The Unreality Show

You can’t make this stuff up, folks. Our political process – if process could actually describe this fiasco – is so unreal that it resembles something presented by some insane Hollywood reality show producer.

When the year started, we had four Democrat candidates and some seventeen Republicans running for their party’s nomination. We are now at a point where the field has been narrowed down to two Democrats and six Republicans. The rest have been voted off the island!

While mud slinging seems to have been the national sport of most elections for quite a few years, this bunch has taken it to new lows. Donald Trump wants to sue Ted Cruz. Jeb Bush and Trump are tossing insults that would put any schoolyard fracas to shame. Jeb and Marco Rubio, two Floridians, are denouncing each other’s accomplishments – or rather perhaps lack of accomplishments.

Poor Doctor Carson is desperately trying to get someone, anyone, to notice that he is still in the race. And then there is John Kasich, Governor of Ohio, who essentially could be labeled on the ballot as ‘none of the above.’

Well, if you don’t like that channel, you could always change to the other unreality show, the Democrat ticket. Here we have A Socialist and a long-standing Washington insider beating each other up with their left wings. The main attraction seems to be free stuff all around! Bernie wants to give everyone free college, totally free healthcare, free daycare, free minimum income, free cell phones. No, wait a minute. Obama beat him to that one. But Bernie is also guaranteeing free huge tax increases to pay for all the other free stuff he intends to dole out.

Then there is Hillary. Yes, the woman who has lied about, top secret emails… sorry, the publisher won’t take a column long enough to list all of her lies. But then, don’t all politicians lie? Our current President sure does. Hillary’s husband was impeached for it when he was President. Hillary likes to point to her accomplishments as Secretary of State. Uh, were there any? Sorry, I’m drawing a blank on that one. Benghazi? No. Russian reset button? No. Maybe you can name one.

Well, Hillary is big on women’s issues… as long as that woman isn’t a fetus all the way up to the time of birth. She has no problem supporting the notion of killing our children at any stage of pregnancy. A strange stance coming from a woman who professes to be a proud grandmother. I have to wonder what her stand would be if her daughter had decided to have an abortion of convenience.

Oh, that’s right there were some other Democrats who were voted off the island. Lincoln Chafee, and Jim Webb went in the first round. Poor Webb couldn’t seem to get the support of the Democratic Party, probably because he went through the first debate talking sense. Chafee, well, he wasn’t sure what party he belonged to. Martin O’Malley finally saw the light at the Iowa caucus and bid adieu to the fray.

A check of the Internet shows that there are actually some fifteen other Democrats running for President, but at this point, who even knows their name. Besides, remember when Hillary told the congressional committee investigating the Benghazi incident, “What, at this point, does it matter?” Yes indeed, at this point, what does it matter how many delegates Sanders can win? Hillary started this rigged election with enough “super delegates” to ensure her nomination. After only two primary elections, (Iowa and New Hampshire) she has 481 while Sanders has a mere 55 even though he won by a landslide in New Hampshire and nearly tied Clinton in Iowa.

And just to add a plot twist to this ‘unreality’ show, let’s kill off a major player that no one has even realized is in the show, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Actually, no one killed Scalia. He died of a heart attack. But the plot twist effect is the same.

Just how important is this? Well, it just puts your decision right in your face. We live in times where nearly everything seems to be deeply polarized. Democrats and Republicans are, for the large part, completely divided on issues. The Supreme Court is no exception. Many if not most of their decisions are decided by a 5 to 4 vote. One could even say it is a liberal/conservative divide and not be far off the mark. Justice Scalia could always be relied upon to take the side of the actual constitutional wording, rather than try legislating from the bench.

There is a strong likelihood that the next President will be the one to appoint Scalia’s replacement. This could very well have huge consequences both in judicial decisions and in our very lives.

As much as this election process might resemble a bizarre reality sow, folks, it is not. It is time for we the people and those running for office to get serious about this election. The candidates need to show respect for each other and for the office to which they all aspire. Even more, the candidates need to show respect for the electorate, we the people, and show that they are serious about running the country with the largest economy, strongest military, and free world leader. This unreality show needs to end before the electorate turns it completely off.

