Putin and Ukraine.

 

According to today’s Wall St Journal the Western Europeans told Russian dictator Putin that serious economic sanctions would follow an invasion of Ukraine.   You would think that would carry some weight with Putin, but who knows?  Putin may not believe the Europeans mean it; he may believe that Russia’s economy is so local and so self sufficient that European and American economic sanctions won’t hurt. 

   Driving Putin toward invading Ukraine is history; Ukraine has been a central and famous part of Russia since medieval times.  Putin undoubtedly wants to own Ukraine for its historic significance to Russia.  He may want to invade while he still has an army to do it with.  Russia’s birth rate is in a death spiral, and Russia may not be able to recruit a decent army by 2040 for lack of young men to draft

Merry Christmas.

 

Merry Christmas is almost dead.  Clerks and cashiers and bag boys are saying “Happy  Holidays” or “have a nice day”.  No “Merry Christmas”.

Improve the criminal justice system.

 

The American criminal justice system is run by lawyers, largely for lawyers.  Lawyers love to drag things out; it gives them more billable hours.  For instant the Boston Marathon bomber was sentenced to death five years ago.  He is still alive, in jail, with lawyers arguing the rightness of his sentence.  He will probably die in prison of old age.  The lawyers have collected five years worth of billable hours.

Reforms we ought to make:

1.       Prosecutors should only be allowed to charge a criminal with ONE offense for each arrest.  Right now the lawyers charge the criminal with half a dozen crimes, some more serious, some less serious.  Then they say “plead guilty to this lesser offense.  If you insist on going to trial we will prosecute you for this really terrible offense that has a mandatory 20 year minimum sentence.”  This is plea bargaining and most American criminal cases are settled by a plea bargain.  It’s cheaper than a trial.  It’s not very fair. 

2.       We ought to go over our criminal statutes.  There has got to be a whole bunch of offenses from the old days that nobody cares about in the 21^st century.  Remove them.  Decriminalize possession of pot.  I see no reason to jail people for mere possession.  Rewrite what is left using plain Standard English, no Latin, and no lawyer gobble de gook.

3.       Forbid no knock raids.  Bust down someone’s door at o’dark thirty, and they will shoot, every time.  A no-knock raid is just provoking a gun fight in which some one gets killed.  Not good law enforcement.

4.       Justice delayed is justice denied.  I think one year is plenty of time for lawyers to run off a trial, yielding a sentence or an acquittal.  If the lawyers cannot get the lead out, the defendant should be acquitted after one year from his arrest.  

Lame Duck

 As soon as Biden announces that he is not running in 2024, he becomes a lame duck.  Many (most?) politicians figure that a fellow pol who won't be around in power very long doesn't need my political support.  Such a pol is called a lame duck and looses much of his ability to influence people and events.  So Biden won't say he won't run in 2024 until the very last minute, convention time in 2024.  Biden's statements that he will run in 2024 might be real but probably aren't.  

I assume the heavy duty democrats are feeling around quietly for someone to run in 2024.  Kamala Harris does not look good.  Biden doesn't look good.  Pelosi and Schumer are too old, not not very presidential.  I cannot think of a democrat state governor who is any good.  Who is left??

For the Republicans, Trump is there.  If his health holds up and he wants the nomination it is probably his for the asking.  If he decides not to run, we have Ted Cruz, Desantos. and Marko Rubio and probably more.

Would you give a floor mat as a Christmas gift?

 Weathertech is all in favor.  They are running TV ads saying that their floor mats are made in the USA, with American labor, and American raw materials, not stuck on a slow boat from China.  All very virtuous, but somehow the idea of a floor mat under the Christmas tree does not catch on with me.

Biden is blaming the tornados in Kentucky on Climate Change.

 Yeah right, we blame everything on climate change these days. We used to call things like this acts of God.  Now we call them climate change.  I liked God better.

Vote a straight Republican ticket this time.

 

US voters gave us Biden, a crime wave, the Afghan disgrace, the price of gasoline, the price of fuel oil, inflation, what have I left out?  We have a federal election coming up in 11 months, less than a year.  Voters ought to vote Republican now that we see how awful a Democrat administration can be. 

   We can help those voters.  We need to talk up the good points of the Republican candidates. Mention their names and where they are coming from.  Do a little research and talk up what they promise to do when elected.  Arguing with a voter is counterproductive; voters don’t want to be argued with.  Stick to talking about the goodness of Republican candidates. 

   We ought to be able to vote in a Republican majority in both the federal House and Senate.  That should stop the worst of the Democrat bills.  In New Hampshire we need good Republican candidates for our two US rep seats (Kuster and Pappas) and we need someone to run against Maggie Hassen for US senate.  We gained a Republican majority in state government last year, we need to keep that.  You can do the state good by voting a straight Republican ticket. 

    We need to get rid of Republicans in Name Only (RINO’s).  These are politicians who claim to be Republicans but down deep they are tax and spend democrats.  I don’t know of any in New Hampshire, fortunately.  Voters in other states should identify their RINOs and primary them.  I call any Republican who votes for Democrat laws more than just a few times a RINO.