An old pastor once told me that the word “mortgage” is from two Latin words; “mort” meaning death like in mortuary and “gage” meaning grip, thus a mortgage was a “death grip”. This is what I thought of when I say this headline today:
The average millennial (aged 18 to 34) had about $32,000 in personal debt, excluding home mortgages, last year, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2018 Planning & Progress Study. That debt can feel both crushing — and endless. Just over 60 percent of millennials (classified here as those aged 18-37) with debt don’t know when, or if, they’ll ever be able to pay off what they owe, according to a new CreditCards.com report. That includes roughly 42 percent of millennials who don’t know when they’ll be able to wipe out their debt, and almost 20 percent of those who expect to die in debt.
Expecting to die with debt is not a formula or mindset for success. No wonder so many say they prefer socialism. This blog is about hope for the hopeless.
The above article, without attribution, then proceeds to list several of Dave Ramsey’s “baby steps” for getting out of debt. Ramsey has 7 steps to getting out of debt. 1 Save $1,000 to start an emergency Fund 2 Payoff all debt (except mortgage) using debt snowball 3 save 3-6 months of expenses 4 invest 15% in retirement 5 save for child’s college fund 6 pay off your home 7 Build wealth and give
I can attest that following Ramsey’s advice will put you on the path to financial freedom. The cornerstone of his plan is the Emergency Fund. By putting this money away, you have a pool of cash to use for car repairs, new tires, fixing the dishwasher, unplugging the drain, or whatever else life throws at you without reaching for the “magic plastic”.
As you are saving this Emergency Fund, Ramsey asks people to cut-up their credit cards and use their Emergency Fund instead. Then replenish the money so you keep the fund available.
If you are married, it is vital that both of you agree on this course of action. Deciding to get out of debt must be a joint decision. You must be working together and not be unequally yoked to this idea. Nothing is more divisive in a marriage than fighting about money. To get both of you on the same page with getting debt free, Ramsey has classes that he offers called Financial Peace University. The cost of materials is about $100 but worth it.
Financial Peace Kit
My wife and I attended the Financial Peace classes at a local church about five years ago. I didn’t really know what to expect but found the classes helpful. The classes are held over several weeks. Part of the class is viewing Ramsey and some others, often his daughter, via a DVD presentation. The class facilitators also do various exercises with those attending, many of these are as groups. When we attended, there were eight or nine families. Any worksheets involving money are anonymous although those leading the group many have an idea who wrote which numbers.
The exercise that really got my attention was the one at the beginning where everybody listed their debts and then turned the number into the facilitators. This is part of a before v after comparison designed to show progress towards the baby steps of establishing an Emergency Fund and starting to pay off debt via a “snowball”. It was shocking when the total debt in the room was announced—remember this figure did not count anything owed on a home. Over half of the debt in the room belonged to me and my wife! It was a sobering moment.
Since that night we have paid-off over $100,000 of that original debt and the remaining balance will be gone before the end of 2019. Truthfully, we don’t stick with the snowball as religiously as we could. We still allow for vacations and a few wants. We are honest enough to distinguish between “wants” and “needs”; however, we always pay cash.
A word of caution, when you start cancelling credit cards, the offers begin pouring into your mailbox. Ramsey is a big advocate of going “cold turkey” on the plastic. Cut it up, throw it away, and never look back. Your dealers, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Discover, Golden 1, Chase, Amazon, Costco, etc., will really miss their 24 percent payment each month and offer you even more debt to come back.
If this is the MasterCard, guess who’s the slave?
I think of it as free drugs from the dealer just to get you hooked again. Two percent cash back is still 22 percent to the dealer so exactly how is that a bargain? Buy the heroine and get free needles? Oops, not blogging about San Francisco today.
Anyway, if you are up to your eyeballs in debt, there really is hope and a support network should you need it. Yes, your lifestyle may change as you learn to live within your means but freedom has always had a price. The only thing better than being debt free is teaching your children to learn from your mistakes and showing them a better way.
Since starting down this path, we are optimistic about our future. How many of you still paying for DirecTV so you can watch Fox News and CNN can say the same?
If you needed proof that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, in the first recorded case of one silicon based life form murdering another, a Tesla vehicle on autopilot ran down an autonomous robot, Promobot, on the streets of Las Vegas. As a pedestrian, the robot clearly had the right of way along the busy Las Vegas Strip but the Tesla ran him down without even slowing, let alone attempting to stop.
