Why should poor people be taxed to pay for the education of rich people’s kids? Why not have a means test for education benefits like we do for other entitlement programs? And, since education is the largest portion of the state budget, we could use the savings to eliminate the state income tax and likely still have money left for a taxpayer rebate.
The Horizon/KAET political bias is almost unbelievable. Once again, today (Sep 5) they not only took one side of the DACA issue—anti Trump of course—but they were disingenuous in their presentation by having two speakers on the show, a tactic that many viewers might assume to be presenting two different points of view. But……….not so. Both speakers opposed Trump’s action. This is not only bias; this is dishonesty.
I just finished reading Senator Jeff Flake’s new book “Conscience of a Conservative.” My sincere hope is that every thinking American who believes in America and our constitutional republic will read it. We live in a time where there is so much animosity over political issues that Jeff’s warm and sincere approach to our problems is desperately needed. And, especially for those of us who consider ourselves conservatives, the admonition by Jeff for us to return to principle is a vitally important message.
Parts of Jeff’s book brought tears to my eyes, such as his comments about his father, but also, on the philosophical issues he discussed, I kept saying “yes,” “yes,” this is exactly what we need. Some comments, such as his personal confessions about his TARP vote, were not necessarily sentiments that I agreed with, but I could feel the sincerity in his remarks.
I know Senator Flake personally and worked with him professionally and I have no hesitation in saying that he is an honest man of the highest integrity and a towering figure in the realm of those who truly believe in and promote the ideas of liberty that our founding fathers based this country on. Jeff is right to say that we conservatives have recently fallen off the proper track and that we need to get the train back on the track toward liberty.
Regarding growing tensions with respect to North Korean nuclear intentions, any military “solution” would likely involve millions of deaths, many of them American. The North Korean leadership has been very firm on continuing their development of nuclear weapons but I am inclined to believe that there is one deal that would cause them to desist and that is the total removal of all American forces from the Korean peninsula.
This is a deal we should accept.
Recent news on the Navajo Indian Reservation housing scandal reveals a much larger problem. Why are there no nice-looking homes on any reservation? Why are there no nice lawns or landscaping? Why do all the buildings have an unappealing drabness? Why do there appear to be no entrepreneurs, that is, anyone who is excelling at anything and building something beautiful? Being on an American Indian Reservation is basically very depressing, except, of course, for the wonders of nature like at Monument Valley or the ancient ruins like at Canyon de Chelly.
For any construction program to be successful, such as new housing, there must first be pride of ownership. But, that cannot exist if there is no ownership, that is, if tribal members cannot own the land their home is on.
Many years ago, James Watt, Secretary of the Interior, opined that, if you want to see how well socialism works, just look at an Indian reservation. We need a new approach.
Last night PBS did it again. They had two speakers comment on President Trump’s statements about Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Naturally, the viewer might assume that, because there are two speakers, one would be pro and one con. But no, both Walter Dellinger and Doug Kmiec were very critical of Trump. This kind of blatant bias is disgusting and hypocritical when the liberal media continue to complain about “right wing” bias.
Norm McClelland was one of the finest and most decent individuals I have ever met in my life. I shared his belief in limited government, individual responsibility, and economic freedom and I was honored to work with him in the early years of the founding of the Goldwater Institute. I also had the pleasure of working with Norm on several other causes that focused on defending liberty. With the possible exception of Barry Goldwater, I believe Norm was the single most effective person in Arizona in advancing this noble cause. I miss him.
Columnist Michael Gerson recently had an editorial entitled “Will humans of tomorrow give up faith, meaning” where he laments the dystopia of Yuval Harari’s book “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow.” I share Gerson’s concern and want to recommend one organization that is striving to prevent this dystopia: the “Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty” in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their mission can be capsulized with the concept of “faith and freedom,” the idea that it is not enough to be free (as many libertarians would argue) but we must also be good. This is where religion comes in. The fact that both faith and freedom are important is the subject of the annual four day “Acton University.” They have over 1000 participants from over 80 countries and there is a heavy emphasis on clerics from various faiths. (The lectures can also be found on Acton.org.) I have attended this conference four years in a row and would recommend it to anyone interested in helping to avoid the “tomorrow” that is lamented by Gerson.
I recently watched the Brad Pitt Netflix movie “War Machine”, which was loosely based on the time that Gen Stanley McChrystal spent as commander in Afghanistan. It’s a terrible movie, less than one star. Brad Pitt should be embarrassed to have had a leading role. But my point is not to criticize the movie but rather to object to the emphasis in the movie on Gen McChrystal’s criticism of President Obama in Rolling Stone Magazine and his subsequent firing. This is a very superficial incident that has been blown out of proportion by the media coverage. The rah-rah enthusiasm of some members of the military over Gen McChrystal’s “standing up” to President Obama obscures a much more significant part of McChrystal’s career that should have led to his termination (and maybe to his court martial).
This was McChrystal’s role in the cover up of the friendly fire killing of Cpl Pat Tillman. McChrystal not only contributed to the cover up (so that Tillman could continue to be used by the Army as a recruiting tool) but McChrystal also signed off on the award of a Silver Star to Tillman. It goes without saying that our nation’s highest combat awards are not given to men who are killed by their own troops. Thus, McChrystal not only committed one of the most egregious acts of dishonor in military history, but he also demeaned one of our nation’s most important recognitions for combat heroism.
This point should have been included in the movie. It might have given the movie a few redeeming qualities.
ASU/KAET/Horizon cannot seem to understand the concept of fairness in media. On June 5, they elected to throw some mud at President Trump for his decision to exit the Paris climate accord. The reason I include ASU and KAET in my statement is because they should both be held equally responsible for the continuing leftist bias in the Horizon “news” program (this program should have been an editorial, not presented as news). Horizon exhibited this bias by deciding to cover Trump’s decision with two people who were both critical of the decision. By inviting two speakers who were both critics, Horizon simply emphasizes the bias. Why weren’t there two sides presented and when will we see the program with two people in support of Trump’s decision?
roymilleraz 