BITS AND PIECES: YET AGAIN

Once again, so many stories, so little room to write. Sort of like a Lays potato chip, I cannot have just one. So here goes.

1. DOUG JONES FOR SENATE. In my column, I do try to remain "politics neutral" without necessarily coming out with an endorsement of any candidate. But by now, I am sure most of you know where I am coming from politically. Have any of you noticed that in Doug Jones' commercials, (two that I have seen thus far), he doesn't mention he is a Democrat? No, really, he doesn't. My wife actually pointed this out to me. This is the first time I have ever seen someone run for political office but because of possible shame and/or embarrassment, the candidate won't tell people watching his ads that he is affiliated with one particular political party. Sheeeesh!!

2. FREDERICA WILSON (D) FL. By now, I am sure all of us have been caught up in the bruhaha surrounding Congresswoman Wilson and President Trump. As a rehash, on 4 October, 4 US Army Rangers were killed in the African country of Niger. As a way of paying tribute to the fallen, President Trump decided to call the family of Sgt. La David Johnson. What followed has been a couple weeks of non-stop absurdity. The family of Sgt. Johnson stated that President Trump's comments were insensitive. According to Congresswoman Wilson (the Toy Story cowboy hat wearer) a close family friend, was listening to the phone call said that Trump had told the widow that "you know that this could happen when you signed up for it ... but it still hurts." She was clearly implying that President Trump was making light of Sgt. Johnson's death.

What a fire storm that has followed. After all, how could a President of the United States basically tell a grieving widow to, "Suck it up, buttercup. He knew what he was getting into." Well, he didn't. Searching through all the chaff and clutter, I tried to pin down President Trump's actual quote. This is what I found. "They know the risk, they know what they signed up for but they still volunteer to put their lives on the line for their fellow Americans. We owe them a debt that can never be repaid." What a difference, huh? If, and this is a big "IF," if this quote is real and had I been the one killed in combat, my wife would not be offended by this statement. How could she? Okay, let's cut to the chase. A silver-tongued orator the President is not. He is NO Winston Churchill, Abe Lincoln or Martin Luther King. I get that. Do I think he could have flubbed his "lines" so to speak? Certainly. No doubt. He does that every day. But yes, I find it funny that of all the calls he has made to other families, only one family has come forward to lambast the President. Don't you think that if the President was so completely insensitive and out of bounds, other families would be saying the same thing? Of course they would. I saw an interview with another Gold-Star widow and she was thankful the President called her. Yet this has blown up into yet another racially based incident driven by the leftist whackos out there. Why is it that the widow, Myeshia Johnson, close personal friend of Frederica Wilson and avowed Trump hater, is the only widow who feels disrespected? Just saying folks, but if it looks, smells and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck. Do I think Mrs. Johnson is lying? I won't say that but I certainly believe she got it wrong.

Of course, according to the left, the President has done this as a way of solely disrespecting a black, Gold-Star widow. Right. If this is what we are to believe, I for one do not. And the screaming for an apology from the President is echoing every day. Leftists say he should apologize to the widow and to Congresswoman Wilson for "disrespecting an African American woman" and for, in Wilson's words "character assassination." Personally, I thought that for character assassination to occur, character had to first be proven. But that is another issue. Yes the President tweeted that she was wacky and yes the world is up in arms over that. But again, I find it interesting that nobody, and I mean nobody, is reporting that the Congresswoman stated in an interview that "the President is crazy." Yeah, she did but he is expected to apologize to her but not vice-versa. That being said, like I wrote in my last column, Mr. President, stay the $#@%$ off of Twitter. Quite giving these idiots ammunition.

3. MAXINE WATERS. (James Brown called from the grave and said he wants his hair back). Talk about whackos. Okay people, I need some help here. But first, here is a quote from the Godmother of Shame herself. "I'm sitting here listening, watching, absorbing, thinking about Ali even though I never met him. And with this kind of inspiration, I will go and take Trump out tonight." So let me get this straight. This, this, this, person, a sitting US Congresswoman, says in front of a crowd that she is going to kill the current President of the United States and 1) she still has a job, 2) she is not in jail, and 3) she has not at a minimum been forced out of Congress? Explain to me how this happens. I guess if you confront and challenge her you are a racist. Or like she calls ex-neurosurgeon Ben Carson (black guy remember?) a white supremacist or President Trump a "moron." I can ignore the name calling, but threatening to kill the President? Isn't that illegal? Tell you what. Go on television, do the same thing and let me know how that works out for you.

4. HARVEY WEINSTEIN. By now we have heard about the sexual predator named Harvey Weinstein. What the. . . . ? I remember my dad, one of the sweetest, kindest people I have ever known, sat me and my brother down one day and had a real father-son talk. I remember him telling us how much he loved us and that he would have our back anytime we needed it. That was unless we ever sexually molested, assaulted or raped a woman. He said he would turn his back on us and we would be on our own. I admire him for that. He was a social worker his entire life and used to work with battered and sexually molested women. He saw the damage it did to them physically, spiritually, socially and psychologically. He hated it. He hated the men who would do such a thing. I am sure, if he could have gotten away with it, he would have killed some of the men who tortured and abused women. That is how much he hated sexual abuse of women.

Enter Harvey Weinstein. As of last count, there are 57 women who have come forward to say what Weinstein did to them. But as with any big news story, there are so many different angles and there are always those wanting to make their specific agenda known. For example, and no, you cannot make this stuff up, did you know Weinstein was a racist too? Yeah, a racist. Why? I am glad you asked. I am actually embarrassed to write this but some idiot wrote that he is a racist because he failed to molest enough women of color. I kid you not. In an article titled, "There's an elephant in Harvey Weinstein's hotel room", Feminist Bim Adewunmi laments the fact that all (not true by the way) of Harvey's victims are white, and argues that the reason black women do not get leading roles in movies is because they are often seen as (let me change the word here and say, not as desirable – her word was much cruder) by producers." (http://www.independentsentinel.com/black-feminist-says-harvey-weinstein-is-racist-probably-the-least-of-his-faults/). Heaven help me here.

But here is my real rub. Just today as I wrote this, Tom Hanks came out and said that everyone in Hollywood knew what Weinstein was doing. I read where one actress was told that he (Weinstein) was a very good person to know in the business but be careful of him. What bothers me is that I have read many blogs, FB posts and so many people are focusing only on the women as victims. Absolutely, 100% they are truly victims. No doubt and don't go Democrat on me. But some of these actresses who were molested, and I will focus only on those women at the top of the industry, who already made their millions and had their dazzling careers, as well as all the men who knew what was going on, had a moral obligation to come forward. Period. The argument that "I was just a small fish," or "I was afraid," might ring true of the younger women just getting their start and at one level I can certainly empathize with them. But when big names like Kate Beckinsale, Heather Graham, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Lauren Holly, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, and Mira Sorvino to name a few, appears on the list of victims, you know something is amiss. These women, knew the monster Weinstein is, yet said nothing and in effect gave tacit approval to the misplaced aggression of Weinstein, while simultaneously condemning other young women to his sexual proclivities. Yes, the "casting couch" is still open for business. Once at the top of their game and they had millions of dollars stashed away, what now becomes their excuse for not speaking out sooner? How many women succumbed to his crimes because of their silence?

If I knew a guy in my neighborhood was molesting women and for years did nothing about it, in some way am I not, or should I not be held accountable to some degree? I think so but in Hollywood, apparently not. Shameful.

Robert Tate