Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas
December 15, 2024 8:41am
Sure, all three of us are "all hat and no cattle." But last night we attended the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. It's a 10-day event, and last night was the absolute finals. I've been to many rodeos in my life, but none were anywhere near this level of competition. The NFR is considered to be the Super Bowl of Rodeo; even bigger than Houston's massive rodeo.
NFR is organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association and is the most prestigious cowboy competition in the world. It included national championships in Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Tie-Down Roping, Barrel Racing, and Bull Riding.
Viva Las Vegas!
Eagles at Sphere: Greatest Hits at the Greatest Venue
December 14, 2024 10:10am
Last night's Eagles concert at Sphere Las Vegas was fantastic. Of course, it's the Eagles, so every song was a hit. But the Sphere is such a unique place that it elevated the experience to something no other venue on Earth can come close to doing. It was just spectacular.
Only eight shows were originally scheduled for Eagles' residency at Sphere. But due to overwhelming demand by fans, dates have been added many times. The residency now runs through April 12, 2025.
The Eagles opened last night's show with their big hit "Hotel California." While the band jammed and harmonized on stage, the 160,000 square foot, 16K video screen enveloped our peripheral vision with stunning graphics that are only possible at Sphere.
This was my second time seeing Eagles in concert. I attended the Mobile, Alabama performance during their 1995 "Hell Freezes Over" Tour. That concert featured Don Henley, Glen Frey, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit. Glen Frey died in 2016. Last night's show featured Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill, Deacon Frey (Glen's son), and Steuart Smith. Deacon may have gotten the job because of his relationship to Glen. But his talent on the strings and his seamless harmony with the other band members proved it wasn't just nepotism. He deserved to be on that stage.
For most songs, the classic Eagles harmony was musical perfection. But Joe Walsh's voice strained through "Rocky Mountain Way.” Hey, he's 77 years old. I'm not holding anything against him. He and the entire band were fantastic. I'm just noting that he doesn't have the same voice he had at 30. But it was wonderful to see him bend those guitar strings and passionately belt out his classic hit while stunning images of the Rocky Mountains filled Sphere's giant video screen.
"Take It Easy," Eagles' first single was released in 1972. For more than half a century Eagles have been one of the world's most popular bands. Although they broke up for a while, radio never stopped playing their songs, and their fans never stopped buying their records. The Eagles' album "Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)" remains the best-selling album of all time in the United States. "Hotel California" still ranks 3rd. Worldwide those are still the 5th and 6th best-selling albums, respectively.
Eagles have sold more than 200 million records. They've released six number-one albums containing five number-one singles. They've won six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the band at #75 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time - a ranking I think is much too low. Eagles should easily have been top 20... or perhaps top 10.
I don't know how long Eagles will continue to perform live. But we know they're currently scheduled to play at Sphere through April 12th. So go see 'em. The concert tickets are outrageously expensive. They're worth every penny.
U2 at Sphere: Is It Live, or Is It Memorex?
December 13, 2024 9:44am
We had a great time at Sphere last night for the U2 concert. But U2 wasn't there - not in person anyway.
I attended the October 27, 2023 U2 concert at Sphere (a live performance). During that residency, a U2 concert was filmed for playback at Sphere's amazing, one-of-a-kind, 16K wrap-around video screen. That film, titled "V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas," was shown last night at Sphere.
To compare the "Live versus Memorex" performance, I wanted to sit in the exact same seat I was in for last year's live show. But seats in that section were not available for sale. Fortunately, seats in an adjacent section were available. So I sat in the same row (Row 17) on the other side of the aisle; about five feet from my live concert seat (which was Section 208, Row 17, Seat 1). It was close enough to replicate the experience.
So how did the film compare to the live show? If you didn't know it was a movie, you wouldn't know it was a movie. For decades, it has been easy for recorded audio to sound live. Now, with the technology used at Sphere, it is also possible for video to appear as live (in a Sphere-like venue where the video screen fills one's full peripheral vision).
With our rapid advances in AI video technology, I foresee new concerts featuring Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Queen, The Doors, and others one day coming to life in Sphere-like venues. The deceased artist I'd most like to see like that is Harry Chapin.
Last year's blog post about the live concert and Sphere's mind-blowing technology is online at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/231028-1712
A second Sphere post is online at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/231031-2223
Florida's CD-1 Congressional Candidates Meet with Voters in Navarre
December 10, 2024 11:16pm
I was the emcee & moderator for yesterday's three hour forum with the Republican candidates seeking to replace Matt Gaetz in Congress. Eight of the ten candidates were present at the venue. Trump-endorsed Jimmy Patronis, who was out of town, participated by telephone but only for a two minute introductory speech. He did not remain on the phone for any questions.
The eight candidates in the room answered my questions about immigration, tax policy, Ukraine, Israel, Iran, Taiwan, Social Security, energy independence, tariffs, infrastructure, the environment, education, and more. The public asked questions of the candidates during the last third of the event. In between my questions and the public's questions, I had the candidates ask questions of each other. That pretty much never happens at debates. But when I moderate such events, I always ask the organizers if I can include candidate to candidate questioning. It's usually approved, and it becomes the most memorable part of the forums.
With ten candidates and no runoff, it is possible for a Republican to win the nomination with less than 11% of the vote. The Pensacola News Journal story quoted me about this: "Moderator Mike Bates, a talk-show host with WPNN, pointed out that with such a crowded field, it’s possible for someone to win with less than 11% of the vote. 'Now, I'm not predicting that's going to happen,' Bates said. 'It's not going to happen. But if there's 10 candidates, and nine of them each get 9.9% of the vote, that's 89.1%. So the remaining candidate could win with 10.9% because there's no runoff. So every vote will matter.'”
The Republican primary will be held January 28th. There is no Democrat primary because only one Democrat is in the race. The general election will be held on April 1st.
