Tag: Politics

November is Coming

August 28, 2022

This column is written for all of us who will go to the polls for the election. It does not matter which party you belong to. I hope that when you select a candidate you consider the person. I am not interested in the party line. We want decent human beings who will vote how we think they should.

Personally, I do not want anyone who still believes that Donald Trump was a good choice for this country. He is still only interested in himself. I will not vote for anyone that believes his endorsement is a positive attribute for them. My desire is that you do the same.

I also do not want anyone who thinks that talking badly about their opponents or candidates from another group is a wise thing to do. These two perspectives reduce my options a lot. I also need to know what you mean. Acronyms and abbreviations used by your ads leave me confused.

I do not know the political language and do not care about who supports you. Everyone that may believe you are an excellent choice means nothing to me. What conservative, liberal, outsider, CRT, woke, or any of your other bywords may vary with the person who uses them.

If you want me to vote for you, I need specifics about what you have done and will do if you are voted into office. How do you stand on the reversal of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision? I know you all have recognized that our economy is in trouble. Don’t blame someone else for that.

Your solution to this problem is what I need to hear. You cannot lower gas prices. Do not tell me that you will solve this problem. Washington is not the trouble. The people in Congress, the Senate, or other elected offices may or may not be doing their jobs correctly. My opinion and yours may be different.

Tell me what your plan is. How will you vote? I need to know that you will work with anyone else that you must. I was in business for over forty years. I had to change my approach depending on who I worked with. I want you to keep your position working to solve problems. Shutting down the government is never an acceptable result.

We want you to work for us and with each other. We will vote in November. When you lie to us, you will never get our vote again. The voter’s slogan should be, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger

Where were you: 1974?

August 9, 2022

On this day in 1974, I was in Springfield, Missouri preparing to transfer to Southwest Baptist College. The Bolivar college was my choice to continue my education after accepting the call to ministry. My original plan had been to enter the Journalism school at MU in Columbia.

What is so special about this date in that year was that it was the day President Nixon resigned. Gerald Ford was sworn in as president of the United States. For those of you who were not around then, I will fill you in.

Spiro T. Agnew had been sworn in as VP when Richard Nixon and he won the 1972 election. This team had been re-elected after serving in 1969. Agnew had resigned over his own scandal and been replaced by Ford in 1973. That placed the former senator into a position to become the only president to not be elected as either Vice President or President.

During the 1974 presidential campaign, there was a break-in at a hotel in Washington, D.C. The Democratic National Committee Office was the target. Some of Nixon’s campaign staff were involved. It was discovered that the Oval Office in the White House was subject to the recording of audio. These tapes were subpoenaed for the investigations and trials of those being charged with the burglary.

Richard Nixon was referred to as King Richard by some and just as rumors were rampant about Franklin Roosevelt not wanting to leave the elected office. It seems that our two-party political system has gotten out of control. President Johnson that succeeded Lincoln after his assassination was the first to be tried for impeachment.

Since Nixon resigned it seems that we have a lot of politicians that push the limits of what is acceptable in our legal system. We no longer allow elected officials to sweep things under the rug. Both the Demicans and Republicrats have those members that consider themselves above the law.

The supporters of former President Trump who claim that the investigation of the attack on the capital is political in nature have nothing on President Nixon’s supporters. It was said that only Democrats were upset over the Watergate affair. As the cover-up was discovered, even Republicans had to admit that the country could not accept this kind of action by either party.

President Nixon stopped the draft just in time to keep me from having to deal with the draft board. He is still my favorite president because of that. Will those who believed Donald Trump was a good president admit that he was at least complicit in the attempt to overthrow a legally elected administration? If it is determined that he should be censored or imprisoned for encouraging the attack, they will do what was done for Nixon as soon as they retake the presidency.

This is my problem with political parties. Many believe their party members can do no wrong. They are the first to condemn the other party’s officials for the same type of infraction. Drunk driving, deaths in traffic accidents, adulterous acts, spousal abuse, and even child abuse accusations cross the aisles in our government houses.

We all have seen these types of situations represented in TV series. No producers ever deal with the problem of political parties in the same manner that we see on the network news reports. Which will be the first network to air a made-for-TV movie that replicates the January 6th events?

Covid has made it into the TV schedules last season. We should see an influx of programs that feature political turmoil and attempts to overthrow our government by groups inside our own borders. Remember that this isn’t the first time politicians have disappointed us. We survived Watergate and Teapot Dome. We’ll survive January 6th, 2001.

 ©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger

Trump is supporting candidates

July 22, 2022

When I heard the commercial for Billy Long for Missouri Senator, I was surprised that a PAC is pushing the link between him and former President Trump. It remains to be seen what will be done to the man that enticed followers to attack the Capital Building to stop him from being replaced as President.

I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat. I am 100% non-partisan. When I vote, I look at the candidates, not any party affiliation. I advise you to do the same. The best reason for this was the 2016 Presidential election. The only reason Donald Trump won was that there were more people who disliked Mrs. Clinton than were willing to reject the Republican candidate.

