Getting Their Due
Eventually, the price must be paid.
December 31st, 2024 will end a painful year for European and North American political leaders. They have been trying to ignore what their citizens have been telling them. No matter how they maneuvered and manipulated their political systems, it hasn't worked, and they are paying the price.
The answers would be clear if it were not for their arrogance, hubris, and isolation from everyday people. But they refuse to assume any intelligence or rationality in "those people" and continue to pursue policies detrimental to them. Political support vanishes, and the public turns to "controversial" leaders.
Immigration is a major dividing issue. If the issue itself were not the only problem, it would be bad enough, but the false charges of sinister motives in the discussion about it add to the damage. The vote against illegal immigration by Hispanics in the 2024 U.S. elections shows that immigration is not simply a race issue.
Think of a country as a team, neighborhood, or campus. We welcome pleasant, skilled people as group members if we have room for them. College admissions are limited. Athletic teams limit roster sizes. We need a variety of skills. Not every immigrant has to be a brain surgeon. But we expect our leaders to use the borders to control immigration to protect us from harmful and dangerous people and to keep the numbers at a manageable level.
Unlimited numbers drive up the cost of every social service as well as the cost of housing. They also increase the competition for jobs. A flood of unskilled or low-skilled immigrants hurts similarly skilled people already here.
Limiting crime is an essential task of leadership—especially crime against young women. Every mammalian group measures its strength by its ability to protect its fertile females. I am not talking about voluntary acts like marriage. I'm talking about rape, grooming, assault and murder.
An atrocious case was in Rotherham, England, as described by the BBC.
[A]n independent inquiry [was] led by Prof Alexis Jay.
Her report, published in 2014, found at least 1,400 children were subjected to sexual abuse and she detailed how girls as young as 11 were raped, trafficked, abducted, beaten, and intimidated by men predominantly of Pakistani heritage.
Fashionable people, including judges, are trying to enforce the absurd idea that genetic males can be women. Genetic or "cisgender" females must deal with these people in what should be comfortably private areas like bathrooms, locker rooms, and sorority houses. Organizations of people with the highest degrees in law and medicine aren't as clear about an individual's sex as a mammal with the tiniest brain. The general public can't believe educated people can be that crazy.
Genetic males competing as "female" boxers and athletes in other sports have caused physical harm to cisgender females. Female athletes are losing medals and scholarships. J. K. Rowling stood up for actual women. She is not anti-anything. She is for common sense. That unfashionable position can be dangerous these days.
Two other items on the fashionable agenda are hurting the daily lives of the average person: Climate and Russia-Ukraine.
Energy policy and costs are a problem everywhere. There are added wrinkles in different countries. Conventional leaders increased the cost of fuel to "save the planet" years from now. Normal people see themselves as starving or freezing before any benefits occur.
Germany is building windmills. One year more were built, and they produced less energy. Why? Mother Nature didn't cooperate. There was less wind that year. Germany shut down its carbon-free nuclear power plants while the energy and heating costs went through the roof.
It had the leading industrial base in Europe, partly driven by low-cost energy from Russia. They worked with Russia to build the Nord Stream pipeline, which was destroyed during the Ukraine war. The government also joined the boycott of Russian energy to support the war.
Energy costs for industry and individuals exploded. Volkswagen has announced plant closures. Petrochemical companies are moving production overseas to countries with cheaper energy. Jobs are being lost, and the cost of heating homes increases dramatically. Instead of using government money to help with this, the government is spending money to support Ukraine.
On December 16th, Prime Minister Schulz lost a no-confidence vote, and elections are scheduled for February 23rd
Demonstrations are a national habit in France, and keeping track of them is hard. But one round dealt with increases in fuel costs. In May, President Macron spoke of sending French and other NATO troops to Ukraine to fight Russia. It was not well received. Parties on both ends opposed it.
Macron called a snap election in June to get a more significant block of seats for his party in parliament. It didn't work. Parties on both ends did well. Marine La Pen's party did very well in the first round of elections. Through various maneuvers, her strength was limited in the second round. It was a classic case of "let's not let the voters have what they want."
A coalition agreed on nothing except "not La Pen." Macron's party wasn't the biggest, but he insisted on naming one of his party members as Prime Minister. That didn't work for long. On December 4th, Macron's Prime Minister lost a no-confidence vote after a failure over a proposed budget. The French Fifth Republic's constitution prohibits a second general election within a year of the previous one. President Macron has appointed a new prime minister.
British politics are genuinely absurd. After Brexit, the Conservative (Tory) Party didn't vigorously execute the "Leave" mandate of the Brexit vote. After several useless party leaders and various versions of confused leaders, the public put the Labour Party in charge with Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
Labour has passed an inheritance tax, making it almost impossible for families to pass a farm on to the next generation. Payments to help pensioners meet increased fuel costs have stopped.
Starmer rapidly earned the title "two-tier Kier." Immigrants who commit crimes or hold demonstrations are untouchable. Native Britians are jailed. He is also arresting and jailing people over social media postings. And, since the jails are crowded, violent criminals are being released to make room for those who say bad things about the government. Starmer's popularity is falling fast. Labour has a large enough majority to prevent a new election, but they can replace their leader.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has played the tyrant by shutting down bank accounts and playing loose with other freedoms. He just tried to have Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland take the fall for a new budget, but she quit instead. He is widely expected to be in trouble in elections next year.
Then, of course, we have the United States. Ignoring for now any discussion of 2020, the "lawfare" tactics used against Donald Trump and his allies have permanently soiled the reputation of the "Justice" Department and virtually every judge in the United States.
The disgraceful (Democratic) courts in New York and Atlanta almost make the (Democratic) courts in the Jim Crow South look reasonable. The public showed its disregard for the "convictions" on election day. Every time the Democrats or a reporter called Trump a "felon," he got more votes.
Given the chaos so far, 2025 should be a year of significant turnover and change of direction. It will be interesting to see.