Common Sense, Not Billions More to Protect Our Leaders

 Common Sense, Not Billions More to Protect Our Leaders

We Americans have gotten used to systematic failures in our society: unpayable national debt, failing schools, open borders, inhuman conditions in poverty, energy dependence, and infrastructure decay... 'At Nauseum.'  A new failure has been added: our incapacity to protect our leaders.  The monthly assassination attempts on the life of a former President and leading presidential candidate are incomprehensible, and perhaps providential intervention has precluded a national funeral. 

The finger-pointing is predictable, and its aftermath is invariable: more money. It makes everyone more hopeful and avoids a sense of social paralysis. It is probably correct that a little bit of added funding will help, but so will a reexamination of the use of available funds. How can gross inadequacies in the Secret Service's protection performance go unaccounted for?  What happened to the use of technology: drones in the air, infrared vision for the dark concentration of bushes, ground-based robots, motion detectors, trained police dogs... 

When I served as an infantry sergeant in the Vietnam War, I was periodically assigned to the perimeter defense of what we called LZs for Landing Zones. These were small jungle bases with a dozen or more bunkers arranged as circling wagons embedded in a soil-berm that bulldozers had created as a defense perimeter.  The LZs were surrounded by a wood line of interminable dense jungle.  I protected myself and my 5-10 men in my bunker area with every tool and tactic at hand.  We had directional Claymore Mines in front of the bunker, boxes full of hand grenades, loaded rifle magazines, and hand flairs near every man lying on the berm; the bunkers were avoided during combat since they were magnets for rocket fire.  Trip flairs were all over the barbwire that encircled the perimeter.  A nightmarish, directed napalm-filled 55-gallon drum in front of the soil-berm was always loaded and ready for remote detonation. Every bayonet was fixed.  The base commander pre-aimed artillery fire on the woodline, frequently called for large artillery flairs over the LZ, Cobra helicopter gunships to circle above, and occasional 'Mad Minutes,' 60-second prophylactic free-for-all firing at the woodline. Then we prayed; no atheists there.  Enemy suicide charges were, at times, almost daily.  I can sarcastically state that if the modern Secret Service leadership had directed the operations at the time, our casualties would have been much higher; we would have been overrun.

Aerial drones would have detected a sniper on a nearby roof or an unoccupied vehicle with a Harris-Walz bumper sticker parked on the road just outside the gulf course fence.  Low-flying drones could have been patrolling the inside of the surrounding chain-link fence.  Infrared drone-mounted cameras should have been observing the bushes attached to the chain-link fence.  Ground-based and aerial time-interval photos and videos would have detected changes between camera shots.  Smart computers can flag forms in a picture, like an aiming sniper.  Military-style communications should keep all security personnel in the loop.  The command post officer must be liable for obvious failures.  The opposition presidential candidate and the sitting president should be guarded with equal care.  Let's not have another 'nothing can be done' moment.        

       

       

Surrender Management: America in Retreat

When I wrote my book entitled "Surrender Management: America in Retreat" in 2006, I argued that our nation was surrendering to critical problems without solving them.  From national debt to undocumented immigration, from inferior education to criminal justice injustice, from a weak defense to the abandonment of the space race, from energy dependence to drug abuse, it all seemed that our political leaders were leading us over the cliff.  I wondered how long the public would wait to say enough.  I'm delighted to see the volatility of the current presidential contest because whoever wins, I believe many things will finally change. 

 

Russia, the Essential Ally

---Russia is no longer pursuing a communist ideology, nor trying to impose its government system on the world.  It is now following a nationalist agenda and seeking to recover its grandeur.  It does not present an immediate economic or military threat to the U.S. and its allies, although its nuclear arsenal is always worrisome.  Global geopolitical reality has always required strategic alliances of nations across ideological divides.  Unsavory friends like Russia must be part of the coalition that confronts China’s growing threat.  It was once a critical component of the coalition that defeated Nazi Germany, and its considerable scientific and military prowess is once more in need.    Russia’s challenges to the U.S. in weapons development and cyber security can have a salutary effect in that it is competition that forces us to become better at these endeavors.  On the other hand, China’s challenges are existential and immediate.  Every indication suggests growing economic and military confrontation with the United States and its allies.

