Trump’s legacy could be saving America from bankruptcy!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

SAVE AMERICA FROM BANKRUPTCY!

by Steve Fair

     President elect Trump has moved quickly to build his second term cabinet.  He has filled more than half of his fifteen (15) cabinet level positions.  Florida Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, Fox News host and military vet Pette Hegseth for Defense Secretary, and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz for Attorney General are his picks for the major cabinet positions. 

     North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is his choice to be Secretary of the Interior.  Robert F Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, is his pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Former Georgia congressman Doug Collins has been chosen to lead the US Department of Veterans' Affairs.  South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been nominated for Secretary of Homeland Security.  Former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has been nominated to lead the CIA.  President-elect Donald Trump has selected former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.  Liberty Energy CEO Christ Wright has been tapped to lead the Energy Department. 

     The only positions left unfilled are: Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, HHS, Transportation, and Education.  Three observations on Trump’s picks:

     First, Trump values loyalty.  All his cabinet level appointments are vocal supporters of Donald Trump.  Unlike in his first term, where he appointed experienced politicos, Trump seems to be choosing personal friends.  These picks would likely execute out his decisions without pushback.  President Trump has long said he made a mistake in his first term in choosing the wrong people to help him execute his plans.    

          Second, placing loyalty above competence is dangerous.  Several of Trump’s appointees don’t appear to be qualified.  For example, Lee Zeldin is nominated as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but has little history with climate or regulatory issues. Pete Hegseth, a Fox News weekend co-host tapped to serve as secretary of defense, but has no Pentagon experience. Clearly both agencies need reform, but putting someone in charge who has little experience is risky.  Placing loyalty above competence could result in failing to accomplish what Trump ultimately wants to attain.  Hopefully, Trump will have these advisors on a short leash.

      Third, change is coming.  Based on Trump’s picks for the cabinet, it will not be business as usual in Washington.  Trump’s picks are unconventional and unorthodox.  They will ‘shake things up.’  Government is past due for reorganization, restructure, reform, and transformation.  Change happens in the private sector on a regular basis, but change in government is scarcer than hen’s teeth.  The problem with change without a clear purpose is it often leads to confusion, inefficiency and demoralization, making things worse, not better. 

    A potential game change is Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as heads of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).  Their stated marching orders are to: (1) dismantle government bureaucracy, (2) slash excess regulations, (3) cut wasteful expenditures and (4) restructure federal agencies.  Just the stated goals of DOGE should strike fear in the hearts of government bureaucrats. 

     America’s major challenge is fiscal!  Government spends more than they take in and waste is rampant.  Both political Parties have shown no resolve to address out of control spending.  Trump promised he would balance the federal budget in his first term, but didn’t even come close.  If Musk and Ramaswamy are effective and reduce government’s footprint, Trump’s real legacy would be that he saved America from bankruptcy.

Democratic Party has become a home for radicals!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

ELECTION POSTMORTEM!

by Steve Fair

         Last week, America elected Donald J. Trump to a second term.  Trump is only the second U.S. President to serve non-consecutive terms.  The first was President Stephen Grover Cleveland who served as the nation’s 22^nd and 24^th president.   Cleveland was the first Democrat elected president after the Civil War and served from 1885-1889 and from 1893-1897. 

     As expected, Republicans flipped the U.S. Senate (53-47) and will also retain the majority in the U.S. House.  Overall, it was a stellar day for the GOP. 

     Tuesday was the third consecutive presidential election where pollsters missed prognosticating actual results.  Across all the battleground states, pollsters contended VP Kamala Harris was leading.  They claimed Harris was going to put Iowa in play, that Georgia and North Carolina would vote blue, and Harris would win the popular vote.  None of that happened. 

     Polls are only as good as the collected data and Trump supporters clearly don’t participate in polls or don’t answer honestly, which shews outcomes.  Pollsters have become less accurate than meteorologists and main stream media anchors.   Three reasons Trump won a second term:

     First, Harris misread what was important to voters.  She thought her pro-abortion stance would motivate infrequent and first-time voters to flood the polls, but that didn’t happen.  She deemphasized border security and the economy.  Harris was not able to differentiate herself from President Biden.  Her statement she wouldn’t have done anything different than Biden came back to haunt her. 

     Second, Americans voted with their wallet.  Harris attempted to convince voters they were economically better off than they were four years ago.  But it wasn’t true.  Food and gasoline costs more.  Wages haven’t kept pace with inflation.  A Gallup poll found 52% of Americans thought they and their family are worse off today than they were four years ago.   

