Use Your Sound Judgement and Never Trust a Headline!

We Have Nothing to Fear, Except the Media

The media continues to destroy our faith in America, provokes racial tension and only 32% of Americans say that they trust the media.

Avoid fear and use some good judgment and common sense.

Rule 1    Understand your principles and live by them.

Rule 2    Find the source materials for stories and draw your own conclusions. Keep things in context.

Rule 3    Email or write sponsors and media outlets regarding specific lies, misleading headlines and exaggerations.

Rule 4    Invest 2-minutes into checking facts when stories upset you or sound too good to be true.

Rule 5    Do not live in fear.

News reports will soon focus on various end of year statistics, based on our calendar year. Because the government will leak or simply provide information in drips and drabs, the media will provide lots of stories and debates. Most will be slanted to reflect the media’s desires. 

Read the actual statistics that will be available on-line and to be vigilant as the media tries to manipulate us with arched eyebrows, heavy sighs and adjectives and adverbs. Some radio stations host actually talk over, drum their fingers, and sigh while broadcasting parts of speeches and press conferences! (Write the station sponsors and tell them you no longer bother to listen).

If you read the actual reports and numbers that are released, without the media filters, you will not be frightened and can make up your own mind about what the numbers mean.

In the meantime, we do have statistics from the fiscal year, 2016, which runs from October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016. I mention this because the media will quote whichever source makes their point and will even mix their sources to produce a slanted view of key issues.

Watch for reports that compare whole numbers and percentages. Watch for apple to oranges comparisons.

Remember that you cannot have it both ways. You cannot distrust the media and quote the media when something is reported that supports your views. Rely on real facts.

Rejecting the Premise

Answering a question about a complicated situation in a witness chair is frustrating when the attorney  demands a 'yes' or 'no' answer. We often try to answer with more complete information so that the jury can make an informed decision, but the judge directs us to answer the question with a 'yes' or 'no'.

It never made sense to me. Why would anyone not want to provide all of the information? Do the jurors really want the simple answer so they can make a quick judgment? Some questions cannot be honestly and morally answered with only two possible choices.

The debate and conversation about refugees is very complex and millions have accepted the premise that there are only two types of young men fleeing places like Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and South Sudan: terrorists and those at risk of becoming terrorists. I reject this premise. The premise is based upon fear. I live in 'the land of the free and the home of the brave' and want to know when did we become the 'home of the afraid'?

Millions upon millions of us fear a religion. Even more fear change. I am not among them. Do terrorists commit horrible murders? Yes, a small handful commit horrible murders. However, more murders are committed in many U.S. cities that have a few million citizens. (There are one and a half billion Muslims in the world and the percentage of murderers is minuscule compared with the percentage of murders committed by Black residents of Chicago or Baltimore).  [I know that I just said the unspeakable. Blacks in a single city murder more people than terrorists]. But, let us return to refugees and our fears.

The fake news sites and legitimate news sites fuel the flames. While the fake news sites contain complete lies, the legitimate media may be just as harmful with their half-truths and selective reporting. However, fake and incomplete news stories are not the real problem. The real problem is that we want our prejudices and fear of our changing culture to be justified and we want a make-believe solution.

Fact-checking only takes a few moments. If an issue is important to you, why would you not check the facts of every story concerning that issue?

What in the Hell Just Happened?

How did he win? My messages and phone calls on the 'morning after' were pretty much the same. "How did he win?" Everyone wanted to know how Donald Trump became President-Elect Trump. Just because I do well in Las Vegas, people seem to think I have the answers. Well, I have a few.

Half of the nation hated Mr. Trump and half hated Mrs. Clinton. This was, for many, a choice of voting against the person we hated the most. I asked a lot of people how they would vote and they all gave similar answers. "I can't vote for that person". I don't recall anyone actually listing the wonderful things that their candidate would do. That being said, many people told me that they would support Mr. Trump because he would be different and change things. In other words, people were disgusted with the same old government. 

I believe that even members of NOW supported Mr. Trump, even though he is a pig when it comes to women. Women also want change. Also, women are more sophisticated than Mrs. Clinton thinks and they will not vote for a woman just because she is a woman. (Besides, in this world, gender can change and we can't even figure out who should use which bathroom).

Also, a lot of working class people are sick of being ignored, lied to and taken for granted. 

