Tuesday, December 31, 2019

How Not to Use "Boy" in Today's Political Correctness

The Limited Use of “Boy” Today We live in an era of political correctness. Once commonly used words and phrases are now suspect. Let’s look at the word “boy.” Words often have different meanings in different contexts. Merriam-Webster defines ‘boy’ as “a male child birth to adulthood,” but “boy” can mean much more and much less. We still say boys and girls, but further usage is very limited. A prime example is the mostly historic racist use of the word directed at African American males. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in his great Letter From a Birmingham Jail wrote: “[W]hen your first name becomes ‘nigger’ and your middle name becomes ‘boy”’(however old you are) and your last name becomes ‘John” ….” Thus the 11th Circuit in 2010 found the word "boy" racist when used by a supervisor against black employees. Another phrase from the same era is “Good old boys,” which are Southern gentlemen or a male clique in professions. It’s also a phrase to denote obstacle to women breaking into a profession or field. For example, the Directors Guild is dominated by Good Old Boys when it comes to Oscar nominations for Best Director. A historical usage is a side note of the atomic bombs dropping on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs had different designs. The Hiroshima bomb was nicknamed “Little Boy” and the Nagasaki bomb “Fat Man.” “Little Boy” and its hydrogen successors hopefully will never be used again. Let’s look at other historic uses which either have, or should, fade into the sunset. King Tut, the fabled King Tut made famous on Saturday Night Live by Steve Martin, was known as the “Boy King,” which is hardly funny since King Tut died young. Paper Boy – I was a paper boy for 18 months in high school delivering the San Francisco Chronicle and also the overlapping San Francisco Examiner for four of those months. Both were profitable competing morning newspapers at the time. Who gets home delivery from paper boys anymore? “News Boy” is similarly archaic. I worked nine months as a office boy and two years as a catalog boy in college. Those terms are probably verboten today. Now we have externs and interns. Of course, “Boy Friday” is also a no-no today as well as its cousin “Tea Boy.” We also had messenger boys and errant boys as well as copy boys and servant boys not so long ago. Let us not forget Tarzan had Jane, Cheeta the chimp, and “Boy.” There’s also Boy Wonder – not to be confused with enfant terrible Should we say “boy genius” or child prodigy? We shouldn’t today call some girls “tomboys” Boys in the Band Boyz n in the Hood Nature Boy – a song and the nickname of a male model in Playgirl Magazine If we say “Good Boy” or “Bad Boy,” it sounds like we are training a dog without the bone or treat. Fr. Flanigan’s Boy’s Town tried changing its name to Boys and Girls Town since it started accepting girls but changed back to Boys Town. That’s bad judgment! More so is that fundraisers should learn from Boy’s Town’s success. It had an endowment of $191 million in 1970 and $568 million in 1992. It has over $1 billion in assets today. That boy has grown up! That is not a boy charity!

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Mayor Pete Buttigieg and the Millennials Pose the Greatest Threat to President Trump's Reelection

Speaker Pelosi, the iffy impeachment, the media, celebrities, academia, Democrats and Progressives are not President Trump’s problem for reelection. It’s Mayor Pete and the Millennials. I was wrong a few months ago. I thought Beto O’Rourke was The Man. Beto turned out to be a narcissistic goofus. Thank God he didn’t win the Texas Senate seat of Senator Ted Cruz. It’s now the turn of Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Mayor Pete presents a fresh, “moderate’ fresh to the election - a reprieve from the traditional trite, samo samo politicians. He’s like President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, a new wave of feel-good, non-confrontational, energetic candidates. Mayor Pete - Harvard, Rhodes Scholar, Navy Intelligence – looks good on paper He’s appealing to the next generation. He wants to be the bridge to a new era in American politics Don’t fall for it. Mayor Pete sublimates his inner radicalism, just like Senator Barack Obama in 2008. He’s “moderate,” soothing, reassuring. He’s not. He calls himself a Democratic socialist He’s as radical as Senators Sanders and Warren, just moderate in tone. Here’s his views: Stack the Supreme Court with 6 new justices, who pass the abortion test. A two-state Palestinian solution, but loathes Israel and wants to cut off support to Saudi Arabia. Medicare for all who want it, with a goal of universal healthcare. DACA. Open borders. Supporter of Big Labor. Supports Paris Accords. Green New Deal, carbon taxes, and clean energy. Will take action on Day One on the climate. Tax increases for people to pay their “fair share.” Ending gerrymandering Social equity Gender equity in administrative and agency appointments Statehood for the District of Columbia H.R.40: reparations to African Americans Elimination of death penalty Presidential elections by popular vote, eliminating the electoral college. When asked about white supremacy, “I try to check myself.” His statements on White Privilege: “Systemic racism, and white supremacy in particular … is the force that is most likely to destroy America.” “Look if you think about it; White supremacy is the thing beneath the surface of American life that has come closest to ending American life.” “It’s why I welcome my obligation as a candidate with the privilege of whiteness to speak about systemic racism in this country.” He’s trying to unite the Obama Coalition with identity politics. The Millennials are his key. A large percent of Millennials are woke, social justice warriors. They abhor President Trump, Republicans and conservatives. For example, the Millennials at Amazon, Google, and Microsoft oppose government projects for the military. Millennials overwhelmingly identify with the Democratic Party. 59% as of 2017 are Democrats or lean Democrat, compared to only 32% Republican. They fail to understand, being illiterate in history, that democratic socialism is an oxymoron. Their big issue is the environment, including climate change. Their second biggest issue is healthcare. Anti-Semitism, in the guise of anti-Zionism, is spreading through our nation’s campuses. The Millennials are convinced there is only one side, their correct side, the progressive side. Differing speech is hate speech. They come out of college indoctrinated with the history of America as an oppressive nation, both domestically and globally. They view themselves as victims of White (Male) Privilege. Thus the new concentration on “White Privilege.” Mayor Pete and Millennials – That’s the hurdle to President Trump’s reelection.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Brexit, Impeachment, and the Democrats

Brexit and Impeachment: Brexit’s Warning to the Democratic Party Friday the 13th was the best of times and the worst of times for the Democratic Party. The Judiciary Committee voted two counts of impeachment against the President. The Democrats on Friday the 13th weaponized the Constitutional power of impeachment into a political tool. Friday was when they realized their sole mates, the British Labor Party, went down in a crushing defeat. Friday the 13th and Brexit are omens and warnings for the Democratic Party. The Tories gained 47 seats to 360 out of 640 in the House of Commons. Conversely Labour lost 59 seats, down to 203. The Tories won 47.4% of the votes; Labour dropped to 35.9%. The working class, the remaining, struggling working class of England, the red wall of the Labor Party, defected and elected the Tories. They had enough of globalism and factories closing, of unemployment and poverty. The Tories offered them a way out. Labor offered them nationalization and anti-Semitism. The British workers are what Secretary Clinton called “deplorables,” the industrial workers in the industrial heartland of the United States. These Americans in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin elected Donald Trump President of the United States. The Midlands went to the Conservatives. The Midwest went to the Republicans. The Democratic candidates, to a greater or lesser extent, are promising socialism, government medicine, anti-Semitism, intense regulation and higher taxes to Americans. They added impeachment, a witch hunt, to that witches brew of alienation. The British voted for Brexit 3½ years ago. America voted for Donald Trump 3 years ago. The Parliament under Prime Minister Theresa May was deadlocked for 3½ years. The ineffectual Prime Minister resigned to be succeeded by the flamboyant Boris Johnson. The Democrats have fumed for three years, one year in control of the House of Representatives, and accomplished little, consumed by impeachment. The British pundits expected a close vote – not a blowout, because of the Twitter activity in favor of the Labor Party. Twitter in both the U.S. and U.K. is dominated by progressives. It is not a barometer of public opinion. British voters wanted a leader. Theresa May was not. Nor are the Democrats running for President exhibiting leadership ability, just anti-Trump animus. The main, but not exclusive, issue in the British election was Brexit. Secondary reasons included loathing of Jeremy Corbyn and his anti-Semitism. We know that Brexit was the major issue because of all the MP’s who left either the Conservative or Labor parties to become independents lost their seats. Dennis Skinner, diehard Labour MP, in office for 49 years, known as the Beast of Bolsover, lost to a Tory. Chris Leslie, who lost his seat, tweeted: “We warned this would happen. We tried everything we could to prevent the hard-left self-indulgence within the Labor Party.” That’s the warning for the hard-left self-indulgence Democratic Party, the most radical since President Nixon blew away Senator George McGovern in 1972. Labor Leader Jeremy Corbin is a rabid anti-Semite. His Labor Party was increasingly anti-Semitic. Therein lies another warning to the Democrats. The left-wing of the Democratic Party is increasingly anti-Semitic supporting the BDS Movement. Representative Ilhan Omar is outspoken: “It’s the Benjamins Baby”. Running against white privilege will also not be a winning issue. Representative Rashida Tlaib is equally outspoken. She tweeted after the killings at the Jersey City Kosher Grocery: “This is heartbreaking. White Supremacy Kills.” The Democrats have time to come to their senses, but the Trump Impeachment indicates the opposite. If not, they are heading to a repeat of 1972 when the despised President Nixon won a 49 state landslide over the Democrat’s “radical” Senator George McGovern. The Democrats are obsessed with removing President trump from office. Other lessons. The polls showed a close election. They were wrong. Polling is increasingly unreliable. Brexit reaffirmed that celebrities don’t pull voters. The British actor Hugh Grant actively campaigned for four candidates. They all lost. The media trashed Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his scandalized personal behavior. Voters were unmoved, just like President Trump’s voters.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Notes on Today's Impeachment

