From Olympics to Armaggeddon In 1500 Words or Less

As I set here watching the 2016 Rio Olympics, I’m amazed at the level of competition we show in all our events.  If you listen to the rhetoric that comes from our political leadership and the direction we’ve taken in education, you’d be amazed too. Doesn’t seem like we’re teaching our children to compete, in anything! Then we watch the Olympics, we see our people competing and winning. Now, if you’re one of the “everyone gets a trophy” set, I’m left wondering what, if any, pride you have in our Olympic Team. Sorry, but this kind of goes against everything you preach. What’s with that?

I’ll admit to being skeptical of Michael Phelps entry into the 2016 Rio Olympics. I figured it would be great to go out on top. Coming to the Rio Olympic Games felt like addiction to the spotlight. As I think back now, I suppose Michael may have felt the same way, with one revision. He wasn’t finished in his climb to the top of the Olympian Medalists food chain. (See what I did, bringing in a competition reference? That’s a clever bit.). Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in the history of these games. He excels in both team and individual events. However, it’s his competitive “human” nature and not some touchy-feely “everyone’s a winner” approach that gave him his success.

A big shout out to our women’s gymnastics team, Olympic Gold Medalists. That’s two Olympic Golds. We also took the gold in London 2012. We dominate the swimming events and now the women’s gymnastics as well. These are “our” sports. Many countries have a sport or more they dominate. The Chinese dominate diving. And after watching some of their performances, I can see why. The Chinese Olympic diving team is fun to watch.

Of course, there are some disappointments. Our Olympic Teams beach volleyball performance, top of that list. How can you play undefeated through all the beginning games and then lose when it counts? Both the men’s and women’s team losing to Brazil. Our Olympic Teams were favorites for gold, but when it came down to the wire, we couldn’t win. Kerry Jennings-Walsh, the superstar of this Olympic event and undefeated in Olympic play, finally loses one and it knocks us out of gold. Not the time to lose. I’ll give her credit though. She’s 38 years old and the mother of three. Don’t think to rest of us can really compare.

I don’t know enough of the equestrian events to be able to hazard a guess about our medal chances in the Rio Olympics. I’m going to assume we have at least an outside chance. And I can only watch so much running. Maybe they could show some of the other events. They move along faster.

So, how about the equestrian events? Who else thinks the horses are the real athletes? They do the running and jumping. The humans job seems to be to stay on the horse and keep a posture that would make any mother proud. A difficult thing to do, I’m sure. But, considering there’s are human version of this, doing the running and jumping without a horse. Them be athletes.

We, as a country, are a team. We need to remember this fact. Because as a team, we need to work together. Towards what you ask? Winning, on the world stage, of course. Whether it’s in the political arena, economic strength, or military might, we need to win. Winning would fulfil “The Donald's” vision of “make America great again”. And wining should pull us together, covering Hillary’s “bring America together” slogan. See, winning is good. I know that’s not what you’re being taught, but maybe it should be.

Unfortunately, our leadership doesn’t see it that way. This started with “Cowboy Dumbass” and the “bunker” mentality his administration adopted. Give what happened on 9/11 I’m not surprised. Let me make something clear at this point, I thought going to Afghanistan and eliminating their military and political leadership was a good move. We scattered an enemy that had proven their ability to kill us. We even went a step further and attacked Iraq. What? I’m sorry but this one was a huge mistake. Iraq was a belligerent state, but hardly a threat. We could have hit North Korea. I know, what about that.

We had a treaty with North Korea during the Clinton administration. (Just a thought, I suppose if Hillary gets elected President, I’ll have to put some kind of clarifier so readers know which Clinton admin I’m referencing.) President Cowboy Dumbass did recognize the danger this treaty represented. Too bad, he was a little late on pulling out. It seems that helping North Korea’s civilian nuclear program allowed access to technology and procedures that ultimately helped them develop a nuclear weapon. Exactly what was supposed to NOT happen.

Along comes President Professor Dumbass. What does he do? Enters into a treaty with Iran. The same “you promise not to develop an atomic weapon” and “we’ll help you build your civilian nuclear program”. Iran was already getting help from the North Koreans and Pakistan. Both nuclear armed powers. Sure, that help was with weapons programs and not civilian power generation, but why do we need to get involved. Admittedly, I don’t think the North Korean treaty had as many hidden details as the Iran treaty. If your curious, Google it yourself. I’m putting a thought together, not researching my manifesto.

