Shouldn’t the Focus Be on the Funerals for the Victims of the Charleston Shootings, and Not on a 150 Year Old Debate That Shows No Sign of Easing?

I think there’s a couple of misplaced issues in the Charleston massacre, that can wait for a while.

Instead of focusing energy on the victims, their families and making the church that was attacked whole again, a great deal of political capital and energy has been shifted to going after the Confederate flag, which continues to fly on state capitol grounds in the South, or is on license plates.

The Confederate battle flag debate has been ongoing for 150 years and shows no signs of going away anytime soon.  In fact, retailers can’t keep the rebel battle flags in stock; they’re flying off the shelves since the controversy re-erupted in the wake of the Charleston church massacre.

That was expected.  When a movement gains steam, it often spikes sales of whatever item is in the political crosshairs.

The flag debate can be put on hold until after the victims’ funerals are held.   The second item is the gun debate that lib Dems keep rehashing.   That can wait too.

Political activism should not supplant honoring the victims, and comforting their families.

Kid Who Shot Up Charleston Church Cannot Claim Insanity: His “Last Rhodesian” Manifesto Makes Clear Who He Doesn’t Like, and Who He Was Going to Go After in Charleston

The person who shot up the Charleston church on Thursday night and killed nine people will not be able to claim insanity, in my opinion.

The reason I say that is because of his website and manifesto.   It lays out his hatred of people who are non-white and broadcasts his intentions to attack a target in Charleston and hurt people.

His photos are particularly troubling, with various references to neo-Nazi propaganda.   His web site is going to be of particular interest to the prosecution, with regards to his rumored intention to plead insanity.   It might have had some traction if the web site and manifesto didn’t exist, but the manifesto was too well-researched and organized (I disagree with the entire thing, by the way), even though it was bizarre rant.

The photos establish his hatreds over a long time period, with various neo-Nazi references (the 1488 thing, which I had to look up), stomping on, spitting on and burning the American flag, and similar photos involving apartheid-era Rhodesian and South African flags.  

It will be hard for him to claim temporary insanity with the web site and manifesto anchor wrapped around his neck.  

He’s competent enough to stand trial and pay for what he’s done.

Senator Tells Pope to Stay Out of Climate Change Debate: “Do Your Job and We’ll Do Ours!” OK, Except Congress Shouldn’t Be Involved in the Climate Change Debate Either!

This is a good one. 

The Senate chair of a climate change committee is tired of Pope Francis speaking out about climate change, telling the Pope to “do your job and we’ll do ours.”   I happen to agree that the Pope shouldn’t be involved in this mess of a debate, but the Senator overlooked something very critical:

Congress shouldn’t be involved in the debate either.  No politician has any business in an ongoing and unsettled scientific debate.   They’ve already screwed this situation up almost beyond belief, and on an international scale.

This is a scientific debate that hasn’t reached a final conclusion about what’s really going on with the climate.  The scientific community involved in the climate change debate is a train wreck, and keeps coming up with contradictory theories to explain things.  And the politicians love to turn these things into talking points.  

The disaster of carbon credit markets is one example of politicians to make more money off something that they have absolutely no control over and barely understand.  Political snake oil….

The scientific community is too polarized by this issue to give our leaders sound advice on what the facts are.   Settled science?  I think not.

Honesty from the scientific community will do more to further our understanding of the world around us far more than politicians taking a stand.   The politics can wait until the science is actually settled.

Recent Government Paper Manipulates Climate Change Data so Blatantly that Even Climate Change Scientists Are Balking: Sad State of Affairs in Global Warming Alarmism Movement

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently released a report that manipulated climate change data AGAIN which changes the data to show nothing but rises in global temperature over the last seventeen years and not any kind of pause or cool down.

This kind of blatant data manipulation is EXACTLY the reason that people like me doubt the official (and government approved) narrative about global warming.   The NOAA report is a political document meant to silence political opponents of global warming.   This is also what happens when politicians enter a scientific debate.   

