All in Commentary

George Floyd: A Seemingly Indefensible Case for Force

There is nothing good about the case involving George Floyd. Police were called to the scene because a store owner reported that Mr. Floyd was highly intoxicated and paid for his purchase with fake currency. Neither of those alleged offenses are violent offenses. Floyd was in the driver's seat of the vehicle when officers arrived on scene. From the video that we have there is no indication that Mr. Floyd was resisting arrest, and the officers acknowledged that Mr. Floyd appeared to be in medical distress. Just from what is known right now, there seems to be no evidence that the restraint technique employed by (former) Officer Derek Chauvin was warranted, which could make him criminally liable for Mr. Floyd's death.

Liberty and Safety

It is not better to be safe than free. In the world of liberty, the consequences you suffer, either good or bad, are generally a result of your action or inaction. In a world of safety, the consequences of other’s action or inaction are suffered by you.

Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020 = Gun Ban and Erosion of Liberty

The House has a bill in committee called HR 5717 - Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020. The bill proposes to do a number of things from establishing a Federal Firearms License to own firearms and ammunition, raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm, defines and bans “assault” weapons, bans “silencers” and mufflers, enforces secure gun storage orders, and levies heavy taxes on firearms and ammunition. In the end, HR 5717 is an attempt to strip away liberty, minimize the Second Amendment, and criminalize otherwise benign firearms ownership.

Congressional Insider Trading: A Fundamental Issue

Therefore, it is very difficult to look at this situation as anything other than insider trading. Members of Congress have clearly participated in the stock market to either realize a personal financial gain or mitigate a probable upcoming loss using information they have access to by virtue of their position in Congress while denying that information to the American people.

California Voter Registration Concerns

In October of 2015, California enacted a law (AB 1461) that required the Department of Motor Vehicles to forward records for eligible applicants to the Secretary of State’s Office for registration unless those applicants elected not to register to vote. The law was well intended and aimed to reduce the leg work on behalf of the applicants to become registered voters.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

COVID-19 is serious, especially if you are over 60 with pre-existing cardiovascular issues, diabetes, respiratory disease, or hypertension. If you are under 60 and otherwise healthy, there is no reason for you to be buying your local Walmart out of toilet paper.

Free Markets vs Socialism

“Economics is the study of how individuals and societies choose to use the scarce resources that nature and previous generations have provided.” There are two important fundamentals outlined in the scholastic definition of Economics; resources are scarce and how resources are distributed is a product of choice. In all developed societies, access to resources is determined by volume of money (which itself is a scarce resource).