A spurious U.S. ‘realism’ about Ukraine flirts with catastrophe

by George F. Will, The Washington Post, Feb 17, 2025- 

“The Czechs,” murmured Chamberlain. He had lit a cigar and pushed back his chair. “We have rather forgotten about the Czechs.” — “Munich,” by Robert Harris

In Robert Harris’s meticulously researched novel about 1938, the leaders of four nations — Germany, Italy, France, Britain — settled the fate of a fifth, Czechoslovakia. “Realism” dictated its dismemberment.

A Czech official: “The Germans will be able to cut our country in half within a day.” British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s aide: “I am not responsible for the realities of geography. ... Ninety percent of your country will remain intact and you will not be invaded.”

Last week in Munich, a city closer to Ukraine than Washington is to Atlanta, Vice President JD Vance told Europeans that the principal security threat they face is insufficient free speech, exemplified particularly by the refusal of other German political parties to govern in coalition with Alternative for Germany, a fascist-adjacent party sympathetic to Ukraine’s would-be executioner, Vladimir Putin.

.... Hours before Chamberlain signed the Munich agreement, an aide told him (per Harris) that Hitler “plans a war of conquest to gain living space for the German people.” Hitler had said so. Chamberlain: “You need to learn a few lessons in political reality.” Realities such as the reluctance of democratic publics to face unpleasant realities. Particularly for the benefit of (as Chamberlain had described the Czechs) people in “a far away country,” “of whom we know nothing.” We know Putin’s thinking about who should be Russians, and what Russia should be. He has told us.

Trump says he does not care “much about anything” other than “peace.” “Peace for our time,” Chamberlain said triumphantly when he landed in London from Munich. Peace lasted 336 days, until Sept. 1, 1939, the first of the European war’s 2,077 days. (Please read it all)

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A Trump outrage that stands apart: The president blames Ukraine for its own brutalization.

by David Ignatius, The Washington Post, Feb 19, 2025- Tuesday was a dark day for the United States. President Donald Trump and his administration embraced Russia as a peace partner without demanding that it pay any price for its illegal invasion of Ukraine. And then, in a statement that turned morality upside down, the president blamed Ukraine for causing the war.

... “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” Trump said of the nation that was attacked on Feb. 24, 2022, by a Russian leader who had declared that Ukraine deserved no independence or sovereignty because it wasn’t a “real country.” Vladimir Putin’s casus belli was a chilling act of dehumanization, and it was followed by a brutal assault that would have succeeded but for the brave resistance of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people.

Those are the moral and strategic issues at the center of the conflict. But somehow, in Trump’s monomania, the war is about him. He has said often, with no evidence, that Russia wouldn’t have invaded if he had been president. Now, he’s claiming Ukraine spurned his help and brought this existential fight upon itself.

... The president has effectively made Zelensky his adversary and, implicitly, moved toward open embrace of Russia’s anti-Zelensky line. His words are also likely to leave deep scars in Ukraine. One retired U.S. Army officer who’s working in Kyiv sent me an anguished message on Wednesday: “What the hell is happening in America? From here, we look like we’ve lost our minds. We’re not just losing our standing with current leaders but we’re losing the next generation who are watching and learning that America cannot be trusted.” (Read it all)

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Trump goes to bat for Scumbag Andrew Tate.

by Rod Williams, Feb. 20, 2025- Each day brings a new Trump outrage, often more than one a day. From engineering a defeat for Ukraine and empowering Russia, to bullying Panama into taking real refugees who fled for their lives from terrible place to reach America and Trump is set on deporting, each day is something new.

With President Trump moving so fast and doing several outrageous things each day, it is hard to keep up and some things slip by hardly noticed. One such thing that should generate outrage but is slipping by hardly noticed is that President Trump is pressuring Romania to lift travel restrictions on Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan where they are awaiting trial on various criminal and civil charges in that country.

Andrew Tate is the worst of the bro podcasters promoting a form of hyper masculinity and has something like 10 million followers. He is truly a despicable person. I have watched some of his podcast. I know the term misogynist is loosely thrown around to describe anyone who is not on board with the contemporary progressive feminist view or anyone who thinks traditional family roles have merit. The word is used as a pejorative and so loosely used that it essentially means nothing other than that the person using it thinks you are a bad person. That being said, that does not mean there are not real misogynist. Tate is one. His view of women is truly despicable. Tate describes himself as "an absolute misogynist."  He has said of himself, "I'm a realist and when you're a realist, you're sexist. There's no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist." He says women are "intrinsically lazy" and says there is "no such thing as an independent female".

