- - - And the Hits Just Keep On Coming!

I made my way to Chris Matthews.   Now there is a brand new Christie scandal.  You will remember that Romney rejected this guy for Veep because he failed the vetting process.  He could not even come up to the standards of a crook like Romney.  How does that qualify him to be President?  Well now it seems some crooked people in the Sheriff’s department were prosecuted by State prosecutors on 43 specific counts of indictment.  The grand jury reguarded this case is one of the surest slam dunks they have ever seen.  Yet Governor Christie ordered his self appointed State Attorney General to fire this team of Prosecutors, and the more people you grill and the more you snoop around- - the worse the Governor looks.  Clearly this man is a man of political vendettas.   Even people who loved him back in the nineties as a no nonsense federal prosecutor back then, don’t know him now.  They are stunned and surprised.  With ever moral flaw turned out it only makes the political right love him more.  This was two segments, and the Obama security thing was another segment.  Let’s reflect a little more on Governor Christie.  On the Mc Laughlin group tonight it Pat or Mort Zuckerman dares to say that “Well if nothing else happens then Christie is off the hook as far as I can see” I’m going to gag.  I’ll tell you an example in my own life.  It was mid November of 1992 just before Joe and Kathy moved out.  At about one o clock in the afternoon I came down with a horrible case of diaria and felt overall really sick.  This went on for hours and perhaps about four thirty this deacon calls from the church asking how I’m doing and such.  Just a social call.  I told her I was really sick and I’d really appreciate it if she’d send over a bottle of Pepto Bismal.  She asked “are you vomiting?”  I said “Not yet”.  She said “Well then Pepto Bismal is for vomiting and not diaria.  I’m going to have to decline”.  I was flabberghasted.  But the odds of Governor Christie surviving this political scandal intact are about as high as my not making another trip to the bathroom all day.  As it happened I was vomiting perhaps within fifteen minutes after that phone call ended.   This latest instance with the firing of the prosecutors won’t sway Pat and Mort if none of the other stuff hasn’t.  But a psychologist would say “People will fight a lot harder to redeem an item from the pawn shop that they really care about, that they value, than another object perhaps of equal worth that they don’t have any particular sentiment tword.   How hard the political right is fighting to “redeem” Governor Christie only highlights how highly they value him.  It’s kind of like the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit seemingly will fight really hard to go after and seek out a Ted Bundy or a Tex Watson or a Bob Dylan.  But someone like you or me is of no particular commercial worth to God.   Lest you doubt what I say, I might fight dirty.  I’ll quote scripture to prove my point, and you know I can.

If a motorist sees a big hill upgrade coming what does he do?  He shifts his car into a lower gear.  He downshifts.  He's trading speed for more torque.  Now question.  Is the car's ability now to climb the mountain road a result of what the mountain did to the car, or what a decision the driver made?  Let me give you another example.  Al Qaeda now is winning victories gaining back ground they'd lost in "the surge" of 2007 by David Petraias' forces.  Is Al Qaida gaining this ground because the Melikee government is now weaker, or stronger?  Is the attack itself most likely going to increase or decrease the resolve of people living in Iraq under his rule to stick with him and be loyal.  Or would the tendancy be to weaken it?  We keep hearing about "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".   You know, when I was a teenager both parents, first my Mom and then my Dad, made charges I was desplaying paranoid behavior.  Whether it's true or false doesn't matter in this story.  The question is "Does paranoia- - real or imagined make you stronger and more credible, or weaker and less credible?  Are you getting my point?   So now some would say that 9-11 made us stronger.  Neil Savedra would go so far as to say "We need tragedy in our lives because otherwise we'd never know who the heroes a among us were".   Question.  Does or does not God know everything?  If he knows everything then he already KNEW who the firemen and police heroes WERE - - BEFORE 9-11 ever happened.  So in God's sight was it necessary for 9 - 11 to happen?  No.  Many will ask the question "If something happened that SEEMED to have been preventable- - by NOT junking a streamlined computer system, or ordering an ignatic "Stand Down" order of NORAD, or being out of town for protracted periods of time, or by ignoring multiple and explicit CIA and other security intelligence.  Bush might say (I have no desire to put words in his mouth) "Well, we needed 9 - 11 to make us stronger.  The question is - - ARE we stronger?   Is Melikee of Iraq stronger now than he was the day he was elected?  You know- - a team owner might be willing to pay an up and coming gifted pitcher more than he'd pay one in his late thirties.  Why do you suppose that would be?  I mean doesn't all that arthritus pain and pulled muscles in an older pitcher make him "Stronger" because it GIVES him something to "Play through".  No?  But still we hear "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".  That is untill the day they first use the "Damaged Goods" label on you.  (Just as an aside this "Damaged Goods" label used on anyone is what I'd call a "Sudden Death" move because it instantly Kills Off all Faith)  Yesterday a Christian leader might tell you "This conflict is to make you stronger so you cam help others".  But there comes our point, you vets know what I'm talking about- - there comes a point where they do a flip flop and say "You've been ruint".  (Like the Bo Didley song "I said you was Ruint, that's all)  They say that Jesus died after perfectly fulfilling "The Law" but isn't it strange if you go by "Who profits the most from this?" it's the ones who NEVER LIKED the law who profited from the Crucifixion.  Think about it, even if you're not a Jew. 

