Hannity's Hypocrisy

Absolutely Sean
HAVE THEY NO SHAME !

Aug 30, 2017

School Shopping Worth Every Penny

Stop complaining about Back to School Shopping

Video Courtesy-- "One Funny Mother"

KHOU 11 Live Stream (Houston)

They keep changing the link. Rather then me trying to keep up...
HERE is where you can find a LIVE feed from Houston.

The TV station became flooded just after 11:00 AM Sunday morning. Currently they're patched into WFAA 8 in Dallas working out of one of their studios.

Here's a previous stream they posted when the reporter was notified of their studio's evacuation. At the 3:46:40 mark the reporter chases down a rescue unit to notify him she spotted a tractor trailer stranded in the water just below where she was reporting. Possibly saving his life. At the end of the video you will see when they lost their signal temporarily,



KHOU 11 on Twitter
KHOU 11 on Facebook
(Lots of extra reporting)

Spotlight On "TruthSurge"

Presenting another of my favorite YouTube performers. He calls himself TruthSuge. I put together a small 10 video sampler of some of HIS MORE THEN 100 VIDEOS. Hope you enjoy.


Duration 49 Minutes

Now This Is What I Call a Rally !

Donald could only dream he'd have a rally as big as this one. If he keeps going who knows maybe he will. Only it won't be the kind he was anticipating.

Although from time to time Martin Luther King's dream fades, underneath it all the goodness that unites all persons prevails when awakened to the call.


The future of this country (or any other) still lies in the strength of it's people. Looking at the numbers who show up at these rallies I think it's pretty clear where the majority stand. Let no politician or purveyor of hatred overestimate their ability to silence a sleeping bear once it's been awakened.

Penn State Football Coach Gets A $34.7 Million Deal

The Penn State football coach (James Franklin) was awarded a salary averaging $5.78 million a year over the next 6 years plus another possible $1 million per year in performance incentives making him the 4th highest paid in college football. Of course to a college with a budget of $5.7 billion next year this may not seem like much. However a number of the coaches in the NFL receive less.

In 2016 Penn State football pulled in around $75.5 million. Earning a net profit of $39.9 million.

So My Questions Are..
Should collage coach salaries be on par with pro ball?
Should college football earn profits?
Should players receive salaries?.

BTW
Pennsylvania taxpayers will give Penn State $318.2 million this coming school year.

Jeremiah Wright "God Damn America"

Sean Hannity over and over again plays only 10 seconds of Jeremiah Wright's sermon to the exclusion of the entire words he spoke out of context. Hannity along with other purveyors of half truths ("fake news" ) twist this into a hate speech, which it was not. Take a look at the video and I will speak about it and a few other things.



My impression is Jeremiah wasn't condemning America. Rather he was trying to drive home a point in the strongest way possible that no nation can claim to be "one nation under God" so long as it treats God's children unequally. To grant one person less equality then the other is an insult to God. One which implies God screwed up. You can't have it two ways. A nation can't claim to be "one nation under God" in part. Either it is or isn't. Not that everyone has to believe strongly in religion, but Jeremiah Wright does. Hence the passion in his words. Biblically speaking call it righteous anger if you will. Given what's transpired over these last few days in Charlottesville and elsewhere around the country his sermon is applicable today as it was back then.

A Few Words About Statues
Statues in of themselves are harmless. They only become a center of contention when they start to become something akin to false idols to be revered. They should never be destroyed. Rather placed in areas like museums, battlegrounds and Washington D.C. which can best describe the history behind them by well educated tour guides.

A Few Words About Naming Of Streets, Towns & Buildings
None should be changed. Most of these were named over a span of 200 years over many eras as our nation progressed both good and bad. The way I see there can only be two kinds of responses. One from a set of people who could care less. The other who become upset when they learn the history behind them. Hence by retaining their names, those who become upset have indicated they delved into history. That's a good thing. By otherwise changing the names these people may have never done so.

In Summary
(1) Jeremiah Wright is not a hater of America. Rather a chronicler warning us not to incur God's wrath for that which he believes.

(2) Statues can be valuable tools for teaching lessons in history in the right locations. But when they become symbols used today to revive past hatreds they become somewhat false idols to be worshipped in the worst possible way. Ask Moses (in the Bible) how pissed he became with his followers when he descended off the mountain.. yeah it's kinda like that.

