It seems that every other day another woman pops out of the woodworks to accuse comedian and uber famous star Bill Cosby of committing rape that occurred at least ten years ago. Naturally when there are women involved in a high profile lawsuit, guess who will appear at a new conference in front of dozens of cameras leading the charge--Gloria Allred.
This Los Angeles feminist rights lawyer has been photobombing sensational news stories for decades, always holding herself up as a savior to women involved in some sort of lawsuit against a greater, meaner, more callous defendant. A couple of days ago, she demanded that Mr. Cosby put up $100 million as a legal fund to compensate all the potential suits that women may bring against him now and in the future. Says Ms. Allred, "If Mr. Cosby believes all the women are being untruthful, then this is his opportunity to prove it. What could be fairer than that?"
I don't know what kind of law the Loyola University School of Law taught Ms. Allred, but the American legal system has for centuries been based on the maxim that a person is innocent until proven guilty. It is very disingenuous of her to demand that Mr. Cosby drop the statute of limitations of these accusations and allow these women to sue him and have him prove his innocence. As a lawyer, she should know that it is not the defendant's duty to prove his innocence, it is the plaintiffs and their lawyers to show guilt. Mr. Cosby has no legal obligation to prove that he did not touch these women. That would be like asking him to prove he did not touch the other seven billion people on this earth. How would you prove a negative?
Most people I know are quite skeptical of all these women who suddenly appeared in the last few months to make the same complaints over and over again. Where were these women ten or twenty, or even forty years ago when they were supposedly raped by Mr. Cosby? Not a single one of them went to the police or told a family member who could talk them into going to the authorities?
Also hanging a $100 million kitty out there for anybody to collect is bound to bring forth even more women, not least of which is Ms. Allred herself. History has taught us that anytime a defendant settles with a large sum of money to distribute to plaintiffs, the legal vultures start circling hungrily. This has happened in cases like the tobacco and BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill lawsuits. Once an enormous amount of money is at stake, more people will suddenly decide that they have a good reason to want a pick of that carcass.
I don't know if Mr. Cosby is innocent or guilty of these charges. But his lawyer is smart in keeping him mum about the whole legal circus that is swirling around him. He is legally protected by the statue of limitations for activities that may or may not have happened decades ago. Unless there is some sort of photographic or DNA evidence, it is basically a he said/she said situation. Lawyers like Ms. Allred are just there to get their faces on the news cameras and make more money and fame for themselves.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
I Am Darren Wilson
By now, almost everybody has seen the security video inside the convenience store that Mr. Brown robbed about thirty minutes before his shooting. He was stealing cigarillos from the place when a store employee attempted to stop him. As the picture clearly shows, that took an enormous act of courage. Mr. Brown is 6 foot 4 inches tall and weighs nearly 300 pounds. He is essentially an NFL football player with no job and a bad attitude. He tosses the employee around like a rag doll. The fact that the mass media still refer to him as an unarmed teenager totally misrepresents the situation.
If Mr. Brown's robbery wasn't enough to send him to jail for a long time, he decided he was going to pick a fight with a policeman inside his own patrol car after he was told by Officer Wilson to stop walking in the middle of the street. He even attempted to reach for the officer's gun while assaulting him. All of this is without dispute. Yet the news organizations and liberal bleeding hearts think that Officer Wilson should somehow have let him off easy because he was "unarmed". Mr. Brown has already shown himself to be gravely dangerous to society and bringing him down was probably the best thing to happen to Ferguson's crime rate in a long time. These kinds of events don't just happen overnight. I'm sure Mr. Brown's robbery was not his first, but luckily for Ferguson, it was his last.
The St. Louis grand jury heard all this evidence and came to the conclusion that Officer Wilson acted within the law and decided not to indict him. Yet the liberals say the process is broken and justice was not given. It is especially appalling to me that so many Asian Americans are going along with this fractured narrative. What the heck are they thinking? I don't support any of these Asian American associations that have placed their lot with the likes of the NAACP and clowns like Al Sharpton. These Asian community "leaders" think that support of any minority cause is worthy of their time and energy. I bet none of these people has ever run a business and been robbed or beaten by some hooligans who think they can do as they please. As far as I'm concerned, if somebody commits a serious crime, they deserve whatever punishment they get. This is justice. Not another business will ever again be terrorized by Michael Brown and the world is a better place for it.
