Category Archives: Communism

The Doctor Will See You Now?

Posted in Communism, experience, Fauci, FOC, Lawyers and Representation, Medical/Dental, Pelosi, Politcal Opinion by

While I was in the Marines, I did not need to concern myself with the cost of medicine. Uncle Sam paid for it. That meant, if I could see a doctor, I was treated well. It also meant that if I had the flu, I worked sick.

The alternative was to wait three hours to be seen. Most of time, I would see a corpsman, not a doctor. He would give me a bottle of aspirins and give me light duty for 24 hours, which meant I went back to work. I learned the pattern early and didn’t bother trying to see a doctor anymore.

The hitch was that without the light duty authorization, they could make me do some heavy work. Actually, they did that anyway.

It is, sort of, a picture of communism. Everyone gets paid the same and everyone has to do the same amount of work. Unless I was falling down sick, I did as much as everyone else. Also, they had someone with a few stripes making sure I did it.

Once I became a civilian, if was sick, I called in. I was able to do that eight times a year. Mostly, I only used two or three sick days a year. When I worked for a bank, I worked 3 1/2 years straight. Didn’t miss a day. Still, if I got sick, I could take a few days off without getting an excuse from the doctor.

More important, If I felt bad enough, I could actually see a doctor, usually in an hour or two. Nowadays, I do have to wait some, but I still see a real doctor. When I was having chest pains, there was no wait at all.

The real problems with the military medical system started after I got married. I had a four year old that was having problems breathing at night. I did get him in to see a doctor twice. Both times he was diagnosed with tonsillitis. He prescribed some meds and sent him home both times.

The worst part was that the symptoms always got worse at night. If getting into see a doctor was difficult during the day, it was ten times worse at night. Actually, to some degree that is true with civilian doctors too. There seems to be an unwritten law somewhere that if you’re going to get sick, do it between 8 am and 5 pm, Mon through Fri. Fridays are frowned on too.

It was only after taking my son to a private doctor I found out that he nearly died from lack of air. He removed the tonsils and he hardly had another sick day in his life. Bear in mind that I was a Sgt at the time (E5). I cannot imagine what privates and PFCs go through. They can’t afford to go to a private doctor. On the other hand, I cannot imagine a general ever having to wait a minute for a doctor. Indeed, sometimes, I suspect the doctor goes to him.

It is sort of the way it is with social medicine. Most cannot go to private doctors. There are none. Under socialism, the state pays for the doctors. If you want to see a private doctor, you would have to go to another country. It is exactly what the Canadians have been doing for years. When their socialistic system is inadequate, they just visited doctors in the US. Going to a private doctor in Canada is not allowed.

However, if you happen to be one of the members of the Canadian government, your chances of having to wait for bypass surgery are inversely proportional to your position.

I am not saying that private medicine is perfect. It is far from it. But it is better than free medical. Take it from one who has seen it first hand. By the way, when we went on Obama care, it was far worse than private medical for me. I was paying a grand a year for my wife for five years and she only used it once. That is even worse than what I had in the Marines. It was not only bad medical but I had to pay for it too.

By the way, they only thing they can do to make Obama care worse is to put Fauci in charge of it.

Polls??

Posted in Biden, Border wall, Communism, Crazy Nuts, FOC, Kamala Harris by

I just saw a recent poll on TV in which Biden’s ability to deal with problems just dipped under 50%. I really don’t understand it. I mean it is obvious that the man hasn’t a clue about anything other than which way the wind blows. My question remains, how in the world are his polls staying so high?

I figure it one of two ways. Either the folks in the country are lacking basic common sense or those pollsters are really bending the results. I figure, for the most part, it is the pollsters. However, there are a number of folks in this country that lack basic reasoning.

Let’s face it, the man is King Midas in reverse. Everything he touches turns to a quagmire. The problems he is causing cannot totally be undone. He is causing suffering, death and he is empowering those who want to destroy us. Their desire is to kill and or enslave us.

