No Hunter Like The Cairn

  By Florida Bill 

                                                                    Tip your hat to the hunter extraordinaire: the Cairn terrier. The little dog with the big personality. 
                                              The feisty Cairn, almost always  wheaten or black in color, though maybe a blend leaning slightly to toward rouge, is a descendant of a wolf, believe it or not, and gained its fame and reputation as an aggressive hunter in the fields and underground tunnels of beautiful Scotland. Some say it was in the Isle of Skye.   They were commissioned to examine rocky piles known to farmers as cairns and to rid them of any interlopers such as mice, rats, snakes, rabbits or squirrels or any other unwelcome critter hanging around.
                                              In fact, it was said these hunters would "go to ground," in search of such critters, and there are still competitions where terriers are sent into tunnels with caged rats and timed on how quickly they reach the prey and for how long they perform: barking, baying, scratching or staring intensely.  
                                          With a determined nature and guided by a nose which can always detect a foreign critter hiding where he does not belong, the sturdy Cairn would do his work and provide for the farmer, his friend and mentor, a rock pile as free and as sterile as a rock pile can be.  Unwelcome visitors are dispatched by the Cairns by grabbing them by the neck and delivering some mighty shakes. 
                                                In America and much of the world, the tough little Cairn has become a respected and beloved pet in tens of thousands of homes. They love their owners and the kids and other dogs--well, most of the time, when it comes to other canines.  They do a  good deal of barking and they will sound off mightily at footsteps, even those dropped by a squirrel or bunny. Some owners will laughingly say their Cairns bark at the sound of a leaf dropping.
                                                They are powerful and dominating when it comes to rodents and the unlikeable critters are never too much for the determined Cairn. According to canine expert Stanley Coren, he learned of a terrier named Tiny who was said to have polished off some 5,000 rats in his lifetime.  That's dedication. 
                                                 Recently, I saw on a social media site an inquiry and concern from a Cairn "mom" that her pet was an overly aggressive hunter of little critters, and that perhaps that was a negative quality which her Cairn possessed.  Somewhat distressed, she invited comments from other owners on what she perceived as an unwelcome trait which she was not fond of.
                                                  The answer is that the instinct to hunt is in the canine genes. For me, also a Cairn booster, I look upon their talent to ferret out the intruder with admiration--a Cairn doing what a Cairn was meant to do. 
                                                   Not too long ago, our male, Andy, a handsome, wheaten colored Cairn weighing in at about 16 pounds, left our back door and raced to the far end of our fenced one-acre yard. He seemed to be on a mission.  Minutes later I saw him furiously shaking a black "rope" in his mouth.  It wasn't a rope, it was a black garter snake about three feet long.  Most interesting was that Andy seemed to know that the alien was there. He made quick work of the intruder.   How?  What tipped Andy off?                                                                                          Just a couple of days ago, our 7-year-old black Cairn, Wendy, declined to answer our whistle and call which was completely unlike her while inside our home in South Florida. We went to look for her and found her staring at a closed closet door.  It was the unmistakable Cairn "death stare," with her nose inches from the tiny slit under the door. No question, but there had to be something inside the closet where we have boxes stored with Xmas decorations and other items and some luggage.  We were hoping that a mouse had not gotten into the house. 
                                                  Opening the door, Wendy shot in without hesitation. She nosed around items piled on the floor and darted under the shelf housing the air conditioner. Presto, within seconds, she exploded out with a large Palmetto bug--an unpleasant fact of life in Florida--in her mouth, zoomed to another corner of the house, and then dropped the lifeless meddler onto the floor. Thanks, Wendy.  We cleaned up the remains, and Wendy then went about her business. 
                                                Niki, another female cairn of ours back in our Chicago days, would suddenly stake out a pantry or closet and we knew it was time to buy a mouse trap. 
                                                  The search by the young and middle aged Cairn is never ending.  Maybe age will slow them down, but just a little.  The cairn does not discern which intruder might be a more or less welcome addition to the terrain. They are all prey.                                                          Here in Florida, and perhaps elsewhere where there is an abundance of sun and showers, we need to keep an eye on the inquisitive Cairn lest in his instinct to hunt, he comes upon the dreaded Bufo toad, which will react to danger by exuding a substance on its skin which is poisonous to dogs and can even be fatal. When the Cairn sees the  toad, he attacks and most large toads cannot move fast enough to escape.  If it happens, which it has to us three times, we wipe out the inside of the dog's mouth with a wet rag and then rush the little fur head to the vet for immediate treatment, which will save the dog if the action is timely enough. Anyway, be on guard against these dog menaces.  Bufos are ugly looking dudes whose size can match a dessert plate. 
                                                Is the cairn a dedicated hunter?  I would say, yes,  absolutely.  We sometimes fear ours got an overabundance of terrier genes.  So, what is it about an unwelcome  critter which draws their attention?  What do they hear?  What do they smell?                    
                                                      The dog's nose is, according to some experts, about a million times more sensitive than man's ability to smell. In one experiment I read about, a tiny mouse was placed in the center of a one acre field of grass, and the dog--I like to think it could have been a cairn--was released to hunt.  Within minutes, the proud dog returned, mouse in tow. That was all nose.  It was the hunter, home from the hills. 
                                                      The Cairn terrier has a tradition to uphold.  Hunting is what he does and what he has always done. His people and the unconditional love which he bestows upon his owners of course comes first.  But intruders and aliens are definitely not welcome in Cairn territory.   So do not be concerned.  Enjoy your Cairn.  There is no other dog like yours in the world!!!!                                                    
                                              XXX
                                             

  

Obama's Surveillance of Donald

  By Florida Bill 

                             There has been a fascinating turn around in the controversy surrounding President Trump's allegation that former President Obama, while still in office, was the force behind a "wire tap" of him and members of his team.  
                              News that forces loyal to the former president had been recording conversations of Trump and his surrogates before and after the election was communicated to the President by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes. The surveillance was arranged by application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court through which Trump and his associates became "incidental" participants in NSA intercepted conversations.  Their identities were unmasked and their conversations were recorded and apparently disseminated. "Legal, but for what reason," asked Nunes who has shared the new information with unhappy Democrats on the committee. 
                                 It all started on March 4, when Trump tweeted:"Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism." The accusation brought swift denials and President Trump was labeled a liar.  Former president Obama issued a statement that he never ordered a wire trap of Trump.  
                                 After receiving the information of the surveillance, Trump told newsmen that he felt that he had been "vindicated."  One newsman said that former Pres. Obama should be asked to explain the "incidental" surveillance of the Trump team before the Intelligence committee.   
                                Thrown into the controversy has been the bombshell claim put out by former New Jersey Judge Andrew Napolitano, who has a reputation for political savvy and legal knowledge.  In public comments on Fox News which employs him as its legal and news analyst, Napolitano said that he had been informed by "three intelligence agencies that President Obama went outside the chain of command and arranged a surveillance of Trump and his team in a way that left no record.
                               "He didn't use the NSA, he didn't use the CIA, he didn't use the FBI, and he didn't use the Department of Justice," the judge said.  Instead, Obama used a British agency with access to the NSA database.  "There's no American fingerprints on it.  What happened to the guy who ordered this...he resigned three days after Donald Trump was inaugurated," Napolitano said.
                              The veteran judge was castigated as a teller of tall tales by Shepard Smith, a left wing afternoon anchor at the Fox News station, which also employs Napolitano.  Nevertheless, the judge says that he "stands by what he has said."  The long and short of it is that Judge Napolitano is nobody's fool and someone ought to be investigating the allegation?
                               FBI Director Comey, no stranger to TV pronouncements, was back in the spotlight recently, testifying before the Rep. Nunes' House Intelligence Committee. The six-foot, eight-inch Comey told the committee that the FBI has been investigating activities surrounding the recent campaign since last July, and had determined that Russia hacked into DNC emails and communicated them to Wikileaks, which then published them.  However, said Comey, he had no evidence of Russia's manipulation of the voting process, and had no evidence in support of Pres. Trump's tweet concerning an Obama wiretap.  He said the investigation into "collusion" between the Trump team and the Kremlin is ongoing and that he has no way of knowing how long it will go on.  He indicated that the investigation will be all encompassing.
                                  Under tough questioning by Rep. Trey Gowdy, Comey acknowledged that one Trump surrogate, General Mike Flynn, had been "unmasked" improperly and that a transcript of his  conversation with a Russian ambassador had been recorded and leaked to the press.  "That is a felony, and the leaker would face a possible 10 years in prison, would he not?" Gowdy asked Comey, who reluctantly acknowledged that there had been a leak and that it would be a violation of a criminal statute.  "The FBI takes  leaking very seriously," its director said, but he stopped short of saying that that incident was being investigated. 
                                    Certainly, Comey had to know of the  surveillance of Trump and his associates which has now been revealed by Intelligence Chairman Nunes.  President-elect Trump and members of his team became unwitting "incidental persons" as part of intercepted conversations monitored by Obama intelligence agencies. Their identities were then unmasked and their conversations followed and recorded, according to data discovered by Rep. Nunes.      
                                  Comey, 56, was appointed to a 10-year term as FBI director by President Obama in 2013.  Last July, in the busy months leading up to the November 8 election, Comey held a news conference to announce that he would not recommend a prosecution of Hillary Clinton for her mishandling of emails. She was reckless and had lied about matters in public statements, he said, but nevertheless, will not be prosecuted since she did not harbor a criminal intent. Eleven days before the election, Comey sent a letter to Congress that he was reopening that investigation, but then, eight days later, 3 days before balloting, said again that there would be no prosecution.
                                   Initially, Trump denounced Comey for dodging prosecution of "Crooked Hillary" but then commended him when he "did the right thing" and reopened the  investigation. When Comey cleared her for a second time, Trump looked upon Comey with suspicion. 
                                   Following the election, it was presumed that President Trump would ask Comey to resign, but after a meeting with him, allowed him to continue as director. He remains as FBI chief, sort of "twisting in the wind." 
                                        Currently, Congressmen on both sides of the political aisle have lost confidence in the integrity of Director Comey.  In fact, because of his peculiar on again, off again investigation of Mrs. Clinton and her emails, there have been demands for his resignation with accusations that he is dishonest and incompetent.  Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, said that Comey has been "twisted into an indefensible pretzel of contradictions."  
                                        On January 12, Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who oversees and monitors the activities of the Department of Justice and the FBI, its investigative arm, responded to the continuing criticism of the FBI director, with an unusual and somewhat unprecedented announcement.  
                                        He said that there would be a review of the allegations of misconduct involving Director Comey and how he handled the probe of Hillary Clinton's email practices.  The investigation, he said, will be wide ranging and will encompass Comey's various correspondence  and will determine whether the FBI or other Justice department employees leaked non public information. 

