tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35696395269885432692024-03-12T21:26:38.345-07:00Craig's CornerStrategist, entrepreneur and commentator Craig Coogan examines issues with his unique perspective. NOTE: The views expressed in this blog are of the author (Craig Coogan) alone. They do not represent any organization, client, or business that he may be associated with. You are welcome to comment below. Thank you for reading!Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.comBlogger331125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-64177639344382186122021-12-31T08:03:00.003-08:002021-12-31T08:03:36.476-08:00Hoping for Grace<p>I wrote this blog regularly for many years, 330 unique posts.
Every Thursday I’d post my thinking for the week. I always strove to offer a
perspective that wasn’t in the main discourse on a particular issue. It wasn’t
left or right or even center – just looking at something from a different
angle. There were some really great dialogues that happened with people who
appreciated nuance and having a substantive conversation. I never sought for
agreement from readers, just a healthy and respectful debate. The election of
Donald J. Trump changed the engagement from polite discourse to flame throwing
character assination if somebody disagreed. That wasn’t interesting or
productive to me, so the blog no longer served its intended purpose.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I return to the format because today because it seems to be
a good way to explore an issue that I’ve been long committed to, but handled in
a thoughtless way. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Recently I made a thoughtless comment on a Facebook post
that was undeniably racist, and demeaning of Asian people. I am deeply sorry
for the harm I caused. My comment on that post was unbecoming of who I am as a
person or my role as a leader in my church, my organization and my community. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I understand the power of negative stereotyping and the pain
it causes. I’ve spent my career trying to transcend LGBTQ+ prejudice. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I know that people were hurt. And not just random people I
don’t know which is terrible enough. Most of the people who were hurt by the
post and my comment are people that I know, which is particularly upsetting
because they are people for whom I feel great affection and respect and
consider friends. It wasn’t a large group of people, but the breadth of the impact
doesn’t negate the depth of the upset.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How I could have possibly missed just how offensive the post
was in the first place. When it was brought to my attention I immediately got
it. I mean, it was incredibly obvious. How I could have possibly done this? Me,
who’s spent a lifetime moving organizations and people to be accepting of
difference.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was tired. Under extraordinary stress. It was late. I was
attempting to be funny. I’m human. Those “reasons” – all true – aren’t justifications.
It’s clear that my own white privilege simply blinded me to something that
should have been obvious–that the meme itself was a racist, anti-Asian trope.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m a cis-gender, white male born on the cusp of the Boomer
and X generations. I have privilege in most areas of my life. I grew up in a
liberal household and have spent my career working with for-profit and
not-for-profit organizations effecting social change and working to make the
world a better place. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have blind spots. If the first step in doing better is
understanding where and how you went wrong, well, then, I’ve taken the first of
what I know are many steps. I know I can do better and I will. Acknowledging my
error and committing to being better is a start. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Will this be enough? Can 2 words seen by 28 people be the
thing that undoes a lifetime of service? Some think so. Perhaps context and proportionality
are relevant, even at a time when nuance seems to be a relic of the past. I
continue to hope that grace, forgiveness and understanding give way to allow us
all to become better. <o:p></o:p></p>Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-23846016689144361012019-08-11T05:36:00.002-07:002019-08-11T05:36:36.306-07:00Supreme Emergency <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHmDLNplnRaWBUZ4ubwvrZoIZU_1vAxqjFKDugmzWCK3B4AiWkuLoyVVhFapVEDWy3I2UBSNCvWNbtXhsQytWk8PKoDdBhZDDjwxwhN4HyncQjJihfFARtGPYr-eQ9Yivp9XC5e2xQ28W/s1600/veto-president.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="640" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHmDLNplnRaWBUZ4ubwvrZoIZU_1vAxqjFKDugmzWCK3B4AiWkuLoyVVhFapVEDWy3I2UBSNCvWNbtXhsQytWk8PKoDdBhZDDjwxwhN4HyncQjJihfFARtGPYr-eQ9Yivp9XC5e2xQ28W/s320/veto-president.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On this day (Aug 11) in 1997 President Clinton <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/presidents-cannot-have-line-item-veto-3322132" target="_blank">used the line-item veto</a> for the first time to cut three measures from an
expansive spending and taxation bill. At the bill's signing ceremony, Clinton
declared "From now on, presidents will be able to say 'no' to wasteful
spending or tax loopholes, even as they say 'yes' to vital legislation." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups
upset by the action immediately filed suit and on June 25, 1998 the Supreme
Court overturned the Line Item Veto – pointing out that the constitution did
not give authority to the Executive Branch to amend legislation. The court
specifically held the line-item veto violated the principles of the
"separation of powers" between the legislative, executive and
judicial branches of the federal government.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On July 26, 2019 the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/26/border-wall-supreme-court-allows-donald-trumps-emergency-spending/1799514001/" target="_blank">lifted an injunction</a> against the border wall spending that had been imposed by a federal district
court judge in California and affirmed by a federal appeals court. The
injunction blocked spending while the lawsuit challenging it remains pending at
the appeals court. It allows the Trump Administration’s Emergency declaration at
the border to stand and authorizes the Defense Department to move $2.5 billion from
accounts such as Veteran benefits, troop training, etc. to supporting Homeland
Security in expanding the wall on the southern border of the United States. The
case is still going through the courts and may ultimately be decided differently,
but the lifting of the injunction is a strong indicator that the majority
supports allowing the Executive Branch to reallocate funding since they can now
actually do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m a true fiscal conservative. I
believe that you don’t spend more than you bring in. During the five years that
I wrote this blog there were many entries on my personal journey to this
philosophy and my own struggles with living it as well as the unending examples
of hypocrisy around it in political circles. I loved the concept of a Line Item
Veto – where a leader could wipe out the graft and pork that made its way into
bills just to get enough approval to get them passed. When the court reiterated
the unique role of each branch of government, my position evolved to support
the ruling. In our system of governance, the Congress holds the purse strings.
Period. Full Stop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A dozen years later a much different Court has ruled much
differently. By declaring an emergency and being able to reallocate funds that
the legislative branch determined – the role of the Executive Branch changes
significantly. There’s strong and passionate arguments about “the wall” – and issues
of immigration. This isn’t about that underlying issue.
This is about granting the President the power to spend as he/she sees fit. It's the difference between a monarchy and a democracy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine a different president – in the not so distant
future. Maybe 2 years. Maybe 6. Maybe 10. But there’ll be a different party in
power. After a weekend of mass shootings where dozens of Americans are struck
down a President declares an emergency and reallocates money from the Defense
Department to a program to collect the guns that are killing citizens. Or a
President comes into office and sees the millions of Americans who aren’t
receiving health care and dying because of it. They declare an emergency and
moves money from missiles into a single-payer system. Or imagine this
Administration’s next emergency declaration and moving money around to
implement their policy. Whatever the issue now an emergency can be declared and
resources directed towards it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ruling by emergency is ruling by fiat. Call it imperial. Call it a
dictatorship. It's not constitutional. That's true with this Administration as for the prior
or the next. The Supreme Court has set the path towards a dismantling of a core
tenet of the American experiment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s lots of things for our hair to be on fire about
today. Politicians and voters alike are responsible for an economy that is
burning more than a trillion dollars a year more than it generates with a debt
load that exceeds $22 trillion. The economic disparity of the haves and have
nots is ever increasing. Trade wars are commonplace. Children are separated
from their parents as a strategy. People are being kept in cages. We are killing each other. We
talk about each other in the worst possible ways, using those things that
differentiate us as weapons instead of celebrating our differences as
strengths. We point fingers that the other side is worse than our side as we
move further into a “my way or the highway” mentality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The list can go one. So why does this seemingly small, esoteric
and wonky item that barely made a news cycle compel me to dust off my soapbox with
so many other things out there? There are many voices addressing the list
above. Not much is being said about this. Granting the President the authority
to bypass Congress in spending money is antithetical to our Constitution and
that the Supreme Court has indicated a willingness to support that will lead to
the dismantling of this core principal. To me that’s worth pointing out. To me that’s
a Supreme Emergency. </span></div>
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Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-73355528939290280572016-10-27T07:03:00.002-07:002016-10-27T07:03:11.586-07:00Give me a break!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The idiom “give me a break” generally is used when you don’t
believe something that has happened or been said. We’ve all muttered the
expression a lot lately, especially around the 2016 Presidential race. I am going
to use it here more literally. I started this blog in late July 2010. This is
the 329<sup>th</sup> iteration. At an average of 750 words that’s nearly
250,000 words. To compare that’s about three average mystery novels (at 80,000 words
each), much less than the Bible (800,000 words) and nowhere near the IRS Code
(4 million words).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Originally <b>Craig’s
Corner </b>was a way to keep me focused during a long stint where I was without
work or income. With gainful employment it has become a welcome respite from
the day-to-day tasks. I tend to focus on issues that are interesting to me but
not necessarily a critical part of what I do day in and day out. My perspective
isn’t unique, but I do look at the word with a different lens. I’ve tried hard
not to be part of the echo chamber and been diligent about not being hyperbolic
(which is easy to do with writing about issues that I care about and have
inflamed passions all around). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There’s about a thousand views of various blogs each month
and over 90,000 since I started. I’m incredibly grateful (and somewhat awed) by
the support and interest – especially given that I’ve been woefully inadequate
at promoting and sharing my own work! It’s been quite satisfying to have
something that I did for myself be of interest and value to others. <b>THANK YOU!</b> I’ve had
some wonderful communications and engagements with people along the way, and
some not so great too. I particularly remember the woman who discovered the
blog a few years in and was reading them in order each morning with her coffee
and then wrote me an email each day with her thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m a pretty consistent guy so it’s probably no surprise
that I haven’t missed a Thursday posting since I started. It’s been a
good way to do what the blog was intended to: take a little time out of each
week for me to explore things that I might not otherwise. It’s largely been fun
and certainly not felt like work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's time to take a break. I’ll continue to opine away. It
may or may not be with the same regularity. It may or may not be in the same
format. I imagine sometimes I’d fire off a 200 word thought and other times it
may be 2,000. Stay tuned!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-8908566153192754602016-10-20T06:01:00.001-07:002016-10-20T07:40:49.725-07:00Giving the gift<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The holidays are right around the corner. It’s a time of
reflection, excitement and no matter one’s religious predilections a there’s a tradition
of gift giving. Talking about the holidays before Halloween is usually met with
revulsion and resistance. This time it’s different. While we can’t grant
everybody’s #1 wish – that the 2016 U.S. Presidential election cycle be over –
maybe we can do something close. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let’s
give Donald J. Trump what he’s been talking about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’m wary of adding to the proliferation of commentary on the
Grand Old Party’s nominee. But then maybe there’s something to the Trump
complaints. Instead of dismissing everything that comes out of his mouth as
made up, perhaps we should be doing is more of what he worries about, not less.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The more recent complaints from the real-estate tycoon have
to do with media bias. All “the media” does is lie, distort and never gives him
fair coverage. This same media generated over a billion dollars of free brand
and name recognition that took him from a quirky idea of a candidate who had to
pay people to attend his announcement to becoming the GOP standard bearer. Why
not dial back the coverage of him? In many states his poll numbers are
competitive with Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson. The LP crew
gets a miniscule amount of coverage. Let’s afford Donald the same. Imagine </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">what
the last few weeks would have been like if the Donald coverage had been curbed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The media fell for a classic Trump manipulation again. He
mused out loud at a rally in front of a few thousand people that the system was
“rigged” and he was “worried” about having the election stolen from him. There
is no evidence anywhere from any source that legitimizes this theory. The same
system he now demonizes is the one that served him well during the Republican
primary season. Rather than ignore the patent absurdity of the comment the
media, however, fell hook, line and sinker for it. Op-eds, talking heads, etc.
have all fulminated at the undermining of the American electoral system that has
seen the peaceful transfer of power throughout the country’s entire history. It’s
made for great coverage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9aXsLAPp-w1-SUEzR0sIR_h9lVtpMXj2aXUQSQ9B8wTYJOXESQDmDXStu68Zhw6ufAwJeTCqHa_W3ZYrYrEHbGKyFpbV-eIGJQLBC641CHp6CLqxzvIawjOFPpwBicFDNm1SPRQexfkF/s1600/trump_media_cartoon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9aXsLAPp-w1-SUEzR0sIR_h9lVtpMXj2aXUQSQ9B8wTYJOXESQDmDXStu68Zhw6ufAwJeTCqHa_W3ZYrYrEHbGKyFpbV-eIGJQLBC641CHp6CLqxzvIawjOFPpwBicFDNm1SPRQexfkF/s400/trump_media_cartoon.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Trump’s outlandish claim got traction. He got what he
wanted: attention which he interprets as support. (Just like he believes the
attendance and enthusiasm at his rallies should equate to support in the
electoral college.) Trump doubled down at the third debate – refusing to say
that he’d accept the result of the election saying he’d “look at it at the
time.” Nearly everybody in the political establishment are up in arms over
this, rightfully so. That question, however, would never have been asked if the
ranting had been left to the candidate and a few thousand of his supporters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Who knows what the next 19 days will portend. It’s hard to
imagine anything more outrageous that what’s been seen so far. But let’s not be
surprised. Let’s conspire against crazy talk. Let’s put stories front and
center about things that matter. Damon Linker wrote <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/655826/why-wont-anyone-admit-that-america-fighting-5-wars?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=afternoon&utm_medium=10_20_16-article_3-655826" target="_blank">a powerful piece</a> asking why there’s not been any substantive discussion the
five (yes, FIVE) wars that America is currently fighting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglup-pjuah83uNxdVbg17AhsmN8aoFlx6uxefkBtdcSSxshv3mbfRML3Tzk5hmjPtaRIFj3gegoUYaRXMqlflX26c5Z3OcA_1nrnbtCnwiRHYunAxhnjtBMCkxsHg5oPh8RF_bwnWByDJO/s1600/Trump-Chair-600-LI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglup-pjuah83uNxdVbg17AhsmN8aoFlx6uxefkBtdcSSxshv3mbfRML3Tzk5hmjPtaRIFj3gegoUYaRXMqlflX26c5Z3OcA_1nrnbtCnwiRHYunAxhnjtBMCkxsHg5oPh8RF_bwnWByDJO/s400/Trump-Chair-600-LI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As a big and small ‘l’ libertarian I am loathe to advocate
any curb on freedom of speech. I’m not doing that here. I recognize that there’s
a limitation on what mainstream news organizations can cover in limited time
and space environment. My preferred candidate gets less coverage because he has
not yet demonstrated electoral strength that would justify equal time. There’s
a good chicken-egg argument here, but that’s not this issue.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This issue is in perpetuating false narratives. It also
gives the media the opportunity to make Trump an honest man. Cover him in
context. And don’t get sucked into crazy talk. If that had happened Trump would
have given up on his claims since they weren’t getting traction. That’d be the
gift that we’d all be happy to receive two months before Christmas. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-51046019027920418352016-10-13T06:02:00.001-07:002016-10-13T06:02:21.297-07:00Predictions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-Fbo27xhYpEab7d8NUImuqBYrycIcS8t3IAGKJvy5Iqc_d5xWRRgKgnKGLM1jbT8O97l3SKmN1PutgeAJlhAYCGqoxlaes3u7BlfvEptCgwUohfumV2PckTriVFilCGCKkD77-NUkeJq/s1600/carson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-Fbo27xhYpEab7d8NUImuqBYrycIcS8t3IAGKJvy5Iqc_d5xWRRgKgnKGLM1jbT8O97l3SKmN1PutgeAJlhAYCGqoxlaes3u7BlfvEptCgwUohfumV2PckTriVFilCGCKkD77-NUkeJq/s1600/carson.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Johnny Carson, the longtime king of late night, had an
incredibly popular character Carnac the Magnificent. Carnac would put an
envelope to his head and put out the answer. Ed McMahon would then repeat the
answer as Carson would then open the envelope and read the clue. Mostly the
audience would groan and McMahon would chortle. It was a fun way to take pot
shots at pop culture. Talking heads on cable television, columnists and even
traditional journalists have taken the predictive focus on the events of the
day. No longer is the “who, what, where, when & why” covered in stories.
Instead it’s What will happen next? What needs to happen? What does he/she need
to do to …? 100 days out from the inauguration of the 45</span><sup style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> President
of the United States, I have some predictions of my one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hillary Rodham Clinton will be the next President of the
United States. This isn’t necessarily my personal choice, but all of the
statistics, polls, hyperbole and indicators point towards a comfortable electoral
college victory. The popular vote will be too close for comfort for many of her
supporters. Despite this like Messrs. Obama, Bush (43) and even husband Bill
before her the victory will be misread as a landslide. Congress will remain
woefully and painfully divided – a much truer reflection of the country. The
HRC administration will come out of the gate overreaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8b0pmpXIQerEkZz-bninFX_-s5v3LEs_4_4AmycXB3BzfGoID9jL9u2z51wnYdi8QEdVegEq3QetKzMps3TzYQ9NvHnakpiq79f8erriqm5yzpypAtSvLGtlWApEMlGvU9Sq7qSCy2W_/s1600/hillary+sick+and+tired.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8b0pmpXIQerEkZz-bninFX_-s5v3LEs_4_4AmycXB3BzfGoID9jL9u2z51wnYdi8QEdVegEq3QetKzMps3TzYQ9NvHnakpiq79f8erriqm5yzpypAtSvLGtlWApEMlGvU9Sq7qSCy2W_/s400/hillary+sick+and+tired.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before she takes the oath of office, though, there’s the
lame duck session. Terrified by the prospect of a more liberal President and
wanting to assert its influence into the future – the last weeks of the
Congressional session will be remarkably productive. Mr. Trump’s loss will be
attributed to the uniqueness of his brand and approach and not to anything
deeper in the GOP conscience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Merrick Garland will be confirmed by the Senate and become a
Supreme Court justice. The Republicans will prefer to go with a known moderate
than an unknown liberal the Mrs. Clinton would nominate. It will also be a deft
political move to strain relations between the outgoing Obama administration
and the incoming Clinton who will want to have the nomination pulled…essentially
reinforcing the GOP mantra all along that the nomination was dependent on who
won the election. If the nomination is pulled it’ll be a huge GOP victory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6DHsUlzbw2OEQpUlSX3zBFy5sDDmqLu3XVO3Yq2rVTq_ciqZWeIwaUoWkzIsHqOR3b_sBMGg5egnthv7X9iZTcngz7e7KdX3xn7bFPDfhAGSlJZv5f1sZ7HzWBGv0lZplGPq_SGroqMp/s1600/ready+for+hillary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6DHsUlzbw2OEQpUlSX3zBFy5sDDmqLu3XVO3Yq2rVTq_ciqZWeIwaUoWkzIsHqOR3b_sBMGg5egnthv7X9iZTcngz7e7KdX3xn7bFPDfhAGSlJZv5f1sZ7HzWBGv0lZplGPq_SGroqMp/s400/ready+for+hillary.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Congress will immediately begin investigating Mrs. Clinton.
