Opuscula S*T*U*P*I*D !

HOW STUPID CAN LEFTISTS BE?

I think the answer is “beyond measure.”

 

THE CASUAL “DEFINITION“ of “crazy” — deranged — is, “someone repeatedly trying to do something the same way every time and always failing.”

The leftists in North America and Europe — and maybe the rest of the world, too — believe that Israel must “negotiate” with the PLO/PFLP and Hamas.

HOW CAN YOU NEGOTIATE WITH SOMEONE WHO WON’T COME TO THE TABLE? IT CANNOT BE DONE.

Forget Zoom, forget Skype, forget Google’s Duo, and don’t even consider Israeli developed WhatsApp.

Hamas’ leadership still insists its sole purpose in being is to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Jews, Muslims, others — it makes no difference — all Israelis are destined to be swept into the sea.

The PLO/PFLP under the two-faced leadership of Abu Mazen, a/k/a Mahmoud Abbas, sends terrorists into Israel to kill whenever and whomever possible. Abu Mazen preaches “peace” to the non-Arabic-speaking world while preaching murder to those under his thumb.

The leftists claim that if Israel annexes JEWISH communities — that is, applies Israeli law — that the PLO/PFLP and Hamas will attack Israel.

THE PLO/PFLP & HAMAS ARE ATTACKING ISRAELI CIVILIANS EVERY DAY.

So what DIFFERENCE does it make; “annexation” or no “annexation,” the Muslims of the PLO, etc. are attacking Israelis — including Israeli Arabs — every day.

Abu Mazen rejected — sight unseen — Trump’s proposed peace plan that would have guaranteed him a “Palestinian” state, something he CLAIMS he wants.

Why would he reject a plan that gives him much of what he wants?

Two possible reasons.

Reason 1: Israel still would exist; he cannot have that.

Reason 2: The new state would include Gaza, and he cannot allow Hamas to rule any part of “Palestine.” He is, rightly, afraid of Hamas.

There is zero chance that Hamas would accept PLO/PFLP control, ESPECIALLY if Abu Mazen was willing to give up his “all or nothing” position.

ISRAEL IS AN APARTHEID STATE

According to the know-nothing leftists, Arabs of all varieties, are discriminated against by the Euro-Jews who once were the Jewish majority. (The Euro-Jews still largely control the political parties, but that, too, is changing.)

It IS true — less now than before, but still — that Euro-Jews discriminate against people with a dark(er) skin. But the Euro-Jews’ discrimination is against Sefardi and Mizrachi Jews as well — the Euro-Jew can’t distinguish between an Israeli Arab and an Israeli from, say, Iraq or Ethiopia. (Personal experience.)

Hue not withstanding, there ARE Israeli Arabs:

  * Serving on the Supreme court

  * Serving as Members of Knesset (parliament)

  * Reaching command ranks in the military and police

  * Teaching in Israeli universities

and the list goes on.

Israel even has Israeli Arabs in the Knesset who want to destroy Israel.

Even “The Squad” doesn’t propose to destroy the U.S. by giving aid and comfort to an enemy; they hope to destroy the U.S. by replacing democracy with leftist totalitarianism.

Claiming that Israel is an “apartheid state” uncovers the stupidity of a person who
  (a) Never has been to Israel and seen the integration

  (b) Cannot read a dictionary definition of “apartheid”

  (c) Blindly follows people to whom (a) and (b) apply

THE ISRAELI ARMY & POLICE KILL “INNOCENT” MUSLIMS

How “innocent” is a person who drives his car into a woman at a check point. (There is video showing this.)

How “innocent” are people who attack and slaughter men, women, and children in their home?

How “innocent” are people who blow up buses and restaurants?

How “innocent” is the PLO/PFLP and Hamas when they hide behind children and send bombs into Israel?

How “innocent” are governments (Hamas, PLO/PFLP) who raise their children to be martyrs?

Admittedly, there ARE mistakes, but taken as a whole, the mistakes are few and, given the constant terrorist attacks, unfortunate but understandable.

These “innocents” even angered PETA — they loaded a donkey with explosives and tried to send it into an Israeli village to blow up Jews. PETA was upset because the donkey would have died; killing innocent Jews was of no concern.

Donald’s right (https://tinyurl.com/yazfw3hy =)

 

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Sources

Geo. Carlin on stupid people (https://tinyurl.com/y74yzxzg )

Opuscula PLO/PFLP blocks Sick “Palestinians” From Israeli medics

BEFORE ANYONE (FALSELY) CLAIMS THAT ISRAEL prevents sick residents of the PLO/PFLP and Hamas controlled areas from accessing medical care in Israel, LEARN THE FACTS.

It is NOT Israel that prevents “Palestinian” access to Israeli medical care. The PLO/PFLP closed the border (to everyone except politicians and their near kin).

