What Exactly did Michael Cohen Plead Guilty To?

How many charges did Cohen actually plead guilty to? Nine charges? Eight Charges?

Lying to Congress about the Moscow real estate project was one and that was a bomb shell even though it's not really and Cohen never went to Moscow. Concealing more than $4 million of income from the IRS is pretty darn big. Lying to bankers about assets in order to obtain loans for which he otherwise wouldn't have qualified is a felony.

It seems the press is only interested in campaign finance violations because there salacious and implicate Trump. I was the treasurer of a congressional campaign and I had to learn the FEC rules and submit filings. The FEC campaign finance rules aren't that tough to understand if you remember their purpose is to provide transparency and hopefully prevent undue influence in our elections. The charges Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to were many but I'm pretty sure he didn't violate campaign finance law.

Can you follow the bias?

Michael Cohen sentenced to three years in prison for crimes committed while working for Trump - Washington Post

Michael Cohen, former Trump attorney, gets 3 years in prison for tax fraud, campaign finance violations, lying - Fox News

Michael Cohen Sentenced to 3 Years After Implicating Trump in Hush-Money Scandal - NYT

Michael Cohen sentenced to three years in prison after admitting he covered up Trump's 'dirty deeds' - CNN

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sentenced to three years prison - Reuters

Cohen sentenced to three years in prison - The Hill

‘Dirty deeds’: Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen gets 3 years in prison - AP

Michael Cohen Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison Following Plea That Implicated Trump - NPR

Michael Cohen slams Trump as he’s sentenced to 3 years in prison - New York Post

Cohen gets 3 years in prison, blames Trump for his 'path of darkness' - ABC

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison - CBS

Michael Cohen sentenced to three years in federal prison - NBC

Michael Cohen gets 3 years in prison for tax fraud, campaign finance violations, lying to Congress, etc... - Dave Beemer

South Africa and Zimbabwe

In 2002 Zimbabwe confiscated white farmers land by gunpoint which resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe. By the end of March 2019, South Africa intends to repeat this while the West is silent.

Property rights are fundamental to democracy and I fear the world, specifically the West,  doesn't understand how significant this chain of events is going to be as the impact ripples through the world economy and psyche.

As always, I hope that there will come a day that skin color will matter as much as shoe size.

Trump is Anti Illegal Immigration?

I watch a lot of news and over and over I hear the same phrase... "Trump is anti immigration." Yep he hates immigration... Can't stand it and thinks it's destroying our country.

Wrong! Words matter and there is a big difference between illegal and legal immigration. His mom was born in Scotland and two of his three wives are foreign-born. It could safely be said that Donald Trump loves immigrants.

Why the disconnect?

The media HATES President Trump. They cried when he was elected and collectively they long since hung up their journalistic ethics. The mainstream media are to a person biased political hacks which seems like a crazy statement but for one fact... It's true.

STOP USING "IMMIGRATION" WHEN TALKING ABOUT "ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION." They are two completely different things.

Minimum Wage Should be $15.00 an Hour?

Bernie Sanders, God bless him, has a new book out and was on "CBS This Morning" pitching his progressive agenga to the unsuspecting American public. He was asked about the minimum wage and again stated that if you work 40 hours a week you shouldn't be living in poverty and the panel nods in agreement and some actually say yes.

It's so fustrating hearing this, seeing the polls showing Americans want this and knowing how totally wrong it is. Being willing to pay more for everything you buy so someone can have a living wage is compassionate. Not knowing that the opposite will happen is ignorant. Knowing an increase in the minimum wage will have the opposite result and still wanting to do it because it feels right is just wrong.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that new business models are eliminating low wage jobs. Left leaning politicians, progressives, elites, etc... that are pushing the minimum wage are either living in a bubble or not paying attention to what is going on the world.

With every increase in the minimum wage low skill jobs are phased out. Agricultural products are being harvested by machines. Workers are being replaced by robots. Wait staffs are being eliminated and kiosks are replacing order takers.

Low-wage jobs once educated and provided spending money for our nation's youth. These low wage jobs provided tempory employment and transition options for the recently unemployed but more and more they are being phased out.

