Political Parties

Just an observation: George Washington, our first president, from the beginning of our nation advised against political parties. Sadly, his wishes weren’t respected.

It seems to me that there are two approaches to politics and voting in a democracy, or democratic republic if you will. One is voting decisions based upon issues. The other is voting decisions based upon parties.

If issues are the basis of voting, the voter is forced to be informed and educated on the issues in order to decide his vote. He must comprehend the issue, its impact, and the effect of his vote in order to vote intelligently.

If, on the other hand, political parties are the basis of voting, the only effort involved for the voter is a simple opinion of the candidate for office and the party he represents in his candidacy. Not only is this latter option much less complicated and easier for the voter, it renders him more controllable by the party leaders. The “My grandfather was a Whig, my father was a Whig; and, by gum and by golly, I’m a Whig” phenomenon comes into effect, and the rest becomes the order of the day—that party goals and aspirations change over times notwithstanding. Of course, how the candidate parts his hair, his looks, his personality, etc. certainly helps. It may even speed up the process. I might note, however, that under this latter option, our nation could possibly lose our democracy in the process. What we don’t know can hurt us.

These are my thoughts.

Ronald Miller

www.sageobserver.blogspot.com

Appointment of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court

President Trump’s appointment of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court should be withheld until the completion of Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel Investigation.  If President Trump or anyone else who might be charged as a result of the investigation is convicted and that conviction is carried forward to the Supreme Court, for Judge Kavanaugh to have even the minutest part in any decision regarding their guilt or innocence would, in light of his refusal to recuse himself, be a conflict of interest. Some might say that is arguable, but that is my opinion.

That having been said, I’ll summarize other thoughts I have on the matter: 

First, I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I am an American. After God and my family, my country comes first. If those who represent us in our government cared more for our country and less for their parties, they would work together and our nation wouldn’t be in the disastrous shape it is in. [It, Our Great Nation, We] are in peril. I believe that.

Second, I can’t help but agree with some that this is a political ploy by the Democrats to stall the approval of Judge Kavanaugh to the court. So be it. What else can they do? The Republicans wouldn’t hesitate to “follow suit” under similar conditions were circumstances to be reversed. Let’s quit wasting time and money arguing these superfluous things. Let’s quit majoring in minors and minoring in majors. This appointment must wait—whatever.

Third, let’s look at the picture from the top down—the issue at hand. Our political views notwithstanding, our nation, the United States of America and the people therein (Us), are the greatest, richest, most powerful society in the history of civilization—since Adam and Eve, if you will (just to put things in perspective). There are others coming on; but, for now, that’s a fact! We are no “Johnny come lately”. We are not an opinion on a “street corner”.

Winston Churchill (In my mind, one of the greatest leaders in history) once said (and I paraphrase), “A democracy is the worst form of government there is, but I know no other”. It is said. We know. Our nation is a nation of law. As huge and complex as we are, we are held together only by a piece of paper, our Constitution, written 250 years ago by, arguably, some of the smartest men on earth. Think about that; and, as you do, think also about how vastly our nation, our people—our whole society—have changed and advanced in knowledge, technology, attitudes, values, work ethics, and so on. One can immediately recognize that our Constitution must and has advanced in support of these changes. Our Constitution, the law that binds us as a nation, is all that enables our form of government to work.

And who do you think has the responsibility to interpret the underlying concepts of our Constitution that bind the laws of our land written by our elected representatives in Congress? You know, but I’ll tell you anyway—the most powerful men and women in our great nation; and, therefore, the most powerful and responsible people in the history of civilization—the members of the Supreme Court of The United States of America. That’s who. That’s who to whom we are considering the appointment of Judge Brett Michael Kavanaugh; and, at his current age, he may be in that position for the next 40 years (He was born February 12, 1965). His technical qualification notwithstanding (and he is definitely qualified technically—no argument there), don’t you think we should look also very carefully at him personally, i.e. character, morals, opinions, objectivity, etc?  

