The Runwanweli pagoda in Sri Lanka is built on a 500-square-foot, four-inch thick foundation of solid silver.
— William W. Lawrence Sr.
William Lawrence Sr. Omnibit 8-2-17
Columbia Confusion — The residents wanted to name their new state “Columbia” back in 1889 but were talked out of it as it was thought some might confuse it with the nation’s capital, the District of Columbia.
So they named it Washington.
One of the founding settlers of Washington State was a black man named George W. Bush.
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 8-2-17 Columbia Confusion
Trump Scandal Brennan Operation Says Seymour Hersh
Trump Scandal Brennan Operation Says Seymour Hersh — Noted journalist Seymour Hersh is claiming that the “scandal” pumped by the press for the past year alleging collusion between President Trump and the Russians can be laid entirely at the feet of the deep state.
“It was a Brennan operation,” Hersh says (5:50) “It was American disinformation.”
John Brennan was director of the CIA from March 8, 2013 to Jan. 20, 2017.
“They were back-briefing the press,” Hersh said. “The head of the NSA was telling the press, that f—cking, c-cksucker Rogers was telling the press that we even know who in the G-area of Russian military intelligence service leaked it. All bullsh-t.”
Why would they do this?
“I can tell you right now, Brennan ‘s an a–hole,” Hersh said (4:50) “I’ve known all these people for years. (Director of National Intelligence James) Clapper is sort of a fair guy but not a rocket scientist, the NSA guy (Rogers) is a f-cking moron. The trouble with all those guys is the only way they are going to make it to a board or two . . . to deliver some . . . contracts is if Hillary stayed in. With Trump they are gone.”
And that’s what We the People are facing.
Hersh also said that the late Seth Rich was the source for the Wikileaks revelations about the DNC albeit he think his murder in July 2016 was a robbery gone wrong and not an assassination.
Listen to Hersh’s interview below. Obviously it contains salty language:
Trump Scandal Brennan Operation Says Seymour Hersh
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 8-1-17
Robert Frost won the Pulitzer Prize four times, the only American author to do so.
— William W. Lawrence Sr.
Bipartisanship Means Working Against Citizens
Bipartisanship Means Working Against Citizens
By, Lowman Henry
There is a lot of wailing and rending of garments these days over the hyper partisan atmosphere in both Harrisburg and in Washington, D.C. Conventional wisdom holds that if Republicans and Democrats would just work together we could solve the problems confronting our state and nation.
But there is ample evidence that when Republicans and Democrats do work together the outcome is worse than no action at all. The recent collusion between the parties in the Pennsylvania Senate to pass a revenue plan to fund the 2017-18 state budget is a prime example.
So, let’s pull back the curtain and take a look at how elected officials from both parties work together to preserve their own political careers at the expense of taxpayers.
In theory Republicans stand for smaller, less intrusive government and for fiscal responsibility. Were that actually true the debate in Harrisburg over how to balance the budget would be focused on cost-savings and spending reductions. Instead, leaders of both parties in the state Senate have focused solely on what taxes to increase and on an even more irresponsible course of action – borrowing from future revenues to cover current expenses.
The GOP holds 34 of 50 seats in the Pennsylvania Senate. That is a veto-proof majority that again – in theory – should be able to pass a fiscally responsible state budget. The sordid truth is that Harrisburg is not divided by political party, but rather is governed by an incumbent party dedicated first and foremost to political self-preservation putting up a united front against taxpayers and job creators.
Thus that 34-seat Republican majority was rendered irrelevant when leaders of both parties went behind closed doors to craft a revenue package. What emerged was a toxic cocktail of tax hikes that would harm businesses such as gas drillers by implementing a severance tax; and add to the burden of homeowners by hiking taxes on gas and electric bills. Oh, and that wasn’t enough to sate the appetites of the big spenders – they approved borrowing hundreds of millions from future tobacco settlement revenue meaning our children and grand-children will get to share in the pain.
When the final vote was held the revenue package passed 26-24. How the Senate got to that number is the truly disgusting part of the story. There is an old saying that you should never watch sausage or legislation being made. But we will. If all Democrats had voted for the revenue package it would only have taken ten Republicans to craft a majority. But fourteen Republicans went astray.
Why?
The goal was to provide political cover to four Democrats in competitive districts. It is all about incumbent protection. Party leaders conspired to determine who would vote for and who would vote against the bill. Those Republicans and Democrats voting for higher taxes and massive borrowing all represent “safe” seats because they are relatively immune to serious electoral competition.
