Wow, the Wall Street Journal actually decided to do some serious reporting. Usually, it is just a dog and pony show for the GOP.

Case closed on germ warfare. Nothing about incompetency in leadership though.

May 23, 2021
By Michael Gordon, Warren P. Strobel and Drew Hinshaw

Washington - Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (click here) became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care, according to a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report that could add weight to growing calls for a fuller probe of whether the Covid-19 virus may have escaped from the laboratory.

The details of the reporting go beyond a State Department fact sheet, issued during the final days of the Trump administration, which said that several researchers at the lab, a center for the study of coronaviruses and other pathogens, became sick in autumn 2019 “with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness.”

The disclosure of the number of researchers, the timing of their illnesses and their hospital visits come on the eve of a meeting of the World Health Organization’s decision-making body, which is expected to discuss the next phase of an investigation into Covid-19’s origins....

This is refreshing.

McConnell doesn't deserve a filibuster. Seriously. The Filibuster in the hands of an insurrectionist supporter/sympathizer is a very dangerous weapon against democracy.

May 23, 2021
By John L. Dorman

Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. 

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois (click here) on Sunday said that even if a bipartisan commission to create a January 6 commission isn't approved by the Senate, the Capitol riot will still be a factor in the 2022 midterm elections if the GOP doesn't "take ownership for what happened."

During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Kinzinger, who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the riot and supports the commission, was asked by host Chris Wallace if the Democratic-led legislative push was a way to keep the issue in the public sphere ahead of the elections.

"Well, here's a revelation. This is going into 2022 midterms anyway, particularly if us as Republicans don't take ownership for what happened," he said. "If every other day there's a new conspiracy theory about what happened at the Capitol, anybody but what it was, then I think it'll go into 2022."

Kinzinger said that Republican voters have "had their patriotism abused by somebody that simply wants to use it to maintain power."...

Hi.

I haven't decided what to write about yet. There is so much bozo stuff going on with the Republicans I don't know how they call themselves a serious party.

Maybe I should just write opinions.

President Biden does what no other American president has done; he disregarded the politics to move forward.

The global drug cartels have to be addressed. The illegal trade of drugs is fueling extremist groups and paying for their weapons.

In Afghanistan, it is the poppy and the Haqqani Network. Hezbollah now is funded by their sales of illegal drugs obtained from South America.

Then there is plain old crime, like human trafficking in Libya (click here) for the last five years, where Daesh is still supposed to be operating. And that is another thing, Al Bagdadi is dead. Who are all these little tin gods now heading the terrorist group in Libya and Afghanistan?

When do crimes actually become the real problem in ending conflicts between countries like Palestine and Israel?

If drug cartels were not allowed to exist half of the problem with warring factions would be solved. There must be a concerted effort to end the drug and human commodities that allow for war chests for terrorist groups. If they didn't have an income they wouldn't have weapons.

Syria is different when it comes to human trafficking (click here). This is all due to the fact unstable governments are allowed to exist in a larger proxy war between Russia and China.

30 April 2021

By Areeb Ullah

The majority of British women (click here) who fled territory once held by the Islamic State (IS) group and are now stranded in camps across northeast Syria are survivors of human trafficking, a new report has revealed.

Reprieve, a human rights group based in London, estimates that 25 British adults and 34 British children continue to be held indefinitely inside the camps, including a 12-year-old girl.

In a report published on Friday, Reprieve said that two-thirds of British women detained in Syria met the legal definition of trafficking victims, as they were subject to sexual and other forms of exploitation, with the vast majority under the age of 18....

People like Kushner and the Saudi Prince want to throw money around in an attempt to grow an economy. Right. And when do the laws become important to end all the underground goods and trading of human flesh?

May 21, 2021

By Michael Crowley and Annie Karni

...White House officials (click here) are debating how to recalibrate their approach, hoping to avoid another crisis that would further divert Mr. Biden’s attention from his top foreign policy priorities: China, Russia and restoring the Iran nuclear deal. In a reminder of Mr. Biden’s more expansive agenda, he met at the White House on Friday with South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, to discuss matters including Beijing’s growing power and North Korea’s nuclear program.

In the short term, Mr. Biden is taking steps to increase American engagement. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will visit the region early next week, and the State Department is dispatching a veteran diplomat, Michael Ratney, to lead the United States embassy in Jerusalem until Mr. Biden settles on his pick for the vacant ambassador post there, according to a person briefed on the plan...

A hearing on the $641 million settlement has to win a judges approval.

A full third of these monies are to go for lawyers' fees. That needs to be pointed out to Judge Levy.

May 21, 2021
By Ron Fonger

Flint - A fairness hearing (click here) over a proposed partial $641-million settlement of civil lawsuits related to the Flint water crisis has been scheduled by a federal judge and is expected to last three days in mid-July.

U.S. District Court Judge Judith E. Levy on Wednesday, May 19, told attorneys involved in the settlement that the hearing will begin at 10 a.m. July 12, continue until 1 p.m., return at 2 p.m. and continue until 4 p.m. that day.

