That is an amazing photo all considering.

February 2, 2023
By Rachel Oswald

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds an American flag gifted to him by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after he addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Dec. 21, 2022.

Concerned about the potential (click here) for a change in U.S. leadership after the next presidential election, a visiting delegation of Eastern European lawmakers this week called on the Biden administration and Congress to move this year to bring Ukraine into NATO.

Ahead of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius this summer, a faction of member states, led by the Baltic countries and Poland, is campaigning for the gathering to be used to begin the official process of admitting Ukraine to the Western military alliance.

“This is it. This is the year when all stars are aligning,” said Žygimantas Pavilionis, chairman of the Lithuanian parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, at a Wednesday roundtable with journalists in Washington. “We have bipartisan unity on freedom, democracy, and victory of Ukrainians, on our values. We have huge strategic unity of Europeans, who recognized American leadership. So let’s do it like we did it in times of [Ronald] Reagan.”...

24 February 2022 was a much different President Zelenskyy. At the time President Zelenskyy was freely elected by the people of Ukraine, he pledged never to join NATO. He believed it was a stance that would hurt the economies involved. Zelenskyy saw Ukraine as a neutral country willing to engage in economic trade with both the EU and Russia's economic coalition venture.

Then over time and the continued invasion into Ukraine by Russia created the clear understanding of genocide. When a foreign power kills children it is a clear statement that the future belongs to hate and there will be no future for Ukrainians. 

I am confident President Zelenskyy was completely resigned to be a neutral power until it became obvious the Russian Federation was going to destroy ever inch of Ukraine and the people that live there. Ukrainians live in Ukraine, not Russians. The destruction was exactly the type carried out by Putin in Syria. It bacame obvious over time there was going to be no peace, but, only killing for the sake of killing.

15 March 2022
Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger

Ukraine’s president, (click here) Volodymyr Zelenskiy has acknowledged that Ukraine will not become a Nato member, in a significant concession on a day when Kyiv was pounded by Russian shells and missiles and the invading force tightened its grip on the capital.

At least five people were killed in the latest artillery barrage on Kyiv, prompting its city hall to impose a 35-hour curfew from Tuesday night amid further signs that the focus of the Russian campaign has shifted to the destruction of residential areas and civilian infrastructure.

Zelenskiy made his remarks about Nato while addressing leaders from the new Joint Expeditionary Force, a UK-led initiative bringing together 10 north Atlantic countries to create a capability for responding rapidly to crises.

“It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of Nato; we understand this,” the Ukrainian president said. “For years we heard about the apparently open door, but have already also heard that we will not enter there, and these are truths and must be acknowledged.”...

As time marched on and the Free World came to the aid of Ukraine it became more and more obvious there was never going to be a peace between Putin and Ukraine.

4 October 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (click here) has signed a decree formally stating that Ukraine will refuse to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while still leaving open the prospect of talks with Russia under a different president.

The decree, signed on Tuesday (4 October), officially formalises Zelensky’s comments on Friday (30 September) that Ukraine is ready for dialogue “but with another president of Russia”.

Reacting to the decree, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will continue to carry out its “special military operation” for as long as Zelensky blocks negotiations. Peskov added that “We [Russia] will either wait for the current president [Zelensky] to change his position or wait for the next president to change his position in the interests of the Ukrainian people.”

The decree is a response to Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts on 30 September, none of which are actually under full control of Russian forces. Indeed, the Kremlin has since said that it will “consult with local communities” to finalise where the borders of these “annexed” regions lie, despite the annexation having already been ratified by the Russian parliament....

The Free World took the genocide seriously. They opened their borders to refugees of all ages and gender. But, how was this genocide going to resolve without land called Ukraine? Putin obviously was never going to accept the people of Ukraine having the sovereign right to citizenship of their country. As far as he was concerned there were Ukrainians and only the right of Russia to the land.

I think the reality of Ukraine has shattered any understand and hope this would end with mutual agreement to stop the war. The Free World was morally invested and replied to the requests of President Zelenskyy as only it could and that was to affirm the lives of Ukrainians are important and they have right to a citizenship on the land known as Ukraine.

President Putin brought this war and it's current status on himself. Tens of thousands have died on both sides of the conflict. The Free World did not instigate this genocide in order to confront Russia. The Free World has been completely defensive in all it's support to end the genocide. 

