Month: March 2023

Let us pause a minute and reflect on a key  fact – there is a doctor who performed surgery to remove the healthy breasts of a 13 year old girl, a doctor who apparently still has a license to practice medicine.

During her interview, “Cole told…Tucker Carlson she is ‘devastated’ at the loss of her breasts and has trouble coping.  ‘As an adult, I will never be able to breast-feed whatever children I will have. I don’t even know if, because I was put on puberty blockers and testosterone at only 13 years old, I don’t know if I’ll be able to conceive a child naturally…I made an adult decision as a child.'” 

In a Notice of Intent to Sue letter dated November 9, 2022, Cole’s lawyers outlined their allegations against the Kaiser Foundation Hospital and the doctors who treated this young woman’s “gender dysphoria”; “Defendants coerced Chloe and her parents to undergo what amounted to a medical experiment by propagating two lies. First, Defendants falsely informed Chloe and her parents that Chloe’s gender dysphoria would not resolve unless Chloe socially and medical transitioned to appear more like a male. Second, Defendants also falsely informed Chloe and her parents that Chloe was at a high risk for suicide, unless she socially and medically transitioned to appear more like a male…Both of these statements were false..”

As Cole’s lawyer’s explain, “First, the vast majority of childhood gender dysphoria cases resolve by the time the child reaches adulthood, with the patient’s self-perception reverting back to align with their biological sex. In such situations, the dysphoria resolves without any cross-sex chemical or surgical interventions…Defendants never once informed Chloe of the possibility, indeed the high likelihood, that her gender dysphoria would resolve, without cross-sex treatment, by the time she reached adulthood.”

Second, “a long-term follow-up population-based study…found that gender dysphoric individuals who undergo sex reassignment continue to have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behavior, and psychiatric morbidity as compared with the general population. In other words, in a large number of cases, suicidality and psychiatric issues are not resolved by sex reassignment…Defendants intentionally obscured these facts and defrauded Chloe and her parents in order to perform what amounted to a lucrative transgender medical experiment on Chloe.”

The Notice also states that “it is important to note that the relevant Kaiser…facilities and institutions where Chloe received treatment have failed to enact policies and procedures preventing the risky, inadequately studied, and essentially experimental treatment that occurred in Chloe’s case. Indeed, to the contrary, the facilities and institutions actively promote, encourage, and advertise the availability of these treatments on minors, which represents an additional clear and egregious breach of the standard of care in this case.”  Further, “(r)ecommending, supervising, prescribing, and advising inadequately studied, off-label, high risk treatments on Chloe, between 13 to 17 amounts to medical experimentation on Chloe, and represents gross negligence and an egregious breach of the standard of care.”  

In any medical malpractice case, one issue is whether or not the patient gave consent to the treatment, and “assumed the risk” of the procedure.  “Briefly, under the legal doctrine of informed consent, a doctor must provide enough information to help the patient make rational healthcare choices…In trial practice, medical malpractice defense attorneys almost always introduce the informed consent into evidence…The concern, of course, is that a signed document might confuse or prejudice jurors into a belief that the plaintiff was more aware of the potential risks of the intervention than might have been the case…in any case, such consent – even fully and thoughtfully performed – does not acknowledge the acceptance of risk of negligent treatment.” 

Cole’s attorney’s address the issue of consent head-on; “(I)t is quite clear that…the informed consent forms and discussion regarding these treatments were highly deficient from a standard of care perspective and constituted intentional fraudulent concealment… the hormone therapy consent form… fails to meaningfully identify any risks of hormone therapy and puberty blockers…(despite there being) extensive documented known risks of such treatment, none of which were included in the form.”

Further, “(t)he informed consent form for the breast removal surgery identified some basic risks of the surgery, and loss of the ability to breastfeed. However, it failed to disclose the experimental nature of the surgery and the lack of long-term studies for performing this surgery at such an early age as a treatment for ‘gender dysphoria.’”

