No One Asked Me But… (February 28, 2024)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… The election process in the United States needs an overhaul. This is not an attack on the present administration in Washington. This is not a Democrat or a Republican problem. It is a national problem. It is a problem of America being taken over by political parties.
President George Washington, the only President elected without party affiliation, warned the nation about the corruption of political parties when he stated:

[Political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, (political parties)…serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.

President Washington may have been a prophet of old. The party primaries run by the states is an example of major parties taking over government. If you have a Democrat Primary and a Republican Primary run by the state, why not a Communist Party Primary? Why not an Independent Party Primary?

The only primary should be a National open primary with no party affiliation being required. Rules could be established that would limit the candidates by requiring the accusation of a set number of supporters. Then a runoff election could be held to narrow the field to two or three candidates who take the top votes. A final election would be held and the person with the majority of votes would be elected President.

Basically the American people are given the choice of two individuals who may or may not be the choice of the American people. Everywhere I go, I speak with people who are dissatisfied with the Democrat incumbent as well as his apparent Republican opposition in the 2024 President election.

Those who oppose the re-election of the sitting Democrat President portray him as a bumbling old fool who is merely mumbling his way through his present term and will not fill his second term. They claim, without evidence, that he has sold his political positions in “influence peddling” schemes of his brother and son. A vote for him, they say, is a vote for his Vice-President. For he will complete only two years of his term setting her up to run as the incumbent in 2028.

The assumed Republican candidate is portrayed as an ego-maniac ex-President who should be in prison. They contend this will be the case if he is not elected and pardons himself for a string of strange crimes. He is accused of everything from fraudulent business practices, election tamping, insurrection, and moral turpitude in paying hush money to cover up elicit sexual activities.

In fact, the State of New York has convicted him of fraud by over-evaluating his property to receive loans to carry out his multi-billion dollar businesses. Oh, silly me, I thought the lending agency set the value of the property they would lend money on. The fact that the loaning agency was not allowed to testify that they had no complaints as Trump enterprises paid back the loan with interest and to their profit seemed not to have an effect on the “Democrat” Judge who did not allow them to testify to the fact.

Russian leaders are much more forthright in dealing with their political opponents, they merely arrest and kill them. In American politics, the opposing powers do not physically kill their opponent; they merely destroy their reputations and that of their families.

In ex-President Trump’s case they do hope to imprison him. However, I might once again point out that Eugene V. Debbs collected almost a million votes while sitting in an Atlanta prison for basically the same crime ex-President trump will be tried for.

Where, may I ask, are the Thomas Jeffersons, George Washingtons, John Adamses, Abe Lincolns, Franklin Roosevelts, or John Kennedys when we need them?

No one asked me but… Last Thursday, the Clark County School Board of Trustees held their regular meeting. However, there was nothing regular about the meeting. The major issue was the acceptance of the resignation of Superintendent Jesus Jara.

After a failed motion during Thursday’s meeting to appoint Chief Financial Officer Jason Goudie as interim superintendent, trustees voted 5-2 to name Deputy Superintendent Brenda Larsen-Mitchell to the role. Trustees Irene Bustamante Adams and Linda Cavazos were opposed.

I know watching a school board meeting is not the favorite pastime of the readers of The Progress. But as a news junkie and ex-employee of CCSD, I find it fascinating. Besides it is always fun to watch an organization that functions as though the clowns are running the circus.

This is the board that fired Dr. Jara until they found out that it would cost them over $1.5 million to pay off the remainder of his three-year contract. So they rehired him. A year later, Dr. Jara offered to resign for a near half a million dollar buy-out. When the public including the teacher’s association objected to the buy-out the board refused to accept Dr. Jara’s offer. They negotiated him down to a little over $200,000, the rest of this year’s contract.

According to the open meeting law, the Board must allow for short comments from those in the public who wish to speak to the issue. Representatives of the teachers association again objected to the lesser buy-out but supported getting rid of Dr. Jara.

One must question the sanity of that organization. Dr. Jara will leave with what is left in this year’s contract. If the Board took the recommendation of the association members, he would leave with the rest of a three-year contract that would be over 1.5 million dollars or a major court case to decide what his settlement would be. Either way, it would be a whole lot more than the rest of this years contract.

Thought of the week… “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.”
John Adams
Second U.S. President