Note to Congress: For children, Paparazzi are dangerous to their mental health.

When there are not enough hours in a day I have left home with wet hair. Lisa Page is a normal person, an exceptionally talented professional, a wife and mother.

An inconvenient truth about Lisa Page is that she never did anything wrong in her professional capacity. What happens between husbands, wives and lovers is no one's business. Lisa Page was used to create the idea of an FBI that was indeed a "Deep State." It was and is all a lie.

Below are a few sentences from a study about the tabloid press. The country is Great Britain, but, I think the conclusions outline a phenomena in the USA as well. Why is that important? Because in order to put forward the concept of "Deep State" it has to be a side note in tabloids that specialize in salacious accounts. One of the best friends of Donald J. Trump is David Pecker (click here) from the National Enquirer. 

...Although the Sun and the Mirror (click here) are mainstream news discourse in terms of their circulation, and occupy a central place in British popular culture, their reception was framed by distancing from other kinds of printed news sources and from major social and political institutions. Rather than conjuring up an image of tabloid reading as a product of a ‘free’ choice from a range of media, simply representing ‘what readers want’, a key finding of this research is instead how social structures impact on reading choices and experiences. The social context of the readers becomes a vital factor to consider in understanding tabloid reading....

The methodology of tabloids is to create a sense of discovery of a mystery about authority. Flying Saucers that the government knows exist and have evidence of in Area 54. Hillary Clinton and birth of a Martian. Etc. Etc. Etc.

The salacious content of celebrities is vital to the viability of the tabloid. I hope my implication here is not too abstract. I am saying definitely that Lisa Page was used as a salacious icon that would create a sleazy feeling about the FBI so people can accept the idea of "Deep State" more easily. It was necessary for Trump to be able to create the "Deep State."

E-mails are another jargon issue for Republican politics. George W. Bush would not have an email account for fear he would mistakenly hit "reply all." Or something like that.

The discovery of a set of lovers working within the Special Counsel office was simply too good to be true and Trump's administration saw it as a gift that had to be exploited. Lisa Page and Peter Strozk, no matter how absurd the accusation would become was going to be used to promote a disease within the FBI. Any legislator that stood against these people were saintly and acting to protect the people from a runaway "Deep State."

Trump nurtured the idea of a "Deep State" and since it's emergence as a political strategy uses it chronically to discredit charges against him. Lisa Page and Peter Strozk were helpless victims to Trump's plans. They were discussing aspects of investigation and in some light-hearted moments jokingly states they would not let Trump serve as president. It was all Stupid Talk that carried no brevity what so ever at all.

The person cited by the Inspector General as having mixed political ideology with his work product was never mentioned by any Congressional persons. Lisa Page and Peter Strozk were not reported as mixing business with pleasure when it comes to FISA warrants, etc. The US Congress laid bare emails between TWO FBI AGENTS. Like, what? There was absolutely no reason for this to ever occur, but, they were the icons that the National Enquirer and other tabloids could use to back Trump's faux "Deep State."

This is probably meaningless to them, but, I apologize for the meat grinder Lisa Page and Peter Strozk got caught up in and I am furious the USA has lost not only highly qualified Directors and Acting Directors to the FBI, but, well qualified and dedicated agents. The Congress needs to be held responsible for the LEAK and proper ethics investigations needs to go forward.

I wish both former FBI agents well and hope their families are safe and sound. The Congress, DOJ or Trump had no right to do what they did to them.

8 December 2017

Lisa Page, who exchanged anti-Trump text messages with Peter Strzok, her FBI agent lover, was seen for the first time on Wednesday

The woman who exchanged anti-Trump text messages (click here) with her FBI lover, who was dismissed from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, has been photographed for the first time since news of her affair was revealed.

Lisa Page, a lawyer for the FBI, looked somber in DailyMail.com's exclusive photos as she was spotted leaving the home that she shares with her husband and children in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old registered Democrat wore all black and her hair was still wet when she left the residence carrying two bags moments after her husband Joseph Burrow, 40, pulled his hood over his head and left the house with their son.

On Saturday, Page was exposed as being the lover of Peter Strzok, deputy head of counterintelligence at the FBI, after it was discovered they exchanged anti-Trump text messages, which led him to be reassigned to the FBI's human resources department in August....

I also think the American people need to see the lying for what it is and it is extremely corrupt and criminal.