(3) Ask yourself if you give a hoot what streets, buildings or towns were named for. And if you do obviously they inspired to check out the story behind them. How can that be a bad thing?

Final, Final Thoughts
Everybody.... take a chill pill !!!

I Demand This White Racist Statue Be Removed Immediately!

Amazon Is The New Steel Mill

I never felt threatened by automation. I've always known no one was ever gonna invent a "goof off machine".

At least one that could do it better then me.

Charlottesville WAKE UP AMERICA!

Please take the time to watch the videos. My commentary follows below.

Don't Be a Sucker (1947)

Think that film is out of date?


Think Again (December 2016)

Richard Spencer, the same guy that organized the Charlottesville rally this past weekend


Here was his appearance at Texas A&M they were talking about on December 6, 2016



Richard Spencer Reacts To Trump's Belated Condemnation Of Charlottesville

COMMENTARYTrump was right about one thing. This went on for decades before he came into office. What makes this different now is how our government came out against strongly against such evils. Unless this administration steps in with all the tools they have available nations against us might as well sit back, save themselves a lot of effort and money and just wait for us to rot within.

Thank goodness there's plenty of others unwilling to stand idly by and let this happen. It's time for the president to do the same. Reluctantly reading a prepared speech on a teleprompter is simply not enough. America needs to stand up united loud and strong. If this president won't then it up to each of us to send him a message as strong as possible that we won't put up with this.

This whole spiel of mine shouldn't be construed as a rant against Trump. Rather one for setting him straight and anyone else who allows guys like Richard Spencer to gain a foothold. Spencer's BS has to be denounced and isolated as quickly as possible for the sake of the country by both political parties and their members. Otherwise we all go down together. This isn't about politics. It's about far larger ideals.

This is what is needed to said today as it was then by Charles Chaplin in this film...
"The Great Dictator" (1940)



Ye God's we need these kinds of inspirations now more then ever.

Political Propaganda Techniques

Late 40's or 50's


Calling the press "fake news" is very much a propagandist tool used by this administration and some news sources. These can be easily recognized when they extract a short sentence doing a TV clip or copy paste print out of context. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, we all have an opportunity to dissect what was said. Yet far too many of us are too lazy wanting instead to be spoon fed by those who have agendas supporting only what we want to hear.

This is where it becomes our responsibility to ascertain the whole truth. That is what this old, old film was trying to point out. What was true then, is just as true today.

I Remain Unchallenged In August So Far

This month so far I've spoken about the costs for streaming video, network news (how it's changed), unrest in Charlottesville, why North Korea may be doing what it does, why medical costs are out of control, the negative effects of the border wall, immigration, on Putin's dealings with Donald Trump and other stuff in between.

Fourteen (14) items so far in the first thirteen (13) days of August 2017. To date I've received zero comments in response. Does this mean everyone agrees or are uninterested?

Perhaps I'm laboring under a misapprehension these things were important to others as myself.

I realize I've been down this road many times before asking for input, but I am asking once again. Pending otherwise I see no reason to go to great lengths with these kind of posts if they are of no value to my readers.

All I'm asking is to take a few minutes to give me some feedback. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thinking About Cutting Cable Cord?

I've brought this up before.

In it I mentioned how I thought this was a really bad idea.

WHY YOU MAY MISS THE CABLE BUNDLE

"NEW YORK (AP) -- The future of TV may well be a mishmash of streaming services that could rival the cost of a $100 cable bundle - but that are way more difficult to use,,,

If you want to see the edgy shows everyone talks about, then Netflix is, for most, $10 a month; Amazon is $8.25 a month if you sign up for a year. Hulu starts at $8. HBO Now, $15.

Tickled by ads for a specific network show? "The Sinner," an eerie-looking new Jessica Biel vehicle on USA, costs $20 on Amazon for the season. All that together is already more than $60 a month. It's even worse if you're a sports fan. MLB.TV is $113 for the year, and you won't get hometeam games ."

My CommentsTalk about a scam. The big corporate entertainment companies (greedy pigs) are holding back some of their best shows for each of their wholly owned streaming services ($). Meanwhile putting out crap on the dozens of channels they allow cable companies to offer.

