Opuscula Is Afghanistan ‘Nam over again?

IMAGES OF AFGHANS TRYING TO LEAVE Afghanistan before the Taliban assumes full control. Afghanistan’s former president earlier abandoned his country to avoid “transition issues.” Something unique in U.S. foreign policy history? Hardly.

Dry Bones cartoon

Is it any wonder the U.S.’ “allies” are suspicious of Washington’s promises? Rhetorical question.  

San Diego Union-Tribune Image by Neal Ulevich - AP (https://tinyurl.com/3k7nerdw)

The Print Twitter screengrab (https://tinyurl.com/zru98mu8)

 

AFGHANISTAN SEEMS TO BE VIETNAM all over again.

Aside from the fact that the U.S. never had a policy to win a war in Afghanistan — or Vietnam, or Korea, or Iraq, or Cuba, or — there are many similarities with earlier excursions on behalf of “democracy and the American way.”

The U.S. president who got American troops out of the Vietnam quagmire was a Republican (Richard M. Nixon). The president who ended the U.S.’ 20-year involvement in Afghanistan is a Democrat (Jos. Biden), although to give credit where it is due, under a deal signed last year between the militants and then-President Donald Trump, foreign forces were to have left by 1 May. (http://tinyurl.com/27muz8yn)

In both cases, when the troops came home — from a politically unpopular war in the Far East and when they returned from what appeared to be a never-ending conflict in Afghanistan, — the military people returned sans war materiel, left behind for the victors.

When the troops returned to the States, they abandoned locals who supported the war effort.

In Vietnam, some managed to get a flight out — primarily those who worked directly for the U.S. government.

For many of those left behind, the victorious Communists had a place for them: re-education camps. (Such “camps” are popular with the Vietnamese’ masters, Communist China.)

Will the Taliban have “re-education” camps a la Vietnam?

U.S. fails to learn from others

The U.S. failed to learn the lesson the Vietnamese taught the French.

They warred against the French until the French tired of the fighting and left Vietnam.

President (ex-5-star general) Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in a limited number of U.S. troops as “Military Advisory Groups” (MAGs). His successors, Democrats JFK and LBJ massively increased the U.S. presence in Vietnam on a piecemeal basis — as troops were wounded or killed, they were replaced by green personnel.

Vietnam was NOT the first war in which Americans refused to fight. That “honor” goes back to the War for Southern Independence (a/k/a U.S. Civil War) when people could, and did, “buy their way out” by paying for stand-ins.

The Enrollment Act of 1863 provided that a draftee could pay a “substitute” enrollee the sum of $300 (about $5,000 in today’s terms) in order to enlist in his place. Such famous Americans as Grover Cleveland and John D. Rockefeller took advantage of this provision, in effect buying their way out of service. (https://tinyurl.com/9thvtsaw)

Actually, after the first skirmishes of the Revolutionary War many new Americans had other things to do rather than engage the English.

In Afghanistan, the U.S. started supporting the Afghans in their effort to oust the Soviets.

 

Revolving door (a la Vietnam)

 

It was very much the CIA’s covert war with a program to arm and finance the mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan prior to and during the military intervention by the Soviet Union. (https://tinyurl.com/2t355rsy)

After 9-11-2001 — the day Muslim terrorists flew four U.S. airliners into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and into a field in Pennsylvania; in the the latter high jackers, were overcome by the flight’s passengers and crew — the CIA directed its efforts in Afghanistan to attacking the Taliban and its leader, Osama bin Laden. (https://tinyurl.com/2wbyes84)

According to a New York Times article (https://tinyurl.com/5b9ya9bk), the FBI knew well in advance of 9-11 that Muslims were buying flight training. Anecdotal stories claim that the “students” were not interested in landing the commercial airliners.

They won’t fight

According to Biden, the Afghans lack the will to defend their nation, despite the fact that — with substantial U.S. CIA aid — some Afghanis did take up arms against the former Soviet Union.

An Afghan guerrilla handles a U.S.-made Stinger anti-aircraft missile (https://tinyurl.com/y466xn5m)

Afghan borders Taliban ally Pakistan and the western world’s nemesis, Iran. (See map, below).

All are Muslim countries and while they often disagree, the enemy of my friend is my enemy. In this case, since the western world is deemed by Iran’s despots to be an enemy, Afghanistan is, by default, Iran’s friend (as is Pakistan).

Map of Afghanistan and its neighbors

The Taliban, Afghanistan’s rulers-du-jour, are infamous for being misogynistic.

They demanded women to be covered from head to toe according to their ideas of sharia law.

They banned education for females.

The “new” Taliban

According to reports making the media, the “new” Taliban will treat females with respect and they will allow females to be educated, unlike the “old” Taliban. (https://tinyurl.com/ye8jzawt)

The “new” Taliban promised to respect others religions, unlike the “old” Taliban of 2001 that blew up two statues of Buddah in the Bamyan valley of central Afghanistan. (https://tinyurl.com/qjuwbed)

The Taliban claimed the Buddhas violated Islam's prohibition on idolatry.

According to The Indian Express (https://tinyurl.com/yfbq8w24), “The Taliban have promised a new era of peace and security, saying they will forgive those who fought against them and grant women full rights under Islamic law, without elaborating. But many Afghans are deeply skeptical of the group, especially those who remember its previous rule, when it imposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law. “

Still, the “new” Taliban apparently retains elements of the “old” Taliban.

The Indian Express (ibid.) reports that “The Taliban have blown up the statue of a Shiite militia leader who had fought against them during Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s, according to photos circulating on social media Wednesday.

“The statue depicted Abdul Ali Mazari, a militia leader killed by the Taliban in 1996, when the Islamic militants seized power from rival warlords. Mazari was a champion of Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazara minority, Shiites who were persecuted under the Sunni Taliban’s earlier rule.”

So much for forgiving those who fought against them.

Some of the “old” Taliban’s actions remain to haunt them.

A video now being circulated of a woman being murdered, apparently by the Taliban on an Afghan street, actually dates from 2015, according to the India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) (https://tinyurl.com/yenpt6yx)

On the other hand, the England’s ITV (https://tinyurl.com/rn2v4ar8) reported on 17 August 2021 that “Abdul Qadir Jalil, an Afghan-born Manchester (England) resident, traveled to Afghanistan around three weeks ago to get married.

“Mr Jalil says the Taliban has ransacked his home in Kabul, and executed people in his street.

"Last night, the Taliban was trying to attack and search every house in the street," he told ITV News. They are searching for smart phones because they are trying to wipe social media evidence.“

 

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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 Vietnam again?

Opuscula Nobel presidents: Some for nothing, Nothing for some

Dry Bones by Kirschen for 26 Oct 2020 (https://tinyurl.com/y6yqdj43)

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO WONDER: Are prizes worth the paper on which they are printed?

For example: A former U.S. president receives the Nobel Peace Prize early in his term, according to the Nobel committee (https://tinyurl.com/y5wb4uf7) “"for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Mind, (citing the Nobel award, ibid.) “Barack H. Obama, the 44th President of the United States, had been in power for less than eight months when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. Among the reasons it gave, the Nobel Committee lauded Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". Emphasis was also given to his support – in word and deed - for the vision of a world free from nuclear weapons.

Rhetorical Question: Did he accomplish any of those things during eight years in office?

