1861 or 1941?

Welcome back to the Scuttlebutt.

Hey, have a seat, pour a beer, and let’s talk.

I was completely off the grid for June 30 through July 5th.  It took me a day and a half just to clear the communications backlog… We were out in a place where you can’t even see a powerline, there are mountains on three sides, and the ocean and mountainous islands on the fourth.  Sort of want to go back there and let the whole damn world burn.

But I’m here now, so… I feel like we’re at a crossroads in this country, and I can’t tell whether we’re setting up to replay 1861 or 1941…  I suppose that depends on whether the foreign interests are successful at starting a civil war before Putin and Xi the Poo push so hard that we have no choice but to respond.

  
Let’s take a look at the cases for each.

1861: The start of the last US Civil War. The amount of dezinformatsiya that is floating around is amazing, and it’s pushing us further and further apart, at a time when we really need to be rallying together.

  
Take for example the SCOTUS rulings.  The Press and foreign governments are making BIG hay on the rulings that SCOTUS handed down.  Frankly, they’re LYING to you.  The press in an effort to sell papers, (I’m going to run on the possibly naïve belief that they are not trying to start a civil war, although I am hard-pressed to show what they would be doing differently if they WERE trying…) Foreign governments, because well, keeping us busy at home makes sure we stay out of their business. Right now, their business is conquest, and brother, business is good.

Look, here’s the truth. The Supreme Court did NOT illegalize abortion, it did NOT throw out the ability to regulate carbon or power plant emissions in general, it did NOT say that anyone can carry a gun anywhere in the nation, and it did NOT say that it was OK to allow millions of illegal aliens into the US forever.  What it did do, and what its JOB is, is say in all of these cases: “Look, the constitution says that THIS is who gets to make laws about these various things, and THIS is the limits of what you can legislate IAW the constitution.”

  
According to the left-leaning “POLITICO National Security Daily” of 6/30/22 at 1315 PST
“At least four foreign diplomats chastised the 5-4 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade during a meal this week at the NATO summit.

In each of the four separate encounters, foreign ministers “initiated the conversation” and “made a point of sharing with me their sense of outrage,” Rep. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-Va.), who leads NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly and who attended the dinner with Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, told our own ANDREW DESIDERIO in Madrid.” https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/30/nato-roe-wade-response-00043305

Well, first off, Connolly is not exactly an unbiased party, and frankly, I’m not sure he’s telling the truth.  But even if he is, the proper response to a foreign ambassador telling an American Congressman how “outraged” they are at our laws, is “FUCK OFF.” What the hell happened to “politics stops at the water’s edge?” Internal politics and laws are no one else’s business. I could take a damn dim view of some of the laws and rules in various NATO countries, too. But I don’t because it’s their country, not mine.

It’s worth noting that way down in the article, there’s a “senior Biden administration official” who says that this has NOT come up in talks.

 
As an aside, the press is also lying to their own people, or at least whistling past the graveyard… The Communist News Network (CNN) and the NYT are claiming that the Senate may still fall democratic in articles like this one:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/26/politics/midterm-elections-democrats/index.html


What SCOTUS said, as I have previously mentioned, is “THIS IS NOT OUR DECISION!” That the SC doesn’t get to make a law and add a right, not in the constitution, and that the proper place to decide this is in the various legislatures, or at congress with an amendment.

  
Yet that’s not what ANY of the press, left or right is reporting.  The Right-wing press is reporting that with R V W struck down, all abortion everywhere is doomed, and we will return to “the rule of GOD.” Horseshit.  YES, the rules of nature and the rules of “the God of nature”, are justifications used in our founding documents.  Yes, God, or the Divine creator, is mentioned MANY times in the Declaration of Independence, and in the Constitution. But they (our founders) were very careful not to identify WHICH God they were talking about.

 
That’s because they didn’t all agree to themselves on which God.  There were Theists, Catholics, Jews, Quakers, C of E, and all manner of beliefs represented. (To my knowledge, though I would welcome correction, in spite of what Obama had to say on the subject, there were no “Musslemen” or as we now call them Muslims in the mix, but I’m pretty sure there was at least one pagan.) About the only thing that they DID agree on with respect to religion was that there was some sort of divine being and that seeking their blessing on this endeavor was a good idea.

