Pesky cold finally gone, I'm left to contemplate the continuous stream of terror spouting from the WH resident and his horde of ignoramuses. Now DHS wants to create a data base of journos. Good thing I'm on anti-D meds, else I'd have probably slit my throat weeks ago. No, I'm not kidding. I thought the Nixon era was bad, but the current regime has that past one beat hands down.

Don't tell me the system of checks and balances will redress this mess; that system is broken. Don't tell me that I'm being paranoid: a few days ago I was asked at my bank, at which I've been a customer for over a decade, where I was born when opening a savings account. The teller said the question was used to confirm my SSN. Total and utter bullshit. Of course I told her the truth: I'm naturalized. I feel as though it's just a matter of time before ICE bangs on my door.

Most especially, don't tell me the GOP isn't really that bad: all you have to do is look around with open eyes to see that we are in serious danger of losing all our freedoms.

If you care what happens to your family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, you county, your state, your country, please show up at all your local elections this year, and vote your conscience. Not your party, your CONSCIENCE.

May God have mercy on us all.

The RNC is now officially a dumpster fire and so is its 2016 presidential candidate

I'm so relieved that my dearest uncle has walked on. He was a conservative Republican, and he saw the writing on the wall before he died. This year's RNC would have made him cry.

Along with Melissa McEwen , I am hereby done with beating around the bushes with my vote.

It all boils down to this. A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for reasonable governance by the most qualified (but not perfect) candidate for POTUS this year.

A vote for the human dumpster fire that is the Trumper is a vote for global apocalypse.

Choose wisely. Remember to pay attention to down-ticket races in your state and local governing bodies.

And please, please let us all live for another four years.

At least 11 people shot, four dead in Dallas sniper shooting

At a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Dallas Thursday night, a sniper firing from an elevated position opened fire on Dallas police officers pulling crowd control duty for the demonstration, according to news released from the Dallas police chief.

One person shot is a civilian and is not in critical condition.

Ten police officers, including a DART officer, were shot by the snipers. Four of them are dead.

I really, really hope that the US House members are paying attention. Because if they don't do anything this time, there will be a LOT more Dems in the house after November.

Also, Dallas police released a photo of a black man in a camo T-shirt carrying a slung rifle. This man was later identified as the brother of the march's organizer. This man surrendered his rifle to police when the sniper shooting started, and HE IS NO LONGER A SUSPECT in this incident.

So WHY does ABC News still have his photo up as a "person of interest" on their website?

ABC, you done fucked up.

This shit -- the shootings of unarmed black folk by police, and police being shot at events centering black people -- has GOT TO STOP.

If the current Congress, both parts, doesn't hold an emergency session pronto to deal with this mess, then I may lose all hope for the USA's future.

Rage. Seethe. Boil. Fume. Flames. On the side of my face.

Dirty rotten scoundrels: the AVMA and cat declawing

I'm still feeling nauseous and angry.

I just got the following from the American Veterinary Medical Association's website:

"Scientific data do indicate that cats that have destructive scratching behavior are more likely to be euthanatized [sic], or more readily relinquished, released, or abandoned, thereby contributing to the homeless cat population. [Bullshit.-Ed.] Where scratching behavior is an issue as to whether or not a particular cat can remain as an acceptable household pet in a particular home, surgical onychectomy may be considered.

"There is no scientific evidence that declawing leads to behavioral abnormalities when the behavior of declawed cats is compared with that of cats in control groups." [Bullshit. Again. -Ed.] 

Yes, one of the main medical groups for veterinarians in the US still insists on declawing as an option for cat persons. Yes, on their website, the AVMA lists alternatives to this mutilating, medically unnecessary procedure, such as claw caps, ready access to scratching posts, etc.

But the AVMA continues to refuse to call cat declawing what it really is: animal cruelty.

Declawing isn't "just" the removal of claws. Declawing is amputation.

"But why would the AVMA say such things?" you might ask. To which I'd reply: follow the money.

Visit The Paw Project and watch the film on what the TPP is all about.

If you're a cat person and you've considered declawing but haven't learned what's really involved in this procedure, get thee hence and research. If, after doing so, you still think declawing is ethical, then you have no business having a cat in your residence.

Look at it this way: human doctors don't cut off the end digits on the hands of patients who have itching problems.

Pay attention: a cat is higher in overall worth to any piece of furniture. If you think having a cat would be nice, get a toy stuffed animal cat instead.

If you'd never do such a thing to your kittehs, please consider donating to TPP or spreading the message in your area. Ask your vet if they do declawing. If the answer's yes, you might wanna find a vet that doesn't.

