State of the Union Wish List 2018

I'm so glad we have President Trump instead of HRC. And make no mistake about it. Those were the choices. Ford, Dole, McCain, and Romney were all fine men with much experience who got the GOP nomination, and they all failed to get elected. Did we need to add to that list?  No.

This doesn't mean I think Trump has done everything right or well. The attacks on him by the Left, including judges, media, activist groups, and the Democratic Party, have been over-the-top and unprecedented in modern American politics, acting as though everything Trump does or says is the worst thing ever and will be the end of the world.. I'm sure they'd argue that it is warranted is because they see him as an unprecedented in his actual/potential danger to the country.

Trump is a populist, not a conservative ideologue. His public position on marriage law, for example, was more to the Left of Obama as he entered the Presidency.  He was steeped in the culture of NYC and has long had public appearances with, and donations to, Democratic candidates and causes. He's been governing as a conservative, and that's what really matters.

If we focus on what he's actually done and not what the media has said he's done or has planned to do and we ignore Twitter, he has quite a list of accomplishments, including reducing ISIS, the new tax law, judicial appointments, and rolling back regulations. Sure, there are Leftists and others who aren't happy with all of those things, but if the Left doesn't like it, then in general, it's good. I've seen more than one headline lamenting Trump is undoing everything Obama did, and that's GREAT!

People who ignore the activist groups, the political nerds, and media hysterics will likely not have the sense of fear or outrage that so many people have today.

Let's get to the speech.

Dear Progressives, Socialists, Liberals, Leftists, and Democrats

We're $19,000,000,000,000 in debt, just officially on paper and just on the federal level. This doesn't count obligations that haven't been added to the balance sheets, state debts, local government debts, etc.

Our government can't keep spending more money than we have, especially not at growing rates of the size of deficits.

"Tax the rich" you say?

All of the wealth could be confiscated from "the rich" and the debt and spending would still be a problem. In fact, it would be even more of a problem because in the following years, "the rich" would be generating less economic growth, less tax revenue, and there would be more people "in need".

The cold, hard fact is that at least one of these things must happen if our nation is going to survive:

1. Government spending has to be cut significantly, and the way government budgets going forward has to change. Slashing spending on the military will not satisfy this need.

2. The federal government has to sell off land and other assets and generate more revenue (through oil drilling, for example) on some of the land it doesn't sell.

3. We need to either birth and raise enough children or import enough immigrants (immigrants are people who come to stay, not people who come here for certain benefits and then return home) who'll end up contributing more tax revenue than they'll take. With immigration, it must be taken into account whether or not these individuals either were a net cost in USA tax revenue (through receiving foreign aid) or generated a net in USA tax revenue (through buying goods and services of American businesses) when they were living in other countries. It will be better, on a global scale, to birth our own new Americans rather than moving producing individuals from other countries to here.

I understand that Leftist policies and philosophies are in conflict with those three times in the following ways:

1. Leftism demands increasing government spending. If not directly, by insisting on more and larger government programs.

2. Leftists would rather the federal government increase its land holdings and would rather NO business use such land, especially because Leftists consider such activity an environmental threat.

3. Leftists are fine with immigration, but encourage immigrants to favor larger government. Leftists are more likely to see children as people who should be de facto wards of the state most of the time, as parasites or abusers of the environment (if only through their parents' actions), as burdens, as hindrances to the empowerment of women, as things to be aborted. All one has to do is look at western Europe, which is thoroughly Leftist, to see that the birth rate does not even replace the population.

If you care about the USA having a future the only logical solution is to adopt one, both, or all three of these conservative or traditional & limited government principles:

1. Making government smaller and more limited government.
2. Selling off government/public assets and/or access to land.
3. Making more babies and raising them to avoid consuming as many tax dollars as they generate and who will also vote for smaller, limited government.

Unless we produce it from scratch ourselves, everything we receive, whether goods or services or money, has been generated by someone else. Either we use voluntary transactions to get these things, or we use force, which means government force or crime, to get these things. Even if you are content to increase confiscation for your personal benefit, we, collectively, simply can't function if there is consistently a higher overall consumption than overall production. There will be less production if producers are punished with more confiscation and decreasing freedom to engage in, and benefit from, voluntary transactions.

Lester Doesn't Understand Money or Economics

Have you seen this making the social networking rounds?

"B. Lester" apparently has no clue about money or economics, or is deliberately playing on the envy of others.

There probably are people out there who literally hoard cash and keep in in their home, or wherever. Some of them are "black market" operators. (Some ignorant people think I'm talking about the slave trade.) However, these aren't the people who end up on the cover of Forbes.

The people who make the cover of Forbes as role models do not hoard cash. If they did, they wouldn't be such successful people. No, these people have built up wealth by helping to provide goods and services that people want. Even if they had stashed all of their money in a bank, they would still be helping others because the bank would be using that money.

Rich people have not impoverished this union. On the contrary, as they build wealth, they help others to build wealth as well. It is up to others, rich, middle-class, or poor, to decide whether or not they want to buy what the wealthy person is selling, or whether or not they want to work for the wealthy person, or invest in the wealthy person's business. That is all voluntary. The poor person's dollar is not taken away against his will. The exception is when a government goes beyond Constitutional mandate and spends taxpayer money on something it isn't supposed to. Even then, since the poor do not pay federal income taxes, the poor person's dollar is not taken away. On the contrary, the "poor" in this union are provided with housing, food, health care, education, military/fire/police protection, recreation, transportation, sanitation and so many other things, largely or entirely paid for by others.

