The DOGE Boys sound off, or should I say Mouth off...

 Soon after the election Trump came up with the idea of an outside entity led by two billionaire entrepreneurs, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to assist in monitoring and advising on efforts to reduce and eliminate inefficiencies and wasteful spending in government. In effect, advisors to the president. They would have no authority to enact policy or legislation, in fact their department is not a government entity at all, it is strictly an outside advisor to the president. And a splendid idea it is. Root out wasteful spending and government inefficiency and propose solutions. Someone should have thought of this a long time ago. To even the most casual observer, the government has a poor record of monitoring itself and practicing continuous improvement. The private sector has a motivation for such to prosper, grow and even for survival itself. The government doesn't, simply due to the fact that they have a cash cow in the form of the American taxpayer. Customers have a choice, taxpayers dont. 

As far as the two chaps selected to lead this effort, great choices. They are successful entrepreneurs and extremely bright, creative minds. More importantly, in this role, they are not beholden to satisfying third party interests, including stockholders. It was a brilliant idea and two brilliant fellows selected to lead it. But here's the thing when dealing with bright, creative independent thinkers. Each of them got to where they are by developing enterprises that are highly successful due to their ability to create organizations that function efficiently and deliver a good or service, under their own leadership. They have been asked to step into a role that leverages their immense talent, but ultimately they are not at the top of this particular hierarchy. They are now advisors, not CEO's. That's a big transition. There are going to be 'bumps in the road'. 

Trump isn't even in office yet and we've already hit the first bump. This brouhaha was kicked off with criticism of Trump's recent pick of Sriram Krishnan as an advisor on AI policy. It was suggested that Krishnan would have influence on The Trump administration's immigration policy. Krishnan has in the past advocated for raising country caps on green cards. This criticism prompted some dubious commentary from Musk and Vivek. Dubious, controversial and inflammatory commentary. Musk has claimed "I will go to war on this." Ravaswamy has claimed "American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence." 

Let me offer a little history and some facts. Elon Musk began working in the U.S. illegally. He was born in South Africa and obtained Canadian citizenship through his mother. He violated the terms of his initial J-1 visa. He is now a naturalized American citizen. Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati to immigrant parents. He graduated from Harvard University and earned a law degree from Yale Law School. In may 2023 Ramaswamy paid an editor to alter his Wikipedia biography before announcing his candidacy. The edits removed references to Ramaswamy's postgraduate fellowship from the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans as well as his involvement with the Ohio Covid-19 Response Team. Paul and Daisy Soros are the elder brother and sister-in-law to George Soros. 

On to commentary and implications of their comments. These two proclaimed geniuses would be well-served to think before they mouth off their opinions. They were not asked or tasked with engineering immigration policy. They both obviously have strong opinions about H-1B visas and allowing unlimited access to such by foreign workers with technical and engineering backgrounds. It's not hard to make the connection between their opinions and the need for these workers in their own private enterprises. Conflict of interest typically is grounds for exclusion and removal from certain positions of influence. Their claims of dire shortages of qualified technical resources in tech industries is a neon contrast to the layoffs of tens of thousands of tech workers over the past several years. It's not a shortage of qualified people, Elon, it's a shortage of qualified management and market demands. And as far as disagreement evoking your comment taken from a movie "Take a step back and fuck yourself in the face," listen Elon, I'm talking to you. Such dribble coming from your pie-hole isn't going to help your cause in any way. In fact, it could lead to the elimination of any need for your help. You were not asked to help with immigration policy. You are not the boss. Thanks for the input, now shut the f*** up and do what you were asked to do. And Vivek, if American culture treasures mediocrity over excellence, why are you here? Are you here to save us from ourselves? Like George and Paul and Daisy Soros? Apparently they're not saving anyone. And neither will you...

Happy Holidays!

 I want to take a moment to thank all of my readers all over the world for letting me share my thoughts and ideas with you. I enjoy writing this blog and I truly enjoying sharing it with all of you. In the coming year we will delve into some new and exciting topics that I hope you will find interesting. Any thoughts or comments you may have are always welcome. 

As a Christian, we celebrate Christmas here. But whatever your faith may be I wish you blessings and happiness and may the New Year bring you good fortune. 

All the Best to You!

Artificial Intelligence; What's the Real Threat?...

 Artificial Intelligence, or 'AI' as it is so often referred to. It's a much talked about topic these days and for good reason. It represents a quantum leap in technology advancement. Its capabilities are remarkable, its potential is practically limitless. It's also very controversial. Bill Gates says it has the potential to solve global problems, can have a tremendous impaction the workforce, yet we must be vigilant about it's development. Neil deGrasse Tyson has warned that AI could destabilize the world and bring about the end of civilization. He has also discussed how AI could revolutionize science.  Tyson has also discussed how AI could be used to spread misinformation and the importance of preventing this. One of the greatest scientific minds ever, Stephen Hawking was a prominent voice in the debate about AI and its potential impact on humanity. He warned that AI could either be the best or worst thing to happen to humanity, and the it could spell the end of the human race. So, amongst some of the great minds of our time we have prognostications ranging from being able to solve global problems to causing the end of the human race. That's a range with proportions on a scale of the distance to the sun and back. 

Let's try and break it down a little bit. First, what exactly is AI? If you were to interview ten random people on the street and ask them 'What is artificial intelligence,' you would undoubtedly get ten different answers. If you were to get two or more of the same answer I'm willing to bet that that answer would be 'I dont know'. It's obviously a very new, incipient field of technology, very sophisticated. A world leader in the field of computer technology and has been for a long time is IBM. IBM says artificial intelligence is 'technology that enables computers to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy.' One might condense that sentence into 'simulate BEING a human'. A key word in the description is 'simulate'. We'll come back to that later. Let's drill down a little further. Computers are machines. They've developed immensely in a short period of time. They will continue to be the embodiment (for lack of a better word) of AI. AI will operate on computers along with a host of technological accessories. By that, I mean sensors (temperature, pressure, velocity, visual, et al.) and of course, databases. The absolute core of artificial intelligence will be the accumulation, assimilation and dissemination of data. Basically the same process we as humans do except we dont refer to it as data, we usually call it experience. We gain knowledge from our experiences and refer to that experience and knowledge to make decisions. This process takes place in our brains, in the case of computers it will take place electronically. In spite of all the technological advancements we as humans have brought into being, computers have, and will for the foreseeable future be limited to requiring 'code' to operate. Meaning, of course, they will require electronic instructions to be able to execute any task. Including artificial intelligence tasks such as decision making, problem solving, creativity, etc.. Perhaps one day computers will be capable of generating code for themselves but for now only humans can develop the operating instructions for computers. Even to take sensory input and take a course of action based on such input will require coded instructions. 

AI is a broad and complex subject that we are currently in a learning stage. What it is, what it will become is still a vast set of unknown parameters. To think that it has the capacity to cause the end of the human race can only occur based on one massive assumption. That we, as humans allow such to happen. Conceptually, it's comparable to nuclear weapons. No living being doubts that weapons of mass destruction are capable of wiping out the human race, or at the least the vast majority of it. In spite of their existence for about 80 years now, such hasn't happened. Will nuclear weapons mark the end of civilization? Will AI? Or maybe something else that we dont even know about yet? But if it is the fate of artificial intelligent to cause such a tragedy, it can only be our own fault. The end of civilization can only be brought about by one source, the inhabitants of civilization itself. What ever tool we may use to facilitate it remains to be seen. 

The Shame of a President...

 Most of us grow up with a sense of reverence for the president. As young people he is a person to look up to, after all, he is the leader of the entire country. We often hear him called the leader of the free world. He is the leader of all leaders. As we age though and learn to think for ourselves we become aware of things that are said and done by the president that give us pause. We begin to look at this person more critically and even question statements they make and their behavior. In spite of carrying unimaginable responsibility they are still human and prone to make mistakes. We expect this and allow for it, within reason. 

There are times, as we have learned in the past few administrations that a president can be short-sighted, highly partisan, selfish, damaging, fatalistic, and yes, unreasonable. We have had a good number of presidents throughout history that have set a high bar for courage and solid leadership and civility. And the consequences of these great leaders is evident in so many ways long after they're gone. For some leaders of the past we have to look long and hard to find their legacy fruits. Our constitution provides for changes in leadership to protect us. And each time there is a change in leadership we are accustomed to seeing it done with respect and civility. As for the transition in power that we are currently seeing, well, it's embarrassing. 

Without going into much detail as it has been hashed in the news so much recently, Biden has reneged on his promise not to pardon his son. Hunter Biden who has multiple felony convictions related to firearms, drugs and taxes has been pardoned not only for those crimes but any others he may have committed over the last ten years. So have a lot of other criminals, over 1,500. A couple of examples; a former Pennsylvania judge who used his private jail system to incarcerate juveniles, while pocketing the profits. The Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro even condemned the pardon saying Biden got it 'absolutely wrong' in what was called the "kids for cash" scandal. Biden also pardoned Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller of Dixon, Illinois. Crundwell was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 20 years for stealing over a 20 year period over $54 million from the town of 15,000 people. Crundwell admitted to embezzling from the city and using the money to live an extravagant lifestyle. Officials were only able to recover $40 million of the stolen money from court settlements and the recovery of illegitimate assets. 