I hoped that 2016 would be the year that those of us who are not part of the political parties would reject the two major candidates in favor of someone else. I was surprised at the number of personal friends who did not support either of these two until after they had their party’s nomination.

This is what I dislike about the political party system. There are always those that say they vote for the candidate but never vote for anyone other than someone in a particular party.

We also have those that claim they are conservative, liberal, or middle-of-the-road. The conservatives tend to vote Republican or middle-of-the-road. The liberals are democrats. Most middle-of-the-roaders let their own minds decide who to vote for. Often conservatives and liberals call us fence-sitters.

On my uncle’s dairy farm in Marshfield, Missouri. I sat on the fence from time to time. Usually, because I was told not to go into the field where the cattle were. My Uncle Paul, Aunt Nina, Mom, Dad, or one of my cousins gave me the instructions to stay out of the enclosure. I would be as close to inside without literally violating their advice.

Politically, sitting on the fence puts me in the same position. I am close enough to the action to see anything on either side. I am also where I can jump to either side as I may deem necessary. It is a good place to be.

I have jumped off the fence on a number of issues. Donald Trump is one of them. Lying, cheating, and misrepresentation are others. Oh, yeah, that describes Mr. Trump as well. Political analysts say that it remains to be seen how voters respond to Trump this election year.

I hope that the majority have finally realized how dangerous he is. I and others knew this in 2016. More woke up in 2020. When he began to see that his chances of winning were slim to none, he started the rhetoric of the vote being rigged against him. In his mind, the only reason he would lose was if the other party cheated.

When I played games with my two brothers, they might “throw the board.” Often this was literal. It was usually when I was winning. They also said I was cheating. Which I, usually, wasn’t. I learned to do the same thing when I felt slighted. I wonder who taught Donald to do this. I never saw him in the room with us.

Over the years, I have heard of Donald Trump. First, as a businessman who seemed to be suspected of possibly illegal practices. Then a reality show host who enjoyed firing people. He reminded me of the bad bosses I used to work for. Therefore, I did not support him in the 2016 primary or presidential races.

Others were under a rock or had their heads in the sand before he switched from a democan to a Republicrat and then entered the conflict to secure his power. I was not fooled, then. I was surprised, but not confused when his end run was to try to take over the country by throwing us into chaos and confusion after he lost.

It is up to Congress to accuse, try, and convict him of trying to overthrow the U. S. Constitution. This was a violation of his Presidential Oath. It used to be a hanging offense. It may still be punishable by death.

At the very least, those of us who can think straight must realize that an endorsement by this traitor is reason enough to not support a candidate. One 7th district Missouri candidate for Congress is being accused of being a Romney Republican. It is said of him that he opposed Obama but never aided Trump against Clinton or Biden.

I believe he would be called a Rino by some Republicans. This may be my man this year. If his party sees fit to put him on my ballot in November. As usual, whoever the party members choose, I will select the man or woman that I feel is the correct choice. I hope you join me.

©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger

Is woke really a derogatory term?

June 30, 2022

I’m a word guy. I read. I write. And I am constantly trying to improve my vocabulary. When I started hearing the term woke in political ads, I had no idea what it was. I thought they were mis-pronouncing wok. I know that a wok is a Chinese cooking pan. I like to make stir fry dishes in mine.

I am woke up every morning by our alarm clock. That doesn’t seem to fit what the Republicans are saying about their opponents. The term Woke Democrat or Woke Liberal is a mystery for most of us. I am not sure that those speaking the word in their commercials know the true definition.

Wikipedia says it means “alert to racial prejudice and discrimination.” The Oxford and Webster dictionaries agree with them. How is it bad to be aware of prejudice and discrimination? I am not sure how to interpret this word.

Do I respond like these Republicans and criticize anyone that can realize when racism and bigotry are evident? I guess they could call me a woke writer. By the way, woke is an adjective. That means it must be used to modify a noun like a democrat, writer, or republican.

I have not heard of a woke Republican. It would be nice to learn that they are alert to racial prejudice and discrimination. We need to be looking for our similarities and not our differences.

How are we the same? We all want what is best for each other. Pro-Choice and Abortion opponents want to protect the life of the mother and the baby. Whites and blacks and other minorities want to understand each other and repair any disagreements that we had in the past. Our differences should not divide us.

Even Democrats and Republicans or conservatives and liberals can cooperate to pass laws that we agree are needed. We all win when we work together.

What is most important to you? Is providing for your family your priority? Are you currently more worried about food or housing? Does your family have everything they need? Should you be helping others? Where and with whom should you be serving others?

We need to put others before ourselves. Many people focus totally on themselves. To be the country and the people that we want to be we must put others first. Step out of your place in line and give it to someone else. Walk to the back of the line and let your children know that is what we should be doing.

©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger