First and foremost, how are you doing? Are you faring well in the stormy waters of 2020? If I was a pirate, I wouldn’t dip a toe into the troubling waters, but since we are all neck deep into it and can’t seem to turn back to shore, it’s like we are sailing toward a destination that isn’t charted on any map that I can find. Honestly, I do pretty good seeing the destination, be it many different routes or the end result using many methods / techniques. It’s an ability I pride myself having because it helps me achieve my goals and allows me to create contingency plans should something suddenly pop up that could conflict with what I want to achieve. I guess you could say it’s my sixth sense, almost like predicting the best possible outcomes of any situation that I am involved with. However, this year, I’m having trouble seeing a wide range of other areas that I normally can see. Unfortunately, I can’t see a large amount of outcomes that we are heading toward. If at best, only three options: Revolution, Civil War II, or barely scathing through to see the light of the first day of 2021. In no possible outcome do I see us not getting bruised, while some of us are already getting bloody. In either outcome, we will need the amazing grace of God to help us through.

    It’s a long hard topic I want to share with you, but only if your mindset is okay. Tonight I want to talk to you about something that’s probably going to make you feel uncomfortable. I know it’s going to make me feel a bit uncomfortable to but it’s a conversation that needs to be done. They say that the most uncomfortable conversations can be the most beneficial once everything is laid out on the line. I know that we’ve all lost people in our lives who meant a lot to each of us. In the COVID-19 era, it seems like it’s one right after the other according to the news. Even though the CDC has come out recently it said that only 6% out of everyone who has died only had covid-19 and nothing else (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm). The mainstream media seems to forget about all that since all they want to talk about is the death toll of accumulated deaths, meaning no matter what was the cause of death, they also “had” COVID-19. They do that intentionally because it’s all about ratings by create a scare to keep you watching and possibly for some political motive. It is my belief that the current state of the mainstream media, itself, is a Cancer and it’s not something that needs to be watched specially during these times.

   It is possible that the 24/7 news coverage of these unprecedented events could serve as an additional stressor, especially for individuals with preexisting mental health problems (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2764584). Our routines have been completely upended and even things like wearing a mask or waiting in lines at the grocery store can make you feel tense. With all the natural disasters we’ve seen happen or happening along with the violent demonstrations in the bigger cities across the nation, and the agenda being fueled by propaganda of political bias, it’s mixed about and resulting in another kind of infection or disease that people don’t normally talk about until it’s too late and by too late I mean by the person’s own actions he or she is gone. Since today is World Suicide Prevention Day (https://www.iasp.info/wspd2020/), I would like to bring to you attention the what, in my opinion, should be called a Twin-demic. In other words, we actually should be acknowledging the fact that there are two different, but related pandemics going on simultaneously: COVID-19 and Suicide. We already have COVID-19 pounded on us daily, but tonight I want to talk to you about suicide because I think no one is really talking about the depression leading to it during this whole horrible pandemic. There are many factors that would lead to depression and that would lead one to believe there is absolutely without any shadow of a doubt any hope a brighter tomorrow. Truth be told if that person had someone that could reach out to or someone that was there with them to remind them that tomorrow is a new day, tomorrow something special will happen, actually just Comfort them somehow, maybe then they would actually see and still be around.

     It doesn’t help that it’s a political year, all these negative ads and mudslinging it with constant bickering between two or more ideologies, it looks like the country is about to fall into another civil war. Honestly it doesn’t look like our teenagers have much to look forward to once they graduate high school or college. And who could blame them because with please organizations that are pushing their agendas against another group or faction is leaving the innocent people in harm’s way. I remember growing up being asked what I would want to be for when I grew up and I remember some of my friends saying they want to become an engineer, a police officer, the fireman, doctor, or join the military. Nowadays I’m not so sure that would be the same if we grew up during this era. Something tells me that if I grew up in this time, I would still want to be a rock star, wrestler, or radio DJ. My feeling is that most kids now see how the cops are treated or portrayed as killers and they don’t want any part of that. Honestly, if you hear a child say they want to become the next Jeffrey Dahmer when they grow up, as a parent, you should seek help for that kid pronto (https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/jeffrey-dahmer). Although I would be shocked to find out if a child knew what I was talking about when I mention his name because most kids probably won’t know who he and the monster that he was.

    Another type of monster that could end up eating you alive from the inside out is Depression. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, you may experience anxiety, fear, frustration, sadness and loneliness to the point that those feelings become constant and overwhelming. Existing mental health conditions, including severe anxiety and major depression, may worsen. Most often, suicidal thoughts are the result of feeling like you can’t cope or recover when you’re faced with what seems to be an overwhelming life situation. There’s little data yet on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the suicide rate. But clearly the pandemic has added intense emotional and mental stress to the lives of people around the world. Fear, anxiety and depression can stem from a wide range of concerns and experiences, from personal and family issues to work-related stress. Whether you’re having thoughts of suicide or know someone who feels suicidal, learn suicide warning signs and how to reach out for immediate help and professional treatment. You may save a life — your own or someone else’s. Suicide warning signs or suicidal thoughts include: 

• • Talking about suicide: for example, making statements such as “I’m going to kill myself” or “I wish I were dead.”
  • Getting the means to take your own life, such as buying a gun or stockpiling pills.
  • Withdrawing contact with others more than usual, even though staying at home may be recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic: for example, not responding to any type of communication from others, such as calls, texts or other messages.
  • Having mood swings, such as being emotionally high one day and deeply discouraged the next.
  • Being preoccupied with death, dying or violence.
  • Feeling trapped or hopeless about a situation (being “stuck”).
  • Excessively using alcohol or drugs.
  • Changing your normal routine, including eating or sleeping patterns.
  • Doing risky or self-destructive things, such as using drugs or driving recklessly.
  • Giving away belongings or getting affairs in order when there’s no other need to do so.
  • Saying goodbye to people as if they won’t be seen again.
  • Developing personality changes or being severely anxious or agitated.

The unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, including little social interaction, may make it more challenging to identify those at risk of suicide. Warning signs aren’t always obvious, and they may vary from person to person. Some people make their intentions clear, while others keep suicidal thoughts and feelings secret.

    Although many people in the United States are slowly getting back to their lives prior to COVID-19, the lingering mental and emotional toils of the coronavirus pandemic look like they are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Add in scenes of police brutality and civil unrest being played out on the media on a daily basis, and mental stress and anxiety become front and center. Given this confluence of stressors, the mental health of many Americans is becoming a major concern as we adapt to absorb the psychological impact of these major events. Back in May 2020, new data showed that one-third of U.S adults have reported symptoms of clinical anxiety and depression related to this public health crisis (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm). That information showed an increased rate of clinical anxiety and clinical depression that could lead to another major crisis if we don’t take clear steps to prevent what is referred to as a national suicide crisis. Many mental health professionals are concerned that suicide rates will greatly increase depending on how Americans are dealing with the devastation of all that is happening. It doesn’t help that suicide rates had actually been on the rise. In fact, in 2020 alone, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide deaths among those ages 16 to 64 had increased to 35% in less than two decades.

   So no, this sort of thing isn’t new. In fact, it is a public health crisis that has plagued America for quite some time. However, there are new factors related to the pandemic and subsequent crises that could potentially contribute to a further increase in the rate of suicides such as:

• Increased social isolation and loneliness
• Skyrocketing rates of unemployment and the economic downturn (recessions are historically associated with increased rates of suicide)
• Mass grief, especially without funerals and other similar rites
• Trauma and trauma triggers for communities of color
• Widening of the net of groups at-risk for mental health conditions
• Possible neurological “long haul” implications of COVID-19

     Suicide is not a national problem but now is the time for us to educate at least ourselves, if not those around us, on important signs to look for in loved ones who may have suicidal feelings and how to offer effective support. Those conditions include symptoms of anxiety, depression and increased substance use to cope with stress or emotions related to COVID-19. Nearly 11% reported having seriously considered suicide in the 30 days before completing the survey compared with about 4% in a 2018 survey who said they’d considered suicide in the past 12 months. The CDC data found that certain groups were shown to be even more susceptible to suicide: 25.5% of young adults, aged 18 to 24; 30.7% of self-reported unpaid caregivers for adults; 21.7% of essential workers; as well as racial minorities —18.6% of Hispanic respondents and 15.1% of Black respondents. In a survey of 5,412 adults in late June, 40.9% reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition, the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released on August 14th (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm?s_cid=mm6932a1_w). Again, with everything going on, is it not a wonder why mental health issues have increased considerably during the coronavirus pandemic? According to another recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, young adults and racial minorities are among those disproportionately affected. 

