Catalpa Grove

Democrats Need to Nominate a Moderate Candidate to Defeat Trump

2019-02-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

The danger of another Donald Trump Presidency is that the US constitution has been stretched and manipulated by a man who has little concept of his duties as Commander in Chief!

In our unofficial two party political system Americans have very little choices who will be running for President. An independent candidate as Starbucks CEO Steve Schultz will most definitely divide the electorate and giving another win to Donald Trump.

CEO Chairman Steve Schultz

Despite Schutz's statements he does not wish to be the divider of the American electorate which could result in another Trump Presidency, staying out of a Presidential run would hard for a man who indeed has a large ego and rightly or wrongly believes he would make a great leader.

The Dems need to be careful who their nominee will be. Extremism is not the way to go this time. A nominee who supports leftist ideas will likely not be supported by many independents who would rather cast their for vote for a status quo candidate as Trump or will take the chances on an independent as Steve Schultz.

During This Time of Extreme Partisanship Time To Write Again

2018-12-20T20:25:00.002-05:00

It has been almost two years since I last wrote on this blog. But a lot has changed since then and now with the Trump Presidency going into its second year I believe it is my civic duty to write.

Partisan politics is destroying our democracy---not a perfect democracy---but nonetheless it is our democracy and it is worth coming to its defense.

I am but a blogger, but hopefully my ideas will help challenge the ideas of those who choose to read Catalpa Grove.

Look forward to talking again.

Eligible Voters Who Did Not Vote Assured Trump Presidency

2016-12-14T18:20:00.000-05:00

I have always been a Joe Biden fan and when he did not run for President, I was genuinely disappointed. For establishment Democrats and the press it was assumed Hillary would be the Democratic nominee. During the primaries, the press gave a wink wink to the Bernie supporters knowing that the Democratic primary was already rigged in Clinton's favor with the so-called super delegates.

Really did not care about Clinton using a private email server---but was genuinely disturbed that she hand picked those email correspondences she thought were relevant to Congress and the FBI. Any other citizen would have been indicted.

As for the Clinton Foundation and Hillary's highly paid speeches they were symptomatic how many politicians leave public service and became incredibly wealthy.

As Americans we should be concerned about the Trump family sitting with their father in the White House advising him as they were also elected to the Presidency. But equally disturbing would have been a White House with ex-President Bill Clinton roaming the halls.

Short of the Electoral College not voting for Trump---which would be correct due to Trump's entanglements with Russia---Americans are stuck with this very creepy and potentially dangerous man as President.

Long and short of it---in 2016 Americans had very poor choices. But Trump did win according to the rule book.

Though concerned about a Trump Presidency--and we all should be--my anger is directed to those low and middle class income eligible voters who did not vote.

Hopefully all Americans learned a civic lesson that votes do matter.

Just cross our fingers and hope Trump's vision for America is not a nation for the wealthy only!

Electoral College Needs to Step Up To Plate and Do It's Job

2016-12-13T13:39:00.000-05:00

Despite the fact that the candidate I did not vote for won the Electoral College vote and not the popular vote I remain a proponent of the Electoral College. The reason is simple: it is easier to recount ballots in states to determine the accuracy of a state vote and then awarding of the state's electoral votes to the top vote getter. Secondly, the Electoral College is also reflective of the demographic diversity of the nation.

Lastly and most importantly another function of the Electoral College has always been to assure a qualified person becomes President and one not beholden to the interests of a foreign government.

In this case, for the first time in history, members of the Electoral College will have to determine if Donald Trump is indeed qualified to be President. With personal and business ties to Russia and an appearance of lacking necessary Presidential temperament Trump's qualifications are suspect,

The members of the electoral college may have to step up to the plate and vote for the greater good of the nation and not their political affiliation when voting.

Should the Electoral College still elect Trump as an American I and many of us will have to live with the results. We will have to assume the electoral knew what they were doing when they assembled to vote.

A good read is a short article History of Electoral College in David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

Viewing the Abortion Issue In the Color Gray Can Be Discomforting

2016-04-07T21:06:00.002-04:00

The abortion debate is an ongoing discussion in this Presidential campaign.

One camp says the mother has reproductive rights and can choose to terminate her pregnancy at any time within the guidelines of the state she resides in.

The other camp says the fetus is a human being and under no conditions can be aborted unless in the case of incest or the health of the mother is threatened. And there are many people in that camp who would argue under no circumstances can the fetus be aborted.

There are some of us who actually agree to a certain extent with both sides.

The human fetus, even when in the earliest stages of development, is not a rabbit or some other critter. When an abortion is performed a human life is terminated. Allegedly, the fetus should not be able to survive outside the mother's womb.

The dilemma for many of us is how can we justify telling a woman she will have to carry the fetus to full term and therefore she has absolutely no control over her body.

So with some reluctance I am a pro-choice advocate. Should I meet a woman contemplating the termination of her pregnancy, I would counsel her to reconsider and not end the human life. However, that does not mean I would stand outside a clinic making her change her decision by shaming her for the difficult choice she is about to make.

What most woman of all ages and religious beliefs should know, there are some very effective pills to induce a miscarriage when the embryo is but a cluster of cells. Access to these pills should not be difficult for the woman to obtain.

Recently, Hillary Clinton emphasized an unborn fetus has no constitutional rights. That is of course a very alarming thought to think about.

Taking it to the extreme, that would mean a fetus can actually be aborted whenever the mother and her doctor decide because the fetus (baby) has no rights and its humanity is recognized until it is born.

I have to applaud those who have taken a stance on the issues of pro-life or pro-choice and can stake their positions in black and white terms with no compromise.

Unfortunately, there are many of us who see both sides of the arguments and do not have the good fortune of seeing the discussion as being just a black or white issue. We tend to see the issue in the color gray and that is often times very uncomfortable.

Jury Paid Pennies For Time As They Decide Should They Make Erin Andrews Wealthy

2016-03-02T14:49:00.001-05:00

When employed by ESPN, Erin Andrews was indeed violated when a creep took pictures of her when she was undressing at the Marriott Hotel back in 2008.

The gist of the suit is that Andrews claims her privacy was violated by the Nashville Marriott when its employees gave her stalker the dates she would be at the hotel as well as a room next to her.

