Small Ball(s) Obama

Small Ball(s) Obama.  Our self-absorbed chief executive continues his pattern of maximizing his limited time in office trying to accomplish maximum screw-up with this nation.  Emboldened by recent events that broke his way with SCOTUS, selling a sell-out as brilliant diplomacy with the Iran deal, and constantly having his ego stroked by a friendly (no…that should be fawning) MSM, he is taking executive action to new heights on a daily basis.  The good news is that he has only one and a half years remaining in office.  The bad news is that he has one and a half years remaining in office.

Today’s blog title has a dual meaning.  The first is an attempt to label Obama’s remaining time in office with an appropriate strategy name.  In this case, a sports analogy would seem apt.  Having used up all his big gun ammo early on in his administration and observing that any semblance of support (either Democrat or Republican) has failed to coalesce in Congress, he is now relegated to abusing his power as president, implementing through executive fiat what he cannot accomplish through legitimate legislative means.  And shameless as he is, it is not a bother to him that even though the Judiciary may eventually overturn many of his executive and regulatory adventures, he knows that by the time that happens, much of his fantasy policy will already be deeply ingrained in our society.  Our president is tragically like the small adolescent who, finding himself unexpectedly left at home alone, rushes through the house seeing how much mayhem he can create before the parents arrive back home. 

The other tilt on today’s title is a reference to Obama as a classic weasel, in almost every respect.  He plays fast and loose with the truth, he negotiates in bad faith, he demonizes sincere and well-meaning people who disagree with him, and he sees his office as a platform from which to foist his personal ideals on our country.  Having failed miserably at accomplishing any legislative matter of quality substance (no, Obamacare fails due to the quality test), having abstained his constitutional responsibility to work with Congress on the orderly administration of our government, and having consistently taken the easier path when the harder path would have been a better choice; he now resides in his White House and pursues every cowardly option available to transform this nation into “his kind of place”.  Having been ushered into the office on the wings of “hope and change”, he is determined to exit the office on the back of “disarray and destruction”. Had he been a better man, a better representative of the people, a man of conviction and principle…; one can only swallow the regret that comes with a look back at the lost opportunities for positive and constructive change that were presented to him. 

Bereft of courage and statesmanship, our president has paddled around in his Capitol lily pond for six and a half years, either running from every substantial challenge he faced or facing it in a deceitful and dishonorable fashion.  To any objective observer, it is pathetic to see one who was once held in such high esteem with so much good will be exposed, beyond all doubt, as the shallow egotist that he is.   Playing out his game with singles, walks, and hoping for errors from the opposition (and the Republicans are all too accommodating), he stands before his final innings as a facile lame duck, flailing about for attention and full of self-aggrandizement.  Once again, can December 31, 2016 arrive soon enough?

About Those Trends...

About Those Trends…The Old Gray Lady and the Washington Post, along with many other MSM outlets, have been enjoying the past few weeks.  They trumpet how Obama is on a roll with his recent trade authority victory in Congress; this even though it was more a dubious victory for McConnell than it was for Obama.  The string of SCOTUS decisions has emboldened these bastions of progressiveness to declare that the country is trending liberal.  They can hardly contain their glee; Obama is cementing his legacy, SCOTUS is magically enlightened, and national tolerance has been raised to levels heretofore unseen.  Not only are we now tolerating practices that many (sometimes meeting majority status) find objectionable; but we must each, as individuals, actually endorse and sanction these practices lest we be branded as Neanderthals.  But I will pose the question: Is the country trending more liberal, or is it just the Democratic Party that is trending more liberal?  I believe it is the latter.

Both of our major political parties have been hijacked in recent years by their more radical elements; this is nothing new.  The loudest voice in the room is most often heard and the far right, along with the far left, has been screaming at the top of their voices for several years now.  Do president Obama, Mayor De Blasio, Senator Gillibrand, Governor Brown, SCOTUS member Ginsburg….do all of these people represent the mainstream of America?  Are all of those, like me, who disagree strongly with their policies and political views, moving towards their positions in these matters?    Is MSNBC an accurate reflection of how the majority of Americans view the world?  I hardly think so.  Rather, I think that the far left of the Democratic Party, drunk on a string of events and political victories, have become irrational in their celebration, and are greatly overreaching in their effort to expand on their performances; and are using their reliable appendage, the mainstream media, to promote the false impression that the overwhelming majority of citizens agree with them and the ideas they are promoting.

