A Few Thoughts on Ukraine

 

First, this is not the time for criticism of Joe Biden or his administration and arguing over decisions made in the past that people might believe have led to the predicament we find ourselves in today.  There will be plenty of time for a critical analysis when this particular crisis is over.  We should all be praying for Joe Biden and hoping that he makes good decisions for The United States and the world today.  Previous Presidents should take a hint from the George W. Bush and Barack Obama who have been completely silent far.  They understand how difficult that job is and I’m sure that they would privately offer advice if it was solicited, but silence for now is the best policy for them.

Given that, however, there are a few pieces of advice that I would offer President Biden if I were asked.  First, I think we should quickly shift to an all-of-the-above energy strategy.  This would include approving the completion of the Keystone Pipeline and opening up federal lands for more oil drilling and exploration.  This would not have an immediate impact on the supply of oil here, but it might actually have an immediate impact on the price of oil around the world.  It would certainly lower the global price of oil in the future, which would punish Russia whose primary source of income comes from oil and natural gas.  Right now, as the price of oil hovers at around $100 a barrel, it rewards and strengthens Russia’s ability to finance aggression against Ukraine or other countries he fancies should be part of a new Soviet Union.

This is similar to what is happening on our southern border.  Our current open border policy is enriching the cartels, some very bad people.  So, while strengthening our southern border would not affect Ukraine, it would apply the same principle to both situations.  Make sure US policies don’t reward bad people, particularly our geopolitical foes.

Another message needs to be sent to Russia, and that is that the world cannot continue to just watch what is going on in Ukraine.  This is an unprovoked attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty, and if we allow this today, where does it stop?  How long will Taiwan be safe?  Israel?  Lithuania?  Latvia?  Estonia?  South Korea?  This would take a masterful effort to unite the key players in the world, but it would be worth the effort to insure a more peaceful future.  It could start with the NATO countries to come to the defense of Ukraine as if it were a member.  

This would take real leadership, but as the long-accepted maxim suggests, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  Right now, the world is watching evil triumph.  When will we all conclude that “We” are the good men that this adage is referencing.

OH CAN-A-DA

 

I have been watching the Canadian Convoy Protest for almost a week now and decided that I had to convey my observations to my readers.  First, this protest is serious.  While there have been wild exaggerations about the size of the crowds, there has been very little written about any accurate estimates of crowd sizes.  Let me clear up some of the confusion.  There are thousands of vehicles and tens of thousands of people involved, non-stop for over a week now.  These people are paying a price, literally and figuratively.  They believe in their cause, and that cause is freedom of choice.

These men and women are also not confused about what they are fighting for – Liberty.  They are articulate and consistent with their message and they are incredibly peaceful.  I haven’t seen one Canadian small business or automobile on fire, in fact the only fires I have seen have been in grills or in campfires to keep people warm.  They actually have “bouncy houses” for kids to play in, something I can’t say was found in any of the 574 riots in “the summer of love” in 2020.  While the riots of 2020 were described as “mostly peaceful”, these protests could and should be described as completely peaceful.

Maybe the biggest question is, are the truckers’ demands reasonable?  At a time when eight entire countries including the UK, France and Italy are canceling restrictions and returning their citizenry to normalcy, Justin Trudeau is punishing and demonizing Canadians, his own people, for even suggesting a similar position in their own country.  Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, is judging the protestors beliefs as “unacceptable”.  Is this even consistent with Canada’s Bill of Rights?  Does Canada even have a Bill of Rights?  The answer is – Yes and no.

In 1960, Canada established a Canadian Bill of Rights, which was proven to be ineffective because it applied only to federal statutes and not to the Provinces.  It was replaced by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 which is still in effect today.  Interestingly, section 2 of that charter states that all Canadians have “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression”.  That section also guarantees Canadians’ “freedom to peacefully assemble”.  It seems that Trudeau’s statement in front of their Parliament violates these truckers’ freedom of thought, belief and opinion, and his hostile handling of the protestors violates their right to peacefully assemble.  It all depends on how you define “peaceful”.  These protests are clearly not violent, but they are making inter-province and international commerce inconvenient.

Trudeau also seems to be misreading the growing support for the truckers.  The latest polls show that 46% (almost half) of Canadians support the protestors.  Is Trudeau suggesting that nearly half of his constituents, about 18 million people, have “unacceptable” thoughts, beliefs or opinions?  And this support is growing.

Finally, is this the right time to take this stand or group of people to attack.? At a time when infections are plunging in Canada and the US and entire countries and states here in America are eliminating vaccine passports, is now the time to be so stubborn?  Eighty per cent of Canadians are fully vaccinated, one of highest rates in the world and well above the 64% level here in the US.  And according to Johns Hopkins, 90% of the Canadian truckers are fully vaccinated.  Are these the people Trudeau should be demonizing?  Clearly these people are not anti-vaccination.  They are simply anti-mandate.  Plus, truckers practically define the concept of self-isolation.  They are in their trucks by themselves for most of their working days.  Do we really need to take away their livelihoods and destroy their lives when they pose virtually zero risk to anyone else in Canada or the US?  These truckers were our heroes just a year ago when they kept our stores supplied when the vaccines were not available.  They have not turned into racist, Nazi demons since then.

