Wednesday, May 30, 2018

The Collapse of Roseanne

Nine hours from Tweet to cancellation.

I suspect that there were a few meetings involved, a couple of phone calls. Channing Dungey is the point person being given the credit for Barr's scalp, but I would be surprised if she hadn't run this past others before making the decision. That is, after all, typical corporate behavior.


So, what likely happened?

Roseanne, after its astoundingly popular start, was picked up for a second year. All seemed on-track for a long series run.

Until the Real Roseanne Tweeted.

I won't link to the Tweet - I see no need to add fuel to the fire. It was a snide, nasty Tweet. But, considering other celebrities had used similar allusions about OTHER politicians, not that much worse.


And, Trump is a President, not merely an advisor to one. You might think respect for the office would temper such displays and comments.

You would be wrong.

The bigger issue is:
Why use that reference? Why now?
Valerie Jarrett is no longer advising the POTUS. She presumably is a private citizen (Snort! Sorry, I couldn't help laughing).

I do suspect that Roseanne was not happy with the pressure to make her look stupid for having the viewpoint she does, and change the tenor of the show further away from what had captured the attention of the viewing audience.

In the past, she'd battled with producers and the networks. She is not a person to be schmoozed or pushed around.

She is 66 years old. I suspect that at least a little of her Tweet came from her disinclination to be molded into something she is not. By issuing the Tweet, she drew the line in the sand.

If you couldn't deal with that, she was outa there.

Which, 9 hours later, she was.

The quick deletion, and apologies, came from her waffling about the project - which she really did want to do. At least, her vision of it.

The trouble is, ABC was never going to let Roseanne be Roseanne.

So, rather than quit, she forced them to fire her.

What now? I would anticipate seeing her in independent video online, maybe in a channel on Gab or other independent media. The pressure to keep her out will be hard enough to make a diamond. But, that's the nature of media today - where pressure is put on one outlet, another pops up.

The Left can try Whack-a-Mole as much as they would like. The Moles will keep popping up, in new places.

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Monday, May 28, 2018

There Will Always be an England - NOT


I mean, the Leftists don't even TRY to hide their bias anymore.


Free speech does not exist in the UK, nor, for that matter, in most of the world. You can speak out, but only if the government approves of the content.

The dunderheads of the Self-Righteous Left just don't realize how fragile our rights are. There are reasons that we put those rights into the Constitution. It's so a temporary holder of power cannot take them away with a 'stroke of his pen'.

Yes, I do know that Tommy is controversial, and has some supporters that are Alt-Right.

So what?

Contrary to what the EU believes, government has no right to censor speech from even National Socialists - Nazis. As long as they don't commit violence, they may say whatever the hell they want to.

As may those that oppose them. Hopefully, not in the same place at the same time.

The 1st Amendment is not meant to protect 'nice' speech that everyone - you know, those that agree with you - thinks is Good Talk.

It's meant to protect speech that is not-so nice. Speech that gets you angry. Speech that inspires you to argue with them.

I do believe that most people - despite all the vigorous efforts of the Leftists - are sensible. They can spot a phony, a fake, and someone who is whacko. Americans tend not to be inclined to blindly follow dictators.

So, let the sunshine in. Let Freedom Ring!

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Friday, May 25, 2018

Curly, Larry, and Moe on the Left

Of course, the original Curly was Debbie Wasserman Schultz


Larry, the schlemiel? Who else?



And, Moe? The One With the Brains of the Bunch?

The Arrogance and Surety of Always Being Right

The ANGER when his plans are foiled by his
incompetent underlings (it could NOT be His Fault!)

The Finger-Pointing of Blame at Others

It must be that they are to blame for the failure of the Get Trump Plan. It couldn't be their Not-So Secret Directors:





You know, the ones who - with access to Money, Influence, and Power - still couldn't bring down Trump.

Forget it Jake, it's The Three Stooges.

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Thursday, May 24, 2018

The Death of the Republic?

If the chuckleheads currently working in opposition to Trump have their way, yes.

Now, I don't mean that the opposition is anti-free government of the people (although, a certain number are). No, the bigger problem is that they have such a distorted idea of the basic principles underlying that government structure, that they will - unknowingly - destroy it.

Example 1:
Trump is not permitted to block his Twitter trolls. It is, according to a Federal judge, a violation of their 1st Amendment right.
Hard to imagine such a twisted interpretation of the facts.
Twitter is a private company, not a governmental resource. ANY user on Twitter may block followers/commenters at will. A user does not lose that privilege if he is a government elected official.
Practically, this means that bots can swarm around his feed, clogging it, posting vile lies and profane comments as they please. He may NOT remove them.
Why is this being done? Because Trump has found a way to directly access contact with the average citizen. Much like FDR did with the Fireside Chats, and later Presidents did with television appearances. However, neither of them were required to endure an audience of opponents determined to shout the President down.
For that matter, Obama and Clinton (Bill, too) regularly removed protestors at their public events. Should they have had to put up with the disturbance in the name of Constitutional Rights? 
Now, it's pretty clear that - if this is taken to the Supreme Court - they will rule in Trump's favor. But, the practice puts another roadblock in Trump's getting his message out.

