The AP reported that last night the North Carolina republican party became outraged during the speech delivered by democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine. Their twitter account called it, "shameful," he was wearing a lapel pin depicting the emblem of a foreign country while he was accepting the nomination. The claim was Kaine's lapel pin was the flag of Honduras, a country he had done missionary work in years ago.
It was nonsense of course. The story said a reporter from Albany, New York's, WNYT, Ben Amey quickly went on Twitter to point out the lapel pin displayed the symbol worn by family members of men and women serving in the military. It had nothing to do with Honduras, or any other nation.
To their credit, the NC GOP quickly deleted the tweet, apologized to Kaine, and thanked Amey for noticing their mistake. What they didn't do, however was say a single word about what their candidate had said earlier in the day.
At a press conference that morning, Donald J. Trump, the republican nominee for president of these United States pleaded, "Russia, if your listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be mightily rewarded by our press."
When asked if he was actually urging a foreign nation to hack into Mrs. Clinton's emails he responded with gibberish by saying, "That's up to the president. Let the president talk to them."
I'm sorry, but does anyone know what that means?
Later a reporter asked Trump if he would call on Vladimir Putin not to meddle in the American election. He answered, "I'm not going to tell Putin what to do. Why should I tell Putin what to do?"
Left unsaid, but understood, were the words, "Especially if it benefits me."
This borderline criminality follows on the heels of the release of stolen Democratic National Committee emails--which should have never been thought of, much less written--by WikiLeaks. How Julian Assange's outfit got hold of them remains up in the air.
Most administration sources believe the Russians gave them to WikiLeaks in an effort to sabotage the campaign of Hillary Clinton. The Russkies are denying they ever get involved secretly, or otherwise with the elections of other countries. While that claim is a bit dubious, we do know, Assange, an Australian citizen, is more than happy to admit he is trying to interfere with the American out come in November.
Assange, now a permanent guest of the Ecuadorians in their London embassy, said just that in June during an interview with Britain's ITV. He also says the leak was timed to inflict the maximum amount of damage to Clinton's candidacy. In fact he promises more stolen emails specifically aimed to sink the boat known as the U.S.S Hillary Clinton.
Last night on FOX, Newt Gingrich laughed off the entire affair, while the NC state party and national republicans shrugged and turned their heads.
All of which begs the question, what would have been the GOP and right wing media reaction if Barack H. Obama and Assange had pulled the same sort of shit in 2008?
Demands for congressional hearings and impeachment from the senate would have been the least of Obama's problems. Calls for incarceration and a firing squad certainly would have echoed throughout the land.
But we're not dealing with an African-American liberal this time around are we? Not hardly. Now we're looking at a big ol' white fat cat running against a woman who is so hated by the right wing they'll excuse anything he says.
Trump has run amok unchallenged for so long he has absolutely no fear of spewing whatever pops into his squirming brain. Just ask Ted Cruz's father.
In the event, El Don does feel a bump of resistance he immediately comes up with an excuse for his behavior so lame--today it was he was being sarcastic when he appealed to Russia--it is the equivalent of a teenager saying the family dog ate his homework.
The truth is, Donald John Trump is a narcissistic sociopath with a hair trigger who is completely unqualified to be president. The republicans know it, but in the end, because of their loathing of Hillary Clinton, they're willing to put the entire nation at risk. The theory appears to be once he is in office they can either rein him in, or, he'll magically become sane.
Yeah, well that same train of thought didn't work out for a lot of Germans around eight decades ago did it.?
No it didn't. And--if history has taught us anything--it's that it won't now.
sic vita est
7-28-16
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
The Democratic Convention: Nihilistic Idealism, the Specter of Ralph Nader, and the Second Most Progressive Moment in American Political History
If anyone wants to see the real difference between the modern democratic and republican parties all you have to do is take a look at television shots of the two convention floors. Last week in Cleveland there was a nearly unbroken sea of white faces. Compare that to last night in Philadelphia where you were met by a vast tapestry of ethnic and racial diversity which truly mirrors 21st century America.
Of course that doesn't mean everyone in Philly was happy yesterday. In fact some of the die hard Bernie Sanders' fans were not just inconsolable, they were down right pissed. So much so they're refusing to do what their candidate is now asking of them--support Hillary Rodham Clinton. They are mostly young and for many of them this is their first serious foray into presidential politics.
It's not like we haven't seen this before. Their idealism and at times immaturity, is so super heated it drives them straight into behavior which can only be described as nihilistic. I know because a little over 40 years ago I was one of them. And what did I get for my trouble? Over five years of Dick, fucking, Nixon.
Actually we don't have to go that far back to see how the left edge can lead us into disaster. Just ask, Al Gore. Without Ralph Nader in the mix we wouldn't have been stuck with George W. Bush for two terms. A White House not infested by either Bush, or Cheney would have certainly kept us out of the deadly morass of an endless war in Iraq. It could have also meant the worst economic disaster since the great depression wouldn't have happened.
None of that matters right now to the howling cadre of Sanders' fanatics. Neither does cold reality. Let's face it, even if Sanders were to win the presidency, he wouldn't be able to get a single piece of his program through a house of representatives which will still be teeming with mouth breathing tea party wankers after election day.
On the upside, after Debbie Wasserman Schultz was sacked for good reason, last night's speakers addressed the convention with varying degrees of success. Michelle Obama and Anastasia Somoza were particularly eloquent and moving. Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren, although earnest and enthusiastic, both delivered speeches which seemed a tad canned. Sanders himself did everything Clinton could have possibly hoped for when it came to supporting her.
So much so, it moved Don Trump to tweet about how it was sad to see Senator Sanders abandoning his "revolution." Later he tweeted that Sanders had, "Totally sold out to crooked Hillary Clinton." There was no mention of, Ted Cruz who was assailed as treasonous by the GOP candidate and his staff last week after he didn't sell out.
Well what can you expect from a guy whose concept of the truth is it's whatever pops into his diseased brain at any given moment?
Various democratic pols and media types claim 80% of Sanders' people are currently in line to support Secretary Clinton. Where they got that number and how accurate it is remains to be seen. What we do know is green party candidate, Jill Stein is circling the convention like a vulture actively recruiting Sanders' supporters.
Tonight, despite the passion and fury of the young and naïve, Hillary Rodham Clinton will become the first woman nominated by any major party for the office of president of the United States. And despite the denials and boos, her nomination will be the second most progressive moment in the history of American politics.
While most of us justly celebrate such a thing there are a vocal few who should come to accept it and move on. After all, there is real evil afoot in the land and it must be confronted by all of us during this campaign.
sic vita est
7-26-17
Of course that doesn't mean everyone in Philly was happy yesterday. In fact some of the die hard Bernie Sanders' fans were not just inconsolable, they were down right pissed. So much so they're refusing to do what their candidate is now asking of them--support Hillary Rodham Clinton. They are mostly young and for many of them this is their first serious foray into presidential politics.
It's not like we haven't seen this before. Their idealism and at times immaturity, is so super heated it drives them straight into behavior which can only be described as nihilistic. I know because a little over 40 years ago I was one of them. And what did I get for my trouble? Over five years of Dick, fucking, Nixon.
Actually we don't have to go that far back to see how the left edge can lead us into disaster. Just ask, Al Gore. Without Ralph Nader in the mix we wouldn't have been stuck with George W. Bush for two terms. A White House not infested by either Bush, or Cheney would have certainly kept us out of the deadly morass of an endless war in Iraq. It could have also meant the worst economic disaster since the great depression wouldn't have happened.
