Friday, June 30, 2023

SCOTUS 2023

SCOTUS 2023

 Whatever else you may think of Donald Trump: - He’s narcissistic, he’s opinionated, he’s childish, he’s ill-spoken, ya da da da da, you may have some difficulty, after nearly three years of Biden, remembering $1.80/gal gasoline, an actual southern border, low crime rates in most of our cities, and pride (not the LGBTQ+++++++ kind), in our country and its heritage and values.

 You may also remember a roaring economy before Covid wiped it out, (and Trump along with it).

 You may not have been aware until this week, that Trump appointed three SCOTUS judges, although the virulent, vindictive left almost destroyed Brett Kavanaugh in the process.  Well, we are aware now.  Unconstitutional aberrations such as Roe v Wade and the racist Affirmative Action have been reversed, along with, just today, Biden’s bribe to buy Millennial and Gen-Z votes by forgiving student debt.

 This NYT article is a good summary of recent SCOTUS cases.  Note that the three liberal justices always vote as a block.  The other six justices split depending on the issue.

 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/07/us/major-supreme-court-cases-2023.html#race-and-voting-maps

 Ray Gruszecki
June 30, 2023

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Russian Ukraine War

 Russian Ukraine War

 These are early reports of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.  Reading these reports left little doubt that the massive Russian military would soon over-run the smaller and weaker Ukrainian military.

 Just look at the numbers:

 Russia: Pre-invasion total strength: 900,000 military, 554,000 paramilitary

Ukraine: Pre-invasion total strength:196,600 military, 102,000 paramilitary

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60503037

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine

 But wait a minute!

 So why didn’t the Russians just steamroll the Ukrainians as Putin planned when he invaded?  Obviously, Putin thought that his vaunted military could re-absorb Ukraine back into Mother Russia in a matter of weeks, if not days.  After all, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 only took several days.

 So, what happened?  There are several contemporary and historical reasons.

 Ukrainian troops had been fighting Russian backed separatists in the Donbas region for years, and these troops were battle-hardened.  They were also fighting for their own country on their own land.

 Many of the Russian troops were inexperienced and poorly trained conscripts, who felt that they were fighting fellow Russians.  Not so the brutal Wagner mercenaries who later came in on the side of Russia.

 And one thing that people forget – the fighting ancestry and heritage of the Ukrainian people and their military.  Scythians, Mongols, Cossacks.

 A little history: -

 Early Ukrainians – Horsemen and Fighters

 Scythians, also called Scyth, Saka, and Sacae, a nomadic people, originally of Iranian stock, known from as early as the 9th century BCE who migrated westward from Central Asia to southern Russia and Ukraine in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. The Scythians founded a rich, powerful empire centered on what is now Crimea. The empire survived for several centuries.

 The Scythians were feared and admired for their prowess in war and, in particular, for their horsemanship. They were among the earliest people to master the art of riding, and their mobility astonished their neighbors.

 The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous cities, including Ryazan, Kolomna, Moscow, Vladimir and Kiev.

 The campaign was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River in May 1223, which resulted in a Mongol victory over the forces of several Rus' principalities. The Mongols at first, retreated, having gathered their intelligence which was the purpose of the reconnaissance-in-force. A full-scale invasion of Rus' by Batu Khan followed, from 1237 to 1242. The invasion was ended by the Mongol succession process upon the death of Ögedei Khan. All Rus' principalities, including most of Ukraine, were forced to submit to Mongol rule and became vassals of the Golden Horde, some of which lasted until 1480.

 In the 15th century a new martial society—the Cossacks (from the Turkic kazak, meaning “adventurer” or “free man”)—was beginning to evolve in Ukraine’s southern steppe frontier. The term was applied initially to venturesome men who entered the steppe seasonally for hunting, fishing, and the gathering of honey. Their numbers were continually augmented by peasants fleeing serfdom and adventurers from other social strata, including the nobility.

 Banding together for mutual protection, the Cossacks by the mid-16th century had developed a military organization of a peculiarly democratic kind, with a general assembly (rada) as the supreme authority and elected officers, including the commander in chief, or hetman. Their centre was the Sich, an armed camp in the lands of the lower Dnieper “beyond the rapids” (za porohy)—hence, Zaporozhia (in contemporary usage, Zaporizhzhya).

