The West

Over the past 50 years the West has embarked upon a slow path to destruction. It comes in four parts. Europe is ahead of the US in this regard and can be used as a warning. First off Europe decided to replace fossil fuels with wind and solar and this has led to high energy cost and overall economic decline. Second, they opened their borders to mostly Islamic immigrants and these people are placing pressure on social services and they are not assimilating because of cultural differences. Third, their population replacement is 1.4 which means they are running out of young people. Finally, fourth is DEI. This policy tends to give special treatment to certain groups and leads to tribalism and this is the antithesis of individualism which is what democracy is founded upon. The US has witnessed the harm caused by these policies and is trying to avoid falling into the same trap. The idea that wind and solar can replace fossil fuels has been refuted and the way around that is nuclear. Second the border has been secured and immigration will once again return to an orderly fashion. Third the concept of DEI is on the way out having been exposed as just a way to put skin color above merit. What is left is the low birth rate and that can be taken care of by allowing the non-criminal migrants to gain citizenship. These are all self-inflicted wounds that can be corrected.

College

The word fascist is in the news and sometimes not well understood. One interesting way of looking at the word is to see it as an extreme version of right wingers. This is what communism is for far-left people. As each side moves further away from the center, they approach each other and mesh together. They become authoritarian dictators. From the standpoint of governing there was not much difference between Hitler and Stalin. The misunderstanding of the word can be seen in the fact that many in the press expressed surprise at the fact that 6,000 students at the university where Charlie Kirk was shot signed a petition asking that his visit be cancelled. University students have been involved in a growing trend of trying to ban or disinvite speakers from campus since at least 2014, using tactics like protests and petitions, and a significant portion of students have become more accepting of such actions, including shouting down speakers, blocking access to events, and even using violence. In principle, colleges and universities are designed to be places where controversial ideas can be expressed and debated. This has changed over the past ten years. One question is did the professors have anything to do with this change.

Kirk

The shooting of Charlie Kirk is big news because he was a controversial speaker and his life style. He and his wife were deeply committed to Christianity and conservative values. He often said things that many people were thinking but afraid to say, shades of Rush Limbaugh. His comments on gender, race and politics often drew fierce liberal criticism. Here are some examples. If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified. If you’re a WNBA, pot-smoking, Black lesbian, do you get treated better than a United States marine? Happening all the time in urban America, prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people, that’s a fact. It’s happening more and more. If I’m dealing with somebody in customer service who’s a moronic Black woman, I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because affirmative action? Kirk's comments often drew fierce liberal criticism. His opposition to gun control was among issues he discussed. It is understandable why many would be offended by these remarks but that is what the first amendment is all about. He promoted family values such as marriage and having children. He encouraged young people to work hard and go after the American dream using the ideas of God, family and country. He believed that you won the lottery when you were born in the USA.

Clicks

As the various stations cover the news regarding the Charlie Kirk shooting, they all agree that all sides should cut back on divisive language and then they put on the news the most divisive people they can find. They cannot help themselves as clicks are all that count.

Migrants

Many articles are written pointing out that the Ukraine War continues because the egos are getting in the way and this is also true in domestic politics. Right now, there is an opportunity to reach a compromise on immigration that would benefit the country. Trump fancies himself as a great deal maker and the democrats could approach the situation with compromise in mind. Go to Trump and say now that the border is secure, we would like to help ICE find and deport the migrant criminals who are in the country and then work with the government to get work permits for the remaining migrants. The permits would be for five years at which time they can convert to Green Cards and in another five years to citizenship. In addition, they will cooperate with the government to find the missing children. The country needs these migrants to fill the many jobs that will be created as manufacturing comes back home.

Crime

Crime has been a problem for many years but in recent times, like most news, it is on social media and gets more attention. Statistics show that crime rates were much higher in the 1990’s and following some tough on crime legislation the rates dropped. This was the result of policies like three strikes and your out and arresting people for minor crimes, the theory being that this would reduce major crimes. After 25 years of this the pendulum swung back as people realized that the jails were filling up with nonviolent criminals and there was a racial component that came out of the surge in crack cocaine arrest. This was followed up by the oppressor/ oppressed view that also had a racial component. This led to many seeing criminals as victims and the result is that many district attorneys tend to go easy on criminals. This resulted in many jurisdictions recording crimes in ways that tend to minimize the numbers. Over the past few years, the number of illegal migrants with criminal pasts have increased and this has added to the crime problem.

Sex attacks

Many cities have instituted no cash bail. Without this change people who have the money can get out of jail while they await trial but those without the money remain in jail. This was deemed unfair and thus the law changed. In practice this has resulted in accused felons being freed the day after they were arrested with the written promise that they would show up in court on the appointed day. What has happened is that these accused have committed more crimes. Statistics show that 64% of federal violent offenders were rearrested for new crimes within eight years of release. On average, formerly incarcerated people are arrested five times within nine years of their release. For every 1000 sexual assaults, 50 reports lead to arrest, 28 cases lead to conviction and 25 are incarcerated. Seventy percent of those jailed serve less than 5 years.