The Republican majority with 67 democratic congressmen passed an internet security bill that will keep the Obama Care insurance companies and the government from getting unauthorized personal information from hackers or something.  In the morning at 10:20 it was Melinda Lee who is making ready for the Chinese Newyear celebrations.  Leo Le Port had one older woman who has been using Windows ME since the late ‘nineties.  Leo says you can get fifteen inch notebooks, but Leo had said in the past “If they get too big they are like pizza boxes.  Windows puts out an RT system or something equivalent to Windows 8.1 on “Surface II”.   But what struck me was that they are getting rid of optical disk storage entirely.  Remember when people were saying “optics is the wave of the future”.  It’s one system of hard storage that’s easy to transport and also is immune to Solar magnetic storms or any other type of electro-magnetic perils that might be out there, and to me it’s insane not to have valued information, such as the government would keep, in that format.  Leo says even DVD’s are on their way out, and this is not the first time I’ve heard him say it.  This lady was still using the three & a half inch diskettes, whose provision for was dropped at least fifteen years ago.  In terms of that other caller with his “code pink” on Windows updates, there was a brief period where my Windows Updates would not “take” but the same one would be attempted over and over again.  I don’t remember how the problem was solved.  But any big company like Norton or Mac Affee or Firefox would plainly tell you that the incoming signal was being blocked for security reasons.  This must truly be some really off the wall “trial run” software that some joker salesman put on the machine.  Of course movement free Flash drives do speed up computer processing immensely, and trading speed for something smaller than the Grand Canyon is a no brainer, at least to me.  I don’t think the higher price would be a problem, either.   

Those of you cosmicly minded - - - the Seattle Sea Hawks are from the culture with the symbol of the White Horse.  (Not the Broncos)   The '49ers are also known of Vegans, spelled with one E and not two.  The word in Romulan means "palm tree' but that's neither here nor there.  They are also known as Del Phi, which we always spell using two words.  This is the same entity that supports the Delphonics (of course) and Rare Earth, and the Temptations (music done after they fired their first lead singer)  Both the Broncos and Patriots are the Pikes.  However the Pikes of Colorado are more "earth acclimated" because they have been on this planet longer.  The Pikes in New England are of a newer "Fresh off the boat" variety, and are considered more cantankerous and abbrasive.  Do you see what you learn reading my blogs?  Some of you out there are wondering about the drought in this State and can we do anything about it.  John Lennon was told in October of 2012 I believe "The weather on earth has now been delivered into your hands" so Lennon caused a downpour during a game in San Francisco, just as sort of a prank.  But frankly I fear that as far as probable rain is concerned now, that well has run dry.  Somethings "things happen" with weather prayers.  But personally I don't have any Faith in that happening.

The Great Eternal Lie

This is bright and early after breakfast on this bright and sunny day, but of course I’ve been up for hours.  In the news we have some items.  This is Martin Luther King weekend and people are remembering how we got this far and the progress we’ve made, and also paid homage to the Gospel roots of the Civil Rights movement with appropriate music.  Jerry Brown yesterday announced a state of emergency in the state of California because the entire State is experiencing its worst drought since records have been kept, since the time of the Gold Rush.  In this LA area we have been ravaged by brush fires, and the brush is tinder dry, in a fire season that nowadays runs year round.  In the realm of 3 D printing, they have now taken it to the next level by replicating food items.  Just how close are we getting to the “Next Generation” era anyhow.  We can replicate guns that actually shoot, and that’s one thing the NRA does not want us doing.  Now they are making three dimensional candy.  You have 3 D printer chocolates, and candy canes and candied apples.   This is the weekend of the Screen Actors Guild awards, and the same list of “suspects” is up for more awards.  Will Oprah get snubbed yet again?  And of course it’s conference championship Sunday in football.  I’m going with Denver, because I wouldn’t go for a team that supports felons.  But as to San Francisco verses Seattle, naturally I’ll be routing for the forty-niners, even if they will be playing in an exceedingly hostile environment.

