Friday, July 22, 2016

Why Trump?

The RNC ended yesterday, and I immediately began to become comfortable with the notion that Donald Trump is qualified to become president.  Until now, the main reason I have supported Trump is that he is not Hillary Clinton.  Hillary is the most corrupt person to ever run for the presidency. She is not a quality person of high character, nor does she have a stellar resume that would indicate she could effectively lead the country.  Instead, her resume indicates that she would continue to build her personal wealth and power, and make bonehead decisions that would not serve the country well. Why anyone believes with that resume she would suddenly become a capable president is beyond my comprehension.  But why choose Trump?

I have been extremely impressed by his children. Some in the press have said that what we may have seen this week is the birth of a new political dynasty - add the name Trump, to Bush and Clinton.  Maybe.  They seem to be fine young people who have the pedigree we may want as future leaders.  But we aren't voting to groom his children for future office.  I believe that what his children tell us about their father goes directly to Donald Trump's character.  Great parenting can produce slugs, but it would be extremely rare for slug parents to produce great kids. Donald Jr. and Ivanka (I missed Eric's speech) both emphasized how their father took the time to include them in the business and teach them what he knows.  Trump sounds like a father that was present in his children's lives. He also made sure they had the education to reach their dreams. These are the marks of a great leader. We are not voting for Ivanka, Donald Jr. or Eric but they give us important clues to who the person Donald Trump is away from the cameras.

Leaders of large businesses must set the direction that solves short and long term problems facing that business.  Trump seems to be approaching his potential presidency as a CEO.  His platform centers solidly on better trade deals and reducing over-regulation.  The desired outcome of these efforts are more jobs.  Not government jobs, but private sector jobs produced by organic growth in the American economy. Economic growth and more good jobs solve so many of America's problems. The deficit becomes manageable, discontent in impoverished cities is reduced, crime is reduced, and fathers remain in the family.  Each of these benefits brings their own benefits.  A strategy centered around more, better American jobs is a strategy that solves much of what is going wrong in America.

Trump has been called a populist.  The definition of a populist is a person who seeks to represent the interest of ordinary people. How refreshing would that be? Trump does seem to have the knack for identifying what concerns ordinary Americans, and setting priorities accordingly.  His pledge to be the law and order president, his tough stand on borders, illegal immigration and Islamic terrorism are all examples of addressing what ordinary Americans are concerned with.  He should wear the populist title as a badge of honor.

Donald Trump is an executive from a substantial business he built and leads. This may be the best time to turn to a problem-solver from the private sector to execute on the problems facing America. Politicians and lawyers have proven their ineffectiveness, so why not try a business leader?  I have experienced first hand how an effective executive can completely turn around a business with their ideas, energy and persistence.  I think it's worth a shot, especially when considering the alternative.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Why are We Being Lied To?

Politicians and press lying to the American public is nothing new, but the increased frequency and the kinds of lies told are new. Why have these institutions made a conscience decision to prolifically mislead those they claim to serve.  Here is what I am referring to:
  • On November 5th, 2009, Major Nidal Hasan shot and killed 13 and wounded 30 people that he worked with at Fort Hood Texas. During the shooting, he shouted Allahu Akbar, "Allah is Great". On his business card appears the acronym SoA, Soldier of Allah. The shootings at Fort Hood were officially classified as workplace violence, not Islamic Terrorism.
  • On September 11th, 2012, the United States embassy in Benghazi, Libya was attacked and resulted in the deaths of our ambassador and 3 CIA contractors. The Obama administration crafted a false narrative that blamed the attack on an internet video that ridiculed The Prophet Mohammed. Evidence mounted until it was acknowledged after the election of November 2012 the attack had been an act of Islamic terrorism. 
  • In an environment where American opinion of Iran was 8% favorable, 88% unfavorable, the Obama administration negotiated a nuclear agreement they claimed was a strong deal that ensured Iran would not develop nuclear weapons for an extended period of years. Later, it was admitted by Ben Rhodes, an Obama administration staffer, the press had been deliberately misled in order to gain public support for the deal. Recently, binding side agreements have disclosed that Iran will be able to build a nuclear bomb much faster that stated by the administration.
  • On June 17, 2015, Dylan Roof killed 9 Black members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston South Carolina. The press and politicians immediately recognized a tie between Roof and white supremacy.  They used a picture of Roof posing for a picture in front of his vehicle that included a Confederate flag on its license and forever associated the flag as a symbol of Roof's racism.  Since then, the Confederate flag has essentially been eradicated from the public.
  • On December 2, 2015 Syed Farook killed 14 and wounded 22 co-workers in San Bernadino California. Initially, the press reported this was a result of workplace disagreements that led to violence. The name of the attacker was withheld for hours because it was a middle-eastern sounding name.  Politicians leaped on the news story as evidence that guns were too easy to get and that stricter gun laws are needed.
  • On Friday November 13th, 2015, a massive coordinated attack in Paris, France, killed 130 and injured 368 at several locations. The attackers immediately claimed the attacks were a response to air strikes in ISIS controlled locations, however certain politicians and press organizations tried to cite availability of weapons as a root cause.  This line of reasoning quickly failed as it was acknowledged that France has strict gun laws and ISIS claimed responsibility.
  • On June 12th, 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire on patrons at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.  Even though Omar pledged allegiance to ISIS during the attack, the response from politicians and press alike was this was a hate crime against the LGBT community. 
  • On July 7th, 2016, Micah Johnson ambushed and killed 5 police officers in Dallas, Texas. The murders occurred within days of 2 cop on Black killings that prompted the #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) movement to protest. Many of the protesters called for the killing of cops in retaliation. Before he was killed, Johnson acknowledged that he was mad about the recent shooting of black men.  Regardless, the press and politician were not willing to link Johnson's actions to the BLM movement.  Some even justified the killings.  A new narrative that links the killings to Johnson's past military experience has also been mentioned. Johnson was killed with a robotic bomb, which led to some calling his death a lynching.
  • On the evening of July 14, 2016, Bastille Day, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel murdered 84 and injured 303 people by intentionally driving through the crowd gathered to watch fireworks in Nice France. Within hours, the press was reporting that Mohamed had recently went through a difficult divorce, and that he may have been expressing his frustrations. It was later discovered that he had been in contact with radical jihadists, and may have recently self-radicalized, however 3 days later, CNN  continues to report that no ties to ISIS have been found.
  • On July 18th, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Gavin Long killed 3 and wounded 3 police in an ambush attack. Long, from Kansas City Missouri, had left social media messaging that indicated he was irate over the shooting of the Alton Sterling.  He also was a member the Nation of Islam organization that fosters a message of black superiority. Two days later, the press reports that Alton was a former marine with anti-government beliefs, and may have had PTSD. No linkage with BLM or Islam was mentioned.
They Dylan Roof example is the exception that proves a rule. Our politicians and press have taken political correctness to an extreme.  This extreme requires that no criticism can be made against a minority.  To do so might might cause a group of uneducated, politically incorrect majority to react with discrimination or profiling.

In practicing this form of reverse discrimination, the prophetic writings of George Orwell in Animal Farm have become more real than ever.  All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Accepting BlackLivesMatter

I'm an old white guy that has seen the incredible progress made by minorities over the past 50 years. When I was 10 years old, segregation was firmly in place in the Johnson County "colored hollers", and minorities were not represented in the Shawnee Mission Public Schools district.  Now minorities live in virtually all neighborhoods and work at nearly every business.  It all culminated in the election of a black president in 2008, and his nomination of minorities to cabinet and justice positions.  Eight years ago it seemed that America has moved past color and race.

That is why I am having so much trouble accepting the BlackLivesMatter movement for what they claim to be. I have listened hard to BLM movement leaders explain why they are not a racist or terrorist organization. I hear them say that BlackLivesMatter doesn't mean that white or blue lives don't matter. I understand their position that BlackLivesMatter means they need the attention in areas that other races don't.

 BLM exists to bring attention to police hunting of black men for execution.  I hear my BS detector going bonkers.  All studies that normalize data to a logical anchor, tell a far different story. Whites are more likely to be shot by police than blacks.  The police are 18 times more likely to be shot by a black man, than is an unarmed black man being shot by a cop. These statistics normalize the data to the number of white and black police contacts (opportunities), not the percentage of whites and black in the population base.  Normalizing to population is not a statistically valid comparison, but is the basis of many of the mainstream media delivered "facts'.

Adding to the confusion, minorities have been told for years by politicians, media and leadership that they are profiled. They say minorities are singled out for traffic stops.  Minority loan applications are rejected.  They can't get into good colleges or hired into well-paying jobs. Minorities don't get a fair shake at good housing in quality neighborhoods. Rightly or wrongly, minorities have had a constant stream of this message for years.  I, as a white man, have not been told that.  Even though I have been pulled over by the police, I have been rejected for loans (it's been a while), and I have not been selected for certain jobs.  It never crossed my mind that my misfortune was because I'm white.  I can't relate to the minority experience, so I do acknowledge their perception is their reality, even if it is not accurate in every instance.

So maybe BLM is exposing valid concerns and/or perceptions of minorities.  And maybe that's okay and I should accept it for what it is. I could easier accept BLM if they would only coordinate their message with their following.  They must acknowledge that "hands up, don't shoot" was completely false and cannot be the basis for their movement.  They must control their demonstrations to avoid chants of "Pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon" or "What do we want? Dead cops.  When do we want it? Now!".  If they don't, BLM will never be accepted with old white folk like me.