The Sanders Socialism

In a post the other day, I called Bernie Sanders a communist. “Sanders is a Democratic Socialist. There is a difference,” was the reply. Humph. Just how much of a difference is there, I wondered.

Well, Sanders likes to point to Denmark as a wonderful example of Democratic Socialism. I checked. Yes, lots of free stuff in Denmark, free welfare, free schooling through college, free healthcare, free childcare, social security, the list goes on. There is still a divide between rich and poor, though and it is growing.

According to CNN Money, “The Top 10% of Danes saw their incomes grow by 29% over the decade ending in 2013, while middle-income folks experienced only a 12.3% bump, according to the Economic Council of the Labour Movement, a left-leaning think tank, citing national statistics. The poorest Danes suffered a nearly 1% loss in income, a rare occurrence in a country where everyone's income usually rises.” They also stated that the top 10% of Danes controlled 80% of the wealth. By comparison, the top 10% of Americans control a mere 78% of the US wealth.

So, who pays for this “free” stuff? From 2006 through 2009, the personal income tax rate in Denmark held firm at 62.3%. In 2010, it dropped and went to at 55.6% in 2014. Imagine that. More than half of what you earn is taken from you to pay for “free” stuff. But that’s not all. The corporate tax rate is 23.5% and you still need to kick in 8% of your income for social security. And it doesn’t stop there. Everything you buy has a 25% sales tax stuck on top of it.

It is not hard to understand why the young people are attracted to Bernie’s message. Our Universities and colleges are saddling the young with an onerous debt right out of the starting gate. Bernie’s message of free college has a certain appeal to these young voters. But why doesn’t it resonate with the older crowd? Could it be because the parents of these potential college students understand who will get the bill for this “free” education?

There was a time when parents saved for their kids’ education. Incidentally, in those days, college costs were far more manageable. One figure I found says that college tuition costs have risen an average of 945% since 1980!

Okay, here is the big question: Would you rather try to save for your kids’ college – put a percentage of your income in interest-bearing savings – or give over half of your income to the government so they can provide free college to everyone’s kids? Remember, these are the same government bureaucrats that have done such a stellar job administrating Social Security and Obama Care.

Here is another question to ponder: Why does every kid need to go to a University? And how many actually complete their education and earn a degree? Whether they finish or not, they still have to pay the tuition. The fact is, not every kid is qualified or inclined toward an academic education. Some, maybe many, are more suited to a technical education. In fact, many college dropouts go on to attend and pay for a private technical or trade school training. Now they are saddled twice for an education.

Sanders says he will pay for all his free stuff by taxing the top 1.5% of wealth. Crunch the numbers. If 78% of the US wealth is in the pockets of 10% of the people and you take all of the money from 1.5% of the people, will this even come close to paying for free college, free health care, free…? Experts say it won’t. Who else will get the burden? Does a Denmark tax rate appeal to you?

So, again, what is the difference between a socialist and a communist? The Socialist utopia outlined by Karl Marx has never been realized. Every time it has been tried, it failed because the numbers simply won’t work. Socialism and communism are merely semantics for central government controlling all or in the best case, some of the productivity and wealth of the society.

Ask yourself why people in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were contained within that territory on penalty of death? Why did so many risk their lives and the lives of their families to flee socialism? Why, even in Bernie Sander’s exemplar of Denmark, is socialism on the wane while the rich are becoming richer, poor becoming poorer, and the middle class shrinking? Then ask yourself if this is the vision you want for your children?

And So It Begins

The voters have spoken – at least, those in Iowa have. But just how much of a bellwether is Iowa? Out of the last eleven presidential elections – since 1972 – Iowans selected only seven of the eventual Democrat nominees, and six of the Republican nominees. Sounds more like my luck at picking horse races.