According to Promobot, a number of robots were making their way to the booth around 7 p.m. when one of them stepped out of line and into the parking lot roadway. As it did, it was struck by a Tesla Model S operating in autonomous mode. The crash tipped the robot onto its side, causing ‘serious damage,’ Promobot says. Now, with parts of its body, head, arm mechanisms, and movement platform destroyed, it cannot be put on display. The firm says the damage is likely irreparable.
The Tesla involved in the collision was operating autonomously, though a passenger was inside at the time. And, it continued driving another 50 meters after the accident before finally stopping.
There is no word on whether the Tesla passenger will be filing a civil suit for the trauma of helplessly having to witness the robot being run over while trapped inside the rogue vehicle. Please note that the Tesla only decided to stop after realizing that it had struck a pedestrian.
In this space, we have previously detailed about two everyday people’s struggles with addiction, now I want to write about a professional athlete who has thrown his life away. Josh Gordon is a current receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League.
The Patriots will be playing in the playoffs next weekend…Gordon will not be with them. He is suspended indefinitely and has likely played his last game in the NFL. On December 20th of this year, Gordon wrote on Instagram that he was stepping away from football to focus on his mental health…. Well, it came out later that evening that he had failed yet another drug test. He will not play in the NFL again. While this blog will focus on Gordon, I want it to highlight how addiction ruined his professional career, and how it will ruin many more lives if not banned and criminalized again.
Gordon admitted to starting substance abuse in middle school. His drugs of choice: Xanax, Codeine, and Marijuana.
Xanax Bar
Codeine can be widely found in almost any cold/cough medicine, Xanax is supposed to be prescribed by a doctor, marijuana…. what can I say? It’s more prevalent than ever if you know where to look. Marijuana; ask anyone in law enforcement and they will tell you, it’s a gateway drug. Once you use it you get hooked, then you need more and more just to achieve a buzz, then you switch to more potent drugs down the line. Gordon claimed he took these to self-medicate for the following: anxiety, inadequacy, and adolescent based fear…hmm 3 things teachers are happy to diagnose so they won’t bring down the test scores more, and doctors are happy to prescribe medications too…more $$$ for them. It got to the point that he was using an entire bar of Xanax a day just to function…his teachers, as Gordon describes, “oblivious to his sleeping and drooling behavior shown during class.” His drug/medicinal use caused him to be expelled from two middle schools for stealing electronics from his peers. He earned a scholarship to a prep school in Houston but was expelled in the 10th grade for marijuana usage.
He attended another high school and joined a gang. He carried and used a gun, stole merchandise, used counterfeit money and sold marijuana (there’s that drug again) to feed his habit. He admitted that he smoked weed daily and drank vodka from Minute Maid juice glasses IN CLASS! By his junior year, marijuana wasn’t getting the job done anymore so he used the following drugs: hydrocodone, oxycodone, and again Xanax. Part of the problem was Gordon was a gifted athlete, so he would always get a longer leash then a lay person. So, before every football game Gordon would mix Mad Dog 20-20 with fortified wine to see if he could play drunk. Sounds like a great teammate! Gordon admits his usage in High School became the norm…and only accelerated as he entered college.
Mad Dog 20-20
Gordon was good enough to go into many Division 1 football programs but could only go to Baylor University due to him being on supervised probation for felony credit card theft at age 17.
Yes, folks he was still drinking, using drugs, and selling drugs while on felony supervised probation…in Texas no less. As a requirement of his probation, he had to consent to monthly drug tests, he never failed one…. reason being they never tested for dilution (drinking excessive water to cleanse out any trace of drugs). When he was a sophomore at Baylor, Gordon and a teammate were found passed out in a Taco Bell drive thru at 2 am, copious amounts of weed found in the car. While both players were charged with a misdemeanor, the charges were later dropped. I will offer this advice, if you find yourself at a Taco Bell after midnight chances are you are making bad life choices. Gordon admitted he was selling 6 lbs. of marijuana a week while at Baylor, making over $10k a month. As for him not failing drug tests…a coach helped him detox before the test was administered. Before his junior year he wasn’t so lucky, he failed a drug test and was suspended indefinitely leading him to transfer to a different school.