One thing from the rants of Hannity and Limbaugh from yesterday that stuck in my mind is this idea that “The democrats and liberals thrives and depends on the fact that you are weak and helpless and must turn to the government to solve all of your problems.  And you vote for these same people and they continue to let you down”.   But doesn’t Christianity do the same thing with you?   Ian Anderson I believe hit it on the head when he referred to Christianity as “The Great Eternal Lie” and you know how I’ve been comparing President Obama to Jesus these days.  They’re good at making a speech but they’re never there when it counts.  For one thing some people actually most dread the idea of anyone actually Believing what they say or taking it to heart.  Because if you believe it, you will test it to see if it works, and when it fails the test, then the speaker knows they will be accountable for their words.  Ironic, but true.  Many times their speeches are all sparkle and glitter to begin with.  Other times by way of follow up they will actually stop and trample on the little faith you do have.  They may call you names like "You're ignorant of the love of God" or "That's a bunch of bull" or "The trouble with you is that you are theologically ignorant".  Sometimes, and by the way both Jesus Christ and President Obama are guilty of this, they will 'Pronounced the problem as SOLVED just because they announced in some speech the problem was solved.  Rush Limbaugh has commented on this phenominon in his programs many times.  For instance President Obama thinks it is an accomplishment to finally get the unemployment rate back to where it was, 6.7% where it was in October of 2008 the month before he was elected and was telling everybody how unacceptable the unemployment rate was, and when he gets into office he’s going to transform and reinvigorate the economy.  In the words of Dr Phil, ‘How’s that working out for you?”  But guess what?  There were ten percent MORE people who actually HAD a job back then as opposed to now.  There is also ten percent MORE people now permanently (?) unemployed as there was then.  But the republican guy from Indiana on KNX radio this morning says that this jobs deficet is due to things like "The Obama administration isn't letting people drill new oil wells any more, and besides there are just too many pollution and other regulation".   Other than these two false assertions, I didn't really head any idea for new Jobs in the MANY bills the House has passed, but the senate hasn't taken up.  These bills SHOULD be taken up by the Senate.  They deserve a hearing there, so that they can be Exposed for the sham legislation they are.  A lot of my bad “self image” comes from my Dad.  But like the republicans accuse Obama of- - you look for help and are only crippled by any advice you get, because they, as well as the Church tells you that “You are no good and don’t have a prayer of amounting to anything unless you place your life in God’s hands”.   But apparently this is not an easy "trick" to learn, because people like Chuck Smith brag about how the circumstances of their OWN life right now, prove what a great person they are to have mastered "going with the flow of the Spirit".   This is stuff you won’t hear from Neil Savedra.  Many church leaders have been “contaminated” by things related by either my brother or my father.   They are suppose to equip you to “make you into a better Christian” but you know in your soul that “I’ll never be on an equal playing field with those others in the church and I really don’t think they want that to begin with”.   There is a line in The Ten Colmmandments that goes “Anyone who would use you as a footstool would not be wise enough to rule Egypt”.  I’d like to apply that saying to myself, when it comes to how the Church thinks of me.  Many readers may have thought the same thing.  “They aren’t grooming me to be a healthy Christian on an equal status with themselves, but rather as some kind of pawn or prop, like a footstool perhaps, that they can sit back in their easy chair and prop their feet up on.”

I listened to Rush Limbaugh for that hour and for a little after lunch.  Then I listened to Sean Hannity both at noon and also at two.  It was the same litany of charges.  Either the poor people are all envious of the rich and the socialists, Moslems, and Nazis want to take money away from rich people, or in the case of the Nazis, rich Jewish people.  Rush apparently doesn’t know that one of the first things the Nazis did was close down the trade unions.  And the poor Jewish shop owners weren’t the rich “Jewish bankers” because you can bet they had already left the country.   There is the charge that the democrats are holding fast to their left wing “socialist agenda”.  There was talk about how Obama Care is ripping people off and even a low wage Black guy called to say he is highly disillusioned with Obama Care.  A gay woman from Utah called the Sean Hannity program saying she resents the idea of some Judge on his own legalizing gay marriage.  She said something about “This should be a slow process winning the hearts and minds of the average person”.  I was scratching my head over this, till she then said she was a Christian and most of her friends and family were Mormon.  Hannity repeated several times that “Now the government has extended unemployment for ninety-nine weeks” when that hasn’t been true for months or maybe even a year.  Sean said there was a study that one million will lose their jobs if the minimum wage is raised.  But when a caller reminded Sean that tens of millions fewer people will no longer need food stamps if that were to happen - - Sean’s brain froze, and he could no longer continue with the call.  Rush talked to some Sergeant who said that burger flippers in Washington state make fifteen bucks an hour and more than he does as an army Sergeant with training.  When the point was made that when offered the choice between private business or going into the armed services, many young people opt for the military to get training and skills they can later use in private business- - Rush just dismissed this as left wing propaganda or something.  I really didn’t want to have more internet radio on today because I don’t want to get trapped in some left wing echo chamber of my own, but wanted to see what the rest of ordinary people of Los Angeles tuning into their radios were being exposed to today. 

