Politics is smothering good Politicians

 The bodies weren’t even cold when the MAGA crowd started politicizing yesterday’s drone attacks by Iran-backed groups that killed three U. S. military in Jordan and wounded many others.  As expected, Trump immediately blamed Biden’s “weakness and surrender.”  Senator Tom Cotton (and Trump supporter) released the following statement almost immediately following the news of the attack:

 “Joe Biden emboldened Iran for years by tolerating attacks on our troops, bribing the ayatollahs with billions of dollars, and appeasing them to no end. He left our troops as sitting ducks and now three are dead and dozens wounded, sadly as I’ve predicted would happen for months. The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief.

 

“On behalf of Arkansans, I extend my deepest condolence to the families of our brave fallen warriors. May God comfort them as He welcomes their loved ones into His embrace. And may God quickly and completely heal their wounded comrades.” 

Nothing wrong with the second paragraph of Cotton's statement, but notice how it comes as almost an afterthought to the political rhetoric of the first paragraph, rhetoric characteristic of many MAGA supporters yesterday.  One would think that someone with Sen. Cotton’s distinguished military service would have more sense.  But no, in the ever-growing insanity of the MAGA cult, politics (i.e. electing Trump) is everything. 

As to retaliation against Iran, there must be a U.S. response, but this is really a very complex issue.  Iran denies it ordered the attack.  We need proof that it did before we respond directly against Iran for that attack.  And whatever action we take must be carefully considered in light of the already potentially explosive nature of the Middle East following the terrorist attack on Israel, Israel’s legitimate response, the prisoners held by Hamas, and the many questions about Gaza.  Just a blind return of fire could cause far worse problems than a delay in order to respond with well thought out action.

But, this inability to think beyond political posturing, rampant on all sides, actually defines the MAGA Republicans today.  Consider the bipartisan immigration bill that was on a likely path to passage until Trump urged Republicans to vote against the bill because he needs to be able to attack his rival Biden over the border crisis. The bipartisan bill would have provided money to Israel and Ukraine in return for Democrats agreeing to several Republican demands that address the border crisis and immigration laws.  As one senator put it, “[Trump] doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it.”

Oklahoma Republican Senator Lankford, who continues to negotiate with Democrats to try to save the bill stated on a Sunday TV news interview:

“It is interesting: Republicans, four months ago, would not give funding for Ukraine, for Israel and for our southern border because we demanded changes in policy. So we actually locked arms together and said: ‘We’re not going to give money for this. We want a change in[immigration] law.  And now, it’s interesting: A few months later, when we’re finally getting to the end, they’re like, ‘Oh, just kidding, I actually don’t want a change in law because of presidential election year,'” 

And what does Sen. Lankford get for his efforts at bipartisanship to solve our country’s problems?  The Oklahoma Republican Party approved a resolution censuring the Senator and attacking him for negotiating with Democrats on a potential border deal.  Just more proof that the Republican party cares little for people affected by the issues it campaigns on but rather simply uses those issues as political talking points to achieve its own power.

This is the new MAGA Republican party, and it has frightening authoritarian tendencies.  This party is led by the presumptive (but hopefully not actual) nominee Donald Trump.  While it is true that Trump’s 2016 presidency did much to improve the day to day lives of many Americans, it also had a dark side.   There is no question that Trump’s words were often acerbic and designed to get a response.  The response, beginning immediately upon his 2016 election was a series of never-ending attacks and allegations, many false and pursued out of seemingly pure hate for the man, but some with at least nuggets of truth to them.  While racial and perhaps other divisiveness became apparent during the Obama years, it increased during Trump’s presidency and continues to this day. 

Both parties have fanned the flames of this atmosphere of anger and overwhelming divisiveness since 2020.  The parties and their supporters have become true enemies of one another rather than simply political opponents and all seem ready if not eager to sue, impeach, censure, or otherwise fully attack anyone whose views or policy decisions they do not like.  This does little for the American people but seems to satisfy some political need within our current leaders. 

Since 2020, Trump and his MAGA supporters seem to be the most eager to stir up hatred and discord against any who are not 100% with them.  Since he lost the 2020 election, Trump has a track record of attacking our Constitution and our very form of government.  His claims of a fraudulent election, his actions leading up to and on Jan. 6 (which I believe disqualify him from holding office) and his unsubstantiated and continuing assertions that Joe Biden was not elected and is not our real president are now joined by his actions setting up the same claims for 2024 as he currently asserts that the only way he will lose is if the Democrats cheat.  These assertions are all attacks on our elections, our institutions, and our rule of law, core elements of our democracy and the America and Americans which these folks claim to love.

But beyond these election related tirades, Trump regularly debases, ignores, and encourages others to violate the Constitution and laws of the United States.  In his many ongoing court cases he consistently ignores the court processes, procedures, and rule of law.  He then verbally attacks the courts, attorneys, and jurors for simply doing their jobs when he does not obtain the outcome he seeks.  Moreover, he uses these serious judicial matters as opportunities for campaigning.  The disrespect (which is  encouraged by MAGA supporters who, for example, urge the Governor of Texas to disobey an order of Stay from the United States Supreme Court), if not violation, of both Constitution and Rule of Law are direct assaults on the core of our democracy.  These disregarders of the Constitution are the same folks who assert they believe in its every word – apparently that’s only when they like what it says.

The MAGA cult wants what it wants, and its political ambitions trump (excuse the pun) any concern for the American people.  Sometimes their needs or desires may benefit, but that is nothing more than coincidence. 

While Trump’s rhetoric has always been acerbic, it has taken an extremely dark and un-American turn. When he says that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” (spoken at a New Hampshire rally December 2023) and then doubles down on that statement when given an opportunity to offer some less repulsive explanation, one can’t help but hear the echo of Hitler asserting Jewish blood was poisoning Aryan German blood.  And when his Christmas message is a hope that his opponents rot in hell, one can see that he is not interested in working across the aisle or finding space for all Americans in this country. (Trump’s Christmas rant included the following: “World Leaders, both good and bad, but none of which are as evil and ‘sick’ as the THUGS we have inside our Country.” The message ended with, “MAY THEY (referring to Biden and Special Prosecutor Smith) ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!”) Such rhetoric, in my opinion, does not belong in America, and certainly not in the mouth of a presidential hopeful.

