Before everyone believes it is best to throw the baby out with the bath water, this is more a district by district issue.

I looked at the local districts where I live and the students are doing average to above average work. So, the idea DeVos in Washington, DC can dictate an overall policy for every student in the country is wrong.

She is only interested in allowing dollar for dollar TAX CREDITS for the wealthy.

This is a sample of the Louisiana school scores (click here).

This is a district by district issue and I guarantee it depends on wealth distribution, segregation and economic depression.

If a community has wealthy citizens and DeVos institutes her tax credit, the schools will be able to carry out more intense improvements, but, for depressed districts in a state like Louisiana, the changes will never come with DeVos's proposal. There is a huge wealth gap and it is effecting the education of American children. That needs to be addressed and federal programs that distribute monies to poor districts with targeted improvements KNOWN to improve student performance for that district is the way to improve quality of life for all Americans. The sooner wealth is not sequestered in pockets of opportunity in the USA, the sooner poverty will resolve and opportunity will replace it.

The Voice of the Deal Maker with self - serving priorities as part of international relationships.

Sorry, but, if Trump can't come to terms with his own "British Trump" there is something really wrong.

The US House impeachment is not a shame and the American people know it. It is a mistake to say so.

Is Facebook propaganda coming under control? Did it effect the elections last night?

Breaking the law is Un-American. Just that simple. Whistleblowing is an act of courage and should not ever be compromised.

November 5, 2019
By Burgess Everett and Marianne Levin

Standing beside President Donald Trump (click here) on Monday night, Sen. Rand Paul called for the media to unmask the Ukraine whistleblower and was cheered by rallygoers in Kentucky.

“Do your job and print his name!” Paul said as the president clapped and looked on approvingly.

On Tuesday, the Kentucky Republican went a step further, threatening to reveal the name himself.

But many of Paul’s colleagues oppose the idea of exposing the identity of the person who helped launch the impeachment drive by detailing Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president.

Senior Senate Republicans are worried about the precedent it would set, fearing government sources would be less likely to reveal wrongdoing in future presidencies.

They also have a simpler concern: not breaking the law.

“We should follow the law. And I believe the law protects whistleblowers,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn....

At least one state level commutation has happened. We need to hear the same good news from all the states.

November 5, 2019
By Sean Murphy

Oklahoma City -- More than 450 inmates (click here) walked out the doors of prisons across Oklahoma on Monday as part of what state officials say is the largest single-day mass commutation in U.S. history.

The release of inmates, all with convictions for low-level drug and property crimes, resulted from a bill signed by new Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. The bill retroactively applied misdemeanor sentences for simple drug possession and low-level property crimes that state voters approved in 2016.

Stitt has made reducing Oklahoma's highest-in-the-nation incarceration rate one of his top priorities and has appointed reform-minded members to the state's Pardon and Parole Board....

Anyone who demands the Whistleblower's identity is anti-American.

Trump is picking up his cues from Bannon and the "Outside War Room." It's propaganda.

I can't believe this isn't front page in every newspaper in the country today. Giuliani was taking bribes.

Trump and/or his campaign could have as well. These men had remarkable access to the president at what seems all the time. I am fairly confident Dowd represents the men because Trump asked him to do so. I am curious as to when he started the case in relation to his resignation from being Trump's personal attorney.

This is far more than campaign violations, they were working for Russia. They are immigrants and have made it through the citizenship process. They, Guiliani and Trump, possibly his family and campaign are in a whole lot of trouble, the way I see it. These are bribes paid directly to Guiliani and possibly many others. The need for understanding the Special Counsel's report is never more important. I can't believe Robert Mueller missed this one.

This is all due to the whistleblower's report. The US House can't ignore this as part of the impeachment proceedings.

November 5, 2019
By Elliot Hannon

One of the Ukrainian-American associates (click here) of Rudy Giuliani who is believed to have played a key role in brokering the deal to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and his son is now cooperating with the congressional impeachment inquiry. Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-born American citizen who was arrested last month on campaign finance charges for allegedly funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars from foreign donors into Trump’s political action committee, had initially hired former Trump lawyer John Dowd and refused to cooperate with congressional investigators. Dowd previously represented Trump during a portion of the Mueller investigation.