 

 

GRANTED, even before the PLO/PFLP and Hamas closed the border, getting medical care in Israel oft times was difficult.

That might be because too many “Palestinians” brought bombs and other weapons with them into Israel to slaughter any Israeli they could attack.

But “Palestinians” have been coming to Israeli public and private hospitals from the beginning; even before there was a call for another “Palestinian” state. Jordan is the original Palestinian state and it controlled the area where Egyptian Yassar Arafat wanted to create a new state. Egypt controlled Gaza and most Gazans have an “Egyptian connection.”

According to a headline in the English on-line version of Israel HaYom, PA's bid to halt application of sovereignty leaves Gaza patients in limbo¹ “The refusal to process requests for medical permits, aimed at protesting Israel's plan to begin applying sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria, has instead hurt many sick Palestinians.”

Jomaa al-Najjar was desperate to send his 2-month-old daughter Joud out of the Gaza Strip to Israel for urgent medical treatment for epilepsy. But with the Palestinian Authority refusing to relay his request, there was no way to coordinate her transfer.

This week, she died in a Gaza hospital.

Who killed the child?

Mahmoud Abbas.

Last month, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the authority was no longer bound by previous agreements with Israel going back to the 1990s, which created the PA. He suspended all ties with Israel, even security coordination.

The Palestinians view Israel's proposed sovereignty initiative in the Jordan Valley and some settlements as an existential threat because it would make it virtually impossible to create a viable Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and east Jerusalem.

Never mind that the so-called Trump Plan — a plan that Abbas refused to even review — did create a “Palestinian” state in Israel that included the PLO/PFLP and Hamas-controlled Gaza.

"We are on the brink of medical chaos," said a spokesperson for Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, a humanitarian group. It said the PA Health Ministry has also stopped covering the cost of treatment in Israeli hospitals, meaning that organ transplant patients are unable to return for post-surgery rehabilitation. The group has appealed to Israeli authorities to ensure the continued movement of Palestinian patients to Israel for treatment.

It is the PLO/PFLP and Hamas that are preventing their citizens from treatment in Israel. Given that Israel is treating patients from area countries, sometimes via an intermediate country such as Cyprus, it is highly unlikely that Israel would refuse to treat any legitimate patient from anywhere. Worst case, Israel could bill the patient’s government, even realizing there is little chance of collecting.

Patients requiring advanced treatment usually travel to east Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, or even in Israel proper. They need Israeli permission for all three. Egypt has sealed its border with Gaza since March due to the coronavirus.

Hamas has no direct contact with Israel but allows a PA-run liaison office in Gaza to coordinate the entry and exit of medical patients, even during the wars.

According to the Israel HaYom posting, “The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, a Gaza nonprofit, briefly stepped in to help coordinate the permits but stopped after Israeli media reported the arrangement.”

Ibrahim Melhem, a Palestinian Authority spokesman in Judea and Samaria, defended the decision to cut ties.

"Israel is the occupying power on the borders of Gaza and it bears responsibility for the results of delaying or preventing patients from crossing to hospitals in Jerusalem and [Judea and Samaria]," he said.

Gisha, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that advocates for Palestinian freedom of movement, said Israel, the PA, and Hamas must protect that right. It called on Israel to "identify an immediate solution to meet the urgent needs of Gaza's residents for movement, especially patients in need of life-saving treatment."

But if the PLO/PFLP and Hamas refuse to even talk to Israel HOW can Melhem honestly claim that Israel “bears responsibility for the results of delaying or preventing patients from crossing to hospitals”​ As for Gisha, this apparently left-wing NGO also refuses to lay the blame where it belongs: squarely at the feet of the PLO/PFLP and Hamas “leadership.” Rather than demanding that Israel "identify an immediate solution to meet the urgent needs of Gaza's residents for movement, especially patients in need of life-saving treatment" it should be pressing the PLO/PFLP and Hamas to do exactly what it demands of Israel.

The world undoubtedly will hear only the cries of Ibrahim Melhem and Gisha, blaming the lack of access to health care in Israel on Israel.

True, it often is difficult and time consuming to get permission to cross into Israel for medical care. But it was being done.

In January, close to 3,000 Gazans left for treatment via the Erez crossing with Israel, according to UN figures. That number plunged in the following months as authorities heavily restricted travel to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but 188 crossed in April.

It is not Israel that is preventing the residents of the PLO/PFLP and Hamas areas from accessing medical care in Israel. It is the pride of Mahmoud Abbas that has closed the borders.

For want of a nail²

Had Israels neighbors accepted the new state in 1948, Israel would be tiny and Jordan/Palestine would be huge.

