Author: Fritz Pettyjohn

The politics of the moment in a nutshell:  Trump is winning, and his enemies are going bat shit crazy.

The following is from my Young Republican buddy from St. Mary’s College, Tim Kelly

SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT SAYS TRUMP SHOULD GET NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

That is a dynamite headline sure to ruin the day for all the millions of Trump hating folks. Bet’ya it put them off their breakfast, lunch and even dinner.  Visions of The Donald in white tie and tails getting the medal from the King of Norway, especially if it’s a twofer with Nork Dictator Fat Kid Kim getting one too.   Quite an odd couple, but why not?  If they end the Korean War and make that part of Asia a safer more predictable place, it sure beats newly sworn in President Obama getting it for just being his truly awesome Messiah like self.

Sure Trump & Kim is loopy, but then who’d thought we’d get the other odd couple of Presidents Trump & Macrom?  That’s better than the less than enthusiastic buddy act of Obama and then French President Sarkozy.   The day before Obama arrived in Paris for his first State Visit, Sarkozy told the French press that he had just revived word that Obama would fly to Paris from London on Air Force One not walk across the English Channel from Dover to Calais as originally proposed.

This was of course not the first time a charismatic American President caught a snarky jab from a French leader.  In 1919 French Premier Clemenceau said <<M. Wilson m’ennuie avec ses quatorze points; pourquoi, Dieu Tout-Puissant n’a que dix!>. (“Mr. Wilson bores me with his Fourteen Points; why, God Almighty has only Ten!”)

Israel drops a YUGE collection 

of Iranian secrets yesterday.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu dropped a vast collection of Iranian documents detailing their secret Atomic Bomb schemes and project in a press conference yesterday.  And didn’t he look like the cat that ate the canary.  Of course people like former Secretary of State Condi Rice were not surprised at this flagrant example of the Mullahs and their Islamic Guard henchmen double talking and lying to the world.  The Obama Amen Corner was unusually quiet, although the stoutest Obama loyalists tut tut tutted that it couldn’t possibly be true.  They despise Netanyahu as a Zionist thug and don’t believe anything that tarnishes the halo of their beloved former President.  Bibi didn’t exactly adore Barry either as we know.  I  know Bibi is one of the favorite villains for Progressives but he has always struck me as an ordinary appearing Studio Production Accountant from Warner Bros treating his grand kids to hot dogs at Carney’s in Studio City on a Sunday afternoon.

On another front, Sunday the Israeli Air Force

Blew up a major Iranian HQ & Arsenal in Syria

If you check the video of the explosion near Hama you can see that when the Iranian base was hit by a deep penetration bomb a vast secondary explosion went off with a fire ball full of the hidden stock of missiles the Iranians we planning to lobe over the border into Israel. Israel didn’t claim credit for it, but they didn’t exactly say they didn’t hit the Iranians and their Hezbollah minions.  Following Israeli practice they took care not kill actually Syrian forces of civilians.  They even hinted that maybe it was their pals in Saudi Arabia who did the deed since the Saudi Kingdom is in a bitter proxy war with Iran and their various Shi’a allies.

Don’t you love the War of the Roses way thing go in the Middle East.  Alliances are always slippery and you can’t tell the players without a current program.

 

Kanye West  trashed for

Becoming Trumps newest BFF

The huge uproar following rapper Kanye West’s becoming Trump’s newest pal was predictable.  He is trashed by all the usual voices in the bitterest tone.  But maybe we should have seen it coming.  Kanye is a big time entrepreneur besides a rapper who is flamboyant and aggressive in his business interests as Trump.   On the Daily Show Trevor Noah of all the commenters seems to have understood what is happening.  The South African born comedian tells us that rather than some sinister reason maybe Kanye West realized how very rich he is and understood he had to become a Republican. Noah understands that desire to lower taxes is the touch stone of Republicans politics and it is irresistable for entrepreneurs who operate in the open market.  This morning we hear that Kanye is tweeting quotes from Thomas Sowell, the leading Black conservative intellectual. So maybe it isn’t just his fellow entrepreneur Trump but something more on Kanye’s mind.  We also heard this morning that another rapper tweeted that the Crips should deal with Kanye for his breaking away on his own path.  The tweet went viral and was taken down.  Twitter gets antsy when people advocate violence.

 

SNL comic gets nasty in DC

Trump throws raw meat to fans in Michigan

Saturday night the White House Correspondents dinner was highlighted by a savage attack on Trump and all his people by some broad I never heard of who thinks she is a comedienne

But she sure didn’t seem funny.  She bombed and even bone fide liberal media worthies were turned off by her crude unfunny screed.  Indeed many liberal reporters and media figures denounced her tasteless rant.

Meanwhile in Washington Michigan President Trump told an arena full of his avid supporters (mainly deplorable blue collar peasants and pick up truck owner) that he was glad be with them out in Fly Over country.  He tossed them big hunks of raw meat and they roared their approval.  Trump loved it most when the fans began chanting NOBEL! NOBEL! NOBEL!  Talk about a country divided into bitter rival factions.

 

Canada suddenly calls on US to enforce Immigration laws

And keep unwanted asylum seekers south of the border

We know movie star handsome and ever so cool Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau has often dismissed US Immigration laws as inhumane, racist, mean and nasty.  He also touted Canada’s immigration policies as the light unto the nations and ever so good and generous.  But that was then, now he and his Government is calling on the USA to keep all the unwanted asylum seekers and economic undocumented immigrants on our side of the border.  Tens of thousands of unwanted people have walked into Canada and overwhelmed their immigration system and they have had enough.  The want ICE to keep these people out of Canada.  The irony here is that Canada has the rigorous sort of immigration laws Trump says he wants the USA to enact.  And I am not making any of this up.

Items you should read:

 

A very Seattle lament.

A long time Seattle resident laments the deterioration of the quality of life in the misty grey but economically flush city on the Puget Sound.  He’s had enough of ultra Blue Progressive policies and is moving to a sane suburb. The article from the Seattle Times is heartfelt and shows the man’s disillusionment.   Be sure to read the comments following it for posts backing up the writers complains and savage criticism of his unacceptable views by Blue meanies.

Link: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/after-14-years-ive-had-it-im-leaving-seattle/

 

Wither the millennials?

Writing from Australia Richard Fernandez writes about American millennials now following the path of their European counterparts and not following the path the media assigns to them.  Like most people when they are mugged by reality, the young are rebelling against the role assigned to them by the Blue elites.  And the Blue elites refuse to see why more and more are rejecting them.

 

Link:  https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/the-ex-future/

 

Frisco had enough homeless?  

Temp Mayor cleans up streets.

San Francisco’s acting Mayor calls for a major program to clean up the cities streets and suppress homeless encampments and take over of downtown streets and public facilities like BART/MUNI Stations.  We all know what he is reaction to and attempting to remedy, we see it every day, smell it and are frightened by it.  It is heartening that he is taking real action to give the streets back to the public, but the whole homeless industry and their politically correct fans trash him.

Link:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/tolerant-san-francisco-fed-dirty-smelly-streets-193935341.html

Tim can be reached at jsmkelly@earthlink.net

I have long been a pupil of the greatest historian of civilization, Will Durant.  When I find myself disagreeing with him, I’m always wrong.  He’s one of my personal heroes, as well as my teacher.

Durant ranks Confucius at the very top of the roster of human genius.

In the sixth century B. C., Confucius undertook to restore order and health to China.  How could this be done?

Confucius says,  “The illustrious ancients, when they wished to make clear and to propagate the highest virtues in the world, put their states in proper order.  Before putting their states in proper order, they regulated their families.  Before regulating their families, they cultivated their own selves.”   And so on.

I am in the process of attempting to regulate my family, and cultivating myself.  If I can succeed, I can move on to trying to put my state in proper order.  Only then will I be ready to campaign to fix Article V.

If and when that moment does arrive, I will ask for help.

I pray to God it happens soon.

In June of 1973 Babbie and I flew to Ketchikan, Alaska, where I would be a legal intern to City Attorney Ed Stahla.  Part of my duties was to be the Prosecuting attorney for enforcement of the City of Ketchikans’ criminal laws, including its prohibition of driving while under the influence.  So when the City cops arrested someone for drunk driving, I was in charge of the case.  Stahla left it all up to me.

There are only about 25 miles of road in Ketchikan, which is located on island.  And it was a hard drinking town.  So standard practice was to reduce the DUI charge to reckless driving as part of a plea agreement.  There had been no trials of DUI cases in Ketchikan for as far back as anyone could remember.

This didn’t make much sense to me, and when a DUI occurred, I refused to plea bargain and we took the case to trial.

The defendant was the president of the Moose Club, and a popular man.  His attorney was State Senator Bob Ziegler, the dean of the Ketchikan bar.  Bob made no objections to my introduction of the breathalyzer results, and we argued the case to the jury of six.

I made the best argument I could, and Ziegler was very low key in his final argument.   They came back with a verdict of not guilty after deliberating for twenty minutes.  When the court adjourned one of the women on the panel came up to the defendant, gave him a hug, and said how glad she was that he was acquitted.

There were only about twenty lawyers In Ketchikan, and most of them would get together for coffee every day before going to their offices.  Stahla and I went every day.  These were the first actual lawyers I’d ever known, and it was clear to me that this was something I could do to support myself.  And I liked these guys, and they liked me.

I became a lawyer to make a good living and to lay the groundwork for a political career.   It looked promising.  After two more quarters at UCLA I flew up to Anchorage to stay with my Uncle Fritz and study for the bar exam.  Before the results came back the Executive Director of the Bar Association called me down to her office to ask about some trouble I’d gotten into after graduating from Cal.  Some members of the Board of Governors of the Bar Association wanted to prevent my admission because of it, which would mean my law degree would be worthless.

I don’t know for certain, but I think Bob Ziegler told them this was all bullshit.  He was an influential man, and I did get admitted.

Nine years later, when I was a freshman State Senator, Bob Ziegler asked for my vote for his Resolution calling for a balanced budget amendment.  It passed 11-9, and Alaska was the 32^nd state to pass this Article V Resolution.

And so began my 35 years, off and on, of promoting Article V.  The BBA Task Force currently has 28 states, but will be hard pressed to get any more.  The BBA has become a partisan issue, and there just aren’t enough Republicans.

So, after over 40 years of trying, the drive for a Balanced Budget Amendment Convention has come up short.  It’s been 229 years now, and the states have never been able to reach the 2/3 supermajority needed to call an amendment convention.

This is not what the Framers had in mind when they adopted Article V.  The state legislators can unilaterally (with voter approval) reduce the 2/3 requirement using Article V, but it will take 34 states to agree to do this.  Democrats have to be on board with this in order for it to work.

Do Democratic state legislators want to empower themselves, putting them on an equal footing with Congress?  Or are they so in awe of Washington D. C., and afraid of what their Republican colleagues in state legislatures might do, that they’ll prevent Article V from being fixed?

I’m betting on the former, and we’ll all find out soon enough.  I served with patriotic Democrats like Bob Ziegler.  If there are enough like that still around, we can do this.

If we could make the public aware of all this, I think it would happen quickly.  Some how, some way, will be found to get the message out.  And then we can save our country.

 

I’ll never know why I was picked to represent Leroy Hunicutt on a charge of First Degree Murder.  The Public Defender couldn’t represent him, since the principle witness against him was already a client of theirs.  I had no experience in major felony trials, much less a murder case.

I took the case without a second thought.  I’d make $35 an hour, and with some aggressive time keeping (which I knew no one would object to) this would be the largest fee I earned in any criminal case by far.

Leroy was charged with gunning down Alfonzo Green on Anchorage’s notorious Fourth Avenue.  This was where all the hookers, pimps and drug pushers worked.   An eyewitness would testify he saw the shot fired.  Leroy had powder burns on his hands, and had made three confessions.

The victim had been released by the Army at Fort Richardson and gone home to Alabama.  He returned a month later and began working the streets, selling crushed aspirin as cocaine, running crooked crap games, and trying to steal hookers from their pimps.  He was shot on Fourth Avenue at 3:00 in the morning a couple weeks after returning to Alaska.

When I interviewed Leroy in jail he said he didn’t shoot Alfonzo, and he didn’t know who did.  He said he confessed because he was confused.  He said he wanted to go to trial, so it was game on.

None of the felony DA’s wanted this case.  It was, in their terms, a “piece of shit.”  Leroy was a petty street criminal, but wasn’t one of the real hard cases.  And his mother was a good, strong Christian woman.  And nobody gave a shit about Alfonzo Green.

A misdemeanor DA asked if he could try it, and the District Attorney reluctantly agreed.  This guy wasn’t much of a lawyer, and he thought getting a first degree murder conviction might win him some respect.

I got the confessions suppressed and we went to trial.  I was waiting for the elevator to go up to court with Leroy’s mother when she spotted legendary criminal defense attorney Wendell Kay.  Wendell was far and away the best criminal defense lawyer in Alaska, and this woman ran up to him and said she was worried about her son.  Wendell told her she had nothing to worry about, that Leroy would be well represented.  That was the highest praise I ever got practicing law.

After the prosecution rested its case I asked the Judge, Seaborn Buckalew, to dismiss the case for lack of evidence, and he immediately agreed, and dismissed the charges against Leroy.   The DA was furious.  It was clear that there were people on the jury who were ready to vote for a conviction, but Judge Buckalew never let them get to the case.

So as far as murder trials go, my record is 1-0.  I never lost one.

When he got out of jail Leroy went to a lawyer to see if he could sue me for not getting him out on bail before the trial.  He’d spent six months in custody, and somehow blamed me.  Nothing came of it, of course, but I thought I deserved better than that.  I never heard of Leroy again.

A few months later I was representing this kid on a reckless driving charge, and on the way to court I decided to try one of Wendell Kay’s old tricks.  The defendant, Jimmy Fejes, was a short, stocky redhead.  His passenger, and defense witness, was tall and pale, with black hair.

I told Jimmy to sit in the audience, and his friend to sit next to me at the defense table.  The DA called the investigating officer to the stand, and asked him if he could identify the defendant.  The officer pointed to Jimmy’s friend at counsel’s table, and positively identified him as the driver, Jim Fejes.

When the prosecution rested I called Jimmy from the audience to take the stand and be sworn in to testify.  He identified himself as Jim Fejes, and began telling his side of the story.  After a minute or two the judge interrupted him, and asked him who he was.  He said he was the defendant, Jim Fejes.  Then he started testifying again, and after a few seconds the judge interrupted again, and, pointing to Jim’s friend at defense counsel’s table, and asked “Who’s he?”

I told him he was a passenger in Jim’s car, and then the judge, a real twerpy little nerd of a guy, bangs his gavel and said the court was in recess, and runs out of court back to his chambers.

A mistrial was declared and I had to retry the case a few weeks later.  I think Jim only gave me about $175 for this case, so I didn’t make any money on the deal.  But I did get to say that I pulled off one of the great Wendell Kay’s greatest hits.