9/27/2020 The Richness of Political Hypocrisy

Politics in the U.S. is a study in hypocrisy. I'm seeing it in extreme and widespread measure in President Trump's nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for Senate confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice. For the better part of the last week there has been an outpouring of love and admiration at the news of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's passing. Justice Ginsberg was just the second female justice on the court. (Sonia Sotomeyer and Elena Kagan, respectively, are the third and fourth). The respect, love, admiration, and signs of those feelings were everywhere. Why? Well, as a woman, to rise to the highest level in the legal world in our country is an amazing accomplishment. It's an honor and a privilege for any judge to be nominated to that high office. And Justice Ginsberg wore the robes of a Supreme Court Justice with every bit of the dignity befitting that office. She is a role model for every young woman in our country that if you set out to do great things, to be a great person, and to make a great difference, you can. She epitomized greatness.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

 

Judge Amy Coney Barrett

Now we come to Judge Amy Coney Barrett. If conformed by the Senate, she'll be just the fifth female Supreme Court Justice. At 49, she's at the pinnacle of the legal profession in just being nominated for the position. I have great admiration and respect for her for what she's achieved and for reaching this pinnacle. I give credit to President Trump for sticking with her by making the nomination. Judge Barbara Logoa, a Hispanic judge from Florida might have been a more clever pick for the politics of the situation in the election season. But Trump went with who he thought was his best choice, those other considerations aside. And Judge Barrett is a brave woman, a "lot of balls" I told a friend last night. She knows what's coming from a bunch of vile, evil scumbags who are so blinded in their partisanship that attacking motherhood, adoption, children, and a woman of great achievement is all good to them. Someone of weaker constitution, no pun intended, wouldn't knowingly enter this briar patch.

 Last night Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley tweeted "Barrett is dangerous & unfit to serve on the highest court." Senator Richard Blumenthal (Danang Dick) said "Judge Barrett’s views would harm real lives—real people—in real ways, from children with pre-existing conditions to women who just want to be able to decide when & how to have a family." Senator Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted that "Alongside her dangerous, ultra-conservative record, she’s not fit to serve on the Supreme Court." Senator Sheldon Whitehouse portrays Judge Barrett as some kind of puppet with strings being pulled by unseen, evil forces: "It doesn’t matter who the Supreme Court nominee is; it matters who’s behind this pick. And the answer is special interests out to capture our courts."

Someone named Vanessa Grigoriadis Tweeted: "I guess one of the things I don't understand about Amy Comey Barrett is how a potential Supreme Court justice can also be a loving, present mom to seven kids? Is this like the Kardashians stuffing nannies in the closet and pretending they've drawn their own baths for their kids, when she portrays herself as a home-centered Catholic who puts family over career, isn't she telling a lie? The tweets and comments get worse.

Someone named Becca T explains via tweet: "They aren't attacking her for adopting. They want to make sure it was a good adoption. A lot are not. That is not an attack on her children. That is questioning Barrett's character. If a liberal had adopted kids from Haiti, the GOP would be doing the same." Someone named Zoë wants us to know the maybe Barrett's really a racist: "All these conservative clowns are out here talking about how there’s no way Amy Barrett could be racist because she adopted two black kids. Ooooh boy, do I got news for y’all..."

Christine D fills us in on Judge Barrett's motivation for adoption: "If your main reason 4 adopting a black kid is solely done to "prove" that you're not a racist, or in order to spruce up your image/ career. Then you're a racist. Amy Barrett didn't adopt those children to help them. She adopted them so she could improve her chances 4 nomination."

Dangerous. Unfit. Harm real lives real ways: pre-existing conditions an reproductive choice. Dangerous. Not fit. Puppet. Unseen evil forces. Special interests. Like the Kardashians. Stuffing nannies in the closet. Pretending. Portrays herself. Telling a lie. Questioning Barrett's character. Racist... ooooh boy, do I got news for y'all. Reason for adopting to prove you're not a racist. To spruce up your image/career. A racist. Didn't adopt to help them. Adopted to help chances for nomination.

I've got a question for all the scumbags who said all these and other nasty, vile, uncalled for things about Judge Barrett: Were you wearing your Justice Ginsberg lace collar tribute while you said these things?

Yes! Girls can aspire. But only if they agree with us.

 

9/20/2020 Proposed Constitutional Amendment re SCOTUS Justices, Nominees, and the Confirmation Process

 

U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C.

I propose a Constitutional Amendment permanently setting the Supreme Court at nine (9) Justices (maximum) as a fixed number. The amendment would also eliminate lifetime appointments and instead set a 25 year maximum tenure on the SCOTUS, and further, establish a minimum age of 35 (same as POTUS), a maximum age for new appointees (65 or 70) and a maximum age for Justices sitting on the bench of 80 that requires all Justices to retire before their 81st birthday, exempting all sitting SCOTUS Justices from the 25 and 80 old year limits. The amendment would REQUIRE the Senate to take up every single nominee formally submitted by POTUS for a vacancy, establish a formal methodology for appointment submission (NOT Twitter), allow the Senate, based on the recommendation of the Judiciary Committee if so supported by the Majority Leader to petition the President one time to withdraw a nominee not supported by the Committee. If the President is firm, the nomination would stand, despite the objection. This would have thwarted the Merrick Garland situation altogether. Either POTUS or the nominee may withdraw nominee for consideration at any time prior to the Senate vote. Lastly, the amendment would set a timeline from nomination to confirmation (either 45, 60, or 90 days), after which, if the full Senate hadn't voted yet, the appointment would be automatically confirmed.

