As I have stated before, I am not a Trump supporter but this situation in Chicago tonight was very disturbing. "Progressives" claim to be the political wave of the future but they are digging their own grave. To shut down a Trump rally just because you don't want him to speak goes against the basic freedom our Founders protected in the First Amendment of the Constitution.
And this is not the first case of this; Conservative speakers are now routinely rejected from speaking on campuses across this country because students do not want to hear their point of view. What a shame that we are turning out monolithic minds from our campuses that simply don't think anymore. Can you imagine a group of Conservatives rioting to keep a Progressive from speaking; no, they either listen or don't bother to listen.
I don't know if this shut down of the Trump rally in Chicago was organized, but preliminary reports are that many of the protesters were Bernie Sanders and MoveOn.org supporters. It will be interesting to see what Bernie has to say about this potential riot and if some were 'paid' protesters.
But no matter, Progressives and so-called Socialists need to take a hard look at why they cannot hear another point of view by refusing to let Conservative speakers on campuses or threatening a riot in a rally by someone that they may not agree with.
I suspect that this will further energize the Trump campaign.
P.S. I have never seen this country so divided, the fault falls on both parties but in the end it falls on the person we elected to lead us.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Friday, March 4, 2016
"Debate Turmoil"
Stop the debates!...or whatever you want to call them. It's getting ridiculous and voters are not learning anything with these childish playground insults. I have lost a lot of respect for the top three especially Trump and Rubio during these last two debates. At least Cruz acted like a mature adult part of the time last night but Kasich was the only one who looked like he belonged in a Presidential primary election contest.
I'm sure many Conservatives join me in their disappointment with the way these potential candidates are acting. Romney didn't help things with his stupid speech earlier in the day. Things must be pretty bad when someone as classy as Mitt Romney decides to jump down into the gutter with the rest of the group. And his speech instead of hurting Trump has probably helped him. When you stick your thumb in the eye of someone who is angry like Trumps voters, they get angrier.
It's obvious to me that the 'establishment' is in a panic and their plan is to try to split the voting and go to the convention without a clear winner, get through the first round of voting, and then the delegates will be free to vote for anyone. That will not work.
A convention full of turmoil will be a losing proposition either way for the Republican party. If Trump goes in with a majority and loses based on convention rules, he will probably bolt, run as an independent, and take his voters with him. So no matter what, with a third party bid, Hillary will go to the White House. Wouldn't it be ironic if another Clinton got elected President with less than 45% of the vote like Bill did in 92' thanks to Ross Perot?
So get your act together candidates! I still find it hard to believe Trump will be our selection, but in the end people get to vote and the country will have to live with the results. Someone asked conservative comedian Dennis Miller who he will vote for this presidential election, his response: "If it's 'Hillary' or 'Not Hillary', I'm definitely in the 'Not Hillary' camp". Sounds like a plan - sometimes in life you have to choose between the better of two bad options and Hillary is as bad an option as you can get.
I'm sure many Conservatives join me in their disappointment with the way these potential candidates are acting. Romney didn't help things with his stupid speech earlier in the day. Things must be pretty bad when someone as classy as Mitt Romney decides to jump down into the gutter with the rest of the group. And his speech instead of hurting Trump has probably helped him. When you stick your thumb in the eye of someone who is angry like Trumps voters, they get angrier.
It's obvious to me that the 'establishment' is in a panic and their plan is to try to split the voting and go to the convention without a clear winner, get through the first round of voting, and then the delegates will be free to vote for anyone. That will not work.
A convention full of turmoil will be a losing proposition either way for the Republican party. If Trump goes in with a majority and loses based on convention rules, he will probably bolt, run as an independent, and take his voters with him. So no matter what, with a third party bid, Hillary will go to the White House. Wouldn't it be ironic if another Clinton got elected President with less than 45% of the vote like Bill did in 92' thanks to Ross Perot?
So get your act together candidates! I still find it hard to believe Trump will be our selection, but in the end people get to vote and the country will have to live with the results. Someone asked conservative comedian Dennis Miller who he will vote for this presidential election, his response: "If it's 'Hillary' or 'Not Hillary', I'm definitely in the 'Not Hillary' camp". Sounds like a plan - sometimes in life you have to choose between the better of two bad options and Hillary is as bad an option as you can get.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
"Make America whole again?"
