Europe’s immigration problems should be a warning to us!

June 16, 2026

Illegal immigration is still a hot topic today. There are many people who still think open borders and millions of illegal aliens roaming the country, getting financial support and other unearned benefits, committing murders and other crimes, is okay.

Others understand that there are so many reasons why we should not allow this anymore, including because it is illegal and against our established system of admitting legal immigrants. But, it still goes on, with heavy support.

A very informative post on Facebook, of all places, addresses this problem, and how it is affecting European nations. This post was written by former Mississippi State Senator Chris McDaniel.

“Europe is warning us again. We’d better listen,” McDaniel begins.

“For years, Western leaders told their citizens that open borders were compassionate. Enlightened. Inevitable. They told them national identity was outdated, that borders were relics, that assimilation wasn’t necessary, and that anyone who objected was simply afraid of the future.

“Well, the future has arrived,” he wrote.

“Across Europe, ordinary citizens are asking a question their leaders spent decades refusing to answer: what happens to a nation when it loses control of who enters, who stays, and what values govern public life?

“The answer is no longer merely theoretical.”

In Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, for example, they are learning the hard way why this is foolish. And dangerous. Schools and public services are overwhelmed. There is disorder in the streets, social tensions rise and native communities are now in competition with immigrant communities. And worse, native citizens see special consideration for the immigrant communities, as they are now not as important as the immigrants in their own country.

“Of course, that doesn’t mean every migrant is dangerous. It doesn’t mean every asylum claim is false. It doesn’t mean charity has no place in public policy,” McDaniel notes.

“Of course, mercy matters. A civilized nation should show mercy. But a civilized nation must also show prudence. Charity without order isn’t compassion. It’s surrender.”

McDaniel said that where these European nations went wrong was in not considering the real essence of what a nation is. It isn’t just an economy, or a labor market, or a tax base. It is much deeper than that.

“A nation is a people joined by memory, law, language, custom, sacrifice, and a common understanding of right and wrong. When that common understanding is weakened, everything else begins to shake,” he warned.

“A country can’t import the world’s conflicts, customs, grievances, and tribal divisions at unlimited scale and expect social peace to survive untouched. A country can’t tell its own citizens that their history is shameful, their traditions are disposable, their borders are illegitimate, and their concerns are hateful, then act surprised when trust in government collapses.”

And in the European countries, McDaniel noted that the governments are not taking lightly the complaints of their constituents. They have often responded with condescension and lecturing and scolding the citizens. 

However, here in the United States, where that same attitude was present under the Biden/Harris administration, it is not the case under President Donald Trump.

A large faction of the populace — primarily Democrats, socialists, liberals — still clings to the previously dominant idea that open borders are not only good, but essential. 

An example of just how wild and crazy these concepts of the left are, here is how Michell Wu, Boston’s Mayor, thinks things should be: “Every human being on the planet has the legal right to be in the United States. Regardless of their criminal record or even if they’ve outwardly stated their hate for this country. They have the right to be here, and voice their opinion.” 

One wonders if Wu would have the same sympathy for people illegally taking up residence in her house as she does for them illegally taking up residence in her country?

The Trump administration recognizes and follows the constitutional and legal mandates about immigration.

Despite the administration’s efforts to arrest and deport the illegals, especially those who have committed crimes, many leftist sympathizers still condemn actions to enforce our laws. This includes holding protests complaining about enforcing the laws that actually break laws. ICE and others agents are attacked and threatened.

Mayors and governors of blue cities and states provide sanctuary for illegals, as well as interfering with legal actions taken by the federal government.

A country belongs first to its own citizens. Its leaders aren’t elected to manage decline, dilute identity, or apologize for firm borders. They’re elected to preserve the nation entrusted to them.

The very first duty of our leaders — federal, state and municipal — is to their citizens, to preserve the nation, state or town/city they were elected to manage, and to do that legally and responsibly.

“So, the lesson for America is very clear,” McDaniel said. “We must not follow Europe’s lead.”

