In Response To The Suggestion That GOP Talking Points Are Merely A Reflection Of Christian Values

I recently had an exchange with an old friend on social media in which I responded to her, out of exasperation, by suggesting that her thoughts all seemed to be GOP talking points (or something to that effect). Her response was long, and, included numerous questions, which, as you can see, I did not take to be rhetorical in nature. I wanted to respond, but, it was way too much for a Facebook comment. So, I wrote this blog post. My friend’s words are in bold, and, my responses are directly beneath the bolded section.      

“it’s interesting that you would say that. The Bible tells me what is important. When you hear about talking points of the right it is because you are listening to more Judeo Christian biblical principled talking points. That’s why they sound so familiar to you. You just are inserting politics into what the Bible teaches us that we’re to be because you’ve been conditioned to have a disdain for it.”

The GOP talking points are Christian Talking Points? That’s interesting. More interesting is that my rejection of GOP talking points amounts to a “disdain” for “what the Bible teaches us.” I would say that I feel any way but disdainful of the New Testament’s values, and message, (though I am occasionally disdainful of the way in which certain sections have been interpreted). I certainly wouldn’t say that the Bible is a series of “talking points,” though. Talking points are  the crafted message of a political party designed to undermine the other party, and, to elevate their own party. The Good News is a fixed message which does not manipulate, capitulate, or triangulate, in search of the most probable path to victory. Political parties do that – which is just one reason that I don’t align with any particular political party.       

But we’ve been formed to depend on God for our supply.  Not government. 

God is your supply, and yet, you go to work. Is this out of a lack of faith? No, of course not. We have to work to eat – well, most of us. We also can’t say, “I’ll let injustice resolve itself, because God is in control.” Well, we can say that, but, we certainly wouldn’t be following in the steps of Jesus, who excoriated the accumulation of wealth while there was so much poverty, and, who fought for the marginalized and the outcast. Further, our government is a democratic republic. The implications of that are that WE get to decide, as a Nation, what the rules of the game are. These rules are not fixed or static – they weren’t fixed in the ancient world, and, they certainly are not in our own. Consider the prevailing interpretation of “render unto Caesar.” That interpretation says that Jesus was saying, pay the civil government, and, pay your tithe to God. If you adhere to that interpretation, then, you’re stuck paying whatever taxes your government dictates. In a democratic republic, those dictates are subject to the will of the majority of the people, through the representatives that they elect, and, subject to change. I don’t rely on Government as though it were some form of deity; I speak with respect to what measures I believe our government should take – as is my civic duty. You are free to disagree with me, with respect to the conclusions we both reach. But, you are not free to suggest that my conclusions are out of disdain for Biblical values, because they are out of step with the GOP.    

But it’s interesting that you wanted to call me on that.  Because I have come to wonder what original convictions you have about things? You argue your points by giving me someone else’s argument. 

If a person relies only on their own thoughts, without consideration for what other people have contributed, then, they will never experience what is meant by, “iron sharpens iron.” A well reasoned mind knows better than to simply assume that they don’t need to consider the insights of others – especially others who have reached competing conclusions. This is how we identify our own blind spots, among other things.

Your constantly posting this article or that article about what you think about things said by someone else. 

I stand as accused. I read things, and, then, I have thoughts on what I read. Friends of all different backgrounds have then chimed in to contribute their own well informed opinions, which come from all different ends of the political spectrum. I learn from them, and, I hope they learn from me… because, none of us are right about everything, and, to make matters worse, we don’t even know what things we are wrong about – that is the nature of being mistaken.

If a Christian falls, you post it. You act like you are different. “See! We have to be better!!!”  That’s like baby talk.  Your smarter than that.  You should be more original. 

This particular section was quite interesting to read. I have a personal rule: No matter what motivated someone to criticize me, I will consider the criticism and try to see if there is merit in it. This serves three purposes. First, it is a conscious effort by me to not become defensive; if the person wasn’t meaning to be malicious, I can avoid damaging a relationship by treating their comment as if it was meant that way. Second, it allows me the chance to see if there is an area for growth that I wasn’t aware I needed to focus on. Third, it takes the power out of the words of someone who WAS being malicious. I have taken their intent to injure, and, turned it into an opportunity for personal growth. Now, back to this section of your comment. Yes, I post when a believer falls. If you think we should be keeping it under wraps, then, I can only say that I think that you’re mistaken. “The (secular) world” already read the story; they are already aghast at the conduct. The believer  – maybe they haven’t read it yet, but, they need to read it. They need to know how it happened, and, how to protect their family and their flock. “We have to be better,” is the best summation of The Apostle Paul’s writings that I could come up with, so, I think I’ll stick with it, thanks. “That’s like baby talk.  Your smarter than that.  You should be more original,” are all ad hominin attacks – they are directed at me, and, not at the substance of anything that I said, however, I will offer a brief response: It is not “baby talk;” alas, I am not smarter than this; and, I will indeed continue to strive to be, “more original,” so long as it is not at the cost of reason, or values.   