     Teen suicide was already on the rise before COVID-19 and the social distancing that comes with it (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db352-h.pdf). The data is still being collected, but researchers already predicts suicide attempts could be double pre-coronavirus numbers. They are recommending that parents to look for big behavior changes such as considerable mood swings, changes in eating or sleeping patterns that last longer than a couple of weeks, and refusal to engage with family and friends. When you start to think that there is something going on, it’s time to reach out for help. Researchers suggests not to assume it’s a phase and that is when you should call your family doctor. Make sure they’re getting fresh air and sunshine and time with friends. Often, mindfulness is centered around breathing but there are mindfulness games kids can play. If your child is expressing suicidal thoughts, it’s important to seek emergency care immediately. If you are concerned that your child may be suicidal, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/) at 1-800-273-8255 or call 911 if there is an emergency.

    In the past decade suicide attempts have become more lethal. Some researchers have looked into the connection between these lethality rates and social media, internet use, and availability of guns. According to one study the case fatality rate by firearms is 82.5 percent; cutting, on the other hand, is 1.2 percent. So, it was especially concerning to psychiatrists and other suicide researchers when they saw the news about the surge in gun sales since March of this year (https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year.pdf/view). Here’s where things get more interesting because certain populations are more at risk for potential suicidal thoughts, according to the New England Journal of Medicine (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2008017). This statistic includes people who have contracted COVID-19, those with preexisting conditions/immuno-compromised individuals, and those with histories of substances abuse. Younger people, Latino and Black populations are the most vulnerable right now, data shows (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm). The rates of those reported having seriously considered suicide in the 30 days before the June CDC survey are higher among those between ages 18-24 (25.5%), essential workers (21.7%), and minority racial/ethnic groups (18.6% Hispanic, 15.1% non-Hispanic Black). Another population of concern are the elderly, many of whom find themselves in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities nationwide. 

    According to the statistics released earlier this year by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it show that females working in the construction and extraction had the highest suicide rate amongst working 16- to 64-year-old females in the United States at 25.5 suicides per 100,000 population, based on 2016 study. In the same year, the Educational Services occupation had a lower suicide rate among females of 3.9 per 100,000 population (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6903a1.htm?s_cid=mm6903a1_w). Men, on the other hand, working in Mining, Quarrying, And Oil and Gas Extraction had a 54.2 suicides per 100,000 population with the lowest being in Educational Services with a 9.3 suicide rate per 100,000 population. The total suicide rate among all men was 27.4 individuals per 100,000 people. The numbers change a bit each year when you look at the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as they claim that average number of suicides in the workplace range from 250 in 2011 up to 304 in 2019 (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf). 

    Social media has been used to livestream several heart-wrenching suicides believed to be linked to the toll COVID-19 is taking on individuals. This week, parents are being urged to monitor their children and teens’ use of TikTok and other social media platforms following reports of an extremely graphic video of the suicide death of 33-year-old US Army veteran, Ronnie McNutt, who shot himself during a live-stream on Facebook​ recently (https://heavy.com/news/2020/09/ronnie-mcnutt-facebook-video/). It’s not for certain as to what led up to the man taking his own life with a shotgun on facebook live, but I’ve read several reports that all point to his girlfriend leaving him and he lost his job. It’s rumored that his mother was the last person to call and argue with him before pulling the trigger. I don’t know anything for sure, it’s all speculation and it’s none of my business. However, it hurts me to know that one of our former soldiers did this to himself and since I can relate to both of those things, getting terminated from a job that you are really good at and losing a girlfriend you really care about only to find out the feelings weren’t mutual. With all the help that is available out there and yeah, I understand that it’s only there if people want to receive it. Still, I think if someone was there with him to talk him down, it might have been a much different outcome.

    Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for people of all ages. It is estimated being responsible for over 800,000 deaths, which equates to one suicide every 40 seconds. Every life lost represents someone’s partner, child, parent, friend or colleague. For each suicide approximately 135 people suffer intense grief or are otherwise affected. This amounts to 108 million people per year who are profoundly impacted by suicidal behaviour. Suicidal behaviour includes suicide, and also encompases suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. For every suicide, 25 people make a suicide attempt and many more have serious thoughts of suicide. Suicide is the result of a convergence of genetic, psychological, social and cultural and other risk factors, sometimes combined with experiences of trauma and loss. People who take their own lives represent a heterogeneous group, with unique, complex and multifaceted causal influences preceding their final act. Such heterogeneity presents challenges for suicide prevention experts. These challenges can be overcome by adopting a multilevel and cohesive approach to suicide prevention.

   There is so much help out there for people who want or need to talk to someone about what they may be feeling. I know that this all might sound like an infomercial you see or hear on TV in the middle of the night when nothing else is on. I just want make sure you know your options and that there are people who genuinely love you. If you don’t want to discuss things with your family members or friends, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. The Veterans Crisis Line connects Service members and Veterans in crisis, as well as their family members and friends, with qualified, caring Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text messaging service. Dial 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 to talk to someone or send a text message to 838255 to connect with a VA responder. You can also start a confidential online chat session at veteranscrisisline.net/get-help/chat. Please don’t go another day if you know someone or if you need help. You could be saving a life.

    So tonight, at some point before you go to bed, take a moment to reach out to someone you think needs help to change the course of their life. Be sincere when asking how are they doing and be there with both ears listening to every word they say because the words they say and how they say it could be the literal difference between life and death. Another thing you might want to do is light a candle near a window to show your support for suicide prevention, to remember a lost loved one, and to show support for survivors of suicide. I believe that we are all part of a grander plan, even though we may not know what that plan is, what part we play, or for how long we participate, we need to be there for those who are in real trouble under the skin. Remember, just because you don’t see it or the person smiles and seems happy all the time doesn’t mean they’ve got nothing going on underneath. 

   First and foremost, I want to start off with sending my thoughts and prayers to the folks in Louisiana, Eastern Texas, and Western Mississippi because they have been through hell over the last 24-hours to say the least. A category-four hurricane is nothing to laugh at. If the winds don’t get you the first time, the will get you after the eye passes. If you still stand up after that, you will be flooded. Much of that water could be used over in California where they fires are burning up day and night, thousands and thousands of acres of land, structures, and causing many people being displaced much like what Hurricane Laura has done and what’s left of her is are doing right now. So please, don’t forget those in California either, nor the people who are in the cities with the riots going on. If God was needed in any point of our time, it is right now. Please continue to be positive, pray for our nation, and for our brave heroes, the men and women fighting against absolute evil, protecting the innocent from harm, and helping everyone during this time of need. We ALL NEED help, it’s just in different ways. Hopefully, it will be over soon and life as we knew it will somewhat return. 

    Tonight is the last night of the Republican National Convention. I caught the first two, but missed last night because I was monitoring the communications going on for Hurricane Laura before and as she was making her way up the Gulf onto land. Over all, it wasn’t something to write home to mom about because it was the direct opposite of what the Democrats said last week at their convention. Although I did notice that the ratings for last week were lower so far than the Republican Convention this week. Without going into politics, I don’t know exactly / for sure why that is because this week it seems that there was a lot more to watch as people were getting ready for Hurricane Laura to make it’s arrival. Still, people glued their eyes to the Republican Convention and so far, so good for ratings. This is all new for all of us watching the convention done via skype, zoom (a chinese run / owned company by the way), or recorded. Don’t get me wrong, some of it was done live in a close off area. However, the Republicans took it one step farther, they had some live outdoor segments that I thought were a little inspiring and uplifting during this time of COVID-19. However, I wouldn’t be doing any justice if I didn’t bring up the interesting survey that was done over the media leading up the the respected National Conventions.

