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?

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!