     Third, the Democratic Party has become a home for radicals.  For years, the Democrats positioned and marketed the Party as home for the working man/the average Joe.  But recently, ‘average Joes’ are being pushed out of the tent.  Pro-life, traditional marriage conservative Ds face hostility from those sporting ‘co-exist’ bumper stickers.  Those who preach tolerance don’t practice it. 

     Those ‘old school’ conservative Democrats in the Rust Belt states voted for Trump last week.  It remains to be seen if they will permanently leave the Party and join the GOP.   

     Democrats are pointing fingers of blame for the thrashing.  Many hold Joe Biden liable for not dropping out sooner.  Others claim the Ds have abandoned their ‘working man’ image and are out of touch with what the average American finds important.  Whatever the reason for the trouncing, in the near future, Democrats face a fight between radicals and centrists over control of the Party.  

     What will a second Trump term look like?  ‘America First’ in domestic and foreign policy, tightening of the southern border, loosing of government regulations, and judges who exercise judicial restraint.  What it will not be is the end of democracy.  Plato observed democracies inevitably fail because they always birth a tyrant.  Trump is a despot in liberal’s minds.  But Democrats misread voter’s concerns in the 2024 election, so their prophesy and analytical skills are dubious.

The ‘end justifies the means,’ mentality saturates politics in 2024!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

CHANGING VALUES!

by Steve Fair

     The theory of consumption values (TCV) asserts individual’s buy stuff based on five values: functional, emotional, social, epistemic, and conditional.  Economists, sociologists, psychologists, marketers, and political scientists are continually studying what influences people’s decision-making processes and how they can capitalize on that knowledge. 

     Consumer behavior is always changing.  In the United States, for example, 75% of consumers tried a new way to shop after the COVID-19 pandemic. On-line shopping has exploded in growth.  Brand loyalty is at an all time low.  Vitamin consumption is at an all time high.   

     Personal values significantly influence consumer behavior, guiding individual preferences and decisions. These values, shaped by cultural, family, and personal experiences, dictate what products, services, or candidates people find essential or desirable.  How does consumer behavior reflect America’s values?

     First, America’s moral values have plummeted.  In a recent Gallup poll, 54% of U.S. adults rated the countries’ moral values as poor.  Another 33% rate them as only fair, 10% good and only 1% excellent.  Republicans are more negative about the values of the country than Democrats, but 83% of all Americans believe the values in the U.S. are on the slide.  Republicans (65%) attribute the decline to lack of religious training, Democrats (63%) believe it is a combination of issues in the home and the overall culture.    

      A University of Chicago study found Republicans and Democrats were not that different in their core values, but neither group want to hear that. Nine out of ten Ds and Rs surveyed agreed fairness, compassion and personal responsibility should be guiding values in life for an individual.  Yet only about a third of either group believed the opposing Party actually practices those values.  Skepticism, cynicism, and mistrust fuel a lack of civility. 

      Second, consumer behavior reflects America’s changing moral values.  In the first half of 2024, shoplifting in the U.S. was up 24% vs. 2023.  What was once considered dishonesty and thieve, shoplifting has now become mainstream.  A recent study found shoplifting is now more common among those with some college education and earning middle class income than the poor. 

     Some people steal because they believe large corporations are profiteering and they are righting a wrong.  They believe the company will absorb the loss, but retailers are not sponges.  They pass the cost of the pilfering by raising prices.  Everyone pays for light fingered Louies’ purloining in higher prices.

     The ‘end justifies the means,’ mentality saturates politics in 2024.  Unethical and immoral behavior is considered acceptable. Win at any cost is the order of the day and anyone who preaches restraint is branded a wimp and a weakling.   

     Third, America’s moral values are always reflected at the polls and at the grocery shelf.  When angry Americans hoard toilet paper, rip retail clerks, and have no tolerance for shortages, they get impatient, angry, entitled elected officials. .    

     In a self-governing system of government, citizens get the government they deserve- every time.  That is consistent with TCV: people buy products and vote for people who align with their personal values.  When filching merchandise from a retailer has become acceptable behavior, who is surprised by elected officials with similar values?