Biden and his band of flunky bandits have been holding a fire sale on materials leftover from the prior Trump administration for building the southern border wall. The materials were paid for with taxpayer money. And, of course, there are the drones. The drones that have been seen over New York and New Jersey for the past several weeks. Some have even been spotted over California and Nevada. The Biden admin claims they know nothing about them except that they are not from U.S. adversaries and pose no threat to public safety. If they know nothing about them, how do they know they are not from U.S. adversaries and are not a threat to public safety? And given the state of Biden's mental capacity and the administration's proclivity for lying, why should we believe that or anything else they say?... We don't believe them nor do they care...

Joe Biden campaigned on claims of honesty and integrity and respect for the rule of law. Are we supposed to pardon him since he no longer has the ability to remember anything he said four years ago, or even four weeks ago? If I remember correctly, the words "No one is above the law" came out of his pie-hole at some point of pontification in the past. We have had three presidents impeached by Congress in the past, though none were convicted. We've had presidents who performed poorly, most in the years leading up to the civil war. And we've had only one who resigned from office. None of those in the above categories ever displayed the depraved behavior we are now seeing in Joe Biden. Is it because of broken mental faculties? Due to the reason of insanity? It doesnt matter. There are those responsible for preventing and/or stopping this from happening. Those responsible parties not only knew it was happening, they allowed it to continue to happen and lied to the American people about it. Joe Biden may be insane but they are evil. And they share in the shame of a president. 

Alternative News Sources worked here in America, but in Romania, not so much...

 I recently posted about how alternative news sources in the US had assumed a bigger role as primary news providers in the US. Our legacy media has been in a downward spiral for years and their behavior in the recent presidential election all but erased any credibility they may have had. Their refusal and reluctance to provide honest, objective reporting has contributed to their self-inflicted ride on the road to ruin. They are an established institution and as such can't be expected to go away with expedience. Just give them time, they'll get the job done. And it seems, they have they'll have ProPublica's help in getting it done.

ProPublica was about to publish an article "revealing' that Pete Hegseth's claim to have been offered admission to West Point was false. Upon investigation (their own) West Point told them (twice) there was no record of Pete Hegseth ever being offered admission to or attending West Point. Such a revelation would no doubt derail any chance of Senate approval of Hegseth for the Department of Defense cabinet position. An obvious win for progressives... 

Poor liberals/progressives, they cant seem to score a win no matter how hard they try. As a saving grace, if such is possible, ProPublica came to Hegseth's representatives for comment and he produced the evidence on the spot, his acceptance letter from West Point. I mean come on, who keeps their college acceptance letters?... Pete Hegseth does. West Point responded, Oh yes, as it turns out we were wrong... He was accepted after all. 

Had Pete hegseth not kept his college acceptance letter to West Point his nomination as Secretary of Defense would have crash-landed. The media would have successfully destroyed it. Erroneously. What they were attempting to prove, was that he was lying about being accepted to West Point. He was not lying. Had this gone to press as it almost did, Hegseth would be experiencing similar shame that Georgie Stephanopolis and ABC are currently. The only difference being that ABC and Georgie are actually guilty of lying, Pete Hegseth is not. Does the media once again have egg on their face? Yes, in fact their faces smell like rotten eggs.

The U.S. apparently isn't alone in suffering the irresponsibility and ignorance of the media. On November 24 the first round of presidential elections was held in Romania. A presumably, free election. The citizens of Romania voted overwhelmingly against the establishment party in power, a somewhat obscure candidate named Calin Georgiescu came from the shadows and secured a majority of 23% of the electorate. At that point Romania's high court stepped in and annulled the results. The second round of voting was cancelled and ordered the government to simply restart the voting process, but not until next year. Romania's government gave the excuse, "A Russian disinformation campaign on TikTok inappropriately directed voters to vote for Georgescu." The current administration believed that Georgescu's politics were amenable to Russian interests. And because the Russians spent time on TikTok coordinating messages in support of him, they saw fit to deem the entire election invalid. 

I'm not sure TikTok is the culprit here as their content does not come from journalists and they've never purported such. Though arguably, neither does that of ABC either... But I digress. One can't help but wonder just what kind of administration does Romania have? To give that much credence to something they saw on TikTok, of all places. At least Hillary paid someone to conjure up a somewhat realistic looking document to promote the Democrats' lies. Perhaps Romania should learn from our lesson, don't believe everything you see in the media. Or TikTok... Especially TikTok.

No Respect for Georgie Stephanopolis.

 Just yesterday, ABC News announced a shockingly large settlement of $15m for defamation of Donald Trump. The terms of the settlement include payment to the Donald Trump  Library, so the diminutive Georgie and ABC have established themselves as the grandest of donors to the Trump Library. Thank you very much. 

Stephanopolis is not a journalist. He is employed by ABC as a commentator, though subsequent to this judgment they want to reconsider that relationship. In an interview with SC Representative Nancy Mace in March 2023 Stephonopolis repeated ten times that Trump had been found liable for rape when in fact he had not. Georgie asked Rep Mace "How do you square your support for Trump with this finding?" Mace was respulsed at being asked the question as she was a once victim of rape herself. Nevertheless, Stephanopolis pressed on with the question. 

The court found Stephanopolis and ABC liable for defamation and ordered them to pay $15M to the Trump Library Fund. And Georgie had the colossal gall to say that he wasn't even aware that ABC was being sued by Trump for the garbage that had emanated from his own pie-hole. Shameless and without a conscience, as is often the case for knucklehead liberals. It is no less than a travesty of human decency for the likes of Georgie Stephanopolis to appear on legacy media as an arbiter of fair questioning. Kudos to Representative Mace for not lowering herself to the depraved level of responding to his despicable and sophomoric slander, based on lies. 

Yet the malignant dwarf continues to put on his little necktie and pretend to be an informed informer. My bet is the ABC executives aren't so impressed anymore. In fact, they're probably considering with holding the $15M from his paycheck. A little advice for you ABC honchos, cut him loose. He's not the brightest bulb on the tree...

The internet is wonderful, and it is vile...

 So much has changed in our society and in our culture in the recent past. Not only in America but all over the world. Invariably, somewhere in the timeline of these changes one will find the internet as a catalyst, be it good or bad. Arguably, it has been claimed that Donald Trump's election victory hinged on alternative sources of news as compared to the 2016 election. It's unfortunate, but there are masses of people who no longer depend on mainstream media as a reliable source of news. I can't speak for other countries, though I suspect they may have the same problem, but in America major television networks and major news publications are no longer reliable or reputable. They have allowed their bias and narrow-minded political bents to corrupt  their responsibility for reporting the news. And they refuse to recognize and accept the clear and distinct signals coming from the American people. Evidently, economic sustainability is not an issue for them. Interestingly, the alternative news sources that are replacing them and have become  reliable sources for so many would have been considered 'crazy' a mere ten years ago. Podcasts and social media. 

Trump's son Barron, suggested to his father that he should engage with the likes of Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, Lex Fridman, Charlemagne, and others who invited him to interview on their podcast. Barron knew the audiences for these media sources. They were likely unfamiliar to the elder Trump as they likely are to most of the Boomer generation. But 'the Donald' heeded the advice and the payoff was resounding victory. Massive numbers of younger generations tune in to podcasts and various other social media outlets for their news sources. In all honesty, with some serious reflection, it's difficult to find fault with this logic. We Boomers (yes, admittedly, I'm a Boomer...) grew up reading a newspaper or news magazine soaking up some journalists' interpretation of an interview or public statements made by a politician. On a podcast interview you can hear the question from the host and the answer from the interviewee. The horse's mouth, well, the donkey or the elephant as the case may be. Nothing lost in the interpretation. Plus, it also exhibits the authenticity of the interviewee. If they have the Kahunas to get on the air and publicly state what they think or how they feel or that they will do, it's more convincing. You, the listener heard it from them. No paraphrasing by a journalist. No disrespect to any respectable and honest journalist from those times and there were some very good ones. I've no doubt that they feel dismayed by the disreputable, lying bastards getting so much attention in recent times, letting their political bents get in the way of good judgment and honest reporting. 

Did these alternative news sources make a difference in the outcome? Well, Trump is the president-elect, right?... You tell me. However, every topic seems to have a big 'but', right? Perhaps alternative news sources did facilitate the prevalence of the will of the majority in the case of the presidential election. But they also have the power to make known the mindset of the twisted and uninformed and radical minds. Luigi Mangione recently murdered in cold blood Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare on the streets of Manhattan. Reportedly, based on a manifesto in his possession his transgression was a result of his grievance related to the actions of the health insurance industry. So, his demented little mind decided that the 'parasites' had it coming. They needed to be stopped. This was a scion of a wealthy family, not a poor person who had a close relative die as a result of the denial of a claim that would have saved a life. The Internet and social media in this case has exposed a dark side of American society. And they are not few in number. Many, and I use the term loosely, have sounded off that Luigi is a credible spokesman for those aggrieved by the insurance industry. A hero who took action. That according to some twisted worldview did what needed to be done. And those adorers are not limited to the unknown masses. A Massachusetts senator, Elizabeth Warren alluded in a public statement that "the public can only be pushed so far...". As if there were some justification to Luigi's heinous actions. There are many more, known and unknown. 

The American constitution and I know there are many other cultures around the world whose societies are based on the value of life and liberty that will always  condone the senseless and unlawful taking of human life, political ideologies be damned. But this wonderful widget of modern life known as the World Wide Web makes it possible for those who do not value human life or who disagree with a corporation's behavior to conduct their self-sanctioned executions to right a perceived wrong and to publish their thoughts. Evidently, the rule of law and human decency haven't met the internet, yet...

Daniel Penney is not guilty...

 The jury reached a verdict in the case of a former Marine restraining a drug-addled mentally afflicted man who mortally threatened subway passengers on a Manhattan subway. He was found not guilty. This verdict came on a lesser charge after the more serious charge of manslaughter resulted in a hung jury. This begs the question, what went on in the jury room, the hung jury obviously means that were jurors who voted for a guilty verdict. The acquittal was a result of a unanimous vote of not guilty. Some of the jurors who initially voted for a guilty verdict on a charge that was dismissed by the judge at the suggestion of the DA changed their minds and subsequently chose to vote not guilty. Was that a corollary to hearing more evidence? No. No further evidence was introduced. The judge in this case, a Judge Wiley, contradicted himself and changed his instructions to the jury. He told the jury, "You can only consider the culpability on the second charge of negligent homicide if you acquit on the first charge of manslaughter. However, since there was a hung jury on the first charge, DA Alvin Bragg suggested that the first charge be dropped and the jury deliberate on the second charge of negligent homicide. And the judge agreed. A mistrial was requested by the defense and summarily denied. 

First, I have in a previous post labeled Alvin Bragg as a pig. I stand by that assessment. Bragg is a morally bankrupt, intellectually challenged slob. Somehow he has reached an elevated, elected position of law enforcement that implies an assumption of equality under the law for all. He's obviously incapable of doing that. Instead of a fair-minded arbiter of the law he is a political, racist thug. And, up to this point, unchecked. We are all still acutely aware of his behavior and antics in the case against Donald Trump. Bragg is an attorney, presumably trained in law. His job is to see that the law is applied fairly and equitably to all. Instead, he seems to see fit to apply it such that those who align with his ideologies are favored. To date he has succeeded in doing just that. 

Daniel Penny has served his country as a U.S. Marine, has no record of breaking any laws. That day on the subway he saw a clear and present danger. An unstable person threatened innocent passengers with death in his presence. He chose to take action and neutralize the threat. His intention was clearly not to murder but to neutralize the threat. The threatening person died and the exact cause of death was arguable and mostly depended on the political perspective of the accusing party. However, it was proved that the threatening person was under the effects of drugs and suffered mental illness at the time. Did he deserve to die for his aggressions, of course not. Was Daniel Penney's intent to kill him, no. His intent was to protect innocent bystanders from injury or death. 

This is America. We are afforded life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by our constitution. If any of the aforementioned are threatened we have the right of defense. Daniel Penney was merely practicing his right of self defense and the defense of others whose life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness are being threatened. And he did...

I'm tired of politics, how about you?

 Since probably sometime this summer I've been posting about politics, the campaigns, the elections and the post-election analysis. It's interesting stuff to a lot of us and it certainly has a profound impact on our lives. I like reading about it and I like talking about it. But it wears on you. At some point it feels like beating a dead horse. For this post we're going to let the poor horse rest in peace and talk about something else. 

I had a doctor's appointment today, nothing special, just a routine annual check-up with my neurologist. Of course, being a writer my mind took off on a wild what-if journey after the appointment that I thought I should share with you. You know, to give you an idea of how writers think and how some of our wild, crazy stories are born. I think you might find it entertaining, I did...

South Texas is really not that far from being a tropical climate. We've had record setting warm temperatures for a few months now, here we are in December and it's still warm. Today, however, the temps turned a bit cooler, we had high temps in the 50's with a northerly breeze, which is cold, relatively speaking for southeast Texas. All I had on my calendar for the day was a doctor appointment with my neurologist. It was an annual check-up, I've had these for several years now and for the life of me I cant remember how or why this annual succession of visits began. I think about that every time I go because, there's nothing wrong with me, neurologically. I think my family doc suggested it for some forgotten reason years ago. At the end of every visit he says, "everything looks good, we'll see you next year." I keep coming back, thrilled to hear the good news that everything is ok. I'm guessing that when you reach seventy years old you're supposed to do things like this. I've no doubt that these prosaic visits are costing a fortune, but considering I paid into Medicare for fifty years that doesn't cause me to lose any sleep, whatever... If something were actually wrong I'm assuming he would tell me and we would take the appropriate proactive measures. That's the best case scenario, worst case scenario would be he would tell me something like "You've got one month to live." In a desperate attempt to recover from the shock, I would ask "what's wrong with me?" For the next few minutes he would elaborate in a language I don't understand about some neurological malady for which there is no known cure. I've always been hesitant to argue with people much smarter than myself, so I stare blankly at him for a few moments and all I can say is, "Damn. Just like that? Is there anything else you can tell me? " "No, that's pretty much it," he says. "I'm sorry."

I'm speechless. It like my mind has been torpedoed and there's nothing left to conjure up any thoughts. Just a general feeling of impending demise and personal armageddon. The end. What in the hell am I to do for the next month? My last month. Take an extended trip to paradise? Max out all credit cards? I can't just sit at home and just watch TV. 

As I head out the door for the parking lot, a cool stiff breeze and some sunshine prompts me to clear my head. The daydream ends. All that actually happened was he said, as he does every year, "Everything looks good, see you next year." Then the consult was over. Maybe I don't need to go back for next year's appointment. Since reaching the ripe old age of 70 I have taken notice that I spend a lot more time than I ever have in doctor's offices. But typically, it's when there's something wrong. Something hurts or a test indicated that we have to look into this. But to be seeing a neurologist and I don't even really know why... I dont have the shakes, I can walk without assistance, I feel fine, and there are no signs of dementia. Well, at least I don't think there are... Life's hard enough when we get old. All the things we used to do when we were younger that did't seem hard at all, now don't seem so easy. We need help doing a lot of things. We need doctors more often than we used to. But I think I'm going to scratch this appointment off my list. It's good to be proactive and practice preventative health. But sometimes the old axiom 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' still works just fine. I dont think I'd ever be able to figure out what to do if I only had one month left anyway...

Or perhaps, just perhaps, maybe the fact that I don't even remember why I'm seeing a neurologist might be a good reason to keep seeing him. 

Why? Just, why?...

 Sometimes it's hard to reason or even to rationalize politicians' behavior. Humans have a tendency to follow a leader. When there is the appearance of qualities and virtue in a leader, from small groups to masses, people tend to gravitate to leadership and to support it. There is the shared idealism or at least the perception of shared idealism that gives a movement momentum. Unfortunately, the perceived qualities and virtues in the leader don't always align with reality. You know, the old axiom, 'people see what they want to see.' The Democratic Party had a shared idealism and an identity. They had a revered leader in Joe Biden. They went into the election confidant that their ideals and identity would prevail. Then all of a sudden around July 2024 the wind died and the sailboat wasn't going anywhere. The stiff breeze that Kamala Harris was presumed to provide after the party decided Joe didn't know how to steer the boat anymore turned into an extended doldrum. Dead in the water while Trump cruised past them in a Destroyer class battleship. 

Is it the Republican's fault this happened? No. It was the arrogance, the  nihilistic behavior, the refusal to recognize a course of self-destruction the Dems had set themselves on. Let's take a look at some of the behavior that contributed to this outcome and is still taking place. 

The Biden administration went to court to defend its refusal to enforce immigration law. Yes, went to court. In August 2021 it abrogated the rights of property owners by halting evictions nationwide. They illegally attempted to transfer the debt burdens of student-loan borrowers to taxpayers. Democrats of the last decade have advocated for lawbreakers, rioters, illegal imigrants, loiters, vagrants and squatters all the while calling it "social justice". Calling it social justice  is merely a way of avoiding calling it what it actually is, an avoidance of actual justice. 

Now, back to the point of the post. Why? Not only did such behavior ultimately cause the implosion of the party (Dems lost control of the executive branch and both houses of Congress) but the party itself is in disarray. I cant think of the right word for it, but it's broken. Like a fine ceramic vase colliding with a tile floor. What happened to planning and strategic thinking? Sustainability? This was like 'let's shoot ourselves in the foot and if that doesn't hurt enough let's shoot ourselves in the head'. Why would any political party engage in such behavior? 

