Month: February 2022

Suppression: “The act of curtailing or prohibiting an activity”, in this case the act of voting.

1. Sanctity of lawful, free elections is a corner stone of this nation.  It is one of the principal elements that separates us from the likes of corrupt banana republics.

Surveys tell us that over half of all Americans have lost confidence in our election system and rightfully so. We can easily fix it.

2. “Republican voter suppression” has become a central theme of the Democrat Party platform. It is one of those lies that if used often enough by enough people day-in-and-day-out over a prolonged period of time, many will conclude, well it must be true. Voter suppression accusations are sad, frustrating, unintelligent outright disgusting and harmful to the nation.

The election is only about eight months away.  The Republican National Committee needs to issue a powerful counter argument to the Democrat lies about voter suppression

3. Background:  Take off your rose collared glasses; election fraud does exist. The whole system needs an overhaul.  Here are the top ten reasons why.

a. Voter registration:  Across America the states’ voter registration rolls are terribly maintained and highly inaccurate. For example, Judicial Watch brought suit (and won) against Los Angeles County forcing them in 2019 to begin cleaning up the 1.5 million ineligible voters on their rolls. 

b. Voter registration fraud: This involves filling out and submitting a voter registration card for a fictional person, or filling out a voter registration card with the name of a real person but without that person’s consent and forging his or her signature on the card.

c. Ballot stuffing: A means of casting illegal votes or submitting more than one ballot per voter.

d. Voter impersonation:  This occurs when a person claims to be someone else when casting a vote.

e. Fraud by election officials:  This happens when ballots are manipulated by officials administering the election, such as tossing out ballots.

f. Chain of custody:  In so many ways voters lose control of their ballot; ballot harvesting being a prime example.

g. Chaotic behind-the-scenes ballot counting.  During every election we see videos of counting rooms with large numbers of election workers milling around and tables stacked with hundreds or thousands of ballots.

h. Voter apathy: A disgusting reality is that voter apathy is rampant.  In the 2016 election an estimated 100 million eligible voters did not vote; in the 2020 election a record number of Americans voted but still an estimated 80 million did not.

i. Elections in one day?  Why are we so stupid as to believe one of the most important functions of our cherished republic has to be a hurry-up affair during one work-day?  

j. Celebrate voter rite-of-passage:  When a high school senior celebrates their 18^th birthday, the celebration should include more than a birthday cake.

There is one easy fix for all of this, back to that in a moment.

4. What the Democrats want is to follow the lead of the New York City Council which passed an ordinance allowing over 800,000 noncitizens to vote in city elections, declaring, “New York City must be seen as a shining example for other progressive cities to follow.”  On a larger scale, what the Democrats won’t say but what they want is blanket amnesty for tens of millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. and thereby giving them the right to vote. In this session of Congress, the House passed HR1 election reform which will allow same-day voter registration without Voter ID and expands mail-in voting in a massive 800-page law.  Fortunately, the Senate did not take up this legislation.  What the Democrats do not want is Voter ID.

5. Precedent for personal IDs:  In 2005 Congress passed the Real ID Act establishing minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.  Implantation was to have been October, 2020 but has been Covid-extended to 2023. Under the law applicants applying for a Real ID must prove their birth date, birthplace, citizenship, legal status, Social Security number and residence documentation.  Without a Real ID, we will be denied access to TSA at any airport. The point to be made here is this; is there a movement by the Democrats to oppose the Real ID law?  Have you heard one single dissenting voice in the Democrat-supported main-stream media concerning the Real ID requirement?  No, you haven’t because there is no opposition.

Stop reading for just a moment and ask yourself this question; do I know any adult U.S. citizen who does not have a valid ID……..  I thought so, you can’t think of one, neither can I.  So, when Voter ID becomes an actual Republican proposal, Voter ID becomes part of the Democrats’ description of racist voter suppression. It makes absolutely no sense but, as previously pointed out, Republican voter suppression, no matter how illogical the argument, will become an important part of the Democrat 2022/2024 campaigns. 

6. President Biden has been asking, in a sneering way, “What are Republicans for?”  Easy answer, Republicans are for Voter ID and the Democrats are against it.  Republicans are more interested in free and lawful elections while Democrats see advantages in the current chaotic system.

A Voter ID Card system will solve the ten election problems outlined above in para 3a-j and it will be self-policing.

7. A proposed Voter ID law:

a.The intent of a Voter ID Card law is to positively identify a voter at a voting site with a current photo, a valid state Voter ID number, current address and a history of voter activity. Under this federal law everyone who is eligible to vote must have a Voter ID Card in order to perform in-person voting or to apply for an absentee ballot, the only two voting methods that would be authorized. 

b. The Voter ID Card will be obtained from a state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) facility and it will expire simultaneously with the expiration of a driver’s license. Both can be renewed at the same time. 

The Voter ID Card will be the same size and quality as today’s Real ID. the Voter ID Card will present a photo, full name, date of birth, address, sex, eye color, height, hair color, expiration date and, most importantly, an individual Voter ID 10-digit number beginning with the two-letter state abbreviation such as NC-456-789-3322. 

In order to obtain a Voter ID Card, you must be 18 years of age and present the following documents: a valid passport or birth certificate proving identity and date of birth.  One document confirming full name and social security number. Two documents with a current physical address proving state residency. Those who are physically unable to travel to a DMV processing site may sign a sworn affidavit requesting that another person assist in obtaining a Voter ID Card for that person.

The state DMV will immediately provide the state election headquarters with all Voter ID Card data.  Important point here:  that list will become the states’ voter registration roll. This prevents voter registration fraud (para 3b).

c. When a voter presents their Voter ID Card at the voting site, the administrative assistant will swipe the Voter ID Card and ascertain if that particular Voter ID Card number has already been used during the current election period.  if not, the assistant will print out an individual ballot which has the voter’s full name, address and Voter ID Card number printed on the ballot.  In the presence of the voting assistant, the voter will sign the ballot acknowledging that the data is correct.  Fraudulently signing a ballot will be a federal offense. With Voter ID Cards, every ballot instantly becomes individualized with the voter’s name and number.  This prevents ballot stuffing (para 3c), voter impersonation (para 3d) and fraud by election officials (para 3e). 

