Unintended Consequences

    The law of unintended consequences is in full swing. 
    Some classic examples: the more we increase welfare, the less likely its beneficiaries will become productive members of society; the more the government increases taxes, the less people have to spend, thereby slowing the economy; the more we seek to protect domestic industries with tariffs, the more expensive the goods we buy become; the more we choose not to kill the enemy where he lives, the more likely he will come here to kill us.

    Close to home, recent studies show that prescriptions for effective but addictive painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone have led to increased deaths from heroin overdoses. Patients too often turn to cheap and available heroin when they can no longer afford the high costs of those prescription drugs. The numbers are staggering: 10,574 deaths from heroin overdoses in 2014, an increase of 22 percent from the previous year.

    States that have legalized marijuana now find that the pot industry uses up so much electricity, it has stretched power grids to the limit. Colorado growers consume power equivalent to 35,000 homes; in California, 1 million homes. Not only do these operations send a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the projected increase in demand for electricity will have to come from the burning of coal, environmentalists' Enemy No.1.

    Would anyone like to guess what the unintended consequences will be if either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump becomes president of the United States?

Not Qualified

Note:  This is the text of a letter to our local newspaper about Joseph Hoffler, a big fan of Obama and a frequent critic of mine.  I never respond to my critics in the press, but in his case I had to make an exception.

    Joseph Hoffler wants to be a County Commissioner. I applaud his willingness to serve this community, just as I honor his military service to this country. The question now is not about his willingness to serve, but about his qualifications.

     I have never met Mr. Hoffler, so I can't claim to know him personally. But I can infer a great deal about him from his frequent letters to the editor of this newspaper.

     In all his writings Mr. Hoffler has been a steadfast, even obsequious supporter of President Obama. He has praised ObamaCare by citing the number of enrollments as a proof of success, this in spite of that number falling far below expectations, not to mention the disastrous roll-out, the failures of so many state exchanges, the ballooning premiums and deductibles, and the millions in losses by insurance companies, all of which have resulted in an overwhelmingly negative opinion of the program.

    Mr. Hoffler has credited Mr. Obama for the falling gas prices. This, as Bob Bose pointed out in a rebuttal, is laughable. President Obama has been an obdurate opponent of fossil fuels, preferring to waste billions on renewable energy sources that fit his climate change agenda. He deserves no credit whatsoever for low fuel prices.

    Mr. Hoffler also does not seem to object to the president's destructive economic policies, his job-killing regulations, his unconstitutional executive orders, and his failure to enforce the law on illegal immigration.

    Even scarier, Mr. Hoffler does not agree with 80% of Americans who think that Obama's foreign policy of weakness and appeasement poses a grave threat to the security of our country. Incredibly, Mr. Hoffler still blames Bush for the rise and spread of Islamic terrorism.

     In view of all this, I question Mr. Hoffler's ability to make critical judgments based on facts rather than ideological bias. Joseph W. Hoffler (Lt Col, USAF-ret., as he never fails to remind us) may have been a competent officer, but military service does not inoculate him from error, nor is it a cure for his ignorance.

Not My Constitution

    It has come down to this: Is it time for this country to abandon the Constitution and replace it with ad hoc solutions? This question is pitting liberals and conservatives against each other on the most consequential issues of our times.

    Every elected official is sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States. But it seems that many politicians utter these solemn words while muttering under their breaths, “except when the Constitution doesn't serve my purposes.”

    We have seen the denigration of constitutional principles from both sides of the ideological spectrum. When Donald Trump says he wants to close mosques and prevent all Muslims from entering this country, he is ignoring essential provisions of the First Amendment. When Hillary Clinton vows to write tax and gun-control regulations that circumvent the legislative authority bestowed on Congress, she is in fact promising to violate the Constitution. But of course both Trump and Clinton are taking their cue from the Master.

    After Barack Obama repeated over twenty times that he did not have the authority to overrule or ignore Congress, he proceeded to do just that routinely on immigration, on ObamaCare, on the Iranian agreement, and on climate regulations. When he did not inform Congress before releasing five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo in exchange for Sergeant Burgdal, he broke the law. But so what? What are the consequences?

    It is one thing for Obama to break the law, but it is quite another for him to brazenly act with confidence that he will not be held accountable. It is not so much the Constitution that he is violating, but the very moral fabric of our democracy. He may sanctimoniously lecture us about “the values we all share,” but his actions make him, in my eyes, is a traitor to those values.

San Bernadino

    The shootings in San Bernadino produced intense media coverage followed by a flood of comments and opinions from all corners of the political spectrum.

    As expected, we got knee-jerk reactions from the anti-gun lobby, with President Obama leading the pack. The screams for more gun control ignored the fact that California has the strictest gun laws in the nation. No matter how loud the screams, no gun-control laws would have prevented the carnage.

    Then there were those, like the president, who would have preferred the killings to be seen as an act of workplace violence; the word terrorism did not fit their political agenda. Even when the FBI stated that this had indeed been an act of terrorism, no one on the left qualified it as Islamic terrorism, in spite of the evidence that one of the shooters had pledged her allegiance to ISIS before spaying bullets into a room full of innocent people. And now we have growing evidence of an overseas Islamic banking and training connection as well.

    In his speech to the nation on Sunday evening, the president did not admit to discounting intelligence reports on the growing threat of Islamic terrorism, nor did he tell us he was revising his strategy for fighting the enemy. On the contrary, he offered nothing new: no more boots on the ground, no arming the Kurds, no change in the ineffective air war's rules of engagement. Let's remember that this president recently said revealingly, “I'm not interested in posing or pursuing some notion of American leadership or America winning.”

    The president, however, did spend an inordinate amount of time warning us not to discriminate against Muslims, echoing Attorney General Loretta Lynch's earlier anti-constitutional vow to prosecute anyone guilty of anti-Muslim speech.

    I'm glad at least that he didn't remind us that the greatest threat facing the world today is climate change.

Lift the Siege

    The continued success of our democracy depends on four essential elements: a strong defense, a robust economy, a vibrant culture, and the rule of law. Alarmingly, all four are under siege.