It happened; after 9 hours of “debate,” and three years in the making, the Democrats voted to impeach President Obama – pre-ordained impeachment. Speaker Pelosi and a few other representatives wore black to reflect the solemnity of the vote. That was as solemn as Speaker Pelosi saying as a good Catholic she prays for the President. Democratic staffers were celebrating and partying during the “solemn” impeachment. Speaker Pelosi ran the impeachment process through on a fast and furious track from the time she gave the go ahead. It only took her 2 ½ years to get to that point – three years for Representatives Green and Walters who demanded impeachment as soon as he was elected. The impeachment was ordained three years ago and a year ago when the Democrats won the House. Newly sworn in Representative Rashida Tlaib, the anti-Semite from Michigan, said “We’re going in impeach that mother fucker.” The only question was when and why. Russian Collusion X Obstruction of Justice X Mueller Report X Quid Pro Quo X Emoluments Clause X This impeachment is unique. The Constitution requires “Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors” The Democrats spoke today for upholding the Constitution. No Treason No Bribery No Crime – much less a high crime No Misdemeanor The House proceedings: Secret hearings – a la the Star Chamber No cross-examination of witnesses No witnesses allowed for the President No whistleblower Several put the burden of proof on the President to establish his innocence Always shifting goal posts Hearsay upon hearsay Conclusions based on inferences, innuendos, and presumptions Amazingly and ironically they are trashing the Constitution in the name of the Constitution Just abuse of power, which is not a crime, and Obstruction of Congress by refusing to testify. Eight hours of talking points. The Judiciary Committee reported out a 632 page report on Monday morning. The vote was Wednesday night. The odds are only a few, at most, Democrats read the report before voting. It didn’t matter. Only the impeachment mattered. Speaker Pelosi believes in short reading periods. Members of Congress were only given three days to read the complex, 2100 page ObamaCare bill before voting. The Speaker responded, when asked what’s in the Bill: First we have to vote for it to find out what’s in it. This time, it was only two days. The Democrats decry the mistreatment of an ally, Ukraine, and cutting off needed military aid for the Ukrainian defense. President Obama was strangely quiet when Russia seized the Crimea and provided no military aid to the Ukrainians. Speaker Pelosi is now demanding the Republicans conduct a fair trial in the Senate. Irony upon irony, hypocrisy upon hypocrisy! Question for the Democratic Ukrainian supporters, “Where is the Ukraine?” The Democrats believe they tarred and feathered the President with the “I” for impeachment. President Trump will campaign with the impeachment as a badge of honor. Impeachment is a political act, but this one lacks public support. The President’s polling favorability is higher than President Obama at the same time in his administration. The President’s numbers are consistent despite three years of vilification by the Democrats, media, Hollywood, Academia, and late show TV. Remember the question to Donald Trump during the 2016 election: “Will you accept the results if you lose?” He responded “I would accept a clear election result, but I would also reserve my right to contest or appeal a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result.” The media dumped on him. Yet, the Democrats and media have not accepted the 2016 results. Representative Debra Wasserman Schultz said during today’s debate “The President’s abuse of power was brazen and unrepentant.” She stood with her fellow Democrats and voted to impeach “to protect our democracy.” The irony and hypocrisy. Representative Schultz chaired the Democratic National Committee in 2015-16 when she rigged the Democratic nomination process for Secretary Clinton. The Democrats have weaponized, and trivialized, the constitutional power of impeachment. Abuse of Power? The Democrat's Impeachment of President Trump may itself be unconstitutional because neither of the today's grounds are specified in the Constitution. The 2020 election is 11 months from now – an eternity in politics. Memo to the Democrats. The Republican Senate confirmed another 11 federal district judges today while two court of appeals judges were confirmed earlier this week. Message to the Democrats as they celebrate their “glorious” day of impeachment. Remember President Clinton: “it’s the Economy, Stupid.”

Thursday, December 12, 2019

This Can't Really be an Impeachment, Can It?

This Is An Impeachment? Merry Christmas House Democrats: You’ve given yourself a lump of coal in the stocking. You wanted impeachment before Christmas. You mistook Christmas for Thanksgiving. This impeachment is a turkey. Or maybe Easter. You laid an egg. Did you forget Senator Obama’s adage: “You can paint lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig”? What about Lincoln’s “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time?” How about Gertrude Stein’s “There is no there, there”? Is there a cure for Potomac Fever? Is there a cure for Trump Derangement Syndrome? An impeachment without a crime or facts is no impeachment. It’s akin to a Soviet Show Trial. The Constitution requires “Treason, Bribery, or other high crimes and Misdemeanors” Not focus group approved talking points! What part of Treason, Bribery, or other High Crime or Misdemeanor don’t you understand? Is this what you wanted for Christmas? You’re making President Trump popular. Don’t you realize hot air lifts hot air balloons but not impeachment? Haven’t they learned from the Kavanaugh hearings that histrionics are increasingly unsuccessful? Are they so desperate that they bring up Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement? At least they had the lawyers. Or not! The Democrats are the party of trial lawyers. They know if they can’t get a progressive measure through the legislature, they can find a progressive judge to judicially legislate. They can count on an army of trial lawyers and friendly judges. However, the Democrats could find no crime to impeach in the impeachment proceedings. No problem, they enlisted an trio of partisan, Trump hating law professors to create impeachment grounds. The elitist professors convinced no one. The Constitution and Bill of Rights provides immutable principles that allowed our` democracy to thrive. Along the way the power to amend the Constitution allowed our nation to rectify mistakes, including ending slavery and extending equal protection, including the right to vote, to minorities and women. A modern view, a radical view, held by progressives, is that the Constitution is a living document that can be changed at any time by the legislature or judiciary; i.e. judicial legislation. Thus the Constitution will mean whatever the Progressives want it to mean. The Constitutional imperative would be the end justifies the means. They could accomplish that goal by stacking the Court with progressive justices, such as the current Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, and Sotomayor, to stack the Supreme Court. For example, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of Berkeley Law School wrote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that a criminal act is not a prerequisite to impeaching the President even though the Constitution prescribes treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Did you really believe that Americans would support an impeachment without a crime? Do you really want to risk the House majority you won in 2018? Does Speak Pelosi believe Americans would believe her when she pulled out the Catholic Card to denying hating President Trump? She said her religion precludes hate. Her religion also proscribes abortion, but the Speaker is Pro-Choice. Speaker Pelosi stated they started planning impeachment 2 1/2 years ago. If so, how can it be so weak? How many more times will the Democrats double down? Russia Collusion Emoluments Clause Stormy Daniels Michael Avenatti Mueller Report Ukraine Bribery Quid pro quo What’s an impeachment without: Facts? A special prosecutor? Facts? Eye witness testimony? Facts? Due process? Facts? Cross-examination? Facts? Quid pro quo? Facts? Bribery? Facts? The right to call witnesses? Facts? A Whistleblower? Facts? An informant? Facts? The Democrats must not be superstitious. Why else would they think it's a good idea for the House Judiciary Committee to approve articles of impeachment on Friday the 13th? Finally, no matter how much some Democrats hate President trump, and his popularity ratings stay slightly below 50%,Congress, the Democratic Congress has a favorability rating of 24% and unfavorable 72&. Speaker Pelosi has pulled out her inner Shakespeare from Macbeth: “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well It were done quickly.” Haste makes waste!

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Witnesses the Senate Should Subpoena if the House Votes to Impeach President Trump

To Be or Not To Be That is the question To Impeach or Not To Impeach That is a question To Sanction or Nor to Sanction That is a Question To Do Nothing and Admit Three Years of Trying to Dump Trump That is not an option for the Democrats Let them impeach and send it to the Senate for a trial after Representative Nadler and his Judiciary Committee do their best to clean up Representative Schiff’s Intelligence Committee mess. The mantra of the Democrats from the time of the 2016 Election was to Investigate, Impeach, Indict. Give the Democrats want to want – a trial after the impeachment. A full trial!!! The Senate Judiciary Committee should hold hearings on the continuous three year campaign to impeach President Trump going back to before the inauguration. Root out the elements of the coup attempt. Evidence clearly shows the FBI and DOJ (Strzok-Page texts ) along with James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, and John Brennen, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (early sympathizer of the Communist Party), were engaged in a conspiracy to deny Donald Trump the Presidency, or if elected, remove him from office: The 25th Amendment, the Fusion GPS/Russian/Steele Dossier, the “insurance policy,” Russian collusion, Stormy Daniels, Avenatti, Mueller, and now the Ukraine, whatever it takes. Subpoena them all: James Comey John Brennen James Clapper Andrew McCabe Bruce Ohr Nellie Ohr Peter Strozk James Baker Lisa Page Sally Yates Christopher Steele Michael Isikoff Perkins Coie, the law firm making the payment to Fusion GPS Marc Elias, Perkins Coie partner Alexandra Chalupa, the Ukrainian American consultant to the DNC and the Ukrainian Government Eric Ciaramella, the alleged faux whistleblower Fiona Hill Lt. Colonel Alexander Windman Hunter Biden Andrew Weissmann U.N. Ambassador Samantha Powers, who unmasked hundreds of Americans Almost all will take the 5th Amendment, but it would still be a circus as the Senate interlocutors ask question after question - questions and witnesses Adam Shifty Schiff forbad in the House. The more that take the 5th, the more the American people will understand a conspiracy, much more than a collusion, existed to first prevent, and second to remove, the Trump Presidency. Don’t forget Representatives Nadler and Schiff and their staff. The representatives will refuse to appear. Article I, Section 8, Clause 2 of the Constitution provides that for members of Congress “for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.” Their staffs have no such immunity. Representative Schiff’s staff met with the faux whistle blower, is believed to have coached him, and drafted his whistle blowing letter. The Democrats profess to want to get to the truth. They opened up a can of worms if they impeach President Trump. Let the Senate drag the truth out – up to election day.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Senator Elizabeth Warren Tells Us She Is a Capitalist: She's Selling a Bridge In Brooklyn and Peddling Snake Oil

