The Revolt and The Revolting

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Listen closely to Moscow Mitch. He has been saying the same old words over and over.

He and others like him have delayed in every way action by the United States of America to end the use of petroleum industry products and endorse a better and more efficient electric grid and electric cars as well as mass transportation. Just look at the hostility against Amtrak by the Republicans to realize how much they hate the lower Middle Class and Poor.

No one is proposing an energy tax. Moscow Mitch is making OLD arguments that have nothing to do with today's circumstances. An energy tax will result in more cost to consumers and every Democrat knows it. There was a proposal by a group to pay the consumer for the increase in taxes passed on to them.

The climate crisis is as bad as it is today because of corporate propaganda that also was used by politicans.

September 18, 2021

By Morgan McFall-Johnsen

Ben Franta (click here) is trying to collect every climate-related ad the oil and gas industry has ever produced.

Franta, who is pursuing a law degree and PhD at Stanford, is among a small cohort of researchers who track fossil-fuel industry propaganda. These historians, social scientists, and activists have documented the extent to which major oil companies knew their products were changing the climate as early as the 1960s, and how they poured tens of millions of dollars into sowing doubt about the science through the 1990s.

"Not to get too tin-hat-y, but once you start to see these ads over and over again, you see the common elements arise," Franta told Insider.

So it was clear to him that around the year 2000, fossil-fuel companies changed marketing tactics. After decades of denial, they pivoted to blaming the climate crisis on you and me....

I am tired of hearing the US Seante bantar around the fact there is a $3.5 trillion budget.

So, what!

The only reason it is an issue is because Moscow Mitch McConnell is trying to make the OLD argument that Democrats are tax and spend. That is just so old.

I don't want to hear it. Women are told all their lives that their bodies are more valuable than any other aspect of life.

This is some of the best Capitalism has to offer.

"Money" by Cardi B

Look, my bitches all bad, my niggas all real

I ride on his dick, in some big tall heels
Big fat checks, big large bills
Front, I'll flip like ten cartwheels
Cold ass bitch, I give broads chills
Ten different looks and my looks all kill
I kiss him in the mouth, I feel all grills
He eat in the car, that's meals on wheels (woo!)

I was born to flex (yes)
Diamonds on my neck
I like boardin' jets, I like mornin' sex (woo!)
But nothing in this world that I like more than checks (money)
All I really wanna see is the (money)
I don't really need the D, I need the (money)
All a bad bitch need is the (money)
I got bands in the coupe (coupe)
Bustin' out the roof
I got bands in the coupe (coupe)
Touch me, I'll shoot (bow)
Shake a little ass (money)
You get a little bag and take it to the store (store, money)
Get a little cash (money)
You shake it real fast, you get a little more (money)
I got bands in the coupe (coupe)
Bustin' out the roof
I got bands in the coupe (brrr)
Bustin' out the roof (Cardi)

I gotta fly, I need a jet, shit
I need room for my legs
I got a baby, I need some money, yeah
I need cheese for my egg
All y'all bitches in trouble
Bring brass knuckles to the scuffle
I heard that Cardi went pop
Yeah, I did go pop (pop)
That's me bustin' they bubble
I'm Dasani with the drip
Baby mommy with the clip
Walk out Follie's with a bitch
Bring a thottie to the whip
Is she fine or she thick, goddamn
Walkin' past the mirror, ooh
Damn, I'm fine (fine)
Let a bitch try me, boom
Hammer time, uh

Bitch, I will pop at your pops (your pops)
Bitch, I will pop on whoever (brrr)
You know who popped the most shit? (Who?)
The people whose shit not together (okay)
You'da bet Cardi a freak (freak)
All my pajamas is leather (Uh)
Bitch, I will black on your ass
Wakanda forever
Sweet like a honey bun, spit like a Tommy gun
Rollie a one of one, come get your mommy some
Cardi at the tip-top, bitch
Kiss the ring and kick rocks, sis (uh)
Jump it down, back it up (ooh, ayy)
Make that nigga put down 2K
I like my niggas dark like D'USSÉ
He gonna eat this ass like soup (ayy)

I was born to flex, diamonds on my neck
I like boardin' jets, I like mornin' sex
But nothing in this world that I like more than Kulture
All I really wanna see is the (money)
I don't really need the D, I need the (money)
All a bad bitch need is the
K, K, C (woo!)

Money
(Money)
(Money)
(Money)
(Money)
(Money)
(Money)

Goldman Sachs farms out their executives for the specific reasons this is happening, to protect what otherwise is unethical practices.