However, Andrews suing the Marriott for $75 million is a bit excessive and one has to feel sorry for the jury which is paid pennies for their time as they are about to decide should they make Andrews a very wealthy woman due to her alleged duress.

Let's face it, there are many lawsuits which are indeed justifiable when awards are being made---particularly if a person is seriously injured through no fault of their own.

However in the case of Andrews, hopefully between all her tears, the men and women on the jury can see-through Andrews and her lawyer(s), as this trial as being nothing more than a get quick rich scheme.

GOP Leadership Needs To Put Tea Party Genie Back in the Bottle

2016-03-01T13:14:00.001-05:00

Sometimes Americans forget that besides the Democrats and the Republicans there are other recognized political parties that are over looked by news media.

It is now time for the GOP to let Tea Party members part ways and encourage their leadership to form their own party.

The Politics and Elections Portal lists the following recognized political parties and each of the parties' tenants:

America First Party
Christian Liberty Party
Citizens Party of the United States
Communist Party of the United States
Constitution Party
Freedom Socialist Party
Green Party
Independent American Party
Justice Party
Libertarian Party
Modern Whig Party
Peace and Freedom Party
Prohibition Party
Reform Party
United Marijuana Party
United States Pirate Party
Veterans Party of America

The country cannot afford another 4 years of unnecessary political stalemate.

If the Republican Party hopes to survive and gain back some respectability as well as work with either a President Clinton or President Trump, the Party needs to

distance itself from the Tea Party
pull all local, state, and national GOP party monies to support dogmatic Tea Party politicians' elections or re-elections
and not allow Tea Party members of Congress to caucus with the Republican Party.

For GOP To Survive, It Needs To Drop Tea Party Association

2016-02-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

It is not the first nor the last time that pundits have speculated on the demise of the GOP. After Watergate, the Republican Party was supposed to fall apart and there have been three Republican administrations since that dire prediction.

Now pundits like Chuck Todd are going out on a limb predicting the Party is about to implode again.

The problem for the GOP---and actually for the nation--- is that when the Tea Party movement began and the groups goal was to obstruct. Tea Party obstructionists ended all civility and spirit of cooperation within the Congress and the White House.

GOP moderates found themselves formulating policies that pleased a Tea Party constituency. Eventually the Tea Party wing of the party brought on board the likes of Ted Cruz who not only wanted smaller government but wanted a government whose policies were anti-gay, anti-pro-choice, anti-common sense gun regulations, anti-immigrant and more importantly anti-Obama.

GOP candidates began inserting Christian morality in many of their discussions and ignored a good portion of the national constituency which does not identify itself as conservative Christian or those Americans who strongly believe in the separation of religion from the state.

Tea Party Republicans are obstructionists and common sense politicians as John Boehner finally gave up and left the Congress to its own undoing.

And while the Tea Party advocated reduced government spending, they seemed to conveniently overlook any excessive military spending in the quest to fight terrorism. One of their own, Senator Rand Paul was ignored by his party when he wanted less international intervention and his views were viewed dismissed as extreme isolationist.

While most of the current crop of politicians of both parties view their Congressional stints as being a permanent versus a temporary career, the GOP politicians have been overly concerned that if they did not cater to a Tea Party way of thinking they had no chance of being re-elected.

Until the GOP establishment (men and women of practical and moderate conservative thinking) distances itself from the Tea Party the GOP will continue to splinter.

Should the GOP lose the 2016 general election, and they probably will due to increasing lack of civility between the candidates, the GOP needs to oust Tea Party members by not lending them financial support in any of their election drives and quit catering to Tea Party extremists within the Congress.

Let the Tea Party members go along their own way and start their own party.

GOP Debates Showcase Political Dysfunction

2016-02-27T14:55:00.001-05:00

For those who enjoy reality television, much cannot get much crazier and fun to watch than the recent GOP debates.

Don't watch the debates to get specifics about national issues because that won't happen.

Rather watching so-called leaders tearing each other up with personal attacks should make everyone feel a little bit better about their own dysfunctional families.

And for progressives, they should be feeling so much better as Americans get to view these mean-spirited conservatives and wealthy people who think they have what it takes to guide this nation.

The tragedy on so many levels, is that potentially one of the leaders Americans are watching perform, might be making life and death situations regarding the men and women in military service. While this "conservative academic brawl" is gong on, there are Americans who live in poverty, the environment is continuing to deteriorate, and businesses are leaving the country.

Whoever becomes POTUS needs to be a moderate and not an entrenched ideologue. He or she will need to work with the men and women of both parties. Wrapping oneself around the cloak of "conservatism," and tossing everything out Obama has accomplished will not be good for the nation. Refusing to even consider Obama's appointment for a Supreme Court Justice is the most classic example of political obstructionism that most Americans have grown weary of!

The nation cannot afford another decade of allowing infrastructure deterioration. The nation barely survived the divisiveness of Vietnam and the Bush/Cheney destabilization of the Middle East. And very importantly, the country's leaders need to make the nation a great place to do business so the middle class can grow again and lower income people can eventually achieve middle class status.

Where There is Smoke There is Fire---A Good Reason Not To Allow Bill Clinton Back In the White House

2016-02-25T22:49:00.004-05:00

When allegations were made against American comedian Bill Cosby by women who claimed Cosby drugged them then raped them, Americans were a bit surprised that the likable well-educated Bill Cosby could do such things.

Today, it is hard to find any television networks carrying the syndicated Bill Cosby Show.

The same applies to former President Bill Clinton. Over the years, Clinton has been accused of sexual harassment of women, and he got away with it. And in all likelihood Hillary Clinton knew of it and ignored it or protected his behavior.
This cover up of Clinton's behavior is described by John Nolte in a piece, "The Rap Sheet: The Women Who Claim to Be Victims of Bill and Hillary Clinton".
All of his sexual exploits finally came to a head (so to speak) with the Monica Lewinsky affair which finally he admitted to after lying to the country.

Now there is a very good chance, this sexual leech will be again roaming the White House should his wife become POTUS,

One could argue, that these accusations are fabricated. But there are way too many to be ignored. There is an expression, "Where There's Smoke There's Fire," and in Clinton's case something did occur.

Source of Image: "The Rap Sheet: The Women Who Claim to Be Victims of Bill and Hillary Clinton".