I'm sorry to read that Officer Wilson felt compelled to resign from the police force in Ferguson. But I suppose that was inevitable. He seemed like a policeman who did what he thought was the right and legal thing to do in the middle of being attacked by an opponent who was almost 100 pounds bigger than him. I hope he and his new wife are able to settle down and find a new job soon in a community that is more grateful for good police work than Ferguson.
If any of these anarchists are done torching their own town, they may find that there are going to be a lot fewer businesses opening up in Ferguson from now on. And since the townspeople feel that the white police force is discriminating against the predominately black population, maybe they'll feel happier if the police don't come running the next time they call 911 when another black person is robbing, stealing, assaulting, raping, or committing any other felonies against them. Why should the police risk their lives for people who only turn around and accuse them of being racists. The citizens of Ferguson will have nobody to blame but themselves.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Why Asians Will Always Be Foreigners
My son hates his last name. He is always complaining about other kids in school teasing him about it. He has already asked me when he can change his name. I told him once he turns eighteen he can do whatever he wants. Until then, he is going to have the same last name as me, end of discussion.
Unfortunately, my son's complaints painfully reminds me of my experiences in school with other kids. Whenever I am asked my name, I inevitably have to say it twice, along with spelling it out so people can at least grasp how it's supposed to be pronounced. Over the years I've learned to live with this ritual. But inevitably some white American will think he's clever and make an unfunny pun with my name, as if that he was the first one to think of it. Sorry sir, but at least a thousand people have already told me the same lame joke already so forgive me if I don't laugh.
Asian names are notoriously difficult for English speaking people to comprehend. "Why is Nguyen pronounced as 'Win'?" We once had two Chinese coworkers at my workplace. Their names were spelled "He" and "She". Though they look nothing alike, different age, different height, people were always getting them mixed up. Would Americans have mixed up two white people named "Johnson" and "Johnston"? Somehow Asian names seem to be the perfect set up for bad puns by white people. Think of how many jokes you have heard in the media regarding names like "Wong" or "Chin". And don't even get me started on names that sound like English slang for genitalia. "Long Duk Dong" anybody? Yes I do know a real Chinese person with the last name of Dong so don't think that was a purely fictional name they put into the movie "Sixteen Candles".
I didn't realize how much our family's last name bothered us until one day I heard my father complaining about it. He was irritated by the rudeness of total strangers whom he just met who feel they can make a joke out of our name. While people may just be trying to lighten the mood by saying a joke, I would never think of joking about somebody named "Dick" or having fun with a black person named "White" or a white person named "Black". But with Asian names people don't seem to have the same restraint.
There have been many times while growing up that I wished I could have an easily pronounceable and spelled last name. Why couldn't my name have been Wilson? Or Smith? Jones, Brown, Williams will all do. These names imply AMERICAN. There is no stupid pun that people will think to bring up. They suggest a long glorious history of living in the United States. Nobody would ask me to repeat my name again because they didn't think they heard it right the first time.
So all I can tell you my son is that I too had to live through a lifelong dread of having to say my name to strangers, whether at school or at work. Just expect some wise guy will try to make a joke about it. Laugh if you're feeling generous. Ignore it and move on if you don't. Try not to make a big fuss about it because the joker usually isn't saying it out of malevolence. And once you are of legal age, I will understand if you want to change your surname to "Anderson". But I think by then you will have learned to be proud of your name and your heritage like I have and pass it along to your children. Then you can give them the same advice I'm giving you, "You can do whatever you want when you turn 18."
Unfortunately, my son's complaints painfully reminds me of my experiences in school with other kids. Whenever I am asked my name, I inevitably have to say it twice, along with spelling it out so people can at least grasp how it's supposed to be pronounced. Over the years I've learned to live with this ritual. But inevitably some white American will think he's clever and make an unfunny pun with my name, as if that he was the first one to think of it. Sorry sir, but at least a thousand people have already told me the same lame joke already so forgive me if I don't laugh.
