We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob

Who is your #1? Who is (are) the most important person(s) in your life? Be honest. These are not hard questions. You’re familiar with the expression “look out for # 1.” The answers are you and, by extension, your family.

So, in deciding for whom to vote in probably the most significant presidential election in your lifetime why would you not make your choice based on what’s best for #1? The obvious answer is of course you should. You should vote for the candidate who will make your life and the lives of your children better. You should vote for the person who will most benefit the country, because what’s best for the US will most likely also be best for you.

Let’s play a game of “what if.” If you’ve read my previous blogs, you have heard this before, but it is important, and it bears repeating for the benefit of the new readers. What if, God forbid, you were seriously ill, and you needed to find the best doctor to save your life. Let’s suppose you have a choice between two doctors. Doctor A seems to be a nice, kind, friendly person, but he is inexperienced. Many people you know like him on a personal level, but he has little or no track record. Furthermore, when you try to evaluate his experience, qualifications and expertise he gives vague, evasive answers. He asks you to “trust” him, trust him with your life.

On the other hand, Doctor B has a reputation for being arrogant, abrupt, sarcastic, and nasty, particularly in his younger days. He is controversial on a personal level. Some people you have queried hate him; others swear by him and his abilities. Moreover, he has a lengthy track record of excellence. When you query him regarding his experience, accomplishments and expertise he answers you fully and honestly. In short, he’s clearly the more accomplished doctor, but you have serious doubts regarding his personality and likeability.

Which doctor would you choose? If you said Doctor A, good luck. You would be allowing your personal feelings affect your judgment. Your decision would not be hurting the doctor. He would like you to be his patient, but he would be just fine either way. Your decision would only hurt you. In that instance you would not be looking out for #1. As they say, you would be “cutting off your nose to spite your face.” If you said Doctor B, go to the head of the class. You would have made the best choice for you, for #1.

My friends, the foregoing is a metaphor for the upcoming election. Obviously, Kamala Harris/Komrade Kamala (KK) is “Doctor A,” and Donald Trump is “Doctor B.” I maintain that if you don’t vote for Trump for personal reasons, you are mostly hurting yourself, not him. Sure, Trump wants to win. But if he loses, he will be disappointed, but not devastated. He will be just fine. He will return to his previous life as an entrepreneur and a celebrity. It is you who will suffer with the Dem communist-leaning policies of KK and her cohorts.

If you insist on voting for KK for whatever reason, at least be cognizant that you are voting for a candidate who refuses to discuss her policies in any detail. She has flip-flopped her positions on many key issues, such as fracking, the border, benefits for illegal migrants and single-payer healthcare. In each case she has abandoned policies she has held her entire political life, which if one cares to do a minimal amount of research are well-documented in her own words, for ones that she perceives will be more palatable to the majority of voters. This should make one suspicious of her sincerity and honesty.

She has not held a press conference in over 30 days. She will not answer questions from the media, except for a few chosen “friendlies.” On the few occasions she has spoken it has always been with prepared, vague, scripted remarks on a teleprompter. Ask yourself, why? What is she hiding? Why won’t she express her views on issues clearly and specifically?

The answer is we know why. She is gaslighting the voters. Her campaign is all “smoke and mirrors.” She is trying to demonize Trump in the hope that you will not look at her own record too closely. Like I said, it’s all there if one cares to look.

The Dems don’t care about you or the country. Their sole objective is to retain their power and control. They are willing to do anything to do that, even pander to hate groups such as Hamas just to garner votes. Hamas and other terror groups don’t just hate Israel and Jews. They also hate America and all it stands for. Is that really with whom you want to be aligned just because you have a personal dislike for Trump? That is inane.

The Dems claim inflation is under control whereas every time one goes to buy groceries or gas up the car it is obvious it is not. Prices are higher, and quantities are lower. Rather than admit that is caused by the inflation they created and exacerbated with their runaway spending, they blame it on price gouging by the food retailers. My research has not disclosed a shred of evidence to support that claim.

They distribute inaccurate employment numbers and try to convince you they are real. They claim the border is secure whereas one only has to watch the tv to see illegals pouring in every day. They preach to us to be tolerant about granting sanctuary to the “disadvantaged, asylum seeking” illegal immigrants many of whom are unvetted and likely criminals or terrorists while they live in gated communities or apartments with a doorman to keep out those same people. They preach to us about the Green New Deal and carbon “footprints” while they maintain multiple houses and fly in private jets. They deny the rampant crime that we can see every day, while they have private security. They outright lie about their opponent claiming he advocates bans on abortion, curtailing or eliminating social security and Medicare. Their hypocrisy is despicable and knows no bounds.

