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Wildfires: Ideas Have Consequences

Introduction

To date due to the wildfires in California, over 180,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, close to 24,000 acres of land have been scorched, approximately 7,000 structures have been destroyed, and there at least 16 dead with numerous persons still missing. Regardless of the title of this article, I hope to present something here that is much more than a blame game. There is some blame, but it is blame in which we all share. More importantly, from a Christian perspective, we need to continually keep the people in California in our prayers, and we need to call for compassionate aid so that those who have experienced these devastating fires can begin the restoration of their lives in as much as that is possible. Presently, legacy news continues its politicizing of everything under the sun. Although there are some political lessons to be learned here, our learning opportunities must go beyond political affiliation. Above all, this is a time for compassion and grace in which the church can lead for meeting the needs for those on whom these catastrophic fires have fallen.

Reflecting on What Is Lost

Take some time for a while to reflect on the catastrophe that swept across California. What is lost? Our first response would most likely accent the homes that people had built, lived in for many years of their lives, all representing the carving out of families’ lives. But what did those homes contain? Think of your own home. Clothes and appliances come to mind. But there is more than that. Reflect on what you hold as valuable in your home: personal gifts, family pictures, cherished mementos, and all that is held dear that represents ones ties to others and the meaning that these memorabilia hold. Then there are the memories themselves: family reunions, rooms built for children and others, celebrations of birthdays and anniversaries. For those who are in Christ, the rooms and solitary places where family members prayed, read Scripture, and engaged in personal meditation. Memories of children growing up are now left to memory alone. Recollections of neighborhood friends and get togethers are swept away with a Santa Ana wind and scorching flames. Personal collections – coins, stamps, art, etc. – are now lost to the flames. And then there are those families who lost love ones to the devastating fires, ones with whom they cannot reunite. As a hobby my mom created pottery. She owned a kiln, would make dishes, and then would paint them. After her death, I inherited all of her work. I am sure that many of the families in California owned knickknacks along similar lines, those things on which a price cannot be fixed. All gone now with the winds of fire. Those of us who have not experienced such devastation cannot fathom what people in California are going through at the moment. This is a time to pull alongside people and support them in all the ways we can. We need to cease politicizing the moment along shallow lines of political party and affiliation.

Ideas Have Consequences

How do we account for the political side of what is now transpiring in California without overly politicizing the situation? First, the blame game must come to a halt. There is no one person or political party that is to blame for California’s plight. As a culture and society, we are all to blame to some extent for what is occurring in that state at the moment. We have become a people, regardless of affiliation, who looks too much to the State to give us life. Individuals for decades sounded an alarm, warning people of the catastrophe that is now taking place on the West Coast. Several of the areas in which people lived lacked the water that was necessary for firefighters to do their job. The kindling and brush that were too close to homes needed clearing decades ago. To pontificate that people shouldn’t have been living in theses areas is nothing but full-blown bloviating. People built their homes and lives in Malibu, the Palisades, and Altadena. These were homes, not just structures. They have lost more than what can be summed up in materialistic terms.

We live in a time where the State ha become the supposedly provider and savior of humankind. In the state of California people relinquished their property rights to those in power. The trade off is that people lost their property. When one reflects on all that was lost, as discussed above, property is more than what we commonly construe that term to entail. What lies ahead is not just a few days or months to normalize. For people to reclaim what they have lost and regain some sense of normality will take years if not decades. We are on the cusp of a new administration coming into power. What I would ask of this administration is what I would ask of any human being. Set aside the political bickering and blame game and present yourself to be a servant of the people who have experienced the harrowing wreckage of their lives. California is a loud and clear ringing bell sounding the warning that the State is not a god. The unconstitutional power that the State has arrogated to itself needs defeating. It is not only the people in California who have exalted the State to a position of ultimate power. We live in a time of Statist power. We are all guilty. Statist power is antithetical to Constitutional natural rights. The time is now to rid State power from our lives, taking back the rights on which this nation was built.

For those of us in Christ, we can pray, serve, and support the rebuilding efforts that must take place – that must begin now – in California.

[Note: At the publishing of this article, the death toll in California has risen to 24.]

