Jan's Stinkin Blog

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

ZIMMERMAN TRIAL: Will justice prevail?

My friends that love following trials that have a national following (maybe international) are loving the George Zimmerman trial for second degree murder of Travon Martin.

Obviously these trials take on a circus like atmosphere with prosecutors and defense attorneys prancing like peacocks in front of the media.

Is justice served? Are the trials fair? It is hard to say especially when the trial basically is conducted in the media with networks like CNN spending millions on coverage of these trials and shall we say EXPLOITATION of the insatiable public appetite for controversial trials.

In the Zimmerman case you have “race” as the flashpoint issue even if race was not a motivating factor or not a factor at all; it does not matter…the defendant was white and the victim young and black.

Zimmerman was definitely a person with a problem. Neighborhood Watches are supposed to “watch” and “report” if trouble is spotted or suspected. Zimmerman reported alright, he called 911 constantly but he also carried a gun which is asking for trouble…and he got it.

Martin was a teenager walking home from the store who noticed he was being followed and sensing trouble, attacked instead of waiting to be attacked; he got shot and died.

So how do you judge this case? Zimmerman should not have been doing what he was doing but when he did shoot, he shot in self-defense.

You don’t want Zimmerman to get off with no punishment which usually people do when self-defense is their reason for shooting an assailant but was Travon attacking Zimmerman as a means of self-defense also?

Wow-we need a King Solomon to decide this one…

Sunday, June 23, 2013

SNOWDEN: Is he a traitor?

Edward Snowden, the civilian contractor at the NSA (National Security Agency) has stolen “secrets” from his employer (NSA) and has gone public with them? Or has he taken them to China to sell? What the hell is going on and what are these “secrets”?

A “whistleblower” by its very definition, is someone that discovers some type of malfeasance in a company or government agency and takes that information to a higher authority that can do something about this malfeasance or to a media outlet like a newspaper or television network to expose this malfeasance. In some cases, the whistleblower stands to make a lot of money if his revelation of wrong-doing saves the company or the government a lot of money.

Snowden is not a whistleblower because he took his information which has something to do with “spying” which all countries do, and ran to another country; in this case, Hong Kong, China which we spy on as they spy on us, to do what…sell our spying secrets?

Some people were initially calling him some kind of “hero” for doing something “good” but in reality, he is now looked on as a criminal and more importantly, a traitor to his country which I think is something people get shot for.

It is interesting that he fled to China and now has flown to Russia and is expected to fly to Cuba and then on to Venezuela; all countries we are not the best of friends with.

Some say he is trying to get “asylum” which is a place of “refuge” from harm as in keeping the U.S. from extraditing him back to the U.S. to stand trial on charges of stealing secret data from the NSA and therefore harming U.S. interests. Since we have extradition treaties with most countries, he has to fly to those countries which are not our friends and do not have extradition treaties with us.

It appears that WikiLeaks and the infamous Julian Assange is helping Snowden out and Assange must know how to avoid prosecution successfully since he is an expert in the art of revealing secrets and staying out of jail through asylum seeking.

The NSA obviously now realizes how utterly unwise their operations are when civilian contractors to do all your top secret work…maybe you should have smart people running your agency…you think?

I am all for revealing information that once revealed will somehow benefit the general public in some fundamental way but to reveal information just to create chaos just because you can or just because your twisted mind thinks it is the right thing to do, well I think those people need to be made examples of and letting them go unpunished is not a good thing for the general public and will encourage budding assholes working in some top secret department somewhere.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

PAULA DEEN: Just Desserts...baby!

I can’t believe I finally retired but have less time to blog than when I worked…WTF.

Anyway, I had to say a few words about PAULA DEEN the so-called chef of good ole’ Southern Cooking.

No I don’t watch her show but I do dislike her for a number of reasons and when I heard she was fired from the Food Network TV for using racial slurs in the past (or maybe the present) I had to comment.

She obviously was a very popular TV cook but my dislike of her started when I heard that she had Type 2 Diabetes but had kept that fact secret from her TV public.

The problem is that in her cooking she advocated eating a ton of fat (butter) and sugar which happen to contribute to the development of Type 2 Diabetes, the biggest health scourge of American adults; usually who are overweight and eat unhealthy like DEEN was promoting.

She finally admitted she had Type 2 Diabetes and immediately became a paid spokesperson for an insulin manufacturer, insulin sometimes used in Type 2 Diabetes treatment programs.

She then started slowly changing her cooking recommendations to “lite” dishes after years of encouraging and promoting fat and sugar laden dishes that promoted Type 2 Diabetes.

I really do not know anything about her racial issues and if she really was racially insensitive to some of her employees but she did admit to some of that and went on YouTube to apologize so she probably does deserve some of the blame.

My problem with her remains her dishonesty hiding behind her false Southern charm; she is a selfish and greedy individual that really does not give a shit about the adoring public that she has lead into Type 2 Diabetes and all the pain that came with that condition.

Just desserts…baby

Monday, June 17, 2013

DUGGAN should be on Detroit ballot!

Mike Duggan is running for mayor of Detroit and yes, he is a white guy.

Many have said that a city that is 80% black cannot elect a white guy no matter how able that guy may be. This type of thinking is wrong because Mike has a large black support group that realizes that the city needs a “real” mayor, someone that actually has the skill set to make Detroit financially viable again; Duggan has a proven track record of business and administrative successes.

Mike does not look good. He is overweight and dresses badly as opposed to the last mayor of Detroit who was always in a state of sartorial splendor but is now in jail on corruption charges and dressed in jailhouse orange.

Recently a fellow running for mayor of Detroit, Tom Barrow filed a suit in court claiming that Duggan did not follow city charter rules that demand city residency for a year before running for city office saying in effect that Duggan is like a carpetbagger, made famous after the civil war for shysters from the North descending on the defeated South to make some sleazy money. The current mayor of Detroit Dave Bing also did not live in the city but moved in only when he decided to run for mayor.

Tom Barrow found a judge in Detroit that agreed with him and has removed Duggan from the ballot for mayor of Detroit.

If Duggan is kept off the ballot, Detroit will suffer because their choices for mayor will be limited and the other candidates which include Tom Barrow are not what the city needs at this critical time in its financial life.

I have been buoyed by the growing support in Detroit for a mayor that is competent and honest no matter what the skin color. I just hope Detroiters get a chance to vote on a field of candidates that can actually make a difference and right now Duggan is the only professional with a solid history of administrative success.

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: Sell off art work to pay Detroit's debts?

When I read that some of the priceless treasures of the DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS could be sold by the CITY OF DETROIT to pay down debt as part of a bankruptcy proceeding, I was beside myself.

I have supported the DIA for many years. I have also used the DIA while attending Wayne State University and have visited the DIA when they had a special showing that I was interested in.

You also know my views on the Detroit culture of corruption and incompetence that through the years has finally brought the city to its knees.

What angers me is that many people like me contributed our money to support the DIA. Many in the suburbs contributed vast amounts to keep the DIA alive and well to enrich the culture of the surrounding populous including children brought in on school buses, some who have never been exposed to works of art.

And now the city, on the verge of bankruptcy because of gross mismanagement, greed and incompetence wants to use OUR money contributed to the DIA to pay off the debts of the city incurred by the assholes running the city…no way!

Our legislature has already passed a bill making the DIA off limits to pay debts but under bankruptcy law all city assets are in play and the DIA is a city asset which is unfortunate because the DIA has not received much aid from the city but rather from the state and from individuals in the suburbs.

We need to make the DIA either independent or controlled by the state.