Same Old False Flag

Earlier today, I went to see the newest 007 James bond movie, Spectre.  It was quite good, though this Daniel Craig vehicle felt at times similar to the Roger Moore era.  There was something I had noticed during the course of the movie which revealed the nature of false flag inside jobs.

A proposed global intelligence operation is in the planning stages to be implemented in the United Kingdom involving 9 countries.  At one point, the proposal wins a majority of votes for approval, yet with South Africa being the lone holdout; the proposed Center for National Security can not go forward.  This obviously changes when CNS' financier, the longtime Bond nemesis Spectre, authorizes a false flag terror incident in South Africa.  Within days, South Africa joins the CNS.

Now, that was a movie; yet a movie at times reflects real life more so than what our leaders and news media would like for you to believe.  Just yesterday, a 27 year old British Arab agent for different organizations (MI5, Islamic State, CIA, KGB, does not matter) was targeted for death by a drone strike.  His name was Mohammed Emwazi, known to many as Jihadi John.  He purportedly was known for supposedly beheading supposed hostages on camera in a desert.  These videos, which I have seen, look fake; all of them.  They all follow the same script, with the same cutaway when the supposed beheading occurs.  In effect, in order to legitimize President Obama's recent news interview with George Stephanopoulous of ABC News that Islamic State is "contained" (and we wold know since IS is funded by US); Mr. Emwazi was killed.

A little over 24 hours later, and just one day before an important multi-nation conference regarding Climate Change which would include perhaps a plan to end the Syrian wars; purported IS sympathizers coordinated some 6 different hostage takings and dirty bomb assaults in the 10th and 11th districts of Paris, France.  As of now, 153 Parisians have since passed away; the largest one day death of French citizens since the end of World War II.  I am not sure who is responsible, and I am certain this was not a coincidence in respect to the killing of Mr. Emwazi.  However, it would be easy for so many to want to believe this was an us vs. them attack.  It usually never is; in fact, the culprits can be found in one's government and financial dynasties.  Who benefits, one may think?

The Rothschilds
MI5
IDF
the Military-Industrial-Security complex
A French government under President Francois Hollande that while liberal minded has seen a dip in public trust.
The United States Government.
the War Party.
Social organizations devoted to repressing minorities.
The New Conservatives and their Presidential candidate acolytes in the US.
The Departments of Defense in most Western countries.
Newspaper and traditional mass media; there is always a need to sell product that scares.
CIA
The financiers of IS, which are many and include our own leaders knowingly and unknowingly.
Law enforcement in the United States.
And a number of people and organizations that, you watch, will be willing to make money off of these events.  Mostly with bad intentions.


Another question to ask is; who loses?  Well, it is not a pretty picture.  Along with politically liberal minded and Democratic affiliated people and campaigns, the noted losers are ourselves.  Now, this sort of problem may not occur here in America for the time being; yet it sadly seems that a transformation of Europe to a more centralized structure reminiscent of the Catholic religious monolith in the Middle Ages might be forthcoming.  Of course, it was planned long in advance for these events to occur; most people will only alter their security concerns when a tragedy of significant proportions is in effect.  In all, I am extremely concerned about the reactions that will take place; exponentially from here in the United States should something in the likelihood of another 911 happen.

With that in mind, I urge all of my fellow readers to vote early and vote often for a number of political candidates from the Democratic Party and their supported propositions.  In particular, we need to now make it known our endorsement for Sen. and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton in her Presidential bid.  Interestingly, this false flag in Paris took place one day before the second Democratic Presidential Debate; making the debate tomorrow a non-issue, as was intended by those against the Clinton or Sanders ideals.  Each day that passes seems more and more likely that without our voting, a Republican (Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson) will be elected President next year.  And then it is back to not only the 2000s, but also the 1980s.  And not in a good way.  30+ years ago, we all were as close to death as a populace could be.  This was squarely on the hands of the Reagan Presidency and his financiers.  Ask yourself; could you trust Trump or Carson with maintaining peace in this world?  I sure as heck do not.