CONCLUSION

To paraphrase the late Harpo Marx, “What are you going to believe, me or what you see with your own eyes? Like I said, don’t be gaslighted. Don’t believe the Dem and mainstream media rhetoric and spin. Believe what you see every day in the grocery store, at the border, at the gas pump and in the cities. Don’t be deceived into voting for the pandering, disingenuous candidate. Vote for the forthright, blunt candidate whom you may dislike or even hate but whose policies will benefit you.

You’ve worked hard and sacrificed your whole life to get where you are. Don’t squander it now. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. It’s time you voted for #1.

Strap on your “Bigboy pants,” hold your nose, and vote for Trump. Your kids and grandkids will thank you.

As we all know, at least those of us who have been diligently following the 2024 presidential election and have declined to drink the Kool-Aid the Dems have been offering, Komrade Kamala, aka KK, has unveiled her proposed tax plan. My initial reaction is that as expected, it is very vague and short on details. My second reaction is that it is a good example of why her campaign has been mostly silent with respect to her platform. More on this later.

The salient elements of her tax plan are as follows:

1. She wants to roll back the “Trump tax cuts” of 2017, which had slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. As KK’s campaign spokesperson, James Singer, related to NBC News she is advocating a rise to 28%. She is touting this as a “fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.” In my opinion, pure pandering and gaslighting. It is another example of spouting vague generalities and code words and phrases without specifics as to how they might affect the economy. If she truly believes that claptrap, she doesn’t have the foggiest idea of economics in general and the history of tax rates in particular.
2. Don’t they teach economics and history at Stanford? The history of tax increases is that they stifle the economy. There are various reasons for this, which time and space do not afford me the opportunity to elaborate, in detail, in this blog. The most obvious ones are that (1) corporations, which always pass on any increase in expenses to the consumer, will simply raise their prices; (2) some corporations would relocate some or all of their operations to more tax-friendly countries (taking jobs with them); and (3) it would lead to shortages and supply chain issues. If you doubt me, you can, as Casey Stengel was fond of saying, “look it up.”
3. On the other hand, tax cuts spur the economy by injecting capital into the system. The Kennedy, Reagan and Trump tax cuts of recent vintage are examples of this. You could also “look that up.” So, it’s fair to say that raising the corporate tax rate would have an injurious effect on the economy. More gaslighting and pandering.
4. KK also advocates a $25,000 payment to new home buyers. Again, this a pandering and gaslighting policy with unintended negative consequences. (1) It is inflationary. (2) It wouldn’t really help home buyers. The price of houses would simply increase by $25,000. (3) It doesn’t address the problem of high mortgage rates.
5. KK’s plan to curtail “price gouging” is another example of a gaslighting, pandering policy that is ill-conceived, ill-advised and is fraught with negative unintended consequences. (1) There is no reliable evidence of price gouging at the present time. She is trying to conjure up a bogeyman to blame for the Biden-Harris inflationary policies of the last 3 1/2 years. (2) Artificial price controls won’t work. They never have. They lead to supply chain disruptions and shortages as manufacturers will be disincentivized to produce and distribute products if it is not economical. Venezuela is a good example. President Nixon tried them in 1971 to combat the rampant inflation at the time. They didn’t work, and he had to abandon them.
6. Far more damaging, however, is KK’s plan to tax individuals’ unrealized income. Essentially, this is another term for a “wealth tax,” “wealth redistribution,” or “wealth confiscation.” This idea has received widespread criticism, even by normally supportive media outlets such as The NY Times, The Washington Post and CNN, among others. My research has not uncovered even one creditable, objective economist who supports this. KK claims that the tax rate would only be 25% and would only apply to households with a net worth in excess of $100 million.
7. Don’t believe it. It’s more gaslighting courtesy of the same people who brought you lies such as the Russia hoax, FISA warrants, Hunter’s laptop, and, more recently, that the GOP wants to ban abortion, and terminate social security.
8. There aren’t enough of these people to even put a dent in the current budget deficits we face courtesy of the Biden-Harris trillions of dollars of inflationary spending of the last 3 1/2 years. Over time the policy could and likely would be easily adjusted to apply to non-wealthy households such as yours and mine.
9. This is another ill-conceived, ill-advised policy designed to gaslight and pander to the middle class and working people that will have severe unintended consequences. Furthermore, according to Wikipedia “there is no legal consensus about its constitutionality.”
10. A wealth tax is a tax on unearned income, aka asset appreciation. For the uninitiated, this is simply a tax on value that you have not yet received and may never receive. For example, say you bought your house 20 years ago for $100,000. Today, it is worth $500,000. The government would say you owe taxes on the $400,000 unrealized profit that you have not and may never receive. You don’t have that much cash laying around. Few people do. Therefore, you would have to sell your house to raise the money. The same logic would apply to your 401k and IRAs, or a business you built from the ground up. This is like Barack Obama’s famous (or infamous) statement regarding a business (and I paraphrase) that “you didn’t build it, the government provided you the means to do so.” (If this sounds familiar it is because it is the basis for the name of my blog.)
11. Wealth/wealth redistribution has been tried in various countries. The concept is not new. It dates back to ancient Athens. Most have abandoned it for various reasons such as poor design and implementation. For example, it was found that many wealthy people were able to avoid the tax simply by transferring their wealth to more tax-friendly jurisdictions. This wealth transference was severely damaging to the economy of those countries, and it would be to the US’s as well.
12. In 2006 a study published in the Washington Post denoted various negative unintended consequences of France’s wealth tax. They included “brain drain, capital flight, loss of jobs” and ultimately a decrease in tax revenue.
13. According to a 2022 study published in the Wall Street Journal the most significant “fatal flaw” was valuation. The study concluded that generally, wealthy people maintained as much as 40% of their assets in non-liquid assets such as real estate and private businesses. These types of assets are difficult to value. Often, valuations are subjective. A good example is the pinhead NYC judge’s valuing Trump’s Mira Lago estate at $16 million, which most real estate persons derided as merely a fraction of its real worth. I can picture some pinheaded government bureaucrat with limited business and economic expertise arbitrarily placing a value on a small business or other non-liquid asset for wealth tax purposes. The study also concluded that “even the rich don’t know exactly what they’re worth at any given moment.” As of 2021 a wealth tax was only extant in five countries.