Trump’s exclusive and authoritarian tendencies are apparent as he tries to push out of the Republican Party any and all who do no swear allegiance to his MAGA regime.  He asserted that all Nikki Haley supporters are now permanently barred from the Republican party which he now refers to as the “MAGA community.”  (So much for the big tent where all are welcome!).  MAGA, in true fascist fashion, does not really care about the people, but only its power and its own ideology. 

And, lest we forget the Democrats, they too are often more likely to attack their opponents as totally evil individuals out to destroy America rather than attack the positions and policies of those with whom they disagree.  President Biden himself has given some pretty dark and angry speeches and his view of opponents as enemy is often apparent.  Expect these type of attacks to become more common as we approach the November election.  

We have a changing world fraught with many crises.  These are not the fault of one person or one party.  The problems and complex and often interconnected.   We need politicians who want to solve these problems, not just use them to blame others for their existence.

The primary political responses to the drone attack simply underscore the overwhelming and devastating role that politics itself has taken in our country.  There are good and bad and mediocre politicians, and we vote in or out those whose policies we do or do not agree with, giving those we choose the opportunity to represent us, the people.  But when it is politics itself that begins governing our country – when decisions are made based not on what is good for the American people but on what effect they will have on the enemy/other party, then we are in real trouble.   This politicization of almost everything smothers the opportunity for real dialog, debate, and solution to this country’s and the world’s problems.

We the people need to begin thinking like Americans who believe in our country and all of its people and who can work together to find solutions to our problems, and we need to demand that our politicians do the same.  We must no longer tolerate a politics that is synonymous with a blood-thirst against those holding opposing views.  And we need to elect politicians who will help us to stand united as one country rather than trying to divide us until we fall.

The Power of WHY

 We all know that Biden repeatedly tells the country that we must vote Democratic as he repeatedly vilifies all Republicans.  Down the ballot most Democrats do the same.

But it is not only Democrats who demand unwavering and indeed unthinking party loyalty.  In my state the voters can vote to retain or not retain state judges who are already sitting on the bench.  The state judges are identified by party affiliation.   The Republican party recently posted an ad telling voters to vote no on every single judge who is up for retention simply because they are Democrats. 

It is not just political parties that demand unthinking decision making.  My state’s major newspaper apparently based its endorsements on the answer to one question – whether the candidate agreed with Trump that the 2020 election was stolen.  A clear No got you the endorsement but a Yes or even an answer that tried to explain the complexities of that question meant you would not be endorsed.  The paper itself noted that despite the Republican governor candidate coming out on top on nearly all the issues, he would not have received the endorsement had he not answered a clear No to that one question, while it failed to endorse a Republican candidate for House because that candidate failed to give an unexplained yes or no  (that was the only negative noted in the paper’s discussion of that candidate and her opponent who answered no and whom they endorsed).   

These demands that one decide a vote simply on one question or merely a party label are wrong on so many levels.  Let me suggest three.

First, candidates are individuals.  Voters need to look at each candidate as a full person, not as simply a cardboard cutout representing one label or one yes or no answer.  For example, in the judicial retention elections in my state voters have access to in-depth studies done by our Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission.  These include surveys of litigants, attorneys, and others appearing in that judge’s courtroom as well as surveys of the judge’s staff, and the Commission’s evaluation of each judge.  That is a starting point for voters to understand whether or not they believe a particular judge should be retained.  There are judges belonging to both parties that deserve to be retained, and some of each party that do not.  The total picture of each individual judge includes far more than just their party affiliation.

Second: it’s identity politics.  Using a party label to paint a broad and unvarying picture of everyone belonging to that party is simply the game of identity politics, something that we know the Democrats are very good at.  It is the Democrats who paint all opponents as “deplorables” or “terrorists” or “destroyers of democracy.”  The Democrats have given us excellent examples of how to pit one identity group against another as they do such things as paint all whites as racist or all Christians as intolerant or all Trump supporters as violent.

When the Republicans paint all Democrats as bad judges or when the newspaper paints all people with one answer to a question as not endorsable, they too are playing the identity politics game which is simply taking one characteristic of an individual’s many facets and painting all who have that characteristic with the same broad brush.

Group-think or don’t think.  The third and most troubling aspect of these party or single-question-based directives is that they are essentially orders to the voting public not to think.  Because if one thinks, they will go beyond the narrowness that creates cardboard cutouts rather than individuals:  they will think for themselves.

The danger of labeling based on one characteristic or identity factor out of the many that we all carry goes far beyond voting.  It destroys us by dehumanizing each and every one of us.

Humanity requires thinking and debate

Interestingly, in the SCOTUS arguments about affirmative action earlier this week, the justices sincerely grappled with the need for a diverse classroom environment while prohibiting race-based (essentially group identity based) decision making.

Diverse environments are essential to open all our eyes as we learn about, debate, and understand the diverse views of our pluralist democracy.  Labeling any one view as definitive of all who may hold that view is disingenuous and destructive of every positive aspect of pluralism. 

Questioning and debating is essential to human growth, but that debate needs to be based upon reality, not cardboard cutouts based on identity factors.  The debate needs to be individualized if the debaters are to learn and grow.  But the necessary partner with debate is the ability to think as an individual about other individuals.  Demanding thought and action based on group identity defeats the entire purpose.

Yeshiva schools understand how important true debate (debate and questioning in order to grow and learn) is to education.  In such schools the students, along with their rabbis, question the Torah, debating, often quite passionately, about its meaning and its application to their lives.  They are taught not to accept, but to question.  And with questioning comes not only thinking, but an evolution in one’s thinking as they grow deeper and deeper understanding of that which they are studying.

WHY – An act of love

The idea of questioning, even questioning God Himself, goes back to the story of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis.  We are told that Eve’s mission is to be a helper against Adam.  The rabbinic commentators on this passage explain that this “teaches us a model of friendly antagonism, one in which, in order to support you, I challenge you.” (Prof. Elie Wiesel, quoted in Witness by Ariel Burger).  Such challenging refines the thinking of those involved, allowing them to refine and develop their ideas about the subject being debated. 