None of that matters right now to the howling cadre of Sanders' fanatics. Neither does cold reality. Let's face it, even if Sanders were to win the presidency, he wouldn't be able to get a single piece of his program through a house of representatives which will still be teeming with mouth breathing tea party wankers after election day.
On the upside, after Debbie Wasserman Schultz was sacked for good reason, last night's speakers addressed the convention with varying degrees of success. Michelle Obama and Anastasia Somoza were particularly eloquent and moving. Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren, although earnest and enthusiastic, both delivered speeches which seemed a tad canned. Sanders himself did everything Clinton could have possibly hoped for when it came to supporting her.
So much so, it moved Don Trump to tweet about how it was sad to see Senator Sanders abandoning his "revolution." Later he tweeted that Sanders had, "Totally sold out to crooked Hillary Clinton." There was no mention of, Ted Cruz who was assailed as treasonous by the GOP candidate and his staff last week after he didn't sell out.
Well what can you expect from a guy whose concept of the truth is it's whatever pops into his diseased brain at any given moment?
Various democratic pols and media types claim 80% of Sanders' people are currently in line to support Secretary Clinton. Where they got that number and how accurate it is remains to be seen. What we do know is green party candidate, Jill Stein is circling the convention like a vulture actively recruiting Sanders' supporters.
Tonight, despite the passion and fury of the young and naïve, Hillary Rodham Clinton will become the first woman nominated by any major party for the office of president of the United States. And despite the denials and boos, her nomination will be the second most progressive moment in the history of American politics.
While most of us justly celebrate such a thing there are a vocal few who should come to accept it and move on. After all, there is real evil afoot in the land and it must be confronted by all of us during this campaign.
sic vita est
7-26-17
Saturday, July 23, 2016
The Long Wait For Both Jaymie Adams and Joe Cyr
It seems like a long time ago and in many ways it is. On December 10th, 2011, 25 year old Jaymie Adams went to a Midwest City, Oklahoma McDonald's in the middle of the night to meet a, "friend." At least that is how her husband Justin put it to police after he reported her missing.
It was the first in a series of lies Brother Adams would initially tell the cops. Since he wasn't the brightest of bulbs his line of bullshit came unglued quickly and completely. So much so, when Jaymie Adams' body was found with a broken jaw and 30 stab wounds not quite a month later, the police immediately fixated on him as her killer.
Local media outlets quickly reported this branch of the Adams family considered themselves swingers--well, sort of. In fact, Justin Adams had been taking out semi literate ads on Craigslist offering his wife to "any man" who would help them with their bills. In other words, he was the pimp and she was, seemingly, his willing hooker.
Adams was accused of murder, but try as they might the DA's office couldn't make things stick. In fact the whole case against Justin Adams was such a cluster fuck he was finally allowed out of the county lockup with an ankle monitor, despite two first degree murder charges still pending against him. The first was for his wife's death. The second, for the death of her two month old fetus.
In the early spring of 2013 police and the DA decided the real perpetrator was a man named Joseph Cyr. On April 4th of that year they charged him with the same two counts of first degree murder. Because everyone involved in the investigation and prosecution desperately needed to save face and Adams was considered one twisted son of a bitch, the District Attorney's office refused to let him off. The charges against him were dropped to manslaughter. The logic was he knowingly put his wife in imminent danger by sending her out to pull down tricks.
After the DA promised 10 years of probation and no further jail time in exchange for a guilty plea, Adams, at least figuratively, threw his hands up in the air and said fine. He is out there right now, somewhere. It's unknown if he has returned to swinging.
As for Cyr, he has been denied bond on at least two different occasions and has remained incarcerated without a trial for over three years. After motions and counter motions by both the prosecution and his public defender the first trial date was set for December 8th, 2014. Then it was reset for May 18th, 2015. Before the 18th arrived it was rescheduled again to November 16th, 2015, then delayed until December 7th the same year.
As you can probably guess the trial was postponed once more until January 25th, 2016. On that date, in the courtroom of Judge Cindy Truong, jury selection took place. Testimony was to begin on the 26th.
But it didn't happen. Public defender Jacob Benedict, fell ill the night of the 25th and had to be hospitalized. The jury was dismissed and the trial of Joe Cyr was put on hold indefinitely.
In April, Judge Truong rescheduled the proceedings. Cyr's latest appearance in court is scheduled for October 17th of this year. It is unclear if Mr. Benedict will still be his attorney.
So there we have it. In this squalid and deadly affair that whole right to a speedy trial thing seems to have been the victim of not only legal maneuvering on both sides, but fate itself.
Cyr maintains his innocence. He says he spoke to Jaymie Adams on the phone that night, but decided against hooking up with her. The DA's office claims to have a video showing Cyr buying merchandise from a nearby Wal-Mart, some of which turned up close to the body. They also say there is DNA evidence.
While that's all fine and good, the only thing we truly know right now is in this case, for both the victim, Jaymie Adams and the defendant, Joseph Cyr, justice has not been served well.
Given all the players involved and the current state of the Oklahoma court system why isn't that a surprise?
Indeed, as a wise person once said, "It might be cruel, but around here it sure ain't unusual."
sic vita est
7-23-16
It was the first in a series of lies Brother Adams would initially tell the cops. Since he wasn't the brightest of bulbs his line of bullshit came unglued quickly and completely. So much so, when Jaymie Adams' body was found with a broken jaw and 30 stab wounds not quite a month later, the police immediately fixated on him as her killer.
Local media outlets quickly reported this branch of the Adams family considered themselves swingers--well, sort of. In fact, Justin Adams had been taking out semi literate ads on Craigslist offering his wife to "any man" who would help them with their bills. In other words, he was the pimp and she was, seemingly, his willing hooker.
Adams was accused of murder, but try as they might the DA's office couldn't make things stick. In fact the whole case against Justin Adams was such a cluster fuck he was finally allowed out of the county lockup with an ankle monitor, despite two first degree murder charges still pending against him. The first was for his wife's death. The second, for the death of her two month old fetus.
In the early spring of 2013 police and the DA decided the real perpetrator was a man named Joseph Cyr. On April 4th of that year they charged him with the same two counts of first degree murder. Because everyone involved in the investigation and prosecution desperately needed to save face and Adams was considered one twisted son of a bitch, the District Attorney's office refused to let him off. The charges against him were dropped to manslaughter. The logic was he knowingly put his wife in imminent danger by sending her out to pull down tricks.
After the DA promised 10 years of probation and no further jail time in exchange for a guilty plea, Adams, at least figuratively, threw his hands up in the air and said fine. He is out there right now, somewhere. It's unknown if he has returned to swinging.
As for Cyr, he has been denied bond on at least two different occasions and has remained incarcerated without a trial for over three years. After motions and counter motions by both the prosecution and his public defender the first trial date was set for December 8th, 2014. Then it was reset for May 18th, 2015. Before the 18th arrived it was rescheduled again to November 16th, 2015, then delayed until December 7th the same year.
As you can probably guess the trial was postponed once more until January 25th, 2016. On that date, in the courtroom of Judge Cindy Truong, jury selection took place. Testimony was to begin on the 26th.
But it didn't happen. Public defender Jacob Benedict, fell ill the night of the 25th and had to be hospitalized. The jury was dismissed and the trial of Joe Cyr was put on hold indefinitely.
In April, Judge Truong rescheduled the proceedings. Cyr's latest appearance in court is scheduled for October 17th of this year. It is unclear if Mr. Benedict will still be his attorney.
