Delta Flight 619, January 6, 2015: An Exercise in Stationary Flying

“Leaving on a jet plane” should not be an adventure today. It’s simple: 1) Get to the airport early; 2) check in; 3) Sail through TSA; 4) Board early; 5) Stow your overhead luggage; 6) Find your seat; 7) Watch the cabin door shut and the ramp push back; 8) take off and 9) Land, avoiding chop, thunder, and lightning en route. The adventure and excitement should be at the departure or arriving destination. Think of Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm in Orange County. There should thereby be even less excitement on a stationary plane at the terminal. Here I am on a six hour layover at Salt Lake City Airport looking out at the beautiful snow covered Wasatch Mountains. “Delta is ready when you are,” but Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. is not. Delta was great today, but not National Airport (I’m sure President Reagan would be ashamed to have his name associated with the airport on a day like today.) Flight 619 was scheduled to depart at 7:30AM, eastern time with a one hour layover for the connecting flight. We boarded, the door was armed, the gangway drawn back, and watched a humorous video while waiting to taxi off. While waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting – 4 ½ hours of waiting. 619 lifted off at noon. Winter flying can be a challenge. Global Winter arrived a few hours early. The roads were icy, the ice sticking to the plane, and snow covering the tarmac. Clearly chemical deicing (external liquid antifreeze) was in order. Too many people, especially pilots, remember the 27 fatalities on US Air 405, leaving La Guardia on March 22, 1992, which experienced inadequate deicing. Take your time deicing; you only have one chance at a time to do it right. It’ll just be a short wait until the plane was deiced. No problem. We’re on an early flight out. I left the Frost Belt in 1996, but I remember how deicing worked. The plane taxis out to the deicing equipment just prior to take off. The plane upon deicing proceeds directly to the departure runway and take off. Not at National! Two deicing trucks came to the plane for the spraying process. However, by the time they deiced several planes, the runways had to be replowed. Deiced planes had to be re-deiced, sometimes for a total of three deicings. The trucks never made it to our 7:30 flight until after ten o’clock. Yes, they’re working in pairs. I will still be able to make the 3:03 connection. Nope; one of the trucks ran out of fluid. It didn’t return until about 11:30 to complete the process. Wheels down on 619 ten minutes before the connecting 3:03 departure. It’ll be tight, but it was only two gates away. Three minutes too late. The door was closed three minutes before I reached it. And now I’m enjoying the view, scheduled to arrive in Orange County 20½ hours after the early wakeup to get to the airport. Why is Delta commendable? First, Delta doesn’t control these operations. The airport does. Second, the pilot kept us fully informed of the situation. Twice he reported that he was told it would be only a few minutes for the trucks to come to 619. Indeed, they were working one plane away. Nope. At one point he was so frustrated he left the plane to talk firsthand with operations. So, were we stuck in an aluminum cigar tube on the tarmac, reliving the horror stories of the past? No, the captain had the gangway reattached to the plane and the door opened. We were “free to move about, “ to leave the plane, rebook, purchase food, or just walk around. Many did. We may have been frustrated, but there was no claustrophobic feeling. The flight crew was very understanding. Delta’s computers did the rebooking while I was in flight. Today’s odyssey in stationary travels reminds me why I like to get to the airport early, especially in winter. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted on January 7

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan's Prodigal Son, Has Returned Home to Mama, to Michigan: Hail to the Victors

Paul “Bear” Bryant is one of the greatest coaches in college football history. He won 6 national titles at Alabama in 25 years. He played for Alabama and then began a coaching career. He returned to Alabama after a successful 4 year stint at Texas A & M, noted for the “Junction Boys.” When asked why he left A & M, he famously replied “Mama called, and when Mama Calls, then you just have to come runnin’” Mama Michigan called the true “Michigan Man” home. The timing was right and the need is great. The once great Wolverines, the winningest college football team of all time has slipped into mediocrity. The Victors, even with the rise of John Beilein’s basketball team, sounds flat. Jim Harbaugh, as a pup, grew up in Ann Arbor when his dad jack was an assistant to Bo. He once sat in Bo’s chair as a 10 year old. He quarterbacked the team for three years, leading to a national number 2 finish in 1985, the highest end of season ranking for Bo’s teams. Harbaugh was to Bo what Bo was to Woody. Bo is up above smiling down on Jim Harbaugh, who has learnt well from Bo. Bo was followed by his protégés Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, and then Rich Rob and Brady Hoke. Lloyd’s 1997 team went undefeated and won the national title. History tells us what we didn’t recognize at the time. Michigan football peaked in 2006 when Michigan and Ohio State were ranked 1 and 2 going undefeated 11-0 into the season finale at Columbus. The Buckeyes won 42-37. Both lost in their bowl games. Michigan was ranked #5 preseason in 2007, but lost at home to Appalachian State 34-32 and Oregon 39-7 to start the season. Bloggers were calling for the dismissal of Coach Carr. Michigan won 8 straight and then lost the final regular season games to Wisconsin (37-21) and Ohio State (14-3). Then came the three years of Rich Rodrigues 3-9, 5-7. 