It is a nice, cool morning in my little QLD valley. Storms raged around us last eve. Thunderstorms blew in from the coast and over the range. Mostly missing us, the morn is overcast but clear, the air is fresh, the slight breeze chilled.
I am ruminating today on the Derangement Syndrome I see in those near and dear…
I have written about this before. The sad, sad reality that folks cannot adjust to the fact that things are not going to hell. Not as they would like them to go. They want their predictions of negative outcomes to be real. They want the monster in the corner to materialise, so they can be proven right. That their wants and needs and foolish pride can “win”. This covers the great green scam that folks loose their marbles over. This covers the social change we see that sends folks to the streets to protest and riot. Each group is fighting for their wanted outcome. Each group wants to “win”.
But “win” what?
My age old mantra holds true… I am a centrist. My life’s experiences prove to me that the political venue is filled with Vipers. To enter into the viper filled pit that is politics, one must be a viper. Warm blooded beings do not survive in the Viper’s Pit.
I have no love, trust or faith in the world’s elected Elite.
Of course, El Prez, DJT, is a different “thing”. He is pretty unusual. And he is accomplishing much.
In my lifetime the “Middle East” solution has been begging for a champion.
The year I was born a solution was on the table… “In 1957, the primary “solution” in the Middle East was the U.S.-led Eisenhower Doctrine, which promised economic and military aid to countries threatened by communism. Concurrently, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and the Gulf of Aqaba following U.S. pressure, a move portrayed as a step toward regional peace and implemented through a United Nations Resolution that also deployed a UN peacekeeping force to ensure the armistice lines were maintained.”
It took 68 years for a guy to come along that could talk to the players on both sides, AND coerce and cajole the respective players into a positions of mutual compliance.
So why the mental distress? The emotional turmoil?
I believe the answer is simple…
The “noise” and opposition and angst we feel and see and hear is nothing more than the political venue’s futile attempt to get folks to “look over here”. My word for this act of deflection is “Prestidigitation”.
Today I watch as folks near and dear in the USofA gather for a “No Kings” rally.
Today I watch a folks near and dear here in Aus gather for a “March for Australia”.
Though very different, each of these social activities are similar and stem from the same “noise” that pervades, influences and dictates social actions/ reactions.
Both stem from the lack of positive leadership, and effective policy at the highest levels…
In the USofA, the 20th century political policy of dismantling and demeaning the US’s capacity to produce has led us to DJT.
In the Land of Aus, the 20th century political policy of dismantling and demeaning Australia’s capacity to produce has led us to a cross roads of serious importance.
The Land of Aus has dismantled and demeaned their industrial base to the point of possible no return. Everything in Aus has been turned a dirty green colour… The Land of Aus has dismantled and demeaned their industrial base to the point of possible no return. Everything in Aus has dismantled and confused so the richest energy-resource-rich country in the world pays more for consumer-electricity than a country that buys Aus resources to power their own land… “Over the last decade, Australia’s electricity prices have risen significantly, making them more expensive than Japan’s residential electricity rates. Japan’s residential electricity prices have historically been lower, though they have also increased, reaching a high of $0.330 USD/kWh in 2022. In contrast, Australia has experienced a rapid increase, with recent averages around 0.340.34 to 0.390.39 USD per kWh, surpassing Japan’s prices. “
So let’s see, Japan buys Australian coal and powers its land cheaper than Aus can power themselves, on their own resource.
In the USofA, the 20th century political policy of opening borders, allowing millions of folks into the country, into the economy, into the US has led to huge social and economic downturns, and has led us to DJT. And ICE raids, and conflict in the streets, and division and troops in the streets.
In the Land of Aus, the 20th century political policy of opening borders, importing millions of folks into the country, into the economy, into Australia has led to huge social and economic downturns, and has led to social, religious, political, and racial division, violence, and conflict in the streets.
Both countries I claim patriotic allegiance to are at a crossroad.
Is it too late for the USofA to regain the ground it has lost in its industrial capacity? Maybe not. but the past 25 years of degrading capacity will be hard to remediate. Some capacity still exists so, yes, there is a chance, still.
Is it too late for Australia to regain the ground it has lost in its industrial capacity? Its a close call.. The past 25 years of degrading capacity has left Aus with little to rebuild. Industrial capacity has been crippled for way too long. It has to be a complete makeover, infrastructure and skills, if Aus is to return to industrial production ever again.
Time will tell… as protests and street parties and riots entwine on our city streets.
More later
The Native Iowan 
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