PLACE YOUR BETS!

 

[Guest Contributor - Donald G. Mutersbaugh Sr.] 

Well, it’s official: I can’t take it any longer! Ever since Hiden’ Biden has come out of his basement bunker and hit the road, the lies have become more egregious and frequent. Being a true blue American and trying to adapt to this new environment of falsehood has been excruciatingly painful.

I keep seeing these false news reports and polls and can only think one of two things. Either the Main Street media has completely underestimated the intellectual capacity of the American people or the American people have completely lost their collective minds. I see one poll that is completely contradictory to the rational man’s intellect – and I think okay, I’ll give them that one. Then on the next one I see another pole that is also completely upside down to reality, and I think – what in the world? So, you can imagine my angst when I see a whole page of completely irrational and completely incorrect conclusions about who is ahead of whom!

For example, somehow the Main Street media presents a “poll” that shows the people prefer Biden over Trump when it comes to law enforcement and nobody questions whether this flies in the face of reason. All of the cities that are burning and being destroyed are controlled by Democrat mayors and governors – doing nothing but defunding the police apparatus and reallocating the funds to other social endeavors – such as bailing out rioters. And need I mention that over 855,000 members of various police departments, sheriff departments, and the National Association of Police Organizations have endorsed President Donald Trump because they know he has their backs?

If you look at the various Main Street media polling websites, Biden almost is invariably ahead of everything except economics – they haven’t figured out how to credibly lie about that one yet! And recently – and reluctantly – these entities have had to concede that the race is tightening. I would submit that it was never as bad as they presented. Sure, Joe Biden could have been ahead in various issues at one time or another. But to somehow suggest that President Trump (e.g.) has not handled the coronavirus pandemic as best as any human could have done given what we knew and when – and even more ridiculously then submit that somehow Biden could have done better – puts all logic and understanding on its head! If that were true, then the Democrat party should get hammered on two points: first, what could they have done (give me something) that would have ameliorated the circumstances faced with this rogue virus from China? Second, if they really did have a better solution, time phased, according to what we knew and when – for them to withhold solutions that might’ve been better is treasonous in my mind because thousands of people have died needlessly. This has been a media driven story together with its perceived failure.

So, let’s take a look at the polling process. The polling organizations apparently refuse to update their models to reflect all kinds of changes in the way things are predicted. They apparently have never heard of such statistical concepts that validate data such as confidence intervals, correlations, and standard error. The data just doesn’t make sense. I’ve said in previous blogs that there have been several paradigm shifts in the electorate; I don’t really see any of these new variables incorporated in the results they produce. Even more worrisome is the way they choose their statistical sample; these supposedly random samples they use have allegedly been skewed by some of their sampling techniques. For example, several polls have been taken where the population sampled consisted of (e.g.) 25% Republican and 75% Democrat; how can you not get a skewed answer? (“Of course, the important question for pollsters who want to accurately reflect the partisan composition of the country is not “Are there more Democrats than Republicans?” but rather “What is the correct ratio of Democrats to Republicans?” The answer to this question depends, in part, on whether we are talking about the general public, the smaller subset who are registered to vote, or the even smaller group of people who are likely to vote in a given election (“likely voters”). Evidence suggests that the Democratic advantage is somewhat narrower among registered voters than the general public – and often even narrower among likely or actual voters.” https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/25/why-public-opinion-polls-dont-include-the-same-number-of-republicans-and-democrats/)

Then there is margin of error. Consider, “The concept of polling rests on the assumption that the opinions of the people sampled in the poll accurately represent the distribution of opinions across the entire population, which can never be completely true. The “margin of error” describes the uncertainty that comes from having such a small sample size relative to the size of the population. In general, the more people are surveyed, the smaller the margin of error. But this doesn’t take into account another key source of error called “biased sampling”. The fact that a poll samples a lot of people does not mean that it does so in the truly random fashion that would be needed to extrapolate results to the larger population. Unfortunately, many polls fall victim to a number of biases that significantly skew their results despite their small margin of error. The most common bias, known as convenience sampling, occurs when pollsters select people to survey using a convenient, but not entirely random, strategy.

“Another possible source of polling error is known as volunteer bias, wherein the people who volunteer their opinions to a poll do not represent the distribution of the entire population….

“Another tactic is for a pollster to copy off its neighbors…. The cheap polls may “herd” off stronger polls, tweaking their results to match them. This can make them superficially more accurate, but they add little value. Where there are better polls available, the cheap poll duplicates the results already in hand. Where there aren’t, the cheap poll may stray far from an accurate and representative sample of the race. Then there are the companies that have cheated in a much more explicit way: by fabricating data. There is strong evidence … there are more firms out there like them.” https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/where-are-the-real-errors-in-political-polls/

Trust me when I say the more you understand about the way these polls are conducted, the more you would be willing throw them in the trash – because that’s all they’re worth. Granted, as we draw closer to the actual election day, the polls will probably be more accurate. There are obvious reasons for that, but I’ll leave it to the reader to discern for themselves the overall topic of polling.

I needed to provide this background to get to the bottom line: what if you had to wager a substantial sum of money on who is going to win based on these polls? Would you do it? I know I wouldn’t! Instead, I would go to my favorite bookie and see what the odds were on each candidate! So, let’s look at that data over a comparable timeframe.

There are several websites that facilitate online wagering on election outcomes. The thing that is interesting to follow are the odds (over time) for each outcome – specifically, who is going to win the race for presidency? I looked at several websites, and several predicted that President Trump would win. Some said that he would lose to Biden, and in others the odds were even. One thing that was true for most of them was that the odds had switched from Biden winning to Trump winning and in all cases the odds were narrowing. One website even predicted that Trump would lose the popular vote, but the Republicans would win the election. Wouldn’t it be great if Trump lost the popular vote in two consecutive elections, but won the presidency in both cases (Electoral College outcome – there are odds on this, too!)? 

One other note on this is: “What does this mean for Donald Trump in 2020? As mentioned earlier, Donald Trump [sic] is no longer the bookmakers favorite to win the 2020 election. However, in 2020 Donald Trump has accounted for 53% of all bets placed in the US election betting market. In the last month, his dominance of the betting market has increased to 59%. Therefore, if the recent trend of political betting events were to continue, we’d expect Donald Trump to win the 2020 US Election despite the odds suggesting otherwise.” https://www.oddschecker.com/us/insight/specials/politics/20200813-2020-us-presidential-election-odds-betting-history-suggests-donald-trump-will-beat-joe-biden

All of my life I have been advised that whenever I wanted to know the answer to something, always follow the money. Which do you think is going to be more reliable: fake news that generates pats on the back and an at-a-boy in the newsroom or somebody who actually has to be right in order to put food on the table? My final advice is: when you see a headline that says “Biden ahead by six points” is throw the paper in the trash and go look at a couple of gambling websites – see what the odds are and in which direction they are trending. You may even want to place a bet while you’re there!

Donald G. Mutersbaugh, Sr. earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and his Master of Business Administration degree from Mary Washington College. He is the former Associate Administrator of Information Resources for the U.S House of Representatives under Speaker Newt 

FUNDING THE WALL

[Published on Newsmax]

The solution to America’s Border Wall is hiding in plain sight.

Instead of fighting what may be a losing battle with Congress, President Trump should trigger a well-established, legal, and proven good management practice of “reallocating unused federal funds” to build America’s Border Wall.

All it will take to complete the next phase of the Border Wall is the stroke of President Trump’s pen and a push of a button from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The simple solution is mining “unobligated balances” throughout the Executive Branch.

Every year funds are allocated for federal projects and programs based on estimates. Congress adds money when those estimates fall short, even if caused by waste and fraud. Funds sit idle when spending is less than expected.

Families face this situation all the time. You take cash to buy fast food and have change left over. That change ends up in a coin jar. A family member eventually takes the coin jar to a bank or Coinstar to turn pennies, dimes, nickels, and quarters into easier spent dollars.

Presidents, since Lyndon Johnson, have funded their priorities mining these unobligated balances through the mechanism of a “budget sweep”. The President authorizes the Director of OMB to request Executive Branch Departments and Agencies to return unobligated and unexpended funds back to the Treasury.

Johnson funded his Great Society and the Vietnam War with the billions in “loose change” lying around Executive Branch Agencies. Nixon funded the Vietnam War. Carter funded expanding domestic programs. Reagan brought down the Soviet Empire. The Bushes fought their Iraq wars. Clinton juggled funds to stay within Republican Congressional budget limits.

Then something changed. During his eight years in office, President Obama allowed $914.8 billion in unexpended, unobligated, funds to pile-up across the federal government. He never did a budget sweep. This number continues to climb under President Trump, who has also not authorized a budget sweep.

Unexpended, unobligated funds are dutifully reported under “Assets and Balance Sheets” of the federal budget released each year by the Office of Management and Budget. These funds are documented, in detail, in every Department and Agency budget under the accounting code “1941”. For the current fiscal year, there is over $150 billion in “1941” unexpended, unobligated balances in the Defense Department alone.