I've already offered the only plausible explanation I can conjure. Colossal arrogance. Which is still taking place. Biden has just pardoned his son from his convictions of the past year. Probably the greatest abuse of the presidential pardon in the history of the US. He has betrayed all those in the party that believed theirs was the party of rectitude and propriety. He subverted the very meaning of justice and yet again proved he really doesn't believe in the 'rule of law'. And never did... Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois has vowed "I am going to do everything that I can to protect our undocumented immigrants." Denver's mayor has suggested there'll be a 'Tiananmen Square moment' with the Denver police and the civilian population  confronting federal immigration authorities. He says he's willing to go to jail to oppose anything that is illegal or immoral or un-American. 

Why? What happened? Did their leadership fail them? Were their ideals misplaced to begin with? Was their identity based on the wrong values? Yes, yes, and yes. But don't take my word for it. Just take a look at the smoldering, self-inflicted ruins of the Democratic Party.

Trump and Jamie Dimon...

It appears that Trump and Jamie Damon have forged some sort of 'trust'  recently.  According to press reports (known to be highly inaccurate...) they have been meeting in secret of late. Collaborating on very important topics including the economy, geopolitical hotspots, etc. Such begs the question, why?... 

Jamie Dimon? Why is Trump consulting with him? Why does he think his opinion is any more valuable than anyone else's? Yes, he is the chief of a major banking institution but does that by default make him an expert on global geopolitics? No, it does not. Think about this. Jamie Damon has spent his career focused on two things; shareholder value and his own value. And not necessarily in that order. Probably not in that order. Are banks known for  making depositors rich? No. Where do all bank assets come from? Depositors. Without them there would be no banks, there would be no need for them. Without depositors there would be no bank revenues. Has anyone in the history of the United States become wealthy from placing their money in a bank? No, of course not. People become wealthy from investing in businesses that embrace ideas and innovation. That involve real risks. A banks' idea of risk involves will a borrower repay a loan. Will someone with infinitely more gumption for risk than ourselves succeed so that we, the bank can capitalize off of their success?  

From a banks' perspective, you take the risk, we take the rewards. Banks are economic parasites. Somewhat like the government, you take the risks, we take the rewards. The more you succeed, the more we succeed. When a bank makes a loan, where do the funds come from? Depositors. Working people. Successful entrepreneurs. They operate purely off OPM. Other people's money. Sort of like in baseball, earned runs versus unearned runs. Every dime a bank makes is an unearned run. Banks' ideas of innovation are developing new revenue streams. What exactly is a 'revenue stream'? A way of generating more income from depositors. The only place it can possibly come from. 

Jamie Dimon has experience with economics. He understands supply and demand. But only from a monetary perspective. When someone needs money, how can the bank profit most from lending them the money?... That's a far cry from what best serves a global economy... 

Is Jamie Dimon a reliable and valued source of consult? No. Not for a president...

I'm Going to make an Execption for Alvin Bragg...

 I do not typically target an individual in my blog posts for criticism, but due to extenuating circumstances I'm going to make an exception. Alvin Bragg, the New York City district attorney. His name has become a household name, but for all the wrong reasons. He is, of course the prosecutor behind one of the 'lawfare' cases targeting President-elect Donald Trump. First, let me make one thing perfectly clear, this has nothing to do with differences in political ideology. We're all entitled to our own opinions and our opinions are protected by the second amendment. This is only about the egregiously narrow-minded, progressive, Trump derangement syndrome driven behavior exhibited by Alvin Bragg. The fairness presumed of the American justice system, the rule of constitutional law, the will of the people be damned. The biased agenda of Alvin Bragg and Judge John Merchan and whoever else supporting him behind the scenes (George Soros at the top of the list...) apparently was all that mattered. Everyone is equal under the law, well, everyone except Donald Trump. This is a blog, not a news report. My blog. I can say what I want. I'm exercising my constitutional rights. Alvin Bragg is a fat ass pig. Nothing more, nothing less. He behaves like a fat ass pig and even looks like a fat ass pig. He does not behave like the fair minded purveyor of justice that he was elected to be. His actions are the result of his ignorance and prejudice. He is a disgrace. 

John Merchan, ditto. He is a Democratic Party puppet and lackey. His bias consumes him. He and his predecessor Judge Engoron have displayed enough judicial misconduct to fill a prison cell at San Quentin. This little trio has coined the concept of lawfare. Using the law to punish or disable your political opponents. They made a mockery of the system of justice in America. The behavior and actions of Alvin Bragg, Juan (John) Merchan, Fani Willis and Letitia James have shaken the foundations of the rule of law that hold American society together. Your behavior has not gone unnoticed by any stretch of the imagination. In fact if you stooges will take a look at the recent election results you will clearly see America does not approve of your ignominious antics. We hope you are not expecting to further your misguided and deplorable careers with these stunts. Your journey into the depths of progressivism is over. Pack your bags, you pigs...

#election2024 #Alvinbragg. #juanmerchan #politicalanalysis

Some Big Changes coming to the United States...

     Yes, there are some changes coming to the U.S., I think it's safe to say. Just as it was with the election, we cant say with any certainty just what things are going to look like in four years. What we can say is a lot of things are going to be very different. The entire political landscape has already changed and there are many more changes coming. And it's never going to be the same as it once was. 

Let's start with the Democratic Party. With the outcome of the election, i.e. Trump winning in a landslide including all seven swing states the Democratic Party has all but imploded. They are adrift on the open sea with no prevailing wind. They are without leadership, Biden has ultimately and apparently joyously bowed out. The remaining has-been leaders are all left pointing at one another attempting to place the blame for this perfect fiasco on someone, anyone other than themselves. Nancy Pelosi, the once self-anointed 'Godmother' of the party who took the lead role in forcing Papa Joe to drop from the race is blaming the debacle on Joe himself for not dropping out sooner. Her street creds within the party are fading faster than a West Texas sunset. Apparently, that isn't enough though to stop her from announcing that she will be running for another term... Fuggidaboutit Nancy. The pompous mouths we have heard so much from for the past four years are conspicuously quiet of late, i.e Chuckie Schumer and Adam Schitt. For the next four years, at least, they will have about as much clout as a death-row inmate. America has sounded off on what they want and don't want in government. And evidently it doesn't include the Democratic Party that we have come to know. So, they will have to change, regroup, re-organize, re-invent themselves. What will that look like? Your guess is as good as mine. Let's hope for their sake that they are smart enough to learn from this election just what that does not include. The big take-away from all this that they should heed; the Democrats don't get to make all the rules. 

We already have the rules, have had for nigh 250 years. They're called the Constitution, aka the rule of law. All the accusations of Trump having no regard for the rule of law and now, after the election we have commissioners in Pennsylvania insisting on including illegal ballots in the final count. "Nobody follows the law in America and nobody cares," they say when confronted. The governor of Massachusetts has declared the state will not cooperate with Immigration authorities regarding deportations. Rule of law? Hello? Jack Smith has already resigned. Rumor has it he will be moving to somewhere in Africa. Juan Merchan has gone ducked underground like a gopher for as long as he can get away with it. A word of advice Juan, I would not want to be the individual that has gone against the will of the American people. Give Kamala a call and ask her what that feels like. You might want to consider repatriating to Columbia, or wherever the hell you came from. Letitia James, Alvin Bragg and Fani Willis, your pink slips are being prepared. You need to be looking for other employment opportunities. Try looking for some that have nothing to do with the rule of law. Or just law, period... And for any of you other Soros funded DA's left out there, dont even think about it...

And the leftist, liberal mainstream media... All your lies, slander and deliberate misinformation couldn't sway the voters. They did what they thought was right in spite of you. So if you can't influence elections to the outcome you want, what will actually be your role in America going forward? Just keep trying no matter what? Making the same mistake over and over again never yields the desired outcome. Learn from it. Change. For some strange reason I feel like I'm talking to a tree. Maybe even a dead tree. Do what you want, we dont care. As has been demonstrated...

Whether you're a Trump fan, a Biden fan or a Harris fan, at this point it doesn't matter. If you're an American get with the program whether you like the program of the  leadership or not. Root for America and do something to help America's cause. Trump's running the show now, in four years it will be someone else. You can't love your country only when you win, to quote the current Democratic Party leader. We're all Americans, we need to all act like Americans. 

#2024 election. #Trump  #politicalanalysis

Let's Recap... #2024 election. #trumpwins. #election recap

 The 2024 election is over so let's recap and reflect a little. Trump won and the Democratic Party is in shambles. Biden appeared Thursday morning and seemed to be in good spirits. Actually, very good spirits. As if he were enormously relieved that his party affiliates were enormously embarrassed. What other reason could possibly explain his affable and conciliatory address that his administration would fully cooperate with the transition of power. Even having lunch with his nemesis who, according to him recently was an unhinged, Hitler doppleganger. One may even believe that his senility had subsided long enough for him to reason, "You sumbitches made your bed, now lie in it..." 

