Month: January 2018

In this world of 24/7 news, television, internet, Twitter, Facebook, and smart phones it is pretty easy to get caught up in all of the crazy things going on around us.

Today I was on Twitter providing my two cents on the many different topics of the day, mostly politics. At some point, I realized I was being pretty negative, even mean in some cases. This struck me because I’m actually a very positive guy.

It’s easy to get riled up when listening to people who have the exact opposite view of the world than you. Reading some of these posts I will more often than not silently say to myself, “How can he/she actually think this way?” In fairness to me, there are people online that are brutal and will say things that are unacceptable, mean and yeah, crude. I don’t think this helps matters at all and it certainly doesn’t help their credibility. In my worst moments when I see one of these posts I will reply by slamming the person with a verbal two-by-four. The point they were attempting to make is quickly lost and instead, the focus is all about how rude or crude they are. When you start by calling me a Nazi just because I want legal immigration, the 2X4 is coming out and I’ve lost all interest in the person.  I guess I’m not smart enough to just ignore and move on.

It’s fine to be passionate about your beliefs and I think it’s healthy for all of us to see different points of view. If you want to be convincing you really have a better chance by being thoughtful and open minded. When I have found myself in a verbal battle of opinions with a stranger and I’ve said something like “you make a good point” or “Um, I never thought about that”, 99.9% of the time I have an instant fan and suddenly the debate becomes a more honest sharing of ideas. We all like to be heard and we really like to be right. You’d be surprised what you learn when you really listen instead of talking or worse, yelling. This is true whether in an online chat session or with a spouse, child, co-worker or the guy on the street corner.

Now that I’ve calmed down and taken a little time for some reflection, I’m jumping back into the vast online jungle to share my great wealth of knowledge. Based on that, I should be done in a few minutes.

Maybe you and I will cross paths, I hope so.

I was born and raised in California. It might be the most beautiful state of them all.  Consider all that it has to offer; Pacific Ocean, snowcapped Sierra Mountains, Desert, Redwood Forest, Farming and even the big city life of LA and San Francisco. To me, the state has so much to offer however between the politics and high taxes it is difficult for me to understand why anyone would want to call it home.

Following my ritual review of the morning headlines I have to jump in. “We are a Sanctuary State” signs are being installed under their “Welcome to California” signs. And, as you know, today they celebrate their ability to legally purchase marijuana for recreational purposes. Recreational purposes, that’s some spin huh? What do they do, get high and then play basketball? Go jogging? Give me a break.

I grew up around pot users. If you live and go to school in California, there is simply no way around it.  You are exposed to it as a young person.  You have to make choices in life, hopefully good ones, but it’s not easy. I grew up around it and tried it.  What I came away with is that using makes you stupid, in most cases it’s worse than that, it makes you an idiot.  While you users think you’re cool, calm, and relaxed, those of us with a clear head can tell you – you’re not cool, you sound and act like a moron. That’s what weed represents to me. It alters your brain and not in a good way.  Although I don’t know that altering your brain can ever be a good thing. This morning there’s an article slamming conservative Laura Ingraham for expressing outrage over CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage of Californians smoking pot and how to use a bong.  Laura is a responsible parent and she doesn’t appreciate CNN displaying this so that her kids and young people in general see it and somehow think it’s ok or cool or fun. I don’t appreciate it either.

I really don’t judge anyone for what they choose to do privately.  It’s your life, do with it what you want. It’s not as though I am a puritan, I am not, but what I do, I do in private. When some people’s negative actions affect other people then I have a problem with it. This display on CNN is irresponsible. Why don’t they show the youth how to drink, show them how to take shots too so they can get higher quicker.  How does any of this help parents raise their kids responsibly? How does any of this help the kids who in today’s world already struggle with so many choices before them? It doesn’t help and it’s harmful and it angers me.  Yes I know, “don’t let your kids watch CNN New Year’s coverage.” It’s getting to a point that turning on the television with the kids in the living room is a risk. Where’s the Ed Sullivan show when you need it…

As for the sanctuary state signs, this is California being California. First they defy Federal Immigration law by allowing illegal immigrants sanctuary.  Then, they raise taxes to cover the cost increases in social services and education. They stand behind their policy even when legal Americans are killed in their streets by the very illegal aliens they gave sanctuary to (Illegal aliens with prior convictions). Then the state files law suits against the Federal Government when the Feds threaten to take away Federal Grants. We better add the cost of all the law suits to their immigration policy too. Then to top it off they’re angry because the new Federal Tax Law no longer allows them to write off their high State Income Taxes.

