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I posted this essay exactly 3 years ago February. It illustrates just how little things have changed in a period that most people say has been chaotic.
Learning From Elephants One of the most disturbing trends in the American experience is the strain politics is putting on the relationships between our family and friends. The fact is that since the beginning, Americans have been divided. Every four years we confront those feelings by conducting a national election. It is something that forces us, as a union of fifty states, to reconcile our differences in a peaceful manner. President Lincoln was hated by the opposition party because he wanted to disrupt a tradition of holding slaves. Democrats threatened to use violence if necessary to undo his attack on their way of life. We all know how that ended up. So here we are hundreds of years later and some angry progressives are also threatening impeachment and even assassination to stop what they consider the hijacking of their politically correct social construct of equanimity and social justice, as personified by Barack Obama. I see daily pleas to not let politics come between our personal relationships. Isn't it funny that only now that a conservative coalition has assumed power that some people are suddenly concerned about microaggressions? I don't remember anyone showing empathy for conservatives when Obama policies attacked Christians for refusing to participate or condone practices they deemed antithetical to their beliefs. I don't remember anyone coming forward to protect the rights of ranchland owners whose property was being invaded by illegal immigrants streaming across the Mexican border. I don't remember anyone coming to the rescue when the institution of marriage was redefined by judicial fiat. I know for a fact that for the past eight years, myself and many of my conservative friends have had to bite our tongue and remain silent under the threat of being called bigots because we had policy differences with the administration. For the past few years, we have had to endear slanderous assaults over virtually anything we said: we were constantly being characterized as racists, homophobes, misogynists and haters. This is a new form of fascism. Instead of using a super nationalist fervor to dominate the opposition, the leftists have rallied around their own social justice agenda. They have their own 'God' to crusade for, and it is 'Group Think' about sexism, environmentalism, racism and innumerable other 'isms'. I hate the idea that we can't sit around the dinner table and have a rational, adult discussion of social issues! But I think the idea that we have to suppress our patriotism, our faith, our self identity, our male or female instincts, our family structure, our compassion or empathies, our success and our wealth or lack of it is in and of itself is destructive and un-American. The anger over the threat to our relationships is, in my view, misplaced. The stress that we Americans are feeling has manifested it's irrational intensity since the Vietnam War. The national anger was on display at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It was the beginning of the street demonstrations, the violence and demonization of the opposition, the overt anti-Americanism. It has since been institutionalized by college curricula, by the liberal press, by the liberal film and television industry, and by a coalition of leftist world organizations who embrace the anti-semitism of the Third Reich. Now we have the attack on Western values by extremist Islamic Jihadists groups (and recently by Progressive Democrats). The asymmetrical war has changed our way of life. We have lost many of the fundamental freedoms we took for granted; casual international travel, fearless congregations of large groups in public assemblies, loss of privacy and nearly invisible community law enforcement. We should be focusing our anger on the forces of terror for driving a wedge between our family differences. The terrorists are purposely shredding our libertarian bonds. The painful strains we feel within our national family are not accidental. Instead of blaming each other, we should be outraged by how terrorism is screwing up the world! Recently we have witnessed outright pleas for violence, murder and ethnic (aka, conservatives) cleansing by extremist groups rampaging through the streets, sacking businesses, starting fires, and attacking innocent bystanders. They claim they are resisting nationalist right-wingers from stealing their freedoms. But ironically, it is their actions that are restricting the freedoms of Americans, not the other way around. Their actions are actually micro terrorism. Whether intentional or not, they are encouraging chaos and suppression. So what should we traditionalist Americans do? Should we suppress our nationalism, our patriotism, our love of God, just so we don't hurt someone's feelings? Why are people that don't share our love of Americanism so special? Why should we go out of our way to avoid any conversation that might offend them? When they were in power, they showed no such empathy towards us! In fact, there is evidence that some government agencies were politicized and used to intimidate opposition groups (the IRS was caught auditing Tea Party activists). This idea that we should all just cautiously dance around subjects that might offend reminds me of Orwell's Animal Farm; the Farmers were demonized, and the animals mounted a revolution. But in the end, the revolution crashed because some animals decided that other animals just weren't smart enough to govern themselves. That theme exemplifies the narcissism and nihilism of the leftist cabal. Every country, or family, has a structure, or it isn't really a family or an autonomous country. There has to be some sort of hierarchy, or you have anarchy. The question is, can that structure operate in a fair and equitable way? The difference in successful family units is the acceptance by each person in the unit that they hold the outcome in their individual hands by accepting their roles, operating out of an unconditional love for each other, and recognizing that without the support of the unit, the Team, if you will, each individual cannot have the same level of success in life. Leftists will call that idea a biblical nuclear family. Fair enough. History shows that is is the most successful strategy for maintaining social stability. The same principles should apply to government. The representative form of democracy that America invented has proven to be just the formula for building a national family unit. It means that every four years we elect our 'father'. Then we decide how we, as the family tree, can support him or her, so that each of us can contribute to the success of the whole. One of those roles is to be able to sit down with our brothers and sisters, and respectfully disagree with each other. In the end, when a decision has to be made, 'dad' makes the choice and the family supports that decision. When one of the family kicks and screams that it didn't go their way, the family suffers. And as much as it may hurt to do, 'dad' must reign in the rebel. If he doesn't, the family will ultimately implode. Of course there are proper settings for these discussions; and the dinner table may not be appropriate. But sitting around and avoiding the elephant in the room is in my view, un-American. We can learn a lot from elephants. They have survived longer than we have as a species, and they operate in a strict family hierarchy. Colleges are producing two distinctively different graduates. One group goes on to build a family and a career. They use their college experience to leverage a job by using their connections, then give an excellent, well framed and articulate job interview, and then show up on time ready to contribute. The other student profile is not seriously looking for a job. They are looking for a lifestyle. Graduating rabble rousers are not unhappy about how college let them down. In fact, they have a high regard for the professors who awakened their latent hatred for the American experience. They are angry at our culture, our heritage and especially at those that venerate America. They will tell you it was college that helped them understand their inner turmoil, and turn it into productive social justice activism. For Progressives, college was like going to a doctor and getting an elixir. It is where the lost souls go to get affirmation and to find a movement to join. Intentional or not, our college system is just as divided as our country. Either you graduate as a worker bee, or you become a social warrior. (Excerpted from The Illusion of Knowledge: Why So Many Educated Americans Embrace Marxism) Most people feel compelled to make New Year's resolutions. It can cause a lot of anxiety as we think about what we want to accomplish versus what we think we will accomplish. Year after year, most people make quiet resolutions to themselves or to friends right at the moment they gulp a glass of champagne to celebrate the midnight hour. They do that because they know revealing their resolution to drunken party goers will never be