Is the word "all" the most important word in the Declaration of Independence?

 

Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were interesting characters. Exactly the type of characters a novelist needs to carry a story. In writing Maelstrom, I had a scene where Lincoln addresses Congress after a recess. (As customary at the time, his address was read by a clerk.) Not much has happened during the recess. Eleven states had seceded from the Union, Fort Sumter had been bombarded and surrendered, a piece of Virginia had been occupied, and Lincoln had exceeded his executive powers to spend unauthorized money, build an army, and suspend habeas corpus among other things.

He desperately needed Congress to backfill behind him.

This was a crucial address. Important for Lincoln and the country. The address was not one of his well-known speeches, but I was struck by the clarity and simplicity of the explanation of why he took these actions.

Lincoln said it was a struggle for maintaining a form of government “whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all an unfettered start, and a fair chance in the race of life.”

On the cusp of war, Lincoln repeatedly used the word “all.” He had previously stated that this was the most important word in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence and had reputedly written that word over and over again on pieces of paper.

I cannot think of a loftier goal for government. Perhaps in this age of divisiveness, we should all write the word “all” over and over again.

Lincoln on the Verge, Ted Widmer

Lincoln on the Verge, Thirteen Days to Washington

Over 15,000 books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, supposedly more than any other person except Jesus. This tower of books at the Ford's Theatre Center for Education and Leadership is a tribute to the man and the authors who have written about him. (This is actually a metal sculpture using replicas of about half the books.) The Center is across the street from Ford’s Theater where the president was assassinated.

Because I intend to add to the pile, I own about forty of these books. Every Lincoln author looks for a unique perspective. Some see themselves as myth busters. Others delve into a niche of his supposed psyche to unearth a differently tempered person. Responsible historians frequently zero in on a single event or unusual theme to add fresh insights. Entire books are dedicated to a single speech, battle, or political issue.

Ted Widmer made a great choice of subject matter. Lincoln on the Verge concentrates on the thirteen days it took Lincoln to journey by train from Springfield to Washington. It’s a fascinating story and it illustrates the political savvy of this supposed country bumpkin. Widmer introduces us to the president-elect as he travels across a great land he knows will soon be thrown into turmoil. What could Lincoln accomplish on this tedious trip? You’ll discover he could do quite a bit. He engineered the journey of the Presidential Special so he could more easily save the nation after inauguration.

Widmer has a clear and concise writing style that keeps the narrative moving, and his matter-of-fact presentation allows the reader to mine for new insights without being led to the trough. 

If you’re a Lincoln enthusiast, or merely curious, you’ll enjoy this book.

              (This is a research book for Maelstrom, a sequel to Tempest at Dawn.)

War on the Waters, James M. McPherson

 

With the exception of the Monitor vs. Merrimack (CSS Virginia), naval battles get short shrift in Civil War books. McPherson certainly fills that gap with War on the Waters, The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865. Land battles were certainly decisive, but the Union may have lost the war without Gideon Welles and the Navy Department. McPherson even makes a strong argument that Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut deserves to be ranked with generals Grant and Sherman when giving credit for the Union victory.

Inventions and innovations by both the Confederate States and the United States revolutionized naval warfare. Steam-powered ships, screw propeller driven ships, ironclads, submarines, weaponry, and naval tactics all made major advancement during those four years. By Appomattox, the United States owned the largest navy in the world, and arguably the most technologically advanced.

War on the Waters does an admirable job of describing blue water and brown water (river) battles and in explaining the significance of each clash. I found the battles that required cooperation between the Army and Navy of particular interest. As an added bonus, International law on blockades is more fully described than in other history books.

McPherson’s no nonsense writing style can sometimes verge on dull, but he always pulls the reader back to the narrative in the nick of time.

I recommend this book to all those who have an interest in the Civil War, naval battles, technology advancement, or military politics. War on the Waters is informative and a good read.

(This is a research book for Maelstrom, a sequel to Tempest at Dawn.)

A Short History of the Confederate States of America

 

After the Civil War, Jefferson Davis spent two years in prison without trial. He was released on bail and a year and a half later, the government finally dropped the treason charges against him. In 1877 he retired to Beauvoir, where he wrote, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. This was a two-volume tome of over 1,500 pages. I did not read this book. I tried, but I kept following asleep. Luckily, ten years later, Davis wrote A Short History of the Confederate States of America. Roughly one-third in length, “A Short History” covers the same ground and is more readable.

