Author: publius911

I wrote my esteemed Senator Chris Murphy with and idea and a question regarding our $20,000,000,000,000 debt. The Senator is one of the many with an eye on the Presidential prize so I would hope he is thinking about the mess he may inherit. Here is what I wrote.

Dear Senator;
I think we have a way to help reduce the disgusting debt you and your cohorts on both sides of the aisle have put us in. With 800,000 government workers not working, there has been nary a ripple in how the country is working. It is obvious that we do not need these workers and it’s time to reduce the number of people working in the federal government. It’s time to do what every private company does when they have a financial problem; reduce staff.
While we’re at it, why do we allow public employees to unionize? With whom do the unions negotiate compensation and working conditions? Using my money as a taxpayer, you would think it odd to have someone who determines how much of my money they take to also be the person determining how much to pay union workers. I can see a scenario where understanding it isn’t their money, and they can always get more if needed by raising taxes, they can agree to pay whatever the union negotiators want. In this cozy arrangement, the workers are happy to keep the spigot open by voting for the party that defends this sweetheart deal. Not you of course. You’re above that, but maybe some others in your party think like that.

Why public employee unions? You would think we could have an open debate about this question given the sad state of pensions and the massive debt it has bestowed on both the federal and state governments.

A reasoned response would be welcomed.

Tribune Publishing named a new CEO when it’s current one of three years, Justin Dearborn, resigned. The Company, which publishes The Chicago Tribune, Hartford Courant, seven other daily newspapers and some periodicals, is attempting to sell the business with no takers so far. It occurred to me that while fewer people are actually purchasing newspapers these days in lieu of social media and other internet and electronic sources of “news”, there may yet be a place for the traditional daily newspaper.

So much information is available today from a myriad of sources that it is impossible to stay current with all the various presentations of facts. So often, “news” is really analysis or outright opinion labeled as news. As a result of this occurring now for many years, there is little faith in mass media and newspapers have become less and less relevant. They have become a conduit for the weekly circulars and not a source for knowing what is happening. Might a company seize on the void of a fact-based publication that actually reports things as they are?

Journalism students these days are a product of left-leaning colleges. They cannot remove the biases of their education and in some cases have embraced the ideology of the left and let it sway their duty as a journalist to be impartial. A paper whose editors do not allow that to occur would find a ready audience of people of all political persuasions. That is, a starting point where facts count and opinion and analysis don’t. I try very hard to form my own opinions by watching actual events in their entirety including any rebuttals. Finding this kind of complete information is doable but takes time and, let’s face it, CSPAN can only capture so much of your attention. I’ve learned that “according to sources” means someone didn’t do their work because they leave the reader guessing who those sources were and what their motivation for remaining anonymous was.

Rather, I would like to see in-depth presentations of exact and complete quotes from those involved. They would include references to actual legislation, rules, policies and, most importantly, data from bonafide and incontrovertible sources; sources that only the closed-minded would ignore. Where there is room for debate, it would be refreshing to see a publication that references these things from both sides, clearly labeled as such. Indeed, there are publications that attempt to provide multiple positions but mostly in opinion pieces with minimal supporting data. It would be refreshing to have a source from which all sides can start their debate because unless we all agree on a starting point, we will never agree on an outcome.

Hey Tribune! Try doing a Joe Friday and just print the facts….ma’am. That might get you a buyer.

Really? You can’t Pay your Babysitter?

The President of the Air Traffic Controllers Association, Paul Rinaldi was on television adding to the chorus of terrible impacts the partial shutdown of the federal government is having on everyday people. He told the story of one air controller family. Both the husband and wife are controllers. The wife told him that one or the other is going to have to stay home to watch the kids because they can’t pay for day care. As a result, air travel will be unsafe as more controllers don’t show up for work. When asked if air safety has been compromised, he backed off quickly and did the “but”. [Who knows what the future holds if this doesn’t end soon.] I had to think about this family’s plight for a minute.

First, legislation has already been passed to provide back pay for those federal workers who are in fact working through the shutdown. I doubt very much if the daycare center would turn away a regular paying customer knowing they are affected by the shutdown and knowing money is forthcoming. Second, the median income for air traffic controllers is around $124,000 with typical salary at just under $141,000. Top earners are paid over $175,000. (google)  Either the couple or the President is lying about the situation or this couple is financially ignorant.

Either way, these are the kinds of stories that are supposed to have us taxpayers crying for these poor workers and imploring our Representatives to open up the government. It didn’t take long for the tried and true “it’s for the children” line of the left to be inserted into yet another policy discussion. Rather than argue the merits of a physical barrier, the left will pull on the heartstrings of the population to win and make no mistake, it’s all about winning at this point.

1/11/19

While I thought President Trump did a very good job at laying out the reasons for a physical barrier on the southern border on Tuesday 1/8/19, I thought there were a few points he could have hit harder.

