Insanity in Davos

The only time I visited Davos, a lovely place tucked away high in the Swiss Alps, was over 50 years ago. I suspect the town has changed a lot since then, although the scenery, kindly provided by God Himself, has, I'm sure, remained pretty much the same. Other than the beauty of the alps, all I really remember from my brief stay (one day) was that Davos, at 11,000 feet, was billed as Europe's highest town. And judging by what we've been hearing from Davos lately, I would guess many of those visiting are quite high indeed.

Today, of course, Davos has become the renowned haunt of an international cult also known as the World Economic Forum. This year's meeting is actually the 50th held in Davos, and attended by, as John Kerry reminded us, a "select" group of people, numbering about 3,000. Who exactly are they? They include CEOs of woke corporations, government leaders, academics, heads of a variety of international organizations, and climate activists like the young, dumb Greta Thunberg -- the usual suspects.  Yes, indeed, they really do think of themselves as the select, the elite who are obviously much smarter than the rest of humanity. We must all listen to them and obey. I know...it's hard to contemplate obeying Al Gore, but believe me, he expects you to.

For years now the Gore and Kerry show has been warning us of our impending climatological demise, and each year their warnings become more shrill and scarier. Just yesterday Al informed the Davos crowd, along with the rest of the world, that because of our thoughtless attempts to live our lives, we have generated way too much accumulated heat. How much? As much as 600,000 nuclear bombs exploding every day. Wowie kazowie! That's a lot of heat. It might be cooler if we all moved to the sun. Makes you wonder where this genius, this man of science, gets his data. 

For those of us who have paid only moderate attention to Al's warnings over the years, his predictions were never taken seriously. If you have two minutes, check out this video of Al Gore and Rush Limbaugh addressing the "climate crisis" on Nightline back in 1992. Here's the link:

Rush Limbaugh / Al Gore 1992 Nightline debate part 1 - YouTube

Some years later, in 2006, during one of Gore's promotional live shots for his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth (for which Al inexplicably won an Oscar), he declared that the world would reach a point of no return in just 10 years (i.e., 2016) unless we took drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gasses. And yet here we are, 18 years later, still breathing, still enjoying the same coastline. And that's just one of many of his wacko predictions.

Al reminds me of those preachers who like to predict the end of the world, as if they have a private inside track straight to God. They're always wrong, but does that stop them? Nope. They simply advance the date a few years and keep on collecting donations. This always confuses me. Why would they need any money if the world was really going to end? 

And we might ask the same question of Al Gore who owns a $9 million home in Montecito, California, the town where so many uber-wealthy beautiful people live their lives. Interestingly, his mansion is right on the shore, a shore that Al constantly predicts will disappear. Makes you wonder, doesn't? If he really believes all that he says, why live there? 

Al Gore's Montecito Home

This brings up another interesting series of facts. When Al left his taxing job as Vice President, his net worth was slightly less than $2 million. Today his net worth is well over $300 million -- all thanks to his gig as a climate guru whom the wokesters are willing to pay. 

Al is always telling us how the melting of the polar ice caps will inundate coastal communities. Why? Because we drive those nasty cars fueled by gasoline or diesel fuel. Because we cook our food on gas stoves to save money. Because we actually heat our homes. Because we eat meat from cattle and sheep and chickens and would prefer not to eat insects. And yet Gore and Kerry and over 1,000 other Davos participants flew into the conference on private jets. Oh, yes, the meals there were quite sumptuous, with only the best meat and fish flown in for the select ones. As one wag put it: "Steak, lobster, and hookers...what could be better?" That's right, lots of attractions for those who need not obey their own commands.

In the event you actually listen to these people, check out this 2015 article on The Federalist website in which environmentalist predictions are shown for what they are: garbage. Here's the link: 

Seven Big Failed Environmentalist Predictions (thefederalist.com)

I'd say something about John Kerry, our so-called "Climate Czar," but he's not worth my time or effort. A complete phony who married his way to super wealth and disgraced his country through his lies about his service in Vietnam. A man who shopped for medals to cover his lackluster and questionable performance. If you're a Kerry fan, just read John O'Neill's book about Kerry, Unfit for Command. John O'Neill is one of my Naval Academy classmates, a true hero and man of honor.

