Opuscula Media bias? Say it ain’t so Blind to reality

Samuel Clemens is credited with saying

“If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you do, you're misinformed. “

Denzel Washington said the same thing¹, but he failed to credit Mr. Clemens. Perhaps the actor is entitled — and the media, if it quotes him at all — will credit the actor with a witticism rather than plagiarism. (The definition of plagiarism always appears near the bottom of my posts.)

 

Sen. Paul and wife with police protection from BLM anarchists

 

WHAT PROMPTS THIS RANT?

The “reporting” by “major media” of an attack on a man and his wife as they left the White House following the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Wednesday night.

Before proceeding, please view the video at
https://youtu.be/sRCtiLEhNw0.

(Insert here the background music from Jeopardy² as the contestants write their final answers.)

Ready?

Headline	Find at
Sen. Rand Paul attacked by mob near White House	https://tinyurl.com/yyfmooo2
Sen. Rand Paul thanks DC cops for saving him from 'crazed mob' after RNC"	https://tinyurl.com/yy96ul58
Senator Rand Paul and his wife are attacked by BLM mob as they leave the White House following RNC and he thanks cops for 'saving out lives'	https://tinyurl.com/y3bkg5yo
Sen. Rand Paul claims he was 'attacked by an angry mob' after leaving White House	https://tinyurl.com/yxrz5p4y
U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul says attacked by 'angry mob' near White House	https://tinyurl.com/y252sl9d
U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul Says Attacked by 'Angry Mob' Near White House"	https://tinyurl.com/y5u5zqyr
Senator Rand Paul thanks DC Police after alleged attack	https://tinyurl.com/y5d7f9xv

Having seen the video (ibid), and understanding that ALL of the media either (a) had access to the video or (b) had their own personnel at the event, consider the headlines.

HOW can any media outlet suggest that the senator was misleading them.

“Says,” “claims”

That’s bovine excrement!

And why does only one headline identify the people in the “mob?”

Are the media trying to be “politically correct” and cater to the anarchists?

According to a personal — non-media — correspondent, there was “No mention of the elderly couple accosted nearby with a demonstrator using a bullhorn in the guys ear and who was knocked down. Guess only the political elite deserve mention.”

Actually, the abuse of the gentleman can be found on the web.

While DC cops were physically attacked — there is a video of one officer being knocked to the ground — the old man was not touched — he just had a bull horn put about six inched from his ear.

Unfortunately for the anarchists — these people are not protesters and to call them anything but what they are is a disservice to honest protesters — the DC cops did not shoot anyone; they did make arrests, but few compared to the mob.

The media people — I hesitate to call them “reporters” — on site may not be solely at fault. Editors and managers — often lacking any news experience — can, and do, “massage” reports to suit their, or their owner’s, biases.

Nothing new under the sun

The restraint shown by the DC cops is is sharp contrast to the Chicago cops response to “protests” in 1968, during Democrat Lyndon Baines Johnson’s administration. The video at
https://youtu.be/SSEZ3jZHmQ4 provides a look back at history.

The 1968 DNC in Chicago — then controlled by Democrat Mayor Richard J. Daley — makes interesting reading at

1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity: https://tinyurl.com/y8v4ef6p

Protests at Democratic National Convention in Chicago: https://tinyurl.com/y67uv8dh

1968 Democratic Convention: https://tinyurl.com/yy2kxepj

Daley repeatedly promised his party that "Law and order will be maintained."

---

Sources

1. https://youtu.be/fW4BqUNdF4Y

2. https://youtu.be/HuABhumm6fY

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 RNC-2020

Opuscula Bring back The draft

BEFORE ANY “PROGRESSIVE” LABELS me a warmonger” rest assured that drafting young men and women does not necessarily equate to drafting “cannon fodder.”

 

Back in the day, c 1960, all males had to sign up for “selective service,” a/k/a The Draft, when they turned 18.