But climate scientists themselves are publicly challenging the NOAA report, saying that the manipulated data does nothing to further understanding of what’s actually happening,    The NOAA-branded report is just adding fuel to a fire that the government wants to go away.   But they keep engaging in science fiction instead of science fact.   And they’re being called on it by people on their own side of the equation.

Pretty sad state of affairs for the global warming alarmism side when they criticize a report meant to silence their opposition.

It will be interesting to see if the people criticizing the government report change their tune in coming weeks, or if they stick to their guns.

No Progress on Straightening Out Primary Calendar: All States Should Set Their Primaries Earlier as a Show of Support for Challenging the Unbalanced Primary System

During the last primary season, Michigan was one of several states that the DNC and RNC singled out for punishment for daring to draw attention to the unfairness of two states getting the lion’s share of attention from the candidates due to their first-in-the-nation primary elections, and the respective (not so respective) National Committees of both parties going along with the system.

Michigan’s electoral votes were cut in half as a result by both parties.   Thanks for nothing, DNC and RNC.   I selected a side and wrote in Mickey Mouse.   That’s what I thought of my half-strength vote.

New Hampshire and Iowa have different issues on their plates than Michigan has.  Here’s a sample of issues in the headlines in those three states:

Iowa has been focused on ethanol, gasoline taxes, drone surveillance, “telemed” abortions, state aid for broadband access and same-sex marriage. 

New Hampshire has been focused on marijuana legalization, sexual orientation discrimination, the death penalty, immigration,  Common Core and Indian gaming. 

Michigan is focused in on its economy, deer hunting, bird flu, Common Core, fracking, repealing the state’s prevailing wage law, wolf hunting, recreational marijuana legalization, insurance premiums, funding for schools and roads, and guns.

Are Michigan’s issues any less important than New Hampshire’s or Iowa’s?  I think not.

During the last primary season, Michigan bumped up its primary election in violation of the rules so that our issues could be heard in all the racket emanating from Iowa and New Hampshire.

I hope more states cross the red line and schedule their primary elections early next year, and really stick it to both the DNC and RNC.   And if they do to those states what they did to Michigan, I hope all kinds of people write in Mickey Mouse or vote for “none of the above.”    

Much more to follow on this issue in the coming weeks and months.

GOP Field is Unimpressive: Mickey Mouse May Get My Vote (Again) for Next Year’s Primary

The last few primary elections, if I’ve been annoyed with the choice of contenders that the main parties have put forth, I’ve picked a side and then voted for Mickey Mouse. 

He may get my primary vote again, if things stand as they are.  I’m not impressed so far with the current field of candidates.

Someone had better start knocking ‘em out of the park, real quick.

Texas Police Officer Who Stopped Two Terrorists During Attack on Mohammed Cartoon Gathering is Still Unknown: He Probably Wants to Protect His Family From Retaliation

A heroic police officer who shot two terrorists after they opened fire with AK-47s on police and security officers at a controversial Mohammed cartoon gathering is still not publicly known, and that’s not a bad thing.  The police officer probably wants to protect his family, so the media should respect that.   I’m content with not knowing his name.

The terrorists drove up, got out of their car and opened fire, wounding an unarmed security guard.  It’s being said that the police officer drew his sidearm, killed one of the attackers immediately and wounded the other, which ended the situation. 

I don’t know if his name can be suppressed as the shooting is a matter of public record so his name’s probably going to be released.   Hope they’re taking steps to protect the officer’s loved ones before that happens.

80+ Percent of Vote Goes Against Michigan Proposal 1: Lopsided Defeat Shows Lansing Politicians Need to Do Their Jobs, Quit Scheduling Unnecessary Elections, and Fix the Roads With Money They Already Collect

Michigan’s had a problem with crumbling roads for quite a while now, and the politicians in Lansing have failed to come up with a solution to fix them.

Then someone came up with a cockamamie plot to alter the Michigan constitution to allow for an increase in the state sales tax, plus a bunch of other not-mentioned tax and fee increases that the legislature have already enacted.  Everything was to go into effect when Proposal 1 was approved by Michigan voters.  Fortunately, 80% of the vote went in the opposite direction.

I voted no because of all the other increases that were not mentioned in the proposal.  I did not consent to any of the not-mentioned tax and fee proposals.

I also object to a 200 word proposal that barely scratches the 46,000 word bill that includes language to automatically raise gas taxes.   Hard to believe a Republican governor would go along with something like that.  

They lost by a wide margin on this issue because the proposal left out key details of how much taxes and fees were going to increase.   They can fix the roads, increase education spending and provide other services with the money they already have.

They should stay in session (working FIVE DAY work weeks like everybody else, and not THREE DAY work weeks) until the road problem is fixed.

U.S. Supreme Court May Decide to Send the Gay Marriage Question Back to the States: Constitution is Clear on Who Regulates Marriage

I think there’s a possibility that the Supreme Court will not issue a ruling on the gay marriage question, and that they’ll defer to the states to make up their own minds.  This is probably the correct course of action, since the Constitution says that the authority to regulate marriage rests with the states.

I don’t know how strong this possibility is…this court has already inserted itself into national political questions, but since this is a power expressly given over to the states and not the federal government, I’m thinking the Supreme Court won’t take a side, which will make the state supreme courts in each state the final arbiter of the matter.  

Some have already decided, others are awaiting the Supreme Court decision, which is expected in June.

Gay Hotel Owner’s First Statement About Ted Cruz Was Truthful: His Subsequent Apology to His Community About the Meeting Is Not

I’ve been watching the situation between presidential contender Ted Cruz, and a gay businessman who took the opportunity to talk to Cruz about gay issues at his house with some interest.  His initial explanation was that he wanted to address issues between Cruz’s various stands and the gay community.  That was a truthful statement, and perfectly reasonable.

Then the threats of a boycott of the businessman’s business by gay and liberal activists lead to a quick apology and mea cupola from the businessman, who didn’t “understand Cruz’s stands on anti-gay issues.”  This statement appeared to be forced, and a hasty reaction to threats of a boycott, and possible threatened harm to the businessman and his business partner from various communication mediums.

Based on his first statement, I think he was fully aware of the various stands that Cruz had taken but chose to meet with Cruz anyways to have a conversation with the Congressman about it.  The second statement was the businessman trying to save his business.

It’s very unfortunate that liberal hypocrisy is on full display, again, and they’re making it look like the businessman’s fault.   He should be free to talk with whomever he wants, about whatever he wants, whenever he wants and wherever he wants.   Instead, the left is seeking to deny this guy his First Amendment rights about redressing grievances with elected officials, which Ted Cruz is and seeks to be.

Hypocrites!

California’s Environmentalism Has Made Their Drought Much Harder Than It Needed to Be: No New Reservoirs of Water Were Created At a Time When Their Population Doubled, Now They’re Restricting Most Forms of Water Use to Preserve What They Do Have Left

California has known for generations that it is prone to suffer from drought from time to time, yet did nothing to “mitigate the worst effects” of an extreme drought as their population was doubling.  

If those words sound familiar, it’s straight out of the liberal global warming playbook.  Ironic.

California’s water crisis IS a human-made problem, and the blame lies at the feet of environmentalists who have successfully blocked the creation of new water reservoirs in the hardest-hit areas of the California drought.    Now California’s entire population is at risk of not having enough water to drink, prepare food, take a shower, water their lawns and a host of other water issues as the drought continues.

If what NASA is saying is accurate, California will need 11 trillion gallons of water to end the drought.  Put another way, they need 30 billion gallons of rainfall daily for one entire year, without fail.   Or they need something like 12.5 feet of snow to fall on every part of the state during the winter and then melt.

Now they’re having to look at desalinization to turn ocean water into drinking water.  It costs double what it would take to build and run a reservoir, and the reservoir would have superior output, too.

If you want to see what a man-made disaster looks like, California’s the poster child.   I hope the other states are taking notes on what not to do with their environmental policies.

Mother Nature can turn this drought around, as it has before, but it’s going to take a long time to happen.   They won’t get 30 billion gallons of rainfall a day for 365 days without fail.  Nor will they get covered by 12.5 feet of snow in a winter.  

Environmentalism is good, but California’s environmentalism is an example of what happens when liberal environmental politics overrides common sense.

Israel Got It Right Again: Israel Threatens to Sell Anti-Aircraft Systems to Ukraine in Response to Russian Sale of S-300 Anti-Aircraft Missiles to Iran and Russia Blinks

Israel struck a Russian nerve a few weeks ago when it threatened to sell advanced Israeli anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine in response to Russia’s sale of their S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran.

It lead to a Russian denouncement of the Israeli move, Israeli threats to bomb the system as it was being delivered to Iran, and a Russian announcement a few days ago that the S-300 delivery to Iran would be delayed.

Did Netanyahu just force Putin to blink?   President Obama hasn’t been able to do that a single time over any issue.

LEVERAGE!!

Russia doesn’t want Ukraine getting advanced arms that will take a bite out of the Russian Air Force should it launch an invasion of the rest of Ukraine.    And it remembers what happened when the Americans, Israelis and Saudis supplied Afghanistan with American Stinger missiles against the invading Soviet Army in the 1980s.   The Soviets lost in the neighborhood of three hundred aircraft.

Our current government can threaten Russia the same way, but it wouldn’t be the same.   Putin has Obama’s number and will call his bluff every time, but Netanyahu is perceived as a loose cannon by Putin.   Israel is more than willing to answer Putin tit-for-tat, and Putin doesn’t like it one bit.

Because Israel will sell lethal aid to Ukraine if Russia delivers the S-300 to Iran. 

Gore Wants to “Punish Climate Change Deniers” for “Denying Established Science”: Bring It On

Global warming alarmist Al Gore wants to punish people for not buying into his falsified climate change data.

His pal Vice President Biden also said recently that denying climate change is like denying gravity.   Interesting choice of comments, since the science of gravity used the scientific method of proving it, while climate change science has sought to skip the scientific method entirely.

The reason they’re seeking to skip using established scientific principles to prove climate change is that there is a very real possibility that it will be scientifically disproven.   The data just doesn’t support their arguments.  Why else would they manipulate the data?

If Al Gore wants us to buy what he’s selling, his side is going to have to use established scientific methods of proving what he’s saying.

As for his claim of climate change being “settled science”---NO IT ISN’T!   Not by the method that is accepted by the entire scientific community, unlike his global warming hubris.

No one denies that climate change has happened before.  If it hadn’t, we’d still be locked in the last Ice Age.  The region of the country I live in would still be under a sheet of ice nearly three miles thick.   

What is in dispute is the role humans have had in recent times with regards to the ever-changing climate on Earth—changes that would be happening whether we were here or not.  

Consider: humans weren’t around with today’s greenhouse gas emitting factories or cars 15,000 years ago to warm up the planet and cause the glaciers to retreat.

Also in dispute is the role that the sun and volcanic activity plays in the overall process.  Until they figure that out, they have NO business telling us that their version of climate change is “settled science.”   “Settled science” is a political term that has no place in a scientific debate.

If Al Gore wants to punish people for not buying his utter BS, he should go from door to door and do the job himself.   Put up, or shut up, pal.

More Questions Than Answers on Malaysian Airlines MH370 Disappearance One Year On: They Just Announced That the Battery on the Flight Recorders Were Dead Long Before the Jet Disappeared in Further Display of Incompetence

More proof that there are some incompetent fools running Malaysia Airlines…it’s bad enough that MH370 disappeared without a trace a year ago today, but according to a report from the airline, the flight recorder batteries on board the jet expired at least a year before the plane was lost. 

They must have known this information in the days after the flight was presumed lost in the Indian Ocean, but did they even tell the search crews or governments who sent rescue forces about the batteries already being dead?  The on-scene rescue personnel made a huge deal out of finding the wreckage before the locator beacon batteries on the black boxes ran out of power.   These batteries were supposed to last two to three weeks after the flight recorders lost primary power during the presumed destruction of the aircraft.

Yet the MH370 report released by Malaysia Airlines found “nothing unusual about the crew or aircraft.”  Apparently dead batteries on Malaysia Airlines black boxes are nothing unusual.  HUH??!  

What other safety violations are not considered unusual by this airline?

I hope every airline in the world is paying attention to the battery story and doing some checking of their records, and taking corrective action.  

When will the families of the lost finally have some peace?

Utter Hypocrisy: Democrats Call Netanyahu a Child, Then Start Up on the Name Calling…They’re The Ones Acting Like the Children, Not Netanyahu

Judging from the over-emotional reactions from House and Senate Democrats, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu scored a direct hit with his speech.   I thought it was a great speech, and one that the Democrats needed to hear.

What’s wrong with insisting that if Iran wants to be treated like a decent nation, it should start to act like one?  Pelosi was near tears over this statement?

What’s wrong with saying that “the enemy of your enemy is…your enemy?”

What’s wrong with pointing out that defeating ISIS but allowing Iran to gain nuclear weapons would win the battle but lose the war?

I hope Netanyahu’s speech stops the negotiations in their tracks.   It probably won’t, in spite of what the Obama team says.  If a deal favoring Iran emerges, it’d probably be better to scuttle the talks now.

I didn’t think it was a good idea for Netanyahu to quote John Kerry.  Kerry’s the master of double meanings and political rhetoric on a scale comparable to Bill Clinton.   And he’s a bigger observer-in-chief than Obama is. 

If there’s an agreement with Iran, we’ll know for sure if Netanyahu was on target, or if he was flat-out wrong.   Iran won’t honor the terms of an agreement in any case; they’ve already kicked international nuclear inspectors out of the country in the past to protect their military nuclear program.

The louder the Democrats scream about Netanyahu, the more I’m convinced that he hit the nail on the head.  It was a well-crafted speech.

Iranian Navy Practices Sinking a U.S. Aircraft Carrier Mock-Up; They’re Now Prepared to Wage War Against Hollywood Movie Sets

The Iranian Navy celebrated its most recent achievement yesterday as it’s naval forces staged an attack on a barge that was converted to look like an American aircraft carrier.  They managed to blow it up. 

They’re now ready to wage a naval war against floating movie sets.  Hollywood’s in big trouble!

I’d like to see their gunboats go straight at a U.S. warship lined up like that.   One strafing run by an F-18 from off the deck of one of our carriers would make short work of them. 

It’s a good thing they didn’t mistake a real American aircraft carrier with its full battle group for their wooden barge.  That would have made for a huge slice of humble pie for the Revolutionary Guard…every one of their little boats would have been on the bottom of the Strait of Hormuz, and it would have been carried live on Iranian TV.

Iran’s claim to be able to sink every American warship in the Strait of Hormuz or in the Persian Gulf in fifty seconds can only be done in a movie.  Looked like amateur hour with the Iranian Navy.

They’d probably better stick to blowing up movie sets.  They seem marginally proficient at that, even though a lot of their gun hits appeared to hit the water, and not the barge.

See for yourself.

Netanyahu Speech to Joint Session of Congress Should Not Be Cancelled: It Should Go Forward as Planned and He Should Lay Out the Case Against Iran that Obama Administration Has Decided to Ignore at Israel’s Expense

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress should go forward as planned and not be cancelled due to Administration pressure to do so.

The Obama Administration is ignoring Israel’s concerns in an effort to push forward a bad nuclear deal with Iran, and Israel is taking President Obama to task for doing so.  Israel isn’t the one spitting in the Administration’s face; rather the opposite.   Insult after insult has come from Administration officials, who called Netanyahu a “chickensh##” in recent weeks and appeared more interested in attacking our staunchest ally in the Middle East, instead of taking on Iran and other enemies of the United States.

