THE REASON FOR OUR NATIONAL DEBT

Many people have asked how is it we have racked up 20 Trillion on our national debt? This is a deep and incredibly misunderstood subject. Not all of what I am about to say is the entire cause, but it has been a huge contributor.

The simple answer is WALL STREET and WAR. In order to save this nation after the last financial crisis that occurred in 2008, where 10.6 Trillion was lost by the year 2010. Chairman Ben Bernanke’s choices, although criticized by many in this country was really left with no other choice but to give a bail out.

When Banks sought out ‘Mortgage backed securities’, hereinafter referred to as MBS in order to expand their loan portfolios at decreased risk in harmony with the FDIC, which started around 1994, it was seen as an appropriate vehicle to encourage growth and expand trade. Hence the successful years under the Clinton administration and Alan Greenspan. Little would we know that by the year 2008 this would all end in disaster, owing to one major factor?

As with all things this starts gradually, banks make money MBS’s make money and a necessary stimulus has been implemented. With time this started to become a very successful model to develop and expand the housing industry.

Others on Wall Street saw this as an absolute winner for growth.  Many new investors, saw lucrative returns with companies, like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Chase, Bear Sterns, Lehman Bros. and so on. At the turn of the millennium new MBS companies started, also commonly known as hedge funds.  Herein lay the key factor that started what has been called, the sub prime mortgage. These unregulated financial entities saw an opportunity to loan money at greater risk. With higher interest rates and increasing house prices, where was the down side?   The man in the street saw this as an option to own a home, and for those that had homes, it was now an option to own a second home, for investment purposes. Housing, what could be more solid than a growing market place, where housing with this new found financing was available to be a great investment?

The market place started to kick off in a big way. Construction was growing, people were buying and selling as prices rose, money was being made, by construction companies, home owners, real estate brokers, banks, MBS’s and so on. But with all great schemes there comes a day of reckoning. With the growth of private investment, hedge funds, MBS’s and the like, there seemed to be no end to the potential. Its journey was exponential.

In 2004, the housing expansion started to slow as house prices had reached an all time high! Some houses had doubled and tripled in value. Loans had been easy to get based on having a reasonable credit score, this shadow banking financial community was not regulated like the banks, and Alan Greenspan fought hard against this happening. The result was as the houses had been purchased with no fixed term, or fixed annual percentage rate, known as an APR.  Interest rates started to rise. Now with the new higher interest rates on houses that were much higher than their original price, selling was becoming increasingly difficult. Even what I will call the unregulated financial funders were starting to feel the pinch, they too were being backed by other hedge funds in order to share the risk. It was like a bunch of bookmakers placing and defaulting their risks.

All was well until 2007, when mortgage holders started to default. The complex funding community had so many facets it’s beyond explanation in this blog. The worldwide investments from individuals and corporations had become so complex that no one could see the truly exposed entity, should there be a crisis. Yet the funding community was fraudulently, still selling investments on Wall Street, all believing there would be no end to this ‘Golden Goose’ that laid the egg!

In 2006 Wall Street paid out 23.9 Billion in bonuses to executives!!! Life was good and no one could see and end in sight. Except for the people in high places and a group of smart young men, starting out, from the ‘Ivy league’ Colleges. They in turn bet against their own company in a process know as shorting. So make money on the way up and make it on the way down? I won’t explain shorting here, but in simple terms its buying shares that you believe will go down. Many off shore companies were created for that purpose.

As interest rates grew, mortgage holders fell into default and foreclosure. The collapse seen by the top and the bottom, but not all those in between, became reality. Lehman Brothers were the first to be widely known, amongst other lesser-known entities.

Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac were backed by the government. Wall Street knew there would be a bailout! And you know who ended up paying for all this?

YES YOU, not Obama or his administration. The solution? Print more money, keep interest rates low, keep jobs, otherwise the nation was headed for a worse recession than the “GREAT DEPRESSION’, of 1929.

This behavior on Wall Street resulted in only ONE ARREST, a man from Credit Suisse!!!

