The Times They Are A Changin’

 I have friends that email me those nostalgic photos of the “good old days.” Well, some were good; some weren’t so good. These days, though, the balance seems to be in favor of the not so good.

Today, we have terrorist hordes causing mayhem and mass destruction. In the “good old days”, we heard of terrorists, but they were called anarchists, and their aim was not a religious revolution or even a political one, really. They just seemed to want to cause trouble, i.e. terrify people.

Then there was the “red horde”, the commies. The Soviet Union even had a school for “revolutionaries”, the Patrice Lamumba School in the Moscow University. This is where such notables as Carlos “the Jackal” learned his trade, followed by the Bader Meinhoff bunch. I have no direct evidence, but it is not hard to believe that groups like the Weather Underground, Black Panthers, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Symbionese Liberation Army, et al were influenced, if not directly spawned, by teachings of the Patrice Lamumba school.

Well, the Soviet Union is deader than last week’s road kill. The Communist revolution seems to have taken a different tact, at least in this country. Today the Commies are called socialists or progressives, and they are part of our government. They no longer preach the violent overthrow of our way of life; they simply legislate socialism.

Today we have the Muslim throngs taking up the conquest Mohamed started some 1400 years ago. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, those misguided followers of the Islamic faith have now become the Anarchists of today. Their goal is to put the world under Sharia law and seventh-century customs. They educate (a better word would be indoctrinate) their people only in their subverted version of Islamic teachings, arm them, and send them out to annihilate the “infidels.”

When I was a kid, the “Persians” were cool people zipping around on flying carpets and working magic spells. Now they are suicide bombers.

In my youth, kids had firearms. We went hunting and shooting. I even remember bringing my shotgun to school to go hunting before and after school. I kept it in my locker (also a thing of the past). No one ever thought of shooting up the school. The bullies would beat up their victims after school with the threat of “Wait until after school.” That wait caused more anxiety than the actual beating. Again, no one ever even thought of shooting the bullies or their toadies. They either faced down the bullies or recruited a bigger kid to clean a bully’s clock.

We didn’t have video games or even computers to play them on. Today anyone old enough to handle a game controller can place themselves in games more horrific than could ever be shown on television. Heads bashed, guts spilling out, severed body parts flying, and blood everywhere are what sparks the adrenaline of young people these days. They have a whole arsenal of realistic and imagined weapons at their disposal for them to act out their morbid dreams. Those that are killed can easily be resurrected or come back to life after re-booting the game.

When I was young, WWII was a big thing. We won that war, and we all played soldier. We also played cowboys and Indians, and cops and robbers. Our cap guns made a loud noise, and yes, we aimed them at the bad guys. It was great fun, but nobody got killed, no blood and guts, just a lot of energy spent chasing imaginary enemies.

Yes, Bob Dylan “the times they are a changin’”. Change isn’t always a good thing.

Emptying GITMO the Dangerous Way

I must apologize in advance if this column takes an overly angry tone. It appears our brain-dead and incompetent leader, Mr. Obama, has once again poked his finger in the eyes of the American public. Try as I might, I can find no logical justification in dealing with terrorists for the release of a soldier kidnapped during an act of desertion – especially when that trade involves releasing five high level terrorist leaders.

Yes I am angry – no, a better word would be incensed – that the man in the highest office of the land would put this country at dire risk simply to retrieve a soldier that willfully and wantonly walked away from his guard post leaving all of his weapon and gear neatly stacked behind, and his brothers-in-arms at risk

Obama’s administration has done some highly questionable, if not downright stupid, things during his term in office. This, though, comes down directly on him. Obama personally authorized the trade – without consulting Congress as required by law – and continues to defend his decision even in the face of criticism by some of his staunchest supporters.

Okay, what is wrong with this picture? One could just as easily ask, what is right with it?

Start here: Despite his own policy and the policy of every administration before, Obama directly negotiated with Taliban terrorists.

