Do you remember the movie “The Magnificent Seven”? I sure do, racist tropes and all. Some may know that the film’s screenplay was based on a 1954 Japanese flick called “Seven Samurai” which depicted a bandit-ravaged Japanese village that hire a non-aligned samurai (a ronin) to defend them. He in turn enlists 6 others. They win in the end, but at a cost.

Besides the number 7, that movie has nothing to do with today’s screed.

With today’s conviction of President Biden’s son we are reminded that the progeny of politicos are as imperfect as their parents – or any other human for that matter.

Take, for example, Michael Patton Guest, son of Congressman Michael Guest (R MS-03). Guest the younger was arrested for assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and underage drinking in Nashville this past February.

Then we have Tyler Jay Boebert, 18, son of Congressman Lauren “Beetlejuice” Boebert (R CO-3). Tyler was arrested, also last February, for multiple car break-ins and property thefts. He was released without bail. Another product of a broken home.

The only son of Catherine Templeton, currently running in a primary election against Congressman Nancy Mace (R SC-01), was arrested last April by Mount Pleasant, SC police and faces a felony charge of assault and battery. Brooks Hampton Templeton, 18, was booked into the Charleston County jail. He spent about 4½ hours in custody before being released on bail for $30,000.

The son of Congressman Steve Womack (R – AR-03), James Womack, 35, was booked into the Washington County, Arkansas jail this past January. Charges include fleeing, criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance and multiple moving violations. For the criminal mischief charge, bail was set at $10,000.

The son of Sarah Palin, former Republican Governor of Alaska and former Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, Track Palin, 29, was arrested in 2018 in Wasilla, Alaska for domestic violence and resisting arrest.

The daughter of House Democratic Whip, Congressman Katherine Clark (D MA-05), Riley Dowell, 23, was arrested for defacing the bandstand at Boston Common with “NO COP CITY” and “ACAB” (shorthand for “All Cops Are Bastards”) during a protest in January of 2023.

The daughter of Congressman Ilhan Omar (D MN-05), Isra Hirsi, 21, who attends Barnard College in Manhattan, was arrested this past April for trespass on the campus of New York University. Isra was on the campus “standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.”

These seven lawless sons and daughters were all caught in the act just as President Biden’s son, Hunter, was. They, like any other citizen will be processed in our system of justice for their mistakes without fear or favor, just as The President’s son was.

Civil disobedience and civil disorder are all treated the same in this country.

They do carry different messages, though.

Hunter Biden’s conviction today reminds us again, but not for the first time as seen by the seven cases above, no one is above the law.

Ever wonder why Sam Alito flew an “Appeal To Heaven” flag at his New Jersey beach house? The common wisdom is that he flew it because he was simpatico with the cause of the January 6 rioters, just like the inverted American flag he flew outside his home in Alexandria, Virginia, where DC gentry go to bed at night.

But look under Alito’s Pine Tree Flag. What the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks are those two other flags?

I have answers.

The odd one with the stylized sun in a navy triangle is the world famous LBI Flag.

Oh. You’ve never heard of the LBI Flag? LBI stands for Long Beach Island. That’s a barrier island just north of Atlantic City, where Justice Alito maintains a vacation home.

It’s a long, thin island, so it therefore has a long beach. Get it?

Not to be confused with the three artificial islands offshore of Long Beach, California. Those islands were built by a consortium of 5 oil companies (3 now) and were named after the 3 Apollo 1 astronauts who died in a fire in the command module.

Right name, wrong coast.

That flag cannot be flown in Alexandria because it’s not an island, nor on the coast.

The other flag, a pennant really, has a big “2022” on it and a logo in the upper right corner that reveals its origin. It’s the NLCS championship flag from the Philadelphia Phillies.

So what do we make of that? How do they all relate? One possibility is that they don’t relate at all: they are as what one would find at the bottom of Mrs. Alito’s purse: an unmatched earring, a restaurant mint, and used Kleenex tissues.

Another possibility is that they all represent things you can’t fly over your home in Alexandria. The Phillies flag is a no-no in a town where the Nats play across the river. The LBI flag is so strange that non-islanders will wonder if it might be Satanic. And we all know why the Pine Tree Flag wouldn’t fly, so-to-speak, in liberal Alexandria, it being the latter-day symbol of January 6 insurrectionism.

Or it could be totally innocent. LBI flag aside, the Phillies pennant combined with the Pine Tree Flag may be a public prayer that that the Phillies be triumphant against their World Series rivals, the Houston Astros.

Appeal denied.

Speaking of blowhards, did you know that Alex Jones has agreed to liquidate his assets and pay the $1.4 billion that he owes to the parents of Sandy Hook victims? NPR has it here.

Is this the end of a very short career of lies, hate, grift, and conspiracy? Only time will tell. My one hope is that he doesn’t experience a resurgence in popularity when President Enrico Tarrio presents him with a Medal of Freedom at his 2044 State of the Union Address.

But seriously, here is a compendium of photos to mark the high- and lowlights of the passage of Alex’s time of celebrity on this mortal coil.

