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.

They Got What They Wanted

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.”

LC Sun-News shines light on LCPS Central Office

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.

Getting things DONE

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.

James Comey - "The Swamp Creature"

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.

Ignoring the patterns of history, embracing the 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.

What's the difference?

A cartoon is worth a trillion words

A cartoon is worth a trillion words

"We Must Do Something"

© 2018 Jim Spence - The “We Must Do Something Syndrome” is one hell of a drug. You see it being abused everywhere and few people seem to understand how drug addiction is destroying developed nations all around the world.

The syndrome was perhaps best exposed in Ayn Rand’s classic book, “Atlas Shrugged.” In her epic work, Rand sheds light on what happens to a society when “We Must Do Something Syndrome” reaches the ultimate inevitability that is inherent with all false assumptions. Society sinks into a bureaucratic abyss, freedoms are curtailed, and living standards plunge.

Trace the history of “We Must Do Something Syndrome” and you will find it had a seemingly harmless beginning. Before civilizations organized, anarchy existed. And because civil human beings want to improve society they created government. On a limited basis, there are few things more useful than governments that reflect and protect the value of the individual and his or her fundamental freedoms.

Unfortunately, human beings tend to get caught in the trap that says anything worth doing is worth overdoing. The “We Must Do Something Syndrome” is mindful of the lazy physician who prescribes pills for every patient in a kind of knee jerk reaction. Accordingly, the grossly obese patient does not get a strict prescription to moderate his or her eating habits and do some daily exercise. Instead more pills are prescribed.

The process is simple really. Government tends to attract lawyers like rotting animal corpses attract vultures. Lawyers dominate every legislature and it should come as no surprise that lawyers are the chief beneficiaries of most of the actions of all legislatures. Another new law is the latest pill that lawyers prescribe for society. Anytime any problem arises, the “We Must Do Something Syndrome” demands that lawyers concoct a new rule, with even greater compliance details, that all of us should obey regardless of whether it solves a problem or simply creates a new one. The “We Must Do Something Syndrome” is based on the false notion that government must constantly accrue power over individuals through the passage of more and more laws, because individuals cannot solve most problems.

I was speaking with a big government advocate who is afflicted with “We Must Do Something Syndrome” many years ago. He asked about our business and what might help it most. I remarked that anytime there was someone somewhere in our industry who misbehaved, the lawyers in Congress or in our state legislature would not be content to demand enforcement of the current laws. Instead they felt almost compelled to concoct a new burdensome edict that would leave law abiding people doing more paperwork, without changing the fact there are crooks in society. Predictably, he was not the least bit sympathetic and the subject changed. However, a few years later this same individual, a retired school teacher, was heard preaching to us on how the court system and the trial lawyers in Congress were ruining public education with all their senseless rules and regulations. He spoke as if this were a unique flaw of the “We Must Do Something Syndrome.” Amazingly, he understood the fallacy of the viewpoint, but only when it came to analyzing the day-to-day plight of the school teacher. For all other endeavors, he cared not what havoc it created.

The “We Must Do Something Syndrome” is once again sweeping the nation. We are to believe that stricter gun ownership laws will prevent senseless killings. The evidence supplied by syndrome sufferers that this action would solve a problem isn’t flimsy. It is absurd.

Consider the country of Norway. Gun ownership is severely restricted in Norway. Unless one has officially documented a use for a gun, they cannot own one. Even the handling of guns for hunting and sports shooting are very strict. Self-defense is not a valid reason for owning a gun in Norway unless a citizen shows identification confirming that he or she is a trained guard or member of a law-enforcement agency. In Norway it is up to the local police chief to make a decision on whether a person can inherit weapons. With all of these rules, regulations, and bureaucracy, it is clear that the Norwegians “did something” to prevent mass killings.

History records that “We Must Do Something Syndrome” in Norway did not prevent a killer (Anders Behring Breivik) from slaughtering 77 people including 68 children in 2011.

Still, Americans are told by those infected with “We Must Do Something Syndrome” that we already have a safe society if we would just have stricter regulation of guns like Norway. They argue that nobody needs weapons except for law enforcement people. Let’s consider this argument.

