Friday, April 15, 2016

Income Tax deadline is Monday, April 18th.

When Emancipation Day falls on a Saturday, the holiday is celebrated on Friday. All offices are closed today in Washington, DC.

April 13, 2016
By Rachel Kurzius

It'll be 154 years (click here) since legislation freed 3,185 District of Columbia slaves on April 16, 1862, more than eight months before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Yet D.C. still doesn't have full representation.
"We honor the many champions who have fought for civil rights and equality," said Mayor Muriel Bowser on a sunny morning in Freedom Plaza, with the Capitol in view, "as we renew our push for full democracy and statehood."
Flanked by At-large Councilmember Vincent Orange, D.C. shadow Senators Paul Strauss and Michael Brown, senior advisor Beverly Perry, and D.C. Secretary of State Lauren Vaughan, Bowser announced the activities for upcoming Emancipation Day, which last decade became a legal public holiday in the District. And, in what has become one of the holiday's traditions, the mayor made the case for why statehood remains a priority....

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Noam Chomsky agrees with Sarah Palin....


The esteemed linguist and philosopher examines one of America's most insidious breeds of political corruption 


"...with the public marginalized."

April 12, 2016
By Alexander Rosenmann
Elections are rigged by many factors. (click here) But as Noam Chomsky explains, policy plays only a small role in electing candidates.
“Right after the election, President Obama won an award from the advertising industry for the best marketing campaign and the International Business Press executives were euphoric,” Chomsky recalls in the 2015 documentary Requiem for the American Dream. They said, We’ve been marketing candidates like toothpaste since Reagan. This is the greatest achievement we have.”
The 2008 election marked a turning point in social media strategy and Facebook users bombardment of posts that used the new “I Voted” app was just one aspect of this phenomenon. President Obama, in fact, used Twitter to announce that he won – similarly to how 2016’s candidates engage with voters on Snapchat.
“Regardless of your political affiliation, one can’t help but admire the Obama campaign’s relentless and successful marketing strategy,” said World Wildlife Fund senior strategist Brigid Milligan, after Obama was reelected in 2012....
April 14, 2016
Washington, DC -- Voters will "rise up" in opposition (click here) if Republican power brokers try to take the presidential nomination away from Donald Trump or Ted Cruz at the GOP convention this summer, Sarah Palin said Thursday in a wide-ranging interview.
The 2008 vice presidential nominee told The Associated Press that GOP voters have the right to decide the party's nominee and will rebel if House Speaker Paul Ryan or some other "white knight" is chosen at a contested convention. Ryan said this week he will not seek or accept the nomination....               

Japan is experiencing repeated quakes. Aftershocks are usually lower in frequency than the main quake.

Time (click here)

  1. 2016-04-14 12:26:36 (UTC)
  2. 2016-04-14 08:26:36 (UTC-04:00) in your timezone

Nearby Places

  • 7.0 km (4.3 mi) SW of Ueki, Japan
  • 9.0 km (5.6 mi) SE of Tamana, Japan
  • 12.0 km (7.5 mi) WNW of Kumamoto-shi, Japan
  • 18.0 km (11.2 mi) N of Uto, Japan
  • 620.0 km (385.3 mi) SSE of Seoul, South Korea

  • "Birth of Major Strike-Slip Fault" (click here)
There is a subduction zone under southwest Japan. (click here) It has a history of non-volcanic tremors. But, this higher frequency (By frequency I mean severity of the quake) is new. And it these quakes are all coming in between 6 and 6.4 there is movement in that subduction zone.

This is not to be taken lightly for the safety of the people. The quakes could continue. Buildings have already collapsed and there are injuries. 
  • April 14, 2016
  • By Reuters from USGS

Fresh quake of magnitude 6.4 strikes south west Japan - USGS (click here)

...At around 1503 GMT, another tremor struck the region, according to the USGS. It was initially measured at magnitude 6.4, before being revised down to 5.9. Again, there was no tsunami warning.
After the first tremor, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said there were no irregularities at three nuclear plants on the southernmost island of Kyushu and nearby Shikoku.
Some high-speed trains were halted as a precaution.
Japanese media showed watermelons falling from shelves at a supermarket in Kumamoto.
A quake of magnitude 9 struck offshore north of Tokyo in March 2011, causing tsunami waves along the coast which killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered a meltdown at a nuclear power plant.