Growing up in America and not understanding how a free-market economy works within a capitalistic system is beyond me. Bernie pleae stop using Sweden as an example of how democratic socialism can work... They haven't been socialist since the 60's when they figured out it doesn't work. Sweden, in many ways is more capitalistic than the United States and oh by the way they do not have ANY minimum wage laws.

"The Right Minimum Wage Should be Zero"

Admiral Mike Rogers Tells Trump He's Being Spied on!

In 2016, Admiral Mike Rogers, former Commander US 10th fleet, former commander US Cyber Command and while serving as Director of the Central Security Service & NSA Director ran an audit and discovered that the DOJ and FBI had been lying to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to get warrants and had done so to watch Trump and his team. He went to the FISC and told them what he discovered.

Shortly after the election, Admiral Mike Rogers (without permission and without asking) went to see Trump. Note: It only took five days for NPR to smear the Admiral which indicates how damaging what he discovered likely was.

- On Thursday November 17th, 2016, NSA Director Mike Rogers traveled to New York and met with President-Elect Donald Trump.

"In a move apparently unprecedented for a military officer, Rogers, without notifying superiors, traveled to New York to meet with Trump on Thursday at Trump Tower. That caused consternation at senior levels of the Obama Administration, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel matters."

- On Friday November 18th, 2016 the Trump Transition team left Trump Towers for good and relocated to Trump's New Jersey golf club.

- On Friday November 18th The Washington Post reported on a recommendation that Mike Rogers be removed from his NSA position:  "The heads of the Pentagon and the nation’s intelligence community have recommended to President Obama that the director of the National Security Agency, Adm. Michael S. Rogers, be removed." Why? For cause as he was allegedly doing a poor job and lacked leadership... Admiral Rogers lacked leadership? Just to be clear that was total sarcasm.

The recommendation was made by Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., according to several U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The same Clapper who lied to Congress and the American people stating the NSA was not collecting massive amounts of data on millions of unsuspecting Americans.

On Saturday November 19th, 2018 Reuters also reported on the Washington Post story. They confirmed that the heads of the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community had requested President Obama fire Mike Rogers.

If you want a list of members of the "Deep State" you can start by determining who was asking for Mike Rogers head.

- Admiral Rogers continued on as the director of the NSA in the Trump Administration. Admiral Mike Rogers retired from active duty and Directer of the NSA on May 4th, 2018.

To this day James Clapper, CNN contributor, continues to embarrass himself and the intelligence community by making erroneous statements about what he did as director of national intelligence during the Obama years.

Silicone Valley Hard Core Liberals

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Letter to Angus King regarding SCOTUS

Sir, I've met you, heard you speak and live about 10 minutes from your home in Brunswick. I absolutely like you but I'm sorry I can't vote for you in November.

Some Americans are one issue voters. Never thought I belonged to that crowd but your Kavanaugh vote changed my mind.

The Republicans were so wrong not to hold hearings and vote on Merrick Garland. The Dems campaign of personal destruction and sitting on Dr. Ford's allegation was just as wrong and your no vote clearly wasn't advise and consent.

Sir, you're NOT independent and I'm sorry but you lost my vote this election cycle and I will actively campaign against you. I can only hope that hard working Mainers can offset all the folks "from away" that have settled in Portland, Lewiston, Auburn and Brunswick and show you the door.

Orchestrated Hit Job SCOTUS

The Polygraph of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford:

"The August 7 examination, held in a Maryland Hilton Hotel, consisted of a one-page, handwritten statement by Ford, an interview and two questions: Is any part of your statement false? And, Did you make up any part of your statement?"

Judge Kavanaugh was aggressively cross examined by the Democrats and I didn't see any miss steps other than not requesting a formal FBI investigation as repeatedly and aggressively requested by the Democrats. Dr. Ford was questioned, but not cross examined, yet holes in her story emerged. I don't mean her story of 36 years ago which was compelling and consistent. I mean of the last few months.

- She implied the polygraph took hours and was very stressful. In reality she wrote a one page statement of what happened (with corrections) answered a few baseline questions and then two questions about what happened. Keep in mind this was a friendly examer paid for by her lawyers, one of which was recommended by Senator Feinstein.

- She stated she didn't know who was paying for the exam.

- She stated she didn't know who was paying her lawyers.

- She was confused of when the exam happened even though it was in conjunction with her grandmother's funeral.