We can and must secure the border. And we must deport any and all who have broken our laws regulating immigration, and any and all other laws. We can re-establish a firm ideal of what citizenship is. We can require immigrants to adopt our values, speak our language, and become honorable productive Americans. And we must.

The USGS report has some good news for the mining industry

June 9, 2026

The folks in our region who have been around for a good while — the seasoned citizens — remember the days when the mining industry provided so much benefit to the area. Younger folks, however, are likely not aware of the benefits provided by the mining industry.

The Bluefield railyard was filled with Norfolk and Western Railway coal cars. The full ones were bound for Norfolk and other places where that coal was wanted and needed, and the many empty cars were waiting to be moved to the coal mines to be refilled. Area towns and cities were booming, with Bluefield’s population totaling somewhere between 23,000 and 29,000, and visitors from all over the coal fields were coming there to spend some time.

There were many stores, restaurants and movie theaters. And they were crowded, especially on the weekends. Just after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays there were two lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic on Bland Street and Federal Street crawling out of downtown trying to get home.

It was a great time for the region, and the coal mining industry provided a necessary fuel as well as a great economic benefit, not only to this region, but to the entire country.

And then the change started. Some new fuels were beginning to be used, and some existing ones were being used more than before, making coal mining less important. And later, the global warming/climate change mania came along, and the idea of using coal became a no-no, as it was supposed to be increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, which the “experts” said was dangerous. 

While there is still a market for coal, and new uses of it are developing, the industry is a mere shadow of its former self. And it likely will increase some now that these new uses are being found and the fallacy of the idea that fossil fuels producing too much CO2 is being openly talked about and scientifically countered.

We also have seen recently efforts on the Trump administration’s part to benefit the coal industry, including a new coal-burning electric plant in West Virginia.

So, this and a recent news release provide a bright spot for the mining industry.

Other substances — minerals — have been in use for a long time, but are now playing a more significant role in our lives. They are used as fuel, in construction, and for other valuable purposes. We use them to build urban infrastructure and in household objects, such as for plumbing and electricity.

Much of the mineral supply we use here comes from other countries, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is determined and working to increase our domestic supply of these critical materials.

One of those valuable minerals is lithium, and the most dominant suppliers of it currently are Australia and China. But there is a piece of good news for the Appalachian region regarding lithium. 

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) announced in April the following; “The Appalachian region of the eastern United States contains an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium, enough to replace 328 years of U.S. imports at last year’s level.”

Wow! The USGS report continues: “So how much lithium have they found in them thar hills?? The estimated 2.3 million metric tons of lithium oxide in the Appalachian region would be enough lithium for batteries in: 1.6 million grid-scale batteries large enough to stabilize an electric grid; 130 million electric vehicles; 180 billion laptops, or a 1,000-year supply of laptops for the world (at 2025 levels); 500 billion cellphones, or 60 cellphones for each person on earth.”

“In other words, enough to make the U.S. energy independent for centuries, or at least until a new technology replaces lithium batteries.” And the USGS offers that 2.3 million metric tons may be a conservative estimate, and could possibly be as much as 7.4 million metric tons.

Not so long ago, the U.S. was the dominant lithium producer in the world. Now, three decades later, we may begin to reclaim that distinction.

The USGS report did not say exactly where these deposits are, although they are known to exist in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, and New Hampshire. So how much of an effect lithium mining might have on our immediate area is now currently not known. But USGS said that information covering the Appalachians from Maryland to Alabama will be published later. 

This discovery, along with the “go get it” attitude of the federal government to extract and use our own mineral supplies, hold great promise, both economically, and from a practical perspective for the country.

It is one element in the effort to bring back to America as much as possible of those products and the jobs that produce them that we willingly allowed to be moved to other countries for the last 30 or so years. In doing this we can create many jobs and reduce or eliminate high prices for products we purchase from other countries.

The idea of producing as many of the things Americans want and need as possible is a sound economic and patriotic idea.

