Pardon My Politics

It is most appropriate that George W. Bush and John McCain are meeting behind closed doors because that's where the two Bush terms were won. But we must remember not to attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. The good news is, what these two lack in leadership and integrity is made up for in arrogance and pig-headedness.

Mentioning John McCain and war hero in the same sentence is an oxymoron. Since I was shot down twice in Vietnam, I did at one time respect McCain until I started checking with those who spent time with him in North Vietnam. His nickname was "Songbird." McCain didn't volunteer to be a POW and he didn't begin to comply with Article III of the United States Code of Conduct after being captured. What he did do was sing like a songbird and whine day and night about being abandoned. This old guy is not bitter at the North Vietnamese, he's mad as hell at Americans for leaving him in the POW camp for five years while they listened to psychedelic music, wore flowers in their hair, and partied. McCain, like his mentor Bush, will sell our country to the highest bidder, and that bidder will be the United Arab Emirates.

I recently picked up the essential book on the conservative movement Conscience of a Conservative, and am certainly glad I did. Frequently when a book is old as this one we shrug off reading it, this is one that demands your attention. If you previously read this years ago go read it again. The latest version has a new foreword by George Will and a new afterword by Robert Kennedy, Jr. Barry Goldwater is considered the father of the conservative moment and with good reason. He eloquently states his case for smaller government and less taxes. He takes a definitive stance on states rights and nearly 50 ago he had the foresight to see the fallacy of the welfare state.

This applies to you, my real estate investing friend! And even if you're not normally interested in politics, it's urgent (to protect your own financial interests) that you take 60 seconds and read this article, because it will affect you profoundly. "Capital gains taxes" are the taxes that you pay whenever you sell your real estate investment properties. Right now the capital gains tax rate is 15%. Obama has stated (and reaffirmed in a debate with Hillary Clinton a few days ago) that he wants to raise the rate to 28%.

Congress can end one fit of idiocy promptly by making English the official language. The English Language Unity Act (HR997), sponsored by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) and 145 co-sponsors, is pending and the House could act at any moment. It should act at this moment. Two Senate bills (SB 1335 and SB 2715 are also English-only measures. Unless these measures are passed this year, the next president could act as silly as Bill Clinton. Clinton, you recall, ordered federal applications for welfare, medical care and other tax-payer-funded benefits to be printed, at great expense, in various languages.