​Yep. He's back in the news again. I'm not going to go off on a tangent about him, I have spoken about him before in video form. So I won't just repeat the same stuff over again. 

What I want to discuss is actually something I am noticing about the reactions to the ad from not only the people who disagree with him, but from the people who agree with him. 

As I stated in the video, I do not agree with the protests, but I recognize their right to do it. That can, in fact, be done. No, I don't believe any government entity should step in to stop the protests. Whether those protests continue or not is to be left up to the NFL only. I also don't think any tax payer dollars should be going towards building stadiums and all, but I digress. 

In return, the fans can support those protests or not in any way they see fit. If you support it, you can buy game tickets, gear, support advertisers, whatever. If you don't, college football exists. 

The same goes for Nike. They can have whoever they want as the face of their marketing campaign. And you can buy Nike or not. It was a strong marketing ploy, I can say that much. While their stocks have dropped, Nike is living rent free in everyone's heads. People have been talking about them for days. There are memes. There are so many memes. And all that advertising is free! The aim of marketing is to get name recognition, and that's being created for them. For those not in the know of the situation, Nike is now the first brand to come to mind because they have been getting it beaten into their heads for a while now. And you'd be shocked by how many people have no idea what's going on with Nike or even who Kaepernick is. 

While burning your gear may make you feel warm and fuzzy and might get people to visit your YouTube channel, it accomplishes nothing. You already paid for the gear... the only person you are hurting is yourself. Put USA flags over the logo and wear the gear. Just don't replace it with more Nike when the time comes. 

Now, for the people who wholeheartedly agree with Nike, Kaepernick, and the kneeling protests. 

As I stated, all these things are protected under our Constitution. Yes, they have the right to free speech. No the government should not get involved.

No, we aren't required to get behind it or keep our mouths shut because they have free speech rights.

So do we.

​That's the beauty of this country and our Constitution. Everyone has a right to free speech. All speech is protected. The 1st amendment doesn't protect the right to free speech, but...; it protects the right to free speech, period.

That means that people who don't agree with the protests or with Nike's spokesman choice have all the right in the country to voice their displeasure. They are allowed to stop supporting the NFL and Nike. They are allowed to make fun of Kaepernick. They are allowed to create memes until their screens explode. You may not like it, but too bad. It isn't only your rights that are protected, it is everyone's rights.

Obviously, you have a right to debate them, but debate in the USA died a long time ago. Once name calling begins, the debate is over, and that more often than not begins in the first sentence. I remember when I was in college the rule was that the first person to bring up Nazis lost the argument. Now Nazis are the entire argument, and it's still just as meaningless. But it has effectively killed discussion and debate in this country. 

Bottom line: the protesters have the right. Kaepernick has the right. Nike has the right. Those who approve of it all have the right. Those who disagree have the right. No matter how much either group hates it. No one is required to support anything or stay quiet about anything because of someone's rights... because that is a violation of their own rights. And no one's rights are more important than anyone else's. 

Now, as many of you know, I am a long time resident of the state of NC, a transplant who came here 15 years ago and has called it home ever since. Over the last few years I have watched the battle over voter ID with great interest, as I am in favor of voter ID. At one point it was even made law. However, I only had to show my ID once when voting before the courts ruled it unconstitutional. 

See, apparently voter ID is actually voter suppression. Or, at least, that's what they're trying to convince us of. According to local activist groups, this is the GOP's attempt to stop African Americans from voting. 

Because liberals apparently think African Americans are incapable of getting an ID. This baffles me, of course, because I've never met an African American without an ID, whether it was a driver license or a state issued ID card. But what does it take to get an ID in NC? Well, before we get into the whole story here, let's examine this so you know where all of this coming from. From the NC DMV themselves:

Sounds easy enough. But what about the cost? We're being told they can't afford the ID! So the cost must be limiting.

Oh... it's $13. Well! There you go! $13 doesn't sound like much to some of you, but to a lot of people that is big money! They can't afford to pay $13 for an ID!

Wait a minute! Just because you are poor does not mean you are homeless! 

Here's the thing. I included the out of date information above for a reason. That was the no fee ID that was put into place when voter ID became the law. If you are receiving benefits, they actually give you information on registering to vote on the application for things like food stamps. They'll actually help you register to vote. In order to receive those benefits, you had to provide something that proves your identity and residency. If you successfully did all of that, you qualify for a free ID card to vote with! 

OK, so why am I getting into all of this?

Well, voter ID in NC isn't out of the picture just yet. In fact, the NC GOP has proposed HB 1092, which needs to be approved by a 3/5 majority of both chambers, which is actually likely since the GOP has a super majority. At that point it would go to the voters to vote on. 

Yes, you read that correctly. They want to allow the NC voters to vote on whether or not to amend the state constitution to make voter ID a thing. That vote could happen during the November mid-term elections. 

Enter "Color of Change," the "nation's largest online racial justice organization." They argue that this law discriminates against African Americans. So what are they doing about it?

Well, Amazon is looking at NC as one of 20 possible locations for the newest headquarters. Apple is also looking at NC as a possible location for a new campus since we are an ever growing tech hub. Color of Change is requesting that both companies remove NC from their list of prospective locations because of HB 1092.

You know... the house bill that allows NC residents to vote on voter ID. It doesn't pass voter ID. It just gives the residents a say in whether or not they want this to be a state constitutional amendment. 

​According to this activist group, allowing the residents of the state to vote on it is discriminatory to African Americans. How so? Well, because, as you saw above, they can't afford IDs! Keep in mind, they won't be required to show an ID for the midterm elections, so these people they are claiming can't get an ID can actually still vote anyway. But apparently, they shouldn't be allowed to because... they might discriminate against themselves, I guess. 

It really does not make sense. These people the activist group claims to be protecting are going to have no issue voting. Registering to vote is free and it is easy to do. In this state, they pretty much ram voter registration down your throat; I've even been asked at local street fairs if I want to register (I already am registered, thank you). ID isn't required as of right now, so they can vote in the midterms without it. The house bill is opening up the constitutional amendment to the voters, meaning if you don't like voter ID requirements, you can vote no. If enough people vote no, the voter ID thing goes away. If they vote yes, then they obviously didn't agree that it was a bad law. 

So basically... the activist group is trying to turn away thousands of good jobs from the area in an attempt to prevent people from voting yes or no on a law they don't like and are apparently afraid they won't be able to turn people against. Does that not sound like voter suppression to anyone else? If you really do care about these people you claim to want to protect, let them have their own voice. Stop speaking for them. Get them out to vote instead. They have a right to get their voices out there to say yes or no on this bill themselves, they really don't need your help, especially if you want to speak for them without asking them, which is exactly what you are doing right now. 

As always, I like to be very up front on where I stand on things, so full disclosure... I am not a fan of Alex Jones or Info Wars, nor do I believe the Sandy Hook shooting - or any of the others - was staged. The whole crisis actor, mass shooting staging conspiracy theory thing has already been covered here, so you may have already known that. Conspiracy theory just isn't my thing. 

After I posted the linked article above, I got a lot of email from readers who were beside themselves that I believed actual evidence and didn't ignore it to push a conspiracy theory. And I'm sure I'll get a lot of love for this article, too. But here we go!

My first thought was that the lawsuit was insane. No, I don't like conspiracy theories, and most of them are really easy to debunk, even if the people who want to believe them don't care. But I do support free speech unflinchingly, so I was prepared to defend his right to spew this crap, whether I agree with him or not. Then I spent a little more time looking into the lawsuits because it began to grow.

​Originally, it was two families. Now there are six more joining the suit. The article spends a lot of time painting a picture of Alex Jones that may or may not be true. I don't give him much of my time, so how much of what they are telling us he has said is true I just don't know. I tried to give Alex Jones some time years ago, but I couldn't swallow his pills, so I stopped paying him much time. 

The article goes on to list the craziest things Jones has ever said, and closes by letting us know that Trump has said positive things to and about Jones, which, of course, is their way of reminding everyone that Trump and his supporters are all Alex Jones conspiracy theorists who obviously believe all of this horse manure, because we're all exactly alike, right? Something else that only applies to the right and not the left. 

Anyway, where my desire to defend Alex Jones' free speech stopped was at the threats. Now...

If the families have evidence - which I assume they do - that they received threats from his supporters, they may have a case. It's still going to be a fight because I would assume they would have to prove that Alex Jones encouraged the threats or something, but I'm not sure. I'm not a lawyer (yet). As previously stated, I have been on the receiving end of hate from conspiracy theorists. About 99% of the time it is just a bunch of laughable name calling and telling me I'm not woke or something; pretty harmless stuff. But there's always that 1% who decides that if you don't believe Obama is a reptilian than you should be killed publicly as an example to others. Or at the very least you should be forced to drink the water that'sturning those frogs gay. 

​Believing conspiracy theories is one thing. Attacking families because you have decided their kids didn't actually exist and that they're actors is a whole other. And it takes a whole lot of dead brain cells to get to that level. I saw some of those theories, pictures of these apparent actors at other shootings and all. First off, why would they chance using the same people at multiple scenes? Second, why would they use their real names? They obviously did if you were able to find them to make the threats. 

I do, however, wonder if anyone is going to go after those making the actual threats. I understand the desire to go after Alex Jones. But what about the idiots who were making the actual threats? Like I said, most of these people are harmless. And while Alex Jones probably harped on the point, I can't imagine he told his followers to make threats or scare these people. They made the decision to do that on their own. And even if you take Alex Jones all the way down to the gutter, those people will carry on. They don't need Alex Jones to thrive. And they will believe what they do no matter what evidence is provided - without providing any additional evidence once all the original stuff was debunked - and go after anyone who doesn't believe as they do. That type - which, again, isn't all of them - are very much like militant SJWs in that right. 

So yeah, I am sort of interested in seeing where this goes. What effect is this going to have on Info Wars? Is anything going to happen to those who made the threats? Or is Alex Jones going to be treated like a cult leader where the craziest among his followers are deemed to not be at fault? I'll keep an eye on it and try to keep you updated. 

Before I start any of this out, I just want to say... I still don't care about Kanye. Yes, I know a lot of people are treating him like the new hero on the right, but I don't. My stance on celebrities talking politics has always been "shut up and entertain me." They are, obviously, entitled to their opinions. I don't want to take that away from them. But I am tired of their opinions somehow carrying more weight than everyone else's in other people's eyes. They're people, too. No more and no less important than the rest of us. And while they are entitled to their opinions, I don't necessarily have to care. They don't have to care about me, either. And trust me... they don't. And I am not going to sit here and roll my eyes at the ones I disagree with and cheer for the ones I do agree with. Entertain me. Also, I'm not a fan of Kanye. I don't dislike Kanye, either. I can honestly say I don't think I have ever heard his music. I may have and didn't realize it, but I don't have any opinion on Kanye has an entertainer, and I can't form one on him as a person because I've never met him. 

But I do want to discuss it anyway because there are some serious implications here. And they really do go both ways.

First of all, why is everyone freaking out about Kanye now? Did everyone forget this:

He hasn't exactly hidden it. He didn't vote, either, but that's neither here nor there. But he did this shortly after the election, and this was in San Jose. The crowd boos. He keeps on. 

​So why now? Because he still hasn't turned on Trump over a year later? Because he hasn't gotten in line? 

Since this happened, a lot of his elitist celeb friends have "unfollowed him twitter," which is the 2018 way of ending a friendship. Hm. 

Chance the Rapper made a comment about how "black people don't have to be democrats." That was an amazing statement. People turning on him and he walked it back. 

Chance, I wish you hadn't. See, here's the thing. Black people don't have to be democrats. They don't have to be republicans, either. Like everyone else in this country, I encourage everyone to do their homework. Know what is going on in the world. You don't have to obsess over it like some of us. But be informed. When election time comes - local, federal, whatever - take a few moments to read up on the candidates. Know who you are voting for beyond their political party and the promises they make in their TV ads. Go by records, not by lip service. It really doesn't take that long. I promise. 

Anyone in this country can be whatever political party they want to be, and there are more than just those two. Heck... be an independent. Don't pick a party because you are "supposed to." It's OK to have opinions on both sides of the isle. You can be pro-gun and pro-gay marriage. You can support legalizing marijuana and be pro-life. You can actually be a caring humanitarian and believe the government shouldn't be involved in your healthcare. 

I liken political parties to religions. A lot of people believe what the party tells them to believe. Instead, believe what you want to believe and choose the party that best suits those needs. None of them do? Then do your own thing. I call myself a conservatarian, and people ask me why. My explanation is usually that I am too liberal to be a true conservative, but too conservative to be a libertarian or liberal. On the same thought process, I am a non-denominational christian. I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. None of the organized religions do it for me. So I have my own personal relationship with God instead. 

Either way, never choose a side because you are supposed to. Who says? Be your own person. Kanye is allowed to think however he wants. Right now, he's being chastised by the elites for going off script. Basically, he's being chastised for not thinking the way they told him to. He went off and did his own thing and that isn't allowed, so now he has to be punished. When Chance the Rapper looked like he was going off script, too, they went after him, too. Now he's back on script. Kanye isn't. 

The leftist celebrities don't apologize when the right chastises them for their opinion. Why should the right leaning celebrities? Your opinion is your opinion. It's been a long time since I gave a celeb opinion much attention. Articles come across my screen all the time about who said what about which politician, and I don't even click on them anymore. They have an opinion? Good for them. I don't care. It isn't going to change my mind, and it shouldn't change yours. Just like Kanye. His opinion shouldn't change yours if you really believe what you believe. And yes, you can enjoy his music even if you don't agree with his political opinions. A successful black man with a differing opinion is still a successful black man, and you should be excited about that. 

If you know what you believe and why, and if you know what is going on in the world or at least your own country, your opinion will be hard to sway. That means that celebrity won't change your mind, which is how it should be. You are now free to enjoy their music or movies regardless of their opinions, because those opinions are irrelevant to you. Everyone has an opinion. You won't agree with all of them. But we are all free to have those opinions, regardless of what they are. Allow others the same respect. Even Kanye. 

OK, I am going to start this off by saying I do not follow conspiracy theories, just so you know where I am coming from. I don't get on board with them, and I have a bad reaction to them. I will, however, listen to all sides of them before I call BS on them, but calling BS is almost always the outcome. I have, on rare occasion, declared a theory "unproven," which is different than calling BS. But on this story, so you know right off... I am calling BS. I have been watching this since it began. I have watched the reasoning and the debunking and the responses to the debunking. So, let's break this down. We're going to discuss not just the conspiracy theory, but the freedom of speech around them. 

A lot of the clips being used for the conspiracy side are being removed, which I'll get to later, but let's discuss some of the points made. 

Now, the main point being made is that David Hogg is a "crisis actor," which many media sources are actually claiming exists. They site this:

So crisis actors are a real thing. It's just that conspiracy theorists have taken them to new levels. 

​Now, "proof" one that David Hogg is a "crisis actor" is this:

The first thing someone pointed out was the shirt on the guy two pictures above David Hogg. And then there's this:

I'm more inclined to believe this young man's video, because he shows the yearbook. The tweet above just shows a close up of the page and nothing else... and the page is the same one. Now, a lot of folks are claiming it's a torn out page inside the yearbook. And that's great. But I decided to do a little research - which is, of course, not so easy since they're kids - and I found some of the people on that page! Sidney Ho is mentioned by CNN. OK, so the conspiracy theorists will come back because it's CNN. But I also found the facebook page for the young lady at the beginning of the row David Hogg is in, Mei-Ling Ho-Shin. She also attends the school. And no, I won't post her facebook page because you all need to leave her alone. 

She also never lived in California, which is where they claim this yearbook photo is from. She's from Georgia. 

The tweet with the fake picture and claim is probably not where it originated from. I can't seem to find the originating source. And I just went through her Twitter feed and can't find it, so she may have deleted it. However, every conspiracy theory about this shooting is being retweeted by her account. She hasn't been in high school for a while, though, so the tweet isn't from experience or from going to school with him.

​So I'm calling BS on the yearbook. It's the Stoneman yearbook. 

Then we have "his dad is/was an FBI agent!"

So what? Look, I know a lot of tensions are high because of the issues coming out about the FBI. But whether this kid's dad is or was an FBI agent means absolutely nothing. 

The California video:

Again, so what? He's apparently from California originally. I'm from NJ originally. I know there's photos and video of me from my time there - and times when I went back to visit - does that make me a crisis actor? He's allowed to go back to California from time to time. And this video is stupid. It's about a life guard not wanting the one kid to store his boogie board in a trash can. I can't imagine he'd have no experiences at all when he went back to California. 

And for the "butbutbut" squad, yes, the above video is actually the one where David Hogg appeared on the news.

Anyway, yes, it is actually possible for this young man to have been legitimately involved in both incidents. I'm not sure why this is even being questioned. The boogieboard incident wasn't a crisis, it was just an overly pushy life guard and a friend of his that didn't want to be banned from the beach, so he went to the media. 

Imagine that!

Moving on. He apparently "forgot his lines."

Are you kidding me? The kid was just involved in a shooting where 17 people died. And he's a kid. Let's see how put together you are after dealing with this, let alone how well you'd handle it as a high school student. And if he was as prolific a "crisis actor" as folks seem to think he was, I think he'd be better at remembering his lines, don't you? I'll tell you, I've been involved in incidents that weren't nearly this bad and I was an absolute hot mess.

