My friend and fellow memo reader recites how we are slowly losing our freedom of speech. (See 1 below.)
As I said in my previous memo, I thought the discussion between Levin and Hanson was seminal. I have re-read the article and would make these comments:
When I discuss differences with a friend, I am very careful not to accept their premise as the basis on which to proceed. To do so means arguing on and accepting their turf. Thus, I believe Hanson is correct in suggesting we are in a revolution and l reject Levin's view which argues conservatives should simply try to work within the progressive's administrative state structure while seeking to re- introducing aspects of Constitutional governance.
In essence, Levin appears to say Conservatives should add their seasoning to Liberal soup.
It is too late to seek modification of the liberal agenda's consequences. Obama stipulated he was out to transform our nation and he set about doing so in a variety of harmful and unconstitutional ways.
The time for passivity is long gone. McCain and Romney lost for many reasons but mainly, I believe, because they offered balm instead of a dose of strong medicine and refused to put on rhetorical gloves.
Today, Minority Leader Nancy Polsi said Trump's Tax Bill was the worst ever brought before Congress. She conveniently forgot about Obama Care and the need to pass it to find out what the hell was in it. Other Democrats characterize the Tax Bill as favoring the rich. Once again, conservatives need to forcefully remind the opposition the so-called 10% rich pay well over 70% of the taxes so any broad tax relief bill will certainly benefit them as well.
I submit, and have been for years, conservatives must accept the fact that we are in a revolution fight which involves the survival of our Republic and re-booting the meaning of the American character.
Proceeding as patsies, as conservatives have, will not carry the day. Put the gloves on damn it!
+++++++++++++++++++++++
More Ranting.
I find it interesting that Trump focused on economics, trade and our fiscal deficits as significant components of concern regarding his new security strategy/policy for our nation.
I previously mentioned that I had been reading that Trump might take measures to strengthen the dollar as a way of bolstering our response to currency pressures. (See 2 and 2a below.)
And
The "Y" Chromosome explained. (See 2b below.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dick
+++++++++++
1) Chipping Away at the Wall of Free Speech – One Brick at a Time
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Tyranny creeps up on us. History has shown that it is not as if we wake up one morning and a tyrant is in power and all democratic rights have disappeared. Not at all. What usually happens is that small moves are made by the potential tyrant which, either because they cause minor adjustments in life, or don’t affect us dramatically, or are not even known, become law. And the buildup of such actions over time erodes our democratic values until one day we wake up and we are living in a different and much less free world.
Two things happened last week in the U.S. which made me think of this. The first occurred at a meeting of senior agency officials of the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. A list of prohibited terms was distributed, terms which can no longer be used in “budget and supporting materials.” Those terms are: transgender, fetus, diversity, entitlement, vulnerable, evidence-based and science-based. It is not clear why such a directive was issued but one can assume that many of them are “safe space sensitive” in today’s jargon which means that for some people the use of those terms is a trigger for discomfort and a feeling of being “un-safe.” Can you believe?
In Washington last week at a meeting of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a 3-2 vote along party lines, reversed legislation passed during the Obama administration to keep the internet “neutral.” For those not aware of the implications of this action, net neutrality ensures that no big brother of the internet like Comcast, for example, can decide to favor the download speeds of one site over another. In a word, all internet traffic travels at the same rate. Without net neutrality we, the public, are at the mercy of the Comcasts of the world who can decide what we should see immediately and what it is ok for us to wait 10 minutes for a download. Net neutrality is a good thing for those of us who are consumers but, of course, not so good for the profit makers who would like to control the internet.
Of course, we here in Israel have plenty of similar examples. Today’s papers report that Ministry of Culture Miri Regev has urged the Mayor of Haifa not to allow a privately funded production entitled “Nakba and Return” which deals with how the Palestinians view the re-establishment of Israel in 1948 and its effect on them. In her words the production “undermines our sovereignty and the very existence of the state of Israel.”
But why should words such as fetus and vulnerable not be allowed to be included in a budget presentation of an agency charged with guarding the nation’s health? Why shouldn’t the government protect us from the predatory practices of internet providers whose only motivation is generating profits? Why shouldn’t private funders be allowed to stage a theatrical production that portrays a side of history that reflects what a large portion of the population believes is true?
