In my most recent post, I had expressed concern over what we have been seeing with respect to the elites of this world wanting to initiate a war against Syria, and eventually Russia. In all fairness, I was hoping most people would start waking up to the obvious false flags and emotional manipulation being used against them. And yet, days after another inside job, this time in San Bernardino, California; it appears that Americans, particularly the uneducated and gullible, are willing to get their war and violence mindset into full view. In response, functions in world governments and financial institutions, to say nothing of certain factions of the US Government, are more than willing to give them the rope to destroy themselves.
Many of you may be thinking "Robert, why is it you look at these events and think we are not told the truth?" I have ample reason to conclude these recent IS/Daesh/Muslim purported attacks are not what we are being told. When you look into any one of these purported acts of terrorism, the most important question to ask only consists of two words:
Who Benefits?
In each of these cases, it is never the people and groups publicly blamed for any such tragedy that will benefit. Indeed, the result is either their deaths or their arrest. Such is the matter of the married couple that supposedly were the perpetrators of the San Benardino shooting. So, with that out of the way, what and who is leading you to the abyss? By that I mean, since there are more gullible people than smarter free thinking people, their answer for their problems will become our problemsif left unchecked.
The more I think of this, the more I come to believe these false flags we have seen this year: the Charlie Hebdo shooting, Charleston, Chicago, San Bernardino, Paris, and others, are being managed and conceived not entirely by the current Obama leadership. No, I think much of these inside jobs have the hallmark of the New Conservative movement; alongside the financial dynasties and the ever omnipotent Mossad peeking by. The same sorts of groups and financiers that financed and authorized 9/11. It pains me to say this; yet I think these false flags are to continue until election day in the US next year. And in response, someone is getting the propaganda of being the savior of us all, yet again. Do I have to spell him out?
D-O-N-A-L-D T-R-U-M-P, oh no:(
Now of course, Mr. Trump is only one person, and cannot be the only person instigating these matters. Yet, every move to a fascistic and xenophobic nation, which is where we are at now, needs a public face. And that face is typically an educated loudmouth male who promises the moon and says stuff without consequences.
Pretty soon, within a day or so, I am going to do a retrospective commentary on a Lawrence Britt essay from 2003, "Fascism, Anyone?" I find that in 12 years the ideas presented therein apply at this time than it may have even less than a year ago. It is my hope that at least one person reading this will be certain to review their incorrect beliefs, and to think twice at least once more. In my lifetime, the world survived a number of politically conservative leaderships with our faced and lives intact. I honestly do not think we and the rest of the world can survive a Trump residency (pun intended).
Here is what I referenced in a section of the essay.
Quite honestly the best John Lennon song not by John Lennon. 35 years since Lennon died; 14 years since George Harrison died. If they were alive today, what would these two men think of us now?
My commentary o the Lawrence Britt article appears shortly,
Robert
PS. I just recently found out John Venditto won the recount to his 2015 Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor election bid. Why in the hell am I not surprised? Well, here is hoping Venditto is indicted post haste. It also says a lot about those that voted for this ne'er do well.
Well, I would have posted this earlier, yet other matters came to the forefront. Since then, while most in the US and the world were focused on the 2016 Presidential Race, in particular the Republican candidates Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson; actual elections took place.
As expected, Gov. Phil Bryant (R-MS) was re-elected: Mayor James Kenney (D-Philadelphia, PA) was officially elected: and possible Gov. John Bel Edwards (D-LA) won the Jungle Primary with 39% of the vote. I should point out that the Jungle Primary had actually took place on October 24; I mistakenly thought it was Election Day itself. None the less, it looks like Bel Edwards will win the runoff on November 21, albeit the race is now tightening a bit. What will happen to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) afterwards remains to be seen. I do think Sen. Vitter will remain in the Senate.
Although not a surprise, Gov. Matt Bevin was elected the Republican Governor of Kentucky. Thus, Kentucky state politics is now mostly led by Republicans in a rather conservative state.
What I do want to focus on are the local elections that took place where I live in the Town of Oyster Bay, New York. A fair deal of the incumbents running for a re-election bid were indeed re-elected. It was not all bad; in Suffolk County, Steve Bellone, a Democrat, was re-elected County Executive. however, Oyster Bay Republican Council members were all re-elected, and Republican operative Angie Carpenter managed to get elected Town of Islip Supervisor. Yet, I had mentioned two important elections that were to take place last Tuesday, and did occur.
First and foremost, Madeline Singas, a Democrat, was fully elected Nassau County District Attorney against her Republican opponent, Kate Murray. It was not even a close race; Singas won with some 54% of the vote! It was obviously clear to a majority of voters that Kate Murray was uniquely unqualified to be District Attorney; and I could go on and name countless reasons why Ms. Murray had no reason to run. Indeed, I am absolutely most ashamed at the endorsements from the leadership of Nassau University Medical Center, along with the policemen's unions in the region, that were full fledged in supporting Ms. Murray. I can somewhat understand Rudy Giuliani's endorsement, as a statement of decreased relevance.
Fortunately, the voting public, and much of the New York papers, saw right through this flim-flam and voted for Ms. Singas. This is a very pleasing vote.
Now, onto the Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor election. It appears that Republican John Venditto, who also happens to be a medical doctor, was defeated for re-election by Democrat John Mangelli. I say appears to be due to the fact that both Venditto and Mangelli received 50% of the vote, and Mr. Mangelli held a 68 vote lead. This race, though, is likely to be protracted beyond reproach and might not be decided on until well after Thanksgiving. That would be enough time for Mr. Venditto to bring forth absentee ballots showing a lead in votes for the incumbent. However, I have been hearing that the absentee ballots came from within the town, thus Mr. Mangelli could also have his votes increase. I am not surprised this came to be a close race; a changing of leadership usually does not involve a more clear-cut outcome.
In short, it appears that in some instances, voters in Nassau County, even in a record of low voter turnout, are welcoming a change in their leadership offices by electing Democrats to replace long standing and complacent Republicans. For much of the rest of the country, not much has changed in the elections last Tuesday. I would be rather shocked and stunned if the Louisiana Gubernatorial Runoff is won by Sen. Vitter, although I am not expecting that to happen. I will have a lot more to say on the Town of Oyster Bay situations soon enough.
