Trump surviving Kremlingate until 2020 remains a possibility, even as he obstructs justice, lies, and demonstrates either incompetence or malevolence.
And then there’s all that golfing against ISIS.
If he sacrifices enough underlings (and the American Experiment itself), he might just delay justice until he leaves office … in 2024. Can Trump’s rectal orifice-ness be contained … probably not, because of a resilient hegemony, namely Bannonism. That coupled with Trump’s nouveau crassness, might yet still become normalized because enough money and lawyers have been thrown at potential prosecutions.
Like any good political commissar, Steve Miller/Bannon has refined a behavioral disorder into a 140 character Lord “Haw-Haw” Dampnut.
Predator-profiteer and King Kleptocrat, our Donald will seek to keep his bankrupt cancer motile on a foundation of crony capitalism.
Expect media counterfactuals which make it likely that a non-Watergate conclusion occurs since Pence needs to take over the WH before the full extent of Biglygate is known. This is the deadly GOP calculus that may emerge … how much would a Trump resignation cost versus an impeachment threat via defecting Republicans.
VP Pence does know how far the classified material leads… he knew this during the period when Trump neglected to go to classified intelligence briefings before the inaugural. We’ll soon know whether Pence reached his level of crooked incompetence as Indiana governor. His “firing” Flynn could be the only proof of obstruction to be rendered null by a SCOTUS that might lurch farther right in majority.
Many of us rightly feel contempt or disgust for our fetid, foul system. Is there then little to lose playing in the Trump casino? What, after all, is the worst-case scenario: we’re left with the rotting political system we already have, in which case we simply try something different.
While he wouldn’t usher in Hobbes’s “war of all against all,” he really could make needless war, with an unsteady hand on the nuclear button, and bring much bloodshed, or violence in the streets, along with an ever-deepening distrust that ensures what could be an irreversible devolution.
“Our political system is chock-full of assholes (is it not?), in which case we could do well to add an even bigger, stronger asshole in hopes of bringing order. As the great political philosopher Thomas Hobbes might have put it, Trump, the alpha-asshole, has the potential to “over-awe” the others and restore orderly cooperation. Some of Trump’s supporters simply wish to “blow up” a political system that has shown contempt for them. I find this entirely understandable. But even aside from the desire to break something, the Hobbesian argument for Trump, for the strongman who brings order, should be taken seriously.” (2016)
The Nero Decree (German: Nerobefehl) was issued by Adolf Hitler on March 19, 1945 ordering the destruction of German infrastructure to prevent their use by Allied forces as they penetrated deep within Germany.
Pence is always the Mercers’ GOP insurance against the unbridled success of Trumpism and ironically the ultimate victory of a fantastic middle-Americanism, whose middle-class aspiration is a fungible, unrenewable commodity in the service of a tiny-handed ruling class.
The next milestone will the the 2018 midterm elections, then the Census, then the culmination of micro-targeted democratic failure when Trump survives to be reelected because the “stans” prevail for the Trumpian deep state while The Resistance remains fractured, arguing over purity/impurity issues.
We are in for months of a retreat to Berlin, it’s less about Gessen’s Reichstag Fire autocrat than it is post-Stalingrad and the bunker’s meth-fueled testing of cyanide on the family dog.
We are in for months of lawfare’s scorched-earth maneuvering as the retreat is a series of bureaucratic holding actions, cronies’ looting, and Nero-like fiddling.
Much of this active withdrawal will be active measures and its symbolic violence both overt and covert. Strategy will be sacrificed to tactical destruction, from SCOTUS to specific attacks on race/class/gender. Months of Saturday Night Massacres, weeks of marches.
The GOP shibboleths of privatizing everything in order to achieve minarchy will either remake governance or usher in some 21st Century dystopia of a 1950s post-war segregated, nuclear-family American consumer-state where everyone knows their gated-community place.
â andrew kaczynski ð¤ (@KFILE) June 24, 2017
Trump officials oppose museum for victims of Tuskegee syphilis study https://t.co/qFxcTsDg2o
â Guardian Science (@guardianscience) June 24, 2017
The above is not simply racist but also a Bannonist attack on informed consent.
Seventy years ago, in March of 1941, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt hopped in the back of pilot C. Alfred “Chief” Anderson’s plane at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama and went for a flight. OK, it wasn’t quite that casual; the event was actually a pretty big deal — because Anderson was black.
Trump’s betrayal of his voters, the total phoniness of his populism, can seem to be boring old news. But we need to keep it front and center
Trump’s on the golf course for the second day in a row.
America pays Trump for golf cart rentals, particularly for the Secret Service ($35,000 up to April 2017). Surely a military golf cart or two could be retasked.
It’s a remotely controlled, unmanned vehicle that resembles nothing so much as a rugged golf cart. And it’s the result of at least 30 years of work. The concept was approved in 1985, and the first prototype drove onto the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Grounds in 2000. It was originally designed to patrol storage sites and warehouses, places that are the trifecta of big, dull, and dangerous in the wrong hands.
Trump is again at his Virginia golf club, his 31st day at one of his golf courses since becoming POTUS 22 weeks ago https://t.co/GgbRVGrTAl
Seems some people are so used to 8 years of running from fights (too many to cite here) that ‘Manhood’ is so misunderstood. War is as necessary as the lock on your door, for that matter, as necessary as the door itself. A closed door means ‘no entry without an invitation’. Breach that door and it means war. All the negative listings here against President Trump are less than the fights Obama ran from. Keep it up, The Democratic Party is on the way to being added to the ‘Endangered Species’ list. Go Donald!
Wrong. Obviously, one must be capable to defending the country, but the lessons of Sun Tzu are as applicable today as when he wrote them some 2,500 years ago:
All warfare is based on deception.
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
Ahh, to subdue an enemy without a fight means the enemy must first realize that resistance is futile. Sun Tzu also wrote that in the perfection of the art of war, discipline is the key factor. He said that if a squad leader was not performing up to snuff he shall be killed. Hence the following appointed squad leader usually did a bang-up job. Knowing the determination and treachery of one’s enemy is part of that which convinces one to submit. Those who offered no resistance to my arresting them were convinced beforehand that any thought on their part to fight me would result in a trip to the hospital before they even see a cell. My theory of ‘Pain Management’.
If you recall Ron, Obama is no longer the President, and the current occupant of that office will be judged on his actions, alone. No deflection about who was President in the past as an excuse will do. If you recall George W. Bush was also a prior President and chased (or thought he did) OBL to no avail – a dollar short all the way through his second term. Obama did put an end to that. I don’t believe you or anyone would call that ‘running’ from anything.
War is one tool in the diplomatic tool box, no more. A diplomatic policy should be just that, not a random attack for publicity. Remember in RVN we had no mission and how that came out. If you have not done so, read McMaster’s book ”Dereliction of Duty’ to see what a lack of a clear cut policy with a measurable outcome can lead to. McMaster was a tank squadron commander at 73 Easting in Iraq (look it up at wikipedia) and knows about military leadership. His book was his thesis for his Doctorate and is a ‘must read’ at the War College. He is the President’s National Security Advisor, and I do hope the President uses his knowledge in his decision making.