Since Kennedy’s war in Vietnam was raging and Americans were dying at a horrible rate, many young males found ways to dodge (avoid) the draft. Some went to Canada. Some had enough family riches to keep them in college. Some named “Bush” and a large number of entertainers joined the National Guard, then a safe haven. (Times have changed.)

A few dodged the draft by enlisting.

Dodging the draft has been a fine American tradition since 1775.

This scrivener is not a war monger. I’d rather not war with or against anyone.

But I AM for compulsory service.

For several reasons.

By the numbers

1. Cuts the apron strings.

Getting a child out from under the “protection” of an overly protective parent gives the young person a chance to develop his, or her, own personality, to learn and to take responsibility.

2. Accept challenges

”Boot camp,” a/k/a “basic training,” is awash with challenges, both physical and mental.

But boot camp can be tailored to the inductees. Not everyone has to be “combat ready.” A person with a mobility issue can still do many things within their capability. Running a 440 (yard run) or going on a 20-mile hike may be beyond their capacity, but appropriate physical exercise can be accomplished.

Getting up, taking care of clothing and other gear, making a bed, getting to Point A at the appointed time; these are things almost anyone can accomplish with a little bit of encouragement and determination.

3. Learn a skill

Even though you may never use the skill to put food on the table, you never know when it might come in handy. Perhaps the inductee is on his or her way to college and has a pre-med or pre-law program in mind, but the service needs an auto mechanic. Later, as a famous doctor or lawyer, you might want to “tinker” with expensive cars or supervise the work of others. Never miss a chance to learn.

4. Give back to the community

In some European countries with compulsory service, the troops are assigned national duties. In the U.S., National Guard and Reserve (as well as “regular”) personnel are pressed into service during and following emergencies such as hurricanes, wild fires, etc.

5. Develop leadership skills

If a person shows potential — and depending on the branch of the service — promotions will bring more pay and more responsibility.

6. See the world — maybe

Service men and women may travel to far off lands, or they might end up staying close to home. Some branches travel more than others.

7. The perks

Although not as good as in this scrivener’s day — today’s pay is much better, but — there still are education benefits and a few VA benefits after discharge.

Not for everyone

There may be a few people who simply cannot manage sans custodial care.

Most, however, are able to do something for themselves and their community.

Autistics often have the ability to concentrate on a task non-autistics lack. The Israeli Defense Force accepts autistics and has found that in certain tasks, their work is superior to non-autistic soldiers.

Some people with limited mental capacity have the ability to perform repetitious tasks without being bored.

There are jobs for almost everyone, regardless of physical or mental limitation.

Not everyone needs to be a careerist, a lifer. Two to four years should be enough to cut mommy’s apron strings and to start a new life if a new life is desired.

---

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 Bring back the draft"

Opuscula Sour grapes: Why wait 4 Years to kvetch?

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NIECE is just now accusing her uncle of mean and nasty things. Maybe illegal things, too.

Question: Why did she wait until a few months before the November election?

Think about it.

 

The language in this entry may be offensive to some.

The niece, Mary L. Trump, didn’t make such claims before the 2016 election. Why now?

If all Trump’s transgressions happened long ago, why wait until August 2020 to hit the media outlets?

Is she simply pimping her book?

I first heard of this a few days ago, being enthralled by Sleepy Joe and Kamala Emhoff and their version of America now and in January when, assuming Kamala is elected — I doubt Sleepy will be aware of the event or if he is, get the swearing-in performed sans another gross gaffe, his forte — the far left will begin “rebuilding” the country.

Some of the anarchists already are tearing down the country; extreme leftists taking over the streets of some cities and towns, surely so Biden et al can “rebuild, better.”

Given the timing of the book, it would seem that the niece is in the Democrats’ pocket.

Slighted and cut from will

A New York Times¹ article headlined The Inside Story of Why Mary Trump Wrote a Tell-All Memoir

(H)er uncle, President Trump, for years looked down on her father — his own brother, Fred Trump Jr., (who was) an alcoholic who died when she was a teen.

Her grandfather, the senior Fred Trump, hated her mother, whom he blamed for Fred Trump Jr.’s drinking, court papers say. Her aunt, the president’s sister, once accused Ms. Trump and her brother in a legal deposition of being “absentee grandchildren.”

Ms. Trump’s status as an outcast culminated in 1999 when the senior Fred Trump died, and she discovered that she and her brother had been cut out of his will, depriving them of what they believed was their rightful share of untold millions. A dispute over the will devolved into a court fight, its details shielded by a confidentiality agreement that Ms. Trump has adhered to for nearly 20 years.

The article continues that

Her book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” ended up in court itself: The Trump family has sought to stop its publication. Ms. Trump has countered that the secrecy provision that has kept her silent until now is unenforceable and based on financial fraud.

Sister speaks ill of brother

According to Wikipedia, a source that may, or may not, be accurate,

Maryanne Trump Barry (born April 5, 1937) is an American attorney and a retired United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, appointed by President Bill Clinton. She is the eldest sister of U.S. President Donald Trump.²

Barry has said little publicly about her brother during his presidency. In August 2020, Barry's niece Mary L. Trump released recordings she had secretly made of 2018 conversations with Barry in which her aunt sharply criticized the president. She (I assume the aunt, ed.) stated, "He has no principles. None. None... His goddamned tweet and lying, oh my God. I'm talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy shit." She added that her brother does not read, and "It's the phoniness of it all. It's the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel.

Why was in necessary to make “secret” recordings of her aunt?

Pot and kettle

Meanwhile,, Judge Barry resigned from the bench, ending a judicial investigation into whether she broke judicial conduct rules by committing tax fraud, according to a still-unreleased court filing. ³ She is now entitled to an annual retirement salary that could range upward of $200,000, according to the Administrative Office of the US Courts.

Interestingly, and mostly ignored by the “popular” media, is a New York Times² report asserting that Barry, along with her father and siblings, had engaged in fraudulent and illegal activity for the purpose of limiting estate tax and gift tax liability stemming from Fred Trump's real estate enterprises. Investigative journalist Susanne Craig discovered a critical piece of information in the investigation: a filing Barry had made to the Senate as part of her federal judiciary confirmation in which she had reported a $1 million contribution from All County Building Supply & Maintenance. The Times reported that All County Building Supply & Maintenance was a "sham company" formed in 1992 and owned by Barry, Donald Trump, their siblings, and a cousin. All County Building Supply & Maintenance reportedly paid for work performed at Fred Trump's apartment buildings; those apartment buildings then reimbursed All County Building Supply & Maintenance, but fraudulently added extra money to those reimbursements. Tax experts reportedly indicated that because All County "performed no real work, the transfer of money through the corporation was essentially a gift that evaded the 55 percent tax in place at the time". Its address was the Manhasset, New York, residence of John Walter, Fred Trump's nephew. In a follow-up article, The New York Times reported that the money illicitly earned by All County was split by the Trump siblings.

In October 2018, as a result of the publication of this investigation, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance began a review of the fraud allegations against Barry and her siblings.

Trump's lawyer, Charles Harder, said the original Times story was false. "There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. The facts upon which the Times bases its false allegations are extremely inaccurate," he said in a statement last fall.

---

Sources

1. May L. Trump: https://tinyurl.com/ybyrfbfg

2. Maryanne Barry: https://tinyurl.com/jc3dupf

3. Judge’s resignation: https://tinyurl.com/y5bfwy5c

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 Trump Niece

Opuscula Run to court Not from cops; Everyone lives

THERE IS, YET AGAIN, A VIDEO of cops manhandling a suspect.

The immediate reaction, depending on political position is either

Liberals: The cops are mistreating an innocent person — again.

Conservative: The suspect is forcing the cops to act this way; they have no alternative.

Who is right? Who is wrong?

