Arbitrary, Capricious, and Discriminatory

By William L. Garvin

“On principle, the success of our democracy depends on the rule of law.  And there is no public official that is above the rule of law.  Certainly not the President of the United States, but neither is the Rowan County clerk.  That’s a principle that is enshrined in our Constitution and in our democracy and it’s one that obviously the courts are seeking to uphold.”  Josh Earnest, President Obama’s Press Secretary

Is our nation governed by the rule of law?  There is ample evidence to the contrary.  For the rule of law to be effective, it must be applied in a consistent, fair, and impartial manner.  When laws are applied or not applied in an arbitrary, capricious, and discriminatory fashion, it breeds contempt for all the laws and for the enforcers of the laws.  The catalyst for this discussion came about when Kim Davis, a democratically elected Democrat, refused to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples in Rowan County, Kentucky, citing her religious convictions.  Subsequently, to the delight of liberals everywhere, the court ordered her jailed for contempt.  Why the court didn’t just order the county to print up new license forms without her name as a “reasonable accommodation” is a subject for another time.  However, the hue and cry from many corners was that Davis should be fired, impeached, or forced to resign if she could not perform the duties of her office.  If this standard were to be consistently applied, we would have a dearth of office holders.

For instance, regardless of your views of California’s Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment legally enacted by California voters defining marriage as between a man and a woman, Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris refused to defend it in court.  President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a duly enacted law by congress.  Exacerbating the situation, Holder even counseled and encouraged state AG’s that it was unnecessary to defend such laws in their states.  Holder also refused to prosecute the New Black Panther Party though even the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center had labeled them a hate group.  The Obama administration has failed to enforce immigration laws and has even failed to fully implement Obamacare with his incessant executive orders.  By the Rowan County standard, all these officials should resign.

Then there’s the “abuse under the color of authority” by the IRS perpetrated by Lois Lerner and her staff.  In a blatant abuse of power, her unit arbitrarily, capriciously, and discriminatorily targeted Tea Party and other conservative groups.  Subsequently she obstructed justice by crashing her computer destroying emails and refusing to be accountable to congress and the American people.  So what happened?  She received a bonus and was allowed to retire with full pension and benefits!  As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton easily bested the Lerner shenanigans.  In a flagrant lapse of judgment, she compromised national security by setting up a private email system and server, refused to turn over material, destroyed thousands of emails, and wiped her server clean.  As a former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, there is no doubt that she knew the principles of classification whether marked or unmarked.  Despite her capricious and foolish rejection of national security for personal convenience and control, many acolytes will vote for her anyway.

Hopefully we’ll see a new president that takes the time to consistently stand a little more forcefully for our military and our civilian first responders.  Hopefully he or she will condemn any group that chants:  “What do we want?” “DEAD COPS!”  “When do we want it?” “NOW!”  Don’t forget the recent paean to incivility: “Pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon.”  Incomprehensibly, the “Black Lives Matter” spokesman said it was all done in jest and good humor.  Other than politicians, who else would be able to get away with such claptrap especially in light of the recent ambushes and executions of police officers?  Maybe it’s time to take a closer look at “black privilege” and the ability to flaunt laws, rules and regulations, decorum and common decency with impunity.  Of course if you do, be prepared to be called a racist even when you sincerely believe that all lives matter. 

Democrat Smoke and Mirrors

Dear Editor,

It's mildly humorous to read the preeminent name-callers complain about name-calling!  Efforts to blow smoke and "prove" the economy is doing great are equally laughable.  When the Obama administration launched its reign, the national debt was $10.6 trillion; now it's $18.4 and still rising.  GDP growth for this year is an anemic 2.0 percent and continues the slowest recovery ever from a depression.  Income inequality has increased under this administration and the official poverty rate is 14.5%.  Only 63.4% of the population own homes, a 48 year low.  The labor participation rate is 62.6%, another 40-year low.  Over 93 million have dropped out of the labor force entirely.  They crow about jobs "created or saved" but millions more have been forced into part time positions.  Wages are down and net worth is down so it's no wonder that food stamps and other types of government assistance are up to record levels.  Naturally, they want to talk about anything other than Democrat policies and this Democrat administration's failures.  Unless you're looking for more of the same, be very careful with your vote next year.  After seven years, it's time for them to stop living in the past and take accountability for the present.

Sincerely,

Bill Garvin 

Politically Correct Deflections

By William L. Garvin

Having been born in a less confusing time, my birth certificate simply listed “Father” and “Mother.”  In its search for equality and all things created equal, political correctness now dictates change from the traditional to “Parent #1” and “Parent #2.”  Our courts have yet to decide how the order of listing will be determined, i.e., who comes in first and who comes in second.  I smell a Supreme Court case in the offing!

The same conundrum surfaces with marriage certificates.  My mom and dad were identified as “Husband” and “Wife.”  Now we have the devolution to “Spouse #1” and “Spouse #2.”  Dad would have liked to be #1 but in his heart, he knew he was #2.  Mom, being traditional, knew she was #1 but would have been more than happy to wear the #2 appellation.  Probably it’s a pile of “Number Two” to all but a pc few.

This foolishness matters only to those who prefer symbols over substance.  There is however a dangerous element to the pc police when it comes to serious issues.  For example, look at the current controversy over the term “anchor babies.”  The pc police (bullies) have now determined, by the power invested in them (?), that the term is offensive and even “vulgar” according to the Democrat National Committee chairwoman.  Erstwhile political pundits and presidential hopefuls of all stripes have bloviated that the matter is already settled and that the 14^th amendment to the U.S. Constitution confers “birthright citizenship” on anyone born in the United States.  The purpose of the vitriolic pc attack is to stifle debate and reasonable discourse about important subjects.  Just as anthropomorphic climate change is not “settled science” (which is why global warming advocates continually fudge their “science”!) so must the competing views on whether or not the 14^th amendment confers “jus soli” or automatic citizenship at birth to anyone born on U.S. soil be directly adjudicated.

For context, the Pew Hispanic Center puts the estimate of babies gaining birthright citizenship at 340,000 per year.  There are countries that openly run birth-tourism industries on the internet.  Earlier this year, federal agents broke up over twenty locations in Southern California where Chinese women on fraudulent visas paid up to $80,000 so their babies would be born U.S. citizens. The estimates are that 4.5 million children under 18 are living with at least one undocumented immigrant in the U.S. 

Now name another industrialized nation (besides the U.S. and Canada) that grants birthright citizenship.  If you named one, you are wrong.  In fact, only 33 countries on this earth have such a policy.  Australia and New Zealand?  Nope.  Sweden, Finland or Norway?  Nope.  France, Germany, England, Ireland, or Italy?  No.  Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Austria, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Spain, Portugal, or Switzerland…all no and on and on.  Why is that?

The heart of the debate centers on the first sentence of Section 1 of the 14^th Amendment:  “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”  History shows this was an amendment designed to protect the rights of native-born freed slaves in the years following the Civil War.  Senator Howard Jacob clarified the intent in 1866:  “This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers.”  Native-Americans were also specifically excluded from citizenship at this time.

Talking heads ignore “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” and proceed to cite the United States v. Wong Kim Ark decision of SCOTUS in 1898.  Of course, Wong was the child of legal resident aliens.  “The Supreme Court has never ruled directly on the question of birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens,” according to University of Texas law professor Lino A. Graglia.  “The court recognized that even a rule based on soil and physical presence could not rationally be applied to grant birthright citizenship to persons whose presence in a country was not only without the government’s consent but in violation of the law.”

Section 5 of the 14^th Amendment:  “The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”  In 1993, Senator Harry Reid introduced the Immigration Stabilization Act to end birthright citizenship.  Today, H.R. 140, the Birthright Citizenship Act, addresses the same issue.  For once, Congress needs to do its job, pass the legislation, and fast track the constitutionality issue to the Supreme Court.  It is absurd to believe the Constitution ever intended to award citizenship on the basis of whose mom was best at playing hide and seek with the Border Patrol.  Stop the madness.         

