17 Aug Thoughts on Left vs Right - Idealists vs Realists

My latest analysis on what the root cause of our nation's problems are! Looking for comments and feedback on this!

So, I believe that the left and their so-called progressive socialist policies are based in idealism. The people who support socialism are idealists by nature. What I am saying is that the actual personality profiles of people on the left are rooted in an idealist view of the universe and the world in which we live. For example, when an idealist sees a problem they need it to be solved. When a realist sees a problem they want it to be solved. There is a huge difference! Not only do leftists want problems solved, they want every problem solved and they want it now! It is truly a personality disorder. While I consider idealists a danger to society, we do in fact need them because they are the best at identifying problems that need to be solved. However, they are terrible at prioritizing or figuring out how best to resolve problems. Leftist idealists should never be allowed to hold positions of leadership, and they should never be allowed to control funding or resources. Every person should have to take a personality test in order to find out where they are at on the "idealist-realist" scale, and any person who is far left on the scale should be disqualified for political office or any position that places them in control of funds or resources. These people are best suited for consulting and analyst positions/jobs.

17 AUG 15 ELECTION UPDATE

Here is my update for Monday, the 17th of August 2015

#1 Trump, #2 Carson - 

     Are there any conservative out there who are surprised by these numbers? If so, you shouldn't be. The GOP RINO leadership is solely responsible for a significant portion of the base turning up their noses at career politicians. The GOP can thank McConnell and Boehner for weak leadership in the Senate and House. Their failures to take tough action against the Obama regime's unconstitutional executive orders is creating a great divide within the party. The only saving grace in all of this is that Hillary is her own worst enemy, and Bernie Sanders isn't even a Democrat but rather an Independent Hard-Left Extremist Socialist. The other options, Gore and Biden, would result in 2016 being an election cartoon show, a circus really. The country is strangling in debt, entitlements that cannot be sustained, terrible foreign policy, as well as racial, gender and religious division. Our borders are a joke, trade policies a mess, 20+ million illegal immigrants ---- and whew! Should I go on? Maybe it is time for someone like Trump! I am still backing Paul and Cruz, but anything other than a RINO or Democrat will help this country.

     While I like Trump's overall message that our politicians are stupid, some of the details of his policies are not passing basic common sense.  For example:

1- Mexico is going to pay for the wall.  Really? Exactly how are we going to punish Mexico? Are we going to raise tariffs on imports? If so, who does that hurt.  Sure, it may hurt Mexico, but it will also hurt the American consumer.  A better option would be to put our military on the border!  Enforce immigration law and give our Border Patrol a mandate to secure those borders with the use of force if necessary. 

2- Deport all of the people who are illegally? Really? The numbers are staggering! There are estimates of more than 20 million people in America illegally. The cost to locate, prosecute and deport 20 million illegal aliens is not feasible given the current economic reality in America. A better plan would be to identify criminals and relocate them to an internment camp for further deportation or simply transport them to the border and force them across it, by force if necessary.  A path to eventual legal status should be put into place for other individuals and families who are law abiding and working.  If they are unemployed they have to go back to their country of origin and get no benefits or entitlements.  Lastly, prosecute every, governor, politician, mayor and city council member in this country who have passed and supported sanctuary laws.

3- The Iran deal will inevitably end up in a "holocaust".  Really?  Definitely? This sort of language is over the top.  The truth about Iranian sanctions is that the world has decided to end them and we do not have much if anything to say about it.  The sanctions can be snapped back, but by the time they are back in place the Iranians will have already gotten what they wanted out of the deal, which is the $150 Billion in seized assets, much of which is outside of our sphere of influence.  In any case, Russia, China and other countries will be free to continue to increase trade with Iran regardless of what we do.  A better option would be to firmly respond with a heavy military hand to any Iranian or Iranian proxy aggression in the region.

I believe Trump could be a great leader, however his message is always over the top and his policies are pretty unbelievable. He would do better to stay on his message that all politicians are stupid and to use more sensible approaches to the problems that the world and nation is facing.

As far as Ben Carson goes, he is a sensible and extremely intelligent candidate. I like him a lot, but I do not see him as winning the nomination.  I could be wrong, as wrong as I was in 2008 and 2012 when Obama somehow pulled off wins.  I obviously do not have a good feeling or handle on the national electorate.  It could very well be that the nation is too far gone to be saved.  2016 may be the last opportunity for Americans to take back their government from the elite political class.

12 AUG UPDATE - Decision 2016 - State of the Union 1988 - present

This is quite a long post. I realize that the length will likely turn off most readers who need to get their fill in a short paragraph or less. However, if you are truly interested in real change then please take the time to read and provide feedback on what I have to offer in this update.

In 2008 Americans voted the Neocons out of office. The Bush Administration gave us the war in Iraq, which many of us did not understand. Bush is a globalist and he and his family have always been moderate socialists, in fact you might consider the Bush family as Blue Dog Democrats. This ushered in the most extreme change in American history, a known communist/socialist sympathizer, Barack Obama, a community organizer with no experience in governing or economics. What was worse has been his views on national unity, harmony, and the role of government. These are the undeniable facts regardless of how the liberal media would like to cherry pick statistics:

1. Ninety-three (93) million Americans are out of work.  
2. We have unfunded liabilities to the tune of $120 Trillion.
3. Obama promised to free us from dependency on middle eastern oil by 2015 (what happened?).
4. Obama promised the most transparent administration in history (what happened?).
5. Millions more illegal immigrants continue to flow across our southern border and through our naval and airports. Millions more have stayed for decades beyond the expiration of their visas. Many of the terrorists who have attacked us on our own soil entered this country and stayed beyond the expiration of their visas due to government inefficiency, incompetency, and/or a lack of will to enforce immigration law.
6. We no longer have the ability to launch spacecraft and NASA is literally a tool of Climate Change activists.
7. Keystone Pipeline remains an unfinished economic dream.
8. Forays by Obama and the DOE into picking and choosing winners and losers in the clean energy sector has resulted in mostly losers.
9. China, Russia, and North Korea are all more dangerous than ever and the next 17 months are very frightening as it is likely that they will become even more aggressive during a weak Obama Presidency rather than wait until 2017.
10. The EPA is issuing massive regulations that is strangling the economy, especially in the energy sector. The people who will suffer most will be the poor.
11. The Obama Administration is allowing illegal immigrants access to entitlements and refuses to take action against sanctuary cities that confound the problem. His executive order on amnesty has been ruled unconstitutional by a lower court.
12. Obama's deal with Iran is going to ignite a nuclear weapons race in the middle east. Nuclear weapons in the hands of Shiite and Sunni theocracies are going to make the world a much more dangerous place.
13. Our nation may have lost a lot of respect under Bush, but Obama has doubled down on this by spying on our friends and being weak in the face of our enemies. His lack of respect for the state of Israel is especially disturbing. His threat to Assad regarding chemical weapons was a national disgrace and a signal to all of our enemies that Obama will do nothing in the face of any aggression.
14. Obama is unable, or unwilling to see Radical Islam as the root cause of terror in this world.
15. Obama has been a root cause of all division in the nation. The nation could not be more divided in terms of race, gender and politics under his administration.
16. Obama's closest advisors, such as Jarrett are troublesome.

I could go on and on, and I should but the list is simply too depressing to regurgitate.

In 2014 Americans voted to put Republicans in charge of the Congressional House and Senate. What has changed? Not much. Why? The reality is that we have had nothing but moderate to extreme socialists in charge of this country since 1988. Yes, you can find hard evidence that the Bush family are light-socialists! Senior gave us "read my lips", and Junior gave us the Medicare donut hole, a lack of CRA oversight, and of course Iraq which is a hallmark of NEOCONISM and globalism.Look at the performance of the Republicans and Democrats since 1988.  

Terrorism is still an issue and has been since 1949.  

With the exception of the 8 years of Reagan we have had nothing but a see-saw economy with little or no real growth in most sectors. The government gave us a massive housing bubble with the Community Reinvestment Act. This act set the stage for the bubble. The nation went through the dot.com bubble at the turn of the century. Certainly the banks share some of the guilt but the CRA set stage. Truth is the banks didn't have much of a choice other than to issue sub-prime mortgages as their arms were being twisted under risk of government penalty. In any case, one can look at almost any government agency or responsibility and the performance has been absolutely dismal. 

For me, I see the problem as between people who are idealists and those who are realists. The current Democratic Party and the GOP Leadership are composed of idealists. They are comprised of people who believe that every single problem known to mankind can be resolved from the top down with tax payer funding without regard to what this will do to the economy or American citizens in the short term. Our current budgeting process and governing process is based on a very short fiscal year basis with a very long term fuzzy plan that goes out 15 years, which the government calls the Future Years Program Budget (for defense it is called the FYDP, Future Years Defense Program). What this country needs is a long term governing and budgeting strategy that allows for financial stability and growth in the private sector. The country needs to have long term goals with respect to solving problems like climate change, reducing poverty, etc. We should have the amount of socialism that we can afford. We should have a federal government that is bound to the people, not the other way around. If the country borrows, one generation should not leave tons of debt to future generations. We need to live within our means. Spending a million dollars a minute and borrowing trillions of dollars has to be stopped. It is quite apparent that the Democrats won't stop it and there is no sign that the current crop of Republican leaders have the will to do so either. The bottom line is that we need idealists in this world. We would not be able to progress and solve problems without them. However, idealists should NEVER be in positions of leadership. Idealists should be in positions of consultation and support!

Much of what the federal government is doing should be at the state and local level. People talk about the debt, the amount spent on entitlements, the importance of surpluses, and the defense budget as if these things are the most important factors in our economy. The truth is that they are simply not. The most important factor in our economy is, well the economy! Our economy is over regulated, taxed too much, and is infected with artificial government involvement (picking winners and losers) across the board. Our economy has been corrupted by politicians, and our politicians have become corrupted by corporate lobbyists. If we are to recover we must firewall the federal government from our federal politicians and vice versa.  

We must limit the scope and the power of our federal government if we are to remain free and able to recover from the mess that they have made. We need constitutional amendments that limit our debt, as well as the scope, power and reach of the federal government. If we are to remain a Republic we must maintain the electoral college. The nation needs to build in long term solutions to the nation's problems and not try to simply satisfy lobbyists or voting PACs. Term limits and laws preventing politicians from lobbying must obviously be a part of any solution. The question each voter must ask We cannot trust the future to the GOP RINO Establishment or to the Democratic Party. Both have America on a track to destruction.

I see the Donald Trump situation as voters screaming their frustration at the political establishment. I love his message but not how he is delivering it. Donald Trump is not going to win the presidency with his approach. What we need to do is look at candidates like Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina. Isn't it about time that all voters reject the status quo and turn out the incumbents? Is it nearly too late to send this message and vote for real change?

The answer is up to you. I hope this reaches quite a vast audience. I love my country. I served it for 30 years in the US Navy Submarine Force. I am afraid that we are seeing the dying days of our great nation. This may be our last opportunity for the people to really take control back from the established party hacks.

9 AUG 2016 UPDATE

FOXNEWS IS NOT A CONSERVATIVE NEWS ORGANIZATION - TRUTH

FOXNEWS has always been supportive of RINOs.  This was clearly evident during the 2008 and 2012 campaigns when they outright attacked conservative candidates like Rand Paul.  In fact their bias was quite blatant. In 2013, after the RINOs lost, I thought I saw a shift toward a more conservative position, however FOX is once again fully behind the RINO brigade of candidates.  What most people, including myself, didn't know is that FOX has been contributing to the campaigns of the Clinton's as well to the tune of > $3 million since 1992.

By the way, how does the U.S. Dept of State donate over $400,000 to Barack Obama? Also see the numbers from the DOJ and the Dept of HHS!

As a result FOXNEWS is now not welcome in my home or on my computer.  I am turning to a multiple of alternative sources in order to get my feed.

http://preservefreedom.org/shocking-fox-news-one-of-hillary-clintons-biggest-donors/

2016 Presidential and Congressional Election Year

The initial Republican Debate is now history.  It was a big night for the 17 candidates as well as for FOX NEWS.  Here are my thoughts going forward.  Breaking news and updates from me will be placed at the top of this blog as we move forward in time. Feel free to comment on this blog.  If you are a liberal or a RINO lover and comment on my Facebook you will be blocked, deleted and quite possibly unfriended. Liberals and RINO lovers are free to comment on my blog.  While I will respect your opinion please know in advance that I believe you are WRONG.  

7 AUG 2016 UPDATE.  FOX NEWS' and Megyn Kelly's treatment of Donald Trump was an absolute disgrace.  Asking Donald about what he has said or done on a television reality show was a low blow.  The question was obviously designed as a ploy to hurt Mr. Trump in the polls.  It is quite possible that it had the exact opposite effect.  As a result FOX NEWS has been blocked on my cable channel and it has been removed from the list of my browser start ups on my computer.  BYE BYE FOX, you have proven to be in bed with the GOP Establishment and the RINOs who lead it.

     Chuck Schumer (D) surprised me with very good analysis of Obama's Iran Deal.  It gives me great hope that we still have independent thinkers in the Democratic Party who will put the interests of the country and our allies above party loyalty.  Good for you Chuck!

