Dropping Like Flies

It's not looking good... the darkness seems to be looming over the horizon.

Over the past several months the President Trump's people chosen to assist him in making policy decisions has been consistently resigned, or been fired for various reasons. I don't recall this many, although there were a few here or there, in previous administrations; especially the democrat ones.

What's going on? As always, there are different ways to look at this. One way is that those who've left had skeletons that were outed from the closet which were damaging enough to force them out either through a request to resign, or not skilled adequately for the demands entailed in the position. Another is that the political opposition is digging into their background and using the media to do one of two things; expose questionable character issues about them, or manufacture them, promote them through the media - "people have a right to know" - long enough to damage their credibility to the point of them bowing out.

The latest is Sabastian Gorka, (the people's comments are most interesting in this article) preceded by Steve Bannon, Anthony Scaramucci, Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer, and Preet Bharara. One can't help but wonder how many more will be ousted in the coming months. 

The media narrative is that Trump's administration is in chaos. The loyalists who still support him see it from another perspective; the establishment in D.C. who don't want to see their control of a global agenda modified are patiently working behind the scenes to strip from the staff of those who would advise the President on policy decision and effectively isolate him to the point of ineffectiveness regarding his campaign promises. The elite currently in control view it as threatening their ability to maintain the status quo that's been in place for decades.

Some might say, "But, Trump's flip-flopped on the Afghanistan situation!" To those who pay attention to the media spin on everything regarding his administration which has only been in for nine months will buy it hook, line and sinker. For those who listened to Trump explain why he changed his tune from the campaign and understand that as a candidate limited knowledge and understanding of what's actually going on and at stake, will realize he's making a more informed and appropriate decision. If it were Obama suddenly reversing his Afghanistan policy for whatever reason, you could be certain that the media would've supported him with devotional accolades.

What I am disappointed about Trump's dealing with the media opposition is that he's not utilized the resources available to him like Pres. Reagan did. I believe he would be much more effective if he were to make occasional outreach messages to the country explaining in specifics what and why he's doing what he's decided to do on a particular policy decision. Get the country informed directly rather than allowing the press to spin it.

If he doesn't incorporate at least some level of this proven approach, I tend to feel that the current tactics from the likes of Waters, Schumer, Pelosi, and McConnell will neutralize his ability to remain the President for long. The rhetoric and hype of the social justice faction in the country are gaining too much momentum with their statues take-downs, reactions to the SDSU's president asking the Muslim Student Assoc. to condemn the recent Barcelona attack, and forcing opposition groups to cancel their rally, like freedom of speech advocate groups in San Francisco today.

They Know Not of What They Support

The youth of today who, because of their insatiable desire to be "cool", "with it", and "in the know" about what's considered acceptable in their circles today, are philosophically jumping on the band wagon of socialist ideals, mainly because they've not been exposed to the basics of economics and the benefits of a free enterprise system. Thus, they are convinced that those ideals will actually result in something better than what they're currently enjoying while indulging in the most affluent society ever known to man. 

How can, and why do, I say this? Just watch Ami Horwitz's short video of "Man on the street: Income Inequality" and listen to how they respond to his questions/points he shares with them and it will become obvious. 

If this trend doesn't get turned around, I personally predict the country doesn't have more than 30 years, tops, to become like Venezuela. Maybe sooner!

House Democrats Hold WA State Hostage

The Washington State House of Representative Democrats are letting politics rule over common sense, ruining the states economy and destroying the hopes of anyone wishing to develop rural lands in the state, by refusing to vote on the Hirsch decision of the State Supreme Court.

Following are excerpts from three legislators - one Republican and two Democrats - who've written their constituents to explain the impact of this failure to act on resolving this critical issue during the state's longest legislative session in its history this year. 

Reading them, both to compare how the Democrats spin this issue, illustrates just how disingenuous the Democrats are about telling the truth regarding this critical issue. Note who's to blame in the Democrat's message, compared to who's to blame in the Republican's message.

