The man is the office. The office is the man. [POLITICS]

        As of late there are people saying that people should be respectful of the “office” of the President if not the man regardless of what he has done or is doing. (Understanding that the office we’re talking about is not a physical place but rather a position.) Should we be respectful of the President simply because of the office? It’s a fair question and certainly not a new one especially when we have an unpopular President. People said many of the same things about President “I am not a crook” Nixon before he resigned from office in disgrace.

        President “I am not a racist” Trump has provided us at least a partial answer to the question. He wasn’t opposed to criticizing President Obama when he (Trump) was a citizen and not running for office. He was a vocal opponent of President Obama then in interviews and through his incessant tweeting before he started running for office. Trump even questioned the legitimacy of his Presidency by promoting the completely false accusation that President Obama is not a natural born citizen. It’s hard to be more disrespectful of the “office of the President” than that. That’s also disrespectful of our entire democratic system of government. It is the ultimate rejection of our Republic. It is also a testament to the gullibility of the masses. He didn’t stop with President Obama. He was critical of First Lady Michelle Obama as well. He criticized her for not covering her head when she went to Saudi Arabia. (Incidentally First Lady Melania Trump also visited Saudi Arabia with her head uncovered.) Those were just a couple of examples.

        So while we have Trump’s answer by his own example is that really the best answer? Let’s try a different approach and just deal with respect in general and not tied to a specific office or title. 

Respect goes to a person’s basic character.

• Should we be respectful of a man that likes to be in the room and look at naked underage girls?
• Does a man who gives another man permission to refer to his own daughter as a “piece of ass” deserve respect?
• How much respect should we give to a man that likes other men seeing pictures of his naked wife?
• If a man avoided the draft because of wealth should we respect the accomplishment or is that disrespectful to those that did serve?
• Let’s say an average man or better yet a poor man jokes about sexually assaulting women, would we respect him?
• Should we respect a crass, vulgar, trash-talking, name-calling bully?
• How about a habitual liar? Should a habitual liar be respected? Do you respect people that you know to be such a person? Better yet. Do you trust them?
• How about a racist? Should we respect racists?
• If a man isn’t a person deserving respect before he has a particular office does he become deserving of respect if he obtains that office?

        All of the above apply to President Trump. None of the above is new. And no one has to just accept media’s claims, because there are complete videos or audio of him available substantiating his actions, with the exception of his most recent comments about those from countries where brown people live (however, there are a number of witnesses). There are also court cases where judgements were rendered and depositions were taken. If you want to hear and see the man that is now President joking about assaulting women that video is also available for the world to see along with all the others.

        As a man and as a President he has not asked for forgiveness for the things that he has not only done but bragged about. Evangelicals have said that Jesus has forgiven him, so should they. Jesus forgives when asked to forgive. President Trump doesn’t ask for forgiveness. He isn’t new to the Christian scene and is a lifelong church attendee. So let’s just take that off the table in the respect for the office argument.

        Trump supporters seemingly admire and respect a man that does all the above. They would have their sons and daughters behave like him. All of the above was known way before and during the election. I believe that it’s justifiable to say that Trump supporters admire him for what he is because he came in at number 2 on a most admired list. (It’s almost poetic that he lost to a black man.) On one hand that gives me a small hope that our nation hasn’t crossed over completely to the dark side.

       Now this is where the average President Trump troll (including Russian Trolls) usually chimes in with “Trrruuuummmmp!” or responds with something about the Clintons, Obama or email. That really doesn’t advance the conversation but that isn’t something that they’re interested in doing. They want the attention and conversation deflected in other directions. Yes we get it. You’ll vote for him again. You love America being undermined and our Democracy being taken apart. You love a man that does the opposite of what he says. You love the Russians and enjoy their involvement. White nationalism is your cup of tea. Some Nazis are really fine people. A man that does and is all of these horrible things and more you call a good man deserving of respect even if it’s only because of the office.

        If just the “office of President” is supposed to command our respect does that mean that the office adheres to a higher standard than the man that occupies it? Does the position have a better character than the person holding it? Is there a job description for the office? Does the office act, say things?

        Or do the people define the qualities of a President that are acceptable? This would be like a community standards doctrine.

        If that’s true then the fact, and it is a fact, that President Trump lost the popular vote by millions indicates that he does not have the support of the people and won by the support of a political system. So again there is small reason to hope. At least in the popular vote people rejected such a man even if the margin was small. In defense those supporting the Presidents claim that the vote is a fraud caused by millions of illegal voters even though this claim has also been disproved nationally.