Senator Elizabeth Warren is a capitalist. She tells us so! Senator Elizabeth Warren wants to nationalize 18%, almost 1/5, of the nation’s economy. That’s socialism -not capitalism. She proclaims she is a capitalist. She is either ignorant or duplicitous. She must know, they’re in the news, that the federal government has a mediocre record with its forays into providing medical care with the VA, Indian Health Service, and Walter Reed Army Hospital. Senator Elizabeth Warren was a Native American. She told us so. She’s not!!!! Elizabeth Warren knew she was Native American because of her high cheekbones. ?????? Elizabeth warren used affirmative action to secure tenured teaching positions at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. She was the only graduate of a public law school on the Harvard Law School faculty. No matter how good the University of Houston and Rutgers University are, graduates of these colleges and law schools do not get faculty positions at Harvard Law School. She claims she did not know Harvard Law School listed her as a Native American in its annual federal diversity forms. She built her professional career on a lie. Senator Warren says she’s a capitalist, but here’s what she said in a September 2011 video: “I hear all this, you know, ‘Well this is class warfare.’ No, there is nobody in this country who got rich on his own – nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police-forces and fire-forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory – and someone to protect against this – because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. Keep a big chunk of it, but part of the underlying social contract is. You take a chunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes forward.” President Obama copied her statement in 2012: “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build it.” She proclaimed: “It’s just wrong to call me a socialist.” She wants to nationalize 18% of the nation’s economy, and regulate the rest. Socialists like to spend other people’s money. She’s looking to spend 30 trillion dollars of other’s monies. The Presidential candidate says she wants to save capitalism by reforming it. Her “reforms” will replace capitalism with statism. Senator Elizabeth Warren proclaims she’s for the middle class. Elizabeth Warren consulted for or represented LTV, Travelers Insurance Company, Dow Chemical, Fairfield, and the Hunt family. Middle class? Her hourly billing rate was $675.00. Middle class? She’s a convert to progressivism, having been a die-hard conservative, registered Republican until 1996. She has a plan for everything: family farms, student loans, Medicare for All, child care, clean power, education, seemingly everything except growing the economy. The cost: $3 trillion annually on top of the current $4.6 billon budget, which is running a $1 billion deficit. Her plans will create another 20 government agencies. She will unleash an army of bureaucrats onto the American people and economy. She says she will pay for it by taxing the wealthy: wealth taxes, income taxes, estate taxes. Her wealth tax will start at 2% on $50 million and rise to 6% on $1 billion. She calls it a billionaire tax. A wealth tax on $50 million is only $950 million short of a billion. History tells us that the cost estimates are always low while the estimated revenues (taxes, fees, et al) are overly optimistic. The result is that Senator Warren’s 2%-6% wealth tax will rise while the lower limit of $50 million will drop. The wealthy lack the wealth to fund her redistributionist schemes. Nor do most people, including the wealthy, possess large amounts of cash or other liquid assets. No problem she says. They can pay the tax in stock or illiquid assets. That’s expropriation through the guise of taxation. It will be the death knell of family businesses. Her K-12 education plan promises $800 million over 10 years; it is a sop to the teachers unions while crushing charter schools. Senator Warren the other day said to a pro school choice advocate that she sent her children to public schools. Oops! Wrong again! Her son went to an expensive private school. Why should anyone believe what she says? And then we have her non-termination for being pregnant. She has said many times that she was terminated from her teaching position in 1971 when she became visibly pregnant: “At the end of the first year, I was visibly pregnant.” “The principal wished me luck and hired someone else for the job.” Her pregnancy termination claim is as valid as Hillary Clinton’s landing under fire. The 1971 Riverdale, New Jersey School Board minutes show the Board unanimously voted her a second year. The June 1971 minutes say her resignation was “accepted with regret.” She was leaving to raise a family. Another great sympathetic story, but yet again a falsehood. She says she wants the successful to pay their “fair share,” which is never defined. The burden will be on the middle class, while she sucks money out of the private economy. Her central planning will unleash an army of millions of bureaucrats on America. Her central planning will cripple the American spirit of independence, creativity, initiative and entrepreneurism. Central planning is the opposite of capitalism. She avers she wants to save capitalism by reforming it. She will destroy capitalism, just like the old medical joke: “The operation was a success, but the patient died.” She asserts “I am a capitalist, but markets need to work for more than just the rich.” They do: they work for the majority of Americans with company retirement funds, IRAs, 401K’s, and other pension plans. She is as much a capitalist as she is Native American. Who knows what Senator Elizabeth Warren really believes? She is a rank opportunist, an equal opportunity opportunist. .

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Focus Groups Are Not Grounds for Impeachment; Neither are Presumptions and Admitted Ignorance: Miscellaneous Musings on the Faux Impeachment.

Speaker Pelosi’s letter of the day is “B” for bribery. Why bribery? A focus group preferred bribery over quid pro quo and extortion as more damning to the President. The Democrats case against the President is so specious that they have to resort to focus groups to decide the right rhetoric to use against the President. Memo to Ambassador Maria Yovanovitch, the Democrats, and the media: The President has the power to recall an ambassador at any time for any reason, as well as fire the Director of the FBI and Attorney General at any time for any reason. Memo to the Democrats, the media, the foreign policy establishment, and the intelligence agencies: 1) A fundamental disagreement over the foreign policy of the United States is not grounds for impeachment; 2) The President has the power to conduct the foreign policy of the United States – not the State Department or the intelligence agencies. The honorable recourse if they disagree is to resign. Policy differences with the foreign policy establishment are not a ground for impeachment, but for the electorate; 3) Not one testifying witness averred a criminal act by the President, much less bribery; 4) Words such as “concerned,, “dismayed,” “improper” “unusual,” “inappropriate,” are not “Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Ambassador Gordon Sondland is reported by the media yesterday morning to have damned President Trump. He said in his prepared statement: “Was there a quid pro quo?” He answered “With regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.” He said “Everyone was in the loop.” He never actually said what the quid pro quo was. Halleluiah to the Democrats, the media, and the Trump haters. Or not! The critical question was asked by Republican Mike Turner to Ambassador Sondland: “Mr. Sondland, let’s be clear: no one on this planet – not Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mick Mulvaney, Mike Pompeo – no one told you aid was tied to political investigations, is that correct?” Ambassador Sondland answered: “that’s correct.” Cross-examination further got the Ambassador to admit that he had not included in his opening statement the following conversation with the President. The Ambassador asked the President the following question. What did you want from Ukraine? The President responded: “I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zelensky to do the right thing.” Suddenly the media switched tones and questioned the Ambassador’s credibility. Not that it mattered to the Democrats, but when asked if he had evidence that the delay in military aid was linked to the investigation, the Ambassador admitted he was presuming the link to Trump. That summarizes all the testimony against the President to date: hearsay, presumptions, speculation, and ignorance. No smoking gun – no incriminating Watergate tape, no incriminating memos. Here’s what we know. The nation’s intelligence agencies conspired prior to President Trump’s election to destroy him, led by the unholy trinity of Brennen, Clapper, and Comey, subsequently joined by Representative Adam Schiff, who almost daily over two years popped up on nightly TV saying he had proof President Trump collaborated with the Russians, doing his best tail Gunner Joe McCarthy imitation. The witnesses told us how critical Ukraine's independence is for us, and why Ukraine needed the arms. These same career State Department officials were silent when Russia invaded Ukraine, seized the Crimea, and sponsored a proxy war in the eastern Ukraine. They were strangely silent when President Obama only sent MRE's (Mels Ready to Eat) to the Ukraine rather than arms. President Trump sent arms, including $70 million in Javalin anti-tank missiles, to the brave Ukrainian fighter. Yesterday's witness, Fiona Hill, had even written an Op-Ed in the Washington Post arguing against sending arms to Ukraine. The purpose of the impeachment proceedings was threefold. The first is to impeach President trump. That was a foregone conclusion as soon as he was elected. The Democrats rejected the election results and vowed to impeach him, The only question is what would they pin it on? The second reason was to satisfy their rabid base and the AOC's of Congress. The third reason was to actually find something and thereby inflame public opinion to impeach the President. Whatever some of them say, the Trump Impeachment is not the second coming of President Nixon. There is no smoking gun. It’s a sad commentary on America’s democracy that the Democratic House of Representatives has spent the past three years attempting to remove the elected President from Office, over-turning the will of the voters. It’s further distressing that they have spent the past year trying to impeach him without any Constitutional grounds. The Democrats are fly-specking President Trump’s written answers to the House Judiciary Committee to establish if he committed perjury. The Trump Impeachment is a modern update of the 2400 year old trial of Socrates. Socrates was framed because he questioned the power structure of Athens. The House Democrats are attempting to frame President Trump because he is both outside and questioning the Washington power structure and the foreign policy establishment. A legal joke is “Don’t confuse me with the facts; I know the Law.” Representative Adam Schiff is not going to let neither the facts nor Law get in the way of the impeachment. Vice President Joe Biden said: ‘We choose truth over facts.” The Supreme Court held each house of Congress has the right to decide its rules of procedure in an impeachment. The Democrats chose to present one side of the case, rejecting the right of the Republicans to present their witnesses and limited their cross-examination of witnesses. No due process; that's technically fine. The Schiff Inquisition is a nothing burger full of hot air propped up by the media. To quote Gertrude Stein, slightly out of context: "There is no there, there."

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Tom Turkey is Terrorizing Toms River Before Thanksgiving

Residents of New Jersey's Toms River, including Holiday City, are complaining of an invasion of a gang of gangly wild turkeys. The Toms River Terrorist Tom Turkeys have terrorized Toms River. Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings, Hells Angels. Those are gangs. No self-respecting gang will be called The Turkeys! The wild turkeys bite, break windows, peck at cars, defecate and otherwise terrorize the community. The New Jersey residents are at a loss. They have lost their independence and spirit of self-help. The hapless Toms River officials are acting like turkeys. One official analogized the turkeys to speed bumps. Speed bumps don’t go 20MPH. Another said: “It’s nuisance wildlife we are not licensed to trap, relocate, or as they use the word, harass the turkeys or any wildlife, for that matter that’s a nuisance.” Sexual harassment is bad, but when did turkey harassment become verboten? The turkeys showed up in time for Thanksgiving, just like manna from heaven. Hunting wild turkeys is dangerous. The hunter must emulate the cooing of a female hen, attracting the male turkey into the open, hoping not to be shot by a drunken hunter shooting at the sound of the females. These turkeys are in the open, primed for plucking. The citizens should seize the opportunity. 25 pounds of organic, protein full turkeys for Thanksgiving. None of the caged fed supermarket turkeys. Baste the wild turkeys with Wild Turkey Bourbon. 60 wild turkeys could last for months. Write a Toms River Turkey Cookbook: Turkey Soup. Turkey Noodle Soup. Turkey Bacon. Turkey Burgers. Turkey Sausage. Turkey Casserole. Turkey Meatballs. Turkey Sandwiches. Turkey Stew. Ground Turkey. Turkey Cold Cuts. Boiled Turkey. Fried Turkey. Smoked Turkey. Turkey in a Crockpot. The Classic Turkey Legs They could also inaugurate the Annual Toms River Tom Turkey Derby with racing turkeys. The Toms River residents should remember Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird. They should respect the birds; give them their space. Instead they’re acting like the passengers on the sinking Titanic when the band played Turkey in the Straw.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Job Creation by Our Progressive Democrats/Democratic Socialists (Exluding Staff Positions)

Our progressive “socialist” wants to improve the country through socialism. Here’s their record on job creation: Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor, Congressman, Senator 0 Congressman Beto O’Rourke 0 Senator Elizabeth Warren -2,000,000 Agrees her Medicare for All would eliminate 2 million jobs Vice President Joe Biden 0 Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -25,000 Senator Kamala Harris 0 Representative Ayanna Pressley 0 Representative Ilhan Omar 0 Representative Rashida Tialb 0 Seattle’s Democratic Socialists 0 Energy Production (Hydro, Nuclear, Fossil Fuel, Solar, Wind, Bio) Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor, Congressman, Senator 0 Congressman Beto O’Rourke 0 Senator Elizabeth Warren 0 Agrees her Medicare for All would eliminate 2 million jobs Vice President Joe Biden 0 Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 0 Senator Kamala Harris 0 Representative Ayanna Pressley 0 Representative Ilhan Omar 0 Representative Rashida Tialb 0 Seattle’s Democratic Socialists 0 Time Spent working in the Private Sector Only Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and she failed Hot Air Generated Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor, Congressman, Senator Congressman Beto O’Rourke Senator Elizabeth Warren Agrees her Medicare for All would eliminate 2 million jobs Vice President Joe Biden Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Senator Kamala Harris Representative Ayanna Pressley Representative Ilhan Omar Representative Rashida Tialb Seattle’s Democratic Socialists Astronomical