Hey, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. How long does anyone think it will be before the prices go up triple and early termination fees begin if they get enough suckers onboard. All this is an effort to cut out the middle man and pocket all the loot for themselves. It also stands to reason cable companies who supply many of the internet connections when they start losing money will start charging more for the internet. After all there's no way you can stream without an internet provider. The only other option is to watch them on a smartphone or iPad. Don't think for a moment cell phone providers won't realize they have ya by the gonads either if enough people fall for this. Yeah and so much for BIG SCREEN TV!

Cable companies (not to become extinct) are already offering DVR's automatically linked to checking accounts to pay for these new streaming service offerings.

I Say, Enough Already!
It ain't never gonna happen for me. As much as I enjoy sports, news and entertainment programming I refuse to be taken to the cleaners by these schemers There will come a tipping point (not so far in the future) where the trade off isn't worth it. I'm already paying $170+ a month for cable TV/phone/internet. If there comes a time nothing is worth watching on the 100 channels or so I have already have what's the point?


(1992)
What Say You?

Shhh Be Quiet.. You'll Wake Up The Whales!

"This occurred on March 30, 2012 while the Disney Magic was pulling out of Port Canaveral and the Disney Fantasy was sitting in Port waiting for its Maiden Voyage the next day."

Cedar Beach Another Shoe About To Drop?

Emily tweeted this rather cryptic message...

Although I may not be realistic I'd like to see everyone involved in the fiasco be sued, bulldoze the pool under and use the money awards to hand out passes to Dorney Park so kids could swim next year. We've already committed $3.3 million to this boondoggle. I feel taxpayers deserve at least some sort of compensation.

I posted at length about this before. I'm not going into it again. But I did state in the past we'd be better off granting passes to Dorney Park where most of the kids who use our pools would be far happier with the water park and rides at Dorney Park. I also mentioned liability issues Allentown would be relieved of as well as the labor and maintenance costs associated with these water attractions within our parks.

We might want to think along these same lines as well now that we learned the Allentown Golf course is over $200,000 in the red.

I'm going to go one step even further in saying, what we spend on playground equipment, pools, golfing, city management and other incidentals like policing of them would be better spent issuing passes to private venues. All of these costs the city incurs for these can wildly fluctuate. Allocating a certain number of dollars each year for passes seems like a wiser choice where there are no surprises or pensions costs involved. Tell me one kid who wouldn't rather go to Dorney Park or a golfer who wouldn't want to play on different courses from time to time.

We don't necessarily have to foot the whole costs, but under the current system we most certainly do. I'm not convinced the city should be in these type of ventures since we're apparently not very good at them. Things change. The city shouldn't try and compete with other venues. Instead use whatever financial resources they would have spent otherwise go towards the kind of things people would stand in line for.

I further urge policy makers to put it before the people. See which they'd prefer. Money for parks or passes?

Launch Of CNN 1980

Cable News all began with Ted Turner's CNN at 5:00PM on June 1st 1980. It was the first ever shot at broadcasting the news 24/7.

CNN: The Early Days



CNN's First Hour: June 1, 1980


Somehow since that time it, along with all the others devolved into nonstop split screen jibber jabber BS commentary. Wouldn't it be great if one--JUST ONE- would go back to cable news' core mission of informing and educating viewers?

I really truly wish they would. I'm sick to death of the lot of them. Imagine for one moment a TV news channel where you could go and get actual traditional reporting. I don't give a crap what any of these so called analysts (pundits) think. Frankly most of them don't know more then any of us do. They're nothing more then BS artists who make a living off of this kind of stuff.

Stop talking down to us like we're idiots. How about this concept. Just give us the facts. Then adopt this policy for your news format-- "We report--You decide".

Some things evolve for the better. A bunch of chattering monkeys (sometimes hostile) in a bunch of split screens isn't one of them. Yeah sure it may be a helll'va lot cheaper then "real" reporters but viewers could get the same banter sitting in a bar down the street from Cliff Clavin.


Cable News-- Yeah it's a bit like that!

Maybe This Helps Explain North Korea's Bluster

In short, things didn't go well for other nations who had given up their weapons to appease the United States. This is not to excuse North Korea acting like a bunch of threatening idiots and not trying to strike a better tone. BUT... I can't help wonder if Kim Jong-un's rational behind his big mouth isn't influenced by some of the past actions United States took against other countries who ended up less fortunate when they tried to somewhat appease the U.S. and got tagged anyway.