Ukraine is welcome into NATO to assure the continued existence of Ukraine and it's people. There is a future for the children of Ukraine. They are allowed to exist. 

ARC Automotive, Inc….

 … is killing Americans with a detective air bag. Just that simple. The government wants them to recall their defective airbags that have so far killed two Americans. The airbags explodes with such force, the container it sits in becomes shrapnel that flies into the person in the seat causing injury and death. In other words if the crash doesn’t kill you the airbag will.

Put, the Tennessee company out of business and it’s CEO in prison for two counts to date of manslaughter!

Republicans currently in office care for nothing other Republicans out of office say.

Republicans don't believe in expertise, they believe in power and the games they can play with it. Governance is about expertise and bringing the best outcomes to the country and the people.

While people live their lives, carry out happiness with their children, plan weddings and friend parties, their government is supposed to be taking a backseat to all that and DOING THE WORK that goes along with maintaining quality of life for Americans. Government is not supposed to be the headlines of the day, so much as the boring truth of the uninteresting event of governance.

The current problem with the debt ceiling as I understand it, is some taxes have been deferred and that has resulted in an income short fall. The taxes are supposed to be collected by fall or the beginning of the new fiscal year when the budget will then balance. In the meantime, the Republicans can call up the deferred taxes in legislation to end the debt limit demands if they were willing to inconvenience friends and donors.

But. 

Instead.

...The GOP, (click here) dominated by MAGA fascists and backed by extreme right-wing billionaires, is using “legislative terrorism” and the threat of a global financial crisis to impose $4.8 trillion in unpopular spending cuts to social safety net benefit programs, undo Democratic legislative victories like the Inflation Reduction Act, and undermine the transition to renewable energy while blocking any new taxes on the wealthy.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is captive to the MAGA House Freedom Caucus, whose votes were critical to his narrow win as speaker. In exchange, McCarthy agreed to MAGA demands to block raising the debt ceiling and force Biden and Democrats to cap discretionary spending at 2022 levels. MAGA House members could care less if a default triggers an economic recession and results, by some estimates, in the loss of six million jobs, a surge of unemployment to 7%, and a steep hit of pensions and 401K plans, endangering retirement security for tens of millions.

Fanatical MAGA GOP House members seem gleeful at the prospect of wreaking havoc and creating a recession. They think angry voters will blame Biden and the Democrats and reward Republicans with a victory in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections....

In case there are people in the USA that don't "get it." THIS IS NOT GOVERNANCE, it is however politics.

The most benevolent answer to this crisis is to allow a debt ceiling increase and bring about smooth sailing knowing that the budget will balance in the near future. However, let's imagine for a minute that the Republicans crash the economy and in a few months the additional income to the USA treasury now has no real place to go because the original purpose is dead in the water. What would that look like? A tax payer refund? I doubt that. But, it would go unsaid and all of a sudden the USA House can spend without notice by anyone on all their favorite wealthy giveaways, including a huge tax cut for the highest income Americans. You know, their donors.

McCarthy is not a leader, he is a puppet. It is time for him to act responsibly and bring about smooth sailing for all the programs for all Americans.

Don't forget. This crisis is also leaning toward communist favoritism. The USA debt impacts the international community. Those impacts may very well include the USA military and NATO. 

Hello?

Anyone paying attention?

September 22, 2021

By Jeff Stein

...The backchanneling by Mnuchin and Paulson (click here) — who had previously worked together at Goldman Sachs — reflects the widespread alarm among economists and U.S. business interests about the consequences of an unprecedented default on the federal debt. If the United States was unable to borrow money to pay all of its bills, a number of economists have predicted that it would lead to a calamity that could trigger a meltdown in financial markets and plunge the economy into recession. Republicans have refused to help Democrats approve a new debt ceiling suspension despite approving three such measures during the Trump administration, under which the national debt rose by roughly $8 trillion.

Yellen has recently warned that the debt ceiling must be raised or suspended by some time in October or the country’s fiscal situation will be severe.

Paulson met with McConnell in his office in the U.S. Capitol last week and discussed the debt limit standoff, two people familiar with the exchange said. Paulson primarily listened to McConnell’s views on the matter, as the Senate GOP leader made clear he was not bluffing about Democrats having to raise the debt limit without Republican support. Paulson expressed in the meeting a high degree of concern about the dangers and likelihood of a federal default and its implications for the global economy, the people said. Paulson worked closely with McConnell and other lawmakers in 2008 to address the financial crisis....

