Trump wins!

Well wadda ya know!  "My guy" finally won. 

This is the first time I voted for the winner in a Presidential Election since 1996.  (Yah!  I know!  Don't go there!)

The Clintons used to be cute... 24 years ago.  Now, they're just old politicians who have overstayed their welcome. 

Hillary didn't know it, but she was (is) un-electable.  She couldn't win in 2008.  She barely survived a primary challenge from a senile, babbling old man.  Did she not get the memo?

Oh well!  Not my problem.  Eventually, I'll get sick of Trump too.  For now, it's nice to see someone who has some core Republican values.  These values aren't the ones you think.  These are core values that favor tariffs, and defend the dignity of the working class.  I'm talking about free trade for free people.  I'm not talking about duty-free trade with massive labor forces under-paid by tyrannical governments. 

I'm talking about physicians who can remain in private practice and not have to be employees of a monstrous corporation trading political favors with politicians.  I'm talking about college professors whose labor won't be promised out for "free" only to find themselves overworked and underpaid.

Those are my core hopes for a Trump presidency.  Free trade between free people.  Let's hope we get at least that.  The rest was just a lot of theater.


Sincerely,

There is NO Santa Claus

CARLOS SANTANA IS PLAYING A CONCERT IN ISRAEL (7/30/16)

Hey!  Thank you, Carlos!  Glad to see you made it back to Israel.

Israel is a good place for popular music.  In fact, Israel is one of the few countries in the region that will let a guy like you put on a large public rock concert.  There are some people who have a problem with that inconvenient fact.  I'm glad you got a handle on it all.

I've long said: the only popular music entertainers who need fear the BDS movement are the second and third stringers.  Anyone with a real fan following ignores BDS pressure because it doesn't have anything to do with the music people like or dislike. A concert is performed.  People have a good time.  Life moves on.  The musicians move on to the next venue. 

Your passion is music.  Put your shoulder into it and ignore things that have nothing to do with playing a guitar.  It's nice to know music comes first.  I appreciate your performing in Israel. 

Sincerely,

There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

I still like Ted Cruz

Dear Sen. Cruz:

I liked your speech at the 2016 RNC.  You did good.

I took some time to consider who did NOT speak at the 2016 RNC:

Former President George H.W. Bush
Former President George W. Bush
Former Vice President Richard Cheney
Former Vice President Dan Quayle
Former Sec. of State Jim Baker
Former Sec. of State Colin Powell
Former Sec. of State Condoleza Rice
Former Gov. Jeb Bush
Sen. John McCain
Former Gov. Mitt Romney

You had the courage to speak.  You had the courage to re-state your values.  You had the courage to support Republican values without endorsing the nominee.  That's what conventions used to be like.

There are times to confront.  There are times to rally.  I would have liked you to have rallied a little more and support the nominee for President.  You didn't.  When asked why you didn't endorse Donald Trump, you gave a straightforward answer.  I respect that.

There are times when we all feel a bit lonely.  Winston Churchill certainly had those moments.  Abraham Lincoln definitely had those moments. 

Time and time again, our nation's leaders show themselves to be shameless.  They have no principles.  They refuse to fight for anyone; not even their own family.  Often times, they fail to fight even for themselves like a certain Democratic Candidate did tonight when after all the harsh talk of the primaries, he prostrated himself before  Hillary Clinton.  (What a surprise!  Eh?)

After debating against Hillary Rodham against her gun control policy proposals, this Democratic Candidate for President told the entire nation tonight that he trusts Hillary Rodham to nominate Supreme Court Justices that will uphold our civil liberties.  On CSPAN, the cameras quickly focused on Sen. Charles Schumer of New York standing and cheering loudly in response to the remark. 

Are we to really believe that this senile old man was REALLY against the "billionaire class"?

I know there are a lot of terrible compromises a political leader has to make in the course of working the job.  As far as I ever witnessed for myself, you stayed true to your values and principles. 

For that I thank you.  And just to pass along a little advice: don't worry too much about all those idiotic "political analysts" who say you're "through".  There's work for you to do no matter what title you hold or endeavor calls you. 

Best Regards,

There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

Why do people listen politely to outright lies?

Abbas: Israel is committing mass-murder

If there were any truth to this claim, Europe would be flooded with Arab refugees from Israel and/or "Palestine".  That clearly isn't the case.  

Rather, the worst refuge crisis since World War II is currently caused by Arabs fleeing Arab League states.  These states are in turmoil from Muslims killing Muslims for not being Muslim ENOUGH.  

