Condoleezza Rice Nails It

 The View from the Middle 

Who would have thought that real truth, wisdom and conservative brilliance would be delivered from Whoopi Goldberg and “The View”, the blatantly liberal talk show that drove Megan McCain to tears before she decided she had to leave to save her sanity and any semblance of self-esteem.  But Condoleezza Rice, the first black, woman Secretary of State under George W. Bush and brilliant author and professor at Stanford University, wasn’t afraid to speak truth and common sense on that show as she condemned Critical Race Theory to the totally biased hosts of that show.

Condi Rice made the case that CRT should never be taught in Public or any schools because their teachings are bigoted and racist.  But don’t take my word for it.  Here are the exact words that she boldly delivered to Whoopi and her ultra-liberal audience.

 

“One of the worries that I have about the way that we’re talking about race is that it either seems so big that somehow White people now have to feel guilty for everything that happened in the past – I don’t think that’s very productive - or Black people have to feel disempowered by race.”  Then, she added, “I would like Black kids to be completely empowered, to know that they are beautiful in their Blackness, but in order to do that I don’t have to make White kids feel bad for being White.”

 

Often, brilliance is wrapped in simplicity, and Condi demonstrated that dramatically on The View.  Her simplicity, her intelligence and her personal experience as she grew up with real discrimination, make it difficult to argue against her analysis and conclusion.

As if to supply an exquisite example of what Condi Rice was denouncing, a Virginia gubernatorial debate delivered it.  Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat candidate for governor in Virginia, said during that debate that, “(he was) not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decisions.”  Just a few seconds later he added, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”  As you might imagine, parents in Virginia exploded with their disagreement, which has put that governor’s race up for grabs.  

Finally, in an attempt to silence parents from voicing their displeasure with their curriculum, the National School Board Association (NSBA) sent a letter to Biden’s Attorney General, Merrick Garland, comparing involved parents to “domestic terrorists”.   While they (the NSBA) have since apologized to their members for that characterization, they have not apologized to the parents nor has Merrick Garland rescinded his order to use the FBI and other Justice Department assets to investigate school board meetings.  Let’s be frank, even the mere presence of FBI agents would discourage parents from attending those meetings.

And now that CRT has been exposed as a racist curriculum and ideology, some have just attempted to change the name to something they hope parents won’t recognize.  As with most of these racist, bigoted groups, they try to use positive words and descriptions in their names to fool the public.  Remember that the NAZI party was actually named the National Socialist Workers Party.  Sounds like its biggest goal was to stand up for workers’ rights.  I guess “Gassing the Jews” didn’t market test as well.  And I’ve written about Black Lives Matter.  Those words are great, but I certainly wouldn’t support an organization that advocates the destruction of the nuclear family and America’s capitalist economic system or the belief that all white people are irredeemably racist just because of their skin color.  

So, when CRT was exposed, their followers just changed the name to DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), which is now being pushed in Fayetteville, Arkansas and across the US.  Again, those words sound so great, don’t they!?  But DEI is just as awful as CRT.  DEI includes training for white people to embrace their “Implicit Bias”.  This implies that all white people are racists and bigots and they can’t help themselves for being so.  If also suggests that there are no prejudice or biased Black people.  Oh really?  How about Louis Farrakhan?  This is exactly what Condoleezza is warning against. As William Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  Or in this case, stink as badly.

It doesn’t matter what party you support, what gender you claim or what color your skin is, we should all should declare our disdain for any ideology that suggests that you should be judged by the color of your skin.  We should reject any group that tells us that we are all designated as oppressors or victims at birth and we can’t avoid the emasculation that comes with that.  To paraphrase Condi Rice, Black kids should feel proud and empowered in their Blackness and the same should go for White kids.

I encourage everyone to defy the Terry McAuliffe’s and the NSBA’s of the world and get involved in your children’s educations to eliminate social engineering and increase their academic readiness for life in the future of our world.  There is a nation-wide organization called “Mom’s for Liberty” that is dedicated to that goal.  I encourage you to check them out, but more importantly, I encourage you to get involved.

Did Nancy Pelosi Really Just Say That?

The View from the Middle

 

I feel it is my responsibility to point out when our politicians actually slip and tell the truth, so that you can see how much the relationship between them and the media has disintegrated.  Yesterday, a friendly reporter asked why Nancy and her minions were having a hard time peddling their $3.5 Trillion Break the Country’s Back bill.  Nancy’s response revealed the inappropriate relationship that has developed over the last 50 years in this country between the mainstream media and the Democrat Party.

Again, when asked why she was having such trouble, Nancy actually shot back this comment, “Well, I think you (the media) all could do a better job of selling it, to be very frank with you.”  It’s amazing to me that the reporter didn’t fire back that “selling her legislation” was not the job of the media.  In fact, it should be argued that the media’s job is to be a cynical skeptic of our government, no matter which party holds office, and to hold them accountable.

Other definitions of the responsibility of The Fourth Estate (the media) would include “the guardian of veritas (truth)”.  Another widely accepted function of the print and electronic media is to, “act as a counterbalance, a systemically opposite force that is to report, verify and question matters of governance.”  The media has an obligation to be neutral, objective and critical as it performs its job of gathering and disseminating the news to us, the public.

One of the best explanations of the 4^th Estate’s responsibility said this, “We rely on the press to record, investigate, interpret and publish facts truthfully and without bias.  We have to be able to trust our journalists.  If they fail, we fail.”  And they are failing.  A recent Gallup poll shows that the overall trust of our media has fallen from 72% in 1972 to only 36% today, and only 7% of Americans have a “great deal” of trust in the mass media.