Fear? Yes, fear was a motivation. People are afraid of all Muslims, thanks to the press and hate sites like Breitbart. Mr. Turmp stoked those fires and tossed in Mexicans just to make sure all Whites were afraid and angry. He also used the age-old technique of blaming "them". As Hitler's propaganda machine said, the masses love to blame 'them' and if you combine fear and hate, you can easily control the masses.

Mrs. Clinton tried to convince us that we should fear Mr. Trump having the launch codes. The reason that did not work is that we were conditioned long ago to blame 'them' and to fear 'them' and we were taught to believe that if it were not for "them" all of our problems would be solved. Mrs. Clinton was presenting a brand new fear when she warned us that Mr. Trump was unstable.

So we have a new president. Get over it. Don't cry. Don't skip college classes because you are too sad. At the end of the day, President-Elect Trump received more Electoral votes.

In a Nutshell

Poor people, homeless people, poor unskilled refugees and migrants, Muslims, and especially poor people of color need to just go away. We do not care about your problems. We don’t want to see it, hear about it or read about it. We just want you out of our lives. (We can’t admit this because it might sound as if we are bigots and condescending. However, it takes too much effort to cite make-believe reasons for our hidden beliefs).

We want all jobs that were outsourced to other nations, returned to the USA and we want all the robotics and computers (the real cause of job losses) to disappear. 

We also want those high wages for those old jobs and we expect the cost of living not to rise so that those wages can be paid and so we can stop inexpensive imports.

We want a magical wall that separates Mexico from the USA in such a way that no ladder or tunnel will circumvent this wall. We expect the government to build this wall without seizing any private property and we expect Mexico to pay for this wall. 

Although our puny minds have not realized that we will also ‘need’ a magic wall along our border with Canada to prevent the hundreds of thousands of refugees they plan to accept from entering the USA, we want that too. Perhaps Canadians will pay for that wall.

Since we don’t realize that Mexico is the second largest purchaser of US exports, we don’t ask for a solution for the jobs we will lose as we begin a tariff war.

Yes, this is what we want.

I call this little missive “In a Nutshell” because we know what we find inside of a nutshell: nuts.

The Winner? The Debate Moderator's Agenda

The Winner – Mr. Holt, the moderator with an agenda

We were told that this Monday’s first presidential debate would have three focuses: “securing America, America’s direction, and achieving prosperity. The debate moderator traditionally chooses the themes and the questions for the presidential debates.

Heavy reports that Lester Holt, NBC anchor and moderator of this Monday’s debate, solely chose the night’s topics and wrote its questions.

Mr. Holt should explain why he questioned Donald Trump about releasing his tax returns. How does the release of those returns, however desirable that may be, impact “securing America, America’s direction, or achieving prosperity?

Mr. Holt should also explain why he questioned Donald Trump about his view about the location of President Obama’s birth? How do those remarks impact “securing America, America’s direction, or achieving prosperity?

While Mr. Holt is dreaming up answers to those two questions, here is a third. Why did he not ask former Secretary of State lies about her e-mails, the destruction of e-mails, and her decisions regarding Benghazi? Why did she not retain all e-mails and let a judge determine which were personal and not to be released?

In fact, Mr. Holt could have pursued an array of questions about Mrs. Clinton’s involvement in many suspicious actions that had a direct bearing on the security of America.

It was obvious to this observer that Mr. Holt came loaded for Donald Trump. I predict that the media will ignore the obvious bias of Mr. Holt and Mr. Holt won the debate.

He Should Have Played the Quiet Game

Suppose Donald Trump kept his mouth shut. 

Regardless of what you may think of Mr. Trump, I find this supposition interesting. Without all of the controversial remarks and flamethrower language after he secured the nomination the media would have been constantly focused on Hillary Clinton. The e-mails, the lies, and her entire history in politics would have been the focus of the media. Oh, some of Mr. Trump’s past and things that he said during the run-up to the convention would have been targeted, but Hillary Clinton would have made for much more interesting reading.

When Mr. Trump was asked about his previous statements, for example the deportation of illegal immigrants, he could have given a brief answer that he will always do what the people demand and what is best for the country. Evasive? Yes. Bland? Yes. But he would not have wounded himself.

Whatever we think of Trump, he remains his own worst enemy. He has said so many horrible things that many believe he remains close friends with the Clintons and is deliberately helping her.

Suppose Donald Trump kept his mouth shut.

Election Results - Workers Get the Shaft

Clinton 68 years old

Trump 70 years p;d

One of these people will become our next president. On inauguration day, she will be 69, and he will be 70. (Reagan was 69 when inaugurated the first time). Not that age matters. Many people grow and learn new ideas in their 70's, and there are not any diseases that affect the elderly.

Passions are running exceptionally high among many voters. The rest of us are damn near ready to flip a coin. Fanatics demand that others vote 'their' way, instead of being open to more than one point of view. The candidates?

Trump and the Clintons shared drinks, dinners, and views. Trump donated to her Senate campaign and the Clinton Foundation. Until his run for the presidency, he espoused so many liberal views that there was speculation that he was only running to help Hillary. Recently, Trump was asked if he won, would he simply resign. He said, "we will see."

Hillary and Trump are both so egocentric that they should understand each-other perfectly. Either will crush anyone that gets in their way. Hillary did not stand by her man as the constant parade of bimbos climbed into Bill’s bed. She stood by her ‘power’. She would step on Bill in a heartbeat if it gave her more power.

Either could win.

This election is not about the candidates (although many fear that Trump is insane and Hillary lies so much that she really believes some of her lies and is angered when we do not). This election is about beliefs, dreams, and desires. This election is about fear, distrust, and blame. This election is about emotions and not about candidates.

Will Trump push the button? Will Hillary allow us to be overrun with Muslims, terrorists, and Mexicans? Will American jobs return? Will we go to war?

What will happen in Congress? Will our nation be completely dead-locked with no changes? Most of what the candidates propose requires Congress to act and/or the Supreme Court to remain silent. Regardless of who moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Supreme Court Justices will continue to surprise us. Supposed liberals have voted for conservative views, and supposed conservatives have agreed with liberal judges. Maybe nothing changes.

Whatever happens and whoever wins, America will continue to be a divided nation. Neither side will be powerless. Meanwhile, the rich will get richer, and the worker will continue to pay the bills.

To Be(lieve) or not To Be(Lieve)

Believability is, like everything else in this election cycle; it is turned upside down. 

Clinton’s lack of trustworthiness throws everything she says and promises into question. She desperately wants us to believe.

Trumps problem, at least with Independents and the undecided, is that they don’t want to believe him, especially at his worst. Who wants to believe that Mexicans coming to America are rapists, drug-dealers, and killers?

Both candidates chose their running mates in the hope that their honesty and views are what we will trust. Both candidates would have us ‘believe’ that the presidency shares power with the vice-president. The VP only has one constitutional job and that is to continue to breathe. The VP awakes each morning and asks, “Is the president still alive?” and has no other constitutional duty. The president can choose to engage with the VP and can choose to totally ignore and not even speak with the VP.

So we are back to the candidates.

Trump is so bizarre that he claims not to know if he will simply resign after being elected! Is this part of the effort to have us ignore all of his other bizarre statements and hope that he does resign? Who knows?

Clinton is such a liar that we wonder if she even knows the truth. Does she believe that because she believes her lies that we also believe her?

Both candidates are working hard to convince us that the other choice is even worse than they are as they continue the race to the bottom. 

Believe it or not.

Black Lives Matter

It seems so obvious, yet it seldom seems to occur.

BEFORE commenting about Black Lives Matter (BLM), read their website and watch their television presentations.

Imagine commenting about changes that are needed in our immigration laws without every reading a summary of those laws. Oops, that happens every day, too.  O.K., imagine critiquing a movie without having seeing the movie. Maybe that is a safer comparison.

I was fortunate. While channel surfing (because men never want to know what is on TV. We only want to know WHAT ELSE is on TV) I caught an episode of Black Lives Matter that explained the history of racism in the USA that resulted in many people feeling that Black lives do not matter to most Americans. I said that I was fortunate because the episodes that focused on police shootings turned me off. Maybe I am too sensitive after a 35-year law enforcement carrier or perhaps I am too knowledgeable of police procedures regarding officer safety and why these procedures exist. In any event, I was blessed to watch an episode that did not focus solely on police shootings.

The episode I watched taught me some things that I did not know. Although I am always reading a new historical novel or study, there is a lot I did not know or consider. It is easy, maybe too easy, to simply blame Black people for their problems. Education is a good example. My knee-jerk response to the problems at schools serving the Black ghettos is that they are filled with violent Black children who lack manners, respect and have little desire to be educated because of their upbringing. However, BLM pointed out things that I knew, but unconsciously blocked out.

