The Problems

The Problems

America is in trouble. That is a given. Spiritual sickness is the reason. JESUS is the cure.

BUT

When dealing with those who can only see the physical issues, here is where we are:

1. People recognize that one of the main reasons for our loss of manufacturing jobs is the cost of labor. Yet, some want to raise the minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage would likely reduce buying power, but that is something that doesn't seem to matter. At the same time, these same people don't want us to raise tariffs or taxes on imports from countries that use slave labor. So, Americans want stuff made by countries that use slave labor while demanding raises in wages that are the reason we can't compete with the countries that use slave labor.
2. People also see that we suffer a loss of corporate and private money to overseas banks because of high corporate, and individual taxes. Yet, people do not want to make it more attractive to keep that money in America.
3. Our tax system is a mess. A good tax system would be a flat tax. But, the disparity in incomes, the fact that the rich pay all the taxes in America, makes creating a good tax system nearly impossible. Others want a consumption (Fair) tax. The problems with that are manifold.
4. We have a ton of good middle class people who want the government to provide healthcare for everyone. But, when a new tax comes along and asks them to pay for it, it is somehow a tax break for the rich.
5. We have people who are fixated on the income disparity. But, income equality results in everyone being equally poor and really ends prosperity and growth. Raising minimum wage just raises inflation. Socialism just results in income disparity as well. Everyone is equally poor except the elitists.
6. A third of the population is on some form of government program. The other 2/3 are funding the rest of the country, and them.
7. 4.5% of the population pays 72% of taxes paid at an effective rate of 24%. Yet, the other tax payers say they don't pay enough. The only thing I see as a problem with income disparity is this. How do you put a tax plan together that is actually fair?
8. Then there is healthcare. The government writes checks. Hospitals can charge $100 for an aspirin because the government makes it possible by undoing fair market, free market competition.

This is the insanity of what our legislators have to wade through. Half want to dump the constitution and have government take over everything. The other half want to hold tight to the constitution and keep America as close to what it was founded to be as possible. I am one of the second half. I love this country and I am amazed by the constitution. I love free market competition. I accept that fallen men in a fallen world will be greedy and selfish. That is going to get worse with greater spiritual sickness.

We have dictator wannabes. We need leaders. We use elections to win arguments. We need unification. We need a population with a commitment to take care of themselves, to work hard and take care of family, and not expect the government to cover them.

We have media with no commitment to truth. We have supplies of news from all directions and none of it is reliable. We have universities indoctrinating people into a belief system, and not teaching them to think. It is Marxism at it's worst. Communism isn't far behind and one of our political parties has embraced every socialist, communist, and anti-American group in America.

Taxes: Flat vs Consumption

TAXES:

Flat (modified) vs Consumption

Why I rejected the consumption tax and how that set me on my quest for a better tax option!

Why I reject the consumption tax;

1. It requires that people deny themselves things they want in order to avoid paying an unfair percentage of their income in taxes.
2. In our consumer nation, it cuts into commerce. It encourages people not to make purchases.
3. It will result in large, underground markets. Rich people know how to buy stuff without paying taxes
4. A basic consumption tax results in a serious imbalance percentage of income vs taxes paid.
5. It will require taxation of the internet and all purchases made there on. As people migrate towards purchasing groceries and everything on the internet, that will become a disaster.

I added this graph because it tells me something. The top 4.5% of income earners pay an effective income tax of 23% (ish) They also pay 75% of all taxes. That means, in order for a 23% "Fair Tax" to fund the government, it would require that every person now funding the government would have to spend every penny they bring in on new products, in order to fund the government. Okay? No investments. No saving. Spend every penny consuming. That is crazy.

It is possible this discrepancy would be made up by the taxation of criminals and people who get paid cash under the table.

There are more reasons that I don't even know yet, but you can see why I think a consumption tax is a bad idea.

This chart also tells me that 15% flat tax isn't enough.

Now, let me explain my tax plan. A simple, modified flat tax;

The Basic Plan

We start with a 15% flat tax. Add to that, a standard deduction of $25,000. Now, simply put, that means anyone who makes $25,000 or less would get a full refund on their taxes. If you make $50,000 you get half of what you have paid in a return. Removes the tax burden of the working poor and reduces the taxes on the lower middle and middle class significantly.

15% is an actual slight bump up, or no change, in percent paid by those making $30,000 - $200,000 (based on the chart above) Very slight, but slight. It is, as I have mentioned, less than what the top earners in america pay. That poses a problem. For now, I am staying with 15% (so I don't have to rewrite this whole thing)

Economic Stimulus Built In

We return the money in two checks. One at the end of November and one at the end of May. That money is then spent. Either it is spent for Christmas and Summer vacations (strengthening family ties) or it is used to pay the growing heating bills and catch up on past bills. Or, it is used to buy health insurance.

Corporate/Business Tax

Now, if we put the same numbers into our corporate tax, with the same refund built in, it becomes tax relief for new business start-ups and entrepreneurs.

The End Of Tax Forms

This tax plan is so simple, there is no need to pay people to figure it out. This will save Americans billions of dollars. We can reduce the IRS down to a minimum, end the fear of the government.

I WILL NEVER SUPPORT THIS

95 million Americans not on work force, 4.5% of the others are not employed. Over 100 million of 320 million not working. How do you plan to keep taking money from the other 200 million and pay for healthcare, and cancer research, and wind and solar power, pharmaceutical research and farm subsidies, and send hundreds of billions to other nations? 1 million legal and 1 million illegal immigrants a year. How is it that you think this is possible? People, who are only concerned with what you can get from the government, don't care about $20 trillion in debt and the concept of taxing everyone who is working, into poverty.

Well, I already put myself $20,000 in debt to help a family of strangers. I am not in a position to do it again. But, I will never support this nonsense of destroying the country because folk can't do the math

I will never support taking from those who have earned it and giving it to those who haven't. I will never support reaching into someone else's pocket and giving it to a cause I think is worthy. It is immoral and unethical and it is theft.

