Every time I Think I'm Out...

Oh People, every time I thing I'm out of the game, you keep dragging me back in! I've tried to retire, to step back and let the world turn, but seriously people, you're all nuts! First, please stop whining about your Starbucks cup! Starbucks doesn't "hate Jesus". Starbucks loves money. If they thought putting a Nativity Scene on their cups would sell more coffee there'd be a manger on every cup. If you can't enjoy your overpriced latte with a Douglas Fir on the cup, draw one on yourself! Seriously, get your freakin' priorities in order and simmer down.
The President of the University of Missouri system has resigned amid criticism over his handling of student complaints about racism and discrimination. Actually, he resigned because the football team refused to play and that would have cost the University about a million bucks. Chancellor L. Bowen Loftin will also be leaving. Problem solved, right? LOL!
A college group recently advertised their upcoming "Hawaiian Night" party. They say it was to "bring a little warmth to their cold climate". What it brought was a firestorm of controversy. Why? Because it's culturally insensitive, that's why. You see, in today's realm of higher education "Appropriating another culture for an event, costume or poster is disrespectful" and, therefore discriminatory. Even the wearing of a Hawaiian shirt, if one is not Polynesian, is now considered "casual racism".  "Cultural Appropriation" is, by definition, "The use of oversimplified, packaged versions of the culture of oppressed groups". I've been to Hawaii. They didn't seem oppressed to me but, hey, what do I know. I am curious as to why they sell Hawaiian shirts to tourists in Hawaii if they're so upset when we wear them. A conundrum, wouldn't you say? It's not limited to Polynesians. According to the list I saw, provided by the University of Washington, "oppressed groups" seems to cover just about everyone. Wearing, ponchos, sombreros and fake mustaches insults Mexicans. I get the sombreros but I wasn't aware that mustaches were culturally Mexican. The directive went on to say that men who dress in drag are offensive "unless they mean it". Yup. I'm not even going to touch that one. We should probably cancel St. Patrick's Day right now! Oh, that's right, the Irish are too drunk to be offended on St. Patrick's Day. See what I did there? Watch me bring it all home now. The groups that are now calling for a strict adherence to "cultural appropriation" are the same groups that insist that religion be taken out of Christmas. Apparently Christians have never been oppressed so appropriating one of their most sacred holidays is fair game. Funny how that works. So, let me end where I began. Simmer down people, simmer down.
Po

If You Don't Get It By Now...

Hello My Dear Friends! I'm sure you've heard the old adage, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink". Well, in today's climate, leading a horse to water would probably get you arrested for animal endangerment. Anyway, tomorrow CNN will host the next Republican Presidential Candidate Debate. Political pundits are all abuzz over what the "other" candidates need to do to beat Trump. The truth is, this cadre of candidates can't "beat" Trump because they're too busy beating themselves. They just don't get it. A little background. Don't worry, I'll be brief. Back in the mid-1990s, the Republican Party was hijacked by right-wing Conservatives and their "contract with America". Because they were so vocal, people began to believe that they actually represented all Republicans. They do not. They never did. So, when pundits try to figure out why their presumed front runners are tanking, they're looking at the race through a blurred lens. Before the race began, pundits tagged Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Scott Walker as the presumed front runners. Here's the problem. Each one of the presumed leaders continue to use phrases like, "get back to our conservative roots" and "winning back the White House". Here's a news flash. The average Republican doesn't want to go backward. They want to go forward with a plan and a vision. The average Republican, and the average Democrat, are sick and tired of the 'Rep vs Dem/Us vs Them' mentality that's lead us here. Candidate Mike Huckabee stood beside a woman and praised her for obeying God's law over Man's law. I, for one, find that terrifying. If I want a leader who favors God's law, I'll move to Iraq. How do I know that I am right and the pundits are wrong? Just look at the numbers. There isn't a "professional politician" or "real conservative" with more than 8% support. A recent poll of registered Republican showed that 58% thought the party was on the wrong track. Trump with 33%, Carson with 20%, Fiorina 2%. That's pretty close to even. When Jeb Bush declared that Trump wasn't 'a real Conservative' but he was, Bush's numbers went down and Trump's went up. If you don't get it by now, you never will.
One final thought. Mediocre actor and producer Matt Damon is getting blasted on social media because of comments he made on his Project Greenlight show on HBO. The show has a group of first time film makers vying for a chance to make a movie. Damon got into a bit of a spat with movie producer Effie Brown. Brown, who is black, suggested that the selection team should consider choosing an ethnically diverse finalist. Damon, who is clearly a racist, said the person for the job should be chosen on "merit" leaving "all other factors out". How dare he! Is it any wonder that he set the Twittersphere on fire? Choosing a winner based on merit! What an ass.
Po