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./January 14th, 2025

ANALYSIS/Current Events

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The Trials of Daniel Penny

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil. — Isaiah 5:20

Introduction

Daniel Penny has had his trial. But it’s not the trial we have been reading and hearing about in the news media. Individuals face many types of trials. In a culture of woke-ism and a perverted sense of what some call social justice, people can find themselves accused and even legally charged for actions, as well as the very words they use, actions that should in no way under the country’s constitution be considered a legal matter. When such challenges to common sense and decency occur, then people find themselves faced with the trials that life bring their way. Trials that are more real and honest than those so called jury trials in today’s institutions of justice.

The Context

The scene of the incident took place on a New York subway at the Second Avenue station. Jordan Neely, a homeless man, entered the subway and begin making threats toward people, stating that he was homeless, hungry, and wanted a job. He was heard to say, I don’t care if I go to prison, and then, someone is going to die today. Several of the subway passengers feared for their safety. Daniel Penny stepped forward and from behind took Neely down to the floor in a chokehold. Others helped Penny secure Neely until the authorities arrived. He was held in the chokehold for several minutes. (Some claim that Penny held him down for six minutes; Penny claimed that it was less than five minutes.) Neely was transported to a nearby New York hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Enter Manhattan DA’s

What would we do without woke DA’s politicizing justice to the point that the word just no longer has any meaning? Following Neely’s autopsy at the hospital where he died, the Manhattan medical examiner determined that Neely had died as a result of homicide. The toxicology report indicated that synthetic marijuana was found in Neely’s system. In addition he was known to be a homeless man who suffered from schizophrenia. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg sought to bring charges against Penny, including second degree manslaughter and negligent homicide. The case was prosecuted by Manhattan DA Dafna Yoran. The presiding judge, Maxwell Riley, had previously denied that charges against Penny be dropped. The trial ensued. The real trial of life, however, came when an individual who sought to prevent violence on a subway found himself charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide.

What Is Justice?

The fate of a civilization stands or falls based on its foundational principles. One of those principles is the idea of justice. People may claim that Penny had his fair trial and was found not guilty. But one must ask, did Penney’s trial truly represent any form of justice? What happens in a society when one steps forward to prevent a situation from escalating into possible violence is then charged with a violent crime? Ensconced in this society is the already woke politics regarding the homeless that leaves people like Neely on the streets without any decent help and care. Penny faced a trial all right, but rather than being in that Manhattan court room, it was a trial caused by that very institution of justice that has as its job description to protect citizens from violent assault. Neely was not mentally competent, but he could have injured someone that day on the subway. The situation should have never seen the light of day if the politics that be would allow for proper care of the homeless. Daniel Penny was not to blame for anything. And yes, there was a time when he would have not been charged at all. And that truth has nothing to do with Neely’s race or homelessness. It has everything to do with the disgusting woke-ism and political correctness of today’s culture.

Political Hype

The hue of cries has already begun to ring loud and clear from the woke crowd. BLM claims that Penny should not be called a hero – that coming from a group of people who burn and destroy private property in the name of protest. Others have labeled Penny a vigilante, proffering America’s thirst for vigilantism. The Wikipedia title for this incident says it all: Killing of Jordan Neely. The politically correct and woke will ring their bell loud, but what they say will have little, if anything, to do with justice. A civilization must ask itself if it can continue to be a civilized society with the sense of justice displayed in the Daniel Penny trial.

Conclusion

The stark injustice thrown at Daniel Penny has kicked off the trials he faces in life. What is equally sad is that the true injustice that Neely suffered has been lost in the politically correct hype and woke-ism of the day. The plight of the homeless is a reality that politicians have failed to answer since JFK emptied the state psychiatric hospitals back in the 1960’s. Compare and contrast Penney’s situation with another recent incident. Ben Johnson was gunned down, shot three times point blank in what appears to be a premeditated stake out and murder. However, Johnson in today’s flood of woke-ism and political correctness suffers the unfortunate position of being a millionaire working for an insurance company. People have hit the social media scene claiming that Johnson deserved what he got, and that the shooter is a hero. Would it really surprise anyone if some of these people celebrating Johnson’s murder were the same ones criminalizing Daniel Penny? Pick and choose – or socially construe – your own version of vigilantism. In a civilization where justice is a politicized social construct, what kind of justice can people expect or even hope for? Penny’s trials are ahead of him. Although found not guilty, his life has been irreparably altered by being charged with criminal intent for trying to protect people. His jury trial should have never seen the light of day. There was nothing just about what Daniel Penny had to experience with Manhattan’s legal system. The next time citizens in New York ride a subway, they should think about that.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./December 14th, 2024

ANALYSIS

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Face of the Nation II: A Constitutional Crisis

Introduction

Our original Constitution was designed to guard a form of government known as a republic. A republic supposedly protects its citizens against those who would prefer to be rulers rather than representatives. Since the rise of progressivism, culminating in the power of F. D. Roosevelt, the Constitution has been under assault from those who desire a strong centralized form of government. However, while it would be easy to blame progressives in power for the demise of a constitutional republic and the rise of absolute democracy, we the people are as much, if not more, to blame for the condition this nation finds itself.

