George Rebane
To our categorical ‘observations and interpretations of events from the last great century of Man’, we must add a section in which, from time to time, some real doozies can be collected and commented. We all witness and shake our heads at them as they appear in serious publications and outlets. This morning we start with a couple from our own Union and the ultra-serious coronet of capitalism, The Wall Street Journal. The record would be incomplete should we omit such observations and interpretations as a seminal characteristic of our times.
Nevada City resident Ron Lowe, writing (here) in the 6jul19 Union, is astounded to discover “that liberty must be kept by force”, and that the country is now so polarized that “crazy Republican white religious extremists” are actually ready to defend their liberties with the use of force. This worthy has never heard of the American Revolution and the conditions that gave rise to it. His fervent hope today is that our government has “contingent plans to call out the US military to quell these Republican radicals if they start their revolution against America.” (emphasis mine) In his letter he makes it clear that citizens’ right to bear arms sufficient to resist an autocratic government is anathema to the social order of his liking. I wonder what free nations he knows of that did not gain their freedoms through the use of force, and then remain prepared to use force to maintain those freedoms. In embracing such beliefs Mr Lowe has plenty of company. (My own opinion on such use of force by the citizenry was covered here and here.)
Then we have author, war correspondent, and journalist Gordon Dillow who writes a sober ‘The Asteroid Peril isn’t Science Fiction’ in the 7jul19 WSJ. He goes to great length to describe the peril and inform us that we have no answer for “what to do about an asteroid hurtling toward Earth” So what’s loony about such an alarming dissertation? Well, in outlining ways in which mankind could counter such cataclysmic catastrophes, most of which will not work, he considers an approach that has the best chance of working – using a nuclear bomb to divert/destroy the asteroid – and then tells us that this is not a viable alternative. Why? (Seatbelts please) Because “the nuclear option faces serious hurdles in the real world. Sending nuclear weapons into space … makes lots of people nervous and could violate international treaties governing the militarization of space.” There you have it. Millions would die, or even civilization could end, and it’s all worth it if we can keep lots of people from not getting nervous about “nuclear weapons in space”, especially if this may “violate international treaties …”. In publishing this piece, I don’t know whether the WSJ editorial staff decided to pull our collective legs, or they just overlooked Dillow’s ‘reasoned’ basis that opts for wholesale human annihilation. Now imagine such an argument being brought up in the White House war room while our senior leaders consider how to counter a killer asteroid heading for Earth. Should they then just shoot the sumbich on the spot, or take the time and effort to seek psychiatric aid?
[8jul19 update] One of the looniest tunes from the Left playing out today is their legions of public school teachers continuing to declare their heartfelt concern for the education and welfare of the children they are paid to educate. As we have documented for years in these pages, nothing could be further from the laughable truth. The Democratic party and their union minions/handlers (take your pick) have taken America’s public education to new lows with every passing decade over the last half century during which they have been in charge. The 8jul19 WSJ published ‘An Education Horror Show – a case study in public school failure and lack of accountability’.
The latest posterchild of this ongoing tragedy of America’s culture is the Providence, RI public school system, an horrific example that was pointedly not even mentioned at the past weekend’s NEA convention that saw prominent visits by a phalanx of Dem presidential candidates. I urge you to read the details such as the testing which demonstrates the Providence’s pedagogic plague in which children get dumber the longer they attend the city’s schools. There is much more involved here. And all of it in a district that “spent nearly $18,000 per pupil in 2017—about 50% more than the national average.” Finally, to put a bow on it that applies across the land, the incompetent, cynical, and shameless “Democrats as ever blame a lack of funding”.
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