kanesrealm

"They seemed amazingly busy. I began to ask myself what they could be. Were they intelligent mechanisms? Such a thing I felt was impossible. Or did a Martian sit within each, ruling, directing, using, much as a man's brain sits and rules in his body? I began to compare the things to human machines, to ask myself for the first time in my life how an iron-clad or a steam engine would seem to an intelligent lower animal." So wrote H.G. Wells in the "War of the Worlds". NASA has announced the discovery of evidence of flowing water on Mars. It matters because it's one more piece of the puzzle as to whether there is or ever was life on Mars. The conspiracy theorists among us are having none of it. They claim it's a lie and they find it strange that the announcement has come just before the release of the new Matt Damon film, "The Martian". I suppose it's of no use to point out that Hollywood has made many films about Mars not to mention all tho...

It would be hypocritical of me not to follow up on my previous post on Pope Francis with regards to the story breaking today. According to Kim Davis and her lawyer she had a private meeting with the Pope last week. She was in Washington being honored by a Christian family thingy for her brave willingness not to do her job. Davis is not the contientious objector she is being portrayed as. If she were she would leave her position and take up the burden of changing the law of the land. She is not going to do that. She is a publicity hound who will ultimately pile up cash in the name of Jesus, thus fulfilling Jesus command, gather unto thee as much silver as possible. The Vatican has not confirmed this meeting occurred nor have they denied. That means it happened. Say it isn't so Papa. Oh well, you're still a nice guy but a bit misguided. I would think a poor man from Argentina would know the stench of manure when he steps in it.

Pope Francis spent six glorious days in the United States this past week and as a citizen I want to thank him for shoving Donald Trump off the airwaves. For a brief lovely time we had a pleasant diversion from all the gloom and doom. We saw a person who actually believes in the core teaching of Jesus; love, hope and forgiveness. This Pope has raised a lot of eyebrows, particularly among conservative Catholics. It's not just about his insistence that everyone must be made to feel welcome in the Church, it's his reminders of the Church's centuries old teaching on social justice. If you want to shut down religious conversation with your conservative Catholic friends just say those two magical words, "social justice". Trust me you will get a very quick, "well maybe we shouldn't go there." Pardone, pardone but I do want to go there, I don't of course because it would be discourteous. These small "g" God devotees don't like to linger on ...

Let's get right to it. No one running for the Presidency in either major party is an outsider. No matter what spin you hear from the individual candidates or what the media regurgitates, don't believe it. Take some time for a little reflection and application of logic. A truck driver, auto mechanic, janitor or retail clerk, all of these people would be outsiders. It is in the Republican Party where this word is predominantly being used, specifically to describe three people. First up is Donald Trump, a billionaire real estate tycoon born to a life of privilege as the son of a real estate tycoon. By no stretch of the imagination can he be described as an outsider. By his own admission he knows politicians well and has been playing the game since day one of his business life. The second is Carly Fiorina. She loves to tell the the story of secretary to C.E.O. but it's a myth. She was born into a privileged family and had all the right opportunities. She spent six months work...

Last Friday John Boehner came to the podium singing Zippety Dooda and announced his resignation as Speaker of the House. He's sang this to the press before but this time there was an abundance of joy in his voice. He will vacate the Speakerhip and his Congressional seat on October 30 and who could blame him. Boehner has been in the U.S. House of Representatives for twenty-five years, five as Speaker. Climbing to that ultimate position of power is what many members hope to achieve but for Boehner it has certainly not been a time of joy. He has had about 30 members of his caucus who have no interest in governing the country they simply wish to be obstructionists. They arrived in 2010 as Tea Party newbies that helped deliver the House back to Republican control. They now call themselves the Freedom Caucus. Their my way or the highway attitude has disrupted the nation's business and presented John Boehner with a massive headache. Boehner is a conservative but also someone that un...

Ben Carson is batshit crazy. But let's put that aside for the moment. Carson is a retired pediatric neurosurgeon which means he had the ability to learn a complex skill but intellectually he is a complete zero. There is nothing difficult about understanding what Carson said this past Sunday about not letting a Muslim be President of the United States. If you didn't see the full interview just look it up and watch it. Carson is totally ignorant of our Constitution and of what our Founding Fathers actually believed about religion. The Carson apologists who constantly reach for the excuse of him being politically inexperienced to justify the stupid things he says is getting very old. His assertion concerning political correctness is simply not true. This latest outrageous comment, which is just one of many over the last few years, is proof that he is not fit to serve as the leader of the free world. Dr. Carson is supremely arrogant but lacks the mental acuity to back it up. Thi...

Scott Walker is leaving the race for President. I hate to say I told you so, okay I don't really. Whether he completely withdraws or suspends he is toast for 2016. He never rose to the occasion because he quite simply is not ready for the national stage. He is young in Presidential terms and he can easily return. Who's next? It really doesn't matter when they go but Huckabee, Santorum, Gilmore, Graham and Pataki are going no where good for them. They may stay through Iowa but it is highly unlikely they can financially endure passed that point. What of Chris Christie? He has a ton of problems but will probably squeeze by as long as he possibly can in the hopes the party suddenly craves some Jersey beef. Somebody put me on the payroll, would ya?

No doubt you're aware of the controversy circling Donald Trump today. I was watching the rally live because the news channels treat every Trump appearance like FDR is about to speak. Shame on the media for doing this. Trump decided to take questions from the audience. The first question came from a whackadoo who said our problem is Muslims, our current President is one and not an American. He went on to say there are Muslim training camps in our country and when can we get rid of them. Trump agreed and said "we'll be looking into that and many other things and many people are saying that." Many in the media are focusing only on that first guy. Let's be clear, no fewer than three of these conspiracy fanatics posed similar questions with one regurgitating the old fantasy of these terrorist Muslim training camps in our country that the FBI knows all about but does nothing. Trump agreed with all of this and did not challenge for proof or tell these people they are w...

