Category Archives: Rob Meyne

A Tragic Event in American History

By Rob Meyne

June 10, 2023
5-min read

One of the most important, and tragic, events in American history occurred this week: the indictment of a former president on federal charges. This is unprecedented. Whatever you may think of former President Donald Trump, it says as much about the forces determined to stop him as it does about Trump himself. In no sense is this a good thing for the country.

It is easier to make decisions on most issues based on emotion and your own biases (factually based or not) than to make them based on facts and objectivity. This is such a case.

While we like to say we are a nation of laws, most decisions regarding who to prosecute involve an overwhelming amount of subjectivity. If you believe most prosecutions are based on facts alone then, with respect, you don’t know much about our system. Nearly all prosecutorial choices involve opinion, bias, and preferences. It is called “prosecutorial discretion.” The DA who indicted Trump in New York, for example, immediately upon taking office, reduced the charges against thousands of people accused of violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. The facts had not changed, only the opinion of the DA.

I’ll go further and say that any lawyer who doesn’t recognize the decision to charge Trump is unjustifiable based on past actions in similar cases – and doesn’t say so – is at this point a hypocrite not deserving of membership in the bar. Any political observer who doesn’t admit this is an entirely unjustified prosecution is also either uninformed, corrupt, or lying. If that is too pointed or confrontational for you, my apologies, and maybe this piece isn’t your cup of tea. The stakes are high and the time for timidity is gone.

How is that for direct? 😊 You know who you are! With love and apologies all around, the time for being afraid to express your opinion is gone. We are in many ways losing our country, and if you don’t work to preserve it, you are part of the problem.

The decision to charge Trump is politically driven. Period.

From the political side, it is very likely, in my view, that leading Democrats are pushing for prosecution of Trump because they know it will inflame his base and make his nomination more likely. They WANT Trump to be the nominee because they think they can beat him. At the same time, they know moderates and non-partisans will be hesitant to vote for someone under indictment or convicted.

The political ramifications will be interesting, but the legal outline is clear.

Every executive in Washington must follow a complex system of requirements and procedures for record-keeping. It is rare for Washington’s denizens NOT to violate a procedure, either intentionally or inadvertently. In almost all such cases there is either no punishment or only minor fines. That is what makes the Trump indictment indefensible. None of his predecessors has been subject to the same level of investigation, scrutiny, or potential sanctions.

Be clear: the DOJ works for the president and is taking actions to affect his leading opponent and to impact the election. Anyone who doesn’t recognize that should just, candidly, go home and stay there on Election Day, because they are hopelessly naïve.

Memos and emails have already shown the White House was involved in the decision to search Mar-A-Lago, even though President Joe Biden claimed he didn’t even know it was going to happen. This White House spews more lies in a week than Pinocchio did in a lifetime, and they aren’t even particularly clever about it.

Continue reading →

Please share!

You’re Living in a Different World Than Everyone Else

By Rob Meyne

May 20, 2023
4-min read

If you ever feel like you are living in a different world than your friends, neighbors, or work mates, it is because you are. We may reside on the same planet, but the specifics that make up our “worlds” are distinct in infinite ways.

Our opinions on political issues are often in conflict because they are based on a completely different understanding of the facts. It is hard to overstate how much this contributes to national division.

Constructive policy can be developed through collaboration and compromise. But it is difficult to do that when you don’t even agree on the facts. Since we’re not making decisions based on a common, agreed upon set of data, it is inevitable there will be huge disagreements.

A variety of dynamic factors have led to this.

For one, the way we get information has changed more dramatically in the past two decades than at any time since a guy named Guttenberg was doing his thing. Newspapers, broadcast TV, and radio are still around, but their influence is waning. Cable and streaming services exert tremendous influence, as do podcasts, social media, and various subscription services.

Mainstream “corporate” media is still powerful, but its role has been largely usurped by digital communications that are accessible wirelessly. This diversification in communications – the way information is conveyed – is unprecedented and getting more complex.

Two, governmental agencies, mainstream media, tech companies, political organizations, and NGOs are very good at coordinating their activities, suppressing speech, and promoting only those messages that meet their preferred narratives. If you don’t believe this, spend ten minutes looking at the “Twitter Files.” It is no longer deniable that the CIA, FBI, and even the Democratic National Committee are able to censor stories on Twitter and other platforms on an ongoing basis.