Almost all of the people who circulate this picture would be considered as "hoarding cash" when compared to most of the world, yet they whine and moan about other people doing even better than they have. Being angry at others is a lot easier than working hard, making good choices, and being a success. The problem is, electing legislators who keep forcibly redistributing a wealthy person's earnings or keep borrowing to provide us with goodies is not sustainable. That is impoverishing this union. Free your mind from hate-filled Leftist dung and think, indeed.

State of the Union 2016 Wish List

With BHO up there, it would be great to see everyone fall asleep, not just a judge or two.

I know most of these positions will be completely avoided by President Obama, but permit me to dream. Also notice that with most of these, I'm calling on the President to encourage action by the people, not to use the force of law.

Explain That the Federal Government Is Not the Answer to Every Challenge, Problem, or Choice - Rather, it is the Last Resort Answer to Very Few. That is what freedom and liberty are all about. Challenge individuals, businesses, congregations, nonprofits, and local and state governments (where appropriate) to take action instead of relying on the federal government. The federal government is there to protect the union from foreign threats and to and resolve some disputes between states.

Esteem Human Life. Vow to prosecute anyone who is transporting people across state lines for abortions to cover up statutory rape or anyone transporting human tissue, obtained without the consent if the individual, across state lines. Encourage people to think of human life as important and valuable, whether young or old, sick or healthy.

Tout the Successes of the War on Terror. Laud those military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel who have uncovered and prevented terrorist plans and actions.Stress that ISIS and other such organizations must be obliterated, and point to recent terrorist attacks as reminders the threat it still very real.

Border Control Is a Matter of National Security. Explain that allowing illegal aliens any advantage in gaining permanent legal status ahead of legal immigrants is a slap in the face to legal immigrants and naturalized citizens. Announce that, effective immediately, the National Guard will secure our borders to prevent terrorists, disease-carriers, and smugglers from entering the U.S. They will stay there until suitable barriers and checkpoints are constructed – however long that takes. We will NOT encourage further invasion by offering amnesty, health insurance, and other tax-funded benefits for citizens of other countries who illegally enter/stay in the U.S. Speed up the process for legal immigration for those who want to come to the U.S. legally to become citizens and can find sponsors who will ensure they will stay off of public assistance. As for illegal aliens currently living in the United States – do not offer amnesty; they can go through the same channels of those who are trying to immigrate legally. If the border is secure, this problem will eventually take care of itself because their children born here are citizens and the illegals can continue to function as they have until they die off, if they don't want to go the legal route. Any illegal alien who serves honorably in the U.S. armed forces should be granted citizenship. If a true shortage of labor occurs (meaning American unemployment is low and employers need more temporary labor), a true guest worker program can be developed.

We're One Race - Human. Yes, "race"-based slavery was our national birth defect, and injustices persisted after slavery was abolished, but hostile racists have very little power now in our overall system. Law enforcement must have limited powers, and rioting shouldn't be tolerated.

Break the Street Gangs. Pledge federal agencies to assist state and local law enforcement "sweep and hold" gang-infested urban areas.

Encourage Responsible Gun Ownership. As it is the duty of every able person to stand up to evil & crime in protection of the innocent, responsible gun ownership, training, and practice should be encouaged, and state and local laws should allow for this

Declare the Growing National Debt Unacceptable. Explain that it is a basic function of the federal government to adopt a budget, and that it is unsustainable and immoral to accumulate increasing debt, thereby burdening future generations. The government should not encourage further dependency on government.

Don't be Santa Claus. Don't propose new federal programs and expansions of existing federal social programs. Enough already. There are 50 states in the union and a few territories that are supposed to be handling their own matters – that is, the matters that are not supposed to be left up to "the people".

Stop Using the Tax Code For Social Engineering. Tell the Congress that instead of taking the carrots (taxes) from the people and then dangling some of them back in front of the people, that the people should keep their carrots in the first place and do with them what they will. Call for tax simplification and a move away from income/payroll taxes. If someone pays taxes, everyone should pay taxes.

Individuals Should Plan for the Future. Talk about the numerous options individuals and families have for saving for the future. Encourage them to save and invest for the future and not rely on the federal government to take care of them in their senior years. Point out that a reduction in federal spending will allow people to keep more of their own money to aid in saving for retirement.

Explain that Planning for Your Health Care is Part of Planning for the Future. Call for more freedom, competition, and private decision-making in health care.

Equal Access to Free Markets. Explain some of the major benefits of free markets, and that the best thing the federal government can do to foster a good business climate that provides jobs is to provide protection from interstate crime and foreign terrorists, and to be involved as little as possibly in voluntary employment and business transactions, not picking winners or losers in business, subsidizing some and restricting upstarts while protecing established businesses.

Property Rights and Personal Freedom. Most Americans understand that people should be considered as individuals and based on their behavior and abilities, not as members of a non-ideological group (ethnicity, etc.). Therefore, the federal government should no longer be involved in preventing people from renting, selling - or not - to whomever they choose for whatever reason, and should no longer be involved with who an employer hires and fires and why. Airlines, for example, should not be forced to carry anyone who makes the majority of their employees and passengers uncomfortable. It is clear that people can succeed in the USA regardless of skin color, sex, or sexual orientation, and focusing on slights, imagined or real, based on these personal characteristics, is fostering hostility and division and self-defeating thinking, doing more harm than good.

Encourage private innovation and solutions to reducing reliance on terrorist oil.

Education Is a Private Responsibility. Given the state of American public education since the Carter administration, call for the dismantling of federal involvement in education.

