Lots of Work Still to Do

Let There Be No Doubt about It!

The US debt is still a huge problem. The OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) recently signed into law contained many very good things, already delineated herein. Also noted clearly was the fact that the BBB will definitely add to the US Debt until it generates the significant economic growth, which is its clear purpose. Despite the billions in spending reductions it comprises thanks to Trump's DOGE and its influence on all agencies. You can't rejuvenate our military, secure the border, intervene in US cities to stop crime, invest in energy security, etc. without spending money. That spending is happening now.

Growth will take time to kick in. In the meantime each new report on the deficit will be accompanied by a loud chorus of "I told You So's" from the Left. No way to avoid it.

Keep your fingers crossed. I believe the Bill will, indeed, create growth in the both the economy and tax revenues. I also believe that Trump is a pragmatist who will course correct if reality dictates. Hopefully his Administration will reach the point where it has the credibility and courage to tackle SS and Medicare. Then we can really make a dent in the debt.

Not Only DC

Last week Dem Governor Lujan Grisham of the Blue State of New Mexico admitted crime is out of control in the capitol and her state has one of the highest fentanyl overdose rates in the nation. Life is pretty crappy for all of residents after years of Democratic mismanagement. Grisham has declared a state of emergency.

In case you're following Muriel Bowser headed to Martha's Vineyard while Trump is cleaning up her city. She's the Mayor of DC. Not that she's needed, but lousy optics no?

Turn 'Em Loose in Society

...and this is what happens far too often.

The Indian illegal immigrant truck driver who caused the crash that killed three people in Florida a week ago crossed into the U.S. through California in 2018, and was arrested by Border Patrol two days later.

Harjinder Singh, 28, faces deportation and three counts of homicide – negligent manslaughter/vehicle following the incident on the Florida Turnpike in Fort Pierce on Tuesday. Following his arrest on Sept. 20, 2018, near San Ysidro, California, "he has been pending immigrant proceedings since," a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement to Fox News said. 

While operating a commercial semi-truck with a trailer, Singh allegedly attempted an illegal U-turn while driving on the highway. This resulted in the trailer jackknifing and colliding with a minivan — leaving all three of the minivan's passengers dead, according to officials. 

Guess who awarded this criminal his commercial driver's license? The Wildfire State, of course.

"Three innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License—this state of governance is asinine," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News.

And it gets worse...

Another Problem that Needs Fixin' - Urgently

Not long ago, truckers were required to produce a birth certificate, speak English and confirm state residency before they could even qualify for a CDL. If a driver couldn’t speak English, they couldn’t even sit for the exam. 

But today, the requirements have been watered down: a work permit or foreign visa is enough to qualify for a non-domiciled CDL, regardless of whether the driver can read highway signs in English.

As Teamsters President Sean O’Brien recently told the Senate Commerce Committee, a 16-year-old needs a licensed instructor to drive a sedan, but unqualified drivers are steering 80,000-pound trucks down America’s highways with little oversight. The result is rampant fraud, unqualified drivers and unsafe highways.

The statistics are sobering. Truck crashes killed 5,472 people in 2023, a 40% increase from 2014. That risk is only growing. Over 30,000 commercial driving schools are now "approved" by the FMCSA, but only about 2,100 are actually licensed by states.

That’s why the trucking industry applauds President Trump and Secretary Duffy for taking action. But we cannot wait. With an average of 3,000 truck accidents and 100 fatalities every single week, America’s highways are in urgent need of reform.

UPDATE: Marco Rubio just announced temporary work visas for foreign nationals to operate commercial trucks is halted.

Another Page from Dem Playbook

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a rumored Democratic presidential candidate, signed a bill into law opening student financial aid to all residents, regardless of immigration status, opening a pathway for illegal immigrants residing in the state to receive educational financial benefits.

The bill reads "a student who is an Illinois resident and who is not otherwise eligible for federal financial aid, including, but not limited to, a transgender student who is disqualified for failure to register for selective service or a noncitizen student who has not obtained lawful permanent residence, shall be eligible for financial aid and benefits."

Commenting on the legislation, R-IL Representative Mary Miller chided "allowing taxpayer-funded financial aid for illegal aliens is a slap in the face to hardworking Illinois families and students. Our state is drowning in debt, yet JB Pritzker is determined to drain even more taxpayer dollars to reward illegals," she said. "It's absolutely shameful."

Low Taxes, Good Governance Pay Off

A Florida neighborhood has dethroned California's Beverly Hills as America's priciest community. Gables Estates in Coral Gables now tops the list. Seven of the top 10 wealthiest cities are now in FL. Sunshine trumps Wildfires.

