No Knock Warrants

26 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by in Police

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I have only seen a no knock warrant executed on television shows. Almost all were fictional. I completely understand the reason for their use. A few years ago one show’s depiction was a researched legal warrant issued to an address with the last number being a 6. However a 9 had spun around to be a 6 and the police hit an apartment with a couple and kids. No shots were fired but the couple, two adolescents, and a baby were roughed up and their apartment destroyed.

No knocks are given so evidence can’t be flushed or burned or the inhabitants given time to arm themselves. That is a very critical reason for one.

Another episode showed a mistake in writing the warrant and the police burst into the address on the warrant, but not the intended one.

The death of Breonna Taylor is another example of a lapse of police intelligence. They didn’t check to see if her new boy friend was the same man as her old one from six months ago and was in jail. Both episodes and reality in Louisville indicate the police did not take proper care. Too many people had a finger in getting the intelligence and not checking to verify the boy friend, confirming the address, and having one-person start and end the process by verifying everything all along the way. She died from laziness within the department.

Gloss Over Factual History

26 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by in History

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Remember people who got upset when we bombed someplace in South Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan? Yes, it is extremely unfortunate to all those thousands of innocent civilians killed. Those were tentatively friendly or allies.

We all remember how historically important the Allied bombing was in defeating the German forces in World War II. We seldom bombed Germany until 1944. Before that time we bombed the conquered countries of France, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. In 1944, before D-Day, we bombed French cities and towns to prevent their use by the Wehermacht in getting to the beachhead. That bombing program alone may have killed over 60,000 French men, women and children. Thousands more died from tactical bombing and artillery. We don’t think about that so we gloss over that part of history.

After the Italians surrendered and the Germans kept going we bombed Italian towns and cities killing innocent people. We didn’t care.

We leveled German cities, killing hundreds of thousands in their homes. We learned how to create a firestorm when the British and we bombed Dresden with incendiaries. The updraft from the fires suffocated people in their cellars. It sucked people off their feet and into the inferno from blocks away. That lesson was the basis for our firebombing of Japan’s cities. The deaths in some cities were greater than Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Oddly the bad guys killed a much smaller percentage of civilians by bombing than we did. When people really dig into history instead of glossing over and seeing what we want go see, it becomes almost worthless. Motivations for actions are a sign of the times. Think slavery and owners.

Loyalty Oaths

26 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by in President Trump

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During an interview on PBS News Hour, Three Star General H. R. Masters (retired) and Trump’s second security advisor said he didn’t think military officers, current or retired, should comment on their commander-in-chief. As a military historian, I instantly remembered the officers of Germany’s military in the mid-1930s. Even though Hitler was building up the army, navy and air force, many officers could see he was hell-bent on war and probably destruction of Germany.

Why didn’t the German officers who were against Hitler’s plans say anything to stop him? Every private through general had to swear a loyalty oath not to Germany, but to Hitler himself. Several times I have heard Donald Trump say, “The people who work for me should give me complete loyalty.” He has said much of the same about the Senators, Representatives, and Pentagon. When all of those people swear their oath to their office, the President’s name is not mentioned. They swear to defend the United States, not Donald Trump! His demand for absolute loyalty is not unlike Hitler’s demands.

Covid 19 Numbers Are Scary

20 Sunday Sep 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, President Trump

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How could Trump assure himself of a win in November? Tell everyone starting today to wear a mask when outside their house; avoid crowds, and social distance. If he did those forty days before the election, Covid 19 might be almost gone.

Without such an order, we will have reached close to 250,000 dead by the election and over 300,000 by Christmas. What a Christmas present for America!

If the administration had demanded masks during and after the quarantine it might have saved 200,000 lives. If Trump hadn’t made the virus political by saying it is a hoax for months, people would have taken care not to spread it. (Some people are still saying it is a hoax.) Trump said it is “no worse than the flu”, “it will be over by summer”, the vaccine is being rushed by cutting regulations and testing, and, of course, degrading the importance of our medical and scientific agencies and experts.

Mismanagement on an unbelievable scale and the political interference and lies has reduced the potential number of people wanting the vaccine to just over half the American public. That means Americans won’t be out of the epidemic for at least a year. Some experts estimate we will lose over 1,000,000 before it drops to a low but constant level.

How can someone live with themselves continuing to screw up that badly and maybe letting a million Americans die? How can a person continue to go against common sense and science from the World’s leading experts? Only someone who puts himself over saving lives.

A Real Fair Tax

19 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by in Illinois Taxes

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Governor Pritzker wants Illinois to have a graduated tax almost all other states have. Lots of innuendos and misinformation are being put out by those big money interests who don’t want to park with a dollar they can’t hide. The increase in income tax won’t occur until the person makes over $250,000. I’m surprised 3% of us make that much after being able to hide so much of their income. One of the ads says the change will increase the number of people leaving the state. I would think they would check the other state’s taxes first.

I keep saying hiding income, because that’s what using deductions really is. Wouldn’t it be simple to do what most states do and tax the federal adjusted gross income amount? No double dipping on real estate tax, seniors, or pensions. There are many more ways to hide money from Springfield. I have mentioned these three because we and tens of thousands of others haven’t paid state taxes for year. A real fair tax would be to eliminate all deductions and lower the tax to 3 1/2% for the first $250,000 (keyed to cost-of-living) and 6 % for all over. Taxes could be done on a post card. I think that will make the state more money than now and be fair. Oh yes, companies and corporations like Amazon which doesn’t pay any Federal Tax and makes billions of dollars each year, would have to pay at least 1% of their income from operations in Illinois.

Isn’t my proposal fair to everyone?

Social Security Lives or Dies Now

19 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by in Social Security

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The next President will have to make the hard decision on whether Social Security will exist as we know it today. 2020 was supposed to be the peak year but with Covid 19, 2019 was the peak. More money is now going out than coming in because fixes from last Presidents and Congresses didn’t do their job. The last effort was with Clinton and Gingrich. Gingrich pulled out after the Lewinski scandal became public. It would have saved Social Security until 1075.

The box will be empty by 2034 so the next President and Congress must stop procrastinating and fix it! Two of the choices are in the ideas column and neither is supported by Trump because they raise his taxes. One raises taxes in the current system and the other does away with it and hides it in the general budget.

The first raises the payroll tax from 6.2% to 7.4% and raises the ceiling to $400,000. That plan is in the Social Security Act of 2100. If the ceiling was totally removed and the payout capped at $50,000, the plan might make it to 2100.

The other is drop Social Security Plans into the General Budget. The advantage is the Federal Government can borrow all the money needed for payments. Last year our GNP was supposed to be highest ever, but we still had a trillion dollar deficit. With the GOPs propensity to cut taxes I can’t see that plan ever working.

Half of married and 70% of unmarried seniors get at least 70% of their income from Social Security. For millions it’s 100%. President Trump wants to reduce the payroll tax to put more money into his supporter’s pockets. The second plan is a stupid idea. Even a grade schooler should see which works and which won’t.

In His Own Words

19 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by in President Trump

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Ever wonder if the President is concerned about getting Covid 19? Everyone who comes near him is constantly tested by the very fastest and latest version of the testing kits. In his latest rally in Nevada everyone behind him had to wear masks. When asked if he was concerned about him being inside with a thousand people not wearing masks he actually said, “No because they were kept back fifty feet and I was up on the stage.” She should have asked if he cared about his audience catching it and many dying. That answer would have been illuminating.

The next day he was in California blaming California’s government for not thinning the forests. That sounds good to him and his blindly following supporters. Actually California owns only 3% of the forest. Trump’s government owns 58% and most of those fires are starting and being fought in his forests, but of course it isn’t his fault.

The same day he astonished tens of millions of people by actually denying the science of climate change. He said “The scientists don’t really know.” and “It is going to get colder.” How can people drink the Kool-Aid and support him? The writing is on the wall but he will always cater to the wackiest groups to get their admiration. His narcissism is hand-in-hand with what the Russians are doing to divide us. Historians will use his own words and put him at the bottom of the list of capable Presidents. The choice in November is to vote for the good of America or give the bobble head a chance to destroy us!

