Wednesday's Digressions

Get it?

• As of this writing (today is 01/07/2016) there is a standoff in progress in Oregon where a bunch of white militia types have taken over the headquarters to a national wildlife refuge. If the militia guys were browner and more Muslimie-er that building would have been a smoking ruin long ago and to identify the perpetrators the authorities would be sifting through the aforementioned ruin and dental records .
• If Bill Cosby were white he would have been under a jail long ago and penniless from civil lawsuits.
• There is a video of a South Carolina police officer killing a person by shooting him in the back as he briskly fled on foot at a high rate of speed ambled half heartedly away from the officer. There isn't a chance the cop would have done that were the runner not black.
• Were Mexico the consumer and America the producer of recreational drugs and this reversal caused the same problems of murder and instability for the US as our insatiable lust for drugs has caused Mexico we would have flattened parts of that country long ago and The US Army's First Cavalry Division, Fourth Infantry Division and a Marine Expeditionary Force would be occupation forces.
• The preceding are what are called natural facts in that we can only disagree on the how and whys and what to do with the information, not the well- natural fact that they are true.
• On a more positive note- I just ate a jalapeno cheeseburger and fries for breakfast and drank a Dr. Pepper. The rest of the day may be all downhill but it started out deliciously.
• When I was young it was nearly impossible  to get a loan on a vehicle with 100,000+ miles as everybody including loan officers knew a vehicle with that many miles was done. With the present condition of my truck, the relatively good care it has received and relatively low amount of abuse I heap on it there is no reason to think it won't go 200,000+ miles with only a little more than normal maintenance costs.
• They don't make 'em like they used to!
• Thank God.
• This morning while getting ready for the daily grind I finished watching The Amazing Spiderman 2. Verdict: very good- the best one yet.
• When if Stan Lee dies what will they do for his cameos? Will it be CGI, stock footage or will they work a visit into a wax museum into the story and have a likeness of him there?
• At work to supposedly make the workload more balanced they put out what is laughingly termed a Call Rotation to issue to the clerks to route calls to the nursing staff. It is a list of nurses names and extensions that starts with me and the same list was issued to every employee.
• 1 million- the number of calls I now receive in a week.
• The other nurses are lovin' it though (I hope).

Becoming A Discerning News Consumer

"BURLINGAME, Calif. - Sarah Palin defended her claim that Barack Obama "pals around with terrorists," saying the Democratic presidential nominee's association with a 1960s radical is an issue that is "fair to talk about."


"During her stop in California, Palin was asked about an Associated Press analysis that said her charge about Ayers was unsubstantiated, a point made by other news organizations, and the criticism carried a "racially tinged subtext that McCain may come to regret."-AP article on MSNBC

These two paragraphs reference a comment Palin made at a fund raising rally in California about Obamas association with radical Bill Ayers who in the 1960s was part of a terrorist group called The Weather Undergound which besides having the lamest name of any terrorist group ever bombed government targets in the US. One was responsible for the death of a police officer. It was in Ayers living room Obamas senate bid was contemplated and he was the one who helped Obama get seated on the Annenberg Challenge Foundation Board.

Here's a few questions I asked myself about this article. What's the problem with the statements? Are they factually correct? What are they wanting me to take away from this? In other words, how are they trying to manipulate me?

At two different points in the article that refer to Ayers as a "1960s radical" Problem? He's still an unrepentant murderer whose actions resulted in the death of a police officer in the 60s. He has publicly stated he "didn't do enough back then" and that he was "not sorry for anything he'd done." He was more violently active in the 60s- he's still a radical.

The last sentence in the second paragraph, what's this about a "racially tinged subtext"? So, this guy Ayers, is a black community leader of some type and McCain is trying to make the thought of them together look like he's part of some sort of black supremacy movement or something right? Well, not so much- he's whiter than I am, actually.

The statement is actually so bizarre, it's almost funny and I really appreciate it because they might as well be screaming, "I support Barack Obama and will do anything- including lie to help him win!"

I respect honesty like that.

The writer purposefully placed that sentence at the end of that paragraph to drive (hopefully) home the point that McCain/Palin might be a bigoted ticket. That's all you were supposed to carry away from it. The writer would be pleased if by the next day you said to someone,"That Palin, seems kind of racist, doesn't she?"

Another sentence meant to drive home some doubt and have an easy way out for Obamas guilt by association with Ayers:

" Obama was 8 years old at the time the Weather Underground claimed credit for numerous bombings and was blamed for a pipe bomb that killed a San Francisco policeman"

Here you are meant to think and repeat whenever you speak about the presidential race," Oh come on, Barack was only 8 years old when those bombings occurred!"

Ayers is totally and still verbally unrepentant for everything he did, he's still a radical political figure and helped launch Obamas career.

Obama was not 8 when he met with Ayers in his home to discuss a run for office.

The writer was not interested in laying out facts for you to carry away from the story just doubts.

Well, that and a vote away from McCain.