A response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hi Kelly,
I would agree with your placing "home-grown threats to our democracy" at the top of America's imminent threats today, because they also cause our most dangerous foreign threats. "Home grown" threats arise from domestic political treachery, the usual suspects, socialists, globalists, communists, atheists, all anti-Judeo-Christian enemies. All of them aligned with the Democratic Party leadership.

I regret to admit that Republicans, like Richard Nixon and George W. Bush were fooled ("I looked the man (Putin) in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul.”) Like most modern American presidents, Bush reacted to communism with naiveté rather than reason and common sense (or knowledge). I always expect this sort of nonsense from Democrats, it's maddening to hear it from Republicans. Those who still rely upon diplomacy and trust in dealing with savage communism did not receive the education I did from boyhood. The obvious evil of Godless communism was taught from first grade through college. At the same time love and pride in America was deeply instilled. Historical facts spoke (speak) for themselves as we live them. Communism stands for 100 million murders and a billion slaves.

That "voracious appetite for plentiful and cheap [Chinese] goods" was bipartisan. But it was not the glutinous enthusiasm with which we consumed those Beanie Babies and cast-iron bar bells at the start that hurt us most. It was the carefree abandon with which we accommodated Mao Zedong's giant prison nation with respectable status, in ignorant hope of converting communism to democracy. "The Senate voted to give China permanent most-favored-nation status on September 19, 2000. This vote paved the way for China's accession to the World Trade Organization. Granting China this trade status contributed to the “China Trade Shock” that destroyed 2 million American jobs after 2001."

Yes, Kelly, I do want to "weapon-up" to avoid the kind of catastrophic war Ukraine fights today. Only naivé Progressives, Liberals, and Sino-Russian halfwit fellow travelers fail to understand. (I exclude you). What can convince you that America is in greater peril today than ever before in history, facing nuclear enemies with atheistic fanaticism taunting the destruction of the Land of the Free?

China will be the crutch on which Russia seeks to steady itself. China is a clear and present menace, having fully infiltrated the US, bullied and seduced small nations, and planning to conquer Taiwan with its incomparable chip market; "TSMC has around 60% of the global market for [uniquely specialized] contract chip fabrication, far above OPEC's 40% market share for oil." China, North Korea, and Iran have been arming themselves continuously for decades. We have not kept up, and are running short on fighting stuff. Biden is a deliberate impediment to defense. And, with respect, our pathetic Department of Defense has to get off its dead ass and rearm! Once again, our enemies don't give a damn about social equity, LBGTQ feelings, or climate change - they're all in for killing people and taking over other folks' nations. Mr. Xi Jinping seeks godhood, as does Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim Jong-un, mortals all, forever, Hell awaiting, an eternal, unpleasant surprise. I am not encouraged by Biden's pick of clowns, freaks, and reprobates to run and defend our nation.

To address your last three points: Wokeness is justly "vilified as a liberal scourge" poisonous to the Republic's welfare. That "female pregnant uterus" is a most sacred place, not so much for the structure, extraordinary though it is, but for the beautiful eternal soul living within, made in the image and likeness of almighty God, utterly innocent and unique.

As for the "morbidly rich", most of this species are liberal Democrats.

Dominion Inc. is not accused of fraud itself. It sold its computers to states and municipalities, which allegedly facilitated fraud.

A quick response to Kelly Scoles' letter:
Hi Kelly,
Though the legitimacy of our voting system is supremely important to the survival of our republic, America is faced with an even more immediate threat, the new Cold War with China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. I am truly preoccupied with this problem, to such an extent that the Dominion Voting Systems controversy is at least temporarily off my radar screen. Besides, Dominion's billion-dollar lawsuit has exploded the issue, causing everyone to duck and cover. I'll wait for the public examination of the mounds of evidence presented, if that ever receives a fair public hearing.

It's still critically important, and I have not changed my mind on the alleged "steal", but between the enemy gunning for us (new cold war) and the enemies planning to kill our democracy by stealthier Woke means, we should deal first with the guy who just locked and loaded.

A note: I have great respect for attorney Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani. I also greatly respect Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson (except on Ukraine), and Laura Ingraham (also except Ukraine). They have had to batten the hatches during this enormous defamation trial. I have to await a detailed, factual public showing of the facts. A central question for me: Did Dominion's machines facilitate fraud? A fair hearing will take more time. But the election was driven by fraudulent machinations. Big Tech's and FBI's pre-election cover-up for Hunter and Joe Biden, (polls now show) put Joe Biden into the White House - and America closer to the poor house.

The "actual malice" you're looking for in the 2020 election is most colorfully arrayed in the Democratic Party, all of the "Bigs"; a perjurious Department of Justice, FBI, etc. The question remains whether our Republic can survive Biden family treachery and the threat of a Kamala Harris presidency, in the face of psychopathic determination by Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They are not distracted by Wokeness. You can't be late to the show when the theater is nuclear. Biden appears to be deliberately slow, giving Ukraine just enough juice to stay in the fight, but not enough to win. This plan multiplies Ukrainian deaths, giving hope to the enemy. Let's give Ukraine all it needs, including jet planes, because Russia is about to launch another huge offensive. NATO countries are well behind their promises of assistance - it's also their freedom at risk.

"China has joined Putin to assist victory for Russia in Ukraine. See: “This series (Warning Order: China Prepares for Conflict, and Why We Must Do the Same." by Fred Fleitz, Jim Talent, Gordon Chang, a reality that can no longer be safely ignored: China is putting itself in a position to engage in conflict with the United States across a broad front and potentially with decisively devastating results.”

China began its quest for world domination years ago, as soon a President Nixon let Mao Zedong join the club. America made a starving China rich and sparked its aggression. Today China has only contempt for America since Joe Biden, through son Hunter, received millions in bribes for Joe and family. China seems to be calling the shots for our Manchurian Candidate. All loyal, competent military leaders insist we must restock our arms inventory, quickly, because "Russia 'massing' 1,800 tanks, 700 aircraft & 500 men for new Ukraine assault in 10 DAYS after Zelensky begs UK for jets." NATO's worries about "escalation" now are just foolishness. It is reported that China has supplied Russia with huge amounts of munitions from the first weeks of the war.

Only our military leaders would be surprised to hear this. Remember: "On July 21, 2021 the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley assured the country that "’The Afghan security forces have the capacity and capabilities needed to fight and defend their country.’"

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hello again Kelly,
I regret that my last Realities caused you to nearly swear off the Gazette due to depression. I would hate to lose a worthy antagonist. After all, among the ranks of even my most overheated critics, few enjoy a good debate. And I would bore myself to death without some pushback. While I've never been a "White Christian Nationalist" whatever that is, I would welcome a full-strength inquisition of all US federal government agencies and departments - starting with (but not limited to) our Department of Justice and FBI.

I would urge such an inquisition to focus on the Woke virus, a first generation of misguided Gain-of-Function experiments gone terribly wrong. It tends to scramble normalcy in scientific method, in science and logic - reverting to alchemy and witchcraft.

The Woke virus seems to prey on undergraduates enrolled in political science courses; professors are identified as carriers of this pathogen. You mention deaths of Michael Brown in 2014, and should have mentioned the Trayvon Martin killing in 2012, because both defendants were acquitted, and both caused disastrous riots. Billions of dollars and multiple deaths were caused by George Floyd riots. "The protests spread to over 2,000 cities and towns in all 50 states." Black Lives Matter was started by three female entrepreneurs, who collected millions. Hundreds of thousands of innocent citizen's homes and businesses were lost in murderous riots. This is a large part of Woke.

Kelly, I'm sorry but I've lost interest in these subjects, covered so often before. Woke, Progressive, and Democratic Party schemes are anathema to the health of our Republic. They are killing our traditional Judeo-Christian democratic way of life. Reality check: a man can never become a woman, Communism is intrinsically evil, military weakness will destroy us, law enforcement underpins our freedom, and without Judeo-Christian principles America cannot survive!