Some of the media coverage of the event can be seen at these websites:
Pensacola News Journal: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/12/09/gaetz-special-election-republicans-battle-against-jimmy-patronis/76860431007/
Yahoo: https://www.yahoo.com/news/republican-candidates-florida-congressional-district-032907819.html
Come Meet FL-1's Congressional Candidates
December 8, 2024 8:08am
Matt Gaetz resigned from the 118th Congress the day President-Elect Donald Trump nominated him to serve as U.S. Attorney General. Then when it became evident the Senate would not confirm him, he withdrew from the nomination. But back on November 5th, Matt Gaetz was elected to the 119th Congress. That means he could be sworn in on January 3rd if he wanted to be. But he doesn't want it. He's out. Period.
Consequently, Florida's First Congressional District will be without a Representative in Congress until the first week of April. The special election to fill the vacant seat will be held April 1st. The primary for that will be held on January 28th. But only Republicans will participate because Gay Valimont, the sole Democrat candidate, automatically advances to the general election.
Ten candidates have qualified for that Republican primary. In alphabetical order, they are Aaron Dimmock, Kevin Gaffney, Jeff Macey, Greg Merk, John Mills, Jimmy Patronis, Jeff Peacock, Joel Rudman, Michael Dylan Thompson, and Gene Valentino.
Voters will have the opportunity to meet those candidates tomorrow (12/9/24) during the Florida CD-1 Candidate Forum at The Grille House/Emerald on Highway 98 in Navarre (8491 Navarre Parkway) from 11:00am - 3:00pm.
The forum is presented by the Republican Executive Committees of Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties. The program will feature candidate speeches, debates, and town hall engagement with voters. I will serve as emcee and moderator.
The event is free and open to the public. It is not necessary to RSVP. Just show up! A buffet and beverage service will be provided. I hope to see you there!
TSA = Tyrants Searching Atrociously
November 12, 2024 7:11pm
TSA, the so-called "Transportation Security Administration," does very little for transportation security. But they sure do a lot for inconveniencing American citizens trying to exercise their right to travel.
I have been fully vetted for TSA's Global Entry program, which includes Pre-Check. Pre-Check usually means expedited clearance because shoes remain on, liquids need not be separated, and laptops can remain in luggage. Travelers with Pre-Check usually walk through an old-fashioned metal detector rather than the newer backscatter machines. But having Pre-Check does not exempt someone from further screening or scrutiny. And so began my ordeal at Chicago's O'Hare airport this morning.
After placing my luggage on the conveyor belt, I walked through the metal detector. No metal was detected. But I was told by the agent that I needed to walk back through and step aside to await further screening. I had been "randomly" selected for more detailed screening despite having cleared the standard procedures. So I waited. And waited. And waited.
I could not see my luggage at the other end of the conveyor belt. Eventually, an agent came over and told me to empty my pockets, put my wallet and passport into a bin, and go through the backscatter machine.
Knowing that my wallet would be going through the x-ray machine out of my view, and knowing that TSA agents are known for stealing from travelers, (not to mention any traveler who would be able to steal my wallet while I was undergoing the anal probe) I told the agent I would carry my wallet through, and if it needed to be inspected by hand he could do so. He told me again to put my wallet and passport in the bin. I again refused. This, by the way, is absolutely my right. His demand violated TSA's own protocols & procedures.
I proceeded through the backscatter machine without incident. But then came the hand inspection of the wallet. He emptied my wallet of all cash, receipts, and credit cards. He tried to remove my driver's license also, but he couldn't get it to budge. Then, because hiding explosives between dollar bills must be a common thing for terrorists, he proceeded to separate every bill as if he was dealing cards at a poker table. He did the same thing with my credit cards. Perhaps fearing that my receipts would be used as kindling to start a fire on the plane, he separated each of those as well. I was left with an empty wallet and its former contents scattered.
When he began to put things back into my wallet, I said, "I'll put those back. You don't know where any of it goes." He responded, "OK. Have a nice day." My response was "Yeah, it's too late for that now." After reorganizing my wallet, I wormed my way through the crowd to the end of the conveyor belt to retrieve my luggage.
Why was there a crowd at the conveyor belt? Because my luggage was still on it, thus squishing everyone else's luggage into the cramped space just past the x-ray machine tunnel. The entire ordeal took about 15 minutes.
Despite being vetted with a background check, I and/or my luggage gets selected for additional screening about 70% of the time I travel. That doesn't seem random to me.
Today's incident is now added to my other problems with TSA: Chicago (a few years ago), Newark, Columbia, Juneau, Seattle, Richmond, Las Vegas, West Palm Beach, Washington, and others I don't specifically recall at the moment.
TSA is horrible. And they have never caught a terrorist. But they've let many terrorists through. That's facts.
Kenosha, Wisconsin at the Scene of No Crime
November 11, 2024 8:24pm
As I wrote in 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse committed no crime in Kenosha. Yet Leftist prosecutors charged him with five felonies; not to seek justice, but to appease the violent mob.
Yet even that did not satisfy the mob. So-called "journalists" called him a murderer. Big Tech deleted posts that explained why Kyle's actions were both necessary and lawful. Twitter banned his defense attorney from posting true facts about the case. GoFundMe cancelled the online campaign to raise funds to pay for his legal defense. A police officer in Virginia was fired when his superiors learned he had donated to Kyle's defense fund. Collectively, those actions comprised a disgusting, all hands attack on an innocent man. And on American values.
It is important to note that Big Tech's censorship was one-sided. Anyone could post anything they wanted about Kyle Rittenhouse as long as it fit the Left's narrative that he was guilty as sin. Twitter's refusal to allow Kyle's defense attorney to correct the lies was a disgraceful abuse of that platform's power and influence. GoFundMe said they terminated the fundraiser because their Terms of Service prohibit raising money for the legal defense of an alleged violent crime. What? Only non-violent criminals deserve the presumption of innocence and a right to counsel??? And while firing the policeman was an egregious violation of the officer's First Amendment Rights, it's actually worse because the officer's identity only came to be known after an illegal data breach.