My major problem that I have with the President is his fondness for things Russian. I do not want our nation involved with them in any way, particularly financial. After the fall of communism in Russia the nation was up for grabs and their organized crime organizations ran rampant, making a few leaders extremely rich and influential. Some of this dirty money has found its way into America, mostly as a way of confounding its traceability.
The common term is money laundering.
As an example, a certain Russian who has a stated income of $75,000 per year has purchased $80,000,000 in property in Florida. That property was a book value of less than half of that. Any idea why a guy would spend a thousand times his income on a piece of property at twice its market value? Does that sound like a good deal to you?
Terry,
My whole point about Obama is the appearance of weakness. It doesn’t matter the Russians, Isis, North Korea, or any other supposed threat. I believe Obama gave that weak appearance and Trump has to correct that assumption in our adversaries. I only base my points on what I’ve experienced of human nature, not what is written by the learned. We had over 300 bars in North Philly. Every one had been robbed at least once but two bars. Those two bars were white biker-bars. Seems there was an assurance that shit may go south swiftly should one choose to hold up a biker-bar. A man can sense whether or not another man will fight… the barbarians at the gate will barter in lieu of attacking if they know there’s some baad muther-fukkers behind that gate. Thanx.
Ron, I see your point about the biker bar, as there was no doubt that a price would be paid outside of the law. Don’t need cops under those circumstances. Old frontier Judge Roy Bean law with a lynch mob vigilante mentality is what you recommend? The bad guys live in fear, but it is hard for a community to survive with that type of authority in charge. It keeps the peace, but at what price?
However, I am concerned about a guy who would rather make a deal, meaning a compromise on both sides, to get what is wanted. That is the President’s mode of operation. If he can’t get a deal – he walks away and says he won. When he does ‘win’ it means he settles for less. The Russians don’t have anything that I want. Any deal with them is, in my opinion, bad. I didn’t get along very well with them when I was in Vietnam. That has not changed with me as time has moved on. I agree with General Patton when he called the Russians ‘uncivilized mongrels.’ They were then, and they still are.
There is no 100 percent one way in a ‘deal’. If there is, the deal is not worth bothering about – you just take what you want. See the above paragraph.
The president has built his business empire on bluff, bluster and bullying others. He walks away from losses, holding himself not responsible for the ‘deal’ that fails. Others suffer, he does not loose. The others, in a national sense, are you and me. That is his business style. Do you disagree with this? Read ‘The Art of the Deal’ to see how he works his magic.
His business sense does not work well when playing with professional politicians as they will always win. Take a look at Jared’s trip to make a one-day peace deal in the middle east. One day? The result of this fiasco was a 30 something real estate developer trying to work a ‘deal’ between people who despise each others, and who have been at war for centuries. They laughed at him. All he did was embarrass our country on a global scale. How does that project strength, which is what you said was important for you?
I am not sure America needs to be the world’s police man. It is expensive and probably a waste of time. War, or the threat of war is inevitable under those conditions. North Korea is ran by a millennial with possible nukes with no sense of what a bad decision on his part will trigger in the mind of a person who speaks without consideration of what his message may convey. Bluster and bluff the NK government? What next? Got any grand kids you want to feed in as cannon fodder?
You call them cannon fodder… I’ve taught my gran’son that it’s DUTY. I believe as a man we do not pick and choose the evils to fight… we fight them all. Were we present as a woman is bein’ dragged into an alley we cannot stop to ponder whether she is our wife, mother, sister, or daughter. We act. I tell my gran’ he may choose his battles but there will be some you choose not to fight that with aging may bring regret that you did nothing at the time. Had I my way we’d be kickin’ ass all around the world. The mission is to provide the same freedoms we enjoy. A Disneyland in Kabul, sipping a martini at the Baghdad Hilton while watching a yacht race on the Euphrates, shopping for a lakefront property in Chad. I know, I know, Utopian but it’s like the horizon… you may never reach it but you can strive to get there.
Terry,
You had mentioned one o’ my favorite poets earlier and I thought you might enjoy this:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY
TAOS, NEW MEXICO 1881
USA vs. Gonzalez
Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzales, in a few short weeks it will be spring. The snow of winter will flee away, the ice will vanish, and the air will become soft and balmy… in short, Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzalez, the annual miracle of the years will awaken and come to pass… but you won’t be there.
The rivulet will run its soaring course to the sea, the timid desert flowers will put forth their tender shoots, the glorious valleys of the imperial domain will blossom as the rose… still, you won’t be here to see.
From every tree-top some wild woods songster will carol his mating song, butterflies will sport in the sunshine, the busy bee will hum happy as it pursues its accustomed vocation. The gentle breeze will tease the tassels of the wild grasses, and all nature, Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzalez, will be glad… but you won’t be here to enjoy it because I command the sheriff or some other officers of the county to lead you out to some remote spot, swing you by the neck from the knotting bough of some sturdy oak and let you hang until you are dead.
And then, Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzalez, I further command that such officer or officers retire quickly from your dangling corpse, that vultures may descend from the heavens upon your filthy body until nothing shall remain but the bare, bleached bones of a cold blooded, copper colored, blood thirsty, throat cutting, chili-eating, sheep herding, murdering son-of-a-bitch.
Hon. Roy Bean
United States Judge
…………Poesy is in the wit. I’ve always wondered why he and Lincoln are not considered among America’s great poets.
Ron, your Utopia is fine with me. My term cannon fodder is in regard to waste of resources. One major lesson of our war in RVN was that a defined mission is necessary, the resources must be available to accomplish that mission, and a clear definition to identify when we have victory is necessary.
All three were available in the first war in the Gulf. Not in the second or our continued attempt to herd the cats in the middle east. IMHO, they can keep the sand and oil. Call it quits and open the new resorts. Who is in charge there should be their decision, not ours. The US has meddled in politics in the middle east for a hundred years with no end in sight.
For an example how it works, Vietnam is now a tourist paradise and all is forgiven on both north and south. One big happy family that welcomes US citizens as guests.
The next milestone will the the 2018 midterm elections, then the Census, then the culmination of micro-targeted democratic failure when Trump survives to be reelected because the “stans” prevail for the Trumpian deep state while The Resistance remains fractured, arguing over purity/impurity issues.
I refuse to believe he will get 2 terms. We will fight like hell against this scourge.
The mission is to provide the same freedoms we enjoy.
What freedoms are those?
Health care?
1. The US is the only industrialized first world country on the planet that does not provide health care for all its citizens.
2. The US has the most expensive health care delivery system on the planet. The latest figures are from 2015, and the US spent almost 10,000 per person, per year. The next ranked countries were half that. Forbes.com
3. The CIA compiles statistics of all kinds for strategic planning purposes. 225 countries were studied for infant mortality rates. The US comes in at #59 on our own CIA ranking. Worse than Bosnia/Herzegovina, the Faroe Islands, and Guam. At least we came in ahead of Serbia, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands. So much for “right to life.” CIA.gov/reports
4. The US has a larger percentage of its population in prison than any other country. In 2008 the USA had around 24.7% of the world’s 9.8 million prisoners. The US has a higher percentage of people of color in prison than South Africa did at the peak of the repressive Apartheid regime, by a factor of 0.8:10. Wiki
5. The US ranks #7 in overall quality of life, based on the composite of a number of indices which includes purchasing power, access to health care, cost of living index, and pollution index (there are more). Numbeo.com
A really sharp psychiatrist I know, who was born and raised in Syria told me, “They have been fighting like that for three thousand years. Its a way of life. The US cannot go into a country and change three thousand years of culture in a generation, or even a dozen generations.
Any country that tries to change the culture, religion, and belief system of another country is an instant enemy. Change has to come from within.
Regime change imposed by the US really worked well in Vietnam, didn’t it.
What freedoms? The freedom of choice to come and go as I please. No questions asked. To back my wheels into the Atlantic ocean and drive west till my undercarriage feels the wet of the Pacific. To not have to worry that my father will pimp me off at 14 to an ol’ man with big money. To have the option, shaken or stirred. To not have to submit to genital mutilation. To be able to call an asshole an asshole. To not have to hold my starving child in my arms because of lack of food. To… you get my drift. All the bullet points you state have had no effect whatsoever on my daily life. At this level you just look both ways ‘fore crossin’.
And as for that regime change… you’re right, but it should’ve been cultural change. We no longer toss virgins into a volcano to ensure a good harvest, no more can we put our slain enemy’s shrunken head on our key ring. therefore any culture that follows barbaric ways should be pointed out and disciplined as a child. …And yes, we as Americans are the arbiter of who is an’ who ain’t barbarous.
How about real estate banker Gabe Silverstein? He was flying his small Cirrus SR22 on a business trip from California to New Jersey. He is an instrument rated pilot, and was on an IFR flight plan. A Cirrus does not have long range capability, so he had to stop for fuel several times.
The CBP (better known as the Border Patrol) stopped and searched his small private plane in Oklahoma, and then again in Iowa when he stopped to get gas. At the Iowa search, they almost stripped the plane, and his luggage was strewn all over the ramp when they finished and walked off.
Last time I looked, Oklahoma and Iowa are quite some distance from any international border.
Didn’ know that but as you know authority is a heavy thing. I’ve worked with many people who allow that badge to go to their head. I often use the analogy of a child left in charge of a classroom as the teacher had to leave for a minute. He becomes totalitarian and begins writing names on the blackboard (blackboard, that dates me). I would hope this is not policy and it is just some over-exuberant officer. If so it shows poor supervision. In the exercise of any search, property must not be destroyed (without explicit articulation as to why). I’d like to think the searchers had some reason to act as they did but upon finding nothing of which they were searching an apology and full explanation are due.
As for flying in general… I ceased flying in the late 90’s. I only drive and will not board a plane nor a boat… if there ain’t a bridge to it, I don’t need to see it.
CBP has had a number of similar incidents over the last 5 years. They have no authority inland of the border past 100 miles – they are “Border Protection” and should not be involved in law enforcement inland of that line. But they have continued harassing general aviation pilots who fit their “profile” of a bad guy. That profile tags you anywhere in the USA if you fly a number of short (500 mile) hops, about the range of a light aircraft. Another tag is flying into or out of a “drug suspect” area.
If I fly my Cessna 172 from Kentucky to my sister’s home in Mojave, California I make 5 stops for fuel and two over night stays, each way. I never get within 200 miles of the USA border. That trip tags me as a suspect and a guaranteed CBP stop somewhere along the way.
Doctor, May I change the subject? Just a quick thought… how in the hell did you interact with those murderous miscreants and keep your sanity? I’m curious as to what is your position on the death penalty after spending time with them. Thanx
Of course it does. They don’t know you from a bucket of paint. There’s a good possibility that those planes you park by on an overnight stay are loaded with contraband. I don’t believe there are authorities sitting behind a desk saying, “Let’s harass people.” Drive your car on I-95 ‘tween Philly and Miami on a monthly business trip n’ you’re bound to get stopped simply because that’s the drug route. The experiences of some cop may make you fit a profile he’s lookin’ for, and Brother, we all fit a profile of somethin’.
What’s so unreasonable about someone askin’ why this plane makes these trips and stops in the same airport where drug activity has been demonstrated. You have no knowledge of what goes on in those airports and their suspicion of you will only be satisfied by some sort of investigation. These guys are paid to look for anything that seems related to a crime. Such an investigation also clears you of further suspicion. I see nothing unreasonable.
They have damaged airplanes to the point they are no longer airworthy without an inspection and approval by an FAA certified Aircraft Inspector. At about $65/hour! It may take anywhere from four to twenty hours for an airplane to be inspected, not counting any parts that must be repaired or replaced.
In the meantime, the pilot has to stay at a hotel while the inspector gets around to working it into their book. Their dogs have scratched paint and left dents. Have you priced an airplane paint job recently? Last time I had a plane painted was in 1990, and it was $12,500.
This is totally un-called for… there should be no damage to anything in a search unless, as I said, one can articulate the reason for that damage. I dunno how it is today but when I was a cop we had to give a receipt for anything taken and anything damaged. (This wasn’t out of a sense of duty, it was to protect the city from a lawsuit of lied about damages.) Treat all people the way you want your family treated.
Welcome to America Ron. The old days are gone. Today the authorities are in charge and your individual rights are cast aside. How else could a police officer draw a gun and shoot an individual in the back and not be charged with a crime? How could a police office fire on an unarmed person sitting in a car after being stopped for a brake light not working? This is the same situation that I was in – a trumped up false accusation with no legal basis for a stop. Only in this case, a rookie officer in panic mode killed a black guy.
Uncalled for? not under the mind set that believes it is OK to suspend civil rights for an unfounded sense of security. America is no safer after the ‘Patriot Act’ was implemented than it was before. This same brilliant mind set blamed Iraq for 9/11 in spite of clear evidence they were not involved. The same mind set has created a travel ban on nations that have no recorded incidents of terrorist activity against the USA while favoring nations that are where known terrorists are based. For example, OBL was a Saudi and lived and was killed in Pakistan, yet both nations are not on the banned list.
If you believe it is uncalled for, then how could you support its continuation? Why not speak up to get it stopped?
Above you wrote:
“What freedoms? The freedom of choice to come and go as I please. No questions asked. To back my wheels into the Atlantic ocean and drive west till my undercarriage feels the wet of the Pacific.”
Yet you are willing to give others less than that:
“What’s so unreasonable about someone askin’ why this plane makes these trips and stops in the same airport where drug activity has been demonstrated. You have no knowledge of what goes on in those airports and their suspicion of you will only be satisfied by some sort of investigation. These guys are paid to look for anything that seems related to a crime. Such an investigation also clears you of further suspicion. I see nothing unreasonable.”
So Ron, I see a conflict within you. Why do you demand the freedom that you will not allow others?
They actually track you on radar and follow you with either a jet or a helicopter, sometimes for hundreds of miles. As a pilot, I know far more about what happens at airports than those who just guess. I know of an individual who has been stopped three times. So much for being cleared….
Suspicion is not sufficient for a stop. There must be illegal activity of some nature to stop a vehicle. How legal is it to pull over a car to search it if there is no probable cause, not even a mechanical issue such as a ‘burned out stop lamp’ or some other BS.
At Fort Knox I was pulled over by an MP because he said ‘It sounds like you were going too fast.’ I asked him what my speed was and he said 24 in a 25 zone. I said to him – go ahead and write me a ticket for 24 in a 25 because it sounded like I was going to fast.
On another night, I was stopped by an MP because as he said: ‘Your license plate light is out.’ I showed him the fiber optic light monitor system that came in my 69 Camaro, and told him that the light monitor for the rear lights was located by my rear view mirror, which I used to see him following me. He put his tail between his legs and drove away….
I just had a front and rear view camera system (with audio and GPS) installed in the pickup truck which my granddaughter drives. About to put one in my Mercury sedan which I drive.
I keep telling all our new hires when I do the POST exams, there are cameras everywhere, and should act accordingly. I still see stories, on a daily basis, where officers tell citizens it is illegal go video them. Wrong. Federal courts have ruled on this repeatedly.
In one case recently, a lady in Georgia was taking pictures of a traffic stop in front of her house. Officer came up on her front porch and arrested her, taking her to jail in handcuffs. Keep in mind that this was a housewife standing on her own front porch with her iPhone. Judge threw it out, but now she has an arrest and booking on her record for, “Interfering with police investigation.”
Is this the same ‘Hanging Judge’ as the one in Texas?
Judge Parker often gets confused with ‘Judge’ Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas. However, the only thing the two men have in common is that they have been depicted by Hollywood as ‘Hanging Judges.’ In actuality, Bean was only a justice of the peace, and not only did he never sentence anyone to death by hanging, he lacked the authority to do so. Judge Parker, as a federal district judge, was appointed by the President, and his authority was established by the Constitution.
Bean was the ‘Law west of the Pecos’, but never sentenced anyone to death as he was a JP, not a judge.
Have you guys ever seen the History Channel documentary about US Marshal Bass Reeves?
The REAL Lone Ranger. Bass had a built in disguise. He never went after a bad guy he failed to bring back. Not counting all those he had to kill in the process of catching them.
Thanx Terry, good stuff, jus’ another one o’ them times I b’lieved somethin’ was but it wasn’t. (feelings of a balloon deflated LOL) It makes the truth much more interesting though, doesn’t it?
Getting stopped for no reason by a guy with no authority, waving a gun in my face is a good way to get shot, by me. As I said, they DO NOT have police power beyond the 100 mile limit of their authority. They are Border Patrol, not DEA and do not identify themselves or show their shield, if they indeed do have one. Yes, I carry when I fly.
My .357 punches a eight inch hole in a six inch rabbit running at full speed. I shoot iron sights on my Garrand out to 1000 yards.
Are you OK with them stopping you because you have a concealed carry license, and no other reason, just to ‘inspect’ your gun?
If you are a person of color, you may be shot dead while reaching for your carry permit after being asked for it by the officer. It has happened more than once. Case of Philando Castile is one of the latest examples. This happened one year ago this week.
Yep, a case of driving while black. City awarded more than 3 million, too. Time for a civil rights case against the officer as an individual, like they did to OJ.
The Feds went after the guys who beat up Rodney King on civil rights violations. That was after a state jury acquitted them on the assault charges. IIRC, they got sentences of four years.
The bad news is, Jeff Sessions is now the US Attorney General. He will try to block any investigations or prosecutions of anyone who gratuitously kills people of color.
I figure he won’t last more than two years before he is indicted, but worry about the damage he can do to the rule of law while he is there.
All of these horror stories you guys refer to are all anomalies compared to the good done daily. Easy picking for someone who wants to bitch. And the shit a bout ‘driving while Black’? …bullshit! I remember once calling out to a guy on the street and i got, “WTF are you stopping me for?” I told the guy he dropped his wallet. Talk about one with a tail between his legs.
I’ll bet neither of you would move your family to the inner-city and send your kids to an inner-city school. ‘S a diff’rent culture… taught not to just question authority but to oppose it. Don’t trust white people an’ don’t talk to the cops. And Please, no calls of racism, I’m the only white guy in my family and I don’t want my Black Grandson shot by some slug because he stepped on his new Nikes or some perceived disrespect. He’s 24 and prime age for some asshole to put him in the past tense.You gonna tell me that the 1700 shootings in Chicago are done by police? C’mon guys, you both know assholes who are pilots… would I use Harrison Ford or anyone who strays into the path of a jumbo that’s landing as an example of all small craft pilots? Terry, are you a ‘baby killer’ ‘cuz you were in Nam? Were you ever asked if you worked with Lt. Calley? As I said, easy pickin’s.
‘Scuze a second, Gang… If you guys don’t get a response from me it’s ‘cuz my ol’ ass didn’t see your comment. I often get lost while searchin’ (too fukkin’ opinionated). I once sent a recipe to the op-ed page and a ‘Fuck-You’ letter to the bake contest.
1:18 PM… Cessna comes down on the 410 comin’ into John Wayne… 2 occupants alive. My thoughts, guys… be careful.
Thanks Ron. I’ve been flying for more than 50 years and always expect my engine to stop at any time. Chuck flies airplanes that don’t have that problem – his don’t have engines at all and he never has to worry about loosing power. His worry is airspeed and altitude.
Yep. That was me. Baby killer first class. Got me a dozen baby killer medals too.
I lived in Chicago 20 plus years. My kids went to school there.
My grand daughter is black – a drug baby adopted by my son and his wife.
Anomalies? Hardly. Lots of good cops out there, no doubt. It is the ‘bad ones’ who give the others a bad name. trouble is it is the ‘bad ones’ who should not be there in the first place in a culture that encourages violence against others. Be prepared for the worst case is the norm. Pollyanna will get you killed. Then, there is the self fulfilling prophesy where you get what you expect.
Half a dozen Chicago cops were found guilty of torture to get confessions. Illinois governors (three of them) in jail one after another.
You got the story on Harrison Ford wrong – he was landing with a clearance and landed on a taxiway in error. Poor judgement on his part. The jet was on the ground and he flew a hundred feet over the airliner, not in front of it. Bad pilots – I have known a few, but most of them are dead now.
You are getting pretty defensive Ron. Making excuses. Blaming others.