A final word:  one way a person could tell this is a False Flag is when it is only the common people that are targeted for being killed. No one well known to all needs to deal with being near death, thankfully.  If these proposed terrorists were who people say they are; individuals like Presdient Francois Hollande and Josh Homme would not be secured.  But again, common people and those we know little about are sent to die; the elite will always be kept safe.  I am not condemning the Elite; I am just stating the obvious.

And another thing:  Where are any videos of the Eagles of Death Metal concert, if any?  Even one concertgoer would film something to bypass a no cameras policy.

Last thing to note:  you need to go watch this movie again, if you have not already,  We cannot allow our lives to end up like this.

https://vimeo.com/18781528

Ask Questions: Demand Answers,

Robert

Election Day 2015

As most if not all of the United States is focused on the Presidential election in 2016, a race mind you that has yet to become the circus it will be once Pres. Obama announces he is running for a third term; there are indeed elections taking place this coming Tuesday, November 3.  These elections are mostly of a local value, though there are a number of statewide elections taking place.  One is a Mayoral race and three more are Gubernatorial races.

Philadelphia, PA Mayor Race:  In my opinion, the election already happened.  Philadelphia is fortunately a leading Democratic city, thus the Democratic primary is pretty much the election.  The current mayor, Michael Nutter, has yet to challenge the two-term limit policy bestowed upon the office of Mayor.  With that in mind, James Kenney was able to win the Primary last May, and will be at least in an official manner be named Mayor-elect this Tuesday,  My congratulations to Mayor Kenney, and hope that we have not seen the last of Mayor Nutter.

Mississippi Governor:  Republican Gov. Phil Bryant will be re-elected.  This should not come as a surprise.

Kentucky Governor's Race:  The current Democratic Gov., Steve Beshear, is not running for re-election.  One reason is last year Gov. Beshear was contemplating a run for the Senate for 2016 before electing not to run.  In that point in time, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway announced his intention to run for the Governorship.  Along with that announcement, late in 2014 Attorney General Conway received the endorsement of Sen. Wendell H. Ford, a former Democratic Kentucky Senator and Governor who spent 23 years (1974-1997) in the US Senate.  Well, Sen. Ford passed away on January 22 at age 90, thus making Sen. Ford's endorsement one of his last for any candidate.
Jack Conway easily won the Democratic Primary, and should be likely to become the Governor on Tuesday. Indeed, until recently, most polling suggested a rather easy victory for Mr. Conway.  However, Mr. Conway is facing a rather important Republican favorite in the state with the Republican nominee, Matt Bevin.  Mr. Bevin, as you may know, ran in the 2014 Republican Senate Primary against Sen. Mitch McConnell, so a run for the Governorship was never out of the question.  Mr. Beivn's campaign has made inroads with potential voters, turning a race that seemed likely to remain Democratic into yet another Republican pickup. The most recent polling suggests both Mr. Conway and Mr. Bevin in a statistical tie.  So in this race, I am not sure who will be elected.  As I mentioned before, Kentucky has not been a state easily suitable for Democrats since Sen. Wendell H. Ford declined a re-election bid in 1997.  None the less, Sen. Ford was a titan among Kentucky politics, and was still well respected long after his Senate career ended.  Jack Conway has become the most important Democrat in Kentucky this year, and has the potential to change the Republican grip hold on the state.  Yet, now I am not so sure.  It is possible Matt Bevin gets elected Governor.  Should that happen, it would get more difficult for Democrats to get elected in years to come within Kentucky.

Louisiana Governor's Race:  Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal is leaving the Governorship to run for President of the United States, a race that is becoming rather quixotic as the days pass.  This is an interesting race in that Louisiana has a system of elections wherein All candidates of any affiliation are on the ballot for this Tuesday.  Thus there are multiple Republicans and multiple Democrats running for the same public office.  Unless the leading vote getter receives 50% of the vote, which is not likely this year, the top two candidates will continue their campaigns ending in a runoff election to be held November 21.  And as of now, the top two consist of a Republican and a Democrat.

The Democrat, state Rep. John Bel Edwards, is currently leading both the jungle primary and runoff polls.  Interestingly, the Republican is Sen. David Vitter; a rather risky venture that was supposed to go over well without any problems.  And yet, there is a problem; Sen. Vitter willing to trade in 11 years in the US senate for a more volatile elected office in being Louisiana's Governor.  Sad to say at times, yet a Senator becoming a Governor rarely yields the same rate of impact and success as when in the US Senate.  And in this case, there is an election for Sen. Vitter's Senate seat next year that needs to be considered.

You see, should Sen. David Vitter get elected Governor, he would be able to name his own successor to be appointed to the US Senate and likely have the benefits of incumbency against any potential Democratic or even Republican challengers.  However, were Mr. Bel Edwards be elected Governor effectively this Tuesday, then Sen. Vitter will need to consider his political future.  I would think Sen. Vitter will run for re-election to the Senate should he not be elected Governor; I do not know if his re-election would be a virtual lock.  So, I think Sen. David Vitter will remain a Senator after both the jungle primary and the runoff, and John Bel Edwards will be elected Governor.  I should point out thought that Louisiana is a Republican state; so this could change at the last minute.

Now I want to focus on elections far more closest to home.  I live in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York.  Unfortunately, while New York is a Democratic State, much of Long Island including Nassau County, is quite obviously Republican.  Quite obviously because Republican politics in this area of New York is terminally corrupt.  In some functions, the local political scene has not gotten over Sen. Al D'Amato's re-election defeat in 1998; thus what once worked does not in this day and age. Do not get me wrong; Sen. D'Amato and his people have helped out Long Island over the years.  Yet their political cronyism and neo-Tammany Hall outlook does not suit well with me.

Of course, now the Republican machine in this county is run by the likes of Kate Murray and John Venditto and Ed Mangano and their lieutenants.  Decent people on a personal level, yes.  I did appreciate Mangano, the Nassau County Executive, endorsing Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his re-election bid last year.  I was classmates with Oyster Bay Supervisor Venditto's eldest son, Nick; I even talked with him on several occasions, including our high school 10 year reunion four years ago. My family and I have even met Hempstead Supervisor Murray and her family quite a few times.  Yet, despite that, they are not to be trusted to do the right thing in our social, political and economic matters.

If you want to know why, there have been recent reports regarding the sheer audacity to continue obtaining contracts with a Mr. Singh, who has been negligent on his taxes involving his restaurants. This chiefly involves John Venditto and his seemingly iron grip on Oyster Bay leadership.  There is a YouTube channel devoted to exposing these issues, with videos such as this one,

Concurrently, Kate Murray is running for Nassau County District Attorney, running against the current DA, Madeline Singas.  DA Singas has had the experience of being a prosecuting attorney and is well versed in legal issues.  Ms. Murray, simply stated, does not know the law as she think she does.  And yet, here we are with both Murray and Venditto thinking they have their elections sewn to their liking.  Mangano, by the way, is not running this year.  And to compound these corruption revelations, the recent Venditto and Murray endorsements are rather troublesome.  Particularly NuHealth endorsing Kate Murray; a clear violation of neutrality measures needed for hospitals!  Including the same hospital where I was given birth and I got treated for lead poisoning!!

Needless to say, I have no intention of voting for any of these Republicans this year.  Yet you probably already knew that.  I am endorsing DA Madeline Singas to continue her tenure as District Attorney for Nassau County.  I am also endorsing Democratic challenger John J. Mangelli to be elected Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor.  As well, I am endorsing all Democrats running for the Town of Oyster Bay council and the offices of judges.

I do understand many who are reading this might think this may become a problem if the current Nassau Republican leadership is replaced.  A number of them are involved with town offices and will point to my participation with the GAP program since 2012 and continuing,  I need to mention; the corruption and ineptness needs to end.  I hope and believe this will not change the status of Town of Oyster Bay workers and volunteers, nor would it derail the GAP program and related services.  Yet, if changes will need to be made in order to end the corruption and allow for newer leadership; then we will need to adapt when the time comes.

Well, those are my thoughts on Tuesday's elections.  I implore my fellow readers to take the time and vote on Tuesday; and if needed, register to vote as soon as you can.

One final note:  As this was going to be published, I found word that Sen. and 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson passed away at age 73.  I did not agree with Sen. Thompson's views; yet the Senator was a decent person that had a lifetime of service dating back to his involvement with the Senate Watergate Committee.  My thoughts go out to his family and loved ones at this trying time.

