TURNING POINT USA CALIFORNIA STATE LONG BEACH “CAMPUS CLASH” 10/23/2018

This event was held in the Beach Auditorium on the campus of Cal State Long Beach.  Charlie Kirk is the founder of this group, which now is active on over 1300 college campuses nationwide.  Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens are prominent conservative activists that devote their time to promoting Conservative principles with college students.  Colleges today are bastions of Liberal Progressive thought, and they see themselves as the counter-balance to the indoctrination imposed upon college students.

The event itself was well attended.  Over 700 people had requested tickets, but only 280 seats were in the venue.  Needless to say, there was great interest in the event, and many people were disappointed that they could not attend.  There were also protesters that shouted at those waiting in line to get in. They had signs promoting Socialism, eliminating Capitalism, and vilifying Conservatism. They hurled invective’s at those attending the event, creating quite a scene!  Police were there in force, and there was noise, but violence was not tolerated:

Image result for Pictures of Campus Clash protest in Cal State Long Beach


Inside, Charlie Kirk and Candice Owens put on a 45 minute presentation.  Their first topic was explaining the left’s “War on Men”.  Then there was a conversation about Kanye West, and how the media misrepresents his patriotism, instead painting him as an “Uncle Tom”.  The conversation shifted to pointing to the Democrats as a “Party of Division”, expounding on identity politics and its toxic effect on our society.

Some time then was spent on the “Lie of the Switch”.  This was identified as the marketing program that Democrats have had for years, espousing that Republicans are racist today, and that the parties actually switched identities from civil war times and that Democrats are now the party that fights to end racism.  Countless examples, including the fact that the Democrats founded the KKK, and that the 1964 civil rights acts were passed in congress primarily by Republicans, with stiff Democrat resistance.  The case was made that there was no party switch, just a marketing effort to convince minorities to vote Democrat that had nothing to do with reality.

There was a discussion about how the Democrats continually lose in the marketplace of ideas.  Right now all they really have is #resist, and that is a loser.  They have no ideas that will actually improve society, just resistance to ideas that they have had no participation in creation.  They want the past  policies and regulations of the Obama Administration back in place, even after there is definitive proof that they were failures.

A discussion on “victim-hood” was presented, with evidence that no one needs to be a victim.  The idea that the best entitlement is a job was powerful.  That the free market is the best economic justice hit home.  Limited government was presented as the best kind of government possible, and that too much centralized power in Washington was detrimental to the health of our nation.

The last topic was on racial diversity.  It was graphically pointed out that although the Democrats promote racial diversity as a societal benefit, they have no intention of having that diversity also stray with critical thought.  They impose ideological uniformity on their followers, so that it does not matter your color, your religion or lack of one, that you must believe in lockstep exactly what they require in order for you to be in “good standing”.  Sort of “mind control”.

The last 45 minutes was set aside for Q&A.  Charlie and Candice asked that those that did not agree with the presentation be given the microphone first.  This part of the show was disappointing.  Those participating in the Q&A did not have any dissent to share with the speakers.  Those in disagreement were only those outside protesting the event.  No one actually inside engaged the speakers with argument, mostly just thanked them for coming and asked for some clarification on points made in the presentation itself. 

It was apparent that the left had no intention of actively participating with this event.  They were invited to come in to the venue and debate their positions with the guest speakers.  Instead, they waved pre-printed signs and screamed at those in line waiting to get in.  They were living proof that the left is losing in the “marketplace of ideas”.  They can scream invective’s, but they cannot debate their positions with those that have truth and history on their side.  Their protest unintentionally solidified the conservative argument presented by the guest speakers.

The war on poverty and the Great Society: Where it made sense and where it needs to be revisited


In 1964, President Lindon Baines Johnson introduced a new plan for our society in his “State of the Union” address.  He put together a plan that on the surface would end poverty, and would also end most of the discriminatory issues of our time.  It was called the “Great Society” and it was one of the most comprehensive plans ever to be put before congress and the American people.  As a society we embraced the plan, and we endeavored to make our country a fairer and more accommodating place for all Americans.  Most Americans were hopeful that this plan would be the panacea to end poverty and discrimination, and the majority of Americans were hopeful that this would do the trick.  Every good deed has a downside, and so did the “Great Society”.  Unintended consequences became evident as the plan was rolled out, and the plan aimed at the black community, and made them slaves to entitlements.  “Many of the liberal social policies instituted as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” inadvertently hurt African American families.”(Ohio State News, Feb. 29, 2004)

The plan was very comprehensive:

Banned poll taxes in federal elections.

