Wednesday, February 21, 2018

There is something very wrong here and it isn't porn.

"Unfortunately, just five days after 17 people were gunned down at a Florida school, the Florida House just passed a bill that declares pornography a 'public health risk,'" state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D, told the Independent. "Basically, what they have determined is that these are the Republican priorities in 2018: Wasting our time with debate and legislation that declares porn as a health threat, meanwhile we can't even get a single debate, vote, or hearing on anything related to assault weapons."

Best I can tell the CDC is still focused on saving lives from the flu.

February 20, 2018
By Kristi L. Nelson

At least 10 Tennessee children (click here) have died of flu this season, the Tennessee Department of Health said Tuesday.

The state health department confirmed two more children had died of flu-related complications, for a total of four children in East Tennessee and six in Middle Tennessee. A pregnant woman in Middle Tennessee also has died from flu complications this season.

The state does not track adult deaths related to flu, but it and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention track flu-related deaths of children and pregnant women. Nationally, as of Feb. 16, child deaths totaled at least 84 for this season.

Only 26 percent of those children eligible to have the flu shot had it this season before they got sick, the CDC said Friday....

There is no scientific basis for declaring porn a health habit. What there seems to be is ridiculous articles claiming all kinds of reasons why it is a health issue. This article (click here) pretends to be scientific by listing numbers after words, sentences or paragraphs, but, there are no references at the end of anywhere else for that matter linked to the numbers. It is all populous nonsense.

February 2, 2018
By Ryan Hughes

Tallahassee, Fla. (WFLA) – Flu activity (click here) in Florida was at higher levels than the highest points in previous flu seasons, according to this week’s flu report from the Florida Department of Health.

The report says flu activity is high and increased sharply for the third week in a row from Jan. 21 to 27, 2018.

The flu is blamed for the deaths of two children from Jan. 21 to 27, raising the total number of pediatric deaths to five this flu season.

The report said 317 pneumonia and influenza-related deaths were reported from Jan. 14 to 20, 2018. The number of deaths for the week of Jan. 21 to 28 were not included in the report.

The state health department said deaths due to pneumonia and influenza were higher than expected and are expected to increase over the coming weeks. Most deaths occurred in people aged 65 years and older. The majority of deaths in people aged 64 years and younger occurred in people with underlying health conditions (74%)....

The only way lawmakers will listen to students under 18 is if they can vote or spend money for gunmakers.

Blue indicates a state that allows 17-year olds who will turn 18 on or before election day to vote in caucuses or primaries.

(Red) States that allow 17-year-olds to participate in presidential caucuses, but may not vote in primary elections for other offices.


People are very confused about what gun control is and what it is not. The young people applauding actually want to carry assault weapons into school. They believe they can react quick enough to stop an attack on them. That is not possible. The gunman in the Florida school took all of 12 seconds to gun down many people, including staff.

The Second Amendment is not about gunning down people that may or may not want to kill an array of students and faculty. The way the Gun Rights folks put it is that assault weapons are necessary in our society to protect from DANGEROUS GOVERNMENT. Does anyone believe assault weapons are to be strapped on a person daily to protect from mass murderers such as the one in Florida? That is not realistic and there will be unnecessary deaths if such allowances are provided.

Gun control is about PREVENTING unnecessary deaths, not interrupting attempts to carry them out. There is no way, under current law, the Las Vegas mass murderer can be stopped. The problem and difference between assault weapons and hand guns is the problem with mass deaths. Hand guns are for personal protection and assault weapons are about mass deaths.

There is a huge difference between gun rights regarding personal safety and that of allowing mass murder. Everyone allows the exploitation of Americans for profits when it comes to assault weapons. There is no place for them in today's society. Lawmakers point to the sentences for murder AFTER the fact as a means of preventing such incidents. There is no law regarding mass murder that prevents the crime. The people arming themselves and carrying out these crimes are convinced they are going to survive the attack and carry out either more such attacks or will go back to their own lives. These people are not rational. They don't care about a death penalty, they believe they are bringing their own justice to others.

The Las Vegas murderer positioned himself in the hotel to survive any attack from the ground and/or an approach from the hallway. He was armed to kill every human being that would have any effect on his ability to kill others. He PLANNED to not only "kill for the thrill" at the hotel in Las Vegas, but, then to go on to continue to kill in other places. These are not rational people.

The idea the deaths in Florida could have been averted if 18 year olds could purchase weapons is playing on false ideas. How many 18 year olds are in the Florida school where the deaths occurred? The propaganda surrounding assault weapons is thick and plays on fear. One needs to ask, would Cruz be able to carry out his crime if assault weapons were not available? THAT is the question and the solution, not providing access to assault weapons by 18 year olds.

PROPAGANDA about assault weapons is as dangerous as the weapons themselves. If the USA government turned against the people, that is a problem for the people, NOT THE PERSON. Solutions to evil government is not about having organized militias at the ready, it is about "the people" in a democracy to organize allies and themselves to end what would be a civil war. If the USA engaged in a civil war, the people would have more armaments against a miniacle  government than we could ever imagine. There are plenty of people in power in other countries that would want to end such events. I am not worried about a federal government gone bad that acts violently against the people.

The Revolutionary War was won with allies to the colonists, not the British being outnumbered. I don't lose sleep over the USA military storming the city.

Where is Joe Biden when you need him? If anyone can talk to young people about such issues, it is he.

February 21, 2018
By Brendan Farrington, Josh Replogle and Tamara Lush

Survivors of the Florida school shooting (click here) descended on the state's Capitol on Wednesday and had one overarching message: It's time for action.