1. 2016 HOPES AND NATIONAL ISSUES
2. 2016 MY FAVORITE CANDIDATES

1. (HOPES) In 2016 I would like to see a shift in the electorate away from Republican-In-Name-Only (RINO) candidates and toward candidates that are more conservative in the mold of Ronald Reagan.  In 2012 the GOP established RINO leadership changed party rules in order to marginalize Ron Paul and his supporters in districts all across the country.  If a true conservative isn't the nominee this will be my last election cycle as a member of the Grand Old Party (GOP).

(NATIONAL ISSUES). 

   (1) Adherence to the Constitution and upholding the Bill of Rights.
   (2) Balanced budget amendment that allows for the amount of socialism that we can afford.  We should never run up a deficit that cannot be paid for by the generation that is responsible for creating it.  We should never mortgage the economic safety and future of our children and grandchildren.
   (3) Fair and Flat Tax!  This tax should be collected by the States and provided to the U.S. Treasury without the need for an Internal Revenue Service.  The U.S. Treasury should fund the 3 branches of government as defined by a Constitutional Amendment that binds the responsibilities of the Federal Government.
   (4) Repeal and replace ObamaCare.
   (5) A Constitutional Amendment that gets Federal, State and Local governments out of the marriage business altogether. Eliminate discrimination in our tax code based on marital status.
   (6) Downsize government!  Eliminate all departments and agencies with the exception of State, Defense, Justice and Treasury.  Regulations for the environment should be passed by Congress and upheld by the DOJ and each individual State.  All environmental regulations must be approved by each State within the Union.
   (7) Strong national defense!  No more social engineering within the military! Maintain a strong and robust Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.  Eliminate the Border Patrol and assign border and immigration control to the DOD.  Secure our ports, airports and borders!
   (8) Eliminate almost all foreign aid with the exception of critical aid to our most at risk allies.
   (9) Restructure the National Budgeting Process and ensure that there are rewards for efficiency and cost performance (return on investment).  This may require a totally independent watch dog to oversee government departments and agencies.
  (10) Our national defense policy should send a clear and concise message to both our friends and enemies.  We will not tolerate terrorism and will retaliate with the full force of our military against the country where terrorism spawns without regard to the loss of innocent life or infrastructure.  We will honor all of our defense treaties and not tolerate Russian or Chinese expansionist policies into Eastern Europe or the Pacific Rim.
  (11) If Mexico does not secure its side of the border there will be severe consequences up to an including an invasion in order to create a buffer zone that cannot be violated.
  (12) Defund Planned Parenthood and ensure that the DOJ investigates and prosecutes individuals who have violated federal laws regarding the harvesting and sale of body parts and organs of aborted fetuses.
  (13) Term Limits for House and Senate members.
  (14) Supreme Court Justices to be nominated by State Legislatures, not by the Executive Branch.  Appointments shall be revisited every 8 years through the national election process.  If removed new appointments shall be made by State Legislatures (50 States).
  (15) Members of Congress may not become lobbyists, either directly or indirectly for 10 years after the terms are over.

2. MY FAVORITE CANDIDATES.  

   (1) RAND PAUL is my favorite because I believe he has the best chance of getting the most cross over votes.  His position on the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and especially his positions on law enforcement and drug policies will draw a lot of cross over votes.  Another big pull will be his position on foreign affairs.  He is definitely not a war mongering Neo-Con and this will be very attractive to moderate Democrats who do not want to be mired in another middle eastern conflict.

   (2) TED CRUZ is likely the most intelligent and conservative candidate in the mix.  However, he will not bring many cross over votes.  As much as I like him, I do not think he can be victorious.

   (3) DONALD TRUMP.  Donald is channeling the aggravation that most Americans are feeling with respect to the elite political class.  True conservatives like him because they do not see much space between the national GOP establishment (RINOs) and the Democratic Party.  I believe that Donald may run as a 3rd party candidate.  If a RINO is the GOP nominee then he has my blessing!  However, if by some miracle a true conservative wins the GOP nomination then he could very well sabotage the vote and hand the Presidency over to Hillary or whomever the eventual Democratic nominee will be.

 The following candidates are interesting and I would seriously consider supporting them if they happen to win in a long shot:

  CARLY FIORINA
  BEN CARSON

  Other big names who I respect but are not running:

  TREY GOWDY
  ALLEN WEST
  MIKE LEE
  SARAH PALIN
  CONDOLEEZA RICE