For example: Another U.S. president managed to forge peace agreements between

Israel and
*  United Arab Emirates
*  Bahrain
*  Sudan
Between Kosovo and Serbia
Reduced tensions between North Korea and the world.
Reduced contributions to organizations that promote hatred and terrorism.

Never mind that the previous administration — led by a Nobel Peace Prize winner —

*  Failed to manage a peace agreement with ANY antagonists
*  Exacerbated conflicts
*  Refused to deal with North Korea despite its on-going threats to world peace
*  Bolstered Iran’s capability to make a nuclear weapon, ignoring Iran’s threats to all nations in the Middle East
*  Encouraged and provided financial support to terrorists (PLO/PFLP, Hamas/Islamic Jihad) by keeping U.S. taxpayer aid flowing to the terrorist “leadership.”

 

FOR THE RECORD, the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize went to the UN's World Food Program.

According to Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/yy6fjhwf),

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization, the largest one focused on hunger and food security, and the largest provider of school meals. Founded in 1961, it is headquartered in Rome and has offices in 80 countries. As of 2019, it served 97 million people in 88 countries, the largest since 2012, with two-thirds of its activities conducted in conflict zones.

Most assuredly the UN’s program — largely funded by U.S. taxpayers under the current administration — is a worthwhile function.

But compared to peace making? Compared to reducing the chance that people will be murdered in the name of religion or race or any other excuse?

As my Second Born, a computer wizard, would opine: “That doesn’t compute.”

Not the first Nobel embarrassment

According to both the BBC (https://tinyurl.com/yarclup4) and the New York Post (https://tinyurl.com/y264flh7),

Geir Lundestad told the AP news agency that the committee hoped the award would strengthen Obama.

Instead, the decision was met with criticism in the US. Many argued he had not had any impact worthy of the award.

Lundestad, writing in his memoir, Secretary of Peace, said even Obama himself had been surprised.

"Even many of Obama's supporters believed that the prize was a mistake," he says. "In that sense the committee didn't achieve what it had hoped for".

Some Obama’s advisers decided the honor could not be refused. But as ridicule rained down on the committee for handing a peacemaker’s award to a man who was ordering drone strikes on civilians overseas, the White House grew increasingly hesitant, dithering for weeks over how much of the traditional three-day awards gala he would attend.

Bottom line: the Prize committee had “high hopes” that failed to develop.

The Prize committee also gave the 1994 Peace Prize jointly to Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. It ignored Wm. Jefferson Clinton (Dem) who brokered the deal.

Rhetorical Question: How did that work out?

Is the Prize committee showing bias?

Democrat presidents get it.

Republican presidents don’t get it.

President Nixon, who opened China and got the U.S. out of Vietnam was nominated, but Henry Kissinger got the award. Only the Prize committee knows why a subordinate (Kissinger) won the prize while the boss (Nixon) was ignored. (Kissinger did deserve a Frequent Flier award.)

According to ThoughtCo. (https://tinyurl.com/y6gjgk9z) , three presidents and one vice-president were honored by the Prize committee:

Theodore Roosevelt (GOP), who was in office from 1901-09, was awarded the prize in 1906 "for his successful mediation to end the Russo-Japanese war and for his interest in arbitration, having provided the Hague arbitration court with its very first case.”

Woodrow Wilson (Dem), who was in office from 1913-21, was awarded the prize in 1919 for founding the League of Nations, the predecessor to the United Nations.

Jimmy Carter (Dem), who served one term from 1977 to 1981, was awarded the prize in 2002 "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

Vice President Al Gore (Dem) won the prize in 2007 for his work in researching and disseminating information about climate change.

Consider for a moment how the UN, nee’ League of Nations, has prevented conflicts; the “international conflicts” avoided by Carter, and the great progress made combating climate change during Democrat administrations.

Teddy (Roosevelt) won the prize for “successful mediation” of one war (that the Japanese actually won with their surprise attack on Port Arthur — a tactic they would use again on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor.)

In comparison, President Trump managed to arrange peace or “normalization” agreements between multiple countries in the Middle East and in Europe. To paraphrase the “Soup nazi” from Seinfeld (https://tinyurl.com/zwblsg9), “No prize for you (Trump).”

Here’s a thought: In how many peace — or even “non-aggression” — treaties has Joe Biden been involved in his 47 years in Washington, including eight as Prize winner Obama’s vice president?

Republican Ronald Reagan did not garner the Peace prize, but Communist Mikhail Gorbachev won the honor for “for his leading role in the peace process which today characterizes important parts of the international community.” (https://tinyurl.com/yxsgab25)

Dry Bones by Kirschen for 25 Oct 2020
(https://tinyurl.com/y6yqdj43)

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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.

 

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Opuscula College: Who needs it? Not the voters

The Democrats said they wanted to eliminate the Electoral College.

The Republicans said they wanted to eliminate the Electoral College.

Yet, the Electoral College still exists.

Why?

 

According to History.com (https://tinyurl.com/y27u3wz9)

Five times in history, presidential candidates have won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College.

History.com continues,

Among the many thorny questions debated by the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, one of the hardest to resolve was how to elect the president. The Founding Fathers debated for months, with some arguing that Congress should pick the president and others insistent on a democratic popular vote.

Their compromise is known as the Electoral College.

As with most compromises, rather than everyone winning, everyone — in particular five politicians — lost.

The fear

Still citing History.com,

First, they thought 18th-century voters lacked the resources to be fully informed about the candidates, especially in rural outposts. Second, they feared a headstrong “democratic mob” steering the country astray. And third, a populist president appealing directly to the people could command dangerous amounts of power.

While that could happen in 2020, given the presence of extremists on all sides and the number of unsolicited absentee ballots — blame it on Covid-19 — that may, or may not, be cast by unregistered persons or persons who are registered but not citizens — being able to register on-line without having to prove citizenship actually is no worse than registering in person and not having to prove citizenship.

Actually, in some states more proof of citizenship is required to get a driver’s license!

Knowledge of issues

Newspaper, tv, radio — all carry advertisements promoting candidates and issues.

That is not to claim that the advertisements are truthful or that either the candidates or those supporting them or specific issues are honest. Even “fact checkers” can be biased and check facts that best support their position.

Yes, I believe the media is biased; some more blatantly than others.

There is a plethora of information available. There is no excuse for a voter to claim ignorance of a candidate. Have email? The candidates’ supporters will find you. Have text messaging? Ditto. It doesn’t matter if you are a registered Republican; the Democrats still will try to get your vote. I’m sure the Republicans are no better.

Perhaps there should be a test before a voter is handed a ballot to see if he or she actually KNOWS who and what is on the ballot.

Yes, I know that would immediately be declared unconstitutional.

Technology

Today, October 2020, most voting at precinct places is electronic.

Voters show up at the polling place and prove they are registered to vote by providing some evidence; often a driver’s license. The poll worker compares the evidence to a list; if they match, the voter gets a ballot.

Voters mark their ballots and carry them to a scanner that records their votes.

The scanners are “dumped” into a computer at the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) or similar office and added to the output of other scanners at other polling places.

Mail-in and drop off ballots are scanned at “Election Central,” the Supervisor of Elections’ office.

As with polling places, there are supposed to be “poll watchers” to assure everything is on the up-and-up; kosher.

The biggest weakness in the mail-in ballots is the U.S. Post Office (USPS).