Stupid Is What Stupid Does

Hello My Dear Friends! Why, in this crazy world, are so many people out looking for issues to complain about? I, for one, am growing weary of this nonsense! Let's take a look at what the national media sees as issues to discuss this week. Is Taylor Swift a racist? Taylor Swift filmed her latest video "Wildest Dreams" in Africa. It's an "old Hollywood glamour" themed love story. The problem? Almost everyone in the video is white. Well, cased closed. She must be a racist. Critics used words like "shocking" and "unbelievable". Seriously? Talk about manufacturing a controversy. Have we nothing better to do? Next, Kermit the Frog. Yes, seriously, Kermit has been seen "dating" a younger, thinner pig since he and Miss Piggy called it quits. Feminists are "outraged"! "It sends the wrong message to kids"! LOL. Okay, even if we overlook the fact that we're talking about puppets, this is still ridiculous. I saw Miss Piggy on Instagram with Liam Hemsworth. I think she wins. On the somewhat serious side of stupid, let's look at the Kim Davis debacle. She is, of course, the Kentucky Clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. So many people are determined to make this a "religious freedom" issue. Fine. It isn't, but, Fine. She was jailed for ignoring a court order. She broke the law and she was punished for it. That's the fact. Many people are coming to her defense including, but not limited to, the ever pious Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. He calls it the greatest assault on religious freedom ever! Really? Look, no one is impeding Mrs. Davis' right to live her new found religious beliefs. They're stopping her from imposing those beliefs on others in violation of, not only her oath of office, but Federal law. But, in deference to those of you who believe it is an issue of religious freedom, let me ask you this. If you support Mrs. Davis' position, do you also support the right of a Jehovah's Witness Doctor refusing to give needed blood transfusions to patients? Do you also support a Muslim school aide refusing to serve lunch to students during Ramadan? You would have to, wouldn't you? Finally, the media is all abuzz about Donald Trump fumbling a foreign policy question during a radio interview. Good Heavens! Radio host Huge Hewitt asked Trump about Iran's Quds forces. Trump confused the Quds with the Kurds. His opponents went wild! How could anyone running for President not know the difference between Qassem Soleimani, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abu al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli? Seriously? Is this the standard we are now holding candidates to? In 2008, candidate Barak O'Bama said (and I quote) "I've now been in 57 states, I think, one left to go".  We have certainly raised the bar, haven't we! So, in closing, can we please stop looking for problems and start dealing with the ones that actually exist? Thank you. Enjoy the long weekend!
Po

The Less You Know...

Hello My Dear Friends! There's a new term being used by pundits and the media and making it's way into the mainstream. It's "Low-Information Voters" or "LIVs". The term has actually been around since the early 1990s but is seeing a resurgence, not surprisingly, lately. It refers to, well, stupid people who vote. I'm about to offend some of you so brace yourselves. Your typical LIV will say things like "I'm voting for Hillary because we need a woman for President", or, "I'm voting for Donald Trump because he's not a politician". Informed voters choose a candidate based on their political views, positions and plans for the future. LIVs choose a candidate based on a superficial personal belief. I have said many, many times that everyone needs to vote. I've said many, many times that I don't care who you vote for as long as you vote. I no longer feel that way.  I have evolved. I now see voting in the same way I see driving. If you don't know what you're doing, please stay off the roads for the safety of us all.
An amazing story has been blanketing the web and has even been picked up by some actual news organizations. It's been written that a little girl, named Laura, was sent home from school because her Wonder Woman lunchbox violated school policy regarding violent images. Outrageous! It's political correctness run amok! Even Wonder Woman herself, Linda Carter weighed in. There's a problem though. The story simply isn't true. There were obvious red flags right from the start but, in today's media climate, we never let the facts get in the way of a good common outrage. The original post began with "A friend of mine's daughter". Red flag #1. Next, the family in the story was only identified by their first names, no surname. Red flag #2. Finally, no specific school district was named. Red flag #3. Three red flags in the first paragraph of any story should alert the average person that they are reading another internet fabrication. But, alas, it did not. The story was shared over 8 million times before the original poster took it down and disappeared.
350-500 Black Lives Matter protesters disrupted the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday. I have no problem with peaceful protests but, this particular protest, although peaceful, was insane. The group marched around the perimeter of the Fairgrounds chanting "Pigs in a blanket, Fry 'em like bacon". Are you kidding me? That is not free speech. That's incendiary speech and it is not protected under the First Amendment. Those people should have been arrested on the spot. This insanity has to stop. How many Law Enforcement Officers have to get gunned down in the street before someone has the courage to step up and stop this? An organized group of hundreds, calling for the killing of Police Officers and no one did a thing! WFT! This "protest" came one day, one day people, after Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth was assassinated while pumping gas. The 47 year old father of two was first shot in the back and then shot repeatedly as he lay on the ground. The 30 year old animal who gunned him down, for no other reason than he was wearing a uniform, will be arraigned on a capital murder charge today. You want to "fry someone like bacon", here's your chance Texas.
Finally, last night at the MTV VMA's, Kanye West announced that he would be running for President in 2020. LOL! I can't wait for that Iowa Caucus!
Po

A Contrast in Logic

Hello My Dear Friends. I am aware that using the words 'government' and 'logic' in the same sentence is the definition of oxymoron but, alas, here I go. Let's start with the on-going saga of the Ashley Madison website hack. As you know, this is the site that goobers use to cheat on their spouse. How people this stupid managed to got someone to marry them boggles the mind but, I digress. In the latest release of hacked info we have learned that many of those aforementioned goobers, hundreds, were government employees, who used their work computers. These were not just your run-of-the-mill useless government workers. They included two assistant U.S. attorneys, an information technology administrator from the Executive Office of the President, a division chief and investigator from the Justice Department and various high level employees from the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Justice, Treasury, Energy and Transportation. Can you say Hackers Dream? These fine, upstanding government officials used their office computers, during business hours, on our nickel, to troll for concubines! Here's the fun part, no one has been fired or even suspended. Is it any wonder that government computers keep getting hacked? The White House has been blaming these massive hacks on Chinese Government Espionage. The truth of the matter is, our own government has been swinging the door open by using their government computers to access questionable public websites, with impunity. Apparently these particular goobers were 'too valuable to dismiss'. LOL! This is nothing new. An EPA worker, back in 2010, was busted for using his office computer to view porn, during business hours, for 4 to 6 hours PER DAY. When investigators went to question him, he was on a website called "Sadism is Beautiful". He had clocked over 7000 hours of "porn time" during business hours. What happened to him? He was given a 'merit-based performance award' and maintained his $120,000 a year job. That same year Federal Investigators identified several dozen Pentagon workers who were using their government computers to view and collect child pornography! They were "reassigned", instead of imprisoned. The moral of the story is, if you're a pervert, you need to find yourself a government job!
Next, and I find this very disturbing, is a story about a decorated Green Beret named Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland, an 11 year Special Forces Veteran who, during his second deployment to Afghanistan was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor. SFC Martland is being kicked out of the Service for shoving an Afghan Police Commander, knocking him to the ground. There is a little more to the story. You see, the Afghan Commander, who was trained, armed and paid with U.S. tax dollars, raped a 12-year old boy. When the boy's mother confronted the Commander, he beat her. SFC Martland and his Special Forces Team confronted the rapist who, according to reports, laughed at them. SFC Martland then knocked him to the ground while explaining to him how this wasn't funny. All the members of the team were punished by the Army but SFC Martland, the leader, is being drummed out. The rapist commander remains on the payroll. Apparently he's more valuable to the U.S. than the decorated Green Beret. Imagine that. Is it any wonder that we're in the trouble we're in?
Po

Who's Surprised?

Hello My Dear Friends!  About a year ago I told you about "The Pendulum of Life" (Sept. 25, 2014). I said, in essence, that the social tide in America swings, like a pendulum, from left to right every decade or so. At that time I pointed out that the farther those currently in charge pushed America to the left, the faster and farther it would swing to the right. Well, enter Donald Trump. The media and political pundits are "stunned" and "confused" by the support for Donald Trump, in spite of what he says or does. Really? Mr. Trump, my friends, is the pendulum swinging! His unfiltered, in your face, anti-PC campaign kicked the last straw out from under the left and put the pendulum in motion to the right. No one should be surprised by this. Trump said, "I don't have time for political correctness and neither does America". He's right, in a way. No one should be using language that is offensive to society as a whole. But, the PC police have run amok for years now and people are finally saying enough is enough. The pundits keep saying that Trump is "tapping into an 'anger' in America". America, dear pundits, isn't 'angry'. Americans are frustrated. Americans are tired of being told what to do, what to say, what to eat and how to raise their kids. Americans are tired of career politicians saying one thing and doing another or, even worse, doing nothing at all. Americans are tired of being lied to over and over again. Americans, my friends, are tired of the victimization of America. Today, everyone is a victim. And, who is responsible? Well, everyone else, of course. The belief that 'I am poor because you are rich' is as ridiculous as it is destructive but that is the belief an entire generation is being taught. But it's not just that. Last week in Birmingham, Alabama, a police detective was pistol whipped unconscious, with his own weapon, during a routine traffic stop. The driver ignored the detective's order to stay in his vehicle. He got out and became aggressive.  The detective says he hesitated to pull his weapon for fear he could be prosecuted. While he was calling for backup, the suspect sucker punched him, grabbed his weapon and beat him unconscious. That's not the worst part. The beating happened in front of a group of people who, instead of helping the officer, pulled out their phones and started snapping selfies. A few of the bystanders posted pictures on social media of the bloodied officer lying on the ground with things like "pistol whipped his ass to sleep" and "#FckDaPolice". I'm pretty sure you can guess the racial make up of this atrocity. Where is the humanity? More importantly, where is the outrage? I'll tell you where. It's lost in the fog of political correctness. I realize that this happened in Alabama where everyone involved is probably married to their cousin, but that doesn't absolve them of their inhumane behavior. If the victim in this episode had been a dog or a lion with a name, the world would be calling for the attacker's head on a platter. But, since it was a cop, it barely made the news. Is it any wonder then, why the pendulum is swinging. For those who believe that support for Donald Trump is a "summer romance" or a "moment of insanity", I've got news for you. Once the pendulum starts to swing, there is no stopping it's momentum. Will Donald Trump be the next President of the United States? I doubt it. But stranger things have happened. One thing I do know for sure, America is on it's way back to the right and, like it or not, the momentum is going to take it way right of center. The current popularity of Donald Trump does prove one thing. I was right again! Imagine that.
Po

The Human Condition

Hello My Dear Friends! In my 80+ Cat years (that's 15+ human years), I've struggled to understand what make people tick. You're really not all that complicated. Most of you just plain suck. No further study required. Some of you though, are products of the Human Condition. That's a theory made popular in the late 1950's in the book of the same name by Hannah Arendt. It basically says that characteristics, key events and situations create the essentials of human existence. Blah, Blah, Blah. I think it is far more simple than that. People are far more simple than that.  I think, in it's most basic form, people want to be happy, accepted and appreciated. This fully explains our obsession with social media. People in need can find all three, happiness, acceptance and appreciation, all by seeing a "like" on a Farcebook post or a "retweet" on Twitter. This brings me to thought for the day; Easy Outrage. This is a trend that, for me, makes my head hurt. What is Easy Outrage? It's simple. It's getting all fired up about something that, when put in to perspective, is a non-issue. Take, for example, the recent killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe. Now, before you turn your easy outrage on me, let me say that I love animals. All animals. Especially those in the Cat family, for obvious reasons. The killing of this majestic animal was sad. The fact that it happens every day appears to be irrelevant. I can explain that. The reason the death of Cecil drew hundreds of millions of Farcebook shares and comments and millions of Tweets, Retweets and hashtags is simple. Cecil had a name. It wasn't just a big game hunter killing a lion. It was an American Dentist offing Cecil! It's an outrage! Yes it is. It's an easy outrage. You can write about, post pictures of lions and lament about the senseless killing of animals. Who's gonna argue with you? Pile up the "likes" and "shares". The real tragedy is that the people of Zimbabwe are suffering. Fungai Machirori, a Zimbabwe-based journalist, wrote that, prior to the international outcry, the vast majority of people in Zimbabwe had never heard of Cecil. Why? Because nearly 73% of the people in Zimbabwe live in poverty. They eat lion. Who wants to be outraged over that? The GDP per capita in Zimbabwe is $2000. That's 25 times less than what Robert Palmer paid to kill that lion. Do you see the conflict with the Human Condition? If you posted that on your Farcebook page with the picture of a starving child you probably wouldn't get the same reaction. We want to be outraged at the injustices of the world as long as they're not controversial. Easy outrage. It's the new social Consciousness!
In an unrelated note, I've been trying to teach the new captive Nava Bleu, how to blog. You know, passing on the power, handing over the reins. I am, after all, getting up there in years. So, I sit the girl down and explain the rules and, well....

It doesn't look too promising! I'll keep at it. Enjoy the day!

Po