7-6. He was fired. Brady Hoke came on the scene, exciting the Wolverine Nation. The team went 11-2, defeating a depleted Ohio State and then Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl in 2011. Michigan was back! No it wasn’t. The next three years were 8-5, 7-6, and 5-7. Instead of improving, the team sank. The Big House was no longer selling out. The fans were deflated. MDen sales were down. Merchants, bars, and restaurants were suffering. Here are the dismal stats. Michigan has been 46-42 in the past seven years, with three losing seasons. It is 1-7 against Mark Dandonio’s Michigan State and 1-8 against Jim Tressel’s Ohio State Buckeyes and 0-3 against Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes in the past. These are unacceptable records. Michigan needs a Bo or Harbaugh to restore the glory to Michigan football. Jim Haubaugh is high maintenance. He doesn’t always know when to keep his mouth shut, but he’s a winner, 29-6 at San Diego, 29-21 at Stanford with a team that was 1-11 before he came, and 44-19-1 with the San Francisco 49ers, winning three division titles in 4 years. Let’s not suffer though from “excessive exuberance.” Jim Harbaugh is currently 0-0 as Michigan head coach. Let’s not yet call him a “Messiah.” A successful program relies on recruiting, player development, and on-field coaching. Lloyd Carr’s recruiting slid in his final two years and Rich Rod was recruiting a different style of player. The offensive line has been a problem for 7 years. Brady Hoke proved to be an outstanding recruiter, but fell down in player development. By way of contract, Mark Dandonio took lesser recruits and molded them into a tough team at Michigan State. Brady Hoke is regarded as a nice person, and that turned out to be part of the problem. He could not get into the heads of the players and “will” them, if you will, what Jim Harbaugh refers to as “steel in our spines.” Visitors to the locker room noted the players were “soft.” They lacked the necessary toughness and drive. They also could not count, often having only ten players on the field. A lot of little things showed a lack of the necessary toughness to win at a high level. Harbaugh should be able to turn it around, as he did with Stanford, but it will not be overnight. Nick Saban needed 3 years at Alabama to win it a, and could never quite succeed all the way in his earlier years at Michigan. Saban’s Crimson Tide was 6-6 in his inaugural season, even losing to Louisiana Monroe and Auburn. Vince Lombardi took a 1-11 Green Bay Packers team to a 7-5 record and won a divisional title his second year, followed by 5 NFL titles in 7 years and the first two Super Bowls. Jim Harbaugh might be that successful, but let’s be patient. We do know he will “steel” the team and develop quarterbacks. We do know that he will play a pro style and smash mouth football. We do know his Wolverines will not quit on the field. We do know he will wear headsets at the games. Yesterday was a love fest at halftime of the Michigan-Illinois basketball game. The Maize Rage wore khakis to salute him. An irony of the game is that both Jim Harbaugh and Aubrey Dawkins, the freshman guard who scored 18 points for the Wolverines, are graduates of Palo Alto High School. Harbaugh was choked with emotion as he spoke to the crowd: “I pledge to you that we will do our very best to carry on the great tradition of Michigan excellence all across the board.” He told the crowd they knew how to make a guy feel at home. The Victors sounded great as he finished talking. Jim Tressel on January 18, 2001 at halftime of the Ohio State – Michigan basketball game in Columbus was introduced to the Ohio State fans: “I can assure you that you will be proud of your young people in he classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, on the football field.” Both Harbaugh and Tressel said what they needed to say to their respective audiences. Earlier at the press conference, Harbaugh said: “I dreamed about this since I was a young lad.” He added: “There are very special words in the English language we all embrace. There’s family, there’s friends, there’s teammates, there’s victory. I was reminded of another very special word when I was driving into Ann Arbor this morning, and that word is homecoming.” Jim Harbaugh has come home to Michigan, to Mama. His father and mother were there on Tuesday with tears in their eyes. They are proud. He has to succeed. He will succeed. Merry Christmas Michigan State and Ohio State. Thanks to Michigan President Mark Schlissel, Athletic director Jim Hackett, and San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York.

