The Case for National Soverignty

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Ineffective US/Mexico border wall
Ineffective US/Mexico border wall

This article was updated on 8/10/18.

National sovereignty has been a fundamental concept since mankind first began socializing and defining themselves into groups. It promotes and facilitates a structure of law, a common currency, an armed protection organization and a framework for the production and distribution of food.

Like anything else, the concept of national sovereignty can be used for good or evil. On one end of the spectrum witness a country like Switzerland. On the other end, consider Nazi Germany.

Case Study 1: The Porous US/Mexico Border

The border along the Rio Grande has long been a convenient gateway for smuggling operations. Today the commodity that gets a lion’s share of attention is human cargo, or, illegal aliens.

The political machine has been ineffective in establishing and implementing an effective policy to safeguard the border. Conservative Republicans favor strong control such as more agents and President Trump’s border wall.

Liberal democrats however, tend to favor an open-border concept. Parts leaders such as Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Chuck Schumer (D-New York) see illegal immigrants as potential voters.

The effect of the influx of illegals from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala is obvious-crime, overburdened schools, hospital emergency rooms used as primary care facilities and gang activities from the likes of MS-13 who may pose more of a threat that domestic gangs like Antifa.

MS-13 gang member
MS-13 gang member

It is clear that the problems (crime, drug wars, unemployment) that force these illegal immigrants to leave their home countries to sneak across the border pose a threat to the social structure and sovereignty of the United States. Many of these immigrants, even after having been given safe harbor, refuse to assimilate with the host country by learning the language and participating in the community. Taken to its extremes, the eventual outcome is a loss of national identity and culture.

Case Study 2: The Failed Socialist Experiment of Venezuela

For years the South American country of Venezuela enjoyed a windfall profit from the drilling and export of crude oil. An abundance of capital from a natural resource easily acquired made it easy for strongman Hugo Chavez to implement his socialist paradise.

Things went swimmingly for years, even Chavez passed the baton of party control to Nicolas Maduro. Then, everything began to unravel. Venezuela crude oil suddenly had two strikes against it. Modern drilling methods in North America made it easier for countries like the United States and Canada to get at the gold (so to speak) domestically, and Venezuelan crude is very sour (high sulfur content) making it harder to refine. The product of choice, as dictated by the market, is now a no-brainer.

So when the one national commodity dried up, so did the economy. The currency is in the toilet. The citizens are getting hungry and need somewhere to go. With the loss of national stability goes the nation’s sense of national sovereignty. The citizens disperse, often on foot, and enter their neighbor’s countries.

Brazil has been hard hit by this diaspora and their sovereignty is being brought into question as they harbor and care for their neighbors. “We’re very fearful this may lead to an economic and social destabilization in our state,” said the governor, Suely Campos. “I’m looking after the needs of Venezuelans to the detriment of Brazilians.”

One destabilization leads to another.

Case Study 3: European Immigration

Whether one agrees with the European Union’s concept of open borders or not there is no denial that immigration has been detrimental to individual countries and to the EU as a whole since 2014.

According to the National Review, “European Council president Donald Tusk admitted that most of the people coming in have no right to do so: ‘In most of the cases, and that is actually the case on the central Mediterranean route, we’re talking clearly and manifestly about economic migrants.’ He added, ‘They get to Europe illegally, they do not have any documents which would allow them to enter the European soil.’ In other words, these primarily aren’t refugees fleeing war, they’re economic migrants, who are coming in to countries along the southern Mediterranean that already suffer massive unemployment.”

Germany, the UK and France garner the most press about the problems that Muslim immigration is causing. The influx of immigrants over the past decade seem to have taken these countries by surprise although the result of lax policies should have been easy to predict.

Whenever immigrants refuse to assimilate with the host population and the immigrants go so far as to import their own law system (sharia law), the unfortunate and predictable result is the loss of national sovereignty.

What happens then? A breakdown of society and the framework of civilization as we know. You can certainly live under a different social paradigm, but do you want to?


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Trump Bonus Checks & More Scams

Freedom Checks, Biden Senior Benefits, the Foreign Lottery Scam, the 501(k), and More

Photo of Kelly R. Smith   by Kelly R. Smith; © 2021

Get rich fast schemes
Get rich fast schemes
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This article was updated on 09/18/21.

Ads we feature have been independently selected and reviewed. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn a commission, which helps support the site.

Get rich fast schemes have been around for a long, long time. Why? Because everybody wants something for nothing (Socialism in America is a hot topic right now), or at least by expending the least effort possible. People want to hear what they want to hear. If not, we wouldn’t be such a ripe crop for fake news. If it sounds too good to be true…

The fact is that the digital age has ushered in a whole new generation of shady characters determined to separate us from our money. It is just a lot easier to reach a lot more suckers. As P. T. Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Let’s take a look at a few email and other scams that are taking up space in our email accounts.

