An Open Letter to Ronna McDaniel, RNC Chair

Dear Ms. McDaniel:

As I’m sure you’re aware, there was talk of Donald Trump abandoning the Republican Party and forming a new “Patriot Party,” but instead he chose to focus his post-presidential activities on winning the House and Senate back from Democrats in 2022.

While Trump never publicly stated his desire to form a new political party, there mere idea that he was mulling it over should come as no surprise to anyone. Trump won the White House in 2016 despite a not-insignificant number of Republicans publicly opposing him and his candidacy. Trump’s leadership of the party and the country throughout his four-year term was met with withering resistance from these Republicans in concert with the Democrats; indeed, it was a wayward Republican senator that dramatically cast the deciding vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Then, a virtual tsunami of voting and election irregularities started becoming evident even before Election Day 2020.  States implemented changes to their election processes not by legislative action as the state constitutions demanded, but by fiat and judicial decree. Big Media deliberately blacked out any real mention of Hunter Biden’s shady foreign dealings. Numerous sworn depositions were taken from election officials, postal workers and others, recounting blatantly illegal actions they witnessed in attempting to unfairly tip the scales in favor of the Democrat candidate. Significant statistical improbabilities were seen in the vote counting. Chain-of-custody documentation was incomplete or missing entirely. Pristine and uniformly-marked mail-in ballots without creases were counted. The list goes on.

What was the Republican reaction?  Not much. No calls for a special counsel, no loud demands for investigations, nothing. It seemed that most Republicans were happy to unconditionally accept the results of the election and welcome Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

Here we are months later, and there’s still been no attempts by our representatives in government to provide We the People with answers to, or explanations for, most of the anomalies that were observed around the election. This ho-hum response from elected officials on both sides of the aisle enraged Republican voters and even some Democrats. Voters on both sides of the aisle have lost confidence in our electoral process and believe the election was rigged.  Not only this loss of trust unacceptable, but it is poisonous.

The culture and politics of the United States continue to creep ever leftward. In the last decade or two it’s been more of a brisk walk than a slow crawl. One key reason for this is disciplined Democrats successfully executing a long-term strategy, infiltrating many of the nation’s institutions of mass influence -- such as education, media, and entertainment -- and polluting them with leftist ideologies. Millions of Americans are tired of this and believed Donald Trump was the man who could lead the party in the direction necessary to reverse this longtime trend.

Could he have been successful with the strong support of fellow Republicans? We’ll never know. What we do know is that he didn’t have that support.

Republicans have been embarrassingly ineffective at slowing or stopping this leftward slide towards the abyss. If there is any hope for the Republican party to remain viable and strong, you and your leadership team need to broaden your focus beyond fundraising and come up with a successful strategy to address this erosion, sooner than later. If you don’t, there will be more talk and eventually action to create a new party that will address this problem, and the Republican party will join the Whigs in the dustbin of history.

"Systemic Racism" Isn't a Thing in America. Period.

Ronald Reagan once said, "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, but that they know so much that isn't so." 

That's certainly the case when it comes to race.

As much as Democrats, educators, the 'news' media, celebrities, corporations, professional athletes and others loudly bemoan "systemic racism," it just doesn't exist in this country. Garden-variety racism, for the most part, doesn't either.

Systemic racism officially ceased to be a thing when, much to Democrats' chagrin, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Today, there is absolutely no evidence -- anectodal or otherwise -- of the ridiculous assertions that America is a racist country, 'systemic racism' is rampant, or there is some kind of actual, real crisis surrounding race relations. None. It's all manufactured.

And it seems the people that believe the lies have already forgotten the monumentally historic election of a black man to the highest office in the land. Twice, no less. His election would have been impossible without a majority of white people voting for him.

Another oft-repeated lie is the "epidemic" of unarmed blacks being shot by police. Even the Washington Post, a prominent liberal media outlet, will tell you that the rate of police shootings has remained constant over the last 5 years (this is as far back as the data goes.)

The same source linked above also proclaims that "black Americans are killed at a much higher rate than white Americans." This is true. Far from being evidence of "systemic racism," it's because blacks commit crimes at a much higher rate than white people. 

For example, blacks commit over 47% of all violent crime and more than 22% of all property crime (for 25% of property crimes, the race is listed as 'unknown,' so logic dictates some of those are blacks.) This, despite blacks making up just 13% of the population in America.