Davis writing style is clear for modern readers, but I would recommend a good understanding of the war to provide context for his narrative. That said, for a thorough understanding of a major historical event, it always best to get the story from the horse’s mouth. The Davis perspective may be biased, but those perspectives did not change between the war and the writing of his memoir. That consistency makes this book valuable for understanding the motivations for war.

Davis extols victories and offers strained excuses for errors and failures. In Davis’ mind, nothing was his fault, the Confederacy was always honorable, the Union always vile. For those not imbued with The Cause mythology, this heavy-handed prejudice can be off-putting, but I found it helps understand the ethos of the period.

Most history books are written by winners. If you don’t study the losers, then you have an incomplete picture. An example would be the hallowed Federalist Papers. There is a collection of opposition opinion pieces called the Anti-Federalist Papers. I suggest reading both and I highly recommend Jefferson Davis’ A Short History of the Confederate States of America.

(This is a research book for Maelstrom, a sequel to Tempest at Dawn.)

America is Too Good for Democrats

 

Democrats dislike America. In their minds, it needs to radically change, so they’ve been trying to start a domestic war. Civil, Class, or identity group--it doesn’t matter. Until recently, this has been a cold war with a few hot spots. Democrats are disappointed because past campaigns did not go the way they wanted. Occupy Wall Street did not incite class warfare, Black Lives Matter did not start a race war, and Antifa did not expose a vast cadre of neo-Nazis lurking in the background.

What happened? Why hasn’t their ground game worked? Simple. Americans are not ignorant, selfish, and hateful. That would be projection. The left doesn’t understand their own country. America is too good for them. They remain in their bubbles and safe spaces and view the rest of us as caricatures. They see us as bad people. Democrats believe we’re a bunch of illiterate boobs who can be easily herded in any direction they desire. They’ve swallowed their own demonization narrative hook, line, and sinker.

Democrats had hoped to provoke bad behavior on the right.  With near-absolute control of the media, provocations on the left can be downplayed while any reaction from the right can be relentlessly condemned from rooftops, podiums, and studios. This is a mindless battle fought with self-doubt, fear, and loathing. The emotions of destruction. In their view, they must destroy our nation to save it. To make their quixotic vision a reality, the existing selfish system must be burned to the ground so society can be rebuilt based upon the principles of social justice.

Trump Derangement Syndrome infected the Left because he scrubbed the speed from their nefarious doings and executed an abrupt U-turn. Darn. They had been making such good progress. Trump had to be stopped. Even before inauguration, Democrats rejected Donald Trump as a lawfully elected president. They vowed to resist every policy, every action, and every statement that came from the White House. They spied on his campaign and his administration. The FBI Investigated him at least twice, a special prosecutor tried to find indictable offenses, and Congress did their darndest to find dirt.  Nothing. When the Russia hoax failed to oust him from office, they tried impeachment to no avail. So, they took to insurrection in the streets. Antifa and BLM violence increased until chaos engulfed the entire nation. Street thugs maimed and killed law enforcement officers, destroyed property, and beat on passersby. Under the pretense this was peaceful protest, rioters were loudly cheered on by Democrat office holders and their allies in the media and Hollywood.

Still no civil war. Where were those rednecks? The Left had no choice but to escalate. They brought in a pandemic and hammered fear into every waking moment. They used this fear to redefine how we vote so Democrats could send Trump to the showers. But … no questions, no alternative narratives. All opposition must be squashed, or their flimsy cover stories wouldn’t hold. The first steps were easy. They shut down wrong-thinking on social media, marginalized resistors, removed conservative media's ability to boost their content, and coerced power brokers of every ilk to turn a blind eye. Everyone marched in lockstep.

Not enough. Americans had shown that they could awaken in dire situations. They needed an event. Something so abhorrent that normal people would be thrown into confusion, doubt, and mourning. The right had already shown that they wouldn’t rise to mere taunts, so the only recourse was to lure them into a compromising position.

So Democrats stage-managed an insurrection. Trump demonstrators were invited into the capitol and guided to the inner sanctum. Despite the absence of weapons, little wear on the capitol, and the violence coming from provocateurs and the capitol police, Democrats painted a national picture of an insurrection that came within a hairbreadth of toppling the government. January 6th cemented the departure of Donald Trump. Any questions about the authenticity of the election were dissolved.

All that remained was righting the train and getting it back on track.

Then it all fell apart … again. They forgot President Obama’s warning. “Don't underestimate Joe's ability to (expletive) things up.”

A version of this column was first published on American Thinker

Three cheers for Adam Smith, inventor of the world’s most effective contraceptive.

World Average GDP per Capita

You may remember Adam Smith as the 18th Century inventor of capitalism. You’d be right. But he also solved the problem of over-population. Capitalism is the greatest creator of wealth in history and wealthy families and nations have lower fertility rates. 

Let’s take the wealth side first. Think of Singapore versus Venezuela. Singapore has zero natural resources and Venezuela sits on one of the greatest oil reserves in the world. Or consider North versus South Korea. Or the People's Republic of China versus Taiwan. Or, in its day, East versus West Germany. 

 Capitalism beats a state run economy every single time. No contest.

Now, about those fertility rates. Look at the chart of U.S. birth rates in relation to income. Pretty obvious. The richer the family, the fewer the kids. It doesn’t matter why, the indisputable fact is that higher income, lowers the birth rate.

Does this relationship hold internationally? It does. Our indisputable fact went global: the higher the gross national product, the lower the birth rate.

Put these two observable phenomena together and you solve the Left’s most emotive fixation: global population control. Yet they reliably turn their back on capitalism because they distrust a system that makes some people richer than themselves. If the sustainability of Earth is an existential threat, then why discard obvious solutions? Many Leftists don’t think, others naively follow the catechism, but some purposely craft rationalizations for irrationality. 

Take population control: instead a real answer to their obsession, they promote every form of non-propagational sex, rabid feminism that separates men and women, people bunched up in tiny living quarters unfit for a family, ridicule of female homemakers, family dissolution, government dictates of family size, and when all else fails, they demand contraceptives and abortion for perverts who insist on an archaic relationship.

I sometimes wonder if anthropophobia is why Leftists frequently defend Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, and other tyrants who impose ruthless forms of population control. (Hitler seems to be the only socialist they refuse to give a pass for murdering his own populous.)

Try Googling “birth rates versus GDP.” You’ll get hits on studies, papers, and programs to reduce population in order to increase wealth. Backward. They’re convoluting cause and effect. Why? Because they loathe capitalism. It’s not allowed in their toolbox. So, without thinking, they flip cause and effect. In the Leftist’s world, there are many cures worse than the disease. For example, they hate carbon dioxide, but lose their stuff if carbon-free nuclear energy is mentioned. If the means are blasphemous, the end remains delusive. 

Leftists cannot accept that the surest path to population control is to promote capitalism in every corner of the world. In fact, capitalism cures pollution, hunger, housing, illness, and even throws a monkey-wrench into totalitarianism. Just ask the Pilgrims. They got all that stuff for the first Thanksgiving after they tossed socialism in the ash heap.

But the Left won’t alter course. They remain bound to an ideology that promises a dreamland … but never delivers. 

Don’t blame them. They can’t help themselves. It’s in their nature.

The Impending Crisis of the South, Hinton Rowan Helper

The Impending Crisis of the South, How to Meet It
Hinton Rowan Helper

This book appealed to me for four reasons. 1) It was written in 1857 by a participant of the era. 2) It was an anti-slavery book written by a Southerner, 3) the book created a movement called Helperism, 4) Lincoln appointed Helper consul to Argentina, which meant he had probably read the book. (Further evidence that Lincoln had read the book is a section of his Cooper Union Address which far more eloquently echoes one of Helper’s commentaries.)

When writing a historical novel, it’s crucial to get inside the heads of the people who actually experienced the period. One technique is to read contemporaneous writings, including books, periodicals, newspapers, and speeches.

Helper’s thesis is that slavery harms economic growth, inventiveness, and the middleclass. He uses extensive census statistics to solidly prove his case.  The overwhelming quantity of data is convincing … but also dull. Luckily, the numbers can be scanned after the reader gets used to his presentation style. If you are interested in the data, I would recommend a print format instead of an e-book.

The Impending Crisis of the South provides an interesting and pertinent perspective on the economics of slavery.

(This is a research book for Maelstrom, a sequel to Tempest at Dawn.)

The Crooked Path to Abolition: Abraham Lincoln and the Antislavery Constitution

The Crooked Path to Abolition
James Oakes

Politicians of the time alleged that the Civil War was about something other than slavery. Jefferson Davis claimed it was about states rights, but, as Lincoln pointed out, slavery was the only state right being challenged. Not that Yankee politicians were more forthright. In the early years of the war, Lincoln said he was fighting solely to restore the Union. After the fact, most books by participants and historians have treaded lightly on slavery as the primary cause.

