News New Mexico

Imbeciles

© 2018 Jim Spence - The logic behind the American criminal justice system is not tricky….unless you watch the most recent hysterical drama productions created by the propaganda ministries (most U.S. news producers).

Let’s review the laws that apply to all people entering the U.S. without permission. Doing so is a crime. The first offense is a misdemeanor and the second is a felony. This applies to EVERYONE entering the U.S. Everyone must pass through Customs. American citizens and foreign nationals who have obtained PERMISSION to enter the U.S. often wait in long lines to do so. If they try to do an end run around border law enforcement authorities, it is a crime.

Committing crimes always comes with consequences, when the people committing the crimes get caught.

If anyone (including ALL U.S. citizens) are arrested and charged with a crime, THEY ARE SEPARATED FROM THEIR CHILDREN WHEN THEY GO TO JAIL. The kids of the accused are never put in adult jail cells with their parents when their parents are charged with crimes.

Often, in addition to the crime the parents are arrested for, if the children are in their parent's presence when their parents committed a crime, the parents are also charged with "Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor." Our system is logical. It punishes people severely for involving their children in criminal behavior.

These fundamental truths apply to ALL persons arrested in the U.S. Of course.......this is not something "new." This has been the reality of our criminal justice system for hundreds of years.

The Democrats would now have us pervert our judicial system simply for their political benefit.

Sadly, and up until recently, there was a real consensus in America that we wanted to place DISINCENTIVES into our legal system for criminal behavior. We do so because we want to reduce the number of crimes committed by parents. This structure assumes good parents are going to be reasonable enough to NOT want to be separated from their kids. Astonishingly, Democrats want to encourage criminal behavior instead of discouraging it.

All intelligent people realize that merely "HAVING KIDS" has never been and should never be a, “Get Out of Jail Free” card. But we are not dealing with intelligent people here. We are dealing with imbeciles.

There is a very simple solution for every person, regardless of citizenship, who does not want to be “separated” from their kids. Don’t break laws that wind up sending you to jail. This includes doing an end-run around U.S. Customs because you did not bother to respect American laws and get permission to enter the U.S. Dodging the border authorities is one of many examples of criminal acts that will get you separated from your kids.....no matter who you are.

Any questions?

Get Trump - Journalist's Favorite Game

© 2018 Jim Spence - Often on this site I have applauded award winning investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s efforts to expose what has happened to journalism. In a recent column she documented what she called, "50 Notable Mistakes and Missteps in Major Media Reporting on Donald Trump," which is the source for these twenty-six incidents below.

In my previous column, I discussed why we don’t watch the “news” at our house anymore. The reason is the complete abandonment of journalistic principles by most media outlets. Notice how often the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Newsweek, NBC News, and the Associated Press (AP) are listed as egregious violators. These incidents listed below are merely the tip of the iceberg:

On October 1, 2016, the New York Times and other pro-Democrat media outlets widely suggested or implied that Trump had not paid income taxes for 18 years. Later, tax return pages leaked to MSNBC showed that Trump actually paid a higher rate than Democrats Bernie Sanders and President Obama. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On October 18, 2016, in a Washington Post piece that was NOT labelled opinion or analysis, Stuart Rothenberg reported that Trump’s path to an electoral college victory was “nonexistent.” Not only was this analysis, it was terrible analysis.

On November 9, 2016, early on election night, the Detroit Free Press called the state of Michigan for Hillary Clinton. Ummmm…..Donald Trump actually won Michigan. Apparently the city is not the only thing bankrupt in Detroit.

January 20, 2017, CNN claimed Nancy Sinatra was “not happy” at her father’s song being used at Trump’s inauguration. Sinatra responded, “That’s not true. I never said that. Why do you lie, CNN?…Actually I’m wishing him the best.” This “get Trump” story was absolutely false

On January 20, 2017, the very day Donald Trump was inaugurated, Zeke Miller of TIME reported that President Trump had removed the bust statue of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. from the Oval Office. The news went viral. This “get Trump” story by pinning the racist tag on him was absolutely false.

