Response to Kelly Scoles' "Second Opinion"

Hi Kelly. Hope you had a great Christmas.

My "lament" over the "Afghanistan withdrawal" I thought was an appropriate reminder of the inclusive nature of Christmas, that the Good News is meant for everyone.

As most of us enjoyed Christmas because we are free to do so (not true in communist or Islamic countries) I could not help but remember 280 girls abandoned at the Kabul airport:

“We had seven buses filled with world-renowned orchestra performers — 280 girls all approved to go,” said Robert Stryk, a Washington fixer who has been coordinating private evacuation efforts in conjunction with former Navy SEAL and US Congressman Scott Taylor (R-Va.).

“Our hearts are broken,” he added. “These young girls spent 17 hours on a hot bus with no food or water and were 393 feet from freedom but were denied entry into the airport because the United States government gave [the Taliban] the power to override the US Army’s 82nd Airborne." My old outfit would have wiped-out every Taliban in the entire area to let these girls pass - but were forbidden to act by Biden officials. Those girls will never see another Christmas.

Sobering thoughts like this intruded into my otherwise joyful participation of Christmas. Apparently ghosts of now Christmas Past are too distressing for liberals to recall. But I can never forget these girls nor to pray for their return. Recent reports of the auction for sale of a 9-month-old Afghan girl for future marriage (a common Muslim practice) reignites my concern for those 280 girls. This was a part of my "lament". Among the Taliban, female human beings are a mere commodity. My Christmas joy was mixed with a palpable sense of anger and shame at Biden's loathsome treachery. (I had to soften my real feelings here)

Your reference to Biden's alleged attempt to "better the lot of ordinary non-billionaire Americans" caused my fallacy detectors to short circuit. All that is apparently left of the Democratic Party apparatus are the skeletal remains of multi-billionaires, all heads of the Big Five Tech Giants (ashamed of its past, "Facebook" changed its name to obscure "Meta"). Also, virtually all Big Banks, media and hedge companies like BlackRock, are the heart and guts of the Democratic Party. Think especially of: BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, with US$9.5 trillion in assets under management as of October, 2021. Think of that - $10Trillion under its control - all-in for your Progressives. Or contemplate Zuckerberg's $450-Million donation to select election precincts. So much for the "ordinary non-Billionaire".

Another jolt to my fallacy detectors was: "...withdrawal from Afghanistan created by Trump" Absolutely untrue. Biden rejected Trump's "conditional" withdrawal". Top generals told lawmakers under oath on Tuesday that they advised President Joe Biden early this year to keep several thousand troops in Afghanistan — directly contradicting the President’s comments (lies) in August that no one warned him not to withdraw troops from the country.

The greatly esteemed Stanford author-historian Victor Davis Hanson said Friday that “President Joe Biden, through his Afghanistan withdrawal strategy and process, has birthed the most powerful and well-equipped terror state in the whole free world." Also: "We are all worried about the new aircraft carrier Gerald Ford [at] $12 billion; the most expensive aircraft carrier in history. We could have had seven of them for the price of weapons that we have left in Afghanistan," he said. "The Delaware Democrat [Biden] and his staff and military brass have acted "nonchalant" about the fact they just gifted $90 billion in weapons to the Taliban." Beneficial here to read any of Hanson's scholarly works or hear him online.

Trump bears no fault here, and Biden, himself, recently agreed that he welcomes the "Let's Go Brandon" salutation.

Again, Kelly, for the fourth time, "every court, including SCOTUS...has confirmed the [presidential] vote". No court evaluated the mountainous evidence of voter fraud, they refused to even look at it, their rejections were procedural based. Please research recent Arizona audits.

As for "getting old...and for looking back to our own youthful experiences and beliefs as being "ideal" is fairly common." "Old rules are discarded, acknowledged "truths" are challenged." I'm not reminiscing about pet rocks or beanie babies here. These sweeping generalizations are typical of Progressivism. But, if facts are held to be "truths", challenges won't move them. In Christianity God is known to be Trinitarian (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), this is recognized as revealed truth, a fact. It has always been challenged, but to no effect. "Trumpian plans to subvert the election and stage an insurrection at the Capitol..." has also been proven to be false, as has the false report of Trump's staging photo op at church:

From nbcnews.com:
June 11, 2021 — New report says Lafayette Square Park was not cleared for Trump to hold ... the White House so that the president could stage a photo op. Looking at Google's website on this issue we find virtually all information to be false and misleading. Virtually all of it! The so-called "insurrection" at the Capital is now termed a "riot". It lasted exactly 4-hours before Congregational vote-counting resumed. One death by negligent Capital Police Officer shooting of woman attempting to climb through a broken window. No other firearms, Molotov cocktails, fires, etc. were involved. However, during that summer Antifa and BLM caused in excess of $1-billion-worth of true insurrection damage, for 5-months, including multiple deaths among citizens and police officers alike. This non-stop, murderous conflagration of businesses and homes has never been designated an "insurrection" - and no participants have been held responsible. Why?

You say, "Every generation creates its own ideals, and we cannot return to the past." I say we ignore history at our own peril. Are you cancelling the necessity of learning from experience? Should we "discard" "old rules" like the Ten Commandments? How about Constitutional rights?

"Thrashing about with untruths, venom, and despair is not the best that humanity can offer." I have no interest in untruths, venom, [or] despair. Untruths (as mentioned above) should be identified and corrected. "Venom" as you use the word, can be evil; I prefer the anti-venom of truth and accuracy, which I find deficient in your historical narrations.

You regret my prediction that "this will not be a Happy New Year." You find it a "miserable thing to share with others in this season of renewal." I have to ask, if I witnessed your Christmas tree on fire would you resent me for sounding the alarm? If you value truth does this mean you accept only cheerful information?

You disdain my "bleak, dismal, and joyless" remarks, and find that "all things will be judged and experienced through that prism." Don't forget a prism separates white light into a spectrum of colors; consider that white light to be clear expressions of rational probabilities, and other possibilities, as I do. As a famous man once said - "Just the facts, ma’am."

As you say, "I am not going to bet, at this point, against a Happy New Year...." Of course, you can bet however you choose, but there's no point in ignoring the facts - which are indeed bleak.

This column is now too long - and I'm too tired.

Good night.