Arduino ID and CH32F103C8T6

(if you are catching up, start here: initial Arduino w/STM post)

OK, so I was looking to get a second STM32F103C8T6 board and a second STM32F411CEU6 board as well. I wanted to have two each so I could keep the latest circuit and code build on one board while the other was used to work on the next part of the project. Once tested, it would be rolled into the primary and then on to the next bit. Well, when my F103 order arrived, it was actually a CH32F103C8T6. I can not tell if I made a mistake and ordered the wrong board or if I was shipped the wrong board. The vendor was able to produce a invoice copy (of course) that showed the order was for the CH32F103C8T6, so I am stuck with it, which I expected as it would no way be worth shipping it back for a replacement. Figured I would keep it to see "how bad it could be" and just place another order for the STM.

Did some searching and it seems these boards can be actually fairly good and compatible with the STM boards or total crap. The one I wound up with is a blue/black-pill. It has the F103C8T6 chip by WCH and is on a blue circuit board but has the black pill push buttons for boot0 and NRST. It also has a USB-C connector.

I tried just hooking it up like the STM F103 and no luck.It came up as a universal serial bus unknown device. Then I figued what do I have to lose and connected it to the PC just like I connected the real Black-Pill. Used the ST-Link with the power disconnected and plugged in the USB-C connector. In Arduino, I selected the "Generic STM32F1 Series", "BluePill F103C8", set the rest up as normal and picked the upload method as "STM32CubeProgrammer (SWD)" (I also tried selecting "STLink" and think that worked better). This is the Cube results (the STLink results are lower down).

Sketch uses 23936 bytes (36%) of program storage space. Maximum is 65536 bytes.

Global variables use 3556 bytes (17%) of dynamic memory, leaving 16924 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 20480 bytes.

      -------------------------------------------------------------------

                       STM32CubeProgrammer v2.8.0                  

      -------------------------------------------------------------------

ST-LINK SN  : 36FF6C06344E393734192457
ST-LINK FW  : V2J29S7
Board       : --
Voltage     : 3.18V
SWD freq    : 4000 KHz
Connect mode: Under Reset
Reset mode  : Hardware reset
Device ID   : 0x410
Revision ID : Rev B
Device name : STM32F101/F102/F103 Medium-density
Flash size  : 64 KBytes
Device type : MCU
Device CPU  : Cortex-M3
BL Version  : 0x__

Memory Programming ...

Opening and parsing file: STM32_Blink.ino.bin

  File          : STM32_Blink.ino.bin

  Size          : 24232 Bytes

  Address       : 0x08000000 

Erasing memory corresponding to segment 0:

Erasing internal memory sectors [0 23]

Download in Progress:

File download complete

Time elapsed during download operation: 00:00:34.850

RUNNING Program ... 

  Address:      : 0x8000000

Application is running, Please Hold on...

Start operation achieved successfully

Using STLink, got these results:

Sketch uses 14804 bytes (22%) of program storage space. Maximum is 65536 bytes.

Global variables use 2072 bytes (10%) of dynamic memory, leaving 18408 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 20480 bytes.

STM32 ST-LINK CLI v3.3.0.0

STM32 ST-LINK Command Line Interface

ST-LINK SN: 36FF6C06344E393734192457

ST-LINK Firmware version: V2J29S7 (Need Update)

Connected via SWD.

SWD Frequency = 4000K.

Target voltage = 3.2 V

Connection mode: Normal

Reset mode: Software reset

Device ID: 0x410 

Device flash Size: 64 Kbytes

Device family: STM32F10xx Medium-density

Loading file...

Flash Programming:

  File : c:\TEMPFI~1\arduino_build_155575\STM32_Blink.ino.bin

  Address : 0x08000000

Memory programming...

 0%������������������������� 51%������������������������� 100%

Memory programmed in 21s and 500ms.

Programming Complete.

MCU Reset.

Application started.

In addition, if you are having issues getting the program loaded via Arduino BUT you can connect successfully to the board using the ST-Link, you can load your Arduino sketch that way. Verify your sketch to make sure it is error free. Then select "Sketch", "Export compiled Binary". You will find the BIN file in the sketch directory. In my case that is "C:\Users\{login}\Documents\Arduino\STM32_Blink" and the binary was called "STM32_Blink.ino.BLUEPILL_F103C8.bin". Just launch ST-LINK, connect to the board, open the BIN and do the "program & verify". When I initially connect to the CH32F103C8T6, ST-Link displays:

21:26:14 : ST-LINK SN : 36FF6C06344E393734192457

21:26:14 : V2J29S7

21:26:14 : Connected via SWD.

21:26:14 : SWD Frequency = 4,0 MHz.

21:26:14 : Connection mode : Normal.

21:26:14 : Debug in Low Power mode enabled.

21:26:14 : Device ID:0x410 

21:26:14 : Device flash Size : 64KBytes

21:26:14 : Device family :STM32F10xx Medium-density

When the BIN file is opened, it shows:

21:27:46 : [STM32_Blink.ino.BLUEPILL_F103C8.bin] opened successfully.

21:27:46 : [STM32_Blink.ino.BLUEPILL_F103C8.bin] checksum : 0x0024D8A5 

After uploading the BIN, it shows:

21:28:33 : Memory programmed in 35s and 328ms.

21:28:33 : Verification...OK

21:28:33 : Programmed memory Checksum: 0x0024D8A5

Am still "playing" with the process/sequence but it looks to be working/workable. I will finish connecting the IC pins and likely use this as the second board until the "real" one comes in but so far it is "compatible" enough for what I am doing and the specs for memory and speed match so we shall see.

Update 21/09/15:

Did some simple interfacing and programming to this board using 2 sets of status light LED boards (each board has 6 LEDs that you can drive from the board pins). I first wired it all up using the STM32F411. It works completely and as expected. I then swapped out the F411 for the CH32F103C8T6 board. The sketch did need some minor tweaking on the pin assignments (as it would have if I were to swap in an F103) but other than that it compiled, loaded, and ran just as the BlackPill did. When I get a chance I will do an STM-F103 to the CH-F103 compare but it will need to wait for now as I don't have a free STM-F103 at the moment.

It does "appear" to be circuit board compatible as the various pins are labeled the same as the STM32F103 I have but I would like to test/verify some to be sure.

Arduino IDE and the STM32F411CEU6 (Black Pill)

Many folks that make use of the Arduino platform for development, experimentation, and creation reach a point where they feel they have outgrown the various Arduino boards that are available (Uno being one such VERY popular board). Many of those folks have migrated to the more powerful STM32 microcontrollers. Many of these STM boards can be used with the Arduino IDE, some more easily than others.

I originally started using the STM32F103C8T6 board (also known as the "Blue Pill"). I really like the enhanced number of GPIO pins available as well as the higher processor speed. There are a number of videos and posts on how to get the F103 working with Arduino 1.8.15 IDE and they are [for the most part] straight forward and easy to follow. Once done, you can connect the F103 to your PC via USB and directly download your programs from the IDE. Be sure to follow one of the more recent posts/videos as some of the earlier ones now use outdated libraries/definitions. The board manager file I show below also works with the Blue Pill boards.

After I got that all up and running, I decided that for one specific project, I would prefer to have the greater speed of the STM32F411CEU6 (or "Black Pill") board and set out to get that working. My journey was not nearly so straight forward as it was getting the F103 connected.

Hopefully, the following steps will save others the weeks I took to get this figured out and back to the entire point of this exercise (the initial project). I was able to reproduce these steps with both the 1.8.15 and the 2.0 beta of the Arduino IDE. Pick your poison, the process is the same. If you already use a Blue Pill, you will see a LOT of overlap (at least early on) in the steps for supporting the Black Pill. Also, as I noted earlier, there are plenty of sources for getting the Blue Pill working with Arduino, just duckduckgo "STM32F103" and "Arduino" and follow those steps.