Strong Marital Unions Are Good For the Union. It brings together both sexes to raise the next generation of citizens. Men and women are different, and unifying them in the marital union forms a strong, inclusive building block for society, benefiting the individuals and society. Encourage people to voluntarily take marriage seriously, thinking for the long term, getting good pre-marital counseling - and counseling during marriage as necessary. Encourage individuals, families, congregations, businesses, and the media to respect and value marriage, and support marriages instead of undermining them. Encourage individuals to save sex and childrearing for marriage, because doing so is good for them and good for the country. Call on the states to reforms laws and polices that punish people, especially men, for marrying.

Encourage Proven Conservation Techniques. Quote the scientists and activists who, in the 1970s, warned that we were heading for a new ice age, and quote those who said that by 2000, the rainforests and the oceans would be destroyed. Go on to say that we must not hastily and uncritically accept alarmist warnings and use federal government force to impose destructive restrictions on the people and business that may not result in significant environmental benefit.

Civility. Call on partisans to vigorously debate the issues, but refrain from threats of violence and character assassination, as they renew their vow to defend the Constitution.

Why a Gay Man Would Vote Republican

Something Leftists Democrats will often say is "Why would a gay person vote Republican?"

I can think of many reasons why.

Maybe the person cares more about...

1) American values and the American Trinity (Liberty, E Pluribus Unum, In God We Trust)
2) the economy
3) government (taxpayer) debt
4) government employee pension reform
5) rewarding instead of punishing private sector success
6) free markets
7) fiscal responsibility and sustainability
8) monetary policy
9) decreasing dependency on the government
10) economic liberty
11) private property rights
12) tax policy and reform
13) Constitutionally-limited government
14) Federalism
15) judicial restraint and strict constructionism
16) tort reform
17) education reform
18) protecting human life
19) protecting crime victims and holding criminals accountable
20) reformative and restorative justice and reducing crime
21) personal defense and Second Amendment rights
22) national defense
23) religious freedom
24) strong families and parental authority/responsibility

...and any number of other things than:

1) voting as part of a lockstep groupthink support for pandering politicians who divide the American people into different groups based on skin color, sex, sexual orientation, etc.

2) making sure that everyone is comfortable with - and affirming of -  everything a homosexual person does

3) reorganizing everything to make sure homosexual behavior is depicted and affirmed in each and every area of everyone’s life

4) neutering all state marriage licensing through judicial intrusion

In short, they care about other things more than whether or not a politician cheers the fact that a man gets his jollies with another man.

If our nation goes into decline because of fiscal irresponsibility, too much dependency rather than productivity, too much federal government micromanaging of our lives and businesses, identity politics balkanization, or ineffective national defense, things like whether Harvey Milk has enough space in grade school textbooks is going to be the least of a homosexual person’s worries.

The original question presumes that Republicans or Republican policies are "anti-gay". There are some Republicans who do not like people because they are homosexual, but there are some Democrats like that, too. Where in the national GOP platform is anything that is against homosexual people? Affirming that marriage = bride+groom and that such marriages are the ideal for raising children is in no way a knock on homosexual people – it is simply recognizing the difference between men and women and therefore a difference between the pairing of a man and a woman and the pairing of two men or two women. Are there any more Republicans than Democrats elected to major office (Congress, Governor) who have expressed hatred for homosexual people?

Republicans are against bullying and against violence to an innocent person or their property, regardless of their sexual orientation. I’m not aware of any prominent Republican with any power who wants to prevent homosexual people from having the freedom of association.

There are homosexual Republicans, and there are heterosexual Republicans who support many parts of the Leftist homosexual agenda. There are Republicans who want to improve things for "the gay community" through other means than judicial fiat.

So there shouldn't be anything confusing about why a homosexual person would vote for Republicans.

But the Leftist Democrats do this with all of the groups to which they pander with identity politics, including African Americans, Latino Americans, and Vaginal Americans. They identify someone by one aspect of their personal identity and tell that person they have to support Democrats... as if that person can't think for themselves and the only thing that matters about that person is what someone else is going to do for them based on their skin color or genitals or their genitals being the same as their partner's.

My State of the Unions 2014 Wish List

I know most of these positions will be completely avoided by President Obama, never mind that they wouldn't have a chance of being implemented with the current Senate, even with a Republican POTUS.  But permit me to dream. Also notice that with most of these, I'm calling on the President to encourage action by the people, not to use the force of law.

Explain That the Federal Government Is Not the Answer to Every Challenge, Problem, or Choice - Rather, it is the Last Resort Answer to Very Few. That is what freedom and liberty are all about.  Challenge individuals, businesses, congregations, nonprofits, and local and state governments (where appropriate) to take action instead of relying on the federal government. The federal government is there to protect the union from foreign threats and to and resolve some disputes between states.

Tout the Successes of the War on Terror. Laud those military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel who have uncovered and prevented terrorist plans and actions, pointing out that is has been over twelve years since terrorists have carried out a major attack in the U.S. Apologize for Benghazi and what happened in the wake of that terrorist attack.

Border Control Is a Matter of National Security. Explain that allow illegal aliens any advantage in gaining permanent legal status ahead of legal immigrants is a slap in the face to legal immigrants and naturalized citizens. Announce that, effective immediately, the National Guard will secure our borders to prevent terrorists, disease-carriers, and smugglers from entering the U.S. They will stay there until suitable barriers and checkpoints are constructed – however long that takes. We will NOT encourage further invasion by offering amnesty, health insurance, and other tax-funded benefits for citizens of other countries who illegally enter/stay in the U.S. Speed up the process for legal immigration for those who want to come to the U.S. legally to become citizens and can find sponsors who will ensure they will stay off of public assistance. As for illegal aliens currently living in the United States – do not offer amnesty; they can go through the same channels of those who are trying to immigrate legally. If the border is secure, this problem will eventually take care of itself because their children born here are citizens and the illegals can continue to function as they have until they die off, if they don't want to go the legal route. Any illegal alien who serves honorably in the U.S. armed forces should be granted citizenship. If a true shortage of labor occurs (meaning American unemployment is low and employers need more temporary labor), a true guest worker program can be developed.

