It looks as if Spring has sprung in this editor’s locale. Hopefully we don’t get a snowstorm anytime soon. Next January would be fine by me, but historically here, a late March/early April snow maker isn’t unheard of.
Unfortunately, Spring brings back the Shit Demons. And like clockwork, once most of the snow is gone, the unwelcome invaders are back. For those of you who don’t know, I’m talking about Canada geese.
Branta canadensis
For now, they’re only shitting all over the place, but in a few short weeks they will get hyper-aggressive. They will attack anything they percieve as a threat to their eggs and goslings. This editor has a deep dislike of the Shit Demons, except their eggs, which are delicious.
Spring, April 1 to be exact, brings the opening of trout season to my home state. Your editor is an avid multi-species angler, however trout fishing tops the list. There are a variety of creeks, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes here in upstate NY that feature excellent trout fishing. Some are stocked, some host native populations of brookies and naturally reproducing browns and rainbows. Lake Ontario hosts some very good Lake trout fishing in addition to Steelhead and big browns. Early in the season all three can be caught from shore. Look for future articles detailing this editor’s fishing adventures.
Now on to some more important matters.
The current occupant of the Executive mansion in Albany is in big heap trouble. The list of accusers against Andrew Cuomo keeps growing. It stands at eight right now, but this editor expects that number to increase as Cuomo’s political power declines. It gets worse for the Luv Gov. The FBI has an active criminal investigation into the nursing home fiasco. Specifically, they’re looking into the way the numbers of nursing home deaths were (under)reported. Cuomo is probably looking at an indictment based on what this editor knows about the way state government has been run under this clown. One of his closest advisors took the fall for him over some real estate shenanigans a few years ago. This time around, he doesn’t have the political power to get something like that done.
Luke Letlow of Louisiana was elected to the House of Representatives in a run-off election on December 5. By the end of December he had died from WuFlu complications. His wife, Julia, has just been elected to fill the seat he would have held. She’s the first woman elected to the House from Louisiana. “This is an incredible moment and it is truly hard to put into words,” Letlow said in a statement Saturday night. “What was born out of the terrible tragedy of losing my husband, Luke, has become my mission in his honor to carry the torch and serve the good people of Louisiana’s 5th District.” Her victory makes her the 31st Republican woman in the House.
It seems Donald Trump is planning a return to social media. After being blacklisted by all of the big platforms, Trump plans on starting his own social media company. No news on when, or what it will be called.
Juan Jimenez-Salas, a previously deported illegal, was shot and killed by police who were attempting to arrest him. His crime? He raped his girlfriend’s 6 and 8 year old daughters. Allegedly. Oddly enough, he had been deported for a similar crime. Good riddance to bad rubbish. And thanks to the officer who ended that scumbag. He saved us all the expense of a trial and confinement.
Federal Judge’s Amazing Must Read Dissent on the Threat of the Liberal Media to Our Freedom
Federal Judge Laurence Silberman delivered an amazing dissent in a defamation case before the D.C. Circuit.
What was amazing really was not the particular facts of the obscure case, but what Silberman had to say about the bias of the mainstream media and how harmful it has been not only to free speech but to our ability to be informed as well.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald highlighted the dissent.
Read this amazing section from Judge Silberman's dissent today in a defamation case before the DC Circuit: on how an increasingly ideologically homogenized US media is not only threatening core free speech values, but also the ability to be informed:https://t.co/a220vqwiD5pic.twitter.com/LGYsqPWDIM
Whoever controls the discourse — what can & cannot be said, who can & cannot be heard — wields immense power in society. The internet was supposed to be a bulwark against that – by allowing all to speak – and that's why its free discourse attributes are under severe assault.
Silberman argued that the standard set in the landmark case of New York Times v. Sullivan requiring and as he was seeing it interpreted by the majority that there be “actual malice” before media could be sued by public officials/public figures was too restrictive. His point was that it had given so much power to the press it made them a threat to democracy, that it allowed the press to cast aspersions with virtual impunity.
It would be one thing if this were a two-sided phenomenon. The increased power of the press is so dangerous today because we are very close to one-party control of these institutions. Our court was once concerned about the institutional consolidation of the press leading to a “bland and homogenous” marketplace of ideas. It turns out that ideological consolidation of the press ….is the far greater threat.
Although the bias against the Republican Party—not just controversial individuals—is rather shocking today, this is not new; it is a long-term, secular trend going back at least to the ’70s….Two of the three most influential papers (at least historically), The New York Times and The Washington Post, are virtually Democratic Party broadsheets. And the news section of The Wall Street Journal leans in the same direction. The orientation of these three papers is followed by The Associated Press and most large papers across the country (such as the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, and Boston Globe). Nearly all television—network and cable—is a Democratic Party trumpet. Even the government-supported National Public Radio follows along.
Silberman said the problem was compounded by Silicon Valley holding sway over the distribution and filtering of news, and that too is favorable to the Democrats. He cited Twitter banning the spread of the url to the Hunter Biden New York Post story.
The problem?
But ideological homogeneity in the media—or in the channels of information distribution—risks repressing certain ideas from the public consciousness just as surely as if access were restricted by the government.
To be sure, there are a few notable exceptions to Democratic Party ideological control: Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page.
Can opposition to that Democratic control survive with the efforts against it, Silberman asked?
After all, there are serious efforts to muzzle Fox News. And although upstart (mainly online) conservative networks have emerged in recent years, their visibility has been decidedly curtailed by Social Media, either by direct bans or content-based censorship….And now, a decade after this book’s publication, the press and media do not even pretend to be neutral news services.
It’s obviously an open question about which we all are concerned, seeing the efforts all around us to shut down that which is not the Democratic orthodoxy, not just conservative thought.
Silberman then warned what was coming next.
It should be borne in mind that the first step taken by any potential authoritarian or dictatorial regime is to gain control of communications, particularly the delivery of news. It is fair to conclude, therefore, that one-party control of the press and media is a threat to a viable democracy. It may even give rise to countervailing extremism. The First Amendment guarantees a free press to foster a vibrant trade in ideas. But a biased press can distort the marketplace. And when the media has proven its willingness—if not eagerness—to so distort, it is a profound mistake to stand by unjustified legal rules that serve only to enhance the press’ power.
Comment:Refreshing to have a Judge recognize the existing and increasing damage “His point was that it had given so much power to the press it made them a threat to democracy, that it allowed the press to cast aspersions with virtual impunity.”
MilVets and Patriots suffered some down time this afternoon. Shortly after “Biological Male” is Now a Slur published, the site went down for about an hour.
Unfortunately, it was self inflicted. Your editor made some changes to the site, hoping to speed loading times. However the changes that were made caused some conflicts and wound up crashing parts of the site, namely the part you all see.
On the plus side, our hosting company, HostGator has fantastic support and the conflicts were resolved with a minimum amount of pain for your editor.
Kate is being disingenuous here. By making the claim she’s attempting to shut down any and all debate surrounding the subject. That is a common tactic used by those on the left. If you don’t agree with and actively support their position, your are a racist, homophobe, transphobe, xenophobe or what ever -phobe they want to call you.
Frankly, I’m tired of playing along. Especially when it comes to transgender issues. The bastardization of our language and social mores for what accounts for around 1% of our population has to stop. I’m not the only one who thinks that way.
The problem is that Kate wants to force you to play “let’s pretend” with her. The solution is the realization that you don’t have to.
— (MS/PhD, Intrapersonal Communications) (@NotCubby) March 19, 2021
I’ve seen a contemporary language guide recommending those born as males who identify as male be called “non-transgender males.” Those born with vaginas who identify as male, it said, should be referred to as “males.” It needs to stop.
Chief Master Sergeant Ramón “CZ” Colón-López, the senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a March 18, 2021 briefing with reporters. (U.S. Army)
Some troops have drawn equivalencies between the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and last year’s protests for racial justice during recent stand-downs to address extremism, worrying the military’s top enlisted leader.
In a Thursday briefing with reporters at the Pentagon, Chief Master Sergeant Ramón “CZ” Colón-López, the senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that some troops have asked, when the Jan. 6 riot is brought up, “How come you’re not looking at the situation that was going on in Seattle prior to that?
He said that is one example of the mindset many military leaders are encountering, and he is
“concerned about the way that some people are looking at the current environment.”
Once upon a time, Donald Gould was an everyday kind of American with a musical gift. He had learned how to play his beloved clarinet as a child and very much enjoyed performing as part of the U.S. Marine Corps band during his enlistment. “My music took me around the world before I was 21,” he toldWOOD-TV. A musical savant of sorts, Gould’s family has said he was always musically gifted, able to pick up nearly any instrument and pick out a tune by ear.
After being honorably discharged from the U.S. military and returning to his home stomping grounds of southern Michigan, Gould enrolled at Spring Arbor University to pursue a degree in music teaching. “I took music theory and ear training, and I had to learn how to play every instrument from the piccolo down to the tuba,” he told WWSB-TV. “I can write parts like a handbook.” Financial burdens caused Gould to drop out of college after his third year, three credits shy of his degree.
The timeline and order of issues are a bit fuzzy. We know alcohol and pill abuse is involved, we do not know definitively what or when Donald Gould lost control of his own life. We do know substance abuse set Gould on a slow, downward spiral where he literally lost it all; one piece of his Life at a time.
After quitting college, the former (by legal standards) Marine worked odd jobs here and there while starting a family. He’d married and he and his wife were the proud parents of a little boy, Donny. Donald Gould and his wife became so dysfunctional in their addiction, Social Services showed up one day in 1998 and took three-year-old Donny out of the Gould home. Shortly after their son was taken, Gould’s wife killed herself.
“They took our child away from us, and my wife took a handful of morphine pills and died. She just went to sleep. I couldn’t keep it together and eventually social services got tired of it and they terminated my parental rights. Everyday it’s painful. There’s not a day that’s gone by since they took him from me that I haven’t thought about him,”Gould told WFLA-TV in 2015.
Losing his boy and wife drained the addiction-addled military veteran of all hope and energy. It did not take long for Donald Gould to become Donald “Boone.” Just another tangle-haired, faceless hobo living on the streets.
Somehow, Gould made his way from southern Michigan to Sarasota, Florida. No doubt the weather was a motivator for somebody who was living in the outdoors with no source of income, and a habit to support. Regardless of motivation, the choice to live in Sarasota ended up being one of the best decisions Gould would ever make for himself.
In 2015, the Arts and Cultural Society of Sarasota introduced a program called, The Sarasota Keys Piano Project. “It’s an interactive public arts project in downtown Sarasota,” said Jim Shirley, with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. “The whole idea is to give access to people who want to express themselves.”
The Society placed seven upright pianos – pianos that had been beautifully painted by local artists – in different city locations. One such piano ended up on the sidewalk in front of the Clasico Café and Bar on downtown Sarasota’s Main Street. Some homeless men would use the piano to play for tips, something that became a source of concern for Raffaele Perna, the proprietor of Clasico. “We are trying to control the amount of tipping that happens not because we don’t want them to be rewarded but they take the money and buy booze and whatever they buy and then they come back an hour later and they can’t even play the piano. That’s the heartbreaking part to it,” said Perna.
On June 25, 2015, Aurore Henry and her son Dylan, of Sussex, Connecticut, were visiting Sarasota when they happened upon Donald Gould as he was seated at the upright piano in front of Clasico Cafe and Bar. Aurore took out her phone and began filming the then 51-year-old former Marine as he played. She posted the vid to her Facebook account and created an overnight sensation that changed Gould’s world.
from Mashable YouTube feed
His beautiful playing of Styx’s, “Come Sail Away” captured the hearts and minds of millions of Facebook and YouTube viewers back in 2015. It also garnered the attentions of media outlets, including Inside Edition. The Inside Edition crew set Gould up with housing and bought the homeless vet a shave and a haircut. Approximately $40,000 was raised via a GoFundMe account, and, Spring Arbor University in Michigan extended an offer of full scholarship so Donald Gould would be able to complete his education.
When interviewed by Florida’s WFLA, Gould choked up, “it’s overwhelming to me. I can’t believe it. I’m still fighting off tears. It’s unbelievable. I never thought it would come to this. I’m a clarinet player.”
The offers kept pouring in. A local business, The Surf Shack, arranged an audition if Gould wished to work in their New York style piano bar. On September 15, 2015, Donald “No-More-Boone” Gould played The Star-Spangled Banner in front of 75,000 Monday Night Football fans for the San Francisco 49’ers vs Minnesota Vikings season opener at Levi’s Field. Recording companies reached out with contract offers. Gould even challenged Jimmy Fallon to a duet duel! Perhaps the most precious moment of this comeback story came after a friend of little Donny’s adoptive family saw the Inside Edition story about a homeless Marine playing piano on a public street in Sarasota, and recognised the name.
Inside Edition and a few other outlets set up a video chat between Donald Gould and his now (in 2015) 18-year-old son, Donny. After the chat, Gould entered a drug rehabilitation center with the hopes that he might be able to develop a relationship with his son – the only thing he really wanted. Once homeless father and now grown son shared more video chats on their way to getting to know one another.
Mid-Autumn of 2015, the City of Sarasota was sued by a group of homeless men for violation of constitutional rights – inadequate/contradictory laws (in a nutshell) regarding sleeping on the city streets. Gould was part of the suit brought against the city. In the past, he had been criminally arrested and prosecuted for sleeping in the streets of Sarasota and felt a responsibility to help end homelessness, and unconstitutional prosecutions of the homeless, even though he was half way off the streets, himself.
“But for the Grace of God, I am here today,” stated Gould. “I went from playing a piano on the streets of Sarasota three months ago to playing the National Anthem for the 49ers in San Francisco. Not everyone gets the same opportunities that I have. It’s important to me that I do what I can to make things right.”
A year or so after the homeless piano virtuoso was “discovered” on the streets of Sarasota, he went back to visit his old friend, the piano in front of Clasico.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri8jA8cmrOs
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He’s a far more relaxed musician when he’s feeling clean, inside and out. A German producer helped Gould record a CD of covered music. It includes a professionally produced recordingof Gould playing Styx’s, “Come Sail Away” along with eight other tracks. More information about Gould and the CD can be found at his website, Donald Gould Music.
I’m not sure what Donald Gould is up to, today. My intent to reach out and see if I could interview him for a minute or two before writing, dissolved. It’s preferable to believe he’s doing great with this second chance, as he said he would be. If Life has been shining down on this gifted and no longer homeless Marine with even a fraction of the beauty he provides us as he plays, he must be doing A-OK.
