Blog

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?”

December 3, 2023

An old friend of mine called and asked why was the Fed targeting interest rates in order to fight inflation. She wanted a one minute explanation on the relationship between interest rates and the general level of prices. Obviously, the answer took longer than a minute but the root of her question was more insightful than even she realized. Ironically, the night before I was at the annual director holiday dinner hosted by the Nashville branch of the Atlanta Fed. The speaker was an economist at the Atlanta Fed who talked about the Fed’s strategy for combatting inflation and the prospects going forward. What was revealing was that in the entire discussion, he focused on interest rates, employment and real economic growth. I kept quiet because there was no reason for me to comment on his being completely wrong.

Milton Friedman once said that inflation was always a monetary phenomena produced by increases in the money supply that are faster than growth in output. That means that inflation is always caused by governments producing too much money. Yet our central banker did not mention the explosive growth in money produced by the incredible increases in government spending and the enabling of the Fed. That is, the government caused the mess we are in and then attempts to straighten that same mess out. I told my friend that the Fed by financing irresponsible fiscal policy had driven up the money supply driving down interest rates and then tried to hold them near zero. Monetary economics says that that action would then eventually lead to higher inflation. And it did. When the inflation occurred, the Fed’s reaction would then be to decrease the rate of growth in the money supply, driving interest rates up. The key is what happens to the money supply. 

But central bankers do not even talk about the money supply and its control, mainly because central bankers seldom understand monetary economics. If they did, they would seek to control the rate of growth in the money supply rather than focusing on interest rates. In monetary economics there is the monetary rule that says that you can have economic growth without inflation if the rate of increase in the money supply is set to the long term growth rate of the economy. Central bankers reject the monetary rule knowing that if they accepted it, they would be out of a job. Central bankers feel obligated to fiddle with the economy. It gives them a sense of importance. However, this discretionary monetary policy is inherently disruptive to the economy, creating busts and booms and periods of inflation and deflation.

Central bankers also craft regulations and oversee financial institutions and most are qualified to do that. The problem with central bankers is that few of them are qualified to do the most important part of their job – control the money supply. Many are lawyers. On the current Fed board there is only one governor trained in monetary economics. The rest are either lawyers or economists with interests other than monetary theory. The chairman is a lawyer. Therefore, it is not surprising that Fed policy is a mish mash of confusing actions and incoherent policy. Interesting that when the one person who was a serious student of monetary economics was nominated to the Board, the Senate rejected the nomination. Imagine if the Supreme Court only had one justice who was a constitutional lawyer. Well that is the current (and most previous) situation at the Federal Reserve and at central banks around the world.

Happy Thanksgiving 2023 

During the holidays we rarely traveled. We celebrated at home in Atlanta. Mother’s home was Gray, GA while Dad’s was Americus, GA. Instead of going to either’s home we stayed in Atlanta. In large part it was because Mother’s side of the family never fully embraced my Dad and Dad’s side of the family never fully embraced Mom. We paid the obligatory annual visits to each but I don’t recall them being especially joyous occasions.

Thanksgiving meant turkey, ham and all the fixings. Mother was not an especially good cook but Thanksgiving did not demand a particularly skillful chef. Roast turkey, roasted ham, sweet potato pie, potato salad, dressings always baked in the oven and never stuffed in the bird and that awful cranberry gelatin-thing. My parents were thankful of the bounty having grown up poor and living through the Great Depression. Mom was better off than Dad living on a farm. Dad had memories of being told to take a cane pole, dig up a worm and to not come home without dinner. They had little meat in his house so he insisted on at least one meat at every meal. My folks iterated that education was the one important factor that transformed them from subsistence to plenty and sometimes Dad would shake his head and say “I never want to be poor again.” My brother and I could not identify with the possibility of poverty, growing up in a brand new solidly upper middle class neighborhood with stable nuclear families, well educated households, streets litter free and no crime. 