 

IN A RECENT CASE in south Florida, the suspect is wrong.

The cops had a suspect for whatever crime. The suspect tried to run.

The cops showed restraint and the suspect only was “tased.” He could have been shot.

Being shot is not likely since shooting a person in the back is prohibited by most departments unless the person is suspected of committing a felony.

Caveat: This scrivener's first born is a cop. He was not involved in this incident.

What SHOULD have happened

The person should have allowed himself to be taken into custody.

No Taser^®.

No roughing up.

A ride to jail, a phone call to alert his relative of his status, and a meeting with an attorney before a preliminary hearing.

I’m sure a jail cell is not a 5-star hotel suite — as a newspaper reporter long ago I have been inside jails and federal prisons — but it’s better than being beaten or tased by cops trying to subdue a suspect.

Even if the suspect is “caught in the act,” the suspect remains a “suspect” until determined otherwise in a court.

One of the first things I learned as a young lad in the military was “Do what you are told and argue about it later.”

Back then the reasoning was that if someone says “Hit the ground” and the soldier fails to respond, he might be it by an enemy bullet. While that’s not likely on a parade field, it was the response that was being taught.

The “argue about it later” is valid when dealing with cops (and other persons of authority, as we learned at home [parents], school [teachers], service [sergeants] ).

While it is not recommended, what some protesters did by lying limp is safer than getting into a cop’s face. The cops will have to take “dead weight” to the Black Maria¹ — and that is NOT racist; look it up — for transport to the lockup.

Sue the cops

If the cops make a mistake and arrest the wrong person — it happens — there are lots of lawyers who, for a hefty fee, will gladly file a wrongful arrest case against the cops and the jurisdiction that employs them.

That probably is the best way to eliminate rogue “cowboy” cops who ought not be cops in the first place.

It also is a good idea to insist that whatever media reported the arrest is obliged — the lawyer can help with this, too — to report that the defendant was exonerated (found innocent rather than “not guilty”) at the same level as the arrest was reported.

True story. As a reporter in northern California, a story about a guy arrested for a felony was front page, above-the-fold news; BIG headline. When the court ruled he was innocent, I insisted that this story ALSO appeared on the front page, above-the-fold and under a BIG headline. Fair is fair.

Got a weapon? Drop it

Cops like to see empty hands.

When a cop sees a suspect carrying something, the cop reaches for his (her) service weapon.

That’s the first step to someone being shot.

People with concealed weapons permits are told that if they use their weapon, before the cops arrive on the scene, (a) empty the weapon and (b) put the weapon in plan sight so the cops won’t suspect you are the bad guy.

Again, EMPTY HANDS avoids “accidents.”

Admittedly, it is difficult to keep cool when being “harassed” by the cops (or any authority, ibid.), but that is the only way to protect yourself.

DO NOT GIVE THE COPS AN EXCUSE.

Don’t run from the cops. Run to the courts.

It’s safer for all concerned.

Most cops don’t want to hurt a suspect. Certainly the cops I know prefer to keep things peaceful.

If a suspect tries to “rabbit” (run away) the cops will act like dogs — what does a dog do when a rabbit (or almost any animal) goes by? It chases it. If the dog catches the prey . . .

Revenge can be sweet

Disappoint the far left with their cell phone cameras at the ready.

Do as instructed by the authority.

Revenge — in the courts — can be sweet . . . and, perhaps, profitable

---

Sources

1. Black Maria: https://tinyurl.com/y2dudavd

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 Run to Court

Opuscula “Discrimination" Or “tailoring”, Courts to decide

The Dow Jones News Service (via Advisen Front Page News), under a headline reading The Quiet Growth of Race-Detection Software Sparks Concerns Over Bias reports that cosmetics company Revlon is in hot water for using a facial-analysis algorithm to scan Instagram photos.

 

”Facial analysis” of scanned images brings with it a number of questions.

First, since the images are posted on the Internet with little expectation of privacy, does anyone have a right to complain? Must like taking pictures in public — not private — places; if you are walking down the street you should have no expectation of privacy. This has been law in the U.S. almost since photography came into being.

Second, are the images being used for commercial purposes.

In Revlon’s case: “sort of.”

Revlon is, as I understand it, not using the images in its advertising.

Revlon IS, however, using the images to develop products for specific market segments.

As the DJNS article noted, companies have been using cookies to track customer preferences for some time.

Basically, the company Revlon engaged — and similar companies working for other clients — does a “screen scrape” of images on the Internet and then attempts to generalize about specific parts of the face.

Parmy Olson, the DJNS writer, notes that Race-detection software is a subset of facial analysis, a type of artificial intelligence that scans faces for a range of features—from the arch of an eyebrow to the shape of the cheekbones—and uses that information to draw conclusions about gender, age, race, emotions, even attractiveness.

Facial analysis is "useful for marketers because people buy in cohorts and behave in cohorts," says Brian Brackeen, a founder of the company Revlon uses. Brackeen no longer is with the company.

Third, since nothing is perfect, what is the chance that the software will falsely identify the captured information. Will black lips be listed as belonging to an Oriental?

From Revlon’s point of few, it probably doesn’t matter as long as the errors are small in number and scattered over all races.

One thing the article pointed out, people buy in cohorts and behave in cohorts, in other words, most consumers are lemmings who buy a product because someone else has it. Never mind if it is appropriate; the Jones have it so the Smiths also must have it.

Product development and marketing based on facial analysis — vs. facial recognition — is not the application now in disfavor with police departments.

The concern with any application that can guess at a person’s race is that it could be used to discriminate against a particular race.

Does anyone think that this is the ONLY way discrimination can be applied? Of course not.

Surnames. Meir (Meyer) and Berdudo obviously are Jewish, Sisi and Sadam are Muslims, Rossi and Romano are likely Italian, Muller, Schmidt are probably German, and Wang and Huang are Chinese or Vietnamese.

A person who graduated from Howard or Bethune-Cookman probably is black. A person with a degree from Brigham Young probably is a Mormon; conversely, a person with a degree from Notre Dame or Loyola now may be a black protestant.

Nothing is a “given,” at least in the U.S.

There seems to be no way to identify a racist, sexist, or other “hater,” or if a person is liberal, conservative, or anarchist. Pity.

BOTTOM LINE

The use of facial analysis — vs. facial recognition — as software used by Revlon and other companies will, undoubtedly, end up in court. In a nation that is so politically divided and notorious for rushing to the courts over every real or perceived political incorrectness, making this a federal case is inevitable.

In the meantime, if someone wants to eliminate the risk of being “facially analyzed,” the first line of defense if don’t post an image on the Internet.

---

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 Embarrassed

Opuscula A Sanders clone? A little voting history Kamala Harris-Emhoff

JUST ABOUT EVERYONE KNOWS JOE BIDEN’s voting record and something about his activities — or lack thereof — in the previous administration.

But Sen. Kamala Harris-Emhoff is another matter.

What is her voting record. The REAL record, not just some excerpts, are available online at several locations. 

ACCORDING TO RollCall.com¹

Kamala Harris’ arrival in the Senate coincided with the start of the Trump administration in 2017, and the Democratic vice presidential candidate’s legislative record shows her to be a reliable soldier of the opposition (Democrat) party.

Because of that reality, there’s been limited opportunity for crossover voting for Joe Biden’s choice of running mate, but that doesn’t mean there’s been none. Her party unity score, calculated by CQ Roll Call as the percentage of votes cast in which a lawmaker votes the same way as a majority of the members of their caucus, is north of 99 percent.

Notable times that she has dissented with the party include her 2019 vote against a Middle East security package that warned against “precipitous withdrawal” of U.S. military forces in Syria and Afghanistan. She was one of 22 Democratic caucus members to cast a no vote.

Both the Harris Senate Voting Record² and GovTrack.us³ track her vote line-by-line.

JustFacts.VoteSmart.org ⁴ also provides a vote-by-vote report.

Belying the claim that she is a Sanders' clone, ProPublica compares her voting record, all eight pages, with Sanders⁵ and, for comparison, that of Ted Cruz,⁶ a solid Conservative.

Go to the left, the left, the left

The VP hopeful is truly a libertine. A bullet display of Harris-Emhoff’s voting record (below) vs. the rest of the Senate puts her almost off the left side of the chart.

 

Harris-Emhoff voting history compared to all other senators. (GovTrack https://tinyurl.com/y682u58m)

 The same source, GovTrack, also provides both a chart and list of the votes Harris-Emhoff missed. From Jan 2017 to Aug 2020, Harris missed 271 of 1,184 roll call votes, which is 22.9%. This is much worse than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

 

Harris-Emhoff missed votes. (GovTrack https://tinyurl.com/y682u58m)

 GovTrack does not ask the senators why they failed to vote on an issue.

The senator regularly objects to almost all Trump nominees. That is her most consistent vote.

The REAL Question

Given Biden’s obvious cognizance issues; issues that cannot be denied since they were recorded for all to see — again and again — and Biden’s age, is Harris-Emhoff really,/I> running for president?

Is she eligible to be president?

Apparently someone gave Trump some bad information when he is alleged to have suggested Harris-Emhoff is not eligible to be president. Unlike Obama whose birth location is at least questionable, she most assuredly is eligible to president according to the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution adopted on July 9, 1868 that states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside".

Wikipedia⁶ explains:

The Fourteenth Amendment provides that children born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction become American citizens at birth. At the time of the amendment's passage, President Andrew Johnson and three senators, including Trumbull, the author of the Civil Rights Act, asserted that both the Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment would confer citizenship to children born to foreign nationals in the United States. Senator Edgar Cowan of Pennsylvania had a decidedly different opinion. Some scholars dispute whether the Citizenship Clause should apply to the children of unauthorized immigrants today, as "the problem ... did not exist at the time". In the 21st century, Congress has occasionally discussed passing a statute or a constitutional amendment to reduce the practice of "birth tourism", in which a foreign national gives birth in the United States to gain the child's citizenship.

The clause's meaning with regard to a child of immigrants was tested in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898). The Supreme Court held that under the Fourteenth Amendment, a man born within the United States to Chinese citizens who have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States and are carrying out business in the United States—and whose parents were not employed in a diplomatic or other official capacity by a foreign power—was a citizen of the United States. Subsequent decisions have applied the principle to the children of foreign nationals of non-Chinese descent.

According to the Foreign Affairs Manual, which is published by the State Department, "Despite widespread popular belief, U.S. military installations abroad and U.S. diplomatic or consular facilities abroad are not part of the United States within the meaning of the [Fourteenth] Amendment."

Lack of knowledge of the Constitution and its amendments, especially when information is so easily acquired, is a disgrace, all the more so when incorrect information is provided to a president (or other CEO).

If Trump really said Harris-Emhoff is not eligible to be president, he once again was embarrassed by a careless flunky. Still, as Harry S Truman noted, “the buck stops” at the president’s desk; in the end, he has to take responsibility. (Perhaps it was a “Biden moment”?)

---

Sources

1. RollCall.com: https://tinyurl.com/y2ss9ml2

2. Voting Record: https://tinyurl.com/y7sfj6yr

3. GovTrack: https://tinyurl.com/y682u58m

4. JustFacts.VoteSmart.org: https://tinyurl.com/y2oseh7k

5. Emhoff vs. Sanders: https://tinyurl.com/y6nwbqnn

5. Emhoff vs. Cruz: https://tinyurl.com/y59vbzrb

6. 14th Amendment: https://tinyurl.com/yxtebjng

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 Kamala Harris

Opuscula Biden advertisements Mimic Trump promos: Old promises revisited

TRUMP AND BIDEN ARE KEEPING tv stations and the networks in the black — and that has nothing to do with the so-called “Black Lives Matter” rage .

