HOLY SMOKES COWBOY

HOLY SMOKES COWBOY

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

Hold on just a minute there partner, let’s take a quick look-see at what’s been happening out there on the range, not where the buffalo roam, but where us citizens live our lives every day of the week. Zigging and zagging bullets on a daily basis isn’t quite what we-all had in mind when we left the safety of our folks hacienda…..at least I didn’t.

 

But since the August, 9^th shooting of that monster kid (Michael Brown, 6’-5”, 295 pounds) in Ferguson, Missouri, of this year there has been approximately 2,712 hours, if 3 people die by gunfire for any reason in the United States, gun battles, cop shootings, suicide, gang-banging wars, or by accident, that would mean that 8,136 people have died since the killing of Michael Brown.

 

If 7 people are shot, but don’t die, (wounded by gunfire) either accidentally or intentionally every hour, since the August 9^th incident in Ferguson, Missouri,18,984 people will probably be seeking medical assistance for the wound. Are you sober yet…..pard? It kind of makes that phrase “guns don’t kill people…..people kill people”, a bit hollow. Or to put it another way…..”A person with a stick won’t usually hurt another person unless he sharpens the point.”

 

And now I read about some local hair brained idiot in Austin, Texas letting off with more than 100 rounds of ammo in the downtown area, and tried to set the Mexican Consulate ablaze early Friday morning has died during an altercation with city police. Luckily the gunman, 49 year old Larry McQuilliams targeted buildings instead of people, kind of a novel approach to a shooter that was out of control.

 

CLEVELAND, OHIO…..IT DOESEN’T TAKE LONG TO BECOME CASUALITY

Sometimes the media stretches an incident to fit whatever criteria they figure will sell the most newspapers, or for people to listen, or watch violence on the streets of America. In the case of the shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice there was no exaggeration, the little boy lasted less than four seconds in his altercation with two of Cleveland’s finest…..and I’m being kind with regards to how long it took for the one cop on the passenger’s side to open his door and drop the pint sized perpetrator.

 

Talk about a judge, jury and executioner, this cop really saved the taxpayers a load of money…..initially, there’s no doubt in my mind that there’ll be a lawsuit that’ll cost five or ten times the amount it would have cost to prosecute the pint sized perp for brandishing a pellet or BB gun.

 

The whole thing started out as a young cowboy, or in Cleveland, probably a street punk, was playing around with his pistol in a way that an innocent bystander thought was a bit over the top, because the bystander didn’t know for sure whether the gun was real or a fake. So he did the intelligent thing, he called 911 and reported “a kid playing around with a gun…..that didn’t look like a firearm, rather it looked fake…..but.

 

Now I got to tell you, “I watched the video of the shooting, and although there’s no sound, the officer on the passenger’s side say’s that “he told the kid three times to “show his hands”. I watched the video four different times, and I’ll be damned if I can figure out how the cop could have said anything three times before the squad car rolled to a stop, the cop stepped out and shot the kid…..there just isn’t enough time.

 

The cop that shot the pint sized gunman is Timothy Loehmann, with less than a year’s active service with the Cleveland City cops. During his training at the Police Academy his pay was $10.50 an hour, and on March 3^rd, his 1^st day on the job, his pay shot up to $45,904.64 per year. Of course everybody knows that what is nice about working in the public sector is the benefits that come along with the increase in pay.

 

Right now Loehmann and the squad car driver, Frank Garmback, are on administrative fully paid leave, and probably sweating little bitty bullets…..especially Loehmann, there can be criminal charges for Loehmann and Garmback, or just Loehmann, only time will tell. But the incident can end both men’s careers in law enforcement, the pensions, health insurance, dental care, vacation time, sick days, and whatever other benefits are accorded city of Cleveland employees.

 

SO WHAT IS THE OBSESSION WITH GUNS…..REAL AND FAKE

I played cowboys and Indians, I played war, we had fake guns, usually hand crafted out of wood (my dad was a carpenter) and I can tell you we never gave a thought to being shot at by the police, and we weren’t menacing looking to anybody in our neighborhood, we were just a bunch of kids playing kids games.

 

I got to say that the Rice kid did look a bit menacing, pointing his fake pistol at people (walkers), buildings, and generally looking kind of aggressive. But after watching him for two or three minutes I figured out that Tamir Rice was exactly what he looked like, a young kid fiddling around with what appeared to be a gun.

