Sunday, March 24, 2019

Did anyone ever expect the Midwest would look like New Orleans did after Katrina? Well, that is what is happening. Between rain and snowmelt, the Midwest for the first time in modern history has turned into a lake. The reason being the Missouri River is out of it's banks. 

Let's get real here. Even when the water recedes there is nothing containing the Missouri River anymore. Everyone has the idea as soon as the waters recede all will be okay again. There were 12 levees destroyed by the huge rainfall which caused snowmelt. Where does anyone get the idea that when the water recedes everything will be okay again?

The Missouri River is outside of it's banks and there is nothing containing it anymore. 

Got that?

The Missouri River is outside of it's banks and there is nothing containing it anymore. 

Now, either the people in DC, namely the Republicans from the Midwest, get real about what is occurring or kick them out of Congress. The vast danger to the American people is not over just because the water recedes. People need to start listening to the folks that are concerned about the climate. Reality has to set in sometime.

The Missouri River is out of it's banks and there is nothing containing it anymore.

Gavins Point Dam in Yankton County, South Dakota (click here)

The US Army Corp. was attempting relief from the flooding north of this dam by releases of water into the river south of the dam. Then it became obvious that wasn't going to work as the flood waters were now collecting below the dam, too.

The Army Corp. of Engineers did not create the climate crisis, but, they sure are stuck with the blame. The lack of planning and funding is not their fault. The USA Congress and Republican presidents do not recognize the climate crisis upon the USA. The government has not acted faithfully to protect the people of the USA and now the effects are known.

As if that wasn't enough, in Florida the USA have young people traumatized by a school killing and they are committing suicide after they survived it. There is a toxic gun culture in the USA and it is killing kids and they can't handle it. Now, do something about it.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE TOXIC GUN CULTURE IN THE USA!

The people trying to do something about it are desperate and are being refused relief by the courts.

March 20, 2019
By Karen Berkowitz

Lake County Circuit Court judge (click here) ruled Friday that the village of Deerfield overstepped its authority last year when it enacted a ban on assault weapons five years after the Illinois legislature declared such regulations the exclusive power of the state.

Judge Luis Berrones issued a permanent injunction blocking the village from enforcing its ordinance....

The suburb or Deerfield didn't ban guns, they banned assault weapons no different than the ones used against the children and young people of this country. Not long ago it was understood Americans could own guns to protect themselves and their homes. But, assault weapons were not listed in that category. That was not very long ago. The ban on assault weapons was in 2004. Ever since then the violence on the streets of the USA has escalated and the answer by gun groups is to arm everyone with assault weapons.

Children and young adults do not do well with gun violence when it is in their face. What American child has to fear for their own lives in their own schools? Facing death is not a minor experience. There is a small percentage of Americans that do experience it. It is not easy to erase because it strikes at the survival centers of the brain. That is a fact and as responsible Americans, we have to begin to take a stand to remove the assault weapons from our country once again.

Perhaps the Republicans of the Midwest don't care about gun control because they don't have the same problem as the rest of the country. The only reason that is the case is because of population density. More people, more guns and more opportunity to kill more people.

Americans are losing the battles of the modern era. They are losing the reduction of violence and death. They are losing the confidence of a secure education and future for their children. They are also losing their homes and the country's agricultural wealth to the climate crisis.

I never thought Americans would face such reality, but, here it is and no one seems to grasp the reality of the need to do something different.

This is what the zealots have to say.

March 22, 2019
By Chris W. Cox

A headline in Reason Magazine said it all: “Have Gun, Can’t Travel.” (click here)

That’s the plight of New York City “premises licensees” under one of the most bizarre and oppressive gun control laws in the nation.

Now the U.S. Supreme Court has that law in its sights.

In January, the high court agreed to review a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upholding the regulation against a challenge under the Second Amendment and other constitutional provisions. The case is New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York.

Should the court resolve the case on Second Amendment grounds, it will be the first time since McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010 that the Supreme Court applied that provision to a gun control law.