On November 19, 2021, I watched the Rittenhouse verdicts being read live on TV. Within a minute, I posted ten words on my Facebook page. Those words were "NOT GUILTY! NOT GUILTY! NOT GUILTY! NOT GUILTY! NOT GUILTY!" (one for each of the five verdicts). Less than five minutes later, Facebook removed my post and notified me that I was suspended from the platform for 30 days.
The Kyle Rittenhouse case is a very important chapter in American history - not just because it highlighted the lawful right to justified self defense, but because it exposed the Left's dangerous monopoly on conversations of national importance.
I was in Kenosha yesterday, so I sought out the locations of the self defense shootings that made headlines around the world. The photos I took are above.
LEFT PHOTO: The car lot at the northwest corner of Sheridan Rd. & 63rd St. where Kyle Rittenhouse properly defended his life when he was unlawfully attacked by Joseph Rosenbaum.
RIGHT PHOTO: Farther north on Sheridan Road where Kyle Rittenhouse properly defended his life when he was unlawfully attacked by Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz.
Touchdown Jesus at The University of Notre Dame
November 10, 2024 7:07am
On November 26, 1842, The University of Notre Dame was founded in South Bend, Indiana by eight Catholic priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Fourteen months later, on January 15, 1844, the University was officially chartered by the Indiana legislature. The university has since grown to become one of America's finest institutions of higher learning.
Lead by legendary head coach Knute Rockne, the "Fighting Irish" football team brought great notoriety to the school and secured its place in American culture. "The Spirit of Notre Dame" film was released in 1931. Nine years later, Rockne himself was the subject of the "Knute Rockne All American" movie. And while some of the details of 1993's "Rudy" were fictionalized, it was based on the true story of Notre Dame football player Rudy Ruettiger. Notre Dame has certainly earned its status as one of the premier teams and most iconic sports stadiums in the United States.
So with the Florida State Seminoles facing the Irish at Notre Dame this season, I jumped at the opportunity to attend the game. The campus was beautiful, and the people could not have been more welcoming and accommodating. I enjoyed lunch the day before Saturday's game at Legends located on campus just south of the stadium. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart was spectacular. I even attended the Midnight Drum Circle pep rally in front of the gold-domed Main Building. There weren't many of us wearing garnet and gold at that pep rally, but we were treated respectfully by those wearing Irish colors.
Although I was excited to be there, the game itself was disappointing but not surprising. With the Seminoles' lousy 1 - 9 season, I knew we'd lose. But I didn't expect the loss to be 52 - 3. Despite the scoreboard, my first football game at Notre Dame was still a fun experience.
But my visit to Notre Dame University wasn't just about football. I also attended a lecture by Gerard Baker, Editor-at-Large for The Wall Street Journal. It was held in the Jordan Auditorium at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. The topic was "Unpacking the Election: Where Do We Go From Here?" The lecture was worthwhile - as was the entire trip.
Trump Won!
November 6, 2024 4:11am
Amazing. Despite the weaponization of government against him... Despite the abuse of the legal system against him... Despite the activists posing as journalists in the propaganda press constantly lying about him... Despite the cabal of Leftist celebrities denouncing him... Donald Trump somehow managed to pull off the win. Wow.
Why Florida's Pro-Abortion Amendment #4 Must Not Pass
October 5, 2024 11:07am
Dr. Bill Lile of ProLifeDoc.org was my guest on today's radio program. That episode is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/241005
Last year, pro-abortion activists in Florida garnered enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on this year's ballot. If voters approve Amendment 4 by a 60% margin, it would replace Florida’s current law that prohibits abortions after six-weeks gestation under most circumstances. Amendment 4 would permit nearly unrestricted abortion throughout the state. The amendment is so broadly written that a woman could legally kill her child on its due date at nine months gestation.
The ballot summary reads, "No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature's constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion."
Like all proposed constitutional amendments in Florida, the exact wording of that ballot summary was written by the activists who placed it on the ballot. So it is intended to portray it in the most positive manner. But the language is actually very deceptive and unclear. What that constitutional amendment would do hinges on three critical terms: "viability," "health," and "healthcare provider."
What is "viability?" Most people would assume "viability" means the baby can live on its own outside the womb. And Florida Statute 390.011 currently defines viability as "the stage of fetal development when the life of a fetus is sustainable outside the womb through standard medical measures." But the legislature could change that at any time.
What is "health?" Most people would assume "health" is the physical well-being of the woman's body. But does mental health count? If having a baby might make a woman unhappy, would that be reason enough to kill the child? Current Florida law, Chapter 390.01112 does not consider psychological conditions to be "health" for purposes of lawful abortion. But a future legislature could, by simple majority, change that.
What is a "healthcare provider?" Most people would assume a "healthcare provider" is a doctor or registered nurse. But Florida Statute 641.19 also includes as providers anyone who is "licensed or otherwise authorized to practice in the state." Well, Florida requires massage therapists, cosmetologists, and nail technicians to be licensed. Could they authorize late-term abortions if Amendment 4 passes?
Even if the answer to that question is currently "no," the legislature, by a simple majority, could at any point in the future change the definition of "healthcare provider" under Florida law. Doing so could radically change the meaning of Amendment 4. While a nail technician may or may not be considered a "healthcare provider" today, she could easily be considered a "healthcare provider" in the future. And with such a designation, a nail technician would have the constitutional authority in the State of Florida to give legal permission to kill a child in the womb at nine months gestation. And the State of Florida would be powerless to prevent it. The legislature could also one day include astrologists and palm readers as "healthcare providers."