To Know What One Does Not Know is True Knowledge

Confucius and echoed in the writing of Plato and many other ancients. I have used this concept many times in my own life with those obligated to hear me out. It is, in my view, a profound thought. How many times are mistakes made, negotiations derailed, deals blown because one party believes beyond all doubt it knows certain facts or predilections about adversaries or other participants? How many times do people cite as truths so called facts which are unproven, unsubstantiated? We have to look no further than Anthony Fauci and his band of Covid Experts.

Even more important than knowing what one does not know is saying so. One of the most effective tools in establishing credibility is the phrase...I don't really know. Add..."what do you think" and you will be on the way to productive discourse with greatly reduced animosity.

A sincere desire to truly "know" is a powerful trait. Even still...it is best tempered by recognition that we cannot know all. There are unknowns and these are best recognized openly. Once a false assumption is exposed future credibility is compromised, perhaps even lost forever.

Stanley Cup Awarded

While Trump's role in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks has captured all the headlines, Trump has played peacemaker in several other places.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed a peace deal brokered by President Trump, which aims to resolve the decades-long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Trump has played a significant role in de-escalation of the conflicts between India and Pakistan, between Cambodia and Thailand and between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Also Armenia and Azerbaijan.

As one pundit snidely put it...if Barack Obama had half the impact Trump has had on peace around the globe, he'd not only be given the Nobel Peace prize, he'd be awarded the Stanley Cup (of course he wouldn't because Ron DeSantis is Governor and Florida are the champs!)

More Dem Dirty Pool

HEADLINE: "Bank executives blow the whistle on how Obama, Biden admins pressured them to debank conservatives."

In the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order outlawing debanking, major bank executives told Fox News that they were under pressure by the Obama and Biden administrations to deny services to individuals and businesses for political reasons. 

Debanking refers to the practice of banks closing accounts or denying services to individuals or businesses, often with no explanation. The practice originated as part of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations. An entity can be debanked after its transactions are marked suspicious, but in recent years, conservative and religious groups have accused banks of discriminating against them for their beliefs.

Major bank executives said that ambiguity in federal laws was exploited by regulators under the Obama and Biden administrations in order to pursue political objectives. According to one executive, banks were pressured to deny services to certain industries as part of Obama's Operation Choke Point and Operation Choke Point 2.0 resurrected under Sleepy.

"Those pressures were very, very real. When your regulator gives you a suggestion, it’s not a suggestion, it’s an order. The political stuff is very real, those pressures are real," a senior banking executive confirmed.

Not hard to believe after Facebook/Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed he was strong armed by the Biden flunkies to use his platforms to restrict and discredit MAGA supporters and Republicans in general.

I think when I was younger I may have been de-banked; but, probably not for political reasons.

Be Careful if You Go to Confession in Washington

Washington state recently passed one of the most extreme anti-religious-liberty laws in America. If it is allowed to go into full effect, it could have a far-reaching impact on protections for clergy in states across the country.

Senate Bill 5375 effectively requires clergy to serve as agents of Washington state, compelling them to report child abuse and mistreatment to government authorities. On the surface, that might sound like a good change. But in reality, it means priests, pastors, rabbis, and other religious leaders could soon be forced to report parents who refuse to affirm a child’s chosen gender identity, oppose abortion, or hold traditional beliefs about sexuality.

Even the confessional is not safe. Under this law, if a child admits during a sacred religious rite that their parents will not recognize their preferred gender or support an abortion, the priest hearing that confession could face criminal charges for failing to inform the state.

And these lefties say Trump is a Nazi.

Pretty Good First Week

By now we're used to Trump producing rapid-fire results. Early days but here's another example it seems.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the nation’s capital has had no murders for seven days, something that had not been achieved since March and something of which there is no recent record of in summer months when the murder rate is typically at its highest.

And it's not just murder, according to the local police union. Robbery dropped 46% in the week after the takeover, carjackings were down a whopping 83%, and violent crime down 22%. Who could possibly argue against that?

The lesson here, as Shakespeare put it, is "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly," which is to say that history shows us that cleaning up urban crime is not a slow, laborious process, but one to be attacked fast and aggressively.

Example - In his first term as mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani oversaw a 60% drop in Gotham’s murder rate, and a violent crime drop of 56%, much of it in his first two years.

The only real question left to ask about Trump’s efforts to fight crime in DC is - why wasn't it done sooner? 

The answer is the liberal backlash to the successful crime initiatives of the 1990s, not just in New York, but in other cities that also adopted tactics like broken window policing. That backlash, in the form of cashless bail, reduced police forces and George Soros-backed district attorneys, gave back many of the gains in fighting crime that had been won.

Other cities, states are getting religion. Tennessee, New Mexico, etc.

Mamdani's Right

Trump is wrong. He is not a Communist. He is a democratic socialist whose goal is to redistribute wealth so the unproductive can enjoy the fruits of the productive. Fine line?