Had Israel’s neighbors not continued to attack the small country,

*  Syria still would be in control of the Golan Heights

*  Jordan still wold be in control of Jerusalem (and restricting access to Jewish sites)

*  The PLO/PFLP and Hamas probably would not exist as Jordan and Egypt would put them down early on.

 

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Sources

1. Israel HaYom: https://tinyurl.com/yaxmh834

2. For want of a nail: https://tinyurl.com/n7sb629

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Blame PLO/PFLP

OpusculaWhere is apartheid Practiced today? The Muslim states

WHILE ANTI-ZIONISTS AND ANTI-SEMITES falsely condemn Israel as an “apartheid” state, they manage to ignore the real apartheid Muslim countries.

In Israel, an Arab who is an Israeli citizen can become a member of Knesset, sit on the Israeli Supreme Court and as judges in lower courts, be a soldier, be a cop. The Israeli Arab can do any job for which he is qualified. He can go to any Israeli university (if he meets the entrance exams — just like a non-Arab Israeli).

While individuals may discriminate against other individuals (even though not legally), the state and its municipalities may not and do not discriminate.

 

Merriam-Webster definition of “Apartheid”

 

”PALESTINIANS” in Muslim countries, even when they are a majority (e.g., Jordan) suffer apartheid.

Likewise Lebanon.

Both Jordan and Lebanon, and Syria, too, could have — but did not — extend citizenship to the “Palestinians” who left their homes in 1948 to clear the way for the “glorious” invading armies from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

These states did not offer citizenship to those who ran away, nor do they offer citizenship to the children of the runaways, many of whom fester in UN “refugee” camps. (While the camps are not spas, the UN provides all the residents’ needs.)

“Palestinians” who seek work in other Muslim countries, such as the Gulf states, are reportedly treated as serfs, little more than low-paid disposable workers.

The “Palestinians” in the PLO/PFLP-controlled areas of Israel at least can work in Israel for better wages than they would receive in the neighboring countries, and certainly much more than in “Palestine.”
The ability to earn a decent income working in Israel has been stopped by Abu Mazen who has unilaterally canceled all agreements with Israel; agreements that permitted some “Palestinians” to work in Israel, to seek medical treatment in Israel (unless the person is a high-ranking PLO/PFLP official or a relative of such a person).

Since those Muslims under Abu Mazen’s thumb cannot enter Israel, they are “stuck” in the PLO/PFLP-controlled areas. Anyone in the PLO/PFLP area who wants to travel anywhere must go via Israel.

Europe? Via Israel to Amman.

Syria? Via Israel to Jordan.

Egypt? Via Israel to Jordan.

Likewise anyone who wants to visit the area must travel via Israel.

Since, for Abu Mazen, there are no travel agreements, even anti-Israel U.S. congresswomen cannot get to the PLO/PFLP-controlled areas.

Of course it is all Israel’s fault.

Did Israel refuse to negotiate with the PLO/PFLP?

No, Abu Mazen decided there could be no negotiations.

Did Israel close the border to “Palestinians” who want to work in Israel.

No. Abu Mazen decided to close the border.

Qatar has sent TWO (2) planeloads of medical supplies to Abu Mazen.

Abu Mazen has REFUSED BOTH planeloads of supplies because Qatar

   (a) did not consult with him first

   (b) the planes landed at Lod, Israel’s main international airport.

Abu Mazen lacks an airport big enough to accommodate the Qatari airplane.

Israel, although lacking diplomatic relations with Qatar, allowed the planes to land in Israel and allowed the medical supplies to be off-loaded for delivery to “Palestine.”

What became of the medical supplies is an unknown. Sent back to Qatar? Warehouse in Israel until Abu Mazen comes to his senses? Used by Israel for its citizens without regard to religion?

Israel is NOT an apartheid state, no matter how many liberals claim it is so.

Jordan is an apartheid state.

Lebanon is an apartheid state.

Syria is an apartheid state.

The PLO/PFLP area, while not a state, practices apartheid by allowing only Muslims to live within its boundaries.

Likewise Gaza is an apartheid area. No Jews allowed, and only a few non-Muslims tolerated.

How, given the definition of apartheid, can Israel be called an apartheid state?

Why, given the definition of apartheid, are Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, et al, NOT consider apartheid states?

Why, given the definition of apartheid, are the PLO/PFLP and Gaza governments NOT identified as apartheid governments?

 

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comments on Apartheid

Opuscula Alfred E. Neuman Is the only decent Candidate in 2020

THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION leaves me with three choices:

1.  Donald John Trump

2.   Jos. Robinette Biden Jr.

3.  Alfred E. Neuman

Of the three, two are unworthy of my vote.

The third is a cartoon character from EC Comics’ Mad Magazine.

 

 

Trump lost my vote when he opened his mouth at his rally in Tulsa OK.