But even now, federal regulations under the Public Health Service Act consider community mental health centers, pharmacists, and therapists to be healthcare providers. And it also allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to unilaterally change what constitutes a healthcare provider. So, I am certain a future Democrat would one day broaden the federal definition of "healthcare provider" to include anyone who favors abortions at any point in a pregnancy.
Floridians should not risk enshrining such nebulous and changeable terms into the state constitution. A "NO" vote on Amendment is critical. Because if it passes, it would never be repealed.
As of last month, Amendment 4's sponsor has spent more than $56.8 million to enshrine a right to kill pre-born children throughout Florida. But those of us who value human life can defeat that effort by voting "NO" on Amendment 4, and by informing our friends as to what Amendment 4 would actually do. Because if voters knew the truth; that a child in the womb is its own distinct human and is not just an unviable tissue mass, those voters would certainly defeat this dangerous and deceptive amendment.
Please share this blog post with your friends via email and social media. You can write your own explanation, or you can simply copy, paste, and share this link - www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/241005-1107. Thank you.
Tim Walz Abhors the First Amendment.
October 2, 2024 9:15am
During last night's VP candidate debate, Tim Walz defended his desire to obliterate the First Amendment by saying, "You can't yell fire in a crowded theater. That's.... that's the test. That's the Supreme Court test!"
NO, IT IS NOT THE SUPREME COURT TEST! WALZ IS WRONG! And so is every Leftist tyrant who uses that line to defend their desire to infringe on the free speech rights of Americans.
It was Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who said, "Free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic" (Schenck v. United States). But neither that quote nor that case permitted censorship or criminalized speech. It criminalized the REACTION the speech directly caused. In that case, it violated the Espionage Act of 1917.
If I went into a crowded theater and shouted "Fire!" but nobody reacted, I would not be charged with a crime (except perhaps for the overly ambiguous "disturbing the peace," which would certainly be dismissed by the court). Legally, it would be no different than me yelling "Free Popcorn!" with no reaction.
Further, Holmes' opinion was largely overturned in subsequent Supreme Court rulings such as Abrams v. United States and Brandenburg v. Ohio. I do not understand why the concept is so difficult for Leftists to grasp. SPEECH CANNOT BE CRIMINAL except for very narrow circumstances such as making a direct threat with the ability to carry out the threat. And government censorship is only permitted in the narrow but nebulous category of "obscenity." But even that category of expression has been largely eviscerated.
The Supreme Court ruled in the 1969 case of Brandenburg v. Ohio that the constitutional right to free speech protects inflammatory rhetoric unless it’s intended to incite “imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”
What the Left calls "misinformation" or "hate speech" does not come anywhere near meeting that standard. Those terms are just epithets for "free speech the Left doesn't like." It's shameful. And it's dangerous.
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech." - Benjamin Franklin
The Complete List of Kamala's Accomplishments (There's Only 3)
July 27, 2024 11:49am
The Democrats, who falsely accuse Republicans of being a threat to democracy, have again shown that the Democrat Party is the party that loathes democracy.
In this 2024 cycle, Democrats conspired to keep Robert F. Kennedy off the primary ballots. In some states, including Florida, Democrat party operatives simply declared Biden to be the state's choice and didn't hold a primary at all. Seriously. How's THAT for supporting democracy? The Democrats refused to allow any challengers to Joe Biden, and simply canceled the primary and declared Biden o be the unanimous winner. That's what third world dictators do! Well, third world dictators and United States Democrats.
Democrats lied to the public about Uncle Joe's cognitive decline. But then when it became obvious to all during his disastrous debate with Trump on June 27th, the conspiracy of deceit crumbled. And Joe was forced out of the race with party bosses replacing him with Kamala Harris. But she's even dumber than Biden.
The Democrats don't really want Kamala Harris to be the president. But they've determined Joe Biden couldn't beat Donald Trump in November. So, with the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump a week before, the Democrats had to come up with another strategy. That strategy was to talk Joe Biden into withdrawing from the race.
But then the question came up as to who should replace him. And that's where the Democrats and their race-baiting identity politics created a problem. Even the Democrats know that Kamala Harris is an incompetent buffoon. But could they really nominate someone else? Could they really pass over a black woman for a white guy like California Governor Gavin Newsom or Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear? To do so would be racist! And only Republicans are racists.
So they coalesced around Kamala. Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi all endorsed her. Bill and Hillary Clinton both endorsed her. So have the other possible nominees: Governors Gavin Newsom, Andy Beshear, Josh Shapiro, and Gretchen Whitmer.
Almost every Democrat Senator has endorsed her along with many Democrat Representatives. And Democratic Party state chairs of all 50 states have endorsed her. So have many labor unions and Leftist advocacy groups. She is absolutely going to be the nominee. But what are her qualifications?
Kamala Harris got to where she is on her knees. And, no, I'm not saying she prayed. In the 1990s, Kamala Harris had an ongoing lengthy affair with the married politician, Willie Brown. He was a former mayor of San Francisco who was serving as speaker of the California State Assembly at the time he and Harris were in a relationship.
Willie Brown used his political influence to obtain endorsements and raise money for Kamala when she ran to be San Francisco district attorney, which launched her political career. Willie Brown also help her get elected to be the California Attorney General. Had she not provided sexual favors to such a powerful politician, Kamala Harris would not be the Vice President today nor the Democrat nominee for president tomorrow. So, to say that she slept her way to the top is not some misogynist theory conjured up by conservatives to harm Kamala's reputation. It’s the truth.
What are Kamala's accomplishments? Other than the fact that she slept her way into office as a sex worker, what has she done? As Vice President, she has only two primary roles: to break tie votes in the Senate, and to replace the President if he dies. That's it. Presidents can assign VPs other responsibilities. But whatever those are, they are done under the auspices of the President. So in that vein, what responsibilities has Kamala been assigned? Well, she was supposedly put in charge of securing the Southern Border. And could the situation at the border possibly be worse than it has been for the past three years?
