George Rebane
Yes, Jimmy Carter was a nice and decent man, but he didn’t cut it as our President. What no one is pointing out in the media is that President Carter took us to the very brink of WW3. At the time (1977-80) this precarious situation was a highly classified assessment within our military and intelligence agencies. Since then, the passage of time and the collapse of the USSR have allowed historians to tell us the albeit little read story, and the media have suppressed it as yesterday’s news and its anti-Left message. As a member of the DoD’s classified research sector, I was constantly made aware of the goings on behind the Iron Curtain that gave obvious evidence of the Red Army’s preparation to come through the Fulda Gap. Brezhnev told the Politburo that all the signs advised a ‘now-or-never’ opportunity for global communism – a war-weary US, greatly diminished post-Vietnam defense budgets, depleted US military stores, economy in shambles, low morale in the ranks, and a weak-willed President. Add that to the USSR coming to the end of the line in its ability to keep funding their outsized military, and it was easy to conclude that the time had come to go to Paris. Then in 1980 along came Reagan who immediately, and against the advice of the Pentagon, invited the Soviet command staff with their experts to visit the US and take a detailed tour of our R&D and defense plants across the country. As I have described elsewhere, they were blown away and went back to report that the correct decision was ‘never’ – the US had ample military stores left, and had and was building advanced combat systems (many of which were operational) at historical rates with Reagan’s greatly enlarged defense budgets. As a response, enter Gorbachev with his glasnost and perestroika, and the rest is history. Now for the last four years and for the same reasons we’ve had that putz Putin dreaming of those glory days and doing all he can to start moving west again.
Dateline Washington – President-elect Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) for another term, working to tamp down rumblings from some Republicans that the party should seek an alternative leader over complaints about spending. “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement.”
From his mouth to God’s ear, let it be so – onward!
[Update 31dec24] And now a Happy 2025 wish for all of the RR readers and commenter crew. Jo Ann and I wish that you and your families enjoy a healthy, productive, and bountiful new year.
[2jan25 update] PG&E sends out tree trimming crews to my neighborhood at least once a month. They’re always a different contractor hired by the utility, and they always find yet another overhanging branch to trim or even cut down a tree. For the last 20 years they have never finished the job of securing the power lines on my property. The practice has all the hallmarks of a corrupt scam that contributes to California’s high electricity bills. There is nothing to prevent the utility from such gratuitous work assignments all in the name of public safety. The more of these that can be logged per budget cycle the better as far as the PUC and the utility's lawyers are concerned – subsequent rate increases to cover the costs are easily justified. Of course, nothing prevents kickback monies flowing between the various levels of bureaucrats and tree contractors – for the system it’s a win-win scam as long as the consumer continues to unquestionably pay the bill.
{3jan25 update] "Mike Johnson Wins Speaker Vote on First Ballot After House Drama" – Gott sei Dank!