The Republicans pride themselves on appearing to be impressively prudent about tax dollars.

NOT!

There is nothing impressive about this:

...Paychecks and pensions could be canceled or delayed (click here)

The U.S. military has 1.3 million active-duty troops, 800,000 reservists, and 700,000 civilian employees. Active-duty pay varies widely, ranging from just under $2,000 to over $17,500 per month.

There are also more than 2 million veterans entitled to retirement payments. The median veteran pension is $1,756 per month.

After a default, the government may have to miss or delay these payments.

Healthcare and other benefits at risk

Active-duty soldiers are entitled to benefits such as medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage, a housing allowance, a retirement savings plan, and school tuition assistance.

About 8.5 million veterans receive similar benefits, including disability payments, low-cost health insurance, and tuition and mortgage assistance. Another 450,000 households receive survivor benefits because they are the spouses and/or children of fallen veterans.

According to the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the average disabled veteran receives $1,428 per month in disability payments while a veteran in school gets $1,740 per month for tuition.

All this assistance could be halted during a default.

National Security Risks

In their recent article, “Debt-Ceiling Brinksmanship Weakens US National Security,” former Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel argue that America’s military might is due in part to our economic credibility.

They write that, in a default, “Bipartisan commitments to the national security needs of friends and allies would be impacted. … Funding for essential civilian and defense modernization efforts would be undermined.”

Similarly, the Military Officers Association of America warns that missing paychecks and cutting benefits could worsen the relationship between troops and the government in the long term.

“There must be a mutual commitment between those who serve and our nation: Any loss of trust and confidence in the value of service could prevent current and future generations from wanting to serve.”

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of “debates” that seem important to people in Washington but don’t matter much to regular people. The debt ceiling debate isn’t one of them. If the U.S., for the first time in our history, defaults on our debt obligations, every American will pay the price....

Now, is not the time to be playing God with American lives and those of our allies. The USA is impressing the world with it's agility to carry out military prowess that may very well end a genocide against an innocent and primarily neutral country. 

This debt ceiling thing is ridiculous, childish and EMBARASSING !

Honestly!

Our veterans have put their lives on the line for this country. Current military families receive benefits covered by the USA budget and current debt ceiling needs. They ARE NOT TO SUFFER!

Jerks!

AI has no clue about ongoing research. It is incompetent to carry out real progress in business or society.

Just sayin.

"AI" is not the future. It is however the past. It will diverge from reality.

May 17, 2023
By Elizabeth Ireland

A $10 million commitment from InnerScience Research Fund will drive research on data collected to learn more about the biological effects of meditation.

The nonprofit InnerScience Research Fund (click here) has committed $10 million to UC San Diego over the next five years for research on how meditation may slow the progression of serious terminal and chronic illnesses, it was announced Wednesday.

InnerScience studies the “biological and physiological effects of meditation on the human body.” The funds for UCSD will be directed to research on how the practice may affect the body and brain, and how it could potentially be used in clinical settings.

“At InnerScience, our goal is to be able to empower individuals with the tools to heal and thrive,” said Andrew Wright, board member and senior advisor for the nonprofit. “Our vision is a world where meditation becomes an integral part of the standard of care in treating illness and disease.”...

A different kind of pollution.

...As Amir Husain, (click here) Founder and CEO of SparkCognition said, “[Artificial intelligence], it’s a form of software that makes decisions on its own, that’s able to act even in situations not foreseen by the programmers. Artificial intelligence has a wider latitude of decision-making ability as opposed to traditional software.”...

There is no human being involved in the decisions these software companies sell.

I am curious, does "AI" ever say, "Oops" that decision is toxic to humans."

ChatGPT (click here) is the new artificial intelligence phenomenon taking the world by storm, and I have two stocks capitalizing on the AI boom.

ChatGPT offers the ability to produce human-like text and converse with people, and my picks are strong buys on an uptrend.

Boasting award-winning solutions, I have a small-cap stock with a strategic partnership with Microsoft and a stock at the core of powering ChatGPT.

Up double-digits YTD and over the last year, with sustained growth and consecutive earnings beats, both companies have benefitted from investor demand and tailwinds from a strong network.

As seen in Seeking Alpha’s factor grades, excellent fundamentals showcase a top tech and communications stock as one of the best stocks gaining exposure to ChatGPT.

There is no caution here. It is all full steam ahead, damn the potential regulation, let's get this done now before take over of the world is not possible.

ChatGPT is a growth engine for incompetency.

Computers, no matter how "AI" they are, work in decisions processes that are electronic. Sorry, folks, but, real research that matters is not carried out on electronic dummies or electronic Earth environments. Real scientists taking real measurements based in centuries of academic principle and ethics is about humanity and it's future. This Chat mess is just that, "a mess," and will result in very sorry scenarios. It is time to rein in the AI mess and return sanity to to society.

The decisions these AI systems are making is void of human intelligence that is ongoing and in notebooks all over the world. Published articles in professional journals can take two years or more to pass through peer review and make it to the journals. In those years there is ongoing research that builds on the previous knowledge to be printed. All these AI programs are making decisions on years of old information. 

The Ohio Governor and East Palestine should review the procedure in reclaiming land that is contaminated.

On December 7, 2022, (click here) a TC Energy pipeline, part of the Keystone pipeline system, ruptured south of where it crosses Mill Creek northeast of Washington, Kansas. An estimated 588,00 gallons were discharged. The Washington County, Kansas Emergency Management Agency constructed a large underflow dam to provide containment and prevention of oil from migrating downstream. EPA On-Scene Coordinators have remained at the site to oversee and direct response action since December 8, 2022.

Every spill of any substance always carries risks of contamination, especially to water and air of which people drink and breath. We have seen some terrible contaminations in the USA and it needs to stop.

I have no doubt the illnesses the people of East Palestine are experiencing are directly from the leaks from the train disaster. The air was full of toxins and the evacuation may not have been expeditors as it should have. The Governor did not respond well to this disaster and provide timely relief to the people.

The land is contaminated and there is no doubt about it. The water was contaminated as well and ran all the way down to the main rivers. The rivers were watched and contained, but, the immediate vicinity of East Palestine is a disaster area. The people are going to need health observation for a long time including any that move from the area to gain relief from the pollution and toxins.

Flint, Michigan was a disaster that taught government a lot about the way toxins can effect adults and children. There were many miscarriages because of the toxins in the water. It also taught the vulnerabilities of human health and how a long view needs to be taken and provided for in budgets and/or financial settlements. I doubt health care will be come cheaper in the future. 

East Palestine is going to need the same type of intervention as Flint, except, there is also air contamination that entered lung tissue that is delicate in nature the way it is. Lungs are very vascular and will soak up all sorts of stuff. They are supposed to soak up and release oxygen and carbon dioxide. Anything within that air will be absorbed by the lungs. Lungs are about supplying the body with plenty of air for life, the lung cells don't discriminate and why cigarette smoking is such a dangerous habit.

January 23, 2023

By Paul Hammel

Lincoln - TC Energy, operator of the Keystone pipeline, (click here) announced plans Tuesday to build a temporary bypass around a pipeline spill on a Kansas creek to aid in the cleanup and reclamation of Mill Creek.

Meanwhile, two critics of the pipeline questioned why more details have not been provided about the total amount of the spill, the extent of the cleanup, and its cause.

On Dec. 7, the 36-inch pipeline sprang a leak just east of Washington, Kansas, spilling an estimated 14,000 barrels (or 588,000 gallons) of crude oil near and into the creek.

Largest leak on 12-year-old pipeline

It was the largest leak to date on the 12-year-old crude oil pipeline, larger than five previous leaks combined, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. The spill occurred as a diagnostic tool was being run through the pipe in that area....

First isolation of people and toxins, followed by clean up including removal of contaminated soil and then reclamation of the land. This is all well established practice and most scientists that work in this field know exactly what needs to be done and how to do it. The USA EPA should have professional staff to aid in this and the US Army Corp. is well versed in disaster protocols. There is no reason for controversy unless, of course, the expertise of these agencies were drained under Trump resulting in incompetency.

NOT A MINOR POINT, the rescue workers involved in the site clean up and restoration have a right to a safe environment to carry out their work, including all necessary equipment and contamination suits and respirators.

These episodes of contamination are expensive. The government has a right to reclaim those expenses in court if necessary. Besides that there are fines for having this happen in the first place. In the case of the petroleum industry, they just don't care until the emergency happens. After all, it might just need a "junk shot" to end the danger to life on Earth.

