A Time for Choosing

Europe’s nations—particularly those not directly bordering on Russia—are finally figuring out that Russia is as much a threat to them as it is to Ukraine.

…the cost of building robust defenses able to withstand a potential US pullback is so great that it threatens Europe’s post-Cold War social model.

And

Achieving the military spending that some politicians and experts say is needed would force European members of NATO to start reversing big post-Cold War increases in social spending.
“You have to rearrange the social contract,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who has warned that Russia will eventually attack NATO countries if it isn’t defeated in Ukraine.

Any US pullback from NATO or from Europe at large is, or should be, less a factor in their choice between social welfare and their self- and mutual defense than the continuing refusal of fully 40% of those NATO members to honor their financial and equipment commitments vis-à-vis NATO.

That refusal is those nations’ own betrayal of their fellow members since their refusal severely weakens the collective alliance.

Separately, but closely related, chatter about a US pullback from NATO or from Europe at large sounds like a Leftist conspiracy theory to me. After all, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s out loud questioning of America’s future in NATO has in fact been the motive force behind getting many more of Europe’s NATO members even to begin to honor their financial and equipment commitments to NATO, after 50 years of “pretty please” had achieved nothing but too many member nations’ overt decisions simply to freeload off American treasure and blood.

European nations’ need is to understand very clearly and forcefully that those nations that choose social spending over national defense will, in the end, have their social contract dictated to them by their conquerors. That immutable principle applies equally forcefully to our nation.

More Revisionist History

The Food and Drug Administration has decided to remove social media posts and online materials commentary that overtly disdained and recommended against the use of Ivermectin as a Wuhan Virus infection treatment.

It’s good for the FDA to correct its dismal performance regarding Wuhan Virus treatments, but trying to pretend—even if its pretense is public this time—its dismal performance never happened by deleting those posts is just dishonest. The honest thing to do would have been to bring those posts back to the fore and append to them the FDA’s corrections regarding Ivermectin’s efficacy and safety.

Unfortunately, the move to alter history and deny the occurrence of actions that had plainly occurred, rather than treat the misbehavior honestly, comes as a result of a law suit settlement in which the sole plaintiff agreed to the revisionist move.

That’s how deeply embedded dishonesty about our recent history has gotten in our society.

A Clear Demonstration

Michigan’s Progressive-Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed, in the name of the State of Michigan, a deal with Gotion Inc, a subsidiary of Gotion High Tech Co Ltd which is headquartered in the People’s Republic of China. Gotion Hi Tech is not only subject to PRC national security law that requires domestic companies to provide information the intelligence community “requests” in whatever nation that information might reside, it has open and direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party. From that, Gotion Inc, the party to that Whitmer deal, has those same ties and PRC-legal obligations.

The problem is this. The Gotion-Whitmer deal is for a Gotion battery factory to be built at least in part in the Michigan township of Green Charter. Green Charter has demurred from being used for that deal, and in response, Gotion has filed suit…against Green Charter. Chuck Thelen, Gotion’s Vice President Gotion Global, North America Manufacturing Center:

It’s unfortunate that Gotion has had to resort to litigation to get the township to comply with their obligations under the agreement[.]

This, despite that Gotion’s beef is with Michigan and the Governor’s Office as the signatories of the overall agreement, which presumed to commit the Township to it. Green Charter isn’t the jurisdiction with any contractual obligations here.

It’s true enough that a prior Township board of supervisors had negotiated an agreement with Gotion, but that was done against the will of the Township residents. They ran a recall that tossed every one of those board members and installed a board amenable to the requirements of its collective bosses, those residents. That move rendered the prior agreement nonexistent.

This is a clear, dispositive demonstration, then, of the People’s Republic of China’s cultural mindset and that of Gotion’s managers. Government is in charge and subjects must obey. 一切都在國家之內,沒有什麼是國家之外的,也沒有什麼是反對國家的. Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State (hat tip to Benito Mussolini, who originated the maxim).

A Quote…

…from a couple of centuries ago, by a man with whom some folks might still be familiar today. Edmund Burke was speaking, here, about the then newly done French Revolution.

They were possessed with a spirit of proselytism in the most fanatical degree, – and from thence, by an easy progress, with the spirit of persecution according to their means. What was not to be done towards their great end by any direct or immediate act might be wrought by a longer process through the medium of opinion. To command that option, the first step is to establish a dominion over those who direct it. They contrived to possess themselves, with great method and perseverance, of all avenues to literary fame. Many of them, indeed, stood high in the ranks of literature and science. The world had done them justice, and in favor of general talents forgave the evil tendency of their peculiar principles. This was true liberality, which they returned by endeavoring to confine the reputation of sense, learning, and taste to themselves or their followers.
–Edmund Burke

Sounds like an apt description of what’s going on today in our own nation.

 

h/t Ricochet, whose poster first had much the same thought.

Time to Fire Flag Officers and Dismiss them from the Army

The management of the US Military Academy—West Point—has decided the Academy’s mission no longer includes inculcating concepts patriotism, sacrifice, obligation, and honor in our future Army officers.

The US Military Academy at West Point removed the “Duty, Honor, Country” motto from its mission statement.

It’s bad enough that the managers at the top of the Department of Defense think proper pronouns, and equal outcomes regardless of merit, and skin color—wokeness—are more important than training our military men and women how to defend our nation, how to kill our enemies if they attack us. Now the managers of what used to be a premier military academy don’t even think officers satisfying their obligations, displaying and acting on precepts of honor, and putting our nation’s needs ahead of their personal convenience (or pronoun preference) needs to be trained at all.

Of course, those worthies do intend to maintain the phrase as a motto. Whoopty damn do.

And this from West Point spokesman Colonel Terence Kelly:

Duty Honor Country is West Point’s motto and the foundation of our culture as it has been since 1898. As we have done nine times in the past century, we have updated our mission statement to now include the Army Values, loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.

Weasel words. “Duty, Honor, Country” are those values. If the academy [sic] managers truly meant those words, they’d keep the overarching phrase.

Four flags that come to mind as being ripe for relief and dismissal are US Military Academy Superintendent Lieutenant General Steven W Gilland, Dean Brigadier General Shane R Reeves, Commandant of Cadets Major General Lori L Robinson, and US Army Chief of Staff General Randy A George—the latter for allowing this to go through.