Note: A black 65 year old Charleston SC man wrote to Post and Courier complaining about gentrification of Charleston. Included in his comments was a reference to a separate society for blacks and whites in America. My reply:
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I love this letter. Brings to the forefront an opinion not often expressed here in Charleston, or around the country.

It raises an interesting question. Has integration failed in America? Since 1945 we Americans have: integrated our armed forces; ensured blacks the right to vote without restrictions, the same as white folks; opened up pools and schools, drinking fountains, bathrooms, busses, and boarding houses; established Affirmative Action programs to give folks a boost; finally got schools across the country and especially in the South, at all levels, by the early 1970s, to obey a 1954 SC integration order to finally actually integrate; seen blacks enter politics at all levels from school boards to governor to President, and succeed in changing their communities, states, and nation. None of this happened without civic involvement, marches, violence, injury, and death to both shades.

Fast Forward to 2016: We have a U.S. Congressional Black Caucus; Black Entertainment T.V. ; Black and White Ms. America contests; predominantly black colleges; private and charter schools established to circumvent the 1954 school desegration order. We still have serious inner-city poverty issues in every city, mostly involving black folks. Their neighborhoods tend to be devoid of banks and national-chain grocery stores, dependable bus service, taxi services, but somehow manage to have mass transportation systems of trains and expressways cutting through or overhead crumbling local facilities and buildings. We have serious issues nationally with our police department staffs and their attitudes towards black people in general and known criminal thugs in particular. We have municipalities using poor blacks as ATMs, consistently fining and adding additional fines and fees for simple traffic and yard appearance violations, etc.

I wonder what Dr. MLK, Jr. would think, should he be able to spend 24 hours in today's America. What would he think, of young black men, angry, armed, violent, acting without thinking? What would he think, of the horrible high school graduation rates of blacks, nationally, so much lower than whites? What would he think, of the lack of money not pouring into inner-city schools, while watching suburban schools with pools and planetariums and green practice fields and working HVAC systems ? What would he think, of higher interest rates for blacks for car loans, house loans, higher rental rates for apartments, lack of public transportation preventing blacks for getting to the available jobs? What would he think, of black teenagers wearing their pants so low their buttocks and underwear show, and of a high black teenage pregnancy rate, and the failure of blacks to form basic family values 150 years after slavery ended, yet still offered as an excuse and used far too heavily as a crutch, for not advancing further? His Dream, was of little black boys and little black girls to play and live together in peaceful brotherhood. We seem, we are, so far away from that reality.

I don't believe the picture is too bleak, but I will admit it is weak. Gun deaths in American inner-cities have risen sharply. It is not middle and upper class whites who are doing the shooting, nor the dying. It is young blacks.

Education, family values, setting life examples seem to be the way out of the morass. Separating the cultures and/or asking one of them to leave the country does not seem to be the right approach.

As has been the case with our national election system for decades now, the coming election has nothing to do with re-directing our govt, restoring the economy, taking care of the less fortunate, or repairing damaged foreign relations. That kind of thinking is for the uninformed, the lower classes, the unemployed, the blue collar slaves, which is most of us, make no mistake about that.

No, this election, as always, is about which candidate will help the Wall St. crowd. Bankers, investment companies, investors, stockholders, the rich who want to get richer, that ilk. It has been like this for some 40 years, minimum. The usurpation of the balance of powers that once upon a time, made our country great and enabled us to hold up the beacon of hope to the entire world, continues. 

The Supreme Court with its incredible decisions; the failure of Congress to act on anything meaningful, looking the other way as media and finance and other businesses grown into huge monopolies, eliminating their competition; a thoroughly open border that lets in who knows, while we valiantly guard the borders of foreign countries; an IRS incapable of compelling multi-billion and million dollar businesses from inverting themselves to avoid their tax responsibilities while at the same time expecting the use of resources and protection provided by the very govts they seek to cheat; inexperienced men put into the WH by the powers behind the throne, to be puppets for those in actual control.

We have had one revolution in this country over tyranny. Might be time for another. When our leaders double-speak and ignore us for the good of the few, it is time. When the two main political parties spend millions over several years and the best they can come with for presidential candidates, is these two, it is time.