 Note that the Cossacks are mentioned with pride in the Ukrainian national anthem.

 So, independence and prowess in war have always been a feature of the Ukrainian psyche, from Scythian times in the 9th century BCE, to modern times.  Apparently, these are things that Putin forgot when he recklessly invaded Ukraine in February of 2022.

Now, in June, 2023, with nearly universal condemnation of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and with billions in military and financial support to Ukraine by the West, including $500 billion just announced by the U.S. today, the chances of Ukraine beating Russia back and regaining its territory, including Crimea, increase daily.

 Ray Gruszecki
June 27, 2023

Monday, June 26, 2023

What’s Wrong with Our Country?

 What’s Wrong with Our Country?

 Joe Biden Stumbles to the podium in his dotage and continually lies to our faces.

 Biden is an inveterate, corrupt liar and throwback to Tammany.  He outright lies with an arrogant smile, while he and his crime family line their pockets and laugh at our so called “justice”.

 Our Department of “Justice” and Merrick Garland are dishonest and two-tier, persecuting republicans and coddling the democrats and the left.  Of course, Garland smugly denies it.

 Our written, visual and audio media is so biased and dishonest, that most of it should be considered a propaganda arm of the democrats.  Were it not for Fox, National Review, Newsmax and a few others, we would never learn what is actually happening in our world.

 Opposition republicans and whistle blowers come forth regularly, and they bloviate in congress and on TV and cable, talk an indignant game, and form investigative groups, but nothing ever seems to get done to bring the offenders that are ruining our country, to task. 

 As a case in point, the vaunted John Durham Special Counsel investigation into misconduct related to the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe produced a 300-page report, but not much else, after running into several negative rulings by biased, liberal New York juries.

 A marginally republican house is investigating the Bidens, and the incriminating evidence in Hunter Biden’s laptop that shows “pay for play” abuses by Joe and Hunter Biden and family.  Just recently, we have several whistle blowers that are implicating the Bidens, father and son, in criminal activities.

 In the meantime, Hunter Biden skates with “slap on the wrist” misdemeanors for tax evasion and firearms charges, flaunting any sense of fair handling by our “justice” system.

 And, it’s not only the Bidens and their minions.  Our society has become corrupted by the violent actions of fringe activists promulgating marginal, anti-social mores, and what were once aberrations now involve large swaths of American life.

 Our young people are radicalized with topics like “Critical Race Theory”, “The 1619 Project”, drag queen shows, and socialism and communism straight out of Marx without admitting that it’s Marx.

 Gender surgery is now suggested for grade school kids without parental consent.

 We effectively have no national borders, and unvetted and unchecked aliens, terrorists and drugs pour into the country, including the Fentanyl from China that is killing our kids.

 Crime runs rampant in nearly all major cities run by democrats.  Police have been defunded by George Soros backed democrat administrations, and the courts are revolving doors for criminals.

 Democrat mayors like London Breed of San Francisco and Lori Lightfoot (now Brandon Johnson) of Chicago respond with smug arrogance when asked about crime in their cities, taking a cue from the “big guy”.

 Religious affiliation and belief in God have decreased dramatically in recent years, down as much as 12% in a recent Pew survey.

 Societal change is painful.  Accepting different guidelines for our behavior is not always easy.  Human nature is insular and resistant to change.

 But change is necessary for humanity to evolve.  Positive and necessary changes that have taken place over the past hundred or so years are enfranchisement and equal rights for women, and the same for our black and brown citizens who were once slaves.

 Unfortunately, an isolated incident like the inadvertent killing of George Floyd, a petty black criminal and junkie in Minneapolis in 2020, resulted in a summer of madness, violence, killing, rioting and mayhem. 

 Black Lives Matter was formed by three black liberal lesbians, to ostensibly provide funds for “abused” minority blacks.  After millions of dollars donated by gullible, well-meaning liberals, it developed that pretty much the only black lives that BLM helped were those of BLM’s founders, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi.  BLM proved to be a big con.