Is it foolish to think we’ll get the same results with Iran that we had with North Korea? The same final results? (Love the Olympics.) North Korea has nuclear weapons and continues to relentlessly pursue advanced missile delivery systems capable of attacking our country. Even as dangerous as this predicament is, it’s nothing compared to the threat a nuclear Iran represents. True, North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, is nuttier than squirrel poo. It runs in the family. His father, Kim Jong Il was truly ill in the head. In fact, he was a complete “looney-tunes”. But even with congenital insanity running in the dictators’ family, they're still a secular state. The North Korean powers want to stay in power. Not going to be easy if they start using their nuclear weapons.

Their ally China has stated publically any nuclear weapons use in their sphere of influence would be seen as an act of war against them and they would respond appropriately. Much of this bluster was directed toward India and Pakistan, but the sentiment was not lost on the North Koreans. So we continue the status quo. That’s to say, North Korea has nuclear weapons but no way to profit from their use. Iran, while not lead by rulers with insanity running in their bloodlines, are religious extremists. This particular religious extremist sect of Islam is responsible for much of the terrorist bloodshed throughout the world. Yea, let’s help them get a nuclear weapon.

What do you thinks going to happen when Iran gets a nuclear weapon? Day One, they threaten their neighbors. Those neighbors gather to discuss what happens next, now that Iran is a nuclear power? Well, obviously, they start their own preparations for developing nuclear weapons. A new nuclear arms race. Yea racing!!! And that’s just on day one.

It’s not hard to imagine that in just a short time, somehow, a terrorist group associated with the radical elements of Islam will acquire a nuclear weapon and detonate it within Israel’s borders. Most likely, Tel Aviv but can you imagine Jerusalem? I honestly think they’d hit Israel before the U.S. More bang for their buck if they do it in their own back yard. Of course, the Israelis will determine it was a weapon made by Iran or at least the components and materials came from the Iranians. Shortly thereafter, Iran ceases to be a viable country. From there it snowballs out of control. Thus does our civilization end.

Perhaps we shouldn’t have gone down this road again. It didn’t work with North Korea. They have nuclear weapons. It won’t work with the Iranians. They will develop nuclear weapons just as the North Koreans did. They will, unlike the North Koreans, use those weapons. They are acting from religious extremism. Iran's religious extremist leadership isn't concerned with furthering its’ power base. Instead, they’d like to bring on the end of the world, Armageddon. No kidding. That's their definition of winning. They’re like the James Bond villain. It’s conquer and global dominance for their religion and its’ practices or death to all. Bring on the twelfth imam (go on, look it up).

Of course, that’s just my opinion. You could be wrong?

P.S. How did we get from Olympic competition to Armageddon? No idea. Yea to rambling manifestos!

More Dem Nat'l Conv Rants

           Sorry about this one posting rather late. Been Watching the Olympics! I'll have something on them a little later.

             

            Opening speaker for the Dems Sen. Booker said, “individualism didn’t get us to the moon; we did it together”. This said after acknowledging the “rugged individualism this country was built on”. Going so far as to say he admired this “rugged individualism”. Ok, but his next remark challenges what he just said. He’s forgetting that this “we did it together” wasn’t a “group think” but individuals coming together to accomplish something great. There is a difference.

These were individuals with their own unique reasons and motivations for what they did. Again, these accomplishments, Sen. Bookers example was going to the moon, were done by individuals working together. Not some collective “group think”. Human beings are individual by definition. This pandering to Pres. Obamas assertions that great business leaders and company founders didn’t build their business empires themselves. This despite almost all of our history to the contrary. Instead, only succeeded because of the “people”. Make no mistake, he meant the “body politic” or if you prefer, the federal government.

                If you think your job asking “you want fries with that” is in anyway of the same value or importance to the likes of Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and such, you sir, are badly mistaken. And if you think you deserve to be rewarded the same, to that, all I can say is WTF.

                Sen. Booker says Clinton has “fought for people and delivered”. This in support of his assertion that it’s “not how many billionaires you create but how many people you have living in poverty”. Ok, I whole heartedly agree with this. So, after almost eight years of Pres. Obama and his administration, which included Hilary Clinton, what have we got? More blacks and Latinos living in poverty than ever before. Thanks Hilary! You may be fighting for the people, but all you’ve delivered is failure with those numbers. Much like your foreign policies that have your hands stained with blood. Good work on that, Pres. Dumbass want-a-be.