In addition the war in Iraq and Afghanistan has added another 4 Trillion… is it no wonder we have this debt? So stop blaming the last 8 years, for our country’s debt, and wake up to reality. The politicians could well be asked about Wall Street, and what has been done, that’s for sure. With bonuses still being paid out to executives in vast corporations and financial entities to the tune of millions, one must ask the question who really runs the country behind super pacts and lobbyists?

So Mr. Trump I hope you are up for the task, and you can deliver on all your promises?

  

   

 

THE ELECTION AND THE CHANGE IN OUR POLICAL PARTIES

A fundamental change has now taken place in the political parties of the United States:

Republican Party:  Now under the present direction of the newly President Elect, Donald Trump, this can hardly be called the Republican Party. The dynamics of thought have completely shifted.  To what was traditionally a party of the elitist right wing authority of all that was held to be the very essence of what was truly American politics, upholding all the values of free enterprise, religious values and all that the ruling classes of America stood for. Now it has become a more democratic entity upholding the rights of Americans that feel that the elitist power base has totally betrayed Main Street. Donald Trump has struck a nerve with Americans who feel lost and forgotten in what they believe America was and should be again. By putting a hold on immigration, which should have been dealt with decades ago and wasn’t, and realizing that main stream America was being lost in the process.

 

Abraham Lincoln

This clever tactic of recognizing these fundamental facts, has brought traditional Democrats and Independents to want representation where they have a party that’s going to stand up to congress and its total lack of consideration for jobs, health care, and the well being of WHITE America, over minorities. Over the years the steady influx of immigrants and illegals, has created a division where cheap labor from immigrants at the price of white America has been forgotten, and by the outsourcing of work to the rest of the world at the price of the working people and middle class America.

This has resulted in the unheard ‘Rust Belts’, revolting from all sides to newly coming of age students, with an opportunity to vote, who see no opportunity for there futures in this country. This party should be renamed the Nationalist party of America, the now new NPA? To my mind the Republican Party of old was so fractured, with its myriad of ideals, it didn’t have a hope in hell of being elected.

Democratic Party: By contrast it appears the Democrats who formerly had this nucleus of the electorate, backed by Unions who were the main stay of the party have completely shifted away. You now have Hillary Clinton’s support by Wall Street, vast corporations and super pacts, which have completely shifted to support the America they want. It’s as though the Democratic movement has shifted to what the Republican Party, in part was once?

In addition, you have a Bernie Sanders, who stands for what I believe the majority of people really want, better education for all America in order to bring up the rear to balance out the elitist force that’s driving the country. His only problem is, it is out of total alignment with all the values of enterprise and the very essence of what America has been since its inception.  So the Democratic Party is really not united in its purpose, and had Bernie Sanders been given a greater roll in this election I truly believe the result would have been different.

 

Senator Bernie Sanders (left) Former Democratic Nominee, Hillary Clinton (Right)

Conclusion: There you have the picture, without expressing in depth that both parties wanted reform, but it was a question of who better to bring this about. The electorate has spoken. The situation we have today is not unlike what took place at the turn of the twentieth century. It has all happened before, just in another way. We had the ‘Robber barons’, J.P. Morgan, John D, Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and  Vanderbilt. Between these four people they controlled America. The Sherman Anti Trust laws put an end to that by busting up these monopolies. Capitalism, small business and enterprise have been the very essence and backbone of what America has been and is, but without regulation unbridled greed and corruption can take over. Its is we the people that must stop this, for the divisions that have been created between Wall Street and Main Street have become out of control.

I have touched on a vast subject, that whatever we now face, we must not desert the values of our ‘Founding Fathers’. We must seek ways to create greater integration among all races. When I opened my son’s history book, when he was in elementary school, it clearly stated that, ‘we are a nation of immigrants’, and until that is fully respected, we will not reach that pinnacle of becoming, as we have been, an example to the rest of the world. 

 

"We are a Nation of Immigrants."

On a final note, to give my personal opinion, racism must be faced head on and dealt with. We have a problem that has been avoided for far too long. Arriving here for a short period in 1967 and returning to England in 1972, I was exposed to an extremely hostile environment between Black and White people. Something I had never encountered, growing up in England. The Viet Nam war was also a time for student revolt and the burning of draft cards. I returned to live in America in 1976.

Even under the Carter administration these areas of racial conflict were somehow appeased but not completely.

It has always amazed me how the Jewish people who have had so much opposition for thousands of years, have been tortured, degraded and treated horrifically by Hitler in WW II, yet where ever they settle they learn the language, integrate with the culture, and respectfully keep their own religious beliefs and values among themselves. All races could learn much from what they have endured, and given back to not only this nation but to the world. Benjamin Disraeli a Jew was Queen Victoria’s favorite Prime Minister in England, at a time of extreme elitism and World Empire acclamation. The list of excellence this race of people has given in, music, Hollywood, science, the medical field and finance, has been invaluable. All of us could take a step backwards and remember that the black race too has also much to be proud of in many fields of endeavor. We of the so called white race, should start to recognize that without the many different races that make up this planet, we alone would not have been able to achieve what has been done. So the first is only as good as the last. It’s not about race and the color of our skin it’s about the right person being equally chosen for the endeavor, based upon pragmatic understanding and values. We can no longer base our values on the animalistic part of our being, this has got us to where we are today, but we must now evolve into a new age where the greater spiritual part of our being is brought to the forefront. Without this understanding we will continue to be a backward people who live in a world of conflict and territorial beliefs that still remain apart of our undoing.

The Cost of Slavery

There can be no doubt that slavery has existed throughout history from the very beginning of mankind. Nations needed labor in order to grow their economies, and those in charge resorted to whatever course of action it would take to use people within their immediate vicinity, country or wherever the closest place of finding labor could be acquired.

From Rome, the occupation of England (Britannica) and other countries under its rule labor was needed and taken. Only those with education would have the chance of avoiding this fate.

It’s an unfortunate truth, but it’s how civilizations have advanced throughout history. As nations evolved these practices became outlawed. However none can be so evident as the development of the United States. This can be traced back to the early 1500’s. Immigrants were brought in from all parts of eastern Europe and as the American continent started to grow after a very gloomy beginning, it was rampant from South America to the North, the West Indies became the largest place of trading before it started in the U.S. itself.  The tobacco fields of Virginia became the reason for the massive growth of the import of African slaves to this country.

It was big business primarily dominated by the Spanish then other nations joined in to the profitable business. The first English sponsored support took place in the reign of Charles ll in 1660 and was finally abolished by British parliament in 1807. There were also independent smugglers, who were personal profiteers too. After the tobacco industry flourished in Virginia, it also became business for the Carolinas. In the deep South, the Southern States grew their business in cotton, and with the discovery of cotton gin the trade grew at an alarming rate. At its height there was around 4 million African slaves working in unthinkable conditions from ‘sun up’ to ‘sun down’ six days a week.

The conditions provided were unthinkable, and many died from disease and malnutrition. The stories of brutality are too numerous to mention. How this form of work could be allowed under such conditions is unthinkable. After the civil war in 1865, on 31 January the thirteenth amendment was ratified and slavery was abolished. However many in the Southern states opposed the new law and continued their ways as many of the owners had seats in congress and the North didn’t wish to impose its will on a defeated South.

Each State had its own rules and with the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in 1865 it was made harder to impose justice and equality. The KKK died out in the 1870’s but resurrected itself again in in 1915. However a strict undercurrent existed and it reemerged again in the 60’s, where in response the Black community started the Black Panther movement started in Oakland in order to stand up for Black rights.  The Watts riots from an arrest made on August 11th 1965 triggered a firestorm of riots and protests. Black people feeling that they had no rights resulted in this going across the nation. Police brutality played a part. There’s no doubt that the KKK have played a significant role in impeding the integration of the Black culture into todays world. The 1960’s was clearly the outburst of the Black people feeling they had no rights under the constitution and a ten point request was made by the Black Panther movement in order to proclaim justice. The 60’s left some serious scars, which still have not been healed to this very day.