Is Hillary unfit to be POTUS because of her husband's mental illness. Of course not!

In fact Hillary maybe the most knowledgeable and capable of all the candidates and Americans could feel somewhat safe she is in charge versus trigger happy conservatives as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

However, voters should give very serious pause in who they elect as President if it means Bill Clinton ----perhaps an unconvicted rapist---should come with the package.

MSNBC's Morning Joe Is Good Comedy Shtick --- Go Elsewhere If Looking For Unbiased Reporting

2016-02-17T14:23:00.000-05:00

American entertainment has produced some great comedy teams to name a few as;

George Burns and Gracie Allen

Jerry Stilla and Anne Meara

Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner

In the fashion of NBC's Saturday Night Life, MSNBC has produced their own comedy shtick called Morning Joe with hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski.

Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski

The main entertainer is politician Republican co-host and name sake of the show, Joe Scarborough. Dressed in collegiate clothing with large horn rimmed black glasses, Scarborough's routine is to act as a hyperactive adult continuing to interrupt co-host Mika with one liners to the array of regular co-hosts guests circled around the table drinking Starbuck's cofee.

Then as on cue, he gets serious and embraces the Republican Party and reminds despite his staged antics he is a conservative.

Scarborough's straight person in this shtick is Mika Brezinski.

Mika is impeccably dressed with the most stylish of clothes often times with draping scarves and to appear even more chique often with a pair of sunglasses cleverly perched on her hair. (Never understood sunglasses in a studio!)

Unabashedly a high brow NYC liberal with a liberal pedigree, as on cue, she rolls her eyes and feigns impatience with the staged antics of her attention deficit disorder co-host.

Both Brezinski and Scarborough love to drop names and appear to have some ongoing relationship with fellow New Yorker Donald Trump. Mika poses "tough" questions to her guests and acts like she is listening. With her self righteous fullness of herself, she offers commentary against all people she deems contrary to her views with shrugs and rolling eyes,

If you want some good morning political comedy, you will enjoy Good Morning Joe. If you are looking for an unbiased view to politics and news events, turn elsewhere!

During Periods of Economic and Social Unrest, Populist Candidates Emerge

2016-02-15T13:08:00.000-05:00

Populists appeals to the interest of an electorate who don't readily identify with the politicians and opinion makers who wish to continue with the status quo. His opponent declares a politician a populist because he or she uses inflammatory rhetoric and makes unrealistic proposals to get increased followers.

All politicians appeal to the fears, hopes, and biases of their constituency. But the politicians receiving the backing of mainstream political parties would never want to be labeled a populist. Many populist politicians and their movements have a short political life whereas mainstream politicians, unfortunately, will become entrenched and around for a longer duration.

Presidential candidate Andrew Jackson bucked what he perceived as the corrupt politics of his era and founded his own grass roots political party, the Democratic Republicans the forerunner of today's Democratic Party.

Jackson was to be one of only a handful of historical American politicians called "populist" who would win the White House.

Besides Jackson and the Democratic-Republicans, there were to be new populist parties and personalities hoping to attract the men or women who felt forgotten by the status quo.

Source of Definition: Vocabulary.com

Many populists emerge during periods of social and economic unrest. Besides the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Great Depression (1929-1939) brought the United States and the world to its knees and the rise of political populism.

During this period of economic and social unrest, populist politicians as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler rose to lead their nations.

The Rush Limbaugh of radio during the Great Depression and the beginning of WW2 was populist Father Charles Edward Coughlin (October 25, 1891-October 27, 1979).

Fr. Coughlin had a huge radio following of almost 30 million weekly listeners. He was pro-union, attacked banks and large businesses, invoked Christianity in many of his messages, and then proceeded to go overboard when he became increasingly anti-Semitic and blamed the Jews for much of the economic problems.

Originally Coughlin supported President Roosevelt's New Deal programs. However, Coughlin not only annoyed the Vatican with his vitriol, but finally provoked President Franklin Roosevelt such that the President successfully got his radio show off the air and stopped his mailings of his pamphlet entitled Social Justice.

Source: Father Coughlin Speaks Against the Federal Reserve

Another very popular populist-type politician to emerge during the Great Depression was Louisiana political boss and politician "King Fish" Huey Long Jr. (August 30,1893-September 10, 1935). Long served as Louisiana's governor and then the state's Democratic United States Senator until he was assassinated in 1935.

Perhaps sounding familiar to many of some of today's politicians, Long's motto was "Every Man a King" and proposed wealth redistribution during the Great Depression to curb poverty and homelessness.

Source of You Tube Video: Huey Long Share The Wealth

Another era of American social upheaval was the African American Civil Rights movement (1954-1968). One of the most popular populist politicians to emerge was Alabama Governor George Wallace (August 25, 1919 - September 13, 1998).

Upset with the efforts of the Federal Government to intervene and end Alabama's segregation of public schools, Wallace in his 1963 governor inauguration speech, appealed to his constituency (of course blacks were not being allowed to vote) when he said, "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

George Wallace's "Segregation Forever" speech made him nationally well-known. When words are spoken they cannot be taken back and in reality Wallace was not the racist the speech made him appear to be and he spent much of his career denouncing the speech as one he made as a necessity to be re-elected as Alabama governor.

Source of You Tube: George Wallace Segregation Forever Speech

Easy to explain the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement giving rising to so-called populist politicians who appeal to the fears of an electorate who felt left out.

The Vietnam War gave rise to populist candidate George McGovern who reflected the anger by Americans divided by the war as well as the social and economic disparities.

What American events have caused the rise of a Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders?

Warning signs were growing that a new breed of candidate could likely arise. Some trends were:

The Tea Party came about because a sector of Americans were angry about a big, unresponsive, and intrusive government.

The Occupy Wall Street Movement took hold because of the the economic disparity growing within the country and sanctioned by government policies favorable to big business special interest groups.

Washington has become so gridlocked due to partisanship that essentially President Obama has resorted to executive orders to get some things accomplished during his tenure. Now partisanship has reached an all time by Republicans threatening to not allow the President to nominate a Supreme Court Justice.

The time for fresh political faces was inevitable. Perhaps Trump and Sanders are not the best choices, but Americans know that partisanship is destroying the nation and the political status quo is not working any longer.

