The Evolution of American Fascism

The Evolution of America's Liberal Fascism

It started small. The liberals wanted to change the names used for black Americans and for American Indians. They insisted that we call the former African-Americans even though many can trace their roots here for centuries. The argument for changing the name for American Indians was that by so doing their conditions would improve not realizing their problems were not their name but their poverty, not being paid billions by the federal government it owes them for oil rights. The namers perhaps didn't realize that every person born in America is a native American.

This tendency then focused on the name of the Washington football team who had their name for 81 years without objection. Liberals did everything they could to force a change but the team resisted. In a poll taken of the affected group showed that 90% did not care. 

Then in July of 2015 a disturbed person named Dylan Roof, killed nine church goers in South Carolina. When his Facebook picture had him carrying a Confederate flag, it was decided that the flag was the problem and liberals insisted that all of these flags must be taken down in public places. The government officials complied fearing the backlash.

Next there were protesters on college campuses over Halloween costumes, administrators' email comments and Princeton University having buildings named after Woodrow Wilson, who had been President of the United States and president of Princeton. They went on to object to the title Dorm Master, because it reminded them of slavery. They did not object to master's degrees though or titles using the word to connote excellence.

Then liberal  protesters at UC Berkeley, the birthplace of the free speech movement, decided that they would not allow Conservative speakers like Ann Coulter and Milo's speech on campus because they did not agree to their right to free speech. Students were not ordered to hear the speech but didn't

want anyone to speak, if the students disagreed with their views. They hated these speakers because they were labeled haters, without realizing their hypocrisy. They rioted, destroying U.C. property and threatening the speakers' lives.

Next they decided the statues of Confederate heroes must be taken down because they fought for slavery, not knowing that they fought for states' sovereignty. Public officials rushed to exceed to their demand, but it wasn't soon enough, so left wing protesters tore down statues themselves.

Lately, they decided to protest right wing protesters because they were fascist. They attacked the group but their attack was blamed on the white supremacists and not the protesters or the police who waited one hour to intercede. When the President said that all three groups were to blame, politicians lined up to reprimand him for telling the truth but one that they did not accept. The far left group Antifa became much more violent to counter the right wing fascists not realizing that they themselves were fascists and much more violent than the supremacists. Meanwhile our brave politicians failed to blame the left wing fascists until Nancy Pelosi had the courage to call them out.

Then the alt left decided the former presidents who had slaves should not be honored. This list included George Washington. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson even though they were the founders of our country. Teddie Roosevelt felt that blacks are inferior so he too will be honored. What next? Should Mount Rushmore be destroyed? Should we no longer use currency that bear their images?

The President has been blamed for the apparent rise of right wing extremists and he was in part to blame. He spoke against illegal immigrants, mainly Mexicans, threatening to build a wall at our southern border and getting Mexico, a poor country, to pay for it. During his campaign he promised to keep all Muslims out of the country and later reduced the threat to immigrants from six violent, Middle Eastern countries. The white supremacists loved it and were emboldened by is non P.C. comments. 

So who are these alt right members? They are not professionals like doctors, lawyers, psychologists, social workers, college professors, teachers, or journalists who are not negatively impacted by illegal immigration. None will compete with them for jobs or housing. They like the fact that illegals cost less for businesses and homeowners and feel compassion for the immigrants who have left their beloved countries because they not stand living there. The alt right is made up of uneducated, low income people who must compete with illegals for jobs and housing. Those against the illegals, blacks and Jews have low self- esteem caused by their lack of education and their low salaries. The alt right are at the bottom of the socioeconomic totem pole and want to have people lower than them, like blacks, Jews and immigrants. They are a sad lot with no real hope for the future

The left hate them for being hateful and are intolerant and hate and are intolerant of them without seeing the irony of their position.

Now is high time for journalists and politicians to come out and blame the alt left as well the those on the far right. They need to have the courage to proclaim the obvious. They need integrity and courage.

