Have Yourself a Wary Little Christmas

Christmas Presents————————————

                A commentary

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

“Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow.

Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow,

So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.“

                         -Lyric by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, From “Meet Me in St. Louis”

                The end of 2020 approaches and it can’t come soon enough for me. Like so many of you, my family and I will miss the usual holiday gatherings. But the Christmas season is a season of hope and among the things we are earnestly hoping for is an early end to the pandemic and a return to something at least approaching normality. The vaccines are at last here and inoculations have begun for health workers, first responders and others at highest risk. I can’t imagine a more welcome Christmas present. Development, testing and approval of vaccines, a process that normally takes a decade, was accomplished in less than a year, thanks to the Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed.

                “Peace on earth, good will toward men” was the message of the angels, heralding the birth of Jesus Christ. We could use a little more peace right here at home after a year of angry demonstrations, riots and a contentious election. Some cities are not so peaceful and violent crime has risen following calls to defund the police. We could also use a lot more civility in our treatment of public figures.

                The stay-at-home restrictions have provided a lot more free time for many of us. Personally I’d rather still be teaching ship handling and seamanship to young naval officers, but at least I’ve had more time to read just about anything I can get my hands on, including some stuff that, in retrospect, really wasn’t worth the effort. I have in mind a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by Joseph Epstein who I often find entertaining. Not so much, this time. In “Is there a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.” (WSJ, Opinion, Dec. 12), he takes aim at the prospective First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden. His piece begins: “Madam First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem a small but I think not an unimportant matter. Any chance you might drop the “Dr.” before your name?” He said that “It sounds fraudulent, not to say a touch comic.”

                Not to me it doesn’t. She earned her doctorate, as I did, at an accredited university, hers at the University of Delaware, mine at USD, both accredited doctoral degree-granting universities ranked in the top third of the 500 schools listed in the WSJ’s annual ranking. The title “Doctor” is, among other things, an academic title derived from the Latin word for teacher, which is what Dr. Biden is, and I understand a very good one according to her community college students. Physicians do not have exclusive rights to it. Her diploma undoubtedly states that the degree is conferred “with all the rights, privileges and honors” that it conveys. That would include the title which generally requires, in addition to bachelor’s and master’s degrees from accredited schools and evidence of scholarly writing such as a master’s thesis, the successful completion of about three more years of coursework, most at the graduate level, and several years of researching, writing and defending a dissertation which adds to the body of knowledge in the field or validates existing research. Dr. Biden plans to continue to teach community college students as First Lady, and will retain her degree and the title long after she ceases being First Lady, which is an unofficial title.

                The title doesn’t mean that she is necessarily smarter or better than anyone else but it does signify that she earned academic achievement at the highest level in her field of study.  I occasionally use the title when it seems appropriate, but you can always call me Jim, Jimmy, James, mister or captain. However, please don’t ever call me kiddo. The WSJ’s editorial page editor responded to a flood of criticism with a rather lame defense of Epstein’s piece. He referred to President-elect Joe Biden occasionally addressing his wife as kiddo and recalled him quoting his wife as saying, “I was sick of the mail coming to Sen. And Mrs. Biden. I wanted to get mail addressed to Dr. and Sen. Biden,” and that’s why she got the degree. C’mon, Mr. Epstein—Joe–kiddo! Don’t you know when someone’s kidding around? Fox News Channel’s perpetually outraged Tucker Carlson piled on Dr. Biden during two successive shows, ridiculing her use of the title, impugning her intelligence and nitpicking her doctoral dissertation. Elected and appointed officials (and columnists, and other opinion writers) are fair game when it comes to criticism but wives and children ought to be off limits unless they commit crimes, act outrageously or are subjects of investigations.

                President Donald Trump delivered a number of Christmas gifts besides the vaccine in his final year in office including another solid, associate justice of the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. Since that’s a lifetime appointment, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. His administration also brokered further efforts to bolster the cause of peace in the Middle East as Morocco joined the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in recognizing Israel. Another Covid relief package for those in need will be a welcome present from Congress. In his Christmas message, Mr. Trump thanked God for the gift to the world of his Son, Jesus, and reminded Americans that Jesus instructed his disciples to love one another, which is the greatest of all the commandments. Mr. Trump can provide us now with one final Christmas present by repeating the last words of the Savior: “It is finished.” Concede the election, Mr. President. Leave office with dignity and wish president-elect Biden good luck as we all should,

                Merry Christmas, everyone. Love one another.

