By destroying the bridge Russia built to illegally annex Crimea, clearly demonstrates the lack of sovereignty Russia held over the region. It is very unfortunate Russia invaded Crimea at all after the tragedy of the Maidan. Needless to say hostilities existed in Ukraine long before 2014.

I will be blogging tomorrow. I think it will be surprisingly interesting to many.

The rest of the world knows Russia can't win. General Petraeus needs to tell Putin that.

It is about time.

It is the delay and disregard that is equally appalling.

October 4, 2022
By Caleb Holloway

Flint - A Michigan judge dismissed cases (click here) against seven defendants facing criminal charges in the Flint water crisis Tuesday, including two former state health officials blamed for nine deaths linked to Legionnaires' disease.

The cases against the following individuals were dismissed by Judge Elizabeth Kelly:

Jarrod Agen
Gerald Ambrose
Richard Board
Darnell Earley
Former state health director Nicolas "Nick" Lyon
Nancy Peeler
Former chief medical executive Eden Wells
Simply put, there are no valid charges,” Kelly said.

Kelly's actions occurred three months after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled a one-judge grand jury had no authority to issue indictments. She said the indictments issued against the defendants were invalid and the charging process was void, ruling the cases are dismissed without prejudice. Kelly rejected the typical path to filing felony charges in Michigan. She rebuffed efforts by the attorney general's office to just send the cases to Flint District Court and turn them into criminal complaints.

The ruling from the Circuit Court was provided to WEYI by Attorney Chip Chamberlain, praising Kelly's decision and urging the attorney general's office to close a “misguided prosecution.”...

It is difficult enough to realize in an American city the water supply was simply out of control, in cost and quality. Then to realize the State of Michigan with then Republican Governor Rick Snyder in control of the business of the state simply disregarded the problems manifesting in Flint for over one year. That is what is so disturbing about the Flint Water Crisis.

Snyder had to know what was transpiring because of the deaths by Legionnaire's Disease. That is a rare occurrence in the USA. The bacteria only manifests in specific situations. There is reporting of deaths from Legionnaire's Disease. They knew and persisted with the outrageous financial plans at the cost of health of the people of Flint.

It is blatant racism. I don't see it any other way. There were people at the highest levels of government simply looking the other way because it was Flint, Michigan and a minority town. The arrogance that went along with the poisoned water is a criminal act. People were responsible for these deaths as well as the damage to the children and people bathing in that water and in the beginning drinking it. Government's first obligation is to the safety of citizens. It is why they are elected, not to the tax man or some idea of a balanced budget for every city in the state, but, to the well being of the people, especially children.

The lack of accountability for the Flint Water Crisis is simply nothing that makes sense to most people. The water was altered intentionally for the sake of a balance budget in Flint. That completely lacks conscience and no one is held responsible yet.

October 4, 2022

By Dawn Jones

Flint - For more than eight years (click here) since the Flint water crisis began, Claudia Perkins has been on the front lines letting her voice be heard.

She was outraged on Tuesday that no one is being held criminally responsible for the crisis after a Genesee County judge dismissed charges against seven of the nine defendants.

The ruling from Judge Elizabeth Kelly came after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in August that the one-man grand jury process used to file charges against nine suspects is improper and the indictments are invalid.

"It's appalling," Perkins said....

While Claudia Perkins is a water crisis advocate she would also like to have a responsible role with the children in town by running for the Flint School Board.

"Mary Jane" is finally legal.

For information (click here) on recreational marijuana, please visit our State-by-State Recreational Marijuana Laws resource.

October 6, 2022

By Michael D. Shear

Washington - President Biden on Thursday (click here) pardoned all people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and said his administration would review whether marijuana should still be a Schedule 1 drug like heroin and LSD, saying that “makes no sense.”

The pardons will clear about 6,500 people who were convicted on federal charges of simple possession of marijuana from 1992 to 2021 and thousands more who were convicted of possession in the District of Columbia, officials said ahead of the president’s announcement.

Mr. Biden urged governors to follow his lead for people convicted on state charges of simple possession. The number of convictions under state laws vastly outnumbers those who have been charged with a violation of federal laws, limiting the overall reach of the president’s actions on Thursday....

