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.

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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.

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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.

I would first like to respond to Tom Somers' letter.
Thanks Tom, for making your letter short. It caused me to re-read Patti Walker's excellent letter in last week's Gazette to which you refer. She itemizes those catastrophic policies which Joe Biden has inflicted upon our now struggling republic. A little repetition here.

You admit you voted for Joe Biden, the "centrist". O.K., we all make mistakes, sometimes even potentially disastrous ones. But you seem to wallow in your errors, admitting "Yes, I DO like his policies..." However, "Logical thinking is the ability to make a rational conclusion by analyzing a situation, and it helps the human mind to make a distinction between right and wrong." I would like to ask why you agree with Biden's iniquitous policies, foreign and domestic. I use the word "iniquitous" because they may well lead to the demise of our nation; they are clearly wrong.

One saving grace prevents your admissions from being completely wrong - your support for Biden's defense of Ukraine. That's a moral imperative (seeking the defeat of evil) from a Judeo-Christian perspective.

Let me search for a valid rationale in those Bidenesque policies you like:
"A woman's right to choose" to kill her unborn baby? Monstrous act for convenience?
"Defend the Constitution" by packing the court for political purposes?
"Choose a man who would defend our democracy" by weaponizing DOJ, IRS, FBI, etc.?
"Choose a humble public servant [practicing fascist]" Utter corrupt Biden family?
"Never see Joe with a QANON button on lapel" - Chinese CCP button instead?
Biden selling millions of barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China, our main enemy!

Biden (against expert advice) surrenders Afghanistan, leaving thousands of Americans behind and "Because of the negligence, the hasty and incompetent withdrawal led by this commander in chief [Biden] all of the $85 billion dollar’s worth of equipment has been"...lost to Taliban. Read: J.P. Lawrence, Stars and Stripes • August 15, 2022.

Biden policy outcomes: (3-million illegals pass through southern border); destroy Trump energy independence; feminization of military; obvious corruption (weaponizing) of FBI, CIA, IRS, etc.; Hunter Biden laptop exposing "the Big Guy's" criminality. What's to like here?!

After just finishing this week's (again excellent) Patti Walker letter, I should have deferred my Realities to her analysis, but I will triple-down instead.

Tom, despite my criticism of your comments, I thank you for finding the time to write. I value letters, especially those from folks who strongly disagree with me.

****

Response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hi again, Kelly.
As I pointed out earlier, I had to research a little on QAnon. Didn't dig deep, and remain mostly ignorant about the subject, and caring even less. Honest.

I have grown to despise the liberal "media" to such an extent, I'm a little wary of your description of me being "a professional in public information." This tempts me to respond as I might have 80-years ago: "I know you are, but what am I?" Most authorities would refer to me as amateur, a member of the redneck nano press. But I am a dabbler in "public information", making you half right.

More proof of my amateur status is the fact that I know virtually nothing about "Truth Social media" and have no contact with things like Twitter or Facebook (glad to hear he just lost $17-billion) so-called social media. And, frankly, I would rather have an Alexander the Great in office today than a shrinking violet like Joe the Witless. Alexander knew how to win wars - and adversaries answered his phone calls.

You say that I "should at least be curious about QAnon.” But curiosity consumes time, and as a nano press guy, I have very little of that. I'm more curious about Hunter's laptop and "the Big Guy" and why the Big Guy refuses to stop the multi-million-man flow of illegal aliens into our country or stop our 8-percent inflation.

Correction please: One of the oldest parts of my library has been dedicated to the Bard. You finish with Milton. No fair. As a writer of thick books and long poems he was never a favorite of dyslexics who would rather deal with plays - at least this one would.

Your thought of "waltzing" Hillary would terrify Macbeth. Truth, I had hard time learning enough Elizabethan English with Shakespeare; forget Milton. I am satisfied to know where beautiful language can still be found.

I want to shout congratulations to the Ukraine armed forces for their recent brilliant victories over the Russian Orcs who have been despoiling that beautiful nation. Ukraine deserves the fullest financial and weapons support possible. Putin has exhausted his threats of nuclear attacks against the West--he may or may not go to nuclear arms and we must be prepared to respond. Any fear of Putin's instability will not make us safer. Our full arms support for Ukraine is a sacred duty in the defense of world democracy. Ukraine is fighting our war; let's give her everything needed to crush the Russians, without delay!

