Displaying posts published in

September 2023

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Drone Swarms to the Rescue The Pentagon’s latest idea is no substitute for a bigger Navy.

By on September 14th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/replicator-drones-pentagon-u-s-military-china-kathleen-hicks-9f585dce?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

The Pentagon said last week that the U.S. will build thousands of drones to counter China, and a 24-month timeline fits the urgency of the Pacific military threat. But beware the idea that nascent technology can patch growing U.S. vulnerabilities on the cheap.

The Pentagon is rolling out an initiative called Replicator that aims to speed up the “shift of U.S. military innovation to leverage platforms that are small, smart, cheap and many,” said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks in a recent speech. The Chinese Communist Party “has spent the last 20 years building a modern military carefully crafted to blunt the operational advantages we’ve enjoyed for decades.”

Ukraine has deployed cheap drones to great effect, from reconnaissance to apparent sea explosives cobbled together with jet-ski parts. Drone swarms could help the U.S. jam or distract enemy radars and surface-to-air missiles. Armed seacraft could offer more offensive missile power at lower risk to U.S. troops.

Ms. Hicks says new systems will “help us overcome the PRC’s advantage in mass: More ships, more missiles, more forces.” The new drones, styled as “all-domain, attritable autonomous systems,” will help defeat the Chinese plan to push U.S. forces out of the Pacific.

Innovation is welcome, but so is caution about thinking that the U.S. can use better technology to make up for a smaller military, as the U.S. Navy looks set to shrink to 285 ships in the coming years. Ms. Hicks invoked the Cold War example of offsetting Soviet advantage in forces with precision weapons. But Ronald Reagan also built a 600-ship Navy and rejected a false choice between better tech and more ships and ammo. The U.S. won the Cold War with both.

Continue reading →
NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Census Exposes Bidenomics Its annual report shows how inflation has gutted real household incomes.

By on September 14th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/census-data-income-inflation-joe-biden-economy-social-welfare-spending-3897dbed?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

You almost have to admire the brass of the Biden White House. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that Americans are poorer under Bidenomics, and the President quickly changed the subject to blame Republicans for rising child poverty on his watch. As usual, too many in the press corps bought the spin.

Mr. Biden is trying to avoid the real story, which is that the Census Bureau says median household income adjusted for inflation fell last year by $1,750 to $74,580. It is down $3,670 from 2019. Households in the fourth income quintile—those making $94,000 to $153,000—lost $4,600 in 2022 and $6,700 since 2019. Middle-class Americans who think they’re losing ground are right.***

The reason is that inflation has outpaced the earnings growth from work. Real median earnings for full-time workers last year fell $3,620 for men and $2,880 for women despite a tight labor market that had companies paying more to attract and keep workers. The female-to-male earnings gap declined to 16% from 18% in 2019, but mainly because inflation has eroded men’s wages more than women’s. Wages in industries with more female workers such as healthcare and hospitality rose faster than those with more male workers such as manufacturing. But neither men nor women kept pace with the cost of living.

By most statistical measures, income inequality also declined last year. Even when excluding capital gains, higher earners saw a bigger drop in real incomes than Americans at the lower end. One reason is the latter group includes many seniors whose Social Security checks are adjusted for inflation.

Continue reading →
BOOKS, HISTORY, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

He Became the Nation’s Ninth Vice President. She Was His Enslaved Wife.Ronald G. Shafer

By on September 13th, 2023

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/he-became-the-nation-s-ninth-vice-president-she-was-his-enslaved-wife?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

Her name was Julia Chinn, and her role in Richard Mentor Johnson’s life caused a furor when the Kentucky Democrat was chosen as Martin Van Buren’s running mate in 1836.

She was born enslaved and remained that way her entire life, even after she became Richard Mentor Johnson’s “bride.”

Johnson, a Kentucky congressman who eventually became the nation’s ninth vice president in 1837, couldn’t legally marry Julia Chinn. Instead the couple exchanged vows at a local church with a wedding celebration organized by the enslaved people at his family’s plantation in Great Crossing, according to Miriam Biskin, who wrote about Chinn decades ago.

Chinn died nearly four years before Johnson took office. But because of controversy over her, Johnson is the only vice president in American history who failed to receive enough electoral votes to be elected. The Senate voted him into office.