I have more fond memories of Christmas. My brother and I were given full access to the Sears Roebuck catalog. We earmarked what we wanted knowing that Santa somehow would get the catalog and new clothing would appear under the tree. We knew everyone on our street. We lived in the third house. The men would go house to house starting with neighbor in the first house. He would go next door. The two of them would come to our house where my mother would give them her homemade scuppernong wine. Then along with my Dad, they would go from house to house down one side of the street and up the other side picking up neighbors and depositing those when they came back to their house. Dad didn’t drink but made an exception at Christmas and was always a bit wobbly when he returned home. The kids would be in the street with their new skates or bicycles. When we were small we played cowboys and Indians with our six-shooters. Later we played basketball or touch football. Every house was decorated. Dad especially loved Christmas and went overboard. I remarked that when he turned on the lights, that we would almost cause a brown out. 

When I had my own family we tried to visit my parents and in-laws each Christmas season. After our divorce, I had custody of my son and the kids would be together for the holidays. If it were my turn, we would spend Christmas in Atlanta with my parents. It was always a good time. It was a time when I found myself deferring to my parents just like in my youth. I might have children of my own but during Christmas it was as if I became a child again for a day. Now that they are gone, I think that is what I miss the most at Christmastime.

Knoxville Focus

knoxfocus.com

November 27, 2023

Current events have opened up differences that pose existential threats to both the Republican and Democrat parties. For the Republicans the speaker mess has exposed pure venom being directed at the eight who toppled Kevin McCarthy. There is considerable friction among Republican members over continued funding for the Ukraine. The new Speaker, Mike Johnson voted against supplemental funding for Ukraine. The question is whether the Republicans can come together and act as a party or will they continue to conduct a circular firing squad. One outcome is for the right wing of the party to splinter off into a new party. A close friend suggested the name Whigs 2.0 which is brilliant. But let’s call it the Conservative Party. 

For the Democrats, the schism is over Israel. The “progressives” have come to the aid of Hamas under the guise of protecting the Palestinians. They have protested in rallies with the pro-Palestinians groups condemning Israel and calling for a cease fire – which would only serve to save Hamas from the Israelis’ vengeance. At many of the rallies, some have carried swastikas. Previously, when white supremacists would brandish swastikas, the press was full of pictures and talking heads on CNN and MSNBC who would literally go crazy. Now that the anti-Israeli student organizations and groups are waving swastikas and calling for the elimination of Israel itself – the chant from river to sea –  criticism from the media is totally absent. AOC, the Squad, the Democratic Socialists of America and Antifa have more in common with the Aryan Brotherhood and the American Nazi Party than they want to admit. 

The rift amongst the Democrats showed in the vote in the House to support Israel and condemn Hamas. The vote was 410-10-6. Nine of the no votes were all the usual suspects: Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Andre Carson, Al Green, Summer Lee, AOC, Ilhan Omar and Delia Ramirez. Some were totally disingenuous when they said they opposed the resolution because it did not mention a two-state solution. Either they are ignorant or think that we are because the Palestinians themselves reject the two state solution. All 15 were members of the progressive caucus. Fifteen of the 16 are “people of color”. The other nay vote was from Thomas Massie (R-KY) who supported Israel but voted no because he craves publicity.

The divisions in the Democrats came front and center when Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said “Last night, 15 of my Democratic colleagues votes against standing with our ally Israel and condemning Hamas terrorists who brutally murdered, raped and kidnapped babies, children, men, women and elderly, including Americans. They are despicable and do not speak for our party.” This provoked one of the “Hamas Caucus” Andre Carson (D-IN) to call Gottheimer a punk. Do you think reconciliation is possible between these two. Moreover, Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said “someone who votes against this doesn’t have a soul.” 

