EVs, Yes -- MSG, No!

 

Friends, President Biden has made a very interesting move: he's upped (in a big way) U.S. tariffs on a range of Chinese exports.  As this article makes clear, jacking up tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars doesn't matter much, because they aren't sold here anyway, but the tariffs on batteries, semiconductors, solar cells, and the like could be much more significant.  This is a pretty broad assault on Chinese exports in what purports to be a stratagem to protect unions and union jobs.  Of course, Biden cronies assure us that all this has "nothing to do with politics" (ha!!!), but one suspects that shoring up union support is mighty important to a Democratic president who is languishing in the polls.  What do I make of the tariffs themselves?  I'm sympathetic to the idea that the Chinese government may be tipping the scales and engaging in unfair trade practices -- but I also suspect that U.S. unions, and big American companies, would rather not face Chinese competition, mainly because the Chinese are darn good at producing the same things we produce, only better and cheaper.  Any way you slice it, Biden's actions are, and will be seen as, a major affront to China, and they suggest that we're moving away from the old, globalist consensus with respect to free trade.  The Dems, not so long ago, were castigating DJT because his (very small) tariffs on Chinese goods were allegedly "protectionist" and inflationary.  Well, now Joe Biden himself is doubling down on the very same strategy.  Intriguing!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-to-announce-new-100-tariffs-on-chinese-evs/

 

Here's an analysis of the "veepstakes" on the GOP side.  The author argues that Trump does not need to pick a woman or a person of color as his running mate for the sake of "diversity".  I mostly agree.  Trump is unlikely to score many brownie points with the media or with voters simply because he picks an "inclusive" V.P.  On the contrary, if his running mate is a woman or a minority who is in any way, shape, or form a lightweight, you can bet that the Left and the Fourth Estate will rip said pantywaist to shreds.  I kinda like the idea of Marco Rubio as Trump's righthand man, because I like Rubio, and I think he has the experience, the intelligence, and the moral fiber to be a good Vice-President, and, someday, an actual POTUS.  Rubio isn't perfect, mind you, but it's not easy to come up with anyone who could even begin to fill Trump's shoes, as far as the GOP base is concerned.

https://tomklingenstein.com/donald-trump-doesnt-need-a-dei-running-mate/

Unstoppable?

 

Friends, the Left and its judicial acolytes keep hammering away at DJT, but the polls have been remarkably consistent in showing him with a small but potentially decisive advantage over the incumbent, Joe Biden.  The latest New York Times polls in the swing states give Trump the edge, and the RealClearPolitics average of swing state polls now puts Trump ahead in all the critical backgrounds, albeit sometimes by the skin of his teeth.  Bottom line: despite the circus in New York City, if the election were held today, it is highly likely that Trump would win.  That's a remarkable testament to Trump's resilience...and/or Biden's weakness!

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/05/13/nyt-poll-trump-continues-dominate-swing-states-soars-hispanic-black-young-voters/

 

In other news, more media outlets, and more politicians -- including Trump himself -- are drawing attention to the problem of mankind's declining fertility.  We're only beginning to see the practical effects of this sea change, but the medium- and long-term implications are revolutionary.  If you ask me, the defining feature of modernity is...ego.  People are less religious, less inhibited by morals, and generally less concerned about anything other than their own happiness and self-interest.  An inevitable concomitant is declining fertility, since, if one can't bring oneself to care much about one's spouse, or one's progeny, or one's legacy, then why invest time and energy in procreation when, instead, you could simply buy a jetski?  

 

https://www.wsj.com/world/birthrates-global-decline-cause-ddaf8be2?mod=hp_lead_pos7 

Kudos to All You "Birthing People"!

 

Friends, today is a day to show appreciation to all the mothers out there.  Traditionally, most of you are female, but these days we can't assume too much, except that, if you ARE a mother, that proves that you refrained from having an abortion at least once in your life, and that was mighty accommodating of you, to be sure!  All kidding aside, mothers make the world go 'round, and I and everyone else who loiters here at WaddyIsRight honor you, and we thank you for all your many sacrifices on our behalf.  God bless you!

Beware the Marxist Horde

 

Friends, it's become mighty fashionable in leftist circles to praise socialism and denigrate, well, capitalism, Christianity, Western Civilization, phallocentrism, cisgender ideology, the internal combustion engine -- you name it!  Today I repost for your viewing pleasure a rebuttal to this progressive sentimentalism, and an argument for why Marxism is, at bottom, a dangerous, totalitarian creed.  The author is none other than your favorite right-wing curmudgeon, John/Jack Stengel.  Enjoy!