“Eww.” (click here) A toxic-smelling trail of “dispersed” oil in the 

Gulf.Photo: National Wildlife Federation Down $350 million so far and its much-hyped containment dome done in by clumps of icy slush, BP is mulling other options to shut off the gushing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It might try again with a smaller dome. Or it might go all high-techy and shoot shredded tires and golf balls into the spewing pipes. No, really.

“The next tactic is going to be something they call a junk shot,” Admiral Thad Allen, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. “They’ll take a bunch of debris — shredded up tires, golf balls, and things like that — and under very high pressure, shoot it into the preventer itself and see if they can clog it up and stop the leak.”

Now that we’ve reached the tragic farce level on this disaster, more and more questions are being raised about how we got here....

The petroleum industry CURES are basically as toxic as their pollution and toxins in the first place.

East Palestine may run into the same issue in it's reclamation process if the industry simply has no clue to end the pollution and reclaim land. The USA government needs to up it's game and KNOW the solution without lending credence to the industry involved. 

Polluters pollute. Does anyone actually expect to find solutions to their pollutions in the annals of their own executive board minutes?

Remember: Flint was suffering for a year in a cover-up by Snyder and his administration before the public found out. A train derailment and explosion is more difficult to cover up.

Thank goodness it was Robert Mueller.

May 15, 2023

By Charlie Savage, Glenn Thrush, Adam Goldman and Katie Benner

David Keene, (click here) Maria Butina, and then-NRA President James Porter at the 2014 NRA annual conference

John Durham, (click here) the Trump-era special counsel who for four years has pursued a politically fraught investigation into the Russia inquiry, accused the F.B.I. of a “lack of analytical rigor” in a final report made public on Monday that examined the bureau’s investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign was conspiring with Moscow.

Mr. Durham’s 306-page report appeared to show little substantial new information about the F.B.I.’s handling of the Russia investigation, known as Crossfire Hurricane, and it failed to produce the kinds of blockbuster revelations impugning the bureau that former President Donald J. Trump and his allies had once suggested that Mr. Durham would find.

Instead, the report — released without substantive comment or redactions by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland — repeated previously exposed flaws in the inquiry, including from a 2019 inspector general report, while concluding that the F.B.I. suffered from a confirmation bias as it pursued leads about Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia....

The investigation into the dismissal of five Inspector Generals during the time Trump occupied the Oval Office should go forward.

The attack could have been worse. But, this is the era of violence in politics in the USA and the Democrats are getting more than their fair share. 

May 15, 2023
By Caitlin Yilek

Washington - Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly (click here) said a person armed with a baseball bat attacked members of his staff at his district office in Fairfax, Virginia, on Monday morning.

"This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff," the Virginia congressman said in a news release.

The person is in police custody and the two staff members were brought to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to Connelly.

"Right now, our focus is on ensuring they are receiving the care they need," he said, thanking first responders for their quick response. "My District Office staff make themselves available to constituents and members of the public every day. The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff's accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable and devastating."...

Michael Atkinson was dismissed on April 3, 2020.

April 6, 2020

By Charles Savage

Michael Atkinson, (click here) the inspector general of the intelligence community, arrives at the Capitol where he will go behind closed doors to be questioned about the whistleblower complaint that exposed a July phone call the president had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which Trump pressed for an investigation of Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his family, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019.

Washington - The intelligence community inspector general (click here) whom President Trump fired late Friday night has called on whistle-blowers to overcome any fears and come forward with information about waste and illegality in the government despite the administration’s reprisals.

“The American people deserve an honest and effective government,” the fired official, Michael K. Atkinson, said in a lengthy statement late on Sunday. “They are counting on you to use authorized channels to bravely speak up — there is no disgrace for doing so.”

He added: “Please do not allow recent events to silence your voices.”

Mr. Atkinson, who was appointed by Mr. Trump in 2018, drew the president’s ire last year after he received a whistle-blower complaint from an intelligence community official accusing the president of abusing his power over foreign policy to coerce Ukraine’s government into announcing investigations that could deliver him personal political benefits....

Glenn Fine was dismissed on April 7th. He was the Acting Inspector General as Pandemic Response Accountability Office with Homeland Security. He was on the job for one week.