He said taxpayers are paying billions and billions for accommodating illegal aliens. I don’t know the actual numbers but I do know to what illegal aliens avail themselves in our country. First, no person presenting themselves to a licensed hospital for urgent can be turned away by law. When you hear of the horror stories of waiting hours and hours for service in an emergency room, part of that is your health insurance premium, Medicare and Medicaid taxes and outright direct payments going to pay for the persons here illegally getting treatment while you sit. When a child presents his/herself to a public school, they are allowed to register and attend classes by law. This means that the extra teachers and staff to handle English as a second language, psychological counseling to help assimilate the child, health provisions (vaccinations etc.) all have to be provided on your dime.

Law enforcement costs are also increased. It is a canard that identifying illegals and dealing with them causes these minority communities to shutdown and stop aiding law enforcement in their duties. Even illegals don’t want to be robbed, raped or extorted. Instead, law enforcement has to deal with uninsured drivers who cause accidents and commit crimes using their vehicles to say nothing of the heinous felonies that have been well documented. These crimes clog our courts with cases funded with taxpayer paid lawyers, interpreters and other legal services. In some cases, taxpayers are doubly hurt when the victim of an illegal alien crime sues the state for not taking steps to prevent the crime in the first place.

President Trump could have turned directly to the news coming out of the El Chapo trial and added detail about how drugs permeate the southern border. Evidence of cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs flooding through this man’s enterprise are not to be disputed. No fake data there and lots of it to support the contention that at least a physical barrier causes drug smugglers to find different paths.

Finally, where was a real story about human trafficking? The plight of teenage girls being subjected to forced lives of sexual exploitation should cause every American to rise up and say enough is enough. That coyotes bring thousands of women and children into this country only to be used and abused should have been a bigger part of the reason a physical barrier is paramount as part of the effort to stop the invasion that has  been occurring on our southern border.

The President did well to lay out the areas of neglect. I only wish he would have gone even further.

This was originally written in March 2007 and I believe it still rings true.

Failing test scores, ill-behaved day care children, gangs, drug use, the list goes on of the ills facing our country. We look for quick answers that many times end up creating new issues and the circle of problems grows wider in an ever-spiraling pattern. So how do we stop the momentum and hope to reverse its damage? Play Hockey.

I know that most of you are calling up images of stick swinging, lights out punches and bench clearing brawls. You’ve been fed a lie. That those things occur is a fact. That they occur so rarely to have painted an entirely incorrect picture of the sport is also a fact. Thousands of games are played each week all around the world now and you can probably name 3 or 4 incidents of outlandish behavior, total. Here’s the truth. If you want society to be civil, its citizens polite, humble and respectful of one another get everyone involved in hockey.

Hockey is above all else a family commitment that instills the values that our society holds dearest; that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, hard work has its reward, but most important, respect for others. For the uninitiated, hockey starts at 6, both in age of player and time of morning practices! Moms and Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles load up the player and equipment and it’s off to the rink. Many times the rides to and from the rink are lengthy giving parents and guardians and the children quality time to do the unusual; talk to one another. The conversations are not always deep or life altering but that they happen at all is becoming rarer. How did you sleep? Did you like that cereal? No, I never heard of “Take it Back Sunday”, is it a song or a group?” It’s all good because you are establishing lines of communication that may be used for much more important matters someday.

At the rink, you get to watch your child learn. The early progress is breathtaking. Remember how you marveled when they learned to walk? Use a fork? How many chances to you get to see something as wonderful? Try skating sometime to see how difficult it is for yourself. It’s likely that in a short time, your child will be better at something than you are. Talk about a no lie dose of self- respect!

Teams often play in tournaments that take place over several days and far enough from home to require overnight stays. Whole families attend these events providing yet another opportunity to do something that is vanishing from our American landscape; the family road trip. Again, conversation, whole discussions even, stops for meals and potty breaks, arguments over who is touching who and all the other things that those fortunate enough to have taken these trips in our youth, still remember fondly many years later. Siblings look forward to hanging with all the other siblings, the hotel pool, knee hockey in the halls, and yes, the excitement of the games themselves.

Coaches are more than hockey fanatics; they are coaches of life. Players are correctly taught that hockey is a team sport. Everyone on the team contributes. Most teams keep playing time evenly distributed among the players in all but the most competitive situations to instill this fact. Parents are encouraged to bring school and home issues to the coach so that both the parents and the Coach are consistent. For example, it’s not at all unusual for Johnny not to play if he isn’t doing well in school or disobeying at home.

Hockey can be dangerous. Sharp blades, hard sticks and the speed of play demand that players maintain control and respect for themselves and their competitors. Players are taught to “play the body” and not go and “hurt ’em”. Indeed, the intention of checking is to separate the puck from the player; take the puck not the player out. The game’s traditions reinforce the basic tenets of a civil society.