 

• Sets the SCOTUS at 9 members permanently.
• Eliminates lifetime SCOTUS appointments.
• Establishes a 25 year maximum SCOTUS tenure.
• Minimum age of SCOTUS Justices of 35 years old.
• Maximum age for SCOTUS nominees (either 65 or 70 years old).
• Maximum age for active SCOTUS Justice set at 80 years old (mandatory retirement before their 81st birthday).
• Current SCOTUS Justices exempt from all new age and tenure limitations.
• Established formal nomination process by POTUS to the Senate.
  
• Requires a full Senate vote on ALL POTUS' nominees to SCOTUS.
• Allows the Senate to petition POTUS one (1) time per nominee to withdraw the nominee before the full Senate vote.
• Either POTUS or the nominee may withdraw the nominee from consideration at any time prior to the Senate vote.
  
• Set a hard timeline for confirmation (45, 60, or 90 days, probably 60).
• If Senate does not act within the (45, 60, or 90 day) timeline, the nominee's confirmation becomes automatic.
  

So it is written. Let it be done.

9/19/2020 Top Five Reasons Trump Should Not Wait to Replace RBG

 

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

 

I have nothing bad to say of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I don't care for some of the vitriol in today's political lexicon, and surely some of it is already coming her way. Let her rest in peace. Really. 

Some on the left on social media are threatening riots if the President nominates a replacement before the election. Surprise! When it comes to whether or not President Trump should name a replacement, I say that he should. Here are my Top-5 reasons why he should:

5) It's his job to do so according to the U.S. Constitution. He's President for 4 years. Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell have both taken confirmation actions in the Senate that their opponents didn't like. That's on the Senate. When one party has the Senate and the White House, confirmations happen as a matter of course.

4) The Trump-Russia coup d'état. The same Democrats (with Deep State Republican help) who will scream bloody murder over the 'injustice' of the President fulfilling his Constitutional duty to name Supreme Court Justices bastardized law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic, and the military to screw a political opponent.

3) The Schiff/Nadler/Pelosi Impeachment. Another scam perpetrated by Democrats and the Deep State. Payback is a bitch.

2) The 2020 Election WILL be contested in the Supreme Court at some point. Almost nothing can convince me otherwise. State Supreme Courts are already setting the stage, allowing ballot collection AFTER Election Day and disallowing challenging of ballots due to signature problems. The steal is in.

And, the #1 reason Trump should name a replacement.

1) Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Perhaps the most vile and disgusting political dirty trick of the Trump presidency, the Kavanaugh smear left me seething. And along with #'s 3 and 4, above, they've set the precedent that anything goes. They'll stop at nothing and do anything. If their doing all that coloring OUTSIDE the lines was OK, then a President coloring INSIDE the lines has to be OK, too.

He's got to do it. He's the President. It's his right to do it. It's within his authority to do it. It's his job to do it. Do it! And call out the riot squads.

9/17/2020 Barr, Wray, and Durham - Good Guys or Bad Guys?

 I've seen more than enough criticism of U.S. Attorney General William Barr, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Attorney John Durham, especially very recently, Because I think it's entirely possible that there will be incredible, sensational developments in the coming days to two weeks, and because Barr and Wray have both made public remarks, I thought I'd commit to hazard my guesses as to what's going on with each here. None of them talks to me or seeks my advice, so much of what I think is admittedly speculative.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr

AG Barr is often lambasted by the left as "doing Trump's personal bidding", etc. Get the fuck out of here! I have listened to Barr very carefully, in both formal situations like giving testimony to the Senate and the House, although his most recent visit to the House, with Democratic members making derogatory statements and then "reclaiming their time" before he could respond was but pure tomfoolery and an epic embarrassment to themselves, the citizens they represent, and to the institution to which they were elected. And also, in informal settings like television interviews.

My read is he's an honest guy who knows right from wrong. He's had to go carefully into investigations into FISA abuse/crimes, the Russian Collusion investigation, and ultimately the Mueller Special Counsel investigation. Why has he had to go gently? Two reasons. First, the crimes are so incredible in magnitude that is they were all laid fully bared and all the conspirators and their roles fully reported and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, I suspect the institutions to which the criminals involved were attached might actually be destroyed under the weight of it all. I am referring to the FBI, DOJ, Departments of State, Treasury, Defense, and the entirety of the intelligence community. Even if some of them had real suspicions that there was illegal cooperation between Trump campaigners and the Russians, there came a point where they knew it wasn't. What did they do? They pressed ahead for political reasons and tried their hardest to entrap people.

Barr is going to balance what's best for the nation without completely destroying the aforementioned institutions. He's going to let U.S. Attorneys Durham, Bash, and Jensen do their work and prosecute crimes they find. They have found some. If you're a lefty and you're still deluding yourself that Trump Russia collusion was real, and that Brennan, Clapper, and Comey, et al, were the good guys, well, I got news for you. You're fucking wrong. Either you're blinded by your own bias, or you're too lazy to look for information beyond the liberal propaganda outlets. If you're playing Barr the bad guy and Brennan, Clapper, Comey and the rest of them as the white hats, you're going to hate the coming weeks and months.