The Rise and fall of Representative Katie Hill

First the gods build you up, and then they tear you down. Katie ran a great campaign for Congress two years ago. She rose like a comet and crashed like a meteor. The Representative was anointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a leadership position. She was appointed co-chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. The executive of PATH, People Assisting the Homeless, a NGO for homeless, found herself in the halls of Congress at the age of 31. Representative Katie Hill had the future in her hands. She turned to a bong. Her career crashed last week, resigning from Congress. She was on a meteoritic rise: Katie Hill was the vanguard of the new woke Democratic Party. The young millennial had it all in the grasp of her hand, but she chose a bong. She knew she would be under a microscope; she told the Los Angeles Times last March: “Any mistake you make is going to be much more noticeable.” She then engaged in reckless personal behavior with intimate pictures. I caution students in today’s world not to take those photos or videos. The broader problem for her and others is that relationships do not always last. Breakups can be amicable or ballistic. The Hill-Heslep divorce is apparently a case of atoms splitting. She blames the disclosures on Kenneth Heslep, her vengeful, abusive soon-to-be ex-husband. The House voted a ban on members of Congress having relationships with staffers. She voted for the bill. Did she have a relationship with a Congressional staffer? She denies it. We live in a country still governed but the rule of Law. Katie Hill is entitled to a presumption of innocence, the same presumption of innocence she denied Judge Bret Kavanaugh, who she called a “serial predator.” She is entitled to the same presumption of innocence and due process as President Trump, whom she and her fellow Democrats are subjecting to a Star Chamber due process lacking impeachment. The story is that Speaker Pelosi did not pressure the Representative to resign. The Speaker said: “She has acknowledged errors in judgment that made her continued services a member untenable.” Someone forced Katie Hill to resign. A politician, such as Katie Hill, is ambitious with aspirations for higher office. She will not willingly “take one for the team.” Representative Katie Hill was thrown off the (Congressional) bus. She is collateral damage in the Trump impeachment. Her travails would have been a distraction to the impeachment. Thus, she was thrown under the bus. Sex trumps politics! She resigned with a “broken heart.” She declaimed the double standard, claiming to be the victim of a double standard, a misogynist culture. She can’t accept that Donald Trump is President. President Donald trump was elected by voters who voted on their issues, not any possible sordid past. Trump voters are well aware of the President’s personal history. Double standard? Senator Al Franken was forced to resign because od a photo, which lacked nudity. Double standard? Virginia voters just elected Democrat Joe Morrissey to the state senate. Joe Morrissey was convicted a few years ago of having sex with an underaged staffer. She said she resigned because “I will not allow myself to be a distraction from the constitutional crisis we are faced with, and the critical work of my colleagues.” The Representative said in her farewell speech to Congress: “I am leaving because I didn’t want to be peddled by shameless operatives for the dirtiest gutter politics that I have ever seen ……….” What about the dirty gutter politics used against Justice Brett Kavanaugh? She may have a drinking problem. That’s not unusual for members of Congress. That shouldn’t disqualify her from office. The crux of the problem is not her relationships. Her mistake was not her acts; it was the photos, including an Iron Cross on an upper thigh. The photos and stories showed up in the Daily Mail, and the RedState blog, having allegedly been leaked by her abusive husband, who may also have other photos. He claims his computer was hacked. Even if it is “Revenge Porn” prohibited by California law, it’s out and the Daily Mail is in London, unfazed by California law. I don’t like her politics, but it is unfair for her being forced to resign because the decision should have been made by her constituents in the 2020 election. Ultimately, she should answer to them, not the House pooh-bahs.

Friday, November 1, 2019

WarrenCare: Medicare for All: ObamaCare Redux

Senator Elizabeth Warren has plans for everything: free, free, free; tax the rich! She finally released her funding plan for Medicare for All. She admitted about 2 million people will lose their jobs. That’s collateral damage for universal health care, or as she said “”part of the cost issue.” She said it would cost $52 trillion over 10 years, an average of $5.2 trillion per year. The 2019 federal budget is roughly $4.407 trillion, almost a trillion less than her proposal, which as per usual government projections is a substantial under-estimate of the true costs. She wants to more than double the federal government, essentially socializing not just health care but the economy. At least her proposal does not repeat the lies of ObamaCare: “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” You won’t have a choice under WarrenCare, assuming you can find a doctor “If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it” One plan, the government plan, fits all. “Premiums will decline by $2,500 per year for families” She’s promising to return $11 trillion to American families – her-self proclaimed “biggest tax cut in our history.” I have a bridge in Brooklyn for you. She’s promising no tax increases for the middle class: “Not one penny in middle-class tax increases.” So did President Obama Senator Bernie Sanders is honest about proposing tax increases She claims taxing corporations and payroll taxes will pay for WarrenCare: $15 trillion in new taxes – but not on the middle class. I have a Bridge in Brooklyn for you. Corporations don’t pay taxes. They pass them on to their customers. The Senator will double down on her already proposed wealth tax. She proclaimed: “When fully implemented, my approach to Medicare for All would mark one of the greatest middle class wealth in history.” I have a Bridge in Brooklyn for you. A basic rule of economics: The more you raise taxes on capital, the less you will get as people and institutions change their behavior. The rich, the hedge funds, et al, have neither the funds or inclination. Economics and history tell us you cannot suck that much money out of the private sector without doing substantial damage to the economy. The federal government has not proven a worthy provider of medical care. The Indian Health Service and hospitals is a disgrace. The Veteran’s Administration is still deficient in providing healthcare to our nation’s veterans. She proposes to lower costs by reducing payments to healthcare providers, including doctors and hospitals. That’s been a proven disaster with Medicaid. Here’s the questions: 1) Will doctors want to workforce the government? 3) Will the 152 million Americans on employer health insurance plans vote for it? 2) Will the public remember the false promises of ObamaCare? 4) Will the public support free medical care for the tens of millions of undocumented immigrants? 5) Will the traditional big business, big Wall Street funders of Democrats support President Trump instead? 6) Will the Congressional Democrats, remembering the political carnage of ObamaCare, vote to commit political suicide? 7) Can you imagine the chaos and carnage in shifting from the competitive marketplace to a monopolistic government bureaucracy? 8) Would Chief Justice Roberts vote to uphold WarrenCare? Buy gold!

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Senator Mitt Romney Neither Surprises nor Disappoints Me in His Contempt for President Trump: He Is Who He Is

Yes, I am neither surprised nor disappointed by Senator Romney’s outcries over President Romney. He’s what I expected. He despises President Trump. His OpEd in the Washington Post criticizing President Trump’s character was just more of the same. He echoed Senator Reid’s 2012 lies about Romney’s taxes by speculating during the 2016 primaries that Donald Trump’s taxes contain a bombshell. Donald Trump later replied by calling Mitt Romney “one of the dumbest and worse candidates in the history of Republican politics.” The war of words was on. Romney called Trump “A phony, a fraud … he’s playing members of the American public for suckers.” Candidate Trump called Romney a “choke artist.” The former nominee said he would not vote for Donald Trump in the general election. He said earlier today “I’m keeping a ‘completely open mind’ and am waiting for the facts” on the House impeachment of President Trump. The Senator is who he is. He is brilliant with both a J.D. and MBA from Harvard. He is a successful businessman. He turned the money losing Salt Lake City Olympics into a great success. He is a devout Mormon. He holds himself and others to a strict moral code. He has a natural bent to be a leader. But he’s a lousy candidate and politician. I voted for Mitt Romney in 1994 when he ran against Senator Ted Kennedy in the Senator’s sixth bid for reelection. He would have been better than the profligate Senator. Of course, Mitt Romney lost; he ran a bad campaign. He was running ahead of Senator Kennedy, emphasizing youth and job creation. His Bain Capital created tens of thousands of jobs. Then came Senator Kennedy’s devastating AmPad ad. Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital acquired AmPad, and took millions in fees out of it. AmPad entered bankruptcy. An AmPad worker, one of 250 who lost their jobs in the AmPad bankruptcy, blamed Mitt Romney for their unemployment. Bain Capital reaped $100 million from AmPad while creditors ended up with 2 cents on the dollar. It was compelling and devastating. I immediately knew Mitt’s campaign was dead in the waters. He had no answer for the ad. The ad created an image of Mitt Romney as a cold, ruthless plutocrat. He’s not, but the image carried through his 2012 presidential campaign. He also had no answer for it when Newt Gingrich raised it against him in the 2012 primaries. Governor Perry called Mitt Romney a “vulture capitalist.” I would have voted for Mitt Romney in 2002 when he won the governorship of Massachusetts. I knew he would be better than the Democratic opponent. We left Taxachusetts in 1996 for sunny Southern California. We left Massachusetts before Governor Romney imposed Romney Care, an individual mandate, on the citizens of Massachusetts. He also substantially raised fees, as if he were Governor Michael Dukakis. Governor Romney did not stand for reelection in 2006 because he would have lost. The Mitt Man can wear out his welcome. He sought the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008. He lost the nomination to Senator McCain. Governor Romney spoke at Chapman’s Dodge College in 2008. My friend was impressed by him. I was underwhelmed, quoting the Duck Test: If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. I said Mitt Romney looks like a preppie, walks like a preppie, and talks like a preppie. Mitt Romney is a preppie, who could not connect with the people. He was also disbelieved because of his political changes. Republicans successfully seeking statewide office in Massachusetts have to be what’s called a Rhino elsewhere in America. Mitt Romney was necessarily pro-choice. He claimed to be a moderate, but said “I believe abortion should be safe and legal in this country.”. Then came the 2012 metamorphosis. He’s now pro-life. Governor Romney signed the strongest assault weapons ban in the United States, saying “Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts,” but then curried favor with the NRA in running for President. His moral code does not extend to convenient epiphanies by others. He explained “I’ve been as consistent as human beings can be.” Thus he asked and received President Trump’s endorsement in 2016 during his successful run for Senator from Utah after seeking the Secretary of State appointment in the new Trump Administartion. Political necessity trumped his moral probity. He probably wasn’t going to defeat President Obama’s reelection in 2012, but his poor campaign didn’t help. First, he could not attack the President on the unpopular ObamaCare because much of it was modeled on RomneyCare, including the individual mandate. Second his three debate performance was bewildering. A clear consensus exists that he won the first debate. He was knowledgeable, confident, and assertive. President Obama was essentially phoning it in. Instead of building on his strong success in the first debate, he backed off in the final two, looking indifferent and out of it. He let Candy Crowley get away with a blatant misstatement. His debate strategy was inexplicable, as if he was confused by her statement. His presidential campaign died that night. Only he didn’t know it. The Governor’s inability to connect with the voters was clear. He may despise President Trump, but the Trump voters know Trump’s one of them. They don’t care about the President’s personal behavior. They don’t care about his tweets. I wish he wouldn’t send some of them, but that’s who he is. They know the mainstream media will crucify him for anything he says or does. They don’t care. Finally a candidate/President who is not politically correct! And now we know Senator Romney in a secret Twitter account has a nom de plume, “Pierre Delicto,” which sounds like the legal phrase “In pari delicto” It means “equally at fault.”