The Notice continues; “(b)oth consent forms also entirely failed to inform Chloe of the significant probability that her gender dysphoria would resolve by adulthood, resulting in severe regret and harmful physical changes to her body that can never be reversed…Defendants never verbally advised Chloe of this potential risk. To the contrary, Defendants advised Chloe that her gender dysphoria would only resolve if she underwent sex-reassignment hormones and surgery, which proved to be false. This inadequate consent and Defendants’ failure to properly advise Chloe and her parents of the associated risks and the experimental nature of the treatment, represents gross/reckless negligence and is an additional breach of the standard of care.”

Cole’s lawsuit, once brought, could be the turning point for the use of hormone blockers and gender reassignment surgery for minors. “Analysts like Dr. Jay Richards, director of the DeVos Center for Life, Religion and Family at the Heritage Foundation warn, a legal slugfest could be coming to the U.S., as more young people detransition and regret the permanent damage to their bodies. ‘We’re going to have thousands of young people who are de-transitioning, they’re going to be mad at what’s happened and so I honestly think maybe it’s 5 years maybe it’s 10 years, that this is all going to end,'” according to Richards.

For the past seven years, we have watched this horrific trend in child abuse continue and expand.  Rather than deplore the practice, too many in the media have cheered for the mutilation of sexually-confused children.   But minors who underwent these barbaric procedures have now matured, and realized the wrong done to them.  

Legal actions for medical malpractice by detransitioned young people like Chloe Cole may finally bring these medical experiments on impressionable and vulnerable minors to an end. 

Judge Wilson served on the bench in NYC

Illustration: Pixabay

In June of 2016, we first addressed the issue of gender dysphoria for usagovpolicy.com.  At that time, we noted that “(s)tories can be found from those who deeply regret taking a knife to their sexuality.”    As the procedure has become more common, the stories have multiplied.

“New studies are now emerging showing that the ‘detransitioner’ movement is far larger than what is commonly acknowledged, with detransition rates nearing 30% in some instances… thousands of young women and men who once identified as the opposite sex — many of whom attempted a ‘gender transition’ by ingested drugs and undergoing elaborate surgical procedures to impersonate the opposite sex — are now rejecting the transgender identity and are once again embracing their natural sex.” 

In 2016, we also noted that “the majority of (media) coverage given to this issue favors gender reassignment,” and that “those who have undergone sexual reassignment surgery are celebrated.”  In the past seven years, this trend has not changed.  Fox News is one of the few media outlets to cover this issue (besides usagovpolicy.com), giving a voice to those who regret making a decision they were too young to consider knowingly and intelligently.

As reported by Fox, “(a)fter beginning transitioning as a young girl and undergoing a double mastectomy at 18 years old, now 24-year-old Prisha Mosley is detransitioning and speaking out about her struggles… ‘One of the issues I have is the lack of identity,’ Mosley explained. ‘And on top of not having a lot of friends and having issues at home, when I found the trans community and found a new identity and was affirmed…that’s what caused me to transition’…’I was manipulated not only by my trans peers, but by my gender specialist, the person who gave me my letter of recommendation in surgery. It was all sold as like a wonderful thing,’ she said….(m)any of Mosley’s treatments and procedures during her transition are irreversible, including her double mastectomy, also known as top surgery.” 

Those who regret transitioning include KC Miller, who “began taking testosterone at 16 and underwent a double mastectomy only six months after starting the injections. She says that she was introduced to gender ideology through influencers on YouTube. After noticing that the testosterone treatments were causing severe hair loss, she decided to detransition. She now admits that ‘social contagion’ played a role in convincing her to transition. ‘The more detransitioners that speak out, the more that will feel comfortable to come forward,’ Miller says.”

Then there is Daisy Strongin, who “spent seven years from age 15 to 22 attempting to transition from female to male…Strongin began getting testosterone injections and eventually underwent a double mastectomy. Soon, however, she began feeling remorse for her decision. ‘It just got so hard to look in the mirror because I felt more of a disconnect between my mind and my body than I did before,’ she said. ‘I felt like I was in some kind of weird gender purgatory.’ She now rejects gender theory and gender identity, calling it ‘a scam.’ Strongin is now 24 and newly married with an infant son.” 