Carlyle?

Really?

May 26, 2021

The energy funds of private equity firm (click here) The Carlyle Group have underperformed the Pitchbook private equity benchmark, and its NGP funds all posted negative returns as of 4Q2020. Carlyle’s extensive exposure to oil and gas assets resulted in losses in 1Q20. For example, Chesapeake Energy filed for bankruptcy shortly after Carlyle dumped its stake after losing most of its value.

Saturday, September 18, 2021

A Supreme Court Associate Justice cannot say these things for political reasons. He means it.

As of late and with the death of the late Judge Scalia, Justice Clarence Thomas has been speaking out about a number of topics and entering dissenting opinions that are out of the mainstream for him. He and Judge Scalia were in lockstep on most issues and it was Justice Thomas that was always quiet and without question or comment. Since the deaths of Judges Scalia and Ginsberg, Justice Thomas has found his voice and a purpose no one expected.

It is time for the Legislative Branch to pay attention to the words of people like Justice Thomas and the votes and actions by the Chief Justice and put at least two more Justices on the Supreme Court while beginning to pass an Amendment setting term limits for them.

This is not funny business. Justice Thomas cannot simply make such statements without a sincere commitment to those ideas. His words carry brevity to the concerns of those currently outside the Supreme Court but within his peer group. The time has come to bring about a legislative branch that does the important work of the people.

September 17, 2021

By Bryan Metzger and Oma Seddiq

Justice Clarence Thomas

In rare public remarks, (click here) Justice Clarence Thomas said on Thursday that the Supreme Court "may have become the most dangerous branch" of the federal government.

Clarence warned against "destroying our institutions" and spoke about his experiences with segregation in the South during his youth in a wide-ranging lecture at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

During a question-and-answer period, Thomas was asked what threats he foresaw to the autonomy of the judicial system. He responded that judges going "beyond" longstanding limitations had become a grave issue.

"When we do that, and we begin to venture into political, legislative or executive branch lanes and resolving things that are better left to those branches — where people actually have some input and some opportunity to participate in the electoral process as to who those leaders are," Thomas said, "Those of us, particularly in the federal judiciary with lifetime appointments, are asking for trouble."...

It is time to end McConnell's stranglehold on the US Senate. In 2020 the people voted to rid themselves of a wannabe dictator, it is time to finish the job. There is not rampant inflation due to Congress spending. They are raising children out of poverty, there is nothing inflationary about that.

What does exist is greed and it is not necessary or needed. It costs no more to make semi-conductors or cars today than yesterday. The demand is up and the supply is stressed. So, those that have control of the supply chain think it is perfectly alright to increase prices regardless of the fact it costs no more to make them. If this is justified by supply-side economics no one needs it! Americans are emerging out of poverty and with some money in their pockets for the first time in a long time and this is the thanks they get for finally grabbing the brass ring. I DON'T THINK SO!

Inflation and greed are two very different things. If anything there will be a return of the Great Recession where average people owned two to three or more houses. The Great Recession was due to Wall Street and why? Why? It had nothing to do with inflation, it had to do with DEREGULATION. The regulations that were passed into law under Obama were destroyed by Republicans and their President King.

The budget needs to be passed in it's present form and it needs to be passed now before the people lose every bit of upward movement they gained due to legislation insisted upon by the Democrats.

September 16, 2021

By Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin

Washington — The Biden administration (click here) has been enlisting one emissary after another to convince Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to help raise the federal debt limit.

It’s not working.

Despite the high-level conversations, including a call from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the GOP leader is digging in and playing political hardball. He’s telling all who will listen that it’s up to the Democrats, who have narrow control of Congress, to take the unpopular vote over federal borrowing on their own.

McConnell’s stance is deepening a political standoff and risking turbulence in the financial markets that could ripple into the broader economy. His refusal to rally Republican votes leaves Democrats with only tough choices as they rush to ensure the nation does not default on any of its accumulated debt, which now stands at $28.4 trillion....

There is work to be done and the filibuster is in the way!

Friday, September 17, 2021

This recently came out in the Washington Post about Flint.

September 17, 2021
By Brady Dennis and Brittany Greeson

“Never again can we allow what happened in Flint, Michigan,” (click here) President Biden said on a sweltering Tuesday afternoon this August inside the East Room of the White House.

The admonition came as the president touted a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that had just cleared the U.S. Senate. He spoke of rebuilding the nation’s roads and bridges, boosting public transit and constructing electric vehicle charging stations.