Andrew Jackson's Populist Message Applies To Current Politics

2016-02-13T08:58:00.000-05:00

Career politicians are having a tough time making any traction this time into the hearts of regular voters this year. Their success baffles the pundits and Trump & Sanders have been labeled populists.

Being a populist is not necessarily a badge of honor by the pundits. Liberal pundits view those who vote for Sanders as being either too young to really understand the moderate message of Clinton. Those who vote for Trump are viewed as disgruntled rednecks and are anti-Muslim, anti-Hispanic, and anti-gay.

But there is a whole group of voters who actually are just tired of the current Washington climate of politicians of both parties being in the pockets of special interest groups. The current crop of politicians have decided that their job in life is to just be a politician and to hell with their constituency until it is election time.

The Congress blocks everything a sitting President attempts to get accomplished and seem dumbfounded when a President has to issue executive orders just to end some stalemates.

Many Americans are just tired of the saber rattling that some of the mainstream politicians do as being somewhat a necessity to be viewed as a good Commander In Chief.

Don't misunderstand this writer----some of the so-called populist messages being bantered about are a bit discouraging.

Converting the country to a more socialist mindset or deporting thousands of illegal immigrants is too costly. Quoting the bible versus the constitution is a bit disconcerting to voters who strongly believe in the spirit of the separation of church and state. Denying groups of Americans the right to marry is akin to denying black Americans their rights to vote. Appointing members to the Supreme Court based on litmus tests versus an impartial interpretation of the constitution is alarming.

A different type of candidate beholden to no special interest groups other than the voters is perhaps why the Trump and Sanders messages are resonating.

Campaign Outside of Political Mainstream and Elitist Classify Politician as Populist

2016-02-12T10:49:00.000-05:00

Despite having very different views of how to reinvigorate an American economy or what is considered good American values, candidates Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Ted Cruz all have something in common. These men are viewed as nuisances and until recently viewed as not electable by their corresponding political parties.

Able to self-fund his own campaign, Donald Trump has disrupted the plans of the Republican establishment and conservative super pacts that spent millions of dollars with the hope to see a Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, or Chris Christie as their party's nominee.

Similarly, the Democrat Party establishment would have preferred to have seen a quick selection of Hillary Clinton as the standard-bearer to carry on the accomplishments of the Obama administration. Instead, the very unconventional independent socialist Bernie Sanders joined the Democratic Party and Clinton has had to spend her energy and funds to secure a nomination that she felt entitled to.

Trump, Sanders, and Cruz have upset the political apple carts. These three non-traditional politicians have prevented their party's establishment from the coronation of their hand- picked candidates.

Because these men have broken all the understood rules for being traditional candidates, with some elitist snobbery, pundits have summarily addressed them as being populist politicians.

For elitists, populist candidates are those who have traditionally appealed to the less educated and less affluent members of society and are not politically correct. Not viewed as moderates let alone not being team players.

In some dictionaries, a populist is synonymous with demagogue.

Historically, some of the most famous American politicians and personalities who have been termed as populists are:

Andrew Jackson
George Wallace
William Jennings Bryan
Huey Long
Pat Buchanan
Father Charles Coughlin
Glenn Beck

And though Trump, Cruz, and Sanders proudly announce that they are anti-establishment they are in good company with Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan who also made identical claims they were also anti-establishment.

Good Reads About The Politics of Populism

The NewYorker writer George Packer, in his written piece The Populists describes the populist tendencies of Sanders and Trump.

Newsweek's writer, Chris Lehman authored a great article entitled,
Donald Trump and the Long Tradition of American Populism.

OSU Department of History blog, Origins writer Marc Horger's article entitled American Populism and the Persistence of the Paranoid Style (if you enjoy history a good short read.)

Populist candidates do not have good reputations

Home Grown American Gangs Cause More Damage Than Domestic ISIS Terrorist Groups

2016-02-10T13:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was at the car dealership having my car's oil changed. While waiting with two other customers---a young man in his late twenties and a gentleman in his late fifties---we had the usual discussion about how dealerships rip you off with car repair costs.

Then our discussion moved onto the local Akron-Cleveland economy, the condition of professional sports in Cleveland, the contrast between local sports hero LeBron James versus Cleveland Brown's Johnny Manziel and then a great discussion about past and present tales of organized crime figures in Youngstown, Ohio.

Pittsburgh Mobster Lenny Strollo Kills Joey Naples

The young man then piped in about terrorism and how Trump is correct about banning Muslims to prevent terrorism as well as the importance of maintaining our Second Amendment rights to bear arms to protect us from terrorists.

A car dealership is not a place to have the more complicated discussion about politics or gun ownership. But I did walk away from the conversation thinking that politicians and the government have created such a paranoia about domestic ISIS terrorists and don't address the gang violence which plagues most of our major cities.

Americans need to demand that our politicians address the domestic terrorism of local and regional gangs which cause more havoc than domestic ISIS terrorists.

After reading Law Officer's article Gang and Drugs, a person's head spins thinking about the inter workings between gangs, violence, drugs, extortion, sex etc. The author(s) offered possible solutions to breaking some of the gang activity which many times is hitting the gangs' pocketbooks.

According to the FBI:

Some 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with about 1.4 million members are criminally active in the U.S. today. Many are sophisticated and well organized; all use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, fraud, extortion, and prostitution rings. According to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report, gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions, and up to 90 percent in others.

Americans of all races, nationalities, and economic statures should start asking politicians what can be used to pursue and end gang violence. There are more gang members in the country than domestic ISIS terrorists.

Gangs are a creeping cancer and have caused and will continue to cause more damage than any domestic ISIS terrorist group.

Chris Christie Correct To Attack Marco Rubio's Lack Of Job Credentials

2016-02-08T14:09:00.003-05:00

Senator Marco Rubio, the golden boy of the Republican elite decided that he did not have to put his heart into being a good elected United States Senator. Rubio rather jumped right into going for the top political prize of President of the United States.

Cruz and Rubio both have launched attacks against Obama for how he has governed, but don't like to remind voters they also have as much inexperience that candidate Obama had when he made his first run for President.