There was absolutely NOTHING “OK” in Oklahoma.

Trump’s answer to the rising number of positive tests for the Chinese virus: Stop testing!

Given the ease at which the virus spreads, testing is the surest — albeit admittedly not with 100% accuracy — means of identifying carriers. Carriers can be isolated and treated.

I did not see one — NOT ONE – person wearing a mask at the Trump rally.

I also did not see any evidence of “social distancing.”

Since their “leader” refuses to wear a mask — despite several White House staffers who tested positive for the virus — it is not surprising that the Oakies at the rally followed their leader.

I do NOT plan any trips in the near future to Sooner State.

He threatens to being the GOP convention to Jacksonville FL.

Jacksonville has a huge Navy presence. I suggest he order at least one of the Navy’s hospital ships to tie up at Naval Station Mayport.

If the convention is typical of political conventions of both major parties, the proverbial “drunken sailors” should remain in quarters until the drunken conventioneers leave town.

Trump is, in my opinion, a disgrace.

His tweets are provocative and insulting.

His foot-in-mouth gaffes are without either number or redeeming social value.

He needs a script writer and someone to make certain he follows the script.

He HAS tried to keep his campaign promises. The Democrats have thwarted him at every turn.

On the other hand, working for POTUS is a revolving door. Trump apparently only wants sycophants; he reminds me of the Hans Christian Andersen story of the Emperor's New Clothes — tell me what I want to hear or, to borrow from the Queen in Louis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Off with his head!

 

Cartoon by Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star Tribune 15 FEB 18 (https://tinyurl.com/yc3ynmnc)
Minnesota is the state that gave America a great orator, Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. , and in recent days, the racist Ilhan Omar.

 

Jos. Robinette Biden Jr.

Biden is a confirmed loser.

This is his third or fourth run at the White House.

The media, even the liberal, leftist media points out his confusion when he ties to make a point; a point he often forgets before his finishes the preamble.

 

Candidate in action
Watch https://tinyurl.com/y6vkh4oq

 

Biden’s second biggest handicap; his first being definite signs of senility at only 77 years of age, is being Obama’s vice president.

Obama is the reason Trump is president.

Never mind that BOTH candidates have been accused of disrespecting women and minorities. (Both candidates deny these allegations.)

 

Is this the best we can do?

If Messrs. Trump and Biden are the best America has to offer, it is no wonder that the nation is rapidly becoming a laughingstock.

It did not start with Trump, although he has certainly added fuel to the fire. His predecessor did more damage to America’s image than anyone previously. Ms. Clinton’s lies as Secretary of State and post-election antics, coupled with the constant attacks by a far-left Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, along with the mutterings of “The Squad” of anti-American racists have farther reduced America in the eyes of the world.

 

I’m Mad about Alfred E.

This will be my 18th presidential election.

In ever previous election, I voted for the person who I though could best serve the country. The nation has survived this long despite some presidents who this scrivener is glad served only one term. The last good president, at least in my opinion, was Harry S Truman. Some others were “OK”.

Presidential sex scandals don’t raise eyebrows in Europe where sexual peccadilloes are commonplace.

But stupidity.

Senility.

These are things that disgrace the nation.

No matter who wins in November, America loses.

For the first time in my voting career I will vote for an imaginary candidate: Alfred E. Neuman.

 

Mad Magazine cover for July 1968. How many pols can you identify ?
(https://tinyurl.com/ydz8d4cs)

 

Alfred E. was a creation Harvey Kurtzman and was introduced to the world via William M. Gaines’ MAD magazine in 1952. He's as qualified as either Trump or Biden. He is at least 35 years old. He was “born” in the U.S.

He even has a campaign slogan: “What, Me Worry?”

I think maybe Trump has taken that slogan and applied it to the Chinese virus, since neither he nor his followers don masks or maintain social distancing” Presidents should set a positive example.

Trump does not.

On the other hand, Biden may forget how to get to the Executive Office from the presidential bedroom.

For America, it is a lose-lose election.

No matter who wins, America loses.

Can America survive these candidates?

Will America recover from their occupancy of the White House?

Others also wonder. The Dry Bones blog (https://tinyurl.com/rrrd6uk)

 

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Election 2020

OpusculaHeadline writer Prefers negative, Ignores positive

THIS WILL BE SHORT.

 

 

THERE WAS A REPORT released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) on 4 June 2020.

Reuters¹ ran a story about the report on 5 June. The publication’s headline reads

Self-driving cars might only prevent a third of crashes, study shows

The headline and article were picked up by numerous other publications.

According to the Goddard & Wagoner site² There are approximately 6 million accidents that take place each year in the U.S. and 90 lives will be lost in car accidents each day. Every year car accidents will cause 3 million people to be injured and more than two million will sustain serious, permanent injuries. 