Most inner-city schools serving Black children are run down, poorly equipped and staffed by many teachers that would prefer teaching anywhere else. The most experienced teachers typically do not want to drive into a ghetto and teach at these schools. A small percentage of Blacks are violent drug dealers, however it only takes a small percentage to create a cauldron of violence and fear. Police are pressured by the community to do something, but when we stop and frisk people on known drug corners, we appear to be harassing people that are just standing on the corner. Most often, we find no drugs or guns. The look-outs alert the dealers before we jump out of our cars. It seems that every person that every got so much as a parking ticket gathers to watch and shout at us. Often this leads to arrests like public intoxication and disorderly conduct, fueling more anger. Remember, the people want the violent drug dealers, the robbers, the thieves arrested and we are arresting people for petty crimes because we are frustrated and angry.

A good parent living in the ghetto does not have much of a chance in raising their children to respect police, teachers or appreciate the opportunities in America. Entire generations only know welfare and what the government provides. They often see two choices. White people and any people whose parents are successful, have great opportunities to invest in the market, become educated, and to be employed in a good job, with opportunities to advance. Black people living in the ghetto can fight the odds and try to become educated and find a good job or they can accept the cards they are dealt and take what the government provides.

In White America we invest in the Stock Market.
In Black America we search for a grocery market, even one that over-charges.

Non of this is simple.

I have no problem with BLM.
If you have an opinion about BLM at least give voice to an informed opinion an explore the website and television series with an open mind. Put aside pre-conceived notions and do not search for things that validate your uninformed opinion. Instead, really understand.

Insensitive Police - say Politicians

The Baltimore City Police Commissioner and City officials state that the comments made by the Baltimore Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police were insensitive. The comments expressed relief and a sense of justice over the dismissal of all charges against a Baltimore Police Officer in the death of a drug dealer.

Citizens would expect the Police Commissioner to support his officers and be happy that his officers were found not guilty by the Black judge hearing the case. The judge carefully listed all of the problems with the prosecutor's case - the main problem being the complete lack of ANY evidence. We would expect the Police Commissioner to be jumping for joy! Under his watch, the officer was found not guilty. Instead, this gutless wonder bowed to political pressure and criticized the FOP for being insensitive in their comments!

We expect the city politicians to play the game. The trouble is that the Police Commissioner is just a Baltimore City political employee. It was not always this way. The Police Commissioner used to be appointed by the governor to remove city politics from the police department. Today, the mayor simply appoints a kiss-up.

Mr. Commissioner and members of the Baltimore City Council! Was it insensitive when Blacks robbed, burglarized, assaulted, burned and looted? I do not recall any criticism of those felony crimes.

Was it insensitive of the States Attorney to demand that looters and arsonist be given space? Was it insensitive of the Police Commissioner to ignore his sworn duty to uphold the law? Was he insensitive by not ordering his officers to enforce the law and protect the citizens? Was the Commissioner insensitive to allow my 72-year-old sister to remain a prisoner in her home because of the lack of police effort to control the looters?

How I wish that EVERY Baltimore City Officer had laid their guns and badges on the floor of every police station and went on strike. (They could not lay their badges on the floor of the Police Commissioner's office because it is guarded by goons.

BREXIT AND TRUMP

The Brexit vote is about blaming ‘them’ or ‘the others’ for everything that is wrong in the lives of citizens and the nation.

The rise of Donald Trump is about blaming ‘them’ or ‘the others’ for everything that is wrong in the lives of citizens and our own nation.

Regardless of the final outcome, Brexit or remain, Trump or Clinton, the economy is not going to improve. Jobs will not return to America. America will not magically change into the 1950’s.

If the fantasy of 11 million people being deported from the USA and a giant magical wall ended illegal immigration, our economy may actually worsen. Does even one rational person really believe that suddenly taxes will be reduced because ‘those people’ are gone? In a few states where draconian laws resulted in an exodus of people, taxes increased! Politicians cited sharp declines in sales tax revenue. Businesses declared bankruptcy or simply closed.

Does anyone believe that the quality of education will increase because schools are no longer overcrowded or need to provide bilingual education? Maybe you believe that prisons, courts and the police will ask for budget reductions without those illegals to contend with.

Brexit and Mr. Trump are signs that the average worker is fed-up and angry. The average worker wants someone to blame (other than the 1% of the super-rich that keep the average worker broke). People of color are always popular targets because they are easily identified and ‘different’.