Nano CBD is supposed to be the fountain of youth. (click here)

There is no way marijuana should be a scheduled one drug. It is ridiculous.

Schedule I (click here)

Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote.

Heroine and LSD are where they belong, however, LSD is beginning to be used in trials to treat intractable mental illness. It is having an effect. Marijuana has always been classified wrong. The reason is was put into the Schedule One category is the myth that it leads to addition to other substances. It doesn't. There are no cravings for any other drug while under the influence of "Mary Jane." The only thing people on a diet might want in the house if using it recreationally instead of alcohol (liver involvement) is plenty of low carb and low calorie food.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (click here) is often a chronic condition, despite the availability of various evidence-based treatment options. Psychedelics offer new treatment opportunities. 

AIM: An overview of the current evidence, therapeutic context, and possible mechanisms of action of different types of psychedelics in the treatment of PTSD.

METHOD: A scoping review of the available literature.

RESULTS: MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine - click here) - assisted psychotherapy has shown to produce lasting reductions in PTSD symptoms in multiple RCTs. Based on a small number of studies, ketamine administration appears to lead to temporary symptom relief. Current studies are investigating whether the use of ketamine in combination with psychotherapy can lead to lasting reductions in PTSD symptoms. Classical psychedelics (such as psilocybin and LSD) induce psychoactive effects (on behavior or experience) that could contribute to the psychotherapeutic treatment of PTSD but have not yet been investigated in controlled studies. Reported positive effects extend beyond PTSD symptoms only.

CONCLUSION: Psychedelics may have potential to serve as a catalyst for the psychotherapeutic treatment of PTSD. Most evidence exists for MDMA-supported psychotherapy; relatively little research is available on ketamine and classical psychedelics. Future research needs to show whether the use of psychedelics can be integrated into available treatment options for PTSD.

If drugs such as these give relief and partly cures mental illness such as PTSD, it certainly should be used to begin to claim lives away from suicide. I have seen a film on the use of such medications in THERAPY SESSIONS. It really is remarkable how the mind ALLOWS these good feelings to take over the disorientation of PTSD. It is worth considering an "investigational" trial with NIH. Seriously. The alternative is final. Investigational drugs are a last ditch effort to save lives. These trials should include mental health that leads to suicide as well.

MDMA is considered an Empathogen. (click here) These increase a person’s feeling of empathy and benevolence towards others, as well as feelings of being socially accepted and connected.

They can increase friendliness and playfulness, but can also cause mood swings, dehydration and depression. Empathogens are sometimes referred to as entactogens (click here).

America doesn't have an energy crisis. It has a internal combustion engine crisis.

electrify america (click here)

Page down to "Charging to explore for this page. Click on "DC Fast Charging." Thank you.
 

Other than the needs of allies, why is the USA exporting at all?

 Drive EV!

The United States has been an annual net total energy exporter since 2019 (click here)

Up to the early 1950s, the United States produced most of the energy in consumed.1 Starting in the mid-1950s, the United States began to import greater amounts of energy, particularly crude oil and petroleum products (such as gasoline and distillate fuels) to fill the gap between energy consumption and production. U.S. total energy imports generally increased every year until peaking in 2007. Total energy imports subsequently declined in most years through 2021 as increases in U.S. energy production offset the need for imports and also contributed to increases in U.S. energy exports.

U.S. annual total energy net imports (imports minus exports) generally increased in most years from the mid-1950s until peaking in 2005 and equal to about 30% of total U.S. energy consumption. Since then, total energy net imports generally declined each year to a record low in 2021. The United States became a net total energy exporter in 2019 for the first time since 1952 and maintained that position in 2020 and 2021. U.S. total energy exports exceeded total energy imports by about 3.82 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2021, the largest margin on record. U.S. total energy exports equaled about 25.25 quads, an increase of about 7.6% from 2020, and total energy imports were about 21.43 quads, an increase of about 7.2% from 2020....

Chevy Volt starts at $27,200 (click here). 2023 EVs are now available. That means the 2022s are on sale as well.

The Volkswagen ID4.