There is no guarantee that a ballot stuck in a voter’s letter box will be collected by the carrier; there is no guarantee that a ballot dropped in a USPS drop box or a Post Office branch will be delivered to the SOE, especially if the ballot is handled by a mail sorting facility between the time it is collected at the drop box or Post Office branch and the time is it supposed to be delivered to the SOE.

This scrivener has particularly bad mail service; despite complaints, Civil Service and the union protect the carrier.

Voters with mail-in ballots have the option of dropping them off at a local polling place once early voting commences, or taking the ballots to an SOE secure drop box. Both ways avoid putting the ballots into USPS hands.

Vote early and often

Incumbents generally are more concerned with cheating by their opponents’ followers.

With lax — sometimes non-existent — requirements to prove citizenship, the suspicion is that illegals will be casting ballots.

The Heritage Foundation Election Fraud Database (https://tinyurl.com/ycyn6t2z) presents a sampling of recent proven instances of election fraud from across the country. This database is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list. It does not capture all cases and certainly does not capture reported instances that are not investigated or prosecuted.

The database lists 1,298 “proven cases of voter fraud,” but fails to specify WHEN the fraud was discovered making is less useful.

History, unfortunately, has some (in)famous voter fraud.

The City Journal site (https://tinyurl.com/y3y45euf), records that

Nowhere did voter fraud have a more notorious record than in Tammany-era New York. Tammany Hall's ruthless efficiency in manufacturing votes—especially during the zenith of its power in the second half of the nineteenth century—is legendary. At the time, America didn't yet have privacy-protecting voting machines or official government ballots, so Tammany fixers could ensure that voters would cast ballots as promised. Vote riggers would simply give people pre-marked ballots and watch as they deposited them into the voting box.

The people of Chicago might dispute that.

The Block Club Chicago site (https://tinyurl.com/y654l7m7) offers

Chicago is famous for its history of people voting from the grave and for helping President John F. Kennedy “steal” the 1960 election. (JFK beat Richard Nixon by 9,000 votes in Illinois by capturing what some considered a suspiciously high 450,000 advantage in Cook County.)

Mayor Anton Cermak, the first in an unbroken stream of Democratic mayors since 1931, created what would became known as the infamous “Democratic Machine,” said Bob Crawford, a now-retired journalist who covered city politics for decades. The Machine ensured voters picked the right candidates, and the people who worked in it weren’t shy about using money, bribes or fake identities to get votes for Democrats.

Tactics may have changed, but the prospect of voter fraud is once again a significant consideration. Instead of registering names from tombstones, illegal aliens may be voting thanks both to unsolicited ballots and voter registrars who don’t demand proof of citizenship.

Both WUSA9 (https://tinyurl.com/y4mh8hbp) and WTOP (https://tinyurl.com/y59nympj) report that A half-million unsolicited absentee applications cause confusion in Virginia. That’s just one state. Similar situations have been reported elsewhere.

House decides

If neither presidential candidate receives the required 270 votes, the House of Representatives elects the president.

For the 2020 election, given the House’s Democrat majority, Harris-Emhoff will become the first female president of the United States.

I predict that Joe Biden will not complete a full term in office. His age and health are an issue and if that doesn’t force his capitulation, his party will drum up a way to get him declared unfit for office. I could be wrong.

The question is: WHEN will the House get the job, if ever?

There is so much speculation that voter fraud will be rampant that who ever looses the election likely will challenge many votes. At this point, it seems likely that the winner will be named sometime in December.

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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.

 

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Opuscula Saudis, UAE, Bahrain Must push PLO, Hamas To negotiation table

SEVERAL MUSLIM-DOMINATED COUNTRIES, in particular Saudia Arabia, suggest they would “normalize” relations with Israel once there is a deal between Israel and the “Palestinians.”

The only problem is: self-defined “Palestinians” won’t negotiate with Israel.

 

IF SAUDI ARABIA AND OTHER Muslim-dominated countries want to enjoy the benefits of normalization with Israel, they must push, drag, or otherwise coerce the PLO/PFLP to the negotiating table.

Always before, the PLO/PFLP had “conditions” before it would even consider negotiations. Weak Israeli “leaders” backed by pro-Arab U.S. administrations from both parties assured the terrorists got what they wanted in exchange for quickly broken promises.

The chief PLO terrorist, Yasser Arafat, and Rabin — infamous for killing fellow Jews disembarking from the Altalena^{1, 2} — and Peres shared the Nobel Peace prize³. To be fair to Rabin, he was following orders from Ben Gurion, his boss. (Was Ben Gurion really hoping to murder Began who brought the arms and volunteers to Israel?)

Both Rabin and Peres were willing to bow to all PLO/PFLP demands to achieve a promised peace that never come to fruition until the regime in Washington strongly backed Israel.

The current chief terrorist, Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) — who “claimed Zionist agitation had been the cause of the Holocaust”⁴ — refuses any cooperation with Israel, including accepting tax money Israel collects for the PLO/PFLP because Israel withholds an amount equal to the money Abu Mazen et al pays murders of Israelis as part of the “slay for pay” plan.

Abu Mazen cares nothing for the people under the thumb of the PLO/PFLP; he even rejected two (2!) planeloads of medicine and protective clothing the UAE sent simply because the UAE plane landed at Israel’s main international airport sans Abu Mazen’s permission — as if he has any control over the activities at the airport. (The PLO/PFLP lacks an airport capable of accommodating anything more than a Piper Cub.)

According to Aljazeera⁵, In a news conference on Thursday, Mai Kaila said her country refused to receive the medical aid as the Emirati side ignored to coordinate with them.

"The UAE has not coordinated with us regarding the medical aid, and we reject to receive it without coordination," said the minister.

"We are a sovereign country, and they should have coordinated with us first."

The PLO/PFLP’s objection was that the UAE flight — with aid for the “Palestinians” — was because it seemed to be a step toward “normalization” with Israel — a process that officially happened a few months later in Washington at the Trump White House.

With intransigence shown by Abu Mazen & Friends, the leadership of countries such as Saudi Arabia will have a hard time convincing the PLO/PFLP to negotiate with Israel, especially when Israel seems to hold all the cards.

Perhaps the “Palestinians” are waiting for November to see if President Trump will be defeated by Kamala Harris Emhoff for the presidency.

Both Biden and Emhoff have talked about Harris Emhoff as president. Who really will wear the trousers in the White House if the Democrats prevail?

If Trump is returned for a second four years, the PLO/PFLP will have to re-examine its obstinacy.

Likewise, countries such as Saudia Arabia may re-examine their position vis-a-vis the “Palestinians.”

The PLO/PFLP only has two solid friends: Iran and Turkey. Granted, as long as Europe is controlled by liberals, Europeans will pay lip service to the PLO/PFLP, but little more. Meanwhile, since both Iran and Turkey want to be the center of the Muslim world, the caliphate, eventually these two may well be combatants in the next all-Muslim war.

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Sources

1. Altalena: https://tinyurl.com/y69w4yrp

2. Altalena: https://tinyurl.com/y2ffwz3j

3. Nobel: https://tinyurl.com/y5y9efcg

4. Abu Mazen: https://tinyurl.com/y4nqreph

5. Aljazeera: https://tinyurl.com/yakqlwxj

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 Negotiations

Opuscula Conservative’s Embarrassment

TRUE CONFESSION: I CONSIDER MYSELF a more or less conservative. I still walk on the street side of the sidewalk when I stroll with my Spouse. I say “Yes sir” and “Yes ma'am” in response to a question, regardless of the inquisitor’s age, sex, or race, and I think my home is my castle. I believe in law and order and I am ashamed by rogue cops and bullies in general.