 Another necessary change is the acknowledgement that character defines a person, and not what they do in the bedroom or bathroom. 

 People that were of different sexual orientations were once ostracized and ridiculed.  A positive development is that now they are accepted in American society, and have defined equal rights.

 However, activists have taken the LGBTQ+ movement to extremes. We are asked to almost worship the LGBTQ+++++ groups, their acronyms and their complicated and confusing multi-colored flags.

 “Pride” month, June, 2023, extolling homosexuality, lesbianism and transgenders is overwhelming.  LGBTQ+++++ activists have literally forced not only acknowledgement, but active acceptance of this aberrant way of life.  What was supposed to be equal rights has become an unwanted force-feeding of homosexual mores.  The Biden cabal agrees and supports this politization of the queer communities.

 Unfortunately, both race and sexual orientation have been politicized by left-wing political activists to not only create divisiveness in our society, but also a deterioration of the American principles and values that our founders and ancestors fought and died for. 

 Will these continuing abuses to our American way of life ever end?  Only if we elect leaders willing to work toward restoring our American heritage and values.  Unfortunately, with our schools indoctrinating our young people with anti-American socialist curricula, this is easier said than done.  Its not impossible, but it will take a lot of work, and a review and revamp of our education systems.

 Ray Gruszecki
June 26, 2023

Monday, June 12, 2023

Ghosts of Beirut and Damascus

 Ghosts of Beirut and Damascus

 I just finished watching Showtime’s “Ghosts of Beirut”, a very apt title for me, since I once lived in Lebanon for over a year.

 The hunt for and execution of the elusive Shia Hezbollah Lebanese terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, (alias al-Hajj Radwan), by the CIA and Mossad is set some 30 years after I lived in Lebanon, and after various warring factions had pretty much destroyed this beautiful city and country.

 The very realistic story of how the CIA and Mossad finally assassinated this terrorist, whom they called “The Ghost”, in Damascus in 2008, was created by Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz, of “Fauda” fame.  “Ghosts” was actually shot in Morocco, near Casablanca, which terrain looks a lot like Lebanon, and which doesn’t have armed Hezbollah shooting at the filming.

 One aside in the final episode of “Ghosts” is how the assassination team in Damascus has Mughniyeh in their sights, but as a “twofer” with Iranian terrorist Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.  The Bush administration calls a “stand down”, not wanting to provoke a war with Iran.  President Trump had no such compunction when he ordered Soleimani assassinated in 2020.

 We drove from Beirut to Damascus in 1966 on a Lebanese visa issue.  All we needed to do is enter Lebanon from Syria, with the appropriate passport stamp. This was during the Syrian left-wing Ba’athist regime of Salah Jadid, who had come to power in a coup in February of 1966.

 The angry red political signs on the road from Beirut to Damascus reminded us of the signage we had seen while driving in communist East Germany in 1963.  We tried to see the Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, but for some reason, we infidels were not allowed.  We had lunch with our Arabic speaking escort, and drove back home to Sidon without incident.

 Ray Gruszecki
June 12, 2023

Friday, June 9, 2023

Trump the Persecuted

 Trump the Persecuted

 You can disagree with Trump politically.  You can call him an asshole for his sometimes childish and narcissistic behavior.  But any honest individual cannot deny that Donald Trump is the most harassed and persecuted president, ever, in all of American history.

 From the time that he rode down that escalator at Trump Tower in June of 2015 and announced his candidacy for president, he has been mercilessly hounded by the left-wing media, left-wing big tech and by the deep administrative state, including all three branches of the federal government, and most recently, the left-leaning courts in Manhattan, and at the DOJ.

 Trump was not versed in political niceties.  He was a hard-assed businessman from Queens, and he did not kow-tow to the powers that be in Washington, DC.  And it infuriated them.  He added fuel to the fire because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut and continued his angry responses against the injustices mounted against him, and to expose the rank unfairness of the Washington cabal. 

 But in spite of his halting and sputtering political start, and in spite of the Covid pandemic, and in spite of two hate-filled impeachments by Nancy Pelosi, Trump still did a lot of positive good for this country by applying common sense business principles.