"How did you spend $1 billion and not win?" In fact, she spent more than that, she's $20 million in debt with campaign expenses. Some of the major players who orchestrated Biden's benching might just be on hand when the chickens come home to roost. Nancy Pelosi pushed hard to sideline Biden. With Trump and the Republicans set to control all three branches of government, what will her new role be? Perhaps working with Kackala at McDonalds... And the big Kahuna himself, Barry Obama. Back when Hillary was a contender BHO pushed hard for her to be given the nomination. As he did to get Biden out of the melee. Hmmm. That looks a lot like two screw-ups, back to back. Maybe Obama should go back to community activism in Chicago. Looks like he stinks at political strategy. And of course the two poster boys for liberal ineptitude, Chuck Schumer and Adam Schiff did their part to get Biden out of the way. Schiff said, "If Biden is the nominee, we lose..." Biden wasn't the nominee and they lost anyway. Arguably, they lost big. 

All of this and lest we forget that there was palpable evidence that Biden's wherewithal was sliding down a slippery slope. If, let's say, he would have run, would he have had a snowballs' chance in hell of winning. No, save the discussion, he would not. 

All the crying in the world Jimmy Kimmel isn't going to change a thing. Is it the end of the world? For you maybe, for everyone else, no. All you little university pupils who spent the day after election in your liberal-sanctioned daycare having milk and cookies, get your asses back to class. Life is hard and it's real. Deal with it. All of us evil, fascist conservatives had to endure 12 years of Barry Obama and Joe Biden. They literally threw trash all over the highway now the garbage crew has to come along and clean it up. Sucks, doesn't it?...

#bulldog politics. #2024 election. #trumpwins #election recap

It's All Over But the Crying...

 The election is over. Well, there are the electoral ballots yet to be cast and counted as well as the ratification by the Senate. For the most part these are formalities and won't change a thing. Donald Trump is #47. The liberal, ultra-biased, mainstream press is shocked. 

Shocked? Really? If that's truly the case it can only mean that the mainstream media is so arrogant that they have lost the ability to think objectively in any fashion. No need to recount all the tiresome details that lead up to this election disaster, it all unfolded in plain sight. The Democratic party simply self-imploded. But of all the lawless chicanery that took place, including  Hunters' laptop, the frivolous, ridiculous trials in New York and Georgia and Jack Smith tripping over himself like a drunken fool, the icing on the cake was the Democratic Party believing that they could take Kamala Harris and make her a credible candidate to be the president of the United States. The 'shocked' press, who for months on end aided and abetted the effort to hide Biden's decrepitude and then to prop up a vapid, pastel pant-suit that the majority would vote for simply because they hated Trump?... It didn't work. Not only did it not work, it literally blew up in their corrupt little faces. They took the American people for stooges and oh, what a colossal mistake that was.  On January 20, 2025, all three branches of the U.S. government will be lead by conservatives. All. of. them. They made the bet of the century and lost it all. 

Mr Trump, I have but one request. I'm confidant that you will accomplish much to the benefit of the American people during this term in office. But if you do but one thing while in office, do this. Make it crystal clear to the thick-headed, arrogant bastards who call themselves Progressive Democrats that 'lawfare' will not be tolerated in this country. If you have an opponent that you disagree with or personally don't like, run against them and take their job. You cannot weaponize the U.S. judicial system to disable and punish your adversaries. What I saw in the election yesterday was the American people saying we're not going to stand for this. And if you ever try it again, you'll likely get slapped down. Just like you did yesterday...

#2024election.  #mainstreamediasucks 

Cast your vote...

 It's the eve of the 2024 election. The campaigns, the rallies, the slander, insults, lies (well, maybe not the lies,,,), the underhanded shenanigans and outright corruption is about to come to an end. At least, maybe, until the next contest. There are a lot of posts and positions up for grabs and the next occupant of each is sure to cast some impact on some group. But the big cahuna that will impact ever damn one of us in some way to some extent, is the presidential contest. Everyone has an opinion which could be based on any number of things; articles, facts, life experiences, polls, you name it. 

The time to state actual facts, occurrences, statements, claims, defensive positions etc. has passed. The 'undecideds' now are not going to determine the winner. The indication that the 'polls' are telling us that this is a toss-up, is just that, an indication. They are statistical samples. They include a margin of error. That means that a calculable percentage that the sample will be wrong is certain. This is not speculation, it has been proven. When the average 'Joe' sees a margin of error of 3 to 5 percent, it's human nature to feel that chance of the sample being wrong is negligible. And it is, so to speak, but it exists. Does that mean that they are almost certainly accurate. Getting into semantics now, let's not do that. The general consensus based on what we know is it's a toss-up. What the people choose and what the electorate choose won't be known until tomorrow and December 17th, respectively. The choices may be the same and they may not. 

The path the country takes economically, with respect to immigration, foreign policy, and in other ways will vary greatly depending on the outcome. Every life in America will be affected. Global geopolitics will be affected. Life in America has become divided and polarized. The best possible outcome from this election doesn't rest on which candidate wins. It rests on whomever wins lives up to the confidence placed in them to be the leader they claimed to be. And to take into account the good of the people and the country in every decision they make.

God help us and God Bless the United States of America.

Is George Soros part of the deep state?...

I dont think this is a cut and dried, black and white answer. The main reason for that response is I dont think George Soros is a cut and dried, black or white person. You have to know some of his history to understand that, and a lot of what he has done and is doing will make more sense knowing some of his background. Soros has been a major influence in myriad political situations and maneuvers in American politics for a couple of decades, if not more. Without getting too deep (no pun intended...) into his background let me tell you a little about him. 

George Soros, born Georgy Schwartz is a native Hungarian known as an investor, businessman and philanthropist. He was born into a Jewish family, though they did not actively practice the religion. That is somewhat understandable considering the spread of Naziism at the time. Soros survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary and moved to England in 1947. He studied at the London School of Economics and was awarded a BSc in philosophy in 1951and then a MSc degree in philosophy in 1954. Soros began his career working in merchant banks before setting up his first hedge fund, called the Double Eagle in 1969. Profits from this fund enabled him to set up Soros Fund Management, his second hedge fund in 1970. Double Eagle was renamed Quantum Fund and was the principal fund Soros advised. Quantum Fund began with $12million in assets under his management and eventually grew to $25 billion, generating the majority of Soros wealth. It became the most successful hedge fund in history. 

Soros is known as "The Man Who Broke the Bank of England" during the 1992 Black Wednesday UK Currency Crisis. During this crisis Soros sold short US$ 10 billion worth of pounds sterling, profiting $1 billion from the dubious transaction. I guess that stunt eliminated his chances of being knighted in England...

Soros supports progressive and liberal causes to which he donates generously through the Open Society Foundations. The Open Society Foundations is a US-based grant making network founded by Soros. The OSF charter is to support the aim of advancing justice, education, public health and independent media around the world. The 'catch' to that altruistic mumbo-jumbo is the version of justice, education, public health and independent media being supported is that of George Soros. Between 1979 and 2011 he donated more than $11 billion to various philanthropic causes. By 2017 his donations on "civil initiatives to reduce poverty and increase transparency, and on scholarships and universities around the world exceeded $12 billion. He influenced the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in the early 1990's. Soros funding of political causes  has made him the bogeyman of European nationalists. 

Critics of Soros, who is of Jewish descent have often claimed he is antisemitic. Conspiracy theories about him are boundless, especially amongst conservatives. Paul Krugman, a renowned economist who was critical of Soros effects on financial markets once said, "No one who has read a financial magazine in the past few years can be unaware that these days there really are investors who not only move money in anticipation of a currency crisis, but actually do their best to trigger that crisis for fun and profit. These new actors on the scene do not yet have a standard name; my proposed term is 'Soroi'." Personally, I think George Soros is a self-centered, greedy, base individual. If I were an Englishman my opinion of him would be far less...  

Until the 2004 election Soros had not been a major contributor to U.S. political campaigns. During the 2003-2004 election cycle, Soros contributed over $25 million to tax-exempt groups purposed with defeating George W. Bush. After Bush's re-election, Soros and others backed a new political fundraising group called Democracy Alliance, which supports progressive causes and the formation of a stronger progressive infrastructure in America. If there truly is a 'deep state' in existence, its creation was sublimated at this point. 

From this point on most of us are aware of the many progressive and liberal causes Soros has funded. No need to name them all, maybe just the mention of a few names will serve as a reminder. Alvin Bragg, Fanni Willis, Nathan Wade, George Gascon, need I go on...As you can see George Soros has a, shall we say, complex background. Like the rest of us he is a product of his environment. Exactly how all this shaped his current and past philosophies is anyone's best guess. Soros has donated large amounts of money to many, varied causes, some, perhaps many of them honorably moral. Inspire of being a billionaire with current assets estimated at $6 - $7 billion, there are a number of individuals considerably more wealthy. Can you imagine Elon Musk with his wealth having similar political bents as Soros? God help us. What Soros doesn't appear to grasp (or care...) is most of the world doesn't share his world-view. We don't want to participate in it. We despise his buying political operatives to spread his progressivism. We despise those who are allowing him to get away with it. Yes Hillary, I'm talking to you. You are a scourge George and you need to go away. 

