December 30, 2011
I always felt closer to Herman Cain than to any of my other opponents. Perhaps because we are so similar. We both grew up poor: His father was a chauffeur and his mother was a maid; my father was a handyman at a brick plant and my mother worked in a laundry. We both worked ourselves through school to obtain an education: his was an M.A.; mine was an MBA.We both succeeded at business: He turned around Godfathers Pizza into a profitable operation; I turned around my construction business regularly through difficulties for 35 years to become Houston ’s third oldest. We both are Christian social conservatives with a strong faith in God: He was a former minister; I was an Elder in two Missouri Synod Churches for 21 years.We both are not politicians and are proud of it: he ran unsuccessfully for several offices; I ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States in 2008 being tenth in both Iowa and New Hampshire . We both are Tea Party Conservatives.On his personal problems only Herman Cain and God knows. But if I am correctly reading the demeanor of he and his wife he is likely telling the truth. And I DO KNOW that the Democrat Party is terrified of an intelligent black man who can drain off a third of their vote which could easily include Bible-believing Christian African Americans. And to the thought that gives pause of “where there is smoke there is fire”, I like Ann Coulters comment: “where there is smoke there are two liberals rubbing sticks together”.
Whatever the truth, I hope you will decide to support me in the race. Among serious candidates I am immediately behind those candidates who have been included in the debates. With voters still searching for a candidate in this unusual year, with your support I could pass one of them and then move up rapidly as I believe that my background and my message fits the times.
December 20, 2011
Mitt Romney has a great plan to immediately terminate 10% of all Civil Service federal employees. But a better one which I proposed when I ran for President in 2008—and still propose in my campaign this year—would be to ALLOW an incoming President to replace or terminate 10% of all nonsecurity, nonmilitary Civil Service employees. Under Romney’s plan (which I assume would also exempt security and military employees) after the 10% were terminated the remainder would breathe a sigh of relief knowing they were safe. Under my plan, if the President chose to be selective in WHEN he terminated employees, ALL government employees could have their jobs at risk for the entire Presidential term. This would be the same as the private sector, particularly in small business, where every person’s job is at risk every day. Including the risk of losing one’s job because of a bad economy. Although public sector and private sector employees differ somewhat, they should both be focused on satisfying the customer and citizen, and retaining their job should be based on how well they do it.Today the only area of the country where employment has gone up is Washington , D.C. Which is the primary reason Obama must go. He created the problem intentionally.
December 18, 2011
FINISH THE JOB MR. PRESIDENT. Recently in two situations both large and small this President showed that he simply does not know how to finish a job. The Wall Street Journal correctly called Mr. Obama’s boasting of completing the war in Iraq as “a victory dance on the 15 yard line”. And his order to slash the National Guard presence on the U.S.-Mexico border by half because there have been fewer illegal crossings shows the same mindset. A game-ending run to the five yard line is not a score. Mature individuals who have had to finish projects to obtain any benefit have no understanding of this behavior. But if someone else has taken care of you all your life—whether it be liberal friends, colleagues, the media or taxpayers—you never develop this ability, and never will. A business owner unless he delivers a COMPLETED and satisfactory product does not get paid and is soon out of business.
December 16, 2011
Hypocrite is too kind a word to describe our current President. He continues to try to divide Americans by railing against the millionaires and billionaires who according to him need to pay more taxes—although they already pay the largest share of our tax revenue. And they create many jobs. Very few people are hired by a poor person. Yet you hear him say nothing about the dramatically larger number of government employees added by his administration who with benefits make on average $120,000, which is twice the $60,000 that private sector employees make.
December 14, 2011
Barney Frank’s retirement should be a joy for all. His retirement was encouraged by the fact that he won his last election with only 54% of the vote because of efforts of the Tea Party and conservative voters.
He is second only to President Obama in the damage that he has done to America . As he was cheerleader and patron of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all the years leading up to the financial crises in 2007 he bears total responsibility for all the damage that later ensued. And the Dodd-Frank bill which he recently passed will place America in a more precarious position because it will result in large banks becoming even larger—too big to fail again.
Americans today are losing their homes and having problems feeding their children because of this one man.
Thieves want what you have and take it. They are honest in who they are—thieves. If they are caught they pay a price. Politicians like Barney Frank pretend they are helping America while they are stealing money, security and freedom from each of us, doing more damage than a million thieves.