I normally vote a “split ticket,” making my mark for the candidate I consider most qualified for the job, regardless of sex, race, or political party.

But some people who try to pass as “conservatives” embarrass me.

This morning I saw a fellow with a TRUMP baseball cap telling a “reporter” that “no one is going to make ME wear a mask.”

My immediate reaction cannot be recorded in this family blog.

My second reaction was to call the guy a (potential) murderer.

I have seen too many people with MAGA or Trump baseball caps going around bare faced. (I remember when “bare faced” was followed by “lie” or “liar.” It seems appropriate for these pseudo-conservatives.)

I blame these scofflaws on Trump who, for a very long time, paraded around sans mask.

Worse, he encouraged disregard of social distancing.

I would expect that of a “progressive” who feels he, or she, is “entitled” to do whatever pleases them whenever it pleases them.

But a person claiming to be a (political) conservative?

Never.

Admittedly, I am a geezer and I have “underlying health issues.”

My First Born is a Law Enforcement Officer, a LEO, and while he no longer is a beat cop, he has friends who are on the street.

OK, so you prefer the anarchy of the so-called Black Lives Matter rioters.

Why would you want to infect your fellow rioters — regardless of your political position — with a disease that can prove fatal?

I use the term “Black Lives Matter” with the caveat that too many people — black, white, brown, and “other” — are using a black’s death as an excuse to destroy America and as a springboard for anti-Semitism.

Floyd’s death was unfortunate. The cop who had his knee on Floyd is charged with murder and, hopefully, will receive a fair trail and, if found guilty, be sentenced accordingly.

That won’t bring Floyd back.

Neither will rioting and anarchy.

Last night in Dade County (Miami) Florida, a black infant was shot by another black person. Elsewhere in the county, more blacks were shot and killed by other blacks. All in ONE NIGHT. Unfortunately, this is a fact of life (and death) in many black communities. Where are the protests against blacks killing blacks?

Florida now has the unfortunate distinction of having — after California — the second highest rate of COVID-19 — the Chinese virus, Trump is right — in the country.

Dade County leads the state.

Dade County has passed emergency measures making it a crime to go out in public sans a mask. The first offense, if found guilty in a court, is a $100 fine. The fine increases if/as the scofflaw continues to disregard the law and his, or her, fellow humans’ health.

I’m sure the “progressives” will find my suggestion on how to handle these potential murderers offensive, but rather than give a citation to appear in court, take the offender into custody and place the offender in a cell with others who also refuse to wear a mask. Let them infect each other.

Political stupidity.

When the Chinese virus first got our attention, the “leaders” of Dade County took over a public building and set it up to handle masses of infected citizens and non-citizens (South Florida became a preferred destination for infected New Yorkers and Florida’s {Republican} governor did nothing to stop the influx of carriers). When the threat of mass hospitalizations subsided, the building was closed.

Now, area hospitals are at near capacity and the same “leaders” — following their peers in Chelm¹ — allow the facility to remain shuttered.

A true conservative NEVER would endanger another person’s life in such a callous, cavalier fashion.

Granted, the masks can be uncomfortable — they are poorly designed and hurt the ears — and they do make it harder to breathe, especially in summer’s heat, and they can muffle the voice.

Masks need to be washed or replaced frequently.

BUT, masks and “social distancing” DO reduce transmission of the virus.

Masks are a small price to pay to be socially responsible.

Unconstitutional? That may be a matter for the courts. In the meantime, it IS against the law in Dade County to go about sans face covering. More than that, it is a violation of common sense.

If you insist on going about bare faced, take off your MAGA and TRUMP hats. Stop embarrassing true conservatives.

 

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Sources

1. Stories from Chelm: https://tinyurl.com/y67bxso4

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 Biden ignores both Facts and handlers’ Advice on U.S. history

Update for 24 July 2020

U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX-01) calls on Congress to ban any political organization or party that has ever held a public position supporting slavery or the Confederate States of America, citing the racist history of the Democratic party. (https://youtu.be/lRR5IQmMXEU)

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JOE BIDEN, THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE, on Wednesday called President Trump the country’s first racist to be elected to the White House.

The Washington Post reported that Biden said that Trump frequently refers to the pandemic as the “China virus,” saying, “the way he deals with people based on the color of their skin, their national origin, where they’re from, is absolutely sickening.”

“No sitting president has ever done this,” Biden said. “Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president. We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed, they’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.”¹

 

 

TO ITS CREDIT, the left-leaning WashPost did challenge Biden’s remark:

Though Biden calls Trump the first racist to be president, history shows the United States has had leaders who either were openly racist, such as enslavers, used racist language, expressed racist views, or enacted racist policies.

Symone Sanders, a Biden campaign senior adviser, acknowledged that although Trump isn’t the first racist president, he’s unique in modern history.

“There have been a number of racist American presidents, but Trump stands out — especially in modern history — because he made running on racism and division his calling card and won,” Sanders said.

 

WHO IS A “RACIST”?

Katrina Pierson, a Trump campaign senior adviser, did directly address Biden’s comments, calling them “an insult to the intelligence of black voters” and pointed to remarks Biden has made in the past. Biden last year faced criticism from his Democratic primary opponents when he spoke favorably of his ability to work with segregationist senators, and he once had to apologize for calling Barack Obama “the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

There is no question that Trump has called the Covid-19 virus the “Chinese virus.” That is where the virus originated; about that there also is no question. Unlike the mis-named “Spanish Flu”² of 1918, this malady’s point of origin is correctly identified.

How identifying a killer by its point of origin is “racist” is beyond this scrivener’s comprehension. True, Trump HAS complained that China has taken advantage of the U.S. (under both Democrat and Republican administrations) and, true, Trump has moved to punish China for its behavior; still, as with the “Chinese” flu, the truth is the truth, no matter who speaks it.

Not all influenza pandemics originate in China, albeit most do start there.

The “Swine Flu” epidemic originated in Veracruz, Mexico. Health workers traced the virus to a pig farm in this southeastern Mexican state.³

A few “racist” presidents

Martin Van Buren ordered the U.S. Army into the Cherokee Nation. The soldiers rounded up as many Cherokees as they could into temporary stockades and subsequently marched the captives, led by John Ross, to the Indian Territory in 1838 and 1839.⁴

Chester A. Arthur signed the "Chinese Exclusion Act" passed by Congress in 1882⁵, provided an absolute 10-year moratorium on Chinese labor immigration.

Abraham Lincoln stated, "I am not, nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people, I as much as any man am in favor of the superior position assigned to the white race." (The Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to areas which were loyal to, or controlled by, the Union. Slavery was not actually abolished in the U.S. until the passage of the 13th Amendment which was declared ratified on December 6, 1865.)⁶ Lincoln's remarks may be why the so-called Black Lives Matter miscreants attempted to deface the Lincoln Monument.

In 1864, Lincoln was president when deportation of the Navajos by the U.S. government occurred when 8,000 Navajos were forcibly relocated to an internment camp in Bosque Redondo, where, under armed guards, more than 3,500 Navajo and Mescalero Apache men, women, and children died from starvation and disease.

Then there was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

FDR interned thousands of Japanese because they were Japanese. He feared a Fifth Column. (He ALWAYS suspected anyone outside his social set of being part of a Fifth Column.) Being a fair man, he also sent a few Germans and Italians to camp, as well.⁷ Eleanor Roosevelt, a fierce proponent of civil rights, hoped to change her husband’s mind, but when she brought the subject up with him, he interrupted her and told her never to mention it again.