After 1865 for those in the Black community who were now free and made their way North it was difficult for them to integrate with the Whites. In the South where they were offered a pittance for their work, racial prejudice still survived. After watching the movie series ‘ROOTS’, I wept at the injustice, this is I why I felt a need to respond in this blog.

When I arrived here on June 9 1967 after being born and raised in England. I was under contract to work for the then General Dynamics, in Fort Worth, Texas. I had no clue of this history. I arrived slam-dunk in the middle of all this and could not believe the amount of racial prejudice I was faced with. Not having all the facts I chose to keep a neutral opinion, but with time I came to know what only could be a brain washing that had to be passed down from white families generation to generation, and the same for those in the Black community. It was however very clear there was an extreme undercurrent of feeling, which I had not found later in the North, Canada, and certainly not where I grew up in England. After some heated conversations where I was called a ‘nigger lover’, I chose to keep my mouth shut, but did I have an opinion, yes I certainly did and still do! In the year after I arrived there was the sad demise of Martin Luther King, and it seems only then that the nation as a whole changed, but after one hundred years, when freedom was given to all Blacks, couldn’t get my head around that? Even unto this very day that feeling is still felt, but I must gladly say to a far better and lesser extent.

Scene from Ferguson, Missouri during the aftermath of the shooting of Mike Brown.

Recent riots in Ferguson Missouri are only a shadow of the past.  So what’s the solution? Time of course, but if I was a Black person I would beg borrow and steel to educate myself, ‘metaphorically speaking of course’. Should more have been done to consider the Black populations service through slavery to this country been given? Undoubtedly yes. With time and patience this has been improved but in my opinion not as much as could have been done.  So what remains for the Black community to do today? Is to fight harder, work harder, because everyone and anyone need’s good people. Be the best, never quit and show the world that your forefathers didn’t die in vain! Your lives today must be the very essence of redemption for those Africans who were dragged here against their will, treated like animals, bought and sold like an animals, must now shake off the unbelievable injustice, as other nations have through history. Turn those ‘SCARS INTO STARS’, honor the teachings of Martin Luther King, and show the world you have talents as good as any white man or anyone else, and better? Stop blaming today's generation, they are no more at fault than you. It’s all about today, and tomorrow we can make a difference. Yes easier said than done, but many an immigrant has hit these shores penniless, Black people included and have shown themselves and the world around them that they too can be the best and set an example for others. Then all of their forefathers and yours too can sing and say it was all worth it in the end.

President Obama is the first Black U.S. President to deliver the Commencement at Morehouse College.

My conclusion is, that this is the true and only legacy. Your faith and belief in God, and God only knows the faith your forefathers must have had in order for you to be here today is unbelievable and unquestionable! Embrace this gift of life and don’t waist another minute on blaming the passed. Change your paradigm; remember your forefather’s genes live on in you. We still live in a world where injustice is alive and well, child labor, forced prostitution, the mutilation of women and disrespect, in third world countries, and so on. Life may not be perfect in America, but it sure beats the hell out of any other country I've ever lived in! I truly believe more must be done through education to balance the playing field among all of us who are Americans first and foremost.

“SO GO MAKE YOURSELF GREAT AND NEVER LOOK BACK”!!!
   

THE WORLD STAGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Certainly a time for even greater change than the human race has ever known. The advancement from the digital age into genetics is all encompassing! The challenges of ISIL, certainly brings to all of us a new understanding that’s not easily overcome?  We can carpet bomb like we did in Viet Nam and Iraq, and as Russia has tried to do in Northern Syria, does it work, NO. So what is the answer? You may well ask. Since mankind has existed we have developed equipment to attack, survive and in response we build to defend, and so the constant spiral has led us to today.

So what is the answer to what can only be described as a virus that spreads because of hatred? Its when there’s apathy we are truly lost. “Love and hate are but horns upon the same bull!” So hate is the opposite side of love. In science we work to eradicate a virus by engineering a vaccine /antidote, to neutralize the invader. So right here, lies a message that we can learn from nature. War, what a useless, but in some cases a necessary evil Have we not come this far, to not realize that all these measures are temporary and not lasting.