December 16, 2019
By Christian Berthelsen

Lev Parnas, (click here) an associate of Rudy Giuliani indicted on U.S. campaign finance charges, said a $1 million transfer into his wife’s bank account from Russia was the proceeds of a loan -- and not an attempt to conceal his assets.

Federal prosecutors pointed to the transfer in a filing last week asking the judge to revoke Parnas’s bail because he misrepresented his financial resources when he was arrested. They said Parnas’ wife, Svetlana, received $1 million from a bank account in Russia in September, the month before Ukraine-born Parnas and business partner Igor Fruman were arrested as they sought to leave the country....

...Parnas and Fruman are accused of working on behalf of one or more Ukrainian government officials to seek the removal of then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. They have pleaded not guilty to those and other charges....

Guiliani has stated he wanted Ambassador Yovanovitch removed from Ukraine because she was corrupt. Do the people interested in the USA's Rule of Law realize Guiliani and Trump are redefining the word corrupt to serve their own purpose?

To begin Rudy Guiliani, as a private attorney to the president, has no authority to demand the removal of an American Ambassador from her post and then achieve it through complaining to the president as his private attorney. Guiliani also acted to conduct his own investigation without the authority to do so. The Former Prosecutor General Yurig Lutsenko involved with Rudy Guiliani was removed from office for enforcing corruption in Ukraine. Guiliani does not have the endorsement of other countries to end corruption in Ukraine.

December 16, 2019
By Adam Entous

Of all the names featured (click here) in the private depositions and public testimonies of the Presidential impeachment inquiry—Donald Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani; Giuliani’s associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman; Joe Biden and his son, Hunter—that of Yuriy Lutsenko has been cited more often than almost any other. In the sworn depositions of Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, Lutsenko’s name appears two hundred and thirty times, nearly twice as often as Trump’s. Lutsenko, sometimes referred to simply as “the corrupt prosecutor general” of Ukraine, has been portrayed, hardly without reason, as an unscrupulous politician prone to telling lies to further his personal ambitions. As those closely following the news have learned, Lutsenko fed information to Giuliani, which Giuliani, Trump, and their allies spun to smear the reputations of the Bidens and of Yovanovitch, whom Trump fired in April. One of the House’s star witnesses told me, of Lutsenko, “I don’t think we’d be here if not for him.”...

...As prosecutor general—the equivalent of the Attorney General in the United States—Lutsenko tried to assure his American counterparts that he, too, was committed to reform, but they soon came to see him as an enabler of the corrupt system that they were seeking to fix. As Kent said in a closed-door deposition on October 15th, “He was bitter and angry at the Embassy for our positions on anti-corruption. And so he was looking for revenge.”

Lutsenko, who is fifty-five, left his job in August. He’d become a figure of some notoriety in Kyiv, and, in the fall, he relocated temporarily to London, enrolling in an English-language immersion program....

Unfortunately, Lutsenko served time in a Russian prison under the Former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych. It may be that experience tainted his ability to be a dedicated Prosecutor General for people of Ukraine. As Prosecutor General in Ukraine, other countries were seeking to end the Russian corruption of the country, to ensure a viable economy for investors and institutions like the IMF. But, they were unable to discern a country free of corruption in that Lutsenko was not prosecuting corruption so much as ignoring it.

Why then, with such a broad agreement in the international community recognizing the Former Prosecutor General as enforcing corruption, would Guiliani befriend him and attempt to change the truth and history?

There is a bigger picture and it is seated in long-standing hatred of governments of democracies in the world. What wealthy American doesn't complain about the taxes they pay and to the degree the government that does not act to facilitate their greater wealth? Guiliani figured the "Deep State" as defined by Trump would protect his actions all along the way until the goal of the Trump Cabal achieved it's goals.

Guiliani's words stated in full public view that Ambassador Yovanovitch was corrupt is all part of the covert agenda that is Trump. Guiliani is simply carrying out the agenda to turn the definition of corruption on it's head. THAT IS AN AGENDA ITEM for the Trump Cabal.

Why would the Majority Leader of the US Senate openly in full view of the public state basically, "...the deal is in..." and he would be working closely with the president's lawyers when it is a huge ethical violation and quite frankly anti-constitutional and anti-American. Why? Why would a US Senate majority leader continually obstruct laws the American people want? Money from cronies? Sure. Attempting to ensure the "status quo" stands? Absolutely. But, why enforce a status quo that is corrupt and dangerous?

