ICE

There is a greater task at hand than destroying the immigration unit known as ICE. The issue at hand involves where to draw the line on human rights abuses, the Geneva Conventions and USA law enforcement. ICE just happened to be the place where the human rights abuses began with this President.

President Donald Trump is abusing his power for the sake of his politics and wealth. He actually thought he could simply use the power of the Presidency to do any darn thing he wants to do. He does not accept the limits of his power and now he is using his power to intimidate countries. We have a problem to be solved and it should be solved permanently. ICE never realized that they were committing human rights abuses and that is dangerous. ICE’S mission needs to be prioritized and that means working to assist the FBI in ending those that come to our borders with drugs and crime.

It has been very difficult to realize our law enforcement was committing human rights violations at the order of the President, but, they did so out of complete ignorance. This can never happen again by ICE, the Border Patrol or any other law enforcement.

The Congress wrote The War Powers Act to stem abuse of power; there needs to be clear standards set down in legislation with a veto proof majority in Congress  to end any such abuse of power again. 

The unthinkable happened and it is up to Congress to permanently end any possibility of this occurring again. Ending ICE may be part of that legislation, but, there is a bigger picture. This time it was ICE, what next the Border Patrol? The local police? Sheriff? 

We have to permanently solve the problem of any potential to commit human rights abuses within the USA and use of any international policy to be used for intimidation or human rights violations. Policies of benevolence cannot be turned against a country in retribution for other purposes such as this vote at this international forum to benefit human health. What is occurring with the powers within the Executive Branch is unthinkable and yet it is happening. This is not a Constitutional Crisis, it is a crisis brought on by abuse of power. There is a difference.

I plan to return to Sunday Night postings within two weeks.

A magnificent rescue of 12 boys and their coach is proceeding. It is an incredible story of humanitarian efforts and heroic leadership. Sincerest sympathies for the loss of one of the heroic divers. 

I hope the government of Thailand will consider closing the cave permanently once the rescues are complete. Rains are no longer predictable with a changing climate. Such caves may be too dangerous even for experienced explorers and scientists.

In a poor example of humanitarian interest, at the Geneva meeting of the UN World Health Assembly the United States of America has taken a protectionist view of commercial baby formula. Decades of research has proven mother’s milk to be superior to commercial substitutes, yet the USA cannot find the will to endorse the research. The resolution was met with open threats of trade sanctions and withdrawal of military support, basically blackmail and retribution.

The global community needs to begin to prioritize scientific fact and what is best for the health and well being of people over detrimental posturing by the USA. This posturing in placing monetary commercial interests before quality of life can be seen in the policies of climate change as well. This posturing is becoming very troubling and I fear permanent. If the USA can’t endorse mother’s milk as superior to commercial substitutes for the sake of Wall Street profits then the country has lost it’s moral compass. In realizing that infants are more a commodity to the leadership of the USA than needing the highest forms of moral protection there is little reason to regard the USA as a moral leader. Until the USA has demonstrated a return to moral leadership the global community is obligated to scrutinize every policy it puts forward.

The USA leadership touts it’s Christian values as entitlement to global leadership, however, those values are a false front for placing wealth of a few before quality of life of many.

When deadlines are set by a judge it is supposed to mean something. In the case of the missing border children, President Donald Trump should be held personally responsible. The missing border children  resulted from an Executive Order he signed. The judges involved need to personally fine President Donal Trump $100,000 per day for every day past the deadlines to return missing children to their parents. 

This is not that difficult. There are finite Foster Parents in the USA and even fewer Foster Parent homes with recent placement of Latin American children. Holding Donald J. Trump personally responsible for missing border children is the only way he will take a judge’s order seriously.

The weekend of July 6th

There were 100 people that suffered heat related complications, 33 died and in the US 3 people died of heat related stress.

July 3rd Montana was blanked with snow as Eugene, Oregon registered 38 F. 

This is the climate crisis and the way deaths occur. They sometimes occur in large numbers as in 2003 when a heat wave took 70,000 lives in one week. Most climate deaths occur in small numbers, but, adding at least 60,000 unnecessary deaths per year.

Atherton East is a neighborhood in the south side of Flint, Michigan. A fight broke out in that neighborhood with police and residents on July 20, 2013. The reason was a double homicide of a woman, Yolanda Hill and her 12 year old daughter, Cherish Hill-Renfro.

Mayor Karen Weaver will hold a news conference on Monday, July 9th to announce a private-public project that will relocate the residents of of Atherton East in a four phase process into a mixed income neighborhood called Clark Commons.

This project is a departure from past public housing that was more segregated than helpful. 

ClarkCommons is a joint effort by the Flint Housing Commission and Norstar Developers. Others entering the planning is Mott Comminity College Workforce Development, Hurley Medical Center and the Flint and Genesee Literacy Network.

These grants are part of the Choice Neighbors Grants. These grants recognize the need for Affitdable Housing in neighborhoods that are functional and more economically diverse. If an American doesn’t know or understand the depth of opportunity of the Middle Class and how upward movement works to improve quality of life, how do they know the way forward? 