Asian names are notoriously difficult for English speaking people to comprehend. "Why is Nguyen pronounced as 'Win'?" We once had two Chinese coworkers at my workplace. Their names were spelled "He" and "She". Though they look nothing alike, different age, different height, people were always getting them mixed up. Would Americans have mixed up two white people named "Johnson" and "Johnston"? Somehow Asian names seem to be the perfect set up for bad puns by white people. Think of how many jokes you have heard in the media regarding names like "Wong" or "Chin". And don't even get me started on names that sound like English slang for genitalia. "Long Duk Dong" anybody? Yes I do know a real Chinese person with the last name of Dong so don't think that was a purely fictional name they put into the movie "Sixteen Candles".
I didn't realize how much our family's last name bothered us until one day I heard my father complaining about it. He was irritated by the rudeness of total strangers whom he just met who feel they can make a joke out of our name. While people may just be trying to lighten the mood by saying a joke, I would never think of joking about somebody named "Dick" or having fun with a black person named "White" or a white person named "Black". But with Asian names people don't seem to have the same restraint.
There have been many times while growing up that I wished I could have an easily pronounceable and spelled last name. Why couldn't my name have been Wilson? Or Smith? Jones, Brown, Williams will all do. These names imply AMERICAN. There is no stupid pun that people will think to bring up. They suggest a long glorious history of living in the United States. Nobody would ask me to repeat my name again because they didn't think they heard it right the first time.
So all I can tell you my son is that I too had to live through a lifelong dread of having to say my name to strangers, whether at school or at work. Just expect some wise guy will try to make a joke about it. Laugh if you're feeling generous. Ignore it and move on if you don't. Try not to make a big fuss about it because the joker usually isn't saying it out of malevolence. And once you are of legal age, I will understand if you want to change your surname to "Anderson". But I think by then you will have learned to be proud of your name and your heritage like I have and pass it along to your children. Then you can give them the same advice I'm giving you, "You can do whatever you want when you turn 18."
Monday, October 27, 2014
The Arrogance Of Ted Lieu
With a week to go before the general election, it looks like California Democratic state representative Ted Lieu will win the U.S. House seat of retiring Congressman Henry Waxman. Recent polls show he has a 17 point lead over Republican candidate Elan Carr. With a congressional district that draws heavily from the limousine liberals of the Westside and beach communities, the outcome of this campaign isn't really a surprise.
However Ted's arrogance during this election cycle is especially annoying. He has already dismissed Mr. Carr as a viable opponent. He has already met with Congressional insiders in Washington to discuss his role after the election. He is already talking about this seat as if it is a lifetime appointment. He tells the newspaper that he told his wife, "If we win in November, my first priority is to live as long as I can. Congress is like the military--it's just pure seniority." So Ted not only has brushed off the candidacy of Mr. Carr, he has already carved his name into his presumed office door on Capitol Hill. He is so audacious that he doesn't for a second believe there could be another candidate who could successfully vie for the Congressional seat, maybe as early as 2016.
You would think that since Ted is having such an easy time cruising toward his victory party he would be more bold and daring with his ideas. But once again, he proves to us how vacuous his so called leadership will be when he ascends to the Hill. He has already parroted Mr. Waxman's position that his number one priority will be passing environmental laws, particularly cap and trade legislation to decrease emission of greenhouse gases.
Really Ted? You think that's what your constituents in Los Angeles are most worried about? What are you going to do about illegal immigrants flooding our borders and using up our limited resources in schools and hospitals? How do you plan to make healthcare affordable when Obamacare subsidies begin to dry up? What should the U.S. do about Ebola? ISIS? Russia? How do you plan to raise the standard of living of thousands of your constituents without using the job killing gimmick of raising the minimum wage? Are you going to keep pushing for a bullet train to nowhere even though most Californians now oppose its construction now that we have realized what a white elephant Gov. Jerry Brown's pet project has become? How are you going to fix the public pension crisis that is bankrupting cities all over California? There are so many issues that are of more immediate concern to the average voter yet he professes he will go to the Hill and legislate climate change. What an out of touch Democratic idiot.