remembered the next day. I believe that unless people clearly state their resolutions to many sober people the chances are slim that they will keep them. I speak from experience… But I also believe there is some nobility to just giving the idea of making commitments some thought. It is important to evaluate your current circumstances, and then to contemplate what could be. We all spend too much time living in the moment, rushing around meeting deadlines, trying to make everyone, and especially ourselves, happy, and forgetting to appreciate how lucky we Americans are. We take our family, our neighbors, our friends, our community and our country for granted. We take our planet and our faith for granted. We too often make poor choices and order our priorities poorly. We are human, and should recognize that we are flawed, but there is always room for improvement. So when turning points like New Years Eve come along in our lifetimes, we should take the opportunity to look inside, evaluate our existence, and exercise a little humility and introspection. Our lifespan is such an insignificant moment in the history of humankind, and those years, that 50 to 100 year window in history, has been, by far, the greatest and most productive period in the history of human existence. On New Years Day it will have been 244 years since some very brave and brilliant people declared independence from Great Britain and began an experiment in governing unlike any before or since. Eighty-five years later we suffered an internecine war to free the slaves and nearly destroyed America. One hundred years ago America passed the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Five years later we gave Native Indians citizenship. Seventy-five years ago American soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe. Fifty-five years ago America passed the Civil Rights Act. Fifty years ago America put a man on the Moon. Beyond running water, heated and air conditioned homes, grocery stores stuffed with fresh vegetables and meat, advanced communication and transportation systems, ubiquitas educational opportunities, we also have longer and healthier lives than any of those who lived on Earth before us. Now we can simply speak to our cell phones to access the largest library of information ever devised. Americans live in the most diversified culture on Earth. We enjoy the benefits of all of the flavors and traditions of people from every corner of the planet. This is an achievement that has never been equalled by any previous human endeavor. For thousands of years, under hundreds of empires, no humans have ever had it so good as you and me and all of our friends and families that have come before us. Making resolutions to improve ourselves is nice, but if we just resolved to be more gracious and more grateful, we would be making promises we can actually keep. I wrote this piece for the Times-Advocate Newspaper back in August, 2016. It was just before the election. On the eve of the House of Representatives vote to impeach Donald Trump, I thought it appropriate to revisit my sentiments... I Am Trump I am not a billionaire playboy or a New York hotshot real estate developer, or an owner of some of the most iconic buildings and resorts on the planet, or a TV superstar of one of the most enduring and iconic reality shows in the past decade. No, I am none of those things. I am a little different, but in some very important ways Donald Trump and I are brothers. I am extremely passionate about what a great country I live in, and how fortunate I am to have been born in America. How our hard earned freedom and culture is so uniquely conducive to my ability to live my dream. I have always felt that I should give back to my fellow Americans. So I do what I can, I write. I write to inform and to entertain. I write to make people think about the kind of things we should consider when we go into a voting booth. My writings are my properties, my brand. I try to share them and to develop them. In my own literary way, I am a developer like Trump. For several decades I have watched my country, my friends and fellow Americans, go through really tough times like we haven't seen since before WWll. And as I watch historic events unravel the tranquility of the entire world, I sense that most of our problems are self imposed. That our leadership is incompetent. That too many of our elected leaders are really in over their heads. That the enormity of the job of managing the Frankenstein Monster that is America, was simply overwhelming to most of them. I ask myself, what can I do to help my country? I wrote a book. I did what I am capable of doing. I had this idealistic idea that I could make a positive impact, get people re-engaged and excited about their Americanism. Turn Right At Lost: Recalculating America, (and more recently Trump's Reckoning) explores my concerns that the country has lost its bearings and needs to make some course corrections, soon. It is no textbook like Trump's The Art of the Deal, but comes from my heart, and it offers insights from someone other than professional talking heads and pointy headed intellectuals. My book(s) will not save the world, but I didn't stand by and ignore the tragic deconstruction of my country. I stood up and asked to be counted. Exactly what Donald Trump did. He didn't have to run for President. He didn't have to put himself and his precious family in harm's way. He doesn't need anymore attention, money or approval, so he volunteered to do what he does well, to rebuild a property that has fallen into disrepair. Trump comes off as pompous, as self absorbed, as impetuous, even profane. But those shortcomings don't make his fears for the health, security, and the future of our country, any less legitimate. He stood up and asked to be counted. Do you know how demanding it is to run for President? Trump is a multimillionaire in his seventies, who has the option to spend the rest of his life golfing the greatest courses in the world, or traveling or making reality TV shows. To suggest that his Presidential ambitions are self serving is insulting and illogical. His name is an iconic brand, he employs thousands and manages an incredibly complex dynasty of companies and investments. To suggest that a man with a portfolio like that would subject himself to the crushing scrutiny and media pressures of running for the Presidency just because he craves attention ignores reality. What if…. Trump and myself both genuinely cared about America? That would mean we, and millions of Trump supporters, are all trying to give something back to the country we love. That our effort to elect a leader is not a selfish conspiracy to enrich ourselves, to disenfranchise other Americans, or to create a racially homogenized Aryan nation, but to rebuild the iconic multifaceted rich culture of liberty and world leadership that has served the entire planet well for most of the 20th century. How dare anyone challenge our motives! We are both doing what we can to help our country. It just so happens he can do a lot more than the average citizen can. Donald has already spent over $50 million of his own money. He is putting his money where his mouth is to help save a world that is sliding into disarray. Which amounts to an enormous charitable contribution! When you see someone close to you acting erratically, in a self destructive spiral, searching for ways to help them is noble, isn't it? Isn't it the duty of family to help each other in times of need? So I caution my fellow Americans, do not challenge the intentions of people like Mr. Trump and myself, because if you do, you are suggesting that a fellow American citizen should think twice about being proud and protective of our common American DNA. You are indirectly suggesting that concerned fellow American family members should stop caring about you. After the recent voting results in Britain, it might be appropriate to revisit a chapter in my book Trump's Reckoning. Now the Brits have made their decision to stop the Progressive Jihad and rebuild their sovereignty...
"When the United States of America declared its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776, the 'Biggest Brexit of All Time' occurred. When those upstart American traitors decided to go it alone, the Empire was caught napping. Their little expansive adventure, sending explorers to the new frontier, had suddenly rearranged the world order, not just for the immediate future, but for all time. At least up until now. Now, America is at a nexus: do we want to continue this experiment, that for over a quarter of a century has proven to be the most successful, benevolent and enduring governmental system ever devised? A uniquely American idea that free people, with the help of a core Judeo-Christian belief system, can successfully run a country? Or do we want to go back to a large, top-down, secular-paternalistic style of government, similar to the one our forefathers ran away from?" Tom Brokaw..."wasn’t it inappropriate for someone like you in the middle of all this to have your son collecting money from the big credit card company while you were on the floor protecting its interests?” First posted in October 2017....
