No Separate Peace

Israel finds itself in a shooting conflict with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which hides behind the civilians in the Gaza Strip. IDF spokespeople are quick to say that this current exchange of fire is NOT targeting Hamas or the Palestinian Authority but specific PIJ members leading and plotting attacks on Jews. This statement is true so far as it goes, but it does not address the fact that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are also mortal enemies determined to extinguish the Jewish State. PIJ may or may not coordinate with the other terrorist groups, but their aims are identical, even if their tactics vary. Why let certain terror organizations bent on the genocide of Jews off the hook? Why not eliminate the presence of jihadists representing any group plotting the murder of Israelis? 

You Never Know

When I was a child, we had a condo on the west coast of Florida. There were roofers working on a building there when a sudden storm emerged from the Gulf. Three of the men working lost their lives in the subsequent lightning. I have taken thunderstorms plenty serious since then. 

When Lightning Strikes

What are the odds that when you finally get to see the White House in person, you get hit by a thunderbolt? For four poor folks visiting the District of Columbia it happened, and tragically, an elderly couple in town from Wisconsin has already succumbed to their injuries. Sometimes, it might be better just to stay home, but I have heard you can get struck by lightning there too. 

The Sensible Substitute

Nuclear energy, at least the way it is produced in the United States, could replace the other ways of creating power we rely on here, but American minds have been poisoned against it by a decades old movie, The China Syndrome (1979). Nuclear power plants in America have a tremendous record of safety, with layers of redundancy unmatched elsewhere. We did have the so-called "Three Mile Island disaster" in the USA but that resulted in no deaths. The Soviet Union had the Chernobyl tragedy that did claim lives, but the Russian built reactor was relatively primitive with few of the safety backups found in other areas of the world. If we built more atomic power stations here, it would reduce reliance on carbon-based fuels and even mitigate the need to switch to solar or wind generation. 

No Current Replacement

An economy that would run efficiently on solar panels and windmills would be terrific, but it is just a fantasy at this point. We have enormous demand for petroleum that will not diminish. Cutting off domestic oil production amounts to economic suicide, because the developed world still needs gasoline and diesel to function. Would you not rather it be produced here and mostly safely and efficiently carried through pipelines, rather than shipped across oceans on supertankers that can and have caused monumental environmental disasters? 

Pelosi Tempts Fate

Is Nancy Pelosi trying to start World War III? What could she hope to accomplish with the Taiwan visit? Does she somehow think her trip will enhance stability? Once a high US official commits to an act, no matter how provocative, America must go through with it or lose all credibility, but what if that action is completely unnecessary and ultimately starts a chain of events leading to the end of humanity? Pelosi has subjected the United States to great risk with no possible reward. 

A Vassal State

Is the United States a vassal state to Red China? Do we bow down to Communists? At this point, do we grab Nancy Pelosi's leash and demand she not go to Taiwan? If we do and Pelosi skips her visit, the Reds have won.