Hillary in her victory speech last night attacked Trump's campaign slogan head on: "Make America Great Again". She said "We don't need to make America great again we are already great, we need to make America whole again".
I don't know about you but America is not as great as she used to be. Obama is a feckless world leader and many of our allies are amazed at how weak this country has become both militarily, economically, and with a debt that is almost insurmountable.
Elect Hillary and the new slogan should be "Make America go further into the hole again" Sarcasm intended.
I don't know about you but America is not as great as she used to be. Obama is a feckless world leader and many of our allies are amazed at how weak this country has become both militarily, economically, and with a debt that is almost insurmountable.
Elect Hillary and the new slogan should be "Make America go further into the hole again" Sarcasm intended.
Monday, February 29, 2016
"Coalition of the Dependent"
Hillary won big in South Carolina with a 50 point win in the primary. The turnout of voters was down as it has been in all the Democratic primaries so far, which indicates a lack of enthusiasm, but she carried the black vote by a large margin. It amazes me that the black vote is so monolithic supporting democrats exclusively, especially Hillary in this primary.
Why do blacks and to a certain extent Latinos, vote almost exclusively democratic? Here is what I don't understand - after 8 years of a black president, black unemployment and poverty are at an all-time high and yet the black community still supports any democratic candidate. If you look at every city where black ghettos exist and black people are mired in poverty, there is one constant - the city has been run for decades by democrats. These communities have a 70% birth rate to a single parent, education is poor because the teachers unions have stifled performance, and drugs are rampant. And yet these folks continue to support a president that offered "Hope" to everyone, especially those minority communities.
But this is not a big issue to most democrats in power, they want a "coalition of the dependent" and I believe without them the Democratic party would not exist, and they know it. Race hustlers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton's livelihood and power would not exist without this dependent coalition. Teachers unions in poor communities have locked the education system into mediocrity, charter schools are discouraged, and welfare has kept people into poverty as a lifestyle.
Bernie Sanders' enthusiasm is fading, but give him credit for being honest; he understands the problem in minority communities and is serious about solving it. I don't agree with his solution of more dependency, but to watch Hillary pandering to the black vote is sickening. Unfortunately the democratic machine is too strong to be defeated by the idealism of the millenniums and disaffected democrats of Sanders supporters. At least Bernie is honest about being a socialist, Hillary is a socialist in sheep's clothing and will lie whenever and wherever it is required to further her candidacy.
Jack Kemp was a former NFL quarterback and conservative Congressman. Many reading this Blog do not remember him, but he proposed for many years a system of "Enterprise Zones" in minority communities that taught residents the free enterprise system and assisted them in setting up small businesses; he believed that would "feed" on itself and he was probably right. Once people experience the free enterprise system they will never go back.
So how do you eliminate the coalition of the dependent? I believe in to ways; an education system that produces people that think for themselves and the restoration of the family unit. If you are a child born without a family unit, you start out in life with a big disadvantage. I feel sorry for the millions of black folks that idealistically voted for "hope and change" and 8 years later have lost "hope" and have experienced no "change".
Why do blacks and to a certain extent Latinos, vote almost exclusively democratic? Here is what I don't understand - after 8 years of a black president, black unemployment and poverty are at an all-time high and yet the black community still supports any democratic candidate. If you look at every city where black ghettos exist and black people are mired in poverty, there is one constant - the city has been run for decades by democrats. These communities have a 70% birth rate to a single parent, education is poor because the teachers unions have stifled performance, and drugs are rampant. And yet these folks continue to support a president that offered "Hope" to everyone, especially those minority communities.
But this is not a big issue to most democrats in power, they want a "coalition of the dependent" and I believe without them the Democratic party would not exist, and they know it. Race hustlers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton's livelihood and power would not exist without this dependent coalition. Teachers unions in poor communities have locked the education system into mediocrity, charter schools are discouraged, and welfare has kept people into poverty as a lifestyle.
