31DEC2023 – Quote of the Day

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If two districts, one of which possessed a rich copper mine, and the other a rich tin mine, had always been separated by an impassable river or mountain, there can be no doubt that an opening of a communication, a greater demand would take place, and a greater price be given for both the tin and the copper; and this greater price of both metals, though it might be only temporary, would alone go a great way towards furnishing the additional capital wanted to supply the additional demand; and the capitals of both districts, and the products of both mines, would be increased both in quantity and value to a degree which could not have taken place without the this new distribution of the produce, or some equivalent to it.

Thomas Robert Malthus

British Perspective on the Movie “The Holly and the Ivy”

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The Holly and the Ivy is one of my favorite Christmas movies.  But it is an intensely English movie and so I thought it would be interesting to hear what a British movie critic would have to say about it.

Whether it is interesting or not I’ll leave to the individual viewer but I enjoyed it.  However I was already a fan of the movie and didn’t require any convincing.

Ring Out the Old

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2023 has been a year of stumbling along through the wreckage.  In every direction, as far as the eye can see is nothing but ruin.  Everything is in a shambles.  The borders, the cities, the Congress, Biden and our foreign policy.  In fact, the Ukraine is a perfect metaphor for the state of our civilization.  Across fertile fields laced with landmines and once industrious cities reduced to rubble formerly kindred peoples are locked in a life and death struggle to destroy each other.

And to prove that things can always get worse, Hamas unleashed the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse, Sadism.  Just when you think that nothing could be worse than the threat of all out nuclear war because of Ukraine, the Palestinians of that coastal hellhole; Gaza, send out squadrons of unhinged fighters to rape, maim, kill and dismember women, children and the elderly in an orgy of destruction and demonic madness.  The Israelis will earn the undying hatred of their neighbors in the surrounding Arab countries but after what was done to these Israeli non-combatants I won’t be surprised if they pursue the Hamas army to the last man even if it means killing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in order to reach them.  Anything less than the total destruction of Hamas will merely postpone the next round of attacks on Israel.  But the fallout from this war will be very ugly and Israel should reevaluate all of its strategic objectives and align them with the present war.  Because after it, goodwill for Israel in the Middle East will be non-existent.  Even the United States may shy away from pressing its Arab allies for support.

So, it’s really hard to find a silver lining to 2023.  Mike Johnson taking over as Speaker of the House after Kevin McCarthy was ejected by Republican right-wingers is a promising development.  Donald Trump’s growing support in the polls for the Republican primaries is also a bit of good news.  And his current lead in the polls versus Biden is likewise encouraging.  But after those three tidbits have been savored, you’re pretty much done with good news from Washington.

So, let’s turn the page on 2023 without too much introspection and analysis.  For those of you who overindulge on New Year’s Eve, you have the perfect excuse. Waking up on New Year’s Day with a hell of a hangover may be the most fitting end to a year that felt like a hangover.  Maybe we can use 2024 to start addressing problems on our own.  Obviously, we can’t undo the Biden agenda.  All the worst policies of his regime will continue for as long as the Democrats are able to bamboozle stupid or greedy people into buying special treatment for their votes.  But there is plenty you can do to minimize the impact of these dishonest policies on you and your family.  And that should be your resolution for the New Year.  Analyze what personal actions you are capable of accomplishing that have the highest impact on your life and make it your business to make them happen.

That’s resolution enough for anyone.

Mirror Image

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Recently, I had a short conversation with someone on the Left.  In New England, that’s hardly an unexpected situation.  But for me to discuss the political situation with people on the other side of the political divide is quite rare.  Basically, I don’t bother to debate the political issues with those on the Left.  It serves no useful purpose for me.  We would not be able to even agree on the definitions of the things about which we disagree.  There’s no point of contact between our world views.

But a funny thing happened.  Someone I met in town while waiting in a line asked me what I thought would happen after the November election.  We had been standing in line and we were talking about Christmas get togethers and then we mentioned the New Year and he reminded me it was an election year.  I said in a neutral way that it was going to be an ugly campaign.  He agreed but said he thought that it would provide closure.  Specifically, he asked whether I thought that things would go back to normal if Trump lost.

I answered his question with a question.  I asked, “Would things go back to normal if Trump won?”  He flinched and said, “No, of course not!”  I asked why and he said, “Because that would be intolerable.”  I replied, “You’ve just given the answer to your question.”  He seemed very surprised and then thoughtful.  He stopped talking to me and we stood in silence until his turn in the line was called.  I can’t be sure but I think I witnessed an epiphany.

The people on the Left, a lot of them anyway, think Trump is some kind of a hypnotist that has mesmerized otherwise normal people into saying and doing things that they would otherwise not do.  They think that Trump voters are acting against their own best interests and even against their own beliefs.  They figure if Trump is eliminated then Republicans will go back to voting for Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Liz Cheney.  We’ll cheer for illegal aliens sucking up all the federal government’s resources.  We’ll come around to accepting doctors castrating boys and neutering girls and allowing perverts to groom young children in grade school.

They blame Trump for the revolt that he spearheaded.  They either believe or pretend to believe that all the stuff like Russia-gate and the suppression of Hunter’s laptop and COVID lab leak are just rightwing conspiracy theories.  So, they either believe or just hope that once Trump leaves the scene more reasonable Republicans will take control of the party and steer us back into the calmer days of George W Bush, or better still, Mitt Romney.  Mitt is every Democrat’s favorite Republican; technically competent, ethically spineless and willing to take any amount of abuse without uttering a single word in his own defense.

But I think I impinged on this one Democrat’s reassuring bubble.  I think I revealed to him that there is a mirror image to his world view.  And that it rules out the old status quo.  The old world where Democrats and Republicans were two ends of a single spectrum of American voters is completely gone.  It’s been replaced by a landscape where close to half the population feels like they’re living through an occupation complete with gestapo and fake elections.  They may be afraid to revolt against the army of occupation but that doesn’t mean they feel any kinship with their occupiers.

I think I convinced him that November isn’t going to end anything.  It’s just the beginning of the next phase, one way or the other.