    We live in an age of conflict. While the world faces growing Russian aggression and Chinese expansionism, Islamic terrorism threatens not only Middle Eastern and European security, but our own as well. We have weakened our military, downgraded our intelligence capabilities, and abdicated our position of leadership in the world. Our allies don't trust us, our foes don't fear us, and no one respects us. In response to a declaration of war by ISIS, our delusional president has said that the greatest threat facing us is climate change.

    The United States is the greatest economic success story in history because the freedom it enjoys permits the flourishing of free enterprise in a land blessed with enormous material and intellectual wealth. Yet, we have an administration bent on squandering our resources with a destructive energy policy, business-killing regulations, and a divisive, socialist ideology that replaces our traditional work ethic with an enslaving dependence on welfare benefits.

    Our culture, once a beacon of Western civilization, is sliding into a secular materialism that scorns religion, devalues life and the family, and harms our children with images of violence, drug abuse, and sexual libertinism. Instead of setting an example, our federal government enrages the populace with its profligacy and legislative impotence.

    Finally, we have liberal icons of higher education caving in to radical students who champion victimization and deny First Amendment rights to others. And then we have a president who violates the constitution with impunity and abets a Justice department that declines to prosecute corruption, and refuses to enforce immigration law.

    It's high time we lifted the siege.

Not Listening

    I despise Barack Obama for the damage he has done to this country. But it is not enough to call him an incompetent leader, a coward, or worse, a traitor. We have to try to assess the thinking process that has resulted in his failed foreign policy.

    First, we have to consider his belief that America is responsible for much of what is wrong in this world. This would explain why he cannot take a leadership role in engaging the enemy in the Middle East. His strategy is to degrade and contain, but not to defeat him.

    Second, we have to understand that his sympathies toward Islam prevent him from recognizing the real threat that ISIS and al Qaeda pose to western civilization. He has no problem letting Iran achieve hegemony in the Middle East nor in allowing potential terrorists to infiltrate the masses of Syrian migrants coming to our shores. He cannot conceive or admit the possibility of Islam not being uniformly a religion of peace. His love of Islam prevents him from even uttering the words “Radical Islamic Terrorists.”

    Third, we have to factor in the president's extreme narcissism, a character flaw that causes him take advice only from the man in the mirror and to truculently reject any criticism from the media or his political opponents. He would rather accuse Republicans of fearing widows and orphans than admit that they have a point in wanting to boost screening requirements of potential jihadists.

    An overwhelming majority of us Americans are telling the president that we don't feel safe and that we want him to hold to his oath of office to protect us. But he is not listening. President Obama needs to recognize that radical Islam, not climate change, is the greatest threat to western civilization.  

A Damned Fool

    It's time for some plain speaking. The slaughter that took place in Paris yesterday has finally brought home to the whole world that Islam, as practiced by Muslim fanatics, is not a religion of peace. There are moderate Muslims both here and abroad who do not support a theocratic Islam bent on the destruction of Western civilization. But these moderates have proven powerless to reform their religion, to persuade extremists that the Koran's 7^th century imprecations to kill the infidel must not be allowed to corrupt an otherwise peaceful religion in the 21^st century.

    Similarly, there are Western leaders who do not understand the danger that theocratic Islam poses for our civilization. Europe is now being flooded by Muslim refugees fleeing the war in Syria. But these migrants, mostly young single men, are infiltrated by killers who want to convert Europe to Islam. Sweden, Germany, Denmark and other European countries are only now coming to realize the folly of their open-border policies. France long ago allowed hundreds of thousands of Muslims from North Africa to form Muslim enclaves in their cities. France is now paying the price for its embrace of people sworn to its destruction.

    What the Western world needs now more than ever is resolute leadership. But on the very day of the Paris massacre we have the President of the United States aver that ISIS continues to shrink. This Islamophile who cannot even speak the words “Islamic terrorists,” this leader whose failed foreign policy is largely responsible for the rise if ISIS, this narcissist who takes advice only from the person he sees in the mirror, is not the savior we seek. This emperor has no clothes. Once and for all he has proven to be nothing short of a damned fool.

Transgenders Coming In

    I have often railed against federal government regulations. They now number over 170,000 pages governing, it seems, every aspect of our lives. These regulations are so intrusive and suffocating that some, like Charles Murray (By the People: Rebuilding Liberty without Permission), have gone so far as to suggest that it is time for systematic civil disobedience of stupid and pointless regulations. Here's a prime example.

    The Obama Department of Education recently ordered a school district in Illinois to allow a transgender boy full access to the girls' locker room. Now the school had already agreed to let the boy use the girls' facilities, provided he is shielded from view while undressing. But that wasn't good enough for federal regulators. According to the Department of Education's Civil Rights Division, any boy who wants to be a girl has the right to undress in full view of girls in their locker room. If the school refuses to comply with the department's directive within 30 days, it will lose federal funding.

    Is this not the ultimate in regulatory nonsense? If there ever was a time for civil disobedience, this is it. I think every school district in the nation should announce that it will not comply with this ridiculous order.

    Before Jimmy Carter created the Department of Education in 1979, the federal government played no role whatsoever in K-12 education. Now it has over 5,000 employees and an annual budget of over $70 billion.

    The federal government should have absolutely nothing to do with K-12 education. Control at that level belongs with people who know what's best for our kids: parents, teachers, and school administrators. Federal regulators should keep their noses out of our schools (and girls' locker rooms), and the Department of Education should be abolished.

We Will Remember

    Barack Obama was in control when he took office, backed by Democrats in Congress who rode his coattails to a majority in both houses. But what has happened since then?

    Since 2008 Democrats have lost 12 governorships, 13 Senate seats, 69 House seats, and more than 900 state legislative seats. Republicans now control more than two thirds of state legislatures and 31 governorships. That last number will rise to 32 when Matt Bevin is sworn in as the new governor of Kentucky. Why?

    Under President Obama we have added $9 trillion to our national debt, reduced workforce participation to its lowest level in 38 years, opened the floodgates to illegal immigration, weakened our military, and exacerbated deteriorating race relations. The President has repeatedly violated our Constitution with unlawful executive orders, forced an unworkable ObamaCare down our throats, and signed (without Congressional approval) an agreement that guarantees the Middle East hegemony of a nuclear-powered Iran. But there's more that will ensure a Democratic debacle in 2016.

