Really Right

Bloggers note: No way was this going to be posted the day I sent it to William due to an earlier blog submission.  Any changes after today will create a retraction to this story.

The day didn’t start well as a woman was killed by ICE Agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  I will state I am never happy to hear anyone getting killed by authorities.  There is more to this story, I am sure.  If the ICE agent was in the wrong throw the book at him; however, I have a sneaky suspicion the person no longer with us was no saint in the matter.

On to the good parts.

First Trump is going to ban defense corporations from using government funds to buy back stock and pay dividends unless they make serious changes to manufacturing capacity and research.  Here is some info below….

President Donald Trump said he would move to block U.S. defense contractors from paying dividends or repurchasing shares unless they significantly increase spending on manufacturing capacity and research, remarks that sent shares of major arms makers lower.

In a social media post Wednesday, Trump also called for sharp limits on executive compensation at defense companies, saying pay should be capped at $5 million until firms construct what he described as “NEW and MODERN Production Plants.” He argued that contractors are failing to produce and maintain military equipment quickly enough.

Defense companies “are currently issuing massive Dividends to their Shareholders and massive Stock Buybacks, at the expense and detriment of investing in Plants and Equipment,” Trump wrote. “This situation will no longer be allowed or tolerated!”

Folks to put it lightly, this needs to happen, and I hope it does.  By no means am I insinuating that we should be stockpiling for war, we do need increased capacity to build war machines faster and more efficiently.  The bottom line is that times are far different from fifteen years ago.  We must be vigilant that war could break out in the not-too-distant future.  Folks, the 90-day people amongst us will be angry but why should our taxpayer dollars go towards bloated executive compensation, stock buybacks, and dividends?  That tells me we are being grossly overcharged.  Why is it that everything to the older generation must be based on the almighty dollar and how big my bank account is?  To be clear, I am not saying, and neither is Trump, they shouldn’t be allowed to make money, but look at the profits these companies are churning out.

More from Hegseth…

The criticism fits a broader theme of the Trump administration’s approach to the defense industry. In November, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized what he described as a slow and inefficient procurement system, arguing that weapons programs are often over budget, delivered years late and sometimes outdated by the time they reach the field.

Over budget, years late, and obsolete is not going to win too many wars.

The second thing is he wants to ban private equity/institutional investors from buying homes.

President Donald Trump said he would ban Wall Street investors from buying single-family homes in an effort to ease the affordability crisis that’s plaguing the housing market.

“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream,” Trump said in a Jan. 7 post on the social media site Truth Social. “I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations.”

Institutional investors, such as Blackstone, have been reliably buying and renting out single-family homes since the 2008 financial crisis locked many Americans out of the mortgage market.

First-time homebuyers are suffering as housing has remained scarce and increasingly expensive. They made up a record-low share of all buyers in the most recent year, and the average age of a first-time buyer jumped to 40, according to an industry analysis.

Folks, I just turned 40. I have owned my home for over 10 years.  I cannot fathom not being a homeowner until this age … but … the older generation has made it their mission to make it so my generation and the ones below it will never own a home.  They started allowing these large corporations to buy homes with the only intention being to rent them out.  In some places, like near Atlanta, entire communities are owned by these firms.  They rent them out at top market rate, and when they are able, the rent is “raised to current market standards” regardless of their relationship with the tenant.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep the rent increases manageable for a tenant you like, that will maybe take care of the property or at least not let it get run down?  I would think so.  As a result, it’s a “turn and burn” scenario for the renter.  One of these outfits, Invitation Homes, bought a home about 5 doors down from me. The tenant has turned over 3 times in a 26-month period, and it currently sits unoccupied.  The tenants also left a lot to be desired; the first was three generations of a Filipino family that moved in.  Nothing against any race, but wouldn’t you consider it a bad sign 3 families are required to make rent each month?  They quasi converted the garage into living quarters for the youngest family of 3.  They lasted the longest.  Next was a young Hispanic family, that lasted about 8 months.  The last was a young black couple, they lasted about 2 months.  In regard to the black couple, it sounded like the marriage was on ice and that was likely the reason for the short stay.  As I note, it has sat vacant for about 5 months now.  I predict it will sit for a while. The corporation can likely use the vacancy as some kind of write off, and they likely have the attitude of the 90-day guy and say “why take less than what we think its worth?”

The other big problem, first time and even not first-time homebuyers normally have a liquidity issue., They need to get the money together for the downpayment and sometimes have other contingencies … Selling their current home (if not a first-time home buyer).  These corporations have none, their only ask is “where do we wire the money.”

These are both very good policies, with the second being probably my favorite of his term so far.  Keep it up!

Chief

Oh, wait until I tell you about the healthcare issue in this country.  BTW it ain’t Obamacare.

GOALS

My big goal for 2026 is to tie the knot with my special lady. Of course, I have a few obstacles to get out of my way first.

The biggest of these is to survive filing my 2025 taxes. Last year was a train wreck in terms of what it cost. I think this year will be better since I upped the withholdings. I will know February 2^nd when I visit my tax man.

Then there is “the ring.” “One ring to rule them all …” comes to mind. My girl wants a diamond, I was hoping she would be happy with a ruby but have been overruled. I think I have a plan to get this done, but given the price of gold lately, this might be a pricey transaction. Such is life.

Then comes the ceremony. This will be a frugal event, but it will be great. The biggest issue is how to feed the guests. I have a venue in mind but of course my plan may not be hers.

By the time these things are ready, I figure it will be May. Then my last obstacle will be where to warehouse my dog for about six weeks. I have an idea, but I will see what happens. Frankly, this is the costliest part of going on a trip. If I can do better than $25 per day, then I will be happy.

GRIPES

As of this writing, I still have a few sour people trying to dump all over me and my girl. My mom doesn’t understand why I can’t find a white girl in the U.S. of A. She and some other family members have told me that it is even wrong of me to look. They literally have said that I should ignore seeking another relationship and God will bring someone in my life. I tried that with the first wife, and it took over 20 years. Translation, be alone and happy you’re not married. Why is it that married people keep telling single ones to be happy they aren’t married. Sounds to me like they have impaired judgement in selecting a life partner not me. I loved being married and want to do it again.

As always, zero people have put forth zero suggestions as to who I should pursue for marriage. Even back when my parents asked me to divorce my first wife, they had no suggestions as to who could do a better job. The bottom line is that they just like to find fault, point out what they feel are the shortcomings of others, and tear down others that they find inferior. How this builds them up, I’m not sure.

I had weird conversation with my sister the other day. I tried to explain my relationship with my girl and said that if the church is in charge of marriage, then I am walking on solid biblical ground in our relationship. She got hostile and denied that either the church or State was in charge of marriage. Instead, she claimed it was the Bible. The Bible in a vacuum with no institution underpinning it!

I tried to say that God had put the Church in charge of marriage, and she flat out denied it, stating that I was wrong. (I am most certainly correct. See Ray Sutton’s book Second Chance.) Then, she started to accuse me of adultery and began to lecture me that if I went to a Bible believing church then I would know the truth. She had gone over the logical cliff by then and kept going. I was sure the Roadrunner would pop up any second with the sign reading “Gravity” but he never materialized.

Good grief!

God created four governments and marriage must belong to at least one. Here are the choices of biblical government: Self, Church, State, Family. I believe that Christ has given marriage to the church.

My former church believes that marriage belongs primarily to the government and in a secondary capacity to the church. They would deny this but look at how they act. Deeds are louder than words; especially, when the actions don’t align with the words.

This example is true, but I am changing the names and some minor details because they don’t matter to the point I am trying to make.

Steve and Laura joined the church several years ago. They have three small children. Steve was highly regarded by the clergy and was a promising young guy that they wanted to make into an Elder in the congregation. It didn’t happen but …

As time when on, Steve started seeing Zelda, a coworker, on the side. The wife found out and Steve moved out to cohabitate with Zelda. Laura files for divorce. Then the church holds a trial and excommunicated Steve. Once the divorce is finalized in the family law court, Laura is then pronounced from the pulpit as eligible to remarry as the innocent party in the relationship. 

Why did the church defer to State action? You can only conclude that marriage belongs to the State. The State gives you a marriage license and licenses officiants so marriage must belong to them. The church has a minor and secondary role in marriage. In fact, a church is really not necessary to get married, it’s just a tradition that the State allows.

Thus, a church that gives lip service to Sola Scriptura doesn’t really believe it. If they believed the Church is biblically charged with administering marriage, they would not wait for the State. State action is irrelevant. They would not wait for Laura to file for divorce. They would try Steve without waiting. Furthermore, they would have simultaneously pronounced judgment on Steve and announced Laura, as the innocent party, eligible to remarry.

Biblically, the State has no part in marriage and until about 1900, they didn’t. Only when local governments began seeking additional income did licensing marriage become a thing. It was originally for the purpose of taxing marriage that it began to be licensed. But now that the church allowed the State to take over marriage, does the current situation exist.

