Category Archives: History

Charles de Gaulle

was a prophet on the EU and Brexit:

De Gaulle—the leader of the Free French resistance in World War II who went on to found the Fifth Republic under which France still lives today—understood the problem best. He thought Britain would never truly be at home in a European union. “England in effect is insular, she is maritime,” he said in his remarks blocking Britain’s entry into what was then called the Common Market in 1963. “She has in all her doings very marked and very original habits and traditions.” He added that “the nature, the structure, the very situation that are England’s differ profoundly from those of the continentals.”

Sadly, that’s not as much the case. One of the strongest drivers of Leave was to prevent further deterioration and Europeanization.

Disagreeing With DC Conventional Wisdom

isn’t a crime, let alone an impeachable offense. It is time to rethink NATO, perhaps past time.

NATO and the EU have been free riding for a long time. It was an organization for a different era and power structure. Putin’s Russia doesn’t have the resources to conquer Europe, especially if they start getting serious about their own defense.

[Sunday-afternoon update]

Yes. Europe was never a true partner in its own defense. They had a (brief) excuse in the midst of the Marshall Plan, but we’ve been indulging them in their own socialism and unwillingness to spend on their own defense for the decades since recovery. Time to rethink it.

And for those who think that Trump is Putin’s “stooge,” did Putin order him to insist that Europeans spend more on their own defense and live up to their NATO obligations?

[Bumped]

Missile Defense And Launch Costs

I did a thread on Twitter this morning.

[Update a couple minutes later]

Trump’s missile-defense strategy.

As I noted above, if the space segment is now feasible, it’s despite, not because of government launch policy for the past three decades (except possibly for COTS).

The State Of The Union

is off.

Good. Just send a letter. I’ll be happy if there’s never another speech; there is nothing requiring it in the Constitution. If he wants to address the nation, he can do it from the Oval Office again.

[Friday-morning update]

Take this SOTU and shove it.

One way you can tell that SOTUs as they’ve been done for the last century are a terrible idea is that Woodrow Wilson started this execrable circus. Unfortunately, Trump will almost certainly not take the advice. It would be behavior (and an expression of beliefs) far too Reaganesque.

[Bumped]

[Update a few minutes later]

26 of 45 presidents didn’t give a SOTU speech.

The FBI And Its Media Accomplices

Are the walls closing in? I hope so, but I’ve been disappointed before.

[Update a couple minutes later]

More from Debra Heine:

Most people, except a few paid trolls and Democrats with political axes to grind, have figured out there is no “there” there. Mueller is reportedly preparing to show his hand, and it’s almost certain to be “anti-climatic,” sources close to the investigation say.

It’s all over but the crying.

And liberal tears will indeed flow if Mueller’s final report comes out and it contains no bombshells and is unable to prove that President Trump colluded, conspired, schemed, or plotted with the Russians to win the 2016 election. It’s also unlikely that he’ll be accused of obstruction for firing Comey, an absurdly weak pretext for an investigation if ever there was one…

…Meanwhile, the inspector general’s investigation looking into the deep state’s surveillance abuse before the election continues apace, and a secret grand jury has been investigating former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for months. The OIG revealed last month that it was unable to recover a number of vital Strzok/Page text messages from the special counsel’s office because Mueller’s records officer had scrubbed them. That almost looked like a warning shot from the OIG to the special counsel.

Again, let’s hope.

Peter Jackson’s Restored WW I Footage

provides a contrast with today:

In the span of 100 years, Britain has gone from producing men who were so eager to fight and die for their country that 16-year-olds lied about their age to enlist when the minimum age was 19, to teaching primary school boys that they can have periods just like girls and offering feminine hygiene products in boys’ bathrooms. This phenomenon isn’t unique to the U.K. U.S. colleges, like the University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, and Brown University offer menstrual products in their men’s rooms, in the name of “menstrual equity” and as a sop to a miniscule “transgender” population.

We’re doomed.