Even many gun control advocates probably don’t expect New York City’s regulation to fare any better before the high court than the handguns bans from Washington, D.C. and Chicago did in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Like those laws, the handgun travel ban is an outlier....

The map show the higher population density the greater the chance of gun violence.

The number of violent gun incidents reported in the USA since January 1, 2019 is 11,437.

The number of reported gun deaths 3,100.

Gun Violence Archive (click here)

More guns because of more people equates to greater and greater danger to American lives. I have to wonder what a Russian woman found so redeeming about the NRA?

It isn't looking good for the USA. The people in power have failed the country.

March 24, 2019

Even as floodwaters receded (click here) in hard-hit parts of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, experts warned this weekend that with plenty of snow still left to melt in northern states, the relief may only be temporary.

Rainfall and some snowmelt spurred flooding in recent weeks that's blamed in three deaths so far, with two men in Nebraska missing for more than a week.

Thousands were forced from their homes in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, as water broke through or poured over levees in the region. The damage is estimated at $3 billion, and that figure is expected to rise.

As temperatures start to warm, snowmelt in the Dakotas and Minnesota will escalate, sending more water down the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries, along with the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota....

Now there are flash floods into buildings from ice jams.

March 24, 2019

More than 40 people (click here) were evacuated from a riverside restaurant near St. Cloud on Saturday night after a flash flood along the Sauk River — a flood apparently caused by an ice jam, one of many along Minnesota waterways in the past couple weeks.

The St. Cloud Times reported several fire departments used boats to evacuate diners from Anton's Restaurant in Waite Park after the flooding started at about 7:30 p.m.

A co-owner of the restaurant told KNSI radio that within a half-hour, there was a foot of water in the building.

Fire officials told KNSI that an ice jam along the river broke up later in the evening, and the water level started to fall...

Tonight at 7:28 we experienced a flash flood at Anton’s. The ice went out on the Sauk River in full force. It was so powerful that the river couldn’t contain the force and pushed its way over the banks in to the parking lot and restaurant. On a Saturday night with a full house, the water swept through every room. Thank you to our customers for your patience, understanding and sense of humor. We have NEVER experienced anything like this before. Yes, we’ve flooded but there has been forewarning and time to prepare. Thank you to our Waite Park Fire Department & Rescue and Waite Park Police Department!
We will keep you posted on our progress and we’ll be open again as soon as possible!

This is called suffering.

March 24, 2019
By Mitch Smith

The rising floodwaters stopped just sort of the home where Henry Red Cloud and his family rode out the storm, but other buildings on their property including their solar power business were inundated.

Pine Ridge, S.D. — Ella Red Cloud-Yellow Horse, (click here) marooned for days by a blizzard and then a flood, needed to get out. Supplies at her house were running low. She had come down with pneumonia. She had a chemotherapy appointment to keep.

But her long driveway was blocked by mountains of mud — impassable even for an ambulance or a tractor.

So Ms. Red Cloud-Yellow Horse, 59, set off toward the road on foot. She fell repeatedly, almost got swept away in the current of a creek, and became stuck in the mud. Finally, more than an hour later, she made it the half-mile to the highway where she was picked up.

“I couldn’t breathe,” she said, “but I knew I needed to get to the hospital.”...
In 2016 the American soybean crop was valued at $40.94 billion. Soybeans were 31 percent of the annual crop of the USA. Forty-seven percent of the total yield, 2.03 billion bushels. That is according to the American Soybean Association (click here).

Soybeans are planted in May and early June for harvest in late September and October. While the flood waters are expected to recede by May that doesn't mean the land will be in the condition it needs to be in order to plant. 

That pretty much holds true for corn as well. These Midwest farmers are in trouble and for those that own their farms and have had them handed down over generations, they could lose everything.

When is Congress going to address the climate crisis? It seems to me it may be too late. The land is not only going to be saturated with water but, also oil and chemicals that have been leaked out of any type of containment facilities.


Kansas City rail yards is the heart of the railroad. It is where major switching takes place to distribute rail cars throughout the country.