Let’s see. By simple math, 1/3rd of 6 million would be — 2 million accidents avoided.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC)³, In 2019, an estimated 38,800 people lost their lives to car crashes – a 2% decline from 2018 (39,404 deaths) and a 4% decline from 2017 (40,231 deaths). About 4.4 million people were injured seriously enough to require medical attention in crashes last year – also a 2% decrease over 2018 figures.

If 1/3rd if the fatalities for 2019 were avoided, that would be 1,200 lives not lost in traffic mishaps.

Reducing by 1/3rd the 4.4 million people injured in traffic accidents would eliminate 1,452,000 injuries.

Granted, the 1/3rd reduction probably is not “across the board,” but if the number of accidents is down, the number of fatalities and injuries logically also will be down.

The New York Times⁴ offers the only positive headline

Self-Driving Sector Contends Its Cars Can Prevent Many More Crashes Than Insurance Study Says

reporting that the self-driving industry quickly responded that its cars were programmed to prevent a vastly higher number of potential crash causes, including more complex errors caused by drivers making inadequate or incorrect evasive maneuvers.

Taking those design choices into account, autonomous vehicles could avoid some 72% of crashes, said Partners for Automated Vehicle Education, a consortium of self-driving technology companies.

Aside from the fact the an organization cannot “say” anything — a spokesperson may speak for the organization — readers of both the IIHS and the Partners for Automated Vehicle Education reports will have to decide what to believe. At least the NYT cited its source.

 

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Sources

1. Reuters: https://tinyurl.com/y9gfclnx

2. Goddard & Wagoner: https://tinyurl.com/y9roq4jj

3. NSC: https://tinyurl.com/yaw65hsr

4. NYT: https://tinyurl.com/y8qm74vu

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Headlines

OpusculaDefund police: What happens? Anarchy reigns

PRAY FOR THE WELFARE OF THE GOVERNMENT, for without the fear of it, man would swallow his fellow alive." Rabbi Chanina the deputy High Priest in Ethics of the Fathers 3:2

Unless someone is a total, anti-Semitic fool — and there are those — Chanina’s words ring true as protesters call to “defund the police.”

 

Gary Varvel editorial carton for 10 JUN 20 (https://tinyurl.com/ybqa9gvp)

 

ADMITTEDLY, there ARE bad cops. One bad cop is one too many.

Admittedly, cops have killed people sans justification.

Admittedly, cops need better training and psychological testing to weed out those men and women who can’t “keep their cool” in a charged situation.

This scrivener would be a horrible cop.

My First Born is a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO), a nicer name, I think, than “cop.” I am proud to say that, unlike his father, he has proven he can “keep his cool.” He’s a good cop.

Admittedly, the “media” of all types, rarely provides a complete story.

Admittedly, there are agitators who lurk to take advantage of situations, preferring to protest and destroy rather than seek the truth or, as the late Paul Harvey would say, hear “the rest of the story.”

Admittedly “things” could, and should, be “better.”

In this time of the Chinese virus du jour, protesters should — but many do not — wear masks and maintain ”social distancing.” Video after video after still more videos show protesters standing shoulder to shoulder with uncovered faces. These people CLAIM to stand up for others while they casually infect others with the disease. This is “good citizenship?”

 

Blame someone else

The protesters blame America’s problems on everyone BUT themselves. That’s the malady of the age of entitlement combined with young adulthood.

A wiser man once said if his son was not a Communist by the time he was 20, the man would disown his son.

He added that if he son still was s Communist when he was 30, he would disown his son.

His point: At a certain age, many young people look for ways to rebel against their parents’ ways, they know the can do things better. And then reality sets in.

Defund the police is a 20-something’s response. At 30, the same person, unless he or she is a criminal, will have done a 180 degree turn and supports the cops.

It’s natural. It’s normal.

It is unfortunate that protesting often turns into rioting. Rioters STUPIDLY burn down their own neighborhoods. People providing services to the neighborhoods are forced out — and no one wants to come in to replace them. Who gets hurt? The neighborhood. Ergo: STUPID.

Insurance rates go up faster than a helium balloon and make coverage impossible.

Did I mention this “cutting off the nose to spite oneself” is STUPID?

 

The price for civil disobedience

It is one thing to protest in a park.

It is another to protest on a sidewalk.

It is yet another thing to protest in the streets.

Unless all drivers are in sympathy with the protesters, the street blockers only engender hate for their cause.

When the protesters go into neighborhoods, many people “lock and load.”

There are very strict laws preventing otherwise law-abiding citizens from grabbing their gun and heading into the street to confront protesters.

But there also are laws that allow a person to defend himself/herself and those close to him/her.