January 28, 2017, CNBC’s John Harwood reported the Justice Department “had no input” on Trump’s immigration executive order. After a colleague contradicted Harwood’s report, he amended it to reflect that Justice Department lawyers reportedly had reviewed Trump’s order. Harwood has been a partisan hack his entire career. His “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On February 2, 2017, TMZ reported Trump changed the name of “Black History Month” to “African American History Month,” implying the change was untoward or racist. In fact, Presidents Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton had all previously called Black History month “African American History” month. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On June 4, 2017, NBC News reported in a Tweet that Russian President Vladimir Putin told TV host Megan Kelly that he had compromising information about Trump. Actually, Putin said the opposite: that he did not have compromising information on Trump. Funny how that got all messed up and ass-backwards. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

June 6, 2017, CNN’s Gloria Borger, Eric Lichtblau, Jake Tapper and Brian Rokus; and ABC’s Justin Fishel and Jonathan Karl reported that James Comey was going to refute Donald Trump’s claim that Comey told Trump three times he was not under investigation. Instead, Comey did the opposite and confirmed Trump’s claim. Each of these outlets reported just the opposite of the truth. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On June 22, 2017, CNN’s Thomas Frank reported that Congress was investigating a “Russian investment fund with ties to Trump officials.” The report was later retracted. Frank and two other CNN employees resigned in the fallout. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On December 2, 2017, ABC News’ Brian Ross reported that former Trump official Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn was going to testify that candidate Trump had directed him to contact “the Russians.” Even though such contact would not be in of itself a violation of law, the news was treated as an explosive indictment of Trump in the Russia collusion narrative, and the stock market fell on the news. ABC later corrected the report to reflect that Trump had already been elected when he reportedly asked Flynn to contact the Russians about working together to fight ISIS and other issues. Ross was suspended but not fired for such an ethical breach. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

July 6, 2017, Newsweek’s Chris Riotta and others reported that Poland’s First Lady had refused to shake Trump’s hand. Newsweek’s later “update” reflected that the First Lady had shaken Trump’s hand after all, as clearly seen on the full video. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

August 31, 2017, NBC News’ Ken Dilinian and Carol Lee reported that a Trump official’s notes about a meeting with a Russian lawyer included the word “donation,” as if there were discussions about suspicious campaign contributions. NBC later corrected the report to reflect that the word “donation” didn’t appear, but still claimed the word “donor” did. Later, Politico reported that the word “donor” wasn’t in the notes, either. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

September. 5, 2017, CNN’s Chris Cillizza and other news outlets declared Trump “lied” when he stated that Trump Tower had been wiretapped, although there’s no way any reporter independently knew the truth of the matter—only what intel officials claimed. It later turned out there were numerous wiretaps involving Trump Tower, including a meeting of Trump officials with a foreign dignitary. At least two Trump associates who had offices in or frequented Trump Tower were also wiretapped.

On November 6, 2017, CNN edited a video that made it appear although Trump impatiently dumped a box of fish food into the water while feeding fish at Japan’s palace. The New York Daily News, the Guardian and others wrote stories implying Trump was gauche and impetuous. The full video showed that Trump had simply followed the lead of Japan’s Prime Minister. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

November 29, 2017, Newsweek’s Chris Riotta claimed Ivanka Trump “plagiarized” one of her own speeches. In fact, plagiarizing one’s own work is impossible since plagiarism is when a writer steals someone else’s work and passes it off as his own. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

December 5, 2017, Bloomberg’s Steven Arons and the Wall Street Journal’s Jenny Strasburg reported the blockbuster that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had subpoenaed Trump’s bank records. It wasn’t true. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

December 8, 2017, CNN’s Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb reported that Donald Trump Jr. conspired with WikiLeaks in advance of the publication of damaging Democrat party and Clinton campaign emails. Many other publications followed suit. They had the date wrong: WikiLeaks and Trump Junior were in contact after the emails were published. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On March 8, 2018, The New York Times’ Jan Rosen reported on a hypothetical family whose tax bill would rise nearly $4,000 under Trump’s tax plan. It turns out the calculations were off: the couple’s taxes would go actually go down $43; not up $4,000. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On March 13, 2018, The New York Times’ Adam Goldman, NBC’s Noreen O’Donnell and AP’s Deb Riechmann reported that Trump’s pick for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, had waterboarded a particular Islamic extremist terrorist dozens of time at a secret prison; and that she had mocked his suffering. In fact, Haspel wasn’t assigned to the prison until after the detainee left. ProPublica originally reported the incorrect details in Feb. 2017. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On March 15, 2018, AP’s Michael Biesecker, Jake Pearson and Jeff Horwitz reported that a Trump advisory board official had been a Miss America contestant and had killed a black rhino. She actually was a Mrs. America contestant and had shot a nonlethal tranquilizer dart at a white rhino. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On April 1, 2018 AP’s Nicholas Riccardi reported that the Trump administration had ended a program to admit foreign entrepreneurs. It wasn’t true. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

May 3, 2018, NBC’s Tom Winter reported that the government had wiretapped Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen. NBC later corrected the story after three senior U.S. officials said there was no wiretap. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