If the Jewish State were so brutal (as Abbas claims), Arabs would be fleeing "Israeli Occupied Territory"  en masse along with all the Iraqis, Syrians, Libyans, Somalis etc.  Since that is not the case, Abbas' claims are clearly a deliberate lie.

Why do Europeans listen politely to Abbas' lies?  I think I know the answer, but it doesn't matter.  The mere fact that a lie of this magnitude goes unchallenged tells me all I need to know. 

Sincerely,

There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

A simple question regarding the massacre in Orlando, Florida.

If the government can link cancer with tobacco, why can't the government link terrorism with Islam?

Sincerely,

There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

Ted Nugent, Jews, the NRA, and Gun Control

WHERE DO I START?

Unfortunately, the easiest place to start is noting that Ted Nugent's latest Facebook rant against Jews is anti-Semitic.  It's just that simple.  Jewish-Americans are not solely or uniquely responsible for gun-control.  Blaming Jews for gun control and extending this to an assault on liberty is classical scapegoating anti-Semitism.

Let's say you don't agree with that.  Consider this.  There are many Jews (myself included) who advocate 2nd Amendment freedom.  There are many philo-Semitic Christians who firmly support the Jewish State, oppose anti-Semitism and support 2nd Amendment freedom.  In broad-brushing Jews as responsible for gun-control, Ted Nugent effectively split 2nd Amendment supporters and eroded support for the NRA at precisely the time when the "gun lobby" can least afford it.  If the NRA leadership doesn't understand this, then their integrity comes into question.

All too often, Ted Nugent and others have evoked memories of the Shoah to make their case against gun control.  This is history; ancient history.  The thesis is valid.  The tactic is ineffective.

It is reasonable to note that all too many Jewish-Americans support candidates (Jewish or otherwise) who support gun control.  I find this quite frustrating.  My Jewish peers who support 2nd Amendment rights also find this frustrating.  No doubt, Ted Nugent finds it too frustrating to bear.  Yet a far more compelling argument for Jewish American support for 2nd Amendment rights can be found in examining the plight of Jewish communities in Europe TODAY.

In Europe, Jews are totally dependent on the government for protection.  Like the U.S., there are Jews to be found in the hierarchy of several European governments and it doesn't appear to help at all.  Throughout Europe, many Jewish communities are literally under siege from anti-Semtic assaults.

Here in the United States, Jewish Americans have a precious right to own and possess firearms.  We have the right and the ability to defend ourselves long before the police arrive.   This ability not only deters assaults on Jewish Americans.  It gives motivation to local police departments to be vigilant in protecting Jews and Jewish institutions in order to prevent protection from defaulting to individuals without police training.

Insulting Jews is no way to argue the case for 2nd Amendment rights.  It is certainly no way to urge Jewish Americans to distance ourselves from political leaders promoting gun control.  As such, a board member of the NRA like Ted Nugent could not have hurt the NRA more.  If the NRA examines Ted Nugent's irresponsible and anti-Semitic statements, they ought to be able to reach a reasonable conclusion: Ted Nugent has no place on their Board.

For those of us, Jewish or otherwise, Ted Nugent is not helping to preserve the 2nd Amendment.  He's hurting our efforts.

I urge you to write the NRA today.  Tell them Ted Nugent has no place on the NRA Board.

Sincerely,

There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

The Flint Michigan Water Crisis

The mainstream media doesn't know a crisis until it says it's a crisis.  The Flint Water Crisis started a year ago.

I hope to write more about this later.  For now, let me just say that I find it very disturbing to find that the government agencies we trust to protect us have failed... again.  This time, there is no question about it.  The failure came from willful acts of deception and continued reports of "Everything is fine.  It's under control.  Move on.  Nothing to look at here."

There are many instances of speculation that law enforcement agencies have done this in the past.  Conspiracy theorists have a field day with these.  This time, we have a real "smoking gun".  Although this isn't a "police department" or other "first responder" agency, it is nonetheless a public safety agency chartered to protect the public.  I'm talking about the Michigan DEQ and US EPA among others.

The EPA probably gets off lightly as they tried to address problems.  Still!  You gotta wonder why They couldn't shoot up a flare earlier and assert their concerns with more authority.

This is where the "smoking gun" becomes apparent as the Michigan DEQ beat down the U.S. EPA in a deliberate attempt to stonewall the agency's claim that there were danger signs present in Flint's drinking water supply.

The Michigan DEQ doesn't wear a policeman's uniform, badge and side-arm.  They are still responsible for protecting the public!  It's one thing to make an honest mistake.  It's another to deliberately fail to correct it and let it fester until people become seriously ill and permanently injured.

Sorry to see this become a three-ring circus in the national news media.  It should never have been allowed to get this far; not because of the news media but because people got seriously injured.

