When is a journalist, not a journalist?

                                        Good Day World!

Today's big question: When is a journalist, not a journalist?

The answer, it seems, is when Ladd Erickson, a prosecutor for Morton County, North Dakota, says a person is not a journalist...in his opinion.

When asked to explain the grounds for arresting a working journalist (Amy Goodman), Erickson told the Grand Forks Herald that HE DID NOT, in fact, consider Goodman a journalist!

"She's a protestor, basically," Erickson claimed.

From Common Dreams Website:

It’s worth pausing here for a moment to contemplate the full and chilling absurdity of this statement: 

"According to Erickson, a woman who appeared at a protest carrying a microphone emblazoned with the name Democracy Now! and trailing a video crew; who can be heard in the resulting video report identifying herself to a security guard as a reporter; and who then broadcast the video on the daily news program she has hosted for 20 years is not actually a journalist.

She is not a journalist, because she harbors a strong perspective, and that perspective clashes with his own. By the same distorted logic, every muckraking news gatherer from Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair on through I.F. Stone, and, yes, today’s Matt Taibbi (whose work Erickson apparently admires) was not a journalist but an activist flirting with arrest."

Before Goodman came to the main protest site, the Sacred Stone Spirit Camp, no one else covered the story. 

Not a single one of the major American broadcast networks had sent a reporter to cover the protest. It wasn't even mentioned on the air.

Goodman walked into the Morton-Mandan Combined Law and Corrections Center and turned herself in to the local authorities yesterday.

Her crime - unflinching journalism.

The charge: Riot, a misdemeanor punishable by jail time and a fine.

So, to be clear; Goodman came to an active protest, and with her film crew, she covered it and is now being blamed for the protest.

Something stinks in North Dakota when authorities try to suppress journalists from doing their job based upon one man's opinion of who is a journalist...and who is not a journalist.

Of course there's more than just one man trying to break up the protests - there's a giant energy corporation (Energy Transfer Partners)  bankrolled by 37 banks behind these actions.

This is just another example of a big corporation raping resources to make a profit. Here's what you need to know about what's happening in Standing Rock.

10/18/16 BREAKING NEWS: ''Riot'' Charges Against Amy Goodman Dismissed in Press Freedom Victory

Related: Standing Rock Pipeline Fight Draws Hundreds To North Dakota Plains

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Richest Elected Official in America Caught in Property Privatization Scheme

Good Day World!

I've got an interesting story for you today.

First a quick Q & A:

Q - Did you know that Tennessee Governor Republican Bill Haslam (photo), with a net worth of $2 billion, is America's richest elected politician?

Q - So what do you suppose a billionaire would do while in public office? (With Donald Trump running for public office this is a timely question.)

A - Haslam was sneaking around with his business cronies to privatize all Tennessee property, but Campus Workers exposed his scheme.

You might think Haslam is going to vote for fellow billionaire Trump, but you'd be wrong. There is no brotherhood among greedy men.

Here's why Haslam isn't voting for Trump.

Don't think Haslam has given up on his plans to privitize Tennessee. Now that his plan is out in the open he's trying to sell it to fellow Republicans who, thus far, have resisted his efforts.

Billionaires running for office are different than millionaires running for office. Everyone in national and state politics today is a millionaire (or darn close to it).

Billionaires are rarer...thus far. Looking at Haslam's attempt to cash in using his office is a precursor to what we can expect from him...and Trump (if elected).

My final thought: Bored billionaires seeking power is something we will all have to be on guard about in the future.

Unless that billionaire has a flawless history of fairness and high morals (and a record of service and sacrifice to the country) they shouldn't be trusted.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Don't 'Bring On The Clowns' This Halloween If You Don't Want To Be Arrested

"Don't you love farce?
My fault, I fear.
I thought that you'd want what I want...
Sorry, my dear!
And where are the clowns
Send in the clowns
Don't bother, they're here."
- Send In The Clowns

Good Day World!

It's not a real good idea to bring on the clowns this year.

With Halloween looming around the corner there's creepy clowns in the news for stalking people from coast-to-coast.

There's even a Definitive Map of America's Creepy Clown Epidemic. 

The new menace is called clowning.

Clowning has put real, make-em-laugh clowns and their defenders in a very bad place.

Here's some examples of clowns recently arrested or accused of having made threats:

• Indian Trail, N.C., where Union County sheriff's deputies said Monday that they'd arrested a man in clown makeup who was trespassing on a store's property while carrying a hatchet.
• Crookston, Minn., where police said Monday that a 15-year-old boy dressed up as a clown was arrested over the weekend, allegedly while carrying a large butcher knife.
• Spartanburg, S.C., where Spartanburg County sheriff's deputies said they're investigating a (poorly spelled) threat posted Monday on social media that aclown will attack two high schools on "holloween."
• Albuquerque, N.M., where police said Monday that three juveniles wearing clown masks were issued a citation Sunday for brandishing an air gun near a Babies "R" Us store.
•  (Source for above summaries)

You know what else is weird about this menacing clown phenomenon? It's even going on in the UK. Check this out.