So, is George Soros part of the deep state? One can find evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ, of the Knights Templar, of dinosaurs. But one would be hard pressed to place hard evidence on the table of the deep state. Because that's the way they want it. They will deny its existence and their subversion until the end of time. For me, I can see enough evidence to believe it exists. And as I see it, I can also see a hologram of George Soros in the picture...

#soros #trump.  #Harrris #activism #election #2024election

Let's take a break and talk about life in general...

The election is in 12 days and that is of course a big deal. A very big deal.  The outcome will in some way affect each and every one of our lives in some way. It will affect the future course of our nation and our standing in the global order. I've been posting about it on here for weeks, talking about things that many of us don't hear about in the mainstream media outlets. But today, I want to take a break from politics and talk about something else. I changed the name of my blog recently to include "Life in General." We all have things going on in our lives that are important, sometimes even critical. We actually spend most of our waking hours taking care of our own important personal issues, maintaining a system of order in our lives. Once we have all of the topics of our own lives attended to, then we can take a little time to ponder politics and or any of the other things that might deserve a little attention. Or not...

Now and then, though, things pop up. so to speak that were unexpected, not in anyone's plan and certainly not in your own. Sometimes such things are benign, they have to be dealt with but soon they once again disappear into obscurity, where they seemingly came from. Sometimes though, these 'things' appear, leave you in shock and reeling and you don't have a clue as to how to deal with it or even how you may feel about it at the moment. The only thing you know at the moment you become aware of their existence is, this is serious. Damn serious.  In your personal queue of important things to deal with, this one suddenly and quickly moves to the front of the line. Life has a habit of being unpredictable and those unforeseen moments can be anything from memorable and precious to shockingly frightful and even horrible. Some, so it seems, tend to come into your life gradually, they may even seem innocuous at first. But as they develop, and the more you learn about it, the more the risk of danger makes itself known. For circumstantial reasons you cant know just how serious they may be until things progress. Tests have to be performed, there may even be a period of let's just wait and see how this thing develops. All you know in the beginning is it could just be 'nothing' or it could be a matter of life and death. 

Such has happened to me as it has many others before me and certainly for will many more in the future. Let me get to the point. I recently went for an annual physical with our family doctor. I have learned through the years from these visits about my high cholesterol, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. Untreated, any of these conditions can lead to serious and dire consequences. But as I learned about them they were treated with medication or therapy of some sort. Fortunately, I have not had any serious consequences from them. I am now 70 years old and have been blessed with relatively good health as a result of regular check ups and preventive measures. Until this year. My annual blood tests routine revealed an elevated PSA. If you haven't heard that acronym before it stands for prostate specific antigen. It's a protein in the blood released by the prostate gland. Often in those with cancer cells growing in the prostate glad, the level of this protein in the blood begins to increase. Mine did, so my doctor recommended that I see a urologist for further tests. I did, and the urologist found that since the original blood test with my family doctor and the blood test he had performed two months later the PSA level had increased even more. He told me I have three options. 1) I could choose to do nothing. If you know something isn't right and your health is potentially at risk, why would anyone choose to do nothing. I dont know, to each his own. 2) I could do an MRI, a non-invasive procedure that is helpful but not conclusive or 3) do a biopsy. The biopsy is conclusive as far as revealing the presence of cancer. For me, if there is the possibility that I have cancer, I want to know as soon as possible. So I can do whatever I need to do to treat it. And survive it. 

It is known that prostate cancer is one of the slowest-growing types of cancers. It is also known that cancer (including all types) is notorious for being unpredictable. My mother, father, brother, grandfather, all died from cancer. For some it took years for the evil disease to claim them, for my older brother it took only a month. So, not doing whatever I can as soon as I can, and taking unnecessary risks isn't really an option for me. At the moment I'm in that period of waiting. I've had the biopsy, now I wait to hear. It's not easy but then at the same time I dont want to worry about something that hasn't happened and maybe isn't going to happen. It's an unknown. An unknown with a potentially unhappy ending...

I'm Proud of Black Journalists...The Latest Scandal

 First, a little background. I have been following the 2024 election and the stories surrounding the candidates very closely. I'm up to date. I know what's going on. Or well, I thought I did. We've all heard of Candace Owens, a bright, astute young black lady with a conservative bent who's very much on top of things. By that I mean she can figure out what's true and what's not... And Da Real ADogg, also a bright young black man who can think for himself. Has his own YouTube channel and discusses politics. Pretty impressive young fellow. I pretty much by accident stumbled upon his channel tonight and listened in. He was discussing an emerging scandal involving Kamala. 

Recently, Janet Jackson made a statement along the lines of 'I heard Kamala Harris wasn't really black.' Her publicist (or someone in her inner circle) issued a public statement that Janet meant to offend no one and is for peace and harmony blah, blah, blah. Then she promptly fired the publicist. Many of the well-known leftist mouths (CNN, MSNBC, Whoopie...) demanded an apology. She said I'm not apologizing for anything. Kamala recently said in public that she was of Indian heritage, now she is claiming to be black. I dont know what she is...

Candace, as she has been known to do, began researching the issue. She found, and showed on her YouTube channel copies of birth certificates. marriage certificates, photos, etc.. Some of the pictures she found showed Kamala with her paternal grandmother and grandfather. Let me start over; her 'alleged' paternal grandmother and grandfather. One of these photos in particular Kamala included in her recent autobiography The Truths We Hold. The photo is captioned as Kamala standing next to her grandmother Beril. Pretty common, most of us have photos of us with our grandmothers. However, Candace discovered from an official document that Harris' paternal grandmother passed in 1960, four years before Kamala Harris was born. So, that begs the question, who is this person standing next to Kamala Harris, if it's not her grandmother? We can speculate, but what we do know to be true is it is not her grandmother. And another question is why would she lie about this? And I guess while we're at it, if she would lie about this what else has she lied about?

There's no need to remind you that this person is running for President of the United States. We, the People have a fundamental right to expect and demand integrity from this person. Why would anyone, let alone this candidate need to lie about who their real grandparents are? And why haven't we heard about this anomaly in the news? Of course MSNBC, CNN, CBS, ABC, they're not going to mention it because it would create some foul-smelling questions that would need to be answered. Fat chance of that happening. But it was discovered and raised some by young, sagacious journalists who can think for themselves and aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe. Bravo Candace and Dogg. Bravo! 

If this doesn't convince you, then nothing will...

 Today, October 17, a little more than a year since Hamas invaded Israel with an army of terrorists as a barrage of rockets rained on Israeli territory, to massacre innocents, including children, to rape women, and burn homes to the ground, Yahya Sinwar has been killed. He was (please notice the past tense...) the 'mastermind' of the October 7 attacks. By the end of that infamous day, 1200 were dead and 251 were dragged into Gaza and held hostage. After a year of fighting, Sinwar has refused to surrender and release the hostages. Even as his own people suffered, he was determined to somehow turn world opinion against Israel. Arguably, and sadly, he had some success. 

Sinwar had previously been held in an Israeli prison where he suffered brain cancer. He miraculously survived owing to the treatment of Israeli doctors. In 2011, he was one of 1,000 prisoners released as part of a deal to secure the release of an abducted Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. Once released he rose through the Hamas organization and became the defacto leader in Gaza. 

The killing of Sinwar is monumentally important. It not only caused an operational blow to Hamas but gives a new perspective on the war, notably for Israel. Sinwar's death follows a series of successes for Israel, the killing of Hama's political leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and a plethora of other high ranking leaders of both terrorist groups. Israel has dealt a powerful blow to the proxies of Iran as it contemplates retaliation against Iran itself. And as it should. Our executive leaders sure don't have the balls to do it, in fact, we funded their irreverent, profane deeds...

This news also serves to shine some convincingly dark light on the judgment of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. For months this dynamic duo warned Israel against an invasion of Rafah, where Sinwar was killed. Biden made the statement that going into Rafah was a "red line" for him. Harris warned that there would be "consequences" because she "studied the maps." The fact that Sinwar was killed in Rafa vindicates the insistence of Israel that Rafah was where they would find Hamas' leadership. They found him there, and they killed him. 

Let us not overlook the courage of Bibi to do what he knew was the right thing to defend his country. In spite of the leaders of the United States telling him, "Do not do this." As the great Winston Churchill once said, "If you find yourself in hell, keep going." Bibi sure as hell kept going, inspite of being told to stop... 

Many, but not all of the Israeli hostages that were taken are still alive and captive in Gaza. Israel is still being pressured to stop the war. Can you imagine another country telling the United States after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, do not bomb Japan. Just calm down. Pretty preposterous notion, isn't it? Then why in the sam hell did our leaders tell Israel just that? 

God Bless you Mr. Netanyahu. Keep going. 

Obama lectures the brothers...