Parnas, however, has since changed lawyers and has indicated he will cooperate by complying with subpoenas for his testimony and documents. Trump has tried to distance himself from Parnas and fellow Giuliani associate Igor Fruman, who also helped facilitate fulfilling the White House’s demand that Ukraine investigate Biden. “I don’t know them. I don’t know about them. I don’t know what they do,” Trump said. “Maybe they were clients of Rudy. You’d have to ask Rudy.” Parnas’ lawyer said Trump’s statement was “plainly false.”

Trump's new strategy may be banking on Parnas to be loyal to Russia and change the projection in some way to allow bribery and intimidation to be an act of innocence.

The New York Times reports that when Parnas hired John Dowd, the former Trump lawyer, that Dowd sought approval from the president, who in a letter from another Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow, said he “consents to allowing your representation of Mr. Parnas and Mr. [Fruman].” The men’s selection of Dowd as legal representation was an indication that they would stick with the White House in its efforts to stonewall investigators on the matter, but following Trump’s disavowal that legal strategy appears to have changed. One would assume Parnas began to wonder if his lawyer was acting in his best interest or the president’s....

Russia never let's go. Russia will seek out people that have any connection or have been friendly to Russia and it will leverage them for influence or more. Russia fully expects all those Russian babies born in the USA to exercise their citizenship rights. 

October 10, 2019
By Michael Biesecker, Larry Neumister and Eric Tucker

Washington — Two Florida businessmen (click here) tied to President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have been arrested on campaign finance violations resulting from a $325,000 donation to a political action committee supporting Trump’s reelection.

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were arrested on a four-count indictment that includes charges of conspiracy, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and falsification of records.

Parnas and Fruman were central to Giuliani’s efforts to get government officials in Ukraine to investigate business dealings by former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter in the war-torn former Soviet republic.

Records show that Parnas and Fruman used wire transfers from a corporate entity they controlled to make a $325,000 donation to the America First Action committee in 2018. But wire transfer records that became public through a lawsuit show that the corporate entity reported as making the transaction was not the true source of the money.

John Dowd, an attorney for the men, hung up on an Associated Press reporter calling about the case....

Is this actually a surprise to people? Guliani was receiving Russian bribery money. What is surprising is his successful influence at all. He was nobody, but, a lackey for Trump. Guiliani had no official title or any capacity to even approach the Ukraine president. Why did this happen at all?

There is an aspect to this that seems to be an undercurrent not easily detected. Trump learned early on that having access to him was important. He was filtering that access with payment. How many other people, including dictators, like that from the Philippines and otherwise paid to reach him? In what form did the bribery take place in his hotels and golf courses? There is a much larger crime being committed by Trump that cannot be ignored. Did the Russians pay to be at the White House the morning after Comey was fired or was it simply a quid pro quo for influencing the election?

October 10, 2019
By Adam Geller and Mary Jane Jalonik 

Washington - The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine (click here) was removed from her post after insisting that Rudy Giuliani’s requests to Ukrainian officials for investigations be relayed through official channels, according to a former diplomat who has spoken with her.

The ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, is scheduled to testify before congressional lawmakers on Friday as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Democrats say they expect her to appear despite the White House’s position that no administration officials cooperate with the probe...

I would expect after understanding the espionage in the Special Counsel report, understanding the extent obstruction by Trump was a part of a larger strategy would be just as important. These two men are the missing pieces. They are the indisputable connection between Russia and Trump.

November 4, 2019
By Anne Flaherty

Former ambassador to Ukraine (click here) Marie Yovanovitch says she felt threatened, was told to 'watch my back': Impeachment deposition originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

House Democrats on Monday released hundreds of pages of deposition transcripts that included testimony by a former top diplomat of feeling personally "threatened" by President Donald Trump's phone call to Ukraine's president and that a former senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo resigned in large part because Pompeo didn't do enough to protect her.

The transcripts of interviews with former U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and former Pompeo aide Michael McKinley were the first of what is expected to be more than a dozen transcripts released in the coming days ahead of public impeachment hearings as early as next week....

What is good for the goose is not good for the gander.

