Leftist film maker, Michael Moore, will have a new show, “Live from the Apocalypse”, on Turner Network Television this fall. It will be interesting to see what level of success it achieves.

“Full Frontal, with Samantha Bee” is also left leaning and has been a success displaying a very surface level humor derived from insults supported by bleeped expletives and verbally captioned still photos taken out of context. It’s a little like candy, (not particularly clever but enjoyable, without the need for thought).

While Moore’s program promises to be considerably more thought provoking and talented, the question arises whether it will draw a large enough audience to be successful. Some audiences don’t fare well when being required to think. Moore won a Primetime Emmy for his show, “TV Nation”. Kevin Reilly, then an executive at NBC, worked on the show. That show didn’t last long.

I make no predictions as to Moore’s upcoming show or its ratings. I have no idea how well it will do. The same Kevin Reilly, now president of TNT and TBS, obviously has high expectations for this show’s potential success explaining he “was sold” on Moore’s idea “without even knowing what it was.”

I must note: There have been instances in the past when influential folks believed they knew the public’s likes and dislikes only to find out they weren’t exactly on the mark. In this case, horrible corporate America will answer the question with its promotional dollars.

In economics it’s known as a “bubble”. It’s when an economy grows past its healthy point and things become artificially and unsustainably valued. When that occurs, the bubble bursts and the economy crashes. There are plenty of examples of this happening throughout history.

The human population is experiencing a bubble. There are more of us on this planet than the planet can realistically sustain. This occurred due to the technological advances we all take for granted. In fact our lives literally depend upon technology. This makes us a specialized species.

What would happen if all the eucalyptus died off? The koalas would cease to exist. If bamboo disappeared, so, too, would the panda. They, like us, are specialized species. Countless other species continue to become extinct for the same reason.

We don’t need to wait millennia for a large comet or meteor to cull the herd. One well aimed solar flare will eliminate the majority of mankind by frying the electrical grid; and it won’t take long (just a few weeks) without electricity to wipe out many hundreds of millions of us. Such major phenomena have probably happened many, many times before, but until relatively recently, large solar flares  went unnoticed. We didn’t rely upon electricity for our very lives then. Now we do. This catastrophe may not happen during my lifetime or yours, but it will happen and it won’t be the simple, localized blackout caused by a glancing blow.

What can we do?

Nothing.

Why?

Specialization of species has no reverse gear. They are beyond the ability to adapt.

But take heart. Humans won’t become extinct due to this event. There will still be plenty of us left and before long we will be back to gadding about with our faces buried in our iphones, blaming somebody like Hillary or Donald for the disaster.

Why?

Because human beings are a silly and enigmatically foolish life form.

Cash bail is a system by which courts influence defendants to actually appear before the court, at determined dates and times, under duress of substantial financial loss. It is by no means a perfect system; but has proven effective for a long time. Jerry Brown just signed legislation ending cash bail. There are two reasons he did so. First: The system is unfair to the poor who can’t afford to put up 10% of the bail required by a bail bonds company. Second: Jerry Brown protects criminals.

Brown is replacing the bail system with one in which a defendant’s likelihood of showing up for his/her court date will be assessed (as it has been all along); but without the aid of bounty hunters returning to custody those who fail to appear. The bail bonds company paid the tab. If the crime involved isn’t violent, the accused will likely be released on his/her own recognizance (no different from the old way). Now, though, if someone fails to appear in court, it will be fully up to already overburdened law enforcement to arrest them and it will be paid for by taxpayers.

Adjustments should have been made to accommodate those who can’t afford cash bail in order that they not sit in jail awaiting their court date; while people in better financial shape are freed. This would not be difficult. (Impounding anything a defendant holds dear, aside from cash, would achieve the same purpose). But the way Brown has done this is akin to throwing the baby out with the bath water. If Brown were a physician, he’d treat an ingrown toenail by amputating the leg and charge taxpayers for the procedure.

PSST…..We all know the real motive behind Brown’s outrageous legislative shenanigans. He, like a minor boss of any crime syndicate, wants to tolerate or reduce the consequences of bad behavior by those who’ve kept him in power.

Senator John McCain underwent surgery for a blood clot at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona on 7/14/2017 and was subsequently diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer (glioblastoma).  His family announced earlier this week that he would forego further treatment. He died today.

During the Viet Nam War, McCain was taken prisoner on 10/26/1967 on his first bombing mission over Hanoi. He spent over 5 years imprisoned in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton”, during which time he was tortured.

I find it distasteful to bring another name into this essay, but I feel it is important.
During the 2016  presidential race, Donald Trump disparaged the idea of the senator being considered a hero indicating that McCain’s being taken prisoner wasn’t an act of heroism. This is true.  Simply being taken prisoner does not a hero make.