- She didn't know the Committee said they would meet with her any time any place including going to see her in California. Note - Some senators said the "Committee" which seemed to mean the actual members while the press reported "Committee" staff would interview her.

- She doesn't fly except to come East once a year, funerals, to surf in the South Pacific, vacation in Costa Rica and of course testify to Congress.

- The "date" or should I say years changed between her various statements and interviews up to being pinned down to the summer of 1982 by the time of her testimony.

- The number of boys and girls there also kept changing but finally settled on four boys and one another girl by the time of her testimony.

There are dozen or more discrepancies I could point out just watching Dr. Ford testify. Parts of me desperately wants to believe Dr. Ford like parts of me really wants to believe there was a 2nd shooter in the grassy knoll. My prediction is the FBI isn't going to find squat and weeks from now the nation will be even more divided.

PS The timing of Dr. Ford first mentioning of the sexual assault to her therapist is interesting. It seemingly aligns with a CNN story in September 2012 discussing that Judge Kavanaugh was being considered by Mitt Romney as a potential SCOTUS appointment if elected President.

Science is Not Based on Consensus

I used to support the global warming effort because I felt less CO2 would result in less actual air pollution and of course it was the safer path... No foul if wrong right?

Now I understand better... There is a massive cost in human suffering and world impacting pollution mostly in the developing nation's. Greenpeace's co-founder's writings and lectures were my turning point. That and someone actually pointing out the math...

A one in 10,000 change in total atmospheric CO2 is what all of this is about and maybe only half of the increase is manmade?

If 10,000 super balls were used to represent the atmosphere it would consist of:

7,809 blue - nitrogen
2,095 red - oxygen
93 pink  - argon
4 black - CO2

It seems the "entire" scientific world wants you to believe that going from 3 to 4 black balls is causing pretty much everything bad and nothing good.

Again finding out man's not responsible for 100% of the actual CO2 increase was my tipping point. That CO2, like the ocean levels and temperature had been trending up well before man's CO2 contribution was the nail in the coffin.

Something is going on... 6000+ scientists (an that's just the leadership) depending on research grants have skewed the science towards catastrophe. No matter what you have been lead to believe science isn't democratic. Scientists definitely don't make policy. Science doesn't care if 99% of all scientist agree on something, if they are wrong they are wrong.

Throughout history scientist and group think have come up short. The truth eventually comes out and the aha moment sometimes is painful. Time after time innovation and scientific advancement come at the expense of disproving previous well established beliefs.

10,000 balls... Can you see the four black ones?

"I Have a Dream"

It is my hope that one day everyone, regardless of their sex, color, sexual orientation, etc... will be judged upon their abilities and character. When you apply for a job, college, university or military academy the color of your skin, the shape of your eyes, you families wealth or lack thereof  will have as little impact towards your acceptance as the color of your hair. I believe we are all equal under God but our talents are as diverse as grains of sand.

To some this statement is racist and certain groups must be given a helping hand to level the playing field. That outcome, NOT opportunity must be equal. I reject this believing all "men" are created equal. That quotas based on race* are inherently racist and go against what Dr. King said 55 years ago today.

Listen to Speach

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later...

The Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men - yes, black men as well as white men - would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds...

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt...

We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice...

We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism...

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time... to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual...

There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred...

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny...

And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities...

We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only...

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote...

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream...

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends...

So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today...

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today...

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day...

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when we this happen, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.

*For example limiting the number of Asians who can attend MIT, Harvard, etc...

The Second Amendment is Not About Hunting

The AR-10 is a mean looking gun that works exactly the same as the much more demur Winchester .308 rifle. Matter of fact many parts are interchangeable and they use the same ammo.

If you use 10 round mags (5 round in Canada) it's  perfectly legal to hunt with an AR-10 in states that haven't passed laws against how something looks. Not kidding... Banning something based on how it looks and not functionality is typical of leftist thought.

I recently read the First Amendment closely. Studied the five rights it guarantees and concluded it's awesome and kinda the definition of what it is to be an American.

Then I read about the Second Amendment. Read about how it means this or means that as if I wasn't capable of understanding a sentence.

