How should we describe the year of our Lord 2019? Catastrophic seems a tad too negative, although on the other hand the word, draining appears far too cheery. Perhaps dreadful is the term we're looking for. Let's see.
January: Almost immediately after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was sworn in as a Congresswoman from New York the ultra right wing loons attacked. A video of Boston University students dancing on roof tops showed up on YouTube. According to the poster of the video, Q Anonymous 1776, it was a high school shoot, featuring, "Americas favorite commie know it all acting like the nit wit she is." The main focus of outrage, however wasn't a college aged Ocasio-Cortez dancing up a storm with some pals--the video was designed to welcome new BU students to the school and was played during their orientation sessions--but the shocking fact she was going by a different name in the credits. The video proclaimed the Congresswoman was, "busted," for going by a, "completely different name." The name she used in the video was, Sandy Ocasio-Cortez, a childhood moniker she had grown up with.
February: The Oklahoma state Senate pro tem pushed a bill through his committee which would outlaw abortions in OK days after the U. S. Supreme Court's assumed repeal of Roe v. Wade. Among those standing in opposition was republican senator Joe Silk. He had written his own bill which would not only outlaw abortion immediately, but had a provision charging any one performing the procedure with homicide. Silk, apparently unaware of the Constitution of the United States, was quoted as saying, "Oklahoma doesn't need the court's permission to outlaw the killing of innocent children."
March: People running the massive annual right wing pep rally known as CPAC decided "journalist," Laura Loomer was even too crazy for them. As she was being carted away from the hall Loomer was heard yelling, "Don Jr. follows me on Instagram. I'm one of Trump's biggest supporters. I had 265,000 followers on Twitter before I was banned."
April: As soon as U.S. Attorney General, William Barr released a highly redacted version of Robert Mueller's report, Donald Trump threw himself a party in Grand Rapids Michigan. It would mark the first time a large section of the crowd showed up wearing and carrying "Q" tee shirts and signs. He drove them into a frenzy when he proclaimed, "the deep state," plot against him had been foiled, at least for now.
May: Ultra right wing troll, Jacob Wohl proclaimed, "Truth is an obsolete concept. It's something that can't be thought about in linear, binary true-false, facts-non facts--you can't do that any more. It's just not the way it works. The veracity of the information I spread isn't important. All that matters is how far those claims travel and how many people believe them."
June: In Oregon republican state senators vehemently opposed a pro environment bill passed earlier by the state house. Since they didn't have the votes to defeat it they walked out en masse in order to deny the chamber a quorum. When the governor threatened to send state troopers to drag them back at least one Oregon senator made a veiled threat on her life and a not so subtle one to shoot the troopers assigned to detain him. Later a large demonstration of armed, "militias," in Salem prevented both state houses from being convened.
July: In the aftermath of Jefferey Epstein's suicide attempt--which happened right in the middle of Bob Mueller's congressional testimony--Alex Jones of Info Wars fame, went on record as saying the Achilles heel of, The Deep State, is its members insatiable need to commit acts of pedophilia.
August: Jefferey Epstein's second attempt to kill himself was more successful. As soon as he was found dead right wing rubes went all over social media blaming just about everyone on the left including the Clintons, Barack H. Obama, and the British Royal Family. In a nod to conspiracies everywhere left wing posters blamed, Donald Trump and his personal A.G, Bill Barr.
September: Early in the month ABC's Johnathan Karl aired a brief report about a Trump tweet during which he said the President had misstated Hurricane Dorian's path. Karl added the information in the tweet had been corrected by the National Weather Service. Trump, being Trump fired off another tweet vilifying fake news' Jonathan Carl, misspelling the reporter's name. Kentucky minister, Reverend Johnathan Carl's Twitter account was quickly inundated with obscene and threatening messages sent by the President's followers. What followed might have been the most bizarre series of events in the past two plus years of the current administration. Trump held a presser which included a map of Dorian's predicted path, hand edited with a Sharpie. Later it was revealed his Secretary of Commerce was directed to fire NWS personnel unless they issued a statement saying Trump was correct. They did even though their people ended up being right. To this day, Don Trump has never admitted he was wrong about Dorian's path, or apologized to the pastor.
October: Congressman Matt Gaetz and a couple of dozen of his GOP pals invaded what is called the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility in the basement of the Capitol Building. They did so to protest what they described as, "Soviet style," secret meetings during which Donald Trump was being investigated in a political vacuum cut off from all republican input and witness examinations. Mr. Gaetz failed to mention, or was too stupid to realize, that of the 103 members of congress on three different committees investigating Trump in the SCIF, 47 were republicans with full access to evidence and witnesses.
November: The official congressional inquiry into the impeachment of Don Trump began.
December: Donald John Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, was impeached.
Yes, dreadful does seem to be the best descriptor for 2019, even though weird and insane also fit. Back in the late 1960's and early 70's it was my opinion the only time the nation had been more divided was during the Civil War. In 2019 that unenviable bar has been surpassed. Even back in those days of riots, civil protests, and anti war sentiment we could actually agree on what was true and what wasn't. Now, as the second decade of the 21st century begins, we not only can't agree on basic truths, many of us, like Jacob Wolh and Don Trump are convinced such concepts should be tossed into a dumpster like so much garbage.
sic vita est
12-31-19
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Friday, December 27, 2019
First The Squad and Now, The Outer Limits Crew
First came, "The Squad." It is a foursome of congresswomen, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib. Not only are they women, but women of color who are progressives bound and determined to move both the democratic party and the nation to the left.
Now we have a second quartet, although no one is exactly sure what to call them, at least not yet.
This bunch is comprised of Matthew Lusk, Danielle Stella, Rich Helms, and Erin Cruz. None of them hold a seat in congress, but each of them want to and they are running hard to get there. All four have a couple of things in common. First is a deep and abiding love for Donald John Trump and all things on the right edge. Second, each has an interest in and a fascination with that magical, mystical entity known as QAnon--so much so they are actively campaigning on what could be described as the Q ticket.
For those not completely familiar with the Q phenomena it revolves around an individual, or individuals who began posting on the 4Chan message board in 2017. The tale is Q is a government official with top super secret clearance. He, she, they send out cryptic messages meant to keep the people informed about a savage, yet, covert war being waged between Don Trump and a seemingly endless list of ruthless enemies. These enemies include Hillary Clinton, the Hollywood elite, globalists, what is known as, "the deep state," presumably the Illuminati, and for all we know your local chapter of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Trump's foes, according to Q, are so vile they commit acts of pedophilia, possibly host cannibalistic feasts, and control child sex trafficking rings for fun and profit.
NBC News notes Mr. Lusk is running unopposed in the republican primary for Florida's 5th district seat. His campaign posters read, "Matthew Lusk for Congress--Putting America First." On the back is a large, "Q," in black ink. In an interview, Lusk cheerily told NBC, "You never know when you'll run into somebody else who's interested in Q." He lists Q as one of the issues on his campaign web site. He also told the network, "Do I think there's powerful pedophiles out there? Yes. Is the ring like in supreme control of globalization? No, I think they are just like a fringe group within the power elite."
Ms. Stella is running for Minnesota's 5th district. If she wins the primary, which is sort of iffy, since she has been charged with a couple of counts of shoplifting--incidents which she says she doesn't remember because she suffers from PTSD--she will face none other than Ilian Omar. Her response to questions from NBC came through an Email from her campaign account. It read, "I find it appalling NBC would work so feverishly to defend child and sex traffickers, their funders and, and their enablers."
Brother Helms, who is a candidate in Texas' 33rd district has, in the past, according to NBC, retweeted and expressed support for QAnon accounts. However, when contacted by the media outlet he refused to respond.
Ms. Cruz is running in California's 36th district. While not as overt about her Q support she did say, "I think we that we have to be very careful about what we think, or call conspiracy theories." She added that she believed QAnon fans have, "legitimate concerns." She also posited to NBC that some of the Q messages contain valid information.
Well there we have it. Let's call them, The Outer Limits Crew. While not having access to local polls it is hard to say if any of them will win, although Danielle Stella seems far too weird, not to mention criminal, to secure her party's nomination.
The real problem here isn't four ultra right wing cranks running for the United States House of Representatives. No, the real problem is this Q shit, which is less legitimate than even the wildest of ancient alien theories, has now oozed into main stream American politics.
At this point one can only imagine how hard Vladimir Putin and his paid trolls are laughing.
12-27-19
Now we have a second quartet, although no one is exactly sure what to call them, at least not yet.
This bunch is comprised of Matthew Lusk, Danielle Stella, Rich Helms, and Erin Cruz. None of them hold a seat in congress, but each of them want to and they are running hard to get there. All four have a couple of things in common. First is a deep and abiding love for Donald John Trump and all things on the right edge. Second, each has an interest in and a fascination with that magical, mystical entity known as QAnon--so much so they are actively campaigning on what could be described as the Q ticket.
For those not completely familiar with the Q phenomena it revolves around an individual, or individuals who began posting on the 4Chan message board in 2017. The tale is Q is a government official with top super secret clearance. He, she, they send out cryptic messages meant to keep the people informed about a savage, yet, covert war being waged between Don Trump and a seemingly endless list of ruthless enemies. These enemies include Hillary Clinton, the Hollywood elite, globalists, what is known as, "the deep state," presumably the Illuminati, and for all we know your local chapter of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Trump's foes, according to Q, are so vile they commit acts of pedophilia, possibly host cannibalistic feasts, and control child sex trafficking rings for fun and profit.
NBC News notes Mr. Lusk is running unopposed in the republican primary for Florida's 5th district seat. His campaign posters read, "Matthew Lusk for Congress--Putting America First." On the back is a large, "Q," in black ink. In an interview, Lusk cheerily told NBC, "You never know when you'll run into somebody else who's interested in Q." He lists Q as one of the issues on his campaign web site. He also told the network, "Do I think there's powerful pedophiles out there? Yes. Is the ring like in supreme control of globalization? No, I think they are just like a fringe group within the power elite."
Ms. Stella is running for Minnesota's 5th district. If she wins the primary, which is sort of iffy, since she has been charged with a couple of counts of shoplifting--incidents which she says she doesn't remember because she suffers from PTSD--she will face none other than Ilian Omar. Her response to questions from NBC came through an Email from her campaign account. It read, "I find it appalling NBC would work so feverishly to defend child and sex traffickers, their funders and, and their enablers."
Brother Helms, who is a candidate in Texas' 33rd district has, in the past, according to NBC, retweeted and expressed support for QAnon accounts. However, when contacted by the media outlet he refused to respond.
Ms. Cruz is running in California's 36th district. While not as overt about her Q support she did say, "I think we that we have to be very careful about what we think, or call conspiracy theories." She added that she believed QAnon fans have, "legitimate concerns." She also posited to NBC that some of the Q messages contain valid information.
Well there we have it. Let's call them, The Outer Limits Crew. While not having access to local polls it is hard to say if any of them will win, although Danielle Stella seems far too weird, not to mention criminal, to secure her party's nomination.
The real problem here isn't four ultra right wing cranks running for the United States House of Representatives. No, the real problem is this Q shit, which is less legitimate than even the wildest of ancient alien theories, has now oozed into main stream American politics.
At this point one can only imagine how hard Vladimir Putin and his paid trolls are laughing.
12-27-19
Monday, December 23, 2019
Living Fletcher Knebel's Novel Fifty-Four Years Later
Wikipedia's synopsis of Fletcher Knebel's, 1965 novel, "Night of Camp David," reads this way:
"Iowa democratic Senator Jim MacVeagh is summoned to Camp David by President Mark Hollenbach. MacVeagh, who is expected to be Hollenbach's next vice president, becomes concerned because Hollenbach shows signs of intense paranoia. He erratically expresses his desire to develop a closer relationship between the United States and the USSR and attempts to cut ties with American allies in Europe. Hollenbach believes the American news media are conspiring against him. MacVeagh is the only person who notices that Hollenbach's mind is crumbling, as the presidential advisors and politicians he attempts to warn ignore him. The sole person in possession of evidence of Hollenbach's mental decline is his mistress, Rita. Hollenbach puts both MacVeagh and Rita under a FBI investigation."
Wikipedia notes when the book was released 54 years ago, then New York Times reviewer, David Dempsey described it as, "Too plausible for comfort."
You think?
Knebel, who co-wrote the political thriller, "Seven Days in May," three years earlier (about an attempted White House coup by members of the ultra right wing), wound up the tension tightly in "Night of Camp David." However the ending, in my mind anyway, was what we used to call a cop out.
But let's not get bogged down with literary judgments here.
This weekend, Donald J. Trump, the current President of the United States addressed a group of young conservatives in Florida at what was billed as the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit.
The Guardian reports Trump, in an hour plus speech, ripped the usual suspects such as Nancy Pelosi, his impeachment, and republican, "Never Trumpers." Then he moved on to the green new deal and wind powered energy.
The Guardian quoted him as telling the crowd, "I've never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. They're noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? Go under a windmill someday. You'll see more birds than you've ever seen in your life."
Trump went on to say, "They're made in China and Germany mostly. But they're manufactured tremendous if you are into this, tremendous fumes. Gases are spewing into the atmosphere. You know we have a world, right? So the world is tiny compared to the universe. So tremendous, tremendous amounts of fumes and everything."
And then, "You talk about the carbon footprint, fumes are spewing into the air, right? Spewing. Whether it's in China, Germany it's going into the air. It's our air, their air, everything, right?
He added, "You see all those windows. They're all different shades of color. They're like sort of white, but one is like an orange-white. It's my favorite color, orange."
As they say on social media, WTF?
Fletcher Knebel committed suicide in 1993 at the age of 82. He had been diagnosed as having terminal cancer. "Night of Camp David," was re-released by Vintage Books last year. On the cover, as it was on the original release, is the blurb, "What would happen if the President of the U.S.A. went stark raving mad?"
Well, these days, it appears we are finding out the answer to that one every time we turn on the news.
sic vita est
12-23-19
"Iowa democratic Senator Jim MacVeagh is summoned to Camp David by President Mark Hollenbach. MacVeagh, who is expected to be Hollenbach's next vice president, becomes concerned because Hollenbach shows signs of intense paranoia. He erratically expresses his desire to develop a closer relationship between the United States and the USSR and attempts to cut ties with American allies in Europe. Hollenbach believes the American news media are conspiring against him. MacVeagh is the only person who notices that Hollenbach's mind is crumbling, as the presidential advisors and politicians he attempts to warn ignore him. The sole person in possession of evidence of Hollenbach's mental decline is his mistress, Rita. Hollenbach puts both MacVeagh and Rita under a FBI investigation."
Wikipedia notes when the book was released 54 years ago, then New York Times reviewer, David Dempsey described it as, "Too plausible for comfort."
You think?
Knebel, who co-wrote the political thriller, "Seven Days in May," three years earlier (about an attempted White House coup by members of the ultra right wing), wound up the tension tightly in "Night of Camp David." However the ending, in my mind anyway, was what we used to call a cop out.
But let's not get bogged down with literary judgments here.
This weekend, Donald J. Trump, the current President of the United States addressed a group of young conservatives in Florida at what was billed as the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit.
The Guardian reports Trump, in an hour plus speech, ripped the usual suspects such as Nancy Pelosi, his impeachment, and republican, "Never Trumpers." Then he moved on to the green new deal and wind powered energy.
The Guardian quoted him as telling the crowd, "I've never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. They're noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? Go under a windmill someday. You'll see more birds than you've ever seen in your life."
Trump went on to say, "They're made in China and Germany mostly. But they're manufactured tremendous if you are into this, tremendous fumes. Gases are spewing into the atmosphere. You know we have a world, right? So the world is tiny compared to the universe. So tremendous, tremendous amounts of fumes and everything."
And then, "You talk about the carbon footprint, fumes are spewing into the air, right? Spewing. Whether it's in China, Germany it's going into the air. It's our air, their air, everything, right?
He added, "You see all those windows. They're all different shades of color. They're like sort of white, but one is like an orange-white. It's my favorite color, orange."
As they say on social media, WTF?
Fletcher Knebel committed suicide in 1993 at the age of 82. He had been diagnosed as having terminal cancer. "Night of Camp David," was re-released by Vintage Books last year. On the cover, as it was on the original release, is the blurb, "What would happen if the President of the U.S.A. went stark raving mad?"
Well, these days, it appears we are finding out the answer to that one every time we turn on the news.
sic vita est
12-23-19
Friday, December 20, 2019
The Shooting at Penn Square Mall: Not to Worry, It Was a Personal Beef
Sometimes all this gun shit comes a little too close to home. Yesterday my wife was headed to an office Christmas party scheduled to be held at an Olive Garden restaurant located across the street from Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City. At the time I was perched on the sofa watching a cable news network. It was featuring speakers from both American political parties who were, with great gusto, accusing each other of everything from unrepentant partisan corruption to treason.
About 15 minutes after she left she strolled back in through the front door and announced the party had been cancelled. Nothing unusal she said, just a shooting at the mall. Ah yes, America, where it is always the season for deadly craziness.
The talking heads on the local TV outlets were all over the situation when we switched channels. In helicopter shots and behind reporters on the ground the scene was one we've grown used to. There were dozens of police cars with their lights flashing. Heavily armed officers were entering the mall as dazed shoppers and the entire OKC Thunder NBA team filed out. The Thunder players were there to see a private screening of an unidentified movie. We were assured they were never in any danger.
In addition, by the time we tuned in, those giving us the updates were already telling the viewing audience, not to worry, it wasn't an active, or mass shooting situation. Apparently someone took umbrage with a specific person and did what any red blooded modern American does in such a situation--he pulled his weapon and opened fire.
