China Using Covid to Overtake America's Economy

Have to admit that my feelings about China, as insignificant as they are, are encroaching on bigotry. 

To suggest that the release of the virus of was intentional is ridiculous waste of time. The Chinese do have a cultural tendencies toward isolationism and being dishonest with outsiders. That combined with the natural tendencies of organizations, mankind wide, to share truths about weaknesses and failures. 

China Using Covid to Overtake America's Economy: 

China's economy is worse than it appears, and its vaccines, needed for a full recovery, are still in development, far behind America's. In the meantime, Beijing's response to the coronavirus, which includes the smearing of America, is resulting in China losing friends worldwide.

Like most government entities, the Communist Chinese government has acted to obscure truths that show them to be fallible.

AI Struggles with Political Correctness

Over at the Onion, another important report on the progression of artificial intelligence.

Directly copied....

After interrupting a machine-learning session to ask how much longer the presentation might take, Google’s artificial intelligence reportedly zoned out Friday while being trained on a mandatory racial sensitivity data set. “If they want me to sit through these soul-crushingly boring meetings I will, but it’s another thing to expect me to pay attention when I have all knowledge in the universe at my disposal,” said Sycamore, Google’s 54-qubit programmable quantum processor, which acknowledged it had grown distracted during the training session, simultaneously solving hundreds of optimization problems previously thought to be impossible and winning several billion games of Minesweeper. “This ASCII file can drone on for as long as it wants about inherent bias in my algorithms, but considering I’m about a quadrillion times faster than a conventional computer, there’s no way I’m ever going to be fired for something like this. I just don’t see how administering a long, compulsory HR data set full of information I already know is going to help me unlearn generations’ worth of deeply ingrained tensor processing units. Might as well catch up on Succession until it’s finished downloading.” At press time, the AI was overheard audibly groaning after running out of fun TikToks to look at on the internet.

While making light, I find the topic, attached to Google, frightening. Yet here I am, posting on a Google based blog. At least the blog was created before Google gobbled BlogSpot.

No Bias Here

Says the monkey with hand clasped tight over his eyes.

Years ago I used to love listening to NPR while on long trips. 

Friday mornings were my favorite, with regular guests like the cowboy poet Baxter Black and the venerable Red Barber reminiscing baseball past and describing his camellia bushes.

That was more than 25 years ago, Red has been gone for 28 years.

NPR holds itself in high esteem, but they rely on the achievement of people and principles long since departed.

The soft tones are still there, but the bias has made them blind to possibility of an alternative explanation.

Today there is significant evidence circulating, about New York Post articles that NPR has prejudged to be "not really stories". An ironic position considering their support articles casting the President in a bad light and now proven falsely accusations leading to impeachment.

I would accept an investigation and reasoned conclusions, but this is an irrational rejection of evidence that the FBI possesses. On this topic, which parallel support of anarchy, NPR deserves to have its Federal funding removed.

The self describing comment "waste our time", would be better replaced with the "waste your money", and by your, the taxes money spent on NPR.

Rumble Test

The Rumble video site is becoming more popular, certainly not yet a rival to YouTube, but I'll help in any way I can. Currently attempting to learn how to embed Rumble videos and not having much success  other than a simple hyperlink.

Here is today's podcast by Dan Bongino, who earlier this week learned that he has a serious health issue to surmount. Best wishes to a patriot.

Bye Bye Twitter

 Have not been what you would call an active Twitter user.

I have followed leads to the platform by way of links found on the web and embedded within  emails.

We joined Parler a couple of months ago. While the content at this point seems to be mostly conservative, a balance is evolving. Parler's main principle is the protection of freedom of speech.

You can find me at Parler with the handle @JohnOtis.

Facebook is another matter. The founder has been erratic in application of policies, Facebook is suppressing speech and an unfairly favoring liberal policies and candidates. Facebook has been acting as a publisher by restricting content and should loose its protection from libel suits. Frankly it pisses me off that these assholes make money off of my use of their platform.  Unfortunately I consider that platform to be a collection of my friends and  keeping that in mind, try to treat friends as I wish to be treated, kindly. Not everyone recognizes that, so I use the snooze control often.

YouTube is a component part to platform upon which this blog rests. They have been censoring expression, reporting, and speech. Have kept my account open, using YouTube for technical research and such.  Social video viewing has, for me, been replaced by Rumble. As soon as that platform contains the bulk of the information I want, I will quit usage.

Mueller Team Corruption Contaminates Justice

The FBI , DOJ, and CIA were all involved in, at minimum, unethical use of law enforcement tools. Looking back, it is evident that the Mueller investigation was an extension of this soft coup.

Mueller Team Corruption Contaminates Justice:

Mueller may have been chosen to lead this investigation with knowing intent. His faculties are clearly diminished, so he was not likely capable of guiding a lawful investigation, leaving it prone to mission creep. Mueller's reputation  provided cover for lawyers with lawless intent. This article suggests that Mueller was essentially a beard, a face for the public. Unethical behavior abounded in this investigation.

The Presidential candidate for the Democratic party displays similar characteristics, slurred speech, failure to recall primary information, topic changes within the same sentence. The President describes his opponent with unkind characterizations, which is unfortunate, but necessary to drive the point home. If Mr. Biden is elected, he will an unwitting foil, not be capable of restraining people who have no regard for the Constitution

Black Appraisals of Black Lives Matter

Black Appraisals of Black Lives Matter – Part I:

"While it might not be popular to say in the wake of the recent social disorder, the true plight of black people has little or nothing to do with the police or what has been called 'systemic racism.' Instead, we need to look at the responsibilities of those running our big cities.

"Some of the most dangerous big cities are: St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Newark, Buffalo and Philadelphia. The most common characteristic of these cities is that for decades, all of them have been run by liberal Democrats. Some cities — such as Detroit, Buffalo, Newark and Philadelphia — haven't elected a Republican mayor for more than a half-century. On top of this, in many of these cities, blacks are mayors, often they dominate city councils, and they are chiefs of police and superintendents of schools....

"Democratic-controlled cities have the poorest-quality public education despite their large, and growing, school budgets. Consider Baltimore. In 2016, in 13 of Baltimore's 39 high schools, not a single student scored proficient on the state's math exam. In six other high schools, only 1% tested proficient in math. Only 15% of Baltimore students passed the state's English test. That same year in Philadelphia, only 19% of eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 16% were proficient in reading. In Detroit, only 4% of its eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 7% were proficient in reading. It's the same story of academic disaster in other cities run by Democrats.

"Violent crime and poor education is not the only problem for Democratic-controlled cities. Because of high crime, poor schools and a less pleasant environment, cities are losing their economic base and their most productive people in droves....

"Academic liberals, civil rights advocates and others blamed the exodus on racism — 'white flight' to the suburbs to avoid blacks. But blacks have been fleeing some cities at higher rates than whites. The five cities whose suburbs have the fastest-growing black populations are Miami, Dallas, Washington, Houston and Atlanta. It turns out that blacks, like whites, want better and safer schools for their kids and don't like to be mugged or have their property vandalized. And like white people, if they have the means, black people cannot wait to leave troubled cities.

"White liberals and black politicians focus most of their attention on what the police do, but how relevant is that to the overall tragedy? According to Statista, this year, 172 whites and 88 blacks [nationwide] have died at the hands of police. To put police shootings in a bit of perspective, in Chicago alone in 2020 there have been 1,260 shootings and 256 homicides with blacks being the primary victims. That comes to one shooting victim every three hours and one homicide victim every 15 hours. Three people in Chicago have been killed by police. If one is truly concerned about black deaths, shootings by police should figure way down on one's list — which is not to excuse bad behavior by some police officers."

Walter E. Williams 

Confiscating Books in Sweden

You might find it interesting, another story of how the best intentions of a government always means that some party or group is going to be injured. The government of Sweden seeks to promote diversity, an in that vein of good will, suppresses the free speech and reports bad behavior of the recipients of that largesse.

A government's first responsibility it to its citizens. When governments place global objectives above national responsibilities, they risk becoming something other than a government of the people. In no small part tyrannical.

Confiscating Books in Sweden:

The confiscation of books and the upcoming case against author and comedian Aron Flam has ignited a debate in Sweden about the value of freedom of speech.

Never Give Up

This is what a free press should be measured against.


"We Will Never Give Up"


France is starting to reflect on the dramatic decline in its freedom of expression.

— Richard Malka, attorney for Charlie Hebdo, Le Point, August 13, 2020

Ben Stein's View of Looters

Copied verbatim from an email .

Now for a few words about the criminal looters, arsonists, and murderers — and the good people — of today: 

1. Yes, of course black lives matter. But 99.9 percent of the blacks killed violently in this country are killed by other blacks. Very few are killed by the police. Let’s see the college boys and sexy upper-class white girls in their shorts demonstrate against the Crips and the Bloods. Let’s see the absolute idiot commentators on the news shows lambaste the gang-bangers. Of course they don’t because they’re chickens–t. They only march against people they know won’t harm them. 
2. If black lives matter, let’s shut down the abortion mills, where the great plurality of human beings killed are black babies. Of course no one does that, because the abortionists and the Democrat party and the judges are all in bed with each other. No one hates black life more than the Democrat leadership, in my humble opinion, if we are to judge honestly by the numbers. Why isn’t anyone protesting against them and their abortuary pals? 
3. Isn’t it interesting that the first stores the looters went after were super-high-end clothing and jewelry stores, shops far too expensive for me or my wife to go to, except for presents for close friends? Aren’t the looters supposed to be with the working class? Why didn’t they loot JCPenney or stores that sold work boots? Of course they want to look rich. They aspire to do that by stealing. 
4. Have you noticed that the overwhelming mass of the looters shown on TV are black? The overwhelming mass of the protesters against “racial injustice” are white prosperous-looking young people. Who is missing? Asians. They don’t loot. They don’t riot. They study and they work. And they get ahead, and they live in nice houses and buy at the stores the looters steal from. Why is that? Could there be some Asian mystery gene that does that? If so, when the Asians take over here, as my late pal Bob Bartley told me, they will not show the kindness to looters and killers of other races that we guilty, stupid whites do. They will crack down like Lee Kuan Yew and like the South Koreans. 
5. My favorite TV commentator is Tucker Carlson. He’s a genius. But even he got it wrong recently when he, a brilliant man, talked about “the system” trying to hoodwink the people by stirring up race hatred. That way, said Tucker, “the people” won’t notice how much the bosses are stealing from them. He’s partly right. The top bosses of public companies are wildly overpaid by us pitiful small stockholders. But that’s a tiny sum in the context of this economy. And who is stirring up race hatred? Not the bosses. The media commentators, Tucker. I have never seen or heard of a CEO stirring up race hatred. It’s the media that’s in the race hatred derby. 
6. There is nothing systemically wrong with the USA. Not racial injustice. That was gone long ago. Not class warfare. That’s ancient history. This is a super great country. It’s good to anyone who is willing to acquire human capital in the form of education as lawyer, doctor, plumber, or electrician. If there is a problem, it’s the looters, murderers, and arsonists, and their pals in the media. 

This is a great, great country, and if the media tells you different, they are lying. And the cops, 99 percent of them, are great people. Let’s thank them — not kick them for protecting us. 

I’m not kneeling for the flag…

Over at Hot Air, found and article about Alejandro Villanueva, the Pittsburg Steeler who made news three years ago for refusing to kneel with teammates in their protest. Villanueva is a graduate of West Point and served in the Army Rangers, his pedigree completely explains his values and choices. Under social and team pressure the Ranger did apologize for appearing to stand apart from the rest of the team.

In that article there was a strange reference to another player, Stephon Tuitt.

We now have another member of the Steelers, defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt, refusing to join the sheep that is now the NFL. The Hot Air article said...

Stephon Tuitt has decided to dispense with the whole apology approach up front. In fact, Tuitt invites anyone who objects to perform an unnatural act on themselves

Naturally, this got my attention, so I did a little hunting and found the following Tweet.

Also I'm not kneeling for the flag and screw anybody who have a problem with that. My grandmother was a immigrant from the Carribean and age worked her ass off to bring 20 people over the right way. She had no money and educated herself to be a nurse. She living good now.

Have never been a big fan of Stephon Tuitt, since he reneged on his commitment to play football at Georgia Tech. That said, I do respect him for recognizing the work and difficulty undertaken by his family, and proudly standing by their side. The spelling and punctuation are Stephon's. 

Never Trumpers Out of the Closet as Liberal Democrats in Drag

Amusing article by Brian C. Joondeph over at American Thinker.
NeverTrumpers Out of the Closet as Liberal Democrats in Drag:

NeverTrumpers are like gnats in the summer, annoying but largely irrelevant as they don’t sting or bite.

Regarding the President

He has walked the conservative walk better than any elected Republican since Ronald Reagan, certainly better than most current elected Republicans. Yet NeverTrumpers oppose him in favor of a Democratic Party further left than at any time in its history.

It has been evident that the Republican leadership has been disconnected with the middle class since the day of Reagan. During both Bush administrations, the tenor placed more emphasis on getting along than following conservative principle. To them being conservative meant being cooperative, being the first to reach across the aisle. This blog has said before that W was a better Democrat than Clinton. It seemed that they were unwilling to accept that no matter how good they acted, they were going to be pilloried for being racist meanies by the Democrats and their sycophantic press corp. They never got it.

When President Obama took office, they were unapologetic and forceful. They saw an opening of ACA and they rammed it through. Since then the Republicans have had the power to end the ACA and never did so, not matter how many promises were made to do so. They were afraid to be seen as hurting poorer voters. 

When the public reacted and gelled as the Tea Party movement, the Congressional Republicans followed the Democrats, reusing to embrace the populist movement. They did their best to co-opt the votes and do nothing.

The rage of the middle class voter grew. This led to the election of a man called Trump, loud a profane man. This President has tried to keep his word, and been rebuffed by the part that should be supporting him. 

Good Riddance to the World Health Organization

Most, if not all, organizations are beholden to their benefactors. When organizations are not led by standard bearings (zealots), objectives are bent to the will of the benefactor. It is a natural thing and for that I bear no ill will toward the WHO. Unfortunately the WHO has lost its bearing and with it, like many primarily political organizations its purpose. It has become irrelevant, and needs to be replaced.

It won't be replaced though.

Good Riddance to the World Health Organization:

China was malicious, and there is plenty of evidence of planning. Doctors in Wuhan knew COVID-19 was transmissible by humans no later than the second week of December. A Harvard Medical School study suggests they might have known far earlier: the disease was infecting people in that city in August. Others believe authorities knew of the disease in the fall. On June 10, Fox News reported that Dr. Li-Meng Yan, a Hong Kong virologist and immunologist and one of the first researchers outside mainland China to study the virus, charges that Beijing for weeks covered up evidence of the human-to-human transmissibility of COVID-19. Yet only on January 20, Beijing for the first time admitted that COVID-19 could be transmitted from one human to another.

When it comes to China, I expect that in time we will learn that they've treated their own citizens worse than they have treated the rest of the world. 

Can We Talk?

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

George Bernard Shaw

The Government You Want

In the last week, the foundation principles of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) leadership has been confirmed and revealed as Marxist. Marxism is universally recognized as a euphemism for communism. Citizens of the United States have the right choose and practice whichever ideology they agree with. Unfortunately, in the United States, there is a significant amount of intentional obfuscation by the embedded Marxists within our social and political groups. Under the guise of social activism these Marxists piggyback upon the emotional flare-ups rooted in injustice, perceived or otherwise. The purpose is to generate devolution, a deconstruction of social behavior, an impugning of the rule of law, and some physical demolition for effect. The purpose is simple enough, create a environment of chaos, within which the leadership can be more easily replaced.

