Don't Munich Ukraine

Don’t Turn Ukraine into a Second Munich Adolph Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. The revered President Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934. Hitler assumed total power and became the Fuhrer; the Nazi dictatorship began. Hitler, like many megalomaniacs, had dreams of conquest. He started by uniting the Germanic people. Germany at the end of WWI had to turn the demilitarized Rhineland over to France control. The nascent German Army entered the Rhineland on March 7, 1936. Neither France nor England were willing to fight. The German Army marched into Austria on March 12, 1938. The Anschluss reunited Germany and Austria. Austria at the end of WWI was forced to cede the German populated Sudetenland to Czechoslovakia. Hitler then eyed the Sudetenland, threatening to use force to free the German population. England and France were again unwilling to go to war. The British and French people were also anti-war at that time. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich to meet with Hitler. An agreement was reached on September 30, 1938. Germany would receive the Sudetenland in exchange for a promise by Hitler that “he had no more territorial demands to make in Europe.” Germany invaded Czechoslovakia on March 15,1039. England and France were once again unwilling to fight Germany. Chamberlain flew back to England. He received strong support by the British people. He spoke his famous/infamous remark: “We have achieved peace in our time.” The phrase Minich arose out of Chamberlain’s mouth. Valdimir Putin does not just seek to unite the Russia people. He wants to reunite the old Russian Empire. He sliced off part of Geogia on August 8, 2008. He annexed Crimea in 2014. He sponsored guerilla warfare in the Donbass oblast of Ukraine, seizing much of it. He twice waged war on Chechnya. Prime Minister Putin has clearly stated he wants all of Ukraine. He also eyes Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. History tells us he would also want Poland and Finland. He hasn’t asked for the return of Alaska. Vladimir Putin, like Adolph Hitler, has a unsatiable hunger for seizing land. Security agreements mean nothing to him. They’re barely worth the paper they’re inscribed on. Catherine the Great by 1784 had consolidated all of Ukraine into the Russian Empire. Ukraine had a short, very short, period of independence at the end of World War II. Stalin brutalized Ukraine, killing millions in the Great famine of 1933-34. The Soviet Union Collapsed. Ukraine declared its independence in 1994. The departing Russians left behind about 1700 nuclear warheads, delivery weapons, and maintenance. Ukraine was third largest nuclear country for a few years. A global drive for non-proliferation, fostered by President Clinton, led to Ukraine. Ukraine was persuaded to surrender its nuclear weapons to Russia. Ukraine in return received guarantees of Ukraine’s independence, a security agreement, called the Budapest Manifesto. The United States, United Kingdom, and Russia promised to protect Ukraine’s independence. Russia violated it in 2014 and 2024. How has that security guarantee worked out? Remember, Putin wants all of Ukraine.

Memo to President Xi, President Putin, President Kim Jung Un, Ayatollah Khamenei, Governor Newsom, and Mayor Bass, et al

Memo to President Xi Jinping, President Vladimir Putin, President Kim Jung Un, Ayatollah Khamenei, Governor Gavin Newsom, and Mayor Karen Bass: There’s a New Sheriff in Town and he’s unpredictable. Opponents called President Trump “TACO,” “Trump Always Chickens Out.” A catchy phrase divorced from reality. Others call him Hitler or a king. President Trump is an indefatigable, forceful man of action, which is why he succeeded in the byzantine world of New York construction. He often negotiates with bluster. He engages in hyperbole. Part of President Trump’s strength comes from his unorthodoxy and unpredictability. Foreign leaders cannot be sure of what he will do next. The answer is easy – what’s best for America. It’s not the status quo. He knows what his goal is, the endgame. He has consistently said for the past decade: “Iran cannot have the Bomb.” We can assume that Israel had the schematics for the underground Fordow site, including utilities, back doors, and ventilation openings (like the first Star Wars movie). If it can be taken out by Israel, they will do so. Israel left it to President Trump. The Pentagon also had the schematics. The MOB bomb was designed to take out Fordow. President Trump may be flexible on the means, but not the ultimate goal. Iran will not have the Bomb. If Iran unconditionally surrendered, that would have been great. Iran refused to negotiate. They were warned. President Obama once “drew a red line in the sand” if Libya’s President Bashar al-Assad used poisonous gas on his people). Bashar did on March 19, 2013. President Obama’s response was muted. President Obama would not have taken out Fordow. He probably would have restrained Israel from attacking Iran. The story is during his administration he told Israel the U.S. military would shoot down Israeli attack planes headed for the Iranian nuclear facilities. It’s believable. President Trump gave Iran 60 days. Israel attacked Iran on Day 61. President Biden bugged out of Afghanistan and viewed it a victory. He, actually his staff, would not have bombed Fordow. Neither President Obama nor President Biden would have given 60 days notice. Even if they did, China, Iran, Russia wouldn’t give credence to it. President Biden’s Defense Department and security advisors couldn’t figure out for days what to do with a Chinese spy ballon that hovered over military facilities on the mainland. President Trump would have immediately ordered it shot down. President Xi should think twice about invading Taiwan, at least during the Trump Administration. Chairman Mao once called the United States “a Paper Tiger.” Paper Tiger, TACO, President Trump is not! He doesn’t bluff.

The Seven B-2 Bombers Mark the internment Of President Obama's Disastrous pro-Iran Foreign Policy

President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry took the lead in negotiations with Iran to stop its nuclear program. They announced an agreement, technically The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between the Islamic Republic of Iran, United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, EU and Germany. Iran promised to give up its efforts to build the bomb Iran, they said, would cease its efforts to build the bomb and allow inspectors into its facilities. All Obama did in fact was to kick the can, in this case a nuclear bomb, down the road for ten years. Iran was free under the terms of the agreement to resume work on the bomb in ten years. Iran, of course, continued to work on the bomb during the ten years. Iran, as many sceptics predicted, cheated. The JCPOA was even worse in two ways by what it excluded. No restrictions were placed on Iran developing, manufacturing, and possessing ballistic missiles, which is why Iran is unleashed its ballistic missiles on Israel. Iran possessed somewhere at least 2,000 leading up to 8,000 excellent ballistic missiles when war broke out on. The second omission is the lack of any restrain on funding, aiding and supplying terrorists, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Iran, in exchange for agreeing to the JCPOA, had sanctions lifted, which meant it made billions by selling its oil in open markets. President Obama followed up JCPOA by shipping at midnight $400 million in hard cash to Tehran. He later followed up with an additional $1.3 billion. President Biden outdid President Obama by releasing $4 billion to Iran. Presidents Obama and Biden partially funded Iran’s terrorist activities. The common denominator between President Obama’s actions and President Biden’s was Jake Sullivan. He was involved in the Obama negotiations and became Biden’s National Security Advisor. Susan Rice was also involved both times. Ayatollah Khamenei used the oil receipts and $5.7 billion Obama-Biden moneys to fund terrorism, build up his military, strengthen his security forces, and fund the bomb. What a waste of money; The Iranian people became poorer, being left with tons of scrap metal. The JCPOA was effective January 20, 2016, almost ten years ago. President Obama had a penchant for Iran. Various theories try to explain it. One explanation I read was that he wanted to move Iran back to the United States and the West – truly a naïve conception of religious zealots whose daily chants include Death to Israel and Death to the United States, the Great Satan with Israel the Little Satan. Another theory is that he envisioned Iran becoming the pillar of stability in the Mideast. The Sunni-Shite split would prevent that. Another is that President Obama was anti-Semitic, but was politically savvy enough to mostly muzzle it. His contempt for Benjamin Netanyahu was not a secret. Another possibility is he was imbued for two decades with Liberation Theory from sitting in Reverend’s Jeremiah Wright’s Church, pursuant to which Israel is a colonizer/settler forcing out the indigenous Arabs. He viewed the United States as an imperialist country. Senator Obama five days before his inauguration said his goal was to transform America. He certainly did internationally with Iran. Then maybe he reasoned he could receive the Nobel Peace Prize for disarming Iran’s bomb threat. Great theory, but he already won the Nobel for doing nothing. Then there’s the premise that President Obama would do everything to appease Iran as the price of getting Iran’s agreement His eight years in office consistently favored Iran. Then came the Green Revolution on June 12, 2009. Iran rigs its elections by vetting the candidates. The 2009 Election was totally rigged so that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected. The public courageously rebelled and marched on the streets. President Obama was silent. No actual or moral support was extended to the Iranians. He told the CIA to cut off all contacts with opposition groups. President Trump is digging America out of the Obama-Biden foreign policy morass.

