In Defense of My President

It is, or should be, clear by now that the Democrats cannot accept a peaceful transition of power; at least when that transition picks a leader they did not choose and whom they cannot control. 

One can see why Democrats favor socialism – the transition of power in socialist countries is rarely peaceful.  Our Democrats, especially those with socialist leanings, are perfectly content to destroy the entire country if that is what it takes to remove Donald Trump from office.

They spent 2 years tearing at us with their assertions based on the Mueller investigation.  From that report and Meuller’s testimony, we have a clear conclusion that Donald Trump did not collude or conspire with foreign powers to sway our election.  Mueller further testified that his investigation was not hindered (obstructed) in any way.  He and his staff carried the investigation to its conclusion and he then resigned of his own volition.  No interference.  No obstruction.

Yet, still, Democrats will not have it.  They are focused (like the proverbial laser beam) on removing our duly elected President from office.  The Democrats have no interest in what the people want.  Indeed, they believe anyone who voted for or supports President Trump is an idiot – many have said as much.  They seem to believe that not only are they better than anyone who does not think (or vote) like them, but also that it is both their right and privilege to think for us all as well.

The Democrats condemn Donald Trump not because he has committed any crime, but because he has not done so, and that fact makes their attacks and attempts to remove him from office more difficult. 

Donald Trump is not a perfect human being.  No one is!  But the Democrats will try to convince us that somehow simply Donald Trump being who he is constitutes a “high crime and misdemeanor” sufficient for his removal from office.  I must disagree!

I voted for Donald Trump, but even if I had not I would (and do) support him.  First, as an American who believes in our system and laws, including our electoral processes, I will always support whomever is elected, even if that individual was not my choice.  I may disagree and protest specific policies or actions, I may work against that person’s reelection, but that person will be my president and I will support him or her and the office.

Once we have a duly elected president, that person is the president of our country – he or she is all our president, not just the president of those who voted for him or her.  That understanding is how we have peacefully transferred power for nearly 250 years and how we have been able, as a unified country in that regard, to accomplish so much. 

Without that understanding, when people believe that if they didn’t vote for the winner of the presidential election then that person is not their president, then we create a situation in which it is much more likely that those who deny their duly elected president will also feel empowered to deny and disobey laws which they prefer not to obey.  That is, we are taking a giant stride in the direction of lawlessness.  And, since we are a country of laws, since our laws hold together our fragile democracy, then acceptance of lawlessness can easily destroy our country and all that it stands for.

But, beyond that, I happen to think that Donald Trump is doing a very good job as President.  And, no, I don’t agree with all his acts, nor am I a fan of his Tweets; but I also know that it is unrealistic to think that anyone, without being brainwashed, would agree 100% with anyone who sits in the Oval Office.

I realize that the mainstream media fails to report most of President Trump’s accomplishments and those they cannot ignore are usually colored less that favorably toward the President.  But, if one actually and objectively finds and reads the news, and complete factual accounts, one might be amazed at the many positives that have come from this President.  The economy and jobs, of course, especially for groups that historically have had high unemployment, but also things like prison reform, recovery of a number of political prisoners held by foreign nations, more favorable trade deals, VA accountability, highest median household income,  manufacturing jobs growing at fastest rate in 3 decades, combating opioids, a number of foreign policy wins and accomplishments, and the list goes on and on. 

This President is getting things done.  He is keeping his campaign promises to all Americans.  You may not agree with all that he is doing or perhaps you would prefer a different manner in accomplishing them, but President Trump is doing what he was elected by the people of this country to do:  he is working to improve America for all its citizens and he is keeping his campaign promises.  And, he is doing this in the face of daily, 24/7, attacks on him, his family, and his supporters.  He is doing this is the face of an opposition party that hopes daily to see him fail, even if that failure hurts Americans.

I am a proud American, often referred to as an idiot, deplorable, nationalist (as if that must always be a dirty word), racist, ignorant, narrow-minded, conservative (as if that too must be an evil word), and just plain stupid.  Perhaps those people who call me and other Trump supporters such names truly believe all that about us.  Or, perhaps, these are (as I suspect) simply the name calling that is directed at anyone who doesn’t agree with the Democrats’ party line. 