FDR repeatedly ignored Jewish appeals to accept refugees from the nazis. Initially because he wanted to remain on good trading terms with the nazi government.

According to Rafael Medoff, in his book The Jews Should Keep Quiet, ⁸

The U.S. immigration system severely limited the number of German Jews admitted during the nazi years to about 26,000 annually — but even that quota was less than 25% filled during most of the Hitler era, because the Roosevelt administration piled on so many extra requirements for would-be immigrants. For example, starting in 1941, merely leaving behind a close relative in Europe would be enough to disqualify an applicant — on the absurd assumption that the nazis could threaten the relative and thereby force the immigrant into spying for Hitler.

In 1923, as a member of the Harvard board of directors, Roosevelt decided there were too many Jewish students at the college and helped institute a quota to limit the number admitted. In 1938, he privately suggested that Jews in Poland were dominating the economy and were therefore to blame for provoking anti-Semitism there. In 1941, he remarked at a Cabinet meeting that there were too many Jews among federal employees in Oregon. In 1943, he told government officials in Allied-liberated North Africa that the number of local Jews in various professions “should be definitely limited” so as to “eliminate the specific and understandable complaints which the Germans bore towards the Jews in Germany.”

Unfortunately, FDR’s anti-Semitism can fill a book — and it did. Portions of the book (ibid.) may be read at https://tinyurl.com/yyez6qye .

The Clintons “Crime Bill Destroyed Our Communities,” a reference to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which is now considered a disaster because it caused the incarceration rate among the black community to skyrocket. The legislation was such a debacle that Mr. Clinton said last year he regrets signing the bill. But at Thursday’s rally, the former president angrily attempted to justify another Clinton outrage from 1994: Ms. Clinton calling black gang members “super predators” who must be “brought to heel.”⁹

Bill Clinton¹⁰ “has no civil rights policy. He has, in fact, failed to address concretely the issue of racism, and instead has made every effort to distance himself from civil rights advocates.” Herbert Hill ¹¹

Barack Obama¹² is a liberal who cannot deal with a conservative, He

(a) snubbed Israel’s prime minister ¹³

(b) gave the PLO/PFLP US$221 million on his last day in office¹⁴

Obama’s decision not to block a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements laid bare all the grievances the two men have nursed since shortly after they took office in 2009. For Mr. Netanyahu, it was the final betrayal by a president who was supposed to be an ally but never really was. For Mr. Obama, it was the inevitable result of Mr. Netanyahu’s own stubborn defiance of international concerns with his policies.

Short list

Harry S Truman, of Missouri, did what FDR would not do: he integrated the military. Truman also appointed the first black to a Cabinet position.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, did what FDR would not do; he integrated schools.

Lyndon Baines Johnson of Texas, did what FDR would not do; he created the Great Society. While FDR created a multitude of programs during the depression, most benefited whites; LBJ’s plan was (more or less) color blind.

Richard M. Nixon didn’t particularly like Jews, but despite his Secretary of State, he aided Israel when it needed help.

Geo. Bush appointed Colin Powell as the first black Secretary of State. Condoleezza Rice was the second black Secretary of State; appointed to the post in Bush’s second term.

Is he senile, ignorant, or both?

Something obviously is wrong with a man who neither knows history nor listens to his handlers who (apparently) tried to shield him from this latest gaffe, his latest “foot in mouth” performance.

Trump is not a racist — he has brought more blacks into office than any president before him.

Because he wants to build a wall to keep out illegals, especially drug smugglers and assorted violent criminals, does that make him a racist? Or does that make him an American president trying to uphold the Constitution and protect ALL of America’s citizens.

Has he, like Biden, put his foot in his mouth and said, or tweeted, something unpresidential. Without a doubt.

Is Trump the best man for the office?

No, but he is better than the alternative (Biden).

Americans are facing an election between Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Unfortunately it also is an election between the rule of law and anarchists; the middle ground is deserted by any and all who might bring reason and civility to the table.

America is in sad straits, difficult times.

There are those — China for example — waiting for America to falter, to become a second class nation such as England and those that populate Europe.

If anyone wants to discuss racism and freedoms, look to China where racism abounds (ask a Muslim) and freedoms do not.

Trump may not be the best candidate, but he is better than the Democrat alternative.

Parting thought

During the campaign, Biden has forgotten Barack Obama’s name repeatedly, proclaimed he was running for Senate, declared that over 150 million people have been killed by gun violence since 2007, confused his wife with his sister, confused Angela Merkel with Margaret Thatcher, and confused Theresa May twice with Margaret Thatcher. He’s issued an endless litany of baffling and embarrassing statements, including, “Tomorrow’s Super Thursday,” “We choose truth over facts,” “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids,” “Why, why, why, why, why, why, why?” and “We hold these truths to be self-evident: all men and women created by the, go, you know the, you know the thing.”
The Best of Biden: https://youtu.be/1VMKF3lRoqw
More on Biden's faux pas at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzBdBj5QWyY

 

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Sources

1 Washington Post: https://tinyurl.com/y5axejr5

2. “Spanish flu”: https://tinyurl.com/rmv6v9x

3. “Swine flu”: https://tinyurl.com/y2l6bmyh

4. Van Buren: https://tinyurl.com/yc8p76oy

5. Arthur: https://tinyurl.com/yacyswvt

6. Lincoln: https://tinyurl.com/y37v8l82

7. FDR & Japanese: https://tinyurl.com/yahl2s3g

8. FDR & Jews: The Jews Should Keep Quiet, Rafael Medoff, JPS, ISBN 978-0-8276-1470-30

9. Clintons: https://tinyurl.com/y3fr85g6

10. Clinton: Racism or Realpolitik? www.jstor.com

11. Hill: https://tinyurl.com/y3j7uzfk

12. Obama: https://tinyurl.com/y5rmwyqv

13. Obama & Netanyahu: https://tinyurl.com/yxbpv2et

14: Obama & PLO/PFLP: https://tinyurl.com/y399b8nh

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 Presidential Racism

Opuscula Presidential Presumptions

INCUMBENT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP presents his Middle east “peace plan” that forget to ask what the PEOPLE in the plan want.

Presidential contender Mike Bloomberg is going to “Get it done,” even if the people to whom “it” will be done don’t want it.

TRUMP, TO THE DEMOCRATS’ lingering embarrassment, offered what the media termed the “Plan of the Century.” A plan to shuffle Israeli towns to create an artificial “country” to be called “Palestine.”

Admittedly Trump did not consult the PLO leadership.

He tried, but Abu Mazen rejected contact; even refusing a phone call from Trump.

The leftist media, of course, only reported that Trump never talked to Abu Mazen. A half-truth is as bad as a lie.

Trump and his representatives also never talked to the people in the communities that would be most effected by his proposal.

 

Because we say so

The plan calls for several Arab-dominated communities in Israel to be transferred by Trump fiat to the PLO.

The problem is that the Israeli Arab citizens of those communities WANT to remain Israeli citizens.

Several polls have indicated the majority of these communities’ citizens want to keep their Israeli citizenship.

But “polls” always are of questionable value.

What needs to be done is to hold a plebiscite to determine the will of the majority of the residents in those communities. The election could be monitored by representatives from Israel and from the PLO, or from the U.S. and Russia, both of which are experienced at influencing elections.

