CenterlineRight: 2025

Friday, April 11, 2025

Three Reasons to Consider All the Options

Reason 1: I do not believe that a higher level of incompetence in government can be achieved than that which we experienced under President Joe Biden. He himself was asleep at the wheel. His Administration was thoroughly saturated with simplistic ideologues that had either little or no experience in their assigned fields, a very tenuous grasp on common sense and reality, or perhaps both. Without a doubt, the Biden Administration’s performance confirmed the occasional correctness of the old Henry David Thoreau-attributed theorem “that government is best that governs least”. Donald Trump’s current Administration has the good fortune of entering into office with perhaps the lowest Executive Branch bar of performance ever established.

Reason 2: Ever since Obama first assumed the presidency on January 20 of 2009, our government has been wandering in the wilderness. It has relied upon notions, whimsy, foundationless principles, and shallow elected officials sans core values. Upon that fateful day in January, 2009, our nation began a slow, painful, and shameful descent into dysfunction. The descent culminated in what was, hopefully, the low point of the Biden presidency. Be he wrong or be he right, Donald Trump in his second White House occupancy appears determined to take an approach to government that is distinctly different from what we have experienced over the last 16 years. What we were doing was not working. It is time for a change.

Reason 3: Through its relatively-short life in this world, America has relied upon the bedrock principles contained in its Constitution to survive trying and tumultuous times. Beginning with the miraculous and successful fight for its initial freedom from its mother country; to the anguished cleaving of itself into two distinct parts during the Civil War; through feast, famine, epidemics, and global conflicts that exacted heavy personal wages; and taking us up to the poisonous political polarization that we find ourselves immersed in today…the United States of America has endured. But let us be real…the chicken little dramatists that populate our government, our culture, and our society with their doomsday predictions of worst case scenarios every time Donald Trump offers a position or policy are little more than the clouds that have rolled across the skies of our nation since July 4, 1776. They have always been with us and they always will be with us.

And even though Trump oftentimes leads with his chin whilst doing battle with these critics, the folly of making long-term predictions on short-term policies should be ingrained upon our citizenry by this point in time. Every four years, we will elect a President. Every two years, we will elect approximately one-third of the Senate. Every two years, we will turn the House of Representative over completely. The one thing that is undeniably true about our nation’s government is that it will be transitory in nature. Our democracy works in what is at times a painfully slow pace; but it nonetheless works. Joe Biden was a terrible choice for president and we were saddled with that poor choice for four long years. But the magnitude of that error led to the second election of Donald Trump…and a Republican Congress to support him. As never before in my lifetime, the true test of this President and his Administration will not be the chaos displayed in the means, but rather the real-life consequences arrived at in the end.

In the links below, there are some excellent pieces that take informed, deliberate, and thoughtful approaches to some of the major issues of our times. In the context of the three aforementioned reasons, it is revealing to consider how these areas of our lives will play out over the next four years.

“THIS” is the Trump approach to governing…

https://amgreatness.com/2025/04/06/actions-v-words/

https://americanmind.org/salvo/a-roadmap-to-independence/\

https://americanmind.org/salvo/the-border-crisis-is-over/

https://amgreatness.com/2025/04/10/ten-tariff-questions-never-asked/

https://reason.com/2025/04/07/the-trump-administration-should-focus-on-deregulation-not-tariffs/

https://reason.com/2025/04/07/trump-columbia-free-speech-obama-biden-title-ix/

https://americanmind.org/salvo/taking-on-iran/

And “THIS” is what Trump’s critics propose instead…

https://amgreatness.com/2025/04/07/the-poverty-of-the-criticism-of-trumps-agenda/

The ongoing battle to reestablish the Proper Balance between Our Three Branches of government continues…

https://jonathanturley.org/2025/04/08/take-thyself-to-texas-the-supreme-court-rules-for-trump-administration-on-stay-and-jurisdiction-over-deportations/

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/tuescotus-slapdown-boasberg-sends-message-federal-judges-injunctions

https://justthenews.com/videos/sen-chuck-grassley-shares-his-plan-reigning-activist-federal-judges

The process of refocusing our National Education System on its primary and critical functions continues…

https://amgreatness.com/2025/04/09/why-schools-should-educate-for-citizenship/

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/time-to-stop-university-mission-creep/

As Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” winds its way through Congress, the implications of its Tax Reform features will greatly influence the future economic…and general health of our nation. Federal taxation is complex in its entirety, but rather simple in its individual parts. I believe the secret to arriving at a good recipe is selecting the proper amounts of the essential elements. If there is too much of this…too little of that…put this in…leave that out…then it just don’t work! It is almost as much art as it is science. Every single piece has a targeted impact to varying degrees, but the combination of the pieces changes the entire dynamic. Here is an illuminating perspective on the subject…

https://www.mercatus.org/research/policy-briefs/introduction-principled-approach-tax-expenditures

For all Americans, investing for the future is both a challenge and a necessity. Here is a great article that briefly and succinctly examines the Wisdom of Gold as such an investment choice…

https://www.thefp.com/p/should-you-buy-gold

Friday, April 4, 2025

Being Right Does Not Accrue Carte Blanche

Donald Trump was awarded about 208 weeks of Chief Executive status due to his election victory in November of 2024. As of today, he has about 199 of them left to serve. There is no doubt that there is an internal hourglass in Trump’s mind that is obsessed with the grains of sand trickling from the top to the bottom. That persistent hourglass, along with the four years he spent out of office to contemplate his return, has combined to give him a sense of urgency that I don’t believe I have seen from a president in my lifetime. And even though he may occasionally flirt with the possibility of a third term…that is simply not going to happen. The sand is pouring and the man is feeling the pressure.

Donald Trump was very plain about his policy platform when he was campaigning for his current term; but he was plain in a very general sense. He spoke about fundamental principles in broad strokes, drawing distinct lines of difference between his approach and that of Joe Biden. Based on his election victory, which was emphatic and yet not overwhelming, he has every right to claim a mandate in his pursuance of those policy priorities. But the undeniable fact is that America remains a divided nation. The majority portion of that divide appears to settle in Trump’s favor, but that does not preclude the rights of the minority status…no matter how stupidly they might behave.

Donald Trump was not elected King or Emperor. He has no mandate to ignore the laws of our nation in his pursuit of noble causes, no matter how popular they may be. He has competed for and won the awesome power of the presidency and he enjoys a majority of party support in both houses of Congress. With these advantages in hand, he is uniquely situated to implement his policy agenda. But if he continues to ignore the basic tenets of the law and continues to repeatedly empower his political and ideological adversaries with arrogant missteps in authority and process, he runs the very real risk of running out of sand before he accomplishes his overall goals.

Being popularly and common sensibly correct on broad points of policy makes for good public rhetoric and establishes general Constitutional justification for Executive Orders and bold presidential initiatives. What it does not do is magically make those orders and initiatives conform to existing law. Donald Trump has selected some extremely intelligent people to serve within his Administration. Even though their chore of attempting to persuade the monstrous ego of The Donald to use effective policy approach is no doubt terrifically challenging, it is a job they must pursue. If Trump continues to take presidential power and authority to new heights of application, he runs the very real risk of having his policy priorities die from a thousand cuts.

Joe Biden and his Democrat Party literally wrecked our nation. When Trump assumed office on January 20 of 2025, our nation was in many ways a three-alarm fire. And even though it may have seemed so, that catastrophic blaze did not just occur over the four years of the Biden Administration. The genesis of its destructive reality can be traced back to the first day of Obama’s presidency. The eight years that followed with the One’s policy choices then led into four years of Machiavellian sabotage during Trump’s first term through the combined efforts of the Obama Cult, the Democrat Party, the liberal/progressive elements in our culture, and the ever-present Deep State that resides behind the curtain of our government. That period was then followed by the mind-bending stupidity and incompetence of the Biden Administration.

It is not difficult to understand how Donald Trump feels desperate to unwind and refashion this sad 16-year period of American history. Not only does common sense demand that some order be restored, but there is the totally understandable factor of Trump seeking recompense for the inexcusable way his first Administration was hamstrung. But if Trump continues his current strategy of executive authority by fiat, he runs the risk of playing into the devious hands of his still-potent (though clearly weakened) political opposition and allowing them to run out the clock on his opportunity to set things right. Trump must quickly come to terms with the fact that the weeks are melting away and he must perhaps fight smarter and perhaps less boldly. As pathetic and disjointed as the Democrat Party appears today, it could be a tragic mistake to underestimate its ability to regroup and once again ascend to some degree of power in November of 2028, or even in the 2026 mid-term elections.

