The President's Daily Brief - November 16th, 2022. A Missile Strikes a Town in Poland.

Episode Date: November 16, 2022

It’s November 16th. You’re listening to the President’s Daily Brief. Your morning intel starts now. ------ A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve got four briefs for you this morning that are shaping America — and the world. First, an alarming development from the War in Ukraine – there was an explosion in the neighboring country of Poland. And they are blaming it on Russia. I’ll explain what’s going on, and why we’ve got to be very careful with what we’ll likely hear over the coming days. Second, China’s economy is in trouble. And that’s a good thing for America. I’ll dig into that story. Third, some bad news and good news related to America’s southern border. And the good news is fantastic news / if you or a loved one deals with addiction. Finally, an update on America’s Dirty Green Revolution. Forty coal-fired power plants are going to stick around for a while longer / because some solar panels aren’t ready for prime time. And, we wrap up the podcast later with a listener question from a dad in Ohio who homeschools his kids. I’m so dang excited about this one.  ------ Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I've got four briefs for you this morning that are shaping America and the world. First, an alarming development out of the war in Ukraine. There was an explosion in the neighboring country of Poland and they are blaming it on Russia. I'll explain what's going on and why we have to be very careful. with what we are likely going to hear over the coming days. Second, China's economy is in trouble, and that is a good thing for America. I'll dig into that story. Third, some bad news and some good news related to America's southern border. And the good news is actually fantastic news, especially if you or a loved one deals with addiction. Finally, an update on America's dirty green revolution.

40 coal-fired power plants are going to stick around for a while longer, all because some solar panels aren't ready for primetime. And we wrap up the podcast later with a listener question from a dad in Ohio who homeschools his kids. And I'm going to be honest with you, I am so dang excited about this listener question. But before we get to that, we have to start with this. An alarming update out of Ukraine. Russia has fired off upwards of 100 missiles hitting at least seven Ukrainian cities. 7 million people are without power this morning.

The Associated Press is reporting that it's the heaviest bombardment of the war so far. But the especially alarming part of this update is that during the massive launch of missiles, there was an explosion inside the country of Poland. Now, apparently it was a small village that was hit, a grain silo specifically, and it was allegedly hit by a missile. And to understand why that is so concerning, let's actually refresh our memories about, Poland. It's a country bordering the northwestern area of Ukraine, and for the past nine months, it's been used as sort of a distribution center for America and Europe. And that's because,

you see, virtually all of the guns and the missiles and the weaponry that we are sending to that war, well, they first arrive in Poland, and then they get shipped overland via truck to Ukraine. But the risk of using Poland in that way, at least in the eyes of Moscow, is that Poland becomes a, well, frankly, a legitimate military target. And if Russia chooses to strike them, that is a dangerous escalation, because Poland is a member of NATO, which of course is the military alliance between the U.S. and mostly European nations. And the rule is if one member of that alliance gets attacked, like Poland, then all of us have to respond. And that includes maybe your kids and grandkids. Well, it appears that Poland was attacked.

but by who we don't know. Russia is claiming this morning that it wasn't them, as you would probably expect, but Poland's prime minister is now called for an emergency meeting of NATO members, citing the rule that I just mentioned. The plan is for that group to meet today, to begin an investigation and potentially respond. And whatever the response, it would almost certainly be directed at Moscow, at least that's what Poland is saying as of this morning.

The White House for its part is holding off on laying back. blame, at least at this early hour, although that will change. What I can tell you is that the Pentagon and the CIA are looking at satellite imagery this morning, activating their spy networks, and holding all sorts of meetings to determine exactly what happened. And whatever they come up with, they will likely inform the American people with an unclassified version of their findings, either with a statement by Joe Biden or something more robust, especially if America launches a counterstrike. And that's what I want you to focus on this morning, as I switch now from facts and data into analysis and opinion. In the coming days, you will hear governments like the folks in Ukraine, Poland, the U.S., Europe, and of course, Russia.

Well, they're all going to make claims about this explosion inside of Poland. But who's right? Say, was it Moscow as the aggressor hitting this tiny Polish village on accident? Or perhaps America and our partners in Europe who were, well, we were used. using that little village for some sort of military or intelligence purpose. And if so, does that make it a valid military target? The point, folks, is that you are likely to get an assessment at some point from the U.S. intelligence community on what exactly happened, trying to answer these questions. But will that assessment be truthful?

And even if it is, will it be accurate? Because if you recall, that same intelligence community has a very mixed track record for the accuracy of its assessments. So for instance, they said that Afghanistan would hold off the Taliban for at least a year, but Kabul fell within a week. And in Ukraine itself, let's remember that the U.S. intelligence community believed that Kiev or Kiev would fall to the Russians within a week of invasion last February, but Ukraine didn't fall. So there are other failed assessments in recent history, too, but the point that I make as a former intelligence officer is that intelligence assessments are not perfect. They come in degrees of confidence, low, medium, and high. And even then,

intel officers get it wrong. Remember, folks, that's how our war and Iraq got started 20 years ago. The intelligence community said with medium to high confidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but they got it wrong. Yet, it didn't matter. We started a war over it regardless. So what I urge of you is to be skeptical in the coming days, no matter what we hear and ask tough questions. Not because we're partisans or we like or we hate the CIA or we support or we disapprove of the war in Ukraine. Rather, the intelligence community's record tells us that we should be skeptical of their findings and demand that they declassify it so that we can judge for ourselves before we commit blood and treasure. because that's what this is really about, isn't it? Our politicians won't pay the price if they're wrong.

Intel analysts, they're not going to pay either, but you will. And so too will your kids and grandkids if they end up getting shipped off to war. With that very sober brief, let's now pivot from Ukraine to China. And it's a development related to my closing comments from yesterday. So to refresh our memories, I mentioned that there is some good, news happening in our relationship with China, or at least I think so. Our economies are separating or decoupling with more companies and industries leaving China and coming back home to America. That's a process called reshoring or coming back to our shores. But we have a report out this

morning noting that these same companies aren't just heading to America. Some are going to other nations like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and India. So here's that update. The folks at CNBC and transportation firm MDS transmodal. Well, these folks are both reporting that China is losing manufacturing ground in key consumer categories that they long dominated to include things like clothing, footwear, furniture, and travel goods. So to be specific here, furniture manufacturing in China is down 11% from a year ago, with Vietnam soaking up much of that loss.

Now, the reasons for this happening, at least according to all the fancy people, is that China's labor is getting increasing. expensive, up about 8% each year. Plus, Beijing refuses to live with COVID. Instead, they have adopted something called a zero COVID policy where they shut down entire cities and their factories with even one or just a handful of cases. So companies and factories are leaving some to America, it's true, but also some to places like Vietnam. Still, as we celebrate this separation or decoupling of America's economy from China, consumers like you should still be cautious. If you remember from previous briefs, some Chinese companies are putting false labels of, say,

made in Cambodia when in fact it's made in China, and they're doing it to avoid tariffs or outright bans. So all in all, folks, my counsel is that you got to read those labels. And if you're able to, choose those that say made in America or in a country that you feel comfortable with supporting. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, let's take a quick break. And when we come back, I've got two more critical pieces of news for you on domestic affairs. We'll be right back.

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Welcome back to the PDB. I've got two more critical pieces of news for you this morning. Now, you might be wondering if I'm going to be covering the announcement by former President Trump that he is running again for the White House. But I'm going to sidestep that for now. There are a lot of other folks talking about that. So I will circle back when I've got something unique to say. Meanwhile, let's talk about America's southern border with some good news and some bad news. Let's just get the bad news out of the way, shall we? And it won't come as a surprise to anybody. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported yesterday over 230,000 encounters of illegal migrants just last month. That is an all-time record of illegals trying to come into America. Although,

I should say that while this is a new record, the old record was only set last month. So whichever way you look at it, we are facing a tsunami of illegal border crossers. And if you need any more proof on that, consider this. The CBP also saw about 64,000 godaways in October, who are those folks who snuck through illegally but were seen on, say, cameras or sensors. So that works out to being about 2,000 illegals slipping past Border Patrol agents every day all last month.

Now, if I can offer one bit of analysis and opinion here, the only way that this gets fixed is if Republicans capture the House of Representatives and use their power of the purse and investigations to force change. Now, the first part just happened. Multiple media

outlets are confirming that Republicans will in fact take the House back from the Democrats. And, And come January when the new Congress gets sworn in, we're going to have to see if Republicans will use this new power to demand Mr. Biden change course on the border, or if instead some of these Republicans, well, fall short. So there is your bad news, folks, on the border.

Let's talk some good news. A research team led by the University of Houston, along with some others at Tulane University and Baylor University, have developed a vaccine that prevents people from getting high off of fentanyl and other opiates. So that drug, as PDB listeners know, is largely manufactured in China and Mexico. Then it's pumped into our streets by cartel members

or their drug mules. And last year, fentanyl and drugs like it killed over 100,000 Americans. Well, with this vaccine, we now have a pretty remarkable new weapon in our arsenal. It's a treatment option, and this is how it works. Let's say that you are addicted to fentanyl.

