Month: January 2018

Are Americans’ Concerns about Immigration Racist?

January 31, 2018

The short answer: Not necessarily.

Don’t get me wrong — I am pretty certain that some people simply do not want people of different races or religions coming to “their” country. But on the most part, people are pretty concerned about immigrants in such large numbers who are poor, poorly educated, ignorant to U.S. cultural and societal differences, being thrust into American life immediately upon their arrival. Let’s face it: the United States is vastly different from almost every other country on Earth. Reconciling those differences with life circumstances of other countries is pretty much always a cruel task. And that reconciliation in large part never happens or never happens fully.

It is short-sighted for those who demean Americans for having these concerns. After all, living in the U.S. is a privilege for both U.S. born and foreign born immigrants. Remember that word “privilege.” Many open-border pundits make a false claim to justify their no-boundary political thinking that America and Americans owe something to those from other countries. And all those who simply WANT to live in the U.S. should automatically be eligible to do so. That will be argued vehemently by both sides in the coming months as the government is forced to confront some type of resolution of the DACA issue, then later the illegal immigration dilemma.

Karin McQuillan is an American who felt a call to serve the people of a third-world country after college. She joined the Peace Corp and headed on assignment to Senegal, West Africa. What follows is a pretty elaborate explanation of the issues that most if not all immigrants must face when coming to America. It will make you think.

What I Learned in the Peace Corps in Africa: Trump Is Right

By Karin McQuillan

            Karen McQuillan (on left)

“Three weeks after college, I flew to Senegal, West Africa, to run a community center in a rural town. Life was placid, with no danger, except to your health. That danger was considerable, because it was, in the words of the Peace Corps doctor, ‘a fecalized environment.’ In plain English: s— is everywhere. People defecate on the open ground, and the feces is blown with the dust – onto you, your clothes, your food, the water. He warned us the first day of training: do not even touch water. Human feces carries parasites that bore through your skin and cause organ failure. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that a few decades later, liberals would be pushing the lie that Western civilization is no better than a third-world country. Or would teach two generations of our kids that loving your own culture and wanting to preserve it are racism.

Last time I was in Paris, I saw a beautiful African woman in a grand boubou have her child defecate on the sidewalk next to Notre Dame Cathedral. The French police officer, ten steps from her, turned his head not to see. I have seen. I am not turning my head and pretending unpleasant things are not true.

Senegal was not a hellhole. Very poor people can lead happy, meaningful lives in their own cultures’ terms. But they are not our terms. The excrement is the least of it. Our basic ideas of human relations, right and wrong, are incompatible. As a twenty-one-year-old starting out in the Peace Corps, I loved Senegal. In fact, I was euphoric. I quickly made friends and had an adopted family. I relished the feeling of the brotherhood of man. People were open, willing to share their lives and, after they knew you, their innermost thoughts.

The longer I lived there, the more I understood: it became blindingly obvious that the Senegalese are not the same as us. The truths we hold to be self-evident are not evident to the Senegalese. How could they be? Their reality is totally different. You can’t understand anything in Senegal using American terms. Take something as basic as family. Family was a few hundred people, extending out to second and third cousins. All the men in one generation were called “father.” Senegalese are Muslim, with up to four wives. Girls had their clitorises cut off at puberty. (I witnessed this, at what I thought was going to be a nice coming-of-age ceremony, like a bat mitzvah or confirmation.) Sex, I was told, did not include kissing. Love and friendship in marriage were Western ideas. Fidelity was not a thing. Married women would have sex for a few cents to have cash for the market.

What I did witness every day was that women were worked half to death. Wives raised the food and fed their own children, did the heavy labor of walking miles to gather wood for the fire, drew water from the well or public faucet, pounded grain with heavy hand-held pestles, lived in their own huts, and had conjugal visits from their husbands on a rotating basis with their co-wives. Their husbands lazed in the shade of the trees. Yet family was crucial to people there in a way Americans cannot comprehend.

The Ten Commandments were not disobeyed – they were unknown. The value system was the exact opposite. You were supposed to steal everything you can to give to your own relatives. There are some Westernized Africans who try to rebel against the system. They fail.

We hear a lot about the kleptocratic elites of Africa. The kleptocracy extends through the whole society. My town had a medical clinic donated by international agencies. The medicine was stolen by the medical workers and sold to the local store.  If you were sick and didn’t have money, drop dead.  That was normal. So here in the States, when we discovered that my 98-year-old father’s Muslim health aide from Nigeria had stolen his clothes and wasn’t bathing him, I wasn’t surprised. It was familiar.

In Senegal, corruption ruled, from top to bottom. Go to the post office, and the clerk would name an outrageous price for a stamp. After paying the bribe, you still didn’t know it if it would be mailed or thrown out. That was normal. One of my most vivid memories was from the clinic. One day, as the wait grew hotter in the 110-degree heat, an old woman two feet from the medical aides – who were chatting in the shade of a mango tree instead of working – collapsed to the ground. They turned their heads so as not to see her and kept talking. She lay there in the dirt. Callousness to the sick was normal.

Americans think it is a universal human instinct to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s not. It seems natural to us because we live in a Bible-based Judeo-Christian culture. We think the Protestant work ethic is universal. It’s not. My town was full of young men doing nothing. They were waiting for a government job. There was no private enterprise. Private business was not illegal, just impossible, given the nightmare of a third-world bureaucratic kleptocracy. It is also incompatible with Senegalese insistence on taking care of relatives.

All the little stores in Senegal were owned by Mauritanians. If a Senegalese wanted to run a little store, he’d go to another country. The reason? Your friends and relatives would ask you for stuff for free, and you would have to say yes. End of your business. You are not allowed to be a selfish individual and say no to relatives. The result: Everyone has nothing. The more I worked there and visited government officials doing absolutely nothing, the more I realized that no one in Senegal had the idea that a job means work. A job is something given to you by a relative. It provides the place where you steal everything to give back to your family.

I couldn’t wait to get home. So why would I want to bring Africa here? Non-Westerners do not magically become American by arriving on our shores with a visa. For the rest of my life, I will enjoy the greatest gift of the Peace Corps: I love and treasure America more than ever. I take seriously my responsibility to defend our culture and our country and pass on the American heritage to the next generation.

African problems are made worse by our aid efforts. Senegal is full of smart, capable people. They will eventually solve their own country’s problems. They will do it on their terms, not ours. The solution is not to bring Africans here. We are lectured by Democrats that we must privilege third-world immigration by the hundred million with chain migration. They tell us we must end America as a white, Western, Judeo-Christian, capitalist nation – to prove we are not racist. I don’t need to prove a thing. Leftists want open borders because they resent whites, resent Western achievements, and hate America. They want to destroy America as we know it. As President Trump asked, why would we do that?

We have the right to choose what kind of country to live in. I was happy to donate a year of my life as a young woman to help the poor Senegalese. I am not willing to donate my country.”

