Pay Back

Posted on 10/09/2022 by Grumpa Joe

Currently, I am reading a book titled “1434-The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance.” Surprise, surprise author Gavin Menzies makes a brilliant case exposing the Renaissance and giving the Chinese credit for all the inventions that the Italians used to bring Europe out of it’s doldrums and into a burst of progress.

Menzies begins by building a time line for world maps. Most of the maps are Chinese and show places like America and Brazil in place many decades before Columbus “discovered” America. He did the same with Magellan and other explorers who discovered new places but mysteriously the same places were already documented on maps. He credits Zheng He, a Chinese explorer with spreading the information around the world. In the year 1421 Zheng He was commissioned by Chinese emperor Zhu Di whose dream was to conquer the world and thus bring great wealth to China in the form of tribute.

Much of the author’s account is based on his findings and how he logically deducted that the Chinese were hundreds of years ahead of the Europeans in everything.

I was really blown away when my hero Leonardo Da Vinci is shown to be a plagiarizer. This book is loaded with drawings of Chinese inventions and right next to them are the Italian version almost line for line identical. I will only say that Da Vinci’s draftsmanship was far superior to that of the Chinese. The devices, however, are remarkably the same.

My third and fourth grade teachers never mentioned Zheng He when teaching that Columbus discovered America in 1492, nor did they when we were taught that Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the earth, or when Vasco Da Gama discovered Florida. All of these explorers had maps which showed their discoveries already in place, however unnamed or unclaimed.

After Zheng He’s travels a new emperor came into power and stopped all further Chinese exploration, and contact with the outside world.

As i am reading this history it occurs to me that the current Chinese government has no problem stealing any or all developments to catch up to the modern world. That is when the idea of “payback” struck me. The European world had no trouble stealing and using Chinese developments five hundred years ago. The difference between the two eras is that the Chinese stopped participating in world activities and thus stopped developing as a nation. Thankfully, we have chosen to continue, but it hurts when we see China stealing technology that we spent millions developing.

This history is a fascinating read, and I recommend it to anyone who has a penchant for learning about the advancement of our planet.

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Don’t Cry For Me America

Posted on 14/11/2021 by Grumpa Joe

Forgive me for stealing the title from the song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice for the musical play Evita. A dear friend sent me a video this morning which I have seen many times before and decided to use as the basis for my post. There are so many parallels between the economic and political history of Argentina and the United States that this short video is a scary prediction of the direction and eventual outcome we face.

It is hard to understand why the country is divided almost an exact 50-50 between liberals and conservatives, but it is that way. What is harder to understand is that there is not a very large middle ground where some of the population can see, and argue both sides with compromise. For years we the people have been living with such a population, i.e. one that sees the value in compromise and is happy with the out come. Today, we face completely opposite mindsets. Both conservative and liberal are so set in their philosophy that they cannot even imagine not getting their way. I for one believe the only way to return the country to a manageable sanity is to totally destroy the other side. This would mean a civil war fought to the bitter end with one hundred and fifty million dead all on the same side. Since wars don’t turn out that way it would mean a hundred and fifty million liberals and a hundred million conservatives dead. The picture is not very pretty.

A civil war in the United States today would most likely mean that China would side up with the liberal side and take advantage of the situation. I’m not sure Russia would get into the fray, but they would sure enjoy watching the self-annihilation happen. All of this because one faction believes it is more correct than the other. I for one believe the correct side is the conservative one. To me communism stinks and has proven to be wrong many times over the years. Why the liberals continue to believe in this errant philosophy can only be attributed to mental illness. Of course the liberals see conservatives as being mentally unstable. So, may the best man win.

At this moment I see the liberals with an advantage as they control the military, the leadership power, and a very sympathetic press. It is a lot to overcome. Conservatives believe in the power of ideas, and liberals believe in the power of giving people what they want. The giving side works for a little while, but eventually dives into oblivion as the country goes bankrupt.

