Yesterday, the Bard might say, President Trump suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune at the hands of once trusted friend Michael Cohen, and the conviction of Paul Manafort, the president's ex-campaign chairman.

Manafort was found guilty on 8 felony counts on the same day Cohen pleaded guilty to paying "hush" money allegedly at Trump's direction. Both men are former friends of the President. The scene is set for one of the strangest scenarios ever in American political history.

The criminal Michael Cohen now says (according to his new attorney) that he would not accept a pardon from Trump, because "He considers a pardon from somebody who has acted so corruptly as president to be something he would never accept". What was that about the pot calling the kettle black? Or is that just racist today?

Manafort was praised by the President following the conviction. While Trump accused Cohen of lying to prosecutors in order to get a deal, he stated unlike Michael Cohen, "he [Manafort] refused to break” - make up stories in order to get a “deal.” "Such respect for a brave man!."

Republicans rightly condemn the trials of both men, unlawfully begun during Special Counsel Robert Mueller's unlawful appointment. The investigation was for crimes, which required that a crime be identified to initiate the investigation. No crime has ever been identified in this so-called Russian collusion farce. The doctrine of the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree should have been applied long ago - this exclusionary rule would have thrown out evidence unlawfully gained in this unlawful investigation. Mueller's investigation of alleged Russian collusion with the Trump campaign in 2016 should not have begun, and has found nothing after nearly 2 years.

Democrats and Never-Trump anarchists are on a tear. They smell blood and see a path to impeaching President Trump. That's what all of this political machination has been about since our marshmallow Attorney General Jeff Sessions melted away. They won't get there but the fight has begun in earnest. The Democrats have their plan, but as the saying goes, attributed to Mike Tyson, "Everyone's got a plan, until you're hit in the face." Liberals, anarchists, socialists, and other anti-Constitutionalists are about to receive the second part of Tyson's observation.

For the first time in my life I believe that this country could actually explode into revolutionary chaos due the inability of the Left to accept Donald Trump as their legitimate president. If Trump should lose this fight and be impeached by the crooked Left, all bets are off.

This country is as politically and emotionally unstable as I have ever seen it.

 


 

Just a brief note. I just received word of the death of Ray Tilley. He was a cousin and lifelong resident of Fillmore. Ironically, the Gazette was uninformed of his passing, just learning of it from my brother who happened to stop by the office a few minutes ago having returned from the funeral.

Well, these things happen.

Rest in peace Ray.

******

I have so little time left today I'm just going to comment on a few items on DRUDGE.

Former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance has been pulled by President Trump. Should have been done long ago. How he ever got to run our most secret agency is a mystery. His background is a frightening history of Communist and other radical associations. He was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor, a position which did not require Senate confirmation, then he was approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 5, 2013, to succeed David Petraeus as Director of the CIA. Swapping Petraeus for Brennan was almost treason, despite Petraeus's wrongful act. After studying his political history the average reasonable person should be shocked that Brennan was able to get anywhere near the country's secrets. "So in 1980, John Brennan confessed, 'I voted for the Communist Party with Gus Hall". Read a little about Gus Hall and ask yourself if the intelligence committee was crazy to let him in. Brennan is also a fervent advocate for Sharia Islam.

Good riddance.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper should be next. This is the guy who perjured himself on TV - and was never charged! He had the power over all of America's most secret information. He's among the deepest of Deep State creatures, and he retired into the financially comforting arms of MSNBE, et al.

Looking at the people who have been placed in the country's most sensitive government offices over the past 15 years (especially under Obama) makes me wonder if the nation is safe from anything.

Again,good riddance to booth of these guys.

******

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

"Boys and girls will share restroom in Kansas City..."

Isn't that special? Our schools are becoming cesspools of radical Leftist policy.

"Erdogan says Turkey will boycott US electronics.."

Erdogan of Turkey is a false friend, head of a critically important country. We have nukes stored in this NATO country which should be removed. He has become a Sharia Islamist. The US should keep the pressure on until he releases the American pastor, Andrew Brunson. He hates Christianity - not a big surprise.

I'm out of time.

I think North Korea is a lost cause. So is Iran. China is our biggest threat, with Russia always there to make things worse. We need to rebuild our military - quickly.

 


 

By now most Fillmore residents have learned about the plan to launch 44,000 double belly-dump sand trucks from the Grimes Canyon area through Fillmore to Malibu's Broad Beach.

The Ventura Star recently reported that the agreement between Moorpark and the ”Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District" (impressive ad hoc name - sounds almost governmental) has been recently upheld by "a state court of appeals".

This whole sneaky deal is extraordinary in its entirety; I cannot conceive of any construction project of this size, which would cause such widespread collateral ecological damage - for 20 years. All for the satisfaction of a string of homeowners along Malibu's Broad Beach who have apparently snuggled-up to corrupt state agencies and courts susceptible to the influence of special interests.

The whole plan is so preposterous I have to believe the actors here all belong to the same club. How else can the average reasonable person believe that trucking sand (44,000 one-way trips) from two quarries atop Grimes Canyon, down Highway 126, through Fillmore, Santa Paula, Saticoy (through Oxnard?) onto Highway 101 to Malibu, for 20-years, in any way be reasonable? And this ridiculous plan was approved by our Coastal Commission? Where is the Department of Interior? Crickets.

Think of the deterioration of the roadways, impossible congestion down Grimes Canyon, probability of accidents, all to replenish sand on a beach that has been denuded by the natural effects of wave action. What would be gained if these efforts were quickly reversed by storm action, say after a couple of years work? Would the contract with Moorpark be continually extended? The Star says "The trucks would be allowed to travel through Moorpark only under "unforeseen circumstances," like traffic jams on Highway 126. These traffic jams would be CAUSED by the truck traffic! The court affirmed this agreement due in part to "Moorpark's already congested streets". What about Fillmore's streets? Judge, refer to your equity notes.

I don't have time to explore this critical threat to our part of the county.

One alarming fact: The Grimes Canyon roadway, Highway 23, the only "direct" way to Moorpark, Simi, etc. from Fillmore, will be effectively closed to normal traffic.