Congratulations to Mayor Weaver and the City of Flint.

The Chinese tariffs on Agricultural products will hit large corporate farmers opposed to small family farms. The little local agricultural markets with local farmers will not be effected. These are specialty and organic farmers.

There is a new reality recently with some trucking firms that depend on the car industry (the backbone of the US economy) for their freight; they are asking their drivers for voluntary layoffs because the volume has suddenly dropped. That will not show up on this jobs report.

Donald Trump knowingly lies while defaming CERTAIN media organizations to create a new reality. FOX Mews (News)  profits from those lies (easily led down the primrose path) and now there is a FOX News Pimp as communications director in the White House. It is a perfect nexus to destroy the truth. Soon children in school will be saying the sky is purple and mean it.

It seems to me he is either taking lessons from Putin (who wants to drop bombs on the USA while Americans wallow in their FOX Mews (pussy) unreality) or this is actually the methodology that built the Trump Organization, which explains multiple Chapter 11 bankruptcies.

My sincerest sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of Ed Schultz. He was a great journalist. He sought to understand people as well as write about them. He stood side by side with unions and made it well known that the loss of unions paralleled the loss of the Middle Class. Sixty-three years old is too young to die.

As a fan for many years I am saddened by his passing.

I don’t really know where to start with Scott Pruitt. He had many complaints against him that violated  American laws regarding his spending, but, he is a human rights abuser. 

The fact the Secretary of the US EPA is a human rights abuser can’t be overlooked, but, the extent to which this occurred is more a statement about the inability of Congress to move effectively to protect the American people from such an appointee. 

Scott Pruitt has decades of reputation of attacking the US EPA and stating he has been very frustrated with losing his cases. Scott Pruitt carried on and on about environmental regulation as Attorney General of Oklahoma. Oklahoma is an environmental disaster area. That is not an exaggeration. Oklahoma scientists, including those who work for the state, are equally as frustrated.

Pruitt’s nomination was made out of hubris and hate for the science that is needed to tame fracking earthquakes, methane emissions, contaminated drinking water and the deaths of innocent people from  that contaminated drinking water. The enormity of the reality of Scott Pruitt has to be addressed.

In reflection on his paranoia and extravagant spending, including openly practiced corruption needs to be understood. How could such a professionally crippled man make it to nomination yet passed into the powers of the EPA.

The reality of him should be studied to realize where democracy failed the people that would become his victims. There is right and wrong in this world. How did wrong find a place of preeminence within a federal agency created to protect Americans?

Bill Shine, former Fox News Executive spent his time at work for 20 years cleaning up sexual harassment cases. Twenty years of hiding sexual harassment cases at FOX News qualifies Mr. Shine for a close adviser in communications to the President since his own attorney Mr. Cohen no longer works for him and has his own problems. 

Mr. Shine was hired to handle the affairs by Mr. Trump, but, primarily the issues with Ms. Clifford.

NATO spending needs to be increased.

In an article in “Newsweek,” Defense Secretary Mattis warned the U.K. its defense spending is too low. The response from Russia is that the warning from Mattis is based in “Made up threats.” (Fake News)  All of a sudden Russia is an expert on Fake News.

Europe is exposed with several right wing politicians elected into power while Ukraine and Crimea remain the focus of Russian aggression which borders Europe. Mattis is very correct; now is not the time for military budget cuts in Europe.

I also found the Russian expedient reply more than interesting. It is my view that Russia wants propaganda to be successful in minimizing Europe’s defenses in order to give Russia a real chance at invading Ukraine without opposition.

General Mattis’s words along with a French assessment of North Africa will bring any debate to a close. NATO needs to come to terms with the need to beef up it’s defenses and increase defense spending to achieve those goals.

Currently Ukraine is completing it’s readiness to become a worthy ally to the West. Ukrainians are more than adequate allies and Europe should embrace it’s new ally and friend. I am not only looking forward to new economic opportunities with Ukraine, but, the addition of real military clout to the region within Ukraine’s expertise and knowledge.

The Baltic’s and Poland are country’s worth noting as incursion points into Europe and any increase in military spending for NATO will serve to stabalize those borders. Increased spending in NATO has absolutely nothing to do with the Korean Peninsula’s ambition to end hostilities and be free of nuclear weapons. Kim Jong Un can still lead the efforts for peace going forward. Nothing changes.

As a matter of fact, the only concern currently regarding a destabilized region is the vascillations of Turkey. But, that is a separate issue. 

General Mattis needs to present his overview of NATO to the US Congress. In bringing testimony to Congress, General Mattis should bring his counter parts from other NATO allies to speak as well.

If Moscow is denying involvement with the poisonings in the U K, then how secure are Russian chemical and biological stores of these deadly agents?

Russian denial of involvement in terrorist incidence like this and the Russian meddling in Western elections is getting to be an international joke. It is amazing, there is no Russian involvement yet there are Russians of a shrinking diaspora committing crimes. When will Russia own the fact, at the very least, it’s citizens are killing internationally? An absence of investigation and justice implies permission of their actions. Just stating Russia was not involved is not good enough, Russia must be an active player in arresting and trying these criminals.