  
Meanwhile, the left-wing press is busy talking about “the long path to reclaim abortion rights”:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/02/us/abortion-rights-roe-v-wade.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20220703&instance_id=65750&nl=todaysheadlines&regi_id=28200476&segment_id=97564&user_id=10d59faf3e1d1200e0ddca9ff23febad


“Far from settling the matter” the article begins… Hey, DUMBSHIT, it wasn’t SUPPOSED to settle the matter.  In point of fact, if you read the decision, it specifically says that it’s NOT settling the matter.  What it says is that the original decision was just as bad of a decision as Dred Scott and that the call NEEDS to be addressed in the proper avenues.


And so it goes with the rest of the SC decisions.  ALL of them were decisions that “this is what the law says, and this is who gets to make the call.”  The West Virginia et al V EPA decision is (as I had hoped) a CLASSIC on this. In spite of what Biden’s handlers, or AOC, or the press have to say about the decision, what it said was: 


“This is law making, and law-making belongs to congress, not the executive branch UNLESS Congress specifically authorizes it.”  The people that are screaming the loudest about this are the very douches who have been unable to do their jobs.  Congress is all up in arms about these decisions when what the SC is saying, on a silver platter no less, is “Here.  Here is your power, which was stolen from you by the Executive branch. Figure out what you want to do, and DO it, as long as you don’t violate the constitution.”


See the trouble is that the crybabies of Congress know that they don’t have the votes to do what they want to do.  They know that at least half the nation is against their agenda, so they’ve been letting unelected bureaucrats do the heavy lifting.  This way they don’t have to vote on the record and answer to their constituents.  


Then you have states that are flat out ignoring the SC decisions or doxxing their own citizens in a fit of pique.  Take for example CA, who “As part of a Democrat-led effort to ‘better understand the role and potential dangers of firearms,’ California inadvertently leaked private information about every concealed-carry permit holder in the state,” reports the article:

https://freebeacon.com/guns/litigation-is-likely-california-just-doxxed-thousands-of-gun-owners/


The plan was to provide data to pet academics so that they could “study” the effects of gun ownership.  The problem is they made it accessible by anyone in the nation and included not just the names, but the addresses, race, phone numbers, DOB, etc. of not just everyone who was granted a CCP, but everyone who APPLIED. (this information is in a later article) Now, dwell for just a second on who would apply for a CCP in CA, like Judges, DV protection order cases, etc., and imagine the damage done. 


In addition, several states have declared that they just aren’t going to follow this ruling.  NYC has come up with a list of “where you can’t carry” that basically makes the bathroom of your house the only place you can have a gun (cue the drill instructor’s “this is my rifle, this is my gun”) 


The Wall Street Journal reports:
“The new New York statute … defines sensitive places to include airports, bars, and restaurants that serve alcohol, courthouses, day-care facilities, playgrounds, parks, zoos, schools, entertainment venues, government buildings, houses of worship, libraries, public demonstrations and rallies, public transportation including subways and buses, and even Times Square.


The law also deems “no carry” as the default on private property unless declared permissible by the owners. Private property owners who allow concealed carry will have to publicly display this in signs, which may have free-speech implications.” 


The new law also includes a total of 18 hours of training, (OK, I don’t really have an issue with that.) and a list of former and current social media accounts of the applicant for the past three years. (Uh, EXCUSE ME???)


Then we have Tax-achusetts whose State Attorney General said that she “stands by the state’s “commonsense gun laws and will continue to vigorously defend and enforce them.” Those rules include: giving local police chiefs the power to decide whether someone is suitable to have a license to carry a handgun. Police chiefs have been able to deny applicants if they determine that the person would pose a risk to public safety.  What that means is left up to the chief.


“The Baker-Polito Administration is proud of the Commonwealth’s nation-leading gun laws and history of enacting bipartisan gun reform legislation.  The Court’s ruling on New York’s licensing law has no immediate effect on the Commonwealth’s gun laws, which all remain in place” is the official line of the press release.

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/supreme-court-gun-ruling-massachusetts/2754905/


The rest of the states whose laws are affected haven’t said anything yet, but I expect they’re going to follow suit, and we’ll be right back in court, to get the SC to say “WHAT PART OF SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED CONFUSED YOU?”


