COVID-19 is taking a toll on families.

Speaker Pelosi is right the PEOPLE are hurting in ways not imagined or addressed. I just finished a conversation online with a man who’s sister died from COVID-19. His sister left behind three young children. He said he was an emotional basket case for the past three months. The family she left behind needed financial help and he took a loan out for $30,000 so they could all “be okay,” as he put it.

The man was not a stranger to me.

He said he has never hurt so bad in his life, especially for the children she left behind. 

We are losing a minimum of 1000 Americans a day. The human tragedy goes beyond the number of deaths. The American tragedy is only beginning when realizing the profound loss and financial burden being realized by over 1000 families a day. 

This has to stop for this country. NOW!

This is a national temporary injunction.

September 17, 2020
By Karen Freifeld

A federal judge on Thursday (click here) blocked controversial changes to the United States postal service, saying they were “a politically motivated attack” that had slowed the nation’s mail and likely would slow the delivery of ballots in the upcoming presidential election....

...“The states have demonstrated that the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the postal service,” the judge said after about 2 1/2 hours of arguments that Reuters heard by phone.

“They have also demonstrated that this attack on the postal service is likely to irreparably harm the states’ ability to administer the 2020 general election.”...

I was very interested in the words of the judge. IRREPARABLY stood out. This is an administration that is ruthless and lawless. If that is true of the US Post Office, what does every American think is going on out of the view of the public? 

Inspector Generals are vital to providing a view of the Trump administration and their lawlessness.

This is a clear demonstration of the LAWLESSNESS that Trump endorses. 

Irreparably harmed is what the Trump White House is handing the American people. They do not care about the country, it's people, or most importantly the US Constitution. 

Realizing how lawless this administration has conducted itself, WHO IS THE WATCHDOG TO BE SURE THE USPS IS COMPLYING WITH THIS RULING?

Trump, Bill Barr, and the US Post Master General IGNORE everything and continue to proceed with their lawlessness. The dumping reported in entries online clearly indicates there is nothing they would not do to maintain control of the Executive Branch of the USA government.

DeJoy must instruct the US Postal Service to immediately repair the damage he did. Does anyone have confidence that the lawlessness will stop? 

The state's victory is going to be treated as words on paper. Their work is not over. Where are the reassurances?

Another one.

How many are we up to now? 20. 25. More? Were there more for Harvey Weinstein? Couldn't be much more. The women need to ask New York to prosecute him no different than Harvey Weinstein. No different than Bill Cosby. This behavior with Amy Dorris is EXACTLY the same behavior as with E. Jean Carroll. Exactly the same.

Ms. Dorris states, ..."allegedly “shoved his tongue down my throat” outside the bathroom in his VIP box at the tennis tournament, Dorris alleged to The Guardian, “and his hands were very gropey and all over my butt, my breasts, my back, everything.”

“I was in his grip, and I couldn’t get out of it,” Dorris alleged, saying she “was pushing him off” and told him, “no, please stop,” but “he didn’t care.”...

Exactly, the same assault. The only difference was that Trump's penis made it's way into the vagina of Ms. Carroll. It was actually rape. None of Trump's accusers know each other.

The presidency cannot shield him from that prosecution.

September 17, 2020

By Alison Durkee

Donald Trump and Ivana Trump watch tennis at the US Open in September 1997 in New York City. 

Former model Amy Dorris (click here) alleged that President Donald Trump sexually assaulted her at the U.S. Open in September 1997, she told The Guardian in an interview, becoming the latest in a string of women to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct....

Amy Dorris, left, pictured at the US Open with Donald Trump in 1997

The truth demands "Elle" return Ms. Carroll back to her employ. Elle is allowing a brutally privileged criminal get away with it. 

February 19, 2020

By Neil Vigdor and Ed Shanahan

E. Jean Carroll, (click here) the longtime Elle magazine advice columnist who last year accused Donald J. Trump of raping her before he was elected president, said on Tuesday that she was fired by the publication because of Mr. Trump’s repeated insults against her.

Ms. Carroll, the author of the “Ask E. Jean” column, announced her departure from the magazine on Twitter and blamed it on Mr. Trump, who she said had sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at an upscale New York department store more than 20 years ago.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied Ms. Carroll’s accusation.