2018 State of the Union

January 29, 2018

Expectations are high in anticipation of the content of President Trump’s first State of the Union Address. It is expected he will recount the positives from the first year of his presidency and detail some of his plans for 2018. Those certainly will begin with the immediate concern: Immigration. But many feel his SOTU 2018 proposals will lean heavily toward infrastructure improvements that are far beyond being a dire need.

Meanwhile politicians on the Left and several on the Right have dug in their heels at President Trump’s projected project spending for DACA that includes $25 Billion for border security including the wall. Shortly dollar projections needed for infrastructure improvement will be revealed. Leaked details explain the plan’s funding will come from a balanced partnership between state and local investment assisted by federal funding. Two people briefed on it said it would likely recommend dividing $200 billion in federal funding over 10 years into four pools of funds. The administration is structuring the plan to encourage $1.35 trillion in state, local and private financing to build and repair the nation’s bridges, highways, waterworks and other infrastructure, one source said. Many Republicans want to use private-sector investment to finance infrastructure projects to avoid increasing the national debt. Democrats believe that government money is necessary to produce such a large package.

Under the Trump plan being shaped, the largest share of the federal money – $100 billion – is expected to go toward cost-sharing projects with local governments, similar to grants. The goal would be to reduce the ratio of federal funding, which often now is 80 percent, by awarding funds only to projects that are able to provide more local funding or leverage private investment. $50 billion would be earmarked for rural projects. Those funds would help governors on projects like roads, broadband access and replacing aging lead pipes. Including a pool for rural infrastructure could also reduce concerns among some Republican senators who fear rural areas may be unable to attract private investments. Twenty-five billion dollars would go toward existing federal infrastructure loan programs that seek to spur private investment.

The final $25 billion would be designated for so-called transformative projects – an effort being dubbed “American Spirit” projects. They could include high-speed trains or the Gateway Tunnel, the stalled proposal to build a new rail connection between New York City and New Jersey. The plan may not deliver any additional federal money than in years past. The proposal could take $200 billion from existing spending plans – although the administration has not yet committed to whether it would come from existing programs or whether the money would be found elsewhere.

We will see and hear specific details of the President’s infrastructure program. It is hoped that Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle can for the first time under President Trump find common ground for this desperately needed rebuilding of the nation’s infrastructure so poorly treated in previous administrations.

President Obama famously promised massive infrastructure improvements in 2008-2009 as part of his $792 Billion stimulus program. That’s “Billion” with a “B.” In case you forgot, how was that $792 Billion spent under Obama?

  • $36.9 billion for Aid to People Affected by Economic Downturn

  • $48.4 billion for Education

  • $324 million for Accountability

  • $58.4 billion for Aid to State and Local Governments

  • $41.4 billion for Energy

  • $13.1 billion for Science and Technology

  • $18.8 billion for Health Care

  • $870 million for Business

  • $98.3 billion for Transportation and Infrastructure

  • $2.1 billion for Miscellaneous Recovery Act Programs

  • $3 billion for Cash for Clunkers

  • $48.3 billion for Infrastructure (named the “Mainstreet Act”)

  • $26.7 billion for Public Service Jobs

  • $79 billion for Emergency Relief for Families

  • $34 billion for the Extension of Unemployment Benefits

  • $30 billion for Small Businesses in Obama’s Second Round of Stimulus Spending

  • $50 billion for Infrastructure Spending

$196,600,000,000 — that’s $196.6 Billion — was budgeted and funded specifically for infrastructure programs listed above in the Obama Stimulus Program. But only $23.76 Billion was actually spent for infrastructure programs. Where did the rest go? Nobody’s talking.

So What?

Sadly the story above is not an unusual one to come out of Washington D.C. Congress is infamous for wasting taxpayer money. Politicians love to make promises for pet projects and pork programs to attract support from voters. President Obama was masterful at creating programs that voters longed for. He was much more proficient than many of predecessors at getting those projects funded. But sadly his stimulus program left much undone but with all the money spent — all at the expense of taxpayers. That was nothing new.

Summary

So will President Trump be different? I’m pretty certain he will. His business past and his ability to plan and implement plans specifically for infrastructure projects gives him a significant advantage over most other politicians. In his private building projects he was famous for beating budgets and completing projects ahead of schedule: saving money and saving time.

If his infrastructure plan looks anything like has been leaked, it will not only be different than most in the past, it if implemented and successful will probably initiate a new type of planning and budgeting. Though any economical success story initiated in D.C. should be welcomed by all, those on the Left will excoriate any such plan. Why? Because it will come from Donald Trump. Forget about any historical success or budgeting plan that makes sense. The only thing that matters to Dems is if it is something proposed by this President, they hate it.

In the shadow of President Obama’s famous Stimulus boondoggle program sometimes called “The Obama Pork-ulus,” any infrastructure or other financial program that meets or beats a Congressional budget line-item projection should be championed. If this plan does work as it is rolled out, American politicians may rail against it. But taxpayers. basking in the first financial triumph of Donald Trump — Tax Reform — will welcome it. And headed into the mid-terms in which the Dems so desperately need to fend off the conservative tide creeping into D.C., another Trump win will create pandemonium on the Left.

But one thing is certain: another financial success for this President will further increase his base of support among voters. If that happens, getting therapy appointments on E. Street in Washington will be impossible for a while. Democrats will have them all.

“Hypocrite” is spelled “T-R-U-M-P”

January 28, 2018

January 16, 2018 an Op-ed was posted in my hometown newspaper THE TIMES. It is an example of the thinking of many folks who are either Leftist Liberals or that simply do not diligently research information spilled from national media pundits to garner facts. Actually it is pretty easy to fall into that thinking in today’s age of instant 24/7 news. (I know: a lot of it isn’t news at all!)

I don’t have permission from THE TIMES to reprint this Op-ed, so I’m sharing the link to it. Please take a few moments to read it and read my response below.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/opinion/2018/01/16/baxter-how-spell-hypocrite-t-r-u-m-p-g-o-p/1027948001/

“Crumbs”

My Response to Editorial from Michael C. Baxter, Op-Ed Contributor published by THE TIMES 1/16/18

In his op-ed, Mr. Baxter defined the word hypocrite: “a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.”

There is more than just one definition of the word hypocrite. A second (from the same source Mr. Baxter quoted) was not included in his op-ed: “a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.” I wonder why the overlook of that definition?

Could it be that in his attack on the GOP and the President while defending the Left, he purposely neglected inclusion of the definition that applies specifically to the politically elite? Mr. Baxter portrays the Left as champions of the Middle Class and purveyors of virtue for all who bow at the altar of Political Correctness. He implicates wealthy Americans for greed while ignoring the hypocrisy of Democrat leaders like Nancy Pelosi. She called the bonuses companies are giving workers because of the Republican tax reform “crumbs,” a term she also used earlier this month to downplay the effects of the law. And the former Democratic Party chief Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz dismissed $1,000 bonuses as “chump change” that won’t be worth much when taxed. Talk about hypocrisy! Do the math: $3 billion (average of $1000 bonus to each of 3 million workers so far) is by no measure “crumbs” or “chump change” – at least not to those 3 million employees. Neither commented on the 300+ companies that — in addition to bonuses — have increased (voluntarily) their starting hourly minimum wage to $15. Mr. Baxter, just who receives these bonuses and wage increases? Primarily middle class families.