WHILE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS READY AND WILLING TO CREATE A HEALTHCARE BILL OF MASS DESTRUCTION, REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT WILL WORK. Nothing is going to work. 

This country is unique. Our problems are not shared in other countries. Yet, our poor people still have it better than those in most countries. There are churches, and individuals, throughout this country that will feed and clothe and house the poor. They would do tons more, and more effectively then the government, if people would just stop supporting the government taking over doing it.

We have a government that spend trillions of dollars to support bureaucracies that disperse billions. It is literally like giving money to a charity that uses all but 10% of it to pay the salaries of the charity workers.

This trend of trying to get the government to steal from the rich and give to the poor is going to be the destruct of America. The Democrats want major taxes to kick in when someone makes $250,000 a year. Folks, that is not much money. If you are one who is striving for your kids to be successful, by the time they get to be, the Democrats will have taxes set at a level to tax them right back into poverty. 

Resist the Democrats

I have lived for nearly sixty years. I have spent 20 of the last twenty five years in black churches and as part of the black community. This life I have lived has resulted in seeing what has been going on in America for years. This is some what I have observed.

Throughout the history of America there has been a group of people behind the scenes who have one goal; maintain power. Particularly, maintain power over groups of people they deemed inferior. Ultimately, to maintain power by maintaining a lock on the economic condition of America. As America has changed, their tactics have changed. Their goal is still the same.

To do this, they resisted the end of slavery, the voting rights of ex slaves, the notion of declaring slaves as actual human beings. They moved into attempted genocide by the use of eugenics and abortion. One quarter of the black population of America has been exterminated by abortion. 444 of every 1,000 black pregnancies ends in abortion today. Who supports this? Democrats. I don't know how many black women were forcefully sterilized during the eugenics effort.

In the 1930's, the Democratic party, having lost the war to keep slaves, and the war to keep blacks from voting, instituted the New Deal.

The New Deal was a way for Democrats to literally buy the support of the black community, even though the black community knew they were the racist stronghold that had fought against them. It worked. The black community bit the bullet and through in with the Democratic party in order to support them in the promise of “30 acres and a mule”. What they never saw, was that it was just a way to keep them owned and controlled by the old plantation money. The promise of wealth and big handouts never materialized. Instead, the promise morphed into a welfare state that gives just enough to support, without enough thrive and no avenue to escape.

However, over the years, many minority entrepreneurs and millionaires have raised themselves up in spite of the effort of the Democratic party. Doctors, lawyers, CEOs, business owners, franchise owners, and in every other profession minorities have begun to flourish. So, once again, the tactics had to change.

The Democratic party gradually changed it's message. But the motivations and intentions have never changed. Today, even while claiming to empathize with the black community, the intention is to insure that the black community never reaches a place where they have the money to threaten the power base of the money elite. So, how did they do it? They convinced the black community that rich white people are the problem. How does that work? This is how;

The old plantation money aristocracy already has its money. It doesn't need to make anymore to have total power. The only thing that can threaten them? New money! By focusing the black community on the idea of raising taxes on the rich white people in order to fund the government handouts, they have gotten the black community to vote time and again to raise taxes on the rich. The thing is, those taxes don't touch money people already have. Those taxes only tax money that is being made now. In other words, those taxes do not touch the rich white people who are the problem. Who do these taxes hurt? They hurt every new entrepreneur and every person who is pulling themselves up. In short, the Democratic party is doing all it can to tax minority rich people back into poverty.

Over the years, a number of black leaders have raised up to give their people an equal shot at the American dream. Now that their dream is coming to fruition, the Democratic party wants to change America into a socialist nation where all these gains will be taken away. Where every person who has a chance to reach the goal will have it taken away.

If that wasn't enough, the Democratic party has continually told the black community that blacks will never succeed, never thrive, because they are oppressed. They repeat the rhetoric that blacks cannot compete, cannot excel, cannot succeed as long as white people have power.

What happens when you tell a child that he will never amount to anything? Some will prove you wrong, others will just give up. The ones who will prove you wrong are doing it with anger and frustration and hate. The ones that just give in are doing it with anger and frustration. If you are focused on the idea of being oppressed, then you can be convinced you have to bring down your oppressors before you can raise yourself up. This is why Democrats keep the black community focused on hating white people. That way, they will not focus on raising themselves up.

It is because of all of this that large numbers of minorities are trapped in poverty. Trapped in slums. Trapped in bad schools and a bad education system.

Meanwhile, the Republican party keeps telling everyone that we all can be whatever we want. The Republican party keeps moving forward with school choice and lower taxes. The Republican party is the only thing standing between the Democratic party and the complete destruction of the black community in America.

This isn't all of it. This is just surface stuff. I could take extra time to explain how destabilizing the nation serves to keep minorities poor and the aristocracy rich. I show you how the marriage of radical Muslims and the Democratic party adds to this. But this is enough for you to understand:

THIS IS WHY I RESIST THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Old Money (Democrats) vs New Money (Republicans)

Old Money (Democrats)

vs

New Money (republicans)

There are two types of wealthy people in America. New Money looks after its money. Old Money looks after its power. One is in politics to control things, one is in politics to keep from being controlled.

Old Money doesn't rely on anything to maintain its money. But, power is another matter. In order to maintain power, Old Money wants the vast majority of Americans to not have any hope of being rich and powerful. They support our universities and the Democratic party. They maintain power by indoctrinating our young people with ideas of socialism and reliance on government handouts and big government.

Old Money also tends to be very white and very racist. They have been the ones against the end of slavery, against blacks getting to vote, against blacks being considered human, and against the civil rights movements. Interestingly, they are also the ones that were for eugenics and for using abortion as a form of genocide against the black race. They are still the ones who support abortion on demand and want to fund it with government money. Over ¼ of the black population has been killed by abortion and, currently, 444 out of every one thousand black pregnancies ends in abortion. This is not by accident. It is a plan that Old Money supports through their political party, the Democrats.