The Goals and Priorities of the 114th Congress, the Republican Congress

The 114th Congress, the new Republican Congress, will be sworn in on January 6, 2015. 54 Republicans and 44 Democrats and 2 independents caucusing with the Democrats comprise the new Senate. The new House of Representatives will have 247 Republicans and 188 Democrats. The leadership has a full agenda, and is geared to hit the decks running. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled six straight weeks of the Senate in session, including Fridays. Yet, what is the agenda, what are the goals? Here’s what they will not do – shut down the government, except to the extent that the President may veto individual appropriation bills. They will also need to ignore the highly predictable demonization of the Republicans by President Obama, and incessant veto threats.. Much of the Republican program will be reactive – a reaction to the preceding six years and perhaps the next two- reacting to statutes, such as ObamaCare, executive decisions, and agency acts they disapprove of. Some steps will be undertaken through traditional actions such as legislation and some indirectly through riders attached to “must pass” legislation. The Republican leaders recognize the President still retains great power and the Bully Pulpit. They will not underestimate him, but they will test and push him. The Republican agenda will be affected by external circumstances, such as Supreme Court decisions and foreign policy developments. There may be a quick, symbolic vote to repeal ObamaCare, but it will be successful vetoed by the President. Then what are the priorities? They will not be a generic plan to defeat and roll back President Obama’s actions, but what are the specific priorities? They will test the President’s will by seeing how many riders they can attach to the appropriations bills, as with the Cromibus Bill, without a veto. They could actually start out cooperating with President Obama in approving several trade bills the President and Republicans support, but which Senator Harry Reid blocked on behalf of the unions. Having established a spirit of bipartisanship, the partisan politics will begin. The first three are fairly clear. Number one, actually prior to any other act, the Senate must adopt its rules for the upcoming year. Does that mean reinstating the filibuster rules that then Majority Leader Harry Reid abrogated for judicial appointments and bills, or playing political hardball in the image of Senator Reid? Many Republicans would like to reinstate the 60 vote filibuster rule, but the reality is that they realize that the Democrats could rescind it anytime they regain power, which might even be in two years. Senator McConnell says he wants to make the Senate work the way it used to. The practical application would be to bring back the 12 individual appropriations bills, rather than an omnibus spending bull, and allow amendments to proposed bills on the Floor of the Senate. The Senate will accomplish nothing until the Rules are adopted. The second step will be passage of the Keystone Pipeline. The Republicans might be able to corral several Democrats from energy states and the coal-dependent Midwest to achieve a 2/3 veto proof majority in both Houses of Congress. They will be fighting not so much the President, but San Francisco hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer, who is pouring millions into candidates opposed to carbon based fuels. If not as a direct act of Congress, then as as a rider, Keystone will be passed by Congress. The third action, which is critical, is to pass an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The Agency’s current funding expires February 27. The Republicans will have to decide what to include in it. The spotlight is on immigration. The Republicans, the general public and the Republican base oppose the President’s granting of permanent status to those here illegally. They are also appalled at the flood of children into the country last spring. The big battle will be within the Party with the base, especially in the House, opposed to the Chamber of Commerce, which wants amnesty and open borders as a source of cheap labor. The Chamber will have more leverage in the Senate. The Republicans have to learn how to oppose illegal immigration without appearing anti-Hispanic. Here’s what we can predict. The bill will prioritize border security. It may include a rider prohibiting the spending of funds to grant permanent to the undocumented immigrants by securing individual votes through concessions on visas, perhaps 300,000, to high tech workers, also to hundreds of thousands of low tech workers who can fill the needs in specific industries, such as construction, and a program, dear to Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein, for guest workers in the agricultural industry. It will not include a path to citizenship, often