Inevitably, when one overreaches, it results in significant push back and the net gain is demonstrably reduced to something significantly less impressive than was originally scored.  My gut tells me that is where we are with this entire rainbow tolerating, autocratic executive actioning, arbitrary SCOTUS decisioning, MSM horn blowing, and foreign policy tomfoolery.  I think if one looks closely, the great swath of people who occupy that silent (flyover?) segment of this great country between the radical elements of each party is beginning to awaken to the ever-increasing intrusion that these actions are perpetrating on their lives.  I think that perhaps the bear has been poked once too often, the celebration has become a bit too obnoxious, and the beast is beginning to rumble.  At least, I hope and pray this is true.

This nation was built on the twin pillars of freedom and respect; freedom to be the individual you want to be as long as you don’t harm others in the process and respect for those freedoms from those who do not agree with them.  Of the many problems that face this great nation, the two that must be essentially addressed is that our government has become far too large and our government has become (and is rapidly becoming) far too intrusive. The election of 2016 is a lifetime away, but the stakes are very clear at this early juncture.  Even though Republicans have shown very little more inclination (in results, not rhetoric) to shrinking the size of government and getting our fiscal house in order; there is little doubt that they are the party of less government intrusion.  If the citizens of this nation who take the time to vote elect a Democrat for President in 2016, that person will no doubt be obligated to the liberal wing of their party, who are now in clear control of that apparatus.  It will not only be a continuation of the Obama policies we have seen unleashed in the last year or so, but the push towards a socialized nation will become even more aggressive and pervasive.  Give that Democrat in the White House a majority Senate and you will surely set in place a transformative period in our country’s history that will end up with us looking more like France than Canada.  On the other hand, if my gut is correct and the push-back is beginning, and if the Republicans nominate a reasonable and competent candidate, then we will have in place not only a tourniquet to stop this liberal bleeding, but the real possibility of rolling back some of the liberal polices foisted upon us in the final, frantic days of Obama. 

I must admit, there is little in the past that makes me think the Republicans, if given control of the White House and Congress, will bring our fiscal house in order.  That is exceedingly sad and depressing; but perhaps there is a true leader out their somewhere in the vast field of Republican nominee-seekers who can lead the charge and help to bring some degree of fiscal sanity back to our government.  It is for damn sure that Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Martin O’Malley, or Joe Biden will not.  As for government intrusion…if we elect a Republican, there is certainly no guarantee that domestic policy will improve in real terms; but if we elect a Democrat, you might as well set another chair at your dinner table because government is coming into your house on a permanent basis.

Out of the Darkness.

Out of the Darkness.  It is a strange world that we live in these days.  One man’s morality is another man’s intolerance.  One woman’s tolerance is another woman’s immorality.  It is oftentimes insufficient to be tolerant and respectful of another’s unconventional behavior; it seems instead that they now demand a personal endorsement of their lifestyles.  Simple tolerance is no longer sufficient; total embrace and acceptance is required. 

The media, of all varieties, upon which we have spent a lifetime relying for our news and information, has proven to be biased, unreliable, unprincipled, unethical, and downright dishonest.  In a quest to satisfy our own personal beliefs and biases, we can go to the internet and with a modicum of effort, find numerous sources that validate exactly what we are thinking.  We can retreat into our own smug corners of society and feel secure that we know exactly what is happening and who is doing who. 

Our president, a charlatan who is more interested in self-aggrandizement than national welfare, flits from notion to notion with an ever-widening breach between his actions and reality.  Our Congress is so paralyzed by partisanship and corruption (a product of our career political class) that it is not only dysfunctional, but it actually sees itself as more important and essential than ever before.  The Congressional sense of entitlement in today’s Washington is truly repugnant.  Our court system, judges top to bottom, being led by a capricious Supreme Court, has become full of itself and its lifetime appointments, making rulings that reflect their own private beliefs about the way things should be; not the way things are. 