Ha, ha, ha, no ‘scuses. Just talkin’ of my knowledge of human nature. Some doctor who took the ‘H’ oath went off ta see the wizard today an’ shot up a hospital in NYC. Whooda thunk?
The human mind is a wonderful thing. Its too bad more folks don’t use it.
On that subject, I know from my years bumbling around in classrooms that there are many ways of modifying behavior without the subject being aware they are undergoing change. The general and common term is ‘brain washing’ that can lead to the victim believing whatever their mentor preaches. We see this in cults and in religion where a leader twists the gospel into a true knot. Jamestown, Koresh, Manson and so many more are examples. The Russians are well known masters of a process called ‘gaslighting’ that moves a person through a cycle where they are broken down then built back up with a new model. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting
Those being controlled do not know they have changed nor do they note their changed behavior, and often deny it has happened to themselves. The common techniques include disinformation that start with claiming legitimate facts are not true and that an alternate fact is true. George Orwell wrote about this in his book ‘1984’. In the book a new form of government takes over with a new version of history and fact. If you have not read it, it is a must to do so.
If anyone has not read it, I recommend The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. Mr. Hoffer was a working man all his life. Longshoreman, but with a formidable intellect. He carried a notebook around with him, and when he observed something that gave him an inspiration, he jotted it down. All those notes ended up as several books, most written when he was on strike (he was a longshoreman), laid off, or between jobs. On his death in 1983, his notes were bequeathed to the Hoover Institution at Stanford. Despite all the years intervening, and diligent scholarship, about 75 linear feet of library shelf space containing his notes have yet to be catalogued.
The True Believer is considered his masterwork. Strongly suggest reading it. It was written in about two weeks when he was on strike in 1949 or 1950. It has never been out of print.
Good read, Chuck. It truly helps a layman understand the psychology of how our minds are manipulated by experts. When I run across someone with their mind so convinced that any other facts are ignored, I think back and see how they fit the description of a ‘True Believer.’
All you need to do is watch a few of Adolph’s speeches on Youtube to see how his delivery style entrances his followers. He was an excellent powerful speaker and a well trained actor. Here is a great example:
Nicole Plyler Fisk
Gene Howington
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Joy of Fishes
Chuck Stanley
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Terry Welshans
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Flowers For Socrates 
I seriously find it hard to believe that drump will get 2 terms. Way too much bs going on for that in my opinion.
agreed
Seems some people are so used to 8 years of running from fights (too many to cite here) that ‘Manhood’ is so misunderstood. War is as necessary as the lock on your door, for that matter, as necessary as the door itself. A closed door means ‘no entry without an invitation’. Breach that door and it means war. All the negative listings here against President Trump are less than the fights Obama ran from. Keep it up, The Democratic Party is on the way to being added to the ‘Endangered Species’ list. Go Donald!
bs
Wrong. Obviously, one must be capable to defending the country, but the lessons of Sun Tzu are as applicable today as when he wrote them some 2,500 years ago:
Ahh, to subdue an enemy without a fight means the enemy must first realize that resistance is futile. Sun Tzu also wrote that in the perfection of the art of war, discipline is the key factor. He said that if a squad leader was not performing up to snuff he shall be killed. Hence the following appointed squad leader usually did a bang-up job. Knowing the determination and treachery of one’s enemy is part of that which convinces one to submit. Those who offered no resistance to my arresting them were convinced beforehand that any thought on their part to fight me would result in a trip to the hospital before they even see a cell. My theory of ‘Pain Management’.
If you recall Ron, Obama is no longer the President, and the current occupant of that office will be judged on his actions, alone. No deflection about who was President in the past as an excuse will do. If you recall George W. Bush was also a prior President and chased (or thought he did) OBL to no avail – a dollar short all the way through his second term. Obama did put an end to that. I don’t believe you or anyone would call that ‘running’ from anything.
War is one tool in the diplomatic tool box, no more. A diplomatic policy should be just that, not a random attack for publicity. Remember in RVN we had no mission and how that came out. If you have not done so, read McMaster’s book ”Dereliction of Duty’ to see what a lack of a clear cut policy with a measurable outcome can lead to. McMaster was a tank squadron commander at 73 Easting in Iraq (look it up at wikipedia) and knows about military leadership. His book was his thesis for his Doctorate and is a ‘must read’ at the War College. He is the President’s National Security Advisor, and I do hope the President uses his knowledge in his decision making.
My major problem that I have with the President is his fondness for things Russian. I do not want our nation involved with them in any way, particularly financial. After the fall of communism in Russia the nation was up for grabs and their organized crime organizations ran rampant, making a few leaders extremely rich and influential. Some of this dirty money has found its way into America, mostly as a way of confounding its traceability.
The common term is money laundering.
As an example, a certain Russian who has a stated income of $75,000 per year has purchased $80,000,000 in property in Florida. That property was a book value of less than half of that. Any idea why a guy would spend a thousand times his income on a piece of property at twice its market value? Does that sound like a good deal to you?
Terry,
My whole point about Obama is the appearance of weakness. It doesn’t matter the Russians, Isis, North Korea, or any other supposed threat. I believe Obama gave that weak appearance and Trump has to correct that assumption in our adversaries. I only base my points on what I’ve experienced of human nature, not what is written by the learned. We had over 300 bars in North Philly. Every one had been robbed at least once but two bars. Those two bars were white biker-bars. Seems there was an assurance that shit may go south swiftly should one choose to hold up a biker-bar. A man can sense whether or not another man will fight… the barbarians at the gate will barter in lieu of attacking if they know there’s some baad muther-fukkers behind that gate. Thanx.
Ron, I see your point about the biker bar, as there was no doubt that a price would be paid outside of the law. Don’t need cops under those circumstances. Old frontier Judge Roy Bean law with a lynch mob vigilante mentality is what you recommend? The bad guys live in fear, but it is hard for a community to survive with that type of authority in charge. It keeps the peace, but at what price?
However, I am concerned about a guy who would rather make a deal, meaning a compromise on both sides, to get what is wanted. That is the President’s mode of operation. If he can’t get a deal – he walks away and says he won. When he does ‘win’ it means he settles for less. The Russians don’t have anything that I want. Any deal with them is, in my opinion, bad. I didn’t get along very well with them when I was in Vietnam. That has not changed with me as time has moved on. I agree with General Patton when he called the Russians ‘uncivilized mongrels.’ They were then, and they still are.
There is no 100 percent one way in a ‘deal’. If there is, the deal is not worth bothering about – you just take what you want. See the above paragraph.
The president has built his business empire on bluff, bluster and bullying others. He walks away from losses, holding himself not responsible for the ‘deal’ that fails. Others suffer, he does not loose. The others, in a national sense, are you and me. That is his business style. Do you disagree with this? Read ‘The Art of the Deal’ to see how he works his magic.
His business sense does not work well when playing with professional politicians as they will always win. Take a look at Jared’s trip to make a one-day peace deal in the middle east. One day? The result of this fiasco was a 30 something real estate developer trying to work a ‘deal’ between people who despise each others, and who have been at war for centuries. They laughed at him. All he did was embarrass our country on a global scale. How does that project strength, which is what you said was important for you?
I am not sure America needs to be the world’s police man. It is expensive and probably a waste of time. War, or the threat of war is inevitable under those conditions. North Korea is ran by a millennial with possible nukes with no sense of what a bad decision on his part will trigger in the mind of a person who speaks without consideration of what his message may convey. Bluster and bluff the NK government? What next? Got any grand kids you want to feed in as cannon fodder?
You call them cannon fodder… I’ve taught my gran’son that it’s DUTY. I believe as a man we do not pick and choose the evils to fight… we fight them all. Were we present as a woman is bein’ dragged into an alley we cannot stop to ponder whether she is our wife, mother, sister, or daughter. We act. I tell my gran’ he may choose his battles but there will be some you choose not to fight that with aging may bring regret that you did nothing at the time. Had I my way we’d be kickin’ ass all around the world. The mission is to provide the same freedoms we enjoy. A Disneyland in Kabul, sipping a martini at the Baghdad Hilton while watching a yacht race on the Euphrates, shopping for a lakefront property in Chad. I know, I know, Utopian but it’s like the horizon… you may never reach it but you can strive to get there.
Terry,
You had mentioned one o’ my favorite poets earlier and I thought you might enjoy this:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY
TAOS, NEW MEXICO 1881
USA vs. Gonzalez
Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzales, in a few short weeks it will be spring. The snow of winter will flee away, the ice will vanish, and the air will become soft and balmy… in short, Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzalez, the annual miracle of the years will awaken and come to pass… but you won’t be there.
The rivulet will run its soaring course to the sea, the timid desert flowers will put forth their tender shoots, the glorious valleys of the imperial domain will blossom as the rose… still, you won’t be here to see.
From every tree-top some wild woods songster will carol his mating song, butterflies will sport in the sunshine, the busy bee will hum happy as it pursues its accustomed vocation. The gentle breeze will tease the tassels of the wild grasses, and all nature, Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzalez, will be glad… but you won’t be here to enjoy it because I command the sheriff or some other officers of the county to lead you out to some remote spot, swing you by the neck from the knotting bough of some sturdy oak and let you hang until you are dead.
And then, Jose Manuel Miguel Xavier Gonzalez, I further command that such officer or officers retire quickly from your dangling corpse, that vultures may descend from the heavens upon your filthy body until nothing shall remain but the bare, bleached bones of a cold blooded, copper colored, blood thirsty, throat cutting, chili-eating, sheep herding, murdering son-of-a-bitch.
Hon. Roy Bean
United States Judge
…………Poesy is in the wit. I’ve always wondered why he and Lincoln are not considered among America’s great poets.
Ron, your Utopia is fine with me. My term cannon fodder is in regard to waste of resources. One major lesson of our war in RVN was that a defined mission is necessary, the resources must be available to accomplish that mission, and a clear definition to identify when we have victory is necessary.
All three were available in the first war in the Gulf. Not in the second or our continued attempt to herd the cats in the middle east. IMHO, they can keep the sand and oil. Call it quits and open the new resorts. Who is in charge there should be their decision, not ours. The US has meddled in politics in the middle east for a hundred years with no end in sight.
For an example how it works, Vietnam is now a tourist paradise and all is forgiven on both north and south. One big happy family that welcomes US citizens as guests.
The next milestone will the the 2018 midterm elections, then the Census, then the culmination of micro-targeted democratic failure when Trump survives to be reelected because the “stans” prevail for the Trumpian deep state while The Resistance remains fractured, arguing over purity/impurity issues.
I refuse to believe he will get 2 terms. We will fight like hell against this scourge.
What freedoms are those?
Health care?
1. The US is the only industrialized first world country on the planet that does not provide health care for all its citizens.
2. The US has the most expensive health care delivery system on the planet. The latest figures are from 2015, and the US spent almost 10,000 per person, per year. The next ranked countries were half that. Forbes.com
3. The CIA compiles statistics of all kinds for strategic planning purposes. 225 countries were studied for infant mortality rates. The US comes in at #59 on our own CIA ranking. Worse than Bosnia/Herzegovina, the Faroe Islands, and Guam. At least we came in ahead of Serbia, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands. So much for “right to life.” CIA.gov/reports
4. The US has a larger percentage of its population in prison than any other country. In 2008 the USA had around 24.7% of the world’s 9.8 million prisoners. The US has a higher percentage of people of color in prison than South Africa did at the peak of the repressive Apartheid regime, by a factor of 0.8:10. Wiki
5. The US ranks #7 in overall quality of life, based on the composite of a number of indices which includes purchasing power, access to health care, cost of living index, and pollution index (there are more). Numbeo.com
A really sharp psychiatrist I know, who was born and raised in Syria told me, “They have been fighting like that for three thousand years. Its a way of life. The US cannot go into a country and change three thousand years of culture in a generation, or even a dozen generations.
Any country that tries to change the culture, religion, and belief system of another country is an instant enemy. Change has to come from within.
Regime change imposed by the US really worked well in Vietnam, didn’t it.
What freedoms? The freedom of choice to come and go as I please. No questions asked. To back my wheels into the Atlantic ocean and drive west till my undercarriage feels the wet of the Pacific. To not have to worry that my father will pimp me off at 14 to an ol’ man with big money. To have the option, shaken or stirred. To not have to submit to genital mutilation. To be able to call an asshole an asshole. To not have to hold my starving child in my arms because of lack of food. To… you get my drift. All the bullet points you state have had no effect whatsoever on my daily life. At this level you just look both ways ‘fore crossin’.
And as for that regime change… you’re right, but it should’ve been cultural change. We no longer toss virgins into a volcano to ensure a good harvest, no more can we put our slain enemy’s shrunken head on our key ring. therefore any culture that follows barbaric ways should be pointed out and disciplined as a child. …And yes, we as Americans are the arbiter of who is an’ who ain’t barbarous.
If you are coming and going as you please, I hope you don’t plan to do it on United Airlines.
You may end up in the hospital. Latest incident; at least, the latest we know about this week. Four-month-old baby ends up in critical care after nearly dying.
How about real estate banker Gabe Silverstein? He was flying his small Cirrus SR22 on a business trip from California to New Jersey. He is an instrument rated pilot, and was on an IFR flight plan. A Cirrus does not have long range capability, so he had to stop for fuel several times.
The CBP (better known as the Border Patrol) stopped and searched his small private plane in Oklahoma, and then again in Iowa when he stopped to get gas. At the Iowa search, they almost stripped the plane, and his luggage was strewn all over the ramp when they finished and walked off.
Last time I looked, Oklahoma and Iowa are quite some distance from any international border.
So much for unrestricted travel. This kind of incident is increasingly commonplace.
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2013/may/16/pilot-detained-searched-for-mysterious-reasons
Didn’ know that but as you know authority is a heavy thing. I’ve worked with many people who allow that badge to go to their head. I often use the analogy of a child left in charge of a classroom as the teacher had to leave for a minute. He becomes totalitarian and begins writing names on the blackboard (blackboard, that dates me). I would hope this is not policy and it is just some over-exuberant officer. If so it shows poor supervision. In the exercise of any search, property must not be destroyed (without explicit articulation as to why). I’d like to think the searchers had some reason to act as they did but upon finding nothing of which they were searching an apology and full explanation are due.
As for flying in general… I ceased flying in the late 90’s. I only drive and will not board a plane nor a boat… if there ain’t a bridge to it, I don’t need to see it.
Not an isolated case, Ron.
CBP has had a number of similar incidents over the last 5 years. They have no authority inland of the border past 100 miles – they are “Border Protection” and should not be involved in law enforcement inland of that line. But they have continued harassing general aviation pilots who fit their “profile” of a bad guy. That profile tags you anywhere in the USA if you fly a number of short (500 mile) hops, about the range of a light aircraft. Another tag is flying into or out of a “drug suspect” area.
If I fly my Cessna 172 from Kentucky to my sister’s home in Mojave, California I make 5 stops for fuel and two over night stays, each way. I never get within 200 miles of the USA border. That trip tags me as a suspect and a guaranteed CBP stop somewhere along the way.
Doctor, May I change the subject? Just a quick thought… how in the hell did you interact with those murderous miscreants and keep your sanity? I’m curious as to what is your position on the death penalty after spending time with them. Thanx
Of course it does. They don’t know you from a bucket of paint. There’s a good possibility that those planes you park by on an overnight stay are loaded with contraband. I don’t believe there are authorities sitting behind a desk saying, “Let’s harass people.” Drive your car on I-95 ‘tween Philly and Miami on a monthly business trip n’ you’re bound to get stopped simply because that’s the drug route. The experiences of some cop may make you fit a profile he’s lookin’ for, and Brother, we all fit a profile of somethin’.
What about probable cause and the 4th amendment?
What’s so unreasonable about someone askin’ why this plane makes these trips and stops in the same airport where drug activity has been demonstrated. You have no knowledge of what goes on in those airports and their suspicion of you will only be satisfied by some sort of investigation. These guys are paid to look for anything that seems related to a crime. Such an investigation also clears you of further suspicion. I see nothing unreasonable.
They have damaged airplanes to the point they are no longer airworthy without an inspection and approval by an FAA certified Aircraft Inspector. At about $65/hour! It may take anywhere from four to twenty hours for an airplane to be inspected, not counting any parts that must be repaired or replaced.
In the meantime, the pilot has to stay at a hotel while the inspector gets around to working it into their book. Their dogs have scratched paint and left dents. Have you priced an airplane paint job recently? Last time I had a plane painted was in 1990, and it was $12,500.
This is totally un-called for… there should be no damage to anything in a search unless, as I said, one can articulate the reason for that damage. I dunno how it is today but when I was a cop we had to give a receipt for anything taken and anything damaged. (This wasn’t out of a sense of duty, it was to protect the city from a lawsuit of lied about damages.) Treat all people the way you want your family treated.
Welcome to America Ron. The old days are gone. Today the authorities are in charge and your individual rights are cast aside. How else could a police officer draw a gun and shoot an individual in the back and not be charged with a crime? How could a police office fire on an unarmed person sitting in a car after being stopped for a brake light not working? This is the same situation that I was in – a trumped up false accusation with no legal basis for a stop. Only in this case, a rookie officer in panic mode killed a black guy.
Uncalled for? not under the mind set that believes it is OK to suspend civil rights for an unfounded sense of security. America is no safer after the ‘Patriot Act’ was implemented than it was before. This same brilliant mind set blamed Iraq for 9/11 in spite of clear evidence they were not involved. The same mind set has created a travel ban on nations that have no recorded incidents of terrorist activity against the USA while favoring nations that are where known terrorists are based. For example, OBL was a Saudi and lived and was killed in Pakistan, yet both nations are not on the banned list.
If you believe it is uncalled for, then how could you support its continuation? Why not speak up to get it stopped?
Above you wrote:
“What freedoms? The freedom of choice to come and go as I please. No questions asked. To back my wheels into the Atlantic ocean and drive west till my undercarriage feels the wet of the Pacific.”
Yet you are willing to give others less than that:
“What’s so unreasonable about someone askin’ why this plane makes these trips and stops in the same airport where drug activity has been demonstrated. You have no knowledge of what goes on in those airports and their suspicion of you will only be satisfied by some sort of investigation. These guys are paid to look for anything that seems related to a crime. Such an investigation also clears you of further suspicion. I see nothing unreasonable.”
So Ron, I see a conflict within you. Why do you demand the freedom that you will not allow others?
They actually track you on radar and follow you with either a jet or a helicopter, sometimes for hundreds of miles. As a pilot, I know far more about what happens at airports than those who just guess. I know of an individual who has been stopped three times. So much for being cleared….
Suspicion is not sufficient for a stop. There must be illegal activity of some nature to stop a vehicle. How legal is it to pull over a car to search it if there is no probable cause, not even a mechanical issue such as a ‘burned out stop lamp’ or some other BS.
At Fort Knox I was pulled over by an MP because he said ‘It sounds like you were going too fast.’ I asked him what my speed was and he said 24 in a 25 zone. I said to him – go ahead and write me a ticket for 24 in a 25 because it sounded like I was going to fast.
On another night, I was stopped by an MP because as he said: ‘Your license plate light is out.’ I showed him the fiber optic light monitor system that came in my 69 Camaro, and told him that the light monitor for the rear lights was located by my rear view mirror, which I used to see him following me. He put his tail between his legs and drove away….
I just had a front and rear view camera system (with audio and GPS) installed in the pickup truck which my granddaughter drives. About to put one in my Mercury sedan which I drive.
I keep telling all our new hires when I do the POST exams, there are cameras everywhere, and should act accordingly. I still see stories, on a daily basis, where officers tell citizens it is illegal go video them. Wrong. Federal courts have ruled on this repeatedly.
In one case recently, a lady in Georgia was taking pictures of a traffic stop in front of her house. Officer came up on her front porch and arrested her, taking her to jail in handcuffs. Keep in mind that this was a housewife standing on her own front porch with her iPhone. Judge threw it out, but now she has an arrest and booking on her record for, “Interfering with police investigation.”
Another reason to have a recording GPS with your dashcam system.
By the way, did you get my poetry from one of my favorite judges? Scoundrels can be colorful too.
Yes, I did. One little detail though. This is fake news and alternate facts.
Please look at this NPS web site for the correct facts:
https://www.nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/myths-and-legends-surrounding-judge-parker.htm
Is this the same ‘Hanging Judge’ as the one in Texas?
Judge Parker often gets confused with ‘Judge’ Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas. However, the only thing the two men have in common is that they have been depicted by Hollywood as ‘Hanging Judges.’ In actuality, Bean was only a justice of the peace, and not only did he never sentence anyone to death by hanging, he lacked the authority to do so. Judge Parker, as a federal district judge, was appointed by the President, and his authority was established by the Constitution.
Bean was the ‘Law west of the Pecos’, but never sentenced anyone to death as he was a JP, not a judge.
Have you guys ever seen the History Channel documentary about US Marshal Bass Reeves?
The REAL Lone Ranger. Bass had a built in disguise. He never went after a bad guy he failed to bring back. Not counting all those he had to kill in the process of catching them.
Thanx Terry, good stuff, jus’ another one o’ them times I b’lieved somethin’ was but it wasn’t. (feelings of a balloon deflated LOL) It makes the truth much more interesting though, doesn’t it?
Getting stopped for no reason by a guy with no authority, waving a gun in my face is a good way to get shot, by me. As I said, they DO NOT have police power beyond the 100 mile limit of their authority. They are Border Patrol, not DEA and do not identify themselves or show their shield, if they indeed do have one. Yes, I carry when I fly.
My .357 punches a eight inch hole in a six inch rabbit running at full speed. I shoot iron sights on my Garrand out to 1000 yards.
Are you OK with them stopping you because you have a concealed carry license, and no other reason, just to ‘inspect’ your gun?
If you are a person of color, you may be shot dead while reaching for your carry permit after being asked for it by the officer. It has happened more than once. Case of Philando Castile is one of the latest examples. This happened one year ago this week.
Yep, a case of driving while black. City awarded more than 3 million, too. Time for a civil rights case against the officer as an individual, like they did to OJ.
The Feds went after the guys who beat up Rodney King on civil rights violations. That was after a state jury acquitted them on the assault charges. IIRC, they got sentences of four years.
The bad news is, Jeff Sessions is now the US Attorney General. He will try to block any investigations or prosecutions of anyone who gratuitously kills people of color.
I figure he won’t last more than two years before he is indicted, but worry about the damage he can do to the rule of law while he is there.
All of these horror stories you guys refer to are all anomalies compared to the good done daily. Easy picking for someone who wants to bitch. And the shit a bout ‘driving while Black’? …bullshit! I remember once calling out to a guy on the street and i got, “WTF are you stopping me for?” I told the guy he dropped his wallet. Talk about one with a tail between his legs.
I’ll bet neither of you would move your family to the inner-city and send your kids to an inner-city school. ‘S a diff’rent culture… taught not to just question authority but to oppose it. Don’t trust white people an’ don’t talk to the cops. And Please, no calls of racism, I’m the only white guy in my family and I don’t want my Black Grandson shot by some slug because he stepped on his new Nikes or some perceived disrespect. He’s 24 and prime age for some asshole to put him in the past tense.You gonna tell me that the 1700 shootings in Chicago are done by police? C’mon guys, you both know assholes who are pilots… would I use Harrison Ford or anyone who strays into the path of a jumbo that’s landing as an example of all small craft pilots? Terry, are you a ‘baby killer’ ‘cuz you were in Nam? Were you ever asked if you worked with Lt. Calley? As I said, easy pickin’s.
‘Scuze a second, Gang… If you guys don’t get a response from me it’s ‘cuz my ol’ ass didn’t see your comment. I often get lost while searchin’ (too fukkin’ opinionated). I once sent a recipe to the op-ed page and a ‘Fuck-You’ letter to the bake contest.
1:18 PM… Cessna comes down on the 410 comin’ into John Wayne… 2 occupants alive. My thoughts, guys… be careful.
Thanks Ron. I’ve been flying for more than 50 years and always expect my engine to stop at any time. Chuck flies airplanes that don’t have that problem – his don’t have engines at all and he never has to worry about loosing power. His worry is airspeed and altitude.
Yep. That was me. Baby killer first class. Got me a dozen baby killer medals too.
I lived in Chicago 20 plus years. My kids went to school there.
My grand daughter is black – a drug baby adopted by my son and his wife.
Anomalies? Hardly. Lots of good cops out there, no doubt. It is the ‘bad ones’ who give the others a bad name. trouble is it is the ‘bad ones’ who should not be there in the first place in a culture that encourages violence against others. Be prepared for the worst case is the norm. Pollyanna will get you killed. Then, there is the self fulfilling prophesy where you get what you expect.
Half a dozen Chicago cops were found guilty of torture to get confessions. Illinois governors (three of them) in jail one after another.
You got the story on Harrison Ford wrong – he was landing with a clearance and landed on a taxiway in error. Poor judgement on his part. The jet was on the ground and he flew a hundred feet over the airliner, not in front of it. Bad pilots – I have known a few, but most of them are dead now.
You are getting pretty defensive Ron. Making excuses. Blaming others.
Ha, ha, ha, no ‘scuses. Just talkin’ of my knowledge of human nature. Some doctor who took the ‘H’ oath went off ta see the wizard today an’ shot up a hospital in NYC. Whooda thunk?
The human mind is a wonderful thing. Its too bad more folks don’t use it.
On that subject, I know from my years bumbling around in classrooms that there are many ways of modifying behavior without the subject being aware they are undergoing change. The general and common term is ‘brain washing’ that can lead to the victim believing whatever their mentor preaches. We see this in cults and in religion where a leader twists the gospel into a true knot. Jamestown, Koresh, Manson and so many more are examples. The Russians are well known masters of a process called ‘gaslighting’ that moves a person through a cycle where they are broken down then built back up with a new model.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting
Those being controlled do not know they have changed nor do they note their changed behavior, and often deny it has happened to themselves. The common techniques include disinformation that start with claiming legitimate facts are not true and that an alternate fact is true. George Orwell wrote about this in his book ‘1984’. In the book a new form of government takes over with a new version of history and fact. If you have not read it, it is a must to do so.
If anyone has not read it, I recommend The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. Mr. Hoffer was a working man all his life. Longshoreman, but with a formidable intellect. He carried a notebook around with him, and when he observed something that gave him an inspiration, he jotted it down. All those notes ended up as several books, most written when he was on strike (he was a longshoreman), laid off, or between jobs. On his death in 1983, his notes were bequeathed to the Hoover Institution at Stanford. Despite all the years intervening, and diligent scholarship, about 75 linear feet of library shelf space containing his notes have yet to be catalogued.
The True Believer is considered his masterwork. Strongly suggest reading it. It was written in about two weeks when he was on strike in 1949 or 1950. It has never been out of print.
Good read, Chuck. It truly helps a layman understand the psychology of how our minds are manipulated by experts. When I run across someone with their mind so convinced that any other facts are ignored, I think back and see how they fit the description of a ‘True Believer.’
All you need to do is watch a few of Adolph’s speeches on Youtube to see how his delivery style entrances his followers. He was an excellent powerful speaker and a well trained actor. Here is a great example: