Maybe THIS is Why "We" Don't Stand With Ankara?

The world is now standing with Brussels.  We red, white and blued our profile pics for Paris.  We were Charlie.  Now someone is asking the question:

Where were “we” for Ankara?

To refresh our short term memories, on March 13 a suicide bomber detonated an explosion in the heart of Ankara, Turkey, killing 37 people.  The group taking responsibility for this reprehensible attack was the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has been responsible for several attacks on Turkey in recent years.

Back to the question.  James Taylor, a British national asked the question above.  It’s been chronicled in many places and I’ve seen it shared over social media.  (You can check out his entire post here)

Reading commentary on several sites regarding his statement, everything from anti-Muslim sentiment in the west to outright racism was the reason why “we” weren’t standing with Turkey as aggressively as we did for other victims of terror.

Before I piss off the world – well, the 39 of you that consistently read us – let me state VERY clearly:

ATTACKS LIKE THESE ARE AN ABOMINATION.  They have no place in civilized society and need to be condemned whether it is the PKK, ISIS, the KKK or <insert terrorist group here>.

Now…my take on why the world can’t relate to the Ankara attacks in the same way it did to 9-11, Paris and now Brussels. 

ISIS (ISIL, Islamic State, freaking loons…whatever you want to call them) are not fighting for a cause.  They are criminals.  They are part of the majority religion of the region where they operate and have taken that religion and twisted it and contorted it to the point of being unrecognizable.  They use this twisted vision of Islam to commit atrocities so vile that they are beyond defending.  I know we’re all pissy because they kill westerners and chant death to the west, but they have killed more Muslims than any one group since the Crusaders. 

Turkish Kurds (as well as Iranian, Syrian, Iraqi and Armenian Kurds) have been fighting for their own country for centuries.  According the BBC article “Who Are the Kurds?” the Kurds are:

"…one of the indigenous people of the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands in what are now south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia.  Today, they form a distinctive community, united through race, culture and language, even though they have no standard dialect. They also adhere to a number of different religions and creeds, although the majority are Sunni Muslims."

At the end of WWI the Kurds were promised a homeland but as the boundaries of Turkey were redrawn, the promised Kurdish state never materialized.  Instead they were spread between five countries – minorities in every one.  The Kurds have tried for nearly a century to create their own state but every attempt has been met with violence and reprisals. 

Though they were the earliest fighters against ISIS, when they found themselves pinned against the Turkish border in the Battle of Kobane, Turkey refused to assist, instead, seeing an opportunity to be rid of more Kurds, they let them flounder until the US stepped in with strong air support helping the Kurds retake Kobane.

If that sounds a little genocidal to you, let’s not pretend that Turkey has no history in genocide.  Ask the Armenians how life was under Ottoman rule.  In less than 10-years over 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were slaughtered.  My own people, the Greeks, were brutally oppressed for centuries until overthrowing the Ottoman yolk in the 1830s (Greek independence, coincidently, is celebrated annually on March 25, just a few days from now).  This time they tried to allow ISIS to do their dirty work.

In that context, and the context of decades of brutal oppression by the Turkish government, a segment of the Kurds have taken to violence.  To domestic terrorism.  Make no mistake, it is terrorism pure and simple.  It’s wrong and it is despicable.  Killing innocents in the name of a cause is to be condemned. But a comparison between a decades long struggle of a violently suppressed minority (40,000 killed and an estimated 100,000 resettled along with a crushing of their ethnic identity) and the altogether different monster that is ISIS is a comparison between apples and oranges.

Once again I condemn the actions taken by the PKK on March 13 and I pray that God (Allah, whatever you want to call the deity) embraces the innocent victims and can bring some measure of comfort to their families.  That said, don’t expect me to change my profile picture for Turkey.

A Relaxing Day From Hell

Sunday is my true day of rest. This Sunday was going to be even more special… beard trim, pedicure and a massage. A real treat! I think more men should do these kinds of things, especially the pedicure. It feels good to be pampered and it is really relaxing. So needless to say I was really looking forward to my day.

