Sunday, November 13, 2016

What Is Journalism?

I think it is now time in the west and in other countries who have governments which have democratic processes in the governmental systems, to ask what is journalism? What is its purpose? What are the ethics of those who call themselves journalists? What responsibility, if any, do the have to their readers, their governments, their employers?

These questions come to my mind after seeing trends within the media of activism for one set of political views, their growing brazenness in doing so, and their condescension to those who have a different set of values. I was given impetus to write this after watching 2 news programs this weekend. One was a show from a local station out of Tallahassee, Florida called “The Usual Suspects” and a show on PBS on Georgia Public Broadcasting entitled “Open Mind”; both shows illustrated the things I have seen in the media and those who identify themselves as journalists.

On the show “The Usual Suspects” there were 4 journalists, all progressive in leaning as evidenced by their very apparent dissatisfaction with Mr. Trump winning the Presidency. There were 2 Caucasian males, 1 Caucasian female, and an African American male, I don’t remember their names as I was overcome by their lack of objectivity and failure to grasp the mood of those who voted for Mr. Trump. They were obviously restraining themselves from saying the things they wanted about those voters and displayed a veneer of professionalism.

The African American journalist was honest in saying he was restraining himself from saying the things he wanted, I appreciated it and understood his feelings (though I feel he shouldn’t have to feel as he did) but the Caucasian female journalist couldn’t contain herself saying they need to be more proactive in “educating” those who voted for Mr. Trump about the issues. She feels journalists need to do more to get their progressive message out because, I guess, we don’t understand or maybe they are using words which are just to big for us to understand because how else could she explain those voters disagreeing with her.

In the other program, “Open Mind”, the control of information was what seemed to be what was important through journalist controls. I took that to mean, maybe I misinterpreted it, I was not smart enough to process the raw data and they were the ones who need to parse that data and decide what I should be able to see and interpret. I took it to mean, that unlike WikiLeaks, they would not have released the emails of Ms. Clinton, but they agreed with the release of those earlier emails and other documents which detailed the deeds of the NSA. This smacks of an agenda and wanting to engage in propaganda for a certain agenda.

This is what has brought about the demise and credibility of today’s news organizations; I am not even sure the journalists realize they are doing this. They have come to believe they are so much smarter than everyone else and they have the sole recipe for curing all the world’s ills. They believe they know how I should spend the money I work to earn, what car I should drive, how I should talk, how I should think, and it should all be done through government edict no matter what is in the law of the land; the Constitution.

Journalists are suppose to be the intelligence network of the American public. They are to give us the facts, without ideological slant, and allow us to make decisions based on those facts. There should be analysis pieces and editorials; but, they should be clearly labeled as such, not hidden as a straight news article.

Their cheer leading for certain candidates, issues, and ideology led to the rise of Fox News and their being ignored by a large segment of the population because of this lack of credibility. They need to return to the example of Walter Cronkite whom no one knew as a liberal until he had left his post at CBS News. It is because of this objectivity Mr. Cronkite was the most respected and trusted journalist in America. People knew he was a straight shooter, honest and a man of integrity.


 When journalists return to reporting who, what, when, where, and how they will again be trusted by all the American people. Until they separate the how and label it is such, they will not.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Why I Voted For Mr. Trump

I voted for Donald Trump and throughout the election cycle I explained why I was voting that way. I am an informed independent, Christian, constitutionalist American. I am a Marine no longer on active duty who takes the oath of enlistment seriously and it has no expiration date. If I perceive you as a threat to the Constitution I am honor bound to protect the ideals and principles and law set forth in that document against all enemies foreign and domestic. I am honest and detest dishonesty in those entrusted with governing and have taken the same or similar oath.

President Obama, a Democrat, has had 2 terms (the maximum) in office and had campaigned and was elected on a platform of transparent, honest, and inclusive government. He failed at all of it by those standards. His administration has not been transparent as evidenced in the emails which have been made public detailing the exchanges with Ms. Clinton’s staff to cover up the private email server she set up and compromised classified information. Which also exhibits their lack of compliance with a personal standard of mine, the rule of law.

You cannot tell me you are for the rule of law when you will not, and do not intend, to enforce the law of the land because you disagree with a law which has been instituted in accordance with our system of government and you happen to disagree, something the Obama administration has done throughout its tenure. They would not prosecute voting law in regards the New Black Panthers who were intimidating voters in Philadelphia and they will not enforce immigration law against either employers or those who enter the country illegally.

If you believe in the rule of law, you live it out in the actions taken when in a position to take action. You enact legislation through compromise and deal making; you do not do it with the stroke of a pen through executive order. When you do not put action with words you have no credibility, you are not truthful. You live within the bounds of the authority granted your branch of government in the Constitution. Mr. Obama and the democrats have not done that and have no intention of doing so. Ms. Clinton would be a continuation of this behavior.

