2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #245 "INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY"

     My great friend Judge Andy Guilford recently called my attention to an insight that I will pass along to you: the Judiciary is probably the most important of our three branches of government.  Why?  Because the Executive is dependent upon the majority to stay in office, and so is the Legislature.  So it is only the Judiciary that truly upholds and enforces minority rights.  And that is what makes America what it is.  In other words, the very soul of our great country is our freedoms and our liberties.  And that soul is continually under attack, if only in the name of “keeping us safe.”  Wiretapping, surveillance cameras, unnecessary pre-trial confinement, license plate and facial recognition cameras, reduced rights under our search and seizure laws cloaked under the guise of the so-called War on Drugs, and on and on.  And it is really only the Judicial Branch of Government that stands in the way of even more erosion of our precious liberties.  I have said it many times in these columns, and it bears repeating: the Delegates at our Constitutional Convention in 1787 fought, debated and bickered over numbers of things, but literally each delegate agreed that the most important function of government is to protect our Liberties from the encroachment of government.  (The second most important was our security.)

      So what can we do to protect our Judicial Branch of Government?  Primarily we must protect its independence!  In the past few years we as a society have allowed our judiciary to become more politicized, even to the extent that several states have allowed judicial candidates to be endorsed by political parties.  In addition, many judicial branches, including California, have been intentionally underfunded by the legislatures in response to judicial decisions that the legislatures did not agree with.  These are dangerous precedents, because all of us are in the minority in some regards and, “There but for the Grace of God,” each of us could in fact be overly or even wrongly prosecuted by the government for just about anything.  We simply must have an independent judicial system to protect us from all of these potential abuses.  So everyone please be aware of this continuing threat, and lend a hand to protect us all against it.  We simply must keep our Judicial branch of government independent!

Story for the week: A Doctor gave a man six months to live.  But the man couldn’t pay his bills, so the Doctor gave him another six months.

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com.  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #244 "YOU WILL BRUSH YOUR TEETH!"

  It has clinically been shown numerous times that brushing our teeth after every meal enhances our health.  Thus society would benefit if all of us would consistently do that, not to mention the cost savings to governmental programs like Social Security, Medicare and MediCal.  So how about Congress passing a law mandating this “Good Health Measure” for all of us!  Of course, we cannot have an effective law unless some sanctions are attached for non-compliance, so Congress should also create an enforcement agency.  Naturally, of course, the enforcement police would also need to have surveillance capability, because voluntary reporting would truly be suspect and ineffective.  Nevertheless, due to the substantial “benefits” that would accrue, the costs and intrusions would be justified – and, as long as we are law-abiding and brush our teeth regularly, what do we have to fear?

    Is this a good idea?  No!  But do you understand that this is the literal basis for many of our laws in today’s Nanny State?  If so, where are the protests?  Naturally the above proposal would have many nuances and complications.  For example, must we use toothpaste with fluoride?  What type of toothbrush is “acceptable?”  Does simply eating a banana at lunchtime constitute a “meal” that would require brushing? etc., etc. and etc.!  But since the intentions are good, we will simply have to abide with the problems.  And think of the other possibilities: Eat your Greens!  Purchase Healthcare Insurance!  Be an “educated” voter (i.e. vote for the candidates and issues favored by the current government then in power)!  Of course, all of these things are important, but they can best be accomplished by private programs of education and taking responsibility for one’s own actions and health – i.e. employing Libertarian Values!  And, just like our great country’s Founders were, we should always be hugely cautious of allowing governmental encroachments into our Liberties!  To them that was the most important function of government!  (The second was keeping us safe!)  So, yes, we should brush our teeth, but we should also keep the government out of our bathrooms!

Lexophile for the Week: “Our mountains aren’t just funny, they’re Hill Areas!”  (Oh well. . .)

