Rants on Facebook - 1

John N Smith

 -1 This was not a private conversation but on a tour bus with others and it was recorded because both men were wearing mikes because there was a possibility that part of any conversation might be used on the show.

2 Even Howard Stern says he has never heard anyone say he likes to grab women by the pussy, especially because he feels he can because he is a star.

3. The witness on the plane flight is a known serial liar and it is doubtful he would have been flying 1st class on a domestic American flight as a British 19-year-old student at the time. He has also claimed to be a pimp for underage boys to British politicians, among other things.

4. Trump claimed a reporter was lying about her being assaulted and propositioned. Immediately 6 other people said they were there or were told about Trump's actions. Since there are over ten other women coming forward and many women who aren't, it is a he said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, etc. situation.

5. "Men should not be ashamed to be men or be apologetic for being a man." And you are not a man but a dick, much weaker than a pussy.

6. A long yahoo news investigation of Clinton's actions as Secretary of State found no evidence of any special favors, all of the meetings with donors would have been held anyway.

7. The Hillary Foundation, unlike Trump's, has been audited and releases public annual reports and does millions of dollars in good works. Trump has not donated any money to his foundation in over ten years and the main expenditures recently seem to have been buying portraits of Trump and paying off legal suits against Trump with other people's donations.

8 There is no public record of Hillary covering up her husband's "rapes and molestations."  I doubt if you know what a public record is.

9. Trump is the one who actually wrote an editorial in 2013 saying that closed borders were the past, we needed open borders now.

10. Trump is the one who doesn't know the constitution and is a threat to the Bill of Rights.

11. Immigrants to the United States, illegal or legal, commit much less crime per person than people born here.

12. "Diseases once eradicated will kill tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands." You are a paranoid sicko so naturally you think people from foreign countries carry diseases. Are you trying to preserve your "Purity of Essence"?

The big divide on guns

There are people I respect in other areas who I consider completely unhinged on guns.

One  example is a well known Libertarian filk songwriter. After the Orando massacre at a gay bar she said the problem was that the bar and patrons were not carrying their own guns. The problem of anyone being able to quickly buy a civilian version of a military assault rifle converted to semi automatic and having a large magazine she refused to acknowledge or consider a problem.

When I pointed out that the bar had an armed security officer who was immediately killed she blamed the stupid security officer and the bar for only having one.

She also blamed the FBI for not keeping track of "Jihadists" because surveillance of religious minorities even if born in America should be a priority according to this Libertarian.

I also found similar opinions among the leaders of the Sad and Rabid Puppies attacking diversity in the Hugo Awards and their followers. Some of these are talented in writing if on the wrong side of a culture war.

A few decades a very fringe idea that the 2nd Amendment was an unrestricted right for all Americans to have any type of gun started being pushed by a few of the radical right. It took over the NRA which had been a mainstream group supporting gun owners and manufacturers. It infiltrated the Republican Party which was beginning its sharp right turn with the influx of Southern conservative racist Democrats fleeing a party which supported Civil Rights. It entered the more conservative legal schools. And it made it to the Republican judges on the Supreme Court.

My position is clear. Weapons solely designed for killing people quickly and easily and on a mass scale do not belong in civilian hands. If you believe they do there is something wrong with your values.

I do not know how to get this attitude of gun rights over human lives back under the rock from whence it came. Sad and dangerous times.

William Safire - "Habitual Liar"

For some reason William Safire was a highly respected conservative opinion columnist at the New York Times after being Richard Nixon's speechwriter. He also wrote other columns on language and writing. He wrote a highly influential column, completely unsubstantiated, that Hillary Clinton had always been a serial "habitual liar" and corrupted everyone around her to lie as well. The column was never substantiated and was itself lies although Safire may have believed it. He never apologized or confessed that the column had been proven wrong. Later he was a leader in the allegations of Al Gore's "habitual lies and exagerations" and strongly supported George W Bush for president. Once Bush was president Safire spread the lies of the Bush administration that Iraq was a threat to Israel and the United States, the big lies it was violating the peace treaty and possessed illegal weapons of mass destruction.

Safire made a long career out of being a talented liar skilled with words whose favored tactic was accusing others of lying. The widespread belief that Hillary Clinton and Al Gore were completely untrustworthy can be traced back to him. His lies and the tactic of always calling liberals and Democrats and convenient outsiders serial liars were repeated by the conservative media and Republicans and repeated often enough to become "common knowledge". His numerous writings about Iraq led to a an illegal unnecessary disastrous war based on lies. The widespread belief that climate change is a lie caused by lying scientists can be traced back to his tactics used on Al Gore, the first well known popular figure to warn of climate change.

When you think of lies and the lying liars who tell them always place Safire near the top of the list.

My simply writing this history will be shocking to many, as corporate media and the Republican Party gave him the status of elderly beloved spokesman before his death.

More of Safire's misdeeds can be found in this column by Eric Boehlert.

Brains and Eggs: A-Skeered uh Soshulism

Brains and Eggs: A-Skeered uh Soshulism

Can Hillary gain the support of all the voters her supporters are smearing on the Left?

Bernie is doing much better than expected but seems to be having trouble driving up voting enough in the caucuses and primaries to be the nominee, once a fanciful notion but now close but falling short.

Once again voters in November may be faced with an utter disaster from the GOP on the right and someone many on the Left will say doesn't deserve their support from the Democrats.

This split cost Al Gore the election. Will it cost Hillary too?