Monthly Archives: March 2018

Captain, May I?

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“Captain, may I?” is a child’s game that many of us “oldies” played when we were children.  Our grandchildren still play it on occasion. Though it was a children’s game, it reinforced the idea that, sometimes, someone else can tell you what to do.  After all, Captains of ships are the final authority in everything that occurs onboard a ship.

The game taught my generation to accept that someone else might be our boss.  And, if they were, we had to obey them!

The President is the Captain of the Ship of State…..that “State” being the United States of America.  Yes, there are three co-equal branches of government with authority for different functions lying with each branch.  The Judiciary adjudicates all legal issues.  The Congress is responsible for creating legislation which the President must either sign or veto and the Judiciary weighs that legislation against the Constitution of the United States.  Each branch has equal authority in its own realm.  However, the President essentially  is the one who runs the country.

The Cabinet, chosen by the President, and confirmed by Congress, does advise the President.  But, they also serve at the “pleasure of the President”  Everyone knows this.  Everyone also knows that, though diverse opinions should be presented to the President, the President is ultimately responsible for every decision.  The President is the person who listens to the diverse opinions and then, weighing the advice, makes a judgment call.  Whether a citizen agrees with the President or not, we all must abide by his decisions because the Constitution gives him this authority.

Lately, though, it seems as if everyone — especially Democrats — believe that everything that President Trump does, says, or decides, is subject to their evaluation.  Even though these objectors do NOT have all the facts, they pursue a course of behaviour destructive to the welfare of our country.  Schumer, Pelosi, and their minions, have publicly disagreed with Mr. Trump’s stance on trade, the border wall, the fate of DACA, taxes, the judicial nominees…………..you name it.  They start out by disagreeing and being disagreeable about it, too.

Now, Mr. Tillerson has been replaced as Secretary of State, a Cabinet position that is critical to our country and to our President in his decision making processes.  Unfortunately, Mr. Tillerson has let his disagreements with President Trump become a public issue.  Somehow, he forgot that in the game of “Captain, may I?”, the Captain is the President.  Even when questioned by the media, and given the chance to affirm his President’s approach to several issues of national concern, Tillerson would tout his own philosophical ideas.  He never seemed to understand that he was no longer CEO of Exxon, but that he was an underling in a Cabinet headed by the President of the United States.

So, it was almost a relief to hear he had been replaced by someone more philosophically alligned with President Trump.  The “boss” (Trump) had finally had enough of an employee (Tillerson) running amuck both here and abroad.

Schumer, of course, was quick to publicly denounce the firing of Tillerson as an attempt to thwart an investigation.  That’s nutty.  For over a year, the FBI and DOJ have continued with this senseless Russia probe trying to link it to Trump.  That can NOT be seen as an agency in cahoots with the President.  Schumer also linked the firing of McCabe as another attempt by the President to stop Mueller’s investigation.  That’s even nuttier, if you consider how the FBI and DOJ have stone-walled and obstructed the public hearing about this investigation.  As proof of the FBI and CIA’s attempts to censor information, look at how long it has taken to have documents open to the public.  And, then, most of those documents are so heavily redacted as to be almost useless.  Look at how Judicial Watch has spent many hours and dollars bringing the illegal activities by the upper echelons of the FBI and CIA into the public purview.  That is NOT the sign of a governmental agency “helping” an Administration!

No, the two firings are not related.

Tillerson’s firing, though, is an example of someone who forgot the rules of “Captain, may I?”.   He forgot that the Captain rules the ship. Tillerson forgot that he was serving at the pleasure of the  President, and NOT at the pleasure of himself.

Maybe this is another good lesson for the next generation.  You must accept that the Boss is the boss, no matter what job you have.  And, if you buck the Boss too much, you will lose your job.

Because…………… whether in Life or in the game of “Captain, may I?”, only the Captain gets to say “you may” or “you may not”.

School Daze

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Education is essential to society’s welfare and is the basis for much of America’s success in the world.    Our Founding Fathers recognized the importance of an educated citizenry and encouraged public literacy by forming public schools and public libraries.  They feared that, without literacy for every citizen, unscrupulous politicians would be able to manipulate people’s opinions.

Education then, and now, is what will secure America’s future success.

However, the idea of an education for everyone has been corrupted.   My Father only went through eighth grade, but he studied a variety of subjects throughout his long life.  He took correspondence courses in architecture and became a successful master carpenter….all on his own.  My Mother graduated high school and became a successful businesswoman….all on her own.

Somewhere, somehow, though, my parents’ generation came to worship higher education and insisted that all their children attend college.  College became the end of the rainbow for them because college was believed to be the only route to success.  My brothers and I went to college as a matter of course.  The thought that we might just begin working after high school was considered to be under-achieving .  Vocational education, too, had the stigma of  a sub-standard career choice.

As a result of that philosophy,  we now have a dearth of talent in the trades.  And, we have an excess of college-educated people who have no real world experience and consider themselves to be somehow too “educated” to work in many jobs, especially manual labor jobs.

And, we have an excess of jobs that require experienced workers who know a trade and a dearth of people who have the skills to work those jobs.  We have an excess of college-educated graduates who cannot find a job because so many of the college degrees have no real world relationship.  Too many of the college degrees earned do NOT lead to a meaningful job.  That is sad, but it is also reality.

This manic obsession with going to college stems from the belief that college is the ONLY worthwhile path after high school.  That is not only untrue, but has led to countless young people graduating without a practical degree and…………….with a huge debt from their four years –or more — of college.  That, too, is sad, but also reality.

But, far worse is the Lieberal belief that these college students should be reimbursed for their college debt!  The Libs claim that these “poor” college graduates have been unduly burdened by the high cost of college and that we, the American taxpayer, MUST pull them out of their financial disaster.

But, why?  Why should anyone, except the students themselves, bear the cost of their education?

More importantly, if we pay off the debt for these college graduates, WHAT DO WE PAY FOR THOSE KIDS WHO DECIDED TO WORK RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL?

Why should we reward one group for making a decision that they thought would benefit themselves…and not reward another career path?  In America, self reliance is considered the honorable way to success.  So, let’s get over the idea that just because someone has college debt that somehow, that person deserves to have those debts paid by taxpayers!

If someone chooses to go to college……great.  But, they should weigh the benefits of a college degree against the costs of that education.  And, everyone should accept that personal debts, whether they are for college or a car or a house, belong to the person who incurs that debt.

And, if high school graduates choose to begin work immediately, also great.  After all, most of the Greatest Generation did NOT go to college.  Most of them, like my parents, worked  to be successful and continued their education on their own.

Let school days be weighed against the costs and benefits.  Do not let school days daze us.