Why is justice coming into view now that Governor Whitmer is in office.

I mean that. Justice, as we know it, is finally coming into focus. Why is that? Why the corruption by Snyder? 

January 25, 2019
By Ron Fonger

Flint -- Former emergency managers (click here) in Flint acted as officers or employees of the state before and during the city’s water crisis and lawsuits against them must be considered by the Michigan Court of Claims, the state Court of Appeals said in a decision Thursday, Jan. 24.

In the 17-page unpublished decision, the Appeals Court agreed with attorneys for Flint residents and property owners who sued officials including former emergency managers Mike Brown, Gerald Ambrose, Ed Kurtz and Darnell Earley in 2016.

In a consolidated appeal, the residents and property owners contended -- and the Appeals Court agreed -- that the Court of Claims had mistakenly dismissed the emergency managers from the lawsuits when they granted motions for summary disposition due to a lack of jurisdiction....

No other defendant in the State of Michigan had millions of dollars spent on private attorneys to defend them. $30 million dollars. If a defendant needs a court appointed attorney they have to qualify for one, not wait for legislation to pad their take from the state treasury.

These monies are in addition to their annual salaries. They aren't paying a dime of their salaries for their representation. Are the defense monies considered part of their salary? Are they paying taxes on those monies?

January 25, 2019
By Leonard N. Fleming

Millions in state tax dollars (click here) for the legal defenses of Flint water crisis defendants are in danger of being cut when the aid runs out this year, as Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pledges to ensure taxpayers "are getting their money's worth."

The specter of losing funding has the private-practice lawyers for the two highest-profile defendants saying the state should continue to pick up the tab because the water crisis happened under the state government's watch. The price tag is now $30.6 million and growing.

If state legal aid were cut off for the defendants, legal experts said it would pressure them to make deals with the special prosecutor — unless they have enough money to hire experts and mount a vigorous defense. 

Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder convinced the GOP-led Legislature to foot the legal bills of the 10 state employee defendants who were involved with Flint's switch of water sources in 2014 and an associated 2014-15 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. They included two high-profile health department appointees, Nick Lyon and Eden Wells, who were accused of involuntary manslaughter and other crimes.

Whitmer has raised questions about the legal funding for private defense attorneys, while Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to review the legal cases. 

Whitmer told The Detroit News last week that "of course I'm worried about" the "legal bills that were from activity that were not on my watch." But she said it's too early to say how she will handle the issue and is working with Nessel to figure out the answers.

"Unfortunately, there's no easy solution here," Whitmer said. "It's not easy, but I'm going to make sure that taxpayers are protected and are getting their money's worth and that people of Flint get the justice they deserve."...

Congratulations to everyone.

Federal employees
The Media 
Congress and the president
The American people that wrote their congressmen and congresswomen

The terrible nightmare is over.

The southern border states need to petition Congress for the type of border protections that would work best for their state. Any state legislature can petition the federal government regarding border security. The states can be funded to do the work themselves as well. There are solutions and it is best left to the states to decide.

Stone said he was falsely charged. Right?

I take it the judge didn't reject the indictment. Right? Judges are not just passive observers of the proceedings between lawyers, they have standards, too. If an indictment is weak, it will fail in court. This indictment of Stone has substance otherwise it would not have been granted the right to proceed.

January 25, 2019
By Noah Feldman

The indictment of Roger Stone, (click here) who was arrested Friday by the FBI and charged with lying to Congress, provides the first detailed evidence that Stone was a go-between for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign with WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. In 2016, WikiLeaks had and released a large numbers of emails that had been stolen by Russian intelligence from the Democratic National Committee and from Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Stone’s coordination between the campaign and WikiLeaks is substantive, from what the court filings show. Stone, a Republican political operative and confidant of Trump, got advance notice of WikiLeaks document releases that he passed on to the Trump campaign. That included information about an “October surprise,” which turned out to be the leaking of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails....

This just isn't right. I don't think Air Traffic Controllers should be working a second job.

It is not right that flight attendants can't estimate the degree of danger they may face from one flight to the next. There are far better ways to determine if there is still 911 type dangers to the airlines than waiting for the odds to catch up with everyone.

It just isn't right.

January 25, 2019
By Dom DiFurio

Flights out of DFW Airport (click here) are experiencing delay times averaging 41 minutes for travelers heading to La Guardia Airport Friday while the rest of the airport remains business as usual, according to the FAA's flight delay information.

Traffic at DFW Airport remains normal as the airport continues to monitor checkpoints, according to DFW International Airport Media Relations Manager Cynthia Vega.

