Random Thoughts for September, 2016

Random Thoughts for September, 2016. By Robert A. Hall

Feel free to post or forward.

The more Trump attacks people other than Hillary, regardless of the reasons or how valid, the more votes he loses. Attacking Gold Star Parents hurts him with vets and average folks. Attacking Ted Cruz pushes conservatives further away. Attacking Ryan and McCain does the same with more centrist Republicans. He's not doing so well that he can afford to alienate people.

If it weren't for shortsightedness, most people would be blind. As Dr. Thomas Sowell says, they cannot think beyond Stage One. That is, If I do A, what could B look like? What happens next if I do X?

Whoever wins in November, the retribution and revenge against those who supported the loser will being in January...with a vengeance. Obama and the IRS will look like simpler days. The only difference is that if it's President Hillary, she will try to hide it, and the media will help. President Trump will boost about it. I never understood this drive to get even with people who opposed you. (Which destroyed Chris Christie this year.) The last election is over, the next one is coming. I wanted to win opponents over, not anger them. Norm Thompson, a very wise selectman in Lunenburg, once asked me if I wanted to know his theory of politics. Since he’d been elected to office several times, and I was just starting my first campaign, I said sure. “I want a fellow to be for me,” Norm said. “If he won’t be for me, I want him neutral. But if he has to be against me, I don’t want him mad at me—he’ll work twice as hard and give twice as much money if he’s mad!” I carved it in stone on my heart. I never went after supporters of my opponents. And it worked. In 1972, I defeated a Democrat Senator by nine vote in a 4-1 D district--in the McGovern year Massachusetts. In 1974, I won by 10,000 and carried all 13 cities and towns. In 1976, I was nominated by both parties, defeating a Democrat in a sticker (write in) race in the Democrat primary. In 1978, no Democrat ran against me, despite the district still being at least 3-1. And in my last run for public office in 1980, I defeated the Democrat in every precinct in the district. I beat him in his home city 70-30, and worse every place else. Someone might tell the national candidates.

People say we live in a violent age. I ask, "Weren't they all?"

We were driving to a local farmer's market after church. my bride said, "I hope the flea market is still open." "Farmer's market," I said. "Oh, I knew what you meant," she responded. Huh?

The Progressive Myth of "No Limits" always leads to tears, disaster and often violence.

• They believe the government can spend and promise future spending without limit, forever, piling up debt on debt and unfunded liability on unfunded liability, without suffering economic and fiscal collapse and hyper-inflation.

• They believe that a country can take in unlimited immigrants, let them establish an antithetical  culture, and feed, house, educate, clothe and provide healthcare for millions and millions more, without any end, without destroying our culture, standard of living, finances or economy.

• They believe that new regulations and laws can be piled on the people and the job producers every year, world without end, without wrecking the economy and paralyzing the nation.

• They believe that government employment and government dependency and government programs can grow every year without end, And that reaching the point where government employs or supports a 100% of the populations and consumes 100% of the GDP will not stop the growth. Forever.

Looking at the candidates (when I can't avoid it), for the first time in my life I think a military coup d'etat is possible in the next four years. Please do not twist this. I did not say that a coup is probable. I did not say that a coup is desirable. I did not say I would encourage one in any way. I just said that it may not be impossible. I never thought that before.

The elites are very worried about invasive species like Asian Carp or Shrub Honeysuckles ruining our ecosystem. Invasive, antithetical cultures destroying our culture, economy and way of life, not so much.

If Hillary Clinton inspires distrust, Donald Trump inspires disgust, even among many Republicans. --Thomas Sowell

Paying ransom to get hostages released is not diplomacy, it is capitulation. The inevitable result is more hostages taken, being offered to you at ever higher ransoms, to see what the market will bear. Basic Economics 101: If you reward a behavior, you get more of it.

I'm starting to feel like one of those old pulp science fiction novels. You know, where the battered space ship is trying to limp home with an old space bum at the controls, but new and worse things keep going wrong.

Many things are easy to teach, hard to learn and harder to do.