Once the voter has filled out the ballot and it has been “read” by the vote-tabulating machine, any subsequent ballots presented with that Voter ID number will be automatically rejected.  Additionally, any ballot presented without or with a fraudulent ID number will be rejected.

d. Across America the states’ voter registration rolls are terribly maintained and highly inaccurate. the Voter ID Card system will solve those problems and be self-policing.  That is, when a Voter ID Card hits the expiration date the software will automatically delete that Voter ID name and number from the system.  Furthermore, when a voter gets a new card or renews an expired one, the system will automatically add the voter to the registration rolls.  The result will be that we will no longer have dead people “voting” or 1.5 million ineligible voters registered to vote in LA County. Another method of voter fraud struck down. 

e. Voter apathy is rampant.  in the 2016 election an estimated 100 million eligible voters did not vote.  in the 2020 election a record number of Americans voted but still an estimated 80 million did not.  There are two simple actions that can assist in solving this problem. 

Rite-of-passage.  When a teen turns 16, in most states this authorizes them to get a driver’s license.  This is an important milestone; more freedom, more flexibility, more responsibility and being viewed as a young adult.  We can and should do more to celebrate the rite-of-passage at age 18, to become an active participant in one of America’s foundational rights, the right to vote. Since most teens reach age 18 while in their senior high school year, schools could and should do more to recognize this.

Secondly, election day is on a work day.  Many citizens just cannot get away from work to vote or use that as an excuse to stay away.  To exacerbate this, election day is only one day with long waiting lines or perhaps bad weather.  There is an easy fix, make the election a weekend happening.  The Constitution gives the States and Congress the authority to set the time and place of elections.  Begin voting on the first Saturday in November, 8-5 o’clock? Continue on Sunday, 11-5.  The majority of votes do not work on weekends. Top this off with a national election-day holiday every even numbered year. Give everyone ample opportunity to participate, eliminate long waiting lines, and take away most apathetic folk’s lame excuse for not voting. 

8. The Democrat view of elections:  Having passed H.R.1, The Peoples Act, in the House, January, 2021, the Democrats in the Senate pushed hard, but fortunately failed, to pass S.1, to federalize elections. That 800-page bill would, in fact, have enhanced the possibilities of election fraud. For example, states would have been forced to allow ballot harvesting, it would have gutted commonsense state voter ID laws in 36 states and would have mandated automatic voter registration on short notice, thus allowing some illegal immigrants to vote.

Here is a snapshot of Democrat’s vision of election reform.  In preparation for the 2020 election, California election officials mailed a blank ballot to every registered voter.  Keep in mind that the previous year LA County alone had been ordered by a federal judge to clean up 1.5 million ineligible voters on their voter registration rolls.  No wonder they prefer the status quo.  Chain of custody??

9. Democrats are completely off track on election reform.  This was confirmed by a July, 2021 poll conducted by the Republican National Committee with 800 registered voters (31% Democrats, 29% Republicans, 31% Independents). 

-80% agree Voter ID is a key security measure.

-87% were against ballot harvesting.

-77% rejected the Democrat claim that Voter ID is racist.

-78% agreed with voter signature verification and chain of custody controls.

– 89% agreed that voter rolls need to be cleaned up.

-88% believe states should not send mail-in ballots to the general public and non-citizens.

10. Don’t lose sight of the larger issue here; while this simple fix, Voter ID Cards, solves all of the current election fraud issues and more importantly renews confidence in the voting system with the American public, Voter ID is what the Democrats call racist voter suppression. 

Republican voter suppression is the big Democrat lie for the 2022/2024 elections. But, in the absence of anything positive to run on they will spend time, effort and tens of millions of dollars to convince voters the current system is without fault and need not be fixed.

11. Every Republican candidate at the local, state and federal level needs a short list of positive talking points explaining why the election process needs an overhaul and why Voter ID Cards are an easy and comprehensive fix. We should not be in a position of questioning, every two years, the integrity of one of our most basic rights.  The Democrats are completely out of step on this issue to the extent that they appear to want the current compromised election processes to continue.  They need to be exposed on voter suppression right now. The RNC needs to lead the way by providing talking points to every county Republican Chairperson with instructions to get them into the hands of every local, state and federal Republican candidate immediately.

Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, a columnist for THE PILOT, a national award-winning local newspaper in Southern Pines, NC and the author of a blog, WeThePeopleSpeaking.com

Background:  In 1956, the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev said of the U.S., “We will bury you.”  It was not an idol comment as the USSR was gaining strength and successfully spreading socialism and communism around the world.

The intensity of the rhetoric built until 1962 when Khrushchev threatened to station nuclear weapons in Cuba, 90 miles from our shores, thereby bringing the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust. It was a tense standoff as the threat of nuclear war was on everyone’s mind until Khrushchev backed away.  

In 1965, as the U.S. and USSR continued building arsenals of thousands of nuclear weapons, Secretary of Defense McNamara proposed that the guarantee of mutual annihilation could serve as an effective deterrent to both parties and that the goal of maintaining destructive parity should guide U.S. defense decisions.  From that, the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction took hold.  MAD is the notion that a nuclear attack by one superpower would be met with an overwhelming nuclear counterattack such that both attacker and defender would be annihilated.  Deterrence for the next 25 years worked and the USSR dissolved in 1991.

There is great wisdom in the MAD concept. Could it work today in a different setting?

This week Putin gave the order for massive Russian forces to invade Ukraine.  While doing so he also issued a warning to the world that interference in his, “Special military operation” would be met with, “Consequences never encountered in your history.” Make no mistake, he was figuratively pointing a finger directly at the U.S. and our proposed sanctions.  

In May of 2021 it is believed the Russians conducted a proof-of-concept limited cyber-attack on the U.S. when they shut down the Colonial Pipeline and caused gas shortages for half the East Coast.   

When President Biden met with Putin a month later, Biden brought up the cyberattack issue and presented Putin with a list of 16 critical infrastructure “entities” that must be “off-limits”

Fast forward to today and ask the question, are debilitating economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. considered “interference” in Putin’s invasion?  Given Putin’s warning, “Consequences never encountered in your history,’ what should President Biden do? Given the gravity of the situation, doing nothing does not appear to be a viable option.

