Flint residents were right. No one listened until professional opinions could not be argued away.

July 29, 2020

By Craig Mauger

Lansing — A divided Michigan Supreme Court  (click here) ruled Wednesday that a class action lawsuit by Flint residents against former Gov. Rick Snyder and state departments could continue despite the government defendants' bid to block it.

The state's high court ruled 4-2 that Flint residents' attempt to recover the value of property that had been allegedly improperly taken could continue through an inverse condemnation claim. And the court ruled 3-3 that their claim of a violation of bodily integrity could continue, allowing a Court of Appeals decision to stand.

Justice Beth Clement, a GOP nominee who worked for Snyder, did not participate in the case....

This is where we are in the USA. Now, judges are partisan. There is a lot wrong that needs to be cleared up.

...However, the state has maintained that the January 2016 lawsuit didn't comply with a six-month deadline after the event giving rise to the suit. The water switch occurred in April 2014....

Flint's water was contaminated an entire year before anyone validated the residents concerns. There is no timeline that maters when such gross negligence AND malpractice is being instituted by a state governor and his staff.

November 11, 2015

By Madeline Sturgeon

Although the residents of Flint, Mich., (click here) had been complaining for months about the color, smell and taste of the community’s water, state and local officials maintained the water supply was safe.

Mona Hanna-Attisha, M.D., M.P.H. FAAP, however, was not convinced.

A dinner party conversation with a water-quality expert stoked the Flint pediatrician’s curiosity and compelled her to seek evidence that would prove the water supply was toxic.

“As the stewards of these children, it is our responsibility to protect them,” said Dr. Hanna-Attisha, a mother of two. “When there is a clear violation of public health that is going to impact these kids today and forever, we couldn’t not do anything.”

With help from colleagues and the AAP Michigan Chapter, Dr. Hanna-Attisha uncovered the data to support her suspicions. A pediatrician at Hurley Children’s Hospital, Dr. Hanna-Attisha had access to a large body of routine blood test records. She started investigating, and what she found was disturbing: The percentage of Flint children with elevated blood lead levels had doubled since the city had changed its water source....

Riverside County, California

Average temperature during July and August 94 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Today it is 119 degrees Fahrenheit. 

I was very glad Dr. Fauci brought up the idea of goggles. That was goggles and googles.

July 31, 2020

By Cory Stieg

Wearing goggles (click here) or eye shields in addition to a mask might be a good idea to avoid Covid-19, White House advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said during an interview on Instagram Live Wednesday.

“Theoretically, you should protect all the mucosal surfaces,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton. That includes your nose, mouth and eyes. “So if you have goggles or an eye shield, you should use it.”...

Early on the issue of "blood shot" eyes came up by trained personnel who were in contact with these patients. Then I believe some time ago a journalist that traveled via jet was decked out in everything anti-SARS-CoV-2, except, his eyes and shortly afterward he reported to the public that he contracted COVID-19 and believed it was through his eyes. 

In the picture above this is a person wearing a mask and a shield. The shield protects the eyes and the entire of her face. I am seeing more and more of these shields worn by professionals while caring for the patients. It isn't for me to say as to whether the general public should be wearing them, but, it is my opinion that wearing eyewear such as goggles or sunglasses or eyeglass frames with a safety plastic for the lens will provide the same protection as the shield in day to day activity. It is what I wear anyway. I wear prescription eyeglasses. I don't wear anything else, but, have been recommending them to friends and family when they are out and about even if they don't need prescription eyewear.

I also recommend washing the face, including lips and any exposed areas of the neck and chest, when returning from time away from home. It is my opinion that germs will cling to skin, be it SARS-CoV-2 or average everyday bacteria. Wash hands first, then rinse well and then wash face and exposed neck and chest. Plain old soap and water will do. Hand sanitizer is not necessary UNLESS there is no soap and water available. Then pat dry with a face towel or any other towel one has available. Paper towels can be harsh on the skin for some people. But, when finished put the towel in the laundry hamper and leave a fresh face towel from the closet at the side of the sink for the next person in the household and/or guest.

There are "summertime scarves" or gaiters. (click here). They do not cover the forehead. I don't use this so much as simply wash the face when I arrive home. I trust my skin to be intact when leaving home.

That is what I am doing and what I recommend to people I know well. Anyone else can ask their own professionals and they might get different answers. It is basically good hygiene and nearly mandatory for people with acne. 