An additional $1.028 trillion remains unexpended among general accounts, and $461 billion remains unspent in trust funds. While these funds are technically obligated, the fact that they languish for years raises questions about their use, management, and relevance.

There is, therefore, a total of $2.651 trillion in existing Executive Branch funds potentially available for immediate reallocation.

In June 2012, to his eternal credit, former Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn issued a blistering report, “Money for Nothing” that exposed these funds for the first time. Unfortunately, not even conservative media covered it.

Senator Coburn documented this in his “Money for Nothing” report:

“In total, the federal government is projected to end fiscal 2012 with more than $2 trillion in unexpended funds that will be carried over to next year, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget. While more than two-thirds of this amount is obligated for specific purposes, $687 billion remains unobligated, meaning it is essentially money for nothing."

The existence, processes, and uses of unexpended, unobligated funds were reported by the few conservatives among Trump’s Transition Team, to no avail. OMB officials were given detailed 1941 account spread sheets, as were several Cabinet Secretaries and their staffs. Nothing happened.

Trump must take control of the Border Wall project with processes and funds that already exist and are in plain sight.

SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

[ALSO PUBLISHED IN NEWSMAX]

In 1933, science fiction writer H.G. Wells wrote “The Shape of Things to Come”. His startling predictions covered 173 years into the future. Many of his visions were tragically accurate, like the strategic bombing of cities.

The following vision of December 2020 is one possible reality of the next two years. These predictions could become real if Republicans remain complacent, disorganized, and disloyal. Republicans bungling their historic opportunity over the last two years was terrible. Republicans failing during the next two years will be disastrous. Time to stand for something. Time to fight for something.

It is December 2020. President-elect Michelle Obama is filing her transition team and administration with liberal activists. The media is gushing over her every move.

Obama waged the most effective nomination fight in memory by not waging one. She hinted and teased, but waited until May 2020 to plunge into the fray.

The crowded Democrat field played its part brilliantly. Each of the fifteen candidates exhausted themselves moving ever further left with each debate, caucus, and primary. Conservative pundits and social media were delighted to assail the Democrat field and make fun of their over the top stances. It all paved the way for Obama to enter the race to “save the Democrats from themselves”. Democrat Party leaders breathed a sigh of relief and rallied to Obama’s cause.

Starting with the release of her book, Michelle Obama fostered “Obama Nostalgia”. This movement spread throughout media and academic circles. The movement expertly positioned the Obama years (2009-2016) as a calm, scandal free, period. They claimed that Republican Bush destroyed the economy, Obama rebuilt it, and Trump benefited from it.

“Obama Nostalgia” capitalized on the chaos in Washington.

House Democrats launched investigations into President Trump and his administration on an unprecedented scale. They voted to impeach Justice Kavanaugh in March 2019. His Senate trial failed to convict with only 40 votes. The House voted to impeach Trump in May 2019 on five counts including the emoluments clause, treason, exceeding authority on border security, and obstruction of justice. The Senate trial dominated the summer of 2019. Sixty Senators voted against Trump on the emoluments and obstruction charges, falling short of the 66 votes required to convict. The 13 Republicans voting to convict tore apart the GOP across America.

Democrats shifted to impeaching Trump appointees. Two Cabinet Secretaries resigned during their impeachment processes. The third Cabinet Member fought back and the House impeachment effort failed with only 170 votes. Speaker Pelosi stopped further impeachment actions stating, “it is time to heal”.

The impeachment assault achieved its goal. No further Trump appointees were confirmed by the Senate, including judges. Fewer and fewer people were willing to be named to Administration positions. Except for a steady stream of Executive Orders, Trump’s Executive Branch ground to a halt. The Stock Market sagged and economic indicators reflected increased uncertainty.

Romney, Flake, and Kasich ran against Trump. They benefited from a flood of leaks from the Romney, Bush, and swamp dweller operatives embedded in Trump’s inner circles. The Never-Trump candidates collectively garnered 35 percent of the delegates, but winning only a handful of caucuses and primaries (i.e. Utah). Trump prevailed and continued to speak to huge enthusiastic crowds throughout 2020.

The media positioned 2020 as the choice between continued Trump chaos or a return to Obama calm. Republican hopes for taking down the Clintons as a counter narrative were dashed when members of the Federal Grand Jury nullified federal law by refusing to indict. Several jurors explained that, while the Clintons broke numerous laws, they could not put America through the tragedy of their trial. This was applauded by the media and academia as the right decision to “heal the country”.