“Because Trump ridiculed my reputation, laughed at my looks, & dragged me through the mud, after 26 years, ELLE fired me,” Ms. Carroll wrote on Twitter. “I don’t blame Elle. It was the great honor of my life writing ‘Ask E. Jean.’”

Ms. Carroll sued Mr. Trump for defamation in New York State Court in November, saying that Mr. Trump had damaged her reputation and her career when he denied her allegation last June and called her a liar....

Women are quite used to the power of male privilege. Boycott "Elle" magazine until Ms. Carroll is returned to her employment. That is if she wants it.

It is time to put all the sexual assaults of Donald John Trump on a paper called a subpoena to trial. There are many women that have come forward no different than Cosby or Weinstein. This needs to be done and it needs to start now.

Do not allow young people attend Spring Break or any other vacation in Florida!

September 17, 2020

By Marc Freeman

Florida reported Thursday (click here) that another 3,255 people have tested positive for COVID-19, and the state also confirmed another 147 deaths linked to the disease.

The overall coronavirus pandemic totals for the state are 13,247 deaths, including 161 nonresidents, and at least 674,456 cases.

Dr. Redfield is absolutely correct and Donald John Trump is flat out wrong and spewing propaganda.

Donald John Trump DOES NOT HAVE CONTROL of the approval of vaccines, nor the mass distribution.

The FDA is only one agency in a sea of government agencies and private companies that filter information to find the absolute best practices in regard to discovery, producing vaccines for public protections, and finally distribution to administer the vaccine to the public.

AstraZeneca recently placed their vaccine testing on hold only to open up the research again. That is not uncommon, but, that testing is not occurring in the USA. The vaccine trials for AstraZeneca are taking place in the United Kingdom. The USA has absolutely no control over that development. Trump cannot speak to ANY vaccine process from research to distribution except for the few trials in the USA currently under process.

Additionally, the information about AstraZeneca's vaccine trial came from the actual company. It didn't come from Trump or any other entity in the USA. That is a profound deficit in the knowledge Trump has about vaccines. I am fairly certain that communication deficit exists with USA companies as well.

To be clear, research on vaccines is not a quick fix. The research first has to develop a STABLE vaccine. It then has to advance the vaccine through trials. Even if the trials turn out well, there is a question about the quality of the vaccine in mass production. There are also questions about STABLE vaccine distribution and maintaining refrigeration if needed. Some of the new techniques with this vaccine development at work have no sincere record to follow to be sure there are SECURE AND SAFE ways to mass-produce and distribute.

EVERYTHING AT THIS POINT IS IN FLUX. NONE OF THAT FLUX STATES THE VACCINE WILL BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON A BROAD SCALE ANYTIME SOON. 

Dr. Redfield's ESTIMATION of the availability of the vaccine reflects a man well prepared to talk to the topic and is connected to the international community to know the latest news. 

Donald John Trump wrongfully is removing the USA from being a member of the WHO. Donald John Trump is endangering American lives by doing so, because, the rest of the world is where the development from research to distribution is happening.

Every American should be grateful for Dr. Redfield and the CDC. It is reassuring to hear Dr. Redfield speak the truth and not the "Propaganda of Trump and the Trump Crisis."

Center for the Science in the Public Interest - Covid-19 e-page (click here)

Some of the vaccines under development (click here) use vaccine models that are not yet approved for human use. Development can start quickly in the initial phase, but new challenges can arise that delay development.

Documenting the safety and efficacy of a new candidate vaccine through human testing is imperative for a vaccine intended for the entire population. The benefit of vaccination should outweigh any potential risk of side effects. For some infections, antibodies produced after vaccination may exacerbate the disease when the vaccinated person is exposed to those infections. This will be closely monitored during testing of the candidate vaccines. It is crucial to show that this risk is not present in the vaccines selected for full development...

...WHO currently estimates that the vaccine production for extensive use can begin at the earliest in 12-18 months, i.e. in autumn 2021. After this, there must be strict prioritization. Prioritized groups are likely to be healthcare personnel and defined risk groups, but consideration will be given based on the status of the outbreak and which geographical areas need the vaccine most at the time.

Norway is in negotiations to participate in a procurement collaboration within the EU to ensure the possibility of buying vaccine doses for the Norwegian population. Meanwhile, Norway is also working to ensure the fair distribution of available vaccine doses to low- and middle-income countries.

