My hopes for a Republican candidate for governor

 Elise Stefanik is currently a Federal House rep from upstate (rural) New York.  She is running to unseat a truly vile incumbant (Kathy Hochul).  I am enthusiastic about her candidacy and extend an offer to help her candidacy, laced generously with opinions and caveats.

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Honorable Elise Stefanik

Federal House Representative

137 Margaret St. Suite 100

Plattsburgh, NY  12901

Dear Representative Stefanik:

Want Some Help?

 Because I live on Long Island I know little about you. I caught a clip the other day that you will run against Kathy Hochul for governor.  I believe one remark was that the State of New York will not bail out our Sharia Law city from its certain financial failure. Delightfully, Hochul is caught between a rock wall and a hard place.

Your website is tailored to your role as a representative.  I assume most of your positions are similar to those you will communicate during your gubernatorial run. Rarely have I had so much enthusiasm for a political candidate. On our long ballots I will often vote for one candidate, or none; in the last election I voted for no candidates but expressed my opinion on the two ballot issues. I do not vote party or lesser of evils, only individuals with whom I substantially agree. I do not like Lee Zeldin, a perfect RiNo.  I researched his congressional history when he ran for the governor of New York and discovered not one thing controversial and important.  We all love our veterans, right?  Too many other issues of importance he ignored.  I was disappointed Trump appointed him to his cabinet.  A nice guy with not nearly the spine to run a divided government. I do not understand why candidates with conservative values are so terrified of defending those values.  Mr. Lalota is of the same cloth.

Your positions and issues of particular importance to me:

SECOND AMENDMENT:

I list this first deliberately.  As  our country becomes less willing to defend the innocent, often protecting the criminal, I want to be in the best position to defend myself and family.  I like the saying “when you need a cop in eight seconds, one will arrive in eight minutes.” In Mamdani’s Utopia, it will likely take much more time than that and if the call is from a woman whose husband is beating her, one may not show up at all.  Mamdani hinted as much. That does not work for me.  That I own a handgun guarantees my safety?  No but I have a better chance than if I am unarmed.  I would prefer we not have RPG’s in the hands of individuals but handguns are legitimate and so would have thought our forefathers.

I have a concealed weapons permit.  Guns scare me. I do not target shoot and  do not hunt.  I will, without remorse, shoot someone who threatens me or my family.  I am a transplant from the State of Washington. I carried a gun for 50 years.  Believe it or not, Sandy Hook, I never shot anyone.  I once removed the gun from my glove box, waved it at four thugs who hoped to extract an elderly man from his car at a stoplight in Spokane, Washington.  They ran, the old man drove off in his car, I replaced my gun and drove off, happy I had done my good deed for the day…and no one got shot! Again, Sandy Hook, sorry to disappoint.

I rarely carry.  My fear is that if I leave my gun in the car it might be stolen but at least I feel free to carry it on a specific trip.  Except for Hochul.  After she was stomped by the SCoTUS decision, she, with her fellow evils, crafted a list which essentially tells me I can’t carry my gun anywhere except on the roads. You may have read the comment from one advocate, a comment that made me laugh. He said if he stopped at a gas station that did not AFFIRMATIVELY allow him to bring a gun on the premises, he was in violation of Hochul’s Law. Can this evil “human being” look at herself in the mirror?  Many of the do-not-carry dictates are working through the courts now.  I am not well connected but do pay attention to headlines.

Should you become the next governor and lack the votes to revoke some of this hate legislation, I ask that you instruct the State police and sheriffs to not enforce non-criminal non-violent violations of Hochuls’ Law.

MAMDANI’S UTOPIA:

I am looking forward to this playing out. I don’t watch organized sports but will certainly pay attention to the likely constitutional and Trump battles.  On that note I intend to watch the Trump/Mamdani meeting.  I have a whole case of Costco microwave popcorn waiting.

In the meantime, the purple-haired ignorant females who paraded after Mamdani’s victory, need not bother with 9-1-1 if your hubby beats you - and you might want to cover up your purple hair with your hijab.

Marxism is an idea that this country has toyed with for 100 years.  Between New York and Seattle (I used to live in Seattle; it is a weird place) this country has the opportunity to decisively prove its fallacies and oppression.  I have heard, and love the expression “socialism works until the government runs out of other peoples’ money.”  I do not want the state or Federal government to bail out Mamdani even if serious civil issues develop. The New York lemming voted this dangerous man in.  Let them deal with it. I hope Vance takes over in 2029.  He is NOT a wimp and he will not bail out NYC.  My hope is that NYC and Seattle fail so badly that politicians other than a radical Left minority will let it die. In the meantime my microwave is ready to pop my popcorn. Anthropologists:  fire up your computers!

MIDDLE EAST:  (I don’t believe you addressed this).

Israel has a PERFECT right to exist.  Middle East history is complex.  I know little about it but I have begun reading a  book about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Although some Jews settled in the area prior to WW2, the majority were resettled there for humanitarian reasons after WW2.  They have a right to live unmolested.  Funny that when the Islamic folk attack Israel the attackers lose the war, lose land and then want the UN to require Israel to give the land back.  Reminds me of Lucy, Linus and the football Lucy pulls out from under Linus time and time again as he tries to kick it.  What did Einstein say about that??

I am not Jewish and have never had a Jewish friend, BUT they have a perfect right to unfettered existence and prosperity.

In whatever capacity you have as governor, defend Israel.  

EDUCATION:

Public "education" is, especially in big cities, is nothing more than incarceration of and inculcation of woke/marxist values in children. Public education is an atrocity and gets worse.  A few years ago an independent study demonstrated that NOT ONE 4TH GRADE STUDENT in the Baltimore school system could perform 4th grade math. I would bet a beer it is the same in NYC.  The rich parents take their kids out of public schools and the poor parents don’t have  a choice.

Weingarten is truly a horrible person but I have little praise for the millions of teachers who lack the integrity to speak up against public education despots.  Since they can’t be fired, what they have to lose I do not know.

I want children to learn the “three R’s” an art, some physical fitness and mutual respect, NOT respect required only by whites, males and the physically-able. A lesson or two in the Constitution might be thrown in as well.  Oh, yes, learn finances and how to balance a checkbook.  Being told that the earth is warming catastrophically and we Americans are solely responsible for that or we stole land from Mexico and American indians is not as useful to the next generation as fundamentals as we prepare the to thrive.

Open the doors to private and home schooling. The SOLE purpose of the education dollar is the education of children, not the support of unreproachable teachers or bureaucracies.  The “separation of church and state” argument is a red herring.  I understand the issue but believe it can be overcome, with the cooperation of private religious schools.   I believe, with no proof, that the wealthy are not openly supportive of this because they want their kids in the limited “slots.” Shame on you!  Voucher systems, over time and with private school cooperation will create more private schooling opportunities.  The unions, teachers and bureaucracies create a new argument against private schools almost daily but their arguments really are red herring.

In the universities, any professor who is reasonably deemed, including fair and proven accusations, to have deprived a student of his/her freedom of speech, loses tenure at incident number one and is dismissed at incident number two.  Educators MUST NOT teach what to think but teach how to think.

Again, big city schools do little more than incarcerate kids.  Pull a heinous criminal off the streets, how cruel!  Incarcerate kids, providing no hope for their future, good public and education policy!!!

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION:

The term "undocumented aliens” is feel-good.  They are illegal.  They should be labeled as such. Don’t use terminology intended to make them or their supporters feel good about themselves.  I tend to get along with Hispanics more than any other race/ethnicity (including caucasians, actually) but if they are here illegally, deport them.  Their drain on our nation’s, state’s and city finances is repeatedly documented.  AND democrats aim to legalize the immigrants, hopefully gaining millions of democrat votes (fewer than they might hope for however).  NO health insurance, SNAP or cash. No protections under the constitution.  Try walking into the countries from which these people emigrate, and demanding benefits similar to ours. Let us know how that works out for you.  Once upon a time I researched moving to Norway, not seriously but with an interest.  Immigration rules are not horrible there but the potential immigrant HAD TO PROVE SELF-SUFFICIENCY.  Were I in a negotiation on this issue I think there is room for compromise but unmitigated  immigration and draining of AMERICAN resources is not acceptable. Frankly I believe the judges that stop deportation ought to be doxxed.  The radical left is doxxing ICE  agents and public officials who support deportation.  What is good for the goose is good for the gander and perhaps the Boesberts of the world would develop some temperance.

Separating children from adults is not our problem.  Parents are free to take their children along.  They are not allowed to stay in the U.S. because they have children.

MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND SNAP:

There is no such thing as a “free lunch.”  I am 79; I paid into social security and medicare for my 55 working years and I continue to pay for medicare as well as a private supplement. And I pay taxes on social security. My Lord.  There are no circumstances in which my health or pension should be compromised.  I don’t care how Canada or Europe treat health care; I would rather live here. I do not understand the complexities of health care or medicine.  It is expensive but I do not believe the public is being told the truth, not just “poor me” rhetoric.That the government has horrible actuaries and fiscal policies does not compromise my entitlement. Want an abortion (I am in the middle on this issue) get your checkbook out.  People who believe it is immoral must not be forced to pay for it.  Cut government as necessary to keep my entitlements intact. I have some thoughts on meeting the needs of kids if I am ever engaged in that discussion. I trust you have heard purple-haired mothers or others with five kids griping that SNAP does not permit the buying of snacks.  Did they not read the word “Nutrition” in that acronym?  And how about the welfare leeches with five kids who planned to rob WalMart if their benefits were cut. While I think many of these posts are “click bait” the posters deserve criticism. Back in the seventies my wife and I were on “food stamps” for two months while I was between jobs. One month of benefits fed us for two months and included a steak on rare occasion. The term ‘food insecurity” is one more red herring. Smart eating (diet) might be another subject taught in our schools. Certainly more important than “global warming.”

