Monday, May 22, 2017

The Trump speech to Israel was good. He didn't pull any punches. He said there had to be a Palestine nation with borders. He said there should be harmony in the Middle East. He has his moments.

There is tension between Donald and Melania Trump since the inauguration that was not there before.

Donald stated something to his wife on the inauguration platform that obviously was emotionally traumatizing. There is a culture developing around this tension and they watch her. They are convinced she is abused. By the looks of things, especially at the inauguration, there is something not right. People should be concerned.

This is embarrassing as a country to have the President and his wife in such disharmony. What gives with the guy already?

Nothing but a bunch of skirt chasers. No wonder they lied about the news all the time, they didn't have time or the inkling to find the truth.

May 22, 2017
By Daniel Wiessner

Fox News (click here) was hit with new sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits on Monday, adding to the catalog of complaints that has rattled the U.S. cable news network and its corporate parent 21st Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O).

New York City lawyer Douglas Wigdor filed lawsuits in federal court in Manhattan on behalf of Kathleen Lee, a Fox News Radio shift editor who says she was sexually harassed and subjected to "unceasing retaliation" for complaining, and Naima Farrow, who maintains she was fired from her job as an accounts payable coordinator after telling supervisors she was pregnant.

In a third case in the same court, Vidya Mann, a Fox News accounts receivable specialist, said she was taken on as a temporary employee but passed over for permanent jobs in favor of white coworkers.

A spokeswoman at Fox News said the company believes the suits are without merit, noting that the company took prompt action and takes all complaints of discrimination seriously.

The new legal claims come as Fox News is already battling a series of lawsuits that led to the resignations of former chief executive Roger Ailes, who died last week, star anchor Bill O'Reilly and network co-president Bill Shine.

Wigdor said he was also representing an unidentified black information technology employee who was subjected to racially insensitive remarks by Bob Beckel, an on-air host who was fired last week, days after the worker complained....

The American people can find the lies.


May 22, 2017
By Monica Lewinsky

Monica, 1999

...Their (FOX News) dream was my nightmare. (click here) My character, my looks and my life were picked apart mercilessly. Truth and fiction mixed at random in the service of higher ratings. My family and I huddled at home, worried about my going to jail — I was the original target of Ken Starr’s investigation, threatened with 27 years for having been accused of signing a false affidavit, obstructing justice, suborning perjury and other crimes — or worse, me taking my own life. Meantime, Mr. Ailes huddled with his employees at Fox News, dictating a lineup of talking heads to best exploit this personal and national tragedy.... 

...In fact, in late 1998, when Keith Olbermann briefly left MSNBC, he expressed disgust with the frequent Lewinsky coverage.

Just as television news was devolving into a modern coliseum, the internet came along and compounded this culture of shame and vitriol....

...Fox asked its viewers to vote on this pressing question: Is Monica Lewinsky an “average girl” or a “young tramp looking for thrills”?

Our world — of cyberbullying and chyrons, trolls and tweets — was forged in 1998. It is, as the historian Nicolaus Mills has put it, a “culture of humiliation,” in which those who prey on the vulnerable in the service of clicks and ratings are handsomely rewarded....

The Lewinsky tabloid scandal is what made the popularity of Fox News soar. It is why every time there is the name Clinton in the news, there is scandal and/or hate attached to it. It is the momentum of the scandal that continues.

Unfortunately, the hate spawned by FOX News during the time Kenneth Starr actually thought he was doing something important lives on past Ailes and now Plutocrats like Trump are capitalizing on it still.

Hate is the Republicans best friend now. Where are the lawsuits? The biggest and brightest Hollywood stars sue these idiots. Where are the earnest leaders that sue these clowns and shut down the 'the scandal.'

Ken Starr never did anything except ruin the reputation of a White House intern and fuel the political machine of the Republicans. The Republicans aren't going to change their evil ways, it serves their purpose.

August 8, 2016
By Sam Reisman

...The tabloid (The National Enquirer) (click here) has already endorsed Donald Trump and has frequently published “stories” smearing his opponents and bolstering his campaign.

Their latest is a breathless slideshow, entitled “Hillary Clinton’s Secret Health Crisis,” that accuses the Democratic nominee of — deep breath — “suffering from the early stages of the debilitating disease multiple sclerosis,” having “suffered three secret strokes,” and being plagued by a catalogue of “blackouts, falls, memory loss, blinding headaches, vision problems and collapses.”...

This is unheard of in a mountain range.

The Ozarks tourist destination (click here)

Below and the map are borrowed from Wikipedia.

