Joe Blames Trump – What Does That Tell Us About Him and His Soul

The new Democrat mantra, based on polling telling them that people do not like violent riots, is to blame all the violence on Trump.  Joe Biden plans to make a speech about that today.  Will you fall for it?

“He is inciting bad behavior” is just another manifestation of the Democrat Blame Game.  They blame Trump, not China, not Democrat governors’ decisions for CoVid.  They blame Trump’s gatherings without masks for the spread but encourage both peaceful and violent protests against Trump without masks.  They even blame Trump for their candidate’s 2016 loss.  To hear the Democrats, they are never at fault, only and always victims of their opposition.

As to the racial blame game, the Democrats neglect the fact that they for 50 years have made promises that they have not kept.  They have done everything in their power to make things more, not less difficult for minorities – no school choice, send jobs overseas, poor education, the lure of permanent dependency rather than self-reliance.  These are Democrat policies, policies that Trump has from day one begun to turn around:  he provided support for Black colleges, support for better education and school choice, better job opportunities due to better trade deals and encouragement of American industry, support for families, etc.  The list is actually quite long if one takes time to actually look at the President’s accomplishments rather than the media’s mere repetition of the Left’s hateful mantras.

But, now the Left claims the unrest in due to Trump.  The Democrats will not denounce the anarchists of Antifa.  It was antifa that killed the Trump supporter in Portland.  That is the Trump supporter that Biden says was just looking for trouble.   It is the killing that was celebrated in the streets and after by the Democrat and Leftist protesters. 

The Left encourages the war on the police, labeling law enforcement as some evil and racist group.  The Left are the ones that violently disrupt Republican gatherings and who assaulted attendees at Trump’s convention speech as they were leaving the White House grounds. 

Yet the Democrats would have you believe that somehow this is all the fault of President Trump.  By their reasoning, if you don’t like me and you shoot me then it is my fault.  The cure to your behavior is not law and order, but for me to just shut up and give you what you want.  That is not how I dealt with my children’s temper fits and it is not how I will respond to the Left.  I will not be silenced and I will vote for those who truly support America.

The Democrats do not want to offend any of their key identity groups, so they let them – indeed encourage them – to do as they please, including looting, destroying property, maiming and killing.  To denounce them might mean the loss of their vote, so the Left stays silent.  Then, they blame Trump when that violence isn’t playing well in the polls.

Joe cannot pin the unrest on Trump.  He and his party created it along with the hate filled identity victim groups and the deranged hatred of the President and the disregard of the Constitution and the rule of law.

The Democrats, especially those following the socialist playbook, foment mob rule.  But, more often than not, mob rule gets it wrong.  Just like the old movies where the mobs with lighted torches take after the wrong and the innocent targets, today’s mobs also often get it wrong.  The rush to judgement and retaliation is encouraged and is often violent.

Without facts and with the help of the Left, a particular narrative is put forth by the media and that narrative is then used to incite yet more hatred against Trump, Conservatives, and any others holding views that the Left does not approve.  When actual facts come out, they are barely reported and often hard to find but they frequently show us that the initial narrative was not accurate, and the mob was after the wrong target.

Joe Biden wants us to believe that he is the “soul of America.”  If that is true then America’s soul is one of self interest and deceit.  And the newest deceit is again one of self-interest based not on what is right or true but on what polls well. 

Joe, who praised and would not renounce the violence now learns that it is better for him if he speaks against it.  But how does he choose to do that – not by saying it is wrong but by trying to pin it on his opponent.  Sorry Joe, this tells me that you have no real backbone and no real soul. 

More importantly, what this tells me is that Joe, like all the rest of the Democrats, is a self-interested and power-hungry exploiter whose ethics depend only upon what is advantageous to their own gain. 

The real American soul seeks and honors an objective truth, not a truth that blows in the winds of self-gain. 

I think of the phrase “actions speak louder than words.”  Joe’s actions, like the actions of the Democrats, show us that their focus of concern is on themselves and their power and not on America and its people. 

I will not fall for the hollow and dishonest words from a hollow and dishonest soul.  I hope that the rest of America will see the Democrat blame game for what it is – just another exploitive grab for power.

 

 

The Contrast Could Not Be Starker

Freedom, prosperity, hope vs. control, despair, hopelessness.  If you paid any attention to the two conventions, that contrast should be perfectly clear to you. 

How do you see America?  If it is a beacon of hope, a place of freedom and prosperity, a place where every person has the right to choose how to lead their life, can work for what they value and hope for, then you are a Republican. 

If you see America as inherently evil, a place where you have no hope unless you turn over to the government all your freedom and all your ability to choose what your life will be.  If you believe it is those in power who should have the right to control you, then you are a Democrat.

You might be thinking that both sides promise us a better America. Perhaps.  But go beyond the promises.

Let’s start with who it is that keeps promises.  Donald J. Trump has kept every campaign promise he has made.  This very well may be a first.  It is certainly a first in my lifetime.  And it is certainly in contrast to the record of Joe Biden.  For over 40 years he has made promises to a variety of groups – farmers, small businesses, minorities, school children, etc. –  promises to improve some aspect of their lives, and then has turned around and taken actions that do just the opposite; actions that are far more likely to help him and his family rather than those to whom he made promises.   

As the VP candidate, in conjunction with Mr. Obama, Biden promised us hope and change, but all that administration did was pour fuel on every spark of discontent that they could find as they created divisiveness and despair.  This was not unintentional.

Trump does not have the silver tongue of career politicians, but what he does have is the inclination to simply tell it like it is.  No sweet talk, no fancy words that say nothing.  He tweets.  Sometimes those tweets are hard to take, but they are honest and real.  And when he tells us he is going to do something, he does it. 