We aren’t on trial.  When the argument is over it’s not going to matter what the US said about it. Or what the Atlantic said about it or NPR.  It’s going to matter what we were and who represented God and let Him decide what is right or wrong.  You might think you know it all which means you don’t know half of what you think you do.  You are challenging answers without really hearing anyone.  And that’s because you really have already figured it out.  Bear with the rest of us, like many have done for you. We’re not all perfect yet. And a lot of us just vote on the right.

I really struggled with where to break this section up. It’s… it’s a lot. So, I agree – we are not on trial here, on social media. However, a lot of people listen to what you have to say. You reinforce an echo chamber, and, can’t seem to find a blessed thing on the right that requires challenging. I believe that we are all wrong about some of the things that we are sure that we are right about – myself included. With that being said, we cannot – and I will not, give up the fight for truth over echo chambers. If someone wants to unfriend me, or block me, that’s up to them. But, for as long as I am connected to someone in social media, or real life, I’m going to try to engage them, understand where they are coming from, and, try to have a dialogue. The exchanges don’t always go great on this medium; intonation, and, basic humanness can get lost. But, it’s the forum that I have, at the moment. I engage you in an effort to hear you. Plenty have told me that I’m wasting my time. They are the people who just keep scrolling. But, I know that I am shocked by what seeds took root, and, hopeful that any good seed that I plant will have a chance to grow, however, long it takes. The words of Five Iron Frenzy in “Banner Year,” fell on what seemed like deaf ears when I heard the song. It would be years before they took root. I pray, and have faith, that the seeds of my misguided words will wither. If we lack that faith, then, we had better all keep our mouths shut, because, once again, we are likely all wrong about something which we are dead certain we are right about. I’m far from perfect. I don’t always agree with Paul, but, I get what he means when he says that he’s the chief of sinners. It isn’t false humility – it is a recognition of the depths of one’s own flaws and errors. But, like Paul, I’m not content to sit quietly until I’ve concluded that I am perfect. And, no, I don’t think I’m as important as Paul, except to the extent that we are all as important as Paul, and, Paul is no more important than any of us.    

But the things we believe in, have nothing to do with what you think are man made views on things. 

A close study of the Bible, and, a cursory study of how each denomination has interpreted the Bible, tell me that what many Christians “believe in,” is extremely man-made, and, that is very much the problem. The AG used to use the Bible to justify banning bowling, dancing, make up, jewelry, and on, and on… Those Biblical-bans have gone the way of the buffalo – along with the church’s pre-1967 position on Christian participation in war. The “things we believe,” are often quite influenced by men, and, just as often, evoked in the name of God.

We’ve just grown up with our eyes wide open.  And know when we’re too close to the fire of what Gods word divides.  And that’s not a political thing.  That’s something bigger than an opinion. And to think it as trite as a talking point ? Your too old for that.

Again, attaching God to GOP politics is just evidence of conflating your religion with your politics, not demonstrating a genuine connection between the two. The GOP and the DNC each take positions that are at odds with the New Testament. Let’s examine a few of these really quickly:

Abortion – if we are saying that abortion is against civil law, because, from day one the fertilized zygote is a human being, then, we need to use civil law to make sure that the babies that would have been aborted are not going to starve as a result of their birth. To refuse to do so, is to condemn many, many, people to lives of misery and suffering.  

Leviticus 19:10 directs that foreigners be permitted to live among the Israelites, and were allowed to glean with the poor. Yet, in the most prosperous nation that the world has ever seen, the GOP’s position on the border is to cage, or imprison anyone who sojourns to our land. The New Testament tells us that there is no longer Jew and gentile, but, to the born again/evangelical church, there sure as heck is a much more significant distinction: American or Illegal. What verses should we use to support that position?

The Democrats often have overt hostility to Israel. A point that GOP Christians love to fixate on. The Democrats are wrong to do this, because it oversimplifies a complex situation, and, blames every individual for the sins of governments. In much the same way, the Christian is wrong to support government sanctioned drone strikes which indiscriminately blow up innocents; I guess those innocents don’t matter as much as the unborn American baby, because… the dead weren’t born in America?

The GOP supports the death penalty, wasting over $4 million for every execution, and, wreaking emotional havoc on the people who are tasked by the state with carrying out and witnessing the execution. This is not only a wasteful position, it’s also diametrically opposed to the Gospel.

I could go on, but, I’ve already invested quite a bit of time to this, and, I don’t think more can be justified, unless there is some desire to have a dialogue. Especially if the response is a reflexive, “well the Democrats are worse because….” I’m sorry, but, my morality and ethics are not contingent upon what someone else says or does. Both sides take deplorable positions on certain issues, and, what the one side does or does not do is no excuse for turning a blind eye to the hypocrisy and sin of the other. That kind of thinking is something for which we are all too old.  

Creating A Better Society Using The Tools We Already Have, Part I.

Most people in America today don’t need someone to tell them that things are a mess. Since the wealth transfer from the many to the few is completely obvious to most of us, let’s take some time to focus on solutions which are within our collective power right now – without any legislative changes. Specifically, let’s talk about lowering food prices, reducing food waste, and, making sure that the grocery store employees, whom we have called essential employees for the better part of the last two years, actually make a living wage. To the details!