As artificial intelligence gets more pervasive, it will become the source of editorial direction that impacts everything we see. It will make it easier to censor even accurate information long before it has a chance to enter your newsfeed or inbox.

Continue reading →

Please share!

If You Think the Parties Are the Same, Look Again

By Rob Meyne

May 9, 2023
4-min read

Whose side are they on?

It is often argued there is little or no difference between America’s two major political parties. In all honesty, if you say there is NO difference between two options you are uninformed or lying. There most certainly are differences. The issue is how important are they?

The bottom line is this: the differences between the two parties are both few and essential. Yes, in many ways, each party is depressing and like the other. However, it is the few areas of distinction that make one party worthy of tentative support and the other deserving of unending derision.

As we’ve observed previously, the biggest factor that makes both party organizations distasteful is that they are composed of … wait for it … people. Many people are lovely and admirable, but far too many are corrupt, undependable, and narcissistic. And those are their GOOD qualities! 😊

All humans are to some extent dishonest. That’s like saying water is wet, the sun is bright, and Al Gore is boring. So how much sense does it make to clutch our pearls and whine about how our institutions have failed us when we know organizations are fundamentally flawed, from the start, because flawed humans are in charge of them?

Those who perennially throw up their hands in desperation and say “there is no one to vote for” are lamentably honest IF they are looking for perfect people to support. And if you’re looking for them, just stop it, please. You’re going to be disappointed.

People who are disappointed in political choices strike me as folks who don’t know much about life in general. What area of life offers you perfect choices? Do you have the perfect job, spouse, kids, house, car, or church? (I have a perfect wife, of course, but most don’t.) Most of life’s choices present us with alternatives between imperfect options. So what? They can still be marvelous. Perfection isn’t a necessary predicate for most of life. It makes no sense to expect it ONLY from government.

That doesn’t mean we don’t get to be disappointed. Of course we do. Anyone who wishes we had “better choices” has a lot in common with most of us. Who doesn’t? But focusing on primarily the negative aspect of candidates and parties isn’t likely to lead us to a better place.

Neither party is perfect. That is not the same thing as saying they are equal. They are not. The way our system is supposed to work is that people vote for a candidate that pledges to do things we want them to. We were never expected to vote for someone who we enjoy hanging out with, who we would like to see date our sister, or who you would hire to mow your lawn. We’re supposed to care about the policies that determine our quality of life and the future of our nation. And we’re supposed to vote for the people or party that support the policies that we do. It isn’t that complicated. Yet we act like we either can’t figure that out or care more about a person’s looks, personality, or tweeting habits than we do the well-being of the country.

But back to this: yes, the Republicans suck, but the Democrats suck even more. If that seems like a weak campaign slogan, it is. There are differences, even if neither party has earned your support. The parties are not the same, but the world looks different under Democratic leadership in 2023 than it did under Republican leadership in 2020. If you don’t see that, again, you just aren’t living on the same planet as we are.

Continue reading →

Please share!

There Are Two Sexes, not 498,304,840

By Rob Meyne

Feb. 9, 2023
3-min read

If twenty-five years ago you had been able to peer into the future and see what we would be debating in 2023, you probably would not have believed it. Today we are divided on questions for which there are clear, logical, scientific, and common-sense answers. Yet for reasons of woke ideology and political correctness, we pretend there are not.

Anyone who says we have lost our collective minds can make a decent case for it.

A concomitant problem is that we do ourselves, and our progeny, a disservice by spending so much time talking about things that are manifestly less important to our collective future than many other issues that go unattended. No wonder so many younger people think they are justified in focusing on their personal problems — is someone using the wrong pronoun? — rather than concentrating on building knowledge and skills that will help them become happy and successful.

We spend scarce time and resources quibbling about what is the right pronoun to use for a specific individual, but surprisingly little collective attention is devoted to an open southern border, skyrocketing fentanyl deaths, or crippling inflation.

One of the issues that seems to be a top priority for the federal leviathan, media, and the politically correct crowd is gender identification. If there were ever questions that have obvious answers, but millions bend over backwards to ignore them, it is them. Let us offer a few points.

