JD Vance's Message at Munich

"Vice President JD Vance's Friday speech at the Munich Security Conference was the most significant American address in Germany since 1987, when President Reagan declared: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" The U.S. saved Europe from itself three times in the last century, in World War I, World War II and the Cold War. Mr. Vance offered to save Europe from itself again. But this time, the cavalry won't be coming.

In Munich, a historic byword for appeasement, Mr. Vance issued a call to arms. The most worrisome threat to Europe, he said, isn't from Russia or China. It is "the threat from within." Really, this is a threat from above. Europe's governing class has eviscerated the "fundamental values" that Europe shares with the U.S. It has reneged on its military commitments to America and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It has opened its gates to mass immigration and Islamist terrorism. To evade the electoral reckoning, it censors, smears and suppresses the objections of the lawful majority: a "surefire way to destroy democracy."

Mr. Vance's Munich speech came three days after his equally devastating address at the Paris AI Action Summit. The European Union, he said, has fallen behind in tech development because it manages artificial intelligence through risk aversion and regulatory restriction. Mr. Vance called this a "terrible mistake" that America "cannot and will not accept." Europe's self-imposed incapacity will create markets for "autocratic governments" and technologies of repression. The alternative is to embrace the future with "optimism rather than trepidation."

Combine the two speeches and you have the classic American one-two. Economic and individual freedom support each other. Innovation, competitiveness and risk-taking are the natural partners of liberty, free speech and democracy. Europe should be the natural partner of the U.S. and a key link in the emerging American-led alignment. But Europe is divorced from reality. President Trump and Vladimir Putin's negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine will, like many recent heavyweight boxing bouts, be held in Saudi Arabia. While Mr. Vance was dispensing tough love in Europe, the president had more important things to do, such as hosting a state visit by Narendra Modi of India.

Friends don't let friends drift into the strategic twilight. Nor do they censor American social-media companies, as British and European politicians frequently threaten. They don't petition the legislature to ban their country's second most popular political party, as 124 German lawmakers did in January; or overturn election results, as recently happened in Romania; or, in a British case that Mr. Vance described, arrest people for silent prayer across the road from an abortion clinic. Liberalism was born in Britain. It will die there if this goes on.

The recent contraction of speech rights in the U.K. and Europe is as undeniable as its causes are obvious. No one voted for mass immigration or to dissolve freedom and national identity into an unelected bureaucracy in Brussels. No one chose to live in societies where keeping the peace means the return of de facto blasphemy laws amid constant irruptions of Islamist terrorism. When Europe's voters back parties that oppose out-of-control migration, official Europe calls them "far right." As Mr. Vance said in Munich, no democracy can survive "telling millions of voters that their thoughts and concerns, their aspirations, their pleas for relief, are invalid or unworthy of even being considered."

The Afghan asylum seeker who rammed his car into a crowd of union demonstrators in Munich the day before Mr. Vance spoke -- killing a 2-year-old girl and her mother and injuring more than 30 people -- made the vice president's argument for him. So did German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said Mr. Vance's Munich speech was "not acceptable." Kaja Kallas, a vice president of the European Commission, accused Mr. Vance of "trying to pick a fight." Senior European diplomats were quoted calling the speech "mad," "dangerous," and "outrageous." While Britain's Labour leadership ducked from sight, a "government source" told London's Times that Mr. Vance was "bat s---."

Mr. Vance caused snobbish panic in all the right places. In reality, not all the gaps between Europe and the U.S. are as wide as the Atlantic Ocean. Defense spending in Europe has risen steadily since Barack Obama started complaining about "free riders" in NATO.

A U.S.-Russian agreement on Ukraine offers a chance to rebind Russia and its energy sector to Europe under American supervision.

On the other hand, the gap on China is wide and set to widen further. Germany is committed to a pro-China export policy, and the import of Chinese-made solar panels and electric cars is a European Union policy priority.

Another commonality between the U.S. and Europe is the popular search for what Mr. Vance called a "new direction." When Mr. Vance connected the dots among "end of history" vanity, swollen welfare budgets, speech controls and a willed failure to defend borders, he could have been describing his own country under the leadership of Mr. Obama and Joe Biden. Like Americans, Europeans are in revolt against illegal immigration, Islamism, rule by bureaucracy, judicial activism, media bias and government censorship. Europe's leaders fear this popular Atlanticism. Of course they want to censor it. The last thing they want is another American revolution.

But the people of Europe may get the deciding vote. They, not their failed rulers, are Mr. Vance's real audience. Like Reagan in 1987 and John F. Kennedy in 1963, Mr. Vance went to Germany to give hope to the beleaguered.

---

Mr. Green is a Journal contributor and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society." [1]

1. JD Vance's Message at Munich. Green, Dominic.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 18 Feb 2025: A21.

 

JAV naujienos: Švarios energijos programa pastebi didelius darbuotojų nuostolius --- Maždaug ketvirtadalis buvo atleistas iš darbo arba buvo išpirkti, nes dėmesys perkeliamas į iškastinį kurą

 

 „VAŠINGTONAS – Bideno administracijos metu vykdoma federalinė švarios energijos programa, kuriai buvo skirta šimtai milijardų dolerių, neteko maždaug ketvirtadalio savo darbuotojų, vykdydama prezidento Trumpo programą, skirtą darbuotojų mažinimui visoje vyriausybėje.