In a related note, I am watching Sunday Night Football, and it is the Cowboys vs. the Eagles. Cowboys Defensive player Greg Hardy is playing; a fairly alright player though like most athletes not a decent man. I am seeing NBC Sports people condemn Mr. Hardy's abuse of a white female last year under a psychotic episode. And yet, with one month to go until the NFL's day of reckoning (the release of the Will Smith-Sir Ridley Scott movie Concussion), NBC Sports is whitewashing the situation. So has much of the NFL and its media people. Dollars before people, bros before women, violence before reason, patriotism before intellectualism, and ratings before innovation.
But that's none of my business.
I do wonder what Jim Henson would think of this image popping up.
The title refers to one of the iconic lines in movie history, when Captain America (Peter Fonda) disagrees with Billy (Dennis Hopper) on their success of their cross country trek in Easy Rider. A little afterwards, both main characters are killed by a ragtag group of ignorant rednecks. In retrospect, it may not have been the best idea to have the two leads make their money off of drugs and getting in on a wild mind trip. These sorts of ambiguities are not shown in most movies. Indeed, the rare times these ambiguities are shown involve the drug war. We can go on a long discussion regarding the drug war and its abject failure; that will be for another time.
For now, our focus is the drug war's effect on law enforcement and public policy. Two weeks ago, the newest film from Denis Villeneuve, Sicario, was released. It marks Villeneuve's second collaboration with Academy Award nominated Roger Deakins, and involves a great screenplay from newcomer Taylor Sheridan. As well, Thad Luckinbill (J.T. Hellstrom on The Young and the Restless) was one of the producers of this movie, along with his twin brother Trent, as part of their new Black Label Media company. By all accounts, this is a great movie; in fact one of the best films of this year, along with some of the best acting people like Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro have shown in quite some time. Like many of these sorts of fictional works, Sicario tells us a heck of a lot more about our failed drug policies than what we can usually expect from our leaders. Rarely if ever will you see a political figure declare the "War On Drugs" to have failed and been bad policy from the word go. Because to do that would reveal greater truths that would cause the public great outrage.
By this point, I am going to expose some important plot points this movie explores; although going in you should know that Denis Villeneuve does not go for happy endings. Just about every film of Villeneuve's involve moral ambiguity. Sicario brings this to the forefront in the last hour or so. While not going into full detail, what seems like a clear cut operation to curtail the finances of Mexican drug lords turns into a continuation of US Government policy in effectively running the drug trade. It is evident when Victor Garber's character pretty much sanctions these extrajudicial means of obtaining a drug cartel's finances; it is more pronounced when Emily Blunt's character gets into a one-night stand with a corrupt Texas cop played by Jon Bernthal that is found to be a bag man for the cartel's leaders. And it is most obviously evident when twice in Sicario Benecio Del Toro's character is mentioned by his code name Medellin.
If you are not familiar with the word and meaning of Medellin, or if you only remember it as Vincent Chase's first movie he directed yet was panned (see Entourage), the Medellin drug cartel in Colombia was during the late 1970's through early 1990's the most profitable drug running operation known to man. And while it was Pablo Escobar that ruled society with sort of an iron fist before he was gunned down in 1993; the financial whirlwind was benefited most by (gasp!) the United States Government. This is pretty much explained after the second time we hear Del Toro's character mentioned as Medellin after Alejandro (Del Toro) pretty much seeks out his wife and daughter's killer alone.
It is that second time when Kate (Blunt) hears the phrase; leading to her punching Josh Brolin's character, a CIA task force leader, in the face. Afterwards, Brolin's character states that the US Government needs to resurrect the Medellin cartel in order to curb the turf wars in Mexico. And it is due to, as Matt (Brolin) states "20 million people snorting and smoking this stuff"; this stuff being cocaine, of course. And yes, Alejandro does get to murder the drug cartel leader and his family while having dinner. And it is implied that Kate leaves the agency after signing papers legislating the legality of the drug operations. All the same, nothing is truly ended. The side story of a father and cop from Juarez doing supply routes in order to get some extra money just to get by ends in that cop being killed by Alejandro. The last scene shows his wife and son attending a soccer game the son is playing; you can hear gunfire as the game goes on. Indeed, that reminded me of how for many in thee countries the way out is through sports, association football in particular. Even so, there is no guarantee one will get out alive through sports. The year after Pablo Escobar was killed; Andres Escobar (no relation) was gunned down by a rival cartel after accidentally causing Team Colombia to use their quarterfinal round in the 1994 World Cup: the infamous own goal game.
It is quite amazing yet sad that a great deal of policies and funding for programs and other matters pertaining to the United States is continually done through the proliferation of illegal drugs. I know the easiest thing to do would be to have everyone stop taking this shit; yet it is this same shit that finances these extrajudicial operations the United States Government does without consequence. I firmly believe a movie can tell people a greater truth than what we may witness in our real life news reports. For me, this is the second film in as many years that exposes our country's double standards at least regarding drug usage and proliferation. Last year Kill The Messenger, one of the better movies of 2014, did not get as much public attention as it should have; apparently the truth is still a bitter pill to swallow among moviegoers at large. Fortunately, Sicario is still playing at theaters near you; and you can also eventually see it on demand or on Blu-Ray; same goes with Kill The Messenger. Do go see this movie. I will have more to say regarding the drug war culture soon enough.
Well, as we are all aware, there was this past Thursday a shooting at a Community College 150 miles north of Portland, Oregon. And yes, what you thought were the protocols for a mass shooting were enacted upon again. And oh yes, the story does not add up entirely. The only difference now is the US East Coast is in a two-tiered storm system consisting of a Nor 'Easter and Hurricane Jaquin. Thus, there are other matters on the minds of most people on the Atlantic seaboard. By the way, Hurricane Jaquin may not hit us, but it is best to be safe and prepared.
The point of this essay though is regarding what occurred this Friday afternoon. At about 3:30, President Barack Obama held a press conference stating that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had resigned and will be succeeded by John King. Afterwards, Pres. Obama continued on with complaining about matters that do affect us all; including but not limited to the need to abolish the sale and manufacturing of guns. Sadly, this press conference ticked me off, as Pres. Obama's conferences have recently been ticking me off . This is for two reasons. First, Pres. Obama's press conference came at the same time that Sec. Of State Hillary Clinton was making a speech in Florida. Now I would think most news media outside of C-SPAN would show this speech instead of a meandering press conference. Alas, this is what we have come to expect from a main stream (lame stream?) media that is in the tank for ABC (Anyone But Clinton). Equal blame goes to Pres. Obama for usurping the only worthy successor, provided he does not run for a third term.
What was really problematic for me was Barack Obama had more or less threw his hands in the air and asked for the Republican Party to pretty much do what Obama supposedly cannot do. This has been a fallback for 7 years, and is not by any means emblematic of a President. Look, a President can and must do whatever is deemed in the best interest of Americans regardless of opposition. It is abhorrent to me that Barack Obama, the President, does not simply enact laws and bills by decree.
What is that you say? A President acing as if he is a king? Well yes. Every four years, the United States gets involved in electing a President; and in each campaign, the candidate uses his/her platform for public speaking and ideas to mention what will be enacted once the election is over on Election Night. You will notice that the candidate does not use the term "we", referring to the Legislative and Judicial Branches working in tandem with the Executive branch along with other implied branches and estates. What you do notice is the candidate uses the word that might just be the most important word in the English Language. That word is I. We see this even currently in this long campaign for 2016.
And yet, what happens to some Presidents upon election? They seem to forget that a plurality of the eligible voters in the United States elected a king to rule their lives, and subsequently they put the onus on leadership to their opponents. Pres. Obama has continually done this for the past 7 years; thus showing a complete lack of leadership. His statements of "I" later become statements of "We", and far later become statements of "They".
Now why is that? I have come to the knowledge over the years that Barack Obama has always wanted to be a celebrity President; all the perks and benefits yet none of the work. We saw this outright during his 2012 re-election when he made a number of chat show appearances of no importance, alongside benefit dinners of little regard. While those distractions wee ongoing; international diplomatic tragedies like the military assaults in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 were taking place. Typical of Obama's lack of leadership in critical issues during that time, blame was put on others besides the President himself.
And now we are seeing this again; we should soon expect Pres. Obama to later paraphrase Mel Brooks in Spaceballs when he says "I can't make decisions here. I'm the President!" I doubt that I have seen any other President in my lifetime feel as if he is this powerless, from either political party. And yes, that does include Pres. George W. Bush, who brought forth disastrous proposals and actually enacted upon these proposals. I firmly believe on this issue of gun violence and the need to end the likelihood of another Chris Mercer Harper coming into mental problems, Pres. Obama could be ending these events by effectively using his powers and do the following:
Abolish the usage of guns and gun manufacturing.
Allot for mandatory psychological profiling on all persons.
Criminalize gun owners for intent to kill family and others; this is important because when a person owns a gun, it is usually to bring a permanent end to a family squabble.
Curtail the powers and responsibilities of other branches of Government, if not abolish them outright.
Alter the US Constitution.
Any President has it in his/her powers to do such matters. In the whole history of the United States, I can only think of just 1 President who effectively made a successful imperial leadership. That would be President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and this was only possible due to being President the last 13 years of his life. And yet, the US needed FDR from 1932-1945 to allot for these ideals to be put into place. In contrast, President Barack Obama has been effectively punting the ball as a first option.
You wonder why many voters are flocking to other candidates that will provide simple-minded solutions, in addition to ruling as if they were a king/queen. Perhaps one could say this is Obama going through the motions in only having one year left of his Presidency. That may be true; yet Pres. Obama has not indicated an endorsement of a candidate. Thus, I fully expect Barack Obama to run for a third term; an idea which while sadly ending the Democratic nomination race, will ensure a re-election defeat. Should Obama go through with this, then he should do what he was elected to do and, you know, actually Lead. I have already given a number of suggestions in this essay. Pres. Obama should act upon them.
Well, those are my opinions on this matter. Incidentally, 2015 marks the 20 year anniversary of one of my favorite movies, the Rob Reiner film The American President. For 15 years now, we have seen Presidents allowing their voters to drink the sand. Well, perhaps it is time to think differently.
I am not the President, nor am I running for President,
Earlier today, there was a shooting of two youngish news reporters and photographers from a local station in Virginia. The victims' names were Alison Parker (24) and Adam Ward (27); two individuals whose lives were cut short without any concern for their futures.
The gunman was Vester Flanagan (41), better known by his reporter name Bryce Williams. Mr. Flanagan, a fellow news reporter, was dismissed from his position recently after complaints regarding his work ethic and unfounded allegations of racism and homophobia. You see, Mr. Flanagan was both an African-American and identified as a gay man. This was not the first time accusations were made by Mr. Flanagan regarding fellow employees. As a result of his dismissal, Mr. Flanagan this morning disturbed an interview Ms. Parker was doing and Mr. Ward was filming; by shooting Mr. Ward and then Ms. Parker and Vicki Gardner, who was being interviewed live. Fortunately, Ms. Gardner is alive, though in intensive care. As for Mr. Flanagan, he live messaged and Tweeted his reasoning while being pursued by law enforcement. He then died from what amounted to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. ABC News has obtained a copy of a 23 page statement from Mr. Flanagan which has not been fully released at this time.
I will have more to say on this shortly. None the less, along with the obvious need for the banning of guns and automatic weaponry; we are going to need to provide mandatory evaluations for people under some form of distress. Failure to do this could result in more of these tragic circumstances. This needs to stop!
As I mentioned before, I will have more on my opinions when possible. I just really detest saying the same reasonable idea yet getting a reply of "meh".
My apologies once again for forgetting to embed the video. I will need to do a lot better next time.
None the less, the continued negation and shaming of the Native Americans is resoundingly disgusting. Not one other news organization has made mention of this problem. Why is that? Since it is rather late, I will have another multimedia essay on this issue at a date sooner than expected. None the less, you need to see this; and then contemplate about who you are and what you have done for these people. How would You like it if you could not afford clean water?
It may be hard to believe, given not many alive now lived or remember this time period. Yet, the 1980s were not halcyon days for the United States or even the rest of the world. If or when Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman decide to do a documentary series about the eighties, I would expect people's perception of so called good times to be completely shattered. A great deal of the Republican mindset that engulfed America in the 1980s and early 1990s can be attributed to a 1979 Address to the Nation from then President Jimmy Carter. Nominally, it was the 14th in a series of Addresses involving energy usage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kakFDUeoJKM
My apologies for not directly embedding the video; I am using Microsoft Windows 10 and its new browser Microsoft Edge. I will see if Chrome does things differently. None the less, the speech I linked to was and still is unique in that President Carter pretty much told the American people to stop blaming their leaders for their problems and start blaming themselves. What a concept: taking responsibility for one's own actions and thoughts! How it related to energy was effectively consume less and perhaps, maybe, turning off the heater once in a while and wearing an extra sweater. Well, within the next year, much of the American public rejected these recommendations for self preservation and much like someone being told not to do anything stupid; they tripled down on their stupidity and elected President Ronald Reagan. The Reagan era lasted a total of 12 long years. I think the only reason why it lasted this long was because it became clear, after the Iran-Contra scandal blew up in everyone's face, that an actual third term campaign for President Reagan would have resulted in a defeat. So in came George H.W. Bush to be President in 1988, retaining many of the Reagan brain trust without the public image of a failed leader.
Four years later, and with the "Cold War" now extinct, the Republican Party, and with that much of the bipartisan bull crap in maintaining a "war" mindset, began to shatter immensely. I can remember those times; Dan Rather every night for a month in early 1992 introduced reports on a false and troubling U.S. financial economy. Lawrence Walsh, independent counsel investigating Iran-Contra, obtained grand jury indictments for key Reagan-Bush officials, and likely was going to indict both Presidents if possible. I do remember on Halloween Eve a re-indictment of Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger was obtained. It was also the year of the South Central L.A. Riots, among other social justice issues coming into view. Into this social political chaos emerged then Gov. Bill Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas and by all accounts a Southern Centrist Democrat. And for the first time in 12 years, people were not only needing to hear the truth about their lives; they were willing to listen and make changes. If you need a visual aide on why the Clinton campaign and subsequent Presidency from 1992-2000 was successful; I would suggest watching once again the D.A. Pennebaker film The War Room, now a part of the Criterion Collection. Also of interest is Robert Downey Jr.'s opinion documentary The Last Party; though be aware this was when Downey was zonked out on booze and pills half the time.
I have already alluded to and made note of the eight years of relative peace and security when William Jefferson Clinton was President. I, like you, are aware of what the past 15 years post-Clinton have been like. In short, apart from flashes of sanity within the Senate and the State Department, nothing good has come forward. You know, in only my second week as a student at Hofstra University, 9/11 occurred. One of my fellow travelers saw, like nearly all of us, the aftermath of the destruction and she said out loud "This would have never happened if Clinton was still President." And this woman, whose name I forget, was right. Indeed, there are certain times I play a what if game. That being, what if Bill Clinton decided to run for a third term? We know President Clinton would have easily been re-elected. Yet, as we know, a Clinton third term was set aside to focus on Hillary Clinton's 1999-2000 run for the Senate. She of course was elected. And I would say from that point forward, many of us that effectively were given the double deuce by the Cheney-Bush people, culminating in the 9/11 Inside Job, wanted to have the tide turn in favor of us once more.
I had hoped Sen. Hillary Clinton would have ran for President in 2004. She did not, instead focusing on her 2006 Senate re-election bid. Fortunately after that election, Sen. Clinton began a process of running for the Presidency to which she was and still is entitled to I might add. In 2008, Sen. Clinton won the national Democratic Primary. Yet due to a myriad of reasons all found to be not worth my time, Clinton was barred from receiving the nomination in what amounted to a retread of the old back-room party bosses deals. We were left with then Sen. Barack Obama, the perpetual disappointment. None the less, President Obama was elected in 2008: the Clinton family's endorsement and a certainty for Sen. Hillary Clinton to be involved in the Cabinet was what sealed the deal for at least my voting for him.
Yet Sec. Of State Clinton would not be in that title at the State Department for that long of a time. Sec. Of State Clinton left in 2012, which was followed as we see today of another Presidential run. Now, let me remind you I did vote for President Barack Obama again in 2012. However, I voted for Pres. Obama thinking that he would be defeated. It was more of an approval of the four years having gone by rather than the four years to come. We have seen though a continuation of a weak, egotistical, self-centered prick being a President more in line with wanting to be a celebrity more than anything. I do not know what a Republican presidency would have been like if one was elected in 2012. I sure as shit was not going to give the Romney and Paul people there fantasies. And I frankly have never liked Gov. Chris Christie; Now most people hate him, but it was not that easy being a lone voice at the time showing my disapproval on that lard. None the less, Pres. Obama winning re-election in 2012 assured a continuation of Democratic leadership for decades to come. We all were convinced after eight years of Obama there would be:
Eight years of Hillary Clinton
Eight years of Cory Booker
Eight years of Chelsea Clinton
Eight years of one of the Obama daughters.
Well, now once again, there is a probability this will not happen. I have said before that Pres. Obama is actively seeking a third term. With the likelihood that he might lose, Obama and his people are setting up Vice President Joe Biden to fill the void. Interestingly, I think after Beau Biden passed away, there has been more of an incentive for VP Biden to run; fulfilling the last wishes of his son to have a Biden become President. I am not pleased with VP Biden running. This now means at least 8 Democrats are running for President! I expect Mayor Bill De Blasio to announce his candidacy shortly, and I am thinking there will be a Donald Trump equivalent for Democrats to consider before the year is out. My money is on Sen. Elizabeth Warren to make a move. By the way, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has come out in support of Sen. and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. So too has Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Indeed, most of the Senate Democrats and nearly half of all House Democrats are endorsing Hillary Clinton. Same goes for several Diplomats, a number of businesspeople and quite a huge list of celebrities. Go look at the Clinton 2016 page on Wikipedia for an ever evolving list of endorsements. Each of these endorsees have one mindset in common: they want their political party back to where it can be in being effective in its leadership and trustworthiness. In short, they want the 1990s back. As do I.
In 2008, after being given the double deuce by party bosses, we were assured that President Barack Obama would promise us everything us Clinton Democrats wanted and even more. Apart from the four years of relative decent International Diplomacy, we have been disappointed in most areas. Even certain beneficial acts like "Obama Care" were compromised from its needed intentions. I for one will not be led down a path of abject disappointment and voting for style over substance, celebrity over leadership. Taking a page from the misguided fanatics Dr. Ron Paul still continues to have, albeit in a mercifully dwindling number; my choice for President, the Only Same Choice for President, is Hillary Clinton. Should Sen. Clinton not receive the nomination, even before the primaries, if possible I will write her name in. If a write-in is not possible, then I will vote for the Democrat; albeit it will be nothing more than a protest vote.
Hillary Clinton for President 2016 or no one at all. Our lives may just depend on it,
Robert
One week or so from now, something really special happens every time in early August. The National Football League starts its season, unofficially mind you, with the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony. August 8 will see an induction ceremony honoring 8 important people whose life and works regarding American Football are well known to all those that follow the sport. The elite 8, as it were, are:
Junior Seau (1969-2012): Linebacker 1990-2009 (San Diego Chargers 90-02)
Jerome Bettis: Running Back 1993-2005 (Pittsburgh Steelers 96-05)
Charles Haley: Linebacker/Defensive End Dallas Cowboys/San Francisco 49ers 1986-1999
Tim Brown: Wide Receiver 1988-2004 (Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders 88-03)
Bill Polian: General Manager/Front Office 1978-2011 (Buffalo Bills/NFL 84-94, Indianapolis Colts 98-11)
Mick Tinglehoff: Center Minnesota Vikings 1962-1978
Will Sheilds: Guard Kansas City Chiefs 1993-2006
Ron Wolf: Director of Player Personnel/General Manager 1963-2001 (Oakland/LA Raiders 63-74, 79-89, Green Bay Packers 91-01)
In addition, ESPN football analyst Tom Jackson and AP lead football writer Dave Goldberg (1941-2015) will receive the media awards during the August 6 Gold Jacket Dinner.
Now, in most circumstances I will not feel the need to address NFL issues. This is different however. Of the 8 inductees receiving head busts, one of them is not alive to see it. Junior Seau, arguably the most durable linebacker to play football in his lifetime, died in 2012 at the age of 43. Seau killed himself as a result of depression and neurological problems relating to a diagnosis of concussion syndromes. Upon his death, Junior Seau was diagnosed as having Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease effecting the brain and other motor neuron functions as a result of multiple concussions. Side effects, unfortunately, do include depression and lack of direction. Indeed, Seau was in danger of losing his restaurant business at the time of his death, and despite 20 seasons in the league and his number 55 retired by the Chargers; Junior Seau was not a wealthy man. In point of fact, a great deal of money was poured into his restaurant business just to keep it afloat.
The results of the autopsy on Seau prompted his surviving family to seek compensatory damages by the NFL over injuries and neurological problems obtained during the course of his 20 season career, and most importantly the last 2 years of his life. The Seau family has even opted to forego cashing in on the class action lawsuit settlement by retired NFL players seeking compensation for concussion syndromes. As of this writing, the lawsuit is still ongoing.
This has effected a moment next week when Junior Seau will be forever honored as a football great; induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While Bettis, Haley, Brown, Polian, Tinglehoff, Shields and Wolf will be able to give their acceptance speeches, Seau's daughter, who is presenting her father, will not be allowed to give a speech. This was revealed After she gave her remarks on the customary video summary on Junior Seau's life. I find this to be insulting. There are those that will defend the policy put into place by the Hall of Fame in not allowing presenters of posthumous inductees give their speeches. I am not one of them.
Do any of you know why this policy was enacted 4 years ago? Well, it was in that year the Hall of Fame, and with that the NFL, made a boneheaded move. Les Richter (1930-2010) was inducted posthumously into the Pro Football Hall of Fame based on 9 seasons (1954-1962) as a linebacker with the Los Angeles Rams. Here is the kicker; at no point in time during those 9 seasons was Richter given the proper monetary compensation that an All-Pro linebacker was deserving of being awarded to. In point of fact, after Les Richter retired, he spent the remainder of his life involved with auto racing. He was not a driver or car owner; yet Richter owned several racetracks and venues for NASCAR, Indycar, USAC, IROC and other leagues. Surprisingly, in his lifetime Les Richter was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame and gladly accepted the honor. Yet, honoring an NFL great just after he died was not the real boneheaded move. That occurred, in the midst of a lockout of players which was resolved before the 2011 Induction Ceremony, with not allowing Les Richter's son John to give an acceptance and memorial speech on the night of induction. Because you see, the NFL just could not have John Richter mentioning to fans and players alike that the NFL does not pay fairly, and perhaps the best part of one's life in football is after the playing career is finished; possibly including walking away from the game entirely. In the same manner, the NFL just cannot have Junior Seau's daughter give a speech decrying the NFL in their manners of tossing players aside when they are out of the league and not looking into not only their post football lives yet also the amount of pain and suffering they endure so that we fans are entertained.
You may have already guessed who is behind this malarkey, at least on a PR manner. That would be the current NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell. Roger Goodell, son of Sen. Charles Goodell (R-NY) has been commissioner since 2006. Each year that passes by sees Goodell arbitararly handing out edicts and punishments when sought fit; along with a general disregard for player relations on an overall matter. As is often the case, the true NFL leader is found with the Executive Director of the Players Union, DeMaurice Smith. The NFLPA usually has isues correctly assessed than does the front office. Heck, most of the owners whom Goodell is beholden to; to say nothing of corporate sponsors, have more fortitude and reason than Roger Goodell has. This Hall of Fame issue, along with some other concurrent issues of matters trivial yet expanded upon, leads me to believe that Roger Goodell must be ousted as soon as can be. The National Football League cannot become a laughingstock even more so than it already is. I will have more to say on why Goodell Must Go in an essay to be published momentarily. Suffice to say, protecting the image of a brand may end up hurting the brand long term.
More coming; stay tuned,
Robert
I wanted to start this essay by getting the most obvious out of the way. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is not a war hero, Vietnam or otherwise. It is not entirely for the reasons you think. To understand the real issues of Sen. McCain's purported 6 years as a Prisoner Of War, you need to look back at the events surrounding the US Military during the crucial year 1967.