                Equal pay for equal work. Sure, but remember, your customer service job taking peoples orders for fries, isn’t equal to the people building roads, bridges and the like. And you certainly don’t deserve the same pay. Sorry, but no matter how hard the job might be compared to another, just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean it’s hard to master and certainly doesn’t mean you deserve equal pay to jobs that, like I just said, build the infrastructure and the future. Again, if you think standing behind a counter ringing up people’s snacks deserves equal pay because for you it’s hard to do, you are mistaken.

                You want an example of group think, well since the Mayor of Baltimore “gaveled” open the convention, after the debacle that was Debbie Wasserman Schultz, just think back to the riots her city hosted. That’s what you get with “group think”. And of course, Nazi’s goose-stepping across Europe. Mustn’t forget them. Great “group think” that was.

                When Michelle Obama’s turn came, I kid you not, she said she “lives in a house built by slaves”. Get your conspiracy straight. The White House was built by the Freemasons to further some nebulous future goal. I get it. You’re the first black First Lady and your place in history his secure. As for your husband, Pres. Professor Dumbass, that’s a bit more difficult to define. I’m a big fan of science fiction and a lot of the books I read refer to this time as the “terror wars” long before we had a war on terror.

                And Pres. Professor Dumbass’s contribution? To completely ignore it. To pretend it’s not happening. To call acts of terrorism “workplace violence” undermines the tragedy of these events and ties our hands in the fight to come. I’m old enough to probably miss most of the bloodshed coming our way, but the millennials are not so fortunate. Their blood will be spilled and it will be on Pres. Obama’s hands. History will not judge Pres. Professor Dumbass’s time as our leader well.

                And now for Sen Elizabeth Warren. She has got to be the most “pie in the sky” dumbass ever to haunt the halls of power. I’m absolutely positive she’s not buying into her own rhetoric. Yet it resonates with the poor and downtrodden. She goes so far as to say Hillary, who has been part of the power structure for decades is her choice for president. So, she can make the changes now? I’m not exactly clear why Hillary Clinton would make any changes if she becomes President. After all, the status quo gave her the White House.

Sen. Warrens narrative differed sharply from First Lady Michelle Obama’s. Sen. Warren goes on to condemn the current economic environment. Subtly hinting that it’s the Republican’s fault. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard Pres. Professor Dumbass say how rosy everything is going with him at the helm. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s, hell, I don’t even have a nickname to sum her up, “ass hat” comes to mind, but is kind of hard on the true ass hats out there. But I digress.

I just know Bill O’Reily's watching Sen. Warrens speech with a grin. It was the very definition of spin. Everything she said was deliberately miss-interpreted and her command of basic economics and history are woefully inadequate to the task at hand. That task, standing upright. How she manages to even dress herself is beyond me. I mean, Sen. Warren said Hillary Clinton will get “big money” out of politics. Where’s she been the last couple of decades? Hillary Clinton is the very definition of big money in politics. All Hillary Clintons campaign funds come from big money. All of it! Wall street and the leeches therein are HRC’s biggest contributors. What planet does Sen. Warren live on? Again, how does she even manage to dress herself.

On another note, I’ve seen a few Facebook posts regarding the absence of American Flags on the stage. What do you expect. These pandering fools don’t see themselves as part of a country. They only see themselves in power. They are ashamed of our flag. Come on, you know they are. We are a country, yet for some reason these Democratic spokespeople refuse to acknowledge this, all the while professing to love their county. I’m beginning to believe it’s not the same country you and I live in. I’m not sure it’s even on the same planet. Bizarro World, maybe? I wonder if Sen. Warren even listens to the things she says? I doubt it. On a positive note, I bet speech writing for her is a breeze. I wonder how ones goes about getting that gig.

Bernie Sanders should be interesting. He knows he was done dirty by the Democratic National Party and the Clinton political machine. Will he, unlike Sen. Cruz, come together for what he believes is the betterment of his party and country?  Well, he said it was an honor to be there, several times and called Sen. Warren a good friend. With friends like that, who needs enemies.

Now personally, I like Bernie Sanders. I truly believe him to be the only politician I’ve ever heard speak I thought actually believed what he was saying. He is or was the leader of a movement. Of course, he calls it a revolution. Hope not, too much bloodshed in revolution. Unfortunately, his ideas for a socialist America just won’t work.

Sure, countries like Demark can manage it. They have a homogenous (look it up) population all with similar hopes and goals. It’s easy to get them to work together. And with a population less than that of the greater Los Angeles area, it can be done. Now, try to imagine getting all Los Angeles to work together toward any goal, any! You can’t imagine it happening. If you can’t imagine one city working together toward a common goal, how do you truly expect all of us to manage it? It can’t be done.

In Bernie’s support, I think he believes it can work. That we can make it work. Delusional maybe, but to me all the Dems seem a bit “out there”. And by out there I mean totally not functioning in the same reality as the rest of us. And yes, I always find it easier to take apart Dems than I do Republicans. I think it’s because whenever the Democrats speak they leave more unasked questions. I find that makes me nuttier than squirrel poo.  And I secretly suspect the Democratic Party elites think I’m stupid. Of course, that’s probably just the paranoid voices in my head.

So, in the end (actually about 13 minutes into his speech) Bernie did in fact, endorse Hillary Clinton for President. However, just like many Republicans support for “The Donald”, it’s this candidate or Armageddon. It’s a rigged system, sure. Hillary Clinton wasn’t going to let another grass roots campaign derail her second bid for President. She’s had eight years to prepare. I truly believe the only people who thought the Democratic Parties system for nominating a Presidential candidate was fair, were Bernie’s supports. Go figure.

As always, that’s just my opinion. You could be wrong?

The Dems Convention: Day ONE part ONE

                 So, it’s time for the Democratic National Convention. What to say about that? First, I think the Democrat’s convention will be much less orchestrated than what the Republicans gave us. Sure, the Republicans had some missteps, which I think were organized by “The Donald” and didn’t accidentally happen. However, that’s just my paranoia talking. Bernie Sanders will almost certainly put his support behind Hillary Clinton. Probably far behind. The trick for that pony will be to get his supporters behind her.

                Thanks to WikiLeaks, Bernie supporters now have proof the Democratic elites did everything in their power to keep him out of contention for the Democratic Party’s nomination. With the release of DNC party emails making it clear Bernie Sanders wasn’t going to be given a fair shake by the Democratic elites, it’s going to be a hard sell for Bernie to make a case for supporting Hillary Clinton. At least one that his supports can get behind. After all, she is the parties “elite”.

I think you’ll see plenty of Bernie supporters stay home. I seriously doubt they’ll migrate to Donald Trump. While Sanders and Trump had similar issues defining their primary contests, their plans to achieve those issues are just too far apart. For example: both Sanders and Trump want affordable college education for everyone. Sanders plan, to make if free (meaning someone other than the students will pay for it) and “The Donald’s”?  Make sure graduates have good paying jobs after college so they can pay back their students loans. See what I mean?

                In all fairness to the Democrats, they’ve always been up front about their nominating process. It’s rigged. What I mean by that is: The Democratic Party elites set up a process that allows them [elites] to control who the party nominates.  But they’ve never pretended otherwise. For that I’ll give them credit (small pat on back). So, I suppose we didn’t actually need to hear it from WikiLeaks. However, seeing proof from WikiLeaks made it real for the millennials and they make up a substantial percentage of Bernie supporters. They [millennials] could no longer profess, to themselves anyway, that all was on the up and up. After the WikiLeaks disclosures, they had to pull their collective heads out of the sand (or would that be their ass?). Now they’re showing up in scores to protest.

                What will grow from these protests? Probably nothing. However, it will make the Democratic National Convention “TV worth watching”. If only because “liberal” protesters tend to be much more disruptive then their “conservative” counterparts. The head of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Shultz, has already fallen on her sword. Scheduled to “gavel in” the convention, she has withdrawn and plans to step down as head of the DNC after the convention. Undoubtedly, being shouted down when speaking to the Florida delegates, her home state BTW, had something to do with it. So, I guess, something has come of the protests. But really, nothing’s going the change.

                I kind of feel sorry for Hillary Clintons’ campaign. I mean, here they have an historic event, the nominating of a women for President of the United States by one of the two political parties. Yes, I know there are more than two, but that’s just on paper, in reality (that’s where we live people, in case you need reminding) we are a two party political system. On a side note, communism is a one party system.  Just wanted to throw that out; doesn’t really have anything to do with what I’m talking about. So, where was I?

Instead of the media throwing themselves at the first women running for President story, it’s become all about the Democratic National Party “elites” and their concerted efforts to keep Bernie Sanders out of contention for the nomination. And the protests this is sparking? They will be the major stories oozing (yes, I too have a thesaurus) out of the Democrat’s convention this week. The paranoid voices in my head hint at a deliberate attempt to divert attention from their candidates’ numerous scandals. But I’m sure that’s just me?

                To add insult to injury, for the Clinton campaign, Hillary should have been able to position herself as an outsider, being a women and all. I’m serious here. Political supporters of all makes and models tend to buy into the rhetoric their chosen candidate spews. You and I know when people talk about power within the Democratic Party they’re talking Clintons. However, as I’ve already mentioned, people will believe what they want to believe, regardless of the evidence.

Why is this important? This need to be the outsider candidate? In the current political climate, the outsider candidate has a big advantage. Unfortunately for the Clinton campaign, the Republicans nominated a true outsider. Not since Eisenhower’s nomination (look it up) has either party put forward a candidate for President that hasn’t held elected office. I’m going to go out on a limb here (not) and say this makes “The Donald” the outsider candidate.

                I want to put this out there. I know it doesn’t exactly flow, but I think it’s important. Do actions speak louder than words? I was taught they [actions] do, but I’ve come to believe this is NOT the case. Take, for example, Hillary Clintons rhetoric that she’s a champion for women. I guess she gets to claim that because she’s a woman. It’s most definitely NOT supported by her actions. During Bill Clintons sexual scandals back in the 90’s, Hillary blamed the women coming forward. She called them liars and blamed them for what happened. Don’t take my word for it, look it up. Obviously, her actions don’t reflect the rhetoric of a champion for women. And she has, at least in the past, disgracefully paid her female staff less than she pays the men. Again, don’t believe me? Look it up for yourself.

                And what about “The Donald”? He’s said some rather obnoxious and unpleasant things regarding women. The most notable? His comments regarding Carly Fiorina’s, one of his opponents in the primaries, physical appearance. However, his actions reveal something different. He hired the FIRST women construction supervisor in New York history! His companies employ more women in executive positions of power than any other in that industry. And he pays them the same as their male counterparts. Who’s actually putting their money where their mouth is? That’s a rhetorical question, people!

So, look for lots of rowdy protesting at the Dem’s convention this week. And blaming the republicans for it. Should be entertaining, especially if the protesters manage to get inside the convention center and onto the floor. I doubt security will let that come to pass. Too bad really, would significantly increase viewership if it happened.

As always, that’s just my opinion. You could be wrong?

Republican National Convention: Days Two and Three

What to say about day two and three of the Republican National Convention? I really liked Governor Chris Christies speech. It was tremendously entertaining. NBC’s Matt Lauer challenged “The Donald” to tone down the rhetoric and personal attacks against Hillary Clinton at the Republican National Convention. He said he would and the convention followed suit. During Governor Christie speech, he put back on the federal prosecutor’s hat and point by point attacked Hillary Clintons record like a prosecutor going for a guilty verdict. And the audience ate it up. Yelling “guilty” after every attack on Hillary’s record and often shouting “lock her up!” Of course, this didn’t stop the talking heads from claiming Governor Christie’s speech was a personal attack on her. But good for the media, (quick pat on the back for them) they quickly dropped that load of shit.

All the speeches delivered during the convention, thus far, have attacked Hillary Clinton relentlessly. But they consistently went after her record, which is absolutely horrible. How Hillary Clinton thinks she can tout her record and say she has the experience to be president is beyond me. I mean, if all your experiences lead to failure and bloodshed around the world, well…WTF!

                Full disclosure here: I firmly believe Hillary Clinton should go to prison for her reckless, careless and criminal handling of America’s classified information. If you or I behaved this way, we would be locked up for life! If there really aren’t different rules for the rich and powerful, why is Hillary Clinton not only free but running for President? I can’t believe you, the reader, actually think if you treated classified information the way Hillary Clinton treated it, you’d get the same pass. BTW, if you do think this, then you are a special kind of stupid. I mean the kind that took the short bus to school and wore a helmet in the sandbox stupid!

                Other than Governor Christie’s courtroom drama, the speeches were the political rhetoric I’d expect from Republican elites. With the exception of Lying Ted Cruz. Before I say anymore on that I want to congratulate “The Donald” on his masterful manipulation of Senator Cruz and his uncanny ability to instantly size up someone and peg their biggest vulnerability. Had Lying Ted Cruz come out in support for Donald Trump, Senator Cruz would have had power in the next presidential administration. He would have been in a position of power on the Republican side of the isle. Trump, as President, would have had to deal with the Senator when trying to pass his administrations agenda. “The Donald” understood this and gave Lying Ted Cruz enough rope to hang himself. Basically taking away Senator Cruz’s power. And he didn’t have to do anything himself to make this happen. I really like the quote from Charles Krauthammer, Cruz’s speech “was the longest suicide note in U.S. political history”.

