Ouf! (as the French would say), we've got our country back. Praise the Lord for answered prayers.

World leaders sent out their congratulations.

Even Russia's Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his resounding re-election victory. This is normal and it is healthy.

Putin has always wanted two things -- and not much more, actually -- from U.S. leaders: a recognition of Russia's great power status, and respect as Russia's legitimate leader.

Biden didn't just deny both of those, he gratuitously threw the insults in Putin's face. I am still grappling with the strategic purpose the Democrats saw in taking us to the brink of World War III with Russia. Maybe there wasn't one.

Putin said he is ready for talks over Ukraine. Just three weeks ago, it was no way, Jose.

Elections have consequences.

Trump has said he wants an immediate end of the fighting. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky quite understandably is not happy with that, since the Russians occupy something like sixteen percent of Ukrainian territory. But for now, Zelensky has little to no leverage.

A ceasefire would freeze the frontlines and bring in some kind of interposition force, most likely, some combination of NATO troops and nonaligned nations. And then the real negotiations would begin.

Also among those congratulating Trump on his re-election was NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Along with saner NATO leaders, such as Hungary's Viktor Orban, Rutte could hear the drumbeats of war in Europe's capitols and knew the utter devastation a war with Russia would bring.

Donald Trump just walked the hotheads like France's Emmanuel Macron (Little Cookie) back from the brink of World War III. The proper response to that is, Mon dieu, merci!  

My favorite comment of the week was from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who channelled JFK at a snap European Union summit in Budapest on Thursday: "Don't ask what the U.S. can do for you, ask what Europe should do for itself," she said. "Europe must find a balance. We know what we have to do."

Well, among the first things the Europeans need to do is decide whether they will continue to embrace WOKE green economics, or wake up to the real world.

Energy prices in Germany skyrocketed this week when the wind died down.

You read that right. Germany has become so dependent on wind power that when the wind dies down they are forced to import electricity from neighboring France (still 56% nuclear) and Sweden, which has an abundance of hydropower and still runs six nuclear power plants that produce 30% of its electricity.

Wholesale electricity prices in Germany rose eight times, from 128 euros per Megawatt hour in "normal" times to over 805 euros. That compares to average wholesale prices per Mwh in 2023 of around $40 in the United States.

(Here is a source for current German electricity prices, if you want to check it out.)

Fact is, as Trump prepares to retake the White House, Germany has become the new Sick Man of Europe. Once the industrial powerhouse of Europe and the export engine of the EU, now Germany must import electricity just to keep the lights on in the homes of its migrant workforce.

In Iran, the mullahs are terrified of a second Trump presidency because they saw what happened during the first.

I am willing to bet that President Trump will reimpose the Maximum Pressure sanctions on the Iranian regime as one of his first official acts as the 47th president, along with closing our Southern border and reopening federal lands to oil and gas exploration.

Will 47 couple the sanctions to a "Maximum Support" strategy to help the Iranian people overthrow the regime? The Boss has yet to speak on that subject, so the jury is out. But the proposal is certainly on the table -- indeed, I am one of many who have put it there, in a paper for the America First Policy Institute in August.

I argue that helping the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs is in America's national security interest, since it will cut off the world's leading sponsor of international terrorism, murder, and mayhem. No more Hamas, no more Hezbollah, and finally a chance for Israel to make peace with the Palestinians.

Sound too good to be true? Stay tuned.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License