Learning about the beliefs of others allows one to challenge one’s own deeply held beliefs, something which is vitally important for one to grow in both spirit and intellect.  Disagreement and debate for the sake of learning, understanding, and growing and not simply to defeat or silence the other’s view is an act of love – for oneself and for the other.  It allows us to see one another for the complex individuals we each are.

Excluding debate, even when done with the misguided motive of protecting delicate feelings, is not an act of kindness but rather an act that serves to stifle individuality.  Demanding that someone vote or base any other activity solely on a group identity classification stifles the individual capacity to think.

Not only in voting, but in the world at large, we need to see people for the complex individuals that they are.  We need to question our candidates and the information that we have about them, not simply base an important decision on one alleged identity characteristic that may or may not be true for that individual candidate, whether based on party affiliation or single question answer. 

If we open our hearts and our minds to question and debate we can reach deeper levels of understanding about ourselves, those we interact with and society at large.  But those questions must not be in the nature of HOW CAN YOU disagree with me/say that? 

Rather, we must learn to ask WHY?  In the context of elections:  WHY are you a member of that party?  WHY do you support that?  In the broader context:  WHY do you say/believe that – help me to understand WHY you hold that view.

That simple word WHY used with curiosity and openness rather than with a closed-minded intent to shut unfamiliar or opposing views down, can go far.  Not only will it likely do more to elect the best candidates, it will also do much to heal our world.

Thinking about Rules

ONE:    Really, they just don’t understand how our democracy works.

Intensified since the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Democrats assert their mantra that “Republicans may say they want small government, but the evidence shows they want the government to control every aspect of our lives, including our personal health decisions.” 

No, they just don’t get it.  Roe was an example of a government body usurping the rights of the people to make such decisions.  It is the Democrats who seem to worship such usurpation.

What these Democrats don’t seem to understand is that when we now see state legislative bodies made up of legislators elected by the people drafting and passing statutes regarding abortion (or anything else for that matter), it is not the government imposing control on the people.  It is the people, through their own elected representatives, exercising their voices and controlling their own lives.  

It seems that too many have forgotten that when government acts, when it passes a statute that regulates some aspect of our lives by permitting, mandating, or forbidding some action, it is the voice of the people speaking through their elected representatives.  It seems that the Democrats simply don’t understand that our government is a representative democracy in which the people are indeed their own governors by way of their elected representatives. 

The Democrats are confusing a people’s government such as ours with an authoritative form of government in which the governing body indeed imposes its own will upon the people.  And, when the Democrats demand that courts or the Executive branch create rules, mandates, requirements, and prohibitions what they are really demanding is an authoritarian regime that truly ignores the will of the people.

TWO:    Civilized society requires rules from a respected authority.

We see today’s ruling class elite creating rules without regard to the voice of the people.  We see a lot of behavior in the realm of “rules for thee but not for me” as those in power (along with those whom they favor) assert their right to seemingly do as they please.

This got me thinking about rules, authority, and, why do we all seem to find rules that we feel are acceptable to ignore.  Personally, I am strict in my belief that one must follow the rule of law – no exceptions, no emotional or “narrative” excuses.  The law must apply equally to everyone.

I feel much the same about academic rules, both from the perspective of a student and a teacher – no exceptions.  The requirements for an A should be the same for all as should the requirements to achieve various educational milestones.  No excuse.  No late papers.  Simply do the work and let the work be judged by objective criteria.

But when it comes to rules that are such things as directions for building something, whether it be a piece of furniture, or a sewing pattern, or a recipe, I feel no such need to follow those rules precisely.  Indeed, I take pleasure in deviating somewhat to make it easier or to personalize the project.

I have a friend that is a Biblical scholar who can quote probably every rule in the Bible and believes all should be followed precisely.  A Rabbi friend can similarly recite the 613 mitzvot referred to in the Torah (248 Positive Commandments (do's) and 365 Negative Commandments (do not's)).  These address both religious and worldly behaviors.

Less religious people, even though familiar with the Bible, probably are less inclined to be as strict with themselves about following such Biblical mandates than are the deeply and fully committed.

Which rules one follows in large part likely depends on whom one sees as a legitimate authority figure to whom one grants respect and deference and a certain amount of control.  And the reverence one grants to God or to a recipe in one’s personal private life probably makes little difference to other people. 

But the laws that govern the society as a whole must be followed or there will simply be chaos, which is what we are seeing today. 

For the members of society to follow a set of rules, the individuals making up that society must respect the rule maker.  In American democracy, the rule-maker is ultimately the people.  It is they, through their representatives, who develop the statutes and regulations that guide us and keep our civilization civil. 

There is a large body within our population that no longer respects the people as the rule maker.  There are those in power who think they know better.  There are those both in power and in the population as a whole who do not understand the basic civics of our country and as part of that lack of understanding do not understand who it is that is making the rules.  They blame government for rules they don’t like, not understanding that in the end government is not some abstract body but, in America, it is the people.  But not understanding that, they hold no respect for that abstract rule making body.

Psychology will tell you that we all have a self-critical conscience, often referred to as the super-ego, that reflects social standards learned from parents and teachers.  It is that self-regulating conscience, instilled in us as children, that helps us to follow rules rather than break them.  But if that conscience, that respect for the rules as well as their creator, is not instilled in us as children, then one will not feel the need to follow the rules that govern our societal behavior.

We are not teaching respect for our rules because too many do not understand what they are or by whom they are created.  Without an accurate understanding of our American democracy, respect for that democracy and the rules it creates is not possible. 

Today, much of the lack of respect stems from ignorance, but there are also those in power whose disrespect of, along with disinformation about, our government and its rules is fully intentional.  Either way, we cannot expect respect for our country, our society, and indeed our civilization until this is corrected.  To paraphrase Aretha Franklin:  R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to we, or you might walk in and find America gone. 

Think about what the rule of law means to you.

Here yesterday. Fading today. Gone tomorrow?

With a good third of this country still blind to the Left and current Administration’s effective fostering of its demise, there is little hope but in miracles for its continuance in anything but name only. 

America, once the shining star of democracy and freedom, a place where individuals could flourish as themselves, is fast becoming an authoritarian land of mediocrity.  This essay considers the past, present, and likely future of America.  Americans can sit by and watch this happen, or they can speak up and attempt to change the course of our future.

