Unhappy

Seems the seldom smiling chief exec is scowling regarding his buddies at Fox releasing their latest 2020 results poll. It displays the fact that Trump would lose in the general election paired against former Veep Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Kamala Harris. The numbers indicate the margin of loss would be a dozen points against Biden varying to six points against Harris.

 A group of high-school students in Southern California gave a Nazi salute and sang a Third Reich song during an awards ceremony last year, it’s recently been reported. The salute used to pay homage to Adolf Hitler and the marching song sung by these morons were used during World War 2 as acts of homage to the German leader who ordered the deaths of innocent millions.  No reports of any action taken by school authorities as was the case in a similar previous incident. “Congrats” to both faculties for failing to inflict any correctional punishment on these blockheads.

Looks as though you,ve made it through another  tedious summer of re-runs.  “America’s Got Talent” holds the crown for the greatest number of yawning re-does this year. Take heart ‘cause new stuff is on the way such as “The Unicorn” CBS, “Carol’s Second Act” with Patricia Heaton also CBS, actually her third act as she previously starred in “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle”. If it proves worthy of her talent this show should be good viewing. Then there’s “Sunnyside” on NBC, “Prodigal Son” Fox, “Emergence” ABC and “Perfect harmony” with Bradley Whitford on NBC. Keep a good thought.

How many more “friends, acquaintances, etc. are bailing on their reported associations with Jeffrey Epstein? The latest is Prince Andrew who claims “He’s appalled” by the sexual accusations leveled at his former friend. Information had surfaced on the Prince showing him inside Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2010.  A statement from Buckingham Palace said “His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behavior is abhorrent.”

NY cop Daniel Pantaleo has finally been canned in the choking death of Eric Garner. Why did it require nearly five years to take this action? We’ve all seen the video which showed Pantaleo’s extreme and totally unnecessary force. He should be charged with homicide.

Oh Yeah?

Let’s begin this “classic” with the quote of the week.

Another “acting” administration department head spat out this golden gem this week which called for the changing of the Statue of Liberty inscription to   “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet”.  Credit Ken Cuccinelli, the acting honcho of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as the genius who can always claim he originated the phrase even as he eventually joins the crowd exiting through that swinging White House door. He claims the phrase on Lady Liberty was meant solely for people “coming from Europe” .This is another bumbling babbler who says the verse was made to welcome only white immigrants.  These days it seems there’s an endless supply of public office boobs around who have their Florsheims protruding from their mouths.

 Former secretary of state Madeline Albright told Anderson Cooper on CNN that Cuccinelli’s interpretation concerning the inscription “is one of the most un-American things I have ever heard.” And added “I think the Statue of Liberty is weeping”.

America’s disgraced “dad”, Bill Cosby, could be optimistic about the possible results of his appeal to have his sexual assault conviction over turned. Rumor has it that he might have ordered “his people” to secure a new set of golf clubs for him in the hope of joining O.J. for a round or two. 

Ever the optimist, as all good managers should be, the Red Sox’ Alex Cora still believes his team can make the playoffs.  Despite the 17.5  game lead the Yankees hold over Boston, he points to the wild card race which spots the Sox at 8.5 games out currently. Meantime there’s much help needed, especially in the bullpen. Why not swap a current pitcher, a minor league prospect and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski for a decent relief hurler.

Those Kardashians continue to get attention from a portion of the public which thrives on the trivial.  Kourtney just made the dailies with her bathing suit displaying much of this member of “Family Untalented”. Attired in a Janessa Leone’ hat which carries a $373 price tag to the Linda Farrow sunglasses ($580) to her revealing Kai Lani swimwear she’s received raves from her fans who are ga-ga over showing her stretch marks!. Some seek greatness, others have it thrust upon them. 

The more we learn about the life and times of Jeffrey Epstein the more the word “ludicrous” comes to mind. The latest revelation concerns a portrait that hangs in his Manhattan townhouse, that of Bill Clinton lounging on an Oval Office chair wearing a blue dress! Notable as well, a mannequin in a wedding gown hanging from the ceiling above a staircase. Also in this far out  collection a tiger and poodle taxidermies.. Love to hear the explanations for that quartet of freak shows. 

A tv reporter on scene covering the shooting of six Philadelphia cops had these thoughts regarding officers being ridiculed by on lookers. She was also harassed during her live report. Alexandra Hoff said “A major moment of disappointment this evening was watching a crowd of people taunt police officers, laughing and yelling at them in the midst of the gunfire”. Yet another reason to make us wonder what sort of world has this become? 