FOX News is wrong to criticize America's support for Ukraine; it is completely shortsighted to fear Russia, which is being reduced as a world threat by this much smaller country.

Ukraine is championing Western freedom. God bless and grant her victory!

****

Response to Kelly Scoles' letter

Hi Kelly,
Any "fantastical conspiracy theory" you may see in conservative Republican political thought these days, "profound" or otherwise, is a mirage of your own making. I had to look up "QAnon". I've never really known what it's all about. I don't bother with the weirder political spooks, too many, too unimportant. And I don't believe for a second rumors about chanting being overheard from Joe Biden's basement, like "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble," though some say they're brewing-up something evil again, something collusion-ish. No talk of drinking blood, however. Maybe Shakespeare's spirit is afoot?

You're right about "people getting whipped up into accepting and believing ridiculous things and feeling more powerful because of it." Democrats do believe ridiculous things like men becoming women and women, men, by thinking it so, and recalling these words, "Come you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here." Well, if it's good enough for Lady Macbeth, I think it should suffice for transgendering Democrats. Or maybe Mr. Macbeth had it right? "[Life] is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Maybe Biden's basement is full of idiots, because what Democrats say often signifies nothing.

I'd rather not think about this. However, while I don't have "gauzy recollections of my own [redneck] childhood" I can believe Democrats do "become addicted to resentment and vengeance against those who disagree with them" due to their "fantastical conspiracy theories" (Trump collusion) rising from the Biden basement, with Hillary stirring her pot of witches' brew, “Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg" - and Hunter's laptop.

Yeah, I know, it doesn't rhyme - but it fits, despite the frog toe.

William, I apologize - and to you as well good readers.

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter.

It's been from 100 to 105 degrees today making me feel like I'm 105-years old.

You give me another long list of evil ideas and activities, alleging Republicans are fascists, but in reality all are hallmarks of the Democratic Party. Psychologists call this projection, attributing to others what is true of one's self. But let's turn the mirror on Democrats.

Professor Umberto Eco's careful study of fascism is correct. Definitions of fascism have always been nebulous. "Eco grew up under Mussolini’s fascist regime, which was certainly a dictatorship, ... but not [completely] totalitarian..." He called fascism "a beehive of contradictions." It was (is) an evil idea but not as evil as Nazism. In another essay "he lists fourteen general properties he believes comprise fascist ideologies." You say Republicans do these things, like fascists. I say you should look again and see the real fascists in the Democratic Party. As a professor of Semiotica (new word for me, meaning an expert on signing) Eco would have agreed.

Your list of seven alleged fascistic characteristics are all traits of today's Democratic Party. I don't know how to avoid making this less tedious, but here goes:

"Fear of minority, ethnic and racial groups", etc. Please note that these folks are flocking to the Republican Party in historic numbers today.

"Disregard for Norms or Institutions" includes the crimes of the most notorious Democratic Party leaders in American history! (Old term "fellow travelers" should apply here to Wokesters.) Begin with the Trump candidacy, through four years of FBI fabrication and perjury; remember FBI Peter Strzok? How about this lie: "Mueller’s report is arguably the most damning document ever written about a sitting president, identifying numerous instances of obstruction of justice and clear collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia." Utter lies, for 3 years! "Mueller finds no collusion with Russia." Finally the truth. Remember Former FBI Director James Comey testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, June 2017. Again all official lies! How about CIA co-conspirator John Brennan, a liar and perjurer, and James Clapper. former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) also liar and perjurer. And, as always, little Adam Schiff, Chair of Intelligence Committee - perhaps the biggest liar in Congress. Remember how he repeatedly told the nation that he had smoking gun proof of Trump's collusion with Russia, to keep the ball rolling? All lies. He has the moral character of a pimp.