Those who voted for the man have a big part in his failures. As everything falls apart and they may ask who caused it, They can simply look in the mirror for their answer.

It is no wonder Kamala has gone into hiding. Even she knows better than to have anything to do with Biden.

The Cost of Thievery

Posted in Communism, Crazy Nuts, Cuomo, Customer complaints, Education, FOC, Kamala Harris, Lawyers and Representation, Liberals, Obama Care, Schools by

Most of us never completely consider the cost of stealing. There is the loss of revenue for the businesses. In the case of theft from an individual, it is difficult calculate, especially when someone is killed in the act. Businesses go through all sorts of things to cut down on theft but their success is limited. They use cameras, security guards and all sorts of other little things.

They use those annoying blister packs. I don’t know what they cost but they do increase cost of shipping and displays. In addition they use those little electronic alerts on some things. One time I went in the men’s room of a Walmart and found an empty blister pack with the alert device still on it. So, Walmart paid for the blister pack, the alert device and still lost the DVD. For what it was worth, I took the evidence to the manager who thanked me.

Whether you know it or not, it effects us all. It drives the costs of the products up. They have to cover the loss of the product. They have to pay for the packaging as well as the alert device. Then, of course, before you can go out the door after you purchase it, the alert device must be removed or disabled. I don’t know how many times I have set off those alarms after a legal purchase. It can get frustrating for both the store management and customer.

Then, when you get home, you need to get out your scissors and sharp knife to get the blister pack off. I wonder just how many people went into emergency rooms after cutting a finger or two in this process. That too is a cost of the theft.

On the other hand, not all theft occurs at the point of a gun or knife. Not all theft is perpetrated in stores. In the operetta “The Pirates of Penzance,” the pirate king suggests that his vocation is a relatively honest one. At least when he shows the skull and cross bones, he is honest about what he is and what he does. On the other hand, the man in the business suit will steal you blind, all the while maintaining his respectability.

Every day, I hear ads on TV, “Come to us and we will show you how to get a bunch of money for nothing.” The country is full of ambulance chasers seeking deep pockets. On the other side of the coin, there are businessmen trying to get money from the unwary. I saw an article about a man who saw an ad in a paper. “Portable digital computer, $25 dollars. Guaranteed.”

He knew there was something wrong but he figured it was worth the $25 dollars to find out what. A week later the man was the proud owner of a new abacus. To be sure, the abacus does meet the criteria of the ad. None the less, it truly was a misleading ad. In this case, there was little loss. The man kept the device and even learned to use it.

However, men in suits do rob people of their hard earned money every day. Nowadays, they use your phone instead of the newspaper or TV. I even had occasion where my doctor had to deal with a robocall right in the middle of talking to me. That doctor’s time is valuable. It is not just an annoyance. They steal valuable time from him…and his clients.

From what I understand, some men in suits ever steal entire houses. On the other hand, there are those who advertise they can stop it…for a slight price.

The last few months, we have a new type of thief. He just walks in, takes what he wants and walks out…right in front of the store security man. This adds even more expense. First, it causes the vendors to close down. Sometimes they open somewhere else. Sometimes they do not re-open at all. Either way, the honest people in the area must go somewhere else to do business. That means driving farther and paying more in gas.

I suppose, eventually, it could lead to the old method of trade. You want something from the store keeper, you go in the store, two or three at a time with a list. You pay for your purchase in advance and it is shoved out a secure window to you. I don’t know if it will ever reach such a point, but to me it is looking like it.

Then you have the worst crooks of all. They are the politicians who call themselves democrats. They steal your money by exorbitant taxation; they steal your land under eminent domain when they have no legitimate reason. Then, as if that is not enough, they steal your vote supposedly under perfect elections.

I hope you will pardon me, but what is wrong with you folks in New York, California and New Jersey. How can you even consider to vote for a FOC. Who in their right mind would vote for people charging you $12,000 a year to educate your children and then settle for kids who can’t read or do simple math. (I can do that for you at half the price.)

