Author: haroldblackphd

I love Thomas Sowell. Last year I was privileged to attend a Liberty Fund symposium celebrating his 93rd birthday. That Sowell has not received a Nobel Prize is an indictment of the Nobel Committee. If the vacuous Al Gore can be given a Nobel as well as that economic pretender Paul Krugman then in some areas the Nobel is simply a token given to whomever the Committee favors that year. But Sowell is a towering intellect. His early work in history of thought is still required reading. Leaving academia for Hoover has allowed him to let his imagination roam applying basic economics to everyday issues. Like his mentor Milton Friedman, Sowell has the ability to reveal the truth that is often obscured by feel good nostrums. His output has been prodigious. He once wrote a weekly column and just published his 41st book. All are worth reading. Here is a sample of his wisdom.

From Thomas Sowell:

Ours may become the first civilization destroyed, not by the power of our enemies, but by the ignorance of our teachers and the dangerous nonsense they are teaching our children. In an age of artificial intelligence, they are creating artificial stupidity.

The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.

Can you cite one speck of hard evidence of the benefits of “diversity”?

It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.

Racism is not dead, but it is on life support — kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as ‘racists’

What exactly is your ‘fair share’ of what ‘someone else’ has worked for?

One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain.

You cannot subsidize irresponsibility and expect people to become more responsible.

A friend from India told me that a countryman of his said: “I want to go to America. I want to see a country where poor people are fat.”

Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.

It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.

Would you bet your paycheck on a weather forecast for tomorrow? If not, then why should this country bet billions on global warming predictions that have even less foundation?

The Constitution cannot protect us unless we protect the Constitution.

Some of the most vocal critics of the way things are being done are people who have done nothing themselves,

The murder of a dozen innocent people is unquestionably a human tragedy. But that is no excuse for reacting blindly by preventing hundreds of thousands of other people from defending themselves against meeting the same fate.

It is amazing how many people think they are doing blacks a favor by exempting them from standards that others are expected to meet.

When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.

The black family survived centuries of slavery and generations of Jim Crow, but it has disintegrated in the wake of the liberals’ expansion of the welfare state.

The people made worse off by slavery were those who were enslaved. Their descendants would have been worse off today if born in Africa instead of America. Put differently, the terrible fate of their ancestors benefitted them.

The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.

I’m so old that I can remember when most of the people promoting race hate were white.

The key fallacy of so called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.

Our national problems usually do not cause nearly as much harm as the solutions.

People who decry the fact that businesses are in business “just to make money” seldom understand the implications of what they are saying. You make money by doing what other people want, not what you want.

Not since the days of slavery have there been so many people who feel entitled to what other people have produced as there are in the modern welfare state

It is fascinating to watch politicians come up with ‘solutions’ to problems that are a direct result of their previous solutions. 

The poor are the very lifeblood of the left, attracting activists, supporting among the intelligentsia, and – perhaps most important – allowing the left to indulge in self-congratulation as people who ‘care.’ But, if they really cared, they would want to know what the facts are and what the actual consequences of their various nostrums are.

The minimum wage law very cleverly is misnamed. The real minimum wage is zero. That is what many inexperienced and low skilled people receive as a result of legislation that makes it illegal to pay them what they are currently worth to an employer.

Hilary Clinton said you know, it takes a village to raise a child and somebody said it takes a village idiot to believe that

Some words of my father:

1. Conventional wisdom is seldom wise

2. Segregation laws exist because whites are scared of us. If we were not qualified then there would be no need for these laws.

3. Victimhood is an excuse for failure. 

4. I don’t care what you will become but I will be disappointed if you do not push yourself to be one of the best.

5. When I went to Georgia he said “Don’t look at their women. They lynch us for less.”

6. Envy is a wasted emotion. Envy no one. Make them envy you.

7. This one was from Mother on the civil rights anthem “We shall overcome.” “They don’t mind us overcoming so long as we don’t come over”.

8. Don’t let others discourage you and ignore those who try.

9. (From Mother after a fairly heated discussion). Me: Why did you have me? Mother: We didn’t know it was going to be you.