Under no certain terms am I agreeing with how North Korea is responding nor that they aren't a threat. But sometimes it may be wise to step back and figure out why the other guy is thinking the way he does. If fear is Kim Jong-un's rational perhaps he could be approached in a much different way then how we approached these other countries.

Again I'm not supporting North Korea's current stance but sometimes scared people shoot first if they feel threatened. Maybe.. just possibly.. a wiser path would be to approach N.K with diplomatic assurances rather then strong arm threats. Like any other animal in the world you'll get further with treats then threatening them with a stick.

Below are a few examples of past policies where we acted in haste where no one was better off for it and things could have turned out far differently.

"The Guardian" (August 2009)
FBI reports describe Saddam Hussein's reasons for refusing UN inspectors"Saddam Hussein remained preoccupied with the threat from neighboring Iran as the US-led invasion loomed and would have sought a security pact with the US if UN sanctions were lifted, he told an FBI interviewer in his jail cell before his execution....

He said that during the run-up to the US invasion in March 2003, he kept up his bluster about weapons of mass destruction in order to appear strong in front of Iran. Saddam said he believed Iran intended to annex majority Shia areas of southern Iraq, and saw the country as the greatest threat to Iraq. He said he viewed the other Arab countries in the region as weak and unable to defend against an attack from Iran. He said that he refused to allow UN inspectors to re-enter the country not because he still possessed prohibited weapons of mass destruction (he ordered the stock pile destroyed after the 1991 Persian Gulf war) but because he wanted Iran to believe he did."


Wikipedia-Libya U.S. Relations"After its public announcement of December, 2003, the Gaddafi government cooperated with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward these objectives. Libya also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and has become a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Libyan National Security Adviser Mutassim Gaddafi with Hillary Clinton in 2009: In recognition of these actions, the U.S. began the process of normalizing relations with Libya. The U.S. terminated the applicability of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act to Libya and the President signed an Executive Order on September 20, 2004 terminating the national emergency with respect to Libya and ending IEEPA-based economic sanctions....

Fate of Muammar Gaddafi (October 2011)-- "Finding that while Gaddafi's forces were responsible for numerous war crimes, many other allegations of mass human rights abuses lacked credible evidence and were likely fabrications by rebel forces that had been promoted by Western media.... A Misratan militia took Gaddafi prisoner, beating him, causing serious injuries; the events were filmed on a mobile phone. A video appears to picture Gaddafi being poked or stabbed in the anus "with some kind of stick or knife" or possibly a bayonet. Pulled onto the front of a pick-up truck, he fell off as it drove away. His semi-naked, lifeless body was then placed into an ambulance and taken to Misrata; upon arrival, he was found to be dead.


Wikipedia- Syria U.S Relations"The Obama administration initiated a policy of rapprochement with Syria. However, with the governments' violent response to the Syrian civil war in 2011, relations have cooled dramatically and senior American officials, including President Obama himself, have repeatedly called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign...

As the situation in Syria deteriorated and the government resorted to increasingly desperate measures to crush the protest movement, Washington's patience flagged, and by mid-August 2011, President Obama stated plainly his belief that Assad should step down.... On 7 April 2017 US missiles destroyed Shayrat Air Base in Homs Governorate which US military claimed to be the base for the aircraft that carried out the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack three days earlier."
So Here It Is In The Nutshell
We're against North Korea, Syria and Iran just as we were Iraq and Libya. The difference was Iraq and Libya were pushovers unlike Syria (with Russia's support), Iran and North Korea with their missiles and nukes. I'm not talking about right or wrong policy or ideologies. What I'm trying to point out some of these nations aren't coming to a gunfight with a knife. Something which is probability not escaping Kim Jong-un's attention. We need to address this with his and other countries. How?

As long as they see us as a threat these issues will never be resolved. Indeed Iran is a threat to Israel and others in the middle east. Syria not as much (they have their own internal struggles). None of these are a direct threat to the United States so long as we don't attack them. So how about this... we play more a role as peacemakers rather then storm troopers in their disagreements with other nations. We have a bad habit of making every other country's problems our own. Nothing wrong with helping out a friend, but we've gone beyond trying to interfere in their own internal problems.

I'll give you other examples where we're sticking our nose in.. Cuba, Venezuela, the Philippines and Somalia each posing little or no threat to our national security. No one appointed us guardians of the world. Sometimes these things have to work themselves out within their countries. Nothing wrong with offering counseling and advice, but I don't see how pointing a gun or nuke at any of them is going to turn out well for anyone.