The Proper Response to Bigotry

The Proper Response to Bigotry

Almost every American is against bigotry be it against Jews, blacks or Latinos. At least 99% of us are against it believing in the power and importance of love and tolerance. 

Those who marched for bigotry in Charlottesville represented of minute number of Americans. Most are uneducated and of low income. They seek some cause to make them feel less inadequate.

What should our response be? We are against hatred but hate the haters. We believe in tolerance and compassion but show none to those we label as intolerant or lacking in compassion.

After the ACLU sued to allow right wing fascists to parade in Charlottesville, the group was met with angry crowds who confronted them. Since then many of us have shown our outrage toward the parade. Fights broke out and a woman was killed after a car crashed into the protesting crowd.

I suggest that coming out strongly against them and actually in other instances turning to violence and destruction as we saw at U.C. Berkeley when told the Ann Coulter was speaking or that Milo was going to be on campus and on several college campuses, took no courage because they were doing something with which 99% disagree. Lately several members of President's council working on job creation resigned, protesting the President's statement about the melee. They showed no courage knowing that almost all of us are against bigotry, nor do T.V. hosts or newspaper columnists show intelligence or bravery be speaking out against it. 

When Milo or Ann Coulter came to speak exercising their right to free speech and taking a different position from the majority, especially on campus, no one was forced to hear them. What would have happened if no students showed up to hear them? Their free speech would not be impeded but would fall on deaf ears. What if the parade in Charlottesville got no attention from those against it or the media?

What if we who denounce hatred and intolerance refrained from exhibiting hatred and intolerance of the haters and intolerant, but just ignored their totally disagreeable opinion?

Just a thought.

What Has Happened to America?

What Has Happened to America?

In 1960 we produced 90% of our products and services, we now we produce only 2%. We helped Europe win the first and second world wars, now we have been in Afghanistan for training and supporting their troops for 17 years and costing American lives and billions of tax payer dollars and are still not winning. We were seen as the world's saviors now we are feared and disliked by many of the world's nations. In the 50s and sixties we built great cars, especially in the mid 50s. Cadillacs and Lincolns were the ultimate luxury cars, now neither is valued. We now buy German and Japanese cars. Who wants to buy an American car? We helped our WWll enemies Germany and Japan recover from the war, now we depend on them. And now we have moved so far to the left that we all of sudden wanted the Washington Redskins to change the name they had for 81 years. When polled 90% American's Indians said it didn't bother them. When one sick racist killed 15 people in a church in South Carolina and we saw pictures of him carrying the old Southern flag, we all of a sudden wanted all those flags taken down Then we decided recently that statues of Confederate generals and leaders, to tear down these monuments which had been up for 100 years. Now we want leaders who had slaves or thought blacks to be inferior to lose their states and names at universities. This would include George Washington, our founding fathers, Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt. Next we will want the state of Washington and our nation's capital to change their names. Soon we will want Mt Rushmore to be destroyed. We decry the alt right but ignore what the alt left is doing. We weren't that upset when U.C. Berkeley students denied conservatives like Milo and Coulter the right to exercise their free speech when these anti-free speech students rioted at Berkeley destroying property while the campus police were ordered to let it happen. Free speech is good as long as we don't disagree with it. Now like a herd of sheep or lemmings we follow these radical leftist views without much thought and are proud of our righteous indignation. We demonstrate against the elected president who has expressed some unfortunate opinions like getting Mexico to pay for the wall, that he would not allow transgender people to serve in the military or that he would not allow any Muslims from entering the country. He modified that to refugees from six Muslim countries. He has proven to be narcissistic and dishonest so we have decided that we hate him and use four-letter words in our placards and even say that he should be killed. This from our peace-loving fellow citizens. 

Have we all gone mad?

A Call For Moderation

A Call for Moderation

I am not a Democrat or a Republican, a liberal or a conservative. I am an independent moderate. I have recommended changes to the Affordable Care Act that should satisfy members of both parties and ensure that everyone who wants healthcare coverage can get it. I have recommended changes in the tax code which should satisfy both party members. My recommendations have fallen on deaf ears. Our senators and representatives are too busy to represent us. 