Americans don't need first term inexperienced Senators Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz to occupy the White House. Neither men put their energies into the jobs that they were elected to and either were obstructionists or just plain absent from their jobs campaigning for President. Essentially both men cheated their constituency who voted for them by not reporting to work.

It indeed was refreshing that Chris Christie went after the Senator and hopefully other candidates challenge Rubio.

The verbal exchange was long overdue.

Before Republicans vote for the son of a Cuban immigrant bartender or a senator who in the past year just denounced his Canadian citizenship, they should seriously consider the three other candidates that bring good credentials to be considered for being Commander-In-Chief.

Along with Donald Trump, current Governors John Kasich (Ohio) and Chris Christie (New Jersey), and former Governor Jeb Bush (Florida) have measurable job performance track records that both Cruz and Rubio lack.

Americans would be better served if either of these four men occupied the White House versus the two inexperienced junior senators.

Time For Lower Tier Republican Candidates To Leave Race

2016-02-02T07:20:00.001-05:00

The protective casings around cereal grains is referred to as chaff. So when wheat, barley, rye, or rice are harvested, the chaff is removed. The seeds become human food and the discarded chaff is plowed back into the ground or fed to livestock.

The idiom or phrase, separating the wheat from the chaff, refers to separating the useful from the not useful. This phrase best describes what is now happening during the Republican primaries.

Trump not appearing at the Fox Republican Presidential debate should have allowed Republican voters the opportunity to see those other candidates without being overshadowed by his antics. At the end of the debate, voters should have begun to separate those which have some merit and have a realistic chance to win the nomination and United States Presidency.

By now, political pundits and voters know Donald Trump is dead serious about becoming Commander-in-Chief. Voters need to listen closely to what Trump says and demand that he provide more specifics on his blue print to make America great again.

The Republican dog and pony show is not quite over yet. However, those candidates in the lower tier of popularity (2% or less support) should drop out and free up their supporters and donors so other viable candidates can be backed.

Candidates in the lower tier ---actually might be very good if not the most capable to be President. However their messages have not resonated due to lack of a campaign war chest or organization.

These low tiered candidates are chaff and for them to remain in the race is pure vanity and serves no meaningful purpose except to distract.

O'Reilly Begging Trump To Attend Debate Was Dismal Television

2016-02-01T09:58:00.001-05:00

Well yesterday's blog was slamming Chris Matthews for dismissing Taylor Gipples' comments to Hillary Clinton as "nervy" and inappropriate for a young man his age to address Clinton about people's perception of her as being dishonest.

But the past week's most dismal news media event was Bill O'Reilly begging Donald Trump to attend the Fox's Republican Candidates National Debate.

Well Trump refused because he does not like Meghan Kelly, views her as a terrible reporter and therefore would not field any questions from her. (Reporters beware of a President Trump not fielding questions if he ever feels insulted!)

Even after bribing the billionaire Trump with milk shakes, O'Reilly's pleas were of no avail.

Trump and O'Reilly During Happier Times!

The entire exchange was embarrassing for Fox News as well as O'Reilly and much of the national news media viewed the exchange as pathetic.

Source of Video: TYT Nation

American voters should probably have been pleased that Trump was not at the debate.

Without Trump's presence, the other candidates could present their views and attack Ted Cruz without being over shadowed by Trump who has broken every rule on political correctness much as the young Taylor Gipple's comments to Clinton!

Taylor Gipple Not Only Upset Hillary Clinton But Also Chris Matthews

2016-01-31T18:05:00.000-05:00

Really had to cringe when Hardball 's Chris Matthews acted appalled when Taylor Gipple at an Iowa town meeting told Hillary Clinton she does not appear to be getting the support of young people because people in his age bracket perceive her as being dishonest.

Matthews' hypocrisy about the encounter was a bit amazing. Matthews said that due to Gipple's age, the young man was "nervy" and showed no respect for Clinton's political stature or age with his comment / question.

Right or wrong, the Clintons' integrity became a topic when Bill Clinton became President.

Investigations by the Clintons in the Whitewater Corporation hinted at a cover up by the duo. And more recently, there continue to be questions about her role as Secretary of State in not preventing the fatal attacks on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya and utilizing a private email account to conduct government business.

The news media has reported extensively on those stated events, so Taylor Gipple's comment was fair as Clinton's integrity has been questioned by political opponents as well as the news media.

Matthews comments about Gipple were a bit disingenuous. He is always challenging mostly conservative politicians' moral scruples (as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's Bridgegate) and enjoys posing gotcha questions or assembling a panel of like minded experts on his show to embarrass politicians or make disparaging comments about them.

Matthews is suggests that people questioning Clinton's trustworthiness are part of a major conspiracy and the only people who can question her ethics are people in the news media.

The question was appropriate and the young man had the guts to challenge Clinton's integrity to her face. Matthews was just sorry he did not have the opportunity to ask the question.

Parents Will Find Own Ways To Raise Children And Likely Criticized By Onlookers

2016-01-30T05:02:00.000-05:00

Spanish bull fighter Francisco Rivera Ordodonez caused quite an uproar when he took his young daughter to his job at the slaughter house (rather bull ring).

Despite his own father being gored by a bull when he was 36 years old, the 42 year old matador treated bringing his daughter to the bull ring as just another father /daughter day at the office.

Despite the criticism from his fans in Spain, Orodonez claims that his daughter was never going to be any safer than she was in his arms.

Orodonez is not the only celebrity in recent memory who has engaged in some behavior with a child that was deemed to be reckless by an outraged public.

The late Michael Jackson was legendary for the love of children both in and out of his bedroom. However when he was in Berlin Germany, he dangled his then infant son, Prince Michael, over a balcony to his adoring fans.

The Prince of Pop apologized and by all accounts, Prince Michael has turned out to be an okay young man.

Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, really caught heck when he held his baby daughter Bindi as he fed a snapping crocodile. Well the event apparently did not harm the 17 year old Bindi's psyche as she went on to perform in Dancing With The Stars and continues to remain a favorite of Australian and international audiences.

Another example of Parents Gone Wild was back in 2009, when fame seeking Colorado parents Richard and Maymi Heene alarmed the nation that their young six year old son Falcon was floating across the country side in a home made untethered helium balloon.

Turns out the boy was never in the balloon and his parents were busted so to speak when young Falcon said the stunt was to get on national television.

