kanesrealm

Anyone that regularly reads this blog knows that I have luke warm feelings about social media in general, particularly Facebook. We now know because of pressure from Special Counsel Robert Mueller that Mark Zuckerberg and his executives stonewalled and outright lied that they didn't know that false stories dressed up as news were being circulated on their platform during the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign and that a fair amount was immenating from Russia and it's satellites, all at a profit to Facebook. There's a reason Mark Zuckerberg is a billionaire, aside from the grossly bloated value of Facebook's stock, the platform is now reaching two billion people worldwide and growing. Zuckerberg's mentor and original investor has sounded an alarm concerning Facebook's behavior and business model, he has been joined by a former Facebook manager and a former Google executive in saying that Facebook needs to clean up it's act. They are not alone, many in Silicon ...

It was the second century Roman scholar Maximus Deficatus who first plunged the depths of this subject. Something of a humorist in his day, his public lectures were legendary for leaving many a Roman Senator with long brown streaks on the back of their togas. Today during a meeting with numerous officials on the subject of immigration, President Trump asked why we get so many people coming from "shithole" countries, refererencing Haiti and Africa. It's not clear the President is aware Africa is a continent containing many countries. He said if Nigerians saw America they wouldn't want to go back to their huts. He doesn't seem to know that Nigeria is a nation of 186 million people with many beautiful cities as well as impoverished areas. He wondered why we can't get more Norwegians. Well Mr. President there isn't a line of Norwegians waiting to come, because they don't want to. Poor people living in hellish depravation do want to come, to pursue the fa...

At least for now. Stephen K. Bannon, Republican party destroyer, self identified Leninist and arch nemesis of the razor is out as Chairman of Breitbart News. The Mercer family which owns Breitbart dumped Bannon this afternoon. He has been on thin ice with the billionaire family for many months and his comments in the Michael Wolff book, "Fire and Fury" was a bridge too far. The Mercers are major behind the scenes supporters of Donald Trump and they have had enough of his arrogance and self delusion as a master of the universe and kingmaker of Trump, which he never was. Now Bannon is unemployed and has no platform from which to launch his daily assaults on his enemies. More importantly he's now cut off from the Mercer's money. Bannon is not a poor man but he's not in the megabucks ballpark of those he's served. So what does he do now? Will he use his savings to go out on the campaign trail to hurl fire bombs at the Republican establishment? Not likely....

Did you see Oprah Winfrey announce last night that she was running for President in 2020? No? Neither did I, because she didn't. She was at the Golden Globe Awards to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. She delivered a stirring and thought provoking speech about the empowerment of women and putting an end to the reign of powerful men who have abused women. We can all applaud that. Today the media devoted a huge amount of time to talking about Oprah running for President. Is there no starvation to cover? Is there no genocide in the world? Is there no healthcare crisis in the United States? Is there no poverty? Is there nothing more important than idle speculation about Oprah Winfrey? There have been more than a few times over the past twenty years when people have suggested Oprah should run for President. In 1999 when Donald Trump was considering a Presidential run he was asked if he would consider selecting a woman as his running mate and he said "y...

"Sloppy Steve Bannon" is on a mission to clean up his gaffes in the book "Fire and Fury". In Trump World a gaffe is when you tell the truth about the Trump family. Self proclaimed Leninist and all round destroyer Bannon is softening his statements about Trump, particularly Don Jr., whom he previously accused of being treasonous. Now Don Jr. is a great American and swell guy. Bannon's delusion that he is a Kingmaker is beginning to cause him his own problems, the most important of which is the strain between himself and billionaire family the Mercers, it is they who financed the late Andrew Breitbart and kept Breitbart News going. They have publicly distanced themselves from Bannon and one wanders if Bannon may again exit Breitbart, this time forever. The Ivy League educated Bannon who was a Goldman Sachs executive and wannabe Hollywood producer continues to go out on the campaign trail and talks to blue collar workers like he's one of them, shades ...

The marijuana laws of the United States are extremely complicated jurisdictionally and by categorization. It's time to put an end to that. The Trump Administration's Justice Department under the leadership of Jeff Sessions has just rolled back the Obama Administration's policy of essentially not prosecuting marijuana growers and sellers in states where recreational use is legal and those businesses are in compliance with their state laws and not suspected of involvement with criminal enterprises triggering federal investigation. Neither Trump or Sessions have said they are in fact going after those legal merchants for violating federal law and no directives to do so have been issued to U.S. Attorneys. Sessions is a longtime opponent of marijuana legalization and Trump is a wild card who will do anything to divert attention away from his own whackiness and potential meltdown. Do not succumb to the belief that the Obama Administration was pro marijuana because of th...

When Colin Kaepernick first chose to kneel during the singing of the National Anthem, as opposed to standing, many lost their minds. He began this now wider NFL player supported gesture to protest police brutality of African-Americans and an imbalance in our criminal justice system. A peaceful protest and silent statement. So, what's the problem? President Trump has decided to go to war with the NFL and more specifically the players who are participating in this, calling them S.O.B.s and saying they should be fired. His outrage is very easy to understand, he's doing what he does best, changing the subject from major issues while keeping himself at the center of attention. In the movie, "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" the governor is portrayed by the talented Charles Durning, who epitomizes the politician that loves attention but hates to do his job and tackle tough issues. In one scene Durning sings a delightful tune that goes, "oooh I love to dance a little s...