10. Focus on your objectives and shut out all the noise. 

11. Find your limits and when you do to find someone who could help you push pass them.

12. Excuses are not accepted in this house. Just do better next time.

The market for EVs has tanked. The initial purchasers were mainly high end buyers who have another primary vehicle. They and others are virtue signalers who want to brandish their green creeds. However, EVs are gathering dust on dealer lots and car manufacturers are cutting back on production and the building of new plant and equipment. Almost all startups are struggling and three have filed for bankruptcy. The stock price for these companies is down 80 percent from their initial offering wiping out billions of dollars. I want to say “I told you so” but I won’t. The market has also rejected ESG investments with an estimated $1 trillion decline in market valuations. Thus, the market is currently rejecting the governments’ shoving EVs and “renewables” down our throats. The next step, of course, is for the governments to ban fossil fuels and all internal combustion engines – even though the science tells us that even this will have little impact on the climate. To date over $1 trillion has been wasted going green. It will be interesting to see when the public will revolt and vote the bums out. Look at Norway. The greenies there are trying to force cattle farmers to cull their herds to lessen methane in the atmosphere. Cow flatulence is the primary source of methane which is why at the COP28, the meat eating elites were urging all of us peons to cut down on our meat consumption. Norway is going to pay cattle farmers not to raise cattle much like we pay farmers not to grow certain crops. The reaction in Norway was to form a new party opposed to the greenies which has garnered seats in the parliament with the new center right coalition defeating the sitting left leaning government. Will we be far behind. One of the few positive things said by Trump is that he will roll back all the green nonsense of the Biden administration.

Isn’t it interesting that the media and those on the left see populism as a threat to democracy when the populist governments are democratically elected? They view what is happening in Europe, North and South America as a decline of democracy, multilateralism, and tolerance. They hate Hungary’s Orban as much as they hate Trump and say that country has moved from liberal democracy toward right-wing populist nationalism. Their reactions to elections in Argentina, Italy and Norway are similar. Contrast this to their paying fealty to Hamas which was democratically elected but turned into a totalitarian repressive regime. I think the ‘progressives” have forgotten that populism can be from the left as well as the right.

There is a poll on whites as oppressors that some profess shock over. It is a Harvard/Harris poll that asks “There is an ideology that white people are oppressors and nonwhite people and people of certain groups have been oppressed and as a result should be favored today at universities and for employment. Do you support or oppose this ideology? Seventy five percent of those over 55 disagreed. But 79 percent of those 18-24 agreed. A follow up question asked if Jews were oppressors. Ninety-one percent of those over 55 disagreed but two-thirds of those 18-24 agreed. I guess most respondents were white with the young stating that they, themselves, are oppressors. Naturally the right is pointing to the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the schools and all the rhetoric about “white privilege.” As one observer noted “success is possible, but only if one joins the system that critical race theorists believe oppresses people of color. Thus, if an oppressed individual achieves success, he or she becomes an oppressor, regardless of their identity.” Now I don’t know of any whites or Jews that are oppressing anyone. But certainly the Biden Administration is oppressing Trump and his supporters and the Israelis are oppressing the Palestinians on the West Bank. It is hard to find a government regardless of color that does not oppress. Governments in the Middle East (except Israel) oppress non-Muslims and Muslims of a different sect than the one in power, LBGQTs, and women. The Chinese oppress those that are not Hans who make up 92 percent of the population. Black African countries oppress whites, Indians and tribal groups not in power. Finland oppresses the Lapps, Russians, gypsies and Somalis. I am hard pressed to think of a government that is not oppressive.

I find it interesting that several commenters on my commencement address at the University of Georgia complimented me on talking about how we can confront racism and move toward better race relations. That was not my intention. I wanted to make two points. The first is that you can overcome adversity despite daunting odds and the second is that you are mired in mediocrity if you are intellectually lazy, Listen to the speech and see if you disagree. I start at minute 29.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0JQvHqAaXM

This was posted by the Georgia football program during Black History Month.

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I start at minute 29.

December 15, 2023

President Morehead, thank you for inviting me to speak to the class of 2023. It is an honor for me to be here, standing before you. It is especially gratifying because my youngest granddaughter Haley Savannah Rose is a member of this class.