To add support for the STM32F411CEUT6 (or similar Black Pill boards) you will need:

• An STM32F411CEU6 or similar "Black Pill" board.
• An ST-Link interface with appropriate cables.
• If you don't already have one be sure to review posts/videos on HOW to connect this interface device to the STM32 boards, connecting it wrong can fry your board.
• The STM32CubeIDE and STM32 ST-Link Utility software
• A USB cable compatible with your chosen board.

Now folllow these steps:

• Download and install the STM software (if you have not already done so).
• If you have a Blue Pill you should already have these as they were used to install the boot loader - the Black Pill boards already contain a boot loader so no need here.
• Start the Arduino IDE.
• Load a sketch (like blink or whatever).
• Go to "Files", "Preferences", and select the far right graphic for "Additional Boards Manager URLs".
• If it is not already listed in the list, on a new line add the following URL:

https://github.com/stm32duino/BoardManagerFiles/raw/master/package_stmicroelectronics_index.json

• Go to "Tools", "Board", "Boards Manager" and search for "STM32" (or scroll to bottom of the list).
• You want to install the "STM32 MCU based boards" by STMicroelectronics ver 2.0.0
• Once installed you want to "select your board" by going to "Tools", "Board", and under "Boards Manager..." select:
• STM32 boards groups (Board to be selected from Tools submenu 'Board part number')
• This will open a list of boards, I selected "BlackPill F411CE"
• I also tried the "Generic F411CEUx" and that worked but generated a LOT of compiler warnings so I will stick with the BlackPill selection.
• Go to "Tools", "U(S)ART support":
• Enabled (generic 'Serial')
• Go to "Tools", "USB support":
• CDC (generic 'Serial' supersede U(S)ART)
• Go to "Tools", "USB speed":
• Low/Full Speed
• Go to "Tools", "Optimize":
• Smallest (-0s default)
• Go to "Tools", "C Runtime Library":
• Newlib Nano (default)
• Connect the STM32F411 to the PC using the ST-Link interface device.
• Go to "Tools", "Upload method":
• STMCubeProgrammer (SWD)

Now just compile and upload your sketch. Yes it actually was that easy! Your results should look something like this:

Sketch uses 23552 bytes (4%) of program storage space. Maximum is 524288 bytes.
Global variables use 3868 bytes (2%) of dynamic memory, leaving 127204 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 131072 bytes.
      -------------------------------------------------------------------
                       STM32CubeProgrammer v2.8.0                  
      -------------------------------------------------------------------

ST-LINK SN  : 36FF6C06344E393734192457
ST-LINK FW  : V2J29S7
Board       : --
Voltage     : 3.18V
SWD freq    : 4000 KHz
Connect mode: Under Reset
Reset mode  : Hardware reset
Device ID   : 0x431
Revision ID : Rev A
Device name : STM32F411xC/E
Flash size  : 512 KBytes
Device type : MCU
Device CPU  : Cortex-M4
BL Version  : 0x__


Memory Programming ...
Opening and parsing file: STM32_Blink.ino.bin
  File          : STM32_Blink.ino.bin
  Size          : 23996 Bytes
  Address       : 0x08000000


Erasing memory corresponding to segment 0:
Erasing internal memory sectors [0 1]
Download in Progress:


File download complete
Time elapsed during download operation: 00:00:00.745

RUNNING Program ...
  Address:      : 0x8000000
Application is running, Please Hold on...

Start operation achieved successfully

• The board will immediately start running the uploaded program.
• No jumpers to change, no push buttons to set, nothing.

If you also want to use the serial connection for monitoring / debugging just do the following additional steps:

• Be SURE to disconnect the 3.3v connection between the ST-Link and the F411, do this FIRST. This is CRITICAL - if you don't do this you WILL fry your board as it will get power from multiple sources at the same time.
• Now (once the ST-Link power cable is disconnected) just plug the USB cable to the PC and the STM32F411 while leaving the ST-Link in place (with NO ST-Link power cable).
• This USB connection will appear as "STM Serial" on a com port and should automatically be selected by Arduino.
• Just open the Arduino serial monitor and you should see your output there.

That is all there is to it! Have fun with your "Black Pill" board!

 The minimum wage, in one cartoon...

Trump is SOOOO stupid! Look how STUPID Trump is!

This is just getting so friggen tiring AND boring. Every figgen time there is a republican in the White House the media eventually gets around to how friggen STUPID the President is. How he is so backward and doesn't understand technology. Such a dumb hick.

They did this with Bush when they went on and on about how he didn't know how a grocery checkout scanner worked, which was a lie of course but who [that REALLY matters] cares, right? It made a GREAT story.

Well we have a republican in the White House again and so it is time to drag out the "look how stupid he is" meme. The latest example is Slate with their "Two Years Into His Presidency and Donald Trump Still Doesn't Use Computers" story.

What an OUTSTANDING, fact based, hard hitting exposé,

There are just a few problems though, for any sane person that is.

#1, this photo that they used in the story:

what pray tell is that off to the side there? Not a coffee machine, not a basketball... Why it is a laptop computer! Sure it could be a prop but why bother?

#2, Though one can not be sure where Trump does it, he does tweet a LOT. He is doing that on some device. It might not be a desktop or laptop computer but it must be at the very least a tablet/iPad or a "smart-phone". Most people understand that a modern smart phone is a computer.

#3, Trump often tweets about what he sees/hears/reads on the news, on YouTube, and on Google. He accesses those "feeds" somehow...

Now to be fair, we are given some supporting evidence for the story's suposition:

1#, We have a tweet by a White House reporter:

He doesn’t use a computer. Someone is doing the googling but not him. https://t.co/8QAdK7s69t

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 28, 2018

Well, it is hard to argue with a NYT reporter on what the President is or is not capable of as they follow him around 24/7 right? And the NYT has absolutely NO reason in the world to make up something negative about the President, right?

#2, We are presented with another tweet from another reporter, this one ABC:

ABC News reporter Tara Palmeri, who also covers the White House, further explained that Trump sometimes reads on an iPad, which he refers to as “the flat one.”

sometimes Trump reads things on a iPad that he calls "the flat one" https://t.co/ZnbWRRSXY4

— Tara Palmeri (@tarapalmeri) August 28, 2018

Again, there is ABSOLUTELY no reason to suspect a ABC reporter for texting out something negative about this President, is there?

We are also treated to this insightful passage:

But more critically, this once again raises the question of whether the president of the United States knows how to use a laptop, and the answer seems to be “nope.” This is hardly the first time Trump’s tech habits, or lack thereof, have been talked about. As recently as 2016, it was reported that Trump rarely uses a computer: He preferred to read paper newspapers and magazines and to have emails printed out for him. He has Barron for the cyber, remember?

Based on this mountain of evidence this from Slate, you would have thought that Trump had replied to a question about a deleted/wiped server with "What, you mean with a cloth?" (nice Clinton dig, right?)

Look, maybe Trump uses a computer, maybe he does not. According to Forbes, at the start of 2017 Trump was worth $3.1 billion (with a B). The guy might just know a thing or two about how a business is run. He may have had a little bit of experience dealing with Government (at many levels), and may just understand the impact that Government, regulations, and taxes can have on business and the economy. With all that, do you honestly care if he knows how to install a Win10 service pack?

Lack of Agency

If one were to go by the way news stories are presented, over [let us say] the last 50 years, one could be forgiven for thinking that we already live in a "Skynet" world. It is amazing how many "things" do things. "Cars" run into buildings. "Guns" go off. knives cut people. All sorts of inanimate objects just up and decide to do stupid and/or harmful things.

Where is the individual human agency in all of this? In order to find responsible and/or culpable individuals, these arbitrators of truth need only find a way to be able to shift the blame to a conservative and/or Republican [or group there of] who in many cases take the blame for things that they were not even directly involved in.