"Disregard for Norms or Institutions?" Your list reflects the loathsome habits of Democratic Party leaders across the board. They "Churn Social Frustration" with, for example, the destruction of our energy industry. Also, feminizing our combat forces by facilitating every imaginable sexual deviancy, which poisons historic moral standards, and discourages normal recruitment. Who wants to fight in a "queer" army? Democrats say to hell with traditional norms which have protected the spiritual welfare of our troops for 240-years. Then $80-billion in weapons gifted to our enemies after surrendering Afghanistan, after fighting them for 20-years! Examples of Democratic treachery and incompetence are overwhelming. You allege Republican "fascists" "imagine (without proof?) that the enemy has taken control of the country, the Deep State"? Why does Joe Biden continue to invite the world to flood through our national borders? - to date: 3 million and counting, with the stupidest man in government, Alejandro Mayorkas, running the welcome wagon. Can a reasonable man believe the extent of these activities without believing treason is involved?

I'm getting nauseous itemizing these facts. But, here's another one: Did you know that Biden has sold six-million (6-million) barrels of oil from our Strategic Oil Reserves to CHINA?! Not just the ONE million barrels as previously reported, but SIX million barrels! Why? Reserves are now low.

Then you charge Republicans with "Machismo and Militarism" including misogyny. Kelly, you and your minions know nothing about military matters, especially women in combat, an abomination. Co-Ed Combat is Krypton to all male combat organizations on earth. It's an insult to normal male war fighters to inject even a whiff of feminism in ranks. From well before the time of Joshua, down through the Spartans, Huns, et al, war demands male strength to produce peace, this natural standard has never changed - until now. Our enemies are not weaker today - but our leaders are!

Mr. Umberto Eco had his list right, but his fascists' identity wrong.

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hi again, Kelly,
I have to say you are not short of audacity to criticize God's will, though I question your wisdom. However, this has always been the central issue of our many debates. I acknowledge the Judeo-Christian fact of God's eternal existence, being omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omnibenevolent (supremely good) with the unimaginable glory of His Divine Mercy, especially in these confused and bloody times.

Of course, He is also "vengeful" with perfect justice, as the Bible tells us in 65 different places (I am not a Bible scholar). A proofreader would have to forgive me here for making too fine a point of this, but the existence of God has always lurked as an unseen issue in nearly all of our previous debates. I can't escape the redundancy here for that reason. I wish you good speed in your pursuit of that God of the "Old Testament" because you will then find the God of everything.

Science tells us that human life is developing in the uterus about 6-weeks before a heartbeat is detected; nothing will be added or taken away, humanity is developing. You designate the mother alone as having "the most intimate relationship with the fetus" therefore should, alone, decide the "future" of the fetus, “not Mary or the police." But you don't recognize the fetus as a human being, which is wrong scientifically and morally (under both the commandment of that "vengeful" God, and the scrutiny of modern medical science. And, yes, my mind is "made up" after diligently studying the subject.

On the Mark Reisner Cadillac Desert book, concerning drought conditions, I listened to expert explanations last week. That expert disagrees with other experts on the cause of Lake Mead water loss. He claims that snowpack conditions have remained relatively steady for years. He claims the greatest cause is not draught but extreme overuse of the water resource. For years we have increased water usage for city consumption beyond snowpack capacity to replenish. Huge disagreement on this issue. That expert says only drastic cut-back in usage can fill the lake again.

Liberals don't agree that agriculture is more important than expanding housing or industry in the desert, as they favor the tiny snail darter fish over farming in the northwest. Goodbye agriculture.

Kelly, you should sit down before reading my next opinion. It's about the job of your "Good government."

We live in an age of monumental swindle, in industry, private business, science and, especially, government. In particular, the Democratic Party and its many co-conspirators, have finally succeeded to a point of Liberal cultural saturation. There is no feature of American culture, economics, education, religious practice, military order, media, or of general government operation that has not been infected by communism, socialism, or atheism. Whether emanating from a declared enemy like China or Russia, or a corrupted traditional Capitalism, they all hate America and its fundamental traditional freedoms. Each of these enemies’ attacks freedom as America has known it for 245-years. The survival of America through war and treachery, stumbling into century 300 is a miracle, a manifest gift of God of a unique place for a special people. Think back two-and-a-half centuries to Benjamin Franklin's comment after the Constitutional Convention of 1787. When asked what kind of government the delegates had created, he famously replied "A republic, if you can keep it."

