Taking over top ten lists

As least for a while, I'm going to write top ten lists.  After all, there will be no more new ones on The Late Show with David Letterman.  So here is my top ten list of reasons why Donald Trump will never be President of the United States:

10.  Being somewhat self-aggrandizing is required, but being the most self-aggrandizing person on the planet is too much for a President.

9.  Presidents don't wear toupees.

8.  You can't run on your business acumen when you filed for business bankruptcy multiple times.

7.  Having your own signature clothing line is not presidential.

6.  Having your own reality television series is not presidential.

5.  When you are president, you can't put your name on everything.

4.  No one would use American currency with Trump's photo on it.  They'd burn it.

3.  Yelling "you're fired" is great if you're running the WWE, not the USA.

2.  "Trump Will Put the U.S. in the Dump" is a great slogan for anyone he runs against.

And the number 1 reason Trump will never be president is....

1.  If you can't get elected dog catcher, you can't be president.

* * *

Among the fictional police procedural programs currently airing on broadcast television, "Blue Bloods" is my favorite.  I think Tom Selleck makes a great NYPD police commissioner, the show's writing is pretty good, the program is well cast and they've had a good run.  Were I ever to be in charge of a police department, I'd want to run it a lot like what I watch on this program.

Now if I were in charge of the Cleveland Police Department, Michael Brelo's unpaid leave of absence would be over, now that he's been acquitted of manslaughter charges.  Not because I would be returning him to duty but because I would be firing him.  The fact that he couldn't be found guilty of manslaughter by the judge in the case in no way, shape or form excuses what he did. 

After a high speed chase, with speeds exceeding 100 mph, and after officers had fired dozens of shot at the two occupants of the car, this nincompoop got up on the car's hood and fired 15 round downward through the windshield.  Doing this either put him into danger, if the pair was armed, or was totally unnecessary because they weren't shooting back at the cops firing at them.

When you're the police and you believe yourselves to be in a firefight with suspects, one of the things you need to do is stop shooting and make sure the suspects are no longer firing.  The idea is to arrest suspects with the minimum force required.  100 rounds fired into one car at two people is overkill.

Fear and adrenaline do not excuse this.  This man is a danger to himself and others, and needs to find a new line of work.

* * *

A Florida woman is upset that her child's pediatrician fired her after she no-showed for appointments three times.  She should just go quietly.  There is nothing ruder than no-showing for an appointment, especially when the professional you are seeing has a really crowded calendar.

I'm especially sensitive about this at the moment because I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to manage my time and client load next tax season, when I must cut back well over 2/3rds of the client load I handled this year.  My work hours will be limited, my appointments will be limited and if someone no-shows on me, I will almost certainly not give them a second chance.  True emergencies where it wasn't possible to give notice will of course be an exception.

I've been bad about this myself and have vowed to completely stop the practice.  I now always call the automated appointment system at the VA if I can't make an appointment.  If I'm slated to be somewhere and I can't get there, I let whoever needs to know what is going on.  It is a matter of politeness and courtesy.

* * *

Saw a movie today.  First time I've seen the trailer for next year's Star Wars film in a theater.  38 years after I saw the original film, it gave me goose bumps.  I love movies, and in particular several film franchises.  I was so disappointed back in 1983 when we learned that George Lucas had no intention of making either Episodes 1 through 3, or 7 through 9.  Now 1 through 3 are old news and 7 through 9 are coming to pass.  I am very, very excited at the thought of seeing the first show of Star Wars Episode VII when it opens.

Speaking of movies, this is Saturday of the Memorial Day Weekend.  One of the two weekends annually that AMC shows a marathon of war films.  Here is their schedule:

The Dirty Dozen
Midway
The Green Berets
Heartbreak Ridge
Kelly's Heroes
MacArthur
Sands of Iwo Jima
Hamburger Hill
First Blood
Rambo, First Blood II
Rambo III

My first objection to a number of these films is that they are the ones AMC shows every war movie marathon.  The Green Berets, Heartbreak Ridge and Midway in particular.  This trio contains the most jingoistic, flag-waving sentiments of these films.  As a veteran, I believe that we need to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice this weekend.  That doesn't mean that it can't be done by showing better quality war films.

The Dirty Dozen is a great film, but they've worn that one out.  Same with Midway.  Hamburger Hill is a good choice.  We get more than enough of Rambo.  How about some high quality war movies?  The Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Where Eagles Dare, The Guns of Navaronne, The Hurt Locker and many more would be much better choices.  Then again, I guess I should be grateful they aren't showing Stealth, Birth of a Nation, The Finest Hour or worst of all, Inchon (worst war film ever made).

* * *

Random Ponderings:

I'm not sure which is worst.  Mama June might be right about something, Mike Huckabee calling Josh Duggar "good people" or 19 Kids and Counting not just getting axed.

L. A. District Attorney Jackie Lacey may be right in choosing not to file charges involving elder abuse against Jean Kasem, but I think she should file obstruction of justice charges over Jean Kasem removing her husband from the area to obfuscate the investigation into the allegations against her.

States need to be barred from adding fees to the expense of using welfare, unemployment, disability and SNAP benefits.  If they want to use EBT cards, fine.  But make them fee-free.  Kansas has just done the cruelest thing imaginable, limiting welfare recipients to only $25 per day in withdrawals from banks using their EBT cards.  When you consider the fees that banks charge, it's a drastic cut in their benefits.

Did producer Byron Allen really call President Obama a white president in blackface???  Whoa.

RIP John Nash and his wife Alicia.  Married for 60 years.  Inspiring.

Now Kris Jenner is taking time out from criticizing Bruce to alter the titles of songs.  She belongs in the photo dictionary defining clueless.

It must suck to arrive at Yellowstone or Grand Teton and find some of the best trails closed for repairs.  It isn't like you can easily reschedule.  The trails that are closed for the moment are all awesome, hiked them myself when I was young.

To the man who wrote an open letter to the friends he never sees any more because he and they are all busy with their own lives, take the first step.  Host some friends.  Be the change you seek.

Even dressed in a frumpy way for grocery shopping, Emma Stone looks good.

Properly using frustration

A friend of mine is doing her best to get back "into shape."  She has expressed her difficulty in dealing with the frustrations she has on occasion as she does the work.  I started to post a reply to her FB post on the subject right there, but what I want to say would have taken too much space.

I understand her frustrations all too well.  I watched an episode of CHiPs yesterday where there was roller skating.  I can't roller skate these days as I don't have the stamina.  Was I frustrated watching this episode?  Yes.  There was a time when my part-time job was as a floor-guard in a roller rink.  I spent hours on skates without even breathing hard.  It was as easy to skate as it was to walk.  I also get frustrated when I watch volleyball on television.  I used to dive for balls, jump high enough to hit at the men's height net and play at a high level.  So it is a bit frustrating.

I've learned to not let those frustrations bother me very much.  If I was able to make a major reverse in my physical condition, I'd be trying to use my frustration in a positive way.  To fuel my efforts.  But frustration is fraught with danger.  Channeled positively it can be a great impetus to move forward.  Channeled negatively, it can be a major roadblock in making progress.

My friends are important to me.  I hope this particular friend will use those occasional frustrations the right way.  I want her to succeed.

* * *

There was no emotional reaction on the face of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev when his sentence of death on 6 of the 17 capital counts he was convicted on was read aloud in the courtroom.  Now the speculation is about which federal prison he will be sent to, to await the numerous appeals that must take place before the death sentence is carried out.

How long will that take?  The federal government has executed three people convicted of a crime under a federal death penalty statute since 1988 (that's when the federal death penalty was reinstated after a 16 year hiatus following a court decision).

Timothy McVeigh.  He was convicted in 1997 of carrying out the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 and injuring hundreds.  He was executed on June 11, 2001.

Juan Raul Garza.  He was convicted in 1993 of three counts of murder and he was executed on June 19, 2001.

Louis Jones, Jr.  The retired Army veteran was convicted in 1995 of the abduction, rape and murder of a 19 year old Army private, Tracie McBride.  He was executed on March 18, 2003.

There are over 3,000 prisoners on death row in various states of the U. S. but only 61 prisoners currently on federal death row.  60 men and 1 woman.  That woman, for those who are curious, is Lisa M. Montgomery who is awaiting execution following her conviction for murdering a pregnant woman and then cutting the baby out of the woman and kidnapping it.

