news – Page 7 – Carol A. Spencer

Put the blame where it belongs… on Democrats

Since 1945 when Hubert Humphrey became mayor of Minneapolis, for only 2 years and one day have Republicans led the city. Independents led the city for another 6 years.

Since 1945, seventy-five years, Democrats have controlled Minneapolis with the exception of a total of 8 years and one day.

Yet, today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed the death of George Floyd on Republicans.

“On Tuesday, as Senate Democrats rejected Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) police reform bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Republicans of ‘trying to get away with murder, the murder of George Floyd.'” (pjmedia.com)

Just let that sit for a minute. Almost 70 years of Democrat mayors and Pelosi blames Republicans.

Who appointed police chiefs throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who approved the size and organizational structure of the police department throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who approved police “standard operating procedures” (SOPs) throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who hired police officers throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who interviewed police officers for advancement and promotion throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who supervised police training throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who disciplined police officers throughout those 65+ years? Democrats
Who reviewed their personnel jackets when determining who was eligible for promotion? Democrats
Who negotiated police contracts? Democrats

The Federal government does not appoint mayors or council members. Local voters elect them. The Federal government does not hire police chiefs, dictate SOPs, hire or fire police officers, determine the use of community policing, number of officers on the road at any point in time, or any other aspect of the organization and policies of police departments. Local elected officials and their administrative hires do.

In Minneapolis, Democrats did. Now, Democrat Pelosi tries to shift the blame. Democrat Pelosi says the proposed Federal legislation doesn’t go far enough, even though the Federal government has no role here.

Democrats have created these problems through feckless leadership over 65+ years. Democrats are the problem today, watching their city burn and doing nothing. Democrats in Washington continue to be the problem today, now blocking Federal legislation.

Hold Democrats accountable because they are.

Stat source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Minneapolis.

There’s no First Amendment right to criminal rioting

They aren’t right. They aren’t left. They aren’t white supremacists. They aren’t left wing nut jobs. They aren’t fascists. They aren’t protesters. They aren’t peaceably assembling, and thus aren’t protected by the First Amendment.

THEY ARE CRIMINALS and deserve to be treated as such.

These CRIMINALS hijacked a situation that was poised to bring everyone together, foster a serious conversation about government – citizen relations. These CRIMINALS hijacked it for the tear down of society as a whole.

Protest peacefully during the day, but it’s time to clear the streets after 7PM. The Constitution does not give people the right to riot.

Governments are instituted among men for the protection of the whole. If these states, even with National Guard, cannot control rioters, cannot enforce their own laws, cannot protect people or private property or public property from damage, it’s time to invoke the Insurrection Act as was done in 1992 during the LA riots.

So you don’t have to look it up: 10 USC 333

Sec. 333. Interference with State and Federal law
The President, by using the militia or the armed forces, or both, or by any other means, shall take such measures as he considers necessary to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy, if it–

(1) so hinders the execution of the laws of that State, and of the United States within the State, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or

(2) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.

In any situation covered by clause (1), the State shall be considered to have denied the equal protection of the laws secured by the Constitution.

Inconsistent

I have long decried inconsistent politicians. It’s why I always referred to myself as a public servant, not a politician. From the first time I ran for office, I said that I would clearly state my positions and when those positions were inconsistent with what voters wanted, I would be voted out of office.

That may sound simplistic and, frankly, it is. Other factors do come into play in an election loss. But for me, being inconsistent, changing my positions to win an election, means a loss of self. I’ve never been willing to sacrifice my beliefs to serve in elected office.

What does that have to do with the violence and riots over the past few years, and especially this week?

The cause of these riots is allegedly the death of black men at the hands of police. We know the names. But a deeper discussion reveals that those deaths are symptoms, not the cause. The cause is inconsistent treatment of people of color by police. Every person I’ve seen interviewed, every article I’ve read, says that’s the cause: inconsistent treatment.