Obama broke the law by negotiating the trade of five high-level terrorist leaders in confinement at the federal facility in Guantanamo Bay without consulting or even notifying Congress until well after the act.

Despite a recidivism rate of 65-percent for released terrorist detainees, no fewer than five of the most dangerous high-level terrorist leaders were released to Qatar with no confinement or enforceable restrictions. Well, I guess that’s one way to clear out GITMO. It sure doesn’t make me sleep any better at night.

In return for these five choirboys, we got Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl; a man who his fellow soldiers claim deserted his post the night of June 30, 2009. That night, Bergdahl placed his weapon and combat gear in a neat pile and simply walked away from his combat post. Amazingly, this was not the first time for Bergdahl. Yet, his commanders overlooked the other incidents; they didn’t even bother reprimanding him! Did Bergdahl intend to return to post? If so, he didn’t make it. As could be predicted, the Taliban kidnapped Bergdahl not long after his little walkabout.

Mr. Obama claims Bergdahl was a prisoner-of-war. Not true. When did we officially declare war on the Taliban? Better yet, how could we declare war on the Taliban? War can only be declared on government and governmental entities. The Taliban is neither. Like Al Qaida, the Taliban are stateless terrorists. We can fight them, capture, and incarcerate them, but neither they nor fighters they take can be declared prisoners-of-war. That’s what GITMO is all about.

According to the White House, Bergdahl’s life was in danger. No kidding! That was the case the minute the sergeant decided to leave his post. Actually, his action put the lives of everyone at the post in danger. Don’t the Taliban have a track record of lopping off the heads of those they capture? Bergdahl was with his “captors” for nearly five years. No one is saying just what greater danger he faced in his immediate future, or why it was important to rush the release without informing Congress.

“No man left behind” is an admirable policy in combat situations. In this case, however, should it apply to negotiating with terrorists to return five of their leaders for the release of one deserter-possibly-turned-traitor?

Some say the deed is done, let’s move on. NO! First, the trade may have been done, but the damage is yet to come. Can anyone be naive enough to believe the five released GITMO detainees will not take revenge against the hated people that held then in custody? They hated Americans to begin with, now they have even more fuel for their hatred. It’s a safe bet these thugs are this moment plotting vengeful horrors for American people.

Obama has done some phenomenally dumb things while in office, lied, ignored the constitution, and even broke the law, but this time he has directly placed our country in danger. If he is not soon impeached, what other dangers will we face? If he is striving to cement the title of “Worst President Ever”, he can quit now. He has a secure lock on that distinction.

Adapt or Perish

 One dinosaur some time during the Jurassic age says to another, “Dang, it’s getting cold.”

The other says, “Yeah, I hear there was a big explosion a while back and it’s causing climate change.”

“Well, just ignore it. It’s never been cold before. It’ll warm up.”

As we all know, the hapless dinosaurs couldn’t ignore the cold and they perished. Meanwhile the small warm-blooded creatures adapted to the new conditions and they not only survived the ice age, they thrived and evolved.

Have we humans learned anything from this experience? If you ask the United Nations, the White House, some scientists, and Al Gore, you would think that placing blame for climate change would solve the problem. No matter where the dinosaurs might have place blame for their situation, they were impotent to do anything about it. Are we humans so omnipotent that we can even cause climate change, let alone solve the problem if it would exist?

The fact is we can observe, record and postulate the forces of nature, in some cases even make predictions, but our scientific process is limited by the inability to conduct experiments that can be repeated to verify cause and effect. Climatic causes at best can only be theorized.

I don’t know if earth’s climate is getting warmer, colder, or staying the same. I suppose it depends on what length of time is considered an average. Studies show the climate has cooled or not changed over the last 15 years or so. Not a long enough period, some scientists say. I say so what?

If you consider evolution, we are here only because the warm-blooded creatures were equipped to adapt to harsh environmental conditions and were able to evolve because the much larger dinosaurs were not able to adapt. The operative word here is “adapt.”