IF PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR VIRUS AND BACTERIA TO LAND ON THE SKIN IS LESS.

He never said he washed his hands.

I believe Gohmert when he said he infected himself. He never donned his mask correctly and his hands were dirty and he infected himself. Gohmert is another feckless Republican.

It is difficult to know how many COVID-19 cases are in Gohmert’s district because Texas has been reported in a statewide total. With the spike in cases followed by a spike in deaths I can’t imagine any part of Texas escaped without a case and death.

Gohmert should be perfecting the technique of properly donning and doffing a mask to be an example to be proud of, but, him. An example of perfection he will never be.

The Devil’s Sperm?

Someone want to show us some? Look, this is Donald John Trump at his best. He professes to right wing Evangelicals and the Jewish people he is “The Chosen One.” 

Now, he found a Pagan doctor, no offense to the Pagans, that professes not only the benefits of hydroxychloroquine, but, the existence of “succubus and the Devil’s sperm.” 

I don’t believe the right wing Evangelicals have found their savior so much as the Devil’s spawn as their CHOSEN political leader. 

Donald John Trump no more belonged ANYWHERE having a picture holding a religious Christian Bible as his expression of a deep abiding faith in God.

This is his political strategy. Be everything to everyone. Find the most remote collection of Americans, bond with their idea of the perfect world view and drive them in anyway needed to the polls.

“Winning is everything.”

Kudlow is flat out lying. He hasn't got a clue to the extent in which business in the USA has contracted.

All the tax restructuring and refunds in 2017 that allowed corporations to buy-back their stocks was all for not. Most probably, GM will issue more stock sales. It isn't doing badly. The fact they are striving to maintain a great company in the USA by spending all their ready cash only goes to prove how smart GM's leadership has become. I congratulate Mary Barre for maintaining GM solvency during a nearly impossible time in the USA.

July 29, 2020

By Jamie L. LeReau

General Motors reported Wednesday (click here) its net income tumbled on slow sales and thin inventory in the second quarter, especially of its profitable pickups and SUVs following an eight-week factory closure because of the coronavirus pandemic.

GM, the first of the Detroit Three automakers to release report second-quarter numbers, announced a net loss of $800 million, down 132% from the same time a year ago. Its earnings before interest and taxes adjusted were a loss of $500 million, down 118%. Net revenue was down 53% to $16.8 billion, but GM's China equity income was $200 million for the quarter.

Most striking was its cash burn during the quarter. GM spent $8 billion in automotive operating cash.

But during a call with the media, GM CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said the second half of the year will be better and it should allow GM to pay off the $16 billion revolving line of credit it took earlier this year to get through the pandemic....

The teachers are absolutely correct. Whatever happened to the good, old PTA? I know my parents never faced a coronavirus.

As a matter of fact, this is the first time in American history when students, parents and teachers have to face a sincere danger when the school bell rings and classes assemble. I think the Detroit teachers are absolutely important in protecting the lives of their students.

LEAVE THE STUDENTS AT HOME!

July 28, 2020

By John Wisely

Detroit teachers (click here) say they are prepared to stay home from school next month if their concerns over COVID-19 are not addressed.

"If the members don't feel that it's safe, if the union leadership doesn't feel that it's safe, then we won't show up," Detroit Federation of Teachers President Terrence Martin said Tuesday in a conference call with media and other union leaders. 

Teacher strikes are illegal under Michigan law, but it's unclear how that would be enforced when health concerns are prompting the walkout. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said earlier this month that rising caseloads could threaten the reopening of schools anyway....

July 25, 2020, was supposed to mean something. It was supposed to be the end of the SARS-CoV-2 virus threatening Americans. That was expensive and to have it fail only to continue the spread of the virus and attack Americans' way of life. There is more expense for the states with a CONTINUING tragedy. This is just one state. Every state in the USA is facing deficits. Congress needs to MAKE THE STATES WHOLE before SARS-CoV-2 arrived.

July 28, 2020

By Paul Egan

Lansing - Having used federal relief funding to help close a $2.2-billion hole (click here) in the state's 2020 budget, Michigan officials warned Tuesday they now face a $3-billion hole for the budget year that starts Oct. 1 and called for more financial aid from Washington.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state Budget Director Chris Kolb both criticized at a news conference a proposed relief plan unveiled Monday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as woefully short of what is needed....

Now is the worst time to remove USA troops from Germany.