Bernie Sanders' enthusiasm is fading, but give him credit for being honest; he understands the problem in minority communities and is serious about solving it. I don't agree with his solution of more dependency, but to watch Hillary pandering to the black vote is sickening. Unfortunately the democratic machine is too strong to be defeated by the idealism of the millenniums and disaffected democrats of Sanders supporters. At least Bernie is honest about being a socialist, Hillary is a socialist in sheep's clothing and will lie whenever and wherever it is required to further her candidacy.
Jack Kemp was a former NFL quarterback and conservative Congressman. Many reading this Blog do not remember him, but he proposed for many years a system of "Enterprise Zones" in minority communities that taught residents the free enterprise system and assisted them in setting up small businesses; he believed that would "feed" on itself and he was probably right. Once people experience the free enterprise system they will never go back.
So how do you eliminate the coalition of the dependent? I believe in to ways; an education system that produces people that think for themselves and the restoration of the family unit. If you are a child born without a family unit, you start out in life with a big disadvantage. I feel sorry for the millions of black folks that idealistically voted for "hope and change" and 8 years later have lost "hope" and have experienced no "change".
Saturday, February 27, 2016
"Bernie v Billionaires"
"America now has more wealth and income inequality than any major developed country on earth, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is wider than at any time since the 1920's"
This is a quote directly from Bernie Sanders' web site. It may be true but I do not have the time to research his statistics. Let's assume it is true...but what are the reasons and what are the results of this country producing more millionaires and billionaires per capita than any country in the world? And why shouldn't we take away more of their money and redistribute it, after all these "wealthy' people don't need all that money do they?
There are not very many billionaires in this country that have inherited their wealth. Here are some of the billionaires in Forbes top 15 - Bill Gates - Microsoft, Warren buffet - Berkshire Hathaway, Larry Olson - Oracle founder, The Koch Brothers - Koch Industries, the Walton family - Walmart, Jeff Bezos - Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook, Phil Knight - Nike ...and I could go on (including Beyonce and JayZ). These entrepreneurs produced a product that people wanted and they probably had no thoughts when they started about becoming a millionaire or a billionaire, they had a great idea, worked their ass off, and their business was successful. Bernie sanders says "the system is rigged" if that's true how did so many people in our lifetime (many who started from scratch), become millionaires and billionaires?
I recently read an article which analyzed the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans. These 400 created 10 million jobs in the country. The top 100 founded companies that employed on average 40,000 workers.
This class warfare which is a staple in the Democrats play book is getting old. As of 2015 The top 20% of wage earners pay 84% of all taxes, the lower 50 % pay on average 2.9% and the bottom 20% actually get paid by the government. Hey Bernie why is that not fair?
I am not a billionaire, nor am I jealous of them, but I did start a successful tech business from scratch; so did many of my entrepreneurial friends. And if you count real estate especially here in California you could call us millionaires. But we also remember the long hours, great risk putting all our assets on the line, and periods when the business almost "went south" and no one will ever convince us that the free enterprise system attacked by Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, is "rigged".
Bernie has proposed a top income tax rate of 54%, with a capital gains rate to match (up from the current 25%). With state and local taxes the top earners could pay 75% in California and New York. Who is going to work for three quarters of the year and give that income to the government - no one. Under a Bernie Sanders society the high wage earners will just go offshore and our economy will tank. "Socialism" has a proven record of failure, but 'progressives' like Bernie and Hilary continue to want to repeat it and try again.
Bernie says the wealthy should pay their "fair share". To me, giving even 50% of your income to the government borders on being 'fair', no matter how much you make. To pay more than 50% is simply "confiscation".
This is a quote directly from Bernie Sanders' web site. It may be true but I do not have the time to research his statistics. Let's assume it is true...but what are the reasons and what are the results of this country producing more millionaires and billionaires per capita than any country in the world? And why shouldn't we take away more of their money and redistribute it, after all these "wealthy' people don't need all that money do they?
There are not very many billionaires in this country that have inherited their wealth. Here are some of the billionaires in Forbes top 15 - Bill Gates - Microsoft, Warren buffet - Berkshire Hathaway, Larry Olson - Oracle founder, The Koch Brothers - Koch Industries, the Walton family - Walmart, Jeff Bezos - Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook, Phil Knight - Nike ...and I could go on (including Beyonce and JayZ). These entrepreneurs produced a product that people wanted and they probably had no thoughts when they started about becoming a millionaire or a billionaire, they had a great idea, worked their ass off, and their business was successful. Bernie sanders says "the system is rigged" if that's true how did so many people in our lifetime (many who started from scratch), become millionaires and billionaires?