Maybe tomorrow I'll relate some of the other oddities that have come out of Davos this year. Oh, yes, one other thing. I just love fossil fuels and wouldn’t dream of buying an all-electric car until they make one that can go a minimum of 1,000 miles, at any ambient temperature, between charges. And it also has to be affordable.

Islands of Hypocrisy

Before moving to Florida, Diane and I spent 25 years in a wonderful old home in Harwich Port on Cape Cod. A large 11-room home — what we liked to call “11 one-room houses hammered together over almost 200 years” — it was perfect for us and our four children. In truth, though, it evolved into a 25-year fixer-upper, probably why I got such a good deal when I bought it. But despite its shortcomings, it fulfilled all three of the real estate industry’s key priorities: location, location, and location. We were blessed to live close to the water so our children could take a two-minute walk to a beautiful, sandy beach on Nantucket Sound. Our quaint village’s downtown was also a short walk from our home, and the local library was just around the corner. Although it was a nice place to live, we could not afford to stay there in retirement, and so we made our way to Florida.

Across the water, almost due south of our former home, is Nantucket Island, made famous by Herman Melville’s brilliant 1851 novel, Moby Dick. Today, however, Nantucket is perhaps better known as the home of our younger son, Brendan, an electrician who helps the elites keep their lights on and power their Internet connections with their brokers. Nantucket is also the home — okay, one of the homes — of many so-called celebrities. For example, John Kerry, our nation’s climate czar, has a rather large home on Nantucket which he visits seasonally in his private jet. I can’t say for sure, but considering how much time he spends jetting around the world to ensure the peasants freeze in the winter and suffer heatstroke in the summer, I assume he must own the world’s only electric airplane. After all, if he owned a real jet that consumed thousands of gallons of jet fuel and polluted our upper atmosphere…well, that would be sheer hypocrisy. But as it turns out, Kerry is no stranger to hypocrisy, a trait he demonstrated  years before when he “served” on swift boats in Vietnam, shopped for medals, and then publicly denigrated has fellow veterans. If you want the truth about Kerry’s Vietnam service, read John O’Neill’s book, Unfit for Command. O’Neill, a true hero and my Naval Academy classmate, lifts the veil behind which Kerry tried to hide that truth. Today, though, Czar Kerry is a beloved Nantucket resident, a kind of town character who loves to ask the tourists such questions as, “Do you know who I am?” as he exercises head-of-the-line privileges at the local coffee shop. Always generates lots of laughs.

But enough about Nantucket. There’s another island across Nantucket Sound, this one southwest of our former home, and it’s called Martha’s Vineyard, or simply “The Vineyard” by those in the know. It too is the summer home of many of our nation’s wealthiest elites, and in this it surely eclipses Nantucket. If you’ve never visited the island, and think it might be nice to vacation there next summer, I suggest you first download the Zillow app, search for Martha’s Vineyard, and check out the home values in Edgartown or Chilmark. Then take a moment to check the summer rates for hotels and B&Bs. You’ll quickly discover that Martha’s Vineyard really isn’t for folks like you and me. The homes are both amazing and amazingly expensive, with very few valued under $1 million and many worth far more. The island is also home to those hard-working folks who must keep all those expensive homes running and beautiful. Other men and women provide the societal infrastructure that allows the wealthy to enjoy their summers. Because it’s not easy to find affordable housing, many workers commute on the ferry from mainland Cape Cod or live with others in temporary quarters provided by employers. Yes, indeed, Martha’s Vineyard is really for the wealthy elites.