But, what about inconsistent response by the public and government officials? By order of government:

We couldn’t eat in restaurants because more than 100,000 people have died of Covid.
We are under orders to only allow 25% capacity in a variety of businesses and to not gather in groups larger than 10 because more than 100,000 people have died of Covid.
We have been warned to wear masks, in some cases fined for not doing so, because more than 100,000 people have died of Covid.
We have been arrested for opening businesses or playing ball with our children because more than 100,000 people have died of Covid.
We are encouraged to call police and turn in our neighbors for having parties because more than 100,000 people have died of Covid.

Then, George Floyd died, one of approximately 1,000 (all races) annual deaths at the hand of police. The response?

People take to the streets, rioting, no masks, no social distancing. Inconsistent.
People scream, curse, yell, push, harass, attack police officers, EMS workers, and firefighters, the same people they called just a few days ago if they were sick or dying of Covid (or anything else). Inconsistent.
People called for those publicly opposing the stay-at-home orders to be arrested for peacefully protesting, but these protests, peaceful or violent, are okay. Inconsistent.

Some of the people supporting these rioters on social media are the same people who just a few weeks were willing to turn in their neighbors for parties. Inconsistent. They publicly shamed people not wearing masks. Inconsistent. Some went so far as to hope people died for going out without masks or what was, in their opinion, too early.

Their incredible silence about these riots, or worse, their support of them is inconsistent and indefensible.

The inconsistent policing and inconsistent outcomes in our judicial system need to be addressed, both as it applies to people of color as well as the rich or well connected. But the inconsistent, and abhorrent, reaction does nothing to stimulate legitimate discussion about systematic changes. And, without that discussion, nothing changes.

War Profiteers

I’ve thought about writing a series of blog posts about how it feels to be self-quarantining. On Friday, March 13, we had our last dinner in a restaurant and, thankfully, it was with family. Over the course of the day, I went from considering whether to take (what seemed to me at the time) drastic measures to deciding that it was imperative to take such measures.

On Saturday, I cancelled Lost Pines Republican Women events, did our weekly grocery shopping online, filled up our cars with gas, ordered some puzzles and thought about what we’d do to fill our time.

Today, I get up to this news: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8132245/GOP-senator-gave-dire-coronavirus-warning-heeled-constituents-Capitol-Hill-social-club.html

To quote from the Daily Mail article:

Richard Burr, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee which was directly briefed on coronavirus, sold up to $1.7m in stock between January and February
Dianne Feinstein, on the same committee, sold up to $6m in stock in same period
Kelly Loeffler, on the Senate Health Committee, sold up to $3.1m in stock starting on the day her committee was briefed by the CDC
James Inhofe sold up to $400k in stocks including real estate all on January 27

Market Downturn Graph Outraged is an understatement. Every day Americans are watching their IRAs and 401Ks, life savings, plummet. With the economy shutting down, it’s clearly going to get worse before it gets better.

Let me be perfectly clear: I believe in the strength of the American economy. It will come back. It always has. I believe there will be a shift in how we conduct business. There will be new winners, definitely losers. And, as I was taught by my dad, you don’t lose unless you actually sell.

But all that being said, profiteering with insider knowledge has been going on for a long time and we turned a blind eye. So some of this is our fault. But this is a war against an invisible virus. And, elected officials who do this are war profiteers.

I’d really like to see a year-long timeline of trades in these people’s “blind trusts”. If their investment managers were trading all the time at the multi-million dollar level, I’ll give them a pass. If they’ve traded hospitality and drug stocks multiple times over that year, I’ll give them a pass. If they immediately re-invested all those proceeds into a variety of industry sectors in the stock market, I’ll give them a pass.

But, if they’re long term investors and rarely trade, then all of a sudden are dumping airline or hospitality stocks and buying up online delivery stocks, health stocks, or tech stocks, then the Attorney General and the SEC should immediately open investigations. If they violated insider trading laws, they should resign and be charged (think Martha Stewart). If they violated no laws, then we need some to stop elected officials from being able to profit from insider knowledge.

It’s an outrage that elected officials profit on this pandemic while the rest of us (peons) watch our net worth collapse. That’s nothing short of war profiteering.

Your Vote Counts!

There are many reasons to vote in the Republican Primary in Texas. I know… you’re confident President Trump is going to win his primary (yes, he has primary challengers). And, since you know this, why vote?

