Day: July 30, 2018

News Flash: Nothing Is a Crime

Fandango9 Comments

9D593DB0-A588-4EA0-B591-ABC3E7932D1ADonald Trump’s TV lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, dismissed the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia by saying that collusion is “not a crime.”

So, colluding with a foreign adversary in order to influence the outcome of a presidential election is not a criminal act? I suppose that obstructing the investigation to see if collusion occurred in violation of federal election laws, is also not a crime.

But if colluding with Russians to influence an election is not a crime, why does Donald Trump keep saying and tweeting “NO COLLUSION”? Why deny collusion if collusion is not a crime?

I guess a presidential candidate paying hush money right before an election to keep a porn star and Playboy bunny quiet about having had extramarital relations with him is not a crime.

Richard Nixon said to David Frost in an interview, “When the president does it, that means it is not illegal.”

So does that mean that nothing Trump does is a crime? Perhaps he was right when he said during his campaign that he could  “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose a single vote,” would not be a crime now that he’s president.

He sure is making America great again. For him, anyway.

Summertime Blues

Fandango21 Comments

F1A8E12B-C6E0-4CDE-A77A-4DCE3126DFA0It’s summertime in America and many of you are suffering through sweltering heat and high humidity. I used to live in New York City, near Boston, in Chicago, in Dallas, and in DC and I can appreciate what you’re going through right about now.

Those are all great places to live, but with July about to wrap up and with August arriving in just a few days, I have to tell you, in all candor, I’m glad I don’t live in any of those places anymore.

I genuinely feel for you having to deal with the hot and muggy air, frequent thunderstorms, the buzz of electric fans, the hum of air conditioners, and having to bear the load of bloated electricity bills.

I, on the other hand, am quite comfortable in San Francisco. The highs during the day are in the mid-sixties and the lows at night reach the low fifties. The weather in this city, where it rarely gets into the 80s in the summer and never falls the freezing point in the winter, is, to me, ideal.

Now if they can only get all those numerous wildfires to the north, east, and south of San Francisco under control, this would be the perfect place to live.

And, oh yes, earthquakes.

Written for Teresa’s Three Things Challenge where the three things are buzz, July, and load. And for the Word of the Day Challenge, “candor,” and, of course, for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge, “comfortable.”

Religious “Liberty”

Fandango54 Comments

065CA47E-EFA0-42CF-BA7F-BD3179FCD47AAttorney General Jeff Sessions just announced the creation of a Religious Liberty Task Force that will “ensure that the Justice Department is prioritizing the rights of religious people and groups in its policies and legal battles.”

Acording to Sessions, there is “a dangerous movement” eroding religious liberties and that “we have gotten to the point where courts have held that morality cannot be a basis for law; where ministers are fearful to affirm, as they understand it, holy writ from the pulpit; and where one group can actively target religious groups by labeling them a ‘hate group’ on the basis of their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

So rejoice all you bakers who refuse to bake cakes for gay/lesbian wedfings. Congratulations to all those who are morally offended when people say “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”

Praise be for all the local civil servants whose Christian beliefs take precedent over their civic duties. Say amen all you preachers and pastors who can make your sermons all about supporting conservative Christian politicians and ideologies without losing your precious tax-exempt status. Sing hallelujah all you pro-lifers who value the life of a fetus over that of a woman’s right to make her own reproductive decisions.

It’s about time someone has finally stood up for the poor, persecuted Christian majority in America. So thank you, Jeff Seasons and the Department of Justice for establishing this Religious Liberty Task Force. This is how we will make America great again…for straight, white, Christian conservatives, anyway.

Because, in Today’s America, they are all that matter. Everyone else is immorally bankrupt lost souls who are apparently destroying what real (i.e., Christian) Americans hold near and dear.

Welcome to the new American theocracy.

#FOWC — Unknown and Unknowable

Fandango8 Comments

6E37E964-2C2A-467A-B326-0ACAEC45DA4BIf there is something you don’t know, it’s unknown to you. When something is unknown, it means it’s not known or it has an unknown value, like, say, Bitcoins. Well, at least I have yet to figure out the value of Bitcoins. Their value is unknown to me. And probably to most people who own them, as well.

But the good thing about something being unknown is that with enough time and effort, it can potentially become known. There are many things that are known today that were unknown just 100 years ago, especially in science and medicine.

And there remain many things that are knowable, but are just not known yet, such as an undiscovered elements that may be part of the universe or chemical compounds that no one has discovered. Even though these things might not be known today, they may become known in the future, which means they are knowable.

But if something is unknowable, that’s a whole different ball of wax. If something is unknowable, it’s not knowable. For example, where the expression “a whole different ball of wax” came from is unknowable. Unless you’re talking about ear wax, in which case the answer is knowable but just kinda gross.

But seriously, folks, if something is unknowable, it lies beyond the limits of human experience or understanding.

I’m not going to get into a deep philosophical or religious discussion in this post about God and the contradiction of those who tell me that I should get to know God shortly after having explained to me that God is unknowable. Nope, I’m not going to do that.

Instead, I’m going to say that I understand that we human beings are a curious lot and we generally don’t like the idea that anything is unknowable. That said, I accept that there are certain things that are beyond the limits of human understanding and comprehension.

And I’m okay with that. I’ve got enough going on inside my head just trying to know what’s knowable that I don’t need to hurt my head trying to know what’s unknowable. If something is truly unknowable, not knowing about it is not going to make my life any worse. Because it’s not that it’s unknown to me (although it might be), it’s unknowable.

Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge from yesterday, “unknown.” Sorry, Fandango, that I’m a day late. Hey, no worries. I know you’re a busy guy. Things to do, places to go, and people to see, right? It’s all good.

FOWC with Fandango — Comfortable

Fandango43 Comments

FOWCWelcome to July 30, 2018 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “comfortable.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.