The Republic of Texas

by on March 27, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The reasons for the final collapse of the American federal government were many. China’s formal announcement that they would collect the foreign debt America owed them. America renouncing the debt in its entirety, after adjusting the cost of dealing with various Chinese pandemics against those loans. The swift fall of the American dollar. The refusal of others to loan more money to the federal government. The wildly erratic orders from the civilian government as the economic crisis spread out of their control. The temporary Impeachment of the President. The dismissal of entire military chains of command in political witch hunts. Packing the Supreme Court. The violations of civil liberties. Entire textbooks have been painstakingly written detailing the Constitutional violations performed by the federal government in those days. The old federal government fell for a reason. But in the end, it might have been able to survive all of those violations in some reflection or manner if it had not failed to perform one final act. It had taken upon itself the responsibility to guarantee to the States and the people of America a certain level of funding and security. And in the end, it failed to give them both that money and that security.

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The Republic of Texas

by on March 26, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Fort Bliss, Holloman Air Force Base, and the other military reservations around White Sands housed some of the smartest and brightest of minds in the world, gathered from all over America. They were ambitious and capable, intelligent and relentless in the pursuit of their duty. They fought the enemies of America, researched new methods of doing so, and trained America’s allies in the furtherance of that goal. Those strengths made them one of the premiere American military bases in the Continental United States. And when the American federal government collapsed under the weight of its own debt, those strengths became weaknesses. The only thing the intelligent and ambitious soldiers who performed their jobs so well asked was that the government give them enough money to support their families. The federal government failed to do that.

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The Republic of Texas

by on March 25, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Fort Bliss had an important part to play in stabilizing the old Mexican-American border in the decades before the Second Great Depression. A joint task force based there fought the drug cartels and terrorists seeking to the cross the border, and so those very same groups worked to infiltrate the base with their own operatives. When both the American and Mexican federal governments collapsed under the weight of their own economic debt, money stopped flowing to it, and official orders were to shelter in place and keep the fort operating with duct tape if necessary. Civilian directives to deal or not deal with the growing crisis countermanded each other on a daily basis, and the fort commander was more of an administrator than a popular leader of men. And to add fuel to the fire, the gangs and drug cartels were committing crimes with weapons reported lost or destroyed during range testing or other incidents. It was not a good time for Fort Bliss.

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The Republic of Texas

by on March 24, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Fort Bliss was one of three major United States Army Forts in Texas when the Second Great Depression began. It spread out from its headquarters in El Paso into New Mexico to the White Sands Missile Range where the first nuclear bomb was tested, which linked it with Holloman Air Force Base. It was a massive complex of interconnected military reservations just north of the Mexico border that housed an entire combined arms armored division, multiple fighter wings, a joint task force devoted to fighting drug cartels and terrorists, military research and development programs, and training cadres from all over America and the world. It trained and worked with foreign militaries from as near as Mexico to as far as India, and was a vital cog in the machine that ran and oversaw the Mexican-American border. And when the federal governments on both sides of that border collapsed, everyone looked to it for support in troubled times.

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Quarantine

by on March 23, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

It is amazing how much the world can change in two weeks. Two weeks ago I forecasted a minor economic bump and some late kickstarters if the Wuhan Virus continued as it was. Slightly more deadly or around the same as the flue. Easily transmittable, but focused mainly on the elderly or immune-compromised. That trend has continued, though I did hold out the possibility of a second expression or some other change in the Wuhan Virus’s trends in general. I was mainly thinking of a major uptick in the illness beyond the current trends of the time.

I did not factor for the actions of the government in my forecast. I should have. That is totally on me.

We have seen some very sensible recommendations from the federal government. A declaration of emergency. Travel bans from infected nations. A two-page, very clear recommendation on how you should travel (or not) depending on your current situation. Suggestions that we not congregate in large groups, a number that started at 100 and has since dropped to 50 and then 10. Reminders to wash our hands and disinfect commonly used areas. These are all very sensible suggestions in my opinion. And following them will greatly reduce the spread of the Wuhan Virus.

Then certain State governments jumped in and demanded the shutting down of entire segments of our economy. Restaurants down to take out or delivery only. Bars closed. Note that these aren’t entirely bad suggestions, mind you. Limit social contact is a very good thing in a case like this. And any public space can pass the virus, so I do understand this. But in some States, all “non-essential” industries are closed for the duration. With each State deciding what is essential of course. Truck stops that truckers use to fuel up and feed themselves while delivering food and medicine aren’t essential. Right? So close them down. Maybe we should be ban all voluntary medical procedures? Great. Who decides what should be allowed or not. The government? Or the professionals who know what they are doing?

And that doesn’t even count those who have decided to use this emergency to try to infringe on certain Constitutionally-recognized rights. The right to protest and peaceably assemble. Just mind your personal space, please. I don’t want anybody sneezing on me. The right to have firearms. What? You think a virus is a good reason to take away people’s guns? Increasing the government’s authority to detain people without letting them see a lawyer or know what charges are being aimed at them? These are some pretty big asks here, and I’m looking real doubtful towards a lot of you government types right now.

This has all caused a rather…impressive kick to our collective posteriors when it comes to our economy. Who knew that shutting down entire sectors of our economy would negatively impact the economy? But have no fear. The federal government is here to help us in our hour of need. Right? Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating all weekend to get something done, to give a boost to the economy and help all the people who are being taken out of work by this whole thing. A major infusion of tax dollars to give us all a cushion so we can pay our bills. Oh, but wait. After finally coming to a compromise bill that will pass, the Head of the House of Representatives flies across the country to trump the compromise and say no to all of it.

So now we are back to our previous situation. Entire segments of the economy are shut down. Millions of Americans are under quarantine and unable to work. The economy is in what I would probably describe as something close to freefall for the foreseeable near future. And to think. Even a week ago, things still felt pretty normal to me. Just a little panic around the edges. Right.

Sometimes I just don’t understand humans.

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