Gordon admitted that on his trips to Oregon, UCLA, USC, and
Utah, he would smoke a bunch of weed, and pop Adderall. Even while picking out a new school to attend,
Gordon could not be sober or clean. He
decided on Utah, where he dabbled in cocaine and was taking Adderall daily. He
failed a drug test, dropped out, and returned to Houston. He never played a snap at Utah. He continued using and selling back home
while preparing for the NFL supplemental draft.
This draft is for those who are not allowed to play for their college
teams anymore due to grades, issues, etc.
He was selected by the Cleveland
Browns, even with all his baggage, he would now play at football’s highest
level.
His first season he played every game. He must never have
been drug tested because he stated he got ready for every game with a pre-game
ritual of hitting a bong and drinking several shots of Grand Marnier or
Vodka. Gordon said he needed to do this
to start his body up, I guess kind of like starting a car, I guess? He would always miss team meetings and show
up with bloodshot eyes, a tell-tale sign of being on a bender from the night
before. The following year he failed a
drug test and was suspended the first 2 games. Despite that, he put up huge
numbers, making the Pro-Bowl.
After this season is where his life truly unraveled. He was
arrested for DUI in the off-season and suspended 10 games for a failed drug
test, his second. He played 5 games,
suspended for the last for being too drunk to catch the team plane to the
airport for their game. He failed
another test and was suspended for the entire following season. He petitioned the league to be reinstated,
during that period…yes, another failed test. He was reinstated and suspended
another 4 games. Rather than returning,
he entered rehab, a good choice on his part as it was clear he needed it. He did not play that season at all, and once
again needed to be reinstated by the Commissioner in order to play again. He stayed sober for 6 months….so he decided
to celebrate doing exactly what got him into trouble to begin with…. smoking
weed.
During that same offseason Gordon was told that a court
warrant was issued for him to take a court ordered paternity test. Gordon’s response was what girl? What kid?
He later learned he was in fact the father. He literally smoked himself so silly over the
course of his life he had no idea what this court paternity situation was all
about. He played just 5 games the
following season, because once again he was suspended. In the offseason he was traded to the
league’s best team, the New England Patriots. He had to apply for reinstatement
and was having a good season, until the 20th of December, when he
announced he was leaving to work on his mental health…. he in fact failed yet
another drug test. In all likelihood his
career is over.
Here are some various quotes from Gordon, after which I will add
my commentary about Gordon and addiction.
“I stayed out late, but the thing is we had to be up in the morning for like a 7:30 a.m. team meeting,” Gordon told Uninterrupted. “I didn’t wake up until 10 o’clock, 10:15, coming out of a blackout. I’m getting a bunch of texts and calls, you know, from coaches, ‘Where you at? We’re headed to the tarmac already.’ I’m like, ‘Ah, s***.’”
“I found myself around the city of Gainesville just wandering, looking for a drug dealer,” he told Uninterrupted. “Looking for people on the street corner, whatever smelled like weed, somebody that looked like they had something, asking random people, knocking on like smoke shop storefronts seeing where I could find some stuff at. I was just looking for something, some type of relief.”
“If you fail a drug test, you know, this is over, they’re not going to let you keep playing,” Gordon said. “I never really took it serious. I thought I could keep on doing it and getting away with it and getting away with it.”
“I’ve been enabled most of my life honestly,” Gordon said. “I’ve been enabled by coaches, teachers, professors — everybody pretty much gave me a second chance just because of my ability.”
Commentary: How do you feel now if you voted to legalize marijuana? Wanted sentencing reform? Said weed isn’t addictive? Claimed alcohol is far worse? The bottom line here is this, while Gordon may at some point finally own up and take the blame (this is entirely his fault), how many people that you and I rub shoulders with every day think he did nothing wrong? Victimless crimes?
Looking back, sure the teachers
easily could have caught him under the influence in class. His parents, I don’t really know; he may not
have had a father, or maybe they also didn’t care. But the bottom line is this, Gordon is an
exceptional athlete, and he could not kick his addiction, and we are talking
someone making millions of dollars. He
earned more in a year than most working folks make in a lifetime! His situation was so bad that he could not
even play without being under the influence of something.