labeled “Amnesty.” They will at a minimum prioritize border security and probably visa tracking in the funding bill. The Republicans will, with substantial Democratic support, rescind the medical devices tax in ObamaCare, and probably attach a few other repeals to it. They could also enact meaningful tax reform with the assistance of several Democrats. The major problem is that the President wants “tax reform” to be a guise for raising taxes. The Republicans want it at best to be revenue neutral. Two tax issues face the new Congress: continuation of the ban on states taxing internet sales and raising the gas tax to fund the Highway Trust Fund. The partisan split does not clearly exist on these issues. Republicans do not favor “Green tax” credits. Benefits to solar and wind are hard to justify and sustain when gas prices are plunging. The House Republicans are currently adopting a rule whereby the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Taxation Committee will switch to dynamic scoring rather than the existing static scoring for tax reductions. Dynamic scoring recognizes the proven economic growth and resulting revenue gains by lowering taxes. Congressman Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, refers to dynamic scoring as “cooking the books,” that which he did a lot of with the CBO in scoring ObamaCare. A critical issue is the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im). The existing authorization expires June 30, 2015. Several critical House Republicans are opposed to Ex-Im, which is sometimes referred to as “The Bank of Boeing.” The question is whether Speaker Boehner will bring it to the House floor if a majority of the Republican Caucus opposes it? Foreign policy divides include Cuba and Iran. President Obama has just moved to reestablish relations with Cuba, which does not play well with the Cuban refugee community in Florida and even some influential Democratic Senators. Options available to the republicans include denying funding for an embassy building in Havana, retain the existing trade barriers with Cuba, and denying Senate confirmation of an United States ambassador to Cuba. Iran is an ongoing boiling point with the President intent on establishing relations with Iran, lifting the trade barriers, and letting Iran obtain the Bomb. He has no Republican Congressional support on Iran. Senate McConnell’s major priority is to curb the “War on Coal.” We can expect legislation and riders curbing the EPA. The odds are that Congress will continue to cut the EPA and IRS’ budgets. This Congress will exercise the power of the purse. “Independent” federal agencies are in the Republican sights. Congress will act, often through riders, against the FCC’s proposed net neutrality rules and the increasing precedent breaking pro-union rulings of the NLRB. Congressional investigations will escalate. The last words on IRS, VA and Benghazi have yet to be heard. Some administrators will be spending more time testifying before Congress than in their offices. Mass tort reform will not be undertaken, but Congress may be pressured to enact asbestos reform, in respond to the vast abuses in asbestos litigation and asbestos trusts. Both the President and the Republicans will have to pick their battles.

Predicting the Course of the 2015-16 Obama Administration

The late, great columnist William Safire, would start the new year with a series of political predictions phrased as multiple choice questions. He was remarkably good in his predictions. I am not William Safire, but the next two blogs will be predicting the course of President Obama and then the Republican Congress over the next two years. Three statements define President Obama. These statements predict the next two years of the President’s Administration. He is not a lame duck, much less a dead duck. The first statement is from a radio panel discussion on September 6, 2001 on WBEZ-FM in Chicago with the young Constitutional Law Professor and Illinois State Senator BarackObama. He believes from the days of the Founding Fathers that the Constitution has a deep flaw and blindspot – the treatment of African Americans. He added: “But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and sort of basic issues such as political and economic justice in this society. To that extent, as radical as I think people tried to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted , and the Warren Court interpreted it the same way that generally, the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, says what the state can’t do to you. But doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf.” He also stated: One of the, I think, the tragedies of the Civil Rights Movement was that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you can bring about redistributive change.” We believe that we are a nation of law, governed by the Rule of Law. We believe that the United