Generally, arrivals to DFW are experiencing delays of up to 15 minutes.

The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights into New York's LaGuardia Airport because of a shortage of air-traffic control staff, escalating the pressure on President Donald Trump and lawmakers to end the government shutdown....

Things are going to get too dicey and everyone will go on a nationwide strike. Once the country is completely crippled, then Donald Trump and the Senate Republicans might see their way clear to pass a bill and sign it.

Federal employees are very valuable people. They care. They want the country to function and function well. But, when it comes to safety they won't compromise. They know what happens if they do.

January 25, 2019
By Lori Arantani

Federal officials temporarily restricted flights Friday (click here) into and out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, another example of the toll the partial government shutdown – in its 35th day – is having on the nation’s airports.

“We have experienced a slight increase in sick leave at two facilities,” a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said in an emailed statement. “We’ve mitigated the impact by augmenting staffing, rerouting traffic and increasing spacing between aircraft when needed. The results have been minimal impacts to efficiency while maintaining consistent levels of safety in the national airspace system.”

Travelers were notified of air traffic issues at fly.faa.gov and were advised to check with their airline for more information.

The FAA’s Airport Status Information website cited shortages at two facilities, including one near Washington, which manages air traffic. The temporary restrictions affect arriving and departing flights at the airport. Arriving flights were delayed an average of 41 minutes and departures were experiencing delays between 15 and 29 minutes, the FAA said.

No one should be surprised Roger Stone was arrested.

To begin, Roger Stone has been uncooperative with the Special Council Investigation. Roger Stone has been a long time associate of Paul Manafort.

Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Donald Trump have a very long relationship.

...Unlike his old business partners, (click here) Roger Stone and Lee Atwater, you would never describe Manafort as flamboyant....

January 25, 2019

Stone faces obstruction, witness tampering charges in connection with the Mueller investigation.

Washington — Roger Stone, (click here) an associate of President Donald Trump, has been arrested in Florida.

That’s according to special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, which says he faces charges including witness tampering, obstruction and false statements.

Stone is scheduled to make a court appearance later Friday.

Stone has been under scrutiny for months but has maintained his innocence....                

There is an escalation of activity along the Hidalgo County, New Mexico border with Mexico.

This crisis at the border in Hidalgo County has two components that are very typical to the USA southern border; one is violent, but, the majority of people crossing the border are non-violent and seeking asylum.

The violent aspect of these crossings are the drug cartels and they are armed with military style weapons that may have come from "straw purchasers." 

The problem is the cartels are escalating their activity and the county is being overwhelmed. The migrants may or may not be responsible for stealing vehicles. This escalation is probably due to increased enforcement efforts elsewhere. The increased border protections elsewhere is compressing the cartels crossings to less patrolled areas of the border.

Something has to be done for Hidalgo County, New Mexico with this escalation, but, is the long term solution a wall? They may need an improvement of some kind of a physical barrier, however, there is every reason to believe that is not going to stop either the cartels or the migrants. The best measure is the Border Patrol which takes down drug smugglers successfully.

Surveillance of electronic means can help identify border crossers to find them and bring them to justice, however, the drug smugglers aren't necessarily making a one way trip. The drug activity is the most dangerous and ultimately effects the country, but, the USA cannot turn away asylum seekers.

To be perfectly clear, this is Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Texas does not want a wall. Other solutions have to be found.

January 23, 2019
By Chris Ramirez

...New Mexico’s Boot Heel (click here) sits in Hidalgo County, wedged between Arizona and Mexico. The county shares 87 miles of its boundary with Mexico and there is no border wall in Hidalgo County....

...“It's not getting any better, it's getting worse and there is now an influx of people," said Billy Darnell.  “We know something is going to happen every day we go out.”

KOB 4 asked if any of them had been victimized by people who they believe to be undocumented immigrants.  All but one raised their hands to state yes. 

“We've had vehicles stolen,” said Randy Massey.

“They've had bundles of weed, coke and carrying heavy artillery,” said Cammi Moore.

“The worst part of it, we had an employee kidnapped. And that was probably the worst night of my entire life until we got him back,’ said Elrock.

“It's getting to the point where these confrontations are getting more aggressive and more and more violent,” said Kris Massey....

...In the last few weeks, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has sent news releases out that illustrate the ranchers' concerns.  On January 16th, U.S. CBP reported that a group of 247 migrants turned themselves in near the Antelope Wells Port of Entry in Hidalgo County.  Two days later, U.S. CBP released night video showing a group of migrants jumping over the Normandy barriers. Many, if not all, of the migrants are asylum seekers....