Ferguson Accountability

                “Why it was inevitable that Ferguson officer walks free: Those seeking accountability for Michael Brown won’t find it in our criminal justice system.”

                There you have it. The headline of an article from that bastion of rationality, SLHATE. I mean, Slate. Yes, much better to be in the criminal justice systems of other countries. Well o.k., many other countries don’t have criminal justice systems. Some other countries just randomly imprison people. Many imprison- or worse- those that disagree with or challenge the system or any member of that system's government, enforcement agents, etc.

                This is the unique country founded on limited government of , by and for the people and on the rule of law. Miranda rights. Jury of your peers. Innocent until proven guilty, etc.

                The article continues, “Unfortunately, we don’t live in a society that gives dignity and respect to people like Michael Brown. Instead, we’ve organized our country to deny it wherever possible, through negative stereotypes of criminality, …”

                Our society not only doesn’t afford proper dignity and respect to criminals, but we actually have negative ‘stereotypes’ of criminality? Holy crap, where will that lead us? If we tolerated, let alone celebrated, criminality, we’d be in a chaotic downward spiral from which we could not escape. Oh.

                Ironically, the whole article was an exercise in negative ‘stereotypes’ of criminality, criminality they thought was perpetrated by the police.                

Iranian Idiocy

Iran’s ‘supreme leader’, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tuesday that the West had failed to bring Iran “to its knees” over its nuclear program, according to a New York Times report. He made the remark the day after a deadline for concluding an agreement was extended for seven months. He went on to state that “In the nuclear issue, America and colonial European countries got together and did their best to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees, but they could not do so- and they will not be able to do so.”

Six ‘major powers’- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States- have been negotiating with Iran over the nuclear ‘issue’ for a year. All the ‘major powers’ insisted until days ago that the deadline for an agreement was hard and fast. But on Monday, with no basis for agreement in sight, they agreed to extend the deadline to June 30, 2015. Well, this sure makes us look tough. What integrity! No give here. Take our word, when we say something we mean it! Or not.

Britain, though a great friend, isn’t what she used to be. France…is France and only recently decided to hang on to  two new warships she was going to sell to Russia. And only then because of pressure from her allies. It would have been the biggest arms sale ever by a NATO country to the Kremlin. Germany is still in pacifist mode and the Chinese and Russian governments are simply thugs on the world stage.

                The United States, unfortunately, has in recent years  elected  and re-elected a leader who promised to fundamentally change the greatest nation on earth. In a pathetic, not heroic sense, he is the anti-Putin. Putin is determined to return his country to prominence by any (aggressive) means he thinks ‘necessary’. If he feels the need to annex a country or a part thereof, so be it. He will do anything to bring forth “the Soviet Union 2.0.” Bring on the next “Evil Empire.” He wants to take a nation with a brutal, totalitarian history and through bluffing and strength make it stronger.

Obama wants to take the nation that has demonstrably done the most good for its citizens-and the world as a whole- and through weakness marginalize it and make it weaker.

Back to Iran. In the Iranian ‘Parliament’, ‘lawmakers’ erupted in their ‘usual’ chants of  “Death to America.” The deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament said “Today, we can speak to the U.S. and its allies with the tone of power. A lesson can be taken from the recent nuclear talks that, for various reasons, the U.S. is not reliable.”

Certainly lessons can be taken from these talks. The U.S., when not steadfast in its commitments, is not reliable…to its allies or its foes. And that is dangerous, very dangerous indeed. See Vietnam circa 1975.

Can anyone imagine the U.S. Senate and House chanting “Death to Iran” or “Death to Russia or China?” because negotiations didn’t go the way we wished?

The real ‘lesson’ here is that we need to stand up and stand tall…and stand resolutely for our values. Our ‘diplomats’ should act less like diplomats and ignore communist/ statist Chinese and Russian wishes and tell the Iranian leaders to “go lay by their dish.”

Then, and only then, will an ‘agreement’ be reached.

                

Giving Thanks

                This Thanksgiving let’s all take a look at our lives and truly give thanks where due. It’s not all about football (although it is partly about football in my world), turkey, or a good bottle of wine.

    First, I hope you are blessed with a wonderful family and friends… as I am, thankfully.

                In addition, let each of us give thanks for the things we have that make, define and sustain us as human  and lead to mental, spiritual and physical health and contentment. Many on this earth, even those who are now growing old, have never experienced true love, passion or meaningful sexual relations, and don’t have a partner with whom they want to celebrate eternity. Many are wanting for food, clothing and shelter. A majority of the world’s citizens don’t live in a free, democratic nation. Therefore, they are not secure in their persons or property and often cannot express their beliefs, hopes and fears (unless possessed of extraordinary character and integrity and willing to pay the price for doing so). Speaking of which, let us give thanks for all those who have protected our freedoms and way of life and made it possible for us, the lucky ones, to have or experience some or all of the profound blessings  just described, at great sacrifice to themselves and their families.

And to our founding fathers, the truly greatest generation, we, and humanity, owe more than can ever be put into words- or paid back. (If we just don’t screw it all up  beyond repair it would probably be enough thanks for them at this point, I’m guessing). In today’s society they (and their wives) don’t often get the full credit they deserve, so let us thank them as well, albeit posthumously.

                  So to the founders, our veterans and those in the military… and our spouses… “Semper Fi.”

                  Happy Thanksgiving.

Glacier-less National Park

                A syndicated  story out of the New York Times  headlined “Glacier Park’s namesakes dissolving” is claiming that in 30 years there may be no glaciers left in the park. The story Cited the opinions of a U.S. Geological Survey ‘research ecologist’ among others.

                Most of the claims in the article are of the specious variety. It’s not that there are outright lies per se’, but that the data cited covers so few years as to be  statistically irrelevant. Claims such as “The number of days above 90 degrees in the national park has tripled in a century” is- in and of itself- proof of absolutely nothing. Period. It isn’t stated how many days were over 90 a century ago or today. Obviously it varies year to year anyway. Some centuries/ eras are dramatically colder, some dramatically warmer than others. The last “Ice Age” (not the movie) ended about 10-12,000 years ago. Indigenous folks at that time were probably a lot more worried about global cooling and were hoping desperately for a little global warming. Liking that climate change!

