Martin Luther King Jr. Is Dead

From Mediaite:

Civil rights icon Andrew Young, a former congressman, ambassador, and friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made a comment about protesters that upset a local NAACP chapter today. 

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Young met with police officers in Atlanta––where he used to be mayor––to discuss the huge protests recently there over the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. 

At one point, Young referred to some of the protesters as “some unlovable little brats out there some times” and said that they’ve been able to “show off with no consequences.” 

Well, the Georgia NAACP issued a brief statement today that, according to ABC News, wasn’t so kind to Young:

The Georgia NAACP said Young should use his clout to demand changes in police practices in the U.S. or “go quickly and quietly into a well-deserved retirement.” 

The NAACP sounds like Donald Trump telling Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire. Back to the story:

Last year Young reacted to the Black Lives Matter movement by saying, “The fact is that 93 percent of the black people killed are killed by other black people. So if black lives matter, let us start believing that we matter.” 

When I, as a white man, have thoughts like Andrew Young voiced, I have to second-guess what I am thinking. But now that he said it, I have to say the black community needs a collective "come to Jesus" intervention. They need to quit protesting and start taking action, and I don't mean against cops or white people.

I am reminded of the following parable (from John 8:3-11):

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

The black community today reminds me of the "scribes and Pharisees" from that passage, ready to stone the woman in the name of a long dead prophet. Who is the woman today? The cops? The whites? Or just an excuse to lash out? I think the last one is it. If the black community spent half as much time trying to build something for themselves, instead of reaching for the stones to throw at others, Martin Luther King Junior's dream would have already been reached.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."--Martin Luther King Jr.

Sadly, the black community today is being judged by the content of their character...and found lacking. Not just by other races, but also by civil rights icons like Andrew Young. Even more sadly, institutions like the NAACP and politicians like Hillary Clinton are enabling the black community to ignore the greater voices of reason.

Martin Luther King Jr. is dead. The worst part is: His teachings are being killed by the snake-like voices of the NAACP and Hillary Clinton.

White Boy Privilege

Dear Royce Mann, I'm sorry you are having to apologize to all minorities because it is politically correct for you to feel guilty about the color of your skin and your genitals.

It is a sad day for us all when a 14 year old child has to be made to feel guilty about aspects of their physical body over which they have no control. Even more appalling is the entire room applauds him for an act of contrition, when he had committed no sin. Basically, he had to tear himself down in order to gain the approval of others.

Have you ever watched a tv show or movie, and a character is doing something stupid, and still you watch it anyway, cringing the entire time? That is what I felt watching this video. The problem is this isn't a fictional tv show. This is real life, and this kid is forced to tear himself down for the intellectual amusement of the audience.

Royce, when you start cussing, and then say you can get away with it because everyone will see your skin color and let you get away with it because "not everyone of your skin color has a dirty mouth", I just cringed even more. No boy, they let you get away with it because you are in the midst of metaphorically dropping your pants for the audience.

Ok, that is enough. I cannot re-watch this again to write this any more. Frankly, Royce, you are an embarrassment. Mind you, I am not saying you should be "proud" to be white. But I would rather you be proud than ashamed.

As for being a boy, you may want to hold off on those apologies. When you get older, you'll get used to making them to your wife someday.

Today's News July 13, 2016: Trump is a faker, but Ginsburg is out of line

I must confess the lede news stories today are kind of dull. Here is a quick sampling, and why I don't care:

Fox News:
State Department sent taxpayer money to group that attempted to oust Israel's Netanyahu

This is just typical government waste of my taxpayer dollars.

CNN:
5 takeaways from Paul Ryan's CNN town hall

This is just a typical government waste of a human being.

Vocativ (linked from Drudge Report):
ISIS Boasts Of Its Bloody Ramadan

So? It isn't like we didn't know ISIS was a bunch of inhuman waste.

Let's move on to something that should be front page news:

CNN:
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg intensifies criticism of Trump: 'He is a faker'

Ginsburg isn't one of my favorite justices, but I do have to agree with her comments:

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's well-known candor was on display in her chambers late Monday, when she declined to retreat from her earlier criticism of Donald Trump and even elaborated on it.

"He is a faker," she said of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, going point by point, as if presenting a legal brief. "He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego. ... How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that."

Needless to say, Trump fired back:

Trump himself slammed Ginsburg's criticism of him, telling The New York Times, "I think it's highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly."

"I think it's a disgrace to the court and I think she should apologize to the court," Trump added. "I couldn't believe it when I saw it."

He later called on her to resign, tweeting early Wednesday morning: "Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!"

I will take a Trump-Ginsburg debate over a Paul Ryan town hall anytime!