This is an example of your court system and state authorities betraying us for a mere $30-million. Might as well be $30-million in silver.

*****

I've wasted too much time on the sand truck scandal, but there's no shortage of scandals these days.

I highly recommend Michael Goodwin's article in the New York Post this week. It is a great summary of conservative angst and frustration with our federal government, entitled "Why it’s time for Trump to play his ace in the hole". "He [Trump] could, in an instant, strike a blow for accountability and transparency by ordering the Justice Department to give Congress everything it wants, subject to very limited restrictions." This would expose Jeff Sessions, Robert Mueller, and Rod Rosenstein to be the villains they are.

The whole, enormous Democrat Party conspiracy to elect Hillary Clinton and destroy Donald Trump in the 2016 election, with the critical assistance of a crooked FBI and DOJ, is finally there for all rational citizens to see. How can any honest American citizen continue to excuse Hillary when she has been clearly exposed as perhaps the most prolific felon in this country's history? James Comey and his seditious band of Deep State co-conspirators would never have been discovered had Hillary been elected. That is now an established fact, and there's no point in arguing with a fact.

Trump's biggest mistake since his inauguration was to appoint a cipher like Jeff Sessions, who ducked and covered, and in domino fashion, appointed a snake like Rod Rosenstein, who then appointed his bosom buddy Robert Mueller to attack Trump with plenary powers to investigate, with unlimited latitude and funding.

From the beginning Trump called it a setup, a rigged attack upon his candidacy and presidency.

He was right - as usual.

It's time for our President to play the trump card and declassify those documents. Check out Michael Goodwin's article online.

 

A response to this week's letter from Kelly Scoles

Thanks again Kelly for your letters; they are rescuing me from a life of boredom.

You say our Constitution defends our freedom of speech, except for limits such as "deliberately inciting violence". Since President Trump's inauguration Democrat Party members and their minions have been doing exactly that - deliberately (and successfully) inciting violence. As "ethical people" they are, as you say "failing to consider their duties as humans and Americans".

Next, let's explore my alleged "most egregious" statement, i.e. the "sub species" comment. The word species is used to differentiate one organism from another in a fairly loose way. It's useful here in attempting to understand the alphabet soup string of identifying letters adopted by certain groups to define their sexual proclivities, setting them apart from the "norm". This string of classifications would not have been understood 50 years ago. For example, if a man decides to "marry" another man. This phenomenon may be sufficiently unique to justify recognition as a new species, at least according to Linnaeus - if they are able to reproduce as such. All this talk of being "fully human" is I think deliberately ridiculous. But so are men pretending to be women.

Recognition of these individuals as special groups with alleged special Constitutional rights to demand the abandonment of the traditional religious rights of others is troubling. They have acted to force others to recognize their alleged super-Constitutional status. They say "You will bake a cake for us!" In that case the answer was "No!". Judicial decisions like this in no way disparage or limit their own traditional Constitutional rights. But traditional religious rights in this case overrode attempted special treatment. These cases will continue to be challenged in various courts well into the future unless a definitive Supreme Court decision is rendered.

Certainly, Judeo-Christian rights remain unchanged forever, which mandates love. Many believers in these ancient Judeo-Christian doctrines deny the existential legitimacy of these new social groups and warn of dangerous consequences. However, these challenges have no legal effect.

I disagree that Christians are "obliged to respect heavenly creation in all its forms." Within creation there is both good and evil, determined by conformance with Biblical dictates. Our Constitution embodies the fundamental Judeo-Christian precepts. Agree with them or not, they constitute the American legal "norm". God gave us free will before the Constitution gave us free speech, so it's not my business to judge anyone's decisions here as long as they don't conflict with our Constitution.

Most men who abide by traditional Judeo-Christian principals recognize a duty on their part to protect and defend women, who were never intended to be equal to men in physical strength. Even Ronda Rousey and Marine Capt. Katie Petronio (a favorite hero of mine) would agree. This fact doesn't require further explanation, and "We can take care of ourselves" in too many cases is untrue. Ultimately, none of us can take care of ourselves. There are just too many bad men in this world who prey on women, and there are an insufficient number of good men to take them out. This is a perpetual challenge.
This new gender conflict is intense. The "imprimatur and nihil obstat" are beyond my pay grade, but my last assertion can be attested to in that Bible we've been talking about. On a personal level, every father should know he has an absolute duty to protect his wife and children, even to the point of sacrificing his life (a not-uncommon occurrence).

I have no intention of "dehumanizing others." On the other hand people who believe as I do about the "natural", fundamental Judeo-Christian differences between men and women, reject products of the gender wars like so-called "same sex marriage", despite the fact that liberal judicial authority has given it reality in the law. I wouldn't pretend to "dehumanize" anyone even if I had the power to do so.

The bullying I referred to concerns the demanding of rights without legal precedent, the ones alleged to be hidden beneath those fictitious "penumbras" where the creative liberal imagination lurks. Imagination has no bounds - our Constitution exists to establish bounds. The Christian baker is bullied into working against his will for the sexual hedonist unbeliever. Uncorrected, this is the stuff of potential violence.

On the other hand, what individual states choose to do in creating their own legal culture is one thing (under their own constitutions); what the federal judiciary does in construing our federal Constitution is strictly limited by the plain language of that law. As the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia said: "Whatever "the law" is, judges should follow it, and they should follow it at the expense of their own private views." American law during the past 50-plus years has been completely distorted by "progressive" judges and justices, which translates to Democrat Party policy and the material erosion of our Christian culture.

About the pearls --- Molon labe!

 

America's judicial system is commonly seen as corrupt due to its capture by the Liberal Left some 50 years ago. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stands out as an obvious example. But the lower courts, where 99 percent of legal decisions are rendered, is tainted as well. It's often big money, political influence, and simply liberal bias and cronyism which places its finger on the legal decision scales. Usually the biased outcome is not unlawful and there is no practical remedy for the common man. It's often an issue of ethics, very often an issue of simple fairness.