        When people say that we should respect the office of President what are they really saying? What does that mean? In essence it is saying that President Trump shouldn’t be criticized because he is the President. That defense simply will not work in a free society with a free press.

        Ultimately it is about the man. He disgraces the office with his vulgar and abusive comments. That doesn’t mean that he’s being politically incorrect in his language. It means he’s being racist. He disgraces the office with his daily lies. He disgraces the office when he undermines our constitution.

        The man, President Trump, is disrespectful of the office he holds. If you truly want to respect the office of the President of the United States then condemn the man that holds it.

Show me your hands! [POLICING]

        For a while the national news reported an incident where an unsuspecting innocent citizen was “SWATTED” and ended up being shot dead by the police. He was unarmed but deviated from the instructions that he was given by the police on the scene and was shot dead. SWATTING or being SWATTED is where a fake call is made to the police with a story designed to provoke a heavily armed response to unaware victim/s.

        Years ago back in the time before smart phones I was watching a news video on TV about how a confrontation between the police and a man that ended in his death. The police had been called to an altercation where one of the men was reported to be armed. A news crew was already on the scene. They were focused on the man the police were confronting. He had one hand behind his back. One of the officers shouted to the man, “Show me your hand! There better not be a gun there!” I remember thinking at the time:  that guy is a dead man if he’s got a gun in his hand. He was ordered several times to show his hand that was behind his back. He was told that he better not have a gun. Finally he brought his hand from behind his back. There was a gun in it. He was promptly shot dead.

        In another video that I’ve watched on the internet there was a young man that had been pulled over by an officer. He had already exited the vehicle by the time the officer had got out of his. The young man already had his wallet out getting and was getting his license. He was told to go back to his vehicle and get his registration. The kid was in a hurry to comply, spun on his heel and hurried back to his vehicle. The cop started shouting and pulled his weapon. The kid quickly spun around because he was being shouted at by a police officer and was shot several times. Slumped down on the ground the kid said, “Why did you shoot me?” He was unarmed.

        More recently there was a shooting where an unarmed man was crawling down a hallway begging for his life while trying to comply with instructions that he was being given. He deviated from the instructions and was shot dead.

        I want to express that I didn’t provide a detailed account of what took place and that in every instance the police for the most part followed their appropriate procedures.

        While predominantly more victims are black people of all races are being killed or wounded.

        This is going to sound odd now but stay with me because it will tie back in to what I’m talking about. I’m going to talk about lifting things. Specifically a box. I worked in factories for decades. I went to numerous injury prevention classes over the years where we were instructed in using proper lifting techniques. There was one multi-step procedure demonstrated where detailed instructions, usually in pictorial form, were provided about how to lift a box (anything).   In absolutely ideal circumstances it would probably work but it was useless for having practical application in the workplace.

        Industry responded with changes in procedures that made dealing with proper lifting technique more reality based. Lift with your legs not with your back. Uncomplicated and easier to execute.

        In regards to shootings where racial profiling isn’t involved it appears that current procedures aren’t working. There are too many instances where those that are guilty of some minor infraction end up paying with their lives unnecessarily or even worse where innocent victims are being shot. Weapons in the hands of the individuals may or may not be involved.

        Weapons at the scene always increase the stakes even if they’re only in the hands of the police. One mistake, a quick movement, a failure to execute an instruction properly, being in a hurry to comply, a hand going to the wrong part of the body, on anyone’s part can result in a fatal outcome. Being innocent or guilty can be irrelevant to the situation. Add to this the physiologic response taking place with all those on the scene and all that’s needed is a spark.

        Police train for these types of confrontations. The vast majority of civilians don’t. Criminals for the most part don’t train for an armed confrontation other than anticipating the possibility of one. The desired outcome is for everyone to get out alive. Too many aren’t. There’s an obvious problem.

        For the average civilian the daily routine does not include a confrontation with an armed group of authorities pointing guns and shouting demands requiring exact execution of instructions. In a recent video I saw a man being told keep his hands straight up in the air while getting down on his knees. Okay this is a totally foreign physical movement. Try it. And don’t let either arm dip even slightly. With me the chances of this happening are even more remote given the condition of my knees. It would be a definite “You Tube” video because at some point I would be falling down if I could in fact keep my hands/arms straight up. The natural response to get on one’s knees is not to begin with sticking our arms straight up. As soon as we start going to our knees our brains and muscle memory are kicking in telling us that we’re doing it wrong.

