Month: December 2021

A younger friend and I try to go out to breakfast about once a month or so. While I usually order the “big breakfast” with eggs, sausage, potatoes, and toast, my friend typically will get a bagel. We each have coffee, and for years have always gotten separate checks.

Last week we again met for breakfast, but whereas I ordered my usual “big breakfast,” my friend surprisingly told the waitress that he also wanted the “big breakfast,” with his eggs scrambled.

After we finished, our separate checks came. When my buddy leaned over and glanced at my check, he said, “How come your check total is less than mine? We each had the same thing except that your eggs were ‘over-easy’ and mine were ‘scrambled’.”

To that I responded, “Because I am 65, actually 66, I get the senior discount.”

While my friend’s expression conveyed that he was not happy, he furrowed his brow as if in deep thought, and said, “I want to be 65!”

He then called our waitress over, and told her that he also wanted the senior discount. Because my friend is only around fifty, she asked to look at his driver’s license. At this point he said, “It doesn’t matter what my license says. These days it apparently doesn’t matter to some what their driver’s license or their birth certificate says. As of right now, I am changing my age. It’s my right to choose what age I am.”

The waitress was clearly flummoxed, and called her boss over. “This guy says he is over sixty-five and clearly he isn’t. He doesn’t act like he’s sixty-five. He doesn’t look like he is sixty-five, and moreover I’ll bet that his license will not document that he is sixty-five.”

The boss then said to my friend, “¿Tu respuesta?”

My friend paused, but only momentarily, “This is America. It’s my right to choose what age I want to be. On some days I might feel much older than I did the day before. Certainly, if teenagers and young adults can choose to be whatever gender they want, then certainly I can choose what age I want to be. At least I have already reached the age of reason, and since there are no pills, shots, or surgery, as of right now … I am sixty-five. Comprende?

12/20/21

California Contrarian

Again for a Sunday piece, a man who is a Good Samaritan in the true sense of the word … Jim Finch.

From the Daily Kos:

In hard-hit Kentucky, one man, Jim Finch, is being hailed for stepping up in a major way to aid families during this tough time. He packed a truckload of food and his grill and took it to Mayfield, KY to help the stricken townspeople at least have food and water.

“I know they don’t have electricity. No restaurants. No running water. I just figured I would do what I could do. So I showed up with some food and some water.”

-Jim Finch, December 13th, 2021

When asked if he had a restaurant. He shook his head, “it just needed to be done,” he said. In fact, he does not have a restaurant.  He was born in Paducah, KY and appears to be in his late 30’s or early 40’s. From his town of Carrsville, he brought grab n’ go food, simple stuff as he calls it to help feed a town with no public services due to the monstrous tornado.

The world would be a better place if there were more like him. It just needed to be done, and he did it!

God bless Jim Finch. 

Many years back my wife and I liked to watch American Idol. It was singing talent show, and it produced many good singers. After American Idol ran its course we next started to watch The Voice. One of the interesting things about this show was that in the beginning all of the judges initially sat with their backs to the contestants. Presumably this was so that the appearance of the potential contestant did not influence the determination by the judges as to whether or not a singer was accepted as a final contestant. It didn’t matter if the individual was short or tall, young or old, or fat or skinny … the only thing that mattered was the quality of his/her voice.

Well it seems to me that perhaps the justice system (at least in Milwaukee County)  could make use of a similar format when deciding on bail for someone accused of a crime. Bail or no bail? How much ?

The topic of cash bail policies has come into the spotlight recently after 39-year-old Darrell Brooks Jr. allegedly plowed through a crowd of innocent people attending a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six people, including an 8-year-old boy, and injuring dozens more.

Mr. Brooks was out on bail  … an amazingly low bail.

Now this is not the first time that Mr. Brooks has been the recipient of ridiculously low bail. Why is that? Could it be that Mr. Darrell Brooks Jr. was the recipient of such a low bail amount because he is black? No judge or District Attorney would ever dare to give a white person such a ridiculously low bail. Maybe it would be best, at least in Milwaukee County, to have both the judge and the District Attorney sit with their backs to the defendant when determining the bail. This way, just as on The Voice, the appearance of the defendant would not be a factor in determining his/her bail. Perhaps if the modus operandi of The Voice had been followed weeks ago, six Waukesha parade attendees would still be alive!

12/18/21

Different than usual for this site, most of what follows is adapted from a talk delivered at Hillsdale College on September 20, 2021, during a Center for Constructive Alternatives conference on “Critical American Elections.”