****

It's one thing to recognize the smell of a rotting government system; it's more important to do something about it. Today, the evidence of deep corruption and its attendant weakness is everywhere, in every branch of government. But, so far, no one seems able to do anything about it. The venality of the Biden administration is matched only by its extraordinary incompetence. Our primary enemy (let's stop using the word adversary) is China, which top expert Gordan Chang (Warning Order: China Prepares for Conflict; - The Great U.S.-China Tech War) warns is preparing for war.

With Ukraine on fire, we need to sound the alarm for Taiwan as well - strategically more important. Truly ironic that for decades we prepared to fight two wars simultaneously, only to be unprepared when the occasion arrives. Both Russia and China will cooperate against the US soon - China reaching for Taiwan and Russia for Ukraine. Ukraine can beat Russia if we supply all needed fighting equipment in a timely manner. China can be deterred if we arm Taiwan to the teeth. China can't be allowed to seize Taiwan's (world's largest, most advanced) semiconductor manufacturing facility. I can think of only two ways to stop China: arm that island with thousands of heavy missiles targeting the mainland to create a Pyrrhic threat (a "Molon labe" moment - "come and take them" - a little Sparta against giant Persia). The strength of Taiwan's missile response could be so hugely destructive to China's mainland that an attack would not be worth the gamble. Sun Tzu would understand this as an Art of War. Otherwise, plant the entire manufacturing system with explosives (Thermite Bombs come to mind) and destroy the entire complex rather than surrender. Maybe transfer the chip manufacturing to the US? But this technology must be kept out of PRC's hands. "Pound for Pound, Taiwan Is the Most Important Place in the World. Its excellence in the computer chip market puts it at the center of the battle for global technological supremacy."

While I sympathize with Kelly's depression, someone has to tell the truth - don't expect that to come from our degenerate government. Things do not look positive at the moment. I think Putin could ignite a tactical nuke or two as he despairs over his defeat in Ukraine. I think he will cooperate with Xi Jinping. Time to cut the cord with China.

Some of you may remember playing the game of Pick Up Stix. I don't think force or speed had much to with it; steady coordination counted most. Restoring balance to America's defense structure today is likewise problematic. Too many pieces need balancing, urgently. I think our nation has been so thoroughly compromised by the radical-Woke Left that it is now threatened with collapse.

I no longer feel self-conscious about my apocalyptic conclusions. I am surprised however that it took a communist Chinese balloon for me to pop the question: Can we survive treasonable Biden leadership, after Obama? Those who believe this question is absurd are children of CNN, MSNBC, et al, with social media your nanny. The best you can do now is pray for a better past once you discover the reality you created today. I think it may be too late to cure the wounds inflicted by the Woke-Democratic Party mega cabal upon our ailing Republic. We could lose the next war, or at least our manhood. [sic]. This is where that balloon comes in. Biden's family cash dealings (billions) with the communist Chinese, over years, makes him totally compromised, completely vulnerable to blackmail. For those CNN addicts, the Chinese, Russians, North Koreans, and Syrians, are America's most tenacious enemies (i.e. who want to destroy our country). These are very bad people. Logical judgment would have been to shoot the balloon down early, over land, to preserve evidence of espionage.

All Biden decisions, and foreign and domestic policies, have the same stamp--deliberately damaging and endangering America, in obvious ways. Just a few of them should make us wince - then worry: Five million trespassers (ongoing) through our open border to the world (no precautions); shut down new and existing oil-gas supplies; appointing unqualified Cabinet members (Pete Buttigieg-"pretend wife to pretend husband"); withdrew troops before civilians,13 killed, thousands abandoned in Afghanistan; drew down strategic oil reserves; destroyed military morale with Woke gender mix; massive inflation ($6 trillion squandered); allowing balloon surveillance of US strategic defense installations; appointing ignorant-radical federal judges; weaponizing Dept. of Justice, FBI, etc.; stealing classified documents as Senator, Vice President, and President.

This Biden weakness enticed Putin to attack Ukraine and invites China to overreach by attacking Taiwan. Weakness has consequences - it creates contempt for us in the enemy camp.

These policies have enfeebled our nation and invited confusion, hostility and attack. Russia, having lost nearly 270,000 soldiers in Ukraine in less than a year, openly challenges NATO, threatening a nuclear exchange. At the same time, China is spoiling for war, thinking America is now too weak under Biden to defend itself - or Taiwan. Then we have the "Bozo Twins", Sec. of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Mark Alexander Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley is the guy who, in Trump's administration, called China to tell Xi Jinping that he would warn him if Trump was going to attack China! (should be in Leavenworth today). Then we have Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, who with Milley, failed to resign office when he learned Biden decided to remove our troops BEFORE we removed all civilian employees in Afghanistan! Heavy bellies festooned with ribbons from the old Army say they live large. No wonder our military can't recruit young men to our services today; they've sullied it. Normal Christian men don't want to serve cowardly "leaders" in a "queer" military. Ask them!

Quick note: Taiwan has never been owned by China; it has been a prosperous, sovereign nation since 1949 under Chiang Kai-shek's Formosa. "TSMC: Why China wants to own Taiwan … it’s all about computer chips." Marc Kennis, November 23, 2022, Updated 23 November 2022.
"TSMC: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company: China wants what Taiwan has. However, ideology is only part of the reason. You see, Taiwan has something that China doesn’t, which is access to the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment in the world. Taiwan’s crown jewel is a company called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC for short. It is listed on the Taiwanese and New York stock exchanges (TPE:2330 and NYSE:TSM) and ranks in the Top 3 biggest chip companies in the world, right after Intel and Samsung. And China wants it."

See this article for an incredibly lucid explanation of semiconductors - almost unbelievably unique!

China must NEVER take Taiwan! That would be a fatal betrayal of freedom and peace. Time to make Taiwan a Pyrrhic challenge to Beijing at least, with thousands of defensive missiles aimed at the PRC. Remember what they did to Hong Kong - such a wonderful place when I was there in 1961! The Chinese are great - without Communism.

January, the month of my birth, could have been the month of my death, due to a spectacular early morning fall. Elderly folks, in particular (like me), should be especially careful of where and how they step. Anyway, I don't think I've ever failed to write my column so many times as I did last month. I have a powerful and faithful Guardian Angel, whom I profoundly thank for helping me return to the keys.

***

It seems like a long time since I last tapped-out Realities, but too short to expect the world situation to have improved, or our country to have awakened to the social leprosy of Woke. A broad view of America today finds me concluding "that's just crazy" too often. In short, too many essential parts of our Republic are decomposing, indispensable virtues and logical traditions are disappearing. Superman was once unapologetically introduced as the epitome of Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Our children were taught to love America's exceptional society, her incomparable freedom; but revelations of pervasive federal corruption, in every sector of government, now belie those lessons and subvert our future. I have to ask if Americans today are no longer worthy of their great nation.

Contrary to every American moral tradition, those in the clandestine business of "Fundamentally Transforming the United States of America" are substantially succeeding. I have to agree with most of the conclusions shared by an old classmate of mine recently. In a lengthy phone conversation, he summed up his exasperation, saying, "I don't trust anyone anymore!" He was referencing a broad part of America's institutions; maybe all of them.

Certainly, the most festering deposits of his distrust are located in our federal agencies, FBI, CIA, NEA, State Department, for openers. Is his distrust reasonable, or possibly paranoid? Comparing today's America to that of my youth, it seems well justified. The character of our federal agencies has changed for the worse.

"More than a few eyebrows were raised in 2010 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture bought 85 semi-automatic submachine guns. However, the USDA is just one of 73 federal government agencies employing full-time law enforcement officers who are authorized to carry firearms and make arrests in the United States.” (Robert Longley, updated February 16, 2021)

"Last year, we released our OpenTheBooks.com Oversight Report: The Militarization of America in an editorial published with former-U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn at The Wall Street Journal. Our report quantified the $1.48 billion spent by 67 non-military federal agencies on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment from 2006-2014." (Forbes.)