I am not talking about marching in the streets, nothing violent. But maybe a gathering around Capitol Hill would work. It would hinge on whether we could catch Congress actually in session.
Last resort, is to stop paying taxes. Can't lock us all up, and the country would grind to a resounding halt. I know of no other alternative that is peaceful, effective, able to be done by the masses, than hitting our leaders in their only vulnerable spot-their wallets.

Treason
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 807; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(2)(J), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§1, 2 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §§1, 2, 35 Stat. 1088).

Section consolidates sections 1 and 2 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed.

The language referring to collection of the fine was omitted as obsolete and repugnant to the more humane policy of modern law which does not impose criminal consequences on the innocent.

The words "every person so convicted of treason" were omitted as redundant.

Minor change was made in phraseology.
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I am increasingly starting to believe this applies to presidential candidates, anyone who mishandles classified data, and anyone offering aid and comfort including recruiting in any way shape or form, to ISIS. Yet, our federal officials refuse to order the death penalty. Hell, we can't even get some 70 year old women into court.

Famous dates in American history:

1. The Murray v. Curlett lawsuit, which led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling ending official Bible-reading in American public schools in 1963. This came just one year after the Supreme Court prohibited officially sponsored prayer in schools in Engel v. Vitale.

2. Coup d'etat of Nov 22, 1963 removing a man of democratic ideals and peace, and replacing him with a man, and a system basing our economy on the military industrial complex. We have never looked back.

3. San Franciso, June 26, 2002— A federal appeals court here declared today that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because the phrase ''one nation under God'' violates the separation of church and state.

4. Feb-Apr 1979: After the Shah of Iran's admittance to America for medical treatment for terminal cancer, the Ayatolla Khomeini returns from 14 years' exile to Iran, and begins the foment of Islamic Fundamentalist revolt now stirring and affecting the entire world.

5. And whatever the hell date that Politically Correct robotic thinking became the norm. I remember in the mid-70s in the Air Force, being told I had to re-name items, such as manhole to street hole cover, and all the rest.

We have traveled a dangerous downhill road from a time when we looked at each other, smiled, waved, held doors, were polite drivers, and voted and took care of our neighbors, to a society in which waving consists of just one finger, absolutely no driver shall be allowed to cut in front of us, children and pets are left in hot cars routinely, guns are everywhere, arguments are settled with guns before the argument even gets started, our school system has fractured wide open where everyone has the answer although no one knows the questions, teacher's opinions carry zero weight, and we continue as a nation to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations, wholly neglecting our own infrastructure, veterans, mentally ill, elderly, poor, and homeless.

How in the hell did we let this all happen? How do we fix it? Because half the nation's population is made up of older patriots. The other half is made up of Millennials who will follow whatever is trending, and thinks that govt freebies are good. 

Damn.

Response to Huffington Post story on Donald Trump education remarks at convention:
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He and you are both right. I don't believe he was necessarily questioning professional dedication. He was calling out principal and school board and supt. policies that create exactly what he is talking about.

Despite educators' best efforts at all levels, our students are failing. Failing to learn, failing to critically think, failing to succeed later in life. Why?

Our international standing based upon a standard test given every three years, show us in the high 20s and 30s in Science, Math, Reading, Writing. Ridiculous.

Our national h.s. graduation rate is running roughly mid-70 percentile. Or, almost three of every ten are failing to graduate. He's got a point. Those numbers are far worse for some minority groups.

Budget cuts have seriously impacted education in all 50 states and most districts, save the ultra-rich white-suburban dominated ones, with their extravagant homes and high property taxes. These places have pools and planetariums and practice fields. Most districts, including too many inner-city schools, don't even have heat or a/c, sufficent staff parking, computers, glass for the windows, or green grass anywhere. The differences, are stark, and are a contributing factor to black unrest, blacks failing to learn, blacks failing to progress. Note I said a contributing factor, not the only factor. Corporations do not help when they invert themselves and bank and incorporate overseas, taking millions in tax dollars out of the very communities and states they are located in. Our failed leadership in Washington has responded to this by requiring more testing and the failed, ridiculous Common Core Standards. Kids aren't robots.

Schools must change.

The entire format is basically wrong, after about 4th grade. Up until that point, reading and social skills are to be emphasized: read, read, read; cover your mouth when you cough, wait your turn, cops are good, look both ways, and all the rest.

After that, schools, especially high schools, need to go vo-tech on the same campus. We're so afraid of publicly marking any student as "different", we ignore their needs. Not all want to go to college nor should. Many are excellent with their hands and can make quite a good living if shown how, and encouraged. Budget cuts removed vo-tech shop classes, cooking, home ec.

Tracking needs to be brought back. Many children can fly through the lower grades, and should. Group the students by ability, as we once did, and press on. The goal of education, I believe, is to educate individuals, to differentiate instructional methods tailored to how each learns best. This is not new nor rocket science, but schools much prefer the Control Method. 35-40 students of umpteen different skill levels and learning styles lumped together and handed to one teacher who is supposed to then work miracles. This, is the definition of nuts.

We want responsible young adults to come out of high school. So, our method is to demand they have a hall pass at all times, because we don't trust them from Point A to Point B.

Our federal government, far too all-encompassing (they have taken over student loan program from private industry, for example) needs to get out of the education business entirely. States know best, in fact local districts know better, what their students need. A blanket approach to education will not work, does not work, never has worked. We remain stuck with an agrarian school calendar, and it is rare to find a state requiring its children to attend over 180 days. Think about that. Generation after generation spending just six months yearly, learning. There should be no surprise about our international standing, about college professors complaining their incoming freshmen appear uneducated.

It's because they are.

I understand teacher dedication, caring for one's students, intruding into their home lives when necessary. Been there, done that. It is past time the teaching profession told everyone, and I mean everyone, to back off and stand down; to stop adopting every new idea that comes down the pike; to stand up to school boards, supts,. and state ed. officials and let teachers teach.

Let's keep our eyes on the enemy. 

Our politicians can cause  us grief from time to time, and the quality of current 

presidential candidates is not high. They are NOT the enemy. 

The enemy is the spread of Islam across the world, attempting to replace democracy in all its forms, as the answer to world affairs. 

The late Ayatollah Khomeini, after 14 years exiled from his own country, which should be a terrific hint, returned to foment world revolution. He turned the Iran clock back 13th centuries, think about that for a moment, and has done so not with reason and love, but with hatred, death, and violence the world over. His followers are legion and in every single country. 

Every terrorist attack without exception since April 1979 has been in support of the Islamic Fundamentalist Revolution and cause. They make no bones about their goal: world domination. 

Gengis Kahn, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler have all tried, and failed. Why? Because good people would not let them. It probably in the long run makes little difference who wins in Nov. That person will have to have the stones to deal with world domination efforts by the Islam Nation. They have sleeper cells in America, known, identified, biding their time. We know about them, allegedly are monitoring them, yet do nothing to eradicate them. 

Our Achilles Heel as a nation is the plaque on the statue of the Lady in the Harbor. We see no opportunity for evil to take advantage of her welcome. We are naive. And, we are in danger.

Tue July 19 2016

In response to a news article re the Baton Rouge cop killer's lifestyle choice to be a "sovereign citizen", the following is offered in response:

Public services provided in all our communities have public taxes paid, as their funding source.

If one wishes to become a "sovereign citizen" I have no problem with that choice.

Here is what the response will be. 

Since you no longer consider yourself a citizen of this great country, we will now charge you for walking down our sidewalks, which must be maintained.

We will now charge you for driving down our streets, which must be maintained. 

We will now charge you for polluting our air with your vehicle.

We will now charge you triple the citizen rate for all utilities: water, sewer, heating, a/c, trash pick up.

Should you choose to use our libraries, there will be a $100 admittance fee, as the libraries have to be maintained.

Should your residence catch fire, there will be a fire department response, and the bill will be tripled for you. Fire departments must be maintained.

Should you need a police officer, don't bother calling. They're busy serving and protecting citizens.

We will now consider you to be in our country without the required permits, and will confine you until we can deport you.

Questions?  Because freedom isn't free.