The word vaccine is meaningless without providing a good TITER. Vaccine trials have to prove it produces an effective titer.

Titer and Vaccination Explanations (click here) – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY (it’ll save you time/$$) Serum titers are blood tests that measure whether or not you are immune to a given disease(s). More specifically a quantitative serum titer is a titer with a numerical value indicating your actual degree of immunity to a disease(s). The clinical sites you may visit or be working at require documented proof of immunity in the form of quantitative titers – simply getting the vaccination is not enough. Therefore when titers are drawn they must be quantitative titers, and you must provide copies of the official laboratory printouts containing the numerical values for Mumps, Measles, Rubella, Varicella, and Hep B immunity (see examples of a sample lab result on the following page)....

Below is the tried and true standard for obtaining titers. This is what Dr. Redfield is looking at to determine the safety and effectiveness of any vaccine.  

...4. Once vaccinated, titers should not be drawn until 6-8 weeks after the vaccination.

Why? 

If drawn too soon afterwards, the titers will indicate non-immunity as the vaccine will still be in your system. Don’t make the mistake of getting a titer drawn prematurely in order to meet the deadline. Please contact us if this is your situation so that we can work with you....

Donald John Trump is a criminal in attacking the experts at the CDC. He is willing to put people in danger.

I applaud Dr. Redfield for stating the mask is 100 percent safe whereby vaccinations may only be 70 percent safe.

We are very lucky to have masks that work to protect our lives. The reality is that a mask, while not an N95 mask, is still preferred to nothing.

That blue mask in the picture is exactly the same mask that surgeons and operating room nurses wear or better said, did wear into surgery. The reason was to protect the patient's surgical wound from contamination.

Now, the PPE for nurses and doctors is far more complicated because the virus is easily passed on to others from patients. In the light of SARS-CoV-2 the need by hospital professionals is different and they have added goggles and a face shield. 

But, before this particular virus, that blue mask was the "go to" mask for surgeons and the operating room staff. It worked well and now it is still working well to protect the American people. Whoever made the original suggestion was genius. It is a perfectly good barrier to infection and no one should ever doubt it.

Anyone, including the president, that contradicts Dr. Redfield is committing a criminal act that endangers Americans. The American people need the full approval of the FDA before they will trust a vaccine. There is a lot of apprehension among Americans because they feel their president is cutting corners that will lead to their health problems and they are correct. All this time the people that have contracted COVID-19 could have been safe from it if mask wearing was as widespread as Trump's propaganda.

September 16, 2020

President Trump claimed (click here) at a press briefing on Wednesday that CDC director Robert Redfield was wrong when he testified to Congress that a coronavirus vaccine won't be available for widespread distribution until the second or third quarter of 2021.

Why it matters: Trump has already faced criticism for allegations that his administration has politicized the coronavirus response and is seeking rapid approval and distribution of a vaccine in order to boost his re-election campaign.

Trump went on later in the briefing to say Redfield was wrong when he said that masks are "more guaranteed" to protect against the coronavirus than a vaccine: "As far as the masks are concerned, he made a mistake."

The president's contradiction of Redfield, who he said was probably "confused," may further erode public trust.

The big picture: A vaccine has not been submitted for the FDA to review, and even that may not happen by Trump's aggressive October estimate for distribution. Whenever a vaccine is approved, it will take several more months to manufacture enough of it to even begin vaccinating the general public....

He is the chosen one.

He is the Qanon chosen one. Trump is a crackpot. What does being the chosen one have to do with Chinese espionage? Is Barr working on the Austin Steinbart case? Why was he on probation?

It looks like the "Daily Beast" has been following this dangerous group.

April 7, 2020

By Will Sommer

...Steinbart’s arrest (click here) marks just the latest time a QAnon believer has been charged with a crime. Two others have been charged with murder, including one accused of murdering the head of the Gambino crime family. The conspiracy theory has also surfaced in two child kidnapping plots, and a 2018 terrorist incident near the Hoover Dam....

The "Deep State" is the only excuse the group has to justify its past and current legal status. It is so difficult to believe a president of the USA would indulge a group of criminals. This is his base. Trump is more than an extremist, he is a danger to this country. He probably will sign pardons to all the members of Qanon now in prison and jail should he be re-elected.