I am a pro-Second Amendment advocate, not anti-gun, and the above citations need to be updated. My concern is with exactly which federal agencies have been armed, most importantly, how these arms are used, especially by agencies that are normally required to arm themselves, like the FBI. For example, "...no honest person could believe that the [FBI] raid on Donald Trump's home last week [with submachine guns] was a legitimate act of law enforcement. It was not.” (Tucker Carlson, Tonight on Fox News). "The Presidential Records Act is not commonly a subject of criminal prosecution, even in the most egregious cases," said Jonathan Turley, a professor at the George Washington University Law School. "These incidents have generally been handled administratively." Unconstitutional, all.

I've fallen flat of my time and space for Realities. Will try harder next week - God willing.

The rain we've been waiting for so many years now has finally come, a little too much and a little too fast, but thank God!
Ventura County is experiencing substantial flooding. Piru is in bad shape as I write this. Drive carefully and

****

A short response to Kelly's letter:
On the issue of minimum wage, I believe the average wage-earner has been underpaid for decades. This doesn't mean that our government should mandate wages. Mandates are not the democratic way. But our economic system, in my opinion, is now way off balance, with inflation consuming our future. I'm certainly not an economist, but I've always thought that when the average working family cannot buy a home (as when I was a kid, but no longer possible for decades) the system is broken. Inflation, incompetence, and greed are eating us alive. Partial solution: keep liberals, progressives, socialists, communists, fascists, and Democrats away from the money.

As for arresting doctors for alleged "misinformation" in their advice to patients (which may disagree with government mandates), this is fascism and totally unconstitutional. This is the typical anti-scientific mindset of the Democratic Party.

As for "preferring candidates who have integrity," elections during the past four years show this is often not true. How else could a U.S. Representative like little Adam Schiff, notorious pimp of prevarication, hope to convince voters of his integrity? From Joe the "Big Guy" down through the Democratic ranks, minions like Schiff should repel normal voters by smell alone, but they don't. You worry about "Nominees who cannot tell the truth" - really?

****

As much as I generally admire FOX news, I strongly disagree with its biased coverage of the Ukraine war. It has disgraced itself in its slanderous portrayal of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Tucker Carlson should know better. He has called Zelenskyy, in effect, a thief of the billions of U.S. war assistance, a clown for showing up at a joint session of Congress recently in a green military uniform, and called giving war aid to Ukraine a "humiliating scenario" when we are struggling with our own (self-inflicted) economic problems (a stunningly stupid statement). Tucker's performance here was absolutely disgraceful, displaying wholesale ignorance of the seriousness of the Russian war on Ukraine and its immediate effect on the entire Western alliance. His melodramatic outbursts and comical indignation of Zelenskyy's wartime leadership is indelibly disgusting. Ask Ukrainians what they think of their leader!

Ukraine is in a life-or-death fight for its sovereign existence, at the cost of 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers, tens of thousands more innocent women and children. They are all superb reflections of American warriors in battles from 1776 through the 20th century, from Bunker Hill to the Battle of the Bulge. Russia is the enemy of freedom, and always has been. Ukraine is fighting our war, valiantly! This is another urgent Lend Lease.

Tucker assailed Zelenskyy for allegedly shutting down the Christian church in Ukraine, being unaware that there are TWO Ukrainian Orthodox churches there. The UOC-MP is one of the two major Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies in modern Ukraine, alongside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU)., one siding with Russia, the other loyal to Ukraine. A 30-second online search would have informed him of this critical distinction and explained why Zelenskyy (himself Jewish) shut one down after discovering pro-Russian war propaganda.

Tucker went on a hysterical shouting rant against Ukraine and its president, full of falsehoods and unforgivably defamatory statements. He has outed himself as a bigot. Reasonable people should ask if Tucker has any meaningful understanding of the significance of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

I regret I was unable to write my column last week. I succumbed to an exciting two-day episode of vertigo. However, today I'm back to my hobby of annoying people.

****

First, a response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hello again Kelly, hope you had a great Christmas and New Years.

Frankly, all this talk about Trump's alleged financial crimes, taxes etc., seems wildly hypocritical in any context remotely related to The Big Guy, Godfather Joe, ‎Consigliere, Hunter ("the smartest man I've ever known!”) brother Jim, et al.

Kelly, I can understand why you are ignorant of the Biden family crime activity. You never watch FOX news. All the others deliberately ignore this torrent of historical criminality. That's why you don't know about the fabulous Hunter Biden laptops, with "Hunter Biden's former business partner, Tony Bobulinski, ready to testify with "thousands of new call recordings, text messages, photos, emails and documents to a congressional probe investigating the First Son," then the "Big Guy."

"Hunter Biden’s [no longer] dubious business dealings raise specter of a ‘compromised’ president." By serving on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company, pursuing deals with Chinese Communist Party-linked energy tycoons and reportedly pocketing more than $3 million from a Russian businesswoman and widow of a former mayor of Moscow, Hunter Biden’s far-flung business deals have raised eyebrows for years about potential influence peddling and other possible crimes." Actually, one Biden-China deal was worth $1.5 billion. "President Biden, who has [repeatedly] denied any involvement in his son’s business deals and framed his son’s tribulations as a struggle to overcome years of addiction and grief, has largely been granted a free pass from the mainstream news media and the powers that be in Washington." There's a heap of prima facie evidence of Joe Biden's lies, and guilt in the Hunter laptop, including tens of thousands of pornographic photos and videos. It's all just one huge disgusting crime story.

But, boy did I digress. You are worried about an alleged $23 million legitimately raised over the last 20 years by numerous organizations you claim is "inappropriate, unacceptable, and undemocratic". The Biden crime syndicate, we now know, received at least $30million during Joe's V.P. days and presidential two years. Talk about pay to play! We're not even on the same page.

Though I have a strong disagreement with FOX on their opposition to support for Ukraine, for the most part they do an excellent job of truthfully and accurately reporting the news with analysis. So, pray for Ukraine and avoid CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, etc. they’re all owned by Woke enterprises and weaponized against traditional America.

****

Pope Benedict XVI passed away this week. He was a brilliant and holy man. Had he not retired when he did the Church would have saved itself years of scandal, heresy, bribery, betrayal, and abuse-cover-up under Francis and his homo-predator Jesuits. I'm thinking of those men Francis has elevated to the hierarchy, into the College of Cardinals, like Wilton Cardinal Gregory, among many other notorious homo-predator bishops (who will choose the next Pope) and others like Father James Martin, perhaps most "progressive" promoter of sodomy, and serial abuser Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik. Francis supports and protects these men. Francis also betrayed the Church in China to the Communist Party for billions in annual cash. Francis has destroyed much of the good that Benedict cultivated. Catholics should remember that the Pope is first a man, then an elected spiritual leader, head of the Church. His personal opinion has no more authority than anyone else's; and most of what he says is mere opinion.

Rest in peace Pope Benedict XVI. Time to retire, Francis.

All of my allegations here are solidly corroborated on ChurchMilitant.com, a traditional Catholic website. (Caveat: I am a traditional Roman Catholic).

I OD’ed over the weekend. But not on the usual pharmaceutical or distilled devices. And not on eggnog, or marshmallow Santa’s or snowman cookies—yet. No, I overdosed on Hallmark Christmas movies. This wasn’t an accidental overdose; I planned it, with weeks of pre-recording maneuvers.

I watched approximately 30 movies, good, bad, ugly and uglier. For comparison I threw in a few Hallmark-wannabes on Lifetime. But Hallmark has the secret formula for success, which I am about to bore you with. Here it is…

*Every female wears bright red lipstick and is underfed. They also have large, very white teeth--think Men In Black.

*Often featured are two college sweethearts who were madly in love until one decided to leave town for a career opportunity and promised to come back in six months to a year but never did. The end. This promise is always made in the airport with TSA officers nowhere in sight. One of them could scream BOMB and they would still be able to board.

*Ten Years Later—that’s usually when they meet up again, past their prime and bitter, and feigning indifference when they—surprise!—reunite over a project they are forced to work on together. There’s a lot of stuttering and huffing followed by long-glances.

