Month: November 2016

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OH Shut the hell up!

I wake up, get coffee, wake up the computer, sit down…

The very first thing I see as I’m firing up my browser to check which bills need to be paid is an AP headline article. 

Trump family dinner raises issues on press access

You have got to be freaking kidding me!

Other articles report it like, Trump leaves his Dark Tower.

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Really? So you’re using a literary allusion implying that President Elect Trump is Sauron from the Tolkien classics.  Oh For pete’s sake.

The man hasn’t taken his oath of office, he’s the President Elect, not the President yet. 

And let’s face it Journalists, you haven’t done anything to endear yourselves to the President Elect. Is it really all that surprising that he’d like to have a dinner with his family away from your scrutiny?

After all how many poison pens have you emptied on how many thousands of reams of paper trying to tear the man and his family down.

God knows, I wouldn’t want to have my food turn to ash on my tongue (obscure literary allusion) because some reporter saw me not using a salad fork.

I can see that headline.

Can wwducat be trusted at state dinners, he doesn’t know which fork to use!

 Look Journalists…

You’ve betrayed the public trust. You’ve been caught time and again displaying incredible bias over the past eight years. That is your responsibility, you have no-one to blame but yourselves. So it’s time for you to own it.

Decide if you want to continue to be yellow journalists or if you want to move back toward being the folks the nation looks to for truth.

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I’m sorry, but it’s going to take consistent unbiased fact checking, for years, to regain the people’s trust. The mistakes and excesses of  the past will be visited upon newly minted journalists, today and well into the future.

Stop looking for the fluff pieces. WHO the hell cares if Trump goes to dinner with his family away from prying eyes? Why does that matter?

If you must report on the President Elect; report on his cabinet postings, his advisors, his plans for uniting the country, improving the economy, and all the other major issues we face.

You might begin by being polite and checking your privilege. It probably wouldn’t hurt if you quit your whinging about being shunned as well. 

We don’t need moment by moment coverage of the President Elect’s flatulence.

We need you to understand that the duty of your profession is to provide information.

That information, should consist of simply the facts of a situation with as little personal opinion or bias as possible.

You’re rather tough job is to report what you see and what you’ve discovered via investigation, not hearsay. Then you must leave it to the people to decide what they want to do with the information. It’s a tough job, and often thankless, but it’s a vital job to ensure the freedoms we enjoy in this country.

Recently, you’ve gone wrong; a bit off the rails… Fortunately, Americans are generally forgiving and it’s not too late to regain the respect that you one enjoyed.

If you want to express your opinions write Op-Ed pieces. Otherwise keep your opinions to yourselves and report the facts.

Just my opinion…

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I’ll be danged

Finally found a decent car wash in Escondido. 

Nice to head up to the mountains and have a clean car… at least at the beginning of the weekend. 

It will be a busy couple of days. Stuff to fix chores to do and then back to work. 

Hopefully next week will be better than the last one. 

Time will. I doubt tell. 

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Correct me if I’m wrong…

MoveOn.org has been arranging protests over the election results.

Americans to Come Together in Hundreds Peaceful Gatherings of Solidarity, Resistance, and Resolve Following Election Results

Hundreds of Americans, dozens of organizations to gather peacefully outside the White House and in cities and towns nationwide to take a continued stand against misogyny, racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia.

Tonight, thousands of Americans will come together at hundreds of peaceful gatherings in cities and towns across the nation, including outside the White House, following the results of Tuesday’s presidential election.

The gatherings – organized by MoveOn.organd allies – will affirm a continued rejection of Donald Trump’s bigotry, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and misogyny and demonstrate our resolve to fight together for the America we still believe is possible.

Within two hours of the call-to-action, MoveOn members had created more than 200 gatherings nationwide, with the number continuing to grow on Wednesday afternoon.

WHAT: Hundreds of peaceful gatherings of solidarity, resistance, and resolve nationwide

WHEN / WHERE: Find local gatherings here. Major gatherings include in New York City’s Columbus Circle and outside the White House in Washington, DC.

RSVP: Please email press@moveon.org to confirm attendance.

“This is a disaster. We fought our hearts out to avert this reality. But now it’s here,” MoveOn.org staff wrote to members on Wednesday. “The new president-elect and many of his most prominent supporters have targeted, demeaned, and threatened millions of us—and millions of our friends, family, and loved ones. Both chambers of Congress remain in Republican hands. We are entering an era of profound and unprecedented challenge, a time of danger for our communities and our country. In this moment, we have to take care of ourselves, our families, and our friends—especially those of us who are on the front lines facing hate, including Latinos, women, immigrants, refugees, Black people, Muslims, LGBT Americans, and so many others. And we need to make it clear that we will continue to stand together.”

WHAT?!?!!?

Isn’t this the same organization that fairly shouted down any and all opposition by disenfranchised voters when President Obama was elected?

Weren’t they the ones who said it’s a done deal, shut up, and get over it?

Didn’t they unfairly label anyone with a dissenting view of President Obama’s policies as racists?

I do find a number of the causes listed on the MoveOn website to be worthy causes. That being said, I can’t get over the irony of the organization organizing protests similar to the ones they railed against just 8 years ago.

Humm,

MoveOn, perhaps it’s time for you to take the lead in unifying this fractured nation. Instead of fomenting fear, alienation, and anger over something that is fait accompli, start meeting with the President Elect and hammer out a workable plan. 

Alternatively, maybe it’s time for you to… Well MOVE ON.

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Happy Birthday Devil Dogs!

Usmc day

Admittedly, 

I have a soft spot for Marines. I was never in the military, but when most of your friends (serving and not) are Marines you really can’t avoid it. You also tend to remember certain events. 

My Calendar has a list of notable events; Achievements in Space Travel, beginnings and endings of wars, Presidential addresses that made a difference by reverberating down through history, notable historical events, and even infamous events.

Each year, when the Marine Corps birthday rolls around, I always smile and find that I’m in a pretty good place.

It’s the same feeling you get when you remember a dear friend’s birthday. 

At this stage in my life, more of my Marine friends have passed from this world, than remain.

Knowing that The Corps is marching on and has another year under its collective belt gives me comfort and an odd sense of stability.

I find myself adding appreciation for the sense of stability, to the long list of things I thank the USMC for. 

To the Marines who will be celebrating today;

Party Hard, Be Safe, Be Smart, and bottoms up.

Happy Birthday Old Friend

I’ll be raising a glass to you later tonight.

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Whew, I’m glad that’s over

Don’t know who won, DON’T REALLY CARE!

All I can say is that either way I’m glad it’s over.

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Over the past year I’ve been so disgusted with the antics of our “Leaders” all I wanted to do was vomit.

What made things particularly difficult was that I couldn’t help but feel an impending sense of doom.

I suspect that the fallout will continue for months, but I’m glad that the insanity will drop back to a dull roar instead of being front & center.

I will be interested to see which of the Elite, oh so important actors and actresses do in fact, leave the USA. A lot of them have said they’ll leave if this candidate, or that one wins. I’m curious if they’re really people of principals or if they were just trying to stay relevant.

Now, in the aftermath I have questions.

Will Twitter fold and pass from the ether like a bad dream? Will Facebook still kick on and how will continued imposition of draconian terms of service affect them?

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Will the media start reporting the actual events of the day without infinite spin? (Not holding my breath about this one.)

What I’d like to see is a renaissance of News, you know, like it was in the old days after the yellow journalism scandals of the early 20th century. 

I’m unconvinced that there was ever a time when Journalists had absolute integrity. I do long for a time when they at least managed to keep up appearances by actually doing investigative work instead of publishing shit from the internet as true and factual.

I am by no means a journalist. Nor do I play one on TV.

This blog is not news, it is not journalism, and nothing you read here should ever be construed as the absolute truth. 

This blog is a vanity, an opinion piece, a place where I can show my ignorance or intelligence often within the same posting. 

Like assholes, everyone has an opinion and within these pages you’ll be able to see mine.

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Occasionally, I’ll hit on some truism, or note something that might be newsworthy or at least thought provoking. I refuse to accept responsibility for how you react to any information you may read herein.

(Unless you come up with the next million dollar idea… then I want 10%)

My point is that it’s over.  The next President of the United States is going to be mostly irrelevant. No matter which one it is, they are not imperials, they will be constrained by laws and purse strings and the folks controlling those things are by far more corrupt than; as South Park put it, Douche or Turd Sandwich.

As an aside, I find it hysterical that of all the stuff coming in over the TV, a risqué animated show that is often aimed at lampooning sacred cows, is more often than not brutally honest, in it’s representation of cultural events or movements.

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I guess that harkens back to the roots of cartoons, caricatures, and comedy. 

I don’t know if it’s ever been said this way before;

A single bitter truth delivered amidst laughter is more effective than a thousand truths delivered in a court room.

I suspect that media will be forever changed by this election.

The people have generally lost faith in a lot of things;

News, Government, our leaders, our police, the FBI, having control over what happens in our own communities, or even in the ability to change the things we don’t agree with or like.

Vincenzo Camuccini La morte di Cesare

We haven’t had a knifing on the Senate floor, but somehow I can’t stop from wondering if we missed the Et Tu Brute moment a couple of decades ago. I wonder if this is what the average Roman citizen felt like in the years following Caesar’s assassination.

If this is what they felt… Well, we know what comes next.