First, from a purely selfish point of view, I’m also on the ballot and I have a challenger. I’ve worked hard here in Bastrop County to do my part to energize Republicans, to raise money and donate it to our GOP candidates, to spread our message through the web and social media, and to create an atmosphere where friendships are built and people can use their talents for a common purpose. Our Lost Pines Republican Women’s club is almost 70 strong from the 10 we started with in January 2017. We’ve won state and national awards, and our members are nothing short of phenomenal Republicans. I would appreciate your vote for my re-election as Republican Precinct Chair in Precinct 1003.

Second, there are 10 questions on the Republican ballot, seeking voter opinion on issues that will be discussed at our May TexasGOP Convention. You can download a flyer with the questions, or get your sample ballot and read them there. Then, cast your vote, expressing YOUR opinion. Be heard!!

Third, not all states vote for their judges. Texans do. We’re lucky in that regard. We don’t have to live with a liberal judge, appointed for life or until the age of 70 when in some states, retirement is forced. We get to choose. Do so!

There are other candidates on the ballot, too. You can visit public office candidate websites at LostPinesRW.org. Where we could find them online, we provided those links. Learn, then vote. BastropVotes.org has times and places for Early Voting and March 3 Election Day.

What’s the Score?

The score is 14 – 7. We’re losing.

I’m not talking about football. I’m talking about social media and digital communication. The Bastrop County Democrat Party in December (so far) has posted twice as much as the Bastrop County Republican Party. And, they’re on both Instagram and Twitter.

Social media is the preferred communication method for all age groups. Entities must be in these spaces to connect with the public.

The Republican Party website is out of date. The Election Information page showed Nov 4 ballot info as recently as Saturday, December 7. The cutoff date for filing to run for office was December 9. Until mid-day December 8, not one word was on the website about how to do so.

Silence about the new precinct created in Bastrop County last month even though it affects more than 2,000 voters. Nothing about how to register to vote, yet that’s the top priority for TexasGOP. And, the news page’s last article is from June 2, 2018! Its subject? A joint event with the Democrats.

Twitter? The last tweet from the Bastrop County Republican Party was April 25. The Democrats? December 3.

Instagram? (70% of 18 – 29 year olds use Instagram)
The Republican Party doesn’t even have an account. The Democrats last post? November 25.

YouTube? (90% of 18 – 49 year olds use YouTube)
The Republican Party doesn’t even have an account.

“You’re a digital communications expert and a precinct chair. Why don’t you volunteer to fix this,” you might ask. I have. The chair refused my offer. It’s one thing to lose a football game because of poor communication. It’s quite another to lose elections for that reason.

I was here before you came. I’ll be here when you leave.

In the late ’90s, I served as mayor of a town of 16,000 people. One day, as I sat in my office with an employee discussing her lackluster job performance, she looked at me and said “Mayor, I was here before you came. I’ll be here when you leave.” And, she was.

Her comment was in defense of not wanting to participate in automating work in her office. You know, the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality. But, it was a philosophy that was pervasive in local government among union employees who could not be fired except for “cause” (basically, provably, breaking the law).

People don’t like change. And, for government employees, every four years can bring a new chief executive with his/her own campaign promises, philosophies of governance and management, and policy implementation. If they wait long enough, that elected leader will be out of office.

Nothing compels employees to support and implement the policies of a new leader. I was undermined by employees who were loyal to former mayors. I was undermined by employees who were loyal to my political opponents. How? Submit required paperwork without signatures. Send legal documents to the wrong address so they don’t arrive where they need to be by their due date. Promise others funding that I specifically earmarked for a totally different project, leaving that project without funding. Cancel contracts without asking me first, contracts that could not be reinstated. Commit to tentative agreements, agreements I had clearly stated I would not approve. And, I could go on.

It is through that lens that I watch the impeachment hearings. It is through that lens that I am suspect of those testifying. It is through that lens that there isn’t one iota of doubt in my mind that there is a swamp, bureaucrats actively working to destroy the Trump presidency. It is through that lens that I believe the Democrats, and some Republicans, are working hard to keep the status quo that made some of them and their friends rich. It is through that lens that I support the President, believe there was no quid pro quo, and trust that Trump is doing the right thing by investigating the swamp dwellers.