Here is Alex Jones at his first gig in Waco at the ruins of the Branch Davidian complex just after he accosted a CBS reporter who Alex thought was an FBI agent.

Here is Alex Jones at his desk during his stint as an Austin Access television commenter and later, a KJFK radio host before he was fired.

Here is Alex Jones as a feature in a 2009 documentary film about conspiracy theorists

Not to be mistaken for the previous WWE group of the same name.

Here is Alex Jones in his ursine display of personal health hawking Anthroplex for $29.99 a bottle. (It’s got zinc!)

Here is Alex Jones spewing outright lies and hatred on a megaphone in Newtown, Connecticut.

Here is Alex Jones awarding attorney Mark Bankston his “Perry Mason Moment” during his testimony in court.

Here is Alex Jones experiencing Chapter 7 in a tearless crying jag on TV last Saturday.

And here is the UK’s version of Alex Jones (Charlotte Alexandra Jones). She’s a nice woman who presents on the BBC.

No relation.

I had another Facebook interaction on Saturday, but this one turned out to be positive. At the same time, the entire experience illustrates the mountain we have to climb to get there. It was heartening and disheartening all at the same time. The beginning was simply one of those memes about student loan forgiveness. Just right there we have a triumph of issue framing. In order to be eligible for “loan forgiveness” one has to pay in regularly for at least ten years.

Instead of focusing on hearsay, let’s take a look at actual facts. According to the link, the average monthly payment is 503 dollars. It takes the average person 20 years to repay the loan. My crack math skills tell me that over ten years that ends up being around 61,000 give or take a dollar here or there. The same site said that typically 42 percent of the amount repaid goes to interest.

So, to call it student loan forgiveness is a bit disingenuous to begin with. This is what I lovingly call issue framing. I haven’t even lied yet and you already have a vision in your head of someone paying nothing for an education. The truth is that they pay back on average 61,000 before they are even eligible for the forgiveness. That exceeds the original value of their loan most of the time and we are just looking at the average payment and minimum amount of time to be eligible.

The good news is that the conversation went well. When I started pointing out facts the conversation shifted and became more cordial. I don’t think I converted anyone. The main counterpart still thinks it is better to incentivize big business and is still anti-student loan forgiveness but at least they acknowledged that the “facts” they were going in with weren’t really facts at all.

It took awhile. I had to lay out the groundwork that the federal government gives all kinds of people tax breaks, bailouts, and incentives for various reasons. Then, I had to go through the rules that were put in place to be eligible for the loan forgiveness. From there, I had to combat the notion that students were majoring in lesbian zombie studies or transgender media bias.

This is where things get into the good or bad news territory depending on your perspective. Doing this daily can be exhausting and it is a job that mainstream media is failing at. It isn’t that they are failing as much as they aren’t trying. It makes no sense for them to try. For all of the talk about media bias and a so-called liberal bias, they are ignoring the most obvious bias of all. Everyone wants to make a buck and conflict sells. So, why correct a bad frame when that bad frame gets eyeballs, clicks, and subscriptions?

The 24 hour news cycle and networks could have tackled these things. They could go into more depth on important issues so that their viewers have a more thorough understanding. It isn’t even so much that people would agree more with the idea of loan forgiveness. It would be that they wouldn’t necessarily demonize people because they would see that they have paid back what they originally borrowed and then some.

Again, this can be exhausting. This is one person and one issue. I don’t have the time or energy to tackle all of the issues and all of the people that are basing their opinions on bad information. Some of this is on all of us. I started with a simple question: what is the average loan payment and I was able to find the information in seconds. Information is available if we bother to ask the questions. Critical thinking is critical and nobody has time to do it for you.

Get in line, Orbis Business Intelligence, LTD. TFG has a few other lawsuits to settle up with before he can pay your court costs.

He owes one New York woman $88.3 million for defaming her…twice. He owes the State of New York $450 million in penalties and interest for his fraudulent business practices. He has yet to be sentenced for his hush money/fraud/contempt criminal case in re his tryst with a pornographic actor.

The man has a lot on his plate, and maybe some ketchup on his wall.

The Orbis claim on The Felon Guy extends from TFG’s lawsuit against Christopher Steele and his “Steele Dossier” that contained salacious details – that are totally believable now that we have testimony from Stormy Daniels – from an earlier escapade in Moscow.

The UK judge in the case, Mrs. Justice Steyn DBE, declined to rule on the actual allegations in the case. TFG was just 6 years too late in bringing the suit.

There are no compelling reasons to allow the claim to proceed to trial,” she wrote.

So to help Orbis recover the legal costs it incurred in defending the case, the judge ordered an initial payment of £300,000 (381,000 in USD) in legal fees.

Now TFG, as a convicted Felon, is proscribed from travel to 38 countries in the world, including the UK. So, getting him to pony up during his next visit will be put on hold, although it is rumored that he does own some property in Scotland.

He also has other previous claims on his vast wealth, as noted above. So Christopher Steele will have to await his reimbursement check. But he should check with Michael Cohen, who reportedly arranged a reimbursement on an installment plan.

Maybe he will have a suggestion.