Thursday, November 30, 2017

Sexual Misbehavior..




for fb.jpg     By Florida Bill                                

                                                                  These days, we are learning a good deal about the loose-zipper conduct of some prominent politicians, entertainers, and newsmen. It isn't that this is a new phenomenon in the relationship between the sexes, but it is drawing lots of headlines these days as female targets become more vocal about unwanted sexual aggressiveness.                                            
                                             Recently, the flood gates have opened and complaints of outlandish behavior of some "icons" and prominent men have been pouring out.  Even 88-year-old John Conyers, with 52 years as a U.S. representative from Michigan, has been accused  by staffers in his office for hitting on them sexually.   One woman complained so vociferously of his harassment that he reached into his office budget and gave her $27,000.  The House Ethics committee says it will investigate. 
                                               Funny man Al Franken, the Minnesota senator who used to be a regular on Saturday Night Live, is under the gun for delivering an unwanted kiss with his tongue out to a radio news anchor several years ago.  Also, he cupped his hands over each of her breasts as she was taking a nap and had a picture of himself made, smiling at the camera so as to memorialize the fun. More women are apparently coming forward.
                                          "I'll be happy to cooperate fully in an investigation by the Ethics Committee " said Franken apologizing and professing embarrassment as a result of his behavior.  No real worry there as the complaint is in friendly hands.  Discipline is rare and the ethics committee hasn't expelled anyone since 1862.                                                         Former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme court, Roy Moore,  is running for U.S. Senator in Alabama in a special election on Dec. 12.  A number of women are claiming that he pawed them sexually some four decades ago when they were in their teens, and he was an assistant district attorney in his early 30s.  One woman says she was 14 at the time and another puts her age at 16.  Whereas much of the current bad behavior is sparking heartfelt apologies and embarrassment, Moore, a Christian Conservative,  has been adamant that the charges against him are "garbage,"  and "fake news" promoted by the Washington Post newspaper and Democrats. Currently, Judge Moore is leading in the polls against his Democratic opponent.
                                              Pundits and some politicians are talking of possible expulsion from office for moral unfitness.  If that was a possibility, a whole lot of wrongdoers got off easy in the past.  Sen. Ted Kennedy, youngest brother of a popular President, was a member of the U.S. Senate for 47 years.  In 1969, a presumed assignation of his with a young campaign worker resulted in her drowning in the waters off Chappaquiddick island during an auto accident from which he escaped.  Kennedy plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was given probation by a Massachusetts judge after which he was welcomed back into the Senate.  For the incident, and despite his apparent felonious conduct, he became known as the "Hero of Chappaquiddick," and the "Lion" of the Senate.  The Ethics committee never got involved.
                                                 Barney Frank who was a U.S. representative from Massachusetts for 32 years, retired in 2013. In the mid 1980s, Frank answered an ad for a "gay" partner in a newspaper and subsequently hired a young male prostitute  named Steve Gobie as his assistant.  Gobie lived with Frank, received a salary, and used Frank's auto--and  operated a gay brothel from the Frank residence.  Eventually the ethics committee got wind of the activity and made an investigation. 