    One issue that is rising to the top of the list of voter concerns in this election cycle is the alarming increase of drug abuse among our children. Too many of our kids are getting hooked and even overdosing on illegal and prescription drugs.

    Well, I've got news for you, Mr. President. Come next November we voters will remember that you released from jail thousands of criminal illegal aliens, many of them drug dealers; we will remember how you would not support Kate's law and refused to enforce federal laws in sanctuary cities; and we will remember how you are now is emptying our prisons of drug pushers because you deem them “non-violent” offenders.

    Instead of listening to your sycophantic advisers, Mr. President, you should listen to the American people.

Bias

   While I was in Europe last month I was able to get only a smattering of news from home. When I saw a report of Hillary's testimony before the House committee investigating Benghazi, I had to conclude that she had done very well, that her appearance had been a triumph. But when I got back and had a chance to review her testimony, I came to the opposite conclusion: Hillary had been proven to be a liar on one point after another. How could that be a triumph in the eyes of anyone but her mainstream media accomplices?

    Marco Rubio's comment in last week's Denver debate was on point: the mainstream media is a giant Super Pac for the Democratic Party. His accusation was confirmed by the CNBC debate moderators' abysmal performance that clearly showed a deep bias against Republican candidates.

    I think the American public is finally getting wise to the liberal media. When one moderator pursued his insulting questioning of Ben Carson, the audience booed loudly. “They get it,” responded a smiling Carson. The Democratic shills in the mainstream media don't. They don't understand that fair-minded Americans are fed up with their bias, their elitist condescension, and their utter blindness to the people's distrust of Hillary Clinton. 

    The American people want truthfulness, honesty, and trustworthiness in their leaders. They also want fairness from their reporters and commentators. They aren't getting it.

Appreciate

    Coming back from Italy after four weeks has made me appreciate a few things we take for granted. Here are a few.

    We Americans are used to our SUVs, our full-size sedans, and our pickups with beds that easily fit 4 x 8 panels of plywood. We like soft suspensions and automatic transmissions. Not so in Italy where all cars are small, ride hard, and likely have manual transmissions. And there are no F-150s. Why? Italian roads.

    We Americans are used to smooth surfaces, wide lanes, long stretches of straight roads, and interstates that crisscross the country. Italy has no highways to match ours. Their roads are narrower and often riddled with teeth-rattling potholes; country lanes are barely wide enough to allow small cars to pass each other; and most cities, especially in mountainous Tuscany, are connected by dangerous, curvy roads that call for both hands on the wheel.

    We Americans ride bikes mostly for exercise. In Italy cycling is a popular sport, with cycling clubs sponsoring competitions on almost every weekend. Moreover, bikes, motorcycles, and scooters are essential forms of transportation on roads with no shoulders and no bike lanes. There are tour buses, of course, but only tiny school buses for elementary school children. Many older kids must ride trains to regional high schools.

    We Americans enjoy the benefits of cheap energy. We pay $3 for a gallon of gas, and we maintain a constant comfort level in our homes with heat and air conditioning. Gasoline in Italy averages $7 a gallon, and windows commonly have shutters to combat summer heat and winter cold, because electricity and especially natural gas, which must be imported, are very expensive. It's the reason many people still hang their laundry out to dry on clotheslines and balconies.

    We Americans have fully stocked supermarket shelves and huge malls that meet our every need. We have rows of fast-food and other restaurants catering to every taste and budget. Except for an occasional McDonald in big cities, Italians bars (their fast-food restaurants) have limited offerings. But Italians do have great pizzas and gelatos to die for. As for supermarkets and malls, Italy has none to compare with Walmart and Chesapeake's Greenbriar complex.

    Does that mean that Americans have the best of everything? Hardly. I have seen nothing in this country to compare to the charm of Italy's medieval cities, its magnificent art and architecture, its serene landscapes, and its peaceful, clean, and safe environment. I will always remember the Italians I met for their grace and warmth, their zest for life, and their welcoming embrace.

    We Americans often place too much emphasis on our comfort and physical well-being. We need to be reminded from time to time that happiness is not guaranteed by material abundance, but is more often achieved in the simplest of ways, in opening our eyes to the beauty that surrounds us, in establishing new friendships and loving relationships, and in embracing life in all its rewarding aspects.

What Conversation?

     After being away in Italy for a month I was eager to catch up on the local news and turned to back issues of The Perquimans Weekly as soon as I could, especially to Letters to the Editor. I was happy to see further opinions on the new bridge, wind power, and the 2015 Business Expo. But I was dismayed to see the continued personal attacks on Warren Boiselle for his opinions on race (“Racist letters have no place in the paper.” “Racist beliefs not backed by any facts.”)

    In 1965 Daniel Patrick Moynihan issued a paper entitled “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.” Even though Moynihan was a liberal with many ideas for helping solve the problems that plagued black families (poverty, unemployment, welfare dependency), he was excoriated by the liberal press for pointing out that at the core of these problems was the dysfunctional structure of the black family headed by unwed mothers. For his opinion Moynihan was branded a racist.

    Fifty years later Moynihan's reputation has been rehabilitated. He was right in predicting that as the rate of out-of-wedlock births increases, “most Negro youths are in danger of being caught up in the tangle of pathology that affects their world, and probably a majority are so entrapped.”

    Mr Boiselle's advice to blacks (finish school, get a job, and get married before making babies) may sound crude to some, but it happens to be right on the money. But for this, his detractors demand that he not be permitted to express his opinions in this paper.

    Pundits and talking heads often insist that we need to have a conversation on race relations if we are ever going to solve the problems that plague the black community. But how can we “have a conversation” if one side insists the other has no right to express a contrary opinion?

    I was further dismayed to see that the 10/21 edition on this paper carried not a single letter from local writers. Has the conversation ended? I hope not.

Obama Disrespects the Pope

What do Sister Simone Campbell, Bishop Eugene Robinson, and Mateo Williamson have in common? They were all invited by the White House to attend the welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis when he visits the United States for the first time.

Any problem with that? The Vatican thinks so because it doesn't want the pope to be seen as endorsing their positions. And what positions might those be? Well, Sister Campbell heads a group of nuns that support ObamaCare and its provisions for funding abortions and contraception, in violation of Catholic teaching. Bishop Robinson is the first openly gay Episcopal bishop and an ex-spouse in a same-sex marriage. Mr. Williamson is a transgender activist.

Pope Francis is a loving and generous man, but I doubt he would want to be photographed embracing these three guests. But the real question for me is why President Obama would even want to put the pope in such a position. Now, I don't agree with Pope Francis on some things, such as his views on capitalism and climate change. But I have great respect for him as a Church leader and saintly man. He deserves to be welcomed as such by our president. Obama's secular views and opposition to traditional Christian values have no place here. He should, for once, set aside his political ideology and show a little class by disinviting Campbell, Robinson, and Williamson.

Germany Has a Problem

Europe is dying. That's what declining demographics tell us. It takes 2.1 live births per woman to maintain a stable population, and Europe's rate is 1.55. And Germany, in particular, is in the worst shape of all. A recent report tells us that Germany has surpassed Japan in having the lowest birth rate in the world; Germany's population decline has reached the point where it is irreversible.

Such a low fertility rate means that not enough babies are born to replace an aging population and to enter the workforce as they become of age. Right now there simply are not enough people in the labor force to support the country's pensioners and its massive welfare programs. In fact, the current percentage of people of working age (61%) is projected to drop to 54% by the year 2030. Having so many jobs available and so few people to fill them is good for Germany's unemployment rate, but bad for its long-term economic prospects.

Forced to confront this looming disaster, Germany is desperate for workers, and the only way it can get them is through immigration. That's why we're seeing Germany open its doors to Syrian refugees. It expects to welcome 800,000 this year alone and 500,000 each year thereafter. But while this massive immigration may add to the workforce, it brings with it a problem that is potentially much more serious.

The vast majority of refugees migrating to Germany are Muslims. And as we've seen in other countries like France and Spain, Muslim immigrants do not assimilate well in their new host countries. On the contrary, they form tight enclaves controlled by radical Islamists who discourage assimilation, enforce Sharia law, and promote jihadism. In some parts of Germany, they have even infiltrated school systems to protect Muslim children from being contaminated by local customs and values.

Radical Islamists know that there is more than one way to win a war, and in a Europe weakened by liberal policies and a declining birthrate, they are winning. We Americans, on the other hand, do not feel threatened by a potential flood of Muslim refugees on our shores; we are separated from Europe by an ocean, after all. No need to worry. Right?

Some Deal

 Well, it's a done deal. President Obama has enough votes in the Senate to defeat any attempt by the majority to override a veto on the Iran agreement. Not that it matters: Obama was going to get his way. Even with a rejection by Congress, which would not have carried the force of law, he would have acted unilaterally to approve the agreement. That's why he didn't qualify it as a treaty requiring approval by a two-thirds majority of the Senate.

Obama views the Iran agreement as the second key to his legacy, the first being 

ObamaCare. But what kind of legacy will it be? ObamaCare is proving to be perhaps the worst piece of legislation ever enacted, and the Iran agreement ensures that Iran will have nuclear bombs and the missile system to deliver them, while the $150 billion it gets in sanctions relief will continue to fund terrorism around the world.

Now let's note the similarity and the difference between the two pieces of Obama's legacy. They are similar in that they were both achieved without the support of a single Republican in Congress. We can say with finality that Democrats own both. They are the Democrats' legacy as well.

But there's a difference. ObamaCare was approved by a Congress with a Democratic majority in both houses. The Iran agreement, on the other hand, is opposed by a majority in Congress. Moreover, all the public opinion polls show that the American public is opposed to it as well. There will always be a significant minority of naive and misguided Americans who will support anything this president does, even when his actions are illegal or unconstitutional. But in this case, the common sense of the American people shows through; they know a bad deal when they see one.

Americans aren't the only ones who recognize this as a bad deal. Tens of thousands of Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis, and others are seeking refuge in Europe to escape the inevitable carnage that will result from the free hand gifted to Iran by Obama. These hordes know that if they stay behind they face mass slaughter. There is no greater motivation than the prospect of extermination.

Israelis face the same prospect, but they are not moving. They will do whatever is necessary to survive. When war comes, as it surely will, Israel will have to go it alone as long as Obama is in office. The choice then is between a preemptive strike against Iran now, or hoping for renewed support from a new administration. Some choice.

Enough of Trump

My son Marc, who lives in Florida, stopped here last week as he often does on his way to conduct business in Hampton Roads. Our tongues loosened by an after-dinner digestif, we wasted no time getting into a sometimes heated discussion about Donald Trump. Marc is avid supporter, but I'm not.

It's easy to understand why a quarter of Republicans polled have bought into Trump's aggressive approach. His frank comments resonate with voters who are fed up with Washington politicians and want somebody who will confront our adversaries abroad. Heaven knows we need someone who will reverse Obama's devastating domestic policies and restore America's standing in the world. But I want more than bluster and arrogance; I want to know specifically what Trump has in mind before I jump on his bandwagon, and so far he has offered little in the way of specifics.

Trump wants to send all illegals back to where they came from, but the sketchy program he has offered is totally impractical and unaffordable, not to mention devastating for targeted families; Trump clearly has not thought this policy through. As for building a wall on our southern border and getting Mexico to pay for it, only a person with Trump's ego would ever set such an unrealistic goal.

Many policy proposals are coming from Trump's primary opponents. Even if we don't agree with all of them, they present serious issues that deserve consideration. Bush on education, Walker on Social Security, Perry on immigration, Christie on terrorism, Jindal on healthcare, Paul on cyber security, Rubio on China, Cruz on taxes, and so on. Trump, for his part, has yet to give us specifics on any of these policy issues.

Trump gets a lot of air time, but he wastes it bragging about how rich he is, how many friends he has, and how many hotels he has built. Many of us are getting a little tired of his insults, too; calling people stupid and incompetent may resonate with an angry electorate, but it is not what we need to hear.