The couple’s story is complicated and fraught, historians say. As an enslaved woman, Chinn could not consent to a relationship, and there’s no record of how she regarded him. Though she wrote to Johnson during his lengthy absences from Kentucky, the letters didn’t survive.

Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, who is working on a book about Chinn, wrote about the hurdles in a blog post for the Association of Black Women Historians.

“While doing my research, I was struck by how Julia had been erased from the history books,” wrote Myers, a history professor at Indiana University. “Nobody knew who she was. The truth is that Julia (and Richard) are both victims of legacies of enslavement, interracial sex, and silence around black women’s histories.”

Johnson’s life is far better documented.

He was elected as a Democrat to the state legislature in 1802 and to Congress in 1806. The folksy, handsome Kentuckian gained a reputation as a champion of the common man.

Continue reading →
EDUCATION Comments turned off

Senator Kennedy Reads From ‘Gender Queer’ During Judiciary Committee Hearing By Debra Heine

By on September 13th, 2023

https://amgreatness.com/2023/09/12/senator-kennedy-reads-from-gender-queer-during-judiciary-committee-hearing/

Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) read excerpts from the pornographic children’s books “Genderqueer” and “All Boys aren’t Blue” during a Senate Judiciary hearing Tuesday, prompting a Democrat witness who opposes “book bans” to admit that the words were “disturbing.”

Democrats decried the banning of such books during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine “How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature.” The Democrats’ three witnesses included Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who crafted legislation in his state to outlaw book bans on pornographic books for children, and Cameron Samuels, a 17-year-old student activist who uses “gender neutral pronouns they/them” and compared those who oppose pornographic books in schools to “the secret police in Germany.”

In his opening statement, Giannoulias declared that “libraries have become targets by a movement that disingenuously claims to pursue freedom, but is instead promoting authoritarianism.” Characterizing  objections to the contested LGBTQ children’s books “these radical attacks on our libraries,” the Illinois Sec. of State claimed that the nation’s librarians have been “harassed, threatened and intimidated simply for doing their jobs.”

Republican witness Max Eden Research, a Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argued that the books in question haven’t actually been “banned,” despite their inappropriate content. “We are talking about books with passages about fisting, butt plugs and rape,” he pointed out.

“Take the previously mentioned Gender Queer,” Eden continued.

That graphic novel famously includes a picture of a strap on dildo blowjob. Is this okay for kids? Some think it is. Some think it isn’t. You know something weird is going on, though, when parents try to read passages of these books at school board meetings, and the school board cuts them off because they insist that the material is too obscene to be read out loud. I guess kids could be listening? Great for them to read, but unacceptable to for them to hear? That’s the principle?

“Genderqueer” and “All Boys aren’t Blue” are consistently two of the most challenged books in school libraries across America—and for good reason.

Quoting from “All Boys are Blue,” Kennedy read:  “I put some lube on and got him on his knees and I began to slide into him from behind. I pulled out of him and kissed him while he masturbated. He asked me to turn over while he slipped a condom on himself. This was my ass! And I was struggling to imagine someone inside of me. he got on top and slowly inserted himself into me. It was the worst pain I think I ever felt in my life. Eventually, I felt a mix of pleasure with the pain.”

Continue reading →
EDUCATION Comments turned off

Colleges Flunk Out A college education these days is often meaningless and, at the same time, very costly. By Larry Sand

By on September 13th, 2023

https://amgreatness.com/2023/09/13/colleges-flunk-out/

The woes plaguing our government-run K-12 schools now show themselves on the college level. Classes, many of which are useless and often come with a far-left slant, have led to sinking confidence in our formerly esteemed universities.

A recent Wall Street Journal-NORC poll reveals that most Americans don’t feel a college degree is worth the cost. The survey finds that 56% of Americans think earning a four-year degree is not worth the time and money involved, compared with just 42% who retain faith in the institution.

Most importantly, the strongest skepticism is found in men and women between ages 18 and 34 and people with college degrees. Their opinions have soured the most, which portends a major shift for higher education in the coming years.