    According to a recent study, Broadcasters Air 150 Times More Negative News on Trump Than Biden (https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2020/08/17/study-150-times-more-negative-news-trump-biden). NewsBusters, a project of watchdog Media Research Center, analyzed ABC, CBS, and NBC evening newscasts from June 1 through July 31. Analysts found that the shows spent 512 minutes of airtime on Trump, nine times more than the 58 minutes they allotted to Biden. But that extra airtime was almost entirely negative toward Trump. Analysts at the center found 634 of 668 evaluative statements about the president were negative, compared to 4 of 12 for Biden. In a typical campaign season, broadcasts would devote time to both candidates. Forty percent, or 23.5 minutes, of the Biden-focused coverage aired Biden’s criticisms of Trump, while just 0.25 percent, or 88 seconds, of Trump-focused coverage consisted of relaying Trump’s criticisms of the presumptive nominee. The study included explicitly evaluative statements about Trump or Biden from reporters, anchors, or nonpartisan sources such as experts or voters. It didn’t include evaluations or comments from partisan sources, or neutral statements. Trump has regularly described many reporters as biased against him. Of course, when asked, ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News didn’t respond to requests for comment on the study.

     But all this pales in comparison to what we now have going on with the riots. It’s a given that the Mainstream Media News cycles are going to beat the “peaceful protests” over your head because it’s constantly evolving. Although these really aren’t 100% peaceful as the Democratic overlords say they are, a better, more fitting descriptive word would be “Demonstrations” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRKzpp7w58o). That word would go beyond the meaning of protests. Why even call them protests anymore? DO these people even understand or know why they are “protesting”? The answer could be a big NO for a majority of them. Seems like the media puts on and interviews people who claim to be there peacefully, but they can’t answer anything more than the keyword phase, “Racial Injustice”. If you ask me, we’ve seen this sort of thing happen before in third world nations, but we never thought it would come here. However, there is a newer “protest” going on in a town between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. Now the systematic racism war is battling on in Kenosha, Wisconsin. For a little backstory about this area, for more than 100 years, Kenosha was an auto manufacturing center, but it has now largely been transformed into a bedroom community for Milwaukee and Chicago. The city is about 67% white, 11.5% Black and 17.6% Hispanic, according to 2019 Census data. Both the mayor and police chief are white. About 17% of the population lives in poverty.

    These are statistics that the Mainstream Media will use in both sides of this situation to determine an outcome that is predicted to, what is called, “get ahead of the storm”. If you want to create the winds of change, you have to get people fired up, molding their wills and strengths into something that can be useful as a tool for tasks in the future. Last week, I mentioned “who controls the media, controls the narrative. So if whoever controls the narrative, they control how people think, react, what they do or feel” (https://thebigjohnshow.com/2020/08/20/no-pardon-for-the-narrative/). I also asked who do you think controls it and more importantly, the universal question “why?” 

    Another police shooting happened around 5 p.m. Sunday, August 23rd and this time around, Kenosha police do not have body cameras, but they do have body microphones (https://apnews.com/6435a3f69293c22ace6536e7dad72776?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningwire&pnespid=m_ltraNZGwyN3JHnJn7p__cimicX6sGsHx7RdJBE). However, there was a witness who recorded the situation on video from his house across the street. The man who made the video, said that before the gunfire, he looked out his window and saw six or seven women shouting at each other on the sidewalk. A few moments later, Jacob Blake drove up in his SUV and told his son, who was standing nearby, to get in the vehicle. It was said that Jacob Blake did not say anything to the women. The man filming the video said he left the window for a few minutes, and when he came back, saw three officers wrestling with Jacob. One punched him in the ribs, and another used a stun gun on him. Jacob Blake got free and started walking away as officers yelled about a knife. 

     In the footage, Jacob Blake walks from the sidewalk around the front of his SUV to his driver-side door as officers follow him with their guns pointed and shout at him (https://youtu.be/gDI8soJzVpk). As Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV, an officer grabs his shirt from behind and opens fire while he has his back turned. Seven shots can be heard, though it isn’t clear how many struck him or how many officers fired. The shooting left Jacob Blake paralyzed from the waist down, according to his father (https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/8/25/21400481/jacob-blake-kenosha-police-shooting-riots-evanston). As it turned out, Jacob Blake did have a knife on the floorboard of his car when he was shot by police, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which also has identified the officer who shot him as Rusten Sheskey (https://www.foxnews.com/us/blake-had-knife-in-car-when-kenosha-cop-shot-him-wisconsin-doj?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20foxnews%2Fnational%20%28Internal%20-%20US%20Latest%20-%20Text%29). Civil rights attorney representing Jacob Blake’s family, said that his client was “simply trying to do the right thing by intervening in a domestic incident” (https://apnews.com/0cbc14762c89304f9f052fd33a1f4445?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningwire&pnespid=0.Y1ufFKChyNtHldkdjmMRB8Ss7ZiUFwa__6m9g9).

     As a result, it sparked civil unrest in Kenosha, a city of 100,000 people. On the bright side, if there is one to come out of this whole mess, is it also shined a light on Kenosha’s delays in equipping its roughly 200 police officers with body-worn cameras, which has made the city fall behind many of its neighbors and similar-sized towns. What I’m about to say next will most likely upset some people, especially those who are pushing for this to get even more out of control, including those with an agenda. Let me make this very clear: I do not like what the police did with shooting the man. With that said, I do not blame the police for defending themselves either.

    If Jacob Blake did what the police asked him to do, which was to comply, this may not have happened. The police was there because they were called to respond to an incident at that address. Part of police training is to assess the situation as soon as they arrive on scene. If there is someone who isn’t going to be cooperative, without violating anyone’s rights, that makes the situation tense. I’m not saying it’s entirely Jacob Blakes fault nor am I saying it’s not the Kenosha Police Officers fault, it is a bad situation all around and without the help of body cams, it’s going to make things a bit murkier and more time consuming to get to the bottom of this terrible situation, but it is NOT, and again I say NOT, the time for destruction, rioting, or demonstrations in the streets. Too many innocent lives have been affected by this horrid situation and my heart goes out to the families of Jacob Blake and the police officers. I’m sure we can all agree how thankful this police shooting didn’t result in another senseless death. Here’s some more history for you about this case unfolding: Blake’s grandfather, Jacob Blake Sr., was a prominent minister and civil rights leader in the Chicago area who helped organize a march and spoke in support of a comprehensive housing law in Evanston, Illinois, days after the 1968 slaying of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

    Something else that needs to be noted about Jacob Blake and I have no idea, nor am trying to spread something that may not be true, but online court records indicate Kenosha County prosecutors charged Blake on July 6 with sexual assault, trespassing and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse (https://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetail.html?caseNo=2020CF000736&countyNo=30&index=0&mode=details). An arrest warrant was issued the following day. The records also show a couple of dates when he had to appear in Kenosha County court for child support in April 2019 (https://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetail.html?caseNo=2019FA000286&countyNo=30&index=0) and October 2018 (https://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetail.html?caseNo=2018FA000807&countyNo=30&index=0). There were also several dates that he had to show up in Racine County court for child support, one in March of 2018 (https://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetail.html?caseNo=2018FA000140&countyNo=51&index=0), then again in August 2018 (https://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetail.html?caseNo=2018FA000875&countyNo=51&index=0). The common thing here is that these court cases all involved the woman / mother of his child who Jacob Blake was picking up the day he was shot. It was unclear whether that case had anything to do with the event that preceded the shooting. 

