Some people in our government need to be changed

By Budd Schroeder

What is wrong with America? That seems to be a big question lately. The media has been pounding on President Donald Trump since he has been sworn into office which is a continuation of the attacks the liberals have been making since the campaign. The liber left really hates this president and it keeps growing.

The liberal left in media, educational institutions and even the entertainment fields are criticizing everything the president does. The liberals in these fields can do the same (or worse) things and are getting a pass. Hypocrisy is running rampant. The double standard is the norm.

The “Russian collusion” regarding the election is still going on with no convictions or even any proof being offered. However, the mere accusations seem to have the same effect in many ways as a conviction. Those who are accused are being brought to bankruptcy because of the legal fees they must pay in order to protect themselves from the accusations.

This is definitely not “equal justice under the law.” It is a good example of how the rich have a different treatment than those of modest means when it comes to the administration of “justice.” Some people will accept a plea bargain because they can't afford to go to trial.

They will plead to a lesser charge in order to protect themselves and their family from financial ruin rather than run the risk of all their resources being eaten up playing with the “process.” The government has unlimited funding in these accusations and their whip cracks loudly when they snap it.

Everyone is entitled to be represented by legal counsel. Criminals without resources get court appointed lawyers, but most people will agree that when you can afford to pay a highly competent, experienced lawyer, your chances of being found “not guilty” is worlds apart from the representation you can get from a lawyer from a legal defense funded organization..

The results are still horrendous. For the sake of argument, let's consider that a person is accused and decides to hire counsel to go through the complex requirements necessary for defense. It is not unusual in the big cases involving the government for a lawyer to charge a retainer of $30,000 just to start. That can morph into huge amounts under the “billable hours” necessary just to do the preliminary work to lead into a trial.

So, if the lawyer is excellent and the bill runs into six or more figures and wins, the defendant has been severely “punished” even though he is innocent of criminal activity. How is that justice?

This is what is happening to people who are not even being accused of wrongdoing. Those who are “under investigation” or being called as witnesses can face the same legal involvement. The practice seems to be that if you are involved in any way with a legal process, you better have the services of a good lawyer. Maybe that is an intentional part of the process. After all, most of our laws are drawn up by lawyers and that is the most represented occupation in most legislatures.

The liberal media loves to speculate on the investigation with the “Russian collusion” because it is negative against the president. They don't have to talk about the positive things the president has done. Some have criticized the income tax reductions for the working class.

No credit for the new jobs created and that unemployment has hit record lows for everyone, even the minorities. There is improvement in the problem with illegal immigration, but even that is criticized. The liberals deplore the term “illegal immigrants.” They much prefer the term “undocumented” instead of “illegal.” It is tough to approve of criminal activity and “illegal” is associated with criminal activity. Yeah! Right!

President Trump wants to protect Americans from the invasion by people who are not adhering to a reasonable process of legal immigration. In fact, some politicians are making their cities a sanctuary city which protects the criminals from federal actions against them. In those cities, “Crime doesn't pay” is a slogan that is amusing to the criminals. It can pay well for them.

This hypocrisy by the left is a definite negative in our society. The rule of law, which is the foundation of a republic, is being ignored if it does not agree with the political agenda of the left. The laws they don't like are being ridiculed and criticized if they can't ignore them. Yet, they keep attempting (and sometimes succeeding) to limit the power of the people and giving more power to the government.

More and more freedoms we have enjoyed in the past are being lost or greatly diminished as the liberal left keeps infringing on our rights, even the ones that are guaranteed by the Constitution. Liberal Courts have overridden some of our basic rights. At times even the Supreme Courts have made grave errors that had to be addressed and dismissed. The Dred Scott Decision and the Fugitive Slave Act come to mind as sterling examples.

Freedom isn't free. Good men and women have fought and died to keep and protect the freedoms we are entitled to have. Our inalienable rights have been put in jeopardy by the liberal leftists in insidious ways and apathetic citizens allow them to stay in office. The citizen's actions should be that if they can't change the laws, change the legislators. That is the major purpose of elections.-

Out present government is all about power and money. If enough citizens become active in the process and vote the corrupt politicians out of office we can go back to principles and prosperity for the people instead of the elite. The time to start doing that is now!