You also don’t denigrate those who have legitimate differences on matters of conscience as President Obama and Ms. Clinton have done. They force Christians to perform acts contrary to their Biblically based beliefs or lose their businesses. They say we must change those Biblically based beliefs on abortion and homosexual marriage and enforcing of the current law in regards to immigration or be in the “basket of deplorables”. We are not xenophobic, or misogynist, or racist, or homophobic, or any other hateful name you wish to call us when using the Saul Alinsky political tactics to try and win an argument on other than facts. You have an us versus them mentality, not me. Live within the bounds of the Constitution and we will not have an issue. I am an adult, I can live and deal with disappointment in a positive way.

I am also not a globalist; I am an American before anything else and I will not surrender the sovereignty of my country to any world body or allow it to be surrendered by either an internal or external threat as defined in the Constitution. While I have empathy and sympathy and compassion for those in other countries, they are not my priority. My priority are American citizens. Our veterans come first, our homeless, our poor, our downtrodden all others come after them; especially when we have an almost 20 trillion dollar national debt. Any other tact is irresponsible and burdens our future in a way which is criminal in its negligence.

Any trade deals which costs Americans their jobs or destroy our manufacturing base are negligent. Any trade deal which disadvantages American based business or makes it more advantageous for American businesses to operate outside our borders instead of at home creating American jobs and building our manufacturing base is wrong and should not be pursued. The United States of America and her citizens must come first.

This is not to say we should disengage from the world and what is going on, not at all. We have to be engaged and protect our interests as we are the world power, but we cannot be a bully or impose our will on others. We continue to fight for human rights and the rule of international law, but we choose our battles carefully. If American interests are not at stake, we should not be militarily committed; it should be a diplomatic approach.

We should also not call domestic political activist groups as good if they promote an agenda which calls for violence as certain groups favored by the current administration have done. If you engage in or use rhetoric which calls for violence against any group within our country you are to be labeled as what you are, a hateful organization which promotes an agenda which is in contradiction to the values embodied in our Constitution. The Constitution is the standard against which everything must be measured.


 These are some of the reasons I voted for Mr. Trump. I could have also mentioned the Supreme Court or the nomination of an extremely polarizing candidate, but this is getting long and I don’t want to bore anyone. These are my reasons and I don’t claim to speak for anyone else (I am not that arrogant).

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

An Open Letter To Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton

Ms. Clinton,

I am writing this letter because you seemed a mite bit confused why you are in the predicament you find yourself.  You seem under the impression others are at fault for your poll numbers going down and a vast majority of the American population believing you should be indicted for the various and sundry charges which could be filed.

The reason you find yourself with these challenges aren't the Russian intelligence services. It wasn't the "vast right wing conspiracy". It wasn't FBI Director James Comey. it wasn't Donald Trump. It wasn't Wikileaks. It wasn't Julian Assange. It wasn't Huma Abedin. It wasn't Anthony Weiner. It wasn't Leon Podesta. It was you and the choices you made. No one else.

You see, you are finding out what the vast majority of us already know. It is also the reason some of us would never vote for you. You and your husband (remember when he ran and the thing we were getting two intelligent people for the price of one) refuse to take responsibility for your actions. You chose to have an unclassified private email server even though policy and law said you weren't suppose to. You chose to put classified email on an unclassified server even though having been in government in some fashion for at least the past 30 years and been exposed to and taught how to handle classified information throughout that tenure from your time on the Watergate Committee onward.

You see I handled classified information during my 12 years in the Marine Corps, some of it as a Special Security Office Chief; so, that explanation doesn't fly with me. It doesn't pass the smell test. It is a rudimentary and common sense rule for anyone who has handled this type of information you do not put classified information on an unclassified system or on any device which is connected to an unclassified network. Anyone who has been indoctrinated, when they sign their Non-Disclosure Agreement, they are explained the rules for handling said information. Privates learn how to properly handle classified information everyday. Again, your excuse just doesn't pass the smell test.

In those emails which were part of the hack of the Democratic National Committee detail them and your campaign colluding to rig the Democrat Primary. You rigged an election. You are a cheat and have a difficult time with the truth. Yes, the emails were obtained in a questionable manner, but their actual validity has never been challenged. You rigged an election.

You lied to the American people by claiming the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya was caused by a video when you knew all along (as documented in the emails you tried to destroy). You did not tell the truth about help being told to stand down; they were told to stand down. Those 4 men were left to die; abandoned by their government to protect a failed foreign policy you helped devise. Just like the failed foreign policy you came up to have a "reset" with the Russian Federation; another failure. And the failed foreign policy you came up with to deal with middle east violent extremist groups (since you just can't bring yourself to identify them as the militant Islamist they are) has been a failure as documented by the rise of ISIS/ISIL/DAESH. You are incompetent.

Ma'am you chose to put that information at risk. I say again, you chose to put that information at risk. It would never have been exposed if it hadn't been put at risk. You can't take responsibility, you are don't deserve to be President. You are incompetent as demonstrated by your actions, you don't deserve to be President. You feel entitled, you don't deserve to be President. You feel you are above the law, you don't deserve to be President.

Anyone who can really be intellectually honest about your actions, and your reactions to their becoming public, would never be able to vote for you.