The View from Right Field

Hunter Biden. Grifter.

I wrote all I needed to write about Hunter Biden, and his grifting, ten years ago when it was disclosed that Hunter was getting paid by a Ukrainian gas company controlled by a top official in the former government of a pro-Russian president of Ukraine.  At the time, both the White House press office and Vice President Biden’s office said that Hunter Biden's activities were those of a private citizen and didn’t involve the U.S. government. 

It may have been true that what Hunter Biden was doing back then wasn’t illegal, but it was wrong.  The children of Presidents and Vice Presidents shouldn’t be getting paid by foreign governments or their affiliates, whether current or former.  I realize that it can be tough for children of famous/important people, but I can think of lots of children and grandchildren of presidents who haven’t needed to grift for a living.

It would have been better if, in 2014, somebody had told Hunter to knock it off.  If then-Vice President Biden couldn’t do it, and he apparently couldn't, it’s too bad somebody in the Obama administration didn’t do it for him.

The West’s Race to the Bottom in Ukraine – For Worst Policy

We have what looks like a race to the bottom for worst Ukraine policy among Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.  After almost 1,000 days of war, President Biden finally gave Ukraine permission to use US weapons, including ATACMS, to actually attack Russian targets in Russia.  The story is that Biden was worried about Putin escalating (how about worrying about Putin winning) and about the US not having enough ATACMS for ourselves (how about ordering a lot more of them on an emergency basis, starting like almost 1,000 days ago).¹

Trump people are saying the Russians pushing the Ukrainians back might be good because it would make the Ukrainians more willing to negotiate.¹  Huh?  The problem is not the Ukrainians being willing to negotiate.  The problem is Putin being willing to negotiate when he is winning.  Why should he? 

The 35th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

With everything going on in the world, it is good sit back and think back on some of the good things that have happened in our lifetime.  For example, today is the 35th anniversary of the Fall of the Wall.  What once seemed like something that would last forever is now almost a distant memory. 

I have written a number of posts about Berlin, and the Fall of the Wall, over the years.  You can find some of them listed in this post from November 7, 2014.

What’s More Important: The US Presidential Election or the Internal Contradictions in China?

While we have a presidential election in the United States today, I wonder whether what is going on in China might be more important.  I thought much same thing in 2020 when Jack Ma’s IPO for Ant Group was cancelled by Xi Jinping on the same day as the United States presidential election.  And even with everything that happened after that election, I think the cancellation of Ant Group IPO, and all that followed it, may have been more consequential. 

The contradictions of what is going on in China are shown in two articles in yesterday’s Financial Times.  On page 4, there is an article with the headline “China debates details of largest fiscal stimulus since pandemic”.  The article begins:

My Hope for Election Night: Gridlock

Our country has a lot of issues that need to be addressed. The problem is that neither presidential candidate nor their parties have any idea to fix them.  In fact, if either candidate and their party won control of both the White House and Congress, their proposals, if enacted, would probably make the situation even worse.

Therefore, what we need from this election is: Gridlock.  While gridlock and doing nothing would be bad, it would probably be less bad than the proposals of either candidate and his/her party.  So, if we can’t make things better and if we can’t even keep them the same, then let’s make them worse as slowly as possible.  And the way to do that is through gridlock: the Republicans will stop the Democrats from enacting their bad programs and the Democrats will stop the Republicans from enacting their bad ideas. 

“The Difference Between a Lady and a Diplomat” – And the State of Humor Today.

Arnold Kling wrote a very nice article, “The Aphorisms of Merle Kling,” about his father in “In My Tribe” today.  I particularly liked the joke that the elder Mr. Kling heard around the Political Science Department at Washington University, where he spent his whole career:

“What’s the difference between a lady and a diplomat?

If a lady says no, she means maybe.  If she says maybe, she means yes.  And if she says yes, then she is no lady.

If a diplomat says yes, then he means maybe.  If he says maybe, then he means no. And if he says no, then he is no diplomat.”

Obviously, this joke would be considered totally inappropriate today.  Which is one reason we have so little humor today: you can’t be inappropriate.

Harris? Trump? A Depressing Foreign Policy Election

We’re back from a trip to Berlin and Hamburg, and the Presidential race is as bad as when we left.  Actually, I think it may be worse because the Biden administration is doing even worse in foreign policy now than before we left – and there is no reason to think Kamala Harris will be any different than the Biden administration. 

But first, Donald Trump still doesn’t have the character to be President and that is not going to change. 

On the other side, Joe Biden, and the Biden administration, is still getting it wrong.  In 2014, Robert Gates wrote, of Joe Biden, “I think he's been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades."  He reaffirmed that statement in 2019.  Since Joe Biden became President, he has continued to get these things wrong on foreign policy and national security.

Who Is President? – Ukraine Edition

Ukraine’s strike into Russia has been amazing – not just for its success but also for its surprise.  What was particularly interesting, however, was not that the Russians were surprised, but that the Americans were apparently surprised, too.  Obviously, things like this need to be kept as secret as possible in order to work.

But I wonder if the reason the Ukrainians apparently did not tell the Americans was to maintain the element of surprise – or because they figured that, if they told us, we would have told them not to do it – for fear, once again, of provoking Putin.  Putin invaded Ukraine, and yet the Biden administration seems more worried about the Ukrainians somehow provoking Putin than what Russia does

Which makes you wonder, as I asked in this post, who is running American foreign policy?  And whether anybody really cares that much about what the people running American foreign policy say or think?

Biden? Trump? The Heck With It.

Readers of this blog may have noticed (they have even been grateful) that I have not been posting as much lately.  After getting back from our break and seeing that things are pretty much the same as they were before we left (which was to be expected), I can see why: Biden v. Trump, again.  Progressives v. right-wing populists constantly. 

When George W. Bush was president and while Barack Obama was president, I posted a lot because there were things I wanted to say.  That even continued, for a while, under Doanld Trump.  But then I got tired complaining about Trump, especially when the other side didn’t seem any better. 

When Joe Biden came in, I posted things, but the number of them has dropped.  He’s been bad, his policies have been bad, but so many on the other side seem bad, too.

The Twins of Trade

The following appears in the Letters section of the Financial Times on May 20, 2024, under the heading “Chinese cars face a wall of protectionist measures”:

“Joe Biden has imposed 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles. Donald Trump says he will impose 200 per cent tariffs on Chinese EVs. With retaliation and knock-on effects certain to follow, one wonders: which one of them is Smoot and which one is Hawley?”