Government as God

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact time in our history when people’s view of the government changed from that which needed its power to be kept in check to an institution that exists to meet all the people’s needs and desires. Perhaps its historical mark is with FDR, but most likely before when the progressive era actually begin. Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt marked some of the earlier beginnings of progressive ideology. With the rise of progressivism, government came to be viewed as an institution to be commandeered by bureaucratic experts who knew better than the people concerning their needs. However, again, the people themselves had to buy into this notion. Ask people today, particular in the areas of security and economics, when problems arise, then the government should do something. Such a mindset has affected both our domestic and foreign policies. Government is called upon to solve all our problems. From Social Security to DEI regulations, the all powerful State is the panacea needed to create the good life with equity for all.

Constitutional Crisis

In order for the Nanny State to become the all powerful caretaker, the U. S. Constitution as originally written must be undermined or shredded all together. Over the decades, we have watched states’ rights dwindle as the power of the centralized State increases. Rather than allowing states, counties, and municipalities to determine their own laws and regulations, people look to a federal law to commandeer all states. Moreover, there are movements to replace the electoral college with popular vote going the winner of the presidential election. A professor from UC Berkeley, for this very reason, has called for the Constitution to be rewritten. Basically, what this would mean is that New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston would elect the president every four years. An absolute democracy is the antithesis of a republican form of government. What centralized planners and absolute democrats are saying is that people in certain parts of the country do not deserve representation. 

Foreign Policy

Under a centralized all-powerful State, a country’s foreign policy turns from defense into imperialistic expansionism. History points this out with Woodrow Wilson’s move to have the U.S. enter W.W. I. Then came FDR’s manipulation that led to U.S. involvement in W.W. II. Historically, the expansionism on the part of the U.S. has continued from the Korean War through Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan to the Mideast. Presently, we face a showdown with Russia. Although the progressives from the Democratic Party appear to be the movers behind domestic policy, the Neo-conservatives, found mainly in the Republican Party are the movers and shakers behind our foreign policy. Both parties, however, tend toward progressive measures in both domestic and foreign policies. Listening to the previous presidential debates, one is at a lost in hearing anything that resembles a desire to return the country to a republic form of government. 

Economics of Inflation

Keynesianism is tailored for an all-powerful centralized State. If it’s the government that is to solve all our problems and carve out the good-life for us, then economic-decisions should be in its hands as much as possible. This is accomplished via government spending, whereby bureaucratic government workers and politicians determine how people’s money is to be spent for what. The only problem with this scenario is that the State does not have any money of its own. What it spends it must have already taken from others. Politicians, however, cannot be re-elected if they preach higher taxes. So where does the State turn to obtain more dollars to spend – the government printing press. Consequently, more dollars flood the economy, dollars that have not been produced via entrepreneurial activity, the result being, not only an unfathomable growing debt approaching 35-trillion dollars, but also a cheapening effect on the dollar for which people work. In turn, we see prices go up in every sphere from groceries, to general services, to automobiles, to home costs, etc. At present, the dollar is in a devastating destructive decline. Some countries are already seeking to disconnect their currency from the dollar. The next Federal budget will witness 20% of government spending simply to pay the interest on the debt. As long as people believe that it is the State’s business to solve economic problems, government interventionism into private businesses will continue to grow exponentially. If you are someone who takes a few minutes out of everyday to meditate, reflect on the number 35-trillion, and see if you can actually fathom what that means in terms of dollars and government debt. 

Political Correctness Gone Awry

Anyone who watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, followed by a male boxer identifying as a female pound to ground hamburger the female Olympic boxers understands the lengths to which postmodernism and political correctness has taken various cultures. More seriously, such woke-ism is now becoming law per DEI regulations, for now regarding political institutions, state schools, and universities. It could be simply a matter of time before such regulations encroach upon private businesses. We witness the beginnings of this political maneuvering in some large corporations. Additionally, lawsuits attacking Christian businesses, such as bakers and florists, signaled a beginning move in the direction of the State’s dictatorial hegemony over private businesses. Some Christian bookstores have already closed their doors in fear of what DEI regulations may mean for their businesses. 

