Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Where's Character?

- "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up...Everybody fails, but the people who succeed in the end are the ones who are relentless and learn from getting knocked down." 

- Vince Lombardi

The great football coach was talking not only about football, but life. If you lost your job at Foxtrot due to their closing all 35 locations or the Steward Health Care firm that closed 31 facilities, what do you do? There are many other examples. It is not just a loss of income, sometimes life happens. It could be a car accident? It could be your marriage? It could be a ferry sinking in Afghanistan. It could be a trial verdict? 

Where's Your Character?

There was a murder trial in Boise, Idaho. Chad Daybell was found guilty in all 3 charges. The judge did not allow cameras in the court room. The defendent was not allowed to talk to the press about the trial nor the jury. This happens in many largly known cases. 

Donald Trump stated before the trial that he would testify. He didn't. Lawyers usually do not want their client to take the stand when their case is weak or their client has poor composure. I repeat. Trump did not take the stand. He was told not to talk about the case. He did. He was fined, He cries, "No freedom of speech. I'm a political prisoner!" He knew that he would lose the case. He was setting the tone in the public's eye that he is a victim and he did not receive justice. He also knew that being a influential citizen and a first-time offender that he will probably receive probation. He has no redeeming character traits and he wants to be president. 

In Hong Kong there was a trial of 16 pro-democracy demonstrators. The government (read China) passed a national security law. The government claimed that these protestors violated the law and caused domestic disturbance. The court found 14 guilty. They could receive 30-years in jail. Two were acquitted. The prosecution seeks an appeal trial to get the two acquitted in jail. A protestor, Emily Lau says, "The law does not allow assembly or any demonstration of any kind." This is life in Communist China. These people definitely show true character. Say a prayer for them and Emily.

Elections

The election in South Africa ended the 30-year majority of the ANC party. The people had enough character to seek change. Here in the US, we do not have the courage, faith or character to vote for a new political party when deep inside we know that both of our political parties are corrupt with poor leaders with no vision or character. 

We vote for the lesser of two evils. Biden forgives student loans to buy votes. He has a weak border policy to attract the Spanish vote. He takes union votes for granted as well as black votes. He rides this historic policy of the Democractic Party when in reality the democrats only turned to the black voters and union voters because the Republicans were known to oppose these two groups. 

Trump only offers token gestures like his tariff acts. His tax cut is a code for the rich. Ordinary citizens will receive a $100 while the rich will receive a $100,000. His policies are no different than Biden's. He will spend and drive up our debt like his first term. By the way, his call to reduce social security goes back to the formation of the agency. Republicans were against it then and this shows that they still are opposed to workers paying into a system that keeps them out of poverty in their old age. His call for the executive branch to control the Federal Reserve is tyranny according to the Federalist Papers when our nation was seeking ratification of the constitution. 

We, at Evolution do not vote. We will not give either party a validation to govern. We have said this many times. We need a new third party. We suggest the "Liberty Party." The platform is government that operates for the general welfare. This translates to protection of American products and workers. We are not the world's police force. Cut the military spending. Use the money for ourselves and pay off the debt. Free trade is a code for the status quo. Nations use our country as a dumping ground for their economies. Our nation needs to return to self-sufficiency. We are not against trade. You utilize trade when you need something that you cannot make or make at this moment. This requires protection against foreign subsidised firms. We need tariffs high to be able to reach American made products with at least 40% share of our market place. This is how you make America first.

Corporate Character

We are losing it as fast as we outsource. One only has to look at Boeing and how far they have fallen. This money first is a disease! The most important thing for a company is its product. The second most important thing is to take care of your workers. Shareholders will be rewarded if the firm follows this creed. There is another type of character. It is for those who hold position.

Leadership Character

There are many examples. I will provide two. One for each side of a coin. The best example of character under pressure while commanding the big chair is John F. Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Russia secretly began building missiles sites in Cuba which is only 90 miles from the US. Spy planes took pictures. The fear was high that some idiot warmonger would start WWIII. The military advised Kennedy to bomb the sites and attack the island. We got idiot warmongers too. The military put pressure on Kennedy to act, especially with their pupits in the media. JFK kept his cool. He came up with his own plan to use the navy to stop any shipping to the island. He sealed off the island. If they fired on us, they will be responsible for the carnage. Russia backed down. Kennedy kept peace, but angered the Deep State. They would do anything to see that he was not reelected in 1964. RIP, brother.

The other side is shown by the leaders in baseball today. They are not leaders, just businessmen concerned with the all mighty dollar. Their recent decision bowed to pressure. They committed the second travesty. The first one was the discrimination of black baseball players. Now, they compounded that sin with this one. They merged all the Negro League stats with the major league records under pressure from black leaders. Some of these egotistical leaders are unconscionable, unbelievable and unbearable. They are pushing lies and myth. This is a sin against the heritage of the league. 

I will explain. The most important player in baseball is the pitcher. You can win a championship with pitching. Pitching beats hitting all the time. Now, this is reality. Almost every team only has one good starter. The talent drop-off from him to the next in rotation is huge. It drops further after that. You would be a genius if you can remember the names deep in rotation. Now, the old Negro League did not have the luxury of a minor league where pitchers and players can develop. If those teams had one good pitcher and that is even questionable, the drop-off after that star would be very deep. This is how the black stars fattened their stats against second rate players. The whole Negro League would only be equal to Double AA in terms of competition, at best. They definitely had great players like Josh Gibson just like the present day black college football divisions, but the quality and depth is not there. This is a sad day for baseball. Babe Ruth is by far the greatest player in the game.  Where's your character?  Peace.