This is the period when if you are at all politically active, you will get fund raising letters from the candidate who expects your support. Some are fake surveys; do you support motherhood, the flag and apple pie? Then send $xxx to my campaign. Some are offers that if you contribute, they will double it. You can contribute if you like, thus doubling the letters they send to you. If you send a small amount, you can bet they will spend five times that asking for more. Or if you don't like the candidate, you can mail the business reply envelope back empty, or with a testy note.

If, God forbid, an illegal immigrant were to assassinate President Obama, a lot of liberals would suddenly find merit in stricter immigration enforcement and the death penalty.

A lot of speculation on social Media that, growing tired of it all and with his campaign imploding, Trump might quit. If he does, it will be in October, too late to get a real conservative Republican on the ballot. A last favor to his "good friend" Hillary Clinton.

If it rains on a Trump rally, I'd not be surprised if he attacked God for treating him "very unfairly."

Wisconsin, like make states, prides itself on non-partisan elections for judges and local officers. But the truth is there is no such thing as a non-partisan election. There are openly partisan elections and secretly partisan elections.

Early in August we took a 200 miles round trip drive north to see our neighbor, who has a cottage on a lake. I saw many lawn signs for Russ Feingold and Ron Johnson, the US Senate candidates, but only one for Hillary and one for Trump. Of course, Madison still had hundreds, of Bernie signs, though they are diminishing, but few Hillary signs.

Economics has fired more people than all the bosses put together, but most people don't grasp even the basic principles and make no effort to understand it.

If Trump wins, the 2018 midterms will be a wave election for Democrats. If Hilary wins, it will be a wave election for Republicans.

If someone tells you their age, it is socially obligatory to say, "Really? You don't look that old!" Even if they look like they were around for the Thirty-Years War.

"I'm not as bad as I used to be" is nor more a exculpatory than "I'm not as bad as he is."

I keep hearing that a President Trump will surround himself with "good people." Must be why his campaign is going so well, all those good people around him (that he keeps firing). Like the "good people" he surrounded himself with at Trump Casino, Trump Shuttle, Trump Mortgage, Trump Vodka, Trump Network, Trump Streaks and Trump University, making them all huge successes.

Partisans on both sides twist themselves into knots defending the indefensible. And they usually lack the grace to be embarrassed about how ridiculous it makes them appear.

This country hasn't been the same since they started making car "bumpers" out of plastic.

If you have to say, "I don't care who you are, that's funny," it's probably not that funny.

Dear Store Owner, if you are continually out of a product, your customers are probably trying to tell you something.

I propose that in any year when taxes are no higher than where there are now and the Federal Government operates at a surplus, 25% of the surplus will be paid in bonuses to Congress and the President. Also in any year when Federal laws and regulations decrease by 10% over what they are now, Congress and the President will receive bonuses equal to three times their annual salary. Currently they get rewarded by interest group voters for more spending, more laws and more regulations. People do what they are rewarded for.

Republican's lauded the mother who lost her former SEAL son in Benghazi for speaking out against Hillary, Democrats slammed her as a liar and the GOP for politicizing grief. Democrats lauded the Khan family who lost a son in Iraq, a US Army captain, for speaking out against Trump. Republicans slammed the father for several things and the Democrats for politicizing grief. Hypocrisy on both sides. People have a right to speak. But attacking people who lost a love one for the country is both stupid and evil. Remember how Democrats and the media loved Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan for protesting against Bush, not so much when she started protesting Obama.

I notice people are a lot more diligent putting up yard sale signs, political signs and lost pet signs than they are in taking them down. Human nature. Once there is no longer something they want, personal responsibility for what they did fades.

If you are part of a royalist plot, now might be the moment to strike.

Got a robo call from a liberal establishment candidate here. He said he had been endorsed by over 50 Dane County leaders. Like being endorsed by the Politburo, from my point of view.

Pray to God. But make your shots count.

Will all the insults hurled, the friends lost, the feelings hurt, and the bridges burned revealing the acid in your soul over this election be worth it in five years?

I used to think there were a lot of slow-learners around. Now I think there may be more non-learners.

It's a good thing Obama's Powder Puff Army doesn't have horse cavalry anymore. Obama would have them riding side saddle.

When I went to U-Mass, I majored in "Government." Just as I graduated, the faculty, without asking the students, changed it to "Political Science." I preferred "Government." In my subsequent political career and in the years since, I have seen nothing scientific about politics.