It started off with a great beard trim. Every man should go to a professional barber at least once in your life to get a shave and/or trim. This time I just went to get my glorious beard a little attention, but I have been in the chair before, reclined back, warm towel on my face, straight razor on my neck… just waiting to get whacked just like in the movies. But in the end, it feels great and my face always feels amazing for days afterward.

Then it was off to the pedicure. This is something I enjoy wholeheartedly and fear immensely. I have heard a lot of jokes and comments about how the staff at places like this will talk in their native tongue (this particular place, most of them were speaking Vietnamese) about the client, maybe making fun of them or something like that. I don’t feel that way when I am there. I don’t think that the staff is just talking about me… I feel that the other clients are talking about me as well. To the point that they are speed learning Vietnamese to converse with their technician about the fat guy at the end with his feet dangling in the water and talking about if he even realizes how bad his feet really are and that he should be charged double. This has caused me so much stress in the past  that I have basically given myself a pedicure BEFORE I even go to the professionals and act like “my feet are always this taken care of”. It’s like vacuuming before the cleaning people come or making the bed in a hotel room… we just can’t be looked at like the slobs we are, can we?

I made it through both of those events and it was time for the massage. It was a new place, clean and cool. Check-in went well and there I sat waiting for 50 minutes of relaxation and rejuvenation. 50 minutes to lay there under my blanket and get lost in the oily hands of the a professional masseuse who’s only goal, in my mind, is to make me fall asleep for 49 of the 50 minutes because I am slowly turning into a marshmallow. Well, that was the plan! It was a plan that was paved in dreams and expectations and ended up being the road to hell in a greasy hand basket.

My masseuse walked me to the room and told me to get as “undressed as I feel comfortable” and lay down under the blanket face down. It started off pretty easy and normal and so I did and laid there waiting, not knowing what was to come next. Because of my face down, prone position I could not see her face when she walked in nor could I hear the grinding and gnashing of her teeth.

Let me make an assumption here before I start in order to define the perceived mood of my masseuse. I am pretty sure that moments before she strolled into that dim room that her boyfriend had called to let her know that he was leaving because of his herpes secret and that she needs to be checked and that her car was, at that very moment, being repossessed and the IRS had called to let her know that she was being audited AGAIN and that although she was at least 30, that her belief of the Easter Bunny was misguided because just like the Tooth Fairy (which she has believed in until 30 seconds before my massage), they weren’t real. I was in for it and had NOT A CLUE what I was in for.

So she walks in and starts the assault… I am massage. She starts by asking me if I had any injuries or areas that needed less pressure. As I told her about these areas the blood that was rushing through her veins so loudly that she could not even come close to hearing what I had to say. She just saw all of her fury lying on the table in the form of a fat guy with a totally breathtaking beard. NOW… As soon as her hands touch me, well her oiled up elbows actually, I knew I was in trouble. The sound of the all of the air escaping from my body was pretty loud. I am sure it was mixed with the sound of my soul exiting my living being. I will spare you the blow by blow of the mugging I endured and will give you the highlights:

 Five separate times I said a variation of “WOW THAT HURTS, A LOT”.Once I asked her to stop because I had to wipe the tears from my eyes. I had to tell her I was ticklish at one point so she would stop digging her elbows into my rib cage. She fucking sneezed on me! Not directly on me but I totally felt the wind on my back! She asked me if I needed a tissue. Not for my snot, but for my tears. When I did turn over I instinctively went into the fetal position and she had to tell me to lay flat on my back. A few times I almost blurted out my social security number and PIN number. I found myself hitting my hand against the table in a subliminal “tap out”.

When it was all said and done she said “That will teach you Mother-Fucker!” and stormed out. Well not really because I have NO IDEA what she said. I was laying there trembling. Thankful that the 50 hours, I mean minutes was over and I would never have to see her again.

It’s now 24 hours later and I have to tell you. I feel as if I was beaten with a sock full of silver dollars. I am in worse shape than I went into the massage! I feel mildly violated. I have thought about calling the company and complaining but I really don’t want to fuck over the next poor guy that sees this lady. I am somewhat companionate to other people!

The long and short of it is I was abused and left for dead… but my beard is breathtaking, so that’s not so bad of a day. 