Celebrating the United States of America’s 250th anniversary!

June 2, 2026

On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will observe and celebrate its 250th anniversary. This has a special designation: A 250-year period or anniversary is called a semiquincentennial. That term is a combination of Latin words: Semi - half; Quin - five; Centennial - 100th anniversary.

The large countries that manage to remain in existence for many, many years are identified as an “empire.” Examples are: The Roman Empire, the British Empire, the Russian Empire; the Mongol Empire, and the Persian Empire. Whether the United States of America is an empire or not can be debated. However, because it has existed for 250 years, it is often discussed in terms of being an empire.

Once, empires were thought to last maybe 300 years, and some lasted much longer. More recently, that has been reduced to around 250 years. And that is where we Americans find ourselves. How much longer will our “empire” last?

In some ways, the country is stable. Its design is head and shoulders above any other in history. However, there are other countries and factions that want to see our demise. And, worse, there are those within the country that want to weaken its strong foundation, and dramatically change it.

Ryan McMaken wrote a piece for the Mises Wire in April titled, “We Are Living in the Fourth American Republic.” It covers four steps since our founding that detail how the country has moved away from the fundamentals established in the U.S. Constitution, and how that is not recognized by either the Democrats or the Republicans in government.

“There is a certain subspecies of conservatives in which the members seem impervious to the abundant evidence all around us that the constitution of the ‘founding fathers’ is a dead letter and the old American republic is now a relic of the past,” he wrote.

“The constitutional order … ceased to exist at least a century ago. The constitution itself — that is, the one ratified in 1788 — hasn’t been in force for a very long time.”

“Many Americans have a certain gift for allowing themselves to be deceived into believing that the words of the written constitution actually describe the de facto reality around us,” he said.

“So, the fact that politicians swear an oath to the old 1787 constitution manages to fool many people into thinking that the politicians actually care what the original intent of the constitution was. An honest assessment of the state of American politics should make it clear today’s politicians — like most politicians over the past century — couldn’t care less about such antiquated notions.”

Whatever the degree of truth one might believe that statement holds, it is clear that one side of the political aisle is much farther from the original intent of the Founders than the other. One side is holding true to what it believes the Constitution says and means, while the other is working overtime to change those fundamental features that deny them the path to total and perpetual power, as well as other changes in the operation of government.

The Democrats want to make Washington, DC a state, a move that would undo something deliberately avoided by the Founders, who believed no state should house the federal capital, because of the degree of power that state would accrue. They also want to make Puerto Rico a state.

On their list is doing away with the Electoral College. However, the Founders wanted to ensure that every state has a meaningful voice in electing the President, hence it was created.

On their list as well is that upon the next Democrat President being elected, pack the Supreme Court by adding additional justices selected by the new President to give the Court a liberal majority forever.

And, there are steps in their method of change that are already under way. Certain career areas where politics is not supposed to exist have been polluted by politically-motivated players.

The brilliant Thomas Sowell, one of today’s most intelligent and thoughtful observers, has warned that we should be aware of our country’s destruction from the inside.

We see prosecutors and judges who ignore existing laws because they disagree with them, giving benefits to the guilty they do not deserve, while preventing victims from getting the benefits they do deserve. If laws are disliked, change them. But do not simply ignore them.

We see “protesters” who object to certain laws and legal actions eagerly breaking laws in an effort to stop what they dislike.

And there’s the degradation of public education by teachers and administrators who improperly replace the traditional curricula with their preferred types of instruction. Critical Race Theory instead of actual history, for example.

Meanwhile, Republicans, conservatives, and others who oppose these efforts will continue to reverse those actions already in place, and to prevent the others from getting put in place.

It is really sad that so many do not understand why our system is worthy of protection. After years of oppressive, unfair rule, the colonies rebelled, and formed a system that guaranteed personal freedom and an end to authoritarian rule. Yet, today, many prefer a return to authoritarian rule, with them in charge.