    

Below the Radar

By William L. Garvin

“This is a good deal for the United States.  North Korea will freeze and then dismantle its nuclear program.  South Korea and our other allies will be better protected.  The entire world will be safer as we slow the spread of nuclear weapons.”           President Bill Clinton, October, 1994

There seem to be a number of stories escaping notice these days.  It’s understandable.  The “piranha press,” fueled by their partisan blood lust is swarming in a full-on feeding frenzy.  As usual, the media is solely focusing on a Republican.  It must be difficult for them to defend a Fox News anchorwoman given their one-sided track record.  Historically, they stand by in mute impotence when conservative women are assailed in the vilest of terms.  Now they are ranting and railing against a perceived slur of words.   Would that they had shown such moral outrage about Clinton Oval Office imbroglios or the Kennedy-caused death at Chappaquiddick.

Here in California, State Senator Leland Yee recently plead guilty to accepting bribes, extorting money and offering to smuggle weapons for the New Jersey Mafia.  He copped a plea to racketeering in exchange for the other charges being dropped.  Hopefully he will receive the full twenty years in the federal pen solely for his hypocrisy.  Lee was one of the most ardent anti-gun zealots in the California Senate!  But that’s okay; he’s a Democrat.

On the Hillary front, it’s helpful to recall that General David Petraeus was found guilty of keeping several personal notebooks that contained classified information at his home and making them available to his paramour/biographer.  Nothing was destroyed.  Hillary kept everything on her private server and has already admitted destroying thousands upon thousands of emails.  Many more emails are on a thumb drive in the hands of her attorney.  There’s no indication her attorney has never received a security clearance.  The FBI is finally investigating this matter but Hillary says it is not a criminal investigation.  Note to Hill:  the FBI does nothing but criminal investigations!

In the meantime, Hillary refuses to say whether or not she would approve the Keystone pipeline even though her State Department gave it the go ahead.  She flippantly quipped that if it was still an issue when she was president, then they would know her answer.  That is vaguely reminiscent of having to “pass the bill so we know what’s in it.”  Maybe that lack of specifics and haughty demeanor is why Bernie Sanders is now in a statistical tie with her in New Hampshire.  The inevitable one is not looking quite so invincible these days.  In contrast, Bernie is drawing huge crowds and wowing them.  Unfortunately, a dozen of the “Black Lives Matter” crowd decided to disrupt his latest offering in Seattle and refused to let him speak.  The BLM previously booed Democrat Martin O’Malley for the cardinal sin of saying “all lives matter.”  They have also threatened to disrupt the Republican convention.  So far, the only person they’ve avoided is Hillary Clinton.  Is that why she only speaks to small, handpicked groups of devotees?

Hillary has also refused to disclose her position on the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.  Maybe that’s why the National Nurses United labor union recently endorsed Bernie.  The NNU is 185,000 strong and is ninety percent female.  One could guess that economic issues are more important to them than gender issues.  The AFL-CIO has yet to endorse a candidate but we know it won’t be a conservative!

Hillary did release her tax records and they show that the Clinton’s made an adjusted gross income of $141 million since 2007.  No wonder she travels in a private jet and hasn’t driven for twenty years.  They did claim 10.8% or $15 million for charitable contributions.  Of course, they firmly believe that “charity begins at home” and $14.9 million went to their very own Clinton Family Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative.  They may not draw a salary but they certainly draw a lavish lifestyle.  Critics claim the foundations are merely a “slush fund” for the Clintons.  Do you think any of this will come up when CNN finally holds a Democrat presidential debate in October?

Apropos to nothing but balancing media concerns, did you know that lions kill 70 humans each year?  Tigers take out about 100; cape buffalos account for another 200; and elephants usually trample about 500 per annum.  Crocodiles vary from 1,500-2,500 kills each year but hippos highlight the human hit list at 3,000.  It’s a jungle out there and nearly as dangerous as Chicago or Baltimore!  

