Tarnished Gold

I was born in California. All my life it was known as “The Golden State.” In 1968, that designation became the official nickname of California. Today most of the real gold is gone and what is left is akin to iron pyrite, aka “Fools Gold.”

I’m speaking metaphorically, of course. There may still be real gold in “them thar hills”, but politically and economically this state has definitely lost its luster.

At one time California was the economic powerhouse of the nation. It was said that if California were an independent country, it would have the world’s seventh largest economy. I don’t know how true that is, but today it seems more like a third-world country.

The blame for this sets squarely on the shoulders of California voters. This is not just a blue state it is deep blue – as blue as the California sky on a clear day. And while many may say, “what’s wrong with that”, they might want to just open their eyes for a moment or two.

California used to be the address for a business to have. Today other states, Texas in particular, find it far too easy to pluck businesses – and jobs – from California. And who could blame a business for leaving? This state has become like the airlines; there is a fee for every little thing you do and then there are taxes and additional taxes, and regulations and more regulations.

It’s safe to say that California has a hostile attitude toward business and industry.

Wait a minute, something about this just does not compute. California is a blue state run entirely by Democrats, but don’t Democrats claim to be champions of the working class? Where will the working class work when the businesses leave the state? Oh, I see they will work for the government. And where will the government get the money to pay these workers, from businesses? But the businesses are leaving the state.

What will the additional workers actually do? Aah, they will police the new regulations and fees the state will impose on remaining businesses to increase revenue. Well that will solve everything.

Okay, wakie, wakie, time to see the daylight. As one very popular Californian once said, “government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem.” Thank you Ronald Reagan.

The sole function of businesses is not to provide jobs. It is to make a profit and increase the wealth of its shareholders. But guess what, no business can function without workers – duh! Jobs are created when businesses thrive. Profit is not a dirty word. It doesn’t even have four letters. In a capitalist system, profit is what makes the world turn. Don’t discourage profit; embrace it.

Is there hope for California to regain its luster? Maybe, but it won’t come easy or quick. Losing businesses is like a squandered youth, once it’s gone it’s gone and not likely coming back.  Fortunately, there are new businesses and industries being created every day – just not many in California. We can lure these businesses – and jobs – to California if our state government has the will to do so.

First, we need to clean house in Sacramento. Get rid of the obstructionist Democrats. That includes governor Moonbeam. You have the opportunity to make a dent in obstructions blocking new businesses in November. “Throw the bums out!” Or you can stand by and wave good by as more and more jobs leave the state.

It is your choice. Do you want to live again in the Golden State or reside in the “Fools Gold State”?

Is Vladimir Putin The New Joseph Stalin?

Well … maybe. There can be no doubt Putin is giddy with power. Here is a man who started his career in the old Soviet KGB and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before moving on to bigger and better things when the Soviet era came to a screeching halt. Since 1999 Putin has been alternately President and Prime Minister of Russia – the part left when all of the former Soviet satellites left the communist system. I think it’s safe to say he thrives on power. It is also safe to say he is a communist who at one time was and still may be loyal to the Soviet communist system.

Joseph Stalin – that is not his real name, by the way, he was born Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili and went by a number of aliases – was the son of a poor Georgian cobbler who was seldom home during his son’s childhood. Stalin probably would have remained a dirt-poor peasant had he not been able to obtain a position in the seminary. He was never ordained, probably due to his reputation as a troublemaker in school.

Stalin had ambition, but could never quite bring himself to perform his own misdeeds. He always enticed others to do the dirty work. Somewhere in his early years, Stalin became a dedicated Marxist, and believed he was championing the cause of the simple workers. Eventually Lenin and Stalin came together in their common cause, but Lenin never trusted Stalin.

Following Lenin’s death Stalin weaseled his way into becoming the head of the Council of Supreme Commissars. Stalin had always been Paranoid by degrees and had no qualms about steamrolling over friends and colleges to achieve his goals. In later years, that included having friends and colleges killed or condemed to gulags at Stalin’s whim.

Had WWII not broke out Stalin might have been just another footnote in Russian history. He took the reigns of the military and through little real military talent of his own managed to allow his generals to fight a war that nobody gave the Russians a chance of winning. The Soviet people were duped enough to believe Stalin had accomplished this feat, and with the ruthless elimination of his top generals at war’s end, no one could or would set them right.

With Europe in a volatile state of flux after the war, Stalin had little trouble gobbling up countries that Hitler had invaded then abandoned. Thus the Soviet Union was formed.

Fast forward to Glasnost, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Boris Yeltsin taking the reigns of the Soviet Union. Up to this point the communist state existed as Stalin had left it upon his death. Yeltsin brought an end to the one-party system and opened the country to western ideas. Communism collapsed of its own oppressive weight, and countries under the thumb of the Soviet system were able to finally achieve sovereignty.

Okay, the communists didn’t just dry up and blow away. They gave themselves new titles and assimilated into the reorganized Russian government. Sixty some years of communist indoctrination didn’t just flip a switch and disappear. It remains as an insidious virus within the new Russian government.

Putin is a large part of that holdover from the old Soviet system. In the last fifteen years, he has solidified his power base, and now appears to enjoy the same degree of power Joseph Stalin wielded.

But is Putin another version of Stalin? The personalities may be different – Putin doesn’t seem to be as paranoid as Stalin, although he may be just as ruthless – but you can bet Putin has the same desire to restore the old Soviet Union. The question is what lengths is he willing to go to achieve his goals? He has recently shown that may have no hesitation at using atomic weapons, and even test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile from a nuclear submarine.

Taking Obama at his word about being flexible, Putin took Georgia and the Crimea with only hollow protests from our Commander-in-Chief. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that the full Ukraine is next on his shopping list, and he is certain we will do nothing more than impose sanctions that he can circumvent.

After the Ukraine falls, what is next, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, maybe even Poland? This guy is only 62. Imagine the damage he can do with the rest of his years.

Putin may not be Stalin, but he is certainly following in his footsteps. Are you ready for another cold war?