 

I tuned in C-Span and watched the President’s speech on National Security through the ages and bagged a couple of photos.  I missed the end of the speech because I had to go to dinner.  Sometimes it all comes down to a question of motives.  Some “reforms” and I’m speaking generically are merely cosmetic and are “for the cameras” while the underlying substance remains unchanged.  Psychologists love to question everyone’s motives.  When Rush talks about “How jealous everyone is of rich people” he’s kind of like the two siblings, where one is often saying to the other “Mommy likes me best” because ‘I got the biggest piece of pie” or whatever.  When I hear something like this I’ve always thought “Is your own identity so weak you have to resort to this nya-yna type of mentality”.   Today people on the right attempt to play the “it takes one to know one” card.  In the song “Memphis Blues Again” by Dylan there is a line in the song that goes “You see, you’re just like me; I hope you’re satisfied”.  But the trouble is this is a bogus card because in no way does any tea bagger want to compare himself in any way to a normal liberal out there.  So the use of this “it takes one to know one” phraseology- is for some motive other than what you think.   If I were confronting someone comparing what Christie did with what President Obama is alleged to have done in the past I’d say “If I agree with you that President Obama has at times over-stepped his power or been a bad leader, will you then agree that we liberals indeed have a case against Christie?”  This will throw them off guard.  They may decided to volley the ball right at me asking, “So you ADMIT that President Obama is a jerk”.  I will say, “No, absolutely not.  I was being hypothetical.  I was hoping you had the mental capacity to respond to a hypothetical question.  But apparently, you are unable to”.

Well today it’s been a walk down memory lane of 1994 and “It was twenty years ago today” when the Big One struck.  A Masonic lodge in Santa Monica was initially condemned but then they had the funding to have the building retrofitted, and it is standing today.  Then we have the Earthquake Kids.  This was the 1994 Northridge Little League team, that won every game except for the last one.  They are a bunch of macho, good looking men in their early thirties now and still keep in touch.  Only one of them went on to a carrier in professional athletics, in football as a Viking.  In 1997 Mamoth Mountain had “only” 94 inches of snow, and it routinely gets three hundred.  I hadn’t the foggiest notion it was anywhere near that much.  By the way Las Vegas gamers like the Dodgers this year giving them a one out of six chance of taking it all.

The previous three paragraphs were moved from the Eisenhower posting to here because there wasn't a snow ball's chance in Hell these remarks would ever by read in that posting, after a long speech from the former President.  Here the remarks at least have a chance.

Breaking Down New N S A Policy

First the Provisions and then the Commentary

CNN) -- President Barack Obama talked in sometimes lofty, often technical tones Friday about changing how the government does its anti-terror snooping. That includes how it collects records on many of your phone calls, emails and online chats.  Here's what it all meant:

1. The public will get a voice before the secret intelligence court -- sort of

The way things work now at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the government asks a judge in secret for permission to collect, say, phone records. No one gets to argue the other side.

Obama said he wants to open the court's doors to advocates from outside the government who can "provide an independent voice in significant cases."

Obama announces changes at NSA

The idea is to make sure outside voices have a say -- voices that might not always buy into the intelligence community's arguments -- but who knows what that panel will end up looking like.

2. New limits on telephone records

If you've been paying attention the last few months, you know the National Security Agency has been slurping up details on millions of phone calls placed in the United States. The agency isn't recording the actual conversation -- they're after stuff like the phone numbers involved and the time and length of each call.

Blog: What others are saying

That won't end, exactly, but Obama says big changes are coming. First, fewer calls will be cataloged. And analysts will now have to get a judge's approval to dip into the records. Later, the government will stop collecting and storing those records. Where they'll go is still up in the air, though.

3. Super-secret "we want your stuff" letters are changing

Remember the movie, "Fight Club?" Remember the line, "First rule of fight club is you do not talk about Fight Club?" Well, the government has something like that called the National Security Letter program. It requires tech companies to cough up info about suspected terrorists and others without so much as a peep.

Obama wants to change it so those letters don't always stay secret. He also wants to give tech companies more latitude to reveal information about what the government asks for. He didn't say exactly what they'll be able to reveal, but at least maybe they'll be able to finally acknowledge "Security Club."

