Update from the Heartland
No.745
21.3.16 – 27.3.16
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
Je suis Bruxelles.
I actually like an image and caption from Der
Spiegel the best.
The caption: A note reading "J'irai pisser sur vos bombes"
-- "I will piss on your bombs" -- and depicting Brussel's famous
Manneken Pis fountain is displayed in front of the Belgian Embassy in Berlin.
People around the world have defied the terrorists, whose actions led to the
deaths of over 30 people and many more injuries.
The follow-up news items:
-- News broke this week indicating the U.S. Department of
Justice requested a postponement of the scheduled Tuesday court hearing in its
effort to force Apple [736, 740-1] to unlock an iPhone used by the
shooter in the San Bernardino terrorist attack [729]. In the
government’s filing with the U.S. District Court in Riverside, California, they
disclosed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has found an “outside party”
to unlock the subject phone without Apple’s assistance. Now, isn’t that a comforting
thought! If the method exists,
criminals and government agents will use it for nefarious activities.
-- Numerous additional pieces of debris traceable back to
MH370 [638] have now been added to
the original find on Réunion Island [29.7.2015] [711]. The latest
pieces were found in Mozambique and South Africa. According to Australian experts, the drift model retrograde
analysis is consistent with the current search area. The undersea search is still on going. The recent finds should support
extending the search and offer hope they will eventually find the wreckage.
I freely acknowledge that most folks could care less for
politics out here on the Great Plains of Kansas, however similar actions are
occurring in other states, more than a few. Our illustrious (he said with utmost sarcasm) Governor Sam
Brownback signed into law KS SB175 – An Act
concerning postsecondary education; relating to the exercise of religious
beliefs by student associations.
The new Kansas law protects the actions of student religious
organizations at public post-secondary education institutions to discriminate
against anyone they choose based on “sincerely held religious beliefs” without
review, supervision or appeal.
There are number of these so-called religious organization protection
laws popping up in more than a few states.
To
be frank, candid and blunt, I am truly gobsmacked at how fragile our religious
faith apparently is these days. It
is so precarious it cannot survive challenge, debate, dissent or
disagreement. It demands absolute,
blind, unquestioned adherence to the dicta of whatever religious belief system
we choose. I continue to struggle
with the use of religion for discrimination in the public domain and the use of
the enormous weight of the State to enforce in public what is a private,
personal, belief system.
The
Supremes heard oral arguments in yet another religious freedom case this week –
Zubik v. Burwell (14-1418). We should
hear the results of this particular assessment before the end of the current
session in June.
A little news item caught my attention this week.
“12-YEAR-OLD GIRL ARRESTED FOR PINCHING BOY'S BUTT AT SCHOOL”
by ABC7.com staff
Published: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 06:12PM
A couple of thoughts popped into my little pea-brain.
The
girl’s father publicly stated, “Lord what has this world come to? Kids can't even be a kid.” I wonder whether this particular father
would feel the same if the genders were reversed?
Equality
is equality. Equal cannot be
parsed with exceptions of “if-then.”
We are either equal or we are not; no in betweens and no exceptions. Women have been fighting for equal
rights for more than a century.
They still suffer from the lingering vestiges of our societal embrace of
the centuries old Doctrine of Coverture.
That
said, I must say the subject girl deserves the same punishment a boy would
receive for a similar violation.
Whether we like it or agree with it, pinching another person’s buttock
without consent is assault and battery.
Nonetheless, the punishment imposed seems a bit excessive – girl or boy.
Are
we really that desperate for fresh blood in Washington, DC, that we will elect
anyone with a pulse? I am angry and
have been angry about the ridiculous political polarity and intransigence in
the federal government for several decades. I have long advocated for throwing all of them out and
starting anew, but I have never said anyone with a pulse will do. We need a genuine leader, not a wrecking
ball, in the White House . . . or Congress for that matter
I
offer a particular insightful opinion of the Republican front-runner’s
principal character flaw.
“Why Trump doesn’t think he’s dishonest”
by Davis Merritt
Wichita Eagle
Published: MARCH 21, 2016; 7:04 PM
Merritt stated, “Trump doesn’t know he is dishonest and
wouldn’t care if he did realize it . . . .” When you truly believe you are the best (insert any topic
you wish here, as there is literally nothing he is not the best at), you are
incapable of making mistakes, thus you never ever have to apologize . . . for
anything. It must be a divinely ordained state to
being infallible. I have never known
anyone that perfect. And, I still
do not.