Although it pretends to be an earthly paradise for the select, Martha’s Vineyard lacks one thing: undocumented migrants, those we once called illegal aliens. This is true of most wealthy communities, regardless of location. Of course, island businesses import plenty of foreign nationals every summer to staff hotels, restaurants, and landscaping firms, but they’re all sent home on Labor Day. Good heavens! If they stay any longer, they might just decide to settle in permanently. 

The difference between places like Martha’s Vineyard and the communities spread out along our southern border is striking. In the latter you will encounter thousands of migrants. Indeed, thousands cross the border every day and inundate these border communities which are far from wealthy. Many, probably most, citizens of these border cities and towns have Latin American roots and are not pleased with the local consequences of this border crisis. Interestingly, the Democrats now wonder why so many of these folks are deserting their party. 

Although the immigration policies of the federal government are the direct cause of our unsecured, open border, that same government has done little to solve its self-generated problems. Deadly drugs like fentanyl, that originate in Communist China and are processed by Mexican drug cartels, pour across the border daily and kill thousands of young Americans. The cartels also engage in widespread and highly profitable human trafficking resulting in the unspeakable degradation of so many woman and children. Closing the border would certainly help, but the Biden administration wants an open border, since it assumes these illegal immigrants will give thanks by voting for Democrats in future elections. Since many migrants come here to escape the despotic socialist governments of their native countries, I suspect they will be far more likely to vote for candidates who represent freedom rather than tyranny. The very fact that they’ve risked everything, even their lives, to get here shows they’re not stupid. And only stupid people vote against their own best interests.

Let me share a recent experience. I bought a new clothes dryer the other day and the two installers were immigrants from Venezuela. These two bright, hard-working young men told me they came here to escape the socialism that has all but destroyed their native land.  Both arrived only a couple of years ago. Both are husbands and new fathers and hope their children will grow up in freedom. I heard the same last week from a young repairman who came here from Cuba only last year. How they will vote is no mystery.

But the elites don’t understand this. To display their virtue, wealthy liberals, safely tucked away in their gated compounds and island retreats, like to describe their communities as sanctuaries open to all migrants, so long as none actually show up on their doorstep. (The Martha’s Vineyard welcome sign below is a popular yard sign on the island.)

This NIMBY attitude was clearly manifested this week when Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis flew 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. Unlike President Biden, who has flown tens of thousands of migrants to destinations all over the country and has consistently done so under the cover of darkness, DeSantis and the other Republican border state governors hide nothing and fly or bus migrants openly. The reaction from liberals? DeSantis must be a Nazi and Biden is obviously a saint. Oh, yes, the city of El Paso, Texas, run by Democrat politicians, is also busing migrants to New York, but about this we hear nothing but silence from the northern Democrats. Go figure! 

Remarkably, Martha’s Vineyard’s civic leaders stated they simply don’t have the resources to care for these 50 migrants. This from one of the wealthiest communities in the country, an island with thousands of empty hotel rooms now that the tourist season is over. So, what did they do? The next day the governor of Massachusetts ordered the National Guard to remove these 50 migrants and transport them to a military base on Cape Cod. Problem solved! The pesky brown folks from Venezuela are now off the island and the elites can relax knowing their beloved Vineyard will not be contaminated by actual migrants. They seemingly prefer the virtual migrants who reside on their yard signs. Racism and hypocrisy remain alive and well. 

Just to emphasize this, NBC's media outlet posted the following tweet about the Florida governor's actions:

"Florida Gov. DeSantis sending asylum-seekers to Martha's Vineyard is like 'me taking my trash out and just driving to different areas where I live and just throwing my trash there," a founding member of a foundation that helps refugees says."

Oh, yes, those trashy migrants certainly don't belong on Martha's Vineyard. As you might expect, the backlash was significant, and NBC deleted the tweet. 

Stupidity Running Wild

Boy, when the world goes crazy it tends to take a lot of folks along with it. 

For example, did you hear what John Kerry — former U.S. Senator from the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts and former Secretary of State under the incompetent Barack Obama — said today in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? His words have to be the dumbest thing said by anyone today, and believe me, stupidity has been rampant. 

