The ‘Duck Dynasty’ Patriarch Issue

          Phil Robertson, “Patriarch” of the ‘Duck Dynasty’, has been so much in the forefront of the news these last few days that I cannot help but comment. For those who have never heard of the ‘Duck Dynasty’ (if there is anyone), this is a television series viewed on the A&E network. Mr. Robertson was recently interviewed by GQ Magazine; and, in this interview which was published in its January, 2014 edition, he made several controversial statements which created such a furor he was suspended from the show.

Asked about sin in his interview with GQ, Mr. Robertson is said to have said, “Start with homosexual behaviour and just morph out from there–bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.” Also, quoting scripture, he said, to the effect, “Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers–they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right”.

Also, “I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once.  Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash. We're going across the field. ... They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, 'I tell you what: These doggone white people' -- not a word! Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues”.

Out of these quotations of Mr. Robertson along with his suspension came charges and accusations of hate crimes, racial baiting, religious bigotry, and violations of free speech. Although it won’t get very far, I would add one other–exploitation by the media. Many events worse than this would pass by the wayside and the media wouldn’t even pick it up. They pass up reporting on many other much more important subjects every day, so why this one? Why this subject? Why do they report this over and over and over all through the day, day in and day out–every day? The answer to that is sensationalism. It creates ratings; it sells advertising; it makes money. What it does not do is responsibly serve the public, except to provide crude entertainment to some among us. It helps to feed our appetite for certain forms of gossip–socially and intellectually irresponsible, I believe.

This particular issue is so multifaceted that one cannot rationally discuss it as a whole. It only brings out the bias, prejudice, bigotry, and speculation in all of us with little, if any positive results. Mr. Robertson, according to the various articles written about him, is an intelligent, honest and forthright Christian man raised in the bayous of Louisiana, a product of his culture and upbringing who speaks his mind candidly and honestly. What we see, is what we get. As citizens of a democratic republic and, for those who profess to be Christians, we all have a stake in this. We have a dog in this fight, as they say.

The issues involved are religion, sin, government, racial hatred, homosexuality, freedom of speech, and the social responsibility of business–all major and complex issues in their own right. I would compile these into three central discussions– the social responsibility of business which I have discussed on previous occasions; government, another facet of which I will discuss below; and religion, which I will discuss in the near future.

In this nation, we are guaranteed freedom of religion and worship by our Constitution. Now, I’m not a lawyer; but that means to me the separation of church and state–government does not run the church, and the church does not run the state. When we elect our government in this nation, that government, so elected, has a legal obligation to govern and serve the interests of all the people, every last one, whoever they may be, whether they are green, purple, have pin-pointed heads, whatever; and those people have an equal right to opportunity, treatment, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and to practice any religion they may choose to follow (I must add that, in my view, this does not include religious law that supersedes the law of the land or is destructive of our democratic way of life–that is not in the deal and was never intended to be.). To purposely belabor the point, I will be more specific and say, rich, poor, smart, stupid, educated, uneducated, heterosexual, homosexual, bi-sexual, trans-sexual, male, female–have I left anything out? That’s our country; that’s how it was designed; and that’s how it is. To this end, we must “all get along”. I might, also, remind you that, for us who are Christians, we are commanded to love one another, every last one, all the above factors notwithstanding. We may not like some people, but we must love them–the Bible calls it AGAPE love, and it includes forgiveness.

One more issue in this matter is the question of freedom of speech. There is no question. We are guaranteed freedom of speech under our Constitution. Let me remind you, however, that just because the law says so doesn’t make it so. The absolute fact is we do not have freedom of speech in this country and we never have since day one. It has always been true that one must watch what he says, where he says it, and before whom. Depending on what is said and where, one might suffer ostracism, unemployment, violence, or even arrest and internment–try talking politics in a bar. I just hope I don’t end up that way. I would like to think what I have to say is honest, constructive, and a contribution to the dialogue.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

The Purpose of a Business 

          I’m usually open–minded to all arguments, but one argument upon which I refuse to bend is the purpose of a business. That is, a business exists for one purpose and one purpose only, to provide a service or product to the people or their representatives, the government for one example–no other. When there is no further need for a business’s product or service, the reason(s) notwithstanding, it ceases to exist. Its purpose is not profit; its purpose is not to provide jobs; and, most certainly, its purpose is not to fill the Christmas stockings of politicians. Its purpose, once again, is to provide a product or service, directly or indirectly, to man.

          I was viewing a speech on C-span earlier today by Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader of the Senate in which he presented a defense of the coal industry in light of that industry’s current problems with the EPA–he called it “our war on coal”–not. In his presentation he used the testimony of a young ex-coal miner who wrote a song about coal mining, to the effect, saying coal mining is a “way of life”, and we should not decrease our coal consumption so as not to take away that “way of life” (I suppose the ecology notwithstanding). I submit to you, no business is or should ever become a “way of life”. Just as they have always done throughout history, businesses cease to exist when they are no longer needed, become obsolete, or a detriment to the lives of those whom they serve.

          Looking at the subject from another angle or perspective, in fulfilling its purpose stated above, a business should do so in the spirit of the function to be performed as well as in its execution, ethically and responsibly with the ultimate wellbeing of those whom they are supposed to serve in mind. Anything less is immoral and a farce. I’m sure all of you, by now, know that, under the Affordable Care Act, i.e. Obama Care, people with a pre-existing condition cannot be turned down for health insurance. Guess what. Tonight on CNN, it was reported that United Health Care has found a way around that law by dropping your preferred physician from their coverage. So, what is one to do–especially when your condition is serious and your preferred doctor is critical? What else? You either change doctors (to someone you don’t know and, worse yet, who doesn’t know you) or change insurance carriers, in which case you very possibly will be charged higher insurance premiums. Such action is not within the purpose of a business and is morally reprehensible. I may be idealistic, but I feel a business should not be allowed to exist if it cannot perform in a moral and socially responsible manner. We desperately need to able to trust those with whom we deal.

          Folks, this is just another reason why we need to adopt a single-payer healthcare system, i.e. Medicare for everyone–no confusion, minimal decisions, no muss, no fuss, and, for the people, no bother. I should also add that our proceeding to that end will go a long way toward eliminating our deficit, assuming we establish the same rules governing the negotiations of prescription drug prices as those of the Veterans Administration. This just one example illustrated by United Health Care clearly shows the road ahead for the Affordable Care Act. More United Health Cares will come out of the woodwork every other day. You can count on it. Those who have been blood sucking our people for these many years need to be put in their place, and a single-payer healthcare system modeled after Medicare is the way to do it. Relatively speaking, it’s easy; it’s simple; and it’s doable. Let’s do it. Write your representative in Congress. The Republicans don’t have an alternative plan to the Affordable Care Act. Here’s one for you. For additional info on this subject, please refer to my previous discussion on this, September 30^th and July 23^rd of this year.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

Our Depression

We certainly hear a lot in the news today; our government is in serious doubt; and our politicians are flailing in the wind, so to speak. Even though, allow me to list below a few items which I consider to be facts, no matter what the propagandists say.

Fact No.  1. Our country is in serious economic difficulty with twenty million people, more or less, unemployed, under employed, and/or living on poverty level wages.

Fact No.   2. It would appear that our leaders just wish they will go away. Trust me. They won’t. We need jobs, and we need them now–not some Sunday after some Tuesday.

Fact No.  3. Real jobs will not come until there is increased demand, and demand will not reoccur without a massive increase in spending by government and the people, in which event, the people must have living wages.

Fact No.  4. Not one dollar of debt can be paid until our national deficit is eliminated, and our deficit cannot be eliminated until our national budget is balanced–in the end revenues must equal spending.

Fact No.  5. We will not recover from this very serious dilemma in which we find ourselves until our nation, at the very least, gets back to a “real” level of employment (You surely know this reported 7% unemployment figure is pure fiction to give us that warm fuzzy feeling which we all like ever so much [and help us to forget the twenty million discussed above]–don’t believe it.), and our national budget is balanced, i.e. our deficit is zero (then we can start on paying off the debt).

          At this point in the discussion, we come down to another very important matter–our national debt. The Nobel winning economist, Paul Krugman, for whom I have immense respect, tells us in his book, End This Depression Now, that we should not consider government debt in the same vein as we think of personal debt–government can print money and people cannot. I, also, read his book, Depression Economics; and, as I understand his thinking, he believes our level of government debt is not presently critical–we should concentrate on increasing spending, stimulate the economy now, and get out of this depression. Austerity at this point in time is a danger to our economy. Again, we should spend. To put people back to work we need to increase demand. A jobs bill is one way of doing that. At this point in the discussion, we move to my opinion.

          One of our ex-vice presidents, Richard Cheney, has said that deficits don’t matter (there is no way I believe that although the opinion of Paul Krugman borders on it), and his administration operated accordingly–a matter of record. Of course, in addition to enriching themselves, they had another motive in mind–the reduction, if not elimination, of our so-called entitlements. If the debt and deficit were high enough to become critical, they could force the negotiation of their elimination or reduction in the requisite budget battles. That’s where we are presently.

          Where am I going with this? I think our government should get their head “out of the sand” and pull this country out of the depression in which we find ourselves. You claim we aren’t in a depression. I submit to you that the only reason you may be right is the relief we enjoy from our safety nets of Social Security and healthcare, both of which enable most of us to hold our heads above water–one of which, Social Security, came out of the Roosevelt Administration in the thirties; and the other of which, Medicare and Medicaid, came out of the administration of Lyndon Johnson in the sixties (Without them, we would really be in deep doo in this country). We need to get out of this economic mess and we need to do it now, politics notwithstanding; and we need to spend the money to do it. In conjunction with this, we need to develop a ten year plan to eliminate our deficit and, after that, a twenty year plan to pay off or pay down our national debt (Dr. Krugman would probably say this is unnecessary, time will take care of the problem. He may be right; but, with all respect, I disagree.).

Deficit reduction could begin with implementation of the single payer healthcare system I recommended in an earlier blog, and serious cuts in waste, fraud, and abuse in government, defense, and intelligence. One suggestion to this end might begin with an auditable accounting system and integrated budgets and data bases in defense and elsewhere where they are needed. With all the computer intelligence in the NSA, one would think we would have been smart enough to do have done that already.

By the way, before I quit this for today, have you thought of the billions of dollars we have wasted with this ACA, Affordable Care Act– the division among us, and everything else? We could have just signed everybody up for Medicare and had this thing going already with much less muss, fuss, and bother. We just don’t make sense. We just don’t make sense. I’m sorry. I can’t stop. Look at the relief this approach would give to business and the economy. For the third time, we just don’t make sense.

Good night, folks.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

South Africa

Have you seen the news of South Africa in the wake of Nelson Mandela? The television screen was replete with pictures of the impoverished black people of the land, walking in streets of mud among the shanties in which they lived. It went on to tell us that the white population among them owned all the land while the natives had nothing. The augury of the presentation went on to show how the black people were forming armies and training their young to fight. The white landowners were understandably fearful of what might be in their future and that of their children.

Why am I telling you this? This situation in South Africa didn’t come about because it is a nation of lazy loafers and ne’er-do-wells. It is the direct result of the inequality of opportunity in income, wealth, education, and due process under the law over these past many years–a carryover of colonization and apartheid. This is what happens in a land where peoples are suppressed and there is a lack of equal opportunities for all, economically, educationally, and politically. This is what has been happening in our country over the past half century–especially in the past thirty-plus years. No one has to tell you about how the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. You know it. You are probably among the latter.

As I have pointed out on previous occasions, wages and income (in real terms) is decreasing in our country, and the preponderance of our people is in debt up to their ears (personal as well as national debt). Unemployment is exceedingly high with, current statistics notwithstanding, over twenty million people out of work, and jobs (and money) flowing profusely from our country to nations around the globe. Many just cannot make ends meet. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of our people, go to bed at night hungry. Even more is on some form of welfare or another–our welfare rolls (state of dependency) have literally exploded. The standard of living for our economy as a whole is in decline, a trend I anticipate will continue for the foreseeable future; and as you might expect, worry, unrest, and discontent among our people is rampant. The sale of firearms and ammunition in our country has increased significantly, and the establishment of internment facilities and massive purchases of ammunition by our government’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security has also been reported (Ref: infowars.com). As if this isn’t enough, our government is politically broken. For all practical purposes it has become inoperative–almost beyond repair. As just one example, Congress literally threw $24 Billion into the trash vis a vis a completely unnecessary government shutdown (small change compared to other travesties in the past). They, also, cut food stamps, despite this plight of our people.

I don’t usually copy other people’s writings in my postings to this blog; but, if you will indulge me, I would like to make an exception and post a recent letter to the editor of a national newspaper. Except for a couple spelling corrections, I have not edited it one iota. I just want to give you one example of the feeling in this country. It reads as follows:

“In fact, the federal deficit has been inching down. And why must deficit reduction always fall on the backs of the least among us? The rich have been left happily alone on their pinnacle of invulnerability, there is about $33 trillion in offshore taxes left un-pursued, and no one on the right will so much as consider the phrase "raise revenues".

You can't turn the clock back to the mid-19th century. When enough people are marginalized and realize that they have no stake in a nation that doesn't give a tinker's curse about healthcare, public education, access to higher education, and has cooperated in building a workforce of terrified serfs at the behest of behemoth corporate interests with no national or ethical boundaries - the peasants will begin rioting, and the baby will go with the bathwater.

The rising inequity between the very rich and everyone else, and that includes a frustrated, hard-working middle-class whose corpse is being picked over by the corporate rich in this country like a dead pigeon is, I assure you, far more dangerous than the federal deficit. The government can print money any time it likes. But it won't have a fire hose long enough to put out the fire that will eventually ignite from the spreading gasoline pool of failure to thrive among everyone but the rich.”

I think that says it all, folks. That says it all. We need to change our direction before we, too, become like South Africa. We need to take back our government from the Shadow Government of the Corporatocracy and Power Elite. We can only do this with election and campaign financing reform; and by becoming politically active and eliminating private money from the election process, which will never happen if we never get with the program.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

It Seems To Me

It would seem to me (I have had a lot of those lately, and they “seem to” keep coming). It would seem to me that if one really and honestly in their heart believes in democracy, they would believe in it for all people–not just themselves. If one believes that (if one  really does), would it, therefore, go without saying that he or she would, also, believe all people within any given unit of a democracy be included in the electoral process–our nation, for example, or any nation for that matter? Can a nation really be democratic if its people or any significant portion of them is excluded from the process?

Think about that. Is a government wherein its elected representatives are significantly controlled by major contributions of money from outside private interests, taking precedence over the best interests of the people, a democracy? Is gerrymandering consistent with democracy? Is passing laws deterring voting by certain segments of the population democratic? How about those who pass laws ostensibly with one effect for the underlying purpose of, effectively, achieving another, thereby constraining the democratic process, i.e. voter suppression? What do you think of excluding other political factions from the electoral process? Do you think that to be democratic? Should we have more than two political parties within our system of government to better recognize the needs and desires of our people? Should multiple parties continue to be restricted in our electoral process?

Having asked these questions, do you believe that those who practice or contribute to practices of voter manipulation and suppression really believe in a democracy of the people, by the people and for the people; or, on the other hand, are they serving just their own special interests through control of the vote with little or no regard for the benefit of the people?

I have one last question under “It seems to me”. Does it “Seem to you” that you can continue to enjoy the benefits of a democratic republic without the active and robust participation of you and your fellow citizens? Do you really think our democratic republic can continue to exist given the direction in which it is going if you fail to actively take part? Surely you cannot be happy with things as they are.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

Our Budget Compromise

Its lack of real accomplishment notwithstanding, our illustrious House of Representatives and United States Senate have finally come to a bipartisan budget agreement. In the course of its announcement, Paul Ryan, a member of the House of Representatives and United States Senator Patty Murray jointly stated, to the effect, that no better deal could be made under the circumstances of today’s political conditions. That remains to be seen, however, as it still must be approved by both bodies of Congress and signed by the President.

I didn’t see this in the write-up; but, as I viewed their joint announcement of the deal on CNN, Senator Murray said, in effect to Ryan, “You and I serve a different team” to which he nodded his head and spoke his agreement. He certainly does; but, really, I was surprised that he would openly admit it. Senator Murray serves the people’s team (I hope I’m right on that–one never knows anymore). Ryan serves our Shadow Government. You remember. That’s our government by the Corporatocracy and Power Elite which controls our Congress and others high up in government through their campaign contributions, lobbying groups, think tanks, etc.–overpowering your vote.  That’s the top five percent of us, or so, where most of the money goes. I’ve been telling you about these people. Just tune into the various news programs on your radio and television. Listen to them talk. They’re good, folks. They are really good. They’ve got a line that’ll really “Wow Ya”.

I don’t know all the good and bad of this (as they say, it’s beyond my pay grade); but there is some good to be seen in it. For one, it will get us by a possible government shutdown, January 15^th; and, for another, it might help to facilitate negotiations of the debt limit in March, allowing us to keep going until we can come, hopefully, to a real and substantive agreement. The bad, of course, is that, but for the greed and avarice involved, we could have solved many of our problems permanently. This just, once again, kicks the can down the road.

A really sad omission at this point in time is that of our Congress not renewing the unemployment benefits expiring in December, just after Christmas. Not only will this cause severe damage to the lives of the individuals involved; but, also, it will take from the overall economy a significant stimulus, hurt business, and bring about additional losses in jobs. I don’t care what your political religion is, that’s one hell of a blow to all of us. It’s very easy to make decisions about the lives of others when you have a full stomach, warm clothes, and a roof over your head; but it’s a horse of a different color when you are the one hungry, about to be evicted from your home, or sleeping out in the cold with no hope of improving your condition. Wake up, people! These are not normal times. There are approximately twenty million people out there who are hurting and are hurting badly. It’s freezing out there; and our Shadow Government doesn’t care. They do not feel the cold and can care less about how you feel (Correction: They do care for your money and your vote, however).

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

Thinking

          Just from personal observation of people over the years, I have developed a perception, subjective of course, that we all are mentally lazy, including me–especially me. I know for a fact that I am guilty of this impediment–seriously so. Since I don’t dare be alone with this defect (my ego won’t tolerate it), I must assume we are all in this together, including those much smarter–we are all this way. Aren't we? It is just a question of how much more or less. Isn’t it? Think about it.