May 7, 2018, CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger reported that Trump’s personal lawyer, Cohen, paid $1 million in fines related to unauthorized cars in his taxi business, had been barred from managing taxi medallions, had transferred $60 million offshore to avoid paying debts, and is awaiting trial on charges of failing to pay millions in taxes. A later correction stated that none of that was true. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On May 16, 2018, The New York Times’ Julie Hirschfeld Davis, AP, CNN’s Oliver Darcy and others excerpted a Trump comment as if he had referred to immigrants or illegal immigrants generally as “animals.” Most outlets corrected their reports later to note that Trump had specifically referred to members of the murderous criminal gang MS-13. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

On May 28, 2018, The New York Times’ Magazine editor-in-chief Jake Silverstein and CNN’s Hadas Gold shared a story with photos of immigrant children in cages as if they were new photos taken under the Trump administration. The article and photos were actually taken in 2014 under the Obama administration. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.

We don’t watch the news because it isn’t news. It is cheap, manipulative, propaganda dressed up as "news" to influence elections. Anyone watching the "news" to stay "informed" is becoming increasingly uninformed.

We don't watch the news around here

© 2018 Jim Spence - A couple of years ago we had relatives in for a visit. I returned from a late afternoon meeting during their visit and after exchanging a few pleasantries, I turned on a ball game. It wasn’t an interesting match-up and I said so. One of our visitors agreed and suggested we turn on the “news.”

I smiled and informed him that, “We don’t watch the news around here.” I quickly allowed as how if he wanted to turn on the news that would be fine with me because I had a few chores to do anyway. He seemed startled that someone in my profession did not “watch” the news. Sensing that he was puzzled, I let him know that I read the Wall Street Journal and also checked on a daily basis several fact-oriented financial news websites. The conversation ended there, the news went on the TV, and I went to my home office to do some work.

Long ago I realized that what most people refer to as the “news programs” are actually well-orchestrated propaganda presentations, specifically designed to promote false narratives and phony themes. Accordingly, I have not missed what so-called “news producers” deem to be lead stories that are spoon fed to the masses. While I continue to remain relatively well-informed……an awareness of the fake mission of most news organizations, has made it much more difficult than ever for media outlets to persuade me to swallow a growing variety of false narratives.

Unfortunately, there is only so much control one can enforce on life. Pop culture slops over into my world despite the insulation I have installed. I still encounter the steady drumbeat of false narratives every day. However, if like so many Americans, I actually bought into the false themes being peddled every single day, I would be inclined to conclude that half of our nation is composed of raging anti-immigrant racists. Reality suggests otherwise.

Recently, I made a trip to the east coast for a family wedding. I had significant layovers in both Dallas on the way there and in San Antonio on the way back. When I travel, I like to read books and “people watch.” I make note of what the young people are wearing and what foods people are buying. I look at the top books for sale in the airport books shops to get a sense of what is selling. I also pay attention to people working in and around the airports, including those providing good service and those who really are not committed to excellence where customer service is concerned.

America truly is a melting pot. If you step back and observe, you will quickly see a fascinating mosaic of American life during travels to heavy population metro areas.

I get no sense of the “two Americas” trumpeted by the news program manipulators. When you get out and about, what you encounter are Asians, Hispanics, blacks, whites, and countless people of mixed races all getting along with each other just fine. People from all sorts of backgrounds are working to serve their customers or travelling as paying customers. Almost 100% of the time, the people providing customer service or travelling are polite and reasonably attentive to the tasks at hand. Again, members of all racial and ethnic groups are represented as both workers and customers.

On my latest trip, which was not unlike any other trip I have made in my entire adult life, there were absolutely no signs of racial tensions among passengers or workers. This pleasant tranquility was also true at the ballparks, restaurants, and hotels I went to.

Here is the point. There is absolutely no question that there are fewer racist nut jobs out there in America than ever before. Like virtually all other business people, at our company, we would never tolerate indications of racism on the part of any employee. We would not hire any knee taking NFL player or Roseanne Barr.

Still, and quite naturally, in a nation where 350 million people live, there have always been, and will always be a few idiots misbehaving. However, the narratives promoted by Democrats who dominate “news,” that racism is still a pervasive problem in America, simply does not gibe with most people's experiences.

What is the motive behind those dedicated to magnifying the deeds of the idiots? The answer is simple. They want more big government socialism. And they will try to sell anyone who will listen on the idea that more socialism is needed to completely rid society of the small sliver of idiots in the general population that embrace racism or any other stupid idea.