Sadly, most of these name callers are unable or unwilling to have an adult conversation in which we could explore why they feel as they do.  I would like to have such a conversation with open minds, but, realistically, I know that just isn’t going to happen, because, realistically, objectivity no longer matters.  Rather, it is all about unseating in any way possible, a president who was not the choice of 100% of the people.

Those whose choice the President was not have come to believe it is their right to oust him while the country, its people, its laws, and its democracy be damned.  And, that is how we might describe many of the countries from which the masses are fleeing to our border.  They apparently have not gotten the message that we are becoming them.

Wake up America.  Support our laws.  Support those duly elected by those laws.  Respect your fellow citizens with whom you disagree.  Drop the laser focus on destroying your opposition regardless of the cost and consequences.  Instead, work to Keep America Great and make it even greater.

Big Questions from the Mueller Hearings

I listened to Mueller testify today before both House committees.  It was boring and repetitive; there was nothing new.  The Democrats keep trying to convince us that Trump must be removed from office.  The Republicans keep showing us the bias and “witch hunt” nature of this whole investigation.

Nonetheless, the pundits will talk and talk and write and write about the same stuff they’ve been writing about since 2016.  They will analyze every word, every gesture, every question.  They will take this or that out of contest and make their argument for or against Trump (and, since we’re talking about the media, it will mostly be against Trump).  The politicians will pontificate about their righteousness.  

To what end?  Not for the good of the country surely.  It is time we moved on – finally! – though I doubt very much that we will.

I suspect that any significant analysis on my part has already appeared in my blog posts over the past two years, so rather than rehash, I will (a bit light-heartedly) list here the 10 big questions raised by today’s hearings:

1.  Why doesn’t Mueller get hearing aids?  (Even if his insurance doesn’t cover them, I’m sure he can afford them.)

2.  Did he not get any sleep the night before the hearing, or is he always this disoriented?

3.  Does he know what is in the report?

4.  Does he need a refresher course in the law – especially in what a prosecutor can, should, should not and cannot do?  (His answers would certainly indicate the answer to this question is YES)

5.  If not to just keep the cloud upon Trump, why on earth did Mueller decide to testify?

6.  Who was really in control during the investigation and does Mueller have any idea of who did what, when, where or why?

7.  Do Schiff and Nadler really think they have anything, let alone enough, for impeachment? (And if they do, do they need their heads examined or are they just that totally crazy over Trump-hate?)

8.  When will we get the rest of the story? (the bit about Russian collusion by those Trump-haters whom Mueller said it was beyond his investigation to investigate, even though there was evidence in or concurrent with the investigation of lies or other activity that should prompt investigation by anyone who is really concerned about foreign interference more than in simply getting Trump)

9.  How much could have been accomplished by the members of these two committees and their staff if they didn’t spend their time simply reading their favorite excerpts from the report that we can all read if we care to (and which I and many Americans have done - yes, the entire report)?

10.  Will we ever see an end to this craziness and what it is costing our country, both financially and emotionally?

Actually, we should take this whole thing more seriously – not the report, but the refusal to let it go.  It and the Democrats who are perpetuating this madness are destroying our country by continuing to tear its people apart.  

My message for the Democrats:  Give it up, focus on the real issues before us, stop hating, and get something done for the people who elected you and who are currently suffering because of your power-hungry self-absorption.

Being Played

The Democrats need you – every one of you.  They need you to give them back their power – the power that they have in the past and will in the future use only to further turning you into what they think you should be without consideration of your own thoughts and desires.  Their games include identity politics, name-calling toward those who don’t worship them, self-righteous disdain of anyone who supports anyone but them, working emotion against reason, and the creation of narratives that may or may not be based upon fact and truth to prove to everyone why they are better than the rest of us and why, therefore, we should hand them the reins of power over our lives.

Let’s consider their never-ending war against Trump, a man who they consider not good enough to be in places they would call home.  A man whose truth telling (and often abrasive) statements they cannot abide.  Trump, a man who beat their presidential candidate, not because Russia rigged the election, but because the American people saw fit to elect him (those same people whom the Democrats call deplorable, ignorant, stupid, racist, and many other negative epithets).  Those people, those “idiots” perhaps saw that President Trump would do more for them than the Democrats have ever been able to accomplish, in terms of economy, opportunity, and safety.

And, that is what the Democrats simply cannot deal with:  lowest minority unemployment ever, better jobs and opportunities for women and men, an economy that is creating jobs and more importantly hope.  A government that enforces all laws equally rather than play favorites based on identity or other criteria.  A country that is not afraid to stand up to other counties in the world to make us all safer.  A President that tells it like it is and then gets stuff done.

At a loss about how to handle this, how to recover their power, the Democrats, rather than cheer what is good and getting better in America, rather than learn from how and why things are looking up for so many Americans,  choose instead to try to destroy he who is leading this positive charge along with any and all that support him or simply do not join the Left in their unending hate and attacks against all that is good.

So, the Democrats are on a mission to convince you that the country is evil, the President is evil, and all who support him or his policies are equally evil.  That, you see, appears to be the only way that they might hope to regain power in 2020.

Let us consider their war.  There is the war on American history.  Because the country has not been perfect in the past, nor is it now, nor will it likely ever be, the Democrats would have us discard it as some evil place where only hatred has ever existed.  (I suggest here the known psychological factor that we see the world through our own eyes – hence, those who hate will of course see only hate).  They are incapable of seeing the many positives and all the hope that America has given to millions over the years. 

The most recent example:  one of the greatest achievements of Man – putting a person on the moon, is now dismissed as some sort of sexist adventure because there were not enough women involved in the project (no understanding that this was the 60s and there has been an evolution of women, their careers and achievements, since then – something that can happen because of and not in spite of our country and its government). 

The Democrats hope to foment enough hate of this country that you will award them the power to remake it completely placing all power in themselves and their hatred of all that America and its people stand for.

Then there is the war on the 2016 election.  The Democrats really thought they would oust the President based on collusion and conspiracy theories.  The evidence was not and is not there.  But, that does not yet stop them.  Indeed, this coming Wednesday they will try to wring something new, or something out of context, from Mr. Mueller that they can trade for impeachment, or at least a surge in their favor and against the President. 

Mr. Nadler has indicated he intends to take sentences out of the Mueller report, read them without the surrounding context, and ask Mr. Mueller if that would support a charge of obstruction or collusion or simply impeachment.  That’s like charging me and a friend for conspiracy to rob a bank for saying “that bank could be robbed easily” when, if context were revealed, we might simply have noted poor security compared with other banks in which we were considering placing our funds.  But, the real goal here is to convince you that the President, like the country he loves, is evil and therefore must be removed.

The border.  The Democrats love to use the border to assault the President, to call him racist, supremacist, Nazi, inhumane, and any number of other names.  Yet, it is their very actions that have created both the immigration and humanitarian crisis at the border.  Due to their demands that children not be kept in custody and families be released together before adjudication of their asylum claim, it is known by those seeking illegal entry that a child gets you out of custody and into the country where you can then probably hide for years. 

So, children are being rented, bought, trafficked as up to 30% of families entering turn out not to be families at all.  Some children have crossed up to a dozen times as their adults' get out of jail free card.  Do the Democrats care about these children?  NO.  Rather, they will use a picture of a crying child to promote more hatred of the President.  This, while they withhold funds that would help that crying child and many others.  The border, and the children there, are of no consequence to the Democrats (who were not at all upset with similar conditions when they had their man, Obama, in power).  What matters to the Democrats is how these children can be used to stir up yet more hatred against their opposition and hence be useful in their own return to power.

They create a catch-22 sort of situation.  Withhold funds necessary to prevent a crisis at the border, then blame the Administration along with Border Control Agents for the crisis.  Yet, once even the meager funding that the Democrats finally agreed to reached the border, there was an immediate and deeply measurable improvement.  Yet, they would have you believe any imperfect condition is the result of the President alone, presenting this as another reason for you to distance yourself from him.  And yes, without any evidence, they claim the entire problem is due to racism, hoping you will not want to see yourself supporting someone whom they have labeled and convicted (without evidence but simply with their narrative) as racist.

And, now, the Squad, “If you don’t like it leave it,” and racism.  First, the Tweet suggesting that if people hated this country so much perhaps they should go from whence they came, improve that country, and return to show us how it’s done, is not in and of itself a racist statement.  Inflammatory yes; perhaps better left un-tweeted or said differently, yes; but, not undeniably racist.  Similar words may have been used in a racist manner in the past – that does not automatically make this Tweet racist.  And yet, the word “racist” has been affixed to it with some sort of permanent bond.  The Tweet is referred to by media and others as “the President’s racist tweet” (even the conservative host of Firing Line began her interview with Ted Cruz by asking him about the “racist tweet”). 

Here is the problem with that one-sided determination that the Tweet is racist:  it allows for no alternative viewpoint or opinion.  It is like asking “why don’t you stop beating your wife?”  If asked that question, one is already presumed to be a wife-beater, so must prove he is not before he can argue he therefore does not need to stop.  In the instance of the Tweet, when one is asked why they don’t condemn the “racist tweet” one must first prove that it is a reasonable interpretation that it is not racist before one can argue that they therefore need not condemn it.

But, here again the Democrats, with their media minions, have established the President as racist without real proof, but hope that by simply bombarding us with that sentiment they will convince us that he is and that we, not wanting to be considered racist by association, will drop our support of him.

Convincing us that the President is racist is especially important to the Democrats as they see their hold on minority votes slipping.  They forget that minorities, like the rest of us, are capable of seeing, thinking, and assessing what is really going on.  In the end, actions will always speak louder than words, and the President’s actions, for minorities, for women, for everyone in this country are to all our benefit, unlike those words and promises of Democrats that are useful only to build a dependent underclass who will continue to give power to those who do not really have that underclass’s best interests at heart.

Yes, the Democrats need you.  They need you to give them the power they seek.  It seems the only way they can think to cause you to do that is to instill in you the hatred that they seem to have for this country and every one and thing within it that is not them or useful to them.   They are playing you.

Theirs is a campaign of hate: enough hate and you will be willing to give them what they want.  Hate the country enough and you will gladly let them destroy it; hate the President enough and you will gladly oust him from office one way or another; hate the good that he has done for the country and the people and you will gladly let the Democrats reverse all that. 

The Democrats think you are stupid enough to accept what they tell you without more.  Don’t buy their hate.  They are selling you lies and ugliness but you are being played by their well-choreographed narratives along with their minions who distort and conceal the Truth from your view.  Don’t let them play you.

Entitlement and the Negation of Patriotism (and how it destroys a country)

A Minnesota city council decided to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of its meetings because it was not welcoming to everyone in their diverse community.  How, I wonder, is not saying the Pledge more welcoming to anyone except those who despise America?

Soccer star Rapinoe states that America was/is not great for everyone.  In a recent speech to high school students, Rep. Omar denigrated America for not meeting her expectations.

What all these statements and activities reveal is a complete lack of understanding about our country and a replacement of such understanding with a selfish need for immediate gratification.  This entitlement, this expectation and demand that everything be perfect is not realistic nor is it the way that a great democracy works.

In this country perfection does not exist (nor does it or will it exist anywhere; it is something to aspire toward, but not likely achievable).  There are inequalities; people desire things which they do not have; hard work is usually rewarded, but sometimes it is not.  Life is not always fair.

What these people who despise and disrespect America do not understand is that this country, its government, its way of life provide avenues for improvement.  Our Constitution allows us to voice our concerns and our representative form of government allows us to make our voices heard and to create, amend, and abolish laws to further our aspirations toward the more perfect world that everyone seeks.

This is something to admire, not trash.  One can certainly have a personal grievance with or dislike of a particular policy, but that does not mean that the entire country and its system of government merit scorn, contempt, and disrespect.   In very few countries is there an avenue for peaceful change and improvement such as we have here.  That is not something to lightly toss away.

Individuals come and go in our government not by coup or civil war but by election by the people.  While each of those individuals will be more or less liked by each individual voter, they will have been elected by the people of this country and they represent the office that they hold.   Those offices, those elected positions, are key to our democratic way of life.  Even if one did not vote for or does not particularly like the current office holder, if they care at all about this country they will understand that the office itself deserves respect for its necessary place in our democratic system.

But, in this era of entitlement, too many do not understand this.  A selfish feeling of entitlement does not allow room for appreciation or respect.  After all, how can anyone appreciate anything if they believe they are yet entitled to more?  How can they respect a system or a country that refuses to provide them with the immediate and total gratification that they seek?  Like children, they want it and they want it now, and all else be damned.

Do those who spend their days speaking about how awful America is even begin to realize that this may be the only country in the world where they would be allowed to be so disdainful?  Do they even begin to appreciate that it is only because this country is what it is that we have progressed to a place where the grievances they assert are even relevant?  Do they understand that they would be far more successful in achieving the improvements that they seek by working within our democratic structure rather than by tearing it down and trying to destroy the very country that allows them to behave as they do and to seek what they seek?

I think not.  When one has been conditioned to believe that they are entitled to all that they want and that it should be provided immediately, that the world revolves around them, it is hard to understand that real change takes time and work.  One must work not to destroy what one has, but to improve it, and must have the patience needed for real changes to occur.  America allows for that, and this is one of the many reasons why America is great, and yes, great for everyone. 

But, one cannot appreciate America if one does not understand what it is:  its government, its history, its place in the world, its distinctions from other forms of government.  And, when one is only concerned about one’s own selfish and personal interests (however couched in terms of grander political issues), one is not going to care about respecting anything, including the great country that allows them to behave like children, wanting to destroy things because they aren’t getting what they want.  It is the child that needs immediate gratification and will hate and tear apart all that does not give it to him.  The mature mind and emotion will appreciate what one has while at the same time speaking out and working to make it even better. 

So, we are losing an appreciation for our country.  We see that in a lack of national pride, of refusal to respect the symbols of our great country:  the flag, the National Anthem, the White House, the Constitution, the legal system, the offices of government.   We are losing the patriotism that is a necessary part of any country’s existence.

To be clear, patriotism in America does not mean never criticizing or pointing out flaws or working to better the country.  Indeed, America expects and needs its citizens to do that.  But one can do that while still respecting the freedoms that this country already provides, respecting its history and its ability, through its people and its Constitutional rule of law, to evolve, moving ever closer to its asserted ideals.

Patriotism does mean seeing beyond oneself:  seeing oneself as a part of a great country where the citizens are able to work together to improve it.  It means being able to distinguish between criticizing a policy to which one objects and criticizing the entire country and all that it stands for as somehow worthless.  But, of course, the ability to do that takes more than a selfish, childish mind.

Feeling entitled, needing immediate gratification means that one cannot make the fine distinctions between a particular demand and the country in which that demand is being made.  It means that one cannot appreciate or respect anything positive about a country that is not gratifying one particular demand.  If they don’t get what they want, they will simply despise the entire country, not unlike a child who will scream hatred for the mother who will not provide candy that is being demanded, never mind all the other positives that the mother may provide.

So, these America haters will despise all symbols of this great country and try to silence patriotism and ultimately the country itself.  They simply cannot understand that only by respecting all that this country stands for do they even have a chance to make the changes and obtain the gratifications that they seek.

Today's Miscellaneous Thoughts

Today I have just a few short comments about some of the current news.

Sports and Politics

               Ms. Rapinoe and her team are outstanding soccer players.  They should be proud of their abilities.  But, when you are playing on the world stage you represent more than just yourself and your ego.  You represent your country.  That means showing respect for that country and its flag.  You don’t throw the flag on the ground to do a personal and pre-planned victory dance.  You don’t trash your country and its leader.  You save your personal and political grievances for another time.

               Ms. Rapinoe’s statements against the president of the country she should be honored to represent are selfish and egocentric.  Her statements of not wanting to go to the White House upon winning, a place that is representative of our country to its citizens and to the world, is appalling and her making this about politics by suggesting she will honor invitations to Washington from Democrats shows a complete lack of understanding of what it means to represent one’s country on the world stage.  Rather, she wants to make it about herself and her political views.  Let her then become a politician rather than an athlete.