          What brings the subject to my mind just now is that I have been reading a book (I’m not quite finished yet) by Dr. Daniel Kahneman, titled Thinking, Fast and Slow; and, what do you know? Surprise! I am vindicated. Dr. Kahneman tells us we have two kinds of thinking, Type 1 and Type 2. I’ll probably not be able to explain this as well as he; but, nevertheless, I’ll do my best. These are my words and interpretation.

As I understand, our minds constantly operate under Type 1. We think and make decisions fast; Type 1 is automatic, operating off the information and experience we have accumulated and stored in our mental data base over time–whatever that may be. You have heard many times the statement, “Garbage in, Garbage Out”. This is where that comes into play for better or for worse. You get out of your mind what you put into it. Jesus says, “As you think, so you are”. Type 2, on the other hand is your thinking or reasoning process. This is the lazy side of our thinking. We actually resist using it. It operates to overrule Type 1 when necessary. A simple example of its use might be seen in driving a car when, all of a sudden, you are threatened by an extraneous event–another vehicle runs a red light in front of you, a pedestrian is in the crosswalk, the light turns yellow, etc. A decision has to be made. Reasoning is required. I’m sure by now you get the general idea. Type 2 facilitates decision-making. 

In addition to the facilitation of decision making, Type 2 is used when we read, study, listen, calculate, experience, etc. The more we use this type of our thinking, the better we will  develop our inner database and make better and more reliable decisions, building knowledge, eliminating misinformation, and erasing bias and prejudice in our minds–enabling the effectivity of our Type 1 thinking. But, we don’t like to do that, do we? We would rather take the easy way out. That’s the mental laziness coming out in all of us–a fact of life that feeds our everyday reliance on preconceived notions, opinions, bias, prejudice, and animosities, our level of intelligence notwithstanding. Even the smartest of the smartest is susceptible to this flaw in our nature.

Think about it. We all vote.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net  

The Minimum Wage

          Once again, the subject of the minimum wage is at the forefront of discussion in government; and, frankly, for the life of me, I can’t understand why it’s even being debated. It seems (the debate, that is) so unnecessary. Raising the minimum wage is either good for the country (our nation) or it is bad for it (I’m talking about the good or best interest of our country, our nation as a whole–not that of individual vested interests). It’s that simple. Once again, as in everything else (it seems), our government is engaging in an exercise in masturbation. How many times over the years in our past have we raised the minimum wage? There is no need for study. There is no need for debate. We know the answers to the questions. We know the economic impact and incidence of raising the minimum wage. We know all the possible effects–all there is a need to know. We have been there. We have done that. We know! We also know it is the right thing to do in these trying economic times after so many years of inflation since the last time. We also recognize the need to adjust Social Benefits, accordingly, to compensate for the resultant inflation. So why don’t we just do it and move on to resolving the many other important issues on our nation’s agenda? There’s too much talk. Of course, we have to decide how much, don’t we?

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

Where Are We Going?

It has been several days since I have written a posting to this blog, and I sincerely apologize for that. I really appreciate your following my writing and hope you will continue; but, to be completely honest, some days my thoughts flow, and other days they do not. I, really, just draw a blank. Again, I’m sorry. I hope you will “hang with” me in this endeavor.

One doesn’t have to look back too many years to see the future if they only care to take a look. History does repeat itself. In my final years of life, I will not be around to see (or experience) it; but, looking at the direction in which our leaders are taking us and how they are managing the affairs of our nation, I foresee only a path of poverty, misery and servitude for my children and their descendents. Ignorance, greed, avarice, and incompetence abound; everyone thinks they are right, facts notwithstanding; no one will admit they are wrong; and our world (as we know it), our government of the people, by the people, and for the people, is slipping away before our very eyes, arguably either (thru passive neglect and ignorance) forfeited by the people or stolen from them by an oligarchy of our nation’s corporate and power elite, the top one percent, if you will–our Shadow Government–those who take all the money. I can’t argue the distinction, as the latter could not have occurred without the acquiescence of the former. It’s sad, if not tragic, isn’t it? We have come to the point in our nation’s short history where (as I have said before) we not only have a “Shadow Banking” system (Reference the report of The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, published January, 2011), we also have a “Shadow Government”. We’ve come a long way, baby.

The question at hand is, what are we going to do about it, and when are we going to do it? Not all, to be sure; but, for the most part, the foxes (the power elite) are in control of the henhouse. You know they aren’t going to do anything; so, the ball is in your court. Let me suggest this. In November, 2014, we are going to have a national election for representatives to Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate. To the best of your ability vote only for those who represent the people of this country, the 99%, those to whom God gave this planet in the first place. Don’t forget. When Jesus came into this world, he came to the poor, the disenfranchised. It was Jesus who chased the money changers from the temple because they were liars, cheats, and thieves. Accordingly, cast your votes for representatives of the people, populists if you will, rather than those who represent only the interests of the very rich (and their wannabe's).

Let’s get the show on the road toward taking back our country for the people. We need jobs. We need to take money out of politics. We need to legally affirm that corporations are not people and do not have the rights of people. Only God makes people–not Mr. Roberts or his gang. We need to insure open, honest, and fair elections, open and fair to all citizens and political parties–gerrymandering and discrimination be damned. We need to shore up Social Security to the extent we don’t have to argue the matter for ever again. We need a single-payer healthcare system for all. As one great leader once said, “It doesn’t matter if the cat is white or the cat is black, the cat we want is the cat that catches mice”. We, also, need to amend our Constitution as needed to implement a government, as Abraham Lincoln said in his address at Gettysburg, of the people, by the people, and for the people.

We have a year left before the election, folks. Please. Think seriously and deeply about what I have said. I urge you. Focus on our government being a Democratic Republic, representative of the people, as it was originally established in 1789.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

Busted for Drugs

Trey Radel,

Representative of the State of Florida to

The United States House of Representatives

          I’m sorry, Mr. Representative. I really am. Not only am I truly sorry for you, I’m sorry, also, for your family; but, really, you picked a bad time to do this. You picked a time when the effectibility, credibility, and personal character of the whole Congress is in question. I say, shame, shame on you. You picked a time when so many of your kind have sold their very souls to the lobbyists, representatives of the Shadow Government (The corporatocracy and power elite) which really “calls the shots” in America and rules over us–just to get re-elected.

          You claim that you want to “continue serving this country” (Ref.: USA Today, November 20^th). As is so with any representative of the American people, the best way to do that was to begin by setting an example–not only in character (that’s extremely important); but, also, in your credibility. Are you really sincere when you vote on an issue? Do you really believe in that for which you are voting; or, on the other hand, is your vote in the House of Representatives only a reflection of the party line, i.e. pseudo-insurance for re-election? I’m thinking of your co-sponsorship of legislation to change the nation’s mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws, a bill that calls for states to drug test people who receive food stamps (Again, Ref.: USA Today, November 20^th). That does raise an idea, though. If, today, in these times when our nation is in a state of economic depression, we are going to drug test poor people on food stamps, perhaps we should initiate a program of drug testing Congressmen.

          I say again, Mr. Representative, shame on you. You really don’t belong in office. You should resign. If you were a black man, you would be doing time–another travesty in our legal system, i.e. one law for the underclasses and another for the upper. You can take that to the bank, Mr. Representative.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

It Seems To Me

I readily recognize I don’t know everything, and I don’t pretend to, the thoughts of my critics notwithstanding; but it seems to me that, in their mismanagement, our government is treading a perilous path in these difficult times, rapidly approaching a line in the sand; which, if they cross, will lead us beyond a point of no return.

You might correct me on this, but I believe our country and our people are different from those of other nations. We are different, if for no other reason, in that we were born free. Personal freedom is ingrained in the minds of every one of us from the very beginning of our great nation–the Revolutionary War; and that inner subconscious belief continues with us to this very day–whether we were born here or immigrated. Freedom is ingrained in our culture–freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom of action, limited only by that of others, i.e. my freedom ends where yours begins.

In the beginning, our Constitution, approved in 1789, was written and approved behind closed doors by the power elite of the time and given to us, we the people, for our approval, effectively telling us we were free. Subsequently, the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments) was added, again increasing our freedom. Further along in history, we decided that the people would elect members of the Senate, once again increasing our freedom. Then, in 1865, slavery was abolished, followed one hundred years later by the Civil Rights Act of 1965. As a nation, freedom is all we know–this is the color of all our glasses.

I mentioned earlier that our government is treading a perilous path. A government of the people exists for only one purpose–only one. That is to manage the affairs of our nation. As the Preamble to the Constitution says, “In order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…..”. Managing the affairs of our nation, in my opinion, does not constitute playing chess with party politics at the expense of the people. I heard former Senator Tom Daschle say on Washington Journal this morning, to the effect that, what our government needs is a good dose of bipartisanship. My contention is that, what it needs is a good dose of patriotism–patriotism for our nations’ affairs. Rather than the one and one half days per week they are now working (they go home on Thursdays and return on Tuesdays), we need them to take care of business and relieve us from our overwhelming stresses; and you can believe–they are overwhelming to all of us. We can use a little bit of that Tranquility right now.

Now, having provided the groundwork, I’ll get down to it. Our nation and our people are under immense stress right now. I’ve pointed it out over and over in my several postings to this blog, but I’ll briefly do it again:

1.     We have approximately twenty million people either unemployed–looking for work, employed part- time, or who have given up looking. Our recession may be over, but we are still in depression.

2.     Many, if not millions (I don’t know how many, but too many) are living in cars, under bridges, on the streets, or in homeless shelters. They are living on welfare, securing food from food banks, eating out of dumpsters and food kitchens, or whatever.

3.     Since the 1970’s, and more so since the 1980’s, income and wealth of our middle and under classes has steadily decreased right along with their standard of living. The rich have gotten much richer and the poor have become poorer.

4.     As a result of the burst of the housing bubble and financial collapse of the financial markets in 2008, millions of our people have lost their homes, are under water with their home mortgages, and over their heads in personal debt with no apparent way out.

5.     Large corporations (long standing members of the power elite, our Shadow Government), in order to increase their profits, have been outsourcing jobs to slave labor abroad, exacerbating unemployment and reducing tax revenues. You call it what you want, but a rose is a rose is a rose. I call it slave labor. Not all, to be sure, but many of our slaves in 1865 lived better than those to whom we are now outsourcing.

6.     On top of all of the above, our nation is saddled with a national debt of $17 Trillion, accumulated over a short period of thirty-three years–a debt so huge that our ability to manage the nation’s fiscal policy has been seriously constricted.

7.     Now comes the Affordable Care Act, aka Obama Care. This nation severely needs a healthcare system. Every thinking person knows that. We need a new system to improve the health of our people; and we need a new system to reduce costs (and, therefore, our deficit). The way this system is designed, however, presents severe hardships to far too many of our people who live from one paycheck to another (if they are employed, that is) and employers.

8.     I’m sure there are more sources of stress to our people at this time, but I’ll name one more and conclude this posting. There is the stress of NSA, our National Security Agency. This is a big thing, folks. If you don’t think so, why do you think they kept it a secret? Have you heard the news today? They are even monitoring many of our conversations as we walk down the street. Let’s cut this to the quick. If our government can monitor us this closely, they are only half an inch away from having the ability to dominate and control us just as many dictators have done throughout history. Adolph Hitler and Joseph Goebbels would have loved to have some of our security systems. Are you a Democrat? Are you a Republican? Mmmmm……

Now, folks, tell me. Isn’t this more than enough stress and uncertainty? I submit to you that these problems are and/or can be simpler to solve than our government, Democrats and Republicans alike, are making them. They are simple, but they are significant, however. It has to be obvious to all that our people are in turmoil and under heavy stress. It’s a known fact, also, that our people are armed to the teeth, just as is our Department of Homeland Security which has been buying ammunition by the billions of dollars for quite some time (Check out www.infowars.com. There is a lot of political propaganda in the website, but so also is such with Fox News, MSNBC, etc.–You can sort out the truth from fiction). My point is that, surely, our government doesn’t want to continue their present mis-governance, introducing even more stress points upon our people. Trust in government is the lowest in many years. We don’t want it to go even lower, so let us not let Pandora out of the box. Once she is out, it will be a long time before she gets back in, if ever. Once the first shot is fired, what little democracy we have left will be gone, I believe, forever.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

The Affordable Care Act, ACA

          Anyone who has read my blog knows my feelings as to the Affordable Care Act. Not only do I feel it will not work; but, also, I firmly believe a single payer national healthcare act modeled after Medicare will serve our nation’s needs much better. If for no other reason the ACA will quickly price itself out of the market, both on the public’s end and on that of the government.