Today, because of Deep State sedition, Congressional treason, Judicial perfidy, and an ignorant citizenry, that Republic is quickly slipping away.

"Alexis de Tocqueville is best known for Democracy in America, which he wrote after spending 10 months of 1831 and 1832 in the United States on a mission from France to study American prisons (then considered progressive)." He noted: " The American was the Englishman left alone." High praise for American democratic freedom. Depressing loss of that reality today.

Last week I touted Tucker Carlson's recent review (Aug. 16, 2022 - Fox News) on the criminality of the FBI's raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. I believe a near terminal state of corruption exists in all three branches of government, and as they say, the fish rots from the head.

It's more difficult to argue the truth of things when that truth is so grave, broad, and obvious that describing it digests the hottest hyperbole with hardly a belch. Unfortunately, the truth of government corruption here has been so deftly camouflaged by moneyed progressives it appears to be almost beyond belief, and so they would have us believe. From the Biden Crime Syndicate to the Deep State, and the Big everything, it could be America's definitive challenge.

Carlson's program on the Mar-a-Lago raid is valuable not only for its veracity and accuracy, it's important for its clarity and historic definition - he causes us to reflect upon the modus operandi of Merrick Garland's Justice Department. Carlson shows that the FBI, when not conducting surprise night raids upon older Republican citizens, forcing them into the street at gunpoint, in pajamas, applying handcuffs and leg irons, by force of scores of tactical special agents, they kowtow to Attorney General Merrick Garland. These theatrics are usually performed under the Klieg lights of a programmed Democratic media. It's all a display of a Leftist Democratic Deep State power grab, and an end to "Equal Justice Under Law."

"No honest person could believe the Trump raid was a legitimate act of law enforcement," said Carlson, and he's right.

The corruption of federal criminal law by the FBI and others is so pervasive it defies explanation in a short space. It started with Obama's determination to "fundamentally change" American government. To "fundamentally change" a thing is tantamount to destroying it. Time is of the essence to avoid that "fundamental" Leftist, Woke change - the central intent being to keep Trump out of the White House. I've done my best to avoid superlatives.

****

A response to this week's Kelly Scoles letter.

Hello again Kelly,
Clearly you have either not watched the Tucker Carlson FOX news program I've talked about, or you do not believe the truth he is proclaiming. Let me just go down your statements one by one.

First, "That an ex-president is reasonably believed...to have engaged in criminal conduct...."

This is a central point of Carlson's program, and the reason Trump wants the raid affidavit released in its entirety - to show probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant. The FBI has violated numerous Constitutional requirements, i.e. no general warrants. "Using "writs of assistance," [general warrants] the King [George III] authorized his agents to carry out wide-ranging searches of anyone, anywhere, and anytime regardless of whether they were suspected of a crime. These "hated writs" spurred colonists toward revolution, and directly motivated James Madison's crafting of the Fourth Amendment." No point rehearsing these again; they are well covered in Carlson's work.

Trump and his attorneys have ample reasons to attack the FBI; again, refer to Tucker.

There are many types of "Top Secret" documents. President Trump declassified those which were shipped to his private residence. He had the plenary (absolute and exclusive authority) to declassify any federal document (whenever, wherever, however) - and exercised that authority, as previous presidents have done.

"Defunding the police" has always been a dangerous and stupid idea of the Left. No further comment needed here.

It has been thoroughly established that Trump has always cooperated fully with the government on availability of all records in question. These records are packed and delivered by a specially designated agency of the federal government. The president does not pack his own bags.

I await, with bated breath, the discovery of any nuclear codes to be found in these cases of documents, or nuclear bomb schematics!

Without having read the all-important affidavit which launched the unlawful search, how can you say Trump has lied? You say: "The affidavit supporting the warrant was likely provided by someone close to Mar-a-Lago...". "Likely"? We're all waiting to see who signed off on that affidavit. Republicans believe there has never been the required "probable cause" to issue that document! It was done unlawfully and FBI is in habitual cover-up mode.

The "White Nationalist home-grown terrorist, being "biggest threat" to America is just humorously foolish.

Investigating Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden by way of Grand Jury would be sensationally more productive of evidence of criminal activity. Let's go there.

