Month: June 2016

Christianity has been around for 2,000 years, and its teachings should not be lightly discarded.  When I was a little boy my church, the Catholic, taught me that of the seven deadly sins, pride was the most offensive to God.  I’m sure Judaism has a similar view, as did the Greeks.  The people who put pride at the top of the list were wise men, who thought things through.  I’ve never spent any time thinking about ethics, morals or philosophy, so I’m prepared to accept the thoughtful opinions of the ancients.  Pride is the greatest sin, in my book.

And Trump is a sinner, and will pay for his sin, if he hasn’t already.  The man is practically a peacock.  And I think it’s wearing on people, and will only get worse.  He’s not going to change, and his act is already stale.

The Clintons and the Hive haven’t even really started on him, and he’s in deep trouble.  These polls are pre-Orlando, and I think Trump gets a bump out of Orlando.  But he needs a lot more than a bump.  70% disapproval, and 55% saying they will never vote for him?  My God, by the time they’re done with him he’ll be in single digits.

Alan I. Abramowitz and John Sides of the WaPo analyze their polling in a way that tells me Johnson has an even better chance than I thought.  33% of the voters hate Trump, and like Clinton.  30% of voters hate Clinton, and like Trump.  23% of voters hate them both.  That number, 23%, is where Johnson starts from.  I’m one of those people.  I’ve never voted Libertarian in my life, and I’m about to.  So will a whole hell of a lot of that 23%.  So, if you look at it that way, he’s only ten points off the lead.

Johnson’s running as a Libertarian, which takes in a lot of territory.  His challenge is to narrow the focus of the campaign to those aspects of libertarianism which are most appealing to the broader electorate.  Specifically, I’m suggesting he emphasize his dedication to the Constitution.  There’s nothing in the Constitution that gives the President, or the federal government, the right to tell the states anything about the peripheral parts of libertarianism  — legalization of drugs, abortion, gay marriage, etc.  Therefor Johnson’s opinions on those subjects are irrelevant to his campaign for the Presidency.  Whenever anybody asks him about those issues, he should refer them to the Constitution.

That’s how he can get the support of Sen. Ben Sasse, who’s also a member of that 23% that I belong to.  And he’s an ardent, principled constitutionalist.  There are others like him.  Somebody just has to take the plunge.  The wind seems to be blowing in that direction.  It’s as though there’s the scent of blood in the water.

Mayor Dan Sullivan is still putting together his campaign for the Senate.  He says he’ll only  need 45 days to do it, so he’ll start in after the Fourth of July.  I like that, the idea of shortening the campaign.  I think it’s smart.  Why waste the time, energy, and money, when all you need is 45 days?  Some of the conservative groups who he hopes will fund his campaign want to meet him face to face, which is only reasonable.  Once he meets them I’m sure they’ll be on board.  My God, they backed political novice Joe Miller six years ago, and they dislike Murkowski even more now.

He’ll probably start off in Ketchikan, up through the Inner Passage to Valdez, where his grandfather was the U.S. Marshall back in the Gold Rush days.  Then up to Fairbanks, where his father was a United States Marshall in the early  50’s.  Then down the railbelt, through Anchorage, where he and his father were successful two term mayors.  Add in some flights to the Bush, and you can do that in 45 days, easy.  So Mayor Dan has his schedule all worked out, in his head, at least.  He may not be the man his father was.  Damn few are.  But he’s got enough of old George in him to get it done.

From  my personal perspective, it would be justice done.

I always thought Mitt Romney had some serious Daddy issues.  His father was a better man than he is, and he wanted the Presidency, at least in part, to redeem his father’s good name.  George Romney had a good shot at the ’68 nomination, but then he said he was brainwashed by what American officials told him in Vietnam, and it was over for him.  He was made to look foolish, and somehow unqualified.  Son Mitt would erase that memory.

Romney lost the election in the second debate, when he allowed the female moderator to interrupt and contradict him.  Maybe he was too much of a gentleman, or maybe he lacked self-confidence, but that moment of weakness sank him.  Candidates matter.  No statistical model in the world can factor in a critical moment like that.

But after Perry’s back gave out on him, Romney was the best we had in 2012.  I think he earned a lot of good will in that campaign.  He has a wonderful family, and he did a damn good job, all in all.  Then came the hurricane and the Christie hug, and it was over, just like that, almost as though it wasn’t meant to be.  Most Republicans think well of Romney, in my opinion.