                                                Frank was "reprimanded" by the committee for "fixing" 33 parking tickets which his roommate had received, but it determined that Frank had no knowledge of the brothel, although Gobie disputed that.   The following year, Frank was reelected by a large margin to his seat in the Congress.                                                              Newsmen and members of the media are being identified as harassers of women.  Recently Charlie Rose, 75, a long time CBS talk show host and journalist, has been fired for sexual mistreatment of women working for him. In some cases, Rose was said to parade about in the raw as female staffers looked on.  
                                                Popular "Today" Co-host Matt Lauer who had been around NBC for some 20 years has been terminated for "inappropriate sexual behavior" with multiple women at the station.  His office was super private, sealed with a switch under his desk, and he often brought in comely young NBC staffers whom he propositioned, and sometimes showed them a sex toy, and then dropped his pants to display his package.  He has apologized for his conduct, and said that "repairing the damage is now his full time job." 
                                                  Fox News has been the target of numerous complaints from female employees contending that certain bosses wanted sex in return for on-air assignments. The station President, the late Roger Ailes, resigned and the popular news man and commentator Bill O'Reilly was fired after reports surfaced that he and the station had spent some $13 million settling harassment complaints against him over the last 15 years. Eric Bolling, who hosted an afternoon talk show, was fired on complaints that he had photographed his manhood on his phone and sent it to women working at the station.                                                                                        There are many new reports of uninvited sexual conduct by members of the Hollywood crowd. Among them are tough guy Stephen Segal, and Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and Kevin Spacey.  Spacey, who has also been receiving awards for his TV show, "House of Cards," has been accused of molesting actor Anthony Rapp when Rapp was 14 years old, some 30 years ago. Spacey, who is gay, said that he does not really remember the incident, but if his conduct was out of line sexually, he apologizes. He has also been accused of harassing cast and staff of the popular Netflix series.   
                                                   And then there is Director Harvey Weinstein (and his brother), who have been accused of sexual misconduct, assault and harassment by scores of women.  
                                                    President Trump has not gone  unscathed, although he denies all accusations, labeling them false and "fake news."  Bill Clinton is famous for his lusting activities in the Oval office, and even the elder Bush has been sucked into the dialogue for patting some rear ends from his wheel chair.                                                                     The tarred paint brush has smeared many other big names in the past, but without the boomerang effect we are seeing today, ranging from John F. Kennedy to perhaps the most shocking of them all, everybody's TV father figure, Bill Cosby. 
                                                   A good question: "Who's next?" Probably, some nervous fellows out there. 
                                                                   
                                                     xxx                    






                                                   


                                             

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Ex CIA Chief Brennan--whose side is he on?

for fb.jpg  By Florida Bill                       
                                           
                                      Former CIA Director John Brennan is an old Obama favorite who shows up periodically on various forums attacking President Trump for alleged inefficiency and for having held hands with the Communist Russians who helped him become the nation's 45th president.  
                                     In one recent TV interview,  Brennan blistered Trump for having said he was honored to have met Russian President Putin--to Brennan that was a "dishonorable thing to say."  He indicated contempt for Putin and the Communist way of life, but his contentions might belie real feelings. 
                                    The 62-year-old Brennan is a controversial figure whose past appealed to President Obama, but to others he is seen as questionable in his fealty to Uncle Sam.
                                     In 1976, Brennan, fresh out of college, endorsed and voted for Gus Hall, Communist candidate for President, over Democrat Jimmy Carter, and the incumbent Republican Gerald Ford.  Four years later, in 1980,  and despite his pumping for Hall and a radical new government for America, he applied for and was accepted for a position in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 
                                      He was a member of the spy circle in the CIA for 25-plus years.  He worked in the Middle East, near  east and in south Asia, and as an analyst and a station chief in Saudi Arabia.  Also he served as director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center. He was an assistant to President Obama for Homeland Security from 2009 to January, 2013, when Obama selected him to be CIA chief. 
                                      In March of 2013, the Senate approved Brennan's appointment as CIA director, but his 1976 push for Communist Gus Hall was not known to senators or considered in weighing his credentials.  There were other reasons for tough opposition to his appointment to the country's highest and most sensitive intelligence post. One called into question his position on the country's use of drones against terrorists abroad and inside the USA, and another involved criticism from a former FBI agent that he leaned too strongly in favor of the Muslim world  and could not be trusted. 
                                      It was not until 2016 that Brennan's support in 1976 for a radical communist became widely known. Brennan himself made the unabashed revelation when he was speaking during a conference of the annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. He told of his political activism after college and his dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in America at that time, but that he was not a registered member of the communist party.  Political activism, he pointed out proudly, should never disqualify a person from serving in the intelligence division of government, and he noted that he was living proof of that.
                                      James Guandolo who was an FBI agent in the Middle East from 1996 to 2008 lobbied against Brennan's appointment as head of the CIA since he said he cannot be trusted.  He said that Brennan who was fluent in the Arabic language, was a "closet" Muslim who had converted to Islam in 2008 and was continually lobbying President Obama to employ more Muslims in high government jobs. 
                                       Guandolo claimed that Brennan had been persuaded by the Saudi King to convert and he did, and he subsequently fulfilled his Islamic duty by making the pilgrimage to Mecca which is a requirement and a privilege to be exercised only by pious Muslims.  Despite criticism of his appointment  and  challenge to his loyalty, and a filibuster, Brennan was approved by the Senate by a vote of 63-34. 
                                      Guandolo's assessment of Brennan lacked some strength since he had resigned from the FBI in 2008 under a cloud in the midst of charges that he had engaged in a sexual affair with a woman in the agency. After leaving, he formed a successful company designed to provide training for police and security officers in assisting them in recognizing and identifying terrorists. He has remained steadfast in his opposition and criticism of Brennan's trust worthiness. 
                                       Skepticism over the character and loyalty of Brennan inside the intelligence agency did not end with confirmation by the Senate.  In fact, it intensified when he declined to be sworn into office by placing his hand on the Bible.  Instead, Brennan insisted on using an 1787 version of the Constitution which did not contain the entire Bill of Rights on which to pledge his loyalty. The complete  Constitution, used today, was approved in 1791, and replaced the 1787 draft.
                                       The abbreviated version selected by Brennan did not contain Amendments 1,4,5 and 6 and in effect technically invalidated his obligation to "protect and defend" those civil rights guaranteed in the constitution. Those amendments guarantee to citizens rights of free speech, religion and press; and provide protections against government arrest and prosecution.                                               Through the years there have been a small number of United States officials who have declined to be sworn into a high office with the Christian Bible.  Included in those rare occasions were Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, and Judge Carolyn Walker Diallo of Brooklyn.  In 2006 Ellison, and in 2015, Walker-Diallo pledged their loyalties to the United States with their palms on the Koran, the Islamic bible. 
                                       When CNN and NBC and CBS call, Brennan reports and feathers the media agenda to oppose and impeach President Trump.  In the NFL controversy,  Brennan praised the players who drop to one knee while the National Anthem is playing.  He asserts that the athletes are actually respecting the flag, as they call attention to the mistreatment of their Black brothers. The President's travel bans are too "simplistic," he says, and are heavy against Islam and do nothing to protect the country against visiting terrorists.  When the President  praised fallen CIA officers, Brennan described his words as a "despicable display of self-aggrandizement." 
                                         No one knows the core values of Brennan, but they are suspect. An FBI agent and former Marine officer who worked closely with him in Saudi and in other parts of the Middle East says that he cannot be trusted. As Brennan continues his attack on the "America First" President, be aware of his buried past as he digs in.   

                                               XXX


                                                                                                 
                                                
                                                 














































                                   
                                   
                                    




                                   








   

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Foreign Aid--something for everyone



for fb.jpg By Florida Bill 

                                        It is an understatement to say that the United States is the most magnanimous nation on planet earth. Its great arms and largess extend to 142 countries, touching 76 per cent of the globe.
                                        Annually, it writes checks totaling $35 billion in foreign aid and it does all this despite being saddled with a national debt of $20 trillion dollars.  That generosity goes out, compliments of America's taxpayers.  Eighty six per cent of the money goes to nations in the Middle East and Africa.  
                                         It is difficult to get your mind around the enormity of the $35 billion being doled out by the United States.  In raw numbers, a billion dollars is 1,000 millions.  So the aid which is distributed to other nations, big and small, amounts to thirty-five thousand million dollars each year.  
                                         If you consider that there are 306 million Americans living in some 30,000 cities, towns and villages inside 50 states, you might wonder how come some of those billions are not used to improve homegrown infrastructure; to pave roads and to repair tottering bridges as federal projects. Use a few billions to make life a little easier for the poverty-stricken--imagine the jobs that could be created. 
                                        With Donald Trump as the President, he should be able to find a measly $15 billion for the wall he talks about, assuming, of course, that the tab for the wall is not picked up by the Mexican government. Any spill over can be applied to the debt. 
                                          Lots of Americans are meat and potatoes people who are careful not to let their personal spending go haywire, driving them into a black hole of debt.  In view of the country's huge debt, its largess is remarkable--kind of crazy you could say. Yes, let's help those who need it, but does it make sense to allow our own house to get in disarray while printing and handing out money.  America's debt increases by $32,000 each second and by two billion dollars each day.  Some financial experts tell us that the USA, with its wild spending, is headed for bankruptcy. 
                                          Nineteen trillion dollars, the national red paper,  makes the $35 billion in foreign aid look like peanuts. A trillion equates to one thousand (1,000) billions; so 19 trillion equates to nineteen thousand (19,000) billions.  The amount is staggering, incomprehensible.   One fascinating descriptive analogy of the national debt is that if you live to be 80 years old, your heart will beat about 3 billion times;  And it would take 602,000 years for 19 trillion heartbeats to tick away. 
                                         The debt is what it is. But then, what is foreign aid all about, and where and to whom does the money go?  It helps out a lot of needy countries and people and maybe the countries will like us in return.  Kind of a quid-quo pro, you might say.  The United States has an annual budget of about $4 trillion dollars.  Relative to this bottom line, foreign aid constitutes less than one per cent of annual spending-- not enough to make any real difference.
                                          The top recipients of aid were five nations in the Middle East.  In one representative year,  Israel, received $3.5 billion. Others were, Egypt, $1.5 billion; Iraq, $300 million; Jordan, $300 million; and Pakistan, $280 million.  Israel is a cherished friend and America's only genuine ally in the Middle East. Over the years, Israel has received well over $100 billion dollars in aid from America and has developed the military strength to counter any attack.    Egypt which has been in and out of favor,  has received more than $70 billion dollars between 1948 and the present. 
                                           American foreign aid is designed to assist individual countries in two general areas: economic assistance and military assistance.  The billions for Israel currently and in the past have been used primarily for military build up and protection against nations like Iran and the Palestinians who refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist and are dedicated to its destruction. For sure, America has its back. 
                                          Conservative members of Congress and Libertarians question the extent of America's foreign aid.  Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has said that "in our hours of need, why send billions of tax dollars to countries which hate us.  I support aid to allies when it promotes American interests, like  Israel; but I oppose foreign aid for countries that hate us and burn our flag.  It is the wrong thing to do." 
                                         A professor at Duke University has observed that America is generous and there are nations with poor people that need help. Alongside other nations which give aid to other countries, she points out, the United States "has one of the lowest percentages of gross national income donated to foreign aid," indicating that the USA is in a position to do more to help  those that need assistance.  
                                          Yes, America is--and should be-- generous, no question about that.  Yet Sen. Paul has an excellent point--no aid for countries that hate us.  Remember the films of jubilation in Pakistan with men, women and children dancing in the streets, after hearing news of he 9-11 attack in New York where  2,500 Americans were killed.  
                                        But something needs to be done about the national debt which soared by $10 trillion under President Obama. 
                                   America needs to put its own house in order and be sensible in its foreign aid programs, and it should quit doling out money it doesn't have to countries which stomp Old Glory and hate us. 