The kids split into several groups to talk with lawmakers and other state leaders about gun control, the legislative process, and mental health issues. Some tearfully asked why civilians should be allowed to have weapons such as the AR-15, which was used in the attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School exactly one week ago.

When Florida's Senate President Joe Negron heard the question, he didn't directly answer: "That's an issue that we're reviewing." When another lawmaker said he supported raising the age to buy assault-style weapons to 21 from 18, the students broke into applause.

The Florida Senate opened its session by showing pictures of all 17 victims in the attack....

Nineteen years of lies is illegal. This is corruption to the public rhelm. The investigation should not be difficult. Everyone admits to it.

There is a reason Donald Trump would take a personal interest in the winning contestants. His image.

February 26, 2018
By Jeffery Toobin

...From 1996 to 2015, (click here for audio) Donald Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organization, which also included the Miss U.S.A. and Miss Teen U.S.A. pageants. A day or two before a pageant began, Trump would casually visit the contestants while they conducted their final rehearsals. Former contestants told me that Trump would circulate among the young women, shaking hands and chatting with each of them, periodically turning to speak with Paula Shugart, the president of the Miss Universe Organization, who followed him at a discreet distance. (Paula Shugart declined to comment.) Adwoa Yamoah, who competed as Miss Canada in 2012, told me, “He made comments about every girl: ‘I’ve been to that country.’ ‘We’re building a Trump Tower there.’ It was clear the countries that he liked did well. He’d whisper to Paula about the girls, and she’d write it down. He basically told us he picked nine of the top fifteen.” Kerrie Baylis, who was Miss Jamaica in 2013, described a similar scene and added that, when the finalists were announced, “the list looked like the countries that Donald Trump did business with, or wanted to do business with.” Shi Lim, who competed that year as Miss Singapore, told me, “The finalists were picked by Trump. He was really in charge. We called it the Trump card.” (A Miss Universe spokeswoman said that the pageant rules allowed the company’s staff, including Trump, to participate in naming the finalists.)...

The meddling is confirmed. The president should not be pandering to Russia any longer.

I think this is a rather iconic photo. Trump is obviously more grateful for Russia's friendship than the other way around. While campaigning for President, Donald Trump became a popular figure among the Russian people. The photos with Trump by Russian officials of Putin's party has been a real propaganda moment.

It boggles the imagination (click here) to the extent the Kushner Cos. may have benefited while he attended Davos. The conflict of interest is definitely an ethics violation and quite possibly more.

January 16, 2018
By Tom O'Conner

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. Trump entered office as a political ally of Putin but has since found it difficult to make good on his promise of restoring ties between the leading powers.

President Donald Trump (click here) has reportedly expressed his interest in establishing talks between the U.S. and Russia in a bid to restore relations between the world's top two military powers.

Trump delivered a highly anticipated speech Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he asserted his "America First" stance to world leaders, business moguls and other prominent figures. While Trump has stressed prioritizing U.S. interests above all others, he entered office a year ago promising better ties with Russia. Widespread accusations of the Kremlin meddling in the 2016 presidential election and other foreign policy differences, however, have marred this initiative, which he appeared willing to rekindle Friday....

Davos, a retreat for secret meetings.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (click here) has hit out at the European Union, accusing the bloc of pushing Balkan states to choose between the West and Russia as he warned Brussels would only increase tensions in Europe....

The video doesn't really translate well, but, I am hoping the audio is interesting. The video is entitled "Trump and Putin's First Meeting" which is difficult to see from this "imbed."

There is a great deal of callousness by the police in this video.

February 21, 2018
By Corey Jones

Tulsa police (click here) on Tuesday released video from a Dec. 25 officer-involved shooting that involved a naked man who reportedly pointed a gun at an officer in the 1100 block of South Wheeling Avenue.

Evidently, there is another video showing the shooting. This is the video of a supervisor inspecting the scene. The man shot is lying in the road with at least three cruisers on the street. There is never any CPR or attempt at First Aid by the police officers even after a shooting.

Killing and dying of a subject is not the responsibility of the police, it is the responsibility of a jury. I have to wonder how many times a suspect could be alive and in the ER instead of allowed to die on the street.

A police's gun is about survival of the officer. It is not about apprehending suspects. It is why when a suspect is running away the officers are not allowed to fire their weapon. When will police work return to it's original purpose, to serve and protect, even suspects that appear to want to kill cops.

This video serves no purpose to support the officers that responded to this disturbance. It provides no real information to the public, except, officers don't bother to care for the injured. The officer's camera states the person shot has a pulse, but, admits it is agonal breathing. At no time does any officer attempt to stop the bleeding or administer CPR. The officers decided the death sentence, not a jury. It is one thing to do everything possible at the scene and have the suspect die in the process, it is another thing to allow someone to die at the scene without lifting a finger.


Only Democrats are concerned about extravagance in spending in the Department of Energy?

I guess it all must be political then. The elected Senate, House and Executive Branch can spend, spend, spend and never worry a day about the cost to taxpayers.

February 21, 2018
By Valerie Volcovici

Washington - Democrats on the House (click here) energy committee on Tuesday asked Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt to explain travel records that recently came to light, which showed he has taken frequent first-class flights at taxpayer expense.

The Democrats wrote a letter asking Pruitt to provide a list of all dates where he traveled in first or business class, an explanation on how he followed guidelines for obtaining waivers for premium travel and the names of other staff who also traveled in premium class....