There’s talk that a foolish Donald J. Trump has imitated an ill-advised George H. W. Bush. You remember George. He ran for President against Massachusetts Democrat Michael Stanley Dukakis. Bush most likely would have won the race without saying what he so famously said. But he said it anyway. His speechwriter Noonan and other gifted strategists recommended that he say it. It was August 18, 1988, in New Orleans. He said: I’m the one who will not raise taxes . . . my opponent won’t rule out raising taxes. But I will. And the Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I’ll say no; and they’ll push, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push again, and I’ll say to them, Read my lips: No new taxes. Well, as he predicted, the Democrat controlled Congress did push and push. And, eventually, Bush made this statement: It is clear to me that . . . the size of the (budget) deficit . . . requires . . . entitlement and mandatory program reform, TAX REVENUE INCREASES, growth incentives, etc. etc. Subsequently, in 1992, the voters answered him: “Now you read our lips; you’re toast.” And, thus, American voters chose Slick Willie for eight years and they acquired Hideous Hillary for 25 years. Three little words — a colossal unforced error — changed the course of history. Fast forward 38 years. You won’t quote DJT. But he has always been outspoken in his opposition to war, doggedly opposed to sending men and materials to bog down in some foreign entanglement; e.g., Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. America First is his mantra. Well, now, Matilda. Many of his most vocal friends and all of his enemies have come out swinging, singing their own satirical song. Mr. President, what is Iran, if not a war? What was Venezuela? Isn’t kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro an act of war? Isn’t this a Bush-like betrayal? You don’t think the comparison sticks. But don’t expect some type of exclusive analysis on this page, because at this particular time, you’re as clueless as Inspector Clouseau. You’ve listened patiently to dozens of political pundits across the vast political landscape. The opinions overlap and intersect. Some are cocksure. They decide Donald and the rest of the world  need their strategic advice. By now, the experts should realize that Trump is unpredictable, a moving target, by design.  You are confident of only one thing — nobody knows the end game. But everyone does know about the Strait of Hormuz and the price of gasoline. That knowledge puts DT square in their crosshairs, as they churlishly (some happily) remind him he’s mired in a wreckage of his own making. Whatever the truth is, one thing is certain. Nothing has changed for Mr. Trump. Nothing is new. The Dems hate him. The GOP establishment never wanted him and secretly anticipates his ruin. Since 2015, legacy Media has colluded to discredit him. Guilty Europeans despise him for spanking their bottoms in public. And who expects either China or Russia to wish him well? GOP lawmakers will blame Trump if their Party loses the midterms although the party in power almost always loses the midterms. What you think about all this has nothing to do with Iran. Trump has been in a meat grinder since 2015, when he stepped onto the world stage. Your opinions have nothing to do with his accomplishments or failures. Your opinions have everything to do with motives and actions. He has dared to think big, to begin dismantling a hopelessly bloated bureaucracy and grievously corrupt federal agencies. He dared to put America’s interest first throughout the world. He has dared to validate that America’s economic footing is more powerful than Her military. He has dared to invalidate DEI, and the WOKE policies of neo-Marxism. He has dared to say to an international audience that he envisions a world of successful, sovereign nations, devoid of hostility. Whatever faults Trump may have, he bleeds red, white and blue, 24-7, all the while putting himself in harm’s way. You must give him the benefit of any doubt.

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Ed. Note: Kansas has become the 20th state to approve COS.

America seems to be waging war. The geopolitical climate seems to be convoluted and a good deal troublesome. The commentary about the war seems to be fractious and conclusive, meaning every opinion about the outcome is unyielding. The good news seems to be that there are only two sides — for or against.  And the rhetoric is as inflammatory as war itself. You have no interest in arguing the case here, however prejudiced you may be, because you simply don’t know what to believe. The collapse of mainstream journalism doesn’t help, You are left to look to Internet sources, but that avenue is as clogged and unpredictable as I-85 at rush hour, and infamously more ominous. Dozens of podcasts bait you unashamedly to seduce you with hyperbolic headlines. They all do it, of course. “They” of course are the pundits — experts galore who have made careers out of telling you what you should believe. Unfortunately, what all media have been successful doing  is sway you to disbelieve. The President you counted on most likely has been compromised, according to his most loyal supporters. Naturally, his administration allies say he has been consistent, negotiating in every way possible with bad actors, before effecting a military policy. Others say he is marching to Israel’s drum, risking WW III. Both positions have merit. Nobody’s arguing against the charge that Iran’s Mullahs have been fomenting hate against America for decades, killing thousands of people in the process. Some will say that the seeds of hate were sowed when nearly a million Palestinians were expelled from their homes to make room for European Jews in a new Israeli State, an arbitrary decision essentially mandated by Great Britain and the U.S. But what is the back story? What are the details and the motives? Tucker says Zionism is a political state motivated to annex more and more land,  to become something called “Greater Israel.” Ambassador Mike Huckabee couldn’t disagree more. One of Trump’s biggest supporters, Tucker has openly criticized him and the war. Whom do you believe? Neither. You don’t implicitly trust any of the narratives. Quite a few outspoken Jewish statesmen, academicians and philosophers have condemned Zionism and PM Netanyahu for systematic policies designed to make Palestinian settlements uninhabitable. Top drawer historian Victor Davis Hanson apparently has no skin in either camp. You have the impression that he believes all parties have first blood on their hands. Can you trust Hanson because he has a stellar history of objective thought? You should, but don’t. Then, as you doubtless know, a mob of podcast pundits are happy to educate you to understand that the war is about OIL. Period. The oil card plays like this. Trump wants to interrupt the flow of discounted oil from Iran to several countries, most of all to China. He’s embarked on eliminating China influence within the Western hemisphere, especially the Panama Canal. That strategy was behind the Venezuela initiative. Trump doesn’t deny it. Do you trust that theory? Yes. But not in its entirety. Unfortunately, the most salient value you’ve lost in the past decade is trust itself, reminding you of the age-old adage “Buyer Beware.” That axiom always applied  to purchases — homes, cars, investments, insurance, etc. Now you also must beware of buying what you learn, or hear, or even see, especially now, with AI on the scene. So what’s real, Matilda? Can you trust your own thoughts? Yes, but leave room to maneuver, to admit false steps or lazy bias. Yes, realize that Trump is moving on a big stage to effect a win-win for America and for any other country who values the same outcome. Yes, look for people of principle. There are a few who inhabit the Internet. Begin with Konstantin Vadimovich Kisin of Russian, Ukrainian, Greek and Jewish ancestry. He describes himself as 1/4 Jewish and a “not-very-practicing Orthodox Christian.” His podcast is titled Triggernometry. Yes, there are others. Victor D. Hanson, Jordan Peterson, Matt Walsh, Joe Rogan, and some intellectuals appearing in Dry Bar Comedy. After all, behind all humor is an element of truth. The idea is to search for that truth whenever and wherever it has a chance to breed. But do ignore the Tube. It’s a special interest wasteland, paid for by corporate dollars and dark money.