So, you may ask, why is it that the Democratic party seems to be pro black? Well, (if you haven't noticed this for yourself I hope you will not get offended) this is because the appearance, or actuality, of being pro minority and pro special interest, results in maintaining a divisive environment within the social order. As long as the nation is divided, it will never be strong and the poor will never climb out of poverty, and Old Money accomplishes its desire.

Perhaps you have never taken note of the fact that racial division becomes greater and more pronounced when Democrats are in office. This is not by accident. Perhaps you have taken notice that the media and the Democrats seems to be linked together. This is not an accident either. Old Money sees to it that the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharpens of the world are able to continue to divide the nation and inflame racism. Old Money likes having black folk elect black folk who are only interested in representing black folk and maintaining government programs that keep as many of the poor dependent on government, so they never strive to be more. Keep the people docile and dependent, they don't embrace ambition and don't retaliate against the system that supports them.

As much as it may seem strange, having a few more black Democrats in office, solidifies Old Money's plans to keep black folk down and poor. Our politicians don't control things. Bankers and lawyers, and Old Money controls things. Congress is just a tool, a figurehead, for the “We the people” who have Old Money.

So, while Old Money is the Democratic party, and is set to keep America weak, tax and regulate business out of America, and maintain a caste society of the rich and the poor, the New Money Republicans are a completely different breed;

New Money needs the nation to be strong and prosperous and to have as many people as possible working and making money and spending money. New Money gets its power from its money. New Money operates businesses and thrives only when Americans have money and are spending money. Their motivation is for every person to have a job and every business to have the greatest opportunity to thrive.

New Money wants smaller government, less government mandates and less government control. New Money will sacrifice the EPA in order to give each entrepreneur a chance to make their company work. New Money seeks the success of others so it can grow and prosper and reach that great and lofty goal of being worth billions.

Old Money is funny in that it claims that rich people are the cause of poor people being poor. Basically, Old Money uses rhetoric to sell the public on ideals of socialism and taxing rich people to death. They are for this, because they already have their money. You can't tax it. You can't take it. No matter what America does to be as socialist as Old Money wants it to be, they have theirs and all that really does it protects their position and power. Old Money is about power and control. New Money is about success, which will lead to power and control. New Money is a threat to Old Money.

The more the government can stand in the way of, or tax, New Money, the more they maintain the status quo and their power. That is why the Democratic Party in America is so socialist and handout oriented.

However, Bernie Sanders came along and nearly derailed the plans of Old Money. Bernie would have taken socialism way past the level that Old Money wants. So, the entire Democratic National Convention did all it could to undermine and cheat Bernie Sanders.

There is a study in human nature to be seen here. As long as you look someone in the eye and tell them you are all for them, you can rob them blind and steal their hope and dreams away. That is what the Democrats have done to the poor and minorities of America for decades.

If you, as an American, want to see America as the land of opportunity again, then you will reject the Democratic party and Old Money. You will see New Money Republicans as a people who are equally self motivated, but who rely on you being prosperous and America growing and stronger.

So, why does the Republican party have fewer black politicians. Success is why. If you meet a black Republican, you will have met a business person with a desire for success in business. You will have met a man or woman who wants to create and thrive and live the dream. They are not going to leave corporate America to be a politician. Seldom does any successful business person leave that behind to be president, or to go to Washington. Politicians, by and large, are people who really didn't accomplish anything in the world. They are, have been, and always will be, politicians.

The educated, successful black person is more likely to be a Republican than a Democrat. There are those who are intelligent, but reject the truth when it is presented, listen to what the Democrats say and ignore what they do and what goes on around them, just because someone told them they are Democrats and always will be Democrats.

I will say it again. Democrats are about power and control. They manipulate minorities in such a way that they can keep them poor while saying they are their friends. The condition of minorities in America has always been of being allowed to compete in the race after they were three laps behind. All that eh democrats do, out in the open and blatantly, is to give the appearance of wanting American minorities to thrive, yet the result has always been to demoralize and divide.

Legalizing Marijuana

Someone I follow on Facebook wrote a piece against legalizing marijuana. I wrote this in reply;

America is suffering from a combination of a spiritual sickness mingled with liberty and freedom. The total depravity of man being play out in the absolute depravity of his actions. There is no set of laws, no system of government, that can thwart this moral and ethical decay. Americans are in such a state of sickness, they cannot get past a day without their alcohol or their drugs.

The joy of life has left many. Some can't find comfort without a drug. Some just make it a part of their winding down. Since I do not drink, or do drugs, or smoke anything, I do not understand why it is such an epidemic. I only know that the need for some mind altering substance is very real for many, and some folk just do it because they like it.
Our prisons are full of people who are there just because someone decided to declare war against Americans who want to use their drug of choice. We spend $600 Million a year on a war against Americans. We spend thousands of lives, police and private citizens, just to keep people from using their drug of choice. Just because Americans are in such a state of spiritual and emotional sickness that they can't make it without.

Per 1,000 people, 100 X more people are in prison in America than any other country. (not an actual number, just making a point) So, what is the real answer? We need leaders who lead and we need an education system that educates. We don't need more laws, and we could use to have a few thousand less laws. Some things need to be left to individuals to decide for themselves.

Then, we need to start treating driving under the influence as attempted manslaughter and put people away for doing it. We need to increase penalties for crimes committed while under the influence. We need clean, controlled places where we can identify and help drug addicts, instead of forcing them to do their drugs in the shadows and abandoned building shooting galleries.

I have watched America tear itself apart to fight a war against Americans. In the process, we have created a system that rewards drug dealers and has caused the cartels and wars in South America. Which has caused many to flee South and Central America for a hope of peace in America. This has been the reason for illegal immigration becoming more of an issue. We are reaping the results of our policies.

Is legalizing drug use the answer? I don't know. The real answer is to not have made laws against it in the first place. The damage is done and we would be better off spending that money on educating people about drugs. We would be better off using the police for crimes that are one person against another, and not to protect people from themselves.

SMASHING PUPPIES

Smashing the head of a puppy, or a kitten, with a sledgehammer is probably the most humane way to kill anything. It is instantaneous, as far as we know, and it is humane. Quick, and decisive and over. The only more humane way to dispose of an unwanted animal would be to inject it with something that would put it to sleep and then shut it down.

