THE DRUMBEAT GETS LOUDER:  We've noted the sense that Washington is holding information that this country is in imminent danger from events in the Mideast.  Now Congress is sounding the same alarm.  We aren't being given details, but I'd take this very seriously.  Our forces could be attacked in the Mideast, or something could happen right here on our own soil.  From Fox: 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Sunday deemed China, Russia and Iran the new "axis of evil" amid wars in Ukraine and Israel, while addressing U.S. funding of allies' responses to those duel conflicts.

In a new sit-down interview with "Fox News Sunday" host Shannon Bream, McConnell, the highest-ranking Senate Republican, agreed with fellow Republican Kentuckian Sen. Rand Paul that the $1.5 trillion deficit is "entirely too big." But while Paul remarked last month that the U.S. under the Biden administration was borrowing heavily from China just to send aid to Ukraine, McConnell instead emphasized Sunday that the deficit also expanded during the prior administration under former President Donald Trump. 

"You have to respond to conditions that actually exist that are a threat to the United States. The Iranians are a threat to us as well. And so, this is an emergency. It’s an emergency that we step up and deal with this axis of evil – China, Russia, Iran – because it’s an immediate threat to the United States," McConnell said. 

"In many ways the world is more endangered today than it has been in my lifetime," McConnell said, recalling that unlike when the Berlin Wall fell, the world faces a "big power competition" coinciding with the terrorism threats in the Middle East and culminating in Israel's war against Hamas terrorists.

"The question is, is American going to lead?" McConnell posed to Bream. "I think the Biden administration sent the wrong signal and they had the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. I think that was like giving a green light to Putin to go into Ukraine. And we see that Iran, principal sponsor of terrorism, sending drones to the Russians and attacking – Hezbollah and in this particular situation, Hamas – attacking the Israelis with drones. So it’s all connected. You can’t separate out one part of it and say we’re only gonna deal with this. It’s all connected." 

COMMENT:  I've heard that now many times, and it's becoming a common notion – that this is the most dangerous period we've seen in many years.  You can feel the tension.  Several news commentators have remarked that this, internationally, is the most crisis-ridden period of their careers.  I've even heard some informed people say that the United States is becoming unstable and weak, and that they're afraid.  And I think I've heard a few young people talk about something other than global warming.

The talk is healthy.  I wish we'd had more of it before World War II, so we were psychologically ready.  But the talk is also blunt.  Something has happened to our politics in the last month.  Foreign and defense policy are taking center stage, and there's a remarkable amount of bipartisan agreement on standing firm against our enemies.  I'm heartened to see some liberals express support for a strong and well-defended America.  Haven't seen that in a long time. 

All citizens should familiarize themselves with the crises we now face simultaneously.  And make sure your children learn the facts from you, and not the teachers unions.

October 23,  2023