That's right ladies and gentlemen, relax, it was a personal beef, he wasn't after everybody. Given what has gone on during this century, such a revelation is supposed to be of comfort to us.
Of course this isn't the first time gun madness has hit nearby. In May of 2018 a security guard who was licensed to carry a fire arm named Alexander Tilghman opened up on a restaurant about five minutes away from us. We weren't there that night, but it is a place we frequent. He was killed by a couple of other trained security people who just happened to be close to the scene, but only after he had wounded three, two of them young girls.
Mr. Tilghman wasn't targeting anyone in particular, although later a couple of videos he had posted on YouTube were discovered. In one he talked about birds tormenting him at night and during the other he spoke about, "demonic ducks," which roamed the park area next to the bar and grill. To this day it remains unknown why he targeted the diners rather than those accursed ducks.
Last night the NRA types began their usual complaints about gun free zones, which Penn Square is. Oh if only the mall would have allowed patrons to carry weapons the shooter would have been stopped. By stopped they mean killed. Yes and if any bystanders had been caught in the crossfire, well, that's the price of freedom.
Twenty-four year old Elizha Sanders was arrested this morning for the crime after his father talked him into surrendering to police. He shot 22 year old Gerron Cobb after the two became involved in a fist fight at a Foot Locker store. Cobb remains in critical condition. No one knows where, or how Sanders got the weapon.
And that's the problem isn't it? There are so many guns out there anyone can get one. Even guys who use them to settle fist fights and the ones who are harassed by demonic ducks.
In November an Oklahoma law went into effect which allows almost everyone to carry a side arm openly without any sort of training, or a license. One of the restrictions is you can't carry on private property if the owner doesn't allow it. Obviously young Mr. Sanders wasn't up on the rule, or chose to ignore it.
We can only imagine how many people out there are like him. Just like we can only imagine what the carnage and fear would be like if we rescinded the regulation.
What we do know is Wyatt Earp knew the solution to the problem well over one hundred years ago. We just don't have his guts, or will to enforce it.
12-20-19
About 15 minutes after she left she strolled back in through the front door and announced the party had been cancelled. Nothing unusal she said, just a shooting at the mall. Ah yes, America, where it is always the season for deadly craziness.
The talking heads on the local TV outlets were all over the situation when we switched channels. In helicopter shots and behind reporters on the ground the scene was one we've grown used to. There were dozens of police cars with their lights flashing. Heavily armed officers were entering the mall as dazed shoppers and the entire OKC Thunder NBA team filed out. The Thunder players were there to see a private screening of an unidentified movie. We were assured they were never in any danger.
In addition, by the time we tuned in, those giving us the updates were already telling the viewing audience, not to worry, it wasn't an active, or mass shooting situation. Apparently someone took umbrage with a specific person and did what any red blooded modern American does in such a situation--he pulled his weapon and opened fire.
That's right ladies and gentlemen, relax, it was a personal beef, he wasn't after everybody. Given what has gone on during this century, such a revelation is supposed to be of comfort to us.
Of course this isn't the first time gun madness has hit nearby. In May of 2018 a security guard who was licensed to carry a fire arm named Alexander Tilghman opened up on a restaurant about five minutes away from us. We weren't there that night, but it is a place we frequent. He was killed by a couple of other trained security people who just happened to be close to the scene, but only after he had wounded three, two of them young girls.
Mr. Tilghman wasn't targeting anyone in particular, although later a couple of videos he had posted on YouTube were discovered. In one he talked about birds tormenting him at night and during the other he spoke about, "demonic ducks," which roamed the park area next to the bar and grill. To this day it remains unknown why he targeted the diners rather than those accursed ducks.
Last night the NRA types began their usual complaints about gun free zones, which Penn Square is. Oh if only the mall would have allowed patrons to carry weapons the shooter would have been stopped. By stopped they mean killed. Yes and if any bystanders had been caught in the crossfire, well, that's the price of freedom.
Twenty-four year old Elizha Sanders was arrested this morning for the crime after his father talked him into surrendering to police. He shot 22 year old Gerron Cobb after the two became involved in a fist fight at a Foot Locker store. Cobb remains in critical condition. No one knows where, or how Sanders got the weapon.
And that's the problem isn't it? There are so many guns out there anyone can get one. Even guys who use them to settle fist fights and the ones who are harassed by demonic ducks.
In November an Oklahoma law went into effect which allows almost everyone to carry a side arm openly without any sort of training, or a license. One of the restrictions is you can't carry on private property if the owner doesn't allow it. Obviously young Mr. Sanders wasn't up on the rule, or chose to ignore it.
We can only imagine how many people out there are like him. Just like we can only imagine what the carnage and fear would be like if we rescinded the regulation.
What we do know is Wyatt Earp knew the solution to the problem well over one hundred years ago. We just don't have his guts, or will to enforce it.
12-20-19
Monday, December 16, 2019
Sir Horace Describes Someone Else
Hitler may be no statesman, but he is an uncommonly clever and audacious demagogue and fully alive to every popular instinct.
Sir Horace Rumbold, British Ambassador to Germany, February 22nd, 1933
You can catch a lot of heat for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, although these days it is increasingly difficult not to. It actually isn't a new thing either. The first person to publicly do so, wasn't some wild eyed Bernie supporter roaming a liberal university campus. It was, in fact, the arch conservative columnist, George Will. He subtly made the connection during the 2016 presidential campaign. At about the same time he wrote that conservatives, "should hold their noses, cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton," then vote her out in 2020 when a more suitable republican candidate would be available.
That devious little plan obviously didn't work, although Secretary Clinton did win around six million more votes than the current resident of the White House. Of course the Nazis never held a majority in Germany's parliament, the Reichstag, either until after Herr Hitler declared himself the Grand Poo Bah of all things German.
We aren't to that point yet, although we know Mr. Trump once told a group of donors having a president for life like China does is something we might try, "sometime." Then last year, on the White House lawn, he also asked the gathered media, "Should we go back to 16 years? (four terms in office) Congressman, can we have that extended? The last time I jokingly said that the papers started saying he's got despotic tendencies. No, I'm not looking to do it, unless you want to do it."
Last Saturday in a preview of what next year's campaign will look like a bunch of Trump supporters showed up at a town hall meeting in Glendale, CA. The event was put together by an Armenian group. It was designed to thank Congress for passing a resolution which recognized the genocide perpetrated on their race and others by the Ottoman Empire.
Among those in attendance was Adam Schiff, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee. When Congressman Schiff began to speak three people stood up with signs which said, "Don't Impeach." It is reported that when other members of the crowd asked them to lower the signs they refused. Within moments about a dozen others in the audience began to yell at Schiff, calling him a liar.
As the rest of the audience began asking them to pipe down, what the "Glendale News Press," described as a scuffle ensued. In the initial moments of it, those shouting, pulled off their jackets and sweaters revealing their pro Trump tee-shirts. The scuffle continued for 15 minutes.
The three cops at the meeting, which was held in the Glendale library, reported there weren't any injuries. The Armenian group sponsoring the get together issued a statement which said in part, "While as Americans we value our right to free speech, today's actions by a select few were designed to disrupt an event that had no connection to recent political divisions and disrespected the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide."
The statement went on to say, "Though asked to leave, the disruptors instead remained and continued to behave in an appalling manner which lacked any semblance of human decency."
Ernst Rohm and his brown shirts, the SA, would have been proud.
It is highly doubtful Donald Trump, or anyone in his administration set this despicable display in motion, however he certainly inspired it.
He knows it too. It is exactly what he wants from his base, wild anger and intimidation. He fires them up with unhinged xenophobia, while playing to their prejudices and fears with language straight from some mean street he imagines he grew up on. He knows America's dark tendency toward violence and hysteria and he exploits it with practically every word he spews, all the while joking about scrapping the Constitution and becoming a leader for life.
Indeed, like Caesar he will accept the crown only if we offer it, but his every tweet, his every act, is designed to manipulate the weak minded and fascists among us into doing just that.
In a different place and age, Sir Horace wrote about someone else, but when he did, the old boy described Donald John Trump perfectly.
And right now, thanks to DJT, we are on the edge of where Germany was in 1933.
sic vita est
12-16-19
Sir Horace Rumbold, British Ambassador to Germany, February 22nd, 1933
You can catch a lot of heat for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, although these days it is increasingly difficult not to. It actually isn't a new thing either. The first person to publicly do so, wasn't some wild eyed Bernie supporter roaming a liberal university campus. It was, in fact, the arch conservative columnist, George Will. He subtly made the connection during the 2016 presidential campaign. At about the same time he wrote that conservatives, "should hold their noses, cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton," then vote her out in 2020 when a more suitable republican candidate would be available.
That devious little plan obviously didn't work, although Secretary Clinton did win around six million more votes than the current resident of the White House. Of course the Nazis never held a majority in Germany's parliament, the Reichstag, either until after Herr Hitler declared himself the Grand Poo Bah of all things German.
We aren't to that point yet, although we know Mr. Trump once told a group of donors having a president for life like China does is something we might try, "sometime." Then last year, on the White House lawn, he also asked the gathered media, "Should we go back to 16 years? (four terms in office) Congressman, can we have that extended? The last time I jokingly said that the papers started saying he's got despotic tendencies. No, I'm not looking to do it, unless you want to do it."
Last Saturday in a preview of what next year's campaign will look like a bunch of Trump supporters showed up at a town hall meeting in Glendale, CA. The event was put together by an Armenian group. It was designed to thank Congress for passing a resolution which recognized the genocide perpetrated on their race and others by the Ottoman Empire.
Among those in attendance was Adam Schiff, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee. When Congressman Schiff began to speak three people stood up with signs which said, "Don't Impeach." It is reported that when other members of the crowd asked them to lower the signs they refused. Within moments about a dozen others in the audience began to yell at Schiff, calling him a liar.
As the rest of the audience began asking them to pipe down, what the "Glendale News Press," described as a scuffle ensued. In the initial moments of it, those shouting, pulled off their jackets and sweaters revealing their pro Trump tee-shirts. The scuffle continued for 15 minutes.
The three cops at the meeting, which was held in the Glendale library, reported there weren't any injuries. The Armenian group sponsoring the get together issued a statement which said in part, "While as Americans we value our right to free speech, today's actions by a select few were designed to disrupt an event that had no connection to recent political divisions and disrespected the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide."
The statement went on to say, "Though asked to leave, the disruptors instead remained and continued to behave in an appalling manner which lacked any semblance of human decency."
Ernst Rohm and his brown shirts, the SA, would have been proud.
It is highly doubtful Donald Trump, or anyone in his administration set this despicable display in motion, however he certainly inspired it.
He knows it too. It is exactly what he wants from his base, wild anger and intimidation. He fires them up with unhinged xenophobia, while playing to their prejudices and fears with language straight from some mean street he imagines he grew up on. He knows America's dark tendency toward violence and hysteria and he exploits it with practically every word he spews, all the while joking about scrapping the Constitution and becoming a leader for life.
Indeed, like Caesar he will accept the crown only if we offer it, but his every tweet, his every act, is designed to manipulate the weak minded and fascists among us into doing just that.
In a different place and age, Sir Horace wrote about someone else, but when he did, the old boy described Donald John Trump perfectly.
And right now, thanks to DJT, we are on the edge of where Germany was in 1933.
sic vita est
12-16-19
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Impeachment and Gas Lighting: The American System of Government is on the Edge
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States of America.
So there it is. Despite what Donald Trump might believe deep down--the President can do whatever he, or she wants--there are limits to the power of the office.
His people have known it from the beginning. In fact they were so aware of this impediment to corruption and autocracy in the moments immediately after the July phone call to Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky there was a mad scramble to hide the records of it from everyone. Indeed, it would seem the only person in the entire Trump administration who didn't understand how God awful the ramifications of the call would be was, Donald Trump himself.
That's what happens when you have a chief executive who takes an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution, but never takes the time to actually read the damn thing. Not that it probably matters. Playing fast and loose with all manner of laws and regulations has been a way of life for The Big Orange Guy since his high school days. We're talking nearly seven decades of knowing if caught, he could first run to dear old Dad, then later to an army of attorneys who would fix the trouble.
That's right baby. All those laws, they're for the little people, so fuck 'em. He learned that from the late Roy Cohn. What he learned from Joseph Goebbels was, first, no lie is too big, or preposterous, second, always accuse your accusers of the crimes you are committing. As for the conspiracy shit, that probably came from Alex Jones.
Listen, no source is too great, or small for our man Don.
Now he is up against it. Within days he will become only the third President of the history of the republic to be impeached by the House of Representatives. The first was Andrew Johnson, the second, Bill Clinton. Nixon, knowing his goose was cooked, quit before there was an actual vote.
The first article accuses El Don of abuse of power. It is a direct result of that phone call to Zelensky. During it he, "asked," Ukraine do him a solid by launching an investigation into former VP, Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. In return the U.S. would release $391 million in military aid, which had already been approved by Congress. At the time, the elder Biden looked to be Trump's likely opponent in next year's presidential election. In addition, Trump wanted Ukraine to track down those missing computer servers which he and his fellow conspiracy enthusiasts claim contain evidence of Hillary Clinton's collusion with the country to rig the 2016 election.
You read that correctly. Trump's assertion is, in 2016 the Russians didn't interfere with the election process in order to help him, but rather it was the Ukrainians who meddled to assist Clinton. This despite every U.S. intel source saying the opposite.
The second article charges the President of obstruction of Congress. In other words by instructing scads of his people to ignore subpoenas and refusing to release boat loads of documents he attempted to thwart the entire constitutional process of impeachment.
At this point it is hard to argue with either article, although the White House and its allies are working as hard as lab rats on meth to do so. Their alibis for the President when it comes to the phone call and the excuses they offer for the obstruction charge run from the weird to the absurd.
Taking a clue from their client the defense has stooped to out right lies, half truths, and conspiracy nonsense to make a case for him. It is the greatest display of gas lighting ever seen on the planet.
And the problem is, in the end, it will work. Oh, DJT is going to be impeached, but it will be along strict party lines. Once the proceedings move to the republican controlled Senate there is no way two thirds of them, no matter what the evidence, will vote to convict.
Ladies and gentlemen the United States is edging dangerously close to the types of government we now see in Russia and China. It isn't by accident either. It is because they are what Donald John Trump and his rabid followers want us to be.
12-10-19
Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States of America.
So there it is. Despite what Donald Trump might believe deep down--the President can do whatever he, or she wants--there are limits to the power of the office.
His people have known it from the beginning. In fact they were so aware of this impediment to corruption and autocracy in the moments immediately after the July phone call to Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky there was a mad scramble to hide the records of it from everyone. Indeed, it would seem the only person in the entire Trump administration who didn't understand how God awful the ramifications of the call would be was, Donald Trump himself.
That's what happens when you have a chief executive who takes an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution, but never takes the time to actually read the damn thing. Not that it probably matters. Playing fast and loose with all manner of laws and regulations has been a way of life for The Big Orange Guy since his high school days. We're talking nearly seven decades of knowing if caught, he could first run to dear old Dad, then later to an army of attorneys who would fix the trouble.
That's right baby. All those laws, they're for the little people, so fuck 'em. He learned that from the late Roy Cohn. What he learned from Joseph Goebbels was, first, no lie is too big, or preposterous, second, always accuse your accusers of the crimes you are committing. As for the conspiracy shit, that probably came from Alex Jones.
Listen, no source is too great, or small for our man Don.
Now he is up against it. Within days he will become only the third President of the history of the republic to be impeached by the House of Representatives. The first was Andrew Johnson, the second, Bill Clinton. Nixon, knowing his goose was cooked, quit before there was an actual vote.
The first article accuses El Don of abuse of power. It is a direct result of that phone call to Zelensky. During it he, "asked," Ukraine do him a solid by launching an investigation into former VP, Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. In return the U.S. would release $391 million in military aid, which had already been approved by Congress. At the time, the elder Biden looked to be Trump's likely opponent in next year's presidential election. In addition, Trump wanted Ukraine to track down those missing computer servers which he and his fellow conspiracy enthusiasts claim contain evidence of Hillary Clinton's collusion with the country to rig the 2016 election.
You read that correctly. Trump's assertion is, in 2016 the Russians didn't interfere with the election process in order to help him, but rather it was the Ukrainians who meddled to assist Clinton. This despite every U.S. intel source saying the opposite.
The second article charges the President of obstruction of Congress. In other words by instructing scads of his people to ignore subpoenas and refusing to release boat loads of documents he attempted to thwart the entire constitutional process of impeachment.
At this point it is hard to argue with either article, although the White House and its allies are working as hard as lab rats on meth to do so. Their alibis for the President when it comes to the phone call and the excuses they offer for the obstruction charge run from the weird to the absurd.
Taking a clue from their client the defense has stooped to out right lies, half truths, and conspiracy nonsense to make a case for him. It is the greatest display of gas lighting ever seen on the planet.
And the problem is, in the end, it will work. Oh, DJT is going to be impeached, but it will be along strict party lines. Once the proceedings move to the republican controlled Senate there is no way two thirds of them, no matter what the evidence, will vote to convict.
Ladies and gentlemen the United States is edging dangerously close to the types of government we now see in Russia and China. It isn't by accident either. It is because they are what Donald John Trump and his rabid followers want us to be.
12-10-19
Friday, December 6, 2019
A Weekend Escape From the Bellicose and Bizarre Non Defense of Donald Trump
Every few days we need a break from the relentless bombast of Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, and Matt Gaetz. Let's face it you can only take so much of Nunes' Freudian fixation on the search for photos of a nude Donald Trump and Jordan's incessant, vein bulging, hysteria. And that's before we even get to Gaetz, who is so out of control, on Wednesday he suggested Congress should impeach not Donald Trump, but rather Barack Obama, a man who has been out of office for nearly three years now.
