Notebook: A simple solution

EDITORIAL MUG: Larry Anderson

“Stupid is as stupid does.”

You may recall that memorable line from Forrest Gump, one of the best films about America ever. It is on the nose with its pithiness and truth, but it is also blunt. Sometimes blunt is what we need.

The remark reminds us what we do is who we are. Once done we either move on wiser than before or maintain the status quo, having learned little or nothing. The end result is even money, but whatever it is becomes history until urgency demands reform.

We must not let stupid become the norm, but we are getting dangerously close. We allow the inexplicable to pose as wisdom, greed to masquerade as altruism, phony tolerance to cover incompetence and failure. We used to know better, but it is a struggle these days to find common sense in anything.

I recently read a disturbing news report concerning Los Angeles. It seems an entrepreneurial individual bought a residential property in need of repair, sank substantial resources into a remodel, and planned to flip the house for profit. When the project was completed, the property sat vacant while the owner waited for a buyer.

Imagine his surprise when squatters broke in, changed the locks, and set up housekeeping as if the owner’s property was really theirs. He demanded they leave, of course, but they refused. He called the police, but they could do nothing. Squatters’ rights occur when people who have no investment or ownership in a home nevertheless move in and exercise more rights than the true owner. Remember this is California where liberalism and stupidity rules.

The property owner persisted. The squatters demanded $2,000 to leave. The man refused that amount but countered with $1,200 which the thieves accepted. That’s called a shakedown, which in this case was supported by a severely flawed system. This was legalized thievery contrived by liberalism.

You may be thinking that’s someone else’s problem, but it’s actually an American problem. What happens in LA can easily transfer elsewhere. Understand, squatting isn’t about tolerance or property exclusively; it’s also about what’s fair and what makes sense. No person should have to go through what that owner did. He must wonder what happened to ordinary decency and simple logic in a country that once modeled fairness and common sense. He could ask Governor Newsom and the mayor of LA to explain, but, seriously, would it do any good?

Will we ever learn not to elect leftists to any office anywhere? What is it they say about doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result?

Stupid is as stupid does.

How smart is it for Biden’s government to allow literally millions of immigrants to enter America illegally every year? These poor people are let loose to make do. No jobs. No plan. No homes. No resources. They do have Biden and the liberals to prep them for future political benefit. From poverty springs power and permanence for the leftist brand. When there isn’t enough poverty at home, you import it in the name of democracy.

Don’t confuse connivance with stupid.

Most immigrants go to the big cities. Many remain on the streets in the cold and snow while liberal mayors who once smugly espoused the wonder of their sanctuary city status now bemoan a population they can’t help. It looks bad so, naturally, they blame Republicans and demand federal money.

One can expect politics to be what it is, but falling for an obvious sham lacks smarts. It’s also sad and destructive because it is Americans who pay.

Is it smart to allow a small group of radicals to separate us from our country’s history, traditions and success?

How about allowing environmental fanatics to determine our economic future based on flimsy supposition? Is that bright?

How intelligent is it to insist on moving toward electric transportation long before we are ready for the transition?

Is it really okay to have a favorable justice system for the left and another for everyone else?

Are trade imbalances smart? How about foreign dependency on essential goods? A shrinking military? Failing education? Rampant corruption? A weaponized judiciary?

I could continue to add, but my point is we don’t have to accept stupid, not when the simple solution to so many self-inflicted problems lies with a change in leadership. That’s where you come in, but it needs to be now because America is faltering like a doddering old-timer at a crosswalk. Stupid is to blame. Stupid is as stupid does.

Larry W. Anderson is a retired educator.