Our democratic master plan of checks and balances, our magical balance of power theory, has been obliterated by raw power grabs and political ambitions.  The art of diplomacy and the grace of statesmanship have become as weathered and unrecognizable as the great pyramids of Egypt.  Into this morass of mayhem, this ball of confusion, the nation embarks on selecting a new national leader; one who will assume the helm that will be vacated, and has been desecrated, by Obama.  And while the world looks on, not so much in awe of the American experience as it once was, America seeks to find its way in this new international cauldron of chaos that bubbles and boils with barbarism, anarchy, religious zealotry, and open warfare.  Nations with leaders who have assumed power based not on their ideals or abilities, but on their degree of ruthlessness, are once again resurrecting old ambitions of territorial glory and regional domination. 

Some say that these are dark days indeed; others say that we are entering a new age of tolerance and enlightenment.  Some say that neither the world, nor this country, any longer desires the traditional leadership of America in the free world.  Some say that our country, either consciously by leadership or unconsciously by evolution, is now simply a bystander on the world stage or is, at best, an equal to the other national partners that exist on this globe.  One can cling to their faith in God, their church or their community, for the guidance that is necessary to get up each day and face this world; but very few are strong enough in spirit to maintain a moral compass that can be sufficiently reliable in the volatile environment that exists today.  Who can be trusted to tell us the way?  Is it the preacher in the pulpit; the President behind the podium; the talking head behind the camera; the legend in his own mind on the internet; an old friend or parent with trusted advice; or the man or woman we voted for and elected to represent us in Washington? 

I went through elementary and high school with a friend who I still see on occasion.  After discussing whatever business might be prompting our meetings, the conversation naturally migrates to either politics or current events.  His stock reply when this change in direction occurs is always the same; he says “I don’t have any answers…just lots of questions”.   The wisdom and humility of this statement is so rare these days.  It reflects the simple recognition that each of us is so inconsequential in the big picture and so inadequate to make the judgments that we so often make; with, I might add, supreme confidence and certitude.  At the end of the day, when all things are considered, there is probably only one wise path to living in this crazy world of ours.  Each of us, in our own separate lives and networks, are presented each day with a myriad of choices.  Those choices impact far more people and are so much more consequential than we can imagine; yet we make the overwhelming majority of them in a knee-jerk fashion, with little regard to disparate impact or unintended consequences, in an effort to just get through the day.  We run from one thing to the next, never realizing until it is too late how important the previous stop on our journey was.  In times like these, when anchors have become dislodged, perhaps the best approach is for each of us to view the landscape before us and simply try, one person at a time, one decision at a time, one day at a time, to improve upon it. 

Strange Days in WDC and the Mask Comes Off

Strange Days in WDC and the Mask Comes Off.  As we proceed into the last two years of the Obama Drama, political life in our nation’s capital is becoming more surreal.  If you please, consider a few comments on some current events.

Senator Rand Paul is from my home state, but he carries no “homer” cred with me.  There is no doubt in my mind that he is an egotist, a glory seeker, and is fully unqualified to be President.  However, I stand firmly with him on his NSA surveillance stance.  This government has absolutely no credibility or trust at this time and I have no faith that a database of citizens’ personal information, if compiled and managed by our government, will not be abused for reasons other than national security.  I, for one, am willing to accept the inherent risk that the removal of the program entails and reside instead on the personal freedom from oppressive government that this nation was founded upon.  In that same vein, I admit amusement at the trade authority debate where we find Obama in bed with Boehner and McConnell, Paul Ryan trumpeting the value of legislative secrecy, and Nancy Pelosi giving the Prez the cold shoulder at the ballpark and dissing him publicly.  Bottom line: If you cannot deal with this legislation openly, honestly, and transparently; it does not merit passage.  Kudos to the Dems in the House for their opposition.

I continue to be amazed at the Democratic loyalty to Hillary Clinton.  Her shameless approach to an astronomical level of corruptness is apparently overridden by the Dem’s hopes that she can retain the White House for their party.  She may be a scoundrel; but she is their scoundrel.   As things stand now, it is difficult to imagine that, short of nominating a complete idiot (and there is one or two readily available), the Republican Party is lining up to control all three branches of government beginning in 2017.  Prepare for the political pendulum to begin swinging a bit rightward.