Conclusion

The previous presidential debates, as well as the two candidates involved, provide no comfort for those who desire the reduction of an ever-encroaching all-powerful State. Both candidates are more than willing to spend other people’s money. Both appear to be too friendly toward the Military Industrial Complex. Although Trump will most likely push back against woke-ism and political correctness, the Republicans surrounding him have shown no overwhelming desire in that direction, save a handful. Both parties are made up of government full-timers that keep their position by spending other people’s money. Until the people of this country decide whether or not they want to live under the Constitution as originally written, we will continue to drift towards an all-powerful State, a failed Foreign Policy, and an economics of inflationism that destroys that for which people work. 

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./September 14th, 2024

ANALYSIS OF POWER

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Face of the Nation I

Introduction

We find ourselves in that four-year cycle where we are faced with an election once again. Although I delineate below the concerns that I believe the nation faces, and that therefore we should closely attend to what politicians specifically say about these concerns, I have come to believe that for whom we vote in elections will have little effect on these concerns that I delineate in this blog article. Neither political party has demonstrated that it cares nor even understands how major concerns we face in this nation are transforming this republic into a Statist authoritarian rule of political elites. There are few, if any, individuals running for office who claim as their passion to rid people’s lives of an ever encroaching State into every nook and cranny of individuals’ personal pursuits. What the nation faces is a constitutional crisis. Does any particular politician call for a constitutional cure that will restore the republic form of government under which we are supposed to live? I have categorized ten concerns that I believe the nation faces. I will discuss five of those ten concerns on this month’s blog article. The remaining five I will discuss for September’s blog entry.

The Economics of Inflation

The economic stability of the nation has been in the forefront of peoples’ thinking since the debacle of 2008 and the absurd quantitative easing that followed. Simultaneously and unfortunately people continue to look to the government for livelihood and security. Following the 2008 recession the governmental response to the pandemic of 2020 led to numerous business failings with drastic effects for the economy from which the country is yet to recover.

Inflation and Hyperinflation

The major threat to our economy simply put is government spending. The notion of a $34-trillion dollar debt doesn’t appear to concern either party as promises from government to provide health, wealth, and security continue to flow from D. C. The Federal Bank’s printing machine continues to print money so as to stimulate the economy. Keynesianism is on overdrive in the government’s response to insure the economy will flourish. And increased taxation becomes a threat to all forms of wealth and property while the middle class continues to carry the burden of the country’s woes. These monetary and fiscal policies continue to negatively hammer the value of the dollar for which people work. On top of that we are fed the nonsense by government officials that there is no inflation. One wonders if such bearers of economic news have ever gone to the grocery store, noticed the price of automobiles, or have sought lately to purchase a home.

History is replete with the lessons of the dangers of government spending, particularly that of the Weimar Republic in 1923. The printing machine mentality cannot continue without ushering the nation’s economy into a hyperinflation mode, which is the very sign of an economy on the verge of collapse. Presently, small businesses are treading deep water. The hurtles for small business startups are difficult due to expenses, taxes, and the shrinking value of the dollar. Unfortunately, corporations who are in bed and partnered with government have become what supposedly defines capitalism. Hence people call on a more powerful State to fix things. In an economy ensconced in hyperinflation, no politician wants to proffer the necessary solutions because the remedy would frighten people beyond fathoming. Four books that speak to the deadly concerns of hyperinflation are: The Fuhrer (Konrad Heiden); Waste Paper: The German Hyperinflation of 1923 (Simone Ricci); Germany 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler’s Putsch, and Democracy in Crisis (Volker Ullrich); and When Money Dies: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany (Adam Fergusson). The U.S. economy faces an unfathomable government debt and the devaluation of the dollar, and it is on the precipice of destructive hyperinflation. Listen for any discussion of this economic reality from would-be presidential candidates for the 2024 election. Then listen even closer for any stated remedies.