In days gone by in the USA, in the 1980s, these groups existed as terrorist groups. The one group that comes to mind is "The United Freedom Front." These were domestic terrorists (click here). United Freedom Front members, one being Thomas Manning (click here) assassinated State Police Officer Philip Lamonaco on Interstate 80 in New Jersey.

The groups of those days blamed the "Deep State" then, too. They (click here) didn't call it that, but, basically, it amounted to that. A famous person named Patty Hearst was kidnapped from her family and brainwashed about the evil intent of the government. She eventually would be arrested and returned to her family. That is the sort of thing that reminds me of Qanon.

Basically, it is a group of people that have attached themselves to an American billionaire that is not above corruption. Trump is a very corrupt person and very corruptible. He and his family pursue all these peripheral groups and FAD interests to bring them on as their base. That dynamic is wrong and quite possibly criminal when considering who these people are regardless of the innocent Americans captured/kidnapped through media corruption by people like David Pecker.

There is an entire segment of the USA population that completely rejects what is now known as "Mainstream Media." Those people, in my opinion, have been captured as hostages for their votes. They do not have even "low information" to formulate their votes, they have no information except for the entertainment industry that brings them false ideas about life. I think the lack of information has placed poor or low-income white men at risk for this level of exploitation.

It is definitely an exploitation of unwitting Americans. An example of that is Cesar Sayoc. He bought it all. The lies, the hypermasculine ideology about fighting against the Deep State, and the violence. Trump comes across as a real person that can be counted on to change the reality of the impoverished. Here is a billionaire that has come to the hard-working people as a savior to their own reality.

I think Qanon is a dangerous domestic terrorist group seeking to control outcomes of their agenda and members. Domestic terrorists is more than bombs. It is also about dismantling the USA democracy through cyber threats instilling fear and isolating people into a false reality.

Is there any doubt that African American men have been and are at risk for police brutality? Why is Trump denying that reality? Political manipulation of the truth for his own benefit, that's why. Michael Brown's heinous death often plays in my heart. As far as I am concerned Trump is a member of Qanon.

There is only one reason to isolate, lie, and deceive Americans and that is to divide the country and cause dangerous confrontation between the people. Trump is the ringmaster of this violent circus.

The people and the USA military need USGS to REASSESS the stability of the Gulf Coast. Florida knows what sinkholes are all too well. This is not fast-moving storms that cause flash flooding, these are sustained rains that cause saturation of the land. Sand will settle when water starts to recede. Sand can "bridge" leaving unknown caverns below the land. 

It is just time. It has been years now that the coastal areas from Texas to North Carolina have received sustained rains with high winds and flooding. The entire region needs to be reassessed for instability.

This is the second or third year that the USA military had catastrophic storms hit their stations along the Gulf Coast.

September 15, 2020

By Corey Dickstein

Washington - Gulf Coast military installations (click here) from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle were bracing Tuesday evening for the impact of slow-moving Hurricane Sally, which forecasters warned could drop record, life-threatening rainfall on the region in the coming days.

The Category 1 storm was expected to make landfall near the Mississippi-Alabama border late Tuesday or early Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Late Tuesday, Hurricane Sally was moving at about 2 mph in a slightly northeastern direction, threatening to cause flooding at military posts including Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, and Naval Air Station Pensacola, Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field in Florida.

National Hurricane Center forecasters on Tuesday had issued hurricane warnings along the Gulf Coast from Bay St. Louis in Mississippi to Navarre in Florida. They warned the slow-moving nature of the storm could bring “historic life-threatening” storm surge and flash flooding to locations in those areas....

September 16, 2020

By Brett Clarkson, Robin Webb, Brooke Baitinger and Victoria Ballard

Hurricane Sally, (click here) a slow-moving catastrophe that was dropping historic amounts of rain on the Florida Panhandle and southeast Alabama, has put downtown Pensacola under three feet of water.

The storm came ashore at the Alabama-Florida line on Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane and was pummeling the U.S. Gulf Coast with rain totals measured in feet, life-threatening storm surge and dangerous flooding.

And still more rain was expected as Sally inches slowly inland through Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.

“Historic and catastrophic flooding, including widespread moderate to major river flooding, is unfolding,” the hurricane center said in the 11 a.m. Wednesday public advisory about the hurricane....