It’s Never Too Late

14 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by in Biden, Climate Change, President Trump

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What a saying. Isn’t it supposed to inspire hope that people will finally make the right decision and do the right thing. I think it is too late to avoid some of the effects of global warming. My fear is those people, who for some misguided reason, are sabotaging the efforts to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases.

When the map shows six tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean during the early days of September, isn’t it obvious something is going wrong? When many cities, including L.A., have Death Valley temperatures, only the intellectually blind can miss seeing the looming disaster.

How can billions of people around the world know the seriousness of the problem and a few Americans in power not only ignore the looming disaster, but work to increase the emissions?

This election may be the last chance for humanity to save itself. As a former right-of-center Republican, I can say the party must be owned by those catering to the fossil fuel industry. It doesn’t want to face the facts of its part in destroying our climate! Seniors like me should know we won’t be around to see what’s going to happen to later generations. Flooding in Miami, Charleston, and Norfolk during high tides is just an indication of what will happen if the Republicans stay in power.

We must put a stop to this insanity of day-to-day planning and buggy whip culture. A green energy economy now might stave off the worst effects of our future possibilities. We must look through the lies, misinformation, and divisiveness and vote for Biden and Democratic Senate. Vote to save Humanity! Vote science, not lies!

Maybe I Qualify For Now

14 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus

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I think people who don’t vaccinate their kids or themselves are just plain nuts. Grant me this. Every day thousands more of us depend on science to manage our lives – not me – by controlling our homes and cars. Tens of millions don’t think they can live without a smart phone. So why is it they believe some whackos saying vaccines that have been used most of my life are dangerous.  The measles, mumps, rubella vaccine does not cause autism. Just because parents start to notice their child may have something wrong about the same age as shots are given is totally coincidental. Unvaccinated kids get autism at the same rate as those vaccinated. However, they are blinded, maimed, and made infertile when they get those diseases.

So why may I temporarily join their ranks?  The Covid 19 vaccines are being pushed without proper testing. My pick was the Oxford/AstraZeneca serum, because it has t-cells. That should make it permanent and not every few months. It was held up because one woman got sick. I want a vaccine which was challenge-tested. Challenge-tested means giving the people a whiff of the virus instead of seeing if they caught it by accident. I can wait.

One poll shows I am not alone: 53% of Republicans, 41% non-whites, 35% of big city, 33% of whites, 30% of seniors, 24% of 18-29 year olds, and 19% of Democrats won’t get the shot.

The first polio vaccine was rushed and the orphans it was tested on got polio. After that debacle more rigorous testing was required before it went into human testing. All the seniors I know have said they will wait for a time to see if any really work without complications.

The Russians Are Winning

14 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by in Putin, Russia

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What is this world coming to? How can people believe all the conspiracies floating around the internet? Our intelligence agencies say most of it is of Russian origin. They want to divide us and are doing a good job. The question most people would like to know is why do they support Trump? Is it because he is a divisive person anyway and believes their conspiracies.

QAnon believers are growing in numbers and think the most far out conspiracies are real. Remember the nut who thought the Clintons were sex trafficking children out of a pizza shop? It is still going around and apparently they have added the elites eating them. How can people be so gullible?

We have a friend caught between two conspiracies and believes both. One is an insurrection with militias coming to take away all her possessions and guns. The other is the government is going to come and take away her guns. We know of others who are close to her level of fear. How do usually sane people get these wacky ideas? – Most are from the internet and mailings from the NRA. Remember Nazi leader Joseph Goebels said “If you tell a lie often enough people will believe it.” It has worked with millions of Americans and also millions of others around the world.

The British now know the split with the EU was caused by the misinformation put out by the Russians. Even without the reports re-dactations, we know the Russians were the primary reason Trump is in the Oval Office. This is according to the entire Senate committee investigating the Russian involvement of the 2016 election. Putin has been very successful in putting divisive people in power here and around the world. He wants us to destroy ourselves and it is working.