We continue to travel the Ferris wheel of Karma, repeating the same mistakes again and again, only to achieve power and territorial control as a result of our fears. The world is truly a complex place, of our own making. “The first is only as good as the last”, in order to reverse this animosity, change must take place in our hearts and minds.

People attracted to a cause like ISIL, choose this dark way of life not through logic, but through what they perceive as injustice, being left out, not cared for. Money and power that travels with the so-called good and just, have to change their paradigm of life. Otherwise it will always be them and us. Look into our own families, how many of us have perfect relations with our family or friends, why because we continue to punish our brothers and sisters for their mistakes. THE BLAME GAME, which we choose not to forget, because they are who they are?

Has the world advanced, yes! Spiritually NO! The world will continue to have these dynamics until mankind recognizes that without love and compassion, it will just advance as it always has from the bow and arrow! The world of protecting territory, through fear.

I was fascinated by the documentary on CNN about Iceland. Here’s a nation of peaceful coexistence, non religious, but spiritually aware, most nations would balk at the fact of no marriage and having children, from other relations living under the same roof, with a man and a woman. It appears to work. I’m not prescribing socialism, far from it. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs since the Boer wars of the 1890’s. I am hardened capitalist, where I believe people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Yet I look at Scandinavia, and other more peaceful parts of the world, Canada to some extent. Where racial integration does work, and a fairer distribution of wealth exists. Jesus Christ never started a church; he considered the planet as a whole. St. Paul was the main builder of Christianity after Jesus’s life, more so than the legend of St. Peter who became the founding rock of the Roman Catholic Church.

Have we lost our way? Should we not zoom out and start to see things differently, and bring this world into a higher understanding of humanity, and awareness of people’s deficiencies and excesses? Have we not had enough practice, or is it always going to be an “eye for an eye”?

We can follow our Lord and all be great citizens of the planet, but “Oh no please don’t take away all the things I’ve worked so hard for. God did not mean us to be without, but where do our hearts truly lie?”

So Mr. Trump, “all for me and none for you”, in the name of America! Or Mr. Sanders lets feed them all, teach them all and give free health? Where’s the cash coming from? There lies a balance, but it remains abundantly clear that we must bring up the rear.

Cartoon by: Gary Varvel-IndyStar

For America to advance in today’s world, we must stay true to innovation, investing in R&D, to remain at the top of technological advancement, that’s going at a screaming pace in the world. Gone are the days of making shoes and the like, unless massive investment is made in equipment, or robotics, jobs lie in the afore mentioned.

The third world can run circles around us. So Mr. Trump import tariffs on imported goods, is not the answer. We are in a Global economy! Invest in what we do well. For our exports ‘are the key’ to any country’s future success. Cross train people into knew jobs, and don’t underestimate the purchasing power of the United States. This not only allows the public at large to buy goods and services at lower prices than other parts of the world, but also recognize how many people come here from other parts of the world, who bring tourism and buy products here at lower prices, which is another form of export called invisible exports. If we start to work with a different mind set, we can find a way to enter a more peaceful age on this planet. Who knows, this maybe the beginning?

In my books I attempt to write about families that started modestly only to gain honors, but few last the generations to keep their founding values. Greed, power, the physical temptations of life can lead us astray. It creates a dynamic tapestry for my books, but behind my writings lays a distinct message interwoven for all my characters’ journey. Having written two books and almost finished the third, I will have completed this trilogy that’s taken me almost five years.

It has been my love and passion, to finally write, after an extremely fast and furious pace in my life. I will miss my characters, but will write more other stories that span across the ages, with my love of history and those that can and do stay the course. Recognizing we are only the keepers and stewards of the vineyard, and through it all, pass onto the next generation values that have surpassed the test of time. 

