Our country has slipped off the cliff by one of the smallest margins of Presidential victory in our country’s history. That small margin has made all of the difference. We now have a 34-time felon as President who only cares about destroying our democracy. It is difficult to comprehend the totality of the destruction he is wrecking on our country and it hasn’t even been a whole year yet.

The mere fact that one of his first acts in office was to pardon each and every one of the rioters that stormed the Capital building trying to stop the congressional count to declare the new President from the prior election that he lost. In doing this some of the rioters who had committed murder were pardoned and they are now free and out of jail! What happened to the rule of law? What could possibly be next?

Now, President Trump is suggesting that he will be running for a third term which is not allowed in the constitution since the 22^nd Amendment was passed limiting Presidents to two terms in 1951.

We can all do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention.

We may have a future after all. I have HOPE, after four years of turmoil with Trump as President and another four years with Biden as president, plus multiple Trump lawsuits of the most egregious kind we are finally moving forward as a nation to the 2024 Presidential Election. President Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Kamala has stepped up with a vast amount of ability and experience promising a strong Presidential run against former President Donald Trump.

Our country has been at a precipice between the extremism of the MAGA right and the reality of what our country stands for. The Republican Project 2025 is a huge step back to the middle ages and is what the Republicans are espousing and plan on enacting should they come to power in this year’s election. The Republicans are trying to extinguish all progress made since the middle ages and bring everything and everyone back to the dark ages.

However, there is Hope in the air! The country may not become a dictatorship, assuring Russian President Putin that he can do whatever the Hell he wants to NATO members that haven’t spent enough on defense as Trump promised if elected! What was he thinking of? Who wants a dictatorship? Who wants women to have no rights regarding their bodies or disallowing people to associate with the opposite gender?  Sounds like something that our citizens must decide by exercising their freedom of speech and freedom of choice laid out by the Constitution and vote this November.

We must over come any lethargy and promptly stomp on the idiocy of Trump’s possible victory and the extremism of the MAGA Project 2025.

How close do we have to come to dissolving our democracy? These last few years have been real nail biters all the while hoping for relief before the boom falls.

Now is the time for Common Sense.

We all can do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention and vote.

Our country is changing. We have left logic behind and have embraced instant information whether it is fact based or just plain wrong. We have allowed public figures to get away with misleading the populace with half-truths and flat out lies.

Unfortunately, this is in many ways not for the better. The United States has never been perfectly organized or operated since its beginning. Our own high ideals of free speech, liberty for all, and freedom of action has backfired and created a growing virus that has been gaining momentum since Donald Trump took the office of the President of the United States in 2016. Though it has not been solely his doing. What he has done is make it seem that rebelling with incorrect and fake news to influence uninformed people to be politically and physically against our operating democracy that was built over the past 250 years is being patriotic! 

Donald Trump’s followers have taken up the mantra that what is good for the narrow-minded white minority must be enforced on all citizens through out the country.

Nationally, the tides turned when Trump encouraged and now attempts to obscure his blatant claim and approval of the “Big Election Lie” Even before the election was being counted he sowed seeds that it was stolen from him. His claim before any results were in was if he lost it was because the election was rigged against him. Of course, he had to have some influential followers to support his “Fake” information which was provided by FOX News.

Our democracy that was crafted in the 1700’s included free speech giving each person a vote has now been turned against our very own democratic principles. The vitriolic lies and misinformation have jaded our society to the point where many people haven’t a clue as to what is true and what is false.

In addition, our lives have been increasing in speed in so many ways that many people have lacked the time to research what news they hear as to its truthfulness and/or authenticity. Democracy is only as good as we make it. If we have politicians and/or influential public figures trashing the reality for their own fake reality then we all have a problem.

This in turn precipitates poor decisions being made by people at all levels of government thus causing erroneous decisions thereby solidifying their own and other peoples beliefs based on unsubstantiated information just because Donald Trump said it and FOX News reported.

Democracy is for people who can think, understand basic information, and support facts, not fiction.

It is time we all took a look at what really is happening.

We all can do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention and vote.

How obvious does it have to be that thousands of people encouraged by the exiting President Trump, stormed the Capital on January 6, 2020, for the purpose of negating the 2020 Presidential Election resulting in Joseph Biden winning?

The former President Donald Trump used all of the available dodges to duck his responsibility for the attack on the Capital. He attempted to have many state governors negate their state’s votes for Joseph Biden.

His example of ignoring the rules and precepts of our government and democracy has inspired several governors to explore the idea of taking over the Federal Government by any means possible so they can remake enforced laws that have been standing for decades.

The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnel, purposely delayed several Supreme Court appointments that President Barack Obama put forth so the next Republican President could appoint ultra conservative judges that would overturn decades of standing rulings to please the right-wing religious right!

It is surprising that Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnel, hasn’t been charged with dereliction of duty. He does not represent the United States in any way or form. He only seems to represent the far-right religious constituents and the West Virginia coal based business.

Mitch McConnel together with the other right-wing republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have sunk our nation to an historic low. We can no longer be that shining light for other countries as a democracy that works for the people with a system of government to replicate.

It is shameful that these short-sighted and narrow-minded representatives have taken over the rights of the majority. It is time that we as citizens of the United States of America should truly be ashamed of how our democracy has been manipulated.

What disturbs me most are the lies and misleading statements that were being made by ex-President Trump and his unwillingness to face the consequences of his unlawful activities. Worst of all, FOX news proudly presents the fake news.

The only thing that may come out of this, should we weather the storm, is enough people recognize what had happened and be able to recognize it should it happen again. That’s only if we have a second chance.

We all can do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention and vote.

We have been so short sighted that the essence of our Constitution is being circumvented.

We are plundering our natural, economic and social resources all to make a buck. We are gerrymandering our voting districts to yield governing political parties so the minority parties can rule over the majority only to further their minority interests.

We have acrimonious discord in Congress and the White House.

When reading about the beginnings of our nation and the civility exhibited between the Founding Fathers it highlights the severe difference between then and now. These men in the late 1700’s faced creating a society based upon documents, agreed to by a majority of State delegates, that would live on many decades beyond any of the signers. A task never before undertaken in the history of mankind. Henry Steele Commager notes that “Even during the most acrimonious debates members (of the founding fathers) were aware that they were framing a constitution for ages to come, that they were creating a model for people everywhere on the globe; there was a lively sense of responsibility and even destiny.” From Historical Viewpoints, edited by John A. Garraty.

Even Charles A. Beard who concluded that the Constitution was a economic document based on private property rights being anterior to government in his “An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States” observes that “Chief Justice Marshall states in McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819: ‘The government proceeds directly from the people; is ’ordained and established’ in the name of the people; and is declared to be ordained’ in order to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty’ to themselves and to their prosperity…” Though Charles A. Beard included this in his 1921 book, how is Chief Justice Marshall’s view not relevant today? What has changed in 200 years that the view today by those in Congress and the White House seem to believe that the Constitution is there so they can bend it to benefit only themselves ignoring that the structure of our government is ordained and established in the name of the people as Chief Justice Marshall explains in his opinion?

Where will the recent manipulations of legal machinations lead us? What can we do, if anything, about it?

We all can do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention and vote.

Perhaps…there is an alternative reason for Trump and Trumpian Republicans going full bore to eliminate social services for Americans. Their attempts at eliminating Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare, their successful increase of taxes for Americans while lowering taxes for the Elite. Their ignorance of the climate change catastrophe and its continuing effect on our world. And their insistence on border building walls to prevent anyone trying to escape tyranny in other countries seeking asylum in ours.

These actions taken together beg the questions: How can these efforts help? How does eliminating affordable healthcare help Americans? How does ignoring the climate change catastrophe benefit the Elite? What is their endgame?

Our human instinct is to procreate; This Elite group of people must have an interest in their children being able to live and procreate just like all humans do. So, what is this mean-spirited push do for them?

To answer these questions clarifying our current predicament may help

First, our population is growing every year. The US population has doubled every fifty years since 1900. As this occurs, we are using more and more fossil fuels, consuming more and more nourishing resources, cutting down more trees to make room for more housing, driving farther and farther in polluting cars, discarding tremendous amounts of rubbish including copious amounts of plastic and other materials that take eons to decompose which then cause contamination at a microbial level. The resulting air pollution increases, food sources on land and in the oceans getting more and more contaminated, our soil becomes more and more contaminated, everyone will need more medical care to survive the degradation of our bodies inside and out at higher and higher costs.

Second point, our population is putting stress on every aspect of our environment. The general populace is attempting to push our governing bodies to step up and assist everyone’s desire to live a reasonably satisfying and rewarding life. Very irritating to the Elite! As Trump would say – Costs too much!

A simple but awful explanation for these manipulations on the general populace could be population control. By eliminating and/or making healthcare impossibly expensive for the majority of Americans, fewer people will be able to survive, only the Elite will survive.

The elimination of affordable social services creates a financial environment that is untenable. This will undoubtedly produce population numbers that will begin to recede. Perhaps at a tumbling rate.

Another possibility for the Trumpian Republicans to push the elimination of social services, is Greed. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, should you believe in that sort of thing, and the foundation of Capitalism. A bird in the hand is better than no birds in the future. However, Capitalism depends upon willing and capable buyers for available goods and services. So today these elements are available. But for how long?

Looking towards the future the strategy of pulling supporting services from the populace (customers) will eventually hurt the Capitalistic businesses that are devastating our environment for the sake of a buck.

The Result of advanced medical availability and uncontaminated essential resources turns out to only be available for the Elite Capitalists.

Problem Solved for now! Catastrophe in the Future!

We all can do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention.

One economic theory is that every product has a cycle from beginning to end. This cycle takes the shape of a bell. It begins at the base line and curves upward to a peak and then goes back down to the baseline. Consequently, a product or service can increase rapidly but it will always reach a peak. What follows is the decline back to the baseline. A.K.A. obsolescence.

This economic theory applies to almost everything. For example, we begin our lives as very small people unable to talk or walk. As we grow, we add strength, weight, language, etc. and then we peak at some point physically and mentally. Then the decline back to baseline is obvious but we all will go through this cycle.

This theory can also be applied to many things. A country’s history and different types of governing approaches all will have begun, peaked, and declined eventually. What now seems to be of importance our country’s governing cycle. Where are we on this curve. The Roman Empire lasted over 400 years. Will our form of governance continue to reach higher peaks or are we on the back side of the curve?

Where are we now? Our current governing curve started with the Declaration of Independence over 240 years ago. There are many aspects to our country’s curve. We have one curve reflecting our form of government with all of its layers, federal, state, and local here in the United States. Another curve reflects our economic productivity (Global Curve) as a nation, and another curve that reflects our stature with the world at large. These are just a few of the curves.

Reflecting on our current stature on the Global curves both economically and diplomatically we seem to have been sliding down the back side. Our withdrawal from the climate accords, threatening to withdraw from NATO, canceling trade agreements with Canada, Mexico. the European Union, etc., imposing duties on foreign products only mentions a few areas of declining influence.

Our immigration policies of inhuman treatment of people wanting to become Americans has recently been disgraceful. What happened to our message to the world emboldened on the Statute of Liberty? “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Has our current approach to immigration changed so much that these words are meaningless? When did we as a country turn our backs on the rest of the world? How can we allow our country to treat human beings seeking security and nourishment by separating parents from their children and then losing track of where these children have gone? Where does our treatment of aspiring immigrants place the United States on the Bell Shaped Curve? Could it be just a blip or are we actually in decline?

The financial curve has been split into two curves. One for the 1% ers and one for the rest of the population. It seems as though the 1% ers are on the upside of the curve while the balance of the population is on the downside. This chasm continues to be getting more disparate each year.

Recently our governing curve has been morphing into something new called extreme partisanship. Politicians and their political parties moving to extreme positions of winner take all. A difficult curve to predict at best.

Herein lies the rub. If you are unhappy with the direction your/our county is going, do something about it. First and foremost, VOTE! Second, do some research. Third, Get involved.

What will you do with your vote? How much time will you spend learning about the choices being put in front of you? It is time that everyone does their homework. Your future depends upon it.

We all can do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention.

We are now in difficult times which will likely escalate as the 2020 election year comes upon us. The divisions in our country today have been magnified since Donald Trump has become President. He has given permission to groups of ideologies of various discriminating groups to not only express themselves, but to do violence if they choose.

Apparently, making America great again means reverting to White Supremacy. In Irving Wallace’s book “The Man” written in the sixties, he fictionalizes a story about a Black American becoming president due to deaths of the president and vice president. Irving Wallace describes events very similar to the events happening today.

Today an angst appears that is so formidable that a solution to it could be extreme. Our times have become very different over the last ten years. Reactions come even more swiftly and occasionally without enough thought to be shared. These spontaneous thoughts are expressed as easily as a Tweet with results in seconds by millions of people. Can that be a good thing?

The preceding years to the American Revolution in 1860-1865 our country was divided by the slavery issue as well as other economic issues. Resulting with the southern states desire to secede from the northern states and some mid-western states. Today the approach to Black Americans having the vote is gerrymandering the voting system to keep Black Americans and other non white citizens from voting.

Abraham Lincoln may have couched our situation best during a speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield in 1838 when he explained that our destruction must come from among us and could not come from abroad. If our destruction occurs it must be from our own making. “As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.” His speech could be given today as it addresses so many of our current political situations as it seemed in 1838.

My point being, have we lost the ability to think for ourselves? Do we fact check more than one source before we formulate our hardened position? Do we review both sides of an issue before choosing one?

We all can do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention.

The United States was founded by European invaders beginning in the early 1600’s to escape the tyranny and oppression of the ruling classes in Europe. Only to in turn oppress the indigenous population.

Using the term invaders seems applicable since North America and all of the Americas had been home for centuries prior to this invasion by what we call today indigenous people. These invaders produced in the 1700’s important documents and principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent Constitution of the United States.

How is it that this invasion has turned to denigrating our indigenous population? Further more, this denigration has included all peoples of color. Besides the individually and corporately economic limitations that have been imposed, many voting districts have been realigning voting districts and voting qualifications seeking to limit any non white people from casting a vote on election day. Thus further limiting their voice in our democracy.

In our Constitution of the United States – Amendment V, Section 1. it states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

As citizens of the United States benefiting from our constitutional rights that allows us to pursue life, liberty, and freedom, but somehow have chosen to deny these rights from our neighbors who happen to be of color or worse, who have beliefs different than our own.

Where are we going as a country? Where are we going as a people? What kind of example are we setting for the rest of the World? Who Cares?

We all can do a better job of deciphering fact from fiction, of reality from bluster, and most of all truth from lies. Now is the time to pay attention.

As if our Federal Income and Excise taxes were not complicated enough, businesses in all states have to interpret, file, and pay: Excise Taxes, Enterprise Taxes, Property Taxes, Utility Taxes, Gross Sales Taxes, Sales & Use Taxes, and Income Taxes to mention just a few.

My charge for the last twenty years had been to help businesses pay only the taxes they are liable for. What occurs way too often are businesses paying taxes that they are not aware that they are not liable for.

During the past twenty years I have reviewed accounting records for companies in most of our states and found over paid taxes at each company. The nuances of specific taxes are different for each state, the types of taxes are different in each state, even the tax rates vary by state, city, county, municipality, etc resulting in over 13,000 local taxing district in the US.

It appears to me that Local Taxes have become over complicated and over burdensome. Maybe there is an answer out there.

Maybe we need more people with a knowledge base that can help.

Maybe we need fewer taxes.