                “Streams fed by snow-melt are reaching peak spring flows weeks earlier than in the past” is another lame claim. Not the past two years they haven’t. And how many weeks earlier than in what past years? And then a clue: “In the Colorado Rockies, the median date of snow-(yet amusing). In that geologic span of 29 years! 29! Really. This seems highly likely as the 1970’s was an unusually cold decade. People (and scientists) were terrified  that the earth was cooling).And what, precisely, constitutes ‘median date of snow-melt’? The snow-pack or cover melts over a period of time. A week? Two weeks? A month? What if it snows again after that, as it often does?

                While the article does allow that “the rate of melting has alternately sped up and slowed in lockstep with decade-long climate cycles” and that “glaciers came and went millenniums ago” it refuses to admit that this natural cycle is what could be occurring now!

                It continued: “A century ago, the last brutally cold day occurred around March 5. By last decade, it had receded to February 15.”  This is just embarrassing. No definition of ‘brutally cold’ and… last winter it was ‘brutally cold’ (pending definition) more frequently and at later dates than anytime in recent memory. ‘Polar Vortex’ and all of that.

                There has been less snowfall ‘recently’ in addition to the melting glaciers, leading to claims that the ‘snowfields’ will vanish as well. The obvious problem with this is less snow-melt and therefore downstream water supply, but this doesn’t stop those responsible for the information in the article from piling on other potentially ‘disastrous’ consequences.

                The article states that  “Fewer avalanches will open up less clearings for wildlife and push fewer felled trees into streams, creating less habitat for trout. Tree lines may creep up mountains, erasing open meadows that enable mountain goats to keep watch against mountain lions.” So avalanches good, plant life bad, unless tossed into otherwise pristine streams?

                Wow. We can toss a tree or two into trout streams. Mountain goats will continue to be on guard against those damn mountain lions that only prey on them from below.

And finally, this: “Wolverines need deep snows to build their winter dens. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to them” states the research ecologist. Well, what the hell do they do in the other three seasons, Einstein?

What, to me, is most remarkable about articles like this one from extremely progressive people and sources isn’t the lack of scientific rigor and discipline. It’s the conservative, almost reactionary, belief, in these specific matters only, that everything is perfect as it was. As God made it. And that therefore any change in the climatic or environmental status quo is not only not normal (even if they believe we are just another ‘animal’ ourselves), but disastrous! This is completely at odds with their world view on everything else. Gays great. The more illegal immigrants the better! Bi-sexual, polyamorous  transvestites in the ministry? Fabulous! Screw the Constitution. “Hey, hey, ho, ho, western culture’s got to go! Legalize pot, but ban smoking!”

“Hope and Change” baby.

Just not in Glacier National Park.

               

Intellectual Abuse

                Listening to the news on my car radio awhile back I was stunned to hear a reporter stating flatly that “250,000 people in the U.S. are infected with the HIV virus and don’t even know it.”

                And you and the people who came up with that figure know this…how?!? If the people who have it don’t know it  (and therefore obviously haven’t sought treatment for a disease they aren’t aware they have), how are you so certain of it?

                If the theoreticians, study heads and reporters who created and touted this “fact” actually do know this, maybe they should tell the people who have the virus and let them get treatment. Oh, of course, they have no idea on an individual level who carries the disease, but are absolutely certain about the  group totals!

                Well, what else do you folks know, and how do you know it? Perhaps there are 42 million male lesbians in the U.S. who don’t know it? We’ve got to find them and let them out of the closet!

                I am waiting for a reporter to break the tragic news that “there are 10,114 reporters in this country who are logically-challenged and don’t even know it!”

Jolted!

According to a new study, as reported  in the Bloomberg News, more than half of all calls to U.S. poison  control centers about ‘energy drinks’ such as Red Bull and Monster are for children younger than six, some suffering seizures and heart problems. The study claims that energy drinks aren’t safe for children and that people of all ages with underlying health conditions should be reticent about imbibing the hyper-caffeinated beverages. While teens and young adults balancing school and work loads are the most frequent consumers of these drinks (I worked in retail for years and the break-rooms were littered with empty cans of quickly- consumed energy drinks), there occur many unintentional exposures to kids less than six years old.

Researchers for the study analyzed all 5,156 calls to poison control centers during a 36-month period that involved energy drinks. Most of the calls involving children younger than six were because they got the beverages accidentally. Nearly a third of those children experienced serious symptoms requiring treatment, including tremors, seizures, nausea and vomiting, chest pain and erratic heart rhythms. As a result, the American Medical Association has called for limiting sales for people under age 18.

I myself can’t drink any beverage with caffeine in it, as I have long been  prone to palpitations. Yet, like most things, these drinks have their niche and, as a good conservative-libertarian, I am not in favor of banning the sale of almost any item. However, as with anything we put in our bodies, we need to use our own logic and discretion. Just as we wouldn’t let a six year-old grab a beer from daddy’s fridge, we should also make sure they can’t just walk off with an ‘energy drink’ as well.

So, let’s wake up and smell the coffee. Like marijuana ‘edibles’, energy drinks can have unpleasant and even  dangerous affects on the body. 

‘Artificial’ human energy is an iffy proposition.

Terror Rising, West Falling

The number of fatalities related to terrorism soared 60% last year according to a report by the nonprofit Institute for Economics and Peace. Most of these deaths occurred in the Middle East. Policies matter. (Thanks B.H.O., for getting us out and making us look weak and unexceptional-see my  “ISIL Leader Mocks Obama” post). Four groups including ISIL, Boko Haram, and the Taliban ‘took credit’ for two-thirds of worldwide deaths related to terrorism in 2013, the report said, describing radical variants of Islam as “the key commonality for all four groups.” Imagine that.

                However, the world’s industrialized nations, including the U.S., often targeted by groups such as these in the past, have suffered relatively few attacks on their soil since the Sept. 11, 2001 onslaught.

Thanks, George ‘W’. Or do you think Al Gore would’ve done as well?

Terror rises now… as the West falls.

                

North Korazy- Part II!

                The North Korean government is at it again. There is always unintentional humor and creative hyperbole in its “official” statements, and this past week was no exception.

                On Tuesday a U.N. committee voted to adopt a resolution urging the Security Council to refer the leaders of North Korea to the International Criminal Court for prosecution for extensive violations of human rights. The North Korean government then promptly stated that due to this “political provocation” they would have to renew nuclear testing.

                In follow-up statements Thursday the government accused the United States of hiring “rubber stamps” to pass the document and claimed the resolution set a dangerous precedent in “politicizing and internationalizing the issue of human rights.”

                They then claimed that the United States was planning to overthrow their government, stating “Our war deterrent will be strengthened infinitely in the face of the United States’ plot for armed interference and invasion.”

                Maybe just another area where President Obama plans to act by executive fiat? Can’t imagine the U.N. would “rubber stamp” the idea of invading North Korea.

The Meaning of Life?

                How brief a life we all have here. Yet how filled with drama and bickering and needless pain, disrespect and petty annoyances. What will we say to our husband/wife or other loved ones as they lay dying in the near future? Perhaps “I love you” or “You meant everything to me” or “you made me feel so good” or “I’ll never forget the time…” or “I can’t even imagine my life without you?” If that’s the case, if that’s what really matters, why don’t we say it every day? As the country song says, we don’t really get to live unless we “ live like we are dying.” Do things that you have never done. Experience what you have never experienced. Tell your lover what  he/she means to you, tell your kids you are proud of them. Treat them- and yourself- like this could be the last time you will ever see them…because it could be. And if it isn’t, that time will come all too soon. Are you just marking time? Does nothing matter? Or do you want to make a statement, a positive statement that your life has mattered, if for nothing else that you have mattered to others… and been loved by others? Why are you here? Why? For yourself? Or is their something divine in that spark with your spouse? Or in your care and guidance of your kids?

                We live for 60 or 80 or maybe 100 years, if we are lucky.

                Divide 100 by eternity. What do you get? Zero.

                Zero.

                Or maybe so much more than that. Maybe an idea of what really matters.

               

                

North Korazy

According to the Associated Press, The U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee approved a resolution that urges the Security Council to refer the country’s brutal human rights situation to the International Criminal Court. Of course this is a “non-binding” resolution that now goes to the General Assembly for a vote sometime in the future. China and Russia, which hold veto power on the council, voted against it. There’s a shock.

A U.N. commission of inquiry report earlier this year  declared that North Korea’s human rights situation “exceeds all others in duration, intensity and horror.”

North Korea sent a sharp warning before the vote. Trying to punish it over human rights “is compelling us not to refrain any further from conducting nuclear tests,” said Chloe Myong Nam, a foreign ministry advisor for U.N. and human rights issues. He went on to accuse the European Union and Japan, the resolution’s cosponsors, of “subservience and sycophancy” to the United States, predictably promising “unpredictable and serious consequences” if the resolution went forward.

(Kim Jong Un is  conflicted today; finally being granted what he believes to be long-overdue recognition  as a force to be reckoned with makes him happy, but the thought that the “Dear Leader” himself could somehow be held accountable in a criminal court makes him crazy. Excuse me, make that crazier).

If that’s possible.

               My response to the North Koreans would be: “Trying to threaten us for deploring your deplorable human rights record is compelling us not to refrain any further from laughing in your face."

The Keystone (Pipeline) Kops

The Democratic-controlled Senate rejected legislation this past Tuesday  that would have guaranteed completion of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Had the measure passed it would have created thousands of high-paying jobs and lessened U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Much of the oil the U.S. imports comes from countries who are anti-U.S. and actually sponsor or support terrorist acts.

The governments own environmental impact statement predicts that a pipeline would result in less damage to the climate than moving the same oil by rail. President Obama opposed the measure, while Hilary Clinton  has (repeatedly) courageously refused to take a position. Many in Big Religion have urged a ‘no’ vote as well.

The 59-41 Senate vote was one short of the 60 needed to clear (pass) the House-passed measure. One.

All 45 Senate Republicans supported the legislation. Only 14 of 55 Democrats and allied Independents joined them.

There will likely be another vote on the matter early next year after Republicans take control of the Senate. Unless an XL version of the “Keystone Kops” breaks out, the “Keystone XL Pipeline” should finally be allowed, one border-crossing that would be beneficial to us all.

               

War on Women- Part II

                South Carolina state Senator Vincent Sheheen, governor Nikki Haley’s Democratic opponent in this past election, spoke in Florence about the need to “take our state back.”Any time a Republican uses that phrase he is immediately branded as a racist, sexist, homophobe or such like, especially if their opponent is a minority.

                Senator Sheheen wasn’t done, however. After running off a list of complaints, he exclaimed “we must escort the whore out the door!” He then amended that statement to “escort her out the door” leaving some wiggle room for those who may have thought it was a simple slip of the tongue. However, the audience laughed and seemed to approve of the remark.

                His response? He winked and laughed, pointed and added  “you have to tell the truth.”

                Truth? No, a despicable slander of an innocent, competent, gracious woman.

                Fortunately, in this case, Ms. Haley won and it was “the bore that was shown the door.”

                The “War on Women?” What side seems to be firing all the shots?

Hackers Remorse?

                From the New York Times-

                “The State Department on Sunday became the fourth (U.S.) government agency to announce a breach of its computer systems in recent weeks, after an infiltration forced the agency to temporarily shut down its classified e-mail system and public websites. This breach follows a similar one on the unclassified computer systems of the White House last month, which also resulted in a temporary shutdown of its communications systems. There have been similar breaches at the U.S. Postal Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

                “The breach at the White House was believed to be the work of hackers in Russia, while the breaches at NOAA and the Postal Service were believed to be the work of hackers inside China.”

                My Take-

                This hasn’t been properly addressed by the media, let alone the U.S. government. The only proper response to this and so many other recent aggressions by Russia and China is, “Eff you! If you don’t cease and desist these actions we will cease and desist them for you, and possibly also you while we’re at it. Clear? We simply won’t countenance international vandalism of our nation’s important IT networks. Hack that, a--holes.”