My son says that when Trump is president he will surround himself with smart people who will bring the necessary expertise to the table. Maybe so. But Trump, like Obama, thinks he is the smartest person in the world and, like Obama, is not likely to take anybody else's advice. As for me, I've had enough of narcissists in the White House.

Help Prevent Genocide

Genocide, to me, is the ugliest word in the English language.

Among all the animals on this planet, we humans are the most violent, the most murderous. We can rail against homicide in the streets or the killing of innocents in abortion clinics—and we do every day--but no atrocity is greater in scope or horror than the systematic extermination of a people for its ethnic identity or its religious beliefs.

Armenians, Jews, Cambodians, Ugandans and many others have been mass victims of monsters. But genocide is not a thing of the past. It is going on every day in many regions of the world, but particularly in the Middle East at the hands of Muslim fanatics. Yazidis, Druze, and Assyrian Christians in Syria and Copts in Egypt are all facing extinction. We read almost daily of beheadings, incinerations, and crucifixions of these people. Yet, we rarely hear of efforts to protect them or to save them.

There are some voices crying out in the wilderness, but we don't hear them, because we are too preoccupied with presidential primaries, falling stock prices, or the latest sex scandal. Pope Francis has spoken out against Christian persecution, but I have yet to hear his words repeated in my church, and I suspect not much is being said in other local churches either. I hope I'm wrong. As for our politicians, they're too preoccupied with preventing illegal immigration at our southern border to think of helping desperate people abroad.

The strange thing is that we have given safe haven to millions of Muslim immigrants and refugees in this country, but virtually none, for example, to Syrian Christians who have been displaced by persecution and are seeking our help. Poland is one of the few countries with programs that actively welcome Christian refugees. Why can't the United States do the same?

Disgusted

    As an American I was appalled and disgusted by President Obama equating America-hating Iranian mullahs with Republicans just because they disagree with him. This was the most outrageously repugnant statement Obama has ever made. And he doubled-down on it the very next day! All Americans, Democrats as well as Republicans, should condemn such malicious divisiveness.

    When I listen to President Obama touting his Iran deal as the only alternative to war, I am reminded of a famous description of Communist sympathizers as people with a bottomless human capacity for self-deception. In Obama's case is it something worse?
    In caving in to all of Iran's demands, Obama has failed to discharge his primary duty as president, the defense of America against all enemies foreign and domestic. His agreement with Iran guarantees that America's foremost enemy will have a nuclear bomb. It further guarantees that Iran will acquire the missile technology to deliver it. With the lifting of sanctions, Iran will also have the funds to continue funding terrorism. In short, Obama has given Iran a license to eradicate Israel and to continue killing Americans. If treason is defined as giving aid and comfort to the enemy, then Obama, by definition, is a traitor.
    Dr. Ben Carson, who knows something about medicine, recently said that ObamaCare was the worst mistake this country has ever made. Dr. Carson was wrong. The worst mistake we've ever made was electing Barack Obama to the presidency.

No to Turbines

     My friend Marty Drees was absolutely correct in his recent letter about the negative impact of wind farms. Construction of wind farms in Perquimans County would be a big mistake. If there is any way to do it, the project should be stopped. 

     I remember seeing a forest of these windmills near Palm Springs, California. I thought they were ugly and a blot on an otherwise lovely landscape. I imagine that the 600-foot tall monsters to be built here will be even uglier. And noisier. And not very efficient in an area not noted for high winds. 

     And I'm wondering why we haven't heard from naturalists. Wind turbines are responsible for killing thousands of migrating birds every year. Who will get the job of picking up the carcasses of eagles, ospreys, and falcons at the foot of our turbines? Turkey buzzards? Not likely—they will be among the victims, too.

Madness

I'm wondering about the Supreme Court justices who enshrined Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. I'm wondering about the right these justices gave us to extinguish life. I'm wondering what they would say today about the carnage they ruled constitutional. I'm wondering what they would say today about Planned Parenthood selling body parts of murdered babies.

As Christie M. Flowers recently put it, "No amount of obfuscation about how this 'tissue' can help cure cancer or give sight to the blind changes the fact that Planned Parenthood engages in the most repulsive and hideous of practices: exploitation of a mutilated human body. All the editorials, written by skittish eugenicists, and all of the tap dancing done by self-rightous feminists will not hide that grisly fact."

We raged against Hitler, Stalin, and Mao when they exterminated millions. We condemned Pol Pot for his killing fields. But we have own butchers and our own killing fields. And they are an indictment of our society.

I quote Ms. Flowers once again: "If we do not speak out and stop this madness, we will lose our claim on humanity."`

Revulsion

          A well-known substance really hit Planned Parenthood’s fan last week when the abortion mills’ national senior director of “medical services” was caught on tape bragging about how PP was getting real good at harvesting hearts, lungs, and livers from unborn babies.  You see, the objective is to crush heads and lower extremities in such a way as to increase the chance of success in getting intact body parts.

          We’re not talking about two-day old embryos here.  Fetal organs must come from fully formed babies, babies with pain-sensitive nervous systems, babies who move in the womb and suck their thumbs.  Little human beings full of life and potential.
          But there’s so much money to be made in the infanticide business.  Planned Parenthood performs about 40% of abortions in this country, killing something in the neighborhood of a million unborn babies every three years.  For its health services to pregnant women, PP gets a half-billion dollars a year from the government.  Yes, from our tax dollars.  And that’s just for the abortions and related “medical decisions.”  There’s more to be made from the scraps.
          Harvesting body parts for profit is illegal.  But Planned Parenthood gets away with trafficking fetal organs, because it says it only get reimbursed for costs associated with providing human tissue for research.  Right.  “Probably [only] between $30 and $100 per specimen,” according to the director.
          Profits aside, do the butchers at Planned Parenthood ever consider the possibility that what they do is immoral?  Do they ever feel any sense of shame or revulsion?  Are they even capable of it? 
          Hillary Clinton has the answer.  Back in May when the Republican Congress passed a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, she protested. “Politicians should not interfere with personal medical decisions,” she said.  It’s all about “a woman’s constitutional right to privacy,” and “the bill puts women’s health and rights at risk.”  What about the health and rights of those babies whose little bodies are torn apart for medical research, Mrs. Clinton? 
          By the way, are you still a big defender of Planned Parenthood, Mrs. Clinton?  I can’t hear you, Mrs. Clinton.