But they are all such small points why let them bother us? The normal human condition is to accept reality and move on. But history, especially Jewish history, has shown that we do so at our own peril. The worst case in the last 100 years of the erosion of democratic rights that resulted in tyranny and later unprecedented genocide was, of course, the Holocaust. But it did not surface overnight. One by one laws were enacted that took away personal freedoms and people adjusted rather than object. Lack of vigilance in the face of threats to personal freedom was the framework that allowed tyranny to take over.
Haile Selassie, the former Emperor of Ethiopia once said: “The preservation of peace and the guaranteeing of man's basic freedoms and rights require courage and eternal vigilance: courage to speak and act - and if necessary, to suffer and die - for truth and justice; (we need) eternal vigilance, that the least transgression of international morality shall not go undetected and un-remedied. While he has been dead for over 40 years, his words ring as true today as ever and need to be heeded by all of us.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2) The tax bill will become law by the end of this week. The economy is now on a roll. All the uncertainty restraining companies and investors over the tax bill will go away, and GDP growth will improve even more. 4% growth by Q2 is not out of the question. Wage growth should start to show up by Q2 as well but it will be somewhat less than in past recoveries despite there being a shortage of people to hire in many areas. That is because now there will be an increase in technology solutions to labor shortages and that will accelerate, and because it is now easy to have all sorts of functions done in India or other places electronically. You would likely be surprised to know how much IT work, financial analysis and other jobs are being performed in India now. I do not have stats but I find it in various ventures I' m involved in.
The world is truly global now and there is nothing that can stop this trend. Basic employees now compete with tech solutions and offshore service providers, and as AI becomes more infused in our lives, tech will compete for more jobs. I do not believe AI will cause a major unemployment issue. It will instead help grow the economy in a more efficient way which means lower costs and lower inflation. That leads to a growing economy provided we do not elect a Dem majority in Congress who will ramp up entitlements spending and try to inflict more regulations and higher taxes. Already we hear Bernie and other Dems on TV this weekend saying if they take control they will try to roll back all of the corporate tax cuts and upper income tax cuts. That would be a certain recipe for a big recession. Companies would quickly pull back on investments and would again shift jobs offshore. This is not hard- why don’t liberals get it? It is basic economics.
The focus now has to be on deficit reduction and that means entitlement reform. If you think Obamacare and taxes were problematic just wait until entitlement reform. There are huge numbers of nonprofits, liberal activist groups, and Dems who live off these entitlement programs, and they will fight to the death because they lose their jobs if there is real reform. Pelosi will outdo her absurd rhetoric on taxes when entitlements come up. They will claim people will die and starve, and children will be left in poverty, etc etc.
Keep in mind there are many things AI cannot do. Humans will always be required to do many tasks and to think creatively. The more money people have to spend, the more they consume, the more things need to be produced and sold and serviced. The more things need to be delivered, designs created and buildings built. AI is not the end all and be all. It changes many things for the better, and makes many tasks more efficient. It searches out data and information and assesses it better than humans, but then that data in many cases needs to be processed by humans making decisions and implementing those decisions. We will have a tech revolution, and some people will again become redundant and out dated, but that has been the case through history and it is how the human race has moved ahead in living standards and ability to go to the moon. Change is a fact of life and always will be, and some people lose and some win.
There was a very good article in the WSJ this weekend about the life of a girl who grew up in rural America and got out and got herself educated and successful. She describes how here teachers discouraged her and how her parents did not let her change to a much better school. The teachers criticized her for being smart and wanting to get ahead. They called her miss fancy pants. She had the grit to beat all that and get a good education, and to succeed. She contrasts life in a tiny town, and that on the coastal cities. It emphasizes the vast gulf between the millennials in the big cities and with college educations and those left behind in the rust belt and farm belt. The live in two entirely different worlds and it is one of the reasons why there is such polarization. As I drove through North and South Carolina on my way to FL, it is evident even in these successful states.
As you come down I 95 you pass through towns where the average income is $28,000. Where there is not much hope for any improvement, and where opioids are now the escape. Farming for the small farmer is uneconomic, factories have closed, and there Is nothing coming to these small towns to grow their economies. They just stand still or decline. It is no different in China, or other places. The action is in the cities, whether it is in Raleigh, Austin, Denver or Pittsburgh, or one of the mega cities in China. I do not know the answer for any of this, but it is a huge problem across the world as the internet and tech change how we live, and where work opportunities are. Maybe with the internet, we can have more online courses for these kids and more opportunity to work form anywhere. If online work is being sent to India, maybe it can be sent to Kansas.
Today we learned that Obama stopped a major intelligence effort that was underway to stop Hezbollah so Obama could look like he was a friend of Iran, to encourage them to do the nuke deal. He sacrificed US and Israeli security and allowed terrorism by Iran, in the naive hope the Iranians would feel better about him. Talk about stupid and disgraceful. He did more damage with this than Trump could ever do. I am certain there is more we yet do not know that he did to curry favor with Iran that badly damaged US and Israeli interests. Look up Operation Cassandra. The leaders of the program testified to Congress in 2016 that they were stopped and interfered with just as they were about to achieve success. See Politico report -this is not a Republican claim-it comes from a left wing entity
It is end of the year, so let’s look at what Republicans Trump policies have accomplished. Remember I am not in favor of Trump the person, but I am in favor of the policies:
Massive tax reform which will grow the economy and bring jobs back due to lower taxes and much less regulation.
Massive deregulation which has spurred substantial economic growth well above 3% since Q2
Restored respect for cops which will make us all safer
Reset foreign policy, and by all accounts from overseas leaders in Israel, the Arab world, China and Putin, he has once again put America in the lead.
Changed the rules of engagement for US troops and brought about the end of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. This has resulted in US troops staying in both countries to give us a base of operations and influence.
Rebuilding has begun for the terribly diminished military giving the US the ability to project strength and in fact to carry out missions across the world. He attacked Syria over chemical weapons to show how very different things are from Obama, who chickened out on the red line leading to terrible foreign policy outcomes for the next 7 years. It is a total reversal of the weak, pro Iran and anti Israel policies of Obama.
Caused a decline of 70% in illegal entries into the southern border.
Established a real vetting procedure to far better keep out terrorists
Projecting a pro-business attitude and approach which has encouraged companies to hire and invest
Dropped out of the Paris accord saving the US $100 billion or more that would have gone to other countries instead of for US use while China had no requirements until 2030
Made trade a key issue to try to reset what has been unbalanced trade with China, Japan and Mexico.
Stopped the encouragement of racial divide identity politics which was pushed by Obama and Holder and led to a material rise in violent crime in many Democratic controlled cities
Returned to providing used military equipment to police to deal with major crime and terrorism
Began reducing the size of the bureaucracy by sizable reductions in head count
Reversing net neutrality
Reversing to unfair way boys have been dealt with on campuses over claims of sexual harassment. They now get due process as required under the constitution
Driving historic gains in the stock market by implementing the new policies.
Appointing people to the cabinet based on merit and qualifications and not on skin color and sexual orientation
End of Obamacare mandate
Acted decisively against N Korea to deal with a major threat that Obama ignored
Got NATO to step up defense spending and to establish an anti-terror center
Stopped the Consumer Bureau from issuing more terrible rules and lawsuits based on false assumptions
Most important, there is a restoration of American leadership in the world
I am sure many of my liberal friends will claim Trump has bred division and he is anti-Muslim, racist and anti whatever liberals believe. We will see what November 2018 brings
Joel Ross
2a)
This is hardly foreordained, especially if the U.S. reasserts itself on the global stage and rallies like-minded nations against the revisionists. Toward that end, the strategy is forceful in describing the necessity of reviving U.S. economic and military strength. The Trump Administration is pursuing both with its tax and regulatory reform and a (so far modest) defense buildup.
2a)
The Trump Doctrine, in Theory
Realism about rising threats but some policy disconnects.