Nothing much will change. Should Mr. Trump win the election, he will blame congress for the failure of his magic pixie dust that was supposed to change everything. Should Mrs. Clinton win, Trump and conservatives will blame her election for the lousy economy and lousy jobs. In either event, the Muslims remain a convenient target and we always have the Blacks to blame for everything.

An interesting side note: we conservatives love to tout self-reliance and criticize the whiners and complainers while we whine, complain and blame others for our misfortunes.

Buyer Be Ware!

GOOGLE the product name and the word ‘complaints’ before you buy.

People read Internet adds, view Internet photos and videos and plunk down big bucks without investing one-minute to read the complaints about products that are easily found with a simple GOOGLE search.

Although every product and service will likely have a few complaints, the minute it takes to read the complaints is worth our time.

Here is an example. A friend of mine in law enforcement was excited to tell me that he just received his Tactical Shadowhawk X800 Flashlight for $56 (it normally sells for $116 according to the company website). He told me about the amazing power of this flashlight and I asked him to show me the website where he made this amazing purchase.

My friend watched as I opened a new tab in my browser and googled the words “Shadowhawk X800 complaints” and watched my friends face sadden as he read the results. I clicked on one of the ‘Do Not Buy’ results of that google search and we read: 

“I believe this company, the subject of numerous BBB complaints is a previous incarnation of Shadowhawk. They've changed the name, but the product is still a rebranded Ultrafire 878 and the shady behavior combined with internet hype matches.”

It was easy to find hundreds of such complaints.

We visited the Ultrafire 878 website. The photo and specs were identical to the Shadowhawk X800 – the price tad $10.01!

This is only one example. Keep in mind that there will almost always be some complaints about a product. However, a few minutes of reading the complaints is well worthwhile.

Google can be an amazing consumer protection tool.

How Odd

How Odd

Every media outlet offers the same themes at the same time.

One week we are bombarded with stories about refugees. The next week we are bombarded with stories about racism in the police department. Occasionally, the planned news stream is interrupted by a catastrophe, but then the stories shift back to the coordinated focus that the rich and powerful media owners use to manipulate public conversation and thought.

Looking at today’s news headlines we see the ‘critical’ news of the day.

A judge in a province of China ruled against same-sex marriage. Now here is a story that the entire world must know!

Curfew imposed in Kashmir. This is important to those of us in Baltimore because we might have gone for a stroll in Kashmir and broken the curfew.

American woman jailed for insulting United Arab Emirates. The woman was jailed on February 23^rd. Today, this is a lead story! Suddenly, 50-days after the arrest, this is an urgent story on news sites in America!

Oklahoma Lawmakers aim to increase cattle rustling penalties. (Important to ranchers in Oklahoma and cows everywhere).

My point is that although these stories may be of interest to us why are they the lead stories on aggregate news sites and in our daily newspapers.

Tomorrow, we could see a sudden shift in every news outlet’s focus. Tomorrow 80% of the news outlets could coincidentally run big stories about refugees, illegal aliens, or Donald Trump’s mismatched socks.

However, it is the repetitive stories that keep us under control. White vs Black, Hispanics vs Everyone, Refugees, Illegal Alians, building 'the Wall" are stories with a common purpose. Divide the masses and keep us arguing among ourselves so we do not notice the corporations, banks, and Wall Street tycoons laughing all the way to the off-shore bank!

We are being manipulated. It is our own fault. We gobble up tabloid soap opera like stories and we love any story that confirms our preconceived prejudices. We really are as dumb as the wealthy and powerful assume.

So why the coordinated ‘news’? The powerful cannot allow the masses to actually think. They cannot allow the masses to clearly see how the wealthy obtain and maintain their wealth. For example, they cannot allow us to demand substantial changes in banking laws, investment laws, or any changes that reduce profits. Most Americans will either shrug or deny that the American taxpayers can pay for more massive bailouts. In fact, the taxpayer bailout scheme is one of the best examples of our stupidity.

It is so easy to see the problems with using tax money to bail out banks and wall street investors and corporations. Think about the most basic facts.

When corporations, big investors or banks makes a huge profit, it is theirs! We have no problem with that fact. They earned it.

When corporations, big investors or banks lose a large amount of money, we cover their loss.

