OBSERVATIONS, Etc.
Is It The Age Of Our Leaders Or Their Bad Policies?
6/3/22 - The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a right-leaning Washington, DC think-tank, says it is dedicated to defending “human potential.”
Maybe that’s why Yuval Levin, 45, a senior fellow at the AEI, thinks it okay to go after American leaders because they are “remarkably old” and “Baby Boomers.” Potentially speaking, they have fewer years ahead of them than Levin does (God willing).
In an opinion piece in the New York Times, Levin says “the life arc of the older baby boomers… just isn’t serving us well anymore.” So older politicians gotta go.
Presumably Levin would hesitate to criticize leaders because they are black, Hispanic or female (unless they are old, of course). But ageism is fair game because most people (including older people) believe that old people are past it, decrepit, unable to think, stubborn, irrational, unhealthy, depressed, etc.
Its hard to disagree with Levin about one thing. The U.S. is a chaotic mess. But is it because our leaders are old or is it their extremely bad (mostly far-left) policies and the fact they’ve gotten the U.S. into a proxy war with Russia that is destabilizing both the U.S. and the global economy?
Would we would all be better served by someone younger like Levin? Hmmm.
MOBBING ELON MUSK?
5/20/21 - What was the last straw?
Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter and reinstate free speech at the far left social media platform? Pushing back against claims by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, that he pays no taxes? Questioning Democrat Joe Biden’s quixotic presidency?
Whatever it was, Musk suddenly is in the hot seat.
Someone leaked to a Berlin-based publication, “Insider,” that a SpaceX flight attendant received a $250,000 parting settlement after accusing Musk of a single incident of sexual harassment in 2018. Newsweek picked it up, attributing salacious details to “a friend of the flight attendant.” (Musk called the story a “politically motivated hit piece.”) For good measure, Newsweek also posted a 2010 article by Musk’s ex-wife portraying him as sexist.
Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, which designs and manufactures electric vehicles, was removed from S&P 500 ESG Index (Environment, Social & Governance), which cited alleged race discrimination and crashes linked to its autopilot vehicles. (Musk notes that Exxon is rated among the top ten best in the world for environment, social & governance… while Tesla didn’t make the list! ESG is a scam. It has been weaponized by phony social justice warriors.")
All of this in just the past week.
Mobbing is a sociological term that refers to the bullying of an individual by a group. Remember the kid on the playground who was singled out and bullied by school mates. Mobbing can be damaging to the target and cause both emotional and physical harm.
Why Isn’t The Public Able To View Durham Probe Trial?
Note: Michael Sussmann was found not guilty on 5/31/22 despite what many would call overwhelming evidence.
5/16/22 - You can read about mounting concerns with respect to the highly-political federal trial of former Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann - but you can’t evaluate the credibility of the witnesses or hear any testimony.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is not televising or streaming the trial.
The New York Post tells us that U.S. District Judge Christoper Reid Cooper, an appointee of former Democratic Pres. Barack Obama, overruled the prosecution’s challenge to the appointment of at least one actual Clinton campaign contributor to the jury and a parent whose daughter is on the same high school crew team as Sussmann's daughter.
Sussmann allegedly gave the FBI false information about potential ties between a Kremlin-tied bank and a computer server at GOP rival Donald Trump’s Organization on the eve of the election. Prosecutors say Sussmann was part of a "joint venture" with the Clinton campaign and others to gather dirt on Trump, get the FBI to investigate it and then leak that information to the media.
A former Perkins Cole law firm partner, Sussmann sent a text message to General Counsel James Baker stating he has “something time-sensitive (and sensitive)” to discuss and “I’m coming on my own - not on behalf of a client or company - want to help the Bureau.”
He’s charged with lying.
According to a transcript, Michael Keilty, a prosecutor in Special Counsel John H. Durham’s office, expressed concern that Judge Cooper had “talked” the juror who had contributed to Clinton into saying he would be fair and impartial, after the juror initially said he wasn’t sure that he could be.
Judge Cooper previously issued rulings limiting Durham’s ability to present evidence that Sussmann intentionally lied to the FBI to advance Clinton’s prospects in 2016.
Why Do 3 in 10 Americans Believe in “Replacement Theory”?
5/16/22 - A poll by the Associated Press finds three in ten U.S. adults believe an effort is underway to replace U.S. -born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains. This would seem to belie what the New York Times Monday called a fringe theory “embraced by some right-wing politicians and commentators.”
Why do so many Americans believe in the replacement theory?
The Center for Immigration Studies reports the Democratic administration of Pres. Joe Biden is ignoring statutory mandates directing the detention of illegal migrants and has triggered the biggest border catastrophe in U.S. history.
A record two million unauthorized migrants came across the Mexican border in calendar year 2021 and were arrested or turned themselves in. An unknown number entered the U.S. without being detected.
On May 23, the Biden administration plans to lift the coronavirus-era public health rule Title 42, which is expected to cause a major increase in already record illegal immigration.
‘Living Trust’ Mills A.K.A. Nest Of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
5/13/22 - A California appellate court recently affirmed a jury verdict finding National Western Life Insurance Company (NWL) liable for negligence and financial elder abuse. Barney Williams contacted American Family Legal Services in 2016 to update a living trust after Williams’ wife of 46 years died. Williams was contacted by Victor Pantaleoni, who identified himself as a paralegal with the company. Pantaleoni charged Williams $360 to update the trust and sold him a $100,000 NWL annuity.
Williams, who was in poor health, returned the annuity to NWL during a 30-day “free look back” period. Pantaleoni wrote a letter over Williams’ signature asking NWL to re-issue the annuity. When the premium was not refunded, Williams paid $500 to a financial advisor to contact the NWL. Since the 30-day free look-back period expired, NWL charged Williams a $14,49.91 surrender penalty to cancel the annuity.
Williams alleged NWL should have known Pantaleoni operated “living trust mills,” where salespeople pose as experts in estate planning, to gain access to seniors and sell annuity products.
The case is Williams v. National Western Life Insurance Company, C090436 (Court of Appeal Third ppellate District, 5/10/22)
Can the U.S. Supreme Court Be Bullied?
5/9/22 - I disagree with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who claims the nation’s high court can’t be “bullied” over the abortion issue.
Protests by abortion-rights supporters outside one’s home are a sobering experience for oneself and one’s family, as is going to work every day through a tall “nonscalable” security fence that was erected to protect the justices.
The Court is notorious for protecting its privacy. The justices won’t even allow cameras in the courtroom so the people who pay their salaries can see how they perform their jobs. Now they can hear protesters chanting outside while saying grace before dinner.
Justice Samuel Alito, the author of the leaked draft of the Court opinion reversing Roe v. Wade, cancelled an appearance at a court conference last week, telling attendees it was “impractical” to attend.
Like it or not, the Court is being bullied. The question is whether it will change the minds of the justices who supposedly support repealing Roe v. Wade?
An “Anti-Apartheid” Boycott For Countries That Require Women To Wear Burqas
5/7/22 - When South Africa was engaged in apartheid, American corporations waged an effective economic boycott that resulted in the dismantling of the racist system.
Why don’t American corporations boycott countries like Afghanistan, which requires women to wear a blue burqa with a lace grill over the eyes or a niqab, a black veil that leaves open a slit for the eyes? This is a form of abuse that attacks the humanity of women.
The Wall Street Journal says repeated failure to observe the burqa rule can result in jail time for the woman’s male relatives. Meanwhile, female teens can’t attend school, university classes are segregated by gender, and the Taliban requires women to be accompanied by a male relative when they travel outside their hometown or abroad.
The U.S. has far greater tolerance for sex discrimination than for race discrimination. That’s why black males got the vote 50 years before black women. Maybe we cannot change what is going on in Afghanistan but why are we contributing to it?
Wrong on Both Sides
Seriously. What’s with this guy - U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL?
He tweeted that women who care about the threat to Roe v. Wade “are over-educated, under-loved millennials who sadly return from protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats, and no bumble matches?”
It’s such a profoundly ignorant thing to say. It draws on outdated sexist stereotypes, evoking “spinsters” (not millennials) from a bygone era. It’s a gratuitous insult that repels both women and cat lovers - liberal and conservative - for no apparent reason.
But the really stupid thing about Gaetz’ comment is that it debases his side of the argument. Is he representative of anti-abortion advocates - a dummy who seem to dislike women and can’t make a coherent argument? Polls show at least half of women of all ages, including many Republicans, care about Roe v. Wade and reproductive autonomy for women.
Take the Morning After Pill
May 2, 2022 - I totally support a woman’s right to choose but I’m finding it hard to get whipped up about the U.S. Supreme Court apparently imminent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. We live in a different era now. Women can take the levonorgestrel morning-after pill up to five days after unprotected sex to avoid pregnancy. The pill is available over the counter at any drug store or pharmacy and for a reduced price at Planned Parenthood. To what extent is the media banging this drum to divert voters attention away from the Biden administrations’ Ministry of Truth, Southern border fiasco, men cancelling women, etc.
The New York Times
The New York Times’ is conducting an all-out assault on Fox news commentator Tucker Carlson. Doesn’t the Times know that it is really insulting the the millions of Americans who watch Carlson, mostly people who don’t live on the East and West coasts. Here’s some news from the heartland. Many Americans don’t believe men can be women and that America is morally obligated to care for every economic immigrant who reaches our shores from around the globe. Some of us think Pres. Joe Biden has run an influence peddling scheme for years and the mainstream media has covered up his crimes so he could be elected. According to the NYT, anyone who deviates from the NYT’s far left script is a dupe for Carlson’s alleged racism. How can the NYT consistently be so completely out of touch with the American people? And, BTW, the NYT is grossly understating Carlson’s audience, which expands exponentially from his Fox cable show on social media.
Journalism Students Are Detached From Reality
4/29/2022 - High salary expectations are common among graduating students of all majors but journalism students are most unrealistic. They expect 139% more than the median journalists salary. BTW, the average starting salary for recent graduates is $55,260. From study by Clever, a real estate data company.
Something Really Needed - A Ministry of Truth
4/28/22 - The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, said this week that DHS is creating a “Disinformation Governance Board” to combat mis-information ahead of the 2022 midterms.
Mayorkas is the gatekeeper of the border, where more than a million illegal immigrants flooded into the country in 2021 alone.
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” - George Orwell, 1984.
Johnny Depp Defamation Trial:
4/26/22 - Dr. Shannon Curry, the expert witness/ psychologist/ shill hired by Johnny Depp, testified Tuesday that Amber Heard has a personality disorder and is not suffering from post traumatic stress.
Even women with personality disorders are victims of domestic violence.
Substantial evidence has been introduced that Depp was a dissolute drug addict and alcoholic who subjected Heard to emotional and physical violence while under the influence.
A judge in Great Britain has already ruled that it was “substantially true” that Depp is a wife beater.
The facts seem to matter not a whit to Depp’s dedicated and mostly female fan base, who insist that Amber Heard is a cold, conniving fabulist.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233.