Now, part of the reason that you crave that drug, like all drugs, is because it gives you a high. But this vaccine actually creates an antibody that binds to the fentanyl, and it prevents it from penetrating into the brain. That prevents the user from feeling high, so they no longer crave it. Initial tests on animals also showed no adverse reactions to this vaccine, one that was traditionally developed, by the way. So the researchers have moved on to the next step, which is recruiting humans for, clinical trials. So overall, folks, this could be a wonderful tool for helping break the addiction cycle, because while many people can quit opiates, there is an 80% relapse rate. So depending on this vaccine's efficacy, this could be a real game changer for millions of Americans who are

addicted to drugs, but also a profound benefit for their families and all of our communities who are dealing with this horrific drug. So let's keep our fingers crossed and I will absolutely absolutely keep you posted. Let's switch gears now to our fourth brief of the morning, and this one is about dirty green energy. As PDP listeners know, the Biden administration is pushing America to embrace renewable energy, like solar and wind, plus the batteries necessary to charge and run it all. But there are lots of challenges to those forms of energy, from environmental pollution, to the fact that other countries, especially China, control the manufacturing of key products,

like solar panels or the refining of key minerals like lithium and cobalt. Plus, dirty green energy is intermittent, which is a very fancy way of saying that sometimes the sun doesn't shine, like at night. And it's because of all of those problems that we're learning this. As many as 40 U.S. coal-fired power plants that were slated to shut down with some to be replaced with solar farms, well, they will instead be operational for years longer,

than expected. That's according to Bloomberg news. So one reason for this, according to Bloomberg, is that the solar farm operators are having some pretty serious trouble getting access to the solar panels. And that's because we don't make them here in America. Not many of them, anyway. Most of them come from China. And the U.S. has banned those solar panels because they're largely made by slave labor. But the other reason, the utilities involved with these 40 or so coal fire plants apparently don't believe that even when those solar farms get built, they'll be able to provide enough reliable energy around the clock to prevent blackouts. So, onward it is with coal. So folks, my analysis and opinion on this is that whatever you think of dirty green energy and the dirty green revolution,

we are probably going to be seeing more of this in the years to come. And that's because people are making really big promises of making the big switch from natural gas and coal and nuclear power to solar and wind. But then the utilities, they start to crunch some numbers. And then as this Bloomberg report shows, they realize that unless we all want to live in tents and eat bugs, this dirty green revolution and much of its technology is just not game ready yet. And it should not be the basis for powering our economy. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we conclude your morning brief. But I've got one more thing before I let you go. And I love Love this one. We're going to be right back. Hang tight.

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Big news for your kids' lunchbox. Welch's fruit snacks are now made without any artificial dyes. A snack parents can feel good about and the same delicious taste kids can't get enough of. All made with no artificial dyes. Try Welch's fruit snacks today. Welcome back to the PDB folks. I've got one more thing before I let you go and I am so excited for this listener question. Actually, it's a request and I think you're going to love it too. So last July, a listener named Jason in Central Ohio wrote in. He's a lawyer and a stay-at-home dad

and he homeschools his three kids. Bless his heart, I'm tired already. Anyway, Jason said that he and his kids use the PDB to help them with their social studies class. And I thought that is the coolest thing ever. Well, Jason just wrote me back, and he said that the kids would sure love to hear their names read out on the podcast. So, Jason, I am happy to do it, but I've got one request. So, for the three awesome kids in Central Ohio, who are named Autumn, David, and Savannah, I want to say a couple things to you. First, I am so honored that you all listen to me. It's so cool. You guys are why I do this, and I am so lucky to have you as listeners. So thank you.

Second, I have some homework for you, but don't worry. I think this one's kind of fun. I want you all to write me, and I want you to tell me three things. First, what is your favorite thing that we have talked about here on the PDB and why? Second, what is the topic or the country that you really want me to talk about that we haven't yet and why? Finally, what do you think is the coolest part of being homeschooled? Because for me, it would be the ability to take a nap in my own bed between classes. But that's just me. So there is your homework, Autumn, David, and Savannah. And do you dad, Jason, and Ohio, I tell you, I tip my hat to you.

We need more good men like you in this country, a whole bunch of them, and we need them yesterday. So thank you. And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes. your morning brief. As always, we close out the show, reminding each other of why we are here, talking about our country and our world. It's the creed of every good spy and every smart American. It's from John, chapter 8, verse 32. And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall make you free. Good day.