          That having been said, I grow increasingly weary of all the thoughtless discussion of the subject. It blocks all the media, shadowing over (some maybe even more important) events in the news; and, in all fairness, rather than destroying the program through politicking and propaganda, we should just let it alone to follow its natural course, wherever that might end up. It will either work or it won’t. It’s either a bad program or a good one. In either event it should stand on its own merits which shouldn't be distorted by our intervention, which leads me to my next point.

          If I plan a wonderful vacation or long trip and the engine in my car fails, the fault of the engine failure notwithstanding, that failure certainly does not mean in any way that the trip was bad or wrong. In my mind, the thinking of these people when they talk about the computer glitches and program failures in implementing the Affordable Care Act defies all logic and understanding. People should keep their eye on the real subject which is how the program will work after implementation–not on the “blips” and “tweets” before it is even begun.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net 

Once Again, Our Shadow Government, the Power Elite

          To those of you who yell for smaller government and less, if not the elimination of, regulations, here we go again. There are two articles this morning in the New York Times, “C.I.A. Collects Global Data on Transfers of Money”, and “U.S. Investigates Currency Trades by Major Banks”. Surprise! Surprise! Didn’t our government just complete an $18 Billion fraud settlement with J. P. Morgan? Didn’t we just endure the banking financial crisis of the century in 2008, which came within a “hair’s breath” of destroying our whole country? (Surely, you don’t want to argue about that). What was the name of that guy who “pulled off” that huge multibillion dollar swindle of his friends, neighbors, and business associates? I think his name was Bernie Madoff, and the amount was said to have been around $36 Billion.

 Do you really think these people are ever going to stop? Do you really think we need to quit or reduce regulating? That’s what we did from ’81 through the first decade of this century, isn’t it. We not only quit regulating, we quit enforcing, didn’t we. If you’re not sure about that ask Clarence Cox, the infamous leader of the SEC (during the administration of President George W. Bush) when the derivatives market collapsed. It seems to me that it wasn’t very many months after that when some employees of the SEC were accused of viewing pornography on the job at their computers during working hours. I think that’s true.

What am I really getting at? Maybe I’m an idealists and very naive  but I think it is a downright dirty shame that people in responsible positions are so greedy that they undermine the interests of their country and their fellow-man for self-enrichment. I think these kinds of things have done more damage to America than Benedict Arnold ever did. De jure, as the law of treason is written, they are not; but, de facto, they are traitors and should be treated as such–especially, any public official who betrays the oaths of his office. Most Americans strongly believe in a strong work ethic with equal opportunity for all, i.e. Study hard, work hard, save your money, get ahead, make your mark; and we don’t hold in very high regard those who don’t. To those of you who advocate self reliance and free markets (to which I wholly subscribe), take note that those who lie, cheat, and steal, taking unfair and/or illegal advantage of others (and their country) to get ahead, undermine the free markets for all of us. There is no free market without a level playing field.

What does this have to do with our Shadow Government, the power elite? Don’t you think these global bankers are part of that picture right along with other corporatists pulling the strings of our elected officials through their lobbyists? For that matter, is it just possible that some of our elected representatives on the wrong side of those strings might be accessories after the fact?

Think about it. Talk to me. I welcome your opinion.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

Massive Unemployment

You know, folks, how prone we, as a people, are to forget. The crash of 2008, only five years ago, isn’t even cold yet. We still haven’t recovered. It’s not even “in the grave”. Our people are still very much in trouble. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report, (the final report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States, a commission appointed by President Obama), dated January, 2011, reported then that twenty-one million people were out of work. We are now in 2013–three years later. Although the figure is not finite, there are still an estimated (if anyone has information to the contrary, I would appreciate hearing as to how many and the source) approximately twenty million people who remain either unemployed– looking for work, employed part-time, or have given up looking. This is one whale of a lot of people, folks. This is a picture of misery and hopelessness. Many (I don’t know how many, but too many) are living in cars, under bridges, on the streets, or in homeless shelters. They are either living on welfare, securing food from food banks, eating out of dumpsters and food kitchens, or whatever. We call them lazy loafers on the dole, looking for something for nothing.

When you look at the cars in the parking lots of the malls, you wouldn’t think such a condition exists, but it does. The reality of it all is that we have three nations in one in this country–one in misery, one enormously wealthy, and one in between, worrying when they will lose their jobs and how they will pay their bills. Guess what. Our illustrious Congress, most of whom are wealthy beyond our imagination are doing nothing about it–nothing–nada, that they are charged with the responsibilities of managing the affairs of our nation in Article I of our Constitution notwithstanding. Oops! I’m sorry. I forgot. They allowed cuts in the food stamp benefits of forty-seven million people on November 1.

What do I know? I only know what I see; and that is, they just don’t care. All they want is to get re-elected and keep their “goodies”, their future employment secured by the Shadow Government which they really serve. It is all too easy to forget the less fortunate when our belly is full. Our recession may be over; but our depression goes on.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

National Healthcare and Government

          On November 11^th, I discussed briefly, national healthcare, socialism, and capitalism, comparing the latter two subjects with one another; and, then, I spoke of our need for a national healthcare system to replace the Affordable Care Act, i.e. “Obama care”, modeled after our system of Medicare. In conjunction with this, contemplating objections, I explained why this was not socialism.

          I don’t want to talk this to death, but I am compelled to “get this off my chest”. I sincerely believe good healthcare is an extremely important subject to everybody as well as our nation. In fact, it’s absolutely critical–even to the point of life and death. As you very well know, we have argued, going around and around, this subject for decades. We talk about our deficit. Let me ask you. How many millions of dollars (if not billions) do you think we have wasted in our arguing and bickering over these decades? Looking beyond this facet of the subject, a significant–a huge–portion of our healthcare costs haven’t even been paid for yet, payroll deductions notwithstanding. We have purchased it “on the cuff”. It’s in our deficit. It’s laying there in our national debt. I try to say this kindly; but, as a nation, we are fools. We continue year after year to flagellate ourselves with a system that is expensive, inefficient, and corrupt; and, to add insult to injury, it hasn’t even done its job. In the mean time, there are those who have gotten rich on the system. You know our healthcare is behind other countries because you have heard the statistics over and over, comparing ours with theirs. And why have we sustained this kind of self-torture? Because we are slaves to an ideology, a prejudice that only exists in our minds.