I couldn't think of any accomplishments Kamala Harris has had as VP. Any at all. So, I went to www.whitehouse.gov figuring they'd have a list. And while there wasn't really a list, there were paragraphs explaining her accomplishments as VP. That White House website said, "On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President – the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected to this position." So, as is typical with Democrats these days, her number one accomplishment is that she's a woman who is part black and part Indian. The most important thing about Kamala Harris according to the White House itself is that she born female to black and Indian parents - something she has literally zero control over, of course. And it is also something that is irrelevant. I can think of no human characteristic that is of less importance than race. But Democrats obsess over it. It's a disgusting obsession. But it's done because it's divisive and it scores political points. And Democrats are all about dividing our nation to score political points.
The White House website also said, "She has led the fight for the freedom of women to make decisions about their own bodies, the freedom to live safe from gun violence, the freedom to vote, and the freedom to drink clean water and breathe clean air."
It also said, "While making history at home, she is also representing the nation abroad – embarking on more than a dozen foreign trips, traveling to more than 19 countries, and meeting with more than 150 world leaders to strengthen critical global alliances."
The White House website also says, "As President of the Senate, Vice President Harris set a new record for the most tie-breaking votes cast by a Vice President in history – surpassing a record that had stood for nearly 200 years. And her votes have been consequential. This includes casting the decisive vote to secure passage of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment ever in tackling the climate crisis. She also presided over the unprecedented vote to confirm the first Black woman, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the Supreme Court while working alongside President Biden to achieve historic representation of women and people of color among nominees at all levels of the federal government."
Those so-called "accomplishments," while not meaningless, are not really accomplishments. ANY Democrat vice president would have cast the exact same tie-breaking votes in the Senate. And the only reason those tie-breaking votes were necessary is because the composition of the senate was evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats after the 2022 election. So those votes don't count as accomplishments at all. Those were just robotic going-through-the-motions party-line votes that any VP would have done.
WhiteHouse.gov also said Kamala Harris worked alongside President Biden to achieve historic representation of women and people of color among nominees at all levels of the federal government. Yeah, of course. That's just more Democrat prejudice about black people again.
And the rest of the website simply credited her with Joe Biden's so-called accomplishments. They just piggy-backed her to him because she hasn't really done anything special on her own. So, according to the White House itself, Kamala Harris' biggest accomplishment is that she's a black and Indian woman who parroted the various talking points of the Democrat Party - usually from a teleprompter. And that she was Biden's VP.
So, based on that, Kamala Harris accomplished pretty much nothing as Vice President. But she was a U.S. Senator before that. So what did she accomplish as a Senator? The White House website addresses her years in the Senate saying, "In 2017, she was sworn into the United States Senate where she championed legislation to fight hunger, provide rent relief, improve maternal health care, expand access to capital for small businesses, revitalize America’s infrastructure, and combat the climate crisis. She questioned two Supreme Court nominees while serving on the Judiciary Committee. She also worked to keep the American people safe from foreign threats and crafted bipartisan legislation to assist in securing American elections while serving on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence." Uh... she "championed" legislation. But did she sponsor any? Yeah, she was the primary sponsor of just three bills that became law.
What were those three bills? NOTE: The White House website didn't cite these three bills. I had to look 'em up myself. But what were the three bills Kalama Harris sponsored that became law?
1) Senate Bill 729 during the 115th Congress: The John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act. It added 44 acres of land to the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, California.
2) Senate Bill 129 during the 116th Congress: The Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial Act. It established a national memorial and national monument to commemorate the people killed by the 1928 collapse of the Saint Francis Dam in northern Los Angeles County, California.
3) Senate Bill 3033 during the 115th Congress: The COUNT Victims Act. That bill changed what constitutes a death caused by a hurricane. The hurricane? Or the aftermath? She wanted deaths in the aftermath - UP TO FIVE MONTHS AFTERMATH - to count. Why? So the Democrats could attack President Trump.
When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, the death count was originally listed as 64, because 64 people died. The Democrats, of course, blamed Donald Trump for not only the deaths, but for the hurricane itself because he withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement three months before the hurricane it. But 64 deaths, while not good for those 64 people and their families, is not exactly an earth-shattering national tragedy. But 3000 deaths would be.
So, the Democrats started counting the 2975 people who died up to five months AFTER The hurricane as being hurricane deaths. These weren't necessarily people who died by falling from a roof they were repairing, or who died from a chain saw accident while cutting downed trees. Those 2975 deaths were based solely on a statistical count of how many people would be expected die had there not been a hurricane compared to how many people actually did die. That excess mortality got counted as hurricane deaths for which Donald Trump could be blamed. It also meant Puerto Rico was entitled to a lot more freebies from the American taxpayers.
Now, is that just my personal analysis? Am I just being a partisan hater? No. In fact, Kamala Harris herself said about her bill, "Whether it be Hurricane Maria or another natural disaster to come, the accuracy of the death toll has a direct impact on an area's recovery. We cannot allow our government's failed response in Puerto Rico to ever happen again. The ability to accurately count victims of natural disasters will give accurate information to grieving communities, and help us understand how we can mitigate the damage of future disasters."
And Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), who sponsored the bill in the house said, "Death tolls are important. They influence public perception about the scope of a disaster and often determine what federal resources are allocated for response. Tragically, in Puerto Rico, the official death toll has been vastly undercounted, driving a narrative that has enabled the Trump Administration to brag about its response to Maria, while our fellow citizens were dying. This is shameful and it can never happen again. To that end, I am pleased to join with Senator Harris to introduce the COUNT Act, which will help establish federal procedures to efficiently assess death tolls."
When Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-PA) expressed his support of the bill, he said, "The grossly inaccurate death count from Hurricane Maria's decimation of Puerto Rico is the ultimate disrespect and culminating offense in the parade of errors, mismanagement, and careless indifference displayed by the Trump Administration during its response to this humanitarian crisis, or lack thereof."
So Kamala Harris's only three accomplishments as a U.S. Senator were to expand a national park, put up a memorial to a dam collapse, and to attack Donald Trump by manipulating the definition of a death caused by a natural disaster. In other words, she accomplished nothing. But the Democrats and their allies in the propaganda press are describing her as the most accomplished woman that ever lived. Of course, they do that with every Democrat candidate. Every Democrat candidate is the greatest human being to ever live. And every Republican candidate is the worst human being to ever live. And because she's black, the truth I'm speaking must be racist, right?
Beyond those three bills, with few exceptions, as a U.S. Senator, she voted with her party. But she herself introduced nothing of consequence that passed.
What about her time while serving as the Attorney General of California? Well, she defended Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, in court. But she also refused to defend the California law implemented by the voters via Prop 8. That was the law that defined marriage as the union between one man and one woman. Despite it being constitutionally required that the attorney general defend state law against challenges, Kamala Harris simply chose not to - all became she didn't like the law. So, in that regard, Kamala Harris is a typical Democrat who loathes the law when it goes against their destructive agenda.
Before that, she was the District Attorney of San Francisco where her primary focus was on supporting the LGBTQ agenda. In fact, she officiated the first same-sex wedding in the state after California's Proposition 8 was overturned.
So, what important things has Kamala Harris accomplished? Nothing. Nothing at all. Yet she will be the Democrats' nominee on the presidential ballot this year. And she will get far more votes than Joe Biden would have received. The result? There is a very high likelihood that the next President of the United States will be one of the dumbest people to ever walk the earth.
If You Can’t Beat Him, Kill Him???
July 20, 2024 1:19pm
Donald Trump was almost assassinated a week ago. He came within a literal inch of his life as he was giving a speech in Butler, Pennsylvania. But how did Thomas Matthew Crooks manage to get off the rifle shots that almost killed Donald Trump? Was it skill? Luck? Bureaucratic incompetence? Or an inside job by the Secret Service itself?
While I would normally not entertain deep state conspiracy theories, the most logical explanation is that Secret Service agents participated in a plot to kill the former President and current presidential candidate. I can't say with certainty it was an inside job. But it could only be one of two things: an unbelievably egregious example of absolute and utter incompetence by the Secret Service, or the Secret Service engaged in the assassination attempt. And when it comes to how elements of the federal government deal with Donald Trump, no criminal act can be dismissed as impossible.
It was current and former high-level government employees who knowingly promoted the Trump-Russia-Collusion lie. It was current and former high-level government employees who knowingly lied that the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation. It was current and former high-level government employees who weaponized federal law enforcement against Donald Trump and his supporters. It was current and former high-level government employees who have knowingly lied about Donald Trump ever since he announced his candidacy in 2015. So it is illogical to believe that same deep state wouldn't conspire to murder him.
I don't want to believe that is what happened. I don't want to believe my government is that corrupt. But if the assassination attempt wasn't an inside job, then it was such an egregious violation of security protocols that there is simply no way it would have happened through plain negligence. All evidence points to it being an inside job with government agents, whose duty is to protect him, instead conspiring to kill him.
I have attended election campaign events for major party candidates. I have attended events with both sitting and former U.S. Presidents. I have worked as part of The White House Press Corps on more than a dozen occasions, including accompanying President Obama on his historic visit to Havana, Cuba in March 2016. I have seen from the inside how the Secret Service's protection protocols work. It is not possible that rooftop, with a direct line-of-site just 425 feet from where Donald Trump would be speaking, was anything but intentionally left unguarded.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said no agents were on that roof because it was sloped. Yes, she really said that. But she didn't explain how Secret Service agents managed to be on other sloped roofs without plummeting to their deaths. Nor did she explain how Crooks was able to position himself on such a dangerously sloped roof. Please note the obvious sarcasm.
The only reason Donald Trump wasn't killed was because he turned his head as Crooks was squeezing the trigger of his rifle. The bullet clipped his right ear. But had Donald Trump not turned his head at that moment, the bullet would have struck his skull at an angle of attack of about 60°, which would have been fatal. Donald Trump was literally a split second away from death.
There are only two explanations for how close Trump came to dying; either it was an inside job, or the Secret Service is grossly incompetent. And the Secret Service is not that incompetent.
More commentary about this assassination attempt was included on my radio show today. It is archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/240720
The History of Fabulous Las Vegas
April 27, 2024 9:49am
Las Vegas, Nevada is a lot more than glitz, glamour, and vice. When I visited that desert oasis a few months ago, I sat down with Mark Hall-Patton, the former Administrator of the Clark County Museum System to discuss the history of Nevada's most populous (and most popular) city. You may know him as "The Beard of Knowledge" from The History Channel's hit show "Pawn Stars."
Our conversation traced the growth of Las Vegas from the Indigenous tribes through European settlement to today's domination by corporate mega-casinos. The first episode of this two-part documentary aired last week. Episode 2 aired today. They are both now archived online as podcasts:
Episode 1 - www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/240420
Episode 2 - www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/240427
The Truth About Glaciers
April 20, 2024 8:45pm
I visited the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska today. It is one of many major glaciers that connect to the vast Juneau Ice Field, a 1500 square mile expanse of rock, snow and ice that is a remnant of the last ice age.
While the glacier is large and impressive, climate change propagandists are quick to point out that it used to be much larger. And of course, they blame you and your use of fossil fuels for its shrinkage. But like most claims of anthropogenic climate change, the facts tell a different story. The truth is that, worldwide, some glaciers are melting. Some glaciers are growing. And glaciologists do not know why. To blame glacial retreat on human-induced climate change is irresponsible and dishonest.
