Let's Convene

          Congress’s popularity ratings are down in the dumpster, yet we don’t seem to be able to throw the bums out.  Taxes and spending are out of control, but no one is capable or willing to rein them in.  National debt is unsustainable and threatens to bankrupt this country, yet it keeps growing.  The economy is stifled by thousands of pages of regulations written every year, but no controls are placed on regulators.  The president should be impeached for making his own laws and ignoring the ones he doesn’t like, but politics makes impeachment unrealistic.  So the people are powerless to stop the insanity.  But are they?

          What if we could impose term limits on Congress?  What if we could require a balanced federal budget?  What if we could prevent regulators from governing every aspect of our lives?  What if we could make the president accountable for his unconstitutional actions?
          These measures would require constitutional amendments, but that route is blocked by Congress, because we could never get three-quarters of self-interested legislators to commit political suicide.  But there is another way that puts the power in the hands of the people.  And that way is spelled out in the Constitution.
          Article V of the Constitution gives the states the power to call a Constitutional Convention to propose amendments.  Two-thirds of the state legislatures are required to call the Convention and three-fourths are needed to ratify proposed amendments.  This would take the power out of the hands of Congress and place it squarely in the hands of the people through their elected state legislatures.
          Conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin have been talking about this for years, but what we need is someone to take charge and rally the troops.  And now I think we have just the man in Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.  Senator Coburn, who is suffering from cancer, has decided not to run for re-election.  Instead, he is going to devote his remaining energies to persuading states to approve a Constitutional Convention.  Florida, Georgia and Alaska have already done so.  Only 20 more states are needed.
          It’s never been done before.  But, as the saying goes, there’s a first time for everything.  Just imagine a giant earthquake shaking Washington to its very foundations: term limits, a balanced budget, control of regulators, executive accountability…Just Imagine.

Asians and Education

          When my wife and I lived in Michigan in what seems like ages ago, she spent time tutoring two elementary school students in Spanish after school.  The boy and the girl were children of Chinese immigrants who were committed to giving their children the best and broadest education.  The kids spoke Chinese at home, English in school, and Spanish with my wife.  In the evenings the girl practiced the violin for two hours and the boy piano.  By now I imagine they have completed high school and college, and are well on their way to being productive members of society.

          My neighbors Primo and Rose Viray survived the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, went to school to earn degrees in nursing, and then emigrated to the United States.  They raised seven daughters and managed to scrape up enough money to send them to college.  All seven now enjoy distinguished careers.
          I thought about both of these examples of parents who were determined to see their children succeed, when I came across some stunning statistics.  High school graduation rates for blacks is 62%, for Hispanics 68%, for whites 80%, and for Asians 90%, with some Asian sub-groups as high as 96%.  Some 50% of Asian-Americans also have bachelor’s degrees, and 21% advanced degrees.  No other ethnic group comes even close.
          When we look at family income by race, we see the same kind of disparity.  Asians earn an average of $68,636, whites $57,009, Hispanics $39,005, and blacks $33,321.  It would be difficult to deny that there is a direct correlation between education and income levels. 
          Race hustlers like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would have us believe that the playing field is tilted against blacks because of discrimination.  Perhaps it is to some degree.  Yet other blacks like Bill Cosby, Thomas Sowell, and Dr. Ben Carson point to fatherless families, the high rate of births to unwed mothers, and the influence of drugs, gangs, and street violence as causing the deterioration of family values.  For them it’s not a racial issue, but a social issue.  At the same time they point to education as the salvation for these kids who have such a difficult struggle against the odds.  Education is not a “white thing,” they say.  It is the secret to success. 
          Ask any Asian family.        

Ferguson Bias

          Would anyone be surprised if our left-leaning media continues to obsess about the Ferguson incident until the November elections?  Why not?  Time needed to cover a white on black killing is a perfect excuse for not digging into the Administration’s multiple domestic scandals and its failures in Ukraine and the Middle East.

           In the same weekend as Ferguson we had 26 shootings in Chicago.  Did Al Sharpton rush to Chicago?  Of course not.  Chicago has blacks killing blacks, but Sharpton’s eyes can only focus on Ferguson, because it has a white police officer “murdering” a gentle and unarmed black teenager with his hands up.  As Jason Riley (who happens to be black) of the Wall Street Journal said, “Al Sharpton didn’t head to Chicago.  He headed to St. Louis because he has an entirely different agenda, which is to continue to blame whites.”           
          What was CNN’s Andrea Mitchell’s response to Riley?  “That is not actually his agenda, because he’s actually there on a peace mission today.”  How ridiculous a response is that?  But how typical of biased media?
          Let’s face it.  Too many journalists are just as bad as the race hustlers.  They give us round-the-clock coverage of looters and haters, but have little interest in peacemakers and those who cry out for the truth.  When the governor of Missouri demands a vigorous prosecution before the facts are known, and Eric Holder, a racist in a class by himself, is fanning the flames of racial injustice, reporters on the scene give them full coverage, while studio talking heads wallow in their prejudice.
          Meanwhile, black teenagers are dying by the dozens in Chicago, but nobody goes there.  After all, it’s only blacks shooting blacks.

