I got nothing.

 Good people of Charlotte North Carolina, I've got nothing for you. Really.

A black guy with a gun won't drop it when commanded to do so, a black cop shoots him, and the whole city explodes. Makes absolutely zero sense. How can we still be so divided?  Black president and two black Attorney Generals. Black mayors everywhere, the majority of leadership in most big cities - people of color, the majority of police forces in Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, New Orleans, all people of color.

 I've got nothing for you guys, really.

Clearly, there's a problem. But what's the problem? Is the problem that rioting is enjoyable? Sure seems like it to me. People in the streets laughing and looting and burning, hurling rocks and spitting at police officers. Who exactly are they trying to convince that their cause is just? Looks like nobody to me, looks like they're having a great time.

I am not voting for Trump, but the basket of deplorables is not the people voting for him. The basket of deplorables lit up my television last night.

 Much more understandable if people were to riot, is the people of Tulsa Oklahoma. And yet, they are calm and are staying in their homes. If ever there was a reason for civil unrest and for anger it was this incident. A man, most likely high on PCP which was found in his car, refuses to comply and walks away from the police. The itchy trigger finger of an inexperienced female officer twitches and the man falls, dead.

 The officer has been charged, and rightly so it seems, with manslaughter of the first degree.  All the
facts are not out yet, but it appears that this shooting was unjustified. But apparently facts don't
matter to the people of Charlotte. Feelings prevail, anger triumphs, America loses.

I am a lover of cold, indifferent math. Numbers simply don't lie, and the numbers say whites are more often killed by police than blacks, by a lot.  If you Google this, you will be inundated by a slew of liberal websites that twist the facts and neglect to point out the fact that the numerical majority of crimes in this country are committed by black people despite making up only 16% of the population entire. And yet whites are twice as likely to be killed by cops. If you want some semblance of the truth, click here.

 But facts don't matter. Only feelings matter.  Only color of skin matters. The great unifying spirit of Lincoln and King, is being tossed aside in favor of identity politics and division. Social justice warriors don't want dialogue, they want utterly unconditional transformation and the destruction of American society.

 Not this white boy, sorry. Fuck right off with that shit.

 I refuse to give into despair. I refuse to secede any ground to anger and hate. I refuse to see anyone as a race before I see them as a person. I do not discount someone's opinion simply because of the way they look.  That is what the left does.  Not this conservative, no way no how.

EDIT: ADDENDUM

The bigger issue at play here, is that there's a much bigger issue at play here.  The majority of the protestors in Charlotte the other night who were arrested for breaking stuff and acting a fool, were from out of state.  Over 70% according to the Charlotte PD.

This pretty much says it all.  People aren't marching because they want relations to improve between blacks and cops, they are marching because they hate this country and they want to tear down the system whole cloth.

Of course there are some of them who do want dialogue and change - but I'd wager dollars to cop donuts that most, especially those in the George Soros funded astro-turf group - the ones who literally get paid to be there and then get to burn cop cars for fun as well - do not give a rats ass about making things better within the system we have.

Well verily to thee I say unto that, once more - fuck that shit.

Our country isn't perfect by any means, but it is the best thing going by far.  I'm not on board with transforming America into a progressive cesspool of taxing people into poverty and putting people into jobs that they aren't qualified for.

I believe in freedom, and that includes the free market and the freedom to bear arms.  I will not concede one inch to bully SJW's who hate America.  If you want to deal with the real and challenging issue of cops interacting with people of color, that's fine.  In fact that's great.  We can always learn more and make changes for the better.

But if you want to fundamentally change our way of life, no.  If you want to soak the 'rich' and regulate society into nanny hell oblivion, no.  If you want to just watch things burn, hell to the no.

Most Americans were disgusted with shitty backup quarterback Kapernack's disrespect of our military, and most are now disgusted with the rioting in Charlotte.  Want to actually affect positive change?  Throw away your radical activism and the violence that inevitably goes along with it and get some understanding of God fearing American patriots.  There are way more of us than there are of you.

Sit down, discuss and listen.  Recognize that getting rid of some things; the 2nd amendment, vigorous law enforcement for all potential criminals, long sentences for repeat offenders, is entirely off the table. Understand that we possess the American values of hard work, honesty, compassion and humbling ourselves before God.  And those values are also non-negotiable.

But don't burn cop cars and call it righteous, don't scream to the heavens that a man was unarmed when he damn well was.  I am on board with positive change, but to get there radical activists are going to have to let go of their progressive atheism-infused doctrine and grow up.

Perpetual victimhood.

Recently a family friend who is active on Facebook posted an article about a horrible situation.

Click here to read.  It's not a very pleasant story but no one gets physically hurt in the end.

This was my response.   Apologies for blogger.com making it stupidly difficult to make cut and pasted text look normal.


Jenny, this story really struck a chord with me, as I and most everyone I know has had similar (if not as severe) experiences with homelessness over the last decade. If you'll permit me, I'd like to offer my views on the subject, which as you can probably guess, come from a conservative viewpoint. Please feel free to delete this if you are in sharp disagreement. I plan to put it on my personal blog, but I don't want to impose on your wall if it is too confrontational.

Well this is horrible. And it two big issues to light. First and foremost it calls attention to our collective decision as Americans to allow the mentally ill to live among us. By permitting a "street culture" many people view this as compassion, the reality is that it's just the opposite.

All major cities in this country run by progressives are now overwhelmed by unmedicated and dangerous inviduals like this. San Francisco is right now a toilet. Santa Monica, a place i used to enjoy very much is an absolute no go zone. Westwood in L.A. is an open air asylum. New York city, now under liberal leadership after two decades of conservative mayors has seen it's crime rate skyrocket as homelessness is once again permitted to reign. 

There is no excuse for the apathy and the misguided notion that we can give people like this the same rights and freedoms that rational people enjoy.

It seems there is an utter lack of common sense in liberal leadership, fueled by a lethal mixture of political correctness and fear. Fear of being seen as uncaring or cold. The truth is, we need to be grown ups about this issue - tough love is 100% more caring and compassionate than permitting this incredibly obvious danger of homelessness to exist on our streets. This problem will only grow, with more and more violence and mayhem until we decide to wipe it out, by taking the hard step of recognizing that it cannot be tolerated.  

Incarceration is not the answer, but humane containment and treatment must be made mandatory. This is going to be very difficult for some people to swallow, but I am not on board with subjecting myself or my family to people like this on a regular basis. To do so is not only the epitome of idiocy but it is also the cruelest thing we can do. Ignoring the mentally ill is absolutely inhumane, as is giving them self-determination. I am not sure what the precise machinations of ending homelessness should be, but it must include humane, mandatory and long lasting, if not permanent, separation of people like this from our communities.