The only question anyone might have about this strike is if it is causing too much financial damage to Canada and the US.  Clearly it is not violent.  Is it too inconvenient?  That’s a good question.  But in addition to that question I would add a couple more.  Given Justin Trudeau’s disdain for the truckers’ opinion and plight, what is the likelihood that he would even listen to them without the financial pressure?  Also, do you support the right of unions to strike here in America which always includes the shutdown of plants and facilities with the intent of causing financial discomfort?  It is this discomfort that our unions and these truckers depend on to force negotiations.

Given an impartial analysis of this situation, I support the truckers and see Justin Trudeau as a stubborn, out of touch elitist who will only yield when his personal legacy is in jeopardy.  Come on, Justin.  Just talk to the truckers before you try to destroy all of their lives.

Biden Becomes Republican's Critic & Counselor

 

During his first press conference of 2022, Joe Bidden turned into a chief counsel for the Republican Party.  He started by accusing Republicans of not standing for anything and just being against everything, the party of “NO”.  It is an easy claim to make in front of a friendly media corps, especially when he would get no push back because he didn’t take any questions.  If he had been in a debate, he would have been crushed by his Republican opponent who would have delivered a long list of tantalizingly good policies they plan to pursue.  Joe also, unwittingly, revealed the Democrat plan to try to hold on to the House and Senate in the 2022 midterms.  They plan to paint the Republican Party as the party of no.  This gives plenty of time to prepare their campaign.  It’s the equivalent of giving Tom Brady two minutes and three timeouts in the fourth quarter to deliver a field goal to win the game.

There are actually a number of bills Republicans (conservatives) should not only talk about, but promise to pass and put on Joe’s desk in 2023.  Newt Gingrich’s 1994 Contract with America included 10 pieces of legislation that he would bring up if and when Republicans were at the helm.  He used the contract to position his party as the party that was fiscally responsible, pro-police and anti-criminal, and for welfare reform and lower taxes.  Newt’s Contract with America gained 54 seats in the House and 10 seats in the Senate and flipped both the House and the Senate from Democrat to Republican majorities which they maintained for the next 12 years. Interestingly, some of those issues are still important even today, but there are, in my opinion at least four areas that conservatives should focus on for 2022, and do so publicly and nationally.

Amazingly, I believe one of the biggest issues in this next election will be border security.  While President Trump made this a big issue in 2016 and did deliver much of his wall, it is clear that there is more to be done.  I believe the wall needs to be completed in strategic areas but given the record two million apprehensions and an estimated 600,000 got-aways this year it shows that the wall is not enough.  We need more technology and boots on the ground, but we must also eliminate “catch and release” and other incentives to cross illegally.  This is still a huge issue with Americans and even 50% of Hispanic Americans favor a secure border.

Any discussion on border security, however, should include a promise to address the millions of people still living here illegally.  According to Pew Research, 74% of Americans favor giving legal status for children brought here by their parents without their knowledge or consent (the DACA persons).  I believe we should offer them a path to citizenship, but whatever border security legislation becomes part of this new contract it needs to address hard working Hispanic Americans that are still living in the shadows in America.

Another plank for this new contract needs to be a pro-police, anti-crime piece of legislation.  While much of law enforcement is controlled at the state and local levels, there is still much that the federal government can to do help.  Interestingly enough, this was also a part of the Newt’s contract with America back in 1994.  The original contract promised more federal money that could ONLY be used to put more police on the streets and required harsher penalties for violent crimes.  The same could and should be promised today.

Next, the contract needs to be a pro-parent document.  Between local school boards and the Biden administration, parents today are under attack.  Two things finally put a spotlight on this issue.  First, the pandemic forced children into remote learning and parents finally saw for themselves what was being taught in schools and were shocked.  Then, Glenn Youngkin made parents’ rights a key topic of discussion in the Virginia Governor’s race.  He sided with parents vs the teachers’ unions and he won.  Then, Merrick Garland, Biden’s Attorney General, created a special task force to investigate parents who attended school board meetings at the behest of the NSBA (National School Boards Association).  This drew the line of demarcation in this battle.  The Democrat party was siding with the campaign money provided by teachers’ unions, and Republicans have chosen parents.  While money will always be important for politicians, there are WAY more parents in this country than teachers and I believe Republicans will be on the right side of history here.

Finally, Republicans should grasp the mantle of fiscal responsibly and promise to balance the budget and stop piling mountains of debt on to the backs of our children.  They are the ones who will have to pick up the tab for today’s mindless spending.  And I disagree with Nancy Pelosi who famously said that, “we don’t have a spending problem” in America.  She suggested that our government can tax its way out of our fiscal problems.  To cure our deficit spending disease, we will have to make some tough spending reduction decisions on discretionary spending like Defense and the size of government and even mandatory spending like Social Security and Medicare.  These cuts, however, are not just good ideas, they are unavoidable.

There could be other planks to this new Contract with America, but the important thing is that the Republican Party needs to become the party of promise, hope and action and not just the party of “no”.