Well isn't this sweeter than Grandma's peach pie! At least six Whitehouse advisors, Federal government employees all, including Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Steve Bannon used their private emails to conduct official business. Do you suppose the Trump supporters at his rallies will start chanting LOCK THEM UP? They sure loved saying it about Hillary Clinton throughout his campaign and are continuing to do so, all at the urging and to the delight of Donald Trump. Will he silence that rhetoric now? Of course not, he wouldn't dare interrupt the mad rantings of his loyalists, he can't afford to. Like Victor Frankenstein, he cannot control his creation. So what to do? Trump will simply ignore it, call it fake news, say there's no comparison and tell his fans to just trust him, he and he alone is their saviour and can do no wrong and since he can do no wrong, neither can his minions. Rience Priebus, the now fallen Chief of Staff, knew this was going on and tried to ...

Puerto Ricans are American citizens, got it? They have been since 1898 and if you don't know that, shame on you. Now to you Mr. President, you are not doing a good job on the human catastrophe unfolding on the island of Puerto Rico, stop patting yourself on the back and mobilize the military. Stop saying ignorant things like, "you know Puerto Rico's an island, it's in the ocean a big ocean you can't drive your truck there". No kidding. That's what ships, planes and helicopters are for. You offered not a word of sympathy to the 3.4 million Americans facing death on that island. Only after you were hounded did you tweet out an attack on Puerto Rico's infrastructure and debt problems. Do you even know Puerto Rico is a part of the United States? You should, you've done business there. Seven days in to this horrific situation and we are still not taking the actions necessary. There are FEMA workers there who have been held up by red tape waiting for t...

I am returning to blogging. No, you're right, an explanation isn't required but I'm going to give you one. I tried, I really tried, but engaging in political dialogue on Facebook is pointless. When I reactivated my account I chose not to launch political statements from my homepage but I did try participating in other threads. In written dialogue, one person puts down their thoughts, the next person reads that person's thoughts, digests them and then responds directly on point, right? Not on Facebook. With only a few exceptions, I have found that what I write isn't being read, based upon the responses I often received which have nothing to do with what I said. My problem appears to be that I actually read what people write and respond to their words and that's not how it works. It's just random thoughts and in the case of active thread presenters, their main interest seems to be basking only in their own glory, which is fine but don't invite commenting ...

Milo Yiannopoulos, now that's a mouthful. That's not an oral sex joke. Okay, it was an oral sex joke, aren't I outrageous? No? You're right of course, I'm very boring compared to Milo. Like Cher or Prince, you only need to say one name, Milo. I freely and proudly admit that up until about a year and a half ago I really didn't know who Milo was. His name and contribution to public dialogue was on my periphery. So I did a little research to see what all the chatter was about. A young gay guy from Britain with Greek heritage who's political opinions are slightly to the right of Attila the Hung, I mean Hun. That phrase to the right of Attila the Hun, is that really accurate, I can't see how. Milo is a self described provocateur and champion of free speech. He debated Boy George on British Television over gay marriage. Milo was opposed at that time and yes he was an out gay man. At the time he wrote for a Catholic newspaper, yeah I know, go with it. He did s...

President Trump says his Administration is running like a finely tuned machine, not at all chaotic like the evil minions of the media are reporting. Trump is right, if your definition of a finely tuned machine is one that is spewing oil, springs popping off, gears locking up and billows of smoke filling the air. We learned this evening that Trump's pick to replace Mike Flynn as National Security Adviser, Vice-Admiral Harwood, turned down the offer. The lying media cites Harwood as being conflicted between the call of duty and the chaos surrounding National Security matters in the Trump Administration. Trump and company have of course cited other reasons, namely financial and personal. I'm sure that's it. We have also learned, through the evil minions, that apparently Flynn lied to the F.B.I. on January 24, 2017 about speaking to the Russian Ambassador about sanctions. Lying to the F.B.I. is a felony and if prosecuted and found guilty serious jail time can follow. Today ...

Last weekend President Trump issued an Executive Order banning travel to the United States from seven majority Muslim nations. The media and opponents have called it a Muslim ban. It's easy to understand why that is. Trump's own campaign rhetoric calling for a Muslim ban and his use of the word "ban" last weekend in his usual word salad speaking style have fed the notion. However, the order itself doesn't say this. It is a pause on refugees and citizens of those countries entering the United States until "we" evaluate the vetting process for those visitors. As a democratic Republic it was handled sloppily and incompetently, as an authoritarian state it would be considered business as usual and there is the problem, well, one of them. Note carefully that because of the backlash in our country, the Trump Administration and key Republicans have gone out of their way to point out that the seven countries in question are the ones that were identified by the ...