                                                      XXX

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

It's Uphill for Roy Moore



for fb.jpg  By Florida Bill 

                                                                           These are rocky times for Judge Roy Moore.  But Alabama voters who have in the past stood proudly alongside him in the face of liberal caterwauling and mudslinging, may not be any more inclined to forget him now.  
                                                   Five women have accused him of pursuing them sexually when they were teenagers some four decades ago.  Moore calls the accusations "garbage" and more "fake news," engineered by Democrats and the biased Washington 
Post newspaper.   
                                                   Prominent establishment Republicans, as well as Democrats who have always demonized  Moore's Christian and conservative voice, are calling for the Republican former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice  to withdraw as a candidate for U.S. Senator in the scheduled special election Dec.12. Nevertheless, polls continue to favor him over his Democratic opponent.
                                                  Some antagonists have even predicted that if Judge Moore runs and is elected, the Senate will decline to seat him and will expel him as unfit to serve in that august body.  That however is far fetched since the allegations of misbehavior are denied by Moore, and there is no judge or jury to adjudicate them. The drumbeat from liberal anti Christians should disappear with Moore's election.       
                                                 The unproven allegations directed at Moore's morality actually pale alongside the conduct of Sen. Ted Kennedy who was welcomed in the Senate as its "lion" despite his culpability and undisputed felonious conduct in the death of a young woman in Chappaquiddick in 1969. 
                                                 Also, the late West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd came to the Congress in the 1950s after active years with the KKK, in which he was a top recruiter and had a title of the "Exalted Cyclops" of his local chapter. His writings were viciously anti Black.  Nevertheless, the racist Democrat was welcomed by senators with no talk of expulsion. 
                                                  Principal accusations against Judge Moore have been made by Leigh Corfman, 53, and Beverly Young Nelson, 55, who have contended that Moore, in his early 30s and then an assistant district attorney in Etowah county, pawed them aggressively in an effort to  obtain sexual relationships.  Corfman says she was 14 at the time and Nelson says she was about 17. 
                                                   There is no judge or jury to adjudicate these charges.  That would have been the case had the women acted within a statute of limitations, but now, with passage of nearly a half century,  it is simply the word of the women against a highly respected Christian  conservative public figure from the strong Republican state of Alabama.
                                                     Ms. Corfman's credibility is at issue since it has been reported that she has in the past brought claims against three church pastors for unwelcome sexual advances and has admitted to drug use, sex parties, attempted suicide and a life marked by bad decisions.  Also, she has been married and divorced three times with numerous court appearances dealing with custody, property and alimony. Corfman said that she declined to make these matters public in the past because of the embarrassment and pain it would cause her two children.
                                                      Nelson has said that Moore knew her in 1977 as a waitress, admired her for her good looks and then signed her high school yearbook. That story also is suspect.  She has said that Moore offered her a ride home from the restaurant and then in the auto pursued her sexually and when she resisted, he  pushed her from the car onto the pavement and drove off.  Moore says the story is fiction.  He says that he never knew Ms. Nelson and never signed her yearbook and that the signature is a forgery.  Nelson's attorney has declined to produce the yearbook with the original signature for examination by an expert.  While appearing on CNN, Nelson's lawyer, Gloria Allred, declined to say that she would permit her client to take a polygraph test.   
                                                      How is it, asks one popular radio personality, that Moore's so-called pedophilic behavior has been bottled up for four decades? Just how was that achieved? It does not make sense.  Moore has been a candidate in several highly publicized elections for District Attorney, Circuit Judge and Supreme Court Chief Justice, and no opponent of Moore's ever mentioned it, nor did the offended women ever come forward. Why now?   It emerges to the applause of the liberal media and bitter Democrats in the short weeks prior to the special election for U.S. Senator to fill the seat left vacant by Jeff Sessions,who resigned to become Attorney General. Alabama may well be the strongest Republican state in the USA.  In past years, Democrats opted not to even offer a candidate for some important offices, including U.S. senator.  
                                                        Judge Moore, a graduate of the U.S. military academy at West Point who served as a captain for five years in the army, is a fierce Christian conservative who has always had the respect of citizens of Alabama.  On two occasions, he was elected chief justice of the Alabama State Supreme Court.  He was removed as the chief judge by higher authorities when he refused to rid the courthouse of a monument containing the Ten Commandments in response to a lawsuit promoted by atheists.  He was later reelected to that office but removed a second time when he refused to recognize same sex marriages.  
                                                          Judge Moore has said that he will not drop out of the race and provide credence to the bogus  charges against him.   It is an uphill fight for him, but the Alabama voters, not the media, will have the last word, and will make the decision as to who will represent them in the U.S. Senate.                            
                                                                                           
                                                   xxx






                                        

Friday, November 10, 2017

Great Nose of a Cairn


for fb.jpg  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 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 was 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
                                             



  

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

The Cairn Message: We'll Meet Again!



for fb.jpg  By Florida Bill 

                           "To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious
                                         afternoon is to be back in Eden where doing
                                         nothing was not boring --it was peace."

