Trump's Bellweather -- April 18th, 2017

Trump Election – Heartfelt or Aberration of the American People

First Test of President Trump’s Electoral Power.

Coming Up Quick - April 18th, 2017

Long time and well liked Representative Tom Price from Georgia’s 6th District was picked by President Donald Trump to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services in his new Cabinet. An outspoken critic of Obamacare Representative Dr. Tom Price a long time Conservative and member of the Congressional Study Group was perhaps the most knowledgeable Health Care Congressman and will fit into his new role well.

However that leaves his seat in Congress vacant – it needs to be filled. -- By a Republican.

Progressive Democrats are chomping at the bit – they smell blood in the water.

Are they right?

The Special Election in Georgia’s 6th District will be held this April 18th (less than a month away). All candidates from all parties will be on the same ballot. A candidate needs to get 50% of the vote to win. If not the two leading vote getters from whatever party will run June 30th in a run-off election.

Here is a link with all the candidates and info.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia's_6th_congressional_district_special_election,_2017

Here also is a link explaining who the candidates are.

http://www.mdjonline.com/news/in-race-to-take-tom-price-s-place-in-washington/article_432f8978-f3f5-11e6-9428-6b9388cb788f.html

The news along with Progressive Activists are calling the upcoming Special Election in Georgia’s 6th District a Litmus test of Donald Trump.  They and their money are pouring into Georgia's 6th.
Here is a link showing how messy this could be. The new Progressive darling is Jon Ossoff.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a53785/jon-ossoff-georgia-anti-trump/

Note from the article. The GA-6th was where Newt Gingrich started and that from then till this last election it was considered a safe Republican seat by double digits. From another source.

http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/02/28/all-about-the-georgia-6th-congressional-district-election/

Mitt Romney won it by 20 points, while President Trump barely won it with only 1 ½ points. Tom Price in his last election won it by 24 points. The explanation the article gives for this seeming anti-Trump feeling. – “The 6th District, which includes part of Atlanta and its affluent northern suburbs, is loaded with college graduates.”

That is at least consistent, younger affluent (mostly white) college educated suburban voters trying to fit in by casting off their white guilt by voting Democrat. Well I certainly, as a biased reporter hope they will in a month need some crying towels and safe spaces as their candidate loses.

Well back to basics, there are 18 people in the Special Election. Looks like Bob Grey is the leading Republican Trump guy but not one of the leaders in the polls.

http://www.11alive.com/news/politics/gray-launches-web-ad-defending-trump-attacking-ossoff/422189407

However the snarking and the name calling has begun - Bruce LeVelle see the link below. Reminds me of the Presidential Primary – you? Also a wide spectrum of Candidates to choose from Tea Party to Libertarian and I’m sure some never Trumpers, the slate is full.

http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/03/16/pro-trump-boosters-clash-in-georgias-sixth-district/

As for polls, the leading Republican with good local and state connections would be Karen Handel and for the Dems it is Jon Ossoff. They both hold substantial leads over the other candidates at this point.

While I don’t care for Ossoff, it would be unwise to under rate him because of his youth and some pretty stupid looking videos of him. (Do your own googling). He has a lot of experience in politics grass roots style.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Ossoff 

He also seems politically astute, he put “Make Trump Furious” on his website and has been taking in money hand over fist since then. In two months he has taken in $2 million. He like Hillary will be flooding the airways with money. To tell you the truth I’m worried not so much about him as a person but of the image they will be making him into. The media is a mighty tool to fight.

The field is full and we need to pay close attention. (As I find out more I’ll post about it). If nobody get 50% in the primary then there will be a runoff of the 2 top vote getters April 30th for a final vote to see who's going to Washington.  Once we have two candidates we need to do all we can from outside to help the Republican candidate win.

I remember in 2010 Republicans winning most of these pre-election elections which gave them a boost to their momentum going into that election cycle in which they took back the US House. Remember the Special Election that Scott Brown won and the boost that victory gave Republicans in that election?

We need to do all we can to be sure the Dems don’t do that to us with the likes of Jon Ossoff.

I’m expecting no Candidate will get 50% of the vote April 18th and there will be a run-off June 30th. I’m curious to see how both Price and Trump will try to help out the Republican in the run-off and how much it helps.



Regards, Bob Carr
Live Dangerously, Tell the Truth
glhotdogs517@gmail.com
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The Dems Inversion Policy.

Speak Truth to Power

What does “Speak Truth to Power mean”? I’ve been hearing that phrase a lot lately so I did some digging.