Given a choice between the Trump Channel (Fox) the Clinton News Network (CNN) and the Trotsky Pravda Channel (MSNBC) I gave given up what little cable news I watched.

We are always as we were. We are always as we are now. And we are always becoming something new.

I am always at the service of pulchritude.

I do not think that if a person is mendacious in private life, that person can be virtuous in public or professional life.

People keep speculating that as if Trump's campaign continues to implode, due to his lack of experience, lack of knowledge and almost daily blunders, he might drop out. I doubt it, but if he needs an excuse, he can always say the bone spurs in his foot, which didn't stop him from playing college football, just from serving in the military with us in Vietnam, are acting up again and he can't campaign.

People say they are "rule breakers" like it's something to be proud of. Well, there's a rule against slapping them upside the head. How about if I break that one?

Given what we already know about the past lives, if everything in Trump's or Clinton's history came out, dropping out would be the least of it.

Trump is right. This election is rigged for Hillary. It was rigged by the GOP primary voters, including by all reports a lot of Democrat crossovers wanting the weakest GOP candidate. When they nominated a person without the character, knowledge or experience to be sewer commission, a person that not only principled conservatives, but millions of young, female and/or minority voters, not to mention centrists, could never support, they rigged November for Hillary. Of course, she may yet blow it, despite the primary voters giving her the only republican she could beat.

Follow up to the above thoughts: As I get ready to post this, the latest polls show Trump gaining. With all the stuff emerging about her emails, he may win yet, despite his under-funded (remember self-funding?) disorganized and issue-free campaign. Of course, Cruz, Rubio, Kasich, Walker or bush would be up ten points on her now.

In my deprived childhood, we had to talk to each other to communicate, because no one had gotten around to inventing cell phones and texting.

If you feel like no one cares about you, remember God cares about you. If you live your life knowing that and caring about God, you will be the kind of person that people will care about.

If you think there is no bipartisanship, look at election laws and rules, where the Republicans and Democrats work together to make it hard to run as a third party, independent, or write in candidate. An example is the rule change, after Ross Perot, that a third party candidate must be polling at 15% to get into the debates, thus having a chance to raise polling numbers!

Instead of complaining about US firms moving to countries with low corporate tax rates, why not make the US one of them, so companies with jobs (from which people pay income taxes) would more here?

One of the Donaldcrat trolls--a fellow Marine no less--posted on my blog that because I had expressed my long-standing disdain with Donald Trump's positions, knowledge, experience, veracity, temperament, character and bullying, it showed that the medications for my lung transplant had brought on dementia. Ah, those smooth-talking Trump supporters; always trying to win your vote with sweet words. Does he think insults get you votes?

I go in the closet to grab something to wear. My wife apparently goes in to commune with her clothes.

Note to all candidates: There is no "I" in "Team." But there is in "Idiot."

Bipartisanship. n. You do it my way.

For those who think that, push come to smash, Europe and America will recover their old vigor and be able to defend their cultures against the forces arrayed against us, I say that you can't make hand grenades out of cream puffs.

Given the statistics, isn't white cops shooting black thugs "cultural appropriation"?

Get the collection! My “Random Thoughts” from 2008 through July, 2013 are collected in this book: The Old Jarhead's Journal: Random Thoughts on Life, Liberty, and Leadership by Robert A. Hall

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Jarheads-Journal-Thoughts-Leadership/dp/1490500162/ref=sr_1_1?s=booksandie=UTF8andqid=1373907206andsr=1-1andkeywords=Old+Jarhead%27s+Journal

The Old Jarhead’s Journal is a collection of Random Thoughts on politics and life and Conservative Political Essays, mostly published on the author’s blog, including the essay “I’m Tired” which went viral on the Internet in 2009, “The Hall Platform,” “This I Believe,” and “Why I’m a Republican.” While they will be of interest to conservative thinkers, they are collected here in book form as a service to readers who wish to give a copy to favorite liberals and watch their heads explode. All royalties are donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

*****

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic. http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=booksandie=UTF8andqid=1304815980andsr=1-5 For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s eleven books are listed here: http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-book-published.html. His blog of political news and conservative comment is www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com.