Levy said she will be available to continue the same schedule on July 13, and also scheduled the hearing to continue at 9 a.m. July 15.

The judge said the hearing must be held virtually because federal court officials have decided not to authorize an in-person meeting at that time because of COVID-19 concerns and restrictions.

More than 150 individuals have filed objections to the settlement, according to federal court records, and many of those have requested to address the court during the hearing, including former Flint mayors Woodrow Stanley and Karen Weaver.

July’s hearing is the next step in the moving the settlement process forward and is a required step before the judge can determine whether the agreement proposed by attorneys for residents, the state of Michigan, and others is fair, adequate, reasonable, and has been an arms-length transaction....

There is also one official in all this that wants her old job back, because, her criminal charges were repealed. Liane Shekter Smith was used as a scapegoat by Snyder. She should be interviewed by the press and/or compelled to testify at the trial of the Flint Nine.

The case against her was mute.

The Emergency Manager Law dissolved the authority of everyone, except, the Emergency Manager. The law removes any democratic process. So, no matter how much she may or may not have invoked her authority, as was the case with the Federal EPA, it was ignored by Snyder. She needs to be held for testimony.

I have stated this before, why Snyder is not held for at the very least negligent homicide is anyone's guess. Snyder was refusing to act on the authority of others, including the Federal EPA. You can say all you want about the Emergency Manager, but, it was Synder getting the letters about Flint and ignoring them. He negated democracy, including the referendum voted on and passed by the people of Michigan to end the law. There was nothing but determination by Snyder to see out his agenda of wealth for his friends. In every instance of the actions of the Emergency Manager, precious assets of the cities involved were sold to Snyder's friends for development. 

There is also a piece of this often overlooked, the name of the chemical is trihalomethane. It is a carcinogen and it was in the water that came out of the Flint River. It was the Flint City Council that acted to end that danger, not the state. The MDEQ warned the City Council of the chemical in the water (click here), but, it was the City Council operating even with an Emergency Manager in place, that acted to end the danger of THM. 

...In February 2015, (click here) more than nine months after the change to Flint River water, Flint hired Veolia Water North America Operating Services (“VNA”) to help solve the serious problem of THM contaminating the public water supply....

May 20, 2021

By Ed White

Liane Shekter-Smith (click here) (second from far right) pictured in 2011. She was terminated Friday.

The only Michigan official fired (click here) in the Flint water disaster wants to be reinstated and get years of back pay after a criminal case against her fizzled into a misdemeanor that was ultimately erased.

Liane Shekter Smith and the state's environment department are meeting privately this week with an arbitrator, more than five years after then-Gov. Rick Snyder dismissed her in 2016, attorneys said.

Shekter Smith was head of Michigan's drinking water office when Flint, with the state's approval, used the Flint River for water in 2014-15, a catastrophic step that contaminated the system with lead. The highly corrosive water wasn't properly treated before it flowed through aging pipes to roughly 100,000 residents.

In 2016, a task force appointed by Snyder said the Department of Environmental Quality, as the agency was known at the time, misapplied lead and copper rules in Flint and "caused this crisis to happen."...

The masters of witch hunts, Trump and Barr. They wanted to fabricate lies.

Barbara Starr is one of the most reliable voices in the media when it comes to facts to provide the American people a clear picture of their military. She is above reproach when it comes to providing needed exposure of wrongful acts within the military command. Relying on her has spanned decades. Clearly, the Trump White House wanted to control the messages to the American people for their own politics. This is an outrage.

The American people end wars with facts presented by the media. It is a vital part of the country's governance. Reports, especially those covering military movements and priorities are among the most important Americans have to moderate their presence in the world. There is no question Barbara Starr serves a noble purpose in the country.

I find it interesting too, that Barr and Trump decided to create an unworthiness of still yet another American woman.

May 20, 2021
By Jeremy Herb and Jessica Schneider

A free press (click here) is a national security imperative. CNN Pentagon correspondent. RT not endorsement.

Washington - The Trump administration secretly sought and obtained (click here) the 2017 phone and email records of a CNN correspondent, the latest instance where federal prosecutors have taken aggressive steps targeting journalists in leak investigations.

The Justice Department informed CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, in a May 13 letter, that prosecutors had obtained her phone and email records covering two months, between June 1, 2017 to July 31, 2017. The letter listed phone numbers for Starr's Pentagon extension, the CNN Pentagon booth phone number and her home and cell phones, as well as Starr's work and personal email accounts.

It is unclear when the investigation was opened, whether it happened under Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Attorney General William Barr, and what the Trump administration was looking for in Starr's records. The Justice Department confirmed the records were sought through the courts last year but provided no further explanation or context....

It is difficult to think of Juneau, Alaska without cruise ships filling it's port.

Cruise ships have a difficult enough time protecting passengers from viruses and bacteria, to think a COVID-19 outbreak would be tolerated in theory and practice is a civil rights violation. All people proceed with vacations abroad cruise ships with the idea they are safe from every form of illness except seasickness caused by motion and not invading organisms.

The ships are demanding vaccinations before boarding to protect all the people on the cruise. That is a responsible business model that should be mandated where people gather, especially on a cruise ship.