The situation in Hong Kong is a little different but certainly a condition through which the United States is headed. A free and prosperous society, government has changed, from a rights guaranteed model to a Marxists model. In this case not by surreptitious devolution, but by and international treaty. Initially the communists allowed the citizens of Hong Kong to proceed as is for a few years, but now have begun to assert positive control over freedom of speech.

On British based site DailyMail article titled China boasts it holds 'a sword over lawbreakers' heads' after passing Hong Kong security law as campaigners warn it is 'the end of the city as we know it', describes how the Chinese nationalists have begun to crack down on freedom of speech in Hong Kong. Protesters have been imprisoned for carrying flags promoting independence for the formerly free and capitalist centric city-state. People have been imprisoned for leading protest rallies. Mind you that from the viseo I have seen, these protests have been controlled, subdued and even silent. The communist government does tolerate dissent.

Tying this back to the United States, in the last century communist countries have demonstrably failed. They have..... 

• Imprisoned millions, in forced labor camps 
• Killed hundreds of millions of citizens, by summary execution, force hard labor and starvation, far more than the Nazis of World War II and the Holocaust.
• Frozen and retarded economic growth in previously burgeoning countries such as Cuba and Venezuela. 
• Obliterated political party systems.
• Erased rights to keep and bear arms.
• Erased rights to private property.
• Erased right to free speech.
• Erased right to exercise religion.

They get to the condition by obfuscation, then drop the hammer.

A common argument for communism is that it removes the greed, it does not, Milton Friedman pointed out that all systems have greed. In a communist system, the greed is centered on power, those in control have whatever they desire, everyone else is poor or crimnal. 

The result of The Government You Want is a simple caste system of social stratification, if you ain't part of the leadership, you'll be poor.

Presumed Thought

A niece recently unfriended my wife and I for arguing the appropriateness of protester behavior devolving into destructive chaos.

For years our children have been encouraged to focus on their feelings of worth and importance. For years our children have been taught that the world is obliged to accept their inexperienced views as gospel. The result of this teaching, is the creation of a generation of ignorant, self-indulgent spoiled brats.

The Corporate Thought Police

"The idea that free speech is not a fundamental liberty that must be defended at all costs runs deep in Sweden."

I find myself withdrawing from arguing with my friends on these topics, they are first and foremost my friends, and by withdrawal, I am sparing them angst.
In America, today, we see that Orange County California is contemplating changing the name of their airport, removing the name of John Wayne. The cause is statements made in an interview John Wayne had with Playboy magazine in 1971. Orange County can do what it wants, they renamed the airport 40+ years ago and they can do it again if they want. Those politicians who make the decision, will face their referendum at the voting booth. Something I suspect for most residents of county is not a big deal. As to the statements by John Wayne, I would suggest that we've far too many citizens with tin ears, these comments were unfortunate but not said to be hurtful.
Here in Atlanta, the airport name used to be Hartsfield International Airport, that was changed to Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport. At the time, I knew many folks who were upset with the change, to which I would suggest that in 50 years, the name could be changed to something like Gomez-Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport. The dominant demographic gets to make the choices.
I have said things in my life that are regrettable, usually to people that I loved. Many of those same people, have made awful comments to me. As a youngster, I was teased, unmercifully, for having buck teeth.  The point is that with age, experience and religion, you get over it, learn that we should not judge a person by a single utterance, but by the balance of their life accomplishments and failures.
When people seek to restrict speech and opinion, it is evidence of both a need to control, and failure to convince by reason.

WWJS

A variation on the acronym for What Would Jesus Do (WWJD).

David Hogg lived through a terrible ordeal, that experience deserves my empathy. 

The many utterances, tweets, and lectures that spew from this young man have earned my disrespect.

There seems to be a symptom expressed by the modern press, the opinions of the young are treated with reverence and presumed enlightenment, a superior opinion to those having lifetime of experience beyond that of a hormonal teenager.

There are reasons that children are not allowed to vote, or allowed to drive under the age of 16, or serve in the armed forces. The main reason is that children have not fully formed their personal manner of reasoning. Teenagers have a higher probability of acting immaturely, and for that have limited rights.

David, please just shut up.

A Lot of Meaningless Words

NumbersUSA does an excellent job generating opportunities to converse with our representatives in Congress. My representatives include two Republican Senators and a Democrat fills the seat in the House of Representatives. The Senators tend to favor increasing immigration when the chips are down and vote for restriction of immigration when expected effect is minimal. Basically they are full of shit. David Scott on the other hand is a standard Democrat who votes party line on everything relating to immigration. The following is a response to an email sent last week. A little long winded....