What is really great about this is they are both right. Everything Ginsburg said about Trump was on the money. But Trump is also right when he says it isn't appropriate for a Supreme Court justice to comment on a presidential campaign. Ginsburg should apologize for making the comments, even if she doesn't retract the content of them.

As for Trump, I have to admit, he is starting to grow on me...like a flesh-eating bacteria that will eventually lead to my death. But it is still interesting to watch it happen.

Why I hate Jamie Dimon

Consider this my disclaimer post. I despise Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

First, let me say I am a firm believer in the free market. I have nothing against corporate America in general. I am all for laissez faire economics.

However, there are two people who represent everything I hate about America's economic system today: Lloyd Blankfein (CEO of Goldman Sachs) and Jamie Dimon. My reason is simple: They helped create the crony capitalism which America suffers from today, and then they proceeded to benefit from it, at the expense of millions of Americans. Many lost their homes or jobs (or both) because of rich grifters like these two.

As for Jamie Dimon, my last post covered him perfectly: Not only is he a jerk, he is shameless about it. He toots his own horn for giving his lowest paid employees a raise (over 3 years) after he's has already laid off tens of thousands of them over the last few years, without even mentioning the $7 million raise he got earlier this year, which he got thanks to his "cost -cutting" (read: layoffs). He is slime incarnate.

If you want to know why I believe government should not be involved in Wall Street, and vice versa, just look at Jamie Dimon. He is like a pimp, getting our political whores to prostitute themselves for him. Then when he screws up, they bail him out, so he can keep them "high" on campaign donations.

Just remember, Dimon was CEO of JPMorgan before the economic collapse, and JPMorgan got bailout money from the government. And yet...Dimon is STILL CEO of JPMorgan. How can someone epically fail like that, and still keep their job? ANSWER: Layoff thousands of people who work for them instead. Huh?

I won't go so far as to say Dimon should be in jail for his failure during the economic collapse (although it wouldn't break my heart). But I do believe the "too big to fail" banks should have been allowed to go bankrupt. Their pieces could have been picked up by banks which acted responsibly, for pennies on the dollar. Then people like Dimon would be unemployed today, instead of collecting $27 million paychecks.

In summary, I despise Jamie Dimon like nobody else. I am sorry to my readers for my bias in regards to him. As for Dimon, I have only this to say to him: You are my definition of evil. I pray there is a special place in Hell for people like you.

Jamie Dimon is a jerk

I have to laugh at people talking about how great JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is because of his New York Times editorial, "Jamie Dimon: Why We’re Giving Our Employees a Raise". A sampling:

WAGE stagnation. Income inequality. A lack of quality education. Insufficient training and skills development.

Issues like these have led approximately two-thirds of Americans to believe that the next generation will be worse off than the last. And it is true that too many people are not getting a fair opportunity to get ahead. We must find ways to help them move up the economic ladder, and everyone — business, government and nonprofits — needs to play a role.

At JPMorgan Chase, we’re starting by giving thousands of employees a raise.

Our minimum salary for American employees today is $10.15 an hour (plus meaningful benefits, which I’ll explain later), almost $3 above the current national minimum wage. Over the next three years, we will raise the minimum pay for 18,000 employees to between $12 and $16.50 an hour for full-time, part-time and new employees, depending on geographic and market factors.

Isn't that special?

Let's compare that to this piece of news from this Bloomberg article from January:

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted Jamie Dimon’s pay 35 percent, tying most of the package to future performance after a record share of investors rejected the bank’s compensation practices last year.

The bank awarded Dimon, its chief executive officer and chairman, $27 million for 2015, up from $20 million a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing Thursday. The package includes $20.5 million in performance share units, a new pay element tied to future targets. Proxy advisers had complained last year that the company lacked concrete goals for its executives. Dimon also got a $5 million cash bonus and a $1.5 million salary.

Mind you, it wasn't that he didn't deserve it:

Under Dimon, who has led JPMorgan since 2006, the bank managed to increase profit last year 12 percent to a record $24.4 billion despite stagnant revenue...The company’s shares climbed 5.5 percent in 2015, outperforming the 3.5 percent decline of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Financials Index.

Of course, you have to look at what is in the "special sauce" of success:

He accomplished that by trimming expenses almost 4 percent to $59 billion. 

No doubt some of that expense cutting was more than a few of those employees that MIGHT have gotten a raise over the next three years. Good luck to the rest of those employees. For their sake, I hope Dimon doesn't cut any more expenses.

June 13, 2016: JPMorgan Chase to lay off 90 in Houston
May 24, 2016: J.P. Morgan's Bank for the Rich Is Cutting About 100 Jobs
May 28, 2015: JPMorgan expected to cut more than 5,000 jobs by next year
February 25, 2014: JPMorgan to cut 8,000 jobs

That is just a little of Dimon's "stellar" work over the last few years. Do you still want to applaud his generosity now?

