Blogs

END ALL TAXES ON SOCIAL SECURITY2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 431Here is a great idea that I have lifted from Wayne Allyn Root, who was the Libertarian candidate for Vice President in 2008: Candidates...

THE PROCESS IS CRITICAL!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 430Like many of you, recently I have been reading about a federal judge declaring illegal a revised version of the Deferred Action for Childhood...

ATTACKS UPON OUR LIBERTIES2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 429As most of you are probably aware, today is the 22nd anniversary of the violent attack upon our country by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda group...

NOT ACCOUNTABLE!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 428During our recent trip I was able to read the book Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions, by Philip K. Howard (Rodin...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM SMITH!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 427According to Reason Magazine this year is the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith, who is considered by many to be history’s strongest...

REPEAL FISA SECTION 7022 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #426In the continued frenzy that followed the attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress amended section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act...

TO BRING US TOGETHER2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #425My longtime and great friend Judge Andy Guilford (Ret.) gave me a suggestion for a 2 Paragraphs piece which provides suggestions about how we can...

Freedom Lies in Being Bold2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #424According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, when American poet Robert Frost was being interviewed on a 1952 television show, he said that he...

EDUCATION, PARENTING & LEADERSHIP2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #423With apologies to no one, last week I left you without an edition of our 2 Paragraphs because my great wife Grace and I were traveling...

The History of our Homeless ProblemsTo our 2 Paragraphs Family, I don’t do this very often, but my daughter Jennifer came upon and sent me this link, which accurately sets forth the history of our...

INCENTIVES MATTER!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #422Toward the end of the 18th century, England began sending convicts to Australia. The transportation was privately provided but publicly funded. But a...

INCLUSION THROUGH BETTER POLICIES2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #421I am writing this edition on the Fourth of July, and thinking about where we are as a country. And that has led me also to wonder if this...

SOME INCONVENIENT TRUTHS2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #420“But that isn’t fair to me!” How often have you heard that complaint? Well, I raised my children on the saying that “Who says life is fair?” They...

MONTHLY STIPENDS vs. THE WELFARE SYSTEM!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #419People are beginning to think about and discuss incentives! Good! At last! Why is that? Because, as one of my true heroes Dr....

A SACRAMENTO SHAM!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #418As written by Columnist Dan Walters in the June 14, 2023 edition of the Orange County Register, Proposition 25 was passed by the voters in the 2010...

Follow-Up CompetitionAfter reading today’s 2 Paragraphs edition, one of our Family members made this suggestion to have a competition, which I now pass along to you. So please send me your original...

ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE WAS RIGHT!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #417In April of 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville set out for the United States from his native France to study the American penal system. So for...

FLASH TO THE PAST & PRESENT2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #416A long-time good friend of mine recently went to the President Jimmy Carter Museum in Atlanta, Georgia and he sent me a copy of a wall at the...

MEMORIAL SIGNIFICANCE!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #415Happy Memorial Day, which is today. But as we use the day and weekend to gather with family and friends to travel and have good times, let us also...

PRO-JECT' UNDERSTANDING2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #414We all know that there certainly are many bad things happening here and all around the world. In fact, we get hit in the face with them daily in...

REQUESTING A FAVOR2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #413Taking many lessons and insights I gathered while presiding over our high school Peer Court program over the years, I wrote a musical entitled...

RANKED-CHOICE VOTING2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #412From time immemorial voters in our country have faced the concept of voting in the primary elections for the “lesser of two evils.” Why? Because our...

My Op-Ed about FentanylTo our 2 Paragraphs Family, Last Sunday I published an Op-Ed piece in the Orange County Register about the scourge of fentanyl. A copy is attached. And, as always, feedback is...

MY LIFE PHILOSOPHY2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #411One of the things that I believe sets me aside from most people is that, at a fairly early age, maybe while in high school, I decided that one of the...

Fourteen Facts About the War on DrugsTo our 2 Paragraphs Family, I am forwarding to you this information I just received from a speaker’s group that I have been involved with for a long time. It is...