Yet, here we are. A disturbingly large number of people believe these false narratives without question. This year, the dishonesty is being pushed even harder amid months-long COVID-19 lockdowns and an especially tense election year.

The 'news' media latched on to two incidents of black people getting killed by police, which led to nationwide protests (you know, because this is an "epidemic.") Those protests started turning more destructive and violent in some areas, causing millions if not billions of dollars in damage. There have been 90 consecutive nights of rioting in Portland, Oregon.

And just this morning, we woke up to reports of multiple shootings in Kenosha during last night's riots, with two killed. (How dumb do you and your friends have to be to chase an armed man around thinking he won't shoot and kill you?) This is an eyebrow-raising escalation in the rioting; up until now there haven't been any shootings. When the first bullets fly, they're not likely to stop.

All of this could have been completely avoided if even a small majority of Americans would do their own research into the things they're hearing out of the mouths of "educators," politicians, 'news' media, corporations and Hollywood, and apply a bit of critical thinking. 

They would realize that there aren't hate-filled racists around every corner, police aren't on some racist murder spree against blacks, and America's institutions aren't racist and don't need to be dismantled. Our systems aren't perfect by any means, but they're the most perfect imperfect systems in existence today. 

No, we don't need to have more "conversations" about race. No, we don't need to "do better" or "check our privilege." No, we don't need to "come together."  YOU need to wise up. Educate yourself. Do some research. Quit being useful idiots for those trying to divide and destroy our country.

Acknowledge Reality to Find Solutions

The national debate over mass shootings is rife with utterly uninformed people mindlessly yammering about "ideas" that are utterly useless.  Oddly enough, these tend to be the same people that loudly and constantly crow about being "educated and informed."

The first step to finding solutions to these mass shootings is to employ intelligent, critical thought.  Next, it's crucial to acknowledge reality.

Reality shows that criminals and psychos don't give a shit about gun free zones and gun control laws. They don't care if AR-15's - or all guns, for that matter - are banned. The reality is, if some wacko wants to go mow down a bunch of kids at a school, he WANTS schools to be gun-free zones. He WANTS nobody to be armed anywhere in the vicinity. Why the hell would intelligent people of sound mind want the same thing?

Reality is, we can ban AR-15's. We can ban this and restrict that, and tighten background checks to the point guns are harder to get than an appointment at the VA clinic.  But it won't do a bit of good.

Reality is, there are HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of guns already out there in private hands. And the owners of those guns are NOT going to just hand them over if someday the government decides to start a confiscation campaign. 

Reality is, government won't even attempt it, because it's unconstitutional, and it would be a suicide mission requiring FAR too many law enforcement resources. As such, the reality is that it will NEVER happen.

So, any solutions need to start with acknowledging those realities. The path is pretty clear if you're an intelligent person that employs critical thinking on a regular basis.

Or, you can sit there in your underwear, clutching your bag of chips and drooling on yourself, while allowing CNN to tell you what to think.  Which is what far too many people seem to be doing.

The Human Factor

Another killing spree, this time in Orlando.  49 dead, scores wounded.  It was among the worst our nation has ever seen.  The predictable calls for gun control began almost instantly.

It boggles my mind that after a tragedy like this, the very first knee-jerk reaction is to demonize inanimate objects and call for further restrictions on the rights of Americans that had nothing to do with the attack.

This latest act of depravity happened in a gun-free zone, perpetrated by a man known to be unstable and angry. A man inspired by radical Islamic terrorism. A man who had been investigated by the FBI on more than one occasion.

Why isn't the focus on the man?  The human factor is glossed over, while guns and our gun rights are immediately thrust under the microscope once again.

The people that loudly claim that these tragedies wouldn't happen if only we could ban certain guns and make it harder for Americans to buy guns are the very same people holding the gate open as wide as possible for "refugees" we know nothing about from ISIS-infested Syria.  They're the same people working hard to ensure our border remains porous and immigration law remains unenforced so that anyone can waltz illegally across our border at any time and face no repercussions for doing so.

Ignoring or enabling the human factors while fighting to further restrict the individual rights enshrined in our nation's Constitution is completely irrational and wholly incompatible with logic and reason, especially in the context of our country's history, and bedrock principles of freedom, liberty, and the rule of law.