May 20, 2021

By Heidi Groover

Cruises from Seattle to Alaska (click here) are set to return this summer after federal lawmakers cleared the way for sailings that have been on hold since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The move signals the return of a significant slice of downtown Seattle’s economy, where some waterfront businesses plan staffing around the cruise schedule. But significant questions remain about exact safety protocols the cruise lines will enforce.

Proof of vaccination will be required, the companies said Thursday. Decisions about masks, social distancing and precise quarantine procedures are still to come.

Cruise ships became early emblems of the pandemic when outbreaks aboard ships last year stranded crews and passengers on board for weeks. This spring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been working on guidelines to allow cruise ships to resume operations....

The definition of what violates the ceasefire has to be specific and overwhelming.

There are violent extremists on both sides that will seek to break the ceasefire, so the terms of a broken ceasefire need to be specific and an act of the military. All other attempts should be viewed as criminal.

The picture below reminds me of the former hate that existed between different religions in Beirut.

May 20, 2021
By Fares and Joseph Krauss

Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israel and Hamas agreed (click here) to a cease-fire Thursday, halting a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, brought life in much of Israel to a standstill and left more than 200 people dead.

At 2 a.m. local time, just as the cease-fire took effect, frenzy life returned to the streets of Gaza. People went out of their homes, some shouting “Allahu Akbar” or whistling from balconies. Many fired in the air, celebrating the truce....

This conflict has waged for decades and it serves Israel's agenda of taking land that belongs to the Palestinians. Why end a war that is so fruitful to a destructive agenda. There is no room for peace in such an agenda. 

Both sides of this conflict need to stay within their legal borders and US Peacekeepers assigned to the borders and if necessary the streets of Jerusalem.

This effort to end killing and return to peace is vital to both countries. The idea Israel can carry out policing duties anywhere near the Palestine border is nonsense. There is too much hate of each other with both Israelis and Palestinians to believe such destructive incursions into Gaza will come to an end.

All the checkpoints in Israel and Palestine with rare exceptions should be controlled by international peacekeepers with the largest percentage coming from the USA. The violence will stop then. The USA State Department should be actively engaging all parties in a peaceful resolution that guarantees Palestine and Israel their homelands.

President Biden has conducted a magnificent end to the violence in his first term. It is impressive as it occurred within days of his declaration to end the carnage in Gaza. President Biden's initiative in Gaza only proves there are responsible parties to deal with and a peaceful profile is possible in this region of the world.

A peace treaty is very possible. All of the Palestinian authorities including their most radical group leaders must provide willing participants to craft a permanent peace treaty, which needs to include Israel's safety alongside a viable economy for Gaza and the West Bank.

Hatred of each party of the other must end. This must be documented in a treaty written to last. Generations of young people were raised hating each other and that is not at all societies that result in people longing for peace. The idea children are allowed to hate other children is a form of genocide not witnessed on this Earth for a long time. It has to end and mutual friendships of the young people have to be proposed with a concentration on educational excellence and sports teams that dictate the level of rivalry between the two countries. 

Palestine needs an embassy in Jerusalem that is outside the building of the American Embassy. There is to be a free flow of movement to holy places the two countries share as well as worshipers from all over the world. To think Jerusalem can be a place of hate, disregard, and political dogma is blasphemy of it's holy name.

Let the peace process start now and result in a lasting peace between these two peoples.

A bill that compromises the Governor's security is unconstitutional.

Governor Whitmer is the Executive Officer of the State of Michigan and her security is paramount to her job.

Trump made a big deal of "That Woman" and the Republicans have played it up as their politics ever since. I really think Republicans hate women in general unless they are wearing a French Maid's negligence in the kitchen. Their attacks are anti-woman.

The people have knowledge of her travel when expenses are submitted for reimbursement. Nothing else is necessary. Any bill demanding such scrutiny of a Governor is a violation of her/his civil rights.

May 19, 2021

By Dave Boucher

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (click here) would need to notify legislative leaders when leaving the state if a new GOP bill — with clear political motivations — becomes law.

The measure, proposed by Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, comes as Republicans continue to ridicule Whitmer over a controversial trip to Florida to visit her ailing father. Critics blasted the trip, arguing it was hypocritical given state travel advice during a pandemic, and asked the governor to give more details about her travel....

This is what America's sons are doing to define their masculinity. They are worshiping false gods.

Does he have a job? Is he looking to the future with optimism and anticipation for the quality of life his job is bringing him and one day his family?

This is just the next young man in the USA to make the biggest mistake of his life. Radical. Violent. Self-righteous and not particularly interested in a productive life that will give him a retirement.

Our young men are becoming victims to White Supremacists because they lack any identity that defines their manhood. Extremism. Guns. Power. And the only identity they accept as American is the one that states I have some responsibility for the world I live in, called democracy. But, the responsibility he accepts as an American is not about democracy is about chaos, anarchy and death to those that believe differently.