And replacing pipes. Lots of pipes.

The legislation would set aside roughly $55 billion to repair and replace the nation’s aging water and wastewater infrastructure, including funds to eradicate lead pipes that remain buried in communities around the country. “Millions of lead pipes carrying drinking water to our homes and schools and day-care centers — they’re finally going to be replaced,” Biden said.

As he spoke, more than 500 miles to the northwest, Flint was already into its seventh year of wrestling with one of the most disastrous, high-profile water crises in the nation’s history....

The event in the American landscape was a major trauma to many in this country. It was real and happening and it was completely unbelievable that such a necessary commodity as water would become a poison and do such horrendous damage to residents of Flint, including the elderly that died of Legionnaires Disease and children accumulating lead in their bodies.

These issues were ancient. Lead in paint (click here) was tackled in the 1950s and even today is discussed when buildings change hands including and especially renters. And here it was in the very water everyone was drinking. The citizens of Flint were getting sick and no one cared about it. That is simply UNAMERICAN.

Legionnaires manifested in 1976 (click here) and the country was horrified at the deaths this bacteria caused. To have the nightmare happen all over again was surreal. This was somehow impossible.

So, the idea this event in Flint, Michigan happened at all left the people there stunned. Then to not have any attention to the cause and the end of such problems is unthinkable. It took an entire year of these people suffering and only then it became an issue to resolve after a Rachel Maddow show segment. I was in the audience and I was like, "What?"

The layers and layers of trauma that exist in a community with a high number of minorities is going to become legendary and will linger for a long, long time. This trauma turned the country into many that questioned if it could happen to them.

September 17, 2021

By Ron Fonger

Flint - A federal judge (click here) wants to know more about a bone-scanning facility that measured the lead in Flint residents’ bodies before making a final decision on whether to approve a historic $641-million civil settlement related to the city’s water crisis.

U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy ruled Friday, Sept. 17, on a motion filed by Dr. Lawrence Reynolds which asked her to consider new evidence, including a state inspection of the facility that used modified, hand-held bone-scan devices that were never intended to be sold or leased for any diagnostic use, including the measurement of lead in human bones.

Although Levy denied Reynolds’ motion to allow him to file the information in a supplemental brief with the court, she directed Special Master Deborah Greenspan to “obtain and file as part of the record for purposes of the Court’s review of the settlement the complete file of the (Michigan) Occupational Safety & Health Administration inspection of the pertinent facility ... as well as any statements made by (MIOSHA) as soon as they are available.”...

I think the settlement will become void for several reasons, but, this bone scan mess is nothing but pure corruption. The lawyers pulled this boner without any consultation with people's personal physicians as to whether they would be adversely effected by such a scan. Never mind that it is completely ineffective in determining exposure to lead in the human body, this is unauthorized by any authority. It is more of the Michigan law that is of, by, and for the lawyer. The use of such a bone scan without consultation with physicians is endangering people to be exposed to not just lead now, but, some sort of idiotic scan.

I think the people exposed to lead in Flint that underwent this procedure need more than information from Michigan, they should be calling in OSHA to evaluate what occurred here.

"File a complaint" (click here)

It only takes one complaint about OSHA to respond. It is interesting the judge trusts Michigan agencies to carry out serious evaluations. I don't think any Michigan agency under the direction of the Snyder Administration should be involved in providing factual information to the judge. We already know Snyder's people erased cell phone records and what else did they do. The entire Michigan government structure was scrapped by Snyder's right-hand man and reorganized under one czar. The judge can ask Michigan agencies for information, but, there needs to be a federal review as well that accompanies any Michigan information. My guess is that a federal review of the information will find where Michigan's agencies were tampered with in reviewing this bone scan mess.

Snyder is still whining about the process, yet again. (click here)

Here ya go, People are coming forward already because they are scared for others. Dr. Reynolds is scared for the people. This settlement won't go through. There are too many credible people coming forward to raise concerns.

September 9, 2021

By Ron Fonger

Dr. Lawrence Reynolds of Mott Children's Health Center addresses media on the Flint Water Advisory Task Force final report findings on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at Mott Community College. The team, appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, reviewed actions regarding water use and testing, and offered recommendations to protect the health and safety of all Michigan residents in the future.

Flint - Before a federal court judge (click here) decides whether to give her final approval to a $641-million settlement of Flint water crisis lawsuits, a Flint doctor is asking her to consider new evidence about the use of bone scans to determine the levels of lead in city residents’ bodies.