*Nobody seems able to clear up a simple misunderstanding immediately. They all go mute, unless one is leaving and the plane is just about to take off, then they won’t shut up.

*They can’t sleep and make cookies at 2am.

*Unemployment must be unusually high in Hallmarkland. People are always heading for job interviews when they run into, literally, a stranger who spills hot cocoa on them. There is a connection between stained clothing and love.

*Speaking of hot cocoa, everyone drinks it with homemade marshmallows and whipped cream, stirred with a candy cane in their favorite Christmas mug that their father/mother/Aunt Mary gave them moments before they died. They probably choked on a marshmallow. I can’t figure out why they are so picky about their hot cocoa—these are the same people who eat takeout Thai for Christmas dinner because their dog died on Christmas Day 28 years earlier and they are still pissed at the world.

*They are always ambushing each other with snowball fights. It’s a little unnerving.

*Sometimes they are single parents. They use their children as an emotional shield. “I’m just worried about little Tommy getting hurt.” If there’s a sidekick nearby, they will respond, “Just little Tommy…?” Fade to commercial.

*All children with single parents are ticklish. This has a bit of a sadistic feel to it, like the snowball fights.

*Grown men don’t seem to mind playing Twister or making gingerbread houses with an 8-year-old they met just two days earlier after running into mom and spilling hot cocoa on her white blouse while she was on her way to a job interview.

*Snowflakes are miracles, magical and an excuse to kiss. But… the kiss is always interrupted by the 8-year-old kid. The only thing that interrupts the moment more than a kid is a cellphone. Turn the damn thing off!

*Every woman is named Holly, Merry, Laurel, Ginger or Poppy. Evidently there was a blackout nine months before they were all born in December.

*There is Mistletoe everywhere but the bathroom.

*The women are clumsy. They fall off ladders a lot while placing their grandmother’s angel on top of the Christmas tree they hated half an hour earlier. The ex who ran off 10 years ago catches them, under the mistletoe, and the cell phone rings. Then they drink hot cocoa.

*The special 108-year-old Christmas ornament Grandpa saved from the Nazis always gets broken. This too seems to spark romance.
And there you have 60-plus hours of wasted time compressed into one simple article. Now that I have fulfilled my Hallmark Christmas movie binge, I am going to detox with Law & Order.

Some personal thoughts on Christmas…

In just five days Christians will celebrate the greatest event in the history of creation, the Incarnation of Almighty God through the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace. Non-Christians by the billions do not believe this most extraordinary of all miracles, but for Christians it is the way, the truth, and the life, our reason for being, and the promise of eternal life.

As an old Catholic Christian man approaching the end of this life, I take great solace amidst the violence of today's world with the knowledge of promised life everlasting. Peace will certainly come, but I don't believe in our time. Our rejection of Jesus Christ and his revelations of salvation into eternal life will postpone an age of peace.

Our Christian faith, derived from Abraham, patriarch of our Jewish "elder brothers in faith" (thank you John Paul II), invites the entire human race. Sadly, most of the now 8 billion fellow humans reject the invitation passively or with hostile intent. And, as from the beginning, blood is shed in a contest for souls. The defining scrimmage line is set between theists and atheists, where the atheists, ironically, strive to play god, to forcibly demand obedience as supreme law givers.

America was first in the modern world to found a Republic of free and independent citizens, declaring that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..." not to be subservient to Caesar, Führer, Dear Leader, President for life, Duce, falsely proclaiming to be authors of all human rights. From Caesar, to Hitler, to Stalin, Putin and Xi Jinping, all are self-declared enemies of Almighty God, and therefore also of an otherwise free human race.

And so, Christmas is the boldest declaration of human freedom, and everlasting life. And His birthday is an expression of the purest endowment of physical and spiritual freedom - ours if we can keep it.

So, no matter how persistent the demonic power of our present enemies may be, they chose to bellow "Non serviam!" (I will not serve) Almighty God, in a cause already defeated for all eternity by the infinite power of the divine child born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Bethlehem on Christmas Day. On this Christmas day this old man has a sense of peace as I approach my Savior, the Man-God in that humble manger.

May God bless all men of good will on this glorious day.

Hallelujah!

I'm having to write this column two days early due to previous commitments. I regret I won't be able to respond to Kelly's letter.

Just a quick look at the cumulative negatives I see in front of us. Wish I could note any cumulative positives, but it's hard to see many right now.

Taking a few negatives off of Monday's Drudge Report:
"1,000 migrants in largest caravan in HISTORY crosses Rio Grande into El Paso..."
Americans have watched the spectacle of 5 million illegal aliens flood into the country during the past two years Biden has betrayed his presidential oath of office. This is the result of a deliberate act of betrayal, the destruction of our national borders. What President Trump achieved in controlling our borders has been reversed. This sabotage of our sovereignty, and the welcome of anyone from 50 different nations, can be stopped, but it can never be corrected. The influx includes thousands of dedicated terrorists, and hundreds of thousands of drug dealers, as well as child sex traffic organizers. It also means schools and medical facilities will be overrun for decades, jobs taken from Americans, a huge increase in taxes to feed, house, and fund a substantial increase of other multiple welfare organizations. Needed as well is a strong increase of law enforcement agencies.

Even worse news: THE FLOOD IS ONLY BEGINNING with the 5 million who arrived during the past two years. It will never stop when federal agencies don't want it to stop - and our president's men tell us that the borders "are under control!” The greatest mass of illegal migrants is gathering for another rush before the end of the year. Thank the Democratic Party, and the gutless Republicans who side with them.

But there's always room for new bad news. Looking again at Drudge:
"Federal Deficit Widened to a Record $249 Billion Last Month" (Wall Street Journal). Or: "Nearly half of Christians believe living in End Times..." Or: "From $32 billion to criminal investigations: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire vanished overnight." This last headline might be solved when we remember he gave billions to the Democratic Party and minions.

Then we have, and will have for a long time, the historic scandal of the Biden Crime Family, and the Joe Biden Big Gov, Big Tech, Big Media, Bid Banks bandwagon, led by our Federal Bureau of Investigation. And there is the Army of Wokery, infiltrated into our armed forces, educational industry, churches, and most of whatever is left.

Watch while Elon Musk, newest hero of the Republic, continues to expose more examples of treasonous Woke rot discovered in his new Twitter company. Democrats condemn so-called election "deniers" while the problem all along has been with the believers of Democratic Trump myths, so hungry are they for any stinking scrap of election falsehood.

Our country is beset with a half-dozen life-threatening challenges, the most immediate being illegal immigration. American citizens are not sufficiently angry about this. There seems to be no way to immediately address the problem while our country is being taken from us. Five million illegals have already arrived in less than 2 years; will we be more motivated after 10 million are here before the next election? Who's going to stop it? This is an emergency now requiring military intervention.

I'll try to be more positive next week.

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hello again, Kelly,
I certainly agree with you that "Conservatism is a healthy ingredient in a democracy"; after all, we seek to conserve our heritage. I think Trump's victory in 2016 produced a sort of political gag reflex from which the Dem. Party has never recovered. Wokesters, Progressives, Radicals, Globalists, Socialists, Trotskyites, Communists, and millions more would-be Dreamers on the move, who fixated on "fundamentally changing America", were stunned. The work of these disloyal Americans explains the necessity for the rest of us trying to Make America Great Again. A virtuous thing!

Taking your letter as a whole reveals a JumboTron-sized misunderstanding of recent history. You jump on Trump's remark about the Constitution. He spoke of a situation where half the country believed the election was rigged. Take a theoretical example. Suppose absolute prima facie evidence showed, before the vote was confirmed, that wide-spread fraud was perpetrated. No specific Constitutional remedy seems available, except maybe an historical precept like "fraud vitiates consent."

What could be done - accept the fraudulent count, or halt confirmation and investigate? Trump tweeted, “Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,”. He was wrong and reaffirmed his fealty to the Constitution. Overturning a certified election has no precedent and no prescribed process. It seems to me any citizen can legitimately reject election results for cause. So-called "election deniers" are not automatically evil. They can be exercising fundamental First Amendment rights.