Let me be among the first to congratulate all of you on your achievement – that of graduating from this wonderful university. You are joining an extended family of proud Georgia graduates – and that pride will grow as you age. I am proud of this university. It has come a long way from when I first arrived as a freshman in 1962. I had to come to Athens for a personal interview and it was with the administrator who had denied admission to Hamilton Hunter and Charlayne Hunter Gault. I had just turned 16 and just gotten my driver’s license so my Dad drove me here. When we walked into his office he did not shake our hands, he did not ask us to sit down. Rather he said “Why do you want to come here because we don’t want you here.” I said “That’s why I want to come here.” The interview went downhill from there and when he used the “N” word, my father pulled me out of the chair and we left to go back to Atlanta. Dad said “That didn’t go well.” You can imagine our surprise when a month later we got an envelope with a red and black banner than “Official Acceptance: The University of Georgia”.  The University had asserted in court that they could not guarantee the safety of black students. When we got to Reed hall and found only one bed in my room. Going back to the car, Mother was crying and said “get in this car. You are not going back in there.” My Dad said that if I got in the car, he would borrow the money to send me to Purdue where my brother was a junior. I said I would stay here and if it didn’t work out I would transfer. My father told me that I would not have any friends. But at our first dorm meeting, it was back of the bus days and I wouldn’t sit in the back of the room. When I sat down, everyone got up and moved. The three boys directly in front turned around and said they didn’t know that Negroes were in this class. I said there was at least one. Then they asked if they could sit with me. They became steadfast friends even though they were constantly harassed.

Life in Reed Hall was an adventure. My windows in Reed Hall were broken so often that a window crew came by every morning. Lighter fluid was squirted under the door and set on fire three times. Firecrackers were put into the slats in the door. The slats were replaced with a solid block of wood and obscenities were scrawled on it daily. The keyhole to my room was always stuffed with gum or other materials. My bathroom was sabotaged – once. They had written obscenities in soap on all the mirrors, turn on the water in the sinks and showers and removed the knobs, and stuffed toilet paper down each commode. I went down the hall to their bathroom. I washed my hands in each wash basin. I ran through all the showers. I sat on every commode and tried to use every urinal. No one messed with my bathroom after that. The first time I went to the bookstore, they would not sell me a book. I called Dean Tate who had given us his phone numbers telling us to call him if we encountered any difficulties on campus. They sold me my books. The first time I went swimming in the university’s pool they kicked everyone out and drained it. I went back the next day. Again I called Dean Tate and was able to go swimming. Although I got 5 band scholarships out of high school I auditioned for the “Dixie” Redcoat Marching Band and was told by the band director that while I was talented I could not be in “his” band.  Dr. Blackwell Diallo was at that time a music major and she was also not allowed to be in “his” band. The great Hamilton Holmes sat me down and said “Go slow. This is not your usual college experience.” I ignored his advice. I was the only one of us to go to the football games where I was often the only black in the stadium not carrying a broom or a mop. It was like a Ku Klux Klan rally with all the confederate flags. After the national anthem, the band played Dixie and I sat down. Debris and curses rained down upon me but I refused to stand. Dean Tate seemingly materialized out of nowhere grabbing student ID cards. Suddenly it got quiet. The same thing happened at the second game. At the third game, Dean Tate actually followed me into the stadium.  I could sit in peace. When my friends were with me at the games they also sat when the band played Dixie.

During my freshman year no one sat on the same row with me in class. Most- but not all – professors welcomed my being in their class. Am I bitter? No. Well maybe a wee bit because of the band. I would have looked good wearing that red jacket. But to quote Stevie Wonder “You can always look at the negative but you should always live in the positive So I try everyday to live that way.”  I hope you do that as well. The point that all of us who came here focused on our objectives and shut out all the noise. My parents said to not let others discourage you and to ignore those who tried. They said find your limits and when you do to find someone who could help you push pass them. I embraced that here at Georgia and during my career. At the end of my freshman year, I got a letter inviting me into the honors program. My parents took that letter, framed it and hung it on the wall. 

