National decision: empirical or post-factual?

We are on the eve of the most important presidential and congressional election in the history of the United States.  The differences between the two presidential candidates and what they stand for are not blurred.  What they have and/or have not accomplished in the past, what they stand for, what they promise, and their political platforms for the future of our country are crystal clear and couldn’t be more different.  Will we, the voters, render an empirical decision or a post-factual decision?

The wording of that question is different than you would normally hear, but it is well suited for this election.  Let me explain.  An empirical decision (vote) is based on what each of us have individually experienced, seen, and know, rather than on a theory.  A post-factual decision (vote) is when we as individuals are more likely to accept an argument based on emotions and non-substantiated beliefs, rather than actual facts.  In other words, an empirical vote is based on experienced knowledge and facts, whereas a post-factual vote in based on what one would like to believe is true and not on established facts; i.e. don’t bother me with the facts, I have already made up my mind.

Primarily, for those of you who have not yet voted, I am providing a general summary of the two candidates in the form of information pertinent to their suitability to serve as our president.  I believe you will see the differences between the two candidates, their backgrounds, skill sets, and accomplishments (or lack thereof), and where they want to lead the country to be in stark contrast.  For those who have already voted, these summaries will allow you to further assess the vote you cast and its potential impact on the future of our country.

The Socialist Democrat challenger:  Former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. aka “Joe” Biden.  He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.  He subsequently attended law school at the University of Syracuse, graduating near the bottom of his class.  He is a “career politician,” having served 47-years, primarily as a U.S. senator representing the state of Delaware.  He is noted for his lack of significant accomplishments both as a senator and Barrack Obama’s vice president.

In 1988, Biden underwent surgery for two brain aneurysms. On Nov. 20, 2020, he will be 78 years old, and, should he win the election, he would be the oldest person ever sworn in as president and the first president whose frequent gaffes, garbled sentences, mid-sentence memory lapses, exaggerations of personal achievements, and embarrassing lies suggest that he is suffering from the early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia before entering office and assuming control of the nuclear war button.

This is his third attempt to win the presidency.  Biden was a lifetime Democrat who embraced socialism after the extreme left wing of the Democrat Party was hijacked by Socialists.  He and Senator Bernie Sanders, a radical Socialist, drafted a 110-page Socialist manifesto/political platform for their party, which I refer to as the Socialist Democrat Party.

As has been the case throughout his career, Biden has flipped back and forth on important issues in this  current campaign.  He has repeatedly lied by denying that he said certain things, when there is video footage of him doing so.  There is ample video footage of him saying he (A) is going to raise taxes significantly, (B) reinstate the failed fiasco known as Obama Care, under the moniker Biden Care, (C) plans to do away with our Second Amendment right to bear arms to protect ourselves, (D) plans to shut down businesses and schools until COVID-19 is eradicated.  COVID-19 is a virus and, like the flu, it will be around for a long time, but it will be better controlled by soon to be released cures developed by the nation’s top pharmaceutical companies as part of President Trump’s “Warp Speed” project.

And to put the icing on the Socialist cake, Joe Biden has said he plans to shut down our world-leading oil and gas industry.  He made that clear in the final moments of the recent presidential debate, in Nashville, Tennessee.  If that happens, our economy will implode.

The failsafe scenario that may end the plans of Biden and his Socialist friends is emerging in the form of video documented revelations sourced to eyewitnesses/business partners of the Bidens.  There is apparently a surrendered/confiscated personal computer that belonged to Hunter Biden, which contains several thousand e-emails that may qualify as evidence of wrongdoing and a number of cell phones reported to contain a treasure trove of text messages implicating Joe and Hunter Biden in wrongdoing.  It is also my understanding there are photos of Joe and Hunter with some of their foreign contacts/associates.  It appears that Joe Biden and his son Hunter had, and may still have, an ongoing hidden agenda and a financially rewarding relationship with Communist China and possibly other countries.  It is early, but it also appears that the FBI may have known about this evidence for at least a year and failed to investigate the matter. I hope that is not the case for the sake of federal law enforcement.  Just when you think you have seen it all, the political swamp that is Washington D.C. floats another putrid revelation to the surface of its dirty waters.

The Republican Incumbent - President Donald John Trump.  He is the fourth of five children.  As a child he was energetic and assertive; traits that have served him well in life.  He attended Fordham University for two years, then switched to the Wharton School at the University of  Pennsylvania where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics.  When he took over his father’s real estate business, he renamed it The Trump Organization and began building and/or renovating large office buildings/complexes. He expanded into other areas and, as an entrepreneurial businessman, became a billionaire.  When he became president of the United States, he turned over the business to his two sons Donald Jr. and Eric.

Donald Trump is the first U.S. president that was not a politician or a military officer.  And, amazingly, he has become the most successful first-term president in the history of our country.  His business skills and ability to bring people together and get things done have served him well.  His most important attribute is his innate ability to bond with the people who count; i.e. working-class Americans.  Long before he became president, he wrote a book titled “The Art of The Deal.”  It was a road map on how to get things accomplished.  He is a natural  leader with a “can-do” attitude.

He has kept more campaign promises than any other president before him. As promised, he cut taxes, stimulated the economy to record highs, and reduced unemployment for all races and genders to record lows.  He took us out of the awful Paris nuclear accord deal and has brought a near-bankrupt Iran to its knees.  He oversaw the destruction of Al-Qaeda and quietened North Korea.  He collected overdue monies from NATO countries and, in doing so, revitalized this vital organization. He has strengthened and modernized our military and is bringing our troops home from other peoples’ wars.  He restored and strengthened our close ties with Israel.  On the economic front, he has brokered new and more favorable trade deals.  He looked inside our country and opened up new drilling site opportunities and supported “fracking.” As a  result, we are now energy independent for the first time in 75 years.  We have also become the number one exporter of oil in the world.

The promised wall on our southern border is well underway, with over 400 miles already built.  President Trump also saved many lives from COVID-19 by closing down travel from China and Europe.  And, in the battle against COVID-19, he has led our battle from out front and continues to do so.  He has brokered three new peace treaties between Israel and three Arab nations, a feat which has earned him three   nominations for a Pulitzer Prize.  And, with his law-and-order reforms, placement of opportunity centers in heavily populate black areas, and increased financial support to predominately black universities, the president has done more for black Americans than our 44 preceding presidents, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln (also a Republican).

The list of President Trump’s accomplishments is far too long to cite in the space allotted for this article.  The fact that Donald Trump accomplished all of this with little or no help from the  (Socialist) Democrat Party and while fending off their sham and failed impeachment of him is a testament to his determination to be the president of a united America.

For all those who are yet to vote, have I given you enough information?    What will it be, an empirical vote or a post-factual vote?  Vote for America and our way of life!  Socialism is a highway to hell.

The foregoing in a combination of the facts as I know them to be and my considered opinions.  I do apologize for the length of my comments, but this is my last chance to share my views with you before this important election.  Before I close, I want to thank my sister, Norma, whose comments earlier this week inspired me to write this rather lengthy article.  I also want to let you know that you will not see my article in the paper for the next two or three weeks.  The COVID-19 pandemic ruined our travel plans for earlier this year, and, now that Hawaii has reopened for visitors, my wife and I will leave on Nov. 5 for a two-week stay on the island of Maui.  But in the famous words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur as he left the Philippine Islands in the early days of World War II, “I Shall Return!”  God Bless America!