               I am not saying she does not have a right or responsibility to speak her views.  But there are times and places for all speech.  When one is representing her country as an athlete in a world competition, it is not the appropriate time or place to air personal grievances.

               Speaking of grievances, the victimhood she asserts about unequal pay is a bit suspect when one considers the full facts.  The women’s soccer has a union and a collective bargaining agreement which the women have negotiated separately from that of men’s soccer.  Under that agreement their salaries (like that of the men) are in large part tied to audience size.  Women’s soccer has a much smaller audience than does men’s.  Now, one can argue about why that might be so, but the point is, that is a fact to which the players have agreed to use as a defining factor in their salary.   Yes, in this country that Ms. Rapinoe loves to trash, she, a woman, had a right through her union to negotiate her contract and her pay.  So, yes, the pay is different for men and women, but not due to any discriminatory pay practices.  If more people watched women’s soccer, Ms. Rapinoe might make more money, perhaps even as much as male players.  But, then, behaving like a selfish brat is not a way to encourage a larger viewing audience.

The Mueller Re-do

               So, now we learn that the Democrat Congress is planning to subpoena scads of witnesses to have them re-hash the testimony that they gave to Mr. Mueller during the 2 years of his investigation.  During that investigation they lauded Mr. Mueller for his thoroughness and competence.  That was before they saw his conclusion which was not what they had hoped – President Trump was not removed from office and did not go to jail.

               So, now, they want to re-do the entire investigation.  At another huge cost to the American people.  Money that could go to far better causes, helping our citizenry or even those non-citizens whom the Democrats are so concerned about at our borders.  But no, they want to get rid of Trump.  They thought Mueller would do that; he did not.  So now they will try a re-do of the same investigation with the same witnesses, hoping beyond hope that someone will turn for them or at least say something in slightly different words so that they can accuse them of lying to Congress, and, somehow by implication find the President guilty.

               I also find it interesting that these subpoenas are being issued as the president’s popularity is soaring.  Apparently, the Democrats can’t counter all the positive news of the economy, environmental improvements in things as basic as water, better standing in the world, and many others.  And of course, they are embarrassed (perhaps – if that is something that is possible for a Democrat) by their mischaracterization of the Independence Day Celebration and their all out attack on patriotism, something which many Americans found appalling.

               The Democrats fear that the positive feeling in this country, in large part due to Trump’s policies, will get him re-elected.  So rather than present positive and realistic alternatives they will simply continue their witch hunt against him.

Lies for an Agenda

               Apparently when the Democrats are determined to make a point, the end will justify any means, including lies.  We have AOC and her cohort making up stories about the conditions on the border.  We have the Washington Post calling out Rep. Omar for at least two lies, because her American story “is complicated.”  And, of course we have the daily half- truths and manufactured innuendos about President Trump. 

This is what the Democrats do; this is how they try to gain power and win elections.  They certainly don’t look at facts, look at their constituents wants and needs, and work toward doing what is good and right for this country.  Their agenda seems to be different:  to remake this country into something it was never intended to be and in so doing to install themselves in positions of power that will control every aspect of our lives.

That is certainly not what I want, and, while couched in lies their behavior may sound good, I think that if the people were better informed (which is difficult with a biased media), then few would support the agenda of the Left.

Is Diversity a Job Qualification?

The answer to that question should be an obvious “no” but sadly it has become, in a world of “woke” political correctness, a resounding “yes.”  And yet, what does someone’s identity group membership have to do with whether or not one can perform the tasks of a specific job or enter an institution that will educate one for future jobs?

Back when I was first looking for work in the late 60s, as a woman there were very few jobs available to me, not because I could not do the work, but simply because of my gender.  African-Americans faced similar limitations at the time because of the color of their skin. 

This was frustrating and disheartening, but people worked hard, spoke to their government both softly and loudly and things began to change.  And so, as I really settled into a career I had far more choices open to me and for the most part felt that, as an applicant, I would be judged on the quality of my ability to perform the job and not simply because of my sex.  The same began to be true for people of color and others who had been discriminated against because of some immutable characteristic.