Take for example the NRA. According to liberal/Democrat pundits and news media, the NRA is responsible for all mass shootings. In the case of the recent school shooting in Florida, apparently everyone from the FBI on down to the local school resource officer, all knew of this individual. Had been repeatedly warned by citizens of this individual and of his ill intent. Yet they all did NOTHING. The shooter committed his ugly act of violence and then every news person, liberal, and Democrat, quickly blamed the NRA and those evil gun owners for the disgusting acts of this individual.

Never mind that every level of Government knew of this "troubled" youth. Never mind that some [like the school resource officer] worked to shield this individual from accountability for prior bad acts. Never mind that those that have taken an oath to uphold the law and protect the populous [and are given arms with which to do so] chose to hid outside the building while unarmed adults and children attempted to protect and save the lives of others by acting as human shields and/or trying to stop the gunman. Nope. None of that matters. It is all the fault of those evil gun nuts and the NRA.

It is unimportant to these folks that the NRA is the oldest and [one of if not the] largest civil rights organization in the country. It is unimportant that the NRA worked/works to enable people of color to posses arms for self defense while the Democrats were working and continue to work to ensure they stay unarmed. Nor that as a group, members of the NRA are far more law abiding then the population at large (and CCW holders even more so). None of that matters.

We are told by these very same folks that only the police should have guns. That the average citizen can not be trusted with guns. Though if you listen to BLM, liberals, and Democrats, your average policeman is simply biding his time until he can gun down innocent person of color (but I digress).

So, where are the individual "people" and their agency in all of this?

On a related note, England (that once great country) has been held up by the American left as a model for America. A country that has seen the light on guns and [for all intent] has disarmed the population. Recently a retired couple was asleep in their home. The husband (of 78 years) heard a disturbance down stairs and went to investigate. He encountered two intruders burgling his home. He was accosted by one and taken into the kitchen where he continued to be threatened with a screw-driver, while his wife continued to sleep up stairs. When the other thief continued to ransack the home, the man got into a scuffle with the other [38 year old] thief. The elder managed to defend him self and stab the thief once with a kitchen knife. The two thieves fled. The injured man collapsed in the street, was taken to the hospital, and later died of his injury. The 78 year old was taken into custody and charged with murder. He may likely get off but he may not. THAT is what liberals want for America. They want you to cower in your home while thieves ransack the place and take what they will. They DON'T care if lose your property, your virtue (if you get raped), or your life. They want you defenseless and helpless. Do you?

Now THAT is badass!

Instead of being a "reporter"...

Instead of being a "reporter", she apparently chose to be a unpaid intern for the Clinton campaign while at the same time drawing a salary from the New York Times. At least that is the impression one gets from reading this excerpt of Amy Chozick's book "Chasing Hillary" published in Vanity Fair.

Either Amy did not go to "Journalism" school, journalism degrees are not what they once were, or both (never underestimate the power of AND). This sample reads like a teen-age girl's diary of a week-end sleep over at the house of the girl the other girls don't really like but feel obligated to go to cause she is the head cheer leader.

I am curious as to why (as an example) the revelations in this chapter were not submitted by her to her employer for publishing while she was on the campaign trail with Hillary. Was it because Amy did not think it was the "truth" her paper wanted? Was it because despite all she saw, she NEEDED Hillary to win cause it was time for a woman Democrat? Was it something else or all of the above? Did she and her associates think that if they just kept putting more lipstick on this pig that they could help drag her over the finish line? To a degree I can get that. I get wanting "your" candidate to win so badly that pushing the fantasy you have in your head over the reality you see and experience makes some sort of strange sense, to a 6 year old but not to an adult who is supposed to be a professional.

You wonder why the media is held in such disregard? Why the label "fake news" has stuck (and stings you all so much)? Read your own book with "new eyes". Compare that book with what was actually published for the "deplorables" to read as the campaign was on-going. This would be submitted as exhibit A.

As a grown up, you are expected to not be so blinded by your hopes that you can't see reality. If you had spent more time actually looking at your candidate, her actions, reactions, and history, you maybe would have been able to realize that she was not and is not anything like what you wanted (a similar thing can be said about all of Obama's fans as well).

Look at it from my perspective for a moment if you could. The media did everything in their power to put a clean coat of glittery paint on Hillary and also did all they could to strip Donald to the bare wood. You showed Hillary in the best light you could even if it meant covering for and lying about her actions and misdeeds. You did all you could to show Donald in the worst light possible even if it meant lying and making up stories about him and/or not even doing the minimal amount of investigating expected of a "journalist". By election day, America was aware of every single Trump flaw real and imagined. America STILL preferred and picked him. Enough of us saw through your candidate and saw through you. If you and everyone else in your "profession" had bothered to actually do your jobs instead of acting like Clinton campaign interns, we all might have had a better choice. Don't forget, you all worked hand in hand with Clinton to make Trump the news until he won the primary because you all thought she could beat him easily. Just like your profession helped Clinton cheat to win the primary.

I was not a Trump fan during the primary season. Like many that voted for him, he was my second to last pick. There were any number of other candidates I would have been happier to pull the lever for but "you all" ensured that he was my only option. In hind-sight, thank you for that. I do not think the country would be where it is today (economy on the way up, employment on the way up, illegal immigration on the way down, conservative on the court, gov regulations on the way down, now this Korea stuff, wow) had any other Republican been elected (not that Donald is a Republican, but one takes what one can get).

As it seems that you in the media and your associates on the left can't seem to learn anything and are continuing to #resist, it looks like we are well on our way to 8 years of Trump. I suppose I owe you thanks for that too.

"Free air" holograms are coming!

Everyone that has ever seen a "holodeck" from Star Trek wants to experience one. Just about all future Scifi movies show interactive, three dimensional displays, from Iron Man, to Star Wars, to Star Trek.

I thought we were getting close when I encountered virtual, laser projected keyboards and it looks like we are just about there!

You should watch this video of laser plasma holograph. It is incredible!

Isn't science awesome! Here is another video showing this and other forms of "free air" holograms.

Minimum Guaranteed Income

There is currently a lot of talk about America "needing" to implement some sort of minimum guaranteed income. All of the really progressive societies do it! It just "feels" right! No one should be FORCED to do a low paying job they don't like, they should be able to follow their muse!

Much of this is a smoke screen to enable the liberal left to further enslave low income voters/low information voters. It is simply welfare by a "nicer sounding" name. Progressives are all about changing/twisting the meaning of things once the old names have been worn out.

There actually could be some good in a guaranteed minimum income BUT only if it is implemented in a thoughtful way. I actually have some ideas on that AND I am not saying this is a perfect plan but I think it gets us pointed in the right direction.

a) Any minimum guaranteed income would need to be a replacement for all welfare. Period. Do this and that or do nothing. All state/local/Fed welfare programs end.

b) The minimum guaranteed income program is 100% voluntary. You can choose to sign up for it or NOT. Your choice. You get a free ID card when signing up.

c) This program is ONLY available to US citizens. Period.

d) If you sign up for the program, you are NOT eligible to vote in any / all elections between your date of signing up and the next Presidential election until 5 years after you leave the program, resulting in missing at least one Presidential election.

e) Any / all minimum wage laws are eliminated / rescinded and no jurisdiction may enact any minimum wage laws.

d) Social Security is ended. No additional SSN funds are deducted from anyone. Individuals currently vested in SSN can elect to have either 1) all of their contributions returned, tax free, or 2) continue in the system at their current benefits level with those funds as tax free.

e) The minimum is set at what the poverty level was 4 years prior to the enactment of the law and is tied to the inflation rate.

f) One CAN sign-up for the minimum guaranteed income AND earn an income. Earned income is subject to income tax but the minimum guaranteed income is not. The "standard deduction" is the minimum guaranteed income or the standard deduction rate, which ever is greater.

