The Donner Party

By Grant Davies

The Pelosi/Conyers affair (as I have just named it) is the equivalent of a Political Donner party.

As long as your fellow travelers are dead anyway you may as well eat them to save your own skin.

This is what just happened as Pelosi threw her old buddy John Conyers under the pictured bus because the people paying her fare on the bus might stop doing so if she didn't solve the conundrum of being loyal to her cabal or staying politically viable.

She chose to eat Conyers. Wise move.




PS  I couldn't resist delighting in some snarky fun when I came across the picture below even though it's in bad taste. I guess I ain't very PC.

The Donner Party

Three Card Monty

By Grant Davies

Very few would be surprised to learn that I'm not a Trump admirer. Having said that, maybe I don't give him enough credit for political savvy.

His incessant tweets and adolescent behavior may indeed be a grand strategy of perpetual distraction from actual important topics and events. The media sure falls for it like a bunch of rubes watching a three card Monty game. 

All politicians try to do this. Some are better at it than others. Trump may be making it into an art form.

I'm not saying it's so, merely that it might be.

Take a Knee

Possibly the last thing anyone needs is another know-it-all to pontificate about the recent controversy regarding professional athletes taking a knee during the national anthem.

I'll leave the debate about the merits or "demerits" to others because my opinion on those things is superfluous at this point. Battle lines have been drawn and the war rages on.

Of course I have feelings about the issue, it's just that I feel differently about different aspects of it. That may seem like the safe route, but it actually guarantees that I will piss off everyone at least a little bit. It's familiar territory for me. Anyway, someone else has already said whatever I might say and who the hell needs an echo of emotional outcries?

So when deciding to put in my two cents (one dollar after inflation) I thought I would share what might be the possible positive results of the controversy.

First, it's the controversy itself that is positive. That's right, the controversy has brought the issue of free speech back into the conversation for those willing to listen past the noise to hear the sounds of an honest debate concerning free speech.

One part of that debate is the one about football players. (Yes I understand that some do and some don't think it's a free speech issue) Another is so called "safe zones" on college campuses. One more is the shouting down of opposing opinions on any range of issues so that others are unable to hear differing viewpoints. That also includes the attempts to prevent invited speakers from communicating with interested parties on campus and elsewhere. Finally, so called "Whistle blowing" is a contentious issue. You can probably think of others.

The debate needs to be refreshed regularly lest future generations forget why we have a first amendment and why we should constantly examine what it means.

One other possible positive that came to mind was my own debate with myself about whether or not I wanted to continue to watch sports on TV when I am not getting what I expected from the experience.

For me, sports are a distraction from unpleasant reports about politicians and other nonsense. When I turn on Fox or MSNBC (almost never for either) I don't expect to see a football game. When I turn on sports I don't expect to see politics. Either one of those things causes me to lose interest. I'm losing interest lately.

So I decided to think about un-watching sports again until the whole thing gets sorted out. Oh wait! I just remembered that tonight is the Bears / Packers game. I guess I'll just tune in after the kickoff. (Someone just lost the debate between me and myself, but I'm not sure who.)

I think I'll take a knee when the Bears commit their first turnover.

Discussion Question, Part Two

A few people weighed in on the first question in the previous post.

The answer we were looking for (not necessarily the correct answer, since the question was general in nature) was; "NO, people should not be punished if they have done nothing wrong."

The question it beggared was; Should people who have done nothing to deserve reward be rewarded? Unlike the first question I think the answer to that question is somewhat blurred in many minds.

As a society we reward many who aren't deserving. It always leads to unintended consequences for society even if the consequences for those doing the rewarding are clear once we ask ourselves why they are handing out the rewards. On this point the answer is; government trades our money as a reward for political power via votes.

This rather circuitous path to my point, not to mention the garbled and awkward process, has probably bored you to a blank stare by now. So let's get to the conclusion.

When politicians give undeserved rewards to companies after suckering us into believing it's for our own good they achieve their intended purposes, not ours.

The answer to the second question is, NO.

Subsidies as payments for power are an abuse of power and wrong. No matter who is being subsidized. Whether it's corporations, small businesses or individuals, the results always have consequences. Usually bad consequences. So politicians are being rewarded for bad behavior.

By reading this you have been punished without guilt, or rewarded without merit. Only you can judge that.

I always urge people to reject the practice of government subsidies and punishments. I suggest starting from the most expensive, corporate subsidies. Only then should we be working down to buying people off with others' money. Both are horrible. One costs more than the other and is easier to stop.

As always, your comments are solicited.

Discussion Question

It may seem like a silly question to which virtually everyone knows the answer, but it's not. It's a question that begs another question.

Question: Should a person who has done nothing wrong be punished?

PS...Just because the question might be answered differently by different people does not mean that they don't know the correct answer.

Disclaimer...I didn't make up this question.


PPS...There is a comment section below.