Anyway, Kerry, the cowardly medal hunter of the Mekong Delta, stated that “I hope that President Putin will help us stay on track with respect to what we need to do for the climate.” Can you believe it? He hopes not that Putin will reverse his horrendous aggression against Ukraine and its people, but that the ex-KGB Russian dictator will concern himself with imaginary global warming and the supposed effects of what is now euphemistically called “climate change.” 

The problem, of course, is that Mr. Kerry works for our president as his “special presidential envoy for climate.” The fact that he could make such idiotic comments and still keep his job, probably indicates the president agrees with him. Although given the president’s limited awareness of his surroundings, his special envoy’s comments might have escaped his attention. And I suspect none of his aides and advisors will fill him in.

President Putin has not only taken command of the invasion, but has also effectively taken command of NATO. If his words are taken literally, he seemingly threatened NATO with potential nuclear war if they do anything to oppose him. Other than issuing a bunch of weak sanctions, NATO and President Biden seem to have caved and realized they really don’t want to do anything that might lead to an escalation. After all, for decades the European members of NATO have relied on the deterrence provided largely by U.S. military power, while cutting their own defense budgets to the bone. Perhaps it’s time, as former President Trump made clear, for the Europeans to actually spend some Euros to defend themselves. 

It’s all about will, folks. Putin has shown he has the will to act, and I expect the Ukrainians to demonstrate their own will to defend themselves. Sadly, it is the United States and it’s traditional allies who seem to lack the will to resist in any meaningful way. The next few days and weeks should be interesting.

I also noticed that the Biden sanctions did not directly affect President Putin and his personal fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars scattered throughout many global financial institutions. Why not? Nor did Biden sanction the Russian central bank or use the Swiss bank sanction, the financial nuclear option. And remarkably, we are still buying oil and gas from Russia, and the administration plans no change to this. Could our president actually fear this tinpot dictator? Who knows? Maybe we should ask Hunter, who according to the president is the smartest man he knows.

Kerry at the Convention

Good heavens! I thought John Kerry had taken his wife’s dowry and completely retired to his little mansion on Nantucket where he could contemplate his lifetime of public failures. But no, just as he did back in his Vietnam days, he resurfaced and made headlines. Of course, as a young officer on swift boats in the Mekong delta, all John Kerry did was convince his peers that his primary mission was to shop for medals. These were the same medals he publicly tossed away at that antiwar rally while he cozied up to Ho Chi Minh’s favorite actress, Jane Fonda, and told nasty lies about his comrades in arms. But then, just when you thought he was permanently out of sight, John appeared at the virtual Democrat convention to speak fondly of himself, of Barack Obama...Oh, yes, and of Joe Biden. 

A Protesting John Kerry

As he has throughout his political career, Kerry told several whoppers last night. The biggest? He reminded the nation how he and Obama, and presumably with the blessing and moral support of Joe Biden, "eliminated the threat of an Iran with a nuclear weapon." This was, of course, a lie and Kerry knows it. If he doesn't, he's a bigger fool than most of us think. The agreement with Iran -- a, non-binding, unconstitutional agreement since it did not receive Senate ratification as a treaty -- asked Iran only to delay its development of nuclear weapons. It certainly did not "eliminate the threat." In return for this meaningless delay, Obama-Kerry removed all sanctions and gave the murderous Iranian regime a huge pile of untraceable cash subsequently used to finance terrorist activity throughout the Middle East and elsewhere. The result of the agreement? Iran continued to develop nuclear weapons and delivery systems while supporting worldwide Islamist terrorism, and did all these wondrous things thanks to funds provided by U.S. taxpayers. Aren't we proud?