    To make it more interesting, the actions of resisting police isn’t foreign to Jacob Blake either. On Monday, September 21, 2015, Jacob Blake, who would have been 24 at the time and living in Racine, Wisconsin was charged in Racine County Circuit Court with one felony count of resisting arrest causing a soft tissue injury to a police officer and one misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, endangering safety-use of a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct (https://racinecountyeye.com/police-k9-dozer-helps-subdue-man-who-pulled-gun-at-bar/). According to the criminal complaint, Jacob Blake was with two women a tavern called “Brass Monkey” on the night of Saturday, September 19th when he got into an argument with another patron and pulled a handgun, pointing the gun at the other man, and the magazine fell to the floor. The bartender told Jacob Blake to leave, and he did, but then decided to point the gun through the window at patrons inside the bar before walking away on down the road from the Brass Monkey. On a side note, the Beastie Boys would be so proud of that name (https://youtu.be/acY2VSskD80). If you are wanting to look that specific court case up, good luck on that. As odd as it may sound, yesterday the court officials announced that Please note, court officials told the Racine County Eye that “Mr. Blake was not convicted of any of the charges listed in this story. The charges appear to have been dismissed upon Prosecutor’s Motion. The minutes reflect that on 02-20-2018 the prosecutor moved to dismiss the case “due to witness issues and age of the case.” The reason the case is not listed in court records is because of the dismissal they appear to have met the threshold for the cases to automatically be removed from the WCCA website.” I kid you not… The only thing that shows up on his record about that specific case is that he had to pay a fine for “Operate w/o Carrying License” (https://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetail.html?caseNo=2018CT000482&countyNo=51&index=0&mode=details) which he ended up paying the court $210.80 along with signing a $500.00 bond to get out of jail.

     The Police say they encountered a woman walking on the street who was in the bar with him, but she said she didn’t know what happened and that her friends left without her in a silver SUV. A few moments later, officers were advised that a silver SUV was traveling down that same street with a male subject driving who matched his description, so they initiated a traffic stop. Because he had a gun with him, the police conducted a high risk traffic stop and ordered him to put his hands out the window of the vehicle. Instead, he exited the SUV and started walking toward officers and ignored commands to get down on the ground. Officers forced Jacob Blake  to the ground and ordered him to put his hands behind his back, but when he refused to comply, a K9 Dozer was deployed to force the defendant into compliance. At the time he was taken into custody, he was searched and police say he had a holster on his hip but no gun. A search of the SUV turned up a black handgun on the floor behind the driver’s seat. The police also found a box of ammunition and two loaded magazines in his coat pockets. Afterwards, the police took him to the hospital so he could be treated for the wound he obtained from K9 Dozer. Officers say he refused to answer questions, but he did submit to a legal blood draw to determine his level of intoxication which came back at .144 BAC. He was taken and booked into the Racine County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond. 

     So no, this isn’t Jacob Blakes first run-in with the law. In fact, it seems as if it’s a repeated pattern of disrespect for the police, or anyone for that matter. That being said though, it’s not an excuse to shoot down anyone who doesn’t comply. Nor is this event a reason to destroy innocent people’s property and other lives. This should not be a call to defund the police either. I STRONGLY URGE that people let the investigation play out BEFORE deciding who’s guilty of what. Now is not the time for knee-jerking reactions to things we don’t fully know or understand. Let the investigators do their job before reaching a breaking point that we can’t walk back from. Let’s not make any decision that can be devastating, as in taking one’s life. Unfortunately, we’ve seen a situation develop where a 17 year old boy will be charged with murder for killing two rioters and wounding another for trying to damage property. The 17-year-old boy, of Antioch, Illinois, (about 15 miles from Kenosha, Wisconsin) was taken into custody yesterday in Illinois on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide. Two people were shot, but one of them was killed Tuesday night during another night of Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha. More evidence is coming out that it was more of a self-defence as the two people were chasing down the teenager. One of them had a handgun and was firing it being the teen while running. The other hit the teenager and they fell to the ground. When the assailant kept coming after the teen, the end result was in self defense. This story is still unfolding and the details are trickling out. Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said during a Wednesday press conference he believed the 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse might have been part of a group of armed individuals who asked to be deputized and allowed to patrol the streets of the Wisconsin city ahead of Tuesday night’s protests (https://www.foxnews.com/us/kenosha-county-sheriff-says-shooting-suspect-may-have-been-among-group-that-sought-to-be-deputized-oh-hell-no).

     If the demonstrators understood this, they would see this is a direct reason why we should increase funding to the police for technical updates / upgrades like body cams and such. I’m not saying that we need to have a surveillance state, but with all this going violent reactions going on, it’s going to be a very possible end result. Technically, in this day and age, if you own a Cell Phone, use Android or Apple, you are part of the surveillance. Even on your home computer surfing the internet, your ISP and browser are watching you. If you are on social media, public wifi, or where ever a camera is recording you, you are being surveilled already and I don’t feel comfortable with that. Just like that guy who didn’t want to be identified was recording the video of Jacob Blake getting shot by the police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, he was surveilling the situation from a distance. Sounds creepy, huh? The media is doing it too and it IS recording your response to each and every single public event. These are the days of our lives during this agenda.

     In a way it does bother me a little because I really do truly love people. I am not afraid to tell someone I love them. I really don’t think people get that about me on here unless they actually know me in person. I even love those who make it a point to constantly disagree (almost violently) with me because of my personal views, but it doesn’t mean I have to help them when they come asking afterwards. I keep an open mind on everyone’s views and opinion, even those who flat out attack me because I post something they want to argue about. I truly love talking about religion, history, current events in general as long as they are ALL backed by facts.

    Conversations is a method of learning about each other and the things around us. If we can’t be truthful about what bothers us, how we see things, how we feel a human being about something, then how are we supposed to evolve? How are we supposed to connect, help, or try to make this who situation better in general if we can’t get along in person, much less on a digital platform? God knows I would LOVE a great conversation with anyone about most anything on my front porch while sitting in a rocking chair and sipping on a cold Pepsi. That’s one of the most important things I miss doing on the radio and it absolutely breaks my heart that I am not able to reach the people like I used to when I worked at KTCS and KICM. I remember having great conversations with folks in between songs. Those conversations turned into great bits and promos.

    There is so much wrong in this (BEEP!)ed up situation, but just having a conversation where you hear a voice or seeing a face can make such a major difference from staring at a screen. Conversations make or break any relationship, but it can also create one of the strongest bonds you will ever have in your life with the people you least expect. And we just don’t do it, we don’t let it happen because we are too afraid to talk or listen to what is really bothering us. To top it off, no one seems to care enough to ask how someone is doing anymore. We are all being trained to ask as polite conversation, but we also give a simple response because it’s too personal to tell someone.

    I admit, about 90% of what I do say on social media is meant to be the verbal “wrench in your gears”, but honestly, if anyone was serious enough to simply ask me to my face or on the phone to ask me how I was doing? There’s no doubt in my mind that I would absolutely break down. And I am willing to bet there are a few others out there just like me who aren’t saying a word. That’s why it’s important to keep a routine going in a time of Bravo Sierra like we are all going through now. I miss that human connection, that feeling of vibing in a brilliant conversation while playing a board game or cards on a porch. IMHO, we would ALL benefit from doing that. No news, no gossip, just analyzing theories that were brought up by brilliant minds before us still waiting to be proven, even if in quantum physics. Some might read this and think I’m lonely, but really, I think all of us are feeling alone right now.

     Well, it’s business as usual in the mediocrity that we know as Mainstream media for failing to give us what we need to know, what is not a distraction, and what should be in the news. Unless our last name is Biden, Harris, Trump, Pense, or anyone else in government, you and I aren’t important enough to mention. We are neck deep in a political election year and it’s so bad that we are choking on the back-and-forth between the two parties that there isn’t any talk about the other political candidates running for office. There’s an old saying that whoever controls the media, controls the narrative. So if you control the narrative, you control how people think, react, what they do or feel. Needless to say, it seems the Democratic party is in control of about 70% of all the media, including newspaper, digital, broadcasting TV and radio. Within the first three minutes of any news source, you will be able to determine what side they are on, what agenda their pushing, and you will be damned if your opinion is different that theirs.