      

Not Found in the News

By William L. Garvin

“The greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion, which is war against the child.  The mother doesn’t learn to love, but learns to kill to solve her own problems.  Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want.”  Mother Teresa

Now that the Democrats have successfully avoided the effort to defund the barbaric practices of Planned Parenthood, it might be wise to see how they are bought and paid for.  After all, this is the party that continually screams about “crony capitalism” and “big money” polluting the political process.  According to the Federal Elections Commission, in the 2014 election campaign, Planned Parenthood contributed $404,907 to Democrat House candidates on the federal level.  They doled out a measly $2,823 to Republicans.  In the Senate, they dumped $181,188 into Democrat coffers and ZERO into Republicans.  No wonder year after year after year Democrats vote to give over $500 million of taxpayer money to PP because “other people’s money” can be funneled back into their own pockets.

It was a blessing in disguise for PP to have Cecil the Lion foolishly killed for sport by an American hunter.  In less than a day, mainstream media gave Cecil more coverage than PP’s sale of baby body parts had received in over two weeks!  Also curiously absent from media scrutiny was Boko Haram slitting the throats of sixteen Christians on the shores of Lake Chad.  A Google search listed 296,000 hits for the latest slaughter by Islamic extremists but 26 MILLION for the martyred lion.  If you use that as a guide, Christian lives don’t matter and baby lives don’t matter.  Those are pathetic media priorities.

Also not-newsworthy, some time back Dan Price of Gravity Payments received a great deal of publicity by deciding that all of his employees should receive $70,000 as an annual salary.  Since then, there isn’t much news about his company downfall and him living in his garage and renting out his house to make ends meet.  Economic reality is brutal when ill advised actions occur in the real world.  Some employees resented that newbies got larger raises than those who had been around awhile and demonstrated their worth and loyalty.  Clients and good employees left.  One said he was being paid the same as those who were “just clocking in and out…It shackles high performers to less motivated team members.”  That’s socialism for you in a nutshell.

Speaking of socialism, apparently Debbie Wassermann-Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, needs to do some brushing up.  When asked by Chris Mathews (surprisingly!) to explain the difference between socialism and Democrats, she was tongue-tied.  Four days later on “Meet the Press,” she still didn’t have a coherent answer.  Is it because she doesn’t know?  Is it because she doesn’t want to alienate socialist voters?  Or is it because there is really no difference between socialists and today’s progressive Democrats?  Certainly with increasing regulatory intrusion into the workings of private businesses and government’s increasing control over large swathes of the economy, a case could be made for the latter.  President Obama’s latest battle in his war against coal certainly adds fuel to that fire.  One could only hope that he would be as successful in his efforts to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as he is in his efforts to “degrade and destroy” the coal industry!

Another harbinger of things to come is proposed by the California legislature in Assembly Bill 69.  Democrat leaders hope to “confront the hostile environment” that workers face every day by being “stratified in their careers.”  Therefore, it is henceforth verboten to use such oppressive terms as “”supervisor, manager, overseer, team leader, leader, producer, director, controller, chair, boss, captain, head person, head honcho, authority, chief, chairperson, chairman, partner, inspector or any other term that may create a perception of inequity…”  Guidelines provided suggest more appropriate terms would include “buddy, comrade, crony, compatriot, chum, confidante, friend, mate, or colleague.”  Given that state law has already removed “husband” and “wife” and replaced them with “spouse,” it’s to be expected.  You can also expect that soon your chum will not be allowed to evaluate your performance.  Your colleague will not be allowed to direct your activities.  Your compatriot will not be allowed to determine your salary.  Your buddy will not be allowed to terminate your services.  Yes, comrade, it is indeed becoming a brave new world…but that’s not news!        

Quick, Kill the Messenger!