The other issue that this incident brings into sharp relief is the over reliance of people on the state to protect them. Now I confess, I am a bit skeptical of this woman's description of the officer in question. I am familiar with the Portland PD and this is not in any way shape or form their M.O. They have a very tough job dealing with the mentally ill, as city leadership refuses to deal with the homeless in any appreciable way other than soup kitchens and various hand-outs. Basically the cops hands are tied in terms of removing people like this man from the streets.  

But if we are to take this woman's word, that this officer indeed acted this way, then she has a ton of resources at her disposal to go after him, and I hope she does. His behavior is atypical and entirely unacceptable.

Beyond this, and getting back to the fairy tale that people have in their heads that the state will always be there for them, I would like to posit that this is Exhibit A as to why most, though not all, communities with open carry laws have substantially lower crime rates. When citizens are allowed to defend themselves as they deem necessary, there are far fewer incidents of this nature. Statistically, this truth is hard to measure, because often the mere revelation of the presence of a firearm will diffuse a situation and nothing is reported to police. But beyond that, I would also posit that the right to carry removes most of the fear from a potential victim, and puts it where it belongs - on the potential perpetrator. 

For a period of three years at my job, I worked directly with law enforcement in communities across the country. From Detroit, to Memphis, to Orlando. Different officers had different views on the subject of concealed carry, but they all agreed on one thing - you cannot rely on police to stop a crime, only to help with the aftermath.

If we look to our leadership to provide absolute protection, we are doomed to be disappointed. They are simply human beings with limited time and resources, especially when a problem as large as homelessness is ineffectively placated, and - as this story illustrates, they are also human beings who can be flawed and even occasionally as malicious as the bad guys.  

When I see a story like this, it makes me more determined than ever to not be a victim - and it strengthens my belief in the absolutle sacredness of the sovereignty of the individual. We cannot submit our fate to the state, we must be pro-active in our defense of ourselves and our family. All of the manipulated statistics in the world cannot alter the peace of mind that self-determination brings. 

I know of two women, one of which is a long time friend, who at different points in their lives were stalked. Both of these women are good, honest liberals, who found themselves confronted with real world evil, and both had to come around to the realization that the only way to fight back was the purchase of a firearm.  

My friend never had to bring her gun into use, thank God, but when she was carrying she felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders because she had at least taken some control of the situation and didn't have to rely on help coming that she knew would likely be too late. Her stalker eventually moved on, probably to another target, but she knows that should he return or someone else of evil intent should enter her life, that she has recourse beyond the flimsy hope of police intervention.

The second woman, who was a friend of a friend, but shared her story with the television show I was editing at the time, actually was confronted by her stalker to the point where she had to draw down on him. The revelation of the firearm quickly doused the flames of her potential attackers anger, and she never saw or heard from him again. As is often the case, even though the incident was reported to the police, this is not a statistic which is kept on record in any appreciable way, and it is something that happens far more frequently than the comparatively rare incident of an attacker taking and using a victims gun on the victim - which is 100% always recorded as a statistic and used as loudly as possible by anti-gun groups.

My point here is not to covert you or anyone to my view, which is that the right to bear arms is an essential component of liberty - but illuminate the fundamental truth that there can be recourse to this kind of attack.

Portland of course, like most liberal cities including Los Angeles, makes it incredibly difficult to carry a concealed weapon. So this woman, faced with the two pronged absurdity of living in a city that permits sick people to freely interact with healthy people and then doesn't allow people to defend themselves against this, is put into a place of mandatory victimhood, and has no recourse or exit from this horrible circumstance.  

It is a sad and inexcusable situation, and it happens every day in this country, and will continue to happen until we wake up and understand that treating sick people like they are perfectly healthy is not rational. Nor is denying law abiding citizens the right to protect themselves.

No go zone.

So my Facebook wall has basically been a disgrace for the past three days.

So much ignorance, so much knee-jerk emotion based hyperbole.

Not going to do it, not going to take the bait.  But I am going to let loose a little bit here so I don't have an aneurysm.

----

So against my better judgement, because my Facebook wall has basically been a relentless diatribe against guns from the moment the bodies hit the ground.

So this guy - 29 years old, born and raised here, contract employee of DHS, licensed to concealed carry, trained with US tax dollars to operate firearms, no criminal history, no history of mental illness except for complaints of racist and misogynistic behavior by his work colleagues which were ignored because he was a Muslim.

Florida - background check and waiting period that he went through an passed, because he had nothing on his record, thanks largely in part to political correctness and fear of being labeled racist.

Exactly what new laws are we talking about that would have stopped this?  I want specifics.

Oh, and please educate yourself, don't be ignorant.  An AR-15 is not an assault rifle, it is a 
civilian semi-automatic rifle that functions just like dozens of other rifles that happen to not look militaristic.  It is not a weapon of war, not even close.  A Glock in trained hands can be just as deadly, deadlier in California where AR-15s are limited to 10 rounds in a magazine that can only be changed with a tool.

And then there is the LGBT community's reaction, which is basically insane.

Gay people are under assault, not just from this jihadist, but from the Muslim community at large in the US and overseas. In Syria gays are flung from rooftops.  In Saudi Arabia they are whipped in soccer stadiums.  In all but a handful of Muslim countries it is flat out illegal to be gay.

The majority of all Muslims, not just radicalized ones, believe that being gay is immoral and that honor killings can be justified.

Brian Adams protests a bathroom law in North Carolina, after returning from a concert in Egypt - a country where admitting that you are gay will at minimum get you thrown in jail.

How exactly is the issue here guns?  Get specific. 

Knock it off.

The biggest terrorism attack since 9/11 went down last night in Orlando, 50 people slaughtered by a radical Muslim with a handgun and a rifle.   Those are the facts.  Here's what liberals on my Facebook would have you believe -

The biggest mass shooting in American history went down last night in Orlando, 50 gay people slaughtered by a crazy person with an assault weapon that should be illegal.

Honestly, I shouldn't be so aggravated by a simple difference in semantics, 50 human beings who were breathing before now aren't, thanks to a man who was clearly out of his mind - but I tell you, it does bug me.  A lot.

Liberals are allowed to post whatever they want, whenever they want.  Five minutes after the shooting?  Absolutely...

"It's all about gun control and the lack of it in this country."

Yeah, the bodies are still warm, but so what?

"Don't pray.  Religion is what started this in the first place"

Yes, that's literally a post.   Not radical Islam, religion, as if they are all equal.

"We need to talk about gun control."

No, how about you keep the fuck away from my guns.  We need to talk about radical Muslims first.

Honestly, I try not to be angry with my liberal friends, but sometimes they make it very hard.

It's like someone died from cancer and they want to talk about a vaccine for chicken pox.  Makes about as much sense.

But I, the conservative, I have to refrain - I have to not be hateful, I have to be (once again) the grown up.

That's why it's nice to have this blog.

Fuck gun control nuts.

Fuck radical Islam.

Fuck atheism.

