Update from the
Heartland
No.760
4.7.16 – 10.7.16
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
Despite
the grim news, I will boldly say the really big news this week has to be the orbital
insertion of the Juno spacecraft at Jupiter. At 20:53 [U] PDT (23:53 [R] EDT), Monday, the 4th
of July, the Juno spacecraft completed a 35-minute main engine burn to slow
down for orbital insertion around Jupiter – a monumental achievement of
engineering and physics. While we
enjoyed the Independence Day fireworks around the lake, NASA accomplished one
helluva astronomical feat . . . they say the accomplishment was equivalent to
smacking a golf ball in New York City and sinking a hole-in-one in Los Angeles
– a specific, pre-determined, golf hole cup. A final orbital adjustment engine burn is planned for
19.October.2016. The spacecraft
will probe the atmosphere, as much of the interior as its instruments will
enable, and study the various moons of Jupiter. I eagerly await the scientific product of the Juno mission.
The follow-up news items:
-- I watched a goodly portion of FBI Director James Comey’s public
statement regarding the agency’s investigation into former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton’s use of her private server for official and private eMail
communications [737]. Director Comey pronounced, “Although we
did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended
to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is
evidence that they were extremely
careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified
information.” Comey also
concluded, “There is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable
person in Secretary Clinton’s position, or in the position of those government
employees with whom she was corresponding about these matters, should have
known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation.” Of all the things I have read and
written about this issue, I must admit that James Taranto summed the whole
affair up the best.
“Laws Are for Little People – Comey delivers an indictment but
won’t seek one.”
by James Taranto
Wall
Street Journal
Published: July 5, 2016 2:17 p.m. ET
That really says it all.
The arrogance of the divine right of kings – laws, ethics and morality
do not apply to them. The only
question left . . . will we allow her to get away with this . . . all of this? Attorney General Lynch closed the
investigation. Yes, James Taranto
said it spot on correct. Full
stop! I am proud to be one of the
Little People, and I shall abide the law.
Likewise, I shall condemn those who place themselves above the law, and
I shall vote for whomever best represents the principles of this Grand Republic
and the values important to me.
-- An opinion from the Continent:
“Why Britain walked out”
by Serge Halimi
Le
Monde diplomatique
Published: July 2016
Serge Halimi may not speak for France or Europeans, however
he does provide an interesting and insightful opinion regarding the British
Brexit vote [758/9]. His last paragraph has broader meaning
and value. “The protests expressed in the British vote
cannot be dismissed solely as populism or xenophobia. And it is not by further
reducing national sovereignty, in favour of a federal Europe almost nobody
wants, that our politically discredited elites will assuage the popular anger
unleashed in the UK — and rising elsewhere.” Our process has been more protracted; however, the outcome
may well be the same. The story
continues.
I will insert here an appropriate Blog opinion offered by
Patrick Buchanan, whom I find to be rather out there on most topics these days;
however, this opinion did strike me at this particular moment.
“Is Hillary Morally Unfit to Be President?”
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Published: Thursday - July 7, 2016 at 10:29 pm
Given the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back,’ concluding
event (noted above) this week, I would answer Patrick’s question, yes, she
is. I am compelled to add that if
Hillary is morally unfit to be president, then the Republican presumptive
nominee is far more morally unfit to be president, so where does that leave us?
A relevant thread from another conversation deserved
recognition in this humble forum:
“Many Americans won't care about this critical topic, while
attending their all-you-can-eat hotdog contests today on July 4th.”
“A transgender
military is not funny and is not okay”
by Peter Heck
Published: July 4, 2016
. . . to which
I replied:
Folks
have got to grow up and get over themselves . . . most folks in the military
are NOT infantrymen; and when it comes to killing, all I care about is how well
they do their job.
. . . with
follow-up comment:
“So you're forecasting a chick with a dick might become the best
marksman that the Army has? LOL.”