A few Republican Senators who actually favored the bill, but who would face conservative primary challenges if they voted for higher taxes were given a “pass” to vote against the plan. Those Republicans representing more moderate districts and less likely to face a serious primary challenge voted for the tax plan. Likewise Democrats deemed vulnerable to a tax vote were also given a “pass.”
So everyone wins – except We the Taxpayer.
And, of course, “leadership” of both parties all voted for the revenue package on the mistaken belief that they have to be “responsible” and provide revenue to fund a state government beset by out-of-control spending. Real leadership and a truly responsible course of action would have been to craft a budget that spends within our means rather than go looking for every way possible to wring more tax dollars from Pennsylvania’s working families, senior citizens and small businesses.
The bottom line: the Senate’s revenue plan vote was nothing more than business-as-usual backroom Harrisburg politics of the type that cynically preserves incumbents at taxpayer expense.
Remember that the next time you hear someone crying out for “bi-partisan cooperation.”
Mr. Henry is chairman and CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal
Bipartisanship Means Working Against Citizens
Delco Libertarians Historic Slate For County Offices
Delco Libertarians Historic Slate For County Offices — The Delaware County Libertarian Committee is filing, tomorrow, Aug. 1, nomination papers for candidates for county council, sheriff, register of wills and controller.
“This marks the first time in recorded history that a third party has challenged the two major parties for a countywide slate in Delaware County,” said Libertarian Vice Chairman Dale Kerns.
Delco Libertarians Historic Slate For County Offices
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 7-31-17
Duct tape really was originally called duck tape. The name comes from canvas-backed tape upon which it was based when introduced in World War II. A once-common name for the type of canvas used in the tape was “cotton duck”.
— William W. Lawrence Sr. 7-31-17 Duck Tape
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 7-29-17
France’s Charles VI (1368-1482) a.k.a. “Crazy Charlie” “Charles The Mad” once gave a ball which they still talk about. Everybody glued feathers to their skin and went dressed as savages. They then got drunk and started laughing and throwing flaming torches at each other. They quit laughing when the feathers and costumes caught fire. Six guests died of burns.
— William W. Lawrence Sr.
Charles The Mad
William W. Lawrence Sr. Omnibit 7-28-17
One out of five heavy smokers develop lung cancer.
— William W. Lawrence Sr.
Technology Robs Us Of Humanity
Technology Robs Us Of Humanity
This columnist certainly has his detractors.
Some disagree with the viewpoint. Others dissent when they “read” things that were not written, thereby drawing incorrect conclusions. Still others criticize the column for being “too negative.”
To the first point, the goal is to attempt to change hearts and minds through fact-based, common-sense arguments, but there will always be those opposed. C’est la vie. To the second, what can you say about people who only read half a column before unloading with both barrels, or prefer to inject their own words rather than read what is there? Ignorance may be bliss, but it’s not becoming. Lastly, stating facts objectively, no matter how hard they are to hear, isn’t negative. That’s the beauty of the truth; it isn’t positive or negative. It is what it is.
But it should be noted that on every one of over a thousand columns, this author, no matter how fiercely he criticized someone or something, ALWAYS offered a solution. From health care to immigration, race relations to advocating steroid use in professional sports, solutions have always been presented.
Until now.
Truth is, the biggest threat facing America, and all of humanity, seems to have no viable remedy. That’s not to say there aren’t solutions. There are, but they’ll never be employed.
And what is this gravest of threats? Terrorism? Nuclear war? Pandemic?
Nope.
It’s the skyrocketing addiction to technology at the expense of human empathy.
Nowhere was that more on display than the video showing teenagers laughing at a handicapped man drowning in a Florida pond, a video that the teenagers themselves shot. Jamel Dunn was begging for nearby people to help as he struggled to keep his head above water. But rather than flagging down assistance, calling 911, or, imagine this, helping the man, the boys found it much more entertaining to taunt the victim, shout obscenities, and joke about how he was going to drown. They even mocked him after he finally slipped beneath the surface, with one sneering, “Oh, he just died.”
Many comfort themselves by naively believing that this was just an isolated event, and that such occurrences, while tragic, are rare.
One problem: it’s not true. In fact, such behavior is becoming the norm at an exponential pace. And given that the generation that has been raised on technology from childbirth is coming of age, there is nothing that can stop this race toward human oblivion.