The anti-Israelis in the Democratic party are not limited to the Congress. In North Carolina, a resolution passed unanimously only because the Democratic members walked out before the vote. Jewish legislators see this and have been critical of their “progressive” colleagues. Many comments are scathing. One wonders what is being said in private. Why are the majority of Jews Democrats when Israel’s most vocal critics tend to be on the left? I have not heard of a single Republican coming to the defense of Hamas. Some like Lindsay Graham favor bombing Hamas. But then again, Lindsay Graham is in favor of bombing everyone. 

Even the far left is splintering as one of the leaders of the Democratic Socialists of America has resigned over that organization’s support of Hamas. Expect the Jews to scale back their financial support of Democrats and splinter the legislative caucuses. Perhaps the anti-Israeli faction will leave the party and create their own political party. Omar, Tlaib, Pressley, Bowman and AOC would likely be more comfortable in a party than in one with Steve Cohen and Chuck Schumer. Let’s call it the Progressive party.

It is likely that the Conservative Party would siphon off 20 percent of the Republicans and the Progressive party would garner 20 percent of the Democrats. That would give us four parties with enough supporters to influence elections and could lead to a coalition government. Those governments make for strange bedfellows. Just look at Europe.

November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims were socialists and almost starved to death.

I believe that merchants look at my credit card purchases to decide what to quit stocking.

Did you watch the third Republican debate? Me neither.

Every democrat in the Senate voted against the $14.3 billion to Israel that was to come out of the crazy funding bill for the IRS.

Jews make up only 2 percent of the population but suffer 60 percent of the hate crimes. Yet the media basically ignores this in favor of hate crimes against blacks and searches high and low for Islamophobia.

I was talking to a close friend who while defending the right of Israel to defend itself was critical of the civilian casualty figures in Gaza. I told him that I did not believe the figures coming out of either side and it was interesting that he and the media had blindly parroted the figures given by Hamas. 

Hamas is saying that the majority of those killed are women and children. I rather doubt that. But the world has apparently forgotten the Israeli women and children killed.

The god of the Jews is the god of the Old Testament. Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. Vengeance is mine saith the lord.

The god of modern western civilization is the god of the New Testament. That god is a more whimpy god.

Is either Muslim or Zionist right?

The radical Islamists quote the Koran to justify their hatred of infidels. The Zionists quote the Talmud to justify their hatred of Muslims who hate the Jews. It is akin to the confederates justifying slavery by quoting the Bible while the abolitionists quoted the same Bible.

It has always puzzled me why American blacks adopted the religion of the slavers.

I don’t particularly care for country music. But at a Georgia game they played The Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” during a break. It resonated with me as did Jason Alden’s “Don’t try that in a small town.”

I did not see any reporting of pro-Hamas demonstrations on southern campuses. Are the antisemites only in the northeast?

I saw no pro-Hamas business school or engineering school students interviewed. Nor professors. Only in the “humanities”.

During a radio interview, I was asked why so many students now looked favorably on socialism. The answer is simple. They have never had to work for a living – and neither had their leftist professors.

Want to solve poverty? Its really simple. Finish high school, get a job, get married and have babies. In that order. Less than 5% are poor. Deviate and your chances to be poor skyrocket.

Are progressives ever positive?

DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion (except for Jews and Asians). Ever wonder why its “equity” and not “equality”?

The news yesterday was all breathless about a terrorist attack in upstate New York. The coverage went on and on and was never ending. Then they found out it was not a terrorist attack. Never mind.

Do you believe in God?

I saw a woman wearing a t-shirt that said “The Bible said it. I believe it.” Does she believe every word? If so, how does she manage that?

How many religions are there in the world. There are the “main” ones: Christianity (Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism) Judaism (Orthodox, Reform, Hasidic), Buddhism, Islam (Sunni and Shia) and Hinduism (Jainism and Sikhism). There are all the East Asian ones: Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto). Then there are all the cults, folk religions and various other ones. I presume that each considers theirs as the only truth and all the others are heretics, infidels or worse. Which are correct? I believe that they all are.