The following is a much better narrative. However, it doesn’t seem to catch on despite the fact it is the truth: "There is more upward mobility in America than in any other country in the world. Any Asian, Hispanic, black, white, or mixed race person can accomplish great things in our country. All he or she need to do is develop marketable skills. Opportunities for great things abound for all who do this. And for others with less ability, drive, and ambition, there are still decent jobs to be had serving others."

No, I don’t watch television news. I prefer to be well-informed instead of allowing myself to be programmed like a robot.

They Got What They Wanted

© 2018 Jim Spence - As a student of American history, sometimes you just have to grin as you watch the 21st Century unfold. For decades we have watched the mainstream news media play a cynical game. It is a game they have played while hoping their intent would go undetected. It is a game of political manipulation, and it is foisted on the American public every single day in the hopes of garnering more votes for Democrats.
The big players in the mainstream media have had plenty of help in winning this game. From kindergarten through college, Americans are indoctrinated towards beliefs in Democrat fantasies. Millions of political operatives disguised as educators do the same things the news media does. First, there is this fantasy taught in schools that if you don’t enjoy an “equal” economic outcome…..somebody must have cheated you; probably a Republican business person. Second, public education infers at every turn that anyone who has enjoyed a better than average annual income must somehow, in some way, be exploiting others through our free-market system. And third, the children are taught the idea that learning valuable and highly marketable skills is over-rated. The main thing is to get a “degree.” And there are no cautions issued that using student loans to keep up a nice lifestyle as a student is stupid. It goes on and on.
ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, plus most local television stations and newspapers are actually nothing more than a subsidiaries of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party literally owns these mainstream media outlets. And through operatives disguised as journalists, mainstream media outlets are major shareholders in the Democratic Party.
Consider how the mainstream media “colluded” with Democrats to achieve the outcomes they desired a couple of years ago.
One of the most curious things about 2015 and 2016 was the behavior of the mainstream news media from the very day that Donald Trump announced he was running for president. Unlike other GOP hopefuls, the mainstream media gave Trump unprecedented levels of air time virtually every day……they did so for FREE. Many of us wondered at the time…….Why?
We all remember candidates like Jeb Bush just shaking his head at all the FREE publicity Trump was getting, while poor Jeb pissed away his prodigious campaign war chest on TV commercials that had no effect whatsoever.
It all makes more sense in 2018. Reports in recent weeks from former Clinton campaign officials can help any honest historian conduct an autopsy on the now dead and discarded Hillary Clinton campaign. So many Clinton aides have let it slip, without knowing they were letting anything significant slip, that Donald Trump was EXACTLY the candidate that the Clintons and their Democratic Party “strategists” wanted to run against all along. Let that sink in.
With this in mind, it is no longer surprising that the media, which no doubt attended countless cocktail parties with Clinton operatives, and read mass emails, knew that wall-to-wall coverage of candidate Trump was going to be good for business. These days it takes no great leap of faith at all to conclude that with Trump already great for their ratings in 2015-2016, and their pals in the Democratic Party making it known they wanted to run against Trump, that Trump would get all the free coverage.......while Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, etc. shook their heads in wonderment.
So.........it turns out the media and the Democrats GOT EXACTLY what they wanted……a clean shot at running Hillary Clinton against Trump.
In 2018, Democrats in public education, the news media, and in elected offices, are still collectively suffering from the fact that their heads are spinning. And their Trump hatred cups have all run over the top. Imagine that? Democrat's terrific ideas led to unintended consequences. Welcome to the real world pals.

LC Sun-News shines light on LCPS Central Office

© 2018 Jim Spence - Our subscription to the Las Cruces Sun-News was dropped years ago. Occasionally, I’ll take a look at the paper online. Like so many news outlets, long ago the Sun-News became such a propaganda piece for identity politics, junk science, and anti-business sentiments. Accordingly, it has hardly been worth subsidizing, even with a tiny online subscription. Who knows, we might re-think that based on this story.

Low and behold, this weekend the Sun-News suddenly embarked on an investigative mission. While I am somewhat skeptical about the narrowness of the underlying reasons why, it is a breath of fresh air to see that the Sun-News has actually decided that the resource allocation policies at the massively bloated bureaucracy at the Las Cruces Public Schools deserves scrutiny.

Insect observers tell us that cockroaches tend to scurry for the shadows when the lights suddenly come on in a room where these occupants prefer darkness. This is a metaphor for what Sun-News reporter Ali Linan has been doing by asking questions about the ever-expanding roster of highly compensated bureaucrats at LCPS. It would seem that former LCPS superintendent Stan Rounds’ replacement Greg Ewing has now had sixteen months to demonstrate his priorities, and Linan has done some homework to expose them.

Far be it from the LCPS school board or the central planners to remember that resources (monies) are allocated to the district out of the pockets of taxpayers to help children acquire essential skills. The focal point of LCPS should be children, and by proxy, their classroom teachers who interact with them on a daily basis. Sadly, kids and teachers get nothing but lip service from those who control the money at the LCPS central office.

Those of us who have been around the block a few times understand that schools are managed best when teacher and student-oriented school principals are given the broadest authority to allocate resources at each school. The LCPS school board is oblivious to the fact that a large and ever-growing constituency of central planning bureaucrats downtown is the polar opposite of a good structure where schools are run for best results.

Sadly, Linan and the Sun-News are barely scratching the surface of the problem at LCPS. A ten minute review of the organizational chart at LCPS and the list of “promotions” handed out by Mr. Ewing are all one needs to see the problem. You can pull up the organizational chart of the central office of LCPS HERE.

Essentially, this chart is a graphic description of what happens when the insatiable appetite for resources by bureaucracies are not curbed. The LCPS central office has morphed like a vacant lot with no weed control for decades. The weeds have now grown taller than the tops of our heads. There are tens of millions of dollars being wasted by this "organization."

While we should all plan to follow the Sun-News investigation into LCPS, and especially the stalling tactics now being employed by the bloated monster, nobody should expect the school board to make sweeping reforms no matter how much light is shed on this incredible situation. There is simply not a single reformer on this board.

In the meantime, we can expect to see a continuation of the exodus of talented teachers from LCPS. For sure there are still many talented teachers remaining at LCPS. Unfortunately, to remain, these valuable people must also be willing to accept the fact that their masters at the central office will serve themselves, their cronies, and their whims first. And when resources are particularly scarce thanks to shameless waste, these bureaucrats will surely demand that taxpayers pony up more cash to the LCPS system........for the sake of the “children.”

Getting things DONE

© 2018 Jim Spence - This column is a huge heaping dose of reality. It begins with a statement about Donald Trump. He is not my kind of people. In many previous columns I have explained why. Unfortunately, there are many people in Washington, who were/are seemingly more like my kind of people. They pretend to be what they are not, quite well. It is these tens of thousands of swamp members, that have gotten NOTHING done for their entire careers, while slurping at the taxpayer trough.

We all know that the news media loathes Trump as it has loathed no other elected official. Everyday there seems to be a set of talking points pushed by propagandists like smear merchant David Brock. Each cajoles every major media outlet in America (except Fox) to sing the same Trump-hate choruses. Getting things DONE is not part of the agenda for the media, nor is it for entrenched Senators and House members who enhance, defend, and protect their own little political fundraising franchises at the expense of getting good things DONE.

Sadly, the American people need to do their homework if they want to find out what might actually be getting "done" besides Stormy Daniels twelve years ago. Here is the list of what has been getting done, not a list of “who” was getting done.

1. America’s GDP growth rate has ticked significantly higher as Trump has taken authority away from swamp bureaucrats, who were perfectly content to stifle prosperity and increase the stagnation of the U.S. economy when Obama ruled with an iron fist as our "regulator in chief."

2. The black unemployment rate has fallen to historic lows as has the unemployment rate for all Americans. Finally, there are plenty of JOBS available for ALL Americans. Nobody wants to talk about this.

3. China’s dictator for life Xi has quietly caved in on Trump’s demand for Americans having more access to China’s markets if China is going to continue to have access to our markets. Apparently, even communist dictators know how to run their calculators, even if American communists think there is no need for calculators.

The lesson here is simple. Despite all of the cringing by Democrats and Republicans, Trump's preference for "tough negotiating" actually WORKS. Don't expect the swamp to learn this lesson.

4. This week presidents Moon of South Korea, and Kim of North Korea, gave the strongest indications yet that the “war” on the Korean peninsula, which has been in a “truce” for more than sixty years, will come to an end. Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama all failed to get this DONE. They never could bring the North Korean dictators to their senses. However, now dictator Kim seems to have figured out that Trump might just pull the trigger if provoked. Kim wants to call the dog off.

Still, it is so true that many people find Trump boorish. Include me in that group. Trump is like Joe Namath. I am reminded of the statement Roger Staubach made about the glamorous cad Namath back in the 1970’s. Staubach said he liked to have sex just as much as Namath, but he did it with the same girl (his wife). The strange thing about the U.S. pop culture is the media is much more in the Bill Clinton and Joe Namath camp than Staubach camp. They will always defend a cad……so long as the politician in question is a Democrat.