Example 2:
The FISA-permitted spying. The Democratic Powers are desperate to keep this story from being investigated.
They've lied to Congress, refused to deliver subpoenaed documents, toured the talk shows giving their unchallenged story, and sent participants with knowledge out of the country (The Awan brothers).
Example 3:
They have virtually destroyed the FBI, NSA, IRS, EPA, DoJ, and a host of other agencies, who have used their access to private information of average citizens to make their lives very, very uncomfortable - imposing frivolous rules, indicting them on bogus charges, and using their bureaucratic powers to destroy them financially. 
There are other abuses. I'll continuing adding to them on future updates.
 
 
 

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Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Again - It's ALL About the Culture

And, in his book, The Kingdom of Speech, Tom Wolfe agrees with me, thereby sticking a big finger in Noam Chomsky's eye.

I never have understood the adulation that Chomsky receives. His work is indecipherable, mind-numbing, and completely without scientific rigor. His opinions are repeated slavishly, by those for whom science and research are just - words without meaning.

The thing I love about Wolfe is that he was unashamedly not a follower.

I have GOT to read it.


Some more deliciousness from Tom Wolfe - on Darwin and E. O. Wilson, and why the latter is more likely to be correct in his understanding of the human brain.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Melania Surgery - the Not-So Surprising Response to it

I just looked for an update on Melania's recovery from emergency kidney surgery.

About 1/2 the responses to a search were on Plastic Surgery. Apparently, that's a thing that some people obsess about. In fact, it popped up in the first two links.

Funny, isn't it? If that were Michelle Obama, there would be hordes of reporters, with anguished looks providing round the clock coverage and interviews:
  • Words from her doctors - with hourly updates
  • What the gift shop is featuring, that you could send to the 'near-death' Beloved First Lady ©
  • A GoFundMe page for contributions to her favorite charity
So, what are people focused on?


Trump has even been blamed for not being with her during her surgery.

Listen, people, it's not like he could glove up and oversee the work of the surgeons. He likely had to 'clear the decks' of work for the next few days. And, spend time with his youngest, Barron, who would likely need the time with his dad. Once she was out, he headed over to Walter Reed. Once she was conscious, and would be able to talk.

Melania is a private person. I'm not surprised that she wanted to keep this low-key and quiet.


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Wednesday, May 09, 2018

Monday, May 07, 2018

A Question for Mueller

IF violations of the Logan Act are so bad, why has he not investigated John Kerry? Here is the idea behind it:
In general, the Act is intended to prevent unauthorized American citizens from interfering in disputes or controversies between the United States and foreign governments. Although attempts have been made to repeal the Act, it remains law and at least a potential sanction to be used against anyone who without authority interferes in the foreign relations of the United States.
So, what has Kerry done? 
John Kerry is out there trying to save the Iran deal, at the same time the Trump administration is properly trying to turn the screws on Iran.
That is, in fact, just exactly the activity that the Logan Act was designed to prevent. Kerry, your time is OVER. You are no longer Sec. of State.

Get out of the business of international negotiations.

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Friday, May 04, 2018

Modern Catholicism

I've been leading a book study for the past several months "The Kingdom of Happiness: Living the Beatitudes in Everyday Life".  Those who've participated have found it a remarkable look at how to put Biblical concepts into practice.

It's a self-selected group - they weren't forced to sign up - they chose to be a part of the group. Unlike those who merely attend Mass, they look to receive instruction on how the Church applies the Bible's teachings.

That's a far cry from the attitude of these parishioners who are irked and annoyed to hear classic, noncontroversial teaching from the pulpit.

I'm a lifetime Catholic. Both born to a Catholic mother, and married, in the Church, to a Catholic husband.

One of my children is a Catholic sister - although, like many sisters, skeptical of the Church hierarchy, and on the fence about the Future of the Church.

The others, to my regret, have fallen away from the Church. Both of them are perhaps Believers, but not actively attending ANY church, and not actively teaching their children about Catholic doctrine.

Why is this important?

Because Christ's message is not just an emotional message, that will depend on how one FEELS about Christ at any given moment. It is an eternal message that is give to us to spread to the rest of the world.

In which action, I have been woefully deficient.

I've been reading Contagious - a book about WHY certain messages spread, and others do not. I was compelled to read it today, as I was wondering how to spread the Christian message to an unbelieving world.

It turns out that AWE is one of the most contagious ways to spread a meme. And, FWIW, that's the thing that Christ, and Christianity, do well.

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Lies of the Left

This COULD be a lengthy post. But, I'll try to winnow it down to a reasonable length. The CA Parent Bribery 'Scandal' - the 1...