You Have to Commit to Caucus

Participatory Democracy in MN

I live in Minnesota so last night I participated in the Super Tuesday caucus in my state.  I'm no stranger to caucusing.  My first ever bout of political activism when I was 18 and a college student in Maine was participating in the Democratic caucus there in 1984.  I caucused for Colorado Senator Gary Hart and was elected a delegate to the Maine state Democratic convention.  The convention was great and I got to meet Steven King, which was tremendous, but I also learned a lot too.

One thing is for certain, if you're going to caucus, you have to commit.

A primary is easy.  You walk in, pull a lever, and go home. 

In a caucus you sit with your neighbors and discuss.  You discuss the candidates.  You discuss the issues.  You elect your neighbors to the next stage of the process.  And, of course, you vote.

A primary takes about a half hour of your time - less if there is good parking and a short line.

A caucus?  Block off the evening.

Last night I caucused at Zumbrota-Mazeppa High School with my fellow Democrats from Precincts 1 & 2 (and outlying areas) from the Z.

I arrived early and the check in line was relatively long and it grew exponentially whilst I was waiting.  We outgrew the library where we were going to caucus (after the driver's ed class got out, of course) so we moved to the auditorium. 

[As an aside, one of the driver's education students left the library, saw the crowd of people waiting and said "Wow, what is this about?".  Really?  You'll be driving shortly and in two years this will become your responsibility as a citizen.  But I digress...]

There are rules that govern the caucus set down by the state party.  Those rules were read to us and we were ready to begin.  EXCEPT...the rules say that we couldn't vote for delegates to the county convention in March until 7:30 and it was only 7:15.  Therefore it was time to take motions from the floor on resolutions.  At 7:30 we voted and then went back to the resolutions.

The resolution part of the evening, while long and dragged out, was the most interesting part of the night.  This is an opportunity for us to try and help shape our party platform.  Or at least be made to feel like we have some input.  Resolutions ranged from decrying the marginalization of certain segments of the population, to CEO pay, minimum wage, military spending, etc.  Some resolutions passed and others failed.  We had our time to speak and discuss each issue before the resolution was put to a vote.  The resolutions approved will be forwarded on to the Resolution Committee at the county level and will be discussed at the Goodhue County Democratic Convention at the end of March.

It was really quite a remarkable experience.  It may not matter, but for a brief time the major policy discussions weren't taking place in Washington D.C. in the corridors of power but in Zumbrota, MN (population a wee bit over 3000) in the corridors of a high school.  We mattered.  We discussed the issues with passion and reason.  Not once was anyone called low energy, ugly, boring or called out on their small hands.

Maybe at the end of the day none of it matters at lick.  But it did to us.  We got involved.  We made the commitment to become an active participant in the process.  Admittedly, there was attrition as the resolution part of our evening went on a bit longer than I think everyone would have liked - especially for the older lady two seats over who asked several times "How many more of those do you have?" and "I don't want to be here until 10!"  THAT is saying what everyone is thinking Mr. Trump!

By 8:45 I was on my way home newly minted as the Zumbrota Precinct 1 Democratic Chair (which I don't think is anywhere near as impressive as it sounds) and knowing that the 18-year old version of me would have been proud. 

Let President Sanders Do It

United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away over the weekend.  In a show of deference and respect to the Justice, flags across the country are being flown at half staff.  It's only right given the prominence of the deceased.

I'm not sure if the body was out of the Texas ranch where he was found before Sen. Mitch McConnell decided that it would only be right and proper if President Obama abrogated his Constitutional responsibility and leave the appointment of a successor to the next president.  After all, it's only a year away.  And that would only be right.

Of course that's not what Law Review contributor Mitch McConnell wrote back in the 70's.  THAT Mitch McConnell wrote that:

"The President is presumably elected by the people to carry out a program and shifting the ideological direction of the Supreme Court would seem to be a perfectly legitimate part of a Presidential platform."

I read and read but couldn't find the part where he wrote "unless I disagree with him".


This SAME situation occurred in 1988.  President Ronald Reagan, in an election year, nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court.  Congress was then controlled by the Democrats.

You know what happened?

THEY ALL DID THEIR JOB!