Tucker Carlson, Fox News

I'm not quite up to par as yet and didn't finish the column last night. So today I'd simply like to mention Tucker Carlson's commentary from last night (8-16-2022) on the Mar-a-Lago raid. He lays the facts bare to show that, "No honest person could believe the Trump raid was a legitimate act of law enforcement." The raid was simply a power grab, preceded by a long string of similar outrageous, unlawful and unconstitutional government crimes.

Yes, I know, liberal heads will explode after hearing these words. That's to be expected of Woke, Progressive Democrats because they are not prepared to accept facts. However, Carlson's words on the state of our federal government should be made mandatory fare for the nation, though I don't like mandates. Carlson proves federal government criminal misconduct is beyond dispute. He maintains that America no longer supports "Equal Justice Under Law," citing numerous examples of Justice Department criminal activity under Attorney General Merrick Garland.

This is Carlson's most important contribution in efforts to recapture our country and return it to its former democratic republic.

I regret I'm still under the weather and unable to do more than emphatically recommend this program. Listen to it a couple of times! Then compare it to the lies and misrepresentations from MSNBC, CNN, etc... I think FOX is the last breath of truth on TV.

I'm a little under the weather tonight so I have to keep this short. More next week on Russia, China/Taiwan, north Korea, Syria, and gross American defense unpreparedness and leadership.

But for this week, just a few comments on some extraordinary issues…

First a few facts from the "homeland". That term always sounded too Germanic to me - I think it was created by Democrats.

"IRS Stockpiles More Than 5-Million Rounds of Ammunition." (Darlene McCormick Sanchez, August 1, 2022. The Epoch Times). Also, spent $725,000 on bullets this year--other agencies follow suit.

That's a lot of ammo. Why would a major (civilian) government agency want or need to tuck away 5-million rounds of rifle and pistol ammo? Where is their ammo dump?

As if there were not enough "normal" paranoiacs in this world, I have to ask why our leaders and their government agencies work so hard to create millions more. Second Amendment supporters like the NRA seem prescient and reasonable to encourage civilian firearms ownership to the tune of 425-million units in our 340-million free citizenry.

This particular quandary gains momentum when we learn the Senate approved nearly $80-billion in IRS funding, with $45.6-billion for “enforcement,” raising questions about who may be targeted by future audits.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said the resources won’t increase “audit scrutiny on small businesses or middle-income Americans.” Well, there are 927 billionaires in the US. And they say they will sick 87,000 new IRS agents on them. Not all agents will be doing audits, but about half will. They'll need fresh meat. Of course, these big-business people all have lawyers and accountants to defend themselves - most of the rest (earning less than $75,000) don't, and this coming after the pandemic, lockdowns, inflation, and recession.

A response to Kelly Scoles' letter:

Hi again Kelly,
It's often a daunting job to answer your letters, especially those which have so many parts. I'm reminded of a famous statement from the past: "I'm writing a long letter to you because I don't have time to write a short one."

What makes matters more challenging is the fact that we do not share an understanding of the facts in question. You are an energetic radical progressive, a Woke Democrat. I am an equally energetic traditional Conservative, anti-Woke person. What makes the debate even more difficult is the fact that we often express ourselves with different logic, which can make the discussion a true "zero-sum game".

The hippo-sized problem here is that your Woke ideals are meaningless to me because they are based on ad hoc sandy foundations, instead of traditional Judeo-Christian, Constitutional laws and principles. For example, the 11 political sins you accuse Republican senators of committing by not supporting cheaper gas, cheaper insulin, child tax credits, ...voting rights, vote to uphold 2020 election, keep gay marriage legal...are all based upon beliefs held by far-Left Democrat Party leaders, not in any sense Constitutional mandates. The Democrats, as here, have always added a sort of "poison pill" amendment to bills pushing their objectives.

You are horrified by the normal works of law-making. One example of your intolerance of vote outcomes is alleged Republican "failure to keep gay marriage legal." Please find some support for such a Biblical blasphemy in our Constitution - or any tradition of tolerance for it. Do you expect ever to find total conservative support, without amendment, in our Senate? I hope not. Virtually all of your voting examples were rejected for solid reasons, often due to last minute additions and funding disbursement irregularities.