CONCLUSION

The concept of a wealth tax/income redistribution/wealth and income confiscation is an anathema to our system of hard work, individualism and free enterprise, which has served us very well for some 250 years. It is a further attempt to create tribalism and class division. It is an additional example of the Dems strategy of gaslighting and pandering.

It is a basic tenant of communism, pure and simple. Therefore, it is no surprise that KK is advocating it. It makes one wonder what other surprises she is harboring. Somewhere, Karl Marx is smiling.

No doubt, KK and her campaign are creating more gaslighting and pandering to hide the real issues and win the election. Then, it will be a return to the same old, same old of the Biden-Harris Administration. As I have written before, don’t fall for it.

This message was sent to me by my good friend and loyal reader, CS. I think it is a brilliant piece that encapsulates the significance of the 2024 election. Not to be hyperbolic, but I think it is the most critical election in my lifetime. The country is at a crossroads. We must focus on choosing the right direction.

The policy choices are very clear. On one hand, we have socialism/communism and government control. On the other hand, we have the traditional American values of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, free enterprise, and equal opportunity. More on this below.

In my opinion, most people, in deciding for whom to vote, are making this about the individual candidates. They are planning to vote for against Trump or Harris rather than their policies. I think that is wrong. I think that is misguided. It does both the individual voter and the country a huge disservice. I think what is more important is what each candidate will do or not do for America and Americans. I think each voter should analyze each respective candidate’s policies, decide which one’s policies are in accord with his or her own beliefs, and then vote for that candidate regardless of personal feelings.

I have discussed the below topic in previous blogs, but it bears repeating. And now, please read and enjoy, “WHO[M] AM I VOTING FOR – AND WHY”

“I AM NOT VOTING FOR ONE PERSON. I AM VOTING FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY AND MY CHILDREN: That moment when someone says, “I can’t believe you would vote for Trump.” I simply reply, “I’m not voting for Trump.” I’m voting for the First Amendment and freedom of speech. I’m voting for the Second Amendment and my right to defend my life and my family. I’m voting for the next Supreme Court Justice(s) to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I’m voting for the continued growth of my retirement and reducing inflation. I’m voting for a return of our troops from foreign countries and the end to America’s involvement in foreign conflicts. I’m voting for the Electoral College and for the Republic in which we live. I’m voting for the Police to be respected once again and to ensure Law & Order. I am tired of all the criminals having a revolving door and being put back in the street. I’m voting for the continued appointment of Federal Judges who respect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I’m voting for keeping our jobs to remain in America and not be outsourced all over the world – to China, Mexico and other foreign countries. I want USA made. I’m voting for secure borders and legal immigration. I am voting for doing away with all of the freebies given to all the illegals and not looking after the needs of the American citizens. I’m voting for the Military & the Veterans who fought for this Country to give the American people their freedoms. I’m voting for the unborn babies that have a right to live. I’m voting for peace progress in the Middle East. I’m voting to fight against human/child trafficking. I’m voting for Freedom of Religion. I’m voting for the right to speak my opinion and not be censored. I am voting for the return of teaching math, history, and science instead of indoctrination of our children and pronouns. I’m not just voting for one person. I’m voting for the future of my Country. I’m voting for my children and my grandchildren to ensure their freedoms and their future. WHO[M] are you voting for? [I’m voting for Trump/Vance!]”

Well said, and from the heart.

CONCLUSION

As the foregoing piece articulates so passionately, don’t focus on the individual candidates. Look past your personal feelings for them. After all, individual persons come and go. They are transitory (if you will excuse the term). Vote for America. America will remain, hopefully for a long, long time after we are all gone. We all have a responsibility to preserve the legacy that our forefathers have created, fought for, died for and entrusted to us and to pass it on to future generations. VOTE FOR THE POLICIES, NOT THE PERSON.

After having reviewed Komrade Kamala’s just-revealed economic plan to combat inflation I understand why she has been loath to speak out in public about specific policies. As long as she remained quiet most of the electorate was not aware of her far-left predilections. Now, she has delineated a suggested economic plan that is fatuous, pandering, and demonstrates a complete lack of comprehension of economics. More specifically, parts of her plan, such as a centralized system of price controls, are reminiscent of Josef Stalin’s and Chairman Mao’s five-year plans for the Soviet Union and China, respectively.

Those plans were self-destructive for reasons that I will outline below. Similarly, some of you may recall President Nixon’s temporary wage and price controls in 1971. They were a desperate attempt to control the runaway inflation that had plagued the economy for several years. They didn’t work either. They resulted in shortages and supply chain disruptions and failed to rein in inflation. A more recent example would be the Venezuelan experience under Maduro, which has wreaked havoc on that country. These plans to artificially control inflation and the economy have never worked. They’ve always ended up in disaster. As anyone who understands economics knows once inflation becomes embedded in the economy it is very difficult and painful to dislodge.

The central and most controversial feature of KK’s plan is to institute price controls to curtail what she terms as “price gouging.” Her primary target is the retail food industry. In her mind demonizing it will win her votes.

However, few, if any, legitimate economists of any political stripe support her opinion. (I was unable to find any.) For example, Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute opined that KK’s plan makes “little sense.” He added that “there is not really any indication out there of price gouging.” Jason Furman, a Harvard University economist who was chairman of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, diplomatically told the NY Times price controls were “not a sensible policy.” He added, “there is no upside here, and there is some downside.” Critics even included the Washington Post, which diplomatically opined “when your opponent calls you a communist maybe [you] don’t propose price controls.” I could cite many more examples, but you get the point.

In point of fact, as KK should know but apparently does not, in a free-market economy such as the US, prices are determined by supply and demand. The root causes of higher prices currently can be traced to the Biden-Harris runaway spending of the last 3 1/2 years. This, in turn, has led to supply chain disruptions, and higher costs for things like raw materials, fuel, transportation and employees’ wages. If she really wants to reduce prices for food or anything else she has to figure out a way to control inflation. Her proposed plan, which is rife with pandering giveaways, would do the opposite.

Typically, KK’s plan is filled with vague generalities and short on specifics. For example, who will decide a “fair “price for a quart of milk or a dozen eggs? Will it be some bureaucrat in some federal government agency who knows little about the food service industry or markets, in general? Will there be a standard price list for all locales, or will it vary according to cost of living or other local factors? How will it be policed? By which agency(ies)? What will be the role of federal, state and local law enforcement. One can easily foresee a massive and wasteful bloating of government bureaucracy. The government does not exactly have an exemplary record for running things. How have things worked out for the Postal Service?

Former President Trump has derisively labeled KK’s plan the “Madura Plan” after Venezuela President Nicolas Madura. Madura is an avowed socialist whose economic policies have ruined the country’s economy. This label has resonated with many Hispanics who fled Venezuela and Cuba to escape such policies and fear a reappearance in the US.

In a separate matter, Tampon Tim is continuing to cause problems for the ticket. In selecting a running mate one of the primary goals is to choose someone who will not cause controversy, problems or distractions. TT continues to do just that. First, it was the weird decision to place tampons in boys’ restrooms. Then it was the “stolen valor” matter, which has continued to resonate. Then, it was the matter of his “longstanding and cozy” relationship with China, which is being investigated by a congressional committee. Now, the latest is the COVID issue. It seems that Governor TT mandated placing COVID patients in nursing homes, despite warnings by the CDC and other medical personnel. The inevitable consequence was that Minnesota had the highest rate of COVID-related deaths in long-term care facilities in the country. I don’t know if TT’s issues will cause the Dems to lose the election, but KK’s choosing him as her running mate certainly appears to indicate a serious lack of judgment.