December 17, 2019
By Tucker Doherty and Tanya Snyder

Kentucky’s largest transportation grant application (click here) under the Trump administration benefited from a process that the government’s top watchdog said lacked “the assurance of fairness,” raising questions about whether the Department of Transportation is making decisions based on project merits or political considerations.

The $67.4 million grant application for Boone County — a rapidly growing suburban district of political importance to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the husband of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao — was initially flagged by professional staff as incomplete. But after giving the state and local officials behind the application an extra opportunity to submit missing information, Chao chose it as one of 26 grant winners out of an initial pool of 258 applicants.

The Government Accountability Office faulted the department for failing to document why the Boone County project and 41 other applicants received this extra chance to fill in holes in their submissions while 55 other incomplete applications fell out of the running. Moreover, emails obtained by POLITICO show that Boone County officials were in contact with Chao’s aide Todd Inman, a former McConnell campaign staffer known to offer extra guidance to Kentuckians with business before the secretary....

A good and honest Majority Leader would bend over backward to be sure his wife and he were above any form of suspicion. But, they don't. Why? McConnell and Elaine Chow have a lot of reasons to continue THEIR CONTROL of the USA government and it's operations. It starts with her family and ends with the political populism of her husband and not as a spouse, but, as a woman with a lot of financial interests that might be adversely effected by a president interested in the people and stands on strong ethical grounds.

The people within the Trump Cabal has accumulated a great deal of wealth and they want it protected. So, while a conspiracy isn't as clear as a picture they all have the same interest, control of government outcomes.

Donald Trump is all too obvious. He didn't even place his business profile in the care of "a blind trust" supervised by a non-partisan entity/institution.

Guiliani was/is in a fight with a spouse during divorce proceedings and wanted to be able to live a comfortable lifestyle while claiming he has no tangible income. Why not become a billionaire? Trump is an icon that built his billions on the backs of others. His casinos have failed and included in repeating bankruptcies. His activity in a non-profit benefited himself and it was shut down with minimal fanfare, prosecutions or fines. Why not be a billionaire?

...Rudy Giuliani Net Worth: $45 million (click here)

Giuliani’s time after serving as the mayor of New York City has proven lucrative as he has channeled that experience into major success as a consultant and paid public speaker. His net worth is estimated to be $45 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth....

Why not throw in with Trump to falsify actions and prioritize corruption? The Former Prosecutor Generals in Ukraine have nothing to lose and believe Giuliani has power compliments of Trump to conduct themselves in ways that best provide for their agendas. The conversation between Trump and the Ukraine President Zelenskyy is PROOF of that, Trump did nothing but play up good feelings of congratulations and instill the idea Guiliani and Bill Barr have unlimited power in foreign countries to bring about agendas that already were ended by the international community.

"I Headed the FBI and CIA..." (click here)

Trump supporters that are American voters don't see anything wrong with Trump or his agenda. They are amused by Trump's ill demeanor. They agree with his idea of protecting American borders. They believe Trump will receive the Nobel Peace Prize for the strides he takes with North Korea. For the most part that is not all that bad, right? They have other ideas about what the USA is all about and what complete freedom comprises in understanding Liberty.

They have one fatal flaw. The "Deep State" conspiracy is actually an attack on the USA Constitution. The opinion by Former FBI and also CIA Director, William H. Webster (click here) finds a profound danger to the country in the way Trump politics plays out in an agenda of domestic destruction.

The "Deep State" Trump RELIES on to define his political successes actually is his own making. He hates being examined by any government authority. His best excuse for concealing his taxes from the public is constant harassment of him by the IRS reviews.

Poor, Donald. Poor, poor Donald.

Donald John Trump has no conscience. He has a personal agenda and celebrity along with his family.

He breaks the law as does Guiliani and Bill Barr has countless ethics violations to face if anyone can keep count. John Durham has no case. The Inspector-General already said he has no idea what Durham could find that wasn't available to him.

William H. Webster's opinion is a real turning point or at least should be. A man retired from a life of service to this country is speaking out in defense of the USA Constitution. Why wasn't the Special Counsel report enough? Why are all these professionals coming to the public to ALERT Americans to the danger of the Trump Cabal. Who's left? How many more FORMER anyone does the American people have to hear from in order to "get it right."