During yet another Ice age, other warm-blooded creatures, such as the wooly mammoth, failed to adapt by heading to a warmer climate, and they too perished.

History is replete with extinction of species simply because they didn’t or couldn’t adapt to changing conditions. Rather than place blame for climate conditions and try to survive the changes with futile attempts to change them, we might be better advised to use what knowledge we have to find a solution for surviving the changes.

I am afraid that telling humans we are responsible for severe weather and expecting us to focus on reversing a condition that may or may not be causing the weather changes is not only arrogant but futile given that severe weather on this planet is the historic norm rather than any man-made anomaly. The old adage adapt or perish has never been more apropos than to our threat of “global climate change.” 

The Real Walking Dead

 “We all gotta go some time.” It’s not just a cliché; it’s reality. Immortals do not walk this earth. Most people don’t usually know when or under what conditions the Grim Reaper will come calling. Clayton D. Lockett knew both when and how he would die. A jury of his peers had decided his fate in August 2000.

Eighteen year-old Stephanie Michelle Neiman had no inkling when or how she would die before June 7, 1999. Just the month previously Neiman had graduated from high school. She had her whole life ahead of her. She also had no idea the gruesome method her death would take.

Authorities in Perry, Oklahoma say the crime spree started when Clayton Lockett drove his younger cousin Alfonzo Lockett, 17, and Shawn Mathis, 26, to the Perry, Oklahoma home of Bobby Lee Bornt, 23. Bornt owed Clayton Lockett money.

Bornt was tied up and beaten, authorities said, while his 9-month-old son was in the house witnessing the beating. During the assault, Neiman and an 18-year-old friend stopped by Bornt's house, authorities said. "It was bad timing," Perry police Lt. David Farrow said.

Neiman's female friend told authorities she was pulled into the house and hit in the face with a shotgun. With a gun at her head, she was forced to call Neiman inside. Neiman also was hit with the shotgun and suffered a cut near her left eye.

But that was only the beginning of the nightmare that would end her life. The three men, Clayton Lockett, Alfonzo Lockett and Mathis took turns gang raping and sodomizing Neiman and her friend. According to Bornt, when Neiman refused to give Lockett the keys to her pickup truck or promise that she would not go to police after her assailants beat and assaulted her, Lockett took Neiman to a shallow grave that one of the co-defendants dug. Bornt said he saw a flash from a shotgun that Lockett carried, and heard Neiman scream.

Bornt testified that Lockett came back to the road where the co-defendants were holding him and another female and told them the shotgun was jammed. Lockett found a file in Bornt's truck and fixed the shotgun, and then returned to Neiman, who was groaning. Bornt said he saw a second flash of gunfire, and then heard no more groaning. Bornt and his then 9-month-old son and the other girl were released after promising they would not go to police.

Although Lockett’s cousin and Mathis were tried and received lengthy sentences, Clayton Lockett was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Nearly fourteen years later Lockett’s date with the executioner came due.

Lethal injection executions throughout the country have been jeopardized by the lack of approved drugs to “humanely” dispatch convicted killers. But Oklahoma would try a new method on Lockett and a second killer Charles F. Warner, also scheduled to die that day.

First, a strong sedative would be injected to put the subject to sleep then two more drugs would paralyze him and stop his heart. It seems that somehow, the sedative did not completely knock Lockett out, and he began to writhe when the other drugs were injected. At one point, the execution was halted. Lockett died of heart failure 43 minutes later. Warner’s execution has been put on hold pending an investigation.

Did Lockett suffer before dying? I certainly hope so. This pillar of the community gave no such consideration to Stephanie Neiman when he shot her with a shotgun, buried her alive, then shot her again when he heard her groan. Did Neiman suffer while she was sodomized and endured gang rape by these three choirboys? To my way of thinking, Lockett could not suffer enough.