 Do we still remember $1.80 per gallon gasoline, a real southern border, relatively low crime rates in our cities, and respect for American values and heritage?  We had all of that under Trump even in spite of continued attempts by the left and the administrative state to depose him. 

 Of course, the left and their dishonest media collaborators will never give Trump credit for any of the positives that he accomplished, but honest minded people don’t forget.  They just wish that he was a little less vociferous and narcissistic.

 Trump is a name-calling, in-your face street brawler who never gives up.  Can he prevail all the way to the presidency again?  His reputation has been trashed by unheard of criminal charges by DA Bragg in New York for alleged “hush payments”.  He also faces further indictment for document mishandling similar to what Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and a slew of democrats have gotten away with in the past, and are still getting away with. 

 Trump also faces a plethora of accusations and charges aimed at denying him an opportunity to run for president again.  It seems that nearly every day, we see one legal action or another against Trump.  Some of these are almost laughable, but unfortunately, they bear the imprimatur of judicial legality. 

 Trump is wealthy, and he has great lawyers, but the forces massed against him, (the media, big tech, the administrative state), are immense.

 Voters in the big democrat-run population centers bleat “baa__aa” to the likes of Al Sharpton, Lori Lightfoot, AOC, Gavin Newsome and others, and will never vote for Trump.  Neither will young folks who have been bribed by a constitutionally illegal student loan forgiveness by a misguided Biden.  Nor will “pro-choice”, abortion supporters, who continue to deny that abortion kills babies, now that Roe vs Wade is no longer federal law.

 But there are vast swaths of this country in which voters are honest, pragmatic and can see the tremendous damage inflicted on the country, in only the last few years, by the misguided policies of the left.  These Americans include the MAGA voters that the left has tried to denigrate.  Do we need to be reminded that MAGA stands for “Make America Great Again”?  What’s wrong with that?  Should the left’s slogan be MAWA, for “Make America Weak (or “Woke”), Again”?

 Trump is a fighter and he doesn’t give up.  He is also leading in early polling by wide margins.  It remains to be seen if he can once again overcome the forces from the left massed against him, and indeed, “Make America Great Again”.

 Ray Gruszecki
June 9, 2023

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Elon Musk

 Elon Musk

 Elon Musk is an amazing guy.  He is once again the richest person in the world, holds three citizenships (U.S., Canada, South Africa), is on the Asperger’s spectrum and has built his wealth from a modest start.  He alternates periodically with French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault for the title of richest person in the world, depending primarily on Tesla stock price.

 Musk looks funny and talks funny, but he recently came up with $45 billion to buy twitter and clean it up for free speech and the first amendment.  He is not a card-carrying conservative.  His (American) politics are a little left of center.  But he is a straight shooter, and a fair and honest person.

  Here are some links about this brilliant, charismatic entrepreneur, who will have us driving electric cars on Mars with brain implants in the near future.

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2023/06/07/elon-musk-becomes-worlds-richest-person-again/?sh=585441ac4ca4

 https://marketrealist.com/p/was-elon-musk-born-rich/

 https://www.axios.com/2022/04/15/elon-musk-aspergers-syndrome

 https://provscons.com/why-does-elon-musk-have-3-citizenships/

 Ray Gruszecki
June 7, 2023

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Good and Bad and Equality

 Good and Bad and Equality

 This is my opinion as a conservative, libertarian and classical liberal thinker, who tries to stay pretty much in the rational middle, and to understand all sides of the political spectrum. I feel that many in this country who have not allowed themselves to become polarized and divided think similarly.

 I believe that all human beings in this world, no matter what their origin, ethnic background, religion or politics, and no matter what their looks, visage or skin color, are imbued with God-given equal rights.  That is to say that society and government should grant all people the same equal opportunities to succeed.  It does not mean a guaranteed outcome for certain groups based on the concept of “equity”, as proposed by leftist extremists.

 I also believe that there should be no restrictions on the assimilation of our racial minorities into the fabric of American life.  Long-term, say 200 years down the road, (if AI doesn’t get us first), we all may become pigmented from our African and Asian citizens, something like a permanent tan.

