Al Franken Post

Yesterday I wrote about Franken's resignation. I was dead on. Franken today said he would resign in the next few weeks. Well, lets see if he does leave; but, don't bet on it. What the media is doing with his proposed resignation is to call for Trump and Moore to resign.

Why Al Franken Should Not Resign

The media is abuzz with claims that Al Franken will resign tomorrow. The Washington Post actually wrote an article on why Franken has to resign and Moore doesn't. They claim it is because Republicans are more accepting of such misdeeds. It is garbage as usual coming from them any more. They used to be a real newspaper; but, they gave that up.

I don't care much for Al Franken, he is one more elitist who thinks he is better, smarter and more deserving than everyone else. He thinks he understands more than you; but, he is just another partisan hack in my humble opinion. Having said that, he has not been accused of a crime, he has not been charged with anything and nobody that I am aware of has actually filed civil suit against him. He is accused of being sleazy, that is not a reason for overturning a democratically elected representative.

One must ask why the Democrats have so quickly turned on Franken that they now call for his resignation. It has nothing to do with Franken. Back in 1985 another famous Democrat, Barney Frank, was accused of improprieties. In fact, his male prostitute friend was running a male prostitution ring out of his house. He was not removed from office and was universally supported by his party. We all know how President Clinton used Monica Lewinsky, a young intern, to dip his cigar inside her private parts inside the oval office and ejaculate on her dress. He was also supported by his party. Why should Franken have to quit? His voters have a right to kick him out, to not vote for him again. They have a right to call for a special election; but, they have not. As long as he is not proven guilty of a crime, he should not be removed.

Anything short of removing someone from elected office for the conviction of a serious crime must be denied. If we allow unproven accusations to be grounds for violating our democracy, we shall cease having a democracy in any form. Let us be clear, there has not even been an official investigation into Franken's actions, it has been the lynch mob of the corporate media seeking political advantage against Moore and Trump. What you say. This is not about Franken, it is about justifying keeping Moore out if he is elected and about removing Trump, not for criminal collusion with Russia; but, for vague, non proven allegations of being a bad person. Today we saw 58 Democrats in congress vote to allow articles of impeachment to go forward against Trump on the ground that he is a bad person. No crime was charged, the constitution was not considered important. Democracy is not about who you like, it is about accepting the will of the voters. It is about majority rule, it is that simple.

If we get no say in government and only the wealthy and powerful get to choose the law, we live a totalitarian oligarchy. If we have no taxation without representation we need not respect nor follow the laws. That is what the founding fathers said. I know many of my readers are conservative and disagree with my more socialist ideas; but, they know I am honest and consistent. If we lose any semblance of democracy, whether it be representative or not, then no laws bind us together and even killing the wealthy would be valid. If we do not get to have a say in the laws then there is no law, that is the essence of the social contract. When it was violated sufficiently in France, bad things happened and a true populist dictator was born. Napoleon.

The wealthy and powerful are scared of democracy, they were scared of the Tea Party, they were scared of the Occupy Movement, they are even more scared of Sanders and Trump as they view it as an effective use of majority rule (democracy) against their elitist control.

Thursday Franken is supposed to talk to the media. The media has been claiming that it is to announce his resignation; but, his staff says that is not what it is about. Tonight, Wednesday, Franken is being approached by a myriad of forces and moneyed interests telling him to resign, promising him the world in exchange for his reputation. That is how these things work.

The public discussion is always a trick, it is always a pre determined narrative to lead you to a conclusion. Always choose democracy and free discussion or you have neither.

Fake News Jubilation

For those of us old enough to remember when Watergate was the top story and Richard Nixon had to resign from office, we remember it as a sad time.

If you go to 2:07:32 into the video, you will see the initial reaction to Nixon's resignation. They did not show any joy or jubilation. Dan Rather said, "There is no joy in this for anyone. No decent thinking American can take any joy out of this."

I want to contrast this with the disgusting display

They later addressed their mistake.

The spin they put on their corrections starts with saying that they discussed in a meeting not calling it "Fake News". Go to about 2:20 in for that statement.

The fact is that it was fake news and everybody knows that. The definition of the word fake is something that is not true or genuine. Intent is irrelevant. Lies require intent, fake does not. My long time readers and those who know me, know that I am a Socialist. I do not support the Democratic or Republican corporate parties. We have a dishonest media and that is truly saddening.