All the tanker cars that are submerged to some degree underwater are now leaking their contents. Caustic chemicals, as well as oil, are making their way to the waters of the Midwest.

March 20, 2019
By Mat Olberding

Historic flooding (click here) is causing huge headaches for both freight and passenger railroads in Nebraska and surrounding states.

BNSF Railway reopened its Alliance-to-Lincoln line Sunday night after it had been shut down for several days because of flooding in areas between Ravenna and Hazard and near Broken Bow.

BNSF spokesman Andy Williams said the line closed at Broken Bow on Wednesday and at Ravenna on Thursday.

Williams said there are other BNSF rail lines that are still affected, although he did not specify which ones.

Union Pacific also has seen several of its routes impacted by flooding, said Raquel Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Omaha-based railroad....

Disaster Relief. When is Iowa going to hold their politicians responsible for the climate crisis.

Trump approves disaster relief. (click here)

March 24, 2019
by Karen Dillion

Kansas City - Record flooding (click here) along the Missouri River has impaired treatment of drinking supplies in Kansas City, raising health risks for infants, the elderly and others with compromised immune systems, the municipal water service warned on Saturday. 

The public health advisory came as utility crews struggled to replace broken pumps at a wastewater treatment plant submerged by floodwater about 30 miles upstream in Leavenworth, Kansas, an historic town of 35,000 on the river’s west bank.

The crest of the flood-swollen Missouri, America’s longest river, rolled through Leavenworth on Saturday. Miles of farmland and wooded areas along both banks were inundated in murky brown water. It was expected to reach Kansas City, Missouri, the state’s largest municipality, early on Sunday.

By Saturday, high water was creeping to the edge of the scenic commercial district in Parkville, Missouri, a riverfront suburb of 6,700 residents just upstream from Kansas City known for its antique shops, art galleries and restaurants....

The Midwest is underwater and is expected to be underwater until May according to NOAA.

March 24, 2019
By Annie Gowan and Frances Stead Stellers

Sidney, Iowa — His farm is still cut off by floodwaters, (click here) so Iowa soybean farmer Pat Sheldon had to view the damage from the air. On a helicopter ride over what seemed like an endless stretch of water, he came to a place he recognized as his own land — and saw that one of the grain silos had burst open, spilling yellow soybeans into the dingy, toxic water.

“It was like a punch in the gut,” Sheldon said.

“You work hard planting, taking care of these beans and harvesting them. Then, to have that happen makes you almost physically ill,” he said. “But I haven’t had time to get mad — too many responsibilities and people that still need help.”...

The Presdient's Annual Report of the USA Economy is politically tainted. It is malpractice of the office.

In a review of the "Economic Report of the President," by economist Paul Krugman (click here) the tilt in some areas of the report is prejudicial and racist.

That may be the case, however, I have an issue with the diagram in it's current state without racism or otherwise. It is simply wrong.

Figure 8-7 compares apples with oranges. For all these wonderful people that may be living in the USA right now, their income is a snapshot of compared to the entire of the GDP per capita of their homeland countries. There is also the possibility the income of those living in the USA is counted in the GDP of their country. 

Even if one makes the statement this is a legitimate comparison, the entire set of facts are wrong. Take as an example the first on the left, Danish.

The GDP per capita in 2015 was 358.4 in Danish Krona (DKK) (click here). When accounting for differences in the exchange rate by today's standards of 1:6.6 that means it was $54.30 US. The chart is simply wrong. The USA GDP per capita in 2015 was $51,933.40. The comparison is supposed to be in "Percent relative to US." Now, $54.30 is less than 1 percent of USA GDP, but, it is not in the negative range. GDP per capita can't be in the negative range unless there is an accounting for each person's portion of national debt and if that is the case, the USA would be in the negative range far beyond that of Danish country, Denmark.

Now, while this is prejudicial and racist, it is also very incorrect. This is the Economic report of the President of the USA and it is out of balance with past president's reports.

There are some critics of this report that state it is compiled to comment on socialism. That is probably the case considering it comes from Trump's administration.