CONCLUSION

It appears that maybe the Dems’ carefully constructed election plan is falling apart. KK’s and TT’s socialist predilections are beginning to leak out into the consciousness of the mainstream of the electorate. When CNN, the NY Times, the Washington Post, and former Obama officials levy criticisms it is a clear danger sign.

Trump and Vance have been omnipresent and relentless with denoting their socialist policies and their flip-flopping. This is absolutely the correct strategy. Perhaps, it is beginning to infiltrate the minds of the electorate. The debates will be critical. Much of the world will be watching.

So far, the Dem election strategy that I outlined in my previous blog appears to be working. KK has continued to enjoy the protection of the media. She has managed to avoid answering any tough questions and giving any general press conferences other than an occasional one-on-one with a sympathetic journalist. Her faux transformation from a socialist to a moderate Dem is continuing unabated. A goodly portion of the electorate has not yet caught on to the scam. A majority of the public probably doesn’t even know the first thing about Tim Walz much less his stolen valor and far-left record.

The foregoing is supported by the latest polls just released by The Hill and NY Times/Sienna as well as others. They are somewhat contradictory, but most of them have KK slightly ahead in five of the seven swing states. This is a noticeable improvement for her from the previous polls, which is why I said she has the momentum.

The puzzling inconsistency is that according to the latest Fox News polls Trump is trusted to do a better job in the areas that the electorate views as most important – the economy (the clear #1 issue), immigration, border security/immigration, foreign policy and crime. On the other hand, 59% opined that he is “too focused on personal retribution,” and 57% thought that he is “too erratic and out of control to govern the country effectively.” KK is trusted to do a better job with respect to uniting the country, healthcare, abortion and climate change. In contrast, 53% opined that KK is “too liberal” and 52% say she is “too inexperienced.” Those results appear to be inconsistent, if not contradictory. More on that later.

The increase in the CPI for July was released yesterday and showed an increase of 2.7%, which is lower than previous months. That would appear to be good for the Dems, except that increase is on top of 3 1/2 years of increases. Also, another poll has reported the following price increases from January 2021 when Biden took office to June 2024.

Gas up 46%,

groceries up 21%,

energy up 33%,

day care up 16%,

rent up 22%,

car insurance up 53% and

transportation up 36%.

As I disclosed in my previous blog since Biden took office the overall increase in goods and services is in excess of 20%. In my opinion, these numbers, which cover a 3 1/2-year period are more indicative of the inflationary trend and economic situation than a one-month change in CPI. In addition, as I have alluded to in previous blogs, they are more consistent with the day-to-day experience of most Americans. Moreover, it explains the Dems’ attempts to avoid even mentioning the word “Bidenomics” and KK’s attempts to distance herself from it. She can’t. She owns it. She was there every step of the way as Biden implemented his disastrous policies. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has confirmed this many times during press conferences. For example, “What I will tell you [the reporters] is Bidenomics has been something that both the president and the vice president [have] worked on…. The [economic] record was ‘both’ of theirs.”

Also, let’s not forget that KK cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate in order to pass the deceptively named “Inflation Reduction Act” in August 2022. Furthermore, she bragged about it “As vp I was proud to cast the tie-breaking vote…” Yep. She can’t hide from it now. She owns it. She owns the issue of #1 concern to the electorate. It’s up to the GOP to make sure the electorate is cognizant of it.

KK has talked about all her vague plans to fix the economy and the border. Furthermore, she has mimicked Trump’s plan not to tax tips. Excuse me, but she is in office right now. She has the power to fix these things right now. If she were serious, which I maintain she is not, she would do so.

Multiple media outlets have disclosed more bad economic news with respect to July. Real average earnings (earnings adjusted for inflation) and household income declined. Unemployment increased. Most ominously, credit card debt reached an all-time high as more and more people have taken on additional debt to pay for necessities such as food, clothing and shelter. To summarize, people are hurting and hurting bad!

KK also “owns” the border/immigration issue, which according to the polls, is the electorate’s #2 concern. Again, she is trying to distance herself from Biden on that issue, but in her press conferences Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has insisted multiple times that they agreed on border and immigration policy.

CONCLUSION

At the present time, the Dem tried and true election year game plan is working. As I said, KK has surged ahead and has the momentum. Furthermore, she can be expected to get an additional boost from the convention. In order to win Trump has to make the electorate cognizant of her duplicity. Denote her lifelong far left record and policies. Keep pounding away at them at campaign speeches, press conferences, campaign ads and the debates, if they, in fact, come to pass. The same goes for Welz.

Their words and actions are public record. They just need to be exposed and disseminated. They are gaslighting now to get elected. If they were to win the election they would govern in accordance with their real beliefs to the country’s extreme detriment. These beliefs are way left of the mainstream. If people were to become aware of them there is no way they can win. It is up to Trump to make it happen.

I feel as though I am being forced to watch a rerun of the same “movie” I saw some four years ago. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. I remember the plot was very predictable, and I particularly didn’t like the ending.

What movie am I referring to? It’s the Dem Party election strategy. You have to hand it to the Dems in one respect. Their strategy is consistent, well-executed, and it usually works. I have explained it before, but for those of you who don’t remember, here’s a brief three-step synopsis.

Step one – Between elections pursue your progressive (some would characterize it as extremely progressive) political, economic and social agendas.

Step two- As the quadrennial presidential election date approaches modify your policies into those of a moderate. This is the tricky part. It requires (1) a biased media that will decline to denote the various considerable inconsistencies and (2) an electorate that will accept these changes without questioning your motives and inconsistencies. It may require outright lying, but so what, most people won’t notice, and if anyone does, see #1.

Step three – After winning the election resume your progressive policies.

The foregoing, in a nutshell, is the tried-and-true Dem election strategy. It worked in 2020, and there is a good chance it will work in 2024. Some of you may recall that in 2020 Biden essentially campaigned from his basement. He hardly appeared in public. He rarely addressed the media, much less answered their questions. The few members of the media who questioned this campaign strategy were drowned out. The handy excuse was the COVID pandemic, but in time we learned that this was all a ploy to hide his cognitive deterioration. This was discovered well after the election of course.

Now fast forward to 2024. KK is following the same strategy. Avoid interviews, except “softball” interviews with friendly journalists and commentators who will not press her on inconsistences, flip-flops, or outright lies nor ask “embarrassing” questions. Do not talk extemporaneously in public; use teleprompters at all times, and any questions from reporters must be scripted. Normally, candidates will speak to the media and answer questions quite often to get their message out to the electorate as Trump and Vance are doing. I can’t remember the last time KK held a press conference or engaged in a question-and-answer session with the media (except for softball interviews with friendly journalists). “Tampon Tim” is following the same script.

Time magazine even put KK on this week’s cover without having interviewed her. I don’t ever recall the magazine doing that. Incidentally, I can think of many more deserving “covers” for this week. How about one of our many Olympic heroes, such as Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky or the men’s and women’s basketball teams, to name a few. They actually achieved something positive, if not heroic, whereas KK hasn’t.

The media would have you believe that in just a few short months KK has morphed from one of the worst vice presidents in our history who was so historically bad that many Dems and Dem supporters were pushing to have her removed from the 2024 ticket to the second coming of FDR. In case you have forgotten this, below please find some sample headlines. These are not from Fox News or some other right-leaning source but from hardcore left-wing publications. NY Times 2/6/23 – “Kamala Harris is [still] trying to define her vice presidency. Even her allies are tired of waiting.” Washington Post 3/15/24 – “For this country’s sake VP Harris should step aside.” New York Magazine 9/13/23 – “The case for Biden to drop Kamala Harris.”

What changed? We know what changed. Biden had a disastrous presidential debate that exposed his severe cognitive decline before the entire world. All of a sudden everyone saw that “the emperor [truly] had no clothes.” The Dem Party ruling cadre decided he was killing their re-election chances and had to go. Despite having swept the Dem primaries with some 18 million votes the cadre forced him out in what amounted to a coup. Eighteen million votes were summarily swept aside. So much for our democratic election process.

Given the short timeframe before early voting, KK was their only viable replacement. However, her far-left political policies rendered her unelectable. She required a radical makeover, and as described above, she got it. One would think that the electorate is too smart to be gaslighted like this, but so far it appears to be working. KK is gaining in the polls.

Running mate Tampon Tim has been largely silent too. He already has been caught in one lie with respect to his military service, which he must deal with. That will require a real press conference before a querying, if not hostile, press. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

CONCLUSION

According to the latest polls, the race has tightened considerably. One poll, NY Times/Sienna Poll, actually has KK narrowly ahead in three of the swing states – MI, PA and WI. On the other hand, the latest Trafalgar Poll has Trump with narrow leads in AZ, NC, Nev and PA. The two polls are inconsistent, but clearly, the momentum is favoring KK. Like I said, the Dem gaslighting appears to be working. The Trump campaign has to figure out a way to expose the KK-Tampon Tim flip-flops and inform the electorate of the true nature of their policies. There’s still time until ED, but with early voting starting in some states in 30 days or so, as Yogi Berra liked to say,” It gets late early.”