Republicans in Congress and their media allies, remained ineffective and panicked throughout 2019 and 2020. They were in disarray about Trump, and how to counter the Democrats. Republicans paid the price by losing the Senate. Voters defeated the most zealous Democrat House Members, who over reached on anti-Trump accusations, shrinking their majority 223 seats.

Time is running out to craft a different future. Our nation is at stake.

America’s First Cultural War President

[Guest Contributor - Warren Elliott]

Never in a million years did Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton think Donald J Trump was going to become POTUS. For eight years of the Obama Presidency he completely disregarded the Constitution of the United States. Did everything he could to turn America into a weaker nation economically and made us a laughing stock on the world stage. Expanded the Deep State and politicized the IRS, CIA, FBI and Department Of Justice to attack his political opponents. 

But, on November 8, 2016 Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th POTUS and Obama’s world just got turned up side down. Since that famous night when we saw Wisconsin go Republican at 11:15 PM and the Clinton victory party turned into a leftist nightmare it has all started to come out what Obama and the political left have been up to for over 60 years. And right now Obama is out there speaking to rallies of 2,000 people and Trump is holding MAGA rallies speaking to 20,000 plus supporters with a message that will drive his voter base to the polls on Tuesday and the results are going to again shock what is left of the Democratic Party. 

The left has been engaged in a war against America since the rise of the Children of the 60’s. To them, it has been an all out war where nothing is held sacred and nothing is seen beyond pale. It has been a war they have fought with violence, set up a Deep State inside our federal bureaucracy, and propagated the violent take over of our college and universities.

Finally that has all come to an end. Donald J Trump is America’s first wartime president in the Culture War. During wartime, things like “dignity” and “collegiality” simply aren’t the most essential qualities one looks for in their warriors. General Ulysses Grant was a drunk, General George Patton was a vulgar SOB and Trump is a fighter like the left has never faced before. In war, all that counts are the results. Trump is our cultural warrior. And what’s particularly interesting is that, like Patton standing over the battlefield as his tanks obliterated Rommel’s, he’s shouting, “You magnificent bastard, I read your book!” That is just the icing on the cake, but it’s wonderful to see that not only is Trump fighting, he’s defeating the left using their own tactics and that’s what is driving them crazy.

So say anything you want about this president - I get it - he can be vulgar, he can be crude, he can be undignified at times, but Donald J Trump in two short years has done more to improve the American way of life than any other president in our lifetime. We call that protecting the American Dream and he damn sure isn’t going to let the left ruin it.

He fights to keep America First! So fight on you Magnificent Bastard. 

God Bless You and the United States Of America.
__________________________________________________________________
Warren Elliott is currently the CEO and Managing Partner of an international marketing and business consulting  firm. He has worked on two Presidential Campaigns and has  successfully directed Gubernatorial, Senatorial, and Congressional Campaigns. 

ENDING OPIOID USE

Published on Newsmax.

Those suffering from America’s opioid crisis recently received two major messages of hope.

On October 24, President Donald Trump signed the Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA) into law. Dozens of bills designed to address the diverse aspects of the opioid crisis were consolidated into one strategic and integrated approach. OCRA received overwhelming bi-partisan support in both Chambers.

HR6, which is now Public Law 115-271, broke new ground in being the first legislation to mandate aggressive development and adoption of alternative pain treatments that include “innovative medical technologies for pain management”.

On October 11, Congress held its first ever briefing on ending opioid use through “innovative medical technologies for pain management”.

Photobiomodulation (PBM) was the featured technology.

James Carroll (CEO, THOR Photomedicine), Professor Praveen Arany (New York University at Buffalo), Annette Quinn RN (Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh (UPMC) Cancer Center) introduced the science and promise of PBM Therapy to a capacity crowd of senior policy officials from House and Senate offices, the Executive Branch, and leading think tanks. Nineteen science and medical organizations sponsored this historic gathering.

PBM Therapy delivers a beam of light, which when applied to the body at the right wavelength (red to near infra-red), intensity and time, reverses the disease process of a growing number of medical conditions. It works by delivering light to the hundreds of mitochondria that exist in every one our body’s 37 trillion cells. This provides an energy boost that helps the cells repair and operate at peak performance.

There are already 500 clinical trials and 4,000 laboratory studies that show PBM Therapy’s effectiveness, without any documented side-effects. "PBM Therapy is commonly used in Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and most European nations. The national health programs in many of these countries cover PBM treatments.”