<While the President rebuilds our economy, stands up to China, brings back jobs , investigates domestic drug distribution and abuse, puts Americans first , improves veterans healthcare, rebuilds our military, and secures our borders, the Democratic Crime Family tries to undermine his administration.> A Con: A deception or trick; something that appears to be different than it really is. A Con Artist : One who is particularly adept at trickery, deception and who regularly misleads. One could put the title of 'A Con' on just about any politician, because of the nature of our binary election system, most candidates try to define themselves by painting their opponent in a bad light. Therefore, they employ deceptive language and imagery to make themselves more attractive. But Hillary Clinton was not a politician when she started conning people. She was an attorney and later the wife of a prolific conman, Bill Clinton. He was nicknamed the 'Pander Bear' because of his innate ability to fashion his message to the wants and needs of his audience. Bills skills worked around his use of legalese, such as, "It depends on what your definition of is, is". Hers was more of the classic Mafia Don, placing herself at the top of a hierarchy of patrons, then issuing orders to keep everyone in line. For years, she was Bill consigliere. Once his Presidency was over, she quickly ascended to the position of head of the family, the Don. Together, the Clintons dodged bullets like Bonny and Clide, as they traversed the political landscape. There was her role in the Watergate trials (for which she was later fired), the Whitewater investigation (shady, if not outright illegal, investment scam), the TrooperGate, (using her authority to misuse government security personnel), TravelGate and the Senate Post Office (giving government business to friends), Vince Foster's mysterious death (a man she was rumored to have had an affair with) and nearly four dozen other friends and associates that have died under curious circumstances. There was Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones and Juanita Broaddrick (trashing their reputations to protect her oversexed husband), her leadership role in covering up the Benghazi fiasco (blaming the terrorist attack on some innocent filmmaker, not reacting quickly to protect our soldiers), her false account of coming under fire while in Bosnia, the Foggy Bottom conflict of interest corruption scheme, the Clinton Foundation (a pay-for-play ponzi scheme that has collapsed since she no longer has any influence to sell), and her infamous private server scheme to circumvent Federal accountability requirements and to help her implement Clinton Foundation paybacks. And none of this includes the hundreds of millions of dollars Bill collected from corporate or foreign interest speaking engagements while his wife was the acting Secretary of State! Finally, she obstructed justice by illegally destroying over 30,000 emails and smashing a dozen Blackberry phones so the federal investigation would stall. Of course, she had an election coming up, so being convicted of several felonies would have been very inconvenient, so she used her leverage to keep the various political operatives in line. So what will Don Hillary do now that the whole scheme collapsed and she is a figment of political history? Point the finger, of course. Why not, she is one of the best at creating diversions, at taking your eyes off the ball, while she substitutes another strawman to knock down, all while she is the one doing the conning. So now, as sad as she is, she falls back on her skill set, making specious charges about the mean and dirty trick playing Republicans, charging they have violated campaign laws, told lies, conducted a war on women, stole the election, and are using their authority to give tax breaks to their corporate friends and foreign governments. She embodies one of the oldest rules of politics: whatever the Democrats are saying about their opposition, it means that that is precisely what they are doing. Bill and Hillary, the modern day Bonnie and Clyde of Democratic Dirty Politics.The obvious question is, when will the DOJ and FBI catch up to them? Everyone knows it is inevitable, unless, of course, she could affect the impeachment of Mr. Trump….  <Roll Title/Introduction> <Music plays, curtain opens, host walks out, audience shrieks and applauds> "Hey guys, welcome to the meeting!" (uses palms down to quiet loud audience) "Recently women's rights pioneer Betty Friedan died of breast cancer." (Some clapping and whistles of approval) "I guess I am going to have to reevaluate my previously low opinion of breast cancer. She was 85, and her family said they wished it could have been longer, but at least she lived long enough to see Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films". (Loud applause and audience laughter) "Condolences poured in from the usual subhuman groups of Jew lovers and whores. Mourners are being asked by reasonable and progressive people to kill themselves before their weak kneed and pathetic attitudes and XXX chromosomes destroy the human race." (Loud applause and audience laughter; host waves for quieting) "The witch had the audacity to ask from her death bed that her savings be used to help children of poor Jewish women... Can you believe it? I guess Jewish boys don't count, but I suppose there were some things we can agree on." (Laughter and jeering) "Now I know these seem like harsh words and harsh jokes" (host pauses to wait for audience to calm down) "and I'm sure I will be condemned for them by opponents of our cause. They will say this traitor to mankind was a kind and forward thinking lady, when in fact the bitch has done more to undermine our civilization than the Black Plague. She has stirred the turd of women's liberation, so "Fuck her" and I am glad she is dead!" (Audience bursts into wild cheering) "The world is a better place without these gender terrorists that deny science and promote religious superstitions!" (Speaking loudly over loud audience applause) "OK? What a great meeting tonight!"  Have investigators looked into the daily activities of these rogue gunman that ruthlessly shoot innocent people and then commit suicide? We always hear about their manifestos on how the world is against them and they cannot control their rage. Politicians then postulate that if we confiscated more guns this wouldn't happen. There may be a bunch of ways we could assure ourselves that this could never happen again: we could imprison all young white men. We could have armed guards at every public business, sports event, or school. We could have everyone's arms amputated. There is a common thread, we just haven't discovered it yet. Guns are a problem, but they are also a necessary part of our freedom. But guns have been around much longer than this relatively recent tsunami of carnage. During the Old West and the Roaring Twenties guns were used in local land and gang turf wars. But no one shot up groups of innocent women and children just to watch them die. And after gun battles, the winners didn't commit mass suicide. Besides, many countries, states and cities have stringent gun control laws, and the evidence contradicts their effectiveness. Mexico has a strong federal no-gun policy yet the state of Sinaloa is one of the most gun violent places on Earth. The question has to be asked, what has happened in the past twenty five years that has caused such an enormous upsurge in single shooter events? What is driving these individuals to viciously murder dozens of innocent people and then end their own lives? Why do they always act alone? Without warning? Why do they want this to be their legacy? I don't have the answers, but I do have some observations: society still thinks video games are not dangerous. We think it is OK for young men to spend hours watching simulated war games featuring video shooting galleries with other humans as targets, or watching women being tortured and raped, or street crimes like car theft, hijacking, burglary, bank robbery or drug dealing, and to do this day after day, hour after hour, and think it has no psychological impact? Just last year a 24 year old male shot two other gamers to death at a high stakes video game tournament. Here's your sign…. Stop Teaching Our Kids To Kill by Dave Grossman, a well researched and notated book about this subject, originally published in 1999, tells an ominous story about video brainwashing. Grossman and his co-author Gloria Degaetano (CEO/Parent Coaching Institute) spell out the original purpose of video gaming technology and how it was designed to desensitize