Memo to Governor Newsom: The Berkeley Riots Elected Ronald Reagan Governor

Memo to Governor Newsom: The Berkeley Riots Elected Ronald Reagan Governor Governor Pat Brown was salivating in his 1966 reelection campaign. He wanted to run against Ronald Reagan a “washed-up B Actor.” California voters were fed up with the riots at Berkeley, other campuses, and Watts. Ronald Reagan won in a landslide. He was on his way to the White House. Reagan received 57.5% of the vote with a winning margin of 993,739 votes. Gavin Newsom is term-limited out of office. The Democrats are lining up to succeed him. Only one, the former Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, is running as a moderate. California may not be as progressive as they think. San Francisco recalled the radical District Attorney and the DEI Board of Election, and voted out the progressive Mayor London Brood. Los Angeles and Alameda County voters tossed progressive district attorneys out of office. Every Bay Area County voted for Prop 36, which recriminalizes crimes. Shoplifters and gangs of shoplifters, will no longer get a free pass. Governor Newsom opposed the referendum and refuses to fund the law. The anti-Ice riots may have had less actual violence against the federal officials - not as in previous large-scale L.A. riots, Watts in 1965, Rodney King in 1991, and George Floyd in 2020 were horrific, but the optics of rioters attacking federal facilities, waving Mexican flags, and taking over a major freeway will not help your nascent Presidential campaign. Do you understand that peaceful protests do not include looting an Apple Store and other retailers? Do you understand the federal government has the right to protect federal law enforcement officers and federal facilities? Do you understand the LAPD waited two hours before responding to a call for assistance by the federal ICE agents? Do you remember the 2020 LA riots? the looting and torching as police looked the other way. Do you remember Governor Walz not calling out the Minnesota National Guard as Minneapolis burnt, including a police station. Memo to Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass: President Trump is not popular with many Californians, but neither are you two. The Homeless debacle, the Altadena and Palisades Wildfires, the French Laundry, and now the LA riots, magnify your incompetence. The budget deficit, and soon large gas tax increase, all combined, may elect Republicans to state-wide and legislative elections. The 2026 Democratic primaries may not be a coronation next year. Governor Newsom, Mayor Bass, and Vice President Harris illustrate several principles. First, one party states, rather blue or red, often result in climbing the political ladder to the top. They are often not leaders. The same is true in the academic world and the peacetime military. Second is that they can lose touch with reality. They are so embedded in the political milieu, the echo chamber of their states. Third, they are correct in that these riots would not have occurred without the Trump immigration raids. Yes, they are correct. President Joe Biden never would have arrested and deported rapists, murderers, and pedophiles. Nor would President Biden have called out federal forces to combat riots. Governor Newsom, do you think the American people will accept your claim that the protests were peaceful until President Trump called out the National Guard? This example of George Orwell’s Big Lie is being repeated by several politicians. This riot is directed at the federal government enforcing federal law. No way would President Trump have ignored this direct attack on the federal government. Governor Newsom is daring President Trump to jail him. President Trump is smart enough not to make a martyr out of Governor Newsom. The real threat to our democracy is if San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Portland and perhaps Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and New York City break out with similar, uncontrolled riots. The President would be sorely tempted to call it an insurrection, followed by the suspension of Habeas Corpus. One final question Governor Newsom. Are you stupid? You’re seeking billions of dollars for the Bullet Train, recovery from the Alhambra and Palisades fires, and the current disturbances. Yet, you engage in harangues against President Trump.

Who Says the Catholic Church Doesn't Change?

A reply to a really obvious question was another question: “Is the Pope Catholic?” A similar question could have been: “Is the Pope Italian?” 456 straight years of Italian Popes. Now 47 years of a non-Italian Pope. First in 1978 came John Paul II. The Polish Pope, previously known as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla. Archbishop of Krakow, Poland. Skorupski Brothers was a large service station on Boston Road in Springfield. They posted a mammoth sign: “The Pope is Polish.” pope Jogn Paul II helped Solidarity survive in Poland, resulting in the dermise of the Communist dictatorship. The High Noon Poster was Solidarity's Symbol. The assumption was John Paul II was a one-time break with tradition, a one and done. Pope John Paul II, was seceded by Pope Benedick XVI, who as the young Joseph Alois Ratzinger was drafted into the Luftwaffe and then transferred to the Wehrmacht in World War II. He entered a seminary in 1945 Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, next in line, was a Jesuit Cardinal from Buenos Aires, albeit of Italian heritage. The Jesuits historically had a tempestuous relationship with the Vatican. The irony is that as a Jesuit. Pope Francis would answer to Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, the Superior General of the Jesuit order. Now the Superior General had to answer to his underling. Even more unforeseeable than a Polish, Nazi soldier, or Jesuit as the new Pope is an American Augustinian Pope, Leo XIV, from Chicago, Illinois. He is a Chicago White Sox fan. How does he explain the White Sox to the Curia? He even plays the guitar. He’s a Cardinal from Chicago, but not Chicago’s Cardinal. It’s getting confusing and discombobulating. The Vatican has changed from 80% Italian cardinals to 20%. At least Pope Francis was of Italian heritage. By way of full disclosure I received my Bachelor’s and J.D degrees from the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit university. I had to read a lot of St. Augustine in the mandatory Philosophy courses. I tuned out philosophy. I paid $5 for his book at book fair, but never opened it.