Here was America

This country was founded by people tired of government telling them what they could and could not think, say, believe.  It was founded by people who believe in individual responsibility and rights to make such decisions for themselves, based on an underpinning of Judeo-Christian values. 

These founders created two essential keys to America’s brilliant form of democracy.  The first is our Constitution.  The second, found within that Constitution, is a government divided into three coequal branches. 

The 3 branches of government

The three branches of the federal government provide checks and balances on one another.  They provide a voice to the people while ensuring that our Constitution and rule of law are not violated.

The Legislative branch is a political branch.  It consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.  Both representatives and senators are the elected representatives of the people.  The number of members of the House of Representatives is based upon population – states with larger population will have more representatives.  Because having only the House would be unfair to citizens in smaller states whose voice could be overridden by larger states, we also have the Senate.  There are two senators for every state regardless of size or population.

The legislative branch’s primary duty is to make law.  These elected representatives are intended to be the voice of their constituents in what they will focus on and what laws they will create.  Because there are differing political views and because these representatives are elected, this is a political body.  If the people are dissatisfied with their representation, they can elect different representatives.

The second branch is also a political branch.  The Executive branch includes the President as well as most federal agencies, departments, and directorates.  The primary duties of the Executive branch are to enforce federal law, and to provide for the protection of the American people. 

The third branch is not political.  It is the Judicial branch and it’s function is to hear and decide controversies involving federal law, treaties, and the Constitution and to decide such cases in a way consistent with the Constitution and our rule of law.  The Judicial branch is led by the Supreme Court which consists of nine justices appointed for life.  Unlike the political branches which are intended to be guided by and responsive to the voices of their constituents, the Judicial branch is responsive not to popular opinion but to the Constitution and laws of the United States.  As a non-elected body, they can and should ignore political arguments as they interpret our Constitution and laws consistent with our Constitution and founding principles.

These three branches serve as checks and balances on one another.  For example, if the Legislative branch creates a law that is not Constitutional, the Judicial Branch can declare it to be such and render it ineffective.  If the Legislature is dissatisfied with a Judicial opinion, they can perhaps write a law that essentially creates a statutory remedy to what the court denied.  The legislature can designate agencies within the Executive branch to create regulations that enforce statutes. 

            Other key constitutional provisions

The U.S. Constitution limits the authority of the federal government.  Within the Constitution, the specific powers of each branch are enumerated.  The Bill of Rights makes clear that these outline the limits of the federal government’s power  with all else reserved to the States or to the people.

The Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments to the constitution and were created by our founders to make absolutely clear that ours is a government of the people.  It asserts that the Constitution protects citizen rights from the government.  These rights belong to the people and the federal government may not remove or limit them except in the most exceptional circumstances.  That is, the government does not create and cannot give and take away the rights of the people.  These rights include freedom of speech, religion, peaceable assembly, the right to bear arms, the right to be secure in ones house and personal belongings from unreasonable search and seizure, the right to due process of law, the right to a speedy and fair trial, the right to trial by jury, freedom from excessive bail and from cruel and unusual punishment, and other, non-enumerated rights.

As a result of the wisdom of our Founders, we the people are able to govern ourselves in a civil and orderly fashion.  We, not the government, decide who we will be, what we will believe, and are free to share our opinions no matter how many or few may find them reasonable or even accurate.  The federal government is limited; because the states are closer to the actual citizenry those citizens are closer to their government.  States’ laws, while they must comply with the U.S. Constitution, can and will vary depending on the will, politics, and policies of the people living in each state.

Here is America today

The Left, with the blessing of the Biden Administration, is dismantling the core institutions of our democracy without which this democracy will die.  This attack on our democracy is multifaceted.  I will suggest just some of the ways in which it is being attacked.

Let’s begin with the rule of law.  Rather than enforce (or not enforce) laws equally, laws are enforced dependent upon the political views of those breaking the laws.  Consider the current example of the protests at homes of selected Supreme Court justices.  These attempts at intimidation and to cause the Justices to change their opinion are in violation of federal law, yet the Biden administration not only allows, but encourages them to continue.   

At the same time, Biden unleashes his law enforcement agencies – FBI, DOJ – on American citizens exercising their free speech rights.  For example, despite asserting that counterterrorism laws were not being used against Americans speaking their political opinions, recent emails and other documents have revealed that lie perpetrated by this country’s Attorney General (see THIS LINK  )

The Biden administration has created a Department of Disinformation led by someone who herself is no stranger to disinformation.  But that disinformation was directed at Biden’s political opponents, so it is allowed.  The disinformation that is not permitted is anything that counters the preferred Leftist narrative, even if that “disinformation” is in fact true and conforms to science as well as evidence.

The core right to speak one’s mind is being cancelled and where not cancelled an environment is created which intimidates one into not speaking.

Speaking of misinformation, facts, and science, consider what the Left, including Biden, his administration, and Democrat legislators, is perpetuating in their many falsehoods about Roe v. Wade and its possible overturn.  First, overturning Roe v. Wade would not outlaw abortion but would return decisions about its regulation to the states where it rightfully belongs under our constitution (see part one above).  There is nothing to support the assertions that women nationwide would be denied abortions, nor that they would die.  Similar lies spread by the Left about Roe v. Wade can be found HERE.  

The abortion arguments also do not accept science which acknowledges that human life begins at conception.  The forthright arguments for abortion would begin by acknowledging that abortion kills a unique human; then the pro-abortionists could make their arguments in favor of justifying that homicide and explain how a “woman’s right to choose” includes and extends to the right to choose death for another human being.

Speaking of science, the Left completely ignored science as it used Covid to further its political agenda.  And of course the Left apparently finds the scientific fact that there are two sexes – male and female – to be some form of disinformation.  Rather, they would have us believe that someone who pretends to be the opposite sex from that which they biologically are is indeed that opposite sex and they demand that we accept that as a fact.  They are now instilling this false narrative in the minds of our children.

The Left instills in public schools not only the above unscientific and false information, but rearranges history with distortion, omission, and replacement of fact with narrative.  Children are denied the ability to become the best they can be because, in the name of equity, things like advanced placement classes are removed. Teaching sexuality and Leftist policy has become at least equally important as math, science, and history and more important than teaching critical thinking.