It's too bad Mr. Carr declined to be interviewed by the local newspaper because it has decided to endorse Ted. If only voters knew more about him, I think his mature leadership as a former prosecutor would have given people a clear choice about who to vote for. It seems that the more we know about Ted, the more diminished he becomes.
However Ted's arrogance during this election cycle is especially annoying. He has already dismissed Mr. Carr as a viable opponent. He has already met with Congressional insiders in Washington to discuss his role after the election. He is already talking about this seat as if it is a lifetime appointment. He tells the newspaper that he told his wife, "If we win in November, my first priority is to live as long as I can. Congress is like the military--it's just pure seniority." So Ted not only has brushed off the candidacy of Mr. Carr, he has already carved his name into his presumed office door on Capitol Hill. He is so audacious that he doesn't for a second believe there could be another candidate who could successfully vie for the Congressional seat, maybe as early as 2016.
You would think that since Ted is having such an easy time cruising toward his victory party he would be more bold and daring with his ideas. But once again, he proves to us how vacuous his so called leadership will be when he ascends to the Hill. He has already parroted Mr. Waxman's position that his number one priority will be passing environmental laws, particularly cap and trade legislation to decrease emission of greenhouse gases.
Really Ted? You think that's what your constituents in Los Angeles are most worried about? What are you going to do about illegal immigrants flooding our borders and using up our limited resources in schools and hospitals? How do you plan to make healthcare affordable when Obamacare subsidies begin to dry up? What should the U.S. do about Ebola? ISIS? Russia? How do you plan to raise the standard of living of thousands of your constituents without using the job killing gimmick of raising the minimum wage? Are you going to keep pushing for a bullet train to nowhere even though most Californians now oppose its construction now that we have realized what a white elephant Gov. Jerry Brown's pet project has become? How are you going to fix the public pension crisis that is bankrupting cities all over California? There are so many issues that are of more immediate concern to the average voter yet he professes he will go to the Hill and legislate climate change. What an out of touch Democratic idiot.
It's too bad Mr. Carr declined to be interviewed by the local newspaper because it has decided to endorse Ted. If only voters knew more about him, I think his mature leadership as a former prosecutor would have given people a clear choice about who to vote for. It seems that the more we know about Ted, the more diminished he becomes.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Madison Bumgarner's Racist Move
Madison Bumgarner is
a. The San Francisco Giant's ace starting pitcher
b. A binge drinking alcoholic
c. A racist?
Anybody who was watching the first game of the National League Championship Series in St. Louis last weekend will surely remember the seventh inning. At a crucial juncture of the game, St. Louis Cardinal Kolten Wong hit a short ball into the infield. Bumgarner then received the ball from the first baseman and raced down Wong to first base to tag him out. But instead of the usual tap with his glove, Madbum practically body checked Wong and pushed him off his running path. It looked more like a football tackle than a baseball tag. The move was so flagrant that the Cardinals's coach asked for a review by the umpires, who inexplicably confirmed the out despite the interference with the base runner.
I can't help but wonder if Madbum pulled this stunt because he is a huge hulking white guy who thought he could get away with pushing around a smaller Asian American player. Bumgarner is 6 foot 5 inches tall and weighs 235 pounds according to his bio on MLB. By comparison Wong is a relatively diminutive 5' 9" and 185 lb. Would Bumgarner have contemplated pulling the same stunt against somebody like the Cardinals's first baseman Matt Adams, who is 6' 3" and 260 lb? I bet he wouldn't dare. Adams would probably have body checked him right back and sent him sprawling back to the pitcher's mound before allowing somebody as uncouth as Bumgarner, not to mention dishonest, to push him around like that.
But Wong didn't do himself any favors by meekly accepting the ump's bad call. In the usual Asian American fashion, he quietly accepted their verdict without so much as a protest, thereby confirming to everybody that he too thought he was out instead of being illegally shoved aside. Again I bet Matt Adams wouldn't have been so agreeable when somebody so obviously attacks you like that during play.