April 7, 2020
By Tim Mak

President Trump (click here) on Monday dismissed the independent chairman of a committee tasked with overseeing the roll-out of the $2 trillion coronavirus bailout package, The Post has learned.

President Trump has removed the head of a group (click here) charged with overseeing the $2 trillion coronavirus package passed by Congress last month.

The coronavirus recovery law requires that an existing inspector general be selected by a council of inspectors general to oversee the response to the pandemic. That council picked Glenn Fine, the acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, to lead the newly formed Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.

But on Monday, the president designated Sean W. O'Donnell, the inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency, to be the new acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, thus voiding Fine's eligibility to lead coronavirus oversight efforts.

Fine "is no longer on the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee," said Dwrena Allen, a spokesperson for the Pentagon Inspector General's office, adding that Fine would revert to his old role as the principal deputy inspector general at the Department of Defense....

August 25, 2022
By Glenn Fine

...Recently, a series of allegations surfaced (click here) regarding the conduct of Joseph Cuffari, the IG at the Department of Homeland Security. According to the January 6 committee, Cuffari knew about the deletion of Secret Service text messages relating to the Capitol riot but did not notify Congress about it for months. Allegedly, he also prevented his own investigators from seeking to recover the text messages. Now the chair of the committee says that Cuffari is not cooperating with its investigation of the missing texts.

According to media reports, Cuffari is additionally being investigated for prior retaliation against employees in his office and allegedly is not cooperating fully with that investigation either. He also allegedly declined to open a review of the Secret Service’s use of force in the June 2020 Lafayette Square demonstration, and he allegedly removed negative findings about the Secret Service from other reviews.

We do not yet know all the facts in these cases, but these serious allegations are troubling. Cuffari was appointed IG at the Department of Homeland Security in 2019. He seems to have come to the attention of the Trump administration after working as a policy adviser to two Republican governors of Arizona—this is contrary to the 1978 Inspector General Act, which requires IGs to be selected without regard to political affiliation....

Christi Grimm was dismissed on May 1, 2020.

May 2, 2020
By Grace Segers

Grimm angered President Donald Trump (click here) when she released an independent report that found there were "severe" and "widespread" shortages of masks and other critical supplies across the US in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

President Trump announced his intent to nominate a new inspector general (click here) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), weeks after acting inspector general Christi Grimm released a report detailing shortages of testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We will continue to serve the American people by ensuring that their health and welfare are protected. Our agency began preparing to assist a new Inspector General appointee over a year ago, when the previous presidentially-appointed and senate-confirmed Inspector General first announced his intention to retire from government service. We will continue to work conscientiously to support a smooth leadership transition," said Tesia Williams, spokesperson for the office of the inspector general for HHS.

Mr. Trump criticized Grimm in early April, calling the findings in her report "wrong."

"Did I hear the word inspector general? Really?" Mr. Trump said during a White House briefing, demanding that the reporter who asked the question give him the name of the inspector general who wrote the report. "Where did he come from, the inspector general? What's his name? No, what's his name? What's his name?"...

Mitch Behm, Acting Inspector General of Transportation was dismissed on May 15, 2020. He was investigating Elaine Chao.

May 20, 2020
By Matthew Daly

Washington - Congressional Democrats are protesting (click here) President Donald Trump’s decision to remove the Transportation Department’s acting inspector general, the latest in a string of actions by Trump to fire or replace government watchdogs.

The Democratic chairs of three House panels on Tuesday demanded that Mitch Behm be reinstated immediately as acting inspector general.

The lawmakers also demanded that the Trump administration turn over information about current investigations that might have played a role in Behm's removal, including a review of whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has given preferential treatment to Kentucky. Her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and a top Trump ally, is seeking reelection this year.

Behm's removal “is the latest in a series of politically motivated firings of inspectors general by President Trump,'' the lawmakers wrote. "This assault on the integrity and independence of inspectors general appears to be an intentional campaign to undermine their ability to expose corruption and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse.”...

June 24, 2020

By Jessica Wehrman

...The emails, (click here) requested by the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington under the Freedom of Information Act, show that even Behm was stunned when he was abruptly returned to his prior role as deputy inspector general.

“Wild,” he emailed an unnamed outside associate at 10:17 p.m. the night the White House announced that Howard “Skip” Elliott, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, would serve as acting inspector general instead of Behm....