Even though he undoubtedly feels pressure to do so, the four years of Trump’s first Administration cannot be recovered; they are gone. An effort to address the wrongs of a 16-year misadventure with a 4-year term is simply not doable. A lot can be done…and I hope and pray that it WILL be done to restore the health and well-being of these United States from the catastrophic rule of Democrat/Progressive policy and dirty tricks. But in my humble opinion, that huge and significant correction in our nation’s direction is being put in jeopardy by Trump’s overly-ambitious grab for the whole enchilada. A far better plan would be to make significant, incremental, sustainable progress towards restoring our government to responsible and competent operation and, at the same time, laying down the foundation for several more years of Republican Party control in Washington, DC. The way to get to that point is a clear restoration of proper and competent government function coupled with sound legislation achievement. Now...let’s move on to some news of the day.

The state of our national education establishment is undergoing a dramatic evolution and hopefully a return to rediscovered purpose and priority.

https://amgreatness.com/2025/03/26/setting-the-record-straight-on-three-education-issues/

https://americanmind.org/salvo/a-reckoning-for-higher-ed/

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/sound-advice-for-college-presidents/

You know…being forced to step up and meet your ethical and legal fiscal obligations can be a bitch: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/economy/student-loan-debt-ny-fed/index.html

This ongoing power struggle between the federal judges of our Judicial Branch and the Chief Executive of our Executive Branch needs to be resolved…quickly. Even though the Trump Administration can be credibly blamed for a good deal of self-harming in this situation, it is becoming more apparent every passing day that the Supreme Court of the United States, with the complementary support of Congressional action, needs to take clear and definitive action to resolve this issue that threatens to bring proper and Constitutional government function to a standstill.

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/house-judiciary-chair-jim-jordan-lays-out-sweeping-agenda-judicial-reform

https://reason.com/volokh/2025/03/24/guest-post-reconsidering-the-non-appealability-of-tros/

https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_federal_courts#:~:text=The%20federal%20courts%20decide%20disputes,United%20States%20for%20life%20terms.

https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/types-federal-judges

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Boasberg#:~:text=James%20Emanuel%20%22Jeb%22%20Boasberg%20(,for%20the%20District%20of%20Columbia.

If you are going to dish it out, you best be prepared to receive it. The “Signal” controversy was a bad mistake and the Trump Administration’s efforts to minimize its relevance and bury it with misdirection are lame at best. This type of screw-up should be unacceptable in the realm of national security and somebody should be publicly held accountable with proportionate (firing/termination) consequences. Some have said that mistakes are acceptable as long as they are not repeated. I’m not comfortable with that standard being applied when global conflict is the context.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/03/on-signal-leak-take-the-l/

https://reason.com/2025/03/27/pete-hegseths-carelessness-and-dishonesty-mirror-hillary-clintons/

I have repeatedly written that I believe one of the fundamental steps towards making our government more effective and efficient is the simple act of determining exactly “what” it should do and “how” it should to it. Quite simply, our government is too big and it has its fingers in areas where it has no business being.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/03/doge-goes-after-npr-pbs.php

https://thefederalist.com/2025/03/27/10-times-npr-proved-it-doesnt-deserve-another-taxpayer-cent/

Things that make you go “Hmnnn”.

Our government is now moving in the right direction; how can this momentum be sustained?

https://americanmind.org/salvo/common-sense-revolution/

https://americanmind.org/salvo/an-easy-choice/

President Trump’s application of tariffs is certainly creating a storm of controversy. Both sides of the issue, pro and con, are populated with intelligent and thoughtful opinions. At the end of the day, I believe we are simply going to have to take a “wait and see” approach and let it all play out. It will either work…or it won’t. The credit…or blame…will fall accordingly. Meanwhile, there are certainly good things to build on when trying to improve our national economy.

http://jewishworldreview.com/0425/harsanyi040425.php

https://mrctv.org/blog/craig-bannister/americans-personal-savings-rate-hits-eight-month-high-february

https://mrctv.org/blog/craig-bannister/job-growth-dwarfs-expectations-march

There’s a lot of truth in this article. America must come to terms with the fact that we MUST have sufficient energy to remain independent, be productive, remain secure, and lay the groundwork for future economic growth. If there is one area where Trump has his priorities right, I believe that our energy sector is that one.