Senator Ted Cruz likes to call Donald Trump the liar. But Lying Ted Cruz will stand up holding his Bible, look you right in the eye and lie his ass off. WTF! He took a pledge, in writing, before the American people, and swore to support the Republican nominee for President. He gave his word. And what happened when it came time to honor his oath? He refused. Again, WTF!!! Lying Ted Cruz in the kind of slippery, underhanded, greasy politician that gives other politicians a bad name. Given the asshats we call our political leadership, that saying something!

Let me wrap up this Lunatic Rant by clarifying something. I think our choices are between two steaming bowls of shit. One is the same old shit and the other is “new and improved” shit with extra smell. I think the only way your vote counts, is if you don’t cast it. And even that wouldn’t matter. What would the political landscape look like in this country if “we the people” didn’t vote this November? It would look just like it does now. Nothing would change. One of the two steaming “bowls of shit” we have to choose from would be President, just like what is going to happen. How’s that for a critic on the American political scene?

Whether you vote or not, one of the two poor choices we have will be our leader. Will it be “traitorous” Hillary Clinton, or will we have “you’re fired” old rich white guy, Donald Trump. Either way, nothing much will change. Sure, one of the candidates will keep the status quo and the other will try to turn it upside down. But really, how much of that crap will actually make any difference in your or my life?

As always, this is just my opinion. You could be wrong?

Republican National Convention - Day One

                It’s the Republican’s convention this week. Time to make the parties presidential pick (the pee, pee and pee, which is odd since it’s all a load of excrement) official. Since it looks like it will be Trump/Pence, the TP’s covered like the house of a teacher no one likes. It’s also time to see which party elites will get on board with “The Donald”. So far, the unifying theme: anyone but Hillary. The Never Trump movement did try to get some traction on day one and force a rules vote. However, behind the scenes political maneuvering killed that dead in its tracks. (Ok, enough with mixing and torturing metaphors. Bad writer!)

                What can I say about the Republican convention? Snore comes to mind. Like many, I was hoping for some drama. Fistfights on the floor and Preacher Cruz (I mean, doesn’t Senator Ted Cruz sound like a southern televangelist?) trying to pull a rope-a-dope and steal the nomination through political favors. At this point I’d settle for a little mayhem and malarkey. (I just wanted to use malarkey in a sentence.) I do think we haven’t heard the last from Preacher Cruz. Regrettably, whatever he pulls out his ass will amount to nothing more than political theater, and not very entertaining.

There are plenty of protests outside the venue and the Never Trump movement tried to make a scene on day one. Unfortunately, conservatives just don’t have the same level of passion as liberals. Not to mention the violence. Former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliana did do a reasonable impression of Howard Dean and screamed his speech. Not sure why he chose to deliver it that way. His speech was all about respecting law enforcement. I guess speeches about that subject need to be screamed at us like a swat team yelling commands as they execute a raid. Who knew?

After day one of the convention, the best the opposition could say was that Melania’s speech was similar to First Lady Michelle Obamas’ 2008 speech and hint at plagiarism. Mountains out of mole hills, people. On a side note: I will now refer to “The Donald’s” wife and Melanoma. I’m a busy person with shit to do. I’m not stopping to try and remember how to pronounce her name correctly. That seems to be the big news, speech plagiarism that is, not my nickname for “The Donald’s” wife.

It doesn’t matter that the theme for day one was “Make America Safe Again”. All the speeches revolved around this theme. Although, I think, given the recent violence against police, they meant “Make Police Feel Safe Again”. If they want that to happen, it’s probably best the police stop murdering, on camera, (not that I’m saying they should do it off camera) black people. It does look like the new normal is retaliation. Simple math here, police murder black people and some of the less savory among the black population murder police. I’m not condoning violence on either side, but really, what do we expect to happen?

Check back tomorrow for a recap on day two. The nomination of “The Donald”? Maybe we’ll get a little drama out of that process. Preacher Cruz is scheduled to preach; I mean, deliver a speech. And where is former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner when we need a crier? I’m just saying!

As always, that’s just my opinion. You could be wrong!

Let's Talk Conspiracy Theories

Personally, I love a good conspiracy theory. At least ones that make me think. Though usually, I’m thinking these people are nuts! I’m not talking about the “aliens did it” theorist. There is absolutely no way our government could ever keep secret, for so long, something of this magnitude. Think about the ass hats in Washington purporting to represent us. You can’t honestly believe that any of these complete dumbasses kept THAT secret all these years? I mean, evidence of extra-terrestrial life? Come on, you wouldn’t trust them with Grandma’s secret Sunday biscuit recipe, let alone something of this magnitude.