President Biden should pick up the phone, call Putin today and tell him the following: 

President Putin, as I explained in our meeting last June, we are certain beyond a doubt that your people conducted the cyberattack on our pipeline the previous month.  At that time, I provided you with a list of critical entities that are off-limits to cyber warfare.  I am calling today to expand that list and inform you that any cyberattack on any entity is absolutely unacceptable. 

My intelligence people have given me a clear picture of your offensive cyberwarfare capabilities and I want to assure you that our capabilities, in the event of a necessary counter attack, are significantly more sophisticated and can be delivered on a massive scale. 

The leaders of the world believe your invasion of Ukraine is gross violation of international law and we collectively, are imposing sanctions as a penalty for your actions and to encourage you to cease operations immediately.  Your warning to the world that, ‘Interference would be met with Consequences never encountered in your history’ is highly threatening rhetoric. 

If a cyberattack occurs against the U.S. you are hereby informed that, unless another country or group takes credit for the actions, we will assume the attack came from you and our immediate and massive counter-attack will bring down your country.

Additionally, there are other countries that have publicly stated their desire to destroy us, namely Iraq and North Korea.  If you have contact with those countries, I would advise you to make sure they do not conduct a cyberattack on the U.S. causing us, in the absence of knowing otherwise, to blame you for the incursion and launch our counterattack.

President Putin, make no mistake, this is not a threat; this is a promise.  My number one priority as president of the Unites States is the safety and security of our people and I will take any actions against an aggressor to successfully fulfill my responsibilities in that regard.  This subject is neither up for further discussion nor negotiation, consider yourself fully informed of my position and intent on this subject.  End of phone conversation.

Why should President Biden have that discussion with Putin today?  Because to just hope (hope is not a process) a cyberattack by this psycho won’t happen places the U.S. in an unacceptably high-risk status.   

Does our military have a counter offensive cyber warfare capability?  I assume so.  If so, is it as sophisticated and massive as asserted above?  I don’t know the answer and it doesn’t matter.  Granted, creating a false narrative about our capability won’t make it real but it may instantaneously create a Cyber MAD scenario, which is the bottom line and critical at this point in time.

President Biden said in his Thursday address to the nation that we will “wait and see what happens” before considering additional sanctions.  Mr. President, waiting and doing nothing at this juncture could be catastrophic.

Putin believes he has nothing to lose by attacking us as he is already viewed by the world as pariah and this will fulfill his life-long desire to punish his nemesis, the United States. Mr. President, making that phone call does not need consensus with our allies nor does it need Congressional wrangling. Executing the the phone call should be highly classified, limited access, need-to-know only for the VP, National Security Advisor, Sec Def and Sec State.  You have everything to gain (save the nation) or everything to lose (the potential for a nation destroyed).  It is a no-to-low-risk phone call, just make it happen. 

Mr. president, here is one good reason to make the call.  There are thirty substations in the U.S. that play a critical role in the nation’s electric grid operations. A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report says, “Destroy nine interconnection substations and the entire United States grid could be down for at least 18 months, probably longer,” Experts say such an attack would be “irrecoverable.”  How do we pump water to 330 million people every day without electricity?  Tens of millions would die.

Mr. President, Mutually Assured Destruction is a proven concept.  Implementation costs are five minutes of you time on the phone.  MAD is a deterrent and deterrence is nothing more than creating fear in the mind of an adversary that a first strike option has unacceptable risk.

Note to readers:  Some of you are probably capable of communicating directly with the president or VP or National Security Advisor or Sec Def or Sec State.  If so, please advise them of this recommendation immediately. We have too much to lose.

Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, a columnist for THE PILOT, a national award-winning local newspaper in Southern Pines, NC and the author of a blog, WeThePeopleSpeaking.com.

CAMPAIGN FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM

1. Facts bearing on the problem:

Twenty-five million is probably a low estimate of the number of illegal aliens in the United States now.

In 2021, 1.9 million illegals crossed the border and checked in with Border Patrol Agents; tens of thousands were unaccompanied children who are being housed in facilities, some of which are at 800% capacity.   That’s 5,200 illegals per day that we know of, an estimated 20%, 1000 per day, were sick; aka Covid carriers.

In 2021, illegals crossed into the U.S. from at least 54 nations. 

The real taxpayer cost to support Biden’s illegal immigration is undisclosed but $3 billion in 2021 is a starting figure. 

While the agents were overwhelmed with those 5,200 illegals per day who checked in with the agents, Border Patrol knows the 1.9 million illegal crossings in 2021 does not include the tens of thousands of criminals, MS13 gang members, drug dealers, human smugglers and terrorists.

Also, while the Border Patrol Agents were overwhelmed processing families and chasing “runners”, tons of fentanyl, marijuana and cocaine was smuggled across, killing over 100,000 Americans in 2021. 

Branden Judd, National Border Patrol Council President, in a Fox News interview 8 February, made four important points you will not hear about on main-stream-media: 1) “During January, 2022, 2,206 pounds of fentanyl was seized on the southern border”.

2) “If we seize 5% of the drugs crossing the border, we are very lucky.” 

3) “90% of our Border Patrol resources are performing administration duties.”

 4) “For example, in a 150-mile crossing area we have only four agents on patrol.”

2. The Biden administration’s unspoken/unwritten policy on immigration is pure and simple open borders. While it is a huge and growing national security issue, and an embarrassment in the eyes of the rest of the world, it is, first and foremost, the most despicable deliberate national program any president has led in modern U.S. history.  It is the epitome of the democrat programs to develop and nurture an identity group, enable them with disincentivized federal cradle-to-grave entitlements and in doing so develop a solid recurring voting bloc. 

Biden-the-unifier conveniently overlooks the fact that two thirds of Americans disagree with his immigration policy.  Biden won’t talk about it and his immigration czar is busy looking for the “root causes” of the caravans coming out of southern Central American countries.  Madam Vice President, let me give you a little help; anyone with two brain cells to rub together recognizes the root cause is rampant crime, corruption at every level and endemic poverty.  You have recently been emphatic about the need to get out of Washington. Well, how about spending some time in the Rio Grande area and perhaps get inside one of the unaccompanied-minor housing facilities that is at 800% of capacity and then look for the root causes of that mess.  