Okay, who fared well this time in Iowa? Ted Cruz won the Republican caucus; Trump came in a distant second and almost tied with Rubio, who came in third. Of course, there are no second place winners, even in Iowa caucuses. So, “The Donald”, in true narcissistic form declared Ted Cruz “stole” the election and demanded a do-over. Ben Carson wasn’t too happy about his placement either and stooped to throwing accusations too.

One thing this Iowa caucus has portended is the sour grapes anyone not coming out on top will have.

As for the Democrats, well it was a coin-toss – literally – between the only two remaining candidates, Bernie Sander and Hillary Clinton. Yes, it was reported that several caucuses had to literally toss a coin to make a decision. You can’t make that stuff up! That’s how close it was. In the end, Hillary was declared the winner by a couple of votes. Well, gee, does that surprise anybody? After all, Mrs. Clinton is the anointed favorite of the Democratic Party.

Of course, and in true socialist form, Bernie said they would look at those coin toss caucuses. I am surprised he didn’t point out that this is not the way it is done in other socialist countries. Well, no, Bernie, they only get one candidate in those countries.

On to New Hampshire. As this is a weekly column, the voting there will be settled by the time you read this. The favorites in that state, according to polls, would be Sanders and Rubio. If it does come out this way, what will the winners of Iowa say or do?

And Trump? Well, I am sure he will throw one of his tantrums – Trumpterums is what Cruz calls them. And it will be YHUGE!

As for Clinton, well, it will be a treat to see her beat down a notch or two.

But who were the losers in Iowa? On the Republican side, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, and Rand Paul all announced they would end their campaign. For Paul, this was no real surprise. He had failed to generate much enthusiasm among Republicans in any polls. The Santorum finish was interesting since in 2012 he beat out Mitt Romney in Iowa. I guess even Iowans can be fickle.

Why Huckabee didn’t make a better showing is a mystery to me. Maybe Iowans just don’t trust candidates from Arkansas. After all, they went for Bill Clinton in ’96 and look how that turned out.

Martin O’Malley never really had a chance for the Democratic nomination. He knew it and dropped out the day of the Iowa caucus.

Stay tuned, folks. This is only the beginning. In this horse race, anything can happen. And you can bet whatever does happen will be accompanied by a whole lot of fireworks and mud.

Welcome Planet Bizarro

I read a report in the news the other day about scientists finding a ninth planet in our solar system. Well, they didn’t actually “find” it. They still don’t know exactly where it is, but the propeller-heads ran the numbers and said it must be out there somewhere.

That’s strange because I met a person who claimed to be from that planet. His name is George and he is from planet Bizarro.

George said they try to hide the planet for fear that people on Earth would copy their ways. He also said it must not be working because we are getting very much like his homeland. For example, in Gooberland, the most advanced country on Bizarro, they had automobiles and were content traveling the land in them until the accident rate killed so many that their government outlawed motorized vehicles.

They also had a problem with obesity and did a study. They found out that ice cream was making people fat. Since everyone ate ice cream with spoons, the government outlawed spoons. They also drank sodas from buckets, and that contributed to the obesity problem, so, guess what. Yep, no more buckets in Gooberland.

I began seeing parallels in the way our planets function. I asked George to tell me more so he started talking about the schools.

“We have a system called ‘Common Score’. Every kid gets the same score on tests. That doesn’t make them any smarter but it does increase their self-esteem. Every student is guaranteed to pass every grade regardless of what they may have learned. It doesn’t matter if they can’t read or write coherently, many can’t even do simple math, but they are always guaranteed employment in our government.”

Whoa, this was hitting close to home. “What about those that can’t or won’t work?” I asked.

“Well, we do seem to have more than a fair share of them, but our government gives them everything they need – no questions asked.”

“Do you have a drug problem in Gooberland?” I asked.

“No, it’s no problem. When people fry their brains, we give them free needles and drugs so they don’t have to resort to criminal activity to support their habit. In our grade schools, we hand out free merrywanna to let them experience the mind-expanding capabilities of drugs so they can make a choice to go on to stronger drugs or join society in a productive manner.”

“How’s that working for you?” I asked.