 

I feel that I know exactly how those two cops, Garmback and Loehmann, were thinking as they drove up to the scene, “Oh hell, what is this kid about, damn what’ll we do, the report (911 call) says he was dangerous looking, we won’t be taking any chances. Any suspicious moves and he’ll get shot.”

 

And yes, a 12 year old boy got shot to death, and as far as I know he wasn’t breaking any laws of any kind, he was just being an adolescent who died before he had his first date, had an opportunity to excel at school work, play varsity sports…..and dream whatever dream he wanted to dream…..in was an innocent with a stupid fake gun.

 

So how can gun owners, everyday people, people with a job, a wife or husband, 2.5 kids, a cat, dog and a mortgage put up such a fuss when these shootings happen? I’ll tell you, for some it’s a phallic symbol, the big dog syndrome, for others it’s the thrill of a hunt because they never amounted to anything in the real world, and for others, they actually have the misguided opinion that they have a right to keep and bear arms. I hope that those people that I consider friends who have guns only have misguided opinions.

 

Our society, any society who kills more than 30,000 of its own citizens through suicide, accident or intentionally, and wounds another 59,000 can’t control itself. I do not like government telling me what to do, no matter the issue, but I got to tell you, we’re killing way too many of us.

 

In the final analysis, I could really care less how my friends feel about their precious gun rights, nor do I care about whether they like blacks, or figure that every white man should own one. Black people are targeted by law enforcement of that there is no doubt.

 

We need to corral guns, gun advocates, and those organizations and lobbing groups who stand to profit from gun ownership. Call it what it actually is, corporate greed, gun and ammo makers make gazillions every year and they’re leading us American citizens around by our short hairs which are connected to our purse strings. We need to use some common sense to police our police, and also our gun laws.

 

And don’t give me that crap about only criminals will own guns, and how tough a cop’s job is, only criminals having guns is a huge load, and if a cops job was so damned tough…..would somebody please tell me why it’s so hard to get into a policeman’s job…..come on people, wise up already.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!

 

IN GOD WE TRUST…..ALL OTHERS PAY CASH!

IN GOD WE TRUST…..ALL OTHERS PAY CASH!

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

I was never a fan of trusting in banks, sure I’ve got a checking account, and a piddly savings account, but I have never thought that a bank, where you kept your money or where you borrowed money, was an honorable or trustworthy institution. Hell like me, it’s just their jobs, and they got paid for their work the same as me.

 

Of course they knew about what happens to the money that I deposit, whether automatically in the old way, through the drive-through. Since I’ve been blogging…..for the past several years, I’ve kind of kept track of how banks operate. I’ve become more aware, but am still little more than a casual observer of my bank and the banking industry.

 

Hell, just for this blog I had to spend several hours going over research information just so that I’d sound kinda informed. To begin with I looked up the dictionary of banking terms and phrases, and boy was I surprised…..there were thirteen pages of simple terms that meant something to the bank industry. In the U.S. Department of Treasury there were 300 different words, grouping of words, or phrases that were used on a daily basis within the banking business.

 

No wonder people like me, probably around 75% or so of the adult population in the US, have a hard time with understanding a bankers jargon. I mean what working stiff…..a guy like me, has the time to prep themselves with the avalanche of verbiage that the banking industry uses? Oh I understand why bankers use all of these words, symbols, and phrases…..it’s called a smokescreen created by the usage of the English language to befuddle the average John Q Public.

 

You think that I’m kidding you, or that I don’t know what I’m talking about…..well my friend, read on, and you’ll discover that “by golly, the guy does know a little”. For instance, did you know that so far in 2014 that there has been 17 different banks in the United States that have failed, and been bought out by bigger banks that got bigger with the acquisition…..becoming more of a monopoly…..which ain’t good.

 

BANKS FAIL EVERY YEAR

Over the last seven years 518 banks have failed throughout the United States, 140 in 2009, and 157 in 2010. I was appalled by the number…..what in hell are we talking about here, gas stations or convenient store. Sure with little exception the failed banks were acquired by other banks or investment companies. The reasons that these banks failed numbered into the thousands, and I don’t even understand some of the reasoning that was given.

 

I’ll tell you this, those people that we either elect, or those public officials that appoint banking officials and watch-dog departments need to be scrutinized, and a shorter leash attached to them. When somebody tells me that more than 500 United States banks have failed and changed hands, something is really wrong with the system that’s in use today.

 

I read with only passing interest this morning an article in the USA Today entitled Banks Facing Billions in Fines by Kevin McCoy. It was about banking regulators from countries around the world that had kind of banded together in an investigation that has taken more than a year into how domestic and foreign banks had manipulated the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange currency trading market.

 

It was just the latest banking scandal in an industry that has a dark, dark history of manipulation into all sorts of financial issues. Since the beginning of the current decade there has been a continuous series of scandals surrounding the banks that make up the core of the global financial system.

 

Violations and even crimes committed by banks at different times are being uncovered as bank regulators are carrying out official investigations. For me, I wonder exactly how investigative some of these regulators really are…..I hope it’s not like a fox investigating whether a fox has broken into the hen house.

 

THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ARE STAGGERING

Just say the word million, it rolls of the tongue so nicely, I’d have no problem running through several million dollars. I buy a Powerball ticket whenever the amount gets to a hundred million. But these banking people are dealing in trillions…..and I can hardly comprehend that type of green-backs. Just for my own information I wondered what came after a trillion, and my wife said it was a quadrillion, a term for an amount of money that I’d heard just several times in my life.

 

Obviously when somebody talks about fines of one billion, or two, or three, the average person say’s “WOW,” that’s a ton of bread. And no doubt it is, but that amount is dwarfed by the money that these “core” banks are dealing with.

 

So what’s to be done, how do we, as…..I guess, citizens of the world combat these greedy dinks, what possibly can we do as a people to regulate the banking systems of the world. Well jail terms would be a deterrent; nobody likes to get their freedom taken away.  Lining up the guilty parties…...in front of a firing squad and…..well, you get the picture.

 

What these jokers are doing is making the entire world a worse place to live in, to trade in, and to have cash available on a regular basis…..for a decent percentage of interest. Corrupt banking practices tear at the very fabric of our societal evolution…..it’s how dastardly the act of manipulating financial rates are…..and I’m not even very smart on the subject.

 

We need some stringent regulations, and some really tough penalties for the perpetrators that cause so much misery. A spanking simply won’t get it anymore.

HAVE A NICE DAY!

THE DEMOGRAPHIES OF WAR

THE DEMOGRAPHIES OF WAR

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

Did you ever wonder about the makeup of the United States military, I mean those young men and women who risk their lives on a daily basis in foreign lands that, until they signed up, probably thought little about? “Thanks for your service” doesn’t really count for much anymore, the “mushroom clouds over Washington D.C.” rings pretty hollow…..and “protecting our freedom” is really a misnomer…..isn’t it?

 

Our young military personnel have really been sold a bill of goods, haven’t they, I know many people who abhor war, and want to avoid it like a plague. Still the federal government, the military, the Pentagon and some media outlets continue to sell the patriotic meaning of armed conflict, and the romance involved. As wars continue, Afghanistan, Iraq…..again, Syria, and in general the Middle East, the average age of our military personnel continues to drop.

 

It’s the way of any military armed conflict, the longer a war lasts, the older soldiers retire, and younger people need to pick up the slack. It is true that, in retrospect older, veteran soldiers die, pretty much because their luck runs out.

 

According to Defense Manpower Research, dated 11-23-13, the strength of the United States military is 1,196,897 active soldiers. There are 452,064 Army, 275,296 Naval personnel, 258,095 Air Force, 178,213 Marines, and 33,228 Coast Guardsmen.

 

The age demographics of the Army is 66.3% 30 and under, 64.6% Naval members under 30, a whopping 82.9% of Marine personnel 30 and under, the Air Force is made up of 60% 30 and under, and the Coast Guard has a 60.2% under the age of 31.

 

Ignorance can’t be used as an excuse for why young people join the U.S. military, 92.5 percent of soldiers have completed their high school education, while 89.3% of officers have completed a Bachelor of Science degree or above. 52.3% of all soldiers are married while on the officer’s side; seven out of every ten are married.

 

SEE THE WORLD FROM THE BACK OF A DEUCE AND A HALF

That used to be the military joke when I was in the service; it meant that all of the glossy crap that the military people told you at the induction center was…..well, just that, crap. A deuce and a half was/is a five ton Army vehicle that hauled troops and equipment all over creation…..and actually is a lousy way to see the world.

 

I can give you some top reasons why a young person does possibly the dumbest thing in the history of his/her life…..so far. I think number one would be stability, a course of action for some young people that gives them purpose. Of course there’s the pay, $1,531.50 per month, $18,378.00 a year to start, which is not so much, right…..actually you’d be wrong. You don’t pay for medical treatment, food, utilities, or housing, and like I said, you get all of the rides you’d ever care about in a deuce and a half truck.

 

Of course as you go up in rank, the pay scale goes up accordingly, and if you make the military a career, and ascend through the ranks in a normal fashion to let’s say an E8 sergeant, you’re talking about a nice piece of change, like $4,896,30 a month, or $58,755.60 for a veteran with 20 years of service. When you figure in all the “perks” of the position, you’re easily making $100,000 per year.

 

There are a myriad of reasons as to why people join the U.S. military, financial stability listed above, to test one’s courage, a good citizen, to fight Al Qaeda and terrorists, a career move, family tradition, pride. Like I said, “there’s a myriad of reasons.”

 

HOWEVER…..MAKE NO MISTAKE

With little exception, in the world of the 21^st century, the United States military is not fighting for my freedom and safety. If that’s the argument for today’s armed conflicts…..well, as far as I’m concerned, put down your weapons and catch the next flight, or boat back to the homeland.

 

It never ceases to amaze me that people really talk about the United States military presence in foreign lands, or justifies past armed military confrontation with the simple phrase of “well if we hadn’t have fought those wars, we’d have lost freedom.” And the worst part of this equation is the fact absolutely nobody objects to this mentality. Are you really telling me that the U.S. invasions of Korea, Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern nations was necessary for the freedom that we enjoy today here in the United States?

 

What we do as a nation, on a day like Veterans Day is to eulogize those who have lost their lives trying to…..well I’m not really sure. Since I don’t buy into the bull---- that the Bush administration fed everybody about Iraq and Sadem Hussein and his ties to Ben laden. Of course after several years of fighting in Afghanistan, like a majority of citizens, I wondered what the point was.

 

And now we’ve came to the brink of another conflict in the Middle East, this time with Syria…..”oh boy I can hardly wait.” You fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, friends, and just casual acquaintance’s had better be ready for some more mournful memorial services…..cause when you have war, mournful memorials are what you get.

BEFORE I GO

I can tell you this without any trepidation; the powers that are operating the country make money derived from these armed conflicts. Armed conflicts generally create jobs, if not in the military, than connected business that services, or equips the military effort.

 

However, for the average U.S. citizen with a son or daughter in the military, the war is a real situation, one that is filled with danger. To lose a son or daughter, a brother a sister, or a mate, in a strange way, isn’t as bad as a damaged person returning from a war zone. These physically or emotionally impaired people will require a lifetime of care…..that probably is the worst that a war delivers. Let’s all make love…..not war.

HAVE A NICE DAY!

 

I’M BAFFLED!

I’M BAFFLED!

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

It never ceases to amaze me, the love affair that that we, as a species, seem to have with armed military conflict, it’s almost like our Achilles Heel. There never has been a time in recorded history when the drums of war did not beat. I’m not like most of my constituents (bloggers), I don’t particularly point a finger at one political party or another, in my opinion all political parties are to blame in varying degrees for the stinking mess that the countries in.

 

No matter what hot button issue might be dominating your thinking process, almost without exception, the war on terror and the possibility of an Ebola virus outbreak has to be right up there. All of the media outlets, print, radio, and television shoulder its way into our thoughts, crying about ISIS and the Ebola virus. There are however bigger issues going on in the world besides ISIS or Ebola.

 

Whether your candidate won or lost is of little consequence, like I said, “to me, both political parties are pretty much the same.” And here we are, three days after the close of the midterm election cycle and I guess the Republican Party can count the results a win. I’m not sure that one party or any other can ever count an election in a democratic society a win. I’m under the probably naïve thinking process that politicians are elected into an office to serve those people that put them there.

 

The pundits have gone wild with all sorts of allegations as to why the Republicans were so strongly supported in this midterm election cycle. I, of course, have my own opinion as to why things “went south” for the Democrats. I suppose my opinion will differ a lot from the mainstream thinking…..it usually does, but in this case, I feel strongly that my opinion is spot on.

 

MID-TERM

What exactly are the mid-term elections anyways, and how do they differ from the presidential elections, what demographics are at play in the mid-term elections that don’t seem to be around during the elections for the president? Interesting questions…..at least to me, and since this is my blog, I can ask them.

 

Let’s begin with the United States House of Representatives, the Democrats lost twelve seats, giving the Republicans a commanding 242 to 179 advantage. Over in the Senate, there will be a 52 to 43 advantage for the Republicans over the Dems with two independents.

 

So now the Republican Party controls everything with regards to how the U.S. will be governed for the next couple of years except the presidency. Exactly what does this mean to the American people and how will we deal with this political imbalance.

 

I have come to understand that every election is important, local, state and national, it’s how our system of government operates, a democracy (where all eligible citizens are meant to participate equally, either directly, or indirectly through elected representatives)…..in the proposal, development and establishment of the laws by which society is run.

 

There are three branches of government in the United States, and the constitution provides a separation of powers, the legislative or Congress which makes the laws. The membership of Congress is made up of 100 elected state Senators, and 435 Representatives. Both Senators and Representatives, besides their duties at the legislative branch of government also are responsible to the states that elected them.

 

Of course there’s the executive branch which carries out laws, and is made up of the president, vice president, and the cabinet which is nominated by the president, and must be approved by the senate. It is here that things in government become a bit sticky…..or gridlocked. Republicans and Democrats for the past several decades haven’t gotten along very well together.

 

The third branch of the federal government is the Judicial Branch, made up of the Supreme Court, nine members, and other federal courts. It is here where partisanship can really weld a long, sharp and deadly weapon. Supreme Court members are nominated by the sitting president, and must be approved by the Senate…..and these people, once confirmed, are done so…..for life.

 

WHAT ONE POLITICAL PARTY IN POWER MEANS

In probably the biggest understatement of the week, President Obama lamented “that he’ll need to work more closely with Republicans if he wants to achieve anything legislatively for the rest of his presidency.” “I’ll not be running for office again, I don’t have any further political aspirations, my number one goal is deliver as much as I can to the American people as I can during the last two years of my administration.”

 

However that said, what Republicans can do: is to pass legislation because they now have a majority in both chambers of Congress. The Senate also has more than just the ability to pass laws, unlike the House, it also holds power to approve or reject the judges, cabinet members, political staff, and diplomats that the White House appoints.

 

One glimmer of light is the fact that the Republican majority can’t pass bills without the President’s signature, because they didn’t get the two-thirds congressional majority they’d need to override a presidential veto, or even enough to avoid certain types of filibusters.

 

The political wrangling will continue the partisan atmosphere, gridlock, separatism or whatever you’d like to call how our elected officials act, and react to situations will be more graphic…..of that you can rest assured. This system that we use to govern has its flaws, voter turnout being probably the biggest breakdown. People want a strong minimum wage debate, and well over 50% favor the establishment of some sort of living wage. But even with those sentiments, voters voted Republicans into office that’ll fight screaming and kicking to avert any such action. People also want common sense gun control, and laws, but continue to elect proponents of the NRA and their agenda.

 

FOREIGN POLICY

Here is the part that really scares the hell outta me, I understand that the president and his advisors handle much of the country’s foreign policies, but with the Republican Party now firmly in control of so much, what will happen with the old war dogs that still hold their political seats?

 

Will neo-conservatism now hold sway, will the behind the scenes shenanigans of people like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton, Richard Perle, and William Kristol come home to roost? Will politicians like John McCain have their way and create another war on terror?

 

As a unit, it seems as if the Republican Party would rather fight than switch, and in the 21^st century that is just unacceptable to me. Cooler heads need to come into play before the country writes a check with our mouth that our collective butts simply can’t cash!

 

It is never a good thing to have one political party in power; our form of government has been designed to have a checks and balances type of system…..no matter whether it’s the Republicans, the Democrats, or the Green Party or whatever. It’s worked pretty much for the 238 year history of our country…..why change now?

HAVE A NICE DAY!