Of course Kolten was the hero the next day in Game 2 of the NLCS when he hit the game winning home run in the top of the 9th inning. Maybe it's just karma that helped him deliver that powerful swing to tie the series. Go Kolten!
a. The San Francisco Giant's ace starting pitcher
b. A binge drinking alcoholic
c. A racist?
Anybody who was watching the first game of the National League Championship Series in St. Louis last weekend will surely remember the seventh inning. At a crucial juncture of the game, St. Louis Cardinal Kolten Wong hit a short ball into the infield. Bumgarner then received the ball from the first baseman and raced down Wong to first base to tag him out. But instead of the usual tap with his glove, Madbum practically body checked Wong and pushed him off his running path. It looked more like a football tackle than a baseball tag. The move was so flagrant that the Cardinals's coach asked for a review by the umpires, who inexplicably confirmed the out despite the interference with the base runner.
I can't help but wonder if Madbum pulled this stunt because he is a huge hulking white guy who thought he could get away with pushing around a smaller Asian American player. Bumgarner is 6 foot 5 inches tall and weighs 235 pounds according to his bio on MLB. By comparison Wong is a relatively diminutive 5' 9" and 185 lb. Would Bumgarner have contemplated pulling the same stunt against somebody like the Cardinals's first baseman Matt Adams, who is 6' 3" and 260 lb? I bet he wouldn't dare. Adams would probably have body checked him right back and sent him sprawling back to the pitcher's mound before allowing somebody as uncouth as Bumgarner, not to mention dishonest, to push him around like that.
But Wong didn't do himself any favors by meekly accepting the ump's bad call. In the usual Asian American fashion, he quietly accepted their verdict without so much as a protest, thereby confirming to everybody that he too thought he was out instead of being illegally shoved aside. Again I bet Matt Adams wouldn't have been so agreeable when somebody so obviously attacks you like that during play.
Of course Kolten was the hero the next day in Game 2 of the NLCS when he hit the game winning home run in the top of the 9th inning. Maybe it's just karma that helped him deliver that powerful swing to tie the series. Go Kolten!
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Ted Lieu, The Airheaded Reactionary
California State Senator Ted Lieu has just been shown to be the empty headed reactionary politician that he really is. The California Supreme Court has disallowed his proposal from being placed on the ballot for the November election. The senator, who is running to replace long time U.S. Representative Henry Waxman on the Westside, wanted to put Proposition 49 in the state general election. Prop 49 would merely ask California voters whether they approved or disapproved of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision allowing businesses to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaign donations. That is probably the most populist and vacuous proposal ever granted a place in California elections.
The CA Supreme Court rightly stated that California's proposition system allows voters to directly decide new laws of the land, since our state representatives are too cowardly to make any laws on their own that might be deemed controversial ie/ Prop 8. It is not there for any Tom, Dick, or Harriet to put up bogus statements simply for grandstanding. Even California's governor disapproved of this nonsense. Said Gov. Jerry Brown, "we should not make it a habit to clutter our ballots with nonbonding measures, as citizens rightfully assume that their votes are meant to have legal effect."
Of course none of this is a surprise for anybody who has followed Mr. Lieu's career. He has trademarked the qualities of being a politician who has no personal convictions, somebody who uses his position as a lawmaker to make up whatever bills he deems popular at the moment that will bring him votes. Remember his anti-swatting bill from last year? At the time there was a rash of celebrities getting prank calls to 911 and having a platoon of emergency vehicles show up at their front doorsteps. Mr. Lieu, sensing an opportunity to curry favor with Hollywood and getting his face in front of the cameras, wrote this bill to increase criminal penalties of anyone caught swatting. Ironically, his own residence was swatted shortly after he introduce this bill. Of course it was another one of those faddish activities like the Harlem Shake that people got tired of quickly and nobody bothered with a short time later. Mr. Lieu's bill just prolonged the publicity these stunts craved and helped it gain more life than it otherwise would have.
While Mr. Lieu is the favorite to win his election in November, since he is the Democrat running in a heavily Democratic district, the voters should know what kind of person they are getting. He has already shown his jelly spine to the Asian American communities who used to support him strongly until he stabbed them in the back by supporting affirmative action for University of California student admissions. I have no doubt that he will do the same thing in the future to any future constituent if he thinks he can get more votes or publicity by supporting a cause that runs directly against his voters' wills. Caveat emptor.
The CA Supreme Court rightly stated that California's proposition system allows voters to directly decide new laws of the land, since our state representatives are too cowardly to make any laws on their own that might be deemed controversial ie/ Prop 8. It is not there for any Tom, Dick, or Harriet to put up bogus statements simply for grandstanding. Even California's governor disapproved of this nonsense. Said Gov. Jerry Brown, "we should not make it a habit to clutter our ballots with nonbonding measures, as citizens rightfully assume that their votes are meant to have legal effect."
Of course none of this is a surprise for anybody who has followed Mr. Lieu's career. He has trademarked the qualities of being a politician who has no personal convictions, somebody who uses his position as a lawmaker to make up whatever bills he deems popular at the moment that will bring him votes. Remember his anti-swatting bill from last year? At the time there was a rash of celebrities getting prank calls to 911 and having a platoon of emergency vehicles show up at their front doorsteps. Mr. Lieu, sensing an opportunity to curry favor with Hollywood and getting his face in front of the cameras, wrote this bill to increase criminal penalties of anyone caught swatting. Ironically, his own residence was swatted shortly after he introduce this bill. Of course it was another one of those faddish activities like the Harlem Shake that people got tired of quickly and nobody bothered with a short time later. Mr. Lieu's bill just prolonged the publicity these stunts craved and helped it gain more life than it otherwise would have.
While Mr. Lieu is the favorite to win his election in November, since he is the Democrat running in a heavily Democratic district, the voters should know what kind of person they are getting. He has already shown his jelly spine to the Asian American communities who used to support him strongly until he stabbed them in the back by supporting affirmative action for University of California student admissions. I have no doubt that he will do the same thing in the future to any future constituent if he thinks he can get more votes or publicity by supporting a cause that runs directly against his voters' wills. Caveat emptor.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Is Global Warming Pessimism A White Man's Conspiracy?
What I find more profound was how cold California has been since 1900. While the Times wants to look at only the red bars from the last twenty years, it appears to me that about 80% of the time, the state has been running below, way below, the mean temperature of 57 F. In fact, in the mid 1950's, the state's average temperature dropped to 53 F, four degrees below the mean. That makes it the polar opposite (pun intended) of today's climate which is only three degrees above the mean. Yet I don't think there were screaming headlines sixty years ago about the need to reform the world economies to compensate for the cold weather they were experiencing.
I have a theory about why that is. Is it because white people, who control the major political parties and media companies of the developed world, like cold temperatures? Most of the WASPs who hold the levers of power came from northern European climes, and thus prefer frigid cold temperatures. Look at any ski slope during winter. Virtually every face up there is as white as the snow they are standing on. Who hold stupid polar bear swim meets in the dead of winter? White people. The rest of us brown people are shivering our asses off and looking at these pinkish white idiots incredulously.
We brown people love warm climates. My father used to wear long sleeve flannel shirts in mid summer during the hottest days of Missouri. Town folks used to think he was crazy. It is 95 F outside with 90% humidity but he was driving around town in long sleeves and no air conditioning. In the meantime, white people were dying by the hundred every summer from heat stroke. But when the seasons changed, we would have on our thick jackets and gloves at the slightest chill while Caucasians were still running around in T-shirts and shorts. Most non Caucasians come from warmer countries. We love our days warm and nights cold. Who wants to walk around wearing a sweater in August like they do in Seattle or London?
So maybe this whole notion that the world is about to end because of global warming is another way for white people to stay in control. They don't like warm temperatures so they are demanding that developing countries, who are mostly of browner complexion, curb their industrialization to decrease the release of greenhouse gasses. This of course will slow down their economies and keep the developed countries superior, who just happen to be mostly run by Caucasians.
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