Folks, just because this happened doesn’t make it right, but when your church denies the applicability of biblical law to the State, what do they have left? Such clergy agrees with Gavin Newsom that they are nonessential workers. This is how you know, no matter how nice the pastor might be, that in the final analysis that he is a hireling and not really a shepherd.

Once the State takes something away from the Church, it always belongs to the State.

Folks, the devil gets lots of credit in our society for taking stuff away from the church, but the truth is even more sinister, the church simply cedes the ground to the devil and usually without a fight. You know how you always get mad at Republicans for surrendering to Democrats and getting nothing in the bargain, ditto for the church. Unilateral Capitulation.

People that believe marriage belongs to the church are happy that I have found someone to love. Those that think marriage belongs to the State think I’m a notorious sinner because I assert that I don’t need to wait on the government to get their paperwork caught up with reality to date my girl or, gasp, marry her.

Oh, the other issue involved in my situation is that one part of the body of Christ doesn’t recognize any part of the body but their own denomination. The Apostle to the Gentiles was clear that all the parts are knitted together by the Holy Spirit but one body. Again, my former church claims to be Sola Scriptura but doesn’t believe this either. They want the right to sit in judgement over a church in another country because their method of baptism or whatever isn’t the same as theirs. BFD.

Folks, when you impose any presuppositions onto the Bible, be they cultural or eschatological, you will never rightly divide the Word of Truth. Your presuppositions get in the way.

In about a year, this will all get sorted out. When it does, you will find me standing near Charlie Kirk, Mark Steyn, and a few theologians that are or should be household names. I’m not right, I’m Really Right. I’ve stated this before; I have a plan, I’m working the plan, and it will be alright in the end. Just give me the grace to get there.

The 90-Day Guy lied. I have irrefutable evidence of his lie.  Mental health is not a sympathy card and f**k you if you are using it as one. 

How do I know he is lying?  An aunt of mine who worked as a primary care doctor, and a surgeon, was over for Christmas.  I asked for her expertise on this subject.

I told her what he had told me, that he told his doctor he was suicidal and had even picked out the knife to kill himself.  She said the doctor is obligated at that point to make a call to the health and human service or related county/state department.  She added that her medical malpractice insurance would not pay out if he had killed himself and she didn’t notify the correct channels.  She went on to say he would be required to see a specialist for an evaluation. I told her he went once or twice then quit going, for money reasons.  It’s always money with him, all the time.  She told me that’s a lie also, as the appropriate channel/group would have forced him to attend, again being suicidal is a big deal this day and age with all the mass shootings done by them. 

I further prodded, William will tell you it’s what I do, and her further responses crystalized his lying.  She said mental health is a huge thing right now and most insurance covers it 100%. This is due to different laws passed as result of these shootings/killings.  She said she had a feeling about what he did, I let her speak freely.  Full disclosure, she is from Illinois, but I feel the laws/regulations on the books are likely similar or the same to California, where I am based.  She said I can guarantee he went to an urgent care doctor, someone who is not his primary care doctor, he went in wanting to be diagnosed with a mental condition, and he won.  Her words and I quote “he squealed to a doctor who is not his own and got put on a pill that will not fix his issue, it’s a here you go drug.”  It’s a cover your butt, here you go, I guess you have a condition because you say you do.  He went to an urgent care doctor because the doctor has plausible deniability, he can claim he sees a ton of patients each day, insured or uninsured he doesn’t know.  It’s a free pass.  That doctor was done with him after payment was processed that day, he got what he wanted.

He claims its anxiety when my phone’s alert for a call is coming in or a text is incoming bothers him; however, the sounds at the local casino do not.  He gets off on things like this; it’s a sympathy card to him.  It’s wild. When things do not go his way, it’s a mental health thing, yet he seeks no treatment.  He is a liar.

There you have it folks, it’s been proven, truth always wins out. If you claim mental health and are lying about it, you are the lowest of the low.  Actually, I’ll use a term the young people use: SYBAU … it’s an acronym for shut your bitch ass up.  People with mental health issues need our help, not people who want to fake it.

The Chief

I’ve been thinking about the below Editor’s Note,

Editor’s Note: One issue that is not refuted in the above is stolen identities and organized crime. I suspect the bulk of fraud is via this mechanism. In my experience, government is ill equipped to deal with fraud as the presumption of any government program is that the applicant is eligible.

William is in fact correct. Fraud is likely coming from stolen identities, organized crime, and professional crooks.  The honest reality is that the fraudsters are always several steps ahead of normal people.  Think of it like this: to keep the honest person honest you put a lock on your front door.  However, the burglar doesn’t care that you have a lock and has a device to pry said door open.  Bottom line, if the bad guys want it, they will achieve their goal. In this case, the fraud is committed by folks who know how to avoid detection and may even have people on the inside doing the dirty work for them.