So when he told CNN that he’s open to voting Libertarian this year, it’s worth noticing.  The VP pick, Weld, has a special appeal to him, as a predecessor Republican Governor of Massachusetts.  Potentially, this is a big deal.  How often does the previous Presidential nominee of a major political party endorse a different party’s candidate in the following election?  Like, never.

So it would be news, especially in Utah, which should be the initial target of the Johnson campaign.  How about a presser in Salt Lake making the announcement of a Romney endorsement?

Romney may feel, as I do, that both Clinton and Trump would continue the degradation of the Constitution.  If he feels as strongly about constitutionalism as I do, that’s a major reason to go with Johnson, who is also softer on immigration than Trump, which might also appeal to Romney.  And Johnson is an honorable man.  I’ll bet that means a lot to Romney.  Clinton’s a criminal, and Trump’s a nut, so Johnson looks pretty good in comparison.

The hangup might be NATO, and hawkishness in general.  Romney’s an Atlanticist, with close ties to the British.  His wife is the daughter of Welsh immigrants.  But, then again, he’d probably take anybody over the unpredictable Trump.

Now that Putin has seen the oppo research on Trump from the DNC, will he share it with the Donald?   Inquiring minds want to know.

“Free Trade is Dead” according to Clyde Prestowitz in the Washington Monthly.  This guy’s an old pro, and what he says makes sense.  During the Cold War we gave away a lot in trade deals, for geopolitical reasons.   Our number one national priority was defeating the Communists, and we allowed that to interfere with what normally would have been our self interest.  We’ve continued to do it, even though the Cold War is over.  In other words, these one way trade deals are an artifact of the 20th century, just like NATO.

What I want is Trumpism without Trump.  The son of a bitch just happens to be right on the big stuff, like unfair free trade, NATO, and immigration.  But, unfortunately , he’s a fruitcake.   When he goes down, we’ve got to make sure it’s understood that it was not because of what he said.  He’ll lose because of who he is, not what he thinks.

I have a tendency to pronouncement.  Back in 1846, when we were in the process of taking California, the local Mexican government was divided between two caudillos, who had no real resources at their disposal.  All they had was hot air, which they let out in what was called a Pronunciamento, proclaiming their latest orders to the people.  It was all a joke.  Many, if not most, of the Californio estate owners were in favor of becoming American.  People like Vallejo.  So there really wasn’t much to the whole thing.

Except the Battle of San Pascual, where Kearny’s remnant of an army was surrounded, and Kit Carson and another guy slipped through the Californio lines and walked barefoot across thirty miles of rough country to San Diego, where help was summoned.

I don’t live far from the Carson Pass over the Sierras, which I think is cool.

Since we’re all stuck on the same continent, we need to have tight relations with our neighbors.  Canadians are crazy about hockey, but otherwise they’re more or less Americans without a Constitution. Mexicans are the ones we need to work a deal with.

The problem is, Mexican history is a joke.  They celebrate their American Native ancestry, but the cold historical fact is that one bad ass Spaniard and 500 men took down their whole civilization.  And the descendants of those Spaniards still call the shots.

And then there’s that little embarrassment called the Mexican-American War, when we stole half their country, with malice aforethought.  When you read the history of that war, if you’re a Mexican, you can’t feel very proud of your country.  There were many brave Mexican soldiers, but their leaders were worthless cowards.

For instance, the Governor of New Mexico in 1845 had a real opportunity to defeat the invading American army under Kearny.  As they came south to Santa Fe the Americans had to pass through a narrow canyon, easily defended.  The local Mexicans had it all set up, and it was going to be a tough fight, but then the Governor grabbed all the money he could get his hands on and skedaddled.  The pass was never defended, and the Americans waltzed into Santa Fe, and conquered the capital of New Mexico without firing a shot.  The entire Mexican government was utterly corrupt, and we bought their country as much as we stole it.

The Mexicans may see things differently, but those are the facts.  And when a Mexican talks about Reconquista he’s talking about getting that land back.  And that subculture of America called El Norte in American Nations is a symptom of that.  But they’re doing it by infiltration, and birth rates, not with an army.  And it’s working for them, but it’s reached its limit.

If I was Gary Johnson, while Trump is flying off to see Putin, I’d go to Mexico City and spend some serious time with the Mexican President.  Johnson’s from New Mexico.  When he had his construction company, I’ll bet most of his employees were Mexican-Americans, and I’m sure he had good relations with them.  It’s good business.

Babbie and I spent a few days in New Mexico recently, in Taos and Santa Fe.  It has a different feel to it than any other part of the country I’ve been in, a kind of an El Norte feel.  It’s sort of a Mexican-American state.  Mexicans and Americans have been living beside one another, and often intermarrying, for a very long time.  Kit Carson’s beautiful young wife was a Mexican girl from Santa Fe.  I got the feeling that there wasn’t a lot of Anglo-Mexican problems.  People seemed to get along.  Of course, I was mainly in the nice tourist sections, but I still think I’m right.

What I’m driving at is that Gary Johnson is a perfect guy to have talking to the Mexicans.  He may speak Spanish for all I know.  We need to work out an understanding with the Mexican government on immigration.  They need to stop Central Americans from crossing their country to get to ours.  And we need some controls, and limits on immigration from Mexico.  If the Mexican government actively cooperated with us on an agreed immigration system, it could work.

At some point, the good sense of the American people is going to have its way, and immigration from around the world, especially the Middle East, will be tightly controlled.  I think that has to happen, or we get more Orlandos, and then the American people get totally pissed off, not just the Trump people.  Part of that will include working with the Canadians and the Mexicans.  Johnson should get a head start on it.

Immigration is an issue that will be addressed in this campaign, and it’s going to hurt Clinton.  I want that issue working for Johnson, as well as Trump.

When I was fifteen a few of my friends and I decided to make some money working the fields at $1.25 an hour.  We got out to the Central Valley and got hired to do some weeding with a hoe.  Nobody lasted more than a few hours.  The people doing the work were all Mexicans, with a couple of blacks.  I think of that every time I drive in the Central Valley and see the workers in the fields.

 

Webster’s:  “To discriminate is to separate like things one from another in comprehension or use by discerning minute differences.”

Armenians and Chechens are distinct ethnic groups from the Caucasus.  Looking at them, they’re similar.  But the differences between them are far from minute.  As distinct from Armenians, Chechens are among the most violent people on earth.  They’re raised that way, and they like the way they are.  The Boston Marathon bomber was a Chechen, and he acted like one.

Pashtuns are from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, and rival the Chechens in their ferocity.  They’ve been this way since forever, and they don’t intend to change.  From all accounts, the Orlando killer was a proud Pashtun, just like his immigrant father.

Because we don’t discriminate against Chechens or Pashtuns, we allow them to immigrate to this country.  It cost us in Boston, and it just cost us 53 lives in Orlando.  Because we refuse to discriminate, we die.

This is why Trump could get elected.  People have had it with being patsies.  Some whack job from Chechnya or Pashtun claims he’s a refugee, so we bring them to our country, where their sons kill us.  And Obama gets on the tube and says we have to be nicer to LGBT people.  No wonder people vote for Trump.

Trump’s a charlatan and a liar, but he’s also an unabashed patriot.  To a lot of people, that makes up for a lot.  Almost a year ago there was a lot of chatter about authenticity in the presidential candidates  —  who had it, and who didn’t.  Trump comes across as authentic, even if he’s not.  And he is authentically patriotic, which is more than you can say for the internationalist, U.N.-loving, cosmopolitan Clinton.  She’s a sophisticated woman of the world, who believes, along with her husband, in one world government.  So advantage Trump.

I saw Jeff Sessions on the tube and he said we have to vote for Trump or we’ll lose the Heller decision, and the Second Amendment.  But Sessions doesn’t know who Trump would appoint to the Supreme Court.  Nobody knows,  not even Trump.

Trust Trump?  Forget it.

The first thing I thought when I heard about the shooting in a gay bar was that it wouldn’t happen in a cowboy bar.  But it turns out you can’t carry concealed in any bar in Florida.  Safety, don’t you know.  There are a whole lot of concealed carry permit holders in Florida, and I’m sure some of them are gay.  If one of them had had his weapon, and knew how to use it, he could have saved dozens of lives.  Isn’t it a little odd that these slaughters occur in “safe zones”, like college campuses, and black churches, and public schools, where weapons are prohibited?  Actually, no, it’s not.  You’ve never seen a shooting at an NRA meeting, and you never will.  There is no safety in disarmament, only danger.

