The stories about Roseanne Barr have been straightforward. She sent a racist tweet and her show was cancelled. I think there is more to the story.

Personally, I have no use for her as a person or an actress. She did offer two defenses. She claimed she didn’t know Valerie Jarret’s ethnicity. I don’t buy that for a minute. She also claimed that she had taken a sleeping pill. If true, this could have affected her. I used to take the same pill. One day I was mall walking with friends and couldn’t figure out where I was. I got really angry with them which is totally out of character. My doctor told me about a patient who would walk around his apartment complex naked.

ABC should have given her a chance to defend herself. They could have taken her off the show but let it continue. Other shows have gone on after the real or scripted death of a star.

This is really a part of a much bigger story. Liberalism today is a combination of bending over backwards to not offend some groups while expressing hatred for others. They hate conservatives, Christians, southerners and those without college degrees.

The entertainment industry is following in lockstep. It’s fine to attack Vice President Pence because of his religious beliefs. Joking about killing president Trump is harmless fun. A female comedian used an offensive word for a female body part in referring to Ivanka Trump. Their response depends almost totally on which group is being attacked.

Some Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, say that the only reason these groups don’t vote democratic is because of a character flaw. They are racist, sexist homophobes. The women vote the way they do because they can’t stand up to the men in their life.

The entertainment industry doesn’t want to show theses groups in a positive light. Despite the success of Roseanne, clearly some ABC executives were looking for a reason to get rid of it. They cancelled their second highest rated sitcom, quite likely because of the star and his character’s conservative belief. The only devout Christian on any show I watch is Sarah Dew’s April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy. She is no longer on the show.
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We should condemn those that cross the line no matter who they attack. This selective outrage is not good for the country, the Democratic Party or the entertainment industry.

We have become used to both parties focusing on battling each other rather than working together. This week we had some good news from Congress.

The Dodd-Frank bill was enacted after the financial meltdown. Regulatory reform was obviously needed but it went too far. One of the biggest problems was the paperwork burden on small community banks. A bill to correct this was passed and signed by President Trump. A number of Democrats voted for it.
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Unfortunately, I believe that any cooperation between the parties will rarely happen. We deserve better.
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Sadly, we have experienced another mass casualty school shooting. This one is puzzling since the shooter does not fit the profile.

It seems to me that there are two things we can do to make our schools safer. We can tighten school security and try to reach those most likely to commit such acts. Everyone from the FBI to child welfare knew about the Florida shooter but didn’t react.

Many talk about gun control. That is a legitimate issue that should be discussed. I would like to think reasonable people could come to a consensus. Unfortunately, reason is in short supply in Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately, some see these disasters more as a political issue. Some are talking about how President Trump doesn’t care about student safety. The most ridiculous suggestion came from Arne Duncan, a former Secretary of Education. He proposed that all children boycott school until gun control legislation is passed.
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Our best hope is that schools and local governments work to make our schools safer. All we are likely to get out of Washington is more talk.
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We have all heard President Trump complain about fake news over and over. At times it seems that his definition of fake news is any story he doesn’t like. However, he does have a point. The media often does get it wrong. We just saw an example.

He was asked a question about the brutally ruthless gang MS13. Part of his reply was that they were animals, not people. Many stories said he was referring to all illegal immigrants, not just MS13. It would have taken a minute or two to get their facts right, but some media outlets didn’t bother. To their credit, some issued corrections but others are standing by the story.
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It is no secret that the vast majority of reporters and editors are liberal. I think most tried to honestly report the news but would at times let their bias show. Now many see producing anti-Trump propaganda as more important than getting the story straight.
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Seattle is blessed to be the headquarters of two of the most successful companies in the country: Amazon and Starbucks. They have brought untold wealth and thousands of jobs to the community. Instead of being thankful for their good fortune, the mayor and city council see them as sheep to be sheared.
State law doesn’t allow them to establish an income tax. Instead, they set up a “head tax”. Large companies must pay a tax on each employee. This is the dumbest tax ever. Most cities want to encourage companies to hire more employees. Not Seattle.
There is no telling how many potential jobs will be lost. New startups will likely follow the example of Microsoft and Boeing and set up shop in the suburbs. Undoubtedly Seattle will react by increasing taxes.
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It is pathetic to see Hillary Clinton come up with more excuses as to why she lost. After eighteen months, it’s time to move on. Lately she came up with a reason that actually had merit. She said she lost votes from the left of the party because she was a capitalist, not a socialist.

Barack Obama was the most liberal president in our history. Now he is part of the moderate Establishment wing of the party. The Left want to create a world in which people need not take any responsibility for their lives. One house of the California legislature passed a bill giving everyone free medical care without coming up for a way to pay for it. Many want free college tuition for all. The latest proposal is to guarantee everyone a $15 hourly wage. If they can’t find a job in the private sector, the government will give them one.

Margaret Thatcher said “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money”. Venezuela assumed there would always be sufficient oil revenue. Things aren’t working out too well for them. American socialists assume the rich will gladly fork over the money. If their utopia would come to pass, we would be another Venezuela.
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It’s also a bad election strategy. Back in 1964, Barry Goldwater supporters believed that if they were really conservative, millions of voters would join them. It didn’t work out very well. If the extreme left captures the Democratic party, they will see a similar result.
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Much of the focus of the midterm election is on the House and whether Democrats will gain control. They face a much tougher challenge in the Senate. They currently trail 51-49 counting two independents that caucus with them. Their only real chance to pick up seats is in Nevada and Arizona. They must defend ten seats in states Trump won.

If Republicans can gain seats, it makes it much easier to for them to pass legislation (the repeal of Obamacare fell one vote short). However, they often sabotage themselves by choosing candidates that cannot win a general election. Remember the lady that wasn’t a witch? Or the guy who said abortion isn’t needed in the event of a rape because a woman’s body “shuts down”. We all remember Roy Moore.

The GOP stands a fairly good chance to win in West Virginia and Indiana. Both hold primaries tomorrow.

West Virginia has a three-man race between Rep. Evan Jenkins, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Don Blankenship, a former coal executive. Blankenship fits in well with past problem candidates. He spent a year in prison for mine safety violations from an accident which claimed twenty-nine lives. He refers to Mitch McConnell as “Cocaine Mitch” (this stems from accusations against a company his in-laws are associated with). Incumbent Joe Manchin will breathe a huge sigh of relief if Blankenship gets the nod.

Three men are vying to go up against Joe Donnelly in Indiana. They are Reps. Todd Rikita and Luke Messer along with businessman Mike Braun. None of them are in the same category as Blankenship. It has been one of the nastiest campaigns anywhere in the country. The risk is that the party fails to come together.
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The passage of President Trump’s legislative agenda for the next two years might well depend on the result of tomorrow’s primaries. We should pay attention to the results.
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Lately there has been turmoil in the Trump legal team. Lawyers are coming and going and one is even under federal investigation. It looks to me like things have just gone from bad to worse. I believe that Rudolph Giuliani is a disastrous choice.

I think they had a system that worked reasonably well for them. President Trump would spout off, the White House communications will smooth things over and the lawyers stayed out of the limelight.

That has all changed. Both Trump and Giuliani are spouting off. Giuliani is running around giving interviews. The communications office is totally out of the loop. The last thing they need is another loose cannon.
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Anyone serving a president should realize that it is all about them. Giuliani only cares about himself. He will cause a lot of damage until he is off the case.
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