REGULATE AND CONTROL!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY #410As most of our readers know, the purpose of this series is to promote thinking and discussions about the serious topics of our day. So here we go...

IT'S NOT REALLY A HARD DECISION2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY #409Question regarding Governmental Compulsion vs. Freedom: Shall someone like a baker be compelled by government to create a wedding cake to be...

INSTITUTIONAL TRANSPARENCY2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY #408Right after the 2020 elections, this column strongly proposed that Congress establish a transparently-neutral commission, probably comprised of...

SAFEGUARDING OUR LIBERTIES2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #407The Opinion Section of the March 19, 2023 edition of the Orange County Register was completely devoted to addressing the abrogation of the...

TEACHING STUDENTS TO THINK2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #406In the February 26, 2023 edition of the Orange County Register there was a Letter to the Editor that caught my eye that included the following...

WHEN THE SUBJECT IS RAPE2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #405Recently my friends at Square One Publishers, who published my book Wearing the Robe: the Art and Responsibilities of Judging in Today’s Courts,...

TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #404When I was a child my parents drummed it into my head: “Jimmy, if you ever get lost what will you do?” Correct Answer: “I will find a policeman; he...

Becoming America: America Is a Perfect Idea; the United States of America is a Work in ProgressTo our 2 Paragraphs Family, As I have mentioned several times in our 2 Paragraphs series, my two...

REPEATING PAST ECONOMIC MISTAKES2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #403Recently I read a pamphlet entitled “Great Myths of the Great Depression” by Lawrence W. Reed of the Foundation for Economic Education...

STUPID POLITICS!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #402On Sunday, January 29, 2023 the Orange County Register carried a story that originated in the New York Times entitled “Oil Drilled in Amazon Rainforest...

THE LUNGS OF THE WORLD2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #401In preparation for my wife’s and my just-concluded trip to the headwaters of the Amazon River in Peru, I read the book Tree of Rivers: The Story of...

WHY I AM A LIBERTARIAN2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #400Well, this is the 400th edition of this series, and that’s a lot of Mondays. So I thought I would use this opportunity to attempt to explain why I...

"Becoming America: America is a Perfect Idea, the United States of America is a Work in Progress"Our ShowTo our 2 Paragraphs Family As I have written to you before, my two colleagues Dr. Jo Ellen...

CELEBRATE SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #399As has been written before in this column, the biggest issue facing our country today is the problem of so many of our public schools failing...

BUSY BEING BORN...2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #398Some of the lyrics in singer/songwriter Bob Dylan’s song It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding are “If you're not busy being born, you're busy dying.” I...

REPEAL THE DEADLY WAR ON DRUGS!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #397From my own observations as a criminal defense attorney in the Navy JAG Corps, a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and a trial court judge...

BECOMING AMERICA!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #396Many of you know that, with my colleagues Steve Lawless and Joel Henry Stein, I have written and composed a musical entitled Convention: the Birth of...

TEN NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR THE USA2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #395Okay, as the Holiday Season will soon be ending, and as we come close to facing the new year of 2023 (It’s hard to believe!) I...

HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #394As this Holiday Season is now upon us, I want to share with you one thing that I believe has set me apart from many other people in the world:...

INCENTIVES MATTER!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #393Here is a lesson from one of my heroes, Dr. Milton Friedman, that I heartily wish all lawmakers would learn: “Incentives Matter!” And he followed that...

A WAY TO REDUCE MASS SHOOTINGS!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #392What follows is my Letter to the Editor that was published in the Orange County Register on Wednesday, November 30, 2022: “Mass Shootings...

MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #391Breaking precedent a bit by sending out this edition on a Thursday instead of Monday. But it is Thanksgiving and, in many ways, this is the best...

WE CAN DO BETTER!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #390We have all heard the cry that there is too much money in our political elections. In fact, according to Reason Magazine, in the recent primary election...