Before each game, kids as young as 8 years old and already placed in leadership roles as Captains, introduce themselves to the opposing Coaches and Officials and shake their hands. The rules of the game support the development of leadership by allowing only the Captains, not the Coaches, to talk to the officials about game calls. When a player scores, all his teammates join in the celebration. The players who assisted on the goal get the same point the scorer received. Showboating does not occur in hockey. At the end of every game, all players and Coaches line up and shake hands. The same occurs at every level and even at the end of the NHL season.

Lest you think my arguments are specious, I offer these observations. Look at the other professional major American sports and compare them to professional hockey. Most of the players in the NHL and supporting professional leagues have lived away from their families and with host families at some point. Most of us would not think of taking a strange teenager into our home. If you speak to just about any host family, they will tell you that the kid came in with all of the attributes I speak of. They were polite, respectful, humble and thankful for the hospitality shown. Lifelong relationships were made. You seldom see professional hockey players being named in bar room shootings or taking steroids or other illegal drugs. Listen to the player interviews. Universally, they deflect any praise to their teammates and coaches. If they have a bad game or they’re in a slump, they talk about needing to work harder and blame only themselves. When they receive awards, they start by thanking their parents and talk about those long car rides to rinks early in the morning. They are humble, thankful.

Establishing lifelong values through sports benefits everyone involved. I believe hockey is the best sport for accomplishing this worthwhile objective. GO HAWKS!

“We cannot expect Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism.”

“You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept Communism outright; but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of Socialism until you will finally wake up and find that you already have Communism. We won’t have to fight you; we’ll so weaken your economy, until you fall like overripe fruit into our hands.”

These statements have not been confirmed as accurately coming from Nikita Khrushcev but certainly the actions of Russia and other countries suggest the intent and effects are not far off. The exploitation of our open society is just now coming into widespread view. The apparent manipulation of social media to turn the electorate one way or the other has laid bare the susceptibility of citizens to false flags. The inability of consumers of information to discern between what is true and false is widespread. Many people voting today are getting slivers of information on which to base very important decisions regarding who will lead our country and with what policies. How else can you explain many accepting that “free” college, health care, income, etc. are on the horizon? Are these believers intelligent and educated enough to know there is “no free lunch”?

It is apparent that our educational system has failed to prepare voters. History is not merely a reciting of the dates of past wars. It is a roadmap to the future. While it may seem that technological advances hold sway in making the future look so different, the reality is that there is nothing going on today that hasn’t been part of recorded human history. There were good and bad leaders and people who coddled them and threw them out. How many have even heard the quote attribute to Alexander Tyler?

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”

As we embark on a two year battle for the soul of our country, citizens would be wise to heed Tyler’s prediction. There is still time for free thinking people to hold sway against the tide of socialism that is sweeping the Democrat party and those beholden to them.

1/2/2019

Let the Games Begin

The first formal challenger has entered the ring. Senator Elizabeth Warren has initiated her effort to become President of the United States. In her video announcing the formation of an exploratory committee, she cites the failings of our country. To this I say, let’s have the debate.

While progressives like to spout emotional platitudes about this and that, I find their underlying facts to be few and not very compelling. Rather than look at actual data, they will fall back to individual examples of a situation few would not find sad. When that fails, they trot out disparate impact that uses some outcome and bases it on some spurious reason in some cases, totally unrelated to the outcome. Unfortunately for our country, these emotional appeals work.

Voters who are less knowledgeable about the issue(s) or pay little or no attention to the underlying facts, fall prey to these messages and worse, act on them in the voting booth. Most voters are now getting their information through social media. Mainstream media, a source for what gets spread around on the internet, is unabashedly progressive. Coupled with and educational system dominated by liberal turned progressive educators and you have an electorate primed for reacting to the trotting out of children for just about any issue for which Senator Warren and her fellow socialists want to influence opinion.

The harm of not having a reasoned debate is monumental. It’s not enough for the left to fool Americans like Gruber suggested was one with Obamacare. They want to inculcate the populace so that there is no turning back. Now that the doors are opened to the treasury, the old adage that socialism works until you run out of other people’s money is in full display. She is already spouting the failings of capitalism and how it must be reined in. Corporations must be run by the employees and not for profit but for social purposes. The “guns or butter” argument she makes is there are far more important things we can do with your money than provide security, the one thing the Constitution specifically demands the central government provide. But then, the Constitution is just a piece of paper to her and her like.

It would be nice to have these and the other policies and philosophies actually discussed in a calm and well thought out, lucid manner but alas, I fear that most voters want the five minute sound bite and the party label on which to make their decision. Unfortunately, it is to their own peril.