         

Liars, Liars, Liars

          There is a big difference between being wrong and being untruthful.  As readers of this newspaper know, I am not bashful about stating my views.  Sometimes they prompt a response from Nancy Theodore who invariably disagrees with me.  That’s fine.  She is entitled to her misguided opinion and distorted reality.  But I would never criticize her for being insincere or untruthful.  I cannot say the same for so many of our national figures on center stage.

          The best liar, the master of prevarication, is Slick Willie.  He is the most popular figure in the Democrat Party, a smooth talker who beguiles his audiences, especially women who forget that he is a perjurer and a serial sex abuser undone by a blue dress. 
          The most incorrigible liar is Hillary.  Her problem is that she is not very good at it.  Remember when she said she was named after Edmund Hillary, the man who climbed Mount Everest in 1953?  Hillary Rodham was born in 1947.  Remember when she said she made a 10,000 percent profit on cattle futures by reading the Wall Street Journal?  And who can forget her bald-faced lie about the infamous video, a lie she repeated to the families of the Benghazi victims as their caskets rolled past?  And now we have the implausible explanation about her missing, redacted, or erased emails.  No one buys her story, but she keeps regurgitating it.  The congenital liar can’t help herself.
           The most unabashed liar is Barack Obama.  How many times did he repeat “If you like your doctor…” ?  Even a five-year old knows he can’t get away with stuff like that.  With Obama ideology trumps truth.
          Speaking of Trump, when will we be rid of this impostor?  He has taken both sides of every issue, it seems.  Immigration, abortion, socialized medicine, the Clinton Foundation, capitalism, conservatism—Trump moves to opposite ends of these and other issues whenever it suits his monumental ego.  The problem is that too many people have short memories and just buy his latest claptrap. 
          Haven’t we had enough of Bill, Hillary, Barry, and The Donald to know the difference between self-serving lies and honest debate?  I’ll take Nancy Theodore anyday over these corrupt politicians and self-proclaimed messiahs.

 

Random Thoughts

          Independence Day is our greatest national holiday.  We annually celebrate with parades, fireworks, and all kinds of parties.  Hertford is no exception.  Yet a Marist poll shows that fewer than a third of young adults know that America declared its independence in 1776, and one in four people don’t know that the country we fought for our independence was Great Britain.  Only people over 60 scored well in the Marist poll.  What does that say about our younger generations? 

          When I see monuments defaced with “Black Lives Matter” graffiti, and when I read that the NAACP is calling for the toppling of statues of Confederate generals, I am reminded of ISIS’s barbaric smashing of antique artifacts in a Mosul museum.  Mindless destruction, whether practiced by Muslim extremists or people filled with hate, is an assault not just on history, but on civilization itself.

          What we’re seeing now in Greece may very well be a sign of things to come in this country.  Greece got itself into an intractable mess by overspending on social programs and refusing to take measures to bring its debt under control.  We are on the same path here in this country with an unsustainable national debt of $18 trillion and administration policies that threaten our economic security.  Greeks are already facing the prospects of food shortages and runaway inflation.  Is that our future?

          School-based clinics in 113 Seattle-area school districts now make it possible for middle and high school children to have IUDs implanted through Take Charge, a Washington State Medicaid program-- without their parents knowing about it.  Students who choose to be sexually active are eligible for a full array of “family planning services.”  Free and confidential.  Now that’s what we need to promote a healthy relationship between mothers and daughters.

          Sweet Cakes by Melissa was forced to close after being fined $135,000 for refusing on religious grounds to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding.  Now the Labor Commissioner for the state of Oregon has gone even further by imposing a gag order on the bakery’s owners.  So much for freedom of religion and freedom of speech.  If you don’t think that the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage will have far-reaching consequences, think again. 

 

 

 

 

 

Busy June

          June hasn’t been a particularly good month.  First we learned that the Chinese hacked the personnel records of a few million federal employees.  The reaction from the White House was rather mild, with no countermeasures planned or threatened.  Then the numbers got worse.  First the administration said that the number of hacked employees, past and present, was 18 million, but only days later admitted the number was probably closer to 32 million.  The consequences of this breach in security could be catastrophic.  Yet, as we’ve seen so many times from this administration, no one has been held accountable.

          The next blast came not from Beijing, but from Rome.  Pope Francis added his voice to the chorus of hysterical climate change alarmists, and, like them, refused to weigh the opinion of dissenting scientists.  That was bad enough, but then he blamed the problem on overconsumption in developed countries, meaning that the wealthy in countries like ours should spend less on themselves and give more to the poor.  The pope’s view is understandable having come from a country where Marxist-inspired liberation theology holds sway.  But when he lays the blame on capitalism, he ignores the fact that capitalism has done more to raise people out of poverty than the socialism he favors. 
          Finally, we have the Supreme Court veering sharply to the left in its opinion on ObamaCare and same-sex marriage.  On the former, the Roberts court declared itself, in the words of George Will, “obligated to do whatever is required to make a law efficient, regardless of how the law is written.”  “Creative construing,” he adds, “is legislating, not judging.”  Justice Scalia in his dissent called it “somersaults of statutory interpretation.”
          As for the court’s view on marriage, we have to marvel at its ability to find rights in the Constitution that our Founders would have considered not only unintended, but violative of their religious principles.  So much for our Judeo-Christian heritage.
          Not all is lost, however. The Supreme Court did come to its senses in ruling that the EPA disregarded costs in regulating power plant emissions.  A small victory for common sense, and maybe a sign of better things to come.

 

 

My Friend Harry

          I lost a good friend last week.  His name was Harry Esterley.  Our local newspaper printed a simple obituary, and, although St Anne’s Church in Edenton was packed to overflowing for his funeral, there was no eulogy.  He deserved better.

          Harry Esterley was perhaps the most interesting man I ever met.   And the greatest patriot.  Drafted into the Army during the Korean War, Harry was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant, became a combat engineer, earned the rating of Jump Master with the 83^rd Airborne, and later served with the 93^rd Float Bridge Company in Germany.  During the Vietnam War he went to work for the CIA as an undercover operative in Cambodia and Laos.  When The Russians invaded Afghanistan, Harry was in charge of getting armaments to the mujahedin to fight the occupiers. 
          One story he told me was about buying 700 mules in Argentina and transporting them by boat to Pakistan where they were loaded with weapons and then led single file into Afghanistan through mountain passes inaccessible to motorized vehicles.
          In his outstanding career with the CIA, Harry Esterley put his life on the line in a number of clandestine operations.  But the public will never know about them, because they remain classified to this day.  Yet, this unheralded hero, who lived quietly among us in Hertford for the last fifteen years, needs to be honored and remembered as a true patriot.  Those of us who were privileged to have him as friend will never forget.

         

 

Investigeate Now!

          In a June 5^th article in the Wall Street Journal, Kimberly Strassel described the Clinton Foundation as a family enterprise set up as a global shakedown operation designed to finance and nurture the Clintons’ continued political ambitions.  It’s a Hillary super PAC that throws in the occasional good deed.  She added that the Clinton Foundation is a parking lot for Clinton campaign workers.  She named ten who previously worked for the Clintons while they held public office, and added that more than a dozen other foundation staffers worked for the Democratic National Committee or other politicians or super PACs.  Many others are paid “consultants” like the notorious hack Sidney Blumenthal. 

          Is it legal? Yes, barely.  Is it dirty?  You bet.  At the very least the Clinton Foundation shouldn’t qualify as a tax-exempt charity.  Only 15% of its funds go to the occasional good deed.  The rest goes to pay for foundation salaries and expenses, not to mention a healthy chunk off the top for the Clintons themselves.  To pay the bills, as Bill Clinton famously said.
          So why would anyone donate to the Clinton Foundation knowing that so little of their donations go to charitable works?  Because donors have expectations that their generosity will be repaid in kind when, for example, Hillary makes it to the White House.  It’s pay for play, pure and simple.
          This is a scandal of epic proportions crying out for a thorough investigation.  Will we get one?  Of course not.  Not while Democrats control the White House, the Justice Department, the IRS, and the FBI.
          The Clinton Foundation would be the biggest scandal in the history of this country if it weren‘t for an even bigger scandal: the failure to investigate it.

 

Hillary Slings Mud

          Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, 18^th century editor of the satirical French monthly Le Figaro, gave us the memorable epigram “Plus ça change, plus c’est la mȇme chose,” translated as “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

          I was reminded of that listening to Hillary Clinton last week.  Back in the infancy of our republic, political slander was a veritable art form.  James Callender, for example, a hack journalist and scandalmonger, was particularly vicious in his attacks on George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.   Even after he exposed Thomas Jefferson’s dalliance with Sally Hemmings, Jefferson wasn’t above using him to slander John Adams in their contest for the presidency.
          Now we have Hillary Clinton slandering her Republican opponents by accusing them of “systematically and deliberately trying to stop millions of Americans from voting.”  She cited Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Chris Christie, and Jeb Bush by name and even threw in the Supreme Court for eviscerating key provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
          As Hillary’s calumnies were the central part of a speech at Texas Southern University, a traditional black institution, they were clearly a cynical attempt to solidify the support of black constituents.  She will need it.  But can she count on it?  Hillary’s poll numbers show that she is distrusted by an increasing number of voters.  If they don’t trust her, will they buy her mud-slinging tactics? 
          The blowback to Hillary’s speech has been immediate and fierce.  When you engage in a mud fight, expect some of the mud to be thrown back at you.  But if you’re already up to your neck in a virtual cesspool of scandals, what’s a little more mud?

A Perfect Week

          The Biggs Cadillac-Buick-GMC Classic played at Albemarle Plantation’s Sound Golf Links last week delivered beyond everyone’s expectations.  The weather was perfect every day, the course was in splendid condition, and the golf was exciting, right down to the finish.

          Frank Adams III of Laurinberg, NC, who entered the final round three strokes ahead of the field gave up his lead on the 12^th hole, but regained it with an impossible birdie on the 17^th hole and sealed the victory with another birdie on the last.  For his victory, Adams pocketed $30,000 of the $200,000 purse, eGolf Tour’s largest.
          While the golf was superb, it wasn’t the biggest story of the week.  That has to be the reception 122 golfers from 30 states and four foreign countries received from Plantation residents.  Every single one of the golfers, plus their family members, friends, and caddies who came along were housed in Plantation and local homes.  That made the event a great big family affair that guaranteed a gallery of spectators that continued to build throughout the week and numbered several hundred spectators at the end.  Happily, Plantation residents were joined by many people from Hertford and surroundings.
          Maybe the real story is that this golf tournament, with its tremendous sponsor support from so many businesses in the area, has put Hertford, Perquimans County, and this corner of Northeast North Carolina on the sports map.  That eGolf Tour chose to stage such a prestigious event here is a feather in our cap.  That it was such a huge success shines another bright light on what this area of great natural beauty has to offer.

Delusion

          President Obama has proven again and again to be way out of his league as the leader of this country, never mind the leader of the free world.  He not only lacks the competence to lead, his mendacity and narcissistic arrogance tell us he cannot be trusted to level with the American people or to keep his promises to our allies.  Worse, he now gives signs of being so detached from reality, we have reason to doubt his sanity.

          His commencement speech at the Coast Guard Academy was positively baffling.  There he was addressing graduates who are about to launch their careers as military officers, and he identifies climate change as a serious threat to global security and an immediate risk to our national security.  “Make no mistake,” he says, “it will impact how our military defends our country.”
          Excuse me?  The Middle East is falling apart, Iran is about to go nuclear, Russia is gobbling up its neighbors, and North Korea threatens to lob nuclear-tipped intercontinental missiles our way, but the President of the United States says we need to act now to combat the crop failures, drought, and high food prices that fuel unrest and civil war in the Middle East!  And just how does he expect the Coast Guard to defend the world from that?
          Meanwhile, we have Josh Earnest speaking for the President and telling us that over all we are winning the fight against ISIS.  This is absolutely delusional.  What will he say when ISIS overruns Baghdad?  That it’s just another temporary setback?  That things will settle down when Iran gets the bomb?
          In my opinion the greatest threat to our national security is the clueless dunce occupying the Oval Office.