In the meantime, how do we fight this war? How can we defeat the evil without nuclear annihilation, and the help of a billion man army feeding themselves with chopsticks? Of course the liberals will say we must use diplomacy, but we know that doesn’t work too good unless one country carries a huge stick and holds it over the head of the other. World Wars One, and Two were fought because one country believed that by creating the perfect race it would lead to the perfect world. We know that didn’t work, but it cost both sides millions of lives to decide it. At the end of WWII a new philosophy entered the picture. The USA and England made a pact with the devil to help beat the Germans and that in turn led to Joe Stalin infiltrating Europe with his marvelous, wonderful political philosophy of communism. That really initiated a third war which we called the Cold War because there were no bullets or bombs involved. Even though the USSR disbanded and we thought our prayers were answered, the underground communists persisted and are beginning to win big. A large number of these communists invaded our schools of higher education and have been teaching our kids how wonderful it is to not have to work for a living and to get free stuff along with five weeks of vacation, and free child care, and free health care, and free food. Experts tell us to look at Norway and Sweden, they are living the high life under the socialist veil. What they don’t understand is that citizens in these countries are taxed, taxed, and taxed to the point of not being able to strip themselves of the yokes that bind them. They are not free to start their own enterprises, they have become slaves to the system. But, they like it! They lead relatively good lives and seem to be happy. Most likely they are happy because the government tells them repeatedly how happy they are. The North Korean fat boy tells his people repeatedly all day long over country-wide speakers how fortunate and happy they are to be starving. China does the same. Chinese seem to be very nationalistic, and happy to be serving dear leader. Just watch some Youtube videos of Chinese people being interviewed about their lives.

If the socialist system is so great then why do Hong Kong and Taiwan, both Chinese populations living in a capitalist world resist socialism so strongly? The answer is obvious, they like freedom and liberty more than the socialist yoke of sameness.

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Christmas In April?

Posted on 29/04/2021 by Grumpa Joe

Joe Biden throwing money at the world

Well, I watched it last night, and I have to give Biden an “A” on his delivery. He lasted the entire time with just a few hints of a stutter. His delivery seemed sincere, and I liked some of the new things he is promoting. What I didn’t like was his border control. I also don’t like the cost of the package, because it will most likely be paid for by me. I just sent Uncle money to even out my tax bill. At the same time I am seeking health insurance for my new spouse who is undocumented, and needs health insurance. I applied thru the latest version of Obama Care and was stymied by the program. It seems that theology-on goes into a loop asking for a password. Once I gave it a password, it returned to the same opening page which wanted my user name, and you guessed it a new password. Once I entered a new password, it looped again. After three times, I called the happy number on my digital phone only to get a voice that’s totally unintelligible. I shut my cell off and used a land line. It worked. The problem is that the guy who spoke to me could not resolve my problem. I finally went to a an insurance agency referred by a friend of a friend and spoke to an agent. Thank God, this person was in business and could answer my questions. Had she worked for Uncle like the last guy I spoke to I’d be babbling like an idiot.

Insurance is available, but I still lack knowledge of the cost. The agent told me that my meager retirement allotment puts me just above the line to get the insurance for zero.

How in the world will the Federal government be able to provide all these new programs when they are still struggling to implement ObamaCare after twelve years and are still hung up on getting through the portal. That program, as I recall, cost us several billion dollars to implement. Multiply all the new goodies Uncle Joe promised us by the billions spent on O-Care and then add twelve years to that and we will have a living nightmare on our hands.

I heard all the wonderful challenges Joe gave the Congress to get it done, but I agreed with his jibes to get them off their asses and to make things happen. He kept telling us “we can do this,” but will we, or better yet should we?

What I wanted him to tell us is that he is cancelling all the bureau’s and starting the government from scratch. All monies will be returned to those from whom it is being stolen, and we will let the economy straighten things out in the free market way.

So there you have it, the dreams of two Joe’s. Both of us are giving the store away, one by enlarging the bureaus and the other by eliminating them.

Which dream would you support?

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We Have Two Choices

Posted on 13/01/2021 by Grumpa Joe

Today I was reminded of a story I had heard many years ago. The author of this piece states very eloquently the problem we have in America.

