I recently wrote a column on the first 10 months of what I refer to as the Democrat Socialist Progressive Peoples Party’s Biden administration, whose actions I think of as offering solutions in search of either nonexistent or marginal problems exaggerated beyond reason. Hysteria, astounding bald-faced lies and misdirection are the alphabet mafia’s (read antifa, […Read More]

This first bit is reprinted from the first The Right Stuff column from April 21, 2014. “The Right Stuff will be a series of topical columns to promote thought and ensure accuracy within political campaigns and issues. The Founders of this nation debated whether the citizens were adequately educated to remain a republic. Obviously, they  […Read More]

One of America’s most interesting and original thinkers was Buckminster Fuller. He popularized the Geodesic Dome architectural design among many other accomplishments in various fields. He popularized the term “Spaceship Earth” and was a prolific author, designer, inventor and what has become known as a futurist. Wisely he said what is very apt for America […Read More]

For years now I have used the phrase ignorance is curable by facts. Frankly, I am beginning to question this. So, let’s take a quick look. We’ve had 10 months of the Biden/Harris regime on display where implementation of unnecessary big government spending is coupled with dubious decisions and reinstated questionable people from the previous […Read More]

We have been alerted in recent years to the anticipated effects of climate change. As time passes, the cries are increasing fanatically even to the expectation of the destruction of life on Earth. Those old enough to remember 50 years or more will recall that at that time we were being told that we were  […Read More]

Thanks to The Right Stuff for sharing today’s column with Constitution Literacy Advocates. We recently concluded the 10th annual Constitution Essay Contest for 10th- through 12th-grade students in Solano County. The contest has grown over the past 10 years from a modest 35 entries submitted the first year, to more than 305 essays received in […Read More]

The following promise is sworn by all federal and state elected officials upon entering office. “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation […Read More]

History reveals that America’s Founder Fathers developed principles of governance applying a deep understanding of human nature – a first. With intense study and knowledge of 2,000 years of governmental history and, some of us believe, divine guidance, they established a republic, not a democracy, in which the government was to be the servant of […Read More]

I believe America is beautiful, do you? I want to ensure we all take a good look at what we have in America – even on our worst days when people, particularly on the left, preach doom and gloom, asserting America is a terrible place and our Founders were nothing more than selfish scoundrels concerned […Read More]

An article in Entrepreneur magazine from July 2021 says there are 660-plus billionaires in America, of that seven are Black. The net worth of all these super-rich Americans as of March 2020 was $4.18 trillion. It was $4.56 trillion by April 2021. Swell. Good for them. More interesting to me is there are 20.27 million […Read More]

Definitions of truth are provided since this has become a rare form of communication. 1. Conformity to fact. 2. Fidelity to an original or standard. 3. A statement proven to be true. How is communication identified as truthful? Truth is assumed when spoken by a person who practices that his word is his bond. For […Read More]

Solano County has been my home for 32 years. I have been fortunate to enjoy the blessings of a large extended family filled with good and kind people of all races. Frankly, I believe one of the best things about our county is our eclectic population; a people who derive ideas, style or taste from […Read More]

You had better pray for the health and well-being of President Joe Biden. The alternative is worse, if Biden is mentally or physically incapacitated, resigns, is impeached or is removed by a vote of his own cabinet, the 25th Amendment will replace him with Kamala Harris. Invoking this amendment is a serious matter that has[…Read More]

Many principles are required of leaders and all must be learned by academics or experience or both; none are inherited. Positions of responsibility in business and government are often occupied by individuals of limited leadership ability who survive with little damage by listening to subordinates and superiors. It behooves business owners and voters to be[…Read More]

Why did President Joe Biden announce to our enemies his plan to withdraw all Americans and allies from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, 2021? Is it good military strategy to tell your enemies what you plan to do and to remove your military forces before all American citizens and allies are evacuated and arms and equipment[…Read More]

This fourth column of The Right Stuff series will review the failed diplomatic actions in the wars of Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Three mandatory rules are mandatory to have victory in war and to achieve peace. The only strategy is to totally destroy the enemy’s capability to wage war. Combat tactics should be determined by[…Read More]

Gavin Newsom, 54, had an unremarkable education. Newsom began developing successful businesses in wineries, restaurants and hotels in 1991 with the assistance of Gordon Getty of Getty Fortune fame. He began his political career in 1996 when San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown appointed him to his city staff and then to the Board of Supervisors.[…Read More]

In this third in the series, the Right Stuff column will review the loss of Vietnam. Again, I present the three mandatory rules to have victory in war and peace. The only strategy is to totally destroy the enemy’s capability to wage war. Combat tactics should be determined by professional military officers. After cessation of[…Read More]

The Right Stuff, on July 26, identified diplomacy successes to avoid war. Justification to commence war is variable. • When attacked, the justification is logically self-defense, such as when seceding South Carolina fired on federal troops, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, on 9/11 and when attacked by religious fanatics. • When treaty and other obligations[…Read More]

A chameleon seeks camouflage when threatened or for tactical advantage. Many politicians and President Joe Biden fit the bill. Biden’s speech and actions over decades document behavior that starkly contradicts his image now as an anti-racist beacon of light. As former Vice President Al Gore said, “Facts are inconvenient truths.” What follows are well-documented facts.[…Read More]

No one will disagree that diplomacy is one of the more important functions of government. Nations maintain at the highest government level a cadre of specially trained individuals to negotiate competitive differences of national interests. Diplomacy has had significant successes and significant failures. The ending of the Cold War with the Soviet Union was the […Read More]

This part is where we, the employers, get to make an evaluation of our employee’s performance. I have chosen one each from Congress and the Executive branch. I chose Rep. John Garamendi, the 3rd Congressional District representative, and Vice President Kamala Harris, both of California. I chose them because they are career politicians who’ve served[…Read More]

I have written for the past two weeks about our 537 elected federal employees’ salaries and benefits so we, their employers, understand their compensation. So, let’s look at the qualifications, the duties (job description) and responsibilities stated in the U.S. Constitution. The overall intent and purpose of the Constitution of 1787 was to replace the[…Read More]

Let’s look at benefits. Many people earn some kind of retirement benefit from our jobs generally called our “nest egg” or a pension plan of some sort. However, we have seen the traditional private sector “pension plans” rapidly disappearing. Retirement in the private sector is self-funded. It’s usually some combination of 401(k), life insurance, IRA, […Read More]

What gives employees their value? How do we employers decide their worth? We’ll look in this first of a two-part series into the wages and benefits of our most important federal employees our congressional representatives, senators, vice president and president. Do we get what we pay for? I asked several people what they thought our […Read More]

The Right Stuff columns of Jan. 4 and Feb. 15 explained that Earth’s climate has cycled from hot to cold periods each 500 to 600 years while atmospheric measurements have indicated that the CO2 level has remained constant between 0.02% 0.03% throughout the many cycles. Earth is currently in a warming cycle that commenced in […Read More]

While serving as San Francisco Mayor in 2007, Gavin Newsom confessed to infidelity with a staffer who was the wife of his closest friend and chief of staff. Newsom said that he as “deeply sorry” four times. That he was caught? How does this reflect on his moral character and leadership? It foreshadows doing anything […Read More]

Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced a bill to add four more Justices to the Supreme Court, bringing the total number of justices to 13. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not bring this to a vote. They propose amending Section 1, Title 28 of the U.S. Code, changing “a Chief Justice and eight Associate[…Read More]

The People’s Republic of China, the crouching tiger of communism, wears, as needed, capitalist clothes. The tiger is always on the prowl, making its ever-increasing presence felt. It pounces on the weaknesses of those who foolishly underestimate both its resolve and purpose. This is not new: It’s China’s 5,000 years history. Today is just the[…Read More]

A front-page article May 14 in the Daily Republic details how the state’s newly appointed attorney general, Rob Bonta, a Democrat Assemblyman from Oakland and former deputy city attorney in San Francisco, made serious accusations against Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams, questioning her integrity and professional competency. The issue is the unfortunate Sean Monterrosa[…Read More]

Systemic racism: Prejudice or discrimination based on race and affecting the entire society. What is the history of racism in America? Slavery meets the definition of racism. The first example recorded is Aug. 9, 1526, when a Spanish ship delivered 600 colonists and a small number of enslaved Africans in Georgia. One hundred years later[…Read More]

The police are not the problem. The problem is teenage girls who think it’s OK to stab other teenage girls over cleaning their house. The problem is teenage girls who kill an Uber driver because he asked them to wear face masks in his car. In large part, the problem is the breakdown of the […Read More]

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, granting Washington, D.C. admission to the union as a state, making it the country’s first and only city-state. This is a blatant attempt to seize control of the U.S. Government as Washington, D.C. votes approximately 95% Democrat and this would tilt the balance […Read More]

Truth, for those who have forgotten, is defined as conformity to fact or actuality. There is logic in assuming the definition is forgotten considering the current acceptance by the general population of so much that is untrue. Consider the following common or destructive untruths. Perhaps the most common untruths are the campaign promises, “I promise […Read More]

The $2.5 trillion infrastructure bill proposed by President Joe Biden has little infrastructure, more tax hikes and funding for Green New Deal, social welfare and government support of private enterprise research and development. It is like putting frosting on stale bread and calling it cake, just like the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill. Approximately $631 […Read More]

Have you ever wondered why it seems so easy for us to go through life with blinders on? It seems as a species we have the uncanny ability to absorb only that which we want to see, hear and feel while blocking out everything contradictory. The result is we all get played, to one extent […Read More]

It is obvious that the authors of House Resolution 1 are severely lacking in the knowledge and wisdom of the Founding Fathers as discussed in Federalist Papers Nos. 59-60. The consistent basic philosophy of the Founders was that government must be as close to the people as possible and therefore all powers of government are […Read More]

Barack Obama created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, without legislation to prevent deportation of undocumented immigrants who were brought into this country illegally by their parents when they were younger than 16. Approximately 650,000 are enrolled in the program, which protects them from deportation and allows them to work and pay taxes. About another 690,000 […Read More]

While many state legislatures are currently strengthening their election laws in the wake of last November’s election chaos, Congress is on track to nullify those safeguards and open the floodgates to fraud in future elections nationally. House Resolution 1, the “For the People Act,” is a 791-page bill that has already passed in the House […Read More]

Many Americans well remember when elected politicians spoke of one another as ladies and gentlemen. The common description of a political opponent was, “My esteemed colleague.” The embodiment of this relationship was President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, and Speaker of House Tip O’Neill, a Democrat. They served as models for how political leaders can differ […Read More]

I was dismayed to see the San Francisco school board was going to remove Abraham Lincoln’s name, along with Washington and Jefferson, from their schools. Who are these people and what is their motive? Are they going to replace those names with Marx, Lenin, Stalin or Castro? Are they trying to destroy American heritage as […Read More]

Many events leading to the Capitol riots Jan. 6 are well known but let’s start at the beginning of the preplanned demonstration that turned riot because the media has scarcely covered it. The FBI reported social message traffic that was intercepted more than two days in advance that identified plans for the riot. Furthermore, Rep. […Read More]

California is a signatory of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It is an agreement among 15 states and Washington, D.C. to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the overall vote. If the compact is agreed to by a number of states representing 270 electoral votes, you can kiss your vote […Read More]

The Right Stuff column of Dec. 28 presented arguments for and against the United Nations Climate Change agenda developed in 2005 in Paris. Our Jan. 4 column provided the history of climate change, identifying hot and cold cycles for the past 4,000 years. Some climatologists believe the world is now 170 years into a warm […Read More]

My wisest mentor in the military once dressed down a major who was taking liberties with the truth while blaming everyone else. The sage warrior asked the quivering major, “Son, why in God’s name are you trying to hide a peanut from an elephant . . . and this blaming everybody else, well son, that’s […Read More]

President-elect Bide appropriately announced the immediate goals for America – restore bipartisanship to government and overcome the effects of Covid-19. Was anybody listening? The precedence of bipartisanship was exhibited when the Senate, by President Barack Obama’s 2009 Inauguration Day, had approved all but three cabinet nominees, including a proven tax dodger to become Secretary of […Read More]

Timeless truths are strong ligaments; sticky stuff connecting us in a living web. Trying to escape them only tightens their grasp. In a time before the lockdown, I was shopping for a DVD on Abraham Lincoln for a hard-charging nephew who I thought could learn the “word” from the greatest of all presidents. As I […Read More]

Each morning the San Francisco Chronicle lists, in bold red, the number of cases of Covid-19 and the number of deaths in the Bay Area, the state and the country. These numbers are accompanied with dire headlines such as “Most in a day” or “Huge surge.” This is all to make you feel that, indeed, […Read More]

I have had time now to reflect on the recent election and have noted some interesting things. We Solano County Republicans ran 41 candidates countywide and elected 15. Locally we got good coverage for our races with little propaganda. However, where President Donald Trump and, by extension, all Republican candidates were concerned, Republicans were portrayed […Read More]

Last week’s The Right Stuff column summarized The Paris Climate Agreement with general arguments for and against. Let us now look at historic facts related to climate change. Archaeological history confirms that Earth has forever cycled between warm and cold periods. Current causative factors have been primarily identified by Climatologist Cliff Harris and Meteorologist Randy […Read More]

Carbon is essential to all life on Earth. It is part of the fats and carbohydrates of our foods and the DNA, carbohydrates, fats and proteins of our bodies. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is in the air we breathe. Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and as part of their life cycle emit oxygen. There were […Read More]

I want to be Santa for Christmas. Plump my rump, whip me up a hoary head and white whiskers, bedeck my body in red and white and tickle my tummy for a hearty Ho Ho Ho! Give me the gift of gift giving. I know my first gift and I’d fly into it like down […Read More]

Voting is arguably our most precious right. Voting gives we the people the ultimate check and balance in our republic. It allows us to hold accountable those in power. Thus, reaffirming the citizens’ authority over governance. From the first recorded democratic elections in ancient Greece, people have interfered in elections to suit their interests. This […Read More]

I am triple board certified in Hematology, Oncology and Internal medicine with significant post-doctoral training in Public Health and epidemiology (experts that deal with incidence, distribution and control of disease). I am also a Professor of Medicine Emeritus. Three epidemiologists and public health experts, Dr Guota of Oxford, Dr […Read More]

What does that mean? America hasn’t seen an election like this since Richard M. Nixon-John F. Kennedy in 1960. For those of you not alive or old enough to remember the controversy surrounding that election, here’s a broad outline. The election was hotly contested and resulted in a large turnout. The results were very close […Read More]

The 2020 election campaign is finished except for U.S. senators in Georgia. An attempt may arise to severely alter future elections. To avoid that attempt, I suggest Solano County voters consider ramifications. The subject will be the Electoral College method of determining the presidential elections as required by Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution. As[…Read More]

This was written on Nov. 10, the 245th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. I had the pleasure of calling Marine friends today to give greetings as I and they do every year. One was retired Gunnery Sgt. Lloyd Dashner, a combat veteran who is one of my personal heroes. He is a man […Read More]

I used to think I was pretty much just regular people, but I was born white, into a two-parent household along with many siblings and lived in a small A-frame house with one bathroom. Now, whether I like it or not, that makes me privileged, racist and responsible for slavery. I am a fiscal and moral […Read More]

May we agree, sadly, that many politicians are not truthful? Politicians act according to personal interest with their finger in the wind of the latest poll. Statesmen act according to law and the state’s future. I have observed, with limited time in New York City, residents in the city exaggerate often in daily speech. Perhaps […Read More]

This question must be on many minds. Let’s examine it. In any investigation, regardless of purpose, you want to know the following: Who, what, when, where, why and how did something occur? The who, I believe, is the Democratic Party which, more than two years ago, I dubbed the Democrat Progressive Socialist People’s Party. The […Read More]

A watershed moment has a momentous effect. American voters in 2016 decided it was time for significant change. Thus, in classic organizational development terms, America needed a “change agent” – Donald Trump. For four years we have watched him turn Washington, D.C., on its ear. Change agents are brought in to shake up lackluster, poorly  […Read More]

I was privileged to spend three years in the 60th Aerial Port Squadron at Travis Air Force Base. The squadron motto is “Deeds Not Words.” The airman and the civilian employees proudly honored that motto. Compare that motto to the unfulfilled political promises we are given. Should not voters in America judge their electoral candidates […Read More]