However, more recent evidence of fraud and election interference of the most seditious nature has surfaced with Elon Musk releasing emails from his new Twitter company. This incredibly complex, treasonous corporate conspiracy is stunning. It's not hyperbolic to describe this finally proven conspiracy by Big Tech, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Big Media, Democratic Party, FBI, CIA, White House, State Dept. et al, as the biggest scandal in American history. The curtain is just now lifting to expose the cabal it has hidden.

I know, it's all unbelievably spooky, but "It's alive!" Pray Republicans find a stake big enough to impale its heart before 2024. The saga of Hunter Biden's laptop was the can opener that released the Biden family worms: "...testimony of Hunter Biden's ex-business associate Tony Bobulinski (Biden business partner) has praised the new GOP-led probe into the Biden family's business dealings, ..." I recall former President Richard Nixon's TV statement during the Whitewater scandal, "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook." He was charged with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. That standard of vigilance still applies today, and our President Biden is a crook, smoking cannon barrels prove it.

Kelly, I am frankly amazed at your apparent invincible ignorance of the Hunter Biden laptop scenario, but not surprised, because you obviously never watch FOX News. Virtually all other news media are complicit in the cover-up. As I've stated before, the scope and depth of this conspiracy, had it been publicized, would have changed the outcome of the 2020 election. The evidence that's just beginning to surge, so outrageous, so audacious, signals a national security threat.

Hunter Biden's felonious activities, however malevolent, are more important for revealing his father's crimes. Dad is a criminal, a traitor I would argue, in selling-out America's security to her enemies, especially China and Russia, for cash - for years. Recent public knowledge of this catastrophic situation may help to cure the disease, but time is short. A quick primer on the Biden crime family can be found in Miranda Devine's book "Laptop From Hell, Hunter Biden, Big Tech, and the Dirty Secrets the President Tried to Hide, 2021."

In just the past few weeks, since Twitter's radioactive tranche of incriminating facts, attempts to further cover-up will be useless. The issue now is determining what can be done to remedy the damage before the 2024 election.

Continued personal attacks upon Trump are pitifully irrelevant, a wasteful distraction from emergency measures needed to fix a completely corrupt federal government, especially the FBI.

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hi Kelly,
I'm glad we agree that candidates for office should assure us that they are physically and psychologically fit to undertake the office. National survival and world peace depend upon fit leadership. When this ability is missing, we can end up with a Biden family cabal. Trump's "perfect cognitive test score" is an established fact. Let's indulge a little hyperbole about "stable genius" as part of a healthy sense of humor. As for his other comment, remember during his 4-years he alone DID fix "it" - the border, inflation, gas prices, Middle East treaties, military build-up, crime, oil surplus, etc… Why not give credit where it's due?

You speak of "the atrocities in corporate funding of political campaigns" which I really do abhor. But then you mention Zuckerberg, Bezos, Koch brothers, and Sheldon Adelson. The first two are dyed-in-the-wool radical liberals; Koch bros. are a mixed bunch, Thiel, don't know much about him, but has a conservative reputation. Quoting him from an article: "Christianity for me is the anti-identity. Your identity is in Christ... and it's in that context we can figure out things about the world and truth... [Truth] is not a social construct." That's good enough for me. Thiel appears to be a rare political blessing, not a corrupter. As for demanding tax returns, do you really want to lift the lid on the Biden financial commode?

From before our Civil War, history shows the Democratic Party has been a corrupter. Its influence perpetuates every political disease, from racism (slavery, KKK, Jim Crow laws) until about 1968. It took the Republican Party, Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War (and 600,000 deaths) to cure it. But you're right when you say it corrupts the entire system, infecting both parties. Acknowledging that the Bible has 2000 cautions on the moral use of money, it's not encouraging to see how easily they are ignored. We should acquire it, save it, spend it, donate it - but never worship it - like Scrooge McDuck, who was said to own "three cubic acres of cash", which he stored in a massive Money Bin overlooking the city of Duckburg.

****

I hope Trump hasn't violated the Second Law of Political Dynamics - which is: begin (declare) too early and you end up with wasted effort.

I do recall Rick Scott (R-FL) reciting his 11-point Republican Plan to Save America. However, it was never explained like the 1994 Republican Contract with America was, despite the fact that nothing close to today's media existed then. Its details were well understood. This year, the message just blended with the usual media noise and drifted away. You characterize Sen. Scott's reform message as somehow subversive. That's flirting with paranoia.

The Republicans you cite here simply express agreement with the Trump policies which rejuvenated the American dream and averted us from a threatened Woke fate. However, the great good Trump accomplished in only four years has been mostly undone in two.

****

I've said it before - the ONLY good thing Biden has done in the past two years is to materially support Ukraine in her heroic fight to defeat the terrorist Russian Orks and their psychopathic leader. Two things now urgently needed to win this war - speed-up delivery of long-range weapons (including aircraft) by retooling our defense industry as we did in WWII. We should support Ukraine today as we did our allies then. Also, find men like William Knudsen and Henry Kaiser to rekindle what Arthur Herman titled "Freedom's Forge" when America produced two-thirds of the Allies' weapons in World War II. We need to fight for Ukraine as though America herself were in jeopardy, which we are. Herman's book tells of the almost miraculous productivity American prefabrication enabled: (Liberty Ship construction) "...no one challenged his record then or later. It remained one of the supreme industrial feats of the war. The pace [Kaiser] was setting (Yard Nos. 1 and 2 launched no fewer than 18 Liberty ships in November [1943], an average of one every other day)...."

Where are they now?

This article, authored by Timothy Ash for CEPA, is the clearest, most logical and intelligent exposition of our involvement in the Russian-Ukraine war yet. It's so good I decided to substitute it for REALITIES this week. Due to length, had to shoehorn it in. Republicans alert!

It’s Costing Peanuts for the US to Defeat Russia

November 18, 2022
Timothy Ash

The cost-benefit analysis of US support for Ukraine is incontrovertible. It’s producing wins at almost every level.

This is the sixth such meeting of defense leaders from around the world since Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.

Former President Trump, and others in the US including some Democrats as well as Republicans, have criticized continued US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. They have called for military and financial support to Ukraine to be cut, even ended. They downplay the risk from Russia and argue that the money should be spent at home.

Yet from numerous perspectives, when viewed from a bang-per-buck perspective, US and Western support for Ukraine is an incredibly cost-effective investment. 

Altogether, the Biden administration received Congressional approval for $40bn in aid for Ukraine for 2022 and has requested an additional $37.7bn for 2022. More than half of this aid has been earmarked for defense. 

These sums pale into insignificance when set against a total US defense budget of $715bn for 2022. The assistance represents 5.6% of total US defense spending. But Russia is a primary adversary of the US, a top tier rival not too far behind China, its number one strategic challenger. In cold, geopolitical terms, this war provides a prime opportunity for the US to erode and degrade Russia’s conventional defense capability, with no boots on the ground and little risk to US lives.

The Ukrainian armed forces have already killed or wounded upwards of 100,000 Russian troops, half its original fighting force; there have been almost 8,000 confirmed losses of armored vehicles including thousands of tanks, thousands of APCs, artillery pieces, hundreds of fixed and rotary wing aircraft, and numerous naval vessels. US spending of 5.6% of its defense budget to destroy nearly half of Russia’s conventional military capability seems like an absolutely incredible investment. If we divide out the US defense budget to the threats it faces, Russia would perhaps be of the order of $100bn-150bn in spend-to-threat. So spending just $40bn a year, erodes a threat value of $100-150bn, a two-to-three time return.  Actually the return is likely to be multiples of this given that defense spending, and threat are annual recurring events.

The US military might reasonably wish Russia to continue deploying military forces for Ukraine to destroy. 