We got the system to alter the system,

Robert

We blew it!

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.

Talk to you shortly,

Robert

Unintentional Inaction

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,

Robert

Impressions on Show Me A Hero

In my previous essay, I gave a brief primer on what I think might be the most important miniseries of 2015.  That would be the David Simon & Paul Haggis 6 part miniseries Show Me A Hero.  Since I gave a synopsis and background on the events referenced in the miniseries, and mentioned some of the more noted actors and up-and-comers with great roles; I felt it best to mention some interesting aspects of what I saw that impressed me quite well.  Perhaps if you saw it, you may think the same.

Show Me A Hero begins with Nick Wasiscko (Oscar Isaac) getting out of his car and passing by the burial plot of his father.  Interspersed without much words is a cutaway shot of Wasiscko's beeper going off to remind him to call 911.  We see this scene two other times.  The second time is at the beginning of part 4, when we then see Nick looking at a person and thinking it is his father; although we do not see Nick regurgitating his Maalox.  The final time is at the end; which is the culmination of what would turn out to be his final day in life.  You see, on October 29, 1993, Nick Wasiscko killed himself right near his father's burial plot.  It was the culmination of a spiral which would have Mr. Wasiscko not be on a ballot on election day for the first time in 8 years.  By that point in his life, although married to a smart person and effectively free from the grind of Yonkers politics, Nick Wasiscko was despondent over a perceived investigation into finances accrued during his time as Mayor: although nothing relating to corruption was ever found. 

This reminded me of a technique Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu has used in his movies.  In that, Innaritu begins his films with a scene or dream that may mean something.  It is repeated at the end, only this time in an alternate fashion under a different point of view and/or an added context.  I must say I was impressed with this storytelling technique; which I think is more of a Paul Haggis trademark than you would expect from David Simon.  Initially, I did not place the scenes at the graveyard as being flash forwards until the final 20 minutes or so for Part 6.  The giveaway for me was seeing Oscar Isaac wearing the same green turtleneck as you see when Show Me A Hero starts.  That is when I realized the initial scenes at the graveyard would be repeated and enhanced at the end.  And indeed it does, coupled with a David Simon trademark ending montage and where are the rest now texts interspersed. 

This brings me to another observance about Show Me A Hero that rather stunned me.  In past David Simon series such as Homicide, The Wire, Generation Kill and Treme; characters eventually move on, many living yet some having passed.  Yet, particularly regarding The Wire, we are left with the realization that while there are changes, nothing really has changed.  Think of it: the Baltimore Homicide unit still fights an uphill cause of righting the wrongs of the city; The Game still continues even though as Slim Charles says "It just got more fierce"; we are still in Iraq and in other military zones in the Middle East; and New Orleans is still in a lengthy process of recovering. 

It is rather different in Show Me A Hero.  That is because the public housing project in Yonkers works, even to this day with some 200 projects developed each year.  Those still alive are still living in Yonkers and/or Westchester County, yet there lives are a heck of a lot better than decades prior.  As well, the legal matters regarding the City of Yonkers were eventually settled....in 2007!  None the less, they are settled.  Possibly the one leading constant in the past 28 years has been Judge Leonard B. Sand still on the bench; albeit as a senior district court judge but still quite active. 

In part 1 of this essay, I alluded to the Clarke Peters character,  Robert Mayhawk, as plausibly being a fictional composite character of the many different community organizers and land developers that were involved in the early 1990s.  I suppose I am correct in this assessment, as can be witnessed in the final end credits montage of the actor and his/her real life counterpart.  There clearly is not one for Clarke Peters.  I do feel however that Mr. Peters' role is an important piece of the puzzle when examining the matters pertaining to the housing project.  As well, similar to Peters' roles as Lester Freamon in The Wire and Big Chief in Treme, there is a sense of moral clarity and realistic ideals that his character provides to others.  I think of a scene in part 6, where Mayhawk, Oscar Newman (Peter Riegert) and others are hosting a seminar for proper neighbor policy.  Clearly, many of the African-American homeowners are feeling belittled and/or insulted.  Yet, Mayhawk responds with what TV Tropes likes to call an armor-piercing question.  I'm paraphrasing here, but what is said is that in wanting a better life, most things would be different.  Not necessarily better, but different.  So with that in mind, is it better to be in a different environment with a promising future, or a bleak future with same results?  Well, as we see towards the end, the homeowners understand these matters and are able to make different yet better lives for themselves.  Obviously it is best shown with Doreen Henderson (Natalie Paul), who has indeed become an important figure in the community. 