Trump Bonus Checks

I’ve been getting this one for a while now. As with most of these messages, you have to watch a real snoozer of a long, long video while the narrator skirts around the meat of the matter until the very end.

Despite the name, he stops just short of claiming that President Trump actually legislated or recommended this “bonus” although he certainly implies it.

President Donald Trump thumbs up
President Donald Trump thumbs up

Of course, there is an often-repeated call to action (CTA) to create a sense of urgency by telling you that you need to get yourself on the list by May 14. Or what? Some other poor slob will get my money? OK, got it. After all, there is a limit of exactly $15 trillion of cold, hard cash available!

The bottom line? He wants to sell you $502 worth of information for a low, low price of $49. Basically he is going to sell you investment tips. What does that have to do with Trump? Nothing; he’s just riding on the Donald’s coattails.

Now, just for the sake of having some fun, how long do you think it will take for this particular scam to morph into Biden Bonus Checks? Smart money says it will not be overly long.

Biden Senior Benefits Program

Update 09/18/21: I was right as usual. Today I was watching YouTube and lo and behold, here’s an ad for a Biden Senior Benefits program. Well, methinks, if this is a thing, why is it that the only one hawking it is seniorbenefitsworth.com? I’m amazed that I haven’t seen Public Service Announcements (PSAs), commercials, or government propaganda about this. Curious, I went to the site and found:

——-Snip——

Seniors May Qualify For As Much As $97,246 In Benefits

Answer These 7 Questions To See How Much You Could Receive:

More resources and Relief Programs are only available through E-Mail – Sign-Up now to access: (here’s where you fill in all your personal information.)

—— Snip ——

The site goes on to say:

—— Snip ——

Seniors are able to get hundreds of thousands of dollar in benefits that they typically never would work.

In 2021, new policies have been put in place to help those seniors in need.

If you meet 2 of these requirements, you will be eligible for significant benefits.

  • Be an American resident or citizen
  • Live in a qualified zipcode
  • Be a homeowner
  • Have significant debts and/or health issues that need resolution immediately
  • Currently paying too much for electricity and home repairs

—— Snip ——

Where’s the scam tip-off? First off, “More resources and Relief Programs are only available through E-Mail – Sign-Up” Aha, that’s why this is the only place you can find out about the benefits you deserve. This info is so tight-to-the-chest that even the Biden’s government can’t tell you ― only seniorbenefitsworth.com has been entrusted to disseminate this information.

Next, peruse the come-on sentence, “Seniors are able to get hundreds of thousands of dollar (Big-Time typo, where’s the plural?) in benefits that they typically never would work. (what the heck does this phrase even mean, ‘benefits that they typically never would work?’)” This page was clearly posted by the same guy that has been running the Nigerian Prince scam!

I can only say shame on YouTube for selling ad space to this obvious scam artist. Where’s the oversight and vetting?

Freedom Checks

Freedom Checks have been around for at least a few years now, or at least that is when they started showing up in my email. Lately, they have also been running ads on the radio. To finance that they must be finding some gullible takers. The radio spots are mercifully shorter than the video that accompanies the email.

I had to sit through the agony of the entire thing (for the sake of research for this post; see, I took a bullet for you), before the narrator got down to brass tacks about what it is really all about. Bottom line? The same basic Trump Bonus model although the investments seemed to focus more narrowly on the mining industry.

This is another pitch to sell $49 newsletters. The question I had to ask myself is, “If this guy some investment genius, why is he spending time with newsletters? How does he have the time or inclination?”

Phishing Scammers Posing as YouTube

Yes, it was just a matter of time, wasn’t it? This one wants all your sensitive YouTube information. Sometimes they can make it look quite legit. This video explains it:

The 501(k)

Bankonyourself.com explains that the 501(k) plan is “a safe savings and wealth-building strategy based on a specific type of high cash value dividend-paying whole life insurance.” Now while this is true, these scammers are not interested in guiding your financial market investment, they just want your money.

An organization called the Palm Beach Research Group markets it under the guise that it is a tax shelter for the rich. The implication here is that if it is good enough for the likes for the very rich it ought to be good enough for a poor Joe Shmoe like me. After all, this is America, right?

Got a blog or website? Want more revenue? Monetize it!

Although the 501(k) is a legitimate investment vehicle and it can be quite lucrative, the approach taken b y the Palm Beach Group is to print and sell newsletters. These will set you back from $199 for the basic publication to $4,500 for the “Palm Beach Confidential.” Pssst, this is between you and me, OK?

The Foreign Lottery Scam

This foreign lottery scam is one of the most often received email scams. You receive what appears to be an official email from a foreign lottery company. The subject line offers a congratulatory announcement (yea, you), and might include the supposed amount of money you’ve “won.” Tip-offs:

  • The sender is a person, NOT a lottery company.
  • Your name is not listed in the “to” field of the email header.
  • The lottery doesn’t even exist. Do a search.
  • It asks for sensitive personal information.