What is the cause of “gun violence”

By Budd Schroeder

Another horrific school shooting brings up the call for more gun control, but the latest one did not involve an “assault weapon,.” This must disappoint the anti-gun crowd, because it takes away the “demon” they wish to ban as a solution to ending “gun violence.”

It is obvious that when an evil person decides to commit a horrendous crime, they will find a way to do it. While some of the mass murders have involved semiautomatic rifles, many others have not. We remember one of the most devastating weapons that may have set a record for causing deaths in an instant was a rented truck filled with ammonium nitrate fertilizer and fuel oil.

It was responsible for the loss of more lives than any firearm and also took down a major part of a building. It took a while to find the perpetrator of the crime. He was caught, found guilty and sentenced to death. Nobody had suggested a banning of any of the products that was used to cause these deaths. It was strictly a matter of dealing with the murderer.

Another mass murderer used a Molotov Cocktail to cause the death of almost a hundred people in New York City many years ago. Again, the killer was the blame and paid the penalty.

Recently, in Canada, a deranged person rented a truck killing and wounded many people just by running them over. Canada has strict gun laws and it didn't mean a thing to this murderer. This was carefully planned and executed.

The Boston Marathon killers made a bomb out of a pressure cooker and caused death, maiming and general destruction. Common household products can be used to cause death and destruction. How tough is it to construct a pipe bomb, or poison a punch bowl at a party?

On a daily basis, we read about the use of vehicle bombs and suicide bombers that wreak havoc and panic with great efficiency. Yet, the media and anti-gun politicians believe that banning a certain type of gun will prevent mass murders in America. Obviously, they are wrong.

If there were no guns, bombs, edged weapons, etc. it might be more difficult to commit these horrendous crimes, but what would laws do to prevent the vehicle crimes? If a person is crazy or evil, there will be a method found and used to carry out the crime. It is worth to note that the FBI statistics show that more people are killed by blunt force trauma and edged weapons than are murdered by the use of rifles of all kinds.

The fact that the last few mass murders happened in schools and churches, shows that the killers look for soft targets. The “gun free zones” have been the ideal killing fields for the deranged and evil criminals. They choose a venue where they have virtually no chance of being stopped by an armed person. They take advantage of the opportunity to prove the adage of “criminals don't obey laws.”

A criminal tried to commit a school invasion recently in Chicago, but the school had an armed resource officer who stopped the killer before he could do any damage. The disaster in Texas may have had the same result if they had had a trained and armed person in that school. The Texas school children paid a big penalty because their school did not have that kind of protection.

Some people say that it would be too expensive to place protectors in the schools. However, isn't it strange that buildings that have politicians and bureaucracies don't have a problem with expenses of that nature to protect them? What makes the life of politicians and bureaucrats more valuable than the lives of students? This is a good question to ask the politicians who are running for office this year.

The question of should school teachers be armed comes up and from a practical viewpoint, the answer is complex. Having a gun doesn't make a person a savior any more than having a guitar or accordion makes a person a musician.

To be competent, a person needs extensive training and the proper attitude in order to react effectively when a life or death emergency occurs. Just having a gun is no guarantee it will stop a mass murder, but there is virtually no chance of stopping a killer without a viable, effective means of immediate self-defense.

When it comes to solutions to reduce the “gun violence” the anti-gun media and politicians rely on slogans and rhetoric. If the public believes what they say, that can be enough to warp minds or get votes. However, it doesn't save lives.

What saves lives are actions and effective programs to properly address the problem. The focus should be on the type of people who commit the crimes and to find a way to interact and define motives. Schools should check for the “red flags” that may come up in a person's actions prior to their committing the crimes. Perhaps teachers should be taught to look for these signs or have a psychologist give seminars on this subject. It would be a positive approach.

The old saying” If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will keep getting what you got.” Is a truism. Society has changed and attitudes have changed. Movies and video games promoting violence have affected thinking. Young people don't look at murder, mayhem and violence as something to be avoided. They look at those actions as entertainment. Seeing gore and death on the big and small screens takes the horror out of the actions in reality. Some people live in a fantasy world of their own making. They can be dangerous.

Evil started with the second generation of mankind and it is a constant problem in society. Some blame the problems on children not having enough proper discipline and learning respect as they grow. As the twig is bent, so grows the tree. It all starts in the home. What values are parents teaching their children? The schools are no substitute for good parenting. Perhaps the sociologists could come up with a proper answer.