Assembled locally in Chattanooga, TN (click here) the 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 SUV is truly something to behold. On the outside, clean aerodynamic lines make for a striking presence on the road. On the inside, plenty of room makes for a spacious, comfortable cabin–it will transform how you think about electric cars. Best of all, it comes loaded with value.

Cost starts at $37,495.

Your 2022 Volkswagen ID.4® (click here) comes with 3 years of 30-minute complimentary charging.

ID.4 drivers can focus on the roads and possibilities ahead, leaving gas stations and MPG behind.

The Nissan Leaf (click here) was the first mass-market electric car sold in the United States. Yes, there were EVs available before the Leaf (General Motors' EV1 and Tesla's Roadster are two well-known examples), but it was Nissan that tried to thread the needle of zero-emission mobility with a cost of entry low enough to sell tens of thousands—as opposed to a few hundred or thousand—of EVs to interested customers....

ELECTRIC CARS	BASE PRICE	ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL EV TAX CREDIT	MINIMUM RANGE	MAXIMUM RANGE
2022 Nissan Leaf	$27,400	Yes	149	226
2022 Mini Electric Hardtop	$29,900	Yes	114	114
2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV	$31,500	No	259	259

The GOP is desperate enough to tell the truth about their priorities.

The GOP is about power. Not people. The GOP is always throwing away the rights of Americans to benefit their cronies, the people that give them money to take away civil rights and human rights in favor of corporate rights as if they were citizens.

The GOP is so scared about the 2022 elections that it is finally telling the truth about their priorities. The election is not about policy or programs, it is about taking power away from elected Democrats with a conscience. Just that simple.

October 5, 2022

By Andi Ortiz

The hosts of “The View” had no kind words for Dana Loesch (click here) on Wednesday morning, after Loesch said this week that “skanks” get abortions. The women went off on the conservative host, asking “What the hell was that?” and saying she “exposes the moral rot” of the party.

Loesch made her comments on “The First” on Tuesday, saying that “If ‘The Daily Beast’s story is true, you’re telling me Walker used his money to reportedly pay some skank for an abortion, and Warnock wants to use all of our moneys to pay an all bunch of skanks for abortion.” She added that, even if the report is true, she doesn’t care. “I don’t care if Herschel Walker paid to abort endangered baby eagles. I want control of the Senate,” she said.

In response, the women of “The View” were heated, with Whoopi Goldberg needing to bite her tongue a bit....

THE LADIES of the view are exactly correct and the Republicans have no respect for women proven by their lousy track record in women's rights.

Vladimir Putin is not to be trusted in any way.

There are no treaties he signs that are honored by Russia. He has violated every treaty he signed, especially regarding nuclear weapons of every variety of launch vehicle.

The communists of any country are not reliable partners, including China. The communists believe treaties are a weakness in democracies. Treaties are agreed to for developing strategic dominance and not for peace initiatives.

Vladimir Putin will violate the ABM treaty if he feels it will deliver him out of danger.

Putin violated Minsk I and Minsk II. He only signed them to take advantage of the Free World’s compliance. If a treaty is honored unilaterally it is not a treaty, but, a clever trick to be played for an advantage.

There is only one thing to understand about communists. Only one thing. The end justifies the means.

They are killers. They kill each other and their own people. Why? Because the end justifies the means.

Treaties only leverage power against free and peace loving democracies. They have no validity with communists. To recognize a reason for diplomacy regarding nuclear weapons only proves the dangers to people are real and out of control. The Non-proliferation treaty is the only one worth pursuing. It ends nuclear technology used for weapons that is easily verified.

The ABM Treaty does nothing about dismantling from nuclear weapons. It simply sets down words on a piece of paper. Those words mean nothing to Putin while they mean everything to the free world. How much of a means of safety can actually be garnered from a treaty that leaves nuclear weapons in place while asking “pretty please, don’t hurt me?”

This escalation by China is in concert with Putin.

September 16, 2022
By Francois Murphy

Vienna - China clashed (click here) with the countries in the so-called AUKUS alliance at the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Friday over their plan to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, capping a week in which Beijing has repeatedly railed against the project.

Under the alliance between Washington, London and Canberra announced last year Australia plans to acquire at least eight nuclear submarines that International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has said will be fuelled by "very highly enriched uranium", suggesting it could be weapons-grade or close to it....

Putin believed taking Ukraine away from Ukrainians would be a cake walk. Now. It is just yellow cake on Putin's agenda.

October 4, 2022

By Eliot A. Cohen

Tehran – Iran said (click here) on Monday London’s lack of “political will” has thwarted a deal with Kazakhstan on import of 950 tons of yellow cake, an acquisition that would not violate the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. 

Margarita Simonyan, (click here) the editor in chief of RT and one of Russia’s top propagandists, has in the space of seven months gone from supreme confidence that Kyiv would fall in days to something like despair at Russia’s shambolic mobilization and battlefield defeats. In addition to confessing to “terrible grief,” she admits that she now sings Russia’s national anthem using the old Soviet lyrics. That choice is appropriate, because Moscow now specializes in Soviet-style bluster and hysteria. Nowhere is this more evident than in the nuclear threats issued by President Vladimir Putin.

In his speeches announcing the annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts that his battered army does not fully control, Putin raised the specter of nuclear war. In the finest tradition of Soviet whataboutism, he spoke of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, calling them an American precedent for … what, he did not exactly say, but the meaning was clear. Since then, the menace has been amplified by subordinates like Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s security council, as well as panicky tub-thumpers like Simonyan’s colleague Vladimir Solovyov.

It is impossible for the USA (click here) to sit out any nuclear threat and exchange. No one believed Putin would lead according to a five year calendar that included invading Ukraine. He is now playing his hand as he planned it. The nukes are next. He has always stated he would use whatever it took to protect the Russia people. In his mind this is the time for such nuclear measures. No one has invaded Russia and partly that is the problem. Putin isn't rational in a way that most international relations play out, he is enamored with his 

Any threat to use nuclear weapons by a country that possesses them has to be taken seriously. That’s particularly true of Russia, a country whose military doctrine has always entertained the deployment of relatively low-yield nuclear weapons in a war. To be clear, low-yield can mean a detonation equivalent to 5,000 or 10,000 tons of TNT. When Soviet war plans for Europe were revealed after the Cold War, analysts blanched at the magnitude of the nuclear assault the Soviet general staff had contemplated as the preparatory bombardment for a potential drive to the English Channel....

Putin is not demented, his plans are demented and woefully bad in preparation and deployed. Putin has practiced brinkmanship and gotten away with it for far too long. He is convinced he is invincible. 

June 9, 2022

By Anton Trojanovski

Among President Vladimir V. Putin’s motives (click here) for invading Ukraine, his view of himself as being on a historic mission to rebuild the Russian Empire has always loomed large. On Thursday, Mr. Putin went further, comparing himself directly to Peter the Great.

It was a new, if carefully staged, glimpse into Mr. Putin’s sense of his own grandeur.

Mr. Putin on Thursday marked the 350th anniversary of Peter’s birth by visiting a new multimedia exhibit about the czar in Moscow. He then held a town-hall-style meeting with young Russian entrepreneurs and opened it by reflecting on Peter’s conquest of the Baltic coast during his 18th-century war with Sweden.

Mr. Putin described the land Peter conquered as rightfully Russian.

“He was returning it and strengthening it,” Mr. Putin said, leaning back in his armchair, before hinting with a smile that he was now doing the same thing in his war in Ukraine. “Well, apparently, it has also fallen to us to return and to strengthen.”...

Israel is no exception. There is danger coming. Putin is most probably assisting the Iranians.

Syria is right there. These are supposed to be Russian allies. I find the timing of Iran's statements about building/acquiring nuclear weapons ominous to Putin's ambitions. This is no consequence.

August 4, 2022
By Jon Gambrell

Dubai - Iranian officials (click here) now speak openly about something long denied by Tehran as it enriches uranium at its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade material: The Islamic Republic is ready to build an atomic weapon at will.

The remarks could be bluster to force more bargaining-table concessions from the U.S. without planning to seek the bomb. Or, as analysts warn, Iran could reach a point like North Korea did some 20 years ago where it decides having the ultimate weapon outweighs any further international sanctions.

All this could be put to the test Thursday as Iran, the U.S. and the European Union prepare for a snap summit that appears to be a last-ditch effort in Vienna to revive Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal amid the new pressure. That includes one Iranian video online suggesting the country’s ballistic missiles could “turn New York into a heap of rubble from hell.”...

