Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t fall asleep like Rip Van Winkle twenty years ago and have suddenly woken up in some sort of alternate reality where common sense is barely more than a quaint old fashioned idea.  In a move which demands strong action by the US DOJ, the State of California has decided to ignore the 14th and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution and allow non-citizen, criminal trespassers to vote.  In case you’re not familiar with the specific language of the 15th Amendment prohibiting such a measure, here you go:  

“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”  Futhermore; “Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”  Please note it says the right of CITIZENS..!  Non-citizens, criminal trespassers or not, are simply NOT eligible to vote in these United States of America any more than you or I would be eligible to vote in their home country.

I am not a lawyer and don’t pretend to be, but I can read and reason, and it is abundantly clear what Gov. Brown and the legislature of CA are attempting.  By intentionally ignoring the US Constitution in this matter, they are attempting to establish some sort of illicit precedent which will be attempted in other states if the measure is not reversed.  The ultimate purpose of which is most certainly to create a dependable new voting bloc for their political party.  

Sadly, there are measures being bandied about in Congress which will ultimately result in expanding that same voting bloc.  Such items as pathways to citizenship via military service and the attempts to perpetually extend the “Temporary Protected Status” program for Haitians and others with little to no skills and therefore increase the strain on already over-burdened resources.  

All of this is done in a quest for political power without a care as to the negative impact on our nation.  It is way past time to fix and control every aspect of our broken immigration system, not only for the economic burden, but also as a matter of National Security.  It saddens me to no end that my own representative in Congress supports any, let alone several such initiatives; especially given that he knows very well that the majority of the constituents in the district adamantly oppose such measures.  

Look, I am all for immigration and recognize that this country was built on it and I’m eternally grateful that all of my grandparents chose to emigrate here.  Like countless others, they risked everything to do so, and they did it legally.  They learned the language and embraced the culture.  They honored our flag and our laws, they became citizens, they made better lives for themselves and their families, and with tears of joy, they proudly called themselves Americans.

On the other hand, and I don’t expect most “dreamers” or those who support them to get this but perhaps they will at least begin to understand the “other” point of view. 

Regardless of their reason for fleeing their homeland, when “dreamers” subvert the process in any way, such as illegally crossing any of our borders, they have just become a criminal trespasser as certainly as if they broke into one of our private homes.  What sane person would disagree that any stranger breaking into one of our private homes is not welcome..?  I am going to step out on a limb here and imagine that few of us would welcome a trespasser into their home that had just burst through the front door or a window, much less offer them food, comfort, and sanctuary.

So let me unpack that for you, they are trespassing if they enter our private homes uninvited; as American Citizens, the United States is our collective home and we should extend the same level of angst to anyone breaking into it as we would our private homes.

The other day, a dear friend of mine who is herself a LEGAL immigrant and now a proud citizen recorded this very simple to understand, plain English viral video explaining her story and her point of view as an immigrant of our broken system and DACA.  Given that it was posted on social media, I cannot guarantee how long it will remain accessible.

Not surprisingly, she has taken some heat and nasty comments, but also not surprisingly, the majority of the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.  

If you take a moment to listen to her story, you will hear a woman who, just like the countless others I mentioned above, went through the process, became a citizen, and earned her place in America’s story.  Nothing was handed to her, and certainly not as a reward for bad behavior. She truly embodies and personifies the spirit of the huddled masses who arrived from the four corners of the world and worked hard to become "made in America."

She is like the countless legal immigrants that she is speaking up for who have sat by silently and watched their dreams become threatened by too many who don't respect what America has to offer and would destroy it by turning it into what they fled.  That makes her an American hero in my book.

To our leaders at every level of government in both parties, We the People are just fine with legal immigration, but we demand that you do your jobs and protect us.  Stop importing votes, slam the door shut and build that wall, reverse the “anchor baby” misuse of the 14th Amendment, end the insanity of “sanctuary” cities and states, and stop pandering to trespassers who come here with their hands out.

It is also way past time to address our egregiously broken voting system and standardize it across the board.

Over the past few years a lot has been said about bullies and bullying, and by now every school district in America has some sort of anti-bullying system in place; there are counselors, mediators, “Bully Free Zone” signs, and who knows what else.  And while I think it’s all very well and good that there is an elevated awareness, it does not and cannot solve this age old problem.

I would imagine that most of us have heard about the sixth grader named Keaton from Tennessee who has been the subject of some serious hazing and bullying.  There is a heart wrenching video seen here in which this poor kid is pouring out his feelings; and, as someone who found himself on the receiving end of some of that back in the day, I have a lot of empathy for him.  I also have some strong advice for him and all the other “Keatons” out there, and their parents.

Once you become the target of bullies, and you let them get away with it, you will always be a victim of such treatment until the day you stand up and put a hurt on one or more of them.  This is so because too many bullies never get put in their place and therefore never stop victimizing people; they do it differently as they get older, but they don’t stop.

They show up in the work place; they don’t humiliate you by stealing your lunch money, put chewing gum in your hair, or pour milk on you anymore.  Instead, they take advantage of your perceived weakness or whatever it is that prevents a person who is bullied from standing up to them; they get you to do unsavory tasks, work lousy hours for them, drive right by you in a parking lot in inclement weather, hurl insults and  innuendoes, and lots of other mean spirited stuff.  It mostly stems from their own insecurity and desire for control; however, I believe it safe to say that some of them are basically just pricks.

Getting back to all the programs and such in the school districts, and the parents reaching out to the school administrators; all of that can’t solve the problem, in fact it usually makes it worse.  Worse because the victims are being manipulated by the fear that the bully has instilled in them, and said bully has them believing that they will get it worse for ratting them out and turning them in, (and it often does).  

In the end, every victim of this scourge needs to know that your parents, teachers, school district administrators, celebrities, and professional athletes all mean well, but they can only do so much and make you feel better temporarily.  Even governments try unsuccessfully to legislate such behavior out of existence.

The fact is that only you can take control of this; you must learn to fight your own battles, and the really great news is that you don’t have to do a lot of it.  Understand that the bully is actually no different than you; he/she hurts and bleeds the same way, and they do whatever they can to avoid those things.  BTW, in many cases, they have very abusive parents and since they cannot do anything about that, they lash out at what they consider a weaker target. 

And that is exactly where you come in.  Don’t be the weaker target.  Condition yourself and start going to the gym and/or take some self-defense classes, and get mentally prepared.  

Give yourself that edge and keep it to yourself.  Then, the next time they walk by you and shove you or knock your books out of your hands, or any other bullying activity, even if it is just verbal; overcome your fear and make your move.  Don’t ask them why they did it, or engage in dialogue of any kind, or even ask them to step outside; instead walk right up to them wherever you and they happen to be and start throwing punches at them.  Make their nose and/or lips bleed, but let them know you’ve had enough and hurt them.  If any of their friends join in, which is unlikely, start landing punches and kicks on them wherever and however you can.  The message in the photo to the left drives my point home very powerfully.

A couple of things will happen.  First, you’ll notice that it really doesn’t last very long because a teacher or security officer will break it up quickly; and you’ll find that you were worrying about nothing really because it doesn’t hurt that bad anyway.  You will also notice that you probably earned their respect and they will start leaving you alone; and if they don’t leave you alone, start round two.  Bottom line, never give up, because they will eventually leave you alone, and no one else will ever bother you again because you will have an air about you that says “back off” from that moment forward.

I expect a lot of parents and administrators to disagree with me for a lot of different reasons, but I also believe that a lot of other parents will wholeheartedly agree with me because in the real world, that’s how it works.

Since press time, I have learned that there is a lot more to this particular story than meets the eye.  Never the less, this is an issue that requires addressing.

So to all of the victims of bullying out there, heed what I say; stand up to them and strike back.  You will very quickly be glad you did.  For sure, you will be better off suffering a black eye now and then and making a few trips to the principal’s office for finishing a fight as a kid than putting up with a lifetime of it, which you otherwise will.

You can’t turn on a T.V. or radio, or stop by your personal electric neighborhood via social media without hearing some of the following opening accusation statements:

“I was, fill in the violation, by, fill in the name, many years or decades ago.”  “I was afraid to come forward until now.” “I was suddenly inspired by the courage of the others.”  “The individual in question intimidated me.”  “I could be silent no longer.”  We hear the stories more and more with similar specifics all the time lately.

Now before you get your undies in a bunch over that opening commentary, let’s have an honest look at this recent phenomenon.  

First of all, I am not for a second suggesting that some of these recent accusations aren’t without merit, nor am I okay with such behavior when it does occur.  In fact I have no doubt that many of them are at very least plausible; however, my issue lies in the all too convenient timing of some of them, and especially where there is a real or potential political motive/agenda at play.

Citing new found “courage,” many victims have come forth years or decades after they allege that events have taken place; long after any criminal statute of limitations has run out allowing only for a conviction in the court of public opinion, and except for highly publicized photos in a few of the cases, without any form of substantive forensic evidence.  

No photos, no DNA or possibility of such; nothing but the word of the alleging accuser against the word of the alleged accused.  Some of these claims have been made against known predators and few would dispute the likelihood or validity of the claims; still others have photographic or electronically recorded evidence which removes any doubt of the misdeed.  

So I decided to unpack the Judge Roy Moore allegations in a brief synopsis concerning one accuser for what I believe they really are; an attempt at political assassination by very powerful, bipartisan political elitists who are willing to destroy anyone by any means who doesn’t share their world view.