The bottom line? Most of us would do better to steer clear of these schemes and consult with a professional investment adviser face-to-face or sign up with a broker like Ameritrade. Don’t be a rube. There is no get-rich-quick in life no matter what a bunch of newsletter quacks say. Please take a moment to participate in the poll on the right-hand sidebar of this page. I’m conducting a study and your response is important.



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About the author:

Photo of Kelly R. SmithKelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation and financial and energy trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.

Trump and Kim Jong Un Played Chicken; Kim Blinked First

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Kim Jong Un's ballistic missile policy
Kim Jong Un’s ballistic missile policy

This article was updated on 8/18/18.

This morning we awake to yet another chapter in the unfolding global melodrama between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, the unhinged dictator of the hermit kingdom.

Kim Jong Un, or the “Pillsbury Doughboy with a really, really bad haircut” has been very vocal about his plans for the U.S. unincorporated United States territory of Guam. Specifically, he has been threatening to fire four missiles in order to surround the U.S. territory of Guam in “enveloping fire.”

Undoubtedly this is a trick right out of his father Kim Jong-il’s playbook. Rattle that rusty old saber, make a few headlines, and sit back and wait for humanitarian food aid.

Historically, US presidents back down from North Korean threats. For example, as recently as 2009 the Obama administration said that it will not enforce a UN resolution allowing the interdiction of North Korea’s shipping when suspected of illegal arms traffic.  Instead, the US will ask permission to inspect, and retreat when refused. This weakness did not bode well for Obama’s legacy.

Donald Trump is the New Sheriff in Town

No doubt Kim Jong Un imagined this tried and true strategy would keep working with his threat to attack Guam as he sipped 100-year old whiskey and cavorted with his concubines. However he was ill-prepared to hear President Trump warn Pyongyang last week that the U.S. military was “locked and loaded” and could engulf the North in “fire and fury.”

Kim’s response after having a look at a military plan presented to him by his senior officers was telling. He seems to have had an uh-oh moment and realized he wasn’t dealing with Obama anymore. This isn’t the former guy that spends his working hours playing on the golf course, this is the guy that owns the golf course.

Kim is now in full backpedaling mode and says he has resolved not to launch the attack on Guam just yet but instead advised the U.S. “to take into full account” whether the current standoff was to its benefit. He also said it was incumbent on the U.S. to “stop at once arrogant provocations against the DPRK and unilateral demands and not provoke it any longer.”

He went on to say, “If the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity, testing the self-restraint of the DPRK, the [North] will make an important decision as it already declared.”

Sanctions Against North Korea Also a Factor

The recent UN-mandated sanctions against North Korea are likely a factor figuring into Kim’s come-to-Jesus moment. Although he usually scoffs at sanctions, this time even Russia and China committed.

China is the real surprise. It is Kim’s largest trading partner and cheerleader. The Chinese customs agency specified that on Monday it will cease processing imports of North Korean coal, iron and lead ores and fish at midnight on September 5.

The latest sanctions, considering all the nations that are participating, are expected to block exports valued at more than $1 billion. This is significant since total exports are valued at $3 billion last year.

Over the years Kim has used various means (other than ruthless treatment and starvation of his countrymen) to keep his grip on power. One of these is the state propaganda of the Kim Jong Un as a mystical figure. Perhaps he can use some of that mojo to channel his father and ask for advice.

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Why the American Liberal Wing of the Party has the Democrats Floundering

by Kelly R. Smith

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Liberalism defined by Norman Thomas
Liberalism defined by Norman Thomas

Post updated on 11/01/20

The policies and philosophies of both the Democrat and Republican parties are always in flux. At times this is such a slow process that it is hardly noticeable except in retrospect. The Republicans still identify as  conservatives but in action they have become Republicrats. They still talk the talk but they don’t walk the walk. Both John Boehner and Paul Ryan rolled over and gave President Obama everything he wanted. Without a fight or any credible sausage-making.

And the Democrats? They’ve lost their way as well. They have lost the White House, the Senate, most of the state governor slots, and many seats on the municipal level. They have regained the House during the mid-term election and promptly reinstated the delusional Nancy Pelosi as Speaker.

The party today is disjointed, comprised of the mainstream sheepls, the liberals, and the truly unrealistic liberals (socialists) such as “Bolshevik” Bernie Sanders. Well, he’s not technically a Democrat but he ran as one and caucuses with them so the point is moot. It doesn’t help that Hillary Clinton‘s illegal chicanery cost him the nomination, something the mainstream party’s faithful and the fickle millennials choose to ignore. Those rules don’t apply to us. Hint, hint, nod, nod.

The Democrat Party Players Have Outlived Their Usefulness

One of the reasons the Democrat party has been experiencing a meltdown is that there are few new players of any caliber. And the old guard is hanging on like frayed bookmarks. They are old and it shows.