The Left creates identity politics, dividing the citizens, yet its policies are most detrimental to those it claims to champion – transgender policy hurts women; economy and entitlement programs hurt blacks and people of color.  Making race and gender primary job qualifications demeans those races/genders that qualify, and “equity” pushes the entire country down from a standard of excellence to one of mediocrity.

There is no tolerance of views that oppose the official government narrative.  Our President calls all members of the opposing Republican party terrorists.  He and his administration encourage social media to silence all who disagree. 

The President neglects his sworn duties.  He does not protect American citizens here or abroad.  He has wrecked the economy, and instead of taking responsibility for his actions blames any and everyone else in sight.  He laughs about inflation.  As gas prices rise, in good Marie Antoinette form, he cuts off American oil production and tells the people to buy electric cars.  As the administration sends loads of baby formula to illegal immigrants at our border, it seems unconcerned about the citizens in this country who cannot obtain formula, blaming the shortage on a variety of Republicans.

In the first year of Biden’s presidency, migrants were encountered over 1 million times, the highest number of illegal crossings since at least 1960 (source NY Times).  Over 2 million are expected in 2022.  Single adult males continue to make up the largest percentage of illegal border crossers.  Biden now works to end the Title 42 border polices, effectively opening our borders and inviting anyone to enter with no regard for our immigration laws and policies, for the effect that the millions illegally in this country will have upon the current citizenry – their job prospects, their life style, their tax burdens. Great as America is, it cannot take in the entire world; what the Biden administration is doing is a threat to the way of life of American citizens whom he swore to protect.

The Left, with the support and assistance of the Biden administration and the Democrat party, are destroying our basic constitutional freedoms.  They are making a joke out of our laws.  They distort the roles of our three branches of government as they attempt to turn the Supreme Court into another political body, as the Executive branch flaunts its disregard of our laws and our Constitution, and, as they encourage the legislature to support their own power rather than the will of the people.

The Legislative Branch has been dysfunctional for some time; the Executive branch has been both dysfunctional and autocratic since Jan 20 2021.  And now the Judiciary has been dealt a near or perhaps actual fatal blow.  The Constitution and the roles of the various branches of government are severely misunderstood and we are well on our way to mob rule rather than the reasoned rule of law.  This administration, rather than slow down, is ramping up its apparent desire to punish Americans and destroy their country.   

We are in deep trouble.  

And the Future is….

Without her institutions, America cannot survive.  While under attack and seriously wounded and weakened, these core institutions are not yet dead and so, perhaps, neither is America.  But time is short in which to reverse the trend to total destruction. 

We the people seem to have lost both our minds and our voices.  We must regain them soon or they, along with our right to be the individual each of us is meant to be, will be gone forever.

The Leak That Reveals More Than the Opinion That Was Leaked

 I am appalled by the leak of the SCOTUS draft opinion; this is truly an attack on our democracy, far worse than the demonstration/protest that the Democrats like to call the insurrection.

I am perhaps even more horrified at the Left’s reaction.  They do not condemn the leak but rather applaud it.  They are using it to fund raise as they call for Congress to institutionalize that which the draft opinion clearly explains is unconstitutional.  They are using the leak to further their political dreams:  court packing and with it an end to our rule of law.

This leak was an obvious attempt to stir things up and raise the voices of the mob in an effort to intimidate the Justices of the Supreme Court and persuade them to change their minds along with their apparent decision in this case.

The Leak of a Supreme Court Document

The Supreme Court is the last bastion of our democracy.  It consists of 9 Justices, all of whom are scholars of Constitutional law, and all of whom work together to do their best to interpret and protect our Constitution.  They trust one another and we the people trust (or should trust) them.  This institution, one of three branches of our government that place checks and balances on one another, is the only one of the three branches that is not political.  It is the branch that truly protects our democracy.

This leak destroys the necessary trust that must exist within the Court and among the Justices.  It appears to be an attempt to turn the Court into another political body, one that will be ruled not by justice but by the mob – by the loudest shouting voices responding to the leak.   The current demonstrations about the leaked opinion’s contents not only include people exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, but also include an element of attempted intimidation of the justice system.  There is an effort to intimidate the Justices to the extent that they will render a final opinion to keep the peace rather than an opinion based upon law and the Constitution.

This is a frightening situation for our democracy; this leak is an act of terrorism, an insurrection, a direct attack upon our democracy and as such an attempt to destroy America as we know it.

What the leak reveals about the Left

Assuming the Left is responsible for the leak (an assumption that I believe is fairly reasonable), it tells us what has been becoming more and more apparent:  that the Left is willing to destroy every aspect of our democracy in its attempt to turn it into their socialist power dream. 

Anyone with any respect for our judicial system and for the rule of law would not and could not commit this act of treason.  Only one who wishes to destroy America and all She stands for could be capable of committing this act against the very core of our democracy. 

For many of us who have been paying attention to the facts and not the narratives, this does not surprise us.  If you love America, the Left is not your friend.

What the Democrats’ reaction reveals about their guiding principle that the ends justify the means

Leading Democrats including Pelosi and Schumer used the word “atrocity” in response to news of the leak.  But they were not referring to the act of leaking a draft SCOTUS opinion.  Rather, they were referring to the substance of the draft opinion.  This is telling.

Democrats, who claim that they are the defenders of our democracy, should be concerned about the attack on that democracy evidenced by the leak itself.  But instead, the Democrats join the Left in applauding the leaker as some sort of hero.

The Democrats have already begun sending fundraising requests based upon the content of the opinion.  They are using the opinion as campaign material:  you must elect us so we can pass a law mandating what the opinion declares as unconstitutional.  You must elect us so that we can pack the court and create not an objective and just institution, not a co-equal but nonpolitical branch of our government, but rather a political body packed with activists who will do our bidding. 

The Democrats are using the content of the leaked document to further their continuing quest for ever more power.  And they are completely unconcerned with the damage and destruction that will cause not only to SCOTUS but to our democracy and our country.

If there is any good to come of this terrorist attack on our very core, I hope that it is to wake up the many sleeping Americans to what is really going on in this country.  Wake up to the facts, and see the Left’s ongoing narrative for what it is – the ruin of a once great country.

"Independence means you decide according to the law and the facts." - Stephen Breyer

Think Now or Forever Lose Your Mind

 It is not the opposing views but the lack of real thought about them that is destroying our country.