Starving children:  provide two or three full meals a day in school; provide neither food nor cash to the parents.

I have never accepted that I am “my  brother’s keeper.” I am compassionate more than most but “God helps him who helps himself” perfectly matches my belief.  The natural consequence of doing nothing for oneself is death.  Our country seems unable to say “no” to leeches. Since Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” we have become the land of “gimmes.”  It might be too late to reverse that mentality but we might slow it down. Trump is trying to do that. We have a country in which people believe they are owed simply because they exist.  Most of my career was  with the Washington State agency “Department of Social and Health Services” (DSHS).  More about this later but I was a part of a meeting with an agency senior official who was lamenting Clinton’s work (never serious) requirements.  I spoke out in favor of them.  This idiot turned red-faced and said "they are not used to getting up at 5:30 in the morning.” I just shook my head.

ENERGY AND GLOBAL WARMING:

The hatred the woke/marxists have rained upon the U.S over this issue is appalling. As in the issues of race, economic disparity, our “collective national guilt” (my phrase) has tolerated this damaging nonsense since Al Gore stepped out of his 38 room house and declared we are all about to die.  Several glaring inconsistencies and half-truths.  There is not a peep in the U.N. about China and India, who, combined, are responsible for more air pollution than all other countries combined.  There is no complaining about Gore or deCaprio or Taylor Swift flying private planes or Pelosi, one of few passengers on a government plane. I was one of the last ones on the bus with respect to the reality of global warming and still do not buy it is man-caused.  Assemble a panel of true experts, all of whom are heard with no hatred or name-calling and I will watch that panel.  I doubt you watch Sky TV (Australia) but a PhD in Atmospheric Sciences was removed from the air because he made a case against global warming. Anyone who wants to learn how to think, not what to think, ought to be incensed. No one has convinced me that in the 4.5 billion years the earth has existed warming and cooling have not been regular and cyclical. 

No windmills and solar farms. “Fire” up the production of natural gas, oil and nuclear.  DeCaprio and Gore want to place windmills on their ranches, great.  I do not want to pay for their windmills and solar panels either in tax dollars or utility rates. You might have some control over this policy but might not over the next.

Rescind Hochul’s ban on natural gas use in new construction.  It is dangerous and not practical. Natural gas is useful, for example, in power failures (fireplaces and cookstoves, not central heating). I understand the legislature is obscenely woke-marxist but you can start the ball rolling by speaking publicly on this issue.  My next proposal might seem ludicrous but give it some thought or study.

On Long Island, and I trust, most other parts of the state, electronic traffic management is archaic.  I live near a major intersection and at 5:30 a.m. when no one is approaching from any direction, it takes NINETY SECONDS for the light to turn green.  Eventually, making sure it is safe and after I stop I proceed on the red light.  Hochul is concerned about air pollution and conservation (?). I can only imagine over millions of motorists, the pollution and fuel waste this abominable engineering costs.   I want EVERY electronic signal to be engineered for safety, yes, but for the most efficient movement of traffic. Three simple and inexpensive solutions. 1.  After certain hours, depending on the intersection, signals switch to blinking red (one direction) and yellow (other direction.) 2.  Or, after certain hours, signals become “on demand.”  One direction may remain green in perpetuity until a car approaches from another direction and causes the signal to change in his favor. 3,  Remove some signals in favor of yield or stop signs.

There are other solutions, none of which are rocket science. AI, informed me, considering all the variables, that the “average commuter”  working 40 years in the "average city,” will spend 4.6 MONTHS waiting at stop lights.  In the perfectly engineered world the time would not be “zero” but let us say it is one month.  Imagine all the fuel and air pollution that unnecessary wait causes given several million drivers on the road.  BEFORE one dollar is spent on any feel good projects, or on any state project of dubious value, engineer traffic and spend the money on necessary technology projects designed to implement the study and improve traffic flow.  Truly an aside but before a freeway was built in Tacoma, Washington there was an intersection of a well-used arterial and what would later become a freeway.  The green light time for the freeway was FIVE MINUTES during morning and evening  commutes.  A long time for the guy on the arterial waiting to cross but the effect was the “freeway” traffic, once it started moving, was generally cleared before the light turned in favor of the arterial.  That type of engineering is what I am talking about.

