SENTENCING JUDGE PLAYS TO THE ANTI-POLICE CROWD .

 

                                                       BY BILL JUNEAU  

                              After an unnecessarily long 66 days, during which time BLM protesters and angry progressives continued their drumbeat about white supremacy and police brutality,  Minneapolis Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Policeman Derek Chauvin, 45, to 270 months (22 and 1/2 years) in a prison for the unintentional second degree murder of George Floyd. 

                              Cahill  presided over the three-week jury trial which ended on April 20, and asserted that he would not let  emotions or public sentiment influence his penalty for the officer who had been found guilty of two counts of murder and one of manslaughter of Floyd.  The sentence. he said, will be scrupulously consistent with the law. 

                               Cahill said that while the recommended sentence for the second degree murder, the all encompassing charge, was 12 and 1/2 years behind bars, he was increasing the time in prison because of the unnecessary cruelty displayed by Officer Chauvin in making the arrest in the presence of children, and for the abuse of his authority as a policeman.  

                               Although Judge Cahill had emphasized that he was guided by law and not public sentiment and  Floyd family demands for a 40-year sentence, he came up with reasons to ignore recommended guidelines, and he tacked on another 10 years. Floyd's death was unintentional, and accidental, and the judge knew it, but Judge Cahill also knew that he needed to hammer the police officer so as to maintain his standing with the BLM and the far-left community.  

                              His sentencing drew applause from the Floyd family, though members said it was still too lenient. Democratic politicians, police haters and liberal media nincompoops said that justice was being done, but that a harsher sentence was warranted. 

                                  Prior to the sentencing, Judge Cahill heard testimony from individuals wishing to offer their thoughts in aggravation and mitigation.  Among those testifying were a George Floyd brother and a 7-year-old  daughter.  The daughter, Gianna, responded to leading questions and told of missing her dad whom she did things with. The little girl roiled up emotions inside and outside the courthouse.  One Floyd brother said that anything less that 40 years would be a "slap on the wrist."   

                                  Carolyn Pawlenty, Derek Chauvin’s mother, told the judge that "my  son's identify has been reduced to that of a racist, but he is a good man, thoughtful, quiet and honorable." 

                                 The public, she said, will never know the loving and caring man he is.  She added, "Derek, I always believed in your innocence, and I will never waver from that."                      . 

                                 Defendant Chauvin, a veteran Minneapolis officer with 18 years experience, spoke briefly and haltingly and gave "condolences to the Floyd family."  He added that he will not "be able to give a full and formal statement at this time, as there is going to be some additional information in the future which will be of interest, and I hope it will give them peace of mind." The comment was puzzling, but seemed to say that federal charges were still pending against him and that there will be an appeal, and that his words might subsequently be used against him.

                                Despite what the media is saying about how Chauvin will be in his 60s when and if he ever is paroled, the case is not over and a reversal and order for a new trial may ultimately be forthcoming. Former Harvard criminal law professor, Alan Dershowitz has said that in Minneapolis, there was no way that Chauvin could ever receive a fair trial and that the court venue, peppered with overwhelming emotion and vitriol for the policeman,  and for all policemen, would not stand the test of time.  

                              George Floyd is being hailed as a hero and a symbol of "justice."  His death followed his legal arrest and detainment for using a counterfeit $20 bill to purchase cigarettes.  It was an unforeseeable and unintended tragedy.  It triggered a disproportionate outcry against racial injustice which resulted in violence, anarchy and disrespect for policemen everywhere amid  allegations that America is controlled by white supremacists who mistreat African Americans simply because of the color of their skin. 

                              White or Black, George Floyd, 46, was a criminal and a drug addict with a long police record for various types of thievery, and for armed robbery and home invasion.  For the home invasion he was said to have been the leader of a gang which broke into a private home and tormented and robbed its residents, including a pregnant woman.  For that crime, he served  five years in a prison.  