For the most part, accredited medical professionals continue to treat “gender dysphoria” with hormone blockers and radical surgery, regardless of whether the patient is an adult or a minor.  For instance, the Mayo Clinic, with locations in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, has “The Transgender and Intersex Specialty Care Clinic (TISCC) (which) provides integrated medical, psychosocial and surgical intervention to individuals with gender dysphoria/incongruence…Treatments offered include…Hormone therapy and monitoring…Gynecological care for transgender men” and “Feminizing surgical procedures” which includes “Top surgery for transgender women,” “Facial feminization” and “Penile inversion vaginoplasty.”  For women who wish to become men, there are “Masculinizing surgical procedures.”  These consist of “Top surgery for transgender men and nonbinary people…Body-contouring procedures (and) Hysterectomy…”

These services appear to be equally available to both minors and adults – including all surgical options.

One detransitioned young person, Chloe Cole, has decided to challenge the medical establishment that encourages hormone blockers and surgery for minors.  “(S)he is suing the doctors who performed the ‘gender-affirming’ surgery because she wants to end the practice. ‘I want to hold the adults that put me in harm’s way accountable because what happened to me is horrible, but it also didn’t only happen to me, that’s the worst part. It’s happening to children all over the U.S., all over the West, and it’s spreading all over the world,’ (Cole) said” in an interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News.   

Cole “went on puberty blockers and testosterone at just 13 years old. She had been diagnosed with autism and ADHD at age 7 and spent a lot of unsupervised time online, where she was exposed to gender ideology. When she began questioning her gender identity, she was fast-tracked by medical personnel into transitioning, and her parents were pressured to sign off on it. She underwent a double mastectomy at 13 and still suffers medical complications to this day five years later.” 

The article concludes tomorrow

Judge Wilson served on the bench in NYC

Illustration: Pixabay

Ask any insider in the foreign policy community in Washington, DC what the term “power broker” means, and the response will be a litany of information about how our President, the National Security Council, and State Department are working around the world to ensure US national security interests and concerns are met and the US retains it hegemonic status. They will confirm adamantly that the United States is the world leader in everything imaginable and that no country could successfully replace us. But is that the case today? Over the last few years foreign nations are paying closer attention to overtures from China’s CCP leadership and its overseas economic programs. Countries once firmly in the US camp are turning to Beijing to broker third party deals and help resolve their international conflicts. We are at war with China, but it is not a Westphalian concept of conflict. 

Differing tools and methodologies make it “difficult for the West to admit it,” according to Michael Listner, founder of Space Law and Policy Solutions. General Laura Richardson, commander of the US Southern Command, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that “The [People’s Republic of China] has the capability to eschew international norms, advance its brand of authoritarianism, and amass power and influence at the expense of these [South American and Caribbean] democracies.” 

General Glen VanHerck, commander of the US Northern Command and Richardson also testified this week saying that China’s expansion includes increased work on its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other forms of economic coercion. Recently China completed the largest embassy in the world in the Bahamas and over 80% of Mexico’s telecommunications is provided by Chinese companies, according to VanHerck. The CCP leadership is active throughout the world. Behind-the-scenes in the Middle East this week, China helped broker a significant deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to reestablish diplomatic relations. After the announcement, China’s senior diplomat declared that the two countries were wise to do so. It comes one month after President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Beijing.

China’s appearing to facilitate the negotiations adds to Chinese prestige, according to John Alterman, in of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He argues that “The not-so-subtle message that China is sending is that while the United States is the preponderant miliary power in the Gulf, China is a powerful and rising diplomatic presence… and it contributes to a narrative of a shrinking US global presence.” Washington does not maintain diplomat relations with Tehran and was unable to participate. China, in contrast, represents about 30% of Iran’s total international trade, with much of it in the form of oil exports to the communist giant. The exclusion of Washington by Saudi Arabia indicates they are seeking to diversity their security arrangements.