 

 Maždaug 60 darbuotojų, įskaitant dešimtis per pastaruosius kelerius metus įdarbintų vadinamųjų bandomuoju laikotarpiu dirbančių darbuotojų, atsistatydino po to, kai Trumpas pradėjo eiti pareigas arba praėjusią savaitę buvo atleisti Energetikos departamento Paskolų programų biure, sakė su šiuo klausimu susipažinę žmonės.

 

 Biuras, teikiantis pigias lėšas švarios energijos projektams, daugiau, nei dvigubai, padidino savo darbuotojų skaičių iki maždaug 250 ir sukaupė 400 milijardų dolerių karo skrynią pagal Bideno 2022 m. Infliacijos sumžinimo įstatymą, kuris labai padidino infliaciją.

 

 Tikėtina, kad įsigalios Trumpo administracijos grįžimo į darbą politika, o vienas asmuo mano, kad vėlesni žingsniai gali sumažinti darbuotojų skaičių 50 proc. Kai kurie žmonės teigė baiminantys, kad Trumpo administracija papildomai nusitaikys į nepriklausomus paskolų biuro rangovus, o tai, greičiausiai, apribos jo galimybes pigius pinigus skirti švarios energijos projektams.

 

 Asmuo, susipažinęs su Energetikos departamentu, teigė, kad tikslus darbuotojų, kurie atsistatydino, skaičius neaiškus dėl administracijos pasiūlymo „Kelio šakutė“ federaliniams darbuotojams palikti savo darbą, kurį federalinis teisėjas trumpam sustabdė, o praėjusią savaitę leido jį tęsti.

 

 Baltieji rūmai ir Energetikos departamentas neatsakė į prašymus komentuoti.

 

 Trumpo administracija praėjusią savaitę pradėjo intensyvinti naujai samdomų federalinių darbuotojų atleidimą – tai buvo kitas personalo mažinimo etapas, galintis paveikti dešimtis tūkstančių žmonių.

 

 Paskolų biuro sumažinimas yra naujausias Trumpo planų patraukti lėšų iš švarios energijos ir daugiau dėmesio skirti iškastinio kuro skatinimui ženklas.

 

 Trumpo administracija pareiškė, kad ji vykdo „energijos dominavimo“ politiką, kad sumažintų kainas ir infliaciją plačiau. Praėjusią savaitę Baltieji rūmai įkūrė Nacionalinę energijos dominavimo tarybą, kuri koordinuos didesnę energijos išteklių gamybą.

 

 Aplinkos apsaugos agentūros administratorius ir tarybos narys Lee Zeldinas penktadienį X paskelbė: „Padarysiu viską, ką galiu @EPA, kad skubiai padėčiau Amerikai atskleisti energijos dominavimą“.

 

 Kritikai teigia, kad administracija daugiausia dėmesio skiria iškastiniam kurui, kenkdama švariai energijai, pavyzdžiui, saulės ir vėjo energijai, ir kad tokių programų, kaip Energetikos departamento paskolų biuras, mažinimas gali sulėtinti JAV energijos pajėgumus.

 

 „Darbuotojų atleidimas iš svarbiausių pramonės sričių, pvz., anglies dioksido surinkimo, branduolinės ir geoterminės energijos bei elektros tinklų atsparumo, silpnina Amerikos pastangas būti nepriklausoma nuo energijos ir perduoda šias sparčiai augančias ateities pramonės šakas Kinijai“, – sakė Peteris Davidsonas, į švarią energiją orientuotos įmonės „Aligned Climate Capital“ vadovas, dirbęs Loan Obamos administracijos biure Niujorke.

 

 Paskolų biuras paspartino savo veiklą paskutiniais Bideno administracijos mėnesiais, baiminantis, kad Trumpo administracijos įsipareigojimai dėl paskolų atsidurs nežinioje. Paskolas turi patvirtinti politiniai paskirtieji asmenys, todėl programa priklauso nuo vykdomosios valdžios užgaidų.

 

 Aplinkosaugininkai baiminosi, kad D. Trumpo energetikos sekretorius, skaldymo pradininkas Chrisas Wrightas, gali sumažinti departamento skiriamą švarios energijos finansavimą.

 

 Paskolų programos kritikai atkreipia dėmesį į 2011 m. žlugusios saulės baterijas gaminančios bendrovės „Solyndra“ žlugimą, dėl kurio 535 mln. dolerių paskola sumažėjo. Paskolų biuras sulaukė didelių pasisekimų, pavyzdžiui, Elono Musko „Tesla“, kuri 2010 m. laimėjo 465 mln. dolerių paskolą, kurią elektrinių transporto priemonių gamintojas grąžino 2013 m. Programos 3 % įsipareigojimų neįvykdymo lygis yra panašus į komercinių bankų paskolų portfelių našumą.