     However, in my social circles, limited as it may be, we are able to make sense and avoid the Bravo Sierra of their agenda / spin on the days current event. Over all, the media does a great job at beating down it’s viewers / listeners with revolving versions over the same topic. It’s just as bad if not worse on social media. Twitter and Facebook, both, will call you out, claim you are promoting fake news, and remove your post, if they don’t block you for a period of time, or eliminate you completely. Recently I tested the response time of Facebook by posting a fake tweet from President Trump. I found a Tweet generator online (https://faketrumptweet.com/). It wasn’t anything that contained profanity (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3776351555715167). Just over two hours after it was posted, I got one of those dark screens covering the post and a link to a story about President Trump saying something that had NOTHING to do with what I posted. It wasn’t a news story at all. It was just a screenshot I took of this fake tweet I created on a website. I didn’t list the website, it was just a picture with no text. Facebook couldn’t handle it and lost their minds. I contacted Facebook and told them what we going on. I didn’t hear anything back from them. However, later on that night, they removed the story that was linked to the “fact check” but left the gray cover over the picture.

    Speaking about checking facts, where is the outrage for little 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant (https://www.wral.com/father-of-slain-5-year-old-everybody-loved-cannon-he-lit-up-the-room/19233827/)? Black Lives Matter will burn down a section of town for George Floyd, but what about when a black man goes and needlessly ends the life of a little boy for no reason? Violent Protesters / Rioters will set blockade a part of a city, claim it as their own, and the mayor, not to forget the governor, will stop the federal police from removing them to restore order in the name of racial injustice, but what about when a black male shoots a white 5-year-old child point blank in the head for no reason? Have you heard about this story in the news yet? You probably haven’t and it’s a damn shame too! I guess if the colors were reversed, the media would be all over it like white on rice on a paper plate in the middle of a snow storm on a glacier. For the record, EVERYBODY’s life matters! Mainstream media needs to get off their fourth-point-of-contact and pop their head out of the sand in a hurry.

    On Sunday, August 8th, 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant was riding a bike along with his his 8- and 7-year-old sisters outside his father’s home when their 25-year-old next door neighbor walked up to him and shot him in the head, before running back to his own yard, witnesses told police. The boys father said he heard a gunshot as his fiancée walked into the house. He said “The first thing that went through my mind was maybe he just fell off his bike. The closer I got to him, the more I realized it was something far more serious.” The family has lived next door to shooter and his parents for eight years and even had him over for dinner on the Saturday before the shooting, noting that he and Sessoms sat on his porch and drank beer. He said he had never had any confrontations with Sessoms. After Cannon was shot, the father said, he scooped the wounded boy into his arms and like any father or mother would, he screamed “Somebody, please help me save my son! Help me save my son, please!” Another neighbor came over with an EMT bag, adding that he then fell to his knees and prayed aloud. Meanwhile, the neighbor who shot his son was pacing nearby, gun in hand, before driving off. Cannon was taken to Wilson Medical Center, where he died. The following night, about 24 hours after police said he shot and killed a 5-year-old boy, the 25-year-old shooter was apprehended in Goldsbor, North Carolina, by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, Goldsboro police, and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with first-degree murder and was being held without bond in the Wilson County jail. 

     Speaking of North Carolina, get ready to laugh over this story. A North Carolina woman claiming to be visiting her brothers house was shot with a BB gun over a misunderstanding, and the BB is still lodged in her arm (https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/woman-shot-with-bb-gun-removing-trump-sign-she-thought-was-wrong-yard/4IEHLEQNEJEOZCRLTWT2IOYG64/). The woman said she saw a political sign in what she thought was her brother’s front yard. When she went to remove it, his 76-year-old neighbor shot her with an air gun, striking her near the elbow. She thought the sign was placed in the yard by a prankster, as her brother never talks about politics. What’s more, the sign was placed closer to her brother’s front door than the neighbor’s house, and the exact property lines were unclear to her. The neighbor said he yelled at the woman to stop before he opened fire, although she said she didn’t hear him say anything. When she confronted the man, he encouraged her to call the police. The police showed up and somehow, so did one of the local tv station news crews. During a TV interview on the scene, she said “You can’t shoot people on your property,” she said. “He actually believed he could shoot me if I was on his property, and to me, that’s terrifying.”  Now, for a little side-bar, it is very legal to shoot someone / use of deadly force on your own property in the state of North Carolina under the “Castle Law” (https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/north-carolina/), however it does clarify if anyone can use a BB gun to get someone’s attention to stop stealing political signs or personal property. Now the man, who said he purchased the BB gun to scare away stray cats on his property, faces a misdemeanor assault charge. “You defend your property and you end up getting charged,” he said in response to the charges. The woman said she had no problem with the sign itself, she just didn’t want it on her brother’s property if it wasn’t his. She said she would have put it back if the man had just explained to her that it was his property. The man said he meant to hit the woman in the rear end. He’s also considering filing charges against the woman for attempted theft but has to wait until his assault charge is handled. His court date is set for November.

    Now, what I couldn’t figure out was how the local TV news media got there so fast with the police. Doing a little digging around for research, I found the answer I was looking for when I looked on youtube. Turns out the woman was a “former reporter” at WUSA channel 9 out of Washington D.C. and after seeing her video / another news report on youtube, apparently there’s an agenda (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miiExxp1Cfk). If you look up the phrase “Woman shot with BB gun for removing Trump sign from wrong yard” , you can find the video from WUSA that she made. Otherwise, you can visit WSOC TV and look up their videos. It’s obviously politically bias against President Trump and the 2nd Amendment to the Bill of Rights (https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment) all while trying to insult any law abiding God-fearing, red-blooded American by playing dumb. Look, I know she is a blond, but come on? Being in the media, she had to know how to milk the media and get a response from the masses. That’s it, plain and simple. If she honestly felt that way, then I don’t think she would want all that attention.
 

     Another thing that gets my agent orange all riled up is the fact that when, both, local and national news media talk about COVID-19, they usually throw in a variation of the phrase, “according to the CDC…” and then plaster a picture of Dr. Anthony Stephen Fauci across the page or screen. For the record, Dr. Fauci works with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/), not the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/). He has worked there since 1984 (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/director). The CDC and NIAID are two separate government agencies, each with different leadership and missions but both a part of the Health and Human Services umbrella. While NIAID is concerned with research only, the CDC is intended to be both a research institution and an active reporter and authority on public health and public safety. Therefore, Dr. Fauci doesn’t make these decisions nor should he be looked at as any figure of authority. Anytime he is shown when you reference the CDC, you make the argument null in void.

    Now, on the flip side of this whole argument about the media not doing its job, I do have to give credit where credit is due. This past Saturday, August 15th, President Trump was giving his press conference at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club. I was watching it live streaming online as he was asked the normal, average-type of questions the press ask during these events. I was thrown off when a member of the press ask a question that I considered “out of the blue”: Would President Trump “consider giving a pardon to Edward Snowden?” What was even more of a surprise is the reply President Trump said after admitting he didn’t know much about the case, but that he would consider pardoning Edward Snowden. For those of you who don’t know or understand the gravity of this possible situation, it’s a real game-changer on so many important levels. This would not only affect our national security, but the way the government monitors internet traffic, in which it already has since the news of the situation broke The Guardian and The Washington Post in June 2013 (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance?CMP=twt_gu). Call me a conspiracy nut if you want, but the fact is that Edward Snowden opened up the eyes of a lot of American citizens and those in special committees in congress too, in which got a lot of people doing wrong in trouble. Therefore, if you think President Trump has pissed off “a lot of rich people” in the Pharmaceutical industries recently (https://popculture.com/trending/news/donald-trump-says-may-be-last-time-americans-see-him-amid-enemies-out-there/), wait until you see who comes after him if or when Edward Snowden gets his pardon. 