My parents never knew what I was going through and didn’t find out until much later when they read Calvin Trillin’s “An Education in Georgia.” Mother said “Why didn’t you tell me?” I said that I would have gotten no sympathy from Dad and I would have worried her to death. I knew that I did the right thing because at my graduation she said that she could finally get a good night’s sleep. But please don’t misunderstand me. I was never scared. It was an adventure and I reveled in finding ways to confront adversity. Someone asked me what did I do when firecrackers went off at 2 o’clock in the morning. I said that I went back to sleep. I also moved my bed away from the window. My first two years were a challenge but I defy anyone having a better last two years than what I had here.

The university has come a long way, not just racially but also academically. My degree is more valuable because of what this university has accomplished over these 60 years. The true purpose of a university is to help you learn how to learn, to think critically, to investigate, to gather and process information in order to make more rational informed decisions. Conclusions can differ because information more times than not yields contradictory results and your truth is guided in large part by what you cherish and what you believe. But just because your conclusions might differ from others it does not mean you can claim something called “truth” unless you explore the truth value of contrary evidence. Don’t be dogmatic. I say “prove me wrong and I’ll adopt your position.” You see the world is made up of three types: the 2 percent who make things happen, the 8 percent who know what’s happening and the 90 percent who haven’t a clue as to what’s happening. The university and its education cannot put you into the 2 percent but it can put you into the 8 percent provided you are not intellectually lazy. Unfortunately even with information being so readily available too many of us are intellectually lazy and will be relegated to the 90 percent. If you are intellectually curious and hard working you may get to the 2 percent. Work hard. To paraphrase Thomas Edison: Success is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Life is a challenge. Look around you. Look at your extended family. Look at your brothers and sisters. Alma mater means “foster mother”. Alumni means foster children. You about to join my extended family and I hope you understand when I say that I do not care what you look like. I don’t care if you are black, white, brown, red, yellow or shades in between. What I do care about is your character, your desire to get better, your desire to make a difference and your humanity. Go forth. Go make us proud and Go Dawgs.

Knoxville Focus

knoxfocus.com

December 11, 2023

In Washington, balancing the budget is a game with the Republicans pretending that they want to cut spending while the Democrats act as if any cut will be devastating. The farce is repeated every year with the result of ever increasing spending and deficits. Neither side is serious about fiscal responsibility. Balancing the budget is impossible in the short run. Given the political realities, the only solution is economic growth. However, burdensome regulations, measures that discourage small businesses and barriers to free trade hinder growth. Nevertheless, it is easier to grow the economy than for our politicians to cut spending or even cut the rate of growth in spending. The traditional way of thinking is that a budget is balanced either by decreasing spending or increasing taxes or both. For our politicians cutting spending is virtually impossible leaving increasing taxes as their only choice. Yet increasing taxes will only make things worse. The increase in taxes necessary to balance the budget will slow down economic growth, crash the economy and slow down revenues to the government.

The budget is made up of two major components, nondiscretionary spending and discretionary spending. Federal nondiscretionary spending includes mainly social security, medicare and federal retirement benefits. In the past fiscal year nondiscretionary spending was $4.1 trillion. Discretionary spending was $1.7 trillion. Tax revenues were $4.9 trillion. The interest on the national debt was $724 billion This leaves only $76 billion to spend on everything else. 

Of course, nondiscretionary spending is nondiscretionary because the government says it is. Social security is considered sacrosanct and politicians are afraid to alter it. The same is true medicare. But the increase in both must be either be corralled or the economy liberated to grow in order to achieve a sane fiscal policy. The economic literature offers evidence that increases in government spending leads to a reduction in private investment and economic growth. This is the classic “crowding out” effect. This is in contrast where mostly politicians think that government spending stimulates economic growth. Yet the evidence is otherwise. Research also shows that regulations create burdens that slow economic growth and that regulatory reform unleashes economic growth. 