Hawaii has an ocean power generator. It is not new. It is proven to provide power to Hawaii.

No American can be tried for the same crime twice.

Corey Lewandowski will never be held for criminal charges. Drop it. A citizen of the USA cannot be tried twice for the same crime. The prosecutor made a ruling and that is the end of the case and it cannot be reopen. 

A jury that cannot come to a decision is different. If the jury came back with "Not guilty," the charges could not be brought again. But, if the jury cannot decide on a guilty or not guilty, the case falls back to the prosecutor. 

The Florida State prosecutor got involved and ruled against any further charges. There is no more criminal charges against Mr. Lewandowsi. I still believe with the tensions that existed at the time it was a concern for Donald Trump's safety.

Donald Trump did indicate immediately after that brush with his staff and a journalist he would be on his tablet for further communication. It is unfortunate, but, the issue is not considered criminal and I think that is because of the circumstances and Donald Trump's safety. Circumstances matter.

April 14, 2016
By Steve Eder and Maggie Haberman Corey Lewandowski, (click here) the campaign manager for Donald J. Trump, will not be prosecuted on a battery charge, the Palm Beach County state attorney said Thursday.
Mr. Lewandowski had been charged by the police with a single count of misdemeanor battery, stemming from an incident in Jupiter, Fla., last month in which he was accused of forcibly grabbing Michelle Fields, then a reporter for Breitbart News, as she approached Mr. Trump with a question after a news conference.
The prosecutor, Dave Aronberg, explaining his decision not move ahead with a prosecution, said the burden for his office to proceed with a case was higher than for the police. A spokesman for the Jupiter police referred calls to the prosecutor’s office.
Mr. Aronberg said that politics played no role in how his office approached the case, saying simply that it would be “unethical” to move ahead when there is no “good faith basis to proceed.”

I still don't think the Florida governor understands women otherwise issues that have come up would have been handled better. I think he's afraid of women.

Both previously stated incidents happened in his state. The Florida Governor hid when he should have come out and/or stopped and talked to them. He should have addressed the issue with a PRESIDENTIAL candidate and he should have stopped his run through Starbucks to address the woman with a sincere and real complaint.

People have died in Florida because Rick Scott wanted nothing to do with the Medicaid Expansion. Lives could have been saved, children would still have both parents. The decision was pure politics. The expansion of Medicaid cost the states nothing. Refusing to protect the lives of people do to lack of health care insurance should be a prosecutable offense. 

Anti-capitalism, Chinese nationalism and exploitation of it's ? trading partners? .

Chinese nationalism in Africa is causing immense problems. A possible side effect is depriving the African rebels of natural resources. I have noted the disappearance of Boko Haram.

September 2, 2011
By Peter Wonacott

..."China's model (click here) is telling us you can be successful without following the Western example," said deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara, a member of an opposition party locked in awkward coalition with Mr. Mugabe, who has deep ties with Beijing.
The U.S. is the largest foreign donor to Zimbabwe, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which doesn't count China as a member. The U.S. funnels much of its assistance through nongovernmental organizations, some of which are critical of Zimbabwe's government. That hasn't gone down well with many officials. "China is my favorite country," said Mr. Mutambara a 45-year-old politician who attended U.S. universities....

When a country dives into nationalism it is usually for the country's flag, not allegiance to a foreign government. The flag that flies over Africa is China's flag. When the Chinese speak of the development of the middle class, it is about the Chinese middle class and not the Zimbabwe middle class. Quite the contrary, the poverty of Africa is even more profound as the people are ignored by their government only to have their natural resources exported to China's sovereign borders.