Yet, if you decided you wanted to get rid of an unwanted pet, and you chose to bash it's little head in with a sledgehammer, there would be those who would cry fowl and unleash every vile epithet, followed by some attempt to place you in jail and fine you a large sum of money. How is it that we seem perfectly happy to let a procedure be done to babies that is far more heinous, far more cruel, and far more painful.

Every year, nearly 1 million babies are torn apart with forceps, cut into little pieces with scalpels, tortured to death with no painkillers and no anesthesia? This is done under protection of law and in the most horrid of circumstances, in the mothers womb.

I recently read the account of what an abortion is, written by a nurse who was trying to refute the claims of Donald Trump about “ripping them out of the womb”. In her description, she carefully chose the phrase “dissection” using the words “sharp and blunt dissection”. The person who posted this explanation on my Facebook page, wanted to show that Trump wasn't telling the truth.

So, I explained to her what “Blunt instrument dissection” means. It means, for those of you who will not think about it, taking a pair of forceps into the womb and pulling off a leg, or an arm. It means, torturing a baby to death like one pulls the wings off of a fly. Meanwhile, the baby can be seen pulling away and opening it's mouth to scream. All of this with no pain killers and no anesthesia. How is it that this procedure has been allowed to continue for 40 years? It serve the purpose of both the Right to Life and the pro choice camps to not address it. 

You see, the pro choice group denies the baby has any sense of pain. It is one of the ways they distance the baby from being human. If you have to start treating the babies as human beings, then they might lose the support of those whom they have convinced this is not true. Plus, let's face it, pro choice folk are not exactly the most compassionate when it come to the unborn.

You would think the Right to Life groups would have worked to stop this. Not the idea of stopping the abortion, the idea of stopping the torture. But, it is the torture that makes abortion so heinous. If you were to get rid of the torture, then the argument against abortion might get weaker. That wouldn't serve the cause of the Right to Life campaign, so it is never discussed. It is never addressed. It is never ending.

We, you who are reading this post and I, need to stand up and shout about this. Millions of babies are being tortured to death is ways that we wouldn't allow to happen to a dog. The most inhumane treatment of any living creature is being perpetrated against human babies, supported by the government, protected by laws. It is wrong.

Surely, we could force our legislators to pass laws that would require babies be “put to sleep like a dog” before we allow them to be mutilated and dissected with “Sharp and blunt instrument dissection”. Surely it isn't unreasonable to use a small injection of a compound to end the life of the baby before that happens. The amount needed to kill a baby is tiny enough to not effect the mother. The umbilical could be clamped before the injection given.

I hope the start of this post made you angry. I hope that outrage has carried to the end. We need the outrage if we are going to motivate people to action.

America, We Have a Problem

America has a problem. (Thought I would state the obvious to start this.)

Every group seems to have a totalitarian view of their issues. The Christians want everyone to abide what they think or feel is right.

LGBT wants everyone to fully embrace and even celebrate how they feel and what they want.

BLM wants a complete acknowledgment of all their talking points.

The Democrats and Republicans are against each other. The list goes on and on. Each group believing only they know and understand and only they can dictate how others should think or feel.

Within all of these groups, and many others, there is one common thread. None of them seem to care about the people who disagree with them or the reasons they do. There seems to be no desire to understand why things are. No one listens to hear and understand, they just listen to respond

That still isn't the problem I have set out to address. The problem is that they all want to use the elections to win their argument. And so, in old American fashion, once again, the election process is used to further fracture our nation.

When I started my campaign, this was my major issue and concern. We need a leader who is willing to live in peace with people who are different and with whom he doesn't agree with, or even like. We need a leader who will strive with the American people to influence them to live in peace with each other, work in unity, and truly fix/heal this nation.

My campaign slogan was/is "Love Never Demands Its Own Way" My niece suggested that it just be "Love Never Demands"

As a Christian, as an actual follower of the teachings of JESUS as they are recorded in the Bible, I see this reflected in HIS actions, teachings, and even HIS plans and purposes HE established for HIS people. Nowhere in the teachings of THE CHRIST do we find a notion of HIS people using coercion, or any effort to control and demand obedience to them or HIM. Instead, JESUS simply was among them, leading and influencing and teaching.

We need leaders like that. We need leaders who can sit down with the sinners and explain sin and salvation to them and leave with them glad he was there. We need someone who the religious people call a glutton and winebibber and friend of sinners.

We are in desperate need of a leader who can use the election process to heal and unify. A house divided cannot stand and I fear this one is tottering on very loose sand. IN unity is strength. In this mess we have now, we have too much violence and division to ever be able to grow and prosper.

I still believe I can be that guy. I intend to do all I can to be that guy for the next 4 years as we head to another election period. 4 years of the leadership we are looking at could damage America to a level that recovery will be nearly impossible.

But, I know the GOD of miracles and I believe, if we follow HIS lead and HIS way of doing things, If we stick to HIS plan and do not add to or take away from it, I believe there is still hope. I only believe that because I believe it is possible to humble ourselves and seek GOD and turn from our wicked ways, and that we can once again garner favor and blessings from the GOD of my salvation. If GOD is for us, who can be against us

Bless God America

Syrian Refugees

Syrian Refugees

We Americans, with our over whelming compassion and our equally over whelming ability to hate, are stuck with a real issue to deal with.

The civil war that is taking place in the Middle East is displacing millions of refugees. Our Christian compassion requires that we do something to help feed and care for these refugees. It is right for us to do this.

There are those who take a stance of hatred. The idea that every Syrian is guilty because of what some have done. The idea that every Muslim is guilty because of what some have done. It has been our way since we locked away the Japanese in WW2.

I think we need to be somewhere closer to the compassion side, with a sprinkling of caution and a wary eye.

I would love to see the Christian community take this opportunity to rise and shine in the lives of these refugees. To take the lead in their care and comfort.

As president of the United States, I would take the initiative in raising the funds to build these people a new country to settle in. The most logical of places is the undeveloped areas of Africa.

It makes no sense to pay to bring them to America where they would have no jobs and no homes and where the government would have to make them wards of the nation. We would, in a very short period of time, spend $100 Billion dollars and have provided them nothing to sustain themselves.

However, if we put that money into a pot with the other nations of the world, we could buy land in Africa and build them a new country. The minerals and farming of the land would be enough to create a thriving industry and support them well. Plus, it would keep them close to their homes, should they want to return some day.

America's only hope with regard to the conflicts in the Middle East is to keep it in the Middle East. Our greatest asset is that we are separated from our enemies by a vast ocean that keeps us isolated and safe. While it is increasingly easier to overcome that distance, it is still our best strategy with ISIS to keep them disrupted and contained. The very real threat of radical Islamist extremist exists in every group of Muslims from that region. The chant of Death to America is very common, and very sincere.

To remove the containment aspect of our best strategy, is to invite greater attacks on our soil. Even if none of the Muslims brought here are extremest, the likelihood that many would be recruited after they are here is greater then the likelihood that our enemies can recruit from those who are here now. Caution in the face of reality is not hate. It is not racism. It is not religious persecution. It is just smart.

Immigration and Our Southern Border

Immigration and Our Southern Border

The immigration question has been pushed to the forefront of the political arena by inflammatory rhetoric from some of the Republican Party candidates seeking the office of President. It seems there is a notion that such speech is good for America, or can get votes. I am not willing to join into this complete misrepresentation of the facts. I am, after all, interested more in people and in speaking peace then fueling the angry mob.

America has always been known for it's compassion and concern for those who are the victims of the violence of war. In many cases, we have gone way over and above to help those seeking escape from violence and the threat of death in their own country. Even recently, our president has suggested that we open our doors to 200,000 refugees from an area of the world where “Death to America” is as common as “Hello”.

Yet, to our south is one of the most violent areas of the world. Tens of thousands of refugees abandon everything and risk their lives, and rape, in order to reach the promise of safety and freedom in America. Yet, we treat them like vermin. What has happened to our Christian compassion and our American spirit? Why have we not found a solution to the needs of these people. Simply put, we first need to identify them as refugees and not just illegal aliens.

As president, one of my first acts would be to establish refugee status for those seeking safety and freedom. My next act would be to begin the process of establishing an “Ellis Island” facility (preferably on Mexican soil) where shelter and sanctuary can be provided and processing and education can be conducted to establish productive and legal immigrants. This facility would include processing work visas for those for whom work can be found.

Our nations agriculture industry is built on the backs of migrant/Mexican workers. My first job was at a large corporate farm called Hill Top Orchards in Hartford Michigan. I was one of only a couple non-Hispanic workers there. It wasn't that Hispanics were preferred, it was that the locals simply didn't want to work that hard. As often as they posted help wanted adds, the locals simply did not answer them.

As an adult, just 6 years ago, I drove forklift for a farm in norther NY. A cherry farm and processing plant. Even though the locals complained about the lack of jobs, they still wouldn't take the work on the farm. Most of the labor here was also Hispanic.

Here is my point;

These folk are human beings.

These folk are refugees.

These folk need to be made safe.

These folk need a place to be processed for citizenship.

These folk are vital for our agricultural processes.

And here is one very important point that no one seems to be willing to say:

This situation that results in thousands of refugees fleeing the violence of the drug cartels is born and bred in the United States of America. It is the voracious appetite for anything to alleviate the shallowness of empty lives that results in the huge industry that supports, and causes, the violence. This situation is the consequences of what some call a victimless crime, and is exasperated by laws designed to keep Americans separated from the drugs they want.

Yes, we need to secure our borders. But not from the Mexicans as much as from the ISIS and Al'Quada terrorists that are coming into the country.

Soon there will be hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria and other countries both south and north of our very unsecured borders. That is a much greater threat to America then Mexicans who do not hate our nation and only want safety and a chance at a real life. I think we should help them.

No, not with welfare and government hand outs. This is a job for the church. We are already well prepared and organized to help in situations like these.

Working with the Mexican authorities and the US authorities, we could create safe havens in northern Mexico and staff them with volunteer missionaries and care givers.

The Platform for K. Ross Newland

What I believe about America

America was founded by men who had common moral principals. Some were Christians. Some Deists. Some might even have been atheists or Muslims. But, at the time of our nation's founding, they all had a fundamental agreement on morals and ethics. Many of these morals and ethics found their way into the Declaration of Independence, and from there into the Constitution of The United States.

It has been said that one of our founding fathers made the statement “We have gambled our future on the ability of the America people to keep the Ten Commandments with all their hearts”. This quote, whether true or not, represents a very real fact that American government was established with the intention that it would not be the moral, or religious, voice of the nation. Within the writings of these great men can be found an underlying principal of liberty and justice for all that would be protected by a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Such a government will, by it's structure and intent, be in a state of flux as the society evolves and changes.

Perhaps our founding fathers had no vision of how much society could cast of the morals of our ancestors. Or, perhaps they simple recognized that any nation that wants to strive and thrive must recognize that each individual has a right of freedom of choice when it comes to religion and morals. One thing is certain, they understood that, if the nation was to survive in the freedoms and peace such a government could afford, then the government would have to recognize, represent, and protect the individual as fervently as it would the majority and the whole of the nation. Such that, as the society tosses of the morals and values of the previous generations, the government (in order to maintain peaceful coexistence and unity of purpose) must also recognize and protect the rights of the citizens to do so.

Our founding fathers, looking to the Bible and to recent history, saw that there is no place given, no foundation established, upon which a government led by the church of JESUS the CHRIST could stand. Not only had they seen how the church had distorted and twisted the teaching of JESUS to their own means, but they also recognized that there was no place, in all the plans and teachings of their LORD, a call or command or suggestion that Christians should try to control the actions of those with whom they would disagree. In establishing this nation in the way they did, our founding fathers determined that true Christianity would thrive and prevail in a society of perfect freedom of choice, if the Christians would only hold true to the teachings of their Savior.

Today in America, Christians and atheists alike are striving to tear down the freedoms and barriers that our founding fathers so meticulously built into the fabric of our nation. I find myself looking at a quote from Abraham Lincoln, “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. “

There is now, in this country, a series of minor and consistent civil wars perpetrated upon the American people by the American people. A sense of the nation tearing itself apart in order that some might force their ideals and there personal morals upon those who do not agree. Groups of people who all want to demand that things be done their way and that everyone live by their code and their standards. Each one of them wanting to control the government and use it to control the people. Yet, ours is not a government intended to rule or dictate lifestyles and morals. Ours is a nation that is to be governed by those who represent the people, not rule over them.

So it is that we come to this place in our history. A place where, even as the government still operates in the manner it was created, the very foundation of this form of government is under attack by those who would use it as a weapon against the American people, rather than protect it and them. Christians are drawing battle lines against other Christians and the sinners they should be striving to love and redeem. Homosexuals are being forced to battle to have simple rights and freedoms. Militant atheists are battling to remove any mention of religion from our nation and denying it's profound impact on our history and culture. Whites continue to fight against blacks. Blacks fight against whites. The nation is torn apart by immigration issues and incompatible religious ideologies. And where are our leaders?

Our leaders are feeding the anger and frustration of the people in order to gain power. They wholly, and unequivocally, feed and encourage division in the name of strengthening and protecting. Whether it is in government or in the religious or the secular arena, our leaders have learned that they can feed the discontent and enrage the flock, in order to keep the positions of power by presenting themselves as the one who can win against the perceived and contrived enemy that lives next door.

THIS NEEDS TO STOP

It is this reason, above all others, that moved me to become a candidate for the President of the United States. As a Christian, I know JESUS has given no calling to HIS people to try to control the actions of others. As a Christian, I understand a fundamental principal that “LOVE NEVER DEMANDS ITS OWN WAY”. As an American, I believe in freedom. I believe in the rights of each individual to have LIFE and LIBERTY and to pursue HAPPINESS in whatever way a person chooses as long as it doesn't interfere with the rights of others.

I know there is room enough in America for all of our citizens to live in peace and strive in unity for the advancement of all persons as equal before the law and GOD.

The change needed in this country does not come from legislation and governance, it comes from true leadership and the influence that a true leader can bring into the lives of the citizens. These changes come when the leaders no longer seek to fuel the anger and frustration, but strive to dissipate it into an understanding that no one has the only right way to do anything. You do not have to respect or like the choices of your neighbor. You just need to let them make them unhindered by your opinion of what is right and what is wrong. Government cannot legislate morality.

We have seen to what levels the morals of people can fall. When murder is determined to be acceptable, the laws will allow it. Because the people of America will decide it is OK. So, a million Americans are murdered. This is not a failing of our government. It is not a failing of our courts. It is a failing of the America citizens. It is a failing of the church.

ABORTION

Abortions don't happen because they are legal. Abortions are legal because a large segment of the American population wants them to be. It is wrong. It is murder. That is my opinion. If a law were passed, I would sign it. Just because something is legal doesn't mean you should do it. If something is illegal, doesn't mean people won't do it. In the end, the law isn't the answer here.

More abortions would be stopped by good leadership than by passing a good law. More abortions would be stopped by a president who stands in front of the America public and pleads for women not to do this to themselves, then can be stopped by pleading for the life of the baby or calling women “baby killers”. As a Christian, my focus is on spiritual and eternal things. While it is sad that there are a million babies murdered every year, it breaks my heart that there are a million women in such a spiritually dark place that the murder of their baby is even an option. Knowing that spiritual darkness only gets darker after taking a human life, makes me more prone to speak to these women and plead with them for their own sake, and not for the sake of a baby that will be in the hands of JESUS.

That is how a president can end abortions. That is how JESUS would do it.

We need to stop fighting with each other and start speaking and living peace. Those who follow the man who said “Blessed are the peacemakers” and “Live at peace with all men” need to lead the way of peace and turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, and if they take you to court, give them more than what they ask for. Because, even though our enemies do not war the way JESUS said for us to war, we Christians are obligated to follow HIS plans and HIS ways. If we Christians will do that, we can lead this nation back to strength and courage and prosperity like none of us has seen before.

That is how social issues are dealt with in a free society. By leadership, not legislation

Our government has been bankrupted by a combination of “the art of the deal” and the idea that crept into the heads of Americans that the government is supposed to solve all their problems and disputes. I dealt with the disputes issue above. (We have too many leaders who want to use the government as a weapon against American citizens in order to win an argument and to have their own way) We are not a nation of “majority rule” We are a constitutional republic. Even if the majority and the congress want something, the Supreme Court has to rule whether it is in keeping of equal rights for the individual.

The art of the deal, in congress, works like this;

Senator A wants Senator B to vote for proposition A. Senator B agrees to vote for proposition A only if Senator A will Vote for Proposition B and get senators C and D to vote for Proposition B. So Senator A talks to Senator C about voting for proposition B and Senator C agrees if Senator A will vote for Proposition C and Proposition D as well and getting Senator B to vote for C, D and K. Multiply that times 100 and you can see why the art of the deal costs you Trillions of dollars.

The art of the deal is made possible in large part by the seniority system in government. TERM LIMITS would eliminate some of the power that one congressman can wield over another. TRANSPARENCY, true transparency, would go a long way as well. If I write a law and submit it to congress. Members of congress will add riders to it that have nothing to do with it. Oft times, these riders result in its defeat, rather than the original intent of the law. These riders are added in order to get them passed on a bill that has support, because what is being funded in the riders doesn't have enough support. A president who informs to the American people all the Senators and Representatives who put these riders on the laws the people want, has the power to empower the people to remove those congresspersons who are a hindrance to the policy of the president.

This nation, when it was founded, was founded with a government that was not established to take care of the wants and needs of the people. It was supposed to take care of national defense and promote “General Welfare”. It was never supposed to support individual welfare.