The United States has been slow to embrace PBM Therapy. American Veterinarians and athletes have used it for years to treat pain. The urgency of the opioid crisis, and the new mandate for pain treatment alternatives, may finally bring this proven approach to those who need it.

The study mandated by the newly signed Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA) will be led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). This is important, as Medicare and Medicaid can dramatically reduce health costs when patients use PBM Therapy. Quicker recovery time, no side effects, shorter hospital stays, and reduced return visits have cut costs by nearly fifty percent in the United Kingdom. PBM use would substantially reduce costs to both patients and private health insurance companies.

The next steps for PBM Therapy adoption are mandated in the OCRA law, including research grants to fund further basic science experiments, therapeutic dose, and large multi-center clinical trials. OCRA also funds “regional centers of excellence” to develop curriculum and train the next generation of healthcare professionals in non-opioid pain treatments.

Harvard University’s Medical School is discovering that PBM reverses Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, treats depression and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Boston University is working with the Veterans Administration on depression, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and PTSD. University of Pittsburgh’s Medical Center and New York University’s Medical College are proving that PBM Therapy reverses and even prevents the side effects of cancer radiotherapy, especially oral mucositis.

Shepherd University will be the first nursing school in America to formally include PBM Therapy in their curriculum. Shepherd is leading the way on revolutionizing medical protocols for the betterment of patients and their loved ones. Hopefully, other schools will join the PBM Therapy movement.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has spent over a year determining how to expand its PBM Therapy approval. This includes establishing a dedicated PBM Product Code, and officially recognizing PBM treatments are curative, not just temporary relief. It is time for the FDA to move forward.

After years of tragedy and death, the battle to rid America of opioid use disorder is starting to turn the tide. This promise of hope will become a reality only when PBM Therapy receives the funding, acceptance, and adoption it deserves.

PATRIOTISM WITHOUT A PARADE

Published on Newsmax. #LoveAmerica #DrainTheSwamp

The swamp at center stage is the last thing Trump should want.

Trump ran to drain Washington, DC’s swamp. He ran on dismantling America’s corrupt and unaccountable power center.

The last thing America needs is for the world’s attention to be fixed on a parade in Washington, DC. The swamp’s elite will hold viewing parties and be comforted in the visual validation that really important things only happen in Washington, DC.

America is a federal system. This means power is distributed to the states. Republicans embrace power being based locally. Republicans embrace the private sector and actions centered within families and neighborhoods.

A big national parade, like Bastille Day in France, is not America. France is a national government. Its entire history is based on centralized government. Even regionalism is discouraged.

Military parades in France versus America are not about Parisian cobble stones bearing the weight of tanks better than Washington’s pavement. Washington, DC hosted military parades after the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the First Iraq War. No parade occurred for the end of the Cold War, one of the most important victories in world history.

Americans honor heroes, military and first responders, in countless community events. Every Memorial Day, honoring those who died for America, and Veterans Day, honoring those who served America, ten of millions of ordinary citizens attend local events. Parades, speeches, memorials occur on main streets, public squares, in churches and cemeteries. Americans do not need or want Washington, DC upstaging them in honoring our heroes. The swamp should not prevail.

President Trump can do something very patriotic and meaningful that will last far beyond one flashy display in Washington, DC. He can reignite patriotism in the next generation.

Civics are rarely taught in American classrooms. History is shrunk and dumbed-down. For America to remain America, the young must be taught why we should love America and the ways to express that love.

Organizations like Constituting America make America’s founding principles and documents come alive to young people. Their lesson plans, contests, and creative programs should be promoted in the curriculum and content of all K-12 classrooms.

A rural middle school holds an award-winning immersion on what it is was like to be a Civil War soldier. A small university has students write the life stories of local soldiers who died and have them read their paper while standing next to that soldier’s grave. Every school day, inspired teachers find ways to make learning a life changing and affirming experience.

President Trump should make sure these proven ways to establish patriotism among America’s young people are promoted and funded. The Department of Education could establish grant guidelines that fund patriotic and civic education. The National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities could fund projects and programs that promote patriotism and civic education. Trump should appoint leaders to the Corporation of Public Broadcasting who will make honoring America’s military a program priority.

There are proven ways to make sure the legacy of Americans who served, and who gave their lives, live on in the hearts and minds of the young. Teaching patriotism to future generations assures America remains America.

Parades are fun and can be very moving, but they are fleeting. Honoring America’s military, and America, should be timeless.

[Scot Faulkner advises corporations and governments on how to save billions of dollars by achieving dramatic and sustainable cost reductions while improving operational and service excellence. He served as the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served on the White House Staff, and as an Executive Branch Appointee.]