        How many times have you seen a guy check his fly? Haven’t? We do it. Often we do it without even thinking. Just go through one wedding with your dress shirt tail sticking out your fly and not finding out until the wedding pictures are being taken and believe me you’ll be checking your fly the rest of your life. I watched a commercial outtake once and the director was telling the guy that he needed to stop shaking his head no one he was talking saying no and the guy was saying I’m not doing that and was shaking his head from side to side while saying it. The director said you’re doing it right now! The guy said no I’m not while shaking his head no. We just do some things without thinking like move our hands to our hips or cross our arms during a conversation.

        Then we have our basic natures to contend with. There are a lot of people that you can tell to do something but if they don’t see a good reason themselves they aren’t doing it especially if they think they’re right. I can tell you for sure that if I’m ever in such a situation my main concentration is going to be focused on not peeing my pants. That’s going to consume a lot of my attention.

        I can tell you for sure that if SWAT showed up at my late mom’s house she would have her hands on her hips and be shouting right back at them because she would know that she was innocent. Period. She would not follow precise instructions shouted at her by rude people. Then, if she were still alive, she would go back inside. She might even come back out to ask if anyone wanted sandwiches.

        Seriously, how many weapons do you have to point at one or two people if there’s a designated shooter? People, especially if they’re unarmed, shouldn’t end up with multiple bullet holes from different people in them. If you’re the person with all the weapons pointed in your direction the subtlety of fingers not being on the triggers is going to be lost on you especially if you’re trying real hard not to pee. 

        In closing I wish that I had the answer or answers but I don’t. What I do know is procedures need to be changed. We need better outcomes.

Gort! Is it you? [ALIENS]

        “The day the earth stood still” is one of my all-time favorite science fiction movies. If you have haven’t seen the original 1951 version you should give it a watch. Gort is the name of the robot in the film.

        A relatively recent incident involving a fighter pilot and subsequent release of DoD video showed an unknown object being tracked by an A/F F18. Audio of comments being made accompanies the video. The fighter pilot was unable to achieve a radar lock. After retiring he came forward with information about the incident. (For those that might not know talking about an encounter with a UFO can be a real career ender for a pilot in the service or private sector.) According to the information being reported, sightings had been ongoing for a couple of weeks before the encounter. The former pilot mentioned that there was no visible means of propulsion and that the object looked like a 40’ long white Tic Tac. He said the UFO executed maneuvers that a human body could not withstand. This is one of the common threads mentioned in various UFO sightings.

         This news was reported in a few mainstream news outlets before the news cycle moved on to other things. These sightings have gone on for a long time. Most of them are debunked. Emphasis on most. It is worth noting that these sightings were made by radar and what appears to be thermal imaging. All sorts of questions arise. Are they real? Are they alien? Is it our technology or the technology of another country being displayed? If they’re alien what are their intentions? Good? Bad? Evil? Neutral? The ramifications are somewhat scary yet fun to contemplate.

        In regards to what the intentions of alien beings might be Stephen Hawking is reported to have said that we should keep in mind how things worked out for Native Americans. I do find it interesting that we think of them as a species of life. It seems to me that when it comes to interstellar travel Artificial Intelligence (AI) would be a better choice especially if faster than light travel isn’t possible.  

        AI rather than physical beings (carbon based life forms) would be better able to handle the extreme speeds and maneuvers exhibited by the craft that have been observed. Humans would be a crushed up blob if they underwent some of the G forces observed unless inside the craft are immune to what is happening outside the craft. Regardless AI just seems to me to be a more logical choice. We wouldn’t be using humans for flights if AI were able to make the necessary decisions and take remedial actions for unplanned events that might arise.

        AI would also mean that the same craft could have been here for millennia observing and learning. For all we know they could have been reporting back to wherever for all this time. Taking years to wait for responses would not be a bother for them. AI might not even have a need or requisite for answering back. Gather information. Gather knowledge. It certainly wouldn’t take AI long to figure out that we are the biggest threat to ourselves.

        I think that there may be more to AI, or big headed aliens if you prefer, than just watching though. If they’re indeed capable of interstellar travel they are far advanced of us and anything that we can do. If this is the case and I believe it would be then they are letting us see them because they can. The F18’s were unable to get a radar lock yet the ships could be seen by different radars. Then they “disappear”. What’s that about?

        If they wanted to do something to us or with us they certainly could have done so before now. Seriously, why wait? The best that we could hope to do is blow the crap out of our planet and we’ve been able to do that for decades. There would have to be some altruistic purpose for them to “save” us from ourselves and our penchant to self-destruct when we acquire too many nice things. If they had altruism they would have acted waaaaay before now.

        But I keep coming back to why would they choose to let us “see” them sometimes but not at others? That seems inquisitive.

        “Look to the skies! Look to the skies!”