The timing of the speech, which comes two weeks before an Israeli election, is unfortunate, but Netanyahu has been backed into a corner by the backstabbing Obama Administration.

I hope he shows up and tells Congress that he’s not interested in dealing with Obama or his lackeys and that he’ll wait for the next President to take office.   Obama’s one-sided approach to dealing with Israel and Palestine is more responsible for the current state of US-Israeli affairs than Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.

Shame on the Administration!

CNN: “Snub Hurts WH-Netanyahu ties” : WHO CARES?

The Obama Administration is all bent out of shape because Israeli Prime Minster Netanyahu accepted an invitation to speak before both houses of Congress.

Aww, poor Administration.   They don’t like having their toes stepped on, even though they’ve been STOMPING on Israel’s at every opportunity.  How does it feel, Mr. President?  What goes around, comes around.

This President and Administration cannot be counted on to be a neutral broker for peace in the Middle East.   Insult after insult against Israel from this Administration has lead directly to this tit-for-tat response from Israel, which is justified in throwing it right back in President Obama’s face.  I’m glad that Netanyahu accepted the invitation from Congress.

Israel is our ally, and President Obama needs to get off his high horse and reset relations with Israel so that they’re correct.   But then again, we’ve seen how successful his “reset” of relations with Russia have been, so perhaps that isn’t a very good idea after all.  They’ll fumble the ball…again.   Perhaps they’d be better off in staying out of the Middle East peace process altogether and hand it off to the next Administration.

Obama’s treatment of Israel and Netanyahu in particular have been shameful and inept on the part of our Administration.   I hope Netanyahu holds nothing back when he speaks to Congress.

North Korea Doesn’t Have Enough Know-How to Inflict the Kind of Damage That Sony Entertainment Sustained in Cyber Attack: Why the Rush to Blame Them Right Off the Bat?

I don’t understand what’s going on with the FBI statement that North Korea was involved in the cyber attack on Sony Pictures…it’s too sophisticated for a backwards country like North Korea to do on its own, with such devastating precision.

It’s far more likely that China was involved with it, as a demonstration of what it could do if a cyber war were to break out between the United States and China.   The Sony movie was an excuse to throw blame on someone else.

If North Korean hackers were involved, it was with Chinese handlers and hackers sitting right next to them, possibly in Chinese territory due to North Korea’s “limited” Internet access.  

It usually takes months to research who did what, and when, when this level of industrial espionage takes place.   Instead, they rushed out a statement blaming North Korea.   Something isn’t right here.  I’d rather see the FBI take its time in investigating this massive cyber attack, instead of rushing to conclusions that are not supported by the evidence.

North Korea can take its joint investigation and jump off a cliff.

Hydraulic Fracturing is Good, But Oil Prices Should Stabilize to Keep As Many Suppliers in Business as Possible

I’m a supporter of fracking as it’s helped us reduce our dependence on foreign oil suppliers, such as Saudi Arabia and the rest of the crooked OPEC cartel.   But too much of a good thing is NOT a good thing.

In order for everyone to stay in business and to make a profit, the free-falling oil prices need to stabilize at a level that will do two things: allow fracking to supplement our oil consumption needs while alternative energy continues to be explored, and damage OPEC at the same time.

OPEC’s been screwing us since 1973.  The more we can tell OPEC to go screw itself and rely on our own resources, the less we will need to be involved in foreign conflicts to protect our energy interests.   Iran wants to blockade the Persian Gulf down the road?  Let ‘em.  OPEC forces can fight it out with Iran—without our help.

Of course, the reality is that we’ll still depend on OPEC oil and we’ll have to keep a lid on Iran ourselves, if Israel doesn’t decide to turn Iran into a parking lot first.  

Saudi Arabia seems to be flooding the market with oil to lower the prices to drive more American companies out of the hydraulic fracturing business.   I don’t know how to combat that strategy, except to embargo Saudi and OPEC oil.  

Whoever wins this energy scrap will control pricing for years to come.  If we hope for maximized energy independence, Saudi Arabia and OPEC must not win this fight.