There are far too many questions that remain unanswered by a four page DOJ letter.

What went on with Erik Prince at the Seychelles meeting? 

What more is there to know about the Trump Tower meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya? 

What is the deal with the so-called “Ukrainian peace plan”? 

Why did Paul Manafort give a man believed to have ties to Russian intelligence polling data in the middle of the campaign? 

What, if anything, did President Donald Trump know about these events?

There are many things out of balance, including records with banks and pass through Russian oligarchs. I have no confidence in William Barr as attorney general of this country.

It's Sunday Night

METAL CHURCH - Out Of Balance (OFFICIAL TRACK) (click here for official website - thank you)

"Out of Balance" by Metal Church

When you have balance and sleep through the night
Then you will feel everything is alright
Follow the leader and lead you astray
And when you hear me get out of my way

There is a reason that we're here tonight
Injection of power to get in the fight
Where we go when we go, all you will see
Taking it back, no apology

When you're feeling low and you feel you're out of balance
Out of balance
When there's time to kill, you know you will be out of balance
Out of balance
Out of balance

Now they say nothing that you need to hear
The more that you listen, insanity's clear
Calling them out for their dark, evil ways
Then you will know it's the end of all days

When you're feeling low and you feel you're out of balance
Out of balance
When there's time to kill, you know you will be out of balance
Out of balance
Out of balance

When you're feeling low and you feel you're out of balance
Out of balance
When there's time to kill, you know you will be out of balance
Out of balance
Out of balance

Now they say nothing that you need to hear
The more that you listen, insanity's clear
Calling them out for their dark, evil ways

Then you will know it's the end of all daysWhen you're feeling low and you feel you're out of balance
Out of balance
When there's time to kill, you know you will be out of balance
Out of balance
Out of balance

When you're feeling low and you feel you're out of balance
Out of balance
When there's time to kill, you know you will be out of balance
Out of balance
Out of balance

Barr has the capacity to change the rules governing the Mueller document. Trump has the power to declassify it.

Voters have to demand full transparency. As it stands now, the White House is covering up the facts with rules and restrictions.

In my opinion, the restrictions placed on the report is obstruction of justice. Ken Starr did not prosecute Bill Clinton. Americans have been told for a long time that the Mueller Report was pivotal. Where is it?

This is nonsense. Trump fired Comey and handed highly classified information to Russia within hours. Where is that in the report?

"Knowingly didn't...," that is such a joke. They are sitting in the same room with Russians talking about information related to the campaign, but, they didn't know they were committing a crime. Hello? Mueller needs to testify before Congress.

Parents create a pact with your children, similar to "Go, run, tell."

Some call it cognitive therapy.

The parents of these high school students would be wise to take time from work for family/medical leave or personal time off; and simply spend time with them. They should not be left alone as if everything is okay and life simply needs to go on. These young people are suffering from PTSD, it needs to be diagnosed and understood by the parents and the students as well. This is not a minor issue.

Basically, don't let them out of your sight until a therapist is convinced they are over the worst. Such disorders make behavior unpredictable, but, medical and psychological supervision and time will heal the pain that is too present to ignore.

Two suicides in two days is not a minor social issue. This is a profoundly disturbed group of young people and it isn't going away without sincere efforts by parents to secure their children into this world. The healing from these tragedies are not simple and they impact lives with incredible realities. The one student was in college already and could not attend classes because she was having attacks of fear of being killed. It emotionally paralyzed her.

The scars for these young people run deep and don't show until it is too late. They need to talk to their parents and they need to understand they can deal with their pain over time with the wisdom of how to recognize their own mental illness and have the ability to mobilize parents when they are feeling desperate. The parent and child relationship has to include talking honestly about feelings and running emotionally to the parent when feelings of dread or self-harm erupt. 

This is tough. Sometimes no matter how hard parents try, it doesn't work either. But. love is important and an idea of a safe haven away from harmful thoughts is important.

They are worth the trying.