During and after the Constitutional Convention, slaveholding states had threatened to secede if they did not get their way. With a few brief interludes, slaveholders or slave tolerant politicians controlled the national government from its inception. The slave states had grown used to dominance, but a party had emerged who outspokenly threaten their “peculiar institution.” With the election of the first Republican President, the slaveholders made good on their decades-old threat to dismantle the Union.

The Crooked Path to Abolition is a timely book. Historians are always looking for a niche perspective on Abraham Lincoln. James Oats has picked a rare one. He doesn’t come up with a unique thesis and then cobble together evidence to prove his thesis. For the most part, he compiles evidence and then presents it impassively, allowing the reader to make up their mind.

Lincoln certainly took a crooked path to abolition. A purposeful path or the flailing of an uncertain politician? 

Read the book and you decide.

(This is a research book for Maelstrom, a sequel to Tempest at Dawn.)

FDA Approval of Pfizer Vaccine? (Part Deux)

Previously, I explained the charade surrounding the supposed FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine. You might be wondering why the government is so hell bent for leather on inoculating youngsters under twelve. As usual, follow the money.

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act removed liability for vaccines recommended by the CDC for children. Since 2016, they’ve also removed liability for vaccines given to pregnant women.

The current goal is to build general acceptance for vaccinating young children. Recent FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for children 5-12 was a big step. The next leg of this journey will be CDC recommended use for children. Vaccine manufactures would then be protected against law suits by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. Voilà, Pfizer can now start distributing its vaccine under the brand name Comirnaty. It would be officially licensed by the FDA and remain shielded from liability.

I may have made a mistake in the prior paragraph. I wrote "Vaccine manufactures would then be protected against law suits by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act." If my understanding of the EUA legislation is correct, treatments can only be approved for "emergency" use if no licensed treatment exists. Once Pfizer is fully licensed, can Moderna and J&J vaccines still be distributed? I think not, but please comment if you have a different read. Even if I'm wrong and Moderna/J&J do not lose their EUA status, they still would have a difficult time competing against an FDA sanctioned product from Pfizer.

Pfizer, and possibly other drug companies, would then be on the receiving end of a firehose of money. Risk free! Better yet, booster mandates will keep their coffers overflowing forever. Plenty to go around. Politicians will become kings of the roost and everyone else will tout the party line or get booted out of the food line. As an added benefit, mandate enforcement will become legally unchallengeable.

Now you know why they insist youngsters get vaccinated ... and why the pressure will become intense.

Democrats Pretend to Care

 

If you listen to Democrats, they’re caring creatures.  Feigning empathy for the plight of others is a cornerstone of identity politics.  But if they really cared, why would their actions not reflect their espoused concerns?  Why would they be caught so often violating their supposed principles?  Why would the lives of their constituents never improve?  The answer is obvious.  Democrats only pretend to care.

Democrats pretend to care about Blacks.

Democrats were the actual slavers, fought to preserve slavery, formed the Ku Klux Klan to keep freed slaves in line, imposed Jim Crow laws to keep former slaves powerless, systemically dismantled Black families, prioritized the placement of abortion clinics in Black neighborhoods, and ran the education system so that Black children remained disadvantaged.  Riots inflict the most damage on the emerging Black middle class.  Arguably, the image of uncontrollable mobs did not enhance race relations in the United States.

Democrats really care about harvesting Black votes every two years.

Democrats pretend to care about the working class.

Long ago, Democrats abandoned the working class.  Complicit with Republicans, Democrats sent our best jobs offshore and imported mass volumes of immigrants to deflate wages and replace working American here at home.  The Democrat approach to trade agreements skew to the advantage of foreign nations.  When President Trump built a robust economy that put America First, Democrats used the pandemic to crush the economy.  Their purposeful strategy is apparent when Blue and Red State pandemic actions are reviewed, and the results examined.  Democrats defend the Chinese Communist Party despite their weaponization of trade, absorption of our key industries, and the infliction of a pandemic on the world.

Democrats really care about the working class as a voting bloc.

Democrats pretend to care about LGBT.

In opposition to LGBT interests, Democrats see virtue in Islam, push for mass immigration of Muslims, and help establish enclaves where their cultural can be preserved intact.  Incongruently, they simultaneously denounce the supposed bigotry in Jewish and Christian religions.  Democrats viciously attack conservative members of the LGBT community, which proves that adherence to Leftist dogma eclipses LGBT sexuality concerns.

Democrats really care about weaponizing sex for political gain.

Democrats pretend to care about a woman’s right to choose.