The creepy clown movement didn't just spring up overnight however. According to a Rasmussen poll in 2014, 43 percent of American's "don't like" clowns. 

More recently, the annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears found that clowns were a cause of significant anxiety for 6.8 percent of Americans in 2015.

My advise to parents is simple, don't dress your kid up as a clown. To teenagers and older Halloween revelers, I especially want to warn you not to go anywhere as a clown this year.

It's not even safe for Ronald McDonald right now! 

You could get arrested, or even worse...someone might think you're Donald Trump!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

What Happens To The Trump Party Faithful After He Loses The Election?

Good Day World!

By now, Americans realize that there is a Republican party and a Trump party.

Trump minions have had to register as Republicans to vote, but that short marriage will end after Hillary Clinton takes office in a lopsided win.

Trumpies have no intention of letting their idol wander off into the dark night alone however. And, Trump won't let them forget that he alone can save everything they hold dear.

Look for Trump TV coming your way. Really.

With his built-in audience, many of them being alt-right trash, he can build a media empire with the help of his Breitbart buddy Steve Bannon, and disgraced sexual predator Roger Aisles (Faux News boss).

Meanwhile, as Election Day draws near it's dawning on some Trumpies that he may lose the race.

Example: Watch: Armed Trump Supporter Menaces Virginia Democratic Campaign Office for 12 hours 

The two loons shown in the video sense Trump's losing. They believe the election is rigged because Trump said there's a global conspiracy to defeat him.

How many more disgruntled Trumpies will decide to "take an armed stand" while protesting? It's hard to say. I'm no fortune teller.

I can tell you those two deeply troubled young men are looking for a confrontation through intimidation. No one goes to a peaceful protest packing a pistol.

As election day approaches Trump is whipping up his core base with conspiracy theories and outright lies. Watch his rallies in the days ahead, as he fans the flames of hate and fear among his flock.

The really sad thing about this election is that it's produced a celebrity spokesman for the alt-right. Trump was born for the part of hosting a hate network. 

Mark my words. Trump TV is going to make Fox, and all the rest of the biased networks, tremble!

Just so you know....it's going to be YUUUUUchhhhh!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

New Book Tells Us Why We Ignore Facts

                                         Good Day World!

I'm plugging a new book today because I think it's very important, and very timely.

Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us

The authors, Sara E. Gorman, a public-health expert, and her father, Jack M. Gorman, a psychiatrist and CEO of Franklin Behavioral Health Consultants, examine how fear, uncertainty, and group psychology lead people to believe leaders who say false things.

The book is timely because it describes how Donald Trump manages to use his biggest rhetorical weapon... fear, to gathering followers.  

Fear is one of the most primitive, most basic parts of the brain. It takes a lot of energy to engage the prefrontal cortex, and Trump has tapped that part of the brain of his followers.

If the first thing you hear about a topic is something that's associated with fear, that will often suppress the rational part of the brain, according to the authors.

It's no easy task to dislodge that fear once it has settled into your thinking process. Charismatic leaders like Trump know this, and instinctively guide their flock towards an object of fear.

Fear of Muslims. Fear of Mexicans. Fear of Blacks.

Jack Gorman explained that, "...it requires a lot more effort to use the reasoning part of the brain." This is a key observation.

If someone is stressed out, and someone starts hitting you with a lot of facts, it may be too much information and the listener goes into a default mode.

I hope you get the opportunity to read Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us.

It may help you understand how Trump has gotten as far as he has in this election.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

If Trump Is Elected, How Many People Will Heed Obama's Call To Live On Mars?

Good Day World!

For months now, I've heard people make comments like, "If Trump is elected I'm moving to Canada."

That could be because Canada is on our border, and it's easier to stay in contact with family and friends from there.

But consider this; it means you'll be closer to a Trump regime that may invade Canada over angry twitter remarks with Canadian politicans!

There will be no safe havens on earth under a Trump presidency. The tweet and nuke buttons will be side-by-side
in the Oval office.

There is one alternative however. Yes, it's a long shot.

I warn you it'll take time, and you'll have to be careful what you say in public meanwhile about Trump or his "Trumper Undercover Squad" will take you down like a fat chick in a beauty contest.

Sign up to go to Mars.

For years, Obama has been saying the U.S. must send humans to Mars. Permanently. (Prophetic?)

There's several commerical spaceflight companies that have announced plans to aim for Mars.

Boeing's CEO is convinced his company will be the first to reach Mars. Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezoz, has declared a Mars venture, and the space contractor Orbital ATK have plans to send humans to Mars.

The one you should check into would be the Dutch venture called Mars One, which is shooting for a 2025 launch date to the Red Planet.

Don't worry. They've been taking applications for years, and still are.

I expect if Trump gets in office the only way he'll leave is if there's a civil war. So, that 2025 launch date might be perfect timing.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Blog Mystery: Where Have All The Russians Gone?

Good Day World!

I've been blogging for a decade, and during that time I've always had a fair Russian readership base.