We are inundated by political commercials from city council candidates to Biden and Trump.

The First Tuesday in November cannot come soon enough.

 

I AM AMUSED with Biden’s campaign ads.

They appear to be rewrites of Trump’s 2016 advertisements. I would have thought Biden’s handlers could do better, be a little original.

Biden’s Build Back and Build Back Better sounds a lot like Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA).

Listen to Biden’s Made in America spiel.¹

Biden: When we spend American taxpayers’ money, we should use it to buy American products.

Trump not only promoted “Buy USA” he also forced U.S. companies, e.g., Ford, to being back plants taken across the border. Before the Chinese virus, unemployment in the US was 3.6% In 2015, when Biden was vice-president, unemployment stood at 5%. The virus-related unemployment is not “party sensitive.
As an aside, when Biden’s former boss needed a bus or his campaign, he bought it not in the U.S. but in Canada!

Biden wants to support American workers. To that end, as a senator, he supported the Geo. W. Bush plan to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border². Who else voted with Biden?
Barbara Boxer, Barbara Mckulski, Chuck Shulman, Dianne Feinstein, Hillary Clinton, Richard Durbin, among others³. In the House, Nancy Pelosi voted No.⁴ Unlike the Senate, the House vote was mostly by party line.

Californian Pelosi, to her credit, or discredit, consistently votes for illegal immigration.

Biden wants to “enhance national security” by reducing the nation’s dependence on China.

Trump already is distancing the country from China; he’s raised tariffs to make American products more competitive. Trump also is closing Chinese consulates accused of spying on U.S. technology leaders and the U.S. government.

Biden wants to invest in small businesses — with whose money he prefers not to say.

According to Business.com⁵, some of Trump's plans have helped small businesses.
1. Tax policy reform: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, reduced both the individual income and corporate tax rates, and doubled the standard deduction. More than 34 percent of respondents said their tax liability decreased under the law, while more than 21 percent plan on increasing capital investments as a result.
2. Association Health Plans: The Trump administration moved to offer employers a choice of AHPs in June 2018. These plans essentially allow small businesses to buy into group health plans together and are intended to offer small businesses a cost-effective way to offer more competitive benefits.
3. Trade policy and tariffs: The Trump administration's approach to trade policy has included the levy of have had no significant impact.

Biden wisely does not mention race or misogyny in his advertisements. In both these cases, he lives in a glass house. Trump also is known as a sexist. For the record, so was JFK and his brother Teddy. That, of course doesn’t make it “OK,” but it is interesting that when a Democrat is a cheater, the media is silent.

No good choice

Between Biden’s apparent senility and Trump’s lack of discretion, Americans are faced with a lose-lose situation in November, assuming that both “presumptive” candidates make it to Election Day.

If Trump keeps Pence as his VP, America will remain tilted to the right. Pence’s one failure since 2016 is not being able to rein in Trump’s bombasity. Trump can best be described as a person who has knee jerk reactions.

Cartoon by Bruce Plante in the Tulsa (OK) World July 6, 2017

On the other hand, Biden has shown there are time when he has no reaction even when a reaction is appropriate.

If Biden is elected, based on his appearances^{6, 7, 8}, his vice president will be acting president, if not formally but effectively. Depending on who the Democrats foist on Biden will determine how far left the country will tilt.

There does not appear to be civility nor compromise on the political horizon.

---

Sources

1. Made in America ad: https://tinyurl.com/yxacmskk

2. Politifact and Fence: https://tinyurl.com/yxs48mhy

3. Secure Fence Act of 2006: https://tinyurl.com/zuf2tuv

4 House vote on fence: https://tinyurl.com/hpxhvgt

5. Small business: https://tinyurl.com/y5jff9o3

6. Biden at debate: https://youtu.be/4AYVwgcAOMY8

7: Sky News on cognition: https://youtu.be/aA-GoeFGyIc

8: Controversial racial comments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BccgFmLUd6Y

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 Biden’s ads

Opuscula This will be Offensive to All but haters

YOU MAY CALL A PERSON ANY hateful name, but as long as the hater says “I’m sorry” the offense is forgiven.

