Monthly Archives: January 2019

Quit Wasting Our Money

26 Saturday Jan 2019

Posted by in Drugs, Illinois Finances, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Every Illinoisan knows the state is in deep financial trouble so why would we want to do a capital bill. This morning I heard Republican Senator Sue Rezin wants to push through a capital bill to be paid for by a tax on recreational marijuana. The announcer said she wanted the money to not be kept at the state level but to go all the way down to the townships.

That idea isn’t hers alone. In fact, it is another ploy to get people to want to pass an ill-advised marijuana law. There are many reasons we don’t need thousands of legally drugged out people on the roads (there is no roadside test.), cooking my food, carrying a gun, or any of a myriad other concerns. Ask people in Colorado and some will be honest enough to quote the increased deaths, wrecks, emergency room visits, and users. New evidence shows edible marijuana causes psychological problems including murder during rages.

If the inane law were to pass, the money should go to putting the state in a better financial condition, not incurring another expense. When the Republicans and the Democrats want to join together to tax and spend, Illinois is in danger of bankruptcy. Getting into this mess was bi-partisan and apparently not getting out of the mess is also bi-partisan.

As in most, if not all, states, Illinois legislators have money to give for local projects. (It’s the same aldermanic practice in Chicago.) In Grundy County, our townships already have lots of tax money for roads, bridges, and winter time. The more political entities involved in spreading grants around, the more that will be wasted on unnecessary projects.

Many of the people who want to pass a recreational law are the same people who argued against riverboat gambling and a Chicago casino on moral and religious grounds. Now those same people want to tax a product they were against. They think that the money will go into the state’s treasury for good use. Their moral roots should also be against unpaid debts and potential bankruptcy.

We already have tens of thousands using the drug today illegally and thousands using it for medical purposes. The medical community has shown specially modified (all marijuana is modified) marijuana without THC gives the same results. Hemp products can give the same results without a high.

If the legislature passes a recreational bill, every tax dollar must go to pay down unpaid bills and then pension shortages. We must not continue to waste money for political gain. When Springfield gets it head straight and forgets politics and getting re-elected, I believe our elected and appointed officials can fix the problems.

Negotiating with North Korea

25 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by in Politics, President Trump, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

In late February, President Trump will get another lesson in negotiating by North Korea dictator-for-life Kim Jong Un. After his first meeting, President Trump and many of his administration have taunted the meeting was successful because some bones, possibly American soldiers, were returned. Also North Korea has not tested any missiles or nuclear bombs since.

Mr. Trump’s lack of political experience in negotiating international agreements, his narcissism, and inflated ego has not allowed him to see he has already gotten the short end of the stick. In return for a few bones and the cessation of testing, he stopped the twice-a-year joint training with South Korea. His military leadership tried to explain how important working with the Republic of Korea is in case the huge North Korean army crosses the 38th parallel. Score 1 for Un and zero for Trump.

Why has North Korea not conducted any testing of its missiles and nuclear bombs? After they proved their weapons worked as designed, further testing was not necessary. When they blew up the nuclear testing site it was a meaningless gesture. The site had already been used up and had leaked radioactivity from the last test. It needed to be sealed and the equipment was removed before the useless building was destroyed. In fact the missile fabrication building has doubled in size and the enrichment of uranium has increased in facilities we know about. We know there are others deep underground but not where. Trump believed he had stopped Un’s nuclear program – North Korea – 2, Trump – zero.

Why is our leader being taken in by North Korea’s “Dear Leader?” Un has been trained by experts in how to negotiate with their enemies. The North Korean playbook was written during the Korean War. During the war, Kim Il Sung took months negotiating a truce. The first items on the list are where to meet and then shape of the table. Un – 3, Trump – zero. During the war, Kim Il Sung sacrificed over a few thousand soldiers to see how determined we were by how many soldiers we were willing to lose. Pork Chop Hill was a prime example.

Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il caused over a million of their people to starve to death so they could build up their military power and start their nuclear and missile programs. All three have been willing to kill millions of their own people along with millions of others to keep themselves in power or to go down with the ship if needed.

Trump’s one-on-one negotiations with Xi and Nancy Pelosi have shown he is not the negotiator he pretends to be. He had yet to realize others pretend to be friends to get what they want and his wild words can start wars.

Return to Sanity Needed

22 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Gun Control, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

The National Rifle Association is an international organization persuading people around the world to buy guns. In other countries they can con people into buying more guns by saying more guns the safer they are. Do the slogans they use in the other countries sound familiar? “Guns are our guarantee of freedom.” and “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

When I was a member about sixty years ago, the NRA taught me how to load, fire, and unload without shooting anyone. Then they rented an office and wore off-the-rack suits. Now they have a skyscraper and multi-thousand dollar suits.

What changed? Lots and lots of money provided mostly by entities other than American membership. The third of a billion dollars, which they got in 2016 and 2017, comes from others including the gun manufacturers. The purpose of their financial support is for the NRA to push the sale of guns around the world.

According to Bloomberg’s January 7 issue our laws for donations have been skirted. During 2017 we imported over 760,000 Taurus guns from Brazil. In lieu of direct donations they gave a NRA membership to each buyer. At $35 per membership, that’s over 25 million dollars in 2017. The American sales office for a Belgium manufacturer legally gave $200,000 in 2013, CEO Ugo Gussalli Beretta pledged a million in 2008. Glock’s VP Josh Dorsey gave over a million in 2017 alone.

Americans own over 390 million guns and the NRA is pushing us to buy more for safety. Oddly, the more guns we buy the more people are killed. The last full year’s numbers for 196 nations shows the number of deaths in the top six countries are: Brazil’s 43.2K, United States’ 37.2K, Mexico’s 15.4K, Columbia’s 13.3K, Venezuela’s 12.8K, and Guatemala’s 5.1K. Notice all six are rife with gangs, guns, and drugs. The three go together in high death rate countries.

The United Kingdom is a regulated low ownership, low murder rate nation. Australia tightened its regulations and lowered its deaths in a few years. States with the most regulated gun controls have fewer murders. European countries have fewer guns and fewer deaths than we do. The more lobbying in a nation’s political system will lead to more deregulation and guns.

Here the NRA has gotten millions to believe everyone should have many guns. Their lobbying efforts and their membership have scared many of our local, state, and federal lawmakers into doing what the manufacturers want. The NRA moves the goal posts deeper into anarchy every year. I remember went they pushed for gun safety devices only to turn against Smith and Wesson when they developed one.

A dream would be for sanity to return to Americans and for the NRA to return to their roots.

Responsibility or Party Ideology

19 Saturday Jan 2019

Posted by in Illinois Finances, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Another View
The January 16 episode of Chicago Tonight had a segment about Illinois Governor Richard Ogilvie. He was a one-term governor whose Republican administration was faced with many crisis level problems. The most critical was the lack of money in the bank. Government employees couldn’t get a check because the state was literally bankrupt. The state borrowed money to solve the immediate problems but a long term solution would require doing something that was and is an anathema to the Republican Party — an income tax. He went against his party’s philosophy to save the state and its people. Putting the state on a firm financial footing cost him the election. Later governors did what their party ideology demanded so they would have a shot at re-election.

We know many of the founding fathers were concerned what could happen with political parties from their experiences in and with the English parliament. The hope was the dissidence from trying to write the constitution would disappear in a few years. Not only did it not, it became stronger.

The financial difference today between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party seems to be the Democratic Party wants to help the common people and raise taxes. The Republicans want to help the rich and businesses with tax cuts.

Today we have a rapidly growing National debt that was well on its way to being eliminated until President George W. Bush (Dick Cheney) put through a massive tax cut which couldn’t be reversed by Obama because of the Great Recession. When the economy turned around, Obama had a Republican Congress. The debt continues to increase. Then President Donald Trump came along and cut taxes again. Now the debt meters are turning at an unreadable speed. With the rest of the world running up debt, too, our situation could become unmanageable. A tax increase is a necessity!

Illinois has a new Democratic Governor who has a philanthropic history of helping people with his vast wealth. The previous governor had great wealth but thought a state was like running a business. The state was not in good financial shape when he came in and he left it in a much worse shape because he didn’t want to renew the expired tax.

The question for Illinois is if Governor Pritzker can get the state’s financial condition on a sustainable path. During his first term, he must devote his administration’s effort to paying off the hundreds of millions in unpaid bills, reversing the growing pension debt, and spending some funds on critical infrastructure repairs. The latter must be really critical repairs with nothing going to political back scratching projects. Debt first, everything else second.

Pritzker must be like Ogilvie and solve Illinois’ financial problems first and not pass the problems on to the next governor.

The Symbolic Wall

14 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by in Immigration, Wall

≈ Leave a comment

Statistics show we do not need a 1,900 mile wall on the southern border when only six suspected terrorists have been apprehended crossing that border. Seven times more crossed the northern border. Why not put a longer wall on the northern border if we are worried about terrorism?

If the administration is concerned about terrorism they should look at the conditions on both borders. The southern border is hot, dry and mostly unpopulated making it dangerous to cross. Many crossers die from thirst, snake bite and heat. The northern border is a drive down one street and turn into the United States or walking in one side of a church and out the other side, or crossing the St. Lawrence’s thousand island area on a motor boat or a canoe.

The terrorists we are concerned about aren’t from Central America. They are from the mid-east. Most of them are from commonwealth countries which means they can go from one commonwealth country to another. They fly to Canada and walk through a couple of back yards into the United States. Of course that would mean putting a wall between peoples who share the same color skin and similar language. The major difference is the people across the border find trash blowing around the countryside, roads, and cities adherent.

If we aren’t being attack by terrorists crossing the southern border why do we need a wall? President Trump’s supporters are scared our white ethnic society is being overwhelmed by brown people seeking a better life. Black skinned people are already here. The term minority used to mean black, brown, “yellow”, and “red”. Millions of white people don’t want to become a minority. The 2018 election shows the nation’s political elite are being subverted by non-white people and non-white women. The latter may be even scarier to some white men.

Most of us have accepted seeing people from Mexico and from countries south of Mexico. For years they have been doing jobs other people wouldn’t do. A few years ago the Alabama legislature passed a law where people hiring illegals would be arrested, fined and maybe jailed. After two years, the law was rescinded because the Alabama residents didn’t pick vegetables, wash dishes, do landscaping, and other hard work jobs.

Many if not most of the illegals wanting to do the jobs we won’t would work here for nine months, go back home, and then come back. If they can’t be sure of sneaking back in they bring their families. The long promised work visas are still a dream. Is Trump’s wall symbolic or racism?

Truth and Trust Matters

11 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by in Ethics, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Truth and trust matters when someone is asked for support in building a wall on our southern border. According to a non-partisan, independent group, President Trump has told over 7,000 lies since he took office. I don’t watch the ones he gives out on Twitter, but I bet I have seen him say about a thousand on the news. A few times he has told a different one on the same subject several days in a row. Without any trust how can I or any reasonable person support him?

His reason for shutting down the government is the flood of illegal immigrants crossing our southern border. He says it is worse than ever before but the Department of Homeland Security says crossings are the least in two years and the least in twenty years. He and his aides said 17,000 criminals were caught crossing the southern border. According to the Transportation Safety Administration of the 362,000 apprehended from all ports of entry (borders, airports, seaports, and coasts) only 6,259 had any criminal records. Almost all of those deported were re-crossers and those with traffic violations which TSA considers criminal. Less than 800 had a real criminal record for violence, sexual or domestic abuse, and firearms violations. Trump said 4,000 terrorists were caught crossing the southern border. The State Department says 6 at the southern border and 41 at the northern border.

The lack of trust isn’t only here but around the world. Our friends and foes don’t trust his word. A sad example is the European bookies bet on the number of lies he would tell in his television address. The line was 3.5 lies. When our NATO allies treat him as a joke according to some of the European news agencies, I can only infer their leaders do not trust him. We need that support for help and to deter our foes. Because of the lack of trust and conflicting statements, cabinet secretaries, generals, and others are firemen sent to quell nervousness and try to repair relationships. Unfortunately those the allies trusted have quit their jobs or been fired.

The trust of the President is critical to world peace and even its economy. The people and their leaders hear what a President says. The leaders may be consulted with calming words, the people aren’t. My mother said, “People who lie can’t be trusted” and my dad said, “A man’s word is his bond”. That is the characteristic we and the world wants to lead the United States and the free world.

It’s Another Year

06 Sunday Jan 2019

Posted by in Tolerance

≈ Leave a comment

Happy New Year to all and may it be better than last year. Now it all starts over again. Today I got a letter from my CPA informing me of my appointment for her to do my taxes. It is mid-March again and I won’t have received all the reports.

Happy New Year to all the non-profits, foundations and charities. We write checks to the same organizations in the first few days of the year. The budget allows for a certain amount and all those charities who call or mail for the next fifty-one weeks are wasting time and money.

Happy New Year, I am hoping this year will see more weddings than funerals. At our age it is unlikely. Therefore, it is time to review our wills and death plans. Most people of our age paid more for their first three or four cars than what a standard funeral costs today. The motto of funeral directors must be “you CAN take it with you.”

Happy New Year and we should expect a call from our primary doctor for our yearly appointment. They have two man functions. One is to see if we can remember three words-I tell them to write them down so we don’t disagree-and to talk us into taking more drugs.

Happy New Year to all who got a raise including those getting Social Security. A raise means it is time to redo our budget.

Happy New Year and it’s the new season for all those series we have become addicted to seeing every week. The new season’s Doc Martin, 800 Words, Game of Thrones, and all the NCISs have started.

Happy New Year to all those who aren’t getting paid because of the shut down. I hope it will be a better year for all those people wanting food from federally funded food banks, the soy bean farmers looking for their subsidy payments because of China not buying agricultural products, and all of us wanting to visit National Parks.

Happy New Year. This is the traditional time for us to evaluate our lives and come up with new ways to make ourselves better people. Many of us will have losing weight at the top of their list of resolutions. Over 80% will forget that one by the middle of the month. As long as we are thinking about New Year’s resolutions, how about we make our first resolution to be kinder to all those people who disagree with us, no matter how misguided we may think they are.

President Isn’t a Dictator

05 Saturday Jan 2019

Posted by in Politics, Presidential Power

≈ Leave a comment

I recently saw a great movie about Vice-President Cheney called “Vice.” News junkies will see little about his political life they don’t already know. It detailed how he rose from Rumsfeld’s intern to being the most powerful man in our government.

The critical scenes showed how he became George W. Bush’s Vice-President. His previous years in Washington D.C. taught him how to be the vicious, manipulative person who managed our government for six years. How he kept “Junior” from running the country and knowing what was being done in his name for six years. When Bush figured it out he benched Cheney and fired or by-passed others in Cheney’s Cabal.

Cheney’s ability to do what he wanted comes from a far right wing theory that says Article II of the Constitution gives the President almost total power to do as he wants. It is called the Unified Executive Authority. Where, when and who came up with this theory I don’t know but it made Cheney the most powerful person since FDR. Cheney and his cabal falsified evidence to create public opinion for war and found a government lawyer named Woo to come up with a legal opinion making it permissible to “interrogate” captives with torture.

Many of the cabal are back in power in the Trump administration. One is John Bolton, Trump’s security advisor, who has some influence on him. Former Chief of Staff Kelly said he should not be judged on what he did but what he stopped from happening. Others have quit because they couldn’t break the law.

The President just said he has the Executive Authority to build the wall without Congressional approval. Both of the Supreme Court Judges he nominated before believe in greater presidential power than has been used prior to Trump. If the Supreme Court was asked for a judgment on presidential power, at least two would vote for the expanded use.

The founding fathers wrote the Constitution limiting the power of the President. They were afraid a President could be a king and they just got rid of a king. Congress limited the army to a maximum of 5,000 so the state militias could maintain their independence. It is the reason why the President is a civilian. The President has often talked of “His Generals” being loyal to him. Active and retired generals should be loyal to the country not the President. When they quit he said, “They didn’t do anything for me.”

Go see the movie and imagine any President with Unified Executive Authority.