Foreword
In a little less than a week, the People will decide whether or not to restore America’s character as conceived by Her Founders. It’s a rather simple exercise. America’s essence — Her spirit, Her soul — is either worth saving, or not. As in war, you either expel the enemy within, in the name of freedom, or accept authority, in the name of security. Ed.

Many, if not most, serious authors repeatedly attempt to dissect the mystery of the human condition. It’s no wonder. Anyone who can think beyond the next meal must ask why human beings – that means you — are seemingly driven to consort with the seven deadly sins. With millennia of destructive human behavior as a teacher, you might expect human beings to eventually learn some lofty life lessons. But, no, human behavior has little, if anything, to do with learning; and more to do with genetic predisposition. John Steinbeck’s acclaimed novel — The Winter of Our Discontent — was your latest foray into the distressing behavior of human entanglements. Like most of his work, Steinbeck took a deep dive into the dark side of human nature through the eyes of his hero Ethan Hawley, a quite ordinary, small-town, grocery store clerk and scion of a once prominent family. Ethan is typical of the post WWII generation — married, educated, combat veteran, morally grounded father of two, troubled by his failure to give his family material benefits and social standing. Given a fortuitous, but unethical business opportunity, he decides to abandon morality and adopt duplicity as a pathway to success. He rationalizes the decision — all the town mucky mucks — his banker, the mayor and city council members — all play the insider game, lining their pockets and looking out for #1. Ethan’s decision pays off and he joins the “haves.” Simultaneously and astonishingly, his surly, arrogant, 14-year-old son Allen parallels Daddy’s “good fortune” by winning the “I Love America” national essay contest. His achievement trains a spotlight on the Hawley household and their coastal village. Ethan rides high,  not for his own prospects, but for witnessing his son’s talent and sudden work ethic — qualities the teenager always ridiculed as something belonging to chumps. Turns out Pop was the chump. The axe on the Hawley homestead falls with a visit from the Television executive who gives Ethan the ugly news.

He hands the essay to Ethan. “Have you read it?”

“No, he wanted to surprise me.”

The exec couldn’t explain why the essay wasn’t immediately flagged by the review board. Not one word of it belonged to son Allen. He had cleverly stitched together the words of Clay, Webster, Jefferson, Lincoln and others. The exec wants to drop the matter — no publicity, no public indictment. Pretend it never happened. Ethan could not pretend. Plagiarism in mid-20th century was a life altering crime, not to be condoned. To an author or speaker, it was a badge of dishonor, a character flaw, a moral violation, not to be forgotten. When confronted, Allen blurts, “Who cares? Everybody does it. It’s the way the cookie crumbles.” Ethan’s story doesn’t end here. His story is awash in guilt — his own and now his son’s. He contemplates the unthinkable. But this is no book review. You leave the end in question.

Steinbeck was a tormented man, outraged by injustice, bigotry and poverty, and thus often prone to animosity. Not unusual for writers who study, analyze and solve — absolutely nothing. Rather, you prefer to compare yesterday’s moralistic attitudes to those of today. Steinbeck’s sinners — the general public — were quick to condemn, to blast wrongdoing. Wrongdoers themselves had a conscience. Crooked public officials — and there were many — paid the price with ruination and ridicule. Media was the first in line to throw stones and demand accountability — and suffering. Today’s a different story. Sin is subjective. Morality is subjective. Ethan’s son Allen would be bustin’in 2022. Crime thrives while the general public shrugs its collective shoulders. Perjurers — that is, liars — have a field day in 2022 America, pervading every nook and cranny of public and private life. What best characterizes the difference between yesterday and today is a spectacular realization that would make Allen proud — America’s preeminent plagiarist and liar occupies the White House. No small feat, that. But you cut Sleepy Joe some slack since Washington itself swears by The Lie as being an essential attribute of political life. Birds of a feather. The watchdog Media, meanwhile, has no interest in upholding the archaic notions of honesty, integrity, decency and virtue. Doing so would ring just a mite hollow. If JS were writing today, only one thing would change. Ethan would tell Allen, “Son, don’t worry about it ; everybody does it and you almost pulled it off. Proud of you.”

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The midterm is over. The GOP won big in the House and squeaked by in the Senate. Get ready for some big changes to take place within six months. You can’t predict the order of congressional action. You can guess. Some things happen automatically. Leadership is one. Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi take a hike. The GOP fires Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy and elects new leaders to run the congressional show. In the interest of gender equality, John M. Kennedy is polar opposite to Mitch and Marjorie Taylor Greene can bleach the putrid stains left behind by Nancy. By no means are they the only qualified candidates. In no particular order, there will be a debate about impeaching Biden for being on the take, for his treasonous Afghanistan betrayal, for terminating America’s energy independence and for his genocidal Covid policies. There will be no debate about terminating the Jan. 6 committee. Instead, multiple new committees will investigate the DOJ, FBI, CIA and other agencies that illegally tampered with the 2020 election, along with the individuals who lied, cheated and broke their oaths of office to impeach Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Robert Mueller, Adam Schiff, Peter Strzok and a host of elected officials and bureaucrats will be indicted, found guilty and sentenced to prison. In short order, the money spigot will be shut down and Biden’s legislative action will be repealed. Another shutdown will take place at the Southern border as U.S. immigration decides to implement the U.S. Constitution. The Federal Government will cut off funding to Planned Parenthood and PBS, along with hundreds of other organizations that feed at the Taxpayer trough. And Biden’s student debt forgiveness will be transferred to the universities who bilked the students in the first place. The Federal Government will immediately investigate the congressional oversight of the U.S. global health policy and programs, including the CDC and NIH connection to major pharmaceutical corporations. Accordingly, Anthony Fauci will be investigated, indicted, found guilty and imprisoned for enriching himself and instituting policies that killed thousands of Americans. As part of the DHHS investigation, the Federal Government will begin relinquishing health matters to the States. As quickly as possible, Congress will overturn Biden’s Executive Order to shut down the Keystone Pipeline and either abolish the Department of Education or cut off its funding. In either case, Education will be a State responsibility, totally devoid of Federal interference. The new Congress will author, pass and implement a balanced budget.

Interference. There’s always interference. You know something’s wrong. What is it? It’s the infernal beeping, Matilda. Cell phones have an awful habit of interrupting the most pleasant dreams. Wake up and smell reality. The midterm isn’t over. It’s 20 days away. And if the result turns out to be the landslide of your dream, the rest of it is nothing more than frivolous fantasy. Because the GOP never chooses a warrior. Mitch and McCarthy ain’t going anywhere. The GOP establishment doesn’t have the stomach to impeach anyone. Communist voters and meanie democrats might take offense. And it will be hands off Jan. 6 because Trump’s the target — leave well enough alone. None of the bad actors that conspired to spear Trump will lose one night of sleep because the GOP would rather lose Trump than win an election. Durham will still be collecting evidence that never comes to fruition, until Trump is exonerated posthumously. Republicans have no interest in cutting spending, abolishing agencies or defunding anyone, least of all PP execution chambers and PBS state run media. Helpless Harvard students will argue that education should be free. Anyway, why risk the backlash? Since the establishment GOP was all-in on the Covid shut-down policy and vaccine protocol, how could it find fault with Fauci and the entire medical establishment for ignoring the Hippocratic Oath? No one will pay for lives lost and livelihoods smashed. A new Congress needs to steer clear of medical matters since the majority of Americans still buy the Media narrative. It is somewhat possible the Keystone Pipeline might have new life — but most likely will breathe that new life through some type of lawsuit — and not by congressional action. There will be hearings and lots of talk about debt, federal spending, inflation and balanced budgets. Lots of talk. And more talk.

You must ask — why the cynicism and gloom? That’s easy. Base your expectations on GOP performance in the past 30 years. Add to that — in just two years, the Democrat Party has systematically ruined hundreds of thousands of lives in many ways — and not a peep out of mainstream media. The midterm? You should make a list of what you expect — as you would for Santa’s visit — and see what you get. Dreams seldom come true.

There is only one Constitutional remedy : www.conventionofstates.com

On more than one occasion, you’ve quoted the words of brilliant authors and playwrights who persistently indict capitalism as the scourge of civilization. But that’s what serious writers tend to do — incriminate somebody or something for some type of injustice. Most often, writers live on the left side of the political street, looking for justification to condemn the rich for the ills of society. In movies, screenwriters dearly love to pummel business moguls. You see, Matilda, no business big shot can be successful without stepping on the necks of the weak and helpless. Tycoons are perfect scapegoats for writers who are unable to reconcile the inequality of a free society; so they tend to cozy up to “democratic” socialism, a government system that promises to provide all the necessities of life — and death. One left wing playwright was the masterful Lillian Hellman whom you quote often for her superb talent. One of her characters is the abused, suppressed, Southern spouse of a white, patriarchal, rich bigot (naturally). Behind her bully husband’s back, Birdie is critical of him for taking advantage of poor black families by charging them obscene interest rates. In a tipsy state of mind, she complains, “Well, there are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it. . . .. then there are people who stand around and watch them eat it.” You have no argument with that observation, Lillian. Lots of people stand by and watch iniquity and beastliness and never lift a finger. But there remains a question for Hellman and her ilk. Why do you judge rich people and the capitalist system as being malicious; yet not judge communist systems that solve social issues by committing genocide? Why do you deprecate billionaires who build massive industrial businesses, provide thousands of jobs and pay millions in taxes? Why do you imply that individual success is unfair? And why then don’t today’s socialist writers denounce the likes of LeBron James or Tom Brady? These gents get paid 80-120 mil annually for playing a game. They are millionaire “workers,” not owners. They are stinking rich. They are the poster children of American Capitalism. Would the poor suddenly stop being poor if Elon Musk and Tom Cruise didn’t exist? More important, would the poor have jobs without successful business owners? Yes, they would, say the socialists. The government would run the businesses and the people would share and share alike. Hallelujah. Here, Comrade, have another sip of this delicious Kool-aid. The fact is, you are as contemptuous and critical of the rich as Hellman ever was in her award winning plays. Only you don’t aim your scorn at the business rich. Nope. Instead, take a hard look at the entitled youth and teachers who propagate the fancy domains of higher education. You have contempt for them and other intellectual elitists who believe America’s economic system is guilty of systemic racism, discrimination and injustice. These are the privileged ones, the narcissists who signal their virtues by admitting their privileged guilt as they suck on caramel frappuccinos and blame America for daring to worship at the altar of individual freedom. These are the guilt-ridden Gen Y’s and Z’s who despise blue collar patriots and businessman Donald Trump. What they don’t despise is capitalist-inspired $150 ripped jeans and spring break at South Beach. These are the guilt-ridden Utopians who see an imperfect America that pollutes the planet. And these are the guilt-ridden Utopians who choose careers in sociology, psychology, political science, environmental studies, government studies and the law — careers that produce absolutely nothing — careers dedicated to regulating and controlling the people who produce absolutely everything. You have a message and recommendation for all capitalism haters, especially the Y’s and Z’s. The message is this: Capitalism is economic freedom — nothing more, nothing less. The recommendation is this: Spend one year supporting yourself in any country that espouses a “democratic socialist” system.  Under that system, if you find  there are no people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it, stay there.

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