Dr. Lawrence Reynolds, a member of former Gov. Rick Snyder’s Flint Water Advisory Task Force, filed a motion to supplement his previous objections to the settlement with the court on Tuesday, Sept. 7, saying new information about the controversial bone scan program has come to light since his initial filings with the court....

There was so much corruption during the Snyder Administration it overshadows the facts as they occurred. Records were tampered with and we know there was one man as concerned for himself as well as Snyder and he was doing everything he could to remove any evidence of guilt.

This sort of corruption can be cleaned up when people of conscience come forward to stop it. It will take honest judges to ask the right legal questions when arguments are made to be sure this is an honest record so decisions can go forward, but, it will get cleaned up.

People who have concerns and evidence have to be strong and work past any feelings of fear or inadequacy to make the hearings happen well. It isn't easy being a whistleblower. It isn't easy to have information that needs to be presented. But, at some point, people will feel some degree of purpose and safety and more and more truth will be told. That is the way corruption is defeated. It is replaced with the truth.

I think France's reaction to a deal between three allies is a bit too much. The USA has the right to have allies on it's own terms.

I think France's President Macron did not choose the best path for his complaint. This paper is a bit dated so laws and regulations have certainly changed.

France has a legitimate complaint IF their submarines were to prove to be at least adequate to the 2021 needs of Australia. Important in this exchange of anger by President Macron and his ambassadors to the USA is the question as to what type of fuel do these submarines use? Because if they are less than nuclear powered, France does not have an argument. The Climate Crisis is upon us and to think anything other than nuclear-powered ships and subs are on the seas is contributing to the problem and not resolving it.

Then there is the issue of what exactly is "shared USA technology" mean to these submarines as compared to France's contracted subs. Will the Australian subs be able to act in unison with the USA in this shared capacity, hence, expanding an alliance and enhancing war games in the Indo-Pacific region.

There is a lot to unpack regarding France's anger with the USA and Australia, including the issue of Brexit and it's impact. There have been shops closing in Europe due to Brexit. So, with all this financial stress on President Macron, this is another straw in the camel's saddlebags.

I am sure President Biden intends to help France in it's distress over a cancelled contract by Australia, but, this extreme measure by France is inappropriate.

There is one other issue, Angela Merkel is leaving the Chancellor position in Germany. Her party is not doing well in the polls before the election either. So, some of Macron's closest allies are in flux. A lot is going on within these circumstances.

We analyze the optimal design of legal remedies for breach (click here) in the context of international trade agreements. Our formal analysis delivers sharp normative conclusions concerning the appropriate remedy for breach and optimal institutional design in light of features of the underlying economic and contracting environment. And our analysis also delivers novel positive predictions regarding when disputes arise in equilibrium, and how the disputes are resolved....

What a horrible human being. He had no respect for life. He valued his own and no one else.

September 17, 2021
By Jonahtan Bandler

Susan Berman: (click here) her death is a mystery, currently unraveling every Sunday night in the HBO documentary series The Jinx.

Robert Durst, the estranged heir of one of New York’s wealthiest real estate empires, (click here) was convicted of murder Friday in the execution-style slaying of his best friend more than two decades ago.

Jurors in Los Angeles County Superior Court reached a verdict on their third half-day of deliberations following a four-month trial, finding it was Durst who fatally shot Susan Berman in her Los Angeles home just days before Christmas in 2000. The motive presented by prosecutors was that Durst had to silence Berman because she knew he had killed his wife Kathie in the couple's South Salem cottage in 1982.

Durst was the subject of the six-part HBO documentary “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” which aired in early 2015. He was arrested in a New Orleans hotel the night before the final episode, in which he was heard on a hot mic in the bathroom that he had "killed them all." Prosecutors said that was a confession....

Booster shots for the elderly are approved. They should definitely take the booster. I took the booster shot and I am fine.

September 17, 2021

After hours of discussion (click here) and a request to revise the question they were being asked, a key federal advisory committee on Friday recommended a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine six months after full vaccination for people aged 65 and older and those at high risk of severe COVID-19.

The initial question, posed by Pfizer, would have made the booster available to everyone aged 16 and up.

There isn’t yet sufficient evidence to show boosters for people under 65 are necessary, said members of the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

Those at high risk would include health care workers, first responders and people likely to be exposed to the virus at work, committee members said.

Members said getting it right, and waiting to follow the science, were important factors....

Thursday, September 16, 2021

I am quite certain President Biden expected Republican AGs to fight the decision to demand vaccinations for employers.

After all, there are 24 Democratic Attorney Generals applauding and standing with President Biden regarding the dissent of the Texas Abortion Law.

September 15, 2021
By John Kruzel

Two dozen Democratic attorneys general on Wednesday (click here) threw their weight behind the Biden administration’s effort to block Texas’s new abortion law.

In an amicus brief, the group argued that Texas’s restrictive measure lies in “direct contravention” of Supreme Court precedent tracing back to its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which first recognized a constitutional right to abortion.

“Today, virtually no one can obtain an abortion in Texas,” read the brief, which was filed in an Austin-based federal court. “In order to obtain abortion care, patients now have to travel out-of-state, which makes abortion for many people too difficult, too time-intensive, and too costly.”...

All anyone has to do is look at the DeSantis agenda regarding cruise ships and know there was going to be a backlash to the president's executive order.

September 13, 2021
By Dara Kam

A former Florida Supreme Court justice (click here) and a former appellate-court chief judge have lined up in support of a Santa Rosa Beach attorney who’s the focus of twin investigations after he sued Gov. Ron DeSantis for refusing to shut down state beaches last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daniel Uhlfelder garnered national headlines for donning a Grim Reaper costume to criticize DeSantis’ handling of the pandemic. As COVID-19 cases surged throughout the state in March 2020, Uhlfelder filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order the governor to close beaches and issue a “safer-at-home” order to curb the spread of the virus....

The investigations by this presidential hopeful or vice-presidential hopeful are STANDARD for elected officials that practice abuse of power. Tell me that wasn't the case with Trump that wanted to create legal barriers for every opponent to his whims. Do I see a pattern among Republicans, even in Georgia?

I am not surprised these AGs are confronting the White House regarding NECESSARY vaccines to end the disease, variants, and deaths of this virus. They don't care about anything EXCEPT an underlying understanding that LIBERTY is far more precious than life. That is laughable since one has to be alive to appreciate liberty, but, that is the disastrous Republican party and their priorities.

Then there is the criminal Texas AG that will use every distraction available to cry out there is a conspiracy against Liberty to deflect any guilt he may have. The Republican Party is in very poor condition when it comes to the idea that a democracy guarantees liberties and to overthrow it is not in a citizen's best interest.

Republicans will cry over aborted fetuses, but, never blink an eye over the deaths of citizens due to high drug prices and insurance that doesn't pay for it or the deaths that can be avoided with a simple mRNA vaccine.

Oh, by the way, today would be a good day for the conservatives on the Supreme Court for the Shadow Docket in case they think the country is not watching and distracted by Obsessive Compulsive social content.

Ruth, are you watching this mess?

Recently, Justice Breyer stated he would like to see term limits on the Supreme Court justices.

I agree and I disagree at the same time. I think term limits would be a way of battling back from private strategies as carried out by the Federalist Society. There would be less incentive to think they could load "the bench" while Moscow Mitch manipulates the dissolving of the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.

HOWEVER

Term limits would have to be an Amendment to the USA Constitution. That is a two-thirds majority in the Congress in both houses and two-thirds of the states ratifying it within two years. It does not solve the problem now.

Adding more justices can be conducted by the legislative branch of the government to balance the WRONGFUL political intent of the current five justices that just can't help themselves to power the USA Constitution never gave them.

I don't see opposition to adding justices at this point. They can also be eliminated later. I am sure the American people are fully fed up with the current court's corruption by the power agenda displayed over the Texas abortion bill.

Did the USA Justice Department under the current Attorney General assess the findings of the Mueller investigation?

I am assuming Mr. Durham has the opinion of an equal to Mr. Sussmann when it comes to the law and cybersecurity. Cyber experts have their own way of walking and talking. I think there is a lot of wiggle room for them when it comes to the law. Cyber security changes on a regular basis due to an incredible desire in the world to hunt and peck at every security wall. So, the idea there is a law that actually applies to this very fluid technology is wrong on it's face.

I hope Dr. Durham has done an excellent job, but, my initial impression is that the charges won't hold water.

September 16, 2021
By Ken Dilanian

Washington - The special counsel (click here) appointed by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department to probe the Russia investigation has charged a prominent Democratic lawyer with making a false statement to the FBI by not disclosing he was working for multiple clients, including the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

Special counsel John Durham charged lawyer Michael Sussman over a statement during a Sept. 19, 2016 meeting between Sussmann and the then-FBI general counsel, James Baker, at which Sussman told Baker about suspicions relating to alleged secret communications between the Trump campaign and Russia. The suspicions were later determined to be unfounded.