3. End State.  If the Republican Party was to brain-storm a possible 2022/2024 campaign plan to clean up the illegal immigration mess, what would we be looking for? It might look something like this:

Institute a policy that will shut down the mases of illegals crossing our borders, forever.

Free up the Border Patrol agents to fulfill their intended mission; catch illegals and stop the flow of drugs and human trafficking.

Create a path to citizenship for the hard-working, law-abiding illegals already in the U.S.

Provide a clear distinction for illegals that ICE should locate, arrest and deport.

Do all this with a program that pays for itself.

4. Looks good on paper, but is it doable?  Absolutely, yes, it is. Here is the program outline and possible timetable:

November, 2022: Republicans win majority in the House and Senate.

January/February 2023:  Hold hearing and pass a 10–20-page law that will accomplish the campaign goals in paragraph 3.  To do so the Congress may have to override a Biden veto.  If a veto-override fails, this program should then become a high-priority 2024 presidential campaign issue. 

5. Phase one, Spring, 2023, The Immigration Reform Act (IRA) should:

Require every state to set up Illegal-Immigrant-Card (IICard) processing sites.  The logical solution is to add positions to each existing DMV office.

Additionally, in Phase One, every law enforcement agency in the United States will forward information to the FBI on every felony committed by an undocumented inhabitant (who, what, when and where).  The FBI will establish and maintain a national database of these cases which allows for an immediate check against an application for an IICard.

6. Phase Two, 1 July thru 31 December, 2023:  Every undocumented inhabitant in the U.S. will be invited to report to an IICard registration site in the state where they reside in accordance with a published alphabetical schedule (last name beginning in A, B, C, or D report during July, 2021, etc.).  the DMV will check into the FBI felony data base and if the applicant has a felony conviction, that person will be taken into custody, deported and will NEVER be eligible for an IICard.  This is an example of the specificity of the language that must be in the IRC; one strike and out. 

At this point you, the reader, are thinking something like, invite the illegals to report to the DMV, are you out of your mind?  Please stay with me, they absolutely will report to the DMV. 

Prior to appearing at the IICard registration site, each applicant must download a Federal Form, Employer’s Statement of Employment, fill it out and have it signed by their employer. No employer signature, no IICard.  The form must contain a statement of strong penalties for any employer signing a false statement.  Registration fee for the IICard is $50 per year which is the first step in fulfilling the objective of immigration reform without taxpayer dollars.  

The IICard will have a number for each individual; for example, if issued in North Carolina the identification number will be NC123-45-678. The card will include a photo, height, weight, hair color, issue date and termination date.  

Also, during Phase Two, the IRS will establish a National Registry of Card numbers. Every card issued by the state DMV will automatically be updated on the IRS registry.

When Phase Two ends it will never have to be repeated because every illegal immigrant in the U.S., on 31 December, 2023 will be either a legal holder of an IICard or they are deportable.  That is, on 1 January, 2024 we will know how many employed illegal aliens there are, where they live, where they work, what they do and how many direct family (spouse and children) members they have.  The remaining non-IICard holders need to be located and deported.   

7. Phase Three, 1 January, 2024:  This is the phase that begins to change behavior and thereby solve the dual problems of 25 million undocumented inhabitants and continued unsecured borders.

On 1 January, 2024, the day following the initial 6-month registration period any employer who employs an undocumented worker (no IICard) will be subject to a first-offence fine of $25,000 for each worker and $50,000 each worker, second offense. No exceptions, no excuses. No employer is going to risk their livelihood over the employment of an illegal alien. Laws change behavior and immediately adds accountability of employers into the immigration solution.   

This simple act of requiring illegal aliens to carry an IICard will have four positive and immediate results:

First, employers will protect themselves from potentially heavy fines by only hiring inhabitants who have a valid IICard.

Second, undocumented inhabitants who choose not to apply for an IICard or were denied an IICard will not be able to find an employer who will take them on.  They will therefore be unemployable, will be constantly liable for deportation if detained for any reason and will likely return to their country of citizenship.

Third, and this gets us to the objective in paragraph 3 to, “shut down the mases of illegals crossing our borders, forever”.  Foreigners contemplating illegal entry into the United States in order to work will soon learn that no employer is going to hire them and illegal entry will be a futile effort. This inevitable behavior change will, by default, reduce illegal immigration to a manageable trickle.          

Fourth, this will provide Border Patrol agents the opportunity to concentrate their efforts on the illegal entry of drugs, terrorists, gang members and those operating in the slave/sex trade.  

8. Phase Four, 1 July 2024 thru 30 June 2025:  This phase begins the twelve-month reissue of IICards; $50 fee.  The IICard color will change each year.  ONLY those inhabitants holding an IICard can receive a renewal card.  Additionally, they will be denied renewal if they have been unemployed and made less than $5000 or if they have been convicted of a felony or if they failed to pay their 10% federal tax.  Once denied, they will be detained, deported and never receive another card. Any IICard that is not renewed by the annual renewal date will automatically be moved to the government’s deportation list.

9. In order to fund the Immigration Reform Act, a provision in the law will require IICard holders to pay 10% Federal income taxes on gross income.  Employers must issue a 1099 using the individual’s IICard number to identify them to the IRS.  The IRS will establish a National Registry of Card numbers and the data base will list earned income and taxes paid for the previous year.

During the IICard renewal process, the DMV registration center will access the IRS data base to determine if the applicant has in fact been employed, made at least $5000 and paid taxes.  No tax records, no renewal and the applicant will be detained and deported.  The Federal Government will retain 2% of the tax revenue to fund four national data bases for The Immigration Reform Act. The remaining 8% will be returned to the States in proportion to the number of IICard holders. 

Any IICard holder convicted of a felony will have his card pulled, be detained and deported.  That person’s file and IICard number will be annotated at the national registry to ensure that any future attempts to reapply will be denied.

10. To assist the law-abiding, hard-working illegals towards citizenship, the Department of Labor will establish a web site that can assist an individual who has lost their job.  Any card holder can get on the Labor Department website and provide their name, location and skills.  Employers will be encouraged to check this website when they have job openings.