Now, that's not to say we don't have opportunities to do better with keeping guns out of the wrong hands.  We absolutely do.  But I haven't heard any proposals that will accomplish that without compromising due process.  More on that later.

The point is, logic and reason dictates that if you want to fix a problem, you address its root cause.  The root cause of murder isn't guns.  It's not certain kinds of guns, it's not how many rounds a gun's magazine can hold, and it's not one's ability to buy a gun.  And it sure isn't the NRA.

The root cause is people.  People do the killing.  People whose cultures, beliefs, upbringing or mental states prevent a harmonious relationship with civilized society.  People commit these acts, whether they use airplanes, fertilizer, guns, bombs, pressure cookers, cars or knives.  We need to focus on mitigating the human factors.

A basic and fundamental responsibility of our federal government is ensuring our borders are secured against illegal entry.  It needs to ensure that we thoroughly vet every single person that we allow into the country for even one day, and close the loop on visas, ensuring each and every visa holder leaves when they are supposed to and track them down if they don't.

We need to monitor what is being taught and preached in mosques, and we need to do better identifying those with potentially dangerous mental health issues and taking appropriate action to ensure they don't put themselves or others in danger.

We will never make meaningful progress toward solving the problem of mass killing and murder without a committed focus on the people and human factors involved.  Trying to address murder and killing by blaming guns is like trying to solve Hillary Clinton's criminally lackadaisical attitude toward classified information by blaming her keyboard.

Can we do better keeping guns out of the hands of people that shouldn't have them?  Yes. Solutions to this end, however, must be built around due process.  Giving unelected bureaucrats discretion to deny someone's Constitutional rights is not the way to do it.  If the government or anyone else believes someone should be prevented from buying firearms, a case should be brought in a court of law, the defendant should have a clear, expedient path to challenge the decision, and the ban should be lifted in a timely manner when an appeal is decided in the subject's favor.


Furthermore, the states and federal government need to collaborate and find a way for states to lawfully share information about people with potentially dangerous mental health conditions with the federal government.  A clinical diagnosis must be made before the patient in question can be banned from buying or owning guns.  Again, there should be a clear path to reverse this action if and when it's warranted.

These are people's rights we're talking about.  Our government's priority needs to be protecting our rights, not infringing upon them.  Anything less is anti-American.  It's "not who we are."

Yes, There is Hope for America

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

• From bondage to spiritual faith;
• From spiritual faith to great courage;
• From courage to liberty;
• From liberty to abundance;
• From abundance to complacency;
• From complacency to apathy;
• From apathy to dependence;
• From dependence back into bondage."

There is some debate as to where the above quote originated, but in any case the United States seems to be in the seventh step of the sequence.  Without a significant change in direction, we will regress to the eighth step.  Is there any hope for us?

 

“We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” — Barack Obama, October 30, 2008

Few could predict just how prescient his words would be.  Leading up to the presidential election in 2008, most Americans had "Bush fatigue".  The people were tired of war and lost trust in the president.  Voters were wary of the massive bailouts and huge amnesty that Bush was proposing, and yearned for new leadership.  Sure enough the Democrats' rock-star candidate, Barack Obama, was elected five days later with a comfortable majority over the flaccid Republican candidate, John McCain. 

Fast-forward seven years and the American mood isn't much different than it was leading up to Obama's election.  Both our politicians and the electorate are more politically and ideologically polarized than anytime in memory.  Race relations have regressed by decades.  Trust in government remains at a cringe-worthy low.  The national debt has ballooned to nearly $19 trillion, over 56% of which was accrued during Barack Obama's presidency.  Workforce participation is at the lowest level in 38 years, and most people continue to believe that America is heading in the wrong direction.  

We've endured a spate of mass shootings and terrorist attacks, both at home and abroad.  Marriage was redefined and the rights of gays effectively trump religious freedom, while Christianity is marginalized and attacked like never before.  Government took over 11% of our economy -- the health insurance industry -- which helped the poorest among us afford healthcare, but continues to cause even more financial hardship for many working and middle class families.  Before Obamacare, they couldn't afford insurance.  After Obamacare, they still can't afford it, but get fined as a result.  Meanwhile, actual healthcare costs continue to rise.

The administration doesn't hesitate to involve itself in local issues, vilifying police for "acting stupidly" while giving tacit support to violent criminals that attack others. Obama insists that "climate change" - not terrorism - is the biggest threat facing America.