Of course the Republican clown car of candidates fell all over each other - especially Senators Cruz and Rubio - to state in no uncertain terms that they will block any Obama appointment.  It matters not that they have no idea who that appointee is.  A couple of names that have been floated were just approved by said senators (and ALL senators for that matter) for Court of Appeals positions. 

Apparently they have become disagreeable.

Oh wait, they couldn't have become disagreeable because they were ready to obstruct before they knew any facts.

Again.

The hallmark of the Republican led Congress has been "obstruct but don't construct".  It may even be on the Republican Caucus letterhead.  They have no ideas, no alternative, no anything, except "no" itself.  Now they want to politicize the Court.  Deep lovers of the Constitution that they allegedly are, you'd think that they would move forward with business of governing and try and leave politics out of it - as the Framers intended. As we've seen, though, that matters not when they don't agree with it.

Rubio and Cruz' knee-jerk reactions without even knowing the nominee is petty, political and does NOT serve the needs of the American people.  It also clearly illustrates that they are only ideologues with not a practical bone in their bodies.  But then they've proven that they have no interest in what is good for the American people - unless it meets their definition of what should be good for us.  A conservative Christian equivalent of Sharia law, if you will.

Independents and centrists that will control the election in November can see right through power plays, inaction and stagnation that the Republicans are becoming famous for.  In a year where control of the Senate can turn to the Democrats and a more liberal President than Obama (those of you that have no idea what the actual definition of "Communist" is notwithstanding) could take office.

I'd LOVE to see what happens when this bolt of brilliance - more obstruction and stagnation - inevitably backfires.  We will see a Democratic Senate advise and consent to a President Sanders' nominee and these dolts can stand by and wonder what if they actually worked WITH the last President.  Actually DID THEIR JOBS.

Of course they'll just wring their hands and blame everyone but themselves.  Welcome to the Trumpification of the GOP.

Welcome to the 2020 Presidential Election – Buckle Up, Folks!

I find myself thinking about the 2020 Presidential Election more than the one that will happen this year. Call me strange (most of you do already) but I fear that the 2020 election is going to change the way that politics happens in the United States. If you think that THIS year is crazy… just wait!

This presidential election season already has had some unprecedented and noteworthy events. One of them that I am fascinated about is the emergence of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. One is a billionaire who says he has used the broken system to his advantage many times and the other rails against billionaires for using the broken system to their advantage. Yet both of these guys are selling the same sandwich... Anti-Establishment Thoughts on rye bread with Say Anything cheese and a side of Crazy Hair chips.  

If you break down these two campaigns, they are remarkably the same in structure but different flavor. Both “The Bern” and “The Don” are telling their supporters what they want to hear. Both have said that the current system is broken and they both have crazy plans to make it better. Both have political backgrounds that back in the day, in my lifetime, would have made them laughing stocks! First you have Bernie who in an Independent and self-identifies as a Democratic Socialist when most Americans liken the term Socialist to Communist or Marxist. Trump is quoted several times saying that he has played both sides of the political arena depending on his needs and has given huge amounts of money and support in order to get his way with no real loyalty to either side. I just can’t imagine that either of those stances would fly even 8 years ago. Both of these guys can say what they want with no real dump in popularity. Bern has thrown some WILD ideas about how he will change American economically without real proof that he can do it and Trump said he could openly kill a person and still not be touched in the polls. I am starting to believe that both of them are true.

Mix in the other people who are running and it is a figurative fruit salad:

Hillary Clinton– Great resume and experience but not likable or charismatic at all. I think that it is time for a woman president and if another woman who had half of her experience and was likable was running; Hillary would have already had to concede.

Ted Cruz – Trying hard to be a political outsider, only because it’s cool. He is so far right that the Tea Party is scared and apparently is disliked by every one of his colleges in the Senate.

Marco Rubio –“The Establishment Candidate from Hell”. “They” want to run him so bad, but “They” can’t get him to put together a cohesive statement about anything that doesn’t get thrown back in his face. He polls well against Hillary, but is getting crushed by Ted and Trump in exit polls from the last 2 caucuses for no apparent reason.