An additional quote of the week reaches us through author Windsor Mann who said, “An evangelical told me that God put Trump in the White House for a reason. Maybe the reason is to teach us a lesson: Don’t ever do this again”.

Reality and Absurdity

During a fundraiser in the Hamptons this week, Mr. Smooth poked fun at U.S. allies South Korea, The European Union and Japan while mimicking Korean and Japanese accents. He also expressed his adoration and love for Kim Jong Un and the head honcho of Saudi Arabia. Would that we could wish to awaken from this nightmare. Sadly it’s only a wish. The nightmare is reality.

Certainly of less absurd nature but preposterous enough to mention here is the fact that former Red Sox,  now Yankee outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury suffers from back and foot injuries and hasn’t played in a game since 2017. This season he hauls in $21 million big ones for keeping the bench warm,  giving  new meaning to the word ridiculous.

We might think that Walmart which was the scene of 22 killed and a dozen injured by gunfire plus two shot to death in one of its Mississippi stores might lead the way in banning gun sales as it did in 2015 by refusing to sell assault rifles. Wrong! Their answer is to remove violent videos from their shelves. As previously mentioned here, there is no conclusive evidence that such videos cause gun violence. By the way, their wording of said removal doesn’t give assurance that such may be anything more than temporary.

Lewis Kasman is a former associate of the legendary John Gotti who claims the jail where supposedly Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide is a facility rife with corruption much as it was when the godfather was housed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in the 90’s. He says it’s still a place where “almost anything can be bought if you have the bucks” He’s sure that “if he killed himself someone had to have helped him. There are cameras going 24/7 and they’re watching 24/7. Someone had to give Epstein the equipment to kill himself and he had to pay for it dearly,”

Any idea how many victims of mass shootings there have been during the past decades?  Well. The Washington Post printed all the names recently, some 1196 since 1966. . Doubtless many congressional and White House staffers subscribe to the Post. I have to wonder what reactions might have resulted in the minds of the many who could have helped lessen that horrific total with positive efforts regarding gun control legislation.

Just in case you haven’t been keeping track, the aforementioned Post has displayed its latest tabulation regarding the total number of false and misleading Trump statements during his 928 days in office as of August 5^th. The paper’s Fact Checker database total shows 12,019. This includes 194 that the Mexico wall is being built and 186 about our current economy as the best in history. I think this will more than suffice as representing the quote of the week.

A positive note:  Over the past weekend Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale was on the field at Fenway Park when he noticed a boy in a wheel chair accompanied by his mom and dad. Sale went over to the 6 year old and spent several minutes in extended conversation with him. Before parting company the Boston ace give the lad his glove, solid evidence that Chris is a genuine Major Leaguer.

Poor Taste Parade

Fox News host and Trump adviser Sean Hannity believes the solution to America’s mass shootings is an army of ex-cops and military to surround schools, malls, etc to prevent mass shootings. He says “Secure the perimeter of those schools. Equip them with retired police and military, they should be on every floor of every school.” He proposes retired military and police could volunteer 15 hours a week in exchange for no federal and state taxes” He went on with “We can do that with stores. We can do that in malls. We can do that pretty much anywhere the public is,” Hannity said. “We can expand that out everywhere and keep Americans safe”. Several hundred thousand or more would be required to surround school perimeters and on each school floor of the 100,000 public and 35,000 private schools in addition to several hundred thousand more to man the 116,000 or more shopping malls in the country.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn’t a fan of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Seems after a photo hit the web showing a group of youth “groping and choking a cardboard cutout of the Congresswoman while dressed in shirts saying “Team Mitch” .Ocasio-Cortez responded ,”Just wanted to clarify: are you paying for young men to practice groping & choking members of Congress w/ your payroll or is this just the standard culture of #TeamMitch?” Following calls from some congressional members for the entire body to return early from its siesta to address the latest mass shootings McConnell has led no such move. No surprise .He’s turned down votes on bi partisan gun control legislation while pocketing over a million N.R.A. dollars. Apparently this private, not public servant does put a price on human life. Disgraceful.  Wanna’ bet that the people of Kentucky will again return him to the Senate?  Sad...

Missed the Sean Hannity-Mayor DeBlasio interview Wednesday. Not accurate  Didn’t see it. Didn’t miss it.

