Category Archives: Capitalism

by Barry Kelly | December 1, 2016 · 7:34 am

The Professor: Public Sector Unions and the President-elect

Professor Mike Clark liked to surprise his class by occasionally serving his blend of rich roasted Columbian coffee and pastries to his 11 o’clock class. He used these periods to deliver an informal discussion-style lecture to his class of political science honors students.

Today, as the coffee was being served, he said, “I want to add another problem facing the President-elect. First, let me clearly state I am not anti-union. I grew up in a coal mining and small mill town in Western Pennsylvania. My grandfather was a coal miner who died from black lung in his early ’50s.

“Without the sacrifices made by both early union leaders and their followers, I don’t think the nation could have developed into the No. 1 economic power in the world. The excesses of the early industrialists make for incredible reading today. A lot of the cruelty imposed on people living in ‘company towns,’ especially by the coal and iron capitalists, is lost in the bits and pieces of the era that makes its way into our written history that is readily available to students like you.

“A few examples that I know from listening to people I visited in the remains of the old company towns in Appalachia. This particular town was built and operated by the coal magnates of the early 20th century. It was populated by new immigrants who debarked from the long voyage across the Atlantic and were immediately loaded on railroad cars for the short journey to ‘company towns’ in the coal country of Appalachia. The houses were newly built, unpainted, and with none of today’s landscaping to soften the harshness of dirt streets lined with side-by-side hastily built houses.

“The miners were paid with company script that was only accepted in the company store. Voting in elections was controlled. The first miner to vote for Democrats was thrown down the mineshaft. The mine owners had their own law enforcement called the ‘Coal and Iron Police.’ In one mining area in West Virginia, the United States Air Force bombed a large group of miners to control a labor demonstration that the state police was not able to break up. Were unions necessary to protect the rights and lives of the workers? Is there any doubt? What is the role of unions today? Does that role extend to teachers and civil servants? I will talk about those subjects at our next coffee session. In the meantime, think how unions could possibly be a problem today for our President-elect.”

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THE PROFESSOR AND PROBLEM SOLVING

Standing in front of his large white board, the Professor said, “At our last class, I asked you all to come in with the names of people you believe President-elect Trump should appoint to his Cabinet. Just hold on to those while I set the scene for you. I know you all think you are here to study political science, whatever that is. This is not a history class, or a forum for debates, or a course that will give you insights into the arcane ways our government and others have been formed.

“The only job this class will qualify you for is problem solving. Problem solving is the reason we have government departments and agencies. I’m not interested in your ability to write analytical articles or become renowned ‘talking heads.’ When you leave here you will not have my support in landing good jobs unless I believe you are equipped to define and solve problems. Nor do I want to turn out teachers. No one should teach anything until they have proven they can perform in their chosen field.

“That may be harsh but this class is not for the ‘cupcake generation.’ I teach here because this small university does not support cry zones or safe zones for students. Nor does it encourage political correctness. Diversity by itself is meaningless as is the widespread use of sound bites or talking points to spread an ideology or solution. You should leave here smarter and tougher than when you were accepted into this course. A high percentage of the students that preceded you went on to good and challenging positions. All of them left here better able to cope with the real world.

“Now that we know we are to become first-rate problem solvers, which is how successful people and organizations are judged, let’s identify the problems facing President-elect Trump. This white board is blank and is ready for you to write the problems we will attempt to solve in the next month, starting with Barbara, come to the board one by one and write one problem on the board.”

When all eight students had posted their problem on the board, the Professor said, “Copy these eight problems and then pass the names of your two top Cabinet candidates up to me. Then form two-person teams.”

When the students finished, the Professor said, “I will give each team two problems from the board and a selection of your candidate names. You may work on the problem anyway you want. But in two weeks, each team will use the names given to them to fill the Cabinet positions relevant to the assigned problems. You may use the rest of the class time to get started.”