President Donald Trump is a pompous ass and represents a grave threat to the Republic, accept that truth and keep alert. That said, under my own code of ethics even a pompous ass deserves defense when merited. The firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was justified. I would have done the same thing, though I would have handled it far more diplomatically. The reason it's justified and not a Nixonian moment is because the Office of Legal Counsel in the A.G.'s office had reviewed the travel ban and stated it was legal. Whether or not they are correct is for the Courts to decide. Yates made a decision that she did not agree with the policy and issued an order to her subordinates that the Justice Department would not defend the order in court. She did not issue a legal brief outlining why the O.L.C. was wrong in their assessment and present it to the President. She simply issued her order, after the Justice Department had already appeared in court over the weekend defending ...

Kellyanne Conway nay Goebbels, Trump's pollster, third campaign manager and now Presidential Senior Advisor has made it crystal clear that the chronic lying of her boss throughout his entire campaign and her smiling facilitation of said lies is now the official stance of the Office of the Presidency. Ms. Conway appeared on Meet the Press this past Sunday where she defended the irrational screeching statements made by Press Secretary Sean Spicer about how YUGE the crowds were at Trump's inauguration. Conway was called out for the lies and she casually tossed it aside saying he used alternative facts. Alternative facts are lies, but not so according to Conway. Kellyanne Conway nay Goebbels has been smiling and lying to the American people from the moment she joined Team Trump as a surrogate and she gets away with it because she's a charming monotone woman that never stops smiling while spewing the propaganda of her master. All of these believers in God, predominantly Christ...

Only one person on the planet will get the complete meaning of the title of this commentary, he frequently has referred over the long years to my wearing of the dickhat, which means idiots piss me off and I show it. Today I abruptly left Facebook, oh yeah, I did. My page is still there but I'm not. Last week I purged my cellphone of the app and returned it to the factory setting and disabled said installed basic function. Can you believe that shit? Facebook is already jacked in when you get your phone, you can't wipe it out. I know a lot of people love Facebook, I don't and yet I have become hooked on repeatedly checking it on a daily basis and for what? I ask you, for fucking what? I created an account in July of 2016 and simultaneously created a Twitter account. I did these two things for one reason, to promote this blog. I had never been on Facebook and maintained I never would because of my belief it's a giant fake waste of time and in spite of it's top rankin...

Donald J. Trump is now the 45th President of the United States and make no mistake in your thought process, his Presidency is legitimate. True, he won because our electoral system failed but that does not change the facts. The Russians did not steal our election, Americans are responsible for the outcome. No evidence of any kind has been suggested or proved that a foreign power directly placed their hands on our voting machines and changed votes to guarantee Trump a victory in the Electoral College. If you feel the need to assign blame, put it on F.B.I. Director James Comey, who went out of his way, in contradiction of Bureau protocols, to smear Hillary Clinton with false innuendo. First in the early summer of 2016 and again two weeks prior to the General Election. Blame the Democratic Party as a whole for believing, like the Republicans, that Donald Trump was not a serious threat to them. Blame the hundreds of millions of Facebook users who love to share lies over and over again. Blam...

Some of you may think my previous post was a bit harsh, not so. In fact I pulled my punch out of regard for my more sensitive readers. Let's go deeper, shall we. I never drank the Obama Kool-aid, in reality I drink no politicians Kool-aid. I view them all with a healthy skepticism and then hope that they might live up to their rhetoric and rise to statesman like decorum. They rarely do and Barack Obama is no exception. When Obama originally announced he was running for the Democratic nomination for President I wrote that maybe in the future when he had seasoning and an established national record but not now. No sooner had he been elected to the U.S. Senate then bam, he's running for President. He had no record of substance and his brief time in the Senate was less than stellar. I was not impressed by him. Throughout the campaign and debates, the one candidate who stood out and distinguished himself was Joe Biden but the media wasn't interested in old Joe, nice guy but th...

Here's one to piss everybody off. Enjoy! Last night Barack Obama delivered his farewell address in Trump style with a big venue in Chicago with 20,000 people in attendance. I was moved only by my need to adjust my chair. I have struggled for years to figure out what it is about Barack Obama I find so uninspiring and now I know. He is like the promise of a great song. The first few bars are catchy and the last note tricks you into believing it was good but everything in between is shit. Last night it was breaking news that a two page unsubstantiated addendum was added to the classified hacking briefing given to the President and President Elect that Russia had compromising information on Donald Trump. By this morning holes the size of the moon had been shot in this story and many news organizations had refused to run with it because it was questionable. What does this so called document show? That Trump fucked a goat? Even if he did, who cares, it gets cold in Russia. Trump is ...

Donald Trump received his briefing on Russia's hacking activity from the big four intel officials of the United States. Trump said it was "constructive" and "he likes these guys", but, yes there's a but, "it didn't effect the outcome of the election". Further, Trump continues to basically not believe any of it and continues to be an advocate of Vladimir Putin. First let's state the obvious, the anger that all Americans should feel is over a foreign power deliberately attempting to interfere in our elections and the failure of the man about to become President not condemning it and calling out the actors responsible. Donald Trump is such an insecure person that the only thing he can focus on is the suggestion his Presidency is illegitimate even though that suggestion hasn't been made by anyone in government. You could certainly state as fact that Donald Trump spent eight years trying to delegitimize the Presidency of Barack Obama, you ...