The simplest definition is that when talking to “Power”, truth as simply stated as possible will eventually win out. Why? – Well, it’s the truth.

It was first used in the 1950’s by the Quakers in trying to convince governments to work towards peace. Their truth simply stated was the Love of God.

http://www.quaker.org/sttp.html

Since the Quakers the Left has, as it does with most truths, turned that saying on its head along with the “Speak Truth to Power” programs of Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Thomas Moore, to fit their own agenda. The Quakers, Gandhi and King talked of non-violence, the left as evidenced by the riots of late and since the 1960’s seems to relish and thrive on violence as SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA) said “…fight in the streets.” “Speak Truth to Power” was changed to “Truth to Power” and now simply “Fight the Power”.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/12/1597418/-Rage-Against-Trump-FIGHT-FIGHT-FIGHT . Like the name implies their cry is fight-fight-fight. Not Speak to Power but to Fight Power.

That “upside down syndrome” the Left has is never more obvious than in their stance against “rugged individualism”.

David Davenport and Gordon Lloyd recently published the book “Rugged Individualism – Dead or Alive” in which they trace what they call “Rugged Individualism” from our country’s founding to the present and what they think the future holds. They too are worried about it but are cautiously optimistic.

https://www.amazon.com/Rugged-Individualism-Alive-David-Davenport/dp/0817920242/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488817192&sr=1-1&keywords=rugged+individualism+dead+or+alive



I have constantly wondered whether in this new modern age with populations so large and interconnected that chances for “Rugged Individualism” to succeed seemed doomed and a thing of the past. I try in my own way to up hold that concept of individual freedom upon which our Constitution is based to the best of my ability but find the going “rugged”.

I have taken some solace from what I’ve read so far from their book. In their eyes there is still hope. I posit that this last election was proof that “Rugged Individualism” was still alive and well though fighting for its life.

Here is my thought process.

The whole notion of Civilization implies several people in order to live together adopting laws and rules that all have to abide by in order for society to function. That in itself while necessary is the first encroachment upon individual freedom.

I like the safety those rules give us. I like the idea of police protecting me and my family when I cannot. I don’t mind paying taxes to ensure my safety and my ability to drive on nice roads, eat untainted food and in general live a life free of dire want for food, water and shelter and to be protected from common thieves and or homicidal maniacs.

That is all well and good but this feeling of safety can be addicting. I sit for example on the County Road Board of Commissioners and I hear the saying “If we can save just one life it’s worth it.” It is said as an argument against the cost of a project that someday might just save one life. As a board member I have to weigh these things. I also have to weigh all these decisions in reality. The reality is that people die because we have roads which allow people to drive at speeds which cause death when accidents occur. So while all life is important the choice is really what can we do with the limited resources we have that will save the most lives?

The trap here in Oceana County is the same as it is in Washington D.C. – Who wants to feel cold and heartless? Politicians definitely don’t want to. The only way out is to frame the answer as I just did into one of saving the most lives.

On the other side of liking the safety of laws there is this and it is a big one: I at the same time want to be protected from tyranny. I want to be able to do what I want when I want as long as I accept the consequences and know what those consequences are.

There’s the rub, how can individualism survive? As communities get bigger and bigger we need more laws which if we don’t watch it will continue to shrink our individual freedoms. This brings us back to the meaning of “Rugged” in “Rugged Individualism”.

While most of us think of a “Rugged Individual” as one in rough appearance for example a “Mountain Man” wearing a fur coat from the bear he killed, walking with snow shoes checking his traps and living in the little log shack he built himself. Today as in the past, the term should be defined by actions not by appearance.

Davenport and Lloyd in their book look to the internet as perhaps the savior of “Rugged Individualism”.

What this Individualism has to do with “Speaking Truth to Power” is simple. In this day and age when speaking the truth of Individual Freedom to Power we need to be rugged not in looks (although it helps) but in spirit. While this should be easy because the basis of all the law in the land is the Constitution which enshrines individual freedom. The first line writ large, boldly states

It further does this through the “enumerated powers” clause. These are found in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.

This lists or enumerates the only powers given to the Federal government by the Constitution. The rest are reserved for the individual states or the individuals of the states. Here is a quote from Section 8. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The framers had a reason when they added “…or to the people.” That reason is to highlight the importance of and to protect individual freedom in the working of our form of government – federal, state and local.

I’m an alcoholic and a saying we have about our program seems apropos here. “It works if you work it”. For a long time we haven’t been working it. Along the same line Benjamin Franklin at the end of the Constitutional Convention replied when asked what they had given us. “A Republic Madam, if you can keep it.”