We seem to be living in a time of superficiality and unthinking acceptance, as if cowed into abject obedience by powers beyond our control.   But the only reason such powers become beyond our control is that we relinquish our control over them to those who would control us.

Sergei Dovlatov was a writer unpublished in and expelled by the Soviet Union.  He was a colleague of Joseph Brodsky who later, after his expulsion from the USSR, became the poet laureate of this country.  They, along with writers, artists, and other brave souls, had the courage to think and to stand for what they believe is right, despite every effort by their government to suppress them and their individuality.  We have people with that courage today – Senators Sinema and Manchin come to mind, and we see the hell that their own party is putting them through for having the courage to think rather than just blindly follow.

In authoritarian countries, one is officially punished for not speaking or behaving as told.  Thoughts and beliefs contrary to the official ones are kept secret to oneself.  But in this country we do still have the ability and the right to think, to question popular and party beliefs.  Yet we are allowing more and more control over our thoughts, relinquishing more and more of our individuality to others.

Perhaps we’re so conditioned by being able to google or ask Alexa, get an immediate answer and move on, that we have forgotten how to question anything. 

We used to use our minds:  if we were concerned about the upcoming weather we might have gone outside and looked at the sky, seen a storm coming, deduced that it was likely to rain this afternoon.  Now we just ask Alexa: “Will it rain this afternoon?”, accept her answer, and move on.

But the bigger issues in our society are not subject to such simple, one-word answers.  Whether we should improve America’s existing structure and cultural core or completely dismantle and then re-envision it is a question that is not subject to a simple yes or no response.  Yet that is what we are doing when we simply align with Left or Right without truly understanding the concept or consequences of their ideologies.

What are the opposing Ideologies?

During his long, meandering news conference last week Pres. Biden, while trashing Republicans once again, asked “what are Republicans for?”  The Republican Party of New Mexico answered that question.   Here is their response:

What we generally learn from the above is that the Republicans essentially are for improving the existing constitutional democratic republic structure of America.

What the Democrats are for is nowhere stated as succinctly as the Republican statement above.  Their national website (democrats.org) relies on the 2020 lengthy anti-Trump platform to describe who they are and what issues are important to them.

Reading the Democrat platform, one will be met with many lofty and lovely words, but little detail and no real specifics.  However, one can read the lengthy platform in the context of the actions of the President and his party over the last year to arrive at some concrete ideas of what the Democrats are for.

Based on their platform and actions, the Democrats are for:  

Essentially, the Democrats are for completely dismantling and then re-envisioning America as we know it.   They would alter, reinterpret, or ignore the Constitution.  Their weakening of individual and state rights while expanding federal government control over all aspects of existence is a process which is essentially creating an authoritarian power structure.

The existence of opposing views is not the problem 

These two views (improve vs. remake America) are in opposition.  That is OK; indeed, in America the idea of competing positions on issues is fundamental to our democratic system.   Strongly held opposing views need to be openly and civilly debated in depth.

What is not OK is:

1. When someone supports one or the other platform without fully understanding what it means or entails; and,
2. When those in charge of one or the other platform achieve their goals by intimidation and silencing of those with opposing views.

When either of these two problems exist, democracy is in peril.  Today, in America, we see both. 

We as individuals are fully in charge of averting the first.  We do not have to follow blindly after nice sounding words.  We have both the ability and the right to enquire further into the meaning of those words, to use our minds and think about what they mean, not only immediately but in the future.

Too many people are not doing this, but are rather following and accepting without question what they are told as true, right, and what they must do.  That is what people do in a totalitarian society.  That is not what we should be doing in America.

Of course, and this is also a key to American democracy, we must have access to relevant information to do the necessary thinking.  This is where the second part comes in, and this part is not fully in the individual’s control.

Let’s look at some of the tactics of the Democrats.  First, they have learned that a safe way to survive controversy is to blame someone else.  We hear the Democrats as well as those who support their agenda blame not only former President Trump, but Republican policies and law makers, and even the American people themselves for any and everything that is wrong with our country. 

Moreover, the Left loves to accuse its opponents of everything that they themselves are actually doing.  (Best example of this is racism and its use to divide the country.)  They repeat unfounded attacks over and over until they become commonly accepted.

Of their own people the Left demands unquestioning loyalty to their views and severely punish those who do not fall in line.  They ban opposing voices and remove all influences that do not support their narrative including literature, history, arts, and, most importantly, facts.  They are decidedly unprincipled as they see no problem with their continual hypocrisy and repeated lies.  The list of Biden lies alone reaches several pages and he may have a record for receiving the most “4 Pinocchio” ratings in fact checks.

Without actual facts, with only lies and narrative, it becomes more and more difficult to find, let alone understand, the truth underlying our issues.  We become conditioned to simply accept what we are told, either because it is easier, or because there is no other option.

This is a dangerous place for our country to be:  acceptance without question.  That is the making of an authoritarian society.  One where opposing views are suppressed, where facts are  omitted or manufactured, where the narrative is more important than the truth. 

 The silencing is all around us and is growing

Why do so many not see this happening around us?  Censorship of minority or unpopular views exists not just on social media.  The mainstream media is no longer objective or interested in mere reporting.  When was the last time a reporter asked a difficult follow-up question?  It was when they were using their admittance to press conferences to attack President Trump.  But for the last year the Democrats, from President Biden down, have not been held to account.  Meanwhile, the President weaponizes the DOJ and its hunt for “domestic terrorists” to silence those common citizens who disagree.

When a person in power makes a statement and it is accepted with no questions asked, that leaves the person in power the opportunity to create or omit facts as he or she sees fit simply to further a particular narrative – usually one designed to retain power.  And beyond simply restating the narrative without question, the Left-leaning media often actively attempts to construct it. 

Consider NPR’s respected Supreme Court reporter who created an argument between Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch about masks, and then, even when presented with the actual facts by those two justices as well as the Chief Justice, refused to retract or correct her false allegations.  Because, for the Left, it has become OK to create narratives and the facts be damned.