The headline read:  “Trump Boasts ‘Amazing’ visit to grieving cities”. The truth was his reception was chilly. The Dayton Mayor called him “a bully and a coward”, hospital patients of the shooting refused to see him, he used the occasion to attack Democratic officials who had criticized him and even bragged about the size of his rally crowds. What?!!! His previous remarks about El Paso included calling its migrants “dangerous criminals”. During his state of the Union address, he labeled the city “one of our nation’s most dangerous cities prior to a border wall being built”...it never was. We recall he used the kickoff of his campaign to call Mexicans—the ones who’ve had lived in El Paso for generations—“rapists and criminals.” It’s amazing to me how even Trump flag wavers can’t “smell the coffee”.

Wayne LaPierre, the loudmouth babbler of the NRA, has a warning for Donald Trump. He cautioned him not to support a background check bill which would make it more difficult for people to buy firearms. LaPierre is said to have told Trump that backing such a measure or one that sought to ban assault weapons would cost him votes and support by the party. One of the things Trump and LaPierre share: they both thrive in a world of threats.

Having a quote of the week in this space is surely not an “honor”, rather a face slap. This week’s reddened countenance belongs to Joe Biden who said: “Poor kids are just as bright as white kids”.   

Contrasts

Rep. John Ratcliffe will not be the Intelligence chief having been labeled as “the least qualified person ever nominated to oversee the country’s intelligence agencies”. Apparent lies found in his record also aided in his withdrawn nomination. By the way, talk about contradictions, how ‘bout the words “Washington” and “Intelligence”.

An obvious ambitious sort, Nathan Chalk is already holding jobs as a construction worker and a comedian. He then decided to begin a business solely based on delivering bad news to people. Among dominating examples: “a guy asked me to tell his ex-wife he’d no longer pay for child care. When I got in touch with her she asked me to call back and tell him the child was not his”. As time passes and more examples are added, I see a book in his future.

About a year ago the Boeing 737-Max became problematic. Some 300+persons have perished as the CEO has deflected blame on the pilots while talking down the actual problems. Have to wonder why Dennis Mullenberg hasn’t been given the usual overstuffed severance package and remains seated in the CEO chair. 

Two more mass shootings this week. Control of these outrageous and unforgiveable tragedies will never see any degree of success until politicians locate a conscience and realize that human lives are more important than their being re-elected. Shame on every one of you who continue to ignore your constituents’ well-being while promoting your own agendas. Why are assault weapons not banned?  Why is there no united effort to stem the killing? Why are there nothing but empty words coming from the Oval Office and Congress? 

Kevin McCarthy of California links the shootings to the influence of video games saying “they dehumanize individuals to have a game of shooting individuals” It seems Republicans have long insisted on a link between violent video games and mass shootings. Extensive studies on the topic are inconclusive. The University of Oxford has reported no relationship between aggressive behavior in teens and the length of time playing video games. It seems that other countries where similar video games are played do not result in similar violence. Researchers at the University of Oxford in England that they found no relationship between aggressive behavior in teenagers and the amount of time spent playing violent video games. Moreover, other nations where similar types of video games are played don’t experience nearly the same amount of violence as we do. Any one in a position to take action against the senseless killing but rather chooses to line his or her pocket with N.R.A. money is lower than scum.

The Oval Office occupant has now suggested that immigration laws and, of course, the media are to blame for the killings. All of you, including the so called chief executive, it’s long since time you accomplished something positive about the slaughter of our people .Stop deflecting blame. Try honesty for a change... do your damned jobs!

Guess the speech writers worked overnight on remarks Trump made Monday morning from a teleprompter. “We vow to act with urgent resolve”, whatever that means. He went on to condemn white supremacy and racism but, of course, with no reference to his promotion of both. He went on to say “The perils of the internet and social media cannot be ignored”. This from someone who regularly uses hate speech in his Twitter communications. He placed the blame for the shootings on mental health problems saying “mental illness and hatred pull the trigger – not the gun”. Oh by the way, Trump mistakenly named Toledo instead of Dayton as the location of Saturday night’s shooting. Apparently, the White House lacks proof readers and a sense of direction.

One other foot note: Seems Trump didn’t allow the latest killings to cancel the weekend at his New Jersey golf club. Hours following the El Paso tragedy he dropped by a wedding at the facility and was seen in videos laughing and joking with the newly married and their guests.