Our American experiment in self-governing through “individual freedom” will work only if we work it. We need to speak the message of individual freedom to the Power of government any chance we get.

While it is our job to protest what is wrong, it is also our responsibility to make the system work. That is what the rule of law creed implies. The rules we set up we should follow or we need to change the rules. The whole concept of majority ruling without any checks upon itself leads to suppression and subjugation of the minority simply because the majority can. (The French found that out in their revolution.) Eventually power will corrupt.

There has been nothing worse throughout history than a self-righteous majority. The term “Rugged Individualism” was first used by President Herbert Hoover. He wrote a book called “American Individualism” in 1922 which was very short essay but got a lot of attention.

https://books.google.com/books?id=rwBhmEfAd1oC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Remember this is 1922 between the world wars. His concept of American Individualism transcended politics and ideologies – That always seems a good thing. That is real Truth to Power and refreshing, as it was coming from Power.

That is what President Trump is trying to do. He is speaking Truth to the real Power, the American People. Remember them? Those were the ones everybody, ignored, flew over and made fun of -- you know the ones who elected Donald John Trump as President of the United States of America. It is time for us to listen and do our part, seek out the truth and speak it.



Regards, Bob Carr
Live Dangerously, Tell the Truth
glhotdogs513@gmail.com
231-728-3455

WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY?

“WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY”

10 years ago Dinesh D’souza wrote “WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY”. In it Dinesh D’souza writes that religion is on the upswing all around the world. He reminds us that Christianity is still the fastest growing religion with Islam second and that secularism is losing the battle. To us in the West that doesn’t seem right or true but Dinesh proves it out with statistics. Christianity is losing ground in the US and Europe but gaining in all the rest of the world. China and India have the fastest growing Christian populations for example.

It's a good read.

http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/Z5253P.pdf

Why is this so? How can un-provable beliefs in the likes of miracles and impossible events be winning over secularism and plain old facts?  Being a "Just the Facts Mam" guy I was curious.

Dinesh writes {The Reverend Randy Alcorn, founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries in Oregon, sometimes presents his audiences with two creation stories and asks them whether it matters which one is true. In the secular account, "You are the descendant of a tiny cell of primordial protoplasm washed up on an empty beach three and a half billion years ago. You are the blind and arbitrary product of time, chance, and natural forces. You are a mere grab-bag of atomic particles, a conglomeration of genetic substance. You exist on a tiny planet in a minute solar system in an empty corner of a meaningless universe. You are a purely biological entity, different only in degree but not in kind from a microbe, virus, or amoeba. You have no essence beyond your body, and at death you will cease to exist entirely. In short, you came from nothing and are going nowhere?' In the Christian view, by contrast, "You are the special creation of a good and all powerful God. You are created in His image, with capacities to think, feel, and worship that set you above all other life forms. You differ from the animals not simply in degree but in kind. Not only is your kind unique, but you are unique among your kind. Your Creator loves you so much and so intensely desires your companionship and affection that He has a perfect plan for your life. In addition, God gave the life of His only son that you might spend eternity with Him. If you are willing to accept the gift of salvation, you can become a child of God:' Now imagine two groups of people—let's call them the secular tribe and the religious tribe—who subscribe to these two worldviews. Which of the two tribes is more likely to survive, prosper, and multiply? The religious tribe is made up of people who have an animating sense of purpose. The secular tribe is made up of people who are not sure why they exist at all. The religious tribe is composed of individuals who view their every thought and action as consequential. The secular tribe is made up of matter that cannot explain why it is able to think at all.}

The religious tribe’s “animating sense of purpose” is the key I feel to religion winning out over secularism. Science’s ignoble facts and reasoning provide us with all sorts and kinds of life improving luxuries and comforts. Nothing is wrong with that. But what is the why?

Religion is the why.  It provides the rhyme to the reason. Religion makes sense of reasoning - gives it a rhyme. Facts are one thing. Reasoning is another but the rhyme which makes sense of the reasoning is hope in something beyond oneself – religion – or the “animating sense of purpose”. As I would argue at AA meetings, our ability to reason and free will are the God given tools we have but it is how we use them that will determine how we go through life.

Arthur Brooke of American Enterprise Institute in defining the basis of what makes capitalism work came up with the term “earned success”. 

He stated in his book, “The Battle”, “Knowing as we do that earning success is the key to happiness,...” we should as a society enable it. Please note that he talks of earning success. Not success given to you or money for that matter. 

It is my idea that this act of earning is what triggers the mechanism in the brain which makes us feel happiness and it is that definition of “Happiness” that the founders thought of, as in the “Pursuit of Happiness”.

http://www.aei.org/publication/the-secret-to-human-happiness-is-earned-success/

Brooks went on to say this. “To truly flourish, we need to know that the ways in which we occupy our waking hours are not based on the mere pursuit of pleasure or money or any other superficial goal. We need to know that our endeavors have a deeper purpose.”

So now I’ve talked about the human desires for an “animating sense of purpose” and lastly to a “deeper purpose”; why are these important to us?

I read an article recently about how religious or spiritual thoughts cause the brain to release endorphins stimulating the brain into a sense of well-being and pleasure. The article compared this religious endorphin release to thoughts about sex, drugs, and thoughts of peace and love etc. all of which release these endorphins.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/sex-drugs-ancient-scrolls-scientists-9356777?service=responsive

The article equated the good religious expressions with the bad – with a Lutheran woman reading the bible in Minnesota to an ISIS member contemplating violence. This endorphin secretion is again the tool, how we use it – for hope or self-destruction – is our own choice. The point is that the very thing – this thought of hope – while on the face of it may not be sensible or factual is the very thing that allows people to overcome insurmountable obstacles and perhaps the key to man progressing though history. Ironically the key to what makes Darwinism possible is religious fervor.



Regards, Bob Carr
Live Dangerously, Tell the Truth
glhotdogs513@gmail.com
231-728-3455

Trump is Making America Great Again

What Will Make America Great Again?

What IS Making America Great Again?

Donald Trump.

We all know that Trump promised to “Make America Great Again” – It is not a state secret.

His whole focus is upon this effort to “Make America Great Again” foreign and domestic.

If that were my focus then I would weigh every decision I made upon that simple question. I would base my domestic (social and economic) along with foreign policy decisions upon that simple question. "Will this make America great again?"

Come to think about it – bottom line, Trump seems to be doing just that.

It seems to be working already in the first month of his administration.

Economically we have all heard how directly after the election the stock market took off and broke new records. Below is a link from Bloomberg to an article 3/8/2017 by Patricia Laya about Trump’s effect on jobs and wages.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-10/u-s-jobs-wages-show-solid-gains-in-trump-s-first-full-month .

Wages have gone up, unemployment has gone down. Even the dreaded “Participation Rate” has gone up. That tells us people are starting to get back into the work force. This article is filled with good news – one good thing after another. The Obama administration would have been ecstatic if they had a month with just one of those things happening. The only bad news is that government continued to grow albeit slower due to Trump’s hiring freeze.

Politically the Dems are falling over themselves trying to see which one can be the most disconnected from the general public and reality. 

During Trump’s joint Congressional speech he said the following. “We are joined tonight by Carryn Owens, the widow of U.S. Navy Special Operator Senior Chief William Ryan Owens. Ryan died as he lived a warrior and a hero, battling against terrorism and securing our nation.” America saw and reacted to that reality with a long outburst of applause that seemed very genuine. Even the Dems stood and as they sat back down (around the 1:30 spot on the video below, the applause ascended to an even higher level and the tears of gratitude from Mrs. Owens came forth anew as she realized this outpouring was real.

That was an American moment – this was a true moment of Unity of bringing America together, this was a perfect example of Trump’s “magic”.

Emotionally this was a stunner. Politically it was a perfect example of “Speaking Truth to Power” as I will elaborate on in my next post. The “magic” of President Trump politically is shown when he interweaves a glimpse of how he governs personally when he added this. “I just spoke to our great General Mattis just now, who reconfirmed that, and I quote, ‘Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemy.’ Ryan’s legacy is etched into eternity.”

Even the Congress when spoken to with such stark reality stood in awe and celebrated it.

http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/02/28/heres-the-powerful-moment-from-trumps-speech-that-left-even-democrats-stunned/

America runs best when it follows simple rules. Our Constitution is a simple document. It said all people have rights. It enumerates (lists) the few jobs the government is allowed to do, and then says “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” 

“or to the people”, was not an afterthought but a reminder of who runs this country as enshrined in the first line of the Constitution written large, proud and in your face.

The founders understood America will work best when Americans are free to make their own rules and take charge of themselves. Not the other way around.

Trump knows this – Trump ran on this – Trump won on this – America will become great again on this.

We the American people do our best when government is simple. America runs into trouble when those concepts become too complicated for us and others step in to help us understand why things can’t get better. When others tell us what actions to take, we feel less responsibility for our actions.