December 22, 2020

                        

              

December 22, 2020

Restoring Faith in Elections

Restoring Election Integrity——————-

                A commentary

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

                If the Democrats manage to capture both of Georgia’s Senate seats in its Jan. 5^th runoff election, they will flip control of the Senate and Sen. Chuck Schumer will replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as majority leader. That means, of course, that they will control both houses of Congress and will be free to launch an avalanche of spending programs and undo many of the reforms achieved by the Trump Administration and GOP-controlled Senate including tax reform and the elimination of many growth-inhibiting restrictions on businesses. The way may be paved for the Green New Deal, an end to fracking and energy independence, Medicare for all, statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico adding, four new reliably-Democratic senators, an end to the filibuster, expanding the Supreme Court, cuts to the defense budget and who knows what else,

                Obviously, this state election is of profound interest and importance to the rest of the nation which is why so much money and legions of campaigners are flowing into the state. But it is for Georgians alone to decide who shall be the two persons to represent their interests in the U.S. Senate and their interests should be respected. I suggested in this space recently that President Donald Trump could best serve the interests of his party and his legacy by avoiding saying or doing anything that could alienate Georgia Republicans and hurt the chances of their senate candidates, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, perhaps even by staying out of the state, simply issuing a strong endorsement of Loeffler and Perdue and leaving the campaigning and rallies to prominent regional Republicans like Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham who are more knowledgeable regarding southern politics and which of the candidates would make the best senators.

                Instead, Mr. Trump held a rally in Valdosta in southern Georgia which is already reliably Republican, like most of the rest of Georgia that isn’t part of Metropolitan Atlanta where half its population lives. At the rally, Mr. Trump sounded like he was still campaigning for himself, insisting that he had won Georgia although two recounts showed that he had not and the state’s Republican governor and secretary of state had already certified the results for Joe Biden. He continued his scathing criticism of Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both supporters of his, apparently for failing to overturn the results. It was mostly about Trump and less about the critical Jan. 5^th election that will determine control of the Senate. In the aftermath of the rally, some local GOP politicians repeated unproven fraud allegations and charges that the election was rigged and reportedly urged prospective voters to boycott the Jan. 5^th election, a recommendation so patently stupid as to invite suggestions that they might have been Democrat plants, just pretending to be Republicans.

                77% of Trump supporters and over a third of all voters, according to a recent survey, say they believe that Joe Biden stole the election which they also say was marked by many irregularities, to put it politely. Skepticism regarding the integrity of our elections has persisted ever since many Democrats refused to accept the legitimacy of Trump’s 2016 election victory. Whether that skepticism is warranted or not is almost beside the point. The perception alone among so many that this election was rigged does serious damage to the confidence the people in a democracy must have in the integrity of its elections. That confidence simply must be restored or we will become more like a banana republic. We cannot have another election like 2020 and reforms need to begin now. The Constitution clearly provides that elections shall be conducted as the individual state legislatures may provide for. The rules and procedures vary from state to state. They include timelines, deadlines, absentee voting procedures, verification requirements and other details. Changes to the rules, procedures and timelines are the exclusive responsibility of the legislatures, not the state executive or judicial branches and they should be followed to the letter. Any changes, including last minute changes, which should be avoided, may only be authorized by state legislative action.

                The COVID-19 pandemic understandably resulted in widespread use of mailed ballots in 2020 but the Constitution still applies, pandemic or not. It is a matter of plain common sense that a huge volume of mailed ballots increases the handling and processing required and thus the chances of mishandling. On top of this, election officials and judges approved numerous last-minute changes to timelines and authentication procedures, ostensibly in an effort to ensure that all votes are counted but which nevertheless favored Democrat candidates since more Democrats voted by mail than did Republicans. But any changes for any reason are the exclusive responsibility of the state legislatures. Moreover, the rules are intended to be followed and when a ballot is submitted that fails to conform to these rules, it should not be counted regardless of what an election worker may believe was the voter’s intent.

                We cannot afford another disputed election outcome like this and some state legislatures have some serious work to do to ensure that the rules are clear, that they are meticulously followed and that timelines and submission deadlines for mailed ballots are such as to ensure that that all vote counting is completed and results announced not later than the day after election day. If some states can manage to do this, certainly every state can.

