Month: November 2021

“KYLE RITTENHOUSE … NOT GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES”

As a friend of mine said, “HALLELUJAH! Not guilty on all charges. Our legal system is still capable of working.”

Finally, twelve jurors and a judge with courage. Certainly, in response to this unanimous verdict, many on the left will go bananas. One wonders how careful they will now be when voicing their response to this Rittenhouse verdict, and to the young man himself, compared to what many of them were saying before and during the trial?

Prior to the verdict in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” Wendy Rittenhouse, the mother of Kyle Rittenhouse, was asked if the Rittenhouse team plans to take any action against powerful Americans — including Joe Biden — for “interfering in the justice system” and “defaming” the 18-year-old Rittenhouse.

The elder Rittenhouse had a six word response.

“Our lawyers are gonna handle that,” Wendy Rittenhouse responded.

In 2020, then-presidential candidate Biden tweeted a video of alleged examples of white supremacy with audio from a presidential debate between Biden and then-President Donald Trump. The video included an image of Rittenhouse.

Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse explained what she felt when she saw Biden’s tweet.

“When I saw that, I was shocked,” she said. “I was angry. President Biden don’t know my son whatsoever, and he’s not a white supremacist. He’s not a racist. And [Biden] did that for the votes. And I was so angry for a while at him and what he did to my son. He defamed him.”

My advice: “Sue the bastard!”

Meanwhile, somewhat similarly, CBS News rendered its own verdict on 11/11 in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial by saying the defendant “testified” that he “murdered two men” amid protests and rioting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year.

Both Fox News and Mediaite reported that CBS News deleted its initial tweet.

But the internet is forever — and here is an image of the tweet in question, which reads, “Kyle Rittenhouse testified in his murder trial yesterday, breaking down in tears as he told the jury he murdered two men at a Black Lives Matter protest last year in self-defense.”

Again, a lot of Rittenhouse coverage and commentary is straight up libelous,” Mark Hemingway, senior writer at RealClearInvestigations, tweeted about the network’s “murdered two men” faux pax.

“Somebody obviously forgot what happened after the media falsely accused that youngster from Covington Catholic in KY. Apparently CBS has deep enough pockets that they won’t have a problem settling with Kyle Rittenhouse for millions, too.”

My advice: “Sue the bastards!”

Former Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz blasted liberal media outlets such as CNN and the New Yorker over the prior weekend for their biased and erroneous reporting on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. “If I were a juror, I would vote that there was reasonable doubt [and] that he did act in self-defense,” Dershowitz told Newsmax.

“Then he’ll bring lawsuits, and that’s the way to answer … vigilante justice is what CNN is doing, not what a 17-year-old kid under pressure may have done right or wrong. It’s CNN who is involved in vigilante justice. It’s the New Yorker that’s guilty of vigilante justice,” he added.

“The idea is to make the media accountable for deliberate and willful lies,” Dershowitz explained.

My advice: “Sue the bastards!”

MSNBC has insulted and defamed Mr. Rittenhouse on multiple occasions – actually too many for me to realistically list here. … Multiple commentators, multiple times.

My advice: “Sue the bastards!”

11/20/21

www.californiacontrarian.com

“Residents and business people want parking. There is a real disconnect between the policies the city is pursuing, and what the voters want.” This was spoken by a local resident in response to a new law enacted by the San Diego City Council that eliminates parking requirements for businesses located near mass transit or in small plazas near dense residential areas. A group of neighborhood leaders from across the city voted 21-3 against these proposed changes when they were first unveiled last Spring. … but obviously our City Council knows what is best for all of us.

This new policy is an addendum of sorts onto an action they took two years ago eliminating parking requirements for new condominium and apartment complexes located near mass transit. Who in their right would buy a condo or rent an apartment that didn’t provide for parking? How would those new condo or apartment residents ever get their kids to school, visit their parents, go to the beach, or attend a movie or a play without a car. A real disconnect!

This is in addition to our trusted City Council recently eliminating parking along 30th Street. 30th Street has a lot of restaurants. These parking spaces were eliminated for bike lanes! The last time I tried to go to a restaurant on 30th, I could not find a parking space within a reasonable walking distance to my targeted restaurant, and so I returned home. A real disconnect!