In 1794, Captain George Vancouver sailed into Alaska's Icy Strait. What would become Glacier Bay was barely noticeable because it was full of ice. Its Grand Pacific Glacier was 3900 feet tall, 20 miles wide, and more than 100 miles long extending all the way up to the St. Elias Mountain Range.
Eighty five years later, in 1879, John Muir found that the glacier had retreated 48 miles up Glacier Bay. By 1916 it had retreated 65 miles. Due to glacial retreat, Glacier Bay now has about 950 square miles of navigable waters, and the tallest of its eleven tidewater glaciers is only 350 feet tall.
Whose gas-guzzling SUV or electric air conditioner caused that? Nobody's. Glaciers have been receding and growing and receding and growing for millennia. Even today, some glaciers are expanding in the same areas that other glaciers are shrinking. But the climate change alarmists only tell you about the shrinking glaciers. And they blame it on your use of fossil fuels. Their dishonesty is disgusting. And dangerous.
What REALLY Happened on The Cross?
March 30, 2024 8:48am
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. Do you know what REALLY happened on the Cross?
That's not a trick question. Most people - even most Christians - do not.
On today's radio program, Reverend Carl Gallups shared the surprising and irrefutable explanation for what Jesus meant when He said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Whether you're already a Christian or not, you'll want to hear segments 3 and 4 of the program because it will probably stun you with the shocking explanation of what really happened on Calvary's Cross. It did me.
I promise you won't regret the 25 minutes it'll take to listen to it. It may even change your life forever. And by "forever," I mean that literally. It may change your eternal life. I think today's message is THAT powerful.
The episode is now available online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/240330 (segments 3 & 4).
No Floridian Will Be Trump's VP Nominee. Guaranteed.
March 25, 2024 5:16pm
Despite Senator Marco Rubio making the rounds on network news shows this past weekend to discuss being on Donald Trump's short list to be the Vice-Presidential running mate, it will not happen. Guaranteed.
Marco Rubio will not be the VP nominee for the same reason Ron DeSantis will not be the VP nominee: Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution of the United States, reiterated by the 12th Amendment, effectively prohibits two people of the same state from being running mates. Although it is not an outright ban, the Constitution makes such a scenario extremely risky because Electoral College votes would be automatically lost.
That clause says about the Electoral College that "The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, OF WHOM ONE AT LEAST SHALL NOT BE AN INHABITANT OF THE SAME STATE WITH THEMSELVES" (emphasis added). In other words, if the nominees for President and Vice President were both citizens of Florida, then Florida's Republican electors to the Electoral College would not be able to vote for Trump, even if Trump won Florida.
Florida is not Alaska. That's not a statement about the weather. Alaska has three Electoral College votes. Florida has thirty. That's more than ten percent of the 270 needed to win. So, no candidate would risk the loss of thirty Electoral College votes just to have a fellow Floridian as a running mate.
Think back to the 2000 election. George W. Bush assigned Dick Cheney the role of leading his VP selection committee. Then after a supposedly thorough search, Dick Cheney recommended himself. But Dick Cheney and George W. Bush were both residents of Texas. So, just days before Bush's VP pick was announced, Dick Cheney changed his residency back to his home state of Wyoming, thus allowing Texas' 32 Electoral College votes to count (if Republican). But if Cheney and Bush both were citizens of Texas, Texas' Electoral College votes would not have counted. The result would have been neither Bush nor Gore receiving 270 Electoral College votes, and the U.S. House and U.S. Senate separately choosing the victors (with the House choosing the President and the Senate choosing the Vice President).
The result of such a scenario would have been very interesting. The Republicans had a majority of the House of Representatives on certification day (January 6, 2001). But each Representative would not have gotten a vote. Only one vote per state would have been cast. Republicans held majorities in 28 states, so assuming votes went along party lines, Republican George W. Bush would have been elected President. But Democrat Joe Lieberman would have been elected Vice President. Why? Because the composition of the Senate on certification day was 50-50. The tie-breaking vote would have been cast by the then-sitting Vice President, Democrat Al Gore. Gore would have lost the presidency, but his running mate would have won the Vice Presidency! Seriously.
While the Constitution's de facto prohibition against two people from the same state running together is not common knowledge among the masses, it is not esoterically obscure minutiae either. What I don't understand is how the conversation about Marco Rubio or Ron DeSantis being Trump's running mate even gets into the so-called "news" papers and "news" networks without the editors spiking the story because of its impossibility - or at the very least without explaining the Constitutional ramifications of such a scenario. I have been explaining it to countless people over the past several months when they've advocated for Ron DeSantis to be Trump's running mate. And not a single person had ever heard of the constitutional ramifications I just outlined. Many have challenged me on it. But it's easy enough to read the Constitution and verify the veracity of my explanation.
Why do I know this, but the big news outlets don't? Not to sound conceited, but it's because I'm educated and objective. The big news outlets are generally run by partisan fools who are more interested in inflaming than informing. Such is the sad state of today's partisan press.
The Voice of an Angel: Chris Noel
March 23, 2024 9:50am
On today's radio program, I interviewed an angel. That episode is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/240323
During the Vietnam War, Chris Noel was a cute, green-eyed blonde who was known and adored by every serviceman in southeast Asia. She wasn't on a poster tacked to their walls. She was with them on the air. But she didn't only visit American troops via the magic of radio. She was with them live in-person performing onstage, signing autographs, and posing for pictures. It was also important to Chris that she visit our wounded servicemen in the hospitals. She would often be seen sitting bedside holding the hands of wounded GIs offering them comfort, hope, and love. At a time when supporting American military personnel was unpopular, Chris Noel risked not only her Hollywood career, but also her life, to demonstrate her love for our men in uniform. She was so effective in boosting morale that the Viet Cong put a $10,000 bounty on her head.