Consider the continual overplayed horror and prosecution of Trump and others’ questioning of the 2020 election as some sort of coordinated anti-democratic attack upon our country.   Meanwhile, downplayed if not ignored by the media are the very same assertions by Democrats (Stacey Abram’s claim and belief that she won the Georgia governor election; Hillary Clinton’s claim that the 2016 election was illegitimate; and President Biden’s assertion and prediction that if the Democrats “voting rights” bill was not passed the 2022 elections will be illegitimate, at least in red states, thus giving Democrats a green light to challenge as illegitimate all 2022 results they do not like). 

At least in the case of the 2020 election there is evidence, if not of fraud, of the strong and possibly swaying effect that social and mainstream media had on the voters and thus the outcome of the election, not to mention Zuckerberg’s actual funding of liberal groups to infiltrate election offices in key swing states, effectively taking over governmental roles. Indeed, this was celebrated by that media following the election, including in Time Magazine which bragged and rejoiced about “the conspiracy behind the scenes” that gave us President Biden.  

If it works for the narrative, then the Left will continue to assert it as true, whereas if it is not part of the narrative, they will ignore and deny.  Consider the filibuster, a core democratic safeguard within our government that helps protect us from mob rule.  The Democrats at one time, until they wanted to pass their far-Left agenda, supported and defended the filibuster.  They even used the Senate filibuster earlier this month to block a bill by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) that would have sanctioned companies associated with Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The bill had 55 votes.  Democrats for some unknown reason did not want the bill to pass so used the filibuster to stop it.  Yet when they cannot pass their “voting” bill they call those who support the filibuster and its important protections the equivalent of segregationists. 

The Left, concerned with its own power more than the well-being of the country or its people, will use any means necessary to achieve its goals.

Think before relinquishing your power to do so

We have rival ideologies in this country.  That is nothing new.  What is new is the extent to which the Left would use any means whatsoever to silence opposition and award to themselves full power over life in these United States.  

Those who are old enough may remember the words from the opening of the Patty Duke show: “[Y]ou'll find they laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike - You can lose your mind.”  

That is actually what the Left would like to see:  all of us walking, talking, and thinking alike in accordance with the mandates of the Left.  No individual thought.  No individual mind – at least not that one is willing to speak.  This is a totalitarian authoritarian existence, and it is where we are headed. 

We must use our minds now, or we will indeed lose them.

The words of Davlatov are as relevant today as they were in 1970s Soviet Russia.  

May we all be heroes!

Grown-Up Bullies

Today’s Democrats.  What are they?  They are not statesmen.  They are not leaders.  They are certainly not uniters or peacemakers.  I think they are nothing but grown-up bullies.

Consider:  When you disagree with them or don’t do what they want, they call you names – racist, deplorable, bigot, Neanderthal, and any number of others.  They try to stop you from doing what they don’t like by telling you that if you do that you are [and here they will label you with more name-calling].  They intimidate those who might speak out into not doing so because of the verbal and sometimes actual assaults that they may face.

This is bullying.  A bully is “a person who habitually seeks to harm, intimidate, or coerce those whom they perceive as vulnerable.”  Bullying often occurs out of some form of insecurity, envy of those more secure, and a need for recognition and power.

What better explanation of today’s Democrats?  Consider the current uproar over the Georgia voting law, a law that in reality expands voting rights.  (You can read the full text of the law HERE) 

Despite the reality of the law, the Democrats don’t like it (and apparently then don’t like election integrity) so they seek to punish those who passed it.  First, they call them names:  racist, etc. because they have inaccurately given the law the characterization of Jim Crow.  That not being enough, they move on to boycotts.  The President urges MLB to move the All-star game from Atlanta.  MLB complies. 

But that is not enough.  Now the President and the Democrats urge other large and private entities to threaten boycotts and other actions against other states that are considering similar laws to improve voting security and integrity.  This is nothing more than a bully’s attempt to coerce and intimidate those whose actions the bully does not like.  And those being bullied are indeed vulnerable to the bullying because the threatened actions, just like the MLB cancelling of Atlanta, cost the people of the threatened states millions of dollars in jobs and other income which they need.

This bullying is being used by Democrats as a way to make themselves more powerful, not unlike the schoolyard bully who uses intimidation to rule the playground.

But more frightening than the simple act of bullying that is occurring daily is what it is doing to our country, to our Constitution, and to our Democratic Republic.

Under the Constitution, the federal government has limited power.  Rights are retained to the people and protected from the government.  States have more power than does the federal government and those with the most power are the people themselves.

But look at what is happening.  The Democrats, led by President Biden, are inserting themselves and the federal government into state legislative actions as they attack the legitimate work of the Georgia Legislature and as they intimidate other state legislatures as they try to go about their work.   Democrats work daily to create laws and regulations that will govern every aspect of one’s daily life.  Rather than see themselves as a government of the people with limited power, they try to make themselves into a power structure that creates (and thus has the power to remove) every right and freedom of individuals.

This President and today’s Democrats are turning our country on its head.  They want the federal government (i.e. themselves) to be all powerful, with less power to the states, and virtually no power to the people themselves.  That is not America.

Yes, today’s Democrats are nothing more than schoolyard bullies.  They want to rule.  They want full power – over everyone and everything.  And like a good bully they will intimidate, coerce, and harm anyone that does not cave to their wishes and do what they say.  I do not need to tell you that is not democracy, that is not America.  Most of the migrants crossing our border can tell you what sort of a country that is and why they are fleeing it for America’s dream.  The problem is that the Democrat bullying is making that America truly nothing more than a dream.

We tell children who are bullied to tell an adult.  Well, we are the adults.  It is our job to put a stop to this and save not only our children, but our very country.  We need to no longer tolerate the Democrat bullying.

The Power Hungry Are Never Satisfied

I want to begin by recommending the well written and highly thought-provoking article by Mark T. Mitchell entitled The Death of God and the Death of Higher Education. LINK HERE 

I want to use one paragraph from that article as the jumping off point here.  That paragraph reads:

This quest for power is the characteristic feature of modern “higher” education. Students are taught that the world is divided into various groups whose primary identity is reducible to power differentials. A common pursuit of truth is replaced by overt and covert power struggles. In this new and barren world of power, the pursuit of the good, true, and beautiful is replaced by grievance and accusation. Concerted efforts to locate and correct injustice (a concept derived from a theistic account of the world) have been replaced by sweeping claims of “systemic” injustice, in which the entire civilizational edifice must be destroyed in the name of justice. But justice torn from its theistic grounding is merely a blunt instrument of power disguised in the moral language of a rejected world. Such a notion represents a self-refuting enterprise that will usher in not justice but unrestrained power cloaked in the God-haunted language of equality, social justice, and anti-racism.