It is easy to see why USA troops belong in Germany. The Black Sea is a border for Ukraine (click here). Ukraine is an ally of the USA. Ukraine has also received extreme pressure from Russia to relinquish its interest in Europe and an economic connection to The West.

Currently, there are four major war fronts that involve the USA military, the South China Sea and Australia, the East China Sea and Japan, the Black Sea and NATO and the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean that also includes the Gulf of Mexico and the nearshore threat of Russia and Venezuela (click here).

Now is NOT the time to remove USA troops from Germany. It only will be misread by the communists trying to undo the stabilizing effect of the USA internationally. 

July 24, 2020

By Tom O'Connor

The U.S. military (click here) has acknowledged Russian equipment and warplanes monitoring its movements in the Black Sea at a time when both countries were holding combat exercises in the strategic region.

One day after Russia's National Defense Control Center reported that radars of the Black Sea Fleet quick-reaction forces picked up a U.S. P-8A Poseidon and U-2S reconnaissance planes and scrambled a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet in response, Navy 6th Fleet spokesperson Commander Kyle Raines told Newsweek on Friday that "U.S. 6th Fleet is aware of Russian units monitoring U.S. units in the Black Sea."

"All interactions were safe and in accordance with maritime custom as expected," he added. "We operate within international standards to ensure safety and to prevent incidents, including the 1972 Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas (INCSEA), and we expect no different from other navies."...

There are far better treatments for COVID-19

Hydroxychloroquine has far too many serious side effects including death to continue using it as a treatment regime for COVID-19. 

There is absolutely no reason to revisit this. It is an inefficient drug while incurring unnecessary costs and poor outcomes of patients. Trials of immensely beneficial medications are complete with widely held value for good patient outcomes.

There aren’t that many pediatric intensive care units and staff

I am traveling and it is looking good out here. Trucks everywhere and far fewer cars.

There will be nightmares if students return to their in person classrooms.

Look, when Trump starts his mess about opening the economy and schools he is driving anger and fear. I believe that is why the cut in support by Republicans for continued unemployment. But, that said Trump has no real numbers on what to expect in the way of COVID-19 cases among anyone let alone children.

I don’t see a return to in person classes before winter semester 2021. Congress is supposed to be appropriating funds for schools. It has to pass into law and the monies distributed. It won’t be until winter semester 2021 at the earliest schools will be readied.

Did anyone notice the fence wall Trump is building around the White House? He is scared to deaths of American citizens. He completely disregarded Congressman John Lewis as well. That was a racist political statement, not a partisan statement. If one can honor another in death there is no recognition of humanity in that stand. The Trump political ads are full of fear and racism. No policy. Those ads should matter but don’t.

Don’t send the children back to school. It is too soon and the USA does not have enough pediatric beds, PICU or otherwise to even approach a risky strategy like that.

Later.

A beautiful expression of respect for a great American.

There is too much inconsistency in policy to maintain a steady drop in SARS-CoV-2.

In recent days it appears Governor Abbot is moving closer to closing the state of Texas with a "stay at home" order. Recently the death toll in Texas surpassed 5000 (click here). If there are additional stay at home orders, be it Texas or otherwise, the needs of the people will not have changed.

Let me remind that when the first legislation was passed in the US Congress, a bill from the US House provided for employers to maintain their payroll and that it would be a grant rather than a loan if the businesses were open by July 25th, if memory serves. Well, July 25th is here and gone and the number of cases in the USA is still climbing and deaths are still accumulating. I might point out some of those deaths were due to states reopening too soon and people returning to their jobs when there was still danger.

The first attempt to end the virus' spread, the science as directed by the CDC was assaulted by President Trump. I don't want to hear how the CDC was first stating the masks would not help. This was long before masks became an issue and the science behind wearing them changed to accommodate changing conditions of the people and the continued spread of the virus. The fact that COVID-19 is still a problem is due to presidential lies and political deceptions.

The first effort would have worked beautifully and this second round of monies not even necessary if the science wasn't undermined for political purposes. In those days, Trump was denying there was even a problem and the virus was shut down by one plane full of people from China. Then Oregon exploded and nursing homes came into focus. In the beginning, entire segments of families were dying because of the poor response by leadership.

Texas has become another cautionary tale amid the pandemic. (click here)

The point is the circumstances have not changed but the US Senate wants to pretend the people are not returning to work because of the unemployment they are receiving. There are complaints about people not seeking work because the businesses sincere about their attempts to ride the wave with their employees are now facing the July 25th deadline and their employees are too scared to come back. These businesses took those loans in good faith that July 25th actually meant something and expected their loans to be converted to grants. For those businesses, employees returning or being hired are vital to protect their operations. The complaints aren't about lazy people, they are about loans that won't convert to grants.

...The enhancement was designed (click here) to keep laid-off people at home instead of out looking for work during the pandemic-fueled lockdowns and has helped millions pay the rent, buy groceries and cover other bills. But it has also kept some workers on the sidelines -- creating headaches for employers trying to get back up and running, even as new coronavirus surges complicate state reopenings....


Kudlow has it all wrong.

NO ONE SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR WORK DURING A PANDEMIC. If the programs to take care of Americans aren't in place they will risk their lives to work and provide for their families.

THAT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION!

There is no returning to work because Trump decided to create fear to enhance his re-election bid and that was more important than a healthy country.

I don't know what a $1200 bonus is going to solve except it will tide Americans over while the GOVERNMENT ONCE AGAIN GETS IT ACT TOGETHER.

There is no returning to work if states like Texas are looking at a shutdown that will last 16 days or more.

What are the Senate Republicans interested in the health of Americans or creating more fear, because they are plenty fearful of this virus and a White House run amuck?

Governor Abbot is correct in mandating masks to be worn at all times and returning to a stay at home order. It might be if his plans work, Texas may be seeing a huge downturn in virus cases and A SUSTAINED low rate by the time school rolls around.

Sixteen days of a shutdown is far less expensive than continuing to fund political rhetoric that keeps Americans sick and dying.

Any new legislation MUST INCLUDE that cities and states CANNOT BY LAW exceed the capacity of their hospitals during any reopening.

This next legislation, Senator Schumer, needs to be far tougher on states and municipalities to protect citizens. That means staying at home orders must stay in place until the virus is under control. That takes monies not just to citizens, but, to state and local governments. If this next legislation does not achieve the end of the spread of the virus, this tragedy will continue into next year.

No American wants to stay home without working. They have lost their health benefits because of it. That is another issue that faces the July 25th date. The businesses that are complaining about people not working are afraid of the debt load that loan will compel them to pay rather than a grant and without those continued funds they will not be able to maintain their health insurance either.

TRUMP ROYALLY SCREWED UP THE FIRST RESPONSE TO THE VIRUS AND THAT IS THE ONLY REASON WE ARE STILL FACING AMERICANS FEARFUL FOR THEIR HEALTH AND LIVES.

Moscow Mitch is not going to get away with calling Americans lazy when he and Trump have neglected their responsibility in maintaining an anti-virus stance.

The political rhetoric will stop. 

NOW!

This was supposed to be over by July 25, 2020. It isn't!

India has political parties that are communists.

Some say India is in a political crisis. Maybe. For some. But, I think the people in office right now are solid leaders and love democracy while seeking stronger ties with the EU.

There is a common thread across The West that income inequality is an issue. It is an issue and people in the USA are not paid a fair wage. But, I find it really strange that economies recovered from 2008 global banking crash are all having the same complaints as if their elections are being hacked by the same communists.

I love the cartoon. It says so much.

July 25, 2020
By Sadanand Dhume

If an alien landed on Earth (click here) and demanded to see an Indian legislator in his natural habitat, where would you send him? My pick: an upscale resort hotel. Among freshly mown lawns, long buffet tables, and flat screen TVs showing Bollywood reruns, the odds of sighting a state legislator would appear fairly high. (MPs tend to be more elusive.)...

So much is clear about the aggression by China into India now. How convenient for a political crisis to follow that illegal act by China.

India and China have seemed to come to an UNDERSTANDING if not peaceful coexistence. However, India is not slacking off it's military build-up. India is correct to continue that.

India has a right to its sovereignty and the military to defend it. I have never known modern-day India to be an aggressor nation. It isn't in their DNA.

See, The West is chronically under attack and when the USA has a soft and ineffective president allied countries begin to think about THE REAL WORLD where their borders exist. That is what China was picking up on. Trump was not attending to the national security of any country be it the homeland and/or an allied country. China was becoming dangerously close in misinterpreting the relationship the USA has with India.

And of course, Trump's best buddy has become very worried about the Himalayas. I don't recall a single Russian that scaled the Himalayas risking oxygen deprivation. I think the history makers have come from The West.

June 17, 2020
By Tom O'Connor

Russia has said (click here) it is closely watching reports of deadly clashes between its strategic partners China and India over contested land in the Himalayas.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that Moscow is "watching with great attention what is happening on the Chinese-Indian border" after what he described as "a very alarming report" about the conflict at the disputed territory between India-administered Ladakh and China-controlled Aksai Chin in Kashmir. Peskov said, however, that Beijing and New Delhi could resolve their dispute on their own.

"We consider that the two countries are capable of taking necessary steps to prevent such situations in the future and to ensure that there is predictability and stability in the region and that this is a safe region for nations, first of all, China and India," Peskov said, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency....

Alliances aren't about trade so much as national security. And it isn't the kind of national security that resorts to nuclear holocaust. It is the kind of national security that allows for economic prosperity WITHOUT the hint of a threat from neighbors. It is why The West engages in military exercises.

That hand-holding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a great privilege. If there was ever a man interested in global peace is Modi. I recently saw a picture of him in the Himalayas in his military uniform. Very dashing. The picture and accompanying article left no doubt to the resolve of Modi and India to maintain it's the vigilance of it's borders.

India is in a very interesting neighborhood. India is a great non-aggressive neighbor. So, Putin has little to no reason to think about India as a problem, but, he might want to take it up to his friend, China.

I bid Prime Minister Modi great admiration for the man of peace that is he. Amazing man. 

I am not sure the relationships India has with it's smaller neighbors. I do know Vietnam has been having trouble with China and it's insistence Vietnam oil fields were actually China's. China is a very confused country under this leadership. But, when the virus is under control, I would encourage Prime Minister Modi to reach out to it's small neighbors and find common ground.

The Republicans that make up Trump's base are also isolated.

We know for a fact that FOX News is a player in Trump's perverted game of propaganda. But, it isn't just FOX News that is poisoning the minds of the unwitting, Trump has his own visual methods to inspire hate and violence.

The lack of real information reaching the Trump base, which I don't think can be called Republican, started the day of Trump's inauguration. This was the plan. It was the strategy to end the American democracy. All of what is transpiring now is all pre-meditated. How long has this game been developed? To deploy such strategies didn't occur all by themselves either.

The Trump Russians showed up within 12 hours of the Comey firing. This is all pre-meditated. I don't find the timing at all awkward. To say so only provides Traitor Trump with shade.

May 10, 2017
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis

Washington - When President Trump (click here) met with top Russian officials in the Oval Office on Wednesday, White House officials barred reporters from witnessing the moment. They apparently preferred to block coverage of the awkwardly timed visit as questions swirled about whether the president had dismissed his F.B.I. director in part to squelch the investigation into possible ties between his campaign and Moscow....

Trump hands his Russians highly classified information for what purpose? The information Trump handed the Russians is KOMPROMAT. Is there any doubt among Americans that Trump is compromised and continues to play to THE PLAN that was launched at the time of inauguration?

There are Trump supporters that actually believe Russia is their liberator from the Deep State.

July 25, 2020
by Mike Allen

Axios White House (click here) editor Margaret Talev and data visualization editor Danielle Alberti analyzed 17 weeks of our Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index, and found:

- Trump's words and actions have driven Republican perceptions and behavior on everything from wearing face masks to worry about economic collapse.

- Why it matters: When Trump talks, his base listens. That carries profound implications for efforts to limit the spread in the U.S., since he so often contradicts public health officials or state and local leaders.

- Cliff Young, president of Ipsos U.S. Public Affairs, says: "The influence of the leader in highly partisan times is really large ... It's true for any president, no matter which party."....

No one is above the law. Snyder and Dillon are to be held responsible for their own decisions.

July 14, 2020
By Beth LaBlanc

A federal appellate panel Tuesday (click here) upheld its June ruling that former Gov. Rick Snyder and former state treasurer Andy Dillon could not be shielded from certain depositions in civil litigation related to the Flint water crisis.

A three-judge panel on the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied Snyder and Dillon's motion for an en banc review, or reconsideration of the appeal by the full Sixth Circuit rather than the three member panel. 

The panel concluded Tuesday that the issues raised in Snyder's and Dillion's request "were fully considered upon the original submission and decision of the case."

"The petition then was circulated to the full court," the panel said. "No judge has requested a vote on the suggestion for rehearing en banc."