P.S.  The title of this post is, coincidentally, the title of one of the first political articles I ever wrote...for my high school newspaper.  I'm a confirmed anti-Marxist myself, but I acknowledge the fact that Marxists and neo-Marxists are capable of a certain subtlety, and they come in variety of flavors.

And now, on to Jack...

 

Here is why I hold to my view: No doubt many reform minded people (progressives if you will) were cynically used by totalitarian monsters to gain power in so many unfortunate lands. The newly empowered Bolsheviks were quickly perceived by some who had supported them, as deceitful and barbarian: Trotsky led the way in summarily savaging them though he could not prevent the desperate attempt by the Whites to save Russia in the Civil War.

I think some Marxist fundamentals obtain widely on our left even among people of good will: eg the mechanical perfectability of human nature and the belief in the inevitability of that end; the ability of science to fully comprehend history and make irrefutable predictions thereby of its "progress; the atavistic evil of free enterprise due to its production of unequal results and freedom defined as "freedom from. . . "rather than "freedom to. . . . "

 

True, most progressives probably know little of the 20th century's theretofore unimaginable suffering caused by Marxism in power and by imposition of Marxist principles. But I do not doubt the totalitarian intent, inspired by and amounting to neo Marxism, of people with real power today: eg. the Squad; those who control pathetically "progressive" Biden ; those who have reduced the American academy to a swamp of perversely antiintellectual, now apparently murderous, reflexive disdain and bigotry ( and they DO know Marxism and its record in power); corporate powers who pusillanimously succor the far left while Madame DeFarge knits and waits for them; disgracefully compromised partisan "journalists"and silly voluptuaries who dominate entertainment and delight in playing with social fire.

 

Mao, Stalin , Pol Pot and Castro had to pretend to be human for awhile at least. But I cannot think of any regime indoctrinated by any of a wide range of Marxist convictions having governed without brutality, repression and catastrophic mismanagement of the comprehensive centralized control of both public and "private" life they mandate. I think our country harbors an appallingly assertive neomarxist faction which does purpose totalitarian "fundamental transformation" and is disastrously trusted by many of good will.

 

The recent manifestation of open Jew hatred on our far left provides fair warning of their ESSENTIALLY vicious nature. Advocacy of that ancient subhuman belief and support for those who EVEN TODAY, intend to bring it to physically annihilating consummation, opens a window into their barbarian hearts. Of course, they would be similarly murderous towards any who doubt them, in a manner fully exemplified by Marxists in power already.

 I think marxism is historically proven to be ineluctably totalitarian. It was famously said that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and Marxism in practice confirms this.

Yes. historically the American left has brought about some beneficial changes. It also gave us Eugene Debs, the "International Workers of the World", Harry Bridges , a union commie who tried to shut down the San Francisco docks in WWII, AOC, Ilhan Omar, a President who before he succumbed to the perks of office meant to "fundamentally transform" a nation already painfully evolved into a prosperous, democratic and justly intended country. I knew a loyal working guy who was convinced of the "necessity "of Stalinist Marxism in a UMW school in the 50s. Imagine the vindictive far left imposition Hillary would have visited on us had she filled those Scotus openings with devotees of the Marxist Critical Legal Studies school of legal intent. When I worked in the NY Corrections Dep't taxpayer money was used to mandate the placing in NY prisons' law libraries of books by the far left National Lawyers' Guild which advocated and gave instruction in "justified" resistance to law enforcement. Today's American left is dominated by people like that and their intent becomes more open with alarming rapidity.

 

***

 

Thank you, Jack!  Jack awaits your comments -- and mine, of course... Stay tuned!

Tourism Figures in the Red?

 

Friends, no one has been a more consistent critic of the Chicoms than me, but even I will admit that the current wave of Sinophobia washing over the West is at times excessive.  An example: Americans invariably ascribe Chinese economic success to underhandedness, state manipulation of markets, etc., when of course the truth is that, very often, the Chinese sell lots of goods to America and to the world because they work hard, pay attention to detail, and, quite simply, build things that people want to own.  There's no crime in that.  

