Author: Rex Nipper

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Cut to the Chase

With all the hoopla over the Donald and his inability to say anything without proving repeatedly he’s a classless asshole, I thought I would write a little about being politically correct.  Now, I will admit that we’ve gone off the charts with political correctness.  Being politically correct can be silly, especially when you have to change things like sitting Indian style to sitting crisscross-apple-sauce.  It’s the same damn thing!  If you’re offended by what a 5 year old calls crossing his legs then you need therapy.  Being politically correct has taken some broad swings and perhaps we need to swing a little the other way.  However, just because people need a little thicker skin, doesn’t mean you get to be a jackass.

I used to work for a Catholic organization that wanted to remove violent language from their work environment.  They postulated that words like execute, shoot, stab, bullet, point, target, cut, etc., led to a world of killing and mass violence.  They even provide a list of words that you could use in replacement of some of these terms.  Execute = transaction, bullet = identification dot, target = destination, you can see where they’re going here. 

The problem with trying to change how people speak is that you have to understand that words require context.  Cut to the chase, or bullet point, or take a stab at it, are not violent phrases.  Also, if you remove the ability to use the words entirely you make it difficult to do business.  Especially when your business is in an office of computer geeks.  How the hell else are you going to say “customers need to click an executable file to run the source to target for the data we are transferring.  Can you provide some bullet points so we can cut to the chase on the process for developing this application?”  Does that phrase make you want to go out and commit mass murder?  Of course not.  Well…maybe if you were the guy that had to spend 12 hour days building the application but certainly not because of the words.

Trying to be the word police is silly, and unfortunately the Catholic Church has an incredibly long and bloody history of attempting to control what people say.  I would think they would have learned after 2000+ years.  Changing words doesn’t change behavior.  It only allows people to sugar coat their bad behavior.  When we use terms like Ethnic Cleansing, or when a minister, priest or pastor says they’re “redirecting a child’s carnal urges” that doesn’t mean you’re not killing people or raping children.  It only means that you make your behavior tolerable to the gentile masses.  To me, that’s unforgivable.  If you want to change behavior then work to change the behavior.  Changing the words only allows the behavior to continue diluted of any pointed description.

Criminal behavior aside, just because you think people are being too politically correct doesn’t mean you get to be hurtful.  Donald Trump is making an attempt to hide his bad behavior behind the pretense that people are being too sensitive.  Trump himself seems to sue someone every time his feelings are hurt.  Not only that being PC all too often hides the true point of the discussion.  For example, if I were to take a PC approach toward Donald I would say “He’s a misguided individual who’s obviously confused about his position in the mainstream of political thought and must do more to curb his passions and take a more cognitive recollection of his intensions before he socializes his responses.”  However I would rather just cut to the chase and say he’s a “dumbass with a big mouth and small mind.”

Rex
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This Was Not Murder

I’m not sure this article is going to make my liberal readers very happy.  However, I read an article today with the title “Why aren’t we universally outraged over Sandra Bland’s death as we are over Cecil the lion?”  Well, for starters, I don’t think we are.  I have not seen any study that claims to support that analysis.  It’s just the latest story in the news cycle.  I know I could care less about a lion being shot.  However, neither did the lion shoot itself. 

I have been reviewing the full video of Sandra Bland’s encounter with the officer in Texas, the video of her processing, and the subsequent removal of her body from the jail.  I wanted to make sure I wasn’t jumping to conclusions on the issue like so many in the press and online.  I don’t blame the family for wanting answers.  It’s very difficult to deal with the death of a loved one, especially when it is so sudden.  However, I don’t think there was a murder.  Negligence for sure, but not murder.

When I watch the videos all I can think of is that she did nothing to help her cause.  Most people would have sat their with their mouth shut, taken the warning, said thank you and drove on.  Had that been the outcome we wouldn’t be discussing whether the police department was involved in her death.  She made the personal choice to battle with an officer that at the onset was being very professional.  It wasn’t until she became rude, that things got out of hand.  You can review the video below:

From the moment he approaches the vehicle she is annoyed with the officer, and she had not the desire to be cordial in any way even though the officer was very cordial to her at the beginning of the stop.  Things didn’t get out of hand until he asked her why she was so annoyed.  Her responses seemed to irritate the officer and that is when the fight ensued.  I’m not saying that the officer handled this well at all.  He did not.  However, like I said before, she did nothing to help her cause.

To me, Sandra Bland just comes off in the video as feeling she is entitled to be rude.  If you think this is a racial bias on my part then you haven’t been reading my articles.  I have plenty of white male friends who act the same way to the police and the outcome is very similar.  They are either ticketed, or taken to jail for nothing more than being an asshole.  You can argue that being an asshole isn’t a crime, but perhaps it should be.  We have too many of them in the world.