Tax revenue from pot is great, however it’s like an Indian Casino; at what cost? Turning your citizens into addicts for the sake of revenue? Gordon is actually very lucky; most citizens fail one drug test at work and they are terminated on the spot and likely get a criminal referral sent to local law enforcement! Good luck finding any type of work after that. In addition, at almost any other workplace, drug tests are random and unannounced, in the NFL, lots of notice is required to be given and while the test is random, you are more than for warned, meaning there is literally no excuse for a dirty test. I am willing to bet good money that at the Gordon residence tonight he is either lighting one up in tribute to Bob Marley or drinking like a fish. One can only hope he sees the light and kicks the devil’s lettuce or that hopefully he invested the money well because his behavior won’t translate into the real world.
Keep in mind how real addiction is,
at one-point Gordon missed 43 of 48 Cleveland Browns games due to
suspension. Maybe we should re-think
this business of legalizing drugs?
I saw this article and thought it worthy of giving you the highlights.
WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to declare a national emergency that would bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. It would be the latest step by the Trump administration to cut Huawei Technologies Cos Ltd and ZTE Corp, two of China’s biggest network equipment companies, out of the U.S. market. The United States alleges that the two companies work at the behest of the Chinese government and that their equipment could be used to spy on Americans. The executive order, which has been under consideration for more than eight months, could be issued as early as January and would direct the Commerce Department to block U.S. companies from buying equipment from foreign telecommunications makers that pose significant national security risks, sources from the telecoms industry and the administration said.
In March, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said “hidden ‘back doors’ to our networks in routers, switches — and virtually any other type of telecommunications equipment – can provide an avenue for hostile governments to inject viruses, launch denial-of-service attacks, steal data, and more.”
The executive order would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that gives the president the authority to regulate commerce in response to a national emergency that threatens the United States. The issue has new urgency as U.S. wireless carriers look for partners as they prepare to adopt next generation 5G wireless networks. The order follows the passage of a defense policy bill in August that barred the U.S. government itself from using Huawei and ZTE equipment.
Rural operators in the United States are among the biggest customers of Huawei and ZTE, and fear the executive order would also require them to rip out existing Chinese-made equipment without compensation. Industry officials are divided on whether the administration could legally compel operators to do that.
I keep going back to the 1980’s and Japan’s mantra that “Business is war”. China has upped that idea to the Nth degree and average Americans could care less. China is not just an economic competitor but the biggest external threat to our freedom.
As expected, Senator John McCain left the United States Senate feet first. McCain—who was a legend in his own mind—was controversial for being wrong and undercutting his own Party in very public ways. While he did serve in the military, it is a wonder that he didn’t get discharged for some of the antics that he pulled; however, having a daddy who is an admiral has its privileges. I hesitate to be as critical as some of his fellow veterans who say that the Forrestal fire and his time as a POW were both his fault. Whatever the truth may be, no one disputes that McCain flaunted the rules when it suited him.
Now in death, a measure of payback has been given to him. In the waning hours of the current Senate, the move to rename the Russell Senate building as the McCain Senate building is dead.
FYI Russell was:
US Senator Richard Russell
The 109-year-old building is named after Sen. Richard Russell, a Georgia Democrat who, like McCain, chaired the Armed Services panel. Russell, who died in 1971, was a segregationist and led Southern opposition to anti-lynching bills and other civil rights legislation, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He co-authored the “Southern Manifesto” to slow the integration of public schools after the Supreme Court unanimously ordered it in 1954. Previously known simply as the Senate Office Building, it was renamed in Russell’s honor the year after his death.
Following McCain’s death, this idea was put forth by two of the better known malcontents in the Senate, Chuck “What Wall?” Schumer and Jeff “Never Trump” Flake.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer had proposed renaming the Russell building in McCain’s honor after the veteran Republican senator died Saturday from brain cancer.
Senator Jeff Flake
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who co-sponsored the measure, said renaming the building would be “a particularly good” way to honor McCain, but wanted to make sure McCain’s family agreed.
Over four months have passed since McCain died and what does the Senate have to show? Actually not much.
Four months later, the resolution was never introduced. Mr. Schumer’s spokesman clammed up when asked what happened. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican floor leader, had seemed cool to the renaming idea, instead promising a bipartisan committee to look at other good ways to honor their departed colleague.
Eventually McCain will get his name on a federal building somewhere. I suggest perhaps an outhouse at a national park in rural Arizona. This will afford folks from other states the opportunity to return to him a measure of crap for all the excrement that we had to endure from him in life.