So there we have it. In this squalid and deadly affair that whole right to a speedy trial thing seems to have been the victim of not only legal maneuvering on both sides, but fate itself.
Cyr maintains his innocence. He says he spoke to Jaymie Adams on the phone that night, but decided against hooking up with her. The DA's office claims to have a video showing Cyr buying merchandise from a nearby Wal-Mart, some of which turned up close to the body. They also say there is DNA evidence.
While that's all fine and good, the only thing we truly know right now is in this case, for both the victim, Jaymie Adams and the defendant, Joseph Cyr, justice has not been served well.
Given all the players involved and the current state of the Oklahoma court system why isn't that a surprise?
Indeed, as a wise person once said, "It might be cruel, but around here it sure ain't unusual."
sic vita est
7-23-16
Thursday, July 21, 2016
The Republican Convention: Extreme Vitriol, Admitting Plagiarism, Rubio's Hostage Video, Buzzing Ted, and the Same Old Problems
Well you have to give it to republican politicians. They've made an art form out of not knowing where to draw the line during oratory.
First we had Ben Carson, the somnambulate doctor who gave up neurosurgery so he could fail miserably at presidential politics. The night before last he linked Hillary Clinton to Lucifer himself, although to do so he had to go through a man name Saul Alinsky. Alinsky was a far left community organizer, writer, and provocateur who authored the book, "Rules for Radicals." On the dedication page there is a tongue and cheek acknowledgement to Lucifer.
According to Carson's logic, Alinsky was Clinton's mentor and friend, therefore Clinton must also be a friend and devotee of Lucifer. The apocalyptic interpretation of Alinsky's words caused author Salman Rushdie to tweet, "Can't expect Ben Carson to recognize irony, or humor."
Clinton has previously written she had, "fundamental disagreements," with Alinsky, although they did know each other and he offered her a job--one she turned down.
Then we have Al Baldasaro, a New Hampshire state representative who advises Don Trump on veteran affairs. He went straight to the heart of the matter when he showed up on a radio show and said, "Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason." It was a statement so well thought out the Secret Service immediately paid Mr. Baldasaro a visit.
Yesterday around midday Meredith McIver, who has ghost written several books for Trump, admitted she was the person who plagiarized a chunk of words from Michelle Obama then gave them to Melania Trump to read in front of 35 million, or so people.
McIver's memo must have been missed by El Don's campaign manager, Paul Manafort. Earlier that morning he was still claiming none of Mrs. Trump's speech had been stolen from the address given by the soon to be first lady at the democratic convention in 2008.
Last night Marco Rubio appeared in a 90 second video, endorsing Trump. His brief appearance was so utterly devoid of human emotion one wag noted it had the look and feel of a hostage video.
Earlier yesterday the school yard fight between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz sank to new lows. The always presidential Trump took time out from his schedule to have his aircraft buzz an outdoor gathering of Cruz supporters while the Texas senator spoke to them.
After Rubio's zombie like snippet, Cruz went on stage with that smarmy, condescending, smile he has perfected over the years plastered onto his mug. As always he said a lot of things, but none of it included, "I endorse Donald Trump." Boos turned to cheers when Trump stepped out into the gallery before Cruz was done speaking, effectively stealing the cameras and attention from the senator.
This morning, Cruz told supporters, "I'm not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and who attack my father. I will not be a servile puppy dog to the Trump campaign."
Actually the senator has a point. During the primary season Trump released an extremely unflattering photo of Cruz's wife next to an air brushed one of Melania along with a question about who you would prefer as the first lady. He also tweeted he was ready to, "spill the beans," on Mrs. Cruz. Later the candidate accused Cruz's father of being an associate of Kennedy assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. These horrific attacks caused the senator to go ballistic and call Trump a pathological liar on more than one occasion.
All of which begs two questions. Why would Ted Cruz speak to the convention at all and why would Trump let him? Theories range from, last night was Cruz's first speech of the 2020 campaign, to Don Trump simply likes chaos. There is merit to both possibilities. Personally, I lean toward the latter.
In the end the only true pro who appeared on stage last night was Trump's running mate, Mike Pence. Pence gave a well delivered address which was everything you want from a vice presidential candidate. He savaged Hillary Clinton while giving Donald Trump the rhetorical equivalent of a blow job.
It will be over tonight after the big orange guy delivers his acceptance speech. The media reviews of the convention are what you'd expect. MSNBC and CNN have rated it as a mad house of confusion and rank political amateurism, while, if your believe FOX it has been unified bliss, brotherhood, and enthusiasm.
The truth is the GOP has the same problems it did four years ago. Of the 2,472 delegates only 18 are African Americans. And in a telephone survey of 200 Hispanic republicans, 120 said they can never vote for Donald Trump.
Does this mean Secretary Clinton will win by a landslide in November? Not hardly. She has excess baggage which she cannot shake and Trump and Pence will be hammer her on it nearly hourly between now and election day.
Besides, if we've learned anything this week, it's the howling mob in Cleveland might hate each other, but they despise Hillary Rodham Clinton even more. Yes, that old proverb, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," has never been truer when it comes to this republican party.
Ladies and gentlemen, despite the early hour, the bar is open.
7-21-16
First we had Ben Carson, the somnambulate doctor who gave up neurosurgery so he could fail miserably at presidential politics. The night before last he linked Hillary Clinton to Lucifer himself, although to do so he had to go through a man name Saul Alinsky. Alinsky was a far left community organizer, writer, and provocateur who authored the book, "Rules for Radicals." On the dedication page there is a tongue and cheek acknowledgement to Lucifer.
According to Carson's logic, Alinsky was Clinton's mentor and friend, therefore Clinton must also be a friend and devotee of Lucifer. The apocalyptic interpretation of Alinsky's words caused author Salman Rushdie to tweet, "Can't expect Ben Carson to recognize irony, or humor."
Clinton has previously written she had, "fundamental disagreements," with Alinsky, although they did know each other and he offered her a job--one she turned down.
Then we have Al Baldasaro, a New Hampshire state representative who advises Don Trump on veteran affairs. He went straight to the heart of the matter when he showed up on a radio show and said, "Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason." It was a statement so well thought out the Secret Service immediately paid Mr. Baldasaro a visit.
Yesterday around midday Meredith McIver, who has ghost written several books for Trump, admitted she was the person who plagiarized a chunk of words from Michelle Obama then gave them to Melania Trump to read in front of 35 million, or so people.
McIver's memo must have been missed by El Don's campaign manager, Paul Manafort. Earlier that morning he was still claiming none of Mrs. Trump's speech had been stolen from the address given by the soon to be first lady at the democratic convention in 2008.
Last night Marco Rubio appeared in a 90 second video, endorsing Trump. His brief appearance was so utterly devoid of human emotion one wag noted it had the look and feel of a hostage video.
Earlier yesterday the school yard fight between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz sank to new lows. The always presidential Trump took time out from his schedule to have his aircraft buzz an outdoor gathering of Cruz supporters while the Texas senator spoke to them.
After Rubio's zombie like snippet, Cruz went on stage with that smarmy, condescending, smile he has perfected over the years plastered onto his mug. As always he said a lot of things, but none of it included, "I endorse Donald Trump." Boos turned to cheers when Trump stepped out into the gallery before Cruz was done speaking, effectively stealing the cameras and attention from the senator.
This morning, Cruz told supporters, "I'm not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and who attack my father. I will not be a servile puppy dog to the Trump campaign."