11. There will be four related national data bases associated with this plan.  First is the basic national data base with the personal data and card number of each IACard holder, maintained by Immigration and Naturalization Services.  Second is the data base of taxpaying IICard holders maintained by the IRS.  Third, is the data base of undocumented known felons in the US; maintained by the FBI.  Finally, there is the jobs-available registry at the Department of Labor. 

  12. An IICard holder will have the following four privileges:

One, they may apply for a state vehicle operator’s license and will be tested in English. A provision of the law will be that every state must also prominently display the individual’s IICard number on the State Driver’s License.  Additionally, every applicant must show proof of auto insurance.

Two, a current IICard will authorize the holder to legally cross U.S. borders. 

Three, legal holders may apply for an IICard for their immediate family members using the sponsor’s IICard number with a suffix, for their spouse and children (no extended family members).  If granted, the sponsor will be authorized to escort the dependents across the U.S. border.

Four, after legally holding an IICard for five consecutive years, that person is eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship for themselves and their immediate family (spouse and children).

13. Remember, these people are here illegally.  Therefore, they will not be eligible for social security, federal welfare payments, food assistance programs, Medicare, Medicaid, or social services.  This will save hundreds of billions of dollars per year in federal and state assistance payments.

14. Conclusions: 

Objectives for a completely reformed immigration system, paragraph 3, are reasonable and clearly within the art of the possible.  But it isn’t going to happen unless the Republican Party collectively gets to work and makes this a priority campaign issue in 2022.  Has anyone in the Republican Party figured out that this is 2022 and we are just nine months away from perhaps the most impactful election in our history?  We cannot take a chance on not winning because this nation may not survive three more years of Biden/Harris/Pelosi/Schumer.

Have we yet heard from a Republican leader exactly what the party will stand for this election year?  Have we heard any candidate spell out in detail, this is what needs to be done and this is how we can get there? 

Has anyone searched the RNC website looking for a page that lists the 2022 Republican platform.  Yes, I have and it isn’t there. Biden has already asked the question, “What are you (republicans) for?”  Well, I don’t know because the RNC and Republican leadership has not told our hundreds of 2022 candidates what to talk about, what to promise, what to say.  This is absurd, incompetent and disgusting.   For the last six months all we have heard is how easy it is going to be to win in November, 2022.  Well, here is a news flash; that is not a fact, that is an assumption and  plans bases on too many assumption are rarely successful.

15. Note to my readers.  This is the third recent article in which I tried to define a problem, recommend what needs to be done and how to go about achieving the desired end-state.  See Spending and Debt Reform January 22, 2022 and Education Reform in America, January 29, 2022.  In the previous articles I requested that you, the readers, who personally know and can communicate with our 2022 candidates, reach out to them and ask that they make Spending and Debt and Education Reforms part of their campaigns. I again suggest that you do that for Immigration Reform. 

At this point let me depart from the immigration reform issue and quickly look at the possibility of this, or any other subject, being recognized by the Republican National Committee as a critical 2022 campaign issue. 

16. My conclusion is that Ronna McDaniel and the Republican National Committee need a wake-up call. Open the website by asking for the RNC 2022 Republican Platform.  What you will get is a 50-page narrative written in 2016 by a committee.  2016!  Yes, it’s good background reading but it is not what we need right now. What the hell has the RNC been doing in 2021 in preparation for the 2022 mid-terms that is the most important election in the last 50 years?  Obviously, nothing. 

We need a list of what we are for.  We need this because Biden, on 19 January, during his 2-hour press conference, said six times, “What are the Republicans for?”, “What are the Republicans for?”

We need sound bites with talking points yesterday.  We need them in the hands of every local, state and federal Republican candidate.  Here is a starter list: spending and debt reform, education reform, a strong military, smaller federal government, regulation reform, states’ rights, individual rights, law and order, secure borders, lower taxes, school choice, immigration reform, etc. etc.  We need at least 25 of them that every Republican candidate in the country can tic off in one minute at every speech.  And for every one we need talking points in one short paragraph that tells the why and how.  One paragraph, not a thousand-word chapter from the 2016 platform. 

Additionally, from the RNC, we need a list of what we are NOT for with talking points.  We are not for higher taxes, a massive controlling federal government, over regulation, cradle-to-grave entitlements that are paid for with borrowed money, education unions’ control over education, etc. etc. etc. We need it right now.

In this 2022 campaignwe need to attack two things beginning right now and keep up the pressure.  One is the answer to Biden’s question, exactly what we are for.  And secondly, we need an overall theme that democracy, as we have known it, is being seriously eroded by the Democrats’ socialist/total government control agenda. The Democrats have zero accomplishments to campaign on so they are going to key on the 6 January hoodlums at the Capitol and imply that they are the voice of the Republican Party and their objective is to kill democracy.  Hillary has already publicly stated that should be their game plan. 

Last June, House Minority Leader, Keven McCarthy launched Commitment to America with seven task forces working the details.  The objective is to pull together a proposed legislative agenda for 2023 that would also serve as a 2022 campaign platform.  Great idea, but here is the problem.  When completed it will undoubtedly be hundreds if not thousands of pages.  More importantly, where the hell is it?  We need it yesterday for the 2022 candidates.

Ms. Ronna McDaniel at the RNC needs a wake-up call.  Someone there has been asleep at the switch. Let’s wake her up with about 20,000 emails tomorrow morning.  Go to www.gop.com/contact-us/ and send them an email.  Here is the one I just sent; please feel free to copy and paste:

The 2022 campaign is under way and we, the Republican Party, are not adequately prepared to win the most important election in decades.

Your website gives us a 50-page 2016 platform to work with!  What have you been doing in 2021 to arm every local, state and federal candidate with a list of topics and talking points for 2022? 

Talking points, in the hands of every candidate, will accomplish two vital objectives: First it will answer President Biden’s question, “What are the Republicans for?” which will become the battle cry for the Democrats from now until election day.  Secondly, when the American people hear every Republican candidate singing from the same sheet of music, they will sense the commitment, honesty, intellegence and the compassion of the Republican Party towards every American in 2022.

