The (Daily) Vent 2

(Requirements Of Office) According to the Constitution, the requirements for being President are that her be 37 years old. an American citizen and of good moral character. Whatever that means. One other quality has just been specified by the Vice President Harris is that President Biden is alive. That is contrary to some opinion. Mrs. Harris point is that Biden is well enough and will be re-elected, If that prediction fails to materialize, and Biden gets removed by some mechanism, either he removes himself form contention like President Johnson did in 1968, or he is removed by Party elders, Vice President Harris will be elevated to the Presidency. There have been periods of history where the lack of American leadership at the top has consequences. The best example would be FDR in the closing days of World War II. If he had not stood for re-election in 1944, instead pass the torch to a Henry Wallace of a James Byrnes, it is they that would have gone to the Yalta Conference and be more f

(Faustian Bargain) After seven weeks, the United Auto Workers and the Big Three automakers reached a tentative agreement, details of which were not immediately available. That being said, the strike was about one issue, the mandated future to manufacture electric vehicles to the exclusion of all else. Making one buy an electric car is like making one eat broccoli, probably without cheese. There is no market for EV's that would be sustainable and sustainable is big on the Administration's agenda. There was going to be an insurance policy if electric cars were not popular. The car industry will need another bail-out when the effects of forced production begin to manifest themselves. It costs Ford thousands of dollars more to print a single EV, to fill showrooms. Show rooms that will in all likelihood stay filled because there is no demand for the product. Never fear. When politicians write books, they get their "friends" to buy thousands of copies, artificially inflatin

(Does Time Stop ?) Does anyone know there is a war on ? Whenever a high-intensity conflict erupts, it tends to disrupt what had been ante-bellum . So what happens to the Biden impeachment inquiry ? Despite the confusion of new role as a prospective wartime Executive comes into focus, to a point. The President does have an opportunity to show leadership but if the attack in Syria will be the extent of his commitment, then one can continue as before. There is a distinction to be made here. Impeaching a President in a time of war, when a country should rally behind the Commander in Chief. That being said, however, President Biden has no intention of being Commander in Chief. That does not negate all the evidence that of the Biden family corrupt activities. So, a continued investigation is warranted. Speaker Johnson is fresh on the job and it would do nothing if the House does away with any impeachment proceedings. Johnson has his own political imperative and he will need to lead the GOP C

(Levels Of Tolerance) Start here. Some days ago, Hamas fighters were rightly referred to as "punks." Givan a Kalashnikov, some explosives, and one also can go on a slaughter of innocents. To broaden the definition, people out protesting on behalf of the terror group who committed these atrocities can similarly be called punks. Whether one is carrying an AK-47 or a college textbook, to celebrate the murder of children, infants no less, advise me of any re-deemable quality of their character ? One question has been answered, however. President Biden will use force. An ammunition yard and a weapons depot in Syria were struck by two F-16's deploying from Iraq. Almost 20 American service personnel have been wounded and the attack in Syria is a step but only a step and an in-sufficient one at that. Biden has alienated Israel, who were not briefed before hand. Iran because he has been unable to sever the Tehran connection completely. And, in a threat to his rear, a fair portion

(The Fall Of New Hampshire) Fall, in New Hampshire must be a sight, Any October trip on Highway whatever will astound with all the fall foliage. The golds, the reds, the leaves off the trees, combine in a panoply of images that will astound any visitor. Except for President Biden. The Granite State is also important politically as it has been the state that has made itself the first primary contest for both Parties for the past century. In 2020, Biden came in fifth in New Hampshire and that was after a lack-lusted performance in the Iowa Caucus. It was in South Carolina and the endorsement of House Majority Whip Clyburn (D-SC) and the concession of Senators Warren and Sanders that allowed for Biden to secure the Democrat nomination and all that happened after. So, in order to more accurately reflect the realities of the Democrat Party, the effort is under way that would move the first primary state to South Carolina and bypass New Hampshire altogether, But that violates state election

Perfection (enemy of the good) Will four times be a charm ? Kevin McCarthy is ousted as Speaker by a House GOP conspiracy led by Florida Congressman Gaetz. In the aftermath, the Conference was unable to  seat a new Gaval holder because they collectively were missing the point. The idea was to seat a new Speaker, not nit-pick every past vote that questioned one's conservative bona-fides . Some had been too close to Democrats. In any event, four rounds of voting with a total of eight Congresspeople stood for Kevin McCarthy's old job. The latest nominee is Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) Now, the Congressman is not a Majority Leader Scalise, or a Judiciary Chairman Jordan, or even Majority Whip Emmer, all who were not papabile to enough of their Republican colleagues the Speakership. As mentioned, however, all that was beside the point. Matt Gaetz actions were nothing less than kamikaze  mission. Because Speaker McCarthy was eager to compromise, a recognition of the limits of H