Who is Tim Walz? What is his background? What are his political beliefs? Few Americans know the answers to these questions. Walz is largely unknown outside of his home state of Minnesota. According to a just-released NPR/PBS/Marist poll, until Kackling Kamala (“KK”) picked him as her running mate on August 6, 2024, 71% of Americans had never heard of him. I suspect that as they do become familiar with him most of them will be horrified. Read on and I will edify you.

Timothy James Walz was born on April 6, 1964 in West Point, Nebraska. His father was a schoolteacher, school superintendent and an Army veteran who had served in the Korean War. He can trace his family roots in America back to 1867 when his great-great grandfather emigrated to the US from Germany.

He was raised in Nebraska. He graduated from Chadron State College in Chadron, NE and became a teacher and a coach in Alliance, NE where he met his wife, Gwen. They married in 1994, and two years later they moved to Mankato, MN where Welz continued to teach and coach. Where do you think they spent their honeymoon? If you guessed “China,” go to the head of the class. He has been a strong advocate of China throughout his political career.

Welz has been accused of mischaracterizing and embellishing his military service. He did serve in the National Guard for 24 years, but he did not serve in combat. In 2005 when his unit was about to be deployed to Iraq he retired abruptly to avoid going. This did not sit well with some of his fellow soldiers. In the words of two of his Command Sgt. Majors Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr he circumvented the standard retirement process and just “slithered out the door.” In addition, they have accused him of “embellishing and selectively omitting” facts with respect to his military career. This may or may not be exposed during the campaign.

Welz entered politics in 2006 winning election to the US House of Representatives. He served six terms in the House before being elected governor in 2018. He was re-elected in 2022. His record in politics has been extremely liberal, even socialist. He is an admitted admirer and disciple of Senator Bernie Sanders, an admitted Socialist. I didn’t think it was possible for KK to find a politician further left than she, but in Welz she has found her man. One might say they are “political soulmates.” The mainstream media will likely attempt to modify, downplay or even scrub Welz’s extreme positions, as it is doing with KK, but don’t be fooled. His record as governor is public information and available if one cares to look.

Below please find some of the highlights, or rather lowlights, of his tenure as governor. Most of these are extreme, socialist positions and far to the left of the beliefs of most Americans. I have gleaned these from a variety of media reports, and if you doubt my veracity feel free to fact-check:

1. Welz’s first decision as governor was to initiate a statewide “woke” DEI commission.
2. During the riots in the summer of 2020, he took no action against the perpetrators while Minneapolis and other cities were burned and destroyed. Moreover, he resisted calling the National Guard for five days denigrated them as a bunch of “19-year-old untrained cooks.” That delay cost an estimated $500 million in property damage.
3. He supported KK’s ill-conceived and ill-advised decision to establish bail funds for those who were arrested.
4. Furthermore, he defended the rioters’ violence as necessary for “equity” and “inclusion.”
5. His wife, Gwen, was fully in lockstep with him on this issue. She opined that “criminals should get as many chances to commit crimes as they need.”
6. He favors defunding the police. It is no coincidence that the crime rate in MN has continued to increase in contrast to the US as a whole where it has been decreasing.
7. During COVID he enacted the most Draconian of guidelines, including strict lockdowns. He ignored a scheme that defrauded the federal government of some $250 million in stimulus money and exploited poor children. In addition, he encouraged people to “snitch” on friends, relatives, and neighbors who failed to adhere to them. He even went so far as to establish a “hotline” for this purpose. This is straight out of the communist playbook.
8. Similarly, he believes that parental consent is not needed for irreversible gender-changing procedures on young children. This is an example of the state wresting control of children from their parents, which is another characteristic of communism.
9. He placed tampons in boys’ locker-rooms. That far-out move earned him the sobriquet “Tampon-Tim.” As my friend and loyal reader, Richard, is fond of saying, that’s the kind of catchy nickname that will “stick like Gorilla Glue.”
10. He advocates completely open borders with unrestricted immigration. No limits. No vetting. Come one, come all.
11. He is an exponent of taxpayer-funded education, driver’s licenses, and healthcare for illegal aliens.
12. He wants a single payer healthcare system administered by the government. That would spell the termination of private healthcare providers. Forget about Obama’s promise that “if you like your doctor/health plan you can keep him/it.” In other words, folks, socialized medicine. Ask people in Canada or Europe how that’s working out for them.
13. He has made MN a sanctuary state and a “trans-refuge.”
14. He has supported the defacing and destruction of national landmarks, monuments and statues.
15. He advocates unfettered abortion on demand up to the moment of birth. This may sound appealing to some women who want to retain “control over their own bodies,” however, the current weight of medical evidence is that a fetus becomes viable sometime during the second trimester. Therefore, many, if not most, Americans are against abortion after that time. In my opinion, late-term abortions are tantamount to infanticide.
16. He is a staunch supporter of the Green New Deal.
17. He is against fracking and drilling for fossil fuels.
18. He advocates raising taxes.
19. He is a strong supporter of the “Squad,” and is in accord with its pro-Hamas/anti-Israel/antisemitic stance. In point of fact its members such as Omar, Bowman and AOC have applauded his selection. Also, his own state of MN is known as a hotbed of pro-Hamas/pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel/antisemitism. Therefore, it’s fair to presume that he shares those beliefs.

