Where Some Things Are
Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk.
Carjack an old lady at a red light.
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store.
You think it’s cool? Well act a fool if you like.
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face.
Stomp on the flag and light it up.
Yeah, you think you’re so tough.
That gun my granddad gave me.
They say one day they’re gonna round it up.
That s—t may fly in the city, good luck.
Well, try that in a small town.
See how far you make it down the road.
Round here, we take care of our own.
You cross that line, it won’t take long,
For you to find out.
I recommend you don’t
Try that in a small town.
Try That in a Small Town - Jason Aldean (2023)
…..
Have you heard that song? It has been one of the top selling songs in American the last few weeks. Yes, even outselling Taylor Swift. It is part of a new movement of anti-woke protest songs. And, just as the anti-war protest songs of the 60s and 70s were all in one genre – rock music, these new anti-woke protest songs are all from Country artists. The popularity of anti-woke protest music is part of where things are right now. Here is a little more color on that, as well as the status of some other conditions in society, government, and the world. All in one missive.
Divisions: As my lead-in with the Jason Aldean song alludes to, I have been noticing similarities between the anti-war movement during Vietnam and the anti-woke movement now. In both cases, the protestors were largely out of power and rebelling against a force that included government, media, and corporate America. The protestors shunned certain products (Dow Chemical and Bud Light), were ostracized from parts of society and felt they were protecting the youth of that generation. Interestingly, it was defense hawk Richard Nixon who “solved” the crisis at home by ending the Vietnam war in what was advertised as “peace with honor.” That was effectively a “compromise.”
Arguably, the divisions between right and left are deeper and wider today than they were then. But there is always a middle ground. To get to that middle ground, both sides of the debate must agree to give something up. The most obvious example out there right now is the abortion debate. A ban on them after 15 weeks seems to have the support of the vast majority of Americans. But the pro-abortion activists will not accept any ban up to and even after birth and the most fervent pro-lifers believe abortion is murder and they will not accept any abortions even when the life of the mother may be lost. Both sides take these uncompromising stands on the basis of principle.
Fine. But are you willing to go to war over it? Are you willing to split the country over it? That is the main question here as society drifts apart. Many of the most radical people on both sides in Congress (the Freedom Caucus and the Squad) are largely made up of young fire-breathers who have probably found little need to compromise on anything in their lives. There’s an old saying in politics that you have to win the hearts and minds of the people before you can win the vote. We are barreling towards quite a rift in this country, unless cooler heads can find a way out, with everyone giving up something to avoid civil strife or war.
Federal Debt: There are 2 months left in this fiscal year. So far, revenues are down 10% and spending is up 11%. And that is without a war in which Americans are fighting or a recession. The prospect for next year and beyond is worse. Long term interest rates are rising as the country absorbs all this new debt. The rapidity of this deterioration is starting to scare people in the know, as it should. There are only three ways out. (1) Cut spending and raise taxes (2) inflate our way out of it by making the debt smaller in real terms and (3) financial repression, wherein the government through various means essentially confiscates private resources to solve its problems. None of these are good. But, the longer we wait to do something the tougher the medicine will have to be at some point. Right now, there is no political will to deal with this because the public does not notice any problems in their personal lives from the deficits. In fact, the deficits are clearly boosting the economy at the moment. At some point however, it will become noticeable. That point might be when a recession or a shooting war involving US troops starts.
Ukraine: Speaking of shooting wars, it is difficult to ascertain exactly what the military situation is in this war today. That said, it looks to me to be most similar to World War I. Both sides are dug in with strong defensive positions and neither side is able to make progress despite high casualties on both sides. One way to break this stalemate is with WMDs. Only Russia could do that and obviously we pray they do not escalate in that manner. The other way is for one side or the other to run out of men, materiel and money. Russia has a greater population but they are less motivated than the Ukrainians whose very lives are all threatened if they lose. I still give the Russians an edge there in that they have more people they can lose. Ukraine’s money and materiel comes from the west. As long as we keep providing it, no problem there. Sanctions have attempted to cut off Russia from their assets in this regard, but that has failed. Without a military breakthrough by one side or the other, it will take exhaustion to set in for somebody to begin serious discussions of a peace settlement. The main objective for the US, Britain and our allies should be that this war end without escalation and that Russian dreams of expansion by force be contained for a while. Zelinski doesn’t want to concede any of Ukraine’s territory. I understand why he thinks that. But for the countries that are funding his war effort, that would be an affordable price for a lasting peace in Europe, if it could be achieved.
Peak EV: I have predicted in this blog that EVs could only attain about 25% of the market with existing technology, rather than the 100% many companies and governments are forecasting and mandating.
I may have been high. EVs are now at about 7% of the market in the US and the growth has stalled out. Many more models are available from many more manufacturers and they are having trouble selling them. Discounts range from $3500 on a Volkswagen ID4 to $27,000 price cuts on some Tesla models. I know of dealers selling all EVs at a loss just to get them off the lot. The problem is that prices are being cut on cars that are already losers for the companies that build them. We know that Rivian is losing $67,000 per unit and Ford $37,000 this year. Tesla is the only company making money on EVs, but those profits per unit are deteriorating. As the old saying goes, you can’t “make it up on volume” when you lose money on every one.
California, which has the best weather and infrastructure for EVs to prosper, is already at 25% market share. But this too may not have far to grow even there.
How long can this go on?
The green agenda is an abysmal failure. They promote technologies that aren’t really helping but just cost more. If they really believed their own apocalyptic forecasts, we would be putting up nuclear plants everywhere. But instead, they oppose them in favor of the environmentally destructive wind and solar farms that will likely be abandoned in years to come. EVs have a place. That place may be smaller than even I thought.
That’s four topics. Enough for today. I’m going to listen to some more anti-woke protest songs. I’m just sayin’ – Austin Moody….
I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
Drive Fast & Live Free