Foreign Policy

No doubt Israel’s conflict in the Gaza and the Ukraine war will be discussed in vague rhetorical terms among Democrat and Republican debate strategists. Although Hamas started this latest war with Israel via the butchery that Hamas is known for, it will be interesting to see if any politician addresses the reaction from Israel that has led to much more than is alluded to by the phrase collateral damage. Likewise, will any questions and/or discussion arise regarding the limit to which the U.S. should support Zelensky in the Ukraine under the rubric that he is a democrat? More importantly, will any presidential candidate touch on the historical position whereby the U.S. has sought not be entangled in foreign affairs? (This last notion may appear totally rhetorical, given this nation’s involvement in foreign conflicts since Korea to the present.) But do we, as a nation, have a principled foreign policy by which we seek to live?

Having stated the above, our foreign policy appears to be a muddled mess, given our position on Russia, while the nation’s politicians play soulmates with China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been, and is, one of the most vicious collectivist regimes for over seven decades. Although there might be some nod to supporting Taiwan, is the U.S. truly supporting Taiwan with its friendliness toward mainland China and the CCP? June 4th, 2024 marked the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. The elder Bush, rather than supporting those who were butchered by the tanks and guns of the CCP, sought friendly relations with China. Given that China is purchasing land in the U.S. in warp speed, what is our Foreign Policy toward the regime of the CCP? The annual Shangri-La Dialogue occurred on May 31, 2024. The CCP is straightforward in how it views its own position in the world, and how it sees other countries. In this latest round of dialogues, the CCP is adamant that Taiwan and the Philippines fall under what China calls the South China Sea control. The CCP offers stern warnings against Taiwan and the Philippines if they do not accept their position in the South China Sea. Likewise, they threatened the West (Europe and the U.S.) if it seeks to support either Taiwan or the Philippines [Balding, Epoch Times, June 6, 2024]. If Putin as an ex-KGB guy still represents the haunts of the Soviet regime, then the CCP is certainly not our friend. Presently, I think it has to be taken as a given that both Russia and the CCP have as their goal the collectivist control of the world. How might the U.S. build on a principled Foreign Policy that takes a strong stand against these two regimes?

Education

The homeschool movement has been in full force for several decades now. The pandemic which witnessed the closing of schools enhanced the desire of many parents to rethink public education and move toward homeschooling. The upsurge of woke ideology simultaneous with the decreased academic standards related to the three-r’s has also moved parents toward the desire for homeschooling, homeschool co-opts, and private education, thereby removing their children from government schools. Unfortunately, the teachers’ unions for public schooling are politically connected and entrenched in their ideology. Although a large number of parents desire to make moves toward homeschooling and private education, they are still forced to pay school taxes to support public education. The school voucher system has been touted as one remedy for the sad state of education in the U.S. although such a system leaves in place government control of schooling. Listen for what politicians say regarding the rights of parents to have their children exit the public education system to either homeschool them or place them in private schools. Then listen for any support for public education that compromises their position. Better yet, listen for any statement whatsoever from the politically elite on education.

Border Crisis

Since Biden and the Democrats have opened the flood gates to (and yes I’ll say it) illegal immigration, the number of immigrants crossing the southern border of the U. S. has grown exponentially. Although, libertarian in my perspective, I have come to question most libertarian stances on open borders, especially in a day when terrorists of one stripe or another can so easily gain access into the country. Moreover, our immigration policy that now extends the government dole to those entering the country lacks any common sense or basic morality when the taxpayer is on the hook for subsidizing immigrants. At the very least before we can consider a libertarian position on open borders, subsidizing of immigrants must come to an end. One wonders how many would consider the risk of sneaking across the border if there were no government subsidies waiting for them. A true libertarian society based on free market and private property values must not assess the border crisis today along mere ideological lines. The amount of taxpayer money going to illegal immigrants on top of the already wretched inflation that has hit people’s pocketbooks is asking too much for the public to support. Should we be glad that people want to emigrate to this country? By all means. But we need a solid economic policy that creates the kind of society they hope to find here. Barring that reality, we need to hear what politicians have to say about illegal immigration.