 

 Lieka neaišku, ar D. Trumpo energetikos pareigūnai įgyvendins paskolų sutartis, kurios ir toliau priklausys jų priežiūrai. Gruodį paskolų biuras sutiko suteikti 15 mlrd. dolerių paskolų.

 

 Kiti projektai, patvirtinti per paskutines Bideno administracijos savaites, apima 6,6 milijardo dolerių įsipareigojimą elektromobilių startuoliui Rivian Automotive padėti finansuoti gamyklą Gruzijoje.

 

 Vivekas Ramaswamy, kuris iš pradžių turėjo būti vienas iš Trumpo vyriausybės efektyvumo departamento vadovų kartu su Musku, tuo metu, kai buvo paskelbta apie Rivian paskolą, sakė, kad ji „kvepia labiau kaip politinis šūvis skersai lanko“ Muskui ir Teslai.” [1]

 

Geriau leiskite Kinijai daryti tai, ką Kinija moka geriausiai. Grįžkime prie mūsų mezgimo, jei taip pat nepamiršome, kaip megzti.

 

 1. U.S. News: Clean-Energy Program Sees Big Staff Loss --- Roughly a quarter were fired or took buyouts as focus shifts to fossil fuels. Patterson, Scott.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 18 Feb 2025: A4.

U.S. News: Clean-Energy Program Sees Big Staff Loss --- Roughly a quarter were fired or took buyouts as focus shifts to fossil fuels

 

"WASHINGTON -- A federal clean-energy program fueled by hundreds of billions of dollars during the Biden administration has lost about one-fourth of its staff as part of President Trump's program to reduce employees across the government.

Roughly 60 employees, including dozens of so-called probationary employees hired in the past few years, have resigned since Trump took office or were fired last week at the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office, people familiar with the matter said.

The office, which provides cheap funds to clean-energy projects, had more than doubled its staff to about 250 and amassed a $400 billion war chest as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

More cuts are likely to come as the Trump administration's return-to-work policy kicks in, the people said, with one person estimating that subsequent moves could trim the staff by 50%. Some of the people said they feared the Trump administration would additionally take aim at the loan office's independent contractors, a move that would likely limit its ability to dole out cheap cash to clean-energy projects.

A person familiar with the Energy Department said the exact number of employees who resigned was unclear because of the bumpy rollout of the administration's "Fork in the Road" offer to federal workers to leave their jobs, which a federal judge halted briefly before allowing it to continue last week.

The White House and Energy Department didn't respond to requests for comment.

The Trump administration last week began stepping up the firing of newly hired federal workers, the next phase of personnel cuts that could affect tens of thousands of people.

The cuts to the loan office are the latest sign of Trump's plans to pull funds from clean energy to focus more on boosting fossil fuels.

The Trump administration has said it is pursuing a policy of "energy dominance" to lower prices at the pump and inflation more broadly. Last week, the White House launched the National Energy Dominance Council to coordinate increased production of energy resources.

Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a member of the council, posted Friday on X: "I will do everything in my power @EPA to urgently help America unleash energy dominance."

Critics say the administration is focusing on fossil fuels to the detriment of clean energy such as solar and wind and that cuts to programs such as the Energy Department's loan office threaten to slow U.S. energy capacity.

"Laying off staff in crucial industrial areas like carbon capture, nuclear and geothermal power, and electricity grid resiliency is weakening America's efforts to be energy independent and is handing these high-growth future industries over to China," said Peter Davidson, chief executive of Aligned Climate Capital, a clean-energy-focused firm in New York, who ran the Loan Programs Office during the Obama administration.

The loan office accelerated its activity during the final months of the Biden administration amid concerns that loan commitments would end up in limbo in a Trump administration. Loans have to be approved by political appointees, so the program is subject to the whims of the executive branch.

Environmentalists have feared that Trump's Energy secretary, fracking pioneer Chris Wright, could upend clean-energy funding by the department.

Critics of the loan program point to the failure of Solyndra, a solar-panel company that collapsed in 2011, causing a $535 million loan to go sour. The loan office has had notable successes, such as Elon Musk's Tesla, which in 2010 won a $465 million loan that the electric-vehicle maker repaid in 2013. The program's default rate of 3% is comparable to the performance of loan portfolios of commercial banks.

It remains unclear whether Trump's energy officials will implement loan agreements that remain subject to their oversight. In December, the loan office agreed to provide a $15 billion loan commitment to California utility company PG&E to support hundreds of projects aimed at fighting the effects of climate change and improving the electrical grid.

Other projects approved during the final weeks of the Biden administration include a $6.6 billion commitment for EV startup Rivian Automotive to help fund a plant in Georgia.

Vivek Ramaswamy, originally expected to be co-head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency alongside Musk, said at the time the Rivian loan was announced that it "smells more like a political shot across the bow" at Musk and Tesla.” [1]

Better let China do what China does best. Let's go back to our knitting, if we didn't forget, how to do knitting also.

 1. U.S. News: Clean-Energy Program Sees Big Staff Loss --- Roughly a quarter were fired or took buyouts as focus shifts to fossil fuels. Patterson, Scott.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 18 Feb 2025: A4.