The Hill's Michael Starr Hopkins calls for Plan B after Trump-Biden Debate, but he ain't got no Plan B

 I was stunned by how quickly the mainstream media threw Joe Biden under the bus after last night's presidential debate with Donald Trump. It was as if the leftist pundits awoke from a deep sleep and realized for the first time that the Emperor was wearing no clothes!

Even the New York Times's op-ed writers, reliable lap dogs for the Democratic Party, admitted Joe's debate performance was dismal.

Michael Starr Hopkins, writing for The Hill,  undoubtedly spoke for millions of progressives when he wrote today that "Democrats need a Plan B." Unfortunately for the Trump haters. Hopkins has no Plan B.

Hopkins admitted it would be "political suicide" for the Democrats to switch candidates at this late hour, and thus, they must rally around Biden despite his glaring flaws. "We can't change the quarterback," he acknowledges, "but we can improve our playbook."

In essence, Hopkins argues that Biden can still defeat Trump on election day if Democrats simply repeat the shrill mantra that Biden is better than Trump.

It's a pathetic argument, and most Americans don't buy it. They're looking for a leader who can end the Ukrainian war before it goes nuclear. They are searching for someone who can shrink the national debt, which accrues interest at a trillion dollars every 100 days. They want a secure border that will keep rapists and human traffickers out of the country.

Biden has done nothing to address these problems—in fact, he created them or made them worse. I think Donald Trump will defeat Joe Biden in November. If so, Democrats will have only themselves to blame.

"If you vote for Biden, you ain't Jewish": Biden has alienated a crucial Democratic constituency

Remember when Joe Biden chided an African American radio host during the 2020 election season? "If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump," Biden flippantly claimed, "then you ain’t Black."

It was a racist remark, stereotyping all Black Americans as Blue Dog Democrats who would be denying their own interests if they voted Republican.

Now, that phrase has been turned against him as Jewish voters recoil from Biden's betrayal of Israel. As Varda Meyers Epstein wrote on the Elders of Zyon blog site, "If you vote for Biden, you ain't Jewish." Writing last month, Epstein accused Biden of betraying Israel in its life-or-death struggle with Hamas. Biden was "withholding arms and information," Epstein charged, and concealing "critical intelligence for later leverage, and was now using it—carrot and stick—to force Israel to stand down from Rafah."

Epstein might also have mentioned that Biden undermined Israel when he implicitly endorsed Senator Chuck Schumer's speech excoriating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling for his ouster. Biden called Schumer's outrageous betrayal "a good speech."

Why has President Biden stabbed Israel in the back? Some commentators say he's afraid he'll alienate Michigan's Muslim voters before the November presidential election if he doesn't take a more pro-Palestian stance in the Gaza war. Michigan, after all, is a critical battleground state.

I disagree. I think Biden's betrayal is a cowardly capitulation to a rising tide of anti-semitism in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Racist Democrats hate Jews, and they don't care whether they alienate Jewish voters who have traditionally voted for the Democratic ticket.

If so, Biden made a fatal miscalculation. Even if he carries Michigan in the November election (a doubtful proposition), he may lose other states with significant Jewish populations. 

Earlier this week, New York voters swept Jamaal Bowman, a pro-Palestinian Congressman, out of office, and Jewish PAC money helped defeat him. Bowman had accused Israel of committing genocide, and Jewish voters took note.

Bowman's defeat is an indication of how Jews will probably vote in November. Jewish voters may have concluded that if they vote for Biden, "they ain't Jewish." And there are 1.4 million Jews in New York City alone.

Pro-Palestinian protesters outside a Jewish synagogue in Los Angeles
Photo credit: Wall Street Journal

Why take out student loans to get an Ivy League degree when you can learn to be a bigot for less than twenty bucks?

 American universities have spent millions of dollars on affirmative action, women's varsity sports, litigation defending their race-based policies, and the newest race-obsessed fashion trend--Diversity. Equity and Inclusion (DEI). 

All these investments should produce kindlier and more tolerant college campuses--a collegiate nirvana, an idyllic state of perfect racial harmony.