Yes, the bellicose and bizarre non defense of the current resident of the Oval Office--Don Trump isn't guilty because Joe Biden did bad stuff...Hey, trust us, we'll come up with proof on that later--grows tiresome.
Of course, this being America, you have to be extremely careful about what you wish for. The news on Wednesday and today was diverted away from Washington when, in two separate incidents, a couple of guys opened fire seemingly at random on two different U.S. naval bases.
On Wednesday at Pearl Harbor a sailor named Gabriel Romero, who was working security at the submarine, U.S.S. Columbia, used his assigned weapons to kill two civilian DOD workers and wound another. He then killed himself. According to reports Romero was, "unhappy," with his commanders and was undergoing counseling at the time of the shootings.
Today at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida a man, identified as a member the Saudi Air Force, murdered three people and wounded seven before being killed by authorities. Initial reports say, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, who was at the base for training, began firing a hand gun inside a classroom. Further reports say the Pensacola base commander is refusing to speculate about a terrorist connection.
Ah, how truly American. One man, who is undergoing psychiatric counseling, is issued two loaded weapons and ordered to stand watch while another brings a hand gun into a classroom with a deadly purpose.
Needless to say this is not the type of news any of us want, or need to escape to. However beginning tonight there will be other, far less gruesome, things happening, especially if you are a follower of college football.
Over the next 24 hours five games will set the field for the college football playoffs. This momentary escape from reality begins with Utah vs. Oregon tonight. Then it continues tomorrow with Oklahoma vs. Baylor, LSU vs. Georgia, Clemson vs. Virginia, and finally, Ohio State vs. Wisconsin.
There are other games of course, more than a few of interest, but those five match ups are what counts when it comes to settling the national championship brackets.
Indeed, right now the phones at sports books across the land are clogged with last minute wagers and the emotions of ten different fan bases roil with confidence, angst, and trepidation.
So, where do the teams stand? Well, even with wins, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin are out. In addition, even with wins, Utah, Baylor, Oklahoma and Georgia might be out. No matter what, unless they simply don't show up--not metaphorically, I mean literally don't show up--Clemson, LSU, and Ohio State are in.
That leaves one spot. If Utah wins impressively they are in. If they lose it will come down to the winner of Oklahoma vs. Baylor. Unless, Georgia beats the living daylights out of LSU, then they could supplant both Utah and the Big XII winner. The feeling here, however, is the committee, who will ultimately decide the issue, has grown weary of both Oklahoma and Georgia. They're looking for new blood.
There are obviously other combinations, plus you never know what sort of Trumpian deal Nick Saban and Alabama supporters might make to influence the decision. You know, "Here is what we can do for you, if you pick us."
Be that as it may, it appears, at this moment, the field will be Ohio St, Clemson, LSU, and Utah. But then there is a reason my bookie still takes my bets and it isn't because he's trying to get even with me.
That's right, the only sure bet is by Monday we'll be back to the toxic dumpster fire which is the Trump presidency and more mayhem in the streets. After all, such dreadful nonsense is, The American Way.
12-6-19
Yes, the bellicose and bizarre non defense of the current resident of the Oval Office--Don Trump isn't guilty because Joe Biden did bad stuff...Hey, trust us, we'll come up with proof on that later--grows tiresome.
Of course, this being America, you have to be extremely careful about what you wish for. The news on Wednesday and today was diverted away from Washington when, in two separate incidents, a couple of guys opened fire seemingly at random on two different U.S. naval bases.
On Wednesday at Pearl Harbor a sailor named Gabriel Romero, who was working security at the submarine, U.S.S. Columbia, used his assigned weapons to kill two civilian DOD workers and wound another. He then killed himself. According to reports Romero was, "unhappy," with his commanders and was undergoing counseling at the time of the shootings.
Today at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida a man, identified as a member the Saudi Air Force, murdered three people and wounded seven before being killed by authorities. Initial reports say, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, who was at the base for training, began firing a hand gun inside a classroom. Further reports say the Pensacola base commander is refusing to speculate about a terrorist connection.
Ah, how truly American. One man, who is undergoing psychiatric counseling, is issued two loaded weapons and ordered to stand watch while another brings a hand gun into a classroom with a deadly purpose.
Needless to say this is not the type of news any of us want, or need to escape to. However beginning tonight there will be other, far less gruesome, things happening, especially if you are a follower of college football.
Over the next 24 hours five games will set the field for the college football playoffs. This momentary escape from reality begins with Utah vs. Oregon tonight. Then it continues tomorrow with Oklahoma vs. Baylor, LSU vs. Georgia, Clemson vs. Virginia, and finally, Ohio State vs. Wisconsin.
There are other games of course, more than a few of interest, but those five match ups are what counts when it comes to settling the national championship brackets.
Indeed, right now the phones at sports books across the land are clogged with last minute wagers and the emotions of ten different fan bases roil with confidence, angst, and trepidation.
So, where do the teams stand? Well, even with wins, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin are out. In addition, even with wins, Utah, Baylor, Oklahoma and Georgia might be out. No matter what, unless they simply don't show up--not metaphorically, I mean literally don't show up--Clemson, LSU, and Ohio State are in.
That leaves one spot. If Utah wins impressively they are in. If they lose it will come down to the winner of Oklahoma vs. Baylor. Unless, Georgia beats the living daylights out of LSU, then they could supplant both Utah and the Big XII winner. The feeling here, however, is the committee, who will ultimately decide the issue, has grown weary of both Oklahoma and Georgia. They're looking for new blood.
There are obviously other combinations, plus you never know what sort of Trumpian deal Nick Saban and Alabama supporters might make to influence the decision. You know, "Here is what we can do for you, if you pick us."
Be that as it may, it appears, at this moment, the field will be Ohio St, Clemson, LSU, and Utah. But then there is a reason my bookie still takes my bets and it isn't because he's trying to get even with me.
That's right, the only sure bet is by Monday we'll be back to the toxic dumpster fire which is the Trump presidency and more mayhem in the streets. After all, such dreadful nonsense is, The American Way.
12-6-19
Saturday, November 30, 2019
What We've Learned in November: Danielle Stella Not Only Wants to Charge Omar With Treason, but Blacks Out in Target Stores, Devin Nunes Sues His Cow, and the OSBI Looks at Kyle Savage Again
Here is some of what we learned in November.
First, Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota's 5th District has drawn six opponents. One is democrat, John Mason. The other five are republicans, Lacy Johnson, Lucia Vogel, Alley Waterberry, Brent Whaley, and Danielle Stella. Of those six only one, Stella, has drawn any sort of national attention, although not for the best reasons.
The candidate was last seen being kicked off Twitter permanently for violating the site's regulations. She had tweeted an unproven charge against Omar which had to do with the Congresswoman passing along, "sensitive," information to Iran. According to Ms. Stella, Omar should be put on trial and if convicted, hanged. Twitter gave her the boot for, "repeatedly," violating their rules of conduct.
While having no idea what other tweets posted by the avid Trump supporter might have caught Twitter's all seeing eye, I can testify you can get on wrong side of that bad boy in a hurry. I drew a 12 hour suspension for tweeting, "Rudy, meet the bus. Bus you may now run over Rudy," in reference to the president's personal lawyer and his impending fate in the Ukrainian affair.
Of course Ms. Stella couldn't leave this affront to her free speech go unchallenged. She immediately went on Facebook with a lengthy post which in small part read, "I believe all traitors to our Country need to be tried for their many crimes. I've been outspoken about the HRC crime family, BHO (Obama), (George) Soros, and others as well."
What she didn't mention in the post is she has been busted twice this year for shoplifting. Once at a grocery and then at a Target store where she is accused of ripping off more than $2,300 worth of goods. While maintaining her innocence, The Guardian reports after her arrest at the Target she told local authorities she remembers going into the place, but nothing afterward. She blamed the black out on PTSD and told them she usually doesn't go shopping alone because of her anxiety around people.
Her day job is working as a Special Education teacher.
Second, Congressman Devin Nunes' main defense of Donald Trump--besides the whole witch hunt thing--seems to be accusing the democrats of seeking to secure nude photos of then candidate Trump from Russian pranksters posing as Ukrainians back in 2016. How this dubious act, if it actually happened, has anything to do with Trump's strong-arming the Ukrainian leadership in a weapons, but only if you give us dirt on Biden deal has mystified many.
Obviously we must remember Nunes is the same guy who sued Twitter and anonymous users over accounts named, "Devin Nunes' Cow and Devin Nunes' Mom." According to the Sacramento Bee, Nunes has filed five separate law suits this year against news media outlets, Twitter, democratic activists, and a political research company known as, Fusion GPS.
In other words if you say anything bad about the Congressman, or make him the butt of satirical posts on social media he's going to sue your ass. On the other hand, the oh so touchy, Mr. Nunes has described environmental lobbyists as, "followers of neo Marxist, socialist, Maoist, or communist ideals."
Finally, on a local note, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has named, or rather renamed a guy named Kyle Savage as a person of interest in the murder of Carina Saunders. According to the OSBI they are securing warrants to search Savage's phone records and Facebook posts from 2011 and early 2012.
According to reports at the time the Saunders' family didn't report her missing until a relative received a disturbing text from an unnamed person. Now, the OSBI is saying the text was sent by Savage to Carina Saunders' sister, Sara. It read, "I'll bury you next to Carina."
Disturbing indeed, although in all honesty, if they couldn't nail Mr. Savage for the crime back then it is tough to imagine them doing it over eight years later. The Facebook records might be one thing, but name someone, anyone, you know who is running around with a phone that old. Especially one which could implicate you in a heinous crime.
Yes it has been an eventful month, one which in some quarters would rather be forgotten. We won't though, unless we happen to be Danielle Stella trapped alone in a crowded department store. If that's the case then all bets are off.
sic vita est
11-30-19
First, Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota's 5th District has drawn six opponents. One is democrat, John Mason. The other five are republicans, Lacy Johnson, Lucia Vogel, Alley Waterberry, Brent Whaley, and Danielle Stella. Of those six only one, Stella, has drawn any sort of national attention, although not for the best reasons.
The candidate was last seen being kicked off Twitter permanently for violating the site's regulations. She had tweeted an unproven charge against Omar which had to do with the Congresswoman passing along, "sensitive," information to Iran. According to Ms. Stella, Omar should be put on trial and if convicted, hanged. Twitter gave her the boot for, "repeatedly," violating their rules of conduct.
While having no idea what other tweets posted by the avid Trump supporter might have caught Twitter's all seeing eye, I can testify you can get on wrong side of that bad boy in a hurry. I drew a 12 hour suspension for tweeting, "Rudy, meet the bus. Bus you may now run over Rudy," in reference to the president's personal lawyer and his impending fate in the Ukrainian affair.
Of course Ms. Stella couldn't leave this affront to her free speech go unchallenged. She immediately went on Facebook with a lengthy post which in small part read, "I believe all traitors to our Country need to be tried for their many crimes. I've been outspoken about the HRC crime family, BHO (Obama), (George) Soros, and others as well."
What she didn't mention in the post is she has been busted twice this year for shoplifting. Once at a grocery and then at a Target store where she is accused of ripping off more than $2,300 worth of goods. While maintaining her innocence, The Guardian reports after her arrest at the Target she told local authorities she remembers going into the place, but nothing afterward. She blamed the black out on PTSD and told them she usually doesn't go shopping alone because of her anxiety around people.
Her day job is working as a Special Education teacher.
Second, Congressman Devin Nunes' main defense of Donald Trump--besides the whole witch hunt thing--seems to be accusing the democrats of seeking to secure nude photos of then candidate Trump from Russian pranksters posing as Ukrainians back in 2016. How this dubious act, if it actually happened, has anything to do with Trump's strong-arming the Ukrainian leadership in a weapons, but only if you give us dirt on Biden deal has mystified many.
Obviously we must remember Nunes is the same guy who sued Twitter and anonymous users over accounts named, "Devin Nunes' Cow and Devin Nunes' Mom." According to the Sacramento Bee, Nunes has filed five separate law suits this year against news media outlets, Twitter, democratic activists, and a political research company known as, Fusion GPS.
In other words if you say anything bad about the Congressman, or make him the butt of satirical posts on social media he's going to sue your ass. On the other hand, the oh so touchy, Mr. Nunes has described environmental lobbyists as, "followers of neo Marxist, socialist, Maoist, or communist ideals."
Finally, on a local note, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has named, or rather renamed a guy named Kyle Savage as a person of interest in the murder of Carina Saunders. According to the OSBI they are securing warrants to search Savage's phone records and Facebook posts from 2011 and early 2012.
According to reports at the time the Saunders' family didn't report her missing until a relative received a disturbing text from an unnamed person. Now, the OSBI is saying the text was sent by Savage to Carina Saunders' sister, Sara. It read, "I'll bury you next to Carina."
Disturbing indeed, although in all honesty, if they couldn't nail Mr. Savage for the crime back then it is tough to imagine them doing it over eight years later. The Facebook records might be one thing, but name someone, anyone, you know who is running around with a phone that old. Especially one which could implicate you in a heinous crime.
Yes it has been an eventful month, one which in some quarters would rather be forgotten. We won't though, unless we happen to be Danielle Stella trapped alone in a crowded department store. If that's the case then all bets are off.
sic vita est
11-30-19
Monday, November 25, 2019
Mike Bloomberg and His Billions Enter the Race
So yesterday democrats got just what they needed in this struggle for the soul of America and the future of the separation of powers in Washington. Michael Bloomberg has decided to run for the party's nomination, thus doubling the number of white billionaires on the list of hopefuls.
First there was Tom Steyer and now the former republican mayor of New York City. Hey, there are a couple of guys the working masses can identify with. Not that it matters any more. Donald John Trump claims he is a billionaire, although he's also been known to lie sometimes, and he got elected didn't he.
Of course the truth is Trump is a carny midway barker on steroids who speaks the language of white blue collar xenophobes, Army of Northern Virginia wannabes, and those who believe if they can't own and carry any gun they want wherever they want their ability to achieve erections will cease to exist. Steyer and now, especially, Bloomberg will not have those dubious advantages.
We mustn't count Mike Bloomberg out though. The man can not only make money, but he can spend it too. During his first run for the Mayor's job in New York City he avoided the inconveniences of campaign donation laws by not accepting any. At one time early in the last presidential election cycle Trump offered up he might self finance his presidential campaign. It was, in the end, just another cheap jack lie. Bloomberg, on the other hand, spent $74 million of his own cash during his first run for mayor.
To secure a second term he personally spent $85 million. To win a threepeat he had to do a couple things. First he had to convince the city elders to let him run for a third time, since the law, at that point, mandated a two term limit for mayors. He got it done thanks to what more than a few believed was nefarious wheeling and dealing. Second, he wrote $102 million worth of checks to apparently everyone in the five boroughs.
Ah yes, the perfect democratic candidate. A guy with an ego so huge he wheedled his way into a third term while blowing $261 million of his own money over a 12 year span. All that in order to work at a job which paid him $225,000 a year.
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were incensed at Bloomberg's announcement. There is a reason for them to react that way. Almost every poll over the last few months indicate a good number of democrats are either suspicious, skeptical, or dissatisfied with their health care for all plans. Most, in fact, prefer Obama's Affordable Care Act to be expanded and improved upon. A barely left of center candidate with more gold than King Midas, despite his late arrival, could out Biden, Biden, not to mention out spend him.
Ouch.
According to the media, within 24 hours of Bloomberg's announcement he dedicated nearly $40 million to TV ads which began running almost immediately on places like CNN and MSNBC. Speculation is he is willing to spend any where from $1 to $5 billion of his own on a 2020 presidential campaign.
In addition he has access to the email lists built by the, "non partisan," Every Town for Gun Safety," which he founded and "Moms Demand Action," which was organized after the Sandy Hook Elementary School nightmare. "Moms Demand Action," fell under the Every Town umbrella a few years ago. They alone have 350,000 donors, six million followers, and chapters in 50 states. It is a natural, in place, grass roots base for the former mayor.
No, it isn't shaking hands in Iowa, or New Hampshire, but that's a lot of people you can get in touch with whenever you want. And, you don't even have to make crass pleas for their hard earned money, because you already have all you need.
On the flip side it is hard to imagine true progressives having any sort of reaction to Bloomberg other than loathing. He is after all, the exact type of person they and their candidates are running against, no matter how well intentioned his gun restriction initiatives are. He could end up being the wedge between the democratic left and center the Trump people have be praying for.
Mike Bloomberg was a democrat until 2001. He reregistered as a republican that year and remained with the GOP until 2007. Then, he became an independent. Last year he switched back to the democratic party. Yes, he is quite the chameleon depending on how he reads the political landscape at any given time--a genuine mercenary. Indeed, someone who is totally committed to his political success rather than a genuine doctrine.
Well, maybe none of that makes any difference these days. If we've learned anything in 21st century American politics it is all the old 20th century norms are out the window. The current President proved that with the, "Access Hollywood," tape.
Donald Trump is the greatest threat to the republic ever seen. Now with Michael Bloomberg entering the race, the only thing which comes to mind at the moment is the thought, God save us from these supposedly benevolent billionaires. We have one now in the White House and he is little more than an aged, bloated, Caligula. There is nothing which proves to me Mike Bloomberg would be any different.
sic vita est
11-25-19
First there was Tom Steyer and now the former republican mayor of New York City. Hey, there are a couple of guys the working masses can identify with. Not that it matters any more. Donald John Trump claims he is a billionaire, although he's also been known to lie sometimes, and he got elected didn't he.