“Globalization is a fact, not a policy,” according to Condoleeza Rice, director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. But globalization is facing headwinds, she added. The strongest are coming from China where government leaders have failed to meet international expectations of liberalizing the country’s economy. When asked about China’s role in Africa, Rice said that its economic and political influence is beginning to wane in the region but that the United States needs to make sure it fills any gaps. “We ought to be right in the middle of that, going into that vacuum,” she argues. The question remaining is can Washington compete effectively and simultaneously in the current international economic climate and on the military front. 

The Jamestown Foundation pointed out this week that outgoing Premier Li Keqiang announced that China would increase its defense budget by 7.2 percent in his remarks opening the annual National’s People’s Congress. Covell Meyskens, an associate professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, suggests that China is pushing hard to encourage the world to disengage with the United States. Writing in Foreign Policy, Meyskens argues that “… under Xi, China’s propaganda apparatus appears determined to tell “a good China story” that lauds how CCP rule, and especially Xi’s leadership, has generated a plethora of domestic accomplishments and raised China’s global clout. In recent years, Chinese state media has also worked hard to put to rest the idea that the PRC should take the United States as a model to emulate. Every day, Chinese media pumps out enormous volumes of content about why the United States is failing as a global leader.

Increasing Chinese aggression on the economic, diplomatic, and military fronts is a serious challenge to America’s global leadership role. Xi may see this as his last opportunity to alter the international order  in China’s favor before Beijing is faced with overwhelming demographic and other domestic economic challenges that could impede his goals. Washington needs to recognize the international challenge it faces from China and arrive at a better understanding of how to deal with the belligerent communist giant.

Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.

Photo: China Defence Ministry

Humans can be highly observant and analytical creatures. We are equally adept at ignoring what is directly in front of us, despite the imminent danger it presents. The allure of China’s newly opened, and potentially large, market sent businessmen from around the world scurrying to Beijing to befriend CCP officials. Others sought development funds to modernize their country’s infrastructure. In recent decades the United States, both the public and private sectors, has been drawn to and blinded by China’s mystique and money. The US is not the only country fatally attracted to China. Europe’s critical supply chain today is deeply embedded in and dependent on imports from China that in 2021 topped $557.8 billion. Russia and the developing South also beg for BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) funds to keep their economies afloat, while China reaps rewards in outsized influence and newly acquired wealth derived from its predatory practices. Xi Jinping recognizes he has a limited window of opportunity obtain the resources his country needs to complete his vision of a modern Chinese-style world order. Now entering an unprecedented third term in office, Xi isn’t wasting time in extending China’s reach into Russia’s once forbidden Far eastern territories.

Xi Jinping recognizes that for China to fully modernize it must buy or seize control of energy and the other critical natural resources required to support advanced technologies. Although the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960’s is healed out of convenience to both communist states, the fulcrum point in the relationship has moved to favor Beijing. Xi is using it to his advantage. Although Russia is occupied with its war in Ukraine, Chinese and Far Eastern Russian officials met in early March, in the northeastern city of Harbin. They quietly agreed China would finance the building of a railway north and well into the Russian resource-rich Sakha Republic. This region dominates the Russian Far East, according to Paul Goble of the Jamestown Foundation. He points out that it is “rather far from the Chinese border…[and] represents a potentially transformative event for the region, China, and the Russian Federation.” 

Unlike the Trans-Siberian line or other infrastructure just over the border in Russia, this project is unprecedented in its reach into the Russian interior.  Second, open-source intelligence appears to indicate that the deal was inked by Sakha and Chinese officials without involvement from Moscow. Last June 22, the Russian publication Vesma wrote that Putin did not consider the project a priority. Goble suggests this is another way of Moscow’s say it cost too much with resources devoted to the war in Ukraine. Third, concessions obtained by China in this deal will allow it to gain long-term access to critically-needed resources. Putin likes to talk about Russia’s “turn to the east.” What in the short-run will benefit Russia’s natural resources export market, may turn out in the long run to favor China. Historically, Sakha is already more closely linked to Beijing than Moscow. Goble argues that this raises the “specter in the minds of many Russians that China is becoming the paramount power in the region.”

