Amer-Exit

Brexit?  How About Amer-Exit

The View from the Middle

Don’t let the delusional, out of touch pseudo-intellectuals fool you.  They will try to tell you that you don’t have a right to your own opinions.  They’ll tell you how to feel.  For example, if you are concerned that some of the people coming into our country everyday could be drug dealers, or rapists, or murderers or terrorists, then you are a xenophobe?  If you are concerned that these immigrants might be taking some American jobs or suppressing US wages, you’re a bigot.  And boy, did the “Brexit” vote in England take these establishment elitists by surprise. 

In the “Brexit” vote, all of the issues, concerns and feelings that the British were being told they shouldn’t have, came out.  Many Brits are concerned about the “open borders” policy being crammed down their throats by the EU ruling body.  They are concerned that many people are coming into their country not to assimilate and become British citizens, but to change England into a country of they won't recognize.  This is a problem all over Europe, but particularly in France and Belgium where Muslims, for example, have established “No Go” zones for the authorities of the host countries.  This is a legitimate issue.

The English people were also concerned about the costs associated with allowing so many refugees into their country.  The good immigrants are taking jobs that could go to British citizens, and the rest get support from the state, which then taxes the citizenry to fund their welfare state.  The clueless aristocrats in Britain told their people that they shouldn’t be concerned about that, but the British people let them know, through the Brexit vote, that they were concerned.

Finally, the British people were tired of the European Union Parliament telling them what to do.  Since 1996 the Council of the EU has overruled the British Parliament 55 times, which makes many Brits ask why they even have a Parliament.  Who knows England better, the Dutch, the Greeks, the Portuguese or the Brits themselves?

And the issues in America are identical.  There are many of us who are concerned about who is coming into the US and how many.  We are also concerned about the assimilation of those who say they want to be citizens of our great country.  I love this country with its freedom of speech, freedom of opportunity and its desire to continually improve.  I’m in favor of allowing millions of immigrants and or refugees in, as long as they accept our laws, our constitution and our liberty.  I don’t want Sharia law here and especially if you are a woman or a member of the LGBT community, I suspect you don’t either.

We need to know who is coming in to keep us safe, but also to keep us prosperous.  We want immigrants who want to work, and we would love those jobs to be accretive to the US economy.  We also need to manage the wages of Americans, so who comes in and how many should be important to us all.

We even share Britain’s exasperation over losing control of its own destiny.  For the English people, it is the Parliament of the EU that has usurped authority.  In America it is the Federal Government.  The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reserved all powers not specifically delegated to the Federal Government to be given to the states, or to the people.  Yet, Washington continues to jam unpopular laws and regulations down our throats that many of us believe should be decided at the state level.  The minimum wage, environmental regulations and education are just a few examples of where the Federal Government has forced a “one size fits all” approach to issues that should be decided at the state and local levels.

So, don’t let the delusional, out of touch pseudo-intellectuals take away your right to think for yourself.  If you have some of the issues I’ve outlined above, you aren’t a bigot or an idiot.  You are just a normal thinking person.  The Brits have finally stood up and said, “ENOUGH”. Since we are their international cousins, is it surprising that we would have similar concerns?

And finally, while I am not a huge Trump fan, I can tell you that this is why he is so popular.  The establishment in Washington has been enriching themselves for years and ignoring all of us – white, black, Hispanic, men, women and children.  And now the elites are shocked at the popularity of a man who wants to blow up Washington and start over.  It just shows how arrogant, ignorant and oblivious they can be.

The Strategy of Hate

The “Hatred” Strategy

The View from the Middle

I’m 64 years old, but believe it or not, I still play basketball a couple days a week.  My skills are a shadow of what they were 40+ years ago but I’ve been playing so long that I usually know what I’m supposed to do or where I’m supposed to be so that I don’t penalize my team too much.  I don’t play because of the amazing athletic feats I can perform any more.  I play for the exercise for sure, but I also play because I really enjoy the camaraderie.  I actually like the guys I play with and enjoy the teamwork on the court and the conversation between games.

It dawned on me the other day, however, that our politicians really want me to hate at least half of these very men that I enjoy so much.  While we all share the love of the game, the political philosophies range from the far right to the far left, and of course I profess to be right in the middle.  When we disagree, we debate the subject, but we don’t lose respect for the person.  According to politicians, however, if I disagreed with President Obama on anything, I'm a racist.  If I disagree with Hillary Clinton, I’m a misogynist.  These extreme descriptions are designed to divide us by making us question the motives of anyone with whom we disagree.

Is it possible for a person to be in favor of border security and improved legal immigration laws and not be a xenophobe?  From the White House to your house we all build walls and fences to keep people from damaging our property or threatening our lives.  Do we as a country want “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free”?  Absolutely!  However, does anyone want criminals and terrorists to come to America?  No.  Can we work together to accomplish both?  Of course!

Is it possible for a person to be pro-life and not be a misogynist?  First, consider that half of the 1.2 million babies being aborted every year in the United States are female.  Realize also that even a successful abortion surgery has a tremendously negative impact on the mothers of these children. Understand that only 50% of women in America are pro-choice.  Are the other 50% of our women misogynists?  How is that even possible?  Can we protect women and the unborn at the same time? Yes, and I believe that’s what most Americans want.

Is it possible for a person who is in favor of charter schools and a voucher system for education not to be a racist?  Where do the President’s children go to school?  Did you know that members of Congress are four times more likely to send their children to private schools?  Is it wrong to give that same choice to every family in America?  My children have been out of college for 15 years now.  I will recognize no personal gain from vouchers or charter schools.  I just want more people to have the same choices I had when I sent my girls to private schools all those years ago.

Is it possible for a person who believes in traditional marriage, not to be a homophobe?  As you looked at the lines of people in Orlando waiting to give blood for the victims of that horrible terrorist attack, you must remember that most of these people were heterosexual because of the restrictions placed on gays for giving blood.  We can debate those restrictions later, but the reality is that many “straight” people were giving blood in an attempt to support the gay victims of this tragedy.  Are these the “homophobic” people our politicians are talking about? 

Is it possible for a person to be concerned about immigrants from Syria and or Iraq and not be an Islamophobe?  ISIS has made it clear that they intend to infiltrate the refugee stream into America, and FBI Director Comey has admitted that vetting refugees, from Syria in particular, is a questionable operation at best.  Is it crazy for people to be skeptical of that process and to want a pause to avoid allowing entry to terrorists who want to murder our citizens?  Actually, it’s common sense.

It sickens me to watch politicians try to turn Americans against each other for personal gain.  Do you really think that the majority of Americans are misogynistic, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic bigots?  I don’t.  In fact, I believe that most Americans on both sides of the political spectrums are decent, hard working, caring people who just want to pass a better America on to their children.  But that positive image will not drum up the hatred necessary to divide us into the ideological camps required to win elections.

It is this positive image, however, that will bring us together as Americans first and drive the compromise that is necessary to produce the change and progress needed to really make this country great again.  When we hear these extreme descriptions, recognize them for what they are, a selfish attempt to deceive and divide us.  We need to punish these selfish, narcissistic, egotistical, smug, vain, pompous, prideful frauds (exaggeration intended) by voting them out of office for they do NOT represent America.

It’s hard to recognize an insult without a program, so I hope this summary helps.

Misogynist – A person who hates, dislikes or mistrusts women.

Xenophobe – A person who fears or hates foreigners.

Homophobe – A person who fears or hates homosexuals.

Islamophobe – There is no such word, but politicians have made it up to describe people who fear or hate Muslims.

Racist – A person who is prejudice against other races. 

Rape at Stanford

Lessons From the Stanford Rape

The View from the Middle

A little over a year ago, a young man named Brock Turner took advantage of an inebriated, unconscious young woman behind a dumpster on Stanford’s campus.   This opening line should be proof enough for most of us that this was not a consensual act.  This March, a jury found him guilty of three felony charges of sexual assault (technically not rape) and the judge sentenced him to six months in jail and three years of probation. 

This set off a firestorm of criticism across the country suggesting the sentence was insufficient and demanding a recall of the judge, Aaron Persky.  While this approach might make some people feel better, it has little chance of success and even less of a chance of diminishing rape on college campuses across this country.  There are, however, a few actions that we could take as a people that might actually put a light on this epidemic and help bring it under control.

First, this young woman took this to court and weathered the persecution that she knew would come with her actions.  Too many women fail to report their rapes even when sobriety is not an issue.  Learn from this brave young woman and demand justice.  She also wrote a lengthy account of her feelings about that night and the entire trial process.  It is lengthy, but I have supplied a link below for your convenience.  I do encourage you to read it to get a full appreciation of what she endured.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra?utm_term=.qo5xW1G22M#.cuWX9Emllo

Second, this would show that the system will actually work if you give it a chance.  Turner was only sentenced to six months in jail, but also got three years of probation and a life sentence on the sexual offender register.  Even a three year jail sentence, which is what the victim in this case asked for, would have only resulted in a year and a half of actual time served.  I would have certainly approved of that longer sentence, but the real deterrent is a lifetime of embarrassing explanations of the disgusting behavior that qualifies any person for such a register.