                                                XXX     

U.S. Rep. Hastings, Hypocrisy Alert

   By Florida Bill                                               

                During the recent swearing in of Donald Trump as America's 45th President, there was one Florida congressman who declined to appear at the inauguration ceremony in the Capitol building in Washington.
                 Actually there were some 40 Democratic representatives who decided to skip the inauguration, but Congressman Alcee Lamar Hastings of sunny Florida was among the most disenchanted, castigating the new President for failing to embrace the values and tenets of the Constitution. His behavior, asserted Hastings, prohibits him from occupying the highest office in the land, and with his Russian connections, he will never keep this country safe. There shall be "no harsher critic (of him) than me."
                With all the luggage and shameful background attached to Hastings' name, you might wonder about his sincerity in calling out Trump for misconduct and bigotry. His house is about as messy and unconstitutional as it gets. He spent 10 years as a jurist, appointed by President Carter, before being thrown off the bench for dishonesty.
               The 80-year-old Hastings is one of only six federal judges to have been impeached and removed from the bench by order of the United States Senate in about 250 years. He was removed as a judge in 1989 after conviction by the Senate for bribery, perjury and other forms of corruption. 
               In response, Hastings threw himself into Florida politics.  He ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State in 1991 and rebounded in 1992 with election as congressman from the state's 20th district. As of 2017, he has been reelected 12 more times. Here he is,  a disgraced federal judge, and now a representative in Congress, barking about the unwholesome core values of the new President. This has to be a first in America, appropriate for the Guinness book of records.
             Florida's 20th district extends over portions of Hedry, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Democraphically, it is predominantly African American. The well-dressed congressman is garrulous and friendly and is said to have snake-oil charm and skill in peddling his medicine of choice. Inside the 435-member House of Representatives, he is part of the Democratic leadership, sitting as a senior member of the House Rules committee; and as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Congressional Black Caucus.
            Money seems to remain a necessary goal of Hastings, as it was when, in his black robes, he was accused of granting leniency in exchange for $150,000.
            A few years ago, he was in the forefront of congressmen demanding an increase in their annual $174,000 salary. The demand fostered an uproar and the ex-judge was castigated for his "arrogance" and "insensitivity." One man observed that with the country's shaky economy and a median American household income of $51,000 a year, the congressional cry of poverty over a $174,000 salary is grossly misplaced. The Wall Street Journal took issue with the congressman's poor mouthing, and pointed out in an article that Hastings spent $25,000 in one year--2008--to lease a luxury car.
           Hastings employs his girl friend on his staff and she has earned nearly $2.4 million since 2000. In 2012, Judicial Watch, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization, reported that Rep. Hastings was Congress' number one practitioner of Nepotism on Capitol Hill, having paid Ms. Patricia Williams $622,000 between 2007 and 2010. Hastings did not quibble about the amount of her earnings, but argued that since she was a girl friend, and not a family member, it did not equate to "nepotism." Williams had served as his counsel and companion during his trial and impeachment problems, and the generous staff salary helps with his relationship and maybe an unpaid legal fee. Williams' present annual salary is reported as $168,000.
          With all of his history as a dishonest federal district judge and his congressional maneuverings for money, Hastings remains popular with Democrats and the liberal media, and is endorsed and re-elected regularly. Still, with his history and unique "credentials," it seems like he should "zip it."  He is the last person to criticize  anyone else in government.