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Housebound. Well, not totally. But a bunch of snow, ice and subfreezing temp does tend to motivate a hunker-down mindset. Occasionally, you do get out to mingle with the mobs at Costco and quickly conclude that hunkering is immensely preferable. And hunkering is also superior to escaping. Hopping an airbus to some tropical paradise guarantees you nothing, except mingling with transportation hordes. Definitely no escape. You probably think there’s no justification for this negative outlook and you’re right. Because  your grumbling is not precipitated by God’s sensational wintry weather. In fact, you admit to hunkering in sensational, sunlit weather. The truth is that escape is a universal, sometimes subconscious, impulse. At any given moment, millions of people want desperately to bail out of a job or a marriage or an addiction or a responsibility. As a recurring loner, you’re no different. You want to escape, but can’t. Not from yourself.. No matter who you are, what you do or where you’re planted, you’re forced to look in the mirror, and face a depressing reality — that the country you love is at war. That your enemies are not invading armies, domestic terrorists, illegal aliens or foreign governments. That your enemies are Americans. Millions of them whom you obviously don’t know. Some of them close by you may know, without truly knowing. These millions go to the polls and vote for socialism or communism, two forms of government that cannot coexist with either the Declaration of Independence or The U.S. Constitution. Their voting is premeditated. It’s no mistake. It’s no misunderstanding. No voter can ignore the history of socialism or communism. And no voter can argue with the truth — that in 1776, America’s founding was a direct rejection of kings, queens, aristocracies, oligarchs and other dictatorships, to become the world’s sole constitutional republic. ** To this day, Canada, England and other European nations still cling to a Royal family structure. And those Royal family empires that were overthrown by violent revolution were replaced by equally repressive dictatorships (socialism, communism) that exist to this very day. How do you escape the incomprehensible realization — that the greatest nation in world history is under attack by the freest people on earth? By Her own people? You have only one explanation. Predictably, you will allege that our gate keepers — Congress and the Supreme Court have set the standard for betrayal, and thus are enemies of the people. Both have equally betrayed the people by butchering The Constitution. Many government leaders — known and unknown — have committed treason. Indictments are pending. Yep, Matilda, are you holding your breath? Point to one case — Joe Biden nullified U.S. immigration law. SCOTUS let it pass. Point to a second case. The weaponizing of the FBI, CIA and Judiciary to impeach D. Trump. SCOTUS let it pass. Finally, the unforgivable malfeasance of Congress for its treacherous, incendiary spending, putting America at existential risk. SCOTUS let it pass. And now you have Minnesota’s elected officials obstructing justice by inciting citizens to riot. If you want, you can question whether or not the Insurrection Act should be applied to the Minneapolis Mayor and Governor. Don’t bother. It won’t happen. And, frankly,  it’s all too much. You promise yourself you will tune out, mute the tube, mute radio, ignore sidebar podcasts and delete political emails and texts. And since you’re guilty of incessant political nagging, give Fodder’s audience a political respite. But first, you can’t leave the page without posing final questions — why do normal Americans who believe in the basic virtues of individual freedom and responsibility avoid speaking up and taking the stage to defend their country? Why do patriotic Americans leave the public square to paid anarchists? Why do the people who love their country leave the streets to No Kings protestors? Shout out to the Tea Party patriots. They stood up. Yet, to be fair, good people have reasons to hunker down. Privacy. Jobs. Peers. Uncertainty. Fear. Jan 6. All valid. But not so the Left. Without a smidgen of doubt, the Left has no fear, no hesitation. The Left, the predator, is nothing, if not resolute. Come to think of it, escape may have merit.

** Before 1776, only one constitutional republic existed in human history — the Republic of San Marino, a small enclave in Italy, circa AD 301.  Ed.

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