4. People living outside the U.S. get some love, too

Revelations sparked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's leaks didn't just rile up Americans. We learned the United States had been monitoring leaders of some of its allies, such as Germany. The United States also doesn't extend the kind of privacy protections to your everyday Italian or Peruvian living outside the United States.

So Obama says the United States will take what he calls the "unprecedented step" of developing some privacy safeguards for citizens of other nations living abroad. That might include limits on how long the government keeps personal information and taking steps to make sure it's used only in very limited circumstances.

5. So this ends all the drama, right?

Hardly. Critics of U.S. intelligence practices barely waited for the speech to end before pouncing.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said he thinks Obama's speech amounted to little. "I think it's embarrassing for a head of state like that to go on for almost 45 minutes and say almost nothing," he said.

Another privacy advocate called the reforms "mere window dressing."

"Rather than dismantling the NSA's unconstitutional mass surveillance programs, or even substantially restraining them, President Obama today has issued his endorsement of them," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, an anti-surveillance organization.

Snowden is expected to speak up about the changes next week, Assange told CNN.

 

The Teleprompter-In-Chief Fails to Impress …

President Obama did exactly what the American people predicted: made a pretty speech, but failed to rein in NSA spying.
CNN correctly notes:

Critics of U.S. intelligence practices barely waited for the speech to end before pouncing.

Representative Rush Holt says:

The President’s speech offered far less than meets the eye.
“His proposals continue to allow surveillance of Americans without requiring a Fourth Amendment determination of probable cause.  They continue to regard Americans as suspects first and citizens second.  They continue to allow the government to build backdoors into computer software and hardware.  They fail to strengthen protections for whistleblowers who uncover abusive spying.
“The President spoke about navigating ‘the balance between security and liberty.’  But this is a faulty and false choice.  As Barack Obama himself urged in his first inaugural address, we must ‘reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.’
“The Fourth Amendment and other civil liberty protections do not exist to impede police or intelligence agencies.  To the contrary, they exist to hold to hold government agents to a high standard – to ensure that they act on the basis of evidence, rather than wasting time and resources on wild goose chases.
“Even the modest improvements announced today are subject to reversal at a stroke of the President’s pen.  A standard of ‘trust my good intentions’ isn’t good enough.  Congress should reject these practices and repeal the laws that made the NSA’s abuses possible.”

Senator Rand Paul says:

President Obama’s announced solution to the NSA spying controversy is the same unconstitutional program with a new configuration ….
“The American people should not expect the fox to guard the hen house,” Paul said about Obama’s promise to appoint a special White House oversight director to keep a watchful eye over the security programs.

Leading constitutional and military law expert Jonathan Turley writes:

I just listened to the NSA speech by President Obama and as expected there is precious little in terms of real change. For civil libertarians, it is a nothing burger served hot and with a sympathetic smile. It is much of the same.
***
The programs will continue and the intelligence community will retain its authority with little outside independent limits. The speech had the feel of a car salesman coming back from “speaking with the manager” and saying that he is able to offer a deal that no one likes but he wants to offer because he likes the customer. Of course, this “deal” does not require our consent.
In the end, the changes are either undefined (like the privacy advocates) or basically “trust us were your government” (including a reminder that NSA people are your neighbors).
The Paul Revere reference at the beginning seemed to set the less than honest approach of the speech. Revere and the Sons of Liberty were watching public movement of an enemy at war. Likewise, Obama again references “court” review of the metadata as if it were a true court applying real probable cause. FISC has been widely ridiculed as a rubber-stamp for the government. The Court is given a standard that is hard for the government not to satisfy with even the most casual filings.

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund notes:

Rather than dismantling the NSA’s unconstitutional mass surveillance programs, or even substantially restraining them, President Obama today has issued his endorsement of them. What are billed as ‘reforms’ are mere window dressing, cosmetic changes that leave this unconstitutional system intact and, in fact, provide presidential ratification.
Today’s speech full of minimization and outright denial regarding the now-documented massive scope of NSA spying on the population served as the presidential announcement of an intention to permanently implement a national surveillance grid and indiscriminate mass data collection. Every keystroke will still be captured, every phone call will still be logged.
***
Using tactics of misdirection, the president has tried to reframe the issue as who should house the massive collection of data on law-abiding people, rather than the real issue, which is that this massive indiscriminate collection and warehousing of data must stop. This speech will fail to stop the tide of opposition of people in the United States and around the world who reject living under a Surveillance State.

The Guardian reports:
Obama’s NSA speech: an affirmation that mass surveillance has a future