Our nation's institutions of higher learning have devolved into daycare centers.  Speech that could possibly offend delicate sensibilities is quickly squelched, with the offender subjected to punishment.  Distinguished graduation commencement speakers have been rejected, and even comedians steer clear of today's campuses.  Professors are forced to issue "trigger warnings" in advance of any assignment that may expose students to potentially uncomfortable ideas, and administrators are forced out whenever a screechy, petulant but small minority of students suddenly decide that their school isn't a "safe space”. 

Many of us have been extremely frustrated and angry, worrying that we're witnessing the end of America as we once knew it.  Hell, I've even gone so far as looking into the expat life in case the unthinkable (Hillary) happens.  But, there are emerging signs of hope.

   

Despite withering attacks from leftist politicians and well-funded anti-gun organizations, our right and ability to keep and bear arms has not only survived, but strengthened.  State restrictions have been struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, and legislatures have expanded "castle doctrine" and right-to-carry laws.  Even though the president angrily calls for more gun control over and over again, claiming that "commonsense" restrictions would result in fewer mass shootings, people reject this view because they understand that no laws restricting the ability of law-abiding citizens to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights will stop criminals and terrorists who are determined to shoot up schools or movie theaters.  All is not lost when it comes to the Bill of Rights. 

As more time passes without a single catastrophic prediction coming true (according to Al Gore, the poles should be completely ice-free today, for example), global warming has continued its steep slide down the list of things people are concerned about, to the point it rarely even appears anymore.  Its hustlers and pimps, determined to keep the narrative alive, rename it from "global warming" to "climate change" to "climate disruption", so that any anomalies in the climate -- no matter how benign or temporary, regardless of direction -- can be blamed on the climate change narrative.  The warmists frantically issue even more dire predictions borne of fiddled and diddled, faked and baked "data".  But people are tired of hearing about it, and don't consider it an imminent problem.  Thankfully this shows that we're not beyond the point of no return when it comes to critical thinking.

As the 2016 election season started heating up, Donald Trump went from familiar sideshow clown to overwhelming favorite in the Republican polls almost overnight after his fiery announcement speech sharply critical of amnesty and illegal aliens.  Devoid of any political correctness whatsoever, he has clearly tapped in to deep-seated anger among voters whose vehement opposition to another amnesty has been utterly ignored by establishment politicians on both sides of the political aisle.  His messages continue to resonate with the electorate and despite daily media predictions of his demise, Trump continues to reign supreme in the polls -- and it's not even close.  Meanwhile, pale-pastel establishment candidate Jeb Bush has fallen to 3% support after being seen as the inevitable Republican nominee early on.  This may be one of the most encouraging signs that we can turn the country around.

I don't want to live in an America where the majority of people are either apathetic, ignorant, or who reject our founding principles...and act (or don't act) accordingly at the polls.  We can't just stand by and watch the country swirl down the drain…we must actively work to bring about a better future.  There are a lot of things seriously wrong right now, but thankfully there are some signs of hope for America.

Restoring Fiscal Prudence in Government

President Obama and congressional Democrats have already let it be known that they will refuse to negotiate when it comes to raising the debt ceiling as, yet again, we're about to run out of borrowing authority.  Their position is that Congress must ensure the full faith and credit of the United States by doing whatever is necessary to ensure we pay our bills...and, after all, it's Congress that voted to spend the money in the first place.

I can see their point.

The way to stop the perpetual borrowing and spending of our federal government is not for politicians to fight debt ceiling increases.  Instead, politicians need to fight against new and increased spending that results in the need for debt ceiling increases.  If we quit spending irresponsibly, we'll get to the point we don't need to borrow and can actually start paying down our debt while still "investing in America" (gag).

We've got to start prioritizing where our money goes, just like any other person, family, business or entity that is out of money and has maxed out the credit cards.  This isn't a hard concept for most people to understand.  Many people, especially over the last several years, deal with this problem every single day.  They can't just shit money when they run out.  They can't just go demand a raise from their employer "or else".  They can't walk into their bank and approve their own credit limit increases.  They have to cut back on some things, eliminate others, and determine priorities for what's left.

And that's what our federal government needs to do.

The problem is to the point where absolutely everything in the budget needs to be looked at and right-sized in terms of funding.  We are pouring way too much money into things that should be a low priority - if even a priority at all - and we're not spending enough on things that are critically important.

This is an excellent website that tries to consolidate a lot of information about our finances into easy-to-understand graphics, charts, and explanations.  The biggest takeaway for me is that the U.S. Treasury is our third-largest budget item behind defense and HHS.  The lion's share of that item is interest payments.  It's money we're flushing down the toilet for which we get NOTHING in return.  It's not unlike making a credit card payment of $200, with only $35 of that going towards the outstanding balance.  The other $165 is interest.  Many of us do what we have to do in order to not be in a situation where we're paying $165 in interest for every $200 we pay on our debt, so why should the government think that's OK to do with our tax money?

The 2014 budget assumes revenues (taxes) of $3.03T, spending of $3.77T, with a big fat deficit of $744B to add to the total debt of $17.3T. 

To put this in terms most people can wrap their heads around, it's like making $30,300 a year, but spending $37,700...adding $7,400 per year to your total debt of $173,000.

No bank in its right mind would lend you money if that's how you roll.  Ever.  And we, as the "bank" for the federal government, should demand an end to this kind of irresponsible, imprudent, and UNACCEPTABLE spending.

Here is Sen. Tom Coburn's "Wastebook", which contains a yearly sampling of idiotic spending by our federal government.  While the amounts look small against a multi-trillion dollar budget, it adds up quickly.  I personally work for a company who, several years ago, literally removed every third light bulb in all of its offices.  I don't remember the exact amount saved, but it was in the millions of dollars.  It goes to show that cutting out even little tiny bits of fat across the board can go a long way.

Besides unscrewing lightbulbs, here are a few suggestions on how we can get our fiscal house back in order:

First, eliminate all spending that even remotely resembles anything in Coburn's Wastebook.  Not a sampling of it, ALL of it.  Close the unoccupied buildings and sell them.  Bring back the equipment from the sandbox and either sell it, or replace the old, tired crap that our military units have to train with.  No more studies concluding that wives need to calm down.  Let Africa study the penis-washing habits of Africans, with African money.

Next, yank all "aid" to foreign countries.  Most of them hate America anyway.  We have plenty of Americans on welfare here, we don't need foreigners hanging off our teat too.  Let the great and wonderful United Nations handle all that nonsense.  And while we're at it, dial back our funding of that anti-American organization and kick its ass off American soil.  That alone would free up about a billion dollars worth of New York real estate.

Now, quit footing the bill for illegal aliens.  If they aren't subsidized, many will leave.  If they have anchor babies/wives/family members that are citizens or enjoy legal status, those people can choose to stay, or they can choose to leave with the illegal alien.  It's not our fault your beloved illegal broke our laws.  It's his.  Take it up with him and don't come whining to us about his criminal stupidity.  And for crying out loud, don't reward illegals with amnesty.  We would end up spending trillions more if we legalize these foreign lawbreakers.

By now we're making some progress.  But not enough, fast enough.  Here are a few more suggestions to rapidly get the balance sheet where it needs to be:

Get rid of bloat.  The IRS is unnecessary; there are numerous credible proposals for tax system reform floating around out there (such as the Fair Tax), and many of them don't include the need for a bloated, weaponized bureaucracy like the IRS.  Goodbye, Department of Education.  Adios, Department of Agriculture.  See ya, Department of Labor.  This stuff, if even necessary, belongs in the states.


After all of that, we should be in pretty good shape.  But if not, we'll yank funding of nice-to-have items like arts and research for a year or two, and use that money towards our debt.  The arts are nice to have, but when it comes to adequately funding the VA or subsidizing Les Miserables performances all over the country, the former comes first.  As for funding research, Susan G. Komen and the March of Dimes will have to suffice for awhile.  It won't be the end of the world.

Now, we get our house in order.  First, pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.  Every state is bound by law to balance its budget, and so should the federal government.  Eliminate earmarks by forcing lawmakers to keep bills specific in scope with all spending directly related to the bill's specific purpose - and each bill must include specific Constitutional justification to be considered.  Take the keys to Social Security away from the federal government and hand them over to an independent organization overseen and audited by a rotating group of five states' attorneys general. 