I swear, I don’t know how you people in California can stand to stay there. Better yet, I will never understand how you vote. Do you get high before entering the ballot box? Maybe that’s why you vote so stupidly. When you come out of the fog, take an honest look at what the leadership in your state has done to you. The state is all but broke because of their liberal policies and those of you working hard every day just keep voting for them and paying taxes that are simply outrageous.  For what, so you can say you’re a loving state that welcomes any and all even if it places you and your loved ones at risk?

I moved out of California in the 80’s and I’ve never looked back. I do watch your politics and I have to tell you, you’re out of your minds to remain in that beautiful state and you’re high as a kite if you think voting for more liberals will solve your many problems.  I guess I need a reality check myself because you obviously don’t think California has a problem.  It breaks my heart.  Watching the actions of California has turned me against you. At this point, I wish you would separate from the union and I hope President Trump builds his big beautiful wall around your eastern border. Then you can do whatever the hell you want, even pay more taxes to change your signs to “Northern Mexico, Americans not welcome.”

Whew, I feel a little better now.

I decided I would find a quiet corner and ponder over the ups and downs of 2017. There were certainly plenty of them. Of course how one looks at these are completely dependent upon what side of the political fence you sit.

After much thought, I can’t decide if I am more thankful for Trump’s victory or Hillary’s loss. There would have been vast differences depending on who won. I really think America dodged a bullet. Like so many Americans, I was certain Hillary would win. My faith in our electoral system has been restored. I was convinced that the election was rigged. Of course the left, once Hillary lost still thinks the election was rigged. The Russians elected our President you know…

When I say America dodged a bullet, what I mean is that if Hillary had won, in my humble opinion, America would have suffered a huge blow. After eight years of Obama, I don’t know if we would have ever fully recovered from a Hillary administration. Think about where we would be right now with a HRC administration. Don’t think about it too long, it’s scary.

It actually isn’t hard to see where we would be.  Just picture Obama 2.0. She and the Dems would have rushed in to save us all from Obamacare by moving to single payer. After all, that has been their plan from day one. They knew damn well Obamacare was a loser. They knew costs would get out of control. We’d also have a stacked “left leaning” deck on the Supreme Court and that might be the scariest thought of all.

Obama did an unbelievable job of moving the country further away from the constitution.  Hillary would have doubled down. We would still be funding the rest of the world via the Paris Climate Accord. There would be no Keystone pipeline, no drilling in Alaska and we would still be stuck in the mud at two or three percent growth. North Korea would be given a few billion dollars after promising to dismantle their nuke program and then, like Iran, proceed as they always have. ISIS would have gained even more ground causing death and destruction in their path. There would be no tax cuts but instead tax increases after she decided who would be winners and who would be losers of course. The UN would continue to set policy for us.  Regarding the Russian corruption charges; the American public would have never heard another word about that.  Mr. Comey would still be running the FBI making certain that any questionable acts performed by Hillary and Obama would have been swept under the rug. The Clinton Foundation would be raking in more money than ever.  The open border policy under Obama would remain in full operation and sanctuary cities would be the sparkle in Hillary’s eyes. The men and women in blue protecting us would still be treated poorly, and our vets would still be waiting in line.

Thankfully, none of this happened. We have a balanced Supreme Court, thank God! President Trump is keeping his promises.  The economy is breaking records, we’ve seen continued growth, and consumer confidence is high. In one year, under President Trump’s leadership ISIS occupies 95% less ground. President Trump did, in one year what Obama couldn’t do in eight. Why? He surrounded himself with great generals and then he did what any good leader would do, he let them do what they do best, win. He saved enough money getting us out of the Paris Accord to build the wall! Illegal border crossings are at an all-time low. Sanctuary cities are on notice to follow federal immigration law or lose federal grants. He has placed heavier sanctions on North Korea than any President before him. He’s had two 100% approval votes out of the Security Council with both Russia and China voting with the US. This almost never happens, if ever. He has successfully cut our taxes and yes, even for the poor and the middle class. He stopped allowing just anyone to come to our country with the travel ban. He really is putting America first. Finally, he has exposed the left wing media for what they are, puppets of the left. While the list contains far more ups than downs, I will leave it here. I think we did indeed dodge a bullet and I for one, am very thankful.

Happy New Year everyone. Let’s make 2018 a great, great year.