Our shifting reality

By Dan Barber

Ben Affleck sorry he had 'Finding Your Roots' conceal slave-owning ancestor

What Affleck should be more concerned with is discovering his own lack personality; he apparently needs talented writers to create his role in reality and Hollywood executives to edit what is produced.

China reportedly issues new warning over North Korean nuclear production

If China is issuing warnings over and out of control puppet nation, we should take that warning seriously.

Facing threat in Congress, Pentagon races to resettle Guantanamo inmates

This is not good... placing UNIFORMED military personnel in the middle of a fight between the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branches of our government. The headline of this article is misleading...When it states the "Pentagon races to resettle Guantanamo inmates" should read, Obama appointees and some "flag level" officers race to follow the orders of the Commander in Chief. This is another example of Obama trying to lead without the oversight of Congress. I am confident that military personnel in Cuba will follow the orders of their chain of command.

Tale of two presidents: Obama and Putin

Thank goodness that people of the world believe that Obama is an exceptional leader, according to the World Gallup Poll. This feeds the needs of an inexperienced, egotistical community, and union organizer. Every world leader, especially Putin can play Obama like a toy because of his inexperience.

Wal-Mart store closure follows labor activism

I read a lot of assumptions in this article but very few confirmed facts. At the beginning of the lead paragraph it reads, "It's certainly possible that." REALLY? It's also possible that a contractor who built all the stores, paying expensive, California mandated union wages to union employees caused those plumbing problems! Los Angeles Times, why don't you investigate instead of instigate with assumptions?

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians Pressed for Control of Uranium Company

Americans really need to read this article, and I'm sure the follow-up national and international news stories about the corruption of Bill and Hillary Clinton. They are using their positions in the Democratic Party and national politics to sell off American strategically important assets to Russia. Buried in this article is the fact that Obama appointed cabinet members had given approval for this to happen. According to this article in the New York Times, "When a company controlled by the Chinese government sought a 51 percent stake in a tiny Nevada gold mining operation in 2009, it set off a secretive review process in Washington, where officials raised concerns primarily about the mine’s proximity to a military installation, but also about the potential for minerals at the site, including uranium, to come under Chinese control. The officials killed the deal.

"Such is the power of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The committee comprises some of the most powerful members of the cabinet, including the attorney general, the secretaries of the Treasury, Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce and Energy, and the secretary of state. They are charged with reviewing any deal that could result in foreign control of an American business or asset deemed important to national security."

To State the Obvious II

By Dan Barber

Hillary Clinton embraces past in New Hampshire, calls scandals 'distractions'

Hopefully in this Presidential election we can have a person voted into office based on character and real leadership experience, not based on gender, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual identity or any other non-merit reason. We need a person who can actually lead us into the future so we don't repeat history.

Libya migrant boat survivors tell of rescue ship sighting, collision

This is a glaring example highlighting America's failed foreign affairs policy in the Middle East. We own this disaster because these people are refugees fleeing unrestrained Islamic terrorists.  These people are not immigrants purposely seeking Italian citizenship. When President Obama claimed that his administration had terrorists on the run, he failed to mention in what direction they were running.

Saudi Arabia to shift from heavy airstrikes to 'political process' in Yemen

Wow... it seems that the only people who know what's going on in the Middle East are the ISIL terrorists! Unless Obama and the State Department aren’t saying what they really know! Obama has kept his promise of getting out of the Middle East.

Vaccine mandate bill revamped to ease home-schooling waiver

I love seeing parental involvement in their children's development. What I hate seeing is parental involvement in their children's destruction, or at best allowing their children to grow into germ-a-phobs or deniers of real medical science if they even survive their childhood into adulthood.

Don’t look now, but things are looking up for Obama

Whew... thank goodness we can all relax now that the polls are telling us that we are all so much better off with Obama at the helm! Do you believe those polls? I don't.

Homeland Security is laying roots in Silicon Valley, and you might not like its reasons

Remember back in the "good old days" when it was against the law for the government to spy on Americans in America? It seems to me that our administration is calling U.S. citizens potentially dangerous... especially those "mean and evil" Christians because they refuse to support progressive ideas at the risk of eternal damnation.