Be this as it may, a worrying sign in Chinese-American relations is the huge falloff in international visitors to China since 2019.  The pandemic is responsible for much of this decline, but the steadily worsening image of China in the eyes of Westerners is also to blame.  Granted, the overlords of Red China bear a lot of responsibility for this P.R. calamity, but the fact of the matter is that, if Westerners and Chinamen don't talk to each other and strive to understand one another, relations are almost guaranteed to go from bad to worse.  Back in the days of the Cold War, the USSR was a closed society, and that made dealing with the Soviets, let alone conciliating them, extremely challenging.  It also meant that there was a constant danger of conflict and escalation based largely on misunderstandings.  Could the same toxic dynamics develop between Red China and the West?  I wouldn't discount the possibility.  We in the woke West like to give the cold shoulder to anyone we dislike, and that habit of disdain is already destroying our societies from within.  As much as we distrust the Chicoms, I would argue that, for the sake of world peace and the future of humanity, we have an obligation to get to know the Chinese and to accord them a modicum of respect.  That way we can be sure that, if ever a hot war does develop between our two peoples, we will have done everything in our power to prevent it.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-68982645

Stopping to Smell the Cordite

 

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show marks V-E Day and contemplates the overall significance of WWII, in addition to President Nixon's decision to expand the war in Vietnam to neighboring Cambodia.  In terms of current events, we also ponder the game of chicken currently taking place between DJT, blabbermouth extraordinaire, and Judge Merchan in NYC.  In addition, we analyze the state of the war in Ukraine, Russia's resilient finances and energy sales, RFK, Jr.'s proposed "no spoiler pledge", Kathy Hochul's racial faux pas, and Mike Johnson's political gymnastics.

It's a good show, and as Grand Poobah of Radioland I invite you to partake of it!

https://wlea.net/newsmaker-may-8-2024-dr-nick-waddy/

 

***

 

In other news, the Biden Administration is "pausing" the delivery of certain types of armaments to Israel, in an effort to distance itself from the civilian casualties that Israeli operations in Gaza are producing.  In all probability, this is a stance that will irritate all sides, and please no one.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2024/05/08/watch-lloyd-austin-confirms-u-s-withholding-arms-from-israel-over-rafah/ 

The Kennedy factor in the 2024 election remains ambiguous, with both Democrats and Republicans sweating about his potential to play the role of spoiler.  The best evidence we have thus far, however, still suggests that RFK, Jr. draws support roughly equally from both major party candidates.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/may/7/robert-f-kennedy-jr-campaign-barges-into-trump-ter/

 

Finally, check out this analysis of the coming demographic collapse in East Asia, which, the authors claim, could make problematic China's ambitious plans to dominate the world, and could also breathe new life into the Pax Americana.  The key word here is "could".  Modern societies are already more geriatric than anyone could have imagined a generation ago, but that hasn't forestalled economic growth or continued improvements in the standard of living.  Plus, in a future in which wars are fought by drones, which are, in turn, manfactured by robots, does the number of human workers available to a major power even matter anymore?  Bottom line: we're about to find out!

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/east-asias-coming-population-collapse

It's All About the Orange Jumpsuit

 

Friends, it appears that we are inching ever closer to a pre-election incarceration of...the likely winner of the presidential election.  Judge Merchan in NYC keeps holding Trump in contempt -- for saying things that ought to be his right as an American to say -- and keeps suggesting that, if the violations continue, he will throw Trump in the slammer.  Trump, for his part, seems pretty keen on the idea.  He suggests that upholding his constitutional rights, and all our constitutional rights, would be worth some time in jail.  Frankly, he may anticipate that he would benefit politically from a brief stint of incarceration, and he may well be right.  Certainly nothing that has happened as yet in the trial has pierced DJT's popularity in the least.  My sense has always been that the Dems and their creatures in the justice system wouldn't jail Trump for mere "contempt" unless they were really on the ropes, because of the inherent risks in doing so.  Well, maybe they're closer to desperation than I thought!  Or maybe they feel like a brief jail term would serve to accustom the American people to the "new normal" that they've envisioned for us, i.e. a "democracy" in which all dissidents are promptly jailed.  Whatever the case, the next few months sure are going to be interesting!