First, let’s talk in broad terms. How do we make this happen without legislation? The first step is to form a non-profit. The term non-profit conjures ideas of a perpetually cash strapped organization, which is constantly needing to fundraise or seek donations to fund its operations. This isn’t always the case, and, specifically in this instance, it wouldn’t be the case. The reason that the grocery store would be started as a non-profit would be because there would be no distribution of annual profits to shareholders. Employees would actually receive greater compensation in the non-profit structure than they would working for any existing grocery store, with the exception of the executives, who would be very well compensated, but, not nearly to the extent of the large grocery chain executives. For example, the two highest paid executives working for the Albertsons chain made over $42,000,000.00 in fiscal year 2019. Albertsons’ pre-tax net income for fiscal year 2020 was $1,128,700,000.00. Since non-profits do not pay income taxes, this would be the annual income for a non-profit of similar size. Now, naturally, this would not be the starting point, but, the long term goal. Albertsons, for instance, was founded in 1905, and, presently has 2277 retail stores. However, when comparing the expected profits for an individual grocery store with the estimated profits per store of Albertsons, we find that Albertsons stores (assuming each store generated the same numbers as every other Albertsons Store) performed very well, at $495,696.09 annual pre-tax profit per store, compared to a high end average of 300,000.00 profit for the owner of an individual store. The chief difference between a non-profit and a for profit enterprise, is the use to which that net income is put. Initially, some portion of that income is going to be required for down payments on additional stores. However, the majority of that money can go into the pockets of customers and employees.

When it comes to examining the profit and loss margins for a grocery store, there is one particularly jarring figure – the value of annual food waste. US grocery stores throw away around 30% of the food that they stock. The value of the discarded food is twice the annual per-store-profit. Grocery stores throw this food away because they want to keep it on the shelf until expiration, in the hopes of being able to sell the item, even at a steep discount, to permit them to recoup some of the item’s cost. In so doing, the store ends up throwing out 30% of the food, because they simply couldn’t sell it before it expired. This would not happen in a non-profit grocery store. Instead, the food could be distributed to the employees, free of charge, at the point at which it would have been discounted. This would amount to a serious increase in employee compensation, without incurring any additional costs. Furthermore, it would create immense good will with your workforce.

A changing market: The way in which we are buying our groceries is changing for many of us. There are now many more businesses attempting to have the entire process be a warehouse to consumer model, wherein the consumer simply places their order from home, and, the order is filled from a grocery warehouse, and, delivered direct to consumer. There is also a major shift to automation. This should be factored into any business plan, and, workers should be given skills training which can prepare them for future employment, as well as allowing the employee to contribute to the immediate needs of the company.

Start up costs: The out of pocket costs to start a small to medium sized grocery store are approximately $500,000.00. Due to fluctuating market conditions, the ideal startup budget would be $1,000,000.00. Efforts should be made to raise as much of the capitol towards these start up costs by crowd sourcing – with the return to contributors coming in the form of future grocery credits, and, public acknowledgment. The grocery store credits would be distributed over several years, so that immediate redemption of the credits didn’t strain the cash flow of the company, but, which would also permit the company to be debt free in relatively short order, thereby expediting the opportunity for more locations to be opened.

Sources: 1. https://www1.salary.com/ALBERTSONS-COMPANIES-INC-Executive-Salaries.html 2. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210426005160/en/Albertsons-Companies-Inc.-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-Results 3. https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/ 4. https://thegrocerystoreguy.com/is-owning-a-grocery-store-profitable/

Something wicked this way comes: Is the mortgage industry headed for a cliff?

I’ve been practicing law since 2011. During that time, I have assisted clients with countless real estate closings, and, while every closing is different, they uniformly share one commonality: I don’t have to ask anyone, “when are we going going to close?” Before I ever get the chance to ask that question, I’m getting emails with a closing date, time, and, location. That is, at least, how it always was. As I type this post, I have multiple closings which are languishing, as the underwriters insist on ever more documentation. One required a survey – and, not just any survey… an embossed survey. I have never had a lender require a survey prior to this closing. Another underwriter rejected financial estate questionnaires which were submitted by two separate (very experienced) attorneys, representing two separate estates that were involved in the deal, and, one of the questionnaires was completed by a CPA! The underwriter claimed that the submitted documents were plainly deficient. The title agent confided in me that this is happening across the board, with all of their closings. My practice began amidst the ashes of the Great Recession. I don’t know if that event was preceded by similar warning signs that something was off, but, I feel a sense of foreboding. I am afraid that something wicked this way comes.

Who’s to Blame for Inflation?

Inflation is on the rise. The right wing media is super excited about it. The left wing media is wringing their hands and sweating bullets over it. The base of each party is parroting talking points. But, what is the reality? Don’t tell me you thought those pundits were giving you the full story! Not a chance. Let’s take a look at yet another topic which has been oversimplified for political point scoring, and, see if we can sort out some of the causes of the increase in inflation.

I know human beings tend to like simple answers, but, simple answers are usually wildly misleading. Like most things, this is like a knotted, tangled, ball of yarn. The first step in figuring out the causes is to ignore what the political wing nuts in the media have to say. Step two – pay attention to everything that is happening around you. Prices are impacted by market forces known as “supply and demand.” This is very basic. The things which can cause supply to shrink, or demand to increase, are not so very basic.

