[Townhall] Success breeds failure. Policies and practices well-suited to society at one juncture in history are often poorly suited to the world they have beneficially transformed. If you carry a good thing too far, it can turn out not to be a good thing anymore.
Case in point, one of the most successful public policies in U.S. history, the World War II G.I. Bill, which financed college educations for military veterans. Signed by former President Franklin Roosevelt, it embodied New Deal generosity even as its chief backers included the racist Democratic Mississippi Rep. John Rankin and the supposedly reactionary American Legion. One secret of its success, like that of Social Security, was apparent reciprocity: It provided benefits for those who made some contribution.
In doing so, it subsidized both economic and intellectual upward mobility for those from modest or even subsistence beginnings -- the children of Appalachian coal miners, eastern and southern European immigrants, and even many Black Americans whose service was limited to segregated units.
Taken together, their achievements not only increased the enrollment of colleges and universities (many of which disliked the democratization) but vastly increased the size and capacities of the American economy.
This success embedded in the minds of elites and many ordinary Americans the notion that any further expansion of higher education would be good for individuals and the country. State legislatures founded new systems of universities and community colleges. Congress pumped large sums into higher education and took up the idea of somehow subsidizing loans to college and graduate students.
As a result, the share of Americans pursuing higher education rose from just 5% before WWII to nearly two-thirds today, with almost 40% earning a bachelor's degree. Those numbers have been increased by seemingly generous student loans, the proceeds of which are gobbled up by a vast increase in higher education administrators (they now outnumber teachers) and by ever-higher tuitions. The fundamental law: "You can't make silk purses from sow's ears" was forgotten. To graduate so many required, drastically, lowering standards.
As Charles Murray argued in his 2008 book "Real Education," these are far higher percentages than the share of the population with the cognitive skills needed to profit from serious four-year undergraduate study, much less advanced graduate school. Schools have responded with reduced rigor and grade inflation to the point that, as Palantir CEO Alex Karp noted, "Inflated grades have degraded the value of college degrees."
The result is that American society, which before the G.I. Bill tended to provide higher education to too few, now provides it to too many. Consequently, we have what the maverick scholar Peter Turchin called an "overproduction of elites."
One consequence is that the economic premium from a bachelor's degree is becoming smaller, if not vanishing. Another is that there is a glut of college graduates entering the labor market -- some 7 million since January 2020 -- while the number of those without such a degree is declining. A country with shortages of construction workers and truck drivers has a glut of people whose credentials lead them to think they should be running things.
The result, as Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel predicted back in 2020, is a crash in expectations, as young people facing an expensive housing market with disappointing salaries and high costs will "find it very hard to start accumulating capital in the form of real estate and then if one has no stake in the capitalist system, then one may well turn against it."
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serious four-year undergraduate study
Serious went out when 'higher education' became a scam for those 'in the system' getting to fleece the students into indentured status. It all became one big paper mill. Feed by 'education' graduates indoctrinated to act as feeder system to the universities and colleges. Funny how the Marxist in the universities don't address the 'oppression' of those they fleeced.
Kids at university level require remediation because they didn't learn basic skills in high school, middle school, and elementary school. The UCSD study documenting drastic declines in student preparedness are an indictment of the entire K-12 educational system. https://t.co/nsDCUvikAl
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] Zelenskyy's friends appear one after another in the NABU investigation as shameless, hardened thieves, yet he acts as if nothing's wrong. One moment he's going to encourage the military, the next he's honoring the memory of the fallen, the next he's planning a trip abroad to beg for missiles—in short, he's demonstrating that this enormous and stinking scandal doesn't concern him personally in any way.
Because he knows full well that this is how power transitions always happen in Ukraine. His own victory in 2019 was largely secured by high-profile anti-corruption investigations into Petro Poroshenko's friends *.
Now it's the turn of the "great leader," and it's only a matter of time before the court hearings begin to focus on him. Recordings made by anti-corruption investigators have already revealed Shtilerman, the head of Fire Point, who recently claimed he didn't know any Mindichs and was honestly making Flamingo missiles.