ABOUT ME:

I am 79, a transplant from Washington State.  I graduated from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington in 1972 with a B.A. in business and a minor in Philosophy.  This after I left the army with an honorable  discharge, having served between 1966 and 1969; before that two years at a junior college in Marin County, California.  I was a banker for eight years, a paid firefighter for two (no they are not heroes).  My years with DSHS were as one of six “regional business managers.” The shortest description is:  responsibility for a geographic region of welfare offices, supervising facilities, purchasing and non-staff budgeting.  I retired from Spokane, Washington in 2011, married my third wife immediately and moved to her ‘hood, Suffolk County. Horrible place to live; wonderful choice of a spouse.

POLITICS/PHILOSOPHY:

Until I was about forty I identified as a conservative Republican.  I lost faith in the Republican party for many reasons.  In 1996 I campaigned for a seat on the Lacey, Washington fire commission.  Lacey is a suburb of Olympia,  I was a long-time volunteer in that department but the loathsome International Association of Firefighters was aggressively forcing out the volunteers in favor of an all paid (union) department.  My goal was to block that.  I was shellacked. Lacey/Olympia are heavy union cities (aren’t all state capitols?) and I was not well-prepared.  I learned a lot and I was proud I walked my talk.

During the campaign an officer from the Washington State Libertarian Party contacted me offering help.  I knew nothing about the libertarians and will not join groups unless I know them and align with the group’s values.  After the fire commission election I attended some conventions of the party and truly found a political/philosophical home in that group.  I don’t participate in the party any more but the party’s values have never caused me any grief. If I know a Republican candidate and align with his/her values I will vote for him/her but I am highly skeptical of all politicians and as I wrote before often vote for no one on a given ballot. I voted for Dixie Lee Ray, a democrat for Washington State governor before your time  and would have voted for Tulsi Gabbard, had I been in her district, suspecting (correctly) that she was a Republican in Democrat clothing, I am glad Trump brought her to his cabinet.

During my time in Olympia, I hosted a public access TV show called “Libertarian Forum” once a month. The show only lasted  for a year but what a hoot.  We did not accept call-ins but hosted some famous guests and had great discussions on many issues.  Later I co-hosted a radio talk show in Centralia, Washington.  This show did accept call-ins.  Fun as well. Okay, I did hang up on an uncivil caller.

I am clean - unless being married three times is a scandal. I was arrested for a weapons violation in 2013.  What happened was after moving here I bought a house in Washington and attempted to carry a pistol to that new house. I prepared it for transport but I did not know I needed a license even to own a pistol in this state.  Fun being arrested at McArthur, placed in handcuffs and politely escorted to the police car.  $5,000 later the charge was dismissed and as I said I have since obtained a concealed weapons permit. None of the  interviewers was concerned about my arrest as it turned out.

PERSONAL INTERESTS:

My credit is clean.  My chief hobby is home improvement.  I live in a co-op so little of that is permitted but my stepdaughter recently bought a house so I have been doing some improvements for her.  I love softball but, other than pickleball, have yet to find any sport at which I am decent.  For one year in Spokane I was an American Softball Association certified slow-pitch softball umpire.  What a ball (pun intended).  After moving to Long Island I did not pursue that.  I have 17 years of volunteer firefighting experience in addition to two years paid.  I was terminated from the Saint James department after working against a bond issue the chiefs and commissioners wanted. I was sorry about that and have an NDA so can’t talk about that much. Delightfully, using that term again, the bond was shellacked at the ballot box. My favorite time of the day is “morning coffee”with my son and wife…and plenty of TV.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU:

If I become better acquainted with you or your subordinates and find our values align as well as I think they will, I would love to help your campaign. I write well; I am probably a “6” on computer literacy. I have no familiarity with graphics but plenty with Google documents and some spreadsheet applications. I know how to research.  I speak well though I understand that would not be a likely assignment.  I can perform logistics for events. I will canvas for votes, with another member.  I can write letters to editors.

WHAT I WON’T DO:

Canvas solo.  There is strength in numbers. I will not phone solicit. I drive as little as possible in these lawless Eastern Seaboard states.  Short local errands or tasks are fine.  If it helps you to understand, I have lived on Long Island for  14 years and have driven to NYC ONE TIME. Exceptions are possible if I am reimbursed my costs.  I will not give you money but may occasionally contribute in kind, such as running errands with no reimbursement.  Again, I will not give you money.  It took awhile, much like Linus, Lucy and the football.  I learned that politicians asking my opinion on issues really did not want my opinion; they wanted my money.  If you get my money, you get my opinion and you reply to it.

FINALLY:

I am not encumbered.  I have plenty of time (at 79, not sure how much) and would have fun working on your campaign (similar ideology assumed).  I do not know how a campaign works but assume meeting other people, you, and planning strategy sessions would get me on board. My energy stems from your values - as I understand them. I have no hard feelings if I am not a match; developing this “application” has been a clarifying effort for me and thus has been valuable and in any case I will follow your campaign.

Sincerely and good luck,

John M. Tyson