REALLY!?

Jimmy Carter will not go down as one of the best United States Presidents.  However, most will agree that as a citizen and human being, he probably was one of the most honest men to ever hold the office. Carter, a former governor of Georgia, Naval Academy graduate and peanut farmer, was elected following the Watergate scandal which caused many Americans to loose trust in Washington, seeking an outsider to fill the Oval Office in that election cycle of 1976, hence Carter’s election to the highest office in the land.  President Jimmy Carter had one of the longest tenures as former President.  He and his wife, Roselyn used their time in retirement to build houses for Habitat for Humanity and traveled the world to assist in fair elections, in an effort to eliminate corruption, as the Carters felt that was a very important issue.  Carter and his wife made good use of their time in serving the American people and others around the world…

     Elections free from corruption are important for any government’s credibility. Anyone who feels otherwise, must be in favor of or are in on the cheating, a comment from Utah Senator Mike Lee, “There is no legitimate argument against The Save America Act,” which requires that all who vote produce legitimate identification and proof of citizenship. It is estimated that over 70% of the American population feels strongly about election integrity.  

     This week, it came out that that New Jersey accidentally registered 6,600 non-citizens to vote. NJ Governor, Mikie Sherrill, originally blamed the software company, IDEMIA, that allowed the residents to sign-up. When the tech company heard her claims, they came forward and set the record straight that it was not their fault. Assistant United States Attorney General, Harmeet Dhillon, has taken the issue of voter integrity seriously and has assured government officials that anyone involved in any wrongdoing or illegally enrolling non-citizens to vote, will experience the full extent of the law.  Now, Sherrill has come forward admitting that the mistake did happen. Any fraudulent vote, cancels out a legitimate vote. What is hard to understand about that. Why would anyone vote against voter integrity? Unless, cheating was part of the plan.  REALLY!?…

     When those running for President for the 2016 election started making claims that the wide open border was part of a plan to flood the country with bodies, strategically shuffled to communities to increase the population for a census vote, honestly, it seemed pretty far fetched and I recall thinking, “REALLY!? That’s hard to imagine. Why would they do that?” Ten years later and it seems to make pretty good sense. If populations could be increased to get more representation strategically to gain congressional seats and resources to ‘reward’ those new citizens who would be loyal supporters now and either illegally get them to vote or get them to be eventual voters, it could be possible for a political party to ‘stay’ in power, gaining all the rewards that come with it. These weary international travelers were given compensation for their efforts in terms of goodies from phones, to housing to bridge card, among other benefits, all at the cost to the American tax payer….REALLY?!

     And then, last week, the President announces that he will speak to the American people to explain proof that there was corruption in the election of 2020 and the importance of passing the Save America Act to improve election integrity.  Many major news agencies decided the day of the President’s address that they would not cover his remarks.  One news agency that decided against covering the event, yet gave commentary on his remarks, live, while it was happening-but not on their airtime.  Really?! My question is why would some agencies make the decision not to share this event for the American people to be informed and make their own judgement? Is the press not interested in covering the uncovering of corruption in our elections? The subject matter of the President’s remarks was announced earlier in the week. A Presidential Election affects all American is the press in the business in filtering what important information is dolled out to the American population?  The President gave specific evidence as to where the corruption was and how foreign governments and some in the media, were willing parties of trying to manipulate information given to the American people. The following day, several in the liberal media mocked the United States President for taking on this issue, spewing lies and untruths, even further proving the Commander in Chief’s claims (those of Fake News too). REALLY?!

     It’s surprising to see so many falling for fake news. When Donald Trump first began calling many in the media, “FAKE NEWS”, it seemed to be in jest, but as more time went on, it became more and more apparent that the press was not covering all of the news whether it was the disaster at the border, the health of President Joe Biden, the covid/Wuhan virus, the release of criminals or other topics pertinent to everyday Americans and their wellbeing. Regardless of who the President is or what party is in charge, where are those seeking truth? To believe that “TRUMP is a nazi, a dictator, etc……” just to follow a political party or jump on the hate bandwagon is foolish and downright stupid. Any government official or politician is only as good as his/her results.  If Donald Trump was guilty of any of these accusations, with the full extent of the law bearing down on his back,  if there was evidence of this wrong doing, he surly would have been locked up and put away for the rest of his life.  That didn’t happen…

     In the last few weeks we have heard the terms socialist, fascist and communist thrown around. Do voting adults know what the definitions of those terms? Do the younger voters who seemed to have had their interests perked by these democratic socialist ‘flavor of the day’ running for office in Maine, Colorado, Michigan and a few other select states? I would challenge voters to do their homework in ‘fact checking’ these candidates and those promoting them. One influencer, Hasan Piker, in promoting the democratic socialist platform applauded those predecessors of these modern candidates, like Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China. Some has claimed that his regime has been one of the deadliest in modern history, responsible for tens of thousands of deaths through starvation and brutality. Certainly not something to ‘reach for,’ Piker is either misinformed or uninformed. Interestingly, Piker Bernie Sanders and others promoting socialism (which many times leads to communism), a political philosophy that promotes government control and ownership of the economy, such as factories and land, rather than being privately held. The main goal is to ‘share the wealth’ which takes away the incentive to work hard.  In these societies, power and wealth is limited to a few individuals at the top who have all of the control. That Piker, and Bernie Sanders are strongly against the wealthy but are quite wealthy themselves says so much. Question to Piker and Sanders, are you willing to share YOUR wealth? The same could be said of Michigan candidate for the democratic spot on the ballot for U.S. Senator, Abdul El-Sayed. He and his wife refuse to release their tax information, stating that with all of his wife’s family’s international properties, ‘it’s complicated.’ Yet, during  his campaign, El-Sayed has suggested higher taxes for the wealthy are a good thing.  All more of “rules for thee but not for me.” 

     We all have information at our fingertips with our smart phones, tablets and computers. Do people fact check these things?  Late in the fall of 2023 after the October 7 attacks in Israel, we were out with friends when a woman who happened to hear our conversation said, “You don’t know that that all happened. It is propaganda by the Israeli government. It didn’t happen.” I later found out that this woman was a college professor. There was film of the horrific attacks and hostages brutally taken. “What planet did she live on?” Were my thoughts when hearing that she was a college professor and I wondered what young minds was she polluting? REALLY!?

    And then this week, the director of the National Museum of American History (the Smithsonian), Athena Hartig,   was read various literature from the department’s website to other writings concerning the Smithsonian’s depiction of American history.  One selection on “THE MASS ACTION TOOLKIT” - which listed traits like politeness and linear thinking as “aspect of white supremacy,” Hartig stated that she was unfamiliar with that specific reference and noted that the museum did not develop the tool kit, yet had it in their collection.  Director Hartig’s demeanor was calm and collected as she answered questions from her department. Although Ms. Hartig claims that “telling our story fully is a form of respect for the American people, and a commitment to constantly being in pursuit of a more perfect union, ” it was interesting to what information is in the Smithsonian, as it has been nearly twenty years since we have been there. What I heard in the hearing this week left me saying to myself, REALLY?! So someone at the Smithsonian thinks that politeness is a trait of white supremacy?!!

     I could go about the issues heard this week that left me asking, “REALLY?! And when I do find myself asking myself, “REALLY?!” A good habit to get in to is….reach for your smart phone or computer and do some fact checking! Don’t believe everything you read on either side. As I heard Elon Musk question British journalist, Zanny Minton Beddoes who resides in London, “That we should have secure borders, that we should have safe cities, that we should have sensible spending. Which of those are far right?”  It seems as if bad behavior and disrespect in so many ways has not been checked or those acting is such ways have gotten by with it, that the most common sense of ideas are deemed “far right” or radical? REALLY?! No wonder there are those who protest to ‘protect’ those who break the law.  Now, here are the questions to be asked:  1) Do they really believe what they are protesting, or are they following the cause blindly because their party does? 2) Are they being paid to protest?  3). Are they part of those hoping to tear down and ruin this country?

     That’s an interesting question. Is there interest in ruining America? Hearing this years ago, one might have brushed it off as ‘conspiracy theory,” yet now, who knows. When the Mayor of New York City said, and then the next day, (all this week) back tracked that “He would arrest Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu should he attend the United Nations General Assembly, as there is a warrant for his arrest as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court (ICC). So in this act, Mayor, Zoran Mamdani, was showing his loyalty NOT to the country in which he is a citizen and where he ‘governs,’ but rather to an outside agency.  REALLY!?  His words, although later backtracked, were spoken and played across social media.  This behavior, whether it’s information thrown out into the ether about an Israeli Prime Minister, a Presidential Candidate, an election, or the border, can be a means of swaying people’s minds and affecting their behavior.  Be aware and be forewarned…

     Fact checking and seeking the truth is our responsibility.  When asking yourself, “REALLY?! Take it one step further and see for yourself. The truth matters.  Really.