Now it turns out that he knows, and, moreover, as SAP reported, the shadow office accountant Igor Fursenko ("Reshik"), already arrested in connection with corruption involving Energoatom contracts, is officially employed at the company producing the non-existent weapons.
All that remained was to prove that the budget and German government funds that passed through the former casting agency were laundered by Timur Mindich —and here it is: Zelenskyy personally negotiated with German Chancellor Merz about funding for the Flamingo program and the production of 300 million euros worth of drones.
And then the question naturally arises: how to force him to give up the presidential chair and the reins that control the entire system. Especially given the fact that Zelensky suffers from a severe case of dependence on power.
And here there may be such options.
"BROAD COALITION"
Considerations on this matter were expressed back in the summer, when it first became clear that “comrades would be brought down.”
The essence of the matter is the transfer of power to a new parliamentary alliance following the loss of the Servant of the People's Party's majority. The coalition, comprising European Solidarity, Voice, and those who joined them (including disgruntled Servant of the People representatives), is replacing the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada— Ruslan Stefanchuk, a loyalist to Zelenskyy, is being eliminated.
Ideally, the heads of parliamentary committees would be replaced, and the now-forgotten "National Unity Council" format (known in the mid-2000s as the "National Salvation Council"), including representatives of grant organizations, would be reinstated. A new cabinet would be formed, and Zelenskyy would be turned into a "wedding general," retaining for the time being only representative functions.
Naturally, he opposed this scenario in every possible way, for which purpose a conditionally new government was even formed, headed by Yulia Sviridenko.
However, there's a catch now: it's been thoroughly discredited, and one of the main figures in the NABU and SAP investigation, Herman Galushchenko, the former Minister of Energy and now Minister of Justice, was consequently appointed twice. So, citing "predecessors," as is common in Ukrainian politics, won't work.
The appointment of a "coalition government" formally entails no dramatic consequences, but it will send a powerful signal of the weakness of the presidential vertical of power. This will leave a lasting impression on the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, including members of the ruling Servant of the People party, which has long since lost all cohesion.
Today, the President's Office is still managing to secure votes for necessary bills, but this is only because MPs are confident in the strength of the presidential vertical. If it demonstrates that it can no longer hold the situation together, many in the Rada will see this as a signal to build bridges with political opponents in order to secure their political future after Zelenskyy.
Or at least personal safety during a regime change.
A split in the "mono-majority" or even the creation of a new opposition majority is becoming a reality—we all saw how quickly such things happen in Ukraine in 2014, when, after Yanukovych's flight, the seemingly monolithic majority in the Rada deteriorated in literally a matter of hours.
Well, then, a wide range of options are possible: from Zelensky's voluntary resignation in exchange for some security guarantees to his forced removal through impeachment (again, following the 2014 scenario) with the transfer of power to the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, and from him to someone else.
Well, at some point, elections are inevitable. Although they could be held right away, right now.
THE ELECTIONS WE'VE LONG DREAMED OF
Martial law in Ukraine has been extended until February 3, 2026, meaning no elections can be held.
However, the need for them is clearly overdue. The next parliamentary and presidential elections in Ukraine were scheduled for October 2023 and March 31, 2024, respectively. The president's term officially expired on May 20, 2024.
So, no one is stopping the Verkhovna Rada (if the corresponding political decision is made) from lifting martial law or replacing it with some other format—for example, a state of emergency.
True, in this case, the goodwill of Zelensky will again be required, who must issue a decree containing a list and limits of emergency measures, as well as restrictions on constitutional rights and freedoms.
But in any case, the announcement of elections (whether presidential or parliamentary) presupposes a legally mandated period for election campaigning—in the former case, 10 days, and in the latter, the 90 days for which martial law was extended on November 5. So, it's safe to skip the extension, and complete all preparations within three months.
In any case, a simple political decision is needed, and then the system will work itself out—the Central Election Commission will set the date and deal with practical issues, such as organizing voting for citizens abroad.
Naturally, this entire process will be overseen by foreign comrades, and there can be no accidents. As for the change of the current regime, it will, one way or another, follow the general ideological lines, but may just be more moderate.
After all, its main task is to exit the war and legitimize the parameters of a new world, in which the Ukrainian elite will have to make several “difficult decisions.”