Law enforcement has already been empowered by thousands of laws. The FBI received a very precise tip on the Parkland shooter last week. While the FBI bureaucracy easily consumed the resources it was allocated, it failed to act on a specific threat. Local law enforcement agencies were actually called to the Parkland shooter’s home dozens of times. And local law enforcement agencies were also told in precise terms about this killer. Like the FBI’s bureaucracy, the local law enforcement bureaucracy also consumed the resources it was allocated to address specific threats, but then failed to take action.

There was another layer of law enforcement failure in this Parkland shooting tragedy. There was actually an armed security guard on the campus at Parkland. The Miami Herald provided the details. It reports that the armed guard:

“…..was in another building, dealing with a student issue when the shots sounded. Armed with his sidearm, Peterson ran to the west side of Building 12 and set up in a defensive position, then did nothing for four minutes until the gunfire stopped…...”

The facts are clear. The “We Must Do Something Syndrome” sufferers are hopeless addicts. Their craving for new laws is simply the next pill they want to take in the hope of "feeling better." Put me down as someone who does not want to take their drug of preference and pretend it will cure what is ailing us.

"We Must Do Something"

You don't need a gun to ambush someone

© 2018 Jim Spence - The fact that CNN has become the king of fake news and not much more than a cheap tabloid network that has the same level of integrity as the producers of the Jerry Springer Show, was confirmed earlier this week when CNN conducted what it described as its “town hall event.” The farce, entitled, “Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action,” was staged by CNN producers like an off-Broadway play.

Poor Dana Loesch was brought in to represent the National Rifle Association at this atrocity. As the NRA's national spokesperson, Loesch was CNN’s sacrificial lamb.
Long before the end of the evening, Loesch knew she had be set up. It seems that after having no advance warning, Loesch was led into a crowded auditorium packed with uninformed anti-2nd Amendment children.

Why would Loesch willingly go to an ambush that was essentially show business? When asked she said, “I wanted to go and represent the people that I was representing, and also because I’m a parent too…I have kids and my oldest child is just a couple of years younger than these students.”

The event started two hours before the cameras were even turned on, with CNN stoking the fires of anger, via the shameless rhetoric of constitution-bashing Democrats.

Virtually everyone in the arena was clueless about the origins of the 2nd Amendment and almost all were rabidly against the NRA. It was as if nobody realized that one of the few organizations standing between free citizens and the Democrats thirst for destroying our constitutional rights, is the NRA.

As Loesch walked toward the CNN stage, angry audience members began to hit her with a barrage of insults. She was called a “child killer” and also a “murderer.” Some in the crowd chanted “burn her.” She must have felt like Joan of Arc.

Pathetically, CNN stooge Jake Tapper was the head choreographer of the entire spectacle, with his boss, CNN President Jeff Zucker looking on approvingly. Tapper, the alleged moderator, instead became the enabler of all 2nd Amendment antagonists. And before the night was over, he revealed how incredibly scripted the entire sham had been. Amazingly, neither Tapper nor CNN's producers bothered to actually hide how scripted the event was.

At one point during the ambush, a student directed a question to Democrat Bill Nelson. The question, written by CNN producers, was meant for Loesch. Astonishingly, Jake Tapper interrupted the Q & A and unilaterally nixed the process, “Senator Nelson, you don’t have to answer that question. Let’s move on to the next question,” Tapper said with a straight face. Unbelievable. The only thing more unbelievable was CNN's denial that anything had been scripted.

Take a step back here. CNN ratings have been in the tank for years, and are getting worse every quarter. Apparently, the clowns running CNN cannot seem to grasp that when they stage shams that are billed as, “news events” like the alleged town hall meeting earlier this week, that very process keeps driving down the public’s perception of CNN’s lack of fundamental journalistic integrity. CNN is shooting itself in the foot (no pun intended.)

Certainly there is room for discussion about public safety. But there is no room for carefully orchestrated manipulation of emotions. If CNN cared about improving safeguards against people with mental health issues, improving the enforcement of existing firearms laws, or more intelligent regulation of firearms, it would sponsor a real debate instead of an ambush.
A search for genuine solutions was not the point of the CNN staged event. It was all about show business, scapegoating, and essentially an assault on Dana Loesch and the NRA.
What a great irony it was that the Democratic Party’s elected officials (like Bill Nelson) must have been particularly pleased with CNN's one act play, as they exited the arena that night, flanked by their armed guards. You know, people carrying legally loaded weapons to protect these hypocrites from others that might also have weapons. No problem with the 2nd Amendment there.

You don't need a gun to ambush someone

All the President's Men and Women

© 2018 Jim Spence - It seems that the year 1972, was a long time ago. Clearly by 2009, thirty-seven years after Watergate, Obama appointees knew they were not operating in a media culture where there was a Ben Bradley-type running a major newspaper in Washington D.C. Bradley of course, was the legendary editor of the Washington Post during the days of Watergate. While the parallels between the behavior of Nixon’s FBI, CIA, and Department of Justice, and those of Barack Obama are stunning, there are no such corollaries between the print and television news media back then…..versus now.

The Obama administration should be known collectively, as “All the President’s Men and Women.” It would seem that unlike the Nixon administration where scores of reprobates went to jail, everyone in the Obama “collective” has skated.

Both presidents (Nixon and Obama) actually dared to blatantly use the machinery of the federal government (funded by taxpayer dollars) to sabotage political opponents. Of course, we all know from the history books that the criminal chicanery of Nixon’s brazen subordinates blew up in their faces. Using campaign cash to hire burglars, who were caught red handed trying to plant listening devices in Democratic National Headquarters, did not go unpunished.

It is a different story in the 21^st Century. The lawlessness of Obama administration subordinates has yet to blow up in anyone’s face, despite revelations regarding acts of corruption, that go far beyond the pale.

Most recently we have learned that higher ups in the Obama FBI/DOJ used a bogus dossier, compiled by people bought and paid for by the Clinton campaign, to convince a secret FISA court judge, to allow Obama men and women to listen to all of the doings in the Trump campaign. Of course modern technology has made it much easier to engage in chicanery. Whereas the Nixon stooges had to break in to DNC headquarters, in an attempt to hear what Larry O’Brien and other Democrats were saying, the Obama stooges already had all of the Trump conversations recorded at the NSA. All the Obama men and women had to do was use phony evidence provided by the Clinton DNC, to obtain permission from a FISA judge to read the transcripts of conversations had by their opponents.

While it is a well-known fact that power corrupts, one has to wonder about the state of journalism in 2018, and specifically, what the power of a free press is being used for these days, if not corruption.

Spying on the Trump team during and after the election of 2016 was actually just the final act of chicanery by all the president’s men and women in the Obama administration. Obama’s men and women looked the other way while Russian uranium transaction approvals were conveyed by Hillary Clinton after huge cash transfers went from the Russians to the Clintons and their “foundation.”

The DOJ itself was involved in a gun running scam. Unlike John Mitchell’s white collar crimes at the DOJ, Obama's A.G. Eric Holder ran guns to Mexican drug cartels that were actually used to kill a U.S. border patrol agent. Eric Holder remains at large. While Holder wound up being the only Attorney General to ever by “censured” by Congress, this was a mere slap on the wrist when compared to the felony convictions and 19 month prison term dished out to Nixon’s A.G. John Mitchell.

There is so much more that remains unpunished. Criminal actions by high ups at the IRS like Lois Lerner, forced her to exercise her “5^th Amendment rights” rather than answer basic questions posed by Congress about how she used the IRS to screw Obama’s political opponents. Like Holder, Lois Lerner never served a day of jail time.

Then of course there was the death of a U.S. Ambassador and three other Americans at Benghazi, Libya. Their deaths were avoidable had it not been for horrific negligence by the Clinton state department. Not wanting to be blamed for ignoring an obvious Islamist terrorism threat in Benghazi, the Obama men and women concocted a lie that blamed it all an obscure anti-Muslim video. Then they arrested to video’s producer on an unrelated charge.

And of course after the FBI and DOJ learned that there were classified emails exchanged between Obama and Clinton on unsecured servers, Obama DOJ appointees declined to prosecute, after prosecuting hundreds of others for far less. None of the president's men and women wanted to see Obama drawn into the scandal. So it was buried.
In the 21^st Century none of these doings by all of the president’s men and women in the Obama White House are of the least bit of interest to a daft U.S. news media. Journalists betray the legacy of the investigative reporting work of Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, as well as the brave editorial decisions of Ben Bradley, as they ignore their duties. It is as if they think all the president's men and women can police themselves.