On the economic area, China has taken advantage of overtures from the West to cheat their way to economic parity and plans to achieve global superiority.  The West welcomed China into the World Trade Organization expecting that it would abide by international law and fair trade.  It has instead manipulated its currency, stolen intellectual property, restricted access to its market, subsidized its industries for competitive advantage, use slave labor and more.  While militarily, it has continued to rapidly grow and modernize its forces, and it has used its new strength to intimidate its neighbors and to threaten international shipping lanes in the South China Sea.  It is also inching closer to military aggression against the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan.

We must integrate Russia into the Western block of nations that will ultimately have to confront Chinese hostility.  The world is rapidly becoming polarized between China and the West; nations everywhere will be compelled to choose sides and we should be laying the groundwork to have Russia be on our side.

 

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The Breakup with China

---The threat is China, and we must never lose sight of it.  A game of chicken in being played along economic, military, and scientific lines.  We are marching towards a confrontation in the South China Sea, and the trigger will probably be the island nation of Taiwan, which we hold as a strategic ally, while China sees it as a renegade province.  It is where the formerly democratic government of China took refuge since it escaped the communist revolution in the mainland in 1949.  We welcomed the democratic government in Taiwan, with a population of some 20 million people, under President Chiang Kai-shek, to its membership in American-led military alliances.  The U.S. then began a policy of containment of communist China, with over a billion people, under Chairman Mao Zedong.  The policy of containment and isolation has led to two proxy-wars with China, first in Korea in 1950, which ended in a stalemate, and later in Vietnam, in 1955, which ended with our humiliating defeat in 1975.    

President Richard M. Nixon moved to end the isolation of China with a personal visit to its capital Beijing in 1972, and China was later admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001.  It was all done to try to integrate China into the international community of nations, in exchange for neighborly behavior.  China became rich as the cheap manufacturer for the U.S. and Europe, while violating treaties and international rules of behavior.  It has used its newfound wealth to enslave the people of Hong Kong, and to pursue global economic and military dominance.  American accommodating policies are facilitating their agenda.

Will China engage in acts of war against the U.S.?  Yes, as soon as it achieves overwhelming military superiority in the Asia-Pacific region.  The communist Chinese may restrict free navigation in the South China Sea, and it may outright invade Taiwan.  Will we have non-nuclear military options? No, but we can decouple China’s economy from ours, which will cause unbearable pain to the Chinese.  An economic breakup with China can be brutally disruptive for the U.S. as well unless it prepares in advance for it.  The U.S. must begin to lead Western democracies in the process of shifting production of essential supplies from China to the U.S. and its allies.  Products like antibiotics, rare earth, critical computer parts and many others must have alternative sources of supply.  We should in fact transfer much of our supply chain from China to Mexico, South America and to the U.S., which would bring great benefits to us.  We should also rush to increase robotic manufacturing to minimize dependance on Chinese cheap labor.  Once we develop a fail-safe supply chain infrastructure, the Chinese leverage will be arrested, and their cost of aggression will become prohibitive.  If this strategic production is not counter balanced, the risk of confrontation and war will continue to grow.

On the military front, China is engaged in a massive buildup, with gigantic efforts in the research and development of new weapons.  They have publicized their capacity to sink American aircraft carriers, knock down our communication satellites from orbit, and to disrupt our cyber infrastructure.  It has also amassed a huge army, far more than their defensive needs.  The U.S. has no choice but to continue its military modernization of the past four years, and to rapidly advance its development of the American Space Force.  The communist government of China is not likely to change its ways voluntarily, only internal regime change, or confrontation from the West can do that.  A strong and decisive America is the only defense against Chinese domination of the world and the imposition of global totalitarianism.

Visit my website at www.CarlosArce.net

Visit my blog at American Analysis (carloslarce.blogspot.com)    

Purchase my books at Amazon.com : Carlos L. Arce

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Vital Need for the 28^th Constitutional Amendment 

---I propose, as I’m sure others have, that we rush to pursue a 28^th Constitutional Amendment that will defend a nine-judge Supreme Court and maintain a permanent filibuster parliamentary system in the Senate.  It should also reverse the “nuclear option” and require a 3/5 majority in the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices and other matters as well.

 Foolish politicians will always be foolish, and political expediency trumps national interest at any time.  Mark Twain classically said that “no man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the congress is in session.”  To this, we can add Henry David Thoreau's thought, “The best government is that which governs least.”  There are no philosopher-kings to be found or that last forever. 