Just like in personal situations sometimes it's better to avoid getting involved in arguments. Ever try to break up a fight?

Real Reason Hospitals Are So Expensive

Trumpcare, Obamacare, Medicare, Private healthcare.. none it matters if we don't tackle medical care costs and those for pharmaceutical drugs first.

The Huffington PostU.S. Is Quietly Giving A Chinese Billionaire A Monopoly On A New Liver Cancer Drug"It’s the second time this year the federal government has proposed giving exclusive rights for taxpayer-funded research to a foreign pharmaceutical giant...

Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) proposed a new rule that would require federal agencies and federally funded nonprofits, such as research universities, to secure a reasonable pricing agreement from a manufacturer before granting it exclusive rights to drugs, vaccines or other health care products.." << The underlines are mine.
And you wonder why I supported and continue to support Bernie Sanders. He's about the only congress member who can't be bought off.

Two TV Shows Pertinent Today As When They Aired

First off I want to apologize if this post takes a while to load because of the number of videos enclosed. I found "Google Chrome" does the best job. That said, I think every one of the following videos are as pertinent today as when they first aired. See if you agree.

"The Newsroom"
Rinos, Real Republicans, The Tea Party, The Founding Fathers on religion and more



"The West Wing" on gays in the military



"The Newsroom" Booing a Gay Soldier



"The West Wing" budget negotiations



"The West Wing" on unfunded mandates



"The West Wing" on gun control



"The Newsroom" Will McAvoy's apology on behalf of the media.


Many of the same issues we are speaking about this very day are still the same ones we faced for years. The thing that did change is how both political parties have become cult like religions to their followers. A point where almost all logic, respect and reasonableness has been dispensed giving way to blind allegiances. When a nation of people put their divisions above the principal of the godlike commonality of us all there will be no winners.

Throughout history one nation after another, when it became too corrupt or fractionalized, each has fallen no matter how great they once stood. I'll bet no one ever thought that could happen in each of theirs back in their time of greatness. Let's not deceive ourselves into believing the United States will be the only exception. We need to wake up if it isn't too late already.

Finally I want to leave you with this video of actor Martin Sheen speaking on "WE Day" in 2010.

Wikipedia: "WE Charity is a children's charity founded in 1995 by child's rights advocate Craig Kielburger. Since 2007, WE Day participants in Canada, the U.S. and UK have raised $45 million, which was given to more than 1,000 charities."

Immigration Has Always Been A Hot Topic

Welcome To The Club
To hear Donald Trump speak he's the only one who ever got push back for his policies on immigration That somehow just because he now sits in the oval office he's the only president who had to endure such tenacious resistance. Immigration policies were never simple easy matters. Obama spoke on this topic dozens and dozens of times. Here's one such example where Obama addressed his own frustration from the White House Rose Garden on June 30, 2014....



As a side note, according to ABC News : Obama Deported More People Than Any Other President-- "Between 2009 and 2015 his administration has removed more than 2.5 million people through immigration orders, which doesn’t include the number of people who "self-deported" or were turned away and/or returned to their home country at the border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)."

Before I comment further, check out this TED Talk video...


Here's Where I Stand
I don't have a problem with Donald wanting permanent future immigrant residents being required to learn English, his clamping down on the numbers nor getting rid of illegal arrivals. Where I differentiate is his apparent fear of foreigners. We need a lot of unskilled laborers willing to take jobs Americans won't. Especially in the meat packing, vacation and agriculture industries. Not that I'm trying to relegate them to such lousy work, but it would be a place for many of them to start. Some which would be better jobs then where they came from.

Another thing I' like to point out. My dentist is South Korean. My neurologist is from Czechoslovakia. My wife's two specialist are from India and China. My primary physician and pulmonary specialist docs are the only ones from the good ole USA. I suggest people look at the medical providers they are seeing and ask themselves what it would be like if they weren't allowed immigration to this country. In July 2016 Forbes published 25% Of Physicians Are Born Outside The U.S. . Not to mention so many more who's parents arrived as immigrants who's offspring became one. Throw in the number of medical techs and nurses and we'd have a severe shortage.

Point is, not all immigration is good, but over protectionism can be a very bad thing for us. Not all those seeking asylum are coming here with terrorists intentions The way this administration is presenting it you'd think otherwise.