Every one of those glowing orbs contains a prophecy. A completely different prophecy. Caputo opened an orb. There is medication for that.

 I just couldn't help myself. It is a powerful scene. I know, I am a Potter fan.

Having Qanon backing Trump sounds interesting.

Qanon has been trying to state they are running down pedophilia as part of the Deep State. If the Deep State isn't fighting the crime of pedophilia, Qanon is the savior of us all. Well, Q's savior in Trump will prove to be problematic when it comes to fighting pedophilia.

October 12, 2020

By Tessa Stuart

...“He just came strolling right in,” (click here) Dixon said. “There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Others girls were naked. Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half-naked changing into our bikinis.”

Dixon went on to say that employees of the Miss Universe Organization encouraged the contestants to lavish Trump with attention when he came in. “To have the owner come waltzing in, when we’re naked, or half-naked, in a very physically vulnerable position and then to have the pressure of the people that worked for him telling us to go fawn all over him, go walk up to him, talk to him, get his attention…”

Now, Trump is texting that Joe Biden is a pedophile. One of the best ways to deflect accusations Trump has accumulated during the days with Miss Teen America and being friendly with Jeffery Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell is to accuse others. Certainly, if accusing others makes the accuser innocent. I would think a lawsuit for such slander should begin against Trump. But, people like Joe Biden are forgiving in the name of politics.

Do different than Trump's commutations and pardons, he reached out to Maxwell after her arrest. He wanted to let her know he believes this is all unfair and his pardon pen is ready.

August 4, 2020

By Meagan Vazquez

Washington - President Donald Trump (click here) is now saying that he wished Ghislaine Maxwell well after she was arrested because he doesn't want her to die in jail like her former boyfriend and alleged accomplice, Jeffrey Epstein.

In an interview with "Axios on HBO" that aired Monday night, Trump was asked why he wished Maxwell well when she's been arrested on allegations of child sex trafficking.

"Well, first of all you don't know that," Trump said to the allegations of child sex trafficking. "Her friend or boyfriend (Epstein) was either killed or committed suicide. She's now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well. I'd wish you well.

I'd wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty."

Maxwell is charged with enticement and conspiracy to entice minors, as young as 14, to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation and conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and two counts of perjury. She has denied any wrongdoing....

September 15, 2020

By Dana Milbank

From an objective viewpoint, (click here) QAnon conspiracy theories are not exactly batting a thousand.

It does not appear to have been true, for example, that John F. Kennedy Jr. faked his death and masqueraded as bearded Trump supporter Vincent Fusca so that he could reveal his true identity at President Trump’s Fourth of July celebration, where he was to replace Vice President Pence as Trump’s running mate.

Neither does it seem to be the case that Austin Steinbart, a man many once believed to be “Q,” had prophetic insight into the inner workings of the U.S. government because he received messages from his future self through quantum computing. Steinbart, recently jailed for violating the terms of his pre-trial release on extortion charges, had in his possession a prosthetic penis called a “Whizzinator” used for falsifying drug tests, the Daily Beast’s Will Sommer reports.

Nor was Hillary Clinton imprisoned in October 2017, as Q had promised — though it cannot be ruled out that the real Clinton, as some QAnon adherents hold, was indeed arrested and the one walking free today is a clone....

I guess the chant came from the QAnon conspiracy. The BASELESS chant is a conspiracy prophecy. "The heart of this new movement..." is based in prophecy? Really? Not only do Americans have a new movement, but, so does the Republican Party. Wow. The GOP is now a prophecy based political organization. The USA doesn't need prophecy, it needs scientists.

Where is the EPA?

The USA needs a lesson out of the lives of the Chinese. The Chinese frequently wear masks WHEN THEY CAN SEE THE AIR. WHITE AIR. It chokes them and they need masks, but, not the same kind of masks that serve as a good face covering for the virus. The masks Americans need outside are "particulate masks with a filter."

That is why the EPA should be in the country MEASURING the PARTICULATE SIZE in the smoke throughout the country. A lot of Americans understand particulate masks when they are involved in home renovation or using spray paint. Those masks may not be enough in ending the assault of the CONTAMINATED AIR. 