Of course, I have my opinion on voter integrity, the fairness of elections, and the thievery that took place in the election of 2020. Nonetheless, I found what is contained in the following excerpts to be especially enlightening. (FYI, these excerpts will be in quotes to avoid any confusion with my salient comments.)

“Sixteen years ago, in 2005, the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform issued a report that proposed a uniform system of requiring a photo ID in order to vote in U.S. elections. The report also pointed out that widespread absentee voting makes vote fraud more likely. Voter files contain ineligible, duplicate, fictional, and deceased voters, a fact easily exploited using absentee ballots to commit fraud. Citizens who vote absentee are more susceptible to pressure and intimidation. And vote-buying schemes are far easier when citizens vote by mail.

“The Commission’s two ranking members were former President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, and former Secretary of State James Baker III, a Republican. Other Democrats on the Commission were former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and former Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton. It was a truly bipartisan commission that made what seemed at the time to be common sense proposals

“How things have changed. Some of the Commission’s members, Jimmy Carter among them, came out last year to disavow the Commission’s work. And despite surveys showing that Americans overwhelmingly support measures to ensure election integrity—a recent Rasmussen survey found that 80 percent of Americans support a voter ID requirement—Democratic leaders across the board oppose such measures in the strongest terms. 

“For instance, President Biden speaking recently in Philadelphia,

condemned the idea of voter IDs. Sadly but predicably, he suggested that requiring voter IDs would mean returning people to slavery.”

OMG! Hard as I try, I do not get Biden’s analogy, but as has become commonplace for Democrats … when there is no reasonable argument for their position, they always pull out the race card!

How do other democratic countries deal with this issue?

“Of the 47 countries in Europe today, 46 of them currently require government-issued photo IDs to vote. The odd man out is the United Kingdom, in which Northern Ireland and many localities require voter IDs, but the requirement is not nationwide. The British Parliament, however, is considering a nationwide requirement, so very soon all 47 European countries will likely have adopted this common-sense policy.

“When it comes to absentee voting, we Americans are often shocked to learn that 35 of the 47 European countries—including France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden—don’t allow absentee voting for citizens living in country. Another ten European countries—including England, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, and Spain—allow absentee voting, but require voters to show up in person and present a photo ID to pick up their ballots.

“How about our neighbors, Canada and Mexico? Canada requires a photo ID to vote. If a voter shows up at the polls without an ID, he is allowed to vote only if he declares who he is in writing and if there is someone working at the polling station who can personally verify his identity. 

“Mexico recently instituted strict reforms. Voters must present a biometric ID—an ID with not only a photo, but also a thumb print. Voters also have indelible ink applied to their thumbs, preventing them from voting more than once. And absentee voting is prohibited, even for people living outside the country.”

This last paragraph should be read twice, especially in light of the fact that in Mexico the penalty for voter fraud is quite substantial.

The Democrats are implying, (although not actually coming right out and saying) that many of those that they are championing for are basically too dumb or too disinterested to vote. To that I say … if Mexico can require photo I.D.s and thumbprints to vote, tell me again the logical reason that the USA cannot do the same.

“Those who oppose election integrity reform here in the U.S. often condemn it as a means of “voter suppression.” But in Mexico, the percent of people voting rose from 59 percent before the reforms to 68 percent after. It turned out that Mexicans were more, not less, likely to vote when they had confidence that their votes mattered.”

What about mail-in voting?

I think that mail-in voting is akin to the Wizard of Oz hiding behind a curtain, and opposition to mail-in voting is like Toto pulling back the curtain to reveal the chicanery. 

“H.R. 1, the radical bill Democratic Party leaders have been pushing to adopt this year, would prohibit states from requiring voter ID and require states to allow permanent mail-in voting. And mail-in voting, I hardly need to point out, is even worse, in terms of vote fraud, than absentee voting.”

To be clear in my mind everything that the Democrats propose ‘to insure that everyone has their vote counted’ is just another way of them finagling a way to cancel out my vote with a fraudulent vote.

The talk from Hillsdale College closed with the following:

“Those opposing common sense measures to ensure integrity in U.S. elections—measures such as those recommended by the bipartisan Carter-Baker Commission in 2005—are not motivated by a concern for democracy, but by partisan interests.” 

BTW: I did not need Hillsdale College to tell me that!

www.californiacontrarian.com

12/17/21

From the Washington Examiner:

“The Biden administration has failed to meet a congressionally imposed requirement that it share a breakdown of where the Afghanistan evacuation stands, including a detailed listing of whom it airlifted out of Kabul, according to a senior Senate Republican.”

The rumored response from the Biden administration, “Oops … We Forgot!”