There is an attack against the USA Constitution and it stems from greed and entitlement. Those that want wealth beyond wealth are not interested in the USA or it's Constitution and God Help the USA Constitution if it gets in their way.

Russia media is now calling Trump as a Russian agent to benefit Mother Russia.

The "Deep State" is fictitious, a myth at best. It is an excuse for anything that "trip's up' Trump and his henchmen/women.

William H. Webster is not a person anymore interested in a Deep State and obviously would mount an authored opinion against it if he believed it was a danger to the USA's Constitution. He did not pen an opinion about a Deep State conspiracy, he warned the American people about the Trump White House and it's chronic abuse of power.

Americans need to wake up to the truth. We have a problem and it is called Trump's abuse of power.

Sedition.

Trump's abuse of power easily can be defined as sedition in hiding behind a "Deep State" conspiracy.

Sedition is a conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state.

Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent towards, or resistance against established authority.

Gaslighting is an interesting word, but, I sincerely believe sedition is the issue. Trump means to rid the country of it's Consitution and in place he leaves lawlessness. I refuse to dance around this anymore.

18 U.S.C. § 2384 (click here) - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 18. Crimes and Criminal Procedure § 2384. Seditious conspiracy

There is evidence and this is just one example. He threatened civil war in retribution for his impeachment.

Governors need to be ready. There are people following Trump's tweets as permission for attacks on government and the people of the USA. Charlottesville is an example of what can transpire to Trump's racist agenda.

Trump would be delighted if these militias were successful in cowering the country or igniting a civil war. The fool that he is doesn't realize they would end him and replace him with their own authorities.

October 2, 2019
By Mary B. McCord

Oathkeepers members at the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia 

Although the president (click here) was quoting Pastor Robert Jeffress’s comments on Fox News, he was adopting them as his own.

It might seem tempting to dismiss this language as of a piece with President Trump’s typical Twitter rhetoric. But it is worth paying particular attention to this tweet—because among the people who read it were militia groups enthusiastic about exactly what Trump portended. And while no violence has yet resulted from the president’s tweet, it would be foolish to underestimate the power of Trump’s comments to call rogue militias to action, particularly if there is an impeachment and he continues to use this rhetoric to fan the flames. In the days after his civil war tweet, he went on to use similarly incendiary language, referring to impeachment proceedings as a “COUP.”

Consider the Oath Keepers group, a far-right armed militia. Calling on its 24,000 Twitter followers to read the president’s whole tweet thread, the Oath Keepers account posted:...

Those that covet the idea of Civil War are using Trump's politics to further their own violent agenda.

These guys are not just about keeping their wives happy. They have members in prison. They live in both worlds, within the prison and outside. They mean it and they are using Trump to organize.

There is no traceable conspiracy, there is simply a common ground that attracts silent partners.

I think Trump hates Catholics. Forty-five percent of Guatemalans are Catholic.

Hondurans are 46 percent Catholic. El Salvador is 50 percent Catholic.

Trump's deranged letter (click here)

Why hasn't the US Ambassador to the Holy See brought the Pope's complaints to the President?
Mrs. Gingrich should be carrying such important opinion to the president.

May 28, 2019
By Phillip Pullela

Vatican City - Pope Francis (click here) said he was willing to tell U.S. President Donald Trump in person that it is wrong to build border walls and appeared to warn him not to resume a policy of separating families.

December 17, 2019
By Meagan Vazquez

President Donald Trump (click here) sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday, excoriating the House Democrats' pursuit of an impeachment inquiry just a day before the full House is set to vote.

He wildly claimed that "(m)ore due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials." And he accused Pelosi of portraying a "false display of solemnity" during the impeachment process.

"No intelligent person believes what you are saying," Trump wrote.

Trump and Pelosi have had a history of tense, often personal fights, which have been highlighted by the impeachment inquiry launched this fall. Their most recent White House meeting, in October, was cut short because of the insults they hurled toward each other in the Cabinet Room....

Former Solicitor General Neal Katyal has stated the Trump letter to Pelosi mandates Trump's appearance as a witness in the US Senate Trial. 

“(the letter)...explains why he couldn’t be called in House, only Senate.”... “opens the door and makes his exec privilege claims wholly untenable.”... Trump appears to have written the letter under oath.

Any letter from the US President has to be taken seriously and not be dismissed. His words are his own and he has acted poorly in carrying out lies against Speaker Pelosi.

Ban vaping and e-cigarettes even if it has to be done city by city, county by county and state by state. End its use, now.

