The London-based Legatum Institute recently released an international survey that placed the United States 11th for personal freedom, 11th for prosperity, and 33rd for security.
There have been record firearms sales in the U.S. for 17 straight months.
World leaders have lost respect for the U.S. Most recently Philippine President Rodrigo Duarte told Obama in a speech, “You can go to hell.” Our military is at an all-time low.
The U.S. Census Bureau shows 42.4 million legal and illegal immigrants in America in 2014, up 2.4 million from 2010. The largest increases are from Saudi Arabia at 93 percent, Bangladesh at 37 percent, Iraq at 36 percent, Egypt at 25 percent, and Pakistan, India and Ethiopia each with 24 percent increases. Most are Muslim, which is not a problem except most are also illegal and have not been vetted.
U.S. economic growth is anemic at under two percent. The unemployment labor participation rate is at an all-time high at over 94 million. Many of those counted as employed are double counted due to holding more than one part-time job, due in part to Obamacare mandates.
Speaking of Obamacare, it appears to be imploding. Several major carriers are withdrawing coverage in several states. In other words, one-sixth of the U.S. economy is, by design, on its way to being nationalized unless changes are made.
Is it any wonder, then, that there is an underlying sense of unease about the course of the nation? Regardless of your candidate choice, this election reflects this and is unusual. So let’s take a look at the presidential candidates.
First is Gary Johnson, who is running as a Libertarian but whose stated policies directly counter most of those of the Libertarian Party. He is a spoiler candidate who will probably attract voters dissatisfied with both mainstream candidates.
Second is Jill Stein, running on the Green Party ticket. She is gathering so little attention as to even discuss.
So that leaves the two major party candidates. One choice is a career politician who is either the ultimate hypocrite or a criminal, or both. Here is why I say this. She publicly supports alternative energy sources to prevent climate change, yet in her speeches to private companies which were not released by her but were leaked, she promotes fracking.
She was paid $250,000 or more per 20-minute speech, plus her travel and accommodations. That is at least $750,000 per hour, but she publicly claims to support the everyday person. From the leaked emails, she has two personas: a public one featuring her liberal platform and a private one, essentially lying to the voters.
She has been in public life for about 30 years. If you listen to her platform, it is almost word for word from her husband’s platform in 1992. If she has accomplished so much, shouldn’t those problems have been solved by now?
This is a candidate who has obstructed justice by destroying information after a subpoena was issued, lied under oath to Congress, and violated national security laws by using a private server. That is not my opinion, it is fact discovered by the House Oversight Committee. This is also a candidate who has apparently managed to corrupt the most incorruptible agency it the country, the FBI, again evident by testimony by FBI Director James Comey to the Oversight Committee.
The media has tried to cover this up by ignoring it and attacking her opponent. This is straight out of the Alinsky playbook. When facts come up you can’t refute, interrupt, talk over, and lie, lie, lie. Witness the Vice-Presidential debate. Repeat until the lie is accepted as the truth.
That leaves Trump. He has no public office experience, so there are no public policies that can be attacked. He is brash and talks like a normal person, having said things over the years that he probably shouldn’t. He is not the polished politician we are used to hearing. He definitely has an ego.
He is running against Clinton, the mainsteam media whose sole mission is to destroy him, and establishment Republicans. Yet he just doesn’t go away. Perhaps it is because he understands instinctively that we must secure our borders, restore our military, regain our strong position in the world, and get government off our backs. He may not be the best candidate ever to run, but he is the only logical choice remaining. Don’t let the media change your view.
Remember, not voting is a vote for our country’s continued downward spiral.
Tom Riggins’ column appears every other Friday. He may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.