Putin always denies his plans for aggression.

February 7, 2022
By Vladimir Kuznetsov and Nancy Cook

Institute for the Study of War (click here) with American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project

The U.S. ramped up warnings (click here) of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine, with President Joe Biden saying a “false-flag” event may be underway and a top diplomat describing Moscow as moving toward an “imminent invasion.”

Russian officials said no invasion of Ukraine was underway and none was planned. But the Kremlin said in an official response to the Biden administration’s proposed security assurances that the offers were unsatisfactory and Russia might have to resort to unspecified “military-technical measures.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken changed his travel plans Thursday to address the United Nations Security Council on the crisis. Russia expelled the U.S. deputy chief of mission in Moscow, Bart Gorman, in what a State Department spokesman called an unprovoked move....

The Free World needs to ready their first strike weapons. Ukraine must evacuate the provinces Russia is claiming is part of their country now. Putin will release nuclear horror on the land that is supposed to be part of his country. Absolutely, he will.

Moving military equipment by train is a favorite of Russian command. They are going to launch nukes and the Free World needs to have their first strike weapons ready for launch when Putin releases his particular type of heel.

October 4, 2022

Rare video (click here)

The Kremlin said on Tuesday (click here) that it did not want to take part in "nuclear rhetoric" from the West after a media report that Russia was preparing to demonstrate its willingness to use nuclear weapons in its conflict with Ukraine.

The Times newspaper reported on Monday that the NATO military alliance had warned members that President Vladimir Putin was set to demonstrate his willingness to use nuclear weapons by carrying out a nuclear test on Ukraine's border....

There is a counter to this report that is somewhat but not completely skeptical.

October 3, 2022

By Joseph Trevithick

Imagery has emerged on social media (click here) recently that shows one or more Russian trains carrying a number of rare 4x4 BPM-97 Vystrel light armored vehicles fitted with turrets armed with 30mm cannons. The movement of the BPM-97s has garnered unique interest as they may be associated with the Russian military's 12th Main Directorate, which oversees the country's nuclear arsenal. These observations come amid growing threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials in Russia about the potential use of nuclear weapons as Ukrainian forces continue regaining territory. As such, they seem to have led to some startling headlines that seem unsubstantiated. The fact is that while such a deployment could very well point to a more ominous nuclear operation in the works, there are many other reasons, some of them glaring, for such a movement, in addition to just normal training operations....

President Zelensky is a great man. He has accomplished what many believed impossible. However, he was in denial of any harsh actions by Putin and believed he would not invade Ukraine.

North Korea is practicing.

October 3, 2022
By Motoko Rich and Choe Sang-Hun

Tokyo - North Korea (click here) on Tuesday fired a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, the South Korean military said, prompting a rare warning by the Japanese government for residents in two northern prefectures to seek shelter.

The launch represented a major escalation by North Korea, which has conducted a flurry of missile tests in recent days as the United States and its allies held military drills in the region.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Defense, the missile passed over Japan toward the Pacific Ocean at 7:22 a.m. and landed in the ocean 17 minutes later. Japan said the missile crashed down outside its exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from its shores.

North Korea has fired 23 ballistic and other missiles this year — four just this week — but it was the first time since the 2017 launch that Japan had issued a warning for residents to take shelter....

USS Indiana reported in after a deployment of six months. They seem happy to be home.

11 August 2022

From Lt. Seth Koenig, Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic Public Affairs

“I could not be more proud (click here) of what this Hoosier crew has become and accomplished during this deployment,” said Cmdr. Scott Bresnahan, the commanding officer of USS Indiana. “Always humble and hungry, each Sailor showed no ceiling in the face of multiple dynamic challenges during a unique geopolitical environment. Most importantly, this crew became an even stronger family. Exceptionally supported by our loved ones at home, the Battle Bass and her crew met and exceeded every expectation while deployed, leaving an indelible impression on me and our Hoosier family.”

The ceremonial first kiss upon return to homeport was awarded to Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Trogdon and his wife and child, Lexie and Tucker Trogdon. The ceremonial first hug was awarded to Francesca Osborne and her dad, Chief Petty Officer Kirk Osborne.

