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The Pressure Cooker of Freedom

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  The Pressure Cooker of Freedom A pressure cooker is heating up in American politics. The upcoming election requires critical thought to release the pressure that could otherwise blow up the country. Listening to the speeches at the Democratic National Convention, I was struck by Obama’s emphasis on values. It occurred to me that while much of what was said sounded good, these ideas cannot be fully realized by merely tinkering with the government. Effective governance sets up guardrails that encourage behaviors benefiting the common good. However, good behavior cannot be legislated. True freedom requires us to manage the pressure of our national debt through sound governance. The Obamas and Kamala emphasized hope as the value that sustains freedom. I disagree. While I concur that freedom is our crowning value, it is actually a function of four competing forces: liberty, equality, order, and disorder. Liberty is the mantra of the Republican Party, deeply embedded in our Constitution.
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Doug Mastriano for Governor of Pennsylvania!

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Doug Mastriano, the republican Candidate for governor, has recently been unfairly attacked about his competence on his doctoral thesis which was published in the book entitled “Alvin York” A new biography of the hero of the Argonne.” I checked this book out of the library recently to see his research for myself.  Sergeant York is a famous soldier from World War I. With the help of seven soldiers from his platoon he poked a whole in the Aragon line and captured 132 German soldiers. This saved countless American lives in the stalemate of WWI. In the book he is very open about Sergeant York’s faith in Jesus Christ. In this day of inclusionary cynical criticism many people may find his book to be exclusionary and perhaps offensive. He has been criticized for believing eye witness accounts which may not be accurate. Many professionals have done research in the past only to be proven in error when technology advances to a point to further illuminate conclusions. The position maps may have di
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US Senate votes to Acquit Donald Trump!

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  Violence has been breached as a grassroots political strategy. In the past violence has been initiated by civil rights and patriot leaders. In the future, a person with a cell phone and followers can initiate mob violence with questionable motives. There will be more violence by Republicans and Democrats in the future. Whatever happened to domestic tranquility? #SenateImpeachmentTrial “The Capitol riot revealed a new force in American politics — not merely a mix of right-wing organizations, but a broader mass political movement that has violence at its core and draws strength even from places where Trump supporters are in the minority,” a quote from, "The Atlantic". (These next two paragraphs are from Lisa Lerer @llerer at the NYT.) That force shows little sign of backing down: Two weeks ago, the Homeland Security Department issued a rare terrorism alert warning that violent extremists were emboldened by the attack and motivated by “the presidential transition, as well as o
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Buy US Saving Bonds with Your Stimulus Check! (If you can) #Coronavirus

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We live in trying times. A virus pandemic is upon us that is projected to kill over 60,000 people. This will surpass the 57,933 casualties from the Vietnam War. It does not come close to the 405,000 Americans who gave their lives in WWII, or the 620,000 who died in the Civil War. However, this is a new kind of war that requires a new kind of battle strategy. In the past our federalist system worked well when emergencies allowed us to centralize command and control through exceptions like the  Gulf of Ton-kin Resolution and the Patriot Act. It will take more than invoking the Defense Production Act to fight the outbreak that is currently plaguing our nation. This act was not meant to fight epidemics. It was created to give the president command and control to marshal military supplies in the Korean War. To fight a war against an unseen enemy like a virus we will need new kinds of resources, a coordinated strategy and structural change. An old Chamber of Commerce friend of mine Ste
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The Pandemic of the Federal Deficit on #SuperTuesday!

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I can still remember when I received my first paycheck. My first question was, "Who is this FICA and why are they taking all my money"? I learned quickly that take home was not the same as gross income, and math became important to me. Of course I learned that FICA stands for our Social Security system, and then after questioning it resigned myself to the fact that I was forcibly saving for retirement. Later while I was  working for the US Chamber of Commerce, I realized that the trust fund that I was paying into was in jeopardy because the government was borrowing from it to offset the deficit. The federal deficit is the difference between what the government spends and takes in each year. From the Washington Post "The U.S. Treasury released eye-popping numbers this week that show the federal budget deficit is on course to cross $1 trillion in fiscal 2020, yet nobody seems to care." I know that I risk people's eyes glazing over when I discuss math
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Why did Donald Trump win the 2016 Election?

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President Donald Trump may have his faults, weaknesses and more gaffs than Joe Biden, but he tapped into something that got him elected in 2016. The President, like Virginia Wolfe and James Joyce, has a strong feel for streams of consciousness. Many people have observed this and written about it since his election. Now that he is running for re-election, it is time to analyze the motive behind his groundswell of support in rural America. Picture taken from the Fair Observer.com Peter Isackson  •  Sep 10, 2019 Most people who have written about Trump's political success have focused on the rhetoric of hate. They sincerely believe that hate is the motivation when the president speaks about race, gender, and immigration issues. They believe that his groundswell of support is reflecting that hate. They look at the name calling of Mexican migrants as "gang members and very bad people." When hate responses occur at these rallies, like when he asks, "Wha
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Democratic Debate Analysis

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Democratic Candidate Debate Analysis Here are some observations from the first night of the second series of debates. Eight of ten democratic candidates on the stage were from rural areas of the United States. This makes a lot of sense since Donald Trump won the Electoral College with the power of the rural vote. The Electoral College hails back to the earliest days of our republic.   James Madison was concerned about dominating factions who would operate at the expense of the country as a whole. The pioneers of America pushed west, and faced dangers on their lives, liberty, and property. The lack of judicial adjudication in these western borderlands was a primary cause of the Revolutionary War. The Proclamation Line of 1763 gave American pioneers notice that England was going to side with Native American over the colonists on property arguments. Rural people receive over representation in our government. If you compare the state of Wyoming with Los Angeles California, then Wyo
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