And what of the other upstanding citizen scheduled for death that day? Charles Warner was convicted of raping and murdering 11-month-old Adrianna Waller in 1997 in Oklahoma County. He was convicted in 1999. Adrianna was the daughter of Warner's live-in girlfriend. During the sentencing phase, jurors heard testimony that he had previously sexually and physically abused his ex-wife and a five-year-old girl. Warner's seven-year-old son testified for the prosecution that he had witnessed his father abuse Adrianna on previous occasions. During the ultimately fatal attack, she was sexually molested. She had a six-inch skull fracture, a broken jaw, three broken ribs, bruised lungs and a lacerated liver and spleen.

God forbid Mr. Warner should suffer the same fate as Clayton Lockett.

This unfortunate event – unfortunate for society, not the convicts – has added fuel to the anti-capital punishment movement in this country and probably across the globe. There are countries where death by hanging is still practiced, others engage in stoning and beheading those convicted of crimes. Yet, we Americans yearn for a “humane” way to rid society of the worst of the worst killers.

I could elaborate on the misdeeds of the 754 killers on death row in this state, but I can assure you they are guilty of no more “humane” means that that of Lockett and Warner.

Presently, California is sitting on its thumbs waiting for the “approved” drugs for lethal injections. They ain’t coming folks. Drug manufacturers, mostly European, are intentionally withholding the only drugs on the approved list. Meanwhile, we pay each day for room and board for the most despicable form of humanity while allowing them to breath air that could undoubtedly go to better use.

And Heeer's Yer Bonus

 Taxes are a pain. It is sad to see a percentage of our hard-earned dollars siphoned off, even if it is to run the government.  When those who do the siphoning get huge bonuses for doing their job, it is a double dose of sadness. But when our money goes for bonuses to IRS employees who have been disciplined, that is outrageous. Then, to rub salt in the wound, the IRS actually pays bonuses to those employees who cheat on or have not even paid their taxes! That is beyond outrageous; it should be criminal.

No folks, I’m not delirious. This was the report of a March 2014 audit released by the TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION, or TIGFTA. You can get the full report on-line at http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2014reports/201410007fr.pdf .

“… between  October 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012, more than 2,800 employees with recent substantiated conduct issues resulting in disciplinary action received  more than $2.8 million in monetary awards, more than 27,000 hours in time-off awards, and 175 quality step increases. Among these, more than 1,100 IRS employees with substantiated Federal tax compliance problems received more than $1 million in cash awards, more than 10,000 hours in time-off awards, and 69 quality step increases within a year after the IRS substantiated their tax compliance problem.” (Italics are mine.)

You read it right, 1100 IRS employees have either cheated on their taxes or illegally paid no taxes. And they received a bonus! Imagine what would happen if you or I did the same. I can assure you we would not get a bonus check from the government.

According to the report, “For Fiscal Year 2011, the IRS awarded almost $92 million in cash and almost 520,000 hours of time off to 70,500 of its approximately 104,400 employees. For Fiscal Year 2012, the IRS awarded $86 million in cash and almost 490,000 hours of time off to 67,870 of its approximately 98,000 employees. These awards are designed to recognize and reward employees for their performance.”

Who actually receives these bonuses? “IRS employees may be classified in five categories for the purpose of issuing awards: Senior Executive Service (SES), bargaining unit, non–bargaining unit, management, and Chief Counsel. … in FYs 2011 and 2012, bargaining unit employees received $63.5 million and $63.8 million in cash awards, respectively. The average value of an award granted to a bargaining unit employee was $944, while the average was $14,000 for SES employees who received awards.”

That’s right union employees were paid bonuses! I have to wonder if this was part of the bargaining contract. I have never heard of private sector union employees getting a bonus. It might exist, but it never happened in any union I was forced to join, and no union member I know of has ever received a bonus. But we pay every IRS union member an average of $944 a year extra just to reward him or her for his or her “performance.”

Apparently, we pay our employees (the IRS people are in essence our employees) bonuses to squeeze us for more money, yet many of these IRS agents can’t even do their own taxes right or have intentionally avoided paying taxes altogether.

It sure makes me feel better about paying taxes. Maybe we should get a bonus just for paying our taxes.

Government Sponsored Terrorism

Cliven Bundy ain’t moving his cattle from the reported 600,000 acres of Nevada range they have grazed on for years. He also refuses to pay the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) the fees they charge for allowing the cattle to graze. He has also attracted volunteers some armed, to help protect his ranch from being terrorized by the BLM. Nevada Senator Harry Reid calls them “domestic terrorists.”

The government claims Bundy owes $1 million in grazing fees. Bundy says he isn’t going to pay. He has claimed, “My family has preemptive, adjudicated livestock water rights filed with the state of Nevada. They were established in 1877 when the first pioneers entered the valley. Among those first pioneers were my grandparents from my mother’s side. My father either bought or inherited his Nevada state livestock water rights and I, in turn, have done the same.”

The BLM had had enough and decided to take Bundy’s cattle that roamed the government’s range. Reports vary, but anywhere from 900 to 1000 head were gathered by the BLM and driven to pens for eventual disposal. In the process, six head reportedly died or were killed. The BLM admits to six dead cattle. Four had been “euthanized”, including one bull deemed too dangerous to handle. The remaining two unbranded dead cattle, a bull, and cow are said to have simply died during the roundup. They were all found buried in a mass grave. Bundy claims they were driven to death running from BLM helicopters.

Bundy’s claim to ancestral grazing rights under state authority seems to stand on shaky ground. A deed filed in Clark County, Nevada, on January 5, 1948 lists Raoul and Ruth Leavitt as owners of the property where the Bundy ranch now stands. Cliven Bundy claims to have inherited the grazing and water rights from grandmother, Ruth Leavitt.

The Bureau of Land Management was created in 1946 – the same year Clive Bundy was born. Although I have not been able to ascertain exactly when the land now claimed by Bundy for grazing was sold to the BLM, it stands to reason that rights derived earlier than 1948 would be hard or impossible to establish. Bundy claims the ranch has been in his family since 1870 and has been grazing family cattle with permission of the State of Nevada.

Suffice to say that Bundy’s ancestral claim is a bit more than murky. In any event, at some point, the land was sold to the government .Whether taken by eminent domain or actually sold for profit, the land Bundy’s cattle are now grazing on belongs to the US government. Bundy can only show private ownership for the immediate160 acres where his ranch stands.

I come from a ranching family. My relatives own one of the largest ranches in Arizona, and yes, the cattle graze on some BLM property, for which they pay grazing fees. I find it hard to sympathize with some who grazes his herd on government land without paying, as other ranchers are required. Still, I have several problems with the government in this case.

Yes, the government has been patient with Mr. Bundy. This dispute has been reportedly going on since 1994. The heavy-handed action taken by the government at this time is totally unwarranted. Confiscation of Mr. Bundy’s livestock without compensation is a blatant violation of his rights guaranteed by the 4^th amendment to the US Constitution. The subsequent killing of at least six cattle without compensation is nothing short of theft and terrorist tactics on the part of the BLM.

But the problems go even deeper. I have witnessed the heavy-handed tactics used by our government in the process of “acquiring” private property for government use (or non-use). The threat to use eminent domain proceedings is always intimidating for most property owners, especially when the property they have improved and paid taxes on for years is destined to be part of a National Park, Wilderness, Federal Reserve, or BLM acquisition.

Of course, the government is required to pay the least amount possible for property. This often results in a scheme called “checker boarding.” In order to pick up a property at a bargain basement price agents will pay fair prices for surrounding properties, thereby land-locking one property that they can claim is now worthless and pick it up for next-to-nothing. It may sound absurd, but I have seen it happen.