Now, why does her family think she was murdered?  Because it is difficult for loved ones to understand why someone would take their own life.  That’s why.  It used to be a common practice among coroners to state on a death certificate that someone was killed by an accidental shooting, or some reason other than suicide so they could spare the family from the pain and embarrassment that comes with such an event.  At that point, what did it matter?  They’re gone.  I don’t blame the family for thinking there would be foul play.  It helps them cope with the tragedy.  But for the press and others to pile on to that group psychosis for profit or agenda is just cruel.

I think we should look at this from another perspective.  This was a woman who was offered a job in a new community.  She had every reason to be excited about that opportunity.  Then she makes a decision to argue with a police officer and gets arrested.  Part of the opportunity she received is to have a police background check.  If she doesn’t pass, she doesn’t get the job.  She is arrested for assault on a police officer.  If you are a person prone to depression, and you see the opportunity you thought you had slipping away, while you sit alone in a jail cell, you’re going to be depressed.  And if you are prone to suicide, you’re going to try and kill yourself, because you see no way out.  This seems more plausible to me than a vast conspiracy between white and black police officers.

It is safe to say that the officer didn’t handle this professionally.  It is also safe to say that neither he, nor the people at the jail killed this woman.  After reviewing the facts we have found she had a history of depression, was under psychiatric treatment, and had scars from previous suicide attempts.  There is also no physical evidence of any struggle on her body.  However, that doesn’t mean the department isn’t liable for her death, they definitely are.  It was not murder however, it was negligence.

When you are in jail the police are responsible for your safety.  They obviously failed here.  Had they been following proper procedure, this woman would be alive today.  They did not do their jobs, and for that there should be a price.  However, this was not murder.  This was just a sad set of events that led to the death of an emotionally unstable individual. 

Rex
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Amateur Hour is Over

I was going to have some fun with Republicans since Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls, but I thought I would hold off for the moment and try to write a serious article on the subject.  Since the late 1990s it has been my displeasure to watch the Republican Party spin out of control.  They used to be an organization hinged on logical conservative economic values, and social justice.  To be a Republican meant that you wanted to live your life, and be left alone.  No one was peeking into your bedroom to see who you slept with, and your money was your own.  Economic policies were geared toward providing protection for our country, and social policies that rewarded those who worked.

I don’t think that’s a bad thing in which to aspire.  However the party has spun so far out of control that their standard bearer is a four time bankrupt, two time divorced, hotel executive who has less desire to promote the country than he does his own brand.  This is sad to me.  He’s a salesman and a carnival barker.  He’s not a serious candidate for the office, nor will he ever be President of the United States.

Candidates for both parties have always swung toward the middle road when it came to general elections.  That has happened less and less over the years with the Republican Party.  They have flocked toward the fringe in such a way as to become less relevant.  If you have a candidate who is racist, sexist, and completely out of touch with the American way of life then you have a candidate who can’t get elected.  Nor should they. 

I’ve done this, and I know you can too, but if you sit down two people from either party with diametrically different perspectives on the country, I bet you can get them to agree on three things:  People should be able to earn a good living, our borders should be secure, and those in need should get help, not handouts.  That’s it.  Where we all differ is the degree to which those values are applied.  The rest is steeped in religious dogma, and foreign policy.  Until they pay taxes, I don’t think church leaders have any place in American politics and I don’t think 99% of the population (including Congress) has a clue on how to deal with foreign policy issues.  Dealing with other countries is like dealing with teenagers.  Your level of influence only goes as far as your level of control.  For the most part it’s a little bit of authority and a lot of luck.

Just like most businesses used to be focused on the customer instead of the investor, most Republicans used to be focused on businesses to get voters working rather than for investment into their political campaigns.  The pool of beneficiaries to their political decisions grows smaller and smaller each year as the rich get richer and the employed become the working poor.  We have to ask ourselves what’s wrong when someone who works two jobs still qualifies (legally) for food stamps.  Is it there fault, or is it a system that thinks if their multi-billionaire boss gives them a livable wage it will take away from the funding they provide to political candidates?

The greatest gift Republicans could ever provide to the Democratic Party is to nominate Donald Trump.  This will virtually guarantee another four years of Democratic leadership.  Donald Trump is a comic book character, not a Presidential candidate.  Serve him up if you want, but the outcome won’t be in your favor.  We need serious political discussion in this country, and there are serious contenders for the Republican nomination.  Trump is not one of them.  Do yourself a favor.  Send the Donald back to hole from which he came.  Amateur hour is over.  It’s time to focus on the professionals.