Break the Street Gangs. Pledge federal agencies to assist state and local law enforcement "sweep and hold" gang-infested urban areas.

Encourage Responsible Gun Ownership. As it is the duty of every able person to stand up to evil & crime in protection of the innocent, responsible gun ownership, training, and practice should be encouaged, and state and local laws should allow for this. Apologize for Fast & Furious.

Declare the Growing National Debt Unacceptable. Explain that it is a basic function of the federal government to adopt a budget, and that it is unsustainable and immoral to accumulate increasing debt, thereby burdening future generations. The government should not encourage further dependency on government.

Don't be Santa Claus. NO BAILOUTS FOR FAILED (= Democrat) CITIES! Don't propose new federal programs and expansions of existing federal social programs. Enough already. There are 50 states in the union and a few territories that are supposed to be handling their own matters – that is, the matters that are not supposed to be left up to "the people".

Stop Using the Tax Code For Social Engineering. Tell the Congress that instead of taking the carrots (taxes) from the people and then dangling some of them back in front of the people, that the people should keep their carrots in the first place and do with them what they will. Call for tax simplification and a move away from income/payroll taxes. If someone pays taxes, everyone should pay taxes.

Individuals Should Plan for the Future. Talk about the numerous options individuals and families have for saving for the future. Encourage them to save and invest for the future and not rely on the federal government to take care of them in their senior years. Point out that a reduction in federal spending will allow people to keep more of their own money to aid in saving for retirement.

Explain that Planning for Your Health Care is Part of Planning for the Future. Call for more freedom, competition, and private decision-making in health care. "Reform"  Obamacare.

Equal Access to Free Markets. Explain some of the major benefits of free markets, and that the best thing the federal government can do to foster a good business climate that provides jobs is to provide protection from interstate crime and foreign terrorists, and to be involved as little as possibly in voluntary employment and business transactions, not picking winners or losers in business, subsidizing some and restricting upstarts while protecing established businesses.

Property Rights and Personal Freedom. Most Americans understand that people should be considered as individuals and based on their behavior and abilities, not as members of a non-ideological group (ethnicity, etc.). Therefore, the federal government should no longer be involved in preventing people from renting, selling - or not - to whomever they choose for whatever reason, and should no longer be involved with who an employer hires and fires and why. Airlines, for example, should not be forced to carry anyone who makes the majority of their employees and passengers uncomfortable. It is clear that people can succeed in the USA regardless of skin color, sex, or sexual orientation, and focusing on slights, imagined or real, based on these personal characteristics, is fostering hostility and division and self-defeating thinking, doing more harm than good.

Encourage private innovation and solutions to reducing reliance on terrorist oil.

Education Is a Private Responsibility. Given the state of American public education since the Carter administration, call for the dismantling of federal involvement in education.

Strong Marital Unions Are Good For the Union. It brings together both sexes to raise the next generation of citizens. Men and women are different, and unifying them in the marital union forms a strong, inclusive building block for society, benefiting the individuals and society. Call on the Federal government to help by continuing to affirm, as Presidents Clinton and Bush did, that marriage unites a man and a woman, and pledge that the federal government will not force states to recognize counterfeit marriages. Encourage people to voluntarily take marriage seriously, thinking for the long term, getting good pre-marital counseling - and counseling during marriage as necessary. Encourage individuals, families, congregations, businesses, and the media to respect and value marriage, and support marriages instead of undermining them. Encourage individuals to save sex and childrearing for marriage, because doing so is good for them and good for the country.

Encourage Proven Conservation Techniques. Quote the scientists and activists who, in the 1970s, warned that we were heading for a new ice age, and quote those who said that by 2000, the rainforests and the oceans would be destroyed. Go on to say that we must not hastily and uncritically accept alarmist warnings and use federal government force to impose destructive restrictions on the people and business that may not result in significant environmental benefit.

Civility. Call on partisans to vigorously debate the issues, but refrain from threats of violence and character assassination, as they renew their vow to defend the Constitution.

The Moral High Ground

It is immoral and counterproductive for the government to take money by force from one person or group of people and give it another unless the recipient is performing a Constitutionally assigned function or the function is otherwise a Constitutional mandate. - Personal Declaration of The Playful Walrus

Leftists want everyone to believe that people like me want poor people to die painful deaths in the streets, because people like me oppose unconstitutionally expanding federal government powers, higher income and capital gains tax rates, and paying for new programs with either increased debt or printing more money (which devalues the dollar).

Charity can't do it all, our Leftists friends say. But the fact is, this side of eternity, nobody can do it all.

Private, voluntary efforts could certainly do a lot more if the government eased up on micromanaging and let people keep more of their own earnings. With just about anything, private, voluntary efforts are more efficient than federal government. This is why the Constitution gives the federal government limited powers, and tells the federal government what it can do, not only what it can't do. Want a huge new federal program to fight "poverty", despite the spectacular failure of those that came before? Pass a Constitutional Amendment. The Constitution isn't there just to make sure you can pee all over The Bible and call it art.

Our Leftist friends what to confiscate, with guns draw if it comes to that, that for which people have worked, and give it to people who choose not to work, or to make unwise decisions about finances. That is immoral.

I want to help the needy. That is why I give to voluntary efforts. More of my Leftist friends could do the same if they worked harder and were better with what they earned. Leftist Billionaires can already give their money away, to charity or the U.S. Treasury, if they want to.

Funding Government: Of Fees and Taxes

How do governments get revenue with which to operate? No, contrary to what some would have you believe, it doesn’t magically appear out of nothing. There are some basic ways governments are funded:

Conquest, thereby gaining resources previously outside of that government's domain

Owning businesses, thereby selling goods and services.

Collecting rent

Selling land or mining rights, etc.

Gifts

Customs duties and tariffs on imported or exported goods

Taxes

Fees

Assessments

Fines and forfeitures


Some sources would list loans, bonds, tributes, and subventions, but each of these eventually necessitate one of the other funding means previously listed.

Let’s take a closer look at these funding methods.

Despite what the America-bashers say, we haven’t engaged in conquest in a long time. Very few people would advocate conquest in the historic sense. I do think a valid argument could be made for seizing the assets of nongovernmental terrorist groups and using those to fund our anti-terrorism efforts and to compensate American victims of terrorism.

The government should own very few, if any businesses. Free markets can take care of the needs there.

Collecting rent, for any land the government owns, is certainly valid. That rent should go first and foremost to the maintenance of that property.

Selling land and mineral rights. This could be a good idea. The government needs a certain amount of land for essential Constitutional functions, but otherwise should consider getting out of being a landowner.

People sometimes give gifts to local government, such as donating their land to be a municipal park upon their death. Gifts, such as statues, may come from other places. Gifts to governments should be under certain narrow circumstances to avoid the appearance of undue influence.

The "buy American" crowd loves the idea of duties and tariffs on imports.  However, these keep prices high for American consumers and reduce the incentive to Americans to provide goods and services that will be desired around the world.

Now we’re getting to the nitty-gritty.

Taxes are forced and supposedly for a common benefit. We have income taxes, capital gains taxes, property taxes, estate taxes, sales taxes, luxury taxes, sin taxes, gas taxes, so on and so forth. Although I highly doubt it will ever happen, most of these should be done away with. A sales tax may work, provided the government doesn’t lose too much through underground markets. Sales taxes will still mean "the rich" will be likely to pay most of the tax burden, because they tend to buy more expensive items. We should not allow taxes to be called “fees” for the sake of political comfort.

Fees are for a special benefit, collected upon a transaction. For example, not everyone owns a motorized vehicle. Some people own many. If we’re going to have government regulation of motorized vehicles and government programs and projects centering on them, it makes sense to charge fees for registering those vehicles in a way that covers enough of the costs so that someone who does not own such a vehicle does not have to pay a tax to support them. Retailers pay fees in order to have their scales and registers certified as accurate. Fees should not be used like income taxes. They should fund a specific, related purpose.

Assessments are charged on a property, usually for an extraordinary expense, such as public works or utility infrastructure construction. Assessments make more sense than most taxes, though in some cases, the same results can be achieved through private property and private infrastructure. For example, property owners in a certain area may pay an assessment to build and maintain a nearby bridge.

Provided they do not violate property rights, fines and forfeitures are another excellent way to fund government functions, and they do so widely now. When someone violates laws, necessitating a response from government, it would be ideal if they could pay for the costs of enforcement, investigation, conviction, and maybe even incarceration. If someone can make money by violating the law and a fine will only amount to a small percentage of their illicit gain, that is hardly a deterrent. But it makes sense to "tax" crime with fines and forfeitures.

So, taxes are not fees, fees are not taxes, and we should not try to hide taxes as fees nor treat fees like taxes. There are many ways for the government to fund its necessary functions without raising or even having income taxes or estate taxes.

My State of the Union 2013 Wish List

I know most of these positions will be completely avoided by President Obama, never mind that they wouldn't have a chance of being implemented with the current Senate, even with a Republican POTUS.  But permit me to dream. Also notice that with most of these, I'm calling on the President to encourage action by the people, not to use the force of law.

Explain That the Federal Government Is Not the Answer to Every Challenge, Problem, or Choice - Rather, it is the Last Resort Answer to Very Few. That is what freedom and liberty are all about.  Challenge individuals, businesses, congregations, nonprofits, and local and state governments (where appropriate) to take action instead of relying on the federal government. The federal government is there to protect the union from foreign threats and to and resolve some disputes between states.

Tout the Successes of the War on Terror. Laud those military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel who have uncovered and prevented terrorist plans and actions, pointing out that is has been over eleven years since terrorists have carried out a major attack in the U.S. Apologize for Benghazi and what happened in the wake of that terrorist attack.

Border Control Is a Matter of National Security. Explain that allow illegal aliens any advantage in gaining permanent legal status ahead of legal immigrants is a slap in the face to legal immigrants and naturalized citizens. Announce that, effective immediately, the National Guard will secure our borders to prevent terrorists, disease-carriers, and smugglers from entering the U.S. They will stay there until suitable barriers and checkpoints are constructed – however long that takes. We will NOT encourage further invasion by offering amnesty, health insurance, and other tax-funded benefits for citizens of other countries who illegally enter/stay in the U.S. Speed up the process for legal immigration for those who want to come to the U.S. legally to become citizens and can find sponsors who will ensure they will stay off of public assistance. As for illegal aliens currently living in the United States – do not offer amnesty; they can go through the same channels of those who are trying to immigrate legally. If the border is secure, this problem will eventually take care of itself because their children born here are citizens and the illegals can continue to function as they have until they die off, if they don't want to go the legal route. Any illegal alien who serves honorably in the U.S. armed forces should be granted citizenship. If a true shortage of labor occurs (meaning American unemployment is low and employers need more temporary labor), a true guest worker program can be developed.

Break the Street Gangs. Pledge federal agencies to assist state and local law enforcement "sweep and hold" gang-infested urban areas.

Encourage Responsible Gun Ownership. As it is the duty of every able person to stand up to evil & crime in protection of the innocent, responsible gun ownership, training, and practice should be encouaged, and state and local laws should allow for this. Apologize for Fast & Furious.

Declare That the Lack of a Budget, the Large Deficit, and the Growing National Debt Unacceptable. Explain that it is a basic function of the federal government to adopt a budget, and that it is unsustainable and immoral to accumulate increasing debt, thereby burdening future generations. The government should not encourage further dependency on government.
Don't be Santa Claus. Don't propose new federal programs and expansions of existing federal social programs. Enough already. There are 50 states in the union and a few territories that are supposed to be handling their own matters – that is, the matters that are not supposed to be left up to "the people".

Stop Using the Tax Code For Social Engineering. Tell the Congress that instead of taking the carrots (taxes) from the people and then dangling some of them back in front of the people, that the people should keep their carrots in the first place and do with them what they will. Call for tax simplification and a move away from income/payroll taxes. If someone pays taxes, everyone should pay taxes.

Individuals Should Plan for the Future. Talk about the numerous options individuals and families have for saving for the future. Encourage them to save and invest for the future and not rely on the federal government to take care of them in their senior years. Point out that a reduction in federal spending will allow people to keep more of their own money to aid in saving for retirement.

Explain that Planning for Your Health Care is Part of Planning for the Future. Call for more freedom, competition, and private decision-making in health care.

Equal Access to Free Markets. Explain some of the major benefits of free markets, and that the best thing the federal government can do to foster a good business climate that provides jobs is to provide protection from interstate crime and foreign terrorists, and to be involved as little as possibly in voluntary employment and business transactions, not picking winners or losers in business, subsidizing some and restricting upstarts while protecing established businesses.

Property Rights and Personal Freedom. Most Americans understand that people should be considered as individuals and based on their behavior and abilities, not as members of a non-ideological group (ethnicity, etc.). Therefore, the federal government should no longer be involved in preventing people from renting, selling - or not - to whomever they choose for whatever reason, and should no longer be involved with who an employer hires and fires and why. Airlines, for example, should not be forced to carry anyone who makes the majority of their employees and passengers uncomfortable. It is clear that people can succeed in the USA regardless of skin color, sex, or sexual orientation, and focusing on slights, imagined or real, based on these personal characteristics, is fostering hostility and division and self-defeating thinking, doing more harm than good.

Encourage private innovation and solutions to reducing reliance on terrorist oil.

Education Is a Private Responsibility. Given the state of American public education since the Carter administration, call for the dismantling of federal involvement in education.

Strong Marital Unions Are Good For the Union. It brings together both sexes to raise the next generation of citizens. Men and women are different, and unifying them in the marital union forms a strong, inclusive building block for society, benefiting the individuals and society. Call on the Federal government to help by continuing to affirm, as Presidents Clinton and Bush did, that marriage unites a man and a woman, and pledge that the federal government will not force states to recognize counterfeit marriages. Encourage people to voluntarily take marriage seriously, thinking for the long term, getting good pre-marital counseling - and counseling during marriage as necessary. Encourage individuals, families, congregations, businesses, and the media to respect and value marriage, and support marriages instead of undermining them. Encourage individuals to save sex and childrearing for marriage, because doing so is good for them and good for the country.

Encourage Proven Conservation Techniques. Quote the scientists and activists who, in the 1970s, warned that we were heading for a new ice age, and quote those who said that by 2000, the rainforests and the oceans would be destroyed. Go on to say that we must not hastily and uncritically accept alarmist warnings and use federal government force to impose destructive restrictions on the people and business that may not result in significant environmental benefit.

Civility. Call on partisans to vigorously debate the issues, but refrain from threats of violence and character assassination, as they renew their vow to defend the Constitution.

No Really, Gays Can Vote Romney

Even the Leftist marriage neutering advocates say about 20% of homosexual people are going to vote for Romney, yet I found Christopher Hennessy's great example of Stage One Thinking at the Huffing & Puffington Post.

If I hear one more person explain how, even though they believe in gay rights, they're voting for Romney, I'm going to lose my mind.

He's (I'm assuming the name "Christopher" means the person is a he) claimed to have a mind to beging with. He claims a Romney Presidencey would be "dangerous" and would may come at "the high cost of decimating right for gay people, women, the poor, and immigrants". Really? What rights? He never bothers to say. He just wants you to believe there is a monster under the bed and only Obama, who just four years ago said that marriage is between a man and a woman, can save us from the monster.

Then he quotes the hissy fit whine penned by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Doug Wright. Then, an open letter from Broaway star Max von Essens, and finally paraphrases someone who disagreed. (Does Hennessy get paid for columns that essentially are copy & pasted from elsewhere?)

I responded by pointing out what I saw as the first of our ironies in this story: that Obama has been thwarted at every move by a happy-to-admit-it obstructionist Congress, inherited a problem so large we're lucky we've made any progress at all, and had to deal with Greece and the EU and other realities of globalization that make completely fixing the economy in four years a ludicrous expectation.

But that's what Obama promised everyone. It is the kind of government Obama's trying to create that caused problems in those other countries to begin with, and dealing with Congress is something every President has had to do. It is how our Constitution is written, like it or not.

Then Hennessy writes delusional fiction dialogue about the dissenter's children, having been thoroughly indoctrinated by the marriage neutering advocates, being upset at her.

Then he tells us not to care about the future of our kids. After all, there are people who ... uh... might... have to... uh... go to a different state to get a neutered "marriage" license. CAN'T ANYONE SEE THE HORROR?!? I mean it is practically as if towns are getting together with chains, picthforks, and bonfires to lynch same-sex couples in broad daylight!!!

More importantly, we need to make clear to our friends and family what the stakes are for them. The stakes are our relationships with them, our continued willingness to meet them without rancor, to feel like part of the family, to not wonder how a slight decrease in their yearly taxes could mean more to them than we do.

So in other words, if he doesn't get what he wants, he's going to disown everyone. Toddler much? Hey, President Clinton SIGNED DOMA. Would Hennessy rebuff him?

Then he takes a swipe at the Boy Scouts, but manages to wrap up without bashing Chick-fil-A. Perhaps an editor wanted to keep the piece shorter for the sake of the website's target audience.

Homosexual people are free to live their lives and share their lives, which I think is a good thing, and that's not going to change with President Romney. This drama-queen nonsense is ridiculous. For years, homosexuality advocates called for tolerance, and now many of the same advocates call for intolerance. Their shades of fascism are enough reason to be wary of their political endorsements.

To insist that everyone must vote to re-elect Obama because he's now in favor of neutering marriage and Romney opposed neutering marriage shows a lack of perspective and priorities.

Vote for Romney. If you have some unstable, petulant person in your life who would react like Hennessy if they knew, don't tell them. The ballot is secret. All of us, including homosexual people, will be better off with Romney.

Please read Why a Gay Man Would Vote Republican.

What We Should Do, But Mostly Won't

Bob Gault of Laguna Niguel had a great letter printed in the Orange County Register:

In 2010, 90 percent of the nation voted for fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, California did not. Now we are stuck with a governor and Legislature that will not make the tough decisions to get us back to solvency. In fact, they are doubling down on debt with a bullet train costing billions of dollars and an attempt to tax us more with Proposition 30.

Please California, do the right thing with these four easy steps:

Vote for Mitt Romney. We cannot afford four more years of President Barack Obama’s incompetence in all aspects of the presidency.

Vote for Republican representatives to Congress and Senate, both federal and state.

Vote No on Prop. 30 to stop the taxation.

Vote Yes on Prop. 32 and stop politicians and unions from misusing your contributions.

Vote like your lifestyle and America depend on it, because they do.

Thanks, Mr. Gault!

The taxes in California are already ridiculous. The size of government has grown alarmingly, and California government is spending too much while stifling business.

The rest of the country should care, because at some point the rest of the country might be asked to bail out California. Are the people in the rest of the country ready to throw their money away covering the mistakes of the reconquistadors, nanny staters, environuts, Big Labor thugs, and gender confusion advocates?

Tony, Zev, Dick, and God

Poor Tony Villar.

Don't know who Tony Villar is? Just as Barry Soetoro became Barack Obama, Tony Villar became… Antonio Villaraigosa. Going by "Antonio" became politically advantageous, going by "Villaraigosa" became personally advantageous, as it is a combination of Villar's surname and his now ex-wife's surname. I wonder if he ever stands to urinate?

Villar was Speaker of California’s joke of an Assembly, City Councilmember in Los Angeles, and is now in the last lap of his term-limited reign as City of Los Angeles Mayor.

The political wonks/nerds in greater Los Angeles had expected County of Los Angeles Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, also a former City Councilmember, to run for Mayor and to get elected to follow Villar. Yaroslavsky, who is Left of center on much (he voted to remove a mission cross from the official county seal... one must wonder what would happen to the rosary beads on the city seal), is nonetheless no dummy. He's sharp and woe to anyone who gets into an argument with him, especially if they don't have their facts together.

The five-member County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors governs the county, each member representing over 2 million people. They hold legislative, most executive, and a little judicial power. There are still many parts of the county that are unincorporated, and this the Board serves as the direct governing authority for those areas. In addition, many cities contract with the county government for certain services rather than hire their own staff, and there are some government functions generally retained at the county, rather than city, level. The County of Los Angeles, which is run much better than the City of Los Angeles (but that's not saying much), has to deal with raids of funds by the disastrously-run State of California as it has various disputes with the city.

The City of Los Angeles is so poorly run they can't even fix their sidewalks. The city's infrastructure is crumbling, and businesses find the climate there to be hostile.

While the City of Los Angeles has a Mayor and a 15-member City Council, The county does not have a Mayor or equivelant; not long ago the Board of Supervisors elevated the office of Chief Administrative Officer to Chief Executive Officer with some reorganizing, but the position is appointed by the Board. A slot of the five-member Board of Supervisors was essentially a lifetime position (the last time an incumbent was defeated was 1980), but now term limits are taking effect.

Yaroslavksy has long wanted to be City of Los Angeles Mayor. Term limits will remove him from his county position. So why wouldn't he go for it, and extend his political career longer than he could by staying on the County Board of Supervisors?

My guess is that he agrees with businessman Richard Riordan, the last good Mayor the city has had for at least 39 years. (It is no accident that Riordan is registered as a Republican.) Riordan predicts the city will declare bankruptcy in 2013. So it seems obvious to me that Yaroslavsky doesn't want that to stain his legacy. Why will the city go bankrupt? Well, eight years of Tony Villar hasn't helped matters.

Villar is infamous around southern California for his desperation to be on-camera as much as possible. To put it in crude terms, he's an attention whore. He's even ended up dating local news anchors/reporters, one such relationship coming at (or causing) the end of his marriage. At least one of these anchors reported on him and his marriage at the time. So it must have been a painful twist of fate for Villar to be given a prominent role at the Democratic National Convention, only to have the first moment in his entire life during which he regrets being on-camera.