You need to get to work and support every candidate with the arguments that will reassure Republican voters and win over new Democrats and Independents.  This needs to be done right now.

Here is a scenario that I would like to see played out tomorrow morning at the RNC headquarters:  The Admin Assistant (AA) to Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel (RM) goes in to see her boss and says, “Ms. McDaniel you have 20,000 new emails, do you want them sent to your computer?” RM, “20,000!  What is the subject?”  AA, “They all have the same theme, that is we are not on top of the 2022 campaign.”  RM, “Send me a few.”

A few minutes later, RM to the AA, “Get all the senior staff in the conference room in 15 minutes and tell them to clear their calendars for the next 48 hours.”

RM in the conference room, “We are going to brainstorm the answer to Biden’s question, ‘What are the Republicans for?  Here are the rules: everyone can speak but me, I will listen.  There are no wrong answers, everything goes on the white board; there will be no debate at this time.  Susan, you record the input on the white board, John, you type it all into your laptop.”  20 minutes later they have a list of what the Party stands for.

RM to the staff, “OK, now go back to item #1, Secure Borders.  In phrase and sentence form, develop the talking points for Secure Borders.  Susan at the white board, John capture it all on your laptop.  We need fact-checked numbers to back up the verbiage.”   And they proceed through the entire list for the remainder of the day.

RM to the staff, “OK, good work, we have talking points, every issue with talking points will become a one-page fact sheet.”  RM makes each staff member responsible for three of the issues and then says, “Final draft of all fact sheets are to be completed by 4 pm tomorrow.  A packet of all the fact sheets will be provided to each of you by close of business for you to review and comment on tomorrow evening.  The day after tomorrow we go final with the fact-sheet package.  Today I will contact every state Republican Party Chairperson, update them on this project and direct them to forward the finished product to every county chairperson with instructions to get a copy in the hands of every local, state and federal candidate that resides in their county by close of business three days from now.  Two days from now we will reconvene in the conference room to begin the entire process over again answering the question, what is the Republican Party NOT for.  

 My point is, this is leadership 101, working this simple problem is not rocket science and can be accomplished this week but they need a kick in the butt to get them moving.  Your emails is a kick in the butt.

17. Final thought on Immigration Reform:  Mr. President and Madam Vice President, unless you were watching Fox News on 9 February, you probably don’t know that Border Patrol agents rescued (another in a long list) a 5-year-old unaccompanied little girl from Guatemala on the banks of the Rio Grande River.  That little girl and the dedicated Border Patrol agents were lucky this time.  But Mr. President and Madam Vice President, how many 5-year-old children were abandoned by some Cartel coyote, not rescued by our Border Patrol agents, and died along that river, alone, cold, hungry, frightened and calling out for their mother?  Where is your compassion, your common sense?  How can you turn a blind eye to the death, rape and suffering along the route to our southern border? How can you be driven by such an unethical, unamerican, politics-driven policy of open borders while two thirds of Americans disagree with the policy? 

18. Readers, please send your email to the RNC right now. Thanks. 

Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, a columnist for THE PILOT, a national award-winning local newspaper in Southern Pines, NC and the author of a blog, WeThePeopleSpeaking.com.

Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the U.S.; that’s a student every 26 seconds, 7,000 a day.

About 25% of high school freshmen fail to graduate from high school on time.

Almost 2,000 high schools across the U.S. graduate less than 60% of their students.

In the U.S. high school dropouts commit about 75% of crime.

1. Across the nation there are local school systems, K-12, that consistently develop well educated high school graduates, who have been trained to a high standard.  Good work.  However, generally speaking, education across America is a broken system. Our standards are pathetic. Teacher unions are completely out of their lane. Education should not be a political football, but it is. The more we spend, the less we produce.
2. Can we fix it?  Yes, we can, and the solution is really not that difficult, but it does take some common sense which seems to be in short supply in many parts of the country.  Examples:

Last summer, 2021, Oregon Governor Kate Brown cancelled the proficiency standards for reading, writing and math for high school graduation requirements, saying, “Suspending the reading, writing and math proficiency requirements will benefit Oregon’s Black, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander students.” Comment: Great idea, if we are going to dumb-down, make sure we don’t leave any one out; equity at its worst.  I predict Oregon will soon lead the nation in percent of high school students who graduate, the problem is they will not be prepared for what lies ahead. That simple piece of legislation just told the teachers, Principals, Superintendents and School Board members that they will not be held accountable for passing out high school diplomas to illiterate graduates.  

A recent Arlington, VA Board of Education proposal would force educators to allow students an unlimited number or retakes on assignments, ban giving out extra credit and would effectively eliminate homework by prohibiting it from being graded at all.  Proponents claim that certain basic standards, like having late penalties, could harm poor and minority students. Comment:  By all means, let’s make sure all of our high school graduates understand that life will be full of do-overs when your boss says your work is substandard.

December, 2021 headline: Many of California’s largest school districts are dropping “D” and “F” grades.  The move is called “competency-based learning.”  Comment:  There are other names for it but let’s keep them to ourselves and move on.  

More snapshots that illustrate what is happening in government-run public schools:  Providence, RI:  Only 5% of eighth graders are proficient in math.  Newark, NJ: 21% proficiency in math.  North Carolina: 44 % of fourth-graders are not proficient in reading.  Wisconsin: Black American eighth graders perform only slightly better than white fourth graders in reading and math.  A recent survey found that 20% of American adults cannot name even one of the three branches of government. And so it goes across the country.  Depending on what study you read, the U.S. world ranking is about 38^th in math and 24^th in science. Whatever the number you find, it is unbecoming to our great nation.

But wait, there is one area in which the U.S. ranks number one:  in 2017 we spent $14,100 per K-12 student which was 37% higher than the average among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member counties. And therein lies the problem; Politicians believe the federal government can buy good education. 

3. Before we move towards a solution it may be instructive to look closer at some verifiable statistics on our nation-wide education problem. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only assessment that measures what U.S. students know and can do in various subjects across the nation. Also known as The Nation’s Report Card, they grade mathematics, reading, science, writing, technology, arts, civics, geography, economics, and U.S. history for grades 4^th and 8^th every 2 years and 12^th grade every 4 years.