Take Nancy Pelosi for example. She has lapses of memory leading to stuttering or mumbling, “Uh, uh, uh.” She has taken to giggling like a 5-year old at the most inappropriate and solemn moments. And when referring to the sitting president Trump she had this to say, “There’s nothing I can work with President Bush on.” Um Nancy, that was over eight years and two iterations of Obama ago?

And Maxine Waters seems to have some neural synapse issues as well. Speaking of the Russians she said, “They have hacked our D-triple C, uh, DNC.” Maxine, it’s your party’s infrastructure; you should know the acronyms by now.  And continuing she said, “As Putin is advancing into Korea.” If she ever had a grasp on basic geography or international politics, it’s faded away like the morning dew.

And let us not forget Sheila Jackson Lee saying, “I stand here as a free slave.” If memory serves, all slaves were freed before her time. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg but they demonstrate that no young guns are stepping up from the ranks.

Societal Changes Have Morphed the Democrat Party

It can be said that President Franklin D. Roosevelt (not to be confused with the ballsy Theodore Roosevelt) and his policies ushered in the age of American liberalism. His New Deal put those policies into practice. This spirit of liberalism embodied the philosophy that citizens were united in a collective enterprise. They banded together to construct a strong nation and protect each other. The mantra they marched to was, “Solidarity, opportunity and public duty.”


Both sides of the isle will admit that this construct served the country well in its time of need. But times change, technology advances, citizens embrace new concepts of self-identity and relationships, and American liberalism has hardly had feet of clay.

Things really began to change when President Reagan ushered in the concepts of self-reliance and small government. The country flourished economically and suddenly traditional liberalism lost its sheen.

The days of all working together for the collective good were gone. The various groups of progressive activists splintered off and began to direct their efforts away from mainstream party politics and toward a broad range of single-issue social movements that provoke liberal anger. The politics of identity is now the name of the game.

Nowhere is this more obvious than on college campuses across the nation. Liberal, tenured professors mold the young minds not with Roosevelt’s all of us together attitude, but encouraging separation along identity lines. This is classic Obama/Saul Alinski/Antifa tactics. Divide while accusing your opponent of deviding. Rather than encouraging these young adults to grow up and take responsibility for themselves, they provide “safe spaces” where they can play with Legos and finger-paint. And some of these spaces are segregated.

These are the snowflakes that the Democrat party is inheriting. And encouraging, as the mindless bots that they are.

Democrats Have Contradictory Bias Issues

Not long ago the alt-left folks were having fits because a Christian baker would not betray his convictions by decorating a wedding cake for a gay couple. Fair enough; it is his business even if Obama would have said, “You didn’t build that.”

Barack Obama, "You didn't build that."
Barack Obama, “You didn’t build that.”

But now the tables have turned. This happened when Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to eat a meal in peace. “I was asked to leave because I worked for President Trump,” she said, adding, “We are allowed to disagree but we should be able to do so freely and without fear of harm, and this goes for all people regardless of politics.”



Yeh, and the Democrats rejoice. Unlike the Christian baker, under liberal rules a bigoted Democrat restaurant manager has the right to refuse business. Because business is their religion? Perhaps. Despite the restrictions they put on them.

No wonder the Democrat party is floundering. They have no rudder, they have no clear direction, and their “leaders” have dementia.



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About the Author:

Photo of Kelly R. SmithKelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation, financial, and energy-trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.

Al Gore– The P.T. Barnum of Climate Change

by Kelly R. Smith

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Al Gore expounding on global warming
Al Gore expounding on global warming

This post was last updated on 11/03/20.

It used to be “global warming.” When that catchphrase came under question the buzzword shifted to “climate change.” The idea was to make the term so vague that if the temperature in any given area got cooler or warmer, the True Believers from the Church  of Carbon Defiance (CCD) could wag their warm/cool fingers at skeptics and mutter, “I told you so.”

But the political correctness and the search for a more palatable phrase continues. www.the guardian.com says, “Staff at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been told to avoid using the term ‘climate change’ in their work, with the officials instructed to reference ‘weather extremes’ instead.”

A couple more examples of rhetorical manipulation include substituting “resilience to weather extremes” for “climate change adaption” and “build soil organic matter” for “sequester carbon”.

I earlier mentioned the CCD because climate change really is a faith in the sense that any other religion is. The so-called global “real science” climate change that backs it up is nebulous science and conjecture at best.

When did Meaningful Weather Records Begin to be Collected?

Older weather records are only as accurate as the instruments used. In the US, Thomas Jefferson made regular observations at his home Monticello from 1772 to 1778, and participated in taking the first known simultaneous weather observations in America. But that is one solitary location and hardly gives us the “big picture.”

That didn’t begin to happen until the invention of the telegraph so that weather observations from distant points made by volunteers could be collected in a reasonable period of time, plotted, and then analyzed at one location. In 1849 this location was the Smithsonian.