Barr = Good guy.

FBI Director Christopher Wray

I'm a bit on the fence about Wray. My hunch is he's in the unenviable position of managing the FBI through this mess. We know about some of the criminality that took place in the Cater Page FISA Warrant fiasco. How deep and wide is that channel? Imagine hundreds, maybe thousands of shoddy or corrupt warrants. Imagine the real bad guys that could get off if that whole house of cards is knocked down upon itself.

Regardless, based on what I've heard and read from Wray, if I were Trump and if I win re-election, I'd fire his ass on Nov. 4th. Summarily and without hesitation. Even in his remarks today, I have no problem criticizing white supremacists, and in calling a spade a spade as it pertains to white supremacist scumbags. But his reluctance to give Black Lives Matter and Antifa terrorism the same treatment is completely unacceptable. He needs to be gone yesterday, but understanding how politics work, I expect it on Nov. 4th. Not a moment too soon.

Wray = Swamp Rat = Bad guy.

U.S. Attorney John Durham

U.S. Attorney John Durham is going to send some Obama officials to jail. The trials may last a while, but there will be indictments, soon. I have been EXTREMELY frustrated waiting in this guy. I mean bad. But he's methodical and he's determined. He's going to do it right and that will take however long it takes. Let's not forget, none of the subjects of his CRIMINAL investigation are very cooperative. At least, I'd assume at first they weren't. There are rumors of some 'flipping' and coming clean about the crimes of the coup d'état. We shall see. But the interviews have involved lawyers and lawyers are frequently inclined to employ delaying tactics as a part of protecting their clients. So it has been slow going. But it is coming. It is coming. Don't fucking kid yourself. It's coming.

And while I'm talking about the fruits of the Durham probe coming, and they're coming SOON people. SOON. Listen up: we're going to hear Democrats crying foul, that this probe is "election interference", bullshit like that. Don't listen to it. Two reasons: first off, "election interference" didn't stop Brennan, Clapper, and Comey and their coup d'état co-conspirators from going after then candidate Trump, but more importantly, second, unless Durham indicts Biden or Harris, then it's not election interference. The American people have a right to know what was done to candidate, President-Elect, and then to President Trump in the campaign, transition, and in his first term, respectively. That's not election interference unless you know your whole goddamned party was and is so fucking corrupt that it'll blow the election. And likely, they were and are. And you can't stop it. Don't like it? Sit the fuck down. Shut the fuck up. Buckle your fucking seat belt. Your heroes earned this shit.

Durham = Good guy.

9/15/2020 The "60 Day Rule": Is the Durham Probe Election Interference?

US Atty John Durham is Reviewing Spying, FISA Abuse, and Mueller

We're inside of 50 days from the election and the Department of Justice has a rule that it won't take actions that would affect the election within 60 days of Election Day. Yet Attorney General Barr when asked about the probes by US Attorneys currently underway, indicated the 60 day rule wouldn't prevent the DOJ from taking action. How does Barr square that circle?

US Atty John Bash is Reviewing the Unmasking of General Flynn and Others by Obama Admin Officials

Well, I could drone on and on, but the answer is really quite simple: If the report of wrongdoings or arrests and indictments for crimes doesn't name either Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Joe Biden or Kamala Harris for wrongdoing or commission of a crime, then it's not action that will affect the election.

US Atty Jeff Jensen is Reviewing Whether the Flynn Case Was Corrupted

What about Comey, Brennan, Clapper, Strzok, Page, McCabe, Ohr, and all the rest? Well, if they're not part of the Trump Administration or named as proposed members of the Biden Administration, which they're not, and they're the subject of these probes, it has nothing do do with the election. That's the answer.

You don't like it? Your favorite talking head on MSNBC, CNN, or in the Washington Post or New York Times is expounding on the incredible impropriety of it all? Well those hacks need to "expound sand". In my opinion the DOJ/FBI/CIA cabal tried to undermine the 2016 election and to overthrow the President in 2017, 2018, and into 2019. The Mueller probe, along with ballot harvesting in California directly affected the 2018 mid-terms, giving the House to the Democrats and paving the way to impeachment. And now these pieces of crap are going to cry about Barr, Durham, Jensen, and Bash affecting the 2020 by exposing the malfeasance and misdeeds of a bunch of crooks who aren't on the ballot in 2020 at all?

Too bad. It's too damned bad.

9/13/2020 Five Things Black Lives Matter Could Do To Have My Support

First off, I support black lives matter. What I am talking about is the Black Lives Matter Organization here. I simply can't support that organization for a variety of reasons. But with some changes, I could easily come on board. These five (5) things changing could bring me on board as a BLM supporter:

1) Disavow and create clear separation from destruction, violence, arson, and looting. Make the protests peaceful. Easy. That also means cutting ties with Antifa, who thrive on the things listed in this section. Stop harassing innocent people eating a meal or driving down the street and treating them like an enemy. Condemn the execution of police simply for being police in unequivocal and unambiguous language. Condemn crowds chanting death to police, etc., and disgusting demonstrations of evilness like the one at the hospital where the sheriffs who were shot in Compton were being treated.