College enrollment had risen for decades, peaking at 70.1% in 2009, but then it began to ebb. Between 2019 and 2022, there was an 8% decline, according to the Associated Press. “The slide in the college-going rate since 2018 is the steepest on record, especially for men.”

Also, a YPulse survey asserts that 55% of current Gen Z undergraduate students and 38% of Gen Z graduate students found their classes not relevant to their lives — in part “because college doesn’t teach practical skills…” 

Similarly, a Gallup poll released in July finds that “Americans’ confidence in higher education has fallen to 36%, sharply lower than in two prior surveys in 2015 (57%) and 2018 (48%).

In addition to their classes not being relevant to their lives, colleges are failing because of their blatant political bias. If you are right of center or apolitical, going to college can be a very disturbing experience. The Foundation of Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) reports that more than half of students (56%) “expressed worry about damaging their reputation because of someone misunderstanding what they have said or done, and just over a quarter of students (26%) reported that they feel pressure to avoid discussing controversial topics in their classes. Twenty percent reported that they often self-censor.”

Continue reading →
MEDICINE AND HEALTH Comments turned off

Dr. Doom Doubles Down on Face Mask Double Speak Will Americans see through the charade?

By on September 13th, 2023

https://www.frontpagemag.com/dr-doom-doubles-down-on-face-mask-double-speak/

Throughout his tenure as the leading “expert” on the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci had a bad tendency to engage in double speak when the topic of wearing face masks was thrust into the public spotlight.

For example, in the early days of the pandemic, Fauci appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes, in which he said, “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”

“While masks may block some droplets, they do not provide the level of protection people think they do,” he continued. “Wearing a mask may also have unintended consequences: People who wear masks tend to touch their face more often to adjust them, which can spread germs from their hands.”

A few days later, Fauci changed his tune, imploring Americans to wear face masks at all times, in all situations, including when they went outside. Later, he went even further, recommending that Americans wear multiple masks, calling it “commonsense” to do so.

However, we also know, thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, that Fauci sent an email on February 5, 2020 to a colleague stating, “Masks are really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection to people who are not infected rather than protecting uninfected people from acquiring infection. The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you. I do not recommend that you wear a mask, particularly since you are going to a very low risk location.”

Continue reading →
HOMELAND SECURITY, IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

NYC Pays Al Qaeda Terror State $200M to Rent Hotel Rooms to Illegal Aliens Paying for your own destruction.Daniel Greenfield

By on September 13th, 2023

https://www.frontpagemag.com/nyc-pays-al-qaeda-terror-state-200m-to-rent-hotel-rooms-to-illegal-aliens/

The Roosevelt Hotel claims that it’s the place “where classic elegance meets contemporary luxury”. Classic elegance and luxury at the midtown Manhattan hotel looks like busloads of migrant invaders arriving and camping outside the golden doors. The scene is no better inside where 41 migrants have been arrested for beating wives, girlfriends and significant others.

There have also been assaults on employees and an arrest for child endangerment.

While the Roosevelt Hotel may have an old name, Mayor Eric Adams and New York City actually leased it from Pakistan for $220 million. That amounts to paying $210 per room for each night that an illegal alien invader uses it to smoke meth or abuse their wives and daughters.

The Roosevelt Hotel was named after Teddy. You can imagine what he would have done if thousands of foreigners had invaded a hotel and turned it into a drug den on his watch.

In a city where a quarter of young children live in poverty, that $220 million could probably be put to better use than paying the Islamic terror state linked to the September 11 attacks on New York City for the privilege of housing the hordes of invaders in “contemporary luxury”.

Mayor Adams has already jettisoned his promise of universal day care to care for the migrants.

Inside the Roosevelt from the gilt sign at the entrance to the art deco halls has been tarnished. Migrants squat under the massive crystal chandelier in the ballroom and sleep on the red carpet. Despite supposedly being poor and desperate, many are swiping and clicking through their smartphone apps while they wait for their next taxpayer-funded benefit to arrive.

Once the setting for movies like Wall Street and The French Connection, the storied hotel is now home to another kind of corrupt crime story. The black marble pillars and spacious rooms have been fully occupied by an endless invading army that continues to stream across the border. The smells and the level of filth are reflective of the three remaining working showers.