                                           XXX












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Red Light Cameras

  By Florida Bill 

             In this day and age of cyber electronics and wireless everything, visionaries have created the high tech red light camera, which looks down from above like an all-knowing, all-seeing deity.
             Even though electronics seem to run our lives these days,  I wonder if the life of the famed red light camera is on the verge of being consigned to the black hole of irrelevance.  
              The overhead camera does its job taking videos of the traffic around red lights, thereby accomplishing the two-fold task of bringing in revenue and nailing reckless drivers. But there is a wrench in this engine. Under the Bill of Rights, a defendant of a crime, serious or trivial, has a right to confront and question his accuser, and when his accuser is a camera--well that's a problem. 
             In recent months and years, there have been a number of legal complaints about the devices, leaving municipalities concerned about whether courts may outlaw their expensive investments.
            Right  now, the cameras are operating at intersections in  twenty-six states and in the District of Columbia in America, and in many countries throughout the world.  It is a sticky situation in the USA with some judges giving cameras the okay, while others believe that judgments based upon pictures are skipping over constitutional requirements guaranteed to motorists. To be precise, say legal experts, you cannot always trust shutter bugs checking up from a metal box in the sky. There are photos and videos--yes, but who is reviewing them for their accuracy?
             Even in trivial matters such as red light tickets, the Constitution gives motorists the right to confront their accuser. However, it's rather difficult to apply the Constitution to a dispute over the accuracy of a video produced by an unattended camera. But as far as financially strapped municipalities are concerned, "We gotcha, it's right here in black and white (or living color?), so pay up."   But there are some outraged drivers willing to take on the power behind the lens and demand their day in court.
             In Florida, a circuit judge dismissed a ticket issued to a motorist on the say-so of a camera, which had photographed his vehicle making an illegal right turn.  The ticket was contested on the grounds that the citation was being issued by a company rather than by a policeman.  The lower court dismissed the ticket, but the 3rd District Court of Appeals, in a 37-page opinion, reinstated the ticket, finding that it was the police behind the ticket.  
              Appellate courts often differ in their opinions, and the 3rd district finding was at loggerheads with Florida's 4th District Court of Appeals covering Broward County, which decided in 2014 that a red light ticket issued in Hollywood was without constitutional legs, since in that case the law was allowing the company hired to run the cameras to issue the tickets. Only police have authority to enforce traffic laws, the court ruled, and the fall-out from that opinion triggered dismissal of 24,000 tickets, leaving open questions of refunds for motorists who had paid fines based on a law subsequently declared illegal.
              A friend of mine, Mike Hanley, a resident of South Florida, got flagged by the cameras at an intersection in Miami.  With all the commotion about camera tickets, he was given a court date 10 months later in the Miami City hall and invited to contest the ticket.  He did have the option to pay $158 and the violation would be dismissed, with no untoward consequences.  Or he could request a hearing, which he did, but he risked a doubling of the fine if, after a trial, he was found guilty.  Not a bad deal for municipal coffers, if the driver accused by camera is indeed adjudged guilty by a real court, and that is generally the outcome.    
               So Hanley, a feisty retired Delta airline captain and former Naval fighter pilot during Viet Nam days, went to court prepared to go to war with the red light faerie.  
             Without fanfare, the ticket was dismissed.  Maybe it was because he had to wait 10 months for the hearing, or maybe the authorities saw the writing on the wall, and were not in the mood to cross swords with the enraged Hanley, who was in court with a copy of the constitution in his pocket.
               The long and short of red light activity is that its future is in limbo and will no doubt eventually end up in the lap of supreme courts throughout the nation. Perhaps someday, if a targeted driver is persistent enough in his or her anger, it could end up before the nation's top court.
               Red  light cameras started appearing in various states  some 30 years ago. Visionaries saw the possibilities of increasing revenue and safety in one clean  punch. Over the years these magic overhead eyes have triggered much needed dollars for struggling municipalities and states.
            The inspiration for the cameras picked up real momentum in the USA  in the 1980s following a highly publicized crash involving a red light runner who collided with a mother and her 18- month-old daughter in a stroller in New York city.  
              The accident led to research into automated law enforcement systems to identify reckless drivers who run red lights.  Scientists put their heads to work and presto--the eye in the sky.  But no one is really sure right now whether it will be forced to blink shut in the future.

                                                   XXX

Hillary---Admired by Whom?

   By Florida Bill 

                              If you wish to deal in absurdities, Gallup, the polling wizard, has just the thing.  Hillary Clinton is the "most admired" woman in the country.
                              How did it manage to make that incredible determination?  It interviewed 1,028 persons by telephone over a four day period and presto--there is no one in these 50 states that residents hold in greater awe than the former First Lady and Secretary of State.
                               Pretty amazing for the 69-year-old defeated Presidential candidate who, on the campaign trail, was labeled "Crooked Hillary," and whose sneaky mishandling of classified information in violation of federal statutes made her the subject of an FBI criminal investigation which apparently is continuing, post-election.
                               Gallup, whose name is synonymous with surveys determining what people believe and think, has been around a long time.  In this "most admired" poll,  12 per cent of the individuals surveyed made Mrs. Clinton number one.  You guessed it, Michelle Obama was the second "most admired"  woman,  garnering around 8 per cent of the first place votes   
                               In the male "most admired," category,   Barack Obama came in on top receiving 22 per cent of the first place votes cast.   I have to wonder about the accuracy of that finding also, but it probably has more authenticity than Clinton's new medal.  Second "most admired" man was the new President, Donald Trump.
                               Gallup made a lot of mistakes in the past election in which it reported repeatedly that Clinton was a cinch winner.  Its new survey only seems to enhance its reputation for misfiring.  It raises questions as to how serious anyone should be in accepting the imprimatur of dependable old Gallup.
                               These findings probably make a lot of citizens gleeful, but there are millions who perceive some sort of a "fix." Gallup purports to produce the opinions of a sample of people who are representative of the opinions of the whole group.  That's a tall order considering that the USA is a nation with some 318 million persons residing in more than 30,000 cities town and villages across 3 million square miles of of land and water.
                                  Those who read these polls are never told the questions asked or where the "random" telephone calls go.  If the calls are directed to the residents of inner cities and liberal enclaves in California, there will be ample Obama and Hillary fans which will tilt the survey in the Obama-Clinton direction. If the phones jingling with eager pollsters are located in blue collar neighborhoods where jobs have been lost, and the Obama administration is held in disrepute, then the dial on the admiration scale is likely to tilt in a much different direction.   

                                             Since Mrs. Clinton's numbers are so low and the field so wide, you wonder why Gallup would give this poll any publicity at all, or even bother to report such results. Maybe it would have been more enlightening if they reported that 88 percent of those surveyed did not admire Hillary Clinton.                                                                Polls and surveys have become an integral part of reporting the news of the day. These seers are making a lucrative career out of asking the opinions of maybe 1,000 people and then firing out the results to members of the fawning media, pundits and columnists who then disseminate the crystal ball product (accurate to plus or minus 3%) to readers and viewers.  The heartbeat of the nation delivered via a  telephone, notebook and pencil, and of course, a computer. Yeah, sure.                          

                                                XXX

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