CHILD VISITS TO INCARCERATED PARENTS2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #389Recently my wife, sister, brother-in-law and I attended a celebration of 50 years of service by Friends Outside, which is a group that...

REDUCE OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING REQUIREMENTS2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #388For several years I have donated money to the Institute for Justice. It is a public interest law firm whose stated mission is...

SCHOOL CHOICE!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #387Probably the most important issue facing our country today is that so many public schools are failing our children. Mostly they are in lower economic areas...

REDUCE GOVERNMENT SPENDING, PART III2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #386As you know, the past two editions of this series have focused upon ways the federal government can reduce its borrowing and spending...

REDUCE GOVERNMENT SPENDING - PART I2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #384The inflation that is upon us – and possibly a recession – is flat-out caused by government borrowing money to pay for its...

TIME TO RECONSIDER OUR CUBAN BLOCKADE!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #383Our blockade of Cuba has been in place for more than 60 years.  That means it has been upheld by 12 presidential administrations,...

IRRESPONSIBLE NATIONAL DEBT!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #382The old saying is that most politicians don’t care about the future, they only care about the next election.  And this reality is boldly...

IMPROVING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION 2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #381 Like so many other things in our world, the private sector can and will do a much better job with “public transportation” than...

ARE OUR INSTITUTIONS FAILING US?2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #380When I was hired as federal prosecutor in the Los Angeles Office of the United States Attorney it was hammered home to me several times...

Seeking a settlement frame of mind2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #379Often it is helpful to stress the fact that what actually happened in your case – or in any case – doesn’t make any difference...

BECOMING AMERICA2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #379As many of you know, with two esteemed colleagues I have recently written a musical entitled "Convention: The Birth of America." As the name implies, it...

WORDS MEAN SOMETHING2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #378In the summer before I entered college I learned a lifelong lesson that I pass on to you. I was working making copies of various drawings and other...

GOVERNMENT-CAUSED WATER SHORTAGES2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #377We have the wrong systems for delivering water to consumers.  They are mostly decreed and run by various governments, thus they are...

Top 12 Approaches for a Better America2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #376Last Friday, August 5, 2022, the Los Angeles Daily Journal, which is the largest newspaper for the legal profession in California,...

MORE GOVERNMENT MEDDLING2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #375Recently I went to Costco to purchase some new contact lenses and eyeglasses, but was told that if my prescription was more than a year old I had...

REDUCE GOVERNMENT JOB LICENSE REQUIREMENTS!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #374Several years ago I attended a conference in New Orleans sponsored by the Koch Brothers that promoted a voluntary hiring...

DRUG PROHIBITION IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #373The Constitution provides that all powers belong to “We the People,” such that the federal government only possesses the powers that...

OUR NEW SCHOOL CHOICE NOVEL2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #372I believe that the most important issue facing our country today is the intolerably large numbers of public schools that are failing our...

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #371Happy Independence Day! But in your celebrations today, with all of the socializing, refreshments and fireworks, please also reflect on the fact...

AMERICAN REBOOT2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #370Last April 20 I had the opportunity to hear a speaker whose name is Will Hurd address the Orange County Chapter of the World Affairs Council. And everyone...

A FALSE POLITICAL ISSUE!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY #369So time and again when people are talking politics the subject comes up about the “income disparity” in our country between the wealthy and the...

POLITICS CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #368Way back in 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis resulted in our imposing a blockade upon the island nation, which later evolved into us imposing an...

REDUCE GOVERNMENT HANDOUTS!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #367Alexis de Tocqueville once wrote in his classic book Democracy in America that democracy will work until elected officials realize that they...

DON'T POLITICIZE THE JUDICIARY!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #366Winston Churchill once said that a Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner, but in a Republic, with a Bill of...

LET ME NOT BE MISUNDERSTOOD!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #365As you know, three out of the four last editions of our 2 Paragraphs series discussed allegations of abuse in prison systems all around our...

GOOD NEWS!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #364Yes, the environment is taking it on the chin in many areas of the world. But there is one special group that you should know about is making some real...