L.A. restaurants push for tips to count toward minimum wage

Allowing inexperienced politicians to meddle in something they don't know anything about is a sure fire way to destroy it. There are many hard working and successful people who work as waitresses, waiters, bartenders and other service providers who rely on tips for that success. I knew a bartender who used to work at the airport in Los Angeles, who made enough money to invest in income real estate around the city. Perhaps the politicians know what they are doing by going after those successful hardworking people to spread their wealth and success to others. Instead of viewing minimum wage jobs as a career choice for poor people, politicians should be helping the providers of those jobs so people will view them as an entry level training opportunity.

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Living Life in Small Doses

By Dan Barber

When young, I felt I was immortal with unlimited potential… I had no idea what I would do with that potential, but I felt that I had plenty of time to discover what was to become of me. I was lucky, I had parents who gave me the confidence and supervised space to explore my potential. 

  

Many people have the maturity to grasp what they want in a career at a young age, just today, I heard my 4-year-old Grandson state that he wants to be a conductor when he grows up… not to be a conductor on a train, but the conductor of an orchestra so he can wave a “stick” and make music. My grandson is also lucky because he has two parents who will, I’m sure, will give him the confidence and supervised space to allow him to explore his potential. Next week his favorite cartoon monkey may demonstrate a different career path for my 4-year old muse to take, but whatever it is, his parents will be there to help guide him.

I was afraid to commit myself to any single pursuit right out of high school. I didn’t want to risk wasting my parents money for college because I wasn't ready to attend or to settle on a life-long career doing a job that I was afraid I would come to hate. But, the fact is, I had choices that many young people don't have today because they don't have an understanding or a loving and supportive base.

  

At the time, I had no idea what naivete meant, or the fact that I was full of it!  However, I am still confident that I have some immortality, long after my body has turned to dust, I will live on in my children and grandchildren's memories because of the lessons I have passed to them from the lessons my parents and grandparents gave me.

It breaks my heart and sometimes even my spirit when I see young people being destroyed from the actions of their parents. As long as there are parents who abandon their children our country along with those youngsters will suffer to the very fiber of our existence from that action.

Sure there will be some who can’t provide monetary support to their children for reasons out of their control, but that doesn't mean they can’t be part of those children’s lives.

Those parents who have totally and willfully abandoned their children deserve to lose their freedom and all rights guaranteed under our Constitution.  One liberal newspaper, The New York Times seems to feel that abandoning children resulting in the legal consequences to deadbeat or unfit parents is too harsh. Click on the below link to access that story:

Skip Child Support. Go to Jail. Lose Job. Repeat.

Typical nonsense from a liberal newspaper... What about the children?

Yes, when states have to pay to take care of children they will attempt to collect those payments from the parents rather than require taxpayers to pay the bills. Being a parent is a huge responsibility and if done right can be the source of a lifetime filled with love and pride. If parenting is done wrong it can be the source of a lifetime filled with guilt and shame.

The basic support a child requires is the need for love and encouragement. There are poor people, even homeless people, who are very successful at loving and encouraging their children.

The probable root cause of inner-city poverty and crime is caused by unfit parents who abandon their children which create non-supported feral children who turn to each other for territorial acceptance and support out of a need for survival because they are forced into a world where survival of the fittest (toughest) becomes the very rule for life. Their role model is not the absent parent but, the toughest, strongest or scariest thug in the "hood."

Acceptance of abortion as a form of birth control for liberals, is appropriate, but forced sterilization for unfit parents is not.