Re-inventing Hillary

          It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Hillary Clinton.  Her history before and during her husband’s occupancy of the White House is less than flattering; her reported vulgar treatment of the Secret Service and people in uniform is especially troubling.  We also have to recognize that her record of accomplishments as U.S. Senator and Secretary of State is rather thin.  But now that she is running for high office in 2016, she is trying very hard to put on a new face.  I think we are seeing the re-invention of Hillary Clinton.

          I am pleased to see Mrs. Clinton take a hawkish stance on foreign affairs.  She mocks the President on his minimalist policies, while advocating a stronger stance against terrorism in Syria and Iraq, getting tough on Iran, supporting Israel, and taking pride in America’s universal values.  All these positions are in sharp contrast with Obama’s and signal Hillary’s decision to distance herself from her former boss.  But is her latest metamorphosis genuine?
          As Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal has said, “The political opportunist always lacks the courage of his, or her, convictions.  That’s not necessarily because there aren’t any convictions.  It’s because the convictions are always subordinated to the needs of ambition and ingratiation.” 
          That last word—ingratiation--rings true.  The mainstream media is flooding us with images of Hillary smiling and waving as she strides to a podium or to a seat next to yet another late show host.  Book signings and interviews with left-leaning reporters are all meant to erase the public’s memory of her defiant testimony before Congress (“What difference, after all, does it make?”) and enhance her new phony image as a warm, affable, all-loving woman.  Even President Obama, whom she has never forgiven for denying her the presidency in 2008, gets hugs from her now.
          For those of us who see her as a power-hungry politician we have one wish: Will the real Hillary Clinton please stand up!

         

Muslim-American: an Oxymoron

          The Washington Post reported recently on a call for the resignation of Bob FitzSimmonds, a Virginia GOP official, for questioning whether or not Muslims have contributed to American society.   FitzSimmonds had called “pure nonsense” a statement by President Obama that praised Muslim-American contributions to “building the very fabric of our nation and strengthening the core of our democracy.”

          “Exactly what part of our nation’s fabric was woven by Muslims?” asked FitzSimmonds.  Rather than castigate him for asking such a politically incorrect question, as did his detractors, I challenge anyone to come up with facts to support Obama’s claim.  Further, I challenge anyone to demonstrate just how Muslims have strengthened the core of our democracy.
          What is the core of our democracy?  The best answer to that question can be found, I think, in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  We need go no further than the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of religion.   Muslims are free to follow the Quran, just as Christians and Jews are free to follow the teachings of their sacred texts.  But there is a big difference between the Quran and the Bible in their treatment of non-believers.  The Quran, I submit, is antithetical to the spirit of freedom and democracy in that it is intolerant of all other religions.  We see examples of Islamic intolerance in the persecution of Copts in Egypt, the expulsion of Christians in Mosul, Boko Haran’s slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, and the unbending commitment of Hamas to the destruction of Israel.  Hardly evidence of a religion of peace.
          To be sure, the majority of Muslims are not jihadists, and there are prominent Muslims who make positive contributions to society.  But even in this country most Muslims would prefer Sharia law to our system of laws and institutions.  We only have to look at how Muslims treat their women to make the point.
          There are no observable Muslim communities in Northeast North Carolina that I know of.  But for twelve years I lived near a large cluster of Muslims in Southfield, Michigan.  I can personally attest to the fact that those Muslims were insulated, by choice, from their neighbors.  They did not participate culturally, socially, or politically in their local community and did not, from what I saw, contribute anything positive to the “fabric of our nation” or the “core of our democracy.”  I would bet that this is the rule rather than the exception in other Muslim communities around this country.
          What troubles me the most about Muslims is what they preach in their mosques and teach in their schools.  Everything I’ve read on the subject tells me that these institutions do not promote freedom of religion and freedom of speech.  In fact, we rarely hear a Muslim-American speak out against Islamic extremism abroad or in favor of assimilation here at home.  Somehow, I would love to be convinced that “Muslim-American” is not an oxymoron.

Managers Good and Bad

          During my 30-plus years in the world of business and industry I reported to over a dozen managers and observed many others.  Some were good, some were poor, some were just plain awful.  I learned from all of them.