https://reason.com/2025/03/27/were-not-short-on-power-were-just-too-sanctimonious-to-generate-it/

Has technology, need, and public will combined to make a sweeping proposal such as this feasible? Perhaps we will find out. It has worked out pretty well for Israel.

https://amgreatness.com/2025/03/29/trump-was-right-again-its-time-to-kill-the-f-35-and-build-missile-shields/

As impossible as it may seem, our government must find some way to cut through the turmoil and noise and agree upon some meaningful national immigration reform. The time for this is well past.

https://americanmind.org/features/from-illegal-immigrants-to-republican-voters/prudential-immigration/

Monday, March 24, 2025

The Big “D” in our Lives

No…I am not referring to the “Donald”. As hard as it is to grasp these days, there are some things actually larger than Trump. I am talking about “Drama”. No doubt, drama has been an organic element in the human creature since the dawn of time. And like that human creature, it has evolved and shifted in the way it intertwines with our culture and society. But make no mistake about…it is not a new element in our world. The term “Drama” covers a lot of territory. It might be the incessant complication in every aspect of our lives…nothing is simple anymore. It could be the inescapable incompetency of the people we encounter every day…from city hall to the grocery store to the fast food restaurant to the schools our kids attend. It might be the inexplicable lunacy practiced by those we elect and select to be the leaders in our cities, states, and nation. But I want to zero in on a more specific meaning of drama.

One definition of drama follows: A situation or succession of events in real life having the dramatic progression or emotional effect characteristic of a play. Keep in mind…there are theatrical plays and there are non-theatrical plays. Although the list can be quite expansive, there are essentially five basic elements to a play: plot, character, tension, language, and spectacle. Of these five, it would seem that we as a people have come to place the most emphasis on spectacle. At a minimum, it is the one that sucks most of the air from the room. The play, as expressed through the drama, is an intended message of fact and/or fiction for the purpose of entertainment, expression, recreation, or persuasion. It strikes me that a healthy portion of the drama that we are experiencing in our lives today…at least the non-theatrical variety…falls into the category of persuasion. I submit that what we might call traditional or conventional drama falls mainly into the other categories of entertainment, expression, and recreation; aspects offering various rewards to those seeking a diversion from other essential elements of their daily treks. But when we venture into the domain of dramatic persuasion, we likely abandon the pursuit of diversion and enter into the dynamics of manipulation, deceit, and scandalous behavior. This is the essential element of drama that I believe has morphed into a disproportionately destructive part of our nature as human creatures.

Now persuasion in and of itself is no great threat; in the course of human existence, it is perhaps the essence of people coming together in pursuit of common good and advancement. That constructive type of practical persuasion has often taken forms such as open and honest debate, ethical advocacy in journalism, and the simple act of trying to persuade your life partner that you are right and they are wrong. But when we inject the art of dramatic persuasion into the picture, we open all sorts of fertile opportunities for charlatans, hypocrites, self-driven narcissists, and…dare I say it…dishonest politicians. This vein of drama intrudes into our personal lives through family interactions, through our professional lives in workplace dynamics, and has unfortunately wormed its way into areas where it should not be tolerated. It is pervasive.

I am talking about areas that should be driven by hard truths, cold facts, sober reasoning, and a firm grasp on the perspective of how the specific subject fits into the overall theme of existence. For instance, we should always expect drama to exist in high school teens and that it will extend to all elements of the high school environment. But we should be able to rely on the administrators, teachers, and coaches involved in those pursuits to largely eliminate the drama where necessary and establish clear lines of authority and expected norms of behavior. Responsible parenting requires that drama be excised from the teaching of fundamental life lessons such as ethics and morals. The process of aging and maturation…physical, mental, and emotional…demands that we learn from our mistakes that are largely driven by dramatic elements, so as not to repeat them in our futures. And most of all, when we approach those areas of human existence that are the most serious and elemental of all…respect for things like basic human dignity, tolerance for others’ faith and religious beliefs, the equal and nondiscriminatory rule of law, fundamental and responsible freedom of personal expression through speech and action, personal accountability for one’s actions, civil obligations of a responsible citizen, and the responsible, transparent, deliberate, honest, and competent administration of our government…we should all agree that the so-called art of dramatic persuasion should be eliminated from our foundational decision making processes.