My average was about 500 Russian viewers per day, until two weeks ago. Then something weird happened. 

While checking my blog statistics (a once a month practise), I drilled down to daily/weekly readership and to my surprise there was a substantial drop in viewers.

To be exact, viewers from Russia. I went to the countries list and discovered Russia was no longer on my radar. I've been mulling this information over and am frankly baffled.

I sure wish I knew someone that was an expect on stuff like this. If you happen to know what could have gone down with my blog please don't hesitate to share your theory with me.

I feel like a conspiracy nut. But I'm not. I don't believe Elvis is living in Peru, or that global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.

One of the things I did was look back at what I posted recently that had to to with Russia.

I found posts on Trump and Putin's bromance, and other articles calling out Russian hackers and the government for interfering with our presidential elections going back for months.

Again, I'm not sure what's going on. I'm only reporting the facts. It's hard for me to believe that the Russians (or Trump's cronies) had anything to do with this.

My blog is hardly in competition with any big web sites. To think someone would bother with censoring my little blog is inconceivable.

I hesitated even writing about this.

It's really too scary to think about...but I am..and I wonder what happened?

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Note To My FaceBook Followers: I'm Sorry For Bringing Politics into A Room That Use To Be Fun

"There's a time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest." 
- Ecclesiastes 3:2


Good Day World!

There's a time and place for everything.

In the last year, I've watched FaceBook degenerate into a partisan political place where friends and family turn upon one another like crazed badgers.

It's this damn election!

I have to admit that I've been just as guilty as others who post nasty memes and try to demean those who don't agree with me.

I apologize.

There's nothing wrong with writing about politics, but there is a time and place for everything. FaceBook was not meant to be a political room where people can romp around and spout hateful partisan slogans.

FaceBook was meant to be a way to positively connect with people. Family and friends. I've discovered, and re-connected, with a lot of people since I joined.

It still brings me pleasure to see what my friends and family are doing. But it is time for me to take stand: 

I will no longer post partisan crap on FaceBook.

I'll keep my political dialogue in my blog where it belongs. It's a great outlet for taking on politics in general.

I hope that others who see themselves going down that same political path I was on in FaceBook will pause, and reconsider. There's enough polarity in our society today. 

Let's make FaceBook a safe - and fun - place to be again.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Presidential Debate Part II: Fear and Loathing at Washington University in Missouri

                                        Good Day World!

If you have children I hope you didn't let them watch the second presidential debate.

It was unreal.

If Hunter S. Thompson were alive today and covering this campaign, this election would have exclipsed his manifesto, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas!

Debate Part II: Wallowing in Mud and Lies

It's pretty sad that the main topic of the debate centered around illicit sex, cheaters, and disrespecting women. If you thought Debate I was bad, then you must of been reeling after last night's verbal firefight.

I've seen mud-slinging in presidential elections since I started voting in 1972, but nothing comes close to the full-on mud bath I've witnessed thus far in this election.

I certainly hope the third debate will be rated TV Mature Audiences only.

I'm embarrassed for America today. The world is watching the decline of Democracy and the Republic with disdain, amusement, and concern.

Instead of putting up our best and brightest to lead this great country, we have brought forth two of the worst major party candidates in modern history.

It looks like America is going to pay a steep price for the next four years. Let's hope we all survive it.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

White Evangelicals Tout Trump, a Non-Christian, Because They Believe His Lies

Good Day World!

My question today is, do White Evangelicals really believe Donald Trump cares about them or their beliefs?

What in Trump's history indicates he's religious? Trick question. Nothing.

The world has watched his hedonistic antics since the late 70's and there's no evidence of God being in his life. 

I've watched Evangelical leaders like Jerry Falwell Jr., Paula White, and James Dobson disregard Trump's historical lack of interest in religious issues, his anti-women and racist rants, the Muslim ban, his anti-immigrant bashing and his constant lying.

What's going on? Any one of these leaders can rattle off the 10 Commandments but none of them seem to think they apply to Trump. 

Why else would they support him? Well...there is that matter of Hillary Clinton (a Methodist all of her life) who is a Democrat. The White Evangelical brand is very strict about not voting for Democrats.

I suppose they think it's a bigger sin than electing the anti-Christ Donald Trump. In order to vote for Trump evangelicals have to ignore most of the tenants of their religion.

Can you say hypocrisy?

Televangelist Frank Amedia, who recently served in a volunteer capacity as a Trump "liaison" between the campaign and evangelicals, told his listeners to prepare for The Second Coming.

"If we could see into the havenlies right now," Amedia said in a recent interview, "We would see a skirmish going on that I believe is the beginnings of the preparation of the way of the coming of the Lord."

He may be right if Trump, aka the anti-Christ, is elected president. Which leaves me wondering why evangelicals would even think about voting for Trump if they believed that?

It appears Trump can walk down a street, shoot someone (his own words) and make promises to evangelicals he'll never keep...and some people will still vote for him.

Now,that's scary.

Related: The Trump Tape That Exposes His True Opinion of Women

Time for me to walk on down the road...