11/3/26 The Contest of Ideas (a voter guide)

As Americans we must all recognize that silence over some of these terrible outcomes is consent. If we do not condemn the thoughtless and random killing of innocent children, then we deserve to lose our reputation as a free country. It is fatal to discount the terrible harm we are doing throughout the world as meaningless. We now disobey the Geneva Convention, we now disobey international law, we now declare wars improperly and employ arbitrary and capricious tariffs against some of our best trading partners.

MAGA DISLIKES/MAGA LIKES

MAGA DISLIKES MAGA LIKES

1. Immigrants 1. Absolute Power

2. Blacks/Hispanics 2. Money, personal wealth untaxed

3. Women in military 3. Retribution (more/more)

4. DEI 4. Oligarchs (U.S. Billionaires)

5. Free Speech 5. Vladimir Putin (and other potentates)

6. Truth 6. Cruel and unusual behaviour

7. Children 7. Names on buildings * (See last page)

8. Science/Climate Change 8. Wars

9. Canada 9. Deficit spending (in the trillions)

10. NATO 10. Disinformation

11. Transgenders 11. Eroding the rule of law

My blog applies to every truth seeking American ready to vote on November 3^rd. I appeal to all voters; independents, moderates and MAGAs. And I wish they would keep in mind the future of our country, our children and grandchildren. I do encourage factchecking on every single item written in this missive.

I am 89 years old and I have voted four times for a Republican in the past. Generally speaking, I would describe myself as a moderate Democrat but conservative over deficit spending. I try to vote for those using measured opinions. President Ronald Reagan was my favorite Republican because he tore down the walls of communism.

BIGGEST LIE EVER IN POLITICS?

Now I cannot recommend anyone to vote for a candidate this November that is a MAGA Senator or a MAGA Congressman for a very simple reason: they all took a cult like promise to not honor the Presidency of Joe Biden. Any Cabinet member, any appointee to the government, and any judge candidate appointed by this Administration may not state that Joe Biden won the Presidency. Why is this important? Because there are no facts, no evidence, and no proof of a "rigged" election by President Joe Biden. Also remember that Joe Biden won by 7 million votes. Also, the President at the time of that election taking place was Donald Trump. He controlled all investigation agencies that were in play during the lead up to the final vote. Somehow now, even though he was in control of all the possible facts and evidence of wrongdoing, he did not produce a single piece of evidence that showed a rigged election. Both his Cyber Security Appointee and his Attorney General suggested within two weeks of the election that it was honest and complete, with no fabrications. And the Attorney General Bill Barr said on national television anything to the contrary about a rigged elections was “BS”. Shortly thereafter the Attorney General was fired by Donald Trump.

Now the MAGA House, the MAGA Senate, the Speaker of the House, the MAGA Vice President and the MAGA appointees as a group are all accepting the fabrication that Joe Biden rigged the election. If I may editorialize, it is my opinion that historians will consider this “rigging” matter one of the most peculiar events in our American election history. Imagine, if you refused to admit that Joe Biden won the election, you will never serve in any position under this Administration. It seems to me this is using cult like demands to make you comply or you will suffer being thrown out of the group. Another aspect of this rigged election argument that is completely nutty: is the huge amount of money from our U.S. Treasury being spent to keep this major league lie on the table. It is completely abhorrent to common sense, and it lacks decency and honor.

USING IMMIGRANTS TO DIVIDE AND CONQUER VOTERS

Another big lie that is destroying the soul of our country is this Administration’s lies about immigrants. Over and over again we must do our homework and recognize that immigrants no matter what their status, halfway through a green card, or trying to get accepted with other means etc. Please do not believe immigrants commit more crimes than the average American citizens, because it is not true. Fact check! This Administration wants you to believe that all immigrants are criminals, rapists and mentally diseased. They deserve to be removed by ICE agents. Reminder, ICE agents were hired with very little training, large bonuses, fancy cars, and have authority to be cruel and not apply the laws of our U.S. Constitution in most cases. They have filled up detention centers putting in as many as 50,000 a month. Investigations have shown less than 10% of those arrested had serious criminal histories. It seems to be just a parlor game to satisfy the Administration’s need to get rid of immigrants from so many countries. Now we even have 16,000 American citizen children under 17 years old being held in detention centers. If you care for truth and if you care for your country, fact check what I am telling you and then fact check it again.

PROJECT 2025 AND DOGE

A third area of concern is Project 2025, created by Kevin Roberts, Russ Vought, and JD Vance through the Heritage Foundation, and blessed by the Federalists Society. This was a document to literally redo all American Institutions. To implement their programs, they set up DOGE let by Elon Musk and they arbitrarily and summarily closed down one unique agency, USAID. This agency was founded as soft power by John F Kennedy in 1962. Its mission was to feed starving children in many countries of the world as well as setting up medical clinics. The American farmer provided all of the food. In February 2025, Elon Musk and his crew shut down all operations of USAID including food already accounted for and sitting in warehouses and on wharfs. They then closed down support of medical clinics in Africa. The result of all of this? Almost one million children died of starvation by June 2025. And many died for lack of medicine including adults. This USAID situation calls for a triple fact check. The reason? This is cruelty that has happened. It is causing this country to lose our soul. Remember in 1962 when USAID was founded, we were spending 3% of our Federal Budget on foreign matters including aid in many other forms besides food. Now it is less than 1%. Fact check! Remember, USAID is no longer viable, that means that going forward, children throughout the world seeking medicine will suffer, and of course the American farmer will lose the chance to help us with soft power. Then note that for every dollar spent at USAID in the past, fifty cents was returned through the churning of activities in the marketplace. Fact check!

As Americans we must all recognize that silence over some of these terrible outcomes is consent. If we do not condemn the thoughtless and random killing of innocent children, then we deserve to lose our reputation as a free country. It is fatal to discount the terrible harm we are doing throughout the world as meaningless. We now disobey the Geneva Convention, we now disobey international law, we now declare wars improperly and employ arbitrary and capricious tariffs against some of our best trading partners. Are we losing our way? We are now a country that is ruled by one man 80% of the time. The MAGA Senate and House no longer perform oversight. It is the lower Federal court system that is keeping our legal system alive.

Now I would like to offer a Postscript that is very meaningful to me and hopefully to every American voter. On July 4th, 2026, what was going on in the White House? The people's house? Let me tell you what wasn't going on. Past Presidents, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George Bush and Bill Clinton were nowhere to be found during our 250th celebration of the Declaration of Independence. They were not invited to the White House. The gesture of showing how we all must stand together in America as a united country honoring the Declaration of Independence was indeed lost by this oversight. The reason? Because this is the first President in history, that has suggested that the loyal opposition (the Democrats) is the enemy of the people. This should not be overlooked, nor should it be tolerated.

Note well, “Hell is truth seen too late, duty neglected in its season.” Anyone who fears a man more than a just God is making a dangerous choice that may last an eternity.

My 7^th and 8^th grade country school teacher, Helen Miller, taught me that our country was created by 55 great men, our Founding Fathers. They created the U.S. Constitution in 1787, to be used of, by and for the people. She made us memorize the Gettysburg Address.

*She also said, do not put your name on walls, because “fools names, like fools faces are often seen in public places.” She took the five graduating 8^th graders to Washington D.C. despite her 50-year-old husband having died of a brain tumor five months earlier. I will always retain kind thoughts about Mrs. Miller.

Opening Image: Microsoft Designer, AI Image generator