Part One: The "Stimulus Package" our nation needs

Its Feb. 29th!!! 

Its as predictable as Leap Year which arrives every four years, the
tax plans from presidential candidates, promising to do any number
of things.

Pick your favorite, abolish the IRS, simplify filing, lower tax rates,
increase revenue, and much more.

Rest assured, when the political season is over, the IRS code
will remains at 80,000 pages, number of IRS employees will be
100,000, $2.5 trillion on average sent to Washington each year,
and still Congress will borrow another $1 trillion more as it can't
"get by" on what we send them.

Take note of the word "we", its important, yet rarely mentioned
in discussions about taxes. It identifies the source of the money,
the American taxpayers.

One thing which is also predictable; no matter which tax plan
is discussed, politicians never begin at the beginning. All
offer knee-jerk changes to a failing revenue generator.

Congress, the body responsible for budgeting and taxation,
looks at where we are now, keeping themselves trapped, unable
to see what is best for the American people and our country.

The "beginning" is the day the American people agreed to pay
the govt. for desired services. Unfortunately, taxpayers have
little to say about services Congress wants to pay for. This
is done independently of public discourse and has ballooned
the budget and indebted our nation almost $20 trillion.

To better fund govt. at both federal and state levels and grow
the economy there needs to be public activism. Citizens must
collectively ask, does Washington really need to tax us $3 trillion
and also borrow another $1 trillion each year?

This must be the starting point to any serious discussion
on taxation. Unless we first determine what are the desired
services Washington should provide, any discussion of tax
policies and rates will keep us mired with complex tax code,
thousands of IRS employees and unparalleled 'waste, fraud
and abuse' within our government!


End of Part One

Do we really even need political party primaries?

​The 2016 presidential primaries may be the best in our country's
history! Not so much for what we are learning from and about the
candidates but what has risen from the bowels of a corrupt system
that permeates the entire democratic process of American elections.

Some of what an observant public is learning this election cycle has
never made front page news in the past.

Begin with donors, whose names we may not know, but politicians 

do, for donors contribute tens of thousands to candidates. 

Second, a contrived structure to fund millions​ to candidates using
PACs, political action committees with innocuous appealing names.

Third, the parties themselves who orchestrate the primary process

on rules they determine, often at the disadvantage of some of the

candidates, with subtle preference to an incumbent or a challenger

competing for the nomination.

Fourth, the media who desire to be "king makers", driven to favor 

candidate who agrees with THEM on divisive issues.

Fifth, the endorsements by elected officials, meant to persuade the

general public on which candidate to support.

Sixth, the attacks, meant  to condemn candidates by undermining

what they are saying, and where PAC money is generously spent.

Political primaries are so tainted there is little chance the public will
be able  to objectively choose a candidate without being unduly
influenced by a rigged system meant to keep things pretty much as
donors,  PACs, parties, media  and politicians want.

No need for primaries, a former "smoke filled room" will be just fine!

Mexican 'Fox" refuses to leave America's "hen-house"

Former Mexican president Vicente Fox made headlines when he
said Mexico would not pay for the wall Donald Trump campaigned
he would build if elected.

What has yet to make headlines is the great injustice by the Mexican
govt. by failing to provide for its own people that led to an exodus to
the United States for a better life.

Fox remarks should give us pause and also stiffen our spine when
these verbal assault occur.

Consider what he did NOT say in his interview.

Fox did not acknowledge Mexico failed to provide a quality the life
its citizens deserve.

He also conveniently avoided mentioning NAFTA, the trade agreement
designed to create an economic boom in North America. As president
he reneged on its commitment to build the required infrastructure that
contributed to Mexico not benefiting as Canada and United States did.

Nor, will you hear of the equivalent to the Mafia now populating the
poorest urban areas, peddling drugs from south of Mexican-US border
destroying the fabric of poor American communities due to Mexico
failing to protect ITS side of the border to stop drug trafficking.

This failure has contributed to our prison population having almost
400,000 criminal aliens in federal, state and local facilities at a cost
of $15 billion annually, money that could be better spent on our
non-alien prison population!

The problem of illegal immigration goes beyond American workers
losing jobs to foreign workers. The failure to successfully address
this problem touches every area of American life.

Our social service system can barely provide for the truly needy, law
enforcement is stretched to the limit, court systems are overwhelmed,
public education in most at risk communities has been crippled and
our political system has been tied in knots.

THIS is some of what is happening 'thanks' to Vincente Fox and others
in the Mexican govt.

Since the United States grew in the Southwest, there was never a need
for a wall on our southern border. At one time it was as open as the one
we share with our northern neighbor Canada.

There is a need as long as Mexico and other of our southern neighbors
fail to do more for their citizens.

The 'Fox' in America's 'hen-house' has overstayed its welcome!

Comments welcome.....or email  ajbruno14 gmail

A meaningful first step on Immigration reform.....

The issue of illegal immigration is the political "gift" that have been giving since Reagan was president. It has served politicians well, providing them a divisive issue they prefer   to argue about rather than solve.

 

However, our country has not fared as well as the people we elected. The issue cost        our nation dearly, none worse then the prison system with an exploding population of   criminal aliens. 

 

The number of those incarcerated keeps going higher while the cost drains limited resources. Currently, there are about 60,000 criminal aliens, non-citizens in Federal prisons plus 300,000 more in state and local prisons, costing over $15 billion.

 

Rather than incarcerate non violent criminal aliens, upon conviction deportation hearing should occur followed by immediate and permanent exclusion from the United States.

 

This can be done now, even without a wall, or increased border security. All it takes is the political will.

 

This website offers additional information:  http://www.fairus.org/issue/criminal-aliens

Another debate, another missed opportunity!!

I've lost count, how many debates have there been?

With the field down to five, this is the moment we
should be hearing more from each of the candidates,
not just the two closest to the leader, with the others
barely heard from.

It was obvious the network wanted "good television",
filled with glib sound bites, and attacks, not serious
discourse!  And the audience got their fill.

You would think their advisers would tell them to take
a cue from Trump and be bold about what they would
do and forget the attacks!

Not to be. Political consultants wrote the scripts that
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio dutifully followed. It was
time to bring Donald Trump down, to tighten the race.

I'm not sure it worked, especially for Rubio who at
times seemed desperate to prove himself, a bit of
insecurity?

Cruz was more measured, but should have offered

more content about limited govt, etc. that is his

strength!

I doubt either man asked himself, "Is this what the
public wants to hear?" If so, it brings up question of
their judgement!

Since immigration was the center stage issue, I would
have expected at least one candidate mention what is
happening at this very moment.

First, how many people know that Disney is replacing
American workers with foreign ones, that they must
first train?

Second, is the public aware  of the illegal "import
bank" is open once again, flooding the border with
unaccompanied minors?

This is happening, yet, no candidate mentioned it during
the debate.

Its up to candidates to keep us engaged, offering solutions,
not attacking one another.

Trump's success is due to him saying publicly what many
Americans are saying in their homes. Cruz, Rubio and the
others should follow his lead.

Rubio and Cruz should consider running their campaigns
as Trump is doing, fire consultants, don't do any polling.

Doubt this will happen as neither one seems to have the 

degree of confidence in himself as Trump does.

Replies  welcome.....or  ajbruno14 gmail

Be aware of the liberal use of the word "conservative"!

I was not surprised to receive a political mailing from my Congresswoman,
Rep. Renee Ellmers! But, I was taken back reading she is a conservative! 
Did I miss something?

I do remember Ellmers ran as a conservative when she was first elected 
with the eighty-odd Tea Party challengers in 2010. Even when I met her 
in 2011 she demonstrated a grasp on many issues, although her back-
ground was in health care.

But, something happened as her 2014 re-election neared. Maybe the 
bottled water distributed in Congressional offices was spiked with an
'establishment' additive as Ellmers started behaving as Speak Boehner
did, and we saw how far that got him!

Locally, she hosted an event in Cary to 'discuss' immigration. It was the
first kangaroo court I ever witnessed, stacked with the beneficiaries of 
illegal workers.

Every speaker addressed the concern of  the illegals and the positive 
impact they had on their businesses. American workers, now unemployed,
were never even discussed. Only thing Ellmers did not bring to this show 
were her dog and pony".

But it wasn't just immigration. She voted as directed by the leadership, 
giving us deficit budgets and debt ceiling increases!  Conservative?

But, not one to outdo herself, Ellmers agreed to meet with several 
constituents in her Dunn, NC office in 2014. Although ten showed she 
only spoke with three of us. She persuaded us on her position on 
immigration by calling us names!! Not a constructive meeting.

Ellmers also proved her value as a 'foot soldier' in the amnesty army,
appearing on a nationwide talk radio show and demonstrated talking 
points could only take her so far. She was a national embarrassment!

This to advise you that no matter what label politicians wear, make sure it
fits with their outfit.

Higher education at Univ. of NC reaches a new low.

The attacks came almost immediately after it was announced Margaret Spelling
would be named of president of the Univ. of NC system.

Not surprisingly, protests were organized as Ms. Spelling was criticized for past
remarks and even for serving in the Bush Administration. Never mind she had
the strongest credentials of anyone to serve in this position, as the former
Secy of the US Dept. of Education.

Ms. Spelling is not the first former cabinet secy. to land a position at a major
university. In recent years there were two others.

First, Donna Shalala, who served as Secy. of HHS under Bill Clinton became
the president of Univ. of Miami. 

And, more recently ​Janet Napolitano, who served Barack Obama as the Secy.
of Homeland Security accepted the position of president at Univ. of California.

Neither Shalala or Napolitano held high level positions in education, yet their
appointment were not met with campus protests as we see here in Chapel Hill.

This has come to be expected, in academia if you are a Democrat all doors are
open, with little regard for your credentials.