By The Editorial Board
Donald Trump campaigned on an often radical revision of U.S. foreign policy, but his first year as President has been marked by more conventional policies than his opponents feared or his rhetoric advertised. On Monday the White House released a national security strategy with a similarly reassuring message—if it can follow through and implement it.
The most notable theme in the 68-page document is a welcome realism that the world is becoming more dangerous—and quickly.
The strategy identifies China and Russia by name as “revisionist powers” that seek to dominate their regions and “challenge American power, influence, and interests.” It identifies Iran and North Korea as rogue states that “are determined to destabilize regions.” And it cites “transnational” threats like jihadists and criminal syndicates that pose cyber and terror risks. New technology “empowers and emboldens otherwise weak states” and poses new threats to the homeland and U.S. interests.
This may seem obvious as 2018 nears, but it’s an important corrective from the sunny assurances of the Obama years. Remember “the tide of war is receding”?
President Obama was so committed to his view that George W. Bush was the main source of world ills that he couldn’t admit that revanchist leaders filled the vacuum left by U.S. retreat. Mr. Obama left the White House doing little to stop China, Russia and Iran on the march.
The document puts these threats in their regional contexts and rightly notes that “regional balances that shift against the United States could combine to threaten our security.” Consider how Russia and Iran have teamed up in Syria, or how Russia and China have opposed more vigorous United Nations action against North Korea.
“The United States must marshal the will and capabilities to compete and prevent unfavorable shifts in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East,” the strategy says. “Sustaining favorable balances of power will require a strong commitment and close cooperation with allies and partners” that “magnify U.S. power and extend U.S. influence.” Folks at the Council on Foreign Relations might even applaud that embrace of alliances.
More controversial is the strategy’s focus on international “competitions,” especially with the revisionist states. The strategy rejects what it calls the failed hope that inviting China and Russia into global forums would tie them to a rules-based Western order. Instead it sees a return of the “great power competition” that predates the ideological competition of the 20th century.
This is hardly foreordained, especially if the U.S. reasserts itself on the global stage and rallies like-minded nations against the revisionists. Toward that end, the strategy is forceful in describing the necessity of reviving U.S. economic and military strength. The Trump Administration is pursuing both with its tax and regulatory reform and a (so far modest) defense buildup.
The Trump strategy is especially notable for its candid assessment of Russia given Mr. Trump’s often friendly rhetoric about Vladimir Putin. “Russia aims to weaken U.S. influence in the world and divide us from our allies and partners,” the paper says. “Through modernized forms of subversive tactics, Russia interferes in the domestic political affairs of countries around the world.”
This is true, notably in the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. But this honest threat assessment also raises the question of whether Mr. Trump shares this view and what he is willing to do to counter the Kremlin. This gets to the contradiction between the strategy’s principles and the Administration’s practice during its first year.
The strategy cites Russia’s attempt to destabilize Ukraine, but Mr. Trump has declined Ukraine's repeated requests for lethal military aid to raise the cost of Russian intervention. This is no different from Mr. Obama. Mr. Trump is also letting Russia and Iran dominate on the ground in post-Islamic State Syria. Mr. Trump’s anti-Iran rhetoric is more muscular than Mr. Obama’s, but his policy isn’t.
The document also says the Administration will “champion American values” around the world, including fair treatment for religious minorities and “the dignity of individuals.” Yet Trump officials have been reluctant for the most part to speak about these values in global forums. The President sends a conflicting message of his own when he lathers on the praise for dictators like Mr. Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.
Mr. Trump took the unusual step Monday of unveiling his strategy with a speech, but by now we know his foreign-policy instincts are personal and transactional. He wants to do deals and charm his adversaries. But the irony is that if he reads his own strategy document, he’ll learn why those adversaries can’t be charmed. A strategy of “principled realism” requires a realist with firm principles in the Oval Office.
2b)
People born before 1946 are called -
People born between 1946 and 1964
People born between 1965 and 1979
And people born between 1980 and
Why do we call the last group -Generation
Y should I get a job?
Y should I leave home and find my
Y should I get a car when I can
Y should I clean my room?
Y should I wash and iron my own
Y should I buy any food?
But perhaps a cartoonist explained it
Just thought you might want to know
No comments:
Post a Comment