Do You Know Where your Federal Gas Taxes Go?

Posted in Abuse of Power, Communism, Fauci, FOC, Immigration by

Neither do I. I tried to find out. From all I can figure, it was originally supposed to help build federal highways. Of course, all money is fungible and your guess is as mine. It seems to me, someone said it has gone to support Amtrak. I guess that means every time one of those folks riding the train on the east coast, I am helping to pay for it. I really don’t understand that. Why can’t they pay fare, all of it. From the 1850s the feds have helped the railroads with money and land. Then in return, they overcharged our farmers to get the product to market. Just why is it that they need my help?’

I have heard that some of it goes to airports. As I said, I may be wrong. But if we are why am I having to help pay for some rich guy flying first class on a 777. I mean, I do have bills too.

I understand some of it is going into something called light transit. Their object is to get us our of cars and into mass transit. By the way, I have also heard it is used to help maintain the subways of New York. From what I understand, most of them don’t even buy gas. I guess that means they are not helping to build the federal highways.

As far as the rapid system, if they would use it to build roads, we wouldn’t need the rapid transit system. The problem with so called rapid transit systems is that they have no privacy, are frequently not on time and, of course, don’t run past 9pm. So. If I get off work at 10, I walk.

They do have one advantage. I don’t have to drive. If I should want to do my knitting on the way to work, no problem, as long as I can trust those three guys sitting next to me that look like they are each packing. In addition, they have been eyeing me to decide on if they want to relieve me of the task of carrying my wallet.

Now they are coming up with electric cars. It has created a quandary for them there FOCs. If they don’t get any gas tax from them, how are they going to continue with the airports and trains and such. They will have to get the money from somewhere.

Some suggest that we pay by the mile. Might I suggest that we do away with the gas tax first (fat chance). I suppose those of us who drive the gas guzzlers will just have to pay the road tax twice.

I guess that does make sense. I pay for my drinking water and Flint, Michigan too. I am going to pay for my internet and that of four or five others too.

I think you get the picture. This infrastructure bill they are passing is just another way for those FOCs to get their hands on my money supposedly doing all kinds of good. You lift up that carpet and look under it, it really serves two purposes. It is a way for them to get rich and another way to control our lives. They want us to take public transportation while they take private planes. And by the way, their private planes guzzle our hydrocarbons.

By the way, why don’t they take that so called virus expert, Fauci and send him down to the Mexican border and put him in charge of testing, treating and vaccinating. If he succeeded down there, he just might do something good, but I don’t hold out much hope. It would probably be better to just put him in prison where he belongs.

Ben’s Dream World

Posted in Communism by

From time to time I have permitted myself to dream of selling a lot of books, maybe to the point I would have five million dollars in the bank. I am not greedy. Others have done far better. Unfortunately or me, my books do not sell that well. Some of my books I can’t give away.

Nonetheless, I do have two more in the works. Maybe one of them will become a best seller. On the other hand, maybe some movie producer will see how great “His Protector” would look on the big screen.

I figure if I could make 5 million, I’d have all the money I’d ever need. Then again, you and I know that is not going to happen, leastwise not until I get a good editor. Then too, a screenwriter would rewrite the book anyway.

Regardless, the little visit into my world of dreams caused me to think about another dreamworld. What if the federal government decided to fix all the poverty in our country. In one day, The Treasury Department cut a check to everyone over 18 years of age for 5 million dollars.

Now that would be a dream world. In one day, poverty would cease. Everyone would have all the money they needed and they’d never have to lift another finger. In straight simple math, we could all spend 50 thousand a year for 100 years. We would all be set for life. Right!

However, let us not overlook the obvious. That would mean everyone else would have all the money they need and they would not have to work. That poor old lady that works at that convenience store would walk off the job immediately, if not sooner. Hopefully, she would take the time to switch the gas pumps off and lock the doors.

Forget about going to the bowling alley. The place would be shut down. Why should the owner work his tail off when he already has all the money he needs.