     Recently, President Trump expressed that a lot of people thought Snowden was not being treated fairly by federal law enforcement and was going to look into a pardon for Edward Snowden (https://nypost.com/2020/08/13/trump-a-lot-of-people-think-edward-snowden-not-being-treated-fairly/). For those who don’t know the background of Edward Snowden, it’s a quite intriguing story, to say the least. In June 2013, Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, leaked thousands of top-secret documents, showing the agency’s vast domestic and international surveillance operations. The government agencies weren’t watching just the officials of other countries it deemed threats, but also many of our country’s allies as well as many citizens of our own county. Because he revealed all this information (and then some), he has been labeled as a “Government Whistleblower” and “Traitor” by many. Since the first leak, journalists around the world have released more than 7,000 top-secret documents, but some United States Government Officials think that’s only a fraction of the entire archive, thus making it unclear exactly how many he downloaded, but intelligence officials testified in 2014 that he accessed 1.7 million files (https://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-leaks-timeline-2016-9).

     As a result of what many would call a massive leak, then-current President Obama assigned two five-person teams to investigate the nation’s surveillance policy. At the end of the assessment, the issue of transparency was brought forth with several new laws and regulations were enacted to limit issues such as how long U.S. citizens’ data could be held, how data accidentally collected on Americans through the surveillance of foreigners could be used, but many experts still believe the improved surveillance practices did not address the question of invasion of privacy.

    In the same month as the leak, Edward Snowden was charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-charges-snowden-with-espionage/2013/06/21/507497d8-dab1-11e2-a016-92547bf094cc_story.html). Facing up to 30 years in prison, he left the country, originally traveling to Hong Kong and then to Russia, to avoid being extradited to the United States. In July 2013, a petition was started to have Snowden pardoned, but the government rejected it in 2015. Lisa Monaco, then-President Obama’s Advisor on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, said Snowden should return home to be “judged by a jury of his peers—not hide behind the cover of an authoritarian regime,” and stop “running away from the consequences of his actions” (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/no-pardon-for-nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-says-us-government-10427525.html) In 2017, a Moscow, Russia official announced in a Facebook post that extended his right to asylum until the end of this year while criticizing former CIA acting director Michael Morell for an opinion piece he wrote suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin should consider returning Snowden to the United States as “the perfect inauguration gift” to then President-elect Donald Trump (https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/18/europe/russia-snowden-asylum-extension/index.html). He released a memoir, “Permanent Record”, in 2019 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250237231).

    However, some congress members, including United States Senators from Kentucky, Rand Paul and Thomas Massie (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/aug/14/thomas-massie-urges-trump-to-pardon-nsa-leaker-edw/), have encouraged President Trump to pardon Snowden. In a tweet, Senator Paul said that documents leaked by Edward Snowden showed “[James] Clapper and [James] Comey…were illegally spying on Americans.” In a 2013 tweet, before President Trump even considered running for the Presidency, he tweeted: “Snowden is a spy who should be executed-but if it and he could reveal Obama’s records, I might become a major fan” (https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/395683702757662721). If that should still be the case, then maybe Edward Snowden has that information already and President Trump might grant him that pardon after all. Edward Snowden is currently living in Russia, where he was granted temporary asylum. Edward Snowden said he would return to the U.S. if he could be granted a fair trial-by-jury.

    On the news of hearing of President Trump possibly pardoning him, Edward Snowden tweeted out “The last time we heard a White House considering a pardon was 2016, when the very same Attorney General who once charged me conceded that, on balance, my work in exposing the NSA’s unconstitutional system of mass surveillance had been ‘a public service’“ (https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1294226668412899328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1294226668412899328%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmodo.com.au%2F2020%2F08%2Ftrump-hints-hes-open-to-pardoning-edward-snowden%2F). Many people following and supporting him are taking this a new hope for justice finally about to be served. Even if President Trump doesn’t officially pardon him, but at least gives him what he originally asked for: A fair trial by jury of his peers. That’s all Edward Snowden wanted before he would be willing to return to the United States. The guarantee of all United States citizens to have a fair trial. 

    Now, there’s another name I want to bring up that the mainstream news seems to have buried because he’s been doing much better job than they have when it comes to keeping transparency: Julian Assange. You remember him? He’s the WikiLeaks founder who has also for some time had to hide in asylum for his life in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid onward extradition to the US from Sweden for sexual offence allegations dating back to 2010, which he has always denied. In November 2019, Swedish authorities dropped the rape allegations, but he was jailed for 50 weeks last April after breaching his bail conditions when the asylum period granted to him expired. He has released into a maximum security jail since April 2019 and has missed several recent hearings because of “respiratory problems”.  

     Julian Assange is wanted in the US for allegedly conspiring with army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chelsea-Manning) to expose military secrets between January and May 2010. A US grand jury has indicted him on 18 charges (17 of which fall under the Espionage Act) including conspiracy to receive, obtain and disclose classified diplomatic and military documents. This past Friday, August 14th, a day before President Trump confessed the idea of looking into Edward Snowden’s case, the United States government to lodge new charges against him with allegations that he conspired with others to obtain US government information by encouraging computer hacking (https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252487666/US-decision-to-file-new-charges-against-Julian-Assange-astonishing-and-potentially-abusive-court). Basically, he was charged by the United States government for leaking more “secrets” that they didn’t want you to know about and is currently going through a legal process to get him extradited to the United States to face charges.

   Julian Assange’s lawyer told the court that the WikiLeaks founder had not seen new material submitted by the US, including a 33-page affidavit and said the new material added a “considerable amount” of narrative background and collateral conduct to the earlier indictment against him. She said the US had served evidence far too late, after the defence had already served its entire case. The US government started assembling its case before December 2017 and was able to deliver an opening note in July 2019 and opened its full case in detail on February 24th of this year. A psychiatric report received by the defense showed that Julian Assange’s condition may have declined over the last few weeks. The judge said that, in principle, the extradition hearing could use live-streaming video for specific individuals outside the jurisdiction who cannot come to court because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Assange’s defense team have until August 21st to decide whether to apply to postpone his extradition hearing that is set for September 7th.

     You maybe asking yourself why should all this matter right now? Why should anyone care about what is going on with these two “Traitors” who broke the federal law multiple times? The answer to the first question is because it’s an election year: Anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, can and will happen. The answer to the second question is because these cases have serious consequences if they go either way. In other words, if Eric Snowden does get his pardon or at least a guarantee of a fair trial by jury (that is important here), it will lead to possibly more exposure to what is going on against the American citizens and allies around the world. I’m talking real security concerns and if the people behind the curtains don’t want that exposed, what do you think they will do to prevent it? A very similar situation can be said about Julian Assange’s case as well. However, if the United States are still bringing up charges against him, I don’t see the President doing much to stop it or interfere in the process. However, WikiLeaks is still a very powerful tool against those who don’t want you to know what is going on behind the walls of government. So if the United States government can shut down the founder of WikiLeaks, it too would have very strong consequences to everyone, be it good or bad.

    Again, I remind you, who controls the media, controls the narrative. So if whoever controls the narrative, they control how people think, react, what they do or feel. Sit back and ponder for a moment, who do you think controls the media? Just as important, why? Finally ask yourself, what are you going to do about it?

    Hollywood and politicians have been strange bedfellows since the dawn of the silver screen. Politicians and movie stars have intermingled for about a century now. It’s become nothing new and the fake news / tabloid hounds go crazy over the slightest hint of a possibility that a politician and any kind of movie worker is having a brief encounter in a broom closet somewhere. Probably one of the most famous affairs including former President of the United States, John F. Kennedy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/john-f-kennedy/) and a blond bombshell movie star, Marilyn Monroe (http://marilynmonroe.com/). Not that I was alive then, but that is one of the most intriguing stories that I enjoy hearing about whenever the topic of famous affairs is brought up. Probably because there were no politics involved. Unlike today, we hear about politicians getting called out because of some scandal or political party wants to cause damage to the other’s reputation.

    Anyone still recall adult film actress Stormy Daniels vs President Donald Trump? (https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2018/10/15/stormy-daniels-poses-topless-in-the-cut/23561527/) Yeah, that didn’t end well in Stormy’s favor (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/11/judge-orders-porn-star-stormy-daniels-to-pay-trump-attorneys-fees.html). It ended up being much worse for her creepy lawyer after reports came out that he was colluding with President Trump’s lawyers (https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-stormy-davidson-cohen-20180606-story.html) while rumors run rampant that she accused him of pushing her to sue President Trump. Later, the attorney was proven guilty of trying to extort Nike for millions of dollars (https://news.yahoo.com/michael-avenatti-former-lawyer-stormy-044211487.html). He is now trying to push back his sentencing out of fears of COVID-19 (https://nypost.com/2020/07/15/michael-avenatti-wants-sentencing-pushed-back-50-days/). This case was obviously different that when former President Bill Clinton was found guilty of lying to congress over his steamy activity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmjTMNvH6eI) with former White House intern, now turned writer and activist, Monica Lewinsky (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Monica-Lewinsky). However, people died then, and people are getting dead now. I’ll get back to that part in a moment….

    It was during time of Stormy vs Trump when the whole “#MeToo” movement (https://metoomvmt.org/) begun to pick up steam in the press, even though the hashtag has been around since 2006 with it’s start on early social media platforms such as MySpace (https://myspace.com/), back when it was actually good and not the mess it is now after the founder, Tom, sold it. I only mention “Me Too” because they seem to be getting the most attention in the media with their biggest noisemaking campaign to date against Hollywood film producer, Harvey Weinstein (https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/us/harvey-weinstein-sentence/index.html). However, watchdog / activist groups similar to “Me Too” have been around for some time, but what are they actually watching or getting active about? In my experience and research, a lot of these organizations are politically slanted. It seems the only way they can get any notoriety is when they activate against a person of the opposite political or social spectrum. In other words, if you are on the extreme fringe of the left or right, you are going to target someone or organization on the opposing side whose views are different of what you believe, therefore getting the mainstream press attention. Who fuels that disagreement? The Mainstream Media! It’s what sizzles their bacon in the morning.

    Right now there are many sides that are all getting sizzled in the media. When COVID-19 wasn’t good enough, the news media moved to the rioters across the major cities in the United States. All claiming the name of racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd. When the riots and small urban autonomous zones became to fade, now you got a new thing to stay distracted / riled up about: Mark and Patricia McCloskey getting charged by a Circuit Attorney in St. Louis, Missouri, after the couple were seen pointing guns at violent protesters as they marched past their home and onto their property after literally tearing down the gate to the guarded community on the way to the mayor’s home a few doors down late last month (https://www.kmov.com/news/charges-filed-against-mark-and-patricia-mccloskey/article_0777100a-cac9-11ea-8b3f-bf5d993f150e.html). I don’t think it’s going to stick because the Missouri Governor has already said he plans to pardon them if it goes to court, based on their “stand their ground” laws (https://statelaws.findlaw.com/missouri-law/missouri-self-defense-laws.html). The Missouri Attorney General said in a statement that he filed a brief requesting that the charges be dismissed. This, too, will be in the media for a bit simply because it links to the case of rioters for George Floyds murder. If you don’t know the George Floyd case by now, then you should do some real research on that and we have the links provided on our blog from previous episodes of “Bravo Sierra with Big John”. I do the research and provide the links so you can see, hear, and read the exact same information from the sources I get.

    However, don’t let this be a distraction of another issue going on right now because the timing is right for those who are left out of the media to act in preventing what will eventually be in the news cycle and once that happens, the results will be disastrous for some pretty big names in Hollywood and in Washington, D.C., to say the least. Since the arrest and death of Financial Manager, Jeffrey Epstein, new evidence keeps seeping out of the cracks, each one feeds into another idea or conspiracy to some (https://www.foxnews.com/us/60-minutes-obtains-graphic-photos-of-jeffrey-epstein-shortly-after-his-death). Others are waiting to collect enough evidence to make a solid case against those involved with what appears to be a hidden organization to promote sex with underage children, sometimes in the states and other times in a foreign land. It seems funny that Hollywood will make movies about creeps like this guy and yet in the background it is promoted and acceptable actions / lifestyle to some of the elite. I’m not saying everyone who wants to become a star in tinsil down has to abide by the unwritten rules that govern the heritage that has become, I’m just saying that some of the biggest stars and movie makers are not stopping it from happening.

    Let me give you a little background on Jeffrey Epstein as a grown person and financial guru. In the early 2000s, he expanded his portfolio to include financing media companies, developing securities funding and investing in hedge funds and startups. He also created his own nonprofit, the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, to donate millions to institutions like Harvard University. However and strangely enough, no one has uncovered the various sources of his exceptional wealth. It is rumored that his net worth being touted in the billions, he live a lavish life and mingled with the world’s elite, which included the likes of former United States President Bill Clinton, Microsoft Founder and former CEO Bill Gates, Actor Kevin Spacey, Alan Dershowitz, President Donald Trump, and Prince Andrew (fyi: has been mired in controversy ever since a young woman who was procured by Epstein told the media she was forced to have sexual relations multiple times with the prince when she was a teenager, starting in 1999). Over the years, it has been reported that Jeffrey Epstein provided underage girls and young women to his powerful friends and installed vast surveillance systems throughout his properties located in New York City, New York, Palm Beach, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to record their sexual activities as a means of blackmail. With his business operations set up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, he bought an 72-acre island called “Little St. James” for just shy of $8 million in 1998. It is alleged that this is where he operated his sex trafficking activities and where most of his pedophilic acts occurred. Some of the youngest girls who were trafficked onto the island were said to be 12 years old (https://www.thecut.com/2019/08/jeffrey-epstein-virgin-islands-little-st-james-house.html).

    Like his good pal, Bill Gates (https://australiannationalreview.com/health/the-gates-family-eugenics-and-covid-19/), Jeffrey Epstein was a believer in eugenics and transhumanism. He bought a ranch near Stanley, New Mexico, in which was later dubbed as the “Baby Ranch” where he intended to “seed the human race with his DNA” by inseminating at least 20 women (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/business/jeffrey-epstein-eugenics.html). One person who also believed in transhumanism said that he discussed the financier’s interest in cryonics, an unproven science in which people’s bodies are frozen to be brought back to life in the future. Jeffrey Epstein told this person that he wanted his head and penis to be frozen. In 2005 the parents of a 14-year-old girl told authorities in Palm Beach, Florida, that Epstein had sexually abused their daughter (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article221404845.html) . That investigation uncovered dozens of young women and minors who had allegedly been sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein, but he was ultimately charged on just two counts: soliciting a minor for prostitution and procuring minors for prostitution. Eventually, he cut a “sweetheart deal” with Florida authorities after agreeing to plead guilty to the felony prostitution charges. In 2008 he served 13 of his 18-month sentence in prison with a generous work release and was ordered to pay three dozen of his victims in restitution and register his name on the sex offender rolls. It was later revealed that Alexander Acosta, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the time, felt he had no choice but to offer the lenient deal, because according to Acosta, he was told that Jeffrey Epstein was secretly working for the government as an intelligence agency asset (https://www.theblaze.com/glenn-radio/acosta-epstein-intelligence), resulting in making him slightly untouchable to local law enforcement.

