Mother and daughter working for the Chinese Yuan

 (My new American Thinker post)

If you remember that song "Rum and Coca Cola" the singer complained that both "mother and daughter working for the Yankee dollar."  That was then. Today's version of the Andrew Sisters would be singing "mother and daughter working for the Chinese Yuan."

Welcome to China's plan.  Open your eyes because they want to replace us.  This is the story: 

Communist China has been hard at this game all over the world. 

In March, Brazil and China struck a trade deal to ditch the U.S. dollar and BRIC countries announced the formation of a new currency, effectively kicking the U.S. dollar out of trade with them. 

Even our allies and economic partners are turning away from the United States economy for what they see as a better alternative to a rapidly devaluing U.S. dollar. France has made oil deals with China in yuan, while Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said there’s no reason to continue to rely on the U.S. dollar.  

How did this happen? 

We’ve become our own worst enemy. And we have no one to blame but ourselves -- our own U.S. Treasury that is. The decisions of the Biden administration have decimated the value of our dollar. We cannot continue to spend more money we don’t have, only to throw more cash into our economy without considering the repercussions. The more money this administration prints, the higher the supply of the U.S. dollar, and the lower the demand for it. 

From a trade perspective, we import about 75 percent of our everyday goods. When the value of our dollar is in freefall, countries who sell us goods demand more money in exchange.

How do you say “in your face” in Chinese?

Wait a minute.  Weren't we told that the Biden presidency would enhance our relations with allies and make us more respected?  I guess that China was not watching the CNN panel the night they were discussing this.

As the article points out, some of this damage was self-inflicted with the crazy spending that passed the U.S. Senate when Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie or when Senator Joe Manchin gave us the Inflation Reduction Act last summer.  By the way, Senator Manchin is hearing it back home because inflation was not only not reduced but the law "could cost West Virginia 100,000 fossil fuel jobs."

The point is clear that China senses weakness and they are going for it.  We can still reverse course and put the U.S. back on top. Time is running out however.

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Wednesday's podcast: Trump CNN Town Hall, Texas shooting and Troops to border

Wednesday's podcast:   

Trump CNN Town Hall, Texas shooting and Troops to border

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Wednesday's video: Trump CNN Town Hall......Texas shooting....Troops to border....and other stories

Trump CNN Town Hall......Texas shooting....Troops to border.....Happy # 89 Frankie Valli...and other stories....

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Where the boys are not

 (My new American Thinker post)

We hear of a war with China down the road.  I don't know for sure if that will happen but I do know that we are not recruiting enough volunteers.  This is from Lt. Gen. David W. Barno, U.S. Army (ret.), and Dr. Nora Bensahel who are visiting professors of strategic studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and senior fellows at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies:   

How bad is the recruiting crisis? During the last fiscal year, the Army missed its recruiting goal by 15,000 active-duty soldiers, or 25 percent of its target. This shortfall forced the Army to cut its planned active-duty end strength from 476,000 to 466,000. And the current fiscal year is likely to be even worse. Army officials project that active end strength could shrink by as much as 20,000 soldiers by September, down to 445,000…

The other services barely met their active-duty recruiting goals last year, but it will be harder for them to do so in 2023. They all accelerated their delayed entry applicants at the end of the last fiscal year, leaving them with a far shallower pool to draw from this year. The Marine Corps may be able to compensate for this problem because its outstanding retention rates last year enabled it to lower its recruiting goal. It may be able to do so again this year. But the Navy and the Air Force face greater recruiting headwinds. Both started with deeper holes in their pool of delayed entry applicants, offered extensive financial bonuses, and took a wide range of other one-time measures — such as the Navy increasing the maximum enlistment age from 39 to 41. 

Why fewer volunteers?  I don't have a simple answer.  I remember when our son volunteered in 2010. He was motivated by service or patriotism.  He really wanted to wear the uniform and be a part of something noble like the U.S. Armed Forces.  I remember visiting him at the base and found the same feelings among the other young people there.

So how much does the "woke" factor play into this decline in recruiting?  Again, it's hard to tell, but all of this woke stuff can't play well in homes where dad and grandfather served in the past. Imagine grandpa calling to inquire about the first week of training and hearing that they are mastering pronouns!

The aforementioned article does point out that there is less confidence in the U.S. military. Wonder why?

So what happens now, especially if a war is around the corner? That's the big question that no one really has an answer for.  I do remember something called the draft and young men getting notices about showing up next Saturday at the military office. Didn't we fight Vietnam and Korea that way?

Do we need a draft to fight the next war?  We may, if volunteers don't volunteer.  Wonder if Chinese generals are taking that into consideration when drawing up plans to invade Taiwan?