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The Professor and The Debate

The first Presidential debate of 2016 had just finished and the spin rooms were already active with talking heads. Professor Clark shut off the wide-screen TV that dominated his home office. He said, “It is a pleasure to have this class in my home for this historic debate. There is no question that this is the most important election period in my lifetime. There are serious issues at stake. Many have been postponed for years. The very direction of the nation is being decided. The kind of world you will live in for the rest of your lives is being debated now throughout the nation. To verge on the sensational for a moment, I don’t think it is a stretch to say the very existence of this unique nation could be a casualty of the election.

“I know it is late and the sleep time hard-working students get is precious, but I want to go around the room and get some one-liners from you. Alison, let’s start with you.”

Alison said, “Secretary Clinton stayed on message and showed very good debate discipline, but I don’t think she scored many points. Her poll numbers will remain relatively constant.”

“Robert, you’re next.”

“It’s hard to pick a clear winner. Trump missed several opportunities to score but he did as well as he needed to. The moderator was clearly helping Hillary and that will resonate with his followers.”

“Carlos, what’s your take?”

“I agree with Alison and Robert. The debate was a draw or close to it. Secretary Clinton had the worst hand, having to run on the direction Obama put this nation on when the people are screaming for change.”

“Katrisha, comments?”

“I saw the debate nearly the same as my colleagues, but was struck by the body language. Hillary was ‘smirky,’ stiff and her voice was too high-pitched. Trump showed anger and some petulance. He couldn’t get over his ‘counter-punching’ instincts. As a result, he let his opponent direct the substance of the debate.”

The Professor nodded at Paul and said, “Go.”

“I thought at a presidential debate even a moderator from NBC would play it fairly straight. It could have been worse, but his frequent interruptions of Trump, the selective fact checking and the avoiding of any questions on e-mails, illegal servers, BenGhazi, the Clinton Foundation and many others showed a clear network biases.”

“Barbara you’re on.”

“I was struck by the fact the contestants seemed to be unconsciously addressing different audiences. Hillary’s comments, I believe, were directed to the wonks and the Washington establishment. Trump seemed to be ignoring that audience and speaking to the people outside the handpicked inside audience. His pitch should have resonated with mainstream America. Especially the working people and those who are having difficult times just feeding and housing their families.”

“Edward, comment?”

“Yes. Irrespective of the judgments coming out of the spin rooms, the wonks and talking heads have been wrong about nearly everything associated with this campaign. And they have been wrong because they dislike the Republican candidate deep in their core. Trump is not of them, he doesn’t look like them. He doesn’t share their beliefs and perhaps worst of all, he is not an ideologically pure right-wing conservative Republican. The Conservative establishment class, including those in Congress and the feckless national security crowd, are giving, at best, very tepid support to the Trump campaign. The entire Bush crowd is an example of these political correct Brahmans.”

“Not exactly a one-liner but then the one-liners have been growing with each speaker. Alice, it is up to you to wrap this up.’

“I’ve enjoyed the comments and have to admit some of them surprised me. Indicating that while we all witnessed the debate, we saw different things. This is not a traditional presidential campaign. Maybe this is closer to a revolution than an election. Maybe, just maybe, in most countries these issues would now be being fought in the streets.”

“Excellent comments. This is a remarkable class. Go get some sleep and we will pick up these threads in our next class. Thank you.”

INSIGHTS 271 Letter From A Citizen To A President

President Obama, photo by the New York Daily News.

Dear Mr. President:

I am a Korean War Veteran with 27 years of Cold War service, including two years in Vietnam and two years as a special assistant to President Reagan in the fields of intelligence, covert action and counter-terrorism. When you were elected, I had serious reservations about your ability to lead our nation, but I was pleased that America had elected a black president.

After your first month in office, I could see my fears about your capability to lead and protect America were not unfounded. I am now 85 and am determined to live long enough to see the damage you have done being repaired. That is a big job for I cannot point to anything you have done well as our President. The country is more divided now than at any time since the war in Vietnam. Russia and China are expanding. Our economy is a shadow of its past power. Our military forces are below the readiness levels prior to the WWII. Foreign leaders have no respect for you or America’s current world role. Former allies are mystified by both your actions and failures to act.

Our veterans and our workers are suffering under your leadership. Unemployment seems to be something you try to fix with bogus figures, much like our GNP annual rate. The middle class is vanishing and your constant speeches seldom fail to encourage class warfare. At least they did before I stopped listening to anything you say. The illegal and unchecked immigration you favor, while creating support for your progressive political base, puts additional obstacles in the path of American workers seeking employment.

As a direct result of your inaction and ‘leading from behind’ (which is not leading at all), the Middle East is in turmoil, millions of people have been displaced or killed. You have wasted the blood of our warriors and the nation’s treasury on your appeasement theories of foreign policy and warfare that have never worked and never will. Your anti-colonial infatuation with ‘One World Rule,’ the evils of American power, anti-capitalism, and support of Iran and Shiite Islam have no place in our past or future.

You are a true Socialist revolutionary who hasn’t realized yet that he has failed to transform America and that his time is now past. Please go quietly into history’s dust bin of failed leaders who never learned the difference between preaching about issues and actually working to fix national problems.

–BK

My latest novel, The Sub Rosa Manuscript, gives, I believe, a clear understandable account of the steady erosion of the personal and economic freedom we inherited from the sacrifices of those who went before us. It is now our turn to protect our inheritance by rejecting the empty promises of progressivism.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Capitalism, class warfare, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, Intelligence & Politics, Iran, Middle East, Obama, Progressives, Shiite

by Barry Kelly | March 20, 2016 · 7:19 pm

INSIGHTS 256 The Real Choice

Do you believe the FBI has the political courage to recommend Hillary Clinton be brought up on criminal charges for her exposure of classified information and the use of her political office for financial gain via the Clinton Foundation? Remember such a charge would seriously harm the Democratic Party’s pursuit of the Presidency. Bringing charges against Hillary when it is only months away from the election would probably make it impossible for the Democratic Party to mount an effective campaign. Each passing day is critical to their campaign. I think the FBI may have the courage to recommend a Grand Jury but the Justice Department will not act to pursue the FBI’s recommendation. They will find someway to bury or nullify the charges. Remember the Justice Department is the Presidents. Attorney Generals do not indict Presidents or their primary advisors. Did President Nixon’s Justice Department seriously investigate the Watergate affair? No, it was the media and the Congress.

So who would head up the Democratic Party’s campaign for the Presidency if Hillary has to drop out, Bernie Sanders? That would be great. A real choice between Socialism and Capitalism. Trump against Sanders. America needs to have this political battle. The creeping socialism of the last few decades is more dangerous than giving people the clear choice between Capitalism and Socialism. Our entire educational system leans hard to the side of Socialism. Just ask the Teachers Union a series of questions about their treatment of free enterprise and big government in the class room. Almost everyone under 30 years of age believes in the beautiful words socialists use to describe redistribution of wealth, a fair shot for everyone, and very high taxes on the wealthy and corporations. They haven’t lived long enough or read enough history to see that the promises of Socialism lead to the ugly repression of elite government where all of life’s important choices are made for all people, except the elites. They may love Bernie but they won’t like where he is leading them. But Trump also has a problem.

While Hillary is threatened by a criminal indictment, Donald Trump is being attacked by people who should be supporting him. The Republican establishment composed of career politicians and self-appointed keepers of the purity of conservatism has failed to keep faith with the people who sent them to Washington. They are far more interested in perpetuating their own positions than in solving the nation’s problems. Just look at how they have taken care of themselves. Incredible life-long pensions for very short periods of service, ability to vote themselves raises, exemption from the onerous provisions of the laws they pass but that don’t apply to members of Congress. Now these pampered members of the political class are doing all they can to end Donald Trump’s journey to winning the Republican Party’s nomination. They are frightened because they know his success will endanger their elite existence. They will not be able to control him and he owes nothing to the lobbyists who fund so many members of the Republican and Democratic career politicians. So far he has been doing a very strange thing. He has been listening to the American People and they have not. Only a very small handful of Senators or Representatives have been doing the work of the people. None of them are in positions of power, including the Speaker and the Senate Majority leader. They claim to be dedicated to the traditional principles of the conservative movement. Maybe, but I don’t believe it. They are champions of the go alone, get along group that have aided President Obama’s socialist transformation of America policies. Just look at the last budget Speaker Ryan put forward. Exciting times! Stay tuned. Stay informed.