But not so. Over the past few months, universities have shown themselves to be racist institutions and hotbeds of antisemitism. The most racist schools have been the most elite: Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and UCLA, among them.

And it's not just the students who are bigoted toward Jews. Professors have also attended disruptive anti-Israel rallies, and when college presidents call the cops, the faculty protest by passing votes of no confidence in them.

Few college leaders openly espouse anti-semitic opinions, but they often don't take campus anti-semitism seriously. For example, three college administrators were put on leave at Columbia recently for exchanging "unprofessional text messages while attending a panel discussion about antisemitism on campus. "

Young people might profitably ask themselves why they should take out $100,000 in student loans to surround themselves with bigots on an Ivy League campus. After all, you can school yourself in racial prejudice for the price of Adolph Hitler's Mein Kampf, which you can purchase from Amazon for only twelve bucks.

Mein Kampf: Cheaper than a liberal arts degree from Harvard

Civilians are suffering in Gaza, but that's not Israel's fault

Antisemitic racism on college campuses has disguised itself with crocodile tears for the civilian population in Gaza, which has suffered greatly during Israel's war with Hamas. But I think that's bullshit.

College protesters don't give a damn about the carnage in Ukraine, where the New York Times estimated a half million casualties--and that was almost a year ago.

According to the mainstream media, 37,000 people have died in the Gaza conflict, but the legacy press depends almost solely on Hamas for its casualty figures.  Who believes Hamas--the outfit that raped, tortured, kidnapped, and killed innocent Israeli civilians?

Without a doubt, the Gaza war has created massive suffering, but civilians die in every war. Hamas chose to commit war crimes against civilian women, children, and the elderly, and now it wants a ceasefire purportedly to protect the civilians with whom it is hiding. That doesn't work for me.

I have no sympathy for Hamas and little sympathy for the Palestinians who are protecting them. People who keep Israeli hostages in their homes are not civilians; they are combatants. 

 If the nation of Israel is to survive, it must wipe out Hamas--every root and branch. Tragically, this means there will be substantial collateral damage to the civilian population of Gaza.

Another boneheaded idea: Western meddling in Moldova

Moldova, a small country near the Black Sea coast, is nestled between Ukraine and Romania. This nation, once part of the Soviet Union, gained independence in 1991, marking a significant turning point in its history.

So far, Moldova has not been dragged into the Ukraine war, but the conflict is on its doorstep. Chisinau, Moldova's capital city, is only 230 miles from Kherson, where there has been heavy fighting.

According to Bloomberg News, "Moldova's President Maia Sandu is pursuing a pro-Western course that would take it permanently out of Russia’s orbit." As  the Bloomberg news agency noted, Moldova is "at the heart of a geopolitical struggle between Washington and Brussels on one side, and Moscow on the other."

Moldova is holding an election in October to vote on a constitutional change that would allow Moldova to join the European Union. As the Bloomberg story observed, a pro-Western outcome "may offer the West a potentially important win" that would significantly shape the geopolitical landscape in the region.

The Bloomberg story should have mentioned that 20oo Russian troops are already stationed in Moldova's breakaway province of Transnistria. Moreover, as the news agency acknowledged, the autonomous province of Gagauzia is showing pro-Russian tendencies. 

In short, Moldova is a complex mix of ethnic and political tensions, much like Ukraine in 2014. Pro-Russian Moldovans advocate for closer ties to the Russian Federation, while pro-Western Moldavans push for Moldova to align with the West.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Chisinau recently, bringing his tireless message: I'm from the American government, and I'm here to help. He announced a gift of $50 million to help Moldova "resist Russian interference." He would have given them more money, he explained apologizingly, but he left his wallet in his other pants.

Perhaps Blinken brought his guitar and sang "Blowing in the Wind," that old Peter-Paul-and-Mary tune, at a Chisinau coffee shop. Or maybe he secretly promised President Sandu some American weapons and military support. Or maybe not.

Almost certainly, however, the CIA is in Moldova, as it is in Ukraine, sowing mischief. God help the Moldovans if the Ukraine war spreads to their country. And God help the United States.