Indeed, it is nightmare rather than a dream world. Those running the power stations would just shut things down and walk away. In an hour or two, the whole country would be plunged into the rock ages. We might have cars, but not gas. We might have homes, but nothing to heat them with. Indeed, we might even have problems finding candles.

We might have water for a while. I’m not sure about that. However, forget food. It has to be shipped in on trucks. Conceivably, it just might be the doomsday that the preppers have prepared for. However, I don’t even know how well they would be prepared for such a nightmare.

Most likely, some method of bartering would break out. I don’t know. It is sort of the way the people survive in so called communist countries. Then again, they might just declare martial law and control everything by the military.

Wait a minute. That won’t work. All those in the military would walk off the job too, with their millions.

Ironically, the ones it would hurt the most would be the billionaires. They might have their limos, but they’d not have any gas, or anyone to drive them. They might have their planes, but they’d not have any pilots. They might have their yachts but they’d have no one to crew them. They would have to do for themselves and they just might not know how.

Capitalism might be a horrible monetary system, but it does work. Communism, though it is a dreamworld, does not work nor has it ever. People will not work unless they have a reason to. Capitalism provides the motive while communism will not work without the whip.

To be sure, communism does look attractive. Then again, my dreamworld looks even better at first glance.

Counterfeit

Posted in Abuse of Power, Adam Schiff, Biden, Border wall, Cancel Culture, Christian values, Communism, Crazy Nuts, Deceit, FOC, gun control, Kamala, Lawyers and Representation, Liberals, Lobbyists, Nadler, Newsome, Obama Care, Pelosi, Religion, Socialists, The Clintons, The Squad, Unions by

In Matthew 17, Jesus told Peter to catch a fish and take a four drachma coin from its mouth. I was young the first time I heard the story. It seemed odd to me. Jesus did not need the fish. He could have made dozens of the coins with his spoken word. I suppose he could have also used many other methods as well. But, he told Peter to get the coin from the fishes mouth.

In the musical, “Fiddler on the Roof,” we could hear the whimsical song, “If I Were a Rich Man.” I totally enjoyed the song long before I saw the movie or play. To be sure I identified with it. Actually, I still do. I’m not greedy. I would be very happy with a million or two. I would not turn down five or six. It would not solve all my problems but it would solve most of them.

What does the one thing have to do with the other? Although God can make money, He rarely if ever does. On that day, when Jesus was asked about the taxes, if Jesus produced the money out of thin air, that would have been an act of counterfeiting. The money He would have made would have been produced outside the authority of the government and Jesus recognizes authority, even human authority.

I don’t know how that works completely, but had he made that coin, that would have been a sin, and Jesus does not sin. It does go beyond that. Let’s say God took pity on me, and maybe a few thousand others. He spoke the word and instantly, we would all have five million dollar bank accounts. That would not only be counterfeit in mass, but it could be very damaging to our economy.

That money represents work, skill and knowledge. When it is just given to me, it short circuits the system. It can and would likely negatively effect our economy. Suddenly, there would be millions more money in circulation and hence, each dollar would be worth less. Therefore, God would be improperly taking the representation of the work of thousands and giving it to me. I would benefit from the work of others wrongfully, as would the others.

So now, the government, in all its wisdom has decided it is okay to redistribute wealth. I get to benefit from the sweat of your brow and you get to benefit from the sweat of mine. Never mind the product of our work. Never mind my laziness. All those who have worked so hard to build those apartments. Never mind them. Let them go into debt while those who refuse to work live in the fruits of the work of their landlords.

God does not redistribute wealth because he knows it is not right. Why should the government know better.

Communism is a relatively new economic system. Capitalism is as old as trading. I will give you so many of these if you give me so many of that. I will help you build your home if you will provide food and clothing for me. If you provide me a boat, I will provide fish for you.