“This is the moment we’ve been waiting six long months for,” said Rhonda Hatchett, the command ombudsman and wife of Petty Officer 2nd Class Cameron Hatchett. “The work our Sailors have been doing out at sea on behalf of our nation has been worthwhile and important. But now it’s time for their families to welcome them back home. We are all looking forward to spending time together again.”...

It is not a floating array. Don't ya want one?

October 3, 2022
By Li Cohen

The Babcock Ranch solar array, (click here) which is run by Florida Power and Light.

Hurricane Ian's impact on southwest Florida (click here) has been nothing short of devastating. But even as millions lost power, had their homes destroyed and were left in total disarray, one small community managed to get through relatively unscathed.

The community is known as Babcock Ranch, situated just 20 minutes away from downtown Fort Myers, an area among those hit hardest by the storm. The community calls itself "the world's first solar-powered town." But what makes life so different for the roughly 4,600 residents? It was built on the basis of sustainability for a future of survival.

"When storms take aim at southwest Florida and evacuation orders are issued, residents of Babcock Ranch are at a distinct advantage," a representative for the community, Lisa Hall, told CBS News. "Storm safety and resiliency has been factored into every element of design and engineering of the town."

Babcock Ranch rests on higher ground than much of the surrounding area – at least 25 feet or more above sea level – which the ranch says is "beyond the reach of coastal storm surge." All of the buildings and structures in the community are developed to withstand winds of up to 145 mph, or what would be a mid-range Category 4 hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson scale. Even the plants are able to withstand storms – the community relies on native flora that is generally better able to handle Florida's extreme weather and also reduce storm runoff and flooding.

On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that there were more than 2 million reported power outages in southwest Florida. Lee and Charlotte counties, "are basically off the grid at this point," he said that morning. But Babcock, located in Charlotte County, was the exception....

...“Powered by the Sun” (click here) is not just Babcock Ranch’s slogan, it’s the foundation upon which the new master-planned community is being built.

Early on, developer Kitson & Partners donated 800 acres at the town’s northern end to Florida Power & Light, which built its Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center there. Its 650,000 solar panels generate 149 megawatts of solar capacity, enough to power Babcock Ranch and surrounding areas. FPL added a state-of-the-art battery storage facility—the largest one operating in the U.S.—in 2018....

Don't wait until the rain starts falling, it is too late.

September 30, 2022
By Sara Burnett

..."This morning, Invest 98L (click here) strengthened into Tropical Depression Nine," the governor tweeted. "While the eventual track of #TD9 is uncertain, Floridians should remain vigilant and ensure their households are prepared for potential impact."...

The deaths and damage is directly the governor's fault. It is the governor's responsibility to protect the people and provide for the common good. When warnings turn into an "All Clear" signal, all the people need is to realize they are safe. Being careful is not a crime. Being inefficient to protect lives and property is caring. 

All those boats that became trash were many captains that misunderstood the danger. They simply had to move away to a safe port. Tragedy could have been averted.

October 3, 2022

By Emma Neuburger

Days after Hurricane Ian hit Florida and the Carolinas, (click here) residents are struggling to navigate flooded roads and neighborhoods and federal emergency management officials are conducting major search-and-rescue efforts amid the destruction.

The recorded death toll from the storm surpassed 80 over the weekend and is expected to rise as floodwaters recede and rescue teams are able to access new areas.

Insurers could also face costs of up to $57 billion from Hurricane Ian’s damage in Florida and South Carolina, risk modeling firm Verisk said Monday.

In Florida, which took the brunt of the hurricane, roughly 600,000 homes and businesses were without power as of Monday morning, down from a peak of 2.6 million on Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 1,600 people have been rescued across the state, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are traveling to Florida on Wednesday to assess the hurricane damage. Last week, the president said the destruction from Hurricane Ian is likely to be among the worst in the country’s history.

“We’re just beginning to see the scale of that destruction,” the president said during a briefing on Friday. “It’s likely to rank among the worst ... in the nation’s history.”...

Ah. The sanity of the Free World.

Why get upset, get busy.