 

 

Biggs Redux

          Next week around 150 professional golfers are expected to arrive in Hertford to compete in the second annual Biggs-Cadillac-Buick-GMC Classic at Albemarle Plantation’s Sound Golf Links.  This is a story to be proud of.

          Last year’s tournament, the first of its kind in Perquimans County, was a venture into the unknown, but its success made such an impression on eGolf Tour, that it booked the Sound Golf Links for a tournament—sight unseen.  Not just any tournament, but one of only four with a guaranteed purse of $200,000.  Why?
          The answer lies in one word: Community.  The word got around after the inaugural Biggs-Cadillac-Buick GMC Classic that the Albemarle Plantation in Hertford is a special place to host a professional golf tournament.  The event was received with enthusiasm not only by the residents, but most importantly by the surrounding community whose enthusiasatic sponsorships made the event a financial success.  Word spread that there were cheering spectators at every hole and that players were not only hosted by Plantation families, but were taken fishing and boating as well.  More than a hundred volunteers served as starters and spotters on the course and greeters at the many sponsor receptions.  Even the media recognized the importance of this event for Northeast North Carolina by covering it on television and in local newspapers.
          The four-day tournament beginning on Thursday promises to be an even greater success that last year’s.  The weather is finally cooperating, the course is in great shape, and the community is welcoming the contestants with open arms. 
          ”Come on down,” as Bob Barker would say.  This is a special time not only for Plantation residents, but for the entire community of Hertford and Perquimans County.

Where Are the Parents?

          This month we commemorate the end of World War II in Europe.  While we are reminded of the worst atrocities committed by police states in Germany, Russia, and elsewhere, cops across this nation are being accused of abusing their power and causing social unrest.  Are the sign-carrying protesters who link Nazis and our police officers being fair?  I think not.

          When I was a little kid, we played stickball in our yard using rubber balls called Spaldeens.  Sometimes a batter would clobber the ball clear over the street onto the neighbor’s yard.  The neighbor didn’t like that, so every time he saw a ball bounce into his yard, he went out and grabbed it before we could get to it.  Many a game ended that way. 
          Our supply of Spaldeens exhausted, my brother and I decided to retaliate by vandalizing the neighbor’s black DeSoto.  But the neighbor caught us before we did any damage and called the police.  That evening the town sheriff came to our house and spoke to my father.  The next thing I knew, my brother and I learned a painful lesson in Crime and Punishment 101 taught not by the sheriff but my father.
          I never forgot that lesson.  In fact, I thought of it when I saw Tonya Graham smack her son and drag him away from the Baltimore riot.  It should be clear to everyone that juvenile criminal justice is best administered by a parent.  When there are no responsible parents around to teach their kids the difference between right and wrong, we get Ferguson and we get Baltimore.  We get dead kids and we get dead cops.
          We don’t need to focus on police abuse as the cause of arson and looting.  We need to focus on a worse kind of abuse:  parental neglect. 

Local Theater

          This past Sunday I attended the third and final performance of “Over the River and Through the Woods” at the Carolina Moon Theater.  It was a blast.  The intimate setting was perfect for interaction between the cast and the audience.  And there was plenty of that, with laughs aplenty at the well-timed humor. 

          Most of the audience consisted of people who could relate to the characters and to the story of Italian-American grandparents in New York trying to hold on to their grandson who announced that he was about to leave them for a job in Seattle.  The story spoke of family ties based on love and traditional values.  To me, the story spoke especially about living and dying, and letting go.  Most importantly, it was about what we pass on to our children and grandchildren, our legacy, our everlasting imprint.
          With atrocities abroad and lawlessness in our cities grabbing daily headlines, it is good for us in our little town of Hertford to have a small theater group dedicated not only to entertaining us, but also to reminding us of what’s good about this world.  Bravo to all of them.

Hillary's Chutzpah

          We are all familiar with the Yiddish word “chutzpah.”  Its synonyms are nerve, cheek, insolence, and audacity.  A man murders his mother and father and then asks the judge for leniency because he’s an orphan—that’s chutzpah. 

          Better yet, chutzpah is Hillary Clinton claiming she and Bill were dead broke at the end of his presidency after they walked away with $190,000 worth of White House china, silverware, rugs, TVs, furniture and gifts. 
          Chutzpah is Hillary promising to get big money out of politics after funneling millions from foreign governments into the Clinton Foundation while she was Secretary of State—and she continues to do so. 
          Chutzpah is Hillary deriding CEOs for their high salaries when she gets $200,000 and more for a one-hour speech, money on which she pays zero income taxes.  And none of which, I might add, went into the tip jar at an Ohio Chipotle restaurant where she had lunch a few weeks ago.  So much for her empathy for the working class.
          Hillary Clinton’s chutzpah is all part of what many in the media are calling a lack of authenticity.  How can she claim to be the champion of ordinary people when she insists on flying for free on private jets, staying only in royal suites at supporters’ expense, all the while in the process of collecting a projected $2.5 billion in campaign funds from fat cats on Wall Street and in Hollywood?
          Hillary Clinton has a long history of scandals to her credit (Rose Law Firm records, Cattlegate, Benghazi, scrubbed emails, etc.); she has repeatedly earned William Safire’s description of her as a congenital liar; her record of accomplishments as a senator and the Secretary of State is dismal.  Yet, she acts entitled to follow her priapic husband to the Oval Office he so ignobly dishonored. 
          Italian historian Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540) witnessed both the flourishing and the end the Italian Renaissance.  As a supporter of Cosimo di Medici, he knew something about the advantage of belonging to a prominent family.  As a friend of Nicolo Machiavelli, he also knew something about what it takes to get to the top.  He wrote that to be successful a politician must set aside principles and act only in his self-interest.   He would have loved Hillary Clinton.