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Darkest Hour
By: Judd Garrett
December 13, 2020
  I was re-watching the movie, Darkest Hour, the other day, about the weeks leading up to Great Britain’s entrance into World War II, and I was struck by the similarities between the political dynamics of their country during that time to the United States, today. England was facing an existential threat from an evil totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany, and England’s Prime Minister was a loud, outspoken, rude, politically incorrect man named Winston Churchill. Churchill believed the best course of action was to stand up to the evil Nazi regime, and if they were to negotiate, they could then do so from a position of strength. He understood that the most dangerous course of action for the country would be not to fight.
  Churchill was not well received by the elites or the political class of England. He was brash and outspoken, saying unpopular things. The King told Churchill once, “you scare people. One never knows what’s going to come out of your mouth next. Something that will flatter. Something that will wound.” 
One does not have to be perfect to be a great leader, in fact, many times, their flaws are what makes them great. Churchill’s wife told him, “you are strong because you are imperfect. You are wise because you have doubts.”
 A contingent of career politicians worked behind the scenes, colluding together to oust Churchill because they believed their positions and their special interests were best served not to fight. They were willing to achieve a peace treaty with the Nazis at-all-cost even if it meant negotiating from a position of weakness. It was highly unlikely that Germany would have abided by the terms of the agreement forged under those circumstances. The treaty would only have been used by Germany to exploit England’s weaker position.
  What the peace-at-all-cost contingent in England did not realize was that Germany was at war with them, as they were with the rest of Europe, and simply saying “I do not want war”, does not make the war go away. In fact, it makes the war inevitable, and the results more devastating. 
Today in the United States, we have an existential threat in the form of Communist Chinese. And for the last four years, we have had a President who is a loud, outspoken, rude, flawed man named Donald Trump. Trump has not been well received by the elites or the political class of the United States. He is politically incorrect. No one knows what’s will come out of his mouth. 
Like Churchill facing the Nazis, Trump believes the best course of action is to stand up and confront the evil Communist Chinese, and by doing we will negotiate trade deals and other agreements with them from a position of strength. He understands that the most dangerous course of action for our country would be not to confront the Chinese, and pursue a peace-at-all-cost approach. 
Throughout Trump’s term in office, there has been a contingent of career politicians, tech billionaires, and the media working behind the scenes, colluding together to oust him. These people believe their positions and their special interests will be best served to acquiesce to the Chinese, pursue peace-at-all-cost thus giving away our power at the negotiating table. But these trade deals negotiated from a position of weakness makes it highly unlikely that the Chinese would abide by the terms of the agreement, merely using the treaty to further exploit our weaker position. 
China is at war with the United States, pretending they are not, does not make their unfair trade practices, their currency manipulation, their stealing of intellectual property magically go away. It merely emboldens them, making all of their unfair, illegal, unethical practices get worse. 
Both Churchill and Trump understood the premiere importance of individual and national sovereignty, and the utmost necessity it is to defend it against anyone or anything set to take it from us. 
For those who reject the “America First” approach to international relations that Trump has promoted, answer this, does China put China first? Yes. Does Russia put Russia first? Yes. Does Germany put Germany first? Yes. Does (fill in the blank) country put their country’s interests first? Yes. Why is it only evil when America puts American interests first? And since America, the greatest force of good in the world, a strong America, America as the world’s superpower, is unequivocally what’s in the best interest of the world. China’s ascendency to the world’s superpower would be bad for all of the world except China and a few rogue nations. How philanthropic and caring for human rights will China be to the rest of the world when they systematically oppress, enslave, and kill their own people? 
When Churchill was pushed to rush into some one-sided treaty for the appearance of peace, Churchill shouted, “When will the lesson be learned? How many more dictators must be wooed, appeased until we learn the lesson, you cannot reason with a lion when your head is in his mouth.” China is the lion and they are slowly but surely inserting our head into their mouth. And by the time we realize their jaws clamping down on us, it will be too late to negotiate ourselves out of it. 
Despite his lack of decorum and political statesmanship, Churchill will go down as a great leader because of his strength and his fearlessness. He once said, “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” 
73 million Americans voted for Trump, not because of his statesmanship and his rhetoric skills but because of his strength and his fearlessness. Trump has shown the courage to fight for America and for each of us until the end against enemies both foreign and domestic. It is far better to go down fighting for America than to surrender to globalism where our interests will be subjugated to the interests of other nations. 
This is what scares me most going forward, we will have a President who is not strong enough and is too embedded with the Chinese to stand up against the existential threat they pose to our country. He will acquiesce to them in the name of political expediency and to appease his special interest at the expense of America’s strength and sovereignty. 
When the threat of the Nazis was the most-dire, and his war cabinet was advising him to surrender, Churchill said, “Nations that go down fighting rise up again, those who surrender tamely, perish.” China is at war with us. We have two choices, stand up and fight, or surrender and perish.