October 3, 2022
By Jill Lawless

Birmingham, England - The Joint Expeditionary Force group of northern European nations (click here) will meet Monday to discuss the safety of undersea pipelines and cables after blasts ruptured two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said.

Wallace said the virtual meeting has been called by the U.K. and the Netherlands. The force brings together troops from 10 countries, including the Baltic and Nordic nations, and has seen its importance increase since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Wallace also said Britain will acquire two specialist ships to protect undersea cables and pipes, with the first “multi-role survey ship for seabed warfare” operational by the end of next year.

Undersea blasts that damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last week have led to huge methane leaks. Nordic investigators said the blasts involved several hundred pounds of explosives.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of sabotaging the Russia-built pipelines, a charge vehemently denied by the United States and its allies.

Britain has not officially blamed anyone for the blasts, but Wallace told the Conservative Party’s annual conference that “Putin’s reactions are wider than just Ukraine. His reach goes further. This week, we saw the ‘mysterious’ damage inflicted to the Nord Stream pipelines. And it should remind us all how fragile our economy and infrastructure is to such hybrid attacks.”

Britain has been a major contributor of military aid to Ukraine. Wallace said Britain would train another 20,000 to 30,000 Ukrainian troops in the U.K., in addition to the 10,000 it has trained this year....

The real question is what sovereign authority carried out such sabotage?

I find this sabotage all too interesting when one links it to the withdrawal of Russian troops from annexed Ukrainian soil.

October 3, 2022

By Rachel Treisman

A week after several suspicious ruptures (click here) were discovered along the undersea Nord Stream pipeline, gas has reportedly stopped leaking but the questions keep flowing. Namely: What — and who — caused the damage? And how can countries try to prevent similar incidents going forward?

Scientists say the two leaks were likely caused by powerful underwater explosions, based on seismic data from Sweden and Denmark. And European leaders believe those leaks were no accident, with NATO blaming "deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage."...

Russia is claiming the Free World, NATO specifically is responsible. It isn't. Winter is coming and NATO would not seek such resolve in a war that is undeclared by them.

If Putin has determined in his own mind that NATO is responsible for Gazprom's loss, it is a reason for him to declare war on NATO. It is what he wants. I have no doubt he has China at the ready and quite possibly North Korea. Venezuela.

Europe needs subzero sleeping bags until full swing of alternative energies are in place and they are self-sufficient again. I am serious about the sleeping bags.

I wish someone would run long lines of energy to Europe from the thermal beds of Iceland.

As far as I am concerned, the annexation of Ukraine land and the sabotage of Nord Stream are all Putin's plans for nuclear exchange.

I can hear it. Can't you?

Moscow, Russia - news report - "In a tirade, Putin states he will damn Europe to a dark and freezing winter. The sanctions will find a new victim, Europe, with the end of Nord Stream."

The issue is who throws the first punch? Will any Free World country feel compelled to end Putin and the communists? Is that what Putin is planning? Will he recline in Moscow with his many children and their mothers and wait for the first punch to be thrown? The evidence states differently. The removal of Russian soldiers and the end of Gazprom's excellent customer are the first salvos of Putin's deadly use of nuclear aggression.

Russia's allies are lining up. The Free World has enemies. This is not an isolated incident by Iran's Khamenei. Putin is telling all those he has coveted to oppress the misbehaving children and prepare for a greater unrest with The West.

October 3, 2022

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (click here) responded publicly on Monday to the biggest protests in Iran in years, breaking weeks of silence to condemn what he called “rioting” and accuse the U.S. and Israel of planning the protests.

Khamenei said he was “heartbroken” by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police, which set off the nationwide protests. However, he sharply condemned the protests as a foreign plot to destabilize Iran, echoing authorities’ previous comments....

Russia is defeated.

Vladimir Putin is talking tough because he wants to move the war from Ukraine to a larger venue that invites the Free World. Why? Because he has nothing left but any nuclear armament.

Vladimir Putin has stayed as the Russian president far, far too long. He needs to retire immediately and end the aggressions he thinks he can wage which ultimately will invade Russia itself.

Sometimes I really think leaders like Putin take the wrong message from the USA's victory over Japan in WWII. It is easy for military leaders to sit back and examine the aftermath of the WWII use of two nuclear bombs and think that is a viable solution. It is not.