States Constitution defines the role of the government versus the people. President Obama believes that the purpose of government is to deliver justice by redistributing the wealth of the nation. He believes that you did not “make it” when you made it, but succeeded because of the government and the less fortunate. His Government can promote justice by redistributing income to the less fortunate. ObamaCare is but a vast redistribution scheme. President Obama is a President of Justice, free in his mind to do what he thinks is right, unfettered by the Constitution. The second quote comes is from October 30, 2008 five days before his first inauguration: “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” He has stayed true to that underlying political philosophy for the past six years. He wants to be a transformative President. He has achieved great success in the past six years through Congress, the Supreme Court, his executive agencies, the independent agencies, and the vast federal bureaucracy. The last quote is from March 16, 2012 with Dmitry Medvedev, Russian Federation President:” This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.” The Democratic Party took a major beating in November. They were losers, but he remains a winner. They lost; the President did not. He is now liberated. He no longer has to subordinate some of his initiatives to save Senate Democrats. He is unchained from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Congressional Democrats. The 1967 Bob Dylan song “I Shall be Released” is his new mantra as he reverts to Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man.” He never had a good working relationship with Congress, even the Democratic Congress. He had trouble breaking bread with both Democrat and Republican members of Congress, even when Democrats controlled both Houses during his first two years. He will work against the Republican Congress for the next two years. Not that he is overly worried about the Republican Congress. He believes in his mind that he is smarter than them, and proved it again in the recent Cromnibus Budget Bill. His three major policy imperatives were unscathed in the final bill: ObamaCare, immigration relaxation, and EPA’s power to regulate carbon emissions. He knows his veto will block Congressional Republicans. He will use it to preserve ObamaCare, the War on Coal, and immigration reform. He does not fear his vetoes being overridden by Congress. He knows the Republicans will support the trade initiatives blocked by the Senate Democrats. He knows the media will back him on “government shutdowns.” He knows he beat them on the Sequester, substantially shrinking the United States military. Indeed, he knows the media will continue to have his back on his transformative initiatives. President Obama retains the Bully Pulpit. The media will generally act as an echo chamber. He knows that he can periodically call out, actually trash, Congress with the media supporting him. He has little respect for Republicans. He will use them as verbal punching bags. He believes in his being Messianic. He believes that just as President Lincoln had to suck it up during bleak years of the Civil War prior to receiving reelection and acclaim, so too his actions will be accepted by the American people. He is a narcissist in this respect. Even the American economy is finally turning around after the Great Recession. He fails to understand that much of the improvement is the result of fracking, which his Administration opposes. The large drop in energy costs is jumpstarting the economy, putting thousands of dollars in consumer pockets. He knows the EAP and other executive agencies will carry out his will. He knows that the supposedly independent federal agencies, such as the FCC and NLRB will vote, often by 3:2, to carry out his wishes. He believes that his Administration will still be able to run out the clock on Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS, VA, and scandals yet to unfold. Let’s look at what this “lame duck” President has done: Released more prisoners from GITMO; Restored relations with Cuba. Don’t be surprised in the next two years if the President attempts to totally resolve GITMO by unilaterally abrogating the treaty with Cuba, thereby returning GITMO to Cuba Entered into a climate agreement with China Continuing to trash Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Continuing the War on Coal He will reach an agreement with Iran He will continue a foreign and military policy of retreat. He will dare Congress to stop his unilateral immigration reform. He may have to swallow a border fence. He will take more vacations and foreign trips, explore more golf courses, issue more press releases, campaign on key priorities, and hold even fewer press conferences. He will win some and lose some, but his agenda will advance.

Why Don't the Police Stop Policing the Inner Cities?