    However, it all ended when authorities in Florida arrested him for suspicion of sex trafficking minors. He plead not guilty, his bail was denied, and he was sent to the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York City to await trial where on July 23, 2019, he was discovered with neck injuries in his cell and was placed on suicide watch. On the morning of August 10, 2019, his lifeless body was found. The strange circumstances surrounding his death were arguably suspicious: the guards had reportedly fallen asleep while on duty and failed to check on Epstein at the appointed times and the cameras monitoring his jail cell were not working (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/nyregion/william-barr-jeffrey-epstein-suicide-investigation.html). The New York City medical examiner concluded Epstein committed suicide by hanging, but the family hired hired their own pathologist who believed the evidence suggested he was more likely murdered. That autopsy results showed a different side of the story that the New York City Medical Examiner, including various neck bones were broken and among them, the hyoid bone, which is more commonly broken in homicidal strangulation cases.

    With Jeffrey Epstein now dead, many thought the that case was over and the other criminals would be set free from worry about them being snitched on in case he thought about saving himself. However, on July 2, 2020, Ghislaine Maxwell (a.k.a. “G-Max” when moving around money), a British socialite and ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Bradford, New Hampshire (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/02/ghislaine-maxwell-accused-jeffrey-epstein-procurer-caught-in-1-million-home.html). She was charged with six counts including transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and perjury. She pleaded not guilty and was denied bail. Although I don’t feel that is going to be enough for those who once enjoyed the services of her former employer and boyfriend. Infact, I’m willing to say those listed in Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous black book (https://gawker.com/here-is-pedophile-billionaire-jeffrey-epsteins-little-b-1681383992) will need a good lawyer if “G-Max” gets the sudden urge to save her own skin. In this little “Black Book” , there are some very high profile names from different backgrounds, including the Prince Andrew (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12017031/prince-andrew-epstein-mansion-same-time-victim-raped/), Bill Clinton (https://nypost.com/2020/01/09/photos-show-bill-clinton-ghislaine-maxwell-on-epsteins-lolita-express-jet/), and Alan Dershowitz (https://www.thedailybeast.com/second-woman-says-jeffrey-epstein-directed-her-to-have-sex-with-alan-dershowitz).

    Even though they all hung around with Jeffrey Epstein, somehow they avoided getting into any trouble. Other associates in the “Black Book” include:

• Alec Baldwin (actor),
• Andrew Cuomo (Governor of New York)
• Bill Cosby (comedian, convicted rapist),
• Charlie Rose (attended a dinner party at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2010 following Epstein’s release from jail),
• Chelsea Handler (actress / comedian),
• Chuck Schumer (Democratic Senate Minority Leader and recipient of thousands of dollars worth of political donations from Epstein),
• David Koch (industrialist),
• Dustin Hoffman (Actor),
• Elizabeth Hurley (Actress),
• George Stephanopoulos (ABC Network News Anchor and Bill Clinton’s former communications director),
• Henry Kissinger (Secretary of State and national-security adviser)
• John Kerry (former secretary of state and recipient of thousands of dollars in political donations from Epstein),
• Katie Couric (television and online journalist, presenter, and author – attended a dinner party at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2010 following Epstein’s release from jail),
• Larry Summers (served as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton and as director of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama),
• Michael Bloomberg (Billionaire, private-jet enthusiast, former mayor of New York City),
• Mick Jagger (Lead Singer for the Rolling Stones / Musician),
• Richard Johnson (New York Post gossip journalist),
• Rodney Slater (served as secretary of transportation in the Clinton administration),
• Rupert Murdoch (Media mogul),
• Sandy Berger (Bill Clinton’s former national security adviser),
• Stephen Hawking (Physicist – Epstein is said to have paid for a submarine to be modified for Professor Hawking, who had never been underwater before),
• Steve Bannon (Former White House chief strategist),
• Ted Kennedy (late Senator from Massachusetts),
• Tony Blair (former British prime minister),
• and more (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/jeffrey-epstein-high-society-contacts.html)

    Believe it or not, the book was once up for sale back in 2009 by the former house manager, Alfredo Rodriguez. As you may imagine, all types of people you might expect a billionaire to know turned up in court proceedings to fight it. In the book, it showed names, phone numbers (both cell and home phones), addresses, and ect… This will be a major shakeup in Hollywood, the entertainment industry in general, and in Washington D.C. if any of this can be confirmed by Ghislaine Maxwell. If she is convicted, which it looks like she has a very strong case against her, she is facing a maximum of 35 years in federal prison. My guess is that if she starts naming people, confirming what is in that black book, cooperating with authorities, she may get off on a lighter sentence including paying fines and restitution, but then that leaves her open for the abused people to sue her. She will be hounded for her actions for the rest of her days. Her defense attorney recently asked the judge to issue a gag order barring prosecutors and attorneys for witnesses from making public comments on her criminal case, in which she is accused of helping Jeffrey Epstein procure underage girls to be sexually abused. That same judge ordered Ghislaine Maxwell to be held in jail without bail pending trial next year, citing her extreme risk of flight (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/22/ghislaine-maxwell-gag-order-sought-in-jeffrey-epstein-sex-crime-case.html). 

    By now you are probably okay with her being in jail. I agree with you 100 percent! Not so much to anyone’s surprise, a lawyer representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein says he doesn’t believe Ghislaine Maxwell “is going to get out of jail alive” (https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/she-knows-too-much-fears-ghislaine-maxwell-will-die-in-jail/news-story/58b140cf02f1a5727ee783a4ae4e8413). The Lawyer said there are fears among Epstein’s victims Ms Maxwell “knows too much” and there are people who want to silence her. That’s something we’ve come to expect considering how her former boyfriend ended up after he got put in jail. However, as we may have already seen some of the destructive nature that is going to come out of this and the sad truth is that we haven’t even begun the trial yet. Over this past weekend, there was a shooting that occurred at a Judges home where the husband and their son was shot up. Unfortunately, the son didn’t survive the injuries (https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-07-19/us-district-judge-esther-salas-son-killed-husband-shot).

    In a strange twist, this judge was recently assigned a case against Deutsche Bank involving Epstein. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of all those who purchased Deutsche Bank securities between November 7, 2017 and July 6, 2020. According to the lawyers who are representing the clients, the lawsuit focuses on whether Deutsche Bank and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose a number of issues, including whether it failed to remediate deficiencies related to internal procedures. That possible failure may have led to the bank failing to properly monitor customers it deemed high-risk, including Jeffrey Epstein. Deutsche Bank settled with the New York State Department of Financial Services earlier this month, agreeing to pay $150 million. The bank also issued a statement saying it made a “critical mistake” taking Epstein on as a client (https://www.wral.com/deutsche-bank-fined-150-million-for-failures-linked-to-jeffrey-epstein-relationship/19177892/). 

You may think I’m crazy for saying this, but I can’t shake the feeling that this has a lot to do with the Jeffrey Epstein situation. There’s obviously a LOT of money involved with this. Sex Trafficking is a huge cash cow for those involved, if they can stay below radar. Once their name and face pops up, it’s over and the crap rolls downhill from there. It’s been proven that Jeffrey Epstein made his multi-Millions (possibly Billions) of dollars of of the sex trade. What has yet been confirmed / proven are which names in the black book has been involved with the disgusting acts. If “G-Max” can officially confirm, and she looks to be the only one left who can, then be ready because it will not be pretty. Hell, it’s already not pretty, but it will be worse once those names become confirmed. What I don’t understand is why are they waiting so long for the trial to begin? Is it because of COVID-19? Is it because that was the earliest court date opening they had? Or is it for security reasons to make sure Ghislaine Maxwell is safe from those who want to do her harm?

    Think about it: the people who don’t want that information to get out couldn’t get to his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, (who is heavily protected as she fears for her life while behind bars), so what if they went after the Federal Judge’s family? Even if it is strictly about the money, if you follow the trail of dollars, you will find who got paid, who did pay, and who is doing all the paying. No matter what your feelings are about her or Jeffrey Epstein, trust me when I say this just might have escalated things to a whole new level. This unfortunate situation, if anything, should convince the law that they are on the right path, Ghislaine Maxwell has some very high profile names that fear being outed, and more protection needs to be added to everyone involved. This is NOT the time to “defund the police”. By the way, I have two words if anything happens to me for saying this: Hillary Clinton.