                               In the Chauvin appeal, which eventually may reach the U.S. Supreme Court because of its many constitutional issues alleged, reviewing judges will be asked to decide if the jury pool was tainted because one of the 12, a 31-year-old high school basketball coach, had concealed facts when questioned by lawyers and the court in determining his fitness to serve.  In the voir dire examination,  Brandon Mitchell, failed to reveal that he had attended a  rally last August in D.C. at which Floyd family members spoke, and that he wore a BLM hat and a Tee shirt emblazoned with the phrase, "Get Your Knee off Our Necks."

                               Were jurors afraid to find anything but a guilty verdict on all counts, in view of the potential rioting and anarchy and danger to them if they failed to do so?  One congresswoman, Maxine Waters,  had screamed into public megaphones that the jury better find Chauvin guilty of murder or "there would be repercussions...and we won't forget."   

                                As jurors were being interviewed prior to being seated, word was dispatched publicly by Minneapolis officials that the Floyd family was being given $27 million dollars as compensation for the murder of George Floyd.  Did that influence their findings that Chauvin was without doubt---- guilty? 

                              How did jurors and potential jurors react as they walked by George Floyd Square on their way to the courthouse, which was surrounded by razor wire and barricades? Everywhere they looked they saw signs of neighborhoods damaged by riots, with even the police station burned.  Were they induced to find Chauvin guilty for fear of what might happen in the streets and possibly to them, personally, as decision makers?   

                              Defense Attorney Eric Nelson has argued that the cause of Floyd's death has never been scientifically determined.  Did he die from the knee to his neck, or did he succumb as a result of the huge amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine which he had ingested? Did his arteries, some 90 percent blocked, cause a stoppage of blood to his brain?  Did carbon monoxide play a part? As a long time user of drugs, Floyd was a very sick man. 

                              Did Chauvin receive a fair trial and a presumption of innocence as is mandated in the Constitution?  Reviewing judges must decide,  and public sentiment, vitriol for police and racial identity are not  elements to be factored in.  

                               Prior to the sentencing, Judge Cahill denied a defense motion for a new trial, and he declined to hold a hearing on the revelations involving juror Mitchell, and whether the jury had been infected.  Had lawyers known of Mitchell's sympathetic activity, he would never have been accepted as a juror.  

                             After the verdict, Chauvin was led from the courtroom in handcuffs and will be sent to a prison to begin serving his term and to await any developments arising as a result of pending federal charges against him and his appeal seeking a new trial or a reversal of the verdict.  

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G-7 AND PUTIN MEET THE CONFUSED BIDEN

  

                                    BY BILL JUNEAU

                   There is some real hustle among the liberal news media to demonstrate the resolute and able acuity of President Biden as he participated in a G-7 meeting and then had a one-on-one with  Russian strongman, Vladimir Putin, in Geneva, Switzerland, longtime site of history-making summits.

                   But though the one-sided media is trying its best to portray Biden as the world's alpha dog, there is no circumventing the reality show put on by the gaffe-ridden, slow-witted Biden, and the mean, but smart Putin whose popularity with the people of Russia is notable, although in America the former KGB agent is not exactly admired.  

                    So what are the facts?  Biden was protected from any annoying inquiries from the world press. For the record, nothing really happened to solve problems, reduce tensions or change the state of global affairs during his time overseas.  He was at the G-7 roundtable, but showed no brilliance in leadership; blew off royal protocol by arriving late to meet the queen of England and spoke to President Putin for about three hours with no headline news coming out of the talks. Putin denied any cyber security breaches and Biden warned the U.S. has hackers, too, who could be called on to get back at the Russians.  Biden came home on Air Force One and waved to the fawning media, which cheered his performance as a job well done.    

                    The first globe-trotting visit  for America's 46th President commenced on Friday, June 13th,  with participation in the G-7 meeting of officials from seven economically strong nations, along with guest officials from various countries, in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. Biden was true to form, and lived up to his title as the Lamborghini of Gaffes. But mostly his confusion was harmless, and even helped lighten the atmosphere, although his bumbling likely did little to bolster his reputation among fellow leaders.

                     The G-7 got going as the hosting Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, introduced participants at the roundtable, and that included the formal introduction of a guest, Cyril Ramaphosa, of South Africa.  And as the group began delving into global concerns, Biden "ahemed," and  interrupted the conversation noting that President Ramaphosa needed to be introduced, indicating that Boris Johnson had blown it by overlooking him.  "And the president of South Africa is President Ramaphosa," said Biden. 

                            Prime Minister Johnson, somewhat irked, quickly interjected:  "As I said earlier, this is President Ramaphosa."  

                            "Oh, you did?" said Biden.  "Yes, I did.....I certainly did," said Johnson.  Participants had a good laugh at Biden's memory gaffe, and the befuddled Biden himself then demonstrated his good nature and joined in for a spot of laughter. 

                              G-7 officials represented seven of the largest and wealthiest countries with the most advanced economies in the world.  Summits of G-7 groups, and sometimes eight, have been held annually since early 1970s to focus upon global concerns and solutions. 

                            The 2021 G-7 two day meeting concluded on the following Sunday.  A joint communique was issued which summed up accomplishments, stressing the need for drastic action to end the pandemic and to counter China. 

                              In a Biden press conference after G-7 talks, Biden hastened to tell newsmen and women of discussions pertaining to potential mutual help by America and Russia for Libya.   President Biden told of the possibility of working with Russia to provide "vital assistance to Libya, a population that's really in trouble."

                            On at least  three occasions he spoke of the plight of Libya.    But there were puzzled looks from reporters and staffers, and President Biden was reminded that he was mistaking Lybia for Syria, which was the target of potential assistance.  Reportedly, he received a good deal of needling on twitter for his faux pas, but in the end it all got straightened out.  It was a Biden gaffe, which is not unusual when Joe Biden is at the mike.   

                            Following  G-7, the President headed for tea and a tete a tete with Queen Elizabeth at the 1,000- year- old Windsor castle. 

                              Attired in a bright pink floral outfit, the monarch warmly greeted the smiling Biden who was wearing his aviator sunglasses and was a bit late to the scheduled meeting.   Unfortunately, the American President overlooked the protocol required when in the presence of English royalty.  Wearing sunglasses is not proper when meeting the queen, and the gaffe drew criticism.  But then, the President with his shades and the 95-year-old Queen of England had a pleasant and private talk over tea, away from irritating newsmen whose presence might put a damper on an open conversation. 

                                 Arriving at the Heathrow airport, Biden told newsmen in his stumbling, horse whispering  style, of his visit with the Queen.  "We had a great talk. She wanted to know what the two leaders that I -- the one I'm about to meet with, Mr. Putin, and she wanted to know about Xi Jinping from China, and we had a long talk," Biden explained. 

                                         "I don't think she'll be insulted, but she reminded me of my mother," he added.  (Hey Joe, conversations with British royalty are traditionally not for public consumption, and violations are considered a breach of trust.)                                                          From the United Kingdom, he headed to Geneva and a meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia, for which, according to his wife, Jill, he had spent many hours in study and preparation. He is completely on his A-game, she advised reporters, and ready to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Putin. 

                                     Presidents Biden and Putin  met for several hours of discussions and afterwards, contrary to past summits, held separate news conferences. One can only imagine the befuddled Biden on stage next to Putin and being asked questions by newsmen without any desire to protect the American President from being showcased as incompetent--and adrift. 

                                     Biden  advised newsmen that he had told Putin that Russia was to refrain from cyber attacks on 16 entities. He gave a list of "off limit" targets to President Putin, he said.  He offered to give the list to reporters at the press conference, but he dug into his pockets and said he could not find it at that time.  But he emphasized that Russian  cyber attacks on the sixteen were an absolute no no.

                                      Learning of the 16 spots which are "off limit" to Russian cyber attack has prompted various TV reporters to wonder if attacks on entities not on the list are permissible. Perhaps one day these media mouths might actually put Biden on the spot by asking him that.

                                    At his news conference, one reporter asked him if he was, looking back on their discussions,  confident that Putin has now  changed his attitude for the better.  The innocuous question seemed to  annoy the President, and he scolded the CNN reporter for asking negative questions based on inaccurate facts.    Biden told the newswoman to get it straight: he "hoped" that Putin would hear him and change his attitude for the better, but that he was not "confident" that he would change.  

                                      The two world leaders remained miles apart on the subject of cyber attacks and ransomware, with Putin adamantly insisting Russia was not responsible for cyber attacks on America and did not interfere in the 2016 or 2020 elections. American intelligence agencies have said that Russia is not telling the truth. 

                                     According to reports from the Associated Press, Biden and Putin have agreed to return their nation's ambassadors to their posts in Washington and in Moscow.  

                                The leaders apparently did not discuss, and if they did, did not agree to the release of Paul Whelan who has been imprisoned in Russia for espionage and is serving a 16-year sentence.  Arrested in 2018, Whelan, a former Marine, insists that he is innocent of any wrongdoing, and that he was in Russia to attend a friend's wedding--and was set up.  

                                However the meeting must have accomplished something, because Biden has apparently changed his opinion of Putin from being a "killer," to being  a "worthy adversary," and he reportedly nodded in the affirmative to a reporter's question, "did he trust Putin."  Biden's staffers have said that the press has misinterpreted the President's nod, as it was a response to another question.                                   

                                  Putin said that he and President Biden have agreed to begin negotiating on nuclear talks.  He said that he considered the summit  "efficient and substantive."  Biden has said that he thinks "the last thing that he (Putin) wants is a Cold War." 

                                  Americans saw their confused President in action as he violated protocols, made numerous gaffes, told of his trust for Putin and failed to obtain any commitment that would ease tensions between the nations. 

                                 Seeing his performance at the summits, a  former White House physician to Presidents Obama and Trump has sent Biden a letter demanding that he take a cognitive test as Americans need to know if their President is competent.  All in all, it's pretty clear that with his diminished acuity and lack of finesse, he is certainly no star on the world stage. 

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IT'S ONLY WORSE WITH KAMALA AROUND

 

                                      BY BILL JUNEAU 

                                       It seems clear that Kamala Harris is in a job which is  way, way over her head, and she is a far cry from being a  positive force for progress in  America and in the world. Asked recently about the border crisis, which is her "baby" to resolve, she often giggles and gives responses that are inane, always talking about prioritizing the "'root causes," for the crisis --which  continues, unabated.  

                           Does she have the wits to process what is going on in America?  We do know that she wants no prisons and no bail, and the legalizing of pot, but can she pick up on the horrid mess at America's southern border? 

                           Her first big job given to her by President Biden, whose own mental grasp of America's troubles are, at best, questionable, is to assess the immigration problem on the southern border where men, women and children from Mexico and much of Central America are pouring into the United States, disregarding all efforts at legal entry. 

                           Vice President Harris will be looking it over, said  Biden, and she will resolve the commotion and find a fair and reasonable solution for everyone involved.  Biden actually seems pleased to have washed his own hands of the border's rampaging lawlessness. 

                           Biden, himself, hasn't commented about the 180,000 illegals who just last month forded the Rio Grande or slipped through the border's dusty openings to make their illegal entry onto American soil. Some women were pregnant and their babies will soon be citizens in need of American largess. Fentanyl and other drugs are rolling into the USA unchecked. Untold numbers of illegals, including small children, and the very old, are sneaked into the country by coyotes, then bussed to unknown destinations. Others are being housed and cared for in hotels and  army barracks, all complements of Slow Joe  Biden and Uncle Sam.  

                            It is VP Harris' job to find a solution, but so far, after 80 unproductive days on the job,  she has yet to visit the border and observe the chaos, or to even give a plausible  explanation as to what precisely she is going to do to resolve the crisis. She made a trip to Guatemala and told reporters that it was a first step in determining "root causes" of why folks are exiting Guatemala and Central America. She repeats that she is "digging in," and will be visiting the southern border personally-- some time in the future. 

                            With her election last November, Kamala has become a very prominent figure, one who will live in history books.  She is not only the nation's first female vice president, but she is a woman of Asian and Black  (Jamaican) heritage-- a heartbeat away from being President.  To airheads in the media, her face is a probable fit as a new addition to Mount Rushmore. 

                            Sad to say, but she is in line to become President and Commander-in-Chief if President Biden fails for any reason to complete his four year term in office. While her adulation from most liberals is unending, one Chicago Tribune columnist sees it differently. To him, she is a disaster.  

                            In a recent column, John Kass called for "prayers" from Americans for the survival of Biden through his entire four year term. May God help us all if Biden leaves the office, for whatever reason, and the incompetent and surly Harris becomes America's 47th President, Kass wrote. 

                            Early last year, then Sen. Harris declared herself a candidate for president. On the debate stage she lashed out at candidate Biden as a racist who, as a Delaware senator,  opposed the desegregation of schools and was a close friend of southern senators who had only contempt for Blacks. But her criticism went away as Biden declared himself a true friend to blacks noting at one point that if you do not vote for Biden, well man, "you ain't black."  And then he chose Harris as his running mate. 

                            Harris never found many supporters in her candidacy for President, and was herself torpedoed by Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii,  for having been a two-faced California Attorney General  who facilitated the imprisonment of persons for smoking pot.  Later, when asked if she ever smoked pot, she giggled and said , 'Yes... and I inhaled," adding that she supports the national legalization of pot smoking.

                             Prior to the election, there was some muffled talk that Kamala Harris was ineligible to serve as a U.S. President or Vice president  because of certain requirements set forth in the Constitution.  Democrats managed to squelch such noise,  and the laughing Kamala managed to skate free of such a controversy.  Nevertheless, some very capable lawyers hold that opinion, although they are in the minority.  The majority of lawyers reportedly believe that she was born in the United States, and though her mother was a citizen of India, and her father was a Jamaican  she became a citizen in accord with the birthright citizenship provision contained in the 14th amendment-- which gives her the right to seek high offices.  

                               Dr. John  Eastman, a scholarly lawyer and former dean of the Chapman University Fowler school of law in southern California, wrote an article which was published in Newsweek magazine in August of last year that Kamala Harris could have a problem if her eligibility was challenged--but it never was, though maybe it should have been.

                                In the article, Eastman, who acknowledges that his opinion is challenged,  raised a point which he believes disqualifies her from service in the second highest office in the country. Birthright citizenship is in accord with the 14th amendment, he wrote, but it may conflict with the mandate in Article II  which sets forth that only a "natural born citizen" subject to America's jurisdiction can serve as President or Vice President.  Was Harris "a natural born citizen"? 

                              Neither of her parents were, nor was either  a permanent resident of the country, subject to its jurisdiction. Their presence at the University of California at Berkeley,  where they were graduate students, Eastman believes, was pursuant to mere student visas and they apparently lacked more meaningful credentials, such as green cards.  

                               As such their allegiances belonged to India and to Jamaica, and they were not in America "subject to its jurisdiction," as mandated in the constitution, Eastman has said.  

                                  Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a native of India, and her father, Donald J. Harris, a Jamaican, were students.  They played house together and then were wed and Kamala was born in October of 1964. They divorced and Kamala was raised by her single mother in Canada, attending high school there.  Her father, with whom she reportedly has no relationship, was a Stanford university Professor of Economics for many years, and is now retired.  The vice president's mother died in 2009. 

                                   The subject of her ability to serve in the high office was largely ignored by the Democratic controlled media since it had the ring of being a racial smear with similarity to the "birther" controversy which  haunted Barack Obama for many years.  Obama's problems were finally put to rest during his second term as President after he produced his certificate of birth from a hospital in Hawaii.    

                                Kamala's eligibility to be vice president has never been publicly debated.  Eastman has said that constitutional law is not yet settled on the question of whether being born in the United States automatically makes one a citizen. Many other scholars disagree and have established that as the standard.  

                               Eastman concluded  the  authors of the constitution had two requirements:  One, that the person must be born on American soil and two, that the person be subject exclusively to U.S. law.  Harris falls short on the second, he pointed out in his Newsweek article.   

                               But for better or worse, Harris is the Vice President to President Biden, and as columnist John Kass has said, let's hope that Biden makes it though his four years. 

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