Since tomorrow is Christmas, I thought readers might enjoy a glimpse into the life of Old Saint Nick.
Oh, and yes Virginia there really was a Saint Nick. He loved the poor and had no tolerance for corrupt politicians or heretics.
The history of Nicholas is blurry, but there are many legends associated with the man. Apparently, after his parents died, he inherited their fortune and chose to distribute it to the needy. Most famously, he lobbed bags of gold through the windows and down the chimneys of three sisters who had no dowry to allow them to marry. Soon, Nicholas became bishop of Myra, the city where he preached. Ted Olsen, assistant editor of Christian history at Christianity Today, wrote that “it wasn’t long before Diocletian and Maximian began their persecutions of Christians, and the new bishop was imprisoned.” However, when Constantine assumed emperorship, Nicholas was released with many other persecuted believers and he returned to preaching. After his release, Nicholas became a defender of the faith against Arianism, a heretical doctrine which asserted that Christ was not the Son of God, but a being nurtured by God the Father to the position of Son of God. Saint Nicholas reportedly traveled to the Council of Nicea and actually slapped Arius in the face in defense of the Gospel of Christ.
FYI: today we know the modern followers of Arius as Jehovah’s Witnesses. They claim Jesus was the greatest created being. In contrast, historic Christianity summarized by the Creed maintain that Jesus was, “begotten not made…”
When the first major heresy – the Arian Heresy – began to split the Christian Church, Constantine ordered all the bishops to go to Nicea to settle it, which they did by writing the Nicene Creed. The tradition is that St. Nicholas attended the Council of Nicea and was so upset at Arius for starting this heresy that he slapped him across the face. Evidently, Jolly Old St. Nick had a little temper! Nicholas preached against the sexual immorality Artemis or Diana fertility worship, as did the Apostle Paul according to the Book of Acts, chapter 19. The Temple to Diana at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, twice as big as the Parthenon in Athens, having 127 huge pillars – and temple prostitutes. It was the Las Vegas of the Mediterranean world. Nicholas’ preaching led the people of Myra to tear down their local temple to Diana. Shortly after, from the preaching of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople (A.D. 397-403), the people tore down the temple to Diana at Ephesus. Nicholas confronted dishonest government politicians. One story was of a corrupt governor who was about to execute some innocent soldiers in order to cover up his misdeeds. Nicholas broke through the crowd, grabbed the executioner’s sword, threw it down and then exposed the governor’s evil plot. The governor, realizing that Nicholas had no way of knowing his plot except by insight from God, fell on his knees and begged Nicholas to pray for him.
Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, counted heads and quickly concluded that he didn’t have the votes to fund the border wall/fence/barrier. Thus he unilaterally threw in the towel and didn’t even try to fight for funding when the Senate voted to pass a continuing spending resolution to keep the government funded for another seven weeks. Instead, he just said let’s fund everything else and the President will have to try again later. The Senate voted and everyone in D.C. thought it was time to go home.
The Senate approved a seven-week funding bill on Wednesday, preventing a partial government shutdown that was expected to begin on Saturday. Senators passed the legislation by voice vote, which represented the final item on the Senate’s to-do list as they wrap up their work for the year this week.
Republican senators say that while they believe Trump is unhappy with Congress passing a short-term fix, they believe he will sign it because they were able to keep other controversial policy riders off of it.
But both sides remained far apart on funding for the U.S.–Mexico border wall. Trump and House Republicans want $5 billion for the wall.
Later that same day, Nancy Pelosi was seen partying like it was 1992 because Democrats (and some Republicans) had stopped President Trump in his tracks with a clear message that he would get no border protection.
The video was the lead item as of Thursday morning on the Drudge Report, which suggested that Pelosi was celebrating President Trump’s decision to back off his demand that a government funding bill this week include $5 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The following day, Trump threw the D.C. Elites in a tizzy when he said that he expects a border wall to be part of the bill and will shutdown the government until he gets it. Had he been any other Republican, he would have rolled-over and just signed the continuing resolution; but thankfully Trump has a spine.
Now the boys in the Senate are scurrying around like cockroaches trying to decide what to do. It’s bad form to leave The Beltway to go home on vacation while the folks in D.C. are going without a paycheck. The optics of this are terrible. Too bad for them that the House threw this mess right back at them—the ingrates—and are forcing them to act. This is not the congeniality that is expected of Senators. The Senate is the saucer and is expected to cool the tea of the House’s rash action or so the story goes.