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First, Rep. Vick from the 18th District:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

After the longest legislative session in state history, 193 days, there still remains some unfinished business – passing a comprehensive, long-term Hirst fix.

For those of you not familiar with Hirst, you will be soon if a solution is not reached in short order. Hirst refers to the flawed state Supreme Court decision from last October in which the court ruled that in order for counties to comply with the Growth Management Act, they have the responsibility to ensure water availability for land-use decisions, instead of relying on the Department of Ecology (DOE).

To say this is problematic and concerning is an understatement. In fact, Hirst is the single largest property rights issue I have faced since being elected to the Legislature. Many do not realize the critical nature of this ruling. It will effect property values, curb construction and development – exacerbating the affordable housing crisis that is hitting every corner of our state, and stretch our local government resources.

Counties don’t have the resources to pay for the necessary legal and on-site hydrogeological analysis that would be required for each and every building permit within their jurisdictions, nor do they want the responsibility of this unfunded mandate.

The court’s decision also states residential permit-exempt wells are no longer exempt, making it next to impossible for landowners to dig wells on their private property. It should be pointed out that the permit-exempt wells account for only about 1 percent of statewide water usage. For decades, the tradition in Washington has been that residential wells (generally defined as ones that draw less than 5,000 gallons of water a day) do not need a permit. If you own land and want to build a home on it, you could drill a well without asking permission of the government. Not now.

The ramifications of this ruling are substantial. When you have the DOE telling you how bad this could be, there is reason to worry. The department actually testified before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee during the legislative session, calling the Hirst decision “an…enormous hardship for families that looks like it could be getting worse in the next few years.” You can watch the public hearing here.

The Hirst decision would be devastating to our real estate market and construction industry. Real estate and construction are how we measure the strength of our local economy.

This will not only negatively impact the economy in rural communities, but urban areas will also feel the effects. Those of you familiar with our property tax system, understand this would cause a tax shift. As land is devalued in rural areas, property owners in our urban regions will end up paying more in taxes to make up the loss.

We are already seeing the effects on our banking, building and real estate industries. Washington Federal has said it will not be lending on properties in the state of Washington that have had wells drilled after Oct. 6, 2016. You can read more by clicking “Citing Hirst, lender limits real estate loans” from the Columbia Basin Herald on Aug. 8, 2017.

It was frustrating we could not get a solution passed during the legislative session. Washington state has enough water and families should be allowed to access it on their private property. With this in mind, Republicans felt a comprehensive, long-term Hirst solution was a priority when the 2017 legislative session began.

The Senate passed a measure early in the regular session, Senate Bill 5239, which would have returned us to the system the way it was prior to the court decision. The Senate ended up passing the bill four times: Once in the regular session, and again in each of the three special sessions. Unfortunately, the majority party in the House refused to allow a vote on the measure. This was very disappointing as the Senate bill was bipartisan, and I believe there would have been bipartisan support in the House if we would have voted on the bill. Rural Democrats understand the ramifications of this ruling on the communities in their legislative districts.

On July 20, we were brought back to Olympia to vote on a bipartisan striking amendment to Senate Bill 5239 that we hoped would finally give us a fix. Once again, the majority party in the House refused to bring this solution up for consideration, despite the likelihood of it passing in both chambers.

Republicans in the House and Senate have continued to negotiate in good faith. Unfortunately, as part of negotiations in the last month, the majority party in the House said they wanted tribes to be given the authority to demand that the DOE close basins. This is a relinquishment of our constitutional duties. I would not support this, nor do I see any of my colleagues in the Republican Caucus supporting it.

A final point, the court ruling passed on a 6-3 vote. Washington State Supreme Court Justice Debra L. Stephens’ stated in her dissent: “The majority’s decision hinges on an interpretation of RCW 19.27.097 that is unsupported by the plain language of the statute, precedent, or common sense.”

With that, I am hoping common sense will prevail. We need it to prevail. The longer we go without a Hirst solution, uncertainty will continue to grow for families, builders, lenders and local governments. The economic effects will become a stark reality – banks won’t be issuing loans, counties won’t issue building permits, and undeveloped property will be rendered worthless. However, we must not give in just to reach a solution in this critical property rights issue, but stand strong for what is right and in this case, is just common sense.

Sincerely,

Brandon Vick
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Next, there's this message from Reps. Lori Dolan and Beth Doglio:

A quick summary of the last few days of session:

A deal was reached last week between House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, on the state's $4 billion capital budget. This budget would have supported tens of thousands of good-paying construction jobs around the state.

It would have financed critical improvements to North Thurston High School, Roosevelt Elementary, and several other schools in our community. The Thurston County Readiness Center and Evergreen also had projects on the list.

(Click here for a full listing of capital projects in the 22nd Legislative District.)

These critical infrastructure projects will not be funded in the near term because Senate Republicans held the capital budget hostage. They killed $4 billion in community investments and tens of thousands of jobs during the height of construction season because they wouldn't compromise with our Democratic proposal to hold all property owners harmless who have been caught in the Supreme Court Hirst decision for the next 24 months while a more permanent water management solution is created.

We are extremely disappointed with this outcome. Killing an agreed-to capital budget that benefits the entire state is a complete failure of leadership from the Senate Republicans.

Additional background:

The capital budget (sometimes known as the construction budget) creates tens of thousands of jobs across the state. These resources build schools, colleges, state parks, dental clinics, and make improvements to our mental health facilities.

This year’s capital budget would have included over $1 billion for new school construction – a state record and a critical investment to meet our obligation to fully fund education.

Negotiators representing both parties in the Senate and the House reached an agreement on a $4 billion capital budget.

Here are some of the investments the capital budget would make:

• Tens of thousands of jobs in construction, engineering and natural resources
• A record $1 billion to build new public schools, which would help satisfy the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision to fully fund our schools
• $800 million in projects at our colleges and universities
• Improvements to state and community mental health facilities
• Local construction projects in every corner of the state
• Affordable housing funding when the housing crisis is reaching its peak
• Projects to bring safe, clean water to communities throughout Washington

Regrettably, the Republican-led Senate killed these vital investments in our state’s future when they adjourned without voting on the budget.

Up until this past Tuesday, Senate Republicans refused to meet on the capital budget until an agreement was reached on a water rights dispute regarding the state Supreme Court’s Hirst decision.

Hirst is a complex water issue that affects landowners, builders, tribes, and the environment. House Democrats negotiated in good faith to solve the issue. Most recently, Democrats offered to provide immediate relief for the next two years for every property owner currently in limbo over the Hirst issue, which would give lawmakers and key stakeholders additional time to find a long-term solution agreeable to all sides, but Senate Republicans rejected all our proposals.

Holding the capital budget hostage in order to extract a policy concession elsewhere is counterproductive. Rejecting an agreed-to $4 billion investment in our state’s economy over the next two years will hurt Washington’s economy as a whole - including those looking for relief from Hirst.

While the actions of the Senate Republicans have the Legislature ending on a major down note, 2017 did have many wins. Those wins include a historic investment in K-12 education, the creation of the new Department of Children, Youth and Families and the passage of paid family and medical leave, which will help working families across the state.

Even with all these successes, House Democrats understand how important the capital budget is and are committed to continue working on the water issue. We will gladly come back to pass a capital budget and a Hirst fix whenever the Senate Republicans are ready to compromise.

Beth & Laurie

By comparing these two ideological views, it becomes obvious who's bullshitting whom.

The Interview of Unexpected Outcomes

Two men sit facing each other on a television set; one, a prominent and accomplished newscaster on a global news network station. The other, a prominent and accomplished actor, admired for his consummate acting career.

A series of questions follow after a brief introduction about the actor's television series which poses questions about our universe and life on this planet. The segment from one of his shows obviously was selected to make a segway for one particular question. The questions, coming from the newscaster host have a certain tone to them. But the response the guest actor gives aren't what the newscaster host expects to hear, and it catches him off guard. So, he skips over the rest of his interview and moves directly to the end of the interview where a planned surprise of presenting a gift with the recognition of the actor's birthday is performed and the interview ends.