CONCLUSION

There is nothing inherently wrong with being a Socialist, or even a Communist for that matter. It just has no place on a national ticket.

Typically, presidential candidates select a running mate who will “balance” the ticket, ideologically, politically and/or geographically. The idea is to broaden the appeal of the ticket by tracking to the center where most of the voters are. KK went in another direction. She doubled down on her radical, socialist beliefs. Obviously, she felt she had to shore up the small but vocal radical, pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, antisemitic left wing of the Dem party. That could be why she selected Welz over PA Governor Shapiro, who is Jewish.

Normally, what she did would doom her candidacy, but undoubtedly, she is counting on the media to gaslight the voters with respect to Welz’s record as they are doing with respect to hers. Somewhere, Karl Marx is smiling.

Some of you of a certain age may remember that comedy police tv show Car 54 Where Are You featuring two stumble-bum NYC cops who were never where they should be and never got anything right. Well, the current situations in the US and the world in general remind me of that show’s theme song. I have paraphrased somewhat. If you remember it, sing along with me.

“The economy’s a mess. Our southern border’s in distress. Crime is rampant in our streets. The Middle East is such a beast. BIDEN-HARRIS, WHERE AAARE YOU?

Some of you may not like my little ditty, but in my opinion it fits. Currently, there are a plethora of serious problems facing the US, and neither Biden nor Harris is to be found. For the record, Harris, as vp, has supported Biden’s policies consistently. She is married to them. They are hers as well as his.

Rising prices and rising interest rates have destroyed the fiction that inflation is “transient.” Yesterday’s employment report demolished the administration’s fiction regarding that area. Also, yesterday, the stock market crashed, which is a harbinger of tougher times ahead.

Many people are having trouble putting food on the table, putting gas in their cars, or finding an affordable place to live. The ME is about to explode. Israel is already fighting Hamas and Hezbollah in a two-front war, and Iran is threatening to broaden that into a regional conflict. Russia’s war with Ukraine is threatening to escalate. China is ready to pounce on Taiwan. And North Korea is, well, North Korea.

And, Biden-Harris, or is it Harris-Biden (forgive me if I get confused, but then again so do they) has not said or done anything about any of them. Neither of them is to be found. Harris is on her “honeymoon,” and Biden is probably sleeping comfortably somewhere.

Biden-Harris’ economic policies will likely result in a recession, maybe a deep one. Their open border policies have allowed some 20 million illegal immigrants to enter our country, mostly unvetted. If even 1% of them are terrorists, criminals, or ne’er do wells we have 200,000 such people loose in the country. Biden-Harris’ weakness abroad has emboldened our enemies and distressed our allies.

Let’s not forget, Biden is still the president, albeit in name only. Basically, he has “checked out,” and Harris not taken charge yet. She’s busy campaigning. She has not even given an open press conference in which she will have to answer questions from the media. I’m not counting the softball, creampuff interviews with handpicked journalists. I mean a real press conference with media that will push her on the issues. Biden has not even issued his famous, ineffectual warning to our enemies – “don’t.” If that was meant to deter our enemies, it hasn’t and never will.

Who’s calling the shots? Who’s running the show. To paraphrase Abbott and Costello – “Who’s on first?”

CONCLUSION

The US is in a dire situation. Our enemies sense weakness and indecisiveness. They smell blood. We are vulnerable, and they know it. In fact, we are as weak and vulnerable as we have ever been in my lifetime, and Biden-Harris seem oblivious to all of it. They are focused on DEI and pronouns. They treat illegal aliens better than citizens. They have shown they will do anything to get elected, even pander to the far left and socialist elements that hate America and have seized control of the Dem Party.

And yet, despite the foregoing the 2024 presidential election is in a virtual dead heat. Millions of people are either uncaring, ignorant or oblivious. Others favor Trump’s policies over Biden-Harris’, but they have such irrational hatred for Trump that they will vote Dem anyway, even though it is against their and their children’s self-interest. Go figure.

I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.