But no matter how hard I searched, I could not find a definition of the media that even hinted that the they should be involved in “SELLING” any legislation or even any particular political ideology.  Nancy Pelosi’s statement just demonstrates either her total lack of understanding of the role of our 4^th Estate or her utter disdain for the fundamental principles of that institution.  And the lack of a follow up question or statement by that reporter suggests the same lack of awareness from her.  Nancy’s suggestion should shock and even frighten all of us, no matter what your party affiliation is.  Nancy, you’re in your 80’s.  You are obviously losing your mental faculties as well as your moral compass.  It’s time for you to go.  Do the right thing for the country and term limit yourself.

The Cost is Zero for This $3.5 Trillion Bill

The View from the Middle

 

How stupid do they think we are?  Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden have all had the audacity to tell us that, “this $3.5 Trillion bill will have a cost of zero”, even though the cost is embedded in their statement.  If there really is no cost, why are they saying that they have to raise taxes to “pay” for it?

Then, they suggest that this bill is popular with the people, but in reality “the people” don’t have any idea what is actually in this bill.  In fact, even Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden haven’t read this bill and clearly don’t know what’s in it.  But they want to “pass it so they can find out what’s in it”.  Ever heard that before?  The facts are clear. What “people” like is getting money sent to them.  If “the people” knew about all of the things that are hidden in this bill and the consequences of those things, they would detest it.  This bill, for example, will undoubtedly create more debt for our children and produce inflation, the hidden tax, that will crush our buying power.  Nancy, Chuck and Joe are also simply lying about how they will pay it.

Just to add a little more absurdity to the sales pitch for this bill, Jen Psaki is telling the country that it would be “absurd and unfair” for companies in America to pass the tax increases planned to pay for this bill on to consumers.  What world is Jen Psaki living in?  Does she really expect big companies, like Procter & Gamble where I spent my career, to eat a 5.5% increase in costs?  Jen, please be truthful with the American people.  Big companies have a responsibility to their shareholders to find ways to maintain their profitability and they will do so in this case by increasing prices or reducing costs, like labor.  Both of these adjustments will be bad for the American people.  And that is “if” these companies actually end up paying these increased taxes.  I think they will figure out how to avoid these taxes which is even worse for the rest of us.

“Tax the rich” and big companies!  It’s a great slogan, but it’s a lie.  We all keep hearing that 55 of the country’s largest companies paid no taxes last year, and I don’t doubt that fact at all.  But, do you know why those 55 companies didn’t pay any taxes?  Because it is legal for them not to.  These companies are simply taking advantage of loopholes that Congress has built into the tax code at the request of these same companies.  Big corporations and rich individuals give money to Congress men and women to influence them.  Do you know why Warren Buffet pays a lower tax “rate” than his secretary?  Because it’s legal!  Buffet is not breaking any laws.  He is just taking advantage of all of the loopholes that he and the ultra-rich have had built into our tax code by the Congress people they influenced with their generous campaign contributions and personal payoffs.  The rich and big companies have the money to bribe our politicians and to pay for lobbyists and lawyers to avoid any new taxes in this bill.  This is not a projection of what is to come.  It is a fact that has been proven over and over again throughout our history.  

So, if the rich won’t pay these taxes, how about the poor.  The poor literally have no money to tax, or at least very little, so they will not pay for this massive expansion of government intrusion into our lives.  They will, of course, pay increased taxes on gasoline and cigarettes and will pay a huge price as inflation strips away their buying power. However, they will not pay any of the federal income taxes designed to pay for this bill – which, of course, has no cost.  So, if the rich have money and influence to avoid the tax increases in this bill (that has no cost), and the poor have no money to pay for this bill, that has no cost, who is going to pay the cost of this bill, that has no cost.

It is the middle class who will pay the bulk of any tax increases the government will pass as a part of this $3.5 Trillion bill.  The middle class does have some money, but not enough to hire lobbyists and lawyers to create loopholes for them in the tax laws.  However, the government, or in this case the Dems, cannot get all of the $3.5 Trillion from the middle class.  That would be too devastating and too noticeable.  Our government will be lucky to get a third of that amount from the middle class in taxes and will have to borrow the rest and pass that debt on to our kids and grandkids.

Thomas Jefferson, a stone-cold genius and possibly our smartest President (it’s between him and John Quincy Adams) warned of the dangers of Congressional bills that were too long.  And that was when their bills were typically three or four pages in length.  President Lincoln’s entire platform, for example, was only two pages long.  Jefferson suggested that bills that were too long would be confusing, over-reaching, deceptive, unmanageable and would deliver too many unintended consequences.  This bill is almost 2,500 pages long and contains close to a half million words.  I’m going to take a wild guess that this brilliant Founding Father would object to this bill.  I’ve attached a link to the text of this bill for two reasons.  First, you will undoubtedly get a good laugh as you try to read and understand it.  Second, it will help you appreciate the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson and the depths to which our modern-day politicians have devolved and the chaos, duplicity, ineptitude and division they have created.

 

https://docs.house.gov/meetings/BU/BU00/20210925/114090/BILLS-117pih-BuildBackBetterAct.pdf

 

And before any of you try to excuse any of the Democrats’ excessive spending on the grounds that the Republicans have done it also.  Save your breath.  I condemn all of this “drunken sailor” spending and would even support a balance budget amendment with provisions built in to handle emergencies like wars, economic collapses and maybe even pandemics.  However, our deficit in 2021 is projected to reach $3.7 trillion just for this year alone.  This will exceed last year’s deficit, when we were actually in the middle of the pandemic, by almost 20% and will be the largest in American history.  And this, of course, does not include any of this $3.5 trillion in spending.  With that spending included, by 2026 our total national debt will be fast approaching $40 trillion.  Heaven help us all if interest rates normalize to anywhere near 5%.  Both parties have sinned, but in the contest of “drunken sailor” spending, the Dems and Joe Biden are winning.