As you watch this interview you'll notice a date stamp is in the upper left corner of the screen, so we can be certain of when this was - during the Obama administration, revealing the tone the newscaster was presenting in his questions is clearly promoting the president's agenda regarding race. But when the actor replies with answers to his questions about the underlying concept of that agenda, things get a bit uncomfortable.

I share this because this interview clearly reveals a profound truth; that your genetic makeup has nothing to do with your personal ability to succeed in life, and, just because you have a particular ethnicity in common doesn't mean that your life experience, or personal philosophy, will be alike or in agreement on the premise of the question asked. If you watch carefully and with full attention throughout the interview, it will become rather obvious that the interviewer didn't do his homework on his interviewee. 

I would suspect that the newscaster doing this interview would just as soon prefer that the Internet, and its instant ability to archive in multiple places at once, never existed.

The Consequences of Ignorance

The post Charlottesville, VA riots earlier this month have seen anti-slavery sentiment on the east coast by revolutionary thugs in the form of "antifa" and "Black Lives Matter" accelerate like one of Kim Jung Un's test missiles. This has been happening in the past few days in the form of groups going to locations in states around the south and pulling down from their pedestals statues of Confederate Generals.

What's next? Well, Al Sharpton has - within days - called for removing the Jefferson Memorial on the National Park Mall. Will it be all and anything even remotely connected to those who were slave owners? Keep in mind that the leftists and media are doing anything and everything to remove Pres. Trump from his office; a "silent coup" as Rush Limbaugh has clearly stated only a week ago.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

This mentality, which is being given much attention in the mainstream media, has its origin in what has been the gradual breakdown and consequent dumbing down of our educational system by design. As I've stated in previous posts, a nation of people ignorant of their past are doomed by ignorance to ruin the best thing the world has ever had; a nation of freedoms and liberties which no other nation on earth has had the blessing of enjoying for the past 240+ years.

History, accurate and deep history, which explains the social norms and context of circumstance in the period, has not been taught by the educational system in our nation for decades. (Here's a prime example.) The textbooks which students have had over the past 40 years have gradually been watered down and modified in the explanation of the facts to the point where, despite the tomes that they are, the students today don't even know the actual reason behind why the Civil War was fought.

The following article, and please, note that this article was written years ago, provides an example which nicely illustrates my point about this level of ignorance by the vast majority of younger generations.
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IN DEFENSE OF GENERAL LEE

By Edward C. SmithSaturday, August 21, 1999
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company

Let me begin on a personal note. I am a 56-year-old, third-generation, African American Washingtonian who is a graduate of the D.C. public schools and who happens also to be a great admirer of Robert E. Lee's.

Today, Lee, who surrendered his troops to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House 134 years ago, is under attack by people -- black and white -- who have incorrectly characterized him as a traitorous, slaveholding racist. He was recently besieged in Richmond by those opposed to having his portrait displayed prominently in a new park. My first visit to Lee's former home, now Arlington National Cemetery, came when I was 12 years old, and it had a profound and lasting effect on me. Since then I have visited the cemetery hundreds of times searching for grave sites and conducting study tours for the Smithsonian Institution and various other groups interested in learning more about Lee and his family as well as many others buried at Arlington. Lee's life story is in some ways the story of early America. He was born in 1807 to a loving mother, whom he adored. His relationship with his father, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, (who was George Washington's chief of staff during the Revolutionary War) was strained at best. Thus, as he matured in years, Lee adopted Washington (who had died in 1799) as a father figure and patterned his life after him. Two of Lee's ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence, and his wife, Mary Custis, was George Washington's foster great-granddaughter.

Lee was a top-of-the-class graduate of West Point, a Mexican War hero and superintendent of West Point. I can think of no family for which the Union meant as much as it did for his.  But it is important to remember that the 13 colonies that became 13 states reserved for themselves a tremendous amount of political autonomy. In pre-Civil War America, most citizens' first loyalty went to their state and the local community in which they lived. Referring to the United States of America in the singular is a purely post-Civil War phenomenon.