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Pandemic War

Posted on 18/11/2020 by Grumpa Joe

The following is my opinion.

One of the greatest accomplishments President Trump can brag about is his action against China. Ever since President Nixon broke the barrier in the 1970’s with his ground breaking visit to China we as a country have been rushing to give everything we own to the Chinese government. All of it was under the guise of getting stuff made cheaper, and giving our companies a leg up in the great Chinese market. During that same time frame, I began working on an automation process for the product my employer produced. My boss (owner) resisted the urge to move equipment and processes to China because he didn’t trust the communists. He felt that giving his product to the Chinese to make was the same as giving them the business. He was absolutely correct. I retired thirty years later after forty years with the company and the boss still felt the same way. By then my team had successfully designed and built automation systems to make our product. We didn’t use much manual labor in the process, at least not enough to warrant sending our sensitive process to China where they would promptly copy it and use it without shame against us.

China has been stealing our technology, processes, and product designs ever since the USA has been sending them products to manufacture. Yes, we get it cheap, but after they copy the product and the process they make it cheaper and sell against us. When I began working at this company we had two competitors world wide. When I left we had seventy. Most of them were from China.

When Trump began speaking about the Chinese rip-off of America I cheered. Finally, someone had the guts to stand up to these thieves and tell us like it is. Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese made goods. The economists all began tearing their hair out proclaiming that we will begin a trade war and lose. The trade war didn’t happen and the Chinese wound up paying billions of dollars in tariffs to the USA. The Chinese took counter actions but they failed and for once the Peoples Republic of China was stymied.

It is my opinion that China wanted to punish the USA for the actions we took against them, and even though China has been building a strong military, they would still lose against the USA. What should they do? Well, how about if they unleash a potent virus from the their germ warfare lab. There is no doubt in my mind that China had a vaccine ready to go at the same time they unleashed the virus. To make it look like an accident they did a controlled infection of their own people, and then let these infected people travel all around the world spreading the virus as a cover for their actions. The result was a pandemic. The pandemic was collateral damage for the real goal which was to disable the USA. They nearly succeeded too.

Trump’s actions to stop all travel from China and later from Europe into the USA was a stop gap measure. Next, he shut down the economy at a great expense to the people of the USA and to the economic health of the country. Had we stayed quarantined another two weeks we may not have recovered as quickly as we did. We may actually have gone bankrupt. China did not expect us to recover. They had controlled the virus in their country by vaccinating the epicenter of the attack. It always seemed strange to me that China was able to recover so quickly and so completely while we struggle with doing so. Of course China does not ask their people to quarantine as we do here, they tell their people what they are to do. China had the manufacturing for masks, and as a result could divert all production to their use while we were rationing personal protective equipment waiting for shipments to come from China. Since they were at war with us they could control how they shipped and what they charged. Eventually, our own manufacturing was re-established and we were able to overcome the shortages.

At this point the USA continues to struggle with resurgences of the virus. The vaccines are nearly ready to begin dispensing and shortly the war will be over. In the meantime, the people of the USA continue to do business with China as though they are equally affected. China was never equally affected, they controlled the release and the spread of the virus in such a way as to benefit China.

What we have now, is a claim by Biden that he will take control of the virus and cure the world. My guess is that he will make a deal with China to stop the release of new viruses in exchange for lifting the tariffs. In so doing he will enslave the USA to China. A deal such as that is the only thing Biden can do to be different from that which Trump has already put into place.

Believe it or not.

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