Looking Presidential

A Few Facts Just Don't Add Up in the Death of Freddie Gray

 feel a little ill after watching the latest update on the injuries Freddie Gray sustained on that fateful day.If you get a chance you ought to check out the reporting done by Jayne Miller, at WBAL TV in Baltimore. She has been up front about her information conflicting with what the police have been saying.

Here's what she has uncovered. Gray was placed in the back of the police van in metal handcuffs and leg irons. For unknown reasons he was not seat-belted in. From her investigation, Miller says during the ride, Gray was tossed about for ten minutes in that van, in shackles, unable to protect himself, unable to hold himself steady. It was during that time the medical experts she spoke to believe what happened is the van stopped abruptly, flinging his head back against a part of the van where there was a large bolt. (That bolt is the same shape as a wound on that part of Gray"s head.)

The van continued on for another 20 minutes or so, Miller interviewed the other prisoner in the van at the time who said he heard a few brief soft knocking sounds, then there was silence for the rest of the ride.

How horrid to think, he was put in that van, cuffed and chained, tossed about, helpless, unable to protect himself, and then to left to lie in the van gravely injured for 20 minutes more before getting medical attention. There was no desperate attempt to get emergency medical care until it was way too late. Unimaginable, just awful. Check it out.

More Sanitized War

I am just a little leery of all this talk about going to war. Not for the reason you might think, either. I understand that sometimes a nation needs to take a stand, and put the full resources of the powerful nation that we are behind fighting through to victory, whatever the cost. I get that. I even agree with that.

These days Americans are so comfortable rattling sabers, starting the meme that it might be necessary to put 'boots on the ground' to defend America and punish ISIL for their barbarism. But what they really mean is "let's send somebody else's child or somebody else's spouse" so they can then go on about their daily lives undeterred, uninterrupted, un-inconvenienced.

When men in my father's generation went to war, most every able-bodied man had to go. America as a country sacrificed to support the war effort financially as well as with fighting troops. Going to war meant something to them and to America. And, going to war must not be a sanitized endeavor that doesn't impinge on the daily lives of average people. War is dirty, war is costly. That reality has yet to be impressed upon the American people. The people must not be spared the cost of war, only getting the sanitized version, the feature length movie version with no real blood.

If this country decides to go to war to fight ISIL, every American must know what it is we're getting into; and it shouldn't be left to the young people from families who don't have lobbyists looking to keep them off the battlefield. If we decide to do this, we need to be all in. We need to stop expecting the un-empowered to do our dirty work for us.

I see Dick Cheney crawled back out from under a rock to once again try a swing and a miss at President Obama. Jon Stewart has a few words to say about that. I present herewith:

Still Cheney After All These Years 

From February 13, 2013 episode of The Daily Show.

It's Really Starting to Get Distracting....

Smackdown

So, I have begun to notice this fascinating tick that Mitt Romney has. Have you noticed it? Watch for it, you'll see, it really kind of sucks you in. Pretty soon, like me, you'll be hanging on his every phrase, listening for it. Mitt smacks his lips, I'm serious! every few words he pauses and smacks his lips. It's becoming so frequent, and getting louder too, it's impossible to miss. Watch, next time he is speaking on TV, listen for it.

I suppose I could come up with some convincing sounding psycho-babble to explain it, like he is masking feelings of inferiority with overcompensation, trying to pull off this superiority act which he has been able to get away with, with first his daddy's wealth, then his own, but he doesn't realize these feelings find a way to come out no matter how hard you try to cover them up, but.....maybe later.

For now "smack" I'm still mesmerized "smack" by his interesting little tick "smack". I mean, "smack", it's all you are aware of "smack" after just a few minutes "smack" of watching "smack".

Movements Matter For Women

I am reposting this comment that I received because I believe the message is a powerful one that some of these people who are so interested in legislating vaginal ultrasounds, and whether women are ladylike, and who somehow come to realize - after being told they need to - at the advanced age of 65 that women are also qualified for jobs in their administration, who say the person hiring has the right to decide its okay to pay women less than men for doing the same work, may want to think about - to those people I say what my mother often said to us kids growing up - A word to the wise is sufficient......

Movements Matter For Women

As a woman in America at the age of 58 whoever is inviting me to go backwards in America simply defies logic and just plain makes no sense at all. 

Brown v. Board of Education allowed me to attend kindergarten wherever my parents lived. Women having the vote allows me to have a voice in who is governing me and the country. Civil rights battles of the 60’s and 70’s allowed me to freely enjoy a rich and rewarding career and a few good jobs to help care for my family. I could go on but you get the idea.

To those voices that would take us back to the days when women stood quietly in the background, hands primly clasped in our laps, leaving the talking and deciding to men, I say this loudly and clearly - Stop talking.  Right this very minute.  About any foreign matter at all. Just stop it! For just a rare minute, return to the United States of America and the nearly 150 million women in this country and listen carefully. 

If anyone wants to take our young men and women into yet another war, the women of this country have something to say. If anyone wants to limit our rights, the women of this country have something to say. If for some reason anyone believes that paying women less than a man for the same work will sit well with the young women who follow us, forget it! The village elders clearly say Absolutely No Way. And, just in case anyone believes that jobs and the economy are going to trump the healthcare and social gains that women have made in the last 58 years, take heed - we have no intention of letting that happen.

Men in this country would do well to find a few women to speak for them right now or they are going to see a swell of resentment just before we enter the polling booths. Movements in America really do matter. Martin Luther King, a man, was fabulous at this kind of outrage. The "just can’t take any more of the nonsense" kind. 

Women in America matter. Let’s unpack just how much 150 million United States of America women matter.  

Movements matter for Women in America,

Sandra K. Davis

Romney's a Joke

While campaigning in Michigan today, Mitt Romney jokingly said nobody ever asked him for his birth certificate.   

OK, here's the deal. If this was just a "joke", I guess I don't see the humor. Let's see, its funny to joke that, unlike the president, as a part of the privileged mainstream (read white) community, no one ever presumed to question his status as an American, it's just taken for granted, right??

Well that's hilarious alright!

Take a look for yourself: Romney's Joke

Paul Ryan defended stimulus in 2002, when George W. Bush wanted it

VIDEO: Paul Ryan defended stimulus in 2002, when George W. Bush wanted it

This Is What We're Dealing With Folks

C-Span caller complains there are too many black people calling in...

Swift Boating is Back

Regarding the unbelievable attempt to "Swift Boat" the president. A group of partisan former military types, who are sharing their office with Republican operatives, launched this ugly campaign that a) accuses the president of trading on the killing Bin Laden and, b) claims the president did not kill Bin Laden, they did. There are a few facts these gentlemen (and I use the term loosely) conveniently left out.

First, President Obama has every right to say meeting his clearly stated objective to find Bin Laden and kill him is one of his signature accomplishments. It most assuredly is. Also, let’s remember who that despicable character was. He ruthlessly and without compassion killed thousands of defenseless Americans. Bush gave up looking for him, Obama did not. He found him and killed him. Those victims and the people that loved them deserved no less. Furthermore, they do not deserve to be used in this heartless manner against the president for political gain.

Second, and more importantly, to their allegation that the president did not kill Bin Laden, the president indeed did kill Bin Laden. The Navy Seal team was his weapon of choice. Anyone who doubts that has but to explain how the Seal team would have accomplished this feat without the impetus and authorization of the president. To say that the president is not responsible for killing Bin Laden is like saying Bin Laden was not responsible for killing all those defenseless Americans.

We can all thank Karl Rove and his ilk for using these tactics so effectively in the past that have emboldened these people to emulate him by abandoning principal, morality, honor and integrity upon the altar of political animus, political gain.

To the former Navy Seals involved, et tu, Brute??!!

Play Off Game For Malcolm's Team

I’m posting this video that was made using some of the Fox footage from this game.  Hope you enjoy the show.

 

The Fox News article on Damascus v Linganore game:

 GOTW Highlights for Nov. 12: Linganore at Damascus

Damascus defeats Linganore, 21-7

Updated: Saturday, 13 Nov 2010, 12:00 AM EST
Published : Friday, 12 Nov 2010, 11:59 PM EST
 
FOX 5 NEWS
myfoxdc.com

DAMASCUS, Md. - The FOX 5 Game of the Week enters the postseason as Linganore, the reigning Maryland 3A state champions, faced off against rival Damascus, the No. 1 seed in their region, who hoped to remain unbeaten on the season.
Damascus took control of the game early. In the first quarter, Hornets quarterback Connor Frazier connected with Joel Ross for a nice diving touchdown. Damascus took a 7-0 lead.
Frazier was red-hot in the first half, completing 10 of his 12 passes.
Damascus added to their lead in the second quarter. Malcolm Pugh scored up the middle on the 2-yard touchdown run to give the Hornets a 14-0 lead at the half.
In the fourth quarter, Damascus’s Mark O’Hara scored on a 15-yard touchdown run to put the Hornets up 21-0.
Linganore would score in the fourth quarter to the cut the lead to 21-7. And with the ball again, Linganore’s Ryan Santmyer tried to lead the comeback, but Damascus’ Brandon Phelps would pick off Santmyer’s pass to end any hope for the Lancers to defend their state title.
Damascus moves on to the next round of the playoffs and stay undefeated with a 21-7 victory over Linganore.

Me and baby sis

Sneakernight Rehearsal

OK family. The last thing I sent didn't work but this should.If you want, you can write in your comments on this page or use email like always.

This is a video of Maya and Katy and their friend Yvonna during dress rehearsal for their talent show. They did a great job and as far as I am concerned they were the best act of the night.

You can watch the video here:

Adrienne and Cathy Christmas 1990

I totally love this video. It has retained it's charm over the past 20 years. It certainly brings back wonderful memories.
Please feel free to leave your comments. I have more and will be posting them as I get them processed. Stay tuned.

Old Family Videos

This is Adrienne and Cathy circa 1990 in Amherst. It's a favorite of mine. Hope you like it, too.

Sanctimonious Hypocrites

I see the party of "Do as I say and not as I do" has struck again! These matters of infidelity are so complicated and yet these hypocrites only see it that way when it involves them, which it astoundingly and amazingly does on a regular basis. It was just recently John Ensign and now, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. He cried in the news conference announcing the affair and all I can think about is Jimmy Swaggert. Those crocodile tears are due not to the fact that he regrets that he strayed so much as the fact that he regrets getting caught.

I am so done!!!

I just can't take one more minute of this.

The accumulated chorus of blatherers has finally gotten to me. I am referring to the folks in the media who announced they were going to hold President Obama's feet to the fire (is this by way of atoning for their failure to do that with george bush?). Also the so-called news "analysts" (read "paid hacks"), on both side of the political spectrum, and the assortment of invited guests who happily peddle their comments apparently with the goal of forwarding their political objectives, not informing. Not to mention cable news that "loves conflict". They are all weighing in on every Obama action in microscopic detail.

I am perhaps confused but I thought it was the responsibility of the news media to ferret out the facts, to clarify issues for the public, not gin them up with an eye towards heightening the conflict angle.

Every one of them thinks they know what action President Obama should take on each and every issue and what decision is to be made better than he and they presume to tell him, and us in endless detail. And, perhaps most annoying, like 2 year olds, they insist on asking if what the president has done thus far is working, practically every minute of the day, all day long.

I happen to think that our president is doing very well with all the mess he has to deal with. Not perfect, but head and shoulders above what we had before. He is a very smart man. And, unlike his predecessor, he has the intellect, the will, and the ability to deal with the many problems facing this country.

This is just such an ugly part of our political culture. I am going to step away from the media until they get over their obsession with Mr. Obama. Usually they have such a short attention span. I find all the prattling and preening that passes for analysis, and the ceaseless din of the spinning beyond my endurance. So, I'm done. To all those in the chattering class I say..Analyze This!

Why Help with Homeowner Mortgages..

After all, they