Then it dawned on me... The First Amendment is 1st for a reason. It's long, complicated and covers five extremely important and distinct freedoms. The second is one sentence and has nothing to do with hunting because that was a given. It has everything to do with protecting the First Amendment and our Democracy against enemies both foreign and domestic.

The breakthrough for me was realizing that a bunch of Afghanistan goat herders armed with essentally semi-automatic rifles could successfully standup against a world power for 17 years and counting.

That every able American has a shared responsibility to defend our Democracy. That there are forces on the left and right wearing masks who have showed their hand. Some are fomenting violence against various aspects of the First Amendment and seemingly seek to overthrow the duly elected government.

The Second Amendment isn't about hunting it's very much about protecting the First Amendment. The next time you see a riot pay attention to who is hitting whom. Who are sporting t-shirts with images of communist, Marxist or socialist revolutionaries. Better yet, break out the tequila and take a shot every time you see the hammer and sickle or five star red flag.

The Left Strives to Ban All Guns

"If a broad ban on firearms can be upheld based on conjecture that the public might feel safer (while being no safer at all), then the Second Amendment guarantees nothing." Justice Clarence Thomas

Although the rhetoric has died down gun violence has not. Shootings in the inner city haven't been reduced. Bump stocks, as far as I know are still legal in nearly all states while Democratic politicians are gearing up for the midterms using gun control as a rallying cry.

One thing that changed for me is the realization that a modern army can effectively be stopped by goat herders with small arms. Furthermore, the 2nd amendment is 2nd for a reason. Never thought about the order before. The 1st spells out our five freedoms and most would argue itsi the most important amendment while thd 2nd is just one sentence but clearly intended to protect the first.

Think about that the next time someone argues guns are for hunting and a well regulated militia is so 17th century.

The "Asault Weapons" Ban is Back?

When someone says let's ban "Assault Weapons" you know they are jumping the shark on so many levels and not serious about actually reducing crime or death by gun.

Recently some localities have passed laws banning "Assault Weapons" and reducing magazine size to 10 rounds...

Conduct a little research and it's clear the term Assault Weapon is a made up word. The inner workings of these type of weapons are the same as semiautomatic hunting rifles... Actually exactly the same to the extent of being interchangeable.

Furthermore, reducing magazine size to 10 rounds puts the defender at a disadvantage because planning and changing out mags is easy and fast but having extra mags on your person or for example in your purse is a hassle that few put up with. By the way criminals don't give a crap about laws so they are going to have the 40 round clip anyways.

One idea I could live with is adding 5 years to any "gun related crime" committed with a magazine greater than 10 rounds. Considering most crime is committed by known criminals this would probably save lives by keeping criminals in jail longer.

If handguns are by far the number one murder weapon why do so many well meaning politicians say they believe outlawing military "looking" semi-automatic rifles and high capacity magazines will reduce gun deaths? Futhermore, don't forget the most used gun in shootings are the cheap handguns that fit in your pocket.

How about makeing it harder to own hand guns? Maybe raise the age to 21 and require anyone who carries a handgun to get a carry permit. If you have a handgun on your person without a permit you're subject to arrest.

For the record I'm not a gun fan.

Although I was trained and carried a gun in the military I didn't own a handgun until 2007 and I've shot a lot of clay pigeons but never hunted.

The 2nd Amendment is NOT about home defense or hunting. It's about tyranny and keeping the government in check. Getting rid of the 2nd amendment would eventually end up being a very bad idea. Not right away mind you but when things go bad millions will die. It's happened in the past and it will happen again.

Fascism, communism, socialism, etc... These forms of government require revolution and then the real killing happens to consolidate power. Having an armed population provides a meaningful bulwark against these and other forms of tyrannical government.

Unarmed Black Men are Being Killed by Police, BUT...

Are unarmed blacks being killed by police?

Absolutely but so are whites and Hispanics.

If you're talking pure ratios such as the percentage of people in the US being black to the percentage of those being killed then unarmed blacks are infact being killed at a higher rate than unarmed whites.

However, this simplistic view isn't statistically accurate. For better or worse young black men commit more crime than whites and Hispanics combined.

A recent analysis by the Washington Post found 987 people were killed by police last year of which 68 were unarmed. Of those unarmed victims, 30 were white, 20 were black and 13 were Hispanic and 5 were of unknown or other race.

According to the US Census website whites, Hispanics and blacks make up 61.3, 17.8 and 13.3 of the US population. So the first clue the common narritive isn't correct is Hispanics are shot fewer times than blacks per capita.

Incarceration rates also fill in some blanks and yes I acknowledge and reject the notion that blacks get locked up at a higher rate. They are still committing crimes to end up in court. According to prison/jail data 4.7%, 1.8% and .7% of black, Hispanic and white males are incarcerated. FYI those numbers are scary high and clearly something isn't right.

This results in a prison population of roughly 40% white, 34% black and 20% Hispanic. Based on these numbers it would seem unarmed Hispanics are killed at a rate commiserate with the crimes they commit while whites are killed at a slightly higher rate and blacks are killed at a statistically measurable lower rate.

Regardless of what you are being feed by the media, it's clear to me the US doesn't have a problem with cops killing unarmed black men. Furthermore, I think it's important to note none of the major media outlets mentioned one of the cops in the recent shooting of Stephon Clark in Sacramento California was himself black.

Why wasn't this widely known? Because a black cop killing a unarmed young black man doesn't fit the racist profile being levied against police officers.

Police have a tough job and I would venture to say police working in crime-ridden inner-city areas are experiencing stress at the level experienced by a combat soldier.

ln 2016 state, local, university, college, etc... law enforcement agencies reported 57,180 officers were assaulted while performing their duties resulting in 66 police killed and 16,535 non-fatal injuries in the line of duty during felonious incidents.

Data from the 2016 FBI UCR LEOKA

So before you buy into the narrative that unarmed blacks are routinely being guned down by racist cops take a moment and ponder the statistics. A population of 326 million is being policed by roughly 1.1 million cops in uniform with so few incidents that when one unfortunately happens it's major news and more than likely will result in social unrest if not riots.

Latin America Democracy Crumbling

Latin American democracy is crumbling under corruption

I just read this story and Ed nailed it. A new book by Peter Schweizer "Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends" looks at corruption in those who serve the federal government. Seems we are modeled after China which is modeled after the middle ages... History repeats.

The model is using your connections and power to benefit your children, spouses and in-laws that and $500,000 paid speaches. If you or anyone wants to understand who is corrupt in our government just follow the money.

That goes for politicians, their families as well as senior governmental officials. The Clinton's in total are now worth over a quarter billion after leaving the White House "basically" broke?

Most in the media seem angry that Andrew MaCabe lost part of his pension for being fired before retiring but don't feel sorry for him he's worth over ten million at the ripe old age of 50.

From Speaker Pelosi to Speaker Boehner... Many political insiders become rich beyond anything one would expect after decades of government salaries. Clearly corruption isn't solely limited to Latin America.

During my research it has become clear to me that Politics is corrupt beyond belief  presenting a clear and present danger to our democracy. It's also clear the Democrats are the worst abusers of the current system.

2020 Census

One of the few things that citizens of the United States are required to do, as per the constitution, is to cooperate with the census.

I was shocked to hear multiple TV cable news shows saying the census hasn't asked about citizenship since 1950.

That's just not correct. The long form (15-20% of responses) for 1990 and 2000 asked this question and the outrage that the federal government would have the gall to ask a question that is fundamentally the reason for the census is beyond me.

Constitutionally the census is required to determine congressional representation.

"Assault Weapons"

When there's a mass shooting anywhere in the world I initially show interest and concern for a few days. Sometimes I think about what happened and try to come up with ideas to prevent something like it happening again. This lastest shooting in a Florida high school has been different. The march on Tallahassee, Washington DC and other cities throughout the world caused me reflect about guns for the first time in years and then I realized I was being manipulated.

The narrative after semmingly every mass shootings inevitably turns to gun control with the left bringing up "assault weapons" and magazine size, etc... encapsulated in the phrase "common sense gun control."

The narrative of each shooting is eventually distorted or cherry picked. Facts inevitably come out that show the government or some agency missed something. Very rarely does the lead up to a mass shooting happen in a vacuum. Regardless of the situation, many bright people end up being manuplated by the anti gun left.

For starters, there really is no such thing as an "assault weapon." By definition all guns are "assault" weapons. The term has been used extensively since the 1980s but confuses semi-automatic guns with military assault rifles. I suggest you Google "what is an assault weapon" or watch this retired cop explain the difference.