Weather Projections from Past, Present, and Onward

There are three time frames in weather analysis. First, the past as outlined above up until today. While the early technology was primitive, the resulting data can at least demonstrate trends and patterns that can be loosely correlated with advances in industry and manufacturing (e.g., the increase in carbon emissions).

The second frame is a snapshot of today. At any given moment we have an accurate comprehensive view of what is happening worldwide. Finally, we are left with the third frame, computer projections of the future which is where we really begin to get into trouble.

Anybody on the gulf coast biting their nails while watching the dozen or so computer-generated hurricane path possibilities during each and every hurricane season knows how accurate that can be. Given that dose of reality, can we bank on what is going to happen 50 or 100 years from now? Which brings us to…

Al Gore, Alarmist and Profiteer

As an analogy, if Jesse Jackson can be described as a poverty pimp, Gore can certainly be described as a climate change pimp. It boils down to taking a popular issue and using it for personal gain rather than making a meaningful difference. After a lackluster performance as Vice-President and failed Presidential candidate, he had to cast about for something new to do.

After working as a visiting professor at various universities he drifted off into the global warming movement. He was no stranger to this world; he had been involved with environmental issues beginning in 1976, when as a freshman congressman, he held the first congressional hearings on the climate change, and co-sponsored hearings on toxic waste and global warming.

Carbon credit: any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide.

Seeing an opportunity, he jumped into the carbon credit business, founding Generation Investment Management (GIM) along with David Blood. The firm’s focus is on a research agenda including global sustainability and renewable energy issues.

GIM took a big position in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) for carbon trading and Gore used an alarmist position to attract investors.

According to forbes.com, “Between May of 2008 and October of 2009 the CCX market value for one metric ton of carbon plummeted from $7 per metric ton to $0.10 along with the shareholders’ investment values. Losers included the Ford Motor Company, Amtrak, DuPont, Dow Corning, American Electric Power, International Paper, and Waste Management, along with the states of Illinois and New Mexico, seven cities, and a number of universities. But GIM was in a winning position.

“Never give a sucker an even break” – P.T. Barnum

Arctic ice to be gone by 2012
Guess we dodged the bullet on this “real science” prediction.

Al Gore, Hypocrite

The face that Gore presents to the world is that of a planet-saving messiah. The truth is far from that. It’s a case of do as I say, not as I do. Case in point—his home in Nashville, Tennessee.

Al Gore's energy-guzzling home
Al Gore’s energy-guzzling home

According to Drew Johnson, National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) Senior Fellow, “The past year, Gore’s home energy use averaged 19,241 kilowatt hours (kWh) every month, compared to the U.S. household average of 901 kWh per month. During the last 12 months, Gore devoured 66,159 kWh of electricity just heating his pool. That is enough energy to power six average U.S. households for a year.”

“There’s a sucker born every minute” – P.T. Barnum


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About the Author:

Photo of Kelly R. SmithKelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation, financial, and energy-trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.

The Sad Demise of Michelle and Barack Obama’s Legacy

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Article updated on 02/28/20

A presidential legacy is a term that is often bandied about as an indicator as to what kind of impact the president had on society and global policy. This is also true, albeit to lesser extent, with first ladies and their “pet projects.”

For most presidents the jury remains out for a while, sometimes as long as a decade, in order to give the dust time to settle. But with the Obamas, it began happening almost overnight. There is no way to sugar-coat this—the initiatives were bold but they were doomed to failure due to being ill-conceived or outright counter-American values.

One problem is that Barry Obama never really had any real world experience to prepare him for office. Even the most lowly congressional aide knows that the president of the United States doesn’t bow to a Saudi king.

Or deliver pallets of cash to the Iranians like some mafioso, just to avoid banking channels and legitimate procedure.

Even had he been the best community organizer in that economic crackerjack city of Chicago, that doesn’t really qualify as the executive experience that a job such as the Presidency demands. And nothing he did was even original; it was mostly cobbled together from the ideas of his mentor Frank Marshall Davis and Saul Alinsky both avowed communists or socialists.

If it can be called a component of a legacy, the establishment of a highly-effective shadow government was brilliant. His loyal civil servant followers continue to soldier on long after that last trip on the tax-payer’s dime.

And Michelle? Meh. She may have been a competent lawyer, who knows? But for someone to utter, “This is the first time I have been proud of my country,” only after she has landed the fattest plum of a spousal job on the planet? Oy vey! What a total lack of decorum.


Barack Obama’s Failed Programs

Although Obama delved into many social and economic experiments consistent with his progressive agenda, only three have the dubious honor of taking center stage.

For example, venturing into the clean energy game might have been a laudable goal but doing it with no real scientific justification and rolling the dice with taxpayer money was just a bad move; there is no other way to put it. Remember Solendra? They left taxpayers liable for $535 million in federal guarantees. This kind of speculative investment is best left to the private sector because they can conduct business much more effectively and realistically.

The next failed initiative is Obamacare. Granted that it’s inception was perhaps done with the best of intentions, but it was unworkable from the beginning. Now it is collapsing under it’s own weight; the last of the huge insurance companies are bailing and Grandma can’t afford her meds.

Finally, the Iran deal brokered by John Kerry was doomed to failure from the get-go. This was a bad deal and it resonates with the Neville Chamberlain mindset when dealing with Hitler—you know; just give them a bit of appeasement and life is good. It’s not playing out so well with the emboldened Iranians now that they have cash-in-hand and an Obama absolution for all things done.

Obama’s Transgressions Just Keep On Coming

Unlike past ex-presidents, Obama hasn’t had the good grace to bow out and let the new president go about his business. He keeps his hand in it, partially some think by guiding his own shadow government with the help of his old allies and minions who are still in government employ (and are the prime suspects of carefully-planned leaks under the Trump administration).

It turns out that it is a two-edged sword. Yes, he can continue as a radical organizer on a grand scale to try to topple Trump but it also keeps him under public scrutiny. His misdeeds keep surfacing.

  • Sam Westrop of the Middle East Forum tells us that following the civil war in Sudan, ” The Obama administration approved a grant of $200,000 of taxpayer money to an al-Qaeda affiliate in Sudan — a decade after the U.S. Treasury designated it as a terrorist-financing organization. More stunningly, government officials specifically authorized the release of at least $115,000 of this grant even after learning that it was a designated terror organization.”

Michelle Obama’s Failed Legacy

Michelle Obama had a laudable goal of getting American children in shape and eating right. The problem is that she approached it too scientifically and in too much of a heavy-handed manner.

Schoolchildren would hardly eat the industrial slop they were fed to begin with, but at least it was things they liked such delicacies as pizza, burgers, fries, etc. When all of this was replaced with “healthy” industrial slop the kids rebelled and most of the victuals ended up in the trash.

She also failed to take into account that kids that participated in after-school activities like sports and cheerleading were running on empty when expected to perform since they were not allowed to pack snacks on school property; many schools were instructed to frisk the kids and to dispose of “unauthorized” food items, leaving the parent’s wishes completely out of the loop.

Her stance today is summed up as, in her words, “So consumers out there – again, I don’t care where you’re from, what your party is – I would be highly insulted by that thought. ‘You want to talk about nanny state and government intervention? Well, you just buy the food and be quiet. You don’t need to know what’s in it.’ That’s essentially what a move like this is saying to you, mom. They think you don’t care because what they hear from are the people who want their kids to eat whatever they want to eat.”

Her legacy on this issue is doomed because parents don’t want to be preached to, don’t want to be told that the government does not approve of the way they handle their private and personal family relationships.

Barack and Michelle Obama's failed accomplishments
Barack and Michelle Obama’s failed accomplishments

The Bottom Line

The joint Obama legacy will not likely be one that is a long time in the making. Just five months into a new administration all these lofty ambitions have crumbled into the footnotes of history. Is this good or bad? That is your decision to make, dear reader.


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About the Author:

Photo of Kelly R. SmithKelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation, financial, and energy-trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.






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About the author:

Photo of Kelly R. SmithKelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation and financial and energy trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.


And Coming Up to the Mid-Term Elections

Is Physical Cash and Currency Coming to an End?

There has been a lot of speculation lately over the fate of physical cash (folding money as Grandpap used to say). Many self-appointed seers have stated that it is no longer needed because we have a plastic card with a chip, by golly!

Folly, I tell you. To rely on electronics and fancy machines for making our transactions is convenient. Yes, I will give you that. I do it myself. But a problem arises when the grid falters; everything electronic grinds to a halt. And woe to the Captains of Complacency.

The problem becomes more severe in an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) attack. Everything digital or electronic (other than things which have been properly shielded) go bye-bye.

The Government’s Interest in a Cash-Free Economy

The government has a huge interest these days in a cash-free marketplace. Every transaction by strip or chip can be recorded and made accessible and recordable since those freedoms against intrusiveness have been eroded. So long, Bill of Rights.

The government databases can record your purchases, your preferred stores and websites, your personal demographics, oh, and your bank balance and credit card info. Feel all snuggly and warm now? Didn’t think so.

Is there an upside? Sure! Organized crime and drug dealing will have to scramble to find new ways to keep up business as usual. But you know that they will so to assert “not” is a straw man argument.  However as a citizen, where do you draw the line between personal anonymity and “We’re just here to help?”

Public Acceptance?

To this writer it is amazing how many people are willing to give up their personal rights to the state for convenience at Starbucks. According to Reuters.com, “Overall, 34 percent of respondents in Europe and 38 percent in the United States said they would be willing to go cash-free, according to the survey conducted by Ipsos for the ING bank website eZonomics.”