Comments and contributions from Update no.744:
“Protestors on both sides, make that all sides, need to understand
where “protest” ends and attacking free speech begins. Liberal organizers
blocking roadways for thousands of people wanting to go hear their candidate,
Trump, and rabidly angry Black Lives Matter zealots trying to push Bernie
Sanders from his podium need to realize that exercising your right to say
something does not include stopping the speech of the other side. The ultimate
irony was the black Trump supporter attacking the anti-Trump activist wearing a
KKK hood. It took me a while to digest that one.”
My reply:
Re:
“both sides, make that all sides, need to understand where
“protest” ends and attacking free speech begins.” Amen, brother.
Re:
“ultimate irony.” Likewise. I
have no idea what the intent was in that one, too many strange things happening
is this rendition of the silly season.
. . . follow-up comment:
“Correcting my earlier comment, it seems the attacker was a AF NCO
who supported Trump, but he attacked a man standing next to the KKK hood, not
the hoodee. Black AF NCO was incensed by protestor wearing U.S. flag as a
cloak.”
. . . my follow-up reply:
Erratum
acknowledged.
Another contribution:
“Evening Cap…my word the rhetoric becomes more strongminded and
powerful. A good read tho’. Dinner time here-spent the day in the garden, it’s
only small but demands endless attention. Reminds me of a certain politician!
Looking forward to a wee beer-I’ll drink to your health my friend.”
My response:
I’m
afraid the rhetoric will get more strident before this silly season concludes.
So
glad weather has improved sufficiently to enjoy the garden.
I
truly hope you enjoyed your dram . . . or two.
Comment to the Blog:
“It occurs to me that voters need a relatively objective source of
information on ‘the Republican front-runner.’ Due to Wikipedia’s unique method of editing entries and
noting issues with them, I believe they are the best I will find for this
purpose. Here’s the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump.
“A few notes: Mr. Trump is by no means either a self-made man or
especially successful given his background. At college graduation (Wharton,
bachelor’s degree in real estate), he was worth about $200 million, but not in
earned income or his own investments. A 2016 analysis by The Economist rates
his performance as ‘mediocre’ given the markets in New York. His companies have
gone through bankruptcy four times, and Mr. Trump has described the bankruptcy
process as a ‘tool’ he uses. The most successful part of his business, the unit
for branding and licensing his name, is operated by his children rather than by
‘the Donald.’ That name business would make a fascinating legal
conflict-of-interest issue should he somehow be elected. Mr. Trump consistently
withholds all information about either his net worth or his income, making his
claims of personal financial success unverifiable.
“The other important Wikipedia information about Mr. Trump is
under the heading ‘Politics’: ‘He has listed his party affiliation as
Republican, Independence Party, Democrat, and ‘decline to state.’[202][203] He
has also run as a Reform Party candidate.[203] Specifically, he has changed his
positions on taxing the wealthy, abortion rights and health care.[202]’ (Those
are reference numbers from the article in the brackets. This information can be
checked.) This varying affiliation ought to give any voter pause. No matter
where a voter stands on the political spectrum, Mr. Trump has both supported
and opposed the voter’s positions.
“By the way, Megyn Kelly is not Mr. Trump’s only ‘creepy
obsession.’ Various observers have
noted that he talks in oddly sexual ways about his daughter.
“The Republican leaders of both houses of Congress often attempt
to portray themselves as ‘the voice of reason.’ I’m not seeing them that way.
“The ‘Silent Majority’ is neither silent nor a majority. At least
since Nixon’s time, a group of people who support conservatives in a grossly
oversimplified way has bloviated, often at length, in their homes, work places,
and bars. They are loud voices but not anything close to a majority.
Fortunately, many of them do not bother to vote.
“Your commenter from the UK points out how much simpler and more
effective their political system is than ours. I attribute much of that to our
campaign financing ‘system,’ but an important resulting factor is our two-party
system. The importance of candidate personalities in this context rather than
party policies and proposals also causes trouble. If the people who wrote our
Constitution are somewhere in an afterlife watching this, I imagine they regret
not addressing this nonsense in the Constitution. I suspect this insanity was
beyond their imaginations.
“At any point in the Silly Season, it’s good to clarify one’s
affiliations and/or viewpoint. I am a nonpartisan progressive. I have always
been liberal/progressive since my teen years. I supported Democrats until the
Bill Clinton Administration. At that time, I realized that the Democratic Party
as a whole no longer supported most of my views. The 2016 circus has reinforced
my rift with them due to the corrupt concept of ‘super’ delegates. My
dependence on traditional media for news has largely vanished this year as
well.”
My response to the
Blog:
Thank
you for your observations.
Re:
“The Republican front-runner.” I
have no freakin’ idea what his political positions are, even on the obvious
flashpoints like immigration, simply because they are so thin, masked by
inflammatory rhetoric and hidden behind his penchant for insult politics. From a political perspective alone, I
suspect he would be more moderate than his fellow candidates. Yet, it is his grotesque character
flaws that concern me the most in his case. As a devout narcissist, he is obsessed with self-promotion
and perpetually shouting his self-aggrandizing statements. Let it suffice to say, I do not favor
those character flaws . . . perhaps I should say his character flaws. As an extreme narcissist, he often grotesquely
inflates his accomplishments, his importance, and his greatness.
Re:
“creepy.” I have noticed the same
thing . . . quite so. And, there
are more examples.
Re:
Congress. Ryan seems more grounded
and reasonable than McConnell.
Re:
Silent Majority. Unfortunately, those
so labeled tend to seek enforcement of their beliefs, their values, their rules
on everyone else to validate said believes, values and rules. They are moving toward minority status,
and they do not like the change.
And, they will do just about anything in a desperate attempt to preserve
what they had . . . once. I think
you are correct . . . the Founders would be appalled.
Re:
silly season. There are many weird
and bizarre aspects to this particular rendition. We shall survive this version as we have all the others.
My
very best wishes to all. Take care
of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
I care about Kansas politics, partly out of human concern for Kansans and partly because Governor Brownback exemplifies voodoo economics and scary Republicanism in general. The assorted disasters in your State are an object lesson for the rest of us, but I would not wish them on you or anyone. In the case of a religious excuse for discrimination, the best hope in other places is that such laws will not complete the legislative process or will be vetoed. I imagine Kansas’ law will have to go through the courts. Such nonsense cannot withstand that test. With any luck, an injunction early on will prevent people from attempting to carry out their supposed freedom to discriminate.
About the 12-year-old girl who is caught up in the legal system for pinching a boy’s butt: I see this as a grossly overstated response to a common incident. No essentially innocent 12-year-old should spend even a few minutes in any of the US’s juvenile jails. If the genders were reversed, I would feel exactly the same way I do now. Those places are too dangerous and ugly. My concern in that situation would be whether the “victim” would harm the “perpetrator” too much. Certainly that’s a possibility if a boy pinched my daughters, granddaughter, nieces, or any girl in my family. Some of those females have found it necessary to hit back, but nobody went to jail over it. I’m not sure what the boys would do.
Davis Merrit’s analysis of Donald Trump’s psychology strikes me as spot on. In other words, without the open, bombastic way his ego presents, he would be a typical politician. However, in a year that pundits and game-playing partisans cannot fathom, his appeal is simple. He comes across as “real” in an environment where both parties’ manipulative, self-serving actions show through the veneer of their messaging. That is, he may be asinine but at least we know what he is (we think), and too many share his backward positions. The same feeling of authenticity applies to Senator Sanders, but the Democrat machine has withstood its own and independent voters’ desire for change better than the GOP has coped with Trump. That may be changing, though. http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/hillary-clinton-running-away-political-reality?akid=14113.235367.GixZ-i&rd=1&src=newsletter1053402&t=2
Calvin,
Re: Kansas politics. Thank you for your human concern. It is nice to know there are others who are concerned about our plight out here on the Great Plains.
Re: Brownback = scary Republicanism. Indeed! My thoughts precisely. I am not a fan. I would like to think you are correct. However, the majority of voting residents elected the . . . the . . . man; no, I won’t even give him that . . . the person. He sweated the last election; just barely got re-elected. Hopefully, the next time we will knock him off his holier-than-thou, sanctimonious pedestal. I guess you can tell I am not a fan.
Re: 12yo girl. As I read your words, I think we are saying the same thing from different perspectives. As I said in last week’s Update, I agree with equal treatment regardless of gender. I also agree that girl’s punishment was excessive for that age, regardless of gender.
Re: “both parties’ manipulative, self-serving actions.” Perhaps you are correct. I cannot argue against your perspective. As I interpret your words, you are suggesting there is no difference between, the Republican front-runner, or the second place fellow, and Senator Sanders. Perhaps you are correct. The personality differences are monumental and a differentiator.
“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Cheers,
Cap
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