                               

Homeless Policies

                “The number of homeless children in the United States has surged in recent years to an all-time high, amounting to one child in every 30, according to a comprehensive state-by-state report that blames the nation’s high poverty rate, the lack of affordable housing and the effects of pervasive domestic violence.” This gleaned from a recent Associated Press report. The National Center on Family Homelessness, the issuer of these statistics, claims that nearly 2.5 million American children were homeless at some point in 2013. “The problem is particularly severe in California, which has one-eighth of the U.S. population but accounts for more than one-fifth of the homeless children with a tally of nearly 527,000.”

                Overall, child homelessness  increased by eight percent nationally from 2012 to 2013, according to the report.

                Nice job, libs! Obama has been in power now for six consecutive years and has done whatever he’s wanted by executive fiat, ignoring and bypassing the Constitution.

                The leftists/progressives, who alone have created these conditions both economically and socially and who have attempted to destroy the traditional family should be chagrined. (You think I’m exaggerating? In every way imaginable. Gay marriage. Abortion. Your contraception paid for by others. Virtually rewarding unwed  mothers for each child they have out of wedlock. Claiming two or three- or ten- mothers or fathers, in any combination, are as good as one of each). Instead they will claim we need more taxation and government regulation to assault the problem. That has never- and will never- work.

                 Child homelessness is at an all-time high in this country? It’s not surprising. Socialism is too. It’s the p.c. order of the day.

                Free-market capitalism is at an all-time low.

                Adam Smith, a nation turns its saddened eyes to you.

                Or at least it should.            

ISIL Leader Mocks the West

             According to a report in the New York Times, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic  State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), issued a new call to arms Thursday, November 13 in a 17-minute speech urging disciples to “erupt volcanoes of jihad everywhere.”

During this audio recording Baghdadi, who appeared to dispel rumors of his serious injury or death in an airstrike last Saturday, belittled President Obama’s plan to send more soldiers to Iraq. He exhorted Muslims throughout the Middle East to rise up against “the agents of the  Jews and crusaders, their slaves, tails and dogs.”

            He declared, “We see America (and her allies) stumbling between fear, weakness, inability and failure.”

            How nice.

            How true.

            How unnecessary.

            And another report, this one from the Associated Press, states that ‘the leaders of ISIL and Al-Qaida have agreed on a plan to stop fighting each other and work together against their opponents’, which would be the U.S., Israel and other Western and NATO nations.

These nations better wake up, sober up and start recognizing these developments  for the long-term existential threat that they are. We may not want to deal with this crisis, but, if we don’t, it will surely deal with us.

            As for the U.S., President Obama isn’t going to change his stripes. We can’t wait for another Ronald Reagan to come along. We better hope the Republicans who now control the House and Senate have more courage and fortitude than their predecessors. Only then will it be possible we elect a President who recognizes- and doesn’t curtsy to- evil.

               

     

Feminist Profanity

                 A company called FCKH8 has produced a video that is both disgusting and terribly sad. It is using cute little  girls to promote a starkly feminist agenda. These very young girls stare into the camera for nearly 3 full minutes while blurting out F-bombs (and all manifestations of the eff-word) at a staggering rate. These ‘ironically’ dolled-up ventriloquist dummies are being used and abused in a heartbreakingly pathetic manner by the adult (?) ‘feminists’ for this commercial ad-campaign.  Their agenda  includes selling t-shirts with FCKH8 or feminist messages on them. The sites where this video is posted are rife with advertising as well. More on that later. The viewers of this video seem to be preponderantly female based on their comments in response to the video. Responses, by -the- way, laden with vitriol (hate?), profanity and spelling errors. (You-Tube posted the video, took it down, thought better of it, and posted it again. It is there now).

                The claims of discrimination on this video are distortions of fact and outright lies and this does them no favors.

                The left adores swearing and brooks no distinction between adult fare and children’s or between private and communal, precisely the distinctions that lead to a  society that is at once civil and mannered,  yet spicy and robust. Crazily, it has gotten to the point that there is now less 'swearing' (even the eff-word) in the vast majority of ‘adult’ movies than in most ‘R’-rated popular movies, sometimes dramatically so.

                The left tries to portray people who are concerned with swearing as old-fashioned dorks who probably want to go back to the days when black folk could not sit in the front of a bus and mom was home all day vacuuming while wearing a nice dress. They told us all that Mitt Romney was a dork (was too white) because he talked like Eddie Haskell did when speaking to Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver. (“Gosh”, etc.) And, they say, you know it’s hypocritical and false to portray Ward and June like that, too, because in reality they were probably “getting it on” most nights themselves. Gosh, what the heck does that have to do with anything? We already knew that, Einstein, since they have kids.

                But they think it’s ‘authentic’ and ‘gritty’ and ‘real’ and ‘intense’ for the characters in any story to swear continuously. Most people can’t watch classic old movies or television shows now without smirking or laughing. Leftists want the dad in “Father Knows Best”  to tell the kids “To bed with you now you effing effers”!

                I agree wholeheartedly with them that controlling language is the first step to controlling thought, and believe in freedom of speech 100%, but I detect a bit of hypocrisy here. They say no limits, anything goes, yet we’re not to utter the Washington football team’s ‘Redskins’ moniker anymore.  The University of North Dakota was forced to drop its ‘Fighting Sioux’ nickname. They don’t have one now. They are hoping to have one picked out by 2015/2016. I hereby suggest they choose to become the University of North Dakota “Effing Sioux”. It’s almost the same, sounds similar but is one letter shorter and might save a few bucks in uniform costs. If the tribe and p.c. types don't like that name any better ("hey, we replaced violence with love!"), than they could propose just calling themselves the "effers."

                Now, let’s get back to the advertisers on sites with this video. Companies have cancelled- or threatened to cancel- contracts with the Redskins and North Dakota. Nike and others pulled out of deals with Adrian Peterson and/or the Minnesota Vikings because of his overzealous disciplining of his son. Yet they are fine with this abject child-abuse?

                And what about the parents of these girls in the video/ad? Did they coach their baby girls in the correct pronunciation and inflection of these F-bombs and other swear words or just let others do it?