My son, the LEO, has impressed these laws on me and frequently reminds me of them. As I wrote earlier, HE has the disposition of a good LEO; I do not.

Protesters, when they inconvenience the general public generate animosity from the people they should be courting, the people who are not (fully) opposed to the protesters’ cause.

When rioters integrate into the protesters’ groups and threaten the people, animosity often morphs into antagonism. The protesters’ cause is diminished.

In Miami FL, peaceful protesters managed to protect some commercial properties — in one case, a pharmacy — from rioters. Unfortunately, this proved the exception to the rule (but deserves to be recognized).

 

Where are the protesters?

Where are the protesters when blacks kill blacks?

Maybe there is a small demonstration in the victim’s neighborhood, and occasionally there will be a march, but where are the Al Sharptons, the Malcolm Xs, the Jessie Jacksons? Where are the “new” black leaders — the ones touted by Time as “12 New Faces of Black Leadership” (https://tinyurl.com/ybv2st3o)?

Where are these "leaders" when a black kills a non-black?

Where are these "leaders" when a Latino is killed — by any one of any hue?

Where are these "leaders" when a cop is abused; will anyone stand up for a person who may have just saved a life?

Where are these "leaders" when someone shoots at firemen or medics?

Where are these "leaders" to condemn destruction of property and injury of anyone, protester or not?

Where are these "leaders" when blacks sell drugs to kids (as well as “consenting” adults)?

Where are these "leaders" to promote “see something, say something”? When a crime is committed by a black against blacks, no one sees anything, no one knows anything. Amazing. (Unfortunately, that applies to most self-defined ghetto communities without exception by race, religion, or politics.) If you don’t like the word “ghetto,” substitute “insular” instead. It means the same, but sounds nicer.

Not enough “face time” on the media of various types to suit the leaders, old and new?

Black leadership? Based on its absence, it must be a farce conjured up by white editors safely sequestered from the events on the streets beneath them.

 

Bottom line

There are good cops and there are bad cops.

Police departments need to weed out the bad cops.

Police departments need to vet candidates more thoroughly.

Police departments need to pair experienced officers with new recruits, not for just a month or two, but for a year to assure the new officer can handle the pressure and abuse he, or she, will face.

To “defund” law enforcement agencies is NOT the answer.

Defunding law enforcement will result in anarchy.

If anyone thinks things are bad now, consider the option of anarchy.

 

Just for the record, ANARCHY as defined by Merriam-Webster:

1a : absence of government

1b : a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority

1c : a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government

2a : absence or denial of any authority or established order

2b : absence of order : disorder

Synonyms for anarchy: lawlessness, misrule

(https://tinyurl.com/y8v74mox and https://tinyurl.com/y9dqocnl)

 

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Anarchy

OpusculaWe need Paul Harvey To tell the world The Rest of the Story

”AND NOW YOU KNOW … THE REST OF THE STORY

Those were the words with which commentator Paul Harvey¹(right) always ended his radio program.

We need to hear “the rest of the story” on many stories we hear on tv and read in what’s left of the press. (Getting the full story from biased blogs is an impossibility.)

 

 

IT USED TO BE, back when this scrivener was a newspaper printer and later reporter than editor, that newspapers could be depended upon to give complete stories — ALL the facts — while most people realized both radio and tv only had time for headlines. Radio talk shows and “in depth” tv coverage too often was slanted to suit the deep pockets behind the program.

Unfortunately, newspapers are disappearing and newspaper readers are scarce.

Magazines that once crowded shelves in news kiosks and stores and offered differing points of view are, as with newspapers, a footnote in history.

 

BLM – really?

This entry is prompted by the GEORGE FLOYD murder at the hands of a Minneapolis cop. (The cop since has been arrested and charged with second degree murder²; three other cops are facing charges as accessories.)

As a reporter I learned to withhold judgment until both sides of the story are told.

It LOOKS like the cop had his knee on Floyd’s neck for some time.

Reports state that Floyd repeatedly complained he was unable to breathe.

I wasn’t there, so as far as this scrivener is concerned, until all the evidence is produced — on all sides — everything is “hearsay,” cell phone images not withstanding.

The media, getting its information from what sources — so far unnamed — reported that while Floyd had run-ins with the law in the past, he was now trying to redeem himself.

Going on less than a full accounting and background, protesters hit the streets in a number of cities and cartoonists around the world used their pens to attack America as “racist” and filled with “white extremists.”

Unfortunately, the more-or-less peaceful protesters were joined by opportunist looters and others taking an opportunity to destroy anything and everything. (What justifies spray painting obscenities on a synagogue in Los Angeles? It happened “in the name of George Floyd.”)

 

AND NOW another version of the George Floyd story is being told.

By a black woman, or, if you prefer, a “woman of color.”