The three circuit judges were Gilbert Merritt, an appointee of former President Jimmy Carter; Karen Moore, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton; and Eric Murphy, an appointee of President Donald Trump. Moore wrote the opinion.

Snyder and Dillon had requested that they be shielded from depositions in which they would be used as "non-party fact witnesses" in civil litigation connected to the water crisis....

..."Plaintiffs allege here that Gov. Snyder approved the water source switch," the motion read. "But Plaintiffs also allege that his approval was based on Dillon's approval, which in turn rested on the approval of Director Wyant.

"Like Director Wyant, Snyder and Dillon can only be held 'accountable for [their] own conduct.'"...

The Natural Resource Defense Council (click here) has a map that currently tells of the places still in need of replacing lead pipes.

I really feel compelled to mention a gun buyback program the Flint Police are offering to residents.

July 21, 2020
By Ron Fonger
Flint - City officials say they will form a special police unit and buy back guns in the city as part of a broader effort to tamp down rising violent crime.

Mayor Sheldon Neeley announced the plan in a news conference Tuesday, July 21, less than 24 hours after a man in his 20s was shot and killed on Clement Street -- the 28th homicide in Flint this year....

In addition to these, there was a 19-year-old woman shot and killed over a $10 bill. Another 10-year-old girl was hit by a stray bullet and was injured. There is no reason for any of this.

I don't care if there is a poor example by leaders in this country regarding the law and crime, the people need to respect life and stop this violence. It is senseless crime. The people of the USA need to place their dignity on review every day regardless of those in leadership that do not. The people aren't part of gangster culture, we are Americans and we respect life without question. 

Everyone possible in Flint should be taking guns to the police and turn them in for $10 bills not seek to victimize more people.

This is a grossly deceptive statement by the CDC.

The “Children appear (click here) to be at lower risk for contracting COVID-19 compared to adults. To put this in perspective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of July 17, 2020, the United States reported that children and adolescents under 18 years old account for under 7 percent of COVID-19 cases and less than 0.1 percent of COVID-19-related deaths,” the guidelines state.

American children have been sheltering at home and NOT in social environments. Comparing the USA to Europe is also a gross deception because Europe has conquered the virus.

The USA has the largest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is no other country that can be compared to the USA because they are all doing better than we are. American children have been sheltering at home with their parents so sure there are far few cases because "staying at home" works. 

THERE ARE NO CASES OF IN SCHOOL TRANSMISSION BECAUSE THE CHILDREN HAVEN'T BEEN INVOLVED IN THOSE SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

DO NOT SEND CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL, THERE IS NO SAFE SCENARIO.

The USA needs a nationwide general strike for 16 days to end this virus!

Any Governor wishing to reach herd immunity is committing murder.

As of 2019, the USA population was 328.2 million men, women, and children.

Herd immunity by definition is 60 percent of the population of a country has sustainable immunity.

To begin, no one can say for sure that people immune today with antibiotics against SARS-CoV-2 will maintain that immunity for a sustained period of time. There have been cases of reinfection after initial infection, too.

196,920,000 Americans with sustained immunity are needed according to 2019 figures for herd immunity. There aren't even that many in the global community, yet alone the USA.

Currently, there are 4,205,389 confirmed cases in the USA.

THE HOSPITAL CAPACITY IN THE USA WILL NEVER ACCOMMODATE ANOTHER 192,000,000 PEOPLE THAT HAVE CONTRACTED COVID-19.

The USA needs a nationwide general strike for 16 days to end this gross malpractice of governance.

The Jacksonville City Council was asking questions about the RNC Convention when Trump decided to cancel the convention.

July 21, 2020

By Max Greenwood

The mayor of Jacksonville, Fla., (click here) on Tuesday backed up Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams’s assessment that the security plans for the Republican National Convention are inadequate, saying that he needed reassurance that law enforcement would have the necessary resources to secure the convention. 

“Any event, anything we put on in the city of Jacksonville, I have to have my sheriff telling me it can be done,” Lenny Curry, a Republican who is also involved in planning the August convention, told reporters on a video call Tuesday. 

Curry said that he needed Williams to assure him that “he has the resources he needs and that it can be done in a safe and responsible way.”...

July 23, 2020

The 2020 Republican National Convention’s plans (click here) for coming to Jacksonville next month will face a major roadblock after Mayor Lenny Curry filed a bill Wednesday evening: a city council president who said he now opposes the effort.