Internet Politicization

The Dot.com revolution promised people a free market where ideas could be generated and debated, providing alternative pathways to legacy media and the news offered there. Unfortunately, many who tread in the political elite class view liberty as a problem to be placed under their control. Candidates running for any political office should address the politicizing of the internet that has undermined the freedom that the Dot.com revolution promised. The internet needs to remain the freest and most wide open resource for individuals to generate and search for ideas that speak to all areas of life. The State, however, is extending its ever-growing tentacles to control what is written and stated on various websites. Youtube, Facebook, and others have negated content that doesn’t fit a particular political ideology. We witnessed this most blatantly in the censoring of website material that was critical of the government’s handling of the so-called pandemic. Not only was such information and perspectives censored, they, in turn, were labeled misinformation, and, if possible, criminalized. We also witnessed certain financial venues refuse to work with those websites that were designated as misinformation. Although I believe strongly in the right of owners of such venues as Facebook and YouTube to determine their content, they should not become an arm of the State’s desire to censor material that criticizes the State. Simply put, some individuals may post things online that are egregious in their content. A free market should determine their fate. Perspective candidates need to speak, to not how they want to see the internet operated, but to whether or not they want to let the internet continue to be the free market source of ideas and an alternative source to legacy media.

Conclusion

The nation is bitterly divided today along political ideologies that have no apparent resolution to coexist in a society that allows the free exchange of ideas, all of which should be protected by Constitutional rights that are basic such as the freedom of speech, the freedom to worship, the freedom of assembly, and the freedom to disagree openly. Presently, we face a Constitutional crisis. This nation needs to decide what the Constitution truly represents. The five concerns above should be principally addressed by perspective candidates. Come September, I will discuss an additional five concerns, beginning with our Constitutional crisis.

[Reference: Balding, C. (2024). How China Views the World. [In The Epoch Times, June 6, 2024. Online edition.]

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./June 14th, 2024

ANALYSIS OF POWER

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Mis-State of the Union

Introduction

We live in a day in which everything has become politicized from health care to sexuality. The rhetorical prayer of postmodernism – everything is political – borrowed from their god, Karl Marx, for now is winning the day. Six days ago the presiding President of the U.S. declared his state of the union. This blog proffers my personal critique and response to the President’s address. I will disclose from the outset that politically I hold mostly to a libertarian viewpoint. As a Christian, I hold strongly to a Judeo-Christian ethic. The purpose of this blog is not to exalt the RNC, which I think has done nothing to counter the politicization of our culture. As a libertarian I believe that people can live a life in which very little is political. We cannot carve out a life for ourselves, however, apart from values and beliefs that form the foundation of how we live in the world. Today people in the U.S. are becoming more and more to believe that the State provides a life for them.

My response to the State of the Union Address is formed among three categories: 1) foreign policy; 2) economics; 3) political rhetoric. 

Foreign Policy

It is entertaining to listen to how Biden connects Putin’s threat to the world with the disproved charge that Trump won the election against Hilary Clinton because of Russian interference. And then he analogizes Putin’s world threat to the January 6th insurrection. To hear Biden’s claims, Putin is the most dangerous Stalinist in the history of totalitarianism. By the way, FDR, whom Biden praises, saw Stalin as an ally. Many in the military at the time saw exactly what Russia was about during those days. Is Russia about spreading totalitarianism today? Perhaps Putin may see himself as a world conqueror. 

While excoriating Russia, Biden then shows his anti-Israel colors by being soft on Hamas. Yes, he had to speak to the October 7th debauchery executed by Hamas. What else could he do? But sending money to “Gaza” is sending money to Israel’s enemies. Calling on Israel to a cease-fire with Hamas is anything but a rational foreign policy. If Putin epitomizes the evil from whom America can’t ever back down, then what is Hamas and the threat of Iran? There comes a point when the people of Gaza and Palestine must say to Hamas – no longer – no longer can you hide in innocent people’s homes, hospitals, and schools. I know that such a stance will take more courage than I can fathom. But courage is what is required to stand against such an evil as Hamas. Hamas’ evil is not limited to the gross debauchery they have perpetrated since their existence. It is also evident in their willingness to hide among civilians, placing them in extreme danger in the midst of reprisals for which Hamas’ evil deeds call forth. Israel is an ally. As such their foreign policy should not be dictated by America’s government. We may disagree at how Israel has gone about its response to Hamas; nonetheless, Israel is a sovereign country and is an ally. 

Next Biden seeks to tell everyone that China is really not rising in power and should not be considered that much of a fear factor. Tell that to the Taiwanese. Speak that nonsense to those who live in Hong Kong. If Putin is a threat to world peace, then to neglect China as such a threat, is totally irrational. In this nation we face the fact that China is buying up land and other forms of real estate throughout the country. Biden may want to claim that he and his cronies have brought to life the computer chip industry in America, but globally and economically that doesn’t make sense. China is a threat to the world as much, if not greater, than Russia. We will have to keep a close eye on Taiwan to see what happens. If China invades Taiwan, we’ll have to experience what our foreign policy is really made of. I would rather any support go to the Taiwanese than to Gaza, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. 