Of course the truth is Trump is a carny midway barker on steroids who speaks the language of white blue collar xenophobes, Army of Northern Virginia wannabes, and those who believe if they can't own and carry any gun they want wherever they want their ability to achieve erections will cease to exist. Steyer and now, especially, Bloomberg will not have those dubious advantages.
We mustn't count Mike Bloomberg out though. The man can not only make money, but he can spend it too. During his first run for the Mayor's job in New York City he avoided the inconveniences of campaign donation laws by not accepting any. At one time early in the last presidential election cycle Trump offered up he might self finance his presidential campaign. It was, in the end, just another cheap jack lie. Bloomberg, on the other hand, spent $74 million of his own cash during his first run for mayor.
To secure a second term he personally spent $85 million. To win a threepeat he had to do a couple things. First he had to convince the city elders to let him run for a third time, since the law, at that point, mandated a two term limit for mayors. He got it done thanks to what more than a few believed was nefarious wheeling and dealing. Second, he wrote $102 million worth of checks to apparently everyone in the five boroughs.
Ah yes, the perfect democratic candidate. A guy with an ego so huge he wheedled his way into a third term while blowing $261 million of his own money over a 12 year span. All that in order to work at a job which paid him $225,000 a year.
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were incensed at Bloomberg's announcement. There is a reason for them to react that way. Almost every poll over the last few months indicate a good number of democrats are either suspicious, skeptical, or dissatisfied with their health care for all plans. Most, in fact, prefer Obama's Affordable Care Act to be expanded and improved upon. A barely left of center candidate with more gold than King Midas, despite his late arrival, could out Biden, Biden, not to mention out spend him.
Ouch.
According to the media, within 24 hours of Bloomberg's announcement he dedicated nearly $40 million to TV ads which began running almost immediately on places like CNN and MSNBC. Speculation is he is willing to spend any where from $1 to $5 billion of his own on a 2020 presidential campaign.
In addition he has access to the email lists built by the, "non partisan," Every Town for Gun Safety," which he founded and "Moms Demand Action," which was organized after the Sandy Hook Elementary School nightmare. "Moms Demand Action," fell under the Every Town umbrella a few years ago. They alone have 350,000 donors, six million followers, and chapters in 50 states. It is a natural, in place, grass roots base for the former mayor.
No, it isn't shaking hands in Iowa, or New Hampshire, but that's a lot of people you can get in touch with whenever you want. And, you don't even have to make crass pleas for their hard earned money, because you already have all you need.
On the flip side it is hard to imagine true progressives having any sort of reaction to Bloomberg other than loathing. He is after all, the exact type of person they and their candidates are running against, no matter how well intentioned his gun restriction initiatives are. He could end up being the wedge between the democratic left and center the Trump people have be praying for.
Mike Bloomberg was a democrat until 2001. He reregistered as a republican that year and remained with the GOP until 2007. Then, he became an independent. Last year he switched back to the democratic party. Yes, he is quite the chameleon depending on how he reads the political landscape at any given time--a genuine mercenary. Indeed, someone who is totally committed to his political success rather than a genuine doctrine.
Well, maybe none of that makes any difference these days. If we've learned anything in 21st century American politics it is all the old 20th century norms are out the window. The current President proved that with the, "Access Hollywood," tape.
Donald Trump is the greatest threat to the republic ever seen. Now with Michael Bloomberg entering the race, the only thing which comes to mind at the moment is the thought, God save us from these supposedly benevolent billionaires. We have one now in the White House and he is little more than an aged, bloated, Caligula. There is nothing which proves to me Mike Bloomberg would be any different.
sic vita est
11-25-19
Friday, November 22, 2019
November 22, 1963: The Birth of the Conspiracy Theory Industry
Fifty-six years ago November 22 also fell on a Friday. I remember the day started out clear and mild. It was so temperate in fact I rode my bicycle to Hoover Jr. High School in Oklahoma City wearing what was then known as wheat jeans, a short sleeved shirt, and a light windbreaker along with a pair of penny loafers and white socks.
At some point during the school day a cold front blew in from the northwest. By the time school was out the sky was thick with steel gray clouds and the Oklahoma wind was stiff and brutally cold. It cut right through the jacket and everything else I had on. By the time I got home my hands were numb enough I could barely grip the handle bars.
The weather that day in OKC was a perfect metaphor for what happened to the entire nation on Nov. 22nd, 1963.
By the time my fourth hour Earth Science class was about two thirds of the way done some two bit cretin had blown away most of the head of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the President of the United States. The initial reports on TV were confused as the three TV networks babbled out on scene observations of multiple gun shots, rumors, and what more than a few of us considered crazy shit.
By the middle of my 5th hour typing class the media chaos finally focused on the awful news, the President was dead. Teen aged girls in class and in the halls began to cry. A friend of mine burst out laughing. He would later tell me, he couldn't help it, because he thought crying girls were funny.
The last class of the day was, Civics. It was a double sized room with two teachers. As the TVs played on neither of them said a word to us from the beginning of that hour until the end. After all, how could they have added to, or critiqued the most devastating lesson in American, "Civics," we had ever seen? It would be later, well after I had returned home, the news broke Dallas Police had arrested a former Marine, Lee Harvey Oswald.
The Dallas cops were careful to say Oswald was not, at the time anyway, being charged with killing Jack Kennedy. He was, however, being held for allegedly murdering one of their own, Officer J.D. Tippit on a residential street not long after the assassination. The same department though was quick to say Oswald was their chief and only suspect in the assassination of the President.
Thus began the first unhinged media frenzy I ever witnessed. Rumors and speculation filled the airwaves. An international communist plot was afoot some reported. Others, such as Walter Cronkite, openly questioned how someone like Oswald could buy a murder weapon through a mail order service without any questions being asked.
I didn't know it at the time, but I was also witnessing the genesis of a phenomenon which has since grown wildly in size and for many in profitability. Indeed, on that blustery Friday and the surreal weekend which followed The Conspiracy Theory Industry, was truly born.
All it took for those wheels to start spinning was for another loser, Jack Ruby, to kill the alleged killer on national TV in front of what seemed like every cop in Dallas--in the department's parking garage.
From that moment on everyone from Castro, to the Russians, to rogue elements of the CIA, and the U.S. mob have been blamed for the death of John Kennedy. One movie maker went so far as to suggest, Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson was behind the hit.
To this day, like so many other conspiracies, not one shred of proof has been produced which positively shows anyone, besides, Oswald was in on it. That hasn't stopped people from trying to dig up something, anything, to fulfill their suspicions.
I'm sure conspiracy theories existed long before Jack Kennedy was killed, but his death brought them out of the closet, as it were, and into what has become known as the main stream.
They have grown in size and complexity, involving everything from other notorious murders and killing sprees, moon landings, airline disasters, terrorist attacks, pizza parlor basements, presidential birth certificates, and missing computer servers. The current resident of the White House revels in them, turning some into campaign talking points. As he does chunks of his adoring crowds wear T-shirts proclaiming their belief in not only vast conspiracies, both domestic and international, but their conviction he is speaking to them through a secret code on the internet.
Yes, at times these days it seems we, as a nation, have gone full blown Twilight Zone. Nothing is as it appears. Every crack in the sidewalk is caused by the Illuminati, or the Masons, or, possibly the Deep State. Everything we want to happen, is being foiled by a dark sub rosa cabal operating beyond our reach. If you disagree you are either a dupe, or part of the conspiracy. There are no other options.
God, I wish Jack Kennedy hadn't been in Dallas this day 56 years ago. Not only because he died and didn't complete what would have been another five plus years of his presidency. Not just because there is some anecdotal evidence his policies might have avoided tens of thousands of casualties in Vietnam. But also because, Lee Oswald, and Jack Ruby gave assholes like Alex Jones, Donald Trump, and many others the excuse they needed to make boatloads of cash off how cruelly cynical and bat shit crazy they really are.
11-22-19
At some point during the school day a cold front blew in from the northwest. By the time school was out the sky was thick with steel gray clouds and the Oklahoma wind was stiff and brutally cold. It cut right through the jacket and everything else I had on. By the time I got home my hands were numb enough I could barely grip the handle bars.
The weather that day in OKC was a perfect metaphor for what happened to the entire nation on Nov. 22nd, 1963.
By the time my fourth hour Earth Science class was about two thirds of the way done some two bit cretin had blown away most of the head of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the President of the United States. The initial reports on TV were confused as the three TV networks babbled out on scene observations of multiple gun shots, rumors, and what more than a few of us considered crazy shit.
By the middle of my 5th hour typing class the media chaos finally focused on the awful news, the President was dead. Teen aged girls in class and in the halls began to cry. A friend of mine burst out laughing. He would later tell me, he couldn't help it, because he thought crying girls were funny.
The last class of the day was, Civics. It was a double sized room with two teachers. As the TVs played on neither of them said a word to us from the beginning of that hour until the end. After all, how could they have added to, or critiqued the most devastating lesson in American, "Civics," we had ever seen? It would be later, well after I had returned home, the news broke Dallas Police had arrested a former Marine, Lee Harvey Oswald.
The Dallas cops were careful to say Oswald was not, at the time anyway, being charged with killing Jack Kennedy. He was, however, being held for allegedly murdering one of their own, Officer J.D. Tippit on a residential street not long after the assassination. The same department though was quick to say Oswald was their chief and only suspect in the assassination of the President.
Thus began the first unhinged media frenzy I ever witnessed. Rumors and speculation filled the airwaves. An international communist plot was afoot some reported. Others, such as Walter Cronkite, openly questioned how someone like Oswald could buy a murder weapon through a mail order service without any questions being asked.
I didn't know it at the time, but I was also witnessing the genesis of a phenomenon which has since grown wildly in size and for many in profitability. Indeed, on that blustery Friday and the surreal weekend which followed The Conspiracy Theory Industry, was truly born.
All it took for those wheels to start spinning was for another loser, Jack Ruby, to kill the alleged killer on national TV in front of what seemed like every cop in Dallas--in the department's parking garage.
From that moment on everyone from Castro, to the Russians, to rogue elements of the CIA, and the U.S. mob have been blamed for the death of John Kennedy. One movie maker went so far as to suggest, Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson was behind the hit.
To this day, like so many other conspiracies, not one shred of proof has been produced which positively shows anyone, besides, Oswald was in on it. That hasn't stopped people from trying to dig up something, anything, to fulfill their suspicions.
I'm sure conspiracy theories existed long before Jack Kennedy was killed, but his death brought them out of the closet, as it were, and into what has become known as the main stream.
They have grown in size and complexity, involving everything from other notorious murders and killing sprees, moon landings, airline disasters, terrorist attacks, pizza parlor basements, presidential birth certificates, and missing computer servers. The current resident of the White House revels in them, turning some into campaign talking points. As he does chunks of his adoring crowds wear T-shirts proclaiming their belief in not only vast conspiracies, both domestic and international, but their conviction he is speaking to them through a secret code on the internet.
Yes, at times these days it seems we, as a nation, have gone full blown Twilight Zone. Nothing is as it appears. Every crack in the sidewalk is caused by the Illuminati, or the Masons, or, possibly the Deep State. Everything we want to happen, is being foiled by a dark sub rosa cabal operating beyond our reach. If you disagree you are either a dupe, or part of the conspiracy. There are no other options.
God, I wish Jack Kennedy hadn't been in Dallas this day 56 years ago. Not only because he died and didn't complete what would have been another five plus years of his presidency. Not just because there is some anecdotal evidence his policies might have avoided tens of thousands of casualties in Vietnam. But also because, Lee Oswald, and Jack Ruby gave assholes like Alex Jones, Donald Trump, and many others the excuse they needed to make boatloads of cash off how cruelly cynical and bat shit crazy they really are.
11-22-19
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
The Q Primer
There are moments when things get just too weird, when reality becomes a terrible crush of unrelenting disasters, and the very act of change--any sort of change--morphs into evil.
Thanks to the internet and some seriously screwed up minds hunting for fame and cash, personalities such as Alex Jones, among others, rush into that dark void claiming to have the answers. They are, according to them, going to explain it all to the frazzled, almost universally white, masses who are beset by this avalanche of imagined and sometimes real chaos they vehemently won't accept.
Beginning nine months after Donald Trump's inauguration cryptic posts began to appear on the anonymous and usually unmoderated imageboard 4chan. The author, or authors claimed to be disseminating secret information to Trump followers everywhere from inside the administration. They called themselves QAnon, or Q, for short. The Q was said to represent the highest security level afforded to a military, or civilian in the government.
Well why not? Trump himself is a kindred spirit. He became the first major candidate for the office of president to base a large chunk of his campaign on conspiracy theories. Not only had he kept alive the myth of Barack Obama's foreign birth before his run, but during it suggested a republican opponent's father was a serious player in the plot to assassinate John F. Kennedy. That's before he even thought to start howling about Hillary Clinton's, "missing emails and computer servers"--which to this day he claims are hidden away in some dank Ukrainian basement.
There is a web site out there, established a little over a year ago which was put together by someone using the handle, QCommander. It is a multi functional site, offering to sell users Trump campaign material, Q tee shirts and coffee mugs, a link to a NRA enrollment form, "real news," and "fake news," and what it describes as a primer to Q and Q's plan.
In honor of the impeachment inquiry and to let everyone know what the "Q Newbies" are being told on line about the state of the union I have provided an abridged copy of a list designed to help those just stepping into Q's world, per the web site.
1. Who is Q? Q is about ten people in military intel and (the) Trump administration.
2. What is Q's purpose? To awaken the population to the evil global cabal elite.
3. Why is this necessary? The satanic cabal controls media, money, meds, and minds.
4. When did Q start? Q's first post was 10.28.17, but plan started years ago.
5. Can Q be trusted? You decide. Q posts keep coming true in the news.
6. Can Trump be trusted? You decide. Trump's policies all weaken the cabal.
7. Can the military be trusted? You decide. Marines are personally guarding Trump.
8. Can the media be trusted? You decide. Media tells you what to THINK. Reconcile.
9. How does Q=Trump? Q posts first then Trump confirms with tweet, "clues."
10. What are the other clues? Typos and timing intervals match Q posts.
11. Any other evidence? Q predicts things only Trump would know. Over and over.
12. Who are LARP's? Bad actors in the cabal hired to discredit Q posts and blind you.
13. Who are QAnons? Patriots that research Q posts for evidence on the Chans.
On the site the list runs to 17, but the last four simply describe different social media QAnons hang out on. one of them, 8Chan is now gone.
As for QCommander, a link to his, or her Facebook page has been disabled, so who knows if Zuckerberg's people wiped him, or her clean, or if he/she, just went further underground. What we do know is all the Trump merchandise is geared to the 2020 campaign. In addition, the "real news," section, which features links to Breitbart, Sean Hannity, Gateway Pundit, and other ultra right news sources contains commentary on current issues. So, yes, it is a live site churning out videos and bullshit as fast as it can.
We also know Q was last heard from this morning at 10:42:46am CST. The post read,
"Phones were present.
FISA goes both ways.
Information warfare."
Yeah, well, I guess you had to be there or at least somewhere near Uranus for that to work.
Ladies and gentlemen, given this nonsense and the bat shit crazy fucks who believe in it, the bar is most certainly open.
11-19-19
Thanks to the internet and some seriously screwed up minds hunting for fame and cash, personalities such as Alex Jones, among others, rush into that dark void claiming to have the answers. They are, according to them, going to explain it all to the frazzled, almost universally white, masses who are beset by this avalanche of imagined and sometimes real chaos they vehemently won't accept.
Beginning nine months after Donald Trump's inauguration cryptic posts began to appear on the anonymous and usually unmoderated imageboard 4chan. The author, or authors claimed to be disseminating secret information to Trump followers everywhere from inside the administration. They called themselves QAnon, or Q, for short. The Q was said to represent the highest security level afforded to a military, or civilian in the government.
Well why not? Trump himself is a kindred spirit. He became the first major candidate for the office of president to base a large chunk of his campaign on conspiracy theories. Not only had he kept alive the myth of Barack Obama's foreign birth before his run, but during it suggested a republican opponent's father was a serious player in the plot to assassinate John F. Kennedy. That's before he even thought to start howling about Hillary Clinton's, "missing emails and computer servers"--which to this day he claims are hidden away in some dank Ukrainian basement.
There is a web site out there, established a little over a year ago which was put together by someone using the handle, QCommander. It is a multi functional site, offering to sell users Trump campaign material, Q tee shirts and coffee mugs, a link to a NRA enrollment form, "real news," and "fake news," and what it describes as a primer to Q and Q's plan.
In honor of the impeachment inquiry and to let everyone know what the "Q Newbies" are being told on line about the state of the union I have provided an abridged copy of a list designed to help those just stepping into Q's world, per the web site.
1. Who is Q? Q is about ten people in military intel and (the) Trump administration.
2. What is Q's purpose? To awaken the population to the evil global cabal elite.
3. Why is this necessary? The satanic cabal controls media, money, meds, and minds.
4. When did Q start? Q's first post was 10.28.17, but plan started years ago.
5. Can Q be trusted? You decide. Q posts keep coming true in the news.
6. Can Trump be trusted? You decide. Trump's policies all weaken the cabal.
7. Can the military be trusted? You decide. Marines are personally guarding Trump.
8. Can the media be trusted? You decide. Media tells you what to THINK. Reconcile.
9. How does Q=Trump? Q posts first then Trump confirms with tweet, "clues."
10. What are the other clues? Typos and timing intervals match Q posts.
11. Any other evidence? Q predicts things only Trump would know. Over and over.
12. Who are LARP's? Bad actors in the cabal hired to discredit Q posts and blind you.
13. Who are QAnons? Patriots that research Q posts for evidence on the Chans.
On the site the list runs to 17, but the last four simply describe different social media QAnons hang out on. one of them, 8Chan is now gone.
As for QCommander, a link to his, or her Facebook page has been disabled, so who knows if Zuckerberg's people wiped him, or her clean, or if he/she, just went further underground. What we do know is all the Trump merchandise is geared to the 2020 campaign. In addition, the "real news," section, which features links to Breitbart, Sean Hannity, Gateway Pundit, and other ultra right news sources contains commentary on current issues. So, yes, it is a live site churning out videos and bullshit as fast as it can.
We also know Q was last heard from this morning at 10:42:46am CST. The post read,
"Phones were present.
FISA goes both ways.
Information warfare."
Yeah, well, I guess you had to be there or at least somewhere near Uranus for that to work.
Ladies and gentlemen, given this nonsense and the bat shit crazy fucks who believe in it, the bar is most certainly open.
11-19-19
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Day One of the Impeachment Inquiry: The Ugliness Has Just Begun
Day one of the House public impeachment inquiry is in the books and as expected both sides are claiming victory.
Indeed, the one thing we can be certain of is the proceedings didn't change anyone's mind about the guilt, or innocence of Donald J. Trump. If you think he is a two bit thug who was trying to pull off some mafia style protection racket scam, nothing Ambassador Bill Taylor, or State Department Ukrainian whiz George Kent said will dissuade you of that belief. On the other hand if you're convinced Don Trump is the greatest thing since pulp free orange juice you probably agreed with every, sometimes unhinged, rant delivered by Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes.
Nunes jumped on the conspiracy trolley early. During his opening statement he began jabbering about a Ukrainian plot to rig the 2016 election in Hillary Clinton's favor. This, according to Nunes and others, was the real scandal that year, not the Russians intervening on behalf of Big Don. To those on the uber right, Kent's calm response--there is no credible evidence the Ukrainians did anything during the 2016 election and that's right, the Russians did interfere--just means he is part of the Deep State plot to destroy the President.
In fact Nunes was not shy about explaining the impeachment process in terms that would rile up Trump's Almighty Base. He tossed around the word, "coup," a couple of times and accused democrats of attempting to invalidate the votes of the people who elected DJT three years ago. If you were listening to him and didn't know any better--and a lot of fascist wankers don't--you would think all this impeachment stuff is a brand new thing in the history of the republic designed expressly to fuck with Donald Trump.
Other republicans were using what could best be called a scatter shot defense. One line of logic went, well he might have tried to lean on Ukraine for political dirt on Joe Biden, but it didn't work and they got the weapons anyway so there is no crime. Or, put another way--someone ratted me out to the cops before the hit man I hired whacked my wife, therefore I'm not guilty of attempted murder.
A couple argued since the Ukrainian president said he didn't feel threatened by the call from Trump there was obviously no intent on Trump's part to either bribe, or extort some sort of investigation out of him. Of course when President Zelensky was asked that question he was sitting right next to The Big Orange Guy and his country remains in desperate need of further American military aid. Given the circumstances he probably felt fudging the truth a tad was more a matter of national survival than some gross lapse of morality.
Finally there were accusations that neither Kent, or Taylor had actually talked to Trump about the situation, or had they personally heard the phone call in question. While technically true all the blather about second and third hand information ignores the fact Trump himself began this furor when he released a copy of what he said to Zelensky. As Trump is wont to tweet, "READ THE TRANSCRIPT!!!" Guess what you silly son of a bitch, we did. That's why there is an impeachment inquiry going on right now.
The republicans continue to claim Adam Schiff is blocking witnesses from appearing when in fact that list is a short one, containing a single name. On the other hand the number of people the administration has forbidden to testify seems to grow every day. GOP demands to confront the whistleblower face to face continue even though such demands are in of themselves illegal.
Yes, it is a wild ride at the moment and people on social media are running amok. Many of the far right are calling for Schiff to be tried for treason. A couple have even suggested nothing, but a military tribunal will do since you can't trust the judicial system. On the left more than a few are saying yesterday's hearing was a great victory and proof positive Trump is guilty.
We aren't there yet fellow political junkies, but the train has left the station.
And, as we all should know by now, the ugliness has just begun.
11-14-19
Indeed, the one thing we can be certain of is the proceedings didn't change anyone's mind about the guilt, or innocence of Donald J. Trump. If you think he is a two bit thug who was trying to pull off some mafia style protection racket scam, nothing Ambassador Bill Taylor, or State Department Ukrainian whiz George Kent said will dissuade you of that belief. On the other hand if you're convinced Don Trump is the greatest thing since pulp free orange juice you probably agreed with every, sometimes unhinged, rant delivered by Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes.
Nunes jumped on the conspiracy trolley early. During his opening statement he began jabbering about a Ukrainian plot to rig the 2016 election in Hillary Clinton's favor. This, according to Nunes and others, was the real scandal that year, not the Russians intervening on behalf of Big Don. To those on the uber right, Kent's calm response--there is no credible evidence the Ukrainians did anything during the 2016 election and that's right, the Russians did interfere--just means he is part of the Deep State plot to destroy the President.
In fact Nunes was not shy about explaining the impeachment process in terms that would rile up Trump's Almighty Base. He tossed around the word, "coup," a couple of times and accused democrats of attempting to invalidate the votes of the people who elected DJT three years ago. If you were listening to him and didn't know any better--and a lot of fascist wankers don't--you would think all this impeachment stuff is a brand new thing in the history of the republic designed expressly to fuck with Donald Trump.
Other republicans were using what could best be called a scatter shot defense. One line of logic went, well he might have tried to lean on Ukraine for political dirt on Joe Biden, but it didn't work and they got the weapons anyway so there is no crime. Or, put another way--someone ratted me out to the cops before the hit man I hired whacked my wife, therefore I'm not guilty of attempted murder.
A couple argued since the Ukrainian president said he didn't feel threatened by the call from Trump there was obviously no intent on Trump's part to either bribe, or extort some sort of investigation out of him. Of course when President Zelensky was asked that question he was sitting right next to The Big Orange Guy and his country remains in desperate need of further American military aid. Given the circumstances he probably felt fudging the truth a tad was more a matter of national survival than some gross lapse of morality.
Finally there were accusations that neither Kent, or Taylor had actually talked to Trump about the situation, or had they personally heard the phone call in question. While technically true all the blather about second and third hand information ignores the fact Trump himself began this furor when he released a copy of what he said to Zelensky. As Trump is wont to tweet, "READ THE TRANSCRIPT!!!" Guess what you silly son of a bitch, we did. That's why there is an impeachment inquiry going on right now.
The republicans continue to claim Adam Schiff is blocking witnesses from appearing when in fact that list is a short one, containing a single name. On the other hand the number of people the administration has forbidden to testify seems to grow every day. GOP demands to confront the whistleblower face to face continue even though such demands are in of themselves illegal.
Yes, it is a wild ride at the moment and people on social media are running amok. Many of the far right are calling for Schiff to be tried for treason. A couple have even suggested nothing, but a military tribunal will do since you can't trust the judicial system. On the left more than a few are saying yesterday's hearing was a great victory and proof positive Trump is guilty.
We aren't there yet fellow political junkies, but the train has left the station.
And, as we all should know by now, the ugliness has just begun.
11-14-19
Monday, November 11, 2019
Armistice Day: Those Who Served and Those Who Didn't
One hundred and one years ago this morning World War I ended with what is known as an armistice. The term is derived from two Latin words which literally mean "arms," and "a sitting." The armistice went into effect at 11am on the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918. The best guess of the number of people killed during the four plus years of the, "Great War," is 10 million military personnel on all sides and close to 7 million civilians.
The carnage was so appalling--the British alone had suffered nearly 750,000 killed--by 1919 the UK was recognizing the date as a solemn holiday. They called it, Remembrance Day. A year later the United States began observing Armistice Day. The UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, among others still call it Remembrance Day. In 1954 the U.S. changed it to Veterans Day because the "war to end all wars," thing really didn't work out thanks to Herr Hitler and the Japanese, not to mention even the most optimistic of us knew there would be a lot more of them.
Since then, Veterans Day has morphed into a moment to honor the veterans of all the military services, whether they served during a war, or not. In other words if you were in the army fixing flats in a Fort Dix motor pool in 1955 this is as much your day as it is some trooper who almost got his ass shot off, in let's say Iraq. When it comes to those who actually did get their asses shot off sometime, somewhere we observe their sacrifices on Memorial Day in May.
It has been estimated that between 42 and 50 million Americans have served in the nation's military since the founding of the country. That's a lot, although it isn't even close to the number who haven't. In fact throughout our history there has been a tradition of Americans doing everything they can to avoid going into the military during both war and peace.
Way back when, before he was President two different times, Grover Cleveland took a pass on the Civil War when he hired a substitute to take his place in the first ever war time draft. It is unknown if the guy survived, but his odds weren't good. It is estimated 360,000 Union troops died during the conflict.
On the other hand at least Cleveland's anonymous stand in got money up front for his service. When political luminaries Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Dick Cheney came of age their cash went straight into the coffers of universities rather than the pockets of the poor high school grads, drop outs, and immigrants who took their places during the Vietnam War.
Vietnam was America's first war televised live. You really didn't need to have an imagination to visualize it. And in response to all the terrible images huge numbers of high school graduates started scrambling to get out of it. Despite savage left wing condemnation the much maligned American Establishment responded to the middle class fear and loathing immediately. After all, it wasn't like the NVA was closing in on the beaches of Oahu even if some parties needed to keep people thinking they were.
If you had the grades, the money, or the right doctor the ways to avoid the nightmare in southeast Asia were myriad. The situation became so weird a friend of mine who I played varsity football with for four years was given a deferment by a physician. The Doc diagnosed him with a debilitating allergy to dirt. Knowing that, the idea of Don Trump getting a deferment for disappearing bone spurs doesn't seem that far fetched.
There is no shame, in my opinion, for those who chose not to be in the military. Unless, of course, they are a Dick Cheney type. You know, a guy who did everything he could not to serve during a war, but spent most of his political career making sure others had to.
Conversely, I do appreciate those who did serve. Yes, even that guy fixing flats at Fort Dix. Without them who knows where we'd be?
That said, I just wish we would get back to the original idea of Armistice Day. That would be remembering those who died in the, "war to end all wars," and more importantly, that precious moment on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when sanity and peace conquered mass violence.
11-11-19
The carnage was so appalling--the British alone had suffered nearly 750,000 killed--by 1919 the UK was recognizing the date as a solemn holiday. They called it, Remembrance Day. A year later the United States began observing Armistice Day. The UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, among others still call it Remembrance Day. In 1954 the U.S. changed it to Veterans Day because the "war to end all wars," thing really didn't work out thanks to Herr Hitler and the Japanese, not to mention even the most optimistic of us knew there would be a lot more of them.
Since then, Veterans Day has morphed into a moment to honor the veterans of all the military services, whether they served during a war, or not. In other words if you were in the army fixing flats in a Fort Dix motor pool in 1955 this is as much your day as it is some trooper who almost got his ass shot off, in let's say Iraq. When it comes to those who actually did get their asses shot off sometime, somewhere we observe their sacrifices on Memorial Day in May.
It has been estimated that between 42 and 50 million Americans have served in the nation's military since the founding of the country. That's a lot, although it isn't even close to the number who haven't. In fact throughout our history there has been a tradition of Americans doing everything they can to avoid going into the military during both war and peace.
Way back when, before he was President two different times, Grover Cleveland took a pass on the Civil War when he hired a substitute to take his place in the first ever war time draft. It is unknown if the guy survived, but his odds weren't good. It is estimated 360,000 Union troops died during the conflict.
On the other hand at least Cleveland's anonymous stand in got money up front for his service. When political luminaries Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Dick Cheney came of age their cash went straight into the coffers of universities rather than the pockets of the poor high school grads, drop outs, and immigrants who took their places during the Vietnam War.
Vietnam was America's first war televised live. You really didn't need to have an imagination to visualize it. And in response to all the terrible images huge numbers of high school graduates started scrambling to get out of it. Despite savage left wing condemnation the much maligned American Establishment responded to the middle class fear and loathing immediately. After all, it wasn't like the NVA was closing in on the beaches of Oahu even if some parties needed to keep people thinking they were.
If you had the grades, the money, or the right doctor the ways to avoid the nightmare in southeast Asia were myriad. The situation became so weird a friend of mine who I played varsity football with for four years was given a deferment by a physician. The Doc diagnosed him with a debilitating allergy to dirt. Knowing that, the idea of Don Trump getting a deferment for disappearing bone spurs doesn't seem that far fetched.
There is no shame, in my opinion, for those who chose not to be in the military. Unless, of course, they are a Dick Cheney type. You know, a guy who did everything he could not to serve during a war, but spent most of his political career making sure others had to.
Conversely, I do appreciate those who did serve. Yes, even that guy fixing flats at Fort Dix. Without them who knows where we'd be?
That said, I just wish we would get back to the original idea of Armistice Day. That would be remembering those who died in the, "war to end all wars," and more importantly, that precious moment on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when sanity and peace conquered mass violence.
11-11-19
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Alina Fitzpatrick: Apparently Suspicious Circumstances
There are apparently suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
From Medical Examiner, Chai S. Choi's report regarding the demise of 17 year old Alina Fitzpatrick in November, 2011.
That was a pretty easy guess by Dr. Choi when you consider his report also said Alina Fitzpatrick's nude body had wide spread bruising and abrasions which he determined happened just before the time of her death. In addition her head had multiple abrasions, hemorrhaging and swelling caused by blunt force trauma and a gag had been stuffed into her mouth.
Suspicious indeed.
Tragically for the Fitzpatrick family, Choi told the OKC cops none of the injuries were severe enough to kill her. He also told them her heart blood contained 0.96 micrograms of meth per milliliter. It was enough that it might, or might not have been fatal. Ultimately he ruled the cause of death as, "unknown."
Normally in a town the size of Oklahoma City finding the naked body of a pretty 17 year old high school student dumped in an empty lot would have stoked the local media into a frenzy. Unfortunately they were already there--in a frenzy that is. Less than a month before another teenaged girl's body was had been found on the opposite side of the metro.
Carina Saunders was not just murdered, but decapitated and her hands and feet were missing. In addition, the Bethany, OK cops who were in charge of the investigation--while utterly incompetent when it came to stuff like basic police work--were more than happy to keep the media informed of every last detail of the case. That included the names and occupations, as they were, of persons of interest, potential witnesses, informants, and finally suspects.
While media outlets in town were breathlessly reporting the lurid details of Saunders' life style and gruesome end thanks to the good ol' boys in Bethany, Oklahoma City cops were keeping a low profile when it came to the death of Alina Fitzpatrick. By the time Choi's report became available in January, 2012 information about her case and the public's interest were quickly waning.
And it wasn't just public interest that was fading. As soon as Choi suggested, Alina Fitzpatrick might have OD'd, the OKC PD seemed to shrug off the investigation of her death. So much so when asked about her case in mid January, a police spokeswoman, Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow told the local paper that while the department was keeping an open file on the case they were no longer investigating it as a homicide.
You could almost picture the fictional Lt. Frank Drebin saying, Yes, yes, just another meth OD, nothing to see here, keep moving.
There was a brief push back to Wardlow's statement. It's probably because she didn't know the reporter for The Oklahoman she spoke to, through sheer coincidence, had a personal connection with the Fitzpatrick family.
It didn't take long for another spokesperson, Captain Dexter Nelson to issue a new statement which was a none to convincing effort to smooth over the situation. He jabbered that homicides and suspicious deaths were investigated in the same way and yeah, there was still an ongoing investigation, and obviously Alina Fitzpatrick had been with the wrong crowd who were committing felonies, yada, yada, yada. In the end he said the Oklahoma City police were going to need the public's help in solving the case because they had exhausted all their leads.
Obviously they didn't get it because the murder of Alina Fitzpatrick is still unsolved.
She would have been 25 this year. According to her obituary she had dreamed of becoming a nurse. One likes to think she would have made her dream come true, but we'll never know will we? Just as we'll never know who dumped her body out in that lot in far east OKC.
sic vita est
11-6-19
From Medical Examiner, Chai S. Choi's report regarding the demise of 17 year old Alina Fitzpatrick in November, 2011.
That was a pretty easy guess by Dr. Choi when you consider his report also said Alina Fitzpatrick's nude body had wide spread bruising and abrasions which he determined happened just before the time of her death. In addition her head had multiple abrasions, hemorrhaging and swelling caused by blunt force trauma and a gag had been stuffed into her mouth.
Suspicious indeed.
Tragically for the Fitzpatrick family, Choi told the OKC cops none of the injuries were severe enough to kill her. He also told them her heart blood contained 0.96 micrograms of meth per milliliter. It was enough that it might, or might not have been fatal. Ultimately he ruled the cause of death as, "unknown."
Normally in a town the size of Oklahoma City finding the naked body of a pretty 17 year old high school student dumped in an empty lot would have stoked the local media into a frenzy. Unfortunately they were already there--in a frenzy that is. Less than a month before another teenaged girl's body was had been found on the opposite side of the metro.
Carina Saunders was not just murdered, but decapitated and her hands and feet were missing. In addition, the Bethany, OK cops who were in charge of the investigation--while utterly incompetent when it came to stuff like basic police work--were more than happy to keep the media informed of every last detail of the case. That included the names and occupations, as they were, of persons of interest, potential witnesses, informants, and finally suspects.
While media outlets in town were breathlessly reporting the lurid details of Saunders' life style and gruesome end thanks to the good ol' boys in Bethany, Oklahoma City cops were keeping a low profile when it came to the death of Alina Fitzpatrick. By the time Choi's report became available in January, 2012 information about her case and the public's interest were quickly waning.
And it wasn't just public interest that was fading. As soon as Choi suggested, Alina Fitzpatrick might have OD'd, the OKC PD seemed to shrug off the investigation of her death. So much so when asked about her case in mid January, a police spokeswoman, Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow told the local paper that while the department was keeping an open file on the case they were no longer investigating it as a homicide.
You could almost picture the fictional Lt. Frank Drebin saying, Yes, yes, just another meth OD, nothing to see here, keep moving.
There was a brief push back to Wardlow's statement. It's probably because she didn't know the reporter for The Oklahoman she spoke to, through sheer coincidence, had a personal connection with the Fitzpatrick family.
It didn't take long for another spokesperson, Captain Dexter Nelson to issue a new statement which was a none to convincing effort to smooth over the situation. He jabbered that homicides and suspicious deaths were investigated in the same way and yeah, there was still an ongoing investigation, and obviously Alina Fitzpatrick had been with the wrong crowd who were committing felonies, yada, yada, yada. In the end he said the Oklahoma City police were going to need the public's help in solving the case because they had exhausted all their leads.
Obviously they didn't get it because the murder of Alina Fitzpatrick is still unsolved.
She would have been 25 this year. According to her obituary she had dreamed of becoming a nurse. One likes to think she would have made her dream come true, but we'll never know will we? Just as we'll never know who dumped her body out in that lot in far east OKC.
sic vita est
11-6-19
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Ode to the Old Man
Even though the old man was born in Montreal, Quebec to Canadian parents his place of birth was a bit of a mistake. George and Alyce, his father and mother, had been living in Muskogee, Oklahoma for a number of years prior to his arrival. They would not become naturalized American citizens until 1939 and 1940.
In that August of 1924 they had traveled back to Montreal to visit relatives and escape the heat and humidity of northeastern Oklahoma. The old man surprised them by deciding to be born in the land of his ancestors. He was their second son and last child.
George, was of Irish descent and remained a Roman Catholic all his life. Alyce had been born outside of Leeds, England, but her parents brought her to Montreal when she was four years old. She was Church of England and insisted both her sons be raised in the Anglican tradition.
George, who would come to be called Dodie for reasons no one is completely sure of, agreed to the deal. Even so he made sure he and his wife were married in a Catholic church which is home to an Irish parish in southwest Montreal. Right next door, Montreal, being Montreal, there was, and still is another, slightly larger, Catholic church which serves the French speaking population living in the same neighborhood.
The old man's family was considered well to do. They were quite possibly in the top five percent when it came to income in Muskogee, which at the time was the third largest town in Oklahoma. There weren't any family traditions when it came to things like hunting, fishing, and camping. In fact Dodie wouldn't allow any firearms in his home, telling his youngest son, "No good ever came from a gun." The old man grew up taking that philosophy to heart. There would never be any guns in his homes, just as fishing, hunting, and camping were completely alien to his children as they grew up.
On the other hand the old man was an avid fan of team sports--nearly all of them as a matter of fact. He taught his first born son how to keep written scores of baseball games, an arcane code nearly lost in the 21st century. He also explained the minutiae of the sport. Even down to,"See the pitcher warming up? When he rolls his glove hand over like that he is telling his catcher a curve ball is coming."
He bought his first University of Oklahoma season football tickets in 1952. The seat numbers have changed, but he still has them. Later in life, during the spring and early summer, he would spend hours watching OU's women's softball team.
While he was in junior high school he and 14 friends formed a club, naming it, "The Mohawks." The club remained intact through his high school days. Included in their number was a kid who eventually became both a governor and U.S. senator from OK. Another would become a district judge. A third, the heir to a massive construction company, would be killed in the Pacific during WWII. He named his oldest son in honor of him. At age 95, the old man is the last surviving Mohawk.
In 1959 he moved his family to Oklahoma City so he could work in the administration of his Mohawk pal, J. Howard Edmondson. He would later spend decades in the liquor industry, working for an importer, then different local distributors. One store owner told me, "He is a great guy, but he never offers any kickbacks like a lot of the others do."
The date of his wedding remains a little murky because an elopement was involved. His bride to be had told him she was pregnant so he did the honorable thing. It turned out she really wasn't, but the first son did come within a year.
He served in the navy during WWII and was stationed on Guam when he learned of the death of his father. Because of the war and where he was he couldn't get back to Muskogee for Dodie's funeral. George was only 55 when he died of a massive heart attack.
By the early 1960's his wife had become a raging alcoholic who attempted suicide at least once. He refused to divorce her because he didn't want to leave her alone in charge of a houseful of kids--a rare display of devotion even back then.
She died of emphysema in 1997. Less than two years later his second son, a career print journalist, died of a heart attack. On the way to the funeral the old man lamented, "This isn't supposed to happen. You aren't supposed to outlive your children."
While more than capable of spewing racial epithets he taught his children to never pre judge a person by their race, or religion. He was a life long democrat who once said, "Democrats saved the republicans and everyone else in this country from communism in the 1930s." Despite this apparent passion for the left, he voted for Nixon twice, Reagan twice, Bush the elder once, and GW twice. His assessment of Donald Trump, who he didn't vote for, is succinct. "Why he's the craziest, lyingest, son of a bitch I've ever seen."
Over the nearly 70 years that I've known him he has proven himself to be incredibly loving, funny, and a wise and patient teacher. At times though, he has been known to spin off into profound fits of anger, and in a few instances, needless cruelty. Through much of his adult life profanity has been his preferred mode of communication. In short, as the line in the movie went, "He's just like any other man, only more so."
He is now stuck in a bed at a hospice waiting for the end. The doctors say it will come within two weeks, if not sooner. His bladder is eaten up with cancer and his kidneys are failing. Last night, while in and out of consciousness he watched game seven of the World Series. Although a life long Yankees fan, he was rooting for the Washington Nationals. They won 6-2.
The old man didn't teach me everything I know. He did, however, teach me every thing I've needed to know. At least about life. Along with my surviving brother and sisters, his grandchildren and great grandchildren, I will miss him dearly.
The world, or at least this small part of it, is about to be a lesser place.
sic vita est
10-31-19
In that August of 1924 they had traveled back to Montreal to visit relatives and escape the heat and humidity of northeastern Oklahoma. The old man surprised them by deciding to be born in the land of his ancestors. He was their second son and last child.
George, was of Irish descent and remained a Roman Catholic all his life. Alyce had been born outside of Leeds, England, but her parents brought her to Montreal when she was four years old. She was Church of England and insisted both her sons be raised in the Anglican tradition.
George, who would come to be called Dodie for reasons no one is completely sure of, agreed to the deal. Even so he made sure he and his wife were married in a Catholic church which is home to an Irish parish in southwest Montreal. Right next door, Montreal, being Montreal, there was, and still is another, slightly larger, Catholic church which serves the French speaking population living in the same neighborhood.
The old man's family was considered well to do. They were quite possibly in the top five percent when it came to income in Muskogee, which at the time was the third largest town in Oklahoma. There weren't any family traditions when it came to things like hunting, fishing, and camping. In fact Dodie wouldn't allow any firearms in his home, telling his youngest son, "No good ever came from a gun." The old man grew up taking that philosophy to heart. There would never be any guns in his homes, just as fishing, hunting, and camping were completely alien to his children as they grew up.
On the other hand the old man was an avid fan of team sports--nearly all of them as a matter of fact. He taught his first born son how to keep written scores of baseball games, an arcane code nearly lost in the 21st century. He also explained the minutiae of the sport. Even down to,"See the pitcher warming up? When he rolls his glove hand over like that he is telling his catcher a curve ball is coming."
He bought his first University of Oklahoma season football tickets in 1952. The seat numbers have changed, but he still has them. Later in life, during the spring and early summer, he would spend hours watching OU's women's softball team.
While he was in junior high school he and 14 friends formed a club, naming it, "The Mohawks." The club remained intact through his high school days. Included in their number was a kid who eventually became both a governor and U.S. senator from OK. Another would become a district judge. A third, the heir to a massive construction company, would be killed in the Pacific during WWII. He named his oldest son in honor of him. At age 95, the old man is the last surviving Mohawk.
In 1959 he moved his family to Oklahoma City so he could work in the administration of his Mohawk pal, J. Howard Edmondson. He would later spend decades in the liquor industry, working for an importer, then different local distributors. One store owner told me, "He is a great guy, but he never offers any kickbacks like a lot of the others do."
The date of his wedding remains a little murky because an elopement was involved. His bride to be had told him she was pregnant so he did the honorable thing. It turned out she really wasn't, but the first son did come within a year.
He served in the navy during WWII and was stationed on Guam when he learned of the death of his father. Because of the war and where he was he couldn't get back to Muskogee for Dodie's funeral. George was only 55 when he died of a massive heart attack.
By the early 1960's his wife had become a raging alcoholic who attempted suicide at least once. He refused to divorce her because he didn't want to leave her alone in charge of a houseful of kids--a rare display of devotion even back then.
She died of emphysema in 1997. Less than two years later his second son, a career print journalist, died of a heart attack. On the way to the funeral the old man lamented, "This isn't supposed to happen. You aren't supposed to outlive your children."
While more than capable of spewing racial epithets he taught his children to never pre judge a person by their race, or religion. He was a life long democrat who once said, "Democrats saved the republicans and everyone else in this country from communism in the 1930s." Despite this apparent passion for the left, he voted for Nixon twice, Reagan twice, Bush the elder once, and GW twice. His assessment of Donald Trump, who he didn't vote for, is succinct. "Why he's the craziest, lyingest, son of a bitch I've ever seen."
Over the nearly 70 years that I've known him he has proven himself to be incredibly loving, funny, and a wise and patient teacher. At times though, he has been known to spin off into profound fits of anger, and in a few instances, needless cruelty. Through much of his adult life profanity has been his preferred mode of communication. In short, as the line in the movie went, "He's just like any other man, only more so."
He is now stuck in a bed at a hospice waiting for the end. The doctors say it will come within two weeks, if not sooner. His bladder is eaten up with cancer and his kidneys are failing. Last night, while in and out of consciousness he watched game seven of the World Series. Although a life long Yankees fan, he was rooting for the Washington Nationals. They won 6-2.
The old man didn't teach me everything I know. He did, however, teach me every thing I've needed to know. At least about life. Along with my surviving brother and sisters, his grandchildren and great grandchildren, I will miss him dearly.
The world, or at least this small part of it, is about to be a lesser place.
sic vita est
10-31-19
Friday, October 25, 2019
Soviet Style Secret Meetings--American Style
Impeachment is not about punishment. Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office. You couldn't live with yourself knowing you were going to leave a perjuring judge on the bench. Ladies and gentlemen, as hard as it may be, for the same reasons, cleanse this office.
South Carolina republican Representative Lindsey Graham in 1999, speaking during Bill Clinton's impeachment proceedings.
On Wednesday, led by Florida Representative, Matt Gaetz, about two dozen republicans invaded what is known as the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility in the basement of the capitol building. Their stated purpose was to stop the, "Soviet style," secret impeachment proceedings against Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America.
Gaetz had tried this move by himself a week earlier and was hauled from the room kicking and squealing. On Wednesday he brought along his buddies and they all came in carrying their cell phones/cameras which is a direct violation of Congressional regulations regarding what is called the SCIF. The breach was deemed so egregious security officials had to sweep the room for listening devices delaying the testimony of witnesses.
After the republicans left, they were all, to a man, appalled no one was allowed to testify while they were there. We have a right, they complained en masse, to hear what is being said.
Actually, according to House rules, they don't and despite the faux outrage, not one republican has ever said, Adam Schiff and the democrats are breaking any of them. Later FOX News analyst, former Judge Andrew Napolitano explained this inconvenient bit of parliamentary fact to three of his colleagues on the air. He also stated the rules which Schiff and democrats were operating under were ones signed off on by former republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and approved by a GOP controlled house in January 2015.
Shortly after Napolitano's appearance Boehner, being Boehner, denied he ever approved of such goings on, once again trying to divert the argument away from Trump and toward the process.
It was left to freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez to finally tweet out what is currently happening in the SCIF. It is, she wrote, more akin to a Grand Jury rather than an some super secret Star Chamber. In other words it is an investigation gathering information which might, or might not lead to impeachment proceedings. And, as she pointed out, Grand Juries are always held in secret so witnesses and defendants can't compare notes, not to mention alibis, in advance of an actual trial.
Such subtleties are lost on people like Gaetz, GOP House members, and the fascist hordes who show up at Mr. Trump's rallies. They would prefer to scream about democrats attempting to overthrow the Chief Executive in secret rather than deal with the reality of the situation.
There are currently 103 members of Congress on the three different committees conducting the SCIF meetings. Of that number 47 are republicans. One of them, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, told the Washington Post, both sides are allowed an unlimited number of questions they can ask each witness.
Ah yes, quite, "Soviet."
The inescapable truth here is the GOP caucus in Congress has no valid reason not to impeach and convict Donald Trump. For whatever reasons though, they have decided to fight for him. Some, no doubt, actually believe the conspiracy theories the hard right has grown so dependent on. Some might fear Trump's bombastic supporters and dread getting chucked out of office during the primaries. While the rest--who knows--perhaps it is cowardice, or a perceived cash flow problem if The Big Orange Guy is no longer around to look the other way. In any event the only possible defense they have right now is to attack a constitutional process which has been in place since the republic was founded.
Their wild rants present an ugly and corrupt tableau which is unfolding right in front of us on television and other media. It's one so corrosive it might even consume the idea of America.
All of which leads us to another couple of quotes by the young Mr. Graham. "You don't have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job in this Constitutional Republic," he said. Then he added, a President can be impeached if Congress decides his, "conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds."
Well, we can say many things about republicans and Lindsey Graham, but none of us can ever claim hypocrisy isn't one of their strong points.
10-25-19
South Carolina republican Representative Lindsey Graham in 1999, speaking during Bill Clinton's impeachment proceedings.
On Wednesday, led by Florida Representative, Matt Gaetz, about two dozen republicans invaded what is known as the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility in the basement of the capitol building. Their stated purpose was to stop the, "Soviet style," secret impeachment proceedings against Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America.
Gaetz had tried this move by himself a week earlier and was hauled from the room kicking and squealing. On Wednesday he brought along his buddies and they all came in carrying their cell phones/cameras which is a direct violation of Congressional regulations regarding what is called the SCIF. The breach was deemed so egregious security officials had to sweep the room for listening devices delaying the testimony of witnesses.
After the republicans left, they were all, to a man, appalled no one was allowed to testify while they were there. We have a right, they complained en masse, to hear what is being said.
Actually, according to House rules, they don't and despite the faux outrage, not one republican has ever said, Adam Schiff and the democrats are breaking any of them. Later FOX News analyst, former Judge Andrew Napolitano explained this inconvenient bit of parliamentary fact to three of his colleagues on the air. He also stated the rules which Schiff and democrats were operating under were ones signed off on by former republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and approved by a GOP controlled house in January 2015.
Shortly after Napolitano's appearance Boehner, being Boehner, denied he ever approved of such goings on, once again trying to divert the argument away from Trump and toward the process.
It was left to freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez to finally tweet out what is currently happening in the SCIF. It is, she wrote, more akin to a Grand Jury rather than an some super secret Star Chamber. In other words it is an investigation gathering information which might, or might not lead to impeachment proceedings. And, as she pointed out, Grand Juries are always held in secret so witnesses and defendants can't compare notes, not to mention alibis, in advance of an actual trial.
Such subtleties are lost on people like Gaetz, GOP House members, and the fascist hordes who show up at Mr. Trump's rallies. They would prefer to scream about democrats attempting to overthrow the Chief Executive in secret rather than deal with the reality of the situation.
There are currently 103 members of Congress on the three different committees conducting the SCIF meetings. Of that number 47 are republicans. One of them, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, told the Washington Post, both sides are allowed an unlimited number of questions they can ask each witness.
Ah yes, quite, "Soviet."
The inescapable truth here is the GOP caucus in Congress has no valid reason not to impeach and convict Donald Trump. For whatever reasons though, they have decided to fight for him. Some, no doubt, actually believe the conspiracy theories the hard right has grown so dependent on. Some might fear Trump's bombastic supporters and dread getting chucked out of office during the primaries. While the rest--who knows--perhaps it is cowardice, or a perceived cash flow problem if The Big Orange Guy is no longer around to look the other way. In any event the only possible defense they have right now is to attack a constitutional process which has been in place since the republic was founded.
Their wild rants present an ugly and corrupt tableau which is unfolding right in front of us on television and other media. It's one so corrosive it might even consume the idea of America.
All of which leads us to another couple of quotes by the young Mr. Graham. "You don't have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job in this Constitutional Republic," he said. Then he added, a President can be impeached if Congress decides his, "conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds."
Well, we can say many things about republicans and Lindsey Graham, but none of us can ever claim hypocrisy isn't one of their strong points.
10-25-19
Monday, October 21, 2019
A New Poll in Iowa: Buttigieg Closes the Gap, but Nothing is Settled
Dem polls, dem polls, dem new polls...
With apologies to James W. Johnson, J. Rosamond Johnson, and Fats Waller.
Yes we can't escape them, or at least the media won't let us. The latest political poll to hit the news comes from a survey taken and sponsored by Boston's Suffolk University and USA Today. It was limited in scope, based on 500 phone calls to Iowans who claim to be democrats and are committed to attending the state caucuses in a little over 100 days. Significantly, it also came on the heels of last week's democratic debate.
If accurate--and we know that isn't always the case--there should be joy somewhere in South Bend, IN tonight. That's because the numbers crunched show the mayor of that burg, Pete Buttigieg is gaining fast on Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden.
In fact he is within the 4.4% margin of error the poll allows. USA Today reported this morning Biden leads with 18%, Warren came in second at 17%, and Buttigieg is at a tad over 13%.
The shift toward Buttigieg apparently is a direct result of the candidate's performance last week. If the respondents were actually telling the truth, 40% of them said Mayor Pete did better in the last round than they expected. Interestingly enough another 30% said Minnesota Senator, Amy Klobuchar did better than expected, but her actual statewide support refuses to rise higher than 3%. On the other hand, 25% agreed former VP, Biden, who in June had a huge lead in Iowa, tanked last week's televised get together in Ohio.
Stuck in the middle of the Iowa race is Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders who registered 9%. That is exactly where he was in the June poll. Besides Klobuchar, the fabulously well to do, Tom Steyer, CA Senator, Kamala Harris, and HI Representative, Tulsi Gabbard were all hovering right at, or just above 3%. It's unknown at this time if Gabbard's unhinged anti Hillary Clinton rants on Twitter in the last couple of days have shrunk, or improved her numbers.
So the results are pure gold to Buttigieg, right? Well, it is certainly better than what happened to Senator Harris. In June she was at 16%, but now languishes with the people wearing the unenviable label of third tier candidates.
Indeed, when it comes to the Hawkeye state nothing is settled. While the Mayor's support jumped, so did the percentage of undecided democrats. In this latest poll that number went up by eight points and now sits at 29%.
That's a lot of people. However it is small compared to the 63% who say even though they now have a preferred candidate, they are open to changing their minds before the caucuses occur.
Oops.
Yes, Iowa remains, as they say, in flux. However one thing has become crystal clear. Joe Biden's early gangbusters lead--everywhere--is melting away like an ice cube on a hot sidewalk. It is starting to dawn on everyone, from coast to coast, if he can't hang with fellow democrats on a stage, where things remain relatively civil, he will never be able to compete with the bellicose, sound bite driven, lying son of a bitch who lays in wait.
sic vita est
10-21-19
With apologies to James W. Johnson, J. Rosamond Johnson, and Fats Waller.
Yes we can't escape them, or at least the media won't let us. The latest political poll to hit the news comes from a survey taken and sponsored by Boston's Suffolk University and USA Today. It was limited in scope, based on 500 phone calls to Iowans who claim to be democrats and are committed to attending the state caucuses in a little over 100 days. Significantly, it also came on the heels of last week's democratic debate.
If accurate--and we know that isn't always the case--there should be joy somewhere in South Bend, IN tonight. That's because the numbers crunched show the mayor of that burg, Pete Buttigieg is gaining fast on Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden.
In fact he is within the 4.4% margin of error the poll allows. USA Today reported this morning Biden leads with 18%, Warren came in second at 17%, and Buttigieg is at a tad over 13%.
The shift toward Buttigieg apparently is a direct result of the candidate's performance last week. If the respondents were actually telling the truth, 40% of them said Mayor Pete did better in the last round than they expected. Interestingly enough another 30% said Minnesota Senator, Amy Klobuchar did better than expected, but her actual statewide support refuses to rise higher than 3%. On the other hand, 25% agreed former VP, Biden, who in June had a huge lead in Iowa, tanked last week's televised get together in Ohio.
Stuck in the middle of the Iowa race is Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders who registered 9%. That is exactly where he was in the June poll. Besides Klobuchar, the fabulously well to do, Tom Steyer, CA Senator, Kamala Harris, and HI Representative, Tulsi Gabbard were all hovering right at, or just above 3%. It's unknown at this time if Gabbard's unhinged anti Hillary Clinton rants on Twitter in the last couple of days have shrunk, or improved her numbers.
So the results are pure gold to Buttigieg, right? Well, it is certainly better than what happened to Senator Harris. In June she was at 16%, but now languishes with the people wearing the unenviable label of third tier candidates.
Indeed, when it comes to the Hawkeye state nothing is settled. While the Mayor's support jumped, so did the percentage of undecided democrats. In this latest poll that number went up by eight points and now sits at 29%.
That's a lot of people. However it is small compared to the 63% who say even though they now have a preferred candidate, they are open to changing their minds before the caucuses occur.
Oops.
Yes, Iowa remains, as they say, in flux. However one thing has become crystal clear. Joe Biden's early gangbusters lead--everywhere--is melting away like an ice cube on a hot sidewalk. It is starting to dawn on everyone, from coast to coast, if he can't hang with fellow democrats on a stage, where things remain relatively civil, he will never be able to compete with the bellicose, sound bite driven, lying son of a bitch who lays in wait.
sic vita est
10-21-19
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
The Latest Democratic Debate: Dead Heat on a Merry Go Round
The field running for the democratic nomination has been culled, but it remains huge. Last night 12 hopefuls showed up on an Ohio stage and sort of debated each other. As we saw, even though at times their presentations bordered on the substantial, the affair still had the undeniable aura of a cheap jack reality TV series--kind of a political mish mash of, "Dancing With the Stars," and "Survivor."
Here is what we learned during what could well be considered a dead heat on a merry go round.
It immediately became obvious no one on the stage, except for perhaps Joe Biden himself, believed the former Vice President is still the front runner. That title has gone to Elizabeth Warren and many on the panel reacted to the shift with a barrage of assaults on the myriad of, "plans," the Senator from Massachusetts has proposed.
For the most part, Warren successfully parried the attacks with her well honed debating skills. However, to her detriment, she refused to admit what everyone in the republic knows--her medicare for all health care plan will increase taxes on not just the wealthiest, but also the middle class. Warren repeatedly dodged the questions by speaking in terms of, "lower total costs," to the middle class, which, in the end, might be true, but not when it comes to the bottom line on paychecks which says, "net pay."
Bernie Sanders certainly knows it. He was right up front saying there would have to be a tax increase for everyone in order to pay for his plan, which is nearly identical to Warren's. Sanders, who is fresh off a minor heart attack, seemed energized enough, not quite as angry, and in good spirits most of the night. It might not help. His numbers are shrinking and if he were, somehow, to win the nomination not only will his politics be savagely attacked, but so will his age and health. That's what happens when you are a democratic socialist and will be 79, going on 80, by the time the next inauguration rolls around.
Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg came on strong. Klobuchar especially appeared to look like a viable centrist alternative to Warren and Saunders. She sparred on equal terms with Warren and successfully articulated her own vision of what health care in this country should be. Buttigieg, as always the smartest kid in the room, came across more impassioned and aggressive. He engaged Tulsi Gabbard in a spirited exchange about what sort of U. S. military presence should be, or remain in the middle east and they both actually knew what they were talking about.
Mayor Pete also got into a tussle with Beto O'Rourke about the how to of buying back and banning military assault style weapons. A subject which up until a few months ago was, thanks to the NRA's political hegemony, unthinkable.
Tom Steyer, who was making his first debate appearance, seemed out of his element except when he was slamming Donald Trump for being everything from a two bit con man to a degenerate Putin wannabe. Let's face it though, we already know that. It's why we tuned in. When given a chance to explain his other positions the billionaire would go off into the wonderful world of mumbles, before invariably returning to his attacks on The Big Orange Guy.
Andrew Yang scored some points when he talked about the threat automation poses to low wage American workers. His riff on the subject actually justified, or at least explained his proposed $1,000 a month guaranteed wage to everyone more articulately than he has previously.
Julian Castro didn't shoot himself in the foot like he did in the 3rd debate, but he seemed even further on the periphery of the race. Senator Cory Booker increasingly looks like a man in search of cabinet position. His main message last night was basically, "Can't we all just get along?"
Then finally we come to Joe Biden, who is currently, along with his son, Hunter, the reason Don Trump might get impeached. The hope was he'd come out swinging. Instead he spent large amounts of time saying nothing at all as everyone focused on Warren. At least that is what it seemed like, although the stats show he actually got nearly 17 minutes of air time, second most of the entire panel.
Perhaps that is the scariest part of it for the Biden campaign. It wasn't the ever present gaffes, or the increasing number of moments when he seems to forget his train of thought. It was that it felt like he was barely even there and, worse, no longer relevant.
All of which brings us to the most pressing questions. One--has anyone truly separated themselves from the rest of the field? Second--does one of these candidates have what it takes to stand up to the avalanche of lies, conspiracies, and cruel school yard taunts which lurk right around the corner?
After the dust settled last night both issues are still in doubt.
10-16-19
Here is what we learned during what could well be considered a dead heat on a merry go round.
It immediately became obvious no one on the stage, except for perhaps Joe Biden himself, believed the former Vice President is still the front runner. That title has gone to Elizabeth Warren and many on the panel reacted to the shift with a barrage of assaults on the myriad of, "plans," the Senator from Massachusetts has proposed.
For the most part, Warren successfully parried the attacks with her well honed debating skills. However, to her detriment, she refused to admit what everyone in the republic knows--her medicare for all health care plan will increase taxes on not just the wealthiest, but also the middle class. Warren repeatedly dodged the questions by speaking in terms of, "lower total costs," to the middle class, which, in the end, might be true, but not when it comes to the bottom line on paychecks which says, "net pay."
Bernie Sanders certainly knows it. He was right up front saying there would have to be a tax increase for everyone in order to pay for his plan, which is nearly identical to Warren's. Sanders, who is fresh off a minor heart attack, seemed energized enough, not quite as angry, and in good spirits most of the night. It might not help. His numbers are shrinking and if he were, somehow, to win the nomination not only will his politics be savagely attacked, but so will his age and health. That's what happens when you are a democratic socialist and will be 79, going on 80, by the time the next inauguration rolls around.
Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg came on strong. Klobuchar especially appeared to look like a viable centrist alternative to Warren and Saunders. She sparred on equal terms with Warren and successfully articulated her own vision of what health care in this country should be. Buttigieg, as always the smartest kid in the room, came across more impassioned and aggressive. He engaged Tulsi Gabbard in a spirited exchange about what sort of U. S. military presence should be, or remain in the middle east and they both actually knew what they were talking about.
Mayor Pete also got into a tussle with Beto O'Rourke about the how to of buying back and banning military assault style weapons. A subject which up until a few months ago was, thanks to the NRA's political hegemony, unthinkable.
Tom Steyer, who was making his first debate appearance, seemed out of his element except when he was slamming Donald Trump for being everything from a two bit con man to a degenerate Putin wannabe. Let's face it though, we already know that. It's why we tuned in. When given a chance to explain his other positions the billionaire would go off into the wonderful world of mumbles, before invariably returning to his attacks on The Big Orange Guy.
Andrew Yang scored some points when he talked about the threat automation poses to low wage American workers. His riff on the subject actually justified, or at least explained his proposed $1,000 a month guaranteed wage to everyone more articulately than he has previously.
Julian Castro didn't shoot himself in the foot like he did in the 3rd debate, but he seemed even further on the periphery of the race. Senator Cory Booker increasingly looks like a man in search of cabinet position. His main message last night was basically, "Can't we all just get along?"
Then finally we come to Joe Biden, who is currently, along with his son, Hunter, the reason Don Trump might get impeached. The hope was he'd come out swinging. Instead he spent large amounts of time saying nothing at all as everyone focused on Warren. At least that is what it seemed like, although the stats show he actually got nearly 17 minutes of air time, second most of the entire panel.
Perhaps that is the scariest part of it for the Biden campaign. It wasn't the ever present gaffes, or the increasing number of moments when he seems to forget his train of thought. It was that it felt like he was barely even there and, worse, no longer relevant.
All of which brings us to the most pressing questions. One--has anyone truly separated themselves from the rest of the field? Second--does one of these candidates have what it takes to stand up to the avalanche of lies, conspiracies, and cruel school yard taunts which lurk right around the corner?
After the dust settled last night both issues are still in doubt.
10-16-19
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Carina Saunders Eight Years and Two Mistakes Later
Carina Saunders was 19 years old in 2011. If she had survived she would now be 27. Of course her life style would have made it problematic for her to last the past eight years on this blue ball under any circumstances. That's always the case when serious drugs and possible forays into street prostitution are involved.
Obviously we'll never know if she would have made it to the year of our Lord, 2019 because she did not survive. She was reported missing to the authorities on September 28th, 2011. However none of her relatives had seen her for several days prior to then, or at least that was the story at the time. According to a cousin she was last seen getting into a blue, or dark gray SUV which was being driven by a "gray haired," man in his 40's.
Five years later the cousin would claim the man was Kenny Richards who at the time lived at a rental property in the 500 block of Oakdale Drive, not far from I-40 and Rockwell. The usefulness of this information is debatable mainly because she would also say she dropped Ms. Saunders off at the Newcastle Casino on October 8th, 2011, 11 days after the missing persons report was filed.
She made the two seemingly at odds statements during a 2016 news conference held by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. During the presser, which was called in an attempt to revive the cold case, OSBI spokespersons said they were in possession of a Newcastle security tape taken on that 8th. According to them it shows Saunders getting into a red four door pickup truck with a brush guard on front and overhead cab lights. The only available description of the driver was that both his arms were covered in tattoos. The OSBI said the tape also showed several, "girls," in the parking lot urging Saunders not to leave the casino.
They didn't have any luck persuading her. Five days later--eight years ago today--Carina Saunders' dismembered and decapitated body was found in a duffel bag dumped in a weed strewn field behind a Homeland Grocery store also located near Kenny Richards' place.
Because her body was found in the OKC suburb of Bethany, the 31 person department took charge of the case, dedicating five officers full time to the investigation. It was the first and perhaps most damaging mistake made during the aftermath of the gruesome murder.
Up until Saunders' body was found the Bethany PD was best known for the number of traffic tickets they liked to issue. Afterward their reputation expanded to include pandering to the media and casually releasing the names of witnesses and suspects to everyone.
On January 8th 2012, the local paper, The Oklahoman, was reporting two Oklahoma County Jail inmates, Jimmy Lee Massey and Francisco Gomez were being looked at for the crime. According to one account Massey was accused of forcibly taking a woman to witness the murder in order to teach her a lesson.
By February 28th of that year Massey was still a focus of the investigation, but Gomez was replaced by Michael, "Monster," Knight. Although Knight wasn't a suspect per se it was theorized his south side apartment was the scene of the murder. On the same day the state Medical Examiner ruled Saunders had suffered, "a violent death," and stated the full report would be released in two weeks.
In a scant few days the Oklahoma State Attorney General told the media that a release of the full autopsy would harm the case. The state ME immediately said he wouldn't make all his findings available, well, at least for a while. Six months later the full report was made public. Among the terrible details, it indicated Carina Saunders was alive when someone began to hack her body apart.
Before that, on July 11th of 2012, the news hit someone had actually videoed the murder. Over the month new names came to light. Thanks to the Bethany PD, Mindy Cottier, Christopher Banschbach, Tia Downour, Michelle Hanshaw, and Stephanie Howard all made the news as witnesses either to the crime itself, or having seen the tape. In the mean time Massey and a man named Luis Ruiz were charged in the death of Carina Saunders.
None of this shit panned out. Once their names were in the paper and on TV the supposed witnesses began to claim they had only heard from friends Ruiz and Massey were guilty and had only heard about the video from others. In short the whole case began to fall apart because of the press hungry Bethany cops and their complete lack of professionalism.
In February 2013 the Bethany police handed the case over to the OSBI either at the request, or demand of DA David Prater. Later in the month Luis Ruiz walked out of the county jail due to a lack of evidence, while Jimmy Lee Massey stayed only because of unrelated charges.
A few months after the 2016 OSBI press conference the agency showed up at Kenny Richards' old residence on Oakdale Drive. They brought along a portable lab, a lot of guys with shovels, and some large sieves. They stayed for a couple of days, but apparently didn't find anything of note--or if they did they've been completely silent about it for two plus years.
In that 2016 news conference the OSBI insisted a tape was indeed made of Carina Saunders' horrific death and it was possible a copy of it still existed. To this day, when questioned, not a single person named by the OKC press, admits to actually having seen it. It remains the stuff of urban legend.
As does the murder of Carina Saunders. Eight years after her unsolved death, her name still conjures up dark images of a world many of us wish to ignore, or remain ignorant of. It is out there though and we all know it. We just don't want to do anything about it.
And, in the end, that is the second great mistake law enforcement, the media, and the rest of us have made. We just don't want to do anything about it.
sic vita est
10-13-19
Obviously we'll never know if she would have made it to the year of our Lord, 2019 because she did not survive. She was reported missing to the authorities on September 28th, 2011. However none of her relatives had seen her for several days prior to then, or at least that was the story at the time. According to a cousin she was last seen getting into a blue, or dark gray SUV which was being driven by a "gray haired," man in his 40's.
Five years later the cousin would claim the man was Kenny Richards who at the time lived at a rental property in the 500 block of Oakdale Drive, not far from I-40 and Rockwell. The usefulness of this information is debatable mainly because she would also say she dropped Ms. Saunders off at the Newcastle Casino on October 8th, 2011, 11 days after the missing persons report was filed.
She made the two seemingly at odds statements during a 2016 news conference held by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. During the presser, which was called in an attempt to revive the cold case, OSBI spokespersons said they were in possession of a Newcastle security tape taken on that 8th. According to them it shows Saunders getting into a red four door pickup truck with a brush guard on front and overhead cab lights. The only available description of the driver was that both his arms were covered in tattoos. The OSBI said the tape also showed several, "girls," in the parking lot urging Saunders not to leave the casino.