Actually the senator has a point. During the primary season Trump released an extremely unflattering photo of Cruz's wife next to an air brushed one of Melania along with a question about who you would prefer as the first lady. He also tweeted he was ready to, "spill the beans," on Mrs. Cruz. Later the candidate accused Cruz's father of being an associate of Kennedy assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. These horrific attacks caused the senator to go ballistic and call Trump a pathological liar on more than one occasion.
All of which begs two questions. Why would Ted Cruz speak to the convention at all and why would Trump let him? Theories range from, last night was Cruz's first speech of the 2020 campaign, to Don Trump simply likes chaos. There is merit to both possibilities. Personally, I lean toward the latter.
In the end the only true pro who appeared on stage last night was Trump's running mate, Mike Pence. Pence gave a well delivered address which was everything you want from a vice presidential candidate. He savaged Hillary Clinton while giving Donald Trump the rhetorical equivalent of a blow job.
It will be over tonight after the big orange guy delivers his acceptance speech. The media reviews of the convention are what you'd expect. MSNBC and CNN have rated it as a mad house of confusion and rank political amateurism, while, if your believe FOX it has been unified bliss, brotherhood, and enthusiasm.
The truth is the GOP has the same problems it did four years ago. Of the 2,472 delegates only 18 are African Americans. And in a telephone survey of 200 Hispanic republicans, 120 said they can never vote for Donald Trump.
Does this mean Secretary Clinton will win by a landslide in November? Not hardly. She has excess baggage which she cannot shake and Trump and Pence will be hammer her on it nearly hourly between now and election day.
Besides, if we've learned anything this week, it's the howling mob in Cleveland might hate each other, but they despise Hillary Rodham Clinton even more. Yes, that old proverb, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," has never been truer when it comes to this republican party.
Ladies and gentlemen, despite the early hour, the bar is open.
7-21-16
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Day One of the Republican National Convention: Stealing Entrances and Speeches
The first day of the republican national convention is in the books and here is what we've learned.
First, Donald Trump's initial entrance onto the speaker's platform was stolen straight from any number of episodes of WWE Smack Down.
For those of you uninitiated in the world of professional wrestling, Smack Down and other shows like it primarily feature men who possess bulging biceps and wear far too much hair gel. They come into packed arenas accompanied by pyrotechnical displays, loud rock music, intense back lighting, and fake fog. Yesterday in Cleveland, Brother Trump eschewed the pyro display, but he did go with the back lighting, fake fog, and part of the classic rock anthem, "We Are the Champions." The song was played without permission from the band, Queen, who quickly condemned his unauthorized use of it.
But let's not digress. In the world of the WWE the contestants assault each other with a fair amount of genuine athleticism and a high degree of fake violence which drives the crowds at sold out venues into a wild frenzy. This despite the fact everyone there knows the outcome of the matches are predetermined and the wrestling is actually more akin to movie stunt work than a real sport.
When not attacking each other the performers grab microphones and address their exuberant audiences with language skills normally associated with 10th grade drop outs. During these harangues, filled with tortured syntax and incomplete sentences, they promise their fans further victories while throwing out threats and crude insults to their opponents.
Does any of that sound familiar to those of you who have listened to Donald J. Trump speak?
That's right, Don Trump, the next republican presidential nominee, learned his political and speaking skills not from Lincoln, Reagan, or even Dick Nixon, but rather Hulk Hogan, the late, Roddy Piper, and Vince McMahon. And last night, as it has been this entire campaign, it was on display.
The second thing we learned from the proceedings is that while Trump's wife, Melania is a cool and composed speaker she's also a stone cold plagiarist.
Her well received speech was grudgingly acknowledged by even the most liberal of commentators to be smooth and spot on. Then a guy named Jarrett Hill, who had heard some of it before got onto social media.
Within a half hour the crew at MSNBC had dredged up a speech made by Michelle Obama at the 2008 democratic convention. Melania Trump had used over two meaty paragraphs of it, nearly word for word.
Even though earlier in the day Mrs. Trump had assured NBC's Matt Lauer on tape she had written almost the entire thing herself, MSNBC's panel tried to go easy on her. To a person they blamed unknown speech writers, who they said, "did her a great disservice."
Today, as we should have known, Trump's people, including campaign manager, Paul Manafort began a spin that is best described as an exercise in absurdity. Manafort and others claim none of the speech was taken from Mrs. Obama's eight year old address, despite repeated side by side video comparisons which conclusively proves it was.
Manafort even went so far as to blame Hillary Clinton for the entire hubbub, saying, "I mean this is once again an example of when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton how she seeks out to demean her and take her down. It's not going to work." He also said, "I mean she (Mrs. Trump) was speaking in front of 35 million people last night, she knew that. To think that she would be cribbing Michelle Obama's words is crazy."
Of course Hillary Clinton had absolutely nothing to do with either the speech, or blowing the whistle on it. On the other hand saying crazy shit has become a hallmark of Trump's run for the presidency. After all, we're still searching for those tens of thousands of Muslims celebrating in New Jersey the candidate claims to have seen on the day of the 9-11 attacks.
Well what do you expect? The truth is Trump and his campaign have a well documented history of vulgar lies and exaggerations. After they're exposed the man and his organization simply plows on without recanting any of them. The theory apparently being the public and media will forget his prior savage nonsense as soon as El Don changes the subject.
Tragically, so far, it's a plan that has worked.
Even today FOX News, treats the incident as a minor side bar to a successful start of the RNC--referring to it as, "accusations of some similarities between the speeches." The local republican newsletter, known as The Oklahoman didn't mention it at all.
Yes, by the time the convention is over hardly anyone will remember Melania Trump stole Michelle Obama's words. The Trump fans certainly won't care and the rest of us will be concentrating on the latest outrage perpetrated by their run amok nominee.
All in all it's an act ol' Rowdy Roddy Piper would have been proud of. That's right baby, screw reality, just keep the show loud and moving. Always keep the show loud and moving.
sic vita est
7-18-16
First, Donald Trump's initial entrance onto the speaker's platform was stolen straight from any number of episodes of WWE Smack Down.
For those of you uninitiated in the world of professional wrestling, Smack Down and other shows like it primarily feature men who possess bulging biceps and wear far too much hair gel. They come into packed arenas accompanied by pyrotechnical displays, loud rock music, intense back lighting, and fake fog. Yesterday in Cleveland, Brother Trump eschewed the pyro display, but he did go with the back lighting, fake fog, and part of the classic rock anthem, "We Are the Champions." The song was played without permission from the band, Queen, who quickly condemned his unauthorized use of it.
But let's not digress. In the world of the WWE the contestants assault each other with a fair amount of genuine athleticism and a high degree of fake violence which drives the crowds at sold out venues into a wild frenzy. This despite the fact everyone there knows the outcome of the matches are predetermined and the wrestling is actually more akin to movie stunt work than a real sport.
When not attacking each other the performers grab microphones and address their exuberant audiences with language skills normally associated with 10th grade drop outs. During these harangues, filled with tortured syntax and incomplete sentences, they promise their fans further victories while throwing out threats and crude insults to their opponents.
Does any of that sound familiar to those of you who have listened to Donald J. Trump speak?
That's right, Don Trump, the next republican presidential nominee, learned his political and speaking skills not from Lincoln, Reagan, or even Dick Nixon, but rather Hulk Hogan, the late, Roddy Piper, and Vince McMahon. And last night, as it has been this entire campaign, it was on display.