First, there is an inherent goal, imbedded in capitalism, which is to maximize profits. This seems obvious, but, in trying to make the most money, short term returns are often prioritized over long term considerations. Such is the case with the supply chain. Every part of the corporate process has been streamlined, to create the most productive, cost effective, outcome. In the short term, this makes sense. The fewest number of employees who can get the job done means not having to pay extra wages – more profits. The least amount of storage space required for inventory adds even more to the bottom line. Unfortunately, we are getting to see the long term consequences of such thinking. On demand shipping, where you click “buy,” in your Amazon cart, and, the product gets tossed on a cargo ship in China the same day, seemed like a great idea for the bottom line. And, speaking of bottoms, it’s not too hard to imagine that you’ll be able to find the desperate laborers to work under dire conditions to make this kind of pressure cooker productivity possible, when you’ve already managed to convince adult men and women to wear diapers, so that they can simply wet themselves, instead of failing to make the required delivery times thanks to a bathroom stop. There is a massive hole in this corporate logic, though: anything, anything at all, which interrupts the process will have immediate consequences in the form of supply chain disruptions. Something like, a ship getting stuck in the Suez Canal for six days has near immediate consequences. But, that’s not all. How about the fact that there used to be one ship waiting to be unloaded at the Los Angelos Port, through which nearly half of all goods entering the country flow. Now, there are over 100 cargo ships, stretching miles into the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, there are truckers lined up waiting for their cargo… no need to keep the engine running. Major retailers, like Home Depot, have taken to chartering their own cargo ships, which are much smaller, and can therefore circumvent the clogged main ports. These chartered ships generally carry between one thousand and three thousand containers, as opposed to the ones in line at the port – which carry twenty two thousand containers. Guess what else is different about these smaller ships? They cost four to five times as much money.

Second, we are running short on more than just the end user consumer goods. You’ll recall that there is something of a worker shortage in America right now. All those juicy Federal Benefits have ended, but, no one is lining up for terrible wages to work a terrible job at the moment. I suppose everyone who was in a bind just moved in with someone else, and, so they aren’t as desperate as they used to be? I don’t know… I’m just spit balling on that one, like everyone else. However, there are some real simple explanations that underlie the worker shortages and the ways in which they are affecting prices and supply. There is a jarringly high turnover rate for long haul truckers – 90% per year during normal times, thanks to the stress of the job, coupled with the isolation of the cab, and, the lost family time. Typically, that turnover rate is replenished with fresh faced new drivers. During the first year of the pandemic, demand fell off the face of the earth. So, the natural attrition of truckers didn’t need to be replaced, which was a good thing, because, there was no way to safely train drivers. Now, demand has rocketed back, but, there is more than an entire year of lost rookie truck drivers, with two years of attrition from the existing pool of drivers. The toughest truckers to keep are the ones who are tasked with towing around thousands of gallons of sloshing liquid danger, in the form of fuel and oil. This trucker shortage has also resulted in a dearth of liquid oxygen for use in hospitals. Good thing we don’t need oxygen to give to people in hospitals right now, right? The industry has increased wages, but, no one seems to be biting. Instead, career drivers are just bouncing around to get the best rate (and, seriously – good for them!). In the latest genius move of the free markets, high schools are training teenagers to become truckers, so that they can fill the gaps of this miserable profession, right out of high school. In the meantime, this is reducing the supply of gas, liquid oxygen, and, all sorts of goods, further driving up costs.

Third, we have outsourcing to thank. It takes between four and five years to move a supply chain from one country to another. Most of the microchips used by the entire world are made by a single company, and, that company isn’t based in the US. Most of our medicines and textiles come from China. The supply of microchips has so badly dried up, thanks to all of the aforementioned global supply chain issues, that US Automakers have had to shut down entire plants, because they simply didn’t have the necessary microchips to continue to produce vehicles. China and the US are on the verge of an actual war, over the Taiwan Issue, so, I doubt that China is really too anxious to resolve supply chain issues related to US bound exports. We can no longer provide for ourselves. We surrendered that ability, in exchange for cheaper trinkets. Oh! I almost forgot to mention… remember that microchip manufacturer that the entire world relies on? Yeah, they’re in Taiwan.

Finally, there are the media pundits who say that inflation has gone up because of government spending, and that the blame rests solely at the feet of the Democrats and Joe Biden. These people are accidentally telling you something about themselves. If government spending, in the form of giving struggling people cash assistance has caused inflation to increase, that is because there is more competition for goods. Why is there more competition for goods? Because the number of people who have money to make purchases has increased. Who doesn’t want more people to be able to have access to enough funds to purchase the things that they want or need? The people who already had enough money to buy what they wanted and needed. Those folks don’t want more people to be able to purchase goods, if it means that those who already had enough money to afford to purchase what they desired will have to pay a dime more than they already pay. This is particularly true when you consider the breadth of the Federal Government’s stimulus payments. The vast majority of Americans received the aid. Those that didn’t receive aid are at the relative top end of the socioeconomic ladder in this country. No one wants to pay more for goods or services, but, if it means that we collectively have to pay more, until the market can correct and add to the available supply, so that fewer Americans have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, that seems like a pretty good tradeoff from where I’m standing.

PS – Don’t forget to tip your waitresses, or else, they’ll get fed up and quit, too!