                I am not even totally opposed to the word itself. Used judiciously and in the correct contexts, it has its place, but we demean language- as well as kids- when we use it indiscriminately.

                When I watched this video I thought of ‘the Stupid Virus’ ( see a prior post). Perhaps there is a ‘Vile  Virus’ as well. Effin’ right there is!

                I swear.               

Putin on the Blitz!

                (Italicized words set to the rhythm of the song, “Puttin' on the Ritz,” made famous by Fred Astaire)

               Tanks and various other military vehicles, many towing heavy weapons, are once again pouring over the Russian border into eastern Ukraine. Sightings of the  “green men,” Russian soldiers in plain green uniforms with no insignia are becoming more common as well. These are the same type of forces that carried out the invasion of Crimea this past spring and they are obviously preparing for renewed military action.

                If you’ve no clue and you don’t know who to blame, why don’t you look where Russians maim…Putin on the Blitz! Different types who wear the same coat, pants with no stripes, they’ll cut your throat with perfect slits…Putin on the Blitz!

                Of course, Russian government officials dismiss the reports as “alarmist”. They vehemently deny that there are- or ever were- Russian armed forces inside of Ukraine.

                Dressed up like million dollar troopers, Putin trying hard to look like Gary Cooper (super duper)

They think we’ll run from where Ivans walk with guns or rocket launchers in their mitts…Putin on the Blitz!

                And now the Russians are provocatively resuming their Cold-War era practice of sending long-range bombers to patrol the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific. These flights extend to the borders of U.S. territorial waters and are in keeping with the more aggressive air “defense” posture Russia has implemented since annexing the Crimean region of Ukraine this past March.

                You’ll declare it’s quite a dare when you hear them lobbing bombs and lies into your midst…Putin on the Blitz!

The Stupid Virus

Wednesday, April 1, 2015-

From News Reports

                In congressional testimony earlier today, authorities revealed a plot to spread Chlorovirus  ATCV-1, aka “the Stupid Virus”. The virus, discovered by scientists from John Hopkins University, was first publicly acknowledged in a ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ (PNAS) paper released on October 27^th, 2014. Shortly after the paper’s findings were disseminated many in the media dubbed Chlorovirus ATCV-1 “the Stupid Virus” because it has been found to depress certain cognitive functions. In fact, laboratory mice that had been deliberately injected with the virus were found to be about 15% ‘dumber’ than those that didn’t receive an injection.

                The virus, found in 43% of the  human sample group, resides in the back of the throat. Scientists had been puzzled by how the virus, which usually is found in algae, had made the leap to a different kingdom of animal.

                Authorities revealed today that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) had been placing infected algae into suburban and rural water supplies around the country in a desperate attempt to gain more votes in advance of the November 4, 2014 general elections.

                DNC members initially claimed that Rush Limbaugh was behind the sabotage of community water systems and that they had no knowledge of- or involvement in- the  scheme. (Several claimed that if you reverse audio-recordings of  portions of Rush’s recent radio shows  you can make out the word ‘Chlorovirus’). When asked why Rush would do that, they all sat dumbfounded and mute, however. Eventually Nancy Pelosi leapt up and said “Don’t you fools see? We had to put it in the water supplies so we could find out what was in it?!”

                Quickly caving after that, the crestfallen DNC members stated that “you all read the poll numbers, what choice did we have?”

                Many people have suspected for some time now that people, in general, have been getting dumber in recent years. How else to explain  certain voting and cultural trends, among other things? And the taking seriously and on good faith the words and promises of the heads of North Korea, Iran and other totalitarian states?

                Experts say that the ‘tipping point’ of global-dumbing, past which the planet isn’t likely to recover, will be reached if governments and people start believing anything any member of the Russian government says.

         

Weeding Out the Truth

                There is a new ad campaign encouraging adults to consume marijuana, albeit responsibly and in states where it is legal. To that end, there is a billboard in Denver, Colorado that states “Don’t let a candy bar ruin your vacation. With edibles, start low and go slow.” Below the message is “consume responsibly.org” who apparently sponsored the billboard or at least was partly responsible for this ‘public-service’ message. Notice that the message isn’t “Don’t smoke pot/do drugs/put toxins into your body/lungs” etc. (Many people have gotten sick from ingesting pot-infused candybars and other "foodstuffs").

                Can you imagine if this campaign were for regular old tobacco… cigarettes? Let’s say there were billboards in North Carolina stating “Don’t let a carton ruin your vacation. With cigarettes start low and go slow.” And then “Consume responsibly.org”. (Hilariously or tragically, depending on your perspective, many of the same people who bash cigarettes and cigarette smoking are okay with smoking pot. Incredibly, a few who advocate banning the sale of cigarettes lobby for the legalization of marijuana. Beam me up, Scotty).

                Would the response to the ads be any different? Or should I say, would there be a response… to the cigarette ad? You know there would be… an absolute outcry. (‘Big tobacco’ would be massacred for starters). Both are bad, but marijuana is an order of magnitude worse whether we are talking about toxins absorbed by the users body or long-term affects on the brain- and ambition- of said user. I never smoked it, but a few friends did when I was growing up. They spent many fruitful hours on the couch several summers watching soap operas for hours at a time. (They used to like to fish and water-ski and just be physically active and alive).

                How does one “consume cigarettes responsibly” let alone marijuana? Dude, I don’t know.

                Go ask Mary. When she’s ten feet tall.

              

Invasive Species Out, Illegal Aliens In!

               There is yet another incredible inconsistency/hypocrisy of thought among liberals that has gone unnoticed in recent years. They champion “diversity” over all other “virtues”. We need all races, creeds, religions, sexual orientations (57 varieties now on Facebook! Claim one now while they’re hot!), fetishes, etc., etc. to be complete they shout. Gay marriage, abortion, legalized pot, it’s all good, bro! Tolerance is everything!

And yet, there are  two things liberals will not tolerate. First, if one disagrees with their positions (see also ‘global warming/climate change’)  that is heresy, not diversity of opinion… and will get one banned from speaking at a college or university…and perhaps threatened with jail time. Theirs is the only orthodoxy they will accept.

                Second, liberals, as the eco-fascists they are, think Invasive Species are going to be the death of us all- if climate change doesn’t get us first- and believe we have to expend whatever effort and resources it takes to prevent them from taking hold in our pristine ecosystem.

                That’s right, Purple Loosestrife, Zebra Mussels, Eurasian Milfoil, Bighead Carp, Round Gobies, etc., etc. will crowd out all our native species and make our lives a living hell if we don’t spend billions of dollars to try to keep them in check…and spare no effort to keep any/all other obnoxious foreign flora and fauna back where they damn well belong.

                Yet, liberals claim that every man, woman and child, of any stripe and character, that comes across our border is a font of enrichment for our nation and is warmly to be welcomed into our culture, workforce and hearts. They will be good for the economy and teach us about other cultures and belief systems. Why, we can learn so very much from them, it is a privilege for us to have them around, whether they came here illegally or not.

                In sum, diversity is not just good but mandatory in all things, except thought- if you think differently than they do. That kind of diversity is dangerous. (The Founders would be so proud). Oh, and  every living thing, plant and animal alike, that hails from parts unknown  is dangerous to our ecosystem and way of life- except for human beings, who are universally a blessing bestowed upon us from any and every country on the planet.

                They do tolerate their own hypocrisy and illogic.

               

              

               

Stork Busters

                “Stork Busted As Suspected Spy In Egypt” read the headline from the August 31^st Daily News  (among many other media outlets). Egyptian authorities “detained” the stork, literally putting it behind bars in a jail after a citizen brought the bird in and pointed out what he thought appeared to be an eavesdropping device of some kind attached to the bird’s neck. Of course, this was a tracking device, to aid in discovering the extent of the bird’s migration, where these birds winter and how long they may stay in one place, etc. This device would’ve been placed on the stork by a European naturalist, not an Israeli agent… with the intent of gathering intelligence on… the stork…not Egypt.

                The Bush administration doesn’t look quite so paranoid now, does it?

                When you detain a large bird- in a prison- for days at a time on suspicion of being a Zionist spy, you may want to consider a twelve-step program.

                Just sayin’.

The Real War On Women

                The Republicans “War on Women” appears not to have prevented them from making substantial gains with the female voter in this past election. In fact, many Republican women won their races, including Mia Love, a woman ‘of color’ in Utah…Utah, of all places! This is great to see. She is the first Haitian-American, and first black female Republican, ever elected to congress. Republican Joni Ernst was elected as a Senator from Iowa.  Two female Republican governors were re-elected,  Nikki Haley in South Carolina and Susana Martinez in New Mexico. Of course there isn’t and never was a Republican “War on Women”. Quite the contrary. Republican values are more in line with women’s values than the Democrats are on most issues. (Single females who want someone else to pay for their birth control and want absolutely unfettered access to abortion would be the only notable exception).

                Republicans desire to limit taxation and provide an economic climate that values and promotes business and- therefore job growth- obviously helps all working women. Policies that do not foster broken families and do help prevent crime are important to women as well. Moreover, policies and actions that protect them- and all of us-  from terror attacks and  keep the country strong and safe  (and their kids as well) resonate with women as well as men. As does getting rid of Obamacare. Stopping or limiting mass illegal immigration doesn’t hurt the Republican’s standing with the ladies either.

                As for mothers,  I never really understood why universal contraception coverage and abortion rights would benefit motherhood. But, that’s just me.

                Newsflash: there is, however, a War on Women in parts of this world. Unlike in the U.S., where more females than males attend college, 85% of all purchases are made by women, etc., etc.

                In some Muslim countries women can’t work, drive, travel freely without a male chaperon or even leave the house whenever they please. In Iran recently, it was recently revealed, that people who buy, sell or walk a dog can be fined or subjected to 74 lashes. A woman had acid thrown on her because she had a bad HiJab. Another was hung for killing her rapist.

                And yet another woman received a year in jail for attending a volleyball game.

                Many Western women like to highlight or show off their bodies in various ways. This may make them feel attractive and wanted, or perhaps they are just proud of- or happy- with what they were blessed with and enjoy the difference between the sexes. In Iran and other Muslim countries women have to wear a Hijab to cover their face and chest when around adult males not in their immediate family. Failure to dress modestly enough (i.e. covered from head to toe) leads to shaming and serious consequences. Sometimes dire consequences. One Iranian cleric says that earthquakes are caused by immodestly attired women.

                This all sounds to me more like a real War on Women, or at least outrageous discrimination.

                True to form, the Democrats will be ramping up the rhetoric now that Republicans have control of both the House and Senate. They will claim that Republicans are bad for “women’s rights”.

                Oddly, they won’t address “women’s rights” in Iran. In fact, they’ve tried to coddle, ingratiate and apologize to Iran- and most of the Muslim world- for years now.

                Women have the right to think for themselves, yet liberals go crazy when they do. It’s the same with African-Americans (and other minorities). That should tell us all something about real intolerance. Mia Love is both female and black. She won in Utah. Thank you, Mia. Thank you, Utah. Ladies, you may be free at last. Welcome home.

                Godspeed Mia. Well done ladies. Well done indeed.

      

              

"Adorable" Science

                Well, so much for the vaunted ethos of “scientific detachment and objectivity.” The headline (in many, many major newspapers, on-line, etc.) of an article about a newly discovered animal species recently read, “Adorable New Mammal Species Found ‘In Plain Sight’.” The article stated that the discovery of a new species was a rarity ( as opposed to how many are disappearing do to man’s evil ways). It went on to state that this new species eats fruit and weighs about two pounds, lives in Ecuador and Columbia and swings through trees at night. Oh, and it has a “teddy bear” face.

                When a legitimately significant scientific finding such as this is announced, the first word in the headline of an article reporting the finding shouldn’t be “Adorable.” The dictionary meaning of the word adorable is: “very attractive or delightful; charming; worthy of being adored.” So let’s go now to the Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary definition of adore: to regard with the utmost esteem, love and respect; honor; to pay divine honor to; worship. No subjectivity here! No feelings or bias!

                Are we logically to consider this animal “charming” when we’ve just discovered him/her? Does it speak French, say we’re beautiful and buy us a drink? And worship? Many of the intelligentsia, the enlightened, don’t worship God anymore, but the newly presented- and “adorable”- Olinguito is worthy of our divine approbation?

                I don’t recall scientific findings being presented like this in the past. I thought they were to be conveyed in a sober, clinical, factual manner.

                Upon inventing the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell did not say (during the first ever “call”) to his assistant “Mr. Watson…come here…I want you and your cute little chubby cheeks to see my amazing invention. It’s way cool!”

                Perhaps I missed the headline stating “Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Gives Scientists Confirmation of One Hell of a Sexy Big Bang… Creating Universe.”

                I don’t think “discovery” of the buffalo in 1804 prompted headlines such as “Adorable , Fuzzy, New Wild Oxen Species Discovered on Plains…’in Plain Sight’.”

                Oh, well. At least I can finish this post with a peerlessly reasoned, clinical statement of fact born of the strictest scientific methodology and purest motives: “Unprecedented Man-Caused Climate Change  To Kill Us All!”

How Many Putins Does It Take?

                Putins, Putins everywhere? According to a report by the Russian-language newspaper “Trust” (but verify?) a female Russian lawmaker has introduced to the State Duma a bill that proposes to extend the greatness of Russia via it’s female citizens having access to the sperm of Vladimir Putin.

                “The essence of my proposition is simple”, said the Chairwoman of  the Parlaimentary Commission on Women’s Affairs (!), Children and Family, Yelena Borisovna Mizoulina. “Each female citizen of Russia will be able to receive by mail the genetic material of the President, get pregnant from him and have a baby. These mothers will be receiving special allowances from the government.”

                Sounds like they already would have!

                Vladimir might be busy for awhile.

                Ms. Mizoulina went on to describe what would happen after President Putin’s babies were born, presuming that they will be male. “And after the birth of the child, he will have to be given to be raised into the special institutions that resemble Souvorov Schools with the aim that he will be loyal to the Motherland and personally to the President of the Russian Federation.” A Souvorov School is akin to a military boarding school. (How long after the births she didn’t say).

                 She continued, “children born from the Russian President in the future will form the military and political elite of the State.” Nothing chilling there! (And, assuming they don’t abort the girl babies, what happens when these throngs of Putin kids are of age to be married? Confusing? “Ivan, meet my father…”).

                The “Putin Youth” will literally be… Putin’s.

                A pregnant idea, to be sure, but there aren’t enough countries in the world for all these future Putins to annex!

                And we thought the U.S. congress had some crazy ideas.

                (They wouldn’t dream of putting forward a bill like this! They wouldn’t, would they? Ms. Pelosi?!? Why is President Obama smiling??!).

                __________________________________________________________________________

*Mz. Mizoulina’s quotes and some other info were gleaned from an on-line piece from the New York Observer (Nov. 6^th, 2014). They believe they were the first to translate this ‘proposal’ into English. (It is not likely this proposal will pass).

*Any/all ‘emphases’ mine

          

Bible Belted

                The United States government must make a formal apology to secure the freedom of two Americans who remain imprisoned in North Korea, North Korean legal experts (try to say that without laughing) said Thursday, October 23^rd. Earlier that week North Korea released erstwhile American prisoner Jeffrey Fowle. Fowle, who had not yet been tried in a court, was flown out of North Korea on a U.S. military jet on Tuesday, October 21^st, after being detained for six months for leaving a Bible in a nightclub in the city of Chongjin, where he was visiting with a foreign tour group.

                Getting Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae out of prison, however, will likely require an official statement of apology and formal request for their release from Washington, according to the two North Korean law experts. Though nothing is known for sure, there is speculation that Miller and Bae were also detained for carrying Bibles and engaging in activity potentially detrimental to the officially atheist state.

                Two main points must be brought up here. One: consider what the reaction of former presidents might have been if Americans abroad were detained- let alone imprisoned for 6 months- for the “crime” of carrying a Bible/believing in Christianity? Teddy Roosevelt? Harry Truman? JFK? Ronald Reagan?

                Point number two: truth be told, we may soon be imprisoning our own citizens for carrying a Bible or leaving one in a nightclub…and almost surely for “proselytizing.” Already any clergy member that dares cite a Biblical reference that isn’t pro homosexuality, for example,  is risking censure…or worse. In Canada these “wayward” priests or pastors can be banned from their pulpits and actually face criminal charges.

                Yes, Pyongyang is demanding Washington, D.C. apologize.

                What would (our first president, the “Father of Our Country”) Washington, the man, have replied?

               

Gender Blender

The public schools of Lincoln, Nebraska, have instructed their teachers not to use the “offensive” phrase “boys and girls.” Or “ladies and gentlemen” and/or any other gender-specific term. The district foisted a training document on its middle-school teachers that tells them that even hearing the “offensive” phrase could seriously harm students who are “transgender.”  The document instructs the instructors to use such “gender inclusive” classroom names as “campers, readers, athletes and purple penguins” instead.

That is comically absurd. And pathetic. And, as God is my witness (those of you who’ve followed my blog from its early days know I have rarely- if ever- used that phrase before), one of the saddest and most destructive and dangerous things I’ve ever heard.

The “document” also “warns” teachers not to ask students to “line up as boys or girls” , and suggests asking them to line up by whether they prefer “skateboards or bikes/ milk or juice/ dogs or cats/ summer or winter/ talking or listening.”

It also tells teachers that they should intervene if they ever hear the students themselves talk about gender in terms of “boys and girls” and, basically, tell them to knock it off.

This is really about gender neutrality, the “concept” that there is no difference whatsoever between male and female human beings. If that were the case, I’d like to be dead tomorrow, but it isn’t of course, as none of us would ever have been born.

And without life, there could be no “concepts” whatsoever. No thought, no music, no poetry, no passion, no literature, no love, hope or faith.  If there are no sex or “gender-specific” traits, there could be no meaningful  sex, and would be no life, no…anything.

An info-graphic produced by a website used by  Lincoln schools replaces the traditional “Gingerbread man” with a Genderbread person.” The description of the image reads “Gender is one of those things everyone thinks they understand, but most people don’t.”

No. Gender is one of those things that almost everyone intuitively understands, except for a few wildly intolerant “progressives.”

The graphic has been placed in the form of a handout to kids and continues by stating that “It’s not either/or, in many cases it’s both/and. A bit of this, a dash of that.” It encourages the reader to define their gender based on how much they align with “what you understand to be the options for gender” such as “two-spirit” and “gender/queer.” If you’re not either male or female to begin with, how could you know if you’re queer?? Moreover, how the hell are we going to know who to blame for sexual assaults on campus anymore? It used to be the guy was just automatically blamed. Now what? "Well, the twin-spirited entity sought to couple with the gender-queer being...at least that's what the Trans*Female  (gender-questioning) witness said..."

Elsewhere in the weighty documents used by teachers in Lincoln is a handout that defines “gender identity” as simply “a psychological quality…it can’t be observed or measured, only reported by the individual… it consists of more than two categories, including those who identify as a third gender, two-spirit (both), or agender (neither).”

Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Steve Joel defended the materials, stating that, “…we have kids coming to us from so many different backgrounds, and some of those are confusing to the students themselves, to other students, and to some of our staff.” That the kids can be both genders, no gender, or some undetermined “third gender” is going to make it less confusing to all?!?!!

Many of the best, most beautiful, meaningful, spiritual, powerful and life-changing moments of the vast majority of people’s lives revolve specifically around there being two sexes. I don’t believe the majority of the transgender students are  “seriously harmed” by hearing the terms “boy” or “girl.” That’s patently absurd. I give them more credit as human beings than that. In much the same manner as most heterosexual “boys” and “girls” aren’t “seriously harmed” by hearing the term “transgender.” Transgenders are 1% of any student body at most. Heteros 99%. Who are we trying to harm?

Boys and girls. Ladies and gentlemen. Man and woman. Husband and wife. She and I. Are there many more profound and pregnant words… in any language? Leather and Lace, metal and magnet.

There are many on the progressive side who no longer want us to recognize “truth” and who don’t believe in “good” and “evil.” Now they want to do away with “male” and “female.”

Odd. These are all core concepts from the Bible and the main drivers of human history. They are all clearly understood, even by those that reject them. Yet, the “myriad” of gender options leftists propose (after male or female) are said to be “fluid” or “transitory” or “either/both/neither/don’t know” and such like.

It’s hard to define what doesn’t exist.

               

               

Dark Ages Redux

                 The West, at least as exemplified by Europe, is in trouble. This is not a controversial statement. Most pundits and regular folks alike agree on that. Neither is it a stretch to  state that the trouble is almost entirely self-inflicted. Whether it’s dealing with massive immigration and Islamic extremism/terrorism on the one hand or hyper-secularism on the other, there clearly exists a crisis of confidence. A nearly omnipotent and virulent strain of political-correctness smothers free speech and independent thought, and, consequently, the ability to recognize and state the truth. This, and a general lack of fortitude- and belief in their own institutions- has resulted in a nearly total inability to  protect or preserve this, the most historic of continents.

                Now, however, it appears parts  of  the continent will literally go dark in the near future. As winter temperatures take hold of much of Europe, brownouts may too. This is because the higher the percentage of ‘renewable’- or ‘green’- energy, the more difficult it is to manage power-transmission grids. Europe is phasing out its coal-fired power stations, closing down nuclear power plants, and deeply averse to ‘fracking’, instead banking heavily on wind farms and solar installations to take up the slack. So far, this approach isn’t working.

                Moreover, utilities have reduced output from natural-gas-fired plants in response to Europe’s economic slowdown, and the region’s aging thermal generators are being retired from service, according to Bloomberg News. As it stands now, thirty percent of Europe’s gas comes from Russia, half of that through the Ukraine.  (Another comforting statistic for a continent that loves repeating its past mistakes of willful blindness and irresolution. Napoleon? Nah, nothing to worry about. Hitler? Let him have the Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia, Austria, etc., that’s logical…and all he wants, I’m sure! He said so himself! Uncle Joe Stalin? He’s earned the Baltic states and eastern Europe…so many Soviets died in WWII, let him have it. What’s the worst that could happen…he was our ally for crying out loud?!!).

               

                And the United States under its current “leadership” isn’t far behind.

                Welcome to the “Dark Ages- Part 2”. ( The first one lasted 524 years).

                Settle in for a long, cold, dark, winter.

Blinded Me With "Science"

                What other “scientific method” (theory) is allowed the leeway that’s granted to “Climate Change?” From junior high school one’s taught that you come up with a hypothesis, test it, and go where the facts/results take you. Period. That is called “the Scientific Method.” What other scientific area allows observable data to be chronicled, touted and then changed in midstream when results don’t buttress the theory?

                Take the infamous hockey stick graph…please. That “old trope” is now in the process of being proven wrong. Temperatures aren’t continually rising. And the rate of increase of the rate of increase in the global temperature is certainly not increasing, either. But those who originated that graph and its predictions can’t be wrong. Therefore global warming certainty becomes…climate change certainty. Viola’! Yet, instead of being chastised, questioned, tossed-out or re-evaluated, these folks and their theories just get an absolute free pass. Remarkable.

                Let’s posit a theory here by way of example, using a hockey stick, in fact. All hockey sticks used to have straight, flat, blades. Let’s say we were proposing the curved blade. Radically different! We hypothesize that the curved blade will increase goal-scoring as it will lead to faster shots and more movement of the puck after the shot is released. We are surprised and chagrined to find that scoring didn’t go up, and in fact may have decreased a bit, because it is more difficult to corral and control the puck with a curved blade. Well, we don’t want to look like fools, so…we either find the exact time range where the results did look like they conformed to our hypothesis (“look at this 10-game stretch or these 3 teams only”, etc.). Or…

                We just claim that we didn’t mean that scoring would go up per se’, we just meant that the curved sticks would change scoring  or…something!  It could’ve been the reverse. It doesn’t matter, if the facts don’t matter. Say our theory was scoring would go down, but it actually stayed the same or went up. If our theory doesn’t fit the observable facts, we just claim we knew something(s) would change and that the altered stick blades were responsible for this/these change(s).

                 Yes, since everything had forever stayed the same before we trotted out our precious theory!