While I cannot attribute the decision of a recent state court of appeal upholding most of an agreement between the City of Moorpark and something called the Geologic Hazard Abatement District , for restructuring a beach in Malibu, to most of the above issues I can fault it for unfairness.

In short, this "District" is proposing to cause 400 or more belly-dump sand trucks to deliver sand from Grimes Canyon (through Fillmore) to Malibu's Broad Beach to replenish sand to its depleted shore, on a daily basis - for 20 years. I will have to wait to describe the danger and damage this preposterous plan will cause to Fillmore. For one, it will effectively shut-down Grimes Canyon to normal traffic.

All this danger, damage, and disorder to please private homeowners along the eroded beach. This sort of favoritism trumps even the authority of our Ventura County Supervisors, who oppose the plan.

I would not expect our state's Supreme Court to provide assistance in this case of obvious political bias because it's just another pocket of liberal bias. We need a state Trump, but we're going to get an uber Liberal in Gavin Newsom.
Malibu - go pound sand.

*****

I want to thank Mrs. Kelly Scoles for her letter this week. She is clearly unhappy about my last editorial. I've written "Realities" for the past 32-years and have always invited critical letters in response, with rare success. It gets really boring without some challenge to my admittedly conservative comments. I invite attacks even from my fan.

Let me respond quickly to some complaints. First, my views on "humanity and politics" have always been based on the Judeo-Christian Bible and the US Constitution. I'm frankly one of those persons that Obama disparaged because we "cling to our guns and religion". I don't apologize for that.

I have many friends who are Democrats. My attacks are upon the devious and untrustworthy Democrat Party - not individuals. We can now clearly see the true collusion being disclosed in its attempt to destroy a duly elected president. That is true treason.

Trump is a "strong man" indeed (unlike Obama), but not like President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. He should be recognized for the remarkable good he has already accomplished in his short time in office.

Funny you should focus on the word "aback". I have never used it before, but it seemed appropriate here. I could have said "surprised" or "startled" but aback seemed better. In a do-over I would probably use "surprised". Trump is often described as a liar, especially by those who take everything literally. People make mistakes and I wish President Trump were more articulate at times. However, compared to so many high-ranking members of the Dem. Party, for example, the scabrous liar Harry Reid, or Comey, Clapper, or Brennan of collusion infamy, he's a saint.

This talk of "normal traditional citizens" is misunderstood. God bless us all. I make no judgment whatsoever in these complicated issues. My point is that many of the innovative protections have been "discovered" in our Constitution by creative liberal justices, and the result has become almost oppressive for traditional Constitutional adherents. For example, I don't want young men entering the girl's bathroom at any time in school or out. This novel idea should be quashed for the protection and dignity of our female citizens. This new license is not to be found in our Constitution, even if alleged to be hiding under those "penumbras." I may also ask, what gives you the right to saddle the country with these new pseudo identifications? Find them for me in our Constitution!

Again, these are not my "personal views", they are rights and privileges chiseled into the Constitutional rock. These "cries for help" are curious - unless I'm crying for help to restore the purity of our Constitution and protect it from further liberal confusion.

I thank you for feeling my "pain" for whatever reason.

God bless President Trump, his family, and our sacred American Constitution.

 

I have to admit I was a little taken aback by President Trump's comment about Putin's denial of hacking the 2016 U.S. election. But I fully accept his explanation, saying he simply misspoke. But this nation is in danger of a violent conflict between the radical Democrat Left and the traditional Conservative Right. The radical Dems have pushed their free-floating, deranged hatred of our President for so long and so violently that they are on the verge of receiving sharp pushback from the Republican Right. America is now so truly divided between the Loony Left and the Constitutional Right that, much more unjustified agitation from the loons could spark real violence.

We're confronting each other on critical issues of American Constitutional history and tradition. Most of these issues have arisen during the past 50 years and were unheard of before that time. Liberal jurists and legislators, like rust, never sleep. They are constantly eating away at our Constitutional rights and protections. Our Founder's intentions and 200-years of established, hard fought, robust, Judeo-Christian Constitutional traditions, have already eroded.

Two things are happening here. A liberal judiciary and Congress are destroying our traditional Constitutional rights on the one hand and fabricating imaginative, state-of-the-art "rights".

The right to life, explicitly stated in our founding document, now excludes children awaiting birth. A host of newly discovered varieties of humans are now given special protection, particularly in the field of sex identification. These sub-species now crowd-out normal traditional species, for example, at public bathrooms and on our war ships (see anti-urinal disputes aboard new aircraft carriers). The once universal position of fathers and mothers is now confused. Family values are diminished as normal traditional citizens are obliged to forego their religious beliefs and acknowledge the proliferation of other-than-scientifically known male and female species.

The clearest and most specific wording of Constitutional rights are now challenged by liberal Leftist jurists to dilute meaning and diminish our rights - like our Second Amendment. No provision in our Constitution is safe from officious liberal meddling. The "living Constitution" Gurus have had their way for five decades. There is no stopping them without a radical reorganization of our Supreme Court, which is now underway.

The divide between Republicans and Democrats has never been more obvious or destructive. As the scheme enabled by the FBI, DOJ, and other parts of the Deep State continue to be revealed as the greatest criminal conspiracy in American history, the situation should become more obvious to all honest, thinking citizens. Just consider players like John O. Brennan, former member of the Communist Party USA - the former CIA director admitted that he voted for the Communist Party's presidential candidate, Gus Hall, in 1976. This man deserves special scrutiny.

Then we have James Comey, Andrew McCabe, and a host of other unindicted co-conspirators, turning out to be a cast of thousands.

Attacks on our President also obscure a clear vision of the whole US governmental mess, created by the so-called "collusion" investigation. The Robert Mueller investigation is truly a farce, generated to facilitate the impeachment of our President. There was no crime to investigate at the beginning (required for such an independent probe) and if Mueller were really the honest man liberals say he is, he would have never have taken the job because of his serious conflicts of interest.

This is an issue of ethics - they say he is an honorable man, and “Brutus is an honorable man” as well.

 

Hardly enough time to cover even most important stories today.