Meanwhile, replacing destroyed kit, and keeping up with the new arms race that it has now triggered with the West will surely end up bankrupting the Russian economy; especially an economy subject to aggressive Western sanctions. How can Russia possibly hope to win an arms race when the combined GDP of the West is $40 trillion, and its defense spending amounting to 2% of GDP totals well in excess of $1 trillion when the disproportionate US defense contribution is considered? Russia’s total GDP is only $1.8 trillion. Vladimir Putin will have to divert spending from consumption to defense, risking social and political unrest over the medium term, and a real and soon-to-be present danger to his regime. Just imagine how much more of a bargain Western military aid will be if it ultimately brings positive regime change in Russia.

Second, the war has served to destroy the myth that Russian military technology is somehow comparable to that of the US and West. Remember that Ukraine is using only upgraded second generation US technology but is consistently beating whatever Russia’s military can deploy. Wars are shop windows for defense manufacturers; any buyer in their right mind will want the technology made by the winner. Putin’s misjudgment has merely provided a fantastic marketing opportunity for its Western competitors. 

Note also that the war is also pushing NATO partners to quickly increase spending to the 2% of GDP and above target. Given the US’ technological advantage in defense equipment, a sizeable share of this additional military outlay will be spent on US equipment. 

The Ukrainians are also showing remarkable innovation in their own defense, improving the performance of equipment in battlefield conditions, which again brings technological advantages to the US defense sector.

Third, the revelation that Russia’s defense industry is something of a Potemkin village also generates other strategic and diplomatic wins for the US. Countries eager to secure defense capability to meet their own threats – think of Turkey, India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia — might have opted for cheaper, “value” Russian defense offerings. However, with the quality/capability of this equipment now being questioned because of poor battlefield performance, they will likely be vying to acquire a better US kit. But this will require improved diplomatic relations. This is currently evident in the improved US–Pakistan relationship, with Pakistan securing upgrade kits for its F-16s.

Fourth, helping Ukraine beat Russia surely also sends a powerful signal to China that the US and its allies are strong and determined when challenged on issues of core importance. This may raise questions in the minds of Xi Jinping and the People’s Liberation Army generals about their ability to win a conflict against countries armed with US/Western military technology, for example in Taiwan. Surely Russia’s difficulty in winning the war in Ukraine will cause second thoughts in China about the wisdom and perhaps the viability of efforts to conquer Taiwan.

Fifth, the war in Ukraine is encouraging and accelerating the energy transition in Europe, but also Europe’s diversification away from Russian energy. Europe is desperately trying to source alternative energy supplies, and US liquefied natural gas (LNG) is proving to be the obvious beneficiary. 

In conclusion, on so many levels, continued US support for Ukraine is a no-brainer from a bang for buck perspective. Ukraine is no Vietnam or Afghanistan for the US, but it is exactly that for Russia. A Russia continually mired in a war it cannot win is a huge strategic win for the US.

Why would anyone object to that?

Timothy Ash is a Senior Emerging Markets Sovereign Strategist at RBC BlueBay Asset Management. He is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House on their Russia and Eurasian program.

Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy institution based in Washington DC, focused on strengthening the transatlantic alliance through cutting-edge research, analysis, and programs.

The opinions in this article are those of the author.

Congratulations to the armed forces of Ukraine for having killed (by U.S. assessments) more than 100,000 Russian soldiers. Russian military tactics under Putin are a virtual carbon copy of Hitler's during the 1940s. Most of Putin's munitions have been spent killing civilians and destroying the infrastructure which keeps them alive. Russian strategy is to wipe out Ukraine, its history, culture, language - everything Ukrainian. Pure Nazi activity.

The efficiency, determination, and valor of the Ukrainian soldier proves the wisdom of providing them modern weapons. Russia has lost nearly 3,000 tanks in the fight. I'm cheered by reports like this, "Russia Likely Lost Half Its Main Battle Tanks in Ukraine." Thousands of Russia's war-fighting machines have been destroyed and captured by the Ukrainians. Though Russia is 10-times bigger than Ukraine, Ukraine is kicking the stuffing out of them. The problem now is how to have Russia let go. The two missiles fired at Poland today point to that problem. The only good program Biden has launched so far is his support of Ukraine. I hope the new House of Representatives continues to support this goal.

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A response to Kelly Scoles' letter.
I think what we have here in the absence of a Midterm red wave, is a failure to communicate. I wish the Republican Party would wise-up. I thought they intended to issue another Contract with America, as was introduced six weeks before the 1994 Congressional election, resulting in Republicans gaining 54 House and 9 Senate seats, flipping both chambers. I still don't know what Republicans had planned this year - maybe nobody else did either. No excuses available.

You mention "Democrats ...passed legislation that will improve the lot of the American people." Do you mean anti-inflation, $2. gas, a controlled border, saving Americans in Afghanistan, surplus oil and a full emergency reserve, a controlled China, - do you mean those sorts of "beneficial improvements"?

Why didn't Republicans also take the Senate? Maybe Americans are experimenting with a masochistic fad? Why else would they invite more Bidenesque pain?

"Offensive Republican candidates"? In this category Republicans have no one to compete with your John Fetterman, who cost $100 million to get elected. As for his "mechanism which reduces speech to written form" Kelly, I have the same kind of mechanism on my phone! But I would not run for the Senate even if I were offered $100 million to do so. Sympathy, however noble, is no substitute for capability. While I sympathize with his condition (as I would any Republican in a similar condition) his physical-neural impairment should disqualify him from a seat on our crucially important Senate. How do you know that "His thought process is unimpaired"!? Like Biden himself, he repeatedly refused to release his medical records! Note: Trump took a standard Cognitive Test - perfect score. - Biden and Fetterman refuse to do so.

As for Stephen Hawking, a reasonable person should think that his extraordinary scientific achievements proved his mental abilities remained unimpaired until his death. What achievements does Fetterman offer?

As for Citizens United v. FEC - no time to scrutinize this case. But do you think it is politically healthy for one individual to fund five separate swing states with $400 MILLION, like Democrat Mark Zuckerberg? How about BlackRock (controlling $10 trillion) possibly doing the same?

After the 20/20 election fiasco Conservatives have no trust at all in the presumed corrupt process; indeterminate periods of time to tally the vote (unlike Florida which takes one day) just inspires suspicion of more cheating.

It will take another generation before trust in the system is reestablished. We need paper ballots, no computer tabulation, no ballot harvesting, personal identification, and ONE Election Day to avoid cheating.

I stayed up too late last night in order to see the outcome of the Midterms. I regret it now. Instead of witnessing what should have been a healthy conservative victory in House and Senate, a reasonable expectation after enduring Biden's two-year catastrophic "leadership", I watched John Fetterman (the Hulk) thrusting his arms into the air after his win. It framed forever the greatest insult ever inflicted upon the United States Senate; Fetterman now enters that hallowed chamber. With the welcoming of this wretchedly unqualified thug-like radical to "the most exclusive club in the world" his presence now becomes infamous. "...neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet..." It boggles my mind to think Pennsylvania rejected Dr. Oz, heart surgeon, to embrace a man unable to communicate due to his stroke. This man - unable to perform the normal duties of an American senator – who will soon be deciding everything from defense strategy to squandering more trillions of dollars on ideological fantasies and Woke fallacies ¬- is now on the loose.

More than $100 million was spent by Woke Democrats to elect Fetterman, the single most radical liberal in American politics. He will subvert every established traditional virtue, particularly Christian-Constitutional, approve late-term abortion, no cash bail for murderers, military preparedness, normal heterosexual education, pushes open borders, etc.. This is Barack Obama's "fundamental transformation of America" in operation. His leprous plan has apparently taken hold and gnawed deeply into the Republic's heartland. It may take major surgery to recover.

Looking over the Midterm aftermath, Republicans are certainly stunned to see Biden liberals were not removed as expected. With certain strong exceptions like Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Ron DeSantis, the outcome was a shocking disappointment. I have to presume that Biden's "fundamental transformation" of America is popular with many more citizens than I thought possible - that includes energy dependence upon enemies, extreme overall inflation, $7 gas, millions more illegals competing for money, food, education, medical care, etc...