Enough damage by vaping and e-cigarettes in 3 years can cause permanent and debilitating lung disease. There are also studies that address the fact it has a damaging effect on blood vessels and cardiac function. Those studies are not listed here.

The physics of the lungs producing that huge vaping smoke cloud dictates a lot of pressures within the cardiac-pulmonary systems. The heart and lungs work together and what effects one effects the other. It takes a lot of moisture to produce a large vapor cloud like that. Fluid in the lungs are carried by blood vessels. Just stop this insanity.

The article below was out today.

We continued to learn (click here) more about the long-term effects of vaping and e-cigarette use Monday. A first-of-its kind study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that even moderately extended use of e-cigarettes raise users' risk for lung illnesses and respiratory conditions like chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD) and asthma....

... "Use of e-cigarettes is an independent risk factor for respiratory disease in addition to combustible tobacco smoking. Dual use, the most common use pattern, is riskier than using either product alone."

In plainer terms, vaping and nicotine e-cigarette use carry their own, special respiratory illness risks that are separate from the lung illness risks of using more traditional, combustible tobacco products....

... just three years' worth was able to reveal links between vape use and these chronic lung conditions. The information was collected between 2013 and 2016.

For e-cigarette users, according to the study, the chances of developing a chronic lung condition like COPD, asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema went up by a risk factor of about 1.3; it was even more pronounced for combustible tobacco users, and those who used both suffered from a risk multiplier effect of mixing the products....                  

752 Notable Historians have signed a letter endorsing the impeachment of Donald John Trump.

They appear to be from all over the country.

December 16, 2019

President Trump’s numerous and flagrant abuses of power (click here) are precisely what the Framers had in mind as grounds for impeaching and removing a president. Among those most hurtful to the Constitution have been his attempts to coerce the country of Ukraine, under attack from Russia, an adversary power to the United States, by withholding essential military assistance in exchange for the fabrication and legitimization of false information in order to advance his own re-election....

This is actually cruelty to animals. It can injure the animal or worse.

December 11, 2019

Over the past week, (click here) there have been multiple reports of Las Vegas birds sporting various colored cowboy hats. A Pigeon rescue and advocacy group Lofty Hopes (click here) whose slogan is, “A Pigeon Positive Movement,” is trying to find answers. There is a bird with a red hat, a pink hat and a brown hat. Some social media users noted that the National Finals Rodeo happened to be in town, but the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association had “nothing to do with the pigeons wearing cowboy hats.” Lofty Hopes operates in the Las Vegas area and works to help injured wild and domestic pigeons, as well as other birds and animals. Hillman said that although she first thought the birds’ attire was cute, she quickly developed concerns for the safety of the cowboy pigeons when she realized the hats appeared to be permanently secured. She also thinks that because the birds have been spotted for more than 5 days wearing the hats, they have been secured with something stronger than eyelash glue....

Lofty Hopes is beginning to pick up the birds to remove the hats. According to the Facebook page of Lofty Hopes (click here) the address and phone number is below. Anyone concerned for the birds may want to donate to assist in the cost of protecting birds, even pigeons.

713 east sahara ave #107
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104

(702) 234-6990

Batteries have always been the strongest business of Tesla.

At the heart of Tesla's business is the promise of it's batteries and the future of zero-carbon energy.

December 16, 2019
By Carman Reinicke 

A Tesla bear (click here) that estimates the stock could fall as much as 44% is giving the company "credit where due."

"Tesla is likely ahead of others on batteries - the core of the electric powertrain," Dan Levy of Credit Suisse wrote in a Monday note to clients. He maintained his underperform rating and target price of $200 on shares of the company.

"We believe Tesla is leading in the areas that will likely define the future of carmaking - software and electrification," wrote Levy....

This is a prime example of how an industry is completely unable to police itself.

Within this last month, an airline union asked to be excused from flying in the 737 Max (click here). If Boeing could fix the problem, they would not have ended its production.

December 16, 2019
By David Slotnik

Boeing will halt production of its 737 Max (click here) narrow-body jet in January, escalating the company's crisis as it prepares to end a year marked by accidents, scandals, and a plummeting public perception. The Wall Street Journal first reported the halts, citing a person briefed on the matter....

The only DEEP STATE is a FIGMENT of TRUMP'S SOCIAL IMAGINEERING.