This appeasement of Iran brought to mind a comment by Winston Churchill, the statesman most despised by President Obama:

Another lie involved his claim that the Obama administration put together that multi-nation coalition to destroy ISIS. Yes, there was a coalition but it had little effect on ISIS, and certainly didn’t “destroy” it. In fact, by pulling out of Iraq, the Obama administration turned the “J-V Team” into the Varsity that went on to control large parts of the Middle East and extend its terrorist activities. It took the aggressive anti-ISIS policies of the Trump administration to destroy ISIS. And how about Libya, Mr. Secretary of State? Oh, yeah. I guess that debacle occurred under your predecessor, the equally incompetent Hilary Clinton. All that “leading from behind” can be a real challenge if the folks in front decide to go in a different direction. Like Russia invading the Ukraine and taking over Crimea while the US watched and did nothing to help. How did Obama put it to Russian President, Dimitri Medvedev, back in March of 2012? “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.” And two years later, after that election, Russia invaded.

There’s also Kerry’s ludicrous claim that the Obama administration stopped Ebola before it became a pandemic. Talk about apples and oranges. Unlike COVID-19, that was airmailed to us and the rest of the world thanks to the policies of the Chinese Communist Party, Ebola was pretty much confined to parts of West Africa. I believe there were less than a dozen U.S. cases. 

Rewriting history is always a dangerous game, especially when those who lived it are still alive and can refute revisionist claims. 

A Book By a Great American

I am proud to say that in all my years as a Massachusetts resident I never voted for former Senator John Kerry. And I certainly didn't vote for him when he ran for president, a race that, thankfully, he lost. Why did he fail? I've always believed one key reason was the public exposure of his less than honorable service during and after the Vietnam conflict. And this exposure was largely due to John O'Neill who formed the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth to counter the steady stream of untruths told by Kerry after his return from Vietnam. The future senator and Secretary of State told many a whopper about his supposed heroics, but far worse he lied about the honorable service of the truly heroic men who served in Vietnam and fought the Viet Cong in the Mekong Delta. Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to John O'Neill for making the truth known.

John Kerry with Jane Fonda

John O'Neill and I are Naval Academy classmates -- Class of 1967 -- which for me is a true honor. My own service in Vietnam doesn't compare to that of John and his fellow warriors in the Brown Water Navy. As a Navy helicopter pilot I flew some search and rescue missions, mostly off the coast of Vietnam, but John and his crews were truly in the thick of things. Yes, indeed, we owe them a lot. It's just so sad that politicians of both parties failed in their responsibility to those whom they sent into harm's way by losing a most honorable and winnable conflict.

Brown Water Navy

But that's all behind us now...well, mostly. And John, too, has turned to other things. In fact, he has written a book, and a wonderful book it is!   

I've long been fascinated by the story of the excavations that uncovered the tomb of St. Peter beneath the Vatican Basilica that bears his name. Over 30 years ago I read John Walsh's book, The Bones of St. Peter. But that earlier book only whetted my appetite to know more.

Remains of St. Peter's Tomb

And then 10 years ago, Diane and I, on one of our trips to Rome, managed to get tickets for the tour of the tombs beneath St. Peter's Basilica. Called the Scavi Tour, it's limited to about a dozen people and includes the tomb of St. Peter and the necropolis uncovered during the excavations. It was a fascinating experience and the highlight of our visit. I even posted a brief description of the tour on this blog: Click here. (Should you not be able to visit Rome and take the tour, you can still experience the virtual tour online. Click here.) And yet, even after that up-close-and-personal visit, I still wanted to know more about the history of the excavations. 

John O'Neill's book, The Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search, has answered all my questions. It's tells the captivating and true story of the search for St. Peter's tomb, a search necessarily conducted in secrecy since it began in the midst of World War II when Hitler's Wehrmacht occupied Rome. It's an exciting story with a remarkable cast of characters: Pope Pius XII, one of my heroes; Margherita Guarducci, a remarkable archaeologist and epigrapher, a woman you will never forget; and a Texas oilman who secretly funded the entire project. John O'Neill has given us a real page-turner. I sat down, opened the book, and began to read. I couldn't put it down until I finished hours later. Get the book. You'll love it!

I actually have to buy another because a friend grabbed my copy the other day and has yet to return it.