Essentially, since the National Firearms Act of 1934 everday American's lost the right to legally own fully automatic weapons. This law was modified in 1968 and again in 1986. Today these laws and hundreds more including state laws confuse nearly everyone but basically the law is easy to understand in that one trigger pull = one bullet.

Propaganda Redflags:

Assault Weapons - the Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) of 1994 signed into law by President Clinton might be the best example of bad legislation in the history of Congress. Yet another example that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Hunting - The 2nd amendment has nothing to do with hunting. Those who mention hunting are at best clueless. The 2nd amendment is frankly about the citizens right, maybe obligation to stand up against governmental tyranny.

Magazine Capacity - Capacity is a non-issue in planned shootings. However, it's very much an issue in your defense. A shooter comes prepared and can easily swap out magazines while victims typically only have what's in the gun.

Gun Show Loopholes - If your in the business of selling guns you're required to conduct a background check before the sale regardless of where the sale happens. Furthermore, 19 states currently require checks for private sales between individuals using the services of a licensed gun dealer.

Univesal Background Checks - No part of the United States Constitution empowers the federal government to regulate non-commercial, intrastate transfers of legal firearms between private citizens. Thus any federally mandated universal background check would violate the 10th Amendment.

AR - As in AR-15 does not stand for automatic rifle. It's short for ArmaLite an American Weapons manufacture founded in 1952.

The pen is powerful and if American's allow the narrative and facts to be manuplated we could one day find ourselves living in a police state. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Ben Franklin

- Mass Shooting Survivor Testimony

- Mass Shooting Survivor Interview

PS One trigger pull one bullet is essentially correct. There are exceptions for collectors, guns covered under the 1968 amnesty and those individuals who have the resources to buy and license a fully automatic weapon under the 1934 NFA.

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Ice Free Planet

The other day I watched Noble Prize wining physicist Dr. Ivar Giaever give a talk on why he doesn't agree with the "97% of scientists" who believe that man is responsible for warming planet and I'm thinking this guys knows what he's talking about.

A few days later I checked out the Skeptical Science website which poked fun at him using two Noble Prize winning scientists agreeing with the IPCC projections and conclusion. The sad thing is both of the Skeptical Science's Noble Prize scientists bashing Dr. Ivar Giaever could barely talk or maintain their argument.

The media loves to talk about consensus but the truth is consensus has little to do with scientific truth. Throughout history wildly accepted scientific theories have been begrudgingly proven false after some unheard of scientist typically spends his life trying to convince the scientific community they are wrong.

Getting ready for a three hour flight I downloaded a bunch of TED talks. One of them had a very educated lady explaining how we were heading towards an Ice Free Planet and action must be taken before it's too late. To say this passionate plea is deceptive is being nice. To give the impression that Greenland and Antarctica could be ice free anytime soon (a few hundred years verses 5,000+) is beyond total BS!

Turns out there are dozens of talks on TED dealing with global warming/climate change. I haven't watched them all but it's interesting to note there isn't a single talk that even mentions the dozens of climate drivers that we know about and new ones that are just now being discovered. Some how CO2 owns the discussion which for me signals a political agenda NOT the search for scientific truth.

Even under the warmest projections Greenland needs thousands of years to melt. For starters the melting season is never going to be more then a few months and we are talking about one huge chunk of ice pretty much the size of Europe.

Don't get me started about Antarctica which NASA has concluded is actually gaining ice. Of course there are still highly respected IPCC members like Jim Hansen saying just the opposite using NASA's old studies.

Yes huge chunks of ice, some the size of Delaware, have broken off the Western ice shelf in recent years but any high school graduate is supposed to know this ice shelf breakup, while indicative of a warming planet will not directly raise sea levels... The ice melting in your drink doesn't raise the level in your glass. So the next time someone talks about an Ice Free Planet raise your hand and ask "when?". If they don't confess they are talking 3,000+ years I suggest you get up an silently walk towards an exit.

PS The UN's IPCC doesn't acknowledge that billions of people are living in conditions that actually pollute the environment to a degree that we all suffer. If we help the developing world develop it would actually reduce suffering and everyday pollution benefiting us all.

School Shootings?