          Among the good ones was one executive who gave me valuable advice on how to improve my writing skills.  Another challenged me to solve problems creatively (“thinking outside the box” in today’s vernacular).  Yet another deliberately assigned me work I was not qualified to do, so that I would experience what it means to “sink or swim.”  I never forgot these lessons.
          The bad ones included a consummate salesman who, as the saying goes, could sell snowballs to Eskimos.  He had risen through the ranks on the strength of his personality, but he had no expertise beyond his ability to shake hands and make speeches.  He hired an MBA to “do the numbers” for him so that he would look good.  When it became clear that he was nothing more than a smiling impostor, he was fired.  Ironically, the MBA was promoted in his place, but immediately proved that an ability to manipulate numbers is not much help when you have the people skills of a clam.
          Another manager was brought in to inject new life into a moribund division.  I really liked this guy.  But he never quite understood that a mandate is not a free hand to  change the nature of the business.  When he made up his own rules, spent huge sums without authorization, and exposed the company to potentially ruinous liability, he was sent on his way. 
          And then there was one guy who was worse than all the mediocrities and abject failures I ever knew put together.  No words can adequately describe this miserable human being:  arrogant, brutish, mean-spirited, abusive, these are just a few that come to mind.   Everyone who worked for him despised him.  A narcissist of the first rank, he spent lavishly on himself and demanded that his vendors pay tribute.  But that’s not what did him in.  Personality aside, he proved to be unethical, dishonest, without any scruples whatsoever in his business dealings.  When top management found out he had refused to honor a contract, he was fired on the spot.
          I’m retired now, so I don’t have to deal with losers like these anymore.  But wait!  Don’t they remind us of some of our leaders in Washington?  If only we could fire them on the spot, too, for overspending taxpayer money, for masking incompetence with smiles and oratory, for refusing to enforce the laws of the land, for abusing political opponents, for shameless mendacity, for trying to fundamentally change this country into something our Founders never intended.
          One of the worst aspects of our federal government is our inability to get rid of the crooks, the incompetent, and the corrupt.  Look at the IRS and the VA.  As for our elected officials, we only have ourselves to blame for voting them in. 

Parades and Heroes

            Fourth of July fireworks over the Albemarle Sound reminded us that we have a lot to celebrate in this country.  And we have every reason to honor the heroes who marched in our parades. 

            When I was a little boy I couldn’t wait for the parades.   Our small Rhode Island town featured two bands in our parades, an award-winning Boy Scout drum and bugle corps and an excellent brass band that practiced in a tiny meeting hall up the street.  When the windows were open on hot summer evenings, the sound of trumpets and trombones would cascade down the hill to entertain me.  My grandfather had played the cornet in that band and had also briefly served as the town sheriff when the meeting hall long ago doubled as a jail.
            One of the earliest parades I can remember honored the town’s last surviving veteran of the Civil War.   These days parades honor the last survivors of World War II.  It won’t be long before they are all gone.  One of them is my good friend and former neighbor, Fred Fletcher. 
            At the age of 19 Fred joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to England where he became a bombardier on a B-17 flying missions over Germany.  On June 19^th, 1944, his plane was shot down over France.  Fred parachuted to safety and was found by a French farmer who hid him for days in his barn.  Eventually, the Germans found Fred and held him in the magnificent medieval cathedral of Chartres.  He was later transported to a German POW camp where he managed to survive until he was rescued after the war ended.
            Fred came home, married Cel, his childhood sweetheart, and went to MIT on the GI Bill and got a degree in chemical engineering.  He and Cel then devoted their lives to raising  three sons, followed by four daughters.  It wasn’t until after they retired to Lake Canandaigua that Fred finally did something for himself: he bought a sailboat and named it “After Seven.”
            Last June my wife and I helped celebrate Fred’s 90^th birthday.  He was surrounded by his seven children and a passel of grandchildren and great grandchildren, plus many friends like us.            Next year Fred and Cel will celebrate their 70^th wedding anniversary.  I mention the anniversary, because such a milestone is very rare; seventy years of married life sets a standard that few can ever hope to match, not only for longevity, but also as examples of commitment and fidelity.  Having seen their children grow up, I can say that they had superb models to emulate.   Among other reflections on their parents’ values, there has not been a single divorce in this large family.
            As we celebrate our country’s independence in this month of July, we can honor the heroes that have made this country great.  Some became heroes through their valor on the battlefield, but many others, like Fred Fletcher, earned the honor through a life of dedication to their country, their families, their communities, and the ideals passed on to us by our Founders.          Here’s to you, Fred, and all our heroes.  Thank you.