As usual, you accuse Republicans of these alleged evildoings when it is often the work of Democrats. Vote timing and methods are favorite Democrat tricks - like flooding mail-in ballots to facilitate fraudulent voting.

Ukraine support was criticized by FOX News. I usually agree with FOX, but not on this. Most of America knows Russia is the second greatest enemy of mankind, after China. America heavily supports Ukraine, as I do!

Kelly, 80-percent of the "insanely wealthy" are liberal Democrats, with their spendthrift buddies in the Media, Banks, Big Industry, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, et al… As well as money sumps like Black Rock (controlling $10 trillion).

You mention lack of baby formula. Who has been abusing the presidency for nearly 2 years now? Trump was going to give us much cheaper insulin; what has Biden done? Domestic violence and terrorism have skyrocketed since Trump left. How about inflation and selling millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves to CHINA!

We (Republicans) want to reduce taxes during a recession? You complain about that? Dems just passed a huge tax increase; Senator Joe Manchin, W.V., a sell-out (just call him Judas Joe), turned on his own state's coal industry, with his decisive vote - he's a Democrat.

Finally, you have the gall to blame Republicans for forgetting about the debt left to our children. Are you aware of the $6 TRILLION spent by Biden and his congressional spendthrift buddies during the past two years? Two years! Woe to your grandchildren's future.

Like I said up front, we can't really get anywhere in this debate without some common understanding of facts and consequences. Logic is indispensible to clarity and understanding.

****

Nancy Pelosi gets a gold star for being more courageous than her military leaders in visiting Taiwan.

Of birds, and bags, and bumble bees.

I guess I'll just wander around a few issues this week. I'm not too focused.

Well, I'm sad to report that my mockingbird friends have been chased away from their favorite nest in the fruitless Mulberry tree overlooking the garage. They had been greeting me with a burst of enthusiastic music as soon as I stepped from the car when arriving home late. They seem to need an audience. "Northern Mockingbirds continue to add new sounds to their repertoires throughout their lives. A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life. A male may have two distinct repertoires of songs: one for spring and another for fall."

I regret that I neglected to record this couple when I could; they had an especially elaborate repertoire, and plenty of volume. I guess it was the power of their song that persuaded light-sleepers to chase them away. After evenings writing so many gloomy columns it was always a refreshing moment to hear them sing - even at midnight. I miss them!

****

I guess it's time for me to once again dabble in the ugly realities of the human world. I'll start with the smaller issues, like why did California prohibit those small, cheap plastic bags at supermarkets? The reason given was that they ended up clogging waterways by being carelessly disposed of.

Now that the free, thin plastic bags have been replaced by new heaver bags at 10-cents apiece, what has happened? Well, personal cloth bags are also discouraged due to unsanitary conditions from repeated use. So, the grocery stores have created a necessary new market in these 10-cent bags which they sell to their customers - tens-of-millions of dollars-worth of new revenue. Makes me wonder where all these millions of new 10-cent bags end up. Do they end up "clogging waterways by being incorrectly disposed of" like the old free bags? Show me that they are not. I'm sure that more than 100 of the new bags recently retrieved from my office closet went into city trash collection - just like the old free ones. These 100 new (now used) bags cost me $10.00. Hmm - how many millions of shoppers using the new bags have been coerced into paying how many millions of dollars? And, to what purpose other than giving tens of millions of dollars to the markets. What alleged environmental purpose was served? Another government scam? Question of the day for Democrat Party leaders: Was this Trumps fault?

****

A new California court ruling says that "if it looks like a bee, buzzes like a bee, and stings like a bee - it's a fish." ordinarily, this would require some explanation. But, seeing that this is California, where biological men can be determined women, and women men, I'll just leave it at that. "American Bumblebee Takes Step Toward Endangered Species Act Protection. “Bumblebee Once Found Across Country Has Nearly Vanished From 16 States". This item caught my eye recently. And, I have to say, as a kid I often saw bumblebees on the ranch and in garden areas but haven't seen one in years. Sad to hear that. On a quick search I discovered one species, Crotch's bumblebee, "an endangered species that was last evaluated by IUCN in April 2014. In 2019, the species' global status was listed as imperiled.” Keep an eye on that one! And that's all I have to say about that.

