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MARCH 30-31,  2023

WHAT DO YOU SAY?  What do you say about the indictment of Donald Trump?  We know that no former president has ever been indicted.  We know that the Manhattan district attorney who indicted Trump is a card-carrying woke Democrat partially financed by George Soros.  We know that George Soros is a billionaire leftist who has spent a fortune putting "progressive" district attorneys in office, the kind who seem to care more about the criminals than the victims.

We know that millions of Americans love Donald Trump, and that millions hate him. 

The great founders of this country provided a mechanism to remove a president from office.  It is a difficult road, impeachment in the House, trial in the Senate.  No president has ever been removed, although several have been impeached.  The process was made difficult to protect a president from the endless harassment of small timers trying to destroy the highest figure in the land.

There is no process in the Constitution covering protections for a former president.  But, over time, an informal understanding has developed.  Former presidents are left alone, with the unstated proviso that they could be pursued legally if they'd committed a major crime or betrayal of the country.  By major I mean treason or selling secrets to a foreign enemy.  Truly major.

We've had presidents and former presidents who were the subjects of dark curiosity.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt's money came from the Delanos, who trafficked in opium.  Roosevelt also had a mistress, Lucy Mercer, during his entire time in the White House.  Lyndon Johnson wound up as a multi-millionaire, on a senator's salary.  So did Joe Biden.  Jack Kennedy, of the infamous Kennedys, was intimate with a mobster's girlfriend, and there have been charges, outside the legal system, that his father paid the Chicago mob for presidential votes in 1960.  And Bill Clinton...well, you know the story. 

And yet, no president who survived his term has been actively pursued by prosecutors after leaving office, although some have been the subject of probing books.  No major crime could be proved.

There is wisdom in that approach.  We want capable, creative people to enter politics, and especially to run for president.  But talented people may well have things in their background they'd rather not talk about.  The operative saying is, "Great men have great flaws."  If you want the good, and the great, you sometimes have to take the flaws as well.  But you don't want a situation where someone is afraid to run because he fears he'll be hounded and torn apart after leaving office.

Where does the Donald Trump indictment stand in all this?  Trump is presumably charged with paying a woman, possibly two, to remain silent about some brief affairs.  The indictment has not been made public, but the source of the hush money may be a factor.

That is a farce.  It does not begin to come close to the traditional, if informal, standard involving legal pursuit of a former president.   Many lawyers are arguing that it isn't even a crime, but a personal matter.  The nation was not hurt, nor any major law broken.  This is the kind of petty harassment the presidential system has always rejected.

It is political.  It is embarrassing to the legal system.  Judge Donald Trump any way you wish, but do it in the voting booth, not the courtroom. 

March 31, 2023       Permalink 

BULLETIN:  Former President Trump has just been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury.  We will follow the story closely, but will not comment until we actually know something.

HOW MANY TIMES?  How many times do we have to be warned that our national defense is inadequate, or worse?  We are reminded of our lack of preparation in the late 1930s.  In a way, this is worse.  We've had so much experience since the World War II era.  There are no good excuses left.  From Daily Mail: 

The Marines' highest-ranking general warned that US forces are at their lowest levels of preparedness in recent history, and are critically lacking the number of amphibious troop ships and landing craft needed to defend against Chinese aggression.

Marine Corps Commandant General David Berger testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that his military branch had only 35 percent of the amphibious ships required to maintain a secure position in the Pacific region.

He explained that the Marines' plan is to always have three groups of fighting forces known as Amphibious Readiness Groups ready for action in the Pacific, but that the Marines' current fleet of amphibious ships was not large enough to support such a presence.

Berger told Newsweek that such Marine units were not only used for combat readiness, but were intended to provide assistance to allies in the region dealing with humanitarian crises or natural disasters. He cautioned that if US forces are not capable of assisting allies in need, 'competitors' like China 'will fill that gap.'

Though he expressed confidence that the Marines were still capable of beating Chinese forces in a fight, he warned that, unless the US ramps up its efforts, the massive economic and manufacturing China possesses could become overwhelming.

Berger told Newsweek that China had the capability to use its resources to disrupt the current world order.   

'The People's Republic of China is the only competitor capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, and technological power to challenge the stable and open international system that we enjoy,' Berger said.

'The ultimate goal is to prevent conflict and manage crisis in the region, and amphibious capability is critical to that goal.'

He said in addition to there being a shortcoming in the number of craft required to maintain a prevailing humanitarian presence, the reduced fleet would hinder the Marines' abilities to muster its fighting forces.

'In the case of conflict, amphibious ships enable Marines to operate as part of a wider naval campaign,' he explained, adding that shortcomings from the Marines would also hinder other military branches in the event of conflict.

The Marines' fleet of amphibious craft has been depleted for several years now, operating at only average of 46 percent preparedness over the last ten years, according to another senior Marines official.

They told Newsweek the fleet was at 39 percent readiness in 2015, and had a high of 55 percent in 2012.

COMMENT:   I think the chances of the current administration taking this seriously are almost zero.  The ruling wing of the Democratic Party, which was once, ironically, the national defense party, today sees the military as a burden, a threat, or an institution ripe for woke indoctrination.  To this crowd, the term "the threat of China" is simply a form of racism.