Why Don’t The Police Stop Policing the Inner Cities? Yes, and why not disband the Gang Squads? Why shouldn’t the NYPD pull out of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Harlem, and the South Bronx? Why should the LAPD continue to patrol South Central Los Angeles? Why doesn’t the Chicago Police Department pull out of the South Side? What if the San Francisco Police Department stayed out of the Fillmore and Hunters Point? Of course these are rhetorical questions. The protests over the past four months claim the police brutalize the ghettos; White cops kill male black teenagers, when they’re not harassing them. The solution is to stop patrolling the barrios and ghettos and let the residents fend for themselves. The assassination of NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu is a tragedy. Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Treyvon Martin never should have died. We have five unnecessary tragedies. The nation has a history of police trying to keep a heavy hand on minority neighborhoods. The narrative of white cops being trigger happy with black male teenagers has a historical basis, but not now. No evidence exists that was the case with Michael Brown or Eric Garner. Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a certified Lone Wolf nut job, killed the two officers. He walked up to their parked patrol car, kneeled, and shot both in the head. It was an execution. The perpetrator with an extensive rap sheet was primed for killing cops. We know he was motivated by the climate of police animus perpetrated by politicians, provocateurs, agitators, demagogues, and Reverend Sharpton. After shooting his ex-girlfriend in Owens Mills, Maryland, Brinsley took the bus to New York City. He tweeted :”I’m putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours …. Let’s take two of them. #Shoot the Pigs” The President, Attorney General, Mayor De Blasio and Reverend Al Sharpton set the climate for the killings. They are reaping where they sown. They know juries will convict law enforcement officers for excessive force. For example, Johannes Mehserle, a white Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officer fatally shot the unarmed African American Oscar Grant III on a BART platform. The tragedy was caught on cell videos. The officer reached fro his Taser, but pulled out his gun by accident. The jury convicted him of involuntary manslaughter. The officers were assassinated Saturday, December 20. Hundreds of protestors marched a week earlier with a chant. The call was “What do we want?” The response was: “Dead Cops.” The question: “When do we want it?” The answer: “Now.” Mayor de Blasio met with protest leaders on December 19, but not with the police. Seven protestors that Saturday attacked two NYPD Lieutenants, Phillip Chan and Patrick Sullivan, on the Brooklyn Bridge. One suffered a broken nose. Mayor de Blasio’s response was to call it an “alleged assault.” The Mayor’s wife is African American. His children are thereby bi-racial. The Mayor said at a press conference during the weeks of protest that he had to “train” his son how to behave around the police, “how to take special care around police officers.” Does that apply to the officers who provide security for his family? The Mayor, like a typical politician shifting blame, says it’s the media blowing up the negative protests that has created the climate. A few more comments like that and Mayor De Blasio will lose the New York media as well as the NYPD. Michael Brown is an awful martyr for police brutality. His colleague in crime, Dorian Johnson, lied about what happened. He claimed Michael had his hands up, saying “Don’t shoot” as his back was turned to the Officer. Officer Darren Wilson’s testimony, supported by several autopsies, showed Michael Brown reached into Officer Wilson’s car, grabbed his throat, and grappled for the Officer’s gun. We call that “Suicide by Cop.” A police officer has the legal right to self-defense if a suspect approaches the officer with a gun, knife, or screwdriver, or is apparently reaching for a weapon. Suicide by cop is a known phenomenon. For example, Lamar Moore walked into a Detroit Police Station on January 23, 2011 and opened fire with a pistol grip shotgun. He wounded four officers before being shot dead by he officers. The “Hands up; Don’t Shoot” mantra is a fabrication. The President, Attorney General, Mayor and the Reverend know it. Yet they perpetuate the false narrative for political purposes. They have fueled the anti-police sentiment in parts of the public. Brinsley pulled the trigger; they lit the match. Attorney General Eric Holder is investigating the Ferguson Police Department. The President has a proclivity to side with the African American over the police. It began in July 2009. Sergeant James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department arrested Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates for ‘disorderly conduct” on July 16. President Obama said “[T]he Cambridge police acted stupidly….” He added “There’s a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.” The President called it a “teachable moment” when the facts showed the Officer had probable cause to arrest the Professor. George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin in 2012. The President responded: “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.” He stated on March 23 prior to the trial “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” As to Ferguson, the President is believed to have met with Reverend Sharpton and Ferguson protest leaders on November 5. The Reverend said the President advised the leaders to “Stay on course.” The President has met with Reverend Sharpton 84 times during his Presidency. Reverend Sharpton is the President’s “Go to guy” on Civil Rights, as he often seems to be with Mayor De Blasio. President Obama called the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Pantaleo an “American problem.” The Eric Garner case is slightly different. It is inexplicable that the NFPD would dispatch at least six officers for selling $.75 “loosies” on the street, but apparently the word came from City Hall a few months earlier to crack down on the street sellers, who were costing the city millions in potential cigarette taxes. The combined state and city tobacco tax is $6.85/pack with the retail price being at least $11/pack with cartons selling for over $100. The result is a large bootleg market for untaxed cigarettes. Officer Daniel Pantaleo may, or may not, have technically applied a chokehold to Eric Garner, but the police had probable cause to arrest him. Officer Pantaleo never should have been in the position of arresting Mr. Garner, but he never should have resisted arrest. Garner suffered from obesity, heart disease, and heart disease, but in the law we take the victims “as how we find them.” Garner cried out 11 times “I can’t breath.” The City is going to write a large check in Eric Garner’s death, perhaps for 8 figures. Race was not an issue. The sergeant in charge at the Garner scene was an African American female officer. About 60% of the NYPD is non-white. The Mayor, a true Progressive, campaigned in the New York City Democratic primary to the left, against the NYPD. He appealed to the left by attacking the “Stop and Frisk” policy of the NYPD. The answer to my rhetorical questions is twofold. First, the job of the Police is to protect the public, that means throughout the City, regardless of neighborhood.. Second, the demonstrations and protests were from only a few; the vast majority of residents in the ghettos and barrios may have mixed emotions about the police, but they know they are the only protection they have. Officers Liu and Ramos were in a stake out vehicle outside two crime-ridden housing projects of Bedford-Stuyvesant. They gave their lives serving the neighborhood. I remember a cliché rom high school “Only a thin veneer of civilization separates man from the ape.” That veneer is the Rule of Law with the front line being the thin blue line of the police. Mayor de Biasio is in a battle with the police. It is a battle he and the people of New York City will lose.