Reforming the tax code and eliminating regulatory burdens would stimulate the economy. The overly complicated US tax code creates over $1 trillion in costs to the economy. Moreover, the cost of compliance to business has been estimated to be over $2 trillion. The Federal Register which is a measure of an administrations regulatory actions increased by 80,756 in 2022. Much of these regulations are nonessential. It is just Big Brother looking over the shoulders of businesses. Burdensome regulations are especially a drag on small businesses who cannot afford the compliance experts of big businesses and small businesses are the growth engine of the economy. Yet even for big business, the salaries and benefits of compliance personnel, accountants and attorneys are a net loss. Compliance does not add to the bottom line. I once had a minority banker tell me that the cost of complying with all the fair lending regulations had so adversely affected his bottom line that he was going to have to sell his bank to a large regional bank. In the past, small bankers have asked for regulatory relief but to no avail. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not the friend of small financial institutions and in many cases, actively tries to put them out of business.

So I offer a few real solutions of my own. 

1. Eliminate duplication in government

2. Eliminate automatic escalators in nondiscretionary items 

3. Raise the full benefit age in social security to 70 

4. Privatize medicare and medicaid 

5. Privatize social security with a benefit floor guaranteed by the federal government 

6. Eliminate the federal income tax and institute a flat income tax with no exemptions 

7. Limit the annual growth in the number of pages in the federal register 

8. Institute a sunset provision for all regulations by all federal agencies 

9. Mandate that regulatory burdens must be reduced by at least 5 percent per year 

10. Limit federal pay (including perks) to no more than 10 percent over the average pay for the same position in the private sector 

11. Eliminate the Departments of Education, Energy, Commerce, Interior, Agriculture, Labor and Transportation

12. Eliminate all specified federal spending to the states and replace them with block grants

13. Cap the federal budget to 20 percent of the previous year’s GDP. 

December 10, 2023

I don’t know who anointed certain universities as “elite” but they are elite no more. Presumably, those universities had the highest standards for admissions – test scores and GPAs – had rigorous curricula and courses and placed their graduates in the highest paying most prestigious positions. However, these same universities have come to the fore with their pro-Hamas, anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations. Jewish students have been attacked, harassed and threatened. Some have wondered why all of a sudden this has happened. First, I would bet that most of the demonstrators have been in the Arts or most disturbingly, law students. Science students, business students, engineering students and their professors do not seem to be as active participants as those in the humanities. Second, the best and brightest students are no longer the most likely to be admitted to the so-called “elite” schools. White males, Jews and Asians find their admission applications rejected in favor of “disadvantaged” students who have lower test scores and GPAs.  Schools have dropped the SAT and the highest GPAs as admission criteria in the name of diversity, equity and inclusion. The admission offices at the elite schools were first instituted to limit Jewish enrollment in the early 1900s. Now they are being used again to limit the number of Jews as their enrollment has fallen dramatically in the age of DEI. Also, DEI has discriminated against Asians as well. Even though the Supreme Court has ruled against discrimination on the basis of race, universities are actively trying to find ways to circumvent the ruling. Third, the “elite” universities have also dumbed down their curricula. No one, however biased, would argue that courses are as rigorous as they were in the past. Curricula are now littered with feel good majors and courses such as gender, black, Latino, trans, green and environmental studies while the Classics, language, mathematics, science, economics, accounting and more rigorous courses are no longer required. Fourth, the faculty in the feel good subjects would have difficulty acquiring tenure and promotion in traditional departments. Thus, the universities have created separate departments for the feel good subjects. Fifth, even those courses that were formerly difficult have themselves become less rigorous. There are fewer term papers, fewer reading lists and less demanding tests (if tests are even given). Sixth, the students who are admitted are told that they are victims and if they are not victims they are oppressors. This certainly does not make for a warm, inviting and cordial college atmosphere.

All this means that the “elite” universities are no longer distinguished by either their students or their professors. Perhaps science, business and engineering may have higher standards and more rigorous courses. But the arts and humanities and even the law are no longer elite. Most of these graduates will find employment in the arts and humanities an continue poisoning the minds of our youth. They are not likely to enter MBA or graduate programs in business or science. More importantly they will be teachers and continue their spreading ignorance regarding capitalism and the financial system (the Denver and Colorado teachers are the poster children for dumbness). They will be the ones seeking to justify DEI, the incredibly harmful green new deal and socialism. The demise of the “elite” universities is just the latest manifestation of the mediocrity that has permeated our society.