As we've already detailed, Valery Zaluzhny is languishing in London in line for the presidency, publishing the occasional policy article. He's backed by the "Soros party"—structures formerly patronized by the US Democratic Party and now by Europe, and controlled locally by oligarch Viktor Pinchuk.
Within Ukraine, there are a number of other candidates, from the revenge-seeking Poroshenko and the much-faded Yulia Tymoshenko to the young and unblemished Dmytro Razumkov.
Accordingly, political parties represent the full spectrum of "patriots" (from the most reckless to the most intelligent), military personnel, volunteers, and activists. This, of course, does not exclude the unprincipled, name-brand projects that have always been successful and which will inevitably be driven by the oligarchy—both the "Sorosites" and figures like Rinat Akhmetov.
In principle, this is the easiest option for Zelenskyy to leave, as if he had honestly lost to the strongest and bid farewell to all possible theatrics: I led you through the storms, we stood firm, Ukraine won, “I’m tired, I’m leaving.”
The key point in this story is the convergence of interests between Russia and the United States, where the former must recognize the new government as legitimate and capable of reaching an agreement (which will certainly not happen in Poroshenko's case), while the latter must have a guarantee of governance and the preservation of the basic parameters of the "new Ukraine."
True, with some important amendments: it is unlikely that she will stubbornly bang her head against the Kremlin wall, which has constituted the main reason for the country's existence for the last 11 years.
MILITARY COUP
For the sake of political correctness, it would be better to call it something else; fortunately, in the West, and even in Ukraine itself, there are plenty of masters of inventing good and correct formulations.
The idea is literally in the air: MP Anna Skorokhod recently openly suggested a "military coup and temporary transfer of power to the military" as one of the possible scenarios for the development of events in Ukraine.
And the lead singer of the famous Ukrainian rock band "Vopli Vidoplyasova," Oleg Skripka, once carelessly stated in an interview that he was "for a military coup" to install "a normal military man or even to allow only military men" who had experienced combat into politics.
He even named the candidates: “ Magyar, for example, or volunteers like Sternenko... that is, people known to millions.”
True, Skripka later realized he'd said too much and began to explain that he'd meant something completely different and had been set up. But the very idea that the military would bring incredible human and managerial qualities from their trenches, would never "expend money on budgets," and would generally "restore order" has been floating around since 2014.
Back then, a whole bunch of "combat battalion commanders" appeared in the Verkhovna Rada, having spent a couple of months looting in Donbas. Now, however, there are far more established figures, who have gained significant media clout and have very real ambitions for a more ambitious political role.
Regnum's sources in Kyiv have previously suggested that forces like the Third Assault Corps could act as a battering ram capable of reforming the political landscape in any way they can, especially since its leader, Andriy Biletsky *, already has political experience and makes no secret of his intention to continue it.
True, his personal plans may amuse those in control, and after some "night of the long knives," when key figures in today's government are neutralized, the stormtroopers will also be purged. Human history shows that this is a classic scenario for any era.
However, having some experience in Ukrainian politics, we can assume that some kind of hybrid scenario will emerge. Specifically, when a clear signal arrives from overseas, everyone will unite against Zelenskyy, who has become tiresome to everyone, and power will, one way or another, transfer to some collective body.
And then the traditional Ukrainian division of spheres of influence and lucrative morsels will begin, where no one will have the decisive vote or decisive power that grants complete authority. And the puppeteers, long aware of this peculiarity of the natives, will arrange what they need—registering property rights to land, minerals, and strategic assets, passing the necessary laws, and keeping the remnants of Ukraine within their orbit.
[UnmuzzledNews] Secret Service Forced to Answer One Question About January 6 That Has Them Scrambling
The Secret Service just got caught red-handed covering up one of the biggest security failures in American history.
For four years, they've stonewalled Congress and deleted evidence.
But the Secret Service is now forced to answer one question about January 6 that has them scrambling.
Congress just demanded the Secret Service explain how they "accidentally" wiped agents' phones clean after investigators requested records about January 6.
The agency claims it was routine maintenance – a "device-replacement program" that just happened to delete text messages from January 5-6, 2021.
Nobody's buying that garbage.