Trump also did not ask the Israelis in the Sinai if they want to have Hamas terrorists living next to them. (He obviously did not speak with Hamas leaders since, like Abu Mazen, they only talk to Iran’s “Supreme Leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.) There is no indication that Trump consulted with the Egyptians before expanding Hamas rule over more land along the Egyptian border.

Egypt, in order to deter Hamas’ air attacks, cleared a wide swath of land on which Hamas balloons, kites, and other items can land sans damage to property or crops.

 

Pipe dream

Part of the plan is to “demilitarize” the future “Palestine” and, as part of “Palestine,” Gaza.

Who will guarantee that “Palestine” will be demilitarized?

Who will guarantee “Palestine’s” defense from its neighbors?

There is talk of an airport in Gaza. There IS an airport in Gaza: Arafat International.

It was ruined in retaliation for attacks on Israel and to reduce war materiels from entering Gaza by air.

What guarantee will Israel have that “demilitarized” Gaza won’t be the same, albeit on a smaller scale, as was a demilitarized nazi Germany. Does anyone REMEMBER nazi Germany?

 

Healthcare at what cost?

Bloomberg is going to give us healthcare a la Obama (who is endorsing him).

“Medicare for all.” (Amusing that Obama won’t endorse his own vice president.)

OK; will everyone then pay what Medicare beneficiaries pay into Medicare every month? What about co-pays?

This scrivener’s Spouse works and pays into Medicare. She also is a Medicare recipient and pays her monthly fee. For her, Medicare is double jeopardy.

I never understood: I paid into Medicare from Day 1. Now, as a recipient, I STILL pay into Medicare?

If a Medicare-like plan is put into place, will people be obliged to see their personal physician on a regular schedule for “preventive medicine”?

Regular, candid, visits with primary care physicians and nurses DO reduce emergency room visits and reduce hospital stays. The military has known this for decades.

No one knows what the Trump health care plan would be like since the Democrats blocked it at every turn. Is Bloomberg’s plan Obamacare on steroids or is it closer to what Trump tried to implement?

 

More jobs, higher pay

Bloomberg promises to create jobs (as Trump has done) and to raise pay. Great.

Does anyone consider what a raise in pay sans increased responsibility causes?

Raised pay means higher prices (higher cost of living for everyone).

Raised pay means fewer jobs as employers cut costs (that, bottom line, increase owner/share holder profits).

My first few jobs paid minimum wage — then $1/hour — but I could buy gasoline for anywhere from 17 cents/gallon (gas “wars”) to 50 cents/gallon. Milk and bread were much less than a dollar and cigarettes went for 50 cents/pack from a machine. Newspapers from a rack were a dime weekdays and 25 cents on Sundays.

But higher pay is a good election promise. In the end it is meaningless, as it drives up the cost-of-living, but it SOUNDS good.

 

Making America safer

Reasonable gun control needs to be implemented.

Is it “reasonable” for a privately-owned rifle to have a 30-round magazine? Why would a hunter need THIRTY ROUNDS to kill one animal? Even a lousy shooter should be able to bring down the target with two or three rounds.

True, there never is a LEO (Law Enforcement Officer, cop) when you need one. My First Born, a LEO, frequently reminds me of that fact.

So let’s say a person buys a firearm for home defense. Is that person expecting a fire fight, something out of a war movie? A 10-round magazine for a rifle or pistol should be enough. If not, buy another 10-round magazine.

(My revolver holds seven rounds but for safety, I only load 6 rounds. If I can’t hit my target with 6 rounds, I’ll throw the gun at my attacker.)

I see no reason for noise suppressors/silencers. Maybe in the world of James Bond they are sexy, but in the real world where most of us live, there is no justification.

 

Get serious about background checks

Background checks? Absolutely; serious checks using on local and national databases. The state did a cursory check when I bought my first side arm. When I applied for a concealed carry license, the check was much more stringent.

No more instant delivery for guns bought at a gun show. Gun show purchases must be the same as gun store purchases.

Still, until gun laws are enforced, what’s the use?

Most criminals who committed crimes with guns did not buy their weapons at the local gun store.

It is not xenophobic to believe a lot of crime is committed by illegal immigrants. If a person is illegal, he or she may have a hard time finding a liberal scofflaw to hire them, and then cheat them on their wages. The alternative: crime.

Meanwhile, why are the scofflaws — the illegals’ employers — allowed to go free with, worst case, a “slap on the wrist”? Punish them with the inconvenience of jail time, 30 days minimum. Then led the Feds add money penalties for lack of I-9 forms.

 

Silence kills

Many of the recent spate of school shootings have been at the hands of students. Many of these shooters’ plans were obvious long before the murders. Social media were ignored. Classroom behavior was ignored. Psychological warnings (e.g., tormenting weaker kids, animal cruelty) were dismissed. When there WAS information, it often was not shared. The FBI is notorious for failing to share information with locals.

Making America safer is not just about gun control; that is only a small part of the effort.

What cannot be legislated in the feeling of entitlement many criminals possess. Why else would someone kill another for a pair of sneakers or car hubcaps. Why else would young people with semi-automatic rifles randomly shoot at houses in their own neighborhoods?

People hit the streets and call for their neighbors to “see something, say something,” to work with LEOs to get the killers off the streets, but in the end, rarely does anyone say anything, especially to the LEOs.

Is there anything any president can do to instill respect for others?

Parents, for whatever reasons, have abrogated responsibility for their child’s behavior.

Schools have failed.

LEOs look the other way at minor crimes.

Courts either will not, or cannot sentence juveniles for their crimes.

I’m entitled to that gold chain you stupidly are flashing; give it to me or ...

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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 Presidential Presumptions

Opuscula Trump fails basic Journalism rule: Cite your sources

PRESIDENT TRUMP PUT HIS foot in his moth — once again — when he told Americans no U.S. personnel were injured by Iranian missiles falling on Iraq.

In truth, (at least) 12 Americans were injured.

Trump lied.

I SUSPECT that the president was parroting what his military advisors told him.

Problem is, Trump failed to cite his source.

That’s bad management.

Ever cub reporter knows — or at last in my time knew — that sources must be cited. “Anonymous sources” were discouraged and always suspect (except at the New York Times).

Shoe comic by Brookins & MacNelly for 18 JAN 2020

What Trump should have said was “my military commanders tell me no American was injured.”

They probably DID claim zero injuries and the injuries — allegedly non-fatal and caused by nearby explosions — initially went unreported.

That happens.

I did not, however, hear the president back track on the “no injuries” claim, nor did I hear him say where he got his (mis)information.

The president has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth or letting his Twitter finger twitch in a foolish fashion. He embarrasses the nation with his loose tongue and fast fingers.

For all that, at least he is DOING something that needs to be done and trying, despite Democrat opposition, to do almost everything he promised Americans he would do.

I had hoped VP Mike Pence would rein in Trump’s propensity to go off half-cocked, making himself look foolish even to loyal followers. Apparently that role is not in the VP’s job description. Pity.

Trump doesn’t need the Democrat-controlled House to make him look bad; his knee jerk reactions do enough damage.

Fortunately, his credibility as a president IS, if not “making America great again,” at least gaining back some of the respect lost by the last two pantywaist administrations (Bush and Obama).

Meanwhile the Democrats are in Chicken Little mode, crying “the sky is falling.”