                                     Recently I saw a sad piece about a 15-year-old special little Cairn terrier who would be leaving his home soon for places unknown and beyond.  Left behind with indescribable sadness and grief will be the human family who raised and loved him.  But is it over for certain?  Is there a chance that somehow, somewhere, there could be a reunion? Is the thought too far-fetched?
                                     There is some very good authority telling us that there will be a happy reunion with that faithful little dog at that glorious meeting ground known as the Rainbow Bridge, gateway to Heaven.  The authority has come our way from Pope Francis who made a visit to the United States in 2015.  We heard his voice  calling for peace in the world and for love and respect for all men.  But in another  message, the Pontiff observed that our four-footed friends are not lost forever and that "Paradise is open to all of God's creatures."   Really good news for us dog people.
                                    Actually,  Francis is not the only Pope who has said that beloved pets do not make a permanent departure.   Some years ago, Pope Paul VI, while consoling a broken-hearted little boy whose pet had died, told the youngster that he would again see his dog in the "eternity of Christ."  His words were very comforting to the boy;  and yes, those words resonate in the same way with us old timers whose time on this earth is coming to an end. We are like our dogs, "short timers."  And it is good to know that religious experts confirm our long-held belief that we will be reunited with every dog we've ever had when that time comes. 
                                  The great American icon and humorist Will Rogers was a man who had a special affinity for four-footed family members.   And who knows, Will may this day be tossing the ball to his canine friend up there beyond the clouds. Before he left, he was quoted as saying that "if there are no dogs in heaven, then, when I die,  I want to go where they went."    And of course, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of "The Secret Life of Dogs," was asked in an interview if she believed that all dogs go to heaven. Her answer was logic at its best: "If there are no dogs there, it is not heaven."
                                   Just what is this story and legend of the Rainbow Bridge?  Neither Pope Francis or Pope Paul mentioned the legend of the bridge, but I am betting that they are subscribers to it. 
                                   Accordingly, when a pet dies, he (or she)  goes to a meadow and is restored to perfect health, and spends their days running and playing with other dogs, with plenty of fresh food and water. The only thing that is not perfect is that he misses his owner left behind on earth.  When the owner dies, he approaches the meadow and it is at that moment that his pet sees him and their eyes meet.  Excited, the pet, with his little legs churning at top speed,  runs to the owner's outstretched arms  licking his face in joy, and side by side they cross the Rainbow Bridge together into heaven, never again to be separated.  I love that  story;  just picture the moment. 
                                   My wife and I have two Cairns, Sammi Smith, 8, and Wendy 6.  We don't travel too much because we are a bit resistant to leaving "the kids" behind at a kennel.  Suffice it to say, they occupy an important spot in our household. Often I will look into those faces and wonder who is running things; we or them; and then I realize, it is "them."
                                    Years ago I was a soldier in Korea for 16 months. Soldiers on our base were permitted to have a dog, and I had a small four-footed pal  I named 'Maggie."  She ate the leftovers from meals and hung out in my barracks, finding security in the sleeping bag on my bed.  When I walked guard duty, she was there helping to keep watch during the black of night. When my tour in Far East Asia came to a close, I left in the back of an Army truck and my final vision of the post was "Maggie" sitting by the side of the road.  Unable to take Maggie with me, I often wonder about her final days, and, as a believer in the hereafter and the legend of the bridge, am confident that I will  see that little lady again.
                                     As to that little guy who provided 15 years of unconditional affection and good times for his family, he may not be checking out permanently.  Till then, my friend.   
                                   
                                          XXX
                                     


.  