I should begin on a positive note in congratulating the men who rescued the 12 boys from a cave in northern Thailand. It was a close call, almost seemed like an impossible task. Sad that one hero on the rescue team died in his attempt.

*****

The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has lit the fuse within the Democrat Party's pyrotechnic think tank, while bringing joyful triumph to Republican ranks. This long-awaited event will be the second stage of the Dem's self-destruct rocket, which anticipates its final decent into oblivion.

For at least a generation the Democrat Party is finished - absent Armageddon.

It has been caught with its political knickers down for all the world to see. As admitted by all reputable journalists (a few remain) this Party and its fellow travellers have succeeded in undermining the very heart of American government. Obama and his administration minions networked an incredible conspiracy to help Hillary Clinton win the presidential election in 2016, and undermine now President Trump's chances for winning.

The plot beggars the Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in which an attempt to blow-up houses of parliament by placing explosives under the structure, failed. Mr. Fawkes and friends were caught and the plot destroyed. Today, Mr. Obama, with many of his hold-over workers have also been caught. Recently, Congressional committees have subpoenaed 40 more members of the Obama administration to determine whether they played a part in the conspiracy to destroy Trump's hopes in the 2016 election.

This, following the decimation of most FBI leaders and a growing number at the Attorney General's office. The crimes involved here make the Whitewater scandal seem petty. The allegations of Russian interference are humorous by comparison. As a cartoon character once observed, "We've met the enemy and they are us."

I thank God for the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. On the scale of judicial purity he is simply 24 karat gold. Let's pray that the pot metal Democrat senators can be frustrated as they attack this good man with their *aqua regia examinations. (*dissolves gold)

After all these decades I finally feel like our judicial system, with its devious, anti-Constitutional liberal jurists, is being corrected.

 

It's the Fourth of July again. As I grow older the more this day demands my attention. The Fourth commemorates the greatest triumph of liberty in human history. This was the day in 1776 when people calling themselves Americans threw off the chains of English royal authority and proclaimed themselves citizens of a new democratic republic. Our new nation is now 241years old, having survived numerous conflicts, beginning with Indian wars dating back to the early 17th century. America's survival has always been a bloody struggle, and we have always prevailed - though once ending with a stand-off in Vietnam. America's freedom was bought with millions of American lives.

Except for the fact that America has always celebrated its independence with fireworks, as the reason we celebrate this day recedes from the memory of most Americans, pyrotechnics have just become an annoyance for me.

American citizens, particularly our youth, are not properly educated in our nation's history; they don't know why America is unique among the world's countries, why it is indeed exceptional. Without this essential knowledge they are vulnerable to the lies of seditious liberals seeking to undermine our nation's vitality.

We celebrate America for the freedom we enjoy. From the beginning Americans have formally acknowledged this freedom as a gift from God, not from government. We have been endowed by our Creator with unalienable Rights, such as Life, Liberty, and the freedom to pursue Happiness. We should remember that these rights, being "unalienable," empower the citizens to defend against all attempts to take them from us. Our Declaration of Independence is as much a message to our government as it was to the English crown - leave us alone!

Our rights, stipulated in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, place strict limitations on governmental powers. Today, as I think about the condition of our great nation, it's troubling to see evidence of corruption and decline at such a destructive level. Many of the foundational beliefs have been discarded.

That right to life enshrined in our Declaration is ignored by our highest legal authority. It now proclaims that a mother has a substituted "right" to kill her unborn baby - right up to the last minute before normal birth would take place (a "right" Senator Chuck Schumer affirms). The dead baby's skin, and other organs, can thereafter be sold for profit through organizations like Planned Parenthood. All of America would have recoiled in disbelief at this pagan barbarity at any time during the first 200 years of our existence. The law as clearly proclaimed in our Declaration and Constitution has not changed. What has changed is the interpretation of its words by corrupt liberal justices, which has deadened the natural conscience of America. A nation without a conscience is in evil hands. A nation that refuses to protect the most innocent and vulnerable of persons loses its authority to govern. Since Roe v. Wade in 1973 America is responsible for 60,069,971 abortions, as I write this. Millions of children will never have a chance at life as God intended. What an unspeakably horrible loss, what a supremely fiendish activity.

President Donald Trump has promised to nominate Pro-Life judges to the Supreme Court bench. This is sufficient for me to overlook any and all objections I have had to any of his negative political comments. Following his actions since the inauguration, I see his social imperfections as being far less than those of King David, who despite that King's flaws, was blessed, as God said: "I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart."

It's also worth remembering that, like King David, who established his capital in Jerusalem 3,000 years ago, our president has established the Embassy of the United States of America in Jerusalem as well, respecting King David's perpetual capital.

At the present time, considering the incredible accomplishments during his mere one and a half years in office, all objections to and aspersions cast upon President Trump are as nothing. He is the man for this season.

God Bless President Trump, his family, and our recovering American nation!

 

Charles Krauthammer passed away last week. His conservative political column was syndicated on more than 400 publications and he was a star commentator at FOX news for many years.

Krauthammer was famous for the brilliance of his thought as well as his extraordinary perseverance following an accident which severed his spinal cord as a young man. Afterwards, he graduated from Harvard Medical School and attended Oxford, later choosing political journalism. He finally succumbed to cancer, informing his readers that he had only a short time to live.

Rest in peace Charles Krauthammer. You are a brilliant example of the Good Man.

******

The Democrat dogs of war are loosed from their chains. They are on the scent of anarchy. Once constrained by public opinion, now the wound of electoral failure will not heal. The Democrat Party and its anarchist minions are at large.

It's reported that Party leaders like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Keith Ellison, Tom Perez, and the Obama zealots working to undermine Trump's presidency, encourage their members to attack Republicans wherever they find them. This is the violent animus that influenced the shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise during the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity last year.

These Democrat anarchists have begun physically harassing and targeting anyone working for the Trump organization. Sarah Huckabee, the president's Press Secretary, with family members, was driven from a restaurant because she worked for Trump. Several other Trump administration members are also being harassed by Democrat "Never Trumpers." These events include actual assaults.

It's only a question of time before these anarchists encounter retaliation in self-defense. Such a reaction, of course, is precisely what they want - confusion and chaos.

Ultimately, this could prove to be Fort Sumter, supported by our Second Amendment.

******

But conservatives should not be too discouraged by the Democrat anarchists. This has been a great month for making America great again. Two critically important decisions have come down from our Supreme Court. The first affirms the president's broad authority over the nation's immigration. The president can halt immigration from any country he deems to be a threat to the peace or security of the United States. All of those contemptible, politically corrupt U.S. District Courts and Circuit Courts of Appeal (see 9th Circuit) have been slapped-down. This doesn't mean that they will now behave themselves, but they are about to be put in place, ultimately obliged to follow the law instead of injecting their pet views on alleged Constitutional flexibility and the use of foreign law. Federal courts have been the scourge of the Constitution for decades. God willing, Trump's fresh nominees will clean-up our judicial system.

After this decision we no longer have to admit Jihadist Muslims to America.

 

This has been a wonderful year for Fillmore High School.

I attended the most impressive FHS graduation of all I have witnessed during my almost-30 years in our city. The planning itself seemed perfect, the graduates positive and mature, and their teachers proud. Special thanks must go to School Superintendent Dr. Adrian E. Palazuelos for his outstanding overall leadership. We have also been blessed with an outstanding School Board. Fillmore High School has never looked better.

What a great year! Thank you all.

//////

Well, it looks like it's time to ask for our other, matching, "snorkel" outside mailbox to be restored. The city responded very quickly to provide a new island at the rear of the post office. They removed the old concrete, painted the curb, added bollards to protect the boxes, and finished it all off with reflective tape. Now it's time to replace the box on the northbound side, as it was for 30 years. That way, the northbound traffic doesn't have to make a long, awkward circle around to access the existing southbound box.

Well, if you want both boxes restored as before you have to sound off with letters to the editor and calls to the Postmaster.

/////

There seems to be too much elation after president Trump's meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Anyone familiar with Kim's family history knows it has been a history of monstrous human rights violations. Several escapees have written books about life in the Hermit Kingdom. Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, would be a good place to begin.

Most of the world, at least the Western part, has hope that peace between North and South Korea will finally materialize. At present, only a cease fire agreement is recognized. But I just cannot believe that Kim would give away his only leverage (nuclear weapons) against the U.S., Japan and his other perceived enemies, for a promise of Western prosperity. Nor should we provide that prosperity for him on his promise to hand over his nuclear weapons. I can't see how the U.S. can get beyond this standoff as a practical matter. Would we do it piecemeal? Would it be something like a nuclear swap meet - OK, we'll take two of your bombs for a casino and a thousand miles of road pavement? We'll begin construction as you roll out the first bomb. Hmm, wonder how long such a transaction would take.

Kim is said to have produced 20 to 60 nuclear warheads, with the missiles to carry them to America's shores. Kim has also progressed from mere atomic bombs to the hydrogen bomb, which can be a 1,000-times more destructive. In this case trust can have no part in negotiations. The U.S. is demanding "complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization" of North Korea. In other words, Kim must give up his bombs and missiles, and tell us where his testing and storage facilities are. Again, how quickly could this be done, even with Trump managing the deal?

Kim's success has been facilitated by Russia and China over some 40 years. His weapons alone give him leverage and prestige in the world. He has showcased his hydrogen bombs and fired his missiles over Japan to demonstrate their ability.

Would he just hide some of his nukes? They're not very big, and Iran would sell what's left of its soul to buy some of them. Would his military go along with such a deal, or would they simply assassinate him? What about his vast stores of chemical-biological weapons? How could any of this be completely, verifiably, and irreversibly denuclearized and detoxified?

I hope this can be done, but I must say I don't think it can.

I believe in miracles - and I think it would take one to bring true peace here.

 

It looks like California is doomed to experience higher taxes, more homelessness, and cultural collapse if Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom becomes our next governor.

Normal people are leaving the state in droves, anticipating the dramatic finale after 8 years of Governor Brown's liberal socio-economic experiments.

Newsom found his opportunity in San Francisco, later joining Brown's camp of radical liberal activists in Sacramento. California's state leadership under Brown's command inspires a true "basket of deplorables", people who really do have "contempt for everyday Americans". Conservatives contemplating their state's roster of radical leaders have to gasp. Look at them and weep: Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom, Antonio Villaraigosa, Kamala Harris, Kevin de León, Dianne Feinstein, Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, Eric Garcetti and that pencil-necked peewee Adam (love-the-camera) Schiff. This is a Machiavellian school for scoundrels.

California conservatives have to ask "How can we survive?". These people hate law enforcement, the military, Bible-loving citizens who cling to their guns, those who espouse traditional moral values, independent cake-bakers, wall masons, marijuana haters, NRA members, Planned Parenthood haters, -- the list goes on.

Few people can afford to buy a home in California, can't defend against (recently released) alien criminals, find their Second Amendment rights constricted to the point of virtual confiscation, and must watch helplessly as all of Mexico, Central America, and South America surges through our overwhelmed border protection, at the invitation of Governor Brown, to be free of brutal communist dictators and criminal chaos. Instead of attempting to assist these people in place, Brown attracts them with free housing, food, medical, schooling and drivers licenses, at taxpayer's expense. The Machiavellian logic here is to feign benevolence for the sake of millions of new votes. In an already overwhelmingly Democratic state, this wave of millions of new California "citizens" will assure the state will never again have a Republican governor - or majorities in many local elections. Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli is smiling today.

Brown's 8-years at the helm virtually assures the ship of state will drift from the shoals to the rocks in short order if Gavin Newsom is elected his successor.

 

Congratulations to Fillmore High School varsity baseball team. They have won their place in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 Finals! 2018 is turning out to be a red letter year for FHS sports, in swimming, soccer, track, and now, baseball. Congratulations also to FHS baseball coach Matt Suttle. The Gazette is waiting with bated breath for a comment from you.

*****

The construction of Rotorcraft Support's new 68,000 square-foot hangar is well under way. Located on 10-acres of the southwest corner of Fillmore's Business Park, Rotorcraft will also share the facility with another helicopter company, a firefighting firm called The Guardian.

Rotorcraft is moving from its current location at Van Nuys Airport, bringing with it 58 employees, and an additional 16 with The Guardian. Rotorcraft expects to hire an additional 10-15 people from the Fillmore area on completion of the move.

The project will be built in two phases, after the 68,000 square-foot hangar, another 45,000-square-foot hangar will be leased to another business.

The Rotorcraft facility is a repair station, not a heliport, according to Mike Harrah, project designer. It expects to service about 20 helicopters per week "during normal business hours".

"Their flight paths will not go over the city" according to Kevin McSweeney, Fillmore’s Planning Director.

The City of Fillmore welcomes Rotorcraft and The Guardian!

*****

The first time I remember watching Roseanne on TV was years ago when she "sang" our National Anthem at a baseball game, before spitting on the ground. My memory of her hasn't changed much since then. It's a sorry assessment of American popular culture that her bare knuckle shtick has earned her an alleged $80-million. And to think she was becoming popular again.

*****

Kim Kardashian going to the White House? Good grief Donald! Don't you know that this will attract Liberals like flies to a watermelon?

*****

Then we have Stormy... and the Hoggletts ...etc. I can't stand any more!

See you next week.

 

Without going on too much with the details, I have to say, as I've said so many times before, the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce almost caused the May Festival to disappear. Astounding incompetence at every level spurred the rumor that the Festival would not happen, and/or would be held at a different location. Virtually no advertising for the event, including no Central Avenue banner, etc. makes me suggest that the Chamber turn the job over to someone else. It seems to me that the Festival happened this year almost by accident.

*****

The remarkable spectacle of Deep State collusion (conspiracy is a more accurate word) of our FBI, CIA, DOJ, DNI, etc. to foil President Trump is simply unparalleled. We are witnessing the greatest Constitutional catastrophe in American history. And it all started in the Obama administration, with his knowledge and consent. Among the most treacherous of these Machiavellian conspirators is former CIA Director John Brennan (who voted for Gus Hall for president) who was leader and chairman of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) died in 2000). Let's listen to Brennan's friend's own words: "The Christians are always singing about the blood. Let us give them enough of it! Let us cut their throats and drag them over the altar! And let them drown in their own blood! I dream of the day when the last priest is strangled on the guts of the last preacher". I wonder who Brennan's other friends are. And our Senate confirmed him to head the CIA! Does character still count today?

Brennan was appointed CIA Director despite his passionate support for sharia Islam, which must have affected his judgment on terrorist strategy. Here's Brennan on Islam: Obama advisor John Brennan speaks about the beauty of Islam ..."https://www.youtube.com/ .

I have just enough time to reiterate: the scope of this Democrat Party betrayal has the hallmarks of a Benedict Arnold scheme.

I have to marvel at President Trump's achievements while under attack from these traitors.

Hang em high!

 

My warmest congratulations to Fillmore High School's champion swimmer, Katrionna Furness.

"Kat" recently took first place in the CIF 100 Backstroke, and third place in the CIF 100 Freestyle. She is new to FHS, in her junior year, and is very happy with the school, her classmates and teammates.

Go Kat go!

*****

Congratulations also to our Fillmore Rotary Club for initiating the "Baby Otter Water Safety Awareness Program". School Superintendent, Dr.Adrian Palazuelo is so impressed with the children's illustrated book about a baby otter and how its family taught it to float, then how to swim, that he read it to the those in attendance at Tuesday's School Board meeting.

The idea is to get parents to teach very young children how to float first in an attempt to avoid the tragedies of drowning in unattended swimming pools, as happens too frequently. The Rotary Club will distribute the books throughout Fillmore schools. This is truly an effective, life-saving effort.

*****

I was delighted to watch Benjamin Netanyahu lead the ceremony establishing America's embassy in Jerusalem. It was inspiring to say the least. Finally, after 3,000 years, Israel's capital is recognized by its strongest friend, to be established in the area where the promise was first made to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21), then confirmed to his son Isaac (Genesis 26:3), and then to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13) that this land was theirs in perpetuity.

God bless Israel, keep her strong and free as the only democratic nation in that troubled part of the world. It is comforting to know that this great nation has our back, a true friend among so many deadly enemies, and treacherous pretenders, like Turkey's President Erdogan.

*****

North Korea's leader now threatens to cancel the summit because he feels threatened by joint US and South Korean military drills. Well, as much as the West appears thrilled by the prospect of a non-nuclear Korean peninsula, trust has no rational place in this attempt. We are dealing with a treacherous monster in Kim Jong-un, perhaps the worst of the top 10.

He and China's Xi Jinping, remind me of a huge anaconda I once observed at a zoo. It was absolutely still, until a zoo keeper tossed a rabbit into its cage. It struck with incredible speed to grab the rabbit, which quickly disappeared into the snake's belly. The scene was startling.

Neither leader should inspire trust. As much as I can hope Kim would rid himself of all the nuclear playthings in his little house of horrors, I can't convince myself that he will. Trying to bribe him with the rabbit of peace and prosperity will prove disappointing. This sort of tactic is what got him where he is today, with plenty of atomic trinkets. Acknowledging the historic treatment of his own people by him and his family, from a Christian perspective, we should characterize Kim as being in need of exorcism.

So, let's keep the pressure on and avoid rabbit habits.

 

It seems the world is splitting apart today. National, international, state and local news is sparking - not all of it bad, but much of it is bad.

I just heard that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) has announced total separation from the Boy Scouts, after a 100-years cooperation. The issue causing the breach is the Scout organization's decision to permit openly gay scoutmasters, and the recent decision to include girls in the group.

My congratulations to the "LDS" church. Scouting has been taken over by the hard Left for some time now. The multicultural, feminist influence is rotting away American moral traditions.

More later. But again, congratulations.

*****

Our new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is leading the three Americans held hostage in North Korea home at last. Another victory for President Trump. This is good news.

*****

Would-be CIA director Gina Haspel is finally getting the support she needs to overcome Liberal bias. She is highly respected at the Agency, with 33-years experience. This could be good news.

*****

Our southern border is broken and leaking hundreds of thousands of people from every South American nation. The dam will break as never before if the wall is too long in coming.

Here is the threat: The combined population of South America, as of 2016, has been estimated at more than 420 million. Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and Ecuador are all in terrible economic and societal condition. Chile is probably in the best condition, but a wave of migration is starting elsewhere.

Venezuela is leading the charge because its currency has collapsed. The late Stalinist Hugo Chávez's tenure started the decline, which extended over the years into the current presidency of Nicolás Maduro. Rampant political corruption throughout South American countries has always been the fundamental problem. It's OK to cry for Argentina, and most of the rest. You see, none of these governments permit their people to own firearms, and a history of failed revolutions just didn't help.

Now I can hear the Liberal anger over the firearm statement, but had the people of Venezuela had a Second Amendment in its constitution, Communist thugs and opportunists like Chávez and Maduro would have been eliminated before the house came down. Colombia's law-abiding people haven't a chance for peace because that same corruption has allowed the criminals to subdue the government. It will take pure military force to achieve peaceful democracy again. Pablo Escobar may be dead but the spirit of his $21.9 billion a year in personal income lives on.

So political corruption and brutal narcoterrorism has eaten away what was once a peaceful civilization in most of South America today. Who can blame these people for seeking shelter from the criminal chaos down there? But does this justify the migration of tens of millions into the United States today? A helpful analogy for this situation is the lifeboat built to seat 100, with 1,000 swimming to get into the boat. Everybody drowns.

There is no way to validate claims for amnesty at the southern border because everyone is faced with criminal and economic attack. The latest group to force entry to America is from Honduras. Are these people more threatened than Venezuelans, who are starving in an environment of hyperinflation and brutal gang killings?

America is good, but not perfect. Our duty should be to help these nations with essential goods - if such help can be delivered without being hijacked by the perpetual criminal element.

Build the wall before we are unable to help anyone.

 

No loyal conservative should grow tired of defending our president against the incessant, disloyal attacks of the Democrat Party. We're in the middle of a political revolution where Democrats are determined to remove President Trump from office.

The threat is serious and immediate, with a corrupt Judiciary, Senate, Justice Department, FBI, CIA, NSA, etc. leading the way. What is most maddening about this situation is the fact that the corruption of these departments is so obvious. Start with the nonsense probe of Russian collusion, whatever that is. As has been pointed out many times, "collusion" is not a crime and therefore, not capable of lawfully initiating the Mueller probe.

This is the most serious threat to our Constitutional Republic in American history, and may well bring a violent response from the president's loyal supporters. The crux of the issue here is that the Democrat Party is preventing President Trump from forming a government. The Deep State is stalling everything, except harassment of our president, at a time when he is dealing with the extraordinary possibility of bringing peace to the Korean peninsula, keeping the bomb from Iran, dealing with China trade, and halting Russian expansion into Syria - and he has to deal with this criminal farce of the Mueller investigation as well.

Democrats are delaying the appointment of hundreds of officials, including judges, all in an attempt to end all the progress Trump has made before the mid-term election. This action by Democrats is truly seditious. Trump has to clean house, getting rid of Sessions, Rod Rosenstein, Mueller, Christopher Wray, the whole lot of them.

Our judicial system is being exposed as completely corrupt. This cannot end well.

Leave it to the Democrat Media to put on that salacious, vicious, and vile "dinner" last week. We saw a sluttish "comedian" destroy the remnants of respect for the "Drive By Media".

I'm too disgusted to prolong this column.

 
(above) Deputy Taylor Lindsey and Sgt. Noel Ramirez.
(above) Deputy Taylor Lindsey and Sgt. Noel Ramirez.

There is, as always, an overload of things to talk about.

But I have to start by expressing my heart-felt condolences to the families who have suffered this horrendous loss. These, now outrageously too frequent, murders make me almost physically sick to think about. These two young outstanding deputies represent an enormous loss to society. These Florida officers were assassinated as they were having breakfast. They can no longer serve as they did to keep us safe from the criminal element which killed them.

Rest in peace Sgt. Noel Ramirez and Deputy Taylor Lindsey.

***

DRUDGE reports that the so-called migrant caravan has reached our border. This is an outrageous invasion of our sovereign nation. It's reported that these people are from Honduras. America is being overrun as European nations have been, with catastrophic cultural results. It's time to get that wall finished, and to seriously punish Mexico for facilitating this outrage. Only those who refuse to put America's safety first promote this invasion of illegal, un-vetted people.

Ask the people of once-tranquil Sweden how they like their new neighbors, and France, and Germany. The world order is being overthrown, which can only bring chaos.

Orderly, legal immigration is one thing; massive illegal migration is another. The latter is destabilizing our fundamental values as a Judeo-Christian culture. Diversity for the sake of diversity is an explosive, illogical, Liberal nostrum. Diversity is, per se, illogical in public affairs, but it sure brings in the liberal vote. There is something unnatural about an artificially homogenized society.

For its complicity in facilitating this latest border attack, Mexico should be body-slammed with tariffs.

Yeah, I can already hear that half-wit in the back of the room shouting "Racist!" That's to be expected these days. But normal, rational people know that's just more fake news. That phalanx of liberal lawyers landing at the border to assist with the invasion? They're just flies buzzing the picnic.

***

I don't know yet whether Mike Pompeo will get in as Secretary of State. If he does, it will be a triumph for us all. He is perhaps the most talented and distinguished civil servant in our nation. First in his class at West Point, and first at Harvard Law, he is precisely the man we need at State. Conservatives should pray for that to happen. What did John Kerry or Hillary Clinton do to deserve that distinction?

I'm out of time - but I've managed to get myself in enough trouble for now.

 

After nearly 60 years of Communist captivity, the people of Cuba await another dictator, Miguel Diaz-Canel. The small island, under the sole proprietorship of the Castro family all that time, reflects shame on the United States. For 60 years we have been unable to free the Cuban people from Marxist slavery, only 90 miles from Florida.

Every CIA effort has failed miserably, leaving this nefarious Marxist leftover as an affront to freedom. The Bay of Pigs disaster was a massive, startling, bloody failure of CIA intelligence, and all of its efforts thereafter to rid Cuba of Fidel Castro, only further embarrassments.

To this day Cuba is tightly aligned with Russia and China as an outpost for enemy intelligence, much like Panama quickly became a Chinese outpost immediately following Jimmy Carter's dim-witted gift of the Canal to Panama. That gave China power points on both eastern and western shores, also boosting the drug trade. Jimmy Carter was, and is, a well-meaning fool.

Miguel Diaz-Canel is the sole candidate to be Cuba's president because there are no free elections in Communist countries, as we should know by now.

Has there been anything good about Cuba since the former dictator Fulgencio Batista packed his money bags and fled the island in 1959? Things immediately went from bad to worse. The only memories I can recall are murder, imprisonment, and the ubiquitous stenciled image of the infamous Argentine Marxist Che Guevara. I prefer the photo of his bullet-riddled body taken by the Bolivian Army - similar to Pablo Escobar's. Something tells me that had Donald Trump been in charge of retaking Cuba it would have been a free and happy place for the last 60 years. Maybe we should try again?

*****

This nation is headed for a revolutionary-Constitutional conflict. Not since the Revolutionary War between loyalists and rebels has there been such a hate-filled standoff. The radical Liberal Deep State with its supporters seeks to change our Constitutional base; it wants a "living" Constitution which they can modify to suite their emotional needs. The country is truly divided, nearly in half, with conservatives determined to protect the original meaning of the Constitution, the original intent of our Founding Fathers.

I read today that the New York Attorney General seeks to "bypass the presidential power to pardon." This is typical of the radical Left's attempt to change Constitutional law to suit their individual emotional needs. The effort has rarely been so strong. This was never a problem for the Left when Bill Clinton was disgracing the office. Remember his very last act in office? It was a pay-for-pardon of Marc Rich, the fugitive international commodities trader. Appalling and disgusting as it was, Republicans did not demand the limiting of presidential pardon.

Liberals will continue to twist our Constitution until they succeed in wringing all of the original sense out of it.

 

The blaring red headline on top of today's DRUDGE REPORT declares "Comey Calls Trump Mob Boss". My first thought was to remember that James Comey, as a mob member himself, may just be envious.

As the painful facts of FBI, CIA, and Justice Department criminal collusion reveal, I would not trust James Comey to water my dog, as the saying goes. His behavior before, during, and after his tenure as 7th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, despite liberal political accolades, shows him to be a spectacular Machiavellian agent for that swampy Deep State.

Our country is faced with critical threats growing out of an unprecedented conspiracy to destroy President Trump's administration. Nothing paranoid in recognizing this threat because this fear is rational, based on empirical facts.

Look at the determined forces at play, most related to Obama administration holdovers, and outrageously foolish advise provided to the President concerning administrative appointments in the early months of his administration.

Add to this the (also unprecedented) bias of 90 percent of the media - virtually all liberal. The anti-Trump hate is deep and broad. Virtually all Democrat law-makers attack Trump, and many Republicans as well.

The worst single mistake made was to appoint Jeff Sessions to DOJ. As Attorney General he is a flaming disaster which cannot be put out without poisonous political fallout. His unnecessary recusal started the domino effect, cheered-on by deputy Rod Rosenstein, who dutifully brought in Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, turning him loose with plenary powers and no direction. He's the pig rooting for the magic truffle.

There is a real possibility now for a violent national political insurgency in the Leftist attempt to unseat a duly elected president.

The FBI's Christopher Wray is untrustworthy. A look at swamp creatures such as retired James Clapper (who perjured himself on TV) is galling. Clapper's job was to oversee Comey's FBI and 16 other intelligence agencies, including the CIA and NSA. Then there's John Brennan, formerly at CIA, and other swampers like Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder (of Fast and Furious fame), etc.

America is at a life-and-death moment, with international military threats at hair trigger.

We must defend our President or let our Constitutional Republic collapse.

 

I keep thinking about Explorer 1, our satellite launched in 1977 which entered interstellar space in 2012, now the farthest man-made object from earth. It is more than 13 billion miles away. No human can reasonably comprehend such a distance. Imagine we are at the "front" of a light beam following Voyager 1's trajectory (no rest stops or obstructions on the way) with light traveling at 186,000 miles per SECOND. In one year on that beam we would be 5.9 TRILLION miles from earth - greatly overshooting Voyager's mere 13 billion. That sure is way out there. But, in terms of distance from our earth, even this is a sort of walk in the celestial park. Scientists have recently discovered the most distant star in God's playground (ironically) described by NASA as being "more than halfway across the universe...." This comment leaves me wondering about the other "half".

It's "an enormous blue star nicknamed Icarus - the farthest individual star ever seen.” Next to Voyager's 13-billion miles, Icarus is 9-billion (not miles) but LIGHT-YEARS away. Maybe if objects could travel at the speed of thought? No, that would still be limited by imagination. Despite the power of science, it's still frustrating sometimes to have to endure human limitations. But, the most sophisticated science is merely peeking into the Divine Creator's handiwork.

So far, science has not told us how much farther beyond Icarus God's universe goes. Maybe our trip to Icarus on that beam of light, some 9-billion light-years away from our unique earth, could enlighten us to the truth of creation.

Science is a wonderful thing, no doubt. The dividing line among those who admire it's power is the issue of creation. Most scientists today scoff at the thought of the Divine. A few recognize their intellectual limitations and humble themselves. Stephen Hawking was not one to value the virtue of humility, especially when confronted with Divine Creation. He had a great mind which, I'm sure, was finally enlightened when he passed away recently. He gave us many new insights on the structure of our universe but refused to acknowledge its Creator. It's hard for me to understand how anyone can perceive the utterly exquisite details of our universe without bowing to its Creator.

Some of Stephen Hawking's predictions were, from a Judeo-Christian perspective, insane. Only the Creator will determine the end of the world He created.