RINOgator UNBOUND

#TRUMPING  #RINOgator #DEEPSWAMP

Congressional Republicans are compiling an historic record of failure. Even though they control the Legislative Branch, they have not passed anything meaningful, cannot confirm Trump’s appointments, and refuse to reopen investigations into the last eight years of Democrat corruption and collusion with America’s enemies.  They remain stupefied and inert while Democrats and their media allies create fake scandals designed to disembowel Trump and his inner circle.

A growing number of Americans are asking, “Do these Republicans want Trump to fail?” Congressional Republicans do not comprehend the danger facing them.  If things continue as they are, Americans in 2018 will toss out Congressional Republicans for gross incompetence. 

If they lose power, Republicans will have difficulty convincing the voters that they ever deserve a return to power.

It is time to reacquaint ourselves with the denizens of the Deep Swamp who are undermining President Trump and America from both ends of Pennsylvanian Avenue…

A very dangerous species is loose in Washington, DC.  If it’s not eradicated it will bring ruin to Trump’s Administration and the nation.

RINOgator is a subspecies of fake Republicans (as in Republican In Name Only) that lives in the Swamp of our nation’s Capital.   The Swamp is its natural habitat, filled with conflicts of interest, incestuous relationships, avoidance of accountability, hiding documents and information from the public; waste, fraud, and abuse. 

RINOgators’ role in life is to expand the Swamp and to destroy anyone who tries to drain it. Any reduction in the Swamp reduces their numbers and threatens the species.

RINOgators eat tax dollars and absorb energy from reform minded humans. They have insatiable appetites and are never full.  There is always one more meal to eat.

RINOgators are highly territorial.  They relentlessly defend their turf among Congressional Committees and special interests. It is far more important to maintain their turf than for anything to be accomplished.

RINOgators live in close-knit family units.  One generation promotes the next through education, internships, sinecures, and contracts.  There is constant intermingling and intermarriage with other RINOgator family units. 

RINOgators can also be highly incestuous. They will give awards, place media stories, hire, and promote family members at every opportunity.  Multi-generational RINOgator family units hold more territory and become impervious to elections.

RINOgators may migrate to corporate, academic, and media positions, to promote the Swamp, but will always return to their native Swamp.

RINOgators are pernicious.  They use their knowledge of the Swamp to convince their prey that they are necessary.  Their prey willingly appoints them to office, listens to their advice, and invites them into their inner circles. Like cowbirds, RINOgators lay their eggs in the nests of reformers, setting the stage for their young to devour the souls of competing species.

RINOgators have a distinct call, which is heard on cable news, in policy forums, and reported in the mainstream media.  Its call is for maintaining the status quo, no matter what.  Lesser calls are for “further study”, new programs, new legislation, and more funding.  Squawks of alarm are heard whenever reformers call for accountability, transparency, “running government like a business”, “doing more with less”, privatization, and cutbacks.  Squawks are usually accompanied by assertions of “we are unique”, “it cannot be done”, and various lies about how THE PROCESS “actually” works.

RINOgators have an array of formidable defenses.  Their most effective is delay. Their other defense mechanisms include the ability to erase memory, dismiss facts, and divert attention so reformers pursue only irrelevant or tactical issues.

RINOgators are chameleons.  They adopt the rhetoric of their enemies to better blend in until the right moment to strike. 

The Trump era has become a major threat to the RINOgators and their Swamp.  The RINOgators did not see Trump as a threat until he had entered their territory. 

That is why the RINOgators have forged elaborate family groupings, nesting on Capitol Hill, to thwart Trump initiatives.  RINOgators chose not to attack the past foibles of Obama and Hillary.  They think it is better having Democrats on the offense against Trump instead of on the defense.

RINOgators have the innate ability to rebound after being stunned.  That is why, after being surprised by Trump winning the nomination, they insinuated themselves into Trump’s transition planning, transition team, and Administration.  Legions of RINOgators wrote Trump Transition briefing books and developed personnel “vetting” processes that slowed the staffing of Trump’s Administration to a crawl. They adjusted selection criteria to favor Swamp preservationists and surrounded incoming Trump Executives with them, instead of Swamp drainers.

RINOgator eradication efforts have been sporadic and only partially successful.  The main barrier to eradication is convincing people RINOgators exist. Their chameleon defenses allow them to avoid detection.  RINOgators and their allies have the unique talent of reflecting problems and disappointments back onto Trump.  This reflective surface is a key part of the RINOgator’s outer armor.