Americans want to trust our government.  Most of the time, we can.  Sometimes, we can't trust our government.

The vast majority of your government's workers in the public health sector care deeply about public health. I'm shocked and saddened that anyone in our public safety system would fail so badly in their judgement.

I can think of only this line of advice:

Use your common sense.  If your city changes its water supply and the water quality isn't good, get a filter!  Buy bottled water.  Report the problem and don't discard your own judgement because the government says there isn't a problem.

Sincerely,

There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

President O'Bama's January 5, 2016 Address on Gun Control

If President O'Bama really wanted to "close the gun show loophole", he could probably get a bill through Congress with little problem.  But that's not his goal.  In fact, I wonder whether the President wants to do anything constructive about gun violence as his proposals routinely address the LEGAL purchase of firearms.

Moreover, every time the President opens his mouth on gun control, millions of Americans flock to gun dealers and purchase firearms.  Many of these are first time buyers who never take the time to familiarize themselves with their weapons.  They don't practice with them.  They don't learn how to maintain them.  They don't learn how to safeguard them.  They don't learn how to handle them safely.  They just buy them and worse!  They buy firearm types they believe are targeted by the anti-gun lobby.  These are the worst firearms (IMHO) for first-time buyers to purchase. 

President O'Bama's stated objectives are achieving the exact opposite effect.  On Black Friday 2015, there were over 185,345 background checks performed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).  In other words, nearly 200,000 firearms were sold in one 24-hour period.  Judging by the brisk activity at gun stores, camping/fishing/outdoor stores (such as Gander Mountain, Dick's Sporting Goods, Cabellas etc.) the President's 1/5/16 comments has produced yet another stampede.

The news media rarely gives us the truth about news anymore.  Therefore, in an attempt to find a non-emotional summary of the President's proposals, I did a search and came up with one that appears to serve the purpose.  It can be found on the web site of The National Conference of State Legislatures.  It is titled:

President Obama’s 2015 Executive Actions on Gun Control

Here you can see precisely why the President's proposal runs into opposition from the NRA.  If he were just trying to close the "gun show loophole", his proposal would start and end there.  But NO!  The President's proposal goes on to state  

The licensing requirement applies to all sellers “engaged in the business” of selling guns, regardless of how frequent or how many sales there are.

The claim by the President's opponents that this proposal applies to one-time person-to-person sale of firearms carries a lot of credibility.  It shows that the President's proposal far over-reaches it's stated goal.  It puts the NRA in a position where they must oppose the proposal.  And most important, it gives the President the opportunity to blame the NRA for gun violence in America; his real agenda.

Citizens should NOT be required to obtain a Federal Firearms License (FFL) to sell a single firearm from their personal collection.  The requirement proposed makes it ever more difficult for someone who has inherited firearms (many of them unregistered handguns) from ever selling them.  

Closing the so-called "gun show loophole" is rather simple.  Each gun show organizer would be required to set up an NICS booth for conducting NICS background checks.  If a seller holds an FFL, they can conduct their own NICS check on those purchasing firearms.  For those sellers who do not hold an FFL, they and the purchaser can go to the gun show's NICS booth and conduct the background check there.  The buyer and seller both get copies of the paperwork and a receipt of sale that is signed by both parties once the background check is approved and the monetary exchange completes the sale.

 There!  That was simple.  

 I doubt the NRA would have a big problem with it as they already recognize the NICS system is set up to prevent firearms sales to those who should not own them.  

Sadly, the proposals of Jan 5, 2016 go way beyond this end and foist Federal Regulations down to individuals in a manner that makes firearm ownership more difficult for EVERYBODY.  Therein lies the real purpose of the proposal.

I encourage you all to read the proposals linked above very carefully.  You need not own a firearm to be severely affected by some of these proposals.  If you think HIPPA  protects your privacy, read the last proposal!  

The President will whine and kvetch that the NRA is blocking the closure of the "gun show loophole".  This is at best a half-truth and in actuality, an outright lie.  The opposition to the President's proposals come from his publicly stated desire to severely restrict firearms ownership and weaken the 2nd Amendment.  

The NRA is constantly identified as "the bad-guy" in opposing the President's gun-control proposals.  However, the REAL opposition to the President's proposal can be visibly seen at your local firearms dealers.  Every time the President opens his mouth about gun control, thousands flock to purchase firearms.  

 Sincerely,

 There is NO Santa Claus

 P.S.  Frankly, I would not sell a firearm without conducting an NICS background check.  The litigation climate pretty much makes it a common sense thing to do.  However, it's one thing to advise it and another thing for the Federal Government to force it.