Democrats and extreme Leftists are not the only hypocrites in D.C. There is plenty of hypocrisy to go around. In fact, it becomes clearer daily that mainstream politicians of both parties hold the keys to political hypocrisy. It appears their goal in governing is to maintain the status quo to protect a balance of power, no matter the controlling party. With power comes everything politicians want or need – at the expense of voters. Elected officials understand party control changes from cycle to cycle. They seem to carefully keep the changes of party control from impacting the results of their power when the party control pendulum swings Left or Right. Therefore job security is constant – for ALL politicians.

Yes, most taxes in the U.S. are paid by the top 10% of Americans. Mr. Baxter parrots elitist attacks on these taxpayers demanding they are evil and, simply because they have financial success, should be considered villainous and should see much of their wealth confiscated through higher taxes. He demonizes corporations and demands they give ALL their profits to their workers.

Certainly from the few economic opinions he expressed, one can deduce Mr. Baxter is not a believer in entrepreneurship and the free market system that helps sustain the U.S. as the greatest country on Earth. Confiscatory tax law has stifled economic growth the last decade. That growth immediately returned with the election of Donald Trump. It comes from a combination of slashing onerous regulations, massive tax reductions, both that give wealth back to Middle Class Americans. After all, federal revenues do NOT belong to politicians, but to the Americans who pay them. Contrary to Mr. Baxter’s position, Americans know better than politicians what their tax dollars should be spent for. The Trump Administration has simply once again put Americans in charge of their own income.

It might surprise many (and certainly Mr. Baxter) that the $5 Trillion of new growth in value in the Stock Market does not go in the pockets of evil investment bankers and Wall Street brokers. Public corporations are owned by stockholders who invest and expect dividend and profit returns. Who buys these stocks that have gained such amazing value? Investment funds, pension funds, 401K and IRA accounts, insurance companies, bond holders and Middle Class families who put a few bucks away every month to save for college for their kids. Corporate profits go not only to company CEO’s as the Left likes to claim. It ALL goes to stockholders, most of who are Middle Class Americans.

Mr. Baxter and others of his liberal ilk choose to ignore the good that a majority of Americans have experienced economically in 2017. It seems they are afraid of losing control of “their” government. Instead of offering positive solutions to the serious problems facing America like immigration reform, tax reform, and honesty in the U.S. political system, they resort to name calling and blame. Why? To keep their followers in line. They fear the awakening of Americans to the Leftist tyranny that almost stole Capitalism from our nation and ushered in “Socialism Lite.” It was humorous that Mr. Baxter blamed the G.O.P. for the failure of Obamacare – the greatest financial boondoggle in American history. Not a single Republican voted for the failed insurance system. But Mr. Baxter ignored the lies perpetrated on the People by those who forced Americans out of working health policies into government policies that took American healthcare back into the 1920’s. Baxter demonized Republicans for not “fixing” Obamacare.

One can easily dislike President Trump on a personal level. His Queens, NY in-your-face style of negotiation is un-Presidential when compared to styles of previous presidents. But one cannot honestly believe what Mr. Baxter believes about Mr. Trump. Donald Trump has never made a pretense of his morality, beliefs, or principles. Everything he espouses is what he shows publicly to the World daily. Some reject those. But those are the reasons that Mr. Trump last November shocked the World – especially the Democrat AND Republican political elite – by winning an unwinnable election. Middle Class Americans en-masse sent the reality show star to 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue. And he works for them – not political party or campaign contributors or special interests. Americans like that.

Mr. Baxter’s op-ed illustrates the massive fear of Donald Trump shared by political elites throughout the U.S. and around the World. He not only talks about giving the U.S. back to its owners, he is doing so with little or no regard for the desires of the Leftist power brokers who have controlled the U.S. for decades and would STILL be in control if his opponent had won.

Mr. Baxter, there is no need to worry. If a majority of American voters share your beliefs, Mr. Trump will be vacating the White House in a short 3 years. My forecast is not only will he be given a second term, Democrats and many establishment Republicans will be sent packing this November. They will be replaced by those who like Donald Trump believe and live that the U.S. government be “by the People, of the People, and for the People.”

A Funeral

January 28, 2018

I was privileged to speak at GaGa’s funeral in Baton Rouge — no, not “Lady GaGa,” but the first GaGa: Marjorie Mims. She was a 94 year old aunt who quietly slipped away in her sleep. She was an amazing woman who was hopelessly devoted to her husband and three children. Uncle Jimmy died young and GaGa never remarried.

She was remarkable: all-in in everything she did and in every relationship she had. She was gracious, kind, thoughtful, and was “there” at every moment she needed to be for all those in her life. That came naturally for her. She left a trail of friends and family members who were as hopelessly committed to GaGa as GaGa was to them. That was no surprise to anyone.

At the funeral, I could not help but use as a Scripture text Genesis 8:22. Feel free to read it, but I’ll summarize it: after the great flood, God promised Noah that as long as Earth existed, He would never destroy it by another flood. Further, there will always be night and day, Summer and Winter, hot and cold, and seedtime and harvest.

The first three seemed to me to be sort of “Mother Nature” things: light, seasons, hot and cold. But the fourth really made me think. Of course we know that every living thing comes from another of its kind: plants, animals, bugs, and babies! But thinking through that seedtime and harvest reference, something dawned on me: there’s more to its meaning than just planting crops.

Planting

It seems “Ho-Hum” to talk much about the planting and harvesting process. You plant a seed and something grows from it. That’s how we eat; that’s how golf greens grass grows; that’s how animals eat; that’s how plants breathe in the CO2 that we breathe out. It call comes from planting. But it goes beyond that.

I feel that God absolutely referenced the Mother Nature sow and reap process — but not that alone. He made it clear to Noah that men and women sow and reap everyday, even if we do not do so into the ground. We “speak”  and “do” seeds. We plant “seeds” in everything we do regarding others and everything we say to others. And the soil into which we sow is seldom actual dirt — it is peoples’ lives. Those seeds become exactly what their parent seeds were. And we always reap what we sow.

Harvesting

Understanding the sowing process is pretty fundamental. Understanding the reaping/harvesting process is too. But far too often we either do not want to think about that part, talk about that part, or accept that part. But it ALWAYS happens as part of that natural process God put in place and promised would never go away. We reap what we sow.

Too often people simply ignore the definitive result of this natural process. We selectively use it thinking it only applies to others. We may term it “what goes around comes around,” or “get back what you put in.” Oh, we know that when we plant a seed something is going to grow. But we most often ignore the fact that when we plant orange seeds, oranges always grow. We assume sometimes when we plant oranges, apples are going to grow.  But we get oranges — EVERYTIME we plant orange seeds. We never get apples…unless we plant apples.

Results

Here’s the rub: too often we concentrate totally on the sowing process. We plant what at that very moment we want to plant without thinking of what is going to grow from it. Think this through with me.

When we argue with our spouses, we plant seed there. When we put our spouse down we seldom (if ever) think about what that seed is going to return as. It always comes back as what was sown: demeaning and condescending actions and words. God forbid that any would ever tell children they are stupid, ugly, unworthy, unable, etc. But when we slip and those seeds are sown, they always come back exactly what they were when we sowed them. It may take some time, but they always grow. And orange seeds ALWAYS grow into oranges.

If we cheat, we will be cheated. If we lie, we will be lied to. If we steal, we will be stolen from. If we are unfaithful to our spouses, they will be unfaithful to us. 

I have a friend who was unfaithful to his wife. H was involved for years with someone else. I once confronted him with the fact that his doing so was going to cost him. He actually told me he knew there would be a price to pay, but he thought it would be having a bad year financially, having serious car problems or an illness, never thinking about the reap and sow principle.

Sure enough, his wife eventually left him for another. His children totally rejected him and remain separated from him even now as adults.

Summary

GaGa understood this principle and embraced it as part of who she was. She was quietly confident that everything she did would always return to her. Her funeral service bore that out.

I had a life mentor who surprised me once by asking this question: “Dan, who is coming to your funeral?” The question took me by surprise. I thought it through for a bit and responded, “My friends and my family members.” He then said this, “You need to spend the rest of your life pouring yourself into their lives.”

That has guided me ever since that day. It really works. And of course when I first recognized it I was surprised. But every time we get what we give.

GaGa was always there with kindness, gentleness, genuine care and concern for all — especially for her children and grandchildren.

Two Sundays ago GaGa went to sleep with her youngest daughter rubbing her feet. GaGa spent her life sowing seeds of kindness, care, and concern into others. At the end, that’s exactly what she got back.

How Bad is it Really?

January 27, 2018

With non-stop news 24/7 — conservative and liberal — only one thing is crystal clear: the D.C. corruption is front and center, and a little new “swamp mud” is identified daily. Is there any way to wade through it all to find even a small measure of truth?

Good question. Short answer is, “Maybe.” With so much information being thrown about and all labeled as “fact,” verification is a real chore. But through the process of trial and error with elimination, there may be some facts that stick. Let’s look at a few and those directly involved in each:

The New York Times and the Other National News Organizations

There is insufficient space here to list everyone of the unsubstantiated stories published by The NY Times in the last 18 months that are proven later to be false. The last 48 hours has seen non-stop coverage of the “news” that months ago, President Trump gave an order to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller — which, by the way, he is Constitutionally authorized to do. Of course the stories authors credit “unnamed sources” who gave them this blockbuster story. EVERY news outlet foamed at the mouth reporting and re-reporting and re-reporting this hit piece about the President.

Remember my constant cries for every reputable news outlet to refuse to print or broadcast (or publish in any other way) any story without revealing actual sources? Does anyone but me hate the term “unnamed sources?”

This massive revelation was front page today in the NY Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/?campaignId=67LXL

Meanwhile, in Davos, Switzerland the World looked in as President Trump took the Economic Summit by storm. Yesterday he hosted a luncheon with about 15 foreign corporate CEO’s of giant companies who each one at a time told how their company has made decisions to move billions of their corporate operating dollars — primarily through corporate investment, expansion, and growth — into the United States this year. Why? Because of the now friendly corporate tax environment. They pledged TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!

This morning to close the Summit, President Trump gave a 15 minute speech that graciously and quietly re-stated his America First policy: we put America first in everything we do. But that does not mean “America Only.” He re-stated America’s commitment to as we continue our rapid economic growth to include every country who wants to come along.

There were published stories in abundance about how President Trump was looked at as a loose cannon and that no one attending the Summit wanted to have anything to do with him. He was a rock star all three days! Everyone wanted to meet him, sit with him, eat with him, and there was a line outside the convention hall of several hundred waiting to get in to hear his closing speech.

Oh, last evening when he walked through the hall, U.S. reporters asked him about his attempt to fire Robert Mueller, he paused, turned towards them, and destroyed 48 hours of international news that dominated the news cycle with four simple words: “Never happened….Fake News.”

My least favorite columnist on the Planet writes for The NY Times: David Leonhardt. Because of my promise to research stories for you, I am forced to read him daily. To illustrate just how far this once bastion of national news in America has slipped into supermarket tabloid “news,” click the following link to Leonhardt’s editorial published this morning (grab a barf bag before you read it):

https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2018/01/26/opinion-today?nlid=81203931

No source of the “information” in his Op-ed or the original story created by two reporters, but the story AND the editorial head all the “news” in The NY Times today.

The “Swamp”

Who would have believed 100 years ago that Washington would be the Nation’s most corrupt city? Why is it so corrupt? The U.S. Government.

We see and hear non-stop illustrations of its corruption. What is playing out today regarding the Justice Department and the FBI is frightening. No longer are both institutions stellar intelligence and security operations whose leaders and workers continually provide to Americans the assurance that all who live and work within our borders are protected from any who wish to inflict harms of any kind. These two have become the weaponized tools of unscrupulous politicians and their cronies to carry out personal agendas for those to whom FBI and Justice Department administrators and managers have political obligations. Not all FBI and DOJ people fall into this category — but many do.

We obviously have barely scratched the surface of the corruption there and in other Intelligence operations. How much graft and corruption exist in non-intelligence agencies? Who knows. Let’s review a short list of recent political American corruption:

  • Hillary Clinton “Email-Gate”
  • Bill Clinton and Attorney General Lynch meeting privately while FBI investigation underway
  • CNN collaboration with Clinton Campaign regarding debate questions and answers
  • Hillary rigging Democrat Party nomination process to dump Bernie Sanders
  • “Russia-Gate” and Russian collusion with the Trump Campaign
  • Clinton funding of the Russia dossier to discredit Trump and attempt confirmation of Russian collusion
  • Clinton Foundation receipt of millions in Pay for Play scheme brokered by Hillary’s State Department
  • James Comey’s “fake” investigation findings in Hillary investigation
  • James Comey’s illegal transfer of FBI confidential documents to a Columbia University professor to distribute to the news “anonymously”
  • Clintons’ millions in contributions during the Uranium One scandal
  • The entire tainted Mueller investigation of the Trump Campaign and who Mueller has placed on his team
  • Non-stop attempts by Leftist power brokers to discredit, defame, and slander President Trump, including funding of ANTIFA and other Leftist operations

Summary

Here’s the largest, most glaring, and the scariest: while Robert Mueller is investigating Russian attempts to affect the results of the 2016 election, it is now apparent that the Russians did not do so. It appears that the United States Government through efforts of many in the Justice Department and the FBI worked hand in hand with Leftists inside and outside the Democrat Party to do just that: GET HILLARY ELECTED WHILE KEEPING DONALD TRUMP OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE!

Say what you will about that last statement, but it sadly appears to be factual.

How do Immigrants Gain Legal Status: Both Legal AND Illegals?

January 24, 2018

Non-stop we hear stories in national news about Immigration woes: for legals and illegals. In all the hoopla about illegal Immigration, should we not have a clear understanding of the process for immigrants to gain legal status in the U.S.? And what process do immigrants go through for old-fashioned legal admission to the U.S.? Let’s take a look:

Entering the United States without approval is illegal. So is staying in the U.S. without permission after your visa or other authorized stay has expired. Even violating the terms of a legal entry can make your stay illegal. The U.S. immigration law offers very few options to go from being illegal or undocumented immigrant to a U.S. permanent resident (with a green card). Here are the most likely possibilities below.

Option 1 – Marriage to U.S. Citizen

  • Entering into a valid, bona fide (real, not sham) marriage with a U.S. citizen (of the same or opposite sex) makes you an “immediate relative” under the U.S. immigration laws. An immediate relative is theoretically eligible for a U.S. green card just as soon as you can get through the application process. However, your current illegal status could create problems.
  • If you are in the United States illegally because you stayed past the expiration date on a valid visa, rather than having entered illegally (without inspection), consider yourself lucky: Your legal entry qualifies you for an exception, under which you should be able to apply for your green card without leaving the United States, using a procedure called “adjustment of status.”
  • If, however, your most recent entry into the United States was illegal – for example, you crossed the U.S. border in secret, without stopping at an inspection point – you have very little chance of adjusting your status to permanent resident based on your marriage. The exception is if you fall into one of the following categories, created by an old law called Section 245(i):
    * Your employer or a family member filed an immigrant visa petition or (in the case of an employer) a labor certification on your behalf before January 14, 1998.
    * Your employer or family member filed an immigrant visa petition or labor certification on your behalf between January 14, 1998 and April 21, 2001 and you can also prove that you were physically present in the U.S. on the date the applicable law was passed, which was December 21, 2000.
  • Getting married to a lawful permanent U.S. resident (rather than a citizen) will also technically make you eligible for a U.S. green card, but because you face a long wait before a visa becomes available to you, your chances of adjusting status are even less (unless you fit one of the two 245(i): exceptions described above).
  • There is one last hope for people who cannot adjust status based on their marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident: You can attend the interview for your green card (which is the last step in the application process) at an overseas U.S. consulate in your home country (called “consular processing”). However, at that point the consulate will penalize you for your illegal U.S. stay, with a time bar on returning to the United States. The penalty is either to spend three years outside the United States if you stayed in the U.S. illegally for six months (180 days) or more; or to spend ten years outside the United States if you stayed in the U.S. illegally for one year or more.
  • If you haven’t yet been in the United States illegally for six months or more, you might want to leave right away in order to make use of the consular processing possibility.
  • If you have already spent more than six months in the United States illegally, then talk to an immigration lawyer. You may qualify for a “waiver,” (legal forgiveness) allowing you to reenter the United States right away after your consular processing interview, but this waiver is hard to get. You would need to prove that your being denied the immigrant visa (green card) would cause extreme hardship to one or more of your U.S. citizen family members.

Option 2 – Service in the U.S. Military

If you serve honorably and on active duty with the U.S. Armed Forces during one of the wars or conflicts named below, the law allows you to apply for U.S. citizenship. You don’t even have to go through the usual step of applying for a green card first. You must, however, enlist (sign up) while on U.S. territory, such as the Canal Zone, American Samoa, Swains Island, or a noncommercial U.S. ship. The conflicts that qualify you for immediate U.S. citizenship include:

  • World War I (April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918)
  • World War II (September 1, 1939 to December 31, 1946)
  • the Korean hostilities (June 25, 1950 to July 1, 1955)
  • the Vietnam hostilities (February 28, 1961 to October 15, 1978)
  • the Persian Gulf War (August 2, 1990 to April 11, 1991)
  • “Operation Enduring Freedom” (otherwise known as the “War on Terrorism” or “Iraq Hostilities”), which began September 11, 2001 and will end by order of the U.S. President.

Option 3 – Cancellation of Removal

If you are arrested by the immigration authorities, you might be able to avoid removal, and receive a U.S. green card, if you can prove all of the below:

  • You have already been physically present in the United States for at least ten years.
  • You have been a person of good moral character during those ten years.
  • Your removal from the U.S. would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to your spouse, parent, or child who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
  • You aren’t disqualified from cancellation for one of a variety of reasons, such as that you have committed one of various types of crimes or immigration violations, have persecuted others, have been a member of a totalitarian or communist party, and so on.
    Don’t attempt to apply for cancellation of removal on your own – it is only available if you are already in immigration court proceedings. You’ll definitely need a lawyer’s help in this situation.

Option 4 – Asylum

You can apply for the right to stay in the U.S. if you qualify for asylum and apply within one year of your entry or the expiration of your authorized stay. You’ll need to show that you have been persecuted, or fear future persecution, in your home country, based on your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

The process involves submitting an application, together with detailed documentation of your membership in the group that you claim and the persecution that you faced or fear. If you are granted asylum, you can apply for a green card one year after your approval, and for U.S. citizenship four years after that. (If denied, you will be deported).

Option 5 – Temporary Protected Status

If you come from a country that has recently had a civil war, environmental or natural disaster, or other trouble that makes it unsafe for its citizens to return there, the United States may offer what’s known as Temporary Protected Status or “TPS.”
This is not a green card, nor does it lead to a green card. However, TPS would allow you to stay in the United States legally for a set amount of time (maximum 18 months), and to receive a work permit while you’re here.  See the USCIS website (www.uscis.gov) for details and the list of currently eligible countries.

Summary

In tomorrow’s edition we will give in detail the process for Legal Immigration into the United States. We will then conclude with an Analysis of Immigration issues and the fixes that Congress can use (and that Congress MUST use) to quickly correct Immigration issues — and there are many.

Please understand there ARE fixes for this issue that should have been enacted many years ago. Yet for purely political reasons, Congress has ignored the significant hardships placed on immigrants, their families, AND the United States by not doing so.

Immigration CAN be fixed. Immigration MUST be fixed!

Obstructionism

January 22, 2018

Do American voters not speak to their members of Congress about the misrepresentations they make or do voters simply not care?

Apparently if voters do reach out to their D.C. representatives it is not working. The constant twisting and changing of political positions is driving me crazy. One almost needs a calendar for each for reference of their positions “today” on various issues — because they seem to change daily.