                I don’t mean our government can’t keep secrets. They can, just not very well. Usually, our government slaps a classified label on the information or “evidence” and that’s that. If the evidence is unusually controversial or explosive? Then it’s time for the miss-information and defamation campaign to begin.

Case in point, the terrorist attack on our embassy in Benghazi and murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens. You can read more about the details here. A lot, and I mean a lot, has been proposed by the talking heads dominating media coverage of this incident. Given that one of the presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, was Secretary of State, and therefore in charge of security for our ambassadors and embassies around the world, I can understand the interest.

My problem with the coverage and dissection of this attack? Aside from the miss-information and defamation campaign orchestrated by President Obama’s administration? And jumped on by the talking heads? We’re missing the point!

This is the conspiracy bit here. Our current President, who I’ll refer to as “Professor Dumbass” and should not be confused with his predecessor “Cowboy Dumbass”, made a decision. What was the decision? Not to send help. He made the decision to sacrifice our ambassador and his staff. (A bit understated, I know, but what ya gonna do?) The rest is just “smoke and mirrors” to keep his decision from “blowing up” in his face. (See what I did there?)

Why do I think this? How do I know? Well, you cannot possible believe our government is so impotent they couldn’t orchestrate a rescue? This attack, initially called a “protest” over an anti-Muslim video, Innocence of Muslims, lasted for hours. Hours people! Surely, we have the capability to respond with force in that timeframe. After all, while the Republicans protest the gutting of our military, the Democrats claim the administration was re-aligning our armed forces to address “current” or “modern” military needs. Such as the ability to respond to hotspots around the world. What happened with that? Did the administration just fail? NO!!!

Profession Dumbass made a call. It was a difficult and politically explosive call to make. Because we didn’t send in “the troops”, the situation didn’t escalate to all-out war. Not sending in “the troops” kept the bloodshed to a minimum. You don’t have to like Professor Dumbass’ decision, I certainly don’t, but we have to accept his call on the situation. He is our President, all of ours, something I think he forgets, a lot.

Unfortunately, and this is where I have a real problem, Professor Dumbass’ motivation wasn’t to keep the situation from escalating and the bloodshed from swelling into rivers. His administrations’ position on radical Islamic terrorism, not that they’d ever call it that, is we are winning. We’ve contained the Islamic terrorist state and they’re as good as finished. WTF? Delusional much? Because he wants to be the President of peace, good people were sacrificed! He won the Nobel Peace Prize for Christs sake! But to let good people die to further your agenda and pad your Presidential legacy and to allow radical Islamic terrorists to kill us without consequences, this is unacceptable! I know Professor Dumbass will never understand. It’s the problem all Ivory Tower Elites have, if it looks good on paper, it will work in the “real” world. While you and I understand this is almost never the case, the Ivory Tower Elites will never understand.

What about the two presidential hopefuls? Your guess is as good as mine. Sorry about that, but one was a major player in this conspiracy and has a track record that can only be looked on as suspect if not downright treasonable. She blamed an internet video for the “protest” knowing it was a planned attack. Later she took responsibility for the lack of embassy security in an interview with CNN saying “I’m responsible for diplomats’ security”. However, when questioned by the Benghazi House Committee she pulls a Sargent Shultz from Hogan’s Heroes and said “I know nothing, I see nothing”. So, what about the other one? He’s a mouthy blowhard who seems to speak in plain language, but doesn’t actually say much of anything. So, good luck with these two! We’re going to need it!

As always, this is just my opinion. You could be wrong!

From Andy Griffith to Papers Please

                This one’s going to be a bit controversial in much the same way a hurricane is a bit destructive. Ok? Here it goes. Let’s talk about the current state of law enforcement in the United States. In one generation, we’ve gone from “Andy Griffith to Papers Please”. As the title suggests, the state of law enforcement has shifted from serving and protecting to ENFORCEMENT! The title makes reference to the Andy Griffith Show and Nazi Germany’s Gestapo. See, told you it was going to be a “bit” controversial.

In this beloved TV show (that’s the Andy Griffith Show, not Nazi Germany) the main character Andy Taylor, played by Andy Griffith, is a small town sheriff. Maybe Andy Griffith couldn’t remember any other name but his own for the main character. Don’t know, just a thought. Anyway, like most small towns, everyone knows everybody’s business and all know the sheriff. However, unlike much of what’s portrayed by Hollywood, the town sheriff wasn’t the badass, gun fighting, get results while not following the rules, aka pretty much any Clint Eastwood character, you might expect.