The bill, which still leaves gaps about how the city plans to handle testing, treatment and the potential spread of coronavirus, grants Curry extraordinary power to spend $33 million in federal security funds how he thinks is necessary....

There are private schools in the country opening today with teachers having positive tests. The governors have to issue closure of all schools otherwise there is too much financial pressure to open with a president that doesn't care about the infection rates of students.

It appears schools are not required to alert parents that school teacher(s) are testing positive.

We are talking about children. This should not be occurring without a national understanding that the virus has a very minor number of Americans positive. The fall semester should be canceled across the USA and school ONLY virtual.

Trump is proving to be lying about COVID and other issues as he chooses.

There will be nightmares out of this for no other reason than “The Donald Trump  Crisis.” Trump is disregarding Supreme Court decisions. Why are government employees willing to carry out unlawful directives by Trump? It will negate the US Census in 2020. He is also sending in people to REASK households the Census questions as a validation of truthful reporting by USA citizens. Private companies are carrying this out.

July 22, 2020
By Leah Litman

On Tuesday, (click here) President Trump signed yet another executive order designed to solidify the political power of his white Republican base at the expense of members of minority groups: It would exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count used to apportion congressional seats.

The order appears to emphatically confirm what the Supreme Court concluded last summer in a blockbuster decision that forbade the administration from adding a citizenship question to the U.S. Census — namely, that the administration had “contrived” a rationale for that action. It did not want to collect citizenship information to enforce the Voting Rights Act, as it had maintained. (Throughout the litigation, the groups challenging the citizenship question argued that the administration really wanted citizenship information to allow states to draw districts based on the number of citizens rather than total population. The court did not embrace that interpretation, but did reject the administration’s descriptions of its motive.)

Trump is now pursuing another way to wield the census against noncitizens — confirming that the court was correct in finding the administration to be disingenuous in the earlier case. The administration will now try to figure out which people identified by the census are undocumented immigrants using information shared with the Commerce Department by other agencies. That Trump’s dishonesty on census-related questions is now crystal clear could doom this executive order as well — fairly quickly....

There is an enormous hurricane system with the eye in the Gulf of Mexico.

24 July 2020
1226z
Tropical Storm Hanna (click here for film loop)

I hope everyone is ready. This isn't just a thunderstorm. It is highly unusual to have a storm front (from the Four Corners north to Canada) with the rotation center over Nebraska and Kansas.

The tropical storm organized and grew very quickly because of the heat in the Gulf of Mexico waters.

Tropical Storm Warning (click here)
GMZ001-242100-  Synopsis for the Gulf of Mexico  448 AM EDT Fri Jul 24 2020    SYNOPSIS...Tropical Storm Hanna near 26.7N 92.4W 1002 mb at 5  AM EDT moving WNW at 8 kt. Maximum sustained winds 35 kt gusts 45  kt. Hanna will move to 27.1N 93.7W this afternoon, 27.3N 95.5W  Sat morning, 27.3N 97.1W Sat afternoon, inland to 27.2N 98.6W Sun  morning, then rapidly weaken over land Sun and Mon.

The United Nations needs to end this war in space.

There is an International Space Station where live astronauts work. There is absolutely should never be a war in space that will lead to nothing but tragedy. The USA and Russia are guilty of breaking with the treaty that governs space.

March 26, 2020
By Amy Thompson

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) (click here) Atlas V rocket took to the skies Thursday afternoon (March 26), delivering a highly advanced communications satellite to orbit for the U.S. Space Force.

The rocket, outfitted with five strap-on solid rocket boosters, leapt off the pad from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here at 4:18 p.m. EDT (2018 GMT), near the middle of a planned two-hour window....

July 23, 2020
By Loren Grush

The Department of Defense (click here) believes that Russia may have tested out a new technology in space that could be used to destroy other satellites already in orbit. This particular test didn’t destroy anything, but military officials are worried it could be used to target US satellites in the future.

On July 15th, a Russian satellite called Kosmos 2543 released an unknown object into orbit, according to US Space Command, which is responsible for tracking all the objects currently in orbit. The satellite released this mysterious object near another Russian satellite, though no pieces came in contact with one another. At the time of the test, the Russian Defense Ministry admitted that Kosmos 2543 was going to come close to a target satellite to do an inspection, but satellite trackers took notice of a new object appearing around the time the “inspection” took place....

Remember the Obama plan called "Waters of the USA?" Trump wants to not only dump the program but endanger the lives of Americans besides.