And seriously, fuck someone who is gay and thinks that this is about gun control or about Americans intolerance of homosexuals.  This is about hundreds of millions of Muslims that hate you and they are not Americans.   It is illegal to be gay in all but a handful of Muslim countries.  In Qatar they hang you, in Yemen they stone you, in Syria they throw you off a roof.   Get educated about this sort of thing, the information is out there.

Honestly, I don't know if there is a bigger group of idiots on the planet than gay people who think that Christians are just as bad as Muslims.  Maybe Jews who don't support Israel.  Same idiocy, same self-loathing disease.

And if you think going after law abiding citizens is going to solve the problem of radical Muslims, you're a fucking moron.

Knock it off.

Disgusting.

The only thing I can't stand more than Donald Trump, is the anti-Trump protesters.

Here's 16 minutes of typical anti-Trump behavior, culled from hours and hours of disturbing footage.

This is what the radical left does, and the mainstream left does little to condemn or disown it.





I have aleady made my final decision, I am not voting for Donald Trump.  But I will take every opportunity I am given to stand up for free speech and speak out against hate and violence.

What these thugs are doing is wrong.  Trump and his supporters must be listened to and treated with respect.  We must have a dialogue, not a shouting down, not a melee' of sucker punches.

Don't want to hear it? Tough.

My response to an inflammatory Washington Post opinion piece about Trump.

This might be hard to hear, but this is what I think.

Hysteria like this article isn't helpful, it's precisely what Trump wants. 

There is a reckoning coming for progressives, and for the more thoughtful conservatives like me who believe Trump is not the right choice - we are going to have to take a deep breath and suck it up and treat him and the office of the presidency with respect. It's the only way to get through the next four years with a hope for beating him in 2020. This is what I have realized, and so have many republican leaders. Screaming and stomping our feet will have the opposite effect of what we want.

The louder we yell, the harder we push, the more we give this man what he wants - anger, fear, hate, the more that is sent his way, the more he will thrive. He is a counter puncher of the highest order, who is seemingly always on the verge of his campaign imploding - only, that will never happen.

Trump is going to win, and it's too late to do anything about it.

And here's why...

Trump is borne and cut from the same cloth as the Obama administration and to some extent George W Bush. The ideas that politics are identity and that policy and ideology are indistinguishable, have been so incredibly damaging to this country; and Trump is the inevitable result. 

Trump is not conservative, he's not liberal, he's not even populist really. He is a reaction to more than 8 years of demagoguery filling in for thoughtful discussion, a reaction to the politics of shame and name calling. 

Everyone who doesn't want a co-ed bathroom is a homophobe. Everyone who thinks that Michael Brown got what most people get when they grab a cops gun is a racist. Everyone who makes a joke about food allergies should apologize immediately and atone for their sins. Everyone needs to fall in line with the thought police.

Trump is middle class Americans way of saying 'enough'.

Enough complaining about the gap between the rich and the poor and then promptly widening it exponentially.

Enough about praising the "low unemployment rate" as the number of Americans out of work explodes to a 50 year high.

Enough about decrying the pay gap between men and women, and then paying men in your administration far more than women.

Enough with commenting on Treyvon Martin when very few facts were available while ignoring Kathryn Steinle when all the facts were available.

Enough of apologizing for America's greatness.

Enough gutting the military and doing nothing about the disaster that is the VA while exponentially increasing spending on social safety nets that demean and further impoverish.

Enough of blackmailing schools into taking the preposterous common core curriculum. 

Enough of releasing terrorists from Gitmo so they can kill again.

And so on and so on and so on.

And an establishment Republican is no better. In fact, any politician is no good now. Cruz wasn't exactly establishment, but he never had a chance. And despite what the breathless pundits are saying, neither does Hillary.

Suck it up. Own it. We asked for it and now we have to live with it.

This appears to be happening...

Really guys? Really? I know it's a long way to November, but still... this looks like it's really happening. He's got a bigger lead than Obama had in both 2008 and 2012.  

President Trump.  

Nope, can't get my head around it.

I know I'm politically opposite a lot (okay most) of you, my family, my friends, but I don't want this for our country. Sadly though, I feel as though after 8 years of wrecking ball progressivism, this is the backlash, this is the inevitable result.  

You cannot take millions of jobs from Americans while lying about the unemployment rate and not expect consequences. You cannot exponentially drive up health care premiums for the middle class and not expect backlash. You cannot drown hard working Americans in the dogma of race baiting, politically correct, liberal idiocy and not expect a reaction.

You cannot have a leader who makes the malaise of Jimmy Carter look downright patriotic in comparison, and not expect an outcry of nationalism. You cannot have a president who barely hides disdain for the military, and works to systematically dismantle it, and not expect angry vets and soldiers.

But what's done is done I suppose. Right now we have to deal with it. I want to be hopeful, I want to believe that somehow we can avoid the catastrophe of a buffoon for a president, or a criminal for that matter. 

Please convince me that somehow Trump can lose, because right now he's winning - by a lot. And I will be damned if conservatives shoulder the lions share of the blame here. Take that pointy finger and aim it right at yourselves.  

I am a conservative. I am NOT Donald Trump. I am the opposite of everything he pushes.

He is not conservative, he is an big government populist, much more aligned with Bernie Sanders supporters in their anger and desire to overthrow the system and inflict totalitarian rule. Trump, like Bernie, started out as a protest campaign, now he finds himself being thrust by a wave of American anger directly towards the White House.

This is real. This is NOT my fault.

Every excuse in the book.

Just today I couldn't help but respond to this absurd internet factoid/meme/intellectually challenged graphic.

It is, of course, one of a zillion liberal dummy memes that pollute my feed - but again, as I know a lot about this particular issue, I couldn't help but chime in -

"It's on the internet so it must be true.  Or you could actually research this issue.  The reason most people pass this test is because they know it's a requirement to receive aid and they are given the date of testing well in advance.  Only the truly stupid and severely addicted continue to smoke weed in the week leading up to the test."

My response was met with the usual litany of anger, listing every issue under the sun as to why drug testing welfare recipients as a reqiurement for getting free shit is a bad thing.   The corporations.  Wall Street.  Dick hole Republicans.  And on and on and on.

This was my response, which I didn't post - because arguing with a liberal is kind of like pissing into the wind.  Okay, it's a lot like it.   Futile and pointless and unlikely to have any different result no matter how often we do it.

I do like my response a lot though. 


"If I may share my view from my life experience - I cannot believe that policies like this don't give pause to people who abuse the system.

I have several drug abusers in my family, two of which live in Florida.  From 2011 through 2013 I imagine they probably managed to lay off the meth and emerge from a haze of weed long enough to get tested to get their state aid.  Now that the policy has been discontinued by an unelected Federal judge, they are likely fucked up 100% of the time rather than 90%.  Not much of a difference I will concede, but it does give me some solace that they were, however briefly, held accountable for their choices.

In the mean time I manage to bust my ass, stay sober and continue to fund people who are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves but choose to blow dope instead.

For those that are capable of helping themselves, which is in my opinion in this country the majority of people on public assistance, our indifference to their behavior and choices is not compassion, nor is it in the end helpful to these people who suffer from addiction and as a consequence - mental illness.

We will not affect change by enabling drug addicts, we will not actually help them by pretending that what they do to themselves is not harmful or damaging and has nothing to do with their need for public assistance.

Drug testing as a requirement for welfare may not have been a perfect idea and it may in the end be unworkable - but I submit that the intention and philosophy behind the idea is absolutely correct.  I believe that only by holding people accountable - i.e., treating people with dignity and respect, not with condescension and false pity, can we truly start to break down barriers with drug addicts and help unshackle them from the bonds of their personal hell.

I don't know any of you but I do know Mike.  As you are all friends with him I in turn respect your views and am open to hearing your thoughts on this topic.  But understand it is very hard for me sometimes to hear things that I know would never ever come from someone who has been close to an addict in their life.  I could be wrong of course, as I said I don't know you or the battles you face.  But if you've had addiction in your life it would take an incredible feat of mental gymnastics to point the finger of blame at the government instead of your addicted loved one, unless of course you have been or are an addict yourself.

All of the addicts I have ever known always have every excuse in the book for their behavior, including I'm sure corporations, fiscal policies, political corruption, Wall Street and on an on and on.  Basically everything including the kitchen sink.  Well I can tell you, as someone who escaped from a family that has addicts in it, it's all bullshit.  An addict will make up every excuse under the sun to justify his or her behavior, and we do nothing but enable them by playing along with their delusions and vilifying any attempt to hold them accountable.

Deep addicts don't care about any of these excuses, they simply want to know when the next check is coming so they can get their fix.  Helping them do this is about the worst thing we can do for them.  It is the antithesis of compassion.

Furthermore, sober people blaming drug addiction on 'the man' is downright delusional and so is condemning ideas and policies that attempt to hold drug users accountable.  I find it very hard to take this litany of tangentially related excuses, corrupt politicians, greedy CEO's, etc. etc., seriously.

Peace.

No Room for Hyphenated Americans

I really don't think this is a political issue - even though we seem divided that way.

All majority Muslim countries marginalize and often brutalize minorities, gays and women - and this way of life is now being held up by many on the American left as a culture we should embrace.

It makes no sense, but this article lays it all out in a thoughtful and nuanced manner, and helps shed light on this extraordinary paradox of values, and the willful blindness of people who identify themselves as champions of human rights.

I agree that the biggest concern about mass immigration from the middle east should not be terrorism, it should be the vilification of assimilation, both by those coming here and those Americans who have discarded the concept.

Assimilation is not a synonym for racism or xenophobia.  Assimilation must be mandatory for all who come here - not because of 'privilege' or some other manufactured conceit by academics and cultural elites - but because American values are the most hopeful and humane on the planet.

We are a culture of kindness, not merely tolerance.

We are a culture of liberty, not merely diversity.

We are a country of freedom, not merely fairness.  

And those who would use the weak and limp standards of  'diversity', 'fairnes' and 'tolerance' as an excuse to permit barbarity, in the form of a backwards and misogynistic culture - are on the wrong side of this fight.

Teddy Roosevelt said it best - his words ring true nearly a hundred years later -

“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all.”

“This is just as true of the man who puts “native” before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance.”

“But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as any one else.”

“The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English- Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian- Americans, or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality than with the other citizens of the American Republic.”

“The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans; and there ought to be no room for them in this country. The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic. He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American.”

Movies 2015

Okay, finally getting around to this.  (EDIT: UPDATED 02/01/2016)

Remember, I love the movies, I only like films.  What's the difference?  Movies are fun, flamboyant, and often have little to do with reality.  They have explosions, bare breasts for no reason other than prurience, profanity galore and a lot of cool shit.   Films delve deep into social issues and are framed in a mirror of our day to day lives.  In other words, all the grim despair that you can find on the local news - you can often find in films.  Not my favorite thing usually.

As usual, first here's a list of movies that I enjoyed and would recommend, but they didn't make my top ten. In no particular order they are...

Mission Impossible 5
Not as good as parts 3 or 4, but still a hell of a lot of fun.

Furious 7
I've never been a huge fan of this series, but I do always enjoy the gags (stunts) and the frenetic energy.  I've especially liked the recent movies, which are more caper flicks than anything.  Especially moving in this one is the tribute to Paul Walker at the end - gets me all choked up every time I see it.

Jurassic World
This one is a blast and a hell of a lot of fun.  A warm and fuzzy tribute to the original that gets better each time I see it.  Yes, we did get it on Blu-Ray.   I have to be honest though, I'm a bit mystified that it made SO much money.  I mean it's made like, crazy Titanic/Star Wars type money.  I think it's because I'm old and this wasn't really made for me.  Still, I can appreciate Chris Pratt a lot, he truly elevates the material.  The last act is also a superb action/stunt/cg showcase that is very satisfying.

Tomorrow Land
This one got panned by the critics and dismissed by a lot of people who said it was too preachy and sanctimonious.  I avoided it for a long time because I despise being lectured by people like Clooney, who deserves every bit of the South Park episode that blasts him for being a smug douche about social issues.  So I was very surprised when my kid and I finally saw this on a Disney cruise, at how good it was.  So good, that we saw it twice!  A good action adventure story that reminded me very much of the old great Disney live action adventures like Witch Mountain and Candleshoe.  Looking forward to putting this one on my shelf.

Trainwreck
Shumer is hilarious and oh so wrong and so is this movie, which of course also has heart as do all the raunch-coms these days.  Hader is great as well.

Paddington
An unexpected gem, brought to you by the Harry Potter production team.  This one will be around for a long time.  It's similar in tone and message to the Nanny McPhee movies, which my family and I have enjoyed for years.


Okay, and the two best docs I saw in 2015.

Going Clear
Fascinating indictment of L. Ron Hubbard and his cult.  Had no idea all the dark stuff that went on and is likely still going on with this bunch of crazies.

Best of Enemies
A great examination of politics through the two O.G.'s of modern discourse on television.  I don't care too much for the docs lazy conclusion that Buckly and Vidal begat Fox News, as if Fox News is some crazy and evil entity - but there's enough meat on the bones here in the rest of the piece that it's easy to forgive this typical conclusion.



Okay, and here's the top ten.   Really enjoyed all of these immensely.

11.  Avengers 2
Originally this was in the top ten, it got bumped when I saw The Martian.  Age of Ultron falls well short of the impossibly high bench mark set by the first Avengers movie.   But it's still a great time.  The heart of the film is the 'dream' sequences / flashbacks that our leads go through.  I always wanted to visit Black Widow's past - and this is just a perfect way to do it. They show us just enough that we can fill in the rest ourselves.  I also love the Vision, and he has several movie stealing moments that make the convoluted plot and exposition for future movies well worth it.

10.  The Walk
Had very little interest in seeing this after watching the superb doc Man on Wire.  Movies based on true stories are almost always inferior to the real people and places shown in documentaries.  Two thirds of the way through this film I still believed this.  Then we went out on the wire in 3D and in Imax and I suddenly understood why Zemekis wanted to make this movie.  He does what no documentary could ever do - he puts us out on the wire with Philipe.  Absolutely breath taking, and an experience that can only be found in a movie theater.  No point in getting this on Blu Ray, it's a good movie, but only a great one on the big screen.

9.  Sicario
This one is the closest thing I have to a "film" on the list.  Emily Blunt is a revelation in this grim, gritty and bleak exploration of the drug trade and the soldiers that fight it.  Benicio Del Toro is also phenomenal, as an avenger of death who does anything and everything he needs to do to get justice.  This movie is both enthralling and repulsive - violent to the extreme in parts and heart wrenching as well.  Are the good guys good here?  I think for the most part they are.  I was certainly rooting for Benicio through most of it.  The final scene though, is the heart of the film and truly leaves us wondering if there are any true heroes left.   Ambiguous and terrifying, for sure not upbeat or fantastical.  Why did I love this so much?  What's wrong with me?

8.  Hateful Eight
On the opposite end of believability and seriousness - we have Quentin Tarantino's eighth film.  This time a parlor mystery, shot in 70 millimeter and taking place mostly in one room.  I just love love love the over the top characters and dialogue.  It's insane, it's extreme, it's hyper-violent and yet not at all realistic beyond being a fantastic character study and extravagent whodunit mystery.   I love love love Jennifer Jason Leigh - her character is truly a horrible person, and yet somehow we feel a bit of sympathy for her plight.  Sam Jackson kicks all kinds of ass here, chewing up the scenery as he goes. Kurt Russell is as always, every bit a movie star - but as he's older, he's morphed into a great character actor too.   I can't wait to see this again at home, it's just so wonderfully gory, silly and sick at the same time.   I also believe, as I do with all of Quintin's work, that it is very righteous and every bit a morality play.  Too bad he's such a dip-shit in real life.

7.  Ant Man
Best Marvel movie of the two this year and probably top 5 over all.  A great caper / heist movie.  Funny, smaller, yet somehow still epic.  Michael Douglas is a marvel, so to speak.  Especially impressive is a young Michael Douglas in the prologue.  How did they do that?  Rudd's Scott Lang is great and very faithful to the comic.  I can't wait to see Hope Van Dyne as the Wasp in the next one.  And of course, the highlight of the whole thing is Pena's frenetic story telling via' comical lip synching of various larger than life characters, including Stan Lee of course.

6.  Inside Out
Absolutely blown away by this one.  The most heart wrenching and powerful Pixar flick since Up.  What could have been a contrived and clunky premise, is instead a revelatory examination of the human psyche and ultimately a reassuring journey for the young and the young at heart.  The story is about an 11 year old girl, and I of course, have an 11 year old girl.  Needless to say I blubbered a bit more than once watching this one.

5.  Ex Machina
Best original sci-fi story I've seen in a long time.  I just adore all 3 main performances here.  Oscar Isaac is just fantastic.  Bill Weasely is almost entirely unrecognizable, and the girl robot is out of this world in her deeply compelling but disturbing portrayal of an artificial mind.   The story goes exactly where I expected it to go - but I was still enthralled by it.   Great great stuff, the best kind of popcorn flick for grown-ups.

4.  The Revenant
I really liked Birdman but I absolutely love Alejandro's follow up.   One of the most visually stunning movies I've ever seen - shot in what looks to be almost entirely on location in the frozen reaches of Canada.  This movie is harsh, it's brutal and it pulls at the heart strings as well.  I was more than half way through the movie before I realized that Mad Max was the bad guy.  That Hardy fellow is quite the chameleon.  And now finally, after Wolf of Wallstreet and now this movie, I finally get what all the fuss is about Leo.  He absolutely just owns his character and this story.   I have to see this again soon.  (Warning: there is a rape in this movie, which is about my least favorite thing ever.  I always let people know about this element, as I myself tend to walk out if things get too out of hand. Good news is though, the rape is brief (like 10 seconds) and not graphic - and best of all the female isn't scared, she's pissed and then gets her revenge quickly and in a very brutal fashion.)

3. The Martian
Finally saw this with the wife the other night and have to say I was pleasantly bowled over - not just because of the great FX and suspenseful story line, reminiscent of the best parts of Castaway, but I love this movie so much for it's effervescent optimism.  There are no 'bad guys' in this film - there are disagreements, but in the end, everyone pulls together and gets Watney home.  Very fun, very upbeat, and most of all hopeful.  This movie is true nourishment for the soul, a big heaping portion of uplift and rightfully this movie leaps nearly to the top of my best list.

2.  Star Wars VII
Where to begin.  I think I will write a separate review for this one soon - but suffice it to say, this one is an absolute home run.   I've seen it 4 times now I believe, and will be watching it for the rest of my life.  If you love Star Wars, you love this movie.  Period.

1.  Mad Max Fury Road
If you had told me how good the new Star Wars movie was going to be at the beginning of 2015, I would've never have imagined that a different film could end up at the top of my list.  George Miller, that 70 year old mad man from Australia, has done it again and captured lightening in a bottle to present an apocalyptic death race that is every bit as good, and maybe even better, than the seminal film of it's genre, The Road Warrior.    Again, I feel compelled to write a separate review for this one, there's just so much to love.  It's big and loud and over the top, and mostly dialogue free - but it says so much.  If you loved Road Warrior, you love this movie. Period.


So, there it is.  I also really want to see these - and most likely will at home on Netflix.

The Martian (can't wait for this one)  - EDIT: SAW IT!
Bridge of Spies  EDIT: SAW IT!  Very, very, VERY good.
Spy  EDIT: SAW IT!  Pretty darn funny, good not great.
MockingJay 2 EDIT: SAW IT!  Excellent conclusion after the mildly disappointing part 1.
Creed
Terminator Genisys EDIT: SAW IT! Shockingly good, easily the best since T2!
Black Mass EDIT: SAW IT! Very by the numbers, but I was never bored.
Joy
Amy (doc)
Steve Jobs (not the Ashton Kutcher version obviously)  EDIT: SAW IT!  Very good.
Ted 2 EDIT: SAW IT!  Hella funny, though not as side splitting as the original.


Finally, we have to end with the disappointments.

Cinderella
Beautifully shot and directed and completely forgettable and unnecessary.  I don't understand this compulsion to make a live action remake of an animated classic note for note and beat for beat - except without the music.  I mean, I guess I do understand the compulsion - money.  Not that there's anything wrong with that per se, but I fear these live action do-overs will tarnish the Disney legacy much the way the straight to DVD sequels did back in the 1990's.  Anyone remember Cinderella III?  I do, unfortunately.