Michigan Destroyed Notre Dame 45-14; Hurrah to Harbaugh; POTFI

Torrential rain was falling in the Big House Saturday Night. Torrents of Wolverines were sliding through fightless Irish, who prepared a suicidal game plan, or was it arrogance. The Domers had two weeks to prepare for the game; the weather forecast had been ominous for days. Yet they were unprepared! Go figure! Touchdown Jesus doesn’t do road trips. The Four Horsemen on the Apocalypse, Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley, and Layden have long since faded into the sunset. Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, and Holtz can’t help. Brian Kelly was on his own. His face was frozen except when berating players or scowling at officials. Michigan went to the run; Notre dame to QB Ian Book in a driving torrential rainstorm. He recorded 73 passing yards on 11 completions out of 29 attempts. What were they thinking? The score should have been 45-0. The Irish’s first touchdown came after Brad Hawkins cleanly intercepted a Notre Dame pass. An official called a phantom pass interference call against Michigan. Even the broadcast booth couldn’t see a pass interference. (Michigan has received several questionable calls this season). The second touchdown was during garbage time at the end of the game. The rain was pouring; the winds were howling and Notre Dame called passes on 13 out of its first 28 offensive plays. What were they thinking? Michigan ran the ball on 20 of its first 22 plays and 34 of its 38 first half plays. Notre Dame upheld its reputation for weak run defenses. Michigan’s offense gained 303 yards on the ground. Hassam Haskins ran for 149 yards on 20 plays while Zach Charbonnet rushed for 74 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns for the Wolverines. Notre Dame’s total yards gained rushing were 47 and 160 overall. Tony Jones, Jr, Notre dame’s great running, back had 18 yards on 6 carries. His blockers were AWOL. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has a lead contamination cleanup problem. Notre dame football in South Bend has a lead foot problem. Two magnificent catches by Chase Claypool for 42 yards. That was his total. Of course Michigan poured it on Notre Dame in the pouring rain. Notre Dame would have done the same if it had the chance. The Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry has a tortured history. Michigan’s great Fielding Yost believed Notre Dame was cheating, so he stopped scheduling Notre Dame in 1908. He later blocked Notre Dame’s entry into the Big Ten. Notre Dame remained an independent, the most successful in college football history. The two college football goliaths of the Midwest met twice during World War II, but that was just a lull. The Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry resumed in 1978, creating an instant modern rivalry to join the Notre Dame - USC, Michigan - Ohio State, and Michigan - Michigan State rivalries. Notre Dame’s athletic director cancelled the series after the 2014 game – a great loss for college football. The two teams proved their equality after the century hiatus with each winning 17 games in the revival. Some were blowouts, and some final second miracles. All were great games. They won’t play again until 2033 unless they meet in a bowl game.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The Kurds, the Turks, and the President Trump

The Kurds and Turks have been fighting seemingly continuously since 1514 when Sultan Selim annexed Western Armenia and Kurdistan into the Ottoman Empire. The Kurds are consistently on the losing side in the Turk-Kurd conflicts.. Yet the Kurds persevere driven by an eternal quest for independence. They are also great fighters; they fight for independence even when it seems futile. Sultan Mehmet in conquering Constantinople in 1453 realized he possessed a once great but now empty city. He needed to repopulate it; hence be brought in people from throughout the Empire, regardless of religion or ethniciy. The Sultans may have denied certain rights to non-Muslims, but tolerated them. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch was moved to Istanbul, the former Constantinople. The Ottoman tolerance for non-Muslims ended with Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1894-6 when he unleashed a series of pogroms against the Armenians, killing an estimated 200,000, initiating three decades of religious cleansing in Turkey. The Three Pashas of the Young Turks initiated the Armenian Genocide in Southeast Turkey, their historic homeland, by slaughtering an estimated 1.5 Armenians, as well as Assyrians and Greeks. Several Kurdish groups assisted the Turks in their genocide, but others sheltered Armenians. The Kurds filled the vacuum in Southeast Turkey by settling in the former Armenian lands. Kurdish leaders have since apologized for their ancestors participation in the genocide. The Turks have not acknowledged the slaughter as a genocide. Turkey Prime Minister Adnan Menderes was heavily involved in the September 1955 Istanbul Pogrom directed at the Greek minority in Turkey. A mass migration of the remaining Greeks followed. Only about 7,000 Greeks remained in Turkey by 1978, down from 119,882 in 1922. The Kurds are Muslims, mostly Sunni, so religious intolerance is not President Erdogan’s problems with them. It’s their eternal guest for quasi-independence if not full independence. The Sultans had reached a modus vivendi with the Kurds. The two would mostly leave each other alone as long as the Kurds were submissive. Then came the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War II. The Kurds were promised a country of their own in what is now Southeast Turkey, Northern Syria, Northern Iraq, and Northwest Iran. The 1919 Treaty of Serves between the victorious countries and a weakened Sultan dismembered the Ottoman Empire creating an independent Kurdistan. It divided Turkey into pieces with the Greeks getting the larger pieces. Mustafa Kemal, now known as Ataturk, had other ideas. He rallied the defeated Turks, and won Turkey’s independence. The British, French, and Italians saw the writing on the wall and left Turkey. The Greeks were decisively defeated. Ataturk won an independent Turkey with the present boundaries. He was not going to give the Kurds a part of Turkey as an independent country. In addition, the British realized Northern Iraq, the Kurds’ home, contained most of Iraq’s large oil fields. There was to be no independent Kurdistan pursuant to the 1823 Treaty of Lausanne. The Kurds were betrayed for the first, but certainly not the last time of over the past 100 years. The Kurds rebelled against the Turks in 1925, 1930, and 1937-8 and in Iran in 1920. They lost each time. Iraq and Iran fought in 1974-75 with the Iranians providing support to the Kurds. A 1975 settlement between the two required Iran to cut off support of the Kurds. The United States followed suit in ceasing supporting the Kurds. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger famously said: “Covert action should not be confused with missionary work.” Another betrayal! Allies and allegiances in the Mideast are usually allies of convenience. They are transitory, can shift on a moment’s notice. The United States and Israel are locked together, as are most likely the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The Kurds have already turned to the Syrian Army with the Russians as allies. They had been negotiating with the Syrians prior to President Trump’s decision. President George H. W. Bush during the first Gulf War encouraged the Kurds and other Iraqi to rebel. The war ended. Saddam Hussein unleashed his helicopters and tanks on the Kurds. The U.S. backed off. Another betrayal. Yet, the Kurds persevered and ended up with a quasi-independent Kurdish The media’s sudden concern with the fates of the Kurds is motivated by the desire to disparage President Trump. The media has been oblivious to the three year war President Erdogan has been waging on Turkey’s Kurds. He has unleashed his military and death squads on the Kurds in the name of fighting terrorism. He claims the Syrian Kurds are allied with the PKK, the Kurdish Workers Party, labeled a terrorist organization by both Turkey and the United States. He is also scared that a united Iraq-Syria semi-independent Kurdistan would pose a threat to Turkey, making it difficult to hold onto Southeast Turkey. The media applauded President Obama when he pulled American forces out of Iraq. President Obama started the process of pulling out of Iraq and the Mideast. President Trump is accelerating it. President Erdogan is a Mideast dictator, who emulates the former Ottoman Empire. He is no more capable of restoring the Ottoman’s glory than Benito Mussolini could restore the Roman Empire. President Erdogan is totally untrustworthy. He and his son are corrupt. One of President Trump’s campaign’s promises was to get out of these endless wars in the Mideast in which the United States does not have a stake. The signs were on the wall that he would pull American soldiers out of much of the volatile Mideast. He saw no reason to shed for further precious American blood in these endless conflicts in which the United States does not have a vested interest. President Trump was in a difficult position. American forces in many areas serve as a deterrent. If attacked the result would be an American response. Turkey is a member of NATO, but President Erdogan is a wobbly, untrustworthy ally. The United States was not going to war with Turkey to save the Kurds. Turkey also had great leverage over the United States with Turkey’s Incrilik Air Base. The United States has had a large presence at the base beginning during the Cold War. About 50 nuclear bombs are stored at the base. Therein lies the rub. If Turkey and the United States have a major falling out, the Turkish military could seize the bombs. EU countries complained about Turkey’s invasion of Syria. President Erdogan threatened to unleash 3.6 million Syrian refugees, currently in Turkey, on the EU countries, triggering another humanitarian crisis. President Erdogan claims he want a safety zone 250 miles X 20 miles along the Turkey-Syria border. Just coincidentally this strip of land is a highly fertile agricultural area adjoining desolate land. President Trump is accused of betraying the Kurds, our allies in defeating ISIS. 11,000 Kurds paid with their lives fighting the Kurds. The optics are bad for President Trump and the political consequences foreboding at this time. I agree President Trump made a tragic mistake in abandoning the Kurds. President Erdogan’s attacks were highly predictable and the consequences tragic. The Kurds will survive, as they always have. Someday they will be united.

Friday, October 11, 2019

What if They Give an Impeachment and No One Comes? Reflection on the Democratic-Trump Impeachment Circus

The House Democrats are engaged in a unilateral, not voted on, inquiry on President Trump. The House Republicans are excluded from the “inquiry.” President Trump won’t cooperate with the House Democrats as it is now conducted. Even Representative Adam Schiff’s “not really a whistle blower” whistle blower refuses to appear in public. Speaker Pelosi and representative Schiff are recreating the despised Star Chamber. No notice! No right to defend! No right to face and confront the accuser! No right to present evidence! Not to mention selective quotes out of context! Trump Impeachment is a Catharsis for Democrats, who are still in the stages of anger and denial. Democrats wanted to impeach Donald Trump from moment he was elected. They have yet to accept that this boorish (they think) outsider from reality TV defeated their anointed, brilliant, sophisticated, perfect candidate Hillary Clinton. She’s still in denial, blaming her loss on everything and anyone other than herself. She called President Trump last week “an illegitimate president” – she who rigged the Democratic nomination in 2016 to deny Senator Sanders – she who sought information from England, Russia, and the Ukraine to defeat Donald Trump. They’ve spent almost three years looking for an excuse to remove President Trump from office. They’re grasping at straws with Ukraine. Representative Adam Schiff is the Pied Piper of the Potomac, leading the Democrats where they want to go, but probably shouldn’t. Representative Schiff just won the non-coveted Four Pinocchio Award from the Washington Post for claiming he had no foreknowledge of the whistle blower who worked with his staff to draft the whistle-blower’s complaint, a whistle blower who belatedly went through channels, a whistle blower with only second hand, hearsay evidence. Where are all the other fact checkers quick to condemn President Trump? Where was the Washington Post over the past two years when representative Schiff almost daily announced President Trump colluded with the Russians? Representative Schiff has dusted off his statements from the past two years claiming proof of the Russian Collusion allegation against President Trump. “There was no there, there,” but he never apologized. Now he’s claiming proof of ???? I’m not sure. Schiff’s always shifting. Representative Schiff is the modern “Tailgunner” Joe McCarthy, who saw a communist under every rock. Why did Speaker Pelosi announce the inquiry even before she saw the transcript of the Trump-Ukraine telephone call? The Democrats’ rally call “READY, FIRE, AIM.” This is an extension of the centuries old struggles between a legislature and the formal leader, such as a king or president The United States has three equal branches, but this impeachment is an attempt to subordinate the presidency to the legislative (Congress), reducing the three separate branches to two, followed they hope by stacking the Supreme Court to rewrite the Constitution, thereby giving the Democrats. The House is sending out a flurry of subpoenas, which may end up as wallpaper. The Democrats are trying to quarantine the whistleblower who only had hearsay knowledge. Is it: 1) an attempt to avoid another Robert Mueller? 2) Build up the suspense? 3) For his/her own security? 4) Are they trying to take the steam out of the upcoming Inspector General’s Report? 5) Did Representative Schiff expect President Trump to not release the transcript, and thereby be able to allege quid pro quo? Perhaps all of the above, but the overriding reason is that Representative Schiff knows his ”whistle blower” has nothing; it’s another dud on the impeachment trail. Doesn’t this sound like a replay of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings? They’re still mumbling about impeaching Justice Kavanaugh. The only thing missing this time is Michael Avenatti. How many of the Democrat Representatives know where the Ukraine is? How many even knew or cared about the Ukraine until the chance to pin it on President Trump? How many know who the Kurds are? How many of the Democrats, salivating over the chance to impeach President Trump, have said how painful a process it is? Is it just a coincidence that the Russian Collusion, Russian Dossier and the current “whistle blowers’ emerge from the intelligence Community? Let’s see if we understand the inquiry? 1) President Trump did not threaten to hold up funds pending an investigation of Vice President Biden and his son Hunter, while the braggadocio Vice President is on tape threatening to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees. 2) Ukraine’s President did not know that President Trump had suspended $400 million in military assistance prior to the phone call. 3) The Ukraine had already initiated an investigation into Hunter Biden and the corrupt Borisma gas company Therefore impeachment proceedings are beginning against the President. Memo to Ambassador Marie Yavanovich: Ambassadors are Presidential appointees who serve at the pleasure of the President, just as FBI directors. We are told our Constitution is in danger because of President Trump’s behavior. Our Constitution is in danger because the Democratic House is attempting to impeach the President for personal and policy reason when no acts of Treason, Bribery, “other High Crimes or Misdemeanors” have occurred, at least by this President. The Democrats list their talking points, as of on clue: “Abuse of Power” “Betrayal of Office.” Echoes and cheering by the media doesn’t make it so. Contempt for Congress is not Contempt of Congress. One true statement of Vice President Joe Biden: “We place truth over facts.”

Friday, September 27, 2019

Impeachment II - The Constitutional Perils

On Impeachment – The Constitutional Perils Doing impeachment is going nuclear. The Democrats are playing with fire – Constitutional fire. The Democrats wanted to impeach President Trump the second it was clear Secretary Hillary Clinton lost. Impeach, Indict, Investigate became their mantra, in whatever order. Forget the facts; full impeachment ahead. Committee Chair Adam Schiff gave a bogus rendition full of lies of President Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian leader. He called it a parody. Representative Schiff has been doing his best imitation of Senator Joe McCarthy for the past three years. No claim, no matter how implausible, will do. The media will give it substance. Proof would be needed in a normal world, observing due process. Former Ohio Governor John Kasich is not a fan of President Trump. He said you can’t impeach over a phone call. There are not normal times for the Democrats. They are still in the first and second stages of grief management: Denial and Anger. Speaker Pelosi announced the initiation of an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. That’s old news; they’ve been doing it from the beginning, even before inauguration. Their reckless power grab is a threat to the long term stability of our republic. Due process, indeed the Constitution, has been tossed aside in the past three years – Trump, Kavanaugh, anything to destroy them for political purposes. They fail to learn the lesson of Harry Reid. His Senate majority tossed aside the long standing Senate filibuster rules to install President Obama’s judicial picks to stack the federal district and appellate courts with liberal judges to preserve President Obama’s legacy. What goes around, comes around. The Republican Senate tossed the filibuster rules for Supreme Court nominees. Hence, Judge Kavanaugh is now Justice Kavanaugh after the most divisive Senate confirmation process in history. They are risking the democracy. Impeachment for political reasons is dangerous What goes around will come around The Clinton impeachment was payback for Nixon Someday the Republicans in Congress will try to toss a Democratic president, using this “impeachment’ as precedence. It’s all political. The Democrats have spent almost three years looking for a basis, no matter how slender, to impeach President Trump. They have wanted to impeach President almost from the minute he defeated Hillary Clinton. Congressman Al Green (D. Tex.) said right after President Trump’s election: “If we don’t impeach this president, he will be reelected.” Georgetown Professor Neal K. Kaytal, former acting solicitor general under President Obama, penned an op-ed in today’s New York Times. His tenet is that “Impeachment Needs No Crime,” even though Article II, §4 provides for impeachment for “treason, Bribery or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Those are the specified grounds for impeachment. No other grounds exist. Professor Kaytal’s right in that while the Constitution requires a crime, impeachment is in fact a political act. Representative Nadler has been on a mission to impeach President Trump. They’ve spent three years looking for something, anything to pin impeachment on President Trump. They spent two years on the bogus Russian conspiracy cabal. They tried obstruction. Both failed with the Mueller report. If Robert Mueller’s handpicked partisans couldn’t nail President Trump, then Congress will not. They relied on Robert Mueller’s testimony, but he was a dud. Michael Avenatti and Stormy Daniels were good for a while. Now it’s a whistleblower and coverup. In the face of transparency, which was lacking in the Obama Administration. Always looking for something, anything, even if fabricated. Damn the facts, full impeachment ahead! Joe Biden said it best. He prefers the truth over facts! Representative Rashid Tlaib eloquently said a few hours after sworn into Congress: “We’re going to impeach this mother fucker.” She said it in front of her young son. The Representative is now selling “Impeach the MF” t-shirts for $29 for her reelection campaign. Damn the facts, full impeachment ahead! Damn the Constitution: full impeachment ahead! This country exists on the Rule of Law, reflected in the Constitution. The Constitutional values ensure the end does not justify the means. The Constitution provides the process for electing the President and process and grounds for removing the President. The Democrats want to overturn the election, without any proof of treason, bribery, high crimes or misdemeanors, by political chicanery. They wish to overturn the vote which elected President Trump. They can’t believe their perfect candidate, their anointed candidate, the perfectly flawed Hillary Clinton could lose to Donald Trump. They believe he must have had outside help, such as the Russians to win. The Democrats keep underestimating Donald Trump. They want to commit political, presidential regicide. It will mark the end of the republic. Mob rule will rule – a mob of partisan Democrats. The means justify the end for these Democrats. The end is the removal from office of President Trump, irrespective of the Constitution and the public which elected him. Impeachment without a crime on a purely partisan basis trashes the Constitution. The rights of all are at risk. Rights do not exist without adherence to the Constitution. Many liberals support the concept of a living constitution that can change judicially with the times. These Democrats want to ignore the Constitution. Speaker Pelosi has a problem. The story is that she’s not in favor of impeachment. She understands the politics. The reality is that she may not have a choice. 220 of her Democratic colleagues are publicly committed to an impeachment inquiry. They are committed to impeachment. The pressure will become a tsunami – for Democrats.

Impeachment I

Are the Democrats Trying to Impeach President Trump, Dump Joe Biden, or Both? Someone, a supporter of a democratic candidate for President, who had no first hand information of a Presidential telephone call with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, acted as a whistle blower complaining of President Trump. He wasn’t there, and hadn’t even seen a transcript of the call. (Transcripts are all that all available of these calls since the Administration stopped taping them after he end of the Nixon Administration.) We don’t yet know who the whistle blower is. We now know the actual words in the phone call. We now know the allegations in the nine page faux whistle blower’s letter do not line up with the transcript of the actual call. Both President Trump and the Ukrainian government deny any pressure occurred. Witnesses were on the calls and a transcript made of the call. Apparently the Ukraine President was unaware the funds were held up until sometime after the phone conversation. Yet the Democrats are immediately yelling “Impeach, Impeach, Impeach.” Representative Adam Schiff is acting more sanctimonious than usual in excoriating the President. The latest allegations against the President may merit impeachment: “If the President is essentially withholding military aid and at the same time that he is trying to browbeat a foreign leader into doing something illicit … then that may be the only remedy that is coequal to the evil that that conduct represents.” Former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu stated all of Representative Schiff’s claims are “pure unadulterated lies.” The Democrats are so desperate to impeach President Trump that they are relying on a faux, partisan whistle blower who was not present during the conversation and did not see the transcript of the phone call. They are relying upon a non-whistle blowing whistle blower whose letter was written by partisan anti-Trump lawyers. That’s the Hail Mary of Hail Marys. The Fusion GPS Russian Dossier at least had a scintilla of veracity with the Obama security officials (Brennen, Clapper and Comey) vouching for it. The nine page letter is a refined version of the false stories about Judge Kavanaugh. Note that John Brennen and James Clapper have become highly reticent. They’re worry about the “I” word, indictment, for their misconduct. Here’s what we think we know - the allegation: President Trump threatened to withhold assistance to Ukraine unless the country initiated an investigation of Vice President Biden and his son Hunter. In other words the President was enlisting a foreign government into domestic politics for personal reasons. President Obama sent political operatives to Israel three years ago in a failed attempt to defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu. The Clinton Campaign paid GPS and a British operative with Russian connections for the Russian Dossier to defeat Donald Trump. Here’s what we know: Vice President Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine unless Viktor Shokin, a prosecutor, was fired. The prosecutor was investigating corruption. Hunter Biden, the VP’s son, received a sweetheart deal in an appointment to the Board of Directors of Burisma, a natural gas company. Hunter was earning up to $50,000 a month from Burisma, which was being investigated for corruption by both the Ukrainian and United States governments. Hunter’s father, Vice President Joe Biden, was President Obama’s special contact with the Ukraine government. Hunter’s business later got a $3 billion sweetheart contract from China. He was unqualified for either the Ukraine or China relationships, both obtained because his father was Vice President. Hunter was kicked out of the Navy in February 2014 after testing positive for cocaine. He had earlier left a crack pipe in a damaged rental car. We know because the Joe Biden bragged about it on January 23, 2019 before the Council on Foreign relations: “If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.” It’s on tape. The media and VP Biden are ignoring it or explaining the tape away, which brings us to Groucher Marx’s famous line in Duck Soup: “Who ya gonna believe me or your own eyes?” We know because the New York Times on May 1, 2019 printed a front page article “Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies.” If the Democrats really try to impeach President Trump on the Ukraine, Vice President Joe Biden will also fall. Either they want President Trump out – or both. The more they push the impeachment case over upcoming months, the more Vice President Joe Biden will be scrutinized in the news. It’s not the news he needs or wants, as he drops in the polls. Why the rush to impeach? 1)Pressure from the left wing Twitters. 2) The recently elected Democrats from Congressional districts won by President Trump are scared of primary challengers. 3) Impeachment is their best chance to remove President Trump. 4) They’re desperate to divert attention from the upcoming Justice Department reports, and possible indictments of the Comey-McCabe-Stryock-Brennen-Clapper cabal to remove President Trump. They are projecting their own corruption (Biden) and Trump and perhaps trying to deflect attention from the indirect bribery of politicians through relatives, such as children. 5) Never Trumpers and Trump Derangement Syndrome It’s a nothing burger as the media abets them in making a mountain out of a molehill Gertrude Stein once said “there is no there, there.” Don’t let facts get in the way of impeachment. Every first year student knows a complaint is just a series of unverified allegations – not the facts. Yet, this Democratic House of Representatives is quick to believe an anti-Trump/Kavanaugh accuser – ready, fire, aim. They’ve done it continuously with President Trump. They tried it again a few weeks ago with new unverified accusations against Justice Kavanaugh. Even the purported victim denied any memory of it and no witnesses couch vouch it occurred. The allegation was made by Max Stier, a lawyer who represented President Clinton in his impeachment proceedings, but the Democrats rushed to impeach – for a couple of days. Dems are trigger happy on impeachment. They’re salivating, hyperventilating, and hallucinating Here’s another incredible allegation about President Trump: He asked a foreign leader for a favor - twice. Every politician incessantly asks for favors. Speaker Pelosi accused the President of abusing his power. Every Congress thinks the President is abusing his power, which most do, but then again so do most legislators.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The UAW-GM Strike is for the Future - the Future of Detroit

GM and the UAW are battling for the future not only of GM, the UAW, and Detroit, but also the American automobile industry. Detroit is facing an experiential crisis today and foresees a second one in the near future. UAW workers want job security, an increasing share of GM’s profits, wage increases, end of the three tier wage structure, and reopening of the Lordstown assembly plant and continuous of Hamtramck. That is the past – not the future. Detroit’s existential crisis is that Americans have reduced their purchase of sedans, Detroit’s traditional car markets. Sedan sales are down to 30% of the car market with pickups and SUVs’ 70%. “Made in Detroit” sedans, except for Mustangs, chargers/Challengers, Camaros and Corvettes, do not sell in Southern California. Americans are still buying sedans from Japan and Korea and their luxury sedans from Germany and Japan. A combination of high prices and poor quality has driven Detroit out of the sedan market. GM’s roughly $10 billion in profits, as well as those of Ford and Fiat Chrysler, is from pickups and SUVs. Therein is the upcoming existential crisis. Gas prices shoot up; gas guzzling SUV and pickup sales dive. It was $5/gallon gas a decade ago. Detroit collapsed. Chrysler and GM entered bankruptcy. Ford mortgaged everything. Detroit is scared of $6 gas. The collapse of the American sedan market has resulted with excess capacity of 1 million vehicles for GM. Assembly plants have to close. That is the reality for GM and the UAW. The market controls. GM’s workers are living in the past. They talk of the givebacks and concessions they made a decade ago. They had no choice. GM was bankrupt. Let us travel back in time to the two month 1970 UAW-GM strike, which the union won. Both GM and the UAW were at the height of their power. General Motors was by far both the largest and most profitable company in the world. It controlled 60% of the total automobile market, but that figure is deceptive. Cadillac owned the luxury car market. It was the (gold) standard of the industry. The Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac divisions dominated the mid-size market, while Chevrolet was the largest seller in the volume class. GMAC produced a full range of trucks, from pickups to big-rigs. GM dominated the motor coach business. GMAC was a money gusher for GM. Frigidaire was a major appliance manufacturer. The Electro-Motive division produced ¾ of the nation’s diesel locomotives. Terex manufactured construction and mining equipment. 500,000 UAW workers went on strike. GM caved because they could afford to. They didn’t have to worry about competition. They had the capital to survive any recession. The UAW was peaking with 1.5 million members. The Detroit automobile industry was roughly 100% unionized. Then came the two Arab oil embargoes of the 1970’s. Gas jumped from $3-4/barrel up to $50/barrel. Many Americans wanted economical cars with good gas mileage. Detroit offered big boats. Toyota with the small, seemingly always blue, Corona and Honda’s Civic caught on: inexpensive, high quality, and high gas mileage. Detroit offered big boats. GM’s leaders made the decision to cut by commoditizing its cars. GM devalued the individuality of its brands, such that they lacked identity. A Buick became a Chevrolet, an Oldsmobile and a Pontiac, and even sometimes a Cadillac. Take the Chevy Trailblazer, give it $2,000 in accouterments and voila, you have a Cadillac Escalade. Even GMC vehicles come off the Chevy assembly line, also with some accouterments. Detroit, especially GM, had trouble designing and building small cars; Corvair and Pinto became infamous. Chevy II, Chevette, Citation and Vega did not help GM’s image. Detroit could not compete on cost or quality – not even today. GM entered a gradual decline from 60% of the market to 17% today. Assembly plant after assembly plant was closed. Hundreds of thousands of workers lost their jobs – blue collar and white collar. Electro-Motive, Frigidaire, GM, motor coaches, Terex gone. GMAC – gone! Oldsmobile – Gone! Pontiac – Gone! Saab – Gone! Saturn – gone! Europe (Opel, Bedford and Vauxhall) – gone! GMAC – down to pickups and SUVs. Buick hanging by a thread with sales of 100,000 and few cars in the pipeline! Buick dealers survive by selling GMC trucks. Cadillac – down to fifth in luxury car sales! Buick and Cadillac survive only because of popularity in China. GM steadily declining from 60% of the market in 1970 to today’s 17%. $11.8 billion in profits can collapse overnight. GM knows it. 2009 – General Motors and Chrysler bankrupt. Detroit is a cycle of riches to rags to riches to rags. How soon the workers forget! The UAW workers want to share in GM’s largess. They received $8,000 each in profit sharing from GM last year. Ford and GM are both spending about $1 billion annually on health expenses. The UAW workers pay 3% of the premiums. UAW membership down to 430,000 members. 49,000 on strike – not 500,000!. The union lost 35,000 members last year. The United Auto Workers is in an existential crisis. Membership diving! Leaders in a corruption scandal! Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Wisconsin are now Right to Work states with workers free to leave the union. Ford and GM are going electric, which means fewer parts in cars and fewer workers. Failure means failure for the UAW, an increasing shadow of its former self - sadly. Globalization has been destructive of America’s heartland. The industrial heartland, centered around Detroit, has hemorrhaged jobs. GM’s 5 decades of insipid leadership hasn’t helped. The workers have paid, and continuing to pay, the price for a half century of globalization and bad decisions. The United Auto Workers at its peak built much of the middle class of the Midwest. GM is building for the future. The UAW is living in the past.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Banned in Frisco: Civics Lessons in San Francisco

Once upon a time, in an era far, far away, you couldn’t call San Francisco “Frisco” in good company. That’s the least of San Francisco’s problems today. Now there is a new list of banned in Frisco: Plastic straws Tropical fish The sale of new fur pieces Plastic water bottles at SFO (owned by San Francisco). Plastic and paper bags, unless made as reusables. Styrofoam containers Packing peanuts Workplace cafeterias Happy Meals with toys. Burger King and MacDonald's now charge a dime extra for the toys E-cigarettes (Juul is based in San Francisco – at least for now) Outdoor smoking almost everywhere. Chocolate milk in schools - why limit it just to schools if it’s so bad? City funded travel by municipal employees to states that restrict abortions. Facial recognition by local law enforcement (excludes federal law enforcement) Library fines for overdue books (Am I off the hook for a Folger Shakespeare copy I left on a Muni bus in 1963-4?) Riding bicycles on the sidewalk over the age of 13. Pet sales Declawing cats Washing a car with non-recycled water Handgun possessions for private use (so much for self defense) Upholstered furniture containing fire retardant chemicals. Sitting or lying in sidewalks – someone forgot to tell the homeless Unsolicited delivery of Yellow Pages phone books Electric scooters – so popular elsewhere in America Free Speech No longer does San Francisco have “convicted felons;” They are now “justice-involved individuals.” “Juvenile delinquents” are now "Young people impacted by the juvenile justice system.” “Drug addicts” have become “people with a history of substance abuse.” George Orwell would be proud of Frisco’s NewSpeak. Actual restrictions on speech. Advertisements for guns or violence. The greatest free speech, First Amendment problem is deciding the NRA is a domestic terrorist organization. The NRA has never bombed or shot up a church, school, synagogue, or office. It simply advocates for the rights of gun owners. It uses its First Amendment rights of Free Speech to support the Second Amendments rights of gun owners. That is constitutionally protected speech. What’s encouraged in San Francisco? Public defecation by the homeless. Drug usage with San Francisco providing free needles. Car smashing, although the city and federal governments provide warnings your cars may be broken into (About 5 dozen cars daily are broken into). The city and police don’t care. Shoplifting – reduced fines Bike lanes. We had to take a class in Civics in high school in San Francisco. The City by the Bay is now totally woke.