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

For Bergdahl, It's Over


for fb.jpg  By Florida Bill  

                                   Bowe Bergdahl will be returning to his home town in Hailey, Idaho, a disgraced ex-soldier, dishonorably discharged. 
                                   Along with an indelible stigma as a deserter of his regiment in war-torn Afghanistan, he has been singled out and branded as a "traitor" by the President  of the United States.
                                   The name, Bergdahl, is known to millions of Americans who followed the story of his desertion from his post, to his capture by the Taliban terrorists, and to his return home in an exchange deal in which America released five high level terrorists who were being held in Guantanamo prison in Cuba.
                                    Five years after he walked away from his fellow soldiers, and was captured by the enemy,  there were questionable negotiations with terrorists by Obama administration officials which led to his release. President Obama, despite his having been briefed on Bergdahl's apparent desertion, held a ceremony attended by the sergeant's parents in the Rose Garden of the White House to welcome and salute repatriation of the soldier.   National Security Adviser Susan Rice added to the Obama "spin" by saying in television interviews that Sgt. Bergdahl had served his country with "honor and distinction."  
                               The city fathers in the community of Hailey where Bergdahl had grown up and was home schooled by his mother, Jani, began gearing up to welcome the sergeant home with fanfare and  jubilation.  But the enormity of the Obama administration misrepresentation and Rice's bold lie, soon became known and officials in the city with 7,960 residents abandoned its plans, and yellow ribbons were removed from trees and city property. 
                                         Formal charges of desertion and of misbehavior before the enemy were placed against Bergdahl, and last month, after three years in which he drew his salary and performed clerical work at an army base, he pled guilty to all charges.  Prosecutors recommended imprisonment for 14 years together with a dishonorable discharge. He faced a maximum sentence of life in a military prison. 
                                         The conclusion of the sad Bowe Bergdahl matter came on November 3 as the military judge, Col. Jeffrey Nance, imposed the sentence of dishonorable discharge, a fine of $10,000 and a stripping from him of any and all benefits for having served in the army.  
                                          Before revealing the sentence, Bergdahl took the stand and with emotion recounted that he deeply regretted what he had done and the sadness and hurt he had brought to the family of a soldier who had been shot in the head while searching for him. He made mistakes and wrong decisions which he must now live forever with, he said. 
                                          Bergdahl was 23 when he walked off his post in June, 2009, in the faraway mountains of the Middle East. Military desertion is not a misdeed easily overlooked, and critics believe that the young soldier should have been sent to prison for many years, maybe even executed. Some believe that he assimilated voluntarily into the Taliban life, learning the Arabic Pashtu language. Bergdahl, however denies this and says that he was beaten regularly by the terrorists and made to live and sleep for long periods in an eight-foot by eight- foot cage.
                                          Citizens reacted angrily when President Obama negotiated with terrorists for the deal to bring the sergeant home. The anger grew when the administration arranged a welcome home ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House with the National Security Adviser lying to the nation that the sergeant had served with "honor and distinction."  Congressmen charged that Obama had violated an existing statute when he not only negotiated with the enemy, but also freed five terrorists from Guantanamo without informing Congress of the plans. Some congressmen even demanded the impeachment of President Obama.
                                           The USA has always come down hard on deserters, particularly in a time of war, and America is at war with the Taliban and radical Islam which seeks to kill Americans in its quest to create a global caliphate.  In 1945, America executed by firing squad Army Private Eddie Slovik who had deserted his fighting comrades in Europe. 
                                          While President Trump has characterized the sentence as a "disgrace," and other hard nosed citizens wanted Bergdahl to spend his entire life behind bars, Judge Nance saw it differently. He gave him a door to a new life.  His dishonorable discharge can never be changed, but the USA is a great nation and a patriotic nation; It is fair and just, but it is forgiving.  Judge Nance did the right thing.  
           
                                          XXX










                                  





  
                                    



























                                            