Narrow the mission of our military forces to focus solely on foreign threats to the United States and our allies that we're obligated by treaty to defend, draw down accordingly, and shift 50% of the saved money to the VA while using the other 50% to increase pay and benefits to our remaining troops and their families so none of them, down to the lowest-ranking private, are on food stamps.

Audit the Federal Reserve at random intervals, and do the same with each remaining cabinet department.  The DoD alone lost $2.3 trillion dollars, along with several billion more in equipment.

Last but not least, install real accountability, with the states providing oversight of the federal government, as it should be.

Will all (or any) of this work?  Who knows.  I think there's a not-insignificant amount of corruption and cronyism in government, and I think that's where a lot of money disappears to.  With the government as large as it is, with so many moving parts and overlapping jurisdictions and responsibilities, the scale of imprudence is less disturbing than the utter lack of interest in meaningful reform.  Just shrinking the behemoth by doing away with nonessential cabinet departments would go a long way towards getting things turned around.

Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right

When citizens of a foreign country enter the United States, they do so in one of two ways: the right way or the wrong way.

The right way is the way that millions upon millions of Americans and their forefathers got here.  They arrived legally, understanding that the American dream they sought could not be realized until they weaved themselves into the fabric of America.  Working hard.  Learning the language, the customs and the traditions.  Integrating themselves into their neighborhoods and society at large.  Embracing their new country.  They want to be here, they want to be Americans, and they want to assimilate and contribute not just in the workforce, but to society as a whole.

The wrong way is to sneak into the country illegally.

When people run across the desert in the dark of night, swim across a river, or overstay a visa, their very first action here is one of utter hostility towards our nation.  Contempt for the rule of law.  This is not a nation of men, but a nation of laws.  (President Obama may not agree, but I digress...)

The vast majority of people that come here, both legally and otherwise, do so because America has so much to offer.  Even now with a slow economy and tough job market, America is still a land of opportunity for all.  "Poor" in America would be considered rich beyond comprehension to a vast number of people outside of our borders.  Make no mistake...America is far from perfect, but we didn't go from nothing in the 1700s to the sole world power 300 years later because we weren't doing things right.

The difference between those that come here legally and those who don't is fairly simple.  Illegal aliens want to take advantage of all America has to offer, but have no desire to reciprocate.  They have no use for things like learning the language.  They don't give a damn about weaving themselves into the fabric of America.  They don't care about the country or its society.  A study cited by the New York Times found that only 40% of illegal aliens pursued citizenship after being granted amnesty in 1986.  In short, most have no use for anything but a way to make money to send home to their families in the countries to which they remain loyal.  They want amnesty so that it's easier to do so.

This doesn't necessarily mean getting a real job, either.  Many illegals came here with heavy loads of narcotics on their backs from the drug cartels south of the border.  Others joined Latino-oriented street gangs such as MS-13 and are part of the cartels' distribution network.

The only group of illegal aliens that I have any sympathy for are those that were young children when their parents brought them here illegally.  They didn't have a choice in coming here, and as they get older they are being told they can't fully participate in the only country they have ever known.  The parents of these children deserve special punishment for subjecting their kids to the challenges they are facing today.

Since what was to be the "last amnesty" passed into law in 1986, granting a mere 3 million people legal status in this country, we have been besieged by 10 million more illegal aliens.  This is because the border was utterly ignored in 1986.  However, today our politicians boast that the border is as "secure as it's ever been", but he presence of these additional 10 million illegal aliens prove that "secure as it's ever been" is wholly unacceptable.  We're right back where we left off in 1986, but with four times the number of illegal aliens for taxpayers to support and our government to deal with.

Anyone with a lick of sense should be able to connect the dots and see what kind of impact 12 million newly legal workers would do to the job market not only for American citizens, but also those immigrants that respect the rule of law and endured the process to come here legally.  You think it's tough finding a job today?  It will be twice as hard if another amnesty bill is passed.

There is already a "pathway to citizenship" available to those here illegally.  It's called applying for citizenship and waiting your turn just like millions of legal immigrants have already done.  Meanwhile, as far as I'm concerned, illegals in this country today can "live in the shadows" (seriously?) and deal with the challenges that are inherent in choosing to be here illegally.  Why should they get special consideration?  

The pro-amnesty idiots love to talk about "fairness".  I think it would be amusing to watch them peddle their amnesty nonsense to a family that waded through tons of red tape and waited years to get here about what's "fair" and what's not.