​Actually, I was in NJ for 9/11 and was able to watch the event in real time from my front porch. I was 20 at the time. Let me tell you something... I was not only a hot mess, but I was completely irrational. My reaction to that event at that time was horrible. If I'd been interviewed by a reporter during that, I would have looked like a complete idiot. 

Let's face it. Every single time there is any kind of event in this country, the first thing we hear about is crisis actors. And we get stuff like this shown to us:

The above graphic is horse manure. Crisis actors do exist. They do not do what you think they do. And they aren't going to advertise publicly if they are going to stage a tragedy. Common sense. Seriously. This goes back to the quote from the crisis actor above. Yes, they use crisis actors to perform realistic drills. They do it all the time. It isn't an unknown thing. It is usually done for first responder training and large company training for mass events. And considering the state of the world, yeah, it's necessary. 

This time around, video after video is coming out, and Youtube and other video sites are removing them. One was in trending the other day on YouTube, and now you get this:

Do I like conspiracy theories? No. Do I believe most of them? No. Do I think they should be removed? No! This is still freedom of speech. And when you enter the public eye, as some of these kids have, you do, unfortunately, open yourself up to all kinds of criticism and theories. Any time you publicly proclaim an opinion, you are going to be openly criticized, and your age or reasoning doesn't matter. YouTube is watching their own butt, and they aren't known for being all about free speech. To date, it's just been demonetizing and not promoting videos. This was a removal. And the removal was based on feels. That's it. 

Look, I don't agree with this kid's opinion. I do, however, believe he has a right to express his opinion, and I will defend his right to do so. I don't like people trying to silence me, or the active attack on the first amendment. So I'm not going to do it to this kid, either. I do not believe any of these mass shootings were set ups. Some of them - like Vegas - were shady. Even still, for a man of his age, it isn't unheard of that he had no online presence. My mom doesn't, either. But I don't believe the people involved were actors. Do I think these kids were coached? Heck yes I do. I don't think they were given lines or anything like that, but their opinions are not based on more than one experience and their research is like what a lot of other people's research is - only what they want to see. I'm sure they are being shown "evidence" that can be or has been debunked six ways to Sunday. And I'm sure some of the ideas and thoughts they've put forward were suggested by parents or others. People get tougher feels when the kids are talking instead of the adults, and right now they are hoping that your feels will convince you to give up rights. 

Who I am now is not who I was when I was their age. I tended to believe what my parents and teachers did at the time, because they "knew better." I was lucky enough that my mom was a democrat and my dad was a republican. I ended up somewhere in between. Not all kids have that benefit. Not all kids get both sides of an issue. And I don't think a lot of these kids are getting both sides of many issues. 

Regardless. I know the people who believe the conspiracy theories are going to be enraged, and probably won't read far enough down to see this part. Most of them, anyway. I've already been called a "normie." Whatever. I'm too old to care about that garbage. Here's the bottom line: the fact that this conspiracy theory has gone so public isn't "waking people up." It's making our entire side look like a bunch of fools. You aren't opening people's eyes to anything. You are making our argument so weak it may become invalid. We're going to have to wait and see how far Trump goes on gun control. But you can bet your life savings the next democrat in office is going for the strictest gun control they can get past the Senate and Congress, and depending who is in those seats, that could be pretty bad news. And with this kind of trash going so heavily public, you are drawing that closer and closer. We're going to lose Constitutional and God given rights because you make us all look crazy. And right now, when they see one person do it, they assume the rest of us think that way, too. And nothing will change their minds. That's why we're all suddenly racist. Because a few people on the right are, the rest of us obviously are, too. So yes, you are taking us all down with you, and you are taking our freedoms along. 

We are fighting tooth and nail against a media that is beating us over the head with feels and a public that is falling for it, who in turn are now writing their reps begging to have their freedoms taken away for peaceful slavery. And if those reps think they won't get re-elected because the left screams louder than right ever does, then guess what? The conspiracy theories and the memes aren't going to cut it. We have a shot at losing a lot of seats in the government this year. Trump may end up not getting re-elected in 2020. And now is the time to stop lying to yourself and take action. Pepe the damn frog and other garbage isn't going to stop us from losing freedoms. Actual freedoms. 

So let's get off the kids. Let them protest and rant and rave. It's their right, just like it is yours. They are winning in public perception because the best we can come back with is a conspiracy theory about crisis actors. They are hitting people in the feels, and we're just making ourselves look nuts. As always, we have plenty of real facts and feels of our own that we can work with. Stop making us all look crazy, because you are guaranteeing us a loss of more freedoms, and that freedom is one of our fundamental ones. 

If you want to fight back - and you should - use real facts and real stories. Stop with the garbage. We're going to become Canada or Great Britain, and we can thank this kind of stuff for that. 

​Sorry, not sorry.

​So, the latest Hollywood vs. anyone not on the extreme left outrage is care of Law and Order: SVU. Apparently, there is a female right wing pundit - who people claim is very Ann Coulter like - who gets violently raped at a rally or something. Everyone is upset by this depiction, but I saw it in a different light.
​

1. They have to help her and solve the case.
2. It sort of highlights the violence of the left. While the female pundit is the one hurt, she was most likely hurt by people who hated her, or at least this is how this episode is being depicted (it hasn't aired yet, I don't believe. Maybe it has. I don't know. I'll never see it). The left loves to silence people by any means necessary, and this sadly is not an unlikely scenario. This episode forces you to see and recognize that.

​I haven't watched SVU in years, mostly because I decided to do away with a household TV. But the show has been on forever, and depicts rape. Rape of all kinds of people. I'm not as outraged by this scenario as a lot of other folks seem to be. They take topics that are big at the moment, and right now, the silencing of right wing political pundits is still big in the news, has been for a while. 

Yeah, I hate to say it, but those doing the silencing have proven that the use of violence, to them, is justified in silencing opinions they don't agree with. So this scenario, while gruesome, is not unlikely, and not only the women are threatened by it. We've already seen one female pro-gun pundit have to pick up her entire family and move quickly because a guy was sending her death threats that evolved into pictures of her kids at their school. The students practically burning down their own college to prevent Milo from speaking is old news, but news that will be burned into our minds for eternity. Even myself. I am, by no means, a force in the political world, I'm just some chick who likes to talk about current events and politics, and once in a while you folks come over to read it. But if you guys saw some of the messages I receive on an almost daily basis, you'd be shocked. A lot of them are graphic. 

So while a lot of people take this episode as an affront to right wing pundits, I see something else, and hope others see it, too. This is a dangerous game, and people will go to any lengths to silence you. It has happened before, and it is happening every single day. This episode forces you to not ignore that. I'm not saying this isn't inflammatory or that it isn't an attack on the right wing. I don't know if it is or not. But we can take more away from it than that. 

Video now available in the Videos section!
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By now, you probably are aware that the US Supreme Court is currently hearing the "gay wedding cake" case.

It started when Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, was approached by David Mullins and Charlie Craig about baking a cake for their wedding reception. Mr. Phillips turned them down, sighting a religious objection to sending a pro-gay message with the making of the cake. Feeling humiliated, Mr. Mullins and Mr. Craig filed a complaint with Colorado's civil rights commission.
​
The basic arguments: Mr. Phillips believes the state should not be allowed to force him to violate his religious beliefs against same sex marriage by stating he must bake a cake for same sex weddings. Mr. Mullins and Mr. Craig are claiming discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. And many are taking this case to be an expansion on the SCOTUS ruling in favor of same sex marriage in 2015. It could be classified as a battle between freedom of religion and discrimination.
While we wait on the case to play out before SCOTUS, I wanted to drop some thoughts on the whole thing. 

I, personally, believe that a business should be allowed to decide who they want to do business with, just as the customer can choose who they want to do business with. And before someone loses their mind, think it out for a moment.

Let's take any craft you could enjoy. It could be cake making, wood working, painting, sculpture, crafting. Whatever you enjoy. If you do create, you most likely understand what goes into creating these items. You know how you feel about each creation and the people you are creating them for. And you know what you yourself do to make sure your customer or recipient will be in love with the item. Because of the issue at hand, we'll say you are cake maker.

A couple comes in wanting a cake for their wedding. Now, of course, they are going to be purchasing this cake from you. But there is more involved here than the basic transaction taking place of I give you money, you give me huge cake. As a cake maker, your creations are your artwork. And as someone who works with the general public, you feel something for your customers. Folks can say they don't, but they do. These are your people. You want to create something memorable for them. You want their wedding to be perfect, and you want that cake to stand out and wow them and their guests, not just because it makes you look good, but because you actually care about your customers and their wedding.
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Because of this, that wedding cake is going to take a lot of work. You are going to be careful with each and every detail, because each flower and each ribbon and each design needs to be the best you have ever made, the closest thing to perfection you can muster. A lot of love and care goes into that, even if your customer isn't a personal friend. 

Now, let's say you really don't agree with gay marriage. A gay couple comes into your shop and wants to order a cake. You really don't want to make the cake, because you don't agree with their relationship for whatever reason. But you have been told by the government that you can't turn them away. You can't tell them you don't agree with their relationship. So you make the cake. The entire time, you are unhappy about it. It is no longer a work of art, it is just a cake you have to make. The cake is probably not going to be the image of perfection. It will probably look great and taste great and your customer may be happy with it. But it will most likely be a "cookie cutter" cake without any extra effort and without the real feeling of love you had in the first cake. You may not feel like really wowing anyone, and so nothing extra is added, no special touches or flair. The cake this couple gets ends up being acceptable, but not what you would normally do. And you may feel detached from the cake.

Is that fair to the couple? The cake they are getting for their wedding isn't going to be to the standard they should be getting. They may or may not notice, because at the end of the day, the baker still needs to look good for themselves and their business. But the couple isn't going to get anything special for their cake, it will just be... a basic wedding cake that looks exactly like it should, maybe not the best effort put into every detail, maybe nothing to really remember. It was there, and that was about it.

If the person making the cake for my wedding wasn't going to be into it with their whole heart and soul, I'd want to know. Because that could give me the option to go to the next baker who would put their entire heart and soul in it, and instead of getting a wedding cake, I got something I'd never forget. I'd get the work of art made with love that I'd want at my wedding, a cake I would still remember clearly on our 50th anniversary.

So while I don't like the idea of discriminating against the couple, I do believe that they should know up front that this baker isn't going to be as into it as they should be. Because once your wedding day rolls around, it's too late to discover your baker didn't have his heart in it. You're stuck with whatever he gives you. And he may give you a nice cake. I'm not saying he's going to give you a crappy cake. But you aren't going to get that special cake.

I am also a big supporter of the idea that the market will decide. Businesses should be allowed to discriminate. If you run a business, it should be up to you who you do business with. If you turn down certain groups, and if the community doesn't agree with that, then the community stops buying from you and your business goes under. If they do agree, they give you their business and you thrive. That's how it should work. The government should not be stepping in to tell people, hey, you have to cater to everyone no matter what. Nobody wins there. The business doesn't win because they either close up shop to avoid it or their work suffers and they never grow, and the customer doesn't win because they don't get the best the business has to offer.
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I have never been shy about the fact that I don't agree with the government telling people who they can and cannot marry, but if they are going to, then same sex couples should be permitted. So I feel for this couple. But because I feel for this couple, I hope the baker wins. The couple should know, like any other couple, if a business doesn't want to work with them, because they should be able to walk out of that business and find someone who does. 

Video now available in the Videos section!

We're going to play a little game! We're going to play "is Walmart selling Antifa fan gear like Breitbart says they are?" Hang in there with me now. 

OK, so the fast answer is yes, they are. You can apparently buy Antifa gear at the Walmart website, which Breitbart provided a link to. You can check that out here. So if I have a link to their website with the shirt for sale, why am I playing this game and printing this article? Because it's homework time. 

​Let's take a look at the page.

This is the page that opens. And according to Breitbart, there are 13 different styles you can get, but this was the link they offered. Now, let's take a closer look. See under the price of the shirt? What does that say?

Walmart has a "marketplace" similar to what Amazon has. As most of you know, when you shop at Amazon, you have to be mindful of who you are actually buying from. The item you are trying to buy might be shipped by Amazon but sold by another dealer, sold by and shipped from Amazon, or sold by and shipped from another dealer but sold through the Amazon website. I have sold books through Amazon, and at the time at least, they didn't seem to care what I was selling or to who. I'm sure if I was trying to sell a gun or something they would have stepped in. But I'm not sure about shirt designs. 

In this case, you will see the shirt is sold by and shipped by a company called Tee Bangers, and they are selling it through the Walmart website. So... technically no, Walmart isn't selling these shirts. Tee Bangers is. Now, in this case, Walmart may have not caught it yet, or they may have a policy about items sold by other companies through their site that this does not violate. That is highly likely. They may allow it as long as no foul language or threats are portrayed in the design. 

I decided to hit the Walmart website and see if I could find this and the other 12 designs for more information. The below video is a screen capture of my time at the Walmart website. As you will see, I searched for Antifa in all catagories, then just in the clothing department. When that turned up nothing, I searched for the company, Tee Bangers. What I found was a collection of political and non-political tee shirts. Yes, I found a lot of pro-Trump shirts. I also found shirts for Castro. I didn't find Antifa shirts. As a matter of fact, I never found them. 

Now, for full disclosure, the search gave me 25+ pages of results, and I didn't go through all 25 pages (and you wouldn't have watched if I did). But I did go several pages in. Feel free to recreate the search if you want to see what is in the other 20 or so pages. They will probably eventually show up. Maybe. The above shirt is actually sold out or not available. So it may not show anymore. And they didn't show up when I directly searched Antifa or Tee Bangers Antifa. 

Basically, you aren't going to walk into Walmart and find these on the racks. And they aren't actually being sold by Walmart. They are being sold by a third party through the site, and Walmart may not even be aware they are there. As for the third party company, it appears their items for sale are not explicitly anti-Trump or anti-Conservative since they have a variety of Trump shirts. They are, basically, going to make and sell what people want to buy, and there it is. Their opinions on politics are not clear by the items they sell. 

In this case, I wouldn't hold a grudge against either Walmart or Tee Bangers. 

Edit: I had someone make a comment that none of this matters, they shouldn't be selling it. And while I greatly dislike Antifa and those who commit violence in the name of forcing people into their views, I have to disagree. "I don't like it" isn't an excuse. The company has a right to make and sell the shirts. You don't have to buy them. You can boycott Walmart if you want, although I doubt it will do much good. You'd be forcing the end of sales of shirts you do like, too. Bottom line... "I don't like it, so it shouldn't exist" isn't a reason to do away with the shirts. That's the excuse the left uses for silencing conservative speakers and shutting down any conservative thought online. I am a free speech absolutist. That means speech I don't like is also OK. My aim is to not silence anyone while trying to give a voice to my side. I don't like the shirts. I won't buy the shirts. But I won't say they should be stopped from selling them, either. And boycotting is great and all, but we're running out of places to shop. Instead of shutting down the speech of others, combat it with your own. Don't like the shirts? Make a bunch of your own and sell them in the Walmart marketplace. You'll anger someone else, but you have the right to do it. So do it. Speak, don't silence. 

Look, I'm going to be upfront with you all. And some of you already know this about me. My tin foil hat is not well worn. I am not into conspiracy theory at all. But I do have a few things that I will break out my tin foil hat for, and when I do, especially when I feel the need to speak out about the stuff publicly, you can bet that I feel there is real validity there or it is a major possibility. 

Today's tin foil hat chat is going to be about the recent up-tick in online censoring of "wrong think." If you are here, you are most likely guilty of wrong think, at least in some aspects. So this pertains to you, regardless of political party or beliefs. 

You can check out this video here, which inspired me to say something myself, for his aspect on things. 

The big news online right now is Twitter deverifying users they don't like. And that is, basically, what they are doing. If you are discussing things they don't like, you lose your verification. There has also been another issue with Google apparently locking you out of documents in Google Docs because they "violate the terms of service." 

YouTube has been coming under fire for demonetizing - and preventing the promotion of - videos that discuss "controversial subjects." You can still pull nasty pranks on strangers and beat your children for views and keep your monetization, but don't you dare talk about anything that actually makes people think. Don't dare hurt anyone's feelings. And don't dare speak of Google in a negative light. Like I did. 

They won't even review them. YouTube has a limit of 1000 views before they will apparently review videos, but I have submitted videos for review with less than 30 views that got reviewed. So that's hogwash. 

Now, the video I linked above will go into a lot of details about the latest in online censorship, but I want to take it a step further.

As we all know, Google has known, public leanings, and they aren't shy about censorship. If they don't like your news article, it gets moved so far back it doesn't ever get found, or it never shows up in search results at all. You may get locked out of accounts, or have videos demonetized and unpromoted so they can't be found. 

Twitter actually made a statement about your verification being removable due to bad behavior - even off of Twitter. Meaning, if you say something considered to be "wrong think" somewhere else, they can still unverify you. 

Facebook, Google, etc. are all tracking what you do online. That isn't a conspiracy theory. Google can even use your phone to keep an online accounting of where you have physically been. All in the name of "advertising." And you can "opt out" to some degree from all of this (I put that in quotes, because you actually can't). 

So, how bad could this get? Well, let's see. Even the mainstream media has covered stories about your smart TV listening all the time, your smart home devices listening all the time, your phone listening all the time, the ease of access to your cameras whether they are on your phone, laptop, or even home security. 