His actions are not divided by victim-hood or other identity groups.  All of his actions are for all of the American people.  You may not agree with his policies, but his policies, unlike those of the Democrats, are not divisive.  Indeed, the Democrat policies, like those of socialists before them, are intended to divide us and make us ripe for the destruction of America as we know it that the Democrats seem to be seeking.

These are not the Democrats of old.  Once upon a time both Democrats and Republicans loved America.  They may have had different ideas of how to improve it, but with their common goal they were able to work together.   Perhaps old Joe was once one of them, but he is no longer or if he is he has lost his control to the progressive Left.

Today’s Democrats do not love America.  They believe that America and its ideals are fundamentally flawed.  Their goal is not to improve America but to completely dismantle it – tear it down and start over.  But if you listen carefully you will learn the sort of place that they will build instead.  One in which they, not you will control your life.  They will decide what you can say, what health care you will receive, how much you can make, what God, if any, you can worship, what medicines you must or cannot put into your body, what you must read, what you must learn and where you must learn it, and how much of what you earned you must give to others who may have done nothing to deserve it.  They will dismantle the concept of citizenship and country as they open borders and provide benefits that once belonged only to citizens to every person in the country. 

The Democrats don’t come out and say these things directly.  To listen to them, if they are elected we will all be sitting happily singing Kumbaya while everyone’s life is one of bliss.  But look beneath the pretty words, ask how that hoped for idyllic vision will be achieved.  It is not so pretty and it looks a heck of a lot like the failed socialist dreams that have caused enormous suffering around the globe.

Let’s take a minute to look at our Constitutional freedoms.  We know that the Democrats would delete the Second Amendment in a second if they could and will erode it in every way possible until it is effectively non-existent.  (For example, my city’s Democrat mayor has declared all city parks and civic plaza to be “school zones”, hence banning all guns from these places.  Overreaches such as this will become more and more common until there will be no guns permitted.)

But what about the First Amendment.  We have already lost much of its guaranteed freedoms to the Democrat agenda and its “cancel culture.”  Those who speak words that they do not approve of are assaulted verbally on social media and in person, are sometimes assaulted physically (witness the actions of the Left outside the President’s speech last night in DC.  Look at the videos – it was not a “peaceful protest” but a violent mob that not only attacked police, but also those who had attended the speech.  Sen. Rand Paul, his wife, and others with him were clearly in fear for their very lives).  People more and more frequently lose their jobs if they make a statement of which the Left does not approve. 

These attacks have already silenced many who keep their mouths shut rather than face the Left mob.  But it is not just speech.  It is the other topics of the First Amendment as well.  Religion is under attack, especially Christianity whose views on family, marriage, etc. do not comport with those of the Left.  The free press of the First Amendment is long gone; it is little more than a propaganda machine for the Left.  Those seeking facts will not find them in the media; rather they will find the Left’s narrative.  And peaceable assembly has likewise lost all meaning.  Violent riots, if they support the Left and its causes, are labeled as peaceful protests, whereas a peaceful right-leaning protest will be silenced by the Left.

This is just the beginning.  The Left is stirring up trouble, but it is not good trouble.  It is a pull out all the stops effort to keep President Trump from being re-elected.   And if the Democrats are elected they will be chomping at the bit to begin their total dismantling of America and they clearly have no hesitation to use violence to do so (and let’s not forget that good socialists believe that the overturn of the current regime should always be violent).

Back to the conventions.  The Democrat convention was nothing more than 4 days of hate directed at Trump and his supporters, with the occasional assurance that the Democrats would take care of us (read that as they would take our freedoms and they, not we, would control us).

The Republican convention, rather than a dystopian nightmare, presented a positive and hopeful picture of America.  Each night's theme portrayed a different and upbeat aspect of America.  Land of Promise moved us by showing us the great promise that America has always held for the rest of the world and how the promise continues as we work to ever move the country forward to meet all of its aspirations – something that cannot be done without its core freedoms.

The second night showed us the Land of Opportunity.  Individually perhaps not exciting stories, but these were not the speeches of career politicians.  These were the stores of common people – of real Americans.  The third night was labeled the Land of Heroes.  But these were not for the most part famous names – rather, they were again the everyday heroes.  These are the true Americans, the heroes that the freedoms of this country allow each and everyone of us to be.

The fourth night, the Land of Greatness, was indeed a celebration of this great land.  It also laid out the stark contrasts between the Democrats/Mr. Biden and the Republicans/President Trump.  But it wasn’t just in the people speaking at the conventions that we heard such contrasts.  We heard them on the streets and read them on social media.

During the Democrat convention, Republicans did take to airways to respond to points made by the Democrats.  This is expected.  But the Democrats, in full Leftest form, did more than that.  They took to social media to make hateful attacks on every Republican speaker.  These were not attacks on the substance of speeches, they were personal, ugly lies turned into hateful attack.  A tweet after Melania Trump’s speech ridiculed her for being an illegal alien (not true, she is a citizen) and being unable to speak English (because of her native accent).  Black speakers were essentially called nothing more than tokens (because if you listen to Democrats, Blacks cannot think for themselves), other speakers were told they sold out or were using their personal and moving stories for political gain.  Even the sweet story of President Trump’s 3-year-old grandson making a Lego White House for him was met with hate and ridicule.  It was labeled a lie, even though prior photos in the White House show the child with his grandfather and the Lego structure as well as the structure’s later resting place among other memorabilia in the oval office.

And, we have the demonstrations.  Outside the White House lawn where Trump gave his speech accepting the nomination, the Left did everything it could to disrupt the speech.  But that was not enough.  Afterwards they terrorized those leaving.  I certainly did not see such violent behavior or even such attempts to silence the Democrats during their convention.

