An era has passed. Assad has fallen (he might be dead in a plane crash). Russia and Iran — and Hezbollah — are humiliated and weakened as a result. The Turks are ascendant. The US-supported forces… who knows?

This is a Big Deal.

USS Oklahoma (BB-37), named for my home state, in flames after the dastardly surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

Today is the 83rd anniversary of the date that will live in infamy. Among many other losses, 4 battleships were sunk, 188 airplanes destroyed, and 2403 lives were lost. But crucially, the carriers were at sea, and the Japs failed to attack the fuel tank farms or repair shops.

America’s friends of limited government have had a rough go lately. Government bureaucrats and spenders of all stripes have been living it up.

Since 2001, the last time the federal budget was balanced, federal revenues have shown a healthy growth of 3.9% annually, while inflation averaged only 2.5%. These figures would normally signify a sound, sustainable economy. But spending has grown at a rate of 5.5%, so instead we have a destabilizing gross federal debt of $36 trillion.

United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson was killed on Wednesday in New York City.  Written on the shell casings left by his killer were the words “Deny,” “Defend,” and “Depose,” which suggests this was not a random killing.  NYC police have been investigating the fact that UnitedHealthcare has been under attack recently from People’s Action Institute — a leftist organization with a leftist name whose website describes their goals thusly:  “Advance a long-term agenda for racial, economic and gender justice by investing in powerful state and local organizations and campaigns that win real change in people’s lives.”  Why can’t leftists just come out and say what they want?  I can think of only one possible explanation, and it’s not good.

Anyway, People’s Action Institute released the following statement recently about Medicare patients getting denied coverage.  They mentioned no specific cases, but said:
“Despite having health insurance coverage, people are experiencing barriers to receiving care. The largest barrier to receiving care is the private health insurance corporations themselves refusing to authorize or pay for care.”  
These people have apparently never heard of Canadian or British healthcare systems.  They have also never heard of Obamacare, apparently, in which millions of people have health insurance but can’t get health care.  They’re shocked. SHOCKED!

Leftists demand that government pay for health care.  So we get Medicare.  Today, Medicare has a $1 trillion dollar budget, 75% of which is deficit spending.  And even with that, Medicare can’t come close to meeting the health care needs of elderly Americans.  So it allows them to buy secondary insurance, to help cover that which Medicare just can’t afford.  And even with that, the private insurance companies can’t cover everything, either.  We eventually run out of other people’s money.  And guess who leftists get mad at?  Private insurance companies.

Its that time of year:

Source: National Action Network website

In a society based on centralized control (leftist, socialist, communist, whatever), there is really only one way to get ahead.  You must figure out who has political power, befriend them, and do favors for them.  There is no reason for you to help the common man, so you focus on those in power.  Everything is in one pie, and if you want a piece of that pie, you must serve those above you.

The House Oversight Committee has exhaustively confirmed what should have already been well-known about the origins of COVID-19 but for the concerted effort by the governments of China and the USA with the cooperation of zealously anti-Trump media to promote a lie.

The initial rise of COVID-19 cases in the northeast USA and Western Europe simultaneously began in mid-March 2020 and initially peaked in mid-April.  However, virologists had already analyzed the virus in January, and Anthony Fauci knew he had a problem. It was already clear that the virus was very unlikely to have a natural origin.