How far CNN has fallen

Back in the early days of the 24-hour news cycle, CNN was actually trying to be balanced in their reporting. It was a news channel worth watching because it reported the news in a journalistically appropriate way. CNN followed the 4 Ws + H of reporting and regularly snagged at least two people for interviews -- who were actually connected to the event being reported -- for every story they aired. Breaking news was fairly well done as well.

Now?

This is just one of the people CNN had on air for a piece on the Sandra Bland arrest. Harry Houck is a retired NYPD detective who runs his own PI business now. He's also a "law enforcement analyst" for CNN. He said that if Bland hadn't acted "arrogant" to the officer, the whole incident would never have happened.

That's a really big assumption, Mr. Houck, and doesn't even take into account  a citizen's rights when stopped by a LEO. You know, like protection against unlawful search and seizure?

For shame, CNN, having this person appear as a "law enforcement analyst" on your channel. It appears that your news director has no qualms about paying any hothead who used to carry a badge to appear as a "law enforcement analyst." Does the ND even know what that phrase means? I bet not. Claiming someone is a "law enforcement analyst" means absolutely NOTHING in terms of accurate news reporting. All it means is that some person analyzes law enforcement. No background, no credentials, no other potential qualification is included in that phrase.

Ah, but such a euphemism it is. It's just like Silly Putty, you can mush it and shape it anywhichway to suit your needs.

Which is what CNN has done.

Being an LEO for 25 years says very little about the quality of that LEO's work. Running one's own PI agency says very little about the quality of that PI's work. I doubt Houck knows how to analyze the contents list of a box of noodles.

My late husband, who was a soldier and a police officer, would be angered by this whole situation: CNN swirling down the toilet bowl in a never-ending whirlpool of gabblery masquerading as news, police departments all over the US getting military-grade equipment (there's a damn good reason it has that name) instead of continuing education in psychology and medicine as it pertains to their field, and people -- and let's remember, folks, they're all people of color -- getting killed by police who seemingly think it's okay to shoot first and ask questions later. My husband never had to raise his voice while he was on duty as a cop, never felt using his gun was necessary in 12 years on the job, and spent nearly five years as a field training officer for rookies and new hires. He was admired by other officers for his quiet demeanor and ability to defuse situations that could have turned violent.

I'm glad he's not alive to witness the destruction of his last field of employment.

Two things I live by: consider the source (for any situation), and use more than three information sources before making any decision. These two things have saved me a whole lotta grief over the years.

Try 'em out, if you haven't already. You might be surprised at how different the world looks.

NYT, Time and Bloomberg can STFU

Honest journalists are once again hanging their heads in grief over the sour grapes of some MSM entities, this time for not being invited to a private party. At the White House. 

Holy crybabies, Batman.

President Obama deserves a private life. Being President of the United States is not an automatic I'll-show-you-everything card for the press. Yes, government should operate "in the sunshine" as often as is possible. There are times when doing so is against the public interest, i.e. classified information (though why something is designated classified is a debatable point). Outside of those items, actions and words meant for public/media consumption should be available for public/media consumption.

The President himself paid for this party. He's chary with information about his private life because he has the right, like every other American, to do so. Public figures should expect a certain amount of increased media notice, but there is no law that forces such folks to make available every last thing they do. Politicians are public figures; if they want to keep their non-public lives private, that's their choice.

President Obama and his family can and should do whatever they wish that has no bearing on the political arena or how he conducts himself as the US president. Might laws be broken in such circumstances? Anything is possible. But living in a surveillance state is not the answer to lowering the crimes rate. 

I applaud President Obama for his self-care. Doing the hardest job in the world is not a gig for a workaholic.  A person cannot care for others if they don't take care of themselves first, and that's what I believe the POTUS did with this private get-together: letting off steam, relaxing, having some fun. Damn, we all deserve that, right? Why should a president be whinged at for doing the same?

And here's another question: why are these MSMites concerned about a private party when there is so much else to cover? Hell, there's no shortage of war, famine, genocide, domestic terrorism, crooked pols and stupid laws -- all in our own country. 

Yeah, I said it. Deal with it.

Really, CNN?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/02/us/freddie-gray-baltimore-death/

"Police Under Fire"? OMG, so MUCH fail in that title. Centering the cops who got arrested for Freddie Gray's homicide instead of Mr. Gray and the kill-all-black-males mindset so prevalent in so many US cities is just wrong.

Off to the pit with you.