N.Y. Senator Chuck Schumer

“People who enter the United States without our permission are illegal aliens and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who entered the U.S. legally.” Chuck Schumer 2009

“The President’s decision to end DACA was heartless and it was brainless…” Chuck Schumer 2017

Schumer’s stance on what Obamacare should be BEFORE it was passed:

  • “The public plan must be self-sustaining. It should pay claims with money raised from premiums and co-payments. It should not receive tax revenue or appropriations from the government.”
  • “The public plan should pay doctors and hospitals more than what Medicare pays. Medicare rates, set by law and regulation, are often lower than what private insurers pay.”
  • “The government should not compel doctors and hospitals to participate in a public plan just because they participate in Medicare.”
  • “To prevent the government from serving as both ‘player and umpire,’ the officials who manage a public plan should be different from those who regulate the insurance market.”
  • “The public plan should be required to establish a reserve fund, just as private insurers must maintain reserves for the payment of anticipated claims.” And he said the public plan should be required to provide the same minimum benefits as private insurers.

Former President Bill Clinton on Immigration — the Illegal Kind

“All Americans, not only in the States most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That’s why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens. In the budget I will present to you, we will try to do more to speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes, to better identify illegal aliens in the workplace as recommended by the commission headed by former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.”  President Bill Clinton, State of the Union in 2005

Former President Bill Clinton denounced the Trump administration’s decision to end an Obama-era program that has provided protections to thousands of young undocumented immigrants, saying it will “crush their dreams and weaken the American dream for the rest of us.” Clinton said in a statement that the decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA, was “wrong because it’s bad policy that solves no pressing problem and raises new ones. It’s wrong because it’s irresponsible, passing the buck instead of offering sensible solutions for immigration reform.” Bill Clinton in 2017

Senator Barack Obama on illegal immigration

“We agree on the need to better secure the border and punish employers who continue to hire illegal immigrants. We are a generous and welcoming people here in the United States, but those who continue to enter the country illegally and those who employ them disrespect the rule of law, and they are showing disregard for those who are following the law. We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants.” (CSPAN)

“President” Obama’s feelings changed:

After legislators declined to enact the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) in the 112th Congress, President Obama initiated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on June 15, 2012. He did not bother to issue an Executive Order or White House memorandum regarding the decision. He simply directed Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to draft guidance on applying “prosecutorial discretion” with respect to a certain class of younger immigrants without legal status. 

Summary

I could go on and on giving one example after another of the flip-flops of legislators, titans of industry, Hollywood actors and producers, governors, and even more former presidents on very important political, economic, and social issues. Without question their positions on issues are NEVER permanent. Who can forget both the Clintons and Obamas at one point were firmly committed to and publicly on record as being Pro-Life and “marriage between one man and one woman.” Both couples’ positions changed on both issues as they felt extreme pressure from those who live in the Far Left of the Democratic Party. As I stated in my “Letter to Congress” several days ago, virtually ALL political elitists establish their positions and policies on very important matters almost daily. And they are always based on the political correctness policy “of the day.” They do NOT care what any Americans think — even rank-and-file members of their own party — about their flip-flopping. All that matters is maintaining the support (that means “dollars”) of the DNC and big shot contributors. “Follow the money.”

Don’t think for one second that Republicans are innocent of the same or similar travesties — sometimes even worse. Washington D.C. has simply become the melting pot of political wrangling that is almost always driven by a political quest for power and money. And all that is legislated by votes. Remember that: BOTH parties are driven by the push for maintenance of power. For that they must have more votes than their opposing parties. Thus, the Democrat “immigration plan of the day:” Open Borders.

Why Open Borders? I doubt a single Democrat will admit to that. But this is viewed as the only fuel the DNC has to maintain its current political clout. Immigrants if granted any type of amnesty that has with it the right to vote is seen as a sure large voting block for Democrats.

So Where’s the Obstructionism?

For the Dems to gain and maintain voting majority in perpetuity, they MUST add to their base. The 2016 election showed Democrats their east-coast/west-coast votes domination is not sufficient to maintain power. They must broaden their base.

To do so, they must constantly object to any and every conservative ideal put on the table for consideration for permanent policy. Conservatism dictates economic liberty and free markets, less government regulation and overall control, strong border control and ONLY legal immigration — all which fly in the face of Dems ability to strengthen their base with millions of illegal immigrants. How to do it? Obstruct.

No, it’s not to obstruct changes in Immigration law. It’s to obstruct EVERY Trump conservative idea. They feel it is easier to discredit the President and GOP without using facts or examples of failures, but to use instead Identity Politics. They feel convincing Americans that the Trump Agenda is purposely and factually structured to denigrate people of color and who are non-Christian so to turn their political preferences away from Trumpism toward the Left’s Socialist agenda.

Why? To cement the desired permanent Democrat majority at the polling booth. Democrats see ANY Trump success as a black eye on their causes. They have a well documented history of painting issues, policies, and statements to fit ONLY their Leftist purposes. And forget about the truth! It’s about one thing and one thing only: establishing the Democrat agenda.

Their mantra: “Do not let the truth stand in the way of the establishment of a Liberal position.”

They’ve been pretty good at it!

 

“Mr. President…..”

January 20, 2018

Mr. President, please take a moment to consider the thoughts of this American.

Your first year in office is over. May I have your permission to grade your first year?