Falcon's parents served some jail time for child endangering and young Falcon and his siblings have continued the family goal of finding fame and fortune by starting a teenage rock band.

There are some very broad descriptions of a particular American generations and how each generation raises their children.

The Atlantic writer, Philip Bump wrote an entertaining and informative piece entitled, When Each Generation Begins and Ends According to Facts.

Bump offers a narrative of what defines each American generation and also supplied a graphic showing the generational breaks. Labels for generations can be coined by someone as Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation or an organization as the U.S. Census Bureau's Baby Boomers.

Source of Graphic: When Each Generation Begins and Ends According to Facts.

Generations born after 2004 are still being defined and are appropriately labeled TBD (To Be Determined).

Technologies, world events, economic earnings, education, etc., all help to define each generation and how its members react to the world.

My generation is Baby Boomers. A Baby Boomer is defined a person who was born between 1946 and l964. This generation, my generation, began when there were over 77 million American babies born after WW2.

According to Investopedia,

The baby boomer generation makes up a substantial portion of the North American population. Representing nearly 20% of the the American public, baby boomers have a significant impact on the economy. As as result, baby boomers are often the focus of marketing campaigns and business plans.

A Baby Boomer is apt to say about those born after him that the younger generation does not have the same work ethic as he did when he was growing up. Many of the Greatest Generation probably made similar observations about the Baby Boomers who protested the Vietnam War and smoked pot!

The Baby Boomers were said to be spoiled by parents who probably were just happy to come home from WW2 in one piece. Today's Baby Boomers seek out Viagra, color their hair, are beginning to wear adult diapers, suffer heart attacks and are taking care of their parents from The Greatest Generation.

Now when Baby Boomers go to their doctor they are apt to say, "the doctor is young enough to be my grandchild!"

However, back in the days, when people actually turned pages to read a book, pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock authored a book entitled Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. This book was on my parents' book shelf as well as almost 14 million other American book shelves.

Spock advocated a common sense approach to child care and was against corporal punishment.

Because so many American parents read Dr. Spock's book, and supposedly followed his recommendations against corporal punishment, people attributed that was the reason Baby Boomers disobeyed authority and protested the Vietnam War.

The Greatest Generation probably would have never engaged in the parental antics that are posted on social media as YouTube or on reality television shows.

Besides Dr. Benjamin Spock, Ward and June Cleaver on the television show Leave It To Beaver, showed parents how to tackle certain family situations without getting too excited.

Cleaver Family

Today Generations' X , Y, and Millenial parents can turn to television personalities as the charlatan Dr. Phil McGraw or Dr. Oz for their "expert" advice on how to raise children.

However, no matter how many experts offer an opinion on child rearing, most families will find their own unique way to raise a child and likely be criticized by onlookers.

Source of Photograph: Sky Diving Baby by vinjack 13

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If A Moderate Is Not A Nominee Of Either Party, Bloomberg Might Be What the Nation Needs

2016-01-26T10:16:00.003-05:00

Just because a person is a billionaire does not mean their purpose is to participate in world domination. But let's face it, if you have a billion dollars in your pocket your view of the world has to be a bit skewed as you sit in your mansion.

Other than health or personal social issues a wealthy person really does not have much too worry about like the rest of the 99% of the world. A billionaire can say what is on his or her mind and really could care less what people think of them.

Billionaires do contribute a lot to philanthropies and if they did not many fine organizations would go under without their assistance.

Search on the Internet for the top philanthropists---and there are different lists but on all those lists there are with some reoccurring names---and one cannot help but be impressed with some of the foundations this elite group of people have contributed to.

Tax billionaires too high and one could almost guarantee philanthropic contributions will drop.

The real danger for America is not there are billionaires, rather it is that our elected politicians are in the pockets of special interest groups and vote accordingly to keep their campaign war chests full. Most of the special interest groups are backed by billionaires of course.

Many of the politicians view their jobs in Washington or their respective state houses as a permanent career move and they will do what is necessary to secure their jobs.

Michael Bloomberg, former NYC mayor, has threatened to run if Trump is the Republican nominee and Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee. If this should happen, Bernie Sanders said it would be him against a wealthy oligarchy.

The Sanders rhetoric is to stir the troops so they would come out in force to vote for him. It would be conceivable that with a divided electorate, Sanders could be President!

Sanders is a good guy rightly worrying about Americans at the lowest economic levels. However, he belongs in the Senate as many of his ideas do make sense and can act as a counter weight to the politicians in the pockets of the lobbyists.

Putting Sanders in charge of the Executive Branch could be polarizing.

A Sanders Presidency would put the country into greater debt and due to entrenched politicians it could be 4 years of stalemate as conservatives and moderates dig in to fight his socialist agenda!

Politics is the art of compromise. Can a Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or Bernie Sanders compromise? Or will either of these three men be so entrenched in their ideologies that the Executive and Legislative Branches will continue with their current destructive partisanship?

As the primaries are beginning, hopefully moderate candidates are nominated that do not have the the scorch and burn mentality or throwing the baby out with the bath water. Not everything Obama accomplished has been bad for the nation.

In actuality, a third party candidate may be good for this country as the two parties have actually spent any good feelings Americans may have for them. It might very well be that independents and moderates of both parties may actually embrace a Michael Bloomberg candidacy.

Creepy and Narcissistic Politicians Infect Both Parties

2016-01-25T15:34:00.000-05:00

Americans should know by now, the current crop of candidates of both parties running for President are narcissistic and many of them and their family members are actually a bit creepy.

There are creepy politicians in both parties as the following:

New York Rep Anthony Weiner (D) texting explicit messages and photos with young women
John Edwards (D) affair with woman as wife was battling cancer
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) solicited prostitutes
Idaho Sen Larry Craig (R) tapping foot in airport bathroom stall for male sex
Louisiana Sen David Vitter (R) solicited prostitutes
Nevada Sen David Ensign (R) sex with staff member
South Carolina Gov. David Sanford (R) year long affair with an overseas mistress
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R) paying off blackmail money to cover sexual exploits with young boys when a high school teacher

To make a run for President a man or woman has to have a very big ego and most likely cannot run unless they have the backing of his or her spouse. Running in a national campaign candidates' spouses, children, siblings can all become targets by political opponents, pundits, the news media, and blog writers!