After WWII the USA began reparations. Those reparations were extensive and brought a new society to Japan. Those reparations changed the future of Japan, HOWEVER, the USA never took Japan as a province. The surrender of Japan also provided for a culture that adheres to the new ruler. In other words, if a Japanese emperor was vanquished, the new emperor would receive the loyalty of the people. That loyalty was a survival mechanism, so, the movement of Japan to an entirely different country was highly cultural. That is not the case with every country after WWII.

Post WWII the USA has an ally, not a colony. Japan governs itself. The bombs dropped by the USA over two cities in Japan were to end a war, not begin a new one and has never been repeated.

The plans to take parts of Ukraine and the withdrawal of the Russian forces could be an overture to the use of nuclear devices. It would be a folly if Putin thinks he can get away with such tactics.

The Ukrainian military should consider further evacuations of citizens and a withdrawal as well, if nuclear preferences are going to be deployed over these so called annexed provinces. It will render the land unusable, but, Russia is used to exactly that. If Russians can't live there why should everyone else? There are no words to describe Putin at this moment in history, except, Satan in flesh.

 

They mean it.

I fully believe if it weren't for Donald John Trump these groups would still be on the periphery of society and living as criminals in many instances. The occasional out lash of a pizza delivery boy killing an innocent person was always contained. Tragic, yes, but, there was no ruthless mob trying to end the existence of the USA.

October 3, 2022
By Rachel Weiner, Spencer S. Hsu and Tom Jackman

Jessica Watkins marches down the east front steps of the U.S. Capitol with other Oath Keepers affiliates on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Stewart Rhodes (click here) is on trial in federal court in Washington along with four people described by prosecutors as “top lieutenants” in the militia-movement group he founded, the Oath Keepers. Rhodes is the highest-profile defendant charged so far in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and is accused of steering a months-long effort to prevent by force the swearing-in of President Biden. Rhodes is among 14 fighting the historically rare charge of seditious conspiracy in what the government has called one of the largest investigations in U.S. history....

They line the prisons. The White Supremacists/Nationalists and other hate groups and gangs including some ethnic gangs, too. The USA has stood the tide of hatred century after century. We take them out of society and put them behind bars where they can live their demented lives with their bodies tattooed to remind them exactly who they are and what they did and why they did it.

December 20, 2021

By Eric Mayer and Tom Hanson

Sioux Falls - The judge overseeing the sentencing (click here) of Jahennessy Bryant and Raymond Banks called their February 2020 robbery and shooting of Casey Bonhorst “brutal, inhumane and senseless” and issued long prison sentences to both men.

After saying an “innocent man died over a few coins” Minnehaha County Presiding Circuit Judge Robin Houwman said there’s nothing she could do to ease the pain of Casey’s family and friends. Judge Houwman, during an hour-long ruling, discredited witnesses that supported Banks’ belief that Bryant was the shooter.

For his role, Banks was sentenced to 80 years in the state prison with 20 years suspended. He’ll get credit for the more than 400 days already served.

Bryant, who was pointed to as the original shooter but cooperated with authorities throughout the investigation, was sentenced to 50 years in the state prison with 25 years suspended and credit for time served. He’s first eligible for parole halfway through his 25 years....

I am quite confident such judges are provided bodyguards. Those bodyguards should be there for the rest of their lives, including, their families.

The really unfortunate solicitation by Trump has now enamored a political movement that is dangerous. The Republican politicians that fall in with these brothers of doom are more dangerous and have no appreciation of life, especially that of other human beings. 

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) (click here) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Right? So, how can anyone point a finger at an elected Republican and say they are up to no good? They took the oath.

Well, it all depends how one defines the United States of America, enemies and God.

The USA Constitution doesn't come with a definition section as federal legislation does. There is nothing in the USA Constitution that defines an American. 

Understand? Everything is on the chopping block. Everything. Where meanings of words and gods can be contorted to fill in the blanks of why men would turn against the country they claim as their own it is done. It is criminal, but, when one is committed by tattoo and prison and prison potential, the meanings of sovereign documents are contorted until the end justifies the means.

Americans have enemies inside their own country and Trump galvanized them in many, many instances.