Society needs a working over. What is going on now, isn't working. We need to regroup and rethink how to create better attitudes and values. Obviously this is a tough job and it has to start with better parenting.

What is fair in the justice system?

By Budd Schroeder

It is an old saying that our system of justice isn't perfect, but it is better than any other. Some have said that there are different levels of justice and that “equal protection under the law” is not a reality. There are many opinions on both sides of the arguments.

We have often said that politics is all about power and money and it would be easy to place the same accusation about the current system of justice. This columnist is not a lawyer, so the commentary is strictly an opinion based on observation and evidence.

The laws in the United States are complex and there are many of them. The law libraries are filled with volumes of laws and decisions of trials to determine what is possible to accuse and how to defend against those charges. The more complex the laws, the more opportunities for abuse!

The average person has no idea of what most of the laws are and how they are enforced, but in spite of the fact that lawyers, and even judges, need to research laws in many cases, for the average Joe, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

A Russian member of the KGB was once quoted as saying; “show me the person, and I will find a law to convict him.” That seems to hold true even in America. We are watching how the complexities of the laws and the creative ways that power brokers use them, and that would confirm what the Russian said.

Going back to the level of perception of the laws, there is much controversy on enforcement of the laws. For decades, African Americans have claimed discrimination when it comes to law enforcement and how it appears to have a different standard involving them.

They talk about the arrests for “driving while black” and being stopped when they haven't committed any violations, at least no violations, from their perspective. They claim that sentences for black people are more severe than for Caucasians convicted for the same crimes.

The laws also seem to favor the rich because they can hire the best lawyers. The case of O. J. Simpson would give credence to that opinion. Money is a big advantage when accused of a crime.

We are watching how the law can be used as a weapon when it comes to the bureaucrats and political operatives when they are on a quest to destroy President Donald Trump. What started as an investigation regarding collusion in the last election has turned into what many are now calling a “witch hunt.”

The laws are being used as a punishment without a crime. A local political operative has been vocal about how this has destroyed his life and his family. He has not been charged with any crime, but has been brought before the authorities as a witness for the “witch hunt.”

Anyone in that position should not agree to the questioning without hiring the services of a good attorney. However, the gentleman has gone broke with legal fees to the tune of about $125,000 without figuring time lost from work and transportation costs to DC to appear before the panel.

He has managed to get some support from citizens in “Go Fund Me” to recoup some of his losses, but many don't have that kind of support for their losses.

When the bureaucracy or government calls for a witness or arrests a person accused of a crime, they are allowed to lie to extract information. Their lies are perfectly legal, but if the accused or witness lies to them, there can be charges of perjury which are difficult to deny or defend.

The odds greatly favor the government and it seems that every year, the legislators keep adding more laws that give the government more authority and takes more freedoms away from the citizens.

The issue of money is truly important when discussing the disparity of “equality” when it comes to legal proceedings. In New York, corruption cases draw special attention. Perhaps it is because in Albany, many consider it to be “business as usual” and the politicians have to really foul up before getting caught.

A couple of years ago two of the most powerful men in Albany, Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos were tried and convicted for corruption. They were sentenced to jail terms, but a decision involving a Virginia politician made it possible for the convicted criminals to have a new trial.

A decision made by a judge in another state was enough for a team of sharp lawyers to delay the prison sentence. Hopefully, for the citizens of the state, the accused will be reconvicted and the sentence carried out. Even if serving time, the politicians will still receive their generous pensions. When politicians make laws, they really know how to take care of themselves.

So, in the last couple of years the citizens have seen the abuses of the system and that an accusation can have as much punishment, at least financially, as a conviction. It takes years to get a federal case heard which makes a mockery of “justice delayed is justice denied.”

However, during the delays, he lawyers are still getting “billable hours” and the accused are trying to figure out how to pay them. If you don't have the money to pay, you don't get the necessary representation.

That is where the slogan of “we have the best laws that money can buy' is said. The better the lawyer, the better the chance of winning! The less fortunate, without large resources, usually have to settle for a plea deal or face a maximum punishment.

Like in government, money doesn't just talk. It yells! Unless the voters start screaming for better government and if the laws are not changed, they have to change the lawmakers. This is a good year and opportunity to do that. More ideas to follow.