 That’s not to say that there won’t be pockets of Northern European whiteness and of Southern African blackness, or of Remnants of China, left, but for the most part, we Americans will just grow a little darker, and have slightly slanted eyes, with time.  And there is nothing wrong with this, no matter what some bigots might say.

 I do not believe that vociferous activists, racial, sexual or political, should automatically be treated as privileged just because they are loud and violent, or because of some ill treatment in the distant past.  It should be sufficient that we are all Americans, and should be proud to be part of this country, not to equate deviant sexual behavior with “pride”.

 There is also nothing wrong about being aware of environmental concerns and taking steps to preserve our planet.  Again, what is basically a good cause has been perverted into dishonest activist claptrap that bears no resemblance to the original.  Electric vehicles?  Fine, for 10-12% of cars.  Not 100% as ill-conceived by technically clueless politicians.

 Common sense has long left us in this helter-skelter rush to what the extreme left calls “social justice”, and really is nothing more than ignorant enforced socialism/communism without logic.  It currently pervades our “leaders’” thinking, and has gone a long way toward destroying our economy, our society, our values and our heritage.

 We really need to acknowledge and reinforce the positive foundations of our country, and root out the destructive elements that we have allowed to prevail.  Unfortunately, our young people have been indoctrinated to believe the lies prevalent in our society, and seem to have lost the perspective of history.  Guys like Trump come in like gangbusters and do a lot of good for the economy and foreign relations, but alienate many younger people by his crude, in-your-face  demeanor.

 Ray Gruszecki
June 4, 2023

Minorities Rule

 Minorities Rule

 A virulent form of reverse racism and reverse homophobia has developed in recent years from what was originally intended as “social justice” and “political correctness”.  This has resulted not in the “best” person being chosen for a job or promotion, but the “best black” or the “best  LGBTQ+++” person for said job or promotion, to the exclusion of a better qualified majority person.

 Much of what evolved from the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement is not only the equality of minorities in society, but the “equity” and hegemony of these minorities.  Gandhi’s and Martin Luther King’s non-violence and passive resistance has been replaced by activist violence in the streets by every conceivable little minority group with their particular point to push.  Recent examples are “trans” groups and subsets.

 I was born and raised in the North, in a little town in Western Massachusetts, which to my recollection was comparatively free from the type of bigotry we now see dividing the country.  In spite of the imputed reputation of “Yankee Insularity”, a large black family that moved into our little town was completely accepted and not discriminated against.  Seasonal black crop pickers were almost tribal, and we young white guys worked and socialized with them without any further thought.

 My heritage is Polish, and the area where I was raised had many ethnic Poles.  Local bigotry took the form of “Polacks vs Yankees”, with “Yankees” being anyone not Polish.

 Working in a cotton mill in the 1950’s there was occasion to observe a group that was looked down on by most of the local American workers.  These were displaced persons or “DP’s” from the war.  They spoke primarily Polish, and quickly caught the epithet “dumb Polacks”.  There were economic reasons for this discrimination.  The refugees were willing to work for lower wages than the American workers.

 Jews were shop keepers in our area.  I particularly got to know the Schwarz brothers since I bought guns and ammunition in their sporting goods shop.  My mother, having been born in Poland, came with a full set of anti-Semitisms.  She also disliked Russians.

 Concerning LGBTQ+++, we called them “queers”, and made snide remarks behind their backs.  They certainly were not accepted with “pride”.  Thoughts about homosexuals and lesbians were close to biblical.  But there were no overt actions against gays and lesbians

 In the present day, the world has become perverted, such that every aberration of human behavior is elevated to prominence, and majority “normal” people are held in contempt.  What started as a valid movement against discrimination of minorities has resulted in the “tail wagging the dog”, with minorities of all stripes and backgrounds clamoring for and attaining positions in what amounts to ruling classes in society.

 As MLK said, people should be accepted for the “quality of their character”.  Perhaps, with time, things will swing back that way, and this destructive divisiveness in our society based on the racist and homophobic principles of the destructive left-wing, will end.

 Ray Gruszecki
June 4, 2023