Books have been written about our Constitution, our courts, etc; and, since I haven’t read any of them, I won’t even attempt to discuss them here; but I want to make one last observation before I close. It is my understanding that, when a Justice of the Supreme Court decides upon a case, he is not “trying” the case. The case has already been decided by a lower court and reviewed by a court of appeals. The responsibility of the Justice of the Supreme Court is to review the case in light of the particular part or parts of the Constitution to which it applies to determine its compliance and, therefore, its legality. Obviously, this can be a highly complicated determination, but I believe the introduction of politics (Republican, Democrat, or whatsoever) or prejudice into the equation should not happen under any circumstance. To do otherwise is tantamount to legislating and that is the job of our Congress. It is also dishonest.

That’s my view.

Ronald Miller

www.sageobserver.blogspot.com

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Our Wonderful Prosperous Economy

Our glorious and supreme leader tells us we have a wonderful and prosperous economy. Hogwash! We have and live in a false economy. Anyone who thinks we have a prosperous and growing economy is grossly misinformed and/or out of touch with our present reality. The fact is, our economy and our people have been raped and pillaged by the Corporatocracy and Power Elite, who govern our nation, for many years, and their efforts are ongoing as we speak. The downright truth is that the standard of living of the average person in this nation has been on a downhill course since the beginning of the eighties (ever since the Republicans came to office) and is continuing downward to this day. Our economy, as I said, is a false economy.

We are also told our GDP is up; Unemployment is the lowest in years—especially the unemployment of the black population. You think? Why wouldn’t it be? We’re living on borrowed money. We—almost all of us—are up to our necks in debt. Our credit cards are maxed out; our homes are mortgaged to the hilt; our people, on average don’t have enough savings in reserve to even meet minor emergencies; our national deficit and debt is the highest in history (some even say our nation is bankrupt); and our annual deficits and debt are increasing every year—almost to a point of “no return”. Again, our economy is a false economy. We are living on borrowed money.

Are you aware as to how many people are working two and three jobs just to survive? Do you really think this can continue? I tell you, this prosperous economy of which our leaders speak is an illusion—a “pie in the sky”. They are lying through their teeth. They are looking at their standard of living—how they live. They are the “Haves”. They have no ideas as to how the “Have Nots” live. So you keep on spending; have a ball; but remember what I am telling you. Just because we have been doing this, living beyond our means, and getting away with it for so many years doesn’t mean it can continue. We have been living a lie; and, even worse, the outsourcing of jobs through globalization notwithstanding, the rapid increase in technology and automation has left us with a workforce unqualified to do the many high paying jobs that are open to them and going unfilled every day. That’s a fact. These are facts. I’m telling you the truth.

In the subject of accounting, we are taught, “Debits on the left, Credits on the right. I submit this to you for your thinking: The Credits on the right of our nation’s balance sheet, i.e. Our National Debt, are offset by the Debits on the left, the Bank Accounts of our Corporatocracy and Power Elite, taken from “We the People” in their greed and avarice to which there appears to be no end. You may be assured that when the crash comes, they will have cash when we don’t.

The subject of basic economics, Econ 101 if you will, tells us that in bad times one borrows and, in good times, one pays back what he borrowed. Why, in these so-called “good, wonderful, and prosperous times” are we borrowing, i.e. the deficit, like there is no tomorrow? Do we not realize this money must be repaid? When President Obama entered office, January, 2009 he inherited an annual deficit of $1.3 Trillion, a national debt of $10 Trillion, and a crashed economy. When he left office, he had reduced the deficit to approximately $500 Billion and an improving economy. Now our deficit is headed north once again to a Trillion Dollars, our debt is $21 Trillion, and our glorious Speaker of the House is primed on the one hand to take away our Social Security and Healthcare and, on the other to increase our Defense budget when they don’t even have an auditable set of books. Go figure.

It’s past time when we should wake up and start thinking. Republicans vs. Democrats isn’t our real enemy. That’s a distraction to keep us battling one another. Our real enemy is the Corporatocracy and Power Elite who govern us through their lobbyists and other satchel carriers—our Shadow Government, if you will. We need to take back our government, to get private money out of politics, to elect competent moral people to office, reverse Citizens United, and be an informed and responsible people—our obligation as a responsible citizen in a democratic republic; and we should vote in every election. It’s our job—not the other guy’s. You know he, the other guy, isn’t going to do anything.

That’s my view.

Ronald Miller

www.sageobserver.blogspot.com