24th Amendment

Banned discrimination and segregation in schools, the workplace, and public accommodations based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Provided financial aid for urban mass transit systems.

Urban Mass Transportation Act

Authorized Head Start, Job Corps, Work-Study programs, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), Neighborhood Youth Corps, and Community Action Programs (CAPS).

Economic Opportunity Act

Strengthened the agricultural economy and provided an improved level of nutrition to low income families.

Food Stamp Act

Banned commercial use in over nine million acres of national forest.

Wilderness Preservation Act

Established Medicare, a health insurance plan for people 65 and older, and Medicaid, a health insurance plan for the poor.

Social Security Acts

Enacted to guarantee enforcement of the 14th and 15th Amendments by eliminating voter literacy tests and discriminatory practices that kept minority populations from voting.

Voting Rights Act

Abolished the National Origins Formula that gave preferential status to immigrants from Northern Europe. Allowed equal immigration status, yet continued to restrict the number of immigrants per year.

Immigration and Nationality Act

Provided federal scholarships, low-interest loans, and financial aid.

Higher Education Act

Provided equal access, high standards, and accountability for primary and secondary education.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Administered federal housing programs, commonly referred to as “HUD.”

Department of Housing and Urban Development Act

Enacted the “Model Cities” program to rehabilitate urban areas facing increased violence and poverty through the funding of improvement projects.

Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act

Truth in Packaging Act

Set standards for labeling consumer products( Evaluating The Success of The Great Society, Washington Post, 2014)

     We are going to concentrate on the elimination of poverty in this essay, but the plan was one

of the greatest that were ever considered in the history of the country, and it did pass with bi-

partisan support. 

       Poverty was addressed in a very aggressive manner.  Welfare was increased exponentially. 

No longer did most underprivileged people go hungry in our country.  Food stamps and food

banks took care of that.   Health care was afforded to people through the Medicare and

Medicaid.  Public housing was afforded for people that would otherwise be homeless.  Financial

Aid was afforded for both education and housing.  In effect, poverty was eradicated in the USA,

and no one that wanted to have a place to live, food to eat, or in need of healthcare needed to

worry in our country. (The Great Society at 50, Tim Worstall) In effect, the “Great Society” did

 what it was designed to do. 

     It eliminated poverty, and the poverty level, when considering both monetary dispersions and

non-monetary benefits, today our poverty level has gone down from 25% to 12%.( Evaluating

 the Success of the Great Society, The Washington Post, 2014)

Our poor, with government benefits, were going to the movies, living in housing with

furniture, heat and air conditioning, had adequate diets, even owning cars.  They were in effect,

more prosperous than many in other countries were that were productive members of those

societies.  There is the problem in a nutshell.  Our people that we have taken out of poverty,

were taken out without any requirement for them to be productive.  They did not have to work

another day in their lives, and their basic needs were guaranteed.  “Welfare dependence is at an

 all-time high and by all indications set to climb in the years ahead.”( The Great Society at 50,

 Nicholas Eberstandt) We missed the mark! 

     We solved poverty, but we did not consider productivity!  We also put into place a system 

that systematically destroyed the black family, making it impossible for an intact family to

collect benefits if a man was part of the process.  Our plan to eliminate poverty, created a social

rather than an economic poverty that to this day is one of the biggest social issues of our time.

“We still live in the shadow of the Great Society”.  (A Not So Great Society, James Pierson 2016)

We have spent a lot of money on the Great Society.  In fact, more money than most people

understand:

“It has been estimated the the War on Poverty has cost $22

trillion since its inception. That’s three times the combined

 cost of every war this country has ever fought – from the

Revolutionary War until the present day – according to

 Robert Rector, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

 Roughly another $1 trillion dollars is added to that amount

each year and the cost will continue to increase unless we

 address welfare reform in a serious manner.”

                        (A Not So Great Society, Jame Pierson, 2016)

     To get people off the welfare rolls, and to get them prepared for the job market today is most

important.  We need to train our people for the present and the future job markets.  It is                                                                                                                                                                                           

imperative that welfare programs are modified in order to ensure that minority families can stay

in-tact.  A father figure for minority boys is most important, and that needs to be addressed.

       In our society today, we are going under a revolution in economics.  We are fast going to a

post-industrial economy to an economy that is leaning quickly to one that embraces artificial

intelligence.  This means that skill sets need to be centered around technology, and the

manipulation thereof.  In order to insure economic growth that will support our population

long-term, we need to educate our people for the present and the future.  With the exception

of production jobs that require a close ended distribution channel and elimination of high

transportation costs, people need to be trained for the technology of today and the future.  In

addition, others need to be trained in tradesmen jobs that are now and will be in the future

high earning professions.  Educating our people for the present and the future is a much better

outcome than simply creating a sub-class of people dependent on the government for their

basic needs.  We need to ensure that all of our citizens are given the opportunity to succeed, not

just to subsist!  Once we do that, we will truly have in our hands the “Great Society” that our

forefathers dreamed of!  A wise person in ancient China once said “Give a man a fish, and you

feed him for one day.  Teach a man to fish, and he will have food for a lifetime!”  We will never

solve the poverty issue entirely.  Even Jesus spoke on this subject.  “The poor will always be

with you”.  (NIV John 12:18)  We can, however, create an environment where everyone in our

society who wants to succeed will be given the tools to achieve that lofty goal!

Citations

NIV bible, John 12:18  “The poor will always be with us”

A Not So Great Society, James Pierson, Weekly Standard, Sept 30, 2016

The Great Society at 50; Yes, It Has Abolished Poverty, The Weekly Standard, Tim Worstall, May 22,2014

The Great Society at 50, The Weekly Standard, Nicholas Eberstandt, May 20, 2014

Federal Programs To Help African-American Families Have Ultimately Harmed Them, Ohio State News, February 29, 2004

Evaluating The Success of The Great Society, Washington Post, 2014

Readings:

“Why the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer” by Robert B. Reich

“What College Means to the Other America” • W.E.B. DuBois excerpt from

Souls of Black Folk

JUSTICE PREVAILS, BUT AT WHAT COST?

Today Judge Kavanaugh is finally appointed to the Supreme Court.  It was the longest, most fraught process that was 35% longer than any other SCOTUS nomination in the history of our country.  The process included venomous accusations of High School drinking, rape, indecent exposure, and gang rape parties.  None of these accusations could be verified as being true.  In fact, all but one seems to be total fiction for political gain, and 1 was in testimony heart wrenching but totally unverifiable, even by the accusers best friend. 

The vote was basically right down party lines, with the Republicans for and the Democrats against.  Republicans relying on due process and the concept of our Judicial system, that one is innocent until proven guilty.  Democrats were factually throwing due process out the window, relying on unverifiable accusations to sully the name of this good Judge, and to likewise ruin his good family in ways that may last a lifetime.  This cynical crudity was their last ditch attempt to eliminate a constitutionalist from the court in the hope that they can delay an appointment until another President is in office.  They lost the battle this time.

The Democrats have drawn their battle line.  They have established that they will travel to any depths of depravity to get their way.  Any accusation is fair game, and in their world, the ends justify the means.  As Chuck Schumer said the day that our President nominated Judge Kavanaugh, ” “In selecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, President Trump has put reproductive rights and freedoms and health care protections for millions of Americans on the judicial chopping block. … I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything I have, and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same.” He also said that with Judge Kavanaugh that “There is no presumption of innocence”.  Every Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee also opposed the Judge with everything they had, which were lies and UN-provable accusations and innuendos, nothing else.

The ramifications of this toxic process will now take us to places that we have never been before.  It is apparent that our polarized nation will become more divided, with each tribal camp digging in, believing that their way is the only way.  Debates will become even more contentious, and faith in the fairness of government and our judicial system will be even more compromised.  We are truly in a unenviable place in our countries history, a place where civil discourse is  increasingly uncivil.

One thing we can point to as a positive is that a good man’s family and name has been redeemed, and we now have a court that will adhere to the written law and the constitution.  This will insure that for decades to come, Judges will find it hard, and one day impossible to “legislate on the bench”.  Constitutional order, rule of law and the notion of “balance of power” will be eventually restored.  We are in for a rocky time in the short term, but with a judiciary in order, and justice prevailing, and with the help of God, we will come out of this stronger than ever.

Another positive, at least for Republicans, is that the behavior of Senate Democrats in this process, along with the behavior of the protesters outside and inside the Senate building, has energized Republican base for the mid-terms like never before.  The RNC, candidates, their speeches, messages and their advertisements could not do this for that party.  It took something as monumental as the attempted personal “assassination”  of Kavanaugh’s name to rile them up, and organize them to go to the polls en mass.  Without the help of the Democrats, there would be no hope to counter the expected “blue wave”.  Unwittingly, the Democrats have handed their rivals a gift that just may end up being a “red tsunami”!