The thoughts and ideas expressed above are exclusively those of Jack Straley and www.justplaintalkwithjack.com  We may agree, and that’s fine, or we may disagree, that’s okay too.  My sole purpose is to encourage others to think, study, and become involved. Exercise your freedom and above all, when presented the opportunity, please vote.

My mantra of recent has been; it starts at the school board and ends at the white house.  I now believe that more strongly than ever before.  There is no more destructive force for a democracy than a complacent electorate coupled with a bureaucracy that is out of control.  For years the political process has rewarded those that were elected and continually got passed on to higher offices and positions of influence regardless of qualifications.  These processes have created the deep state and radical elements that attempt to control every aspect of our lives.

I recently wrote voicing my concerns on downsizing our government.  I feel we need to start with the Department of Education and immediately branch out to other areas.  We have just witnessed the effect of incompetency in government with the Uvalde school massacre.  Inept people made their way up the power ladder until they had to make a command decision, then couldn’t.  The Peter Principle still exists.  There are very few serving in elected positions today that want to, or see the need to downsize.  They may give lip service to it but when push comes to shove they will not take a stand and act.  They are either cowards or are incapable of doing what needs to be done.

With a heart full of good intentions George W. created the Department of Homeland Security which has become one of the largest boondoggles in history. This has become the largest department in government with agencies that overlap jurisdictions and authority three and four layers deep.  Nine separate agencies are law enforcement groups that carry weapons and can arrest or take property at will, and suffer no consequences, yet operate independently.  American citizens are on the verge of losing all their rights due to this department being run by incompetent people with never ending budgets.  This will initiate the move to confiscate guns from citizens without recourse or justification.

School shootings could be controlled, limiting the number of shootings, and the casualties caused by them.  Our school buildings should be locked from outside entry once students have arrived at school. Security cameras should be placed in strategic locations to allow monitoring all activity in halls and common areas.  Teachers and administrators should be instructed in gun safety, shooting and disarming tactics.  These simple protocols may not totally eliminate situations like we witnessed at Uvalde but would be a giant step in providing safety for our children.  I, like the rest of our country, share the loss and grief being suffered by all citizens of Uvalde and in deference to Barack Obama, I don’t give a hoot how long George Floyd has been dead.  Sometimes justice is served faster than other times.

Let’s start downsizing now.  Let’s balance our budget and spend money where money needs to be spent.  We need to stop the waste and creating dual agencies that perform the same duties. It is imperative that our government stop printing money and stop spending monies we don’t have to spend.  Most important, we can help secure the borders of other nations once we have our own secured.  There is a means for legal entry into our country and illegals should be stopped, no questions asked.

Term limits will be a giant step toward the process of downsizing.  At the same time laws should be linked to this law that limits elected politicians from retiring and immediately going to other departments as federal employees.  Congress should have to abide every law they enact and live under these constraints: tenure, pension, insurance, etc.

Every freedom loving American must immediately get loud, vocal and active to keep guns in the hands of law abiding persons.  A nation with an unarmed populace is a country with no freedom and subject to tyrannical rule.  We are a free country because we were armed and took up those arms against a tyrannical king.  To keep the guns in our hands vote and let your concerns be known.

Your uninformed President says the second amendment is not absolute.  He is wrong.  He says we could not buy a cannon or several guns when it was written.  He is wrong.  Because we could buy cannons and guns we have been free ever since.