I would rather hire graduates of our land grant universities.

December 5, 2023

Did you see where a former US ambassador to Bolivia was arrested on charges that he was a Cuban spy? A spy for Cuba? Talk about an utterly pointless advocation. What sensitive information would be important to Cuba and detrimental to US interests? I guess they could pass it on to the Russians or the Chinese. But it seems analogous to giving the Alabama playbook to West High school.

Speaking of Cuba, should we continue the boycott? It is the longest lasting one in our history being imposed in 1958. One wonders why? We don’t boycott other nations that have one party rule, or are socialist, or are communist, or don’t have a free press, or don’t have free elections, or are repressive. So why do we continue the Cuban embargo?

Every year the UN votes to have the US lift the embargo and every year the US votes against it. – even the Biden administration. This year only Israel joined the US in the nay vote. If the US exercised any power, then every country receiving US aid should have voted with the US.

I think the Cuban people would benefit if the embargo were lifted. Any trade impact would be minimal for the US but significant for the Cubans. I would not give them any aid and would insist that they end all military adventures outside of the island.

The college transfer portal just opened and the first day there were 1,000 players opting to transfer. Some, like Georgia’s second string quarterback, want a chance to play elsewhere. Others want to cash in on the NIL (name, image and likeness) money. The coach at Nebraska said that the NIL market for transfer quarterbacks was a million dollars. The transfer portal over the past few seasons has cost Georgia its two most dynamic wide receivers and its best young run stopper. I had wondered if somehow the Bulldogs had gotten out bid. The missing run stopper was the reason why the defense gave up 40 more yards rushing per game and probably cost them the SEC title against Alabama. This year six power five school were hit with double digit transfers. My Ohio State Buckeyes led the way with 12 including the starting quarterback. This was in addition to the 7 that had indicated previously that they were transferring. Also 15 are draft eligible and will likely not play in the bowl game. Only a diehard fan would go to the bowl game with the skeleton crew that the Buckeyes have left on the squad. As a result, I am beginning to hate college football. Players transfer each year and end up playing for your opponent. There is no loyalty. 

Both Georgia and Ohio State had 11-1 records. Yet some Buckeye fans want the coach fired for losing to Michigan three years in a row. Be careful what you wish for. I guess they will go ballistic next year when the Buckeyes will lose every skilled position starter and see 34 players leave the program. They will likely look back on this season fondly.

Spring 2024 baseball starts February 24 and opening day is March 28. I love baseball and only wish they would tweak their playoffs with no teams having a bye. Let the top rated team play the lowest rated one. Giving a baseball team a bye is no reward as evidenced by the top 5 teams not making it to the World Series. Did you watch it? Me neither.

We just had a climate summit sponsored by an oil producing country with a bunch of pompous “elites” moaning about global warming while emitting copious amounts of carbon into the atmosphere from their private jets. They were warning about methane and urging less meat eating. I doubt if the menu was vegan. The west is still trying to bribe the officials of developing economies to further impoverish their citizens by going green. But even with the millions sent to line their pockets, the Indonesians and South Africans have started to resist the efforts of the west to keep their citizens in poverty.

It’ll be interesting to see who comes out of the Republican primaries. The media has done all it can to sabotage Ron DeSantis. They have demonized him from the beginning with only negative coverage. You know who the left fears by the amount of bad press one receives. It is clear that Ron DeSantis is the one candidate the left fears the most.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. I wonder how long it will be until the left wants to change the name Christmas. But then as now, just ignore those fools.

Knoxville Focus

knoxfocus.com

December 4, 2023

Virtually everyone I know thinks that the southern border is a disaster. I just returned from my annual deer hunting trip in Eagle Pass, TX, the epicenter of the illegal crisis. More illegals stream across the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass than at any other point in the border. Last week, over 4,000 came across in a single day. The mayor declared a state of emergency. At last count, illegals from 162 different countries have entered the United States at Eagle Pass. The greatest number is from Venezuela fleeing the oppressive socialist regime of Nicholas Maduro. However, over 20,000 Haitians have crossed there. There has been a surge of Indians (from India), Chinese, Africans and those from the Middle East. During the Biden years more than 8 million illegals have entered the country.

Then there are the got-aways, those who have not been apprehended. It is highly likely that terrorists have walked into the country along with rapists, drug dealers and other criminals. Last year when I was in a shooting tower looking at deer, two columns of young men with backpacks looking at their cell phones wandered in front of us. The rancher has many videos on his trail cameras of others, mostly young men, walking through his ranch on their way to the highway after crossing the Rio Grande. His family has owned the property for five generations and he is at his wits end because the federal government refuses to enforce the immigration laws.

I’ve wondered why. Some say the Democrats are trying to import their next generation of voters, provided they cannot get the vote for those who are crossing the border now. I am not so sure. The Hispanics are typically pursuing the American dream, something that many young native born Americans denigrate. Hispanics are hard working. Have you ever seen a Hispanic panhandling? Me neither. They are religious mostly Catholics and are anti-abortion, anti LGBTQ with strong family ties. Their values are those ridiculed by “progressives”. Do you really think that these Hispanics will become Democrats? Maybe some but most? I doubt it. So please enlighten me and tell me why the Democrats seem to favor open borders.

The Republicans in Congress rant and rave about the failure of Biden to do something about the border and sought to impeach his head of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas who is a Cuban-American. The vote to impeach failed because 8 Republicans voted not to impeach and 12 Republicans didn’t vote at all. Some conservatives had a cow over the failure to impeach. I was not one of them. Impeachment proceedings are for show and are not to be taken seriously. Their purpose is to keep a hot topic issue before the voters. Much like the Democrats dragging out the January 6 committee lest the voters forget the alleged “insurrection”, the only purpose of the Republican’s impeachment hearings is to not let the voters forget the disaster at the border.

Much like the Democrats, the Republicans are not serious in solving the problem. They know that even if they voted to impeach Mayorkas (or Biden for that matter), the Senate would never vote to convict. Basically they are wasting our time and money and are not devoting themselves to the serious business of governance. The Republican complaining and bemoaning is just for show. If they were serious about addressing the problems of the border, they would grind to a halt all other business. All spending bills originate in the House. They would say that there will not be any business conducted until the mess at the border is addressed. There will be no spending bills, no bills of any type introduced except bills limiting the inflow of illegals into the country. They would cite national security concerns. They would cite the myriad of problems faced by border towns and residents. They would cite the burdens placed on social services, school systems, hospitals and law enforcement. But what do our representatives do? They cite all those problems and they do nothing about it. Like my father used to say, “That sounds good – if you are interested in sounds.”  Again, the reason is that the Republicans really don’t want to do anything to solve the illegal surge now. They want to wait until after the presidential election. If a Republican president is elected, then maybe they will move to address the problem. But not before.

December 3, 2023

What Donald Trump has been subjected to since the election is enough to drive anyone crazy. And it has. He and his most fervent supporters are blind to anything but vengeance. Trump has never been one for moderation and his tweets continue to be vicious and hateful. He is also completely unhinged. The latest evidence is in his statements about what he would do if he is re-elected. You would think a serious thinker, especially one with four years in the White House would be making a thoughtful agenda. Doesn’t he want to curtail the Administrative State? Doesn’t he want to throttle back the Green New Deal? Doesn’t he want strong borders? Doesn’t he want energy independence? Doesn’t he want a strong, sane foreign policy? Doesn’t he want to address the threat of China? Does he want to defend Taiwan? Doesn’t he want constitutional judges? Doesn’t he want to minimize government intrusion in our lives? Doesn’t he?

Why of course but he also now wants a major expansion of government. He is proposing an “anti-woke” national university funded by confiscating private university endowments. Libertarians once shouted “taxation is theft!” Do you think they – and other conservatives – would sanction the theft of private university endowments? Trump simply wants a way to go after the “elite” universities that hate him. He also wants the government to fund 10 “freedom cities” on federal lands. This is simply beyond bizarre and would require even more government bureaucracies and more government spending. Of course he would also initiate the “Justice” department to wage war on all his enemies – a monumental task.

Trump is now certifiable and frightening.

Four more years? Again, as a dear friend has said “OMG! You mean I am going to have to vote for Trump again?”