All this should help explain why Lee declined command of the Union forces -- by Abraham Lincoln -- after the firing on Fort Sumter. After much agonizing, he resigned his commission in the Union army and became a Confederate commander, fighting in defense of Virginia, which at the outbreak of the war possessed the largest population of free blacks (more than 60,000) of any Southern state.

Lee never owned a single slave, because he felt that slavery was morally reprehensible. He even opposed secession. (His slaveholding was confined to the period when he managed the estate of his late father-in-law, who had willed eventual freedom for all of his slaves.)

Regarding the institution, it's useful to remember that slavery was not abolished in the nation's capital until April 1862, when the country was in the second year of the war. The final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was not written until September 1862, to take effect the following Jan. 1, and it was intended to apply only to those slave states that had left the Union.  Lincoln's preeminent ally, Frederick Douglass, was deeply disturbed by these limitations but determined that it was necessary to suppress his disappointment and "take what we can get now and go for the rest later." The "rest" came after the war.  Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the few civil rights leaders who clearly understood that the era of the 1960s was a distant echo of the 1860s, and thus he read deeply into Civil War literature. He came to admire and respect Lee, and to this day, no member of his family, former associate or fellow activist that I know of has protested the fact that in Virginia Dr. King's birthday -- a federal holiday -- is officially celebrated as "Robert E. Lee-Stonewall Jackson-Martin Luther King Day."

Lee is memorialized with a statue in the U.S. Capitol and in stained glass in the Washington Cathedral.  It is indeed ironic that he has long been embraced by the city he fought against and yet has now encountered some degree of rejection in the city he fought for.

In any event, his most fitting memorial is in Lexington, Va.: a living institution where he spent his final five years. There the much-esteemed general metamorphosed into a teacher, becoming the president of small, debt-ridden Washington College, which now stands as the well-endowed Washington and Lee University.

It was in Lexington that he made a most poignant remark a few months before his death. "Before and during the War Between the States I was a Virginian," he said. "After the war I became an American."  I have been teaching college students for 30 years, and learned early in my career that the twin maladies of ignorance and misinformation are not incurable diseases. The antidote for them is simply to make a lifelong commitment to reading widely and deeply. I recommend it for anyone who would make judgment on figures from the past, including Robert E. Lee.

[Dr. Smith is co-director of the Civil War Institute at American University in Washington, D.C.]

Footnote: Just today I viewed a report on the Tucker Carlson Show on FOXNews that ESPN has pulled an Asian sports commentary employee from covering a football game because, wait for it, wait for it... his name is Robert Lee. I kid you NOT! How's that for political correctness? We're in a very dangerous spot today. And, then there's this from the U.N.!

Letter To NFL Commissioner Says It All

Ret. Marine Col. Jeffery Powers wrote to the NFL commissioners the following:

Commissioners,

I've been a season pass holder at Yankee Stadium, Yale Bowl and the Giants Stadium.

I missed the '90-'91 season because I was with a battalion of Marines in Desert Storm. 14 of my wonderful Marines returned home with the American Flag draped across their lifeless bodies. My last conversation with one of them, Sgt. Garrett Mongrella, was about how our Giants were going to the Super Bowl. He never got to see it.

Many friends, Marines, and Special Forces Soldiers who worked with or for me through the years returned home with the American Flag draped over their coffins.

Now I watch multi-millionaire athletes who never did anything in their lives but play a game, disrespect what brave Americans fought and died for. They are essentially spitting in the faces and on the graves of real men, men who have actually done something for this country beside playing with a ball and believing they're something special! They're not! My Marines and Soldiers were!

You are complicit in this! You'll fine players for large and small infractions but you lack the moral courage and respect for our nation and the fallen to put an  immediate stop to this. Yes, I know, it's their 1st Amendment right to behave in such a despicable manner.

What would happen if they came out and disrespected you or the refs publicly?

I observed a player getting a personal foul for twerking in the end zone after scoring. I guess that's much worse than disrespecting the flag and our National  Anthem. Hmmmmm, isn't it his 1st Amendment right to express himself like an idiot in the end zone?