It was in 1967 that in the midst of both Vietnam and the Six-Day War, near the Strait of Hormuz, a military mishap occurred that until 2002 was unknown to many. On June 8, 1967, the Naval ship USS Liberty was sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Egypt when an Israeli Naval ship approached the Liberty. Thinking that the Liberty was an Egyptian Naval vessel, or so it was told, the IDF authorized the blockade and attack on the USS Liberty. It resulted in the death of 34 crew members, mostly Naval officers; and another 141 wounded. This is in addition to the destruction of the Liberty itself. For all intents and purposes, and due to the United States supporting Israel in the Six-Day War, the incident was minimized considerably. One surviving crew member, for instance, was awarded a Medal of Honor; the ceremony took place privately without the involvement of President Lyndon Johnson. That is the only time a Medal of Honor recipient did not have his ceremony take place at the White House.
To this day, many of the surviving crew members and a number of journalists and political figures in the US have expressed their opinions that a cover-up had and may still be taking place. I happen to think the IDF attack was deliberate; a ploy to essentially tell the US Military to back off from Israel's advancement of territory and prominence in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. A fairly well made report on the incident was presented by the BBC some years back. Here is the video:
Now what does this have to do with Sen. John McCain? Well, it directly has to deal with Rear Admiral John V. McCain, Sen. McCain's father and a prominent Defense Department leader in 1967. It was Adm. McCain that essentially authorized the official cover-up by the Navy in the aftermath of the Liberty assault. At the same time, Adm. McCain's son, Sen. McCain, was a fighter pilot with little accomplishment during the Vietnam War. I am certain a deal was made in the DOD involving Adm. McCain to save face and avoid calls for dismissal by orchestrating a POW matter to take place wherein Sen. McCain would be held captive by Viet Cong leadership for an indefinite amount of time until the end of the US involvement in Vietnam. That end would come in 1973. In the interim, Adm. McCain would be able to avoid questioning because, after all, his son was a POW. And in the Vietnam era, most US citizens would not be prone to asking questions about their leadership. I say most citizens; there were a number that did question these motives back then, and are proven right today.
Fortunately nowadays, the informed public does not give special treatment to a war veteran just because he or she is a war veteran. While Sen. McCain may prove different, his Vietnam record does not have an affect on the past 30 years of Sen. McCain's life. Come to think of it; being a war veteran does not give a person the prerequisite to run for political office. I look at any and every candidate running for President of the United States, including pres. Barack Obama running for re-election. Not one of them was ever in the military. That for me is a positive trajectory; showing that the immediate reactive mindset of military procedure does not come into fruition from these individuals.
Sen. John McCain is, to say this yet again, not a war hero. The USS Liberty cover-up tells the tale of why, in a related manner, Sen. McCain stayed captive. By the way, does not Sen. McCain have a re-election campaign to run? Well, if the public is not buying the war hero talk, they may not buy Sen. McCain staying in the Senate. And this could come in a primary.
I will have more to say regarding this presidential race in the days ahead. Being honest, I would rather prefer a Westminster style form of governance; along with a royal family, preferably the Clinton family. Yes, that would go against US laws and precedents. None the less; you try invoking the Bill of Rights in a family squabble. It will never work, because reality does not function that way.
Before I go, I want to show you a police interrogation that would lead to an African American, Sandra Bland, to her death. It appears DWB (Driving While Black) can inadvertently result in a fatality. Word of advise to white cops: do not do anything to a minority, ever. Go after your own people in the force, which of course you do not do. Also, to anyone wanting to be a cop: Do not even think about it.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!"
- A phrase you do not ever want to say to your children.
In life, there are people that we look at and think to ourselves "well, thankfully we're not these people". We tend to collectively think of ourselves as morally superior and normal, whatever that word means nowadays. A lot of the time, these people we criticize are known celebrities; people that seem to get away with their obtuseness and asshole tendencies.
Yet, we as a collective are not ones to judge these celebrities. Many of them have children, some more loyal to their parents than others. None the less, these celebrities that are parents do indeed love their children, and would do anything to protect them and/or advance their own endeavors. How I see it, one could be a pig, a drunkard, a philanderer, a cheapskate, an Anti-Semite, a druggie, a prisoner, or even a complete piece of shit. So long as they are loving their children and their children love them; there is hope. Yet that hope ends when the unforgiveable crime occurs. That crime being allowing and/or directly participating in the killing of their child.
For Dr. William H. Cosby Jr. Ed.D, any sense of redemption ended on January 16, 1997. It was on that day that his son, Ennis, was killed in cold blood while near the Los Angeles Freeway changing a tire. I am convinced Ennis' father, Bill Cosby, allowed and authorized a hit and run murder on his only son.
How can you say that, you might be thinking? Look at the evidence and the lies and the deceptions Cosby has done in his 78 years of his life. Particularly up to 1997, these infractions included:
Raping and drugging by force 40 or more females of all races and economic classes.
Forming a false image by being the white man's black man.
Dissing former co-workers and friends when felt convenient. Among those include:
Richard Pryor
Sir Sidney Poitier
Lisa Bonet
Malcolm Jamal-Warner
Harry Belafonte
Flip Wilson
Spike Lee
Stevie Wonder
Denise Johnson
Arthur Ashe
Jimmie Walker
Sherman Helmsley
Janice Dickinson
Robert Culp
Having the gall and temerity to go on television and dis his own movie Leonard Part 6; even though he wrote the script!
Removing socially and culturally important African-American entertainment shows like Amos and Andy.
Looking down on fellow African-Americans who did not have $400 million in the bank.
Fathering an untold number of illegitimate children in addition to his 5 own children.
Using his comedy shows as fodder for his bad deeds.
Bilking Temple University for unseemly amounts of money.
Forming a hatred on all races while trying to be post-racial.
Subjecting his wife, Camille, to 50 plus years of physical, emotional and mental abuse.
And most importantly:
Being a lousy parent to his five children. Bonus points for his disgust with Ennis and Erinn.