The coinage only made it all simpler. At first it had no government backing. However, over time, only the governments coined the money. At least that is the way it was supposed to work. Then they started taxing to pay for mutual defense and roads and such. Now it has gotten into a tangled mess, but it works the same.

The problem is that that there are a number of things that throw things out of kilter. There is, of course robbery. As mentioned a fore, counterfeiting. Then there is gambling and lotteries. In the blink of an eye, gambling can transfer the equivalent of large amounts of work from one to another. Such things throw the capitalists system out of kilter.

The man that loses all his wages cannot pay his rent. The gambling sites draw crowds of unsavory types. And then of course, those that own the “house” live on the fruits of the labor of others without adding one thing to society. Indeed, they become the “rich men” as sung of in the above song.

The work they do is a counterfeit work. But they are not alone. Those in government know how to counterfeit their contributions to society too. They tax some while they give to others… all the time skimming some off for themselves. It is the most important reason to keep government small. It is one of the most important reasons to limit the power of government. It is the biggest reason FOCs get involved in government.

It is one of the biggest reasons that governments fail.

THERE IS CURRENTLY NO COMMUNISM

Posted in Abuse of Power, Communism, Communist Takover by

Maybe I should clarify my title. There are billions of cubic square light-years of universe out there. Perhaps on one of those distant planets, there is a form of communism, but not on this planet and not now. China is a dictatorship where some people own things and some don’t… not communism. The government that Castro set up in Cuba might have been communist in his mind, but it was not and is not communism. It is an island of haves and have-nots, not the utopia Marx preached of in his manifesto. Vietnam is drifting toward capitalism so fast that the leaders can hardly control it.

Actually, the closest thing to communism this world has ever known was in this country and long before Karl Marx. The first year the Pilgrims lived in the New World was under the idealistic thought that everyone could share and share alike. They almost died as a result of it. No one worked and everyone expected to live from the common supply of goods, which by the way were quickly depleted.

With the help of the Indians (Native Americans if you prefer) they manged to recover. The following year, they went to capitalism and reaped enormous proceeds, to the extent that they share with the Indians.

Every place communism has been tried, even before there was communism, it has either failed or was transformed into something else. Had the USSR not transformed into something else, the people would have died of starvation. They would have anyway had the US not come to their help. After the Bolshevik Revolution, the Ruskies were starving. The government owned the farms and they had no idea how to run them. The US felt sorry for the people so they sent in tons of wheat. The problem was that it also helped the Bolsheviks. Something similar happened in China, hence Mao went south to the Indochinese Peninsula for food as well as expansion. That is how we ended up with the mess we called the Vietnam War. Mao needed rice and Indochina had a lot of it.

Nonetheless, Mao’s Communism morphed too. The Utopia that Mao promised never arrived. The world he did provide for the Chinese is one that no one wanted but a few elite. The rest will run at the first chance but the elite won’t let them. They would not like it if they had to work the farms themselves.

And so it is, many have promised it, but none have delivered. The Utopia promised by Marx has never come about. Those with a brain in their heads know it never will. Yet, the promise and temptation draw many into its clutches. Those who rush into the dream only find out it is a nightmare, one that is inescapably.

To be sure, it is nothing more than more than a tool for tyrants… tyrants who kill by the millions and tell all what to do and think.

Going Slow

Posted in Abuse of Power, Biden, Communism, Deceit, Hydroxycloroquine, Important things, Lawyers and Representation, Liberals, News media, Politally Correct, Vaccine by

Came up with an idea the other that would save untold lives. We need to never exceed 20 mph in a motor vehicle. In general, we have over 35 thousand deaths attributed to auto-accidents each year in this country. Driving at the top limit of 20 mph might not save all these lives, but it would save the vast majority of them.

Also, we need houses with one foot walls of steel reinforced concrete. It would be expensive, but think of all those who die yearly, in their own houses. This would vastly decrease the lost of lives due to fire, falling trees, tornadoes and hurricanes. By the way, we would want to make sure those houses are ten or fifteen feet above the ground to avoid deaths by flood.