Sources:

https://news.yahoo.com/im-california-dock-worker-facing-132925803.html; https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/11/just-in-time-supply-chains-logistical-capitalism; https://www.yahoo.com/news/home-depot-executive-says-chartering-170329115.html; https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/29/economy/truck-driver-shortage-pay-hikes/index.html; https://www.ccjdigital.com/economic-trends/article/15064753/driver-turnover-rate-holding-steady; https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-world-relies-on-one-chip-maker-in-taiwan-leaving-everyone-vulnerable-11624075400

An Objective Look At Afghanistan.

As if there hasn’t been enough digital ink spilled over Afghanistan, allow me to give you one more piece to consider. But, first, don’t worry about whether I’m on your political team – I’ll tell you right now, that I’m not. I’m team America, and team humanity. If you are team Democrats, or Team Republicans, you’ll never be Team America, because, you’d rather the other side lose, so that your side can win, which is at odds with the interests of both the Nation, and humanity as a whole. Before we get to the current situation, we need to examine how we got here. If you walk upon a car accident, where one car seems to have driven headlong into the trunk of another car, it’s very easy to say, “this car in the front got rear ended by the car in the back.” But, sometimes, the car in the front backs into the car in the back. If you don’t rewind the tape far enough, you’ll only ever be jumping to conclusions, instead of analyzing fact based evidence. I promise that I will provide only facts until the end, and, at that point, I’ll let you know that we’re diving into the world of opinion, by denoting the editorial section for what it is. Some of this might make you think I rewound the tape too far, but, I think it’s brief, and necessary, enough to take a few extra seconds.

9/11/2001: The World Trade Center is attacked by terrorists.[i]

9/14/2001: The U.S. Congress votes on the open ended authorization of military force. The vote passes, 518-1, with two senators not casting a vote, and only one member of the House voting against the measure. The one vote against, was a Democrat, who was moved by the prayer of the minister at the memorial service, praying that “as we act, we not become the evil we deplore.” She was branded a traitor by the press and by many in Congress.[ii] 

10/7/2001: After weeks of planning, and, angry demands for vengeance across the United States, The U.S. begins bombing Afghanistan. The stated mission was to hunt down Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.[iii]

11/2001: The Taliban retreat.[iv]

12/2001: Bin Laden escapes.[v]

4/2002: The mission changes to “bringing democracy to Afghanistan.”

09/2008: Barrack Obama campaigns on ending the war and closing Guantanamo Bay.

02/2009: Obama, having become President, is convinced to send a surge of troops to Afghanistan, as opposed to ending the war.[vi]

9/2016: Donald Trump campaigns on ending the war in Afghanistan.

8/2017: Trump, having become President is convinced to send more troops to Afghanistan, as opposed to ending the war (starting to sound familiar).[vii]

10/2019: Donald Trump betrays the Kurdish Troops, who had fought, side by side, with U.S. Troops for years, against the real world Voldemort(s) known as ISIS. U.S. Veterans are aghast.[viii]

02/2020: Trump enters into a peace agreement with the Taliban. The particulars are as follows – Within 135 days, the U.S. would reduce the total number of U.S. Troops to 8,600; The U.S. and its allies would abandon 5 military bases within 135 days; release 5,000 Taliban prisoners of war, in exchange for 1,000 Afghan soldiers being held prisoner by the Taliban. The agreement makes no reference to the actual elected Afghanistan Government. The Taliban agreed not to attack U.S. Forces, and, the U.S. agreed not to attack Taliban Forces.[ix]

07/2020: The terms of the peace agreement have been fulfilled.

10/8/2020: President Trump announces that the U.S. Military will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2020, blindsiding Military leaders, who, according to “The Military Times,” stated that there was no such plan, whatsoever.[x]

11/2020: Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump. 

02/2021: Biden sticks with the Trump plan, but, extends the deadline for withdraw, moving it from May 1, 2021 to August 31, 2021.

04/2021: Trump attacks Biden’s new deadline, saying, the closer to May 1^st, the better.[xi]

2018-Present: No one in the Pentagon, or the White House, believes for a second that the existing Afghanistan Government will survive. The only question is how long will it take for them to fall to the Taliban.

Time to editorialize!

2008-2021: Americans seem to only care about the War in Afghanistan when asked in polling questions, around national elections; generally lack any knowledge whatsoever, regarding what military conflicts our government is waging, and basically seem contented to fixate on prime time television, having largely decided that all of the world’s remaining problems (including our own) are too complicated to be solved, or else, should be solved by someone else, and, so help us God, if that nameless, faceless, person doesn’t solve them, we are going to be very angry.

07/2021: America, seeing the beginning of the fall of the Afghanistan Government, realizes that we have been at war for two decades; thinks they finally understand what all those veteran suicides might be about; still, basically clueless.

08/2021: Amidst horrifying images, which lay bare the consequences of America’s actions, coupled with the evil acts of the Taliban and ISIS, Americans decide that things should have been done better. While offering no solutions, we pivot from general indifference to generalized rage and finger wagging. While the 1% of Americans who are or were service members watch in horror, wondering what they lost friends, or body parts for – and, realizing that, once again, America betrayed the very people who risked their lives, by buying into what we were selling, and, deciding to help us.

08/2021: For the second time in as many Presidents, the highest ranking members of the U.S. Government have revealed their true character: they simply don’t care about our abandoning our allies to their deaths. And, if you look at it through their eyes, why should they? Everyday, around the globe, untold numbers of innocent, peaceful, people are slaughtered by wicked people, who possess zero regard for human life, and, we do not act. We, as a government, only act when we think it will benefit American Citizens. We, as a people, hardly give the government any reason to worry that we will be upset by their indifference. And, if you think you don’t have blood on your hands (as I know I have on mine), tell me: how hard have you worked to make sure you’re not wearing products produced by slave labor? If you didn’t know that China was keeping over a million people in concentration camps, and, using them as slave labor to make your goods, then you either are an impoverished person, who is working multiple jobs to survive, or else, one who opts for the tv remote and some relaxing prime time entertainment over reading the news. If you wonder what you can do, there are two really big things, which are completely free: inform yourself, and, use your voice. If you think public opinion doesn’t accomplish anything, take a fresh look at the way that the GOP Congresspeople have had to swap their suits and ties for QAnon t-shirts and Viking helmets with horns. The elected want power. We are the ones who give it to them. They will do whatever we demand of them, in order to maintain their power. It’s time to start changing our demands. It’s time to start taking responsibility, ourselves, for not even being well enough informed to know which way is up.  

A final thought on our relationship with the rest of the world: we have powerful enemies who want to see us destroyed, while our government actively seeks ways to bring those same governments down. Billions of innocent lives hang in the balance of a few madmen who crave power above all else. There are only a few ways to get people to do what you want; you can manipulate them, use the carrot of gifts, the stick of force, or a combination of these. That’s really about it. Presently, China is using all of these methods. Recently, China gave a small Pacific Island Nation $2.6 Billion dollars, for infrastructure, and, for the construction of a palace for the Island’s King. In the U.S., we threw a shit fit over the international aid in the 2020 budget. We have twice abandoned major allies in the middle east, to their deaths – in just the last two years. No one wants to be your friend when you routinely screw your other friends over, and, when you won’t share any of your toys. If you never buy anyone lunch, don’t expect them to grab your dry cleaning, when you are in a pinch. Americans who identify with one political party or another need to stop thinking in terms of scoring political points. We need to stop thinking in overly simplistic terms, and learn to examine the details before we start shouting at one another in moral outrage. Hell, we need to stop shouting, all together, and start having legitimate conversations, as if we still believe that the people with whom we disagree deserve the right to breathe. If we can’t manage to make those changes, we will get to see the demise of our Republic, and, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.  

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[i] https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan

[ii] Id.

[iii] Id.

[iv] Id.

[v] Id.

[vi] https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan

[vii] https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan

[viii] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/for-us-soldiers-its-a-dagger-to-the-heart-to-abandon-the-kurds/2019/10/14/f0a1db60-eecf-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html

[ix] https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Agreement-For-Bringing-Peace-to-Afghanistan-02.29.20.pdf

[x] https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/10/08/taliban-cheer-trump-tweet-promising-early-us-troop-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/

[xi] https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/18/politics/trump-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal/index.html

What Is The GOP’s Endgame?

Northern Texas Hospitals requested emergency healthcare workers and The State of Texas has denied that request. Let that sink in. Hospitalizations have quadrupled in the region, and, the State basically said, “you’re on your own.” Children under 12 cannot be vaccinated, so, some Texas School Districts have decided to offer those students a remote option. The word option being key here, considering the fact that the State of Texas has said that it will not count remote attendance as actual attendance – meaning that any school district that even offers a remote option will pay dearly, in the form of lost funding from the state. Meanwhile, Ron Desantis is banning seemingly anything even remotely preferred by public health officials, even as his poll numbers show him losing significant ground to Charlie Crist, of all people.

I understand the political sentiment of playing to the base, but, making the base happy today won’t mean very much if the consequences of today’s happiness are merely tomorrow’s misery. The base (of either party) will not remember being happy. They will only remember the misleading words of their party’s leaders, carefully crafted to tell the base exactly what they wanted to hear. Donald Trump turned the GOP upside down, but, after his 2020 defeat, you might have thought that the Party would recalibrate. Instead, they haven’t recalibrated or doubled down, so much as they have fallen apart at the seams, thanks to a combination of the short-sighted and self-serving crowd, the calculated long game crowd, and finally the dimwits like MTG. Having only two viable parties wasn’t really all that great, and, now we only have one. As the GOP breaks down like fractions, I have to wonder: what is their endgame?

Why the left and the right need immigration reform, and how to get it done.