The Trump-Zelensky Conflict is of History, but not why you might think.

Presidents Trump and Zelensky are approaching Russia’s Ukraine aggression from a different historical perspective. President Trump is looking from an American record of failed military involvements since WWI, resulting in large losses of American soldiers, especially Iraq twice, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. These wars have weakened America. President Trump believes Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, whose size, population, and resources will ultimately outlast Russia. President trump is essentially adopting FDR’s 1940 campaign promise: “Now, mothers and fathers, I am talking to you. As I have said and will say again, again, and again, I will not send your sons to fight in a foreign war.” FDR was in fact doing everything he could to support England in the fight against Hitler and plan for war. President Trump also in 2016 said “America First” before adopting MAGA. President Trump also wants a U.S. share of Poland’s minerals, many of which are currently in Russian occupied territory. President Zelensky is willing to sign a minerals deal, but only with security that Poland will not be attacked again. President Trump is unwilling to enter into an agreement that might place American soldiers at risk. President Zelensky has the European reality that President Vladimir Putin is emanating Adolph Hitler. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and soon acquired full power. He began remilitarizing and entered in a series of territorial acquisitions. He first reentered the demilitarized Rhineland in March 1936, which was separated after WWI and placed under French protection. France did nothing. Then Hitler arranged the Anschluss on March 12, 1938 with Austria with the two German speaking countries becoming one. He then demanded the German populated enclave of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain acquiesced at Munich asserting “we have peace for our time.” Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939. The West stood by. President Kennedy wrote a senior thesis at Harvard which became a bestselling book, “While England Slept.” World War II officially started on September 1, 1939 when Hitler in cahoots with Stalin invaded Poland. Putin seized part of Georgia and the Crimea in Ukraine with the goal of recreating the greater Russian/Soviet Empire. He stationed troops, naval power, and air forces in Syria in 2015. Poland is especially wary of Russia. Stalin invaded the eastern half of Poland on September 17, 1939, two weeks after Hitler. Then came the Polish Home Army rebelling against the Nazis on August 1, 1944, when the Red Army reached the banks of the Vistula River. Their expectancy was to unite with the Red Army in liberating Warsaw. Stalin instead ordered his Army to stay out of the conflict. Let the Poles and Germans fight each other. The Poles finally capitulated with many of its leaders executed by Stalin and Beria after the war. I’ve been in the Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw. It not only vilifies Germany, but also Russia. School children visiting the museum are taught the perfidy of Russia. Poland, the Baltic Republics, Finland, eastern and western Europe, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have felt the boot of military oppression by Russia. They fear a victorious Putin if Ukraine falls. Putin has a grandiose ambition. Poland is geographically handicapped by being stuck between Germany and Russia. Germany is currently a peaceful friend. Russia is not. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people remember the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet empire. Ukraine had a large army and roughly 1900 nuclear weapons upon independence in 1991. They were induced by President Clinton to surrender their nuclear weapons pursuant to the non-proliferation campaign. They received security assurances by the United States, United Kingdom and Russia. How did that work out when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014? President Trump’s challenge is not to secure a short-term peace leaving Ukraine open to further Russian aggression, in short, not to go down in history as the second coming of Chamberlain and Munich. President Trump said President Zelensky is courting WWIII by rejecting his proposals. Europe, especially Poland, fears Putin will start WWIII if he succeeds in Ukraine. Presidents Trump and Zelensky are approaching Russia’s Ukraine aggression from a different historical perspective. President Trump is looking from an American record of failed military involvements since WWI, resulting in large losses of American soldiers, especially Iraq twice, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. These wars have weakened America. President Trump believes Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, whose size, population, and resources will ultimately outlast Russia. President trump is essentially adopting FDR’s 1940 campaign promise: “Now, mothers and fathers, I am talking to you. As I have said and will say again, again, and again, I will not send your sons to fight in a foreign war.” FDR was in fact doing everything he could to support England in the fight against Hitler and plan for war. President Trump also in 2016 said “America First” before adopting MAGA. President Trump also wants a U.S. share of Poland’s minerals, many of which are currently in Russian occupied territory. President Zelensky is willing to sign a minerals deal, but only with security that Poland will not be attacked again. President Trump is unwilling to enter into an agreement that might place American soldiers at risk. President Zelensky has the European reality that President Vladimir Putin is emanating Adolph Hitler. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and soon acquired full power. He began remilitarizing and entered in a series of territorial acquisitions. He first reentered the demilitarized Rhineland in March 1936, which was separated after WWI and placed under French protection. France did nothing. Then Hitler arranged the Anschluss on March 12, 1938 with Austria with the two German speaking countries becoming one. He then demanded the German populated enclave of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain acquiesced at Munich asserting “we have peace for our time.” Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939. The West stood by. President Kennedy wrote a senior thesis at Harvard which became a bestselling book, “While England Slept.” World War II officially started on September 1, 1939 when Hitler in cahoots with Stalin invaded Poland. Putin seized part of Georgia and the Crimea in Ukraine with the goal of recreating the greater Russian/Soviet Empire. He stationed troops, naval power, and air forces in Syria in 2015. Poland is especially wary of Russia. Stalin invaded the eastern half of Poland on September 17, 1939,two weeks after Hitler. Then came the Polish Home Army rebelling against the Nazis on August 1, 1944, when the Red Army reached the banks of the Vistula River. Their expectancy was to unite with the Red Army in liberating Warsaw. Stalin instead ordered his Army to stay out of the conflict. Let the Poles and Germans fight each other. The Poles finally capitulated with many of its leaders executed by Stalin and Beria after the war. I’ve been in the Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw. It not only vilifies Germany, but also Russia. School children visiting the museum are taught the perfidy of Russia. Poland, the Baltic Republics, Finland, eastern and western Europe, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have felt the boot of military oppression by Russia. They fear a victorious Putin if Ukraine falls. Putin has a grandiose ambition. Poland is geographically handicapped by being stuck between Germany and Russia. Germany is currently a peaceful friend. Russia is not. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people remember the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet empire. Ukraine had a large army and roughly 1900 nuclear weapons upon independence in 1991. They were induced by President Clinton to surrender their nuclear weapons pursuant to the non-proliferation campaign. They received security assurances by the United States, United Kingdom and Russia. How did that work out when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014? President Trump’s challenge is not to secure a short-term peace leaving Ukraine open to further Russian aggression, in short, not to go down in history as the second coming of Chamberlain and Munich. President Trump said President Zelensky is courting WWIII by rejecting his proposals. Europe, especially Poland, fears Putin will start WWIII if he succeeds in Ukraine.