Not sure what the “white girl who wants to be black” in Washington state is thinking, but perhaps she is prepositioning herself for a prime apartment in one of HUD’s new “wealthy neighborhood” complexes.  After all of its many billions of dollars spent and marvelously effective social programs, our brilliant government wants to coerce states and municipalities to insert certain racial populations into certain racially-specific neighborhoods through the use of government-assisted housing projects.  Now will this be restricted to placing poor blacks into rich white neighborhoods, or will it extend to placing rich blacks into poor white neighborhoods?  Will we perhaps see dedicated gay housing units placed in “religious right” communities, or Muslim housing in traditional Protestant neighborhoods?  The government continues to insist, from its position on the most forward point of the curve, that the best way to improve racial harmony in our nation is to increase the emphasis on racial differences.  Let’s see…their foreign policy is stunningly successful, the economy is booming for all, government accounting and accountability is something to behold; so why not take a stab at some old-fashioned social engineering? 

As Obama proceeds with his “_uckit list”, we should all brace for some more strange headlines.  I am quite certain that by the end of his second term, we will see Guantanamo emptied with all of its reformed inmates serving as upstanding world citizens, free and readily available health care for all, jobs aplenty with high salaries, and world peace as we have never seen it before.  I am also confident that FIFA will receive an international award for integrity, Roger Goodell will take a new job with the New England Patriots, and it will be a snowy Fourth of July in Kentucky this year.  Can 2017 get here soon enough?

I Stand With Obama.

I Stand With Obama.  Lord have mercy, I never thought I would write those words in this blog; but here they are.  Watching Josh Earnest being interviewed on Fox this morning, I have to say that I agree with nearly every word he said.  Although he has been a weasel about how he has gone about implementing his policy, and has been very inconsistent and nebulous to boot, I support Obama’s position on combating the Islamic State.  I do not subscribe to the notion that the Iraq War was a mistake, but I cannot help but think that the price we paid for our participation in it was far too costly.  The world is a chaotic cauldron these days and Obama’s (and Hillary’s) policies have helped to move it into that position.  But how it came to be and why it came to be is not really the important question that we face today.  That question is “What do we do about it?”

I think Obama is correct in stating that the Islamic State is Iraq’s problem.  I would like to see him go a step further towards honesty and admit that the Islamic State is a Muslim problem.  Regardless, even though the Islamic State is committed towards harming our nation and its citizens, I cannot support more bloodshed and death in a Middle East that refuses to deal directly with its own problems.  As terrible as it is to admit, I fear that the Middle East…Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, all of them…is going to have to settle their conflicts in their own ways.  As Obama says, when we can support the proper faction with a high degree of certainty (not sure how that is possible in today’s environment), then we should supply them with funds, weapons, and political support. Furthermore, I agree with him when he proposes that a limited number (again, an ephemeral object) of special troops might serve as support for the right cause.  Even though this poses a clear and present danger of American fatalities, it is undeniable that some ground intelligence is required if the other support we offer is going to be effective.

The world has changed.  The abilities of our intelligence services to identify specific, immediate and reliable threats to our national security have been diminished.  Our intelligence agencies must evolve; they must change their approach to how they seek to protect our nation and its people.  Our next president must begin to re-establish the credibility of our nation and regain its position as the primary defender of freedom and human dignity on this planet.  But the time for us to send our best men and women to wars when you can’t even identify the combatants and what they stand for should be over.

 

 

 

 

Knowing What We Know Now....

Knowing What We Know Now….I suspect we all would have cashed a Trifecta ticket for the Derby and Preakness.  I suspect many professional athletes would have avoided injuries by making other cuts, pulling up for a jumper instead of driving to the basket, or avoiding some other type of collision.   How many current divorcees would not have shown up at church on that fateful day?  I suspect John F. Kennedy may have played his “Bay of Pigs” cards a bit differently and who knows, we might not even have Fidel to worry about today.  The list goes on and on, but let’s cut to the chase.