Rex
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30 Seconds for Facts

I know I’m wasting my time, but thought I would at least give it a shot this morning. I’m trying to see if I can cut through the Republican sound bubble by providing some facts to the delusional folks out there who believe everything they read on the Internet is real.   The bubble they all live in is pretty thick (like their skulls), but here’s my best shot!
If your news begins with the phrase “What the mainstream media isn’t telling you,” then what your media is telling you is bullshit.  It’s a lie.  There are litte facts, nor truth to what they are feeding you.  To make a good lie, you have to provide a little truth to make it believable but it’s still a lie.  It’s shit.  It only tastes like meat because a little passed through the colon undigested.  The reason mainstream media outlets aren’t printing or distributing the crap you’re getting is that it doesn’t meet any aspect for the standard of professional journalism.  If you are curious, you can find them here http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp. 
This is just one example of the little photos I see on Fakebook each day.  Facebook should really be renamed Fakebook.  Most of what is on there is fake.  Here’s an example of what I mean:
 

Yep…like that model you slept with in college, it never happened.  None of it.  Not one thing on here is true except that it’s a picture of the President.  However, if you ask a Republican, they will eat this shit like it’s sugar!
Here’s the TRUE story:
When Whitney Houston died, Governor Chris Christy (A Republican) 
ordered all the flags in his state to fly at half-staff.  The President was never involved.  It was done by a Republican.  When Christy was criticized for the move of honoring a Houston, he said ““I am disturbed by people who believe that because of her history of substance abuse that somehow she’s forfeited the good things that she did in her life.”  He also had flags flown at half-staff when Clarence Clemmons died, one of the band members for the E-street band.  You see, both were from New Jersey.
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/chriskyle.asp#5gIxIhIioEHzqmWz.99
Another popular image of the President is with Whitney Houston and Chris Kyle, the most deadly sniper.  It turns out the President wasn’t involved in not flying the flags at half-staff for him either.  Governer Rick Perry (another Republican) chose not to fly the flags at half-staff when Kyle was killed because as flag tradition requires when a service member is killed in the line of duty flags are to be flown at half-staff.  Kyle was not in the military, or serving his country, when he was killed. 
Now, let’s talk about the five service men killed while serving their country.  It turns out the President DID order the flags to fly at half-staff.  Even Fox News reported on it.  So how do you explain the ignorance of this meme when even the noise in the bubble is reporting correctly?  You can’t. 
If you would just take 30 seconds (that’s all it took me to find out this was all bullshit) you would be able learn so much about the world that you thought was real is really fake and that you thought was fake is real.  I read a lot of criticism of Democrats and the President, but none of them seem to be steeped in any truth.  You like to call liberals stupid and lazy, but is it really them?  Are they stupid and lazy? 
At least this one took the 30 seconds to research the facts.
Rex

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Benjamin Netanyahu Announces Candidacy

After a year of speeches and months of speculation Benjamin Netanyahu made it official today, announcing that he is now a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.  This brings the field to 17 politicians that have announced their desire to run the country as a Republican.  If elected, this would be the first time a politician has been elected as the leader of two countries at the same time.

Comments from the Republican field were mixed.  Many of them noted that like President Obama, Bebe as he is known in his native Israel is not a U.S. citizen.  However, according to his campaign, neither is Ted Cruz.  Some of the front runners commented that it really didn’t matter anyway since Bebe is white, and after all Obama is black, making a whole world of difference in the matter.  Besides, as one Senator put it “At least he’s not a Muslim.”

Reactions from Iowa, where the first caucuses will be held next year, were confused.  While Bebe is a Republican, he is also Jewish.  This was major cause for concern for William Winslow a farmer from Council Bluffs.  “I’m a Christian, and he’s a Jew.  Jews killed Christ.  I mean, he ain’t no black Muslim like that Obama fella, but I’m not sure about no Jew.  Are they black?”  When shown a picture of Bebe Netanyahu Mr. Winslow stated “Oh…he’s a white guy?  I’m good.”

A recent poll of likely voters surmised that Bebe would have issues in the northern states running for office, but the southern states would be fine as long as he was able to change his nickname from Bebe to Bubba.  In fact in Texas alone where they actually have ads running under the handle of Bubba, Bebe has picked up 15 percentage points on name recognition alone.

Just this year Netanyahu made a speech before Congress asking them not to support a treaty the Obama Administration had been negotiating with Iran.  The treaty was negotiated anyway, and is now being presented to Congress.  It has already been approved by the UN Security Council and will reduce Iran’s ability to make nuclear arms now and in the future. 

Bebe and Republicans have denounced the Iran agreement.  When Bebe was asked by reporters why he doesn’t support the deal even though it prevents Iran from getting nuclear weapons he stated “That’s true, the deal will prevent them from getting the bomb.  However, what my Republican colleagues are telling me is that if I just keep saying the treaty actually GIVES Iran weapons, and not TAKES them away, then likely primary voters will believe it.  “Because let’s face it” Bebe said,

“They’re dumb as fuck.”