. . . and my
follow-up response:
Well, actually, one of the most successful snipers in history was
Lieutenant Lyudmila Mykhailivna Pavlichenko, who was awarded a Hero of the
Soviet Union gold star (equivalent to the U.S. Medal of Honor or British
Victoria Cross), for her accomplishments in killing Germans. Her performance as a skilled rifle
shooter was matched by only a handful of shooters and had absolutely nothing to
do with the genitalia between her legs or how she peed. Let's focus on
performance. So, yes, a transgender person may well become the best
sharpshooter in the Army or any other service. It is all about skill . .
. none of the social factors matter to performance.
. . . followed
by another comment:
“In all due respect, you are describing a real woman, who was
satisfied with her gender (not confused/psychotic), and not a woman who had a
dick or a woman who was once a man. There is a big difference Cap, I beg
to ask you to consider this. I dated a cop, she is on Coronado PD and has won
awards for being one of their best marksman (excuse me, markswoman), she is not
gender confused and not wanting to be a man. My politically incorrect theory is those that are gender
confused, have no business in our military or police, they have mental issues
and for our SecDef Ash Carter to be partnering with them and pandering to them,
and appeasing to their victim-hood, is to me: APPALLING, and a total disgrace
to those that have fought for our country and lost lives, limbs, or sacrificed
something else. All this political correctness to appease a vast
minority, is gonna get us sucker punched by those that are much more stable and
capable, and I am at a point I think we just might deserve it.
I bet my opinion is shared by the vast
majority of Americans, but few are unwilling to state the truth or their
opinion when it might upset the PC norms, being programmed into us. Many
people I know cannot speak the truth because their emails (work accounts) are
warehoused and mined, or they work for the GOV, or they don't want to apply for
a job and be denied over an un-PC view. Maybe we should be sticking up
for those freedoms instead of trannies in military or trannies getting
restrooms built for them, or giving them rights that allow perverts to go into
opposite sex restrooms with kids in them.
This programming the masses to except an especially small minority and
change our ways and minds, is non-sense.”
. . . to which
a third party added:
“Whoop-de-doo. An outsider’s view.”
. . . to which
the originator responded:
“Maybe, but my grandfather was a major in the USMC. And one
of my best neighbor/friends was a D.I. in the USMC. My great uncle was
the president of a country in the Americas, a West Point graduate, does that
count? And I meant ‘accept’ not ‘except’
in my last paragraph [above].”
. . . along
with my response:
We
can compare credentials, if you wish.
I’ll stack mine to anyone.
Non-heterosexual
citizens have lived among us and served in the military for millennia. We have just never been aware of their sexuality.
Most
assignments in the military do not involve combat . . . potential, yes, but at
the end of the day, it boils down to performance . . . not genitalia, gender
identity, or any other of the social factors. It is ALL about performance.
Respectfully,
your statement that transgender individuals have mental issues is flat
wrong. Mental illness is not
exclusive to any one or combination of social factors. The military has had to filter out
mental illness in recruitment and service for as long as there has been a
military. Let us not generalized the
affliction of a few to the characteristics of a whole segment of our community.
This
has nothing to do with political correctness. It is simply focusing on what matters – performance. I began my military service in a time
when skin pigmentation was a disqualifying or categorizing characteristic. While we have not entirely overcome
racism in the military, we have made monumental improvements over the early
days of my service. We will
overcome this particular stigma as well.
Again,
this is about performance, not genitalia, gender identity, social factors, or
political correctness – performance, performance, performance!
Why
is it that some citizens think they can defy instructions from law enforcement
officers or resist arrest, and expect a good outcome? Resisting arrest is a threat in more ways than one, and is
most likely going to precipitate a violent response. If the police are doing something wrong, or illegal, or just
unfair, use the established process to deal with it. Do NOT resist or defy law enforcement officers. I could go on, but it all boils down to
respect.
Wow! I read this and I could only think –
wow! This will not go down well in
Moscow or at Putin’s dinner table.
“Wary of Russia, Sweden and Finland sit at NATO top table.”
by Gabriela Baczynska
Reuters
Published: Fri Jul 8, 2016 8:54am EDT
I am certain I see this news in a far different light than
dear ol’ Volodya. Neither nation
would take a step like this unless they felt seriously threatened [ref:
30.November.1939]. If I was dear
ol’ Volodya, I would be asking myself, why do my neighbors feel so
threatened? Perhaps, I should
amend my behavior. Then, again,
dear ol’ Volodya is not your average citizen of the world, now is he?
News from the economic
front:
-- The Labor Department reported nonfarm payrolls rose by a
seasonally adjusted 287,000 in June – the strongest month of hiring since last
October. The unemployment rate
rose to 4.9% in June from 4.7% in May.
Given recent events, we need a longer positive trend.
Comments and contributions from Update no.759:
Comment to the Blog:
“The lesson from Brexit (and other ‘puzzling’ current events) is
that people in general are more aware of government corruption than the
Establishment has understood. Much more basic than immigration is the chance to
break the stranglehold of banks, corporations and the wealthy on government.
The oligarchies here and in the EU have seen declining voter participation as a
sign the general public has lost interest in politics. In fact, many lost hope,
not awareness. That hope has been revived by signs of weakness and division
among the Establishment and by the rise of leaders including Bernie Sanders and
Jeremy Corbyn. Even Donald Trump, never the sharpest tool in the shed, has seen
and used that general opposition to politics as usual, represented by Mitch
McConnell, Paul Ryan, and the ‘mainstream’ of the GOP, along with their nominal
opposition, at this point Hillary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Schultz for the
Democrats. This election is not about political personalities or parties. It’s
about the good of We the People. Let us hope that enough people see through the
Donald as readily as we do the Washington Establishment.
“We can blame nearly anyone for the rise of ISIL. The underlying
cause is American interventionism, which goes back to the Monroe Doctrine
(1823). Certainly Bush the Younger made it worse by treating 9-11 as a
political, rather than a criminal, act. Obama, however, has not improved our
position. In his defense, I will note that his first Secretary of State,
Hillary Clinton, was notably more hawkish than Obama. For some reason unknown
to me, the Republicans picked on a single incident at Benghazi rather than
point to her entire record as Secretary of State. Maybe their campaign
contributors guided that mistake. Obama has tried to limit our action in Syria,
but we’ve seen ‘limited wars’ since Vietnam. No good. We in the U.S. need to
mind our own problems for once. We have plenty right here at home.
“We are in complete agreement on Bill Clinton’s visit to Loretta
Lynch. It’s hard to believe from that mistake that Bill was a Rhodes Scholar
back in the day and is a veteran success in politics.”
My response to the
Blog:
Re:
Establishment corruption. Well, I
do not think I can argue with that or even disagree. Our current crop of representatives (by current, I mean the
last several decades worth, and by crop, I mean the Legislative and Executive
branches) have not served us well.
So, now, we have rebellion.
I just hope We, the People, do not do anything foolish, out of spite for
our anger. We shall see.
Re:
interventionism. Not that is
important to your point, but the United States has projected power earlier than
the Monroe Doctrine, e.g., Barbary Wars (1801 & sub), Commerce Act (9.7.1798) [PL
5-II-068; 1 Stat. 578], French Naval War [1798-1801] and others. The issue from those early days through
today has been and will remain commerce.
This is not to say the United States has not made its share of
mistakes. Yes, we have plenty to
do at home. Yet, free commerce is
an essential element of freedom itself.
As I read your words, the impression I am left with is isolationism, in
the true spirit of the America Firsters (1939-1941). There must be a balance point somewhere short of either
extreme.
Re:
Bill Clinton’s most recent stunt.
Amen, brother! I chalk his
conduct up to him believing his own drivel – divine right of kings. Neither of them is stupid, ignorant or
unintelligent, but I suspect they do believe they are special and entitled to
special treatment, regardless of the law, ethics, or morality.
At
the end of the day, We, the People, will decide their fate in November . . .
through the Electoral College in December, of course. It is up to us to change things.
My
very best wishes to all. Take care
of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment