Posts

The response to the Laken Riley murder undermines uniquely American values: Innocent until proven guilty and the right to a fair trial

 March 19, 2024 - by Fred Bates The presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the constitutional due process right to a fair trial should be extended to all, even undocumented immigrants.   Just as with all murders, I am saddened and outraged by the murder of Laken Riley. I don't see one murder as being worse than another murder. The victims lose their lives, the most precious thing we have. The victims' families and loved ones are devasted. When tragedies like Riley's murder, as well as, other murders are politicized and exploited by politicians and the media, I find it disturbing. It is further evidence of the deterioration of our American values system. I find it shocking that so many politicians and media personalities, mostly Republicans and conservatives, are so quick to state without equivocation that Jose Antonio Ibarra the suspect in Riley's murder, an alleged undocumented immigrant, is guilty of her murder.  Did I miss something? I am not aware that Iba

UnfortunatelyThe Latest Impeachment Hoax Does Not End Attacks On Donald Trump

Post #10 - February 28, 2021 In a post on January 15, 2020, I addressed the first impeachment of Donald Trump. Just as I disagree with the first impeachment, I disagree with the second impeachment of Trump. The second impeachment lacked less credibility than the first impeachment, if that's possible. Not only was the second impeachment constitutionally infirm, it defied commonsense and logic. It was just another example of how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats' hatred for Trump drove them to do something that made no sense at all. What is so shocking is that Democrats clearly went beyond what the Constitution and the founding fathers intended for impeaching a president. Impeachment is the process by which Congress can remove a sitting president from office for committing treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. It's needless to say Trump was already out of office. But that was not good enough. Democrats wanted more. So they came up with the lame notio

The 2020 Presidential Election - Who Is The Better Candidate? Trump or Biden

  Post #10 - Saturday November 1, 2020 Trump or Biden?  The presidential election is two days away and I feel compelled to give my opinion about who I think is the better candidate based on their policies and character. When choosing a candidate in an election, I think most people look at what the candidates have done in the past and at what they say they are going to do after they get elected. Ideally, you would then make a decision based on who you think is better. When I started this blog on January 15th of this year (2020), I stated that I would address current hot button issues that have left this nation deeply polarized. I stated in my introductory post that I would address issues in an honest and objective way. The issue as to whether Trump or Biden would be better for this country is a controversial issue. This post is not meant to be a political statement or an endorsement. I respect the right of every citizen to vote for the candidate of their choice. I will not condemn or cr

Police Brutality and the Black Lives Matter Movement

   Post #9 - October 8, 2020 POLICE BRUTALITY - AN OBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW YOU HAVEN'T HEARD With the recent protests in Louisville Kentucky, Portland Oregon, Los Angeles California, and other big cities around the country, police brutality is still in the headlines. The recent cases that have garnered the most headlines are the police killings of Breonna Taylor and Rashard Brooks; the deaths of George Floyd, Elijah McCain, and Daniel Prude while in police custody; and the shooting of Jacob Blake that did not result in his death. The death of any individual involving the use of force by police is a tragedy. But it is clear from the mob like mentality of many of those protesting police brutality and the support and encouragement they appear to be receiving from mostly Democratic politicians and the liberal media makes it difficult to resolve this complex problem. The issue of police brutality has been framed around the narrative that police are killing large numbers of unarmed b

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) - A Targeted Approach Is Better

Post #6  (April 07, 2020) This coronavirus pandemic has shown that many Americans have the ability to work together in a crisis. All over America, you see examples of ordinary Americans putting asides their differences in order to fight this common foe, COVID-19. However, many of our leaders at the federal and state level have not been able to work together with the same ease as ordinary  Americans. They have engaged in a game of blame and complain in the media that has been more than willing to give them a platform. What I am referring to is the back and forth between President Trump and many of our nation's Governors. Notable are the public feuds between the President and these Governors: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and to a lesser degree California Governor Gavin Newsom. As has been since his election, the hostility also continues between President Trump and Democrats in Congress led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and their sycopha

The Biggest Red Herring of All Time?

Post #5 (January 29, 2020) The Democrats continued push for testimony from Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton is a red herring. By now you should have heard about the claim by Bolton in his book manuscript that was leaked to the press that Trump told him the aid to Ukraine was linked to investigations into the Bidens and other Democrats. Democrats and the media are having a field day with this latest development. Here's the problem with this new information. First, it's from a leak by someone in the NSC. I find that to be disturbing. Secondly, just as I explained in my posts on Monday (1/27/20) and Sunday (1/19/20), the articles of impeachment are constitutionally infirm and new witness testimony will not give them credibility. The facts are the facts and they will never change regardless of any new testimony. The facts are that Ukraine got the aid within the time frame designated by Congress. Ukraine did not conduct any investigations into the Bidens or

America Use Your Commonsense About Impeachment

Post #4 (January 27, 2020) A little bit of commonsense and reason and a lot less hatred for Donald Trump and unbridled emotions will help you come to a sensible conclusion about this impeachment. The President is being impeached for abusing his power and obstructing Congress. The abuse of power charge by Democrats is that Trump withheld aid to the Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into Hunter and Joe Biden. The charge by Democrats is that Trump pressured President Zelensky of Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in order to help Trump and hurt Biden during the 2020 presidential election. Democrats make the claim that Trump's pressuring of Zelensky to investigate Biden was seeking foreign interference into the 2020 election. They charge that Trump obstructed Congress by refusing to turn over documents and by refusing to allow certain current and former Trump officials to testify during the impeachment inquiry in the HOR, even though Trump is claiming executive privilege. T