Rick Kinnaird

Saturday June 12. 2021

Okay, let’s see. Where to begin? 

The Justice Department has just been revealed in 2017 it began collecting the phone records of Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and other politicians and reporters. Then the companies that were forced to give up these records (noteably Apple and Microsoft) were sworn to secrecy. This secrecy thing was renewed every year Trump was in office.

Let’s make sure we all have the proper context, 2017 was before Trump’s first impeachment. He had just been elected to office. Jeff Sessions was Attorney General. This practice continued under Barr. Why? What was Trump trying to do? 

He was trying to do his Nixonian best to stay in office by getting something on people he saw as his enemies. This is who he is.

Neither Barr nor Sessions say they knew anything about this. Yeah. Right.

How did we find out?

The New York Times published an article about it.

How did the current Attorney General learn? Apparently, from reading the paper.

I think this calls for a third impeachment. 

Now let’s move along. There is a concerted effort up and down the line to attack election officials and their families. This comes from Trump supporters. Who is using them? Ah, that is the question. I’ll answer it. The same Fascist elements that supported Franco in his war against the democratically elected government of Spain. That would be the people behind Texaco Oil for instance. Who is that you might ask? Why it is none other than Charlie Koch’s father or was it his grandfather? Listen, the game hasn’t changed. It’s the same game, the same tune. The same crap – only super charged by Trump, Q, Fox and the ilk. 

Remember “trickle down economics”? Yeah, someone will get paid to clean out the horse stalls and serve them drinks on their yachts, but after that? Forget it. Better to call it “Pissed on Economics.”

Martin Luther King spoke about the Filibuster. It hasn’t changed. It’s the same argument today as it was 50 – 60 years ago.

Then there is the phony audit in Arizona. Which is now trying to be exported to other states. What? These idiots aren’t doing anything. Yet, other Republican held state legislatures want the same treatment. Listen, I’ll do that audit for half the price. I’ll dress people in various colored t-shirts, bring in black lights, and look for folds and bamboo. Then what? Then nothing. We’ll go home.

Friday June 11, 2021

Kat Robichaud is going to be releasing a new video on June 25 called “Charade.” I can’t tell you much about it until then, but because I am one of the super cool insiders (Yeah, right.) I know the chorus, (or is it the bridge?) which is the line “None of this is real.” I hope I don’t get in trouble for this Big Reveal before the release.

The other is the term “catfishing” which I had never heard before until I read about the Virginia Tech football player who is charged with second degree murder. Catfishing refers to pretending to be something you are not, especially in romantic or sexual contexts. (I think I’ve got that right.) Apparently, the football player went to an app (Tinder?) and was looking for a sexual experience and found it. However, the person with who  he had it turned out to be a guy and not a girl as he had supposed. This he discovered on their second “date,” and he was pissed and beat the crap out of the guy who died.

So the morale of the stories here is what? If you gonna play expect to die? I dunno.

This brings me to what I really want to talk about. The shocking reveal that CNN got wrong (lied?) to all of us including my right wing friends and their media folks. Yeah. Apparently, the reason for the clearing of Lafayette Square last year was not so the two time impeached president could stroll across the street to hold a bible upside down for a photo op. No, it was because a contractor wanted to build a fence to protect the White House. 

So if this is correct, we are asked to believe (no verily I say “told”) that a contractor has the authority and wherewithal to summon a police force to clear an area with flash grenades and teargas so he can build a fence.

I was going to entitle this screed: “A Lie, A Con, Gaslighting: Yes? No!”

But those things require for someone to be in some way devious or subtle or dishonest – in some way they want you to believe something that is not true. They may do this by word or deed.

In the case of Trump there really is little subtlety. It’s just endless repetition of the same crap, the same lie. And why not? It worked for Hitler and it seems to work for Satan as well.

There has been no end to his lies. Thirty thousand while in office and plenty before he ever went in. I like the one about the slot machines not working in his casino on opening night. He claimed it was overuse. It wasn’t. Something was screwed up in their works. Or the big lie bout him being a great businessman when in fact he was losing close to a billion dollars a year. For four years in a row! This should get him into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Okay, I’m going to go with it. I am willing to believe that The President of the United States, The Attorney General of The United States, and The Joint Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of The Untied States of America did not call for a group of peaceful protestors to be removed from Lafayette Park opposite the White House with force including tear gas and flash bomb grenades, but instead it was some no-name contractor who was tasked at that moment, late in the afternoon, to put up a fence to protect said White House. Not only that but remember all the press were called to the South Lawn, out of view of Lafayette Square and whatever chaos might ensue, because there was going to be a press conference. This was all just coincidence. Just like the fact that the head of the Joint Chiefs was in battle fatigues, something I have never seen before, because he had not had time to change, and yet pictures were taken of him surveying the park like it was a military operation in Afghanistan. Yeah. What’s not to believe?

I want that contractor’s name. I got some work for him.

Meanwhile, there is stiff competition for the dumbest person in Congress. No? No. Louie has taken a commanding lead with an ask that somebody (NASA?) change the orbits of the Earth and the Moon. For some reason, I forget.

But Louie has also been shown to ask hard hitting Jim Jordan type questions. He asked  the FBI Director if there was information about an attack on the Capitol before January 6th. Louie did some quick math and came up with an earlier date, ie January 5th! I think that shows not only the intellectual capacity of Louie but of his ability to ask hard hitting questions. Don’t you think? Can I get a “yes”? How about an “Amen”? (I’m doing a project for my fill-in-the-blank to show them how far a lie can travel around the world faster than the truth…)

Director Wray said it was more complex (complicated?) than that. Yeah. 

Okay. A field office sent up a report that said there might be trouble on the 6th. Apparently, they were looking at the news, looking at the internet, listening to the president – and no one in Washington was.

It’s complicated. 

Yeah. Ya know. We had intel that Pearl Harbor was going to be bombed before it was.

We also had intel before 9/11 that shady Arab characters were learning to fly planes but not land them.

It’s complicated.

Saturday June 5, 2021

If I have any “gift” it is that of connecting disparate pieces of information. Some call me a Renaissance Man, (never Mannerist, I wonder why? ) Whatever you wish to call it I have a wide range of interests and as a young man I remember reading about Roger Bacon who wanted “to take all knowledge for his province.” I always liked that idea and wanted to do the same. 

So today we set sail for enchanted lands and twisted ideas …

But first – Dr. Fauci.

Rachel did an interview with Dr. Fauci last night. She led up to the conversation by pointing out that it was Fauci in the 1980s when young gay men were dying from AIDS and demanding to be involved in the experiments of NIH and the Federal Government that he, Fauci, led the scientific community to do so. Not only did he get AIDS activists on the boards and participating in the experiments but he also got his fellow scientists to attend the AIDS activists’ meetings and listen to their concerns. Fauci took the brunt of the activists’ protests and complaints.

Dr. Fauci is once again being attacked, this time on Fox News and by Former President Trump. It’s not clear to me, nor to Rachel, what their compliant specifically is. There seems to be a belief that he lied. About what and for what reason is unclear. (Of course it is unclear because he didn’t lie, but I digress.) 

Fauci made a very interesting point comparing the two times. In the case of the activists he said they believed in science and wanted to be part of it. In the case of Trump and Fox News they have no interest in science. Excuse me, he was more specific, they don’t believe in science. ( Which is another way of saying they don’t believe in truth, but I digress again. ) He pointed out that the current attacks are not about the science and wanting to make it better or be a part of it. It is an attack on him and a searching for some hidden motive to not be truthful. 

The discussion turned to where did the Covid virus originate. It is not known. It is unclear, but there is no evidence, nor reason to believe that anyone was weaponizing a natural phenomena and that it accidentally escaped from a lab. 

He also pointed out that in January of 2020 was when his lab started hearing about the virus and they started working to understand it. Due to the money put into basic R&D in this area and due to their efforts and that of Operation Warp Speed they were able to have a vaccine by December. He talked about the mRNA techniques that helped to make this possible and that those techniques could in turn be used to develop even better ways to fight AIDS.

So to sum up. A bunch of numb nuts on Fox News and the chief numb nut are accusing a man who has spent his whole life trying to improve our ability to fight deadly pandemic diseases. They are accusing him of harboring some hidden agenda.

It seems to be a trend.

For instance the fake counting of ballots in Arizona continues and now some idiot Republican legislators in Pennsylvania are hoping to do the same thing in their state. 

I am working on the quantum physics book and trying to understand Bell’s Theorem. Bell and Bohr were both trying to tell Einstein that he was asking the wrong question(s).

Interesting. Asking the wrong question.

Speaking of which Don McGahn finally got to testify to a Congressional committee, under oath. Fortunately, Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz were there to represent the numb nut contingent. Jim “I’ve never introduced a piece of legislation” Jordan and Matt “she was a mature 17” Gaetz can be counted on to do the political equivalent of Beavis and Butthead go to Washington.

For some reason Rachel brought up topics like: statute of limitations, evidence listed in the Mueller report of potential crimes by Donald Trump, and the like.

Let me remind the audience that the crimes of Donald Trump are not subtle. They are not complicated. They are typically sited as “simple fraud.” His political malfeasances are similar. There is nothing subtle or hard to understand. In the Muller Report for instance, it outlines ten instances of a crime. To my understanding in criminal statute there are certain specific things one needs to do to be found to have committed a crime. Those things are listed in the statute. In the Mueller Report ten instances are listed. In at least four of the ten Donald J. Trump met everyone of the elements required to be charged with a crime. In other words, a prosecutor has nothing more to do than cut and paste from the Mueller Report.

With McGahn we should learn what he said in seven days. That was the deal on releasing his testimony. His testimony will outline even more serious stuff. You know, like Obstruction of Justice, malfeasance in office and stuff like that.

In a “funny” sidebar, Eric Swalwell has been trying to bring charges against Mo Brooks. You know Mo, the guy who stood up at the Trump Rally and told the crowd to storm the place where he works, The Capital. Mo was brave then but has stayed remarkably out of the lime light now. So much so, that Swalwell hired a private investigator to find him and serve him. What a big change from Brooks accusing Swalwell of cavorting with a Chinese spy! (Swalwell wasn’t. Brooks and others on the right are grasping at straws.)

This brings me to Dana Lamb and his book “Enchanted Vagabonds.” The 1930s journey down the western coast of Mexico to Panama in a handbuilt kayak/canoe/sailboat. The description of his adventures with his bride Ginger are so harrowing that it is hard to believe, but there is nothing in what I have read that leads me to think any is made up. 

Less than one hundred years ago there were Indians living in remote places along that coast. If you look at pictures now there are kite boarders and surfers along the beaches.

Lamb describes being mad with malaria. He and Ginger barely made it to an Indian village that for two months took care of them. They feed them and sent for someone who spoke perfect English who brought them more quinine (the cure for malaria at the time.) He also spoke of being given a native mixture to drink. It tasted god awful, but was more effective than the quinine, according to his account. 

He spoke of how an old woman sat outside their abode all night singing a low droning song. When he asked why, he was told so that the song would help them think about that sound and not let negative thoughts enter. 

He spoke of the way that the natives lived. That often they had an older relative who lived with them. That all the older people lived with someone, even if their own family had died. The old were taken in and cared for.

He spoke of transvestites. He said they could wear makeup and jewelry and whatever else but underneath they had to wear the clothes associated with their sex. (Ie Blue jeans for men. But blouses of a women up top were okay.) The transvestites worked with the women and were welcomed because their strength made carrying of water and such physically demanding chores easier on all.

He spoke of coming to San Cruz, which had been the western railhead for transporting goods across the from one ocean to another and how the town had been largely abandoned after the Panama Canal was built. Not that it couldn’t have survived, but there was so much theft and graft and crime that as soon as shippers didn’t need to stop there they didn’t.

The Lambs experience in San Cruz was so bad that they left before spending the night. There was a local gang of boys who kept throwing sand in their attempts to cook and they were pelted with rocks.

This was civilization.

Speaking of which, Lamb went int some detail about how the natives resented the white man their his puffed out sense of superiority. He mentioned how the natives had many medicines and cures, which he was sure a pharmacologist would be interested in.

It was about this time in the States that the notion that a five micron particle could not travel more than six feet before dropping out of the air. It was this mistaken notion that Fauci and others had mouthed in the halls of medicine after all these decades, before being disproven.

The natives Lamb went on valued attributes and honorable behavior, not gold like the white men did.

This is a similar story by Tim Cahill in his book “Please Pass the Butterworms.” In it he recounts giving a ride to a man in New Guinea. Clothed only in a penis shield, this man invited Cahill into his home where they ate and sang songs and were warm and in good company. Cahill compared this to the young drunks back in the town he had just left.

Which was more civilized?

Friday June 4, 2021

Turns out our Postmaster General, aside from trying to destroy the Post Office, doesn’t seem to be good at following the law. Aw – too bad. He may spend time in prison. He got irate when a Congressman asked him questions. He says he knows the law and he resents being asked questions that ask about his practices of raising money for political candidates. It’s similar to what Spiro Agnew did. It’s what’s called a kickback scheme. In this one De Joy gave people bonuses with the understanding that they’d either give him the money or they’d contribute to a political campaign. Either way it’s illegal. Maybe, he threw in a little intimidation like, “If you want to keep your job.” Or maybe it was “If you know what’s good for you.”?

Gee whiz, would he have to run the Post Office from his jail cell? So many questions.

Then there’s Anthony Fauci’s emails. He gets like 1,000 a day. The headlines were screaming that he hadn’t advised people way back when to wear masks. Yeah, that’s right. Because the scientific establishment got some basic physics about viruses wrong. They’ve been wrong since the 1930s. That was what, when Anthony was ten years old? Sorry, ten years before he was born.