Show Me A Hero utilizes songs from two distinct singer songwriters.  One is Bruce Springsteen, which at times seems like during the run of the miniseries we are hearing a greatest hits package.  It is quite meticulously done and fits the scenes these songs are placed in.  A more specific and yet important example is Steve Earle.  Mr. Earle has appeared in supporting roles in The Wire and Treme; and in Show Me A Hero a deep cut from his album The Hard Way is played at the end of every installment.  It is a song named When The People Find Out.  Here is the initial recording from 1990. 

In the last installment, a newer acoustic version is heard which is more somber.  I personally prefer the newer version, which is far more biting and attentive to Earle's lyrical wisdom.  Now, there is another song played on the last installment which I am not too sure what it is, though it sounds quite good.

One final impression Show Me A Hero had on me, and I think I am not alone in this regard.  I found this miniseries to be more promising and important than a film Paul Haggis did 10 years ago.  That movie of course was Crash, which I did like and still think was a surprise gem in 2005; I do not think it was worthy of a Best Picture Oscar, as I would have preferred Munich or Syriana as better movies that year.  None the less, this is one of Mr. Haggis' best projects he has done recently.  And one of two this year, the other being his involvement in the Alex Gibney documentary Going Clear; of which I mentioned in an earlier post.

Quite honestly, I am looking forward to what will be the next David Simon series or film he and his team at Blown Deadline have up their sleeve.  Understandably, initiating a newer series or film or even book will take time; yet I look forward when the time comes.  I feel the same way for Paul Haggis and his team at Pretty Pictures.  Indeed, on a different matter, I am glad to see Mr. Haggis not need Scientology to advance in his endeavors.

Oh, one final thing.  The person in elderly care in Part 1 of Show Me A Hero looked fairly familiar.  I have now found out the actor was Rene Auberjonois; quite a nice cameo from one of the more iconic Hey, It's That Guy actors out there.  Here is one of his more known roles.

In short, Show Me A Hero is on my shortlist for the best television in 2015; it is already for me the best miniseries.  If this were a movie, it would definitely be among the best of this year.  In fact, if Show Me A Hero cannot get Emmy nominations; I do not see why it should not receive Oscar nominations.  It is that good.

All The Pieces Matter,

Robert

PS.  Related to Scientology.  I am becoming convinced that the Church of Scientology had a role in the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.  I will explain more soon.

Must I write about this again?

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". 

Talk to you pretty soon,

Robert

Sen. John McCain is not a war hero

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. 

Talk to you soon on something a bit lighter:),

Robert

The unforgivable crime

"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,

Robert

In Cold Blood

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. 

Twists of Fate

The word genius is often overstated in many different fields of study.  This is particularly true when songwriting and performing is involved.  Get a hit album or song or tour, everyone will flock to see what is next.  Yet, if we find that the artist is inauthentic, no amount of hits and instant success will mean much of anything.  Last year, this song was number one for a few weeks.

Many liked it initially.  I was not one of them.  My reaction was and is; Magic!, 311 called.  They said they want their songs and ideas back.

Those bands are not what I came to discuss.  Last Friday, I went to see Love and Mercy.  It is in some way a vanity project for Bill Pohlad, the director writer and producer of this film, but in a good way.  Though not a thorough docudrama; it looks at certain eras in the incredible life of Brian Wilson.  Mr. Wilson, who for many years was for the leading figure in The Beach Boys , is a person in the music scene in which the word genius is a bit of an understatement.  There was a certain time in the 1960s when only The Beatles were more influential than The Beach Boys. 