Donald J. Trump never spoke to the Special Counsel in person, but, he was willing to answer questions in writing. Robert S. Mueller, III found that sufficient to the inquiry of Russia's interference with the 2016 elections. Now, the whistleblower is willing to do the same, but, McConnell states he is not willing to carry out the responsibility of the US Senate to understand the circumstances of the burgeoning impeachment going forward.

Does McConnell know how to compose such questions? I am worried about Moscow Mitch. He doesn't legislate and now he doesn't compose questions. THIS IS A WHISTLEBLOWER. It is very decent of him/her to be willing to answer further questions at all. The US Senate is irresponsible and the USA has it's national security in question.

The US Senate is not dealing with a wayward president who today is saying if Quid Pro Quo exists, so what? (click here) Trump's presidency has gone from bad to worse. The USA national security hangs in the balance and he says if he broke the law it should not matter. It would seem Mulvaney floated this attitude of Trump's and now he is using it as if it is a legitimate defense.

It is like being cheated on by your spouse, "But, honey, it doesn't mean anything."

November 3, 2019
By James Gordon Meek, Benjamin Siegel and Mark Osborne

The first Ukraine whistleblower (click here) has offered through their legal team to answer congressional Republicans' written questions directly to them and under penalty of perjury, bypassing Democrats who control the impeachment process, attorney Mark Zaid confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.

Zaid said the original offer to answer written questions was to the full House Intelligence Committee, under the control of Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Republicans have complained about the unfairness of the closed-door depositions and impeachment process, with some suggesting the whistleblower's identity should be known so President Donald Trump can face his accuser....

"Morning Papers"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

Donald J. Trump is deathly afraid of... 

"NEVER TRUMPERS!"

It is an oppositional BRAND of the INDIVIDUAL.

February 21, 2019
By Douglas Perry

...It’s true, (click here) Republicans love Trump. They love him as much or more than they’ve loved any president since the party’s founding in 1854.

But there’s more to consider here. The GOP holds the White House and the U.S. Senate, but if current trends continue, it soon might be struggling to maintain its major-party status. Registered Republican voters in the country are on the verge of being overtaken by independent voters, according to data from July 2018. Registered Democrats, meanwhile, outnumber Republicans nationwide by some 12 million.

Part of what’s happening is that younger, urban Americans are trending dramatically toward the Democrats or independent status. Added to that: many old-school conservatives -- particularly Baby Boomers and Gen Xers drawn to the Republican Party in their youth by leaders such as William F. Buckley Jr., Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp -- have simply walked away from the Grand Old Party.

The latter are the NeverTrumpers Mair says have failed in their efforts to oppose Donald Trump. But as Mair herself acknowledged, she’s looking at the situation from the inside. The trees might be at least partially blocking her view of the forest.

“I think what most of these analyses of ‘Is NeverTrump dead?’ miss is that it was never really a collective political movement, but rather an individual moral decision,” Patrick Chovanec, a one-time policy aide for former GOP House Speaker John Boehner, tweeted this week....

"Good Night, Moon"

The first quarter

7.2 day old moon

47.5 percent

October 15, 2019
By Marina Koren

Ten years ago (click here), a rocket slammed into the moon.

The impact sent a plume of lunar material from the moon’s south pole flying out into space. For a few minutes, the spacecraft that had unleashed the rocket coasted through the mist, its instruments absorbing as much data as they could. Amid the molecules of methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and other compounds, the spacecraft detected something wonderfully familiar: water....

The USA is experiencing the strengthening of the climate crisis. It is time to do something, not simply stand by and hope for the best.

"DO SOMETHING"

One of the reasons California is maintaining moisture in March and April is snowmelt. This graph is from a commercial ski resort. They like to prove through scientific measure the snow is good at the resort.

How much snow did Northstar California (click here) get this ski season and over the last several seasons? Check out the ski resort historical snowfall using the graph, Northstar California snow stats—such as Total Snowfall, Max Base Depth, Biggest Snowfall, Total Snowfall Days and Average Base Depth—or the calendar below that shows daily snowfall data for the current ski season. To see how much snow Northstar California got last ski season or any ski season dating back to 2009/2010, click the corresponding tab. Click Compare at the top left to see a season-over-season comparison of Northstar California snowfall. In addition to snow history, you can also view the mountain's Base Depth by selecting it from the dropdown....

Precipitation (click here) in California is highly variable year-to-year and understanding this variability is critical to water resource management and policy....

The figure to the left is from the article with the link above. The figure clearly shows two-thirds of California has undergone a change in precipitation from 1951 to 1999. That is nearly fifty years. The change is not a good change. The rainfall in California over the fifty years before the severity of the climate crisis became apparent decreases up to 100 percent. That means Southern California has no rainfall while northern California saw rainfall decrease by 80 percent.  The area that is seeing 80 percent less precipitation is where the Diablo winds have been working on the moisture content and making the state dry. The rainfall has to be put back and it will not happen naturally.

NASA has a film loop of the Diablo winds. NASA can track changes today and in the future.

November 2, 2019

By Elizabeth Howell

...NASA's new animation (click here) visualizes data captured between Oct. 20 and Oct. 28, showing strong gusts in yellow and weak winds in purple. This data comes from the Goddard Earth Observing System Model 5 (GEOS-5), a weather model that NASA is experimenting with to better understand weather around the world. This model takes in data from 30 sources, such as satellites, ships, aircraft and buoys....

It has a really pretty pink flower.

Same website as before, just bring focus to it.

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub
Leaf: Green
Autumn Foliage: yes
Fruit: Black
Size Class: 1-3 ft.

Bloom Color: White , Pink
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul

Native Habitat: Dry or moist, open woods; thickets; clearings

Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry , Moist , Wet
CaCO3 Tolerance: Low
Soil Description: Sandy or rocky, acid soils.
Conditions Comments: A good ground cover for thin, rocky woods.

Use Wildlife: Fruits and twigs are used by many forms of wildlife.

Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds

Description: Propagation by seed is possible.

Seed Collection: Fruits may be stripped from branches by hand or with a 

blueberry rake. Extract seeds by macerating the berries in water.

Seed Treatment: Untreated seeds are slow to germinate. Warm stratification 

for 30 days followed by incubation with cold temperature has enhanced 

germination.
Commercially Avail: yes

Gaylussacia (baccata) propagation protocol (breeding and/or growing) (click here)

This article is from Canada.

I. Are "Hot" Because (click here)

Are in contact with a relatively hot surface (deserts to the east

Are sinking to sea level and therefore are warmed compressionally.

Air that is warm to begin with is further warmed by compression.

The wind patterns are not likely to change soon. The Diablo winds are on the east side of the Rocky Mountains/Sierras or whatever rock formation is accompanying this pattern, but, the Diablo winds do the damage on the west side of the mountains. The lower chart shows the dynamics of the wind.

Attempting to change the Great Basin is fruitless. However, if the hot, dry winds out of the Great Basin meet up with high moisture in California, it will not result in continually rising wind speeds. Lower wind speeds will lower the evaporation of the moisture content in California. The change must come from the west side of the mountains, not the east.

New York State huckleberry is the Gaylussacia baccata, or black huckleberry.

This is one of New York's huckleberry bushes. See the cedar in the background.

Black Huckleberry (click here)

Ericaceae (Heath Family)

Synonym(s): Decachaena baccata


USDA Symbol: GABA

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N), SPM (N)

A much-branched, stiff, colony-forming shrub, 1-2 ft. tall, with white, tubular flowers in axillary panicles on the previous season growth. Purplish-black, edible berries follow. The small, oval leaves turn shades of orange and crimson in the fall. An upright-branching shrub with small leaves and blue-black berries.

The berries on this shrub make is a valuable plant for wildlife.

What is the chance of altering the MOISTURE rate in California to avert fires?

I am trying to understand the dynamics of wind and low moisture content in California to move the state away from any kind of fire season. Fire is not at all necessary for the forests and vineyards of California. If the moisture content of the ground and air can be altered, it might fend off some fire. This is simply me trying to place some kind of scientific application to the state to alter the danger of fire. This is not tested. This is just from my reading.

I ran across this article in my reading. This diagram is from that article. It is an extremely interesting diagram to me. The blue bars are the number of fire events. The blue dotted line is the MOISTURE content of the fuel that ignites into a fire.

I have stated before, many times on this blog, the best protection a forest has from fire is HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT. In the film below about the Redwood National Forest, it is very, very easy to see moisture content that keeps this forest healthy and wet. Every morning, as the sun comes up the Redwoods, bring a MIST to the area where they stand. That mist is produced by "evapotranspiration" of the tree leaves themselves. The roots bring the water to the trunk of the tree and then through a siphoning PRESSURE due to evaporation of water at the leaves, the water is carried to all the limbs, twigs and leaves of the tree.

I don't care if California only waters every lawn and drip trickles water to the vineyards, the MOISTURE of the ground and air have to meet the same level as March and April. If March and April FENDS OFF fire, then a moisture content of equal measure the rest of the year will provide the same results.

THIS CAN BE REPRODUCED IN A LAB TO DISCOVER IT'S EFFECTIVENESS, but, I already know it will work. The application of water to maintain high levels of moisture is vital to end these deadly fires. Moisture such as seen with the redwoods below produces its own rain. Rainforests produce their own high water vapor content. Brazil's forest fires are man-made, the rainforests are not capable of allowing the fire to start.

This will work and it will work better and better with every moist year that follows the initial first year.

Build desalination plants and plenty of them. I don't think there is another way. Hot dry ground and hot dry air will only beget the same year after year.

The critical issue for the Bay Area is that Diablo Winds are most frequent during the fall and in particular October when the fuel moisture content is lowest (See Figure 1 below).

As we enter the fall (click here) in northern California, one thing is one everyone’s mind. Are we going to have Diablo winds like we did in 2017? Next week marks the one-year anniversary of the deadly Wine Country Fires. Three of the Wine Country Fires (Tubbs, Redwood Valley, and Atlas) as well as the Tunnel Fire (Oakland Hills) of 1991, rank in the top twenty of California’s deadliest wildfires (CalFire, 2017). All four of those fires, with the addition of the Nuns Fire (2017) are also ranked in the top twenty most destructive fires (CalFire, 2018) in California's history.  The Tubbs Fire alone burned over 36,000 acres and caused 22 fatalities. These fires were driven by extreme winds known as Diablo Winds....

Birds will feed on these fruits regardless of the fat content.

This is the second time berries have come up in discussion, so I want to bring a new concept into the picture. 

There are quality issues with berries in the forest. Some are high quality and some are low quality. 

The high quality berries usually produce fruit in late summer and fall. They are considered high quality because of their fat (lipid) content, about 20% lipid per unit weight. They contain large seeds as well. Anyone can see why this fruit would be considered a high quality food for wildlife. It provides fat, which is considered a long term source of energy. 

The high quality berries are Spicebush, Flowering and grey stemmed dogwoods, Southern Magnolia, Southern Arrowroot, Sassafras, Virginia Creeper and Black Tupelo (Black Gum). These fruits/berries are red or violet.

The low quality berries have a lower fat (lipid) content about 10% lipid by weight. That doesn't mean they are bad for wildlife, quite the contrary. The low quality fruit or berries are hawthorns, sumacs, Choke cherries, greenbrier, Mountain ash, roses, Mapleleaf Viburnum, Fox Grape, Poison ivy, hollies sush as Winterberry, Red Cedar and Common Juniper. 

While fire season is SOP in California, the extent these fires have waged their inferno is unusual.

Fire is fire. In the case in California, it is the viciousness of the winds this year. It is the wind that is the enemy, not the fire. The fires are raging because of climate.

"Great Basin Geology" (click here) It is a highly seismic area.

October 28, 2019
By Doyle Rice

Just as southern California (click here) has its notorious Santa Ana winds, northern California's most infamous winds are known as "Diablo" winds. These are the winds that are fueling the Kincade Fire, now raging in California's wine country. 

But what are they? 

Like Santa Ana winds, Diablo winds originate hundreds of miles inland in the desert regions of the Great Basin, according to the Los Angeles Times. There, circulation of air around a strong area of surface high atmospheric pressure flows over the Sierra Nevada, heading toward lower pressure at sea level.

The resulting flow from high pressure inland to lower pressure off the California coast is warmed and dried by compressional heating as the air sinks from the Great Basin, which is 4,000 to 5,000 feet in elevation, down to sea level, according to meteorologist Jan Null of Golden Gate Weather Services....