Trump Jr. is doing birthday greetings for $500 a pop. Some wonder why? I’ll tell you why. He needs the money. I’m thinking I’d pay five hundred to hear him say terrible things about his father. Something like, “Hi, this is Donald Trump Jr. and my dad is a sleaze ball.” I think he’d do it for 500 clams.

Wednesday June 2, 2021

The other day a fellow posted in the neighborhood listserv comments relating to the economy.

Some tried to tell him that was not the place. His response, “Why not?”

Geez, because it’s a place to post about lost dogs, and where to find a “reasonable” electrician, carpenter or plumber. (Why do they always ask for “reasonable”? Why not outrageous?)

Well, in response to his economic questions I will respond here.

He made two points: 

1 – Why don’t we have a balanced budget?

2 – People need to stop getting handouts and get a job. 

Okay, I’m simplifying his comments, but that’s the gist of it. Many agreed with him.

Both cases miss the point. They are both based on fundamental misunderstandings. The first on economics. The second on economics, politics, and social.

Let’s go with the balanced budget question. Why don’t we have a balanced budget? Well, sometimes we do, normally when Democrats are in power, and sometimes we don’t – always when Republicans are in power because they always have an excuse why they don’t balance the budget and then howl and scream when the Dems don’t balance it. But it goes deeper than that.

Let me start with a thought experiment. Let’s say we pass a law saying we need a balanced budget every year. Then let’s say something like World War II happens. We need to go into overdrive to make lots of bullets, tanks, and airplanes. But we can’t because it will ruin the budget. Sorry, no bullets for you! 

Now, you may also say, “Yeah, well that’s different and ‘It won’t happen here’ “ but you’d be incorrect because it already happened here.

Have you seen the picture of the boat loaded with Jewish people fleeing the Nazis? They were looking for asylum. They weren’t allowed entrance into the U.S. because back in the 1920s we had passed a law that only allowed so many from those countries into ours. What happened? They had to go back to Europe and be slaughtered by the Nazis. Yup, We had laws. 

Imagine if we had a balanced budget law and something like WWII came up. What are we going to do break the law or not make bullets? 

The point is that a balanced budget makes sense for a household but not necessarily for a Federal government. In fact, it could be detrimental as is the case of WWII.

The Federal government is different than your household budget. They also have another trick up their sleeve. They can make money by printing it.

Now, you may say that’s not a good idea – Inflation! 

And you’d be right – kind of.

Most economists agreed that a slightly inflationary economy can be a good thing. The trick is to not go up too fast or too much. In other words you want to be able to pay off some of your debt via inflation but not have it rise so fast that those on a fixed income can’t pay their bills. 

Let’s move on to the second point. People need to get a job. They shouldn’t be getting a handout from the government. They need to work!

Okay. Fair enough. But is that the problem? Do people not want to work? Would they rather get a handout from the government? Interesting question. I’m sure there are folks who would rather watch TV all day and not do anything. In any system you implement there will always be exceptions; things you didn’t count on, didn’t expect, and show the opposite is true. There are also false claims too. Remember Ronald Reagan and his concern about “Welfare Queens”? You might have been able to find a few fat black women with five kids living in a double wide, but the reality was it was mainly white folks in rural America. And were they really not willing to work, or was there no work to be had?

Well then the solution is they should go somewhere else and find another job, right? Remember Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck? In that novel he described people picking fruit. They got handbills saying there were better paying jobs in another place. They went there and discovered that no, it wasn’t true. The hand bills had been distributed to make sure that they had plenty of workers and then could force people to accept a lower paying wage.

What are you going to do if you live in a small town and there’s really only one place to work? What if they say they are only going to pay so much and you can’t live on that? You move. To where? Another town with another single industry. Same deal. How many times you gonna move? What if it’s the suburbs and Walmart? Same problem. 

Currently, the restaurant industry is experiencing a problem finding help. Why? Can you live on $2.13 an hour? That’s what they pay. Plus tips. Problem is people aren’t tipping for take out.

What’s the solution?

The rules of the game need to change. How do you do that? You even the playing field. A single worker can’t effect change with a big company. Either they need the ability to strike (ie strong unions) or the government needs to change the laws. Maybe that’s increasing the minimum wage, not letting goods made in countries with cheaper labor into the country, or here’s a idea that many people have a problem with but I’ll ask you in the form of a question, “What’s the quickest way out of poverty?”

I’ll put that another way. “If poverty is defined as having no money, what would be a solution to poverty be?”

If you said, “To have money.” You’d be correct. Does it matter how you got the money? Not really. So one way to eliminate poverty is to give people money. If that’s the solution the only question is, “How do you do that?”

I’ll leave it there for now.

Have a day: great, nice, or otherwise.