Sexual Harrassment and the Media Hypocrisy

Matt Lauer of NBC got fired today. He was fired for sexual harassment. The women working at NBC were heart broken and talked about how he was their friend. The network has also claimed that this is the first time they heard of it and that they had never heard any complaints in 20 years. At the same time, they said that they are under new management that wasn't there when it was going on. Hmmm, then how can they say there were no complaints if they were not there?

Watch the video, watch how they talk about what a wonderful man he was. Watch how they talk about how they talk about forgiveness. Watch the love and concern for him and his family. Now go and look at how they described Moore and Trump's mere talking about pXXXy.  Hypocrites. Not because they are on the left, no far from it. Because they believe they are better than the rest of us. Look at how they have discussed Trump's voters.

I was watching a guy today named Tim Black. I get tired of his putting things into race; but, he makes some good points sometimes. YouTube - Tim Black - Matt Lauer, Trump = Money, Bernie vs Cruz, Conyers' Demise #CWTB.  Go to 21:56 in.  He eventually discusses how all the people being accused of sexual harassment are rich and powerful, that you don't see it as much in the working class or even business class anymore. You don't. If you are just a working person, they would have fired you. Most businesses are so super fixated on a fear of being sued for sexual harassment that they put a stop to it in the 1990s. I know, I was working then and each year had to take a class on sexual harassment even though I also gave the classes over the years. If you live from paycheck to paycheck you cannot afford to get fired for this stuff.

I have stated before that I have only been with one woman in my life. During my career I probably supervised more women than men. Actually, I am sure I did. I have promoted many women, more than I remember. Even after my divorce I never made sexual advances on the women I worked with. I think someone tried to accuse me of being a misogynist once; but, they got laughed at by the women who worked with me. After the divorce, when I was dating, I only dated women that had nothing to do with my industry. I actually met a woman at work who was very attracted to me and I found intriguing; but, I ran away. She was not in my industry but regularly dealt with other departments.

The "in crowd", the media, government and business elites that socialize with themselves look down on you. They believe you are crass, stupid, afraid of new things and bigoted in everyway possible. They see themselves as better, smarter and more caring than the average person. They believe that if not for them telling you to help people, you would not. They do not understand that most charity comes from the poor and middle class.

Fox News - Anti-Trump MSNBC host Joy Reid thinks rural Americans are 'core threat' to democracy.

If you don't understand that you are in the middle of a class war, then you are just not paying attention. It is not left versus right, it is not black versus white, it IS rich versus poor. When Joy Reid talk about rural America, do you think she didn't know that a large percentage of blacks live in rural areas? Do you believe she is unaware of all the Mexicans working on farms in rural America? She included them in her claim, if you are rural, you are bad.

UPDATE:

I have to add something to this. You know, the people that die fighting for this country are not the New Yorkers or coastal elites. It is the middle and working class that die in our wars, that fight our wars and live with those memories. When people like Joy Reid or Hillary or W or Colbert or the others that believe the middle class and working class are xenophobes, homophobes, racist and sexist, do you think any of them volunteer to fight for this country. As they support wars in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and all the other countries our people fight and die in. Do you think any of them would even consider jointing the military. How bout Miley Cyrus, think she is going to join?

Watch the media and how they talk about Trump and North Korea. They call him war monger for talking about attacking North Korea. I would be happier if we had attacked North Korea than our having attacked Iraq over weapons it did not have when we know what North Korea does to it's own people. Libya and Iraq stopped exporting terrorism decades ago while North Korea lobs missiles over Japan.

A bit of history. Rome fell because nobody would fight for it. The well to do, wouldn't fight because they lack any character and are opportunists. The middle class and the poor wouldn't fight because they did not share in the success and were despised by their leaders. This is just history. As George Carlin said, "There is a big club and you and I aren't in it". A good shepherd loves the sheep, a bad shepherd sees them as a commodity only.

Newer Stuff

The Atlantic - What America Is Losing as Its Small Towns Struggle.

Reuters - London introduces vehicle pollution levy in new blow to diesel. Let's just start by limiting where you can take your gas vehicle.

GreenCarReports - Pollution Perspective: One Giant Cargo Ship Emits As Much As 50 MILLION Cars.

The Mercury News - Trump tightens H-1B visa rules: What you need to know.  The believe the horrible thing is that Silicon Valley might have to hire Americans.

MSN - Newsweek - The Universe Should Not Actually Exist, Scientists Say. Does believing that the universe is real therefore make you a science denier?

Happy Rambling Thanksgiving

I made an amazing lasagna for thanksgiving. I used parts of different recipes from all kinds of really good chefs, including the Bolognese that Gordon Ramsey makes with only minor differences. After assembling, I put it in the fridge and started watching some shows on the computer. I also watched some things on YouTube. I came across a channel called, "Cheap Charlie Chronicles' about a guy who lives in Thailand. He seems preoccupied with finding a Thai girlfriend.

In the early 1980s I went to college and had a friend from Thailand, a wealthy friend. He lived in a luxury condo in Boston and was known to blow over $10,000 in a day in Vegas. I was living on a couple of dollars a day. One break he said I should come with him to Thailand. I told him I couldn't afford it. I don't remember the exact dollar amount and this would have been in about 1981; but, he said for maybe $5 a day, I could get a room that came with a woman who would cook, clean and have sex with me. The minimum wage in 1981 was about $3 an hour in the United States and I made more than minimum wage when I was working. Heck, in 1978 I made $8 an hour doing woodworking and I was only 18. I did not go to Thailand and never even really took it seriously.

I started watching more videos to see what it was like in Thailand today. Today you can live in Thailand for $1,000 a month. I don't know what the woman and her making the food would cost. Prostitutes, even live in ones are cheap in Thailand. Thailand used to be and may still be where Japanese men go for sex tours. It is a popular destination for Europeans and Americans because it is inexpensive and you can get anything you want; but, jail for drugs is long and harrowing.

While I watched the videos of Thailand, I was amazed at how little things had changed. I'm thankful I was born here.

Rumors and Unverified Claims

The Pimpernel is cautious about what he writes. I have been given names over the years of people accused of being involved in the murder of Pastor Carol Daniels, I don't publish accusations. I have approached on more than one occasion by people who have wanted speculation regarding specific people, I don't give them. I do not post on Facebook or Twitter. I also do not make a penny from this blog, nor do I advertise it or ask anyone else to. People are free to link to anything I post and they are free to comment anonymously; but, if they accuse someone of a crime that the person has not been charged with, I will not post their comment. I do not wish to be accused of defamation.

The internet is a wonderful thing in many ways and problematical in others. The internet is still young. The issue of what the internet will become is an important one as speech on the internet is not protected in the same way that mail is, nothing you say on the internet ever leaves, it is all recorded and kept. At the same time, anyone can express their beliefs using this tool.

The internet has allowed people in repressive countries to revolt, to band together to call out tyranny. It has also been used to post naked pictures of people's exes without their permission. It can be used to make false claims against enemies. It can be used to publicly publish the most vile lies against others, anonymously. I allow people to publish anonymously comments; but, I do not allow them to publish unverifiable accusations of crime.

What limits should there be on what you can use the internet to accuse people of? I would say none, I don't believe in "prior restraint", I don't believe in stopping free speech. I am however okay with using existing law, like libel and slander or criminal conspiracy against people even if it was done over the internet.

I would ask others to be cautious of what they post, don't say people are guilty of crimes until convicted. It is okay to ask if what they did is a crime; but, it is for judges and juries to determine guilt and innocence. It is okay for the President to say something should be investigated, it is not okay for him to say someone is guilty prior to them being found so in a court of law. It is okay to say the President should be investigated, it is not okay to say he sexually harassed without it being found so. It is okay to repeat what others have said about themselves; but, one must be careful. It is okay to say that someone accused someone else of a crime; but, it is not okay to say they are guilty and take sides. I do not assume that someone is guilty of sex crimes until convicted.

We have reached a point where everyone is being accused of sex crimes. I don't know who is guilty; but, I can comment on what they have said about it. I can post the picture of Al Franken putting his hands on a sleeping woman's breasts. Res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself).

Why do I bother writing all this. It is a warning to my readers to think about what they post on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and any other social site. The internet provides the opportunity to slander people and cost them their jobs, this will not last long, don't be guilty of it.