Update from the
Heartland
No.770
12.9.16 – 18.9.16
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- A large section of B777 flap system was discovered on Pemba
Island, off the coast of Tanzania, and was clearly identified by part and
serial numbers as belonging to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
(8.March.2014) [638, 691, 711, 716]. The images I saw of the new MH370 part
found show comparatively little distress or damage. The mounting physical evidence continues to point to a low
speed, low energy, water impact, which in turn suggests the event was carried
out by a skilled pilot in a controlled ditching, i.e., an intentional and
deliberate act. I doubt anyone
else other than the pilot at the controls of that aircraft was alive at the
end. If this hypothesis is
correct, it was clearly planned to generate as much cost as possible, and
create as much uncertainty and lack of confidence in the international aviation
system as possible. Whether it was
a terrorism attack, we may never know, since to public knowledge, no political
motivation has been attributed to the incident.
The
Republican nominee is a salesman – first, foremost and always. As the colloquialism goes, he can sell
ice to the Eskimos. My father saw
salesman as the highest calling and most revered profession. I do not share his opinion . . .
probably because I never shared his opinion. Performing the task of sales has always felt like putting my
hand in another person’s pocket – a disgusting process to me.
The
latest example was the obscene effort by the Republican nominee to claim the
“Birther” movement was created by Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential
campaign and he – the heroic agent of right and good – put an end to the
nonsense. The sad reality is,
there will be far too many American citizens who will actually believe his
sales pitch, since it plays to their ill-informed preconceptions. The reality is, the Republican nominee
has been and remains the most prominent spokesman of the “Birther” movement,
and his latest statement is nothing beyond deeply cynical hypocrisy.
Every
professional military person knows, almost as an axiom, that any successful
defense must be a defense in depth – a single line, e.g., a wall – cannot and
will not ever be successful. Another
near axiom: there is no such thing as a perfect system, thus the need for a
multi-layered, defense in depth.
The insistence upon border security first before immigration reform
defies logic, reason and any semblance of wanting to find a solution. The reality is, there will be no
improvement to the abysmal illegal alien situation until Congress produces
better, more comprehensive laws AND provides the funding for the necessary
enforcement of the new laws. While
I acknowledge the reflection of the failure of Congress to properly address
immigration control represented in sanctuary cities, the notion and very basis
of sanctuary cities cannot be accepted or tolerated. Unless we intend to make the President a dictator and pass
our version of the Enabling Act of 1933, the problems we face with border
security and immigration control cannot and will not be solved by the Executive
Branch. The task belongs squarely
with Congress – the Legislative Branch.
Lastly, the root cause of illegal alien entry to this Grand Republic is
far more complex than we appear to be willing to recognize, and we will never
find solutions until we recognize the root causes of illegal alien entry.
An
un-attributed poster stated:
509 citizens have been killed by
cops this year.
484 were male 25 female.
238 were white 123 were black.
420 had known weapons, the rest
unknown.
More than half were mentally ill or
on drugs.
Almost all had prior criminal
records.
We don’t have a race problem or a
cop problem.
We have a MEDIA problem, a drug
problem, a mental illness problem and an entitled welfare state breeding thugs
problem.
I have no idea whether these are precise, factual
statements, or even what timeframe “this year” refers to in the statement. Nonetheless, I do believe the sentiment
conveyed by the poster is accurate and spot on. We need to deal with the root cause(s) of our societal
issues rather than resort to emotional, knee-jerk actions that may make us feel
good but have no prayer of dealing with the root cause of the problems. Of all the video clips of
police-involved firearm shootings I have seen in the last few years, far too
many (a definite majority) have involved belligerent individuals defying
police, resisting arrest and doing provocative (threatening) things. Are there bad cops who exhibit racist
conduct and shoot (often fatally) unarmed citizens? Yes, absolutely!
Let us deal with those bad cops rather than condemn all police, who are
simply doing their job to the best of their ability. Everyone, including police officers, can improve and be more
respectful of each other, but alienating police from the communities they serve
will NEVER be a successful or worthy endeavor. Emasculating law enforcement cannot be the answer, either.
News from the economic
front:
-- The U.S. Census Bureau reported the median annual
household income increased in 2015 by 5.2%, after adjusting for inflation, or
US$2,800 to US$56,500 – the first increase for family households in eight
years. The rise still leaves
household incomes about 1.6% below the 2007 level, before the Great Recession
of 2008.
-- The Bank of England held its benchmark rate steady, and
suggested that the central bank may make further cuts later this year, if the
U.K. economy continues to weaken. The
bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to maintain the benchmark
rate at 0.25%, after cutting it from 0.5% last month.
-- The Wall Street
Journal reported that the board of the Bank of Japan is split regarding the
path forward for the central bank in its 3½-year struggle to stimulate the
country's sagging economy. The WSJ
also indicated there is mounting unease in the central banking world, where
years of easy monetary policy have failed to achieve goals in Europe as well as
Japan, and the U.S. Federal Reserve is fretting with how and when to follow
through on a long-advertised tightening.
Comments and contributions from Update no.769:
“To quote one of my favorites, ‘There you go again,’ (delivered
with that head tilting nod and smile that Reagan was famous for):
You cannot resist advancing one of the insults of Mr. Trump that the left
wing press has carried on loyally for the Clintons. For you to remind us with ‘Can anyone imagine Winston Churchill singing the
praises of Adolf Hitler?’ is worthy of the best of Clintonian advisers, which I
know you are not among. I must
respond with my own reminder: Trump is not a polished politician but a
bombastic and tough deal maker accustomed to being himself and saying what he
thinks without vetting the words for future political impact, and unfortunately
he has not allowed himself the luxury of smart enough speech writers to dampen
his careless tongue. He did not
receive the polish in British manners or education in international politics
that Churchill had, is not as prepared for political leadership, and is nowhere
near the statesman. That said,
Trump's other leadership traits and personal convictions are strong, and he is
not as stupid as he sometimes seems in his tweets, as he foolishly tries to do
the modern thing on social media. What
he admires in Putin is the way the man exercises his own convictions in his own
way against the tide, leadership qualities unfortunately in Vladimir's case
bolstering international expansionistic threats admittedly characteristic of
Hitler. I have never heard Trump
express admiration for Putin's agenda or his dictatorial successes themselves. Yes, Trump should never have used the
word ‘admire’ if he indeed used it referring to Putin, because that word
carries a connotation that extends to all Putin's intentions, and detractors
jump on it predictably. Wait, wait, I know you are wiser than that and
truly sense a danger in Trump's daring to express any compliment for Vladimir
Putin, but I for one am not concerned. Did say he admired Hitler? No. I continue
to weigh the alternative to The Donald and find her far more dangerous for far
more far reaching reasons, at least so far. We will never, at least in time for the election, learn the
whole story about Hillary's latest extensive treachery, but how can you
seriously want someone with her consistently selfish ambitions and socialistic
views to be president?”
My response:
What
am I going to do? Please, my
opinion is not part of some mythical, vast, left wing conspiracy to thwart the
will of the people. My opinion was
NOT driven by any media coverage.
I heard his words live from his mouth – no filter, no decoder ring, no
interpretation, just his words.
No, he did not say he admired Hitler . . . the German dictator is not
alive to flatter the Republican nominee or feed his ego . . . only one of the
contemporary variety of dictators.
Re:
“extensive treachery.” Really?
Re:
Clinton. I have no idea why you
assume my vote is going to Clinton, but you are entitled to believe as you
wish.
Another contribution:
“Not just Der Führer, but Il Duce. Mussolini promised to make the trains run on time. There
actually are similarities between the R nominee and Benito - check the Pathe films
and you tube videos.
“There is a reason he [Trump] was called ‘the Manhatten
Mussolini.’”
My reply:
Indeed! There are similarities between all of
the dictators of that era, including Uncle Joe (as Churchill and Roosevelt
called him), although we rarely classify Stalin as fascist, since he was
communist, but the similarities are there, nonetheless. I suppose Il Duce is a better example, since to my knowledge, the Republican
nominee has not killed or ordered killed anyone (yet). While Mussolini could not meet that
simple threshold, he was the least of the three from that era.
My
very best wishes to all. Take care
of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