OKLAHOMA'S VOTER TURNOUT IS TERRIBLE!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

MIGHTY MOUSE!

by Steve Fair

 

     This week early voting starts in the Sooner state.  Voters can vote on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8am-6pm and Saturday 8am-3pm at their counties designated early voting site.  In most counties, that is the county courthouse or election board office.  Go the Oklahoma state election board website for the early voting location in your county.   In 2022, 122,000 Oklahoma voters cast their ballot in-person absentee, meaning they voted before the Tuesday election.   2024 is a presidential election year, so that number is expected to be double.

     Oklahoma has 2,301,188 registered voters in Oklahoma.  52% are registered Republicans, 28% Democrats, and 19% are Independents.  Turnout is expected to be lower than 2020.  There is only one statewide race on the ballot.

     Oklahoma’s voter turnout is terrible.  In 1996, 49% of Oklahoma’s registered voters turned out for the general election.  That ranked #26 among the states and slightly higher than the national turnout numbers (48.1%).  Fast forward to 2020 and 61.5% of America’s eligible voters showed up, but only 51.5% of Oklahoma’s voters.  Only Texas had poorer turnout, 51.3%.  With a high-profile U.S. Senate race in the Lone Star state this year, it’s a safe bet Oklahoma will be at or near the bottom in turnout in 2024.

     Why are Oklahomans not voting? Clearly, they are not prioritizing getting to the polls.  They wrongly believe their vote doesn’t matter.  Here are three possible reasons for Oklahoma’s voter apathy: (1) they have brought into the notion the system/machine/process is rigged and it doesn’t matter who they vote for, the ‘establishment’ is going to win and install their lackey.  There is certainly unrefutable evidence special interests and big donors control the process, but when average folks quit participating in the process, it makes it worse, not better, (2) they believe their vote is irrelevant or pertinent.  Because Oklahoma is not a ‘battleground’ state, why waste your time?  There is a lot more on the ballot than the presidential election and those state and local races impact a voter’s life more than the POTUS race, (3) they have poor examples in Oklahoma elected officials.  When lazy, slothful, apathetic non-voters roll out of bed one morning, wipe eye boogers from their eyeballs, file for office and win, it reveals that voting is not too important in the Sooner state.  Oklahoma voters didn’t punish such detritus in 2018.  That proves being a faithful voter is not high on many Oklahoma voter’s decision tree.

     Political Parties and campaigns spend a significant percentage of their monies on their Get Out to Vote efforts.  They know if they can reach their infrequent voters, get them up off the couch and to the polls they will win.  The problem is infrequent voters are very often ‘low information’ voters, paying attention to movements and personalities, but not issues and policy.  The infrequent voter is manipulated and exploited as a means to an end.  Once the election is over, they are ignored until they are needed in the next election.

     Oklahoma voters should repent of their unfaithful voter turnout.  One way to send the right message would be to add to the state constitution a requirement of candidacy to include a citizen/candidate to have voted in at least 75% the elections, they were eligible to vote in (every election) over the past 8 years. With early voting and absentee balloting available, there is no excuse for a citizen for not casting a vote.  

     Until Oklahomans stop voting for non-voter candidates singing “Here I Come to Save the Day,” they will keep getting Mighty Mouse elected officials and government. 

POLITICOS LIKE TO POLL THE WIND!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

BLOWING IN THE WIND!

by Steve Fair

     An abortion is the termination of a pregnancy before a baby can survive outside of the uterus. It can happen naturally, also known as a miscarriage, or it can be induced intentionally through medical or surgical procedures. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines a legal induced abortion as a procedure performed by a licensed clinician to end a pregnancy that does not result in a live birth. 

     Until 1973, most states in the U.S. had laws stating an abortion could only be performed to save the life of the mother.  In 1973 in a controversial ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in Roe vs. Wade ruled women had a Constitutional right to an abortion.  For 49 years, Roe was the law of the land, but in 2022, the SCOTUS overturned it, sending the legality of an abortion back to the states.  Democrats have blamed Trump for the ruling because he appointed three SCOTUS justices that voted to overturn Roe. 

     According to the Wall Street Journal poll, abortion is the number one issue for suburban women voters in swing states.  A Pew Research poll found 63% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases- 36% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.  When broken down by religious affiliation, 73% of White evangelical Protestants think abortion should be illegal.  By contrast 86% of religiously unaffiliated Americans believe abortion should be legal.

    First, the GOP has downplayed the abortion issue.  For the past thirty years, the Republican platform was strongly pro-life.  During that time, the GOP campaigned on abolishing abortion.  Torn between an activist base wanting more restrictions on abortions and the mushy middle that does not, the national Party removed the pro-life plank that had been in the platform for over 40 years at the 2024 national convention.  The new language, approved by President Trump, deems abortion be left to individual states to decide. GOP candidates, at all levels, followed suit and have become tentative and timid on the issue, afraid they might offend a voter. Situational ethics and moral relativism is the order of the day, even in the Grand Old Party.

     Second, America has become less pro-life.  According to a recent Gallup poll, only 41% of Americans consider themselves pro-life.  That is down from 54% back in 1994.  Among Republicans, pro-lifers are still in the majority, but down by nearly a third in the past twenty years.  A sad fact is respect for life in the womb is on the decline in America. 

     One of the ways, Christian cultures have distinguished themselves from pagan cultures throughout history was by rejecting abortion and infanticide.  The decrease in spiritual interest in the U.S. is directly related to the sad trend to excuse the killing of unborn babies. 

     Third, God says abortion is wrong.  God is the Creator.  He created man in His image.  Life begins at conception and human life has value before birth.  It doesn’t matter what the creature thinks- the Creator dictates truth.  God’s Word says life begins in the womb.  It doesn’t matter what a politician says one way or the other- only God.  If a nation or people care more about winning an election than honoring their Creator, they are doomed to the ash heap of history. 

     Thank God, there are still Americans who believe it is wrong to kill the unborn.  While their Party standard bearers (candidates) may have deemphasized the issue, they have remained unbending.

     Politicians always like to ‘see how the wind is blowing,’ (poll) before taking a position on issues.  The answer to the life issue isn’t blowing in the wind- it’s found in the revealed Word of God.  Life begins at conception.

TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING THE DOUCEUR!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

JUDICIAL REFORM!

by Steve Fair

    

 

     Oklahoma has the distinction of having the political scandal resulting in more indictments of elected officials in American history.  In 1980, 220 county commissioners and suppliers were convicted for their involvement in a scheme of kickbacks paid on orders for county road-building supplies, like timber and gravel.  The scandal reached 60 of the 77 counties and the graft had been going on for as long as anyone could remember.  The federal government was the chief agents in exposing and cleaning up the corruption.  But wait- Oklahoma has many scandals. 

     There have been a number of other improprieties by public officials in the Sooner state.  In 1965, three Oklahoma Supreme Court justices were convicted of federal tax evasion charges for accepting bribes to decide cases over a twenty-year period.  Justices N.S. Corn, Samuel Welch, and Napoleon Johnson either resigned or were impeached after it was exposed their decisions could be brought.  Once again, the feds exposed it, not state officials.

     After the bribery scandal, then Governor Dewey Bartlett, (R-Tulsa) pushed for judicial reform.  With the Democrat led legislature’s cooperation, two state questions were drafted and placed on the July 1967 ballot.  Oklahoma voters approved, by a narrow margin (52-48), two state questions (#447 & #448) amending the State Constitution and creating the Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary.    

     The two state questions abolished elected justices of the peace, the county court system, and special courts (replacing them with 77 district courts).  It created the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), replacing judicial elections with a retention system.  Appellate justices and judges are appointed by the governor from a list of three finalists provided by the JNC.  Once appointed, they face the retention ballot every six years.  Since Oklahoma went to the retention ballot system, no justice or judge has been removed.  Must be because they are doing such a stellar job.  But that could be changing…

     This election cycle, conservative think tank Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) has targeted three justices on the November retention ballot to dump.  Citing the justice’s inconsistency in rulings and overturning of conservative legislation, OCPA calls for Oklahoma voters to make history and kick the trio to the curb.  A ‘dark money’ group, allegedly associated with OCPA, has spent around $250,000 in broadcast media ads urging voters to not retain the three.  There is an opposing group planning to mount a campaign to keep the justices.  Expect the ‘battle of TV ads’ to be coming to your home soon.  Three observations:

     First, Oklahoma needs true judicial reform.  The current system wasn’t overwhelmingly popular when it was approved back in 1967.  Fifty-seven years ago, critics of #447 & #448 feared there would be no accountability for judges if they were not directly elected.  Their fear has been realized.  Lifetime appointments and a confusing retention ballot system has resulted in an activist judiciary in Oklahoma.