users for future warfare effectiveness. The military inventors of the video technology wanted to use it to create killing machines. Now our leaders dismiss this phenomenon as irrelevant to our mass murder culture. They can't both be right. As a multi-billion dollar business, the widespread distribution of these super violent 'Video Games' has reached every corner of our culture. Within that group of millions and millions of young men, there are bound to be some really vulnerable sickos. If and when authorities do their due-diligence and look at the daily activities of mass murderers like Stephen Paddock at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, or Patrick Krusias at the El Paso Walmart, or just today, Conner Betts in Ohio, they may well find out what they all had in common. Instead of confiscating guns or amputating everyone's arms, maybe we should think about controlling the psychological brainwashing young people undergo disguised as innocent gaming. George Will is a well respected, long time political thinker who has been strongly anti-Trump since well before the 2016 election. He has at times been recognized as an expert on conservatism. He has also accused Trump of faking his conservatism, trashing the honor and respect of the office of the Presidency, and of stirring up anger, xenophobia and anti-intellectualism. He makes no bones about it, he dislikes the leader of the free world. In a recent interview with Peter Wehner, a contributing editor at The Atlantic magazine, Will said: “The principle of representative government, which is at the heart of conservatism, is that the people do not decide; the people choose who will decide. And that’s why populism inevitably becomes anti-intellectual...Political leaders today seem to feel that their vocation is to arouse passions, not to temper and deflect and moderate them.” Will is equating populism with mob rule. He is suggesting it is the job of leaders to deflect the effects of mob rule, then make decisions based on their superior intellect. That sounds a lot like Progressive theory to me. He also implies that Trump, specifically, aroused voter passions. Like a mirror, Trump has been a master at reflecting heated passions that had been brewing for a long time. That can start a fire, but the light source didn't come from Trump, it came from a political environment of ineffective leadership, misplaced values and the deteriorating sovereignty of the American voter. He suggests that leaders chosen based on their popularity as opposed to their policy, are anti-intellectual, and dangerous. But that is an oversimplification of what actually happened during Trump's 18 month-long Presidential campaign. Follow me on this: Trump played by the rules, went around the country and spoke to the electorate where he spelled out the issues and solutions to what he felt the electorate was worried about How does that make him anti-intellectual? Will would prefer the candidate meet with party leaders, formulate a platform, and then use the party structure to acquire the necessary number of electoral votes as determined by insider horse trading, and then govern by intellectualism... Got it. Hasn't that been the policy and procedure of the Republican Party for the past 24 years? Isn't that what lead to the enormous national debt, the instability of our inner cities and the clash of race relations, the mishandling of every war since WWII, and the complete lack of investment in restoring our American infrastructure. Let's not forget the decline in 2-parent families, an epidemic of drug addiction and homelessness, the absolute abdication of healthcare for our veterans, the growing rejection of American exceptionalism and world leadership in the pursuit of human freedom, and the unsupportable onslaught of illegal immigrants swarming and overwhelming our communities across the country. Hello? These were, and are, the real world issues that face Americans, and precisely what Trump publicly addressed prior to the 2016 election. Does that make him a hate monger? An anti-intellectual? A threat to our system? Come on George, wake up and smell the coffee. Honestly, Will sounds silly and out of touch with reality. He cavalierly dismisses the enormous sea change in governing that Trump has accomplished despite the disgusting, unAmerican, and possibly criminal opposition by the Deep State Media cabal. President Trump decided early on, and I think his decision has been vindicated, that it is useless to try to work rationally with opponents who display nothing but hatred, overt aggression and misinformation in the marketplace of ideas. So he has employed a policy of mutually assured destruction: When Progressives throw nuclear media weapons at him, he is going to hit back with an overwhelming social media counter attack. At first it appears reckless and unproductive, but in a very short time, he ends up refocusing the public on the issues and exposing the media's duplicity. Trump is a builder. Unlike Reagan, who used his acting and speaking skills to move the electorate, Trump just keeps adding one cinder block at a time. We are still a long way from a remodeled masterpiece, but the foundation and the first few floors are done and the crews are working around the clock. We are watching Trump rebuild Americanism, and the specifications don't align with Mr. Will's 90's era neo-conservatism, but when the finish trades move into the White House January 2021, George will be at the Grand Re-Opening. As we approach a new season of NFL football, it might be appropriate to remind us all of what the National Anthem means in real life experiences... On Saturday, July 24th, 2010 the town of Prescott Valley, AZ, hosted a Freedom Rally. Quang Nguyen was asked to speak on his experience of coming to America and what it means. He spoke the following in dedication to all Vietnam Veterans. "35 years ago, if you were to tell me that I am going to stand up here speaking to a couple thousand patriots, in English, I'd laugh at you. Man, every morning I wake up thanking God for putting me and my family in the greatest country on earth. I just want you all to know that the American dream does exist and I am living the American dream. I was asked to speak to you about my experience as a first generation Vietnamese-American, but I'd rather speak to you as an American. If you hadn’t noticed, I am not white and I feel pretty comfortable with my people. I am a proud US citizen and here is my proof. It took me 8 years to get it, waiting in endless lines, but I got it, and I am very proud of it. I still remember the images of the Tet offensive in 1968, I was six years old. Now you might want to question how a 6-year-old boy could remember anything. Trust me, those images can never be erased. I can't even imagine what it was like for young American soldiers, 10,000 miles away from home, fighting on my behalf. 35 years ago, I left South Vietnam for political asylum. The war had ended At the age of 13, I left with the understanding that I may or may not ever get to see my siblings or parents again. I was one of the first lucky 100,000 Vietnamese allowed to come to the US. Somehow, my family and I were reunited 5 months later, amazingly, in California. It was a miracle from God. If you haven't heard lately that this is the greatest country on earth, I am telling you that right now. It was the freedom and the opportunities presented to me that put me here with all of you tonight. I also remember the barriers that I had to overcome every step of the way. My high school counselor told me that I cannot make it to college due to my poor communication skills. I proved him wrong. I finished college. You see, all you have to do is to give this little boy an opportunity and encourage him to take and run with it. Well, I took the opportunity and here I am. This person standing tonight in front of you could not exist under a socialist/communist environment. By the way, if you think socialism is the way to go, I am sure many people here will chip in to get you a one-way ticket out of here. And if you didn't know, the only difference between socialism and communism is an AK-47 aimed at your head. That was my experience. In 1982, I stood with a thousand new immigrants, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and listening to the National Anthem for the first time as an American. To this day, I can't remember anything sweeter and more patriotic than that moment in my life. Fast forwarding, somehow I finished high school, finished college, and like any other goofball 21 year old kid, I was having a great time with my life I had a nice job and a nice apartment in Southern California. In some way and somehow, I had forgotten how I got here and why I was here. One day I was at a gas station, I saw a veteran pumping gas on the other side of the island. I don't know what made me do it, but I walked over and asked if he had served in Vietnam. He smiled and said yes. I shook and held his hand. This grown man's eyes began to well up. I walked away as fast as I could and at that very moment, I was emotionally rocked. This was a profound moment in my life. I knew something had to change in my life. It was time for me to learn how to be a good citizen. It was time for me to give back. You see, America is not just a place on the map, it isn't just a physical location. It is an ideal, a concept. And if you are an American, you must understand the concept, you must accept this concept, and most importantly, you have to fight and defend this concept. This is about Freedom and not free stuff. And that is why I am standing up here Brothers and sisters, to be a real American, the very least you must do is to learn English and understand it well. In my humble opinion, you cannot be a faithful patriotic citizen if you can't speak the language of the country you live in. Take this document of 46 pages - last I looked on the Internet, there wasn't a Vietnamese translation of the U.S. Constitution. It took me a long time to get to the point of being able to converse and until this day, I still struggle to come up with the right words. It's not easy, but if it's too easy, it's not worth doing Before I knew this 46-page document, I learned of the 500,000 Americans who fought for this little boy. I learned of the 58,000 names inscribed on the black wall at the Vietnam Memorial. You are my heroes. You are my founders. At this time, I would like to ask all the Vietnam veterans to please stand. I thank you for my life. I thank you for your sacrifices, and I thank you for giving me the freedom and liberty I have today. I now ask all veterans, firefighters, and police officers, to please stand On behalf of all first generation immigrants, I thank you for your services and may God bless you all." Quang Nguyen Creative Director/Founder Caddis Advertising, LLC "God Bless America" “One Flag, One Language, One Nation Under God” Commenting on the extreme amount of disappointment in the Mueller Report and the lack of evidence of collusion....
"It will be a reckoning for President Trump, to be sure, but also for Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, for Congress, for Democrats, for Republicans, for the news media and, yes, for the system as a whole… -Peter Baker, New York Times I do not consider myself an extremist.
Some say I am. As Barry Goldwater once said "Extremism in defence of liberty is no vice!" Here is one man's opinion that sums up my patriotism: I am the Democratic, Republican Liberal-Progressive's Worst Nightmare. I am a White, Conservative, Tax-Paying, American Veteran, Gun Owning Biker. That's me! I am a Master Mason. I work hard and long hours with my hands to earn a living. I believe in God and the freedom of religion, but I don't push it on others. I ride Harley Davidson Motorcycles . I believe in American products and buy them whenever I can. I believe the money I make belongs to me and not some liberal governmental functionary, Democrat or Republican, that wants to share it with others who don't work! I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way! I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer; it makes you a smart American. I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you to anything. Get over it! I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac or any other item, you should do it in English. I believe there should be no other language option. I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and where they want to. My heroes are Malcolm Forbes, Bill Gates, John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and Willie G. Davidson, who makes the awesome Harley Davidson Motorcycles. I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor. I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time watching or arguing about it. I've never owned a slave, nor was I a slave. I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks, and neither have you! I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country! This is AMERICA ...We like it the way it is and more so the way it was ...so stop trying to change it to look like Russia or China, or some other socialist country! If you were born here and don't like it... you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you. I believe it is time to really clean house, starting with the Congress and all those who oppose the POTUS. I want to know which church is it, exactly, where the Reverend Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why he is always part of the problem and not the solution? Can I get an AMEN on that one? I also think the cops have the right to pull you over if you're breaking the law, regardless of what color you are, but not just because you happen to ride a bike. And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my driver's license. I think it's good.... And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money.. I think if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years. I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making 'donations' to their cause....Get a job and do your part to support yourself and your family! I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes a man and woman . I believe 'illegal' is illegal no matter what the lawyers think! I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA ! If this makes me a BAD American, then yes, I'm a BAD American. If you are a BAD American too, please forward this to everyone you know... We want to return our country to the values it was founded on, and prospered under for over 200 years! My Country...I hope this offends all illegal aliens. My great, great, great, great grandfather watched and bled as his friends died in the Revolution and the War of 1812. My great, great, great grandfather watched as his friends died in the Mexican American War. My great, great grandfather watched as his friends and brothers died in the Civil War. My great grandfather watched as his friends died in the Spanish-American War. My grandfather watched as his friends died in WW I. My father watched as his friends died in WW II and the Korean War. I watched as my friends died in Vietnam , Panama and Desert Storm. My son watched and bled as his friends died in Afghanistan and Iraq . None of them died for the Mexican Flag. Every one of them died for the American flag. Texas high school students raised a Mexican flag on a school flag pole, other students took it down. Guess who was expelled...the students who took it down. California high school students were sent home on Cinco de Mayo because they wore T-shirts with the American flag printed on them. Enough is enough! This message needs to be viewed by every American; and every American needs to stand up for America . We've bent over to appease the America-haters long enough. I'm taking a stand. I'm standing up because of the hundreds of thousands who died fighting in wars for this country, and for the American flag. If you agree, stand up with me. And shame on anyone who tries to make this a racist message. AMERICANS, stop giving away Your RIGHTS! Let me make this clear! THIS IS MY COUNTRY! This statement DOES NOT mean I'm against immigration! YOU ARE WELCOME HERE, IN MY COUNTRY, welcome to come legally: We've gone so far the other way . . . bent over backwards not to offend anyone. Only AMERICANS seems to care when American Citizens are being offended! WAKE UP America !!! IN GOD WE STILL TRUST GOD BLESS THE USA I guess we are a new species. We must be because nobody understands our language. No matter who we talk to, they misinterpret everything. At least that is what I think is happening because when the media responds to me or others like me, everything comes out backwards. I attended a local conference on "Guns in America" and when I suggested it might be a good idea to have a gun to protect my family, friends, or anyone being threatened by a terrorist, I was berated and yelled at. Some said I am an angry, xenophobic and mean man. How can they reach that conclusion when I was suggesting I should make every effort to put myself between trouble and my friends? Isn't that a noble idea? During an online video conference I suggested that everyone should have equal opportunity to get an education and improve their lot in life. Within minutes I heard angry attacks on