Many years ago I heard a story about Davey Crocket. In the tale, as I remember it, there was a time when a widow of an admiral who had given great service to the nation, came to congress for assistance, as she had fallen on herd times. After many speeches of support, Mr. Crocket stood and spoke of the very real fact that the congress had no right of law, or conscience, to take the money of the public and give it to a private citizen. The request was denied. However, in a previous vote M. Crocket, caught up in the enthusiasm of a moment, had voted a large sum to be used to assist after the Georgetown fire. This opened the barn door.
(you can find the entire story at this address http://www.constitution.org/cons/crockett.htm)

Long since the barn door was opened, many finely intended herds have escaped to cripple and destroy the very foundations of our country. So much so, that the rapid gallop towards socialism (or communism if you prefer) has bankrupted our nation and caused an insane amount of money to be collected from those who work for a living, to be given to those who do not. While this seems like good Christian charity and divine provision, it is in fact extortion and theft. As Davey Crocket would say, “I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. “



In ALL cases, socialism results in exploitation of the poor and working class. In every historic account, where the people are allowed to be idle, with no need to strive for their survival, destruction and sloth have consumed and destroyed both them and the nation that supported them. Our government was not meant for this. If we are to maintain some semblance of the nation our forefathers established, then it is incumbent on the citizens to fend for themselves. It is necessary that the peoples of America take care of one another. This, once again, is the cause to which the Christians church is called, and one of the many purposed for their existence that they have shirked off. This nation is founded with the idea that the Christian church would hold fast to the teachings of our savior and would follow HIS commands and precepts, even if there arises those who will not.



The plan that JESUS set down, that HIS people would pool their money together and care for one another, has been so completely rejected that the church has, on occasion, been helped in its efforts by the act of a president to use the funds of the government to support faith based ministries. This is one of the great embarrassments of the church.



70% of the population of America claim to be Christians. (Now, this doesn't mean 70% are Christians) However, if 70% of the nation were to bring a simple, minimal tithe to the storehouse, the Christian church would have enough money to feed the hungry, house the homeless and clothe the naked. As well as provide healthcare for the needy and keep people from losing their homes. All this while requiring work in return for help and establishing care for the needy. The Christian Church could solve ALL the social problems in America. Even racism and illegal immigration, and abortion.

Here is the point, the America citizen needs to be re-educated to understand that the government is not the answer to their issues. The government is not a weapon to use against other Americans just because you do not agree with them and their choice of lifestyle. The America people need to take care of each other and remove the burden from the government. If the Christians in America will not do it, then there is no hope to salvage the nation that conceived started here 200+ years ago.



Now, to empower the American people to do more to take care of each other. The government needs to create a more fair and simple tax plan. We need to remove the burden from the working poor and distribute it equally among those who have been blessed to receive benefit from their life in America. So, if I were your president, this is the plan I would strive to achieve;



Every American would pay a 20% flat tax. There would be a standard deduction of $25,000. Each person who makes $25,000 or less, would get a full refund. That is the basics. This tax would also include the funding of Social Security and a plan to pay of the national debt.



America has become such a disposable society that we even determine that our veterans and senior citizens are something to be treated like disposable diapers. They cover us for a while and then we crap on them and toss them away. Once again, I admit my Christian values influence me here. I think we should hold our veterans and seniors in high esteem and treat them like the people who maintained this country and kept it safe and strong and supported its economy and infrastructure, while keeping us protected. There is no group that does more to hold our economy together then those who work basic labor jobs for 50 years of their lives. We should reward these people for their contribution, not treat them like dead weight.



To this end, there are three major components to my plan;

1. Relief of the poor
   
2. Fully funding Social Security
   
3. Paying off the national debt
   

*The first point is obvious. By using a standard deduction of $25,000 we give a full refund to those who make $25,000 or less. This means that the person who makes $50,000 only pays 10%. It creates the flat tax most Americans seem to favor and it removes some of the tax burden from the poorest, working class Americans. The person doing the basic 9-5 also has no need to file for their refund. This saves them billions.



(side note: If it could be done, I would give the refund at the end of November so families could have the money for Christmas gifts or Christmas vacations. I think this would serve to strengthen some family bonds. Or, half then and half at the end of April)



*The second aspect may not get as much support right away. It will from the seniors and working poor, but not the wealthy. Particularly because the percentage rate is high at this point. However, that percentage will be reduced once there is a good reserve. Likely after the first year.



Five percent will go to Social Security. (this is why 20% isn't that high. Most working class Americans lose more than 20% out of their checks now when you add SS)



Even though a person who makes $25,000 a year will get a full refund of their money, that $25,000 will be counted as Social Security income just like it is now. So, in return for the use of the money, and the contribution to society and the necessary support work they provide for those years of work, those who make a little more will cover those who don't. This tax rate will likely be closer to 2% after the first year. I think it is reasonable for America to take care of those people who scraped along in the minimum wage jobs and lived paycheck to paycheck. Rewarding those who mowed the grass and flipped the burgers with such a small percentage of our income is right.



This is not a welfare program. This is reward for people who supported us for 50 years. This is a support program to honor our elders, which is good and right.



I know that Social Security is a mess. It is a bureaucratic nightmare. It is run by the government, so of course it is. It needs to be fixed. I know that. But, those in power and the rich elite will not do it. They do not think like the working poor. They have no clue. They think they can privatize it and give every person the chance to choose how to invest that money in order to make more money. That sounds real good to them. But, it doesn't to millions of American who are going to live off of it. I will tell you why.



Most Americans who are relying on Social Security to survive, are not in the habit of investing or day trading. They get a check and they pay their bills. When they get old, they want to sign a piece of paper and get a check every month and pay their bills. That is all they want. No money in the markets. No investment portfolios. That stuff is too scary. Just give them a check every month from the government and make sure the government fulfills the promise and requirements.



The difference between the career politicians and the wealthy elite who run this country, and the working class and me is that the people running this country do not have a mother who lives off of her $800 a month SS check. So, we need to make sure that those folk, like my mother, have that available and as simple as can be. It wouldn't hurt to increase the payments a little either.