I find this to so clearly encapsulate the social culture in which we are living today.  Everywhere one turns it seems to be all about power, with those in charge disguising their hunger for power as some sort of humanitarian and social justice that must be complied with to avoid showing yourself as some sort of anti-humanitarian who must be cancelled from the approved culture.

               Ramping-up Hatred

What are identity groupings about other than to create one group that holds power over another?  Rather than see all humans as one’s brother, identity politics teaches one that they are either a member of a victim group or of an oppressor group.  The oppressors are accused of working to maintain their own power and are encouraged to apologize for and relinquish it, while the victim groups are led to hate and attack their perceived oppressors in an attempt to obtain more power for their own group and then to wield that power over other groups whom they are taught to hate.

The President, who ran on the promise that he would unite us as one, has instead ramped up the identity hatred.  Now we have government programs that specifically exclude one race from their benefits, simply because of that race.  When we did similar things to Blacks a century ago, this country worked in a bipartisan fashion to correct that and treat all people as equals, regardless of race.  But now that those in power can benefit and retain their power by pushing identity hatred, they argue that the same sort of discrimination is OK because they have deemed the White race, against whom these new laws discriminate, to be members of an offensive identity group solely because of their race. That is racism pure and simple, a hatred created to benefit not the oppressed, but those currently in power.

Democrats claim that this discrimination is humanitarian and equitable.  It is anything but.  It is not humanitarian or just, but simply an ugly power grab based on hate.

               Silencing Voices and Facts

Those in power (including government, big tech, and corporate America) can tighten their grip on power if they silence opposing voices.  So we have cancel culture in full force, not based on facts, not based on equity or fairness, not based on humanitarian ideals, but simply on exercising and retaining power.

Consider the Georgia voting law.  It actually increases opportunities to vote, especially for rural and minority voters in that state.  Despite it being the very opposite of Jim Crow, President Biden, most Democrats, most of the mainstream media, many corporations are calling it just that.  Their claims are lies. 

Anyone who does even a cursory reading of the Georgia law will see that, contrary to our President's assertion, the new Georgia voting law does not prohibit giving water to voters waiting in line; rather it requires that poll workers be the ones to distribute it.  It also requires all 159 counties to have at least one vote drop box for mail in ballots.   It expands early voting access for most counties. It does require verification of identity for those requesting and returning mail in ballots which does not deny authorized voters the right to vote but does insure the integrity of their vote.  This is all a far cry from the Jim Crow label that the Democrats including the President and many in the media have placed on it.

But facts do not matter to those who are governed by their own quest for power.  The lies about the Georgia law have been exposed.  Nonetheless, led by the lies of the President and his urging, MLB has pulled the All-Star game from Atlanta.  That of course will hurt the largely Black population there, so the lie-based grab for power is hardly done in the name of standing for minorities or humanitarian efforts in their behalf.  It is simply a show of power and a punishment for passing a law that requires more standards of election integrity than would benefit those seeking to retain and strengthen their power.

The power hungry do not care about facts or about the consistency of their own values.  When it was convenient to attack the Trump administration the Democrats and their cohorts the mainstream media, big tech, big corporations, were all about decrying deplorable conditions at the border.  Now, when the border crisis is over 100% worse than it ever was under Trump (or any other president) these same people don’t even notice.  Trump was bad.  Biden was good.  Only facts supporting that narrative will be acknowledged.

               Powerful Join Forces Against Individual Rights

There is a frightening coalescence of government with private sector as both seek to cement their hold on power.  For example, President Biden cannot Constitutionally require “Vaccine passports” for internal movement of our citizenry.  But rather than stand for the Constitution and its protections for the people, he instead is urging big business to create such requirements, something that they can and likely will do.  They can withstand those who oppose such curtailment of our rights, and the President and the rest of the Democrats can deny responsibility but retain power.

Similarly, corporations make statements, cancel or refuse to sell certain products including books, make hiring decisions, censor, and take other actions based on the pronouncements of the “woke” Left.  Their actions, many of which would be unconstitutional if done by a governmental entity, are allowed because they are not the government.  Yet their actions are supportive of and fully in sync with those holding office and seeking to keep it and the power that goes with it.

               Equity Is Not Equality

Equity and fairness are not equality.  It is the equality, the extent to which it exists in this country as well as this country’s continued aspiration to ever improve its existence for all, that makes this country what it is.  Being equal, having equal opportunity, does not mean that results will be equal.  It does not mean that life will be fair.  But it does mean that everyone will have a fair shot at being the best they can be.

Equality does not divide people into identity groups, some of whom are given more equality than others.  Today this is being done in the name of things like “systemic racism” or similar perceived systemic injustices.  I have yet to be convinced that such systemic injustice exists, but if it does, it will not be cured by creating new systemic injustices.

               It’s Really All About Power, Not Humanitarian Ideals

I also have yet to be convinced that this president and his progressive administration really give a damn about any of the causes they claim to be pursuing for humanitarian or social justice reasons.  This is the party that created a minority underclass in our cities, dependent on, and therefore voters for, Democrat power. 

This is the party that is creating dangerous and inhumane conditions at our southern border while claiming that opening the borders is somehow humane.  Tell that to the trafficked children, to the Americans who are being displaced from jobs and homes and other due to the influx of illegal migrants that cities and towns simply cannot handle. 

Tell that to the taxpayers and to the next generations of taxpayers who cannot pay for these inhumane policies.  Just as they cannot pay for the trillions of dollars in spending that is supposedly for the good of the populace but in actuality simply furthers the power goals of the progressives.

It is not humanitarian to deny human individuality.  That is what cancelling those who disagree does.  That is what perpetuating lies does.  That is what identity politics does.  And that is what we are teaching our children to do:  deny human individuality, indeed make those who do not somehow benefit you and your power into inhuman caricatures and place them in a group that you can then justify as worthy of inhuman treatment. 

Power is a heady thing, and those who hold it right now seem to be willing to do anything to keep it.