Often times, a President's parents, siblings, or adult children can prove to be an embarrassment. Jimmy Carter had brother Billy Carter. Bill Clinton had half brother Roger and his colorful mother Virginia Kelly. George W, Bush had party-loving adult daughters and his adoring mother Barbara and the long shadow of his father's presidency.

Next to the Clintons, another dysfunctional family in the White House was the Kennedys.

The myth of Camelot has gradually been dispelled as the public has learned that the "beloved" John Kennedy was a known womanizer and more than likely he and his brother Bobby passed actress Marilyn Monroe between them.

Franklin Roosevelt's mother was legendary with interfering in his marriage to his wife Eleanor. After being caught in a couple of affairs, Roosevelt swore not to do it again or at least get caught. Of course the four term President died in the arms of his mistress.

So now we are entering the long political year and we can see our future leaders acting like children and one should dread that one of these dufuses will occupy the White House.

When Barbara Bush was asked about her son running for President a couple years ago, she replied:

I think it’s a great country, there are a lot of great families, and it’s not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there that are very qualified, and we’ve had enough Bushes.

There were many people hoping that the nation would not be put through another nightmare of another Bush Presidency and that Jeb would have listened to his mother.

But Jeb did not honor his mother and plunged into a Presidential campaign which is now plummeting.

So to let Americans know that despite his failing campaign, he has the support of his mama Barbara, Jeb pulled out all the stops and put her in a campaign ad endorsing him as President.

In many conservative circles, the outspoken Barbara Bush remains popular and many were upset when Donald Trump, acting just like the little boy bully that he is, ran to his computer and twittered:

Just watched Jeb's ad where he desperately needed mommy to help him. Jeb --- mom can't help you with ISIS, the Chinese or with Putin.

And in defense of his mother, the loyal son Jeb also ran to his computer and tweeted back:

I'd be careful Donald

In another campaign ad, the ever not so lovable Ted Cruz marched his family out for the cameras to produce a campaign ad. His daughters asked "cute" questions to their father as he read Dr. Seuss type books to his precocious daughters on how their daddy will save Americans from the big bad liberals.

The Washington Post cartoonist, Ann Telnaes drew a now famous cartoon depicting a Grinch dressed Cruz manipulating his children as trained monkeys to muster support for him.

The Senator was offended. The Washington Post withdrew the cartoon due to a supposed public outcry. Cruz capitalized on the staged brouhaha and asked for a cool million dollars in donations to fight the liberals and the press who attacked his family and of course the American family.

The three times married Donald Trump as well as his other Republican rivals really know what God and Jesus wants for America. Besides throwing out illegal immigrants and Muslim immigrants, many of the candidates definitely do not want government sanctioned same sex marriage.

Always reminding us that he is the son of a Cuban immigrant bartender, Marco Rubio apparently saved his son Dominic from a possible pool drowning. Rubio saw the light and now values his family even more.

Of course, the supposedly born again Catholic Rubio, knows that same sex marriage is destroying American Christian values and is of course against Catholic teachings. So by golly when he is in the White House besides flexing American muscles overseas, a President Rubio will work hard to end government sanctioning of the sinful practice of same sex relationships.

Former Alaskan Republican Governor Sarah Palin is always invoking the notion that conservative values are best for the American family. Despite the fact her daughter Bristol had a baby out of wedlock and more recently her son beat the crap out of his girl friend she feels she knows how a good Christian family should act.

Palin, a gun toting Alaskan hillbilly claims she is a Mama Grizzly when it comes to protecting her crazed family and their shootouts at the Palin family homestead. In true Palin fashion, she blames her troubled son's issues on President Obama not funding enough for veteran care.

Now that Hillary wants to be President, Americans should shudder knowing her sexually deviant husband will be lurking through the White House.

Bubba Clinton pulled his penis out of his pants for his intern, poked a cigar in areas of Monica's body and splattered his DNA (semen) on her dress. And all along, the perverted President vehemently denied having sexual relations with that woman. Of course Bubba recanted after trying to convince everyone that oral sex was not sex and Clinton took the nation to the brink of an impeachment trial over his lying to the special prosecutor.

Other than encouraging people to eat better or black men stepping up to act responsibly and raise their families, Barack and Michelle Obama have not lectured Americans about family values and both have embraced diversity.

So unless there is a scandal Americans don't know about, the Obama family (as the Bidens) has been quiet and have probably demonstrated how a non-dysfunctional family should act in public office.

A Talkative Kid May Become A Well-Respected Orator

2016-01-23T19:01:00.000-05:00

In history there has always been great orators. The Greeks had Demosthenes who legend has it stuffed pebbles in his mouth to work on his oratory. World War 2 England had Winston Churchill. And also during WW2, the Germans had Hitler and the Italians had Mussolini. And of course Americans had Franklin Roosevelt who inspired a nation during the Great Depression and then an army to defeat Nazi Germany and Japan.

Franklin Roosevelt

Eagles Talent Speakers Bureau lists the following historical people as great orators:

Martin Luther King

Nelson Mandela

Mohandas Gandhi

Abraham Lincoln

John F. Kennedy

Ronald Reagan

Mohandas Gandhi

People know that being able to advance both socially and professionally, the ability to speak before groups of people is often times a necessity. The famous Dale Carnegie courses for self-improvement include speech as one necessary skill for success. The non profit Toast Masters International has meetings throughout the world dedicated to the art of public speaking.

Dale Carnegie

Americans pay high prices for tickets, team merchandise or products endorsed by an athlete. Musicians and actors are handsomely compensated for their talents.

Attendees to a ball game, concert, or movie expect to be entertained. As long as celebs entertain, the money will keep flowing to them.

But apparently, there is great entertainment value for corporations and universities to pay big bucks for public speakers and some ex politicians as Bill Clinton have made a very lucrative income to just talk and people to listen.

Recently, Bill Clinton's better half---Hillary---has been challenged by her rivals for being paid substantial amounts of money for addressing Goldman Sachs clients or employees. One has to wonder what the hell Hillary actually said which made it worth paying her about $600, 000 in annual speaking fees to that Wall Street corporation.