I read on Drudge that the White House is 'Gleeful and Giddy'.... If Biden's policies continue this euphoria will be short-lived. On the other hand, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran will be ecstatic if Democrats hold on to the Senate. They will recognize that rumors of America's faltering IQ are true. And China will again view Taiwan with "a lean and hungry look."

Needless to say, I'm disgusted with Midterms this year. It's all money now. Democrats, like Zuckerberg, who donated $400 million to the Democratic cause last election (glad to learn he lost $100 billion a short time ago) and Fetterman, who was given more than $100 million this year, makes efforts by the little guys seem meaningless.

Some lessons need to be learned the hard way. Today we're asking for it.

LATE NEWS: Reports received of a shooting Halloween night. Police investigating Fourth St. and Edison Way (alley). More in next week’s edition of the Gazette.

***

A brief response to Kelly Scoles' letter:
This is the last edition of the Gazette before the Midterm Elections. I don't want to waste this time repeating responses I've provided so many times before. On the broadest issues a brief summary will have to suffice to avoid the ossification of our reader's patience.

Kelly, as we wait for the judgment of millions this November 8 to determine America's immediate future, please answer simply yes or no to the following questions:

1. Biden's first policy move was to abandon the border wall. It's been recently revealed that 4.5 million illegal aliens, from hundreds of foreign nations, have swarmed our country (including thousands of terrorists). Was this a wise decision by Biden and the Democratic Party? Is it possible to get rid of 4.5 million trespassers? Will this permanently change the demography of America?

2. On his first day in office Biden and his Democratic Party essentially shut down our oil industry. This destroyed the energy independence built by Trump. Biden later sold two-thirds of our emergency oil reserve to China. Did this hurt us?

3. Biden ordered our military to abandon Afghanistan ahead of civilian evacuation, leaving thousands stranded at the mercy of the Taliban - to this day. Also left $8-billion in weapons, ammunition, and bases. One of the greatest military catastrophes in U.S. history. Was that a good idea?

4. His multi-trillion dollar spendthrift policies have created 8+ percent inflation and is wrecking our economy. Good idea?

5. Biden tried to force private employers and other organizations with over 100 or more employees to enforce a vaccine mandate, despite saying that he didn’t think it was exactly constitutional. The Supreme Court agreed, and struck down the executive order in January. Was that a smart idea?

6. Biden's BLM support has caused an explosion of violent crime since the summer of 2020 - $2-billilon in property damage and more than 25 deaths. Makes the 4-hour Jan6 riot look like a tea party. "In December, ABC News reported that a dozen U.S. cities had set homicide records in 2021." This trend coincided with—and almost certainly was exacerbated by—the “defund the police” movement. In fact, many Democrat-run cities made good on this slogan by defunding their police departments and stemming the use of proactive policing. Cities that defunded police agencies are often on the list of places with the largest increases in violent crime. Did BLM support cause an insurrection?

7. War on schools. Parents are organizing in response to the misguided and often egregious policies of many K-12 schools. "From the inclusion of critical race theory and similar racialized and [sexualized] ideas in classroom curriculum to over-the-top COVID-19 restrictions that forced students to stay home for over a year or wear masks all day long, parents are fed up." Was this a healthy policy for our kids?

Considering the horrendous policy mistakes Biden has inflicted upon the American people, this list is pathetically short. But I'm writing a late night column' not a book. A more complete list of presidential offences should highlight Biden family crimes: Hunter Biden laptop adventures, Joe Biden's public boast of quid pro quo with pre-war Ukraine to save son Hunter from arrest, trading with the enemy, Biden's reengagement with nuclear Iran - and number one enemy, China. Smart?

8. Subversion of our military services. Military unpreparedness vis a vis Taiwan's defense against imminent China invasion and catastrophic loss of Taiwan's Semiconductor Manufacturing capabilities. "Taiwan makes 65% of the world's semiconductors and almost 90% of the advanced chips. By comparison, China produces a little over 5% while the U.S. produces approximately 10%, according to market analysts." Aug 10, 2022. Is it a good idea to fail to arm Taiwan to the teeth in the face of this extraordinary threat? For those without these chips the world stops. Should we defend Taiwan?

But wait! There is a single good thing Biden has done - one only, which some conservatives still argue is bad. That is supporting Ukraine with war material. Ukraine is fighting America's, and NATO's war. Compared to the trillions squandered by Democratic Party wastrels on Woke initiatives, Ukraine emergency money is a drop in the bucket. God bless Ukraine. She is bleeding Russia to death, at a heavy price herself.

Biden Inc. has destroyed most of the good Donald Trump achieved, and done so in less than two years. Just think of what he will do in the next two years unless he is stopped in next week's Midterms! Will we see in Taiwan what we saw in Afghanistan? There are natural limits to the toleration of stupidity, and China knows them well.

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter.
As the late, great Ronald Reagan used to say, "There you go again", [Kelly]; referring to receiving your alleged "facts." You say you weren't referring to facts, "or even my opinion." Then you go on about the Jan. 6 House Committee's "most revelatory evidence disclosed...". Not to put too fine a point on it, Kelly, but "evidence is allegedly factual, even when "almost exclusively provided by Republican witnesses." Note: The entire Committee membership was composed of Never Trumpers. Exculpatory evidence was not admissible. The whole thing was an embarrassing unconstitutional charade, built on the communist show trial model, soon to be swept into the dustbin of history after the midterms.

You say "the difference between BLM and Jan6" is that BLM was not trying to overthrow our government." If killing 25 citizens, destroying $2 billion in homes, businesses and public services during the year 2020 was not noticeably worse than that puny Jan6, 4-hour riot, maybe we should ascribe it to a manifestation of Barack Obama's wish to "completely rebuild America" and just call it normal? "Rebuilding" implies destruction. There was no significant destruction at the Capitol.

I think truth has been lost in American politics today. I see no reason to trust any part of our government that is under control of the Democratic Party. Citizens who do continue to trust our federal government are delusional and dangerously naive.

****

But all this controversy over the Jan6 Committee is downright foolish compared to the danger facing the West in the Ukraine war.

Large numbers of psychiatrists and other experts have diagnosed Vladimir Putin as one of the world's most dangerous leaders today, a mentally unbalanced threat of WWIII. I think they are wrong. I believe two former men who associated themselves with Putin years ago have it right. Putin is not a dictator, according to Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital and one of Putin's central targets. The other is Mikhail Khodorkovsky, exiled Russian businessman and opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodorkovsky was believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, with a fortune estimated to be worth $15 billion, and was ranked 16th on Forbes list of billionaires. He was later arrested, convicted, and pardoned after 10-years in a Russian prison.

Both of these men claim Putin is not a mere dictator, he's head of the world's largest criminal organization. He has only one goal, to acquire money. All other Putin claims to restore Imperial Russia hinge upon his determination to acquire power through money. His fortune is held by the Russian Oligarchs. Nothing else really interests Putin.

Both Browder and Khodorkovsky say Putin can only be stopped by military defeat, today in Ukraine.

Putin's talk of nuclear attack on the West, of an alleged "dirty bomb", joining forces with Belarus, use of outlawed weapons, attacks upon all civilian areas, all pertain to his determination to never lose control over his power - his money. Both Browder and Khodorkovsky warn that nothing will deter Putin but total defeat in Ukraine, except perhaps assassination.

So, the West (according to these two Putin experts), like it or not, is stuck for the long run, regardless of how badly the Russian population and military forces are thrashed. The only way out of Putin's war is to totally defeat him, which increases the probability of direct American involvement with Russia.

With China preparing to attack the sovereign nation of Taiwan, North Korea joining Russian war efforts, Iran providing weapons to Russia, and America selling its emergency oil reserves to China, squandering its treasure on same-sex equality and alleged climate cures, as well as feminizing hormone therapy for our combat troops, and tolerating 8-percent inflation -- what's to worry about? America has always been assured by our military leaders of our ability to win a two-front-war. "In January 2012, then-U.S. President Barack Obama outlined a major shift in Washington's national defense objectives: an end to its two-front-war strategy.” “America's not the world's policeman," he would later say. "Now, more than a decade later, the U.S. once again finds itself grappling with adversity on two fronts -- this time from China and Russia."