“Well, at first, we sold the drugs and taxed it, but those using drugs weren’t very productive and couldn’t buy the stuff. So the government had to supply those drugs and welfare to keep the addicts off the streets.”

“And your taxes went up?” I said.

“Of course! We now have a ninety-percent tax rate. But there aren’t many businesses or jobs anyway. Our government taxed most of them out of existence.”

“So George,” I asked, “Are you sure you are from this hidden planet? It sounds like you may just be from San Francisco. Maybe you have been smoking a little too much of that ‘medicine’.”

“No,” George said. “ I am from Planet Bizarro. Your planet is merely beginning to look like ours. I’m thinking about returning home, though. Things are getting far too restrictive on Earth.”

The Non-State of the Union

Did you watch the President’s State of the Union address? Sorry to say, but I did. There should have a disclaimer under the picture saying, “This presentation is paid for by the people of the United States on behalf of the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton.”

The best part was the beginning when Obama said he would keep it short. Well, for no more than he said about the state of the country, he could have made it a whole lot shorter.

If I had read the speech to my teenage kids they would have rolled their eyes and moaned, “Dad, you’re preaching again.” In all honesty, the crux of the speech was merely a not so well disguised diatribe against the Republican Party and especially Donald Trump.

Now, it’s no secret. I am not a big fan of Trump. But for the President of the United States to use the State of the Union speech to denounce Trump’s ideas without even naming him, is definitely a new low… even for Obama.

Sure, he did mention meeting with the new House Speaker, Paul Ryan, to find common ground that they might be able to work with. But then he went on to denounce or mock Republican efforts and ideals simply to highlight that any common ground is not going to be on substantial issues.

Did you notice that the economy has turned around and is now “robust”? Well, maybe not your economy. Are you earning more now than you did eight years ago? Somehow, that point wasn’t in the speech.

We can all rest easier now, though, knowing that ISIS and Al Qaida present no threat to the nation’s existence. Just because they can knock down skyscrapers killing over 3000 people, shoot up a government building full of people holding a Christmas party, blow up folks in the Boston Marathon, and plan even worse attacks doesn’t give us cause to worry. If you happen to meet a wild-eyed person wearing a suicide vest and carrying an assault rifle with magazines of ammunition taped to his body yelling Allahu Akbar, don’t be concerned. He doesn’t pose a threat to national existence. Why? Our President told us so.

I suppose we could take solace that this is, in fact, the last State of the Union address Obama will make, since in a year he will be out of the Oval Office. Unfortunately, he did say that he would still be working in the background. Or was that lurking in the background? Either way, it is certain the nightmare that is the Obama years will not be ending on the day they leave the White House. It will take a lot of arm-twistings and hard work to clean up the mess he is leaving. But unless Hillary replaces him, it will only seem like a bad hangover – eventually, it will go away.

There was one thing apparent about the speech – besides it being too long and having precious little to do with the state of the country. In Obama’s mind, his legacy is a grand one. In actuality, the legacy Obama will leave is that he was the worst President in the history of America. It is a title wrenched soundly from Jimmy Carter.

New Kid on the Block

I love this newspaper. Having been a part of it since its inception you may forgive me for being somewhat biased, but with each issue, it just keeps getting better.

In case you hadn’t noticed, the December 30 issue presented a new column by Douglas V. Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs comes to this newspaper with an impressive list of qualifications, Political Activist, Public Speaker, Constitutional Instructor, Radio Host, Publisher, author of two books, and best of all, Patriotic American.

His initial piece, James Madison and Judicial Review, may be a good indicator of just how knowledgeable Mr. Gibbs is about American history and politics. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and look forward to seeing more of his work in the coming year.

I too, have a bit of knowledge about James Madison and the founding of the US Constitution, as well as the role played by such renowned personages as Gouverneur Morris, Roger Sherman, Charles Pinckney, Edmund Randolph, John Dickinson, Alexander Hamilton, Elbridge Gerry, George Mason, and of course, George Washington among the 43 who argued and hashed out this great document. Many seem to revere the Constitution as an inspired document, but I am certain that had you asked James Madison he would have said it was more perspiration than inspiration. The months of wrangling in the confines of the hall in Philadelphia through hot and cold weather produced a masterpiece of political concession and reconciliation. Toward the end, even George Washington despaired that it would never be finished.

The Federalists (actually a misnomer, since they worked for a National union and strong central government in opposition to the Articles of Confederation) eventually got most of what they were after but had to make concessions that included amending the Constitution at a later date to include a bill of rights. The fact is that the Federalists (Madison, Hamilton, Washington, etc.) did not want a bill of rights enumerated in the Constitution.

Eventually, Madison thought that by including a bill of rights it would quiet the opposition to Constitutional control by the Antifederalists. Madison became, essentially, the father of the bill of rights. His original proposed amendments were whittled down to ten and added to the Constitution.

The final, tenth, amendment of the Bill of Rights gave all powers not expressly included in the US Constitution to the individual states, “or to the people.” As we all know, the argument over states rights versus Central government became a huge issue in the mid-nineteenth century resulting in thirteen Southern states seceding from the union and a civil war being fought. Apparently, since the South lost, the tenth amendment is now interpreted to mean that states have any rights the federal government says they can have.

Gibbs’ contention that the federal judiciary has overstepped its bounds is well founded. The cases where the judiciary has legislated from the bench are far too many to present. Those of us old enough to remember the Earl Warren Supreme Court should be very familiar with judicial activist decisions that strayed far from both the intent and actual wording of the Constitution.

Here is California we are saddled with 807 new laws that went into effect January 1. Not one of those laws challenge the federal government or even attempt to pry even the slightest control from the massive organization that has become our central government.

Are you feeling like a criminal yet? Do you know what those 807 new laws are? Do you know all of the federal laws on the books? I don’t. And I am sure I have probably violated something in the code, although I have no idea what would be.

Maybe the states have too many rights. 807 new laws in one year! If you think things have gotten out of hand, it’s only because they are.

Welcome to the newspaper, Mr. Gibbs. I look forward to reading more of your work.

New Years Resolutions

Okay, now that Christmas dinner leftovers are almost gone, and you have put the memory of that New Years party well behind you, it is again time for retrospection of events and promises made last January and making resolutions for the coming new year. Well, it is a tradition, even if a futile one.

So, I dug out the old resolution list and it occurred to me that it actually resembles more of a bucket list than a list of resolutions. There are the usual resolutions: lose weight, exercise, drink less, eat healthy, swear less, spend less, save more; you know, the good intentions that seldom last the week let alone the year.

Then you have the ones driven by guilt: visit the relatives, visit that old friend you haven’t seen since high-school, call your mother (not easy for me, since mine has been dead for quite a while; maybe I should scratch that off the list), call your out of state brother or sister (and say what? After “how are you” there is always an awkward silence).

Next, you have those nebulous, well-intended goals that one can never quite tell have been kept or not: be a better person (as opposed to what?), be less pessimistic (in this political climate? Good luck with that, this is an election year), be kinder and more considerate of others (is this even possible when you drive California freeways?).

Finally, you have the impossible dreams: finish your novel, write a novel, visit a foreign country (no, not Los Angeles), see Machu Picchu, go to Peterson Automotive museum (right, I have never been there), pay off your Christmas credit card charges before they charge interest, don’t touch your savings this year.

Like I said, it amounts to more of a bucket list than a list of resolutions. I seem to just repeat the same list every year… with no progress. Maybe someday, I might actually do one of these, but usually by mid-January, they aren’t even a memory.

This year, I think I will try a more realistic approach, maybe something like:

Take long naps; eat what tastes good; drink in moderation… most of the time; avoid the freeways and idiot drivers (I thought about taping down my middle fingers, but people would think I was a foreigner); wait until two days before an election, then vote for the loudest person; just figure everything is going to that dark place in a hand basket (this one never seems to be far off the mark anyway); swear silently… unless really ticked off; pray I wake up in the morning… but not too early; put off last year’s list to next year.

Okay, I think I can live with this list. I wish every one of you a very happy and prosperous new year.