China's partnership in any trade comes with a very hard reality, the poor are getting poorer and there is no hope for the future.

When Bono made testimony to the USA Congress committee he stated the Chinese come to Africa with their own employees and the citizens don't have opportunity to move out of abjective poverty. For those Third World countries involved with Chinese businessmen there should be warning flags everywhere to realize the leaders are moving their citizens more deeply into poverty.  There will be no middle class development of the citizens of Third World Africa. They are digging themselves deeper into poverty not finding a path out of it. There are no jobs for the poor, the charity is only as permanent as China's exploitation of a country's natural resources.


On a continental scale, (click here) China’s deal-making pace far exceeds the U.S.’s, according to Mthuli Ncube, Chief Economist at the African Development Bank Group. He estimates Chinese firms accounted for 40% of the corporate contracts signed last year, to 2% for U.S. firms.

China is developing a middle class. That takes investment by the government in education and opportunity, however, in this case it would seem as though the Chinese are building their middle class on the deprivation of it's trading partners. This is not trade, this is pathetic.

Who is getting the money from the Chinese businessmen to provide an exploitative model to a country's natural resources? There has to be a pay off somewhere. 

This exploitation may be conducted without the knowledge of the Chinese government or it's permission. China is developing a very bad name in trade relationships by depriving foreign citizens in developing a middle class. The Chinese government is seeking  a strong middle class, but, I question whether unfair trading and labor practices are part of the picture the government expects. 

It has been obvious that Chinese businessmen get carried away with their profit margins, such as, fatal dog food to American consumers. China comes down hard on these businessmen, it would be a good idea if Bono and the US State Department make a humanitarian plea directly to the Chinese government. The solution may be far more easier than most expect.

Zika

April 14, 2016
By Judy Stone

News about Zika keeps getting worse. (click here) First is growing evidence that Zika causes of the serious birth defect, microcephaly (abnormally small brain and skull) and severe mental retardation. The CDC just announced their analysis that concludes Zika is the cause of many recent microcephaly cases, with CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden declaring, “There is no longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly.” He added, “Never before in history has there been a situation where a bite from a mosquito can result in a devastating malformation.” Studies supporting this conclusion were just published in the New England Journal of Medicine....

Guillain-Barre (click here) 
acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM (click here)
neurotropism (click here)
encephalitis (brain inflammation) (click here)
myelitis (nerve inflammation) (click here)

"Shame on you Rick Scott..."

April 14. 2016
By Dylan Byers


(CNN) The state attorney's office(click here) in Palm Beach County, Florida, will not prosecute Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski for battery, according to sources familiar with the case.
A former reporter for Breitbart, Michelle Fields, sought charges against Lewandowski after an incident in March where she said Lewandowski pulled her away from Trump as she was trying to ask him a question.
The Florida State's attorney's office said it will hold news conference at 2 p.m. Thursday to address the matter, according to a statement.
    The news is a sigh of relief for both Lewandowski and the Trump campaign, which risked facing a major legal distraction during the heat of the competitive presidential campaign.
    The incident at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on March 8, the night of the Michigan presidential primary, led to a weeks-long dispute between the Trump campaign, some media outlets and Fields, as to what actually happened....

    Seems as though Florida's governor has a problem with understanding women.

    April 12, 2016
    By Tessa Stuart

    Cara Jennings (click here) was sitting in a Gainesville, Florida, Starbucks last week, doing some work for the Service Employees International Union, where she's a contract recruiter, when she noticed Gov. Rick Scott and a gaggle of aides waiting in line for coffee.

    Their exchange began with Jennings — who served as city commissioner of Lake Worth from 2006 to 2011 — asking the governor why he signed a law defunding Planned Parenthood, and ended with Scott scuttling out of the coffee shop empty-handed, Jennings calling after him, "Shame on you, Rick Scott. You're an embarrassment to our state!"
    Scott was apparently embarrassed enough by footage that emerged of the encounter that on Friday his PAC, Let's Go to Work, released an attack ad characterizing Jennings as a latte-swilling, Internet-surfing welfare queen....

    Isn't the segregation of NYC indicative of the USA? The poor, working poor, middle class, upper middle class and wealthy.

    Isn't the cost of housing a segregation?

    We always notice the segregation, but, we don't identify what causes it except the visuals. Isn't the cost of housing a significant division among people? With the cost of housing comes investment in schools, parks and community involvement.

    The Democrats will always say it is a socio-economic dimension. Isn't the economics entering into this more than we should be comfortable with. There was a paradigm at one time that states if the poor and middle class were eliminated from the landscape who would work for the wealthy. Perhaps San Francisco can be testament to that, except, as the wealthy move in the shop owners sell upper class items that bring them wealth, too.

    April 14, 2016
    By the NYTimes
    As officials work (click here) to expand the supply of affordable housing in New York City, the issue of residential segregation has received less attention. Highly segregated pockets exist in all five boroughs: Latinos in the Bronx and Manhattan; whites in Manhattan and on Staten Island; blacks and whites in Brooklyn; and Asians, blacks and Latinos in Queens.

    The New York Times asked residents in community districts with the highest concentrations of each group, according to research from New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, to tell us how they liked where they lived....

    Language is huge. But, in communities where language is less of a barrier has mixed language spoken and I am thinking about Jewish communities where some of the most orthodox live. There is community involvement that carries to city hall and the greater society even though the ethnics are knee deep.

    I remember the death of Leiby Kletzky. The outpouring didn't come from just the community, it came from the world. That level of recognition and respect for diversity comes from a compassionate society that embraces every person.

    We have problems in the USA with ethnic identity. Not every American would be comfortable with strong cultural difference. But, I think the economic aspect of racism needs to be examined and remedied before we can say segregation is the outcome of an identity hated by others. I am not saying racism doesn't exist, but, to what extent and how much does it reach into segregation.

    “You have more bars in a black neighborhood, more fast foods, more bodegas. In other neighborhoods you find stuff with nutrients, you find fat-free, sugar-free. Not here.”

    That is economic and not choice. Americans are suppose to have choices in their life, that requires a way out of poverty. It is what is so frustrating about a corrupt Republican Congress, even our school children can't get away from garbage to eat.         

    Wednesday, April 13, 2016

    Help is long overdue.

    The Presidential candidates need to visit public housing. These are the public programs that are cut by a majority Republican House and Senate while they pay for multi-billion dollar F35 Strike Fighter that can't even protect their pilots yet alone a nation.

    There is interest in public housing in the US House.

    April 12, 2016
    By Deborah Barfield Berry

    Washington – Small public housing authorities (click here) in rural towns shouldn’t have to comply with the same regulations that apply in large urban areas, Rep. Steven Palazzo said Tuesday.
    “This one-size-fits-all approach is bad for everyone involved,” Palazzo, a Republican, told housing authority officials from around the country attending a national conference in Washington.
    Palazzo used the event to promote his bipartisan bill that would reduce red tape and inspections for smaller public housing authorities. Palazzo, a former public housing official in Biloxi, said such authorities are subject to the same rules as larger ones, but don’t have the same resources....

    Some of the most needy in our country live in public housing including the elderly that have no other options. These people are aged and will have limited income and will receive food stamps for the rest of their lives. At the very least the federal government should be funding this housing to give them dignity and comfort. Make sure the heating works, make sure there are options for the heat of summer, make sure there are no molds or yeasts growing (which is usually controlled when the heat works) and paint the apartments as the law requires and keep the elevators in excellent repair. 

    Children grow up in public housing as well. They don't have the amenities their suburb peers enjoy. There are no play grounds or soccer coaches or little league baseball. There needs to be a czar in Washington, DC to seek the help for these COMMUNITIES. 
    Ted Cruz is desperate. He is modeling his words after those spoken by Donald Trump against Cruz. Donald Trump calls Ted Cruz "Lyin' Ted." Recently, Ted Cruz came up with a name similar for Trump. Ted Cruz is on defense and he is on the ropes. He has reverted to making up fantasies about Donald Trump in calling him a gangster. A member of the Italian underground. That is a presidential candidate confident of his outcome? It sounds pretty desperate to me.

    It takes guts to walk a picket line, but, when a political leader shows up to march too, it becomes so much easier.

    Union members don't ask that much. They ask their employers to give them a contract deserving of the dignity an employee should have. In the case of Verizon they need to have a good contract with it's employees. Verizon needs the middle class and it needs it's union. Good salary and good benefits provide for longevity in employment. Longevity of employment provides an employer with a rock solid product. The employees need Verizon as much as Verizon needs them. A contract should honor both of them.

    Bernie Sanders (click here) is holding a celebrity-studded rally and indie rock concert that will stream live from Washington Square Park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City on Wednesday, and thousands were standing in line for the event early in the afternoon even though no one would be admitted until 5 p.m.; the star-packed roster of speakers and performers is not scheduled to hit the stage until 8 p.m. Eastern Time....

    As to Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, the polls are tightening. In March Hillary Clinton has a lead of 21 percent. Today, that lead is half, now 10 percent. Bernie Sanders is a force to contend with and the people love him.

    Bernie is not going anywhere. He isn't on the campaign trail because he simply wants to win the Presidency. Bernie is running for President and building a movement. He is not going anywhere.

    They are valuing their souls and lives again. It takes a world.

    April 12, 2016
    By Joby Warrick

    Two years after proclaiming a new “caliphate” (click here) for Muslims in the Middle East, the Islamic State is seeing a steep slide in support among the young Arab men and women it most wants to attract, a new poll shows.
    Overwhelming majorities of Arab teens and young adults now strongly oppose the terrorist group, the survey suggests, with nearly 80 percent ruling out any possibility of supporting the Islamic State, even if it were to renounce its brutal tactics.
    A year ago, about 60 percent expressed that view, according to the 16-country survey released Tuesday.
    “Tacit support for the militant group is declining,” concludes a summary report by the poll’s sponsor, ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, a public relations firm that has tracked young Arabs’ views in annual surveys for the past eight years. Other recent surveys have found similarly high disapproval rates for the Islamic State among general populations in Muslim-majority countries....
    ...The 2016 ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey offers a cleaner example of  Paar’s flattery because it simply asked young Arabs
    an aspirational question: “If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?” For the fifth consecutive year, young Arabs gave the same answer – the United Arab Emirates. The United States and Germany are a distant second and third, and only two other Arab countries cracked the top ten....

    Is that what all young men want? Opportunity?

    ...leaders have failed to deliver the goods for their citizens, especially young people. Of these ‘goods’ the one most prized by young Arabs is simply opportunity: the opportunity to reach their potential in a secure, safe environment, free of corruption, and open to innovation and creativity. This opportunity offers the dignity of succeeding or failing on your terms, not because of wasta (connections) or lack thereof, or any other factor.

    When the Tunisian vegetable vendor Mohammad Bouazizi set himself on fire in December 2010 to protest a predatory government that had taken away his means of making a living – his opportunity – he likely had no idea that he would ignite uprisings across the Arab world; uprising driven by a “burned generation” of Arab youth fed up with corruption, dictatorship, and lack of opportunity....

    Ms. Woodcraft sees a world that still doesn't appreciate women and opportunity.

    Clare Woodcraft (click here)

    It is shocking that in the 21st century we still need to justify why women should be given equal opportunities in the workforce and public sphere, given they comprise 50 per cent of the world’s population. While we see progress around women in senior governance and decision-making roles through, for example, legislation in the UAE and quotas in countries such as Norway, the targets are still modest. A campaign in the UK to get women on FTSE boards targets just 33 per cent rather than 50 per cent. Meanwhile, feminism has gone out of fashion even though it just means equal rights for men and women.

    Women in MENA (Middle East and North Africa), however, are leading the charge and becoming as vocal and active as their international counterparts in calling for more empowerment, equal opportunities, pay and voice. They are also increasingly taking up senior leadership roles and providing the much needed role models that can be game changing for young women across the Arab world....

    Emma Watson, the actress, has begun the identification of feminism. She has recognition and is popular. She should continue to be that voice so many women still need to hear.

    ...Research shows that young Arab women can be inspired by just one person – one person who is able to demonstrate that women can break down barriers and taboos....

    That is wonderful news and I am not sure that is true of women and not just Arab women. I was to a gathering yesterday evening where film clips were used to illustrate the relationship of women leaders to those they lead. It was simple to the point with a panel of about six women and a man. After each film clip the panel members commented on their responsibilities to their employers or their own business. It only took once and the audience 'got it.' Women leaders can be nurturers if it works, but, when it doesn't they have to be firm and expect respect. Nurturing environments have a lot respect within them, but, there is a limit and holding softer leadership values beyond that limit is a folly for both the leader and the employee. 

    I am glad to hear a women leader state Arab women listen to peers and can be elevated by one other person. I wish them all the wholesome success they desire.

    There is little to no water vapor at the surface of Earth. It is evaporated to a higher altitude.

    The best defense a forest has is it's full canopy. There is a 30 minute video about the rainforests and the first scene is about the tree canopy. Full and letting little to no light shine through to the Earth's surface.

    There are few rainforests on the North American continent, but, there are a few. They are important for the same reasons any forest is important, they are a carbon sink and PRODUCE soil when they die and fall to the forest floor. Trees become soil when they die. 

    The forest floor is not quite as important, but, when covered with dead leaves and the like insulate the forest floor from evaporation.

    What exists today is a very dry troposphere where water vapor has moved upward in altitude. That creates a hostile world for forests. Forests transport their nutrients from the soil to the very top of it's canopy through a water transport system. Every millimeter of a tree is serviced by a water transport system no different than the water pipes of modern America. The system is simple, but, at the same instance very complex in it's transport.

    This water transport system has it's final destination the very tip of the tree leaf.

    To the right is a Beech tree leaf. It is very easy to see in this system as is the case with every tree leaf the VEINS that carry the nutrient dense water.

    The tree actually let's it's water transport system flood and then the water leaving the tree leaf due to abundant water, evaporates into the air surrounding the tree.

    This life process of trees is called "evapotranspiration" (click here). Evapotranspiration provides water vapor to the atmosphere and in some FOREST systems, such as those found on the California coast, create their own clouds.

    That water vapor is very important to the forest. When the air is very dry the evaporation of the water at the tip of the leaves is quick. The water vapor does not LINGER to provide still yet another buffer to fire.

    Those defenses on a hot planet are very challenged. Is it not so much the tree processes have changed in ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE, it is the water vapor that has changed. That is why there is now a 24/7/365 danger to forests. 

    I remind forests are not only extremely valuable carbon sinks, they are the home to wildlife vital to life on Earth. 

    April 12, 2016
    By Matt Richtel and Fernanda Santos

    The first Alaska wildfire of 2016 (click herebroke out in late February, followed by a second there just eight days later.

    New Mexico has had 140 fires this year, double the number in the same period last year, fueled by one of the warmest, driest winters on record.

    And on the border of Arizona and California this month, helicopters dumped water on flames so intense that they jumped the Colorado River, forcing the evacuation of two recreational vehicle parks.

    Fires, once largely confined to a single season, have become a continual threat in some places, burning earlier and later in the year, in the United States and abroad. They have ignited in the West during the winter and well into the fall, have arrived earlier than ever in Canada and have burned without interruption in Australia for almost 12 months.... 

    President Obama in his first or two focused on military acquisitions as a place where government efficiency needed to focus.

    US House Representative Mica (click here) states the military doesn't leave personnel in these jobs long enough to be a reliable partner in system reform. He also stated there are vacancies in the entire line of command in the acquisitions process. These vacancies have existed for years and due to those absences the entire acquisition process is compromised.

    Rep. Mica was visibility upset at the Oversight Committee (click here) meeting this AM. 

    It sounds as though China is not interested in the death of a British teacher.

    April 13, 2016
    By Reuters

    Hilary St John Bower

    A 60-year-old British man (click here) who went missing for several weeks in late March, has been confirmed to have been killed in China, the Hong Kong police said in a statement after being notified by Chinese authorities.
    Hilary St John Bower, who had worked as an English language instructor at the Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, had been dead for more than a week by the time he was reported missing on 30 March, according to a police statement.
    “The victim was killed on the evening of March 22 in mainland China,” the Hong Kong police said, after receiving notice from their Chinese counterparts.

    It sounds like an ambush to me.
    The police statement included no specifics, however, on how he was killed, a possible motive, or why it had taken so long to confirm Bower’s death.
    Hong Kong media reported that Bower had a longtime girlfriend and a son in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, and had often travelled between the two places.

    I hope the family is alright. They didn't travel with him, did they?
    The Chinese Public Security Bureau in Shenzhen said they had no information on the case when contacted by Reuters....

    Tuesday, April 12, 2016

    Depends on the source. Both the candidates are probably right depending on their staff research. All I know is I am tired of ALWAYS finding the worst news about heroin in Buffalo, New York !!!!!!!!

    In 2013, (click here) New York had the third lowest number of gun deaths per capita among the states.  Guns originally purchased in New York are recovered after being used in crimes in other states at the second lowest rate per capita among the states, according to data published by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. In fact, New York exports crime guns at a rate less than one-sixth the national average. New York imports crime guns from other states at seven times the rate it exports such guns.  This means that, unlike states with weaker gun laws, New York is not a common source of crime guns used in other states.

    This article below is about NYC only. It seems like the New Jersey and New England are able to control their guns. 


    July 31, 2013

    By Tina Moore

    90% of all guns (click here) used in city crimes in 2011 came from out-of-state, which was a 4% increase from the previous year. Mayor Bloomberg pushing for tougher laws across the country.


    There is also this. I know Buffalo, New York has had some of the worst heroin issues in the country.

    July 13, 2015
    By Terry J. Allen
    Shooting up in Vermont, shooting up New York (click here)
    Pssst. Want an unregistered semi-automatic handgun, some heroin and a way to make a 1,400 percent profit?
    First, the gun. In Vermont, you can legally buy it through a “private” sale at a gun show, yard sale, online or from a dealer. Doesn’t matter if you’re a convicted murderer with a history of mental illness and a restraining order for domestic abuse. Anyone 16 or older with $600 can, for example, go to Armslist.com and arrange with a “private party” in Arlington, Vt., to pick up a “Zastava M92 PV 7.62 x 39 cal. semi auto pistol that has a 10 inch barrel, comes with 2 each 30 round clips.” The Serbian assault weapon is, the ad notes, the “very cool … pistol version of the AK-47.”
    Then, if you are willing to break the law, you can drive the weapon to New York, where semi-automatic handguns are banned, and sell it for triple the Vermont price. You can invest the $1,800 in heroin. Back in Vermont, where heroin is in relatively short supply, you can resell it for five times the New York cost and garner $9,000—a quick 1,400 percent profit....

    The worst of heroin is always Buffalo. The New York State SBI and federal FBI should really concentrate on the sales to Buffalo. Shut down these dam dealers. I am sure it is dangerous, but, people die on a right regular basis from heroin in that city.