All highways and public buildings should be built to withstand 12 on the Richter Scale. This would virtual save all lives from earthquakes.

Okay. I’m being flippant. Certainly you have figured that out. Yet, almost daily, we hear the phrase, safety first. In truth we really don’t mean that. If we did, our lives would be radically different. Every day, we make compromises. Because we don’t want to spend an hour or two going to work each day, we go at speeds of 55 to 65 mph. To be sure, it is an unnecessary chance. However, those of us with families would like to see them now and then so we travel at the higher speed.

The house idea would save lives. However, it would like cost 4 or 5 times more. Again we compromise. Most of us don’t sustain house damage so we have learned to take the risk. If buildings had to be built to withstand all earthquakes, we would certainly be better off but hardly anyone would be able to live in them.

Every day, we make life/death decisions. Sometimes people do die.

I had heart surgery. They did four bypasses on me. They put an IV in my arm and the next thing I knew I woke up with a horrible pain in my chest. I made a life/death decision. The doctor that worked on me knew what he was doing and he had a very good reputation. He obviously did it right, because that was about twelve years ago.

It took some time after they came up with the vaccine that I had the opportunity to get it. But I did get it. That too was a life and death decision. None of the vaccines are fully approved. We, as people with brains, made decisions knowing this. If it were safety first, very few of us would have the vaccinations. That does not give the government or anyone the right to chose for us. It is a life/death decision which we mush make for ourselves, just as I did when I decided for the bypass surgery.

Well, actually, there is a difference. The surgery was totally accepted. It was not experimental and I was still given the choice.

To be sure, maybe it is time for government and media to stop telling us what to do or not do. They can give me the pros and cons, but I still had to sign that paper before they could put me under. Should it be any different for an experimental shot.

A Whole Lot of Disseminating Going On

Posted in Abuse of Power, Biden, Build the Wall!, Cancel Culture, Communism, FOC, Hydroxycloroquine, Kamala Harris, law enforcement, News media, Politcal Opinion, Respect, Socialists, Vaccine, World Health Organization (WHO) by

Something to remember about disseminating info.

When someone is disseminating accurate info, or likey accurate info and you keep them from disseminating it while claiming it is not accurate, in effect you are disseminating a lie. In some cases, this might involve the lives of people.

Well, let’s see, the FOCs and their social media refused to let out the info on the lab production of the China virus, for over six months. They derided the Hydrocortisone only to find out it was effective in the early treatment of the virus. It would seem that one cost a few thousand lives. Then again, they don’t care. It was all about making the president look bad. I mean, how can they win the election when President Trump is doing such a good job.

Then there is the mask theory. Personally, I believe they do a little good, though I suspect it is hard to prove. There is no way a mask will stop a virus 100 thousands of an inch in diameter. Occasionally one will get caught on a fiber but if the virus is in the air it will go through that mask as if the mask isn’t there. The only way it might work is by catching droplets that contain the virus. I have no idea how effective that would be.

Let’s not forget the thing about Black Lives Matter. Sorry, the statement elevates African-Americans above all others, including Latinos Indians Israelis and Asians. (Sorry if I left any out.) Moreover, the statement has holes in it. No one in the organization seems to mind when one Black man shoots another, even if the other is only 1 or 2 years old. If some ninety year old black woman is killed, it doesn’t matter because she was not killed by a white policeman. If Black lives matter, then they matter, and they do, why don’t they matter when abortionists kill them, at the beginning of life.

These social media, AKA Big Tech, have a lot of blood on their hands. People genuinely try to save lives and big tech destroys these people, thereby disseminating bad info, thereby , in effect, killing people. We are not talking two or three lives. We are not talking hundreds, but thousands.

But then their lives matter not, no matter what their color they are. It is truly about the power. When it is discovered that the social media made a mistake, there is no apology. There is no one who pays a price. They simply make the change so that people can again make posts about the virus starting in the lab.