 I suppose that most election campaigns are pretty much like this one as goes the shenanigans and lying. It's just a part of the game, though that seems a sorry excuse for such behavior. These are the people who are clamoring for leadership positions, some very powerful positions, yet they can somehow reconcile with themselves that behaving like the miscreants they are so adept at locking up is acceptable. Some, a lot, of that behavior is in plain sight for all to see but believe me there is so very much that goes on that remains well-hidden... And trust me when I say, neither side is innocent. Politics is a vicious, bloody game and the higher the stakes the more vicious it becomes. And in this campaign the stakes are at an apex. So many news articles from all sources try to expound on the details of dirty deeds that the other side has done. They are endless. As if with each revelation we're going to be shocked. The newspeople (I refuse to call them 'journalists') have become very clever at using forceful and expressive words such as "bombshell." Somehow trying to imply 'you're not going to believe this...'. 

The problem is we DO believe it. It's become nigh impossible to shock the voters with their bad behavior. Not only are we rarely surprised we've come to expect it. This is a good, no, make that great example of 'it is what it is...' It's reality, it's happened before and it's will continue to happen. I'm mainly talking about the players in the game, the candidates. But the candidates aren't the only ones playing dirty pool. In fact there are countless background players, most of whom remain invisible. But not all. In politics endorsements are big. They're important and they often make a difference. The higher the profile of the endorser the more impact the endorsement carries. I know not why but for Democrats the endorsement of Barack Obama seems to be highly coveted. I know, he's a former president but being a former president doesn't necessarily mean you were a good president. All it means is you are a former president. Obama is on the campaign trail stumping for Kamala. 

At a recent rally for Harris in Pittsburgh, Obama spoke to a group of black Harris supporters. His speech turned into a blatant lecture to black men about their failure to support her. At the beginning of his speech he claimed the he was here to "speak some truths." That word 'truths' is now in the  same category into which Bill Clinton famously placed the word 'is.' I'm sure you recall the trope "It depends on what your definition of is, is... ." 'Truths' is so loosely used now that it would impossible to document all of its new definitions. Anyway, Barry was going to let loose with some truths. "I have received reports that we have not seen the same kind of energy and enthusiasm that we saw when I was running. Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers. When you have a choice that is this clear, when you have someone who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences, who's able to put forth concrete proposals to correctly address the things that are vital in our neighborhoods and communities, from housing to making sure that our mothers and fathers and grandparents can afford medicine, and making sure that we are dealing with prices that are too high, and rents that are too high, and is committed to making sure we maintain the Affordable Care Act so everybody's got healthcare, and cares about things like education and entrepreneurship in our neighborhood. (OK, now from one run-on sentence to the next...)

"And on the other hand you have someone who has consistently shown disregard not just for communities but for you as a person. And you're thinking about sitting it out? And you're coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses? I've got a problem with that. Because it makes me think that you're not "feeling" the idea of having a woman as president."

His rant goes on but I'm going to stop there. So, according to you Barry, we have someone who we grew up with, went to college with, and who knows us? Seriously? So, she's the big sister none of us knew about? And undoubtedly she's going to take care of all those horrible issues plaguing us and make them go away. Just like she's been doing the past 3 plus years? Oh, and thank God she's going to maintain the ACA so our grandmas and grandpas will have good quality affordable healthcare. Barry, do me one favor. Just one. Call up a person, just one person who has had to rely on insurance they got in the 'marketplace' and ask them how's that working for you? 

And then on the other hand you've got this jerk that has done nothing good for no one, ever. Really? I just read an article revealing that he sent shipments of food, water and fuel to Hurricane victims in Georgia. At his own expense. What has this girl we went to college with done, never mind paying for it out of her own pocket...

OK, now you get the picture, now my commentary. If I were a black man I would be insulted and PO'd. How dare you talk down to us like that. We didn't grow up with her, we didn't go to college with her and she hasn't talked about (at least not in any language we could understand) any concrete proposals for fixing anything. She hasn't even done a single, solitary press conference. And you have a problem with us? Guess what, there's millions of us out here that have a problem with you and her. You think we're not feeling the idea of having a woman as president? The fact that she's a woman has nothing to do with it, stupid. She's incompetent, non-communicative, dense, vapid... 

Barry, a little advice, stop talking down to people that are smarter than you are. They are the ones out here dealing with high prices, high rents, immigration, etc. You're not. Black men are perfectly capable of figuring it out for themselves and making decisions for themselves. I mean, after all, they went to college with Kackala. 

Madman at the Ports...

Recently, the International Longshoreman's Association (ILA) launched a strike in east coast ports from Maine to Texas. As is the typical M.O. for labor union strikes, higher wages and expanded benefits are the goal. The origin of labor unions is found in the past abuses of labor by management. Unions were created to increase bargaining power of workers with management. For perhaps nigh a century they played a pivotal and beneficial role in the advocacy of fair wages and benefits for workers. In recent decades labor unions have been besieged by corruption and the influence of organized crime. Have they outlived their purpose? Perhaps...

APM terminals at the Port of Mobile use semiautomated gates to process trucks, precluding the need for union labor. The resulting outrage from the loss of jobs resulting from this automated task is one of the reasons for the strike. It's worth mentioning that this automated gate has been in operation for years. As of today, the strike is off with a tentative deal on wages and benefits. However, the issue of automation at the ports is unresolved until the cooling off period expires January 15, 2025. 

The president of the local union in Mobile claimed, "Machines don't pay taxes." Neither do laptop computers and cellphones but it would be hard to imagine doing business in any industry without them. The productivity that both have brought is enormous. The savings resulting from the technology is inestimable. Harold Daggett has waged war on automation at the ports. This is somewhat akin to a caveman at seeing the prototype of a wheel and proclaiming "Wheel, huh, that's the stupidest thing I have ever seen..." Technology is an integral part of modern life and culture. Deal with it Harold.

A little history on Harold Daggett, and his progeny. Harold is the president of the union and makes nearly a million dollars a year. He lives in a mansion in New Jersey. He drives a Bentley and owns a 76 foot yacht. His son Dennis has been an ILA official since 2005. As of 2024 the younger Daggett was executive vice president of the ILA and head of the New Jersey local once led by his father. It's not clear whether there is any technology to be found in Harold's home, such as a washing machine, microwave oven, or dishwasher. Harold doesn't seem to understand that advances in and the adoption of technology is directly tied increased productivity and economic growth. To ban the benefits of automation technology at our ports means that whatever the level of productivity we have at our ports now, that's all we're ever going to get. Oh, and by the way, the wages for the un-automated manual labor doing the work unloading the ships needs to go way up. Your current 50% offer, that's not enough. Tripling the employer contribution to benefits, that's not enough. 

In the past  Daggett was accused of being an associate of the Genovese crime family. In 2005 George Barone, a former Genovese crime enforcer who turned states evidence testified that Daggett was controlled by the Mafia. In his own testimony Daggett depicted himself as a victim of the Mafia and said that Barone had threatened to kill him in 1980. Daggett and two codefendants in the trial were found not liable on civil RICO charges of extortion conspiracy and fraud. One of the codefendants, Lawrence Ricci disappeared during the trial; his body was found weeks later in a New Jersey diner in a decomposed state with multiple gunshot woulds. The murder remains unsolved. 

Interestingly, Daggett is a critic of the Biden administration. He recently threatened to "cripple the American economy" before the election via an ILA strike in ports on the Atlantic seaboard and Gulf coast. The ILA demanded a pay raise and a freeze to automation to East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. Longshoremen currently earn a starting wage of $39/hour (the average American hourly wage is $28.34) Under Daggett's proposed contract the wage would move to $69/hour with a 60% increase over 6 years. The ILA subsequently demanded a 77% increase over a 6 year contract. In a union produced video posted to the ILA's YouTube channel, Daggett said "I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means. Nobody does." He goes on to expound on the details, including commodities and materials not being delivered leading to people losing their jobs, shopping malls closing,  etc... I deserve more money. Everybody's hating my guys now because they realize how important our jobs are." 

OK, we get it Harold. You and your 54,000 longshoremen are the ones who allow us the benefit of imported goods. You have the say-so. And if we want to continue receiving them we will have to pay you and your thugs more than most of us make to get them. I dont know but this kind of sounds like extortion to me. You know, walks like, sounds like, looks like a duck... And this happening 30 days before an election?.. This is starting to smell like that New Jersey diner with the body of a state's witness decomposing in it. 

Brilliant, just brilliant...

 It is but a strange opportunity when one is afforded the privilege of reading prose that is so obviously true and so very well said. I read an article today so powerful that I thought I could actually hear the Liberty Bell ringing loudly in Philadelphia in 1776. 

"Not all cultures are equally valid. Is there anyone currently enjoying the freedoms of the West who can refute this claim?" I can't recall reading such venerable words without thinking of Shakespeare or Steinbeck. The more I read that statement, the more I realize that there is not a soul who walks the earth who can offer a valid rebuttal. May as well carve that in granite for all of eternity to see. 