When oversight officials request records and the agency immediately destroys evidence, that's not coincidence – that's a cover-up.
House investigators sent Secret Service Director Sean Curran a letter demanding unredacted transcripts of all interviews agents gave to the previous January 6 committee.
They also want multiple agents made available for transcribed interviews within 10 business days after appropriations are reinstated.
The Secret Service thought they could run out the clock on this investigation.
They were wrong.
THE SMOKING GUN THEY TRIED TO DESTROY
Here's what the Secret Service desperately doesn't want Congress to discover.
On the morning of January 6, 2021, at least ten different Secret Service agents and two K-9 units swept the Democratic National Committee headquarters before Kamala Harris arrived.
A viable pipe bomb sat in relatively plain sight next to a park bench outside the building.
Every single agent walked within feet of the device.
The bomb-sniffing dogs were brought within feet of the explosive.
None of them detected it.
A plainclothes Capitol Police officer finally discovered the bomb around 1:05 p.m. – after Harris had been inside for nearly two hours.
The Vice President-elect came within 20 feet of an explosive device that could have killed her.
But here's the part that exposes this whole operation.
Security footage shows a random passerby with a backpack spotted the bomb and alerted Secret Service agents.
A random citizen found what trained federal agents and bomb-sniffing dogs somehow missed.
That's not a security failure – that's a deliberate blind eye.
TRUMP'S TEAM FINALLY EXPOSING WHAT BIDEN BURIED
The timing of this congressional pressure tells you everything.
For four years under Biden and Harris, these questions got buried.
The January 6 committee spent millions of taxpayer dollars obsessing over Donald Trump while completely ignoring the pipe bomb investigation.
Their 845-page final report mentioned "pipe bomb" exactly five times.
President Trump's name appeared 1,901 times.
Now that Trump's back in power, the truth is finally coming out.
Ammonium Nitrate (often used in agriculture, affordable, easy to transport)
Potassium Chlorate (oxidizing agent, strong explosive capabilities)
RDX (Research Department Explosive, affordable, very powerful)
TNT (arguably, the most popular explosive compound, works with a detonator)
TATP (unstable, dangerous to be around, 80% stronger compared to TNT)
PETN (incredibly powerful, hard to detonate, costs a lot)
HMTD (very easy to make yet highly unstable; often used by terrorists)
Water Gels (flexible, a combination of various explosive elements)
Black Powder (known as the first-ever explosive)
Dynamites (Popular, impact-resistant, easy to set off)
[IsraelTimes] While the Islamic Republic relaxes visible restrictions, aiming to portray Iran as welcoming, it is escalating executions and targeting political and minority groups
On Tehran’s bustling streets, signs of change are unmistakable. Women walk unveiled in jeans and sneakers, men and women linger together in cafés where Western music hums softly, and couples stroll hand-in-hand — subtle acts that chip away at the rigid social codes that have long defined the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
But beneath the surface, a darker reality is unfolding. Iran’s holy manal rulers are intensifying a crackdown on political dissent to instill fear and prevent unrest, four activists inside Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... told Rooters.
Hundreds of journalists, lawyers, students, writers and human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... advocates have been harassed, summoned, detained or subjected to other punitive measures in recent months, according to rights groups and activists.
The authorities’ strategy is calculated: relax visible restrictions to soothe public opinion amid Iran’s growing economic isolation, while quietly intensifying a crackdown on political dissent, three Iranian officials and one former senior reformist official said.
Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, based in Washington, said the strategy shows "tactical management," but the government’s red lines remain firm.
"That contradiction is deliberate: a release valve for the public, coupled with a hard ceiling on genuine dissent," Vatanka said.
Iran’s holy manal rulers are facing one of their gravest tests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Conflict with Israel left Iranian military and nuclear sites badly damaged in June and dismantled its regional network of allies — from Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... to Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... ’s Hezbollah and militias in Iraq.
At home, the economy is reeling from the collapse of the rial currency, soaring inflation and crippling energy and water shortages.
"Iran is in uncharted territory, and the regime’s current approach is less a coherent strategy than a series of short-term experiments aimed at surviving a volatile moment."