Professor Susan J. Douglas of the University of Michigan Hates republicans

Professor Susan J. Douglas of the University of Michigan Hates, Hates, Hates Republicans, or Does She? We interrupt the frantic search for a new football coach at the University of Michigan to announce that Professor Susan J. Douglas, Chair of Communications Studies at the University of Michigan, hates Republicans. We know it because she posted an article on online “In These Times” entitled “It’s Okay to Hate Republicans.” She begins “I hate Republicans. I can’t stand the thought of having to spend the next two years watching Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Ted Cruz, Darrell Issa, or any of the legions of other blowhards denying climate change, thwarting immigration reform or championing fetal ‘personhood.’” So much for a reasoned civilized discourse on public issues. She continued that while her views may seem biased, “historical and psychological research back her up, and so it’s basically actually a fact that Republicans are bad.” I’ll love to see the research. She added that Republicans are really good at being mean because psychological studies show they usually have traits such as “dogmatism, rigidity, and intolerance of ambiguity.” The reaction, at least in conservative circles, has been ballistic. Demands have been made that she be fired by the University, that the legislature cut funding to the University, that donations will be given to other institutions, and she has received death threats. Three University Regents (two Republicans and a Democrat) have called into question her statements. Excuse me, but why the outrage? Maybe I should be surprised, but I'm not. Nor am I disappointed in her remarks. The Academy, especially in the humanities and social sciences, journalism and communications, and the law is overwhelming liberal to progressive to even radical. Ex-professors Ward Churchill of Colorado and Steven Salaita of Virginia Tech/Illinois are not exceptions to the norm. A look at 2012 campaign contributions illustrates the reality. 96% of the Ivy League professors’ contributions in 2012 went to President Obama. It was 99% at Princeton. $221,176 went to the President from Yale professors versus only $8,705 to Governor Romney. The education sector contributed $23,237,329 to the President and $3,939,542 to the Governor. 87% of the law school contributions went to the Obama campaign. The pattern is similar at public universities. Of the nation’s top 27 publicly funded universities, only the faculty at the University of Kentucky gave more to the Romney campaign than the Obama campaign. University of California professors contributed almost $1.1 million to the Obama campaign. $146,346 went to Obama from the University of Texas versus only $4,650 to Romney. 85% of the University of Michigan contributions were to Democrats in 2012. The only surprise is that Professor Douglas expressed her thoughts in writing with no touch of subtlety, but plenty of irony. She has nothing to fear institutionally. Her views are protected by the First Amendment, tenure, and Academic Freedom. She is a highly respected scholar and author. She has not engaged in academic misconduct, unlike Professor Churchill. Nor has she resigned one academic position prior to receiving Trustee/Regent approval of a new position (Professor Salaita). Nor am I worried about conservative students being discriminated or retaliated against by her. The student grapevine is wonderful. Conservatives will either avoid her classes or lay low in them. Her problem is that she will forever be tarnished by the abject stupidity of her statements. They are forever on the internet. A chaired professor of communications studies should know better than push the email send button on intemperate remarks. She has now issued a statement, backed up by “In These Times.” Her original title on the article was “We can’t all just get along.” The publisher had unilaterally, without her knowledge, changed the title to “It’s Okay to Hate Republicans.” That may be, but it did not change the rest of the article, which starts “I hate Republicans.” The University issued a statement Wednesday night: “The views expressed are those of the individual faculty member and not those of the University of Michigan. Faculty freedom of expression, including in the public sphere, is one of the core values of our institutions. “At the same time, the university must and will work vigilantly to ensure students can express diverse ideas and perspectives in a respectful environment and without fear of reprisal. The university values viewpoint diversity and encourages a wide range of opinions.” That brings us to