Good morning to our 2 Paragraphs Family. At the end of this coming July the Libertarian Party of California will be having its annual convention when I anticipate submitting a proposal for its new party platform. A draft of it is now being submitted to you for your thoughts and comments. All feedback is appreciated! Here is the draft:
A friend and neighbor of mine has a bumper sticker on his car that says: “Trump/Vance 2024 Never Surrender.” Flat out, I have no problem with people publicly supporting their political candidates, and in fact appreciate it when they do. But I have a large problem with saying “Never Surrender,” because it strongly implies that we are at war with each other! And this directly contributes to the polarization
What every successful civilization needs is leaders. “Leadership is defined as the ability of an individual or group to influence and guide others towards achieving shared goals. It involves aligning people in a collective direction and enabling them to work together effectively. Key characteristics of good leaders include vision, communication, integrity and the ability to inspire others.” So what does it take to be a leader?
The “Common Wisdom” is that when a President appoints a Justice to the US Supreme Court that the President can count upon that Justice pursuing the President’s agenda. But a close friend of mine, who is truly aware of realities in today’s world, actually sent me a list of Justices in significant cases since 1940 who voted against the Presidents who had appointed them.
There was an editorial in the May 2, 2024 edition of the Orange County Register about which we all should be concerned. It called attention to the fact that a graduate student at Tufts University who is here on a student visa was recently arrested and taken to a Louisiana jail and is being threatened with deportation for doing nothing more than writing a Pro-Palestinian op-ed piece for a local newspaper. The thrust of her column was to protest American support for the war in Gaza. It did not recommend violence or otherwise taking inappropriate action. But if that is not a violation of our Free Speech Rights under our Constitution, I have trouble thinking about what could be a greater threat. So I believe we all should be concerned about this result.
It really is not so hard. In my view, our nation’s immigration policy should be based upon the following five maxims:
1. It is our decision who comes into our country either to visit or to live, and not the visitor’s;
2. One strong reason our country is Great is because over the years so many people from around the world have immigrated here so they can roll up their sleaves and pursue the American Dream. Those who have shown they are a boon to themselves, their families and our country who have not already become citizens should their paths be streamlined to become citizens;
Donald Trump’s momentum continues during the fourth week of the Jack News sponsored SurveyFever.com tracking study. Trump is leading in two of the six targeted swing states, Arizona and Georgia. Harris leads in the other four targeted swing states. Although Harris’s lead is within the margin of error in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Republican Senate candidates have increased their leads in Montana and West Virginia. Winning those two states could upset the majority balance to favor the Republicans in the Senate.
There is an old saying that “In politics reality is irrelevant; it is only the voters’ perception of reality that matters.” And, regretfully, I believe that this is true. So when we have a housing shortage and people are homeless, many voters naturally look to the government for a resolution. And, since politicians live and die on voter approval, they hasten to enact programs that have the governments paying vast amounts of money to build new housing units.
Donald Trump is back on top in Georgia, by one percent, but the larger story is all of the tracked Presidential races are narrowing to within the margin of error, except North Carolina. This shows a slight move in Trump’s direction this last week across the board. In our tracked US Senate races there are two states being led by a Republican candidate, West Virginia and Montana. If these two states go Republican in November, that might be enough to change the majority in the US Senate. Where the Democrats currently lead by 51 to 49 for the Republicans.
As I have told you before, about five years ago I was on the syndicated radio show called “Coast to Coast” with George Noory discussing criminal justice issues. Soon thereafter I received letters from twelve men who are incarcerated in various prisons all around the country, so I started corresponding with them about prison conditions. Now the number has gone up to about 40. Most of the letters complain about all kinds of things.
The second week of the Jack News sponsored tracking study by SurveyFever.com shows some change. The Georgia Presidential race is now neck and neck. Whereas last week Trump was ahead slightly. In all other tracked states Harris maintains the lead. In the US Senate race in West Virginia, the Republican has doubled his lead to ten points. Justice leads the Democrat Manchin, 47% to 37%. The Montana Senate race has tightened up as the Republican Sheehy has dropped his lead by a half a point to 46%, with 44.5% for the Democrat Tester.
The sky is falling. Again. Our modern day Chicken Little comes with a robust data set, a not so simple economic model, and the staff of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Budget Model. In late 2023, each issued a US Federal Government budget forecast report. In 2024, amidst an election in which votes will be cast for president, 33 senators and each of the 435 house members, the CBO and U of Penn remind us of what is at stake.
Today, marks the start of a weekly tracking study sponsored by Jack News. It will last until the November election. This study of the the most highly contested US Senate and swing Presidential races by state, should prove to be enlightening and entertaining. The jacknews.net is pleased to join surveyfever.com to conduct and publish these findings. The Democratic party is leading in all targeted swing states that we are tracking in the Presidential general election.
Happily many people from widely different backgrounds and experiences have reached the same conclusions that I have about the failure of our country’s policy of Drug Prohibition. One of them is Ms. Christina Dent who lives with her young family in Mississippi. Ms. Dent has written a book entitled CURIOUS: A Foster Mom’s Discovery of an unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction..
Our nation has grown so used to the notion of the ideological president that it has become impossible for some segments of the American people to see that, in fact, Donald Trump might not fit that mold. The two most recent occupants of the Oval Office, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, were both very ideological. Whether viewed as too arrogant or too ignorant (or both!), these men seemed to embody the most strident stands within their parties.
As is said routinely, the purpose of this column is to stimulate thought and discussion. So in that pursuit I am passing along to you, with permission, a list of issues that one of our 2 Paragraphs Family members shared with me. Good stimulating questions, don’t you think? And please think about and pass along your answers to your circle of friends (including me). So here they are:
Started in 2016, the Jack News provides a pragmatic look at political discussion with some satire. An independent journalistic endeavor, we have no ties to other media outlets or services. We write our own commentary and form our own opinions.
Use the contact information below, or use the form and we will be in touch as soon as possible. Let us know if you are interested in advertising on the Jack News.
Subscribe to receive our latest blog posts directly in your inbox!