The secret to American government success is simply compromised, which precludes excesses.  The Supreme Court is and has been the conscience of the country; respect for it is vital.  By allowing for only 51% of the votes in the Senate for confirmation of justices, as former Democrat Senate Majority Leader created by fiat in 2013, justices can be inherently partisan, and their credibility lessened.  The 3/5 majority rule requires a significant number of votes from the other side of the aisle and leads to moderation in the philosophy of confirmable justices.  This safeguard should also apply to the preservation of the filibuster in the Senate by again requiring a 3/5 majority to invoke “cloture” and end debate.

 These rules of a supermajority in the Senate have assured its role as a restraint over the more emotion-based House of Representatives.  The idea that any party with simple majority control can pack the court with justices from one side of the philosophical divide is inherently destructive.  Majority control changes from party to party; we cannot afford a series of court packing as with every election.  There will be other opportunities for both sides to replace judges among the complement of nine.

 The Supreme Court is the guardian of the Constitution, not a competing, non-elected legislature.  Simple majorities in the House and Senate cannot become tyrannical; the minority must participate and share some power.  The system needs to be codified in the Constitution; it will serve us well.

 

 

Visit my website at www.CarlosArce.net

Visit my blog at American Analysis (carloslarce.blogspot.com)    

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An American Education Winning Team

---Education has always been more than a way out of poverty for many and more than the mechanism to supply skilled workers for the economy; it has been the most effective social equalizer.  Today, it has also become an imperative of national security.  Our best-educated youth is competing internationally with the best students from China, a communist totalitarian dictatorship committed to our demise.  It is suicidal for our society to pursue educational parity for all American students as a form of achieving racial and social equality.  We need to provide the best possible education for all our students, nevertheless, outstanding students must be provided advanced learning to the limit of their capacity; they are the American Winning Team that will win the international competition for us.  Private schools will continue to supply a portion of the well-educated youth, but the mass of American students depends on the public school system.

Today, some public school districts in the country are seeking to eliminate advanced courses to allow slower-learning students to keep up with faster learners.  This may sound politically correct to some, but it is a guarantee that our society will be grossly outcompeted in the global economy.  In the international arena, not every child gets a trophy.  Equal opportunity, personal responsibility, and individual merit are the basis for fairness.  Failing public schools is the problem, not “slow learners.” School choice for parents is the answer.  

Visit my website at www.CarlosArce.net

Visit my blog at American Analysis (carloslarce.blogspot.com)    

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Accelerate the Creation of a Moon Base

---We are in a space race with China, and the creation of a base on the Moon is the next finish line.  We are doing great things in the field of scientific exploration, and our military is surely developing a formidable Space Force; nevertheless, nothing outweighs the establishment of our permanent presence on the Moon.  The Moon is not only the highest ground in our confrontation with China but also the near-term supply of Helium 3 for nuclear fusion and the gateway to the conquest of space.  At a time when we are spending trillions of new money, NASA and private space entrepreneurs should be provided whatever they can efficiently use.

Living on the Moon in an American base, which will auto-develop into a city, is surprisingly feasible.  It will necessitate living underground to avoid the cosmic rays that relentlessly bombard the surface.  This will not require digging into the underground; the universe has already provided for our needs.  We now know that both the moon and Mars contain gigantic underground tunnels.  These are the remnants of volcano lava outlets dubbed “lava tubes.”  They could be one kilometer in diameter and 25 miles long, large enough to accommodate millions of human inhabitants.  We can create airtight compartments filled with oxygen, artificially illuminated, and climate-controlled.  The moon offers minerals for building materials and water to drink and to extract oxygen.  Energy is available from hydrogen, also extracted from water.  An endless supply of energy is also readily accessible from perpetual, unfiltered sunlight on the windless, flat lunar surface.  

The rapid development of our conquest of space as the leading space-going nation would excite the public and inspire our youth to pursue science. Turning our moon into an American manufacturing and space travel hub will enhance our national security, magnify our prestige in the world, and rekindle our pride as an exceptional nation, the shining city on a hill.

 

 Visit my website at www.CarlosArce.net

Visit my blog at American Analysis (carloslarce.blogspot.com)    

Purchase my books at Amazon.com : Carlos L. Arce

Purchase my art at www.TheStatuette.com

Use my Real Estate Service at www.FindaFloridaHome.com