They didn't have any luck persuading her. Five days later--eight years ago today--Carina Saunders' dismembered and decapitated body was found in a duffel bag dumped in a weed strewn field behind a Homeland Grocery store also located near Kenny Richards' place.
Because her body was found in the OKC suburb of Bethany, the 31 person department took charge of the case, dedicating five officers full time to the investigation. It was the first and perhaps most damaging mistake made during the aftermath of the gruesome murder.
Up until Saunders' body was found the Bethany PD was best known for the number of traffic tickets they liked to issue. Afterward their reputation expanded to include pandering to the media and casually releasing the names of witnesses and suspects to everyone.
On January 8th 2012, the local paper, The Oklahoman, was reporting two Oklahoma County Jail inmates, Jimmy Lee Massey and Francisco Gomez were being looked at for the crime. According to one account Massey was accused of forcibly taking a woman to witness the murder in order to teach her a lesson.
By February 28th of that year Massey was still a focus of the investigation, but Gomez was replaced by Michael, "Monster," Knight. Although Knight wasn't a suspect per se it was theorized his south side apartment was the scene of the murder. On the same day the state Medical Examiner ruled Saunders had suffered, "a violent death," and stated the full report would be released in two weeks.
In a scant few days the Oklahoma State Attorney General told the media that a release of the full autopsy would harm the case. The state ME immediately said he wouldn't make all his findings available, well, at least for a while. Six months later the full report was made public. Among the terrible details, it indicated Carina Saunders was alive when someone began to hack her body apart.
Before that, on July 11th of 2012, the news hit someone had actually videoed the murder. Over the month new names came to light. Thanks to the Bethany PD, Mindy Cottier, Christopher Banschbach, Tia Downour, Michelle Hanshaw, and Stephanie Howard all made the news as witnesses either to the crime itself, or having seen the tape. In the mean time Massey and a man named Luis Ruiz were charged in the death of Carina Saunders.
None of this shit panned out. Once their names were in the paper and on TV the supposed witnesses began to claim they had only heard from friends Ruiz and Massey were guilty and had only heard about the video from others. In short the whole case began to fall apart because of the press hungry Bethany cops and their complete lack of professionalism.
In February 2013 the Bethany police handed the case over to the OSBI either at the request, or demand of DA David Prater. Later in the month Luis Ruiz walked out of the county jail due to a lack of evidence, while Jimmy Lee Massey stayed only because of unrelated charges.
A few months after the 2016 OSBI press conference the agency showed up at Kenny Richards' old residence on Oakdale Drive. They brought along a portable lab, a lot of guys with shovels, and some large sieves. They stayed for a couple of days, but apparently didn't find anything of note--or if they did they've been completely silent about it for two plus years.
In that 2016 news conference the OSBI insisted a tape was indeed made of Carina Saunders' horrific death and it was possible a copy of it still existed. To this day, when questioned, not a single person named by the OKC press, admits to actually having seen it. It remains the stuff of urban legend.
As does the murder of Carina Saunders. Eight years after her unsolved death, her name still conjures up dark images of a world many of us wish to ignore, or remain ignorant of. It is out there though and we all know it. We just don't want to do anything about it.
And, in the end, that is the second great mistake law enforcement, the media, and the rest of us have made. We just don't want to do anything about it.
sic vita est
10-13-19
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Kendra Horn Took the 5th, But Can She Keep It?
Before the 2018 election the last time Oklahoma's 5th congressional district had a democratic representative was 1975. The guy was named John Jarman and he had held the seat for 25 years. Jarman was what you'd call a democrat in name only. The running joke back in those days of yore was that before he would vote on anything he would give the local arch conservative media mogul, E.K. Gaylord a call to seek out which side of the issue he should be on.
As strange as it might seem now, ages ago Oklahoma was solidly blue, at least in local elections. However, by the 1970's the voting public was making a hard right turn. Jarman might not of been the brightest of bulbs, but he realized the wind was changing. In January of 1975, hoping to save himself, he became a republican. It didn't work. Within a year he knew his goose was cooked, so he retired.
Over the years the district's boundaries have shifted as they all do. For the last decade, or two it has encompassed nearly all of Oklahoma County, which means Oklahoma City, Pottawatomie County to the east, and Seminole County, even further out in the woods.
Then another shift began creep through the district ever so slowly. As Oklahoma City's population grew and became more diverse increasing numbers of voters started casting their ballots for democrats. So much so, even though the seat remained in the hands of republicans, democratic candidates for the office were winning in OKC proper by small margins.
Last year, the worm, as they say, at long last turned. Two time republican incumbent Steve Russell was stunned when he lost to new comer democrat, Kendra Horn. It was a razor thin victory. Horn garnered 50.7% of the vote to Russell's 49.3%. The difference was less than 3,500 ballots.
There were a couple of factors in play during that election. First, Russell--whose main claim to fame was pissing off a bunch of his suburban supporters by not being conservative enough--ran what could best be called a somnambulant campaign. Second, because of Russell's nonchalance and it being a mid term election nearly 42,000 fewer 5th district voters showed up at the polls than they did in 2016.
Congresswoman Horn will not have those advantages in 2020.
Donald John Trump will loom like a great orange whale over next November and his base will be whipped into a frenzy. Ms. Horn has already drawn seven republican opponents and each one of them is a certified rip roaring right wing fire breather.
As of right now they are, Janet Barresi, a former State School Superintendent who lost her bid for a second term in office. Dan Belcher, who is demanding Horn resign if she votes in favor of impeaching the President because, according to him, doing so will violate her oath of office. Plus there is former State Senator Stephanie Bice, who has been endorsed by Oklahoma Right to Life and has received an, "A" rating by the NRA.
Then there is David Greene who bills himself as, "The lean mean freedom fighting machine." He claims stats prove only 0.4% of all American deaths are by firearms while 24% are the result of abortions. David Hill brags he has never held political office before and tells us Horn has ignored the rising cost of American health care while supporting, "socialized medicine." Businesswoman Terry Neese wants to lower taxes--she isn't clear for who--make the borders strong and promote Oklahoma, "values." And finally there is Merideth VanSant who simply wants to defend the second amendment and get, "big government," out of our lives.
There is also talk former OKC Mayor, Mick Cornett might make a run, but he is currently mum on the prospect.
In addition to all the aforementioned yahoos, Horn will have to deal with the Gaylord family's former publication, The Oklahoman. Despite a couple of ownership changes it remains virulently conservative. Periodically the paper likes to run front page stories with headlines such as, "Horn Votes With Democrats," and "Horn Supports Pelosi." Previously, keeping us up to date on the votes of 5th district representatives, at least on page one, wasn't, let's say, a priority for them.
Yes, 2016 might be a difficult year for Kendra Horn to survive. She could well be doomed no matter how she votes on impeachment. After all, just being a democrat will be enough for her eventual opponent to accuse her of Marxist politics and acts of pedophilia in the basements of pizza joints.
Hey, that's how the GOP rolls these days--there are no lies too savage and outlandish to tell. It is a fact of life all of us, including the Congresswoman, are just going to have to deal with.
10-8-19
As strange as it might seem now, ages ago Oklahoma was solidly blue, at least in local elections. However, by the 1970's the voting public was making a hard right turn. Jarman might not of been the brightest of bulbs, but he realized the wind was changing. In January of 1975, hoping to save himself, he became a republican. It didn't work. Within a year he knew his goose was cooked, so he retired.
Over the years the district's boundaries have shifted as they all do. For the last decade, or two it has encompassed nearly all of Oklahoma County, which means Oklahoma City, Pottawatomie County to the east, and Seminole County, even further out in the woods.
Then another shift began creep through the district ever so slowly. As Oklahoma City's population grew and became more diverse increasing numbers of voters started casting their ballots for democrats. So much so, even though the seat remained in the hands of republicans, democratic candidates for the office were winning in OKC proper by small margins.
Last year, the worm, as they say, at long last turned. Two time republican incumbent Steve Russell was stunned when he lost to new comer democrat, Kendra Horn. It was a razor thin victory. Horn garnered 50.7% of the vote to Russell's 49.3%. The difference was less than 3,500 ballots.
There were a couple of factors in play during that election. First, Russell--whose main claim to fame was pissing off a bunch of his suburban supporters by not being conservative enough--ran what could best be called a somnambulant campaign. Second, because of Russell's nonchalance and it being a mid term election nearly 42,000 fewer 5th district voters showed up at the polls than they did in 2016.
Congresswoman Horn will not have those advantages in 2020.
Donald John Trump will loom like a great orange whale over next November and his base will be whipped into a frenzy. Ms. Horn has already drawn seven republican opponents and each one of them is a certified rip roaring right wing fire breather.
As of right now they are, Janet Barresi, a former State School Superintendent who lost her bid for a second term in office. Dan Belcher, who is demanding Horn resign if she votes in favor of impeaching the President because, according to him, doing so will violate her oath of office. Plus there is former State Senator Stephanie Bice, who has been endorsed by Oklahoma Right to Life and has received an, "A" rating by the NRA.
Then there is David Greene who bills himself as, "The lean mean freedom fighting machine." He claims stats prove only 0.4% of all American deaths are by firearms while 24% are the result of abortions. David Hill brags he has never held political office before and tells us Horn has ignored the rising cost of American health care while supporting, "socialized medicine." Businesswoman Terry Neese wants to lower taxes--she isn't clear for who--make the borders strong and promote Oklahoma, "values." And finally there is Merideth VanSant who simply wants to defend the second amendment and get, "big government," out of our lives.
There is also talk former OKC Mayor, Mick Cornett might make a run, but he is currently mum on the prospect.
In addition to all the aforementioned yahoos, Horn will have to deal with the Gaylord family's former publication, The Oklahoman. Despite a couple of ownership changes it remains virulently conservative. Periodically the paper likes to run front page stories with headlines such as, "Horn Votes With Democrats," and "Horn Supports Pelosi." Previously, keeping us up to date on the votes of 5th district representatives, at least on page one, wasn't, let's say, a priority for them.
Yes, 2016 might be a difficult year for Kendra Horn to survive. She could well be doomed no matter how she votes on impeachment. After all, just being a democrat will be enough for her eventual opponent to accuse her of Marxist politics and acts of pedophilia in the basements of pizza joints.
Hey, that's how the GOP rolls these days--there are no lies too savage and outlandish to tell. It is a fact of life all of us, including the Congresswoman, are just going to have to deal with.
10-8-19
Friday, October 4, 2019
America: Abandon All Sanity Ye Who Enter Here
There are many words you can use to describe Donald J. Trump, however, "subtle," will never be one of them. No, when you go in front of the world's press and openly ask two foreign governments--neither of which are renowned for the objectiveness of their justice systems--to investigate your political rival and his son, subtle isn't a term which comes to mind. Especially when you consider both of them, Ukraine and China, have much to gain by pleasing The Leader of the Free World.
Mr. Trump's defense of his attempted extortion is he has an absolute right, yea, duty, to root out corruption by any means possible, including the use of foreign powers. He is the first of 45 U.S. Presidents to come to that dubious conclusion. Of course he is also the first to offer frequent guest points to foreign dignitaries who stay at his hotels so there are plenty of new precedents being set these days.
The self proclaimed, "stable genius," has also offered up that the investigations of Joe and Hunter Biden have nothing to do with next year's election. However, when asked by a member of the media if he has ever prodded a foreign government to investigate an American not running against him his response was, "We'll have to look into that."
You do that, Mr. President and please get back to us later so we can find out any of our names are on your list.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee's response to the increasingly savage attacks on Biden has been practically non-existent. We can thank the 2016 election for their reluctance to strike back. After Hillary Clinton won the nomination, the ardent followers of Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders cried foul long and hard. Their bitter complaints that the supposedly neutral DNC had rigged the nomination process in favor of Mrs. Clinton weren't completely without merit. To this day there is no telling how many of Sanders' true believers stayed home on election day that year in protest.
To avoid the same disaster in 2020 there is no way the national committee can even appear to help candidate Biden. To do so would prompt the left wing to accuse them of doing the same thing during this election cycle. In fact more than a few on the left edge have already taken to social media arguing there is only one way to avoid Trump's obsessive mania for Biden's head and the run amok disinformation campaign which has already begun. Predictably their solution is don't nominate the former Vice President.
This strategy is rather akin to Neville Chamberlain's when the pre WWII British Prime Minister was attempting to deal with the late, unlamented, Herr Hitler. You know, give him what he wants and he'll shut up and go away. Yeah, that didn't really work out did it.
Indeed, no matter who the nominee, the Trump fanatics will attack him, or her with outrageous lies, conspiracies, and crude vitriol.
Think not? Hey, they already have.
On Wednesday, alt right troll, Jacob Wohl held a, "press conference," in an Arlington, VA driveway. He claimed Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is in her 70's had a torrid affair with a 24 year old marine a couple of years ago. A sign nearby said, "Elizabeth Warren, Cougar?" The response wasn't exactly what Wohl anticipated. One Twitter user put it this way, "If she can nail a 24 year old marine she's got my vote."
Warren responded to the stupidity with a tweet of her own. It read, "It is always a good day to be reminded that I got where I am today because a great education was available for $50 a semester at the University of Houston (go Cougars!). We need to cancel student debt and make college free for everyone who wants it." The tweet included a University of Houston mascot logo, a snarling red and blue cougar.
Then, the other night, a woman claiming to be a climate activist showed up at town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez isn't running for the White House, although republicans wish she was. The seemingly unhinged woman told the crowd since climate change will end the world in a couple of months the Representative's campaign should advocate we begin eating babies. Moments later social media exploded with memes saying Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's supporters were in favor of this new and grotesque entree on the menu. Within an hour it was learned the, "activist," worked for a pro Trump Political Action Committee founded by the late Lyndon LaRouche.
Yes, it doesn't matter who the democrats nominate. The truth is he, or she is going to face this sort of deranged shit from both, Don Trump and his hit men.
It is, in the end, new age, American internet politics. At this point someone should hang another plaque on the Statue of Liberty reading, "Abandon All Sanity Ye Who Enter Here."
Well that and, "Oppose Trump and you will be investigated by anyone he strong arms."
10-4-19
Mr. Trump's defense of his attempted extortion is he has an absolute right, yea, duty, to root out corruption by any means possible, including the use of foreign powers. He is the first of 45 U.S. Presidents to come to that dubious conclusion. Of course he is also the first to offer frequent guest points to foreign dignitaries who stay at his hotels so there are plenty of new precedents being set these days.
The self proclaimed, "stable genius," has also offered up that the investigations of Joe and Hunter Biden have nothing to do with next year's election. However, when asked by a member of the media if he has ever prodded a foreign government to investigate an American not running against him his response was, "We'll have to look into that."
You do that, Mr. President and please get back to us later so we can find out any of our names are on your list.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee's response to the increasingly savage attacks on Biden has been practically non-existent. We can thank the 2016 election for their reluctance to strike back. After Hillary Clinton won the nomination, the ardent followers of Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders cried foul long and hard. Their bitter complaints that the supposedly neutral DNC had rigged the nomination process in favor of Mrs. Clinton weren't completely without merit. To this day there is no telling how many of Sanders' true believers stayed home on election day that year in protest.
To avoid the same disaster in 2020 there is no way the national committee can even appear to help candidate Biden. To do so would prompt the left wing to accuse them of doing the same thing during this election cycle. In fact more than a few on the left edge have already taken to social media arguing there is only one way to avoid Trump's obsessive mania for Biden's head and the run amok disinformation campaign which has already begun. Predictably their solution is don't nominate the former Vice President.
This strategy is rather akin to Neville Chamberlain's when the pre WWII British Prime Minister was attempting to deal with the late, unlamented, Herr Hitler. You know, give him what he wants and he'll shut up and go away. Yeah, that didn't really work out did it.
Indeed, no matter who the nominee, the Trump fanatics will attack him, or her with outrageous lies, conspiracies, and crude vitriol.
Think not? Hey, they already have.
On Wednesday, alt right troll, Jacob Wohl held a, "press conference," in an Arlington, VA driveway. He claimed Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is in her 70's had a torrid affair with a 24 year old marine a couple of years ago. A sign nearby said, "Elizabeth Warren, Cougar?" The response wasn't exactly what Wohl anticipated. One Twitter user put it this way, "If she can nail a 24 year old marine she's got my vote."
Warren responded to the stupidity with a tweet of her own. It read, "It is always a good day to be reminded that I got where I am today because a great education was available for $50 a semester at the University of Houston (go Cougars!). We need to cancel student debt and make college free for everyone who wants it." The tweet included a University of Houston mascot logo, a snarling red and blue cougar.
Then, the other night, a woman claiming to be a climate activist showed up at town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez isn't running for the White House, although republicans wish she was. The seemingly unhinged woman told the crowd since climate change will end the world in a couple of months the Representative's campaign should advocate we begin eating babies. Moments later social media exploded with memes saying Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's supporters were in favor of this new and grotesque entree on the menu. Within an hour it was learned the, "activist," worked for a pro Trump Political Action Committee founded by the late Lyndon LaRouche.
Yes, it doesn't matter who the democrats nominate. The truth is he, or she is going to face this sort of deranged shit from both, Don Trump and his hit men.
It is, in the end, new age, American internet politics. At this point someone should hang another plaque on the Statue of Liberty reading, "Abandon All Sanity Ye Who Enter Here."
Well that and, "Oppose Trump and you will be investigated by anyone he strong arms."
10-4-19
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