So when he wrote his editorial in the New York Times, "Why We’re Giving Our Employees a Raise", he should have said, "Because they aren't here any more."

Exclusive! An interview with Jeb Bush's Empty Suit

I was lucky enough to arrange an interview with Jeb Bush's Empty Suit (JBES) on this very slow news day:

ME: Good day, Mr. Suit, or may I call you Empty?
JBES: I resent that! Just because Jeb doesn't have any substance, doesn't mean he doesn't take up space! Ya know, I got an offer from [Donald] Trump earlier in the primaries. But Jeb begged me to hang on.
ME: I bet you're kicking yourself now, huh?
JBES: No, I can't. My matching Empty Shoes took the offer. But I'm glad I didn't take the offer the Shoes got. I mean, who wants Trump stepping on you all the time?
ME: I can imagine. Have you heard from Trump lately?
JBES: Nah. I hear he's switching to lighter colored suits for the election. He has to, with all the blonde women around him. After hugging a few of them, he can walk away looking like an Afghan!

Trump after a few hugs?

ME: Speaking of dogs, what are your thoughts on Hillary Clinton?

JBES: Personally, I think she'd look better with me on her than some of her empty suits. But what do I know? I got nothing.

ME: How about Marco Rubio?

JBES: Talk about empty suits! Remember that debate when he started repeating his canned response over and over? The problem was they got the microphone too close to his empty suit, and they started picking up the echoes. I felt bad for his empty suit.

ME: So what do you think about Jeb's brother, George W.?

JBES: I probably shouldn't say this, but I used to be his suit. After he left office, I was a hand-me-down to Jeb. It was funny too, cause Dubya told Jeb that I was the suit he wore on 9/11, which was totally untrue. But Jeb ate it up. Fortunately, Dubya made him promise not to tell anyone, which meant Jeb immediately told his wife, who told Barbara Bush, who immediately chastised Dubya for tricking his brother that way. Truth be told, what goes on behind the scenes with the Bushes is far more interesting than their public face. What's even funnier is that, to this day, nobody has yet told Jeb the truth about me. So he still calls me "9/11" when we're alone. *laughs*

Bush's actual 9/11 suit

ME: What about papa Bush, George H.W.?
JBES: How old do you think I am? But seriously, I do know a funny story about him. After Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait, Bush was totally bamboozled about what to do. So he called all his top people together that night. General Norman Schwarzkopf had been drinking a little too heavily, and watching Patton. So when Bush asked for ideas, they got to Norm and he gives this glorious speech about taking their capital. By the time he's finished, he has everyone on their feet applauding. So Bush says, "So it's agreed. We will attack Iraq." Then Norman whispers to Colin Powell, "Iraq? I thought we were talking about Russia?"

Today's News July 12, 2016: The news died

There are a lot of editors crying today. Their lede stories are lame.

Just consider these lede stories:

Drudge Report:
JEB! SPEAKS

You have to put an exclamation mark after "Jeb" because the man himself is just too godawful dull.

But Drudge links to this story:

Daily Mail:
Jeb Bush says Trump will never build his Mexico wall and his believers will 'feel betrayed' – but he seems to think The Donald will win the White House

I am sorry, but I suffer from a medical condition which prevents me from reading this article.

It's called terminal indifference.

Let's be honest: Jeb was dull as a presidential candidate. Becoming a former presidential candidate doesn't make him interesting. An interview with his empty suit would be more interesting.

On to other non-news...

CNN:
Dallas trauma surgeon: 'This killing, it has to stop'

They get the doctor who worked on the dying cops from last week in Dallas? Rodney King's "can we all get along" was more interesting.

Fox News:
Michigan gunman who killed 2 bailiffs faced multiple felony charges

I fully respect the axiom, "If it bleeds, it leads", but this is absurd. No offense, but I live in Georgia. The killer was white, and it happened in Michigan. I don't care.

If there is any bright side to this, it is that we can say, "Look, white guys kill cops too!" Nope. I can't even say that.

Bloomberg
China's South China Sea Claims Dashed by Hague Court Ruling

Finally! An interesting story! Bold part added by me:

China’s territorial assertions to more than 80 percent of the South China Sea have been rebuffed by an international tribunal that ruled it has no historic rights to the resources within the waters, a verdict that went beyond what many analysts had expected. 

“There was no evidence that China has historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources,” the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said Tuesday in a statement. “The tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the seas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’.” 

The case was brought by the Philippines, arguing that China’s claims don’t comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. While the court says the ruling is binding, it lacks a mechanism for enforcement. 

No...mechanism...for...enforcement.

Why did they even bother? Not only did the court have no teeth, neither did the story!