We know that of his five children, Ennis and Erinn were the most concerned and upset over the coming revelations of Bill Cosby fathering Autumn Jackson. We know the both of them confronted Cosby early that January to tell him to stop his ways and force a settlement and acknowledgement of past deeds. We also know that Ennis had plans to take measures into his and his sisters' hands in order to have Bill Cosby be treated for sexual addiction at the least. Yet, of course, a person like Bill Cosby would have none of it. Especially from Ennis, whom he had a tense relationship.
It is where the above quote went from a threat to a promise. It is where January 16, 1997 happened. A white immigrant was hired by Cosby to make a contract hit on Ennis Cosby; starting with mucking up the car Ennis was driving. It was followed by the most obvious sort of drive by shooting one could imagine. And with that, Ennis was gone. The light of the Cosby family; the one who could right the wrongs of his father, was no more.
I remember months after Ennis' killing when the Autumn Jackson lawsuit was put into place. It was then that I knew; Bill Cosby had his son killed to distract from the revelations of his two-faced fucked up life. Why it has taken 18 years and an unsealed admission of Cosby administering Quaaludes to more than one female rape victim is something that boggles my mind. Many think the statute of limitations have run out on any charges Bill Cosby faces. Perhaps that is true for rape and drugging. It is not true for murder. And if I am not mistaken, full punishment according to California Penal Code Law pertains to Cosby's actions that fateful day.
Bill Cosby: You Killed Your Only Son. Admit it to all that had once cared for you and looked up to you like I did. And then be Punished for these crimes for all the remainder of your life. When you do pass on, I hope Ennis is there waiting for you to send you on your eternal damnation in the hell you made for yourself. Ennis Cosby deserves justice after these 18 years. Let us all hope this vile being, for whom I am almost tempted to use the N word on, gets the punishment he deserves.
Love your children and you will find peace. Talk to you all later,
I have been contemplating what to write about on the issue of the last five days. For those not aware, on June 17, 2015; a 21 year old white male from the suburbs of Charleston, South Carolina went to a Bible Study event at Emanuel AME church in downtown Charleston. Once Bible Study ended, Dylan Roof shot a fully loaded gun into the heads and bodies of 9 unarmed African Americans ranging from ages 27 to 86; 6 women and 3 men, including Pastor and State Senator Clementa Pinckney. 2 others were wounded and are still hospitalized; 3more are alive without wounds.
Let me start these next two or three posts by stating that I do not own a gun, I am a Democrat, I am not racist and I have not posted diatribes against others that were and are innocent. Dylan Roof has done this; so too has his mentors and handlers, for which there are many. Yet, Dylan Roof is only a symptom of a larger issue at hand in this world, one I have been noticing for quite some time.
I am speaking about the ongoing and widespread despair we are all seeing in our lives today. Perhaps despair and heartbreak have always been at the forefront of our lives; yet it now seems more obvious than ever and more open to any person that sees it. Let me give you an idea of this desperation foisted upon younger people today.
A 22-23 year old may have just graduated from one of the most prestigious private universities in the United States, or even went overseas to study and obtain a degree. Post-graduate studies could be on the horizon for that person. However, that young person has now accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt; not to mention forking over tens of thousands of dollars for room and board and other expenses. Financially, that person is now flat broke. In the immediate aftermath, this person will need to seek employment that would fit right in with that major and/or minor which was studied. Yet, no jobs are being offered; perhaps certain interests do not need to hire or will pay cheaper wages to other more dependent workers. Depending on where this person is living; the only job available is likely to be one that pays little and has no real value (e.g., licking envelopes). So now this person is stuck in a dead end job with a dead end future in a dead end town needing to support a dead end family.
It is then that a thought comes into the heads of these people in dire straits. That would be to die and/or have others die. Because you see, this ever changing world in which we live in will invariably become unbearable to many people, particularly those in a depressed state. When it appears nothing is changing, and it is the same shit yet a different flavor; anybody would want a way out. The biggest indication of this desperation I have found is when other people and living creatures pass away that mattered to the lives of so many on a personal and otherwise basis. Here is something rather sobering. What do these people of note have in common?
Gov. Mario Cuomo
Sen. Edward Brooke
Rod Taylor
The Editorial Leadership at Charlie Hebdo
Andrae Crouch
Anita Ekberg
Edgar Froese
Sen. Wendell H. Ford
Ernie Banks
Demis Roussos
Colleen McCullough
Sir Martin Gilbert
Louis Jourdan
Philip Levine
Lesley Gore
Clark Terry
Leonard Nimoy
Boris Nemtsov
Anthony Mason
Edward Cardinal Egan
Sam Simon
Sir Terry Pratchett
Al Rosen
Mike Pocaro
Andy Fraser
Alberta Watson
MP Lee Kuan Yew
James Best
Geoffrey Lewis
Gunter Grass
Percy Sledge
Sen. Robert P. Griffin
Jayne Meadows
Ben E. King
Grace Lee Whitney
B.B. King
Dr. John Forbes Nash Jr.
Anne Meara
Betsy Palmer
Beau Biden
MP Charles Kennedy
Sir Christopher Lee
James Last
Ron Moody
Ornette Coleman
"The American Dream"; Dusty Rhodes
Kirk Kerkorian
James Horner
These people passed away this year; and we are not even finished with June yet. As we grow older, more and more of those we grew up with and even had a personal connection with seem to pass on to the unknown. Left to continue are us who are living, of course. Yet for some, it feels like an end has come. And with that end, a sense of longing for the past in some form or another occurs: usually involving childhood innocence and a rose-colored glasses memory that may have been true yet perhaps not.
I can certainly understand the feelings at times. Last year, one of our pet dogs, Doogie, passed away at 14 years old. I can certainly tell you now that there have been days and nights, though not frequent, that I think about Doogie and feel a sense of emptiness if only for a brief while. Yet, this is where people differ. For myself and my family, we simply move forward and await the next day; knowing full well that we have our health and our commitments to ourselves and others. There are however many that do not respond in kind.
The worst sort of feelings can be amplified when there is a gun involved. I firmly believe that when a person is holding a gun in their hands, the gun becomes sentient. No different than what happens to James Woods' hand by the end of Videodrome.
Quite scary, is it not? And that is just the transformation sequence!