          You say national healthcare is socialism. I say not. It is progressivism. Winston Churchill, if he were here, might call it Liberalism. Please allow me to insert in this posting a small portion of a speech he made in 1906, comparing liberalism to socialism:

“Socialism has its own formulas and aims. Socialism seeks to pull down wealth; Liberalism seeks to raise up poverty. Socialism would destroy private interests; Liberalism would preserve private interests in the only way in which they can be safely and justly preserved, namely, by reconciling them with public right. Socialism would kill enterprise; Liberalism would rescue enterprise from the trammels of privilege and preference. Socialism assails the pre-eminence of the individual; Liberalism seeks, and shall seek more in the future, to build up a minimum standard for the mass. Socialism exalts the rule; Liberalism exalts the man. Socialism attacks capital; Liberalism attacks monopoly. These are the great distinctions which I draw….”

One of the most famous maxims of Deng Xiaoping, dating back to the years before the Cultural Revolution in China, states that "It doesn't matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice." The fact is, we have real problems in our country, and we need to solve them. It’s past time for us to quit this self-serving dilly dallying and start catching mice.

          To those who think the Affordable Care Act is the answer, I don’t agree. I sincerely believe it will, for many reasons, self-destruct. I've never met President Obama; but, from what I can see of him on television, I like him. I think he’s a nice guy. When it comes to his healthcare program, however, I think he’s on the wrong track.

          I want to tell you why a single payer national healthcare system, modeled after Medicare would be best for our people; but, first, I want you to understand something. Our great nation has some of the “greatest brains” in the world. There is no subject on which we don’t have fully informed experts on hand, somebody ready and willing to serve us–healthcare included. They've been there, done that, and know what they are doing. Having said that let me tell you what I believe you would gain from a system of single payer national healthcare modeled after Medicare:

1.     All the expensive arguing and bickering would end (or certainly should).

2.     Every citizen would receive paid healthcare, from the cradle to the grave.

3.     The whole system should be relatively transparent to everybody. They could choose their own doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies–no confusion, no upset.

4.     There would be no confusion about computers, computer access, reading contracts, paying bills, knowing what to do, where to go, etc., etc.–no confusion, no upset.

5.     There would be no premiums to pay, no payroll deduction, no employer contribution, no confusion, no upset.

6.     The economy would be stimulated by employee spending of what used to be deducted from his or her pay.

7.     Employers would no longer have to worry about providing health insurance to its employees. Their profits would be enhanced and they would be able do a better job of forecasting the future of their company (In my day, we called it profit planning).

8.     The forty-hour workweek could be reinstated which, from a macroeconomic standpoint, would aid in stabilizing the economy. Just the contemplation of a standard thirty-hour workweek is scary.

You’re thinking, “How are we going to finance all this”? In considering this, my mind used to immediately go to payroll tax deductions, but my thinking has changed. Payroll deductions will have a negative impact on employee budgets, on the economy, and politically–not good at all. I feel very strongly that we should establish a national sales tax (in fact, two separate individual taxes) to finance national health care and Social Security. Each should be a separate identifiable tax applied to the price of the purchase, but not included in the price–just as state sales taxes are done today. There should be a separate stand-alone fund, excluded from our national budget (just as we have for Social Security) for each program into which all revenues will flow (each tax into its own fund) and from which all expenditures will be made. Effectively, these funds should be deficit free with all over/under amounts to be paid by an annual adjustment to both taxes. In this manner, both funds would be on a “pay as you go” basis and, hopefully, not have to be revisited for ever–no more politicking and no more discontent.

          I am sure there must be more benefits, just the elimination of national unrest being one of them, if none other. I’m sure the politicians will love that. I am also certain there will be negatives, one of which first comes to mind is having to wait long periods of time for appointments and/or spending long hours in waiting rooms. To these, my answer is that there is no reason why any of this has to happen. With all of the expert knowledge available to us, there is no reason we cannot find solutions to such problems in the beginning. There should be nothing that can happen that we can’t anticipate beforehand. I’m sorry, but we must keep the hands of the politicians out of it.

          This is your solution Mr. and Mrs. Politician, let’s do it. Let’s do it now. For once in your life, set politics aside and get the job done. Let’s gitter done, and go on to solving the next problem.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

           

          

The Cost of The Government Shutdown

By now, the estimated cost, $24 Billion, of shutting down our government for a period of sixteen days, ended just recently, is well known to most all of us. In the scheme of things, we throw these numbers around like they are nothing–a billion here, a trillion there….who cares? It’s only money. We can always print more. Isn't that the way we think subconsciously, if not consciously? It flies right past our head, barely missing our ears.

Well, let me give you a picture that I’m sure won’t go right on by you–a picture that will to some extent, at least, give you some indication as to just how much money $24 Billion is. If you will, recall to mind those pictures you have in recent memory of Typhoon Haiyan that, in effect, has just destroyed the Philippines at an estimated cost of $14 Billion and 10,000 lives. Recall the massive destruction–all around, the dead bodies, and the misery. Folks, that’s what $14 Billion is.

Think for a minute of the destruction to come when Typhoon Haiyan lands in North Vietnam and Southeast China. In total, folks, that should just about add up to our $24 Billion, doesn't it?  In my mind, that’s something you can see. That’s something you can put your arms around. That’s the amount of money our illustrious Congress just nonchalantly p*&% away (Oops! I mean squandered– Sorry!). Does that mean something to you now?

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

Capitalism, Socialism, and Healthcare

I want to briefly address today the subjects of Capitalism, Socialism, and Healthcare.

In as much as we are essentially a capitalist nation, the word capitalism is usually accepted in a positive vein with respect and acceptance by most people in our society. Socialism, on the other hand, is usually thought of in negative terms. The word is inflammatory and easily arouses tempers. Under certain circumstances, it makes for good propaganda, though. In my experience, however, most of those who use the word use it as a pejorative and speak from a lack of knowledge or understanding. When they talk on any aspect of the subject, they are usually talking from an emotional or subjective point of view.

