It is fair to say most columnists write on a broad array of subjects. Some have gained knowledge over many years of being involved in a particular issue. Some issues become the issue of the day, and you must immerse yourself in sifting through the news to discern the best version of the facts to provide for your readers. Then there are issues where the writer possesses in-depth knowledge and thus can speak with authority. President Trump nailed the travel ban and I can speak from authority. The Beautiful Wife (BW) and I have been to 92 countries together and all seven continents. BW keeps a detailed list of the countries we have been to and the year(s) we were there. The list also contains where we have not been but want to go, and which ones we have firm plans to see. I am always scouring the list of the other 102 countries to which we may wish to travel. For example, our recent trip to South America provided us ample evidence from local sources we should add Bolivia to our list. People often ask me two questions. Where do you want to return to and where will you not go? I have in recent years developed a standard answer to the second question –… Read More

Elon Musk has made some waves lately saying the “Big Beautiful Bill” doesn’t do enough to address the deficit. He is right, it doesn’t. Donald Trump points to the $1.7 Trillion permanent cuts in spending and says it is a good start. He is right, it is. Others point to the tax cuts and say those will cost the federal government money. They are wrong, tax cuts never “cost” the government money. Money that stays in the private sector will actually increase revenue to the government, because of the multiplier effect of private spending. In any event, the “Big, Beautiful Bill” is a great start to reducing the size and impact of the federal government on all our lives.

I played high school football. That experience taught me two great life lessons. First, as a team sport, everybody on the team had to do their part to advance the success of the team. Second, you don’t score a touchdown on every play. The goal of each play is to advance the ball down the field until you score the points. Getting first downs is a critical part of that process. Moving the ball an average of 3.4 yards per play wins the game.… Read More

Unless you were living in a cave, it is quite apparent that the FBI lost its way in the past 20 years. It is not just the Bureau adhering to politically correct directives. Given the opposition, one might think President Trump nominated a criminal when he named Kash Patel to head the FBI. Now that he has been confirmed, everything else is moot except what Patel must do to return the FBI to the level of respect previously enjoyed. Deservedly so. Mr. Patel made a quick start on his first day by telling the Bureau staff he will be moving many jobs from the DC area either back into the field and/or to the Redstone Arsenal campus in Huntsville, Alabama. The locations may not have the allure of being in DC, but that is not what people should be concerned about working for the FBI. They need to focus on taking criminals off the streets, thus aiding local law enforcement. The current FBI was ruined by a “revered” Director, Robert Mueller. He did two things simultaneously. The first was reorienting the focus of the FBI to counterespionage. As Mueller stated in his presentation to a House subcommittee on September 14, 2006, “After the September… Read More

The LA times on June 2 ran an article titled “After half a century, California Legislators on the verge of overhauling a landmark environmental law.” The article chronicles the efforts of the Legislature to reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it has been abused by unions, environmental organizations, “community organizers,” and, some cases, business competitors who used CEQA to advance their personal purposes, rather than environmental protection. The result? hardly anyone who is not a multimillionaire can afford to buy a house in California. Gasoline is not far behind.

Of course, conservatives have been pushing these changes since the California Supreme Court rewrote the law in the late ’70’s to apply the law, originally meant only to apply to government projects, to private development across the state. Interesting fact: in 1974, seventy per cent of Californians could afford to buy a median priced home in California. The Supreme Court rewrote the law in 1976 and by 1980, only 17% of Californians could afford to buy a median priced home. Since that time, it has only gotten worse. Gas prices were… Read More

One of the questions I have been asked often since President Trump started his second term is what is his fixation with Canada? It has baffled me to no end. The part that really leaves me without explanation why in God’s name would he ever want Canada as the 51st state. This is a country that elected a man-child as its Prime Minister simply because he is the son of the former PM, Pierre Trudeau. Justin became famous because he delivered a eulogy at his father’s funeral. Is that a real reason to launch someone toward being your national leader? Then they elected him repeatedly. This is despite the fact he debanked a group of protesting truckers who were against his dictatorial rules regarding COVID vaccines. This is a country that has not had a team win in its national sport – hockey – in over 30 years. Canada has effectively banned the sale of handguns and rifles which they call “assault weapons.” They do not have our 1st or 2nd Amendment. This is a country whose currency has plummeted against the U.S. dollar, but elected someone as to replace Justin because he would stand up to Trump instead of someone who would stand up for… Read More

We are blessed to live in an extraordinary country formed by the greatest collection of talent, brains, and bravery in history. Each person added a special element to the mix. One changed the world and gave us something no other country has. James Madison, the principal author of the Bill of Rights, gave us the gift of all ten amendments but the essential one that is missing from any other country — the First Amendment which provided us with freedom of speech. Recently, an international controversy happened because of the contrast. Our newly minted Vice-President, J.D. Vance, delivered a speech in Munich on February 14th, the effects of which are still reverberating. Vance was thought to be speaking about eternal threats to our European allies – particularly from Russia. Instead, Vance spoke of the internal threats to democracy from leaders and governments, particularly focusing on newfound free speech restrictions on the citizens of our most important allies. Vance castigated Sweden’s government for convicting a Christian activist for burning a Quran. He also went after the United Kingdom for restrictions on religious expression near abortion… Read More

During foreign travels, we go to some well-known tourist attractions. You might be surprised to find out that there are people trying to sell you trinkets. Every vendor English speaks some English wherever we may be in the world except — South America from where we just returned. To nicely dispense with the vendor I simply, with a smile, ask them the question above and they look at me in a befuddled manner and walk away. While that might work in other parts of the world, in America “no habla ingles” will keep you from achieving what you came here for – financial security. I was not going to address this issue until reading a Washington Post column by Philip Bump. The column is: There’s a Reason the United States Hasn’t Had an Official Language, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/28/english-official-language-trump-history/. It is an impressive column with charts and graphs all aimed at convincing the reader we don’t need an official language. Bump details ancient tropes about why we have not had English designated as the… Read More

Last week, I said Governor Newsom was going to excuse his complete incompetence in handling the state budget by blaming Trump and his tariffs. Indeed that is exactly what his Department of Finance (DOF) did. Here is the quote from the summary of the May revise from DOF:

Those risks have now become a reality. Washington’s imposition of tariffs has driven a downgrade in both the economic and revenue forecasts. Combined with increased expenditure growth above the Governor’s Budget—most notably in Medi-Cal—the state must now close an estimated shortfall of $12 billion to balance the budget and provide for a prudent discretionary reserve. This will require difficult but necessary decisions to reduce ongoing expenditure growth

The only problem is that this is a completely false, politically driven narrative. We are told the state has a $12 billion deficit in the 2025-26 budget year, which doesn’t include the “cuts” the federal government is contemplating. One would think that if there is a deficit, that comes from an unexpected drop in revenue, at least that is… Read More