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #242 "THE LARGEST 'COMPANY' IN THE WORLD"

     Question: What is the largest and most expensive “company” in the world?  Answer: Our federal government.  It is virtually mindboggling to see how large this government is!  If you want to get an idea, Google either “The Plum Book 2019“ or “Political Appointments by Donald Trump” in Wikepedia.  These will show you that there are 7,000 civil service “leadership and support” positions in the Executive and Legislative branches of government, and that the President actually appoints 4,000 of them, of which about 1212 must be confirmed by the Senate.  (A partial list is enclosed herein.)  Our federal government alone has 15 separate departments, as well as two more independent intelligence agencies and another 9 separate agencies, plus additional agencies, banks, commissions, councils and offices – and these do not include any of the judicial branch of government.  And virtually all of these positions pay well more than $100,000 per year!

      Unfortunately, the government of the Government of the State of California is just as bad.   Google “List of California State Agencies” in Wikipedia and see that there are 231 separate state government agencies alone!  Maybe there are some that have outlived their usefulness and should be abolished?  Or at least there might be some jurisdictions that are duplicated that could be combined.  In that regard, how about agency numbers 225, the California Water Commission, 226, the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, 227 the Department of Water Resources, and 228, the State Water Resources Control Board?  Is anyone looking into these issues?  Does anyone else join me in thinking that the public sector workers are becoming the privileged class in our society today, with good pay, benefits and job security, all at taxpayer expense?  Does anyone else agree with me that “the bigger the government, the less important the citizens and their liberties?”  You know the saying: “Fish swim, birds fly, and regulators regulate,” even though none of them are elected by “We the People.”  And you wonder why taxes and government spending are so high, and our liberties are being reduced . .  Our Founders would truly be shocked!

Quote for the week: No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions.  He had money as well.”  Margaret Thatcher

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #233 "SUNSET LAWS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT!"

      When I ran for Vice President as a Libertarian in 2012, the issue that unfailingly gained the most traction among all of the people I spoke with was “Sunset Laws.”  So I almost always began my presentations with that issue.  Sunset laws would require that statutes, programs and even agencies be required to win a positive vote in Congress every five to seven years in order to continue to exist.  That would result in each of these parts of government making a presentation about what it had accomplished in that past period, how much it had cost and what we could project it would cost and accomplish in the future to justify its existence.

     This straightforward approach would allow Congress, and all of the rest of us, to see how much “bang for the buck” we were receiving, as well as to focus upon the many areas in government which are duplicated or even unnecessary.  Thus maybe the agency would continue to be funded, but some of its efforts and funding would be reduced because they weren’t productive.  And – what an amazing thought – some statutes, programs or even agencies could be discontinued!  Are you aware that the federal government still employs and funds many of the New Deal’s programs – often under a different title?  We can debate whether these approaches were appropriate back in the 1930s, but don’t you agree they should be re-evaluated and re-analyzed now after more than 80 years?  Milton Friedman once said that “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.”  Sunset laws would change that reality.

Quote for the week: “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right.  But a single experiment can prove me wrong.”  Albert Einstein

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com.  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #206 "SYNCHRONIZE OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS"

      Okay, do you want to know how we could lower our overall gasoline consumption, improve mileage in vehicular transportation, reduce lost time in commuting and increase the air quality all around us – all at the same time?  Synchronize our traffic signals!  We certainly have the technology.  In fact, when my family took a vacation to New York City, way back in 1957, the taxi driver was able to travel about 30 miles per hour through the city streets without stopping because, as he explained it, the signals were synchronized at that speed.  So why has this not occurred in every town and city in our country!  This is a ridiculous situation!

         Yes, I understand, the bane of this approach is pedestrians, whose needs are inconsistent and who obviously take longer to clear an intersection than does a vehicle.  But surely this is something that today’s engineers can figure out.  As you know, I am not a fan of the federal government intruding into many of these areas.  But maybe just this once, the feds could come up with a workable set of specifications, and even some funding, to get this plan in operation.  The government wastes so much money on other things, maybe we could actually benefit from some of these expenditures!  If you agree with me, let’s get on this!

Quote for the week:  “If we can send a man to the moon, why don’t we send all of them?”  Anon

Judge James Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

By the way, these columns are now on Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray@wordpress.com.  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.