Actions speak louder than words, but in this case we have both actions and words to guide us.  The Democrats words paint a world of hate and anger, an America that is evil and must be completely remade into something that we would not recognize.  The words superficially may sound pretty, but when one examines what is really being said it is not pretty at all.  Their actions show us the tactics that they will use to subdue and control us and to build the world that provides them the power that they seek – a power to completely control our lives.  If that is the America that you want then vote for the Democrats. 

If you want the imperfect America that gives you the freedom to be who you are, the freedom to improve both your life and the lives of others, the freedom to work for equality of opportunity for all, then listen to the words of the Republicans and look at the actual accomplishments of President Trump.  Those words and those actions do far more to create the idyllic world that the Democrats tout than anything than the Democrats have ever said or done.

Beyond 4 Days of Emptiness

Wow these people are full of hate! 

The Democratic convention is now over.  I’m not sure what they needed 4 days for.  Certainly not to tell us about their candidate or their platform.  Most speeches spent about 1% or less of their time talking about the Democrats and their plan.  The rest of the time was spent on Trump-bashing.

What this amounted to was a 4-day hate-fest.  About the only thing we learned was that Trump Derangement Syndrome is going nowhere and that the Democrats seem to have nothing in the way of platform – at least nothing that they are willing to honestly tell us about before the election.

The most informative piece of the convention was AOC’s one minute.  In that one minute she actually summarized for us the entire Democrat plan for the USA.  They could have just put that speech out and not wasted anymore time.

Here is the entire text of her speech (which was actually 1:24 minutes).  The underlining is mine, noting the points I will discuss in more detail below:

 Good evening and thank you to everyone here today endeavoring towards a better, more just future for our country and our world in fidelity and gratitude to a mass people’s movement, working to establish 21st century social, economic and human rights, including guaranteed healthcare, higher education, living wages and labor rights for all people in the United States. A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. And to propose and build re-imagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past. A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of longterm stability for the many, and who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crises of mass evictions, unemployment and lack of healthcare, and out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for President of the United States of America.

This is a clear socialist agenda.  It snuck in as a second to the nomination of Bernie Sanders.  But it echos everything that we hear from every corner of the Democrat party.  Let’s look at it a little more closely.  The words sound lovely.  They create a vision of a beautiful place.  But let’s look at 5 key phrases and what they really mean. 

1.  “working to establish 21st century social, economic and human rights, including guaranteed healthcare, higher education, living wages and labor rights for all people in the United States.”

What this says is that the Democrat goal is that EVERY person living in the United States, (not just citizens) will look to the government to provide for them:  healthcare, higher education, a guaranteed wage, a job.  What it does not say is where the money for this will come from.  Certainly the current tax burden will not cover all this and so it would seem that one of two things are necessary to make this happen:  either taxes must be significantly increased or the benefits are not going to be as wonderful as they sound.  For example, what kind of healthcare will be provided?  Who will decide who gets what when there is not enough to go around?

2.   “striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia.”

These of course are the buzz words of the Democrats.  “Racial injustice” – they love to spout this phrase as justification for their identitarian politics that divide us into hateful and competing identity groups.  They urge one group to find their victimhood based on such things as “colonization, misogyny and homophobia.”  They then urge these victims to hate those whom they have labeled as the perpetrators of these evils and thus the ones responsible for the victimhood of those labeled as victims.  (This by the way is a classic socialist political technique.)  Their fine words do nothing to improve or heal America.  Instead they are specifically designed to tear us apart.

3.  “And to propose and build re-imagined systems of immigration and foreign policy” 

Again, fine words.  But what would that new and re-imagined system be?  For one, we know that the Democrats favor if not open borders then widely loosened immigration laws.   They are perfectly willing to accept illegal immigrants as legal equals to those who follow requirements and enter the country legally.  In their desire to remake America in a way that establishes their own power, they are willing to overlook the centuries of not just American but World history that demonstrates that a country requires borders if it is to be a country.  They don’t seem to be willing to consider the effect that unlimited immigration has on the economy and job market, not to mention crime and culture.  

In the same vein, they denounce our current foreign policy.  This is a policy that has brought us an historic middle east peace agreement, talks with countries such as North Korea which, until this president, was considered beyond any hope for reduced tension.  Current policy has revised old trade agreements to the benefit of our country and our citizens rather than to the benefit of foreign powers.  These and many other accomplishments of President Trump are apparently disdained by the Democrats and their hate.  They will likely return us to a policy that favors not our people but those who benefit the Democrats and their own power.

 4.  “A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of longterm stability for the many, and who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy.”

What this says is that the Democrats are against capitalism.  Capitalism rewards one for one’s own work and accomplishments.  Because those are different for everyone, based in large part of the individual’s own desires and motivations, there will be inequalities in those rewards.  The Democrats would instead take those rewards from those who justly earned them and redistribute them so that everyone would receive the same. 

There are two problems with this:  first, it destroys incentive and as the motivation to work for a reward decreases so will the actual reward be less.  What this leads to is the second problem:  There will be less to redistribute.  While everyone in the Democrats’ ideal world may get the same, there is no definition or guarantee as to what that sameness will be.  Picture the bread lines in any socialist regime and you have an example of everyone getting their equal piece of what is left to go around.  Under capitalism, people work hard for what it is that they desire and they have the choice as to how hard they will work.  That choice is part of democracy, something that the Democrats seem to despise.