And, he adds, “this could eventually be the case even if China does nothing to change the political borders between itself and the Russian Federation—a classic form of neo-colonialism that Moscow is accustomed to denouncing in others but often fails to see China is using that same approach within Russia’s current borders.” Economic warfare, in which China is the dominant player, is less costly for Xi than a kinetic military conflict. The territory in question once belonged to China. The people in the region speak Mandarin and are ethnically identical in look and tradition to the nearby Chinese population. 

The area is sparsely populated and China will likely need to bring in “guest workers.” It is not an easy route to build and will take years to complete over permafrost ground. China, however, already has experience building a 900-mile Tibetan railway system through permafrost that is more advanced that any found in the West. The rewards will be timber, coal, and other minerals, as well as influence well beyond the reaches of Sakha. Xi is following the ancient Chinese warrior Sun Tzu’s directive to climb higher to see farther. Russia, however, may be ignoring the close by danger if China becomes the de facto power in Russia’s Far East.

Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.

Photo: Pixabay

Japanese kamikaze pilots in World War II did immense damage to enemy forces in the Pacific. Carrying one ton of explosives in the nosecone of each plane, the Japanese Air Force sank 34 naval ships and damaged hundreds of others. They achieved their mission about 19% of the time. The cost was great as Japan lost about 2,800 skilled pilots and 1,387 aircraft. Kamikaze planes are still in use today in the war in Ukraine, however, now they are controlled remotely by pilots wielding a control stick far from the battlefield. Russian lives are not at stake.

Russian forces are employing Iranian kamikaze drones to destroy Ukraine’s physical infrastructure. The Kyiv Independent newspaper reported last fall that Russia is actively incorporating them into the battlefield. In mid-February, the publication Unian published a report saying that Putin was running low on stocks of Iranian-built drones. At the same time Russian-friendly states werevproviding alternative sources for Moscow. 

It appears anti-Western governments are resorting to a plan this year that includes building a joint Russian-Iranian drone factory inside Russia to supply the country with the needed equipment to ratchet up the pressure on the Ukrainian government and its air defense systems. Sine Ozkarasahin, of the Jamestown Foundation, notes that “Such a scenario would grant Russia easier access to a continuous stream of Iranian kamikaze drones….”

Worse yet, if the Russian-Iranian deal is cemented, a drone facility in the imminent neighborhood of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will have immense strategic implications. It would shorten the length of Russian supply lines and put armed drones next to NATO Member states who oppose Putin’s war. It would have far-reaching implications for the future security of NATO’s eastern flank and represent a new and elevated threat to Western Europe. 

Tehran is complicit in this operation. It will add to its global production network that already includes countries such as Tajikistan, Syria, and Venezuela. The facility, according to open source intelligence, is to be built east of Moscow in the town of Yelabuga, and produce about 6,000 Iranian drone annually. America military intelligence suggests that this could be a significant force multiplier for Putin in his upcoming spring offensive. Ozkarasahin says the plant will be much more sustainable than the frequent drone transfers in a highly dangerous and logistically challenging hot zone. He adds that the facility can “provide Russia with key strategic benefits, such as easy access to spare parts and maintenance support.”

The Yelabuga site, which is near the Kama River, appears part of a trend in Iranian military complexes in which some of Tehran’s most critical missile production facilities (including the ones in Parchin and Baniyas) are all located near a water supply, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Ozkarasahin suggests this could be indicative of a potential new spot for Iranian missile production of the Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 kamikaze drones already in use in Ukraine by Russian forces. 

Of additional concern is that the production line could include modified versions of these drones equipped with unmanned aerial vehicles capable of a higher air speed and longer range. Last month Eurasian Times reported that some intelligence sources are confirming the Iranians have already embarked on this journey, by modifying the traditional Shahed-131’s to include more destructive warheads. 