Presently 25% of the population in San Diego is older than 55 years old. As the years go by all of these people will be getting older with a whole new bunch will be entering into the over 55 age group every year. How many of them are going to walk more than a block or two to go out to dinner? … Not many! How many of them are going to walk to the local market and carry home their groceries? … None! Similarly myriads of small businesses will lose potential customs if there is no local parking. How many? … certainly a large portion of those over 55 will find someplace else to do their shopping.

Again a real disconnect!

Remember these sorts of diktats are made by “those who know best,” and “want to protect the climate.” Now I do not personally know any of those who now are on the San Diego City Council, but dollars to doughnuts there is likely an big disconnect between what they advocate for us residents and what they actually do themselves. I would wager that none of the City Council presently ride mass transit, and my guess is that most of them likely have never ridden mass transit in San Diego. In conclusion, how does one spell the “do what I say, not what I do” San Diego City Council?

D-I-S-C-O-N-N-E-C-T!

11/19/21

www.californiacontrarian.com

As one retired California nurse asked of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, “Why do the protected need to be protected from the unprotected by forcing the unprotected to use the protection that didn’t protect the protected in the first place?”

Wow! That’s quite a mouthful! Initially it sounds like a modern version of “If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?” … but when read carefully it is actually pretty profound. Substitute “the vaccinated” for “the protected,” and substitute “the unvaccinated” for “the unprotected,” and read it again-  slowly. In essence ‘those who know best’ seem to be playing a game similar to pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey … blindfolded! I am finding it difficult  to follow the logic of what is going on these days with the somewhat arbitrary recommendations concerning vaccinations and the accompanying mandates. At this point it would seem that conventional wisdom as well as common sense should be saying … “Stop!”

The other thing that is not talked about any more is Sweden. To my way of thinking, if something is not being talked about with Covid, it oftentimes means that what is happening is going against the wisdom of “those that know best.” For those not aware, early on in the pandemic Sweden defied what was passing as conventional wisdom back then. Sweden had very loose restrictions with no lockdowns and no masks. For upwards to a year Sweden was mocked by “those that know best,” because it was having more cases … but now no one is alluding to or mentioning Sweden. Why??

Right now Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and even Singapore have approximately the same portion of their population vaccinated. However when you compare the number of new cases of Covid per million people, Sweden’s curve is flat and the number of new cases is considerably below that of the other countries just mentioned.

More specifically when comparing two countries that have similar vaccination curves (Sweden and Ireland – with Ireland jabbing an even greater percentage of its population), the results are amazing.

Daily confirmed new Covid cases per million are dramatically higher in Ireland (~800) compared to Sweden (~100). Obviously the only reasonable explanation for this dichotomy is the significantly increased number of Swedes who have natural immunity as a consequence of Sweden’s policies early on.

So here it appears that the country which did not protect its citizens early on (“Sweden’s unprotected”), now, has a dramatically decreased number of new cases, because a lot of the population is now “protected” because of natural immunity.

www.californiacontrarian.com

11/18/21

While I do not recall ever accusing Democrats of thinking logically, this could be a first. Everyone who is paying any attention realizes that Biden’s virtual open border policy has been a disaster with thousands and thousands of illegals attempting to cross our southern border daily. Biden and his fellow Democrat cronies apparently feel that these millions of illegals will morph into reliable votes for Democratic politicians. At this point since Biden has stopped any funding for the completion of the border wall, the only hindrance to the ongoing illegal invasion is the 19,536 Border Patrol Agents (CBP).

From HotAir:

“The deadline for federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is November 22. Federal employees who are not vaccinated, or obtain an exemption, by that date are subject to termination. It’s hard to imagine a worse time to lose a substantial amount of border patrol agents than during the Biden Border Crisis.

Former chief operating officer of CBP from 2019 to 2021, Mark Morgan, obtained a document from a source inside CBP. The leaked document shows nearly half of CBP agents have not registered their COVID vaccination status and 10% of those who have registered have not received a shot. The federal mandate issued by Biden may result in the loss of over half of border patrol agents.”

