimidation, and far from vigorous standards. Tuition costs have skyrocketed far beyond the rate of inflation thanks largely to the massive infusion of federal funds and loans that have brought this all about.

Serious, challenging, traditional course requirements that were the basis of a solid education for centuries have been broadly abandoned, with few exceptions. They have been replaced by trivial, nonsensical, and otherwise useless courses resulting in a current college graduate population that is far less literate than a 19th century high school graduate. They have developed little in the way of critical faculties, and worse share alarming totalitarian sentiments. 

Universities, whether private or public, have gotten a free pass for far too long. Under the guise of  non-existent “academic freedom” they have claimed special rights that are unwarranted. They have been allowed to essentially regulate themselves via certifications, approvals, etc. We either have to disassemble the whole system and build it from scratch, or totally revamp what is funded and how. Why should those charged with one of the most important social functions have unaccountable, self-determined practices and standards, especially where taxpayer funds are involved. Therefore we can start with the following reforms:

1. There must be national minimum standards for colleges and universities established independent of the direct participants.




2. Federal funds will come with strings and new regulations just the same way the left filled them up with socially-conscious baloney, but now addressed  to how the funds can be applied, what actions and processes are legitimate, etc. in the form of more rigorous requirements and basic standards and competencies.  




3. With many degrees that are useless, with many working at something other than what they studied, the continued reverence for them is misplaced. In fact if it were not a barrier to a better job and income it is probable that the university population would seriously decline. Consequently employers should be discouraged from “educational discrimination,” requiring degrees for no rational reason or in any way related to a job opening. 




4. Degrees are a symptom of excess “credentialism” across the board that needs to be reduced. It makes sense for say, a surgeon who is going to operate on you, but for many, if not most other things they are ludicrous and primarily serve the purpose of protecting the interests of practitioner guilds.
5. With student loans, which should be less and less necessary, there should be greater accountability as to just what is being financed, at what cost, etc. within reasonable parameters. Banks don’t lend money without knowing what the actual use of it is going to be, and neither should the government. 

—end part one—-

WINDS OF WAR

Many, if not most people realize that we are now at war with Iran, except for Joe Biden, who instead thinks we are at war with Russia, even though no one declared it. Worse, this administration continues to believe that they can still deal with the mullah’s regime, after replenishing them with funds and getting nothing in return except contempt and even worse behavior. But the reality is while we may think otherwise, or don’t want to become involved in a wider war, Iran is already at war with us, whether we like it or not. They have been for some time, and already have the blood of hundreds if not thousands of Americans, Frenchmen, Arabs, and others going back to the Beirut bombing. There have already been numerous attacks on our troops by all of their proxies, who have clearly been organized by Tehran. Do they not understand that the mullahs actually mean what they say; to drive the “Great Satan” out of the region, and exterminate the Jews? What more will it take?

Retaliating on the proxies accomplishes little because they are simply puppets who would collapse without Iranian support. Our response now should instead be directed at the mullahs, with the targeted aim of taking them out, which would bring joy to a people living under repression over so many years. That is where “regime change” is truly needed, and where we have a case for it, not with the Russians. 

Unfortunately we could not possibly be in a worse position than we are now with this weak and bumbling administration, which itself has enabled all the problems we now face around the world. But as disastrous as these developments have been they have become a far worse harbingers of world spinning out of control and into a major war. 

Ominously, ill-conceived policies have brought us to a situation disturbingly similar to the outbreak of World War II. Germany and Japan had nothing in common apart from an appetite for expansion and a shared aversion to the one power standing in their path to world domination- the USA. Now we find the Russians, Chinese, and Iranians coalescing in an alliance of convenience. The easiest pillar to remove is Iran, thereby eliminating a menace without triggering the others. 

Our overall strategy should have been focused on containing the Iranians, and further undermining them, given their lack of legitimacy with their own people. Yet when the people rose up we provided no help or encouragement that might have dramatically altered the strategic situation in the region. Instead they pursued an idiotic, ill-conceived strategy of containing not Iran, but Russia. The wisest overall strategy for the US and its allies would have been to re-engage and bind Russia to the West, where it truly belongs. Instead they have been driven into the arms of China, which everyone agrees is now the major threat to this country. This is not to ignore what they have done in Ukraine, but who green-lighted that “minor incursion” in the first place? 

Our overall policy should have been, and now going forward must be, not just containing Iran, but undermining and overthrowing the regime, that will otherwise continue to pose a major danger to the world. They have not changed at all over several decades now. How much longer will it take to fully understand that when they say death to America, death to Israel they really mean it? There is still an opportunity to make this Iranian plot blow up in their faces and even face the ire of their own long-oppressed population. We must somehow develop the will and determination to win this war once and for all. If we fail to do so the prospects for world peace will be far worse than they are now.  

 

AN IRANIAN TRAP

I increasingly believe that Israel may be in danger of falling into a trap contrived by the Iranians. The mullahs have clearly shown their hand when every other proxy they have starts attacking Israel. It is quite likely that they planned and encouraged the hideous Hamas attack on Israel that was so over-the-top in its evil brutality that it would certainly force Israel to respond. In this case then Hamas are nothing more than disposable, albeit all-too-wiling puppets, of Iran, which clearly has no qualms in sacrificing Palestinians to advance their overall strategy. 

It is both proper and just that Israel has responded to this atrocity, but at the same time it is for the better that they have slowed a massive incursion into Gaza. It is not that punishment should be put off at all, and they should continue to destroy Hamas as a military force, but the far more dangerous, and far more direct Iranian threat is really via Hezbollah. If they can keep Hamas at bay with the current effort, I think it would be wiser to continue to fake preparation for a full invasion and instead prepare to use maximum force against Hezbollah. 