Next, in our trying to start a civil war piece, we have the Biden administration claiming that the reason for inflation is… Wait for it… ANTI VAXERS!  


No shit, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated: “What did we get wrong? Looking at these supply-side issues and believing that they would be resolved relatively quickly. By that I mean there were gonna be vaccinations — everyone would get vaccinated — so the millions of people who dropped out of the labor force would come right back in, so wages wouldn’t be under such pressure. That didn’t happen.”

https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2022/07/01/watch-team-biden-stoops-to-new-low-blames-unvaccinated-americans-for-inflation-n587328 (look, the blog I’m referencing is a bit of a tinfoil hat job, but the quotes are real!)


“In addition, the bottlenecks and the shortages haven’t been alleviated yet, and on the back of that comes the new shock, in the form of the war. Um, but so we — it wasn’t something wrong with our model, because it wasn’t in the models, at all.”


So what was it, then?


“It was a question of how to assess the persistence of these supply-side shocks. And I do think that there’ll be — that there is a lot of work going on to get smarter about the supply side.


In the nature of it, though, it was a deep-in-tail kind of a risk, and those are very hard to predict and assess when they come.”  


So the fact that there is an international recession, (if you think we’re getting hit hard, check out the rest of the world.  When the US economy sneezes, the rest of the world gets pneumonia.) was caused, in Biden’s belief, because some folks refused to take Trump’s vaccine… 


In a really brief note, even lefty Seattle is starting to feel the crunch of unhappy people, it seems that the Seattle School district is hemorrhaging students, and thus money:  https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/student-enrollment-in-seattle-continues-to-drop-heres-what-it-means/, it couldn’t be because of the idiot policies and the crap that’s being taught in the name of state indoctrination education… Of course, it’s because of evil rich white people; just ask JoLynn Berge, assistant superintendent of business and finance at Seattle Schools, she’ll tell you.


And finally, in this piece, we have the “some asshole” who shot up a parade in Illinois. Now first off on this, even the left-wing papers like my own Seattle fish wrapper admit this guy was a ticking timebomb, that everyone knew or should have known was going to go boom one day. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/shooting-suspect-left-police-a-trail-of-red-flags/


Yet, in a state that HAS red flag laws, and has to get a permit to buy a rifle, they let this mutt buy one.  So much for the vaunted ability of red flag laws to stop mass shootings.  Secondly, this mutt apparently used a hunting rifle, and either a bolt action or a lever-action, because the press is reporting it as “a HIGH-POWERED rifle” not an “ASSAULT WEAPON.” So the fact that now the state wants more action against “assault weapons” is, well, as stupid as I have come to expect Illinois to be.  (Oh, it’s worth mentioning, “some asshole” was a BLM type, a white rapper, who was completely off in coo-coo land.)  


Of course, the State denies that the system failed, but then they sort of have to, because they’re going to get their asses sued over this I am sure.  Oh, and by the way, national mourning and flags at half staff for a week over this?  I’m sorry, call me heartless, but it seems like we’re pulling our flag down at the drop of a hat these days.  I’m not a fan.


Now on the 1941 side, We’ve got Xi the Poo touring Hong Kong, and appointing a new government, making clear that any promises of “one China, two systems” (remember that? That was the promise when England gave Hong Kong back to China, 25 years ago…) wasn’t worth the powder it would take to burn it. He’s also looking hard at Taiwan still, and just trying to figure out how to get away with it.  


Japan is raising hell because Chinese and Russian warships are dashing in and out of their 12-mile limit, trying to see how long it takes the JSDF to react. 


The right-wing is making noises about not wanting to send any more money or equipment to Ukraine, saying things like: “For example, Biden has disingenuously and yet continuously blamed sky-high prices at the pump on Putin rather than admit where the lion’s share of the blame belongs — his own anti-fossil fuel policies. Therefore, the memo he’s sending stateside is that as long as the war continues, the price of gas will remain high because of Putin. He’ll then continue moving forward with his anti-fossil fuel agenda and blame Russia every time people object to the high prices at the pump.” Quote from one of the “Patriot Posts.”