December 16, 2019

By Aaron Blake

Flynn welcomed a relationship with Putin.

...Judge Emmet G. Sullivan (click here) on Monday issued yet another rebuke of Flynn’s and his legal team’s contention that Flynn, who is now set to be sentenced Jan. 28, had been entrapped by the FBI and that his rights had been violated. A previous iteration of Flynn’s legal team made the argument, only to back down when Sullivan rebuked them. Flynn eventually hired a new legal team, led by Sidney Powell, which made even bolder claims to Flynn having his rights violated. But Sullivan wasn’t having any of it....

...To evaluate Mr. Flynn’s requests, the Court divides them into six categories, acknowledging that there is some overlap within certain categories:

(1) information that does not exist;
(2) information that is not within the government’s possession;
(3) information that Mr. Flynn concedes he is not entitled to;
(4) information that the government has already provided to Mr. Flynn;
(5) information that is unrelated to the charges against Mr. Flynn in this case or to his sentencing; and
(6) remaining requests....

Flynn's complaint of a Deep State revolved around the Brady Rule:

Brady Rule (click here)

The Brady Rule, named after Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), requires prosecutors to disclose materially exculpatory evidence in the government's possession to the defense. A "Brady material" or evidence the prosecutor is required to disclose under this rule includes any evidence favorable to the accused--evidence that goes towards negating a defendant's guilt, that would reduce a defendant's potential sentence, or evidence going to the credibility of a witness....

Morning Papers

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

"Warning Will Robinson!"

Ever since the George W. Bush administration American citizens have been less cautious about foods high in fat and high in cholesterol. Now, in the Trump White House, the Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Purdue has become emboldened and is removing safe guards to the American food supply. Who needs al Qaeda?

The Agriculture Department still has the capacity for recalls and notifications (click here). But the consumer will suffer with reductions in INSPECTION QUALITY. The quality to protect consumers during food inspection isn't there anymore.

Why fight it?

LOCAL, organic and health food stores are necessary to ensure the quality of the food supply to American consumers. Put RATH Meat Packing (click here) out of business and then blame Joni Ernst (click here) for it. If she is willing to illustrate her killer instinct in a political ad, then why would she be kinder to American consumers? The ad can be questionable for ethics violations.

A very clever thing happened. Some time ago the pork industry decided the FLAVOR of bacon should be everywhere. Now, no matter how dangerous and with the "political attitude" of the Republicans that nothing is dangerous or causing harm is not a high priority; people in this country will become sick and die because of the lack of sincere interest in the country and the people of this country.

The ONLY and OBVIOUS answer is to seek local farms in supplying everything from grain to meats such as pork. When I was married and attending college in Pennsylvania I would take a ride around the countryside every Saturday morning and bought eggs, veggies, milk and meat from local producers. It was fun, less expensive and reassuring. Basically, that has to take root again in the USA. People have to take themselves seriously and important to local producers and ask for excellent quality in foods while selling directly to them or in the case of cities, their local markets.

All is all possible in the spirit of protecting the most vulnerable consumers among us, our children and grandchildren.

The Non-GMO movement has been able to build support for farmers seeking to grow healthy crops and livestock. The cost might be a little higher, but, it is safe and that is priceless.

December 19, 2019
By Morgan Radford and Aaron Franco

Albert Lea - America's food inspectors are warning (click here) that "unsafe" pork is likely making it to consumers under a change in rules for meat inspection.

That change is now set to roll out nationwide to plants that process more than 90 percent of the pork Americans eat.

"The consumer's being duped," Food Safety and Inspection Service inspector Jill Mauer told NBC News. "They believe that it actually is getting federally inspected when there's no one there to even watch or do anything about anything."

"It's so hard to go to work without feeling physically sick watching this just happen, unfolding in front of you," inspector Anthony Vallone said. "Especially since you took the oath to protect the American people."

Mauer and Vallone have both filed whistleblower disclosure forms with the Office of Special Counsel about their concerns, but this is the first time they’ve spoken publicly. NBC News has spoken to five inspectors in person, over the phone and via email about the pilot program, which eligible pork plants will soon be able to adopt under a change in U.S. Department of Agriculture rules known as the New Swine Inspection System....

"Good Night, Moon"

The waning gibbous

18.9 day old moon

81.9 percent lit











The Cold Moon on December 12, 2019 was the last full moon of the decade.

Forests are very important habitat.

