Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Kids as Political Weapons


Lately we have seen kids all over the news. They have appeared on CNN, took part in a 2 minutes of hate style (from Orwell’s 1984) town hall where they called a representative from the NRA (Dana Loesch) a murderer and likened a US senator (Marco Rubio) to a school shooter.

Of course these are the same group of kids over and over again, and they have the same agenda as the mainstream media. They want to capitalize on the victimhood of these kids to make the public feel sympathy for their cause: Gun Control.

It is a clever tactic, because who is going to argue with a kid who has been traumatized, you just end up looking like a bully who does not care about school shootings. Yet this weaponization of school kids goes too far.

There are times when the adults need to stand up, put the kids in time out and tell them they need to be quiet and let the adults talk. Kids are not possessed of any special expertise or experience except in the realm of being kids.

Inexperienced and Short Sighted

The world is a complex place. So complex that adults cannot even understand the whole of it. Children, having less time and living less life, have no clue how the world works due to this complexity and lack of experience.

There is a reason we do not allow children to vote, drink, go to war, smoke, or enter into legal contracts. They have a hard time understanding the long term ramifications of these actions not only on their own life but on the community as well.

This is why we should not take advice from children on how to act. Sometime children are able to state things clearly and honestly but this is the exception, not the rule.

Kids, go back to class, put in the time and work and come back when you actually know what you are talking about. Do not attempt to lecture me or anyone else on morality or what is right and what should be done.

You are an inexperienced, uneducated child who has lived under the protection of your parents and those who came before you. Grow up, stop whining, and show a little respect for the system they built that allows you to grow up in relative safety and security.

The system is not perfect by any means, but all things considered it is a better system then what is found in most of the world. If it were as truly awful as you think or have been told then why do people risk life, limb, and liberty in an attempt to come here?

The Western World is a light of civilization in a dark world, a little gratitude for the benefits you gain by being born into this system would go a long way.

State Sanctioned Truancy

When these protests and walk outs are planned it is usually with the consent of the teachers and administrators of the school. We are paying the state to educate our children and instead they give the kids signs with slogans on them and tell them to march in the street.

Most kids will see this as a chance to skip class, hang out with friends and feel good about their virtue signaling. If you ask teenagers what would they rather do, math, history, and science or go out on the town, hang out with your friends, and fight for ‘change’ and make the world a ‘better’ place, all without getting into trouble and at the encouragement of their teachers, which do you think they are going to pick?

Not to mention the fact that these protests are probably not going to change anything other than missing out on a day of school. We are living in a world where you need to fill out a permission slip in triplicate and pay a fee to send your kid to a museum but no such precautions are taken to allow your children to run around the street of town shouting at people and getting in the way of traffic.

Publicly Funded Revolution

I personally do not have children, but I do pay property taxes. A good portion of those property taxes goes to these schools, which is fine with me because there can be a public benefit to educating children.

I know I personally do not want my money going to fund these sort of protests. Do you really want to pay teachers and administrators to, at best, sit on their hands and do nothing or, at worst, push their own political agenda?

I want kids to be educated and taught TO think, not WHAT to think. There is a benefit to educating the public, but there is only harm in indoctrinating the public.

Child Soldiers

It is clear that these children are being weaponized to push a political agenda. Kids should not be a political tool to use against your political opponents regardless of which party you belong to. Some lines should not be crossed.

These children are human beings, impressionable minds looking to figure out the world. As such, they have no place in the adult world of politics. To be clear, I am not saying do not talk to your children about these things but do not put them in front of a camera and tell them what to say in order to push an agenda.

Teachers, parents, and the media are all failing these kids in this regard. Instead of teaching these children how to look at a problem and work to solve it on their own, they are teaching children that it is okay to use manipulation of other people’s emotions in order to get what you want.

They are also being taught that if that person does not immediately give it to you than they are an enemy of yours that truly does not care for you and is worthy of your hatred and scorn. Sometimes no is one of the most loving statements you can make to a person.

Children are our future, do not squander that future by playing political games with them. Let them learn and grow and work out small things on their own before you tell them they need to go out and be an activist dead set on fixing the world. Chances are, due to their inexperience and lack of maturity, they will only make a complex problem worse.


Wednesday, February 21, 2018

National Popular Vote Comes to Oregon

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an attempt by several states to institute a popular vote for the office of the Presidency and Vice-Presidency.

Recently SB-1512 was introduced to the Oregon Senate and is currently in the Oregon Senate Committee on Rules.

It has had one public hearing as of the time of this writing.

What is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?

It is an agreement between member states to assign electoral delegates, the people who vote in the Electoral College, based on the national popular vote.

The way Oregon’s current system works is that we hold a state wide popular vote. Each party chooses electors, presumably based on the idea that they are going to vote for their party candidate (but that is not always the case), and these are the people we are voting for.

Oregon has seven Electoral College votes and whoever wins the statewide popular vote will end up with all seven votes. Winner takes all.

If we make the NPVIC law in Oregon part of your say in that system will go away once the member states have reached the 270 electoral votes needed to win the Presidency.

Once reaches that 270 needed, Oregon’s electors would vote for the winner of the national popular vote as opposed to the Oregon popular vote.

Drawing this out to its logical conclusion it would mean that even if every single person in the state of Oregon voted for candidate A, and the popular vote goes to candidate B, all of Oregon’s seven elector votes will go to candidate B.

Power to the People

NPVIC likes to claim it is giving power to the people, that a popular vote will make each vote count.

This might be true if a popular vote were part of the US Constitution, applied nationally and went through the process agreed on by the American people. Yet instead of working with the government of ‘We the People’ NPVIC seeks to go around that government.

It will not get rid of the Electoral College, instead it simply gives away any say your state might have to the national popular vote. Meaning issues that affect states with the highest population will take highest priority.

It removes the power of your vote from the local level and places it on the national level. Under NPVIC people in high population states, like California, Texas, and New York, will have a say in how your local state votes in the Electoral College.

Progress Report

Currently 10 states and the District of Columbia have agreed to be part of NPVIC. They are Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii, Washington, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Vermont, California, Rhode Island, and New York.

This puts the total electoral vote count at 165, over half way (61.1%) to the goal of 270. This movement has convinced these states to give up their federal constitutional form of government and replaces it with a federal popular form of government.

Even if you think a National Popular Vote is the way to go, you should still oppose the NPVIC. It does not fix the system, instead it simply lays another layer of bureaucracy over the top of it. A bureaucracy that can void the votes of your state if they are not in alignment with the popular vote.

If you want a national popular vote, you should do it through the established method of changing the constitution. That way every state will have a say, a chance to weigh the pros and cons for themselves and make a choice based on their states needs and desires.

The NPVIC will only dilute your vote among the national popular vote. Supporting this compact is willful submission to the tyranny of the majority.

Do not give away your voting rights, they were hard won and one of the most valuable tools an individual possess in maintaining freedom.



Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Republican Governors Speak Up


The Westside Republican Meet Up this Sunday was larger than normal. Usually we have fifteen to twenty people at the meeting, but as I walked into the meeting room, it was packed, every seat was taken and a few people were standing in the back.

This meeting was different, this month we had four candidates for Governor, along with a couple of people running for county offices. This is going to be my impression about the candidates for Governor who spoke at this event.

Bruce Cuff: The Underdog Preacher

When Bruce first got up to speak the impression I got was that he seemed like a very friendly approachable man. This impression was not lost when he started to speak.

He spoke about resource management and the poor performance of Oregon’s school system. He said all the right things and made a lot of sense on issues like immigration.

Unfortunately he was not very memorable, more like that person you like and enjoy talking to when you meet them, but forget about when they are not around.

Looking at his website he stands for a lot of things that are important to a lot of Republicans but he did not seem like he was ready to take the state.

Knute Buehler: The Moderate

The first thing I noticed about Knute Buehler is that he seemed incredibly comfortable in front of the crowd. He spoke clearly and appeared much more polished. He also has experience in public office, representing Bend since 2015 as a Republican.

He held a more moderate stance and spoke a lot about working together with the Democrats to put Oregon on the right path. He seemed to want to bring more of a balance to the politics in Oregon.

I had mixed feelings about this, on the one hand I would agree with what he said, we do need more balance. Yet on the other he seemed too eager to engage with the Democrats, something that might be exploited or turn away Republican voters.

At the end of the day he had the look, feel, and sound of someone who would be an effective leader.

Greg Wooldridge: The Boss

Greg Wooldridge has leadership experience, being the squad leader for the Blue Angels, where he was nicknamed ‘Boss’. He has experience with teams that have had problems and he has been able to turn them around.

When he was speaking he seemed incredibly comfortable, even when he made a mistake in remembering a word. He played it off well but he did not seem as polished as Buehler. It is clear that he truly has a deep love for the state of Oregon and wants to move it in the correct direction.

Yet his late entry into the race has left him a little behind the other candidates. He did not seem to have everything ready at this time, but it did not come across as incompetence.

He did point out several problems he sees with Oregon that he believes he can fix and from his speech he seems to be confident in his ability to do so.

Sam Carpenter: The Oregon Trump

When I first arrived I found an open seat and quickly claimed it. No one occupied the chairs next to me but I was told they were already taken. Little did I know that I was sitting next to Sam Carpenter.

Sam is a business man through and through, which he quickly pointed out in his speech. He was the only candidate who seemed as if he was ready for a fight. He was tired of Progressives running the state and wanted to Make Oregon Great Again.

He did not shy away from the fight and, along with his slogan, seemed to be the Oregon Trump. He wants to put Oregon first and take care of Oregonians first.

He was not polished, he was direct, he was not mild mannered, he was passionate, he was not a politician, he was all business.

I got a chance to talk with him afterward and listen to a few questions other asked him. He did not know all the little details of each issue, but he was confident in his ability to surround himself with competent people he could trust.

Personal Criticism

The first thing I noticed was that the room was full of older people. Older people have experience and the wisdom of life, so this is not an attack on old people. Instead it led to a sense that the party is not getting young people on board.

Now is the time, young people are energized and looking to take part in the world. Missing this chance to show young people that there is something more than the endless screaming of rights and oppression the left has fed them for 40 years.

Whichever candidate can reach young people will be the one with the best shot at winning the state.

It was said a few times that while we can battle it out in the primary but that once we select a candidate we need to come together. This is very true, sitting on the sideline and refusing to vote because you are mad that your guy did not win is not the correct way to act.

No matter how much you do not like or agree with the Republican candidate, the Democrat candidate will be far worse. They will not care about you because they do not need your vote to win, they just need you to not vote.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

How the Trump Tax Cut Hurt Me

All we heard from Democrats and the media was that these tax cuts would hurt the middle class and that the rich were the only ones who were getting a good deal.

Today is payday for me and as I opened my check hands trembling. I fully expected it to say that I owed money for all the work I did over the last two week.

Surprise

Instead of a bill saying how much I owed my employer I found that I actually had an increase in the amount of take home money. Not a ton of money, I do not make that much, but still more than I had in last year’s paychecks.

Looking at the numbers I had roughly an increase of $20.17 over last year’s paychecks. That means at the end of the year will have an additional $524.42.

The additional amount I make is more than I make an hour. Meaning that I get to keep over an additional hour of my wages. These tax cuts gave me back more than an hour of my labor and my life.

Now I know I am not a millionaire or that my whole life is changed with these tax breaks but it is nice to actually have a little more to take home.

The Hurt

This extra money leaves me with a huge problem. What do I spend it on?

Do I put it into a savings account or add it to my companies 401K? Should I save it for a few months and take my wife out for a night on the town? Do I donate to a local charity? Should I put it toward some home repairs I’ve been putting off?

The problem is endless, but it is a good problem to have. The truth is that I can do far more good in my life with this money then the government could ever do with it.

Media Spin

I am not sure why the media lied about these tax cut (but I have a suspicion it has to do with a hatred of a certain US President). I am thankful for the small amount I get to take home.

The media made it seem like the world was going to end if these tax cuts were passed. Yet the city is not on fire, there is no rioting in the street, no breadlines forming, and a lot of people have a little more take home money each month.

Maybe I’ll spend some of it on a MAGA hat.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Man Awarded $1 Million Settlement after Termination for Racist Remarks



Last Friday a judge awarded local man, Adolf Zimmerman, $1 million for race based wrongful termination. Zimmerman, a 48 year old white male, was fired last spring by a local retailer for making racial comments to several customers and coworkers.

Zimmerman told several customers that they could not afford anything at the retailer because of their race and that security would be following them. He also used a variety of racial slurs when speaking to and about minority coworkers. When this was brought to the attention of the owner Zimmerman was immediately fired.

Soon afterward Zimmerman brought a lawsuit against his former employer for wrongful termination. The lawsuit cited several sources, from news articles to peer reviewed university journal publications that stated that white people, and white males in particular, are inherently racist.

Zimmerman’s lawyer argued that “Since racism is an inherent part of white people, terminating my client for racist remarks violates his rights as a protected class under the law.” Race falls under the protected classes outlined in both federal law and Oregon State law.

The judge after deciding the case in favor of Zimmerman made a statement “We must stand up against all forms of racism and discrimination. Diversity is part of what makes our country great and there is no room here for this sort of hate. Let today stand as an example of a victory for social justice for future generations.”

In a statement to reporters Zimmerman said “Today social justice has been served. We the people stand in solidarity against this naked display of bigotry and discrimination.”

Zimmerman told reporters that he plans to start an activist group with some of the money to combat workplace discrimination.

Written By Cody Benson
For No Fact News
A Cody Benson Parody