Friday, November 3, 2017

Watch What You Say

for fb.jpg  By Florida Bill  
                            
                                  Movie goers cringed when they heard Clark Gable say, "I don't give a damn" at the close of the classic movie "Gone With The Wind" way back in 1939.  Moralists quickly promised to put a check on such Hollywood profanity. 
                                Many years have passed since those days.  How did that go?
                                  Gradually, that kind of sailor's talk with the "hells" and "damns" became routine in the movies.  It just was more dialogue, readily acceptable to deliver emphasis. The morphing continued unabated inside society's push for a country which should have no restrictions.  It was "political  correctness" with liberals  at the mike. 
                                   Laws governing profanity and obscenity were enacted and there was always cautions that the Federal Communications Comission  (FCC) was looking over your shoulder....so be careful.  But enforcement got sidelined and the hammer to regulate was made of cotton, rather than steel. 
                                    Maybe the real breakout came in the mid- 1960s when comedian Lenny Bruce let fly with the "F" words in his night club acts.  He kept getting arrested but he kept using the "F" word with its variants which included "MotherF...er."  In 1966, Bruce was prosecuted, found guilty and sentenced to jail.  While his appeal was pending, the 41-year-old comic died and the reviewing court reversed his conviction based on the right of free speech.  Bruce was the trailblazer for use of the "F" word, and thirty-seven years later, New York Gov. George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon.
                                  The door was wide open and television was expanding. Newspapers and magazines were taking a backseat first to the boob tube and later to the Internet.  But still, there were laws prohibiting what you say and where you say it.
                                  Comedian George Carlin, who looked upon Lenny Bruce as his friend and mentor,  then unveiled his own special and historical commentary on the "seven words that you cannot ever say on television."  He then enumerated the forbidden words as "shit, piss, cunt, fuck, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits," in a Wisconsin appearance.   He was arrested, but a judge dismissed the case finding that while he was obscene, he caused no disturbance.
                                           Carlin's words, then called the "Milwaukee Seven," emboldened comedians around the country.  Cases came and went.  Today, the Carlin special words are
perfectly acceptable for Cable TV hookups, but the "seven" and obscene talk remain taboo for network stations. But any dialogue is invited in the "anything goes" LaLa land of Hollywood.
                                    Newspapers and magazines were initially careful to bleep out and "redact" the dirty words in a news story, or rewrite the quote to avoid the use of the words altogether.  Later, with the illusion of being accurate, the offensive words were written using asterisks.  Sentences in stories and reports would contain words such as "f**k" and "motherf**ker."  There was the "C" word for ladies privates.  In a story of a DUI, the driver might be described in a quote as "drunk as s**t."  
                                     The FCC is charged with monitoring television to protect against use of profane no-nos such as Carlin's enumerated words.  It can suspend or even revoke licenses and levy fines. After a reported violation, the FCC makes an "investigation" and decides on the penalty, if any. Recently Stephen Colbert accused President Trump of oral sex on President Putin.  The FCC "investigated" and then gave it a pass. 
                                     With Cable TV, there is no monitoring by the FCC which has jurisdiction over the airwaves, but not over cable where the signal passes by wire and is paid for by subscribers. Cable's "Real Time" with funny man Bill Maher is a good example of regular use of the "F" word and its many variant uses as a noun, verb and adjective.  In virtually all of cable TV and in the movies--anything is okay to say.
                                      There used to be a time when reporters (I was one for the Chicago Tribune) cleaned up quotes as a way of not roasting the speaker for his gutter language or because it seemed like the right thing to do.  Nowadays, you get quoted as you speak, and it goes into the top magazines, and sometimes (but not always) in newspapers like the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. 
                                      When President Trump was campaigning, many celebs spoke out against the Republican candidate and threatened to leave the USA if he was elected.  Various print media,  cable TV and  social media such as Twitter, quoted disgruntled liberal stars expressing their rather vulgar disgust with the idea of Trump being elected--with or without the asterisks, usually without.  Some examples: Samuel H Jackson described  Trump as "barbed wire up my ass;  If that motherf---er becomes president, I’m moving my black ass to South Africa." (By the way, we're still waiting.)  Classy Whoopi Goldberg said she is just "pissed" at the the thought of a Trump victory, and little Miley Cyrus said that Trump is a "f...king nightmare." A sick "f**K," opined Michael Moore for the cameras. 
                                       So is there a word that cannot be said under any conditions ---on cable, in magazines and newspapers, on social media as well as the airways?  Yes, it is the "N" word.
                                           The "N" word is so sensitive and explosive that it cannot be articulated even in this blog.  Some researchers have said that the "N" word ranks as the "most offensive and inflammatory word" in the English language, expressing monumental hatred and bigotry. Professors themselves dodge the word, even in English classes dealing with semantics.      
                                            Its use was almost the end of Bill Maher last June when he used the raw N-word on his talk show to describe a slave of the old South who worked in the house rather than in the cotton fields. Maher was clobbered by everyone, many demanding that he be removed from television.  Maher apologized profusely and over and over for weeks, but survived.  
                                                  So, as of today, it appears that you can mouth the seven no nos without fear of censure and almost anything else with but one exception: the "N" word. It is protected in the Constitution under free speech like any other profanity or obscenity.  But any speaker who dares utter it will be consigned by social and anti-racial persons and organizations to a level of society which is lower than Frog sh-t                               

                                      
                                               XXX             





         C