It is wrong to cross our border illegally.  It is even more wrong to reward those who did with legal status.  Two wrongs don't make a right.  Any immigration reform bill absolutely MUST deal with border security first; anything short of that is 100% unacceptable.  It's colossally stupid to bail the water before plugging the hole.

An Open Letter to A&E

Dear A&E:

It has been widely reported that you 'suspended' Phil Robertson, a star of Duck Dynasty, for discussing his religious beliefs.

Tell me, would you suspend a homosexual for bashing people that believe in traditional marriage?  Of course not.

Would you suspend a Muslim for talking about HIS religious beliefs?  Of course not.

Would you suspend a non-religious person for expressing anti-Christian views?  Of course not.

I'm curious, what kind of mental illness would lead someone to scuttle his network's - indeed, all of cable's - top rated show of all time, simply because one of its stars talked about his Christian faith and beliefs?

I'm "disappointed" that you chose to take this action.  Surely, you've discovered over the last 24 hours that the VAST majority of people interested in what's going on here disagree with your action.  Know that we are demonstrating our disagreement by boycotting your channel, and undertaking a massive effort to ensure that companies that advertise on your network are painfully aware of our displeasure.

I'm "disappointed" in your lack of tolerance - I thought diversity was supposed to be a GOOD thing.  I guess only when it's diversity of ideas that conform to the trendy, politically correct ideas of the day.  Homosexuality is en vogue, while Christianity is not.

No matter what anyone says, the fact is that this IS a majority Christian nation, born of Judeo-Christian principles, and that will never change.  By the way, I'm agnostic, and have no use for religion of any flavor.  I simply don't deny our nation's history, and will not abide your hostility towards people who don't get in line with the celebration of homosexuality.

If you believe Phil Robertson is a bigot, then you must also believe a majority of Americans are bigots.  As demonstrated by your intolerance, hostility - and most of all, your actions - A&E has proven to be the real bigot here.
 
With contempt,
A "disappointed" former viewer

The Necessary Civil War

"[They are] lemmings with suicide vests…They have to be more than just a lemming. Because jumping to your death is not enough."

"I was correct in my analysis, and I'd say a lot of those folks were not correct in theirs."

"Barack Obama set the trap. Some congressional Republicans walked into it. As a result, the president is stronger, the GOP is weaker, and Obamacare is marginally more popular. ...  It's time Republicans remembered that bad tactics produce bad outcomes."

"If anybody should be kicked out, it's probably those Republicans—and not Speaker Boehner—who are unwilling to keep the promises they made to American people."

As you've probably figured out, these are recent quotes by politicians.  All of them are Republicans talking about...other Republicans.

No matter your political views, if you've been paying any attention at all you know that there have been some epic battles in Washington lately. While some have been between Republicans and Democrats, the worst have been within the Republican party between the establishment politicians who shy away from rocking the boat and the rabble-rousers known as the Tea Party caucus.

The emergence of the Tea Party movement began during Bush's final years in office, as voters and pundits began to frown on his push for taxpayer bailouts of big banks and the auto industry, a nearly trillion-dollar stimulus package in the form of government spending, and encouraging lawmakers to pass yet another amnesty for another 12 million illegal aliens.

The movement gained momentum during the run-up to the 2008 general election, fueled by a segment of the Republican electorate furious that the party could find no better representative than John McCain to run against the Democrats' rock-star candidate, Senator Barack Obama.  Predictably, McCain was handily beaten on Election Day despite an inexperienced but conservative Sarah Palin balancing out the ticket.

Facing at least two years of one-party Democrat rule, conservative voters had reached the end of their rope.  They were sick of watching both parties spend our tax dollars like drunken sailors and growing the scope and reach of the federal government while ignoring fundamental Constitutional responsibilities to ensure the rule of law and to keep our borders secure.

Stories of angry conservative voters venting their anger at their representatives at town hall meetings started emerging.  New faces began to appear on the political landscape.  Men and women that shared the sentiment that the Republican party had lost its way and needed an overhaul.  America was introduced to Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, Michelle Bachmann, Mike Lee, Chris Christie, and others.