Imagine placing a huge bet at a casino and when you win, you keep the money and when you lose everyone else covers your loss! Wow! I want to go to that casino!

Yet, we see no media interest in producing a series of stories, similar to their coordinated effort to sway opinions about illegal aliens, refugees or White police officers shooting Black suspects. Again, I am not suggesting that these stories be abandoned, but where is the constant stream of media stories about the rape of the American taxpayer?

When the Internet and blogging came into being, there was a brief hope that the average Americans would engage in meaningful discourse. However, the media has so focused our attention and provided ‘proof’ that our prejudices are justified that we blog about what the media presents. It does not matter if we agree or disagree with the position of the media. What matters to the media owners is that we stay focused on anything other than those things that could interfere with the wealthy.

Belgium and Terrorism

Once again, the simple minded offer simple solutions to a problem in these United States that does not even exist. Politicians, haters, and well-intentioned people, ignorant of history, focus on the horrible murders in Belgium without any analysis of how Belgium arrived at such a point.

Geography plays a big role in any European terrorism. European nations are so small and so close to each other that travel between these countries provides terrorists with the ability to nation hop at will. The following European countries are smaller than Texas. 

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Andorra, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Switzerland, Vatican City, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Romania are all smaller than Texas.

Radical Muslims and those sympathetic to Radical Muslims did not just arrive in Belgium last year. For decades, going back to the 1980’s, Belgium has seen people in these groups constantly grow. By some estimates, there is so much empathy for radical Islam in Belgium that, Belgium has supplied the highest per capita number of fighters to Syria of any European nation –between 350 and 550, out of a total population of 11 million that includes fewer than half a million Muslims.

Belgium suffered waves of terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s linked to unrest in the Middle East. “There is a very long history of the connection between Belgium and France in the realm of terrorism,” said Rik Coolsaet, an expert on terrorism at the University of Ghent[1].

In the first half of the last decade, men from Belgium made their way to Iraq. So too did Muriel Degauque, a convert from Charleroi, who died in 2005 while bombing a US convoy in Iraq, becoming the first European woman to launch a suicide attack.

Others travelled to Afghanistan. In 2008, a network sending young Belgian Muslims to al-Qaida training camps was broken up. Several returned with the intention of committing attacks at home, prosecutors claimed.

Live Brussels explosions: multiple casualties after airport and metro attacks – live

The violent aftermath of the Arab spring provided a new motivation and new opportunities for extremists all over Europe, and militancy in Belgium itself was already broadening and deepening. One well-known, ostensibly non-violent, group of activists – Sharia4Belgium – that was responsible for a stream of aggressive hate-speech and alleged recruitment was eventually broken up.

Molenbeek, an area of 90,000 in the capital where some neighborhoods are up to 80% Muslim, is seen by many as a particular problem. “In parts of Brussels, there are areas on which the police have little grip, very segregated areas that don’t feel they’re a part of the Belgian state,” said Edwin Bakker, a Dutch analyst.

Note that all of these situations existed long before the EU refugee crisis.

Politicians and demagogues in these United States will not speak with a voice of reason. Instead, they will play on our fears and talk about sealing our border with Mexico, without every explaining what ‘sealing the border’ even means. They will talk about the ability of terrorists entering the United States by coming across the Mexican border, without explaining why terrorists could not enter the United States from Canada. True concern for protecting us from terrorism would include all borders. 

True concern about terrorism would address the millions of containers that pass through our ports every day and that if even one of those containers contains a nuclear or chemical bomb, we are at extreme risk.

If the issue is not about terror, what is it about? Fascists use whatever means necessary to convince us to blame dark skinned people, people of different faiths, people of a different culture for everything that is wrong in our lives. 

The rich and powerful support this nonsense so that they can continue to take as much money away from the workers. The rich and powerful support this nonsense so that their banks and Wall Street brokers can continue to gamble with our money with the certain knowledge that if they bet and win – they keep the profits and if they bet and lose, tax dollars will cover their losses. Blaming those that are different is almost the biggest fraud they commit. 

The biggest fraud is the belief that we choose our leaders in America. Really? Are you happy with the ‘choices’ that the rich and powerful give to us in the upcoming election? How many times have you wished for a good and honest candidate? No, the rich and powerful determine who we can elect.

In magic, this is called a forced card. You convince people that they are choosing a card, but you stack the deck in a way that they can only choose what you want them to choose.

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[1] The Guardian, November 16, 2015