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68945269

 

Speaking of the "new normal", we now have a Republican House Speaker who is more enthusiastically supported by Democrats than he is by Republicans.  Who saw that coming?  I'd say, when a Republican gets the thumbs up from Nancy Pelosi, he's officially a RINO...and maybe even an AMINO -- that's an "American in Name Only", by the way.  Shame on Mike Johnson!  He really has blown up the GOP majority in the House, or rather the tattered remains thereof.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/05/06/nancy-pelosi-backs-mike-johnson-speaker/ 

Per Aspera Ad Astra

 

Friends, we at WaddyIsRight -- so, me, myself, and I -- hereby convey our good wishes to NASA and Boeing, as tomorrow marks the first scheduled launch of that company's problem-plagued and much-delayed "Starliner" craft.  The destination?  The international space station.  If all goes well, Starliner will duplicate the manned spaceflight services already provided by Elon Musk's SpaceX.  Why do we need Starliner?  We probably don't, but we've spent so many billions on it that we might as well get a little satisfaction from its first launch...  The outsourcing of manned space flight is, in itself, a major milestone, of course.  Above all, let's hope that this development will put wind in the sails of space exploration, in general, and the U.S. space program, in particular.  There is still much glory to be had by pushing the boundaries of man's knowledge of, and access to, space.  It's high time that we cut through the red tape and seized that glory for ourselves, before the Russians, Chinese, Europeans, Indians, Japanese and others commandeer it and relegate us to the status of galactic pipsqueaks.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpeg21x7n7qo

Presidential Spoilage

 

Friends, my latest article is hot off the digital presses, and you get to read it first!  Behold!  

 

The subject is the politics behind RFK, Jr.'s recent proposal of a "no spoiler pledge".  Basically, he's trying to make Joe Biden responsible (which in a sense he is) for his (Kennedy's) independent candidacy, which may well end up handing the election to Trump.  See what you make of my analysis...

RFK, Jr.'s Proposed “No Spoiler Pledge” is a Stroke of Genius

In case you missed it – and you probably did, because the mainstream media is determined not to cover him or his campaign – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. just announced a proposal for a “no spoiler pledge”. He suggests that he and President Biden both agree to cosponsor a poll with a massive sample size in mid-October, and for whomever of the two of them is then performing the worst in a hypothetical matchup against President Trump to drop out of the race. In other words, the country would have a straight up, binary choice between Donald J. Trump and an anti-Trump – and that anti-Trump would be chosen based on popularity and viability. In this way, says Kennedy, the country could be spared a purely negative choice between Biden and Trump, with the possibility that a more hopeful, optimistic candidate (like him) would replace at least one of them. In addition, Trump would not win by default, i.e. because the anti-Trump vote was split. He would only win if he was more popular than the most popular of his rivals.

Of course, there is precisely zero chance that Joe Biden will accept this intriguing offer. The Democratic Party would never agree, under any circumstances, not to field a candidate for president, even if fielding a weak candidate, as they are, makes it extremely likely that one Donald J. Trump, whom Biden and virtually all Democrats absolutely despise, will thus be gifted a second term in the White House. If preventing a Trump victory – and, with it, a “fascist dictatorship” – truly was the objective of Democrats and progressives, they would seriously consider taking RFK, Jr. up on his offer. Alas, the actual raison d'être of the Democratic Party is, and long has been, the conquest of power for power's sake – and, now, secondarily, the stroking of one octogenarian ego, in particular. If “democracy” burns to the ground in the process...well, Democrats are prepared to take that risk.

Ergo, Democrats will treat RFK, Jr.'s proposed “no spoiler pledge” with the same contempt with which they've treated him, and, indeed, everyone in their own party who has dared to question the unsurpassed leadership skills of Joe Biden, or the moral imperative of masking and vaccines, or the nobility of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, or the sacrosanct human right to abortion-on-demand. Straying from the approved narrative, running for office against an establishment-approved candidate, or any other sort of coloring outside the lines, is simply not allowed on the modern left – period. And surely no one has come to understand that better than Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who would by now have been stripped even of his Kennedy genes, if DNC scientists could only figure out how that could be done.

Having said all this, RFK's no spoiler pledge should be seen for what it is – a stunt, designed to insulate Kennedy himself from the charge that he is, in fact, a spoiler. In all probability, RFK, Jr. is much more likely to play the role of spoiler than he is to be President of the United States. He knows it, I know it, and you know it. By generously giving Joe Biden an opportunity to remove him from the playing field, however, Kennedy can claim that, if indeed he ends up handing the White House to Trump, he is not morally culpable, because he was willing to step aside to prevent exactly that – but Joe Biden told him to take a hike. And not only would this be true, but it would be, in a sense, doubly true, because Biden would have had two opportunities to dispense with Kennedy's candidacy in an honorable and direct fashion: by debating him and confronting him, as an equal, in the Democratic presidential primaries, or, later, by agreeing to his “no spoiler pledge”. Biden would have – will have – given Kennedy the cold shoulder twice, thus sealing his own doom. And RFK, Jr., presumably, will offer him no solace, except perhaps a well-deserved “I told you so!”

How much does any of this impress the voters themselves? Probably not much, because few of them will hear about Kennedy's pledge to begin with. What every American citizen has become very well-acquainted with, however, is the imperiousness that has come to define the presidency of Joe Biden, and the absolute contempt that Biden, and his fellow Democrats, have for the opposition party, for third party candidates, for the Supreme Court, for free speech, for political dialogue, for real journalism (as opposed to toadying), and for, broadly speaking, alternative points of view.

In the end, it will not be the Kennedy campaign that is Biden and the Democrats' undoing this November – it will be their own splendid isolation from political and democratic realities, scrupulously and scornfully maintained in the face of all opposition.

Dr. Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com. He appears on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480/106.9.

 

And here it is at Townhall:

https://townhall.com/columnists/nicholaswaddy/2024/05/04/rfk-jrs-proposed-no-spoiler-pledge-is-a-stroke-of-genius-n2638616

Not What We Bargained For

 

Friends, the Speakership of Mike Johnson certainly has not turned out the way that most Republicans expected.  He didn't extract major concessions from the Biden Administration on border policy.  He didn't keep his promise not to pass any bill that a majority of Republicans opposed.  He did, of course, send billions in aid to Ukraine and Israel -- and got nothing in return.  Well, not quite nothing, because, as Johnson's popularity has waned with Republicans and conservatives, House Democrats have embraced him!  They now say they will prop up his Speakership if he loses support among the GOP caucus, which he will, and which he has.  In other words, the House is now led by a coalition of wishy-washy establishment Republicans and Democrats, and hard-line conservatives will be frozen out.  One has to wonder what additional concessions Johnson might have made to Democrats to obtain their favors...  Has he promised no impeachment of Joe Biden, perhaps?  A blanket acceptance of Democrats' spending priorities?  We don't know, but the simple fact of the matter is that real Republican control of the House was always tenuous and, as of the Dems' announcement that they would back Johnson, it's now officially defunct.  That's a bummer, if you're a Republican, but will it affect the outcome of the presidential election?  Thar's by no means certain.  In fact, by freezing in place the current --rather ineffectual -- House leadership, it may even make it easier for Trump to win, by removing the potential distraction of yet another nasty fight over who will be the next Speaker.  In any case, Mike Johnson, who seemed like such a rock solid conservative a few months ago, turns out to be anything but.  D.C. sure is full of surprises, huh?

The Mike Johnson story is just one of the major themes in this week's Newsmaker Show.  Brian and I also discuss the Trump trial in New York, the somewhat ambivalent state of the polls, my recent trip to Delaware, whether the Trumps are "new money" or "old money", the fresh set of 2020 election-related prosecutions in Arizona, how much corruption afflicts U.S. politics, Susan Wiles' role in the Trump campaign, the degree to which a second Trump term will resemble the first, and the possibility that a four-day workweek will be become the law of the land.

Boy!  Even I am staggered by the sheer number of scintillating topics that Brian and I can cover in such a short period of time.  How do we do it?  Believe it or not, no performance enhancing drugs are involved!  Our acumen and our energy is all natural!  Incredible, no?

https://wlea.net/newsmaker-may-1-2024-dr-nick-waddy/

 

***

 

In other news, the Fed has decided to hold interest rates steady, which means that, in its infinite wisdom, the war on inflation has not yet been won.  Will inflation, or stagflation, be acute enough to influence the dynamics of the presidential race, though -- besides confirming Americans in their already-gloomy assumptions about the state of the economy and the nation?  We shall see.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4n1v7dxzx0o 

Hopefully you've already heard about how the AARP is compromised by wokeness.  Did you know that it's also, and perhaps more fundamentally, compromised by its cozy relationship with health insurance companies?  This is yet another reason to refuse to have anything to do with the AARP.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/04/30/report-details-conflicted-relationship-aarp-unitedhealth-insurance/

 

Finally, here's an article about the significance of Ron DeSantis's recent meeting with DJT.  It's a pretty thin article.  The interesting questions are the ones it doesn't raise: might DeSantis now campaign for Trump?  Might he be under consideration for the position of Vice-President?  Might he serve in Trump's cabinet?  Might Trump come to view him as a friend and ally again, as he did with many other former rivals?  Probably it is way too early to answer any of these questions, but it's still fun to ask them.  I would hope that the acrimony between DJT and the Florida Governor will fade quickly.  After all, it no longer serves either man's interests to dwell on it.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/desantis-kisses-ring-miami-meeting-153229305.html