The second thing we learned from the proceedings is that while Trump's wife, Melania is a cool and composed speaker she's also a stone cold plagiarist.
Her well received speech was grudgingly acknowledged by even the most liberal of commentators to be smooth and spot on. Then a guy named Jarrett Hill, who had heard some of it before got onto social media.
Within a half hour the crew at MSNBC had dredged up a speech made by Michelle Obama at the 2008 democratic convention. Melania Trump had used over two meaty paragraphs of it, nearly word for word.
Even though earlier in the day Mrs. Trump had assured NBC's Matt Lauer on tape she had written almost the entire thing herself, MSNBC's panel tried to go easy on her. To a person they blamed unknown speech writers, who they said, "did her a great disservice."
Today, as we should have known, Trump's people, including campaign manager, Paul Manafort began a spin that is best described as an exercise in absurdity. Manafort and others claim none of the speech was taken from Mrs. Obama's eight year old address, despite repeated side by side video comparisons which conclusively proves it was.
Manafort even went so far as to blame Hillary Clinton for the entire hubbub, saying, "I mean this is once again an example of when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton how she seeks out to demean her and take her down. It's not going to work." He also said, "I mean she (Mrs. Trump) was speaking in front of 35 million people last night, she knew that. To think that she would be cribbing Michelle Obama's words is crazy."
Of course Hillary Clinton had absolutely nothing to do with either the speech, or blowing the whistle on it. On the other hand saying crazy shit has become a hallmark of Trump's run for the presidency. After all, we're still searching for those tens of thousands of Muslims celebrating in New Jersey the candidate claims to have seen on the day of the 9-11 attacks.
Well what do you expect? The truth is Trump and his campaign have a well documented history of vulgar lies and exaggerations. After they're exposed the man and his organization simply plows on without recanting any of them. The theory apparently being the public and media will forget his prior savage nonsense as soon as El Don changes the subject.
Tragically, so far, it's a plan that has worked.
Even today FOX News, treats the incident as a minor side bar to a successful start of the RNC--referring to it as, "accusations of some similarities between the speeches." The local republican newsletter, known as The Oklahoman didn't mention it at all.
Yes, by the time the convention is over hardly anyone will remember Melania Trump stole Michelle Obama's words. The Trump fans certainly won't care and the rest of us will be concentrating on the latest outrage perpetrated by their run amok nominee.
All in all it's an act ol' Rowdy Roddy Piper would have been proud of. That's right baby, screw reality, just keep the show loud and moving. Always keep the show loud and moving.
sic vita est
7-18-16
Saturday, July 16, 2016
The Week That Was: The Horror in Nice, A Pence for Your Thoughts, Bargain Hunting Nazis, The Samaritan in Tennessee of a Different Sort, and Dopes With Smart Phones
It has been a weird, nightmarish, week. One filled with so much stupidity, callousness, and extreme criminal behavior one can justifiably doubt the entire process of natural selection.
By now everyone with a TV, or access to the internet knows the details of the horror in Nice, where Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel jumped into a rental truck and rammed through a massive crowd gathered to watch fireworks on Bastille Day. At this hour French authorities still haven't connected him to any organized terrorist group. As time passes, it increasingly appears he was the classic angry loner, a psychopath who took out his inner frustrations on innocent people, not for a particular cause, or religion, but rather his own demented need to avenge imagined wrongs.
Bouhlel's crime was so gruesome it caused Donald Trump to temporarily postpone announcing he had chosen Indiana Governor, Mike Pence as his running mate. Trump initially tried to leave the impression he was doing so out of respect for the dead and wounded. However the money here says his motive had more to do with coverage than sympathy. Trump, the master manipulator of all media, knew the events in France would completely overshadow the splash he wanted to make in the press by naming Pence.
Unfortunately for El Don, things continued to steam roll overseas when elements of the army attempted a coup in Turkey. By this morning he had given up on any more delays and held a press conference to tell everyone what we already knew, Governor Pence was his choice for vice president.
As Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins to take names and kick ass it might be worth noting that last year, Mike Pence proposed the establishment of a state owned and controlled media outlet which would be known as JustIN. The alleged small government advocate wanted to pay the two guys who would be in charge of the operation $100,000 apiece per year. Pence's idea was met with wide spread loathing and derision by legitimate news publishers and editors throughout Indiana.
Previously, Mike Pence--a 12 year veteran of the U.S. House, before becoming governor--had claimed in op-ed pieces that the earth is now cooler than it was 50 years ago and smoking tobacco doesn't kill people.
Hey, given the evidence, it sounds like Brother Pence will fit right in with the Trump campaign.
Meanwhile, on Friday the New York Times reported some of the pieces of art which had been looted by the Nazis in World War II, then recovered, had been sold for pennies on the dollar to the families of the very people who stole it. The list of post war buyers included the widow of Hermann Goring.
The artwork had been seized by the Allies toward the end of the war. By the late 1940's, as units such as the Monument Men were deactivated, the treasures were handed over to a Bavarian commission. The theory was the commission would do the right thing by returning the paintings and such to the lawful owners, or their survivors.
Silly us.
Then we come to Brittney McCoy of Greenbriar, TN. When Ronald Lewis Clinard was involved in a terrible auto accident near her home she ran out to see what she could do. It turned out what she could do was steal the severely injured man's wallet and credit card. After doing so she promptly went to a local store where she used it to buy cigarettes, beer, and a soft drink.
Police say others might have been involved. A gun the victim carried in his car, presumably for protection, is missing and has yet to be found. Clinard died before he got to the hospital.
Finally we come to the latest world wide craze called, Pokémon Go. It is a game which can be played for free through a smart phone app. While the game characters are virtual reality--an oxymoron if there ever was one--they are found in very real locations.
This causes hundreds of Pokémon fanatics to invade places like historical buildings, cathedrals, and war memorials in order search for them. The game has been lauded by a few medical professionals as a way to improve the mental health of some players--who are obviously in dire need of it--and the physical fitness of everyone involved.
Yeah, well maybe. What we do know for sure is that many times the game causes herds of phone tapping goofs to stampede into places meant to be held in awe, reverence, and respect--something very few of them show when they're on the hallowed grounds. It has gotten so outrageous the caretakers of places like Arlington National Cemetery and the National Holocaust Museum have asked the designers to remove their sites from the game.
Yes, there we have it on a sweaty day in Oklahoma City. There was yet more deadly madness in France. Trump found someone who looks to be as bat shit crazy as he is. Bargain hunting Nazis scored another steal years ago. There was a Tennessee Samaritan of a different sort. And, lastly, idiots are trampling through tombs and history with utter disregard to the sacred places they are violating.
Ladies and gentlemen, can there be any doubt the bar is open?
I didn't think so.
7-16-16
By now everyone with a TV, or access to the internet knows the details of the horror in Nice, where Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel jumped into a rental truck and rammed through a massive crowd gathered to watch fireworks on Bastille Day. At this hour French authorities still haven't connected him to any organized terrorist group. As time passes, it increasingly appears he was the classic angry loner, a psychopath who took out his inner frustrations on innocent people, not for a particular cause, or religion, but rather his own demented need to avenge imagined wrongs.
Bouhlel's crime was so gruesome it caused Donald Trump to temporarily postpone announcing he had chosen Indiana Governor, Mike Pence as his running mate. Trump initially tried to leave the impression he was doing so out of respect for the dead and wounded. However the money here says his motive had more to do with coverage than sympathy. Trump, the master manipulator of all media, knew the events in France would completely overshadow the splash he wanted to make in the press by naming Pence.
Unfortunately for El Don, things continued to steam roll overseas when elements of the army attempted a coup in Turkey. By this morning he had given up on any more delays and held a press conference to tell everyone what we already knew, Governor Pence was his choice for vice president.
As Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins to take names and kick ass it might be worth noting that last year, Mike Pence proposed the establishment of a state owned and controlled media outlet which would be known as JustIN. The alleged small government advocate wanted to pay the two guys who would be in charge of the operation $100,000 apiece per year. Pence's idea was met with wide spread loathing and derision by legitimate news publishers and editors throughout Indiana.
Previously, Mike Pence--a 12 year veteran of the U.S. House, before becoming governor--had claimed in op-ed pieces that the earth is now cooler than it was 50 years ago and smoking tobacco doesn't kill people.
Hey, given the evidence, it sounds like Brother Pence will fit right in with the Trump campaign.
Meanwhile, on Friday the New York Times reported some of the pieces of art which had been looted by the Nazis in World War II, then recovered, had been sold for pennies on the dollar to the families of the very people who stole it. The list of post war buyers included the widow of Hermann Goring.
The artwork had been seized by the Allies toward the end of the war. By the late 1940's, as units such as the Monument Men were deactivated, the treasures were handed over to a Bavarian commission. The theory was the commission would do the right thing by returning the paintings and such to the lawful owners, or their survivors.
Silly us.
Then we come to Brittney McCoy of Greenbriar, TN. When Ronald Lewis Clinard was involved in a terrible auto accident near her home she ran out to see what she could do. It turned out what she could do was steal the severely injured man's wallet and credit card. After doing so she promptly went to a local store where she used it to buy cigarettes, beer, and a soft drink.
Police say others might have been involved. A gun the victim carried in his car, presumably for protection, is missing and has yet to be found. Clinard died before he got to the hospital.
Finally we come to the latest world wide craze called, Pokémon Go. It is a game which can be played for free through a smart phone app. While the game characters are virtual reality--an oxymoron if there ever was one--they are found in very real locations.
This causes hundreds of Pokémon fanatics to invade places like historical buildings, cathedrals, and war memorials in order search for them. The game has been lauded by a few medical professionals as a way to improve the mental health of some players--who are obviously in dire need of it--and the physical fitness of everyone involved.
Yeah, well maybe. What we do know for sure is that many times the game causes herds of phone tapping goofs to stampede into places meant to be held in awe, reverence, and respect--something very few of them show when they're on the hallowed grounds. It has gotten so outrageous the caretakers of places like Arlington National Cemetery and the National Holocaust Museum have asked the designers to remove their sites from the game.
Yes, there we have it on a sweaty day in Oklahoma City. There was yet more deadly madness in France. Trump found someone who looks to be as bat shit crazy as he is. Bargain hunting Nazis scored another steal years ago. There was a Tennessee Samaritan of a different sort. And, lastly, idiots are trampling through tombs and history with utter disregard to the sacred places they are violating.
Ladies and gentlemen, can there be any doubt the bar is open?
I didn't think so.
7-16-16
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Trump Eats the Brown Acid Again
Sometimes it is easy to believe Donald Trump drops acid on a daily basis. After all, look at his history. The man has gone down the rabbit hole so many times the only rational explanation is his habitual use of LSD.
CBS is reporting that during a rally in Westfield, Indiana, El Don was in the middle of a rant claiming Hillary Clinton was personally responsible for the creation of ISIS when his stream of consciousness train ran off the rails a bit.
He was quoted as saying, "And by the way, when our enemies all over the world, including our friends all over the world, look at what's happening to our country--where the other night you had 11--think of it--11 cities potentially in a blow up stage. Marches all over the United States. And tough marches. Anger, hatred, hatred--started by a maniac that some people asked for a moment of silence for him. For the killer. For the killer."
The maniac he was referring to was Micah Johnson. He was the shooter in Dallas who gunned down five cops and wounded another seven before being killed by a remote control explosive device.
Trump was also on Bill O'Reilly's show saying, "When somebody called for a moment of silence for this maniac that shot five police and you know, you just see what's going on. And it's a very, very sad situation."
He went further. When it came to the organization, Black Lives Matter, he told O'Reilly, "It's dividing America. I saw what they said about the police in various marches and rallies. I have seen, you know, moments of silence called for--for this horrible human being who shot the policemen. And you know, I've seen it and I think it's certainly...it's very divisive and I think they are hurting themselves."
Obviously these statements were made by a man deep in the throes of a terrible acid induced hallucination. As CBS points out, there is no evidence that anyone at the Black Lives Matter rallies held since the nightmare in Dallas has called for a moment of silence to honor, or remember, Micah Johnson. In fact, during a march held in Oklahoma City there were instances where demonstrators approached police officers and hugged them.
The network also reports it has asked the Trump campaign for proof of the candidate's allegations. Don's people have, so far, refused to respond.
Hey, it's not like we haven't been here before. Trump swallowed the dreaded brown acid from Woodstock several months ago when he said he personally witnessed tens of thousands of Muslims celebrating the September 11th attacks over on the Jersey side of the Hudson. To this day no one who was actually in New Jersey that day claims they saw them. There is no television footage of it happening, or police documentation that some repugnant outpouring of evil glee took place. It is, in the end, a solitary, completely unsubstantiated vision, solely owned by Donald John Trump.
Later in the primary season he accused Ted Cruz's dad of being a pal of Lee Harvey Oswald. The unsubtle hint was Cruz's old man was involved, at least on the periphery, in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
All this follows the Obama birth place delusions which he harped on incessantly for ages before deciding to stop acknowledging he'd ever had them after he entered the race.
Yes, it would seem Big Don has a stash of killer window pane tabs hidden away somewhere in Trump Tower and he's an avid user.
And, to be honest, that would be okay with a lot of us if he had remained nothing more than a slick huckster selling knock off Rolex watches to rubes in Times Square. No one cares if you routinely see snakes slithering up you legs so long as you keep your game cheap, easy, and local.
However, the idea of a stone cold acid freak running around the oval office stark naked, raving about gangs of Mexicans coming to steal his job and rape his wife tends to worry those of us with a functioning brain. Especially when you understand the crazy fuck could end up commanding the most proficient military and the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world.
Of course not every one believes that way. There are many among us who actually like gibberish spewing, drug addled, messiah types. Let's face it, Charlie Manson had no problem when it came to new recruits.
Indeed, as we close in on the GOP convention, it's hard to know who to be more appalled by--the guy eating the LSD, or the brutal idiots who are convinced his hallucinations are real.
sic vita est
7-13-16
CBS is reporting that during a rally in Westfield, Indiana, El Don was in the middle of a rant claiming Hillary Clinton was personally responsible for the creation of ISIS when his stream of consciousness train ran off the rails a bit.
He was quoted as saying, "And by the way, when our enemies all over the world, including our friends all over the world, look at what's happening to our country--where the other night you had 11--think of it--11 cities potentially in a blow up stage. Marches all over the United States. And tough marches. Anger, hatred, hatred--started by a maniac that some people asked for a moment of silence for him. For the killer. For the killer."
The maniac he was referring to was Micah Johnson. He was the shooter in Dallas who gunned down five cops and wounded another seven before being killed by a remote control explosive device.
Trump was also on Bill O'Reilly's show saying, "When somebody called for a moment of silence for this maniac that shot five police and you know, you just see what's going on. And it's a very, very sad situation."