According to the indictment, "During the meeting, Sussmann lied about the capacity in which he was providing the allegations to the FBI. Specifically, Sussmann stated falsely that he was not doing his work on the aforementioned allegations ‘for any client,’ which led the FBI General Counsel to understand that Sussmann was acting as a good citizen merely passing along information, not as a paid advocate or political operative."

"In fact, Sussmann acted on behalf of specific clients, namely a U.S. Technology Industry Executive, a U.S. Internet Company, and the Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign.”

The indictment says the lie was material because it misled the FBI “about the political nature of his work.”...

There were many resignations during the Trump administration and under former AG Barr. It is appropriate to bring those that worked with the Mueller investigation back or at least invite them to send any comments that might bring more information to the Department of Justice as to a swiftly closed investigation that never left the DRAFT form.

September 11, 2020

By Edward H. Mahoney

Federal prosecutor Nora Dannehy, (click here) a top aide to U.S. Attorney John H. Durham in his Russia investigation, has quietly resigned — at least partly out of concern that the investigative team is being pressed for political reasons to produce a report before its work is done, colleagues said.

Dannehy, a highly regarded prosecutor who has worked with or for Durham for decades, informed colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Haven of her resignation from the Department of Justice by email Thursday evening. The short email was a brief farewell message and said nothing about political pressure, her work for Durham or what the Durham team has produced, according to people who received it....

What is Macron talking about? This will make democracies stronger.

25 August 2021

NATO and Australia (click here) have been engaged in dialogue and cooperation since 2005. Australia is one of a range of countries beyond the Euro-Atlantic area, often referred to as “partners across the globe”.

In a joint political declaration in June 2012, NATO and Australia signalled their commitment to strengthening cooperation.2013, work continues to advance the relationship through an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme. This agreement was renewed in 2019....

Australia has been a really good friend to the USA. It has acted as an extension of NATO for a least a decade. Australia was in Afghanistan when the war was still taking casualties and Australians died there. I guess the EU wasn't represented and it has Macron angry as one of the five legal nuclear nations.

Maybe Macron is worried that other democracies will have USA technology without France benefitting from it. Why can't there be French partners observing and assisting if necessary in all the plans for updating Australia's navy?

September 16, 2021
By Roger Cohen and Michael D. Shear

Furious over President Biden’s announcement (click here) of a deal to help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines, French officials in Washington on Thursday angrily canceled a gala at their Washington embassy to protest what they called a rash and sudden policy decision that resembled those of former President Donald J. Trump.

The event commemorating the “240th Anniversary of the Battle of the Capes,” which was to have taken place Friday evening at the French embassy and aboard a French frigate in Baltimore, will not happen, according to the official. France’s top naval officer, who had traveled to Washington for the event celebrating their navy’s help with America’s battle for independence in 1781, will return to Paris early instead.

The gala’s cancellation was an immediate reflection of the rage felt among French officials and diplomats in the wake of the submarine deal, which Mr. Biden announced at the White House on Wednesday with the leaders of Australia and Britain joining virtually....

Another South Carolina lawyer with no respect for the rule of law to the point of self-assassination attempt.

The State of South Carolina contributes less than 1 percent to the USA GDP which is garnered from tourism centered around Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Hilton Head. They call that an economy?

Previous to the Child Tax Credit for all USA families, South Carolina was enjoying a 22 percent poverty rate for families with over 300,000 children in those families. The percentage of Black children (43%) and Hispanic/ Latino children (45%) in poverty is about three times the percent of white children (15%). The state is no different from other impoverished southern states can't seem to get any real economic strength. South Carolina is dependent on federal dollars to support it's population and that is especially true of minority people (click here). Then an attorney can't pay his bills and hires an assassin to bring in his insurance money. Should there be insurance in South Carolina greater than the annual earnings of any person?

Where are the ethical investigations into the grossly bad politics in that state? Lawyers such as this should not have their law licenses. Murdaugh has obvious mental health issues and I am not sure that is true for many others that simply find oppression a way to manage minorities within states favoring racism.

September 16, 2021

By Ryan W. Miller

Hampton, South Carolina - Alex Murdaugh, (click here) the prominent South Carolina lawyer at the center of multiple state investigations, turned himself into police Thursday afternoon.

Murdaugh was charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said. He was booked at the Hampton County Detention Center.

