This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman (I receive no compensation from any entry on this blog.)
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024
Hush Money
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Typical of the extremist Robert ‘s Court…
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Richard Nixon was a criminal, too.
The DOJ is raising awareness.
April 23, 2024
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland (click here) and Director Steven M. Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) dedicated a new “Faces of Gun Violence” exhibit today at a ceremony hosted during ATF’s Inaugural Gun Violence Survivors’ Summit. The exhibit honors and memorializes those whose lives have been tragically lost to gun violence.
“As we remember those we have lost to gun violence, the Justice Department promises that we will strive every single day to honor their lives in our work,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We promise that we will not rest until every family, every law enforcement agent, and every community is safe from the devastation of gun violence. As our dedicated ATF agents pass by the ‘Faces of Gun Violence’ exhibit every day, it will stand as a powerful monument to those they are fighting for.”
Farmers are high tech these days.
By Linda Qiu
Loren Brey, (click here) a poultry grower in Minnesota, walked onto the farm where his egg-laying turkeys nest in November to discover a handful of hens, dead from the highly pathogenic avian flu.
Within a week, he lost nearly half of his entire flock.
So when Mr. Brey’s turkeys began producing eggs again in the spring, he gave a seemingly unconventional prevention method a go: lasers installed atop his barns, firing beams of green light to fend off wild ducks, owls and other possible carriers of the deadly virus....
It is a darn shame.
(Click here)
But, the six consecutive justices value law over human life. The USA is entering into a new phase of oppression as exampled by the incredibly diminishing women’s rights. According to the Washington Post the Robert’s Court is about to state Idaho does not have to save a woman’s life if it means carrying out an abortion.
This court is very dangerous. Women are going to fear pregnancy if this continues. There will be more and more men having vasectomies. Is that the goal of the Robert’s Court? A sterile USA?
It is difficult to realize a Supreme Court of this country is so immoral in most of its decisions. Letting a woman citizen perish when it is completely unnecessary is anti-American. I guess this is one way to end the Affordable Care Act; make doctors afraid of practicing.
The Robert’s Court are human rights violators. They see words and not citizens.
Semester closes
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
High School rankings are not weighted on all dynamics
Monday, April 22, 2024
Earth Day is about survival
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
President Obama had it right.
Burning man
Thursday, April 18, 2024
A subversive Supreme Court
Communism oppresses religious freedom
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
President Minouche Shafik is absolutely correct.
By Gabriella Borter
A U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday (click here) accused Columbia University's president of failing to protect Jewish students on campus, echoing accusations leveled against three other elite university leaders at a hearing last year that sent shockwaves through higher education.
"Trying to reconcile the free speech rights of those who want to protest and the rights of Jewish students to be in an environment free of discrimination and harassment has been the central challenge on our campus and numerous others across the country," Shafik told the committee....
There is some criticism…
Dismiss the U.S. House Impeachment
Inflation
This advice will be laughable to many Americans, but, there is a method to balance the current inflation.
Banks don’t offer much in the way of interest to any savings. There is an option to beat inflation. The current inflation rate is about 3.6 percent. The current interest rate on US Treasury Bonds are higher than inflation.
I think for Americans where such investments into USA Treasury Bonds being impossible a “buying club” or “cooperative” may be a potential with proper legal advice.
Tax Reform
President Biden and a strong Democratic federal legislature can lead to a fair tax code without corruption. It is an interest proposal so far that is on the table and addresses the deficit.
Many economists, including Larry Summers supports many aspects of the proposed tax reform. Some actually applaud the current proposals. Larry Summers has one objection and I agree with him to some extent and that is in regard to increased stock values, but, unrealized income.
If I may?
There is a measure in the proposals that want to tax increased values of stock holdings. That is not income, but, further investment. If an investor allows increased value to stand without taking profit that is further investment. I think it is folly to bring such a proposal to law.
Increased values of stock holdings is an asset and not an income. When stocks are sold for profit it then becomes income and should be exposed to taxes.
As an added value asset a lot of options exist within the investment network and through banking including loans, both business and personal. Those loans or other use of these value added assets create tax deductions in the way of interest and fees. Those are legitimate uses of the tax code and should not change.
The value added assets must be viewed, no matter what form they exist; including home ownership; as assets and not income. Value added assets are fluid and can lose value in the future. While a loss in value will be a deduction and not income it is a concern for corruption.
If such value added stock tax were to become law it would open up the tax code to manipulation. There is nothing preventing an investor to throw money at stocks losing value while other stocks increase in value. This would put a huge hole in the tax code where manipulation would result in larger national deficit. Such a dynamic would affect the USA code on Moodys and the like. I think a great deal of caution to such concepts has to be viewed as excessive overreach in law.
The new tax code should have a reasonably predictable income for the country year after year. Those types of tax incomes to the USA treasury will stabilize the reliability of the USA, hence translating that stability to allied as well.
I think the Democrats are the absolute best party to pass this new tax code into law. They will listen to the people and provide stability to the USA treasury. The tax code will finally be fair while eliminating current corruption such as offshoring. The Democrats must pledge to bring about a fair tax code while eliminating corruption and regulations that do not service the country well.
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
EV glitches
This is an email between friends. It shows complete disregard for the importance of adapting to electric vehicles. At the first inconvenience it would seem some Americans at least run home to mommy and gas powered cars because it is what they understand. By all consumer standards these days both these people should be yelling and screaming to the manufacturers and elected officials about the lack of cohesive infrastructure for ease in using electric vehicles.
The car never failed to operate and provide good service. It is the electric charging infrastructure that has yet to be adequately addressed. The charging stations must be less competitive and more able to adapt to all the cars on the road that need to be charged up.
Capitalism is a valuable aspect of the USA economy, but, to place charging stations in an attempt to dominate this need for consumers is simply wrong. This is a huge paradigm shift for this country and there is enormous opportunity to bring down the carbon footprint of the country. These charging stations are about a child's future, the richness of nature in that future, and a livable climate. The climate today is causing deaths and none of it can be ignored.
So, rather than any company seeking to have exclusive rights to charging stations forcing consumers to purchase only one type of car, there needs to be charging stations that are more generic to accommodate any and all electric vehicles on the road.
LET'S GET THIS RIGHT!
There is no turning back. This is the future and Americans have to stop whining and "get with it!"
No complete solution
There is no complete fix for the poor in the USA. Former President Clinton once spoke to this in recognizing the need for supportive services. The needs of the poor must include the basics of human survival such as food, clothing, medicine, and shelter.
Being poor in the USA has little to do with laziness or any other negative descriptors rendered by ignorant people who choose to hate instead of having a conscience. In 2024 conscientiousness is the opposite of hate. Not every person has to be involved in charity, but, every American should understand poverty. There are some Americans who aren’t capable of rising to upper middle class. There is such a thing as the working poor and multigenerational families in one home.
So.
While the American Dream is vital to our society for all the right reasons, there are people completely unable to achieve it through no fault of their own. It is a form of denial, dismisses responsibility as a society, and removes compassion as an important quality of the character of the USA.
Strategy for Homeless
Immigration is good for business
(Click here)
New Jersey is experiencing growth in the billions due to immigrant labor. For every 1000 immigrants (Total 2.2 million) there are earnings of $21 million in annual wages resulting in local and state revenues of $2.1 million. There is also cultural enrichment improving quality of life. Immigration is great for the USA.
The language surrounding immigration is toxic for our society (click here). Hatred is easy to tap into as a motivator to an election.
Monday, April 15, 2024
The trials start today and the Trump circus is outside the courthouse.
Trump is a disgrace to his country and has been for a long time.
...Trump (click here) — the presumptive Reublican nominee for president — is required to be present for the entire trial, which could last as long as eight weeks. He’s pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, a low-level felony punishable by up to four years in prison. The trial kicked off Monday, with both sides making legal arguments on outstanding issues ahead of the beginning of jury selection....
One would think for all the national debt he accumulated during his administration there would be no doubt how much of a disgrace he actually is. The so called fiscally responsible Republicans truly are not as they want to place him in the White House as emperor. The USA Treasury won't be solvent for a year if Trump were ever elected King.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
January 14, 2021By Allan Sloan
One of President Donald Trump’s lesser known (click here) but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt.
The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. That’s nearly twice as much as what Americans owe on student loans, car loans, credit cards and every other type of debt other than mortgages, combined, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It amounts to about $23,500 in new federal debt for every person in the country.
The growth in the annual deficit under Trump ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any U.S. presidential administration, according to a calculation by a leading Washington budget maven, Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. And unlike George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln, who oversaw the larger relative increases in deficits, Trump did not launch two foreign conflicts or have to pay for a civil war....
Why? What is Iran thinking? These are lands in Palestine.
The Middle East
By Dan Williams
...Earlier on Saturday, (click here) Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries.
MSC, which operates the Aries, confirmed that Iran had seized the ship and said it was working "with the relevant authorities" for its safe return and the wellbeing of its 25 crew.
MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac said in a statement, adding that MSC is responsible for all the vessel's activities. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Iran of piracy....
Sunday, April 14, 2024
She’s fine.
Saturday, April 13, 2024
The lines have been blurred so many times regarding the attacks at the Maidan in Kyiv.
A boy wearing camouflage walks past a mural depicting a special forces soldier during a military-style competition organized by the National Guard security force for military cadets and youths, at a training ground in Balashikha, outside Moscow.
The case of Ms. E. Jean Carroll's gun has been handled.
By Katherine Doyle
Police in New York took possession of a gun (click here) belonging to writer E. Jean Carroll in February after she said during testimony in her defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump that she had an unlicensed firearm at home, according to a police report obtained by NBC News.
The chief of police in Warwick, N.Y., visited Carroll at her home on Feb. 15 “to discuss some open issues,” the report states, including Carroll’s disclosure of the handgun while she was on the witness stand Jan. 17.
During the second day of the civil trial, Carroll had told the federal court in lower Manhattan that she kept a “high standard revolver, nine chambers” at home with ammunition. “By my bed,” she said.
"I still do not have a license," Carroll added.
John Rader, the reporting officer, said in his report that he “offered to secure the weapon at the police station’s property for safekeeping.”
Carroll and a member of her security team surrendered the gun a day after Rader visited, and the firearm was being held until Carroll receives a New York pistol license, the report said....
Iceland is suffering economic downturn due to volcanic activity.
The Blue Lagoon is open. It is a worthwhile vacation spot. I do believe there is still some proximity to the volcanic activity that bothers tourists. All I can say to that is Iceland is very aware of the activity of it's geography.
January 12, 2024
By Alison Fox
The Blue Lagoon (click here) has once again re-opened to visitors in south Iceland following the volcano eruption that caused weeks of closures.
The iconic spa, restaurant, and hotel had a staggered opening over the last week, welcoming visitors back to soak in its milky blue waters and relax amongst its otherworldly landscape, the spa shared with Travel + Leisure. The pools, spa, cafe, retail shop, and Lava restaurant first reopened (though with slightly reduced hours) on Saturday, followed by the Silica Hotel and Retreat Hotel on Tuesday, and finally the property’s Michelin-starred Moss restaurant on Wednesday.
“After three wonderful days of welcoming back our staff and day guests at the Blue Lagoon, we’re also thrilled to be able to reopen our hotels,” Helga Árnadóttir, the chief operator of sales, operations, and services at the Blue Lagoon, said in a statement shared with T+L. “We’re very appreciative of our staff who worked tirelessly to reopen our establishments, and we look forward to continuing to create moments of joy for each person who walks through our doors.”...
By Lisa Abend
Early on a Sunday morning in July, (click here) two brothers from Boston sat on Reykjavik’s rocky coast, with their faces turned toward the chilly waters of the bay and their feet soaking in what felt like a warm bath. Ben and Lucas Zheng had landed around 4:30 a.m. at Iceland’s international airport, and didn’t have too many early-morning options for how to spend the start of their eight-hour layover before flying on to Venice. So, taking advantage of the season’s round-the-clock daylight, they walked 40 minutes from the city center toward the northwestern tip of the Seltjarnarnes peninsula. There on the stony beach, they rolled up their pants and sat for a couple of hours, their legs submerged in the naturally warm Kvika pool, which, at 12 inches deep, is more foot bath than hot tub.
The Zheng brothers had stumbled onto the most Icelandic of experiences. With more than 600 natural hot springs, the volcanic island gets the better part of its heat and energy from geothermal sources. But it has also incorporated that bounty of warm water into its culture, turning bathing in public pools into a sociable national pastime that is, according to some, the secret to its citizens’ happiness....
The Middle East Peace Table
Friday, April 12, 2024
People in glass houses.
People hold up portraits of victims of the 1994 bombing of the Argentinian Israeli Mutual Association, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 18 July 2018.
A new ruling by Argentina’s highest criminal court (click here) has blamed Iran for the fatal 1994 attack against a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, declaring it a “crime against humanity” in a decision that paves the way for victims to seek justice.
That huge blast at the Argentinian Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), was blamed on a suicide bomber driving a stolen van loaded with explosives. It killed 85 people, wounded 300 and devastated Latin America’s biggest Jewish community.
In their ruling late on Thursday, the judges ruled that the bombing was carried out by the Shia militant organization Hezbollah and responded to a “political and strategic design” by Iran. The court said the attack came in retaliation for Argentina reneging on a nuclear cooperation deal with Tehran....
The demonstrating American Palestinians may have had their deepest wishes come true by demanding Israel end it's defense of it's nation, but, even fewer will survive when Iran takes advantage of any perceived weakening of Israel’s resolve.
IRAN IS THE AGGRESSOR.
Iran has been the aggressor for a long time using proxies to carry out terror attacks.
Pakistan Designates Iran-Backed Shiite Militant Group Zainebiyoun (click here)April 11, 2024
The Iranian regime has been an active actor in the Syrian conflict which started in 2013 and has so far claimed the lives of around 500,000 people, at least 60 percent of whom were civilians.
To help maintain Assad’s rule, Iran dispatched its other proxies to Syria as well, including Hezbollah, Iraq’s Nujaba Movement, and also the Fatemiyoun Division, which was composed of Afghan Shiite fighters.
Iranian officials and state media frequently credit former IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani as the man behind launching, training and funding all these militant groups. Soleimani, who served as the Iranian regime’s top military and intelligence operator in the Middle East, was killed in a US drone strike in January 2020 in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad.
Observers contend that Tehran’s attempts to mobilize Shiite militant groups, such as Zainebiyoun, and their active participation in the Syrian war fanned the flames of sectarian violence in the Middle East, provoking Sunni communities to employ a similar strategy in the region....
An Iranian general (click here) killed in a strike in Syria’s capital last week was a member of Hezbollah’s Shura Council, the powerful Lebanese terror group’s decision-making body, a source close to the movement said.
The April 1 airstrike leveled the Iranian embassy’s consular annex in Damascus, killing seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, including two generals.
One of them was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the Quds Force, the Guards’ foreign operations arm....
This isn't the first time in recent years that an Iranian general found their deaths. Hezbollah for decades, if not longer, has been seeking to kill Israelis.
January 3, 2020By Nectar Gan
Qasem Soleimani, (click here) who was killed by a US airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport on Friday, was hailed as a hero in Iran – brave, charismatic and beloved by the troops.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once called him a “living martyr of the revolution.” But the United States viewed Iran’s top general as a ruthless killer.
One of Iran’s most powerful men, Soleimani cut a highly controversial figure. He was head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, an elite unit that handles Iran’s overseas operations – and one deemed to be a foreign terrorist organization by the US.
Having started his front line military career in the Iran-Iraq war during the early 1980s, Soleimani rose to prominence to become an indispensable figure in Iran, playing an instrumental role in spreading its influence in the Middle East....
This is from Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military (click here) says sirens have sounded twice within the space of 30 minutes. Earlier, the military reported that they had struck several Hezbollah military compounds in southern Lebanon. The military also stated that it had detected “a number of launches from Lebanon” but had struck the sources of the fire.These attacks happen with Israel all the time and Israel has a right to return fire and limit regrowth. Hezbollah is not denying the attacks on Israel.
This is from Alarabiya:
April 11, 2024Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group (click here) said it fired “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at Israeli artillery positions Friday, a bombardment it said was in response to Israeli strikes in the south.
Hamas ally Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with the Israeli army since the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7 triggering war in Gaza....
Why is any terrorist organization attacking Israel? Israel, before being attacked October 7, 2023.
Approx. 40 launches were identified crossing from Lebanese territory by the IDF, some of which were intercepted by Israel. The IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted 2 Hezbollah explosive UAVs that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory earlier this evening.Yet before it was an arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah was—and remains—first and foremost a critical component of Iran’s deterrence. The group and its reported 100,000-plus rockets are Iran’s second-strike capability. If Israel or the United States were to attack Iran’s nuclear program, Hezbollah’s arsenal would deliver a devastating blow on Israeli population centers. As much as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian leaders are committed to Israel’s destruction, they are more devoted to regime survival and do not want to lose the deterrent capability that they have invested in Hezbollah....
By Gerald Michael Feierstein
“Hezbollah has a lot of capabilities. They have a lot of missiles, They have a lot of drones. They have a lot of weapons that they could use.” Israel fears attacks from Iran and Hezbollah as they could launch an attack that could "cover all of Israel”, says former US ambassador to Yemen Gerald Michael Feierstein.
President Joe Biden told reporters Friday afternoon (click here) he expects an Iranian strike on Israel to occur "sooner than later" amid urgent concerns that Iran was about to retaliate for the bombing of its consulate in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.
Asked for his message to Iran in the tense moment, Biden was blunt, saying simply, "Don't."
"Would the U.S. respond?" ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked repeatedly as the president walked away after the end of an unrelated event. He paused, thought for a moment and then returned to the lectern.
"We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed," he said.....
By Jon Gambrell
Ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels (click here) struck three commercial ships Sunday in the Red Sea, while a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the hourslong assault, the U.S. military said. The Iranian-backed Houthis claimed two of the attacks.
The strikes marked an escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war, as multiple vessels found themselves in the crosshairs of a single Houthi assault for the first time in the conflict. The U.S. vowed to “consider all appropriate responses” in the wake of the attack, specifically calling out Iran, after tensions have been high for years now over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
“These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement. “They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world.”...