IOWA CAUCUS

There is no doubt understanding the voting for the caucuses takes a moment. The different procedure used by the Democratic Party, to the Republican Party is also interesting. That being said, the polls noted for their accuracy in Iowa were certainly amiss this time! This throws light on the fact that the nation’s electorate has definitely shifted its course toward the left. Congress’s inability to meet the demands of the middle class, through what appears to be over defending the rights of those with privilege, is the root cause of today’s political deadlock. The real test will be, can the obvious anger and frustration witnessed by the media from the average American be met. The youth of our nation want change, similar again to the 2008 election when the charisma of Barack Obama swept the nation.

I will now focus on the front-runners’ as the outcome was quite different to what was expected.

TED CRUZ

Much to most people’s surprise, Ted stole the day for the Republicans. It still seems there is a very hardcore following of religious fervor in Iowa. Ted Cruz was able to capture and convince the people due to the caucus process and win over the voters, which really speaks to his well-organized ground game. His cool and steady demeanor, in the face of Trump’s fear mongering and public diminishment, won out. As I originally blogged, this man is tough enough to go up against the show biz flash of Trump. My concern is he has a fine line to tread in order to weave a path between many states that see the new world we are entering very differently.

Ted Cruz-R (left) Donald Trump- R (Right) Photo Credit: Politico

DONALD TRUMP

Trump’s continual rhetoric is starting to get old, yes he wants change, don’t we all, but somehow, somewhere more substance and fact must be given, in order to meet the confidence of the more experienced voter. The USA is not a corporation, nor is being a President, is becoming a dictator. I respect he did handle himself with some sense of humility in favor of Cruz, more of those qualities and substance will do much to regain his momentum.

MARCO RUBIO

Rubio did much to gain ground with the first time voter, and for those who are still learning the real issues at stake. He is appealing and brings new blood without actually offering anything really new.  It’s my belief that Trump not showing up at the debate hurt him, and it was Rubio who capitalized most.

Marco Rubio-Republican Presidential Candidate Photo Credit: Yahoo

HILLARY CLINTON

In my opinion she was lucky to win. Be it by such a small margin. Her experience, husband and family are a big part of her maintaining her position. If she wants to be the nominated person for the Democrats, it’s going to take a lot more than she’s shown so far. She must listen to her husband who is a pro at connecting with the crowd and their issues. Less, talk about yourself Hillary, the people want to know you, they already know what you’ve done. They need you to truly understand what they want and in spite of some mistakes the electorate need to know they can trust you. You have proven your worth already, no question. Face the tough issues that haunt you and reaffirm what should be yours for the taking.

Bernie Sanders (left) Hillary Clinton (Right) Photo Credit: Yahoo

BERNIE SANDERS

It’s impossible to not like Bernie, his passion and appeal, and ability to lure the younger population speaks well to the values this man portrays. I like his policies, but Bernie you are not going to pay the bills by robbing the rich to pay for the poor. What you want with free education, health care, electoral reform will not create wealth. I applaud your good heart and outright honesty about the country we live in. However capitalism has its way, have a referee absolutely, but don’t drive out business from this country that means jobs!

CONCLUSION

We still have a long way to go, each front contender has something to offer, but in my opinion I don’t see yet the all encompassing person that can reach across the isle, reduce division in congress and in simple words, ‘GET THINGS DONE’!

  

   

ELECTION TIME!

The republican debate in South Carolina was well staged by the interviewers, the questions asked were substantive and we finally got down to the issues.

Overall I believe Donald Trump got put in his place for the first time since the debates began, and Ted Cruz showed me that he is a much more substantive debater for the first time. I was particularly impressed with Cruz, he’s extremely composed and able to maintain a certain equilibrium that speaks well for the future. That being said they are all improving with practice. There is a noticeably weak general knowledge on foreign affairs, by all parties. A President to be must be of more worldly caliber, if he or she is to rise to the post of ‘Commander in Chief.’

Ted Cruz, Presidential Candidate

The positives and negatives of living on a vast continent separated by two oceans from the rest of the world, is it creates a distinct culture and focus. A lot of the immigrants that came to this country brought with them hard earned experiences, and it is this human capital that has made America the great nation that it is today. The downside is that to some extent we are cut off from the rest of the world and its more cosmopolitan views of what will be needed for the coming years.

I like the idea of a flat tax, and a down sizing of the outrageous number of data that employs so many people in an unnecessary exercise. Simple is always best!

I will now point out what I believe to be subjects, in their order of importance that need to be seriously addressed in the coming months:

1.    IMMIGRATION 

The whole discussion on immigration has become a political football, which over the years no party other than an occasional attempt has really dealt with this controversial situation.

What Donald Trump is offering is going in the right direction. Build a wall. We live in the electronic age so with sensors and drones this doesn’t have to be the once costly task that has been given as a reason for passed excuses.

Now here comes the difficult part who goes and who stays? Obviously shipping out every illegal immigrant back to Mexico or where ever is preposterous? The costs, logistics and organization would be an overwhelming task. My thoughts are this:

a.    Do a background check on each person here illegally. Anyone who has been here for three years or more, has no criminal record should be allowed amnesty to apply for L1 status, which would eventually lead to an application for a green card. In this way the country benefits from any taxes that should be paid under the law. The rest must be shipped back to their country of origin. The law on birthright to becoming a US citizen must be changed immediately. No person, other than a US citizen, can give birth to a child in the USA and be given automatic rights to that status. Those that already have that status will be in a better position to make application for other members of the family. It’s a difficult choice and families will get split, but the price they all took in the first place, has its consequences.

b.    The giant mistake here is that passed administrations have dodged this issue to where it has become an overwhelming problem. It will cost the US, but it’s the only way to solve this immigration crisis once and for all.

Donald Trump, Presidential Candidate

2.    THE MIDDLE EAST  

This indeed is another sore spot with the American public and indeed around the world. Let’s take a look at passed history here, Viet Nam, Yugoslavia, Iraq 1991 and 2003, Afghanistan, and the present. I only

know of two times that the deployment of American troops with other nations have resulted in success. These wars have cost trillions of dollars, and the one thing the US must learn is when you take up the sword you stay, occupy, and only give back the country to its inhabitants, once law and order has been established.

Its one thing to attack a country and succeed, but where is the plan for the day after? Once a nation walks down that lonely path, in frank English, ‘Your ass is on the line’. You don’t just up and leave, creating a power vacuum and leaving a mess that generations after have to deal with for years. It’s all well and good charging off to war, exciting stuff! But has this really been thought through? The great Empires of the world always colonized a nation after its fall, respecting culture but acting as a referee in order to maintain stability and peace.

I am not for blasting ahead with another war over ISIS, strategically, with other nations, yes. This is a war that now belongs to the Arab nations in that region, we can only help, advise and assist. ‘The sins of the father have been well shed upon the youth!’ So let’s learn from our mistakes?

3.    GUN LAWS

I have well made my feelings known on this subject. Please read my passed blogs. We live in different times, the ‘Bill of Rights’, was created from English law. If you go back through the English History books, you will see that reform has always been a part of an evolving nation. This is not changing the constitution; it’s just dealing with the reality of the times we live in!

4.    LAW ENFORCEMENT    

This indeed is a sensitive subject. ‘The first is only as good as the last!’

In my personal opinion, I know the police force do all they can to respect the law, but where does, panic, good conscience and humanitarian principles, play their part. From what I’ve witnessed after a driver of a car, a person illegally selling on a side street, does not obey the command of the officer on duty, an almost robotic behavior seems to take place from the police. So this comes back to training. If we treat people without respect, then get ready to see the outcome. If these basic principles are not learned, then we are in for a future police state that will rule by force.

Is this what America is all about? The statistics in this country speak for themselves throughout the world.

So what’s the solution, you may well ask? The power lies in the police who are doing their job to enforce the law. That’s all well and good, but how that power is imposed is the key to either having what we have now, or better relations and respect between the police force and the civilian population. So what’s the answer? Experience, the imposing of the law is probably the most difficult process of all. Inexperience will bring fear, and when a civilian feels that fear, stupid things happen. For me to explain this in detail here would take up too much space. In short, the better trained an officer is in the art of dealing with complicated situations, will bring opportunities to break down the ‘fear aspect’, and lead to less ugly outcomes. There are a million questions here to answer, but you don’t shoot an unarmed man on the run! A real budget must be set forth to train younger inexperienced officers in this art of avoiding confrontation. In simple words defense and safety is the mind set here, not attack and destroy. When an entirely new method of implementing the law is taken, and attitude is a huge part of this, people will then respond differently. I can’t say it enough, understanding the psychology of the person you are confronted with is the beginning.