I suppose that most of the respondents never went through the aftermath of a natural disaster like a hurricane when there were no electronic transactions for basic necessities for weeks. Cash is king, baby. Be ready for cash or bartering.


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Economics & Consequences of Illegal Aliens

Both Illegal Immigration and the Willy-Nilly distribution of Work Visas Have a Dramatic Impact

Photo of Kelly R. Smith   by Kelly R. Smith
RIP America
RIP America
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This article was updated on 01/28/21.

No one can dispute the fact that Donald Trump was whisked into office on a wave of fly-over America. Not left-coasters, not right-coasters, but the average American who has lost his and her job due to exporting production, importing foreign talent, bad trade deals, and illegal immigrants.

Yes, illegal immigrants are felons. Sneaking into another country is a crime. I’m not making a moral judgement here; how can you fault a man or woman who just wants to provide for family since the rabiblanco government in Mexico makes no concessions for their own poor and downtrodden? It is the encouraging system that is at fault.

The Economic Effects of Illegal Immigration

America has almost always encouraged immigration. Where would we be without the Irish and Italians? Not in the prosperous position in which we find ourselves.

But those Irish and Italian emigrants came in according to the law, embraced the country, and assimilated to the point that some never taught their children the old-country language.

The problem with the illegals today is that for the most part, they don’t have those same goals. They come here illegally and suck up tax-payer provided public services (emergency room medical, food pantry access, public transportation, etc.) without giving back to their hosts.

The problem is that after working under the table or under a fake or stolen social security number, rather than pumping wages back into our economy, they send it back to their home country as remittances which does nothing to stimulate or sustain our economy. The center will not hold.

According to CNN, “Last year, Mexico received $27 billion in remittances — a record high and far more than what the country got from its oil exports, $18.7 billion, according to Mexico’s central bank. The vast majority of remittances sent to Mexico come from the U.S. and they support millions of low-income families in Mexico.”

This is money that should have been spent in the country that is providing all the services that the illegals willingly consume.

I’m all for hard-working people but not when their prime motivation is sucking my country dry in order to make theirs more prosperous.

Americans Won’t Do that Work

How many times have you heard this bovine excrement canard? Most likely, many times! Complete liberal nonsense. Who do you think did all these jobs before the Rio Grande got an express lane?

Point in case: I am a veteran and went through a 4-year carpentry apprenticeship. After that I worked as a commercial journeyman carpenter for 20 or so years. Today I can’t even buy a job framing or hanging drywall. Why? Because I have a real social security number and can’t afford to work for $5/hr.

The same is true in many other industries. But the authorities, especially those on the Democrat side of the aisle will not address it. Why? I don’t know; ask them that after they explain why they can’t be bothered to fix the VA hospital problems.

When I say authorities do not think that I am casting stones. This encompasses both the Republicans, the progressive Democrats, the RINOs (can you hear me John McCain?), the whole kettle of rotten fish.

How About the H-1B Work Visa?

This one is all over the map. Silicone Valley says they need them because there are not enough Americans. Total bovine excrement, again. It really all boils down to the paycheck. You can say whatever you like about how great these employers are but their bottom line is more important than their loyalty to our citizens and the country that has provided them such a great work environment. And social media platforms like Facebook are making things worse by banning conservative voices and promoting posts that glorify Antifa and BLM.

Many companies have not only sought to import foreign workers and sponsor their H-1B work visas but force American employees to train their replacements prior to being fired!

Disney, that standard-bearer of the American entertainment industry, is one of the worst offenders. The New York Times states, “About 250 Disney employees were told in late October that they would be laid off. Many of their jobs were transferred to immigrants on temporary visas for highly skilled technical workers, who were brought in by an outsourcing firm based in India. Over the next three months, some Disney employees were required to train their replacements to do the jobs they had lost.”

“I just couldn’t believe they could fly people in to sit at our desks and take over our jobs exactly,” said one former worker, an American in his 40s who remains unemployed since his last day at Disney on Jan. 30. “It was so humiliating to train somebody else to take over your job. I still can’t grasp it.”

Even more ominous, some tech and energy workers here in Houston that I have talked to have been told that they had two termination choices. Either train your foreign replacement and get your severance package or just walk away with nothing. Some choice.

No wonder we elected Donald Trump. And no wonder Congress members on both sides of the aisle are throwing dirt on him and trying to block his every move. He threatens their jobs in the good old boys and girls club and all the insane perks that that entails. These are just some of the economics and consequences of illegal aliens and work visas.




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About the Author:

Photo of Kelly R. SmithKelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation, financial, and energy-trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.

Sorry Bernie, Socialism Doesn’t Work

America’s Democrat Fascination with Socialism

by Kelly R. Smith

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Hungry Venezuelans queue up for food scraps after socialist government collapse.
Hungry Venezuelans queue up for food scraps after socialist government collapse.

