A Tough Call

This week, the Schloss-Blog had a tough call to make as to what to write about.

The Chauvin verdict?

The Daunte Wright shooting and funeral?

The North Carolina shooting? 

The Columbus, Ohio, shooting?

A lot of shootings, huh? How come so many white officers shoot at or otherwise kill Blacks, especially young Blacks?

The image of Derek Chauvin's cold stare, hands in pockets with his knee firmly planted in George Floyd's neck is haunting, chilling.

Young Darnella Frazier, 17 at the time, bravely, boldly continued videotaping the event as Floyd died. Without her, remember, Chauvin is probably not even on trial, but Floyd is still dead.

I wonder, how many officers in Minnesota, around the country, watched the trial, mouths agape, as Chauvin's superiors in the department testified against him.

The Blue Wall crumbling.

Makes you wonder how Kim Potter is feeling as she awaits trial for shooting Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, virtually down the street from where Floyd was strangled, suffocated or whatever you want to call it. She is charged with manslaughter and God knows that could change in the wake of the Floyd verdict. She allegedly mistook her taser for her handgun. 

Yeah, I do that all the time.

But before we get to her trial, or that of the three officers who allegedly aided and abetted in Floyd's death, think about the press release the Minneapolis police issued after Chauvin killed Floyd,  a year ago, in case you forgot.

Not making this up. This is the exact wording:

May 25, 2020 (MINNEAPOLIS) 

On Monday evening, shortly after 8:00 pm, officers from the Minneapolis Police Department responded to the 3700 block of Chicago Avenue South on a report of a forgery in progress.  Officers were advised that the suspect was sitting on top of a blue car and appeared to be under the influence.

Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car.  He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later.

At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved in this incident.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called in to investigate this incident at the request of the Minneapolis Police Department.

No officers were injured in this incident.

Who signed off on this release? Was it the same supervisors who testified in the trial against now-convicted murderer Derek Chauvin?

Yet, the shootings continue, by white police, of young Blacks.

As LeBron James put it: "I'm so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by the police."

He left out asphyxiated.

Good night, Mrs. Calabash, although it doesn't feel like it. Here's to you Mrs. Robinson.

More Sunday night on Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' show. 

Right Wing Reading

It's time for another Schloss-Blog edition of ... "We Read Rightwing.org So You Don't Have To."

For instance...

Did you know ... an emergency petition is circulating to stop President Biden from "altering" the Second Amendment?

No, really.

I didn't know presidents, or anyone, could rewrite standing constitutional amendments. Any new  amendments or revisions thereto must be approved by a two-thirds vote of Congress, or a constitutional convention must be convened by a two-thirds vote of all state legislatures.

No president can arbitrarily rewrite any constitutional amendment or parts thereof. Where do they get this sh-t?

***

The latter is a RightWing dot org contention, by the way, that Biden is literally trying to rewrite the Second Amendment. What he's trying to do is get AR-15 weapons off the streets, which were used in 26 percent of mass shootings the last 10 years and in 12 since the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in 2018.

***

Did you know ... Biden is changing the definition of "bipartisan?' According to RightWing dot org, Biden's definition of "bipartisan" is to blame Republicans for ... well, everything.

And everything that has gone wrong in this millennium is the Republicans' fault, from the deficit, to a half-million-plus COVID deaths, to the economy crashing to Fox News' concerted misinformation and disinformation campaigns. 

***

Did you know ... according to RightWing dot org, The mess at the border is Biden's fault.

No, the mess at the border is Biden's to clean up after Trump's inhumane treatment of immigrants, especially children.

Trump claims to have built 452 miles of wall. No, he repaired or replaced 372 miles of existing, decaying wall and built only 80 new miles in 4 years.

By the way, that didn't stop any viruses, medical or digital.

***

Did you know ... that the Federal Reserve, according to RightWing dot org, is inappropriately trying to account for climate change's impact on the economy.

Trump always liked to boast on economic growth. Well, the Fed says climate change, which Trump denies, could be responsible for as much as a 1-3% negative impact on the the GDP per year, and could jump to as much as 3-7%.

Yeah, the Fed needs to account for climate change's impact on the economy.

And get Trump an umbrella. He thinks climate change is the weather.

***

Did you know ... according to RightWing dot org, the Bitcoin passport or I.D. is the next big thing. And here I thought it was the vaccination passport.

I look at Bitcoin the same way I look at the racetrack: I'll play the quinella but not the trifecta.