One of Sen. Bernie Sander’s staffers, Kyle Jurek, is predicting “cities burning,” Soviet gulags, and the execution of “reactionaries” (see https://tinyurl.com/rzke65k). It’s hard to tell WHO will be burning cities, setting up Soviet gulags and executing “reactionaries” whoever they are — disgruntled Democrats perhaps, accustomed to rioting in the streets?

If Trump IS re-elected, will the Hollywood elite who promised to leave the country if he won in 2016 finally keep their word and leave? Not likely, more is the pity.

The bottom line for Trump and his advisors is to learn to CITE YOUR SOURCES. It is better then making a meal of show leather.

(Image of Charlie Chaplin from https://tinyurl.com/rs4fux6)

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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 Journalism 101

Opuscula Poorly timed Cheap shots

BECAUSE PRESIDENT TRUMP said John McCain was not a hero – Trump NEVER said McCain was a coward, contrary to Democrat lies – McCain’s daughter and a few others used McCain’s lying in state as a bully pulpit to castigate the president.

If the late Arizona senator wanted to, as he claimed, “bring the nation together,” she chose to speak enthusiastically against his hope.

MCCAIN invited political foes to eulogize him, which they did, and specifically did NOT want President Trump at his lying in state.

McCain’s daughter, without naming the president, attacked him by stating:

We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness; the real thing," McCain said. "Not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who lived lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served."¹

Interesting. She could have been reviling invited speakers Obama and Bush. Obama never saw a day of military service and Bush dodged real service by joining the Texas Air National Guard. Obama keeps company with fellow Democrat Wm. Clinton.²

Vice President Pence, like Obama and Clinton, also managed to avoid military service³. Joe Biden “got a draft notice but flunked the physical due to asthma,” according to a 1987 Washington Post profile.

No argument that McCain served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot. Also no argument that being the son and grandson of Navy admirals McCain had “Vitamin P” that helped get several wrecked Navy planes forgiven⁴ and gained for him special treatment in the Navy.

It is true that McCain refused repatriation (early release) from a Vietnamese prison believing it unfair to other prisoners. There are those who suggest that McCain may have earned the Vietnamese offer due to his father’s position.

If bombing people you cannot identify from a fast moving aircraft is heroic, then John McCain was a hero.

McCain, on return from Vietnam, was promoted to Navy Captain (O-6) and assigned to Washington D.C.⁵ He and his first wife divorced and he married an Arizona woman whose influential father helped his new son-in-law enter politics.

McCain twice ran for president in GOP primaries.

In 2000, he lost his primary bid to Geo. W. Bush (who he invited to speak at his lying in state.) Bush defeated Al Gore in the infamous “hanging chad” election.

In 2008, after winning a majority of delegates in the Republican primaries, he selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate for Vice President.

He lost to Obama in the general elections. It might be suggested that the election was race vs. sex (Obama the mulatto and Palin the woman.)

In both cases, McCain kept his seat in the Senate.

Interestingly, while McCain supported normalization with Vietnam, he was against President Trump’s efforts to denuclearize North Korea. McCain’s daughter, who vilified Trump at the lying in state,

slammed President Trump on Tuesday (6/12/18) for his "buddy-buddy" meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom she denounced as a "dictator."⁶

The cohost of ABC’s “The View” and daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said from her bully pulpit that, though she was initially on board with the summit, she was disturbed by the symbolism of both nations’ flags flying together in Singapore.

“We are not the same,” she continued. “[Kim’s North Korea] is completely and utterly the closest thing to Hitler’s Germany that exists in modern time. My problem was how far it went with the buddy-buddy, and there was no talk whatsoever of the human rights violations going on in that country.”

No doubt her description of North Korea’s government is correct, but someone had to open communications with China (Nixon) and look what that got the U.S. Her father pressed for normalization with Vietnam despite its treatment of him and other U.S. POWs. The U.S. still deals with Saudi Arabia – in fact Obama bowed to a Saudi price (but he bowed to many people).⁷ It also deals with a host of undemocratic governments that suppress human dignity. The only “excuse” is that no progress can be expected if there is no communication between governments.

You can’t catch a fish unless you go where the fish live.

I understand McCain’s daughter’s pain at the loss of her father, but using the lying in state as an opportunity to castigate her father’s sometime political opponents was unfortunate and in bad taste. For once Trump showed some restraint (something he should practice more often).

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Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/yawg6jvp

2. http://tinyurl.com/qjumhq5

3. http://tinyurl.com/y7xvyppz

4. http://tinyurl.com/y959bgwp

5. http://tinyurl.com/y8fu22nr

6. http://tinyurl.com/ybpvmxsu

7. http://tinyurl.com/ya7983kz

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.

Comments on Poor timing

Opuscula Silent Dems bow As GOP’s Trump Speaks and acts

ALL GENERALITIES ARE LIES.
However, there is a grain of truth in all generalities; smoke and fire if you will.

THERE ARE MANY WHO condemn President Trump for everything he says and does – and a few who condemn him for things he does NOT say or do.

But unlike some of his Democratic predecessors in the White House, Trump DOES what he says he will do (if the Congress and the Courts don’t overrule him).

AMERICA AS “RODNEY DANGERFIELD”

American lost the world’s respect starting with one-termer Jimmy Carter who gave in to the Iranians and allowed them to capture and humiliate U.S. diplomats when the embassy was seized.

What did Mr. Carter do?

Nothing.

Mr. Clinton was no better.

When the Iranians – same folks that should have caused Mr. Carter a red face – successfully attacked the USS Cole, what did Mr. Clinton do?

Same as Mr. Carter: Nothing.

There are equally silent Republicans.

Ex-president Geo. W. Bush, a/k/a Bush 2, not only was silent after Muslim terrorists brought down the Twin Towers (9-11-2001), along with more than 3,000 innocents (including those who died in the disaster and the aftermath), but was a propagandist for the Muslims.

Geo. W also famously told the world that the invasion of Iraq was “successfully completed.” As the world knows, it wasn’t completed.

On the flip side, former president Lyndon Baines Johnson usually did what he promised; sometimes to the nation’s benefit (e.g., Head Start) and sometimes not (e.g., Vietnam). Granted, Vietnam was not LBJ’s war.

BOWING OBAMA

Two-term leftist president Barack Obama kowtowed to his Muslim friends and declared an “Arab spring,” but then did nothing when he and his secretary of state allowed Muslims to murder Americans during a planned “spontaneous” uprising in Benghazi. It was the secretary’s “do nothing” attitude before the “spontaneous” attack that directly led to the American deaths. (Imagine if she became president!)

Bowing, showing submission to someone or something¹ is Mr. Obama’s trademark.

According to The Atlantic², the ex-president has bowed to

1. 2009: Obama bows to the Saudi King
2. 2009: Obama bows to the Queen of England
3. 2009: Obama bows to the Japanese Emperor
4. 2010: Obama bows to a Republican
5. 2010: Obama bows to the mayor of Tampa
6. 2010: Obama bows to the Chinese
7. 2012: Obama bows to Felipe Calderon
8. 2013: Obama bows to a Communist

TRADITION

It’s a grand Democrat tradition to do nothing – at least until the polls and soothsayers approve an action. This goes back at least to Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) who preferred to violate U.S. citizens basic rights (by putting them into concentration camps) while sending a boatload of Jews back to Germany and death. FDR also forbade American bomber crews from dropping bombs on railroad tracks beneath them on their way to and from bomb runs on "approved" nazi targets.

