Eviction moratorium ends and will likely lead to a major wave of evictions.

 

Protesters against eviction in New York City. Politico/Getty

An eviction moratorium put into place by the CDC for the Coronavirus pandemic ended today and will likely lead to a major wave of evictions. Politico. The Supreme Court had signaled that any extension would be overruled so the Biden administration punted the issue to Congress, which was unable to pass any legislation to extend it. The ban was put into place last September to deal with people who had lost money due to the Coronavirus. Adding to the issue is the fact that much federal rental assistance has not yet been distributed, with New York especially being a major problem. The moratorium cost landlords billions of dollars each month and many of the smaller landlords that own only a few rental properties were especially hard hit. The situation will likely to vary from state to state with some states having allowed eviction proceedings, but not he evictions themselves, to continue throughout the pandemic. 

My Comment:

I personally always thought this was a terrible policy and one that should not have been put into place in the first place. It was always kicking the can down the road and is obviously going to cause major problems as these protections are expiring. 

I guess the CDC did not understand human nature because I guarantee there were a large number of people that heard "eviction moratorium" and understood it to mean "I don't have to pay rent anymore" and took advantage of the situation. These people have now racked up ten to eleven months worth of debt for each month they didn't pay rent. They deserve to be evicted but man, what did the CDC expect to happen? And I am guessing a huge number of these people were not effected by the pandemic at all. They just didn't want to pay rent. 

A lot of these people might end up homeless long term. After all, landlords talk to each other and they have a list of people that are bad tenants. Taking advantage of the government to avoid paying rent for ten months is a good way to get blacklisted. They may also end up going bankrupt because of the debt they accrued. I don't feel sorry for them one bit because they made their own beds and now have to lay in it. 

Making things worse if the fact that many states have been completely incompetent in paying out their rent relief money. New York apparently has done a terrible job with this. This is bad because there are at least a few people that were indeed hurt by the Coronavirus pandemic and they should be the ones getting money so they can avoid eviction. You can question the wisdom of giving out billions of dollars like this but everyone should agree that if the money has been allocated than these state governments should actually pay them out. 

There might be a silver lining here for renters and perspective home buyers and that might be that rent and home prices could go down. With so many open homes and apartments landlords might have to reduce costs to attract new tenants. That might just be wishful thinking on my part as I was hoping to buy a home someday but have been outpaced by the market here. 

This is going to cause problems for the Democrats though. The far left is furious about this and won't take "it's illegal" as an excuse. They hate landlords in principal alone and hate the idea of them getting the money they are owned or having their constituents actually have to suffer consequences for their actions. 

I take this as another sign that the Democrats are in trouble for 2022. They have been pretty consistent in not delivering for their far left base and those people might stay home in the next election. Many of them only even voted for the Democrats because they hated President Trump so much. With him a non-factor in 2022, the Democrats may be out of luck with many of these voters either staying home, backing up primary challengers or even voting 3rd party. 

Finally, I have to point out that eviction is a lengthy and costly process that takes months to handle. I know in Texas they were able to evict people without evicting them, so it will go faster there. But in many states the process will likely take months longer than it already does due to the flood of cases. I am guessing that more than a few landlords will just punt and take the loss as long as their tenants start paying rent again. 

Major fighting breaks out in Syria as the regime targets Deraa Province

 

Protesters in Deraa Province. The Guardian/Reuters.

Major fighting has broken out in Syria as the regime tries to take back Deraa Province. The Guardian. Bashar al-Assad launched the attack using heavy weapons including artillery and missiles and ordered two Syrian divisions, along with Iranian militia allies, to attack the province. Rebels counter attacked, killing at least 8 Syrians and capturing more. Deraa was where the Syrian Civil War started but in recent months an uneasy peace reigned, brokered by the Russians. The Russians recruited many of the rebels into a militia called the Fifth Corp, who the Russians pay directly. The Fifth Corp has stayed out of the fighting. The peace fell apart due to Deraa Province not participating in the May election, which lead to tit-for-tat attacks and pressure being applied to the Deraa province. The Fifth Corp and the Russians may have to broker a peace deal.

My Comment:

Just another quick post about the Syrian Civil War. The war has obviously taken a backseat to just about every other news story but it is still going on. There has been a cease fire and a peace deal but there are a few pockets of fighting left and now we have another one. 

I don't think the rebels in Deraa Province can win here. They are facing two divisions of troops along with Iranian militias. Most of there fighters are no longer with them as they have joined the Russian backed Fifth Corp. I don't see how the fighters could possibly prevail on their own. 

But there is a major x-factor here and it's Israel. I don't think Israel cares all that much one way or another who controls the Deraa Province but they are going to be very suspicious of the Iranian militias helping out the Syrian Army. Indeed, I could see them launching air strikes to destroy these militias for their own good. They don't want the Iranians to have a base right on their northern border and they will likely do whatever they can to stop that from happening. Will that be enough to save the rebels in Deraa Province? Time will tell. 

The other x-factor is of course Russia. I am thinking they were happy with the status quo and would like things to go back to normal. They might want to pressure both the rebels and the Syrian government so this offensive gets called off. Sending these people to Idlib with the rest the former rebels might be a possible solution.

Either way, I would rather have the Syrian government fighting the remaining jihadists in ISIS and whatever al-Nusra are remaining in the country. Gaining back the province doesn't really help that much and could even spark a conflict with Israel. Time will tell if Syria's gamble here pays off. 

US sailor charged with arson for the destruction of the USS Bonhomme Richard.

 

Helicopters attempt to stop the fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard. BBC/Reuters.

A US sailor was charged with arson for the destruction of the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship. BBC. The sailor has not been publicly identified and his or her motive has not been revealed. The ship was docked at the time and the fire injured 40 sailors and 23 civilians. Despite successfully stopping the fire, the ship was not salvageable and had to be scrapped. The ship cost $1 billion and would have been too expensive to repair. Amphibious assault ships are small carriers that can launch helicopters and F-35 fighter jets. 

My Comment:

I had long suspected that arson was the cause of this fire. It explained the silence from the Navy as to what the cause of the fire. The ship was destroyed and under those conditions you would have expected an explanation right away, not a year afterwards. Arson made the most sense as an explanation. 

This has to be a massive embarrassment for the Navy. They lost a $1 billion ship and weren't even able to restore it. And instead of losing it in an industrial accident or even in combat, they lost it to one of their own sailors. That's a major problem for the Navy as it could certainly happen again. 

Motive is going to be the big question here. Why would someone destroy the USS Bonhomme Richard? There are a lot of possibilities. The most disturbing is that this sailor could be a foreign agent who did it at the direction of a foreign government. If that is the case this would be an act of war as the US government has long said that an attack on one of their ships is considered an attack on US soil. Iran, China and Russia might have a motive to do so, but I find this scenario unlikely due to the high chance of blowback.

It's also possible this sailor did it for extremist reasons. Both the far-left and the far-right have reasons to want to destroy a ship like this to say nothing of Islamic extremists. Out of the three I find Islamic terrorism the most likely with left wing terrorism being more likely than right wing terrorism. 

But it's very possible that this sailor had no ideological purpose for this at all. It's possible he had a grudge against the Navy or the ship and its crew. He could just be a firebug arsonist that got off on the idea of burning a huge ship. Or maybe he just had a bad day. 