Continue reading →
ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

The inevitable EV implosion By Ron Ross

By on September 13th, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/09/the_inevitable_ev_implosion.html

The electric vehicle honeymoon is over. Don’t expect the marriage itself to last much longer either.  

The mass conversion from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs) to electric vehicles was never more than a Democrat/environmentalist hallucination anyway. It was the most ill-conceived government policy objective in modern history.

The transition should have been a non-starter. It’s riddled with numerous deal killers. It’s like having a dozen fatal diseases all at the same time.

Any goal as massive as a total conversion from ICE vehicles to EVs requires careful planning and infrastructure preparation. It would necessitate a rapid doubling of electricity generation and grid expansion. In today’s world that’s impossible.

EV promoters could never deliver on their promises. Their grandiose assurances were nothing more than wishful thinking.

There was no market research. Hmm — I wonder why. There were no feasibility studies. Hmm — I wonder why. Did they actually believe everyone would tolerate spending hours to charge their vehicles rather than the minutes they were accustomed to?

Continue reading →
MEDICINE AND HEALTH Comments turned off

URGENT: the Centers for Disease Control just admitted the truth – the vast majority of people now hospitalized for Covid are mRNA jabbed The strongest proof yet that the shots simply do not work against Omicron: Alex Berenson

By on September 13th, 2023

https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/urgent-the-centers-for-disease-control

An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control is meeting now to discuss recommendations for the updated Covid jabs that the Food & Drug Administration approved yesterday.

Spoiler alert: the committee is likely to press the jabs on most adults, and possibly even children. The group is nominally independent, but Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC deputy director, telegraphed this plan to The New York Times two weeks ago:

Covid can still be nasty even if it doesn’t put you in the hospital. A booster shot will reduce its potency. Shah argues that children (over 6 months old) should also get a Covid shot this fall, even though their own Covid risk is very low.

Which makes this chart, which the CDC buried on page 17 of an 18-page presentation to the committee this morning, even more stunning.

About nine out of 10 Americans over 75 hospitalized this year for Covid have received the mRNA shots. (Not with Covid, for Covid.) Similarly, five out of six Americans aged 65-74 hospitalized for Covid had been jabbed, according to the CDC. And even among adults under 50, two out of three had been vaccinated.—

Continue reading →
NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

A Dictatorship, If You Can Keep It Michael Walsh

By on September 13th, 2023

https://the-pipeline.org/the-column-a-dictatorship-if-you-can-keep-it/

Everybody knows Benjamin Franklin’s famous riposte when asked after the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia which type of government the Founders had come up with: “A republic, if you can keep it.” The constitution that emerged from the conclave went into effect the following year, and ever since Americans have at least paid lip service both to the document itself and the principles enshrined within. Until now.

From the moment Joe Biden — infirm, incontinent, mentally challenged (even in the best of times), crotchety, cranky, boastful, and mendacious, a lifelong pig sucking at the teat of government — took office and immediately decided to “rule” by executive order, the Constitution has been under explicit attack from those who abjure its existence and wish to see it nullified in nearly every particular. Democrat opposition to the nation-as-founded didn’t start with Biden, of course: during his term in office, Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson’s first vice president, murdered Alexander Hamilton and hatched his plot to sell out the United States. Burr was arrested and charged with treason in 1807 under the clause in the Constitution that reads: 

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.

Owing in large part to specificity of the Treason Clause, Burr was acquitted at trial. Ever since, anti-American rogues have skated. Woodrow Wilson had little or no use for the Constitution and subverted it as often as he could, including his constant odes to “democracy” instead of republican democracy — now the norm on the “progressive” left. Franklin Roosevelt invoked both the Depression and presidential wartime powers to get around many of its pesky provisions, eventually browbeating the Supreme Court into submission. 

Today, the attack on the Constitution is fiercer than ever. Leftists formerly known as “liberals” have all but abandoned their support for the First Amendment’s provisions of freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, especially since such safeguards are no longer useful to them in their charades of patriotism; the Second Amendment, meanwhile, they’ve always hated. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments they view as nugatory and, soon enough, they’ll be advocating the repeal of the Third, although their plan is not to force soldiers into citizens’ home but “asylum” spoofers, economic “migrants” and outright infiltrators. 

Continue reading →