  1. On Legislation. Yes, it’s true the only “big” legislative piece signed into law is the Tax Reform Law. But what a win! As just one American business owner who deals with federal taxes from the perspective of their being “confiscatory,” please know I understand why you pushed so hard for tax relief. Beyond that, please know most Americans understand as President your hands are tied regarding legislation. You can only offer up ideas and your opinions and make suggestions. Those 535 millionaires who have annually leaned further and further toward the advice of the lobbyists coming from E Street appear to have far more legislative clout than the American public has, including you. We voters have made several notes about their obstructionism. We expect some of that from the party opposite the sitting President’s party — not from his own party. We know this is not a political party issue — it’s purely an “anti-Trump” issue. Our notes are very likely to in November move the needle further toward the Right as it becomes clearer and clearer true conservatism is lacking in Congress. We need more conservatives who support YOUR agenda — OUR agenda. Keep pushing, please.
  2. On Immigration. Very few voters will give Democrats a pass for pushing so hard to obtain legal status for illegal immigrants. We applaud your continued insistence for the most simple of concepts to be kept in place and even strengthened: Stop Illegal Immigration. Allowing virtual open borders has nothing to do with a good heart or sincere desire to help those from other countries who are needy. It is only about votes. Being the party who will always be able to say (truthfully or not truthfully) that they were the ones who obtained amnesty for illegals. Democrats understand obtaining legal status for illegals is their only hope for perpetuation of their hopes to regain credibility among enough voters to regain control of Congress and the White House. Americans understand the objective of the Left is to use voting control to move our country to full fledged Socialism. We cannot allow this to happen. After all, there is NO pure Socialist country on Earth that can maintain that philosophy fiscally or socially. They fail. You MUST keep our country moving away from any hint of totalitarianism and away from capitalism.
  3. On Foreign Policy. I chuckle at the artificial derision of the media of your successes overseas. The U.S. media has absolutely no understanding of how little respect the previous Administration held from foreign leaders. For those of us who spend time in Europe and Asia in business, it is spooky to see just how the disdain for all things American grew so swiftly during the Obama Administration. There was little political foreign respect for the Presidency and for that matter Americans. Obviously the wake-up call came immediately upon your state visits to the Middle East, Western Europe, and China. The U.S. media looked on in shock. Of course Americans quickly caught-on that the foreign mistrust of American government came from the hypocritical foreign policy implemented by Obama and maintained by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Many foreign governments are full of hypocrites in positions of power and authority. And it’s easy for a hypocrite to identify other hypocrites. The difference was Hillary and Barack did not understand that and continued with policy that foreign governments fundamentally rejected — though quietly. Honesty, credibility, integrity, and trust with your election rushed back into place between D.C. and foreign capitals. That cannot be purchased or demanded. It must be earned. You have done so and most Americans applaud you for it.
  4. On the American Economy. Politicians seldom have business savvy. Americans elected you in part because of your understanding of the critical necessity at this time in U.S. history for a leader who does. You’ve proven that was a good decision through your mandates for the gutting of senseless bureaucratic business regulations, negotiating changes in U.S. one-sided foreign trade agreements, bringing back a long-gone belief to corporate leaders that the American government is on the side of corporations again, and pushing hard for the tax environment that now allows corporations to bring back billions of dollars that have been held offshore so as to avoid double taxation under U.S. tax law. 26,000 on the Dow was never even dreamed of until your inauguration. Forget about the cries of “this only helps the rich!” We have watched our 401K’s and IRA’s balloon in value. We get it.
  5. On Government Spending. Slashing sizes and even closing bloated government agencies is showing Middle Americans (who must from time to time do the same thing in their businesses to prevent losses) that we now have a President that knows government cannot continue spending more than it brings in. This practice more than any other under previous Presidents is the primary reason for there being so much mistrust of Congress among voters. You obviously recognized long ago that Congress feels that when they approve pork projects they act as if it is their money to blow. (And cutting taxes takes THEIR money away from them) Tax dollars belong to Americans! You have made it clear on behalf of the deplorables who elected you that such practices must be stopped — passing bills that perpetuate this waste will NOT be signed into law. $470 Billion in revealed Congressional waste in 2016 MUST be stopped! Our government must continue to find ways to frugally and wisely allocate American tax dollars to first fund the needs of protecting America from domestic and international attacks of every kind and the direct needs of the American people. Waste must be eliminated.
  6. Presidential Communications. Shortly after your election I suggested you consider ceasing traditional White House press briefings and open a “White House You Tube Channel” for your exclusive use to frequently bring your thoughts, plans, and ideas directly to the American people sans media filters. You obviously decided to ramp up your already consistent Twitter process that obviously reaches tens of millions of American instantly when sent. It is humorous to see the daily news cycle set early each morning upon the media’s receipt of your first tweet of the day. You own the news! And that tears them up. Please know most Americans love that fact. Sure, there are Americans who disagree not with your message but with some of the method used in your tweets to get your points across. But I understand you have a reason for every word of every tweet you share. What is critical is that you have found “THE” way to reach Americans without the need for the media. Brilliant stroke of method communication. Please keep it up.

Summary

If I was asked today to give you a letter grade for your first year it would be a solid “B+.” It is noteworthy that the only reason I grade your success down that fraction is that more of your policies proposed and political appointments made are not in place and in operation. That is not your fault. That lies at the feet of the obstructionists who diligently fight to maintain an environment of prevention of your plans and ideas.

Please, Sir, in spite of the negatives you face 24/7 from ALL sides, continue with the same resilience and resolve to lead Americans along the path on which we have embarked toward true liberty in every part of American life. I know it is difficult to face the continual derision you face, but you have the respect and honor already from at least 62 million Americans and a large contingent of foreigners who have recognized and are clinging to the hope of change that is already beginning under your leadership in your first term as President.

You truly are leading the fight — and doing so very successfully — to Make America Great Again.

The Congress of the United States

January 19, 2018

An Open Letter to Every Member of the United States Congress

This is a really tough time for all Americans. We have taken for granted for so long believing that every member of the federal government serves for the needs of the people of the United States and serves for nothing else. Until the past few years, that understanding was mostly accurate. That’s not so true today.

Members of Congress, you committed in your oath of office to serve Americans specifically and the Country in general. You committed when running for office to represent those of us from your constituency to serve in D.C. to make voters wishes heard and to vote the way that best serves their interests. Where did that commitment get lost? It IS  lost.

Does the reason for approval ratings for members of Congress in the teens bother you? Honestly, we Americans cannot understand how Congress can keep operating as “normal” knowing that  9 of every 10 Americans hate the job Congressional members are performing.

This is NOT a Democrat or Republican thing, not at all a political thing — this is an American thing. Fundamentals come into play here and should be the ONLY things in play. There IS a road-map that leads to finding what are the best things for Americans, selling the benefits of those “best” things to us, then creating and submitting a bill in Congress to get approved and signed into law. In past years,  members of Congress did that exact thing. But that practice is no more.

Obamacare passed without a single GOP vote. The recently passed tax reform law passed without a single Democrat vote. This happened in both cases with leadership members of both major parties crying to Americans through millions of dollars of advertising, special interest ad campaigns, much handshaking and trips from E Street lobbyists to the Capitol.

Members of Congress, we Americans get you! We understand what it is that intimidates you in such a blatantly hostile environment and we watch as that influence often changes votes. Sometimes it affects the outcomes of major elections. But here’s where most in Congress  have missed it:

It is NOT about Democrat or Republican, Independent, Conservative or Progressive. This is about your representation of the people from your district voting to renew your role and its symbolism in this Warfare. Make no mistake: it IS a war. And Americans feel that you don’t get it. Sadly, I concur.

Case in Point: DACA/Immigration/Debt Limit Increase

It is Insanity to Americans that Congressional partisanship has created a pandemic of uncertainty regarding DACA/Immigration, and A Debt Limit Increase. It proves how broken Constitutional lawmaking is. And to Americans, it’s as if you all walk outside in the morning, lick your finger and hold it up in the air. Whichever way the wind blows that morning is the way you’ll vote.

The paradox  that Congressional debate and votes on issues seems to NEVER be about the merit of the voted on bill. Votes seem to always go the way the wind blows down from those in leadership in each political party. What happened to Congressional members representing the desires of their constituents? Party leaders do NOT elect members of Congress. But after the D.C. arrival it seems lobbyists and political party leadership pre-determine every vote.

Examples:

For decades the Congress has been toying with a comprehensive Immigration plan. “Toying” is the optimal word. How can 535 full-time employees of the People not take care of this critical issue? It’s been a political football kicked around D.C. through about 6 presidential administrations with NO action taken.

We don’t understand this one thing about you: we HAVE immigration laws. They were passed by Congress. Congress is the only body that can change laws (regardless of what President Obama thought with his Executive Order on DACA). If laws are bad — CHANGE THEM! If there are not enough votes to change laws, that means the people who lawmakers represent from their districts do not want those laws to change. That’s the way the Constitution structures the lawmaking process: to be “of, by, and for” the People. If changes to laws or new laws cannot be passed, leave the laws in place and enforce them!