He went further. When it came to the organization, Black Lives Matter, he told O'Reilly, "It's dividing America. I saw what they said about the police in various marches and rallies. I have seen, you know, moments of silence called for--for this horrible human being who shot the policemen. And you know, I've seen it and I think it's certainly...it's very divisive and I think they are hurting themselves."
Obviously these statements were made by a man deep in the throes of a terrible acid induced hallucination. As CBS points out, there is no evidence that anyone at the Black Lives Matter rallies held since the nightmare in Dallas has called for a moment of silence to honor, or remember, Micah Johnson. In fact, during a march held in Oklahoma City there were instances where demonstrators approached police officers and hugged them.
The network also reports it has asked the Trump campaign for proof of the candidate's allegations. Don's people have, so far, refused to respond.
Hey, it's not like we haven't been here before. Trump swallowed the dreaded brown acid from Woodstock several months ago when he said he personally witnessed tens of thousands of Muslims celebrating the September 11th attacks over on the Jersey side of the Hudson. To this day no one who was actually in New Jersey that day claims they saw them. There is no television footage of it happening, or police documentation that some repugnant outpouring of evil glee took place. It is, in the end, a solitary, completely unsubstantiated vision, solely owned by Donald John Trump.
Later in the primary season he accused Ted Cruz's dad of being a pal of Lee Harvey Oswald. The unsubtle hint was Cruz's old man was involved, at least on the periphery, in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
All this follows the Obama birth place delusions which he harped on incessantly for ages before deciding to stop acknowledging he'd ever had them after he entered the race.
Yes, it would seem Big Don has a stash of killer window pane tabs hidden away somewhere in Trump Tower and he's an avid user.
And, to be honest, that would be okay with a lot of us if he had remained nothing more than a slick huckster selling knock off Rolex watches to rubes in Times Square. No one cares if you routinely see snakes slithering up you legs so long as you keep your game cheap, easy, and local.
However, the idea of a stone cold acid freak running around the oval office stark naked, raving about gangs of Mexicans coming to steal his job and rape his wife tends to worry those of us with a functioning brain. Especially when you understand the crazy fuck could end up commanding the most proficient military and the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world.
Of course not every one believes that way. There are many among us who actually like gibberish spewing, drug addled, messiah types. Let's face it, Charlie Manson had no problem when it came to new recruits.
Indeed, as we close in on the GOP convention, it's hard to know who to be more appalled by--the guy eating the LSD, or the brutal idiots who are convinced his hallucinations are real.
sic vita est
7-13-16
Friday, July 8, 2016
A Blood Soaked Week
How long, oh Lord, how long?
The latest round of carnage began Tuesday, the day after Independence Day.
Alton Sterling was in front of the Triple S food store in Baton Rouge, LA, hawking CDs to people going in and out of the place. Most reports now state a homeless man began hitting on him for money, which Sterling refused to give up. Being a persistent sort the homeless dude continued to bug him, so Sterling showed the guy a gun he was carrying and told him to beat it.
This apparently incensed the unknown panhandler who then pulled out his cell phone--yes, that's right, here in the United States we're so affluent even our homeless people can afford cell phones--and called Baton Rouge 911. He told the emergency operator there was a man brandishing a gun at the convenience store.
What happened next has become so predictable there is really no reason to even detail it. The cops arrived and because in the 21st century everyone is a journalist, various people began to video the nightmare on their phones as it took place. The police went after Alton Sterling as if he was Osama--by God--bin Laden and by the time it was over Sterling was dead.
The following evening in a Minneapolis suburb two St. Anthony, MN police officers pulled over Philando Castile, his girlfriend and a child because of a broken tail light. Castile, who was also an African-American, had evidently made the mistake of driving through a predominantly white middle class neighborhood. As Castile was attempting to comply with a command to produce his ID he made yet another error. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. He informed four year police veteran, Jeronimo Yanez he had a conceal and carry permit and was armed.
As Castile either continued to reach for his ID, or began to put his hands up after being ordered to stop, Yanez started shooting. Philando Castile died shortly afterward. Other than a gaggle of traffic infractions he had no criminal record.
All of which brings us to Dallas last night. Under the auspices of Black Lives Matter a large protest march was being held in downtown. By all accounts the marchers were well behaved and peaceful. In fact by the time the demonstration began to wind down things had gone so smoothly both cops and organizers were congratulating each other on how successful the march was.
Then the lunatics struck. Even at this hour there is confusion over how many gunmen there were and where they were located. Five Dallas police officers were killed. One of them, Patrick Zamarripa, a five year veteran of the transit police, had survived three different tours in Iraq. Seven others were wounded along with at least two civilians.
After the fire fight in Dallas subsided, former one term Illinois republican congressman, Joe Walsh, now a syndicated radio host, tweeted this: "Obama should watch out. Real America is coming after you." To make sure no one misunderstood his message he then tweeted, "This is now war. Watch out Black Lives Matter punks."
Gandhi he's not, but at least Brother Walsh, unlike a lot of other people this week, didn't open fire. However, given his well reasoned rhetoric, he might have plenty of time and opportunities for that later.
One of the current NRA theories repeated ad nauseam says, if everyone has a weapon we will all be safer and mass shootings will be stopped cold. Yeah, well, everyone involved in this blood soaked week had a gun. Sterling Alton did. So did Philando Castile. Hell, he even told the cop who killed him he did in order to follow the letter of the law. The Dallas cops were all armed, but tragically so were the lethal psychotics who ambushed them.
This is a degree of insanity not seen anywhere outside of a few select war zones.
So what did all this gun totin' stuff get us this week? The African-American population has a lower than ever level of trust in the police, while the cops, thanks to those deadly clowns in Dallas, aren't going to be any less wary--or trigger happy--when a situation involving a black person arises.
No wonder much of the world views our society with, as Hunter Thompson once wrote, fear and loathing. We're a desperately violent bunch and every last one of us owns guns--lots and lots of guns. And, as we've seen far too often, the evidence proves that on any whim, or excuse, we're more than willing to use them.
sic vita est
7-8-16
The latest round of carnage began Tuesday, the day after Independence Day.
Alton Sterling was in front of the Triple S food store in Baton Rouge, LA, hawking CDs to people going in and out of the place. Most reports now state a homeless man began hitting on him for money, which Sterling refused to give up. Being a persistent sort the homeless dude continued to bug him, so Sterling showed the guy a gun he was carrying and told him to beat it.
This apparently incensed the unknown panhandler who then pulled out his cell phone--yes, that's right, here in the United States we're so affluent even our homeless people can afford cell phones--and called Baton Rouge 911. He told the emergency operator there was a man brandishing a gun at the convenience store.
What happened next has become so predictable there is really no reason to even detail it. The cops arrived and because in the 21st century everyone is a journalist, various people began to video the nightmare on their phones as it took place. The police went after Alton Sterling as if he was Osama--by God--bin Laden and by the time it was over Sterling was dead.
The following evening in a Minneapolis suburb two St. Anthony, MN police officers pulled over Philando Castile, his girlfriend and a child because of a broken tail light. Castile, who was also an African-American, had evidently made the mistake of driving through a predominantly white middle class neighborhood. As Castile was attempting to comply with a command to produce his ID he made yet another error. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. He informed four year police veteran, Jeronimo Yanez he had a conceal and carry permit and was armed.
As Castile either continued to reach for his ID, or began to put his hands up after being ordered to stop, Yanez started shooting. Philando Castile died shortly afterward. Other than a gaggle of traffic infractions he had no criminal record.