my character, describing my ideas as divisive and racist. When I asked how what I said could be interpreted as divisive, I was told in no uncertain terms that "equal opportunity" is a phrase used by white men to restrict minorities from acquiring wealth. It represents the intersectionality of white privilege and devaluation of black subcultural identity and contributes to the atmosphere of repression black Americans experience everyday. Still others said "opportunity" is a "dog whistle" for restricting lower class access to wealth, because it has qualifiers that are subtly racist. They say, the only way minorities will get ahead is when healthcare, housing and education are provided free by taxpayers (which they euphemistically call government). Did I just come out of a coma? I no longer recognize this place, this country, this culture or this "intersectionality" stuff. Somebody has hijacked the language and culture of the country I grew up in. It seems that everything I once held dear, that I admired about my country, community and my fellow Americans, is under assault. I can't put it any other way. I am a stranger in a strange land. And when I express my concerns about this "intersectionality" stuff, I am ridiculed. I do not feel threatened by civilized discussion in the arena of ideas, and I do not take it personally if my ideas are challenged, but I do resent the implication that my ideas are designed to hurt other people or that my intentions are anything less than altruistic. So I dared to suggest, treating me and those who voted for Donald Trump like we are a threat to survival, or like we are vermin, is fascist. The outbursts proved my point. Tolerance is in limited supply in our modern Progressive culture. Suppression of opposing ideas is rationalized by fear: Any idea that triggers an emotional reaction by an oppressed minority is subject to censorship or outright suppression. Discussion ends when someone is triggered. I am often called a Trumpian. I guess I am one of a new species of homo sapiens, and because of my outgoing willingness to support nationalism, self-reliance, self-interest, and personal accountability and the only man in Washington who unabashedly stands up for those principles, I am looked upon as an alien species. A threat to the status quo, or at least to the status of "progressive thinking people" around me. Funny, I used to be a perfect test-marketing client for survey professionals testing consumer goods and services. They liked me because I was right down the middle economically, educationally, and socially. I was a part of the majority white population and I am a male. I have been steadily employed virtually all of my life. I am married with two children. I am a third generation Californian, with a background in construction services. I have no criminal record and am active and healthy. I filled a demographic profile that consumer product manufacturers wanted to serve. If I liked the new product, the marketers were pretty sure there would be widespread acceptance. Suddenly I am a threat to mankind? Maybe that's why the test marketers haven't called me in a while...  I got an early morning phone call today from my nephew. He said "Hi Uncle Rick, it's Ty." There was an ugly pause and then he said "I am calling to let you know Ron passed today".
Ron is my older brother. He and his wife live in Billings Montana. We talk on the phone often, but because of the logistics, I haven't see my brother in a long time. He has an extended family, most of whom live in Montana, so our families only see each other when there is a wedding or a death in the family. I was speechless. Eventually I said "Wow, I am sorry." Ty, my brothers youngest, is in many ways the patriarch of the Montana Elkin Family. Ron had three kids, a daughter who lives with her husband and three kids in Seattle. His oldest son Cory, also lives in Billings. Ron's daughter, Cameron, the oldest of the siblings, moved away years ago (presumably to escape the 'small town' atmosphere), has successfully carved out a niche for her family in the Great Northwest. The circumstances surrounding the sudden and unexpected death of an otherwise healthy 73 year old won't be known for awhile. His wife Holly was away on business. When she couldn't get him to respond to phone and text messages, she asked a neighbor to check on him. Until a report is issued, we won't know what actually took his life. But he had a great life. He and I had spent many hours reminiscing about our younger days. He was especially grateful for his loving parents and how supportive they had always been. Ron was the oldest son, and as we all know, first borns are often over-achievers. That is what he was, always a perfectionist, never satisfied with mediocrity. He had to be the best at everything. He was a clothes hog, always dressed well, always sharply creased slacks and penny loafers. He would wear a blazer to fly from Billings to Denver. He hated the way people wore sweatpants in airports. I remember Ron wearing freshly ironed Madras button-down sports shirts to high school for years. Eventually the Madras ink-dyed fashion trend died out, but Ron never gave up his wardrobe. Twenty years later, the fad returned and he was back in business. Ron never gained weight. I hated him for that. He could drink a six pack of beer a day and never feel bloated or gain a pound. I remember one time, when I was probably 10, Ron had his driver's license and had joined a car club. He had a bunch of the club guys over one weekend when the folks went skiing. I opened the refrigerator and low and behold it was full of Miller beer bottles! Just then Ron came up behind me and said "You didn't see that!" As kids, my brother protected me and shared adventures with me. Our family was very active and so we spent a good deal of time together. But as we got older, he went into high school sports, and I went skiing on weekends with my folks, we became estranged. When he went off to the University of Southern California in 1964, and I was becoming a high school hippie, we spoke less and less. I was, on the other hand, avoiding Vietnam, voting for George McGovern and wondering off the proverbial 'white privilege' plantation. He worried about me. But he was always there for me. He was always the conservative lettermen, the successful businessman and the active family man, attending school and sporting events, birthdays and especially Christmas get togethers. When I graduated High School and was deciding where to go to college, he was the first resource I had. I didn't have any outstanding grades or achievements to get me into a prestigious school, but I wanted to go out on my own and live on campus. He told me to just go to Cal State Long Beach. It would serve my needs, be reasonably inexpensive and give me space to grow up. He was absolutely right. I am certain I would have flunked out of any other school. I was able to stay in touch with my folks and local friends and still maintain my autonomy. For the next eight years I immersed myself in the ski shop business in LA. Eventually I resented making the store owners lots of money so I sought to do my own thing. In 1977, when I moved to San Diego and we went into the ski business together, I was given complete autonomy to do whatever I thought necessary to make the business work. He provided the financing and the bookkeeping, but he trusted me to do the buying. I wonder if he ever really understood how much that meant to me… Eventually he moved to Montana and semi-retired in a small ski resort community. He wanted to be involved with his kids as they grew up and also wanted to avoid the total, all consuming commitment required to be a top commercial real estate agent in Southern California. Most people thought he was crazy to walk away from such a lucrative market, but his instincts turned out be a good. Rons marriage to Ann didn't work out, but I know they have maintained a healthy love for each other, and I know their kids all know that too. They have a great group of friends and family in Billings and around the country. Like our folks, Ron and I have always treasured our relationships with family and close friends. So I lost my brother today, but I will always have a brother in life.  This is an excerpt from my book Trump's Reckoning. "The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost." Gilbert K. Chesterton Ask any American what are the three most important things in their life, and most will list Faith, Family, Friends, Love of Country, or their marriage, or any number of things. I am just as certain that for too many of us, Freedom won't make the list. How can that be? Because without freedom, we may not be able to practice or express our faith. Without freedom, it can be hard to determine who your real friends are. Without freedom, all you have is family, and that can be compromised when authoritarians decide to split up the family because it threatens their command and control. Isn't splitting up the family of undocumented immigrants by immigration authorities one of the main objections liberals have to ending illegal immigration? Illegals live in a state of fear because they are subject to law enforcement coming along and changing everything about their lives. Imagine if all Americans lived like that! And the history of freedom is that once people lose it, it is near impossible to restore. So for me, Freedom is number one on my list. It is the trunk from which all of the branches of our human experience grow. For me, freedom opens the doors, faith escorts us through fear of dying, and family escorts us through the fear of living. As Americans, we are privileged to be free and prosperous. None of which was accidental. We paid a steep price in human suffering and sacrifice to achieve it. And we live under a burden because unlike every other nation or creed on the globe, we carry the torch of freedom. We have been given the gift of it by our forefathers, and since it has proven to be the most enduring and peace-nurturing idea ever invented by man, we feel compelled to share it. But we have to preserve it first, so it can be shared. To protect it, we have to face the fact that other human beings hate freedom. They worship doctrine. They are uncomfortable with freedom and try to end it wherever they find it. And in our modern world, there are people who are determined to return everyone to a dark era of rule by theocracy. I fear that too many Americans have become complacent about the need to fight for freedom. To better inform those of whom I speak, I suggest thinking about our country, America, as our family. If you knew there was a threat to your family, how far would you go to protect a parent or a sibling? I know, for example, that I would throw myself in front of a bus if I knew I had to to save my Mother. I would not hesitate. That is a tangible choice that offers me no alternatives, because she gave me life. She is me and I am her. I believe it is the duty of all Americans to pass on the gift that we have been given by each generation before us. Thinking this way helps us to understand why we need to be patriotic. It is a condition we need to nurture in order to fulfill our obligations to promote the exportation of freedom, and to assure that our children have the same opportunity to live free. As much as we love freedom, and the lifestyle it affords, we have a debt to pay, and it is something we all must, at some point, confront. Are we willing to continue to pay that debt, to lead the world out of depravity and servitude? Or are too many Americans under the delusion that freedom is now as free and natural as sunlight? And that the need to fight wars to preserve it is an outdated idea? Will the average American embrace their duty, to do what is necessary now, or will we wait till the indomitable spirit of freedom is damaged beyond redemption? As Winston Churchill said, "Americans will always do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the alternatives." Let's hope he was right about that. I like to frame the discussions about our freedom as an extension of my family. I call the concept Familyism. What makes Familyism so important, and more illustrative is that it represents something tangible. Freedom is a condition, a state of being, but not something you can touch or hug. Unlike freedom, which is an idea, your family is real and close to you. Familyism can make heroes out of us all. It can provide courage and strength just when it is needed. It is superglue for love. It is what drives our volunteer service men and woman to superhuman efforts, and to lay down their own precious lives if necessary. We fight for four country, and sometimes we die so our family can live in freedom. If only we could understand that it works for all Americans as we are all Family. There is no reason for us to suffer the indignities and pain of a dysfunctional family. We have too much in common, and though we have our internecine disputes, our jealousies, our resentments and our fears, when there is a threat to our existence, I have no doubt most of us would jump in front of that bullet without hesitation to save our Nation.  When Cathy and I went to New York City during the 15 year anniversary of 911, we learned to use Uber. One of the best things about that was speaking with the different drivers, all residents of Manhattan to get their perspective of the Big Apple before and since that tragic day.
One of our drivers was an Israeli national who was driving a delivery truck directly into the area when the first plane crashed into the South Tower. He immediately called his wife as she was working across the street from the World Trade Center and he wanted to see what she knew and be sure she was safe. His story was incredible as he eventually raced to the scene to dig out survivors, while not knowing if his wife had made it out of her office or even escaped the explosion. She was not an Israeli national but was a native New Yorker, and although she did escape unharmed by the attack, he said she was ultimately victimized. As we exited his car he said "I have no problem sleeping at night because I grew up in Israel with bombs going off everywhere all of the time. But my wife, having been so insulated from war living in America, is to this day traumatized by her memory of 911 and has serious insomnia. She watched people leap from the top floors to their death to escape the flames." As we watch the bombing of Israel today it is frightening how insensitive many Americans have become to the anti-semitism and bigotry our Jewish allies have to endure every single day of their existence. And equally disturbing is the selective amnesia many Americans seem to have about 911 and the fact that it was an attack designed to ultimately undermine our unity and moral strength and solidarity with Israel. Almost 20 years later and Israel is still under relentless attack and America today is more divided than at any time since the Civil War. I first posted this in August 2017. Nearly two years later it is worth another look even though it essentially says what we all knew: Trump was right about the spying and damn near everything else he has said about the Deep State coup efforts of former Obama appointees and Clinton snowflakes. Everyone from Charles Krauthammer to Morning Joe Scarborough has their pointed tongues out for Donald Trump. They all say things like, "Belittling your Attorney General" is no way to treat your cabinet. "Trump is his own worst enemy," referring to his daily tweets. Or, Trump's claims that "serious numbers of illegal voting" may have cost him the popular vote, which is always 'qualified' by commentary that those claims are totally "unsubstantiated" and "false". Let's just start by saying that in an unnerving and overwhelming number of instances, Trump's "outrageous lies" have been, more often than not, proven to be true. Starting with the claim that John McCain was not his idea of a hero. The MSM went bonkers (which is laughable because just one election cycle ago they trashed McCain as an alt-right ideologue). But in the end, the myths and the truth about McCain supports Trump's position. (http://www.alternet.org/story/95825/i_spent_years_as_a_pow_with_john_mccain%2C_and_his_finger_should_not_be_near_the_red_button) Trump has claimed that millions of illegal votes may have cost him the popular vote. In California alone, recent studies show that hundreds of thousands of votes came from areas that have more registered voters than people eligible to vote! (http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-warns-california-clean-voter-registration-lists-face-federal-lawsuit/) Trump claimed that EPA rules were hurting US employment figures. He was roundly criticized because the media focused on select industry regulations to make their case that more regulation would increase jobs (even as seven years of Obama era EPA expansion hadn't helped the 93 million unemployed find work anytime soon). (https://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2015/09/14/regulations-kill-jobs-data-show) This misuse of the English language is probably the most galling aspect of the blatant leftist attempt to effect a coup. I cannot stomach supposedly educated, highly compensated, and oft quoted officials dropping pejorative words into their comments, when the correct word would have performed just as well. Unless, of course, they are purposely trying to create anger or frustration with their audience. There are literally thousands of examples, but let's just talk about two: Trump 'slammed' Jeff Sessions when he was interviewed by Sean Hannity. " If I had known he would recuse himself, I probably wouldn't have chosen him to be my Attorney General." This was characterized by the MSM as as an 'attack.' Later, Trump said Sessions was 'very weak' in his position regarding investigating Hillary's email and unmasking transgressions. For this Trump was said to have 'ridiculed' Sessions. If my boss was accused of ridiculing every employee he criticized, he would have been out of a job. In fact, it is his job to analyse and fix the shortcomings of his employees. Trump is an expert at that, and though he may not be the most charitable person when it comes to job reviews, he gets results. I guess in the media and government, the concept of accepting responsibility for your actions is alien. Listening to your boss point out your shortcomings at your job is now considered 'ridicule'. This is leftist petulance and ignorance of our language, and how the real world works. Evaluating the effectiveness of an employee is called running a business. It isn't always pretty or comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, but if you have ever worked for highly successful people you know they are rarely the most likable people in the room. In my experience, they are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: when work is over, they can be charming and approachable, but during working hours, don't waste their time with small talk or inaction. Running the most powerful country on Earth leaves no room for error, or for being 'very weak' at your job. And what about the unmasking by the DOJ leading up to the election? Trump claimed to have discovered that his 'wires were tapped' by Obama. Technically, 'wiretapping' is vernacular of another era. Only in third world countries do the CIA or the FBI climb phone polls to tap the gangsters. So the MSM had a field day with this quote, because they knew they could characterize his claims as 'unsubstantiated.' He was accused of lying, because the press announced that there is no proof of 'wiretapping.' But we now know that someone leaked information about telephone calls by Mike Flynn, Donald Trump Jr., and others working inside the Trump campaign. How were these conversations acquired? Trump used the wrong term, but the facts are on his side; the emails that Wikileaks put out about the DNC proved that Loretta Lynch, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and John Podesta (and many others) had access to conversations that they could only have acquired by someone illegally unmasking the protected conversations of innocent Americans. (https://theintercept.com/2017/03/13/rand-paul-is-right-nsa-routinely-monitors-americans-communications-without-warrants/) The fact that they arbitrarily chose to start the score card then is telling, because all of the issues that they claim he lied about are the core issues of the left: immigration crime rates, gun deaths, the Russians attacking our democracy, Obama's birth certificate, universal health coverage, big oil and gas deals, police brutality, and the size of the crowd at Trump's swearing in ceremony or how many times his face has appeared on Time magazine, etc, etc. "We are using the word “lie” deliberately. Not every falsehood is deliberate on Trump's part. But it would be the height of naivete to imagine he is merely making honest mistakes. He is lying." (NY Times)The word lie is a tool that is more destructive than suggesting Trump misstates or exaggerates. People who suffer from liars syndrome, who recklessly lie about just about everything, are usually unmasked at some point. Their friends and family, those closest to them are the first ones to recognize the problem. If Trump were a pathological liar, don't you think there would have been a line several blocks long, of people who know Trump well, lining up to point his out to the voters? What about his ex-wives, his former employees, his housekeeper's, his subcontractors, and even his kids? Many of those now screaming about his inability to tell the truth were all but best of friends 5, 10 or 15 years ago, whooping it up at high society social events, weddings and graduations at Martha's Vineyards, or one of Trump's resorts. Where were/are these people? Are they all under a threat? All they all dead? Oh, sorry, that would be Hillary's detractors…. There is no mention of his long history of real estate success, his business acumen or how he works with manufacturers, builders, or bankers. The NY Times list of lies is so obviously slanted to reflect the arguments ideologues have over what is 'true' and what is 'hateful' or 'biased' that is hard to take it seriously. They are taking the tweets, the rally speeches, the political rhetoric of a Manhattan business bulldog and trying to compare it to polished politicians, campaign operatives and lawyers, or a media spokesperson. Just as the editors of the NY Times piece states, not every falsehood is deliberate. But isn't that universally true? What Trump accomplished, beating Hillary at her own game, is so far fetched, so unprecedented, and so offensive to the left, that they have to resort to ad hominem attacks on his character, on speech patterns, even the brand of clothing than Melania wears. The media lies by omission, ignoring proof that many democrats, journalists, and editors have colluded to create a narrative to try to discredit everything about Trump, so as to eventually remove him from his duly elected position in the White House. Some of which borders on treason since it so overtly calls for the overthrow of a duly elected government. (http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/02/senator-perdue-democrats-sabotaging-trump-sessions/) We can take some solace in the fact that they do not find fault in many things Trump has said about really important issues. Since it isn't listed, I guess we can assume they are OK with other pronouncements of Trump's administration. According to the NY Times piece, Trump hasn't lied about the IRS illegally investigating the Tea Party, or how it refused to grant them the same tax exemptions they routinely grant to Islamic or Progressive political organizations. He hasn't lied about the massive fraud found in many of the Obama era military programs, where 6.5 trillion tax dollars were apparently misplaced and untraceable. (http://www.wnd.com/2016/08/6-5-trillion-missing-from-defense-department/) He is apparently telling the truth about the Paris Climate Agreements, where the US would have been on the hook for upwards of 3 billion dollars (some say the number is closer to $3 trillion after all is said and done over 30 years). (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-paris-climate-agreement-was-a-terrible-deal-for-the-us/article/2624974) He has been honest, I guess, since the NY Times doesn't challenge his assessment that Hillary and Obama left a void in the middle east, which allowed ISIS to form a massive army by grabbing abandoned US military weapons. Or that since Trump took office, we have had only one online video of a German hostage being beheaded because they couldn't collect a ransom for him, versus the almost nightly parade of beheadings, tortures and mass murders starting in 2014. No, they do not talk about Trump's lies about building a wall, restarting the economy, fighting and winning the war on radical Islamic terrorism, or reducing regulations on business and entrepreneurship. Or fixing the ObamaCare clusterf**k, or rebuilding the support for and the necessary equipment required for our military, immigration and police operations. Or how the Veterans Administration has modernized it's approach with integrated outsourcing, fostered by Trump's appointee, Dr. David Shulkin, who has extensive VA experience, but also seems comfortable thinking outside the bureaucracy-box. We are coming to the end of the First 200 Days of the new administration and we have learned a lot.
(https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/wolff/2016/02/14/wolff-prints-dead-but-so-digital/80284046/) I guess the question is, who will outlast who? Will Trump survive a full term, or will much of the fake news media go under first? But all is not lost, because as of right now, DJT is in charge, and the unhappy people are on the outside looking in... |
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