Let us first discuss capitalism. When one talks about capitalism, especially those who subscribe to its principles, they usually think in terms of laissez-faire capitalism and free markets. “Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and capital goods, and the production of goods and services for profit in a market economy.” Laissez-faire is French for “an economic environment in which transactions between private parties are free from government restrictions, tariffs, and subsidies, with only enough regulations to protect property rights”. (I must note. Those definitions indicated in quotes, above, are copied from Wikipedia.)

In a system such as capitalism, the principals are motivated by self-interests. As such a system “normally works out”, it is highly competitive with others in the same markets, and only the strongest survive. As the saying goes, therefore, “let the devil take the hindmost”. My take on all this is that, as the process approaches its ultimate conclusion, the free market in which it operates becomes no longer free (the competition, and, therefore, the level playing feel, has been eliminated), and the process self destructs–as we shall see, also, when we discuss socialism, below. As competitor after competitor is eliminated, the winners of the competition become monopolies; and monopolies become oligarchies. In the end the nation is governed by a dictatorship.

“Socialism is an economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy. ‘Social ownership’ may refer to cooperative enterprises, common ownership, state ownership, citizen ownership of equity, or any combination of these. There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them.” (Again, I have copied this definition from Wikipedia). My take on socialism is that, like capitalism, it generally starts out positive and ends negative. It usually starts out with the people and ends up with a dictatorial government in charge.

Socialism has been around a long time. It may date further back in time than this; but, to my knowledge, I first studied it in the Holy Bible, i.e. the Book of Acts in the New Testament. You remember, “They held everything in common.” I’m certainly not an expert on this subject and don’t pretend to be; but, as I understand, the shortcoming in socialism is that participants fail to produce, looking to the other guy to contribute. Everybody wants to take and nobody wants to give. Therefore, it doesn’t succeed. In the end, socialism, as in capitalism, ends up with a dictatorial government and is self destructive. See Russia; see Cuba; see China.

Not unlike Russia, China was a Communist Nation with its roots deep in Socialism, a dictatorship. A failed nation in deep poverty, China changed its economic system from Socialism to State Controlled Capitalism. In that it remains state controlled, I think you might agree that it remains a dictatorship. Their capitalism notwithstanding, I submit to you that this too will fail. In the final analysis, a dictatorial government is so destined. I’m sure you can connect the dots.

All of you know full well that I am a strong advocate of National Health Care. “Obama Care” is self destructive for many reasons on more than one front. We should cut our losses short and adopt a single payer National Health Care Program in our country immediately, modeled after Medicare and incorporating a prescription drug program with government ability to negotiate prices as we do in the VA Healthcare Program. As soon as I say that, someone will yell, “Socialism”. I say, “Not”. This is not a national economic system. It will, however, provide us with good healthcare on an economic and politically sound basis at realistic prices as well as eliminate the profiteers in the middle. It will be economically sound because it will be affordable. It will be politically sound because it will take healthcare off the back of employers. Also, financed by a national sales tax, it will put more money in the pockets of employees and employers, therefore stimulating the economy immediately. Administered by a stand-alone fund outside our national budget, as is Social Security, on a pay-as-you-go basis, with the tax adjusted at the end of each year in order to eliminate any deficit, it will facilitate elimination of the national deficit and a myriad of highly expensive arguments every year. It should take care of itself for years to come if not forever. If that’s not politically sound, I don’t know what is. It’s not socialism and it doesn't have to be, but it will solve a multitude of problems. Let’s have government–not oligarchy. Let’s put the healthcare question behind us once and for all and get on to the next challenge in the management of our nation’s affairs.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net

Our Personal Freedom

          There are many of us with whom, on a micro level, I cannot help but agree; but, on a macro level, I cannot agree at all. The difference depends upon one’s focus. Many among us want to be completely free–we want to be left alone to go, come, and do as we please with little or no hindrance. Really, isn't that what is behind the arguments surrounding “big” and “small” government?

To be free sounds good to me. Let’s allow everybody to have complete freedom of choice and, in the end, let God judge us. We don’t need “Big Daddy” to watch over every move we make. But, smoking, public smoking, trans-fats in our food chain, obesity, drugs, our personal dress code, giant soda drinks, governmental monitoring of our lives, legal harassment for the production of government income, free sex, our voting practices–are just a smattering of controls that may (or may not) be placed over us every day. Do we really need all this? – Maybe. Maybe not.

          There was an earlier day when our neighbor was up the “holler”, over the “ridge” or somewhere “yonder”. Today, our neighbor is next door, just down the street “a piece”, upstairs, downstairs, or on the other side of the wall. Today is different. In yesteryear, we were an agricultural nation spread out all over. Today, we are more apt to be clustered in towns, cities, and giant megalopolises–we are congested. You have “heard” me say before, “My freedom ends where yours begins. If for no other reason than to maintain peace and harmony among us, don’t you think we need to be regulated? In a society where your good health is almost as important to me as it is to you (I have to participate in helping you pay for it), do you not think I may have an interest also? If you live in an area or neighborhood with other people, don’t you think you should be expected to maintain your property in a fashion compatible with your neighbors? In my view, the answers to these questions are self evident.

          In the same vein, when you are viewing the size of government, don’t you think the good and well-being of all are better maintained by a more central governing body than one which is local? It’s true that some decisions should and must be made at a local level, the decision being in closer proximity to the problem and more commonly shared. On the other hand, in many instances, problem(s) are more commonly shared by the nation as a whole, in which case I would think they would be better resolved at a central or national level.

At a national level, we are one nation in the midst of many others on this planet, and we need to maintain our security in the midst of such. I think it was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Together we stand, divided we fall”. We vitally need each other and our country. National security is just one example for the needs of a centralized government. Education is another. We don’t want, to express myself in the vernacular, “dumb” states, smart states, and “also runs”. We want an educated, smart, and secure nation with equal opportunity for all. We need communications, roads, bridges, and a strong infrastructure throughout our county as well as a prosperous and affluent people with a decent livable standard of living. We don’t need, on the other hand, a nation of surfs living in human bondage to an oligarchy of the corporate and power elite, and so on.

Let us quit fighting and get along with one another. Let us love our neighbor as ourselves and stick together.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net