Philip Bump of the Washington Post estimates there have been more than 188 shootings at schools and universities in the United States with more than 200 killed since the turn of the century.

*** Correction *** There have been 20 mass (3+ killed) "School Shootings" since the turn of the century. Seems that Mr. Bump included drive by shootings, single discharges, suicides, etc... pretty much anything to increase the numbers. Sorry I didn't expect such data manipulation from my once favorite paper in the age of Google?

My research indicates that knives, bombs and fires have also been used in mass school killings. One very sad example of a bomb and subsequent fire occurred 90 years ago in Michigan when a bomb and subsequent fire killed 44. Sadly 38 were elementary schoolchildren.

I know it's not popular to point out the obvious but school shootings are exceedingly rare. The U.S. has 139,126 educational institutions and gun violence deaths have averaged 12 per year since 2000. That seems like a lot but keep in mind there are roughly 50,700,000 students.

Putting things into perspective is important. For example thousands of kids die choking every year. Kids are much more likely to die riding the bus. National data show school bus-related accidents send 17,000 children to emergency rooms each year!

Statistically our nations young people are exceedingly safe at school but that's not the drum the ratings hungry media or pandering leftist politicians beat.

Nonstop coverage for weeks after school shootings is about ratings (what ever happened to not showing the shooters picture?) and it's likely this coverage has resulted in more copycat school shootings. Regardless, something need to change.

Some schools in Texas and Ohio are trying something different with positive results thus far but this narrative, no matter how successful, is blasphemy to the left.

Some states pass laws that don't make "sense" but clearly reduce gun violance yet many on the Left seek repeal because those laws don't fit their "common sense" narrative. Sometimes laws are shown ineffective and repealed but the Left continues pushing them because they align with their world views.

Something new should be tried. Maybe it's time we as a nation revisit gun free zones? Maybe apply the "air marshal" concept to schools? A few trained and certified concealed carry teachers or staff would at the very least reduce the impression schools are soft targets.

Raise the age to buy guns to 21?

Raise the age to buy ammo to 21?

Limit magazine size to initial design?

Allow licensed health care professionals to anonymously red flag a patient?

Allow school principals to anonymously red flag a student?

Bumpstocks? The ban is proceeding though the administrative rule process which takes longer than most realize.

Some argue guns at school in the hands of someone even with training could be as dangerous as a shooter. I happen to agree with this and suggest an effective non-lethal alternative using the high-tech Swedish pepper spray gun?

However non-lethal ideas will not work in five extremely liberal states. Why? Because they are illegal. Guns don't kill people, people kill people and don't forget to teach your kids to chew their food and all kidding aside maybe safety belts should be required on school buses.

White Privilege is Raciest

Professor Jordan Peterson Debunks White Privilege

Ben Shapiro Dismantles White Privilege

There are MORE poor whites, whites on food stamps, whites with bad teeth, whites without health care, etc... in America than ANY other group.

Being born white or black isn't "the" key. Being born in the US (or coming here early in your life) to loving parents  who sacrifice to give you advantages who are willing to provide structure and demand some form of excellence, etc... That's much more powerful than skin color.

For example there is the story of a poor Asian kid growing up in the ghetto, hiding in his closet to study because he was fearful of getting shot not getting into MIT, Havard, Princeton, etc... With 1530 SAT scores because he's Asian... That's racism but somehow accepted in our society.

Until recently The United States Coast Guard Academy was 100% merit-based and diversity was achieved through diversity of interests and abilities but there has been massive pressure to increase the number of black cadets.

And now it has become clear the Coast Guard Academy has changed it's 100% merit-based system by adding racial weight to ultimately increase blacks in the officer ranks of the Coast Guard. Unfortunately this hasn't dramatically increased the number of blacks attending the Coast Guard Academy.

I would rather a government supported school admit the best best candidates as possible regardless of color. Does that make me a racist?

I would argue that height has more to do with a man's success than skin color.

I would argue growing up in a wealthy family has more to do with success than skin color.

I would argue growing up on the coasts rather than the heart land has more to do with success than skin color.

If the Coast Guard has a goal to increase blacks in it's officer ranks to more closely match society as a whole they should step up recruitment of outstanding African Americans not change standards. 

Changing standards or creating limiting quotas is inherently racist and it blows me away that the left doesn't see this.