Aah, now I get it! 

By mandating vaccines for CBP agents, Biden is pretty much assuring that there will be a significant decrease in the number of Border Patrol Agents and will be able to say, “The border being porous is not my fault because many border patrol agents have refused an official presidential order.” To Joe it doesn’t matter that many of these CBP agents may have already had Covid because of their interactions with illegals. To Joe it doesn’t really matter why individual CBP agents have refused the vaccine.

Is it possible that Joe and his fellow Dems were counting on the CBP agents to show some backbone? You see this way they can blame the agents for the ongoing mess.

Aah, now I get it!

In addition, Congressional Democrats are looking at steep budget cuts to CBP . A Senate appropriations bill in October allocated less than the current funding for the fiscal year 2022 – even less than Biden requested. The defund ICE progressives are being appeased. It looks like the consequences of Biden’s federal mandate will assist in their efforts.

Aah, now I get it … even more!

www.californiacontrarian.com

11/17/21

I just read an interesting thing concerning Covid from Townhall:

“Law firm Siri & Glimstad, through a Freedom of Information Act request, wanted to see from the CDC: “Documents reflecting any documented case of an individual who: (1) never received a COVID-19 vaccine; (2) was infected with COVID-19 once, recovered, and then later become infected again; and (3) transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to another person when reinfected.” 

In response, the CDC stated, “A search of our records failed to reveal any documents pertaining to your request. The CDC Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) conveyed that this information is not collected.” 

Incredible! Amazing! Outlandish! Ridiculous! Absurd! 

The central tenant of a substantial number of anti-vaxers is that because they have already had a documented case of Covid, they have antibodies and thus do not need to get the vaccine. One might ask, “What does the science say?” When the answer from those who should know (the CDC) is “we have no idea!” … that certainly is suspicious. Why wasn’t this issue studied from the git-go?

To me there are only two possibilities:

First: Perhaps those who should know about viral immunity in general actually suggested that natural immunity should be assumed to be the real deal. The CDC then ignored that recommendation, and decided to go with the “if we do not look, we can say that we do not know” strategy.

Second: Could it be that if natural immunity was never considered to be valid, then how much easier would it be to carry out mandatory vaccinations. If natural immunity should ever be considered to be as good  as or better than the vaccines, wouldn’t almost all “anti-vaxers” then simply claim to already have had Covid. Certainly the government could not handle this sort of reasonable dissent. The fact that the CDC has not studied this is incredible, amazing, outlandish, ridiculous, and absurd, and makes me wonder what they are trying to hide.

11/16/21

www.californiacontrarian.com

I doubt that many of you will remember the song from 1959, The Big Hurt.

It was sung by Toni Fisher, and it was the lyrics of this song that reminded me of what is happening these days.

It starts out:

“Now it begins, now that you’ve gone”

And the lyrics of the third verse are:

“Oh, each time you go

I try to pretend

It’s over at last

This time the big hurt will end”

Okay, okay … how could this outdated song possibly be of any relevance in today’s world? Simple actually. Listen to the lyrics. The ‘big hurt’ is referring to the Covid vaccinations, and what is gone are the individual freedoms that we use to have in this country. We used to have the freedom to decide what is best for us, but how that has changed here recently with Biden’s regal mandates. So and so will have to get the big hurt (vaccines) or more of their freedoms will be taken away. They will not be able to work. They will not be able to go into a restaurant, or certain sporting events … when will the big hurt end?

It seems that every time some freedom is taken away, most of us try to pretend that it’s over at last … but not so fast. Once the big hurt (the vaccine) is forced upon many of us, and we naïvely think that the usurpation of our freedoms is over, then comes the boosters. Because it is becoming increasingly obvious that beneficial effects of the vaccinations are waning over time, will certain companies as well as our military be requiring boosters over and above the initial vaccines? For any of you that think that this conjecture is fantasy, look at the NBA.

The NBA and NBPA are now recommending that all players, coaches, front office and personnel who are in Tier 1 should receive the booster shot if they received the J&J vaccine at least two months ago or Pfizer/Moderna vaccine at least six months ago.

So with getting the booster shots being the next thing to challenge individual freedoms, some might say, “this time the big hurt will end”  (there will be no more intrusions on our freedoms after the booster) … Unlikely!

www.californiacontrarian.com

11/15/21

As some of you are aware, on Sundays, I often try to devote an entire blog to someone I feel all of us should know about. 

So who is Teresa Long? To start, Lieutenant Colonel Teresa Long, is a Brigade Surgeon in the 1st Airborne Brigade of the U.S. Army. Long is an MD and an Army Aerospace Medicine Specialist, and holds a Master’s in Public Health.

Okay so granted she is a well educated Army officer, but usually for someone to be highlighted in a Sunday piece, he/she typically would be someone who displays fortitude and/or is driven by principle.

From PJMedia:

“In May 2021, Long attended a senior preventative medicine leadership course where senior medical staff discussed the COVID-19 vaccines. Following the presentation, she reports asking the following question, “So, we skipped two years of phase two trials and three years of phase three trials? We only lost 12 active-duty soldiers to COVID-19. Yet, we are going to risk the health of the entire fighting force on a vaccine we only have two months of safety data on?”

The response she says she received is astonishing. Long reports she was told, ‘You’re damn right, Colonel. And you’re going to get every soldier you can to take the vaccine so I can get enough data points to determine if the vaccine is safe.’

“After the training session, a colleague of Long’s received the vaccine. Almost immediately, she suffered from high fevers, lost the range of motion in her arms, and was stricken with debilitating pain. Long reports reviewing information in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VARES) and being shocked at what she saw. She acknowledged VARES does not prove causation, but the signal was overwhelming. After just a few months, more deaths were reported following the COVID-19 vaccine than all other vaccines combined during any single year in the previous ten.

“After a visit to Fort Benning, Long says soldiers there reported threats and coercion to get vaccinated. As a medical provider, she correctly notes this behavior is not ethical, and forcing anyone to participate in taking a drug that is still investigational violates the Nuremberg Codes signed after World War II. 

“More recently, Long did a shift in the acute care clinic. She saw five patients. Two came in with chest pain within days to weeks after vaccination. Both were diagnosed with pericarditis and sent to be worked up for myocarditis. Another came in with neurological problems, including drowsiness and confusion. A pilot, the patient reported that he felt like he was drunk and the symptoms would not go away. Long ended up grounding three pilots due to what were, in her medical opinion, vaccine injuries. When she reported this to her command, superiors pulled her charts, canceled her remaining patients, and reassigned her to perform only regular flight physicals.”

(To me this sounds like, “Miss Long, how dare you speak out! Perhaps you’re are not aware that voicing your personal opinion is something that cannot be tolerated in the military. Perhaps reassigning you to do menial flight physicals will open your eyes, and reenforce to you what can and cannot be said.”)

Again from PJMedia:

“This summer, the CDC and FDA examined the occurrence of myocarditis and pericarditis in people aged 16-24. In a committee hearing at the FDA on booster shots, FDA official Doran Fink, discussing the frequency of myocarditis, said:

“If you look at the healthcare claims data, you see that there is evidence of some attributable risk at all age groups, although, the older you get, the higher the risk of complications from COVID that offset the risk of myocarditis,” he said. “So, when you look at the balances of risk versus benefit, what we really start to see is risk of myocarditis being higher [than COVID-19] in males under age 40.”

Continuing from PJMedia:

“Long reports the military vaccination program did not change despite these investigations and hearings, and there was no direction to communicate the potential side effects. This troubled her deeply, because providing information about potential side effects of a treatment or procedure is a fundamental principle of obtaining informed consent.

“Last week Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) held an expert panel on federal vaccine mandates, and LTC Long testified after invoking communications protection under the Military Whistleblowers Protection Act, Title 10, U.S.C. 1034. By speaking out, LTC Long is risking a career in the military that she embarked on at age 17.”

In summary, I think LTC. Teresa Long not only displays fortitude, but also is driven by principle. One might say that she is being loyal to her Hippocratic Oath. 