 5.  “deep systemic solutions to our crises of mass evictions, unemployment and lack of healthcare”

I am not sure that we have a crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, or healthcare, but if we did, the Democrats seem unable to tell us what their solutions are.  That is, what is their platform?  We know that they favor some form of universal government healthcare, but is that really a solution?  As noted above, how will they pay for it and what would it really provide?  As to unemployment, President Trump, prior to CoVid, gave us the best employment figures ever, especially for minorities and women.  Even with CoVid, we see the unemployment rates steadily going back down.  Yet the Democrats detest Trump and his policies which indeed were solutions that the Democrats have never been able to give us.  Similarly, evictions are not mass, though CoVid has caused problems.  But it is the President who has sought and to some extent succeeded in halting CoVid based evictions.  So, where is the need for a solution when one is already provided?

Not unlike their presidential candidate, the Democrats are empty when it comes to providing substance about their policies.  They talk a good game, they tell us how they have a “love for all people.”  But they do not show us that love.  Look at their policies.  How have inner city Blacks fared for the last 50 or so years under their leadership of victimhood identity?  Rather than raising people up, the Democrats, who think they know better than us, keep people down and dependent.  Why?  Because if we are dependent upon them, we will need to keep them in power. 

It is President Trump, not the Democrats, who has begun to empower people of all group identities to rise up and better themselves.  Women, Blacks, Hispanics, Poor, People of all Faiths or of none.  The equality that he envisions and that has begun to manifest itself under his administration is one of better, more equal opportunity for all.  It is not that which the Democrats envision:  dependent victims who must reap not their own rewards but those of others; a country in which wealth and other rewards are redistributed so that everyone has the same, and what that is will be decided not by the individual, but by those in power.

When AOC refers to deep systemic solutions, reimagined and rebuilt systems, she is stating the obvious plan if anyone listens to the Democrats:  Rebuilding America to their liking rather than as envisioned and as carried out for the last 244 years.  What no one should forget is that before you can rebuild, you must tear down what currently exists.  That is the Democrat plan.

I don’t know if Joe Biden understands the plan, but I am sure that his handlers and his chosen VP do.  I think the Democrats spent little time on their vision because they don’t want us to be fully aware of their plans.  Rather, they spend their time ginning up hate for the current President.  Someone who many find hard to like, but who, unlike the Democrats, is a man of action.  Unlike the Democrats who rarely keep campaign promises, President Trump keeps his.  President Trump’s words may not have the soothing sounds of the Democrats’ song of love for all, but unlike the Democrats whose words do nothing to heal or fix anything, Donald Trump is indeed getting things done, not for himself, but for this country and its citizenry.

I leave you with a list of President Trump’s accomplishments since taking office – not complete, but quite thorough.  Take a look, because the Democrats and their sycophant partner main stream media will never tell you any of this.  Consider it along with the Democrats’ 4 days of nothing but hate before you vote. 

Trump Accomplishments LINK   

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking About Social Security

During the past week I have had conversations with at least 3 people about Social Security.  In a variety of ways it seems to be on the mind and there seems to be a fair amount of confusion out there.  So, let me offer some thoughts.

First, yes, Social Security is an entitlement.  The U.S. Senate glossary of terms defines entitlement as follows:

entitlement - A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.

That is, recipients of the Social Security entitlement automatically receive the benefits for which they are eligible based on the eligibility criteria (40 “quarters” of eligible earnings).  No one is dependent on annual Congressional appropriations to receive their Social Security benefits. 

Not all social programs are entitlements.  For example, SNAP (food stamps) is also an entitlement program.  In contrast, the Housing Voucher Program is not an entitlement program because Congress appropriates a certain sum of money for the program which may or may not be enough for all who seek funds from the program.

Entitlement programs require mandatory spending.  Mandatory spending is generally governed by statutory criteria; it is not normally set by annual appropriation acts.  The Congressional Budget Office notes “Social Security and some other mandatory spending programs are in effect indefinitely, but some (for example, some agriculture programs) expire at the end of a given period.”  Essentially what this means is that the Government could (though it is unlikely that it will) alter or end the program.

The money that you receive in your Social Security payment is not the same money that you put into the program.  The Social Security taxes that you paid along with the amount that your employer contributed on your behalf was put into the government’s Social Security coffers and used to pay other individuals who were receiving Social Security benefits while you were working.  Not unlike a ponzi scheme, the money you paid with the promise that it would be returned to you was used to pay off the promise that was made to someone else.

Social Security was created because FDR and others in power at the time (during the Great Depression) believed that workers were not making wise choices for their own retirement and that the government could create a retirement plan for all workers.  This would mean that workers would pay a larger portion of their paycheck to the government in the form of additional taxes specifically designated for Social Security.  Rather than choose their own retirement plan, all workers would participate in the same government run plan.  (The current Payroll Tax rate for social security is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the employee, or 12.4% total. The current rate for Medicare is 1.45% for the employer and 1.45% for the employee, or 2.9% total.) 

Now, I can’t help but think that if I had been able to keep the money that I paid to Social Security, and had invested it wisely I would have a far better retirement income than I have under Social Security.  But the question is, would I have done that or would I have spent that money on shoes and wine or some other frivolity?  Had I wasted the money away, I might be less well off than I am with Social Security. 

The important thing to note here is that whatever I would have done with that money and however I would have ended up in retirement would have been my choice and not that of the government.  I had the freedom to choose and would have been left with the consequences of my choices.

So, Social Security is an example of turning over one aspect of our freedom to the government – we have ceded to them our freedom to choose how to plan for retirement.  In return they have promised us that we will have the amount that they decide is fair based at least in part upon the amount that we and our employer contributed on our behalf. 

So far, this has worked to ensure that everyone who worked at least 40 quarters will have some sort of income when they retire.  But it has removed the ability of those workers to use that money - the Payroll Taxes – in ways that might be better suited to them.  Private retirement plans allow the individual to determine not only how much money they will invest, but also when they will collect the money they have put in, how much they will collect, etc. 

