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.