Green energy has had some big failures. Let’s look critically at Solyndra. The plant for this expansion in solar power was right along Interstate 880. As part of the 2009 Recovery Act passed by Obama’s administration, Solyndra was given a $535 million loan by the Department of Energy. Solyndra was trying to build an expensive […Read More]

Congratulations Californians, you are currently reaping the rewards of the false promise of green energy. Every one of you who voted for and cheered the programs for renewable energy, enjoy your rolling blackouts and get ready for more. During the last round of them, most of the state was closed. Just think how it will […Read More]

Is this a fair question or just so much campaign rhetoric? As regular readers of mine know, I recently wrote a four-part series identifying both Democrat and Republican presidents and Supreme Court justices who were segregationists responsible for the rise of the terrible “Jim Crow” laws. Now, let’s move on to the “New Deal” of […Read More]

The Democratic National Convention confirmed their primary campaign issue will be that President Donald Trump’s administration has failed completely to recognize and treat the novel coronavirus, thereby failing to protect American citizens. That decision is expected as pollsters report 70% of potential voters opposing him state their reason is the administration’s failure to appropriately combat […Read More]

Heretofore I have tried to keep a wrap on the infamous Ryan Rap Sheet but current events tell me it is time to come clean about the “Amazing Flying Ryanoni,” daredevil par excellence. It was a blustery New England fall morning; mighty oaks bent reluctantly to another Nor’easter. Having dreamt daring dreams, I fashioned myself […Read More]

Unless a storyteller is known to be truthful, why do people often accept a story from anyone else, particularly chronic liars? Sadly, that term applies to many current politicians. Political progressives today make many generic allegations. e.g. “President Trump violates laws every day.” But what laws? The special cpunsel and impeachment found none. I received […Read More]

Thanks to The Right Stuff for sharing today’s column with Constitution Literacy Advocates. We recently honored 2020 Armijo High School graduate Victoria Lawson, the recipient of the grand prize in Solano County’s Constitution Essay Contest for three consecutive years – a truly remarkable feat with an average of nearly 200 entries submitted each year. It […Read More]

By Jim McCully

We have seen a remarkable amount of poison rhetoric in our political discourse since President Donald Trump declared his run for the presidency in 2016, mainly from the Democrat Socialists Progressive Peoples Party (DSPPP). Now, for the past number of months, we have experienced increasing vitriol in the halls of Congress resulting in a failed […Read More]

By Jim McCully

Two men, Englishman John Trenchard and Scotsman Thomas Gordon, wrote the original Cato’s Letters in the 1720s postulating how an open society with a republican constitution could flourish. Daniel Hannan, a British writer and politician, wrote: “They postulated how an open society with a republican constitution could flourish. And incredibly, against all odds, providentially we […Read More]

By Earl Heal

Last week’s column reviewed the difficulty of identifying truth from lies. Experience demonstrates that a person who lies once will continue to lie. Telling a truth but not telling the whole truth to deceive is also defined as lying. A current ACLU poll provides a perfect example of the polling author determining the outcome. Here’s […Read More]

By Earl Heal

How do you know the person speaking to you has spoken only the truth and the whole truth? Having worked 30 years where a person’s word is his bond, I normally assume the message is truthful. However, after a speaker has lied one time about anything then the receiver must logically verify elsewhere before acting […Read More]

By Jim McCully

Thorough out history, slavery was and is economic. See the United Nation’s 2017 report: It takes different forms but approximately 40 million enslaved people exists around the world today. From time immemorial, it’s part of human nature to conquer and dominate. In 1833, Britain had 800,000 slaves primarily in the Caribbean sugar plantations. Their value […Read More]

In my two previous columns, I have shown a brief history of the legal basis for “Jim Crow” in the Plessy V. Ferguson 1896 Supreme Court decision (SCOTUS). The impact was devastating to blacks. However, the nation as a whole suffered as it set back race relations for another 58 years. In Plessy, one of […Read More]

By Jim McCully

Last week I referenced U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and its impacts on our nation and the legal status of the District of Columbia. As a federal entity, no state laws were legally applicable yet “Jim Crow” existed. How was that possible? From 1865 to 1913 D.C. was socially segregated but its […Read More]

By Jim McCully

Perhaps it’s a part of the human condition to have bias for one’s own tribe. People are partial toward one body type or another, skin tone, gender(s), etc. Apparently, we are biased toward or against different things. It’s seemingly learned behavior. I was born in 1946 and raised in Washington, D.C., when it was legally  […Read More]

By Earl Heal

Why fear vote-by-mail? Hopefully, you will understand after comparing the VBM processes with precinct-voting processes developed to protect each voter’s intent. Each and every precinct ballot is accountable at all times. Inventory is taken in the beginning of the day and after voting closes to match against the ballots submitted. Voters are required to mark […Read More]

By Earl Heal

The debate over voting by mail has reached a high crescendo thanks to Present Donald Trump’s tweet and Twitter’s “Fact Checked” response. President Trump: “There is no way that mail-in-ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mailboxes will be robbed, ballots . . . forged . . . and fraudulently signed... […Read More]

I am sure most people have heard the term “by any means necessary,” but may not know where it comes from or what it really means to those who use it. The term is often referring to the concept of political power. From antiquity’s chieftains to kings to our modern political states, humans have engaged  […Read More]

By Michele Guerra

Special to the Daily Republic Outside Independence Hall when the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended, Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or monarchy?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” January 2020, China announced a new disease […Read More]

By Earl Heal

Some people are reluctant to make decisions, some make hasty decisions and some wait for facts before unhesitatingly making sound decisions. Today, Americans are awaiting controversial decisions for restoring normal life to America. Unfortunately, there are many unanswered questions. Facts we have: • Dec. 31: China advised the World Health Organization of “strange pneumonia” in […Read More]

The Right Stuff: US wanders from Founders’ plans

By Earl Heal

Last week we reviewed the primary concepts that America’s Founders developed in writing the Constitution. This week we’ll review changed concepts and resulting effects made since the Constitution was ratified. 13th Amendment-Slavery Abolition: The first change was good. Some yet condemn the Founders for not abolishing slavery. The Founders took pragmatically available action toward limiting […Read More]

By Earl Heal

As we witness America’s most divisive political environment in our lifetimes, including those living in the Great Depression, let us review America’s founding principles. When America in 1795 appropriated funds for the first Navy warships that eventually led to the termination of the Barbary Pirates in 1830, it set the example for leadership to the […Read More]

I recently read another letter against President Donald Trump written, in the Daily Republic (DR), by a frequent chronic complainer. Again, storming over Trump’s handling of the real Covid-19 crisis the nation is in. This is just the latest made-up nonsense inflicted upon us for more than three years by the omnipresent Democrat Socialists Progressive […Read More]

I worked years ago in Bridgeport Connecticut. For those who don’t know, the city is the home of the P.T. Barnum Museum. Mr. Barnum is credited with being the greatest showman in circus history and coined the phrase “The Greatest Show on Earth.” He was the city’s mayor for several years in the 1800s and […Read More]

The Right stuff column of last week examined the lack of principles in Democratic Party leadership. Since the Democratic Party declared their “Resistance” in November 2016, a massive change has occurred. Two offenses primarily generate a “Resistance” response – any position in opposition to a progressive objective or every action planned by President Donald Trump.  […Read More]

The Right Stuff columns are written almost exclusively with facts. Of the 300 published columns, only one erroneous statement was made because I accepted a city staff employee’s legal interpretation; a correction was printed the next week. This column will deviate from policy by presenting questions with the hope of receiving truthful answers. Everyone is […Read More]

By Kevin Ryan Socialism is a fundamental issue in the coming presidential election. In socialism, the means of production are owned and managed by the state. Private ownership is not allowed and social gains are primary with little regard for personal interest. All of the fabric and foundations of society are owned and maintained by […Read More]

Here we are in the midst of the silly season, or election time. So, because it’s that time, I’m reminded of some quotes by H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), the so-called Sage of Baltimore, who wrote a political column in the Old Baltimore Sun along with 30 books on various subjects from art to music to politics.