2018

The Democratic Party is Wrong on Immigration and the Republican Party is Wrong on Taxes.

Two amendments to the Constitution are needed. The first is to end birthright citizenship and the second is to limit the terms of justices of the supreme Court and inferior Courts.

Oct 27: Are Friends of Trump Behind the Caravan of Migrants from Honduras and Guatemala?

One of the main reasons for voters to support Trump is his rhetoric on immigration. The Trump mid-term campaign to elect Republicans is benefiting from the caravan because it motivates his base and emphasizes the weakness of the Democratic Party on immigration. It should be noted that many members of the Republican establishment and Libertarians also like cheap immigrant labor. The Republicans control both the House and Senate and have not tried to pass any immigration reform or fund the wall. They would rather blame the Democrats than solve the problem.

Trump has suggested that some Democrats, notably George Soros, are funding the caravan. Soros is not stupid. It is more likely that friends of Trump are behind the caravan than Democrats because the caravan mainly benefits Trump. Most of the migrants are motivated to join the caravan because of the violence, poverty and political corruption in Honduras and Guatemala.

We urge Trump and American Evangelical Christians to work with their friends in Honduras and Guatemala to create sanctuary cities in the home countries of the caravan migrants.

Oct 26: Did Bernie Sanders ever verbally attack House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA)?

We watched Fox News right after the the announcement of the arrest of mail bomber suspect Cesar Sayoc. Our respect for Chris Wallace was seriously eroded in his verbal confrontation with Shepard Smith over Donald Trump's rhetoric. Wallace said that Trump was no more responsible for this act by one of his supporters than Bernie Sander was for the shooting of Steve Scalise by a Sanders supporter on June 12, 2107. This line comparing Donald Trump responsibility to that of Bernie Sanders is the standard defense used by Trump and his sycophants. The fact is that Trump verbally attacked the individuals that were the target Cesar Sayoc. There is no evidence that we are aware of that Bernie Sanders ever verbally attacked Steve Scalise.

Sept. 23: Attended the 2018 Republican Clambake at Greenwich Point in Old Greenwich

We informed Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski about the marriage penalty problem with the $10,000 maximum deduction of State and Local Taxes in the 2017 Trump Tax Act. We also asked him about the September 12 fund raiser at the Belle Haven Club that featured Republican Governors Association (RGA) Chairman Governor Bill Haslam, Tennessee. We asked if Governor Haslam made any comments about Martha Blackburn, the Republican candidate for U. S. Senator. He did not respond but said that the main reason for Governor Haslam appearance was to emphasize the RGAs commitment to support him.

Sept. 16: Attended the 2018 Cookout & Campaign Rally of Greenwich Democrats at the High School.

Spoke to Ned Lamont, the candidate for Governor, Senator Richard Blumenthal, and Congressman Jim Himes about the need to correct the marriage penalty with regards to the $10,000 maximum State And Local Tax (SALT) deduction. This maximum should be raised to $20,000 for married couples who file jointly. Hopefully, one of these individuals will soon highlight this inequity and the possible corrective action.

It should be noted that the Trump Tax Act of 2017 was passed without hearings and in haste without bipartisan support. It created many inequities and is in need of reform.

We would like to see all capital gains be recognized at the time of any transfer of ownership. Remember that the 1986 Tax Reform Bill signed by President Ronald Reagan taxed capital gains at the same marginal rate as ordinary income. The present effective capital gain tax rate for most wealthy individuals is between 0 and 5%. There are too many opportunities in the Tax Code to avoid paying taxes on capital gains on a timely basis. These inequities will persist as long as we have three corrupt branches of government.

We need campaign finance reform law that limits individual contributions by U.S. citizens and bans contributions by others, including associations and corporations.

Sept. 13: Some ideas and concerns that may interest you. We have not seen them elsewhere on the web

1. One needed technical correction to the 2017 Tax Law is the $10,000 limit on deducting state and local taxes. The problem is that it creates a marriage penalty because the $10,000 limit is the same for individuals and married couples. Candidates of both parties from high tax states should insist that the $10,000 limit be doubled to $20,000 for married couples who file jointly.

2. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has a problem with the West Point Cadet Honor Code that states: "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." It should be obvious to all rational observers that President Donald Trump lies. Hopefully, someone will have the courage to ask Pompeo about this. How can one who graduated first in his class at West Point tolerate Trump?

3. What would the three authors of The Federalist Papers think of the current Federalist Society and their nominees for the Supreme Court? The Federalist Society claims to uphold the original interpretation of the U. S. Constitution by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States. Its logo is a silhouette of President James Madison.

Somehow the Federalist Society implies that they represent the views of the three authors. We find this a little strange because the current Federalist Society seems to be dominated by Catholics and that all their recent nominees have been Catholics.

Although educated by Presbyterians, James Madison was influenced by deism and was a strong advocate for the freedom of religion and probably would oppose nominees with strong religious views. Alexander Hamilton was raised as a Presbyterian and was tutored by a Jewish schoolmistress. He also had deist views. John Jay was descended from Huguenots and became a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He believed in a strong, centralized government and became an advocate for the emancipation of slaves. He also once held the view that Catholics should be prohibited from holding office. So what do you think?