Lunacy is running rampant

By Dan Barber

DEA agents had the fun, now boss pays the price

2008-2016 -- The age of "Of No leadership". Someone has to be in charge of the lunatic asylum or the lunatics will have free rein to run unchecked in the asylum. America is now being flooded with illegal immigration with the progressives blessing; the Middle East is on fire with the progressives deflection of blame on the Bush administration; an extreme Islamic country, run with Sharia law that religiously prays for the demise of America and Israel is developing nuclear "energy," but American progressives tell the world "don't worry we have things under control;" California's progressives have allowed the state to become over-developed despite a lack of natural resources (available open space, clean air and water); progressives have spent our great-great-great grandchildren into debt, but progressives say don't worry about that; progressives pound the message through the media that Christians are bad, Muslims are good; Now we learn that some sworn agents working in the Drug Enforcement Agency are having sex with prostitutes who work for major Drug Cartels and their DEA "boss" has no idea how to take action to stop that ILLEGAL behavior? Perhaps the current batch of lunatic leaders should pay a price.

Obama compromise with Congress on Iran deal signals shift in approach

Where has this reporter had his head stuck? Or is the headline writer at the Los Angeles Time still trying to carry water for Obama? The president has demonstrated over the past 6 years that he is incapable of "compromise" with anyone. The Foreign Relations Committee in Congress, which includes democrats, called his repeated veto bluff with a unanimous vote indicating that there are enough votes to override his veto threat.

Ex-Marine indicted in murder of Orange County woman in Panama

Note: Before Former Marines start bashing me, I didn’t write this heading

Los Angeles Times and Tony Perry, I have some questions regarding this article. . What does this horrendous crime allegedly committed by Brian Karl Brimager have to do with him being an “ex” or former Marine? Did the crime occur while he was on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps? Was he an AWOL Marine when arrested? Was Brimager suffering from PTSD from his Marine Corps experience causing him to commit this crime? Or do you feel the U.S. Marine Corps connection important enough to your paper and reporter to warn your readers to be wary of veterans? Perhaps you should be careful in identifying a suspect with such specificity in future articles... you know such as a religion nut, zealous nationalist, ethnic (fill in the blank) slang, gender or  some derogatory term for someone who has a different sexual orientation. At best you might be mistaken as a publication that employs illiterate writers or at worse bigoted bloggers.

Who Reported on Hillary’s Chipotle Visit, and How?

I always wanted to be a writer. My father explained to me once while trying to get away with some teenaged transgression that you can go to hell for lying just the same as you can for stealing...writing lies to promote Clinton as a viable Presidential Candidate and then being paid for that job marks off two things a person can go to hell for.

Teen use of e-cigarettes continues to soar, alarming many experts

Pay attention, big tobacco companies have not been defeated; they've just changed marketing strategies with a revamped method of nicotine delivery by borrowing from the illicit drug trade by offering pretty "tobacco crack pipes."

Saudi-led Yemen air war's high civilian toll unsettles U.S. officials

According to the lead paragraph of this article "Obama administration officials are increasingly uneasy about the U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led air war against rebel militias in Yemen..." Then maybe the Obama administration should take a leadership role instead of a support role.

Political partisanship has become the new racism cause

By Dan Barber

To be a politician is hard if you wish to represent everyone while serving "at the pleasure" of a specific constituency. American society is mostly controlled by the “billionaire class” primarily through the elected leadership representing the American cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In addition, there are “billionaire class” foreigners who have financial interests in the US who also insert influence on our politicians.

Find the answers to the following questions and you might understand American politics: Who are the most dependent on our government? What can be done to maintain political power? When do we bring in the cameras showing candidates visiting, shaking hands, drinking coffee, eating a hot dog with “real Americans”?  Where do the poorest of the poor live? Why are politicians interested in these poor people? How can a politician convince a poor uninformed person to support them?

Dana Milbank an opinion columnist at the Washington Post described American politics as tribalism. If politicians could put aside their tribal bias, for the benefit of their fellow Americans, for a moment and try to honestly inform their fellow tribe members then perhaps we might be able to escape the mire of ignorance and become a better nation by really helping the poor and represent everyone.

I thought that we overcame racism when President Obama was elected to our nation’s highest office… but now I don’t think that was the case. Racism caused Obama to be elected. Americans voted for Obama because of the color of his skin not for the merits of his character. That is not what Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream was about. He wanted people to be judged on the merits of their character, not on the color of their skin. Even the President can’t seem to shake his life experiences when representing the American public when he is forced to deal with a sensitive situation such as the police officer’s use of force situation in Ferguson, Missouri that set back Americans trust in police officers across the country.

Also, since Obama took office, people have been increasingly accused of being a racist if they oppose the President on any policy he proposes. Blacks in opposition to administration policies have been accused of being “Uncle Tom’s.” And Hollywood has even tried to revise civil rights history with a “blockbuster” film.

We are entering into a new general election cycle where tribal warfare is starting to heat up. Politicians and activists with professional self-serving screamers such as Al Sharpton are busy whipping up their voting base in the hi-density population centers of America. This activity gets the attention of the national media just as a laser pointer will get the attention of a cat and cause it to endlessly chase the light but never catch it.

The media running after the "Scooby Do" van carrying Clinton must be really proud! After all, they are doing a bang up job of being manipulated into focusing the laser light on a presidential candidate whose only qualification to date is her married name. It's no wonder the American public has lost faith in what mainstream media report today.

What I learned in my public relations class in school about controlling journalists must be true, make the media work for the story and it will make the front page or feed the story to them and it will be buried on an inside page… just make sure you don’t get caught in this manipulation you might be accused of being a “spin doctor.” However, a good political communications director (spin doctor) will find those “lazy” or partisan journalists who will accept the press releases and place them on the front pages, or the lead broadcast of the “nightly news.”

The messages that I hear from conservatives are: Stop being poor, take responsibility for your life and actions so you can be truly free. The messages I hear from liberals are: Don’t worry about your unfortunate situation, we will take down the rich politicians (Republicans) and share the spoils with you. Also, if you support a conservative you must be a racist or Uncle Tom. This may be a very simplistic view but boiled down it is accurate.

My message to you: study the choices of candidates before voting for your future.

Where has common sense gone?

By Dan Barber

Obama’s proposal for more trade with Asia may not go over so well in his own party

Whenever politicians discuss "free trade" with Asia it is really code for "one way" trade. Asia creates cheap stuff with near-slave labor so Americans working for minimum wage can afford to keep buying the cheap stuff that keeps falling apart. I wonder if Obama has viewed the effect Asian immigration has had on Eastern Los Angeles county, on any of his many fund-raising trips to Hollywood, or golf trips to Palm Springs? I believe that cultural integration is a good thing that could make America stronger but the eviction of one culture to benefit another segregated culture can destroy America. Obama was elected as a savior for the poor and oppressed Americans, but because of his lack of leadership skills has only created more hardships on the poor and oppressed people around the world.

Tax Day! (or an excuse for Republicans to dump on the IRS)

Yawn... The Washington Post (WP) is defending their biggest advertiser by dumping on those evil Republicans who might want to actually govern fairly. I wonder if the WP offered Lois Lerner a job as fact checker.

In Iowa, Hillary Clinton is listening but not saying much

What is going on here?

My speculative options...

1. Those darn sneaky Republicans got Clinton placed as the Democrats favored front-runner so she can siphon off all of the money from Hollywood donors.

2. The fix is already in with all of the primary and general elections ballot boxes stuffed.

3. Her head injury from her fall was real and not a ruse to avoid testifying in front of Congress about Benghazi and is much worse than anyone thought...the head injury, not the murder of an American ambassador.

4. An inept staffer forgot to copy her stump speeches before they erased her computer server which was kept in her home.

Marine shot in back in training accident has 'a long way to go' in recovery

I'm sure that Navy Medicine will take care of all the medical needs of this young man. The complete story cannot be reported because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act preventing the military from sharing specific information about this young man's injuries with the media. I also believe this Marine's family is possibly using his unfortunate accident as a potential fund-raising opportunity because according to a report in this report in the Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times (TNS) they set up a “GoFundMe” account aimed at raising money to cover his and his family’s travel expenses and some medical supply costs. A naive and inexperienced journalist is enabling this embarrassingly incomplete story to be published which unfairly paints the United States Marine Corps and Navy Medicine in a prejudicial light. 

To State the Obvious

By Dan Barber

Rolling Stone’s damaging journalism

This happened because it fit the "Rolling Stone" magazine's need to perform social engineering on a societal function they felt needed to be changed. However, the facts did not support them. Now what needs to be done is not allow the responsible people to keep the jobs they held at the magazine. Perhaps they can find work with a PR firm or with a political campaign where it is appropriate to "spin" the story.

Marco Rubio skipped Senate hearings after death of Osama bin Laden

Absence from the Senate worked for the current President. Obama didn't even serve a full-term as a "freshman Senator." When running a story attempting to shine a negative light on a politician perhaps the Washington Post should tell the entire story to prevent showing their bias.

Five myths about fast-food work

Welcome to Obama's world where poor people are used as a political voting block asset. Using common sense all that has to be done is notice where the fast-food restaurants are mostly located... in high-density population centers where most of the democratic base and poor people live. As a bonus, the Obama administration can use fast-food jobs to boost the nation's employment numbers and bash the providers of those jobs as evil for making their workers take government handouts because they don't pay enough of a living wage. If you don't believe me just take a look at the "red-blue" political map of America.

Are almonds and other nuts really drought villains?

Many years ago I interviewed a very old engineer/farmer who was really smart and very wary of the environment. At the time, I interviewed him he was working on wind turbine technology to create electrical power and other natural agricultural technology to better produce food. He also invented machines that could harvest avocados from very steep slopes which turned previous hilly land in Northern San Diego County into avocado farming land. He told me the future of food production would make soybeans and nuts an important replacement food for meat. According to what I've read in this article, perhaps environmentally minded politicians should be removed from the equation and replace them with environmentally minded farmer/engineers when it comes to managing our water districts.

Meet the cancer patient in Room 52: His name is Joseph, but call him Joe

This is a good thing. From my experience, while working as a Public Affairs Officer in a military hospital taught me that healthcare providers, for the most part, are caring people. But, they can sometimes lose the personal connection with patients they are caring for, whether that loss of connection is caused by medical technology, being busy or the need to minimize a personal connection to an ill or injured fellow human. I also experienced being ignored as a patient in a military hospital. I was once a patient at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, CA. I was hooked up to numerous monitoring devices, pain meds and had a chest tube keeping my lung inflated when I asked a Corpsman if I could have a cup of coffee, he told me to get up and get it myself... I disconnected the monitoring devices, hung the chest tube drain on the IV pole that pumped meds into me and walked to the ward kitchen for a cup of coffee. A Navy nurse told me to get back to my bed. I was pissed off so I refused... and spent the next 2 weeks there sitting in an easy chair. Thanks to the Corpsman, who made me get my own coffee, I discovered that the chair was more comfortable in my condition then the bed and I could take care of myself.

A new campaign slogan for Hillary Rodham Clinton: Think small

Now this makes sense...think small for a small minded person. Managing Clinton's image has become very challenging for even experienced campaign managers. She is not a very convincing liar, plus she keeps getting caught in lies. "What difference does it make now" that she earned a cool $100,000 on an initial $1,000 investment in cattle futures? Remember when she lost her job for withholding evidence in the investigation of Nixon in the Watergate scandal. Lying about Whitewater investments in Arkansas, lying about being shot at by snipers, lying about a video causing the murder of an American ambassador by terrorists. Is it any wonder that she isn't very believable when she claimed a serious head injury to postpone her testimony to Congressional about Benghazi, or keeping a private email server in a closet at her home. Remember the files regarding Whitewater investigation that independent investigator Ken Starr requested that were eventually found in a White House closet at the end of her husband's Presidency. I wonder what else is hidden in Clinton's closet?

Presidential candidates-to-be make the most of fundraising rule-bending

Wow, nary a mention of Clinton's fundraising until close to the end of this biased article. Also, no mention in the article about Hillary's foreign contributors to the "Clinton Foundation" (charity). When Helper wrote about the Bush fundraising push in California he failed to mention Obama's many golf/fundraising trips to California just in the past few months... on the taxpayers dime. Talk about the charade coming to an end it's apparent to readers where the Los Angeles Times positions itself, on the left side of political spectrum.