December 19, 2020

Toward a Colorblind Society

The Path to Prosperity——————————-

                A commentary

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

                Some members of his party have been heard complaining that President-elect Joe Biden isn’t selecting enough Blacks to serve in high profile positions in his administration. Clearly, he won’t be able to satisfy everyone who helped get him elected so why not just pick the best qualified people willing to serve regardless of race or ethnicity or any other accident of birth? Why should skin color, gender or sexual preference matter? Shouldn’t we be striving to achieve a colorblind society where people are judged only by their character and ability? Must racial and gender quotas be a factor in every selection process?

                Identity politics has even come to Wall St. The Nasdaq, demonstrating its wokeness, has sought permission from the SEC to require corporate boards of directors to include at least one woman or LGBTQ person or risk de-listing. This is called virtue signaling and will do nothing to enhance productivity and economic growth or our economic competition with China. Board members represent the owners of the corporation and have a responsibility to act in their best interests, not those of the inclusiveness activists at Nasdaq. But a recent article in the WSJ Weekly Review by Janet Adany and Paul Overberg offers some hope that we may be seeing some movement toward greater assimilation among Americans and less focus on race and ethnicity, especially among recent immigrants. This would be a very good thing, in my view, because racial divisions and identity politics are inimical to what America was supposed to be in the first place; more a melting pot with blended ingredients than a salad bowl with distinct ones.

                Recent legal immigrants to America tend not to see themselves as victims needing handouts but rather feel fortunate and privileged just to be here in what they perceive is a land of opportunity like none other. What most seek primarily is a level playing field and freedom from government oppression rather than government assistance. It’s called equal opportunity and it is very different from affirmative action because it advocates treating people as equals. In immigrant-rich, liberal California, voters recently decisively defeated a proposal to repeal a law banning affirmative action.

                It’s time for racial identity to be de-emphasized and assimilation to be emphasized. America should be a blend of cultures, not a collection of them. Similarities, not differences should be stressed. Kenneth Prewitt, a former director of the Census Bureau, has even suggested that we should stop asking Americans to report their race. For one thing, the responses are misleading and somewhat arbitrary. People with only trace amounts of DNA indicating minority ancestry may choose to identify as a minority. Arab-Americans from northern Africa are not usually referred to as African-Americans. Why not? The fastest growing demographic in the country consists of bi-racial people. But if you have a white parent and a black parent, why are you usually considered to be black? Why not white?  Whose business is it anyway and why should we even care? Why can’t we be just American?

                Assimilation is a demonstrated path to greater prosperity. It pushes minorities up the economic ladder. Many Jews and Asians, just to cite examples, faced discrimination and injustice as immigrants. Many of their ancestors faced slavery. But they did not dwell on victimhood and moved rapidly up the economic ladder and consistently achieved academic success with little reliance on welfare programs. There are obvious lessons to be learned here. They would include the importance of stable, two-parent households where educational achievement and hard work is not only stressed but expected, if not demanded, by parents.

                In his book, “Please Stop Helping Us”, Jason L. Riley, a Manhattan Institute senior fellow and Wall Street Journal columnist, wrote that liberals are making it harder for Blacks to succeed with many well-intentioned welfare programs that are, in fact, having a perverse effect on black progress. For example, minimum wage laws may help those that are already working but may limit employment opportunities for young Blacks seeking entry level jobs. Soft-on-crime laws and defunding police may keep more Blacks out of jail but will also make predominantly black neighborhoods less safe. Some welfare programs can encourage dependency.

                The majority of Blacks who lead successful, productive lives often don’t get enough credit for what they have achieved through their own merit, not because of affirmative action or social welfare programs designed by liberals who assume that they know what’s best for black Americans and who want to continue making a pretty good living at it.  Perhaps what they needed most was just a level playing field and an even chance.

                Identity politics is not solving the problems of racial injustice or promoting equality. It is, in fact, further dividing us.  Assimilation is the path to racial equality and to prosperity. Instead of attempting to force radical changes to the national culture, let’s work together to enrich and improve it. Rather than settling for victimhood and welfare programs that promote its perpetuation, let’s focus instead on assimilation as the best path to a colorblind society that promotes the common good.

December 10, 2020