Once the polls and soothsayers said it was OK – and with a little help from the Imperial Japanese Navy’s attack on Pearl Harbor (allegedly known to the White House BEFORE the attack) – FDR finally allowed Americans to save Europe (once again).

WHERE THE BUCK STOPS

President Harry S (no period) Truman proved that some Democrats are doers.

FDR had plans in motion to create and use an atomic bomb. Would he or wouldn’t he?

He failed to share his thoughts with his vice-president.

Mr. Truman who, having served in WW 1 knew the horrors of war first hand, decided “the bomb” could end the war in the Pacific and save American and allied lives. He ordered the bombing of two Japanese cities. That led to the surrender.

Mr. Truman, protecting the sovereignty of the president’s role as Commander-in-Chief, cashiered a popular general for disobeying orders. The president was roundly criticized for his action, an act that preserved presidential (civilian) control of the military and one that may have cost him election to a full four-year term. (He lost to a general.)

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Sources

1. http://kencarlson.org/bible/worship/we-bow-down-2/

2. http://tinyurl.com/y9qodvk8

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.

Comments on Do vs. Don’t do

Opuscula Who pays price For pols’ promises?

Presidential candidates are rather like the perfume commercial: “Promise them anything but give them Arpege.” Unfortunately for the voters, what they get may smell, but hardly a fragrance akin to Andre Fraysse’s concoction for Lanvin in 1927 (or the 1993 variation).

During “silly season,” candidates for offices from local to national promise that “If you vote for me, I’ll make sure you get” … pie in the sky.

What they do NOT tell John and Jane Voter is who will pay for the candidate’ largesse.

It should come as no surprise to the weary middle class taxpayer; people in that category will bear the burden, whether or not they enjoy any benefits of the politician’s promises.

Still, things could be worse.

Wikipedia offers a page titled List of countries by tax rates. Fortunately, the Wiki table’s columns can be sorted.

If you want to keep ALL your money, move to Bahrain. No taxes on anything, and no Value Added Tax (VAT). On the other end of the spectrum is Belgium; it has a 33.99% corporate tax, a 64% individual tax, 38% income tax, and a maximum VAT of 21%.

The U.S. taxpayer falls somewhere in the middle. What the Wiki table fails to show (but does point out) that property taxes are not included in Americans’ tax bite. Renters pay property tax, too; they just may not realize it.

Benefit taxes for American taxpayers total roughly 20.2%, of which 12.4% goes to Social Security, another 3.8% for Medicare and the remaining % for state and local use. Again, this excludes property taxes that pay for schools, hospitals, emergency services (fire, police), libraries, trash collection, etc. Water usually is billed separately. Some locations pay an additional local assessment for special projects, e.g., street lights.

Benefits such as Headstart, congressional salaries, the military, congressional and presidential pensions, VA operations, and similar are culled from payroll and business taxes.

The bottom line is that the more the government claims it is providing the populace – legal and “undocumented aliens” – the more the government is going to take from the middle class taxpayer.

When a candidate – any candidate for any office – promises this or that benefit, understand that the benefit has a price. Most of the time, the price is paid by the middle class taxpayer.

Think about it.

Opuscula Shameful, Half truth Headlines

 

I DON'T USUALLY VISIT Yahoo! News, but I was bored, so …

Two headlines caught my attention - that is what heds^cq are supposed to do.

One Trump Fat Shames Christie: No More Oreos for VP-in-Waiting? reads: Donald Trump could have been fat shaming Gov. Chris Christie by telling him at a Thursday night New Jersey fundraiser "no more Oreos," or he could have just been taking a political potshot at Nabisco products, or both.

Another Yahoo! headline reads Donald Trump mocks Chris Christie's weight, telling rally 'he can't eat Oreos anymore'; this blubs over-long first 'graph reads Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump appeared to mock the weight struggles of his rival-turned-supporter Chris Christie, telling a rally 'he's not eating Oreos anymore'. Discussing his own boycott of Oreos, as a response to the company moving some of its jobs to Mexico, Trump said he wasn't eating the snack and pointed at New Jersey governor and former presidential hopeful Christie, who had lap band surgery in 2013 to lose weight. "I'm not eating Oreos any more, you know that... but neither is Chris," Trump told supporters at a fundraiser to pay off Christie's debt accumulated by his defunct campaign for presidential nominee."

View video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSjXaZWeDrw

THE SECOND SLAP at Trump was a little better; it acknowledged the Trump said he wasn't eating the snack and pointed at New Jersey governor and former presidential hopeful Christie, who had lap band surgery in 2013 to lose weight. "I'm not eating Oreos any more, you know that... but neither is Chris."

I saw the clip and it in no way "shamed" Christie. Christie seemed amused by Trump's statement and apparently agrees with Trump about foregoing Mexican Oreos. The headline writers' (or their bosses) simply wanted to shame Trump.

If someone really loves the cream-filled cookie sandwich and wants to "Buy American," they can by Leaf Bakery's Hydrox; Nabisco's Oreo's are basically a copy of the Hydrox, which came first.

Trump is upset because Nabisco put 600 Chicago employees on the street. This, lest anyone forget, is Obama's political hometown and where his pal and former Obama Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, is mayor.

According to Snopes, While it's true that Nabisco's parent company announced the elimination of some jobs at a Chicago plant, the number of jobs affected was 600, and the facility was not closed. The company concurrently invested the expansion of manufacturing plants in three states, and Oreos remain in production in the U.S. at facilities in New Jersey, Oregon, and Virginia.

Snopes did NOT specify what Nabisco is/will be manufacturing in the Chicago plant that "was not closed."

The Chicago Tribune reported in 2015 that Mondelez International will lay off half of its 1,200 employees in its bakery on Chicago's Southwest Side after deciding to make a major investment in a Mexico plant rather than its long-standing facility here.

The company decided not to make a $130 million upgrade to the facility, the company's largest U.S. bakery, which dates to the 1950s, because the three unions that represent workers either did not make a proposal to keep the work or their concession packages were inadequate, said Laurie Guzzinati, a Mondelez spokeswoman.

The facility makes BelVita, Mini Chips Ahoy and Cheese Nips, among other products, and those will continue to be made in Chicago on seven production lines that will be upgraded. Nine other lines will shut down, and that work will be transferred to four state-of-the-art production lines in Salinas, Mexico.

The Chicago Tribune article failed to specify what products would be made in Mexico.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Business web site asks Could a President Trump stop Mondelez's Mexico move?

Why this was not asked of Obama; the move was announced in 2015.

The site cited several of Trump's proposals, but in the end failed to answer its own question.

Perhaps he could follow Obama's lead and issue unconstitutional executive orders.

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A little Hydrox history

Hydrox^TM is the original creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie! It debuted in 1908 and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits. Sunshine Biscuits was purchased by Keebler in 1996, and in 1999, Keebler replaced Hydrox^TM with a similar but reformulated product named Droxies. Keebler was later acquired by Kellogg's in 2001. Kellogg's removed Droxies from the market in 2003.

Leaf Brands is proud to bring back the original sandwich cookie, Hydrox^TM! Yep, it predated Oreo and was always free of animal fats. The new Hydrox^TM release will be exactly the way you remember it, circa 1908 to 1999. It will taste like the original Hydrox^TM you remember; less sweet than the others and those amazing crispier cookies!