Friday, April 01, 2016

Mike Vanderboegh Update

We still have seen no movement on SSI since my last post, when I said:
I've emailed him asking him to call me if he's up to it. I think it's for the best to leave it at that, because if he can he will, and if he can't, it wouldn't be helpful or considerate for me to call to him.
Since then, I've had more inquiries and have been approached by others who have not had their emails responded to as well, so I approached his son via Facebook PM. He kindly assured me my call would be welcome.

I just got off the phone with Mike. I filled him in on the above and asked if there was anything I could tell those who were concerned.

'Tell 'em I'm sick," he replied. "Tell 'em I feel like shit."

That's Mike.  No mincing words.

I let him know a lot of people were concerned and praying for him,

"I appreciate that," he said.

I'm going to repeat my call to not burden him with emails and blog comments. I'll continue to check in with family members, and if and when anything relevant to share comes to my attention, I will pass it on.

Cry 'Havoc,' and Let Slip the Dogs of War

Last year, there were 69 allegations of child rape and other sexual offences by peacekeepers from 10 missions. One advocacy group says it has passed on new reports to the UN that a soldier made four girls have sex with a dog. [More]
Chalk one up for another "zero tolerance policy"!

[Via Florida Guy]   

That Which Must Not Be Named

VIDEO: WH Censors French President Saying ‘ISLAMIST Terrorism’ [More]
Well, before you get on your high horse, there's a good reason for that:
[R]emember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.  In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.
We know who the threat is...

Rogen/Schumer On-Set Gun Discharge Scares Crew, Destroys Camera

"Seth and I have literally over an hour of extensive training from professional armorers and technical advisors," the shaken actress/comedienne cautioned. "If this can happen to us with all we go through, how crazy is it to think just anyone can buy a machine gun online without a background check?"  [More]
How crazy, indeed?

Making a Difference

With your vote! [More]

Unfortunately, changing things for the better requires, you know, participation, commitment and effort.

Nature Walk

That's when you and Nature are likely to walk right into each other... [More]

[Via Florida Guy

An Inconvenient Truth

IPCC Official: “Climate Policy Is Redistributing The World’s Wealth” [More]
WoG regulars know what's coming next.

[Via Florida Guy]   

Inconsistent with Journalist[sic] Standards

You know, stating the obvious. [More]

If she'd just said "teens," she'd still have a job.

[Via Jess]

We're the Only Ones Bus-ted Enough

Kids in a northern Virginia public school district unknowingly rode a school bus this week that was also carrying “explosives training materials” left behind by the CIA after it conducted exercises with local law enforcement agencies... [More]
It wasn't noticed for a week while kids ride obliviously -- what could go wrong? And does "benign" under "normal operations" include being dropped into the engine compartment?

Naturally, no names of responsible individuals, and how they have been held accountable, will ever be known.

[Via William T]

We're the Only Ones Really Cleaning Up Enough

Suspended Chicago officer charged with murder hired as union janitor [More]
But if someone they "serve and protect" is in a similar situation, he's on his own.

[Via William T]

I've Always Depended on the Kindness of Strangers

While Reyes has already admitted his involvement in 16 killings – and he is suspected by federal authorities of being involved in at least 35 and holding the rank of “lieutenant of lieutenants” in the gang – it wasn’t until his indictment this week that he was tied to the police officer’s slaying. [More]
Tell me "background checks" wouldn't have made a difference!

And it's in society's interest to continue feeding, clothing and housing this abomination why, again...?

[Via William T]

Stirring the Pot a Bit More


I knew yesterday's column on Cruz's "natural born" eligibility would be like poking a hornet's nest. Based on Facebook reactions and nested replies, it was. My first thought: Too bad such animated discussions aren't happening in comments under the article itself, where more people can read them (and for the record, I do not get page view compensation like at Examiner, so I don't have a "click bait" motive).

I also see I was right about two things: We can't count on the controversy just going away and some will react with strongly-vested emotions. One person made a point of telling me he "unfriended" me -- if others did as well and just didn't say anything, I don't know or care. I don't make a point of soliciting "friends." As I use social media as a platform for sharing my links, I only respond to friend requests and group invitations, I don't initiate them -- that way, no one can say I asked to be let in and then started spamming.

A few points I'd like to respond to:

I didn't write the article because I'm in the tank for Trump.  I've made no endorsement and have written plenty of things criticizing him over the years. My main interest in him: He's brought issues to the fore that people like me want solutions for and that the establishment squishes would prefer to just throw out a few weasel words over and then stay the course they're on.

I understand there are plenty of people of note who have written documented defenses of Cruz's eligibility and there have been court cases siding with that opinion. I specifically acknowledged that in the article. It's the fact that there are opposing views, many passionate and many citing varied authorities, that makes me believe further court challenges aren't unlikely, depending on how close the race looks to be and if the opposition is desperate enough to play that card. I think to say that  a new legal complaint won't happen is as unsupportable as predicting the outcome if more do get filed. Rulings get challenged and overturned all the time -- that's why we have appeals courts.

A seemingly minor point, one I thought about addressing in the article (but didn't want to go too far off into the weeds) -- one person pointed out that the Prince Hashim analogy in the column photo was not accurate because his mother gave up her citizenship. Again, there are conflicting accounts of this, but per Time's Swampland blog, Queen Noor, “says she automatically lost her U.S. citizenship but never renounced it.”  Doing so formally would be a requirement to "legally" give it up.

And that brings me to my main point, one I've repeated a few times on this blog: If Cruz has sealed his records, why won't he just unseal them? What's the big secret? That would dispel speculation that his mother renounced her citizenship and more -- or else it would add a whole new level of complexity to the legal arguments. Isn't that something we all deserve to know? Why would any of his defenders who are interested in the truth be against that?

If you'd like to add your two cents, I request you do so under the column itself. And if you don't care what I request and would prefer I just go to hell, take a number and get in line.