Thankfully, RINOgators have weaknesses.  They are susceptible to sunshine when light is shown on their true selves.  They are too smug, leading them to make wrong assumptions about the American people.

The RINOgator eradication program must begin with Americans unmasking the species and ripping away its reflective surfaces.  RINOgators are especially vulnerable during primaries. 

Trump and the nation must track down and wipe-out the RINOgator, before it is too late. 

This is critical to draining the Swamp.

[Scot Faulkner helps global corporations flatten their organizations; achieving dramatic and sustainable cost reductions while improving operational and service excellence. He served as the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives.  During the Reagan Administration he served on the White House Staff, and in Executive Appointments.]

TODAY’S MASTERS OF DECEIT

Published in Newsmax

The thundering chorus of alarm over the neophytes who attempted clumsy networking pales in comparison with decades of Left-wing Democrat collusion with Russia.  The so-called “Progressives” in politics and the press aided and abetted America’s enemies for generations.  Their current cacophony of indignation is just another round of deceit. 

For a hundred years, these newly minted anti-Russians among Congress and the media were actively pro-Russia, pro-Bolshevik, and pro-Soviet Union, the Russia Putin served and was shaped by. 

Let’s review actual Russian collusion.

President Woodrow Wilson bungled the U.S. response to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, paving the way for decades of terror and the Cold War.  One reason may be that his Russia Advisor was John Christian Bullitt.  Bullitt was a close associate of the famous communist author John Reed.  In fact, Bullitt married Louise Bryant, Reed’s widow.  He tried to convince Wilson to recognize Lenin‘s regime within months of the Bolshevik Revolution.  He later went onto to serve as Franklin Roosevelt’s (FDR) Ambassador to the Soviet Union.

In 1921, leading liberal Democrat thinkers met with Lenin in Moscow to learn about his New Economic Policy and assess its adaptability for America.  This group went on to be the highly feted “Brain Trust” that formed FDR’s inner policy circle and launched the New Deal.  One of Roosevelt’s first acts was to open diplomatic relations with the USSR and name Bullitt as the first U.S. Ambassador.

Ambassador Joseph Davies followed Bullitt in Moscow.  He did everything he could to cover-up Stalin’s great purges and the gulags.  He is best known for his official declaration, “Communism holds no serious threat to the United States.”  His book and subsequent movie “Mission to Moscow” remains the purest example of Stalin worship.  He ended his diplomatic career as an advisor to Truman at the Potsdam Conference, which sealed the fate of Eastern Europe within the Soviet “sphere of influence”.

Davies’ pro-Stalin efforts were supported by Alger Hiss.  Starting in 1936, Hiss advised Cordell Hull, FDR’s Secretary of State, and rose in influence until he was FDR’s key Russian advisor at the Yalta Conference.  The Yalta Conference was noteworthy for the tilt of FDR toward Stalin and away from Churchill.  In 1948, Hiss was unmasked as a Soviet Agent.  To this day, many liberals defend Hiss and deny the mountain of evidence against him.

President Truman is idolized as the President who stood-up to Communism.  Yet his team mishandled the rise of Mao and the Communists in China, losing China in 1949.  Worse, they deprived South Korea of tanks and artillery in the hopes of not “provoking” North Korea.  On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded anyway.  The lack of tanks and artillery allowed Chinese and Russian backed North Korean forces to capture Seoul, the Capital of South Korea, in three days.  In less than two months North Korea nearly drove anticommunist forces off the Korean Peninsula and into the sea at Pusan.

The exposure of Hiss was the first of many actions taken by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).  Truman denounced it.  Liberals to this day assert HUAC ushered in the darkest days of America and dismiss its investigations as witch hunts. HUAC was abolished in 1975, after the Democrat post-Watergate landslide. 

Secret Soviet intelligence documents, known as the Venona Papers, surfaced in the 1990s.  In 2000, former Intelligence Committee investigator, Herb Romerstein, published the translated papers, which revealed Soviet agents in the State Department and Hollywood (1943-1980), vindicating HUAC’s work.

The Venona Papers, and other intelligence disclosures, ultimately proved Russian collusion with the “New Left” in the 1960s and with John Kerry’s antiwar activities in the 1970s. 

Defectors and additional documents also outlined how the unilateral Cold War capitulations of the Carter Administration were guided by an array of Russian agents. In particular, the National Security staff of Zbigniew Brzezinski was known for its overly cozy interactions with America’s foes.  This social and professional collusion led to ten significant security breaches including exposing Trigon, America’s highest placed agent in the Kremlin.