Continuing from the Washington Examiner:

“The continuing resolution, passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden on Sept. 30, included language that mandated the Biden administration provide by Nov. 29 details of Operation Allies Welcome, the government’s ongoing evacuation and resettlement initiative. 

A senior lawmaker on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee told the Washington Examiner that they have not received any information from the government as of 12/6/21, one week past the deadline.”

The rumored response from DHS, “Oops, we’ve been pretty busy dealing with Putin, the upcoming China Olympics, Jussie Smollett walk-back comments, and other things.”

H.R. 5305, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act , requires that the DHS secretary submit a written report 60 days after the enacted date that breaks down how many Afghans are in the country. 

The rumored response from the DHS Secretary, “Oops, we thought that you guys were just kidding. We will need another couple of months.”

Still from the Washington Examiner:

“Of the 82,000 U.S. arrivals, 4,920 were U.S. citizens, 3,280 were lawful permanent residents, and the remaining 90%, or 73,800, were Afghan nationals. DHS did not further break down this group.”

The rumored last communication, ”Oops, that’s a lot of people. No way can you expect us to reliably categorize that many people.”

Finally, from the Washington Examiner:

“The DHS did not respond to a request for comment” … and this is no rumor.

12/16/21

www.californiacontrarian.com

The background from Blaze News:

A Kathleen Davies, a 63-year-old northern Virginia woman, became severely ill with COVID in October, and she has been on a ventilator since Nov. 3.

Davies was prescribed ivermectin by her family doctor, but she could not complete her regime upon being admitted to the Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton. That’s because the northern Virginia hospital refused to administer the drug, “citing medical, legal and practical concerns,” the Fauquier Times reported. This is the beginning of the INSANITY!

Davies’ son, Christopher — who works at the hospital as a radiologist technician — urged the hospital to administer the drug as his mother’s health declined and all other medical treatments had been exhausted. But the hospital continued to refuse.

(Let’s first look at this hospital’s intractable stubbornness. Is Fauquier Hospital looking out for the best interests of a very sick patient or are they playing their callow version of “it’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to?”

First off, Ivermectin had already been started. The adult levelheaded approach here would have been to continue the treatment that Kathleen Davies had already started prior to her admission. A treatment that had been begun by her outpatient physician. If the patient was going to have some disastrous anaphylactic reaction to Ivermectin, she would have already had it. INSANITY!)

After over a month in the hospital on a ventilator, finally on Dec. 6, the Davies family took legal action to compel Fauquier Hospital to administer ivermectin. Just one day later, Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Jim Fisher agreed with the Davies family and ordered the hospital to administer the drug in compliance with the family’s wishes. Shockingly, the hospital ignored the order. INSANITY!

(Prior to this nonsense, I would have thought that the hospital and its patients would have similar goals for a variety of different reasons. But au contraire!)

“They believe it’s a fight between the rights of the hospital and the rights of citizens. They feel their rights trump her rights,” Christopher Davies told the Fauquier Times.

The hospital claimed because none of its doctors “believe Ivermectin is in Ms. Davies’s best interests and all have refused to prescribe” and because Kathleen’s doctor — Dr. Martha Maturi — did not have privileges to practice medicine at Fauquier Hospital, it could continue to ignore the court order. INSANITY!

(At this point, it appeared that this had become a matter of obstinateness on behalf of the hospital and its doctors. There were some unsubstantiated rumors that the chant, “the hell with the patient!” was heard in the hospital’s halls – supposedly coming from the ICU, from the Doctor’s Lounge, and the hospital administrators office?”

Again here there could been a relatively simple common sense solution … namely, give Dr. Maturi temporary privileges so that she could prescribe and if necessary give Ivermectin to her patient.)

But on Dec. 9, Fisher ruled that such a refusal policy is not state law and again ordered the hospital to permit the administration of the drug in compliance with the family’s wishes. Importantly, Fisher did not rule on the medical merits of ivermectin as effective treatment for COVID-19. But with all other treatment options exhausted, Fisher clearly sided with the family.

Still, the hospital refused to allow Maturi to administer ivermectin. And in a court filing on 12/13/21, the hospital began raising objections to Maturi’s medical qualifications and requested that she testify under oath.(At this point Fauquier hospital had clearly gone off its hinges!)

In a ruling on 12/13/21, Fisher held the Fauquier hospital in contempt of court, ordered the administration of ivermectin, and imposed daily $10,000 fines retroactive to Dec. 9.

Fisher held the hospital in contempt for “needlessly interposing requirements that stand in the way of the patient’s desired physician administering investigational drugs as part of the Health Care Decisions Act and the federal and state Right to Try Acts.”

Judge Fisher gave the hospital until 9 p.m. on 12/13, to administer ivermectin, or he would levy additional fines.

Kathleen Davies was given ivermectin at 8:45 p.m!!!(Now if it turns out that Ivermectin helps Kathleen Davies, good for the patient, and good for Ivermectin. If doesn’t help at this late stage of her illness, I can only wonder what might have been. Either way, my question would be …”was the falderal of all this ‘ Ivermectin I.C.U. INSANITY’ by the hospital really necessary?”)

12/15/21

www.californiacontrarian.com

On yahoo!news, I just read an article that was originally printed in The Telegraph (London) on 12/1/21. This particular article drew my attention because it suggests that a number of things being done to fight Covid could be “folly.”

The subject of the article, Dr. Elad Maor, now has the omicron variant of Covid. He is a forty-seven year old cardiologist from Israel who just returned home after a short trip to London where he attended a large medical conference (1250 attendees). From the info in The Telegraph, Dr. Maor arrived in London on 11/19, spent four nights at a hotel, attended the  medical conference for three days, and returned home on 11/23.

In his own words he wore a mask the entire time while in London, except while attending the medical meetings and while eating. He thinks he contracted the virus in London, and is suspicious that he picked up the virus because many of those in London were not wearing their masks properly.

What is interesting to me is that his stringent mask-wearing obviously did not protect him … ? folly #1.

Dr. Maor was triple vaccinated with Pfizer/BioNTech … two shots and a booster. Obviously the vaccine plus the booster did not protect him  from Covid … ? folly #2. (In fairness, since he is apparently feeling better, the vaccines possibly did prevent him from becoming seriously ill.)

The third possible Covid folly has to do with testing. Dr. Maor was tested on 11/20 in London. He was again tested before flying home, and he had a third negative test on arrival in Israel on 11/23. He subsequently felt ill on 11/27, and had a positive test that day. If indeed, he caught Covid while in London, how is it that his Covid test was negative both before his flight back home and again after he arrived in Tel Aviv?

Could it be that instead of his blaming his Covid on non-mask wearers on the London tube, that he actually contracted Covid after he returned home to Israel? If the latter were actually the case, then the ? follies would actually be pseudo-follies. I guess we will soon know if he actually contracted Covid while in London, as there could possibly be a lot of British cardiologists (60% of 1250) soon in quarantine!

12/14/21

As is seemingly happening more often than not, today, by serendipity, I read three articles that at first glance seem to have no relationship to each other. However, after mulling it over for a minute or so, it dawned on me that these days much of the news is connected by “woke-ness.” 

“Math Professors Outraged as California Seeks to Downgrade Math in the Name of Social Justice”

Anybody with half a brain should be able to realize the multiple downsides to this absurdity. In an attempt to make some kids feel better about themselves, the Democrats in California want to completely eliminate the more difficult and challenging high school math classes. This way California students, predominantly those sociologically disadvantaged will never succeed in STEM careers because they will not be prepared to handle the rigors of college math. Why do I single out “those sociologically disadvantaged?” Simple. The more affluent will move their kids from public schools to private schools, where those who want to be challenged, can be. Likewise, affluent kids who want to learn more advanced math can do so in extra after school to tutoring, e.g. Russian math.

“Chicago Public Schools Now Allow Boys to Use Girls Bathroom”

From RedState:

From now on, all kids in Chicago Public Schools can use the restroom that makes them most comfortable.

“On top of ensuring that each of our schools is a safe learning environment, we’re also taking steps to create more inclusive and supportive schools. One change that will be implemented this school year relates to our school bathrooms.”

The new signs will trumpet “Girls+” and “Boys+” while stating, “All who feel comfortable are welcome to use this restroom.”

Anybody with half a brain should be able to realize the multiple downsides to this absurdity. First of all, it’s only a matter of time before something horrific happens in one of these inclusive bathrooms, and the very high likelihood is that the victim will be a girl. When that happens, from my perspective, there is nothing that will then be able to wash the blood off the hands of these all-inclusive maladjusted cretins who thought that this was a good idea.

The second absurdity has to do with the “all feeling comfortable” nonsense. While a few may feel comfortable, many will feel uncomfortable with those from the opposite sex peering over their shoulder.

“Transgender college swimmer who swam as a man for 3 years now crushing the competition at women’s meets.”

After three years of competing as a male, a transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania switched to competing as a female and is now dominating the competition.

Senior swimmer Lia Thomas, formerly known as Will Thomas, reportedly broke multiple school and conference records during a Nov. 20 swim meet against Cornell University and Princeton University.