Such was spoken by Kemi Badenoch, a conservative British MP (Member of Parliament) at the Conservative Party's Annual Conference in Birmingham today. She dared to say aloud that which should be obvious to all. "I'm not talking about cuisines, I'm talking about customs." Among the cultures that Badenoch was suggesting as "less valid" are those in which women have fewer rights than men, those that celebrate child marriage, those that foster antisemitism, and those that persecute homosexuality. As one might expect there were countless blokes in the press who considered this scandalous. 'Sparked a row' as the British say. Ms. Badenoch went on to say "It's extraordinary that people think that it's an unusual or controversial thing to say." I could not agree more Madame. "I'm a black woman sitting here talking to you," her point being that the "values" that made Britain great remain superior to most of their alternatives. Is there anyone in the West who is surprised to hear this claim?" 

Most conservatives would agree with Badenoch's view, as, likely would most moderates. For us conservatives such a view is foundational. "Liberal democracy is superior to authoritarianism; capitalism is superior to socialism; equality under the law is superior to rigorous observation of caste; and protection of individual rights is the bedrock of civilized life." 

The 1619 Project is a basic indictment of America. It prefers emancipation over slavery, the Union over the Confederacy, and its prescribed policies over the status quo. When comparing the "Anglosphere" to everywhere else, the contemporary Left exhibits nothing but hypocrisy, myopia, and obfuscation of specifics. Like it or not, the criticisms of the Left advocate the "West not being Western enough." 

Badenoch's effrontery is so strong as to defy refutation. Her comments were spoken in a debate over immigration that exists only because the superior institutions of the Western world have made it a magnet for aspiring outsiders. Foreigners desire to move to free societies because of remarkable economic opportunities and the protections afforded by the rule of law. "Such are the product of historical choices that have borne luscious fruit." 

Badenoch aspires to the office of Prime Minister of the country that was instrumental in the abolition of slavery, the development of capitalism, the protection of free speech, the evolution of democracy, and the establishment of written law. The daughter of Nigerian immigrants has spoken, and she has done it so well...

Mark Cuban, listen up...

 I have never been and will never be a fan of celebrities giving their opinions, takes, op-eds, editorials or what have you on politics or anything else for that matter. However, for some reason (I'm being sarcastic, we all know what the reason is...) their opinions are omnipresent in the media. Whenever a celebrity says something, even if it's stupid (and it usually is...) it's in the news. Call me old fashioned but I tend to read and favor the opinions of learned people. Learned in the area of which they are giving an opinion. In the area of politics, ok, granted that's a difficult area to claim that one is learned in. But there are some who are able to understand what is happening and the background behind  such and communicate it effectively to others. In fact, there are some who were, or are remarkably good at it. The first who comes to mind is the late, revered Charles Krauthammer. This was a psychiatrist (by training) who became a political analyst later in life. His incisive interpretations of politics and analyses make him one of the brightest minds ever to objectively speak on the subject. Another is Karl Rove. A brilliant analyst who wasn't afraid to speak the truth. Alan Dershowitz, one of the brightest legal minds, ever. Jonathan Turley. And there are more... Something all of these people had in common, they were not partisan groupies. Their priorities were the rule of law and a strong moral compass. 

Amongst this list, you may notice there are no celebrities. Movie stars, rock stars, talk show hosts, business moguls, influencers, rappers, sorry, they don't make the cut. They don't have the background, training, education, life experience or common sense to give an informed opinion on political matters. What they DO have is a platform. Movies, songs, TV appearances, and media presence gives them a defacto voice that's heard by millions of people. Even if what they have to say is ill-informed and ignorant. 

Mark Cuban recently abused his platform with one of the most ignorant views ever heard from an allegedly intelligent citizen. Mark is a well known celebrity for his work as a financier, investor, and business mogul. He has done well financially, obviously an astute businessman. He has unfortunately and wrongly assumed that this qualifies him to publicly offer his misplaced opinions on politics. It's really an insult to those of us who can think for ourselves... 

Mark is a democrat. That's fine, we all have the right to choose what fits with our own personal world-view. Recently, Mark has ramped up his support of candidate Kackala Harris. That's fine, it's a free country, back the candidate of your choice. In some of his public appearances Mark has claimed that Trump is a 'socialist' and that the mainstream media "leans right." (Mark, you might want to lay off the sauce dude...) He went on to say that he would vote for Biden even if "Biden was being given his last rites." That's fine, back your candidate of choice, right up until the end, or last rites... But Trump is a socialist? Where exactly did you go to school Mark? Did you actually go to school? Do you understand what socialism is? Mark, how many fingers am I holding up?... You may be a savvy businessman but your basic knowledge of civics is seriously deficient. That you would make such a statement erodes any confidence in anything that comes resonates through your dentures.

Your claim that Harris is actually working toward a viable border solution is beyond risible. For three and a half years she has sat on her hands while making one charitable, photo-op trip to the border. For three and a half years this new centrist, gun-toting former McDonalds employee never thought to tell Papa Joe to just re-instate the remain in Mexico policy? And now we're supposed to believe that she can make an appearance at the border and pretend that she's the one who can make it all right? 

Mark, if I ever had any respect for you (I didn't) I no longer do. Your opinions are analogous to what gets flushed down toilets. Like most  of your celebrity friends, your opinion stinks. And most of us don't want to hear it. Stop insulting us Mark. Many of us out here are not stupid, as it appears you assume. We can think for ourselves. And if we had the platform you undeservingly have, we would tell you that...

What you see is not what you're going to get...

 With all the center-right babble coming out of Kamala Harris' pie-hole lately many voters are thinking, I like what I'm hearing and if all this is true she will be a wonderful alternative to electing Trump. She has backed off on many of her previous positions about certain issues that are important to conservatives. Immigration, the border wall, gun laws, restrictions and bans, fracking, etc.. Does she really mean this or is she just saying what a lot of voters want to hear so she can get elected then go back to being the way she has always been. She may be looking, quacking and walking like a conservative center right duck now, but don't fool yourself, she will go back to being the liberal lackey she has always been if elected. If you dont believe that, then hear me out. There are signs...

Harris has made it clear in a recent radio broadcast that she thinks the filibuster should be eliminated for Roe v Wade. Which means the only way to keep the filibuster is to have a Republican Senate. For some time the Democrats have wanted to do away with the filibuster because it has been a hindrance for progressives frustrated with the limits the current system places on their ability to enact sweeping changes. This idea has gained increasing support among Democrats but unfortunately Biden had reservations about eliminating it. For several years now two Democrats have stood in the way of getting it tossed, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. With Manchin and Sinema leaving the Senate it's not likely any Democrat would vote against having it eliminated. 

In the absence of the filibuster some very far left ideals could, and likely would become reality. Late stage abortion for one. Also things outside the abortion issue such as tax hikes, stricter gun laws, price controls, a single-payer health insurance system, maintaining the status quo on immigration laws, etc. Without the filibuster in place it will be much easier to get legislation through the Senate (which currently has a Democratic majority). Take it away and the country is on it's way the becoming a socialist society. What we're seeing and hearing now isn't necessarily what we'll get...

Is it really a duck?

 We've all been watching the news lately, and if you want to keep up with Harris' constantly changing platform you have to. It's no secret that she is constantly 'shifting'. The general voting population in America is center right and Harris is doing whatever it takes to appeal to the center right. Mandatory gun buy-backs, gone. She even told Oprah today that if anyone tries to break in her home they're going to "get shot". (Seriously, shot by whom, exactly...) Fracking, she's all for it, now. Immigration and the border, she's now supporting measures that will fund building the border wall. (Gasp!)  Taxes, I will sign a bill ending taxes on tips. (Thanks Donald...) The staunch progressive and liberal leftist that has become her hallmark signature, has it really changed? Is she really center right now? Are the yellow dog democrats ok with this step-change? If she is elected, is that how she is going to govern? Will she remain true to her word? Or is this a ruse to get elected? Is all this rhetoric a euphemism, an artifice? 

The best one can do to answer that question is to look back in history. There have certainly been instances where powerful influential politicians have changed party affiliation. Harris isn't changing parties, but she's changing her policies to more closely resemble the other side.  Odd thing is the mainstream democrats don't seem to mind. Not yet, anyway. If she were to be elected would they continue to go along with this center-right shift? 

Most likely, no. They would not. Would she herself continue to go along with it? Most likely, no. I believe the general democratic consensus is - get elected. Whatever it takes. We'll take it from there. So if you are a voter and undecided at this point, and you believe what she is saying are you going to be disappointed if she is elected? Most likely, yes. But that's for the voters to decide. Look at it this way. When cops apprehend someone who allegedly has committed a crime, what's the first thing they do? Check their criminal record. If the perp has a lengthy criminal record then there's a good chance they're just continuing their career path. When the judge is sentencing them does he consider their prior criminal record? Yes, not always but most of the time. What do lawyers always consider when evaluating a case? Precedence. Summarily, one's past seldom escapes them. Is Harris' past being cast to the wind? 

You tell me... If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, is it really a duck? 

#kamalaharris. #politics. #2024election.