This represents a potential broader threat to NATO. Other states unfriendly to the West, including China and Armenia, are already providing Putin’s war machine with supplies sanctioned by the West. They circumvent sanctions by selling Russia semi-conductors and subcomponents of critical systems to Moscow, according to Eurasianet this week. If the Russian-Iranian axis continues growing NATO may be faced with yet another threat to its strategic advantage. If shot down NATO’s most sophisticated systems could provide Iran with newer technology and counter-drone advances that make a technological challenge to the Western alliance closer to an alarming reality. The word kamikaze originated in Japan over 740 years ago and was used to refer to the wrath of typhoons that beset the island nation and stopped Kublai Khan from conquering Japan. Iran’s drones could alter the balance of power in Europe and as a modern day “divine wind” threaten a vast area of Europe.

Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.

Illustration: Pixabay

Never before in American history has a President so thoroughly ignored national security.

From border controls and defense budgets to anti-espionage efforts and preventing threats from a foreign power to originate on U.S. soil, the Biden Administration has disregarded key measures necessary to keep the nation secure.

The White House has eliminated safeguards on the southern border. It has repealed existing programs to stop enemy spying. It proposed inadequate defense budgets. It has opened the door to China’s purchase of land near vital military installations.

Singularly, any one of these actions would be dangerous and short-sighted. Combined, they constitute a stunning abrogation of duty to protect America from very real, very significant, and rapidly growing threats.

The White House’s actions have been breathtakingly absurd.  One example: Gordon Chang, writing for Gatestone, reports that “The Biden administration just cleared a Chinese company to own 370 acres of land within 12 miles of Grand Forks Air Force Base in Grand Forks, North Dakota. As a result, China will be able to use a proposed $700 million corn milling plant on the site to spy on military communications and even disrupt them.

That inexplicable decision comes on the heels of other bizarre actions. The Biden Justice Department has scrapped the urgently needed “China Initiative,” a measure designed to respond to the massive spying performed by Beijing on American soil.  It was established to stop the theft of military secrets, as well as roadblock the billions of dollars lost by U.S. companies in intellectual property theft.  Desperate for an excuse for this strange decision, it was announced that targeting Chinese spies was, somehow, a civil rights violation of Chinese-Americans, a decision that itself casts aspersions on loyal Chinese-Americans.

Clear and immediate danger has resulted from the decision to ignore the massive illegal immigration across the southern border. In 2021, 71,000 deaths resulted from fentanyl, much of which came up through the unprotected border. 15,000 to 50,000 women and children are forced into sexual slavery in the United States every year, mostly placed into such condition by Mexican cartels up from the southern border. According to a Newsweek study, “Final fiscal year 2022 numbers show Border Patrol apprehended a whopping 98 watch-listed terrorists at the southern border, six times the record 15 caught there in 2021 (three were caught in 2020 and none in 2019). That’s also five times the number it took to carry out the 9/11 attacks that took America to war in overseas theaters for 20 years.”  Not only has the Biden White House failed in its border duties, it has aggressively lied about its actions and unfairly punished border patrol agents for merely doing their duty.  

It has moved against the state governments most directly affected, when they sought to address the hazard. American Military News notes that these anti-state government actions  come as  more than “500,00 illegal immigrantw crossed the US-Mexico border in just the first 74 days of the 2023 fiscal year.”

The neglect of danger extends to cyberspace, as well.  As overwhelming evidence mounts that TikToc is being used by Beijing to gather data on Americans for nefarious purposes, According to some members of the House Committee on Armed Services, there is a possibility that Washington may approve an agreement that would allow China to retain significant influence over TikTok and control of its core technology, most importantly its algorithm despite significant objections from national security agencies.

