Simply Stated

The right of U.S. citizens in each state to decide their own laws
on abortion was restored on June 24, 2022.

The right of U.S. citizens to carry firearms was reaffirmed
on June 23, 2022.

The Supreme Court of the United States is doing its job. Every decision starts with reading--and understanding--the U.S. Constitution.

Here's a question for all the "mostly peaceful protesters": Have you ever read the Constitution? If not, please give it at least a cursory glance. The justices aren't just making this stuff up. The basis for all their decisions is in the founding document.

I don't believe your violent tantrums are in any way related to the Constitution, though. You just want your own way, and the law be damned. I can't say it any more plainly than that.

Taking Stock

Over 40 years ago, I remember my mother-in-law regularly stocking care packages to send to her relatives who were trapped in the Soviet Union. She did this for decades, until well after the Iron Curtain fell. Always included among the clothing and foodstuffs was a large box of tampons. I once asked why she sent that particular item, and she explained that her niece would use them. Such a luxury item as women's tampons did not exist in the Soviet Union.

I was incredulous. Imagine being a 20th century woman and not able to buy tampons! I couldn't comprehend living in such an impoverished society and thanked God I was born in the USA.

Here we are, in America, in 2022. My daughter is coming to visit with her family soon and planning to stay a few weeks. She told me about the tampon shortage on the East coast and how she shops multiple stores and buys whatever version she finally finds; there's no fussing over a favorite brand anymore. Now I find myself busy driving from one drug store to the next, on $6.25 per gallon gasoline, trying to find a box of tampons to have on hand for her. I'm grateful my grandchildren are well past the age for baby formula.

Poverty, want, and the degradation of society are all proud hallmarks of communism. The radical leftists within--what Mark Levin calls the American Marxists--have done a thorough job of bringing our country to its knees. But I have a feeling we're about to rise from the canvas of our discontent. When we can't provide for our own needs or those of our children, we know it's time to make a stand. The mid-term election is coming in November. 

Bring it.

The 60-Year Slide

I've heard many people compare these times to the 1960s, saying that today's turmoil and unrest is very similar. Having grown up in the 1960's, I must disagree.

Yes, there were riots that rocked the nation back then. There were huge protest movements. There were revolutionary new theories, such as feminism and "free sex." Probably most destablizing at that time were the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, followed less than five years later by the assassinations in rapid succession of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the latter during a presidential campaign. Those were rough and frightening days; I remember them well.

The difference between then and now is clear to me. In the 1960s, our national institutions were on firm ground. Today, none of them are.

Colleges and universities in the United States still provided classical education in the 1960s; the Marxists had not yet made much progress in their relentless onslaught on our educational system. The Supreme Court was sacred; in the 1960s, no one would have imagined an assassination attempt on a Supreme Court justice. The southern border was a non-issue. The family unit was still honored, with parents having full authority over their children.

The military was far above partisan politics; no one worried about an errant ideology encroaching upon our armed forces. Law enforcement officers commanded respect and did their jobs with community support. Parents and employees were able to speak freely in public, protected by the First Amendment, regardless of their political or philosophical views. And while corruption has always been an unpleasant aspect of politics, Americans in the 1960s did not question the integrity of our elections.

The 1960s made a lot of noise and, in many cases, real progress towards the changes that ensued in the following decades. But activists and protestors in the 1960s were limited, confined by the firm outlines of a fully functional system of education, legislation, social structure, and justice.

In 2022, that is no longer true. In short, we have seen the wheels have come off our society. Today there is no safe place to seek shelter from the ceaseless indoctrination and heavy-handed enforcement of an increasingly totalitarian, leftist government. The solid framework of our republic has been winnowed out, from family to school, from church to the workplace, from national military to local police. We should not be surprised that the arches of our institutions are collapsing in upon us.

Even if enough Americans have the strength and spirit for the fight, it will be a long haul to rebuild our country to its rightful state. It could take another 60 years. We'd better get started.

All Too Possible

If you haven't read a page-turning thriller in a while, you might want to add the chilling novel 2034: A Novel of The Next World War to your summer reading list.

Co-authored by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), the plot details a series of missteps and miscalculations by major international powers competing for global dominance. The story unfolds across the world stage through the actions of a compact group of vividly drawn main characters. Their compounding errors lead to nuclear confrontation. In many cases, the ensuing devastation extends to their personal lives.

It's been years since I've read a book I had trouble putting down at night. But 2034 kept me up past my bedtime. Much more than the suspenseful story, the plausibility of such ill-fated scenarios leading to nuclear war is frightening. It seems entirely possible that this plot could fast and easily become real--and far sooner than a dozen years from now. I thought the most fictional part of this book is its title.