America's top goofball diplomat plays the guitar in Kyiv.

Pax Americana will die in the wheatfields of Ukraine: The American Century is over

 About 100 nations attended a peace summit on the Ukraine war last week, held at a 5-star resort in Switzerland. Ukraine wasn't invited, and several invitees—including China—did not attend. Most attending nations signed a communique on the Ukraine conflict, but some important countries did not: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Mexico, Indonesia, India, Brazil, and India. 

Hmmm. The BRIC nations, which are working to undermine the status of the dollar, were all nonsigners. What do you suppose that means?

The United States--far more interested in cramming a Gaza ceasefire down Israel's throat than peace in Ukraine--sent VP Kamala Harris as its official representative, and she only attended briefly. Meanwhile, President Biden spent time with George Clooney and Julia Roberts out in Califonia, raising money for his reelection campaign.

None of these world leaders proposed a plausible plan to end the Ukraine war. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it won't be time to discuss a peace plan until Ukraine's military position is more robust.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "sane" ceasefire proposal that would require the West to renounce Ukraine's membership in NATO and cede the Donbas and Crimea to Russia. Ukraine dismissed Putin's offer as a nonstarter.

The Ukraine war has only three possible outcomes: First, Russia will win the conflict and absorb the Donbas into the Russian Federation. It already has a firm hold on most of the territory it demands.

Second, the United States, ever more desperate to defeat the Russkies, will escalate the conflict, eventually pushing Putin to use tactical nuclear weapons, which he has repeatedly threatened to do.

Third, the Ukraine war will simply drag on for several more years until Ukraine is a wasteland and Uncle Sam is dead broke.

The third possibility is most likely. If the Ukraine war drags on for a few more years, the U.S. will no longer be a world power. In other words, Pax Americana is in its twilight years and will end as the BRICs accede to world dominance.

Personally, I think the collapse of America's status as the world's leader is a high price to pay for fucking with the Russians in the wheatfields of Ukraine.

Bad Moon A-Rising: America faces a looming real estate crisis

I see the bad moon a-risin'

I see trouble on the way

I see earthquakes and lightnin'

I see bad times today

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Americans live in a Panglossian environment, encouraged by our government to believe we live in the best of all possible worlds. Inflation? It's going down. The job market? Our economy is creating an astonishing number of new jobs. Our President? A paragon of wisdom.

Of course, we don't live in the best of all possible worlds. America is neck-deep in two terrible wars: Ukraine and Gaza, and those wars will eventually bite us on the national butt. Right now, these global disasters still seem far away. No reason to put off buying a new Land Rover.

Domestically, however, an economic calamity is looming, and it will soon come crashing down on us. I'm talking about the collapse of the domestic real estate market.

Driven by catastrophic weather events (hurricanes, wildfires, windstorms, and floods), the cost of homeowner's insurance has risen significantly, increasing the cost of owning a home.

Lenders require people with home mortgages to have adequate property insurance, typically added to the home borrower's monthly mortgage payment. Since most homeowners buy houses based on what they can afford in monthly payments, rising insurance costs will force many Americans to buy less expensive homes.

Interest rates on home mortgages are going up, too. The Biden administration and the Fed are doing their best to keep interest rates down until after the presidential election, but the days of 3 percent mortgages are over.

On the global stage, the BRIC countries are slowly undermining the American dollar's status as the world's reserve currency, and that process is well underway. Our government now spends a trillion dollars every 100 days in interest payments on the national debt, and that debt grows larger each month. Our growing debt has started to put pressure on interest rates, including the interest rate on home mortgages. 

All these trends are gathering into a perfect storm for homeownership. Who resides on the dirty side of this storm? 

Not the banks. When the real estate market collapses the next time, the feds will bail out the banks as they've done in the past, assuming the value of the U.S. dollar holds up through the crisis. 

No, the losers will be American middle-class homeowners. And when the next real estate crisis is over, the American middle class will be much smaller. 

You'll be goddamn lucky if you're still in it. In the meantime, I recommend listening to more Creedence.

Who stole the Dude's Creedence tapes?