Isn't that a clever post title? It really captures the energy of the event. Let's have a round of applause for our cast. No one rose or sank as a result of this debate and that's a serious problem for some of them. Before the silly season began, all of punditry said to watch Scott Walker, he's the guy fresh from hard fights and will runaway with Republican voters hearts. Hasn't happened and isn't going to. If there was a loser last night it was Walker. A lot of praise has been heaped on Carly Fiorina and she is a disciplined speaker and campaigner. However, she made a statement which will come back to haunt her or at least should. The topic was Vladimir Putin and Russia. She said she would not speak to Putin, that we've spoken to Putin enough. That's a bold and dangerous statement from someone who wants to be President of the United States. Putin is not going away and not speaking to the leader of Russia is frankly stupid. The consequences could be cat...

Pay close attention as I take you from nothing to something. I despise the ticker stream of blurbs that runs at the bottom of all news and alleged news programs. They often contain incorrect information, misspellings and misrepresentations. They're just plain annoying and I wish they'd go away. One of the current blurbs says Bashar Assad says the west is to blame for the refugee crisis facing Europe today. You of course know that Assad is the President of Syria and those refugees are mostly from Syria. His dad ran Syria for decades and then Bashar took over the family business. Do you know what Bashar was before? That's right, an optometrist. Know who else is an optometrist? That's right, Rand Paul. Coincidence? Absolutely. But don't let that stop you my little conspiracy theorists, fly with it, fly high. Assad actually has a point. We put up with the Assad family for many decades, turning the other way and ignoring any wrongdoing. They have always had strong ties...

Bless me readers for it has been eight days since my last post and I am heartily sorry for my transgression. My pennance will be to watch the three hour Republican Presidential debate on CNN tonight, yours will be to suffer my opinions on it later. Honestly the election shtick has been a tad boring. Rick Perry dropped out, but that's not news. The fact he was running as a man under criminal indictment in Texas for alleged misdeeds while Governor is news but you couldn't tell it by the media coverage or his opponents complete silence on it. Why he ran again is unfathomable. The only thing he's remembered for from his 2012 race was his inability to remember his own rhetoric. We were told he would be a juggernaut, he was a dud. Biting the dust early this time is no surprise. Bobby Jindal tried to get some traction by attacking Trump, that went no where. Governor Jindal's time, which never was and never will be, has passed. He will not be picked for V.P. so he should just...

The Huckster, old Bumble Bee Mike Huckabee himself went to Kentucky to stare down Pontius Pilate, only to be thwarted by the fact Kim Davis had been ordered to be released from jail by the same Judge that put her there early this morning. She could have quietly left the jail with the piety and modesty of, oh, what's his name? Yeah, yeah, that Jesus guy. But oh no, she exited to the theme of Rocky 3 and cried for her followers while praising the living God. The Huckster clearly hadn't anticipated her release  but didn't bother to alter his speech. It was full of demagogic nonsense about releasing her and imprisoning him in her place. I'm all for that but what a load of shit and he knows it. Davis was released because her deputies are issuing licenses. Here's an interesting factoid, the media has examined one of those licenses issued while she was in jail, it does not have her name pre-printed on it, which is what we were told last week. So what's the deal? So...

So I took a few days off from blogging and thought I wouldn't comment on this but I 've changed my mind, we all get to, go ahead and do it I 'll wait. There you go, feel better? While I was away the gaming billionaire that invented Minecraft was bitching and bemoaning how being rich isn't all it's cracked up to be. He had a girlfriend he was crazy about but she left him because of his "lifestyle", whatever that really means. Perhaps he should examine that lifestyle and determine why it drove her away. He complained that being rich takes away initiative and you become lazy. Why did you want to be rich sir? To work harder or enjoy all that life has to offer when you don't have to worry about how to buy food and pay the rent. His rants drew considerable comment in social media, with many suggesting he's depressed. He replied, in the twittosphere, as one does, that he isn't depressed. Okay, I believe you. So the problem is just you. It is true ...

A Kentucky County Clerk has made major headlines because she has refused to enforce the law and carry out the duties of her office. The Clerk is Kim Davis who says because of her religious beliefs she cannot issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her solution is to issue no licenses to anyone. This prompted four couples, two gay and two straight, to sue her. A Federal Judge ordered her to do her job, she didn't. She has gained the support of anti same-sex marriage forces who are legally representing her and using her to their advantage. Don't feel bad, she's using them as well. Her argument is that she simply doesn't want her name, which is already pre-printed on all marriage licenses, to be associated with same-sex marriage. That argument strikes me as not only weak but non-existent. She is the County Clerk so all marriage licenses, even absent her printed name, carries her official seal, in fact her approval. You might think that the State of Kentucky would w...

Hillary Clinton and her private e-mail server, story or no story? The Clintons have many political enemies. The first reason for this is the simple equation of opponents for the same office. The second reason is the Clintons are tough and resilient, the harder you charge at them the stronger they become. They are in short, survivors. Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server violated no laws, department regulations or best practices. The e-mails currently being released were from the original 50,000 pages already provided to the State Department. The ones flagged for review for "classified" information are based on deciding if they should now be marked classified, they weren't classified while Clinton was Secretary of State. This is what the normal process would be before allowing public access. There is also the normal inter-departmental bickering over what should and shouldn't be classified, a detail we would otherwise be oblivious to except this is abo...