Things we don't know

"Questions, questions and more questions. Why is it we know so little about things?"

Last night we went and saw David Barton give a presentation on the history of our government. It was factual and it was faith based. One of my favorite parts of the session was when Mr. Barton put up a picture of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence. He went on to say he has put that picture up when lecturing at many colleges and law schools. Almost without exception, nobody could identify more than two of the signers - Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The rest were just unknown people in the background.

It is amazing what as a country we do not know. Some of which we don't know because we don't care to know. Other things are because we are too lazy to know. Then there are things we don't know because we have not been told enough details too know. This new trade deal, this monster TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) comes under that category.

The TPP. What is it? Why does it need to be "sold" by the Administration? Why do some hate it already? And is it really going to be a "game changer"? Will it really change everything? Questions, and then more questions. Understanding the nuances in the TPP will be quite a bit more complicated than identifying more than two signers of our Declaration of Independence. For example, how is the TPP different from the TPA? And what is the TPA (Trade Promotion Authority)?

The TPP (and the TPA) are just examples of things we don't know. The TPP is big, and it is complex. And the people we elected to represent us are going to have to vote on this thing. Which means they are going to have to understand it. And in order for us to understand if the vote they take on the TPP is a good vote, we also need to have some understanding of it. Which means, just like David Barton had to do to really understand the genesis of our founding documents, we need to do our homework.

And therein lies one of our problems. More and more people are simply checking out. Becoming part of the "whatever" crowd. The crowd that simply does not give a rip. That does not want to learn. That does not want to be informed. And more and more, does not even show up to vote.

Are we just on information overload, or is it something else? In the age of Google and the internet, one would think we could learn about a plethora of things at light speed. However, the brightest bulb stays dark unless it is turned on. I fear more and more of the light bulbs in our country are staying dark. And that is at our peril.  

  

The new shock and awe

"Here they come. They are trained, they are armed, and they are motivated to 'get-er-done' - and quickly!"

Get ready kids. Uncle Vladimir is going to teach us how to do it. I am sorry - I should not have said "us". I meant to say our President. It seems that the Russian President (Putin) has had just about enough of this band of thugs who are threatening his buddy Assad in Syria. So as a kind gesture, as well as to secure much needed oil and gas reserves from Palmyra, Russia is going to send in the storm troopers.

Yes, the Russians are now pounding the life out of Raqqa, a stronghold for the Islamic Terrorists. And collateral damage? Sorry - if you happen to be in the way of a Russian bomb, too bad, so sad. Well here comes the punch line. Russia has just conscripted an additional 150,000 soldiers to go into Iraq and "mop up" after the bombing is done. Any person who even vaguely resembles an Islamic Terrorist will be finished. 

What we should have learned in both Crimea and the Ukraine is the Russians don't mess around. They don't dither. They are big believers in "shock and awe". Our President on the other hand, is the champion "ditherer". And while we have dithered over how little or much much we should be involved in getting rid of the Islamic State in Syria, Russia has drawn a straight line from point "A" to point "B". Putin will not only vanquish the Islamic State from Syria, he will also take care of the CIA trained rebels.

At the end of the day, this is probably what is going to happen. The survivors of the Islamic State will move from from Syria into Iraq. They will look at this Russian incursion into Syria as a temporary set back. However, additional Islamist fighters will make Iraq even messier than it is now.

Assad will have all his power restored. He will allow Syria to become a puppet state for Russia. In exchange for the Russian aegis of protection, Putin will not only gain a client state, but more gas and oil, PLUS another warm weather port.

Who are the big losers? Well, us for one. As much as we wanted Assad out of power in Syria, that ain't gonna happen. Iran is also a big winner, as they have very close ties with Syria. Can closer ties with Russia and Iran now be in the offing? And the Syrian rebels of course. The ones who survive the Russians will be "dead men walking" with Assad back in total control. 

Once again we are going to be witnesses to what the world looks like when the United States takes a pass. When the United States no longer "has the back" of freedom fighters. And it is not pretty. Mr. Putin is probably licking his chops right now. First Crimea, then part of the Ukraine, now Syria. So what is next? Who cares. The entire world now seems to be Putin's oyster. 

The Homecoming

"If you believe Heaven is your final home, this story is for you..."

This past week we went to a funeral of a former neighbor of my wife when she was growing up. I had met this lady a few times over the years, but did not know her very well. I basically went to support my wife, as I knew she would not know too many people. The funeral was held in a beautiful church in the western part of the metro. I also did not think I would know many people. Turns out, I was mostly right.

Once the service started, it was a typical Lutheran funeral. I know - at my age I have been to many of them. Then it changed. The granddaughter of the woman who passed came up front to describe her relationship with her grandma - her best friend. For the next ten minutes, this young lady used nothing but words to paint the most vivid picture of this woman. Yes, there were tears. And yes, there were stories. However at the end of the ten minutes, I felt like I knew this woman my entire life. It was simply wonderful.

Next, the woman's daughter got up and did the same thing. Only from a daughter's perspective. Her stories were about her Mother's strong faith, and how she lived it. Oh, she loved a good time. And a good party. But she always remembered who was in charge. She knew how important it was to live her life for the Lord. And how to teach her children to do so also. At the end of her ten minutes, this daughter looked at the people in the church and simply said, "To God goes the glory". And then sat down. 

When the pastor began her homily, she read a poem called "The Homecoming". It was simply riveting. The pastor explained what the poem was really about. Death it seems, is looked upon differently in Heaven than it is here. On Earth death is sadness. It is permanent separation. For many, it is simply the end.

In Heaven, death is joyous. It is a homecoming. Another person has come home to live in eternity. To live forever with the Holy Father as well as the saints who have gone on before. In Heaven, death marks the beginning of a celebration without end.

When we left, my wife and I talked about the service most of the way home. It was impactful to say the least. Of all the funerals I have been to, this one was the most uplifting. It was wonderful. 

Right before we started our journey home, my wife went up to the daughter and told her how wonderful, how meaningful the service was. The daughter looked at my wife, thanked her for coming, and said the same thing she said in the service - "To God goes the glory". Amen to that.

Way out of balance...

"This economy is not only weak, but what little strength it has is way out of balance. We are heading in the wrong direction, and fast..."

This morning really said it all. We went out for breakfast and then stopped at a grocery store on the way home. Both places had help wanted signs. Yesterday, just about every place we stopped had a help wanted sign. It seems like in just a few short years we have gone from no jobs anyplace to jobs everywhere.

Now that is the "good" news. Now for the real news. This morning it was reported many restaurants in the Twin Cities have needed to cut down their hours. Why? Not enough cooks. A culinary chef is a high skilled position. We simply do not have enough right now. 

And the jobs report came out yesterday. A paltry 142,000 jobs were created last month. On top of that, average pay raises were kept at zero. Plus, more and more people have left the labor force. In fact, the labor participation rate is now 62.4%. That is .2% lower than it was last month. And last month was terrible.

But the real problem we have right now besides an anemic economy, is balance. We have an overabundance of low educated, low skill workers, and a shortage of the higher skilled, high tech workers. Plus with the generous benefits we are currently paying on just about everything, many on the bottom see little value to taking a job that pays $8 to $15/hour. Just like in some Euro countries, being unemployed is not a bad gig.

What do we need to get back in balance? First off, fix our immigration system. We need to attract people who can come here and immediately contribute in the higher ended jobs. People who have low skills or no skills need to go elsewhere. Next, we need to educate our young people better. Many cities (like Minneapolis) have broken education systems. We continue to let young people fail and drop out in almost record numbers. Those who do graduate don't know a dit from a dah. In these days of Google and the internet, there is simply no excuse for graduates to not know simple facts. 

Finally (close your ears those on the Left), we need to repeal ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, and any other piece of legislation which has crippled our businesses with thousands upon thousands of pages of needless and expensive paperwork. The role of government has never been to create jobs - it has been to till the field to make job growth the most attractive for the job creators. Low taxes and low regulations. Right now, both our federal and state governments have poured poison on the fields of job growth by using confiscatory taxes and burdensome regulations.

One more thing. And this is a tough one. We need to fix our welfare and benefits so they are no longer more attractive than work. That will drive more lower skilled people into the lower skilled jobs. 

Bottom line - we are in a mess right now. Because of our jobs numbers, the Fed will never allow our rates to return to normal. The longer they linger in this zero based la-la land, the harder the fall will be when they do return to normal. In 2016, if we can make it that long, we need the adults back in charge to try and right this ship. Or, to put balance back into our economy.  

A journey upward....

"Oh this all sounds so good, so Utopia like. But who is going to pay for all this crap? Well, as the song goes, 'look in the mirror boy...'"

Here we go again. The journey upward. What is upward? The price of most everything of course. Only this time it is going to be a whopper. It seems that our local electric company (Xcel Energy) has withered under the unending pressure from both the federal EPA and our local thugs. To lower their "carbon footprint" by 2030, our Xcel Energy is going to "invest" in more solar and wind. In addition, it will retrofit part of the SHERCO Plant to run on natural gas instead of coal.

Now SHERCO has just paid quite of bit of money to upgrade and fix the newest unit to the complex, unit 3. This unit which was built in the late 1980's, recently suffered some damage due to a malfunction and resulting fire. It cost about $200,000,000 just to get back on line. Where did the cost for that repair go? Check out your electric bill. I don't know about yours, but mine keeps going up. And up. And up. 

Today all three units at the plant are working fine, thank you. In the paper today, it was reported a decision has been made to completely retire units 1 and 2 to the power plant. Retire them and replace them with natural gas unit(s). How much will this cost? Experts say a billion plus. And who is going to pay for this? Us. Jobs will be lost both at the source where we buy our coal as well as at the power plant.

How are we going to get this massive amount of natural gas to SHERCO? Do we have the right kind of pipeline to accomplish that transfer? Or are we going to use risky rail service? Or do we have to build a new pipeline? Seems like every pipeline upgrade is being tied up in court these days. (Hello, Sandpiper Pipeline?)

Finally, a decision has been made by Xcel Energy to increase the amount of "investment" in more wind and solar. All this within a decade. What a fool's errand. I have stated my position before - I think there will eventually be a cost effective future for solar. But wind - never. Way too many problems. And right now, both are just sinkholes for costs. But who cares? The progressives think they are trendy and cool - even if they don't work efficiently.

So the stage has now been set. Get ready, because here it comes. By the way, the greenest of the greenies are not going to be satisfied with a natural gas solution for SHERCO. I am sure they are already planning their next move. And the nuke plant in Monticello is probably also in their sights.

Until we relegated to reading our Gutenberg Bible by the light of the fire in the hearth, many greenies will not be satisfied. Until then, just keep your checkbook handy. The postman will be coming with bills the size of Mount Everest...

A black heart

"What is it that turns people evil? That changes the color of their heart? Whether we admit it or not, it is the principality of darkness..."

I remember once listening to a former SEAL discuss how to eliminate a threat. Bottom line, there were unlimited ways this SEAL could kill if he had to. Using a firearm was only one of them.

It has been said many times that if one has malice in the heart, if the heart is black with hatred, killing can be done many different ways. However, if one has no malice in the heart, that person could own a hundred different guns and be as safe as a baby in a crib.

Don't get me wrong. I am as upset as anyone else about school shootings. About any type of shootings. What happened in Sandy Hook was a horror beyond horrors. And yet, Connecticut has very strict gun laws. The carnage which takes place on the south side of Chicago every single weekend has taken hundreds of young black lives. And yet, Chicago has very strict gun laws. What happened yesterday in Oregon was abhorrent. Young people should not have to fear for their lives just for going to college. And yet, Oregon just recently tightened their gun laws.

Here is a stubborn fact. In the United States, where we have a population of just over 300 million people, and we have just under 300 million legally owned guns. Most every day that passes, responsible citizens who legally own firearms, commit no crime with one. And yet, these are the people the President would like to punish. Take away their firearms. Keep the firearms only in the hands of the armed forces and the police (and most of all, criminals who get their firearms illegally).

Our President, who was a "lecturer" on our Constitution, must have fallen asleep when taught about the origins of the Second Amendment. Either that, or he does understand it and sees his role in history to change it. Either way, the quickest way for a society to take the elevator down from citizenship to serfdom is to give up it's guns. And tyranny is always on the bottom floor of that that elevator. 

So get ready for the aftermath to the Oregon school shooting. Obama will never "let a good crisis go to waste." I can hear it now. "We have too many people with guns. We live in a gun culture. No other western civilized society has as many guns as we do." Blah, blah, blah. Heard that all before sir. Now let's focus on what is happening today, and not happened in yesteryear. Why do we have so many mass murders today? And not 40 or 50 years ago? Hint - it has nothing to do with legal gun ownership, as our Second Amendment has been around since our founding. It has more to do with people developing a black heart.

Where do we go from here? The pain and heartache is real after a tragedy such as this. However to use this for political purposes is just plain wrong. Especially from a President. I am much more interested in finding out what makes people switch. What makes their hearts switch. What turns a heart black enough to commit such an act?

That is the real battlefield. The heart. Not our Second Amendment, but the color of the heart brought on by the principalities of darkness. Wake up Mr. President - this battle for the heart is real. 

    

A dirty little war...

"It seems like in our dirty little war, we are good at writing angry letters and pointing our fingers. Putin on the other hand, is good at killing people and breaking things..."

Hmmm. I have been told if you live long enough, you will see history repeat itself. I have also been told (like many of us have) that nature abhors a vacuum. Especially in world leadership and power. Why do I bring all that up? It seems that Mother Russia is back. Not the Soviet Union, but the key player in the Soviet Union. And now we have a proxy war with the Russians. Just like the old days, once again.

So what are the Russians up to in Syria? Back in my cold warrior days, we had to try and figure the Soviets out in their motives and methods. But this one is a head scratcher. Why anyone would choose to jump into this shark pond is indeed a mystery. Unless, you peel the onion back just a bit. 

Like I said, nature abhors a vacuum. When we choose to sit on the sidelines more than be on the playing field, this became much too tempting for Putin. It has been obvious in the past that Mr. Putin has little to zero respect for our President. And face facts for just a minute. Who is the real enemy over there? ISIS (or ISIL)? The Syrian Army? The rebels? Who is fighting whom? The answer - just about everyone is now fighting just about everyone.

Putin saw this fog of battle as an excellent excuse to accelerate the outcome. It would be he, not the coalition of the few, who would save the day. Not only save the day from the Islamic terrorists, he would also rid the hillside of the rebels who are trying to unseat Assad. Two birds with one stone! Then once everyone was neutralized, his army would be welcomed to stay in Syria to ensure the peace. And presto! Another puppet Soviet (I mean Russian) state.

And what can we do to prevent this? Not much really. Putin just chuckles at our bluster. Even though we know the Russians are targeting rebels instead of Islamic terrorists, there is not much we can do. That is unless, we choose to go after Assad as well as the terrorists. Then we really would have a full fledged proxy (or worse) war.

What is the lesson learned from this? Reagan taught us to practice "peace through strength". Worked pretty darned good. Obama is practicing the bystander theory. The hurry up and wait theory. And we can see what a hot mess the world is right now. 

How will this end? Not well for us. And not well for the rebels we support. Possibly very well for the Russians. And excellent for Assad. Hopefully, just hopefully, the Russians will bomb the Islamic terrorists out of Syria for good. That could be the hidden bonus out of this dirty little war.