The successes started piling up immediately.  In a nasty Wisconsin fight, newly-elected Gov. Scott Walker beat back the powerful teachers' union in order to restore some fiscal sanity to his state's public education programs and prevailed in a subsequent recall election.  Chris Christie was elected to govern liberal New Jersey, where he also claimed victory against unions there.  In Texas, former Solicitor General Ted Cruz faced the state's not-unpopular David Dewhurst in a primary election to the U.S. Senate and rode his message to victory, easily beating his Democrat opponent and running on Tea Party principles of smaller, Constitutional federal government, less spending, and a strong free market (note the lack of anything even remotely related to race or ethnicity).

The establishmentarians took notice.  Some Republicans cautiously began shifting their positions to align with the Tea Party while others bet that the status quo and going-along-to-get-along would look better to voters...many of whom had been disgusted with Congress for many years for its ineptitude in moving the country in the right direction.

The 2012 general election proved to be another disaster.  The Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, lost the election in spectacular fashion.  It would be another four years of Obama, with Republicans holding on to a slim majority in the House.  It seems the lessons of 2008 and 2010 had not yet been learned.

In September of this year, the government was running out of money to operate and was quickly approaching the limit of its authority to borrow money.  This was the fight that the Tea Party had been salivating over for years.  It would use these two critical items to extract concessions on Obamacare from the Democrats during negotiations.  Since Republicans controlled the House, from which spending bills originate, they would craft bills that granted the necessary continuing budget resolution and a temporary increase to the debt limit while removing any funding for Obamacare.

The president would have none of it.  He indicated that there would be no negotiations on the continuing resolution or the debt ceiling.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared the House bill dead on arrival in the Senate, as he would do with every single bill floated by Republicans.

As days went by, Democrats stuck to thier guns and refused negotiations with Republicans and cracks began to appear in the Republican resolve.  Ted Cruz stood before the Senate pleading his case for 21 hours straight in a futile attempt to garner enough support to force negotiations.  The Democrats held firm as more and more Republicans waved white flags, ready to acquiesce to all of Obama's demands. 

The deadline for the continuing resolution came and went, and the government "shut down" (about 13% of it, anyway).  As barricades went up at national parks and monuments across the country, the Democrats kept pounding away by ensuring the mainstream media carried the narrative that Republicans were responsible.  The ignorant public bought it just like Dems counted on them doing.

More Republicans folded like dollar store card tables.  Hoping to be seen as trying to restore normalcy, they, too, scrambled for every camera and microphone they could find in order to blast the Tea Party strategy.  More bills were floated with fewer and fewer Republican demands, until more than two weeks after the shutdown, the Democrats claimed victory while the Republicans walked away with their asses in their hands, and without a single concession.

The Great Republican Implosion of 2013 will go down in history as one of the greatest political embarrassments of all time.

I was disgusted.  How could this happen?  How could Republicans have pissed away such a golden opportunity?  How could they have allowed the narrative that it was their fault to go unchallenged?  After all, it was Obama and the Democrats that steadfastly refused to negotiate.  13 separate proposals to end the standoff were drawn up by Republicans that were all shot down by Democrats.  The president refused to have his signature legislation, which is still unpopular with the majority of Americans, impeded in any way.  And Republicans caved.  The battle was senselessly lost.

But, the war goes on.  It's a war for the future of our nation.  Republicans MUST be the party of  Constitutional governance, fiscal responsibility and the Rule of Law...nobody else is going to do it!  Our country simply cannot continue on its current path.  Every taxpayer in America owes nearly $150,000 for his share of the national debt.  That's absolutely insane, and with recent census data showing that there are more people dependent on welfare than are in the workforce, the trajectory is only getting worse, and in a hurry.

Make no mistake, this Republican civil war is an absolute necessity.  We can only hope that it is over soon and the party emerges with strong Tea Party principles as its platform.  I think the only way that can happen is to reverse the trend of ignorance and apathy among the electorate.  Democrats desperately need people to be ignorant in order to advance their agenda, and they use their friends in the media to make sure they control what people hear. 

In addition to Tea Party principles, the Republican civil war absolutely must produce a better messaging strategy, and it needs to identify someone that can deliver that message in a way that resonates with voters.

Without a Republican party makeover that changes hearts and minds of voters, the next American Civil War will be fought not with rhetoric, bills and political capital, but with guns, tanks, and bombs.  I hope that isn't necessary, but if you think we needed hope and change before, we REALLY need it now.