How sad it is that many Americans know who Woodward and Bernstein are, but most have no clue who investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson is. Attkisson tried to report on some of the criminal doings of all the president’s men and women in the Obama administration. But the results of her investigations were killed by hyper-political partisans at CBS News disguised as editors.

Watch the Oscar winning movie with Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, and Jason Robards sometime soon. You will wind up shaking your head at the ironies.

All the President's Men and Women

Nine years in review

© 2016 Jim Spence - There has been no column on this site for a couple of weeks. Sometimes you just have to take a few steps back and take in all that has happened over the last nine years.

Let’s recap the disturbing trends in America since January of 2009 when the Obamas first moved into the White House. Amazingly, despite the election and re-election of a black president in the United States in 2008 and 2012, the racial harmony that was well underway in America forty years ago, was completely destroyed by the Obamas. Both Barack and Michelle Obama did not use the power of the presidency to continue to heal and unite the nation. Instead, they used rhetorical chainsaws to rip open wounds that had healed long ago. The Obamas stoked racial paranoia in the black community and encouraged progressives of all colors to join in the assaults. It was a major part of their plan to hold and expand their powers.

Today, the Obama legacy is simple. Democrats make racists accusations against anyone who opposes socialism. They do so almost as frequently as they breathe. This is pure evil.

The Obamas did more than deeply divide a mostly healed racial nation. They replaced competent career bureaucrats in Washington with hardcore socialist operatives. Our most important institutions were run by people who cared little about the well being of the nation, only about expanding their powers.

When the Obama agencies were not harassing political opponents, they were looking the other way while Hillary and Bill Clinton sold out the U.S. Hillary Clinton approved of a uranium deal in exchange for massive cash contribution to the Clinton's “foundation.” The money was used to hire an army of political operatives so the Democrats could hold power after the Obama era ended.

Criminal activities at the FBI, IRS, and DOJ were all the results of appointing hardcore political operatives to run those agencies. As Obama insured that the police functions of our government turned a blind eye to partisan criminal activities, the effects took their toll. Today, many Americans realize that these crucial agencies are no longer trustworthy.

The Mueller indictments of Russians this week have exposed not just the evilness of Vladimir Putin’s regime, which conducted an assault on America and encouraged distrust of both Democrats and Republicans. These indictments expose the sheer incompetency of Obama stooges James Clapper and John Brennan. Never has a nation paid so much for intelligence gathering, and received so little. These men were too busy pushing for an expansion of socialism.

The toxic effects of the Obama era are now in plain view. On the home front, the evidence of an absolute collapse of public education is alarming. The majority of our nation’s higher education institutions are dominated by socialist Democrats. And instead of opening up the minds of young people, and encouraging independent thinking, colleges and universities all around the nation routinely offer outrageous excuses to quell freedom of speech. They seek to run as factories that produce government-loving robots.

U.S. Democrats once insisted that illegal immigrants were taking away American jobs and driving down wages. Both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton preached on this subject repeatedly. They both claimed that this was the fault of business people and demanded hefty fines and jail time for employers who hired illegal aliens. These days Democrats have completed their one hundred and eighty-degree reversal on border control. They still don’t care how many business people get punished for hiring illegal aliens, because business people are not usually Democrats. But Democrats now demand OPEN BORDERS. They also want the federal government to hand out an endless stream of taxpayer funded freebies for anyone who slips past the border patrol. In Congress earlier this year, the Democrats actually engineered a government shutdown to hurt taxpaying Americans, in an effort to protect people who are here illegally.

Virtually every American is painfully aware of the hundreds of billions of dollars of government waste each year. Nobody in either party cares anymore. The latest budget deal made between Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Donald Trump proves that there is not a single fiscally responsible human being left in a leadership position in Washington. Government is free to confiscate the income of Americans, issue debt at a staggering rate, piss away the resources, and then do the same thing next year.

Since Trump has been elected Democrats have dialed up hatred to astonishing levels. They want to regain control of the biggest waste machine in human history. Republicans don’t want to reform the waste machine. They want to be in charge of the waste.

Finally, nobody in the news media is reporting the fact that the Mueller indictments expose the utter incompetency of the Obamas. And it seems that not even Trump or his people get this obvious conclusion. While the money printing presses run, it has become official. Incompetence and grotesque waste is rewarded in America by both Democrats and Republicans. It is sickening.

Nine years in review

Being lectured on decency by these people

© 2016 Jim Spence - Many of us who journey through life embracing the idea that overall America is good, complete with recognition all of our country’s flaws, can only shake our heads at the contradictions all around us. The greatest contradictions to be seen are created by the elites in American pop culture.
Last night during the Grammy Awards Americans were basically lectured on the evils of Donald Trump by people with no business lecturing. Yet it seems despite a booming economy and a record low black unemployment rate, those in the music industry believe that half of America does not know how to think or vote properly. So, we need lectures. What follows in this column is the most offensive language to ever appear on this site. None of these words are mine. They are simply a sampling of pop culture including a few tidbits of lyrics sung by Grammy Award winners when they were performing before their adoring masses.
Rapper Jay-Z is a perfect illustration of how far off course Democrats have drifted. Jay-Z is married to fellow pop culture icon Beyonce, who has performed at the Super Bowl. Both Jay-Z and Beyonce were regular visitors in the Obama White House. Jay-Z garnered a whopping eight Grammy nominations for 2017. It is worth considering some of the lyrics contained in a Jay-Z concert in Philadelphia back in 2016. The following lyrics were being belted out by Jay-Z on the same night he emphatically endorsed Hillary Clinton.
The public address announcer began Jay-Z’s performance by screaming the following as he took the stage: “You’re tuned into the motherfucking greatest!” Imagine the seven, eight, and nine year-olds in the star struck audience. The rapper’s song titles that night included, “Fuck With Me You Know I Got It” and “Jigga My Nigga.” The latter song title, includes the line, “I’m Jay-Z, motherfucker!” And of course there were these memorable utterances of hip lyrics during the evening, “If you feelin’ like a pimp nigga, go and brush your shoulders off.” And this was followed by the classic refrain, “Ladies is pimps too, go and brush your shoulders off. Nigga is crazy, baby, don’t forget that boy told you. Get that dirt off your shoulders.”
Now, that is some fine art in popular culture. Apparently, Democrats think this is very classy mainstream art. When I read these lyrics, the first thing that came to my mind was, “Hey, I wonder who this guy Jay-Z is going to vote for, because I’m following him.” Then again, maybe not.
Enough about the music industry, let’s consider Democratic Party politics and public education in Pico Rivera, California. It seems that city councilman and high school history teacher Gregory Salcido was captured on video trashing the United States military. Salcido called service men and women, “dumbshits,” who are not “high-level thinkers.” He suggested that people in the military are dumb people who joined because they were poor students and that they are the “lowest of our low.” Makes you want to vote Democrat like this guy does and also see to it good old Mr. Salcido teaches your child history......doesn’t it?
There is so much more. Democrats defend immigration policies that endorse the idea of allowing Sharia Law advocates entry into America. They do so despite the fact that the females in the families of this version of Islam are subjected to genital mutilation at an early age so they will never experience pleasure during sex. My question is simple. Can this possibly be squared with supporting the freedom and dignity of women? Democrats seem to think so or at least rationalize looking the other way.

Barack Obama with pal Louis Farakhan

There’s even more. Recently a photograph of Barack Obama and his buddy Louis Farakhan surfaced. The picture had been kept a secret for nine years by a “reporter.” You see the photo’s protector understood that Obama’s friendship with Farakhan might be viewed dimly by non-partisans. He is probably right given a sampling of some rather infamous statements made by Farakhan. Here are a few:
“America is in trouble, and I say God is about to wipe this nation from the face of the Earth. I’m not crazy, I’m not drunk, how long do you think a nation can do evil and not face the wrath of god?”
“My god will wipe this country (America) from the face of the earth.”
“White people are potential humans – they haven’t evolved yet.”
Farakhan has had a few things to say about Jewish people over the years: “You are wicked deceivers of the American people. You have sucked their blood.”
“You see everybody always talk about Hitler exterminating six million Jews. That’s right. But don’t nobody ever ask what did they do to Hitler.”
 “The Jews don’t like Farrakhan, so they call me Hitler. Well, that’s a good name. Hitler was a very great man.”
Imagine that after hanging with Farakhan, Obama trashed Israel at every turn. Not much of a puzzle is it?
And finally it would seem that Hillary Clinton is thinking she may know how to get more voter turnout in the inner cities. She was on a video thanking all of the “activist bitches” and “supporting bitches” that helped her in her failed 2016 bid for the presidency. These ridiculous phrases were forced and unnatural, but when you are as thirsty for power as the Clintons are, you will pretty much lower yourself to any level to try to connect with those you need to manipulate.