Friday, September 6, 2019

Senator Bernie Sanders and the Bankruptcy of His Socialistic Green New Deal

Senator Bernie Sanders and his acolytes are confirmed democratic socialists. What is their vision of democratic socialism, which history tells us is an oxymoron? Senator Sanders in a 2015 speech described his socialism: “I don’t believe the government should take over the corner store down the street or own the means of production, but I do believe that the middle class and the working families who produce the wealth of America deserve a decent standard of living and that their incomes should go up, not down, I do believe in private companies that thrive and invest and grow in America, companies that create jobs here, rather than companies that are shutting down in America and increasing their profits by exploiting low-wage labor overseas.” The Senator has proposed a green energy plan that he thinks would convert America to energy efficiency and sustainability, but would cripple capitalism, bankrupt the nation, and replace “democratic” with coercion along the way. He looked to the Tennessee Valley Authority of the New Deal as his model. The TVA was created to bring electricity to the rural masses in the Tennessee Valley, and much of Appalachia. The TVA serves parts of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The TVA output would be hydroelectricity, flood control, Navigation control, fertilizer production, agriculture, and overall economic development. The Senator, who honeymooned in the Soviet Union, is living in a dreamworld of nostalgia for a TVA and world that never existed. TVA has been an environmental disaster with tremendous environmental contamination and pollution. The TVA dammed up the Tennessee Valley, ran out of sites, and then turned to fossil fuels and nuclear. Nuclear generates about 40% of TVA’s electricity. Bernie wants to end nuclear generation. Coal produces 20% of TVA’s energy and natural gas 10%. Bernie wants to terminate fossil fuel production. Way to go Bernie! He wants to eliminate 70% of TVA’s generating capacity. As usual. Bernie’s idealistic ignorance shows. He lives in a dream world. Good by to gas engines. So much for jet airplanes. Say goodbye to Hawaii. Airplane jet engines could run on biofuels, which are carbon fuels that haven’t yet become fossils. He wants all power by renewable sources. Nuclear, which generates 19% of America’s electricity, is not a renewable. Say goodbye to nuclear. 100% renewables by 2030. Renewables are great, except when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. Solar eats up land. Windmills need steel and cement, both dependent on coal in their manufacture. Hybrids and electric cars need electricity to run. Neither solar nor wind can supply it. Complete decarbonization by 2050. He proposes to nationalize the renewable energy system, which means the production of electricity nationally – without nuclear, hydro, or fossil fuels. What do you do with the carbon dioxide exhaled by 7 billion people on Planet Earth? His solution is abortion in the Third World – aborting blown, black, and yellow babies. We call that genocide. Not many places are left in America for major hydroelectricity production, unless he plans to dam the Grand Canyon. He also said fossil fuel executives should be criminally prosecuted for the destruction they have knowingly caused. This is the act of third world dictators and communist societies. Venezuela’s Humberto Madero jailed oil execs and replaced managers with hacks. Venezuela is a living socialist tragedy. Bernie doesn’t see it. He’s blind to reality. He says the Soviet Union and Venezuela are not examples of failed socialism because they are not socialistic, but dictatorial. He wants to jail the executives who have brought cheap, legal energy to America. He proposed a federal takeover of “the whole thing.” “You can’t nibble around the edges.” All in for nationalizing America’s energy production. But not fracking, which has given America energy independence. But not offshore drilling, which is a reliable source of oil. Of course, he wants to eliminate fossil fuels, so it doesn’t matter. He claims his plan would produce 20 million jobs. The reality is that we would be living on rationed electricity. That doesn’t work on hot humid days or freezing cold nights. He claims his plan would create 20 million union jobs. His plan would lay off tens of thousands of highly paid unionized coal miners, oil and gas workers. He would convert them to solar installers. He will pay for his pie in the sky Green New Deal by large taxes on corporate polluters and fossil fuel polluters. He promised five years of salaries and benefits to laid off fossil fuel workers. That’s guaranteed to increase the opioid crisis in Appalachia. His estimated Green New Deal cost is $16 trillion dollar, which he claims will pay for itself within 15 years.s. The current federal budget is $4 trillion. China produces twice the CO2 emissions of the United States. Not a peep from the democratic socialists of cutting back China’s rising CO2 emissions. U.S. emissions have been dropping and now back to the levels of two decades ago. The world’s are rising while ours are dropping. Destroying our economy will not solve the problems of climate warming. His Green Energy Plan defies his statement of what socialism means to him. He’s as naive as the Bolsheviks who seized power a century ago on October 24-25, 1919. The laws of economics and physics would send America back to the Dark Ages if he succeeds. He won’t and we won’t.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Bold Predictions for 2019 Michigan Football: 13-1 or 14-1!!! 50 Years After Bo

Michigan’s football season begins August 31 at home against Middle Tennessee State. Enough about that for now. Let’s go back 50 years to November 22, 1969. The arrogant, brutish, cocky Ohio State Buckeyes came to Michigan Stadium. They were the returning national champions, having defeated USC and O.J in the Rose Bowl. They were on a 22 game winning streak. Some were calling them the greatest college football team of all team. They had destroyed Michigan 50-14 in 1968. They poured salt into open wounds near the end of the game when the Buckeyes scored a touchdown and then went for a two point conversion. Coach Woodrow Wilson Hayes, when asked why he want for 2, replied, “Because I couldn’t go for 3.” Michigan football was in the pits. The glory days of Fielding Yost and Fritz Crisler were ancient history. Michigan Stadium was far from selling out. Coach Bump Elliott was fired. Don Canham, the athletic director, hired Glenn “Bo’ Schembechler from Miami of Ohio as the new coach. The anguish cry went out: “Bo Who?” Bo whipped the returning players in shape. Many dropped out. Bo posted the famous sign: “Those who stay will be champions.” He also painted a sign on the floor as they entered practice. It was OSU 50, Michigan 14. The players had to daily walk on it. Michigan started out 3-2. Oh No, more of the same with Bo. The Wolverines jelled, caught fire and ran the string. And yet, they were penciled in as the next human sacrifices for the Mighty Buckeyes. I was not at the game. I was in my last year of law school at the University of San Francisco, working Saturday morning, got back at halftime. The score was 24-12 Michigan. What! 24-12 Michigan. Someone forgot to tell Bo, also known as “Little Woody,” the Michigan players, and the 103,588 fans that Michigan was supposed to roll over for the greatest team of all time. The final score was 24-12. Little did I know on November 22, 1969 that 9 months later on August 28, 1970 that I would arrive in Ann Arbor as a graduate student/ Michigan out-toughed TOSU. The vaunted Buckeyes offense committed 6 interceptions and one fumble. Bo was no longer Bo Who? November 22, 1969 restored Michigan football to the pinnacle of Big Ten football. Bo went 5-4-1 against his mentor. The UM-OSU seesaw went back and forth between Michigan and Ohio State with Michigan going 10-2-1 against John Cooper, who was fired on 2000 for consistently losing to Michigan. Jim Tressel was hired as the Buckeye’s coach, and begin Ohio State’s mastery of Michigan. Michigan only won one game against Ohio State from 2001 to the present. Michigan’s sole victory was in 2001 against a scandal ridden depleted, demoralized Ohio State team. Even then Michigan had to hold on to a 34-28 victory. A W is a W. Urban Meyer was then hired as TOSU’s coach and went 7-0 against Michigan. Some games close – some blowouts Last year was a blowout Short slants over the middle Little pressure from defensive line September 1, 2007 marked the collapse of Michigan football. The pre-season 5th rank Wolverines lost at home 34-32 to Appalachian State as their few fans in attendance yelled: “It’s great to be a Mountaineer.” Lloyd Carr resigned as coach at the end of the season, defeating Florida in the 38-30 in the Outback Bowl. Lloyd retired a winner. The decision was made to hire an inventive coach with a vastly different non-smash mouth football approach. Rich Rod was a master of the spread offense, which often bedeviled Michigan’s defense. The experiment was a disaster with Michigan only winning three games the first season and losing to Toledo. Rich Rodriquez was Three and Done, to be replaced by Brady Hoke. Coach Hoke’s first year was great. Michigan went 11-2 defeating Ohio State and then Virginia Tech in the Bowl. Michigan was back. Or not! Brady was Four and Done as each season was progressively worse. The really nice guy was too soft on the players. Then came Jim Harbaugh 4 years ago. He’s gone 38-14 in four years with three 10 game winning seasons. The Michigan family has been patient, but have higher expectations. Michigan is on the cusp of college football greatness. I predict this is the year. Michigan will sweep the regular season, defeating Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Ohio state at home as well as Penn State and Wisconsin on the road. This year’s team has purely Harbaugh recruits. The Wolverines will surmount their multiple problems since the Appalachian State debacle. The first is a consistently weak offensive line. There’s been good, and even great players, on the line, but never a consistently great line. They have been unable to play Jim Harbaugh’s power game, smash mouth, which he was able to do at Stanford. The result has been quarterbacks and running backs banged up by the Ohio State game. On a couple of occasions the fleet, elusive Denard Robinson was physically unable to pass. That also happened with Devin Gardner. The result was that Ohio State would defend against the run, ignoring the pass. This year’s line is said to be at the level of the offensive lines of a decade ago. A third problem was being unable to win on the road, especially against powers such Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. Harbaugh’s Wolverines have shown they can defeat the Spartans in East Lansing. This is the year to step up on the road at Penn State and Wisconsin. A fourth problem is a constant change of systems, especially on defense. Stability has set in on the defense. Michigan has a new offense this year – much more wide open than in the past. The quarterbacks and wide receivers love it. One of the problems Michigan faces in the big game is that Ohio State knows it will win. Michigan hopes it will win. The Wolverines can only get back the swagger that wins close games by defeating by defeating the Buckeyes, not to mention Notre Dame in the same year. This is the year. Ryan Day is the new head coach of TOSU. He was last year’s offensive coordinator who created the game plan that was devastating to Michigan’s vaunted defense. Michigan’s defensive coordinator, Don Brown, learns from defeat. He will not be defeated the same way twice, and usually not once. Michigan will be prepared for the Buckeyes. Michigan will never fully be back until they defeat Ohio State – not just once, but regularly. This is the year they begin the process. Why this year? Because I’m sick of saying “Wait Till Next year.”