Continue reading →

Please share!

The GOP is the “Reasonable” Party on Abortion

By Rob Meyne

Oct. 13, 2022
3-min read

The decisions issued in June by the Supreme Court are, collectively, about as important a collection as we have seen in decades. The most notable, and most relevant to conservative Constitutionalists, is of course the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

When a major decision is issued, especially one that impacts the laws of the fifty states and DC, it can take time for the effects of it to work their way through the system. Many state laws will remain unchanged while some will fine-tune them as a result of the decision. In fact, in several states, it happened automatically, as they had trigger laws that went into effect because of the ruling.

It is important to recognize, up front, that abortion is among the most contentious issues in America. Yet a look at the opinions of Americans shows there is actual common ground. In addition, the people overwhelmingly reject the position of Democratic leaders.

The Democratic position on abortion today is that there should be no restrictions on it. None. Women (if you can define the term) should be able to kill their babies through the ninth month, for any reason or no reason. Biden says so, apparatchiks like Stacey Abrams say so, and so do 49 out of 50 Democratic senators who voted for a bill that would eliminate all restrictions on abortion. About ninety percent of Americans oppose that view.

Yet, the prevailing narrative is that the GOP is the extreme party. Nonsense. Republicans have an opportunity to demonstrate they are the party closest to the American mainstream.

Those of us who believe life is sacred, begins at conception, and should be defended are often not satisfied with partial victories. The reversal of Roe was a huge “win” for those who value life. It is also true that there is still work to be done as we manage state laws moving forward. It is worth asking what, if any, concessions ought to be made to build consensus with those who believe abortion should be legal but not available through nine months.

As outlined here, third-trimester abortions do happen, and often for the same kind of reasons people get abortions earlier, and relatively rarely to save the life of the mother. There is a lot of survey data on abortion, but one summary, here, is typical. A majority think abortion should be legal in some situations while also opposing it in the final trimester. Another survey shows 75% of us favor limiting abortion to the first trimester. Again, most of America does not support the Democratic position.

There is a good piece, here, that fairly summarizes a position that has a lot of merit. It spells out a strategy would do a lot of help position the GOP as reasonable and compassionate on this issue.

As is so often the case with difficult issues, the most extreme positions on abortion don’t help us to find common ground. Polls show huge majorities of Americans believe abortion should be legal in the first trimester but not the third. They also believe incidents like rape and incest should be considered separately, as should cases where the health of the mother is endangered.

Putting aside for a moment the question of whether conservatives should EVER compromise on issues of life, there is a strong argument to be made that the pro-life movement benefits when we don’t let the perfect, in this case, be the enemy of the good.

It is fair to say most of us probably never actually thought Roe would be reversed, in our lifetimes. Now that is has happened, it provides conservatives a once in a generation opportunity to reach out the persuadable, middle of the road, however small or mythical it may be.

No political battle is ever final, as the reversal of Roe shows us. Today, those who value life can celebrate tremendous progress. At some point, all elective abortion may be illegal. Today, conservatives can “take the win” and demonstrate compassion and reasonableness as we look to the future and adjust to life without Roe.

Please share!

Americans Reject Extreme Democratic Positions on Abortion

By Rob Meyne

July 25, 2022
3-min read

Yet, the prevailing narrative is that the GOP is the extreme party. Nonsense. Republicans have an opportunity to demonstrate they are the party closest to the American mainstream.
Continue reading →

Please share!

Time for Anti-Trumpers to Put up or Shut Up

By Rob Meyne

June 29, 2022
2-min read

For those who may have caught part of the January 6 committee recently, our condolences! It represents how ridiculous our national expectations/tolerance about political propaganda has become. This kangaroo court has been designed to be completely partisan, ignore the role Pelosi, Schumer, and others played in the events around January 6, and to do as much damage to Trump as possible.

It is astonishing that the January 6 committee presentation is even considered news.

IF the committee were interested in learning the truth, in getting a full understanding of what happened before and after the riot, they would present information and subject it to an adversarial investigation. Hear all sides, ask questions, challenge assumptions, verify information. That process can lead to truth. But that is not what they have done.

The left/national leadership shows you who they fear most based on the level of their attacks against them. They hate Trump and know he will likely win if he runs again. They also, btw, clearly fear DeSantis. They know DeSantis will be strong if he runs for president.

January 6 is all about stifling dissent, controlling the narrative, and censoring opposition. And the national media, with the partial exception of FOX, has fallen in line to do their bidding.

Continue reading →

Please share!

Dems Put Power over Kids

By Rob Meyne

April 28, 2022
3-min read

Politicians love to claim their actions are focused on helping “the children.” If you haven’t heard that claim, you must not be listening. Until the past couple of decades, protecting children from harm was considered a non-debatable objective around which we could all rally. Today? Not so simple.

Places like Alabama, Florida, and Texas lay bare a fundamental difference between modern leftists and conservatives. Both parties claim to care about children. Only one is willing to oppose abortion of full-term babies or set a minimum age for instruction on explicit sexual subjects. Guess which is which?

The parental rights bill in Florida has been criticized for being anti-gay, hateful, and putting at risk the lives of children. None of those criticisms is factual. All the law does is prevent instruction about sexual orientation in third grade or below or in a way that isn’t age appropriate. Got it? Doesn’t sound controversial, does it? Well, it shouldn’t be. But the Dems have become such a wholly owned subsidiary of the far left that there is almost nothing too extreme for them.

If you oppose the new Florida law, it means you support teaching about sexual orientation and related issues to our youngest children. Nothing in the bill prevents a male teacher from telling them he has a husband, or a sister who identifies as a male. Nothing prevents anyone from using the word “gay.” As is often the case, the left has to lie about the actions of conservatives in order to try to defend the indefensible. Democratic leaders can’t even agree there should be a minimum age for instruction about sex.

Continue reading →

Please share!

We Know How to Predict Inflation

By Rob Meyne / Dr. Robert Scott

April 14, 2022
2-min read

Any list of the greatest economists of the twentieth century will include Dr. Milton Friedman of the University of Chicago. He wrote a number of essential economic treatises, and Free to Choose, written with his wife Rose, was a bestseller. Very few people have made a greater impact on economic thought and policy. (1)

Friedman had a knack for putting complex factors like inflation in simple terms. Few economic factors have a greater impact on average Americans. Prices have increased dramatically in the past year as Americans feel the pain at the gas pump, in the grocery, housing, and more.

Politicians and pundits assign blame. Currently, the Biden Administration is referring to the “Putin price hike,” blaming the Soviet leader for domestic inflation, even though the great majority of the price hikes under Biden came long before the war in Ukraine.

Fortunately, we can look to Dr. Friedman for nonpartisan insight. He said: “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” (2) He made analysis of inflation easier by using the following equation:

Inflation equals

Percentage of increase in the money supply
– MINUS –
Percentage of increase in real GDP

When Dr. Friedman was discussing inflation in the late 1970s, he said real GDP (output) historically grew at about 3% annually. The actual inflation adjusted figure, from 1947 to 2020, was 3.1% per year.

Professor Friedman observed the money supply had been increasing by 10% per year. With a 3% increase in output, his equation projected inflation would be about 7%. That was incredibly accurate; the actual rate was 6.8%! In other words, the equation works.

Continue reading →

Please share!

Media Bias Threatens Our Republic

By Rob Meyne

April 12, 2022
3-min read

There are countless times, in any given day, you are likely to hear references to “two Americas.” Depending on the speaker, issue, and occasion, one person may not even be picturing the same two Americas as another.

Americans get their information from different sources and in ways that didn’t exist not that long ago. Whatever you presume to be a “fact” depends on where you get news, who you trust, and what they believe.

People also believe something a friend or family member tells them more easily than information from another source. Whether it is true has nothing to do with it. Countless Americans think Donald Trump said, “Nazis and white supremacists are fine people” or that a new bill in Florida prohibits people from saying the word “gay,” or that Republican-sponsored state laws restrict voting rights of black Americans. None of these three beliefs is true. But people have heard it and assume it is true.

The digital age has increased the amount of information we can access, but its reliability isn’t what it once was. Most people don’t have the time, interest, or expertise to check key facts in every story they come across. It is understandable. People are busy.

Continue reading →

Please share!