America faces many issues. One of the longest running, and most financially draining, is the question of what to do with the undocumented population. Decades of governmental failures, across the entire political spectrum have resulted in a porous southern border, and, a significant population of people who came into this country illegally. Before I go on, it should be noted that I believe that these people are largely good, decent people, who were desperately trying to provide a better life for their families. Any mention of the cost burdens that they place upon society are merely an observation of reality. It is not meant to denigrate them, as a segment of society, or even individually. The purpose of pointing it out, is to find a way to address the problem, not to blame, or disparage, anyone. Because, what is the point of disparaging anyone? The goal is (or, at least ought to be) to work together to identify our societies most problematic issues so that we can resolve them in the best, and most practical, manner. I digress. This population has essentially served as an underclass; providing cheap labor, and serving as the scapegoat for numerous issues. They have collectively been caricatured, while individually being hidden in the shadows. Furthermore, their labor doesn’t contribute to the Nation’s tax coffers, they don’t typically have primary physicians, so, there are vaccination issues and unpaid emergency room bills, along with the attendant strain that they place on those emergency room resources, and, they are vulnerable to criminal actors, because they cannot freely go to law enforcement to report crimes. Enter the new Presidential Administration of Joe Biden. Now, Biden has indicated a desire to bring unity, and bipartisanship. However, such an accomplishment would be no small feat, and, he needs an issue wherein there can be some semblance of agreement between the parties, and, the people that those parties have spent a great deal of effort whipping up into a frothing, foaming, frenzy of division.

So, if Joe Biden really wants to be Bipartisan, and transformational, I present to you, the entirely unexpected solution: he should adopt George W. Bush’s 2007 immigration reform policy.* Just a refresher for those who can’t remember what they had for Breakfast, let alone an immigration plan that was proposed 14 years ago, here is the summary, followed by the highlights. The bottom line is, the plan brought everyone in out of the shadows, gave them a pathway forward, didn’t give them a free lunch, and, allowed a way for seasonal workers to continue providing low cost options to the agriculture sector, which are far below minimum wage, but, which still provide far more income than those workers could ever earn south of the border. Right now, America survives the same way that it has always survived; through the labor of an unprotected, “underclass.” This plan doesn’t meet the left’s utopian dream of universal human equality that sees beyond borders – an aim which I believe is admirable, but, not practical. It does, however, offer a great deal of people many more protections, and, provides a path to eradicating the many hidden costs of the underclass that is the undocumented immigrant.
Highlights:
– Amnesty for kids who were brought here by their parents. As a child you didn’t do anything to earn or deserve your lot in life, and, neither did these people.
– 5 year path to citizenship, wherein the person pays a penalty for the manner in which they came into the country.
– Temp worker program, which allows farm workers to engage in the horrible work which pays so little there is no way to have American workers perform the task without causing a cataclysmic increase in costs for all manner of harvested foods.
– The ability to actually have a real national ID program, where we can make sure that EVERYONE gets equal access to justice, and, that all citizens get access to everything that being a citizen of this nation entitles a person to receive… not just the right to vote.
– A secure border. Most of the drugs in this country do not have domestic origins. Our opioid epidemic is fueled on our southern border. Cartels traffic human beings into the country and then demand a life time of monthly payments, or else they will kill the family of the trafficked. Our southern border must be secured not only out of national interest, but, for humanitarian reasons.
We have to stop demanding the nonexistent “perfect plan,” and start advocating for better policies, despite the imperfections that they present, simply because they are the best policy we can think of at the moment and inaction is worse than a new policy that is better but not perfect.

*Just kidding. While I feel that adopting GWB’s immigration plan would be a fantastic idea, I don’t for a single second believe that today’s GOP would accept that, considering the fact that the far more moderate GOP of 2007 didn’t even accept it.

Did Wall Street and Big $$$ Just Stick it to Retail Investors? Let’s Take A Look.

Just to be clear, Wall Street $$$ (hereafter “$$$”) saw that the little people (hereafter “LP”) found a way into the castle, so, $$$ poured boiling hot tar onto the LP, and, then feathers, to put them in their place. How? This is the simplest breakdown I can give:

1. LP has a working knowledge of the markets. LP knows that, unlike LP, $$$ can engage in a “naked short,” which is where $$$ sells shares of stock that it doesn’t own, without even having to borrow those shares from someone who does own them (even LP could do this, but, LP isn’t that dumb/arrogant); bc,

2. If you buy a $100 stock, the most you can lose is $100, after $$$ naked shorts the entire company to $0, by selling shares it doesn’t own; BUT,

3. LP knows the risk of ANY kind of short, bc, if your plan (to sell borrowed stock at $100, trying to drive the cost to $0, so that you can return the “borrowed stock,” at a repurchased price of just above $0,) backfires, and the stock you sold for $100 shoots to the moon, you are out whatever the price goes up to – $1,000, $10,000, whatever, bc, even $$$ isn’t allowed to short a stock forever; in short… errr… in summary, a short poses limitless risk; and,

4. LP noticed that $$$ had STUPIDLY engaged in SO MANY naked shorts, that around 140% … yes, 40% more than the total amount of available stock had been shorted; so,

5. This meant that LP had a sure bet, if they could band together, and, they did. They cost $$$ tens of billions of dollars… so, just enough to piss $$$ off. so LP wins, right?

6. Wrong. $$$ shuts down all buying, so that only SELLING is allowed… but, who can buy what is being sold? Oh! Did I say ALL buying? No… that’s not correct. All buying for LP. $$$ was still able to buy. So, what did $$$ do? They bought. They repaid their borrowed shares, after they drove the price down.

7. They have excuses and justifications, but, remember, $$$ has crashed the entire economy – at least three times during my 38 year life, in fact. There was no halt to buying or selling when it was $$$ sinking the ship. There was only government bailouts… to $$$.