All of these double standards makes the Trump/Stormy Daniels story all the more silly. The media is suddenly feigning a fondness for marital fidelity as it claws and scratches for yet another story that will “Get Trump.” They demand to know how he paid off the bimbo to shut up while he forgoes his presidential salary.

In summary, the irony in all of this is almost too much. Under Trump’s watch there are more blacks and Hispanics working than ever before. This is quite an accomplishment for a man branded as a racist at every turn by the media. The Koreans are making peace after Kim was repeatedly warned of total annihilation by Trump, again quite an accomplishment for Trump to bring Kim to his knees. China’s Xi caved in on tariffs after Trump demanded equal access to China, or alternatively promised Xi less access to America…..um…..again.......quite an accomplishment.

Business confidence has not been as high as it is now, since Ronald Reagan came in and tore down all the barriers to prosperity erected by many of his swamp-plagued predecessors. Just as the war in Korea appears to be ending now, the Cold War ended after Reagan also negotiated from a position of strength with the U.S.S.R. during his two terms as president.

I remember so many Democrats expressing shock when the adoration by America for Reagan poured out immediately after his death. The Democrats never grasped the sheer magnitude of all the things Reagan got DONE. And the swamp's history teachers lie about Reagan to this very day. Democrats refused to grasp the good Reagan did, because they had lived in denial about the importance of getting things DONE. They still do.

It should come as no surprise, that what is getting DONE right now, is NOT being recognized by nearly half of the country. Part of this troubling lack of recognition of something fundamental is made possible by the media's spoon feeding of irrelevant negative information regarding Trump every single day. It is part of everyday life, just as it was during Reagan’s tenure. Also contributing mightily to this self-inflicted ignorance, is the indoctrination of our young people by Democrats who have dominated the public education system for several generations. And of course, part of the problem is Trump himself, who is admittedly pretty hard to like. Unlike Trump, Reagan was EASY to like. However, it is important to remember that the rubes in the media, in our education system, and in Hollywood disliked the great Ronald Reagan just as they now hate the loathsome Donald Trump....even as Trump is obviously getting lots of really good things DONE.

How can it be, that in a seemingly results-oriented society, getting things DONE has no priority. It is because we are being conned by political franchise holders on both sides of the aisle in Washington. The swamp's great ruse will always be that a little more government has an almost mythical capacity to be the solution to all problems. And the amendment to that myth is cancelling any government scheme will cause too much "harm." Wasting money is easy. And when the PREDOMINANT MYTH in America, is that wasting money is OK, a myth embraced by elected officials from both parties, it is pretty easy to make the case for hating Trump.

Not me. I like seeing things getting done.......even by Trump.

James Comey - "The Swamp Creature"

© 2018 Jim Spence - No person epitomizes the Washington D.C. swamp more than Former FBI Director James Comey. But then again, Comey is so much more than just a swamp creature. Comey is arguably the most brazen self-aggrandizing bureaucrat in the history of Washington D.C. And it should come as no surprise that he is remorselessly hawking a book now, instead of hiding under a rock.
History will not be kind to Comey. Instead, he will be remembered as the man who was actually documenting all the reasons why he was NOT going to recommend the prosecution of Hillary Clinton for crimes associated with her mishandling of classified materials, before his FBI staff ever even interviewed her. The fix was in for Hillary and Comey was the fixer.
Ironically, Comey shares a defining characteristic with Mrs. Clinton. The late great William Safire explained Mrs. Clinton well. He suggested she was simply a “congenital liar.” No doubt this apt description defines Mr. Comey too.
What has America been doing since Trump's election? Instead of Americans vowing to support reforming the nation by holding office holders to a high standard and keeping the size and scope of what these officials control to a minimum, Americans are lowering standards and granting the swamp enormous power to perpetuate itself. It makes no sense, but the proof is overwhelming.
Witness the aftermath of the Trump victory, where Trump, a deeply flawed individual, defeated Clinton, an even more deeply flawed individual. Before Trump even took the oath of office he was being spied on by the Obama DOJ, via the filing of false affidavits with the FISA court. Absurd impeachment calls came from Democrats almost immediately after the Trump victory.
The Democrats conspired to use the "Russian collusion scam" as the excuse to reassert the authority of the swamp. With GOP swamp mates providing assistance, the swamp assembled a bunch of partisan Democrat lawyers to get Trump.
Make no mistake, Robert Mueller is not a special prosecutor, he, like Comey, is a swamp creature. Mueller long ago stopped investigating any possible crimes related to Russian propaganda. For many months now Mueller has been searching for a crime, any crime, he might be able to tie to Trump.