Saddam had committed genocide on the Kurds in northern Iraq.  Not just your “run of the mill” genocide, but perhaps the most heinous type of murder possible with the use of chemical weapons.  He had invaded a neighboring country and was no doubt entertaining thoughts of other border excursions.  He was actively promoting and harboring extreme terrorists and, once again, showed no signs whatsoever of backing off that enterprise.  He had announced to the whole world that he hated Israel, was developing a nuclear capability, and was going to continue his prominent role as chief agitator in the Middle East.  World-wide intelligence was convinced that he had significant stockpiles of chemical weapons; and very damn few doubted his inclination to use them.  If any leader in history needed to be disposed of to improve the prospects of international peace, Saddam was the one.  The United Nations, the Congress of the United States, and the majority of the public all supported President Bush when he took careful, transparent, and deliberate steps to lead the invasion of Iraq.   History will show that not only did this invasion have broad and deep support both domestically and internationally, it also exhibited one of the most diverse coalitions in military history.

Following the lightening-quick victory that developed sooner than any person anticipated, the Iraq war bogged down.  Fighting and winning proved to be much simpler than occupying and administrating.  Just as America experienced post-Civil War turmoil, Iraq had many historical factions that were yearning to settle old debts and they were all dragged out of the closets.  Faced with the prospect of frittering away a costly and significant military victory, Bush went along with his military advisors and, in spite of significant opposition, authorized the Iraq War surge.  The surge was an unqualified success and a great testament to the abilities of American military forces when they are supported and unleashed to do what they do best.  They largely tamed the post-war anarchy in Iraq and were prepared to hand the country back to the Iraqi people, with a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) all but settled on to ensure a reasonable environment for a government to be born.  Enter the One.

Our sniveling president Obama, having remained passive about the war while serving in government and turning voraciously anti-war while campaigning for President, took a hard-fought American military victory and based on his own self-serving motivations, pissed away the prospects of a SOFA that would give the Iraqi people a chance at real government for the people.  Damn the cost, damn the victory, damn the Iraqi people; he wanted out of Iraq as soon as possible and he did not care who closed the door behind him.  Making this supreme miscalculation even more damning was his eventual effort at a military surge in Afghanistan, a war that history must show belongs to him and not to President Bush.  The reality is that much of the “chaotic cauldron of crisis” that exists in the Middle East today can be traced back to Obama’s failure to effectively negotiate that Iraqi SOFA and to help foster an Iraqi transition to a more stable government and country.

President George W. Bush was not my favorite President; maybe not even top five.  But it is pathetic to see the Democrats, the Republicans, the media, and our miserable excuse for a Chief Executive pile on his Iraq War decisions with the benefit of hindsight and the assurance of majority-opinion status.  President Bush was a good man who made hard decisions in tumultuous times.  He was clear about what he was doing, he was honest about the possible risks, he was transparent about his approach to the invasion, and he was an admirable leader of the American military effort that ensued.  He was clearly motivated by noble causes and paid in personal sacrifice for his selfless decisions.

This nation paid a heavy price with many men and women coming home from the Iraq war either in a coffin, with physical wounds, or with emotional baggage.  Mistakes in strategy were clearly made when the speed of the victory was not anticipated and a plan was not in place for the transition to a new Iraqi government.  But Obama was handed a military victory on a platter with only a SOFA to negotiate and a reasonable troop withdrawal to manage.  He failed not only our nation and the soldiers who paid the terrible price for the military victory; he failed the futures of the Iraqi people and the future security of the Middle East.  He took the cowardly way out and then was asinine enough to claim credit for doing it.

So if people are going to play this “what if” game, start playing it on both sides of the political aisle and start playing it at all levels.  Who amongst us wouldn’t make better decisions given a mulligan or two?

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The Vision I Seek.

The Vision I Seek.  As the Republican field for the 2016 presidential nomination grows and the rumble of a Hillary Alternative continues to fester, I am going to take a different approach towards an early endorsement (hah!...FWIW) in the race.  Instead of putting forth a candidate of choice, I am going to put forth what I want to hear from that candidate.