12-31-18

The Hartford Courant claims to be the longest running continuously published newspaper in the country. (It is part of the Tribune Publishing Company, owners of the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun and other daily newspapers as well as some periodicals.) The current editors of the Hartford Courant are unabashed supporters of the Democratic Party and their progressive left wing. It is the only major paper in Connecticut. Like many other “news” publications, including those with more conservative editorial boards such as the Wall Street Journal, The Courant uses its platform to foist its political leanings on readers. This Sunday’s (12/30/18) front page is a good example of how supposed news is actually analysis crossing over into opinion.

An article by Paul Kane of the Washington Post re-printed in the 12/30/18 Hartford Courant is indicative of the type of “reporting” that the Courant conducts. (The Courant regularly re-prints articles from other “news” organizations including the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, AP and others.) I believe a critical reading of the article titled, “GOP message lost in impasse”, reveals exactly why readers must be extremely wary of information they glean from “news” outlets especially when they are cast to a wide audience through cross pollination.

The opening paragraph follows up on the leading headline. It says, “Republicans are ending the 115^th Congress in an all-too-familiar spot; standing on the sidelines while President Donald Trump picks a fight they wanted to avoid as he ignores what they consider major conservative accomplishments.” Nowhere in the article does it name any “Republicans” who have made statements to back up the premise they are “standing on the sidelines”. Instead, it goes off on the shutdown using a nine day old quote from the President and cites a fact that Congressman Ryan and Senator McConnell are not in Washington, neglecting another fact that virtually all Congressmen and Senators are not in Washington. Omitting this detail leaves the reader to surmise Republicans are not supporting the President. It might have used the actuality the Republican House passed a bill calling for funding the “wall” but that would not fit with their narrative.

Journalistic integrity demands that articles be labeled properly. Intertwining limited facts with interpretation confuses readers and leads them into false conclusions. This mislabeling leaves readers wondering what is real and what is fake. Few facts are used in reporting or are sprinkled in only when they support a particular position. It is troubling how supposed news articles contain unabashed opinion and analysis such as the example above. Casual readers take it as fact from this article that all Republicans are not in step with the President when in fact, by virtue of actual statements from the likes of Congressman Mark Meadows and others, at least some support him.

Beyond the introduction of analysis and opinion into supposed news articles, the use of unnamed sources for information has become the standard for journalism today. The lack of depth in reporting, cross pollination of organizations’ work and the mislabeling of analysis and opinion as “news” have readers wondering what to believe. This and the reliance of many on social media platforms for their news makes it more important than ever for consumers of news to be vigilant in checking facts and reading between the lines to fully understand the message.

Thanks for joining me! This is my first blog. Come back often for more thought provoking musings.

12/22/18

With a Heavy Heart

I write this with no malice and certainly no joy. It is time for President Trump to announce he will not seek re-election in 2020.

I am still a strong supporter of the President and think he has righted a ship that was listing very badly. The status quo was selling us down a river of debt and far away from the ideals and policies that brought us to the pinnacle of societies. His impact on the trajectory of our country should be lasting based on the merit of his policies and given the high level of support he still enjoys among his voting block; a block that cannot be ignored by future candidates. His rise in the political world should also serve notice to the entrenched aristocrats/elite that their perch is not that secure. Someone else can come along and disrupt the status quo and they should be mindful of disavowing the followers of such a person.

What brought me to this conclusion is the retirement of General Mattis, a man universally respected. When someone of his stature is not heavily relied upon for his expertise when you do not possess nearly the same level of knowledge, you go beyond your capabilities putting those you govern in peril. I believe in this case the “Peter Principle” lives on. Pulling troops out against the wishes of your military advisers, many of whom never want to put their charges in harm’s way without strong reasons, is a mistake. We have seen what vacuums in authority have wrought and it is not good.

Another reason for this decision on my part is to salvage the remaining 2 years of this administration. The thought of a House focused solely on making him a one term President through constant investigations will only exacerbate the divide of this country. Those who pursue that line will only be serving their selves and not us citizens but alas, they don’t care. Their hold on power is more important than you and I. Taking that cudgel out of their hands will force them to actually govern. The President can take the high road by continuing to raise issues that serve the people and not the entrenched bureaucracy, their vast array of dependents and those who rely on them to maintain their power.

We supporters will be shocked at first and angry believing he is giving up the fight. Rather than seeing it as capitulation, we should view it as a magnanimous act that proves to his naysayers that he always had the best interest of the country at heart and not his personal ego. As is the case with all the retiring Congressman and Senators, he will have the opportunity to do and say the things that are true. Speaking truth to the sad state of affairs in our country will force all of us to face the facts. By calling out those who would cripple his Presidency, he will further uncover the sticky swamp that exists. Hopefully, it sets the stage for a continuation of conservative approaches to governing rather than a lurch left to socialism.

Thank you Mr. President for your service.