The Sun Rises

            I’m an early riser, up before the sun during winter months. That gives me a chance to check out the sunrise, and on some mornings my spirits also rise as I am treated to a spectacular display of nature’s palette of yellows, oranges, pinks, and purples spread across the sky. Last Tuesday was one such morning, whose brilliance coincided with the renewed optimism for our country’s economic future. With Senate Republicans falling into line, we learned that the tax bill was sure to pass. In spite of the false rhetoric coming from Democrats, this bill is bound to grow our economy and add to a picture that is already rosy. I expect that the voting public will soon realize how much better off we are under this Administration’s economic policies.

            Unemployment, at 4.1%, is at a 17-year low. Black unemployment is also at a 17-year low, and Latino unemployment is at its lowest ever. With 171,000 new manufacturing jobs created this year, unemployment in the manufacturing sector is down to 2.6%, also the lowest ever. Participation in the job market is inching up, as people who had stopped looking for work are now encouraged to re-enter the workplace by Help Wanted signs popping up all over.

            After two straight quarters of 3% real economic growth, the fourth quarter looks like it might hit 4%. Compare that to the anemic 1-2% under the previous Administration. Consumer spending is up, a sure sign of confidence in the country’s economic future. The stock market is booming, also a sign of confidence in the future.

            Why the optimism? Because this Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress are focused on growth, not income redistribution favored by Democrats. They know that reducing taxes on business and individuals is sure to stimulate growth even further.

Yet, all the Schumer-led partisans on the Left can do is protest the tax bill’s favorable treatment of business and the rich. These tax-and- spend hypocrites cry that the tax bill will increase our national debt, when they and President Obama added over $9 trillion in debt in the last eight years. They adamantly refuse to accept that growth is the best way out of debt.

            As we begin this new year, let us rejoice that the rising sun of capitalism and free enterprise is once again painting this country’s economic fortunes in brilliant colors.

Our Human Family

            At this time of year I sit down to write my Christmas letter to distant relatives, friends, and former neighbors that I don’t get to see much anymore. When I drafted this year’s letter, I had to tear it up, because I couldn’t send out a letter that was mainly full of good news. Not when 2017 has been a year of disasters affecting so many people. Not when a letter from my wife’s cousin Ronald in Puerto Rico detailed the horrors inflicted on his family by Hurricane Maria. Not when images of fire-ravaged California fill our TV screens every day.

            We all strive for happiness in our lives. We naturally feel blessed when we are free of pain, of debt, of sorrow. But even the most fortunate cannot be blind to the tragedies suffered by victims of natural disasters, crippling diseases, senseless killings, and human-inflicted cruelties. The holidays should be a time to enjoy the loving bonds of family, to share with the less fortunate, and to give thanks for all our blessings. But we should also be mindful that we are part of a universal family; that we join hands with allies against those who would do us harm; that we deplore depravity and corruption wherever it exists; that suffering and death near and far affect us all. If it is in our nature to love those close to us, the Christmas spirit must also extend to our entire human family.

Scandals and Corruption

            On a single day last week newspapers reported on an NFL Steelers-Bengals game that got ugly with deliberately-inflicted injuries, a suspension of a Patriots star for a gratuitous body-slam of a defenseless opponent, and an entire country (Russia) being barred from the upcoming Winter Olympics for government-sponsored doping. This came on the heels of the on-going sagas of NFL players disrespecting our flag and three incredibly stupid UCLA basketball players caught shoplifting in China, of all places. Sports are supposed to be for our entertainment. This is entertainment?

            In Washington, Congressional sex abusers continue to be outed. So far, it has been an equal opportunity debacle with three Democrats (John Conyers, Al Franken, and Ruben Kihuen) and three Republicans (Joe Barton, Trent Franks, and Blake Farenthold) facing an ignominious end to their legislative careers. The word is that as many as 40 more will follow.

            Fighting for space on the front pages is another scandal of even greater consequence for the nation, the growing evidence of corruption in the FBI and the Justice Department. People like Peter Strzok, Jeannie Rhee, Andrew Weissmann, and Bruce Ohr (not to mention James Comey himself) have already been identified as having played a role in the exoneration of Hillary Clinton, the production of the salacious Trump dossier, and the unmasking and persecution of Trump supporters. Further, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has been totally compromised by the extreme bias of its agents. Critics go so far as to accuse the FBI of having become a shadow government accountable to no one. Judging by the FBI’s refusal to cooperate with Congressional investigative committees and Mueller’s use of the agency as a political weapon, they may be right.

            What is most worrisome is that the abhorrent behavior in sports, the exploding sex scandals in Congress, and the corruption in the FBI all have one thing in common: the shredding of our country’s moral fiber. Unfortunately, I don’t see our President, himself tainted by multiple accusations of abuse and addicted to hyperbolic slogans and malicious tweets, as the one to lead our nation out of the morass. Who will?

             

Flushing the Swamp

            Situational ethics has for a long time now been the governing standard of morality in Washington. For the last 30 years politicians and their supporters have assumed that whatever helped their situation was ethical. This has been especially true in how they judged people who were guilty of sexual transgressions. Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy were sexual predators, but liberals excused their behavior because they were on the right side of the issues. “Politics outweigh the personal,” said the feminists, because, as reprehensible as their behavior might have been, the cads advanced their interests. If any of the victims spoke up, they were defamed, degraded, and trashed (Mary Jo Kopechne, of course, could not speak up—she had lost her voice forever in Chappaquiddick). Situational ethics defined morality.

            Not anymore. Victims of sexual assault are speaking out, even after 20 or 30 years, even longer in the case of Judge Moore. And the stalwart defenders of abusers are changing their tune. When Nancy Pelosi was crucified in the press for defending John Conyers and calling him an icon, she quickly discovered that situational ethics no longer prevailed: after several members of the House called for his resignation, Pelosi was forced to reverse herself and also call for his resignation. Conyers, as of this writing, still has not gotten the message and vows to fight on. But he’s fighting a losing battle.

            The Congressional Swamp is just beginning to be drained of men who, like Conyers, were confident they were immune to the consequences of their actions by virtue of their position of power. One by one they are finding out that they were wrong. For years abusers were protected by rules contrived by their fellow-members to discourage victims from filing complaints or to purchase their silence with slush funds paid for by the taxpayers. Victims, however, are finding they do have a voice. So far, only a few abusers have been identified. But once Congress finally gives in to the public’s outcry and grudgingly reveals all their names, the Swamp’s drain plug will be pulled and the malfeasants will be flushed out.

            Personally, I don’t care who gets flushed from which side of the aisle of which chamber. I say Good Riddance and take your situational ethics with you.