I am proposing a solution, unlike many in the Republican Party, I know I want to “throw this out there.”  It’s not perfect but here goes.

Universal Basic Income.

Yep, the 90-day guy called it the “stupidest thing he has ever heard.  Saying that’s socialism.”  The only thing he knows about socialism is that Sean Hannity rails against it. He is loyal to the folks at Fox News.  He describes his generation and Republicans in general pretty well, be against everything.  Folks voting NO on everything is not a long-term strategy. This mentality is what led us to Obamacare.  When asked for his plan, he shrugged.  With the amount of TV he consumes, he should know we are facing a serious crossroads in our country.

Think of it this way, we have so many government programs: Section 8, SNAP, disability, unemployment, welfare, just to name a few, what if we replaced them all.  Replace them with 1 federal government program.  Universal Income isn’t going to be $100,000, not even close.  Income would be verified by the IRS annually with your tax return. If you find work and earn an income over ____ you come off the program.  Steal my identity and apply?  You will be rejected because I earn too much income. This would be verified by the IRS not an administrative law judge.  Lose your job during the year?  You would have documentation of that to be sent in with your application!  To quote Dave Ramsey, folks on UBI (Universal Basic Income) aren’t going to be seeing the inside of very many restaurants.  This will probably be in the neighborhood of $35-55k a year depending on where you live, not work.

We have to start thinking differently about an ever-changing work environment.  People are having their jobs outsourced overseas constantly. Stores close simply because they “aren’t making enough profit” AI and quantum computing are going to replace a lot of jobs.  When workers retire, the replacement is hired for half or two thirds the salary to save money.  This constant cutting of expenses as the basic structure of profit and loss statements does not bode well for the workforce long term.

Our workforce of the future needs to be viewed differently too.  Some people are disabled and cannot work or cannot work full time.  Others will lack a skillset to work. Let’s be real. When Schools and Universities are saying that graduating high school students (incoming class) only read at a 4^th grade level, we have a real issue!  That isn’t going to get better with time. That generation is going to be left toiling and twisting in the wind.  We shut down our country for 3 years and it has consequences which are just now being felt. Many didn’t finish high school/college.  Many students also picked up bad work habits due to the Covid shutdown. Most jobs do not get filled permanently. If they have something, it’s just on a temporary basis.  Sadly, these items are basically uncorrectable.  Automation is only going to eliminate more positions which again is making the population more and more unemployed.  Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have both spoken about importing folks to the USA on H1-B? Visas to work here. Due to the structure of our educational system, that is the future of our workforce folks.

Paying for it?  Well, this is the stumbling block. I’m too lazy to look it up as of press time but collapsing all the federal/state aid programs and their subsequent employees would free up quite a bit of cash to fund this.  We do not know how much fraud is truly going on, but this collapses several programs into one program. Streamlines the process and makes it so theIRS will be annually verifying income.  It may not be the answer, but I think it’s a start.  I have also heard Mark Zuckerburg, and others discuss funding this with some of their own wealth, so there is that.

As far as the obvious Fox News comeback, what will stop people from just not working, or working for cash under the table?  There isn’t, but I will say $35-50k is not a whole lot of money, so your lifestyle won’t be great.  Much like my remark about food stamps, I highly doubt those folks are using them to buy a filet mignon.

Make the application in person only, verified by a government issued ID, and must have a bank account verified in their name.  If they do not possess all three of these, sorry can’t help you.  No judge to sign off, no paperwork mistakes.  Income verified and viola.  As mentioned above, IRS checked each year for fraud purposes.  Get caught, you are arrested and permanently removed from the program.  Check has to go to an address not a PO Box.   Will it stop all fraud?  No.  Will folks on the program use the funds for illicit activities?  Sure.  The point isn’t to stop all fraud going on, that’s impossible. But my idea is to make it a lot more difficult, that’s all.

If you hate my idea…. May I respectfully ask for your submission?

The Chief

Editor’s Note: I don’t wish to speak directly to the merits of this idea, although collapsing the infamous social safety net into a handful of programs instead of the thousands of existing and overlapping programs being administered currently appears to have merit. I just want to remind you of the plans that Joe Biden had for the IRS. Biden wanted every financial transaction in the United States reported to and tracked by the IRS. The goal of the plan was that the IRS would become our financial Big Brother. Part of the proposal was that the IRS would eliminate income tax filing for individuals. At year end, they would either send you a tax bill or a refund for overpaid taxes. One reason for the program was to eliminate fraud (that it would boost tax revenue was assumed as well).