Candice Owens posted a 17-minute video on Facebook³ presenting additional information and explaining why she does not support the protesters.

She does not give the cops a free pass, but she provides a great deal of background both on Floyd’s recidivistic proclivities and his multiple incarcerations up until the time of his latest arrest.

According to Owens, the stories that Floyd was making a new life for himself are not entirely true.

It is worth listening to her Facebook comments — assuming Facebook’s censors don’t remove it — to hear another side to the George Floyd story.

As with the protesters’ allegations, Owen’s report has the same “hearsay” value.

All the facts need to be brought forth by aggressive lawyers, both for the state and the family.

 

Blacks killing blacks

If people want to protest something, protest black-on-black murders.

Protest the Sergeant Schultz⁴ (right) attitude of “I know NOTHING” when the cops come around asking questions in order to catch the shooters.

Dade County (Miami FL and environs) has almost daily black-on-black killings and woundings. Many are indiscriminate; toddlers are as likely to be shot as seniors in their sleep.

Other cities, e.g., Chicago, are worse.

If a white person shots a black person, Al Sharpton and others of his ilk immediately are on the scene and in front of the ubiquitous tv cameras.

If a black person shoots a black person, the Al Sharptons are nowhere to be found.

If the video at https://youtu.be/ylAh9VjLTiU is any indication, black lives matter only to Caucasians. A young Washington (D.C.) woman tells a group or mostly white demonstrators to “go to Chicago” where there are more black-on-black killings.

 

Good cop, bad cop

Over the years I have known a lot of cops, “Law Enforcement Officers” or LEOs.

My first born is a LEO.

For many years I was assigned to the police and fire beat (as well as other things).

I’ve known good cops.

I’ve known cops who should never have been given a badge and a gun.

I’ve seen cops go out of their way to help people — without regard to race or ethnicity.

I’ve seen cops who simply had ugly, “in your face” personalities.

Most LEOs are somewhere in between.

Often the department’s top cop (chief of police, sheriff) determines which way the department’s LEOs interact with the public.

I have seen abuse heaped on LEOs just because they are LEOs. (I also have seen abuse of men and women in the military just because they were in the military.)

It is my understanding that the Minneapolis police department now is being investigated by a federal agency. Given the political climate in America today, no one will be satisfied with the investigation’s outcome. Still, an outside review is in order.

 

Bottom line

The bottom line is that the George Floyd incident never should have happened.

The cop should have managed to restrain Floyd in another manner. (I understand Floyd already was in handcuffs. All hearsay.) There were at least three other LEOs present.

Not the first to die

Eric Garner died on 17 July 2014 after New York City cop Daniel Pantaleo put him in a choke hold while arresting him.^{5, 6}

On December 3, 2014, a Richmond County grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo. This decision stirred public protests and rallies, with charges of police brutality made by protesters.

Pantaleo was fired on August 19, 2019, more than five years after Garner's death.

Six years seems ample time to train LEOs to find a way OTHER THAN deadly force to subdue a person, even a person on drugs and endangering everyone in the area. Neither Floyd nor Garner were armed combatants threatening to kill the LEOs.

LEOs make mistakes Cops, especially inexperienced cops, make mistakes. Some can be fatal. An area LEO killed a mentally ill man in Miami Gardens FL who attacked the cops with a broom stick.⁷

A cop in North Miami Beach FL wounded a mentally ill man’s caretaker because he thought the mentally ill man had a weapon.⁸ The “weapon” was a toy truck.

Caretaker accidentally shot in North Miami Beach FL

 

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Sources

1. Paul Harvey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Harvey

2. Murder definitions: https://tinyurl.com/yd36au5t

3. Candice Owens: https://tinyurl.com/y8m3du7d

4. John Banner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Banner

5. Eric Garner: https://tinyurl.com/puh38da

6. Eric Garner: https://tinyurl.com/y7dv8n77

7. Miami Gardens: https://tinyurl.com/y9obj2t2

8. North Miami: https://tinyurl.com/y73f58wq

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

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OpusculaRolling along: A tale of two Rollators

I AM, as many of my associates will attest, “unbalanced.” Sometime during my 76-plus years I lost my ability to stand at attention. (I was OK at 17 when I wore Air Force blue, but that was then and this is now.)

No one has been able to determine WHY I can’t stand without support, but I cannot.

Within the confines of the house, I’m pretty much “OK.” I can grab on to something or lean against a wall. But going out of the house — for a walk around the neighborhood or to a store — I need mechanical assistance.

 

 

I USED A CANE for awhile, but there were two main problems.

Problem 1, loose ankle biters. One attacked me — he had to run a full block to get to me — and as I tried to fend him off with the cane, I fell. The mutt’s owner finally arrived on the scene. I got to my feet and promptly fell again. Like my wife’s sneezes, once never is enough.

