(The opinions expressed in guest op-eds are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.)
The Powers That Be recently saw that We the Sheeple had finally awoken to the fact that the China Virus “pandemic” was much less a health problem – and much more an authoritarian Powers That Be problem. Well, enough sheeple to become a problem for the Powers That Be.
So the Powers That Be supplemented their propaganda. Gone was exclusive 24-7 flu-fear propaganda – now augmented with 24-7 Russia-Ukraine propaganda.
We the Sheeple were for two-plus years incessantly told a virus with a 99+ percent survival rate was justification for sweeping, massive government power grabs. We finally became fed up with that nonsense – so we have been delivered new nonsense.
Putin Wants to Bring Back the Soviet Union. We Must Not Allow That to Happen
Russia cannot again be the Soviet Union. Because modern Russia is a scant, slight, wispy sliver of the nation that built the Soviet Union:
“Russia is now a shambling, hollowed-out shell of its former self. If this is high school – and life is high school extended – Russia is the Recording Secretary of the Chess Club. The European Union (EU), meanwhile, is – relatively speaking – the football team’s middle linebacker.
“Russia’s population is 146 million. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is $1.7 trillion. The EU’s population is 447 million. Its GDP is $18.8 trillion.
“And we have a NATO to obligate US to go to war – to protect the football player from the chess player. Government is stupid.”
Europe dwarfs Russia. And it’s their continent – not ours. Let them address that irrelevant-to-US border skirmish.
“But…but NATO,” the propagandists and sheeple say:
“The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should have ended five minutes after the Soviet Union did – since the entire point of NATO was to protect Europe from the Soviet Union. But this is government – where nothing ever ends. Had Cro-Magnon Man’s prehistoric governments started a Saber-Tooth Tiger Treaty Organization, the US would still be over-funding it.”
The US has spent the last many decades picking up the ridiculous slack of every other NATO member. Shouldn’t we be tired of doing that by now? Three decades AFTER the reason for NATO’s existence – ceased to be?
There are currently about a dozen border skirmishes going on around the planet. NONE of which affect us AT ALL. We’re FREAKED about this one – because we’ve been told to be FREAKED about this one.
Of course and most unfortunately, this We the Sheeple ignorance is ubiquitous. There is no facet of public policy – or life – safe from the rampaging incomprehension.
Even many alleged conservatives proudly, publicly declare their unconsciousness on a whole host of issues.
Why Conservatives Should Be Eager to Deter Putin on Ukraine
Conservatives Pretending Big Tech Isn’t Anti-Conservative Are an Embarrassment
Pseudo-conservative opinion on global commerce? Just as awful.
DC Rushes to Restore Globalist Fake ‘Free Trade’ – To the Great Detriment of We the People:
“The DC Republican Establishment specifically – and DC generally – shouldn’t be erasing (Donald) Trump and his policies.
“They should all be embracing them.
“But that would cost all of them a LOT of coin, so….”
There’s a WHOLE LOT of Reality these pseudo-conservatives have to ignore – to remain this ignorant. Much like with NATO, these pseudo-conservatives have been present for the decades of fake “free trade” abuse to which foreign nations have subjected US – but none of it seems to register with them.
Fake Free Trade: More Government There – Means Economic Destruction Here
In Global Trade, We Need Equal Protection from All Governments:
“Every global trade participant state’s domestic laws and regulations – of course affect international trade. If any state is engaged in unequal protection before the law – playing favorites amongst its domestic businesses – those businesses transmogrify those domestic advantages into international ones when they enter the global trade market.
“A state subsidizes a commodity, or emplaces tariffs protective of that commodity, or engages in any of a host of other domestic unequal protection – and that state’s commodity has a built-in advantage when it is brought to the global market.
“For the global market’s other participants – that ain’t great. And it establishes a terrible precedent. The other states that produce that commodity – start themselves applying unequal protections domestically to advantage that commodity in their nations – and thereby on the global market.
“Round and round and round we go – and we end up with an international heinous patchwork quilt of stupid multi-government policy.
“The result – is anything but free trade.”
And the worst aspect of this all-encompassing awfulness?
Importing Government Subsidies: The Worst of Fake ‘Free Trade’:
“Tariffs and import limits – reduce our foreign sales. Which of course damages our domestic producers…to a degree.
“But other countries’ subsidies – are stealth weapons killing us from within. They are an innumerable armada of Trojan Horses – which we have been willingly bringing inside our gates.
“Because cheap stuff. Because the Free Trade Uber Alles Crowd thinks nothing is more important – than cheap stuff.
“But we are a nation – with an economy. Not an economy – with a nation.
“I’m all for trade. Right up until it hurts our nation.
“When the health of trade and our nation are in conflict – the nation must prevail.
“Importing government subsidies – undercuts our domestic producers of…everything that is subsidized elsewhere.
“So millions of domestic producers – have been thusly driven either overseas…or into extinction. Taking with them tens of millions of domestic jobs.
“That ain’t good for our nation.”
Into the teeth of all this Reality – flies yet another DC-based pseudo-conservative organization….
Lawmakers Should Show Some Love to Consumers and End Sugar Program:
“Large, politically connected sugar growers have never much cared for the prospect of inexpensive, foreign competition, and have lobbied hard to keep inexpensive sugar out of the country.”
Yes – because that “inexpensive, foreign competition” – is MASS subsidized:
“Brazil’s government gives its sugar industry every year more than $2.5 billion in cash infusions and other favors. That’s a lot.
“Think that leads to a free global market? Of course not.
“Brazil’s massive subsidies have warped the world market into a Brazil-dominated unequal nightmare mess: ‘Brazil currently controls, roughly, 50 percent of global sugar exports. To put that into perspective, Saudi Arabia controls about 19 percent of the crude oil exports….’
“Which has led to an inevitable regulatory arms race – as every other nation tries to play catch-up: ‘(E)very country that produces sugar – more than 100 in total – has some form of government intervention.’
“That sound anything like free trade? Of course not. And, of course, you can blindfolded throw a dart at a list of globally traded commodities – and you’ll inexorably hit one that faces similarly rampant, unequal domestic cronyism, with a resulting global regulatory arms race.”
And these pseudo-conservatives want US to unilaterally stand down. Ummm…that’s been tried. Guess how it went?:
“To wit: The European Union (EU). Who in the face of massive foreign (sugar) subsidies – did what some Americans think we should do: unilaterally disarm. The results for the EU were catastrophic….
“’After dropping 22%, bulk refined sugar prices in Europe are now (2012) some 10% above what they were before the reform….’
“‘The European job losses were…disastrous…ultimately (leading) to the closure of 83 sugar mills and the loss of 120,000 jobs.’
“The EU – having suffered so dramatically as a result of their titanic stupidity – returned to sanity:
“‘In a 2015 follow-up report about policy reforms, Chatenay found that sugar supports had been restored in the EU….’
“Fake free traders will bemoan this restoration. We actual free traders – understand and embrace Reality.”
And it appears the pseudo-conservatives also missed the virus-lockdown-reminders that we no longer make anything here in the US. Thanks in large part to the idiotic, anti-US, one-sided fake “free trade” policies these pseudo-conservatives are still championing.
Asked in 2009…and answered in 2006.
As we’ve said, we’ve been warning about this for a WHILE.
And here’s some additional excellent pandemic news. Because, you know, you need drugs during a pandemic….
That’s not at all a national security issue.
Speaking of: NOTHING is a more important US domestic manufacture commodity – than food.
And yet the pseudo-conservative, Fake Trade Uber Alles crowd wants to destroy our domestic food production.
Only they are too ignorant to realize that’s what they’re doing.
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