My plan for this column was that throughout October, there would be only columns dealing with Lycoming County candidates in the November election. I purposely planned it that way so that voters would be informed about the candidates on the ballot. But, I want to make an interruption in this plan because the state of affairs in the world is going to impact us greatly, and we need to be aware and involved.

By now, everyone knows of the horrible and atrocious events that occurred on Saturday, October 7th, with the invasion of Israel by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. Over 1,200 were killed, thousands more wounded, and beyond this was the depth of depravity shown by the aggressors by taking an unknown number of Israeli hostages, many of which were young children and elderly women, to serve as protection against an Israeli response and financial barter for their release. Three days after the invasion, it was discovered in one Israeli kibbutz near Gaza that 40 babies and small children had been killed, some of which had been beheaded.

This may be deja vu all over again. On Saturday, October 7, 1973, the day of Yom Kippur in Israel, their most holy day of the year, Egypt, Syria, and a coalition of Arab states launched an attack against Israel, knowing that their defenses would be most vulnerable on that day. The United States stood with Israel and paid a heavy price for it. When Israel prevailed in defeating their adversaries, these countries, led by Saudi Arabia, initiated an oil embargo on the USA and other countries that supported Israel. By the time the embargo was lifted in March 1974, the price of oil had risen nearly 300 percent and brought about major effects on global politics and the global economy that would be felt for decades.

Currently, the Biden Administration has been publicly supporting Israel and condemning the attacks, which is certainly admirable, but just like the reaction of fifty years ago, our country had better be prepared for the whirlwind.

Many economists have been predicting — even before this invasion — that we should expect a serious recession in 2024. Household debt has hit record highs of $17 trillion this year, with many people using credit to pay monthly bills.

On the business side, corporate defaults have accelerated this year and are projected to keep rising.

The housing market is abysmal. Inflation is rising. And because the current federal administration has reduced our energy independence, the USA is greatly vulnerable to another embargo to neutralize our involvement in the Middle East.

Some isolationists would see this as a good thing, but when we have no voice or influence in world affairs, we become subject to those who do.

The world has shifted on its axis. There are three key areas our country must focus on.

First is the danger of yet another squeeze on our energy sources. Ideas such as the Green New Deal, the Paris Climate Accord, and other ‘clean’ energy programs are all based on one-sided science. Progress is not going backward. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Yergin is an energy expert, and his books show brilliantly how those who control energy also control the world’s economy.

Yet only a few years ago, the United States had energy independence and safe reserves. That has all changed under the present administration, and we need to change back and turn our backs on the climate experts like Greta Thunberg, who dares us to do so.

The second concern should be our very weak military status. Quite frankly, we are not really being told how depleted the US Armed Forces are right now. It is not just that there are not enough young people interested in serving in the military, but the potential recruits often do not meet the physical and/or academic requirements. They keep lowering the standards, but it is not helping enough.

The third concern is the number of illegal border crossings to the United States since January 2021. It totals more than eight million people. Almost all the focus has been on finding homes for these people, yet there is another huge concern.

Let’s suppose that the best-case scenario would be that 99.9 percent of these immigrants are fine, upstanding, hard-working individuals who will integrate beautifully into our country. That would still leave one-tenth of one percent that could be agents of drug cartels, covert terrorists, etc. That would be 8,000 dangerous people. Remember that there were just 19 hijackers that created the 9/11 attacks, and these even came into the country legally!

Concerned citizens should be strongly emphasizing to their representatives in Washington, D.C. that we need energy independence, a stronger military, and safeguards against possible infiltrators coming in illegally to our country. The fact that we are not in any way prepared is evidenced by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stating just a week before the Hamas attacks, “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades.” The quiet has ended, and we need to wake up. Or else…