****

At a time when our country is threatened by true national defense catastrophes from multiple directions, I don't know why I ended up with such a frivolous beginning to Realities this week. Maybe it's because it is so frustrating to find half of America oblivious to the threats created by current "leaders".

China, in particular, as our main enemy, is daring us to take action in support of Taiwan. Our House Leader, Nancy Pelosi, has announced an official visit to Taiwan, which has China's Communist Leader Xi Jinping behaving like Rumlpelstiltskin, once upon a time. He has the insolence to forbid the U.S. to visit Taiwan! I would take pleasure reminding Xi that all of his illegally armed artificial South China Sea islands could be destroyed by a single U.S. Arleigh Burke class destroyer in a few minutes, as Trump did in Syria against 50 targets.

Xi is looking for America to kowtow - the greatest insult in Far East culture. No - Xi should kowtow to his free Western adversaries. The U.S. should continue to arm Taiwan with every missile, plane and submarine available. Taiwan must have in place thousands of missiles prepositioned, targeting key enemy sites. If China intends to attack the free, autonomous, sovereign nation of Taiwan, to enslave its citizens, as they have done to the Uighurs, let them pay the ultimate price for their pyrrhic victory, and cease all commerce with the United States.

Recently self-described "Woman" (champion of the Trans) Nancy Pelosi, needs to go to Taiwan and flaunt that new Trans testiculrity in defense of America's honor.

Say hello to Xi for me. Was in Taiwan in 1961. Freedom was great!

A response to Kelly Scoles letter.

Hi Kelly.
Allow this conservative (non politician) to answer some of your questions.

We rail against government interference because it is so often unconstitutional. We defend freedom against communism and other totalitarianism forces because we love our democratic Republic.

We endorse government intrusion into "a woman's healthcare (in this case abortion) because our constitution guarantees life in the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits the states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" (and babies in utero are very live persons. The Fifth Amendment repeats the same 11 words. The Declaration of Independence, while not law per se, describes the primary purpose of the Constitution as protecting life. Both the Declaration and Constitution are imbued with the Founder's "personal Christian beliefs" and all of them believed that our system could not work without the moral guidance of religion.

Conservatives "insist it is the government’s job to be a partner in a pregnancy" to assure that life is not destroyed by abortion, which in every case brutally kills a baby waiting to be born. Democrats shamefully use the outrageous case of this 10-year-old girl who was impregnated, for political purposes. The doctor was legally bound to report the case to Ohio police authorities and have the rapist arrested, and reportedly did not, though I'm not up to date here.

"He Gym [sic] Jordan (R-OH) smugly declared that Science has “changed in the last years" and suggested that it has settled the question of when the body is “ensouled.” It hasn’t." Wrong - it has! Without returning to several earlier columns discussing the question of "ensoulement" (an ancient term), I affirm my conclusions based entirely on modern science. At the moment when the zygote includes both XX chromosomes (female) and XY chromosomes (male) human life has begun, not before. What's a Zygote? "Fertilization is a process that usually happens within a few hours of ovulation. It's that critical point in reproduction when the sperm meets the newly released egg. At this meeting, 23 male (XY) and 23 female (XX) chromosomes mix together to create a single cell embryo called a zygote" - male or female. The ancient Greeks understood embryonic human life in 500BC and outlawed abortion by a mandatory ethical oath.

You say: "Science can detect the presence of life but not of the human soul." That's because we will never have a microscope capable of scanning spiritual things, the spirit itself not being visible. But its effects are.

Though the Church of the 13th century (Aquinas) could not understand the precision of this statement, it certainly taught that human life began with "ensoulement" - and we now know exactly when that happens. However nothing much can be done today to persuade most of the scientific community of this, being atheistic, they mock the existence of the human soul and the reality of life after death. This is the greatest threat to our civilization today.

Lastly, you complain of "these political [pro life] atrocities." "A grown man pontificates about a female child (rape victim)." Why should that shock you Kelly? Men, especially fathers, have an equal duty to provide for the safety of their children. They should be as vigilant as present day St. Josephs.