State police this week listed him as a co-defendant in a botched scheme to arrange his murder in order for his life insurance policy to be paid out to his son. Multiple death investigations, including those of his wife and youngest son, remain swirling around the case.

"I can assure you that SLED agents will continue working to bring justice to anyone involved with any criminal act associated with these ongoing investigations," Chief Mark Keel said. "The arrests in this case are only the first step in that process."...

This is absolutely magnificent in every way, especially considering General Milley's discussion with China to avert war.

There are just no reasons that can defend this decision as a poor decision. There is no trusting China and Australia is very vulnerable. There is no way China can get by without The West.

A couple hug at Hong Kong's International Airport on July 18, 2021, the day before a deadline by the British government which allows Hong Kong residents the right to visit the UK if not eligible to enter under an existing immigration route.

The citizens of Hong Kong that understand and embrace democracy are now called "activist families." I doubt they would agree that they are activist at all. They were living legally and within the Hong Kong treaty and now they have to run for their lives. I would not call that activism which is supposed to bring enlightenment to otherwise obscure realities. The people of Hong Kong were robbed of their freedom and they are victims to China's expansionist agenda.

China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner (click here) in goods and services, accounting for nearly one third (31 per cent) of our trade with the world. Two-way trade with China declined 3 per cent in 2020, totalling $245 billion (Australia’s global two-way trade declined 13 per cent during this period). Our goods and services exports to China totalled $159 billion in 2020, down 6 per cent compared to 2019. This decline largely reflects reduced services exports as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (down 36 per cent in 2020). A series of trade restrictive measures by China has also impacted Australian goods exports to China, which were around 7 per cent lower in the second half of 2020, compared to the second half of 2019.

China, no different than Communist Russia, has an expansionist agenda. That is all too obvious with it's movement into the ocean waters bordering the country. Then there is the vicious handling of Hong Kong (click here). And where are the complaints about Hong Kong? Taiwan is mistreated by China (click here). If it weren't for Taiwan's semiconductor company (click here), the people of Taiwan would be completely disregarded. Why would anyone believe China would not act against the freedom and government of Australia at the first opportunity. It is nonsense.

This treaty between the UK, USA, and Australia is long overdue. The nuclear-powered submarines are not armed with nuclear weapons. These are used for conventional warfare and FUELED in the only way the subs can be fueled without adding oil dependency to the country of Australia which has advocated in changes to energy due to the climate crisis for decades.

I think this is a great partnership and one that every American can and should be proud of in the Biden Presidency.

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Trumpism is dead. Governor Newsom defeated it with minimal effort.

Any elected official up for re-election that advocates this extremist agenda should be easily defeated, including the likes of US Senator Marco Rubio. The rally that was supposed to take place at the capital had extremists there and few of them at that. The Trump crowd is a security challenge.

Louisiana is in terrible condition. Louisiana is a national emergency all by itself.

Besides the fact, Louisiana has a high rate of COVID-19 cases the state is underwater. President Biden issues emergency provisions for food stamps in Louisiana and the people need to take advantage of that. There is yet another storm slamming into New Orleans, Louisiana, and the southeast.

September 15, 2021
By Brett Martel

New Orleans - Six unidentified members (click here) of the New Orleans Saints coaching staff, a player and a nutritionist have tested positive for COVID-19, two people familiar with the situation said.

The people spoke with The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the team and NFL had not made a public statement about the matter. The people said the entire Saints coaching staff had been vaccinated.

Later Tuesday, Michael Thomas — who already was ineligible to play the first six games while on the club’s physically unable to perform list — was placed on New Orleans’ COVID-19 reserve list.

The names of most others who tested positive were not expected to be released in the short term because of federal medical privacy laws.

It is unclear how long those who tested positive will remain isolated from the team before they may return to the field or in-person meetings....

FEMA needs to incorporate "Sea Level Rise" in the ability to provide for homes that have been flooded and/or the property they are currently sitting on. It is tragic that so many problems exist in the USA with serious storms, tornadoes, and flooding, but, the fact that sea-level rise is occurring in the year 2021 as it hasn't in previous years, the emergency responders need to warn people about CONTINUING dangers.

Survivors of these storms can't' be taken lightly. The USA has had great success in past years in recovering areas of the country where FEMA responded, but, I might remind that after Katrina the FEMA trailers were the only shelter many families had and probably still maintain even today. This reality of sustained needs for FEMA trailers speaks to the condition of the land post-tragedy and the ability of Americans to recover after being displaced. I would expect FEMA to bring the reality of sea-level rise to the survivors of these water-related issues and ask them to move on rather than continue to be in danger today and in the near future.