Certainly there are problems with those caught up in DACA that need resolution. Certainly there are other extremely relevant immigration problems that scream for fixes. YOU CAN AND MUST FIX THEM!

“Well we’d do it, but Republicans will not come to the table and negotiate with us. We demand this and we will not give an inch unless we are promised this, this, and this.” (Democrats)

“Well we’d do it, but Democrats will not come to the table and negotiate with us. We demand this and we will not give an inch unless we are promised this, this, and this.” (Republicans)

And Americans hear the same arguments for the proposed mandatory federal budget, raising the debt limit, and pretty much every other issue that falls into the legislative process. Congress exists to make laws for the benefit of the American people — AND NOTHING ELSE.

Summary

It has come to this: remember when we were kids on a car trip with our parents and siblings? When we got too loud and rowdy in the back seat and Dad said, “Don’t make me come back there!” We Americans are at that point now with Congress. It certainly is not that you are too rowdy. It’s that you don’t get any legislation completed…you’re not rowdy at all!

To make it worse, when deadlines approach, instead of having a plan completed, debated, amended and ready for a vote, you wait until the midnight hour and it becomes an emergency. Good decisions are seldom made with a gun pointed to your head.

American voters are tired of it. Here’s what the large majority of Americans want from Congress: either do whatever is necessary to pass legislation wanted by voters OR RESIGN!

Virtually every issue Congress seriously considers is determined by the winds of special interest and lobbying  groups who spend millions lobbying for “favored” results. STOP IT! Congress needs to outlaw lobbying —- PERIOD!

Americans are at a tipping point regarding Congress and the horrendous waste of American time and money.

The winds of structural Congressional change are in the air. It would not be good for you to ignore that wind that’s blowing. You will not hear that “Don’t make me come back there.” We’re coming back there! And when we do it will be to clean house.

It’s  past time for Congress to get to work, stay at work, and get things done.

It’s cliche to say it, “Just Do It!”

Not Just No Honor — “Dishonor”

January 16, 2018

What we are seeing play out in D.C. among liberals on the Left is pure outright disrespect and lack of honor for the United States of America. The list of Leftist lawmakers is growing who are showing their true colors this week: colors of Dishonor of what our Nation stands for.

Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson added her name to a growing list of Democratic lawmakers who say they are fed up with President Trump and will boycott his State of the Union address at the end of the month. Wilson, who was elected in 2010 and made headlines last year for fighting with Trump over his telephone call to the widow of a fallen soldier, cited the president’s “recent racist and incendiary remarks about Haiti and African nations” for reasons why she wouldn’t be attending the Jan. 30 speech. “For the first time since I began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, I will not be attending the president’s State of the Union address,” Wilson said in a statement late Sunday. “I have no doubts that instead of delivering a message of inclusivity and an agenda that benefits all Americans, President Trump’s address will be full of innuendo, empty promises and lies.” Wilson joins Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.; and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., in boycotting the event.

These lawmakers and many others on the Left are illustrating in the most remarkable and obvious manner the explanation of what the Democrat Party is using as their message to Americans: NO SUBSTANCE — ONLY SYMBOLISM. Their target is solely Donald Trump. And as their daily chants against the President and the Trump agenda for which 60+ million Americans chose him as President rise to the sky, those chants echo the hollow claims that we’ve heard ad nauseum for years: “Democrats know what is best for Americans and are the only party that can give Americans those things.”

Racism

The cries of racism have filled the halls of every American institution for decades — and rightfully so. Unfortunately in any society where exists a plethora of ethnicities, each complete with a diverse set of cultural and social morays, racism is inevitable. Human nature unfortunately dictates there will always be in such a society those who feel (and therefore implement a culture based on those feelings) one culture is superior, better, more worthy, more righteous, etc., than others. And for that reason, throughout human history nations and cultures of all kinds struggle to find ways for diversity to be achieved. Unfortunately such success is seldom actualized. And strife and anger that too often result in civil unrest and sometimes physical unrest are almost always the products of that struggle.

Let’s face facts: America has for centuries been no different than other countries throughout history. America has racism. And because of its racism, its people live in a perpetual state where those who are victims of racism spend far too much of their lives fighting to get through racial barriers to achieve all in their lives possible in spite of the racism they face. Doing so is an unfortunate barrier to every member of any minority. It’s a fact. And it is unrealistic for anyone to believe there is any utopia on Earth in which there are majority and minority residents who do not face racism of some kind.

A dream of eradication of racism is just that: a dream. However, all is NOT lost. There is hope. And while there is hope, we must find ways to exist dealing with problems — ours and others. There is a greater good. We must find ways to concentrate on that greater good: making America the best we possibly can. That means working together, putting aside personal agendas, biases, and preferences to find and implement those things best for the greater good.

In America, that greater good always has been — and hopefully always will be — “Liberty and Justice for all.”

Half Empty or Half Full

Which is your perspective? Far too many Americans carry around a half-empty glass. And they act accordingly. Why aren’t our glasses all half-full instead?

Thankfully through the first two centuries of American existence our ancestors possessed half-full glasses. That perspective gave them the energy that fueled their desires to build a better country with a better People. Their expectation was those together would create that greater good American settlers fled Western Europe seeking. And it worked.

Who knows what started the slide toward pessimism in the nation. But it started — and it not only still exists, its power is strengthening. That pessimism is slowly destroying the American spirit that fueled the nation’s growth and prosperity of the 20th Century and into the first two decades of this century. It is OUR responsibility to stop it. And stop it soon we must.

Summary

Who can stop it? Who must stop it? Everyday Americans can want that to happen all we want. But the Representative Republic we call the United States of America empowers 535 people to bring ideas to their group for discussion, negotiation, and either implementation after agreement or moving on to another topic.

Men and women who walk the halls of Congress: your job in the Capitol is NOT about your wants and desires. Your oath of office was to serve your constituents. You were NOT elected to serve Party or personal ambition or agenda, but to serve those in your district you represent.

Disagreement is part of the process! Don’t think that because of disagreement agreement cannot and should not be ultimately achieved. It MUST be achieved. The only way that can happen is as it did beginning in Constitutional Hall in Philadelphia. Our founders disagreed vehemently on numerous issues. But they discussed, persuaded, negotiated, and reached conclusions. How? They laid aside personal agendas in respect of the promise of our nation: “Liberty and Justice for All.” That Liberty and Justice comes ONLY through one opinion — one vote. Those together have established a country of people and those people the laws which govern American lives. Like them or not, they are laws duly established by the Constitutional process chosen and established by those people — the first Americans.

Members of Congress: like the laws? Then let’s live by them. Dislike the laws? Change them. There are processes put in place for each.

America is not about self. America is about “the other guy.” “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” That’s pretty sound teaching. And you know what? It works!

Please, please, please: let’s do the one thing we all have the power to do together — let’s together act like Americans, talk like Americans, and be Americans. Though our roots may be in 190 other geographical locations around the globe, if we are Americans, we should act that way!

“Liberty and Justice for All”