MORE PRISON REFORM!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #363Two things happened this past week that I must share with you about the need for prison reform, and then I will give us both a rest: The first comes...

A FURTHER REQUEST2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #362 As I hope you know, last week’s column forwarded to you an article I wrote that was published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal that proposed a plan to...

Let's Bring Transparency into our Jails and Prisons!2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty #361On April 19, 2022 I was able to publish an article entitled "Bring Transparency to our Prison System" in the Los...

WHAT'S IN A WORD?2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #360When it comes down to it, we all think in words.  So if a person does not understand the difference between – or among – words, that person probably does...

A Voter's Handbook: Effective Solutions to America's ProblemsJudge Jim Gray (Ret.) Superior Court of Orange County, California 2012 Libertarian Candidate for Vice PresidentAs stated above, feel free...

MENTORING: A LIFELONG GIFT!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #359I want to take this opportunity to pass along to our 2 Paragraphs Family one of the good things that is happening in our community. It is...

MY 30-YEAR ANNIVERSARY2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #358It was 30 years ago this coming Friday, April 8, that I held a press conference as a sitting judge just outside the Santa Ana Courthouse and told...

THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE AS A POLITICAL SYMBOL2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #357As has been written several times in this column, “In politics reality is irrelevant; it is only the voters’ perception of...

RANKED-CHOICE VOTING2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #356There is a system called “Ranked-Choice” voting, also known as “Instant Run-Off” voting, that has many positive features. It has been used effectively...

END FINANCIAL IRRESPONSIBILITY - NOW!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #355There is an old saying that politicians don’t care about the future, they only care about the next election. And the dire financial...

ONE MORE EXAMPLE2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #354Let me say right up front that I am not a fan of former President Trump. But he has furnished us with one more example of how the Free Enterprise System...

THE PRIVATE SECTOR DOES IT BETTER!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #353There’s a joke going around Libertarian circles that Democrats think that government can take care of everybody and everything. But...

THOUGHTS ON THE UKRAINE2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #352      Okay, I will acknowledge right up front that I am not particularly knowledgeable about the Ukraine.  (And I probably have lots of company.) ...

HAS IT COME TO THIS?2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY #351      About a year ago this column strongly recommended that a neutral commission be appointed, probably of retired judges, to investigate both the...

DRUG PROHIBITION CONTINUES TO KILL! 2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY #350      So now we read that there are two new artificial drugs on the illicit market which are called para-fluorofentanyl...

COMMON GROUND ISSUES2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY #349Dare I say it: Our country has virtually no leadership today.  Leadership means discerning and sponsoring approaches that will help people, even if...

OUR COMMON INTERESTS2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTYOn Sunday, January 2nd of this year Ms. Veronique de Rugy published a column in the Orange County Register’s Opinion section entitled “We Must Unite to...

THE FOUNDERS KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTYThere is a movement afoot to pass what is called the National Popular Vote bill which would be an action by the various state...

THE BEST DECISION I EVER MADE!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTYThe first sentence in the Preface to my book Wearing the Robe, which is the only “how to” book for judges that I am aware of, said “The best...

WHAT'S IN A NAME?2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTYAs the Holidays approach, which are serious, I thought I should get into a lighter subject for this edition.  So I will discuss something that has always...

THE RESPONSIBILITY BUSINESS2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTYThere is an old Libertarian maxim that “Liberty and Responsibility Go Hand in Hand,” and it’s true.  Without holding people responsible for their...

THE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTYMy wonderful parents raised me with the understanding that we all must “choose our battles” in life. Yes, many things in life are not fair, wrongly...

GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE ECONOMY!2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTYThomas Sowell once said that “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those...

ARE WE THE WORLD'S BEST COUNTRY? 2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY Attached is a video of a man who was asked to describe in one sentence why America is the greatest country in the world. His response was that...

RETIRED JUDGES: AN UNUSED ASSET2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #339There are some national inquiries that are too important to be left in the hands of politicians. Certainly the inquiry into the...