Certainly anyone that is familiar with Brian Wilson know of his, no other way to put it, mental illness which thankfully has been treated well from the nadir of his problems during the 1970s.  In a unique filmmaking technique, Pohlad uses two different actors to indicate different stages of Mr. Wilson's life in a non-linear fashion.  Paul Dano portrays Brian Wilson during the years The Beach Boys had their biggest hits and most creative albums.  Interestingly, the emphasis is on the album recordings than the touring.  We get to see the creative genius in his element when Pet Sounds and later Smile are being made.  And yet with Dano, we see Mr. Wilson being increasingly unable to cope with his mental illness. 

John Cusack portrays Brian Wilson in another time; the mid to late 1980s when the worst of the illness had ended; yet also at a point in his life when Mr. Wilson began to love again when meeting his future wife Melinda (played by Elizabeth Banks) and subsequently breaking ties with his therapist/legal guardian, the highly unorthodox and controversial Eugene Landy (played here with great relish by Paul Giamatti).  There is much to say about these roles; the duality of a man being broken and a man being healed in full for example.  None the less, in short, Love and Mercy is a well made and fittingly great summer movie that is indicative of the need to heal and move forward in life. 

As I mentioned, Bran Wilson was able to heal and is today as prolific as ever.  Mr. Wilson has a new album coming out including some interesting duets.  And he is touring a bit this summer; in fact, fellow Beach Boy Alan Jardine is coming along.  To note, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston continue to utilize the Beach Boys trademark when they go out on the road.  It is quite a long story to explain; suffice to say, as even intimated in Love And Mercy, Wilson and Love who are first cousins had differing ideas of artistry and commercialism.  Yet, there were and are other artists from Mr. Wilson's sphere of influence who have not healed. 

By that I do not mean Brian's brothers Carl and Dennis.  Though both have since passed away, there deaths were different in many respects.  Dennis Wilson died in 1983 at age 39 by drowning while searching for some keepsakes near his boat. Sad to say, Dennis Wilson was in a drunken stupor at the time.  Carl Wilson, who had the least personal issues of the brothers, passed away in 1998 before turning 52 as a result of lung cancer.  Yet, a musician that was part of The Wrecking Crew of session musicians who were a significant part of the Beach Boys sound has not faired so well.

Jim Gordon had also lived somewhat of a normal like yet dysfunctional childhood.  Mr. Gordon had an uncanny knack for rhythm and arrangements; by age 18 he was drumming for The Everly Brothers.  During the 1960s and 1970s, you could not listen to an album or hear the radio without hearing Jim Gordon drumming on a song.  He became a part of The Wrecking Crew, and later on Traffic and also an Eric Clapton offshoot, Derek and the Dominoes.  In fact, in one of Clapton's best known songs, Layla:

That is Jim Gordon playing the piano from the key change onward.  Apparently, Mr. Gordon rewrote and arranged this section, what I like to call the Goodfellas section, as a release from the anguish of Clapton's lyrics. It is quite a beautiful piece of music, showing a hidden genius side not well known for a multi-faceted drummer.

Unfortunately, Jim Gordon was also a paranoid individual that heard voices in his head.  And many of those voices belonged for some reason or another to his mother for reasons not entirely known.  Yet, unlike Brain Wilson, Jim Gordon did not pull back from the brink.  In 1983, on a June afternoon, Mr. Gordon went over to the house he grew up in that was still the residence of his mother.  In order to get the voices in his head to be gone, Mr. Gordon hit his mother nearly 20 times with a bat, followed by stabbing her to death. 

The only good that came out of it, if you can call it that, was the voices inside Jim Gordon's head stopped.  This however left Mr. Gordon's fate to the laws of justice in California.  With an insanity defense not viable, Mr. Gordon was found guilty of murder by a jury of his peers.  For at least the past 31 years, Mr. Gordon has been incarcerated at a California state prison that also serves as a psychiatric ward.  Twice he has been denied parole, still being considered a danger to society at large.  Two years ago, it was revealed that Mr. Gordon's mental illness was still quite apparent, including refusing medication and still believing his mother was alive. 