Problem 2, a lazy foot. Hiking what seemed to be more than a mile from Point A to Point H at Miami International Airport (MIA) my left leg couldn’t lift my foot. The cane was no help. Result: I fell trying to step on a moving walkway, a/k/a pedestrian mover. The folks behind me offered to help me up, but sometimes you need to DIY. Still, it was a nice gesture.

The bottom line was, and remains, that after so many steps, I need to sit a little.

My PCP, a/k/a family doctor, agreed that I was a candidate for a rollator.

A rollator is a walker with three or four wheels.

My insurance carrier agreed and I soon had a Medline rollator (right).

The Medline rollator was a major improvement over the cane — I could rest on the integrated seat. It also proved handy when I went to gatherings (pre Chinese virus) and there were too few chairs: BYOC, Bring Your Own chair.

I still carried the cane slung across the handlebars to fend off ankle biters.

The Medline was fine for short walks on relatively smooth surfaces.

The small, 6-inch, wheels objected to the change between the driveway and the street, and they were not designed for “off road” use.

The main problem, however, was that the handle bars’ maximum height of 35 inches caused me to have pains in my shoulders, neck, and triceps, and caused my sight to be fixed on the ground about three feet in front of the rollator.

In other words, I could not see to take evasive action when approached by a car or a mother pushing a perambulator (while concentrating on her cell phone [right]).

The guy who delivered the Medline told me that if I found the handlebars too low, as he saw I would, that I could replace the unit for one with higher handlebars.

That proved easier said than done, but in the end, a red Drive Nitro Tall RTL 10266-T was delivered.

The Drive Nitro, like the Medline, unfortunately is made in China. It’s design is alleged to be European. It is well thought out. Time will tell if any quality control was implemented anywhere — in China or when the rollator came into the U.S.

The new rollator lists a maximum handle height of 41 inches, a gain of six inches vs. the Medline’s 35-inch maximum height. Handlebar height adjustments area easy with both rollators.

It also has 10-inch circumference front wheels (8-inch in the back) that handle both the transition from driveway to street better, to handle potholes and speed bumps better, and to let me roll on the grass — roll the rollator on the grass.

With the handlebar at maximum elevation (right), I can more comfortably look down the street. Neck and shoulder pain are pretty much history.

I still carry the anti-ankle biter cane. I intend to buy a dollar store cup holder to carry a can of wasp spray. The wasp spray, unlike other aerosols, sprays a tight stream toward the target (ankle biters) vs. other aerosols that spray a mist. Given the 20 and 30 mph “breezes” we get on a typical day, the mist might be blown back on me. At least with the wasp spray I don’t have to wait until my attacker is within cane range. It is against the law to shoot the dog — “discharging a firearm within city limits” my personal LEO advises — but a non-fatal response to an attacking dog seems in order. Never mind that the loose canine’s owner also is breaking the law.

I am keeping the Medline. Because it is smaller, it is easier to put on the flivver’s back seat — and get it out again. The larger Drive Nitro is a pain to load and unload. It fits in my car's trunk — barely unless I remove necessities (jack, jumper cables, etc.) It fits across the back seat, providing the seat back is almost vertical and the front seat leg room is diminished.

The Medline is OK for short trips such as from car to the doctor’s office or similar “short walk” trips.

Longer excursions such as trips to a supermarket or a home improvement store (that’s what Wikipedia calls the likes of Home Depot and Lowe’s) the taller rollator will be used. Both walkers are highly maneuverable.

I generally avoid wandering around the cavernous spaces of a “home improvement” store by ordering on line and collecting my purchases at the service desk. This does not work well for me at the supermarket as I like to examine the items before putting them into a basket sitting on the rollator’s seat.

Both rollators fold up for transport and storage. The Medline’s process is a little easier than the Drive Nitro’s. The latter may require either emptying the provided web carry case or removing it. It’s not a problem to remove the “luggage compartment,” and the carry case has hand holds; just a minor annoyance. (Perhaps I just am easily annoyed.)

The Drive Nitro includes a what-feels-like-metal “lock” to hold the rollator in closed position. The catch works fine as long as the rollator is not picked up. Then, as the Medline, it needs a strap, belt, or rope to keep the legs together. The Medline makes the user provide something — a belt, piece of rope, etc. — to keep it folded. Not the best option, trying to keep the rollator closed with one hand while trying to tie something around it. A third hand would be handy.

Both rollators were provided with decent documentation. The Drive Nitro’s book is a little classier, but both are satisfactory.

The Medline handlebars can be set between 31 and 35 inches high. (The Drive Nitro’s minimum handlebar height is 37 inches; the maximum is 41 inches.)

All-in-all it has been an interesting experience.

 

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on rollators