Looming over all of these issues is the growing danger from Russia and China, and the Biden Administration’s inadequate proposed defense budgets.  The Atlantic notes that “Russia has invaded a country on NATO’s borders, its leader has repeatedly invoked the specter of nuclear war, and its military is mercilessly bombing civilian targets. China, meanwhile, is ramping up its defense spending, has overtaken the United States in some important areas of defense technology, and just signed a treaty of ‘friendship’ with Russia. Elsewhere, North Korea is testing missiles that can reach the U.S., Iran continues to be a malign actor in the Middle East, and terrorist groups have not gone away. Yet in its latest budget request for defense, the Biden administration has sought to downplay the U.S. military’s role in national security, and the resources it has asked for are insufficient for even that reduced role.”

Photo: Warships from Chinese and Russian navies are pictured after a joint naval exercise, Joint Sea 2022, in the East China Sea on Dec. 27, 2022. Chinese and Russian navies concluded the seven-day joint naval exercise Tuesday in the East China Sea. (Photo by Sun Fei/Xinhua)

China has been allowed to gain massive influence throughout the United States, particularly in our economy, education, and politicians.

As February drew to a close, a new Congressional group, “The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party,” chaired by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis) began operations.  It’s stated mission is to work on a bipartisan basis to build consensus on the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party and develop a plan of action to defend the nation.

It’s a tough task, considering how deeply entrenched the CCP has become.

Each new month brings new and disturbing revelations about how deeply Beijing has penetrated American institutions. The latest involves the odd case of Dominic Ng.

President Biden has appointed Mr. Ng to serve as the U.S. member on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council in July of 2022. According to Congressman Lance Gooden (R-Texas), ““It is unfathomable that a man like Dominic Ng would ever be appointed to a government position given his extensive ties to CCP officials and intelligence front groups. Mr. Ng is compromised at best and a traitor at worst, but his donation of over $100,000 to President Biden’s re-election campaign has been rewarded with a position to represent U.S. business interests in Asia. The president should immediately rescind his appointment and the FBI should launch an investigation into whether Mr. Ng has passed sensitive information to Chinese officials.” the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed Dominic Ng served as the executive director of the China Overseas Exchange Association and now serves as the executive director of the China Overseas Friendship Association. Both organizations are front groups for Chinese intelligence operations and members of the organizations are considered likely Chinese influence operatives.

The Chinese communist spy who compromised Congressman Eric Swalwell, (D-CA) Fang Fang, also “socialized, networked with Rep. Judy Chu and then-Rep. Mike Honda, campaigned for now-Rep. Rho Khanna, volunteered for Bill Harrison, the mayor of Fremont, California at the time and in some cases, developed romantic or sexual relationships with politicians to gain intelligence and send it back to her handlers, who were believed to be stationed in mainland China.” 

Political corruption is just one aspect of the problem. Samantha Aschieris reports that “Confucius Institutes, founded in 2004, are China-funded ‘cultural’ centers that operate on college campuses. In the past few years, these centers have come under increased scrutiny as operations of Chinese state influence. ‘For years, the Chinese Communist Party has been using Confucius Institutes as a Trojan horse to push their propaganda and revisionist history in American universities. Their goal is to control what we see, hear, and think about China,’ [said] Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn, who introduced related legislation called the Transparency for Confucius Institutes Act in 2021”  An estimated 500 K-12 schools in the U.S. have had Confucius Classrooms, according to a National Association of Scholars report, “After Confucius Institutes: China’s Enduring Influence on American Higher Education.” 

A Free Beacon analysis warns “In 2015, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which serves as the Chinese Communist Party’s political advisory board, purchased Donald Trump’s alma mater, the New York Military Academy, for $16 million dollars. Conference member Mo Tianquan secured the purchase after a bidding war with another Chinese conglomerate. Two years later, a Chinese education conglomerate purchased the Florida Preparatory Academy as part of its plan to create “a global educational alliance system.” The organization partnered with a CCP-controlled regional government agency on the initiative. Both the New York Military Academy and Florida Preparatory Academy operate Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) programs, which train future military officers.”