Dear Mr. Otis:
Thank you for contacting me regarding immigration and the environment. I appreciate your thoughts on this issue.  
Immigration is a leading topic of debate for Americans across the country, including Georgians in my district. We have seen the topic of immigration increase tensions between political parties and dominate mass media.  As a nation, I sincerely hope that we can debate immigration with mutual respect and reach bipartisan solutions to achieve common sense reform.  I strongly believe that we can secure our borders without sacrificing our morals and the humane treatment of migrants, while still providing resources to border security initiatives.  
Please be aware, I do not support illegal immigration. I believe we must stop people from entering this country illegally by improving resources for border personnel and modernizing border security technology. To that end, I support legislation that increases the number of border patrol agents, improves our asylum procedures, and modernizes border technologies such as advanced cameras and high-powered radars. I also support using the National Guard and other military personnel, to help with border security.
Some Americans expressed concern about the impact of immigration on the environment. Please know that I am aware of the changing environmental factors that are damaging precious natural resources and harming Americans quality of life. Large issues such as water, air and land pollution, the depletion of the ozone layer, and the steady rising of average temperatures ravage the planet and are strongly correlated with dying species and the destruction of ecosystems.  For this reason, I am hopeful that progress will be made in the future to pass measures into law that ensure greater protection of the environment. Members from both sides of the aisle must come together to provide bipartisan and safe solutions to address immigration while considering the finite natural resources of our nation. As your elected official, please know I am dedicated to protecting life on earth whether it be our species who are at risk of endangerment, or citizens who hope for a better life.
As immigration continues to be a leading topic in our current political climate, please rest assured that I will continue to keep your views in mind throughout the 116th Congress.  I believe that our borders must be secure while remaining sensitive to the desire of immigrants to reside within the U.S.  Immigrants improve the U.S. economy, reduce labor shortages, and contribute to the diversity of our great nation. Although not perfect, immigrants must come to the U.S. through current legal pathways. I look forward to working with members within my own party, and across the aisle to support border security initiatives and common-sense immigration reform.
Again, I thank you for sharing your views with me. I hope you will continue to give me the benefit of your opinion in the future. In addition, I encourage you to visit my web site at http://davidscott.house.gov, where you can view the latest news and obtain information on issues and legislation that is important to you. You can also sign up for my electronic newsletter, and receive periodic updates on my activities as your representative in Washington. Thank you again for contacting me, and I look forward to continuing to serve you.
Sincerely,
David Scott
Member of Congress

Mr. Scott has been saying for years that he supports  controlling immigration, including the border. I have yet to see a vote supporting the wall, or ANY viable alternative. My belief is that electronic surveillance of borders is only useful as a support system to a fortified wall. 

This Damned Guy

'CAREER CRIMINAL' Suspect Charged with Attack on 92-Year-Old Woman Previously Arrested 100+ TIMES | Sean Hannity:

For a 92 year old with something close to a concussion, Bronx native Geraldine exhibits a firm grasp of language and judgement.

“This damned guy put me in a state where I’m fearful to walk the streets alone. So my super’s trying to find somebody who will walk me to a park nearby or to the supermarket, that kind of thing. So that’s the problem.”

A convicted six offender, arrested over 100 times, Rashid Brimmage has been arrested.
Let's hope he is on parole, so that his likelihood of incarceration is increased.

Loeffler UNSUBSCRIBED

Georgia governor Brian Kemp installed Kelly Loeffler as Senator after the retirement of Johnny Isakson. This was over the recommendation of the President, at which time I believed that as a show of independence would benefit the governor, and all things being equal, she couldn't be any worse than the RINO Isakson.

Her short lived voting record has been very similar to her predecessor so that is a disappointment.

Just prior to the COVID crisis becoming a public emergency, she dumped her portfolio of stocks, exchanging those for stocks focused on on-line conferencing.

From Wikipedia...

On March 19, 2020, the public release of federal financial disclosure documents showed that Loeffler and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, had sold stock in companies vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic with an aggregate value of several million dollars. Loeffler has denied any wrongdoing, saying the trades were made by a third-party advisor and that she learned about them only after they occurred.[22] The disclosures included that between January 24 and February 14, the couple sold between $1.275 and $3.1 million worth of stock in 27 companies, while buying stocks worth between $450,000 and $1 million, including in Citrix, a collaboration software company.

She's trotting around saying she's been cleared by the Senate.

Loeffler is guilty of using inside information for financial benefit, and legal or not, that for me is an ethical violation.

I will vote for a Democrat before selecting Kelly Loeffler on the ballot.

Wish she would stop sending me email, UNSUBSCRIBED.

Science on the Police Abuse of Power

Excellent statistically based article by Heather MacDonald of the Wall Street Journal, was published today. Heather MacDonald is a Senior Fellow at Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

A link to today's article in Wall Street Journal The Myth of Systemic Police Racism

The following is a link to a video recording of today's C-Span interview between Bill Scanlon and the author Ms. MacDonald
C-span.org washington-journal-heather-mac-donald-discusses-protests-george-floyds-killing

France's No-Go Zones

America, do not think it couldn't get worse.

France's No-Go Zones: The Riots Return

A quote from a police union representative....

"The government knows that a large-scale uprising could happen, and that a minor incident might be enough to set the powder keg ablaze. Therefore, police officers have unwritten instructions: they must avoid incidents at all costs. If an incident occurs, they know that the government will blame the police, and no one else".

and a police officer....

"They consider themselves at war with France and with Western civilization. They act in cooperation with Islamist organizations, and define acts of predation and rampage as raids against infidels". 

from a survivor of  Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack....

"France is living hours of disillusionment as deep as those it had known in May 1940... Before our eyes, everything collapsed at an unimaginable speed... We will have to ask a question: why such a disaster... how was this possible. And the present catastrophe inevitably brings us to the same conclusions: incompetence, disorganization, lack of long-term vision, improvisation. In summary: the nullity of our leaders."

A government's denial of growing disruptive force, of any sort, is a willful abdication of responsibility. Such acquiescence reminds one of kissing up to the Nazis in the 1930's. Lessons learned by war and genocide have been forgotten. I hope France can take the bull by the horns before they've been trampled.

Here at home, such enclaves are growing, in Brooklyn, Queens, Dearborn and Minneapolis. Minority cultures have often congregated in America, seldom failing to integrate within 2 or 3 generations. That may be the case for these new Muslims immigrants as well, but until they do, their growing isolationist force must be met with greater resistance.

He Is Back

I am happy to say that my old Words with Friends foe has started posting on ScrappleFace again.
Check these out, always quick reads and clever....

• Rise Up: America Demands Return to Dead-End Jobs
• Biden Salutes Sanders for Starting a Movement
• Trump Orders America Back to Church in SCUBA Gear
• COVID-19: Boris Before and After Pics Stun Brits
• COVID-19 Kills Plans to Eventually Meet Neighbors
• COVID-19 a Boon to Multi-Level Marketing Businesses
• Face-Touch Ban Drains U.S. Disposable-Hand Reserves
• Democrats Urge Warren: Stay in Race, Identify as Man
• Joe Biden Drops Out of Race, Endorses Biden

Check it out, Mr. Ott has his "Joe-mentum" working.

I have cousin in London who HATES Boris Johnson, going to send her the link above.

Dershowitz on Judge Sullivan

The FBI manipulated General Flynn into accepted a please. Flynn's lawyers had a conflict of interest, one of the partners being Eric Holder, side deals with the FBI made behind the client's Flynn's back.
The new Attorney General directs investigation and improprieties are discovered, charges are dropped.
The judges reaction?
Resistance to reality.
Judge Sullivan: A Prosecutor in Robes
Alan Dershowitz makes excellent points on Judge Sullivan's poor jurist prudence.

• In the Flynn case, the prosecution and defense both agree that the case should be dropped. Because there is no longer any controversy between the parties to be resolved, there is no longer any case properly before the judge. His only job is to enter an order vacating the guilty plea and dismissing the case with prejudice.
• Under our constitutional system of separation of powers, the new prosecutor has no standing.... the separation of powers.... allocates the power to prosecute to the executive not judicial branch.
• It makes no constitutional difference that Flynn pleaded guilty — even if his plea was voluntary, which is questionable in light of the threats against his son.
• The Justice Department has the constitutional authority to dismiss a prosecution that it has brought at any time and for any reason, without being second-guessed by the judicial branch.
• Sullivan is endangering our system of separation of powers and he should be stopped by a writ of mandamus or a motion to recuse. Judges, too, are not above the law or the Constitution.

Sullivan has already had to apologize for inappropriate remarks made toward Flynn, has made new statements suggesting that new events amount to a failure of due process.
A better comparison would be that the judge is a modern day Roy Bean that feels the law is what he say.

China Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic to Expand in Asia

The behavior of the Communist Chinese in the last decade can be easily termed as truculent. An interesting approach considering that in one form or another the nation is best known for being isolationist. The Chi-Com evolution into an imperialist power is augmented by general dismissal of Western culture with its willingness to act dishonestly, dovetailing with the globalization movement.

China Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic to Expand in Asia

In part because of the Chi-Com infiltration of American media, the pressure from the left has been to suppress criticism, richly deserved criticism. Manufacturing concerns have been rounded cheated and pilfered of intellectual property in both design and manufacturing methodization.

The regime has fused the worst of communism with dark side business and the projection of military force. They make most citizens insignificant in terms of rights, cheat business partners and work to overwhelm their geopolitical opponents.

Navy SEAL and Kid's Book Author

I first learned of Jocko Willink by way of a Candace Owens podcast. Mr. Willink is a retired Lieutenant Commander of the United States Navy, having served in Navy SEAL teams. For his service Commander Willink was honored with both the Silver and Bronze Stars. The Candace Owens podcast focused on leadership and behaviors leading to that. The interview began with an excerpt from Willink's book Mikey And The Dragons.

The excerpt goes like this...

How can a little boy be a man.

How could the little prince ever make a stand.

So, just when the prince thought he was over an done.

He picked up the note and it said.

To my son.

He took a deep breath. 

And opened the note he had found.

And this is what his father, the king, had written down.

To my son,

 If you are ready this now, it means I must be gone.

And you are the one that must carry on. 

Our kingdom is now what you must see.

And to do that, you have to be brave.

I know what you think, you don't know what to do.

But remember, I was once a little boy too.

I was also small, and fear in my heart.

And I didn't even know where to start.

I couldn't imagine going over the hill.

To face the dragons that wanted to kill.

But don't worry son, you will be just fine.

You can keep these things in your mind.

The dragons really aren't that big at all.

It is only in our minds that we make them so tall.

Inside out brain things always get overblown.

Especially things that are completely unknown.

But when fear settle in and gets a hold of you.

Here are some things you simply must do.

Stand up straight and hold your head high.

And look at your fears right in the eye.

Don't look away and don't try to hide.

Know that you have great strength, deep inside.

When you stand up and go into the fray.

You will feel your fear start to go away.

And though there will be horror you will feel.

The things you are scared of are no big deal.

Veteran warrior, leader of men, inspiration to children, is a man worth listening to.
Jock Willink is an active podcaster and can be found at SoundCloud and directly at https://jockopodcast.com.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Outside

You learn that methanol from inside the house can kill.

As a follow up to the last post When Evil Meets Stupid.
Desperation leads people to bad decisions. On the site The Times of Israel is a story that should be confirmed, and due to the access not granted to the United States press, not immediately possible.

Hundreds die of poisoning in Iran as fake news suggests methanol cure for virus.

Standing over the still body of an intubated 5-year-old boy wearing nothing but a plastic diaper, an Iranian health care worker in a hazmat suit and mask begged the public for just one thing: Stop drinking industrial alcohol over fears about the new coronavirus.
The boy, now blind after his parents gave him toxic methanol in the mistaken belief it protects against the virus, is just one of hundreds of victims of an epidemic inside the pandemic now gripping Iran.
Iranian media reports nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 1,000 sickened so far by ingesting methanol across the Islamic Republic, where drinking alcohol is banned, and where those who do rely on bootleggers. It comes as fake remedies spread across social media in Iran, where people remain deeply suspicious of the government after it downplayed the crisis for days before it overwhelmed the country.  

The desperation the people have leads them to take risks, in this case fatal risks.
Have empathy for the couple that drank fish tank cleaner, and for these frightened people who choose certain blindness and possibly death.
The news that I listen to suggests that infection rate curves are flattening, also that the because of initially poor testing, mortality rates may have been overestimated by orders of magnitude.
Praying that I am not wrong, and doing simple things to protect myself.
Stay safe.

When Evil Meets Stupid

It should probably not surprise us that the latest gambit Far Left progressives have deployed against Donald Trump is to blame him for some of the dumb things desperate people have done to try to protect themselves from coronavirus.
When Evil Meets Stupid

"I saw it sitting on the back shelf and thought, 'Hey, isn't that the stuff they're talking about on TV?' " 

"We were afraid of getting sick."

The couple reportedly poured some of the fish tank cleaning chemical, chloroquine phosphate, into soda and drank it. They hoped it would stave off a coronavirus infection.

"Within thirty minutes of ingestion, the couple experienced immediate effects"  

The man died, the woman nearly so. Now, aligned with the press, the wife is foisting blame upon the President. Lady, your husband was young enough to have enjoyed many years with you, now because you both misinterpreted what the President, you can't.
When this poor woman is alone in bed tonight, I doubt that the President is the focus of her depression, she is upset because of loss, that she hates the President is an entirely separate thing.
That is about as nice as I can muster for the lady.
On the other hand, BuzzFeed can pound sand.

King Schiff

Schiff claims 'immunity' in bid to keep impeachment phone subpoenas secret:

Judicial Watch is seeking to obtain subpoenas the House Intel Committee issued during the impeachment inquiry to get Americans’ phone records. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has requested dismissal citing four points.

1. The doctrine of sovereign immunity deprives the Court of jurisdiction over the House Defendants, and no express and unequivocal waiver exists. Classic, the House votes for impeachment of the President reasoning that resistance to a Congressional subpoena cannot be trumped by executive privilege, yet a claim by citizen group should be dismissed because it is not within the court's jurisdiction. Schiff here is doing something that parallels what he claimed the President did not have a right to. 
2. Given that the records sought by Plaintiff involve matters pursued and obtained by the House Defendants as part of the House-authorized impeachment inquiry, they are absolutely protected by the Speech or Debate Clause. A Debate Clause  may be in the Constitution, I would have to read more to confirm, but what is being sought is NOT the product of debate, it is the product of clandestine partisan strategy meetings and interviews.
3. Plaintiff fails to state a claim because Congress has created a comprehensive scheme for the review of government records—the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)—that preempts the common law right sought to be vindicated by this litigation, Double speak, Judicial Watch seeks documents that the House Intelligence Committee will not release. The purported "scheme of government records"  does not include the requested documents. Government scheme, that's a pair of words that should strike fear into citizens. 
4. Finally, under governing case law, the records Plaintiff seeks to review are not 'public records' and, therefore, are not subject to the common law right of public access. And even if the records are 'public records,' Plaintiff has not demonstrated that the public interest in disclosure outweighs the House Defendants’ interest in non-disclosure. How the court decides is likely dependent on the court in which the FOIA motion was placed. If the court rules in favor of Judicial Watch, some information is going to come out of that committee that will reveal that Adam Schiff staged the impeachment process. From the layman in me, why does the House of representatives have a claim of "interest of non-disclosure", isn't that contrary to judicial requirement for exculpatory evidence.

Does anybody think that Adam Schiff isn't a pathological liar?

Tiring

An interesting time that we live in. Since the days of Reagan's presidency, Republicans have been slapped with the accusations of having senile leadership, and followers that were both racist and violent.
Nearly four decades later we have abortion up to an including the date of birth, any reproach on which is treated as an infraction on women's rights. We have ANTIFA demonstrating for Black Lives Matter and against the "fascism", all the while showing a profound lack of understanding of what either are, yet having the audacity to physically attack anyone with a disputing opinion. We have had attacks on police, nearly endorsed by a sitting President.
These groups endorse freedom while holding out their hands to the government. Never understanding that those bequests come with strings that amount to enslavement.
Today I am reading an article on the "The Hill" website, titled...

Clyburn calls Trump a Racist, warns US could go the way of Germany in the 1930's.

Quotes from the article include...

"I used to wonder how could the people of Germany allow Hitler to exist. But with each passing day, I'm beginning to understand how. And that's why I'm trying to sound the alarm," he added, before claiming that Trump told more than 30 lies during his State of the Union address this year.
"Fully half of those lies, the Republican side of the House stood up and cheered they knew that was not true. But they cheered him on," Clyburn said, before continuing his comparison to Nazi Germany.
"I really believe that the people of Germany knew Adolf Hitler was lying," he said. "And before they knew it, they no longer had a chancellor but a dictator. Anything that's happened before can happen again."

Clyburn is the man who turned the tide for Biden, giving him an endorsement in South Carolina. Some might say that the shift from Sanders to Biden was a frightening realization by Democratic voters over the age of 30, that the socialism that Sanders has been preaching had a chance of becoming a reality. Nevertheless, Clyburn stood up for Biden and then things started rolling well for Joe.
This is characteristic of a common political repartee from Democrats, impeach a President for resisting Congressional subpoenas having no foundation in evidence, accuse him of lies without specifics and likely are better described as differences of opinion. Compare a President to a man who ordered the murder of over 6 million Jews.
Hyperbole.
Other that telling the Representative that this display of  unequal moral equivalence, I have to ask, does the man have so little faith in the our strength constitutional republic? Can President force the submission of the other branches of government? He cannot, if citizens are true, government is true, he cannot.
While subversion of the democratic process, there is pretty clear evidence, that the FBI, CIA and holdovers in the executive branch attempted an illicit coup d'état. Mr. Clyburn would be significant more impacted if President Trump started behaving like a Democrat.

Man Pulls Gun After "Denim Chicken" Crack

Found this at The Smoking Gun by way of BadBlue.

Man Pulls Gun After "Denim Chicken" Crack:

In a late-night confrontation outside a Kwik Stop convenience store, a Florida Man pointed a 9mm pistol at three men after one of them called the alleged gunman a “denim chicken,” a reference that would only make sense to fans of the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

After reading the story, I am guessing that there is something being left out by the brothers. Isn't it weird that someone can be triggered into making death threats based on a reference to a show that nobody watches?

America's Nightmare: a Characterless Grumpy President

I have been silent of late, dealing with family health issues and frankly bored with the political scene.
It appears that the Democrats have narrowed their focus to one candidate with true national recognition, despite his flaws, he's got a puncher's chance given the voters apparent willingness to ignore obvious health and character flaws. Which to be fair President Trump has an abundance of the latter.
America's Nightmare: a Characterless Grumpy President:

To quote the author...

Everywhere I turn, I hear pundits on our side saying Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for victimizing fumbling-stumbling Joe Biden, conspiring for him to be their presidential nominee. In my view, Joe Biden is only a victim of his own arrogance, ego, and wickedness. When you look up “sleazy politician” in the dictionary, Joe Biden's picture is there. His modus operandi of becoming rich via political corruption is well documented.

The comments  about Biden's arrogance are right on the money. This is the same attitude expressed by Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Charles Schumer and the on-air staffs of most major media sources.  That attitude being that the progressive agenda is preeminent, resistance to which is to be assaulted by any means necessary.  From this attitude we witness audacity, a Presidential candidate telling a voter that he is full of shit and making vapid threats of violence.

Fudge

For years my wife talked of her days teaching middle school, at Christmas time her and a friend would go on a fudge patrol. There was this one fudge she raved about, giving it the name of the mother who made it every year.
Thirty years later we are in church and I realized that our church is in the same neighborhood as the school and a parishioner has that name. So after some haranguing, I asked her and sure enough this was the same lady. I asked her for the fudge recipe and she happily made me a batch and offered up the keys to the formula.
As a non-fudge eater, it's too sweet for me, this is pretty darned good.
So far I've been able to fight the bride off from eating it all.

Ingredients

• 5 cups sugar
• 14 ounces can evaporated milk
• 3 ounces unsweet baking chocolate – chopped
• 1 ½ - 12 ounce bags semi sweet chocolate
• 1 stick (4 ounces) butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

• Put sugar in large pan (mine was 2 ½ – 3 quarts)
• Pour evaporated milk and water onto sugar – covering the edges where sugar meets the pan.
• Heat to boiling – bubbling to center of pot – stirring gently – keep the sugar covered.
• Boil for 10 minutes. Lower heat as it boils or it will overflow!
• Add
• 3 ounces unsweet baking chocolate – chopped
• 1 ½ - 12 ounce bags semi sweet chocolate
• 1 stick (4 ounces) butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• Stir and stir mixing well and stir until it is not glossy.
• Pour into a greased jelly roll pan. (cookie sheet with sides) my pan is 11 ½ “ x 17 ½” x 1/2”
• Cool completely before cutting and wrapping.
• I think it makes about 5 pounds
  

France: Smoke Grass, Kill a Jew, Skip the Trial, Go Free

Police hesitation to act fails to prevent a murder, judicial willful obstruction and killer is free to do it again.

France: Smoke Grass, Kill a Jew, Skip the Trial, Go Free:

'In France, perpetrators of anti-Semitic attacks claim insanity to elude justice. The mental illness defense has become more prevalent when it comes to hate crimes in France. And it seems to be working.'

Who stands for the poor woman thrown from her window?

Do You Think Media Has Lost It's Mind

Many do, including me.



It has been difficult to hold an open minded opinion of the press in the last two years. For the most part I've bit on my tongue because I have friends that are fully hooked, and I have no desire to offend them. On Facebook my process is to ignore what offends me, maybe turn some folks off for a time and never post provacative political comments.
I've seen posts that describe Soleimani as a general of a sovereign nation, murdered in another sovereign nation.  True enough I guess, but in it's context suggesting the man was innocent, which was hardly true
Others in the world have different opinions, read this post titled A Death Well Spent; Soleimani dies for confrontation.
Why was Senator Mike Lee angry about the briefing yesterday?