And yes, I realize there is still a way to go in some areas, but the point is that we were beginning, at least in the work force and in higher education to begin judging people not by their gender or the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  We were beginning to move toward that ideal voiced by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  People could work hard and succeed based on that work; their success or lack thereof would not be because of characteristics with which they were born and could do nothing about.

And then something happened.  The progress toward that ideal of Dr. King stopped.  We again began judging people by those immutable characteristics.  We started placing people into identity groups and we wanted to be sure we had enough members from each group in anyplace where we could show off numbers.  It now became different groups who had the advantage and the disadvantage.  Businesses and schools wanted to show their positive numbers of minority groups, to prove their political correctness.  Everyone wanted to show their diversity.

So, now perhaps the White male, fully qualified, will be overlooked for the woman or for someone of color.  The heterosexual female may be less favored than the homosexual or bisexual female or male.  Victimhood becomes a plus.  These become qualifying factors, more important than actual ability.

At least in the past when certain groups were denied jobs or education, it was because, however wrongly so, those in charge believed that something about that person’s immutable characteristic made him or her less capable of performing the required tasks.  Now members of certain identifiable groups are denied simply because they are a member of that disfavored group or not a member of one that is favored by those in charge, those making the rules of political correctness and identity politics.

In Soviet Russia individuals were denied promotions, education, and other benefits simply because they were not a member of the Party.  The need of the Left, the “woke” ones, to make decisions based on membership in this or that identity group in order to further a political agenda is not that different.  Their “wokeness” is a clear form of the discrimination that they claim to detest.  It is detrimental to the individuals who are discriminated against simply because they are in the wrong identity group and also detrimental to the people who will be served by those who may or may not be the most competent for the job but who received their promotion or education or other benefit based on membership and not on valid job criteria.

So, now, rather than “Blacks or Women need not apply” we have “only those who meet politically correct diversity requirements need apply.”  It’s the same thing.  It’s discrimination.  And it has nothing to do with whether or not someone has the skills necessary for that to which he or she is applying.

What the Fourth of July is Really About

It’s unfortunate that major networks did not carry the one-hour Salute to America yesterday.  I guess the hatred of the man overcame any love that might remain for this country among the Left and its media spokespeople.

If you missed it, here is a link to the full hour:  SALUTE TO AMERICA  

Despite the foreboding predictions that this would be some sort of partisan rally or military parade or salute to Trump, it was actually something that every American should be proud of.   And, something that every American, along with every American wanna-be should watch.

This was, in a very concise one hour, a salute to America, its history, its heros, and its hope for the future.  Yes, the military was saluted – a brief history and highlight of each branch, that branch’s song, and a flyover.   That salute was a very appropriate part of the 4^th celebration, for without the military there would be no America.  We needed an Army to fight the British as we declared our independence.  Despite how most if not all would wish we never went to war, our military has protected our freedom from a variety of threats throughout the years.  Without them, there would be no America, yesterday, today, or tomorrow.

The brief, non-partisan, and selfless words of our nation’s president reminded us of our history (or, for those no longer taught our history in school, it gave them perhaps their first overview).  We were reminded of our great moments and our not so great moments, and how, because of our freedoms, we could and still can correct our less than admirable attributes and continue to grow, always aspiring to perfect the American ideals.

If you have not listened, spend an hour.  An hour is really not much out of your busy life, your social media, your partisanship, to listen to a tribute to our country.  And the short clips you may see on the news will not give this one hour the context or justice it deserves.  Listen with an open heart and open mind, rather than with the preconceived notions (and hatred) that partisan reporting will provide.

Every American should be filled with pride when they listen to the words in this video, proud of our history and of our people and of our hope.  And, those who are not Americans who seek to come here, will have a greater understanding of the country of which they are seeing to become a part.

This Salute to America was something that we should see and hear more of.   It captures the essence of what it is that we celebrate on our Independence Day.  It reminds us of our origins, of who we are and how we can continue to be the shining light for the world.  It reminds us to stop the partisan hatred and work together for the good of our country, its people, and the world.  And those who cannot understand that should probably consider whether they can truly call themselves Americans.