A Reason to have Borders

There was a time that we would not allow immigrants into the country if they had a communicable disease.  Ellis Island sent many immigrants back to their country of origin if they didn't pass the health check.  Why don't we still do that?  Measles is making a comeback.  The US had managed to stamp out a variety of such outbreaks by keeping those carrying them out of the country.  But if you don't bother to maintain the border, and even flout the law to increase the inflow, the likelihood of TB, Measles, et al. to cross the border with them skyrockets.

Know Your Place, Peasant!

Why is it that a man who is surrounded by armed men keeps telling us that our access to guns must be curtailed?  This man calling for gun control will have armed guards surrounding him and his family for the rest of his life but the rest of us must wait for the police to arrive.  Why is it a man who has a fence around his mansion (and wants a bigger fence) tells us that a fence along the southern border would be racist and not work anyway?  There is one set of rules for the elites, the noble class, and another for everyone else, the peasants.

Expand Gun Free Zones!

Another Islamic radical has gone on a killing spree and the blame is placed upon... the gun.  Yes, it is the gun's fault, and thus the NRA's fault and Republicans' fault.  Millions upon millions of guns in the United States but the problem guns keep corrupting innocent Muslims.  If only we had gun controls as strict as France, we would be safe.  There was a massacre in Paris that was even worse than Orlando?  But how?

Question 1: If 1 in 20 of the patrons at Pulse had had concealed handguns, would the carnage have been more, less, or about the same?

Question 2: You are a terrorist and have gotten your hands on a gun.  You want to kill as many people as possible before you are taken down.  Do you attack A) a Police Station, B) a Gun Range, or C) a Gun Free Zone?

Question 3: Your city is on high alert for a terrorist attack because of a Craigslist ad.  Where do you think you will be most safe?  A) Police Station, B) Donut Shop, C) Church, D) Gun Free Zone.

When seconds count, the police are just minutes away.  Wouldn't it have been nice if this was the reception that Omar Mateen had received?

Mass Shootings Way, Way Up Under Obama!

In December, I posted about the increase of mass shootings during the Obama Administration.  I used a spreadsheet provided by Mother Jones.  That spreadsheet has been updated but does not include last night's carnage at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.  Let's explore the numbers.

Admin	Count	Dead	Wounded
Reagan	7	70	76
Bush I	7	63	52
Clinton	18	114	146
Bush II	15	127	91
Obama	33	247	229
Total	80	621	594

Even without including the 50+ dead from last night, Obama dominates the numbers.  However, this table is a bit skewed.  Bush I only served one term so his numbers are worse than they look.  Obama hasn't completed his second term and not quite comparable to his predecessors.  Let's break that down by month:

Admin	Dead	Wounded
Reagan	0.7	0.8
Bush I	1.3	1.1
Clinton	1.2	1.5
Bush II	1.3	0.9
Obama	2.8	2.6

Obama has another 7 months to go and the trend does not look good.

Obviously, if these two tables could have been produced where a Republican had such a high number compared to his Democrat predecessors, his policies would be blamed.  Even though the media would never do that here, is it the case?  Are Obama policies responsible for the dramatic increase in mass shootings?  I'm not sure if his actual policies are responsible but I think his expressed attitude is.  That is to say that Obama hasn't signed a law that made mass shootings easier or more frequent but he has not been a cheerleader for America or American power.  The United States under Obama is a nation in decline, a nation whose influence and reach is contracting.  Weakness invites attack.

One set of Rules for the Elites, Another for the Peasants

Donald Trump is a racist because he wants to put up a wall along the border.  Then does this one also signify racism?  I am reminded how the Democrats told us that Voter ID was racist during the 2012 election cycle and then required an ID to enter the convention.  Or how about this from the Democrat-run state of California:

The California state Senate voted 28-8 Wednesday to exempt itself from the pointless gun-control laws that apply to the rest of the populace. Legislators apparently think they alone are worthy to pack heat on the streets for personal protection, and the masses ought to wait until the police arrive.

 

Or how about Congress being exempt from the Affordable Care Act?  It is amazing how often 'our betters' exempt themselves from the laws they impose on us.  Is it any wonder that the electorate is voting for crackpots like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump when the 'normal' politicians show such disdain for We the People?

When the Dead Vote

It is an article like this that makes you appreciate the move toward photo ID to vote.  The party that benefits from zombie voters isn't going to make any effort to stop the fraud.  The party that is harmed by the zombie voters is out of power and can't do much about it.  Of course, if they did do something about it, they would soon be accused of being anti-zombie and intolerant.

Clinched?

As I write, Hillary is way up in California though only a fraction of precincts have reported.  A solid win would do wonders for her whereas an embarrassing loss could be big trouble.  According to RealClear Politics, Hillary currently has 2469 Delegates, more than the 2382 she needs to secure the nomination.  Done?  Interestingly, I read an article recently - can't recall where - that argued that super delegates should be unbound until the convention.  Candidates should arrive only with the delegates they won.  What would that look like?  Again looking at RealClear Politics, Hillary has won 1898 while Bernie has won 1589.  As such, neither has 'won' the requisite 2382 delegates to secure the nomination outright.  This is going to be Bernie's argument if he doesn't concede after tonight's delegates are divvied.  Thanks to the arcane system, that is an excellent argument.  However, an even better counter argument is that Hillary garnered 14.4 million votes to Bernie's 10.8 million.  That's a big gap.  Democrats are big fans of the popular vote and Hillary wins that contest handily.

Racism?

Speaker Ryan has described a statement by Donald Trump as textbook racism.  No equivocating, no offering of mitigating circumstances, just racism.  This is the presidential nominee of his party.  I have no knowledge of the Trump University lawsuit and that is irrelevant to my point.  Some years ago, a judicial nominee said this:

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion."

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Is that racist?  Maybe sexist?  She is Latina and that make her better.  How about this one:

But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know, you know, there's a reaction that's been bred in our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that's just the nature of race in our society.

Barack Obama regarding his grandmother

I can just imagine how well that would have gone if a white politician had said 'typical black person.'  All these years later, we would still be watching the clip whenever that politician was in the news.  Here is what Trump said:

“He is a Mexican. We're building a wall between here and Mexico. The answer is he is giving us very unfair rulings -- rulings that people can't even believe.”

Donald Trump on Judge Gonzalo Curiel

Based on how President Obama and Justice Sotomayor view race, Trump is making a valid point.  Obama and Sotomayor think that race leads to biases, either for good or ill.  Trump is agreeing with them.  But is there really a reason to suspect Judge Curiel?  Yes.  He is a member of The Race Lawyers of California, that race being Latino and Chicano.  Oh, that should be La Raza, not The Race.  Sorry, shouldn't have translated that bit.  You show me the Caucasian Lawyers Association and tell me that wouldn't be considered a branch of the KKK.  Race is in the name!  No, it is not affiliated with the National Council of the Race, er... La Raza but it is an exclusionary club.  Isn't that bad?

That is not how it is supposed to be.  Justice is blindfolded for a reason.  The law, as applied by judges, should be indifferent to the races of the litigants.  Though it is difficult to achieve, a judge should seek to be impartial.  People are rarely impartial, especially in matters that interest them.  I could be amazingly impartial in judging baseball because I have no interest in it.  Economic theory?  Sorry, I'd have to recuse myself because I have very strong opinions and have already made up my mind.  Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, himself a man of Mexican descent, said that Trump has a point.

End of the Line

According to RealClearPolitics, Hillary is only 27 delegates away from clinching the nomination.  754 delegates are up for grabs on Tuesday.  If Hillary can get 3.6% of those delegates, she will be the nominee.  Obviously that is going to happen.  This day was coming and Bernie knew it.  And yet he persists.  He claims he will go to the convention.  To what end?  Yes, there is still the possibility that Hillary will be indicted though that is extremely unlikely.  Obama does not what his Justice Department to indict his Secretary of State for actions she took during his administration.  Really, that just doesn't look good.  Then again, if she looks like a crippled candidate, he could dispatch her in favor of someone who can continue his policies.  That person isn't Bernie.  A switch in candidates at this late date will doom whomever that candidate is to defeat in November.  The Bernie voters won't follow if the party overlooks their guy.  So we are back to Hillary and no indictment.

 

As mentioned in a previous post, the gap between Bernie and Hillary is entirely within the margin of super delegates.  The voters have not shown a decisive enough selection to eliminate the possibility that the supers select the candidate.  Bernie has all the momentum.  If that is still the case on Tuesday, especially if he wins California, his presence at the convention will loom very large.  Could he be assuaged with the VP nomination?  A cabinet office?  Or will he torpedo the party that he has repeatedly identified as corrupt by becoming the Green Party nominee?  Democratic bigwigs are pondering these very questions and trying to find a solution that will hold the presidency for their party.  They did not expect the primary campaign to be this exciting or last this long.

 

What is funny is that the super delegate system is what has doomed the Democrats to a troubled convention.  If those delegates had just gone with their states, Hillary would have an unassailable lead and there would be no possibility of shifting loyalties at the convention.  I suspect the super delegate system will see some changes before the 2020 primaries.

The Nice Guys

A teen-aged boy sneaks into his parents room while they are sleeping and sneaks out with an adult magazine.  He opens the centerfold and there is Misty Mountains.  Moments later, a car crashes through the house and continues down the hillside.  The boy quickly investigates and, to his great surprise, there is Misty Mountains lying next to the wreck in exactly the same pose as the centerfold!  "How do you like my car, big boy?" she asks, then dies.  Holland March (Ryan Gosling) has been hired by Misty's aunt to find Misty.  The aunt swears that she saw Misty two days after her death.  He has a lead about a woman named Amelia.  Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) has been hired to convince March to drop the case.  Thus, the two protagonists meet as adversaries.  However, it soon becomes clear that everyone involved in Misty's last film is being killed.  March and Healy join forces to solve the case.

 

Of course, the American auto industry is the villain of the movie.  Misty's latest movie was going to expose Detroit's conspiracy to suppress technology that would reduce air pollution.  They were so determined to suppress this knowledge that they sent a variety of assassins to kill filmmakers and destroy all copies of the film.  Yes, yet again American industry is the bad guy.

 

Ryan Gosling's character is too much of a comic character.  He is shown to be a pathetic loser in almost every scene in the movie.  He is constantly drinking, frequently cursing, and endlessly smoking.  His moral compass points towards money.  Most of this happens in front of his 13 year-old daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice).  He suffers countless beatings and repeatedly falls from buildings.  Incompetence barely begins to describe him.  And then he is frequently clueless when it comes to really obvious incidents.  Funny, yes.  However, it makes it hard to like the guy.

 

Russell Crowe was the serious character.  Living as a thug for hire, he has notions of becoming a private investigator because those guys make a difference.  Thus he teams with March to get some pointers to the PI business.  Could he have chosen a worse mentor?

 

Funny and light but wait for Netflix.