PRE-COVID NAEP REPORT CARD: In 2019 NAEP tested 150,600 grade 4 students, 143,100 grade 8, and 26,700 grade 12 students.  Here is a summary pulled from a large comprehensive report:

Reading:  The assessment measures reading comprehension by asking students to read selected grade-appropriate materials and answer questions based on what they have read. 

                                                Grade 4           Grade 8           Grade 12

NOT proficient:                         59%                 66%                   76%

Mathematics: The assessment measures both mathematics knowledge and the students’ ability to apply their knowledge in problem-solving situations.

                                                Grade 4           Grade 8           Grade 12

NOT proficient:                         65%                   66%              63%

Other subjects were even worse.  For high school seniors 88% NOT proficient in history, 77% NOT proficient in writing ability and 78% NOT proficient in science.          

Generally speaking, two thirds of our high school graduates are not adequately prepared to be all they can/should be.  And that says nothing about the 7,000 students who drop out every school day.  BTW, there is a correlation here; nearly 80% of prison inmates are school dropouts.

4. Who should be directly accountable for proper education? The point of execution for education is in the leadership the locally elected School Board members, the local Superintendent and the individual school Principals.  Period.  Their job descriptions are not difficult to understand but are critical to the success of education. Two rules:  First it is their job to provide a safe and secure environment for learning on all school property.  Secondly, the leadership group, Board members, Superintendent and Principles, are responsible for teaching every subject every day to every student to a prescribed standard.  Period, no ifs, and or buts.  Focus every day on those two requirements, hold the leaders accountable and we can get ourselves out of this mess.  But and this is a big but, in order for this to happen in every school, we have to get the feds and unions out of the decision cycle.   

5.We have to begin with standards; an organization without standards is a failed organization. The key to success is NOT the federal and state Departments of Education, they being a greater part of the problem than the solution.  it is NOT more money from the feds.  It is NOT more “guidance” from above.  It is not interference from the Education Unions. Success in education will flow from establishing standards and from enforcing those standards at the local level. 

The states should be accountable for establishing the standards for every subject, ever grade K-12. If Oregon wants low standards, so be it and let the voters decide if that is the correct choice. This is not rocket science, its common sense in action.  I would put the state Lieutenant Governor in charge of this undertaking.  Here is how it can happen; no funding, no contracted “study”, no psychologists or councilors or union reps required.

Organized and led by the Lieutenant Governor in every state, on day-one there will be a meeting of three experienced outstanding kindergarten teachers and three equally outstanding elementary school Principles.  Their task is to define what every Kindergarten student should achieve by school year-end; that is, the end state standard. Having done that, they will then outline, in general terms, what to achieve during each of the six-week intervals on the way to the end state. That’s it, they are done, the kindergarten standards are set.  Every kindergarten teacher will be responsible for developing their weekly lesson plans and submitting them to their Principal for review and approval.  Every elementary school principal and kindergarten teacher in the state will then work to achieve that standard.

A similar group of 1^st grade teachers, who silently sat in on the kindergarten session, now have a clear understanding of the kindergarten end-state which clearly defines their start-point for 1^st grade standards. They then set about to establish end of 1^st grade standards.

And so it would go day after day during a summer-long session to define standards for every grade and every subject K-12. 

6.Accountability, an essential element in every organization’s success. Who, in this scenario is accountable?

President: The President is accountable for making sure the Department of Education does almost nothing because of their total failed record. In other words, they are a big part of the current problem and have been since it began operations 40 years ago; they should go away. Additionally, the president should not act as a pawn for the Education Unions, irrespective of the vast amount of money they contribute to his/her campaign; the American Federation of Teachers $1.6 million and the National Education Association $371,000 contributed mostly to democrat candidates during 2020. 

Governor: The Governors have three responsibilities, one to create the standards for their K-12 schools. Secondly to keep their State Board of Education and the state Department of Education from interfering with the local Boards of Education. Finally, to keep the education unions from interfering with local Boards of Education

Board of Education: Local Boards of Education ensure their Superintendent uses the state-developed standards for every class, every subject, every day. Will some Boards go off the rails with wild and unreasonable ideas about how to educate kids? Yes, but this gets at the heart of the decentralization discussion.  When our schools are operating from and reacting to rules and regulations emanating from some nameless faceless bureaucrat in Washington, what are their options?  Just comply.  But if the problem is with the local Board of Education, the solution is clear, vote them out of office.  Keep education decision-making close to the point of execution. 

Superintendent: Superintendents require every Principle to have a complete set of teacher lesson plans that will achieve State standards for every class, every subject for every week. 

Teacher: Teachers stay in their lane, teaching and testing their subject and leaving gender and sex education where it belongs, in the home with parents.  The teachers’ routine is to teach to standard, test to standard, teach, test, teach, test and achieve the end-of-year-standards.  The rationale for emphasis on teach/test is that a teacher must have a tool for knowing if the students’ “get it”. Without frequent testing they simply will not know.  End-of-year testing to determine if the students achieved proficiency (see para 3, “76% of 12^th graders are not proficient in reading”) is not adequate.   If found to be “not proficient”, what, at that point In time, can they do about it?  Nothing, it’s too late. The alternative is to just pass them on to the next grade where they will get further behind until a few grades later they hit the off-ramp onto the drop-out-highway to nowhere. (see para 3, “nearly 80% of prison inmates are school dropouts”).

Parents: Parent vigilance is the icing-on-the-cake for the local education team. Parents should be proactive in their relationship with their youngsters’ teachers.  If they sense things are not going well at school, find out why and do something about it. “Tell me about your classes today” should become a standard conversation opener every night at the dinner table.  Kids will get used to it, expect it and believe that their parents are genuinely interested.  Parents should pay close attention to homework, especially if, routinely, there isn’t any.

An organization without accountability is a filed organization and we are failing miserable right now.

7. This formula for success is simple, direct and easily within the art of the possible. How do we make it happen? We need to make improved education a national imperative.  We need to make citizens across this nation believe we can be, not only better, but the best in the world. Improving education needs to be a part of every political campaign at the state and federal levels.  Every candidate needs to believe he/she must stake out a strong pro-education position.

Those of you who have read my writings on education over the past couple years may recall that some of the above material is a repeat. But I needed that background to set the stage for how we the people can go about getting it accomplished. We can, with Rip McIntosh’s help, influence political campaigning in every community in America from now through the 2024 Presidential election.

This is a rare moment in time when the Republican Party has a very high confidence of winning in big numbers across America in the next two elections.  The Party’s first responsibility is to carefully and strategically define in plain language what we stand for and intend to accomplish if elected.  That is, publish a list: 1) spending and debt reform, 2) education reform, 3) a strong military, 4) smaller federal government, 5) regulation reform, 6) states’ rights, 7) individual rights, 8) law and order, 9) secure borders, 10) lower taxes, 11) school choice, etc. In order to get everyone singing from the same sheet of music there needs to be a brief, succinct, paragraph explaining intent for each.  For those of you who know and can communicate with the RNC chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, urge her to publish this now.  A key recent Democrat talking point, beginning with President Biden, is, “what are you Republicans for?”  Well, It’s time to tell them.

On 22 January Rip was kind enough to publish a “special edition” on Spending and Debt Reform.  What follows uses that same formula to achieve Education Reform in America.  Here goes:

8. Phase 1, Planning and Message Proliferation. Now through November 2024.

• Of the tens of thousands of Rip’s subscribers who are reading this, some of you know and can communicate with the Republican candidates for State and Federal House and Senate seats this year.  Those of you who believe Education Reform is necessary, encourage your candidate to make Education Reform a priority in their campaign. If this happens, Education Reform awareness will be set up across the nation for the 2024 presidential campaign. 
• There are Republican movers-and-shakers who have national influence and are frequently asked by the media to comment on policy and issues; three that come to mind are former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Governor Mike Huckabee, and former presidential Special Advisor Karl Rove.  Additionally, we can easily begin to make a list of potential 2024 presidential/vice presential candidates; for example, Senator Tom Cotton, Governor Ron DeSantis, former Governor Nikki Haley, former President Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Senator Lindsey Graham, Governor Kristi Noem. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and other influential Republican stalwarts also need to be on the list.  The point here is that those of you who know and can communicate with those on the list should have a serious discussion with them about making Education Reform an important addition to their political position from this date on through the 2024 election.

9. Phase 2, State Legislatures and the 118th U.S Congress, January 2023-2025.When State Legislatures and the U.S. Congress convene, the electees should take the momentum from the 2022 campaigns and inculcate Education Reform into daily political dialogue and appropriate legislation.

10. Phase 3, The 2024 Presidential Campaign. During the primary campaigns, all Republication candidates should agree that Election Reform is a critical issue facing the nation and if elected will make it a priority to execute the reform process.

During the general-election campaign, the Republican presidential candidate will make it clear that Election Reform execution will begin January, 2025 and be a priority for their administration.

11. Phase 4, Post-2024 Election Planning.  Selection of a Secretary and Deputy Secretary for the Department of Education will include consideration that they are enthusiastically on-board with all elements of Election Reform.

12. Phase 5, Legislation to support Election Reform.  Within the White House, write the proposed legislation to completely change and downsize the Department of Education:

• Scale it down to a small agency for fed-only tasks such as federal grants.
• Change the mission to support decentralization of education in America. Downsize and eliminate the majority of their current functions.
• Task the Governors to establish education standards for every subject, K-12.
• Fund the operations of The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), tasking them to continue to be  “The Nation’s Report Card” by executing the same procedures, testing and analytical processes currently in use.

13. CONCLUSIONS:

• In retrospect, our 24-month COVID experience provides a perfect illustration of the advantages of decentralization vs centralized control of education.

While Presidents Trump and Biden debated nation-wide one-size-fits-all policies for schools and Governors came on line with state-wide policies for education, the union spokespersons were completely out of their lane on national TV attempting to dictate policy.  For example, a major Los Angeles teachers union demanded, as a condition for reopening schools, defunding police, a moratorium on new charter schools, a new wealth tax on California’s wealthy and federal Medicare-for-all. You could not make up a scenario this ridiculous.

By contrast, we know that every community has had its own individual COVID-related issues. Here is a decentralized policy scenario: On Monday morning the local Board of Education Chairperson sends a memo to the Superintendent of Schools and simultaneously released it to the public.  The memo says, in part: “On Wednesday the Board will host an open-to-the-public meeting to hear student parents’ views on in-class vs remote learning, masking, vaccinations, etc.  Saturday morning the Board will meet in closed session with Superintendent Smith and all of our schools’ Principals.  This week each Principal will determine the number of teachers who agree/disagree with the following COVID-related policies…. The board’s decisions will be announced Saturday afternoon.”  Gather local data to make local decisions to fit local situations.  Makes a lot more sense than the nonsense we have lived with for the past 24 months.

This is a formula for how to run education; keep it local and make education a local team effort with parents, students, local education administrators and teachers focusing on the end state, high school graduates who are proficient in every subject and ready to be high-performing adults.  

• For decades, in every presidential election, the candidates have said they would improve education.  As the saying goes, “all hat and no cattle.”  It’s time for some positive action and you who are reading this right now can help make it happen. 
• Real, workable Education Reform actions will only happen if the momentum is from we-the-people pushing up.  Wake up America, throwing federal money at the problem is a failed concept.
• This concept of operations will work because it is what worked in the past when no one talked about Education Reform because we were the best in the world. 

14. BOTTOM LINE:

• Business-as-usual politics in Washington cannot achieve Education Reform.  It must come from a “movement” and that can happen with hundreds of Republican candidates for state and federal positions pressing the issue.
• For decades Education “Reform” has consisted of hundreds more regulations, thousands more bureaucrats and billions more of your tax dollars.  A failed concept of operations.
• As we look toward the 2022/2024 elections issues like Spending, Debt and Education Reform will resonate with Americans and the Democrats have little ammunition to fight off this Republican assault.
• Something to contemplate: “Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed” Joseph Stalin.

Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, a columnist for THE PILOT, a national award-winning local newspaper in Southern Pines NC, and the author of a blog, WeThePeopleSpeaking.com.