Is that Wisconsin with flooding rains? Oh, no, it is New Zealand getting flooding rains in the middle of winter.

New Zealand Met Service (click here)

I listened to the report from New Zealand and I have never heard such brevity. This is a different call out to citizens from New Zealand's government.

20 Jul 2017

Heavy rain and strong winds (click here for visual report) have begun to lash the Bay of Plenty

The region could see 110mm of rain over 12 hours, with the worst rain east of Opotiki

Trees are down, trampolines are flying and power has been cut to a swathe of Rotorua

Winds up to 100km/hr expected tonight in Auckland

Heavy rain has lashed the already-sodden Bay of Plenty, with the region braced for up to 110mm in the space of 12 hours overnight.

Large trees have come down and power has been cut to suburbs in Rotorua and Tauranga, which have been battered by heavy rain and high winds.

Rotorua Daily Post Facebook readers have reported trampolines flying away in the high winds and there have been reports of water on some roads in the district....

Start with a free trial set, a $10 value, which includes a special gift. (click here) Just pay $5 US shipping.

Your selected wash plan will begin at the end of the 14-day trial period. You can cancel at anytime!

Dropps are compatible with all washers (HE/high efficiency, standard, front loaders & top loaders) and are safe for septic tanks & grey water systems.

Another poison and the USA looks the other way at citizen safety. This should be prescribed and monitored.

20 July 2017

Enthusiastic tooth brushers are being warned to stay away from Colgate Total toothpaste, or at least to use it sparingly.

The toothpaste is one of the few toiletries in New Zealand that still uses triclosan, an antibacterial that was once commonly found in soaps, toothpastes and body washes.

That was until September last year, when the US Food and Drug Administration banned it from soap because of possible health risks.

Triclosan has been linked to changes in hormone function, liver and kidney damage, and is a suspected carcinogen....

It isn't just toothpaste.

Colgate Total® Mouthwash provides your patients and your practice with a shield of protection.

Its 0.075% CPC formula provides your patients with 12 hours of antibacterial protection, even after eating and drinking. Within your practice, the use of Colgate 

Total® Mouthwash as a pre-­procedural rinse will allow you to shield your practice by reducing aerosolized bacteria by 77%.

Phoenix, Arizona has state of the art treatment of brain tumors.

The CyberKnife (click here) System and Gamma Knife are two of the treatment options for brain cancer. Find out more about the differences between CyberKnife and Gamma Knife here.

July 20, 2017
By Susan Scutti

...A pathologist (click here) was in the operating room during the procedure, a minimally invasive craniotomy with an eyebrow incision, said his doctor, who added that the surgery lasted about three to four hours. Post-surgical brain scans show the tissue causing concern has been completely removed....

That is magnificent work. It is a primary glioblastoma. That is not related to the skin cancer.

...Of the estimated 17,000 primary brain tumors (click here) diagnosed in the US each year, approximately 60% are gliomas.1,2 Glioblastoma (GB), or grade IV astrocytoma, is the most aggressive of primary tumors of the brain for which no cure is available.1,3 Management remains palliative and includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. With optimal treatment, patients with GBs have a median survival of less than one year.1 About 2% of patients survive three years.4 Previously reported long-term survivors (LTSs) of GB may have been patients who actually harbored other low-grade gliomas.5 The overall prognosis for GB has changed little since the 1980s, despite major improvements in neuroimaging, neurosurgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy techniques....

There are people that have beat this cancer and are alive to tell about it.


...We found that patient survival depends on the following clinical and biologic parameters: tumor size and location, treatment, age at presentation, Karnofsky performance score (KPS) at presentation, histologic findings, and molecular genetic factors....

Unless Senator McCain's doctors state otherwise, I think he has a good chance at life yet.

Multiple hurricanes and now tornadoes, too.

20 July 2017
1230.17z
UNISYS water vapor satellite of north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

The Atlantic will see another one soon off West Africa.

July 17, 2017
By Jim Maurice

High winds, (click here) large hail, and the threat of tornadoes were all in a line of strong storms that moved across central Minnesota Monday. Parts of Stearns, Morrison and Todd Counties were all under tornado and thunderstorm warnings. Parts of Benton and Sherburne counties had severe thunderstorm warnings issued.