Conventional wisdoms is that this is Trump’s best chance at funding the wall for the next two years and everybody knows it. Whether he ultimately prevails in the next few days, I boldly predict that the wall will be funded before Trump takes the oath of office again. If Congress fails to act, Trump will hang this issue around the Democrat’s necks like a wreath of garlic on Dracula’s throat until Democrats are tired of being associated with the issue. Just to make him shut-up, the Democrats will eventually deal.
Note to Senators, Trump is making a list (of how you vote) checking it twice, he has a long memory of who is naughty or nice. Remember this before you plan your next campaign for re-election.
Surprise, this just in: Senators may have an agreed framework to give Trump what he wants to avoid a government shutdown.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), emerging from a meeting in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office, said Friday that Senate leaders have an “agreement” on how to proceed on a House-passed measure funding President Trump’s border wall.
McConnell and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) are expected to enter into the agreement on the Senate floor. “This is will be an agreement between McConnell and Schumer about what next happens on the Senate floor. You’ll see them to enter into a little discussion,” Corker said. “It charts the course forward that gives us the best chance of actually coming to a solution.”
The potential breakthrough comes after Schumer met with Vice President Pence, incoming White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House advisor Jared Kushner on Friday afternoon.
When a Chinese Court sided with Qualcomm last week in a patent dispute they are having with Apple, I thought perhaps it was a decision at the direction of the Chinese government in retaliation US tariffs as a result of President Trump’s trade policies but today we hear German Courts are also deciding in favor of Qualcomm.
After losing a battle in China, Apple has now lost in another court in its ongoing feud with Qualcomm. The firm has now been found to be infringing on Qualcomm’s power-saving patents in a court in Munich. The patent revolves around Qualcomm’s ‘envelope tracking’ technology which was allegedly infringed by Qorvo, one of Apple’s chip suppliers. A permanent injunction has been issued, stopping Apple from selling any infringing iPhones in Germany. Cupertino has also been found liable for any monetary damages suffered by Qualcomm, the amount of which has yet to be offered. “Two respected courts in two different jurisdictions just in the past two weeks have now confirmed the value of Qualcomm’s patents and declared Apple an infringer, ordering a ban on iPhones in the important markets of Germany and China,” said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel, Qualcomm Incorporated. According to CNBC, Apple plans to appeal the judgement. It will continue to sell its newest iPhone X family of devices, but older phones like the iPhone & will no longer b sold in Apple’s own stores (but not carrier stores or third-party retailers) while the appeal process is ongoing.
Apple products being banned for sale in China and parts of Western Europe is a big deal. This news coupled with their unwillingness to release sales figures along with their financial reports from now on should really concern investors.
Alliances will be tested. Intrigue. Betrayal. The fate of a kingdom hangs in the balance.
No, it’s not a new Peter Jackson movie or other Hollywood blockbuster, it’s the battle for CRA’s next President. The challenger, Johnny “Captain” Morgan, vs veteran past President, Celeste Greig.
Johnny “Captain” Morgan representing CRA’s future
When we last heard from Celeste, she had staked the fate of the CRA and California GOP on then candidate for CRP Chair, Jim Brulte, “If you don’t support Jim Brulte as the next CRP Chairman, there’s the door”.
Jim Brulte conducted the band as the California Republican Party imploded
It is ironic that as Brulte is departing his post as Chair, having led the California Republican Party into oblivion, that Greig is once again emerging from her hiatus.
Celeste Greig hopes to revive the magic of CRA’s past
Does Celeste picture herself as the modern-day Rip van Winkle, emerging from cryogenic sleep to lead us back to the Reagan Revolution?
Sadly, the Republican playbook has not changed since “The Gipper” was in the White House. Promises of less regulation, lower taxes, and less government ring hollow thanks to twelve years of Presidents named Bush, John Boehner and Paul Ryan as speaker, “repeal and replace Obamacare”, and locally as a whole host of GOP sell-outs like Maurice Johannsson, etc. betrayed us every year for crumbs off the Democrat’s table.
In a sense, the playbook isn’t wrong, it’s the weak character of the men who claim to follow it.
What Celeste thinks that she brings to the table just mystifies me. Her inability to see the character of Jim Brulte and what he would do to the Party makes me not trust her judgment. At the time, she was apparently star struck that he would even seek CRA support and never thought twice about the endorsement. It took many years before she changed her mind.