December 10, 2011
The Wall Street Journal noted that the Senate voted 100—0 to sanction foreign banks who do business with Iran . An approach that might reduce the need at a later point to place American troops in harms way. President Obama supported this process in October. Now he is working behind the scenes to prevent it from happening because it may affect his reelection.
What kind of person would put his own needs ahead of the safety of 320 million Americans to say nothing of the existence of Israel ? A person who despite what he says has never shown he cares a whit about Americans. It is almost too obvious to say that for that kind of person every day he is in office is one day too long.
December 5, 2011
In a sad ceremony Friday Vice President Joe Biden vacated America from Iraq . In his statement he warned Iran not to meddle in the country. How naïve can one be. Does he believe that his WORDS are going to affect Iranian policies. Maybe he is more like his boss then we thought. And maybe he has never met an unsavory character in his life.
Our military there recommended we leave 20,000 troops to allow time for Iraqis to completely secure their country and provide us with some leverage in a volatile region of the world. Our investment of 4,000 troops dead with many wounded plus billions of dollars was huge. What do you tell the mother and father of these brave soldiers who gave their life and limb for their country, now that their country’s President because an election is looming has likely made their sacrifice for naught.
November 29, 2011
Too Many Trial Lawyers
One out of every 200 adults in America is a lawyer. And they seem to control everything. Our three branches of government were designed each to serve as a check on the other. But they no longer do. Eighty percent are made up of one profession—lawyers. This despite the fact that author of the Constitution James Madison said: “government in the same hands results in tyranny”. Who can doubt that today it is in the same hands.
Who is responsible for the mess America is in? It would have to be lawyers as they have been in control of our government for decades.
Trial lawyers have many flaws as officeholders. They are trained to never to admit error in a courtroom, so that when a policy which they have enacted fails, they do not admit error but continue to support the policy. A business person would quickly recognize the failure and continue to improve on the policy each day thereafter as required. And trial lawyers have little if any financial skill or financial common sense. They rarely have a financial education. Their income is usually based on their skills of deception and manipulation of the facts–the opposite of what would make one running a business successful. Plus their income is usually based on an hourly rate where the more inefficient they are, the more they make.
Presidential candidates in the Democrat Party are almost always trial lawyers. But not in the Republican Party. This time only my opponents Romney, Santorum, and Bachman are lawyers—and none are trial lawyers.
Novermber 28, 2011
The FaST Tax Plan
The current tax code would be completely and immediately scraped and replaced with a Flat tax. At the same time an amendment to the U. S. Constitution would be passed repealing the Sixteenth Amendment which authorized our current income tax. As it must be passed by a vote of two-thirds of both houses of Congress and approved by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states, this could take some time. During this period citizens could fully debate the merits of a Flat tax versuses a Sales Tax. If the Sixteenth Amendment was repealed–as I support–the Flat tax would be scraped and REPLACED with a national Sales Tax.
As sales taxes are regressive in nature with those having lower income paying more, this group could receive a rebate.
All rates would be reduced to provide revenue necessary to operate a government which our citizens desire.
The FaST plan would solve many problems and meet the objections to other plans.
A Flat tax would be transparent, immediately simplifying the tax code, would reduce loopholes and rates and reduce the cost of compliance. If voters object to having only one rate the simplified system could have a progressive graduated rate.
Tax revenue through reduced rates would, as always, increase government revenue.
Working toward passage of a constitutional amendment simultaneously with implementation of the flat tax would enhance the working of the Flat tax as it would be known that it too could end. The speed of passage would hinge on each American’s perception on how well the flat tax was working and how much a sales tax would be an improvement. The desires of Americans would be honored.
The Sales Tax would immediately change our system from penalizing the production of income to penalizing consumption and would obtain revenue from teh underground economy. As the Sales Tax would be completely transparent it would cause millions of Americans to question each day what they were getting for their money. Pressure would be brought to bear on government to spend wisely and efficiently so as to reduce this tax to every American.
November 8, 2011
Creating Jobs
Real jobs are created by those who are efficient in their operations producing profit on a product or service at a lower price than their competitors. Small businesses must be efficient or they will soon no longer exist as they usually do not have a surplus of resources. Which is why America ’s 29 million small business owners create 64% of all jobs. Obama’s stimulus expended $242,000 for each job created. A complete waste of valuable resources.
To those in business it is obvious that the simplest way to rapidly create large numbers of jobs is to increase the long term certainty of every government policy, reduce taxes, reduce regulation and get out of the way!