The ”Concerned Veterans of America” got on board with a poll, and the quote “With historic economic challenges at home, it’s not surprising the American people are wary of taking on new security commitments abroad and starting a war with a nuclear-armed Russia,” said DAN CALDWELL, a senior adviser to CVA. Biden “should note that the American people would rather he focus his attention on issues here at home that are directly connected to the well-being of the American people.”


“It doesn’t help matters that the midterm elections are fast approaching. Domestic issues will take center stage, and Republicans will be pressured to bash Biden over the economy and shy from fervently supporting the Ukrainian-resistance cause, we’re told, namely because of pressure from conservative media figures like TUCKER CARLSON.”  Adds Politico’s national Security Daily for Friday, July 1, 2022.


Look, we tried the “Isolationism” thing.  It didn’t work in 1916, it didn’t work in 1939.  Here’s a news flash for all of you that are saying: 
“Well it’s Biden’s problem” or 
“Ukraine isn’t as important to me as the price of gas” or 
“Well Ukraine is corrupt too, so it just doesn’t make any difference who runs the show, let Putin have it” Or even 
“Let Putin have what he took already, and sign a peace treaty! The land is worthless now anyway.”  


Go to the internet, right now, and look up a couple of terms for me: Lebensraum, Spazio Vitale, Hakko Ichiu, and Untermenschen.
I’ll wait.


You back?  OK let’s discuss that.  If England, the US, France, and Russia had all stood up in 1914 and said, with one voice: “NO BITCH, you are NOT going to do this,” and moved troops, maybe the first world war wouldn’t have happened. If it did, it sure as hell wouldn’t have been as bloody.   We failed AGAIN in 1938 to act forcefully enough in Europe, and in 1937 in the Pacific.  As a result, somewhere between 70 and 85 MILLION people died, an unimaginable amount of money and natural resources that are gone forever were wasted, and the nuclear bomb was invented.  OK, there were a lot of scientific advances driven by the war, but I’m not sure that’s a fair trade.


The time to stop a megalomaniac is as soon as he or she shows their hands, it’s cheaper that way, in the only currency that matters. Human life. 


Take care, watch your six, 
Until next time I remain,
Yours in service.
William Lehman.

4 Comments

    • I don’t think we can get both at once, civil war trumps foreign wars, which is why foreign interests (China, Russia, Iran, looking at you here) have so much interest in stirring up hate and discontent internally. Much like Russia got out of the foreign war business in 1917, they’re hoping to keep us so tied up internally that we can’t pay attention to the world stage… In fairness, not a bad strategy, it worked for decades in eastern Europe (see “balkanization”) and it’s a strategy that both the US and Russia have used before as well.
      Of course, it’s failed before too, see China in 1937 when Japan invaded and Chang Ki Shek and Mao agreed to stop fighting each other until they kicked Japan out. (Funny thing, proof once again that you can’t trust communists, Mao set up the battles so that the nationalist forces always took the brunt of the casualties while preserving his own troops to the greatest extent possible.)

  1. Great piece. Convincing. Regretfully, I do not see evidence our military is up to the task of applying hard power to anyone. Leadership at the national and flag level is likely the worst in our history.
    Former OSC

    • you might be surprised. Take a look at our generals and admirals in ’37-41. Then take a look at how fast real fighting generals and admirals took the field once the bullets started flying. I can name at least 5 one and two stars that I would give major flags to in a shooting war in a heartbeat. The trouble is that in any time of prolonged peace, including the sort of wars that we have been fighting, fighting generals get replaced by political generals in high command.
      And make no mistake, I am not degrading for a second the guys that have died following the commands of their superiors in the last forty years, but we haven’t been in anything like a real “we could lose this and end up not being a nation” type war since WWII unless you want to count the Cold War.
      Will it cost blood to get rid of the politicians with stars who are more concerned with “Propper Pronoun usage” than “Propper usage of Combined Arms Tactics?” Oh yes. BUT there are guys out there at the O-5 and O-6 level, even a couple O-7 & O-8s that would quickly become the next Bradley, Patton, Burke, and Nimitz, while the William Blandys, and the Wilhelm Lee Friedells, the Walter Shorts, The Carlton Wrights, and the Lloyd Fredendalls get sent to command things like Engineering development and logistics commands…

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