***

Did you know ... that by withdrawing completely from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, according to RightWing dot org, Biden is trying to get us into war. No, really.

I thought that was Trump's idea. And by May 1.

And which war?

***

The "Squad," says RightWing dot org, comprised of Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are trying to dismantle police forces, coast to coast.

No, they're trying to reform police policies, well, not Tlaib, she's in for the full monte. But most if not all of the information about this is out of rightwing media as well.

And we know how accurate and honest Fox News is.

But when it comes to police reform, Minnesota first. Then Virginia. South Carolina. And Chicago. 

***

Finally, this little ditty ... did you know that, according to RightWing dot org, Biden is trying to drain people's savings with his trillion-dollar programs for COVID and now infrastructure.

No, he's trying to save lives and create jobs. And is doing a damn good job. Fifty-nine percent of Americans approve of the job he's doing. Fifty-five percent of Republicans approve of his aggressive handling of the pandemic.

And by the way, when it comes to deficit spending, Trump is third all-time among presidential administrations, registering a 5.2% deficit. Only Lincoln (9.4%) and 'W' (11.7%) have ever outdone him.

Ahem, Republicans.

If you want to survive COVID, if you want healthcare insurance, if you want a robust economy, if you want to find a job or have a secure retirement and if you don't want to get caught up in a mass shooting, then don't vote for a Republican.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.

More Sunday night on my rock 'n' roll show on Radio Free Phoenix.

And go, go MLS teams in CONCACAF Champions League Tournament.

Gimme' a Break

The Schloss-Blog is asking real nice  ... Gimme' a Break!

Been watching too many ads, too many politicians too many athletes and too many media pundits in both sports and politics muse poetically. Time to call their bluffs.

The Trulicity ad, you know the one, for diabetics, claiming "my body can create its own insulin," well that's nice. Except when the daughter of the guy who is the centerpiece of the ad scores a goal in a soccer game, why are all the defenders on the other team just standing around watching her? Literally. She had time to tee it up and wallop it.

Good for diabetes. Bad for soccer. Gimme' a break.

To people saying UCLA took the stuffing out of Gonzaga before the Zags played Baylor, I ask, really? Baylor was the better team. In fact, I think Mark Vital of Baylor just got another offensive rebound. The next time Gonzaga blocks him out will be the first time.

UCLA would've given Baylor a better game because coach Mick Cronin coaches a close game, by necessity, with no depth and no height. Gonzaga throws the ball out there and says we can outscore you. 

Yeah, they could, 35 times in a row.

Not 36. Gimme' a break.

Someone tell the cute drummer in the Kars for Kids ad to at least make it look like she's striking the drums. She's waving at air.

Until then, they're not getting my car.

Well, maybe the 2011. I'm keeping the 2019.

Volkswagen thought its April Fool’s joke was convincing America it had changed its name to Voltswagen.

Uh, not. And not funny. 

I own two Voltswagens - uh, Volkswagens - and I'm neither fooled nor entertained by this complete failure in branding redirection. Gimme' a break.

Seeing where bottled water isn't good for the planet because the bottles are pretty much never recycled. So, bring your own and refill it at a station at the airport, right, when you get around to traveling again.

Except so many airports and public spaces have shut down their water fountains and drinking stations. Can't win either way. And at airports, for those who haven't flown recently, they're charging $5 for $2 bottles of water.

By the way, I've flown four times round-trip between Phoenix and Chicago in the last 12 months.

I'm still alive. Gimme' a break.

Restaurants are reportedly having problems hiring people as the economy prepares to swing wide open again.

Hopefully.

Except now, those former employees are making more collecting unemployment and stimulus checks than they formerly made working at the restaurant.

I wrote about and covered the restaurant industry for five years, getting an inside look at their operations and marketing.

I never met an overpaid waiter, busboy or hostess. It's time for the $15 minimum wage, America. Hello, Republicans. Gimme' a break.

Jacob deGrom of the Mets is the best pitcher in baseball, but he repeatedly has been cheated out of wins his bullpen has blown.

In today's baseball, managers pull starters after 6 or 7 well-pitched innings.

Why?

Bob Gibson wouldn't get pulled. Or Ferguson Jenkins. Or Don Drysdale. Or Tom Seaver. Or Jim Palmer.

Pitch counts and bonuses for complete games have managers making irrational decisions. Let deGrom finish his games. And everyone else too.

Too many situational substitutions on the mound by managers making believe they're doing their jobs when they're really just afraid of taking media and public-opinion heat.

Gimme' a break.

Finally, everyone wants my money.

Democrats, to pass HR-turned-SR 1.

Republicans to stop it.

Every charity you can think of (I do give every year to American Cancer Society, Arthritis Foundation, Alzheimer's Association and several others). Everyone I give to is near and dear to me because it tormented a loved one or took a loved one's life.

I can't give to them all. I can urge you to give to the organizations near and dear to you.

Tell 'em to stop selling each other's mailing lists to one and other. I get more solicitations in the mail than I do important mail, email, bills and/or greeting cards.

I make donations when my friends run or walk in support of those organizations near and dear to me.

I get little if anything in return for my political donations. And if you gave to Donald Trump, you get even less for giving more because he tricked you into donating more without your consent.

Shocker, right?

It's his life story. Well, at least it's not going toward his presidential library.

Both pages. Gimme' a break.

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Gimme' a break, Mrs. Robinson.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

Ticking Up, Georgia Down

With so many things happening this past week, the Schloss-Blog is wondering just how many of them can be considered good.

Or ... not.

For instance, in case you noticed prices up everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store shelf, you were right. The container-bearing Ever Given, a freighter the length of which is the height of the Empire State Building, was finally freed after six days jammed up in the Suez Canal.

The cost to the world's economy?

How about $400 million an hour. How about $10 billion all told. How about the spot in the canal where it got hung up was the only part where the Egyptians did not spend billions to upgrade the canal during its last major renovation in 2015.

Donald Trump is blaming Jewish lasers from space for the hang up.

***

Joe Biden is aiming at spending $3-4 trillion to upgrade this country's infrastructure. It needs it, before we have another bridge collapse along I-35W in Minnesota or before the commuter-train tunnel between New York and New Jersey collapses, stranding people, as in the Sylvester Stallone flop, "Daylight." Except Trump blocked repairing the Hudson River Tunnel or building the new Gateway Tunnel because, as we all know, he's an ass who hated New York and New Jersey, which hate him right back.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters, along with Amtrak, depend on that decaying tunnel every day. "60 Minutes" explored the decaying tunnels two years ago. It ain't pretty. It is dangerous. Very. Dangerous.

Republicans in Congress are dedicated to blocking this infrastructure legislation and ruining the lives of Americans everywhere, let alone blocking as many as 18 million jobs it might create.

Republican don't care if you live, die, or get to work.

***

Georgia's new, restrictive voting law would make it very difficult for people to vote, to get to polling places while they're open, to deposit absentee ballots or to keep themselves refreshed and sustained while waiting in line to vote.

Already the business community has struck back, with Major League Baseball removing this year's All-Star Game from Atlanta. or a few days’ worth of several billion dollars being spent in greater Atlanta.

Now, if only Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot, UPS, Cox, NCR and so many of the other major employers in the state threatened to move or actually did pull up stakes and move, maybe then Gov. Brian "Dr. Death" Kemp, as a dear friend of mine who lives there calls him, would get the message.

If he gets beaten for reelection, word is he has a job offer from Oath Keepers.

***

Derek Chauvin, to anyone who has watched the trial, is guilty of killing George Floyd. Now, will it be Murder 2 or Manslaughter 2?

Jack McCoy, where are you when we need you?

***

In Colorado and Georgia, a lot of people died in mass shootings. 2020 was a record year for gun deaths. 2021 is trying to catch up.

Congress has done nothing. But even when their own have been shot (Steve Scalise, Gabby Giffords), they've done nothing, except offer condolences, in the way of thoughts and prayers, as the colloquialism goes.

Until the next one.

We'll say it again - Republicans don't care if you die.

***

Baylor's women's basketball coach, Kim Mulkey, says no further testing of players should've been done as they headed into the Final Four this weekend.

Next, she's going to propose moving the Final Four permanently to South Dakota, where the governor has been trying to infect people with COVID since the whole pandemic thing began.

***

The NFL is going to have a 17-game regular season this year. The league says most injuries occur in preseason anyway.

Does it really matter? NFL coaches will bench key starters in Game 17, pending playoff games, unless they need to win to make the playoffs. Teams that rest players while already having clinched a playoff spot are cheating teams that have a chance to make it with some help from a team that has already clinched.

Again, game 17 changes nothing. Just one more chance to watch your team blow its playoff chances.

***

One more thing: Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman, is being investigated for sex with a minor and prospective sex trafficking.

Hopefully, they won't forget to investigate him for just being a putz.

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you Mrs. Halper.

More on my Sunday night rock 'n' roll show on Radio Free Phoenix