    February 9, 2016
    By Lou Michel
    A young couple drove (click here) from Seneca County last week to buy some supercharged heroin that was making the rounds in Buffalo.
    Soon after smoking it, the 21-year-old Waterloo woman lost consciousness. Her 26-year-old boyfriend managed to call 911. It took three doses of Narcan, an opiate antidote, before Amherst Police Officer Sean D. Shaver revived the woman.
    She was lucky. These days, heroin being widely sold in the Buffalo area is really fentanyl or heroin heavily laced with the laboratory-produced opioid that is 30 to 50 times stronger than ordinary heroin.
    Nearly two dozen other addicts were not so fortunate over the last two weeks. Twenty-three people have died as a result of opiate overdoses in Erie County during an 11-day period that started Jan. 29. Twelve of the deaths occurred in Buffalo, and the others were in the county’s suburbs and rural areas. The ages of the deceased range from 20 to 61....

    The anti-LGBT bill in North Carolina.

    There is a major military base for every branch of the USA military in North Carolina. How does the Governor square the National Guard?

    Fort Bragg (click here)

    Pope Air Force Base (click here)

    Spouses do live off the base and have careers, too.

    Camp LeJeune (click here)










    There are several National Guard (click here) facilities in North Carolina. The headquarters are in Raleigh, the state capital.

    Camp Mackall Army Base (click here)

    Marine Corp Air Station Cherry Point (click here)

    These military bases add to the NC economy. North Carolina does not want to continue their wayward hate of LGBTQ community. The spouses and children of these military men and women will not put up with it.

    It is about morale. Our military cannot believe or feel they are not welcome anywhere except on their base.

    Any governor of any state in the country would love to absorb at least one of these military bases.

    Key Findings (click here) 
    Overall, the economic impact model estimates that the military supports roughly 10 percent of North Carolina’s employment

    The military supports 578,000 jobs in North Carolina, nearly $34 billion in state personal income, and $66 billion in gross state product

    386,000 of the total military-supported jobs occur in the private sector

    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Administrative and Waste Management Services, and Construction are the top three military-supported private industry sectors

    102,000 active duty military personnel were assigned to units in North Carolina as of June 2015, and more than 78,000 individuals are projected to leave the military over the next four years

    The North Carolina National Guard has a strength of nearly 12,000, with more than 20,000 in the Reserves

    More than 20,000 civilian contractors are employed by the Department of Defense and the North Carolina National Guard in North Carolina

    Department of Defense prime contracting in FY 2014 totaled $2.5 billion, with 81 percent of that being performed in the South Central and Southeast prosperity zones

    79 of 100 counties had prime contracting activity in FY 2014

    North Carolina’s active military personnel have in-demand occupational skills which could contribute to private industries in the state as personnel separate from the military in the future

    North Carolina has a total of 775,000 veterans that reside in every county across the state

    Military veterans in North Carolina received more than $8.2 billion in pensions, medical care and other support from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs in FY 2014

    It is time the USA's political party belong to the people.

    Isn't it obvious yet how corrupt the Republican Party is? It is as obvious as a wart on the end of the end of a witch's nose.

    The rules committee writes those rules to insure the nomination of the stalwart establishment. That is why the baton is passed predictably to the next in the hierarchy. 

    If that isn't corruption, then what is?

    The Democrats should be so organized. Example: 1988, first Governor Mario Cuomo declined. Then Gary Hart's sexual affair defeated him. Bill Clinton was tossed around, but, he remained in Arkansas when Hillary Clinton said no to the potential of becoming the Governor of Arkansas. Talk about insensitive. Nothing like breaking up a married couple by about a 1000 miles. Finally, Governor Michael Dukakis was nominated.

    Then came 1992:

    William Jefferson Clinton, (click here) the first Democratic president in six decades to be elected twice, led the U.S. to the longest economic expansion in American history, including the creation of more than 22 million jobs.

    And then the world couldn't get enough of "Clinton."

    After leaving the White House, President Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation, and today, the renamed Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, works to improve global health and wellness,...

    Not every Democrat is an angel, but, there isn't that level of control at the DNC. Debbie has dreams of control, but, she knows better.

    Isn't it time the Republican Party actually try to become the party of Lincoln again? Lincoln would roll over in his grave. Wait. Aren't they redoing the Lincoln Memorial in DC?