Disgusting Sign On Overpass at BLM Rally in WA.

2) Become un-aligned with either of our political parties and disconnect from other political movements, other than black lives mattering. In aligning with Democrats, progressives, and the entire laundry list of the leftist's agenda, it creates a "conservatives and Republicans not welcomed here" situation. Become a non-partisan (Not bi-partisan, which connotes Republicans and Democrats. Yuck!) group fully focused on improving black lives, including and especially as it pertains to interactions with the police. Pushing Marxism and calling all capitalism oppressive, etc., isn't likely to widen BLM's base of support. Not with me it ain't.

3) Develop education and training for the community in how to avoid confrontations with police, and when there is confrontation, how to comport one's self to help ensure that the confrontation doesn't become violent. This is essentially "the talk" we hear and read about black parents having with their kids being expanded to the whole of the community. In every one of the high profile cases BLM has taken interest in that I can think of in 2020, I feel 100% confident, regardless and separate from whether or not the cops were right, wrong, liable, etc., that had the victims comported themselves differently, they's still be alive. This includes, but is not limited to: not committing crimes, not resisting arrest, cooperating with police, not being so high on drugs and or alcohol so as to not have any self control at all. Don't threaten cops with a weapon and don't initiate physical violence with the cops. Don't attempt to steal the cop's weapons and don't attempt to use those weapons while fleeing. Don't be associating with career criminals / drug dealers.

4) Take an interest in all killings of black people: police, black on black murders, drug related killings, gang related executions, etc. Yes, 9-10 unarmed black men were shot by police. I am NOT advocating ignoring those, and even going so far as saying that's the centerpiece of BLM's mission. But there are way too many other black people dying violent deaths. To conservatives like myself, it seems disingenuous that the many are treated as completely irrelevant, and the few a monumental catastrophe.

5) Strive for real unity, which we will never achieve if white people are being blamed for every kind of issue and grievance just for the "crime" of being white. I will never join in with BLM protesters as long as behaviors like I saw in Pittsburgh last week. I think it was Pittsburgh. People eating in sidewalk restaurants shouldn't be harassed, screamed at, yelled out through bullhorns in their ear, bullied into raising a fist in solidarity, nor have their food and drink sampled by disgusting pieces of shit protesting under the banner of BLM. And speaking of unity, kneeling for the National Anthem, stomping on the flag, calling our country, OUR COUNTRY, not mine, not theirs, OURS, a racist country, none of that is helping to bring me on board.

 

9/12/2020 Puppeteers Ventriloquists and Sock Puppets

We have a right to know who's in Joe Biden's ear giving him answers to town hall questions. We have a right to know who's typing answers to town hall questions into that teleprompter. We have a right to know who it is who's really the one running for President.

 

"Say again? No, no, no. I still can't hear you."

It's the talented puppeteer who makes the puppet dance, it's the talented puppeteer who deserves applause.

"I'm a real good dancer!"

 

It's the ventriloquist who makes a puppet sing, it's the ventriloquist who deserves our praise and raves. 

 

"I can talk real good!"

The puppet is just a thing that sits on a shelf as the puppeteer and ventriloquist go about the off-stage business of living life. It's time for us all to know who's the puppeteer making Joe dance and sing. Or are you voting for a sock puppet?

Whose Hand Works the Sock Puppet?

9/11/2020 Oops! I Accidentally Wiped My iPhone!

Yesterday, for the third time since he has been US Attorney General for this second go-around, I wrote a short letter to William Barr. This time it was to express my outrage at the audacity of the Mueller team in erasing their phones. These people are criminals and should spend long years in jail.

 

Did you ever forget your iPhone pass code? I have. If you put the wrong pass code in 10 times the phone presumes there is a hacking attempt in progress and it will wipe itself clean. Somewhere within those 10 attempts the iPhone will warn you that if you continue making incorrect pass code entries, you'll lose all your data. It's probably extremely rare that someone unintentionally wipes an iPhone, but I'm sure it happens. Now multiply the odds that this happened to someone on Mueller's team, not once, not twice, but 17 times! That can't be an accident.

My math is rusty, but I was able to calculate the percentage chance that this could happen to 17 iPhones (I realize some of them may have been Androids or BlackBerries, but the odds aren't much different, so don't even go there!). There is a 0.00000000000000000000001% chance this could have been accidental, which it turns out is exactly the same odds as me winning the Powerball Jackpot 6 Saturdays in a row.

The worst part of this, in my opinion, is that if Biden wins the election his Justice Department will drop all investigations and prosecution of the coup d'état conspirators and the Mueller coup d'état cover-up team. All three participating US Attorneys investigating these crimes, Bash, Jensen, and Durham, will be instructed to close up shop. Or maybe the new AG will get tough and have the conspirators and coverers-up read and sign a memo reminding them to write their pass codes and keep it is a safe place in case they ever forget it again.

 

I feel lucky. I think I'll buy a PowerBall ticket for tomorrow. People are beating the odds every day!

9/10/2020 The Bombshell Game

Day in and day out we're being bombarded with incredible hyped stories of the evils of President Trump. Just a few days ago it was alleged in the Atlantic that President Trump disrespected the warriors buried in a WWI cemetery in France. The Atlantic "bombshell" cited "unnamed sources". Fully two dozen witnesses to actual event have stated on the record that the the President didn't say the things he was alleged to have said. Unnamed sources vs. two dozen on the record statements that stab the credibility of the Atlantic piece directly in the heart.

Yesterday the next "bombshell" was launched. Writer Bob Woodward released a recording of a conversation he had with President Trump in which Trump talked about his intent to downplay the virus in a manner that wouldn't incite panic (paraphrasing). The recording was made on Feb 7, which is relevant because public policy and what was known about the virus was much different than what was known two months and even just one month later. It was only in the very last days of January that the World Health Organization first started talking about possible human to human transmission. City, State, and Federal officials everywhere in the US were downplaying the virus on Feb 7th, encouraging people to eat in restaurants, shop in stores, etc. But, knowing how short our memories are, and how unlikely TV news watchers and newspaper readers are to put the comments into a contextual timeline, this was breathlessly reported far and wide last night. It still percolates and resonates with Trump detractors and opponents, some of whom understand the contextuality of the Feb 7th date.

This kind of "bombshelling" will continue to the election and beyond if Trump is reelected. It's intentional and it's intended to sway voters. Period. If you're sick of it AND you're committed to supporting Trump/Pence through thick and thin, then I suggest you can fight back by playing The Bombshell Game. Molly Hemingway, one of my favorite political analysts and pundits predicted the string of bombshells will continue on Fox News.

 
The Bombshell Game is a little bit like a drinking game, except instead of taking a drink every time one of these bogus bombshells is played out on TV, Internet, radio, and in print you make a donation to Bombshell Game Contributions. You decide what you can afford for Bombshell Game stakes. And bear in  mind there will be a bombshell every 2-3 days, which could mean 20 more, maybe 25, or even 30. So you may only tally $1, or $2, or $5. If you're a higher roller, then maybe $10 or $25 or $100 even.

I can't think of a better way for Joe Sixpack and all the other regular Americans for whom Donald Trump is our only and last best hope to make the bombshelling of the American electorate with bogus allegations backfire than by connecting a surge of campaign contributions to each and every bogus bombshell.

So, great Americans, will you play along? Will you play The Bombshell Game?

Trump Campaign Contributions The Bombshell Game

9/72020 Lies I can't Get Behind

Since it's a holiday, I'm gonna try to keep this short if I can.

Some people won't like hearing this, but here's a short (?) list of the divisive racial rhetoric and lies being used to try to somehow help an extremely weak Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. Presidency to cross the finish line as the winner:

1. Police are hunting and exterminating unarmed, innocent black men. No. There have been a small handful of black men killed in confrontations with police in 2020. In every case, police were called to the scene for some seemingly legitimate reason. Every one of the high profile cases warrants a thorough and impartial investigation to determine if the shooting is or was justified, and if not, was it an error, like mistaken identity or what appeared to be a weapon was a set of keys or something like that, or was it maliciously done, as in a murder or execution. But the bullshit rhetoric (don't tell me it ain't out there, I'll find quotes and post them) has to stop. It's divisive, it's incendiary, and it is harmful to our nation and our society.

2. Donald Trump is a racist. Bullshit. What is almost always cited as evidence of this are lawsuits and complaint made against Trump in New York related to Trump's position as owner of, and therefore landlord of a large number of people, some of whom are people of color. Sorry, there's racism, then there's allegations of racism made in the process of litigating disputes as a means of applying additional pressure and gaining leverage. Many prominent black people in entertainment, sports, politics, even black activists loved Trump before he crossed into sacred ground and challenged the traditional and accepted premise that Democrats and the left have and would in the future would act in the best interests of black Americans. Thirty years of prominent black persons' interaction with Trump and sixty or more years of Democratically run cities in the USA say otherwise. I'm not calling Trump an angel in lily white, not by any means, but this describing him as a Nazi and shit like that is bullshit. Pure, unadulterated, steaming bullshit.

3. White privilege. Shove your claims of white privilege up your ass. I did what I did in my life based on merit. I had black people above me, beside me, and below me. I had Hispanic people above me, beside me, and below me. I had Native American aircraft commanders in the Marines, and flew alongside everybody the sent: black, red, yellow, brown, and white. It was about competence and attitude.

4. Picking Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates based on their race and or gender. Get out of here with that nonsense. Pick the person best suited to do the best job for America. I don't give a shit if it's a man, woman, or some kind of recently popular hybrid model. And same goes for color. Don't pick him or her because they're black, brown, yellow, red, beige, white or even green. Pick the best person.

5. Critical race theory. You can forget about EVER getting me to apologize for being white and my so-called privilege. Forget it. Take your racist indoctrination and brainwashing bullshit somewhere else. I ain't buying

6. Black Lives Matter. I hesitated to add this because I've written about it before. So, to the point, I believe black lives matter. I don't support Black Lives Matter. If you don't or won't understand the difference, you're either stupid or dishonest.

7. Mostly Peaceful. "Black Lives Matter protests are mostly peaceful." What a line of bullshit. Everything in the world is 'mostly peaceful' until it isn't.  If there are 100 protests, and 25 of them are riots with violence, arson, destruction, and harassment of innocent passers-by, don't try to sell the 75 protests as all that's worth talking about. Mostly peaceful is white-wash, no pun intended.

8. That Antifa, now aligned with Black Lives Matter are the good guys. Move to fucking Cuba or Venezuela or Communist China or something. Take Antifa and Black Lives Matter with you. They love that socialist Marxist shit, anyways. They ain't the good guys.

9. The USA is a racist country. The fuck it is. Yes, the USA was founded during a time when there was slavery in the world, and for the first 85 or 90 years, there was slavery in the USA. We fought an extremely bloody Civil War to end slavery, and the next 100 years saw incremental improvement after incremental improvement. During this time black Americans got the right to vote, as did Native Americans. This 100 years culminated in passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. From the Civil War to 1964, many wrongs were righted. Yeah, it took a lot of pressure and there was great resistance. Which only strengthens the case I'm making. A lot of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears went into freeing the USA from the grips of slavery, something we inherited from the world as it was in which our great nation was formed. Slavery was NOT an enterprise invented here for our own private use. And while I'm thinking about it, fuck the 1619 project.

None of the above means that I don't support criminal justice reform, prison reform, police reform, ending racism (which I sadly agree does exist), etc. Because I do. But if you want to package those things in the wrapping paper of #'s 1-9 above, as Tony Soprano would have said: "Fuggedaboutit!"

9/6/2020 32 Ways to Avoid Getting Killed By Police

Here are a few do's and don'ts to help people of ALL colors to avoid a fatal run in with the police. Unscientifically, I suggest these rules will be way more than 99% effective:

1. Don't be a criminal.
2. Especially don't be a career criminal.
3. Don't be known to the police as a violent and dangerous person. "Armed and dangerous".
4. Don't be involved in illegal activities.
5. Don't be a drug user.
6. Don't be a drug addict.
7. Don't be a drug dealer.
8. Don't associate with drug addicts and dealers socially.
9. Don't possess illegal weapons.
10. Don't shoot illegal firearms.
11. When police stop you and question you be courteous and polite.
12. Don't go full asshole cursing and berating a cop who has the audacity to stop you.
13. If you're being arrested, cooperate peaceably.
14. If you're being arrested, don't resist physically.
15. If being questioned or arrested, don't assault the police.
16. Don't brandish and threaten cops with weapons, be they knives, firearms, or other weapons.
17. Don't assault and steal or try to steal the cop's weapon.
18. When cornered on foot, don't make a run for it. Surrender peaceably.
19. If in an automobile, don't initiate a chase by making a run for it in your car.
20. Get a legitimate job.
21. Go to church or worship regularly in the faith of your choice.
22. Spend more time with your mother.
23. Be there with and for your kids and teach them to be good human beings.
24. Don't beat your spouse, girlfriend, lover, etc.
25. Don't bully and threaten people at the grocery, mall, schoolyard, etc., and make them call the police on you.
26. Don't bully and threaten your next door and across the street neighbors and make them call the cops on you, either.
27. Finish school: high school, college, trade school, whichever best improves your situation.
28. Improve your finances by learning additional job and computer skills.
29. Be nice to people.
30. Be home cooking and making family dinners and eating a family dinner together when the cops pass by.
31. Be home saying grace before dinner when the cops pass by.
32. Know your priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam by name and let them get to know you, too. Be on the phone or visiting your religious leader when the cops pass by.

9/5/2020 Race Relations in 2020 and Beyond - A Manifesto of Sorts

We're getting this all wrong. And by "all wrong" I mean mostly everything. Let me start with this, as I have written and said before, I believe that black lives matter. When I think of black lives matter, I think of a conversation I had with a wonderful black woman I worked with named Kim. I can't recall which race relations police controversy had flared up at the time, but her anguish as a mom who feared for her son if he ever were to get sideways with a police officer for some reason was sincere and I remember how moved I was to hear it articulated from her point of view: a mother scared for her children. She talked about how she's had "the talk" with her son, and felt he was grounded in his faith and unlikely to put himself in trouble's way, but knowing that things happen, and that sometimes signals get crossed and situations can take a life of their own, she was genuinely afraid.

There are legitimate reasons why a black woman would be concerned. Try as she might to raise the kid right, he still lives and studies and goes to work in a neighborhood that has higher crime, more violence, and a different atmosphere than the one I live in when the police arrive after a call for any of the things that the police might be called for: a domestic disturbance, a robbery, an automobile accident, on and on. The neighborhood treats the cops different than mine does, and vice versa. It's chicken or egg thing, and you will NEVER unravel who started it, but it's a fact. And the neighborhoods she and I talked about, on the west end of Louisville, have a lot more violent crime than my neighborhood did/does. So the cops, when they respond there, have to be bearing that in mind and it has to affect their reactions as things play out if there is resistance, a lack of cooperation, etc. I'm not fooling myself, nor will I concede that there is one but not the other. Cops and the community there treat each other differently.