I do keep wondering what would have happened if Jim Gordon had gotten off of the drugs and alcohol, maybe take longer periods of time off at the height of his success, received medical care or even moved away from the scene.  As well, it is hard to believe now; yet Brian Wilson could have gone that same path in some form or another.  Both Wilson and Gordon are still alive, thank goodness.  Yet, all the same, Brian Wilson has reclaimed his life these past 32 years or so.  Jim Gordon had his life ruined by his own hands 32 years ago.  Mr. Wilson has been able to enjoy the rewards and honors of a spectacular life.  As for Mr. Gordon; we all know he will never be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  If he was kept out from the induction ceremonies for Traffic, how in the heck could Jim Gordon reach the Hall on his own? 

There is one other thing I am interested in discovering.  Has there been any indication that Brian Wilson has Asperger's Syndrome and/or is on the autistic spectrum?  I am not certain, yet the symptoms and traits are apparent, more so now than in his younger years. 

Well, that is something that has been on my mind recently.  It has taken me at least 2 drafts to get my ideas across yet I do hope this has been beneficial.  More will be coming; including video blogs, Q&A matters, and yes I still have my drafts for a probable Doug movie to be considered.  I also have updated my Microsoft Office software, so more writings and multimedia are forthcoming. 

Talk to you all fairly soon,

Robert

Why have one when you can have at least two?

This is getting beyond ridiculous and is frankly becoming saddening and maddening.  Sen. and Sec. Of State Hillary Rodham Clinton should have been given the coronation she deserves, which I hope is still probable given the recent Quinnipiac poll indicating Mrs. Clinton leading all possible Republican Presidential contenders.  Here is the big problem: not only are the Republican and Independent candidates piling up, so are the Democrats. 

Earlier today, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley threw his hat into the ring as another candidate running to the left of Sen. Clinton.  A proposition which is impossible given Sec. Of State Clinton is the most liberal candidate running in decades.  None the less, the clown car seems to be adding Democrats to the field when there should not be any other Democrats.  This includes President Barack Obama whom we know plans on running for a third term.  And to add another person, Sen. Lincoln Chafee who was initially a Republican that lost his senate seat to a Democrat (Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse) and two years ago became himself a registered Democrat; Sen. Chafee is also running for President. 

Holy shit.  Why cannot the political world and much of the real world accept the fact that for the last 23 years, we needed the Clinton family running us all?  When is it ever going to get to these opponents' head that nobody in any political and social ideal can ever return to a 1992 or earlier world mindset?  The 1980s era has ended.  The era where anyone that was not a conservative would be fucked over is never coming back.  What Ron Silver said during President Bill Clinton's inauguration ceremonies is true then as it true now.  The White House now belongs to us, the oppressed.  Look; people my age were never supposed to live this long.  If President Ronald Reagan and his people had their way; the world would have ended by 1983 or 1984 due to nuclear war.  Those that survived would be living in a Mad Max society, where people would ask "Who Killed The World?" 

President Clinton was able to end this madness if only a short while.  Sad to say, these last 15 years have been bad for the world and for us all.  We need Sen. Clinton to reclaim the throne and become the President she needs to be.  And yet, there is this sinking feeling that we will not be getting a Clinton return.  For anyone that relishes in the idea of sabotaging the much needed coronation; you should be shutting up before your problems get revealed.  I know I have mentioned Michael Rivero recently; the person who just will not get over his life being "ruined" in the aftermath of Vincent Foster's death.  To this I say to him: the check did not clear 22 years ago.  What makes you think you will get it now? 

For those not aware, when someone doth protest much, there is usually a hidden reason why.  If I am complaining about something that I might be doing in private; do not be surprised if when my secrets are revealed, I am looked down upon regarding my hypocrisy.  I may have more to say on this; though I do not think it is necessary. 

In any event, having too many candidates running for one office will negate the relevancy of being a President.  This may not end well. 

And just like the era of 80s excess has ended, the era of sitcom paint-by-numbers has ended.

Talk to you soon,

Robert

PS.  As I was finishing this essay, word came that Beau Biden, Delaware Attorney General and a potential Gubernatorial nominee, has died of brain cancer.  This is a very shocking event that I did not see coming. My condolences to the Biden family and his loved ones. 

Victimizing the Agressors

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. 

Good Night and Keep Calm,

Robert