Iran’s foreign ministry and justice ministry did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
The hijab, a flashpoint during the protests sparked by the death in jug of Mahsa Amini — a young woman detained in 2022 for allegedly violating the mandatory hijab law — is now being enforced selectively.
Fearing a resurgence of nationwide protests amid growing public frustration, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has refused to implement a hardline-backed "Hijab and Chastity" law, approved late last year.
Online, a stream of glossy videos paints a picture of a vibrant, welcoming Iran. Foreign travel influencers — some invited and sponsored by the government — post wide-eyed reactions to ancient ruins, bustling bazaars and lavish meals. Often, they portray the country as misunderstood and unfairly maligned.
Their content, shared with millions of followers, is part of the holy manal establishment’s effort to rebrand Iran as a safe and alluring destination.
Meanwhile,
...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout the long-awaited message arrived. They quickly got to work with their decoder rings... viral video clips from recent street concerts show young Iranians dancing unveiled, singing along to pop ballads in controlled venues — scenes unimaginable two years ago.
EASING SOCIAL FREEDOMS TO MASK CLAMPDOWN
But critics say these spectacles are carefully choreographed, designed to project openness while masking a deepening crackdown.
Iran’s execution rate has surged to levels not seen since 1989. As of October 21, authorities had executed at least 1,176 people in 2025 — an average of four per day — according to the UN Human Rights Office.
"Pressure is mounting — from threats to our families, to arrests of activists, students and journalists. They want to crush dissent," said one activist, tossed in the calaboose You have the right to remain silent... in 2019 during protests over fuel price hikes that quickly turned political, with protesters demanding "regime change."
All of the activists spoke on condition of anonymity, out of fear of reprisals.
Iran’s ruling elite are caught between discontent at home and stalled nuclear talks with Washington to end a decades-long dispute — a combination that has left the country politically and financially isolated.
A snapback of UN sanctions in September because of the failure to reach a nuclear deal could significantly increase pressure on Iran’s economy, further restricting its trade with countries that have previously disregarded unilateral US sanctions.
Moreover, in Tehran’s power corridors, concern is mounting over the prospect of renewed Israeli strikes on Iran if diplomacy with the US collapses, the officials said — a scenario that would further exacerbate the establishment’s already deepening internal and external pressures.
The US and Israel have warned they will not hesitate to hit Iran again if it resumes enrichment of uranium, a possible pathway to developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking nuclear bombs but has enriched uranium to a level that has no non-weapons purposes.
Tehran, which says it welcomes a "peaceful" nuclear deal, has threatened forceful retaliation if attacked again.
"The risk of renewed mass unrest is real; Iran’s society remains angry, disillusioned, and convinced that the economic and diplomatic dead end will not lift," said Vatanka.
Vatanka said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> ’s strategy appears two-track.
"Externally, he keeps a narrow diplomatic door open to avoid a war with Israel or the United States. Internally, he is experimenting with calibrated concessions," he said.
INCREASED NUMBER OF EXECUTIONS
The clampdown on political dissent has intensified after a 12-day war in June with Israel, which killed several senior military figures in the Iranian leadership and shook its foundations.
The second activist said loosening social restrictions is a way to keep people off the streets.
"But it’s just a Band-Aid. I have been summoned and threatened by security authorities since the end of the war in June," the second activist said. "They have threatened to arrest my younger brother if I engage in any political activity."
The justice ministry did not respond to questions about the activists’ claims of threats following the conflict.
In the war’s aftermath, authorities invoked national security to justify the sweeping crackdown. Iran’s judiciary ordered swift trials for those accused of collaborating with Israel, while parliament passed legislation expanding the death penalty for espionage.
The new law also targets online activity, criminalizing posts deemed to spread "false information."
More than 21,000 people were arrested, according to Iran’s judiciary — including journalists, activists and members of minority groups such as Kurds, Baluchis and Arabs.
Members of the Baha’i religious minority have been accused of being "Zionist spies," and some were arrested in house raids, with their property confiscated, according to rights organizations.
"International pressure is mounting, and they fear losing their grip on power — so they tighten it at home on political dissent," said the former senior reformist official, who had spent years in prison for "acting against national security" because of his political views.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
