MR. TRUMP VERSUS THE DEMOCRATS

BRYCE ON POLITICS

- The Democrats are desperate for a victory in November.

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I had a friend recently comment to me, "The biggest threat to the Republicans maintaining control of the Congress is Donald Trump." Admittedly, he was never a fan of the president, nor did he vote for him in the 2016 election as he thought Mr. Trump was rather un-presidential and his rhetoric embarrassing. I countered that I found the president's comments rather refreshing as compared to the stale gobbledygook typically coming out of Washington. I also find it interesting my friend doesn't seem to have a problem with the disparaging comments made by the president's opponents in the other party who frequently accuse him of corruption, racism, misconduct, and hate. Their unbridled distortion of the truth leads me to believe what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.

So far, Mr. Trump has delivered on a lot of his campaign promises and has reversed the socialistic direction spun by our last president. True, he possesses a super Type-A personality, which is typical of businessmen like him (e.g., Ted Turner), but he is the type of person who is more interested in results as opposed to facade. In other words, I'm less interested in his personality, and more interested in his ability to deliver on his promises.

Judging by his repartee in the media, the one thing Mr. Trump obviously understands, and others do not, including his fellow Republicans, is the country is embroiled in a war over the very essence of America. Since his election, the opposing party has worked overtime to thwart his every move. For example...

Because of urging from Democrats, the administration has been embroiled in an investigation regarding Russian collusion, which has yet to produce anything of substance. The special prosecutor is desperately trying to pin something on the president, anything, even to the point of violating attorney-client privilege.

Democrat members of the House want to impeach the president over fabricated charges.

Democrat Senators are still holding up presidential appointments.

Democrats are still buried in the administration who routinely leak information to the press and undermine the President.

Democrats control academia, the entertainment media, news media, and social media. Consequently fake news and spin is the norm today, all aimed at brainwashing the public.

Democrats want to abolish the 1st and 2nd amendments, if not the whole Constitution, claiming it is outdated.

Our young people are being engineered by the Democrats to be naive about government and ignorant of history, making them easy to manipulate.

Democrats support illegal immigration for the purpose of securing future voters.

Democrats support sanctuary cities and states to shield criminals as opposed to lawful citizens.

Democrats practice a "divide and conquer" strategy called Identity Politics, pitting citizens against each other.

Democrats are trying to remove God from our country.

Democrat Governors openly resist the president, such as Oregon, Montana, and Nevada refusing to send their National Guard troops to the southern border.

And it is now common practice for Democrats to tie up presidential orders in the courts.

This is more than just the Democrats resisting the president. It represents bureaucrats, the Washington establishment and the Media openly defying Mr. Trump, which is why he takes them to task every chance he gets, rightfully so I might add. In fact, in defference to my friend, I would like to see more GOP members of Congress sounding the alarm as well.

As I pointed out in an earlier column, this rebellion by the Democrats is caused by the radical Left who is currently in control of the party, the "Progressives." Should they fail to take back at least one chamber of Congress in the mid-term elections, their grip on the party will likely slip defaulting control back to moderates, and maybe then we can start making progress.

So, it comes down to this...

If you believe in Socialism over Capitalism, you'll vote Democrat.

If you believe the Constitution needs major surgery or completely revised, you'll vote Democrat.

If you believe there is no room in our society for God, you'll vote Democrat.

And if you sincerely believe the spin coming from the media, hook, line aned sinker, you'll definitely vote Democrat.

As for me, I am not so gullible as to believe this nonsense.

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

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Copyright © 2018 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

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THE GENIUS OF IDENTITY POLITICS

BRYCE ON POLITICS

- Diabolical, but genius nevertheless.

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I recently wrote a column describing the concept of "Old White Men" which is a mean-spirited attempt to discredit the wisdom of our elders, who are portrayed as stumbling blocks to progress. I want to take this a step further as this is a part of what is today referred to as "Identity Politics."

The idea behind this is to differentiate various groups based on such things as race, religion, sex, and age, so they can be politically manipulated. Once segregated, the groups are stereotyped, vilified, and attacked thereby putting them on the defensive. For example, we see this in:

* Old versus Young people - as mentioned, young people are taught to malign the values of their elders.

* Men versus Women (Feminism) - the values and character of men are portrayed as seedy and heartless.

* Whites versus all other ethnic groups - here, whites are portrayed as racists who have been in control far too long.

* Christians versus all other religions - whereas Christianity was an important part of our culture at one time, now it is portrayed as insensitive to others and an effort is underway to systematically remove it from society.

Gun owners and the NRA are portrayed as evil. In reality, they promote safety and education. Responsible gun owners, particularly those in the NRA, are not the problem. It is those who do not truly understand what guns are and are unfamiliar with how they should be used, they are the reckless ones.

Even American History is under siege as statues and monuments representing important figures from our past are being toppled. The message is clear, "America is evil." By doing so, patriots are ridiculed and condemned. It's true, our country has made a lot of mistakes along the way, after all we are only human, but we have also done a lot of positive things to make us an economic powerhouse and the champion of freedom, which are conveniently overlooked.

From this perspective, the epitome of evil is a white, Christian, old man, who supports the Constitution, owns a gun, belongs to the NRA, and believes in hard work, responsibility, citizenship and patriotism. Such a person is falsley accused of being unfairly "privileged" as opposed to everyone else. Years ago, there was respect for such a person, but today he is condemned, and blamed for all of the problems in the country. By doing so, whatever this person's political inclinations are, others are encouraged to vote as his opposite.

The intent of Identity Politics is to simply divide and conquer. To do so, key words and expressions are introduced such as "Old White Men," "Racist," "Hate," "Deplorable," "Fascist," and "Trickle Down Economics," all intended to solicit a Pavlovian response. This is designed to program people who can only grasp simple words and expressions as opposed to thoughtful dissertations. From a strategic perspective, this is sheer genius; diabolical, but genius. Whoever is devising such expressions is counting on the public to act like a herd of sheep, and regrettably, they are correct.

An inherent component of this is the news media who is used to plant the seeds in the public's mind, and cultivate their perspective. By making a word or phrase popular, it becomes another image to indoctrinate the masses.

Who exactly is pulling the strings on Identity Politics is hard to say. The Clintons? The Obamas? George Soros? Or perhaps a media mogul. Most likely it is from the Saul Alinsky playbook. One thing is for certain, it is a strategy used by liberals to combat conservatives. The use of simple slogans by the Left is preferred over a debate which they cannot possibly win.

However, not all is lost, as the public grows weary of the trite stereotypes and is no longer buying it. The fact Donald Trump was elected president, and his popularity continues to grow, is indicative of this. Another sign is the unexpected popularity of ABC's new "Roseanne" TV show whose ratings are skyrocketing as it is the only show addressing issues opposing liberal doctrine. This was followed by "Chappaquiddick," the popular movie about Sen. Ted Kennedy and his involvement in the death of aide Mary Jo Kopechne, a story liberals would like to see go away. However, these two shows are the exception as opposed to the rule in Hollywood. The fact remains, people are growing tired of political correctness and liberal spin, preferring substance as opposed to facade. This will undoubtedly all have a bearing in the 2018 mid-term elections.

Identity Politics was not invented by accident, but by design. The words and slogans used are incredibly effective in shaping the attitudes of the masses. As I mentioned, it is genius, diabolical to say the least, but sheer genius nonetheless.

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2018 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. 

Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.

FAREWELL TAMPA BAY TIMES

BRYCE ON THE NEWS MEDIA

- I guess it's time to say goodbye...

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After 38 years, I am finally cancelling my subscription to the Tampa Bay Times, "Florida's Best Newspaper." I never actually subscribed to their claim as I found it fraught with problems, and evidently I was not alone in this regards. Years ago, it was common to see the newspaper delivered to all of the driveways in my neighborhood. Today, other than myself, I only see three.

I stopped it for several reasons; the price had gone up, the editorial slant has become far too liberal for my tastes, the sports and business sections are mere shadows of themselves, and community news slowly faded away. However, the biggest reason for dropping them was simply they had trouble delivering the paper on time. Over the last few months we have had to call the paper several times to complain about their failure to deliver the Sunday paper. Although they apologized and delivered a replacement hours later, they never seemed to be able to correct the problem. To make matters worse, I got the uneasy feeling they simply didn't care about the printed version any longer.

I'm the type of guy who likes to read a printed paper with my breakfast in the morning. The only way this can happen now is if I get up early, throw on some clothes, and drive down to the local gas station for a newspaper. At least I know I will get a copy and I can start my day properly. I know other people have dropped the paper due to its slanted content, but it was a simple customer service problem that did them in for me.

The Times claims to have won twelve Pulitzer Prizes, something they are quite proud of. However, I find their political inclination such that when they print their election recommendations for candidates and issues, I take it with me to my precinct and vote 180 degrees in the other direction. This way I know I've made the right decision. As such, this is an invaluable service they provide.

For a long time, there were two major Tampa newspapers, the Times and the Tampa Tribune. For a while, I subscribed to both as I preferred the layout and content of the Tribune over the Times. However, in 2016 the Times bought out the Tribune and merged their customers in with their own. Since then, the number of pages in the Times seems to have slowly been diminishing, making me wonder how much time it has left. This was not the first time I've seen something like this occur.

Prior to the Tampa Bay area, I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio for several years. Like Tampa Bay, Cincy had two newspapers, the Cincinnati Enquirer, representing the morning paper, and the Cincinnati Post representing evenings. In this analogy, the Enquirer was like the Tampa Bay Times, and the Post was like the Tampa Tribune. Both were older and well established papers; the Enquirer in 1841 and the Post in 1881. Back when I lived there, I subscribed to both papers as I enjoyed one in the morning, and something to read when I came home after work to relax. It was a friendly rivalry, as the two were delivered at different times, but a rivalry nonetheless.

In 2007, the Post was slowly nudged out of business by the Enquirer, like the Times nudging out the Tribune. As the Enquirer was the last major paper in Cincinnati, they flourished for a while longer. However in 2013, the Enquirer dropped their printing operations and contracted it out of town. Not long afterwards, they began printing in a much smaller "compact" format, including supplements from USA Today. The publication is so small and thin today, it was unrecognizable to me when I first saw it. What was at one time an impressive publication you liked to pour over in the morning, it now looks like something frivolous to line a bird cage.

The parallel between the Tampa Bay Times and the Cincinnati Enquirer is uncanny. The circulation of both publications have suffered over the last few years, forcing them to turn to Internet versions. The Times has always been proud of their printed version, but the economic reality is they may very well have to produce a "compact" version much like the Enquirer's, which will likely not go over well with regular readers.

All of this is but another indication of our changing world. As I think of my cancellation of the Times, I see it more as a cancellation of the printed newspapers as it appears they can no longer sustain such a publication. What a pity. I would probably have stayed with them longer had they been able to deliver the paper on time, but enough is enough. Now I've got to figure what I can read while eating my morning cereal. And, No, it won't be a computer.

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2018 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.

OLD WHITE MEN

BRYCE ON POLITICS

- Recognizing the communication gap between the generations.

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Following one of my recent essays, a reader claimed it was the rantings of an "Old White Man." I had heard this expression elsewhere during the 2016 campaign but didn't pay too much attention to it until I was recently accused of being such a person. I find this rather interesting as my rhetoric and politics haven't really changed over the last thirty years, yet I was never accused of wailing as a "Young White Man" back then.

Frankly, I believe this is a clever political maneuver invented by Liberals to place a wedge between the young and the old in this country. As I was growing up, I was taught to respect my elders, particularly as I entered the work force. Such people mentored me and offered valuable advice based on their many years of experience. Whether or not I used their advice, I listened carefully.

This is evidently not so anymore. It is true I no longer share the younger generation's tastes in such things as music, fashion, film, food, and other social customs, but that is to be expected with the transition from one generation to the next. We simply get comfortable in our ways and do not like any unexpected twists. Take music for example, I like to believe I have a rather eclectic taste in music. Even though my generation enjoyed classic Rock and Roll, I also appreciate symphonies, operas, Big Band, Jazz, Blues, and some country/western. However, I started to gravitate away from Pop music with the advent of Punk, followed by Rap, which sounds to me like the sound of fingernails scratching a blackboard. I recognize the Millennials will not agree with me on this, but I hope they also learn to appreciate the music from other generations as well.

Regardless of our tastes, I recognize the Millennials will replace us one day, and I obviously hope the best for them. Would I rather have them fail? Certainly not, but I want to pass along what I learned in my walk through life, just as they will some day. It's natural.

The expression "Old White Man" is a mean-spirited attempt to discredit the knowledge of our elders, and frankly, I do not believe it was invented by accident. It is intended to split the generations along political lines, and implies such people are stuck in the past and can no longer be relied on to make sound decisions in these modern times. Whenever it is mentioned, the younger people are inevitably accused of being "snowflakes" and the chasm widens between the generations.

As we should all know, with age comes wisdom based on experience, and the elders are more than willing to share it with the next generation. They may not have all of the answers, but they will share what they know and, Yes, old dogs can learn new tricks. It has always been such. However, if youth is being trained to tune out their seniors, they will have to suffer through the elder's mistakes all over again.

Instead of dismissing the advice of their elders out of hand, I would rather see youth develop a dialog with them, thereby seeking the truth and finding viable solutions to our problems. This will never happen if the different generations refuse to listen to each other.

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2018 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.