So, don’t tell me that there is a level playing field, bc, I don’t appreciate being lied to. Can anyone become the greatest success story ever in this country? Yes. You can also win the Powerball, but, not many educated people play that, either. The rags to riches story in America is no different than the Powerball story. A few will win, but, they have to possess the winning ticket. Everyone else is being sold a bill of goods, paying a price for a system designed to fund one group (Powerball = The Powerful and ultra wealthy, and the Powerball ticket holders represent the other 99% of us), with the promise that, “you, too, can be a winner!” Now, don’t get me wrong. In America, you can struggle to mediocrity; you can work hard to be able to leave a little bit to your loved ones when you die. But, the anecdote is supported by the data: wealth is rapidly consolidating in the hands of a few, while an ever increasing number struggle just to get by. We can fix it, by making the types of changes that our founders would have fought for, like Universal Basic Income (an idea then popularized by none other than the founding father inspirer, Thomas Paine) and, in so doing, we can eradicate so very many of the ills that America faces. Or, we could allow this thing to spiral into a bloody civil war, which will ruin the lives of most people on both sides, and, destabilize the entire world. But, whatever we go with, let’s drop the pretense that this thing is somehow anything other than a rigged game, at present.

The Continuing Costs of The Capitol Riots

Yet another Law Enforcement Officer (“LEO”) has committed suicide in the wake of the insurrection at the Capitol. At this point, anyone who down plays, or diminishes, what happened at the Capitol should have to look at the faces of the LEO’s who committed suicide, and their loved ones, every damn day, for the rest of their lives. But, I know where this thought rhetorically leads my friends on the right: the BLM Protests. So, before anyone goes and tries to make a BLM analogy, remember: LEOs involved in the BLM protests stop engaging with crowds when the situation shifted from being a protest to a riot. Under normal circumstances, LEOs engage in crowd control, when they determine that a crowd can be controlled. After that point, they surrender the area. Why? Bc any other option would almost certainly lead to a catastrophic outcome, with untold death and prolonged violence leading to the further deterioration of the situation. This is also why LEOs are conspicuously absent when looting is taking place. The vast majority of BLM protests were peaceful, and, deteriorated only when LEOs used violent dispersion tactics to break apart peaceful crowds. Furthermore, LEOs can step back when the risk is to property and not people, because, people are worth more than property.

The LEOs facing the hordes of MAGA faithful, seeking to fulfill President Trump’s failed insurrection and coup attempts couldn’t step back, like this was a Prada Store being looted. They couldn’t just surrender the national seat of power, and permit the potential assassination of lawmakers on live television. Also, allow me to remind everyone that those supporting the BLM movement protested, and, if I am not mistaken, even rioted, in D.C. Yet they never once attempted to overthrow the government. And, I know the next thought my friends on the right are thinking: “Not everyone at the Capitol was a violent Trump Supporter,” and, “most of them were peaceful.” I will allow them this point, even though they denied the obvious fact that the same was true of the BLM protests and riots. Nevertheless, those who engaged in violence that day were Trump supporters,* who murdered one cop, tried to murder others, and, caused LEOs who had endured the BLM protests, to commit suicide within weeks of the Capitol riots. This cannot be glossed over, or forgotten, without smearing the blood of the innocent, which thickly coats the hands of all who perpetuated the violence at the Capitol, and, the hands of all those who defend those actions, all. over. the. place.

*I will also permit that, in every group which has been incited to violence, there are likely to be some agent provocateurs, once again, even though the very people who rush to point this out denied the possibility when the subject was the BLM riots, because, consistency matters. Nevertheless, it has become abundantly clear that many, many, of the insurrectionists were dyed in the wool MAGA and QAnon lunatics.

An Election Problem.

We can’t have nice things. Seriously, we just aren’t ready to handle them yet. We aren’t… mature enough, collectively. For the first 174 years of electing Presidents, we had one impeachment, and, a grand total of three Presidents who failed to secure a second term. We elected a cripple, a bunch of bald guys, a couple fat guys, and even an ugly, crotchety looking, old mug like Martin Van Buren.

Martin Van Buren, in all his splendor.

Then, in 1960, something changed. We started televising Presidential Debates. In the intervening 51 years, we have had two of our nations three impeachments, three of our nations six one term Presidents, two celebrity Presidents, and a peanut farmer. Of the five Presidents who immediately preceded the first televised debate, three were bald, one was crippled and one had the worst five head of all time. Now, I’m not saying that things would be perfect if we couldn’t see the candidates in advance, but, I am saying that, since the televised debate became a thing, the qualifications for the position of, “leader of the free world,” appear to amount to something much more superficial in nature. In short, it has become a beauty pageant! A nice head of hair, broad shoulders, and, a height advantage seem to be all the substance that one requires to secure the office, and, the results are uglier than the candidates. So far, I have only offered anecdotal evidence, but, a 2009 study showed that 5 year old Swiss kids could pic the winner of French Parliamentary Elections, based only on a picture. People could predict the winners of an election by watching video of a debate… with the TV muted. Those aren’t positive indicators of our ability to pick a candidate based on their political platform. As long as we are able to see their faces, and, for as long as the TV Debate exists, the Martin Van Burens of the world don’t have a chance.