The new EPA water program is not about clean water. Trump wants every company or farmer that needs to dump waste into rivers and streams to do so. THEN after the waters are polluted they are to be recycled for human use. 

The program is called, "National Water Reuse Action Plan." It could be called, "Drink Your Own Piss."

On February 27, 2020, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler (click here) and other federal, state, and local water leaders announced the release of the National Water Reuse Action Plan: Collaborative Implementation (Version 1). Safe and reliable water supplies for human consumption, agriculture, business, industry, recreation, and healthy ecosystems are critical to our nation’s communities and economy. Water reuse can improve the security, sustainability, and resilience of our nation’s water resources, especially when considered at the watershed or basin scale....

So far 40 states are targeted for the program. The public input isn't widely advertised. 

April 18, 2020

Contact Information: 
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov )

Washington - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (click here) is seeking public input on the development of an action plan to accelerate the application of water reuse as a safe, reliable, and sustainable way to meet the country’s current and future water demands.

“To meet the country’s most pressing water resources challenges, EPA recognizes the need for coordinated federal leadership,” said David Ross, U.S. EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Water. “Working with our federal partners, we are looking to tap the expertise of our nation’s farmers, utilities, industry, NGOs, scientists, and others to craft a Water Reuse Action Plan that helps our country better prepare for current and future water challenges and meet the water needs of generations to come.”...

EPA Regions to Facilitate Water Reuse (click here)

"Water reuse represents a major opportunity to support our nation’s communities and economy by bolstering safe and reliable water supplies for human consumption, agriculture, business, industry, recreation and healthy ecosystems.”

-EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler

The Basics (click here)

Water reuse (also commonly known as water recycling or water reclamation) reclaims water from a variety of sources then treats and reuses it for beneficial purposes such as agriculture and irrigation, potable water supplies, groundwater replenishment, industrial processes, and environmental restoration. Water reuse can provide alternatives to existing water supplies and be used to enhance water security, sustainability, and resilience.

Water reuse can be defined as planned or unplanned. Unplanned water reuse refers to situations in which a source of water is substantially composed of previously-used water. A common example of unplanned water reuse occurs when communities draw their water supplies from rivers, such as the Colorado River and the Mississippi River, that receive treated wastewater discharges from communities upstream.

Planned water reuse refers to water systems designed with the goal of beneficially reusing a recycled water supply. Often, communities will seek to optimize their overall water use by reusing water to the extent possible within the community, before the water is reintroduced to the environment. Examples of planned reuse include agricultural and landscape irrigation, industrial process water, potable water supplies, and groundwater supply management...,

I have been involved with conservation all my life and intensely involved in the past 21 years. Never once has anyone ever said, let's convert garbage into a benevolent method of refining water. Never once. It was always about making water safer and minimizing pollution into rivers and streams. This plan by the Trump Administration explains a lot about their agenda. DEREGULATION and reducing costs to increase profits.

This form of water reclamation is extremely expensive and requires far more regulation than anyone can imagine. There will be regulation after regulation and guess what will happen in the end? It will be scraped and the old methods will be pursued while seeking to improve water quality everywhere.

I got to hand it to Trump, he knows how to make things as bad as they can be to turn those that complain about costs and government into believers.

I think Mayor Wheeler taking up the challenge by local media to meet the protesters did the right thing.

I hope he understands their resolve to end abusive police practices and police brutality. Portland and every city across the country for that matter need to outlaw tear gas. Protesting is a legitimate way to bring attention to direly important issues.

July 23, 2020
By Anna Griffin, Dirk VanderHart and Rebecca Ellisa

Mayor Ted Wheeler moves through a crowd of people at a protest in Portland, Ore., July 22, 2020. People have protested police brutality and systemic racism for nearly two months straight and have called on the mayor to resign.

...Many of his remarks, (click here) delivered in the same stiff cadence he uses at City Council meetings, were drowned out by boos and insults. As Wheeler answered questions from protest leaders, someone dumped munitions used by police against the crowds at his feet. A list of demands projected on the wall above his head as he spoke concluded with a call for him to resign.

Wheeler showed no inclination to do that, and he provoked more boos each time he told questioners that he does not plan to hand over day-to-day oversight of the Portland Police Bureau to Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty as she has demanded.

Wheeler said repeatedly that he’d ventured downtown to listen, and he did plenty of that....