*Paying off the national debt has been a battle cry of the people for decades. Now, it is at a huge sum of 18 Trillion+ dollars. This has weakened America in the international stage and we need to end it.



It only takes about 7-10 percent in flat tax to fund the operation of this country. There is an additional 5% tax in this plan to pay off the debt. Five percent will raise nearly three trillion dollars a year. We should have the nation debt free in 7 years from its inception. It has to be done.



Now, after that time, we reduce the rate to 13% total. Although, we could leave it up and reduce other taxes to alleviate more taxes off the poor. Future determination based on future information and conditions in America.

Commander and Chief stuff (foreign policy and veterans affairs)

I spent 9 years in the Navy in the submarine fleet. I will not cavalierly spend human lives like was done in Bengahzi. We seem to lose the value of human life more and more as our nation goes further and further away for fundamental values. I will not do that.

I use the VA healthcare system. There are things we need to do with that. Not the least of these is the need to care about our veterans the way civilian doctors care about their patients. Maybe they do too many tests, but it is better than not enough.

The system needs many more urgent care facilities. Or a more sure certainty that the VA will cover the costs, even when nothing is found to be wrong, if you go to a hospital emergency room.

I am one of those people who would have likely died if it were not for being persistent and then falling into the care of a civilian emergency room doctor. I had my triple by-pass before I had a heart attack only because of the insistence of an emergency room doctor. The VA would have had me waiting another couple of months.

We really could use to get some of those churches that would be led to do good works to focus on helping veterans in need. While the government should take care of them, the church is better equipped and more efficient. Still, with us all working together, we can do better.

Syrian Muslim refugees, IS, Al'Quaeda, Taliban, etc

This is the singularly most pressing, untenable situation in the world today. There is no way to stop what is going on with radical Muslims in the world. If we killed every member of every known group of terrorist today, new ones would pop up tomorrow. These people follow a belief that requires them to kill the infidels. This is the foundation of their understanding of their religion. There is no way to stop this other than an act of GOD. Should the message of peace and grace found in the teachings of JESUS find its way into the hearts and minds of the citizens of the Middle East, than there would be hope. As I said, this would take an act of GOD.

America has only one course of action for the wars and struggles in the Middle East. Containment and disruption. If we contain the Muslims to the region of the world that is on the other side of the ocean, we have a chance to not be victimized by these religious zealots. As long as we can keep them busy and disorganized, we can disrupt their ability to attack here at home. There in lies the rub.

Our current administration is going full speed ahead to bring 200,000 people from an area where “Death to America” is as common as “Hello”. On top of that, there is a movement to bring 200,000 to Canada, and Mexico, and Central America, and many more to the countries of South America. In the end, our leaders are planning to support over a million enemies of America to be imported to the nations south and north of our very unsecured boarders.

In my book I write about how Islam would take over this country by 2032. I couldn't see how it could happen until just recently. Now, I see how this president has continually undermined any hope America has of avoiding the carnage that we only see on TV.

I do have a military strategy for IS and Al'Quaeda. I can't share it now or there will be a full defense in place by the time I am president. I can tell you it will cost less money and less American lives. For now, we have to stop the current leadership from orchestrating our destruction.

There is an ever changing world that will be completely different in a year and a half. There will be new threats and different topographies. The battle lines will be redefined and different leaders will be in play. We have no control over those issues at all. We only have the certainty of the few things we can do to improve the conditions in this country.

In the end, the real power to change the course of the nation and the world lies at the doorstop of the Christian church. We need a revival in the churches and an awakening in the nation. There is nothing government and courts and laws can do to fight the spiritual sickness that has torn this nation apart.

So, what kind of person qualifies to be president of the United States? Let's look at the options and ideals of those available and the pundits that comment on what a President should be.






I recently heard one of the talking head media folk espousing how they wouldn't support anyone who didn't have good experience as a governor. A number of governors have stepped up and proclaimed they have balanced the budgets in their states and so they should be president. Examination?



They balanced their budgets by exploiting the poor with lotteries and the proliferation of slot machines and gambling establishments. They balanced their budgets with billions of dollars from the federal government. How does any of that translate to being president? There is no national lottery and there is no magic pot of gold above the level of federal government. (Unless you borrow it).



How about the senators in the race. I have heard them say how horrible it is that the veterans are treated so badly. They are the ones in the position to have done something about it for years. So..?????



Then there are those who feel the country should be run like a corporation. Folks, corporate America is run with the idea of borrow, borrow, borrow, declare bankruptcy. Borrow, borrow, borrow, declare bankruptcy. Let's try this. Didn't work. Declare bankruptcy and restructure. This is the mentality some think we should put into a government that is already in borrow mode. Makes no sense to me.



Frankly, I think the country should be run like a family. The only people who actually balance a budget in America is that family living on $40,000 a year with mom and dad and two kids. They seem to be the only ones who get the idea of not buying things they can't afford.



We need a leader who will influence the America people to peace within our borders. Someone needs to stand up and say it is not necessary that we all embrace the same morals and ethics. We do not have to agree with each other to live in peace with each other. We don't all have to be the same. We need a leader who will not try to use the government to force a religion or a belief on those who disagree. We need a spirit of peace and we need an act of GOD.



We need a leader who can bring the blessings of GOD to the nation. Because without them, no amount of human effort or planning or feigned attempts at righteousness will matter. Christians doing things the way JESUS said to do them, and not doing things in HIS name HE never said to do, is ultimately the best way for any society to function.



So, the president of the United States must lead by example, with word and deeds, to speak peace into the hearts and minds of the nation. This cannot be legislated. It must be modeled. Only a spirit of peace and unity coming from the off ice of the President can dispel the darkness and anger and frustration that has gripped America's young people and threatened our future and our present.




There are thousands of other issues on the hearts and minds of Americans. In the end, most of them come down to a change in attitude and a focus on others rather than self. In the end, it all comes down to the wisdom of JESUS being embraced by HIS people.