Ben Carson – Holy Shit. On NBC’s Meet the Press in October 2015, Carson compared women who terminate their unwanted pregnancies to slave owners. Back in 2013, he said in a speech that “Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery.” In an interview with CNN in October, Carson blamed the Holocaust on the fact that Nazis took guns away from the Jewish people. “I think the likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed,” Carson said. “There’s a reason these dictatorial people take the guns first.” Carson said in a CNN interview in March that homosexuality is a choice, citing people who “go into prison straight – and when they come out, they’re gay” as proof. He later attempted to apologize for the remarks in which he addressed those who were offended, but reinforced his belief that sexual orientation is chosen. Carson has also called marriage equality a “Marxist plot,” described marriage equality supporters as “enemies of America,” and compared homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality, another statement that led him to similarly “apologize” for his “poorly chosen words.” HOLY SHIT!

Jeb – I won’t use his last name until he does. He came in like gangbusters and then in his first debate came in 8^th in the GOP voters of FLORIDA! The state he was governor! 8^th!!! I wonder if he will ever talk to his brother again. He did have his mom come out and stump for him and then later that night had to ASK FOR PEOPLE TO CLAP FOR HIM! www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYau9SZXn54 His mom must have been SO proud.

So here is where I am going with all of this… If this is now the norm, what is the NEXT election going to look like? It’s not enough to just say you are Pro-Life, like in the past and it’s not going to be enough to just say that you are so Pro-Life that even in the cases of incest, rape or if the mother will die you still think that the woman has no choices but to carry the baby to term. In 2020 you will have to take a woman who has a friend who might have had abortion while driving past Planned Parrenthood and throw her in a pit of lava.

Next election, being a professional fact checker will be a job that doesn’t exist. This year during debates on BOTH side so the fence, “facts” are not the cool thing to use. It was reported by Politifact that in the second GOP debate that 75% of statements that Donald Trump make were either false or “Pants on Fire” yet he was deemed the winner of the debate! 75%! In 2020, you will be able to stand at a podium on live TV and tell the American public that you opponent is an alien who has for sure slept with the wives, daughters and dogs of every one of the men from Iowa and will win that caucus by 95 points, easy.

I sit at home and think about what 2020 will be like if “the people” pick Trump and/or Sanders in this primary/caucus system’s popular vote and low and behold the SUPER DELEGATES come out to play and we end up with Rubio v. Clinton. I promise there will have to be more riot cops deployed around the US than ever before. If you don’t know what a Super Delegate is, look HERE.

So hang tight, folks, it’s going to be bumpy! 2016 ain’t shit on what we are going to see in four years!

Pats' Fan For Peyton

I really don't like the Broncos. Their fans are holier than thou, though they've certainly been embroiled in their own cheating scandals that they don't want to talk about; Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, an absolute manimal on the field who completely deserved the award, has had his own issues with PED use and attempting to dodge the testing process. But all I hear from their fans is "we don't cheat"...uh-huh.

And the play of Aqib Talib was disgraceful in the first half.  He actually ADMITTED that his face mask penalty was on-purpose.  Ripping a wide out down by the face mask is a great way to cause a neck injury which is why it is a personal foul and a 15-yard penalty.  But our players are beyond reproach.  You betcha.

There is, however, one reason I'm glad they won.

Peyton Manning.

Though he's been a longtime rival of my Patriots and Tom Brady, I can't help but like the guy.

His Saturday Night Live appearances are legendary.  His United Way parody skit is one of the greatest of all time.

He's a pitchman extraordinaire and completely makes selling out look fun!  And I mean that sincerely and in the very best of ways.  Chris and I have talked repeatedly about selling out - "early and often" is our motto!  Make your money when you can.  Your critics don't pay your bills and won't support your family.  Laugh, or in Peyton's case - sing - all the way to the bank.  "Cashing checks I love you sooooo."

You can never know the guy personally from the perspective of a fan, of course, but he comes across warm and open.  I love me my Tom Brady (he's awfully dreamy) but Tom just doesn't pull off warm and open.  Peyton you'd like to sit and have a beer with.  A Budweiser apparently.  I'd feel like if I sat at a bar with Tom I'd be nervous about ordering the wrong wine, spirit or craft beer!