 (Irony. . .) Just in case one looked at a calendar today, October 24th is United Nations Day and for all the various days of commemoration U.N. Day is one of the most superfluous, especially with the state of the world. And, it can also be stated that the United Nations is one of the more anti-Sematic and anti-Israel organizations and today it wants to involve itself in the Israeli- Hamas conflict. As one might know, whatever the U.N has in the way of authority comes from the Security Council. Secretary of State Blinken chaired the current session, reporting 33 Americans have been killed in the war. And, true to form, there has been  condemnation of civilian atrocities by Hamas but, and this was a concession by the United States and the Biden Administration, Iran was not included in any Council communiqu é.  Like Biden requesting a delay in the Israeli offensive. The link between Tehran and Palestinian terrorist organizations is all but definitive. As such, Iran is the head of the s

(Bad Advice ?) How many military operations have mis-fired over the years because of a delay ? Gallipoli, Anzio Kursk to name a few. Because time was used to move assets into position, because logistic support needs to be concentrated. Perhaps more importantly. however is the will. While an intensive bombardment campaign has decimated Gaza infrastructure. But F-15 strikes, as impressive as they can be, do not hold ground. They can kill Hamas fighters and have done so to the tune of several thousand, but they cannot occupy a city block and search for hostages. That will need to be done retail, hand to hand. The IDF invasion of Gaza is imminent and it has been imminent for the past week or so. One is seeing pictures of Merkava tanks in assembly formation for the past several days and while armored fighting is not necessarily conducive to urban warfare, those 120mm main guns with armor piercing or high explosive rounds can level a building and collapse it on anybody inside. All that is

( Everything, Everywhere (and all at once)} That was the name of a movie recently but, truth be told, art has been imitating life to a point not seen. Two wars, inflation, political turmoil in Washington, the open border and so on. Wast is being witnessed, however, is the abject inability of any effective leadership, with the possible exception of the Israeli Prime Minister. The world has too many balls in the air at the same time and there is no one able to bring things under control. The Ukraine War is becoming the "Leopold" of international conflicts meaning that after hostilities erupted in Israel, Ukraine is being relegated to a side-show. As before, Ukraine continues to require aid form the West but when was the last time this War was in the news ? Moscow and Kiev no longer hold the spotlight and if there are no witnesses to view the carnage, it makes little sense for the carnage to continue. Some weeks ago, it was argued that by virtue of Russia's staying power, th

( Dog At The Dance) There have been school dances over the years where certain people stand out. Not to be cruel but these would be the heavy set type with an odd name, like Gretchen or Hildegard. She is most likely alone against the wall, maybe gets some punch, and maybe waiting for some other square to aske her to dance. She would not be one of the popular girls, would look plain and un-attractive. Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is that homely girl at the dance and after three failed tries to be elected Speaker, he has been removed from all further consideration for the Post. If not Jordan, however, then who ? There has been some new evidence in the Biden bribery probe, a check made out to the President from brother James in the amount of $200,000. The funds were ostensibly a loan-re-payment. This obviously needs to be looked into further and evidence of actual  wrong doing. But whatever is there, a little or a lot, none of that can be acted upon unless the House gets its Speaker. It

(Yellow Journalism) The USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor February 15th, 1889. The cause of the detonation was ultimately determined to be a fire in the coal bunkers but at the time, there had been speculation that the Maine had been sunk by a Spanish mine or torpedo. That had been the theory advocated by two newspaper publishers, William Randolf Hearst of the New York WORLD and Joseph Pulitzer of the New York JOURNAL pushed the external mine theory and in a practice which has been known since as "Yellow Journalism." These papers were powerful at the time and an anti-Spanish sentiment was worked to a frenzy and the ultimate result was a Declaration of War on Spain, the Spanish American War. It would seem that the coverage of the Israeli- Hamas War is being covered by the same type pf yellow journalism as promulgated by Hearst and Pulitzer in 1889. Like the explosion of the Maine , similar conclusions were initially drawn about the strike on that Gazan hospital. It was

(Thank You Mr. President) Helen Thomas was an American journalistic institution. She was White House correspondent for UPI (United Press International). Thomas had her own seat front corner seat for Presidential press conferences and it was her prerogative to conclude the session. She stands and says "Thank you Mister President." Thomas held that esteemed position for many years. Then she made a comment about Israel, that Jews should get out of Palestine. She was then fired by UPI. The pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel sentiments are curious. Demonstrations are erupting globally and also on American college campuses. By now, anybody with a TV has seen the brutality of the war and has heard of the casualties. These realities are, by and large, being rejected by the demonstrators, citing Israel propaganda among other things. Now, in another context, these same people would largely be leftists. A visible example of this is the comments by Congresswoman Rashida Talib (D-MN) who ref

{(Patience Is A Virtue (until it's not))} Start here. Poland used to be a powerful kingdom in commonwealth with Lithuania. Its " parliament," at the time was called the Sajim. which was composed of its nobility . Now, on the theory that men of good faith could agree on a policy, but the entire nobility had to agree, That was called the Liberum Veto and if a measure was no passed unanimously, it did not pass. The practice had the effect of paralyzing Warsaw to the point where Austria, Prussia and Russia partioned the Polish nation on three occasions, till it was finally absorbed into the Russian Empire. The Republican Conference in the House of Representatives is operating as if it is operating with its own Liberum Veto where a handful of Republican Members are preventing any ascension to the Speakership as front-runner Congressman Jordan seems unable to conclude his election. The number of "Nays" is 22 at the moment. He could only lose four. If Jordan cannot se

( Issue In Doubt ?) Here is the tally. Two Carrier Battlegroups ( Eisenhower and Ford ) have been deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean. A Marine Expeditionary Unit is being re-deployed to the Red Sea region. And President Biden will be in Jerusalem tomorrow. And, as of yet, the main IDF push into Gaza has yet to be ordered. Now, all these American assets cannot be just for show and in the event of an Hezbollah escalation from Lebanon, the two carriers and their support ships should be able to come to Israel's aid. A least that is a supposed deterrent value but that will be of no value unless the President actually gives the order. He probably won't. His main concern has always been humanitarian and dismissive of Israeli's military imperatives. To that end, there are trucks being readied in Egypt with supplies that will cross into Gaza and deal with a growing refugee crisis. This column if it rolls will role to the benefit of Hamas and would contravene Israel's effor

(Course Change ?) Green energy is beginning to lose its luster. Its promise of clean energy and zero carbon emissions has been confronted with the reality of real energy needs. An example would be New York's decision that would place further off-shore wind development in jeopardy. Those are the large windmills that are killing whales but more are being planned that at best would be eye-sores and whales would be extinct by then. If then Empire State is re-evaluating it wind posture, in itself a blow to the President's climate agenda, then perhaps Biden can re-evaluate his own stance on energy production, and, truth be told, he does have much of a choice. The Israel- Hamas War has the potential to escalate and involve petroleum-producing nations. And that will have a predictable effect on oil prices, on gas prices, and so goes inflation. That being said, the President has in his power to follow New York's example and re-open American domestic oil production. Now, it is true

( Disambiguation. . .) In this day and age, clarity is important. Let there be no confusion as where people stand. This morning, a week after atrocity was inflected on the Israeli people whose only crime was being Israeli, Hamas militants entered Jewish territory and committed un-speakable acts. These Pages condemn those actions and anybody else who is otherwise is in support of Hamas or finds the murder of children acceptable. So, let there be no mis-understanding. There is nothing heroic about Hamas . There is nothing noble about Hamas. Give any punk a Kalashnikov but he still remains a punk. A lot of these "punks" will be dead in the coming days. However, the main attack has yet to materialize and there could be several explanations, one of which was the weather. One can hope it is not cold feet. In all previous episodes of the Arab-Israeli conflicts humanitarian concerns have intervened to a point before the mission was completed. Now, it is all the hostages, Israeli an

( Un-Holy Holy War) The Near East lies at the confluence of three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is no accident then that the entire history of the region has been one of conflict. The cross-roads pf the worlds is here and here it has a stop light. Empires have risen and fell. And then there is religion. All three monotheistic Faiths trace a lineage to Abraham, a somewhat mytho-historical figure who originated from Mesopotamia, Ur to be precise. On the "suggestion" of God, Abraham migrated, with his family to Caanan. It was there that his  offspring, two sons, Issac, whom Abraham was told to sacrifice on Mount Moriah, the peak of which is now under the Dome of the Rock. Issac was reprieved at the last minute. Abraham's other son was Ishmael. Issac went on to be the father of the Hebrews and in time. Jews. Ishmeal was the  progenitor of Arabs, and, in the Eighth Century, Mohammad received the Revelation. of God (Allah) and that was the beginning of Islam. Then Je

( Hanging Separately) Benjamin Franklin once remarked in the lead-up to the Declaration of Independence that if "they do not hang together, they would all hang separately." In times of crisis, a unified effort removing partisanship is crucial. At the outset of the Second World War, when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, one of the first things he did was to form a United Government, taking elements from both the Conservative and Labor Parties into a single body. That way, Number 10 and White Hall could execute war policy without devolving into the minutia of debate. Similarly, the Israeli Government has also united into a singular governing whole where executive action, namely the destruction of Hamas , in Gaza. Prime Minster Netanyahu's  Likud  and Labor Parties coming together to wage war. The main attack is being readied at the moment and should imminently commence. It promises to a combined air-land battle not seen since the days if Yom Kippur. However, it must