It all started late in the afternoon with the first thunderstorm warning being issued in Todd County at 4:50 p.m. Doppler radar indicated some rotation in the clouds and that’s why the National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings. There were no immediate reports of any tornadoes actually spotted....

         

If the country hasn't solved the "hanging chad" then what did we go through all that for?

This is the biggest waste of money I have ever seen. Trump makes an outrageous political statement and this is the result. OMG. He has no legitimacy if he can't cut to the chase and move the country forward without a chronic circus.

July 18, 2017
By Michael Wines

President Trump’s commission (click here) investigating voter fraud held its first meeting Wednesday amid a swirl of partisan acrimony and questions about whether it is looking for facts or has already decided which facts it is trying to find.

The session featured an early statement by Mr. Trump, whose baseless claim that he would have won the popular vote in 2016 if not for millions of illegal voters hung over the gathering. He said he was told stories during and after his presidential campaign of voting irregularities “in some cases having to do with large numbers of people in certain states.”

The meeting’s coda was an MSNBC television interview in which Kris Kobach, the Kansas Republican who is the panel’s vice chairman and de facto head, was asked, “Do you believe Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by three to five million votes because of voter fraud?” He replied: “We will probably never know the answer to that question. Because even if you could prove that a certain number of votes were cast by ineligible voters, for example, you wouldn’t know how they voted.”...                     

How often does this happen without the benefit of a Cop Cam?

It starts to become more and more clear as to why riots break out. This is more than poor relations between police and a community, this is victimization of the community. Talking doesn't improve this relationship.

July 19, 2017

By Mike Hayes

Shocking footage (click here) from a Baltimore police officer’s body-worn camera appears to show the cop planting drugs at the scene of a crime that officials have confirmed was used to implicate a defendant scheduled to face trial on the charges this week.

In the January 2017 video, Baltimore Police Officer Richard Pinheiro appears to place a bag of pills under some garbage in an alley. He then walks back out to the street, at which point he activates the body camera. But because the cameras are programmed to capture the 30 seconds prior to activation, the officer’s actions before returning from the alley were recorded....                 

Ditto.

July 20, 2017
By Alex Horton

...Obama, (click here) who ran against McCain in the 2008 presidential election, called him “an American hero & one off the bravest fighters I’ve ever known.” In a Twitter message, Obama added: “Cancer doesn’t know what it’s up against. Give it hell, John.”...

What is Trump afraid of?

I find it more interesting that everything that happens with Trump's Inner Circle is conducted in secret, including phone calls to Putin.

His son goes to China and conducts a secret meeting with the Kushners to promise HB5 Visas in exchange for half a million US. His Attorney General Sessions goes to California and holds a secret meeting with White Supremacists and never clears up the incident with the American public.

Sessions did the right thing. He recused himself. Now, Trump wishes he never put Sessions in the job? Why? It is sounding more and more they are blood brothers in their belief systems and biases and the only conclusion that can be drawn is that he expects Sessions to at the very least bend the law in regard to Russia if not break it. Of course, Trump is above such things.

I think all this is a distraction from the facts.

July 19, 2017
By Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman

Washington — President Trump (click here) said on Wednesday that he never would have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known Mr. Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation that has dogged his presidency, calling the decision “very unfair to the president.”

In a remarkable public break with one of his earliest political supporters, Mr. Trump complained that Mr. Sessions’s decision ultimately led to the appointment of a special counsel that should not have happened. “Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Mr. Trump said....      

The picture is of the McMurdo sundial at midnight. Well done. Loved the article.

"Two Weeks on Ice in McMurdo Station, Antarctica" (click here).

July 19, 2017
By Jonathan Corum

The future does not belong to Republicans.

The only reasonable way to remove people off of Medicaid roles is to provide the opportunity to remove themselves.

The same holds true with food stamps.

In 2015 the City of Seattle, Washington formed a committee of people across the spectrum of their population. The committee came up with a goal. The goal was to instill a living wage of $15.00 per hour.

As of January 2017 the new minimum wage in Seattle is $15.00 per hour, with a provision for small businesses of $13.50 per hour if the employer provides health care benefits. 

Today, the unemployment rate in Seattle, Washington is 3 percent. The USA is 4.4 percent. Larger employers that provide health care benefits have to pay the $15.00 per hour. 

The map above is from 2013. But, get this. And look at that face. Ashley Stewart is a staff writer and most probably is a twenty something, yes?

July 28, 2016
By Ashley Stewart

Bolstered by a growing technology industry, (click here) Washington’s gross domestic product growth outpaced the rest of the nation, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce report released Wednesday.

Washington’s GDP – an important measure of all the goods and services the state produces – grew 3.9 percent during the first quarter of 2016 to nearly $456 billion, up from $433 billion the same time last year. The rest of the nation’s GDP growth rate was 1.2 percent....

Seattle, Washington did what needed to be done. It embraced a diversified population, made life worth living by paying a minimum wage and gave a place to their young people. 

That is morality.

When the USA wants to reduce it's welfare rolls, food stamp allotment and it's Medicaid enrollment, the ONLY way that occurs is for the country to plot a way forward. 

The Republicans yuck it up to feel better about themselves while they are throwing over 30 million (10% of the country) Americans off health insurance. They cut budgets of everything Democrat regardless of the economic downturn that will cause and they turn their back on real economic accomplishment and instead rely on populous politics of cutting taxes to cronies, favoring Wall Street and socially pass judgement on women and minorities with hatred and division to maintain power.

Pretty, young Ashley is the face of tomorrow for America and Donald Trump is the past and completely "W"rong in trying to turn the USA into Russia. 

How touching.

Heller and Trump yucking it up while millions of Americans lose health care. This is America?

I suppose the Congress, including Steve Scalice are going to be sacrificing along with all others in the country without health care.

July 19, 2017
By David Nakamura

Breaking: Congressional budget analysts (click here) estimated Wednesday that a Senate plan to repeal part of the Affordable Care Act with no immediate replacement would increase the number of people without health coverage by 17 million next year and 32 million at the end of a decade. The forecast by the Congressional Budget Office of the impact on coverage of the Senate GOP’s latest health-care legislation is nearly identical to estimates the CBO made in January based on a similar bill that passed both the House and Senate in late 2015 – and was vetoed by then-President Barack Obama.

The new report also said the legislation would decrease federal deficits by $473 billion over that 10-year window....

Typical Republicans, laughing all the way to the bank on the backs of the poor and middle class.

Like I said, there is no morality in the White House.

The founders of the USA would be rolling over in their graves if they knew the USA government no longer values private property rights.

October 21, 2017
By Susan Phillips

Heavy rains (click here) brought flash floods to Lycoming County, which washed out a bridge on Wallis Run Road. The yellow pipeline marker shows the location of the Sunoco pipeline that ruptured and spilled an estimated 55,000 gallons of gasoline into Wallis Run creek.

Eminent Domain is corporate welfare. Eminent Domain was suppose to be used for necessary projects. Today, eminent domain is corporate welfare to facilitate greed and not need.

July 19, 2017
By Alison Burdo

Pennsylvania Sen. Andy Dinniman (click here) is calling for Sunoco Pipeline LP to halt its Mariner East 2 pipeline work, claiming the company failed to follow Department of Environmental Protection regulations by not informing all of the local homeowners before the drilling work began.

The controversy over the Mariner East 2 pipeline began earlier this month when neighbors in West Whiteland Township discovered their water– pulled from private wells - was cloudy and discolored.

Sunoco stopped its work temporarily and paid for hotel stays and bottled water for the affected residents. Days later the company agreed to cover the costs to connect the impacted homes to Aqua's public water system.

But Dinniman, in a letter to the DEP, said Sunoco should halt its work since it didn't follow conditions laid out by the agency, according to the Delaware County Daily Times.

The report says the company's list of homeowners to notify had just 22 names on it.

A check by Dinniman staffers showed 739 private and public wells listed in West Whiteland Township. The senator said that his staffers spoke with several residents along the pipeline route, and they were told that no one had been notified....


May 12, 2017

Middletown Coalition for Community Safety (MCCS)

This spill of drilling fluid happened while Sunoco was drilling UNDER Chester Creek.

Media contact: middletowncoalition@gmail.com – (484 441 -3308)

Large walls of sandbags (click here) placed in center of Chester Creek. Image by area resident.

The United States of American has more pipelines than it needs now. The current infrastructure needs to be updated and repaired. New pipelines are about greed and not need. 

The pipelines in the USA will become obsolete as electricity takes over the energy needs of the country. The current demand for oil pipelines is for greed in selling Americans natural resources to the rest of the world.

There is no form of Eminent Domain the holds up to the test of necessary infrastructure that requires use of PRIVATELY OWNED LAND for more petroleum pipelines.

Pennsylvania Senator Andy Dinniman is not opposed to necessary infrastructure like roads and bridges, but, when it imperils the well being and health of the people he takes a strong stand about the abuse.

Sunoco is becoming more and more of a horror everyday.

IT DOESN'T OWN THE LAND IT IS DESTROYING!


July 19, 2017

Middleton - Sunoco (click here) is dealing with another incident connected to their controversial Mariner East 2 pipeline project in Delaware County.

The company confirmed Tuesday that 1,500 gallons of bentonite used in the drilling process had spilled into a tributary of Chester Creek Monday. That was followed Tuesday by a problem with groundwater flowing back to the same drill pad Tuesday.

A resident captured video of the groundwater flowing over a containment area and hay bales erected in the area.

Both Sunoco Pipeline, which is constructing the project for its parent company Energy Transfer Partners, and the state Department of Environmental Protection said the water supply was no damaged and there was no danger to humans. No fish kill had been reported in Chester Creek either....

The spill will have to be handled by HazMat personnel and contained to prevent further spreading of the contaminant. Ground water and soil tests are necessary to discover the leaching of the bentonite into the water supply.

Sampling wells will have to be established to protect the people.

Bentonite is an absorption substance. Once in the body it can reek havoc with body chemistry.

Wildlife will have to be monitored for possible ingestion. While some people believe ingesting clay helps the body, IT DOES NOT. Bentonite is a PICA (click here) and should not be used for any form of treatment.

Human Toxicity Excerpts: (click here)
/HUMAN EXPOSURE STUDIES/ Effects of bentonite in workers in processing plant...very high incidence of bronchial asthma (25%) in workers examined, and attributed this to the irritant action of the bentonite dust on the bronchial epithelium.
[Browning, E. Toxicity of Industrial Metals. 2nd ed. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1969., p. 9] **PEER REVIEWED**

Continued from the news article above:

...Here is the full text of their statement:

On Monday July 17th, Middletown Township reported to residents that the township had been made aware of a bentonite spill at Sunoco’s HDD drilling site behind Tunbridge apartments. Middletown Township reported that they had been notified around 4:30 p.m., and that Pa. DEP had also been notified and was responding to the event. It is reported that the spill reached Chester Creek.

The Middletown Coalition for Community Safety is disturbed but not surprised by Sunoco’s most recent accident involving a spill of drilling fluid in Middletown Township.

In Pennsylvania, Sunoco’s previous leaks of drilling fluid have impacted Cumberland, Berks, Chester and Delaware counties.

On May 10, 2017 Sunoco reported a loss of drilling slurry into Chester Creek in Brookhaven, Delaware County. On June 23, 2017 Sunoco drilled into the aquifer in West Whiteland, Chester County, impacting the private well water of at least a dozen residences. These releases and their impacts on the waterways of the Commonwealth and the water supply of Pennsylvania residents were predicted in advance in Sunoco’s own documents to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection....

ZERO TOLERANCE to poisoning Americans !

East Pacific Ocean has three storm and one in the Atlantic Ocean. All four are along the ITCZ where the water vapor is.

It has been quiet in the East Pacific and Atlantic with little to worry about. 
Currently, there are three significant storms in the East Pacific; Fernanda 
achieved a category 4 status on the 15th of July with sustained winds of
125 knots per hour (143.8 mph). The central pressure at that time was 
947 millibars of pressure.

Currently, Fernanda is a category 2 and heading north of Hawaii. Hawaii is 19.8968° N latitude and 155.5828° W longitude. The last position of Fernanda is 16.00 N latitude and 133.90 W longitude at 1800 today.

The second storm is Greg which is still a tropical storm and position is
14.60 N latitude and 109.00 W longitude. Current winds are 35 knots per hour
with a central pressure of 1007 millibars.

The third storm in the East Pacific is Tropical Depression Eight with winds of
30 knots per hour and a central pressure of 1007 millibars of pressure.

In the Atlantic Ocean, east of Grenada is Tropical Storm Don with maximum 
winds of 45 knots per hour with a central pressure of 1007 millibars of pressure. Currently, Don has 35 knot per hour winds with a central pressure of 
1010 millibars.

Grenada weather currently 86 degrees Fahrenheit and is stated to feel like 104 F. Winds are out of the east at 16 mph with gusts to 34 mph. Tropical Storm Don is expected to end tonight. Barometric pressure currently 29.86 inches.

July 18, 2017
By Alex Sosnowski

Don will be the second tropical storm (click here) in less than a month to affect portions of the Windward Islands, before drifting into the Caribbean Sea this week....

July 18, 2017; 2230.19z UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

Rumors that bring speculation as to "Who got to him and for how much?"

I would never put it past a Republican administration full of billionaires to find a cushy job somewhere for a former US Supreme Court Justice, like a professorship that never lectures or a Dean or a Chancellor. 

June 26, 2017
By Ruth Brown

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy isn’t resting his case just yet. (click here)

The high court broke for its summer recess Monday without an anticipated retirement announcement from the 80-year-old judge. He could still make the call at any time, but the last day was seen as the most likely time.

Kennedy hasn’t actually said anything publicly to suggest he’s hanging up his gavel anytime soon, but speculation has been swirling for months, fueled by his colleagues and lawmakers.

The gossip mill went into overdrive after his former law clerks moved up a planned reunion to last weekend — as judges traditionally announce retirement plans to their clerks before the public — but after teasing the assembled alum with a big announcement, it wasn’t what they expected....

It is a corporate gimmick to drive voters to the polls in 2018. That's all.

Where is Robert Reich when you need him?

May 15, 2017
By Lee Fang

AFTER USING GOLDMAN Sachs (click here) as a punching bag for his campaign, sharply criticizing his political opponents for ties to the investment bank, Donald Trump has taken unprecedented steps to appoint former Goldman Sachs attorneys and executives to the upper echelons of government.

It goes far beyond what’s been reported. Not only is Jay Clayton Trump’s chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, after serving as the attorney who advised the bank during the bailouts of 2008, but new disclosures show that the team Clayton brought with him to oversee the financial market regulator are also former Goldman Sachs attorneys.

The Intercept obtained the ethics disclosure form for Sean Memon, Clayton’s deputy chief of staff, which shows that Memon previously worked for Goldman Sachs, as well as a range of other Wall Street clients, including Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase, AIG, MetLife, Ally Financial, and Deutsche Bank.

Last month, Clayton also brought in Steven Peikin as one of two directors of the enforcement division of the SEC, one of the most prominent positions at the agency. Peikin, likMemon, previously served as an attorney to Goldman Sachs and other banks. All three men are former lawyers with Sullivan & Cromwell, arguably the most influential law firm of the 20th Century. 

While previous administrations have retained staff with ties to major banks, Trump has turned his administration into somewhat of a Goldman Sachs alumni organization....

Maybe this is like a 'Cheney Thing' where rewarding those that can prosecute and sue you is better for the personal wealth fund. If Trump was defaming Goldman during his campaign, this might be a way to prevent lawsuits, etc. No different than Cheney, Halliburton (later KBR) and Iraq. 

July 14, 2017
By Guelda Vioen

Easterly Government Properties, (click here) a landlord specializing in real estate that is leased backed to the U.S. government, secured $127 million towards its purchase of Loma Linda Ambulatory Care, a U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs medical facility in Southern California, Commercial Observer can exclusively report.

The ten-year, fixed-rate, interest-only CMBS loan was provided by Goldman Sachs, according to a representative for CBRE, which brokered the deal. The 60 percent loan-to-value in the financing represents a total purchase price of about $212 million.

Tom Traynor, James Millon, James Scott and Bernard Van der Lande of CBRE represented the borrower in the transaction. If Goldman retained representation, it was not immediately clear. A Goldman representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment....

Amazing. I thought the Kurshners and Chinese investors would have the inside track.

Aramark is looking for you:

Food Service Worker - Goldman Sachs 200 West (click here)

Get out there and be all you can be!

New Zealand leads the world in teen suicide. In the USA it is the third largest reason for deaths in ages 15 -24.

When a country's sincere problems are politicized, there never is an answer that matters. The end of Medicaid in the USA could have a direct impact on teens at risk.

17 July 2017
By Olivia Carville

...King has been a crusader (click here) in raising awareness on youth suicide across New Zealand since an unprecedented cluster of teen suicides in Northland in 2012. He has spoken to students in dozens of schools about this issue and last month he Controversially stepped down from the Government's suicide prevention panel, claiming its draft plan to prevent suicide was "deeply flawed" and self-serving....