     Second, liberals control Oklahoma’s appellate courts.  That is because the JNC is loaded with liberals.  Many members of the commission may have an “R” behind their name, but their values are not conservative.  The JNC’s recommended appointees have made recent rulings not based on the state constitution, but on their personal value system.  The JNC system may have removed bribery from getting a favorable ruling, but it hasn’t removed unfair rulings.

     Third, the judiciary should be fair and impartial.  The Oklahoma Code of Judiciary Conduct says those two components are ‘indispensable to our system of justice.’  Justices and judges are to be independent, competent and trustworthy.  The current system’s ‘unintended consequences,’ have been legislating from the bench and no accountability to the public.

     Oklahoma voters can send a powerful message in November.  By removing three liberal justices, they can tell the legislature to reform the judiciary system in Oklahoma. 

     Sadly, not much has changed since the 60s- justices/judges are still making rulings favoring their liberal friends, but now the taxpayers are paying the douceur.

U.S. taxpayers fund ALL FEMA programs!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

FEMA IS A DISASTER!

by Steve Fair

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1978 during the Carter administration by executive order (EO).   After FEMA’s creation Congress expanded its scope of authority.  FEMA handles dam safety, disaster assistance, earthquake monitoring, and procuring medical supplies during a pandemic, in addition of a dozen other functions.  FEMA’s motto is, “A Nation Prepared.”

     After 9/11, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  FEMA was absorbed into the new cabinet level agency, along with 21 other federal agencies.  The FEMA director reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security.  President George W. Bush appointed Oklahoman Michael D. Brown as FEMA director.    Brown warned the absorption into DHS of FEMA would ‘sever FEMA from its core functions.’   DHS’s priority was and remains counter terrorism, not disaster relief.  Brown’s 2003 prophecy came true when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005.   FEMA’s response to the hurricane was late and unorganized.  Brown was forced to resign, but the lack of training of FEMA personnel and DHS’s deemphasis of FEMA’s core function was the real issue.  FEMA has around 3,000 full time employees. 

     FEMA, along with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), administers the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), a federal grant program that gives money to illegal immigrants.  President Trump has claimed FEMA’s slow response in North Carolina is due to FEMA being out of money because they gave the money to illegals.  FEMA responded by adding a ‘rumor’ tab on their website.  They say they have money and the SSP and disaster relief are not connected.  They say the appropriated monies for two separate programs and are earmarked and can’t be used for any other purpose.  Three observations:

     First, FEMA is a disaster.  Since its creation, it has been a joke. Prior to FEMA’s creation, the federal government responded to disasters in a variety of ways.  More than a hundred times in 150 years, Congress passed ad hoc legislation for relief or compensation after a natural disaster.  They let local authorities administer the monies.  FEMA has evolved into a bureaucratic nightmare.  Billions of tax payer dollars are wasted and fraud runs rampart.  Brown’s prognosis the agencies core mission would be compromised has come to past.  The agency has morphed into a social services behemoth and response to natural disasters has become secondary. 

     Second, the money comes out of the same bucket.  Shelter and Services and Disaster Relief may be earmarked, but bureaucrats are only interested in not co-mingling monies when it is convenient.  U.S. taxpayers are funding both programs. Taxpayers expect FEMA to be more interested in helping their fellow U.S. citizens displaced by a hurricane and flooding than getting an illegal immigrant a hotel room like the local Marriott.

     Third, the president controls FEMA response.  The costs of a disaster to a state or local government can escalate quickly.  Federal assistance becomes fully available with the approval of the president and at the request of the state’s governor.  North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper declared 25 of the state’s 100 counties disaster areas after the hurricane swept across the western half of the state.  Cooper has praised President Biden and the federal response.  But residents in the Tar Heel state affected by the disaster haven’t been as complimentary.   Rumors of activated National Guard troops and volunteers being hindered, blocked and thwarted by FEMA abound.  Once again, FEMA has failed to ‘manage’ a national emergency and the Biden/Harris administration controls FEMA.

     After Trump’s remarks regarding FEMA’s lack of response, the liberal media went into ‘fact checking’ mode.  Not surprisingly, they found Trump’s comments inaccurate and FEMA’s response to be stellar.   Who fact checks these so-called fact checkers?  Today’s mainstream ‘fact checkers’ appear to be biased, one-sided, partisans editorializing under the guise of journalism.  Americans aren’t fooled- they recognize their fellow citizens in North Carolina need help and the feds aren’t providing it.  [S1] 

     At a news conference in 1986, President Ronald Reagan said, “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Truer words were never spoken.