Reagan’s White House staff and Bill Casey’s newly invigorated CIA eradicated the Russian and Cuban agents, and their associated “agents of influence”. This cleared the way for America to finally go on the offensive and destroy the Soviet Empire.

Today’s apocalyptic rhetoric about Trump and the Russians takes Left-wing hypocrisy into yet another round of deceit.

Americans should call for a day of reckoning for Trump’s holier than thou detractors.

[Scot Faulkner led the legislative team for Rep. John Ashbrook (R-OH), ranking Member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence.  He served as the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives.  He also served on the White House Staff, and in Executive Appointments, during the Reagan Administration.

Currently, Faulkner helps private corporations by flattening organizations; achieving dramatic and sustainable cost reductions while improving operational and service excellence.]

TRUMPING THE MILITARY WAY

[Published on http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/bureaucratic-reform-transition/2016/12/29/id/766014/  and https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trumping-military-way-scot-faulkner?trk=mp-reader-card ] #TRUMPING 

Revolutionary change is waging war on the status quo.  It is about victory in the initial assault and winning heart and minds to institutionalize the new order.

Throughout history, military geniuses have articulated the philosophy of victory.  Their proven approaches to winning resonate through the ages and beyond the battlefield.  They can guide Trump’s “commanders” as they take to the field.

Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” is the most timeless of guides for those battling in military, political, or business environments. 

Trump has already mastered one of Sun Tzu’s maxims: “As the voice cannot be heard in battle, drums and bells are used.  As troops cannot see each other clearly in battle, flags and banners are used.”  Through social media, and turns of phrase, Trump has sent out vivid signals of what is to come and what must be done.  As President, Trump will need to continue his messaging to keep his troops focused on the outcomes most important to Making America Great Again.  He is implementing the most ancient of rules in the most cutting edge ways.

Sun Tzu also explained, “Thus a victorious army wins its victories before seeking battle”.  Preparation is everything.  That is what Trump and his Transition are doing.  January 20, 2017 is a day for celebration, but also a day for action.  Trump can do what Reagan famously did – delay the post-swearing-in Congressional Luncheon to sign Executive Orders.  Given the volume of Executive Orders needed to end the Obama era and begin the Trump era, the most newsworthy ones could be signed in the Capitol, leaving others to be signed at the White House between the parade and the balls. 

General Ulysses S. Grant and Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter showed the world that the best way to achieve victory was overwhelming your opponent. On April 16, 1863, Porter’s naval fleet ran the gauntlet of Confederate guns along the Vicksburg bluff. Risking the entire Union Fleet on the Mississippi River in one bold act assured victory.  Confederate batteries could not fire fast enough to hit every vessel.  The speed and surprise of the flotilla rendered the enemy ineffective. 

President Trump must move swiftly and broadly to change Washington.  One reform or one piece of legislation at a time gives the forces of the status quo time to mount an effective opposition.  The so-called mainstream media can only report so many stories a day.  Democrats in Congress can only make so many speeches a day. Trump must strike fast and hard and overwhelm the Establishment. 

General Douglas McArthur, and Admirals Chester W. Nimitz and Bill “Bull” Halsey Jr., proved that you do not have to fight every enemy confronting you.  They won World War II in the Pacific by leap frogging Japanese strongholds, isolating them and letting them whither through lack of supplies. 

President Trump should be inspired by how America won the Pacific War.  The Executive Branch is vast.  Many have likened previous reform and budget cutting efforts to “attacking Antarctica with an ice pick”.  Trump and his team need to find key “islands” to assault and leave protected “sacred cows” or programs and personnel to wither.

On August 5, 1864, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut led the Union fleet in attacking and ultimately capturing the key Southern port of Mobile, Alabama.  The Confederates attempted to divert and disperse the Union fleet by launching small torpedo boats into his fleet.  Farragut famously ordered his commanders to “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”  The timeless rule is to not let intermittent issues get in the way of your primary mission.

Trump’s Administration will confront bureaucratic “torpedoes” from the first day onwards.  The most effective way government agencies and programs survive change is to draw incoming political appointees into longstanding tactical squabbles over turf, resources, and ego. 

The career establishment prays that newly confirmed Presidential Appointees will plunge into tactical morasses.  Once pulled in, the original mission is lost.  Valuable political capital, and revolutionary zeal, vanishes before the new Administration realizes it. 

President-Elect Donald Trump values military prowess in his appointments.  These military best practices will also be valued as he changes Washington, DC.