That is something the US can and should support directly. They have an overdue reckoning for the murder of so many Americans over the years that must be avenged. Furthermore they are a clear extension of the rotten Iranian regime, which almost certainly obtain a nuclear weapon if they are not prevented here and now, and furthermore they are the most likely entity to actually use the bomb were they to get it. 

We don’t know what the Iranian intentions were, but there is no question that they have orchestrated the present conflict, knowing there would be retaliation. So it would be wise to move more cautiously before a shoe drops from the other foot in order to get a better handle on what their true plot consists of. That there is one, carefully contrived, is beyond the shadow of a doubt. Once there is clarity it may be time to kill the snake at its head. 

WHEN THINGS AREN'T WHAT THEY SEEM TO BE

Yesterday I received an email news headline from The NY Times stating that Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza killing 500+ innocent people. Other rotten media outlets also ran with the story, which turned out to be patently false as Israel then produced clear evidence that the rocket came from Islamic Jihad in Gaza itself. 

 But by then the truth didn’t matter as Hamas seized upon the phony story in a propaganda push leading to hostile demonstrations around the world. Even though the truth is clear, there are many people who believe what they want to believe, oblivious to factual reality, as well a  more sinister parties who deliberately ignore the truth. 

 

The media again is clearly at fault for not bothering to fact check, accepting Hamas propaganda as truth. But far worse is the doubling down and prolongation of the lies. We see this over and over. The stories claiming Donald Trump was a Russian operative were patently false, but they were repeated over and over again as gospel truth because people who virulently oppose him want to believe it to be true, regardless of the facts. To this day, despite conclusive evidence, there are politicians and other people repeating this big lie. On the other side you also have people who continue to believe that the election was stolen without any clear evidence of anything that would have altered the election outcome. 

 

These kinds of things go on now constantly beyond mere credulity to beliefs that if it’s not true it ought to be, given that whomever or whatever is so bad. When stories circulated that people from Asia were being targeting and assaulted many liberals wanted to believe it was the work of white racists, becoming deeply disturbed or in denial when it became clear that most of these activities were propagated by black people. Unfortunately this mentality is more widespread than it has ever been despite supposedly higher education, which is now failing miserably in teaching basic deliberative thought processes, critical analysis, and virtually any rational process so that no one is made to feel “uncomfortable.” 

Ordinary people may respond to what they are fed, but what is unforgivable is the extent to which peopled who ought to know better, and who are in positions that enable them to find the actual truth if they bother to look for it, continue to uncritically or deliberately promote and reinforce lies. The extent to which ideological comfort or preferences trump factual reality in American media is appalling. Here we have the NY Times, presuming to be the gold standard of journalism, frequently and unashamedly promoting this kind of nonsense, and when the truth emerges beyond question the corrections or retractions are only to be found deep within paragraphs and pages of the paper. This is true of virtually all major news media; seldom if ever will they tell you that they were wrong or misrepresented the truth. It is clear that today “journalism” doesn’t exist. 

It is no wonder that the media is at an all-time low in public respect and approval, because even people who engage in wishful thinking know that there is constant distortion and fabrication. This is going to continue as long as no price is paid for lax standards, minimal effort, and flagrant transgressions. 

Under these conditions we can expect more and more stories casting Israel in the worst possible light as this conflict expands. The initial cause of it all will be forgotten and calls for cease-fire and "peace" will grow louder. Intelligent people will know enough to critically examine stories before jumping to conclusions, and discount the words of those who do. For it is just as likely for things not to be what they seem to be initially as they are to be true. 

 

 

 

 

DISASTERS ABROAD AND AT HOME - 2

 2. CLOSER TO HOME

Those who remain baffled as to how so many lower income people have gravitated towards Trump are simply oblivious to the facts on the ground. For them rising prices for basic necessities are not at all burdensome, and even welcome to the extent that it facilitates the realization of their loftier social goals. This really registered on me yesterday when I went to the supermarket with my wife, with the same sort of dread that undoubtedly is shared by these very same people. 

But it is impossible to ignore the higher prices of basic necessities that is so apparent to people who are now barely getting by paycheck to paycheck, and who must studiously consider every purchase and how it impacts their resources. They continue to work and pay taxes while an increasing share of the people in this country do neither. It is really rich to hear over the supermarket loudspeaker about how this or that product being promoted is “sustainable” in origin, as if that mattered at all to people who are concerned far more with how produce prices have doubled. Then “Hispanic Heritage” is duly noted in emphasizing products from Puerto Rico, which is about the only homeland of people appreciating this sort of patronizing nonsense, in a country where the preponderant population with Spanish surnames is Mexican in origin, as are the promoted products. 

That sort of detail is inconsequential for those who have the privilege of forming words that others must hear;  words that are even more inconsequential to the life they are living day to day. So of course these are people who, as Hillary Clinton stated outright, need to be “reprogrammed,” the sort of notion you increasingly hear in left-wing circles. They have already accomplished this to a disturbing extent with our young people. 

But what these enlightened idiots fail to realize is that dismissive contempt flows both ways, or that they have opened the door to being reprogrammed themselves, which they richly deserve. All of the institutions they have taken control of and perverted can now be purged by the rising tide of anger they have precipitated. Given how clear their intentions to control others has become, and how awful the consequences have been, their just rewards are overdue. 

The only saving grace for those at fault is the ineptitude of the Republicans in articulating what is a very clear case. Public disenchantment is palpable but they have thus far failed to explain the connection between Democrat policies and the consequences people are facing. Unless and until that responsibility is clearly established things will remain muddled and we will continue to flounder at a time when we can ill afford to. Things are still likely to get worse before they get better.