We should be working together to unravel the whole ball of intertwined notions, neighborhood notions about police and police notions about neighborhoods. But as we do that, crime can't be simply ignored because we don't like the people paid to 'police' it. So, I believe there IS work to do, by both law enforcement AND the black community, and by that I especially mean predominantly black neighborhoods, to find and establish a baseline of trust. I don't have the answers, but as of this writing, my intention is to state plainly and clearly, there IS work to do. Period. Blaming, which seems to be the predominant method of debate today, is solving nothing and making matters worse. What matters? Black live's matters.

I'm not in denial. There are white racists. Actually, there are racists of all colors, but here, in the context of discussing black lives matter, I am speaking to white racists. I condemn them. I condemn white racist hate groups. They have no place in my life, and play no role in shaping my opinions, actions, beliefs, or life. None. They're not me. Never were. Never will be. There are some bad cops. They are a SMALL minority, but they exist. And other cops have to step up when bad cops act out. There can't be a blue wall of silence.

Which brings me to Black Lives Matter (BLM), the political organization, which has instigated both protests and riots, voices demanding to be heard but with horrific collateral damage, not just to structures, but to people and people's lives, to black communities, and most concerning to me, damage to the possibility that we do get along better and find solutions. And Black Lives Matter, the organization, has roots, or at a minimum, some of it's leaders have ties to and belief in Marxism. Yeah, it does, they do. Black Lives Matter have aligned themselves so closely with Democrats and the political left, they leave literally no room for white conservatives to support the movement without supporting 100 things we don't support. Start with the fact that I refuse to accept blame, or guilt for the plight of the black man simply because of my own skin color. Follow that with the fact that I refuse to apologize for my own hard earned success, such that it is, on the basis of my skin color giving me some sort of advantage. And then work your way through the laundry list of demands specific to race and those of the political left with which they're aligned.

Because of Black Lives Matter's methods, goals, and political alignment I simply cannot and will not support them. And if some goddamned athlete, team, league, actor, television program, etc. wants me to support black lives matter, I am on board. But if they want me to support Black Lives Matter, they can fucking forget about it. It's never going to happen. Especially as BLM has aligned itself with anarchist, anti-American scumbag Antifa, and is fomenting violence, looting, arson, destruction, harassment of innocent passers-by, condemnation of all police, etc., I consider them an enemy of the USA and a force to be dealt with. Peaceful protesters? Sure. But when the violence and destruction starts, it's time for peaceful protesters to step up en masse and challenge such behavior. Those afraid or incapable of confronting it, fine. Then get the fuck out of there when the bad people start doing bad things. If you don't, then stand by to suffer the same consequences as the perpetrators. Because your presence facilitates the violence and destruction.

Let me sum things up this way: I condemn white supremacists, the KKK, ALL of the small-minded scumbags who have a core belief that their whiteness makes them somehow superior. And I support police and criminal justice reforms to make relations between blacks and black communities and their law enforcement as much better as possible. Easier said than done, I know. But I don't support riots, looting, violence, arson, removal of all monuments and commemorations of our past. I don't support critical race theory, reparations, and all the other nonsense going on now. I want liberty and justice for all. I want fairness, respect, and common decency for all. I want opportunity and prosperity for all. And believe it or not, black lives matter. I believe that. I hope you do, too.

9/3/2020 NTSB-LIke Police Shooting Investigations

Yesterday in a Facebook post or comment my buddy Rich referred to a suggestion that when there are police shootings, that they be investigated using a methodology like the one used by the NTSB to investigate aviation accidents. I've long held the belief that this should be the case. I'm not sure what the threshold should be to trigger (no pun intended) these investigations. Whether it's the 'controversial' ones, shootings where the victim was unarmed, all shootings, or what. But for shootings like the George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake, I would think this method could and should be applied.

If you don't know much about how the NTSB goes about an investigation, for a high level overview, 1) the investigative team would include various stakeholders: the NTSB itself, the FAA, the aircraft manufacturer, the airline, the airline's pilot union, etc. The investigation looks into 2) the crewmembers involved, the airline's training and procedures, manuals, equipment, dispatch, ground operations, cabin operations, support functions, air trafic control, and anything and everything that touches or affects a flight. They'll talk to airline people, airport people, the crewmember's trainers, ground personnel, inflight managers, ATC people, the local FAA office, weather people, you name it. And then they issue a report that 3) details every contributing factor, no matter how minute, human factors (yes, the pilot's and cabin crew's attitude, behavior, reputation for adherence to SOPs, etc). And fiinally, the 4) make recommendations on how to operate more safely,

One important aspect of this that would have to be addressed is liability. If in the course of the events under investigation crimes were committed, this would NOT be a get out of jail free deal. But to the extent possible, in order to have the kind of cooperative, open dialogue needed to identify all the contributing factors, some kind of protection from liability would have to be established.