We need to make these consequences of rape abundantly clear to every incoming freshman on every campus in America.  I can’t imagine a university that would resist delivering this sort of “no tolerance” message to their students since the cost would be minimal and the impact could be so dramatic.  I personally can’t imagine what pleasure a man would get from a sexual encounter like the one described in this case, but for those who might, a vision of life on the sex offender register might be just the medicine they need to resist the temptation.

Finally, let us address the elephant in the room.  In her petition to the judge the victim in this case wonders if this sexual abuse could have been avoided if she had not been intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness.   Would Mr. Turner have simply moved to a different victim or would this incident have not occurred at all?  While better judgment on her part might not have changed the circumstances for Brock Turner, I think it is fair to conclude that it would have changed everything for this young lady.

So the big take-away from this terrible incident is for women (and men too) not to put themselves at risk by over indulging in alcohol, especially when in the company of men who are probably doing the same thing.  This in no way suggests that this young lady is to blame for this incident, but when anyone reduces their physical and mental capabilities to the point of making themselves defenseless, it makes them vulnerable to reprobates like Brock Turner.  You can be innocent, but still suffer grave damage.

In closing, if you are a young man who takes advantage of women as in this case, know that you disgust me and virtually all of the rest of society and you deserve whatever punishment our system allows.  If you are a young woman, especially on a college campus, I beg you not to put yourself at risk.  Even better, I would ask you to keep a vigilant watch out for your fellow sisters of the world and step in when you see situations like this developing.  While a disaster avoided cannot always be identified, it is no less consequential. 

The President Babbles Hypocrisy

The President off Teleprompter –

“If, if, if, if, if, if, if, if, if, if, if, if” – Smooth!

The View from the Middle

If you haven’t seen the President’s recent attempt to speak without his teleprompter, I’ve attached a link below for your convenience.  While his serial stuttering got most of the attention, it is the hypocrisy of what he said that I want to focus on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSxo9-Z5Ki0

In my opinion, Barack Obama has been the most divisive President in my lifetime, if not of all time, yet he has the hutzpah to lecture us on the dangers of being divided.  Isn’t this the same President who said, back in 2008, that the people of the Midwest tended to, “cling to their guns and religion”?  Isn’t that an attempt to divide people along socio-economic and religious lines at the same time? 

Is this not the President who called half of America “the enemy” in a Univision interview back in 2010?  So, if you disagree with the President on any issue, you are no longer an American.  You are the enemy.  Any person can win the Presidency by simply acquiring a simple majority of the Electoral College votes, but that person must govern for “all the people”.  How does a person do that when he has such disdain for so much of the citizenry?

The President also tried to turn the poor against the rich and vice-versa.  According to the President, everyone who is rich is a “cold hearted capitalist type.”  He continually minimizes the effort that many rich people have made and the risks they have taken to amass their wealth.  Back in 2012 he suggested that if a person had a successful business, “you didn’t build that.”  He has also famously compared the country’s rich to “lottery winners”. 

Even though some people become wealthy by inheriting fortunes, this doesn’t make them automatically selfish.  In fact, many of these people are very generous and hard working in their own right.  Just take a look at the Walton family.  Also, while there is a certain amount of luck in every life, most wealth development is a result of hard work, intelligent choices and a willingness to take risks.  No matter what the President (the true lottery winner) thinks, these people are not adversaries.  They are proud, loyal Americans who just happen to have a different opinion than he does. 

Finally, the President’s most disappointing act of division in America has been along racial lines.  Many, including me, had hoped that the President could have had a very positive impact on race relations in this country.  Unfortunately, that has not happened.  Today 46% of Americans believe that race relations has gotten worse under this President, while only 18% believe they have gotten better. 

This because it suited the President to divide us in this area.  From the beer summit to Trayvon Martin to Ferguson, he and Eric Holder, his minion, fanned the flames of racial discord for their own political gain.  Ben Stein (writer, lawyer, actor and political and economic commentator) labeled Barack Obama the most racist President in history, and I tend to agree with him. 

I do agree that we are strongest as a people when we are united, but it irks me when this President, who has divided this country along economic, religious, political, racial and gender lines (a whole other story I didn’t have time to get into), has the guts to suggest that he has been a uniter.  This simply proves that hypocrisy and duplicity are alive and well in Washington.