(On A Deadline. . .) Everything seems to be on a tight schedule. The House Republican Conference needs to find a Speaker today. Better said than done. The same dis-union that allowed for the ouster of former Speaker McCarthy is still manifest with the House GOP and in an exercise that is most urgent, the House cannot operate with one at the Gavel, to still be split in such a fashion that no election is readily possible, gives lie to the idea of any Republican House Majority . If the Conference is not united, if eight or so members can disrupt the process, and dis-miss a Speaker on a whim, then there is no  governing in the House of Representatives. There are two main candidates to fill the role of Speaker; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). Each has his own acolytes but nowhere near a majority of the Conference. Beginning in a few minutes and behind closed doors, the pruning process will begin, While the war in Israel is adding ur

(Things To Be Said. . . ) President Biden will be making a statement about the Israeli crisis in a few minutes. This speech has been anticipated since the Hamas incursions began. This situation will be difficult address because what is required now is leadership, a quality for which the President is not known for, Stating platitudes about Support for Israel will not be sufficient. Biden will need to layout concrete steps that will assist the IDF directly. Climate change had better not be mentioned but he could offer a litany on how his failures have led to the current situation. His decisions and mis-judgements have all been factors going all the way back to Afghanistan. In any speech today, the President needs to declare that he is aware of Tehran's influence and that any response will take that into consideration. One can start with he can rescind that $6 billon and donate it to the Israeli war effort. Then, he can announce sanctions on Iran, especially it ability to sell oil. T

(The Long Game. . .) President Biden is an author of the current fighting in Israel just as much as Hamas or Iran. Hs diplomatic overtures to Tehran, the $6 billion in funds to the Islamic Republic that is the funding source for these brutal attacks that that has now killed upwards of 1,500 civilians since the weekend. What could put an end to the fighting, not just in the Near Esat buy also could resolve the Russo-Ukraine conflict as well. However, there is such an such an obvious solution and no chance the President will act on it, If he "opened the spigot" so to speak and reversed on his energy policy, and began a crash course to re-open drilling sites and pipelines that would cause the price of oil to plumet and thus remove any financial incentive to continue fighting. But because that would be a violation of his green policy, the President will eschew that option. The price of oil will rise without American production increases and the price of gas will rise also. So mu

{(Wars (and rumors of Wars)} When the news if the Hamas attack into Israel, these pages were otherwise occupied. The initial entry involved the Ukraine War and of the possibility that American support might cease with a change in Republican leadership on Capitol Hill. The advice given was to negotiate a cease fire which from the Ukrainian point of view, was in their strongest position on the battlefield. Then came the news from Israel.  The latest accounting is that there are now over six hundred Israeli fatalities and the tactics being employed by Hamas this time are reminiscent of the brutality of ISIS. And while the goal of this campaign is to destroy the State of Israel, this can be considered the greatest attempt to make that a reality. This is a diplomatic crisis and the one in the White House is singerly not qualified to deal with it. President Biden predictably condemned the Hamas action but has no indication as what an his response might be. There has been some reporting that

(Days Of Aton ement) The Yom Kippur (Days of Atonement) War was waged from October 6th till the 25th, 1973. In apparent commemoration of that event, there has been a massed rocket attack from Hamas controlled Gaza into the Israeli interior, In an escalation not seen in other conflicts, some 100 fatalities which is an un-precedented number have been registered since the barrage opened up this morning. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has declared a state of war on the Palestinian terrorists that hold that strip of real estate along the Mediterranean coast. The significance of these attacks taking place now is not by accident. The Yom Kippur war anniversary notwithstanding, one must remember that Hamas is an Iranian proxy, the same Islamic Republic to which the Biden Administration saw fit to spend $6 billion to Tehran in order to ransom Americans held there. But, one might add that the biggest threat to Hamas ', and for that matter, Hezbollah 's in Lebanon, is peace

(Mukden Variants ) Some months ago, the Battle of Mukden was referenced. Fought between February and March 1905, it was the largest, and last battle of the Russo-Japanese War. And, while it was a Japanese victory, it was not sufficient to defeat Russia outright. Russia could sustain hostilities by feeding troops via the Trans Siberia railway while Japan, herself exhausted, opted to go into negotiations that would terminate hostilities in the Treaty of Portsmouth, brokered by then U.S. President Theordore Roosevelt. Like in the Russo-Japanese War, in the Russo-Ukraine War, the Mukin principle still applies. It has always been the case that, however debilitating the conflict has been for Russia, for its part at least, it can still sustain operations while the Ukraine is dependent on assistance, namely from the United States. That all could change however. One of the casualties of the power struggle on Capitol Hill could be Ukraine support. Ukraine has had a "cheer-leader" secti