I fear it will take a tragedy to bring us back to reality.

March 30, 2023       Permalink

MARCH 28-29,  2023

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

THE FIGHTING DONALD:  Whether you like him or not, it is impossible to deny the fight in Donald Trump.  The man does not give up, or give an inch.  Attitudes like that can have positive uses.  From Fox:  Former President Donald Trump has expanded his lead in the Republican primary race, while President Joe Biden continues to face uncertainty among Democratic primary voters, according to the latest Fox News national survey. 
Republican primary voters were read a list of 15 announced and potential candidates for the 2024 nomination. The survey, released Wednesday, finds Trump has doubled his lead since February and is up by 30 points over Ron DeSantis (54%-24%). Last month, he was up by 15 (43%-28%).
No one else hits double digits. Mike Pence comes in third with 6%, Liz Cheney and Nikki Haley receive 3% each, and Greg Abbott comes in at 2%. All others receive 1% support or less, and just 3% are unsure.   Trump made gains among almost every key demographic except for White men with a college degree, where DeSantis is up by 12 points.  Among the subgroup of voters who backed Trump in the 2020 general election, 60% support him in the GOP primary, while 25% go for DeSantis and 5% for Pence.  When asked who their second choice would be, Trump primary voters would back DeSantis, and the Florida governor’s primary voters would return the favor and go for Trump.  Look, it's early, and I always warn about taking early polls seriously.  But remember that Trump is a former president, thoroughly known by voters.  They can make a knowledgeable judgment about him.  Unless he's brought low by a legal proceeding, he will be hard to beat.

March 29, 2023       Permalink

ARE YOU BELIEVING THIS NONSENSE?  The imagination of our universities just gets more and more impressive.  From Fox: 

A public university in Indiana’s new guidelines for inclusive hiring emphasizes equity credentials over traditional merit -- and even suggests new professors should talk, dress and act "in ways that authentically resonate" with racial minorities.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis's Office of Academic Affairs issued a document obtained by Fox News Digital that outlines "Inclusive Faculty Search Practices" to improve hiring, advising committees should "move away from abstract conceptions of ‘merit’ and 'fit."

"Merit and fit are social constructions grounded in dominant understandings of ‘which professional qualifications are deemed worthy, and which personal attributes and styles are deemed suitable for a position,’" the guidance states. 

In one section, the guidance contrasts "traditional fit" values and "equity-minded fit" values, saying traditional prospective worker would approach learning "as an individual enterprise in which students are responsible for their success or failure" while an "equity-minded" fit would include prioritizing the "knowledge and needs of racially minoritized students" while viewing learning as "a collaborative enterprise."

The document urges "hiring attention to equity and inclusion" and closing "equity gaps."
The document goes on to detail "traditional merit" vs. "equity-minded merit," and defined "training," "experience," "research" and "teaching" with different meanings when examined through the lens of "traditional merit" and "equity-minded merit."

COMMENT:  Please read the rest.  I know you'll want to, just to be aware of the latest brilliance coming from our houses of learning.  All this stuff is very important in our race with China.  I think we'll win.  They'll have advanced weapons and economic dominance, but we, the winner, will have equity-minded merit.  American know-how, that's what this is.

I mean, it is, isn't it?

March 29, 2023       Permalink 

CHINA KEEPS APPLYING THE HEAT:  They are relentless, and it is folly to think they're going to back down from the brink just because we ask them to.  From Fox: 

China has threatened to retaliate against the United States and Taiwan over a planned meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Beijing has repeatedly alleged the U.S. and Taiwan are acting in secret to push for Taiwan’s independence and threatened "resolute countermeasures" should the two leaders meet.
Tsai is scheduled to meet McCarthy on Wednesday, April 5, when the head of the self-governing island democracy visits Los Angeles, California.

"We firmly oppose this and will take resolute countermeasures," Zhu Fenglian, the spokesperson for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said during a press conference on Wednesday.

The official cautioned the U.S. to "refrain from arranging Tsai Ing-wen’s transit visits and even contact with American officials." It also urged Washington to "take concrete actions to fulfill its solemn commitment not to support Taiwan independence."

Tsai’s itinerary includes a brief stop in New York on Thursday, March 30, before she heads to Guatemala and Belize for several days. She will return to the U.S. in the middle of the week to stay in Los Angeles, where the meeting with McCarthy is scheduled to take place.
She will then head back to Taiwan.

In recent weeks, China has ramped up diplomatic pressure on Taiwan, which governs independently as a democracy, and has mobilized its military forces over the island. The Communist-ruled Chinese mainland has also cautioned regional countries and the West, including the U.S., not to interfere in how it decides to rule over Taiwan.

COMMENT:  What nerve!    A hostile foreign country is telling our speaker of the House who he may meet with.  Once again, we see the cost of weakness.  The Chinese give their bully orders because they know there'll be no cost. From what I read, I get the feeling that most foreign-policy types believe that Taiwan is the hottest flash point in the world right now.  And there can't be a new president elected until November of next year.

March 28,  2023     Permalink