I understand this is not prefect and I think there are some other tweaks that could be done to this but I think these general strokes are close to the mark. This plan would simplify the system, prevent recipients from gaming the system, prevent politicians from gaming the system, and limit the damage that such a program can cause.

Real useful advice for young adults

This is advice that all young adults should be getting but are not. Sad...

Windows 10 - Thanks a LOT Microsoft!

In an effort to save us simpletons from helping Russian hackers to exploit security flaws in Microsoft operating systems, as part of the latest Windows 10 release/update (and maybe earlier), you can not much control patch downloads and installations.

You can determine if downloaded software is JUST critical patches or other stuff too. You can control (through a setting) what your "work hours" are, up to an 18 hour window. But you can NOT tell Windows 10 that you only want it to reboot (if it has to as a result of a patch) at a specific time. You used to could but that has gone away.

So, if you have a PC that is used for business and is needed on a 24/7 basis and needs to perform on-going tasks (or services) like scheduled file transfers, you can NOT instruct Windows as to when you want the system to reboot (if it needs to as part of an update).

Too bad, so sad if that untimely reboot happens to interrupts your work. If you happen to be online you can postpone the reboot for a bit. If you happen to need to, you can postpone all updates for 25(?) days. What you can't do is you can NOT manage your own PC updates any more. YOU my friend are just too stupid.

The result of this change is that more and more "professional" folks will simply disable the Windows update service so that it NEVER runs. Which in turn will make the security environment that caused Microsoft to make this decision, even worse. Nice going Microsoft! Shame that Microsoft did not consult with folks that use their software before making this sorts of changes. It is even more of a shame that Microsoft is so BAD at writing secure code that this sort of process change is even needed.

"The Orville", not your daddy's (or my) "Star Trek"

I thought I would give "The Orville" a try as it seemed like a more out-right comedic version of Star Trek, which to me sounded like a winner and fresh fare for those that have seen EVERY SINGLE episode of the original and the related and the "in the neighborhood" shows (like Firefly - darn good series, sorry it didn't make it). In fact I went into this wanting to like it. To date I have seen the first9 episodes and so far I have learned:

- Episode 3, "About a Girl": Homosexual sex is not only A-OK but is absolutely normal and nothing to bat an eye at. In that same episode, I learned that it is perfectly fine to NOT tell your spouse that you had a sex change until you absolutely have to. It is also acceptable to change the sex of your newborn if you find their natural / genetic sex uncomfortable. Secondary lessons learned, if it were not for women, men would be playing with high explosives in the middle of every down town city (with no regard to public safety) and we would all be a bunch artless, boorish "men" where our greatest author would be shunned and hidden away [from the world] woman.

- Episode 9, "Cupid's Dagger": If your wife had an affair with another man, it is NOT her fault and you are a d*ck if you get mad and divorced because it was not her fault. Also, homosexual sex is GREAT and as a side affect, being (now) bisexual is just another day (more partner options yay!). A secondary "teachable moment" is that using chemicals to entice men and women into bed is OK too, as long as everyone has fun.

There were some "high points" like episode 7 ("Majority Rule") where they take a thoughtful swipe at social media and those infatuated with same.

I am still on the fence as to if I will stick with this "space" series. I am no prude and I am a big boy and can see the liberal propaganda for what it is. I do get tired of having all of these liberal hot-button items jammed down my throat on a 24/7 basis though. Surveys show that as much as 2.1% of the population is gay or bisexual. If you were to go by how that group is represented on TV, you would think the percentage is closer to an order of magnitude higher. I have also notices a marked increase in the requisite "gay" character in teen movies. It seems that every "clique" has to have their representative of each interest group to get past those that approve TV/movie projects. I personally do not care if you are straight, gay, bisexual, or other. I do care that it is jammed into every movie, TV show, commercial, etc. at a much higher percentage than is representative of the general population. Enough already! Give it a rest. I wish all of these "creative" types would focus more on the plot and the story than on the composition of the case of characters.

Calling Java classes from PowerShell in order to change an iSeries/AS400 password

I was recently working on a "solution" to allow an automated process on a Window 10 system to interact with an iSeries system. A part of the problem to be solved is that the iSeries system in question has a rule requiring frequent password changes. Understandable but not conducive to automated processing. Additionally, the user under which this process would run does not have SECADM rights so calling chgusrprf through FTP was not an option. What to do, what to do...

Search web, search web, search web...

Seems that IBM has a "Toolbox for Java" product (http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/toolbox/) and just so happens that there is a open source version called JTOpen (http://jt400.sourceforge.net/ - got to love that) that supports changing your password remotely.

OK, now I have a possible solution. How do I call a Java class from PowerShell?

Search web, search web, search web...

Try, search, try, search, try search...

Fail... Issues finding the proper classes in the JTOpen to do a password change as this is a toolkit for you to build solutions out of.

Search web, search web, search web...

SOLUTION! Someone (don't you LOVE the Internet?) had a similar issue and wrote a Java JAR to encapsulate the problem into a simple command line type of call. You can get it here: https://github.com/cwg999/AS400PasswordChanger/tree/master/export

Downloaded that.

More try(s) and search(es) and finally SUCCESS!

Here is my simple "walk through" of the above solution in PowerShell. I will wind up putting this into a much larger script that will be scheduled to run in half of the configured password life time.

- Get AS400PasswordChanger.jar from the above link.
- Create a directory and copy that JAR file into it.
- Open a PowerShell.
- In PowerShell, change to the directory you created (that contains the JAR file).
- Enter the following command:

java -jar ./AS400PasswordChanger.jar {iSeries name/IP} {user name} {current password} {new password}

If all goes well, you should see: Change Successful.

The only error I got once I actually got it to work (all prior errors were PowerShell or Java errors) was this one and that was because the iSeries I was using for testing does not allow you to change your password more than once per 24 hours and I had to change it when I logged in due to it having expired already:

com.ibm.as400.access.AS400SecurityException: Password change is not allowed at this time.:{user name}


Hope this saves someone else some time.

Darn that Trump!

So we have had the Comey testimony yesterday. I did not see it live but am watching a tape of it so as to allow me to see it unfiltered by the media. I could not help but hear some reviews and it looks like everyone got something that they wanted out of it, such that all the anti-Trump(s) get to say "see, look what he did!" and the Trimpits get to say "see, Comey said he didn't know such-n-such and did not do such-n-such".

The general consensus is that nothing was said to enable the anti-Trump(s) to justify impeachment BUT Trump is not guilt free. Very likely nothing prosecutable.(update 1) I know, low standard but the last 8+ years have made that the new normal.

I still want to finish watching the full tape (and may update this based on that) but my current take-aways are:

1. Trump is not without sin in all of this. He is NOT very Presidential in part because he is not a politician. He is also used to getting his own way a LOT due to being the king of his own very large company. He is used to people that work for him doing what he wants, when he wants it and is used to demanding and getting personal loyalty. The Government is not a company and most folks in the Government are supposed to have loyalty to the country and the Constitution not individual people. Trump needs to "get" that.
2. Comey is looking VERY political. He is (was) supposed to be in a non-political position as head of the FBI but it doesn't look like that has been the case for some if not most of his 4 years in the Obama administration. For someone that EVERYONE praised for his integrity, he showed a lot of iffy integrity throughout the last 8 - 12 months.
1. Where was all of his integrity during the Hillary email and DNC email debacles?
2. Where was all of his integrity when Linch pressured him to mis-state the type of investigation he was conducting in regard to the Hillary email issue? Sure, he stood his ground but why did he not call her out for that pressuring?
3. He felt he had to leak some of his personal memos to the press through a friend after he was fired? He did not have the integrity to come forward himself and do it?
3. Trump can be / is a bully. His is crass. He is thin skinned. He has little to no filter. These were many of the reasons that a lot of folks voted for him but he is not running for President any more. He IS President. I wish he would act a bit more Presidential.

All that said, and again I still have more tape to watch BUT all that said, still not Hillary. I can ignore/overlook/forgive a lot because still not Hillary.