In the meantime, where the boys are is not lining up to serve.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Tuesday'a podcast: Our chat with George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative

Tuesday's podcast:    

Our chat with George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative,,,,,

Border towns overwhelmed...Chicago and New York can't handle migrants....Violence in Mexico....Biden 2024....and other stories......

Click to listen:

Tuesday's video: Our chat with George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative

Guest: George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative....Border towns overwhelmed...Chicago and New York can't handle migrants....Violence in Mexico....Biden 2024....Cleveland, TX shooting.......and other stories: 

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Lori to Greg: Stop in the name of whatever

 

(My new American Thinker post)

You can't make this up.  I recall when Governor Greg Abbott was called a racist for signing a ban on "sanctuary cities" in 2017.  Let me take you down memory lane:    

Senate Bill 4 makes sheriffs, constables, police chiefs and other local leaders subject to Class A misdemeanor charges if they don’t cooperate with federal authorities and honor requests from immigration agents to hold noncitizen inmates who are subject to deportation. It also provides civil penalties for entities in violation of the provision that begin at $1,000 for a first offense and climb to as high as $25,500 for each subsequent infraction. The bill also applies to public colleges.

The final version of the bill included a controversial House amendment that allows police officers to question a person’s immigration status during a detainment -- perhaps including traffic stops --- as opposed to being limited to a lawful arrest. It has drawn fierce opposition from Democrats and immigrants rights groups, who are already gearing up for a legal battle against the law.

Abbott defended the legality of the law Sunday, saying key parts of it have "already been tested at the United States Supreme Court and approved there."

That could soon come to a test. Sunday night's signing prompted a fast and negative reaction from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, or MALDEF, which referred to the new Texas law as "a colossal blunder" and promised to fight it, "in court and out." 

The governor won in the courts and that was it. However, it did not stop the open borders gang from playing the racist card in Spanish and English and who knows what other dialect they came up with.

Well, let's go from 2017 to the present.  As you may remember, Governor Abbott started filling up buses and sending the migrants north.  At first, they were welcomed.  Not anymore.  In fact, now the mayor of Chicago wants to stop the buses.  This is the story:    

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is urging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to not follow through with his "inhuman and dangerous" plan to send more migrants and asylum seekers from his southern state to her city.

The outgoing Chicago mayor made her appeal to the Republican governor in a letter Sunday, stating that they are aware Texas is planning as soon as Monday to start sending migrants to Democrat-led cities including Chicago.

"Chicago is a Welcoming City and we collaborate with county, state and community partners to rise to this challenge, but your lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos and score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly and dignified way," Lightfoot wrote.

"We simply have no more shelters, spaces or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level, with little coordination or care, that does not pose a risk to them or others."

Cause chaos?  Are you kidding me, Mayor?  Have you been to El Paso lately?  El Paso Mayor to issue 'state of emergency' in response to large flow of migrants.

Mayor Lightfoot should call another leader: President Biden.  He's the man responsible.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Monday's podcast: The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda

Guest:.......Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda.......Attacks against Justice Thomas and Justice Gorsuch.....Blue to red.......Foreign policy update......and other stories......

click to listen:

Monday's video: Mayor of Chicago and migrants plus a shooting in Texas & more

Monday's video: 

Mayor of Chicago and migrants plus a shooting in Texas & more

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15,000 a week and more coming

 (My new American Thinker post)

Down in the border town of Brownsville, the people keep coming. This is the story:     

Shelters in a Texas city struggled to find space Saturday for migrants who authorities say have abruptly begun crossing by the thousands from Mexico, testing a stretch of the U.S. border that is typically equipped to handle large groups of people fleeing poverty and violence.

The pace of arrivals in Brownsville appeared to catch the city on the southernmost tip of Texas off guard, stretching social services and putting an overnight shelter in an uncommon position of turning people away. Officials say more than 15,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have illegally crossed the river near Brownsville since last week.

That is a sharp rise from the 1,700 migrants that Border Patrol agents encountered in the first two weeks of April, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

“It’s a quite concerning because the logistical challenge that we encounter is massive for us,” said Gloria Chavez, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector.    

The reason for the increase was not immediately clear. Chavez said migrants have been frustrated by relying on a glitch-plagued government app that can allow them to seek asylum at a port of entry. Some migrants who crossed this week cited other motivators, including cartel threats that immediately preceded the sudden increment.

15,000 for a city of 186,000 people? There are tents with about 2,000 people waiting on the other side waiting to enter. Wonder why the locals are worried how their community can add that many people so quickly?    

Up in Chicago, something similar is happening. The City Council will spend $53 million to care for the thousands of people who have already made their way to north. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams wants FEMA to ban cities from bussing migrants.   

To paraphrase Woody Guthrie, the migrants are going From California to the New York island  From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters.  And it ain’t fun anymore to be a sanctuary city, especially now that you have to be one greeting the people off the bus.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.