If I call someone a nigger, a chink, a spik, a kike, or a wop — that’s OK as long as I quickly say “I’m sorry” even if I am not sorry and even if I repeat the hateful words tomorrow.

What is wrong with the picture?

 

Of late, the “news” — mostly the blogs and a few printed media but rarely on tv — have described how this or that celebrity has spouted anti-Semitic remarks or anti-Israel remarks.

The latter I write off as pitifully stupid people who believe everything they are told about the tiny country.

It practices apartheid.

It is racist.

It mistreats Muslims,

It won’t make peace with people whose sole goal in life is to kill Israelis — imagine that.

But ask the Israel basher when was the last time he or she was in Israel and nine times out of ten the answer is “Never.”

Where did the haters get their information? Did they hear it on the grape vine?

Would they listen to someone who HAD been there and knew the truth? Rhetorical question.

 

Hate begets hate

If you hate someone — it makes no difference to whom your hate is directed — the hate will be returned.

Many whites hate blacks because a few blacks riot and destroy their own neighborhoods.

Many blacks hate whites because a few white cops abuse and, yes, murder, unarmed blacks.

Xenophobic white trash hate Latinos who will do the work the whites stupidly think they are too good to do.

By the way, don’t blame the illegals for taking the jobs the whites won’t do; blame the whites who employ the illegals, often at wages far below the minimum.

Some Latinos hate the white trash for making them work far below their capabilities; it is the only job they are allowed to do.

Shades of nazi Germany and the U.S. with its minority quotas at universities, jobs, etc. Make no mistake, a majority of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, a/k/a WASPS want to keep the “club” closed to all who may be different.

 

Celebrity stupidity

One “celeb” after making racist remarks, admitted that he really never knew anything about the people he was maligning.

He just accepted as true what others — in the mold of the fool Farrakhan — told him.

He has eyes, but cannot see; ears but cannot hear.

But he apologized to a self-proclaimed leader of the group he attacked and was “forgiven.”

According to an article by Shmuley Boteach (https://tinyurl.com/y65husdd) who, hopefully, did his homework,

Recently, Mort Klein of the Zionist Organization of America engaged Ice Cube in a two-hour conversation that was treated as an act of absolution for the antisemitic rapper. Mort was convinced, according to JTA, that “the rapper was not anti-Semitic.”

According to JTA, Ice Cube has “drawn widespread condemnation after repeatedly tweeting anti-Semitic images and support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has disparaged Jews over the years, including comparing them to termites.”

I’m sure that Mort’s intentions were noble, and I do not question whether we in the Jewish community should be doing outreach to those whose hatred might be reversed. But I am increasingly disturbed at the growing number of celebrities granted clemency for public racism, anti-Semitism, and bigotry through private conversations rather than public penance.

If Ice Cube wants to repudiate his long history of anti-Semitism, he must do it in the forum where that Jew-hatred was uttered: in public.

Ice T is not to be confused with Ice Cube

 

Ice T, left, and Ice Cube

 

Boteach suggests that Instead of rushing into dialogues and granting errant clemency, we should demand public penance and repudiation of vile anti-Semitic words.

These haters, regardless of who hates whom, are unrepentant recidivists.

I’m not sure if they all are idiots or if they grew up (physically, certainly not mentally) where they had to accept “as gospel” everything they were told, and now lack the capability to think, to question.

I’m not sure how best to fight the haters.

Education won’t change them.

Perhaps forcing them to live with their victims might at least open their eyes and take away the excuse “I didn’t know any (pick a minority) when I was young.”

---

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 Haters