Consider:
1. Many are outraged that the teenagers won’t be charged with a serious crime, since, in Florida, rendering aid isn’t legally required. (Authorities finally found an obscure misdemeanor – failure to report a death – with which to charge them).
But whether or not they were charged isn’t the point. The infinitely more important question is how we’ve gone so far off track that our teenagers, indeed our children, didn’t just stand by and watch someone die without lifting a finger, but took pleasure in it. They had enough self-awareness to video a man’s death and laugh about it, but possessed none of the once-natural human inclination to help a person in need. This wasn’t a “survival of the fittest, it’s him or me” situation, but sadism taken to a whole new level, where remorse and moral conscience never entered their minds.
To the teenagers, the man’s demise was surely on par with video game “deaths” and TV “casualties.” And that is the crux of the issue. The unbreakable addiction to smartphones, video games, reality TV, and a skyrocketing amount of “content” on-demand – which society not just accepts but encourages – has led to a huge chuink of an entire generation becoming grossly warped, unable to tell the difference between true reality and virtual reality. To them, it’s one and the same: A person drowning right in front of them has the same “effect” on their conscience as a character dying in “Clash of Clans.” In other words, no effect at all.
In the world where human beings exist, there is, or at least used to be, a value called empathy. It’s when people in civilized societies attempt to understand what someone else is feeling, and be sensitive to their experiences – a form of altruism rooted in the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would have them treat you.
So if you were drowning, you would hope a passerby had empathy for your plight, and would do everything possible to help.
But our empathy is quickly waning, and with it, our humanity – the very essence of who and what we are – replaced by acute indifference.
2. Lack of empathy is increasingly commonplace. Sure, we know about the widely publicized stories: The Penn State student who needlessly died at a party because not a single person had the courage – or motivation – to call 911; the California girl who live-streamed herself driving and crashing, and who continued to stream, instead of calling 911 and rendering aid, while her 14-year-old sister lay dying next to her; the adult daughter who live-streamed her father being shot by police, rather than trying to help him, or, at the very least, say a last goodbye.
But they aren’t isolated cases. Similar situations are occurring every day that, while not headline-inducing, are equally troubling, where the desire to post dramatic or perverted video on social media (or to do nothing at all) supersedes any inclination to help someone in distress: A woman falls, and many just stand around and stare. A few may call 911, but often leave, failing to lend a hand since “it’s not my concern; I did my part;” a car accident occurs, but instead of checking to see if the occupants are OK, or helping them out if the car is about to catch fire (if they stop at all), many are far more concerned about getting it on video – from a safe vantage point while sipping a latte – rather than possibly saving a life. Even a mother trying to get a baby stroller up the stairs when the elevator is broken is often ignored.
Helping others used to be the norm. But now, people are celebrated for assisting others because of how rare that act has become.
3. In large part, person-to-person interaction has become “passé,” because we no longer know how to communicate. Ask a Millennial to call a pizza shop? Good luck. Most can’t, as they’re wholly incapable of engaging with anything other than their damn device. Walk into a coffee house and almost no one is talking, even those on dates. Instead, all eyes are downward, consumed with all-things-smartphone. Tell an employee to make an in-person presentation (aka talking to other human beings), with slides written in proper English, and without a computer to hide behind, and it’s sheer panic.
Make no mistake: Today’s technology has incredible uses that just a decade ago were unthinkable. But the negatives have come to significantly outweigh the advancements because we have become lazy, relying far more on technology than our brains – and each other. And it’s only getting worse, as millions of mothers and fathers instantly throw a device in front of their children as soon as they’re born, ostensibly because they don’t feel like parenting.
That’s not “educational” – it’s appalling.
If you don’t want to parent, then don’t have kids. But it’s extremely unfair to children when their parents aren’t willing to put the time in to teach and interact with them – which, by the way, are the most fundamental things parents should be doing. Sure, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has its place, but it should never become a substitute for parenting. Yet that’s exactly what has happened.
Enter the hopelessness.
We can talk about breaking our children’s dependence on technology so that they can learn the paramount importance of empathy. But since parents are just as addicted, willfully allowing Netflix and Instagram to usurp parenting and non-tech family time, the race toward human depravity and an all-about-me society will only accelerate.
They say that sometimes life imitates art. If that’s true, then there’s no doubt what movie we are living.
“Terminator: Rise of the Machines.”
Anyone remember how that worked out for humanity?