Being lectured on decency by these people

It is what they do

© 2016 Jim Spence - Horrific killings grab headlines in America several times a year. Not just the U.S. media, but the global media engage in a predictable pattern of behavior when events like the terrorist attacks at San Bernardino or Orlando take place. They do wall-to-wall coverage. The same is true if armed terrorists kill 130 people in Paris as they did in November of 2015.

The strange aspect of media coverage is how it changes depending on the location of the killings. When Paris was the locale where horrific shootings took place, there was at first, a concerted effort to identify the killers. This was followed by a deliberate understating of the impact of radical Islam on their acts of violence.

When gun killings take place on American soil it is a different story. If the perpetrator(s) use guns to kill the innocents as opposed to say a truck, or a bomb, there is always a political soapbox provided for hardcore anti-2^nd Amendment Democrats, so they can pontificate. Media outlets like CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, NPR, the New York Times and Washington Post, as a matter of routine, find a way to allow Democrats to twist these tragic situations. It is as if every mass gun killing is simply a ripe opportunity for the media to create forums where Democrats claim that Republicans are to blame for the killings.

There seems to be a question begging for an answer here. Why were the horrific killings of 130 human beings in Paris in November of 2015 not seen as an opportunity for the gun control freaks in Paris to scream for more gun control? The answer is simple, though it is not reported by the U.S. media. France already bans guns. France has gun laws the Democrats pine for. In France they don’t merely have stricter gun “control,” in France guns are completely outlawed.

Still in America, when these terrible incidents occur, as they do in other places, Democrats immediately go to podiums and point fingers at gun laws. They pretend that these murders would not take place if Republicans would simply join Democrats in handing more power to government, in the form of stricter gun laws.

Don’t kid yourself. If Democrats could muster the votes to ban gun ownership (repeal the 2^nd Amendment) they would do it. It is all the “deplorable” living in red states that make sure this does not happen.

When challenged, Democrats suggest that the Paris gun killings are just an isolated incident despite the fact that per capital gun killings are quite high in France. Democrats insist on ignoring facts while arguing that restricting or banning guns really works. Their assertions are empty if you consider the people living on the south side of Chicago or in Baltimore. In those cities, like many others, where the strictest gun control laws in the nation are in place, gun killings are a matter of daily routine. It seems that the killers don't care about the law. Imagine that.

Need more proof that when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns? Look at Mexico where gun ownership is also ILLEGAL. In 2017, an astonishing 25,339 people were murdered in Mexico. This is an all-time record high number. The vast majority of these murder victims in Mexico were shot with guns that are 100% illegal.

What is Mexico doing about this, with guns having already been made illegal by its powerful government? Last week Mexico's congress approved a new security law that would make its government even more powerful by formalizing the military's responsibility for domestic security.

What will Democrats do if they ever get the 2^nd Amendment repealed, and the gun killings most surely continue? The next step Democrats will want to take in America will be to follow the Mexico model. Right now it is easy for Democrats to simply point a finger at Republicans anytime there is a gun killing. In the future, if they get their way and guns are made illegal, Democrats will still continue to point the finger at Republicans. But instead of calling for the banning of guns as they already do in France and Mexico, Democrats will have to call for some other stupid measure that solves no problems but does give more power to government. It is what they do.

It is what they do

"Insignificant"

© 2016 Jim Spence - You have to wonder how committed to economic stupidity top Democrats are these days. Earlier this week Apple Computer announced that it was going to bring home $350 billion in overseas profits to invest in American facilities etc. The move will yield…….get this……$38 billion in federal income taxes. The money Apple is bringing home would never have been taxed prior to recently passed tax reform. It would have remained overseas. Many other large companies will be doing the same thing. The total assist to government coffers will be gigantic.

You would think this is good news unless you put credence into what Nancy Pelosi had to say about tax reform. When Pelosi and NO OTHER DEMOCRAT in the House or the Senate voted for the incredible tax revenue windfall she said:

"I would hope that with their big advantage of bringing money home at a very low rate that they would invest in infrastructure and things, but our experience has been that they will do dividends, do stock buybacks, and things like that. I think it's insignificant."

In December Pelosi characterized the tax reform legislation that will produce the huge windfall as: “Armageddon.”

Democrats either refuse to connect the dots or are too stupid to do so. The smart money suggests it is a little of both. It is as if every Democrat must take a vow to be oblivious to the value of dividends and stock buybacks.

The ironies are astonishing. Earlier this month for the first time California Governor Jerry Brown raised the prospect of pension cuts. Brown who is desperate to save California’s sinking pension ship said legal rulings may clear the way for making cuts to public pension benefits which are smothering both local and the state’s economy.

Um…..Democrats…….there are three ways to provide financial relief to the state and local governments in California.

1. One way to do it is to see more tax revenues like those being generated by Apple’s move thanks to tax reform.
2. A second way is to see more dividends and higher stock prices in the Calper’s pension accounts so pensions can be sustained.
3. The third way, which will only occur if the first two options are not available, is to CUT PENSIONS for public retirees.

The Brown administration, which refuses to support business prosperity, has sunk so low it is hoping the courts will modify the so-called California rule, which says benefits promised to public employees can’t be rolled back. The California Supreme Court is set to hear a case in which lower courts ruled that reductions to pensions are permissible if the payments remain “reasonable” for workers.

As of today only 68% of California’s pension promises are funded. This is a daunting shortfall that can be assisted mightily by higher dividends and more stock buybacks……the things Nancy Pelosi has said are “insignificant.” The best guess is retired workers don’t think so……if they are thinking.

California is not alone. Many states and local governments have not set aside enough money to keep promises made to retired bureaucrats. Estimates are the total shortfall is around $1.7 trillion. Of course the powerful rally in the stock market has reduced this amount over the last fifteen months.

Jerry Brown told reporters in the next downturn, when things look pretty dire, public pensions would be one of the items on the chopping block. Democrats like Brown say these things while screaming bloody murder about tax reform. They are ardently against policies that would provide a huge assist to avoiding such a calamity as cutting retirees pensions.

Some people ask is every Democrat in California and in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate too stupid to connect the dots or are they ignorant?

My question is does it matter?

"Insignificant"

Shelby Steele's WSJ column today is a must-read

© 2016 Jim Spence - Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day. It is a day when millions of Americans celebrate one of our nation's greatest heroes.
Every now and then you read a column that is so profound, so chocked full of wisdom, you just feel compelled to share it. This morning as I perused the weekend version of the Wall Street Journal online, I noticed a column written by Shelby Steele. You can click on the link at the end of this column to read the article.
Steele received the National Book Critic's Circle Award in 1990 in the general nonfiction category for his book, “The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America.”
Shelby Steele is the Robert J. and Marion E. Oster Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He specializes in the study of race relations, multiculturalism, and affirmative action. He was appointed a Hoover fellow in 1994.

Shelby Steele

Steele has written extensively on the consequences of contemporary social programs on race relations. In 2006, Steele received the Bradley Prize for his contributions to the study of race in America. In 2004, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal. In 1991, his work on the documentary, "Seven Days in Bensonhurst," was recognized with an Emmy Award and two awards for television documentary writing—the Writer's Guild Award and the San Francisco Film Festival Award.
Steele has also written extensively for major publications including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is a contributing editor at Harper's magazine. He has also spoken before hundreds of groups and appeared on national current affairs news programs including Nightline and 60 Minutes.
Steele holds a PhD in English from the University of Utah, an MA in sociology from Southern Illinois University, and a BA in political science from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Shelby Steele should be an icon in the African American community. However, like Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and many others, far too often Steele gets ignored.
For enlightenment click this LINK, and partake of the latest profound wisdom of Shelby Steele.

Shelby Steele's WSJ column today is a must-read

Watergate Hotel or Trump Tower, burglary is still burglary

© 2016 Jim Spence - It all becomes pretty clear if you only take a little time to connect the dots. However, before we connect the 2018 dots, let’s flash back to All the President’s Men, the ultimate story of the depths of corruption at the Nixon White House more than forty years ago.

At the core of the Nixon White House corruption was the same old story. The Nixon paranoia and thirst for power corrupted almost everyone around him. In the mind of Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell and Richard Nixon himself, the end (GOP power) justified any means used. Flush with so much incoming campaign contribution cash, John Mitchell approved a scheme to get this…….because it will repeat itself…..eavesdrop on Lawrence O’Brien, who just happened to be the head of the Democratic Party. Burglars were hired by the Nixon re-election team with money donated to Nixon’s campaign. These burglars were caught breaking in to Mr. O’Brien’s office with electronic bugging devices in hand, at the Watergate Hotel building. The rest as they say is history.

As Nixon departed the White House, after resigning in disgrace, he lamented his hating of his perceived enemies. Nixon noted that when you hate others, you hurt yourself much more than you hurt them. If you are a corrupt GOP president this seems to be true. With Democrats, not so much.

Let’s have a peek at 2018. Is there a rational human being anywhere who cannot detect visceral hatred of Donald Trump coming from every nook and cranny of the Democratic Party and their friends in the news media and Hollywood? Just last night, actor Robert De Niro felt he had a license to go off on a profanity-laced rant attacking Trump at an awards ceremony. Who does this at an awards ceremony? The answer is simple.....Democrats.

And so with this backdrop, we have the fertile ground from which a scheme was hatched in 2016 that is woefully mindful of Watergate. The amazing thing about this particular White House scheme, which was to listen in on all digital conversations of political opponents, is that no burglars were needed. Technology being what it is these days, Obama's NSA was already recording and saving every telephone call, text message, and email in 2016. All the Obama political schemers and the DOJ needed to do, was gin up an excuse to get access to this private information that was already being captured and stored.

How to circumvent the constitution and seize this information? Not a problem. The Obama White House used an opposition research piece that was bought and paid for by the Democratic National Committee (the Steele dossier). The hit piece accused Trump of everything except child molestation. Obama officials then couched the Russian collusion accusations in this bogus dossier as information that had been obtained.....not from political cronies........but by non-partisan agents working at the CIA and FBI. All of this fiction was offered to the FISA court, a secret court set up to protect Americans from unlawful searches and seizures of such communications. It turns out if you have no integrity, a scam like this can work like legal magic. A legal warrant was obtained from the FISA court that allowed get this.......the reading of transcripts by Obama political operatives of every digital communication made by people in the Trump campaign.

Astonishingly, the chief burglar in this scheme was White House confidant Susan Rice. Rice along with others, worked directly inside the Obama White House and/or DOJ.

The only difference between Rice and company and the Watergate burglars seems to be who paid them. Instead of the Clinton’s campaign funds paying for everything, it only paid for the pack of lies in the dossier. Our own federal government, under Obama’s totalitarian control, paid for the rest, when it chose to act as if the federal government is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party.

The bottom line is simple. The Obama team knew it only had to dupe a FISA court to successfully intercept all Trump campaign messages captured by the NSA. So it did so. The end justifies the means a la Nixon.

More amazing than the fact that so far the Democrats have gotten away with these felonies, is the fact that even with the amazingly flawed Trump at the top of the GOP ticket, and the Clintons having access to every digital communication their opponent's team made, Hillary still lost, and lost big in the Electoral College. Now that is a weak candidate.

Investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson has lamented how sad it is that few Americans seem to care that the federal government is being used to spy on citizens for political purposes. One would think that every freedom loving American would be objecting to this story. But very few Americans are actually connecting the dots, since there is no Woodward and Bernstein to spoon feed them the information.

The same kind of infinitely corrupt behavior that once shamed Richard Nixon into resigning, has instead been obfuscated and legitimized by Democrats.

My questions are troubling. Do Democrats want GOP presidents using the NSA to spy on them in the 2018 mid-terms and 2020 election? I don't. Where is the ACLU and what are they thinking about when it comes to civil liberties? This crap should transcend all partisan bickering. But it does not seem to anymore. What a pity.

Watergate Hotel or Trump Tower, burglary is still burglary