Now I see that both sides have a growing number of radicals - the alt right and the alt left. The alt right has been more open about their White Supremisist positions while the alt-left will not allow free speech unless they agree with it. Some factions are even openly against the police and historical figures thinking that it all right to destroy historical landmarks as does ISIS in the Middle East. 

While those the Right decry the radicals, the Left feels afraid to confront their radicals. 

It never used to be this way. Both parties were mainly moderate. President Obama was a moderate until he got pressure from the minority community to reduce his deportations of people here illegally and to champion the black cause after a young, high school football player was killed while he was trying to kill the shooter. The president sided with the football player even though a jury consisting of six mothers found it to be self-defense as did the U.S Attorney General. President Clinton was also a centrist moderate as were both Bushes, though the younger started turning to the Right. JFK and Nixon were also moderate.

I think that it is high time for our people to come out against the radicals in both parties. The vast majority of us are against bigotry and we are against those who violently clash to suppress free speech with which they disagree . It takes no intelligence or courage to be against bigotry just as it is not brave to come out against cancer, forrest fires or heart disease. The Conservatives have come out against this small minority of right wing fascists but have not stopped the attempts by the Left to destroy history as well as free expression.

Those on Left hate haters and have no tolerance for those labeled intolerant not realizing their hypocrisy.

What does take courage and intelligence is fighting for a middle ground-moderation. Our leaders and representatives have to stand up in favor of compromise in their legislation, and we the people must come together to find common - sense solutions to our nation's issues emphasizing our shared interests, finding our common ground. 

Our country needs us to come together. Please.

Some Ideas for the Congress on Healthcare Reform and A new Tax Policy

The Congress cannot seem able to come up with a cure for the Affordable Care Act or for tax reform. Here is how I would deal with these problems.

I have recommended in a recent blog a way to fix the ACA. It is so obvious but no one seems to figure it out. Briefly, it would make enrollment voluntary, and allow insurers to reject applicants for medical reasons. Those rejected would immediately be eligible to the public option which would be a federal program so the states could not deny the expansion as 19 states are doing now. There would be a share of cost depending on the applicant's income. It would raise the number of people getting public assistance by maybe five to ten million. Private insurers would then have to compete for their share of healthy applicants by ending deductibles and offering a scaled down version of coverage. The extra cost incurred by the option could be offset by getting drug makers to reduce their charges and by not having to pay insurers billion to cover their costs. This way every American who want coverage will have it.

I have had a mutual friend hand deliver my suggestion directly to Nancy Pelosi, the actual creator of this failed system. I can only hope that she follows up on it.

There is also a pretty easy solution to making the federal tax code both simple and fair. 

First eliminate all itemized deductions and credits. The rich benefit most from these. I would replace them with a $40,000 standard deduction for families and $20,000 one for individuals. I would have five or six tax brackets ranging from 10% to 35%, which would apply to those earning $1 million or more. There could be a surtax of 5% for those earning more than $5 million and a 10% surtax for those earning more than $10 million. Those earning more than $1 million would have a straight tax with no other brackets. So a family earning $2 million would pay a straight 35% or $700,000.

This would make calculating one's taxes easy. They would pay on all their W2 and 1099s. Earned income workers would be allowed to deduct their FICA withholding. All sources of income would be equally taxable be they Social Security benefits which are now only taxable at 85% and dividends, now taxed at 15% or 28%. The tax system would so simple that the IRS could send the taxpayer the bill or the people could compute it themselves in a matter of minutes.

The IRS which is understaffed could then focus on self-employed income which would have itemized deductions, and corporate taxes which would also have itemized deductions with the net income taxed at 15%. Corporations don't really pay taxes, the cost is paid for by consumers and the shareholders.

Depending on how the brackets are defined, we would gain billions on these changes.

The only ones hurt by this plan would be the tax preparing services who would focus on helping the self employed and smaller companies.