Summits can reach elevations of just over 2,560 feet (780 m) with valleys 500 to 1,550 feet (472 m) deep (150 m to 450 m). Turner Ward Knob is the highest named peak. Located in western Newton County, Arkansas, its elevation is 2,463 feet (751 m). Nearby, five unnamed peaks have elevations at or slightly above 2,560 feet (780 m). Drainage is primarily to the White River, with the exception of the Illinois River, although there also is considerable drainage from the south slopes of the Boston Mountains to the Arkansas River. Major streams of this type include Lee Creek, Frog Bayou, Mulberry River, Spadra Creek, Big Piney Creek, Little Piney Creek, Illinois Bayou, Point Remove Creek, and Cadron Creek. Many Ozark waterways have their headwaters in the uplands of the Boston formation, including the BuffaloKing’sMulberryLittle Red and White rivers.

The tornadoes were weak because they were at higher elevations.

Turner Ward Knob is the highest named peak. Located in western Newton County, Arkansas, its elevation is 2,463 feet (751 m)

Newton County, Seneca. Categorized as an EF-1.
Newton County, Neosho. Categorized as an EF-1.


The others:

May 21, 2017
By Frances Watson

...Survey teams with the National Weather Service (click here) have been making the rounds. Their final count was 16 tornadoes swept through the state.
The majority of them, 13 in all hit in the Ozarks:
Barry County, 3 miles SE of Shell Knob. Categorized as an EF-0.
Taney County, 3 miles W of Branson. Categorized as an EF-0.
Taney County, Rockaway Beach/Taneyville. Categorized as an EF-1.
Greene County, Turners. Categorized as an EF-0.
Christian County, 1 mile SE of Chadwick. Categorized as an EF-0.
Webster County, 6 miles WSW of Conway. Categorized as an EF-1.
Wright County, Dawson/Mountain Grove. Categorized as an EF-0.
Lawrence County, Stotts City/Mt. Vernon. Categorized as an EF-1.
Lawrence County, Miller. Categorized as an EF-0.
Dade County, 3 miles SE of Everton. Categorized as an EF-0.
Dade County, 2 miles NE of Everton. Categorized as an EF-0.
Greene/Polk Counties, 3 miles WNW of Walnut Grove. Categorized as an EF-0.
Oregon County, Thayer. Categorized as an EF-0.


Three tornadoes were recorded just west of the Ozarks:

McDonald County, 3 miles E of Jane. Categorized as an EF-1.

These two were mentioned above.

Newton County, Seneca. Categorized as an EF-1.
Newton County, Neosho. Categorized as an EF-1....

Tornadoes don't normally occur in mountainous regions. There have been an occasional reporting that dates back to 2012, but, nothing like this. No tornado outbreak has ever occurred in mountainous regions before.

For tornadoes to occur at elevation as well as in deep valleys is extremely curious. That just doesn't happen.

It could be the available water vapor of the forests, rivers and streams that allow heat to accumulate and then add fuel to the air mass. I have to wonder if local warm water vapor can ignite this?
May 22, 2017
By Roberta Rampton

The White House (click here) is set to release President Donald Trump's first full budget on Tuesday, a plan that will include a cut of more than $800 billion from the Medicaid program for the poor and reductions in other social spending.

The Medicaid cuts were part of a Republican healthcare bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in early May, which aims to gut the Obama administration's 2010 law that expanded insurance coverage and the government-run Medicaid program.

But the bill - and its politically sensitive cuts - faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Trump's initial budget outline for discretionary spending received a tepid response from Congress, which controls the purse strings, and, ultimately, government spending. He said in March he wanted to boost defense spending and slash foreign aid....

Racism is alive and well in North Carolina.

May 22, 2017
By Christian Farias

In a long-awaited decision, (click here) the Supreme Court agreed on Monday with a lower court ruling that found that Republican lawmakers in North Carolina drew two congressional districts with improper racial considerations in mind.

“The Constitution entrusts States with the job of designing congressional districts,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan in the 5-to-3 decision. “But it also imposes an important constraint: A State may not use race as the predominant factor in drawing district lines unless it has a compelling reason.”

The court concluded that the two districts ― which, following the 2010 census, were drawn to pack a higher percentage of voting-age black voters into them ― violated this principle.

Kagan was joined in her majority opinion by Justices Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor....

The North Carolina maps are interesting. This map is from 1973 -1983.

Population in 1973 was 5.39 million and grew to 6.077 by 1983. 

There was a total of two districts added to North Carolina between the two maps.


This is the North Carolina redistricting map of 2013-2016. Pat McCrory took office in 2013.

Population in 2013 was 9.845 million which grew to approximately 10.1 million in 2016.

District 1 lost the coast entirely and District 12 is nearly invisible.

The courts are the primary venue to mitigate the corruption. The states maintain the authority of the districts and the vote according to the US Constitution. It is a circus. 

The Plutocracy continues to fund corruption in government through placing their thumb on the scale to elect Republicans, hence, they also continue to fund racism. I don't want to hear how Bannon is stating he really, really isn't a White Supremacist. A person that seeks power brokering by pretending to be a White Supremacist is a White Supremacist. There is no changing identity after the fact.