Surviving such tragedies is not a minor accomplishment. Considering the ongoing climate issues, the survivors need to take themselves seriously and not necessarily return to the areas where sea-level rise is expected to be a problem. It makes no sense for people to return to the same inundated areas when storm after storm continues to plague the southeast region of the country.

September 14, 2021
By Bill Chappel, Barbara Campbell, and Jaclyn Diaz

Sports fishing should not be allowed when a hurricane is expected. The State of Texas should be closing beaches and outlawing such activity. This is ridiculous. If this is subsistence fishing, it should still be outlawed and perhaps Texas needs additional emergency food stamps, too.

Hurricane Nicholas (click here) made landfall along the Texas coast early Tuesday morning, bringing with it heavy wind, rain and dangerous storm surge threats.

The Category 1 hurricane made landfall in Texas just before 2 a.m. ET along the Matagorda Peninsula, a strip of land just off the southeastern coast of Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A hurricane warning was in effect overnight from Port O'Connor to Freeport in Texas, and a hurricane watch was issued for Freeport to San Luis Pass, a narrow channel between Galveston Island and the Texas mainland. The Houston metro area, which was soaked by Hurricane Harvey four years ago and again by Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019, is on alert for damaging floods, though Nicholas has been downgraded to a tropical storm.

The Houston Independent School District canceled classes for Tuesday ahead of the storm's arrival.

More than 150,000 customers lost power in Texas as the storm made landfall overnight....

There is a climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland the beginning of November. Every major city and even small cities should be represented there and commit to climate targets.

September 15, 2021

New Orleans - The Archdiocese of New Orleans (click here) reports major damage to church and school buildings in multiple parishes from Hurricane Ida.

Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon Aug. 29 as a dangerous Category 4 storm that slowly made its way through southeast Louisiana.

A parish-by-parish list of the damage was published in the archdiocesan newspaper, The Clarion Herald. Notable buildings, such as St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, sustained extensive damage.

According to the Archdiocese, the cathedral's spires and turrets were damaged along with its roof, lanterns, doors, columns and stained glass windows. The church's rectory also suffered broken windows, possible roof damage, and ceiling and wall damage.

Some of the most extensive damage was reported at schools and churches in Laplace....

Cenk has a point. This was predictable and people are dying.

The South Carolina Bar needs to review Lynn Woods' law license and issue a strong letter of concern for his role in advocating malpractice with this American woman, Veronica Wolski.

Ivermectin is a drug used to eliminate roundworms in animals. These are some of the side effects possible when human beings take it.

Lynn Wood was definitely attempting to bring this American out of a CARE situation in the hospital without any knowledge of her treatment regime. This is gross malpractice by a lawyer in South Carolina. At no time does he state he would be willing to take this issue before a judge or find a lawyer in Chicago to do so. This was a political stunt by Lynn Wood and it should be treated with the brevity in which he intended it. Just because he is a former Trump lawyer doesn't mean he is exempt from malpractice.

Headache, (click here) dizziness, muscle pain, nausea, or diarrhea may occur. If you are being treated for "river blindness" (onchocerciasis) you may experience reactions to the dying parasites during the first 4 days of treatments, including joint pain, tender/swollen lymph nodes, eye swelling/redness pain, weakness, vision changes, itching, rash and fever. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.

To reduce dizziness upon standing, get up slowly when rising from a sitting or lying position.

Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or shw has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

Tell your doctor right away if any of these rare but very serious side effects occur: neck/back pain, swelling face/arms/hands/feet, chest pain, fast heartbeat, confusion, seizures, loss of consciousness....

We already know that Illinois in general and Chicago specifically have done a fairly good job of vaccinations. There is currently a surge in hospital admissions I believe it was southwest Illinois. Well, when this type of lunacy is allowed to exist and other government officials want to wreak havoc in Illinois there are going to be people believing what is said. Lynn Wood is part of this deception and Illinois, regardless of the advocacy for vaccines is seeing problems with a population that is swamping the hospitals.

In my opinion, this is Lynn Wood screaming fire in a theater. I believe it is criminal behavior and it needs to be reined in. The Illinois Attorney General needs to regard Lynn Wood as a liar willing to spread dangerous opinions among the public that results in real deaths. This is not freedom of speech. Lynn Wood cannot go around spreading lies that lead to the death of citizens of this country. There need to be repercussions and soon.