1) In a police shooting, the investigative team might/should be led by a US Dept. of Justice entity, potentially falling under the Office of Inspector General. The team should include community advocates, behavioral experts to analyze situational behavior issues (with the cop AND the person who was shot, as well as ALL other involved parties), the police union, someone from the city or local government, probably a DA and a public defender, and possible another major stakeholder I'm not thinking of as I type. The investigative team members HAVE to be willing to work in a spirit of cooperation and teamwork with the other members of the team. While having all the stakeholders would allow a thorough examination of all aspects, those members of the team itself simply can't be agenda driven activists. They have to be investigators with enough knowledge and expertise to contribute to the investigation, participate knowledgeably in interviews, help come up with findings of fact as they pertain to causal factors, and lastly, to make reasonable and realistic recommendations. If a stakeholder is found to be more interested in protecting the area they represent, the head of the team from DOJ should correct it, and if it can't be corrected, find a replacement for that activist advocate on the team. Let the activists and advocates lobby the city government for changes once they have a 360º view report in hand, not to actively shape the report to suit their selfish interests.

2) The team should interview any eyewitnesses, community representatives to evaluate the community's hostility or good relations with the police in depth, the Police Chief, Mayor, Precinct Captain, partner of and the cop who did the shooting him or herself. Nothing is sacred. If the community is hostile and assaults or physically, verbally, or in other ways creates an extreme adversarial climate toward the police that hinders peaceful accomplishment of duties, it should be addressed. The police's attitude toward the community, the cop's training, local police and civilian culture toward the police, everything on the table. The victim: was he or she a criminal, in the act of committing a crime, armed, resisting, cooperating, threatening? What was known to the cop(s) who responded, "little old lady needs help crossing the street", or "armed man, extremely dangerous, history of violent crime and attempted murder."

3) They will issue a report that lists ALL the contributing factors, from the cop, the training, equipment, the community, the victim's behavior and history, nothing sacred. The report should be thorough and extremely comprehensive.

4) And finally, they should make recommendations: to the municipality or local entity, to the mayor, police chief, police dept, to the union, etc. The recommendations might be about hiring, training, equipment, procedures, policy, staffing, you name it. And to future 'customers' of the police, whether the person who called the cops, the person whose behavior or actions prompted that call, etc.

And then people need to take it to heart. Everybody. 

Never happen? Probably not. Nothing wrong with a little wishful thinking now and then.

9/1/2020 The Pivot

When the riots started in the end of May, then through June, July, and most of August, and while the Antifa and BLM riots destroyed businesses and cities, toppled monuments, threatened, harassed and bullied city workers and urban dwellers in the streets, Democrats and the media were all on the same page: "What violence? These are peaceful protests.", "Mostly peaceful protests." "Peaceful." Tortured logic reigned supreme. Police who confronted the rioters were spit on, cursed at, pushed, shoved, and bombarded with everything from bricks and glass to urine and fecal matter. "Defund the police!" "Reallocate police funding to social programs!" Offers to send in federal officers to help restore order were mostly rejected out of hand by liberal city mayors fearful of alienating their constituencies. When federal law enforcement went in to protect federal courthouses and other federal buildings and facilities in Portland, OR, those operations were criticized and rejected as provocative, even as they were only embarked upon because of the violence and destruction that was occurring. Democratic politicians, among them notably Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Kamala (pronounced "comma la", lest you be criticized as a bigot because you didn't know how to pronounce it) Harris intimated it would and should continue.

As recently as this past Sunday, CNN was still arguing the violence and destruction weren't "riots".

In August all the Democrats' internal (and everyone else's) polling said: "The American people are more concerned with the violence, arson, and anarchists destroying our cities than anything else." It reached an apex when a 17 year old kid armed with an AR-15 went to Kenosha to help defend a used car lot was attacked and responded by shooting three men, killing two of them. A caravan of citizens in Portland, OR, brazenly drove into Portland to signify to the rioters who've bullied the city of Portland their rejection of Antifa and BLM occupying and destroying the city. A Trump supporter was murdered in cold blood for having the audacity to be a Trump supporter and to be there. But he's the fascist? My ass he is! Rest in Peace.

"All at once, PIVOT!" September 1st is here and Biden, Democrats, and the media all pivot in unison and in perfect three part harmony, and they sing:  "All of the violence is Donald Trump's fault, Trump's fault, Trump's fault! All of the violence is Donald Trump's fault, Trump's fault, Trump's fault! Until he goes away!" The Democratic Party's Presidential Nominee's statement on it yesterday reminded me of a mafia thug shaking down a pizza joint in Jersey: "You need protection. If you don't elect Joe Biden, this stuff's gonna get worse!" If we don't elect Biden, it surely will get worse! What is more disappointing than the predictable pivot in the face of a groundswell of public opinion vehemently objecting to the violence and destruction, is that many who get their news only from CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, The New York Times, and or The Washington Post will not only buy into the blatantly dishonest narrative, no, worse than that. Nope. The dishonest or stupid lefties will join in the singing: "All of the violence is Donald Trump's fault, Trump's fault, Trump's fault! All of the violence is Donald Trump's fault, Trump's fault, Trump's fault! Until he goes away!"

One last tangentially related point: This past weekend, President Trump said he was going to Kenosha to see the situation firsthand. The Wisconsin Governor urged him not to. I'm glad he's going for two reasons: first, to show the victims of the destruction, looting, and violence that he is in support and solidarity with them and against the liberal authorities who rejected federal assistance to deal with it and second, in going there the President will force networks to show the devastation that's taken place in Kenosha, which the media has largely hidden from view as best they can to avoid being exposed for the dishonest "mostly peaceful" narrative they've pushed all summer.