May 22, 2017
By Amber Phillips

Members of North Carolina student chapters of the NAACP  protest the state's voter ID law in 2013, which was also struck down by the courts for targeting minorities “with almost surgical precision,” said a federal judge.

This year, (click here) federal courts have been litigating a steady stream of gerrymandering claims. And most of the electoral maps the courts have knocked down were drawn by Republicans.

That's good news for Democrats: They have an opportunity in several states to draw more favorable congressional and state legislative maps ahead of 2018 elections. And every seat counts, given the 2020 Census is right around the corner, which brings with it the opportunity in many states to draw new district maps.

Some Republican legislatures are paying the price for recapturing 21 chambers in the 2010 elections, the last time electoral maps were being drawn. Monday, North Carolina became the third GOP-controlled state legislature in a row to get its map-drawing skills declared illegal by the Supreme Court.

What's more, the court ruled against North Carolina Republicans in a way that opens the door for Democrats to potentially challenge almost all mapmaking in the South.

Here's a rundown of the redistricting landscape — and how it could affect our elections....

This administration is corrupt to the core. It is disgusting.

This is happening because Trump hasn't got a clue to know what is the truth about the USA economy and what is a lie. He has no legal credentials, so he is unsure what changes need to be made in the law without crashing the economy.

This is a bridge between the private sector and government. It is not just corrupt, it is dangerous. When the private sector collapses as is fully expected with this administration there is no entity capable of understanding the fall. The government will reflect the exact same dynamics as the markets.

This is quite possibly the worst news of any of this administration. There is a continuum between Wall Street Plutocrats and the federal government. The states need to be aware there is this depth of corruption in DC and protect from it.

There is no watch dog. It's 2008 all over again.  

May 22, 2017
By Eric Lipton

The Trump administration, (click here) in a significant escalation of its clash with the government’s top ethics watchdog, has moved to block an effort to disclose any ethics waivers granted to former lobbyists who have work in the White House or federal agencies.

The latest conflict came in recent days when the White House, in a highly unusual move, sent a letter to Walter M. Shaub Jr., the head of the Office of Government Ethics, asking him to withdraw a request he had sent to every federal agency for copies of the waivers. In the letter, the administration challenged his legal authority to demand the information.

Dozens of former lobbyists and industry lawyers are working in the Trump administration, which has hired them at a much higher rate than the previous administration. Keeping the waivers confidential would make it impossible to know whether any such officials are violating federal ethics rules or have been given a pass to ignore them.

Mr. Shaub, who is in the final year of a five-year term after being appointed by President Barack Obama, said he had no intention of backing down. “It is an extraordinary thing,” Mr. Shaub said of the White House request. “I have never seen anything like it.”...

This is the way a market major adjustment begins. It happens in waves like the ocean.

Wall Street was zealous at the election of Trump. Now comes reality. Be careful. 

May 22, 2017
By Jeff Cox 

Stocks escaped last week (click here) with a near-miraculous turnaround after a mid-week selloff threatened to put a major crimp in the market.
The big market-shaker was politics and events happening in Washington, D.C.
While it's good news that the market made it with just mild losses, the bad news is that the focus again is likely to be in the capital. Curious investors should be watching closely....

Iran is not responsible for Daesh and fights them at every turn.

Here we go with the lead up to unnecessary war. One has to remember this is the Middle East with Sunni and Shi'ite religions and a variety of sects too numerous to count. There is no blaming anyone for Daesh except for the extremists that slaughter people.

The idea a USA President would allow such beliefs to exist is complete ignorance to the outcomes for the region. Trump is heading straight into conflict with his favorite country, Russia. I guess I have to say it over and over, Assad is Shi'ite. There was a time when Assad and Saudi Arabia would shake hands and discuss the region together. So this type of statement has far reaching consequences.

I think Trump will ooze nothing but anti-Russia sentiment throughout his trip abroad to CYA.

Iran is making amazing connections back to The West and beginning it's economy anew. There are new aircraft and consumer goods pouring into Iran. Along with it should be organized tourism for pilgrims and tourists when it is possible. If the country is secure tourists will come. I would like Iran to work with the USA State Department to assure Americans are returned when in offense to the Iranian government without asking for random or fees. Seriously. In the past Iran was on the map for conservation tourists from all over the world. Iran needs to consider what it is looking for in tourists and protect them. It is a different world for Iran and it needs to change it's ways with President Hassan Rouhani returned to leadership.

May 21, 2017

Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's King Salman (click here) on Sunday accused regional rival Shiite Iran of exporting extremist Islamic movements to the world and vowed to eliminate the Islamic State group.
"The Iranian regime has been the spearhead of global terrorism since the (Ayatollah Ruhollah) Khomeini revolution" in 1979, King Salman said in a speech to leaders including US President Donald Trump.
"We did not know terrorism and extremism until the Khomeini revolution reared its head," he said.
Saudi Arabia was also determined to "eliminate the Islamic State group", the king said of the Sunni Muslim jihadist organisation....