Mayor Karen Bass Throws LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley Under the Bus, More Precisely under a Broken Fire Engine

Nero fiddled while Rome was burning. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was sipping cocktails at a reception in Ghana while her city was burning on January 7. Instead of really accepting blame she resorted to Plan B, deflect blame on someone else. She apologized for being out of the country, but blamed her absence, and the city’s unpreparedness, on Los Angeles Fire Chief (LAFD) Kristin Crowley, who she claimed had not notified her of the risk of the Santa Ana winds. She did not apologize for her $17 million budget cuts for the LAFD, which crippled its preparedness ability. The Mayor did not mention the warning letter Chief Crowley sent her a few weeks earlier about the extreme risk caused by the budget cuts. She did not mention, explain or apologize for seeking a $70 million cut in the LAFD budget. She did not mention, explain or apologize for gutting the Los Angeles Fire Department and imperiling public safety while giving a $316 million pay raise to unionized public employees in the first year, rising to $1 billion in 2028. Mayor is simply a politician focused on placating her base rather than the public good. Mayor Bass did not mention, explain, or apologize for a $750,000 appointment of Janisse Quinones as Director of the Department of Water and Power (DWP). Director Quinones was focused on bring DWI to DWP rather than fixing a reservoir above the Palisades and the scores of inoperable fire hydrants in the Palisades and neighboring communities. Director Quinones apparently still has her job. Mayor Bass was apparently the only person in the greater Los Angeles area who was unaware a mighty Santa Ana was approaching. The National Weather broadcast days of warnings including an extreme fire risk. It was on the media. She did no mention that over half of LAFD’s fire vehicles are stored fender to fender in a maintenance/storage yard because of a shortage of mechanics and parts. Only five firetrucks were prepositioned in advance of the January 7 Palisades Fire. That’s all that were available thanks to budget cuts and deferred maintenance. Mayor Bass and Possibly Governor Newsom seem to have abandoned climate change as the culprit. Everyone, except perhaps Mayor Bass, is well aware of the ferocity of the Santa Anas. Blaming them on climate change is like blaming climate change for hurricanes in Florida and New Orleans, and tornados in Tornado Alley. Her stoneface response in her return at LAX will an ad against in her future campaigns. She appeared catatonic or in shock. Her perennial smile fell off her face. Many leaders are never tested. They can sail through good times. Leaders can either step up or fail during an existential crisis. Karen Bass failed.