Regardless, this guy is probably going away for a long time. Losing a billion dollar ship is not something the Navy will simply forgive and forget. My guess is that this guy will have the book thrown at him. If he really did burn down the USS Bonhomme Richard than he owes this country a major debt that he will likely never be able to repay. 

Joe Biden falsely says he drove an 18 wheeler?

 

Joe Biden. White House photo.

Joe Biden has falsely claimed that he used to drive 18 wheeler trucks. Fox News. Biden said he had driven the trucks while at a Mack Truck factory in Pennsylvania. The White House struggled to explain the claim saying that Biden had ridden in a truck during a delivery Ohio. They also said that Biden drove a school bus as a summer job. 

Joe Biden, a career politician who has been in politics for 48 years, claims he "used to drive an 18 wheeler.” pic.twitter.com/eOXI9pwF2g

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 28, 2021

My Comment:

Just a quick silly story. I am not sure if Biden was lying here, confused or just having another senior moment but it's pretty clear that Biden has not driven an 18 wheeler. It's not a big deal really, but I did want to point out the media bias here. It's very possible that Biden just misspoke. After all if he had said that he had rode in an 18 wheeler he would have told the truth. 

The only networks and websites that covered this gaff are conservative leaning ones like Fox News and the Daily Mail. Mainstream media are silent on this story. Normally I would excuse this as just it being a minor story but you just know if it was President Trump back in the day saying this it would be front page news from here until eternity. 

 As for Biden himself, I still don't think he is in good mental health. He always put his foot in his mouth throughout his career, but his gaffes are getting more and more frequent. The man is not well and I think it's possible that he will not be able to complete his four year term. 

Biden accuses Russia of interfering with the 2022 midterms...

 

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. AFP.

Joe Biden has accused Russia of interfering with the 2022 midterms. AFP. Biden said that Russia was spreading "misinformation" ahead of the elections. It was unclear what he was referring to. Biden also insulted Russia and Putin saying the country only had oil and nuclear weapons going for it. He also complained about recent cyber attacks, some of which he blamed on Russia and China. 

My Comment:

Looks like the excuse making for 2022 is already beginning. I think Biden knows he will lose big in 2022 and wants to downplay it already. It's very likely that the Democrats will lose both the house and the senate. 

I don't think there is any evidence that Russia is interfering with the 2022 elections. There was hardly any evidence they interfered with the 2016 elections other than a few Facebook adds. Biden cites "misinformation" but we all know the definition of that has extended to include anything that Democrats disagree with. Russia is guilty of saying things Biden doesn't like so I guess that counts under his definitions. 

And I find it hugely hypocritical to complain about election interference after the utter disaster that was 2020. That was the worst election I have ever seen in America and I'm old enough to remember the Bush vs Gore mess. Why wasn't he whining about Putin interfering in that election, I wonder?

I do think that the Democrats are screwed in 2022. In general the ruling party loses houses in the midterm elections and I don't see any reason why that would change in 2020. It's almost a rule that it works that way so just on that alone the prospects for Biden and the Democrats are not good. 

There are other factors as well. The most obvious is the fact that many of the dirty tricks and outright fraud that happened in 2020 will not be possible in 2022. Many states have adjusted their election laws and the way the Democrats are utterly panicking about it shows how important it is. That won't help in blue states but basically every red state blue district is in trouble now. 

The census and redistricting will hurt the Democrats as well. Red states gained some seats while blue states lost them. This will help the Republicans of course and I don't see the Democrats winning any of the new seats in these red states. 

But I think that Biden's performance is going to be the biggest problem. Like it or not he is the face of the Democrats and his senility and unpopular actions will bring the party down. His pandemic response is a joke, bringing back mask mandates and threatening extremely unpopular vaccine mandates. The economy is already in a bubble and it will very likely burst sometime next year. And his entire party has failed to tackle the critical race theory attack. 

It's not like it's just Republicans and independents that are angry with Biden though. His party's left flank is pretty furious with him as well and may stay home in 2022. They are angry about expiring benefits, the eviction moratorium ending and the failure to do a lot of the anti-democratic things they want, like stacking the Supreme Court. That's a bad sign for a party that is screaming towards the far left. 

So Biden's plan isn't to win the 2022 midterms. I think he's already written it off. I think his only shot now is to hope that the Republicans don't win enough seats to impeach him or 25th amendment him. And when that happens his strategy is to try and blame it on Russia... again. 

The CDC flip flops on masks yet again, now says k-12 schools and VACCINATED people must wear masks again.

 

A doctor at Walter Reed getting a vaccination. US Secretary of Defense photo.

The CDC has updated its masking policy and will now recommend universal masks for k-12 students and masks for vaccinated people in areas of high transmission of the Coronavirus. ABC News. The CDC claims that some vaccinated people may still carry and transmit the disease. They also recommend school aged children to mask up regardless of vaccination status or the fact that children are much less susceptible to the disease. The decision is a major flip-flop from the CDC as they had just recommended that vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks and as recent as a couple of weeks ago said that no changes were likely. 

My Comment:

Basically nobody is happy with this CDC flip flop. The response I have seen has been almost universally negative, though for different reasons. The worst of the worst blue check marks on twitter are yelling at the CDC for ever having dropped the mask mandates in the first place and smugly commenting that they never stopped wearing masks in the first place. But those people are the minority.

A lot of people that got the vaccine, myself included, are furious about this. Getting the vaccine was supposed to be our ticket out of this nonsense and now we are bringing it back? It's stupid. The tiny chance that I could transmit the coronavirus to someone unvaccinated is, quite frankly, not my problem. People are adults and are allowed to weigh the pros and cons of getting vaccinated and risking exposure. Everyone who wants the vaccine now has had plenty of time to get it and if they don't want it that's fine (and there are actual valid reasons to not get it, regardless of what the media says). But it's not my damn fault if they get sick. Just like it's not their fault if the vaccine fails and I get a breakthrough case. 

People are also upset that this decision will undermine the trust in the vaccine. After all, if the vaccines actually work, why on earth would you need to mask up? People will obviously assume that the vaccine doesn't work if you can still spread the virus to others after taking it. For a government agency that is all in on vaccinations, this is working against their stated goals. What person who is cynical or distrusting of the vaccine get it now? 

The constant flip flopping on this issue has massively eroded trust in the CDC and the medical community in general. I still remember the early days of the outbreak where they were saying "masks don't work and you are a bad person if you use one because our doctors and nurses need them". And then they were like "lol, just kidding you gotta wear a mask now". Then they said, "lol, you don't need a mask anymore if you are vaccinated" and followed it up with this final flip flop. Is it any wonder why people don't trust them anymore?

The CDC recommendations are for masking up in areas with high transmission (which is 100 cases per 100,000 people). That does not include my area of Wisconsin which has hardly any recent cases. But I am sure that we will be made to suffer under these guidelines anyways. I have already heard rumors at work that we will be forced to mask up again, even though our companies vaccination rate is over 70% (and a good portion of the rest have natural antibodies). 

That being said, I really don't expect people to comply with this. I know I personally won't be wearing a  mask unless I absolutely have to. If a store requires it I will shop somewhere else and will only shop at a store that requires masking if I have no other choice. And even then I will only mask up if confronted, if only because I have sympathy for the poor retail workers and security guards that have to enforce this nonsense. 

Speaking of retail workers and security guards, it's going to be a rough time for them. Having to enforce the whims of the CDC seems like a very good way to invite violence on yourself. I predict many of them will just ignore the new mandate and won't try to enforce these rules. 

As for the school recommendations, it just seems like utter lunacy to me. Kids under 12 are essentially immune to the virus with only very sick kids dying from the disease. I am aware of zero cases where a small child has died from Coronavirus without some kind of major underlying issue. Older students and teachers can get vaccinated and even if they don't they are are a dramatically reduced risk as well. It makes zero sense to mandate masks, especially since I believe these efforts are going to damage the development of these kids over time. 

The good news is that even a lot of state governments are starting to go "enough is enough". Florida and Nebraska are already saying that they won't be going along with any new mandates and I think a lot of local officials are going to say the same thing. And if the government really tries to push this nonsense I believe that we will start to see major protests, like the ones we saw in Europe and Australia last weekend, all across the United States. I'm generally opposed to protests as a rule but even I am ready to grab a sign and start yelling at these CDC fools. 

The worst thing is that I still don't think we really have good science on whether or not masks are effective. All pre-Covid studies said that masking was mostly pointless and only really effective if you use N-95 medical masks. The science is even less clear than that on surgical and cloth masks, and it's not like it has gotten any clearer since then. And it's also very clear that basically all medical studies on the Coronavirus are politicized to the point where their recommendations are useless. 

Suspected mass shooter in Texas stopped and stoned to death.

 

A Fort Worth police cruiser. Police handout. 

A suspected mass shooter in Texas was stopped by citizens who stoned the man to death. Fox News. The incident happened at a party in Fort Worth. The suspect was kicked out of the party but then returned with a firearm. An argument ensued and the suspect shot some. The rest of the party goers tried to chase the gunman who opened fire. One of the party goers picked up a landscaping brick and threw it at the suspect, who was knocked down and shot two more people. The suspect was hit more times by more bricks and was killed. One of the people who was shot died as well.

My Comment:

Just a quick post about an interesting story. It's not every day that someone is stoned to death while attempting a mass shooting. That is the best outcome in this case as the suspect was brought to justice before he could kill too many people. 

I have always said that short of running away, fighting back is the best solution when there is a mass shooting. Preferably, you would use your own firearm but this incident shows that anything that is at hand will be useful in fighting back. The goal is to survive and stop the shooter and if that means shooting at him, tackling him or even throwing a landscaping brick at his head then that's what you do.

It will be interesting to see if the people or person that killed the attacker will be charged with anything. I know Texas has pretty good self-defense laws so I would imaging the stone thrower should be safe. But you never know these days. Some very obvious cases of self-defense have resulted in charges recently, so it's possible something like that could happen here. And I guess it is possible the stone thrower(s) did exceed self defense. 

Still, it's tragic that another person had to die and two more were wounded before this attacker was put down. Without more details of the incident it is unclear what exactly happened but it seems like this guy just wanted to take revenge on people who didn't want him around. Which is absolutely stupid reason to try and kill someone over... 

More than 50 Christian churches have been burned down or vandalized in Canada this year.

 

St George's Coptic Christian Church in Surrey, British Columbia. Toronto Sun.

More than 50 Christian churches have been burned down or vandalized in Canada this year. Toronto Sun. The Churches have come under attack after the alleged discovery of unmarked graves in Kamloops British Columbia. Canada protects religious freedom but has largely ignored the attacks on the Christian community in favor of the Jewish and Muslim community. Some of the churches were ones that served the Native American community. Canadian politicians and media have downplayed the attacks to the point that CTV News censored the identity of one of the attackers. 

My Comment:

I've dismissed the "mass graves" scandal as an obvious fake news story. These schools were probably imperialistic in nature but that's about the only thing to complain about. I am sure that abuse occurred but name a school where that didn't happen, especially during this time period. It is no surprise that children died in large numbers due to disease and other problems on the frontier before modern medicine. People tend to vastly underestimate the child mortality rate which is enough to explain the deaths. Plus, I am guessing that many of these graves are the result of various pandemics, with the Spanish Flu being the most obvious source of the dead. That can hardly be blamed on Christianity, but that hasn't stopped people. 

I also have to note that I haven't actually seen any pictures of any bodies. From what I understand the bodies were discovered via non-excavation archeology techniques. Without those bodies it's unclear if anything actually happened or even where the bodies came from. 

With that being said, the attacks on Churches in Canada is a major story that is basically being ignored by everyone. I have been wanting to write about this for weeks now but the only sources have been opinion pieces like this one. At some point though I had to use what was available. 

I think there is an obvious double standard here. If even one Mosque or Synagogue was burned down it would be international news for weeks. That doesn't mean that it shouldn't be news if a Mosque or a Synagogue, but if a Church is destroyed it should be a bigger deal. 

But it's clear that the Canadian government and Media doesn't care. They are very clearly a far left government and my guess they see burning churches as a solution, not a problem. By their standard the grievances of Native Americans (or First Nations in Canadian parlance), real and imagined, justifies any action even though this entire issue is more than 100 years old. 

Blaming people for things their religious or ethnic group did (or were accused of doing) under previous generations is utterly disgusting but it is becoming more and more common. It's also patently ridiculous because if you go back far enough you find skeletons in everyone's closet. As a student of Archeology (I took many classes in it once considered majoring in it, though I found the job prospects depressing) I know that pre-Columbian North America was just as violent and terrible as every other region on Earth.  

Iraq's Prime Minster says that US troops are no longer needed to fight ISIS.

 

Iraq's Prime Minster Mustafa al-Kadhimi. The Hill/Getty.

Iraq's Prime Minster Mustafa al-Kadhimi says that US troops are no longer needed to fight ISIS. The Hill. He said there was no longer any need to for combat troops but said the government would welcome trainers and intelligence troops. Al-Kadhimi is going to meet with Joe Biden this week to discuss the withdrawal of US combat troops. They had reached an agreement to withdraw combat troops last April but did not discuss a timeline. 

My Comment:

I agree with the Prime Minster, I don't think there is any real reason for US combat troops to remain in Iraq. ISIS is now long gone, they have been pretty much completely destroyed. There aren't really any other major threats remaining in Iraq with ISIS gone. We don't really don't have anything to fight there.

I do think that the 2nd Iraqi withdrawal will do better than our current withdrawal in Afghanistan. That country is a basketcase and it's clear that the Taliban will take the country over. There is no threat of that in Iraq. Their government has been effective in confronting ISIS and like I said ISIS is mostly destroyed. 

Plus we will keep some troops there. They won't be combat troops but intelligence and training troops. These troops will be at low risk and will help the Iraqis keep hold of their country. It makes sense to keep these troops there as they will actually be doing something and they will be able to help ensure that ISIS never returns. 

Is that even possible now? I kinda doubt it. ISIS was able to take over much of Iraq due to the chaos in Syria. Even that war has calmed down now and there really isn't a foreign base for ISIS fighters to come from. Indeed, ISIS is basically gone everywhere except in Afghanistan and Egypt, not counting affiliates like Boko Haram in Nigeria. 

I am glad that we are finally getting out of these countries. We spent 20 years in Afghanistan and almost as long in Iraq and have very little to show for it. And our efforts in Libya and Syria were even worse, making bad situations horrible. I would love to have a few years of peace.

That being said I don't trust the Biden administration at all. These withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq are mostly just inertia from the Trump administration. I still consider Biden a war monger and wouldn't be surprised if he gets us into a new conflict...

Massive protests continue in France against the Coronavirus vaccine passport.

 

Some of the protesters in France. Reuters.

Massive protests continue in France against the Coronavirus vaccine passports that were voted into law. Reuters. Protesters' skirmished with police who fired tear gas after a motorcycle was tipped over. France said 161,000 people had demonstrated across the country, compared to 110,000 last weekend. France's Covid passport system would require a vaccine to participate in most aspects of civil life, including travel and employment. 

France 🇫🇷 Rally attendees have taken over a City Hall and thrown a portrait of Macron out the window. No one condones destruction, but Clearly the French have had a gutful. Long Live Freedom 💥👊 pic.twitter.com/zMPGVbK4PS

— 𝙇𝙏𝙍𝙉8 𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙉 (@ATLEASTDIETRYN) July 24, 2021

France 🇫🇷 Anti WAX Passport Rally 💥 These crowds are simply Epic, it's now crystal clear, the resentment is building, people are done. Can't be far off now, finally the Tipping Point is near. Long Live the People 💥👊 pic.twitter.com/CtoDrpVlbi

— 𝙇𝙏𝙍𝙉8 𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙉 (@ATLEASTDIETRYN) July 24, 2021

My Comment:

A quick update to a previous story.  I certainly appears that the French people are rejecting the idea of Coronavirus passports. Though France has a long history of protesting for almost any reason, these protests appear to be larger and sustained. I'd also say that the French numbers are probably low, it sure looked like more than 161,000 people in Paris alone. 

As I said in my first post on this subject, I think the French are right to protest here. Taking the vaccine is a personal choice and doing so is not the right call for everyone. For some it's not worth the risk, for others there is a religious exemption and others just don't want to do it. Those decisions are personal and the government has no right to demand their people take a vaccine they don't want to take. 

And even people that have taken the vaccine should be disgusted with the erosions of civil rights here. The choice of having to take an experimental vaccine or being completely shut out of public life is not one that the government gets to make. Period. I got vaccinated myself but I know if I was in France I wouldn't cooperate with France's vaccine passport and I would be out there protesting with the rest of these people. 

France is hardly the only country where protests against Coronavirus policy is happening. Today there were rallies in Italy, Australia and the UK. People are sick of heavy handed governments doing whatever they want when it comes to the virus. Sure the virus is dangerous and is destroying lives but the governments are doing worse than that. People are furious that they can't just let go of the power they have taken. 

Will such protests happen here? It's very possible. I posted earlier this week that Biden is considering a new mask mandate. That will certainly go over like a lead balloon if it comes to pass. The country has largely rejected vaccine passports but I still fear something like that is coming and if it does I am almost certain we will have a large new protest movement here in the United States as well. 

Biden administration considering a new mask mandate for Coronavirus for vaccinated people.

 

Biden wearing a facemask. New York Post/Getty.

A new report states that the Biden administration is mulling a new mask mandate for the Coronavirus that would require masks for vaccinated people. New York Post. The policy is being considered and would force masks for any place where vaccinated and unvaccinated people mix. Publicly the CDC has announced no changes and the White House has said that they will go with what the CDC decides. Biden also said he may mandate masks for children if the vaccine hasn't been approved by the time school starts this fall. 

My Comment:

Once again the Biden administration is totally tone deaf. Do they have any idea what this will do to the vaccination rates? I have been told by so many people that the only reason they got the vaccine was so that things could go back to normal and that they could ditch the masks. Getting rid of that incentive seems utterly insane to me. 

It also makes me question how effective are the vaccines if masks are suddenly necessary. The vaccine is supposed to make transmission difficult and serious illness and/or death unlikely. So if that is the case, why would anyone who has gotten the vaccine need to wear mask. 

Plus it seems like a huge betrayal for anyone who got the vaccine. It was essentially promised that once you go the vaccine you no longer had to deal with masks and other such nonsense. There are going to be people who will get extremely angry about this if it comes to pass.

I also pity the people that have to try and enforce this (myself included). I know that at my place of employment people are furious at the small remaining anti-coronavirus measures we have, including temperature taking and a health survey. I'm worried that if I have to enforce a new mask mandate that people might take a swing at me.

And I think people will largely ignore any new mask mandate. A lot of people did that for the first mandate but there were a lot of people that went along with it because of the promise of the vaccine. Now that basically everyone who wants the vaccine has already had it I doubt many of these people will go along with this. 

I also don't think that the Delta variant of Coronavirus is all that scary in the first place. Sure, it caused major problems in India but that's India for you. A bus crash in India can kill 100 people. The country is crowded, has poor hygiene and a bad health care system, none of those things are true in the United States. 

Plus, viruses weaken overtime but gain more contagious. I think that is the case with these new variants of Coronavirus. It spreads easier but isn't any deadlier and indeed seems to be less deadly than the initial variants. This is pretty clear as the case numbers in the United States are rising but the deaths are remaining flat. 

Regardless, I think people are sick and tired of the virus, especially now that things have gone back to normal. Nobody is going to want to go back to mask mandates and lockdowns, other than the anti-social types that don't like interacting with people. The rest of us are done with this and I think the Biden administration better keep that in mind before they decide to change any policy. 

Massive flooding in China kills 25 people and forces the evacuation of thousands.

 

Severe flooding in China. BBC/Getty.

Massive flooding in China has killed at least 25 people and forced the evacuation of thousands more. BBC. The flooding trapped hundreds of people in subway systems, killing 12 and trapping around 500 people. Cars were also swept away by the flooding. Several dams have been destroyed by the flooding and the military has been deployed. The flooding was caused by extreme amounts of rain. The capital of the Henan Province, Zhengzhou was hit with a years worth of rain in a single day. The rain is expected to continue through Thursday. 

Breaking: Major flooding is occurring due to heavy rain in Zhengzhou, China. The city recorded the highest single-day rainfall on record. pic.twitter.com/hiEAWjYd78

— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) July 20, 2021

 

UPDATE: Severe flooding in Zhengzhou, China, kills at least 12 people; rescue work continues pic.twitter.com/BKEzwVYK0c

— BNO News (@BNONews) July 20, 2021

LATEST: Stunning footage shows the subway system in the city of Zhengzhou, China, inundated with rushing water.

The death toll from the flooding has risen to at least 25, with seven people missing. https://t.co/gbXDTcbOHy pic.twitter.com/wLnCUtu4wE

— ABC News (@ABC) July 21, 2021

My Comment:

Flooding in China is nothing new but the video coming out from this particular flood is fairly dramatic. The videos of people trapped in the subways is pure nightmare fuel and it is lucky that they were able to rescue so many people. That is not something I would ever want to experience myself. 

And it doesn't look like things are going to get much better in the next couple of days. Thursday too is expected to have record rainfall as well. It's likely there will be more flooding, more dams collapsing or being blasted by the Chinese. And there will likely be more deaths and more evacuations. 

The good news for China is that this isn't upstream of the Three Gorges Dam, which was threatened last year due to similar major flooding. That dam at least seems secure for now even if a lot of other dams might have to be blasted or will get destroyed. 

As I said before China has a long history of massive flooding so this isn't that big of news. Indeed, compared to some of the floods in the past these current ones are nothing. Indeed, the floods in China have killed millions of people. So as bad as these floods are they could be a lot worse. 

But I do wonder if these constant natural disasters will weaken the hold that the Chinese Communist government has on China. The Chinese famously have the concept of the "mandate of heaven". In traditional belief systems in China, natural disasters are a sign that the gods no longer consider the ruling government legitimate. Once that happens revolution and fragmentation are inevitable...   

Study says up to 5 million people died due to Coronavirus in India.

 

Indian men hang a sign for a Coronavirus containment area. The Hill/Getty.

A new study claims that up to 5 million people may have died in India due to the Coronavirus. The Hill. The study looked at excess deaths in India since the pandemic began and estimates that between 3.4 and 4.9 million people may have died. Officially India has had just over 400,000 deaths, the third worst hit country in the world after the United States and Brazil. The country was especially hit hard by the so called "delta" variant earlier this year, and has had major problems distributing the vaccine to those who want it. 

The study can be found here.

My Comment:

I've got mixed feelings on the veracity of this study. Even the study's authors admit that the deaths have a huge range from 1 to 6 million with no certain to the numbers. They are also working with incomplete data and are extrapolating things from other countries when the conditions in India are obviously different. 

On the other hand, India's handling of the pandemic was frankly pathetic this year. India had so many cases this year they were one of the few countries that had their medical system collapse under the weight of so many cases. They ran out of live saving supplies, did not vaccinate well and were lulled into complacency by their weaker early outbreaks. 

But the other problem is that the absolutely abysmal state of India's health in normal times as well. We were seeing things there like the "black mold" Mucormycosis secondary infections, that were probably responsible for a large number of deaths. I think that the utterly unsanitary conditions in India probably lead to a lot of other secondary infections and helped the virus to spread. 

I also think that India did have a reason to downplay or lie about the number of deaths they had. Having so many deaths would be a major embarrassment to them and admission that they failed pretty miserably. They don't want to be the county known as the worst in the world when it comes to the Coronavirus response.

On the other hand I also think that the media will hype this report regardless of whether or not it is true. I think there is probably some truth to the report but I don't agree that just because India had major problems that the United States will. Unlike them we have a largely vaccinated vulnerable population, a functioning medial system and much better hygiene and conditions. I think we have gotten fairly close to herd immunity so unlike India I don't see our death count increasing massively. 

FBI played major role in plot to kidnap Michigan Governor to the point the defense is arguing entrapment.

 

Members of the Wolverine Watchmen. Buzzfeed.

The FBI played a major role in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the point that the defense in the case is arguing entrapment. Buzzfeed. At least 12 undercover informers were working on the case that lead to the the arrest of 14 people. One FBI informant pushed the Wolverine Watchmen, to get military training, bring unstable people into the group and even paid for trips to practice military tactics. The informant was paid a large amount of money and goods, more than $50,000 worth, to inform on the group and encourage them into violent actions. The FBI informant became the head of the organization at one point. A FBI agent was also brought into the group by the informant, posing as an explosives dealer. 

My Comment:

Though normally I don't link to Buzzfeed, I did this time as their longform reporting here was very good and surprisingly unbiased. They actually played the article neutrally and never denounced the men for their anti-government views and avoided any "orange man bad" moments. I am actually impressed and wonder if this means that Buzzfeed news will attempt to be a more legitimate news outlet now. 

Regardless, this report is not surprising to me at all. When I first heard the news about the kidnapping plot against Governor Whitmer I immediately thought that the FBI had entrapped some naïve people again. Why? Because that's how the FBI operates, to the point where I seriously doubt that the FBI even investigates crime anymore. Entrapping marginal people into attempting terror attacks is their signature move these days. 

And it's not like they haven't done that before. The most notable is the Curtis Culwell Center attack where the FBI was so involved in the scheme to shoot up the Mohammed cartoon artshow that the FBI was actually at the scene watching it go down. And though that example is the most famous, it is far from the only one. 

I tend to have anti-government (or more accurately anti-Democrat) views myself but I never even considered joining these groups. Why? Because it is obvious from the start that they have been infiltrated by the FBI. Indeed, the FBI seems to be working overtime trying to radicalize people like me, who disapprove of the way things have gone recently. 

Indeed, I remember when the anti-government "boogaloo boys" movement popped out of nowhere. In the right wing places I monitor these people would make post that were obviously extreme and seemed to advocate violence. The communities I frequent obviously rejected them, since it was so obvious that the people posting them were "glowing", ie working for the FBI. 

I think the FBI's actions are a huge threat to democracy and are actively undermining efforts to peacefully and justly restore America to a better state. They are actively hindering the right from organizing by trying to radicalize and arrest members of the movement, while at the same time completely ignoring actual terror groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa. 

So what can the right wing do to avoid this? I think that any group that forms should realize that FBI infiltration is an inevitability so they should treat anyone who actually calls for violence seriously as a potential informant. These people should be kicked out of any group with prejudice. That would not only stop any risk of FBI infiltration it would also stop actual violence, which is a good thing as well. 

China vows to use nuclear weapons on Japan if they deploy troops to Taiwan.

 

A clip from the Chinese video via Yahoo News.

A Chinese official has vowed China will use nuclear weapons first on Japan if they deploy troops to Taiwan. Yahoo News. A video was made by a military history channel on YouTube and made a stir when it was first released, but the outrage has grown after an official Chinese government account reposted the video. The video threatens a first use policy for nuclear weapons if Japan tries to send troops or assistance to Taiwan. China has long had a no first use policy and refused to use nuclear weapons on countries that do not have nuclear weapons. Though it is unclear if the video represents official Chinese policy it does come at a time of high tensions between Japan and China. 

#CCP Vows to Nuke #Japan if Japan defends #Taiwan. As Japan is the only country that has been nuked, so nuking Japan "will get twice the result with half the effort."
中共軍事頻道威脅對日本實施連續核打擊，直到日本第二次無條件投降。 pic.twitter.com/dp45R2LXtD

— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferatntd) July 13, 2021

My Comment:

This story broke awhile ago but became a bigger deal when an official Chinese account reposted the video on Twitter. The account was a city account, and has since been deleted, so I doubt this is official Chinese policy. But I think the damage has been done. 

Japan will take the video very seriously because they have to. They have a unique relationship with nuclear weapons and understand the threat better than most countries. Indeed, the video itself cited Japan's history with nuclear weapons as a reason to make the threat. 

It makes me wonder if Japan might want to develop nuclear weapons of their own. They are against that for obvious reasons but do they even have a choice? Without nukes they don't have a way to deter China from nuking them in any war. 

If China were to nuke Japan I think it would result in America (and possibly some other foreign powers like India, the UK and France) using nuclear weapons from China. Indeed, that would be the best scenario because China would use up a large amount of nukes targeting Japan. That would limit retaliatory fire and the damage a nuclear war would do to those countries. Japan would still be utterly screwed but so would China

I do think that China has reason to dislike Japan. Japan had a long history of genocides and other atrocities in China and I don't think the country would care all that much if Japan got destroyed. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if Japan's destruction was a long term goal. 

But is this incident serious? I think it's not going to help things. Given it was from a minor, but official, Twitter account this counts as a fairly major diplomatic insult. That might result in major changes in Japanese policy even if China isn't really threatening nuclear war. 

Facebook pushes back against the idea that they are the reason Biden missed his July 4th Coronavirus vaccination goal

 

A US Airman receives a vaccination. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Facebook pushes back after Joe Biden blamed them for the United States missing the coronavirus vaccination goal on July 4th. The Hill. Last Friday Biden said that social media is "killing people" by allowing "vaccine misinformation" to spread. Facebook hit back saying that they helped people find vaccines and that 2 billion users had seen vaccine information from Facebook. Biden's goal was to get 70% vaccination for adults by the 4th of July. As of Friday 68% of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine with 59% fully vaccinated. 

My Comment:

I think Facebook is right, the Biden administration is scapegoating Facebook and social media for their own failings. Facebook is not the reason people are hesitant to get the vaccine. Indeed, if social media did not exist I think the government would actually have a lower vaccination rate than they already do have. 

The real reason that people are hesitant to take the vaccine is the total lack of trust Americans now have of expert opinion. The experts got Coronavirus wrong from the start. First they said it was no big deal and that you are racist for being concerned and then they said masks didn't work. Then they said that every treatment available, from Hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, and Remdesivir, didn't work, without really studying the issue, and that you are bad if you even suggest using them. And they have downplayed real issues with the vaccine. 

And that's just the Coronavirus issue! Expert opinion has been wrong more times then they have been right recently. The news isn't even trying to get their stories right, the government's solution to high crime rates is to defund cops and even the military is more focused on being woke than actual warfighting. Is it any wonder why people don't trust the people saying "get vaccinated"?

Biden and his VP, Kamala Harris, actually helped fuel distrust in the vaccine. Both criticized the vaccine before it was even released to the public. How can they be mad now that people took their words to heart? Plus Biden still wore a mask around even after getting vaccinated. Getting rid of the masks was a major motivation for many people who got the vaccine, why send mixed messages? 

This action by the Biden administration is a serious threat. Already they have said that they will censor and spam users private text messages via cell phone and now it sure looks like they are pressuring Facebook to ban people who don't get on board with the vaccine message. To me this is far more threatening than anything the virus could do. People should be able to say what they want about the vaccine. 

It makes me wonder if I am going to get the ban. I have said here and on social media that I am vaccinated but I do think that the vaccine isn't right for everyone. I personally wouldn't get the vaccine if I was still a teen and was in good shape or if I had the virus recently. I also wouldn't recommend it for pregnant women. I do think most other people should get it though, and I took it myself after weighing the potential costs and benefits. Does this make me a subversive person who should be banned from Social Media by the Biden administration? I guess we will find out. 

I think Biden's heavy handedness is a major reason why the people that don't want vaccines aren't getting them. "Take this vaccine or be exiled from polite society" isn't an argument, it's a threat. I know if I was still unvaccinated now, I might not take it just on principle alone. And I know that even though I am vaccinated I will not comply with any kind of French-style Covid passport scheme. Americans do not like to be threatened by their own government. It's the reason we own guns and a reason why Biden's door to door scheme got such a negative reaction. 

But I really don't think this is about the vaccine in the end. It's about people not listening to the government and the government throwing a temper tantrum. It's none of the governments business if someone takes the vaccine or not and the government can not just accept that. 

Finally, I have to say that a lot of the anger at the unvaccinated is displaced. Most of the Republicans I know in real life are vaccinated and have been for some time now. Part of that is due to the age of people I know but I don't think that being anti-vax and being conservative are a 1-1 ratio. Indeed, the vaccine was basically President Trump's pet project. Sure a lot of anti-vax people are conservative but it's not universal. 

You know who has really been anti-vax though? Blacks and Hispanics, the Democrats more reliable voting blocks. Bloomberg is saying that only 40% of Hispanics and 34% of blacks have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. But for some reason it's only Republicans who get blamed for being anti-vax. 

Regardless, I think the whole issue is moot. With 68% of people being vaccinated and even more of the unvaccinated having natural antibodies due to previous Coronavirus infection, I don't think the disease will be able to continue much longer. Sure, people are still getting the virus, but the days of the virus actually being a major threat appear to be over. 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sworn in for fourth term.

 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Hill/Getty.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for a forth term. The Hill. Assad has been in power since 2000, when his father died. Assad got 95% of the vote with a 79% turnout rate. Two other candidates ran in a mostly symbolic fashion. Assad's critics and US officials claim that the election was a sham. Assad faces major challenges to his rule in his fourth term as poverty and the fallout from the 10 year civil war remain major issues. Since the conflict has begun there, 400,000 people have died. 

My Comment:

First of all, I have to point out the hypocrisy of our media criticizing the Syrian's elections when our own elections are just as fraudulent. I honestly believe that there is a better chance that Assad got 95% of the vote than that Biden actually won the election on the up and up. I do think that the election probably was a joke in Syria but mostly because anyone who opposed Assad wouldn't have participated in the election regardless. 

I don't think there was much doubt that Assad was going to win. Indeed, I don't think we will ever see Assad leave power until he either dies or retires. He is fairly popular among his supporters at least, though he obviously doesn't have the support of the people rebelling against him. He has a ton of power in Syria and he will likely survive long term. 

However, Syria is facing major problems that Assad will have to try and figure out how to deal with. The Civil War there has devastated the country and caused untold suffering and damage. Though Syria wasn't the best place in the world to live before the war it's doubtlessly a lot worse now. Poverty is a huge problem and so is continuing violence. 

The good news for Assad is that the effort to remove him has mostly failed. Though the war isn't over yet it's clear that Assad is not going to be removed from power due to the actions of the rebels. Indeed, the rebels are a spent force and only really exist now in areas where they have external help (like the Turks in the north, the Kurds, and the Americans in the south). The violence is at a dramatically lower level and groups like ISIS and al-Nusra are destroyed or greatly reduced respectively.

Assad does have something to fear from his neighbors. Israel is still pretty mad that Iran is using Syria as a staging area and it has lead to bombings and other skirmishes with the Syrians. And the Turks are occupying quite a bit of their territory in an effort to stomp out the Kurds. 

Still, Assad would need a massive amount of foreign capital to fix the damage that was done to his country due to the civil war. Russia might be able to help there as they need the seabase at Tartus, but Syria's main problem is that they are still an international pariah. They are very limited in who they can ask for help and remain under sanctions. Until that changes I think that Syria will remain a mess with major problems, regardless of what Assad does. 

Georgia Secretary of State calls for firing of election officials in Fulton County after evidence of double counted ballots has surfaced.

 

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The Federalist.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has called for the firing of election officials in Fulton County after evidence of double counted ballots has surfaced. The Federalist. 200 absentee ballots were found to have been counted twice. Raffensperger claimed that the double counting was just the latest incident that has undermined confidence in Georgia's elections. Other discrepancies have occurred in Georgia, with as many as 10,300 votes were cast illegally. Biden only won the state by 12,670 votes. Raffensperger is a controversial person himself when it comes to the election as he famously allowed the voting rules to be changed and refused to cooperate with President Trump's attempts at an investigation. 

Fulton County’s continued failures have gone on long enough with no accountability. Rick Barron and Ralph Jones, Fulton’s registration chief, must be fired and removed from Fulton’s elections leadership immediately. Fulton’s voters and the people of Georgia deserve better.

— GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (@GaSecofState) July 15, 2021

My Comment:

It is strange to me that the mainstream media is covering this story but is not covering the Arizona audit even though that audit has alleged even more severe problems with the 2020 elections. That being said it's just conservative outlets covering this story so it's not an ideal situation. 

The incident here isn't enough to overcome the outcome of the Georgia election. But if it is just the tip of the iceberg it wouldn't take much to overturn the results of the election. Biden's lead was absolutely tiny and if enough votes are invalidated than serious questions will be raised about the integrity of the 2020 election. 

I also don't know if I believe Raffensperger right now. Though he is a Republican he has not shown himself to be loyal to either the GOP or the idea of election security. I am not sure if he is changing his tune, trying to save face, or has some kind of hidden objective. I don't trust him at all and as far as I am concerned he is a snake. 

But I do think that the recent news has pretty obviously shown that the 2020 elections were not on the level. There were a lot of suspicious things that went down and it's very possible there was enough fraud and outright incompetence that Biden did not win the election at all. It's also possible that Biden still had enough votes to win without the invalid votes mattering too much. Without more audits we may never know for sure. 

The Democrats do not seem to care though. They obviously benefited from the close election and not only won the Presidency, they also won control of the Senate. Indeed, they are trying to investigate the Arizona audit. Twitter even went so far to say even Raffensperger was lying about the election and that any allegations of election fraud or incompetence are "debunked". 

The main problem though is without severe audits in all 50 states I don't think Americans will have any belief in our elections. It's very clear that election security is not a priority for the Democrats and no matter what they do. And if something isn't done than half the country will believe that there isn't a political solution anymore... 

Appeals court rules that the 21 year old limit for purchasing a handgun is unconstitutional.

 

A man inspects a handgun while at a gun store. USA Today/Getty.

An appeals court has ruled that the 21 year old limit for purchasing a handgun is unconstitutional. USA Today. The 4th Circuit Court said that the 1968 law that banned handgun purchases for 18,19 and 20 year olds was an arbitrary infringement on civil rights. The suit was filed by a pair of people refused handguns due to being under 21, including 19 year old Natalia Marshal who wanted a gun to protect herself from an ex-boyfriend who she had a restraining order on. The ruling only effects the 4th Circuit Court's jurisdiction and will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court. 

My Comment:

This news broke yesterday but I wasn't able to get a post up. Obviously I think this ruling is correct. I am generally opposed to most gun laws and I always though that the 21 year old limit was especially arbitrary. This case was ruled on correctly. 

If you are old enough to join the military you should obviously be old enough to buy a handgun. The fact that you can buy a rifle or shotgun but not a handgun while you are under 21 just means that the policy is discriminatory. 

It really comes down to if you think people between 18 and 21 are adults. I honestly think that it's a joke that people that are over 18 are restricted from anything, let alone their 2nd amendment rights. Either they are adults or they are not and if they can vote, join the military or get married then why can't they buy a handgun or have a beer? 

And it should be obvious that a 18 year old should have a right to self defense. These young adults are at higher risk to being victims of crime. In this case the 19 year old woman was unable to purchase a handgun to defend herself from a dangerous armed ex-boyfriend. Sure, she could have purchased a rifle or shotgun (or maybe not since some states now ban those from 18-21 year olds as well) but she should have had the choice on what weapon she wanted.

Will the case hold? I have no idea. It will probably go to the full 4th circuit court of appeals. Without better knowledge of that court I don't know which way the ruling will go. And either way the case will probably go to the Supreme Court and it's no guarantee that the Court will even take it. 

Regardless, any such ruling is a long way off. The Federal Courts seem to be slow walking gun cases anyways but even if they don't it will still likely take several years to get a ruling. This is a case to watch but don't expect anything to actually change with the restrictions for a couple of years at least. 

Protests break out in France over new Coronavirus vaccination restrictions.

 

Protesters in France. The Hill/Getty.

Protests have broken out in France over new Coronavirus restrictions requiring vaccine "passports". The Hill. The restrictions will force French people to either show proof of vaccination, a negative test or proof that they are recovering from the virus to do most activities, including shopping, eating out, going to the hospital and boarding trains or planes. It will also require all health care workers to be vaccinated by September 15th. The change in policy lead to immediate protests from people that argue that the vaccine pass is a huge violation of civil rights. The new French restrictions are among the toughest in Europe and the entire world. 41.6% of French citizens are already vaccinated. 

My Comment:

I have said for a long time now that requiring vaccination in this way is a major violation of civil rights. Though I am vaccinated myself, there are obviously reasons why someone would not want to do so, with some reasons being better than other. But I do think that vaccination is not right for everyone. I honestly don't think the very young, people who have already had the virus or people who are concerned about the safety of the vaccines should be forced to take it. 

I also think that it's disgusting that they are trying to make people that don't want or don't need the vaccine into 2nd class citizens. There should be no reason ever to ban people from restaurants, hospitals and shopping. People have a right to do what they want and if they don't want the vaccine they should be able to refuse. 

What I really don't understand is why the vaccines are being pushed so hard right now. The virus is basically gone from a lot of areas and I haven't seen any evidence that the Delta variant is any worse than the previous variants. With many people either immune because of vaccinations or because of already having the virus, we have to be approaching herd immunity or already there. 

Which makes me think that this has very little to do with the virus and everything to do with classism. They are angry that people are no longer listening to them. And why would they? The elite have been wrong about almost everything in the past few years, and there is little reason to believe that they got the Coronavirus right. They can't stand this lack of respect and so they push things like mandatory vaccination. If they can't get the respect they want they will rule through coercion instead. 

As for these protests I don't think too much will come from them. French has made protests and riots a yearly tradition and not much ever comes from it. The Yellow Vests protests accomplished very little in the end and I am guessing these anti-vaccine passport protests will do the same thing.  

So what can French people do to fight back against this? Easy, don't comply and make sure the people that do comply are miserable. Once enough people ignore a law it becomes impossible to enforce. I see no reason why anyone in France, vaccinated or not, should go along with it.  

New report says the US Navy is more focused on "diversity" than warfighting...

 

The USS Bonhomme Richard. New York Post/EPA.

A new report says that the US Navy is more focused on "diversity" than warfighting. New York Post. The report was commissioned by Senator Tom Cotton along with Representatives Banks, Crenshaw and Gallagher. The investigators talked to active duty officers and enlisted and recently retired officers and they said that the Navy's focus on diversity was put ahead of things like training and challenging China. One officer said she was only seen as a black woman and not her skills. 

The report can be found here. 