If someone would hand these guys memberships to a gym where there is wrestling or bodybuilding like Ahhhhnold or a fighting ring where everyone in the building has a masculine identity that enjoys the sport of competition, they might have a fighting chance in a world that seems to mostly abandon them.

They need more than God.

They need a sense of self that radiates working hard until they find a place of success. They also need a government that doesn't abandon them to Wall Street. "Occupy Wall Street" resulted because an entire generation of college graduates had no jobs. Well educated, well trained, expecting their hard work in college would get them success in the workplace, but, low and behold not a job to be found. So, what was born to this generation? Food Trucks. Self-employed craftsmen and women. Bakeries. A culture of homemade brews that sell well enough to make a living and convert some northern Michigan farmers into hop growers.

The Millenials grew their own economy based on rather excellent values. 

I hold Mr. Wyckoff responsible for the poor choices he made, but, I do not hold him responsible for the lack of purpose in his life. His government failed him and he turned to an anti-American hate group to feel good about his failures.

This must change and every American that is growing up is the responsibility of the government at all levels to see them to a job that is rewarding with good wages for the work they did in school from Pre-K.

May 19, 2021
By Beth Leblanc

The picture to the left is Maxwell Wyckoff, one of the men involved in a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

A member of a militia group (click here) accused of being involved in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pleaded guilty Tuesday to separate, unrelated charges in Oakland County Circuit Court.

Maxwell Wyckoff, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of converting a semiautomatic to an automatic weapon and one count of possessing a silencer device. The felonies are punishable by up to four and five years in prison, respectively, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel's office.

Wyckoff's plea included an assurance that he would cooperate with Nessel's investigation into the Wolverine Watchmen and some members' alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer.

In exchange for his cooperation, Nessel's office made a preliminary agreement for Wyckoff to be sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which would allow Wyckoff to seek expungement after completing probation....

March 31, April 30, Memorial Day is coming and the US Senate is still sitting on the "American Jobs Plan."

I do not believe Republicans are capable of putting Americans first. Twice already President Biden has stated publically he wants to work wtih Republicans in the US Senate on an infrastructure bill. And what do the Republicans have to say? 

NOTHING. The Republicans are not saying anything about the Americans that are chronically unemployed or worse. Ya, know, they are just no good lazy people. That is the real problem.

...These individuals (click here) wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, was little changed at 565,000 in April but is 164,000 higher than in February 2020....

Over half a million workers are unable to find jobs since the Global Pandemic. Their future as well as their family's future are still in limbo.

April 1, 2021
By Jim Probasco

President Joe Biden’s nearly $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan, (click here) unveiled on March 31, 2021, proposes a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure and jobs investment over eight years, paid for with what the administration calls a “Made in America Corporate Tax Reform Plan” over the next decade and a half.

The biggest chunk, $1.3 trillion, would go toward infrastructure spending on two fronts: transportation and community. The balance, more than $980 billion, would involve investments in research and development research and development (R&D), workforce development, manufacturing, and eldercare.

What follows is a breakdown of proposed spending before negotiations between Republicans and Democrats begin in earnest.

As proposed, the American Jobs Plan:

Involves a nearly $2.3 trillion, the 8-year investment paid for with increased corporate taxes over 15 years.

Is expected to create millions of prevailing-wage jobs.

Invests $1.3 trillion on a combination of community and transportation infrastructure spending to build, repair, and upgrade highways; provide affordable housing; build new schools; and more.

Allocates $580 billion for research and development, workforce development, and manufacturing.
Includes $400 billion to support home- and community-based care for the elderly and disabled....

Take a good look. The Oathkeepers may have their own line of merchandise.

That is right, from group funding to gun merchandise, right wing extremist groups are becoming an issue of sincere concern. This is a picture of a gun holster in a licensed gun store. Whether the name is to support the extremist right wing White Supremacist hate group or not, the name is unmistakably radical.

Everything it would seem from mask mandates to gun holsters are becoming political. Never did I ever think I would see overt signs of support for White Supremacy as in this item. This is not Walmart, but, I suppose they could be found there; this is an ordinary gun store and practice shooting range.

I find this "Patronage of Hate" disgusting and these items should be banded as a means of protecting innocent people exposed to the hatred this item carries. Having this item in any store is as good as saying "The N Word."

 

The Mask Mandate is not that difficult to understand. Vaccinated unmask, not vaccinated keep the mask on.

I disagree with the mandate in that vaccinated people can cause transmission of the virus even if they are not sick. So, the way masks work is that we wear them to protect each other. I wear a mask to protect others and others wear a mask to protect me. The new guidelines of the CDC are ridiculous on it's face. It is a political change, and not based on science. 

Americans are tired of wearing masks and with more people being vaccinated, the fatigue in wearing them is growing. So, because Americans are not happy about the continued use of masks, which is a highly political issue, the CDC said, "Let's make it a moral issue banking on the dignity and morality of the American people." Wrong approach. 

Now, while the CDC gets political rather than sticking to their science-based guidelines, I wondered, could Americans be so stupid they just don't "get it?" As it works out the answer may be, yes.

The information below is from an undated article, so there is no way of knowing if the IQ of Americans has gotten better or worse.