Our lives are wondrous, rewarding, joyful, sometimes woeful and agonizing journeys that we have been blessed with by our creator. Within the context of those journeys lies a kaleidoscope of emotions and human interactions. Certainly among that group are all of the elements contained in the world of drama. Life is to be lived, not just accomplished. But it is incumbent upon us all…as decent humans, caring and loving parents, active members of larger influential entities, responsible citizens, and small parts of a thriving and evolving planet…to not only maintain a sober realization of the clear line between those elements of drama known as practical persuasion and dramatic persuasion.

Drama is a spice that when used with discretion, makes the dish of life much more pleasing and rewarding. But just like salt and pepper, when it is inappropriately inserted into the recipe or added in excessive amounts, it can destroy the final product. The drama we are experiencing today in our culture, in our society, in our schools, in our government, and unfortunately…even in our religious faith…is being carelessly blended in where it has no place and in magnitudes that destroy properly intended goals and pursuits. In my opinion, drama has gotten too big for its britches. Let’s take a look at some of the drama that surrounds us.

The drama of our nation’s educational establishment…

https://amgreatness.com/2025/03/15/can-the-american-university-be-saved/

https://reason.com/2025/03/24/trump-and-congress-have-a-right-and-a-duty-to-kill-the-department-of-education/

The drama in our justice system…

https://reason.com/2025/03/18/town-secretly-seizes-developers-property-then-threatens-them-with-trespassing-citation/

https://americanmind.org/salvo/overturning-ikelo-i/

The drama in our energy sector…

https://amgreatness.com/2025/03/19/revive-nuclear-energy-in-america/

The drama of American foreign policy and global politics…

https://americanmind.org/salvo/cold-civil-war-gone-global/

https://mrctv.org/blog/charles-kohlhaas/decision-time-europe-and-others

How do we expose, diminish, and eliminate the counter-productive drama that seemingly permeates every moment of our day? It must be exposed. It must be acknowledged and called out. We avoid it when possible and confront it when it gets up in our face. The sheet covering the madness must be pulled back. Each of us has to read, think for ourselves, and act on the realization that real change starts with the individual. For example…

Here is the truth about Hamas, Palestine, and the lunacy of any two-state solution propaganda: https://www.7octparliamentarycommission.co.uk/

Here is the truth about the liberal/progressive cabal that began with Obama, sabotaged Trump’s first term, blew wide open during the Biden Administration, and is now being dealt with under Trump’s second term: https://amgreatness.com/2025/03/20/the-left-knew-they-were-lying-to-us-all-along/

And in closing, here is a subject that is quite illustrative of the drama we are discussing. Why do we choose to ignore the oftentimes simple and direct explanations and construct bizarre conspiracy theories that are somehow more exotic than the truth? The principle of Occam’s razor tells us that the simplest answer is typically…though not always…the correct one. And yet, we oftentimes choose to ignore the facts that lie before us and instead pursue the fictions that are dangled before our eyes. We surely do love our drama: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/03/lee-harvey-oswald-epsteins-short-course-2.php

Friday, March 14, 2025

Quick Hits on a Friday Night

Quite an eventful week, wasn’t it? Tariff Wars, Ukraine/Russia War, Congressional Budget Battles, Setting Fire to Teslas, Rescuing Stranded Astronauts in Space, Relay Racers Battling with Batons….so much conflict in this old world. Where does it all lead? I suppose time will reveal all mysteries.

The world of education…

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/will-we-finally-do-something-about-grade-inflation/

https://amgreatness.com/2025/03/13/is-the-jig-up-for-elite-higher-education/

https://jonathanturley.org/2025/03/11/the-educational-cartel-how-weingarten-finally-said-the-quiet-part-out-loud/

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/college-accreditors-are-overrated/

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/another-way-government-regulation-impedes-educational-improvement/

https://reason.com/2025/03/13/is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-the-department-of-education/

https://jonathanturley.org/2025/03/13/the-red-scarf-girl-the-fight-over-parental-rights-just-got-primal/#more-229622

Foreign policy in the Middle East and Eastern Europe…

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21467/us-hostage-negotiator-boehler

https://nypost.com/2025/03/09/opinion/trump-must-reverse-bidens-iran-appeasement-and-make-the-mullahs-broke-again/

http://jewishworldreview.com/0325/hanson030725.php