Social Security is entirely run by the government.  The government is in full control. The Social Security program requires workers and their employers, along with self-employed individuals, to pay into the system throughout their working years. Congress decides how much of your paycheck is taxed in order to contribute to the Social Security fund.  The government decides when you contribute.  The government decides how much to give you, and when you can start collecting those benefits.  There are only a few very narrow exceptions of who can opt out of the program. 

The number of people reaching retirement age and the number of people currently working to pay those people’s benefits will affect the amount you receive in Social Security benefits as will such things as when you retire, how much you earned, and your marital status.   You may see a better or worse return in terms of getting back more or less than you contributed.  And your return may be better or worse than if you had created your own retirement plan.

Because it is owned and controlled by the government, Social Security is a form of socialism.  That does not make it a bad program.  There are many who might not have the income they do if not for social security.  But there are also many who might have done better if they had been left in control of their own retirement taxes, had them to use or invest wisely at the time they earned them rather than paying them to the government, and had the benefits of their own choices when they retired.

As an entitlement, like any other right granted from the government to the people, the government has the ability (if not the likelihood) to terminate that entitlement.  An entitlement is not a right that is owned by the people.  It is “owned” and controlled by the government. 

Like any other entitlement people learn to depend upon it.  They become in that piece of their lives dependent upon those in power rather than themselves.  Few actually think about this as they look forward to the certainty of their monthly payments.  Few think about how they might differently have spent their Social Security taxes had they not been required to give them to the government.  While now expecting the government to take care of them, few even realize that they might have had a choice instead.

The reality is that, much as we accept and perhaps like it, Social Security is a piece of socialism. For better or worse, we have relinquished a part of our freedom to government control. 

 

 

Question Three

 This is the third in a series of questions to consider before casting your vote this November.  Once again let me state that I am not registered with any party, but as an independent thinker and voter I truly believe that this may be one of the most important elections of our lifetime.  I hope that everyone gives it the serious consideration that it deserves.

Is intolerance of unpopular ideas (not actions) ever OK, and if so, to what extent can that intolerance be expressed?

Intolerance is the reverse of tolerance.  Tolerance is the willingness to allow the existence of opinions with which one does not agree.  Hence, intolerance is the unwillingness or refusal to respect or allow the existence of opinions or beliefs contrary to one's own.

The question is a difficult question.  When ideas conflict with one’s own, while one may be curious, it is also easy to become intolerant, especially of distasteful ideas.   No one wants to hear hurtful or repugnant words, racial, ethnic, or religious epithets, or other generally unaccepted views.   We would like to put a stop to hateful, and painful pronouncements.  But the difficulty here is that the inclination to silence offensive views directly implicates our First Amendment.

The First Amendment envisions a country of tolerance in which there is a free and open marketplace of ideas.  This marketplace educates us.  It may cause us to strengthen our own ideas, alter them, or improve them.  Most importantly, when speech is not suppressed, thought cannot be controlled or limited.

Tolerance and the free interchange of ideas also prohibits the suppression so necessary to a dictatorship.  One of the first things that Lenin did following his Russian revolution was to end all opposition by ending freedom of speech and the press and by instilling in the people a complete fear of speaking dissenting ideas.  Communism also denied the freedom to practice one’s religion.  There was complete intolerance of any thought, speech, or idea that did not conform to the State.

Tolerance does not mean or require acceptance of the other view.  But lack of tolerance is a demand that all think as you do.  Note that I am not talking about tolerance of actions which society, through the legislative process, has agreed are not tolerable - things like DWI, murder, rape, and many other crimes against persons or property.  I am talking about a person who has ideas with which others do not agree.  Is intolerance (the suppression of the existence) of those ideas or speech about them ever OK?  If yes, then when?  And what are the consequences of answering “yes”?

Distinguish here the emotion of disagreeing with or not wanting to hear or associate with a particular idea as opposed to actual intolerance (suppression) of that idea.    One can always walk away from an unpleasant idea or one can argue against it.  Argument signals disagreement with, not intolerance of an idea.  If the argument is civilized, everyone will learn because the differing ideas are all brought to the marketplace.  Such disagreement is not intolerance but rather a way of being tolerant of and perhaps understanding the ideas of others. 

The intolerant attempt to silence unwelcome views is often the result of fear or insecurity on the part of the intolerant one, perhaps because their intolerance is an attempt to silence all opposition, or perhaps because they simply do not understand the words of others that they have adopted as their own and thus feel threatened when “their” ideas are questioned.

In the current climate of heated political debate, both sides often accuse the other of intolerance.   But an actual review of the behavior of both sides seems to indicate far more coordinated attempts at actual suppression of ideas and speech on the part of the Left than by the Right.  This makes sense when one considers that the Left is aiming toward a complete remaking of America in a socialist mode.  Socialism cannot tolerate dissent as those in power decide what is “right” for everyone.

A free marketplace of ideas does not coordinate well with the Left’s plans for this country.  Tolerance of opposing views is not acceptable to the Left.  They will not be tolerant of those who disagree, and those who disagree must not simply tolerate the Left’s views, but actually accept them.  Their methods of being intolerant, of silencing all dissent, are many.

People will be called racist, sexist, etc. if they disagree with the Left’s agenda.  This is one method of silencing dissenting views.  Another is to file lawsuits designed to to force others to conform their views to that of the Left, for example aiming to force bakers and florists who, for religious reasons, decline services to gay weddings. 

The Left will attack people for wearing a Trump MAGA hat.  They not only ban Right-leaning speakers from campuses, but also at times assault them.  Having made the decision that intolerance of “wrong” views is acceptable, the Left seems to have concluded that whatever means necessary to silence the disapproved view is acceptable, even the use of violence.