People are getting dumber, according to science. (click here)

There are a lot of theories why IQ tests are falling. Some say it's bad food, poor schools, or obscene amounts of screen time. Others suggest it's a matter of people with lower IQs having more kids, who inherit their lower numbers.

You've seen Idiocracy, right?

The thing is, there's a lot of variation among the U.S. states in terms of IQ averages. So while the nation as a whole averages roughly a 98 IQ, individual states range as much as six points higher or four points below the national average...

Retailers in the USA are absolutely correct to require masks in their stores. That is good moral and perhaps legal advice and it is free. Looking at the mask mandate as a point of moral stance, locally stores and businesses will become pariahs if they get to be known as an infestion center for the COVID-19 virus and any of it's variants.

If retailers don't mind being known as pariahs then follow the populous point of view. But, be cautioned there can be lawsuits on the horizon if people become sick AND DIE in the face of really bad decision making. The CDC won't protect anyone if it is listed in the lawsuit as well.

May 17, 2021
By Brian Sozzi

Shopping for a new outfit (click here) or enjoying a cup of coffee outside of one's home is about to start resembling life before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surprised corporate America (and reportedly President Joe Biden) by saying those who are fully vaccinated are allowed to go maskless in most places. That includes indoors.

The CDC has put America's biggest companies in a tough spot seeing as the decision does not override state and local rules on masks. So, it's either companies say masks could be removed in their stores or stay with protocols enacted during the pandemic and risk upsetting customers (among other unfortunate byproducts of the highly politicized mask issue). 

Nonetheless, some of the country's most well-known retailers have stepped up quickly to change their stances on masks following the CDC's decision. Yahoo Finance takes a quick look at the most prominent retailers....

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The Palestinians did not start this conflict.

President Biden needs to stop the genocide of Palestinians.

Israel started this conflict now they need to end it. Israel’s entitlement was emboldened under Trump.

Gaza is not going back into Israeli possession.

The latest attacks by Israel are about racism. Hate can never be a reason for war!

The Biden peace initiative is novel in that it is taking place in his first term. Everything bout the Biden Administration is novel. He is tackling some of the most contentious issues between Democrats and Republicans. Expect more of the Biden Administration's place in all peace talks, especially, between Israel and Palestine.

Israel must stop it's aggression both in this latest war of hate and in the streets of Jerusalem. The USA embassy in Jerusalem will act as a place of peace and bring about solutions for the continued racism. The conflict between these two peoples should have been addressed as soon as there was tension in the streets of Jerusalem. It is outrageous the USA didn't demand an end to conflict at the point where it began. Escalations always end in bloodshed and death. The Death Toll today is over 200 people. That is an outrage within the streets of one of the most holy cities in the world.

May 15, 2021
By Patrick Kinsley and Isabel Kershner

Jerusalem -Weeks of simmering tensions(click here) in Jerusalem between Palestinian protesters, the police and right-wing Israelis suddenly veered into military conflict on Monday, as a local skirmish in the decades-long battle for control of the city escalated into rocket fire and airstrikes in Gaza.

After a raid by the Israeli police on the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem left hundreds of Palestinians and a score of police officers wounded, militants in Gaza responded by firing a barrage of rockets at Jerusalem, drawing Israeli airstrikes in return.

The catalyst for the escalation was the conflict over recent Israeli efforts to remove Palestinians from strategic parts of the city. The issue became a rallying cry for Palestinians, who saw the moves as ethnic cleansing and illegal, and right-wing Israeli Jews, who said they were fighting for their property as landowners while also attempting to ensure Jewish control over East Jerusalem....

Trouble with Wifi

Tonight will have to be postponed until the WiFi is up and running well. 

But, while we are on the subject; there is a big push for connecting the country. I think it is a great idea.

HOWEVER.

It is time to regulate the charges placed on internet services. As I write this Spectrum with 100 megabytes is selling for $44 and change per month. Good deal, right? Sign up, right? 

While Spectrum is doing it’s best to offer internet at an affordable price, by the time all the fees are attached to it the monthly cost is $108 plus change per month. That includes TV cable, too.

That is disgraceful. The internet is a necessity in the year 2021, no different than electricity, for every American. Knowing that cities, state and federal governments have added fees and taxes to raise revenues. The companies themselves add fees for different aspects of service.

The federal government needs to take control of this interstate function. Get rid of the fees and make it affordable as Spectrum is at least trying to do. The more Americans using the internet the greater the commerce. It is the commerce everyone should be interested in propagating. Return normal sales tax to internet commerce.

It isn’t right that in a national health emergency where children are taught over the net that a family is burdened with a cost they never had in public school.

The fees and taxes are too much. Do something about it!

There is plenty upsetting about this episode of a Demcratic governor, except for the BUT.

Most political people in office have some kind of entourage following their time in office, so these issues occur.

A couple of years back it was found out that Nikki Haley, then Trump's Ambassador to the United Nations had taken rides between New York and home on a private jet. I believe she resigned after she was exposed. Nikki Haley didn't have to worry about a pandemic at that time nor was she the target of radical right extremists that wanted her kidnapped and killed.

That is where this particular story of Governor Whitmer takes a sad turn. She is a Democratic Governor that was the focus of right-wing extremists to kidnap and kill her. Not only that but, to make her reality a bit more troubling these same extremists were part of an insurrection at the USA Capitol on January 6, 2021, where people actually did die.

So, the idea of her riding in a private jet to see her father is understandable. The fact she paid for her seat as if a commercial airline is a correct thing to do. Why didn't she just take a commercial airline? For one, were they in the air and flying at that time and what if news got out she was flying would that mean trouble for the passengers and airline if violence broke out at 30,000 feet?

Everyone during the pandemic was worried about their older parents. I did. I went to stay with her for what seems like an entire year until she was fully vaccinated. A daughter has a right to have some peace of mind about her father. Just because she is the Michigan governor doesn't change her feelings about her father.

What is really so very wrong about this story is the fact it is exploited for political purposes when there is so much right about this story. A staff that actually cared about her. A daughter that cared about her father and a father that obviously cared about his daughter. Additionally, a private jet was paid for by a non-profit that is a supporter of the Governor. At least they could do it for her. There were no government monies involved in her transportation and that is where it ends as far as I am concerned. If supporters of the non-profit want to penalize them for renting a private jet for a governor under siege that is up to them.

Governor Whitmer has done many things to instill the need for precautions, including wearing a mask, yet the Republicans in the Michigan legislature have worked harder at dismantling the precautions mandated by the Governor. See, this is where it gets really weird.

On one hand, there is a governor fighting for every life within the State of Michigan and she is under siege by the very people she is trying to save. On the other hand are people in the legislature that don't give a damn if people are wearing masks or not and spreading the virus, getting sick and dying while they want to ridicule a governor because she is the "other party." That is what this story is all about after all. It isn't as though there is a real reason why Whitmer was on a private plane to see her father, she was just out for a good time, right?

It is extremely unfortunate that every breath a Democrat takes has to be measured for exploitation of political dogma so the Republicans can "take the office by storm." This is a non-story about a Governor that cared about her father and a staff that was scared witless for the Governor's safety. This is not a story for the newspapers. There is nothing here to report. Now, if there was quid pro quo there might be a story, but, from what I suspect of the staff there was none of that just a humanitarian act to protect the life a dearly loved Governor.

I think there was some comment in the news stating if the staff hadn't dragged out the transparency for so long, there would be no story. That is exactly correct. The staff needs to have confidence in their ability to not only report the facts that the plane trip happened but, the REASONS why the plane trip happened. The people elected to office need to TRUST THE PEOPLE WITH THE TRUTH.

No one needs details about the state of health of Governor Whitmer's father, that is all confidential. All the people need to know is that full disclosure of the facts and the reasons was important and the Governor's staff didn't trust the public. That is not the Governor's fault.

I hope everyone is getting vaccinated and while the CDC states those fully vaccinated don't have to wear masks at certain times; I will continue to wear one on the chance the virus could be in my nose and it could infect people around me with a breath, the spoken word or a sneeze. They can't infect me, but, I can still infect them.

Good night.

May 14, 2021
By Craig Mauger

Lansing -A nonprofit organization (click here) tied to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration paid to charter the flight that carried her to Florida in March to visit her father, but Whitmer funded her seat on the flight with her own personal money.

The revelations came in a memo signed by Whitmer's chief of staff, JoAnne Huls, on Friday afternoon, weeks into a controversy centered on the out-of-state trip during a pandemic.

"Due to ongoing security and public health concerns, we made a decision to use a chartered flight for this trip," Huls wrote in the memo. "The governor's flight was not a gift, not paid for at taxpayer expense and was done in compliance with the law."

The social welfare nonprofit organization, Michigan Transition 2019, chartered the private plane, which took Whitmer to Florida on Friday, March 12, and returned her to Lansing, on Monday, March 15. The group spent $27,521 on travel over the first 14 days of May, according to a voluntary disclosure, which apparently covers the flights....

Flint, Michigan gives a reason for losts of comments about water quality and water treatment.

Rick Snyder is still trying to place the fault for Flint's water poisoning on the current AG. Attorney General Dana Nessel was nowhere near the State of Michigan when the poisoning occurred and yet there is a TECHNICALITY that can impose restrictions on Snyder's prosecution.

Snyder's invoking Emergency Manager restrictions on the democracy of elected officials in Flint killing people living in Flint and maiming innumerable children of that city is HIS CRIME, NO ONE ELSE'S.

Somehow, supposed documents were leaked in regard to the Detroit bankruptcy that involved the water shut off to Flint. Imagine that. I would expect the documents of the Detroit bankruptcy that includes the shut down of water supply to Flint would be very important to this case. Snyder wants to squelch all that to end his trial.

I will never understand why Snyder wasn't charged with minimally criminally negligent homicide.

...Manslaughter charges (click here) or criminally negligent homicide charges fall into different legal categories because of the role of intent. This article focuses on the significant differences between manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide....