The third type of forest in New York State is the Oak-Hickory Forest. It lives primarily about across one-fifth of the land of the state and just beyond the coastal forest.

The trees found in this forest are:

Northern Red Oak and the Southern Red Oak

Black Oak 

Scarlet Oak 

White Oak

Chestnut Oak

Shumard Oak

Pignut Hickory

Mockernut Hickory

Bitternut Hickory

American Chestnut (understory)

Flowering Dogwood

Sassafras

Haphornbeam

Hackberry

Green Hawthorn

The plight of diminishing numbers within the climate crisis has many variables.

Cowbird (click here) moms pay attention to the size of eggs in the nests they choose for egg-laying, a new study finds. Inset: Two cowbird eggs in the nest of a northern cardinal, with two (larger) eggs of its own.

The cowbirds are only one reason for diminishing numbers of birds. It adds stress to other female birds and bird behavior is unpredictable.

...Rather than spending any time building a nest for her eggs, (click here) the female cowbird puts all of her energy into producing eggs and does so at the rate of up to three dozen in a single summer. When she is ready to lay her eggs, she begins to look for nests that other birds have constructed (or have already constructed). When the host bird is not at the nest, the female cowbird slips in and pushes one of the eggs out of the nest and replaces it with her own, referred to as "nest parasitism". The baby cowbird is often raised by the unsuspecting host bird, who becomes a foster parent through no fault of her own.

Should the host bird destroy the cowbird's egg, the cowbird will often retaliate by destroying the entire nest in what many people have referred to as "mafia behavior."...

Food sources for birds may be finite in any specific community. Imagine robins hatching six eggs a season opposed to twelve eggs by the Cowbirds, who is going to survive more often in any season?

Cowbirds are not the first thing I look for when bird numbers trend down in numbers, there are food sources and habitat changes to examine, but, if there is a population of Cowbirds, that could be the problem.

They have exquisite coloring.

The Eastern Towhee (click here) (formerly called the Rufous-sided Towhee) is a declining species that inhabits dense, low, shrubby edge habitat in the Hudson Valley.

Conservation Status Throughout its range, the Eastern Towhee has experienced major population declines during the past 30 years, particularly in the northeastern portion of the range. However, it is not listed as Endangered or Threatened by New York and is not found on the Audubon WatchList. Partners in Flight lists it is as a Species of Regional Concern in Bird Conservation Regions (BCR)13, 14, 28, and 30, and of Continental and Regional Stewardship in BCR 28. Breeding Bird Survey results for New York State reflect a drastic decline over the last four decades. Breeding Bird Atlas data show a reduced distribution in the Hudson River Valley....

Eastern Towhees (click here) usually nest on the ground, the nest cup sunk into the fallen leaves up to the level of the rim.

Only the female towhee builds the nest.

Eastern Towhees are common victims of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird (click here). Towhees, unlike some other birds, show no ability to recognize or remove the imposter’s eggs.

This is the Rufous-sided Towhee ( Pipilo erythrophthalmus) of New York State. They like Huckleberries.

This film was captured in Rockefeller State Park (click here)

Steve, a new phenomena discovered by citizen scientists.

December 11, 2019
By Wendy Weisberger

San Francisco - An oddball sky glow (click here) endearingly named "Steve" captivated aurora chasers from the moment they first spotted and photographed the unique light display over Canada in 2016. 

Steve somewhat resembled an aurora, but its sky-climbing ribbons and ladders of purple and green light were distinctly different in shape and behavior from those produced by a typical aurora.

Since then, Steve has intrigued not only hobbyist skygazers but also astronomers from NASA — and filmmakers, too. "Chasing Steve," a new documentary that was screened Dec. 9 at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), highlights the efforts of citizen scientists and researchers alike, as they race to capture Steve's unearthly beauty and define the electromagnetic forces that shape it.

"We were so taken with this really great story," said Leah Mallen, who co-produced and co-directed the film with Jess Fraser. "This advancement of digital photography really allowed for new types of aurora photography to be introduced. People had longer exposures, higher resolution; people who were hobbyists were taking things to a new level," Mallen told Live Science....

"Chasing Steve: (click here)

Kalmia latifolia leaves. 

Evergreen.

Narrowly elliptical or lance-shaped, hard whiteish point at tip, without teeth, thick and stiff leaves.

Dull dark green above and yellow-green beneath.

Sheep Laurel with evergreen leaves.