Issues

In my view, the most dangerous threat to our safety and security is not the possibility of being invaded by another country, terrorist actions by any of the world’s radical elements, climate change or even nuclear war. Instead, the greatest threat facing the safety of our country is a weak national economy. Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and the Ottoman Empire were really not conquered by external forces.

In my view, the most dangerous threat to our safety and security is not the possibility of being invaded by another country, terrorist actions by any of the world’s radical elements, climate change or even nuclear war. Instead, the greatest threat facing the safety of our country is a weak national economy. Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and the Ottoman Empire were really not conquered by external forces.

Years ago, 23 men committed offenses that resulted in their eventually being committed to R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility, which is a state prison for men in San Diego near the Mexican border. But now those men have received their Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California at Irvine! Amazingly, they have graduated from a major university while incarcerated! How did this happen?

The June 12, 2024 edition of the Orange County Register told us that the State of California has more than 220,000 full-time employees!~ Of course, that is in addition to hundreds of thousands of government employees at the municipal level, as well as many more who are employed by California’s “Special Districts” like water, transit, mosquito control and sanitation. Out of control?

I have never seen a stronger argument against the minimum wage laws than the one published in the May 8, 2024 edition of the Orange County Register written by Faryal Ahsan and Austin Hamilton. These students cited statistics to show that California has the highest numbers of homeless in the nation, both by sheer numbers as well as per capita. New York state is second, but with less than half of the number of homeless.

We as judges we have two critically important mandates. The first is to do Justice based upon the facts and law of the case and the ethics of our profession. But the second is equally important, and that is for anyone who cares to believe that Justice has been done. Our other law enforcement officers have similar mandates.

Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying that “We need a revolution every 20 years just to keep the government honest.” He is right, and we now in many ways have a “dishonest” government to prove it. How can I say that? Because without that revolution (which does not have to be bloody) government continues to grow and to serve itself at the expense of “We the People.”

One of my all-time heroes, Dr. Milton Friedman, once said that we should judge our programs by their results, not their good intentions. In an earlier 2 Paragraphs edition I discussed this in relationship to minimum wage laws, saying that it was far more productive for a society to have 100 people working for $15 per hour than 75 people working for $20 per hour.

Here is a great idea that I have lifted from Wayne Allyn Root, who was the Libertarian candidate for Vice President in 2008: Candidates should run on a platform of ending all taxes on Social Security. Why? Focus upon this: workers have been required, often for many decades, to pay into Social Security without getting any tax deductions for their contributions.