Just imagine for a minute what would be going on if we were in not-Trump land. If Hillary had reached her goal and was President. The disaster of a Iran policy would be going full steam ahead. Israel would be getting more of the Obama-era abuse. We would not even be having a immigration debate as there would no longer be any immigration restrictions, with Muslim refugees streaming in with NO vetting. The IRS would be back on track going after conservative groups. The DOJ would be ignoring voter fraud and going after right wing speech. The Clinton foundation would be raking in even more and larger foreign government payoffs with no end in sight. We would have lost the SCOTUS for at least a generation if not longer.

So reality is, Trump is NOT Reagan. He is not even Bush Sr. but he is sure as hell NOT Hillary and thank the good Lord for that!

Update 1: Just read another article on this and "The president can, as a matter of constitutional law, direct the attorney general, and his subordinate, the director of the FBI, tell them what to do, whom to prosecute and whom not to prosecute. Indeed, the president has the constitutional authority to stop the investigation of any person by simply pardoning that person." so Trump did not, not only do nothing illegal but nothing "out of the ordinary" either other than doing it while Republican.

Update 2: "The Russians interfered in the election." We have been hearing that for months, that the Russians stole the election from Queen Hillary except that no one will actually say HOW. Comey stated under oath that he had ZERO proof that the Russians changed a single vote. So, how did the Russians "steal" the election? Why by (maybe it wasn't them) releasing a bunch of DNC emails showing how the DNC colluded with the Hillary campaign to STEAL the nomination from Sanders and how the DNC colluded with the media to TRY and steal it from America by giving Hillary debate questions, etc.

Accordion to Trump

OK, this is funny, I don't care who you are!

CA Energy Officials, the stupid it burns...

 Solar-Powered California Warned to Unplug for August Eclipse.

State energy officials are warning residents to click off all lights they don’t need and unplug all electrical appliances when 62 percent of the sun disappears over Los Angeles during a partial solar eclipse that is expected that day.

Nobody is warning of blackouts. But then again, nobody knows what will happen.

“When the sun goes away, so does the energy that powers our renewable solar panels. If millions of Californians turn off appliances and power strips to unplug from the grid during the eclipse, we can let our hard-working sun take a break,” said Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission.

There is just so much stupid on display here. Some of it industry wide and some of it local.

First, I am so tired of folks using the phrase "renewable solar panels". The panels are NOT renewable. they had to be manufactured just like all other "man made things" and that took material and energy. They are not like trees that if left alone will grow and reproduce. Solar panels don't make themselves nor do they make more on their own.

Second "let our hard-working sun take a break"? Really? So the "California Public Utilities Commission president" does not understand that a partial or even total eclipse doesn't put out the Sun nor does it make the Sun go away, it just blocks our Earthly view of it for a time (and location) due to the moon passing between the Earth and Sun? If he actually knows all this [but let us not assume anything] and he is using this phraseology due to his understanding of the Lao Angeles population and their intelligence, that might be even worse.

Lastly, so they don't have ANY idea of if there is enough stand-by energy to run the city while the eclipse is taking place? Really? Isn't knowing the energy reserves and the availability of surrounding area backup power [I don't know, like] his friggen job as president of the Utilities Commission? Or is that too "mathy" for California?

Bike lock boy busted!

A nice bit of news, the antifa coward that hit a few folks on the head with a bike lock, has been caught and is currently in jail awaiting arraignment.

It turns out that the "thug" is Eric Clanton an occasional Diablo Valley College professor that taught “introduction to philosophy with a background in teaching ethics, critical thinking, and comparative philosophy East/West” with “primary research interests” of ethics and politics. In addition, he earned a bachelor’s degree at California State University, Bakersfield. He also earned a master’s degree at San Francisco State in philosophy.

Just a nice guy "fighting the good fight" against those evil Nazis! Sure, he is fighting this good fight from the safety of a crowd, using a bike lock on the end of a chain, hitting unsuspecting folks on the head and then ducking / running into the crowed but he is BRAVE! He is standing up for the little guy against these evil Nazi protesters that are not actually Nazis nor evil. They just have a different political opinion than Eric. Eric knows better though cause he is educated and has a degree in philosophy and as such is such a deep thinker and all. Well here is hoping he gets more time to think deeply about philosophy and ethics, like 20 to life for 3 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.

Trump budget plan, 2018

Looks like a good start,

President Trump's fiscal 2018 budget proposal would completely eliminate 66 federal programs, for a savings of $26.7 billion.  

Some of the programs would receive funding for 2018 as part of a phasing-out plan.

I am sure that there is much more that could be eliminated / shrunk. A few billion here, a few billion there and pretty soon you are talking about real money.

Go Trump!

Trump budget plan, EPA hardest hit

What do you call an EPA budget cut of 31%? A nice start...

Under the March proposal, the EPA was due to absorb a 31 percent funding cut. If enacted, that plan would discontinue funding for programming, research and diplomatic efforts related to climate change, end more than 50 EPA programs and cut 3,200 of the agency's 15,000 jobs.

If they were focused more on their core mandates like superfund, NOT dumping gallons and gallons of toxic water into rivers, and serving as an industry watchdog, they likely would not be in the situation they are.

Sorry but CO2 is NOT a toxin and does not need to be EPA controlled.

Nice start President Trump! Don't STOP!

On a related topic, Trump's confirmations are being stalled by Democrats. Trump should announce that any agency without Trump confirmed heads come budget approval time, get NO funding period. If the confirmations are so unimportant the the Democrats can't be bothered to work the process, those departments must not be important either and should be done away with / unfunded. That might focus some minds and/or save more money...

The tears were SO sweet!

Now a days if I feel a little low, I just need to watch this video. The self-aggrandizing, the naval gazing, the lack of self awareness, the over all self-delusion in action, it is a wonder to behold!

Wow, just wow.

As an add-on funny, if you ask any of these folks in the video if they have changed their minds any and they would very likely answer no, that Hillary is still "the most qualified EVER" and that Trump is still a racist, etc., etc., etc.

When will the madness end?!?

Have you heard? Do you know what that SOB has done now? No? It was all over the news, you sure you haven't read about it? You know what I am talking about, right? The latest Trump HUGE scandal of course! At a recent dinner at the White House, when dessert was served (ice cream), the President was given two (that right TWO) scoops of ice cream while everyone else had to settle for just one! If that isn't an impeachable offense, why do we even have the to impeach Presidents, amiright?

As an aside, this is like reason 2,538 that no one (well about half the country anyway) is listening to the media, Democrats, liberals, antafa, etc. (but I mostly repeat myself) any more on anything Trump. These screaming crybullies are making Trump's pre-election comment about shooting someone in the street and his fans not caring true because if that ever does happen, a very many people will think it is just more made up media junk.

Lets see,what we have on the scandal board:

• icecreamgate - two, only two scoops for you.
• Comeygate - you do understand he serves at the pleasure of the President who can fire him at any time for any reason, right? The left hated him when he started the Hillary email probe. loved him when he said he didn't think she should be prosecuted (overstep much?), and hated him again when he was forced to re-open the investigation. Wanted him fired until he actually was and now he is up for sainthood again.
• Wikileaksgate - oh, wait, that was DNC staffer Seth Rich who was suspiciously killed (like lots of folks around the Clintons who are inconvenient).
• RussaElectiongate - oh, wait, that was John Podesta falling for an email scam that 12 year old girls know to avoid.
• Flynngate - you remember, the guy Trump fired (cause he serves at the pleasure of the President) cause he lied (maybe) to the VP about a Russia conversation he had that was no big deal but he has "suspicious" Russia ties but was granted security clearance by the FBI but squirrel!
• ObamaWireTapgate - Trump lied about being wiretapped cause you know they didn't actually tap the phone wires cause they don't actually do it that way anymore and for months before Trump sent his tweet, the press was full of "leaked" information from Government taps but as soon as Trump sent his tweet all that went down the memory hole and Trump was deranged for suggesting he was tapped except they have those pesky FISA warrants (first one turned down and second one approved) but SURE, no tapping going on round here...
• RussiaReportgate - remember the "super secret Russian dossier" on Trump that included PROOF he urinated on a bed that Obama slept in? I got some authentic Air Guard memos for you too if you still believe that one.
• IvankaTrumpgate - whereas the White House was promoting "PROMOTING" Ivanka's clothing line that until it was mentioned in her White House bio, NO ONE on the entire PLANET knew she had.
• TrumpClimategate - this was the one where the new administration "removed all traces" of the Obama administrations climate pages from the official White House web site GET THIS like every other policy page and every other administration does to the web site when it takes over and all of the old content was moved to a backup web site that is still publicly accessible, THOSE FENDS!