People died. Children were maimed for the rest of their lives. Women lost their pregnancies. If that isn't negligence in putting people before profit. 

There he is all masked up and protecting his health. Interesting.

 

May 12, 2021

By Craig Mauger

...Snyder's attorneys filed a motion (click here) Wednesday in Michigan's Eastern District, asking a judge to impose sanctions "appropriate to coerce" the office's compliance with 2013 court orders that required secrecy about the Detroit bankruptcy mediation.The filing points to concerns that privileged documents related to the bankruptcy have been shared with other defendants and legal teams involved in the Flint prosecution cases.

The mediation occurred at a time when Flint officials were on course to end their service with the Detroit water system in 2014 over concerns that rates were too high. The Eastern District oversaw the mediation that led to the so-called "Grand Bargain" resolving the bankruptcy of Michigan's largest city while Snyder was governor....

...Courtney Covington Watkins, spokeswoman for the Attorney General's office said the filing appeared "to be part of an ongoing strategy of distraction by the defense."

"We look forward to addressing these concerns in court so that we can move forward with the prosecution of those responsible for the Flint Water Crisis," she said....

It is amazing at times the amount of corruption occurring in a single city in the USA. There is a right way of doing things and a wrong way. If Robert Massey was having a difficult time handling the expense of the landfill, he could have petitioned the courts for an increase in fees and/or filed bankruptcy. The bankruptcy of a landfill operator would have gotten everyone's attention.

May 14, 2021

Flint - The owner of a Flint chemical company (click here) was sentenced to a year behind bars for discharging landfill leachate into the city’s sewer system.

Robert Massey, who owns Oil Chem Inc. on 12th Street, pleaded guilty in January to a Clean Water Act violation for discharging nearly 48 million gallons of heavily contaminated landfill leachate into the sewer over 8.5 years from January 2007 to October 2015.

A federal judge ordered Massey to spend 12 months in prison during a sentencing hearing on Friday.

Leachate is the water that collects in the bottom of a landfill. Landfill operators have to pump leachate from landfills, truck it to a waste facility and dispose of it properly....

The USA EPA sets regulations for water quality in this country. The current Administrator of the USA EPA is Michael S. Regan. He should address the issues of landfills and aquifer water contamination. There are some very interesting solutions in the era of the computer. It would create better outcomes for less money.

Holistic approach (click here) for evaluation of landfill leachate pollution potential - From the waste to the aquifer 

The article below talks about a "green" solution for landfill leachate (click here)

A large portion of landfill operational budgets (click here) is consumed by the cost of handling leachate, the liquid that drains from a landfill. Leachate management accounts for approximately 35% of a landfill’s annual non-labor operating expenses, and can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars for an individual landfill.

Leachate often contains elevated levels of contaminants.  By federal law, it requires extensive and expensive treatment and disposal throughout the landfill’s active life, and for at least 30 years after it has been closed.  Historically, leachate disposal has been limited to costly options such as hauling to a wastewater treatment plant or operating an on-site treatment system.

LMS provides their clients with alternative, GREEN technologies that can greatly reduce leachate volume and management costs, while at the same time lowering their carbon footprint.  Our systems can operate at open and closed landfills across the country, including pre-Subtitle D, interim areas of open facilities, and closed Subtitle D landfills.  We have collaborated with some of the largest solid waste companies in the USA, including Republic Services, WCA Waste Corporation, and Waste Management. 

Every year, millions of dollars are spent and millions of miles are driven to dispose of leachate. Natural Systems change that....

The latest “stick to the wall” political rant is the word “inflation.”

The pandemic resulted in inflation. Why? Because there was a global paradigm shift. Everyone knows it is true, so stop trying to make up all kinds of political rhetoric to back Moscow Mitch and his stubborn ability to pander to million-billionaires and cheat the Middle Class. And for McConnell, forget about the poor, they are just lazy no-good people.

So let’s just think about this a minute.

Republicans like supply side economics. Supply side can reduce the cost of items even if they are in demand. Right? More of a product exists the cheaper the cost; ie: best Wall Street example is oil and every adult in the USA is used to the price abuse of the petroleum industry.

So, here were all this warehouses full of stuff feeding the supply side economics. Then a preventable pandemic hits. People are told to stay at home, including the children and there goes a regular income to count on right out the window. 

Anyone run out and buy all those warehoused school supplies? No? Well, why not? Could it be the world got scary and the thought of traveling anywhere on a shopping trip with a very reduced income became a flyin’ nightmare.

Supply side economics with a global pandemic became a weight around Wall Street’s neck. Nothing was moving and the manufactured products even if they came from overseas were now coming into warehouses that had no inventory moving out. Who do you think will do at for all that storage? Yep, it gets passed along to the consumer. When the consumer is hit with higher prices through no fault of their own, isn’t that inflation? It sure seems like it to me.

Now, let’s consider why, a year after the pandemic and opening venues that have been shuttered, why would there be inflation?

Buffet said his holdings that manufacture are being met with inflation. Ya, think? The economy is starting to creak alive again. The warehouses over the past year emptied out of products that were in demand. Now, people are returning to work and enjoying a better income and benefits. Items start to sell. Is the paradigm changing again?