The Left has no problem proclaiming what speech is and is not allowed.  We now have a list of words, phrases, and questions that are not allowed to be spoken about the Democrat VP candidate. 

Yes, an actual memo went out from a group of Democrats to media telling them how they are “allowed” to cover Kamala.  Any criticism will be considered racist and sexist.  Hence, if you say she seems like an angry woman you are speaking a racist code about her.  The Democrats love codes – so often when someone speaks something they do not like, they will assert that the word or phrase is code for racism or sexism or white supremacism or whatever negative -ism fits the context.

The problem with intolerance is that it silences dissent.  It allows the one doing the silencing to eliminate any questioning of, and discussion about the approved or tolerated views.  Being aggressively intolerant of opposing thoughts really has the same effect as Lenin’s secret police.  Eventually it will instill enough fear that others will stop even attempting to voice those ideas.  The hope of the intolerant and the requirement of the socialist is that ultimately everyone will fully conform to and fully accept what those in power assert, even that 2+2=5.

This Country was built on the idea of tolerance, tolerance of other ideas, of others who are different.  This does not mean required acceptance of diverse views, but it does mean accepting that those diverse from us have a right to exist and to express their beliefs. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

Those are the words of the FIRST Amendment.  The most important amendment.  It protects the people from a government that would deny them of their very right to free thought.  It demands tolerance, even of views with which we deeply disagree. 

The words seem to be meaningless to the Democrats who cannot tolerate even the slightest question or criticism.  The “thought police” have been around for some time.   But the Democrats seem to have taken it to a new level as they try in every way possible to silence opposing and especially conservative thought.  

The Left would have us all think alike; their purpose is to achieve and hold the power that will allow them to lead us into their socialist “utopia.”  And now we have the Left-supported “cancel culture” with its accompanying violence.  Whatever else the purpose of all this may be, it certainly has a chilling effect on those who would speak out or even question the Democrat mantras. 

Tolerance can be difficult.  But it is key to freedom.  Intolerance, once accepted into society, can be fickle: intolerance by one today may become intolerance against them tomorrow.  With intolerance comes the threat of suppression of thought for everyone. 

Those for whom freedom of thought is important must do what they can to stop the Democrat oppression of ideas that are not theirs.  One thing we can do is to vote Republican in November.

 

 

The Democrat Ticket – Some Initial Thoughts

 We now know that the Democrat Ticket will be Biden-Harris.  The question we all should be asking is “Ticket to where?”  I think we all know the answer to that – it will take us to a much more Socialist country than what America was ever designed to be.  That is the destination that some seek.  For others it is not.  But many seem to not really care or understand where their ticket will take them – they are just along for the ride.  I hope that before they cast their votes they will at least look at the travel brochures to get a sense of where they are going.

If all goes according to the Democrat plan, Biden will be elected, then step aside due to his now obvious dementia, and Harris will become president.  She would be the first president to be selected based on external identity factors rather than on qualifications.  The percentage of Black women in America is 11.4.  In his promise to choose a Black woman as his running mate, Biden excluded almost 90% of the population from consideration.  That exclusion was based solely on identity politics – he promised us a Black woman running mate. 

What I find a bit insulting and a bit of a weaseling on that promise is that he did not even pick someone who is fully a part of that Black identity group.  Instead he picked someone who has previously identified herself as Indian-American because her mother who raised her is that.  Her father identifies as Jamaican and has written that there are slave-holders in his past.   

According to Snopes Fact-Checking, in 2018, in a article for Jamaica Global, Prof. Harris (Kamala’s father) wrote, ““My roots go back, within my lifetime, to my paternal grandmother Miss Chrishy (née Christiana Brown, descendant of Hamilton Brown who is on record as plantation and slave owner and founder of Brown’s Town) and to my maternal grandmother Miss Iris (née Iris Finegan, farmer and educator, from Aenon Town and Inverness, ancestry unknown to me). The Harris name comes from my paternal grandfather Joseph Alexander Harris, land-owner and agricultural ‘produce’ exporter (mostly pimento or all-spice), who died in 1939 one year after I was born and is buried in the church yard of the magnificent Anglican Church which Hamilton Brown built in Brown’s Town (and where, as a child, I learned the catechism, was baptized and confirmed, and served as an acolyte).”  

One would think that this ancestry does not make Ms. Harris the best representative of African-American Blacks and descendants of slaves in this country.  Oh well.  It’s all show, smoke and mirrors anyway.  Biden hides in his basement unable to converse coherently without notes while the Democrats assert he is qualified for the job of President of the United States of America.  

We know that Ms. Harris at least to some extent visually fits the proper identity qualifications, and we know that she is one of the most Leftist members of the Senate.  But her actual qualifications for the job of Vice President/President have never been vetted.  She looked enough the part of the promised Black VP and so the smoke and mirrors now tell us she is qualified.

The Democrats have clearly signaled their intent for America.   Beyond their divisive and dehumanizing identity politics they would turn us into a shallow superficial place where the governing style is based on Socialist Dictatorships – places where the elite in power control everything.  They may create ceremonial titles such as President or Vice President, let the people think that they have some role in electing or otherwise choosing them, and then simply pull the strings and do whatever they please.

I have no intention of voting for such an America.  I truly believe that anyone who examines the ticket that the Democrats have presented to us will also choose not to vote for it.  What frightens me is that there are many who will just get on the train – Ridin’ with Hidin’ Biden – not realizing where they are going or what they are doing.  What they may not realize is that there is no return ticket from where we and America will end up.

 

Question Two

This is the second in a series of important questions that I hope everyone will consider before they cast their vote for President of the United States of America this fall.