Johnny Morgan has a track record of growth in an area where traditional CRA operatives have never had any inroads. Johnny can’t do any worse than Celeste, and probably will do better. He has served CRA in a number of capacities and I think he deserves the opportunity.
The current leadership is old, white, and intellectually broke. Sadly, many are hell bent to oppose Johnny not because of his race but because he will change things. Change brings uncertainty and the older generation doesn’t like change. If loosing Orange County won’t cause CRA to reevaluate their way of doing things then nothing ever will.
I don’t dislike Celeste or doubt her dedication but isn’t bringing her back akin to the Democrats bringing Jerry Brown back for two more terms as Governor? You would have thought the CRA had a deep enough bench not to resort to the Republican version of “Weekend at Bernie’s” just to maintain power.
Before Donald Trump took office I was telling people two things which have come to pass in spades about his administration.
First, none of the “top-tier” political consultants would work for him. For the most part they were already committed to other candidates because they didn’t see Trump as a serious contender. As a result, Trump got many and assorted leftovers that he was able to cobble together into a victorious team.
Trump was at a disadvantage when cobbling his staff together because he started with who was available not necessarily who was the best. As you may recall, many folks in his administration have bragged about purposely undermining him. Some were people that he inherited from his predecessor and others were not vetted before hiring or not a good fit for their job. As he was able, he replaced these guys with more competent personnel or they rotated out on their own.
Trump took the oath of office for President of the United States on January 20, 2017. Four days later, Jan 24th as Trump was in the midst of setting-up staff in the Oval Office, the FBI sent two guys over to speak with then National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn.
Asked to describe how two FBI agents ended up at the White House to interview Flynn in January 2017, Comey, speaking to MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace during a forum discussion Sunday, said flatly: “I sent them.” Comey went on to acknowledge the way the interview was set up – not through the White House counsel’s office, but arranged directly with Flynn – was not standard practice. He called it “something I probably wouldn’t have done or maybe gotten away with in a more … organized administration.” Describing how it is usually done, Comey said, “If the FBI wanted to send agents into the White House itself to interview a senior official, you would work through the White House counsel, and there would be discussions and approvals and who would be there.” Recalling his decision to bypass those steps, Comey said, “I thought: ‘It’s early enough, let’s just send a couple guys over.’”
Note that Comey knew that the FBI visit was irregular and not protocol but did it anyway because he could get away with it; in part because Trump’s people weren’t Washington insiders. When the FBI spoke with Michael Flynn, they told Flynn that he need not have an attorney present for the interview.
General Michael Flynn
Oh, one of the guys that interviewed Flynn was Peter Stzok. Remember him?
In his report on FBI and DOJ misconduct during the Russia and Clinton probes, the IG additionally noted that Strzok, who was one of the two agents who interviewed Flynn and who was later also fired for violating FBI policies, had compromised the FBI’s appearance of impartiality by sending a slew of anti-Trump texts on his government-issued phone. “In particular, we were concerned about text messages exchanged by FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, Special Counsel to the Deputy Director, that potentially indicated or created the appearance that investigative decisions were impacted by bias or improper considerations,” the IG report said. In one of those texts, Strzok wrote to Page in 2016 that Trump would not become president because “we’ll stop” it from happening.
If you read the linked articles, you will also see that the FBI notes for this meeting were written in August of 2017; six months after the meeting. But we are told, “Nothing to see here, move along”.
Which brings me to my second point, I said that Trump would go thru people almost as fast as they could get confirmed. This comment applied to his White House staff as well. Below is a story from Fox News that illustrates my point.
President Trump has long promised to create jobs, and has consistently delivered — especially in his own White House and Cabinet, where rapid turnover is showing no signs of slowing down as 2018 comes to a close. High-profile departures in the Trump administration — from former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Press Secretary Sean Spicer to fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (whom Trump recently characterized as “lazy as hell” and “dumb as a rock”) — have attracted the most attention. They have contributed to what some analysts have called an unprecedented number of high-level Cabinet departures going back 100 years.
My third prediction is about to come into play. I said that Trump will wheel and deal with the Democrat majority in Congress and get some legislation passed that he couldn’t get Republicans to approve. If Reagan could do it, I think Trump can too.