I guarantee you, there are hospital emergency rooms flooded with children with asthma. There are adults there as well. Asthma can become very severe and people are on ventilators to help them breath.

If parents want to protect their children outside, it means using a particulate mask that works to prevent inhalation of the contamination. Here again, the O2 (click here) mask has a strong filter that takes care of that problem.

Now, that smoke is going to make it into every home along the way. The thing is this, the contamination will be mostly invisible rather than white air. Homes will filter the air as it exchanges with the outside, so the CONCENTRATION of the white air is less, that doesn't mean the contaminants are less. Every home in the USA will need a home air purifier until the contamination stops.

EPA under Trump will probably deny any need for special masks or that asthma is a problem for hospitals or that there is a need for home air purifiers. I fully expect the US EPA under Trump to do nothing but DENY and/or diminish the seriousness of the air contamination. WHAT IS NEEDED BY THE EPA and these are the people that work in the field, not from Washington, DC; IS A MEASUREMENT OF THE PARTICULATE SIZE OF THE CONTAMINATION. The size of the particulates will determine the degree of filtration needed by Americans both inside their home environment and outside.

Until provided by car manufacturers in the owner's manual wear particulate masks in the car. Not just the driver, but, all people in the car. Perhaps even "Spot" may need a mask if the dog will wear one.

CAR OR TRUCK AIR CONDITIONERS MAY NOT FILTER ALL OF THAT CONTAMINATION.

I am not endorsing any product. As a matter of fact, I do not have this product in my home. Most of the time there are Air Purifiers that are reasonably priced with good shopping.

ALWAYS BEWARE OF FRAUD AND THE HYSTERIA THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT. Buying poor products or falling for fear-driven products could lead to problems without achieving the protection consumers are looking for in their hard-earned money expenditures.

Deal with reputable people and stores, online or otherwise.

ProtonPure (click here) ended up being leagues ahead of all the other air purifiers we tried..

It passed every test with flying colors, including the most important one – purifying air at home to improve our health and well being.

Much of ProtonPure’s killer benefits are due to the advanced, ultrasonic HEPA technology it uses, which has never been seen in an air purifier until now. The other devices need to take note – this is the technology we need in 2020.

Under controlled testing, ProtonPure destroyed more harmful germs and bacteria than any other device, eliminating over 99% of them in just a few minutes. For such a small device, the results were remarkable to say the least....

"Pay as you go" means those with illness have the expense.

Trump has no health care plan on paper, as there was the ACA. There are no contractual involvement.

Please don't give him the benefit of the doubt. He is an extremist.

There is a movement within some states to remove insurance payments for major diagnostic tools, such as a CT Scan. Clinics with these scans are stating, "It only costs $300.00." They point out that payments by customers with health care insurance can reach $300.00 anyway with co-pays, etc. They are advocating "pay as you go" and not a formal CONTRACTUAL plan.

There are frequently advertisements to consumers for diagnostic services that cost less than $200. They do all sorts of tests based on THE REQUEST for testing, not the INDICATION for testing.

It is my opinion that is why Trump isn't releasing a plan because if he were to get a second term and possibly a third, he will end contractual health care insurance policies.

I might add, Russia conducts medical procedures to "the herd." The best example was laser surgery to eyes to eliminate the need and cost of eyeglasses. The "Pay as You Go" method is not different, just based on capitalism. People will fear they need the testing and will seek it regardless of indications. "The herd" will respond out of fear. Profits will be made.

Who are the investors to United Launch Alliance? It is never clear if Russia and/or China oligarches are involved at some level.

United Launch Alliance (click here)

It is worrisome when a major and trusted company simply drops out of a program. The Space Force is a new entity in the military and it is troubling it is carrying this level of weight with decision-makers. I am all about competition, but, this is an alarming result. Trump asked NASA if they would have a manned Mars mission in his four years. I am concerned there are shortcuts being pushed for whatever reason the politicians decide are important.

What also worries me is the very casual relationship McConnell and Trump enjoy with other countries primarily considered enemies to the USA. 

September 14, 2020
By Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman (click here) says it will not continue development of the OmegA rocket after the U.S. Space Force last month picked United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as the military’s two top launch contractors over the next seven years.

A company spokesperson said Sept. 9 that Northrop Grumman is not protesting the Space Force’s decision in the National Security Space Launch competition.

“We have chosen not to continue development of the OmegA launch system at this time,” Northrop Grumman said. “We look forward to continuing to play a key role in National Security Space Launch missions and leveraging our OmegA investments in other activities across our business.”

Northrop Grumman proposed the OmegA launch system to the Pentagon in a competition for lucrative contracts to haul national security satellites into orbit. Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance were the other competitors....

Trump is the irresponsible reason for the season.

How many decision-makers are involved with the Republican Party? And did Trump call his usual game ball that he would withhold funds, such as grants and loans if the season didn't happen? That is Trump's favorite leverage point, if so and so doesn't do thus and such they will lose their federal money.

Parents and players are not happy. What are they starting a season for when their own players don't want to play? Makes no sense. It is well known that the virus will damage the heart and other areas of the body with micro-clots. An athlete is their mind, body, and strength. This decision is irresponsible.

Se;ptember 19, 2020
By Emily Giambalvo

...President Trump has advocated (click here) that the Big Ten, which spans multiple states critical to his reelection campaign, return to play as soon as possible. He spoke with Warren earlier this month, with both Trump and the Big Ten describing the call as a “productive conversation.” The conference then reiterated in a statement that the presidents and chancellors “are exhausting every resource to help student-athletes get back to playing the sports they love, at the appropriate time, in the safest and healthiest way possible.”...

...In the Big Ten, the counties of six schools — Penn State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and Nebraska — are averaging more than 30 new cases per 100,000 people per day, according to Washington Post data....

...Schneider is one of many cardiovascular experts concerned about the nascent, growing body of evidence about how covid-19 affects the heart. The studies have not focused on athletes, but their findings have implications for the sports world. Research raises the possibility that athletes who recover from covid-19 may face dire or lasting heart complications, and medical experts have urged cardiac screening for athletes returning to play after contracting the virus. Two high-level athletes — including the projected Opening Day starter for the Boston Red Sox — have reported heart issues in the wake of recovery from covid-19....

The NFL had to come to terms with brain concussion, it is time athletic decision-makers come to terms with the chronic COVID-19 disease that lingers past the illness.

The colleges are going to have questionable reputations after this season, because, it is almost as though the current players are disposable for those that won't be facing this disease in the future. The colleges cannot guarantee safety to their players and they are proceeding anyway. It is no different than the foolhardiness of opening campuses up in the first place. What are they thinking? Money is not a reason to place danger into student life.

When students, be they athletes are not, are exposed to the virus, it changes the trajectory of their education and lives. COVID-19 is difficult to recover from and requires months of time to be able to return to a somewhat normal life and that does not at all include those with disabilities. When is this country going to stop listening to the money handler in the Oval Office and put health and well being first?

Students have a lot on the line as opposed to decision-makers. When one student, only one, falls ill the decision-makers reputation has to be as scarred as the life their decision effected. 

When people sue a city and win, they are now creating a financial burden to that city.

That financial burden is important. It brings about reflection of the city's government and should result in legislative changes that changes the problem that caused the death in the first place.

These financial settlements are important to invoke social reform. These settlements add to the cities taxes, too. So, that millage in property taxes increase will bring about a political resolve by the people as well. Ms. Baker knew what she was doing in holding the City of Louisville, Kentucky responsible for an innocent person's death.

September 15, 2020

Louisville, Kentucky -  A settlement has been reached in a wrongful death civil lawsuit (click here) between the family of Breonna Taylor and the city of Louisville.

The deal includes $12 million for the family and more "significant" police reforms, including new drug testing rules for LMPD officers, an incentive for officers to live in specific neighborhoods and a new level of scrutiny over search warrants.

Mayor Greg Fischer announced the changes at 2 p.m. with Taylor's family, attorneys Lonita Baker and Ben Crump, and others.

Baker says they would not negotiate a civil settlement unless it came with police reforms....

So far the USA normalization agreements are all politics.

The Arab countries have stated they came to the agreements of normalization to move Palestine to a two state solution. It is good to hear those words again, but, where is the roadmap for Palestine. We have been here before with a future full of promises, but, no material movement.

PALESTINE IS NOT AT THE TABLE.