Choice means that an individual can decide between options, but Democrats try to silence those who advocate for non-abortion alternatives.  Women who choose to abort are celebrated but women who choose not to abort are scorned. Democrats have taken choice away from the mothers of underage girls. Planned Parenthood has located 79% of its Surgical Abortion Facilities in minority neighborhoods. Democrats fight standard medical practices at abortion clinics.

Democrats really care about population control.

Democrats pretend to care about educating children.

Democrats oppose all school reforms including charter schools, magnet schools, vouchers, tax credits, performance incentives, home schooling, and other corrective measures.  They inhibit teacher dismissals for incompetence and misconduct and encourage bloated administrative structures.  Democrat controlled teachers’ unions and have coopted the Parent Teachers Association.  Curriculum has migrated from the three Rs to political indoctrination.

Democrats really care about employing adults in the academic/political complex for the purpose of indoctrinating children.

Democrats pretend that no one is above the law.

Democrats believe laws, rules, ethics, morality, consistency, and truth are in place to constrain Republicans.  Democrats repeatedly shout that no one is above the law, yet illegal immigrants are above the law, Joe Biden’s son is above the law, Adam Schiff’s felony leaking of classified information is above the law, Antifa criminal assault and wanton destruction of property is above the law, Obama’s illegal weaponization of our nation’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies is above the law, and Hillary Clinton’s myriad illegal activities are all above the law.

Democrats really care about using the law to suppress Republicans.

Democrats pretend to care about science.

Democrats use the word science like the word Nazi.  They don’t really believe every opponent is a Nazi and they don’t believe in science.  These words are used to shut down debate.  Much of the science they tout is based on computer models or unverifiable papers related to the soft sciences like sociology, psychology, economics, and gender studies.  They tout as science computer models for climate change, Covid19 spread, socialist economic policies, tax policies, etc. Computer models are not science.  Until their projections are proven to be better than fifty percent accurate, computer models are merely opinion pieces written in computer code.  Hard sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, geoscience remain completely foreign to Democrats.

Democrats really care about scientific claims that further their agenda.

Democrats pretend to care about voter suppression.

Democrats push every change making registration and voting easier, but it has nothing to do with the professed goal of fighting voter suppression.  These actions represent the first step in institutionalizing voter fraud.  The additional steps include fighting all checks against voter fraud, supporting every change that opens a new path to fraud, universal unrequested mail-in ballots, fighting every attempt to cleanse voter rolls, the legalization of vote harvesting, the encouragement of illegal immigration, and the issuance of driver licenses to illegals.

Democrats really care about winning elections by any means necessary.

Democrats have ceased to pretend about some issues.

Democrats ceased pretending to care about bipartisanship, free speech, free enterprise, small businesses, law and order, fair elections, political corruption, and police state tactics.  In addition, Democrats no longer deny that they disdain the Constitution, support gun confiscation, crave a socialist state, revere the UN and WHO, despise the police, endorse open borders, loathe Israel, and are contemptuous of our election process.

President Donald Trump’s greatest accomplishment?  He singlehandedly exposed Democrats for who they really are.

Conspiracy Theories Galore

They dismissed us as conspiracy theorists, but then ...

• Russia Collusion was proved a series of crimes by the Clinton campaign.
• Hunter Biden's laptop disappears and Democrats, the Intelligence Community, Corporate Media, and Big Tech collude to protect the criminal Biden family with a false narrative about Russia disinformation.
• Pfizer vaccine FDA approval exposed as a lie. The president, government agencies, media, Big Tech, and Pfizer all propagated this "misinformation.". In truth, FDA approval was for a Pfizer vaccine not in production and not available anywhere on the planet.
• Covid19 vaccine narratives unravel by the day as vaccine mandates become more tyrannical. 
• FDA refused (16-2) emergency use of boosters for heathy people under 60 but the media and president purposely muddled the results to claim unanimous approval of boosters.
• Capital Police release video tapes which dismantled narratives around January 6 "armed insurrection."
• Arizona election audit proves massive cheating by Democrats and their friends.

And they call us nut cases while they fabricate one falsehood after another.

What we are really fighting ...

 

We’re not fighting to stop masks.

 We’re not fighting to stop lockdowns.

 We’re not fighting to stop vaccine mandates.

 We’re not fighting to stop vaccine passports.

We’re fighting to stop the march toward Communist China style Social Credit Scores.

Social Credit Scores are total control of our daily lives. A tiny misstep and you are punished. Follow the party line and you are rewarded. If this is the New World Order, count me out.