McCain’s volunteering for the daring  squadron, nicknamed “the Saints”, one third of whose members were either killed or captured and which ultimately precipitated his being taken prisoner; and refusing early release (believing it would be a violation of Navy conduct to accept release prior to those held longer) made him a bona fide, card carrying hero in the truest sense of the word. This is a concept alien to Trump, because Trump has never put himself in that type of honorable peril.

I believe John McCain verbally expressed and voted his conscience during his political career; occasionally conflicting with the ideas of others in his party (I also disagreed with some of his positions…not that my ideas hold any sway). But, this certainly helped lead to his spats with Trump. Public arguments as these are common in politics. That being said, Trump missed his opportunity to publically apologize to McCain for his thoughtless words regarding the latter’s heroism when the senator’s terminal prognosis came to light. Subsequent criticisms of McCain’s views, by Trump, should have been measured because you don’t kick a man when he’s down.

Today, I read that Trump has expressed his condolences to McCain’s family. THIS IS NOT SUFFICIENT!

Trump owes a profound and contrite apology not only to the McCain family, but to the citizens of The United States (particularly the military). He shouldn’t require prompting from any of his advisors to do so. To not offer such an apology is, in my view, ignoble to the point of  cowardice (a behavior more at home within the Nixon administration and the DNC).

I hope these words help to express the respect I have for the late Senator John McCain and my sorrow to his family for their/our loss. John McCain was 81 years old.

Security clearances are granted to trustworthy people who have a “Need To Know” in order to perform their jobs.

John O. Brennan was director of the Central Intelligence agency from March, 2013 until January, 2017. He no longer holds the job.

Trump recently revoked Brennan’s security clearance. Brennan is threatening to sue Trump.

My question is: On what grounds would a lawsuit be based? Trump’s motive is likely political, but Brennan no longer has the “Need To Know” as a government employee.

He might consider his “Need To Know” to be a job requirement needed to unseat Trump. Unfortunately for Brennan, governmental security clearances are not issued to private parties interested in ousting existing administrations. Having been a CIA director it’s a little  surprising he doesn’t know that.

I just witnessed MSNBC’s Brian Williams report That Melania Trump intends to travel to Africa in the fall. He made mention of how her swing through the area comes soon after her husband (President Trump) made unflattering comments about some countries in the region. That had nothing to do with or is, in any way, related to Melania’s proposed visit.

Why would he bring that up? Clearly, the result will be to endanger Melania. Brian is doing what he can to make life miserable for the President; in this case by attempting to incite violence against the First Lady. Cowardly.

This is the same Brian Williams who lost air-time for falsely claiming to have been aboard a helicopter under attack in Iraq. Also a cowardly thing to do (in my opinion).

All things being fair, I would like to see the President invite Williams into the Oval  Office for a private meeting after which Williams would leave holding a slightly bloodied handkerchief to his nose.

I believe a man is entitled to defend his wife. Does that make me a bad person?

There is a great push of late to make hate and intolerance illegal. This cannot work because those who are pushing the effort hate hateful people and won’t tolerate the intolerant.

Hate, like all emotions, is an involuntary reaction. It is neither right nor wrong. Like love, it simply exists. The only sober way to change either is to alter the cause.

Georgia GOP senator Michael Williams “shocked” CNN’s anchor, Victor Blackwell, on his show, “New Day Saturday”, when he said he wouldn’t be surprised if Donald Trump had used the “N” word at some time in the past (prior to becoming president). Williams said, “To hold somebody accountable for something he did years ago as our president today, I think it sets a bad precedent.”

That’s only partly true. If the person had committed a felony; that would be a major problem. The use of the “N” word wasn’t and still isn’t a felony. That fact might also shock the people at CNN.

In his “shock”, Blackwell displays the ever growing “chip-on-the-shoulder” mentality of folks who, to further their agenda, attempt to find relevant fault when none exists , are astounded by the obvious and all the while maintaining an almost undetectable level of knowledge and sophistication.

Neener, neener.

More on this subject later.

Trump didn’t win the 2016 presidential election. His conservative stance did.

During the late 1960s Hillary was an outspoken and ardent Republican. If she had espoused those conservative values during her 2016 run for the presidency, she’d have won handily. Of this I have no doubt. She definitely would have become the first female U.S. President.

The public recognized the damage Obama had done and didn’t want it to continue.

This is the fact the Left cannot understand. It wasn’t the candidate that mattered so much. It wasn’t Russian interference. It wasn’t Benghazi. It was the illogic behind the continuation of historically and multigenerational failed liberal/progressive policies  which lost the election.

Trump recently made a mocking comment regarding Nancy Pelosi. It was unkind. He said the Democrats should give her yet another chance to ruin their political party.

Allow me to point out that poking fun at a person whose brain is a vestigial organ is simply poor form.