Sharing Thoughts and Ideas - 2019 and newer

Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding’s 2019 book, “Stealth War: How China Took Over While America’s Elite Slept” raises very serious concerns about China’s rise and its underlying intentions. But first, we should note Spaulding’s credentials, to see how much credence we should give to his perspective. Spalding was known both inside and outside the Trump administration as a China hawk. From 2014 to 2016 he led the China division at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was the chief architect for the National Security Strategy of December 2017 . Before joining the Trump White House, he was the U.S. defense attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Spaulding retired after 26 year in the U.S. Air Force after being forced out of his role in the Trump administration in the National Security Council after a memo he drafted concerning the concept of nationalization of a 5G network was leaked by undisclosed sources. Conclusion: he certainly was in position to have very informed opinions concerning Chin...

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The goal of the Fourth Amendment is to protect people’s  right to privacy  and freedom from unreasonable intrusions by the government . However, this does not guarantee protection from all searches and seizures, but only those done by the government and deemed unreasonable under the law. There is a tension between the right to privacy and the need for national security and the pendulum tends to swing from more security (during the cold war), less (in the mid-1970’s), even less after the dissolution of the Soviet Union,...

Statement on Impeachment Vote in the U.S. House of Representatives Rick Olson, Republican Candidate for Congress, MN District 2 For more info: 320-248-9933, olson48176@gmail.com,  http://rickolsonforcongress.com Sunday, December 15, 2019 – For immediate Release This morning a Star Tribune reporter informed me that Angie Craig had decided to vote “yes” next week on the motion in the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach President Trump, and asked me if I were in her shoes, how would I vote. When I took office as a State Representative in Michigan in 2011, I swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. That oath is still binding today. I understand the Founding Fathers viewed the impeachment process as very similar to the process in a criminal court. The prosecution presents evidence in a preliminary hearing. If the judge hears sufficient evidence to believe a crime has been committed, taking the evidence as true on its face in the absence of any defense from...

We are on an unsustainable path when it comes to health care spending. The following is simply brainstorming on how some costs could be contained. This is NOT a proposal. However, my training has taught me that when you are trying to solve a problem, you first diagnose the true cause, then devise a plan to eliminate the cause. 32% of medical costs are administration costs, one of the biggest costs compared to the administrative costs of Medicare of 6%. It appears that to lower medical costs, we need to reduce administrative costs by changing the system to something like Medicare. Let’s call it Americare. Our health care system is complex. We in the United States pay far more per person for health care services than other countries yet get on average poorer results. The average cost of healthcare in 21 different countries The “average” results may be deceiving as those who have good health insurance or can otherwise pay out-of-pocket may access the best healthcare services ever ...

Numerous experts have commented on why healthcare costs are rising as fast as they are. One really good expert is Uwe Reinhardt, who in his book, Priced Out (2019) listed the following with the last two the ones he believed were the real causes: ·          Ability to pay (discounted as the reason in comparison with other countries) ·          Demographics (discounted as the reason in comparison with other countries) ·          Health care professionals get paid grossly more than comparable professionals in other countries. ·          Administrative costs comprise about 32% of the total cost. A more comprehensive list, which is useful in analyzing various police approaches was published by the Institute of Medicine, Best Care at Lower Cost (2013), Table 3.1 Sources of Estimate Excess Costs, U.S., 2009   ...