It’s a responsibility thing. The disconnect we see between “self-governance” and what we have now starts there. When I decide which actions I take, by definition I take responsibility for them. When others tell me what to do they become responsible for my actions. For me to have freedom I need to take back the responsibility for my actions.

When this happens across the board America will be Great Again.

I’m happy to see it is starting to happen.



Regards, Bob Carr
Live Dangerously, Tell the Truth
glhotdogs513@gmail.com
231-728-3455

The "Big and the Small" of it.

Big and Small.

The “Big” comes with our new Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his fast and early movement in changing the Justice Department. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PIVOTING_JUSTICE_DEPARTMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-03-04-09-13-22

The article points out Sessions self-recusal may clear his path for what he wants to accomplish and the reshaping of a bureaucracy he must do to accomplish those goals. The article talks of Sessions being tougher on violent crime, immigration and drugs. I’m focusing on his marijuana stance in this blog post.

In another article linked below

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeff-sessions-marijuana-comments_us_58b4b189e4b0780bac2c9fd8

Sessions is quoted as saying 2/27/2017 -

“I don’t think America is going to be a better place when people of all ages, and particularly young people, are smoking pot,” Sessions said to reporters Monday at the Department of Justice. “I believe it’s an unhealthy practice, and current levels of THC in marijuana are very high compared to what they were a few years ago, and we’re seeing real violence around that.”

That brings me to the “Small” in the title of my blog.

Those almost exact thoughts were expressed at a Michigan Township Association (MTA) meeting I attended Friday night in my Township of Newfield. I had a Republican meeting in Fremont earlier so I was late getting to the MTA meeting. The highlighted topic of the meeting was about the effects of marijuana dispensaries upon townships. Luckily I was not overly late for that.

Guest speakers were Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast and two members of the State Police Drug team. As I walked in Craig Mast took the stage and talked about how opposed he was to marijuana use. While this could have turned into a moral type of thing it didn’t. Craig backed up everything he said with facts. He talked about all the crimes that currently occurs at the places that legally grow marijuana here in Oceana County. Whether it is grown indoors or out. He said if you grow it you will have someone breaking into your house or cutting/digging through/under your fencing to steal it and then the Sheriff will have to send an officer out to write a report on it. He has already had many calls to investigate these crimes.

The thrust of the meeting was informational. It focused on facts relevant to whether Townships would be better off - or not - passing ordinances allowing dispensaries into their areas. Sheriff Mast thought creating dispensaries would only escalate the theft problem into more violent acts.

He and the State Police talked about how younger kids were getting involved and the widespread corruption of the doctors and the over production of the home growers and in general how hard it was to try to police this activity along with all the added expenses.

--------------------------

I have been torn on the marijuana use question for a long time. All I seem to hear is pro-legalization talk from the media and most politicians. Even Jeff Sessions had to walk back some of what he said about being against “medical marijuana”.

To tell the truth it was actually refreshing to hear the facts against its use at this meeting. I got up quick after the talk and shook Craig’s hand and thanked him for saying what he said. I told him it needed to be said. (I didn't vote for him but I will admit he is growing into the job well).  Unlike Sheriff Mast I have done more than my share of drugs including marijuana and have seen the effects it has on me and upon my friends especially after prolonged use. After 20 some years of abstinence I occasionally meet friends I had back in the day that are still using and I’m shocked at how “burnt out” they seem. Trying to talk to them about anything current is a struggle. They seem stuck in time.

I’m still on the fence about medical marijuana but am definitely against recreational legalization of it.

So there you have the big and the small of it.

Believe me, I have a lot of libertarian friends and I hear all the time about the arguments for “de-criminalizing” marijuana. How it is an individual choice and doesn’t hurt others, how it would get rid of the overcrowding in our jails and on and on.

It was nice to hear some common sense based on facts for a change refuting those arguments at the MTA meeting. I know most politicians are seeing a “new revenue source” and are in favor of it. Some of them are conservatives and I ask them if you are a conservative why do we need more money for the government? 

Well this argument will not go away no matter what the Sec. of Justice, the Oceana County Sheriff or the Mi. State Police does. But it was refreshing to hear the other side of the story. Being a “Rule of Law” guy I think you know where I stand. I also sit on the Newfield Township Planning Commission and I will have my say – at least on the “Small” of it.

Come next election I’ll have my say on the “Big” of it.

Regards, Bob Carr
Live Dangerously, Tell the Truth
glhotdogs513@gmail.com
231-728-3455