I recently read an article which analyzed the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans. These 400 created 10 million jobs in the country. The top 100 founded companies that employed on average 40,000 workers.
This class warfare which is a staple in the Democrats play book is getting old. As of 2015 The top 20% of wage earners pay 84% of all taxes, the lower 50 % pay on average 2.9% and the bottom 20% actually get paid by the government. Hey Bernie why is that not fair?
I am not a billionaire, nor am I jealous of them, but I did start a successful tech business from scratch; so did many of my entrepreneurial friends. And if you count real estate especially here in California you could call us millionaires. But we also remember the long hours, great risk putting all our assets on the line, and periods when the business almost "went south" and no one will ever convince us that the free enterprise system attacked by Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, is "rigged".
Bernie has proposed a top income tax rate of 54%, with a capital gains rate to match (up from the current 25%). With state and local taxes the top earners could pay 75% in California and New York. Who is going to work for three quarters of the year and give that income to the government - no one. Under a Bernie Sanders society the high wage earners will just go offshore and our economy will tank. "Socialism" has a proven record of failure, but 'progressives' like Bernie and Hilary continue to want to repeat it and try again.
Bernie says the wealthy should pay their "fair share". To me, giving even 50% of your income to the government borders on being 'fair', no matter how much you make. To pay more than 50% is simply "confiscation".
Thursday, February 25, 2016
"Debate chaos"
This debate was ridiculous...what has our politics come to. Or maybe it's just our culture. It seems like whoever is the loudest and makes the most insults commands the most time, and wins. Kasich and Carson were the only adults on the stage tonight in my opinion...sadly they are at the bottom in this competition, what does that say about us?
You can see why the folks are so turned off with politics, they want to hear about solutions to problems not a "food fight". But I guess that's what our society is expecting and it is displayed even in awards shows like the Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammy's where people have forgotten to be gracious and feel they have to make a 'statement'.
Oh well, this will be a short Blog, next Tuesday could be a big game changer or the Trump machine could keep rolling. And maybe some sense will come to this primary season.
And it's not much different on the democratic side where the choices of Hillary or Bernie show just how pitifully deficient our leadership choices are. I'm going to bed :-)
You can see why the folks are so turned off with politics, they want to hear about solutions to problems not a "food fight". But I guess that's what our society is expecting and it is displayed even in awards shows like the Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammy's where people have forgotten to be gracious and feel they have to make a 'statement'.
Oh well, this will be a short Blog, next Tuesday could be a big game changer or the Trump machine could keep rolling. And maybe some sense will come to this primary season.
And it's not much different on the democratic side where the choices of Hillary or Bernie show just how pitifully deficient our leadership choices are. I'm going to bed :-)
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
"The Juggernaut"
Juggernaut: something (such as a force, campaign, or movement) that is extremely large and powerful and cannot be stopped.
I should preface this Blog by saying that I am not a Donald Trump fan...but I am a realist. It doesn't seem to matter whether the media is against him (Washington Post recent Op Ed comparing him to Hitler) or as his opposition tries to destroy him with millions of dollars of negative ads...he keeps winning. I am not saying his campaign fits the definition of a 'juggernaut' but so far he is getting the votes, and spending much less money than his opponents. The amount of money being spent to stop him is astonishing; as of the South Carolina primary here is the amount of money spent so far:
* Jeb Bush - $81 million (and it is estimated his Super Pac spent another $40 million)
* Marco Rubio -$50 million.
* Ted Cruz - $17 million.
* Donald Trump - $8 million.
The result: Jeb is out and Rubio and Cruz are double digits behind. Trump has been called a 'political huckster', 'P.T. Barnum of politics', 'political snake oil salesman', and many other names not appropriate for this Blog. But in today's era of sound bites and people's worship of entertainers he is in his element; you cannot turn on a news or opinion show without seeing him. The SEC primaries are one week from today and this will be the big test. If Trump wins those, his campaign will fit the definition of a 'juggernaut' and we will have to get used to it.
I have no idea what kind of president Trump would be, but he has touched a nerve with many Americans. Can we round up 12 million illegal immigrants and deport them - NO, is illegal immigration a very serious problem in the country that the average guy wants fixed - YES. Can we ban Muslims from entering the country -NO, but are Muslims responsible for 95% of terrorist attacks around the world and do Americans want some assurance that terrorist attacks will be stopped - YES. Is our economy stagnant with few good jobs for the average guy; and do many people think it is because of jobs being moved offshore - YES. Do many people think this country has lost esteem in the world and we are being taken advantage of by Russia, China, Mexico, Iran...etc. - YES. These are some of the issues that Trump has zeroed in on and with his 'pied piper' marketing genius he has convinced many Americans that he can solve those problems, with a dose of 'panache' thrown in.
So we will see. On the democratic side the candidates are pitiful (in my humble and somewhat biased opinion). But democrats have the demographics with the major electoral vote states in their favor, but with their candidates there is no enthusiasm. In Iowa and New Hampshire democratic votes were down over 20% while republican votes were up 20%. In South Carolina democratic voting was down 30% while republican voting was up 30%. In the Nevada Caucuses the turnout last night was double what it was last time, so right now enthusiasm is definitely with the republicans.
There is not much enthusiasm on the democratic side with two socialists trying to outdo each other with offers of 'free stuff' and their embarrassing pandering to the minority and anti-police vote. 'The Bern' lost some momentum in Nevada but the democratic vote in South Carolina next Saturday will tell us more. Pray for an indictment Bernie!
I should preface this Blog by saying that I am not a Donald Trump fan...but I am a realist. It doesn't seem to matter whether the media is against him (Washington Post recent Op Ed comparing him to Hitler) or as his opposition tries to destroy him with millions of dollars of negative ads...he keeps winning. I am not saying his campaign fits the definition of a 'juggernaut' but so far he is getting the votes, and spending much less money than his opponents. The amount of money being spent to stop him is astonishing; as of the South Carolina primary here is the amount of money spent so far:
* Jeb Bush - $81 million (and it is estimated his Super Pac spent another $40 million)
* Marco Rubio -$50 million.
* Ted Cruz - $17 million.
* Donald Trump - $8 million.
The result: Jeb is out and Rubio and Cruz are double digits behind. Trump has been called a 'political huckster', 'P.T. Barnum of politics', 'political snake oil salesman', and many other names not appropriate for this Blog. But in today's era of sound bites and people's worship of entertainers he is in his element; you cannot turn on a news or opinion show without seeing him. The SEC primaries are one week from today and this will be the big test. If Trump wins those, his campaign will fit the definition of a 'juggernaut' and we will have to get used to it.
I have no idea what kind of president Trump would be, but he has touched a nerve with many Americans. Can we round up 12 million illegal immigrants and deport them - NO, is illegal immigration a very serious problem in the country that the average guy wants fixed - YES. Can we ban Muslims from entering the country -NO, but are Muslims responsible for 95% of terrorist attacks around the world and do Americans want some assurance that terrorist attacks will be stopped - YES. Is our economy stagnant with few good jobs for the average guy; and do many people think it is because of jobs being moved offshore - YES. Do many people think this country has lost esteem in the world and we are being taken advantage of by Russia, China, Mexico, Iran...etc. - YES. These are some of the issues that Trump has zeroed in on and with his 'pied piper' marketing genius he has convinced many Americans that he can solve those problems, with a dose of 'panache' thrown in.
So we will see. On the democratic side the candidates are pitiful (in my humble and somewhat biased opinion). But democrats have the demographics with the major electoral vote states in their favor, but with their candidates there is no enthusiasm. In Iowa and New Hampshire democratic votes were down over 20% while republican votes were up 20%. In South Carolina democratic voting was down 30% while republican voting was up 30%. In the Nevada Caucuses the turnout last night was double what it was last time, so right now enthusiasm is definitely with the republicans.
There is not much enthusiasm on the democratic side with two socialists trying to outdo each other with offers of 'free stuff' and their embarrassing pandering to the minority and anti-police vote. 'The Bern' lost some momentum in Nevada but the democratic vote in South Carolina next Saturday will tell us more. Pray for an indictment Bernie!
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