Andrew Tate made a fortune as a website entrepreneur. Some sources refer to this venture as a porn website and others refer to it as a modeling website.  He then had or maybe still has a website called Hustler University were for a monthly fee, Tate can teach you how to make a living without working, by doing such things as investing in crypto and other hustles. He is a former world class kickboxer and a celebrity, and a bodybuilder. He is a conspicuous consumer who collects cars and displays an ostentations lifestyle and wealth.

This is part of what Wikipedia says about Tate's legal troubles:

In April 2022, the US embassy received a report that an American citizen was being held against her will in a property the Tate brothers own in Pipera, Romania.[176] Romanian police raided the home and a nearby webcam studio belonging to the Tates, where they discovered four women. Two of them, the American and another Romanian woman, told the police they were being held against their will, sparking an in-rem[b] investigation into human trafficking and rape by DIICOT, the Romanian anti-organised crime agency.[178][179] Later in December, police arrested the Tates and two women.[180][181] All four were suspected of human trafficking and forming an organised crime group, and one of them is suspected of rape.[176][182] Romanian authorities seized 29 assets, including cars, properties, watches, and money, totaling almost US$4 million.

The Trump administration has been working to persuade Romania to let the Tates leave the country.  High level envoys have discussed the issue. Some see J. D. Vance's recent criticism of the way the nation is governed and talk of investigating how USAID money was spent in the country as leverage to persuade the Romania government to let the Tates leave the country.  Why is Trump interested in Andrew Tate and his legal problems? 

Andrew Tate is part of the far-right group of Trump supporters with friends from Tucker Carlson to Alex Jones and various other bro podcasters who either speak favorably of Tate or who are actively advocating for him.  Tate endorsed Trump in the recent election, and Tate has influence among young non-college-educated men, a demographic that Trump carried in the last election. 

Trump cares about nothing except loyalty. Trump likes those who like him. Everything is transactional. Trump has the back of those who support him. Also, Alan Tate is a scumbag. If not convinced, do a quick Google search and watch one or two of his podcasts. Trump has a fondness for scumbags. They are his kind of people. 

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The American Betrayal of Ukraine Begins. Trump Blames the Victim

By Jim Geraghty, National Review, February 19, 2025 - On the menu today: Regarding the war, President Donald Trump says to the Ukrainians, “You should have never started it!” Somewhere in Moscow, Vladimir Putin must be grinning from ear to ear. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledges that the U.S. will cooperate with Russia on “matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities,” despite the fact that those mutual geopolitical interests don’t exist, and here in Kyiv, a report of cartel thugs from Brazil signing up to fight on behalf of the Russians.

Trump Blames the Victim

Kyiv, Ukraine — There’s still time for President Trump to turn it around. But so far in his second term, regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Trump has offered to Vladimir Putin that Ukraine will not retake all its annexed and occupied sovereign territory, that Ukraine will not join NATO, that there will be no U.S. troops on Ukrainian soil after the war, and that the U.S. will lift sanctions on Russia. And Trump might even throw in a withdrawal of the extra 20,000 U.S. troops that Joe Biden sent to NATO’s eastern flank after the invasion of Ukraine.

... Trump’s approach in his tirade yesterday was to blame the victim and offer greater and greater concessions to the aggressor.

“Today I heard, ‘Oh well, we weren’t invited’ — well, you’ve been there for three years! You should have ended it three years — you should have never started it! You could have made a deal,” Trump said of the Ukrainians, either oblivious to or in denial of the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine, not the other way around.

“We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law,” Trump fumed yesterday. I would urge him to look up what “martial law” means. ... The Ukrainian constitution does not allow elections to be held when martial law is in effect.