All of which brings us to Dallas last night. Under the auspices of Black Lives Matter a large protest march was being held in downtown. By all accounts the marchers were well behaved and peaceful. In fact by the time the demonstration began to wind down things had gone so smoothly both cops and organizers were congratulating each other on how successful the march was.
Then the lunatics struck. Even at this hour there is confusion over how many gunmen there were and where they were located. Five Dallas police officers were killed. One of them, Patrick Zamarripa, a five year veteran of the transit police, had survived three different tours in Iraq. Seven others were wounded along with at least two civilians.
After the fire fight in Dallas subsided, former one term Illinois republican congressman, Joe Walsh, now a syndicated radio host, tweeted this: "Obama should watch out. Real America is coming after you." To make sure no one misunderstood his message he then tweeted, "This is now war. Watch out Black Lives Matter punks."
Gandhi he's not, but at least Brother Walsh, unlike a lot of other people this week, didn't open fire. However, given his well reasoned rhetoric, he might have plenty of time and opportunities for that later.
One of the current NRA theories repeated ad nauseam says, if everyone has a weapon we will all be safer and mass shootings will be stopped cold. Yeah, well, everyone involved in this blood soaked week had a gun. Sterling Alton did. So did Philando Castile. Hell, he even told the cop who killed him he did in order to follow the letter of the law. The Dallas cops were all armed, but tragically so were the lethal psychotics who ambushed them.
This is a degree of insanity not seen anywhere outside of a few select war zones.
So what did all this gun totin' stuff get us this week? The African-American population has a lower than ever level of trust in the police, while the cops, thanks to those deadly clowns in Dallas, aren't going to be any less wary--or trigger happy--when a situation involving a black person arises.
No wonder much of the world views our society with, as Hunter Thompson once wrote, fear and loathing. We're a desperately violent bunch and every last one of us owns guns--lots and lots of guns. And, as we've seen far too often, the evidence proves that on any whim, or excuse, we're more than willing to use them.
sic vita est
7-8-16
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
No More Durant in OKC
The fourth of July in Oklahoma City was predictably steamy yesterday. However, despite the oppressive heat, around mid morning, it turned out to be a not so hot holiday for both the citizens and the town's NBA franchise.
Yes, Kevin Wayne Durant has flown the coop. He said the move had to do with desiring to personally evolve by getting out of his comfort zone.
Yeah, right.
Come on, let's face it, we can ignore Durant's self help platitudes. In the final analysis what he meant was he wants to score a NBA championship ring and he didn't see it happening any time soon in OKC. The same can't be said of his new outfit, the Golden State Warriors.
They got one last year and barely missed a second this past June. With Durant in the lineup the Warriors will be the odds on favorite to win the championship a little less than a year from now.
Durant's motives, whatever they are, didn't excuse the response of some local rubes who have conveniently forgotten all the good and decent things KD did off the court in this burg. You know, like donating a million bucks to the Red Cross in order to help suburban Moore recover from a devastating tornado three years ago. They've taken to social media with photos of Durant replica jerseys burning on patios. One clown showed up in today's daily paper wearing Durant's number 35 with his name taped over and the word, "Traitor," scrawled in marker ink on it.
Such useless behavior by a few assholes should be expected. After all, up until eight years ago this town had zero experience--unless you count the abbreviated stay of the then Hornets--with big league pro franchises. Before the Thunder hit town it was all college sports here. You were either an OU, or OSU fan and your guys stuck with your school. At least until they decided to bolt for the pros and the big money. And when they did none of the faithful whined or burned jerseys. Certainly not when Roy Williams and Sam Bradford made early exits to the NFL. The same will be the case when Samaje Perine leaves after this football season.
Indeed, the general consensus will be the usual, thanks for the thrills and good luck. Of course, none of those people will show up next year trying to beat the home team, which is exactly what Durant will do, but let's take things one at a time right now.
The truth is the NBA is a business and in business there are changes for reasons that have nothing to do with loyalty. Just ask those dead fish slinging losers up in Seattle. For God's sake the last thing we want to do is behave like they did after Clay Bennett and the gang moved the Sonics here.
Besides, Thunder Heads, you should probably get used to it. The last year of Russell Westbrook's contract begins in October and next summer you can count on the Lakers offering him everything up to and including the deed to Knott's Berry Farm in order to lure him back to his home town.
That's if he's even here by the end of next season. The Thunder didn't get squat in exchange for Kevin Durant. Chances are better than even they're going to avoid the same sort of disaster in the case of Westbrook. If management doesn't think they can re-sign him, look for the OKC point guard to be shipped off to parts unknown for a bevy of flashy new talent.
Hey--it might not be what everyone wants, but if the deal does go down it will be a business decision made by business people. That's what happens when everyone, including the players, are in the game, not for the love of alma mater, or a town, but a big fat paycheck.
sic vita est
7-5-16
Yes, Kevin Wayne Durant has flown the coop. He said the move had to do with desiring to personally evolve by getting out of his comfort zone.
Yeah, right.
Come on, let's face it, we can ignore Durant's self help platitudes. In the final analysis what he meant was he wants to score a NBA championship ring and he didn't see it happening any time soon in OKC. The same can't be said of his new outfit, the Golden State Warriors.
They got one last year and barely missed a second this past June. With Durant in the lineup the Warriors will be the odds on favorite to win the championship a little less than a year from now.
Durant's motives, whatever they are, didn't excuse the response of some local rubes who have conveniently forgotten all the good and decent things KD did off the court in this burg. You know, like donating a million bucks to the Red Cross in order to help suburban Moore recover from a devastating tornado three years ago. They've taken to social media with photos of Durant replica jerseys burning on patios. One clown showed up in today's daily paper wearing Durant's number 35 with his name taped over and the word, "Traitor," scrawled in marker ink on it.
Such useless behavior by a few assholes should be expected. After all, up until eight years ago this town had zero experience--unless you count the abbreviated stay of the then Hornets--with big league pro franchises. Before the Thunder hit town it was all college sports here. You were either an OU, or OSU fan and your guys stuck with your school. At least until they decided to bolt for the pros and the big money. And when they did none of the faithful whined or burned jerseys. Certainly not when Roy Williams and Sam Bradford made early exits to the NFL. The same will be the case when Samaje Perine leaves after this football season.
Indeed, the general consensus will be the usual, thanks for the thrills and good luck. Of course, none of those people will show up next year trying to beat the home team, which is exactly what Durant will do, but let's take things one at a time right now.
The truth is the NBA is a business and in business there are changes for reasons that have nothing to do with loyalty. Just ask those dead fish slinging losers up in Seattle. For God's sake the last thing we want to do is behave like they did after Clay Bennett and the gang moved the Sonics here.
Besides, Thunder Heads, you should probably get used to it. The last year of Russell Westbrook's contract begins in October and next summer you can count on the Lakers offering him everything up to and including the deed to Knott's Berry Farm in order to lure him back to his home town.
That's if he's even here by the end of next season. The Thunder didn't get squat in exchange for Kevin Durant. Chances are better than even they're going to avoid the same sort of disaster in the case of Westbrook. If management doesn't think they can re-sign him, look for the OKC point guard to be shipped off to parts unknown for a bevy of flashy new talent.
Hey--it might not be what everyone wants, but if the deal does go down it will be a business decision made by business people. That's what happens when everyone, including the players, are in the game, not for the love of alma mater, or a town, but a big fat paycheck.
sic vita est
7-5-16
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