More poisoning in Europe.

It has Russian intelligence written all over it and Russia does not extradite. This could go on forever. This is nothing but pure evil. Russia does not belong to the G8 if it continues hostilities in Ukraine and Crimea and refuses to extradite criminals.

NATO needs to suspend all travel with Russian people including the countries affiliated with Russian financial Agreements.

All of NATO, not just the U.K. It seems to me with Brexit underway this adds to the momentum to divide the countries.

Wow, what is going on?

Corruption, huh? 

What I always admired about journalism is it’s high practice standards. Journalism requires duplicity in their fact finding. Journalism, when times become difficult, can’t let it’s backbone slip. If the Tweets by Trump are inflammatory, lies or simply the wrong path for the country; journalism has to rise above it. The American people have turned time and again to the country’s great newspapers to protect them and the country. It seems to me great journalism is needed now more than ever.

Trump wants to distract the country from the Middle East and his aspirations to lead the region into war to change the map of those Great People. That is why Trump wants to meet with Putin. Trump wants control of the war that will change the map of the region. Putin wants an excuse to send nukes into Alaska.

Americans are counting on their press to be strong and filter out lies from the truth and advocate peace.

Come on now, we have work to do. Ethical, moral work. Rise above Tweets based in power and be truth tellers.

I have never read Twitter. I have only responded to it when it was pulled into the news by journalism. I don’t and never will read Trump’s Tweets. Not one.

Think about it and stop looking for the quick fix. Get your acts together on this one. I heard the US Senate has published their findings. That is a good start.

Enjoy the Fourth of July.

Later.

Senator McConell is lying. The 2016 obstruction of Judge Garland was a huge change in precedent. Nine months of obstruction and the reason of his rhetoric; “The People should decide.” So, McConnell does not love the country or the people, he loves the power and manipulated the power at the cost of the democracy of the people. He is not interested in governance or the US Constitution. The reason to race into a Supreme Court nomination is no longer the people’s will in the election of  2018.

My sincerest sympathies to the families and friends of those lost at “The Capital” in Annapolis, Maryland. They were five of the best of the best. They will be missed. The hate speech about the USA media must stop. NOW! 

There is more I need to write about the Robert’s Court, but, I am stealing time away from my vacation in early morning hours. I am not going to sit in front of screens nor with ear buds because of FOX News propaganda.

Best regards until later.

Hi,
My vacation is nice. Broke the rules and peaked at the news. Just one comment; Mr. Goudy knows better than anyone that federal investigations can take anywhere from five to fifteen years. I think, from what I saw Minority Leader Pelosi needs to request an ethics review of the men on the committee questioning Mr. Wray and the other guy, the Deputy AG, oh yeah, Rosenstein. Mr. Goudy and the really nasty liar were really out of line. Thank you. Back to vacation.🌈

School is out for the summer. I am taking some time for myself. 

Take a vacation this year. Spend time with the kids. Vacations create lasting memories and that is important. 

Until later.

I thought we could recognize the criminals at the border by their cantaloupe-sized calves and not the children they carry while asking for asylum.

Parents can be DNA tested to secure the children.

There are some languages the border children speak that are not clearly discernable to be Spanish. The parents in detention centres should be asked if they can speak these unusual dialects. There is a high possibility if the detained parents can help with translation, that is the child's parent.

If stock prices reflect the optimism of a company's future, US Steel is not booming as Trump states.

June 25, 2018
The stock market (click here) suffered a large decline on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing more than 300 points lower after having fallen by nearly 500 points earlier in the session. Other major benchmarks followed suit as the White House once again escalated its rhetoric on the trade front, threatening to put new limits on the ability of foreign investors to export technology from U.S. companies. Stocks that are particularly sensitive to trade issues took hits, but the overall momentum behind the entire market also got stopped in its tracks. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), and U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly....

...U.S. Steel cools off

Finally, shares of U.S. Steel lost 6.5%. Many investors would figure that the steelmaker could be a big beneficiary of tariffs on industrial metals, given that it will be able to defend itself against foreign competition in its home market. Yet the result thus far of tariffs has been higher prices in the U.S. steel market, and that's raising new concerns among steel consumers. At this point, many investors in U.S. Steel hope that the federal government will resolve its trade disputes amicably -- before disruptive price changes both in the U.S. and abroad have a negative impact on the steelmaker's fundamental business prospects going forward.

United States Steel is not on our top "Buy" list, but these 10 stocks areInvesting geniuses David and Tom Gardner just released their best stocks to buy now -- and it could pay to listen. Especially when you consider their average stock pick is up 353% vs. a mere 81% for the S&P 500.

Duterte takes on God. No surprise there.

26 June 2018

Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (click here) faced growing outrage on Tuesday (Jun 26) in his largely Catholic nation after calling God "stupid", the latest furore he has sparked with an unfiltered broadside.

Duterte took aim at the biblical creation story during a speech, raising the question of why God would create Adam and Eve and then expose them to temptation.