{"id":6829,"date":"2023-12-07T09:28:43","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T14:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=6829"},"modified":"2023-12-07T09:28:47","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T14:28:47","slug":"favorables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/12\/07\/favorables\/","title":{"rendered":"Favorables"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

World Role<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, the US Senate got stuck.  They can\u2019t pass funding for Israel\u2019s battle against Hamas, they can\u2019t pass funding for Ukraine\u2019s battle against Russia, and they can\u2019t agree on what to do about the US Southern Border.  But there\u2019s still a glimmer of hope:  the White House is open to discussions about the Border, the real sticking point. Republicans want to \u201cseal\u201d the border, preventing any immigration and keeping thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of migrants trapped in Mexico.  Democrats won\u2019t go for that; and who knows what the extremists in the House want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0While everyone, even Democrats, even the President, acknowledges there\u2019s a serious problem at the Southern Border; it\u2019s one that\u2019s incredibly difficult to \u201cfix\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0There are short-term solutions (think Texas’s barbed-wire river buoys) that don\u2019t touch the real problem: why are the migrants coming.\u00a0\u00a0Until we solve what\u2019s going on in Central America, what\u2019s driving folks to risk the hazardous jungle \u201cpassage\u201d through the Darian Gap, they are going to keep coming. And we understand why:\u00a0\u00a0like the Pilgrims, they seek a better life in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Solution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I think Democrats and Republicans can agree on funding Israel, with \u201cstrings attached\u201d.  I think Democrats and Republicans can agree on funding Ukraine.  It\u2019s really just \u201cgood business\u201d.  The US is spending money to support the Ukrainians, and that\u2019s depleted the military force levels of Russia by 50%.  That\u2019s half of what Russia had before Putin\u2019s ill-fated adventure in Ukraine, and he\u2019s doubled-down on the attack.  It\u2019s a very \u201cKissingerian\u201d equation (to honor the recently deceased advisor).  For a relatively small investment, the United States is changing the world military balance.  And the real \u201cprice\u201d of that change is paid for in the willing loss of Ukrainian blood, not American. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what is the \u201cstate\u201d of the Union right now?   We have a government that seems unable to chart any path forward.  What a month ago was a \u201cno-brainer\u201d, funding Israel and Ukraine, now is held hostage to the US border.  And all of the \u201cvoices\u201d out there, particularly the Republican candidates for President, are beating their message home:  \u201cSomething\u2019s WRONG WITH AMERICA \u2013 AND IT\u2019S BIDEN\u2019S FAULT\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden\u2019s Fault<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

They have the microphone, the \u201cBully Pulpit\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0There is no contest on the Democratic side (sorry Congressman Phillips) and so there is no voice to balance out that \u201cnoise\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0And the President is consumed with governing.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m not saying that\u2019s a \u201cbad\u201d thing; there\u2019s a lot of governing to be done.\u00a0\u00a0And clearly the House, and now the Senate, aren’t up to the task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I track the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the best known measure of the health of the American stock markets.  Yesterday (12\/6\/23) the market closed over 36,000; nearing record highs.  The unemployment rate is 3.9%, a little up from the past few months.  And, oddly, that\u2019s a good thing.  It means that the post-covid economy is slowing just a bit, and we see that in the current annual inflation rate, 3.24%, down from 3.7% last year and 7.75% the year before.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average US salary is almost $60,000, an increase of almost $14000 since Biden became President.\u00a0Local gas here in Pataskala is under $3.00, down from the almost $5.00 of the post-Covid high.\u00a0\u00a0Watch the Republican debate, and you\u2019ll hear how \u201cBAD\u201d things are.\u00a0\u00a0And listen to the Republican media, and you\u2019ll hear how \u201cdangerous\u201d our country is (of course you need to buy a gun to protect yourself).\u00a0\u00a0But as our population has increased in the past three decades, the number of violent crimes (and crimes per 100,000) is at a thirty-year low (Statista<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lying Eyes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, look around America.  How are we doing?  Believe your \u201clying eyes\u201d, in spite of what the \u201cnoise\u201d on debates and right-wing media demands.  The US is on the \u201cup-swing\u201d, and as much as Americans \u201cbitch and moan\u201d about it, most have figured this out.  \u201cThings must be \u2018terrible\u2019 for someone else, because it\u2019s not so bad here\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t fail in our obligation to support Israel.\u00a0\u00a0But we also have the obligation to restrain the Israeli government from the extreme excesses we are seeing in Gaza.\u00a0\u00a0Hamas must be destroyed, but the civilian cost must be considered.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s the \u201cprice\u201d Israel needs to pay for being a civilized nation, battling the forces of terrorism.\u00a0\u00a0Israel cannot just become another terrorist force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t fail in our obligation to support Ukraine.  I am a child of the Vietnam War era, I grew up with the invalidated \u201cdomino theory\u201d.  But President Zelenskyy is right.  Ukraine can stop Russia, or some other country, like Poland, or Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, all NATO Nations, will have to.  The war to fight against Putin\u2019s dream of hegemony is already on:  it\u2019s in Ukraine.   And we\u2019re already winning, so let\u2019s finish it there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we can\u2019t fail to work towards a solution to the border crisis.\u00a0\u00a0That should involve recognizing that the US must find a way to legalize 12 million residents who are essential to our economy and our communities. I ain\u2019t holding my breath for that.\u00a0\u00a0But what Americans need to do is recognize that the doomsayers are wrong, that\u00a0\u00a0while we have issues and concerns, we also have opportunities to make the future brighter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re on the upswing \u2013 figure it out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World Role Yesterday, the US Senate got stuck.  They can\u2019t pass funding for Israel\u2019s battle against Hamas, they can\u2019t pass funding for Ukraine\u2019s battle against Russia, and they can\u2019t agree on what to do about the US Southern Border.  But there\u2019s still a glimmer of hope:  the White House is open to discussions about the Border, the real … Continue reading “Favorables”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFavorables : Our America - 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