Her tendency towards secrecy and a lack of transparency will only cause
trouble. There may not be any smoking guns or anything substantive, but the
investigations will serve as the poke and reminder of her principal weakness.
She will become the second Clinton to be impeached as President of the United
States though like Bill before her, the Senate won’t remove her from office.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Donald Trump will not go quietly into that good night. He
will employ an army of attorneys and attempt to litigate the election for
months and perhaps years after the fact. Media outlets will be sued for libel.
He’ll even threaten to go after the RNC for not supporting him enough. Anybody
and everybody will be to blame. The financial damage to the Trump brand will be
sought as compensation in the suits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPw82bBw7bmoTIeTsB1-lBbp1fAiLRjcw356K-eDW-ksDOfXDyvoF4BTorhTpG6Tr-xVwh-6xS1s-hmECRbzIrizJDEDBFepJDykl4Pi20RiN1DXZP07VEWqFbcQ8wV6xdKW0cJu6_9Lk/s1600/trump+insults.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPw82bBw7bmoTIeTsB1-lBbp1fAiLRjcw356K-eDW-ksDOfXDyvoF4BTorhTpG6Tr-xVwh-6xS1s-hmECRbzIrizJDEDBFepJDykl4Pi20RiN1DXZP07VEWqFbcQ8wV6xdKW0cJu6_9Lk/s320/trump+insults.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The man himself will attempt to become Al Gore redoux. The
former Vice President became a principal in a media company (Current) as a
vehicle for his views. It went down in flames costing hundreds of millions of
dollars. Trump TV will garner a HUUUUUUGE amount of coverage and then
ultimately settle in for Glen Beck TV levels of viewership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Viable alternatives like the Libertarians will grow their electoral base. There are 154 elected officials today, 600 are running for elective office. Most of their voices will be muffled in the greater political discourse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The American people will continue to be frustrated and
indeed angry. The 2020 election will be underway within months into 2017. Why
can’t anybody get along and get anything done? Partisans will become more
resolute and we’ll continue to yell at one another or, more likely, just ignore
those thoughts, beliefs and ideas that are not immediately comfortable. In
short, I predict MOTS – more of the same. And that stinks.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-15409884199866674912016-10-06T06:20:00.001-07:002016-10-06T06:20:57.821-07:00Conscientious Voting or Voting your Conscience?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBaZvTGC-8PfaNcfhGLHOSRErsq5rN2ewiF5aUkoN5u0FJNQqSXD_V4zWzdwvFniJpFMxBTJS5w_TTRBY2pddKYDoAi_K4dHld-_Qx1qc3KoUWsNxFyUtCQzFlrvU5wjI4tS95epAi26C/s1600/vote-hands.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBaZvTGC-8PfaNcfhGLHOSRErsq5rN2ewiF5aUkoN5u0FJNQqSXD_V4zWzdwvFniJpFMxBTJS5w_TTRBY2pddKYDoAi_K4dHld-_Qx1qc3KoUWsNxFyUtCQzFlrvU5wjI4tS95epAi26C/s320/vote-hands.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’ve voted in nearly every election I was eligible to. I’ve
always viewed the act of voting as a civic obligation. I do the research on ballot
measures and on the candidates up and down the ballot. I’ll skip over some
contests if I can’t find enough information. One month out from Voting Day 2016
the drum beat of “vote” is ubiquitous. Perhaps it’s naiveté or a wistfulness to
another time that I’d like to think those entreating citizens to vote are doing
so out of what’s best overall. The reality is much more practical and cynical:
when people beg others to vote – its with the expectation that they’ll vote
their way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When progressives say that there’s too much at stake to let
Mr. Trump become President so make sure you vote – they’re not actually encouraging
people to vote how they believe, it’s a not-so-subtle way of telling people
they have to vote for Hillary Clinton. Conservatives likewise see the future of
the Republic at stake and entreat you to vote. They too aren’t expecting that
if you see the dire circumstances they do that you’d have no choice but to vote
for Donald Trump. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgIqUriLnD-MjlwlUyomTOBUH6bR7mzBwdJThpn6KithiQ7_6JtpxFkeInblyzDI7u0QTqUB9nSX2ULCGYyZR_7pC6wzWERpw0TpCYLH0t6ltQ0VYJxL18PfGNj52jSdAd4Sh8D5q2j_p/s1600/pcv982016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgIqUriLnD-MjlwlUyomTOBUH6bR7mzBwdJThpn6KithiQ7_6JtpxFkeInblyzDI7u0QTqUB9nSX2ULCGYyZR_7pC6wzWERpw0TpCYLH0t6ltQ0VYJxL18PfGNj52jSdAd4Sh8D5q2j_p/s640/pcv982016.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a libertarian I want people to both vote their conscience
and to be conscientious in their voting. I’ve had the opportunity to engage
with people who support all four of the major candidates for President in the
2016 cycle. I have very strong feelings about each of them – three very
negatives and one positive. I know who I’m voting for. My reasons follow.
Perhaps some will be swayed or be open to my “why’s” – most won’t be. I’m fine
with that. That’s what America is all about. That’s what voting is all about. That’s
what being a libertarian is all about – respecting others. It’s what supporters
of the other candidates don’t seem to
have. I’ll be vilified, called names, accused of putting the nation at risk for
my choice rather than being acknowledged for doing what I’m entitled and I believe
obligated to do: vote for what I believe in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To nobody’s surprise who’s read any of my blogs in the past
five years – I’m voting for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee for
President. I’ve been a supporter of the party since 1993 after having previously
supported Bill Clinton who then turned on the LGBT community and became the
most anti-gay President in modern history. He enshrined into law Don’t Ask Don’t
Tell and proposed and passed the Defense of Marriage Act to win re-election in
1996. It took nearly 20 years and untold amounts of damage to many lives and
millions of dollars to undue this damage from a “friend” of the community.
Neither Bill nor Hillary have apologized for their lie in 1992 or their actions
during their 8 years in office and Mrs. Clinton only came to support marriage
equality two years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’m not voting against Hillary, though there’s plenty to
oppose. She’s a proponent of war – and I’m a pacifist. She’s for having the
government regulate the economy further and I think a free enterprise capitalist
system is best. And of course there’s her tendency to obfuscate rather than be
direct.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m not voting against Donald either, though there’s even
more to oppose. He’s an embarrassment to America. He believes America is broken
and I don’t. I spend my life embracing and celebrating diversity and he all
sorts of “ists” – racist, misogynist, homophobe, etc. More fundamentally,
though, he’s failed at everything except building a brand for himself. He’s a
loose cannon with a short fuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfi2qfvH2m2Ws4NA0NFHDKyo2jIuATr81T7LS0Se_Z6PHIxA_fZQ-uFI2AqfxWLpQg9zDRJ-uxGtOAqMVCKVKlSOgwpZiZ5uyJtF335E1dPaVnVbjIvhX3WawKeYcPT7vWvl1l26Fnvrpx/s1600/pcv9152016-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfi2qfvH2m2Ws4NA0NFHDKyo2jIuATr81T7LS0Se_Z6PHIxA_fZQ-uFI2AqfxWLpQg9zDRJ-uxGtOAqMVCKVKlSOgwpZiZ5uyJtF335E1dPaVnVbjIvhX3WawKeYcPT7vWvl1l26Fnvrpx/s640/pcv9152016-1.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gary Johnson is not just somebody I’m supporting because he’s
not Hillary and he’s not Donald. He’s a two-time Governor – where he governed
as a Republican in a nearly all Democratic state. He was re-elected
overwhelmingly. He cut taxes. He shrunk government. He raised incomes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think America needs somebody who has a proven track record
of working both sides of the aisle as Johnson does. Will he be able to
implement the Libertarian platform as written? Of course not. Neither would
Hillary or Donald with their platforms either. Johnson has said he’d staff his
government with the best people from all parties. Isn’t it time we all got
along? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For a good part of the last six months Gary Johnson ran a
great campaign. And then the mistakes started. He was on “Morning Joe” and was
asked about Alepo. He blanked. The Syrian town has become shorthand for the war
there. It was embarrassing for him and for his supporters. To his credit, and
one of the personality driven reasons I support him is this: he went on “60
Minutes” and owned the error. He said he should have known. He apologized. That’s
what I want in a President. I want somebody who will own their humanity and
learn from their mistakes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A local NBC affiliate had an interview with him about the
debates. He chewed on his tongue in his response to the reporter. It was weird.
It was odd. He was trying to make the point that even if he stood on the stage
and chewed on his tongue that he’d get a huge outpouring of support because Hillary
and Donald are so disliked and 70% of the public don’t even know there’s
another alternative. It was a terrible way to make the point. As his poll
numbers rise and his endorsements from major media increased – it was an ideal
way to edit out the context and show him as crazy. That keeps the narrative
easy: two person horserace. (I’m not blaming the media – Johnson was silly in
how he made this point.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">MSNBC’s “Hardball” host Chris Matthews asked Johnson to name his
favorite foreign leader. He couldn’t. Yikes. The media (social and traditional)
pounced. How could anybody running for President who wants to be taken
seriously not be able to name any foreign leader? Well, that wasn’t the
question – but it made for a nice sound byte. Despite Trump’s omnipresence –
interviews aren’t game shows. Johnson
didn’t articulate why he wasn’t naming anybody: that as an anti-government guy
he didn’t see anybody in his tradition around the world to emulate. A lost
opportunity which he again owned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I list these three “gaffes” because Johnson himself talks about them. Both Hillary and Donald have made many mistakes on the trail as well – but it takes days, weeks or for Trump never – to remedy their errors. I also note them because it’s “buyer aware.” I’m aware my candidate isn’t perfect.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBAOgZ4XYTQG-MXW4o0AEegJ0WOp9mzRq0vcXIPmWaqC1k0aTX0H1Ff7_xa3cNJ9A-9IbPVTtDNDE8IYKe7ujyn2U6oFUw2aaQEDMccVuL6MCOQSnRgqjnXKTzVCENJuPIgWObx0xuM6s/s1600/gary+10052016.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBAOgZ4XYTQG-MXW4o0AEegJ0WOp9mzRq0vcXIPmWaqC1k0aTX0H1Ff7_xa3cNJ9A-9IbPVTtDNDE8IYKe7ujyn2U6oFUw2aaQEDMccVuL6MCOQSnRgqjnXKTzVCENJuPIgWObx0xuM6s/s400/gary+10052016.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There’s the rub. I won’t be swayed. I know his strengths and
his weaknesses as a candidate. Just as Hillary supporters and Donald supporters
won’t be swayed either. I’ve carefully evaluated the platforms and the people
and found the most alignment with Johnson. Others have with others. I support
them though I disagree with them. That’s both conscientious voting and voting
my conscience. I hope you do the same. There’s too much at stake. </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-48383696716879799512016-09-29T08:11:00.003-07:002016-09-29T08:11:31.685-07:00Legally Bald<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPNLN3j24RVfKNebW7sMMPeyaTo8Zt-pR8IFzDamdoVjpXJQY73CLPDSbwgiPxvFEXl6tYRKLqHuYvylBXDhlYrlbBSarxXxIumEOAK38XFC-0iDhryCN0EpIiG1_4ZRESUYUVZ3of9EF/s1600/legally+blonde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPNLN3j24RVfKNebW7sMMPeyaTo8Zt-pR8IFzDamdoVjpXJQY73CLPDSbwgiPxvFEXl6tYRKLqHuYvylBXDhlYrlbBSarxXxIumEOAK38XFC-0iDhryCN0EpIiG1_4ZRESUYUVZ3of9EF/s200/legally+blonde.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Legally Blonde is a fun movie and the stage musical version is
a hoot. I’ve been in enough legal tangles, however, to know that being in litigation
is not all fun and games. As an entrepreneur I had to utilize the system more
time than I would have preferred to have contracts fulfilled. Put plainly: I’ve
sued a bunch of people. I’ve been sued. I’ve won most but I’ve lost as well.
Regardless of the outcome the process is not for the weary. The American civil legal
system is something to behold: it’s big, it’s cumbersome, it’s lengthy and it embodies
the fundamental philosophy that we’re all equal. A good friend who’s an attorney
always reminds me: “It’s America. You can sue anybody for anything.” Thanks to
Congress that’s more true than ever before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Congress did something extraordinary this year. It passed
legislation during one of the most unproductive sessions in American history. And it
did so <b><u>unanimously</u></b>. Victims families of 9/11 championed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/us/politics/house-911-victims-saudi-arabia.html?_r=0" target="_blank">the bill</a> that gives them permission to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for damages for the terrorist attacks their citizen perpetrated on 9/11.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WREQR9ItNwPhVRJLXsVOGjt8vJ3Iu6tFiXOip_0m9p9cUMfmG-wtiBbyNS_IvpcWlfMh0C637TGs4VDnEbb4BZ2kd0oEDQow_lsuBWl3lfb1Qkf0Q8v0zr602dz-njnMAff4ff1IlS57/s1600/if+at+first+you+dont+succeed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WREQR9ItNwPhVRJLXsVOGjt8vJ3Iu6tFiXOip_0m9p9cUMfmG-wtiBbyNS_IvpcWlfMh0C637TGs4VDnEbb4BZ2kd0oEDQow_lsuBWl3lfb1Qkf0Q8v0zr602dz-njnMAff4ff1IlS57/s320/if+at+first+you+dont+succeed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">America’s civil legal system allows for financial penalties
to be assessed even when the criminal side of the system can’t assess blame. OJ
Simpson is a high profile example. He was found not-guilty of the murders of
Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman criminally, but he was held responsible on the civil
side and the victim’s families were awarded $33.5 million in damages (of which
less than $500K was ever paid). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The victims of 9/11 want to do the same thing. They say: all
of the hijackers were Saudi nationals, so the Saudi government should pay
damages. The attacks of September 11<sup>th</sup> were horrible. Terrible.
Inexcusable. Nothing written here negates that. But perhaps there’s some
context. Victim’s families have been compensated. From the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11th_Victim_Compensation_Fund" target="_blank">September 11th Victim Compensation Fund</a> overseen by Ken Feinberg “$7 billion was awarded to 97% of the families; the average payout was $1.8
million.” The similarly named but separate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11th_Fund" target="_blank">September 11<sup>th</sup> Fund</a> distributed $538 million. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_Captive_Insurance_Company" target="_blank">World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company</a> spent an additional $1 billion. Nearly $9 billion has been paid in direct
compensation. No amount of money can ever replace a lost loved one. Victims of 9/11, however, have been given a lot more than other victims of many other crimes have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYskhfojlv5q3Rd3-9lV89DBqE064q2Lb1q24YEWancxYQ2e3LGHNS3UjL63xHQSAVG1teH_kzvuRd6Zqx5X0t5Bsffx0Ld0qR0YaADFQsFrwkyDbx2TS6y-fcFxL1J_4gfPBNUgH9xXbw/s1600/fear+litigation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYskhfojlv5q3Rd3-9lV89DBqE064q2Lb1q24YEWancxYQ2e3LGHNS3UjL63xHQSAVG1teH_kzvuRd6Zqx5X0t5Bsffx0Ld0qR0YaADFQsFrwkyDbx2TS6y-fcFxL1J_4gfPBNUgH9xXbw/s400/fear+litigation.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What happens when the Afghan’s, the Pakistanis, the Iraqi’s
all decide that the U.S. drones that have killed thousands and thousands of civilians? American citizens, legislators and soldiers will all be open to being sued.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The law the Congress passed President Obama
vetoed because it repealed the long-standing legal principal of sovereign
immunity. On September 28, 2016 Congress by huge majorities <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/us/politics/senate-votes-to-override-obama-veto-on-9-11-victims-bill.html" target="_blank">overrode the veto</a>. The measure amends the 1974 law that “granted
other countries broad immunity from American lawsuits.” Passage occurred <i><u>without
debate, no committee hearings</u></i>. (That’s the Congress we know and love.) There
wasn’t even public outcry – just a small group of September 11<sup>th</sup>
families. We can all understand their pain but putting the U.S. and its citizens at legal culpability for
its many acts and intrusions around the world is too high a price. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>If we’re going to be suing</b> let’s have a class action lawsuit
again the Republicans in the Senate for abandoning their constitutionally
mandated responsibility for refusing to advise and consent on a Supreme Court
nominee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>If we’re going to be suing</b> let’s go after the DNC for
rigging the primary system against Bernie or go after the RNC for rigging the
system for Donald. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>If we’re going to be suing</b> let’s go after the police who are
killing unarmed, innocent civilians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Congress’ override of President Obama’s veto lays America bare and open for like lawsuits. We’re now legally bald.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dcKVpUDQR5IQ7gfuazGUPCQ1UJ5Cdfn7amLby3QU29P6OK7Sf4cj6cgVuP223R_WA_7BgcHoumRF2SlJvXw9aQy639ZFWMu0Ssnh5_S-C8quwuzn19Pcpyh5psoPrAKe1WfSrb4cNi6F/s1600/sue+anybody.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dcKVpUDQR5IQ7gfuazGUPCQ1UJ5Cdfn7amLby3QU29P6OK7Sf4cj6cgVuP223R_WA_7BgcHoumRF2SlJvXw9aQy639ZFWMu0Ssnh5_S-C8quwuzn19Pcpyh5psoPrAKe1WfSrb4cNi6F/s320/sue+anybody.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-5504558447720750632016-09-22T06:42:00.003-07:002016-09-22T06:42:57.266-07:00Debates posturing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4LhbHE02Mo4WjeXF9CUOMAhsyLE6SI7skqS76AfEi-cvTGyF5tTJ4xhXZ0GvUArqmqZo1xnQaaXqbNxsNnMsRskTh7-SijSLsWbOnkKLpAp3fJf8aLzciOQ74Li05lIbggFxjbwxNB0X/s1600/debate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4LhbHE02Mo4WjeXF9CUOMAhsyLE6SI7skqS76AfEi-cvTGyF5tTJ4xhXZ0GvUArqmqZo1xnQaaXqbNxsNnMsRskTh7-SijSLsWbOnkKLpAp3fJf8aLzciOQ74Li05lIbggFxjbwxNB0X/s200/debate.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I remember the genteel Presidential debates of the 1980’s
and 90’s where the most drama was when a candidate came up with a snappy
response that captured the zeitgeist of the moment. “There you go again…” said
Ronald Reagan to President Carter, effectively nullifying the issues that his
opponent kept bringing up while framing an opinion and judgement. Reagan also
used humor in 1984 when he said: “I will not make age an issue of this
campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's
youth and inexperience," referring to Vice President Mondale. The gipper was
brilliant at negating an issue without being unpleasant. The Debate Commission has
made the 2016 upcoming sessions irrelevant, however.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Presidential_Debates" target="_blank">Wikipedia informs</a>: “The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) sponsors and produces debates
for the United States presidential and vice presidential candidates and
undertakes research and educational activities relating to the debates. The
organization, which is a nonprofit corporation controlled by the Democratic and
Republican parties, has run each of the presidential debates held since 1988.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_iGRUkN0x7rH4YR7xeTX6NcchQy6Wn5Jfve6PoVRBL9CJpiZRBvPdy-35C5nSmTEtU5n5ihw-f7_ZQiZncL5a1hyz4uSJa3Tq-d8sh0hE8dGAF7KpKowoX4vKv31CqVXjggzEuwFUbkZ/s1600/debate+referee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_iGRUkN0x7rH4YR7xeTX6NcchQy6Wn5Jfve6PoVRBL9CJpiZRBvPdy-35C5nSmTEtU5n5ihw-f7_ZQiZncL5a1hyz4uSJa3Tq-d8sh0hE8dGAF7KpKowoX4vKv31CqVXjggzEuwFUbkZ/s320/debate+referee.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The organization is equally controlled by longstanding
prominent members of the established parties. It’s partisan by its nature and its makeup. “In
2008, the Center for Public Integrity labeled the CPD a ‘secretive tax-exempt
organization.’ CPI analyzed the 2004 financials of the CPD, and found that <b>93 percent of the contributions to the
non-profit CPD came from just six donors</b>, the names of all of which were
blacked out on the donor list provided to the CPI.” It hasn’t improved with
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Presidential debates are when most voters focus on the
candidates and the issues. It is absolutely appropriate that there be an
established criteria for inclusion. You wouldn’t want 16 people on the stage
(the way the GOP did during their primaries). The CPD in 2000 established a 15%
threshold in the polls as the entry point. Seems fair. But it isn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Candidates who do not receive major media coverage will find
it very difficult to hit the legitimacy of 15%. More than that – their name should
be on the polls that are used. Polls themselves would need to include every
candidate. The Libertarian candidate in 2016, Gov. Gary Johnson who is on all
50 state ballots in November and has raised millions of dollars – was not
listed on many of the polls or was a secondary question. The final five polls
the CPD chose to use an average of did include Johnson, but hadn’t included him
all along. <a href="https://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/cnn-to-millennials-were-excluding-you-from-the-presidential-poll" target="_blank">CNN’s poll</a> excluded all “millennials” – described by them as voters under 35. Not so fair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx" target="_blank">Gallup</a> a majority of voters identify not as Republican or Democrat, but as
Independent. A majority of the polls used by the CPD <b>over</b> sampled Republicans and Democrats and <b>under</b> sampled Independents. To adequately poll requires time,
resources and a balance that most organizations don’t have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Beyond just popularity six major newspapers and dozens of
elected leaders called for Johnson’s inclusion. It was not to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What would happen if a third-party candidate was on in the
debates? We need to look no further back than 1992. Ross Perot was polling at
8%. Then President Bush (41) was assailing Bill Clinton about his lack of
patriotism. The media was agog about the idea of flag burnings and the elder
Bush was <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1989-06-28/news/mn-4162_1_flag-desecration-american-flag-unique-national-symbol" target="_blank">proclaiming</a> what he’d do as leader of the free world to protect it. The Democratic nominee went from talk show to talk show talking about his
<a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2007228_2007230_2007258,00.html" target="_blank">underwear preferences</a> and playing saxophone. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1v9QgH3F9DssHSontj1qwxz4XFXACZHfYc2HCVZjC2lX9hg6IBXC8kKYwjshAcj6daKYec7M9G8tLcuBOHky-b4o9wQ8ARC7BLdCsq8Ic6fflaMhrOtGELvOxsvDbxBIpsNSI6aoidLhW/s1600/debate+1992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1v9QgH3F9DssHSontj1qwxz4XFXACZHfYc2HCVZjC2lX9hg6IBXC8kKYwjshAcj6daKYec7M9G8tLcuBOHky-b4o9wQ8ARC7BLdCsq8Ic6fflaMhrOtGELvOxsvDbxBIpsNSI6aoidLhW/s320/debate+1992.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">At the first debate Perot focused the nation on the
issues he cared about: debt, deficit and the economy. The next six weeks the
campaign changed to become a substantive comparison of three approaches to the
economic challenges of the times. Perot’s poll numbers soared into the 30’s and
then settled at about 19% for the election itself. The debates were good for
discourse, good for policy and ultimately good for democracy as the President
who was elected went by the mantra: “</span><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">it’s the economy stupid</b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What is the CPD afraid of? Their mission states that they
were founded to: “provide the best possible information to viewers and
listeners” around Presidential elections. Clearly it’s not about fairness and
its not about furthering the substantive discussion of issues facing the
electorate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gary Johnson is a two-term Governor. He served as a
Republican in a Democratic state. He was re-elected overwhelmingly. He
previously ran for President in 2012 and was on 48 of the 50 state ballots. He
and his running mate Bill Weld (another two-term Governor who as a Republican
was re-elected in a Democratic state) have raised millions of dollars. The
Libertarian Party has been an established political party for 45 years.
Thousands of candidates stand for offices at every level of government and
there are hundreds of elected officials. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV43bsBEnNqAAxkZp_n94kXoLd6yWQKAnLYy5EAHa4CQt2-DtwhRJCX8yariK5zT-YZbmE4alQ0ImQk31QFZdNw5a7TvOHFcsXQBouSvQfbOMfTGT3rDbRm1RHDls_3AoN6V3CG0ZAXoMT/s1600/debate+trump+hil+johnson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV43bsBEnNqAAxkZp_n94kXoLd6yWQKAnLYy5EAHa4CQt2-DtwhRJCX8yariK5zT-YZbmE4alQ0ImQk31QFZdNw5a7TvOHFcsXQBouSvQfbOMfTGT3rDbRm1RHDls_3AoN6V3CG0ZAXoMT/s400/debate+trump+hil+johnson.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Voters deserve to hear from Johnson. Has he run a perfect
campaign? No. Has he misstated some things, forgotten some things, stumbled
over some things? Yup. He’s owned every one of those mistakes (unlike other
candidates). The bottom line is that he’s a serious candidate and the views
that he represents will not be on the stage. That’s bad for America and bad for
the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All is not lost. In today’s social media and high tech world
it’s possible to remedy the CDP’s decision. Put Johnson in a soundproof studio –
have him hear the questions and responses and then give him the same time to
respond. The networks should then edit in his response for viewers. The debates
are important - and not just for posturing.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDZgCCZvRHkgQBVH1feZaLR2OlIfF0VBQyveqZ4YQnKy2lpoxfIDJQNkmQeKMTF0bm3wE_bSforU3QHqJYcuYIPTN1JcuQGhjDT95L_r4gVBloBSYcDmz-5MDepMZdeaRwAMU6SWJyway/s1600/gary+johnson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDZgCCZvRHkgQBVH1feZaLR2OlIfF0VBQyveqZ4YQnKy2lpoxfIDJQNkmQeKMTF0bm3wE_bSforU3QHqJYcuYIPTN1JcuQGhjDT95L_r4gVBloBSYcDmz-5MDepMZdeaRwAMU6SWJyway/s640/gary+johnson.png" width="478" /></a></div>
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Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-15520382351221616052016-09-15T06:13:00.002-07:002016-09-15T06:13:42.562-07:00Rigged Democracy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVYe4BOqXmdwmx2KK-4uQN3kGvt5gtaZSYnQDIAZtk922Fojq3QVXYk1YZpoen_yuZ8CIisiIz5-vxXoTQ47gaiqS8c3rt7tiwoqR3REc0xxJo_pwenLGa7ur6n-eAHryyEwAyNaGQX4q/s1600/wethepeople.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVYe4BOqXmdwmx2KK-4uQN3kGvt5gtaZSYnQDIAZtk922Fojq3QVXYk1YZpoen_yuZ8CIisiIz5-vxXoTQ47gaiqS8c3rt7tiwoqR3REc0xxJo_pwenLGa7ur6n-eAHryyEwAyNaGQX4q/s320/wethepeople.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">September 17</span><sup style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> is Constitution and Citizenship
Day. Thanks to a 2004 law every educational institution in the America must
provide some programming on the history of the day. Having been educated long
before the law went into effect, my schools didn’t have a focus on the day that
the Constitution was created in 1787, some 11 years the Declaration of
Independence. It would take another 11 years to fully ratify it. The
Constitution replaced the Articles of the Confederation. It’s a pretty nifty
piece of thinking and writing given that it still governs the United States 229
years later. As we move into the final heat of the 2016 Presidential election,
the role of the constitution is more important than ever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleii" target="_blank">Article II</a> clearly states the qualifications for the office: “No person except a natural
born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of
this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall
any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of
thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>That’s it</b>. A candidate
for the Presidency doesn’t have to be an expert in anything. He/she need not to
have served in public office or done anything other than being born a citizen,
be 35 years old and lived in the U.S. for 14 years of those years. <b>That’s it</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YapMCOhCcXTvA5RqA1RBp8Wkjuir5Co2GusQ1zg9mRXc-Lgm9T97PhPF9OLH6ecQGsI8k5r7A2HaoTaYG4WuhrIrNDNLjn_vRjz2shO1oswdFBpVzHTBGwD0BSvdNEpuC5wYO_MUSZCf/s1600/trump+unfit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YapMCOhCcXTvA5RqA1RBp8Wkjuir5Co2GusQ1zg9mRXc-Lgm9T97PhPF9OLH6ecQGsI8k5r7A2HaoTaYG4WuhrIrNDNLjn_vRjz2shO1oswdFBpVzHTBGwD0BSvdNEpuC5wYO_MUSZCf/s320/trump+unfit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The major party candidates seem to have made the 2016 race
about why their opponent is unqualified for the office rather than what they
stand for. It’s a strategy that has made cable television and internet publishers
happy, nearly ruined the value of social media and it’s changed no minds of campaign
loyalists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This isn’t another lament of politics 2016 style. What’s troublesome
is the recent narratives from each camp. In August during a particularly
difficult time for the GOP standard bearer he announced that if he loses it’s
because the system is rigged. “If the election is rigged, I would not be
surprised,” he told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-trump-a-new-rigged-system-the-election-itself/2016/08/02/d9fb33b0-58c4-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> in an interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55s_-FnLvdw5zxZ2gX9vaO2yo-muKLNoAGzMQ0Xzwm03u9UxJilsIsVm2FNy9SnHTWia3DHYaisTq55qJ201KILVPkK4vmVSkfkHmv-IwbgIxVWL9aE17MRH9kIJFCKPVcs76nJ6UVRn6/s1600/crooked_hillary_house_rgb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55s_-FnLvdw5zxZ2gX9vaO2yo-muKLNoAGzMQ0Xzwm03u9UxJilsIsVm2FNy9SnHTWia3DHYaisTq55qJ201KILVPkK4vmVSkfkHmv-IwbgIxVWL9aE17MRH9kIJFCKPVcs76nJ6UVRn6/s320/crooked_hillary_house_rgb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Secretary Clinton says in speeches reported by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-trump-is-dangerously-incoherent-temperamentally-unfit-to-be-president/2016/06/02/577e5174-28db-11e6-b989-4e5479715b54_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> that Trump is “'temperamentally unfit’ to lead the most powerful nation in the
world. … Donald Trump’s ideas aren’t just different — they are dangerously
incoherent. They’re not really ideas, just a series of bizarre rants, personal
feuds and outright lies.” President Obama, major GOP leaders and columnists all
over have echoed the narrative that Trump can’t serve in the position he seeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ve previously written that Clinton’s attempt to nullify
Trump with the same tactics that 16 other GOP hopefuls tried unsuccessfully to
do is a risk. I’ve previously written that Donald Trump’s elementary school
tactics are an embarrassment to the political process and to the country. I
think all of this is bad form, bad politics and bad for the nation. But it’s
Democracy and we’ve got what we’ve got until November 8, 2016. America will
survive this election cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What happens in January 2017? This will continue to be a
divided country. With the candidates indicating that Armageddon is around the
corner if their opponent is elected – there is little hope that anything could
change. Being divided is tough enough – but not having faith in the electoral
system or stating that the candidate is unfit is potentially devastating. It
undermines the basic tenet that make democracy possible: faith in The System.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2000 when the conservative Supreme Court justices ruled
for George W. Bush – then Vice President Al Gore fully endorsed him and asked
his followers to support the new President. Gore didn’t say the system was
unfair – though he could have. He didn’t say the decision was hypocritical –
though he could have. He put the nation first and his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyKlcQ_HiD4" target="_blank">concession speech</a> was probably his best speech ever. He
said: “Our disappointment must be overcome by our love of country. … We put
country before party.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We celebrate the 229<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the writing
of the Constitution. It is what makes America great. Let’s hope that Mr. Trump
and Mrs. Clinton put country before party to keep democracy alive, vibrant and
relevant to these Divided States.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-36326284130367202462016-09-08T11:04:00.001-07:002016-09-08T11:04:37.481-07:00My 9-11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXi7rZm3FCmw1rqXZqmbPxVuE0S8AWywdBuktTvR845ARNme4b4LOrfe-uNcVS41dbQpCWHIeRLm_ypXEh9AmPVNMPlyWlNl9-qkbJbuAyKaV36WC7S-tywNFFZW7ElXvYs751rUq-DFME/s1600/911.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXi7rZm3FCmw1rqXZqmbPxVuE0S8AWywdBuktTvR845ARNme4b4LOrfe-uNcVS41dbQpCWHIeRLm_ypXEh9AmPVNMPlyWlNl9-qkbJbuAyKaV36WC7S-tywNFFZW7ElXvYs751rUq-DFME/s200/911.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’m an early riser. I get to the gym somewhere between
4:30am and 5:00 for my exercise routine. I’ve been doing it for a long time so
it’s just part of my day. Fifteen years ago I lived in Los Angeles and I had
finished my workout and went back to my house – the one I had bought just a few
months before. My usual practice was to jump in the shower, make breakfast and
start client work. It would not be an ordinary day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It became clear to many that “The United States is under
attack” after the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center. I don’t
remember it being that clear – there was confusion as to whether it was a
second plane or whether reports from the first plane were just getting through
to authorities since they were so close together. After the plane crashed into
the Pentagon the reporting indicated that more planes were headed to other
seats of government – the White House and Congress. A full scale panic hit the
airways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was living thousands of miles from the attacks. I had
family in New York and outside of D.C.. Systems were down and it wasn’t easy to
get information. By mid-afternoon California time, however, the daisy-chain of
communications passed word that we were the fortunate – we didn’t have
immediate family in harms way. In the days ahead I would learn of classmates
and acquaintances who did perish – and so many friends who lost people close to
them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGOWh9q2ymFQf1ZkP87rxEK8uhXi6GwH49lSnyCgKccUUQvXm6hulB0vdoMFyP4bu7z7Okexg4TMmyI0qK0qWtBhqtlX9YjsTJ4j4iIogVu0DEqF2FjMI0ggdNMX_YscOPQBy5Y6m-_M-H/s1600/nashlogo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGOWh9q2ymFQf1ZkP87rxEK8uhXi6GwH49lSnyCgKccUUQvXm6hulB0vdoMFyP4bu7z7Okexg4TMmyI0qK0qWtBhqtlX9YjsTJ4j4iIogVu0DEqF2FjMI0ggdNMX_YscOPQBy5Y6m-_M-H/s200/nashlogo.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That night a production of a one-man play that I had
produced was scheduled to go on at a local college. “<a href="http://unityinternational.com/versus.htm" target="_blank">The Versus of Ogden Nash</a>”
told the life story of the celebrated American poet and writer through his own
words, letters and poems. It was performed by the plays author Peter Massey. We
had received a number of wonderful reviews, had a sold out run in LA and at
that time were now doing a touring version of the show. The immediate issue
came up: Do we cancel? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">The school we contracted with wanted the show to
go on but gave us the option of canceling. We just had to decide quickly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">The students on campus had nothing to do as most
other events were suspended.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">The city of Los Angeles and the surrounding
county put out suggestions that people should not travel unless absolutely
necessary, but there was no outright ban.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We opted to do the show. Peter came out before the show
started to speak with the audience. He said: “Thank you for being here. Thank
you for letting us be here on this horrible day in our history. Why are we
doing the show? This is a lighthearted look at Americana – and we are not
inclined to laugh today. That’s ok. Live theatre allows us to feel and we want
you to feel.” He went on to eloquently extol the necessity of live theatre in the
face of terror.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The show hit its mark and nearly a quarter of the audience
stayed to talk among themselves and with our team afterwards. We connected
lives at a critical time and provided a way for the community to engage with
each other. It gave me hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That optimism didn’t last. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6fInRpr57QKwCGJ5Bn1hKyF5r7r47nN9rJw2ZBLqwD7gvkpLOGA8WczzKcuZGbIX4Xp1Ui5-UDXPh-wivkFg0ddReoZ5l0hUZIldbyk_WvlGvNTc8ia_aTz6lh0xZOKOMPq1F8a5ZxUG/s1600/surveillance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6fInRpr57QKwCGJ5Bn1hKyF5r7r47nN9rJw2ZBLqwD7gvkpLOGA8WczzKcuZGbIX4Xp1Ui5-UDXPh-wivkFg0ddReoZ5l0hUZIldbyk_WvlGvNTc8ia_aTz6lh0xZOKOMPq1F8a5ZxUG/s320/surveillance.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The surveillance state emerged in the last decade and a half
to such prominence that what was once science fiction by George Orwell has become
reality. Cameras capture American’s nearly every move. Our digital footprint
from grocery purchases to paying tolls are all captured. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The concept of “innocent until proven guilty” is an
anachronism as guilt is now assessed and then defendants must prove their
innocence. There’s even an entire court system that is secret that is now in
place to handle terrorist related charges. Defendants are not accorded attorneys
and a minute number of warrants are denied. It’s largely classified and secret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The country has been on a war footing for fifteen years,
spending trillions of dollars even though Congress never technically authorized
War. President Obama in the past 7 and a half years has bombed 40 countries. He
continues to maintain a personal kill list – deciding who lives or dies – while
having instituted a drone program that has assassinated thousands and had a far
ranging impact on civilians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The TSA was formed shortly after 9/11 to better secure the
aviation system. By their own metrics they have failed at a rate of 96% of
identifying outlawed items. Today Americans virtually undress and agree to have
an x-ray type image taken of their body while rude workers paw through their
belongings just to have the privilege of going from point a to point b.