Sure, Peyton isn't without his clouds (are any of us?).  Right now he has a mighty big one floating around on alleged HGH use.  He has admitted that it was delivered to his house.  And it sure was suspiciously close to his recovery from a neck injury.  But the claim is that it was for his wife. 

Naysayers are saying "sure...his wife..." and winking mightily.  What if it actually WAS for his wife?  He doesn't need to prove that to us - mostly because it would be an intense violation of her privacy.  Proving it to league investigators, in private and under non-disclosure, would be enough. 

And no I'm not going to get into comparing and contrasting the presumption of innocence by parties on the Pat's alleged deflation of footballs and this issue.  That's been done ad nauseum and Commissioner Goodell and the NFL have done a good job of looking like morons all on their own.  Brady's treatment was shameful given the "evidence" and that's that.

I like the guy. 

I can't help it.  I'm not turning in my Tom Brady fan club membership card or my Tedy Bruschi jersey, but I do like and respect him.  I hope he does retire.  It would be great for him to go out on top.  His performance has slid and with his nagging injuries and advancing football years (40 before the start of next season) it would be the best way for him to retire. 

I'd rather he hang 'em up now rather than hang around and play one year too long.  For one, that's sad to see and secondly, one hit in just the right spot in the neck could cripple him.  That's no way for a legend to have to go.

Now should it end up that he goes all Rafael Palmero on us: forget what I said.

Phil Don't Know Winter

 

Punxsutawney Phil (pictured above from his Facebook page...) says that winter is going to be shorter this year.  Hooray for Phil.  How about you move your furry ass someplace where there is REALLY winter every year and THEN make your prediction?!

Winter is never short up here in Minnesota, though up until today the winter of 2015-16 was trying hard to give us a break.

However, this is today…the START of today.  It’s not even supposed to get heavy for a few hours.

 

To be fair, this winter really hasn’t been too bad for us all things considered.  We have had our lows to 20 below and our highs under zero, but that happens here.  It’s Minnesota after all.

When it’s -20 you can do a really neat trick: get some boiling (or near boiling) water and toss it out your front door.  It’s so damn cold that the water flash crystallizes and, voila, you have nearly instant snow!  It’s a hoot.  Unless you’re like several of the yahoos that made the rounds on YouTube a couple of years back who tossed boiling hot water INTO the wind and promptly burnt themselves.  It’s hard to believe that you even NEED to caveat an experiment like that with “now don’t toss the 212 degree water into the wind because it will blow back over you”, but apparently you do.

We embrace winter (to a degree) here in the northland.  Let’s face it, you kind of have to or you’ll drive yourself crazy.  Snowmobiling is obviously big here and there are more ski areas than you’d think given the topography but that crap is normal all over the northern tier of states.

We Ice Fish

That’s right.  We go out on frozen lakes, drill a hole and drop a line.  THAT’s how much we love our walleye. And beer.  There is plenty of beer out in the icehouses on lakes this time of year.  Some lakes take on the look of small cities.  The next time I’m up north or over by the Mississippi I’ll tweet a photo.  It’s incredible. 

We Raise Money

We do “Winterfest” and “Winter Carnival”. Vulanus Rex and his Krewe maraud joyfully throughout the Carnival and raise a ton of money for charity up in St. Paul.  Rochester’s Winterfest’s stated mission is “… to promote wintertime activities for all ages while raising awareness and funds for events sponsored by area nonprofit organizations.”  We leverage winter for charitable organizations.  THAT is the way you turn winter on its ass!

We Drink A Little

Another highlight here in Rochester every winter are the ice bars that pop up on the Peace Plaza for SocialIce.  Twelve themed ice bars, music and socializing in the heart of Rochester every February.  It’s our way of flipping the bird at Winter.  And drinking outside.  Drinking outside is kind of our thing.

None of this changes the fact that winter is indeed a pain in the ass.  A few years back we had a foot of snow in May.  There was once a blizzard that cancelled Halloween. All the celebrating in the world doesn’t change the fact that -20 is freaking cold, (and no, that does NOT include the wind chill – counting wind chill is for sissies!), that snow sucks (especially when you move into the prime ‘you can die from shoveling age’ like I have) and winter is way too long. 

Not matter what some jackass hedgehog in Pennsylvania says.