Pitch Perfect 2
Great singing and choreography, weak story and improvised scenes that go nowhere.  Anna Kendrick phones it in and Rebel Wilson is thoroughly not funny.  Also, what is my girl  Hailee Steinfeld doing here and why is she so terrible?

Cobain: Montage of Heck
An interesting but ultimately unfulfilling look at a very talented dude who was ultimately a selfish asshole.  The home movies of Kurt and Courtney do not make them sympathetic whatsoever.  I'm glad their kid has grown up and distanced herself from her mom.  What a trainwreck.



So that's it - over all another great year for movies.  Any I've missed here, be sure to let me know!

What did you expect, really?

Haven't been moved to write here in awhile, but I thought I'd chime in on this stupid #oscarssowhite crap, since one part of the story has struck a nerve with me.

Now right up front, don't get me wrong - in the grand scheme of things, the Oscars are silly and who cares really when there's issues of real import in the world.  I get that, totally.  But what makes this latest manufactured kerfuffle interesting to me, is the classic liberal hypocrisy and obliviousness at play here.

One of the the whitest and most liberal organizations on the planet - the motion picture academy, puts out it's nominations and misses three HUGE slam dunks.  Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler.   People are of course outraged and shocked.  Shocked I tell you.  How come all the nominees are white?

I say, what the hell did you expect?

White liberals are the biggest racists of all - because they are forever consumed by color and see everything through the prism of race.  Everything.

In their privilege, in their narcissism, in their deeply rooted belief that people of color are incapable of achievement on their own - they have here, once again, demonstrated an almost willful blindness to obvious accomplishments by gifted actors and directors.

The first thing I thought when I read all the reviews for Creed was - "Wow, sounds great, sounds like they really knocked it out of the park.  I should see this.  It will easily rack up Oscar nominations."  Then, as an after thought, I thought - "It will be nice to see a diverse line up for once.  That's cool."

Not a big deal, but an obvious slam dunk and a win for everyone to bring us all together.

And then the nominations came out - and a bunch of privileged, self-centered white people who believe down to their core that people of color can't do anything for themselves - surprise - ignored all people of color.

I say, this makes perfect sense.  I say, this is what you get when you diminish and degrade anyone who doesn't look and act like you.

The stripping of dignity and the perpetuation of dependence by privileged white liberals upon the working class and minority communities - for over 70 years now, has resulted in nothing but misery, division and poverty where there should be none.

Detroit.  Baltimore.

Chicago.  New Orleans.

All democratic controlled cites - all cesspools of black on black violence.

Why should we be surprised when once again, liberals are taken aback by the very behavior that they perpetuate?  Liberals excel at diminishing and marginalizing obvious achievements when it isn't aided and abetted by white people . It's the liberal modus operandi.

You are too stupid to succeed.  You can't do that on your own.

You didn't build that.

I'm not surprised.  Not surprised at all.

When a bunch of people who make movies that glorify guns while being protected by people with guns, speak out against guns, I'm not in the least bit shocked that they are also more than capable of calling everyone who doesn't fall in line racist and then turning around and ignoring glaringly obvious achievements by people of color.

Maybe it's time that liberal Hollywood step back and instead of blaming the folks who point out the obvious - that gee, maybe making up crises where there are none and giving out condescending lip service to minorities to make yourselves feel better, isn't the best way to pick Oscar nominations.

Hey Hollywood, try this.

Why not drop the race card and the race prism?  You might be pleasantly surprised.  Believe it or not there's actually some really good stuff out there that just happens to be made by people of color.  And I know this is hard to believe, but that stuff didn't get made because you "made things fair".  It got made by ambition, initiative and back breaking work  

If you would just think of something else besides yourselves for once, you might be able to see beyond your close minded world and discover that there's a whole lot more going on that has nothing to do with your narcissistic and decadent white guilt that you bring to every single party.

People of color don't need your hand-outs and they don't need your special treatment.  They just need you to grow the fuck up and pull your heads out of your asses long enough to see what's actually happening.

Freedom that is God given, not 'fairness' that you fabricate - is what will elevate those who have a longer ladder to climb.

Let go of the belief that this is all about you, and understand that people of color don't need your condescension or what you call help.  They just need you to get the hell out of the way and treat them the way you treat everyone else.    I know that's tough, when actual racism is so deeply embedded in your subconscious, but really - we are all human beings.

Just because you are white and privileged, doesn't mean you are better or more talented or harder working than anyone else.

Get over yourself and let's get on with it.

Exhaling

It's been a minute since last I wrote here - so let me opine.

Last month I had my annual physical, which, truth be told has never really been annual.  My doctor was surprised to see that it had been in fact five years ago, when I turned forty, that I had last paid him a visit.

There was lots of good news, I'm lucid, mobile and feeling pretty great overall.

Some fair to middling news, I strained my shoulder so I need therapy and I have a weird rash on my face that anti-biotic cream now seems to be helping.

And of course a modicum of bad - namely my weight.  I have struggled mightily over the years, and seen it fluctuate from a height of 240 in 2008 down to 160 only 2 years later (thanks to Jenny Craig), then back up to 255 by this year, after I couldn't take diet food anymore.  255 is where I was when I visited the doctors office.

My doctor was frankly astonished when he looked at the chart and saw how heavy I was, he had first looked at me and didn't seem too concerned - I don't look quite as heavy as I actually am.  So we talked about solutions. I confessed it has been a long struggle for me; I am a man who loves food, especially the processed kind, the garbage that is engineered to taste incredible and stoke desire for more and more.

The good doctor suggested I might try a new medication, just 6 months on the market, that had shown great results for reducing appetite and cravings.  Best of all, it didn't appear to have any effect on the cardiovascular system and/or heart, unlike some other notorious appetite suppressants of the past.  I was ready to try anything at this point, so he wrote me a prescription and I planned to pick it up.

A couple days later, I hadn't done so because it wasn't covered on my insurance and was a bit expensive, but my lab results came back and the doctors office called me to tell me that my blood sugar was a bit high and my vitamin D was low.  Vitamin D, no problem, just pop a couple gummies every morning.  High blood sugar?  Crap.  I must be pre-diabetic.  Immediately I lost all desire for sweets and picked up my meds right away. (Thankfully I had a coupon which helped bring the price down.)

Almost 3 weeks later I'm happy to report that the pills work very, very well.  Almost too well.  I can have a small plate of food and I feel almost uncomfortably full.  When meal time rolls around, I might forget if not for the clock or my wife bringing it up.  I am cautiously optimistic about this, as the potential for lasting weight loss seems to be very real at this point.  Getting motivated to exercise is the other part of the equation, but with this first half apparently taken care of, I hope to focus more on getting active on a more regular basis.