By William L. Garvin

The “media moth” simply cannot resist “The Donald” flame.  But rather than deal with the substance of his message, it is more important to assuage bruised feelings of a hypersensitive population.  Trump, whose “tone” was far less callous than Planned Parenthood, said that there was a crime problem stemming from ILLEGAL aliens.    “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with them.  They’re bringing drugs.  They’re bringing crime.  They’re rapists.  And some, I assume, are good people.”  Guess who agrees with him?  The FBI!

In its 79-page National Gang Report published in 2013, the FBI documented that gang membership in the Southwestern border regions consisted of up to 80% ILLEGAL aliens and were responsible for “…drug related crimes, weapons trafficking, alien smuggling, human trafficking, prostitution, extortion, robbery, auto theft, assault, homicide, racketeering, and money laundering….Hispanic gangs, such as MS-13, the Eme, Surenos, and TB continue to pose a significant threat to the Southwest border region.”  If you didn’t know that in the 36,000 ILLEGAL immigrants released back onto the streets by the Obama administration there were 116 murderers, 43 convicted of negligent manslaughter and 14 convicted of voluntary manslaughter, it’s because the media and the government buried the story after making sure there was no messenger.

Meanwhile, Democrat presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley claims that “black lives matter, white lives matter, all lives matter” and gets booed by leftists.  That’s not surprising since Democrats booed God when He was mentioned in their platform at their convention.  Anyhow, O’Malley showed zero intestinal fortitude and actually apologized for saying “white lives matter and all lives matter.”  However, that doesn’t hold a candle to Hillary Clinton, the leading Democrat for president who said and then tweeted: “I’m not asking you to vote for me because I’m a woman.  Vote on the merits.  And I think one of the merits is, I am a woman.”  This is reminiscent of the aborted Obama campaign slogan: “Vote like your lady parts depend on it.”  In any event, the more Hillary is on the campaign trail, the lower her poll numbers fall.  She is unable to win hearts and minds and the incessant tsunami of scandals never ends.  Even the State Department Inspector General has recommended that a criminal investigation be launched.  Don’t expect anything to happen with this Department of Justice and we will probably never hear from that IG again!

Another message that has been buried is Susan Rice’s interview with Wolf Blitzer.  You remember Susan don’t you?  She’s the one who shamelessly broadcast Hillary’s canard that the Benghazi massacre was caused by a YouTube video.  On CNN in her interview with Wolf Blitzer Rice confirmed that there will be NO Americans involved in the inspections of the Iranian nuclear facilities.  Only countries that have “full diplomatic relations” with Iran will be on the IAEA inspection teams.  “There are not going to be independent American inspectors separate from the IAEA,” said Rice.  “The IAEA will do the inspections on behalf of the United States and the rest of the international community.”  Israel and the USA can rest assured that this administration doesn’t negotiate with terrorists; instead it capitulates to terrorists!

Also remember that the filmmaker who made the Hillary Benghazi scapegoat video was promptly jailed by the Obama administration.  Dinesh D’Souza also made a film critical of President Obama and was promptly prosecuted and jailed for a rather pedestrian campaign violation.  The administration has failed to cooperate with investigations about the IRS harassment and persecution of conservative organizations prior to the last election.  Now that videos have surfaced showing Planned Parenthood bargaining over butchered baby parts like an unsavory used car salesman, the maker of the videos (Center for Medical Progress) is going to be investigated by Democrat senatorial hopeful and California Attorney General Kamala Harris.  Loretta Lynch, the US Attorney General says she will also be looking into it.  Isn’t it pathetic that PP is so interested in saving and selling body parts of aborted babies but is not interested in saving the lives of those babies?  Anyone who believes that the recorded negotiations were just about the costs associated with storing and transporting the “parts” should not be allowed out without a guardian.

Leftists love to complain about “corporate welfare” and “crony capitalism” but have no problems funding the war on innocent, unborn lives.  It’s time to stop using taxpayer money to pay for Planned Parenthood and their barbaric practices.

Inmates Running Asylums

By William L. Garvin

Trigger Warning:  The following material is not suitable for politically correct, offense seeking, grievance industry, illiberal leftists, or close-minded, name calling cyber-bullies.  Proceed at your own risk!