Why is taunting not allowed yet taunting America is OK? You fine players for wearing 9-11 commemorative shoes yet you allow scum on the sidelines to sit, kneel or pump their pathetic fist in the air. They are so deprived with their multi-million dollar contracts for playing a freaking game!

You condone it all by your refusal to act. You're just as bad and disgusting as they are. I hope Americans boycott any sponsor who supports that rabble you call the NFL. I hope they turn off the TV when any team that allowed this disrespect to occur, without consequence, on the sidelines. I applaud those who have not.

Legends and heroes do NOT wear shoulder pads. They wear body armor and carry rifles.

They make minimum wage and spend months and years away from their families. They don't do it for an hour on Sunday. They do it 24/7 often with lead, not footballs, coming in their direction. They watch their brothers carted off in pieces not on a gurney to get their knee iced. They don't even have ice! Many don't have legs or arms.

Some wear blue and risk their lives daily on the streets of America. They wear fire helmets and go upstairs into the fire rather than down to safety. On 9-11, hundreds vanished. They are the heroes.

I hope that your high paid protesting pretty boys and you look in that mirror when you shave tomorrow and see what you really are, legends in your own minds. You need to hit the road and take those worms with you!

Time to change the channel.

Powers originally sent his letter to former Florida congressman Allen West. West then posted the letter to his news website. 

And, for those interested in what #32, Jim Brown, said in an interview on this issue use this link.

The Collapse of Modern America?

Anyone who's studied history knows - like our nation's Founding Fathers did so well - understands that great civilizations have come and gone. Egypt, Greece, Rome, and now... it seems America.

The one major difference the Founding Fathers of America applied to the creation of American civilization is that they learned from their studies the mistakes that past cultures made. They understood the need to combine two critical checks against those mistakes; individual moral virtue and a limited government structure which kept the power in the hands of those individuals which would provide a climate of unlimited opportunity to anyone who sought their God given rights.

But over the last 240 years the changes and developments of technology and communications seems to have gradually stripped away citizens from even knowing this truth. Also, the rise of the concept of communism, seems to me, to be what prophets of scripture warned about. The nation has slowly shifted from individual independence and morally strong norms to the dominant governing thought process of an adolescent who knows nothing of the past, but only that they are not satisfied with their affluent lifestyle; thanks, in my view, predominantly to the modern mass communication tools we now take for granted.

With the recent arrival of one president came a reversal of social progress from such momentous events in the past such as the Civil War to right the country's wrongs of slavery. Divisiveness and ethnic resentment became an acceptable attitude as modeled by the very man who was supposed to be a hallmark of breaking through past social barriers by being elected. Then, the heartland of the nation demonstrated quietly through the ballot box that it was fed up with the direction this attitude was taking it and elected a man who understood and successfully communicated that understanding to the people of the heartland.

Now, those globalist/facists, who over the past several decades have patiently manipulated that very attitudinal shift, are lashing out in violent reaction to those who supported the only candidate speaking the very core of the country's concerns; divisiveness, lack of opportunity, feeling ignored and even oppressed by the very government that was supposed to be listening and responding to their issues. Now, with the media's support, the very group of people who built and defended this country through multiple wars and attacks against it are being persecuted and targeted by factions which have among its own ranks some who are of that same ethnic group; white, Christian males, or "antifa" and Black Lives Matter. (Another example of media bias.)

Civility of debate is rapidly falling out of acceptance and many long standing institutions, such as colleges, universities and corporations - out of concern for their sustained existence as a viable entity within this collapsing civilization - are taking actions to restrict free speech; the first right of a free  and civilized society. Youth today go about their misguided actions of seeking social justice while those who have longer term agenda of global dominance smile at how easy it is to manipulate them for their purposes.

If the reader is inclined to listen to an individual who provides a more clear understanding of the "Liberal" mindset we are dealing with today, I highly recommend watching this video.

In my honest opinion, this does not bode well for the continued stability and survival of our great nation.