Failed Economic Policies

According to Biden’s speech he has made everyone better off from the poor to the wealthy. Addressing the decrease in deficit spending in the face of a $34-trillion dollar debt is like trying to irrigate a desert with a cup of water. The next government budget may very well see a fifth of its spending go simply to paying off the interest on the debt. And listening to Biden’s address doesn’t give anyone any comfort that government spending is on the chopping block. (By the way, this is as true of the RNC as it is the DNC.) Government spending is rather an oxymoron. It is actually the tax payers who are on the hook for the fiscal policies that lead to irrational spending by politicians. According to Biden, he is going to fix all problems from healthcare to education to corporate profits by the old game of tax-it-and-spend-it. Not one word did he utter regarding the government debt, what it does to the value of the dollar, and how it undermines peoples trust in economic policies. Not one word did he utter regarding the debauchery known as the Federal Reserve. End the Fed has been a shout for those who hold an understanding of economics contrary to Nobel Prize winners like Paul Krugman. The mindset that has taken hold of Washington’s fiscal and monetary policies can simply be translated as – spend our way toward utopia. 

As Biden spoke out of one corner of his mouth regarding deficit spending, out of the other side he played the old rhetorical tune of class envy, calling on the wealthy to pay their fair share. No doubt the tax burden in on the middle class. But this fact is due to both Democrat and Republican policies that uphold a so-called progressive income tax. The real question is who determined what is fair for everyone to pay in taxes. Such rhetoric is nothing more than the State being too much a part of our lives. When politicians set the tax code, then they and their IRA crony bureaucrats dictate to others what their fair share should be. There are many other pledges that Biden made that speak to what will be the continued failed economic policies put forth by Washington. Teachers will get raises, children will be forced to go into public education at earlier ages, unions will be subsidized to make America strong again. And then finally, an insult to all insults, inflation is going down. Tell that nonsense to people who are trying to buy a home, pay for an automobile, and to even those going to the grocery store. Of course all of these rises in prices will be fixed by more government spending and subsidizing of corporate cronies while the government debt continues to reach higher levels.

Everything is Political

Biden mentioned all the necessary politically-correct items from abortion to transgenderism. And then there is the border situation, which he has really tried to fix while instead trying to dictate to Texas that the state cannot string barbed wired along the Rio Grande. Literally millions of illegal immigrants have crossed the border, wreaking havoc on communities. Even schools in New York have been shut down, sending the students home while the educational facilities were used to house illegal immigrants. The border situation is a disaster. It’s remedy should be left up the each and every state that has to deal with the effects of illegal immigration. Immigration policies also effect economic policies. Those who enter the U.S. illegally are subsidized with healthcare, housing, and education. Interestingly enough, it is the very unions that Biden touts that look with scorn at immigration policies because of the jobs and inflated wage losses due to illegal immigration. I happen to believe that it is a wonderful reality that people want to move here, work, and establishing a life for themselves. But as in all countries, Mexico included, there are legal and legitimate ways to obtain that goal. Tax payers should not be subsidizing those who cross the border illegally.

Biden’s political rhetoric, which is true of Washing D.C. as a whole, was replete throughout his address. If we were to believe him, he will put forth policies that will solve all of our problems, of course at the tax payers’ expense. With every line, he had to take a jab at Trump (and I’m no Trump supporter). Of course it’s an election year. What this State of the Union puts forth is like most addresses over the last few decades, if not longer. People are to look to the beltway in D.C. for a life. Never mind the the pandemic and the policies that followed from it crushed the economy. Never mind that politicians are spending the economy into oblivion. Never mind that our foreign policy for the last decades since WWII have taken of the goal of a Pax Americana. And never mind that NATO is an organization that is at best a silent enemy of what America supposedly stands. NATO stands because of the American military and loss of American lives in foreign conflicts that we should not have engaged, from Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan.

Conclusion

The political rhetoric continues. Look to the politically elite for a life. They know better how we should live. The populace surely cannot carve out a life for themselves worth living. People are called to depend on the government. That is the taxpayer.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D/March 14th, 2024

ANALYSIS OF POWER/Politics