James Comey

Naturally, the swamp warriors (Mueller and Co.) have managed to find some pretty shady operators in Washington. No surprise there, the place has been overrun with them for two hundred years. It is what happens when the government controls so much of life.
On a side note, it is fascinating to see the contrast in styles between the Clintons and Donald Trump. When Bill Clinton got caught in a sexual trysts, the standard operating procedure of the Clinton war room was to try to tamper with all the witnesses, induce acts of perjury, and destroy the character of the women who participated in the Clinton dalliances. For Trump, the solution to infidelity is more straight forward. Trump simply moves on (post orgasm), while his lawyers give the dalliance participant(s) some cash to keep her mouths shut. It would seem that paying blackmailers almost never works, which begs the question: Why would Trump bother? Maybe the Clintons are on to something there with how they treat their bimbos.
Back to Washington where Democrats in the deep state are running out of options to get Trump. In a sign of just how powerful and brazen the swamp has become as a result of the enormous power the federal government wields, the deep state FBI raided the offices of Trump’s personal lawyer. What was the justification for such an unprecedented act of chicanery? Get this. They are looking for the money trail on Trump's bimbo payoff. Considering the fact that Trump is forgoing his entire salary, it is pretty clear that the $130,000 payoff to Trump's one-time favorite porn star is mere pocket change. It remains to be seen where the money trail leads, but the smart money says it will be another dry hole.
Make no mistake what is going on here. Democrats are using a special prosecutor to wage war on their opponents. And the fact that Mitch McConnell is passively endorsing this scheme tells you all you need to know about his tacit approval of and collusion with all deep state collaborators.
All of this is hardly new. Obama used the FISA courts to spy on Trump. And now Mueller is using his "special" powers to obtain privileged documents that belong to Trump. It would seem the swamp has finally found a back door way to look over Trump's tax returns.
Why is all of this happening? Unfortunately, America has had it too easy for too long. At least two generations of Americans hold poisonous attitudes that they are somehow owed perpetual entitlements from other Americans. This theme dominates the education system and accordingly, it dominates the voter bases. Half the nation pays no income tax whatsoever. With the public education system having been converted into an indoctrination system, it simply teaches young Americans that they can vote themselves a share of what someone else earned. Hollywood piles on with one violent, decadent, and entitlement-obsessed film after another. This makes Hollywood a paradox. Hollywood simply reinforces the idea that business is bad and bureaucracy is good, while making shoot em up films for profit.
Again, don't kid yourself. This is not just a problem caused by power-hungry socialist Democrats. Much of the GOP does not care about good policy so much as it cares about winning. This is the essence of what Trey Gowdy said when he announced he was done with the swamp. Gowdy is out because he knows if the GOP leadership thinks it needs to retain bad policies or not enact good ones to win, it will do so.
How can a con artist like James Comey not just survive in America, but prosper? It is pretty easy. Once virtually everyone in Washington surrenders their basic principles regarding fundamental decency, the rest is easy.
Comey will sell plenty of books.