My Comment:

The New York Post focused on the culture war aspects of this report but the rot goes deeper than that. The people interviewed had other complaints that were separate from the critical race theory infection. Notably, the report said that training was extremely lax and the brass was focused on just about everything else but actually fighting and winning wars. They also blasted how strict the rules were so one mistake can destroy your own career. 

Maintenance was also a major concern. Our Navy spends far too much time at sea and not enough time actually fixing their ships. This leads to burnout and could be responsible for incidents like the USS Bonhomme Richard being destroyed. 

I do think our military is a mess. We haven't had a peer war in a long time and what we have been fighting is insurgents in the desert. We don't focus on winning but we do focus on politics, both in terms of national politics and internal military politics. That is a recipe for disaster. 

It really makes me think that we won't win a hypothetical war with China or Russia. We haven't invested in new weapons and it seems pretty clear that the Chinese and Russians don't have the same problems with politics that we have. They are actually focused on warfighting so if we do win a war against them it will be because of our remaining technological advantage, not because our troops are well prepared. 

I especially think that the focus on race and other progressive hobby horses is extremely toxic to preparedness. Nobody likes to be lectured about things that are out of their control and discussions about race hurts everyone. Whites don't like being discriminated against and non-whites don't like the idea that the only reason they succeed is because they are a minority. And nobody likes to walk on eggshells around leftists that might turn them into their CO. 

South Africa deploys troops to attempt to quell massive riots.

 

A police officer confronts looters. BBC/EPA.

South Africa has deployed troops in an attempt to quell massive riots and looting. BBC. The riots began after former President Jacob Zuma was imprisoned on contempt of court charges. Zuma was sentenced to a 15 month sentence and is facing separate corruption charges. However, the scale of the riots suggests that the issue goes beyond just Zuma. Over 500 people have been arrested and six people have been killed in the rioting. There has also been widespread looting and arson. The looters have also destroyed or ransacked Coronavirus vaccination centers. 

 

JUST IN - Armed citizens fire on rioters in Durban, South Africa. pic.twitter.com/2CqNacAnz2

— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) July 12, 2021

JUST IN - Every single store in the Jabulani Mall near Johannesburg has been looted. Reports and videos of riots at more malls in parts of South Africa.pic.twitter.com/t5DL96EVIM

— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) July 12, 2021

NEW 🚨 Rioters have looted almost entire mall in KZN, South Africa

pic.twitter.com/KBcKqEPZqq

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) July 12, 2021

This is South Africa right now 👇🏼

Speaking directly to citizens, word is that business/property owners & the white ethnic minority are increasingly worried of violence against them

police NO help

Military deployed but the chaos is still accelerating pic.twitter.com/OLbZBguIeI

— ELIJAH (@ElijahSchaffer) July 12, 2021

My Comment:

I am far from an expert on South Africa but the video from these riots is insane. It appears to be total chaos in South Africa to the point where it almost matches the level of destruction during our riots last summer in just a day. It's crazy that this is happening. 

I know very little about Jacob Zuma other than he was corrupt. I also understand that he is also a fairly high ranking official in the local Bantu tribe and many of the initial rioters took it personally that he was arrested and imprisoned. 

With that being said it seems apparent that whatever the start of the riots it's no longer about it. Now people are just stealing and destroying for the sake of looting. They are taking everything that is not nailed down and some of the stuff that is. And whatever they can't steal they are burning or destroying. 

It does appear that many of the people of South Africa are taking things into their own hands to protect themselves. Private security is huge in South Africa and those people are being deployed everywhere. They are shooting protesters with rubber bullets and in some cases with live rounds. From what I understand the police are mostly useless in South Africa so there are few other options other than hiring private security or taking matters into your own hands. 

If these riots are not quelled soon it could get very bad in South Africa very quickly. With so much being looted there are going to be food shortages soon. And if the riots continue there won't be any way to ship food and other necessities to the people who need it. Why even try if everything will be stolen anyways? If that happens I think there is a very good chance that people start to starve and that's when things really get violent...

So what caused these riots? It's probably due to a lot of things. I think America contributed a bit with our riots last year. People world wide saw the rioters getting away with everything under the sun, including arson, looting and murder, and figured that if our government couldn't handle it nobody else could either. Plus they saw how much stuff the looters got and figured why not do the same thing in South Africa?

The economy and fallout from the pandemic probably were major contributions as well. From what I understand the unemployment rate there is obscene and when people don't have jobs and are still locked down from the virus they are going to riot eventually. 

But I think it's the government's fault mostly. They were right to go after Zuma but the rest of their government is terrible. South Africa is what happens when critical race theory takes over a whole country. The country has a racial hierarchy with Bantu blacks at the top and everyone else at the bottom. Non-Bantus are openly discriminated against and people are hired there based on their race and not how competent they are. 

Of course Apartheid was a bad system but what replaced it seems to have been worse. As discriminatory as South Africa was back then at least the country was more functional and we didn't see riots like this as far as I know. I don't think that South Africa should return to that system but I also don't think they can stay on the path they are on now.    

Donald Trump easily tops the CPAC poll for who should run for president in 2024.

 

President Donald Trump. Official portrait. 

Donald Trump has easily topped the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Fox News. Trump got 70% of the vote with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis getting 21%. No other candidate got more than 1%. DeSantis easily topped a second ballot that did not include Trump at 68%, with other candidates not topping 5%. President Trump also had 98% of attendees say they were extremely or somewhat satisfied with his performance as President. 

My Comment:

More evidence of the obvious, if President Trump wants to run in 2024 he will be the candidate for the 2024 race. No other candidate even comes close with only Florida Governor Ron DeSantis being a potential threat. The GOP is the party of Donald Trump now, regardless of how anyone feels about it. 

Things only get a little more interesting if he does not decide to run. If he doesn't than it will almost certainly be Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is a GOP hero largely because he is one of the few Republicans that is actually fighting against the left right now. He has opposed the worse examples of over reach when it comes to Coronavirus and he has actually pushed the left on things like critical race theory, censorship and various other excesses from the left. 

What is interesting is what happens if both decide to run. It would be a tough choice for me at least. I think President Trump was a very good president but he does tend to put his foot in his mouth quite a bit. DeSantis doesn't have that problem. But he also don't have the name recognition and love that President Trump has. Plus having him as President would leave Florida hanging in the wind.

My guess is that DeSantis will only run if Trump does not and if that's the case Trump will endorse him. And if Trump does run DeSantis will likely endorse him. I don't think anyone wins if the two remaining stars of the Republican Party destroy each other. 

But will Trump run? I think he wants to. H rightly feels that he was cheated out of a 2nd term and has a major ax to grind with his enemies. Doing so would secure his legacy and he could perhaps punish those who have treated him so badly. 

On the other hand, Trump is getting old. He's still younger than Biden (who is pretty obviously senile) but at his age there is a real question if he will even be around in 2024. And though Trump thrives on campaigning the actual stress of the job might be too much to go through again. He might decide that hanging out at Mar-A-Lago is a lot better than being President. 

Regardless of who the candidate is, I will be voting for the Republican who runs. I have nothing but contempt for the Democratic Party and they have to be stopped no matter what. It doesn't matter if it is Trump, DeSantis or even Ted Cruz, I still want justice.