Roughly 20 percent of Ukraine is occupied by Russian forces; obviously, those regions cannot participate in any Ukrainian election. (Russian forces allowing them to participate in the election would be de facto admission that they are Ukrainian citizens residing on Ukrainian territory.) This would be akin to running an American presidential election with only 40 of the 50 states able to participate. Distributing and collecting ballots from the troops in the field, under fire, would represent its own slew of logistical challenges. (read it all)

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What Happened in the Metro Council Feb. 18th: Resisting ICE, Weapons Detections, Historical Zoning, Camera Surveillance, ...

by Rod Williams, Feb. 19, 2025- With a new Trump outrage every day and being so focused on our nations march toward authoritarianism, I have not had the bandwidth to give the attention to local issues as I have in the past. I have not been reading Council agendas or watching Council meeting. I still seek to be informed about local government, however. To stay informed about the most important things happening in the Metro Council, I read the Pamphleteer. No one covers the Metro Council better than Megan Podsiedlik. It you want to stay informed on the most important actions taking place in Metro Government, I recommend The Pamphleteer. Here is Megan's latest:

 As expected, discussions about school shootings, historic zoning, and Fusus fired up members during last night’s Metro Council meeting, only to be doused by imminent weather conditions. Before the proceedings kicked off, Councilmembers Ginny Welsch and Sandra Sepulveda set the tone. “I just wanted to let everyone know that I have ‘Know Your Rights’ cards here in seven different languages,” announced Welsch, encouraging members to pass them out in their communities. 

According to Welsh, the cards provide details about what someone should do when approached by ICE. They also display a message in English that card holders can hand to authorities “telling them why you are not going to do what they are asking you to do based on the specific constitutional right that aligns with that,” said Welsch. Councilmember Sepulveda followed up the announcement by carrying out portions of the proceedings in Spanish, later directing members to additional resources provided by the Immigrant Caucus.

As the meeting continued, Councilmember Tonya Hancock shed some light on the contentious metal detector discussions taking place in the wake of the tragic shooting at Antioch High School. “I do know, as a parent at a Metro school, that every single middle school and high school that has after-school athletic activities has a metal detector right now that they do not use during the school day,” she revealed. Though the Metro school board recently voted to integrate concealed weapon detection systems in every high school, Hancock suggested utilizing the readily available metal detectors until the new systems are installed.

The discussion was sparked by Councilmember Courtney Johnston’s resolution to streamline communication between Metro Nashville Public Schools and Metro Nashville Police Department to evaluate current safety protocol. Several council members were quick to run cover for the school board, attempting to soften the scrutiny that has been heightened over last month.

“I think that we just need to be very careful with the language that we're using, because we don't want to inadvertently put this as though our school system has done something wrong,” warned Councilmember Delishia Porterfield. Councilmember Sean Parker echoed Portfield’s sentiments, reminding the body that they shouldn’t step on the school board’s toes.

Porterfield also pointed out that metal detectors make students feel uncomfortable. (If you’re curious, take a look at what the Evol AI weapon detection systems look like compared to metal detectors.) Though the resolution passed, even those in support of the initiative had a few terse words to spare. “We're in the unfortunate environment where our state [legislature] and our current federal administration deems it, you know, allowable for anyone to tow the gun around, and there is…a lack of action on their part to keep guns out of school and to keep our kids safe,” said Co-sponsor Tasha Ellis. 

The introduction of Councilmember Emily Benedict’s bill that would put the Metro Historical and Zoning Commissions under the purview of the Planning Department also caught some punches. Councilmembers Brenda Gadd and Tom Cash, whose districts contain a substantial amount of historic overlays, both expressed confusion about what the bill actually does. “As it is, the bill, it makes a structural change,” said Cash. “Without understanding what the results of that structural change, what the substance of that structural changes [are], I'm not sure what it's doing.”

Councilmember Hancock proposed to set a public hearing on July 15th, which would give everyone more time to understand the bill by postponing discussions until after budget season. “We got 54 emails today, prior to having it at first reading,” she said, indicating the pushback that’s been snowballing among constituents. Hancock also expressed her surprise at the amount of co-sponsors already signed onto the legislation that currently has more questions than answers.

Ultimately, her proposal was shot down and the council passed the bill on first reading. Those hesitant about the change said that the solution relies heavily on a recent study that mainly focused on the historic zoning issues experienced by businesses downtown and hope to include more input from residents going forward.

Eventually, the meeting wound down with a clipped discussion on Councilmember Rollin Horton’s proposed guardrails for camera surveillance technology. Though it wasn’t the final item on the agenda, the conversation was put on ice—literally.

Just as the floor started to heat up—not long after Councilmember Welsch called out the “lawless authoritarian federal administration, fascists running our state, and cosplay Christians who think there is no bridge too far in harming women and immigrants, including tracking them with systems like Fusus”—Councilmember Ellis made a motion to adjourn due to weather conditions. The council effectively put out the flames with snow by voting to head home early. 

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Harwood Salon (formerly Bastiat Society) present Dr. Dave Hebert, on Trade Deficits, Why the Numbers don't Add Up. Feb.19.

 

 Harwood Salon is now Free!

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House Budget Allows for Too Much Debt

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Feb 18, 2025- The House Budget Committee reported out a Fiscal Year 2025 budget resolution last week that would facilitate reconciliation legislation permitting $2.8 trillion in deficit increases through 2034. This includes: a ceiling of $4.5 trillion of deficit increases from the Way and Means Committee; a ceiling of $300 billion of deficit increases from committees that oversee spending related to defense, immigration, and border security; a floor of $880 billion of deficit reduction from the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees energy policy, electromagnetic spectrum, Medicaid, and parts of Medicare; a floor of $622 billion of deficit reduction from a variety of other committees; and an additional $500 billion that could come from either reducing the Ways and Means Committee’s deficit increase or more savings from the other committees. With interest costs, we estimate this would result in $3.4 to $4 trillion of additional debt by 2034, depending on whether the extra $500 billion savings target is met.

The committee-approved budget resolution may soon face a vote in the full House, where some Members have expressed concern about high levels of borrowing while others have argued for paring back proposed offsets.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

The $2.8 trillion target is unquestionably too large and an astronomical figure given our massive debt burden. We should not be borrowing another $2.80, let alone another $2.8 trillion. The House should revise the budget resolution to be deficit reducing or at the very least budget neutral.  

There were a number of true fiscal conservatives who fought to increase the savings in this bill, and it’s good to see deficit reduction instructions in many of the committees. But this still falls far short of what is needed.  Over the budget window, the federal government will spend $86 trillion and forgo more than $20 trillion in spending through the tax code. Yet the Budget Committee could only agree to $2 trillion in savings...really? For anyone who has made the case they support lower government spending, this is a pretty puny number, which is pretty darn close to a rounding error.  

Furthermore, given our fiscal situation, it would be far better to use these savings as part of a larger debt reduction deal than to offset tax cuts.  We have cut taxes and increased spending year after year since the last budget surplus in 2001, which is how our debt got so out of control. Lawmakers now need to face the reality that we should be adopting a debt deal rather than pursuing tax cuts or spending increases. It will take $8.1 trillion of savings over this budget window to stabilize the debt, and using these offsets now not only increases the savings needed, it also reduces the spending cuts available to get there.  

But assuming that at least some of the tax cuts are extended, the Ways and Means Committee should not have the authority to add as much as $4.5 trillion to the deficit. Extending all the expiring tax cuts will reduce revenue by $3 to $4 trillion through 2034 in most scenarios—a number that could be much lower with some thoughtful modifications. The Ways and Means Committee also has jurisdiction over Medicare, the Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Inflation Reduction Act energy tax credits, several welfare programs, and the entire tax code. That leaves plenty of room for offsets and deficit reduction.

Under no circumstance should lawmakers increase the borrowing allowed under this budget resolution, but they absolutely should reduce it. 

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U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett Files Bill Empowering Trump to Enlist ‘Privately Armed and Equipped Actors’ to Confront Cartels

 U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett Files Bill Empowering Trump to Enlist ‘Privately Armed and Equipped Actors’ to Confront Cartels

Rod's Comment: I don't think this has a chance of passing, but what do I know? I never thought Republicans would support a violent attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. I never thought Republicans would support a trade war against our closest allies. I never thought America would abandon the idealism that let to victory in World War II or victory over Communism in the Cold War. I never thought we would subscribe to a policy of 'might makes right' and threaten Canada, Mexico, Denmark, or Panama. I never thought Republicans would approve of an imperial presidency that ignores the will of the legislative branch of government. 

This is possible. Once these private armies are mobilized to fight cartels, what will their next mission be? I am not going to be surprised if the membership is made up of Three Percenters, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers. I am not going to be surprised if they all wear brown shirts. 

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Ukraine is being punished for its insistence on surviving as a nation and a people.

 By Kevin D. Williamson, The dispatch, Published February 17, 2025 - “Idon’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,” J.D. Vance said in 2022 as he was running for the U.S. Senate. Now the vice president, he has been dispatched to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Munich. And it just had to be Munich, didn’t it? Where better to surrender to a tyrant without a fight? Mnichovská zrada, the Czechs call it—the Betrayal at Munich. 