The problem extends beyond the United States.  As has been observed, China has managed to deflect blame for its COVID disaster through its financially-purchased influence at the United Nations. Radio Free Asia

China’s government has “penetrated” the United Nations, undercutting its oversight functions by stacking bodies like the U.N. Human Rights Council with its own people, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told a Senate hearing.

Illustration: Pixabay

One of President Biden’s first acts upon taking office was to eliminate the Keystone XL pipeline, an 875-mile project that would extend from the Canadian border at Morgan, Montana, to  Steele City, Nebraska.  

It was only the opening salvo of his Administration’s war on energy, which is the root cause not only of the increase in gasoline prices but also the rampant inflation that is wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy.

Biden has been open about his disdain for fossil fuels, despite the uncomfortable reality that alternative sources, for the foreseeable future, can only replace about 20% of energy needs. 

His views completely disregard the economic hardship to the American people, and the reality that alternative sources can only produce about 20% of energy needs.

One study reports that “While renewables continue to underperform in the generation of electricity, crude oil continues to be targeted for elimination along with coal and natural gas, even though oil is seldom used for generating electricity. Today, Biden supports allowing banks and investment giants to collude to reshape economies and energy infrastructure with their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) divesting in fossil fuels. ESG is a very dangerous precedent as the American people never voted to give banks this sort of control over our country.”

A Cfact study has found that “The unintended consequences of attempting to rid America and the world of crude oil usage are being realized in supply shortages and soaring prices resulting from the elimination of products and fuels manufactured from crude oil that support: Asphalt for roughly 65 million miles of roads in the world, Tires for the 1.4 billion vehicles in the world, Fertilizers to feed the world on this increasingly resource-stretched and crowded earth, Medical supplies that are primarily made from oil derivatives Jets that comprise more than 50,000 for military, commercial, and private sector, Merchant ships that comprise more than 53,000 that move products throughout the world, Vehicles that are mostly made of plastics, and even renewables of wind turbines and solar panels that are made from oil derivatives.”

A Heartland analysis reveals that “Energy prices are skyrocketing under President Joe Biden’s radical energy and climate agenda. The latest official government data show large year-over-year price hikes for all forms of energy. During the past year, overall electricity prices rose 8 percent, industrial energy prices increased by 15 percent, home heating oil prices rose 43 percent, conventional oil prices surged by 60 percent, natural gas prices increased by 61 percent, and gasoline prices rose nearly $1 per gallon. The average U.S. household in 2021 spent an extra $600 in higher gasoline costs and $70 in higher electricity costs. Further, households that use natural gas spent an extra $300, on average, and those using home heating oil paid $1,000 more. Cumulatively, the average American household paid about $1,000 in higher energy costs in 2021 compared to 2020. It’s also important to note that these higher energy prices have been baked into the costs for all goods and services bought and sold in the economy, contributing to across-the-board inflation.”

There is also the uncomfortable reality that alternatives such as wind and solar are not good for the environment.

Wind power is dangerous to wildlife, noisy, expensive and unreliable. Simply put, sometimes the wind just doesn’t blow. Solar panels destroy vast tracks of land.

A Scientific American analysis outlined the environmental problems of solar power. “the ecological footprint of solar power development could grow to more than 27,500 square miles—roughly the land area of South Carolina—if the U.S. were to adopt a more ambitious climate goal. When thousands of solar panels are built in undeveloped natural areas, the panels crowd out wildlife and destroy their habitat.”

There appears to be no logical reason for Biden’s energy policies, leading to an uncomfortable question, recently raised by the Heritage Foundation. “With reports that classified documents were found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania, questions arise about the potential connection between the university’s receipt of $54 million in Chinese donations and President Joe Biden’s promotion of energy policies that are strengthening China’s economy at the expense of our own. Under Biden’s anti-fossil fuel energy policies, Americans have been left with higher costs and a weaker economy while China has gained a larger market for its “green energy” wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicle batteries. Could the money and the policies be related? The New York Post reported that tens of millions in donations to the University of Pennsylvania came from Chinese donors after the Penn Biden Center was first announced in 2017.”

Illustration: Pixabay