Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
A United Nations Speech Like No Other
President Trump took under eight minutes to state the United States position to world leaders and domestic and international audiences. He started with the reason the United Nations was formed 75 years ago, the end of the second world war in a half century. President Trump used military imagery to tie the UN’s purpose to the current global pandemic. Then he dropped the hammer on China. President Trump called on the UN to deal with real problems and pointed to real US leadership under his administration. He pointed to the remarkable peace deals resulting from his administration rejecting the tired old institutionalized expert formulas. He once again pointed to the obligation of every government to care first for its own citizens, and then to make agreements in the mutual interest of each nation’s people, not according to elite theories and interests.
President accused China and the World Health Organization of letting the virus out and lying at all the important points. when it could have been contained or its effect on populations limited. President Trump then detailed China’s offenses against the rest of the world as the leading polluter of the oceans and atmosphere. No one can doubt that the Chinese Communist Party dearly wants Joe Biden, Chuck and Nancy in charge of America next January, and is fully supportive of the Democrats’ subversive strategy of denying the legitimacy of any Republican victory.
This latest annual speech reflects both continuity and change. President Trump has consistently advocated for each nation to take care of its own people first, making only those deals that are mutually beneficial to the citizens of the nations involved. He has beat the drum for reform of international organizations, cleaning up corruption and incompetence by pointing them back to their founding purposes. What changed was a major shift against China, now being accused of being the world’s supervillain, and celebration of the sweet fruit of long labors in the Middle East.
President Trump wears me out just following his schedule, and I’m two decades his junior. He seems to thrive on constant motion. Moreover, the motion is directed, purposeful.
Nikki Haley is an indomitable force at the United Nations. She has repeatedly called the UN on its immoral and biased actions. She has attacked it for publishing 
When Trump first started to campaign, his statements about the Israel-Palestinian conflict were contradictory and unclear. I think he was trying to find his footing on this complicated and controversial subject. If we look at the journey we’ve all taken with him, we might draw some interesting projections about the future. I’d like to reflect on some of the highlights of his candidacy and his time as President regarding his actions on Israel and the Palestinians.
John O’Sullivan joins Whiskey Politics and generously covers many issues, starting with O’Sullivan’s Law: “All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing.” We discuss Trump’s UN speech, North Korea (#Dotard!), William F. Buckley, today’s National Review and those opposing Trump, Europe in the age of Trump, why the conservative Australian model for immigration works, the worldwide attacks on free speech, and should Google and Facebook be nationalized?
President Trump’s first address to the UN could have been called The Gathering Storm, the title of Winston Churchill’s 1948 book. While many separate elements of the speech hit on the challenges of our day and time, taken together, there was thunder, wind, and warning combined with hope. Trump first thanked those who have supported our country’s hurricane recovery efforts and mentioned record job creation, market growth and drop in unemployment, then got down to message. “We live in a time of extraordinary opportunity, potential waiting to be unleashed. Yet, we meet at a time of both immense promise and great peril.”
The United Nations is not on my list of favorite organizations. In fact, I’ve written an