Once again, the Obama administration maintains its impressive record of negotiations failure.  Hillary’s hilarious “reset” button with Russia resulted in getting our pockets picked with the START treaty.  Pledging “no American left behind,” we traded five top level Taliban prisoners for an American deserter.  So much for not negotiating with terrorists!  (And has anyone noticed that “Sergeant” Bo Bergdahl STILL has not received his Article 32 hearing let alone his court martial?)  Cuba ceded nothing towards curbing their human rights abuses and now the president is crowing about a treaty with the number one state sponsor of terrorism, Iran.

Iran has a forty-year history of lying and cheating regarding their nuclear program and avoiding UN and IAEA inspections.  John Kerry’s goal of “anytime, anywhere” inspections disappeared faster than his military medals.  Four Americans in Iranian prisons are still there despite being President Obama’s “top priority.”  Of course, that was not included in the negotiations because it would have “complicated” the nuclear issues.  Surprisingly, Iranian demands for relief from the conventional arms embargo (on which Kerry caved!) proved no such complication.  Releasing the $100 billion in frozen assets and removing sanctions to boost their oil economy will soon result in Iran being awash in terrorist cash.  They have millions chanting “death to Israel” and “death to America” but we are assured that they don’t really mean it.  Both Kerry and the President say the only alternative was war.  Really?  Wouldn’t “Negotiations 101” have pointed out that ratcheting up sanctions and cutting off the black market oil trading might have been a good intermediate step?  Or you could have supported the Green Revolution.  Or you could have sent a competent negotiator to the table.  But you didn’t.

Meanwhile, here at home, we have 276 “sanctuary cities” in 43 states that released 8,145 illegal aliens in the first eight months of 2014.  This is on top of ICE releasing 67,879 in 2013 into the general population.  The theory of sanctuary cities is that they want “undocumented immigrants” to feel free to report crimes without fear of deportation.  The efficacy of this theory is no more provable than the phantasmagorical “jobs created OR SAVED” or saved us from “the worst depression ever.”  The number of subsequent crimes and rearrests is sufficient cause for alarm.  We’re told that the “borders are more secure than ever” but Kate Steinle was not the first person murdered in San Francisco by a previously deported illegal however this murderer had been deported FIVE times!  Also remember that the murderer of Sacramento County Deputy Danny Oliver and Placer County Detective Michael Davis had been deported FOUR times!  So the question is “what border?”  Curiously, President Obama has never commented on any of these tragic losses nor did he comment on that of Chris Kyle.

We do hear the Obama administration’s concern about “income inequality.”  They seldom note that it has been worse under him than the previous administration.  Maybe when hundreds of thousands, even millions of poorly educated, low skilled workers come across the border with impunity, it might have an impact on income inequality.  It also provides an abundant supply of minimum wage employees which defeats the normal increase in wages dictated by labor supply and demand.  If it is pointed out that these are not “the best and brightest,” it is easier to kill the messenger than to deal with the message.  Some may remember when Castro cleaned out his prisons and mental health institutions with the Cuban boat lift from Mariel in 1980.  Truth is unsettling.

Finally, it is impossible not to note the video exposing the callous nature of Planned Parenthood operatives.  It was bad enough when one of their spokespeople said that it was between a woman and her doctor as to whether a baby that survived an abortion could be killed, a la Kermit Gosnell.  Here a PP doctor calmly eats her meal, sips her wine, and graphically describes how they crush a baby above or below specific areas in order to preserve specific organs and tissues FOR SALE.  There is no shame, no discomfort, and no awkwardness.  It’s just another transaction in the ordinary course of business, a business that receives over $500,000,000 in taxpayer subsidies every year. 

President Obama, the first sitting president to address his remarks to PP, closed his speech with “Thank you, Planned Parenthood.  God bless you.  God bless you.”  To paraphrase his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright:  “No, no, no. God won’t bless Planned Parenthood—God will damn Planned Parenthood!’”