Perhaps Hillary has a comedic talent that most Americans cannot appreciate? Were the speeches lengthy enough to warrant such a high hourly fees? Were her speeches below the going rate to court Wall Street supporters for her Presidential campaign? What Goldman Sachs official actually authorized such large amounts of money to hear a speech?

Hillary wants to be President but at the time of this writing is a Presidential wannabe. But should the day she becomes an ex-President, she could be handsomely well paid for her talent to just talk.

Tom Murse of About News describes How Much Former Presidents Are Paid to Speak. The break down according to Murse as well as other sources list similar amounts are:

Bill Clinton ($750,000)

George W. Bush ($175,000)

George H.W. Bush ($75,000)

Jimmy Carter (does not take money for speeches)

Jimmy Carter

Should an ex-president Barrack Obama enter the speaker's gambit, he will likely be near the top of this exclusive list.

Scott Wilson (ABC News) listed in his news article, In Demand: Washington's Highest (and Lowest) Speaking Fees, the following rates political celebrities charge per speech:

Hillary Clinton ($200,000)

Tim Geitner ($200,000)

Ben Bernanke ($200,000 - $400,000)

Condoleeza Rice ($150,000)

Larry Summers ($150,000)

Al Gore ($100,000)

Sarah Palin ($100,000)

Dick Cheney ($75,000

Mitt Romney ($68,000)

Newt Gingrich ($60,000)

Ron Paul ($50,000)

Jeb Bush ($50,000)

Colin Powell ($50,000)

Madeline Albright ($50,000)

Not a bad pay check for one day's work!

So if you are a parent with a talkative kid in your life, help nurture that talent. He may become a well-respected orator on his way to making a very lucrative living inspiring people.

“I find politicians’ speeches moving. Sometimes I don’t even pack up before forever leaving their vicinity.” ― Jarod Kintz,

A Lot Of Opinions On Running A Democracy

2016-01-19T21:50:00.005-05:00

A democracy takes a great deal of work and right now Americans have a crop of politicians of both parties with questionable motives thinking they have what it takes to make this country great.

The following are some quotes about democracy that should give pause as we watch the antics going on in the local, state, and federal levels of government.

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The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, DL, FRS, RA was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955

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To make democracy work, we must be a notion of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.

Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western novels; however, he also wrote historical fiction, science fiction, nonfiction, as well as poetry and short-story collections.

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Voting is completely important. People in America think democracy is a given. I think of it as an ecosystem, and what gets in the way of it is politicians and apathy.

Henry Rollins is an American musician, writer,journalist, publisher, actor, motivational speaker, television and radio host, spoken word artist, comedian

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A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election.

William E. Vaughan was an American columnist and author. Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, he wrote a syndicated column for the Kansas City Star from 1946 until his death in 1977.

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The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921.

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Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken was a German-American journalist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar of American English

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Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira,

President Obama Protected American Citizens When Issuing Gun Control Executive Orders

2016-01-16T23:53:00.001-05:00

As stated in a previous blog, freedom of the press and speech are guaranteed in the First Amendment and are being withered away by the United States government in the name of national security. This gradual but creeping infringement on the First Amendment is often overlooked by many Americans who believe that any gun regulation is far worse than a restricted press.

Let's categorically state, Americans will continue to own guns and this writer does not want to see it any other way. However, there needs to be some gun regulations---and yes only criminals will break the laws when purchasing guns---and those criminals need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the laws.

Magazine Guns and Ammo published a list of the "10 best countries for gun owners". Of course the United States remains number one. But the other nine countries on the list had some form of any regulation which the editors of course viewed as bad.

Besides the United States, Guns and Ammo listed the following countries with the best place for gun ownership, The best place for gun ownership is listed first in the order from best to worst:

United States
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Panama
Norway
Canada
Sweden
Serbia
Finland
Honduras

The countries on the list which are stable democracies similar and perhaps even better than the United States as a place to live have gun regulations worth looking at.

The gun regulations of countries with similar standard of living as the United States are directly quoted from Guns and Ammo as:

Finland: An acquisition license is required to buy firearms, and a separate license is required for each individual gun. Gun owners must declare a reason for ownership such as hunting, target shooting or collecting, but self-defense is not considered valid. All guns must be locked in the home. If the collection includes more than five guns, they must be stored in a safe that has been inspected and approved by local police.

Sweden:Swedish self-defense laws essentially render any shooting an unjustifiable one. The gun-control laws are numerous and draconian. Those over 18 may obtain a license from the police to own a gun and must declare their reason for applying: sport shooting, hunting or collecting. Sport shooters must belong to a club for six months before obtaining a license; prospective hunters must pass an examination. Guns registered for sport may not be used for hunting. Swedes are only permitted 6 hunting rifles or 10 pistols, or an eight-gun combination of rifles and pistols (all of which must be stored in an approved safe), and they cannot purchase ammunition for a firearm they do not own.

Canada:Canada has outright bans on pistols with barrel lengths under 4.1 inches, semi-auto rifle magazines holding more than 5 rounds and semiautomatic pistol magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Pistols with barrel lengths exceeding 4.1 inches, long guns with an overall length under 26 inches and semi-auto rifles with barrels under 18 ½ inches (i.e. AR-15 variants) can only be shot at firearms ranges and require a special firearms ranges and require a special license. All gun ownership requires a “possession and acquisition license.” Canada’s storage requirements include provisions that the guns be unloaded and rendered inoperable or locked. Forget using them for self-defense.

Other than 911 and Pearl Harbor, the United States has not been threatened by an invading army and in all likelihood the mainland probably never will be. For other countries on the list as Switzerland and the Czech Republic, gun traditional ownership is viewed as a necessity in the event of an invasion. And that indeed makes some sense after Putin's Russia has recently invaded the Ukraine as well as the Czech history of dealing with both German and Soviet occupations.

Some form of gun regulation has been needed in the United States for a very long time. Unfortunately for Americans, the NRA is a strong lobbyist in Congress and politicians of both parties are in the NRA pocket.

President Obama has tried to get some Congressional action in terms of some form of gun regulation and finally he had to resort to Presidential Executive Orders, a clear circumvention of Congress, to have some needed gun control.

As Commander- in- Chief it would be very remiss if he did not take some actions to bring some control to a situation out of control. The very dysfunctional Congress could have acted and it did not.