And those are just the TIP of the iceberg! With the media keeping the TDS meter on eleventy, 24/7 and the antifa(1) brownshirts rioting in the streets over every "fake news" report most sane folks are just tuning it all out.

The sad part of all of this is that there are a LOT of people (like a majority) that are NOT fans of Trump. Many of us voted for him because there was no other option (Hillary, really? That was the best you could do?). This 24/7 all the time temper tantrum that all those listed earlier are throwing is NOT changing any hearts or minds. As someone more famous than I has said "You want more Trump? This is how you get more Trump." Keep this up, you are just making it more likely "Trump for 8" instead of "Trump for 4".

It is also only a matter of time before "normal America" gets tired of "just keeping on keeping on" and start to engage and push back. You can only disrupt our lives (blocking traffic, burning down businesses, beating up old men, pepper spraying ladies) for so long and you will get push back "good and hard" and all of those "deplorables" have better training, weapons, skills, and resources than you do. They are the ones that (by large percentages) hunt, camp, join the military, shoot, etc. You want to resist and you want a revolution? Just be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

(1) Now that is something right out of 1984 if ever there was! These "antifa" folks all dress in black, cover their faces, riot, loot, burn stuff, and beat up anyone that even hints that they are going to exercise their free speech rights by saying anything remotely in support of Trump or even just "wishy washy" on hard left dogma but sure, Trump supporters are the fascists. That word does not mean what you think it means.

A "better" alternative for fixing the ACA?

Just maybe! Read and you decide...

Trump voter feels betrayed after getting "woke".

Is milk Racist?

The women's pay gap is real! Just not how you think...

Elizabeth Warren’s Female Staffers Made 71% of Male Staffers’ Salaries in 2016. OMG! Say it isn't so! A woman in a position of power made the conscious decision to pay her female staff less than she was paying her male staff!

The gender pay gap in Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D., Mass.) is nearly 10 percent wider than the national average, meaning women in the Massachusetts Democrat's office will have to wait longer than most women across the country to recognize Equal Pay Day.

However, women working for Warren were paid just 71 cents for every dollar paid to men during the 2016 fiscal year, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.

Warren said on last year's Equal Pay Day that the American workplace was "rigged against women" and called it a "national day of embarrassment" for the nation.

"Today is Equal Pay Day, and by the sound of it, you would think it's some sort of historic holiday commemorating the anniversary of a landmark day that our country guaranteed equal pay for women," Warren said. "But that's not what this is about. Not even close."

Why not call Elizabeth Warren and ask her why she discriminates against women, Why does she hate women. Why does she value women less than men? These are all honest questions that deserve answers. You know that if Warren were on a congressional panel grilling an evil white male business man, she would ask questions like these and worse.

Why not ask these questions at her next speaking engagement or town-hall meeting? Inquiring minds want to know!

We’re not supposed to be monitoring American citizens.

So apparently Mr. "shoots from the twitter hip" Trump was correct when he tweeted out that Obama was wiretapping him...

Former President Barack Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice ordered U.S. spy agencies to produce “detailed spreadsheets” of legal phone calls involving Donald Trump and his aides when he was running for president, according to former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova.

“The overheard conversations involved no illegal activity by anybody of the Trump associates, or anyone they were speaking with,” diGenova said. “In short, the only apparent illegal activity was the unmasking of the people in the calls.”

“The lawyers and counsel at the NSA surely would be talking to the lawyers and members of counsel at CIA, or at the National Security Council or at the Director of National Intelligence or at the FBI,” he said. “It’s unbelievable of the level and degree of the administration to look for information on Donald Trump and his associates, his campaign team and his transition team. This is really, really serious stuff.”

Doran charged that potential serious crimes were undertaken because “this is a leaking of signal intelligence.”

“That’s a felony,” he told TheDCNF. “And you can get 10 years for that. It is a tremendous abuse of the system. We’re not supposed to be monitoring American citizens. Bigger than the crime, is the breach of public trust.”

So it seems that this big nothing-burger (as the Obama administration, the DNC, and the media have been telling everyone for weeks) is really stuffed with beef. There should be a full blown independent prosecutor investigation and everyone involved should be outed, fired, and serve jail time. The legal eagles involved should lose their licenses.

Democrats pulling this sort of stuff is so common place that it is "old news" before it is even reported, if and when the MSM decide to give it a couple of inches on page 34. Just another "dog bites man" story. Enough is enough. While this investigation is in progress, the Hillary Foundation, sorry Clinton Foundation needs to be investigated and we need to dust off the illegal email server probe and maybe reopen Benghazi and Fast n Furious while we are at it. Oh, and that Iran deal with the pallets of cash needs looking into too. Get to work guys!

Environmental protesters leave catastrophe in their wake

Wait, what?

A total of two dogs and six puppies were found abandoned at the site and rescued by local nonprofit Furry Friends Rockin’ Rescue, local news reported on Saturday.

The two dogs the group rescued reportedly show signs of exposure to the brutal North Dakotan cold, with frost-bitten ears and mangy fur.

But, but they CARE so much!

The reports of the cast-aside canines follow news of the grave environmental threat to the Missouri River posed by the almost unfathomable amount of waste left at the site by protesters, a threat so grave it compelled North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to sign an emergency evacuation order.


Authorities estimated that protesters left enough garbage and human waste to fill 2,500 pickup trucks.

It sure "feels" good to make a difference, right?

Between these sorts of protesters and the Obama Admin EPA polluting that river with toxic waste, I don't know how much more help mother Earth can stand!

Accessing Salesforce from Powershell

I am working on a small side project at work and need to pull some account data from Salesforce to merge into a database. This has to be done with some regularity so instead of continuing to do this manually, I decided to create a Powershell script to get the data, convert it into a form that can be imported, and add that to the existing job that that runs to do other data merge tasks.

To save others some time, I am showing the basic Powershell / Salesforce script here:

# Salesforce web service access

$getUserID = Read-Host -Prompt 'Enter Salesforce user ID' # prompt for the Salesforce user
$getPassword = Read-Host -Prompt 'Enter Salesforce password' -AsSecureString # prompt for the Salesforce user password
$BSTR = [System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStringToBSTR( $getPassword ) # convert into form that supports decrypting
$plaintextpassword = [System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto( $BSTR ) # descrypt string so that we can sent as part of request

# issue the actual OAuth request
$url = "https://login.salesforce.com/services/oauth2/token" # OAuth URL

$params = @{ # OAuth parameters
grant_type="password";
client_id="{replace with your actual Salesforce client_id}";
client_secret="{replace with your actual Salesforce client_secret}";
username="$getUserID";
password="$plaintextpassword"
}

# invoke OAuth call to get security token
$token = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $url -Method Post -Body $params -ContentType "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"

#"here it is: $token"

# show that it works by getting list of available reports...
$WorkingURI = $Token.instance_url+"/services/data/v35.0/analytics/reports"
Invoke-RestMethod -URI $WorkingURI -Method GET -Headers @{ "Authorization" = "OAuth " + $Token.access_token };

# and then run a query...
$sql="select parent.name, name from account"
$WorkingURI = $Token.instance_url+"/services/data/v20.0/query/?q=$sql"
Invoke-RestMethod -URI $WorkingURI -Method GET -Headers @{ "Authorization" = "OAuth " + $Token.access_token } | ConvertTo-Json

# eof

As an added bonus, it prompts the user for their Salesforce user ID and password. This can/will have other uses. The script its self should be self-explanatory. After successful authorization, the script runs a couple of simple calls, one to retrieve a list of reports and the other to run a simple query.

It makes use of the "password" form of OAuth. You will need to configure Salesforce to allow this to work. Part of that is setting up Salesforce for REST web service access. Doing this will cause the system to generate the client_id and client_secret values that you need to pass in order to generate the token. This link will walk you through that. This script will work with a "chatter" user account as long as you set the permissions. You will need something better than a chatter account to get Salesforce configured.

Have fun...

A 3D Chess Grand Master

Not even two weeks into his Presidency, President Trump (has a nice ring to it, that - President Trump) has "once again" out maneuvered the entire political establishment! The guy that was a) only in it as a joke, b) has NO ability to last through the primary season, c) will quickly get bored with the rigors of the campaign trail and quit, d) is only doing this in order to build a media empire, e) can't possibly win the Republican nomination, f) will get destroyed by Hillary in the election, and g) can't possibly win as no one I know supports him, has yet again foiled the "not yet even laid" plans of the media and political establishment!

Trump Files With FEC For 2020 Election Bid, Outmaneuvers Nonprofit Organizations

Wow, just wow!

Less then two weeks in, he has already kept / made good on at least 5 of his promises to his supporters AND has completely wreaked the plans of those looking to derail his [not yet decided] reelection plans!

Note to self, buy more popcorn futures...

Glory days

These last few weeks, it has been all the rage for different groups to pen their own "open letter" to President-Elect Trump. These letters either warn him that they will work to resist his efforts or to "ask" that he not do such-n-such, or as in this case to warn that "they are watching" and are going to hold him to account. "This case" is an open letter from a member of the press. That is right. The press. You can read it (if you wish) here. I will warn you though, don't read it while you have any beverages in your hand. I nearly ruined a perfectly good iPad.

It is, after all, our airtime and column inches that you are seeking to influence. We, not you, decide how best to serve our readers, listeners, and viewers.

Well, it is not clear yet whether Trump seeks to influence you or simply chooses to ignore you. He may just be posturing but from my vantage point it looks to be a lot more of the latter than the former. Oh, and apparently he understands and knows how to use Twitter and is fairly comfortable doing so. The press has not been the information gatekeepers that they used to be for some time now. Trump appears to understand that better than most politicians.

As to deciding how to best server your readers, you really should have had that internal discussion some [oh] 8 years ago, not just over the last couple of months.

Access is preferable, but not critical. You may decide that giving reporters access to your administration has no upside. We think that would be a mistake on your part, [ed. I am sure you do] but again, it’s your choice. We are very good at finding alternative ways to get information; indeed, some of the best reporting during the campaign came from news organizations that were banned from your rallies. Telling reporters that they won’t get access to something isn’t what we’d prefer, but it’s a challenge we relish.

"a challenge we relish", really? Based on recent history that does not match reality. You (as an industry) clearly prefer NOT working for your stories as you have amply demonstrated over the last 8 years. During the current administration you have shown that you are all too happy [as a group] to accept administration and DNC memos and releases as "news" and publish them unquestioned. You (as a group) prefer coordinating your stories and crowd-sourcing your stories (journolist anyone?) than actually doing your own investigations and following the truth no matter where it leads. When it suits your purpose or your narrative, you are more than happy to just "make shit up", "white Hispanic" anyone?

We will strive to get your point of view across, even if you seek to shut us out...

LOL! Sorry there is just nothing else I could possibly say about this statement. It stands on its own.

We believe there is an objective truth, and we will hold you to that. When you or your surrogates say or tweet something that is demonstrably wrong, we will say so, repeatedly. Facts are what we do, and we have no obligation to repeat false assertions; the fact that you or someone on your team said them is newsworthy, but so is the fact that they don’t stand up to scrutiny. Both aspects should receive equal weight.

This one is another side-splitter! Sorry but this sort of blatant lying screams to be called out. At one time, the "press" may have believed that but the MSM long ago sold their souls to "the greater truth" and to "the narrative". Remember the Bush memos? How about your failure to properly cover the ACORN scandal? Your reporting over the last 8 years of the real unemployment rate or the economy? Planned Parenthood and baby parts? Your "stellar" [snark] coverage of the Clinton email scandal? Benghazi? Fast n Furious? The IRS scandal? The Tea Party? Need I go on? The modern MSM would not know a "FACT" if it walked up, introduced its self, and bought you all a round of drinks!

We’ll obsess over the details of government. You and your staff sit in the White House, but the American government is a sprawling thing. We will fan reporters out across the government, embed them in your agencies, source up those bureaucrats. The result will be that while you may seek to control what comes out of the West Wing, we’ll have the upper hand in covering how your policies are carried out.

So NOW you want to do that? Where were you when "Obamacare" or the drone strikes or EPA or oh never mind, I think you get the point...

We will set higher standards for ourselves than ever before. We credit you with highlighting serious and widespread distrust in the media across the political spectrum. Your campaign tapped into that, and it was a bracing wake-up call for us. We have to regain that trust. And we’ll do it through accurate, fearless reporting, by acknowledging our errors and abiding by the most stringent ethical standards we set for ourselves.

Wait, are you saying that you plan to fire every existing reporter and editor that currently works in MSM and start over? If not than nothing has or will change. With your current "membership" it will be at least a generation before you have any credibility with the majority of the people. Is it any wonder that the most despised professions in the country are (worst first) reporters, politicians, and lawyers? You have spent much more than 8 years (more like at least 20) working to destroy your reputations, publications, viewership, and industry. Well congratulations, you succeeded. All the moral posturing and preening will not undo over 20 years of effort. You just don't matter that much any more.

We’re going to work together. You have tried to divide us and use reporters’ deep competitive streaks to cause family fights. Those days are ending. We now recognize that the challenge of covering you requires that we cooperate and help one another whenever possible.

Sorry but we have already seen that in action; journolist anyone?

The modern press is like a pride of old, tired lions plotting against those "shinny things that go by real fast" on the highway they can see from their cage in the zoo. The cars don't even know they are there.

This is a truly sad state of affairs. The country needs and the people deserve a strong independent press. We don't and haven't had that in a very long time. What we do have is a clique of Democratic operatives with by-lines that when they are not directly taking their orders from a Democrat administration or the DNC, are colluding on what stories should be ignored, which ones should be covered and how to cover them. That is not "news". That is Pravda.

You want respect? You want to be taken seriously again? Stop trying to "change the world". Stop trying "to make a difference" and start actually covering the news, all of it, in an honest, open, factual, bias-free way. Then, just maybe you will start to matter again but I really don't believe you can do it.

Because it is the season of giving!

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas one and all!

Star Warz Rogue hu?

What in the friggen world is Hollywood thinking? Must they go out of their way to be "edgy", to "interweave a larger narrative into the prevailing context", to take a dump on anything that is considered traditional?

Apparently Hollywood did not learn their lesson with the flop that was the Ghost Busters remake. Nope. They want to try again with a new slant on Star Wars.

In Rogue One, there is no dark or light side

What? Like isn't that the entire point of Star Wars? You have the good guys (the light side of the Force) and the bad guys (the dark side of the force). Heck, the bad guys even call it "the dark side"! They blow up entire planets to make a point. You literally CAN'T get any more clear cut than that.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is different. The first film of the Star Wars Anthology Series, hitting theaters Dec. 16, sidesteps this Jedi Manichaeism almost entirely.

Um, isn't like the main point of the entire Star Wars franchise that you have this "stuff" called "the Force" and some use it for good and some use it for bad and that those that use it for good are called Jedi? So you have created a Star Wars movie that does not focus on those at the center of the Star Wars franchise? Isn't that like having a zombie movie but making it all about cats and not have any actual zombies in it?

But I think a more modern, realistic viewpoint is that no one's good, no one's evil, and the only real way we're going to stop wars is to understand each other better, come together and empathize with them.

That quote is from the film's director, Gareth Edwards. WOW. That is some nuclear grade stupid right there. Sorry to burst your lefty safe-space but there really is actual "good" and actual "evil" in this world. There is gray too but the fact that gray exists does not mean white and black don't also exist. As an example, it is never OK to strap a explosive vest on a kid and send him into a crowd to blow everyone up. It is never OK to stone a rape victim to death. It is never OK to toss a gay man off of a roof. It is never OK to fly a plane full of innocent people into tall buildings. There is NO possibility of mutual understanding in those cases unless the folks doing those things truly come to fully understand how very wrong they are AND stop. You don't compromise with evil. The best you can do is show it the error of its ways in whatever way it takes.

Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and men's rights activists plan to boycott Rogue One on the grounds that the Empire is another casualty of the "liberal media."

I am sure that all 12 remaining Neo-Nazis and all 8 of the official white supremacists (I believe that figure includes David Duke) left in America  plan to boycott the film. I am also sure that a whole lot of "normal" Star Wars fans will also boycott this film because they might be a little tired of their "stuff" being messed with by some self-important, new-age, preachy liberal director that thinks he "has an important" message to share with the world versus telling a good story within the existing franchise framework that has been supported by the fans all these many years.

The reviewer (Lili Loofbourow) is also one very "special ray of sunshine, open-mindedness, and tolerance". You can tell when she gives us this little peek behind her mental curtain:

One can certainly see why: White supremacists — or the "alt-right," as it prefers to call itself these days — would prefer a return to the status quo.

So, conservatives, those that want a smaller Federal government ARE not only the "storm troopers" in the latest Star Wars film but are also white supremacists! Also, the "alt-right", who might be more accurately defined as a slightly more militant version of the older Tea Party movement are JUST LIKE white supremacists! Just like. No difference! So they must be Nazis too since we learned earlier that White supremacists and Nazis are the same so if the alt-right is the same, they must be Nazis too.

Not happy calling half the country white supremacists (a.k.a. Nazis), she goes on to completely get her main premise wrong by claiming:

"darkest, most nuanced Star Wars movie — the one that expressly aims to humanize the Empire even more radically than The Force Awakens, which makes John Boyega's character Finn, a former stormtrooper, a sympathetic figure - is being boycotted for not catering enough to neo-Nazis."

So this Mensa member thinks "white supremacists" don't want to see the new "darkest, most nuanced Star Wars movie" because the Neo-Nazis think the film goes too soft on the Nazi stand-in figures (the Empire) by making them too empathetic?

Interesting...

So who is Lili? Let us check her bio...

Lili Loofbourow is the culture critic at TheWeek.com. She's also a special correspondent for the Los Angeles Review of Books and an editor for Beyond Criticism, a Bloomsbury Academic series dedicated to formally experimental criticism. Her writing has appeared in a variety of venues including The Guardian, Salon, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and Slate.

A special correspondent for the Los Angeles Review of Books. What does that even mean? What is a "special correspondent" for book reviews? She is also editor for a series dedicated to formally experimental criticism. Do these people just string words together? What does that even mean? I tried googling that as I am not familiar with that phraseology. The only thing I could turn up is its use in an interview that hints that it has something to do with nonfiction. I gave up searching after reviewing three pages of results. Lili apparently writes for such literary greats as The Guardian, Salon, NYT, and Slate.

If her condescending article is in anyway representative of the attitude of the movie, I fully expect another critically acclaimed box office flop. Folks are getting fed up with being preached at by the ignorant elite. People are starting to push back. You are paid to entertain us, not preach or shove your politics down our throats. Not sorry if that means you get your feelz hurt.

Dual realities

It seems that more and more we are living in a twilight zone episode where half of the country lives in one reality and the other half lives in another, all the while being able to see and interact with each other.

Exhibit A: Make no mistake, Trump’s cabinet appointees embody the most rabid possible opposition to policies and positions of President Obama and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. A unifier Mr. Trump is not.

In this reality, President Obama was and is the savior of the country (and the planet) and Hillary was his expected proper and correct successor to carry on that great legacy. In this reality Obamacare is not a disaster. ISIS is a JV team on the run, the Government did not attack the producer of a video and throw him in jail to help cover up the Government's culpability in the deaths of four Americans at a US embassy by terrorists. The DOE did not throw higher education into complete disarray over a bogus statistic that 1 in 4 women in college get raped. The EPA did not pollute the drinking water of dozens of communities by releasing mine toxic run-off into a river. Nor did the Government attack and alienate half of the population of the United States by calling them racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and Islamophobic.

Nope. In this reality (dare I say a community based reality) all is good. The unemployment rate is under 4% and not the 10+% that the rest of us see. The economy is BOOMING and is not the stagflation that the rest of us see. Needless black lives are lost at the hands of a racist police versus police related fatalities being not only at their lowest levels in dozens of years but that (in actuality) more whites are shot by police than blacks as is shown by actual FBI and Government crime statistics.

In this community based reality, Trump is a homophobic racist and all of his supporters are a "bag of deplorable". They also cling to their guns and religion, or so I was told by the worlds greatest orator. In this view of reality, Obama was NEVER a divider, the Democrats in Congress never rammed through the largest overhaul of healthcare using procedural shenanigans and on a pure party line vote. When half the country supports the Democrats and they win, the Republicans are the dividers. When half the country supports the Republicans and they win, the Republicans are the dividers. See how that works?. The left is all about protecting everyone from hate speech and they never use divisive rhetoric, all is unicorns and cupcakes.

Exhibit B: 6 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Is The Best Presidential Candidate Ever

There are actually a LOT of people that see this as reality. That Hillary Clinton was not only eminently qualified to be President but was the absolutely BEST qualified EVER! Mandatory CAPS and exclamation point. To disagree is to prove one's self a misogynist of the highest order. In this alternate reality the 30+ years of scandals just does not exist. Hillary did not webonize the IRS to go after her opponents. She never covered for Bill's various bimbo eruptions, because there were none. The White House was not looted of US treasure by Hillary and Bill. Hillary never used the FBI to investigate her enemies. She never firing everyone in the White House travel office as political payback to donors. Hillary absolutely never ever kept a private, unsecured email server on which she conducted Government business for the proposes of soliciting and collecting bribes for her foundation from foreign governments and individual.

Exhibit C: Man made global warming is not only very real but is also a very imminent threat to the world

Let us ignore for a moment that the entire global warming "issue" has been completely called into question by the release of the Mann emails that show there was a concerted and deliberate effort to silence and discredit dissenters as well as "massage" the data to get the outcome they wanted. Let us ignore for a moment that the climate models used to "show" how bad things will be in a dozen years can't even accurately and reliably predict what the weather will be in 60 or even 30 days. Let us simply look at those that are pushing man made global warming the most, say Al Gore. Does this "champion" of AGW live a pious life or does he instead live in a massive and energy hungry McMansion? If you answered B, you would be right! Though he has made some changes to improve the home's efficiency, he also recently purchased another home, a $8.875 million ocean view villa in Montecito, Calif. with a less than stellar energy record of its own. If the "greatest living protector of the planet" does not care enough about global warming to live in a energy efficient, 1600 square foot home, give up flying private jets all over the world, and get a Prius, why should anyone take it seriously?

I could go on but I think you can see where I am going with this. It indeed seems at times that we as a country are living in two distinct but overlapping realities, one of which looks to be drifting away from actual reality at a faster and faster pace. This will not end well...