This article was updated on 10/09/20.

Bernie Sanders was a strong contender for the Democrat party nomination during the last presidential election. In fact, there is much (well-deserved) speculation that he only got edged out by Hillary Clinton and the DNC’s dirty tricks.

Bernie’s issue with middle America was that he is a Democratic Socialist. Most folks in flyover country don’t want free stuff; they want jobs. Of course the youth want free college and forgiveness of student loans but for those of us that actually have to foot the bills, that is not such a promising prospect. In what world does it make sense to fund someone else’s children’s higher education? K-12 is one thing; that is good for society at large, but college? No.

Bernie Sanders is not alone in his desire to control every aspect of our lives and sweep the Constitution away like so much rubbish. Upstart first-term congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka AOC) is busy making waves. Her antics and lack of knowledge about all things economic and otherwise are beginning to rankle even her fellow Democrats. The first term is supposed to be about learning from established colleagues but she will have none of it.

Her outlandish ideas are exemplified by her proposed “Green New Deal” which aims to allow the government to regulate bovine flatulence (cow farts), eliminating air travel (although she doesn’t mind using it herself), and a government-enforced retrofit to her green standards of all buildings across the country. That’s right; the property owner doesn’t get a say. This, people, is what Democratic Socialism has in store for you.

What is Socialism?

Socialism is defined as a range of economic and social systems that are characterized by social ownership and worker’s self-management of the various means of production as well as the political theories and the movements that are associated with them.

Social ownership is a broad term. It may refer to forms of public, collective, or cooperative ownership, or to citizen ownership of equity There are a number of varieties of Socialism and there exists no single definition encapsulating all of them, however, social ownership is the common thread woven throughout its various forms. The problem is human nature. Why should I work hard if most of the resulting gains are to be distributed to those less disposed to do so? The incentive is removed; society stagnates. Entrepreneurs and visionaries fade away. All that’s left is a glut of worker-bots and government central planners.

Socialism vs Capitalism

Welcome to Venezuela

A recent Foxnews report tells us that, “a new nationwide survey shows that in the past year nearly 75 percent of the population lost an average of 19 pounds for lack of food.”

This in a country that should be enjoying riches from its oil reserves. But looking deeper there are two issues. First, and most problematic, is that Venezuela has a fondness for socialism rather than a free market.

Yes, free stuff works fine when the oil is flowing but basing your economy on just one commodity is dangerous, nay, it is suicidal. The problem with their oil, as abundant as it is, is that it is extremely sour crude. This simply means that the sulfur content is so high that hardly any refineries will process it. It just costs too much to refine and the extracted sulfur itself is dangerous and difficult to dispose of.

It’s Simple Economics

It is no secret that the market today is flush with sweeter crude due to shale sands, fracking, and other technologies. So why import and refine Venezuelan crude at higher prices? The issue will only get worse since President Trump approved the Keystone Pipeline. There is no prospect for any improvement for the common Venezuelan citizen. People will starve and medical care will stay on its downward spiral.

So there you have it. Socialism, a reclusive and closed country, a reluctance to develop agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism; it is simply a recipe for disaster. The common people suffer. We see it not only in Venezuela but also in countries such as North Korea. Socialism has only worked in one place as far as I know. That would be the Panama Canal Zone before President Carter gave it away. Ironically, it was a federal agency run by that bastion of free enterprise, the USA. So yes Bernie, you were wrong from the get-go.

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” — Winston Churchill

But the problem is that Bernie is a Utopian. He sincerely believes socialism is the way to “govern” society. Here’s his take in his own words:

Bernie wants to mold America after the (former) Soviet Union and the impoverished Cuba. Both are failed states, which is a fact that he will not acknowledge. Democratic Socialism in America would be no different.

How Socialism Destroys Societies

By its very nature socialism destroys society; no intent is needed. This has been proven over and over. Unfortunately, zealots such as Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and AOC always say they can make it work. The fact is that it is all a mad thirst for power and riches. The previous attempts just didn’t do it the way Karl Marx envisioned it. But, history has proven that…

  • It destroys economic growth. It penalizes success and rewards failure. When the government confiscates money from successful people and redistributes it to the less successful, the successful have no incentive to build businesses and create jobs. Why should they? Just look at Greece today. Once socialism bottomed them out, rather than rethink their economic system, they simply turned to the European Union to keep them afloat. An entire country asking for redistribution from the EU. That might be called macro-socialism.
  • Free speech goes out the door. Just look at the extreme speech codes in Canada. Speak out against the government in China and you are going to jail. Socialist governments can’t abide honest, informed debate about its merits between citizens (or, comrades if you will) who are free to choose or reject it. So they stifle it with regulation.

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About the author:

Photo of Kelly R. SmithKelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation and financial and energy trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.


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