 My comment to LTC. Teresa Long … “You go, girl!”

11/14/21

“What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court,” LeBron James tweeted on 11/10/21. 

This tweet was in response to what was happening in the Kenosha, Wisconsin trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse was being questioned by his defense attorneys when he broke down, crying uncontrollably, as he detailed the events of the night he shot and killed two rioters in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Somewhat predictably then the criticism of the dunderhead star of the L.A. Lakers started as he mocked Kyle Rittenhouse for becoming emotional while testifying during his murder trial. 

Apparently James felt that he needed to chime in on something that was happening half way across the country. Subsequently his critics had a field day, and why not, as being able to throw a ball into a hoop doesn’t necessarily mean that James has any smarts. In fact the comments of his critics are much more instructive in understanding who this outspoken high school graduate really is. The following are mostly from Twitter …  enjoy:

“You’re a coward. Oh, and would you be saying this if he weren’t white? Or if he held the same political views as you did?”

“You’re literally known as the king of faking injuries, flopping, and crying to refs. Maybe sit this one out?”

“You are a remarkably immature person, using your platform to mock a teenager like a 12 year old trying to impress his friends.”

“This guy @KingJames is the @joebiden of the @NBA.  He is wrong on every possible issue.  It’s unreal.”

“There’s only one American “King,” and he’s buried in Memphis.”

“Hey LeBron since you have time to make fun of a teenager in court, surely you have the time to announce you support human rights in China, right? I’d hate for you to keep shutting up and dribbling for Chairman Xi.”

“Figured out what’s happening in Hong Kong yet? Or to the Uyghurs in Chinese concentration camps? Didn’t think so.”

“Tears of the enslaved children making Nike shoes in China: real or fake?”

“Hey, LeBigot, care to comment on whether the tears of the Uyghurs and Falun Gong are genuine?”

“XiBron is mad. I guess his Uyghur slaves are slacking.”

Yes, “King James” is truly the king of meatheads. Nonetheless, I can hardly wait for him to tweet another inane comment on something that he knows nothing about … as the Twitter responses to this blockhead are right on the money and worth the wait.

11/13/21

www.californiacontrarian.com

In my relentless quest to become the man I used to be, I have recently been going regularly to my gym where I can exercise on the upright bike.

Because the TV screens are a fair distance away, my old eyes cannot read the print out of the ongoing conversation and comments, but I merely read the larger print along the bottom of the screen. 

On 11/10/21 I was there in the late morning and it just so happened that Kyle Rittenhouse was testifying during his trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Yes, he was testifying at his own trial … something that is rarely done at a murder trial. Now keep in mind that I could not hear what the defendant was saying, nor could I read the print out on the screen of what he was saying. All I could see was the young cherub-looking wide-eyed teenager’s face on the screen. When Rittenhouse broke down while on the stand and a consequent recess was called, coincidentally I was finished exercising.

There are multiple TV screens positioned in front of the treadmills, bikes, and other assorted exercise equipment spread across my gym. While I was still using my bike, I noticed that of the fifteen or sixteen TVs only one was showing the testimony of Kyle Rittenhouse. Anyone care to take a guess which station that was? Even though there was no other significant news stories that morning, the multiple TVs that were tuned into CNN and MSNBC, were showing some other drivel … only Fox News was showing the live testimony. 

I asked myself, “Why?” 

To me the answer was intuitively obvious. While on the stand, Rittenhouse did not look like a murderer, and God forbid that CNN/MSNBC would show anything that could be viewed as favorable to Kyle Rittenhouse. After all from their perspective the teenager killed two people – all in the midst of those “peaceful” Kenosha protests. The fact that Rittenhouse was chased, knocked to the ground, and then, while down, blasted with skateboard should not make any difference. Just because a pistol was pointed at him and his rifle was grabbed was no reason for him to defend himself … again according to the liberal MSM.

But I continue to ask Why. Why is the left so against Kyle Rittenhouse?

Big Tech, teaming up with liberal reporters in the media, got in on the action, too. Crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe and PayPal shut down Kyle Rittenhouse’s campaign to raise money for his defense fees and local reporters doxxed innocent Americans donating to his cause. Again … Why?

Rabid left-wing politicians, including then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, and mainstream media hacks ignored all the evidence and labeled Kyle Rittenhouse a white supremacist, domestic terrorist, yet remained silent as violent rioters caused chaos in their communities, assaulting innocent people and burning down and vandalizing private businesses.

Why?

Certainly Mr. Rittenhouse used poor judgement in bringing a rifle into that chaos. While his motives may have been altruistic and boyscoutish, he did not use discretion or good sense in coming from Illinois across the state line to nearby Kenosha on that fateful evening. Nonetheless, a murderer he is not, and hopefully the jury will stick to the facts that were presented in the courtroom. [Initially I was going to say, “hopefully the jury will find him innocent.” However I realized that if I gave an opinion while not actually being in the courtroom, I could be viewed as being in the same category as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D,NY), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rep.Ayanna Presley (D,MA). These three, despite not being anywhere near the Kenosha courtroom, nevertheless have taken the Maxine Waters approach of giving strong opinions without knowing all the facts. As a matter of principle, I never want to be included in any group with these Congressional dunderheads!] 

www.californiacontrarian.com

11/12/21

As all us who live in California are aware in general, that a lot of the schools in the Golden State are woeful and consequently a lot of California’s children are performing considerably behind their stated grade level. Certainly the  pandemic and the subsequent online method of “teaching,” was stressful for just about all involved … teachers, students, and parents. 

However, finally, now in the present school year, the kids are back in the classroom, and in-person learning is coming along as well as to be expected. So now almost three months into the school year what does the San Diego Unified School District (SUSD) think should be done on Friday, November 12? … Make it a mental health day!! 

Mr. Lamont Jackson, the Interim Superintendent, stated that many parents and students said that their mental health has suffered, and thus the recommendation that November 12 be an excused mental health day. Apparently Mr. Jackson does not have to be concerned with finding affordable last minute daycare for his children, but many working parents were flabbergasted at his apparent slight of hand. Does anyone besides me realize that this recommendation for a “mental health day” was a way for the teachers to get a four day weekend as Thursday, November 11 is a holiday?

Yes, apparently a lot of parents did recognize this as a diversion to the real issue. A parent of a six year old in the SUSD wrote the following to the Superintendent:

“I trust you know that a great deal of the mental stress for parents and students during the pandemic has been the lack of in person instruction.

To conclude that keeping kids out of school an additional day at this time to alleviate that stress is counterintuitive and nonsensical. If you want to assist us with our mental health, do everything that you can to maintain a  consistent in person school schedule.”

Fortunately this parent copied her letter to the local newspaper. Bingo! Then the tap dancing began! 

Mr. Jackson came back with what he possibly felt was a reasonable compromise, “After careful consideration we have decided to keep our classrooms open on Friday, November 12. All students will be welcome on that day. Any students who take the day will have their absence marked as ‘excused.’”

In other words what Mr. Jackson is saying is … “all students may come to school on Friday, 11/12 if they wish. On that day the school will provide the daycare that parents need. Do not expect much actual teaching on that day as there will likely be a shortage of teachers. I am hopeful that all of the teachers who have requested that Friday off will come back refreshed after their four day weekend.”

So the stressed teachers get what they wanted … a four day weekend.

The stressed parents get what they needed … daycare for their children.

And the stressed students … basically get screwed again!

In other parts of the stare, school administrators were much wiser. They obviously realized that with Thursday, 11/11 being a holiday, myriads of teachers would be taking Friday, 11/12 off, and thus in some places the teachers were given some cockamamie reason (report cards due and prepping for parent teacher conferences the following week) such that they did not have to be at school on 11/12. These other school districts obviously realized what was inevitably going to happen with a Thursday holiday, and they formulated their school schedule years in advance. They were cognizant of the 6Ps, whereas SUSD was clueless. 

Attention, Mr. Jackson! Learn the 6Ps -> Poor Preparation Predicts Piss Poor Performance!

11/11/21

www.californiacontrarian.com