the case of Omar Mahmood, a conservative Muslin student at Michigan. The junior literature and anthropology major wrote for both the Michigan Daily and the conservative Michigan Review. He penned an article for the Review, satirizing political correctness. It was “Do the Left Thing,” The parody offended a staff member of the Daily, who complained that it created a hostile environment. It also interfered with “social justice.” The Editor-in-Chief of the Daily dug up a bylaw, which provided that a writer could not be on another journal without prior approval of the EIC. He was also told to write a letter of apology as a condition on remaining on the Daily. He was not told who the complainants were. The editors claimed that a conflict of interest arose. He has been terminated from the Michigan Daily. So much for tolerance of free speech by the student newspaper, which was once a paragon of free speech. Omar returned to his dorm room one night and found it was vandalized. Video cameras saw four women in hoodies as the culprits. There has been little outcry at the University of Michigan on behalf of the conservative Omar.

The Ornaments on the Cromnibus Christmas Tree

President Obama signed the 1603 page $1.1 trillion Cromiibus (CR-Omnibus) Spending Bill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi once said of ObamaCare: “We have to pass the bill so that you can know what’s in it.” It was presented to Congress for a vote on three days notice. So much for transparency! Major tax bills are known as “Christmas Trees” because of the hidden provisions, called “ornaments,” buried in them, often at the behest of lobbyists. The Cromnibus Spending Bill was crafted in a closed room by legislative leaders of both houses. It was presented to the House and Senate with little time to read it before voting. So much for transparency! Day by day, we are discovering the Christmas ornaments in it. Senator Ted Cruz was upset from the right because it fully funded ObamaCare and did nothing to stop President Obama’s Executive Order for amnesty for millions of immigrants. Senator Elizabeth Warren attacked it from the left because it reversed Dodd Frank by letting large banks trade in the derivatives market. Speaker Pelosi and other liberals were irate because it increased tenfold the permissible level for contributions to political parties. Conservatives should be happy. The Republican negotiators obtained substantial concessions for their constituency. The farm lobby proved more powerful than the environmentalists. EPA and the Corps had issued a draft “interpretation” of the jurisdiction of the federal government under the Clean Water Act. The draft would have substantially extend the power of the government. Cromnibus requires the agencies to withdraw the interpretation. The bill also forbad the EPA from requiring farmers to report “greenhouse gas emissions manure management systems.” Nor can it require greenhouse gas permits for methane emissions from bovine flatulence or belches. The EPA budget was cut by $60 million back to 1989 spending limits. The Department of the Interior was barred from listing the sage grouse as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. The Export-Import Bank was ordered to loan funds to companies to build coal powered plants overseas. The Department of Energy was barred from developing or enforcing new standards for new energy efficient light bulbs. The IRS was cut $345 million, with more to come next year. Nor did First Lady Michelle Obama’s food lunch restrictions fare well. The government was barred from mandating less salt in food lunches while schools can seek waivers from the whole grain requirements for pasta and tortillas. In the tradition of earmarks and pork barrel politics, funds were appropriated to expand Savannah Harbor and for a National Heritage Area in West Virginia. Relief was granted to non-profit Blue Shield and Blue Cross to preserve special breaks threatened by ObamaCare. Multi-unit pension plans were given the power to cut pension benefits. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, on behalf of the hospitality industry, got funding for a marketing program for foreigners to visit the United States. $64 billion was appropriated to support overseas defense activities, such as in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The Internet Tax Freedom Act was extended a year until next December. Cromnibus blocked the District of Columbia’s legalization of marijuana, but blocked the Department of Justice from using federal funds to prosecute medical marijuana actors allowed under state laws. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, and Festivus to all.