..."New Zealand has become a country where we expect others to fix everything while the rest of us sit around in judgment and make excuses. Poverty, the housing crisis, colonisation and the growing gap between rich and poor were all listed as reasons why young people are dying by their own hand....

Wall Street priorities have a direct connection to mental health in New Zealand. As young people begin to take on the world seeking a productive life and are disappointed in their outcomes, it becomes an issue of self-esteem and why they can't succeed.

"Self-esteem is a huge issue for young people and is often the first step on the road to suicidal thinking. Young people with self-esteem issues - who deep down think they are 'bad' - are battling demons that no one can see because they battle them alone, often behind a mask of happiness....

..."However, the statistic we should all be concerned about is that 80 per cent of kids who have recurring thoughts of suicide never ask for help, from anyone, ever.

"For some it is because they don't know who to ask, or they believe they can fix it themselves. For others it's embarrassment, fear of looking stupid or hurting people they love. But for the overwhelming majority it's the fear of judgment. In a world that worships perfection they are worried what others will think, say or do if they disclose their true feelings.

"And it doesn't help when our health and education system discourages any type of open discussion around suicidal thinking for fear of contagion. Can you imagine how traumatic that must be for a young person? I've just diagnosed myself with an incurable disease but if I open up and talk to any of my friends about it they might catch it and die.

"There are three reasons kids give me for wanting to end their lives:

1. I am hurting! 'I am in so much pain and I just want it to stop. Everybody tells me that with time things will get better but everyday I wake up and it's worse. I just need it to stop!'

2. I am causing hurt! 'I feel like I've become a burden to everybody and everyone would be better off without me.'

3. I want to cause hurt! 'You hurt me, so now I'm going to hurt you.'...

In the USA, it is believed teen suicide is treatable. From the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Last Updated:

 

10/18/2016

Source:

 

Teen Suicide, Mood Disorder, and Depression (click here)

Thousands of teens commit suicide each year in the United States. In fact, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds.

Suicide does not just happen. Studies show that at least 90% of teens who kill themselves have some type of mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem. They may also have problems at school or with friends or family, or a combination of all these things. Some teens may have been victims of sexual or physical abuse. Others may be struggling with issues related to sexual identity. Usually they have had problems for some time.

Most teens do not spend a long time planning to kill themselves. They may have thought about it or tried it in the past but only decide to do it after an event that produces feelings of failure or loss, such as getting in trouble, having an argument, breaking up with a partner, or receiving a bad grade on a test....

The words teens and young adults hold dear are opportunity and achievement. American teens and young adults have to be provided a path to success. That means their government is sensitive to the financial infrastructure that has to exist to succeed. The USA grossly lacks in educational achievement on a global scale.

...One of the biggest cross-national tests (click here) is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which every three years measures reading ability, math and science literacy and other key skills among 15-year-olds in dozens of developed and developing countries. The most recent PISA results, from 2015, placed the U.S. an unimpressive 38th out of 71 countries in math and 24th in science. Among the 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which sponsors the PISA initiative, the U.S. ranked 30th in math and 19th in science....

And the USA wants to fly to where? Mars? Really? With what Japanese immigrants doing the math on EB5 Visas?

Teens in a manic or a mixed state may:

• Strongly overreact when things do not go their way
• Become hyper, agitated, or aggressive
• Be overwhelmed with thoughts or feelings
• Sleep less
• Talk a lot more
• Act in impulsive or dangerous ways
• Feel they can do things they really can't
• Spend money they do not have or give things away
• Insist on unrealistic plans for themselves or others

Teens with depression may:

• Feel sad, down, or irritable, or not feel like doing things
• Have a change in sleeping or eating habits
• Feel guilty, worthless, or hopeless
• Have less energy, or have more difficulty paying attention
• Feel lonely, get easily upset, or talk about wanting to be dead
• Lose interest in things they used to enjoy

Mood disorders can be treated. Ask your teen's doctor about treatment resources. 

Give them a future they can believe it, damn it!

And I don't want to hear how Jeb Bush's 3 year olds are going to lead the world someday. Believe that and you may as well hand me a rainbow. Take it away Dorothy!