You betcha. Are manufacturers fully engaged with supply side economics?  Heck no. 

For the manufacturer that weathered the storm, it needs a new supply of raw materials to return to high volumes of goods to sell. Restarting a business, especially manufacturing, has high costs. Who do those costs get passed on to? Yep, the consumer. Do prices go up? Darn right they do. And who is feeling the inflammation? The consumer.

The inflation, where it exists l, is do the collapse and now expansion of the global economy, which is not at the stage of trade for every country.

The USA currency is as strong as ever and the markets have been fine. In case no one was looking there have been leaps of good news for Wall Street during the pandemic. And why shouldn’t there be, they got paid their dividends while the consumer picked up the tab.

US Rep. Liz Cheney never broke the rules while other Republican Representatives and Senators did exactly that in carrying forward anti-American priorities.

11 May 2021

By Martin Pengelly

The only woman in Republican Senate leadership (click here) complained about cancel culture on Monday, regarding the imminent removal of Liz Cheney, the only woman in Republican House leadership, because she opposes Donald Trump’s big lie that the presidential election was stolen.

The Iowa senator Joni Ernst told reporters: “I feel it’s OK to go ahead and express what you feel is right to express and, you know, cancel culture is cancel culture no matter how you look at it.

“Unfortunately, I think there are those that are trying to silence others in the party.”

“Cancel culture” has become a shibboleth of the modern Republican party, repeatedly invoked when public figures become embroiled in controversy regarding opinions or statements deemed to be racist, sexist or otherwise unacceptable....

There can't be two truths. The courts are weighing in on the activities of January 6, 2021 and finding the election of President Joe Biden was factual. There is no other truth. There is no basis to "The Big Lie." The Senators and Representatives that continue to state there was a big lie and/or Trump should be president are anti-American. They should not be holding a seat of power in either the US House or US Senate.

The only truth when spoken by a Republican must be met with complete support and acceptance of their willingness to stand up for the US Consitution. That is what US Rep. Cheney did as others in the US House. It is what US Senator Joni Earnst is doing. They are protecting the USA Constitution and fulfilling their oath of office.

The New Abnormal

May 11, 2021

Bulwark’s editor-in-chief (click here) tells TNA host Molly Jong-Fast why Josh Hawley is the GOP’s own Walter White. Plus! Eric Topol shares when we can get back to “real life.”

Josh Hawley isn’t actually dealing meth out to Trumpers (that we know of!) but he and his fellow GOPers have major Breaking Bad vibes when it comes to supplying the Trump base with BS.

According to Bulwark Editor-in-Chief Charlie Sykes, they have the right amount of intelligence and self-grandeur to pull it off....

"Cancel Culture" is not the reason Baffert was replaced as a trainer. He broke the rules.

Breaking rules is not "Cancel Culture," in horse racing, it is unethical and dangerous to the horses. It is my guess that under a different trainer, Medina Spirit would never have needed corticosteroids. Betamethasone reduces inflammation and suppresses any immune response. The question is did Medina Spirit perform as the fastest horse on the track because he felt no pain?

Inflammation is pain. If a horse has issues that lead to inflammation while running on the track he will not perform well. Secretariat at one time in his career wasn't performing well after a lot of impressive victories. His performance fell off and finally, a veterinarian was called in to examine the champion thoroughbred. He was sound as a dollar. He had no leg problems, but, he wasn't eating well. He was off his feed.

The veterinarian finally diagnosed an abscessed tooth in the back of his mouth. Did he give him painkillers or steroids of any kind to put the horse back on the track? No. The vet treated the abscess and Secretariat was back to running in no time without any injuries or ailments.

When animals for any reason are given drugs to improve their performance it is usually the people involved that have the illness. They see the animal as a commodity. That point of view is what placed the thoroughbred race horse in jeopardy as a viable breed about a decade ago. Most of the horses racing, even the champions, needed a diuretic in order to win. The breed itself was being looked at as more of a detriment to breeding strong and healthy racehorses. The champions weren't really champions as the horses of the past.

What Bob Baffert did was wrong. He is of the "old school" that racehorses need to be handled so they always win, including using medical enhancements. That is not the way champions should perform. Champion racehorses that win prizes like the Triple Crown are supposed to be the best of the best. A drugged-up horse, no matter the drug is not performing in the true spirit of the breed. It was wrong to provide an enhancement to Medina Spirit's performance in the Derby. It isn't cancel culture. 

May9, 2021
By Matt Hegarty

Medina Spirit, (click here) who led from start to finish in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 to post a hard-fought half-length victory, tested positive for betamethasone, a regulated anti-inflammatory, after the race, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert, who acknowledged the test result Sunday morning during a press conference on the backside of Churchill Downs.

Medina Spirit tested positive for “21 picograms” per milliliter of blood serum, according to Baffert, who was accompanied at the press conference by his attorney, Craig Roberston. Baffert said that Medina Spirit had “never” been administered the corticosteroid, and he vowed to fight the positive, which has not yet been confirmed through a split-sample test....