Today, we have just been informed by the Hoover Institution that America may not be able to win even a single-front war, due to our military unpreparedness and slovenly leadership.

We may as well be led by a team of Woke traitors. Our enemies have no such concerns.

My apologies for missing last week's Realities deadline. I've come to accept the fact that I'm just slowing down.

****

This week's letters section carries a powerful endorsement by Mary Ford for Council candidate Chris Gurrola in our Fillmore City Council election. I share Mary's enthusiasm for Chris and join in her endorsement. Also, for her vast experience in city government, I endorse Carrie Broggie for Fillmore City Council.

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I urge voters to vote yes on Measure G for swimming pool maintenance and a new gym for our kids. The kids need strong, challenging exercise for healthy minds as well as bodies. The cost here is relatively modest, the benefits large and long-lasting.

****

California Proposition 1 for (2022).

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that NO Constitutional right to abortion has ever existed. However, states may still act on their own conscience to reverse that status. Proposition 1 would establish the right to kill unborn children up to the time of normal birth. No trick of political rhetoric can identify such activity as other than murder. Let's not change the California Constitution into a killing instrument.

VOTE "NO" ON PROPOSITION 1. Let California continue to be a true Sanctuary State for the most innocent children waiting to be nurtured, free of violence.

****

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter.

Once again Kelly, I find it virtually impossible to respond to your statements because we disagree entirely on what constitutes facts.

You and your cohorts insist, for example, on referring to the (4-hour) January 6 riot as an "insurrection", an absurd exaggeration. Yet you also insist on ignoring the true insurrection which occurred for months, from January 2020 to April 2021, most due to Black Lives Matter instigation.

Our nation is drowning in a sea of false information, created by a seditious media, traitorous Democratic Party, Woke-globalists, socialist sympathizers, et al. Compared to the carnage and social disruption caused by these folks, the Jan. 6 riot is a pathetic footnote, no deaths, comparative minimal structural damage, and a mere 4-hour delay in Capitol vote-counting. Compare this to the BLM-Democrat Party-supported insurrection of 2020.

Since 26 May, [2020] the day after George Floyd was killed by police, ACLED records over 7,750 demonstrations associated with the BLM movement across more than 2,440 locations in all 50 states and DC. Nearly 73% of all demonstrations over this period are associated with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. “At least 25 Americans were killed during protests and political unrest in 2020." (The Guardian).

Damages caused by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests were estimated to cost $2-billion, a number that could "still go higher," according to a February 2021 report published on the World Economic Forum's website.

Again, compared to the outrageous, grossly unconstitutional prosecution of even minimally involved Capitol riot participants, “Thousands of pro-Trump supporters descended on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Over a year later, 928 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection so far". Many held in solitary confinement!!

Our utterly corrupt FBI brags about rounding-up citizen rioters in what they claim was the largest such investigation in the nation's history! It's time to flush that FBI toilet of its leaders. Our federal justice system has become a cesspool of proto-Nazis, from the Attorney General, down.

I just have enough time left to remind you, Kelly, the coming midterm elections will plumb away the last steaming parts of this infamous House Committee. This will include "Republicans" little Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, and Adam Kinzinger - though it might take a large plunger to force them down the drain.

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hello Kelly,
When batting political argument around I think it's a good idea not to take everything too literally. Typical hyperbole gets overused (as I sometimes do) and distorts clarity.

I find today's Democratic Party rhetoric as noxious as its mendacious message of weakness. Those folks who know the facts (for example in anti-Trump allegations) know he has suffered 6-years of unrelenting defamation. His enemies would, I believe, assassinate him if they could because they fear him. I continue to admire him because he's tough as shoe leather. "For everything there is a season" and he's the expression of courage we need this season of national political warfare, in our sedition-ridden nation. He's a patriot and defender of freedom, a powerful symbol of manhood in an age of transsexuals, sissy men, and sycophants. Trump is a modern Horatius at the Bridge, and I enjoy a little of that hyperbole here. Why shouldn’t any Democratic Party follower respect a person of such honest traditional principles?

(Note: Kelly I'm a little under the weather and will make this short)

You bring up the ghost of "young [Kyle] Rittenhouse". Why? After excruciating, multiple examinations, and a jury verdict - he was found NOT GUILTY on all counts. The same has been true of numerous now-infamous false accusations against conservative victims. Many are now receiving millions in damages for media defamation.

I was going to recall the earlier such infamous false accusations but had no time or patience for it. Maybe later; it's instructive. "The facts [didn't] matter" to the victims' accusors I refer to here either. It took a long time for justice to be done.

Gotta go. Let's elevate the level of debate.

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hi Kelly,
The mini-riot at the Capital on January 6, 2021, now that's a hot new topic! "...he [Trump] urged the assembly on January 6, 2021, to storm the capitol and reverse the election. He failed to overthrow the government..." No matter how extremely you twist his words you can never convert his published message, "peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard" into your own interpretation - "to overthrow the government..." That of course would have been treason. He wanted the vote count halted and investigated for fraud. Period.

Tiresome this subject may have become, it will remain supremely important to an understanding of how our Constitutional law has been subverted by progressive leftist leadership in the Democratic Party for years.

January 6, 2021 will be attached to countless law school journals, casebooks, and books of history, for a hundred years. Researchers will ask "was it an insurrection or a riot?” It was completely ended in exactly 4 hours. No fires were started, no firearms found (by multiple official reports). The only death (aside from false reporting) was due to a negligent Capitol Police Officer shooting a 35-year-old female Air Force veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the few hundred rioters were ushered into the Capitol building by police; others fought with officers who sought to restrain them, and a few others climbed the building to gain entry.

Extraordinary efforts have been made by most media outlets to falsify allegations, to exaggerate physical damage and disruption of vote counting in order to frame Trump. This was never a coup attempt; it was an attempt to halt tabulation and investigate for fraud. Vote counting resumed, uninterrupted, immediately after the 4-hour delay.

The treatment of those who happened to be in that crowd, or associated with it, by the FBI, is shamefully, outrageously unconstitutional! Many are still in solitary confinement since 2020, for MISDEMEANORS! It's far past time to replace director Christopher Wray and his Boss Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and investigate their criminality. Actually, all of Biden's pathetic cabinet must be replaced in order to regain some constitutional equilibrium.

We hear the term "weaponized" frequently today with reference to our federal government agencies and their appointed leaders. With many agencies, including our Postal Service and IRS, purchasing millions of dollars-worth of rifle, pistol, and shotgun ammunition, "weaponizing" is a reality, not merely a figure of speech. Couple these kinetic capabilities with the kind of fascistic tactics we now witness from the FBI, et al, as in the case of Roger Stone and a growing list of others, and trouble lurks ahead, and it isn't just a "flash in the pan", it could end up a spark in the keg. Democratic Party leaders should learn to respect the constitutional rights of the citizen, who has already lost respect for their leaders.

The Mar-a-Lago raid on former President Donald Trump's residence is another insufferable crime against our Constitution. The basic crime here has to do with the issuance of a "general warrant", something that helped spark our revolution.

"The Fourth Amendment provides that “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Accordingly, in Stanford v. Texas the Supreme Court asserted that this Constitutional requirement protects against “the use of general warrants as instruments of oppression.” Therefore, blanket search warrants are unconstitutional, and all evidence obtained under the blanket warrant must be excluded from the trial of the defendant.

Our Constitutional rights are the only things keeping former President Donald Trump from the long knives of Democratic Party terrorists.

By the way, a president's authority to classify and declassify government documents is termed "pleanery". Only he can do so. This should end the question.

By the way again, "that coming storm?" without reform of massive judicial abuse in the Biden administration, a storm shelter would be in order.

****

I'm sorry but I've run out of time.