Judge Moore has been in the public eye for decades as a Deputy District Attorney, a Circuit Judge on the 16th Judicial Circuit, two stints as Chief Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, and a practicing Attorney.  He is probably most famous or infamous, depending upon one’s viewpoint, for his refusal to remove a Ten Commandments monument that he had installed in the lobby of the Alabama Judicial Building.  Before any of that he served honorably as a Military Police Company Commander in Vietnam.

Just like any politician or celebrity who has taken stands based in large part upon his faith based moral compass, he is both loved and loathed because of his stated Christian convictions; and every left leaning, Christianity hating pundit in the media and on social media who apparently are searching for perfection in an imperfect world have cast him as a hater, bigot, and any other adjective they can muster in a thinly veiled attempt to make their case.  In reality, very much like President Trump, he represents a threat to the establishment status quo on both sides of the aisle.  

Deserter..!  In the military sense, the very word conjures up the worst emotions and thoughts for the perpetrator.  With few exceptions in history, deserters and traitors have always been, rightfully I might add, dealt with harshly.  Because it’s not simply walking away from one’s post for any self-serving purpose; the soldier on your right or left was depending upon you as you had been depending upon them.  By the act of willful desertion, others are put at exponentially increased risk of danger, often including death.  So yeah, “enlightened” excuses aside, desertion is not harmless, nor is it isolated to the offender, and it deserves harsh consequences.

The reasons for desertion vary.  Fear, mental illness, and lots of other excused appeasements.  Some have and do say that it happens so often, it isn’t fair to make an example out of one deserter every so often. 

With that said, let’s have a look at some history.  The last time a US Soldier was executed for desertion was during WWII when Private Eddie Slovik was shot by a firing squad on January 31, 1945 after being found guilty of willful desertion; to this day, there is controversy surrounding that incident.  Much of that controversy surrounds what led up to his charges and execution.  Without needlessly drawing out all of the details in living color, Eddie Slovik was essentially a putz who was not exactly a candidate for citizen of the year and did a lot of stupid stuff in his mostly miss-spent youth.  However, the contrast between him and S/Sgt Bowe Bergdahl could not be more stark. 

Slovik landed in Europe in August of 1944 and as happens frequently, he got separated from his unit; and in his case wound up following a Canadian Unit around until they were able to reunite him with his own unit in October.  To make a long story short, he was a coward and let it be known in no uncertain terms that if he was sent to the front lines, he would desert; and he did just that.  When he returned he submitted a letter to an officer admitting what he’d done and that he would do it again.  When he subsequently refused to retract his damning letter and admission, he was sent to the stockade, tried, convicted and summarily executed.  While I’m not suggesting he should have been excused for his actions, there is nothing to suggest that he hated his country and he did not run to and embrace the enemy; nor did any of his comrades die or get wounded searching for him.

On the other hand, we have Bowe Bergdahl.  This is a man, another coward, who willfully abandoned his post and fled to the enemy, and in doing so, cost six other soldiers their lives, and left at least three seriously wounded while searching for him.  The families of those soldiers never got to say goodbye, celebrate their return home, laugh, cry, watch their babies grow, or any of the other things that Mr. Bergdahl and his family will get to do.  Instead, the lives of the family members of those that fell or got permanently disabled are shattered for all time. 

As if that isn’t bad enough; for five years, the enemy loving obama administration and the military complex knew he had deserted his post, yet instead of informing the nation of what he had done, they perpetrated the illusion that he may have been captured and mistreated because doing so created a public uproar that we were leaving a man behind if we didn’t do everything possible to secure his release.

Then, without the approval of Congress, he was traded in a “prisoner swap” for five of the very worst of those incarcerated in Gitmo and reportedly given a lump sum payout.  Think about that; a known deserter was traded for five notorious men, and then reportedly given a lump sum of $300K to cover back pay and other items..?!

So now this tick, this traitor, this pimple on the butt of our nation and his family who allowed themselves and him to be used by the obama administration as some sort of poster child for compassion or whatever that charade was supposed to be, was given a dishonorable discharge today with no prison sentence.  This egregiously unjust sentence is NOT the message that anyone expected from this new administration and serves to highlight the need to revisit the military code of justice while we continue to drain a very murky swamp.

As far as Mr. Bergdahl is concerned; just go away and fade into history; hide yourself in shame, find some uninformed liberal woman, get married, and have some what will certainly become milquetoast kids.  And if you have any sort of a conscience or a soul, think about the families you destroyed every time you look at your own, think about the people that will be murdered and other families ruined by the monsters they swapped for your sniveling, cowardly, spineless ass, and consider the plight of Eddie Slovik who was made an example of for doing far less than you. 

In a lot of ways, you owe Mr. Slovik a debt of gratitude as much as our nation now owes him an apology for letting the likes of you off the hook.