Ignoring the patterns of history, embracing the Easter Bunny

© 2018 Jim Spence - There is a great paradox to human history that simply goes ignored. Teachers unions in America and in most nations around the world push for more socialism, despite the reality of what socialism brings.
The paradox can best be illustrated through the confused progressive political musings of Albert Einstein. Einstein the brilliant free-thinking scientist should not be confused with Einstein the narrow-thinking socialist.
It is a great irony that Einstein fled Hitler’s national socialist Germany to avoid being slaughtered. It is also noteworthy that he did not choose to go to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics when he fled. It would seem Einstein could not find a socialist country worth living in, despite calling for more socialism as soon as he landed on American soil. The socialists countries were mostly overrun by Hitler.
Despite the ongoing threats by socialists to Jews all over the world, Einstein was actually shocked when the U.S. used the atomic weapons Einstein suggested the U.S. develop to combat killer dictators who were also socialists. Despite the gruesome nature of atomic weapons, at the end of WW II hundreds of thousands of Japanese and American lives were saved thanks to their use, versus a more conventional land invasion of the island of Japan. Had Hitler’s and Tojo's brand of socialist dictatorship prevailed, we would all be speaking German and Japanese today.
History records that Hitler was directly responsible for about 20 million deaths trying to spread his brand of national-socialism. However, the death tolls of other 20th century socialist dictatorships are more daunting. Estimates vary widely on how many deaths can be attributed to the other two high-profile socialist dictators (Stalin and Mao). The tallies depend on whether or not those counts include the millions of people who actually STARVED to death thanks to the failed economic results of Stalin and Mao’s economic policies.
The best estimate for Stalin is that during his violent dictatorship, the failure of socialism killed or directly led to the deaths of 62 million people. The estimate for Mao in China is 75 million human beings died under his iron fist and famine producing policies.
Sadly, thanks to poor educations systems, not much has changed with the highest profile socialist regimes in the 21st century. Putin is now dictator for life in Russia. And more recently, Xi Jinping has made himself dictator for life in China. Putin rules 144 million Russians with an iron fist. And apparently, considering the recent international poison murders connected to Putin’s regime, he is also trying to rule brutally outside Russia’s borders. Like Putin in Russia, Xi Jinping rules China with an iron fist. His dominion includes 1.4 billion people. All 1.4 billion Chinese live day-to-day with zero human rights.
While both Putin and Jinping publicly extol the virtues of “socialism,” they have learned the realities of international economics the hard way. Accordingly, there are many free market principles at work in both the Russian and Chinese economies despite the fact the people live under the thumb of dictatorships. It is noteworthy that in the 21st century, neither the Russians nor the Chinese are starving, as the people are in socialist Venezuela, where basic economic lessons have not yet been learned. Russia and China are actually not so much pure socialist countries, as they are pure dictatorships.
Strangely enough, there is of course another high profile advocate of socialism in the headlines these days. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was “elected” by a small number of party members on a secret ballot a few years ago to be the spiritual ruler of 1.2 billion people. In effect he is dictator for life. Like Kim in North Korea, Bergoglio is marketed as being “infallible” by the edicts of his regime. Like all committed socialists, Bergolio has made countless disparaging remarks about free market economies and particularly profit motives. Bergolio lives in a very small country we call Vatican City. Of course, Bergolio is better known as the Pope.
Bergolio is diving deeper and deeper into politics as time passes. Recently, Mr. Bergolio added to his bizarre penchant for socialism by suggesting that there is no “hell.” His “no hell,” declaration has left biblical scholars all around the world scratching their heads about the nature of the Pope’s faith and grasp of the scriptures he supposedly supports. Thankfully, as much scrutiny is now being directed at Bergolio as was directed towards Pope Pius XII, who flagrantly colluded with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini during WW II.
Many avowed socialists try to make themselves dictators for life after seizing power. We have seen this pattern continue with Maduro in starvation-prone socialist Venezuela. Though clearly, all of these disturbing historical patterns go ignored by America’s pathetic public education system, which refuses to teach the murderous nature of socialism and its dictators throughout history.
Who runs public education in America? Make no mistake. Democrats control public education. And Democrats are not only ignorant about the failed economics of socialism; they are also ignorant about the connection between socialism, dictatorships, and the absence of human rights. These are NOT your Truman and JFK Democrats. Instead of fighting against socialism, Democrats march for it. And instead of accepting the peaceful transfers of power that come with free elections, Democrats are now as a matter of strategy, violently protesting election results and crushing free speech on college campuses. Democrats are also pushing hard to destroy the first two amendments of a constitution that has facilitated their own protections from dictatorship. They behave like children and big government is their Easter Bunny.

What's the difference?

© 2018 Jim Spence - Look at the massive wasteful spending bill just passed by Congress and signed by the president and one might wonder if there are any financially responsible people left in Washington.

One of my fellow independents asked me if there are any differences left between Democrats and Republicans? It is an interesting question. As disappointed as I am in the Republicans I have voted for over the last few years, I realize that they are never WORSE than Democrats……but they are not our philosophical brothers and sisters. Republicans who hold elected office manage their own careers (political franchises) and they will throw intelligent policy under the bus anytime they think it suits THEIR immediate needs.

A couple of days ago a friend sent me this description of the difference between Democrats and Republicans out there in the real world. Have a look and pass this on if it makes sense:

If a Republican doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.

If a Democrat doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
__________________
If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.

If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

____________________
If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.

If a Democrat is homosexual, he demands legislated recognition.

_____________________
If a Republican is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.

If a Democrat is down-and-out he wonders who is going to take care of him.

_______________________
If a Republican doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.

A Democrat demands that those they don't like be shut down.

______________________
If a Republican is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.

A Democrat non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.

__________________________
If a Republican decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.

If a Democrat decides he needs health care, he demands that the rest of us pay for his.

_______________________
If a Republican is unhappy with an election, he grumbles and goes to work the next day.

If a Democrat is unhappy with an election, he burns down a Starbucks, throws rocks at cops and takes two-weeks off for therapy.

__________________________
If a Republican reads this column, he or she might well forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.

If a Democrat sees this column he or she will delete after reading a couple fair examples because he or she is "offended."

These contrasts are real and the truth is the truth.

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