October 25, 2011
Systems Instead of Laws
Liberal Democrat trial lawyers–because they are lawyers–believe they reduce bad behavior by the simple fact of passing a law. In reality they would better serve citizens by setting up a SYSTEM to prevent the bad behavior in the first place. Good SYSTEMS trump good laws. Witness our SYSTEM of government in America which has stood us in good stead for 235 years. Whereas the tens of thousands of pages of laws that make up the Federal Register have not made things a whole lot better.
If someone contemplating a murder knew the SYSTEM would be such that he would be quickly tried, convicted and executed if he killed someone, he might be deterred by that knowledge.
If there were a universal SYSTEM of concealed carry or open carry laws, someone contemplating a theft might be deterred the knowledge that anyone might have a gun.
September 23, 2011
Taxing the rich is really taxing the poor.
President Obama and Democrats never seem to get it. Rich people do not take the money they earn and bury it in the back yard where it is unproductive. They put it in a bank or invest it.
If it is put in a bank the banker cannot leave it idle or he will lose money. The banker lends a multiple of that amount out to businesses which now have money to hire people and create jobs. If it is invested in a company that company now has more money to hire people and create jobs.
Republicans appeal to the best qualities of each American: having the initiative and confidence to take a risk and start a business; self reliance; and personal responsibility. Democrats appeal to envy of the rich, dependency on the government and victimhood. Americans are an optimistic people. Which is why today they are very unhappy with the way things are going. They WILL take care of this problem in November, 2012.
September 19, 2011
The Ryan plan of creating competition among insurers for the business of medicare patients is a good first step for reforming the system as it brings free enterprise into the process. Millions of consumers making choices among competitors always results in a lower cost to them than when government sets prices. This is so for the simple reason that when businesses compete they use every possible means to lower their costs–particularly including the use of technology in streamlining their systems. This fact must be continually communicated.
An additional approach might be a system using privately run clinics and hospitals.
Medicare would provide a fixed amount to those over a certain age with patients spending it in these hospitals and clinics. No reduction in the value of this amount would be caused by a middleman insurance company. The private caregivers would compete in trying to satisfy customer patients. A good prototype presently in existence is the much maligned docs in a box which have a very high satisfaction rate among patients. Those needing extraordinary care could be in a separate pool handled by insurance.
September 16, 2011
My first experience with a corrupt federal government bureaucracy was as a green off-the-farm employee of the Post Office while in college. I was training another driver and because I ran out of gas I was late to the dock after picking up mail on my rounds in University Hills in Austin . I gave that reason to the dock supervisor. His superior, whom I liked and had very high respect for, later took me aside and asked why I had not told him that it was because I was training someone so it would not look so bad. A lie. Right then and there I realized the corrupting nature of bureaucracies and have not trusted them ever since.
September 13, 2011
A person I know who founded and owns a 35 year old head hunting firm recently shared his solution to our nation’s jobs problem.
His observation in dealing with those receiving unemployment compensation was that they were reluctant to get a job because “they now were receiving something for nothing”. The $350 or so they were receiving each week was at least free. They did not have to work for it. And everyone likes free stuff.
His solution: require all who receive unemployment compensation to be required to obtain and keep a job, any job, within a short period of time after receiving benefits. They would still receive their unemployment compensation for the specified period.
The benefits are many: they would be employed and have a source of income when their benefits ran out; if their job was not to their liking they would be motivated to get a better one; they would maintain their work habits rather than allowing them to atrophy; they would learn new skills; and over time the cost of the government program could be reduced.
September 6, 2011
President Obama’s basic failing is that he thinks America needs to be liked in the world. I contend otherwise. We need to be respected—being liked is nice but not necessary. Despite what President Obama says it is proven that we are very well liked by people of other nations. They prove it daily by coming here in droves. And more want to come. Even liberals who promise to leave America because they do not like what we stand for (I wish they would), always find some excuse to stay.
American needs to change its focus from trying to be liked by the world and focus on regaining the respect of the world which Obama has lost. We need to focus on regaining the respect for our Presidency by discontinuing the practice of bowing to foreign leaders; we need to regain the respect for our currency by discontinuing the destruction of our dollar by printing too many of them; we need to regain respect for our spending by discontinuing spending money we do not have and certainly discontinuing the practice of writing checks to foreign governments without making certain that the money is used for the intended purpose—not just to line the pockets of foreign dictators; we need to regain the respect for our military engagements by making clear what our mission is before involving our military, and when engaged act in both America’s short term and long term interests.
September 2, 2011
Humility is underrated. Humans throughout our history have typically made their worst errors after they became arrogant . . . pride goes before the fall. If Napoleon had quit his conquests a bit early he would not have been confined to the island of Elba at the end.
How does one become humble? By having many humbling experiences. The lack of humbling experiences is much of the reason for the failure of our current President: he has been given a free ride without criticism for most of his life. There has been little if any criticism of him by the mainstream media beginning with his keynote speech at the Democratic convention in 2004, throughout his campaign and most of his Presidency. Humans rarely perform well under these conditions. He has been no exception.
August 29, 2011
On income taxes . . . The IRS should be eliminated entirely and replaced with a national sales tax. This would eliminate taxation of an activity that is REQUIRED to survive—an individual’s production of income—with taxation of an activity that is entirely VOLITIONAL—purchasing products. The Sixteen Amendment to the U. S. Constitution should be simultaneously repealed. The benefits would be numerous. Individual Americans would have more control of their lives. No longer would the production of income be penalized more and more as one became more and more efficient at producing it. One could accumulate capital more easily by simply foregoing purchases. Capital would be allocated more directly towards national economic benefit rather than to obtain tax benefits which may or may not be for the economic good as people would vote with their dollars on what is worthwhile rather than what the IRS dictated through the tax code. Capital would be more mobile and flexible as there would not be a penalty in moving it from one investment to another.
August 25, 2011
Obama having Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tell Assad he must step down: Its about time. But he was being consistent. He never gave support earlier to those in Iran risking their lives for freedom because he wanted to negotiate with its leader. And then without evening CONSULTING congress he engaged in war with Lybia only when it seemed to be heading toward a politically damaging humanitarian crisis.
A President must think long and hard before committing American troops to battle BUT he can ALWAYS give a voice to FREEDOM anywhere where people are oppressed, abused or even killed. ESPECIALLY when as in Syria people are sacrificing their lives for freedom.
When a President has no strong values there is no core on which his decisions are based. His judgments are based only on what is best for him today.
What a weak man. And sadly Americans everywhere are suffering.
August 2011
Assume you were maxed out on a credit card and a payment of $100—mainly interest—was due. So you requested your credit card company to increase your credit limit by $1,800 to pay for it and allow you to spend more. How do think they would respond? Not positively I bet. And yet that is what Democrats—using a billion dollars instead of one dollar—are asking taxpayers to do by increasing our nation’s debt limit.
The debt limit at the most in any event should be increased only by the $200 billion to pay the interest due to creditors. Money coming in as tax revenue of approximately $1.8 trillion should then be used to pay all other government expenses which would be prioritized with defense and national security items being paid first. It would be a great lesson on what government services we really needed as choices would have to be made. We taxpayers would then feel less like the government controlled ATM machines which we presently are.
August 2011
Some say that politics is the art of compromise. But compromising when you are right and others are wrong only compromises yourself. Because liberals have taken this country so far to the left there is little gray on most issues today. Compromising SOMETIMES MAY be necessary as an interim step, but the goal should always be to obtain full control of the government and then reestablish it as our Founders intended.
July 2011
Democrats are mathematically challenged: Coolidge, Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush, as Democrats and Republicans over a period of ninety years passed tax cuts and TOTAL tax revenue ALWAYS increased shortly thereafter. Or maybe they are just offended by allowing you to keep your own hard earned money. Obama believes that increasing taxes on a person’s income will always produce more revenue for the government. He ignores the change in a person’s incentive to work that taxing income will cause. Let’s see: If you tax me at 15% I will show up at work every day; tax me at 50% and I will show up only for income to survive; tax me at 100% and I will never show up.
June 2011
Some say that elective jobs require experience. If that were the case those in Congress should be doing an almost perfect job by now as they have been there so long. The truth of the matter is that the current inexperienced crop of freshman in Washington are by far and away better than anyone there. And new governors like John Kasich of Indiana are best at restricting spending as no lobbyist has his hooks in him.
May 2011
At a press conference yesterday with Governor Perry and Dick Weekley’s very successful Texans for Lawsuit Reform pushing a loser pays bill, Helen Huey shared a quote with me from many years ago from the book Megatrends regarding Reagans election in 1980: “the reason Ronald Reagan was going to win was that he was riding his horse in the same direction that the American people were going”