We have a right not only to keep, but to bear arms.  There’s a reason the word “bear” is in the Second Amendment.  It means carry, as in carry concealed.  I  carry all the time, and to hell with the law.  I have a constitutional right that supersedes any law.  I’m 70, with a lot of white hair  — a polar bear, according to some inner city blacks, a target for sucker punching.  Except I’ve got an ankle holster and a .38.  I try to avoid some black parts of Oakland, as does every sane white person.  I’m not Charles Bronson.  But self protection is the only thing between me and harm to me and mine.  And if I am not for myself, who will be for me?

Orlando was not a black swan.  The odds were in the terrorists’ favor.  They only have to get it right once, and there are a lot of them.  I can’t help  but feel this is going to keep happening.  If Trump were a normal Republican it would be enough to elect him.  But he’s a bullshit artist, a con man, and it’s going to catch up to him.

I haven’t checked out Johnson’s position on the Second Amendment, but he’s from the Far West, and a libertarian, so I’m sure he’s solid.  But he needs to rethink his position on immigration.

Soon.

 

Trump’s next gambit may be a trip to Moscow for a man to man chat with Putin.  Two tough guys, taking each other’s measure, but ready to make a deal.  Paul Manafort can set it all up.  He helped Putin puppet Viktor Yanukovych win the Presidency of the Ukraine back in 2010.  Yanukovych was later chased out of the Ukraine, and has supposedly taken Russian citizenship.  I’ll wager Manafort stays in touch with him, and he’s got a direct line to Putin.  In other words, Trump has a back channel to Putin.

But maybe a visit wouldn’t be such a good idea.  Putin may make a move on Ukraine this summer, and Trump doesn’t want to be seen endorsing that.  Trump will oppose the use of American force to stop it, as will Johnson, I expect.  This puts Obama, and Clinton, in a very tough spot, and they’ll have no real choice but to back down.  This country won’t go to war for the Ukraine, or anybody else, for that matter (with certain exceptions).

Later this year the 40 foot high statue of Saint Vladimir should be completed, located right next to the Kremlin.  He brought Christianity to Russia a thousand years ago, and Putin reveres him, as he does the Russian Orthodox Church.  Putin wants Russia to be a Christian nation.  This is another reason we won’t go to war with Russia.  We’re a Christian nation, and we are at war with radical Islam.  Russia can be an ally in that war.  It’s more important than the Ukraine, or the Baltics, for that matter.  The American people understand that.

All this helps Trump.  He’ll be disqualified if Clinton and the Hive have their way.  But if he’s not destroyed, it seems to me that foreign policy crises, or terrorist incidents, help him.

It’s possible all this could redound to Johnson’s benefit.  This is all idle speculation, but it’s all I’ve got.  Johnson wants the Clinton and media attacks on Trump to succeed.  He wants Trump so beaten up and discredited that he, Johnson, is the only viable alternative to the Harridan.

Tuesday is the South Carolina legislative primary, and 84 year old Hugh Leatherman has a serious challenger.  I’m hoping for an upset, but old Hugh still knows how to win votes.  As long as he’s in the Senate, his district will get more than its share of state money.  Hugh has delivered on that for over 30 years, and it’s a poor district.

So we’ll probably have to deal with Leatherman again next year.  Why in the name of God his Senate Republican colleagues surrender so much of their power to this guy amazes me.  But they do, and he rules the Senate, and the legislature, with an iron fist.  We have to find a way to get to Leatherman.  I have a hunch it can be done, but it will need to be a pretty big carrot.  South Carolina, Virginia and Montana will be our toughest states.  I think we have to raise some money in order to get them.

There are, presumably, some big Republican donors who are not going to give to Trump.  If just one of them was smart enough to understand the opportunity represented by the Article V BBA, we’d have enough to do it.  But most of these donors are interested in access, or in the prestige of being associated with a Presidential candidate.  Little things like the Constitution aren’t that sexy.

1968 was a crazy political year, just nuts.  2016 has the same feel.