None the less, it is much more saner to be without a gun than it is to have one. Let me put it this way; if during the midst of a divorce between two people, an argument occurs and there is a gun in the room: does it not seem obvious that it will be used to end the argument permanently? I say this because it has and continues to happen. Just two days ago, Milwaukee Brewers baseball star Darryl Hamilton was killed by his girlfriend in what is deemed to be a murder-suicide over a petty squabble. Had the gun not been in the room, both of them would still be alive today; and perhaps less inclined to turn violent. More notably, the lives of their families and their children are now forever altered and forever ruined. For anyone that has recently seen the newest Disney-Pixar movie Inside Out, all core emotions have now been permanently replaced by an idea to continue the cycle by leaving this life in some form or other.
Hard to believe, yet there are more guns in the United States than there are people living here. There are more gun manufacturers than there are community service organizations in the United States. One can discuss many other issues that relate to these shootings. SSRIs, economic mistreatment, family issues, mental health treatment, employment and the like are all matters to be discussed. However, those matters need to wait until two important matters are needed to be attended to.
1. Banning and outlawing guns in the hands of any person.
2. Altering the culture of seeking death.
Banning guns is an easier task. All one needs to do is declare gun possession to be a criminal act; followed by indicting the gun manufacturers as accessories to murder and racketeering under the Rico statures. In that way, the NRA, the GOA and other like minded organizations can be put out of business. As well, it makes things easier to allow for a repeal of the 2nd Amendment and perhaps a full altering of the Constitution which is much needed. As an added bonus, the Republican Party and numerous Democrats would need to discuss some other matters of importance on the campaign trail.
It is the needed task of altering and hopefully ending the culture of death apparent in most people today that will be harder to achieve. So long as beloved and admired individuals in life continue to pass away, while despised individuals are more inclined to live beyond their expiry date; this death seeking culture will sadly persist. I know for a fact that the elites of this world that own us have exclusive access to drugs and elixirs prolong lives and cure illnesses that would shorten our lives. A literal Fountain of Youth, if you will. At some point, access to these drugs and elixirs will need to be put into the hands of the populace at large. Perhaps it might take drastic measures for this to occur, yet I would be weary on that front. Let this be clear: James Horner has just passed away, while the scions of the Rothschild dynasty continue to live. That, my fellow travelers, is not justice.
Getting back to Dylan Roof; he will be personally locked up and behind bars for the remainder of his days, as it should be. There are of course other concerns regarding the Charleston Shooting, particularly the targeting and assassination of State Senator Clementa Pickney (D-SC) that leads me to believe Roof had minders and a ton of help. Those issues will be discussed at another time, sooner rather than later. None the less, if there was ever a time to start banning guns and altering the death seeking culture we all are involved with to some degree or another; this would be the perfect time.
For those who are not aware of whom James Horner was: Mr. Horner was a composer of innumerable film scores. Many of which you all know and perhaps love. Here is an example.
Talk to you again fairly shortly,
Robert
PS. Baseball is Slavery and started out as a replacement for slavery. More on that when we see the film at 11.
This past Memorial Day Weekend, I became aware of a verdict in a case stretching back 3 years ago. For those not aware, On November 1, 2012, 43 year old African American Timothy Russell of Cleveland, Ohio and his girlfriend, 30 year old African American Malissa Williams; were involved in a high-speed chase by Cleveland Police Department cops over a matter which remains unclear to this day. One thing that is clear; the couple was unarmed. This did not stop 13 different police officers firing there guns at the couple, fatally shooting them 137 times! One of the officers, Michael Brelo who is currently 31 and a white male, jumped on the roof of their car and shot the couple 13 times in the head. Sadly, both Mr. Russell and Ms. Williams were likely dead already when the shots were fired.
This resulted in Mr. Brelo being charged with voluntary manslaughter in the couple's deaths. It only took 3 years to reach trial and a verdict; because, as I and you know, the halls of justice are as slow as molasses. None the less, it was thought that perhaps with the subsequent cases of police brutality becoming well known to us all; justice for the Russell and Williams families would prevail. Alas; we should have guessed differently. Using the now widely discredited "I was in fear for my life from these crazy people" excuse, which for some reason still holds water to low-information people; Mr. Brelo was found not guilty on all charges. Accordingly, outrage, protests, arrests and calls for police reform have ensued. We can only hope that Mr. Brelo, along with the other 12 cops, get sued in civil courts and be held liable for damages at the least.
I initially had little to no plans on remarking on this verdict; you fellow readers know where I stand on these issues pertaining to police brutality. None the less, two things irked me to respond. First, this verdict was a judge's verdict; not decided by a jury of one's peers. For a case such as this, a jury trial verdict is needed. The second and more upsetting for me issue was Pat D'Angelo, Mr. Brelo's defense attorney, having an impromptu press conference which I feel was insulting and racist. Insulting in that Mr. D'Angelo's remarks were of the "cops can do no wrong" variety. Racist due to the implied words of perceived entitlement that should come to people like Mr. Brelo just because one thinks so. Here is the press conference for you to decide.
Now I understand Mr. D'Angelo was doing his job and did it with a decision benefiting him and his client. Yet, he is wrong; completely wrong in his opinions. Mr. Brelo as far as I am concerned does not show law abiding tendencies due in no small part to jumping on the roof of a car and shooting off 13 rounds on his gun in killing a couple! Were I to do that; you would not be reading this blog. I am also deeply troubled by the implied statements that because Mr. Russell and Ms. Williams had mental health difficulties, that everything related to the incident was their fault. May I remind Mr. D'Angelo this important distinction: I do have Asperger's Syndrome. Living with Asperger's, indeed living with any mental health problem, is the equivalent of having a full time job. From my experience, it is well known that any person deemed with having a mental health problem is prone to effectively being marginalized because of our differences.
This is, once again, a mockery of what needs to be deemed appropriate and correct justice. I know many will think differently. Yet, it is time to stop this incessant need to defend police officers even in times when defending them is asinine. Again, I ask you: if you or someone you knew and loved were doing even the minutest of actions Michael Brelo did or any of the cops in this case; would You be walking away scot clean? Would You be getting a pass because one said so? I know I certainly would not.