How many institutions that are a regular part of your life are you willing to relinquish to a political agenda that may or may not be your own?

Here is a partial list of traditional institutions, both public and private, that are now, at least in part, serving a Leftist political agenda:

• Public K-12 Schools
• Institutions of Higher Learning
• Entertainment Industry
• Professional Sports
• Religious Doctrine
• Corporate Product Naming, Placement, Advertising
• Media
• The Arts
• Public Art
• Funding of Law Enforcement

Education has been leaning Left for several years now.  Indeed, the Marx-Lenin playbook points to education as the key to socialist indoctrination.  Abraham Lincoln was aware of the power (and potential danger) of education when he stated, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” 

In the past 2 or 3 generations, public schools as well as both public and private universities have become places where students focus less on purely academic subjects and more on social issues with a view towards indoctrinating students into someone else’s values and judgments about what is and what is not “social justice.”  It often does not stop there: often students are aggressively instructed about the causes they should take up. 

In Philadelphia, an English teacher at the Science Leadership Academy stated his concerns that “Conservative” parents might “listen in” or just overhear Zoom lessons and conversations this fall.  His “chief concern” is when teachers are engaging “in the messy work of destabilizing a kid’s racism or homophobia or transphobia.”  I am not sure why an English teacher should be “destabilizing” a child’s feelings, or automatically defining them as racist, homophobic or transphobic.  But that is one of many ways in which education now serves a Left agenda.

Similarly, the NEA in collaboration with the NY Times has developed a 1619 Project curriculum for schools, and some school districts have actually voted to adopt it.  The 1619 Project argues that this country was created not on the Fourth of July 1776, but on Aug. 20, 1619, the date when a ship carrying African slaves arrived in Virginia.  It requires placing Blacks at the very center of every aspect of this nation’s history, celebrating Black accomplishments while demeaning contributions of all others as nothing more than actions only made possible by Blacks.  It denounces the history of this country based on the Revolution, the Framers, and the Constitution as nothing more than racist and white supremacist.  Despite the fact that many historians have questioned the accuracy of the 1619 Project, it will be taught as history in many public schools this fall.   Consider this just another way of using education to promote a Leftist agenda.

Higher education is not exempt.  A Stockton University student is facing suspension for using a Zoom background with a picture of the President of the United States.  It allegedly caused other students “to feel offended, disrespected, and taunted” during class.  If found guilty the student will also be required to take a “social justice workshop” (reeducation camp), simply for displaying a photo of the President.  This certainly puts a chilling effect on any expression that is not Leftist approved. 

There are also any number of incidents of teachers and college professors being fired or in some other way disciplined and silenced when they speak out against a Leftist belief.  Offenses even include such things as forgetting to use a student’s preferred pronoun.  The Left agenda is alive and well and generally pulling the strings in higher education.

Looking at some of the other institutions on the list, the entertainment industry uses its productions to support Leftist causes.  TV and Movie productions often require placement of particular identity individuals:  interracial couples, homosexual characters or couples, leftist values, ridicule of conservative lifestyles, etc.  

Professional sports has now joined in as it supports the BLM movement (which, to be clear, is a political organization with Leftist ties and clear Leftist demands).  Players, now suddenly “woke”, wear “social justice” statements on their shirts and kneel for the National Anthem, as if either action would actually do anything, anything, that is, other than shove a specific political agenda in every sports fan's face. 

We all know that most of the mainstream media is the handmaiden of the Left.  It is a well-oiled propaganda machine.  Gone are the days when one could look to the media to give one the facts.  Now it is opinion stated as fact and then used as propaganda.  In order to discover the actual facts about a situation one must spend hours reading and cross-reviewing a great number of sources, something that most people do not have time, understanding, or resources to do.  

Corporations are also on board.  Social media censors items that are offensive to the Left agenda.  Corporations rename or remove products at the beck and call of the Left.  Those who refuse to do so are subject to boycotts or firings. 

Even some religious doctrine is modified to appease Left demands.  Sermons, youth activities, etc. may promote a specific political party’s agenda rather than that religion’s agenda which may or may not coincide with that of the political party.  Just as schools are places for academic instruction, not family value instruction in the form of a particular political agenda, places of worship should be for religious value instruction and worship, not promotion of a political agenda couched in the form of religious instruction.

The Arts also push certain agendas.  Grants to visual and performing artists often require some “social justice” aspect to the work.  The people’s art – public statues – are destroyed to advance the Left’s agenda.

And, finally, a word about law enforcement.  Local police forces are now falling under the control of the Leftist agenda as their funds are either removed or repurposed to social worker rather than law enforcement type personnel. 

There are other familiar institutions which have long been a part of our lives but that now belong not to us in the way that they once did but are rather already under or moving under the control of the Left.  The agenda is theirs; it is not ours, even if on some points we are inclined to agree. 

As the Left gains control over more and more of these many facets of our lives, as we relinquish these institutions to the Left to control, we lose more and more of who we are and instead become more and more of what the Left wants us to be.   These institutions that used to serve us for the purposes stated in their titles (education, entertainment, worship, etc.) are now being controlled more and more by the Left which pulls their strings sometimes with and sometimes without our conscious knowledge.  The frightening fact is that this Leftist control is becoming more and more prevalent and reaching into more and more aspects of our daily lives.

Is this acceptable to you?  If it is, then you are the voter and the tool that the Democrats seek.  If it is not, then you must stand up against this hijacking of what once were open and relatively unbiased institutions.  You must stand against relinquishing control of every aspect of your life to the Left.  One way to do that is to vote Republican this fall. 

                                 Be sure to consider who is pulling the strings.

