What to Expect from President Trump on Defense

What to Expect from President Trump on Defense

- “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

                                                                                    President John F. Kennedy

 Peace through strength is more than a slogan; it has been a time-tested American policy in the wake of World War II that kept the old Soviet Union from overrunning Western Europe and Communist China from enslaving Asia.  The international balance of military power, the essence of diplomacy, is a reality of human existence that regulates the behavior of nations on the world stage.  This Pax Americana has undeniably benefitted the United States economically, but more importantly, it has assured the survival of individual freedom that we and most of our allies enjoy.  Much of the world’s population still lives under oppression and can only envy our lifestyle from afar. 

It has been an exercise in irrationality for us to have allowed our military forces to fall into disrepair; ominous warnings from our military leaders are unmistakable.  Any American geo-political power vacuum in the world, created by default or by feebleness, is instantly filled by our adversaries.  Hence, we see Russia pursuing aggressive expansionism in Eastern Europe, China claiming ownership of part of the sea, North Korea presuming to threaten us with nuclear weapons, and Iran inflicting havoc in the Middle East and Africa.  Our new government administration is committed to the comprehensive reconstruction of American military forces and it will likely lead to a more peaceful world.

  From a military side, our nuclear balance of terror with Russia and China continues to be based on the policy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), and our triad of nuclear arsenals on land, air, and sea are in serious need of upgrading some computer systems controlling these weapons are still operating with floppy disks.  In our dealings with Iran and North Korea, the best deterrent is our capacity to inflict a quick knockout blow with stealth bombers and cruise missiles.  It should be clear that their roads, bridges, and power plants…are push buttons away from destruction and that a thousand points of pain shall be the instant consequence of any overt aggression.

21st-century technology will require us to increase our missile defense, our cyber security, and our satellite protection systems, as well as to develop offensive anti-satellite capabilities.  Our greatest weapon, however, is our economic power, which the new administration will strengthen.  Russia, with an economy the size of Italy, is vulnerable to economic pressure and will serve to counter-balance China’s growing military might and territorial overreach in Asia. 

Our cost of defense will inevitably increase, but some savings will be found in controlling waste.  Our new president shows little tolerance for the runaway cost of weapons and for superfluous military bases and equipment.  He will also get our allies to begin paying their fair share of our common defense.  Finally, our returning warriors, our veterans, will be receiving much better and long-delayed treatment from our government.  Whether the Veterans Administration Health System is fully or partly privatized is yet to be determined, but the age of mediocre care for veterans is coming to an end.

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What to Expect from President Trump on Space Exploration

What to Expect from President Trump on Space Exploration

- Our space program has been a driving force in our technological development, a source of national pride at home and prestige among nations.  American youth have been inspired to pursue science, and it has made us all dream.  It is in space that we can best research our planetary environment, improve our communications, and study the magnificent creation of the universe.  One day, not far into the future, we will need to find extraterrestrial natural resources and living space for our growing human population, which is already nearing seven billion.  Space has always been our final frontier.

America’s national fervor for space exploration has steadily dwindled since the climax of the moon landing of 1969.  A recent surge of interest followed the Vision for Space Exploration Program announced by President George W. Bush in 2004.  The new space policy called for a replacement for the Space Shuttle before its retirement, a return to the moon, and extending our human presence in deep space.  However, the passion for space exploration dwindled again during the administration of President Barack Obama, which began in 2009.  In 2010, the Constellation Program designed to replace the shuttle was canceled, and a proposal to extend the service of the Space Shuttle fleet was denied.  The Space Shuttle was prematurely retired without a replacement in 2011.  American astronauts have been forced since then to depend on travel in Russian Soyuz Rockets, something which many Americans have found humiliating.  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been instructed to limit future deep space exploration programs and to mostly limit its operations to near-earth orbit.  Further budget cuts for NASA were included in the last budget approved in 2016.  We seem to have been voluntarily yielding our lead and have decided to wait for other countries to catch up with us; China has not wasted the opportunity.

 There is a new race to the moon with China.  What nation will be the first to establish a human habitat on the surface of our celestial companion?  China’s ambitious Chang’e Lunar Exploration Program has already placed satellites circling the moon in 2007 and 2010.  In 2013, it soft-landed a lunar rover, and this year, it will send a new craft to land on the moon and return samples to Earth.  Our last soft landing on the moon dates back to 1976.  There is an abundance of valuable resources on the moon, including Helium III, which will fuel the nuclear-fusion energy revolution of the future.  The investment will be richly rewarded for all who take the challenge.

We now have a new president who promised that America will start winning again and space is a good place to prove that point.  Funding will greatly increase soon and it will fall in line with the new job creation agenda.  Once again, we will enthusiastically reach for the stars and be the first to establish a human base on the moon.  NASA will continue to lead our space program, but new government initiatives and incentives will open the door widely for American free enterprise to participate.  We already have commercial competition heating up among companies like Space X, Orbital Sciences, Blue Origin, Bigelow Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, and others.  America is ready to compete and to win again in the space race.

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What to Expect from President Trump on Energy

What to Expect from President Trump on Energy -

Energy is at the center of our lives and is pivotal in the economy of our nation.  The dilemma is that most of our energy still comes from fossil fuels, which threaten global warming.  Well-intended progressives have forced our country to limit the domestic production of our abundant reservoirs while we continue expensive imports from abroad.  They have also compelled our businesses to follow very strict environmental restrictions, while China, India, and other commercial competitors do not.  These nonsensical policies have, in great part, contributed to America’s loss of its manufacturing base, its jobs, and its wealth.  The basic reality is that American energy sacrifices are futile, while China, India and other expanding economies proceed with business as usual.  The solution requires international common action, not an American economic disarmament.

The use of renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, and others cannot be forced upon our population. At the same time, they remain uneconomical and make our products non-competitive in the domestic and international markets.  Our nation presently produces only 15% of the pollution, while China alone has doubled that amount and continues to grow.  The Chinese are building and planning to build over 1,200 new coal-fired plants as we speak.  Coal is the most polluting of the fossil fuels, followed by oil, and the best immediate strategy for us is to unshackle the production of domestic natural gas as a bridge energy source.  American natural gas, which emits half as much CO² as coal, could gradually replace coal in electricity generation at home and even abroad.  Natural gas could also run our vehicles, especially trucks and buses, which alone would eliminate all our need for energy imports.  American energy exports would also be a balance of trade equalizer.

The new republican administration is in the process of liberating our energy sector so that it can rush to make our nation not only energy independent but the primary world supplier of natural gas.  It will bring wealth and jobs back home while greatly reducing environmental pollution.  There will be no central master plan, that would doom the effort, it will instead allow the genius of the American free market to work within a reasonable framework of regulatory oversight.  There will be much resistance and organized protests, but ultimately, the rejuvenation of the American economy will be unstoppable.

In the near future, technology will bring us cheap electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells and economical solar, wind, biomass, thermal, and other renewable sources.  Furthermore, our scientific community envisions space-based energy generation and fusion reactors at home supplied with Helium III from the moon.  Many physicists even suggest that future understanding of the quantum entanglement of particles may lead to energy teleportation.  Let’s not succumb to fear, God will always guide us to save harbor; the future is bright.

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The Rebirth of Compassionate Conservatism

The Rebirth of Compassionate Conservatism

--- "It is compassionate to actively help our citizens in need. It is conservative to insist on accountability and results."

— President George W. Bush

Reaching out to the poor is both morally correct and politically astute for the republican party as it prepares to take its turn at the helm.  American black voters have already shown their willingness to listen by not coming out in force to help elect Hillary Clinton; this window may not be open for long.  It is time for the rebirth of compassionate conservatism.  Prior misdirected attempts failed to repair the broken base on which they tried to build.  A new anti-poverty agenda should focus on economic development, social cohesiveness, and educational effectiveness.

Following the old axiom that a good job is the best anti-poverty program, we must channel some of the new revenue from the anticipated trillions of repatriated corporate dollars into the inner cities as part of an expanded use of “enterprise zones.”  These urban development programs would be most effective when allowing government employment training programs to be administered by corporations.  Law and order efforts, although they must increase police diversity and even the use of community-based auxiliary forces, must provide safe and functional neighborhoods and schools; street gangs must be confronted and expelled.  On the other hand, incarceration patterns and welfare program structures must be revamped to encourage greater paternal participation in family formation.  As conditions improve, so will the success of the educational system, especially when competition and parental choice are introduced.  Education, combined with individual responsibility, is the ultimate anti-poverty remedy.

So, when our new president asks the poor, “What do you have to lose?” The answer would be another loss of faith in the American system if the new Republican administration proves to be, for them, more of the same.

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The “Repeal & Replace” of Obamacare is Neither Quick, nor Centrally Planned

The “Repeal & Replace” of Obamacare is Neither Quick, nor Centrally Planned -

The incoming administration is being challenged to produce a comprehensive replacement for the Affordable Care Act before the existing law is completely repealed. Neither is going to happen quickly. Repealing the ACA will come in steps designed to preclude leaving large numbers of people without their newly acquired medical coverage before a substitute system is in place. The surgical dismantling will also seek to preserve the popular features of the ACA, like the protection of people with pre-existing conditions.

The question of what comprehensive master plan will replace ACA fails to grasp the fundamental dichotomy of political philosophy.  The new president will rely on the greatest American asset to produce a replacement system, the American free market.  There is no master plan hidden in someone’s desk drawer, but rather, bits and pieces have been taking shape in the minds of American business leaders, and a process of trial and error will soon follow.  Ultimately, a competitive set of options will be available to all Americans, and the poor will have to be subsidized in purchasing their own private medical insurance.

President Obama’s greatest legacy is not the mechanics of this deficient law but the new acceptance by all Americans that universal medical care is right and long overdue.

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