As it turns out, my 'high blood sugar' was actually my triglycerides, which is part of the blood sugar thing, but it was only a single point above normal.  Thankfully though, with my resolve and now this medication working, I haven't had a single sweet of any kind (cookie, cake, chewy granola bar, pudding, anything) since my doctor's visit, and they are all freely available at my house and my work.  I'd say, for the first time ever, I truly don't have any desire for dessert, which is pretty crazy.

I also noted, that the big possible side effect, aside from the usual litany of headaches, dizziness, constipation, etc. that accompany almost any medication (none of which I've had) is suicidal thoughts.  Reading more about the medication, I learned that it doesn't work on the body per say, it works on the brain.  Kind of trippy.  Thankfully, I am still a very happy person and haven't had a whiff of depression or daydreams about doing myself in.

After telling my brother about this medicine (in case you didn't know, he and his wife are both psychiatrists - medical doctors who routinely prescribe this kind of thing) I learned a heck of a lot more.

He told me that the medication, which is called Contrave, is a combination of bupropion, which is an anti-depressant, and naltrexone - a drug that is often used in Europe to treat alcoholics and their cravings.  Side note - alcoholism is treated differently over there.  Here in America, we encourage the idea of going 'cold turkey' on alcohol.  In Europe they say to pop a bupropion before having a glass of wine.  Apparently it works fairly well.

Well all I can say, is this cocktail has worked very well on me as far as the food thing.  I do get hungry if it's been awhile, and food still tastes amazing (though so far these 3 weeks I haven't had any fast food) but like I said, after a small plateful I am very full and completely disinterested in having more.

But it also appears that this drug goes even further.  Thankfully, it seems to be all positive developments.

I have a litany of other vices, some bigger than others - and this medication it seems has reduced them all.

First and foremost in my life is poker.  I have always maintained that it is just a fun hobby that I enjoy a lot.  Truthfully, if I am being honest with myself, over the past five years or so - the game has really become a bit more of an obsession than I would like.  Every opportunity that arises for me to play, I take it without hesitation.  If my wife and kid are at a Girl Scout meeting, I am on my way to the casino, 45 minutes away.  I lay awake at night thinking about when and where my next session will be.

I crave the action, the buzz I get from dragging a pot and stacking chips.  Poker for me is like a really fantastic cheeseburger - it is an intense high, fueled by making moves on my opponent and getting them to lay down a stronger hand or pay me off when I have a monster.

I'm assuming it's the medicine, but my white hot lust for this great game has finally, finally cooled off a bit.  Actually more than a bit.  I cannot remember the last time in my life that I had literally zero interest in driving to Inglewood or Commerce to play in a tournament.

This is a good thing.  A very good thing.

Cashing is great, bluffing is great, but these places are not that nice, and can be rather unpleasant, and they are far away from my family.  I've always put up with the smelly degenerates around me, because, turns out, I was one of them - and my quest for a tournament cash could never be sated.

Now, don't get me wrong, I imagine I'll still play every now and again, in my mind somewhere I still love poker, it is truly magnificent.  But right now I have no burning urge to go to the card clubs, and my plans that I had made only a month prior to kick up my home game into high gear by playing nearly every week - now seem rather absurd to me.

This, more than anything, is a bit of a shock to me - that I could be so altered as to be able to recognize for the first time in awhile, that this game, as rewarding as it can be at times, is nowhere near what matters most - which is being a good husband and father and spending as much time with my wife and child as I can.

For this revelation, I am very grateful.

I have two other things in my life that have also changed.

First - you probably know by reading this blog and if you are my Facebook friend, I dig a good political fight.  Well I guess I must have been getting a buzz off of that too, because right now - as crazy as the world is with acts of terrorism and college students trading out their universities for daycare centers, I have very, very, very, little desire to get into it with liberals over issues that I know I won't be able to change their minds on.  I have too many friends and family who I love and are far to the left of me - it seems the height of futility and yes, arrogance, to think that they will come around to my point of view.

As of starting Contrave, I have posted exactly ZERO political articles on Facebook in nearly 3 weeks.  That, is a minor miracle.

The second thing, and this is very personal, so personal I don't want to get into details at all, but I haven't watched any porn since I started these meds.  I still have a healthy libido, but again, I don't crave that buzz - the same buzz I get from poker, food, politics, as severely, and I hope my disinterest continues.

Anyways - I didn't mean for this post to come off as an endorsement for mind altering medication - I have long been suspicious of people who are 'medicated' and never thought I was a candidate for being on 'meds'.

But it turns out, the foibles in my life, poker, food, politics, sex and others, were all kind of driven by the same addictive behavior; and now for the first time in a long time, they have been reigned in.

I truly feel very happy with my life now, though I have been happy my whole life prior as well.   As I said, I'm cautiously optimistic that this next chapter will continue this new pattern of moving away from potentially self-destructive behavior and moving towards healthier means of expression and emotional connections with those I love.

I plan on relying heavily on my faith as well, to help me maintain this positive turn in behavior.

We will see.

Just stick to emotions and you'll go far...

So this last week a story broke of an undercover video revealing that Planned Parenthood is indeed the home of horrific abortion mill butchers who callously deal in a baby chop shop of blood and money.

Then a second video emerged, of an old biddy joking about buying Lamborghini's with the profits from organs.  And then yet another video came out, this one with pie plates full of baby body parts.

Disgusting, reprehensible and enough to send shockwaves across the country and make even the most ardent pro-choice people take a second look at the industry of "reproductive health".

There is so much to absorb with this story - one of the biggest things that gets to me is the fact that this company has fought against the right of women to use ultra-sound technology to make an informed decision and then turns around and uses that same technology to manipulate and extract a fetus so that it's most financially valuable organs can remain intact.

It's an utterly abhorrent story.  This is it  - now we have to wake up and pay attention, right?

Wrong.

As almost as if right on cue, here comes Cecil the lion.  Look, bright shiny thing over here!

Yes, yes, we all know that Planned Parenthood is doling out the parts of butchered babies for cash - BUT LOOK AT THAT LION!  LOOK AT THE UTTER BARBARITY.  DEAD LION PEOPLE!

Let's track down the hunter and DESTROY HIS LIFE.

Now this story is the lead on the New York Times.  Now this story is running everywhere, all the time.

Sigh.


Look, I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of trophy hunting.  But let me back up and give some info on where I am coming from before I bring down the hammer of truth.

I was a camera operator for two seasons on ESPN's American Hunter, and in my time there I learned a lot about hunting and hunters.  The first thing I discovered was that hunters are the largest group of supporters of wildlife conservation.  By a lot.

The show promoted this fact and thankfully it also promoted the sustenance type of hunting, every episode always concluded with a cooking segment on the game that had been brought down.

But inevitably I crossed paths with hunters who enjoyed killing animals for the sheer sport of it, and in turn collecting parts to add to their decor.

I can't say that I found much to admire about this passion - and I still find it mostly reprehensible.  Mostly.

The one redeeming thing about this activity, I learned a few years later when I traveled to Africa to shoot (as a camera operator) for a wildlife show, is that trophy hunting was and presumably still is, the number one source of income for the preservation of animals in southern Africa.

Simply put - a single trophy hunt by a lone hunter can yield more money that an entire photographic Safari camp full of tourists can pull down in a month or even longer.

This inescapable economic fact, and the naked truth that wildlife would simply not exist in most parts of Africa were it not for trophy hunters -  falls on deaf ears now more than ever in the age of outrage.

This particular Cecil hunt it seems, was shady and full of shenanigans - the trophy hunters I encountered would be appalled to know that a collared research animal was brought down after being baited out of a national park.  This is not how things normally go down by any means, but I am not surprised it happened in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe, under the ruthless dictator Mugabe, has an 80% unemployment rate, a poverty rate of at least that much and suffers under a ruthless and systematic campaign of human rights violations.  It's government is entirely corrupt - and I find it a bit absurd how now, that the story has gone viral, government officials are righteously clamoring for the dentist to return to face poaching charges.

Despite Zimbabwe's problems, it is my understanding that trophy hunting there is usually legal and above board, and the killing and the collecting of parts to display later, goes on not only there but throughout sub-saharan Africa at large, all the time.

And as revolting as I find it on a personal level, having been in awe in the presence of wild lions, tigers and bears, in my life - I also am grateful in the end that trophy hunting does happen, so that the revenue it generates can mostly go to the preservation and protection of the animals that otherwise would quickly meet extinction.

In short - no money, no animals.  Period.

A guide I worked with in Kruger put it succinctly - I'm paraphrasing - 'If an animal cannot generate revenue, it will not exist.'

Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time in Africa, not just as a tourist but working for months at a time as I have - will understand this plain truth.  Poverty is not as it is in the United States - where most people who deal with it are not actually in it, but rather trying to temper it within a political arena of ideas that often end up exacerbating it.

Poverty in Africa is a very real, direct and often violent threat to existence for the people who are in it, which unlike the US, is the majority of the population.  Without tourism, and very importantly without exorbitant trophy fees, the beast that is real poverty threatens to overrun and consume the people who live in the shadow of it's specter.


But by all means, carry on with the outrage from your laptop.  Call for violence.  Print out this man's home address.  Actually track down this dentist and string him up, as PETA has demanded.

That way you don't have to think about stories of any real significance or consequence or bother dealing with real evil.


Babies can go right on being butchered, and in the end big and rare animals will still be killed and butchered as well so that Kruger national park and other amazing places can continue to exist.

But which slaughtering is more abhorrent, and which should be getting the most attention from the media and from your social media feed?

Oh yeah, the animals of course.  BECAUSE LOOK AT THAT LION OH MY GOD!!!!!

Regarding race...

Recently I had an exchange with a mutual friend on Facebook over issues of race.  Here is her latest question and my response.

It's interesting to me that you used the term "privileged" since much of my recent discussions on the subject of racism has been about acknowledging white privilege and trying to convince white people that our responsibility is to recognize our advantages and use whatever power and advantage we have to speak out against oppression. What sanctimonious lecturing are you hearing? Do you think black people, in particular, are treated the same way as white people? If not, what would you like to see happen, ideally?

I understand if you're just tired and don't want to respond, but I hope you will.

I've given some thought to your queries, and I'm afraid I can't get too much into the weeds over this, but I think my biggest problem with white liberals regarding race issues is that they tend to speak with such righteousness and authority - when they really have no clue about what it is to grow up black in this country.  

Obviously I don’t either, but I would never presume to tell someone, no matter their color, to ‘check their privilege’ .   I think such a statement is supremely arrogant and also disingenuous in that it comes almost always comes entirely from privileged white people.  

In other words, the relentless, humorless and accusatory path taken most often by people on your side of the political spectrum, does way more harm than good in bringing people together.  Our country is more divided now than ever, under a black democratic president, but I don’t hold our president entirely responsible, I mostly blame the white elitist dogma that he subscribes to.  Micro-aggressions and trigger warnings and all this other bullshit do nothing but piss people off on both sides of the aisle.  When someone says, ‘check your privilege’ they are really saying ‘agree with me or shut up.’  

Well sorry, I’m not on board with that.  I have no idea what it is to be black, but I don’t want to hear one word from a white person regarding this.  I’ll stick with actual black people and not necessarily race baiting extortionist shysters like Al Sharpton.  I throw my hat in with conservative black intellectuals like Clarence Thomas, Larry Elder or Senator Tim Scott, because - I’m a conservative and independent thinker and these men are as well.  

But beyond that, these guys actually walk the walk.  They are not only actually black but all three of these men grew up poor.  Thomas was the great grandchild of a slave and didn’t have running water in his house until he was 7 years old.   Elder grew up in Compton, dodging bullets on the way to school.  Scott’s single mother worked 16 hour days to support her family in the working class poverty neighborhood of Charleston.    These men grew to greatness through hard work, the grace of God, and the opportunities provided to them by the greatest country on earth; never blaming others for the obstacles in their way, including actual racism on a regular basis.

The utter lack of respect and humility from the left regarding men like this, who happen to believe in free market capitalism, the right to bear arms and the American dream; is what pushes me away from listening to liberals about race.   I don’t want to hear how Clarence Thomas is an ‘uncle Tom’ or how Senator Scott betrayed his race - especially from porridge brained white college students who haven’t done anything or been anywhere.  I recognize that there are also liberals who despite lots of real world experience, still cling to the infantile notions of utopianism and the idea that poor people can’t help themselves without the government.   That’s not me.

In my 20’s and 30’s I traveled all over the world in my work with NGO’s, and I have been to dozens of third world countries and been knee deep in actual poverty - seen with my own eyes starving children and their desperate mothers.  I can’t come back to the United States and condemn the only economic system that actually works to bring people out of poverty.  I also have a hard time sympathizing with iPhone using activists who want to tear down capitalism and punish those who have been successful at it.   

I hope this illuminates my perspective a bit, you may of course disagree - goodness knows most of my friends and family do; but this is where I’m coming from.  Thankfully I don’t believe that my politics are my identity, and that there’s a lot more to life than who or what I vote for.  I can have strong opinions about which means to an end will work best, but the end that I want is the same as most Americans, liberal or conservative.  Peace and prosperity for my kid and her kids.

I’d be happy to hear more about you and your experiences and feel free to lay on the lib-speak, though I should let you know that growing up in Berkeley I’ve pretty much heard it all.  Yes, I’m pretty much set in my ways, and I try to remember that most other people are as well - sometimes I forget and share inflammatory posts from Matt, but hey, I’m only human.  :)