As I have written many times, I believe Barrack Obama is the worst president to have served in my lifetime.  But many of the problems that exist in our country and our government did not begin with him; he just made them a whole lot worse.  The great tragedy with Obama is, and always has been, a matter of lost opportunity.  Government policy and regulation is not a rifle; it is a shotgun.  By the time legislation goes through the messy business of passage, then the messier business of regulation promulgation, and then the even messier business of actual implementation…well, it does not always come out as it was intended.  So I am not going to advocate for specific law or policy.  I want to talk a bit about the principles I would like for this country, and its President, to adhere to.

Fiscal Responsibility:  There is absolutely no doubt that the amount of waste and redundancy in our government is massive; beyond any question massive.  But to talk about how much you can save by “eliminating waste in government” is an overused and empty pledge.  People are tired of hearing it spoken and want to see it demonstrated.  It can be done, but it must start with one program, one agency, one department at a time and then begin to spread incrementally until it is an accepted practice in government.  We HAVE to get this behemoth of a government under control or it will sabotage the future of our children and all those who come after them.  I can accept the judicious use of deficit spending; there is a time and a place for it.  But I have seen Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich govern in a bipartisan fashion and with the benefit of the Reagan Recovery, this country had a balanced budget for a short time.   With the application of a government that provides both incentives for economic growth and opportunity for all citizens, our economy can astound people and recover in dramatic fashion.  And when that happens, we need to refrain from spending the windfall that is realized.  We need to do what all normal people do when that happens to them; we need to start paying down our debt.

Entitlement Reform: The entitlement programs in our nation, in their current states, are not sustainable.  They will eventually break our country; both fiscally and socially.  There is a large area of agreement between the two parties and professionals about how we can reform Social Security to shore it up.  Let’s get it done.  My children tell me they have no expectation of ever drawing Social Security.  That is a shame for a program that drains such a large percentage of every paycheck they receive.  Medicare and Medicaid must be reformed.  There is every reason to expect that those among us who cannot, through no fault of their own, afford basic and fundamental health care, should receive some support from our government in this area.  We have a moral obligation to care for the least among us.  Medicare and Medicaid hold the potential to accomplish that, as do the plethora of HHS programs.  They can serve as a critical element of the transition away from Obamacare and to a free-market and efficient national health care system.  We MUST get back to providing a “hand up” instead of a “hand out” and we MUST get back to holding every citizen accountable for contributing to the best of their ability before demanding support that is taken from the labor of others.

National Defense: There are very damn few among us who have the capacity, the intelligence, and the resources required to make competent remarks about this nation’s foreign policy.  The plain and simple truth is that we must trust our elected leaders to make the right decisions in this area.  We must have a President who understands his or her limitations, can surround themselves with smart and capable people, and appreciate both the limitations of American power and the preciousness of American blood.  There are certainly times to fight and times to refrain.  I would like to see more cautious restraint from our military, more transparency on why we do what do in foreign policy, and a clear vision on what kind of military we want to finance and how we intend to utilize it to preserve our health and safety.

Immigration Reform.  The history of our nation screams out IMMIGRANT.  We are nothing else if not a melting pot of the good, the bad, and the ugly that the world offered up for entry into this land we call America.  But if are to be a nation of laws, which we must be if we intend to preserve this democracy for future generations, then we must enforce laws as they are written.  We can do so in a compassionate way and we can reform those that need revision, but we must have secure borders, we must have an orderly process for legal immigration, and we must have a common-sense compromise on how to deal with the illegal immigrants that are already in this nation.  We must recognize that no matter how much we might desire such a thing, we cannot adopt all the orphans of the world and treat them the same as we do our natural citizens.  Open doors, reasonable and compassionate policy, and respect for human dignity do not, and should not, immediately translate into governmental benefits and support.  Those are items that must be earned through the established systems that are in place.  Immigration reform is all about “earned opportunity” and that is where the discussion needs to begin.