Based on how long these three executions took to happen, and how long people have remained on the federal death row (some have been there since 1993), Tsarnaev will not be executed quickly.  Whether they hold him in the super-max death row in Terre Haute, IN or the super-max facility for life offenders in Colorado, it is a bleak existence.  He will spend 22.5 to 23 hours a day in a twelve foot by seven foot cell.  He will have limited to no interaction with anyone.

Is this "cruel and unusual punishment?"  You decide for yourself.

I have no objection to the death penalty, save the cost.  There will be millions of dollars spent to pursue the required appeals for Tsarnaev and if he winds up prevailing on appeal, he'll go to one of those awful super-max cells for life anyway.  So why waste the money?

Plus, had he been sentenced to life without parole, the matter would be over.  No more media coverage.  No more scramble for results of courtroom hearings.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

Regarding the death of B. B. King, President Obama nailed it when he said something about there being an awesome jazz session in heaven the night King passed.  RIP, sir.

 If the scandal involving New York State's Senate Leader and Assembly Speaker also ensnares Governor Andrew Cuomo, a rising political star may well bite the dust.  Stay tuned.

All seven members of the 2016 MFA class at USC have dropped out.  Wow.  Wonder how that will impact their careers going forward.  Wonder how this will damage the reputation of that particular grad school at USC.

In the last 16 months Bill and Hillary Clinton have earned more than $30 million.  A long way from the "dead-broke" couple back in 2000, eh?

The cop who tracked down serial killer John Wayne Gacy has died, so naturally the name John Wayne is trending.  With Memorial Day weekend coming, it's a sure bet "The Green Berets" will be airing.  Whatever happened to the little boy who portrayed "Hamchunk?"

More proof of what a nitwit Piers Morgan is:

Freedom of religion includes the freedom to be free from religion.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez needs to learn that certain gestures are not just insulting, but are racist and ethnic slurs.

Been a Long Time

On Tuesday I did something I haven't done for a long time.  I drove to the valley.  For those who aren't familiar with the Southern California area, the term "the valley" refers to the San Fernando Valley, which is to the north of the area where I now live.  I've gone to movies in the valley a few times since getting out of the hospital, but it's probably been more than a decade since I was in the area of Northridge.  The Sepulveda VA facility is actually in North Hills, but that area around CSUN will always be Northridge to me.

Why was I driving all that way to a VA when there is one much closer to me?  Because the doctor wanted me to have a specific test and to have it done now.  That facility had an opening to do the exam weeks before the West LA VA did.  So I got up very early and made the drive.

What a shock.  The West LA VA is constantly undergoing renovations, is an older facility and while they do their best, it has an air of being "old and used."  The same cannot be said for the gorgeous, clean, excellently maintained Sepulveda VA facility. 

What was really interesting was the drive home.  I used to drive to the valley regularly to bowl and would often use Sepulveda boulevard as an alternative to the traffic on the 405.  Its complexion has changed dramatically.

The world does not stand still.  Change is constant.  If we fail to pay attention, we will be shocked at what's gone on while we were unaware.

* * *

Catcher's mitts are measured differently than other mitts used in baseball.  You measure the catcher's mitt by its circumference.  The maximum size is 34.5 inches.  A baseball itself is 9.25 inches in circumference.  The pitcher's mound is 60 feet, six inches from home plate.

So when the catcher sets the target for the pitcher, the goal is to throw a 9.25" baseball into a target 34.5" from a distance of just over 60'.  Ideally, at more than 90 MPH if the catcher called for a fastball.  Granted the catcher can move his mitt to make the catch, but the ideal pitch involves those specifications.  If you can hit that ball and reach base safely just 3.5 out of every 10 times you come to the plate in the major leagues, you're a multi-millionaire superstar.

An NBA basketball is anywhere from 9.5 to 9.85 inches in diameter.  The hoop the players shoot that ball into is not quite double that distance in diameter at 18 inches.  That's not a lot of room for error.  Especially if you are behind the three-point shooting line, 22 feet away from the basket.  But if you can take and make that shot more than 200 times in a season and hit over 40% of those shots, you're a superstar.