Back in the States, Chris Noel was known for her starring roles in films with Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen, Dennis Hopper, and Jackie Gleason. But in Vietnam, she was the voice of an angel who visited the troops through her radio show that aired on the military-run radio network (AFVN, the American Forces Vietnam Network, which is best known as the real-life radio station portrayed in Robin Williams' 1987 movie "Good Morning, Vietnam"). She opened every episode of her program "A Date with Chris" with the seductive coo of "Hi, love!" Interspersed among the top songs of the day, her program brought words of comfort and love to the men in the field. Many GIs said her radio show was the sound of home that brought them hope in times of hopelessness. She was on AFVN radio in Vietnam every weeknight from 1966 - 1971.
Chris Noel visited Vietnam more times than she can recall. But unlike many entertainers who participated in USO shows well behind the lines, Noel frequently flew to forward operating bases to visit the men out in the field. Although the military did its best to keep her safe, she was shot at on numerous occasions, and her helicopter crashed in a rice paddy near a suspected Viet Cong village. She survived, of course, and returned to Vietnam many times after those incidents. She cared so much about our servicemen, nothing would keep her away.
Chris Noel's love and support for our military did not stop at the end of hostilities. Since 1993, she has provided free services to veterans at her Vetsville Cease Fire House in Boynton Beach, Florida. That center provides shelter, care, and hope for homeless veterans. She also attended many veteran events across America, including the annual Rolling Thunder gatherings in Washington, DC that focused on remembering our POWs and MIA servicemen. These are just a few examples of her service to our warriors. There are many others.
Chris Noel wrote about her time in Vietnam in her 2011 book "Vietnam and Me." She also spoke about her Vietnam experience in the 2015 radio documentary "AFVN: The GI's Companion" that I produced with Harry Simons. But because she is so humble and does not seek accolades for her work, she would never ask for awards or recognition.
But she deserves to be recognized for her relentless support of our servicemen throughout her life. Thanks to Randy Nichols and Harry Simons, an effort is now underway to submit her name for consideration to be awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This medal is presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
Although the award is given at the sole discretion of the President of the United States, we want the President to know how many Americans are in favor of bestowing this honor upon Chris Noel. If you support this, please sign our petition. Signing the petition will not obligate you to anything. We promise to never ask you for money or send you junk mail. We are only asking you to do two things: 1) add your name to the petition to show your support, and 2) copy and share the www.HonorChrisNoel.com link with your friends, so they can also participate in honoring a humble woman whose service to America's veterans should be honored. Let's not miss this opportunity to recognize Chris Noel's lifelong support of our servicemen. Please sign the petition today.
You can hear Chris Noel, now 82 years old, speak about her life in the interview I recorded with her in West Palm Beach, Florida last week. It aired today on the radio and is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/240323
A Patient Is A Person, No Matter How Small
March 16, 2024 9:34am
Last month, I attended a presentation by my friend Dr. William Lile, the "ProLife Doc." Licensed to practice medicine in Florida and Alabama, he is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and has served as an OB/GYN Department Chair. He has also taught at the University of Florida and Florida State Medical School OB/GYN residency programs.
In 1999, Dr. Lile purchased an OB/GYN practice that was the largest provider of abortion services in Pensacola, Florida. He immediately stopped all its abortion services. And he used the equipment that had previously killed babies in the womb to educate people about the grisly realities of surgical abortions. Those educational programs have since grown into the worldwide ministry ProLifeDoc.org which teaches the undeniable personhood of pre-born babies.
Dr. Lile shares the indisputable science that a pre-born child is genetically unique from his/her mother and father, which means the fetus is individual human life. He further supports that child's separate identity by educating people about the wonders of modern obstetrical technology that allow doctors to correct many developmental defects via surgery in the womb. The result is healthy babies being born months later! Those in utero procedures on pre-born children range from blood transfusions to heart & brain surgeries.
I interviewed Dr. Lile on today's radio program where he explained that a majority of abortions in America are done with an abortion pill, but that such abortions can be reversed if the antidote is administered within 72 hours. He also described those miraculous medical procedures that are saving the lives of babies in the womb. And perhaps most importantly, he made the case that a patient is a person, no matter how small.
Whether you are pro-life or pro-abortion, you should listen to today's radio show. It is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/240316. I also encourage you to visit Dr. Lile's website at www.ProLifeDoc.org
Well, of Course, Donald Trump Is Eligible for the Presidency!
March 4, 2024 9:39am
The Supreme Court just announced its UNANIMOUS decision in Trump v. Anderson, the case regarding Colorado removing the former President from its ballot under the 14th Amendment.
I wrote about Colorado's unconstitutional action on December 19th. But I saw the DemonRats' evil scheme long before that. On November 18, 2022, the day Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, I wrote about the reasons for the Democrats’ and the media's (my apologies for being redundant) deliberate misuse of the word "insurrection" to describe the January 6th riot at The Capitol. And I have explained many times on my radio program exactly why the 14th Amendment does NOT render Trump ineligible for the presidency.
So why did I get it right when so many so-called "legal experts" and "constitutional scholars" got it wrong? Because my loyalty is to the Constitution of the United States not to a political party. And my knowledge of our Constitution is not clouded by partisan ideology. But most of today's so-called "journalists" are nothing but hard Left activists who spew false propaganda that supports the Democrat Party's destructive agenda. And that propaganda press gleefully amplifies the lies the DemonRats tell.
Fortunately, all nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court based their decision on law and facts rather than the lies the public was spoon-fed by enemies of our Republic.
One final point before I end this post. I do not want Donald Trump back in The White House, although I will vote for him over any DemonRat in the race. That the issue of Trump's eligibility even had to go before the U.S. Supreme Court is shameful. But so is nearly everything Democrat officials do.