Instead, he solved community problems and yes sometimes crimes with his faithful sidekick, deputy Barney Fife, played by the always hilarious Don Knotts. The Sheriff did this without a gun and while deputy Barney Fife did carry a gun he only had one bullet and he kept that in his shirt pocket! They cared more about their community and keeping the peace then just enforcing the law.

This is where law enforcement has taken a wrong turn. Let me be clear here, I don’t blame the individual officers who are out front every day, often putting their lives on the line. I blame their training. I blame the current law enforcement culture adopted after 9/11. That is to say, law enforcement as enforcers of the law and NOT public servants dedicated to protecting and serving the communities they live in.

So, instead of having community oriented public servants patrolling the streets in an effort to keep the citizens safe from the “bad guys”, that’s the serve and protect part, we now have professionals dedicated to enforcing the law, that’s the “papers please” bit. The cops demand obedience and immediate compliance with them, period. This attitude may, but I kind of doubt it, keep us safe from the “bad guys”. Either way, it does encourage the average person on the street see the police as threatening.

If you think not, watch what happens on the highway when drivers see a cop sitting on the side of the road. They all hit the brakes. It doesn’t matter if anyone was speeding. Why hit the brakes like Charlee Sheen hitting the smack? They’re afraid of any confrontation with the cops, of course. And why should they think there’d be any confrontation, let alone be afraid? Because “we the people” have lost faith in law enforcement.

We no longer see cops as the public servants they’re supposed to be, but as enforcers of the law watching and waiting for us, the average Joe, to screw up so they can crack heads like Judge Dread on an adrenaline rush. This may not be fair to them and most certainly isn’t true, but I’m not sure that matters. Perception is important. What we “see” isn’t what’s actually happening, but what we perceive it to be.

This creates fear! Unfortunately, when we’re afraid, we react one of two ways. The “fight or flight” instinct. We flee, as seen in Dallas as the protesters ran from the gunfire like gazelles from tigers stalking the heard in the tall grass. Or, when cornered and with no other option, we fight. I don’t condone climbing tall buildings and ambushing cops from sniper nests, but I think we can look at this incident as “a canary in the coal mine” test. Sure, these killers don’t represent you or I. However, I do think they show how wide the gulf is between us, the average citizen, and the police; how big the distrust is between us and them. There shouldn’t be an “us vs. them”. After all, they are us, just in uniform.

And on the cop’s side, the problem with this attitude towards the job? It makes the police see all of us as suspect if not downright criminals who just haven’t been caught, yet. The cops are killing people who aren’t doing anything that warrants death. Maybe the suspect resists arrest. So what? Fight back and take them down. Yes, you might get banged up a bit, but that’s part of the job. You’re there to take the abuse so that we don’t have too. Instead, cops are shooting citizen. True, we hear about the black citizens, but citizens of every color are being killed by cops. Let’s not forget that important bit of information.

If we let this trend continue, eventually we’ll have all out warfare between us and the cops. As the horrific attacks on the police in Dallas show, the worst of us are already armed and willing to kill. Even if this was only in response to the police shootings in Louisiana and Montana, and I doubt that most vehemently, it’s still the beginning. It shows just how frustrated the average citizen has become with law enforcement and where, if we don’t change course, we are headed.

Both sides, the cops and “we the people” need to dial back the rhetoric and step outside the current situation. Yes, cops appear (and it is only the perception, not the truth) to be hunting down and killing black people with little to no provocation. However, this perception (re-read paragraph 7 about how important perception is) can be changed. Cops must adopt an “Andy Griffith Show” attitude toward their job and drop the “papers please” part that encourages the us vs. them mentality we currently operate in. If not, the “slippery slope” we’re racing down will destroy us all, cops and citizens alike.

The U.S. Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, said earlier today, “Don’t let violence be the new normal”. If she wants that, she needs to change law enforcements attitude from “enforcement” to “serve and protect”. Maybe she could arm cops with Tasers in addition to guns and train the cops to use less than lethal weapons first. Whatever it is, it has to start with her, but we must do our part as well. As the “average” citizen, we have to trust that the cops are here to help. That they are not a threat. We can cooperate with them, even if they make us feel violated. And, maybe most importantly, we must not let their attitude toward us define how we interact with them.

As always, this is just my opinion, you could be wrong!