Finally, as noted in “Question One” yesterday, I am not registered with any party, but as an independent thinker and voter I truly believe that this may be one of the most important elections of our lifetime.  I hope that everyone gives it the serious consideration that it deserves.

 

 

Question One

We will be having an election soon.  I don’t know how many people are truly paying attention.  I fear that many are not actually becoming the informed members of the electorate that they need to be before casting their vote.  Or, perhaps, they are focused on one issue only, one that is personal to them, and will allow their feelings on that one issue to overshadow everything else and keep them from seeing the big picture.  Or, and we all know this is true, they will allow their hatred for one man (whether real or created for them by the media and the very real Trump Derangement Syndrome) blind them to the actions and accomplishments of that person serving as President for this country and its people. 

This is an important election – perhaps the most important one that I have seen in my 72 years on this earth.  So, I thought that through some posts over the next two months or so I would consider some key questions that this election may very well answer.  Questions that deal less with specific issues and more with the big picture that this election’s results may create.   Here is the first question:      

Who has/should have authority over whom?

That is, how much authority do you want the government to have over you and how much authority do you want to maintain and to have over government?  Stated another way:  How much do you value your autonomy?

Autonomy is a key word here, because the more you expect or demand that the government take care of you, the more autonomy you are relinquishing to other than yourself.

We have two candidates, one of whom stands for small government and the tradition of American individualism, the other stands for large government in the tradition of Socialism.  These two positions are polar opposites and we see their clashing ideology currently not only in the violent streets, but also in the halls of Congress.  There is truly a battle going on for the soul of America and this election will be perhaps a last chance for the people to truly have their say about on which side of the divide they stand.

Donald Trump, whether or not you like the man, is essentially styled in the mold of a rugged individualist.  The America he envisions is one of small government, a government as outlined in our Constitution which provides great autonomy to the people as it protects their freedoms from an intrusive government.  It is an America that aspires to equal opportunity for all, based on their individual talents.  It does not guarantee equality of result, but rather encourages excellence from each individual regardless of and without comparison to his or her neighbor.  It allows each individual to determine his or her own goals and also allows every individual to retain the fruits of their own labor. 

While we may not have that in perfection today, that is the America that Donald Trump strives for.  And we see that many of his accomplishments have worked toward that with such things as the best economy for minorities ever, the positive environment for industry and especially small business start-ups, and, until CoVid, the historic low unemployment especially for minorities. 

A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for maximum individual autonomy to the extent acceptable within a civilized Democratic Republic. 

Joe Biden, on the other hand, leans heavily toward Socialism.  Whether or not he himself is a socialist is up for debate, but his statements on his positions, to the extent that he has currently articulated them, are clearly from the socialist mold.  Rather than an America in which individuals have rights and freedoms that are protected from government by the Constitution, Biden’s America envisions a government that provides rights to the people. 

We must remember that when a government is the provider of a right, it also has the power to take away that same right.  In such a government freedoms such as speech and worship are not inherent in the people and their right to choose, but are determined and allowed or not by those in power who decide for all what “we” will say, believe, and do.   And that is the problem with the Socialist or far-Left dreams for America.  The dream of equal result for all requires that the government determine who will do, say, and have what.  The individual autonomy of traditional America is ceded to the government. 

Joe Biden and the socialist dream may sound lovely – everyone will have all that they need, no one will have more than anyone else – no more privilege, no more income gap, no more educational distinctions, no more ghettos or wealthy gated neighborhoods.  Everyone will be on an equal plane, not only of opportunity but of result.  We will all equally care for our neighbors.  “we” will all be on the same page marching as one to the same drummer.

Sounds lovely, does it not?  The problem is that it doesn’t work.  You can read my previous blogposts about socialism, you can read any history of any socialist system and see what happens.  It may work for a short while, but then reality sets in and not only the economy, but the human spirit is crushed.  People are not all the same, and no amount of government intervention can make them so.  And to ask people to give up what they legitimately have worked for, whether it is material wealth or simply a form of self-esteem and pride, is to destroy their motivation to continue to be who they are.  Indeed, Socialism denies the right of the individual simply to be.

Actually, we have an example of this right here in America.    Following the civil rights demonstrations and legislation of the mid-20^th century, the Democrats created any number of social programs to take care of the Black population (apparently they believed that the Blacks were incapable on their own to handle their new found freedoms).  Those programs required Blacks to behave in certain ways – to relinquish some of their autonomy in order to receive them.  The result was in many instances to destroy individual incentive and ultimately to make a large part of the Black population dependent on those programs. 

This leads to people like Biden saying in the 21^st Century that Blacks are not a diverse population (response to a question from NPR reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro, 8/5/2020 that he has since attempted to “walk back") and that Black voters “ain’t Black” if they don’t vote Democratic (Interview on The Breakfast Club 5/22/2020, which he has also since attempted to “walk back").  These socialism inspired policies allow Democrats to create a Black victim identity group to use as part of their base in their attempt to gain power and further enlarge government; they do this for their own ends while at the same time destroying individual spirit and thought.

The bottom line is, if you value your individual autonomy, then this is an important election in which you must do your part to deny the Democrats’ push to socialism.   If you are uninformed, it is time to educate yourself about the realities of Socialism, especially in contrast to a Democratic Republic form of government, and also about the realities of what Donald Trump has actually done to promote equality of possibility for all Americans vs. what Joe Biden and his handlers have planned for America.

Perhaps the following chart will help to focus on the bigger picture of what this election means and how it will affect the answer to question 1 and more importantly how it will affect who each of us are, how we will be defined, and what our future will be.

 

Finally, I note that I am not registered with any party, but as an independent thinker and voter I truly believe that this may be one of the most important elections of our lifetime.  I hope that everyone gives it the serious consideration that it deserves.