There is to be that there is one person who has truly disseminated bogus info for over a year and in a criminal way. Why is Fauci not in prison yet? Why isn’t he wearing an orange jumpsuit?

Compromise: Good or Bad?

Posted in Abuse of Power, Communism, Communist Takover, Controllers, Deceit, gun control, Kamala Harris, Lawyers and Representation, Liberals, Politcal Opinion by

Our national history is full of compromises from the beginning. Indeed The constitution has its share of them. The small sates believed the representation should be by state. The large states believed that representation should be by population. So, they compromised. The House is representation by number. The Senate was representation by state.

Perhaps the most well known compromise was about slaves. The south wanted the slaves to count in the census but they did not want them to be represented. The North threw a fit. First, they wanted the slaves to be represented, but if they weren’t, certainly they should not be counted on the census. So they compromised. Slaves were partially counted on the census but were not represented.

When I learned about this compromise, I found it disgusting, even though my family is from the south and most of them would not have agreed with me. I always found the concept of slavery revolting, though it began long before any white man set foot on this continent. And just for those of you who like to poke fun at the Bible, Abraham owned slaves…apparently many of them. Then again, the Bible does not record the history of perfect people. It just records the history, the bad right along with the good.

Then there was The Missouri Compromise. When I found out about it, I didn’t much care for that either. However, it did seem to be a way of keeping the nation from splintering but for a small time. The problem of slavery was a big one that simply did not seem to want to go away, no matter how many compromises.

Ironically, after a few more decades, the problem would likely start waning. With the industrialization, the slave would have become far less profitable, if I might use the heartless term. Steam had already come into its own with trains. It was only a matter of time before the tractors would replace the manual labor. Slaves would have been more of problem than an advantage.

To be sure, in some instances, it is more difficult to speculate about the past than the future. Maybe no one would have industrialized farming if they already had the slaves to do the work. There’s no real telling. All we know for sure is that the Civil War broke out and hundreds of thousands of men died on both sides. Eventually, the compromises failed and the war was inevitable. Besides the disagreement, there were those hot heads on both sides that just wanted to fight.

Regardless of what happened before, the war settled it. The slaves were free, though hardly any of them had any idea how to make a living. Black men and women could not read except for a few rare ones. The Northerners who were sent south for the reconstruction took advantage of that. They paid the Black man to vote, six, seven, eight times.

I think most reasonable people would find that a bad thing. Certainly those in the south did so they used a poll tax to discourage it. The north soon prevented poll tax, even though it was already legal in several northern states.

Later the south came up with a literacy test. This too was dropped by force, though I suspect it would be a very good idea. First, people that vote should know how to read. It does seem to be a simple requirement for such an important thing. Moreover, I suspect the schools would do a much better job of educating our youth, both white and Black if it became a requirement for voting.

Perhaps the worse thing that came out of the restoration of the south was the KKK. As so many such things, it began as a good thing. The carpetbaggers came down from the north taking anything and everything they could in the name of restoration. The south countered the only way they knew. After a few decades the KKK got our of hand and they had to send the FBI in to tame them, although they remained right up to the 1980s. And by the way, most of them were democrat. And by the way, it started out that their fight was not with the African-Americans but with the carpetbaggers.

And so it was, a couple small compromises made to keep the nation together almost caused them to separate. If the south had been more industrialized, indeed the US might today be in two separate parts.

There was another casualty of the whole thing. The Tenth Amendment, the one that reserves rights to the states and to the people. It has become very weak; even to the point that it is hardly brought up any more.

And now, today, the word compromise is all to often heard. When the FOCs want something, they ask for compromise. When the Republicans want a compromise, the FOCs simply dig their feet in and say no way. And so it is that every year we compromise a little more. Eventually, there will be no more room for compromise. The FOCs will have all they wanted and they will have gotten it all by compromise.

All the FOCs want is power. When they have it all, we just might want to bring the KKK back. The problem with that is that it will likely be too late. The FOCs will have all the guns. They will have used some kind of compromise to take them.