Free

Many years ago there was a wise king who gathered his scholars together and told them to write down everything they had learned so he could pass it on to future generations. After sometime they reported back with 12 large volumes and he said no, this is too cumbersome and sent them out to summarize. Once again they returned with one large volume and once again he sent them away. Finally after years of work they came to him with a piece of paper and it had one sentence on it and he was satisfied. It said, "there ain't no free lunch".

Medicare for all

Medicare for all can take one of two positions. First is government heath care for all citizens and no other option. Second it does not mean the total elimination of private insurance but it would be marginalized and left mostly for wealthy people who want to avoid wait times and select their own hospitals and doctors. Other countries with government healthcare offer similar options. Option one would mean that all private insurance companies would no longer exist and the two million people who work in that area would have to find new jobs. It would mean that medical professionals like doctors and nurses would become government employees. All private companies would be relieved of the responsibility and cost of providing health insurance for their employees and that currently includes 155 million people. The VA system in the United States is the closest thing we have like Medicare for all. The VA doctors work for the government and the government pays for services although there may be a co-pay.

Pledge

Santa Barbara Community College decided to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance because according to them it represented white nationalism. This would be the next logical step after refusing to stand for the pledge which has occurred at schools across the country. A former teacher challenged that by showing up at the board meeting and reciting the pledge. The surprising thing was that she was booed and called a racist by those in attendance. The board later changed their mind and reinstated the pledge.

Kamala Harris

The veil is lifting on the 2020 election and the new favorite of the national press is Kamala Harris. She is intelligent, attractive and most important likable. She is the new Obama. Like Obama she is a two year senator with little national exposure. She is multiracial having a Black father and an Asian mother which means she will be referred to as Black. She is expected to not only gather the Black vote but to bring out the Black voters like Obama did. She will get the young vote by offering tuition free college and in some cases student loan debt forgiveness. She will get the Obamacare votes by offering medicare for all. She will get the Hispanic vote by reorganizing the Border Patrol and ICE. If she is elected the democrats will probably pick up two seats in the senate and then using the nuclear option get rid of the filibuster thus opening the door for new social programs to aid the lower income groups. These will be paid for by reducing defense spending and raising income taxes on the rich and may even include a wealth tax. Within weeks after the election Justice Ginsberg will retire and within a year Justice Breyer will retire and both will be replaced with younger liberals. As the Chinese see her rise in popularity they will postpone any real changes in the trade imbalance and hope that Trump is defeated. If she becomes president things will revert back to the way they were under Obama and the establishment will have regained their lost power. The only fly in the ointment is the rise in socialism which may upset independent voters otherwise we will be singing the FDR refrain of happy days are here again

ESL

It is almost unanimous that the road to economic freedom is best achieved with education. This is professed by many groups on a regular basis. The Internet is overflowing with quotes from people of all stripes praising the value of education but this week Tom Brokaw was roundly criticized for saying that immigrant should learn English. It is very difficult to get a good formal education in this country if you cannot speak, read and write English. Schools spend lots of time and money providing courses for English second language students.

Wall/fencing

The Border Fence Act passed in 2006 set aside $1.4 billion but estimated the 25 year cost would be $50 billion. In addition to fencing the act also authorized the use of more vehicle barriers, checkpoints and lighting to curb illegal immigration, and the use of advanced technology such as satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles. Trumps proposal includes all of the above plus money for 2,700 new border guards, money for drug detection, money for humanitarian assistance, money for court and judges to help with the backlog of 800,000 cases. These are all the things that both parties want except for the wall/fencing.

Refugee convention

The rule that states that when a refugee sets foot in the United States they have certain rights was part of the United Nations refugee convention of 1951. Here are the rights as outlined in the convention rules. Other rights contained in the 1951 Refugee Convention include: • The right not to be expelled, except under certain, strictly defined conditions (Article 32); • The right not to be punished for illegal entry into the territory of a contracting State (Article31); • The right to work (Articles 17 to 19); • The right to housing (Article 21); • The right to education (Article 22); • The right to public relief and assistance (Article 23); • The right to freedom of religion (Article 4); • The right to access the courts (Article 16); • The right to freedom of movement within the territory (Article 26); and • The right to be issued identity and travel documents (Articles 27 and 28 R