September 9, 2020

Saudi Arabia has told an Arab League (click here) meeting it supports all efforts to reach a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

But a statement released by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on remarks made by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud included no direct mention of a normalisation deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

The prince said Riyadh supported the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the borders before the 1967 Middle East war, with East Jerusalem as its capital, according to the statement.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia opened up its airspace to Israel-UAE flights after the normalisation deal but has said it will not follow the United Arab Emirates until the Jewish state has signed an internationally recognised peace accord with Palestine....

Where is the extra UAE oil going?

September 15, 2020

By Tsvetena Paraskova

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), (click here) currently OPEC’s third-largest producer, breached its OPEC+ oil production quota by a massive 520,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed on Tuesday, suggesting that one of Saudi Arabia’s allies in ‘leading by example’ in the deal could be the cartel’s new compliance headache.

According to IEA’s Oil Market Report, cited by Bloomberg, the UAE pumped 3.11 million bpd in August, up by 240,000 bpd from July and 520,000 bpd above its ceiling of 2.59 million bpd as per the OPEC+ deal.

Using tanker-tracking data, the IEA estimated that OPEC’s third-largest producer exported as much as 2.7 million bpd in August, stockpiled oil at a rate of 115,000 bpd, processed 370,000 bpd at refineries, and blended 100,000 bpd of condensate in its crude streams, Bloomberg reports.  

Earlier this month, the UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei himself admitted that the UAE’s production increased to the above-quota 2.693 million bpd in August, but that “measures have been taken to compensate for this temporary increase due to peak summer electricity demand in the UAE, which required an increase in oil production and associated gas.”...

August 20, 2020

...Ahead of a virtual meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers, (click here) Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak had welcomed data showing producers had by July implemented 95 per cent of the cuts agreed.

Following the meeting, the oil cartel said in a statement that figure was as high as 97 per cent if Mexico was included, welcoming "significant performance in overall conformity".

Nevertheless, "100 per cent conformity from all participating countries... and compensating for the shortfalls in May, June and July 2020 is not only fair, but vital for the ongoing rebalancing efforts and to help deliver long-term oil market stabilty," it added.

The coronavirus pandemic slammed the global economy earlier this year, plunging oil prices into unprecedented negative territory before top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to put aside their differences and make common cause to halt the slide...

Putin really has no interest in Ukraine anymore. The people have decided democracy is just fine.

'Two Ukraines' Reconsidered: The End of Ukrainian Ambivlance?

Abstract

The 2014 Russo-Ukrainian war, (click here) euphemistically called the ‘Ukraine crisis’,has largely confirmed,on certain accounts,a dramatic split of the country and people’s loyalties between the proverbial ‘East’ and ‘West’, between the ‘Eurasian’ and ‘European’ways of development epitomized by Russia and the European Union. By other accounts, however, it has proved that the Ukrainian nation is much more united than many experts and policymakers expected, and that the public support for the Russian invasion, beyond the occupied regions of Donbas and Crimea, is close to nil.This article does not deny that Ukraine is divided in many respects but argues that the main–and indeed the only important–divide is notnbetween ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, or Russophones and Ukrainophones, or the ‘East’ and the ‘West’. The main fault line is ideological – between two different types of Ukrainian identity: non/anti-Soviet and post/neo-Soviet, ‘European’ and ‘East Slavonic’. All other factors, such as ethnicity, language, region, income, education, or age, correlate to a different degree with the main one. However divisive those factors might be, the external threat to the nation makes them largely irrelevant, bringing instead to the fore the crucial issue of values epitomized in two different types of Ukrainian identity.

I hope the USA military has a hand on Alexander Vindeman safety. There is no reason for him to travel.

Former Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (click here) will serve as a visiting fellow at Penn’s Perry World House this academic year.

He is a great American. I am confident his future will be on the path of the civilian side of service. I look forward to his involvement.

Putin (click here) has more riding on this election than Trump and Alexander Vindeman could be viewed as a threat. 

The USA military should ensure his and his family's safety for at least a year after leaving the military. It is the right thing to do.

He still lives according to the US Army's seven values; 

• Loyalty. Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other Soldiers. ...
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• Duty. Fulfill your obligations. ...
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• Respect. Treat people as they should be treated. ...
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• Selfless Service. Put the welfare of the Nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own. ...
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• Honor. ...
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• Integrity. ...
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• Personal Courage.