5.    TAX REFORM

I stand for a flat tax. The Tax code has become over complicated. Employs to many accountants to interpret, and too many IRS employees. The result, too much time is wasted, and the overall costs of collecting taxes becomes an expensive business. Simplification, and reduction of corporate income tax, will attract investments from abroad and the return of existing American companies. This will create jobs that will in turn bring payroll tax and the need for goods and services. These are the key elements, outside exports, for the financial success of any nation. As I have expressed in previous blogs a country must invest in technology and innovation. As a more developed country, the USA must focus on high technology and concentrate on innovative industries, in order to stay ahead of world competition.

6.    THE PRESIDENT

I know we live in a time when the public is fed up with gridlock in Congress, and we all desperately want change, but not change for changes sake! I know the nation is awe struck with Donald Trump, but seriously, the ideas are good, but this not the man to lead America. Ruling by theatrics and fear mongering won’t work in practice. So what qualities does it take to run this great nation?

a.    A good listener, but a person that is action orientated. A leader who chooses the best leaders in every field, not political cronies that tell you what you want to hear, ‘Remember weapons of mass destruction?’

b.    We are in a new age of unparalleled technology and innovation. This requires a new approach. A President that does not possess the minimum skills, better have a very good backup. Above all a team must be chosen that is not afraid to stand up for their beliefs.

c.    I believe America cannot keep believing in the, ‘we must do it all, fight the wars, police the planet. It’s time to build coalitions and focus on more important concerns facing us in this nation, for education and retraining, and infrastructure.

d.    Its imperative that the leader and the ‘White House, must reach across the isle!’ This over micro managed White House has separated itself from congress and that MUST BE CHANGED.

7.    ELECTORAL REFORM

We must return to the heart of what this nation was created for. A lot of Brits settled here after the ‘War of Independence’, who did not want to return to a monarchy. George Washington’s Grand parents are a product of that, their family home stills stands in England, next to the estate where Princess Diana is buried. Much has changed in England since that time. That being said this is an elected government, that constitutionally stands for the people and by the people. We are in serious danger of losing that authority. Super Pacts, supported by wealthy families and corporate empires must be stopped. The Lobbyists and the special interest groups must be harnessed. Some way a cap must be considered on the amount of funds given to a potential candidate. I’m all for the support that comes from the public at large through the Internet. This is democracy at work. Each elected candidate must remember his or her roots, and not forget the people from each state who elected them. The power of big money and party politics can sweep away the values and good principles that were once the reason a person got elected. In short we must get back to basics.

 

Hillary Clinton (L) and Bernie Sanders (R)- Presidential Candidates

CONCLUSION

I have enjoyed watching the debates and was greatly stimulated by the last two debates from the Republican and Democratic parties. We’re finally getting down to ‘brass tacks’. More to debate, but they are getting there. For my money Ted Cruz, appears to be an extremely astute, well-educated person, with the right experience behind him. He could go all the way. He’s not afraid to go with his beliefs, with a little more diplomacy he appears to be a man that is worldly enough to lead here and abroad. My only concern is that the Republican Party is too fractured. If they are to succeed and gain the electorate, they must stand for a more united party policy in order to have future success.

The Democrats really only have, Hillary Clinton. As much as I love Bernie’s, passion, ideas and thoughts, as an added tonic, his left wing views are too costly. I believe Hillary has the best chance with Bill. Bill Clinton’s public appeal and ability to express himself, gives the country the best option for the most experienced couple to lead our nation. It is important that a leader has good international experience and skills. The new age we are entering will be about building coalitions with other nations. Strong separate views about foreign policy can only bring about more expense and dependence on the US.