Google Fiber is a thing. I actually use it myself. And I'll be honest, it's amazing. I can upload a 30 minute video to YouTube in literally seconds. It's mind blowingly fast. But Google now supplies my internet. At what point can I expect Google to decide they don't like my website here and are going to block my access to the Internet completely for 30 days, then 60 days, then permanently? And with as great as it is, the other options in the area are really struggling. AT&T provides fiber around here, too, but the service and the performance are so bad that most people I know who use it quickly switch. Google teases everyone by slowly releasing their service in chosen areas and then making you wait for them to actually connect you and all this other really elite garbage. 

I could go back to Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable), but then I also go back to uploading a five minute video in two hours. If I can access the site at all. And in reality, they are already struggling, so how much longer is that going to last? Especially when the prices are astronomically high.

I'm looking around at my own home right now. If Google decided to block me for 30 days... I would have no phone. I would have no heat (in the downstairs of my house. The upstairs thermostat isn't connected to the Internet). No TV. And if I wanted these things back, I'd have to conform. I would have to post nothing online that they disliked. And, if we're counting the smart devices, I'd have to watch what I'm saying inside my house. My nightly conversations with my mother about the news would have to be stopped. Even this website. The only real way to support the costs of this website are with Google Ads. It isn't much, but it's the only source of real potential income I have right now. And they can - and probably will - shut it down eventually.

Tech companies are overwhelmingly liberal, and more and more the left side of the isle is becoming less open to opposing views, wrong think, or anything else they don't like. They demand conformity. They demand access to only what they believe. They demand no challenge to their ideas or thoughts. And Google has the power to stop anyone they please easily. 

Our lives are becoming more dependent on online activity as each day goes by. Everything we do is connected to the Internet. Even your car can be shut down remotely. And the more connected we become, the more liberal tech companies demand our conformity or punish us, and the more those punishments actually effect our ability to function. We have a generation of kids coming up and those in college and entering the workforce now who are living in an echo chamber and want to stay there. And they don't have a problem with violently reacting to those who try to pull them from that echo chamber. And companies like Google - who are becoming more and more of a world ruler instead of a utility - are happy to comply. 

We are being removed from society. We are being cast aside as though we don't matter and are just a simple obstacle. We are being punished for not blindly following and nodding along like bobble heads. We are being silenced. Aggressively. And those who claim to love free speech are cheering that on. 

​OK, tin foil hats off. I'm done. 

According to the Cato Institute, a majority of Americans believe political correctness is preventing us from having discussions we need to have, and a majority of Americans also don't feel comfortable sharing some of their political views. Out of those polled, it seems conservatives are more likely to feel they need to self censor. 

Why is that? I think, personally, that a lot of it at this time in history stems back to a lack in understanding of what free speech is. The poll aside, I have found it rather interesting in my own observations of people that we are greatly unwilling to hear people out, and one slight "infraction" will cause a lot of people to walk away. 

As some of you know, I run a YouTube channel, and my experience there has been very educational. This blog has been, as well, mostly in the original form. This blog has existed for years now, although this is the moved and improved version. I had people who read my blog daily, interacted on every post, etc., and then one post showed up that they didn't agree with and they vanished forever. 

YouTube has been a little more telling. Subscriber counts are right in your face all the time, and every single time I post a video, I can count on losing a bunch of subscribers and gaining a bunch more. Some people have even left me notes about why they decided to completely ignore me for the rest of my life because of one sentence. Not a video... a sentence. It was usually one they took out of context, but it didn't matter. 

We see articles online daily about people who refuse to be friends with people because they voted for whoever ran against their chosen candidate. Videos of people talking and someone literally just bouncing around them and screaming to drown them out. People giving an argument for a belief and the opposing person gives "you're a f------ white male!" as a comeback, as if that is a conversation ender. 

Now, to break down some of the things from the article itself. Let's have these discussions!

Define a Nazi. Right now, in this country, we have forgotten the age old adage that "the first person to bring up Nazis loses the argument." Everyone you disagree with is a Nazi. Therefore, groups like Antifa punch anyone who disagrees with them. All of that nonsense aside.  It isn't morally acceptable to assault others at random. If you find an actual Nazi who is beating or trying to kill someone, by all means, punch that person. But because they are talking? No. Words are not violence. Violence is violence. And you have my blessing to punch anyone who is physically endangering your physical health or life. 

I'm sorry, what? Look, I'm as big a flag waving patriot as anyone else, and I cheer when someone saves a flag from being burned. But stripping citizenship from anyone who burns the flag? Are you serious? I've defended flag burning plenty in my life. It is a form of free speech and free expression. It's a crappy act and I think the people who do it are fools who don't understand what that flag means or stands for because they've never once lifted a history book. But don't forget the men and women who have been brought home in a casket covered by that flag fought for your freedom and our Constitution. While you don't like it, and neither do I, it is protected under the Constitution.

I'm willing to use your pronouns if you aren't a complete jerk about it. I'm willing to use your pronouns as long as you don't assume I should have come into the conversation already knowing them. And you must assume a conversation with me is going to be very short if you have weird pronouns. If you use "they, them" as your pronouns, you need to grasp that it is going to stab me in the soul that you are referring to yourself in a plural form and I'm not going to be able to deal with that for very long. But I don't have an issue with using your pronouns. I know a lot of people do. If you are having a conversation with someone who refuses to use them, stop conversing with them. No, the government doesn't need to get involved. People should not be charged with a crime for refusing to use your pronouns. Everyone is suddenly "non-binary" because it's the trendy thing to do. No one should be jailed because they didn't give in to your desire for attention and to be part of the "it" crowd. 

I have covered this as well, and it was one of the most interesting videos to read responses to. This was the video that someone walked away from my channel because of a sentence in. They have the right to kneel. You have the right to stop throwing money at them. The NFL doesn't have to fire them if they are willing to take the consequences of people not attending games or watching on TV. People have acted accordingly and still they continue. They don't have to stop just because you don't like it. But you don't have to give them your hard earned money, either. 