The bogus "let's boo God" fraudulent vote must have been a very painful experience for Villar, who clearly had his marching orders of cleaning up what was either a botched piece of the Democrat platform or an intentionally set-up trial message to Lord-knows-who. But the delegates were not cooperating. Villar needed 2/3rds of them to approve. He got perhaps 1/2... far short of what he needed. He polled them twice more, which was a stupid move, and like Peter denying Jesus three times, at least half of the delegates present denied God three times, then some of them grumbled after the bogus vote, because Villar went ahead and declared the matter approved. One must wonder if Obama plans on having Villar count the votes in November?

Villar will probably be out of office by the time the City of Los Angeles has its fiscal collapse, but people should remember that the guy who did this slimy thing at the DNC had eight years to do something to prevent the collapse, and he failed. It's a shame Yaroslavsky won't be taking the Mayor's office. If it must be a Democrat, Yaroslavsky has at least some sense.

You can read more about the bogus DNC vote and see video:

http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/bobbeauprez/2012/09/06/act_of_god_jerusalem_a_disaster_for_dems

http://www.dailynews.com/columnists/ci_21498589/doug-mcintyre-los-angeles-mayor-antonio-villaraigosa-brings

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2012/09/08/villaraigosa_on_god_jerusalem_vote_i_definitely_heard_a_23_majority

http://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2012/09/09/the_dnc_as_i_saw_it

Why OC Should be Free of LA and SF

The Orange County Register frequently prints excellent letters to the editor. I generally find that the letters there are better than those printed in the Los Angeles Times, and there's never a paywall that pops up on the Register's website. I do wonder how much the hits have dropped at LATimes.com since they cut back on access. But I digress.

Here's a good set of letters.

Mike Rodgick of Trabuco Canyon wrote about road to Hell and what it is paved with:

Some, including the founding fathers, believe that liberty and personal responsibility are the highest state of man. The best way to achieve the greater good was to allow each to reap the rewards of their own labors. They were right of course, beholden to no one, following their dreams, laboring for themselves and their families. America became the most prosperous nation on Earth, others not so much.

We all agree that slavery, forcing someone to work for the benefit of others is immoral. Yet, some believe taking money, which is the product of our labors for the benefit of others, is not evil. Voluntary acts of charity are truly noble endeavors, whereas coerced charity is little more than theft and economic slavery.

We all feel sorry for those who are in dire straits through no fault of their own, but the forced subsidy of those who continuously make poor life choices, the unambitious and lazy, tattooed, drug-dealing, gun-running gang bangers and all who take advantage of our social system is counterintuitive and counterproductive. Some are truly less deserving than others. Remove the penalty for failure and remove the reward for success and we will reap what we have sown.

Tim I. Martin of Corona:

The Democrats love painting Mitt Romney as a heartless rich guy who likes to fire people. The truth is that we all appreciate the ability to fire people who aren’t providing services they were hired to do. While most of us have fired food preparers and others whose products weren’t up to our standards, let’s look at firings on an even bigger scale than that of Romney.

He goes on to provide quite the list. Then...

This November, American voters will decide whether or not to fire Barack Obama, who had no problem firing General Stanley McChrystal over comments by subordinates.

Every divorce in this country is the result of somebody getting fired. Many people have become great successes after getting fired. Both hiring and firing are integral parts of life. Ironically, our president continues to use one of his favorite campaign exhortations: “Fired up!”

He's right. There are some other great letters at that link, but there are also some at this one.

Jef Eales of Mission Viejo:

It is interesting how JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is getting grilled by Congress, again over a $2 billion trading loss. To create some perspective, President Barack Obama and Congress (which hasn’t passed a budget since Obama has become president) have run an average $1.6 trillion deficit per year. The $2 billion loss equates to about 11 hours’ worth of deficit funding to run the country.

Furthermore, the JPMorgan loss is private capital. Accountability and risk will be appropriately rewarded or punished by the market. Unlike the president, who promotes running the country by a negative $2 billion every 11 hours, there is minimal or no outcry or accountability or grilling in the media.

Didn’t he say he would cut the deficit by half if he became president? Why does Obama get a pass on the deficit issue? Put this in perspective, folks.

He's right.

Harold Bradford of Huntington Beach: .

Rodney King was a convicted criminal in the act of committing another crime, drinking and speeding and driving, when the police intervened [“Impact of troubled life gauged,” Front Page, June 18].

Had he been obeying the law nothing would have happened to him. He wasn’t worth the sweat from the forehead of any of the officers involved. He’s lucky one of them didn’t shoot him.

The acquittal of the officers by a jury with backbone wasn’t the cause of the Los Angeles race riots. It was just an excuse for the arsonists, looters, muggers and other criminals to act like the animals they were. Their actions should have been met with whatever level of force was necessary to restore order.

He's right.

The people of Orange County should not have to endure a state controlled by San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Thank You, Andrew Klavan and Bill Whittle

And thanks to Tammy Bruce blogger Maynard for calling our attention to this:

Back to the 1990s on Taxes?

Robert Grebner of Brea is another one of those Orange County Register letter writers who makes reading the paper's letters a pleasure. He provided this gem:

President Barack Obama has recommended that taxes should be raised to the levels of the 1990s, a time of great prosperity under President Bill Clinton. I find this proposal highly interesting, and it should be implemented with just one slight addition. As taxes are raised to 1990s levels, spending should be mandated to drop to the same 1990s levels. Problem solved.