Traveling you’re assumed to be a threat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyA0on37JSW14O_XHSaPXgO2jRwGqcDLSLzMB-zInCIjRS4yNbeKvnnw8VEoEpPoDsz1kiR3owv0YW7xTiz8y-5hOWUYlMunfWmvXQVH8efrAC4Yv83oiioRldlnm5Xt73vB3spavnek2r/s1600/islamamerica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyA0on37JSW14O_XHSaPXgO2jRwGqcDLSLzMB-zInCIjRS4yNbeKvnnw8VEoEpPoDsz1kiR3owv0YW7xTiz8y-5hOWUYlMunfWmvXQVH8efrAC4Yv83oiioRldlnm5Xt73vB3spavnek2r/s320/islamamerica.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The melting pot that makes America strong, vibrant and
interesting is dissipating. Immigration
changes from Bush 43 through Obama have now resulted in record deportations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">America is a divided country. The anger and differences
between political parties is as virulent as I’ve seen and experienced in my
lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It didn’t have to be this way. And, in fact, it wasn’t. For
the first weeks to a month after the attacks President Bush, Congress,
religious leaders, secular leaders alike all calmed the nation. Retaliation was
not the primary conversation. Healing and understanding and building bridges
between our differences was. We spent time and energy being with each other and
not fighting. The same thing we experienced in a microcosm after our
performance was becoming part of the culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then the wars started, the economy crashed and polarization
has become the norm. As we mark fifteen years since the attacks that took 2,977
I mourn not only their passing, but the loss of the America we could have been.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-66918902028495162602016-09-01T05:29:00.002-07:002016-09-01T09:55:58.172-07:00Riding Danger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXSf-orwnuuRw1UI5jAUv5Ql7b2zW4SJK7OM76d3NJ8y7oZJdESi5iVQVnTBMy5nB7zSaiiDAqqt9oC7rJkCrmlnt-SW3oDh7g60LXMgS_IJ_adW3YAHEoMJChF1Mo07_U7ZpQPEw493m/s1600/ride+a+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXSf-orwnuuRw1UI5jAUv5Ql7b2zW4SJK7OM76d3NJ8y7oZJdESi5iVQVnTBMy5nB7zSaiiDAqqt9oC7rJkCrmlnt-SW3oDh7g60LXMgS_IJ_adW3YAHEoMJChF1Mo07_U7ZpQPEw493m/s200/ride+a+bike.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The old expression “it’s like riding a
bike” refers to a task or project that once learned always stays with you. If
you get the balance of centering your gravity on two wheels while pedaling and
not falling down then no matter how long it’s been the idea is that you revert
to that balance whenever you get back on a bike. I haven’t tested the concept.
The last time I was on a bike that wasn’t stationary in a gym </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">hearkens</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> back to
the early 1990’s. Since then no matter what city I’ve lived in I have become the
one bicyclists love to hate. At the risk of becoming a social pariah </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">among</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> many – I hereby declare my wish that bikes get banned from the roadway and remain for recreational use.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I live in Boston. Founded in 1630 it’s
one of the oldest cities in the United States. Many of the sidewalks are laid </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">with brick – and often when they become
too unsteady to walk on the brick is replaced…no concrete or asphalt here. The streets
are narrow. I traded in my Honda Accord when I arrived for the more compact
Civic just to be able to navigate. I’d probably be better served in a Fit but I
doubt I’d fit in one of them. My point is that this city is a city of narrow
streets, unstable walkways and a pedestrian class who see traffic signals as
suggestions. It’s no place for bikes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cyclists have been killed and there are
many accidents. According to the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/08/11/boston-accidents-have-claimed-cyclists-years/7obC56A1OfleGcp2z21PTM/story.html" target="_blank">Boston Globe’s 2015 report</a> 13 people have been killed while riding in the past five years. “Figures kept
by Boston Emergency Medical Services show an average of about 520 fatal and
nonfatal [bicycle] crashes annually in Boston from 2010 through 2014.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsT3PC67l0Y8dda-RVfD1aRq7_vO1HrVII_lIgSC0DkR6ogOIIOwsvVHa3I7zpgcsWLOp8iqXRuydojOQ0JBthpP0RLQ6tkOq2UrMz25viX0sYN8W4jGW1P3Trq9R0WA7kygm21hYcd_4/s1600/on-my-bike-vs-in-my-car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsT3PC67l0Y8dda-RVfD1aRq7_vO1HrVII_lIgSC0DkR6ogOIIOwsvVHa3I7zpgcsWLOp8iqXRuydojOQ0JBthpP0RLQ6tkOq2UrMz25viX0sYN8W4jGW1P3Trq9R0WA7kygm21hYcd_4/s400/on-my-bike-vs-in-my-car.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Inevitably the blame game begins.
Cyclists who are required to follow the same rules of the road as motorized vehicles
often don’t. They weave and bob through traffic. They complain that drivers don’t
pay attention, encroach on the bike lanes afforded to them and when parking
drivers don’t look before opening their doors. As with most things there’s
plenty of blame to go around. (There's also the issues that cyclists don't pay for the roads while drivers do.) </span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51SkgeDLc-39er44Tls3vMV_-7Nb32Jkv-b2RIqxe9gqjv16Y4HE_p41CP9WYvhC5bQfc5CzEdLr7eY2mGzzp-CaKS29_WFlnOTtgdxsX1DneudwE_APRVdUO0rWYbYbghj2CS9vPXcvx/s1600/bike-safety-cartoon.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51SkgeDLc-39er44Tls3vMV_-7Nb32Jkv-b2RIqxe9gqjv16Y4HE_p41CP9WYvhC5bQfc5CzEdLr7eY2mGzzp-CaKS29_WFlnOTtgdxsX1DneudwE_APRVdUO0rWYbYbghj2CS9vPXcvx/s400/bike-safety-cartoon.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jeff Jacoby a columnist for the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/09/01/boston-roads-aren-meant-for-bicycles/a6RRmhYUEJgHYwHnWsSJhO/story.html">Boston Globe wrote</a> last year wrote: “Vehicles weigh thousands of pounds, operate at 300-plus horsepower, and are indispensable to the economic and social well-being of virtually every American community. Bicycles can be an enjoyable, even exhilarating, way to get around. So can horses, skis, and roller skates. Adding any of them to the flow of motorized traffic on roads that already tend to be too clogged, however, is irresponsible and dangerous.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He continued: “According to the <a href="http://www.census.gov/hhes/commuting/files/2014/acs-32.pdf">latest Census Bureau data</a>, more than 122 million people commute each day by car, truck, or van. <a href="http://www.census.gov/hhes/commuting/files/2014/acs-32.pdf#page=7">Fewer than 900,000</a> bike to work. Do the math: For every cyclist pedaling to or from work, there are 136 drivers. Add the passengers who commute by bus and streetcar, and that ratio is even more lopsided. When it comes to urban transportation, bike riders play a trifling role — <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/05/08/bicycle_commuting_still_not_that_popular.html">literally less than a rounding error</a>. Far more people <a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/acs-25.pdf">walk to work</a>.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrGbRMCRLekUaJ8_PvZzOP-TDoO03vf0mSAtxj-1nbPk3HI_m_wL41nS0DXMfYO0ZLS8Zi6qlh0WKgIQNEzCpCr9pzZLtJr6I0wDF786WGNiCWTrLrFhS96lpbAFTy_Ewc5_XEK2zKo7S/s1600/car-driver-drive-exercise_bike-exercise_bicycle.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrGbRMCRLekUaJ8_PvZzOP-TDoO03vf0mSAtxj-1nbPk3HI_m_wL41nS0DXMfYO0ZLS8Zi6qlh0WKgIQNEzCpCr9pzZLtJr6I0wDF786WGNiCWTrLrFhS96lpbAFTy_Ewc5_XEK2zKo7S/s400/car-driver-drive-exercise_bike-exercise_bicycle.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It’s not unique to Boston. When I was in
Los Angeles this summer there was an ever increasing number of cyclists on the
streets. California <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1371" target="_blank">passed a law</a> in 2014 requiring motorists to give bikes three feet of space. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">South of LA in Long Beach they have
taken a different approach. Bicycle lanes are physically separate from the road
that cars used. The lanes are painted in a separate color and there are
concrete barriers preventing the two from mixing. In the short time I was there
it seemed to work and make sense. Old cities like Boston just don’t have the physical
space to do that. Newer cities like Los Angeles are already overcrowded with vehicle traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We may never forget the intuitiveness of
riding a bike. But we should remember that city roads are for cars.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-59093517912412773332016-08-25T04:47:00.003-07:002016-08-25T04:47:32.690-07:00What Ailes Us<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC242ODx6Hmn9xCtWb3oEmNtwktjPpowhkDZ9n921GyMzcYpyh2zEMFrXO8IsfBVsLsHsZjFRVkFOlwJd02zRhMwwEn8PKbd-RezwiwDWjn4P1VTCykI2PlvZy9kTkfbq5S_x3UUUEK41_/s1600/wizardofoz5740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC242ODx6Hmn9xCtWb3oEmNtwktjPpowhkDZ9n921GyMzcYpyh2zEMFrXO8IsfBVsLsHsZjFRVkFOlwJd02zRhMwwEn8PKbd-RezwiwDWjn4P1VTCykI2PlvZy9kTkfbq5S_x3UUUEK41_/s320/wizardofoz5740.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My niece recently had her theatrical debut in a children’s
production of “Oz.” And everything that just crossed your mind about what that production
would be is absolutely true. She was, of course, brilliant and perfect and I’m
proud that she’s continuing the family tradition of experiencing and thriving
in the arts. The community theatre production’s tone was set when minutes into
the show Toto escaped from the basket on stage and bolted for the door through
the audience. It happened a couple of times much to the merriment of the cast
and the audience. One of the show’s signature songs “Ding-Dong the witch is
dead, the wicked witch” reminded me of what’s happened in the Summer of 2016 at
Fox News.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brian Seltzer of <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/21/media/roger-ailes-leaves-fox-news/" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>: “Roger Ailes has resigned from Fox News amid sexual harassment allegations --
an ignoble end to his legendary, controversial twenty-year tenure running the
country's dominant cable news channel.” He has now been replaced by a new
management structure that largely keeps the editorial focus consistent. Some
call is conservative, I call it anti-progressive. However you describe it –
there is no doubt about its impact on the bottom line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ojQGlb346Nm_wGRFXuh_qUEE2XOHS2_KVvMCsLVwED7a7G9DJhs3JJlaCOZHTkoGNeyShnlI41PC-8FMD_Wc1H9SXDvbjDtyurYbqHhRxDzdrIi3IJyfye5lURRM7qa5UF26wCbPNZnL/s1600/foxshines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ojQGlb346Nm_wGRFXuh_qUEE2XOHS2_KVvMCsLVwED7a7G9DJhs3JJlaCOZHTkoGNeyShnlI41PC-8FMD_Wc1H9SXDvbjDtyurYbqHhRxDzdrIi3IJyfye5lURRM7qa5UF26wCbPNZnL/s320/foxshines.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“The <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/state-of-the-news-media/" target="_blank">Pew Research Center</a>'s latest State of the News Media
report issued in June 2016 estimated Fox News' 2015 profit at $1.5 billion,
well ahead its closest rival Time Warner's (TWX) CNN, which Pew estimated to
earn $381 million, and Comcast's (CMCSA) MSNBC, which Pew projected to earn
$227 million.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fox News generates the lion’s share of profit for 21 Century
Fox, the parent company. It is no surprise, then, that the company moved
swiftly to isolate the allegations of sexual harassment and protect the golden
egg. Equally as important in the month following the resignation Rupert
Murdoch, patriarch of the Fox empire, himself “ran” the division.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fox News has had more than a financial impact. It has
changed U.S. politics and by extension America itself. The National Bureau of
Economic Research (a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated
to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among
academics, public policy makers, and business professionals) did an <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w12169" target="_blank">analysis of Fox News</a>. It looked at the impact from the
founding of the channel in 1996 through 2000. They did so in 2006 – ten years
ago. The summary concluded: “Fox News
convinced 3 to 8 percent of its viewers to vote Republican. We interpret the
results in light of a simple model of voter learning about media bias and about
politician quality. The Fox News effect could be a temporary learning effect
for rational voters, or a permanent effect for voters subject to non-rational
persuasion.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s no surprise then that in its twenty years on the air that
every major Republican candidate for President has some relationship with the
channel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZGNYYw1VOMQha4BHwdjh0hyphenhyphenME4zuS9YytbX2Oalea5UGNzNTTHEC_lqJsQLh3doPjz_24R7qbGTZ8dG8sN_XiXScf5S0Zs0Yr8brckHBUPCb2CSEKsvbyoCXfVa2X7abfvy0yPWMqhXl/s1600/fox-middleman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZGNYYw1VOMQha4BHwdjh0hyphenhyphenME4zuS9YytbX2Oalea5UGNzNTTHEC_lqJsQLh3doPjz_24R7qbGTZ8dG8sN_XiXScf5S0Zs0Yr8brckHBUPCb2CSEKsvbyoCXfVa2X7abfvy0yPWMqhXl/s320/fox-middleman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">TalkingPointsMemo.com <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bartlett-fox-news-effect-politics-elections" target="_blank">summarized</a> another half dozen studies: “Fox News has had a significant effect on the
political process and electoral outcomes in America.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/14/five-facts-about-fox-news/" target="_blank">Pew Research</a> in 2014 outlined the power the network has amassed. “It dominates the cable news
ratings and wields substantial power in the world of conservative politics.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The meshing of “news” and “opinion” is the signature
achievement of the channel and what drives its popularity. Events are reported
through a filter that presumes the conservative position is correct. Questions
are framed to guests with that opinion integrated into them. Its so pervasive
that its easy to miss it. That’s the legacy of the house that Roger built. And
its what ails the country because it is far from fair and balanced.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-40763391793122192362016-08-18T14:18:00.000-07:002016-08-18T14:18:26.969-07:00Extreme Hiring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZLkxSMaGD7wyG7RyTwQ8ZT8nwtGGImiaqgzXcrUS5jSoM8i-5XkpsPbT3ClrU84TqD8yUOwKy3URGdRokRIFLF-_bjJy_H2EWHIgght92MunygnR1UQXMKZp_4g7Td_3wuEg_cINZYJ5/s1600/now-hiring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZLkxSMaGD7wyG7RyTwQ8ZT8nwtGGImiaqgzXcrUS5jSoM8i-5XkpsPbT3ClrU84TqD8yUOwKy3URGdRokRIFLF-_bjJy_H2EWHIgght92MunygnR1UQXMKZp_4g7Td_3wuEg_cINZYJ5/s200/now-hiring.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’ve hired a lot of people in my career. I’ve made some
whopper mistakes along the way. I’ve also given people the ability to grow and
thrive in new situations. Accurately representing skills, experience and
interests is really important when seeking new opportunities. It’s startling
how lazy people are when seeking a new position. Whether it’s grammatical
errors or addressing the cover note to the wrong company or citing a different
position than was advertised – there’s a lot of room for improvement. Many of
today’s applicants are not short of confidence, however. Resumes have become
thesaurus-like with the wide range of kudos that people give themselves. The
slapping of oneself on the back is very much in line with the Presidential
election 2016.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEpyc9Al2TFKOaPxE_EA7Z7QVDDtXOQhjjd_KFurmxb07hv1SSO13Lqw_1-TC77B52nf0zo9OUYkcZaobjsKyMZKD1E0GkrV6KUnQ4B8CtDgr3RQHzYa60cqGi4cntFTNzOrG-MqRmjkO/s1600/make+america+grate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEpyc9Al2TFKOaPxE_EA7Z7QVDDtXOQhjjd_KFurmxb07hv1SSO13Lqw_1-TC77B52nf0zo9OUYkcZaobjsKyMZKD1E0GkrV6KUnQ4B8CtDgr3RQHzYa60cqGi4cntFTNzOrG-MqRmjkO/s320/make+america+grate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Donald J. Trump is the obvious example of hubris. Whether
it’s congratulating himself on his ratings, his crowds, his triumphs or his
plans – they are framed around his own exceptionalism. So much so that it’s
easy to dismiss everything he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hilary Clinton is less obvious because the Trump shadow is
so significant. Her campaign surrogates have taken the boasting to a new and
different level. President Obama during the Democratic National Convention
<a href="http://nypost.com/2016/07/05/obama-hillary-is-most-qualified-presidential-candidate-in-history/" target="_blank">echoed</a> what many others have said throughout the campaign and has been a social media
meme: <b>“There has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office
than Hillary Clinton.”</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Really? How do you determine who is the most qualified? Is
it based on actual experience? Then maybe somebody like Richard Nixon who
served for eight years as VP would top the list? Perhaps the determination can
be made by number of years in public service. James Buchanan would win that
with 30 ¼ years in public office before he became President. By that same
measure Theodore Roosevelt would have to be low on the list with only 4 ½ years
of service before taking the Presidency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">An <a href="http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2016/Info/experience.html" target="_blank">independent analysis</a> by Electoral-Vote has been done comparing the efficacy of Presidents based on their experience
prior to winning the Oval Office. There is no correlation between the greatness
or effectiveness of a President and the years of experience before taking
office.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFz8hxCc6xNIYXvuT_IpV2vR4dONYt9HuuM2onobPKV3B-XtGJzuilLvxWkvmKIWFnXLE18E_RIMR0CI0voeMVyF5kmT5enGInM2OsaH9RpYSgovaEDm3xZx-JLK_TFNUTWCfajLO8wMD/s1600/presidential+experience.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFz8hxCc6xNIYXvuT_IpV2vR4dONYt9HuuM2onobPKV3B-XtGJzuilLvxWkvmKIWFnXLE18E_RIMR0CI0voeMVyF5kmT5enGInM2OsaH9RpYSgovaEDm3xZx-JLK_TFNUTWCfajLO8wMD/s640/presidential+experience.JPG" width="452" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2016/Info/experience.html" target="_blank">Link to chart</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Vox</i> a progressive policy
and politics site investigated the claim. It comes to <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/1/12316646/hillary-clinton-qualified" target="_blank">the same conclusion</a> as the independent analysis: “Qualifications are a fine thing to have. But history
suggests they’re far from the most important thing when it comes to effective
presidential leadership.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of
the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be
eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to
that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and
been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ARTICLE II, SECTION
1, CLAUSE 5 of the U.S. Constitution.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Both Donald J. Trump and Hilary Clinton meet the minimum
standards of eligibility to hold the Office of the President. Then again, so do
I and probably lots of you readers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSWkzw_3xTFhCIXFuYqRkE5tFZooYaREsSwYCQdHGk-7RfOutPl_FFi3SQLPjicuXwmR3mXCTXQqT5T8pcmYEPqU3g3rpHgpJAFDb-BZ4x3ZiONuRZtOvQ9PXtYQ9DUTIys0vdSjcg-1LJ/s1600/Trump-and-Hillary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSWkzw_3xTFhCIXFuYqRkE5tFZooYaREsSwYCQdHGk-7RfOutPl_FFi3SQLPjicuXwmR3mXCTXQqT5T8pcmYEPqU3g3rpHgpJAFDb-BZ4x3ZiONuRZtOvQ9PXtYQ9DUTIys0vdSjcg-1LJ/s400/Trump-and-Hillary.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Secretary Clinton is absolutely qualified to be President.
She has an impressive resume from her service as First Lady of Arkansas to her
role in Healthcare in the 1990’s to representing New York as a Senator and then
serving one term as Secretary of State. Compared to The Donald her experience
in public office overshadows his tremendously. Gary Johnson, Libertarian
candidate for President, has eight years as New Mexico’s Governor – more
governing experience than either Clinton or Trump. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Having a diverse resume doesn’t make her “the most qualified
person” to <b><u>ever</u></b> seek the
office. <b>It’s just not true</b>. It’s not
true on so many levels – not the least of which is that “qualified” hasn’t been
defined. More importantly – it doesn’t need to be true. It’s like those hyped
up resumes that fly across my desk – she doesn’t have to be “the most qualified
person to ever seek the office” in order to hawk her credentials and compare
them against Trump. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO27M_XlSfeIHW1zY3u-9qcAq_CfRRgLNLIfIcOLQwZNEaaComInSV8TH74O6YWye6w4I5l7R4a3KiGkQE8fHXnLrV2j57bZowEfHtvNjzk6VrHjcML2lXxjZ1NuhR4QoVPrLYs6ko-9MB/s1600/hilary+pants+on+fire2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO27M_XlSfeIHW1zY3u-9qcAq_CfRRgLNLIfIcOLQwZNEaaComInSV8TH74O6YWye6w4I5l7R4a3KiGkQE8fHXnLrV2j57bZowEfHtvNjzk6VrHjcML2lXxjZ1NuhR4QoVPrLYs6ko-9MB/s320/hilary+pants+on+fire2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It’s this type of exaggeration – the one that’s silly and
not needed – that makes some people suspect of her honesty. Just like when I
review a resume. If somebody is going to take liberties on that – what else are
they hiding that’s more serious? For somebody like Secretary Clinton who has a trust deficiency in the public mind – you’d
think the campaign would be very diligent in not overstating anything.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It used to be that some humility went a long way towards the
public choosing a President. The 2016 campaign of Extreme Hiring has changed
that, and we’re all the worse for it.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-64249176855424036732016-08-11T05:56:00.003-07:002016-08-11T10:09:36.561-07:00Reconcile Headlines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMCowsz7HEg4_QWIt7QSS2Qe9SJN9ITu4cbPEu1E5OYMxHxgLzvC1n2tSEHcHnsVM3OFoxpVMPyQDjgFmB6ONdrDocTj2Z85IpeeBFINazPNdOaNowM5RhfCxIyVEwk_rm20WwzQ9-KEU/s1600/balance+checkbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMCowsz7HEg4_QWIt7QSS2Qe9SJN9ITu4cbPEu1E5OYMxHxgLzvC1n2tSEHcHnsVM3OFoxpVMPyQDjgFmB6ONdrDocTj2Z85IpeeBFINazPNdOaNowM5RhfCxIyVEwk_rm20WwzQ9-KEU/s320/balance+checkbook.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Every month I balance my checkbook to the penny. It’s
old-fashioned, but I do it. It stems from a job I had early in my career where I
was responsible to reconcile hundreds of bank accounts –a full time job for
this conglomerate. On one of the largest accounts – where there were thousands
of transactions and some $10 million flowed through the account I got the
difference down to $0.50. I was ready to “write off” the difference because it
was so small. But my boss wouldn’t let me and I had to start the whole process
over. My arguments that the company was spending more in my time to find that
$0.50 fell on deaf ears. It had to balance to zero – and I understand why. Every
account I’ve dealt with since has fallen into that same level of rigor. The
Pentagon would never hire me. It was revealed that <b>$6.5 TRILLION</b> – with a <b>T</b> –
has gone missing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Pentagon has never balanced its books. I’ve written
about this before. Apalling but #notnews. The new discovery is from the Department of Defense itself.
It’s <a href="http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/report_summary.cfm?id=7034" target="_blank">Inspector Generals report</a> summarizes how bad the problem is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Per the <a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/07/31/Pentagon-s-Sloppy-Bookkeeping-Means-65-Trillion-Can-t-Pass-Audit" target="_blank">Fiscal Times</a>: “</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, the behemoth Indianapolis-based agency that provides finance and accounting services for the Pentagon’s civilian and military members, could not provide adequate documentation for $6.5 trillion worth of year-end adjustments to Army general fund transactions and data.”<br /><br /><br />The article continues: “There’s nothing in the new IG’s report to suggest that anyone has misplaced or absconded with large sums of money. Rather, the agency has done an incompetent job of providing written authorization for every one of their transactions – so-called “journal vouchers” that provide serial numbers, transaction dates and the amount of the expenditure.”<br /><br /><br />This is not a new problem. Reuters published a scathing analysis in 2013 called “Unaccountable.” Part of the story reads: “For two decades, the U.S. military has been unable to submit to an audit, flouting federal law and concealing waste and fraud totaling billions of dollars. Linda Woodford spent the last 15 years of her career inserting phony numbers in the U.S. Department of Defense’s accounts.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5m2roOUrq69lpcek0AfiH_5J5D8q_MbkNQ59LiBbsLThD0JDdmAeXl8exPLq7MUeWAti36x-4MHTEpbbexHFkr-qNyv0_ac4OA3Mh_iZpXRgnaw0GQ93xHVwDsYlwQFxKW35DpoIFNoPz/s1600/DOD+audit+chart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5m2roOUrq69lpcek0AfiH_5J5D8q_MbkNQ59LiBbsLThD0JDdmAeXl8exPLq7MUeWAti36x-4MHTEpbbexHFkr-qNyv0_ac4OA3Mh_iZpXRgnaw0GQ93xHVwDsYlwQFxKW35DpoIFNoPz/s640/DOD+audit+chart.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Congress, never one to be too rigorous on the Military
Industrial Complex has even drawn a line in the sand demanding that the books
be balanced by September 30, 2017. President Reagan tried that too to no
success.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You’d think that <b>$6.5 TRILLION dollars</b> not being allocated
would be a big deal. There are entire television networks dedicated to frothing
over sums that are much smaller with much less impact. It’s a HUUUUGE amount of
money. The military is woven into the fabric of the American economy. However
the money is being spent it needs to be reported on. That’s one of the key
tenets of democracy, transparency and common sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbcgLtSO04h01KwbF36ESCS8vJPfiHHzeoUbhetEvjF_nQKL6nsTwv52ynmjPE41rN-G8Q0cEAMuxe9VMRjgmvO8sqSZDMDS3I38wx4TgSnNlWrAVLn2lQyomFqF4m2DvKKt8T1Z6bvvJ/s1600/defense+budget.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbcgLtSO04h01KwbF36ESCS8vJPfiHHzeoUbhetEvjF_nQKL6nsTwv52ynmjPE41rN-G8Q0cEAMuxe9VMRjgmvO8sqSZDMDS3I38wx4TgSnNlWrAVLn2lQyomFqF4m2DvKKt8T1Z6bvvJ/s320/defense+budget.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The real outrage, however, is in the public discourse. There
isn’t any. Congress has held hearings on a wide range of nonsense issues has not turned up the
heat on <b>$6.5 TRILLION dollars</b> not being accounted for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This seems tailor made for cable TV, doesn’t it? Fox News
should have dark music accompanying a fancy graphic with anchors warning about the threat to the republic’s
safety since we don’t know where the money is. MSNBC personnel should be
bouncing up and down pointing fingers at the hypocrisy of Republicans who claim
to be fiscally conservative but can’t find <b>$6.5 TRILLION dollars</b>. CNN should
have panel after panel repeatedly asking the same question of each other and
shaking their heads: “where IS the money?” and then spending an hour
speculating on where it might be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The leading newspapers seem ripe for a deep delve into what
happened. Wikileaks would continue its public service by shedding some light on
missing documents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A Google Search with the keywords “pentagon $6.5 trillion”
revealed a number of online stories. None were from major media outlets. It’s
not trending on social media. The report was released on the last Friday in
July – hardly a high news day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLt8aUb9GnDRfdwuzOslJFe_YJfi5mtashO4CgSto8V3jKWENeAiybUd2Kpl1xPUUsuEmr3c7V1EyXHppUi7NiZZbhnebDqgUr4qyQi2Th8A1i612IycYl-U1WhVhxH50ZyWyrTsxGpAy/s1600/newsworthy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLt8aUb9GnDRfdwuzOslJFe_YJfi5mtashO4CgSto8V3jKWENeAiybUd2Kpl1xPUUsuEmr3c7V1EyXHppUi7NiZZbhnebDqgUr4qyQi2Th8A1i612IycYl-U1WhVhxH50ZyWyrTsxGpAy/s320/newsworthy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Do Americans care that <b>$6.5 TRILLION dollars</b> can’t be
accounted for? I think so. I think most Americans would be flat out infuriated.
I think most Americans would want to know what the candidates for President and
other federal offices think. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The role of the media – the fifth estate – is to explore
things like this. <b>$6.5 TRILLION dollars</b>. The Pentagon. Graft? Corruption? Maybe
just incompetence? What a wonderful, juicy and important story that could be told at a time when Americans are engaged in multiple military conflicts around the globe. Let’s reconcile the headlines and get to the bottom of this
story. Or at least let's get the story.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-57076599084202775872016-08-04T11:30:00.004-07:002016-08-04T11:30:31.903-07:00Certain Stupidity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWUmYa_C-ZVyhCGkeBvmSic-J9x2GM6n8v6DMhgs5jmv0Ejpyy7sZQxK1T3tRRu7lhLT8F-nuO-dG2celGL7K5V3DiKyrW1xvzuNkCk1ZplGg-KY4d1ZvnXPqDK9zvMQen9RYVcrF_VEJ/s1600/the-week-subscribe-print-only.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWUmYa_C-ZVyhCGkeBvmSic-J9x2GM6n8v6DMhgs5jmv0Ejpyy7sZQxK1T3tRRu7lhLT8F-nuO-dG2celGL7K5V3DiKyrW1xvzuNkCk1ZplGg-KY4d1ZvnXPqDK9zvMQen9RYVcrF_VEJ/s200/the-week-subscribe-print-only.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’m a living time machine. We all are, actually. As the
years go by our life experiences somehow move from “current events” to entire
chapters in history books. I recently spent time catching up on some long
overdue magazine reading. Yes, magazines. I still subscribe to a handful. It
took a few hours to zip through some of the lifestyle rags. “The Week” is the
news magazine that should be quick to get through as most of the articles are
compilations of perspectives and reports from a variety of outlets. I find it a
balanced way to capture the events of the week. I was behind so as I zipped
through a few months’ worth I was reminded how much events of the past few
months have changed what we collectively think.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I skim read a lot of the political coverage because I
already knew the result. The horse-race coverage matters much less when the
match is over. Even in the calm pages of “The Week” the hyperbolic frenetic activity of the 2016 Presidential Race was captured and reflected the majority of the coverage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOOReHzfREpF02OCSYAW2FFqMv8lkSdwgSs6GmiI9yfzonzQ5UneyqJikM1_mOOCYczVmuIqa5ebjwgL2Bgd1wzcDN3EexpAlYEvWbVhJP795RpfNLmAHLiPKHQtN3mAjx4_R4-7PcKXK4/s1600/unfavorability+ratings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOOReHzfREpF02OCSYAW2FFqMv8lkSdwgSs6GmiI9yfzonzQ5UneyqJikM1_mOOCYczVmuIqa5ebjwgL2Bgd1wzcDN3EexpAlYEvWbVhJP795RpfNLmAHLiPKHQtN3mAjx4_R4-7PcKXK4/s400/unfavorability+ratings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In February and March the commentary class went from “Mr.
Trump is this amusing-but-bizarre creature” to “Holy Cow – people are voting
for him” to the pre-convention coverage of a stunned recognition that one of
America’s great political parties was now being run by what many consider a
madman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Democratic side had its own narrative that was tolerant bemusement
about an old man tilting at windmills who somehow surprised <i>everybody </i>by raising a ton of dough and
was winning caucus after caucus. The post-Super-Tuesday view was sputtering outrage
that this cranky old man couldn’t count and therefore couldn’t win and still wouldn’t
drop out. The pre-convention coverage moved into skepticism that he ever believed
in a democratic ideal in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5gcJui3qo8RLmyej7kvXp3mX3boPcKyeTsJ8yGLTs9dI1cOzLzLF1aDvab52AmG0aWhkFGQmwjCxi_6Uy1LIYlhFFEz5NCX1ESf5O5wnMgP8GgIWzO38hyphenhyphenWAmKTKy0someRaEoMN7Yov/s1600/voting+booth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5gcJui3qo8RLmyej7kvXp3mX3boPcKyeTsJ8yGLTs9dI1cOzLzLF1aDvab52AmG0aWhkFGQmwjCxi_6Uy1LIYlhFFEz5NCX1ESf5O5wnMgP8GgIWzO38hyphenhyphenWAmKTKy0someRaEoMN7Yov/s1600/voting+booth.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The future is anybody’s guess. Sure it can be a
well-educated guess, but it’s still a guess. Responsible citizens take time to
learn about the issues, the candidates and then weigh the information against
their own beliefs to come to a determination about whom they’ll support. This
may be a “throwback” concept as with today’s avalanche of information cascading
at us at the speed of light most are lucky to get clarity on what the
candidates seem like they’ll be like and then hitching a wagon to that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">People are busy. The economic reality of today’s world is
that most Americans are working longer hours for the same pay they had twenty
years ago. The process of raising children is a gigantic undertaking – with there
never being enough time to devote to family. The average person <a href="http://www.marketingcharts.com/traditional/on-average-american-adults-say-they-went-to-5-movies-last-year-39161/" target="_blank">sees fivemovies</a> a year and is able to find <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/average-american-watches-5-hours-tv-day-article-1.1711954" target="_blank">five or more hours</a> a day to watch television. (Race and age change the average significantly.) It’s not
that people don’t care about politics or the nation – I just think the space
that it can occupy in most people’s lives is small because the bulk of their
lives are all about getting through the drudgery of life only to watch
something that takes them away from that same reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thirty-second ads, pithy memes, simple narratives that take
root work in this situation. People are fine tuned to being entertained and are
consuming gigantic amounts of content thru various devices. Moving and framing
politics as entertainment has been happening for a long time. It becomes easy,
then, to decide whom to support. How somebody appears versus what they say or
stand for becomes the measurement. It’s not rigorous. It’s not researched. It’s
instinctive based on the screen. We are emotionally convinced of our decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thinking less conventionally then, it may be that Mr. Trump
might not be the evil dictator he portrays. Mrs. Clinton might not be the lying
hypocrite she portrays. They each <b>might</b>
have some good in them and <b>might</b> be
more than their images. Such thinking won’t change my vote or likely anybody
else’s – because we <b><u>know</u></b> what
they’re like...we’ve seen it with our own eyes. William Falk, the
editor-in-chief of “The Week” captured this feeling best in a recent editorial.
He said: “Certainty is making us stupid.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-44666662797375573402016-07-28T03:42:00.002-07:002016-07-28T03:42:43.438-07:00Be Careful what you wish for...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IYKTRbbT6sA5RwXL2LebvcLIHLxEas0UGl6aH8DZK6nn5LErEm7T8MUb1dfGMSsJNwQNt6U5xFKEJYi5A18b_HT9zxY58Hf8XY88tU6UAGrl8wUU-k1IL_FnZZjccgP5Y18HY7FZJzUS/s1600/foreclosure_20house_20for_20sale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IYKTRbbT6sA5RwXL2LebvcLIHLxEas0UGl6aH8DZK6nn5LErEm7T8MUb1dfGMSsJNwQNt6U5xFKEJYi5A18b_HT9zxY58Hf8XY88tU6UAGrl8wUU-k1IL_FnZZjccgP5Y18HY7FZJzUS/s200/foreclosure_20house_20for_20sale.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I fell in love with a house back in 2007. It had been on the
market for five or more months. The price had been reduced a few times. It was
the start of the Great Recession and nobody knew how bad it was going to get.
The bank owned the house and had to approve the sales price. During the six
months that we went back and forth with the bank trying to close the deal my
love affair increased. I brought in contractors, had schematics drawn,
estimates made, etc. In the end I gave up, fell in love with another property a
few blocks away and closed in 21 days. It turned out beautifully as I rehabbed
the house to my exact specifications and enjoyed the process and my time there.
It wouldn’t have been so had I got what I originally was seeking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many months after that the original property sold I was
walking my dogs through the neighborhood and the winning owners were outside
tidying up. I introduced myself and congratulated them on doing what I couldn’t
– beating the bank. The homeowner sighed
and told me the tale of their winning the house only to discover structural
problems and damage that couldn’t previously be seen that carried with it a
repair bill nearly half of the purchase price – making the “deal” they got a
raw one. Within six weeks the ‘for sale’ sign was up again, months later the
property was in foreclosure again and out of curiosity a few years later I saw
that it was basically knocked down and rebuilt after the Great Recession
receded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In November 2008 when Barack Obama won the Presidency there
was a slew of editorials outlining the list of crises that the nascent
President would have to tackle. The conclusion asked why would anybody want the
gig with so many problems. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Donald J. Trump’s campaign elicits a similar question. Like
so many others I thought his entry into the race was a sideshow, a distraction,
a lark. Then he began breaking all the norms of running for the office: racist
stereotyping, misogynic statements and a refusal to be ‘politically correct’ by
throwing tantrums and calling his opponents names. He has steadfastly refused
to educate himself on the issues of the world and is proud to ‘shoot from the
hip.’ His flip-flopping on major policies would have tanked any other office
seeker long ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since accepting the GOP nomination his public comments have
bordered on treason. He’s advocated for the U.S. to violate the basic tenets of
the NATO alliance by suggesting that under his Presidency the U.S. would not
come to the aid of member nations. In the midst of the Democratic convention he
publicly encouraged Russia to release any information from Hilary Clinton’s
server that they got from hacking. Encouraging a foreign country to break the
law for political gain is a direct violation of the Constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_IUmK3ril4GBeO5_Sw-rpVD3wYLLDOmXrFWYRyQ15bN2nE1GRnwb8wbk9AvJLY0Sp527v3PD7sjtA_97B8ydp79JZtC8O8USNl5WHht4Y2C4bnJ0DNi6Cs9EAug89BO7L37FT4nohOoXS/s1600/trump+flies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_IUmK3ril4GBeO5_Sw-rpVD3wYLLDOmXrFWYRyQ15bN2nE1GRnwb8wbk9AvJLY0Sp527v3PD7sjtA_97B8ydp79JZtC8O8USNl5WHht4Y2C4bnJ0DNi6Cs9EAug89BO7L37FT4nohOoXS/s320/trump+flies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Trump is not a stupid man. He may be many things, but he
always knows what he’s doing. He’s pushed the envelope so far that it’s bizarre
to half of the country that the other half support him. Perhaps Trump’s as
surprised as anybody? This may be wishful thinking, but maybe his mega-ego is
in conflict with his true feelings? Maybe he really doesn’t want to be
President and he keeps shooting off missile after missile thinking one will
blow up this campaign only to discover that they have turned into fireworks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A Trump victory is likely to be what happened to that house I
loved. It’s gonna get knocked down and rebuilt. That may not be a bad thing in
concept as Jefferson said: “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a
good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”
Let’s be careful what we wish for.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-52894794161534670322016-07-21T06:42:00.003-07:002016-07-21T10:59:54.200-07:00Best laid plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnNhA-BFNlubE896ne5Js8A_MhqNkh_-OnH5ceArSaK4qoCo5P8bv5Y0WzZN1Caa6AAyYxCwxGf0YX7djFXEEblt6Y-9ddrhb-0E5vPLF3Rv7gfIJEwWTcp02941km-ynQ2Oh7DHq2Ti3/s1600/planner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnNhA-BFNlubE896ne5Js8A_MhqNkh_-OnH5ceArSaK4qoCo5P8bv5Y0WzZN1Caa6AAyYxCwxGf0YX7djFXEEblt6Y-9ddrhb-0E5vPLF3Rv7gfIJEwWTcp02941km-ynQ2Oh7DHq2Ti3/s320/planner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’m a planner. I like to know what’s going to happen. That
makes me a good strategist. It also means that I’m not necessarily the most
spontaneous person in the world. The trick, of course, is when life happens and
things interrupt well laid plans – how nimble one is in adapting is critical.
Like most of us I’m a work in progress as to being flexible. In some areas of
my life as I age I am much more ‘go with the flow’ while other areas I seem to
be getting less amenable. Politics requires a lot of pliability and if you’re
planning a coup – you really do need to have your ducks in a row.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On July 15 for several hours there was an attempt to take
over Turkey’s government. According to the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36815476" target="_blank">BBC</a>:
“It looks as if the coup attempt was staged mainly by the gendarmerie [national
police] and air force personnel.” The rest of the military were not on board
and ‘order’ was restored within a day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBK2RITJA9SY2tPj6i4DW0zyz00Zf6-zlGRmwG7yw03yxoJaR1hc5E2dPw0kueuwbXpkSq731n1YSqamRgW5gzvcD4yDA2ZSO7bnlYzf-FdTlri95ex1rPtY7fPdZgsxFse9vNhSfjv6k/s1600/erdogan+fist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBK2RITJA9SY2tPj6i4DW0zyz00Zf6-zlGRmwG7yw03yxoJaR1hc5E2dPw0kueuwbXpkSq731n1YSqamRgW5gzvcD4yDA2ZSO7bnlYzf-FdTlri95ex1rPtY7fPdZgsxFse9vNhSfjv6k/s320/erdogan+fist.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has fired tens of thousands
of workers and thousands of military personnel in a purge to rid the country of
traitors. To many it looks like the megalomaniac President who just <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36852080" target="_blank">declared</a> a
three month “State of Emergency” is using the failed coup as a way to solidify his power. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Most U.S. news outlets and indeed the State Department
itself seemed surprised by the uprising. I wasn’t. In 2015 the Boston Gay Men’s
Chorus (where I serve as Executive Director) became the first LGBTQ chorus to
perform in Turkey. It almost didn’t happen. A short </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF__2NjDCNk" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">documentary</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">tells of all the details – but the top-line narrative </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">was that the President of Turkey in his
re-election bid canceled the concert. The event went on with thousands in
attendance though the state media were prevented from covering it.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS5MnoqxAr8I9ZIu40B4We_D3K-Wk1zVRdQaRP44X0sWNA5xku3CAVHTAELCyFp6WipEkl7AFbrc4FzKMJ9YLQUXGxn6dzTpXA0bJwMBflBVdBthmoWNXGqejQEsG0V18gyT_4Cdtf1L-/s1600/turkey+rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS5MnoqxAr8I9ZIu40B4We_D3K-Wk1zVRdQaRP44X0sWNA5xku3CAVHTAELCyFp6WipEkl7AFbrc4FzKMJ9YLQUXGxn6dzTpXA0bJwMBflBVdBthmoWNXGqejQEsG0V18gyT_4Cdtf1L-/s400/turkey+rainbow.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow formed from the water canon used against LGBT people @ Pride Parade 2015</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next day the Chorus was scheduled to lead the annual
LGBTQ pride parade. When we arrived at the starting point we were turned away
by the police who informed us the parade was cancelled and unless we disbursed
everybody would be arrested and detained. We complied though many then went
back individually and watched water canons and tear gas used against Turkish
citizens by the police.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The LGBTQ community in Turkey fiercely stood up for
themselves and in the election that followed Erdogan didn’t win a plurality –
and was forced to form a coalition government. LGBTQ forces helped sway the election
18%. When that effort failed new elections were held. ISIS attacks began in-country
Erdogan used the politics of fear to win a majority in the new elections. He
immediately began instituting new policies and was working on a new constitution
giving him more authority. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PRI, a leading international publication <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.666544" target="_blank">wrote</a> in July 2015 “How
Erdogan Spurs LGBT Hatred for Political Gain.” A year later the police shut down the LGBTQ pride parade for a second year in a
row.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc_yZXDEI2N4Z9HjepqzUBFZpZ092o0-7h5f04bzRfMzWVkrMD0UoIKldrfF05Dm2INgicnNtGxw4FVeE1soA8sC_zgUV951KObpDJzuHOkU9zNVJDGUsMT8_8auYymPgYrNwPItY8I3Q/s1600/erdogan+mirror+mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc_yZXDEI2N4Z9HjepqzUBFZpZ092o0-7h5f04bzRfMzWVkrMD0UoIKldrfF05Dm2INgicnNtGxw4FVeE1soA8sC_zgUV951KObpDJzuHOkU9zNVJDGUsMT8_8auYymPgYrNwPItY8I3Q/s320/erdogan+mirror+mirror.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In addition to being courting the extreme right Islamists in
Turkey, President Erdogan has a low tolerance for criticism. And he keeps
track. In 2015 Reuter’s </span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-election-media-idUSKBN0OC1IW20150527" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">reports</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">: “Stephen Kinzer, a former Turkey bureau chief for the U.S. daily, traveled to
the southern city of Gaziantep expecting to be made an honorary citizen for his
reporting 15 years ago which helped save endangered Roman mosaics. His
embarrassed hosts at the city council had told him the award had been canceled
on the personal orders of Erdogan due to a column he wrote in the Boston Globe
in January.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 2014 the Presidential Palace that Erdogan designed and cost
$615 million was under criticism from the opposition party for excessive
spending. The President’s <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32977920" target="_blank">response</a> to the accusations was to threaten to sue and jail those who made the claims. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/barack-obama-turkey-coup-225642#ixzz4F36d31ft" target="_blank">Politico</a> reports: “Turkey is a longtime strategic partner of the United States that
houses a vital U.S. airbase and a small U.S. arsenal of tactical nuclear
weapons.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When a country is taken over by a megalomaniac who responds
to criticism by lashing out and jailing people, it is a problem.
When a President lashes out against a community of people (like the LGBTQ
community) to pacify his right flank, it is a problem. That’s all true in Turkey and in the United States. Now let's plan that next coup.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-71470869825128217952016-07-14T06:49:00.005-07:002016-07-14T06:50:40.918-07:00Random Acts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMsxKAPzWtvM6Ov_0pOKJtR0mLBtRqaGMOEjA7Ri1DhQvmLaulHvlSPMTdgdZ_yUkN2A6qdrWTOSNQfVfeHAHQeRZN_o6pWx37jLuZv4D08TUJJOjeBXEwpI6uFkaVzwleAl40asOFEX9/s1600/grey+hair+wisdom.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMsxKAPzWtvM6Ov_0pOKJtR0mLBtRqaGMOEjA7Ri1DhQvmLaulHvlSPMTdgdZ_yUkN2A6qdrWTOSNQfVfeHAHQeRZN_o6pWx37jLuZv4D08TUJJOjeBXEwpI6uFkaVzwleAl40asOFEX9/s1600/grey+hair+wisdom.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’m going gray. Technically my strawberry-blonde / red locks
are transforming into white – but there’s still a good amount of each. The
transformation has been happening for years. My Dad once told me that his hair
turned to white in a matter of weeks so once I found that first strand some
twenty years ago I’ve been looking at the rest of them for years wondering when
the switch will occur. (Dad’s probably looking down with his crinkly eyes and
wry smile, happy he got one over on me.) Every now and again I will catch
myself in a reflection and marvel at the shift in proportions. There’s nothing
to do about it and I have plenty else to worry and obsess about – but it’s one
of those things that incrementally been happening and one day soon I’ll notice
that one color will predominates any other. I think that’s a metaphor for race
relations and violence in the U.S. right now.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmYs83puaXEBALqcSpDvPT6wNjUSI6fveBxHwkAYthOzexUwnO8COm8XbXvcuhl8798EhwY78-WcmrQcVdHPczevz_fLpdQWvhmfnxJC3oLbFFMZJNyMr8FqjpiVutpv62mR4QZnBvn3j/s1600/indian+illegal+immigrants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmYs83puaXEBALqcSpDvPT6wNjUSI6fveBxHwkAYthOzexUwnO8COm8XbXvcuhl8798EhwY78-WcmrQcVdHPczevz_fLpdQWvhmfnxJC3oLbFFMZJNyMr8FqjpiVutpv62mR4QZnBvn3j/s320/indian+illegal+immigrants.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From our earliest days as America has been a mix of people.
It started with Native Americans and European settlers and then African
Americans were brought to these shores unwillingly as slaves. Others came to
explore the bountiful opportunities and riches that the land offered or to
escape persecution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We have not handled the differences we have with each other well.
There has been prejudice, discrimination, retaliation and fear throughout
American History. Try as current columnists might, there is no point to go
“aha! This all started with…” without literally starting with the arrival of
The Mayflower.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the past few years the level of violence has increased.
Has it? Native Americans were slayed by the thousands in the colonists land
grabs in America’s earliest days. The U.S. Government quarantined Japanese
people during World War II. More recently black people were lynched (hung from
tree posts) in the U.S. for decades before there was a movement to stop that
violence. There are too many examples of violence against one group of people
based on their difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5XOciSciE466YAx05UUpj_NCfy2xFTYbgr2POLACDute61tf59EFAOp53Pj_8-_de-tpoPVFmTRZd0K01p4uECxJ0PaqQ2rW10GN9GUGJyUouU4TcoCzGrWmfv9Iyza09wGv6_qDPk3i/s1600/all+lives+matter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5XOciSciE466YAx05UUpj_NCfy2xFTYbgr2POLACDute61tf59EFAOp53Pj_8-_de-tpoPVFmTRZd0K01p4uECxJ0PaqQ2rW10GN9GUGJyUouU4TcoCzGrWmfv9Iyza09wGv6_qDPk3i/s400/all+lives+matter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The social media impact on our lives is more reflective of
how things have changed. One of the incidents in July 2016 was aired lived on
Facebook as the victim died. Everything is happening in real time and is
available for immediate consumption instead of a news story that took even a
day or two to wend its way through the country. It now takes seconds. Events
happen so quickly now that the murders of 49 people in Orlando one month ago (June
2016) now seem distant compared to the fresh events of police shooting citizens
and a sniper killing police officers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are differences between the races. There are differences
between classes of people. If we wanted to we could find and focus on those differences. What we don't do enough of is look at what we have in common.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Are we a more violent society?</b> Or do we just have access to
more weapons and they’re more sophisticated? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Are we less tolerant?</b> Or do we now have ‘permission’ to
express our fear and dislike of anything different because we know there’s
others like us out there?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Is it ever going to stop? </b>No, probably not. It's been going on too long and too many people seem invested in their way and their interpretation.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippOQje-3aw1jMwZSi5pJXAbh5G5GjPkGNzB1ChdTMK5nQhC_PRdhXLvb78Jk2QVi8HfPbvUqJQpo__XhFyO58ZZE6IP2BHE8Rzt2sihfyKIruLLV_lTskCm8aP6Fmi1GznSTnYxm_R2ga/s1600/blue-black-cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippOQje-3aw1jMwZSi5pJXAbh5G5GjPkGNzB1ChdTMK5nQhC_PRdhXLvb78Jk2QVi8HfPbvUqJQpo__XhFyO58ZZE6IP2BHE8Rzt2sihfyKIruLLV_lTskCm8aP6Fmi1GznSTnYxm_R2ga/s400/blue-black-cartoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Can we do anything?</b> <u>Absolutely.</u> These past weeks and months (and years) have been a barrage of random acts of violence and hatred. The optimistic
pacifist side of me wants us to all to get along. The more practical side of me
will settle for us each taking on a random act of kindness instead. That feels more achievable. It's a long stretch of a metaphor, but accepting that my hair isn't all one color or the other - that it's a true mix and combination is very much like accepting that the world isn't just like me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What random act of kindness will you
take that on?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-10845958277537810102016-07-07T04:21:00.002-07:002016-07-07T04:21:59.393-07:00Infotainment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkz1nqcGoI8mK7uPMelJ-pzLWcrkZJFPoKQWIO3xWCwO5feUrUW9QJu0EKuPcxt5fkPmDmS9oNOIl0bBeLnl834UwCOM_JbLut5jMOXaUL-AZInVtOhCk6xhgc9-JjbbjD9cYEZArd7pl/s1600/convention.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkz1nqcGoI8mK7uPMelJ-pzLWcrkZJFPoKQWIO3xWCwO5feUrUW9QJu0EKuPcxt5fkPmDmS9oNOIl0bBeLnl834UwCOM_JbLut5jMOXaUL-AZInVtOhCk6xhgc9-JjbbjD9cYEZArd7pl/s1600/convention.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’ve spent most of the past two weeks at a convention/conference.
It’s not dissimilar to any other one – there’s great opportunities to meet
other people from around the country who work and have interests in the same
field. There’s silly hats, branded clothing and the constant crush of people
moving from one event to the next. For those of us who work in the field, it’s
a wonderful opportunity to feel important, connected and aligned. In the weeks
ahead the political world will hold their quadrennial conventions and we have let the parties take over the airways.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Political conventions for the major parties are critical
cogs in the wheel of democracy. Delegates make official the presumptive nominees
as their candidates for President and Vice President. While technically true it’s
the candidate themselves who choose their running mate and then present it to
the delegation for approval. Party platforms are approved though it’s the policies
of the nominees which govern what may or may not happen if they’re elected far
more than statements of principles in the platform.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuF-lUrPBqiSaEoim-wHxCmuau8aB9IVDx_VDkROvxr6Coi4xFGjjWY86oQvgPVgNOOOBju623uURVoI9PvjpqcthRivQ1CjD0P_lotB-CLsPL5GmgVrHfv-V5YmyPVWEKlz2nbltiUlvY/s1600/convention+gop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuF-lUrPBqiSaEoim-wHxCmuau8aB9IVDx_VDkROvxr6Coi4xFGjjWY86oQvgPVgNOOOBju623uURVoI9PvjpqcthRivQ1CjD0P_lotB-CLsPL5GmgVrHfv-V5YmyPVWEKlz2nbltiUlvY/s400/convention+gop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For decades these conventions have been designed for
television viewers. There’s little controversy and the packaging becomes a four
day infomercial for each party. According to The <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1702650393"></span>Museum of Broadcasting<span id="goog_1702650394"></span></a> “Critics allege today's nominating conventions are undemocratic spectacles and
propose replacing them with a national presidential primary system. Despite
these critiques, convention reform is unlikely. Today's streamlined convention
regularly attracts 30% television market shares, providing an audience for
television news divisions, political parties and presidential candidates,
alike. While television coverage has brought many cosmetic changes to the
convention, it has not interfered with its basic functions.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The GOP convention in Cleveland could provide that
convention reform. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-few-political-allies-trump-plans-celebrity-convention/2016/07/04/f3fe7440-41e8-11e6-a76d-3550dba926ac_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post reports</a>: “ ‘This is not going to be your typical party convention like years past,’ said
Trump spokesman Jason Miller. ‘Donald Trump is better suited than just about
any candidate in memory to put together a program that’s outside of Washington
and can appeal directly to the American people.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5T4i_GAB5GvdHUENJjE8-Mzm4nuXmK0BUxvpBdQplkQ18KEflRv29_JvsM0jdqyq5tya7YlrylAQtAivbskkKxij9RNGVL35eb4j7f1PWHXPq4-OU2v_QGrcDVoVJMIaS91eweDuYP_HK/s1600/winning+trump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5T4i_GAB5GvdHUENJjE8-Mzm4nuXmK0BUxvpBdQplkQ18KEflRv29_JvsM0jdqyq5tya7YlrylAQtAivbskkKxij9RNGVL35eb4j7f1PWHXPq4-OU2v_QGrcDVoVJMIaS91eweDuYP_HK/s320/winning+trump.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The article continues quoting the presumptive nominee: “ ‘My
children are all going to be speaking: Ivanka, Tiffany, Don, Eric. They’re
going to be speaking,’ Trump said Friday during an appearance at the Western Conservative
Summit in Denver. ‘My wife is going to be speaking at the convention. We’re
going to have a great time.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the Democratic side the article states: “Along with
Clinton and her eventual vice presidential pick, there are sure to be speeches
from President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle
Obama and, of course, the candidate’s husband, former President Bill Clinton.”<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Wi05yN_qvTvn1Eovcwog_HKgbnncCyh8Ht3OXClXJNsaeZ8t74sMlNJzT3AivfXJFKvCBdaprtLDwIvbQDV6xTwrfGTPxw03Jf_wDngumWfD_VXEF3_bMZf_GN4-m3EVY9V5d1h1bsLm/s1600/winning+bernie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Wi05yN_qvTvn1Eovcwog_HKgbnncCyh8Ht3OXClXJNsaeZ8t74sMlNJzT3AivfXJFKvCBdaprtLDwIvbQDV6xTwrfGTPxw03Jf_wDngumWfD_VXEF3_bMZf_GN4-m3EVY9V5d1h1bsLm/s320/winning+bernie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some will see a huge difference of Trump having his family speak while Clinton will have elected leaders speak while others may note that she too is having her own family speak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The divide in the country will continue, but the election goes on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The official transition into the General Election campaign
occurs when the candidates become actual nominees. Hundreds of millions of dollars
will be raised, likely more than the $1 billion spent in the 2012 cycle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The airways are public and it is vital that the nuts and
bolts of the convention are covered and seen. The cost of that transparency (which only CSpan actually
does) is four days each of free advertising and lots of talking heads and
hyperbole. The era of Infotainment continues.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-20313257882496351292016-06-30T18:49:00.002-07:002016-06-30T18:49:58.024-07:00Bartering Beliefs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp95Nli3DDTt93J4vVrr2kE1VDtNpDSJJcPpzRcXlV4bDoL7J90XmmM1oAnMJzvBKFykENyT1gL526YkCgpfi0hAG2v-t6U_JcWLm1SdKNX0BEEgULzSutdlLjZytHgqPi5htjwvI0PAVa/s1600/winwin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp95Nli3DDTt93J4vVrr2kE1VDtNpDSJJcPpzRcXlV4bDoL7J90XmmM1oAnMJzvBKFykENyT1gL526YkCgpfi0hAG2v-t6U_JcWLm1SdKNX0BEEgULzSutdlLjZytHgqPi5htjwvI0PAVa/s320/winwin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Have you ever wanted something so badly that you took a bit
of a short-cut to get it? Perhaps it was jumping ahead in line to get a better
seat at an event. Ever bob and weave through tough traffic? Perhaps it was
fibbing to a maitre’d to get a better table or a reservation moved around to
your convenience. It’s not always selfish - family and friends who are parents
often make little deals with their offspring – finish 2 more carrots and then
you can have dessert – or clean up your room and you can have 15 more minutes
on the iPad. Most of these things are relatively harmless – some might even
categorize them as incentives. David Cameron showed the world last week what
happens when you barter your beliefs away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The United Kingdom’s decision to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887" target="_blank">remove itself</a> from the European Union in a referendum in June 2016 has the world
aflutter. Stock markets dropped, the value of the pound crashed and political
analysists who didn’t foresee it happened are agog with hyperbole. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How did this happen? Sure there are issues of xenophobia,
isolationism and other elements at play. Before making that judgment, however,
let’s go back in time to see how this could happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TJBlwQx5wNASy33VKMChNj4Wbvs8MDMWE6hRggZtsS2fqaw_xKcx0COTGOGFkPSMX84a8yrwmg2jIa9z5MiQBijvisnN9q_AXJVz8FL8cIA1Le4EyPe9vYFFA3l8pdyoyfUA3HXEfukT/s1600/eubrexit.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TJBlwQx5wNASy33VKMChNj4Wbvs8MDMWE6hRggZtsS2fqaw_xKcx0COTGOGFkPSMX84a8yrwmg2jIa9z5MiQBijvisnN9q_AXJVz8FL8cIA1Le4EyPe9vYFFA3l8pdyoyfUA3HXEfukT/s320/eubrexit.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Cameron_ministry" target="_blank">David Cameron</a> took over the leadership of the Conservative Party in April of 2010 after
Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister. Per Wikipedia: “The election resulted
in a hung parliament, no single party having an overall majority in the House
of Commons, the Conservatives having the most seats but 20 short of a majority.
In the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement of 11 May 2010, the
two parties formed a coalition government.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The British Parliamentary system operates differently than
the U.S. system, but the essential comparison for Americans is that no party
won an outright majority so they had to bring together another party to get
enough support to govern. The nearest comparison would be the GOP didn’t quite
win enough votes to rule so they had to make a deal with the Green Party to be
able to run the government. That’s how different and far apart the parties are
in policy, but it was the first opportunity that the Liberal Democrats had to
have a seat at the table and they took it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfbD21XX6lAwyiAFwW1JHrXrmQ6ErVxHZGjfze1HT6Qz3UcVmfzX0zrA3nfnmbYpkHhgnhHDfVIQbUB8Bl0WieWdCl1Aq4MaMH9-2uGI6zvkTSHcWuhTu9N4LRnQrjGX1TQ_oR9tB9vV-/s1600/uk_coalition_government_chappatte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfbD21XX6lAwyiAFwW1JHrXrmQ6ErVxHZGjfze1HT6Qz3UcVmfzX0zrA3nfnmbYpkHhgnhHDfVIQbUB8Bl0WieWdCl1Aq4MaMH9-2uGI6zvkTSHcWuhTu9N4LRnQrjGX1TQ_oR9tB9vV-/s320/uk_coalition_government_chappatte.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative%E2%80%93Liberal_Democrat_coalition_agreement" target="_blank">Coalition Agreement</a> between the parties outlined the policy areas where they agreed to cooperate
and the actions that they’d take. There was plenty of give and take from the
parties that are so divergent in philosophy. So long as the Agreement was
followed then the rest of the issues and policies could be supported. “Settling”
on a few items in order to rule seemed worthwhile. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative%E2%80%93Liberal_Democrat_coalition_agreement#European_Union" target="_blank">European Union</a> was part of the Agreement and that began the process of placing a referendum on
the ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not much happened in those first few years around the EU and
the Conservatives were frustrated with the difficulty of ruling by coalition,
Cameron made another deal in 2012 in a bid to bolster Conservative votes in the
next election. Wikipedia: “While attending the May 2012 NATO summit meeting,
British Prime Minister David Cameron, William Hague and Ed Llewellyn discussed
the idea of using a European Union referendum as a concession to energise the
Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party. In January 2013, Cameron promised
that, should his Conservative Party win a parliamentary majority at the 2015
general election, the UK Government would negotiate more favourable
arrangements for continuing British membership of the EU, before holding a
referendum on whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The tactic worked and Cameron and the Conservatives had a
strong showing in 2015 – enough so that his second cabinet came together
without the need of a coalition agreement. He then did <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21693324-britains-out-referendum-will-be-held-june-23rd-david-cameron-strikes-european-union-deal" target="_blank">negotiate more agreeableterms</a> for staying in the Union as he had
promised. But there was still a matter of the vote. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7bG5QBKcQnDS6ilpppppfa3dqQy9-fCIiGm192lnc2djCC-S6K0-cq-wtFz1JhX4K5dF9Ftc7DNgf9H-EdqXa1wdx5JPilFuYe8K720UtXT1uMU3pniIbxZB0H9g2bmhaTvfm41Kp0K9/s1600/brexit+0630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7bG5QBKcQnDS6ilpppppfa3dqQy9-fCIiGm192lnc2djCC-S6K0-cq-wtFz1JhX4K5dF9Ftc7DNgf9H-EdqXa1wdx5JPilFuYe8K720UtXT1uMU3pniIbxZB0H9g2bmhaTvfm41Kp0K9/s400/brexit+0630.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The June 23<sup>rd</sup> Referendum went forward and by 1.3
million votes the U.K. decided to leave the Union. Cameron immediately resigned
in what many consider a statement of leadership and integrity. What they forget
is that Cameron wouldn’t have had to resign if he hadn’t made the deals he did
to gain power in the first place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many analysts in the U.S. have tried to draw a parallel
between a vote to isolate and the Trump movement. They see it as foreshadowing
for the November 2016 election. I don’t. I see it as another example of when
people compromise their principals then there are consequences. Cameron bartered
his beliefs and the Brits now leave the European Union.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-61166903210511224692016-06-23T07:16:00.003-07:002016-06-23T07:16:30.702-07:00Super Soaked<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAa4RDnjW7ENvzsX3OtfP5XzZPbqcmV7FAsCNzXdMxTiw3Oqz7JDTOBZrjhJK1gQUHEZ6fP2IywlFhAm6m8fgxRt_Tph5qj2KxP1uNZStcS4IlWmZnDvh8crejJJ8HCi8UPZWEhuq1TZcI/s1600/Nerf+Super+Soaker+Zombie+Strike+Splatterblast+Blaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAa4RDnjW7ENvzsX3OtfP5XzZPbqcmV7FAsCNzXdMxTiw3Oqz7JDTOBZrjhJK1gQUHEZ6fP2IywlFhAm6m8fgxRt_Tph5qj2KxP1uNZStcS4IlWmZnDvh8crejJJ8HCi8UPZWEhuq1TZcI/s320/Nerf+Super+Soaker+Zombie+Strike+Splatterblast+Blaster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I got my nephew the Nerf Super Soaker Zombie Strike
Splatterblast Blaster for his birthday. The description: “One-handed Splatter
blast water blaster; Lets you soak your
target from up to 30 feet away with 4 streams of water; Water tank lights up;
Holds up to 35 fluid ounces.” It’s perfect for an energetic kid. To break in
the blaster, my nephew invited his father to play and gave him a squirt gun to
defend himself. Smart young man – he gets the Super Soaker and only has to fend
off a squirt gun. (There must be something to genetics!) Being outgunned is an
apt metaphor for what’s happening in Washington these days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Ten days after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history the
U.S. Senate <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/20/politics/senate-gun-votes-congress/" target="_blank">defeated</a> four bills aimed at limiting assault rifles. They were largely on major party line basis. CNN reported: “Tough election year
politics, paired with disputes over the effectiveness of each party's ideas,
proved too powerful to break the longstanding partisan gridlock that's
surrounded gun issues for years.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeTjiTl1HPd9cXor644ScyLUA9VSyn0N0YSTYs4Z3LUmaMQVwi7GW9ufvD2C4SCl3aAYWobwwbGGVBjEmalwljkgo60HeUWMjFGdG8FV-goBqS_rUDe39ria9idPy3gaGRtPa7NRLev7z/s1600/flame+throwers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeTjiTl1HPd9cXor644ScyLUA9VSyn0N0YSTYs4Z3LUmaMQVwi7GW9ufvD2C4SCl3aAYWobwwbGGVBjEmalwljkgo60HeUWMjFGdG8FV-goBqS_rUDe39ria9idPy3gaGRtPa7NRLev7z/s400/flame+throwers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Democrats in the House <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/22/house-democrats-stage-sit-in-over-gun-legislation/86241864/" target="_blank">staged</a> a sit in demanding a vote on two of the four bills that were already defeated in the
Senate. It was a masterful public relations move – if pointless legislatively
since even if the House miraculously passed them the senate already had
defeated them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbBxfZrumjewWOcSmckohfjXVPGPWS8wmRbAThGfyjmzZfw5R3Y5WdujCjgdq6lxMH_a0vzg5CHIvfJXvOAAvynp2c135LszN4zMhH6HA1_JwvZAufqKmrBvBEI0r6xSvWzs1yxrSo8bq/s1600/makeitstop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbBxfZrumjewWOcSmckohfjXVPGPWS8wmRbAThGfyjmzZfw5R3Y5WdujCjgdq6lxMH_a0vzg5CHIvfJXvOAAvynp2c135LszN4zMhH6HA1_JwvZAufqKmrBvBEI0r6xSvWzs1yxrSo8bq/s200/makeitstop.JPG" width="169" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Boston Globe <a href="http://apps.bostonglobe.com/graphics/2016/06/make-it-stop/" target="_blank">wrapped</a> its paper on June 16, 2016 with a 4-page Opinion piece entitled “Make It
Stop.” Included is a rich variety of statistics supporting their thesis: “Greed,
legislative cowardice, advanced technology — that is how we got here. The
United States has been pummeled by gun violence since the assault weapons ban
expired in 2004. One class of gun, semiautomatic rifles, is largely
responsible. But this nation cannot be a hostage of fear. We can make it stop.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There once was an assault weapons ban. From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>: “The ten-year ban was passed by the U.S. Congress on September 13, 1994, and
signed into law by then President Bill Clinton the same day. The ban only
applied to weapons manufactured after the date of the ban's enactment, and it
expired on September 13, 2004.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Several reports showed that there was no measurable impact
on the restriction of firearms and gun violence. The Brady Center found
differently: “in the five-year period before enactment of the Federal Assault
Weapons Act (1990-1994), assault weapons named in the Act constituted 4.82% of
the crime gun traces ATF conducted nationwide. Since the law’s enactment,
however, these assault weapons have made up only 1.61% of the guns ATF has
traced to crime.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ijreview.com/2016/01/510415-10-charts-that-put-obamas-gun-violence-town-hall-in-perspective/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ijreview.com/2016/01/510415-10-charts-that-put-obamas-gun-violence-town-hall-in-perspective/" target="_blank">The Independent Review</a> actually shows that whenever there is an effort to restrict guns there is a
huge upshot in gun sales:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNtvM6aEG_8QqE7eGGke13HWhMHRsnzWeSPnCGQjnaYwoTJ4fHfCRpC5gPLqzrZZnle251KhFkCqLj1oBBUEOsJ9Rum2Yd2mnwWGZu8DiDVNGVWfyGQ-Iv4fOSpddbuv8fM8vyqYIySp5/s1600/calls+for+new+restrictions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNtvM6aEG_8QqE7eGGke13HWhMHRsnzWeSPnCGQjnaYwoTJ4fHfCRpC5gPLqzrZZnle251KhFkCqLj1oBBUEOsJ9Rum2Yd2mnwWGZu8DiDVNGVWfyGQ-Iv4fOSpddbuv8fM8vyqYIySp5/s640/calls+for+new+restrictions.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/10/06/zero-correlation-between-state-homicide-rate-and-state-gun-laws/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> agreed and </span><o:p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></o:p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">2015 did a state by state comparison and came
to a similar conclusion that gun laws don't necessarily curb gun violence. “This
doesn’t prove that gun laws have no effect on total homicide rates. Correlation
doesn’t show causation.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what’s to be done? I am a pacifist. I abhor gun violence.
I am a constitutionalist and I believe that America should be guided by that
document. While I personally don’t want weapons, I also don’t want law abiding
people who feel they need them to not have them. The Second Amendment provides
for that – and it also provides context by using the description “…well
regulated…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xg0LZK7YtT-q-Jo7agDzWyfRfJ8DHH2PStSCheMLRUTc42n-UijkfhQEgIJXo1H0G03kl9Qty8l-isx5w_PKConkhxAIzAzXIB10ZyH6vAYEeKoyd4jcfAOsL9eUhaNWOMJFROHPSqHr/s1600/assaultweaponban.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xg0LZK7YtT-q-Jo7agDzWyfRfJ8DHH2PStSCheMLRUTc42n-UijkfhQEgIJXo1H0G03kl9Qty8l-isx5w_PKConkhxAIzAzXIB10ZyH6vAYEeKoyd4jcfAOsL9eUhaNWOMJFROHPSqHr/s400/assaultweaponban.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Assault Weapon in question is one that has been designed
for killing human beings, especially in war. I’m hard pressed to see how the
restriction of this one style of gun becomes a slippery slope to ending gun
ownership in the U.S. Erring on the side of eliminating this particular weapon won’t
destroy the Constitution just as it didn’t during the ten years it was
previously in place. It might just make mass shootings a less likely and less
bloody. That would be a good thing. I guess the lesson is that I should have gotten
my nephew a squirt gun instead.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-65288077978269395942016-06-16T05:51:00.003-07:002016-06-16T05:51:25.286-07:00Sobering Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih9B7qv_DkOiyQua9mRGiEzpRVIU95F2_cJBr2i-fOo28djj7s-qcJPveeZ0fGotvRkhZn6DeUL-fZCQXyvzOI5S8jGyJ2dov-B2zPndYu1VrLjEqvXUE1i2Q1K6fHc9tpPsIRJNwcK0G8/s1600/alcohol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih9B7qv_DkOiyQua9mRGiEzpRVIU95F2_cJBr2i-fOo28djj7s-qcJPveeZ0fGotvRkhZn6DeUL-fZCQXyvzOI5S8jGyJ2dov-B2zPndYu1VrLjEqvXUE1i2Q1K6fHc9tpPsIRJNwcK0G8/s320/alcohol.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">May 7, 1987 was my first day of sobriety. It’s now quite a
milestone that I’ve lived more years without the benefit of alcohol than with. I
even take it for granted. There was a time when I was stunned to find out that
not everybody’s breakfast included a Screwdriver. The root cause of my
alcoholism may be biological as it runs in the family, it may be environmental,
it is likely some combination. Doesn’t matter why: the bottom line is I can’t
handle it. I am grateful for a life of clean living. I am also grateful for the
bars that were around when I did drink. They provided a respite and were a
helpful transition for me to live as an out person. Given Orlando 2016 – I’ve
been reflecting on my drinking days, my life in gay bars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was the fall of 1986. Syracuse, New York. I went to the
address and circled the block several times. I parked in the far part of the
lot. I watched people go in and out of this square, warehouse type building.
They looked normal enough. What if I was seen? Recognized? Fear, confusion,
excitement coarsed through my body. I
left. This pattern of going to the club and not going in repeated itself for
days on end, for at least two to three weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneaHSvnZwOkCAgZ6xOfvqM1VwEythQhgClRJgTdre-maUH7RhLCGJubXYo6Ti_Pfr15Xu3wKZSeg1gyWfKpFii1sE7H-YsAWX-kYhyxLBI92qV5aDyxBI4NxjeYL3jPYGXbcpEqT40tel/s1600/gay+dance+club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneaHSvnZwOkCAgZ6xOfvqM1VwEythQhgClRJgTdre-maUH7RhLCGJubXYo6Ti_Pfr15Xu3wKZSeg1gyWfKpFii1sE7H-YsAWX-kYhyxLBI92qV5aDyxBI4NxjeYL3jPYGXbcpEqT40tel/s320/gay+dance+club.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally my courage overcame my fears. I actually got out of
the Chevette and crossed the street. I walked in. It was this gargantuan space
– huge dance floor, flashing lights, loud music. Four people were there. It was
a Monday night after all. I went up to the bar – the only college student in
sight. One of the guys checked me out, smiled and went back to his drink. I
nearly chugged my beer. The bartender said “it’ll be ok kid.” I raced out of
there. Mission accomplished! And it took less than 10 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I returned that weekend where there was much more activity.
I even ran into people I knew. I was hugged. I was welcomed. I even danced. I began my life as a gay
person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My story isn’t all that unique. Gay bars and dance clubs have
been gathering places for the LGBT community for generations. Today in places
like Boston there are still dedicated bars. Assimilation and acceptance have
minimized their footprint but we continue to come together in these places.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWks90ScbYYWbTbWha8SZxnkD9PcjR3_1gYntD6sx077dv2Z-6oiB_YGbOTN8oafTY07rIlI1Taf5x6-08SFPCX1bnzIdWPZYZuqEd-pxevc457CL2iHym0XO4w525f201FhUM09M5LWg_/s1600/pulse+ribbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWks90ScbYYWbTbWha8SZxnkD9PcjR3_1gYntD6sx077dv2Z-6oiB_YGbOTN8oafTY07rIlI1Taf5x6-08SFPCX1bnzIdWPZYZuqEd-pxevc457CL2iHym0XO4w525f201FhUM09M5LWg_/s200/pulse+ribbon.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The massacre in Orlando at Pulse – a gay bar – is terrible
by any measurement. It’s the worst mass shooting in America. It’s the most
egregious hate crime against the LGBT community. It targeted young Hispanics.
And it has torn apart the safe space that a gay bar provides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2016 people are coming out in middle school and not
waiting until college like I did. Bars and clubs no longer hold the same
exclusive role as they did for me, for the Stonewall generation before me or
the Speakeasy time of the Mattachine Society. There’s a lot of good news in
that --- and we still need our places. In Orlando Pulse was a safe space. The
bullets killed 49 people, injured 53 more and punctured the bubble of security
that is vital to the LGBT community and those who are questioning and exploring
their identity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There’s so much to be said about what’s happened –
politically, socially, morally – in the media, in the community, in the world.
Hypocrisies and ironies abound. For today, though, less than a week after the
attack I’m still sober and am sobered by the events, grateful for the bars that
make it safe to be who we are.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-87851247501187627402016-06-09T06:53:00.001-07:002016-06-09T06:53:14.412-07:00Love-Hate Speech<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLGMufMZC97dFXBLL5d32100GKXtnmw031pH_quRrjlaDsPHKKqeATOwFmYbNmvGVYQ-We62Yb7kM9tuNqHTIoKLN4Ub2fu2MyDZ_uuqlbvqsc_9iL4e92EQRoKXPKTRanZL4Eg97b4m7g/s1600/argument.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLGMufMZC97dFXBLL5d32100GKXtnmw031pH_quRrjlaDsPHKKqeATOwFmYbNmvGVYQ-We62Yb7kM9tuNqHTIoKLN4Ub2fu2MyDZ_uuqlbvqsc_9iL4e92EQRoKXPKTRanZL4Eg97b4m7g/s1600/argument.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A good friend of mine loves to argue. He may not even
believe the issue at hand – instead he loves to have a spirited discussion.
Those who are unfamiliar with his process often get wound up. It’s an
interesting (and often amusing) tactic to see how well people can articulate
what they believe in. More often than not the debate turns to the petty and names
are called, assumptions made and broad swaths of insults are strewn about. It’s
not the prettiest thing to see, but it’s part and parcel of a society committed
to free speech. But are we?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In December 2015 I wrote about the <a href="http://craigcoogan.blogspot.com/2015/12/word-wars.html" target="_blank">Word Wars</a> going on at the college level. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In July 2014 I <a href="http://craigcoogan.blogspot.com/2014/07/forget-me-not.html" target="_blank">wrote</a> about </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">how Europe allows people and companies to petition Google and other search
engines to have negative information about themselves removed from results.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Europeans are now taking the next step at restricting speech.
<a href="http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/31/facebook-twitter-youtube-and-microsoft-agree-to-remove-hate-speech-across-the-eu/?sr_share=facebook" target="_blank">Techcrunch reports</a>:
“Facebook, Twitter, Google’s YouTube, Microsoft as well as the European
Commission unveiled a new code of conduct to remove hate speech according to
community guidelines in less than 24 hours across these social media platforms.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“’The recent terror attacks have reminded us of the urgent
need to address illegal online hate speech,’ Vĕra Jourová, EU Commissioner for
Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, wrote in the European Commission press
release. ‘Social media is unfortunately one of the tools that terrorist groups
use to radicalise young people and racist use to spread violence and hatred.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93Z7Clt8TCe3OWUMtgPkZe38TzhtTiDEJMRu2Mrofm2cNNsvXQVO6MSx3TmJ80BxioMXhU-AkfJrXgdPMF-eedt-2oTMyBeSiCIlaq_tYIlYiqaiWlxOa0XaCLqv1HNUP2AC2TS03CIEq/s1600/speechhate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93Z7Clt8TCe3OWUMtgPkZe38TzhtTiDEJMRu2Mrofm2cNNsvXQVO6MSx3TmJ80BxioMXhU-AkfJrXgdPMF-eedt-2oTMyBeSiCIlaq_tYIlYiqaiWlxOa0XaCLqv1HNUP2AC2TS03CIEq/s400/speechhate.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The slippery slope that I wrote about and fretted about in
2014 and 2015 is coming true in 2016. One person’s hate speech is another
person’s advocacy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">George Washington was a colonel in the British Army from
1752-58 before changing allegiance to the colonies and leading the revolution
against the British. His efforts earned him the role as the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9204961/George-Washington-named-Britains-greatest-ever-foe.html" target="_blank">number one foe</a> of
the United Kingdom awarded in 2012 by the National Army Museum. His efforts towards independence
likely had quite a bit of talk that was treasonous and hateful and designed to convert people to the colonists perspective. <i>[I'm not equating ISIS with Washington - rather pointing out that some could.]</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8niWFYuiYLGvIddzzalxv9ukthyphenhyphenvVVmo-n1iNtQRy34tWV1UCZbckyYJb7rCk-usqqGyW_p_uUyMRu_UJAL5HHCOLgHDOVPo8ZYvpTz8al8vGxtlWjfSLaYvVPDuwQzJz6LAN5hXckdNa/s1600/speechhate2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8niWFYuiYLGvIddzzalxv9ukthyphenhyphenvVVmo-n1iNtQRy34tWV1UCZbckyYJb7rCk-usqqGyW_p_uUyMRu_UJAL5HHCOLgHDOVPo8ZYvpTz8al8vGxtlWjfSLaYvVPDuwQzJz6LAN5hXckdNa/s400/speechhate2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We cannot all agree. We can’t pave over fundamental
disagreements over issues of policy, religion and beliefs to just get along. Eliminating speech
from the discourse is incredibly perilous. Hate can only be distinguished as hate
when it’s public. Donald Trump may be rallying some with his talk, but I am
glad that his bloviating, spewing and ignorance is front and center for all to see. What are
the Europeans going to do? Delete The Donald’s tweets? That is what their new
code of conduct requires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The danger is in restricting speech – especially nasty,
horrible and uninformed speech. Count me as one who doesn’t like the content of
what’s said but loves hate speech as it’s a sign of freedom.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-3718295892965343842016-06-02T07:28:00.002-07:002016-06-02T07:28:10.120-07:00Fenced In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZCPjfknKDtMcHQ7flpe2bHbqrkWArVC7u942H5m9zfOhRM1iiExZlqFD4PCCXY1fhr8mTV2ZYmU1DGvMoCcyRs3loxACXTIpQ9LMqEvZiNd1dJHAqEEbpkJffHbIlhYngh1CqikkaC1r/s1600/hedge-cutting-maintenance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZCPjfknKDtMcHQ7flpe2bHbqrkWArVC7u942H5m9zfOhRM1iiExZlqFD4PCCXY1fhr8mTV2ZYmU1DGvMoCcyRs3loxACXTIpQ9LMqEvZiNd1dJHAqEEbpkJffHbIlhYngh1CqikkaC1r/s1600/hedge-cutting-maintenance.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On a recent return visit to Los Angeles I went by some properties
that I had owned at one point – another time and another life. Each were
classically Southern California – built in the Spanish style and easily fit
right in with the dozens of others like them on their streets. One of the first
improvements I made at each property was planting hedges around the perimeter
of the property. While they’d grow to be over the six-foot high maximum allowed
under zoning codes – I found they provided a rich vegetation against the desert
look of the buildings and also were a wonderful privacy barrier. Likely in
drought season I wouldn’t have the same appreciation for them, I’d always want
to have some solution to keep prying eyes from…prying. The White House is
following suit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Secret Service Dreams of a New (14-foot) White House Picket
Fence” reads the New York Times headline. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/us/politics/secret-service-dreams-of-a-new-14-foot-white-house-picket-fence.html?_r=0" target="_blank">article</a> outlines the reasons that the security detail wants to exchange the existing fence
for one that’s 1.3 of a <a href="http://www.convertunits.com/from/feet/to/story" target="_blank">story</a> of most houses. It highlights that Thomas Jefferson had a barrier up during the
Civil War and for most of the last century a 6-foot version of the fence has been
up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kUzGgr19ddU7jtNQVIcxlbzk_33AW8J0ojYJaOMTVtWGGffOll-J0Cgt3S9WPro4ZDca4KL5ZHg820yxNJIvRj3J3U4lpTUaH3leCxhyphenhyphenM2OUIzNrlDuEelsOmeShKzY7cYXbP7DtNYmE/s1600/higher+fence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kUzGgr19ddU7jtNQVIcxlbzk_33AW8J0ojYJaOMTVtWGGffOll-J0Cgt3S9WPro4ZDca4KL5ZHg820yxNJIvRj3J3U4lpTUaH3leCxhyphenhyphenM2OUIzNrlDuEelsOmeShKzY7cYXbP7DtNYmE/s400/higher+fence.jpg" width="400" /></a>;</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">President John Adams was the first President to live in the
White House. Thomas Jefferson described it as “the People’s House.” The
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2014/09/23/people-used-to-be-able-to-walk-into-the-white-house-legally/" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> in 2014 wrote a retrospective about the history of the House and how people
were able to walk in at their leisure. “Jefferson and subsequent presidents,
along with their wives, would greet visitors in the East Room around lunchtime.
People were not allowed in during the morning, when the president was sleeping,
or while he was out of town. People were, however, allowed to have essentially
unfettered access to the White House grounds.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">President Pierce was the first President to demand a
full-time bodyguard in response to having an egg thrown at him. The Secret
Service began its protective duties of the President in 1901 after the
attempted assassination of President McKinley. President Cleveland had a force
of 27 guarding the property. The article states: “It grew from a White House
police force of 80 officers in 1942 to 1,200 members by 1995.” According to
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> in 2016 the Service has 6,500 employees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKweWWcm03_ijquHj8sB1HI860Zvai_cJEwAjqh1ar_1-oC6xF1GSMVXMl8TuZt9b1RPmZ1On9FAAxreHL_HcizZevInTnDeD4bQw_YH1rigvO2WW_Vd_wZZDzhMZWndIMxpUbWGQAbgZY/s1600/TerroristsWon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKweWWcm03_ijquHj8sB1HI860Zvai_cJEwAjqh1ar_1-oC6xF1GSMVXMl8TuZt9b1RPmZ1On9FAAxreHL_HcizZevInTnDeD4bQw_YH1rigvO2WW_Vd_wZZDzhMZWndIMxpUbWGQAbgZY/s400/TerroristsWon.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We live in a violent and dangerous world full of terrorist’s
hell bent on doing destruction to America and her institutions. However deeply
that statement is believed it does not make sense to have the White House be
open so that anybody can simply wander in at their leisure as they once did.
The President should have protection. Where’s the balance? In listening to an
analysis on <a href="http://www.siriusxm.com/potus" target="_blank">POTUS</a> about the proposed fence the consensus was that it would be approved by the
Executive branch: “Every modern President has deferred to the Secret Service on
these matters.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Providing protection in the President’s residence and office
is one thing. The movement of the President is quite another. One <a href="https://www.quora.com/How-many-vehicles-and-secret-service-agents-does-it-take-to-transport-President-Obama" target="_blank">analysis</a> showed that it takes a minimum of fourteen vehicles and 30 people to move the
President. The Oregonian in 2015 went through the entire process of a
Presidential visit and <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/13_ways_secret_service_agents.html" target="_blank">reported</a> that it takes thousands of people who come in on at least six airplanes –
including his own culinary crew – and disrupts businesses and traffic for days
before and after even a 15-minute drop by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLOl9bsqw66l5vUUSPkYLXkNr3Ad2LfydlbxFtQ30y0ITAhz49rsrpzry3k35BVYD2UCe8jR3CLARo879w7h_KoIqlxmh4EDL5F9McUI07C3jveOfXY-MZKrFeaed7I_bUA0iIpgUrmWS/s1600/security+obama.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLOl9bsqw66l5vUUSPkYLXkNr3Ad2LfydlbxFtQ30y0ITAhz49rsrpzry3k35BVYD2UCe8jR3CLARo879w7h_KoIqlxmh4EDL5F9McUI07C3jveOfXY-MZKrFeaed7I_bUA0iIpgUrmWS/s400/security+obama.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s all a bit much. We must protect the elected leader of
the country. The current method of coverage insulates the President from
connecting with the real world. There is literally a buffer of people and
equipment in the way. Is it any wonder that administration after administration
is further distanced from the people they serve? Is it any wonder that the
people have risen up in frustration and anger that their leaders “don’t get it”?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The fence is slated to be built in 2018. If President H.
Clinton is living there I’m sure the fence will be opaque. If President Trump is
living there I wonder who he’s going to expect to pay for it? The taxpayer,
naturally…the very people he’d be protected from.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569639526988543269.post-83654057739158846412016-05-26T07:34:00.003-07:002016-05-26T07:34:23.977-07:00Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9SSEGSICvQNUY4P0Q89mG3hygqZVzCtxsGK4rk6VmGh8OW98JMv3n1u8rUpzMnzUpAETiwbZbLpZcScj4geukMW_KxiFi1ABAoeilcGdFmN7WpKS3Fb9y0O2PFDvtUC1P2UCJhpUqJOR/s1600/routine-cartoon.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9SSEGSICvQNUY4P0Q89mG3hygqZVzCtxsGK4rk6VmGh8OW98JMv3n1u8rUpzMnzUpAETiwbZbLpZcScj4geukMW_KxiFi1ABAoeilcGdFmN7WpKS3Fb9y0O2PFDvtUC1P2UCJhpUqJOR/s320/routine-cartoon.gif" width="244" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I’m a creature of habit. I follow a consistent day to day
routine from when and where I walk the dogs to having a “regular” order at the
local café for both lunch and dinner. I even run into the same people at the
same time on elevators! There’s something reassuring about having consistency
and following the same patterns. Sometime doing things over and over doesn’t
necessarily make them the right thing to do. A doctor told me recently that the
way I compensated for an injury by repeatedly walking in a different way had
caused a range of other issues. When it comes to more cerebral things I try
hard not to share, retweet or pass along information that may not be accurate.
There’s a tendency in today’s social media timed world to share first and think
later. In politics the more you say something the more people believe it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Donald J. Trump’s biggest political claim is that for years
he repeatedly said that he didn’t think that Barack Obama was born in the U.S.
There was no evidence to support it and even after the original birth
certificate was publicly shown he shrugged his shoulders and said he still wasn’t
sure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYl_eArR0RlJjqF3cOk-Sr1T_iJWqXaNbfMxzACE5GeN9sVBLpSJmRNL5Nn3XintC57kmzwPYZ1jPi18A7EZVSkBN3urmZ09Y388y33aSW91KGu5w4puqhrIicw5PoVJg4ZX-fcpIenne/s1600/trump+birther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYl_eArR0RlJjqF3cOk-Sr1T_iJWqXaNbfMxzACE5GeN9sVBLpSJmRNL5Nn3XintC57kmzwPYZ1jPi18A7EZVSkBN3urmZ09Y388y33aSW91KGu5w4puqhrIicw5PoVJg4ZX-fcpIenne/s400/trump+birther.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Obama himself uses the mantra method to make his points.
Some call it being on message. How many times did the President promise that “if
you like your doctor you can keep him” when describing his Healthcare plan? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is a difference between repeating information that’s
untrue and repeating an expectation about policy. It still doesn’t mean that
what the President says is always true. In matters of life and death, President
Obama stands alone in his repeated actions and statements on where his
authority lies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">President Obama has a kill list. Well, he did. It’s been
neatly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposition_Matrix" target="_blank">renamed</a> the <b>Disposition Matrix</b>. It’s now no longer a list of 10 names on a piece of
paper. It’s now a database that is maintained. What hasn’t changed is that the
President alone determines who lives and who dies without any proof or any
publicly known criteria guiding the decision and certainly no oversight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mIhUjxKNynYVj7MHziu28Fe34eY9cnATGBat0tOjtFjzV9ZwiRGZBwDITLQqjg37ZH0hEKR7lrrL54RMpO2bb1tKoba2fZC1Ea-o3eGM-eloLrSJr29rsbAWlkve0OYtdnuyTbtwgHRe/s1600/we+can+kill+anybody.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mIhUjxKNynYVj7MHziu28Fe34eY9cnATGBat0tOjtFjzV9ZwiRGZBwDITLQqjg37ZH0hEKR7lrrL54RMpO2bb1tKoba2fZC1Ea-o3eGM-eloLrSJr29rsbAWlkve0OYtdnuyTbtwgHRe/s400/we+can+kill+anybody.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">May 1, 2011 President Obama touted the killing of Osama bin
Laden. Just over five years has passed and the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/five-years-after-bin-laden-s-death-what-s-changed-n565641" target="_blank">NBC News</a> asked What’s Changed? If you don’t follow the
link and read the full story – here’s the answer: <b>not much</b>. Terrorists have been freshly branded under ISL or ISIS.
Wars continue with U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just last week (5/23/16) President Obama <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/05/23/president-obama-confirms-death-taliban-leader/84766596/" target="_blank">confirmed</a> the death (killing) of another Taliban leader. Clearly the impact of the death
of bin Laden has had no impact or effect give years later. Leaders will be
replaced. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONJF-MPWw7fyoztBIyfAFrT5SdSeJKCjy6NBHVB76hKVr7OsPVYt7UYCEKN_5wMJ-0tlqDpo_8IDe23WQxNs4M_AF-Z73A8NcpGaDH58wObFdy16v1s5SOHhL4baMwyxNCksgkgXc8c3f/s1600/nixon+obama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONJF-MPWw7fyoztBIyfAFrT5SdSeJKCjy6NBHVB76hKVr7OsPVYt7UYCEKN_5wMJ-0tlqDpo_8IDe23WQxNs4M_AF-Z73A8NcpGaDH58wObFdy16v1s5SOHhL4baMwyxNCksgkgXc8c3f/s320/nixon+obama.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is no oversight of this list – judicial or
congressional. CIA director John O. Brennan generally makes the recommendations
of who gets to die. He <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposition_Matrix" target="_blank">said</a>: “I tend to do what I think is right. But I find much more comfort, I
guess, in the views and values of this president.” Values and opinions are determining life and death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The United States of America is supposed to stand for the
Rule of Law. Even the guilty are presumed innocent until there is a trial. The
country is not at war – Congress hasn’t authorized one in nearly a century. Even
if the ‘authorizations to use force’ counted as a back-door – it doesn’t justify
random killing. Military courts go through the pretext of determining guilt and
innocence before punishment is meted out…especially the death penalty (killing
somebody). It’s what the country’s supposed to stand for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The U.S. is about to mark Memorial Day – a time to appreciate
and celebrate those who lost their lives in battle to preserve the principals
of American Democracy. No matter how many times President Obama or others
repeat it – there is no justice, no rightness and no honor in having a secret
list of people who get killed without a public trial. To those who disagree or
think this is partisan: what do you think of a President Trump deciding who
lives and who dies without any oversight or reporting whatsoever?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cooganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775977542312967236noreply@blogger.com0