No. Employers have the right to punish employees for Facebook posts that go against the beliefs of the company or damage the image of the company. We can't say "offensive" in this case, because offense is relative. What offends you may not offend anyone else. Should an employee get fired because they post a lot about cats, which offends you because you are allergic to cats? That's the sort of thing this leads to. 

Like it or not, your freedom of religion is also protected. If there is a demand for a mosque in an area, than building one makes sense. If there is a ton of terrorists coming out of the place, then monitoring it would be a good move. But to stop them from being built? Nope, sorry. Whether you like the religion or not, it's protected. And don't forget: in the current political climate, Christians are taking a beating. If something like this isn't stopped, nothing is stopping them from blocking the building of new churches, either.

It isn't hate speech. It has been defined as gender dysphoria, People claim this is no longer the case, that it is not a mental disorder, etc. And personally, in some cases, I don't believe it is. As I discussed above, there is an entire section of people who are following a trend. I don't think those people are mentally ill; I think they want attention and are lacking something in their lives. But people with actual gender dysphoria need psychiatric help, which most do receive. As far as the surgeries... it's your body and your money. It doesn't impact me at all. Do what you want. 

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I have a very small window of what I consider to be "hate speech." This is no exception. Calling the police racist is not hate speech. For one thing, police officer is not a segment of society; it's a profession. We call lawyers liars and politicians crooked all the time, and no one calls that hate speech. Calling the police racist is a belief, and people are entitled to that belief. I personally think it is painting people in the profession with a very broad brush and it isn't very informed or helpful. But it isn't hate speech. Killing cops is murder, it isn't a hate crime. Look, I've had bad experiences with cops in the past. Two, to be honest (before you start wondering what I'm into, one was recent and the other I was five years old). But I still understand that these cops are not all cops. 

It's as hateful as saying a murderer should do prison time for their crime. Illegal immigrants are in violation of the law. I don't care how hard they work, or how much they dream. They are in violation of our immigration laws. And, honestly, your screaming and whining about it is a slap in the face to the millions of immigrants who actually went through the process and did it legally, whether they became American citizens or are here on work or school visas. This usually opens a stream of how difficult it is and how they don't have options. Too bad! Doing it legally is always an option. And it's hard for a reason. You don't have a right to live here. It's a privilege. And it is one that can be denied. 

This is one of those things I always shake my head at. These people always use "every other country on Earth" when they want things like social programs that are paid for by the tax payers or changes to our Constitution. But when it comes to immigration laws? Every other country on Earth can accept or block whoever they want, but the USA is different!

Again, people are allowed to have an opinion, and in this case, especially those in the military who will be fighting alongside them. I, personally, don't have an issue with women in combat, as long as they don't dumb down the requirements to get into certain jobs and positions for the sake of equality. If you can't meet the requirements, you don't get in. Period. But if you can make it through, then why keep you out? But is it hateful to say women shouldn't be in combat? No, it isn't. 

Again, no, it isn't. It's a religious belief, and one that is held by many religions (no, lefties, it isn't just a Christian thing). Most people I've met who believe it is a sin are not cruel to homosexuals. They may not want to take part in their weddings or anything like that, but they stick to the thought of "hate the sin, not the sinner." When you physically or verbally abuse someone for being homosexual, that is a hate crime. If you aren't hiring people who are homosexual, that is discrimination. But the simple act of having a religious belief is not hateful.

I'm not sure what is so hard to grasp about this concept. Most of us here believe people should be allowed to say whatever they want. No matter how gross your beliefs are, you have a right to them and you have the right to speak of them. This is America. That doesn't mean we agree with you. It just means we don't think you should be punished by law for it. 

Some time back, I made a video about the list of demands for white people from BLM. The comments section on that video got very salty, and more comments come in daily. I have deleted a total of zero of those comments. I have reported zero of those comments to YouTube. I had a viewer report another commenter, and I defended the guy who got reported, even though he was a member of BLM who was saying some pretty vicious things. But the comments had a range of beliefs that would make your head spin. I admit, a few nights I just cracked open a beer and gave up for the night. Anti-semitic, racist, slur filled comments were becoming the norm. And while a good deal of the comments made me want to scream, I left them there. I even left comments people left saying horrible things to me directly. I left them alone. Because I am a firm believer in freedom of speech. I hate what these people said. But I believe they have the right to say it. And it won't be me that takes them down or reports them to the powers that be. Nope, I'll defend you instead. Even if you do suck at being a person.

Now, this article goes in to great detail from here, and I encourage you to read the whole thing. It breaks down micro-aggressions, beliefs held by Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups, college campuses, etc. 

I only covered what I did because we need to stop being afraid to say what we believe. That's a huge part of defending the 1st Amendment. Stop being afraid. Yes, you will catch backlash. Yes, people will try to scream over you. Yes, people who are "on your side" will jump ship because they only agree with you on 99.8% of the things you say and they settle for nothing less than 100%. Yes, you aren't going to agree with everyone on everything. You shouldn't agree with anyone on everything, if we're going to be real. Yes, people will call you all kinds of names instead of listening to what you have to say because they can't tolerate opposing views or free thought. But by not being afraid and by speaking out, you make all of those people irrelevant. 

Every time I post to this page or I post a video on YouTube, I know I am going to get nasty comments and people will walk away, never to return. Right wingers get upset to learn I'm not a far right winger,  left wingers get upset to learn I'm not a far left winger, and libertarians get upset to learn that I lean a little too far to the right to be a true libertarian. I can only believe what I believe and understand that some people will cheer and some people will scream, and that's just how it is. And you need to get there, too. We can't be afraid of being called names by the other side, or having those "on our side" walk away because you said one little thing they didn't agree with. Be you. Be vocal. Don't be afraid. This is how we defend our Constitution. 

​All quotes taken from Cato Institute.