According to SwimSwam, Thomas “blasted the number one 200 free time and the second-fastest 500 free time in the nation on Saturday, breaking Penn program records in both events.” The swimming blog later noted that Thomas’s times in both races marked new Ivy League records, as well.

Now let me get this straight … a mediocre college male swimmer couldn’t cut the mustard as a male swimmer, so after a Covid respite, he/she is swimming as a female and setting college records. 

Anybody with half a brain should be able to realize the multiple downsides to this absurdity.

Who is supposed to be happy about this? … “Lia!”

Who does this benefit? … “Only self-serving Lia.”

Who is getting the shaft? … All of the true women on the U. Penn swim team. All of the true women on other Ivy League teams that have the misfortune to compete against U. Penn. Indirectly all of the true women who participate in competitive college swimming, and potentially all of the true women that participate in any collegiate sport. And finally any true woman/girl who competes in any sport at any age. All of this because one misguided male wants to show off. If he/she wants to switch sexes, so be it! But to have his “I am a girl,” affect a myriad of young girls/women is nonsensical bordering on laughable!

And BTW where are all the feminists who should be speaking out against this foolishness … “I can’t hear you!”

12/13/21

Since today is Sunday, my piece will again be about an individual who is noteworthy in a good way … someone that deserves our respect and praise.

Who is Derrick Wilburn?

He  is a young-middle aged black gentleman who spoke at a Colorado School Board meeting on 8/12/21. I chose him for my weekly salute to an individual, not because he is black, but rather because of what he said. I do not know anything about Mr. Wilburn other than I assume that he lives in the Colorado Springs area and has three children. At the beginning of this meeting, before Mr. Wilburn spoke, the School Board chairman said, “If you agree with what is being said, please standup, so that the Board can get a consensus of what the feelings and opinions of the audience are.”

There is no way that I can repeat all of what Derrick Wilburn said, so 

a few of his quotes will have to suffice:

“I am a direct descendent of the North American slave trade.”

“I am not oppressed, and I am not a victim. I go wherever I want, whenever I want.”

“I have three children. They are not oppressed either, although they are victims of three things … their own ignorance, their own laziness, and their own poor decision making. That is all!”

“Putting CRT into our classrooms is fanning the flames of what embers of racism still exist. Let racism die the death it deserves.”

Gradually as Mr. Wilburn was speaking individuals in the room started to stand, and at the end of his speech the entire room of attendees, save one person, was standing. Furthermore,one of the five school board members was also standing. 

Derrick Wilburn is spot on.

12/12/21

 “Life is always full of tough choices.”

That was the response of John Kerry, our climate czar, on 9/21/21, when Bloomberg asked about the Biden administration’s lack of focus on the Uyghur genocide In China. Apparently when it comes to global warming and stopping what is amounting to genocide in China, the Biden administration is looking to focus on global warming.

“Life is always full of tough choices” is indeed a despicable answer from a character that could have been President. Imagine if back in 2004, the people of the US had made the wrong choice. Thank God, George W. Bush was elected. Now granted George W. Bush wasn’t perfect, but OMG, what if John “Life is always full of tough choices” Kerry had been elected. 

However, giving Kerry the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he heard this same profound statement in the White House prior to Joe Biden’s disastrous exit from Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of multiple American military personnel. 

But I am getting distracted. Back to China, the U.S, and the Uyghurs.

On 12/8/21, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 428-1 in favor of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Way to go … apparently not a tough choice. (Note that if John Kerry was a member of the House, there would have probably been one abstain-vote … tough choice, etc. … oops, I strayed again.)

It’s interesting that Nancy Pelosi has made a tough choice of her own as she did not send the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act over to the Senate.

From Marco Rubio (R,FL) on 12/9/21:

“Yesterday the House passed their version of my bill to take on Uyghur slave labor in #China 425 to 1. But now Pelosi is blocking it from being sent to the Senate. The White House & corporate interests who opposes our bill aren’t going to give up that easy.”

Sen. Rubio has been involved in raising awareness and passing legislation addressing the plight of the Uyghurs for years now, highlighting concerns regarding the lack of a proper response from the Biden administration in handling these human rights abuses from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

Sen. Rubio continued:

“The Trump Administration rightly determined that Beijing’s heinous acts against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities constitute crimes against humanity and genocide. It is now the time for Congress to pass meaningful legislation such as my Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to ensure the CCP does not profit from its abuses”

[Then-President Donald Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (S.3744) into law in 2020, which Rubio first introduced in 2018 with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).]

Whether you liked Trump or not, no one can argue that President Trump shied away from tough choices.

12/11/21