Race Relations.  In this diverse nation of immigrants, find me a race or class of people who have not experienced some form of discrimination.  Our nation’s shameful treatment of the American Indian; our profit of human flesh from the slave trade; Asian detention camps during the War; the anti-Semitic practices that are still prevalent in our culture; there are few who are untouched by some form or another of discrimination.  Obviously, there are degrees and regional concentrations of discrimination, but it is an ugly side of our culture that has always existed to some degree.  It has resulted in disadvantage for some and advantage for some others.  At some point, we must come to terms with the fact that as long as we continue to make significant distinctions of the basis of race, there will be a “cottage industry” of interest groups that thrive on all aspects of those distinctions.  The word “quota” should be removed from our language.  Reverse discrimination is, in principle, no more justifiable than the original discrimination it is intended to remedy.  Until we begin to classify, recognize, record, and relate to individuals as AMERICANS, we will continue to struggle with race in this nation.  Every law, every program, every regulation that draws a distinction on the basis of race perpetuates the existence of discrimination.  Laws must be written to guarantee equal rights for all people, regardless of race; the privilege to life, liberty, dignity, and the pursuit of a good and decent life.   We all had ancestors who were both discriminators and discriminated against.  Do not hold me responsible for the sins of my father; hold me accountable for my life today and how I live it.

Abortion and Gay Rights.  Lord knows I believe in state’s rights and support the principles associated with it.  But there must be some laws that are universal across our country; even if we acknowledge up front that our government is not fully competent to render such impactful judgments.  I fear for the rulings that are headed towards, and coming from, our Supreme Court.  Our Court has become overtly politicized and it is a tragedy; but it is what it is.  Regardless of your convictions, none of us are qualified to sit in moral judgment of another.  An abortion in the first three months is a decision to be made by a mother and father, not the government.  An abortion in the last three months is murder, plain and simple and that unborn child deserves the same governmental protection as that of its parents.  It is the three months in between that must be discussed in a measured and intelligent fashion, with a compromise solution that respects the concerns of both sides and the implicit understanding of our small understanding on this complex issue.  There is no need to change the definition of marriage.  It is the union of a man and a woman and there is no overwhelming majority of opinion to change that understanding.  Should a new understanding of a “marriage arrangement” be discussed and the civil rights of same-sex partners be elevated to a level comparable to traditional marriage?  Yes; clearly that time has arrived.  But gays cannot demand moral acceptance by those opposed and straight personalities do not have the right to demand specific moral behavior as a condition of some civil rights.  Respect and human dignity are not contingent upon semantics; they are contingent upon human goodness.

This Democracy.  It is far too arrogant for me to assume the ability to submit a reasonable improvement to our form of government, but here goes.  For all the cons associated with them, and all of the pros associated with our current system, I support term limits for our Congress and the Executive.  If history has taught us nothing else, it has shown us that the best of us, the most wholesome/ethical/intelligent/non-partisan, can and will be corrupted by the political environment of Washington DC when left in its confines too long.  How long is too long?  That is certainly open to debate, but here are some starting points.  Instead of a President spending 60 to 80 percent of the first term working towards re-election, let’s give them 6 years to get their agenda in place.   You might argue that 6 years is too long for a bad President and we have elections every four years to serve as term limitations.  I would respond to that by pointing out that nearly all Presidents, whether good or bad, are remarkably good at getting re-elected.  Far too much time, money, resource, and political capital is being spent by our nation’s top executive to remain in office.  Let’s go ahead and settle that issue on Election Day and get on with the business of governing.  It is tricky business to consider how long a U.S. Representative should serve, as well as a U.S. Senator.  We need to have a reservoir of experience that the bodies can rely on to help guarantee the continuation of normal operations; but the day of career politicians needs to come to a merciful end.  For the House, I will propose a maximum of 6 elected terms.  12 years in WDC should be more than adequate for our “citizen legislators”.  For that arrogant body of deliberation known as the Senate (the closest thing we have to royalty in this nation), give them a limit of 3 elected terms and send them home or, more likely, another job in government.  18 years is plenty of time to serve with distinction in our most esteemed legislative body.

If by some slim chance you are still with me at this point, please forgive my assumption of status as one who has all the right answers.  I don’t and we will not find a President who does.  But perhaps we can find a man or woman who will have the faith to espouse these fundamental principles, have the ability to put them forth in clear and concise manner, have the courage to fight for them, and have the wisdom to compromise in practice to get them implemented.  If we can…that person has this man’s vote.