Until injuries made me stop, I was a lifelong bowler.  I knew everything there was to know about the specifications of all of the equipment.  Without going into all of the details, the basic issue is that the bowler is using a ball that can be no more than 16 pounds in weight to knock down a rack of ten pins that weigh between 33.75 and 36.25 pounds.  More than twice the weight of the ball.  In researching this piece I discovered that at some point the organizations that regulate bowling increased the maximum allowable diameter of the ball from 8.583 inches to 8.595 inches.  A seemingly small modification but one that can have a dramatic impact in knocking down that rack of pins.

Why is all this minutiae important?  Because it highlights why cheating in sports is so easy to do and get away with.  Maury Wills was a manager who got caught having the groundskeepers enlarge the batter's box to make it easier for his players to hit the breaking ball pitcher on the mound that night for the A's.  Ten game suspension.  Bats get corked.  Balls get scuffed.  Joe Neikro got caught on the pitcher's mound with an emery board for scuffing balls.  Ten game suspension.

People will break rules.  The posted speed limit on the freeway is 65 mph and if you travel at that rate when traffic is light, people will fly right by you at 75 mph or even more.  But if they get caught breaking the rule, they will be cited and fined.  Park beyond the time on the meter and get fined.

Speeding and parking fines are different than cheating at sports.  Victory at any price isn't okay, even in wars between nations.  There are rules.  The Geneva Conventions.  Imagine how much the lives of Americans held at POWs by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam conflict might have been, had the Geneva Conventions been observed.  The technicalities that the U.S. government engaged in to create Camp X-Ray and other such facilities don't excuse our nation's government from violating the rules, but that's for another blog.  The point is, what lesson do we teach our children when we excuse Tom Brady's role in #DeflateGate?  Whatever they takeaway from those who defend Brady, it isn't a good lesson in any way.

* * *

As of this writing, the following portraits are on U. S. currency that is currently circulating:

$1 - George Washington
$2 - Thomas Jefferson
$5 - Abraham Lincoln
$10 - Alexander Hamilton
$20 - Andrew Jackson
$50 - Ulysses S. Grant
$100 - Benjamin Franklin

Obviously, what they share in common is not having been President of the United States.  Five of the seven were, but Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin were not.  But all seven served in a position in the federal government.  Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury in addition to authoring 51 of the Federalist Papers and serving as a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, the predecessor to our current government.  Franklin served as Postmaster General, U. S. Minister to France and U. S. Minister to Sweden.

With the current push to replace President Jackson on the $20 with a woman, it's obvious we don't have a former female president to give this honor.  Or vice president.  The highest ranking woman in the history of the federal government is Condaleeza Rice, as Secretary of State is the highest ranking cabinet position.  She's not eligible as you can't put a living person on U. S. currency.

Harriet Tubman won the vote to be the candidate of the group pushing for this to be done.  She isn't my first choice but she is an excellent choice.  She changed the lives of many.  She is a symbol of doing the right thing even when it is currently against the laws of the land.  And, she's a person of color, and it's high time that someone who isn't a Caucasian be honored in this way.


* * *

Random Ponderings:

Heard on Jerry Springer - "He got married the day before, you were the maid of honor and the very next day you had sex with him.  What makes you think that is okay?"  She replies "because she's a bitch (pointing to the wife)."

I'll give 3 to 1 against Lindsay Lohan completing the required community service hours by the deadline.  Even money on her going to jail though.  She's had more second chances than Carter has liver pills.

I don't watch DWTS but Erin Andrews did roll her eyes (I watched the video when this made the news).

Why can't I have accidents like Asher Conniff?  He accidentally signed up for the wrong poker tournament and won, winning nearly $1 million and an entry into an even bigger tournament.

If he isn't sure what to do with the money, there's a blue 1999 Lamborghini for sale that has only 15,000 miles on it.  It is available for less than $300,000.

How the heck did Shareef O'Neal wind up at Windward?

Bethenny Frankel's ex-husband is getting $26,000 a month in spousal support.  After less than four years of marriage.  Wonder if he'll keep his job.

A Florida funeral home has fired two drivers after they drove their hearse to a donut shop with a flag-draped coffin the back of the vehicle.  They were en route to the burial of an 84 year old war hero.  What the heck were they thinking??

Southwest Airlines really messed up when they wouldn't let a female passenger call her husband back after he texted her saying he was going to take his own life.  They did offer a refund of her airfare, adding insult to injury.

Real-life Barbie, Valeria Lukyanova needs to seek out a real-life psychiatrist.

How do you like yours?

"Revenge is a dish that tastes best when served cold. - Old Klingon Proverb)

Ever heard of Kevin Bollaert?  If the name is familiar, that's because you probably read about him being sentenced to 18 years in jail.  He was convicted of 21 counts of identity theft and six counts of extortion.  What did Kevin do?  He ran a revenge porn site called ugotposted.com and allowed people to post explicit pictures of people on it.  Then the victims of this could go to his other site, changemyreputation.com and pay between $250 and $300 to get the compromising photos removed.

He will have a lot of time to reflect on his transgressions.  But in the wake of his conviction, the first ever involving revenge porn, there are other issues at play here.  Revenge porn is a crime, but only in 17 of the 50 states.  The sad truth is that there is little someone can do to get photos of themselves removed from the internet once they are out there.  CNN Money is doing a look at this and other things involved in revenge porn.

So if a woman's former lover has naked photos of her and posts them to the web, does she have recourse against that partner?  Against the site that hosts the photos?  Probably not.  Can she force the site to take them down?  Interestingly, it turns out that if she took the pictures herself, it is easier for her to eventually get them taken down.  She can copyright them.

But that means she has to fill out a copyright application and send it to Washington, D.C., where a government employee will review her application.  Part of the process means including the material you want to copyright.  So she will have to send in the photo she wants copyrighted solely for the purpose of having it removed from public viewing.  The copyright folks claim only the one person processing the application will see the materials.  Sorry, I just see viewing parties among the puerile people working in this area.

One of the things that struck me during a discussion on CNN about this expose was that the two women pimping the show talked about how police officers tell the victims that if they hadn't allowed the photos to be taken, they couldn't have been victimized.  They described this as "victim-shaming" which is a term I've heard before.

They're right.  Telling a victim that is useless.  Telling someone not to allow themselves to become a victim by not doing it is invaluable.  Police officers in San Francisco have been discovered to have sent racist and homophobic texts to one another, calling into question the appropriateness of arrests they've made.  A substitute teacher was recently caught on cellphone video body slamming a middle school student who admitted to using a racial slur toward the sub.

If you want to take naked pics, fine.  Just don't transmit them via electronic means.  Don't store them electronically.  Anything and everything is ultimately vulnerable.

* * *

This video says a lot all by itself:

Nancy Gordeuk, the founder and head of the TNT Academy in Georgia is on the hot seat after saying what she said on this video and she has apologized.  She of course will deny being a racist, a denial that will ring as hollow as the old blimp hangars the Marines had in Tustin.

I suspect this woman is going to rue this day for a very long time, as it will turn the electron microscope that is the media and the blogosphere on her school.  I perused the school's website myself for a bit today and was surprised by several things on it.  Or the lack thereof.

There is no claim of being a non-profit.  There are no links to any kind of fund-raising.  Further research uncovered the existence of QBE (Quality Basic Education) funds for alternative schools in GA and now I'm guessing this is such a school.  I wonder how long government will continue to provide such funds for a school run by a woman who would say what she said.

Is she a racist to the point of being a KKK member, participating in cross burnings and lynchings?  Almost certainly not.  There are levels of racism.  If you want to hold racists beliefs as part of your personal belief system, fine.  But you can't discriminate or engage in BEHAVIORS that promote those beliefs.  Maybe she really meant nothing racial by pointing out that black people were the ones leaving.  But if you believe that, I have a bridge or two you might want to buy.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

Personally I only believe what Seymour Hersh says or writes when he uses named sources.  His unnamed sources probably don't exist.

Pluto hurt a little boy at Disneyland?  Say it isn't so!!  Walt's probably turning over in his cryogenic...wait, if he's frozen, he can't turn over.  Never mind.

I just reached the top level of both Candy Crush Saga and Candy Crush Soda Saga.  No work = way too much time spent playing games.

Tom Brady's suspension for four games next season seems a bit lenient when you compare it to the suspensions players used to get for domestic violence.

When I read that Bo Derek said "aging isn't for sissies" I'd just seen "Any Which Way You Can" where an elderly Ruth Gordon's face was photoshopped onto Bo's famous jog on the beach in "10."  Bo is right.

It makes no sense for federal bank regulators to remain silent about how they will respond to billions in bank deposits from people who "legally" sell marijuana.  Even if federal law still makes pot illegal, better to have all that cash in banks where it can be tracked.

I have no problem with employers installing so-called "tracking apps" on their employees cellphones and tracking them during the day.  I have a big problem with them attempting to track employees once the workday ends.

What is the fascination with "camel-toe" photos?

Interesting that of all of the "sharks" on Shark Tank, only Mark Cuban is a billionaire.

Someone needs to tell the PR folks for Ted Baker that after getting caught photoshopping Meaghan Trainor, lying and claiming it wasn't them isn't a good method of spin control.

 Harriet Tubman was a woman of courage, conviction and definitely worthy of being celebrated.  But I don't believe she's the best choice to replace Andrew Jackson on the twenty dollar bill.

Assigning the father of a four year old girl to a seat 11 rows away from her on a flight isn't just rude, it's downright irresponsible on the part of the airline (Delta in this case).

Race or economics?

There's no denying that minorities, blacks in particular, are injured and killed at the hands of law enforcement officers more than whites.  But is it an issue of race, poverty or both?

Before delving into the question, it's necessary to point out that the race of a police officer is a non-factor in the actions taken against civilians.  Police officers come from all races but once they put on the uniform, they are "blue" in their eyes.  And in the eyes of the civilian population they are supposed to protect and serve, not kill or maim.  The fact that three of the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray are black means nothing as far as whether or not his death is a racially motivated issue.  The officers are all blue.

Crime is higher in areas that are populated by people with lower incomes.  The lower the level of median income, the higher the crime rate.  When we examine the demographics of the population of these poorest of neighborhoods, we find that minorities are the majority of the populace.

Is this solely a racial issue?  I don't believe that to be 100% accurate.  But unwarranted violence and killings by police of civilians does disproportionately involve minorities in general and blacks in particular because of a combination of race and the inequality of income.

* * *

Reports coming in from Mexico are claiming that David Goldberg, Husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg died from head injuries he suffered in a fall while using a treadmill at the resort they were staying at.  Conspiracy theorists are claiming this to be a "cover story" for some other cause of death.

Data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission indicates that there is no other piece of equipment in the gym that causes as many emergency room visits as the treadmill.  Over 19,000 such ER visits in 2009 alone.  While my treadmill accident didn't cause me to visit the ER, it wasn't fun.  Worse yet, there was no one there to help me.

I was traveling on business and after a late dinner with work friends, I decided to go to the hotel fitness center and work off some of the wonderful food I'd eaten earlier.  The center was open 24 hours, but there was no attendant on duty.  At that hour, no one else was around.  I stepped onto the motionless side of the device to towel off and drink some water.  When I went to step back onto the treadmill, I forgot to lower the speed so I wouldn't trip.  I did trip and fall, and the treadmill dumped my clumsy carcass onto the floor.  It hurt, but I wasn't seriously injured.

Had I been seriously hurt, who knows how long it would have been before someone would have found me and called for assistance.  From that night forward I made a point of letting someone know whenever I was off working out on my own, so they could look for me if I didn't let them know I was back within the appropriate time interval.

The reports on Mr. Goldber's death claim he was alive when he was found but died at the hospital.  Would he have lived if help had arrived more quickly?  We will never know.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

I'd be happy to be Lindsay Vonn's rebound relationship, just to help out mind you.

I would also be happy to see a match at Wrestlemania 32 between 

Only an idiot uses a javelin to pull a tooth.

In India, four young female athletes attempted suicide, and the speculation is that they were involved in a pact because they'd been bullied by some of the older athletes at the facility where they were training.  Guess bullying isn't just a problem here.

If Jeb Bush is really going to name George W Bush as his foreign policy advisor, he is nonwhere near electable.

I'm not surprised that Pentagon employees used their government credit cards to spend nearly $100,000 on adult entertainment (no taxpayer money was used, they reimbursed the government) to hide the spending from their spouses.  I'm very surprised the figure is so low.

Mars, makers of M&Ms and other candies wants you to cut back on your sugar.  Just eat enough so they remain profitable.  Message received.

NCIS and Blue Bloods are still in the top ten for total viewer numbers and CBS has yet to renew either?  That's dumb.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck can say he is disturbed or concerned about an officer-involved shooting.  But he should not be saying anything that questions whether or not the shooting was justified until the investigation runs its course.  Yes, pacifying an angry public is important.  You don't accomplish that by fanning the flames of controversy.

I blinked and suddenly the Triple Threat match at Payback is a Fatal Four-Way.  WWE ratings are down because their storylines suck.  Bring back Mr. McMahon.

Old joke of this blog:  Why do politicians always take the bottom position during sex?  Because that way they can only f**k up.

Sofia Vergara says it isn't fair for the media to make a big story out of the battle she's fighting with her former lover over some fertilized embryos.  I'd like to see someone explain to her that when you use the media to promote your projects, they're going to look at your entire life.

Just saw a photo of Miranda Kerr nearly naked eating french fries.  Now there's a morning stimulant.

I shouldn't be surprised that NJ Governor Chris Christie is defending Tom Brady in the #DeflateGate scandal.  Christie is nowhere near the most ethical politician in the profession.

Hugh Jackman giving up playing Wolverine is only a bad thing if they try to re-cast the role.

Any pro athlete who is proven to have used performance enhancing drugs should have any individual records they achieve marked with a great big asterisk.
 

Is this a mistake, or a choice?

The 18 year old on top of this car, damaging it with a traffic cone is Allen Bullock.  He went to his parents after this took place and together they came to the decision that he should turn himself in.  His bail was set at $500,000.  The six police officers who are charged in the death of 25 year old Freddie Gray in the incident that sparked the violence and unrest in Baltimore are out on lower bail amounts.  Clearly the system of setting bail in Baltimore remains broken and needs to be addressed.

I listened to an interview with these parents on Headline News this morning.  The stepfather described what happened as a "mistake."  The mother said in this interview and in others that her son is "not a violent person" and "not an evil person."  Mothers tend to be very forgiving of their children.

Allen Bullock has multiple juvenile convictions for crimes including theft and fighting.  He was on juvenile probation at the time he committed this act of destruction. 

Sometimes television is a metaphor for life.  I was watching a rerun of "Walker, Texas Ranger" yesterday.  It is titled "Mr. Justice" and features Walker and friends setting up a "camp" for juveniles who are now eligible to go to the adult prison.  It's a last chance for them.  In this episode, Walker talks about choices and the consequences of those choices.

I made dumb choices as a teen.  I threw eggs off of a parking structure roof at oncoming cars.  I drank alcohol well before my 18th birthday.  Luckily for me, I never got caught.  But I did get caught speeding and paid dearly for it.  I made a choice and paid the consequences.  As everyone should.  When we turn 18, we are adults in the eyes of the law.  You cannot chalk up wanton destruction as simply a case of youthful exuberance and turn a blind eye to it.

So was what Allen Bullock did a choice, or just a mistake?  You tell me.

* * *

The cow and horse are gone and no one cares enough to lock the barn door

For the second time in the ten months or so, I got one of those scam calls from someone pretending to be from the IRS's Crime Investigation Unit.  Last time it was a Seattle, WA area number and this time it was from the fine city of Killeen, TX.  Last time I didn't do much.  This time I decided to have a little fun.  I called the number back (they'd left me voice mail) and waited for the guy to do his spiel before asking him for his name and IRS badge number.  He gave me a number that was obviously false (obvious to anyone who has to call the IRS as often as I do on behalf of clients) and I told him so.  He hung up.  I then filed a report with the Inspector General division of the Department of the Treasury.  The voice mail box at the IRS agency that deals with this kind of call is currently full and they don't do live response to phone calls.

Then I called the number in Killeen and when the same voice answered, I let him know I'd reported his number to the local police department.  Again, he hung up.  After that, of course I called the Killeen PD.  The nice lady who answered assured me it is a scam and that they are "...taking no action on the issue at this time."

CNN did a story last month where they cited data showing over 3,000 documented cases where people were victims of this scam.  One estimate puts the amount stolen by these scammers as more than $15 million since 2013.  And when informed that this is probably going on in their city, a local police department is "...taking no action..."

Maybe they are spoofing a number and are nowhere near Killeen.  Maybe not.  But to make it sound like this isn't worth the time to investigate is just sad.  How many more people will become victims because this kind of crime isn't getting the attention it deserves.  Maybe if police departments weren't too busy writing jaywalking and moving violation tickets to balance budgets, they'd be able to do a little crime prevention work.

* * *

I wrote the following last night, before the wonderful news that indictments had been handed down in the death of Freddie Gray.  But it's still relevant.  I will comment on those indictments in a future blog entry.

All lives matter.
Sure doesn't seem that way lately.

Black lives matter.
Sure doesn't seem that way lately.
In fact, it hasn't seemed that way for decades now.

How do we know this?
Freddie Gray - 2015
Tamir Rice - 2014
Michael Brown, Jr. - 2014
Eric Garner - 2014
Deion Fludd - 2013
Reynaldo Cuevas - 2012
Reginald Doucet - 2011
Aiyana Jones (7 years old) - 2010

Rather than list another name for every year, let's leap back to 1980.

Arthur McDuffie - 1980

While there are many factors involved in these ugly, criminal killings, I think there is one that is the most important of all, if we are ever to find a way to stop this vicious circle.

That's right.  We've got failure to communicate.

Most cops don't hit the streets for their shift, planning to kill anyone.  But recent events make that difficult to believe.

The overwhelming majority of African-Americans are law-abiding citizens, who struggle more than most living in a nation where the inequality of income grows ever faster.    But the media's portrayal of recent events doesn't make it seem that way.

Police officers do get the benefit of the doubt when these killings are investigated.  That's a given.  The relationship between the district attorneys who lead these investigations and local police officers is an incestuous one that prevents true transparency in investigating these murders.

Outside investigators, working under civilian oversight must take on these investigations.  Body cameras, cameras in police vehicles transporting prisoners and more are also needed.

Stop the violence.  Increase the peace.  All great slogans.  But they are meaningless until put into effect.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

Diane Von Furstenberg's photoshopped image of Bruce Jenner's face on an old photo of herself isn't just rude and/or inappropriate.  It's an attempt at unmitigated self-promotion.  She should be ashamed of herself, except she has no shame.

Marissa Meyer, CEO of Yahoo "got docked" millions in pay according to news stories.  That's not really what happened.  Some of her pay is tied to company performance goals, and when they weren't fully met, some of that pay was lost.  Considering she made $42 million while not getting the other $13 million she might have received, this is truly making a mountain out of a molehill.

I like the fact the judge in the Atlanta teacher cheating scandal reduced some of the lengthy prison sentences he handed out.  The revised prison terms are much fairer.

After reading through a list of TV shows that are likely to be canceled and not return in the fall, the only one I would miss would be "Blue Bloods."

I'm not surprised that the sky-high room prices that were being asked for this weekend in Las Vegas due to the so-called "Fight of the Century" have plunged drastically in the last 24 hours.  People aren't going to overpay to be in Vegas if they can't get into the fight, or see it in their hotel.

There is something wrong with a foster system that tells kids who've turned 18 that the day after graduation, they must find their own way in the world.  No help, no support system.  Just pack your shit and leave.

Big kudos to the women of the USC chapter of Gamma Phi Beta, for raising $21K for their housekeeper's new car.  Well-played, ladies.

It will be interesting to see how things progress with the penalty for failure to comply with the Obamacare mandate to purchase insurance increasing next year.  I don't believe the penalties will be high enough to make people who don't want to get coverage to change their minds.

A convenience store owner in North Carolina had over $100,000 seized by the IRS because it was deposited in cash in his bank, in amounts of less than $10,000 per deposit.  Apparently the law requires him to prove he wasn't violating some law in order to get his money back.  The burden of proof is on him.  What happened to innocent until proven guilty?  Civil forfeiture laws need legislative attention.

A sign of the changing times is that we will no longer have a MDA telethon to not watch this coming Labor Day weekend.  Sad.

It is interesting how Yahoo processes data.  CNN sports anchor/correspondent Rachel Nichols has been barred from the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight and that story is trending, but all of the links they are supplying about the woman herself are about Rachel Nichols, the actress.