The final issue I have is the amount of land being taken every year by the government and placed out of bounds for the citizens who now own it and paid for it. Parks should be places where people can go for recreation. If the government takes the land, it should be for the benefit of the people, not placed off-limits to all uses. I have little problem with charging reasonable use fees, but the land should be used or left in the hands of the private owners.

In the West, private landowners are under attack by continual massive land grabs for expansion of National Parks, National Monuments, and National Wilderness areas. Much of this action could be attributed to the United Nations policy of relocating people from urban areas into jammed cities. The infamous UN agenda 21—now accepted policy – calls this “sustainable development.”

It now appears the government may have backed off their planned confiscation of Bundy’s cattle, despite Nevada Senator, Harry Reid’s diatribe and liable against those assisting Bundy. What is clear is that the terrorists here are actually our own government.

Down in the Dirt

 Warning: I am about to talk dirty! If you are offended by language that includes words like politics and government, then read no further. After all, who could deny that a process where the candidate that slings the most mud gets elected is dirty? Ergo, I am going to talk dirty.

Fact: government in this country – Federal, state, and local – is big and getting bigger all the time. It is the nature of the beast that legislators must create laws. It is what we elect them to do. Each law enacted comes with a price tag that we the people are forced to pay.

So, who are these monkeys on our backs with their sweaty little hands in our pockets? This is the “land of the free”; we have choices! Right, we can choose who we like to control our lives and take our money. That is how our democracy works.

But do we really have a choice? We vote and our vote is counted. But how do we decide whom to vote for and who chooses the field of candidates? If you think anyone can run for office, you are dead wrong. Just ask Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan or any of the other candidates not sanctioned and financed by a major political party. And what are the qualifications for candidates? Well, not much. Usually one must have a pulse, but there may be exceptions. There are age and residency requirements for some offices, and for the highest office in the land, one must be a native born citizen – although it looks like there might be a precedent against even that in the offing.

There are no firm requirements for religion, education, health, sanity, ethics, honesty, or morality. If you can hoodwink enough people to vote for you, you are in, and you can stay in as long as you don’t commit a serious crime. Even then, your party may be able to finagle a way to keep you in and voting for their programs.

Just how does one go about getting elected? Well, if you are running for a partisan office, you usually need to “pay your dues” by working for the party. This could take anything from actively campaigning for their candidates to raising campaign funds, with greater weight given to the latter.  Of course, kissing babies helps, but kissing the rings of party Titians helps far more.

Let’s say you actually have a message to get out, one that will distinguish you from the normal drivel offered up during campaigns. Now, if you have kissed enough rings of party bosses, you might be allowed to run with the message. To get it out to the public, though, requires money – lots of money. You will need every medium available in order to reach enough voters to get elected, and media isn’t cheap.

In the 2012 presidential election nearly two billion dollars was spent by both candidates.  Considering that there were some 273.5 million people 18 years or over in the US at that time, that amounts to $7.31 per person for the message. Cheap? It isn’t so cheap when you consider that they could have sent a one-ounce letter with a position statement and full resume to every citizen for 45 cents apiece.

But wait a minute; you probably did get a slick cardboard flyer with the candidate’s information. Now, be honest, just how informative was that political ad. Did it spell out the candidate’s qualifications, inform you of important issues facing the country, or even say what the candidate will do about them? Not likely. Most of the flyers you received – yes, there are always more than one – probably just told you what a disaster it would be to vote for the other guy.

To state the obvious, there needs to be election reform if we are ever to have a fair and honest government. Unfortunately, there have probably been more words wasted on this subject over the years than any other. With each attempt at reform, we get worse government and dirtier elections.

Here’s an idea. First, outlaw political parties. Next, allow only one, postage-free, letter sent to every citizen by US mail, which only includes a candidate’s resume, qualifications, and statement of important issues with the candidate’s solution to them. Finally – and this is most important – ensure that only qualified live, citizens vote.

Too simple? Yeah, probably. But it would be a start on the road to cleaner government. Then we would only have to listen to dirty talk in the movies.