But Donald Trump is no Neville Chamberlain—Chamberlain was an intelligent, accomplished, self-made man, and a patriot, albeit one who made a terrible error in judgment. He didn’t try to stage a coup when the British people voted him out in disgust. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was possibly not drunk at the time, also weighed in earlier this week: Ukraine must hand over territory to the Russian invaders, NATO membership is off the table, and Ukraine cannot count on the United States for security guarantees. Zelensky knows what that means. “Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees,” he told The Guardian in an interview. Hegseth is at the “clarifying” stage of this particular avalanche of baloney. 

All of this is to say that Moscow is being rewarded for its brutality and aggression, while Ukraine is being punished for its petty and mulish insistence on surviving as a nation and a people. (read it all)

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Egg Watch: Week four

 

Price of Eggs Jan. 25, 2025

Price of Eggs, Feb. 17, 2025

by Rod Williams, Feb. 17, 2025 - President Trump has been in office foru weeks and look at the price of eggs! 

In August 2024, Donald Trump held a press conference surrounded by packaged foods, milk and eggs, and said: “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One.” 

He didn't start bringing prices down on day one. He has been in office six weeks and prices of eggs continue to rise. 

To be fair, a president has very little to do with the price of eggs. Also, often there is lag time between an adoption of any economic policy and the effect of that policy. Often presidents get the blame or the credit for policies enacted by their predecessor.   Also, the bird flu has resulted in the need to kill a bunch of chickens, and that is hardly Trump's fault. Nevertheless, the price of eggs was a major concern of people and the believe that Trump would lower the price of eggs was a reason many people voted for him. Trump acted as if he could control the price of eggs. He said he would do it. Let us hold him to that.

I expect egg prices and grocery prices in general to go higher. Firing a bunch of agriculture health inspectors, deporting farm laborers, and imposing tariffs will all contribute to higher prices. 

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Gov. Lee noncommittal on grocery tax cut

 By Kim Jarrett, The Center Square, Feb 13, 2025 - Bills by Democrats and Republicans that would cut the state's grocery tax are moving through the Tennessee General Assembly, but Gov. Bill Lee didn't mention the legislation in his State of the State address.

"Thousands of bills have been filed in this session, and there’s still a long way to go in the legislative process," a spokeswoman for Lee said in response to a question from The Center Square. "As with any legislation, the governor will review final bill language when it reaches his desk."

Sen. Charlane Oliver and Rep. Aftyn Behn, Democrats from Nashville, were the first to introduce bills that would remove the 4% sales tax on food and food ingredients. The bill has been assigned to Finance, Ways, and Means committees in both chambers.

Rep. Elaine Davis, R-Knoxville, also filed a bill to remove the sales tax on food. She said when introducing her bill would not raise taxes or cause local governments to lose revenue. Local governments would have the option to impose a grocery tax.

Davis' bill is in the House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee. A companion bill filed in the Senate by Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, has not been assigned to a committee.

The effort to remove the grocery tax failed last year. Lawmakers passed a bill that suspended the state's grocery tax for three months in 2023 that returned an estimated $272.8 million to the taxpayers.

Thirteen states tax groceries, but the number could dwindle. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has proposed eliminating the grocery tax in her state, according to a report. Kansas eliminated the sales tax on food on Jan. 1, according to a release from Gov. Laura Kelly.

Oklahoma eliminated the sales tax on food in 2024. The measure is returning $411 million to the taxpayers, lawmakers said.

Rod's Comment: I do not know if this is doable or not, but if it is, I hope it happens. Food is essential and something one cannot avoid. This would help the poor who are not poor enough for food stamps. It would help everyone, but food makes up a much larger share of the budget of low-income people.

Tennessee does not have an income tax for which I am thankful, but money has to come from somewhere. If they crunch the numbers, and this can work, I hope they do it. If not a full repeal, maybe the tax can be left on beer and soft drinks and bottled water and chips and candy and various non-essential foods and removed on things people need. As far as I am concerned, to partially make up for the lost revenue, they could increase the tax on lottery tickets and cigarettes. Increasing the tax on lottery tickets and cigarettes hits the poor hardest too, but I am okay taxing stupidity. Maybe there are other places the tax could be increased to make up for lost revenue too. I hope an effort is made to make this work. 

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