I hear J Lo and A Rod are a hot couple these days.

They have a beautiful story, too. In love, engaged and entertaining millions of fans with their enchanted life.

March 20, 2019
By Brittany Talarico

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez (click here) are newly engaged after two years of dating, and already excited to build a fun, fashionable and family-filled future together.''

“We’re really happy,” Lopez tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, just days after Rodriguez surprised her with a 16-carat diamond ring while on a romantic vacation in the Bahamas. “We have [an] appreciation for where we are in our lives today, and that’s what we’re enjoying the most,” adds Rodriguez.

One of the first orders of business for one of the world’s most famous — and sexiest — power couples: Getting back to work. After returning to New York from their celebratory island getaway, the global icon, 49, and the baseball star-turned-entrepreneur, 43, are revealing that an engagement isn’t their only new collaboration....

Suicide mimics. The media needs to consider silencing any reports of any form of suicide in the area.

We teach our children to live life in anticipation of having a great and rewarding life. Then this happens and all the promises are dashed in a matter of minutes. Young minds are not prepared for this, nor should they be.

Parents of this generation of children seek to make childhood and high school a perfect experience. Then a gunman ends that perfect world and the witnesses still living no longer have that perfect world either.

The gun culture in the USA is out of control and it is now effecting the lives of children as they grow into adults. We know this is a problem. It has been a problem since Columbine, yet the guns sales in the USA flow like water. This has to end and the USA has to once again find it's backbone to stand against a political tide of fear facilitated by greed.

Let me make this clear. These young people are suffering from PTSD. PTSD is only thought of in circles of professionals treating veterans of war and victims of rape. Now, we are growing an entire generation of disabled young minds. This must stop.

March 24, 2019
By Hayley Miller

A second student (click here) who survived last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has apparently died by suicide, police confirmed.

The juvenile, whose name has not been released, died by an “apparent suicide” on Saturday night, Coral Springs police spokesman Tyler Reik told HuffPost. The deceased was a current student at the high school.

Detectives and the county medical examiner’s office are continuing to investigate the matter, Reik said.

The family of 19-year-old Sydney Aiello confirmed Friday that she had died by suicide after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt after a former student opened fire on the high school last February, killing 17 people and injuring over a dozen others. 

This is outrageous and reeks of scapegoating. Raising suspicion of administrators and teachers is political propaganda.

There is only one person that pulled the trigger that day at the high school and that was Nicholas Cruz (click here). The only others responsible for the killing that day at the high school were the myriad of elected officials that pander to the NRA for money and in exchange open danger to the public. I am quite confident there is no investigation of them.

To imply because a principal was off work the day 17 of his students died and somehow he is responsible is irresponsible and slanderous. Broward County needs to end its investigation with the killer and the circumstances that allowed him to kill 17 high school students. I am quite confident no administrator or teacher is involved. These people are hired with thorough background checks unlike the gun owner of the weapon that killed that day.

There was a time in the USA when gun ownership was limited to hunting shotguns and rifles. Handguns required strict background checks and licensing. Ownership of military assault rifles was highly regulated for any civilian. That is the real issue, isn't it? There simply weren't enough gun sales then to satisfy the NRA.

March 22, 2019
By Madison Park

Broward County Public Schools (click here) will expand its investigation into the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to include the principal Ty Thompson, the county school district spokeswoman told CNN.

Thompson was not at the school on February 14, 2018, when a gunman stormed the campus and killed 17 people.

While there have been no accusations made against Thompson, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission is investigating the staff in the wake of the shooting. This will include a review of the principal's actions or lack of actions, said Kathy Koch, spokeswoman for the Broward County Schools. The investigation is expected to be done by the end of the school year, she added.

During the investigation, Thompson will remain at the school "to focus on recovery efforts and to provide oversight on the construction of the new replacement building," according to a statement from Broward County Public Schools. While he will be able to participate in student activities and events, the school's other principal, Teresa Hall will handle day-to-day operations and a former principal at the high school, Dan Traeger, will provide additional oversight, according to the school district....