...Democrats also questioned whether Behm’s removal was spurred by a DOT IG investigation of allegations that Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, gave special treatment to McConnell’s constituents, steering millions of dollars to Kentucky in order to help his political prospects....

Chao was a one woman steering committee. There was special treatment of her spouse. It was all political.

June 10, 2020
By Tucker Doherty and Tanya Snyder

The Transportation Department under Secretary Elaine Chao (click here) designated a special liaison to help with grant applications and other priorities from her husband Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky, paving the way for grants totaling at least $78 million for favored projects as McConnell prepared to campaign for reelection.

Chao’s aide Todd Inman, who stated in an email to McConnell’s Senate office that Chao had personally asked him to serve as an intermediary, helped advise the senator and local Kentucky officials on grants with special significance for McConnell — including a highway-improvement project in a McConnell political stronghold that had been twice rejected for previous grant applications....

Steven Linick was dismissed on May 15, 2020 as well. Representative Gerry Connolly was running an investigation into his dismissal when his office was attacked.

May 15, 2020
By Meridith McGraw and Nahal Toosi

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (click here) said he was unaware the State Department’s inspector general was investigating him at the time he recommended that President Donald Trump fire the internal watchdog.

President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick (click here) and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months.

Trump informed Congress of his intent to oust Linick, a Justice Department veteran appointed to the role in 2013 by then President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday night....

...“The president’s late-night, weekend firing of the State Department inspector general has accelerated his dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people,” Pelosi said in an statement. “Inspector General Linick was punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath.”

Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called Linick’s dismissal an “outrageous act of a president trying to protect one of his most loyal supporters, the secretary of State, from accountability.”

Engel claimed: “I have learned that the Office of the Inspector General had opened an investigation into Secretary Pompeo. Mr. Linick’s firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation.”

A Democratic congressional aide said Linick had launched an investigation into Pompeo’s alleged misuse of a political appointee to perform personal tasks for him and Mrs. Pompeo. The State Department did not respond to an inquiry about the allegation....

Democrats are not the only ones worried about the country. There are Republicans, at least on the surface, that became very concerned about the actions by Trump in the firings of so many inspector generals.

June 4, 2020
By Zachary Cohen

If Iowa’s incumbent senator (click here) runs for reelection in 2022, the seat is safe for Republicans. If he retires, they’ll have a battle on their hands.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said Thursday (click here) he will block two of President Donald Trump’s nominees from moving forward in the confirmation process until the administration provides “adequate reasons” for firing the inspectors general of the intelligence community and State Department.

The move marks an escalation by Grassley after White House counsel Pat Cipollone chose not to explain why Trump had removed the two inspectors general last month, instead emphasizing the President’s legal authority to do so.

Last month’s letter from Cipollone, which Grassley swiftly blasted as having “failed to address” the congressional requirement that there “ought to be a good reason” for such dismissals, came in response to the Iowa senator’s request that Trump explain why they had been ousted....

All the investigations into the dismissal of Inspector Generals are appropriate and necessary. The country has a right to know why such highly qualified individuals were dismissed. It was completely wrong of Trump to dismiss these folks. They were doing a good job. They were doing the work of the people. It is unfortunate Trump's administration was so highly unethical in their positions of power. Some investigations might have lead to criminal intent by some Trump appointees. That is the job of the Inspector Generals.

Democrats are asking the correct questions about issues of unethical conduct by people in office. It is right and necessary to ask. The violence against a very important group of people conducting important work for the country is simply wrong.

The political dialogue in the country is demonized by anger and hate when these people are freely elected by those they represent. The political tenor of the country has to change. Hate and anger is Anti-American. 

In the USA we investigate and report to the people. In autocratic countries they murder. The USA cannot become such an entity in the world. The USA has served as a beacon of moral content for the world. That cannot change. It would be a far worse place for all people if the USA fell under such a ruler pretending to love this country.

'Everything Everywhere All at Once' - The Hidden Agenda

That is the strategy of the Republicans elected to office. They are elected through propaganda, put their hands over their traitorous hearts when pledging allegiance and proceed to destroy democracy.

Americans are busy living and don't have time to pause in order to tame government officials now in office that bring forward hidden agendas. That is what they are counting on and before you know it rights are gone. This is dangerous and must be stopped.

THERE IS NO SAFETY IN THIS METHOD OF DECEPTIVE GOVERNMENT.

May 9, 2023
By Tyler Kingkade

Woodland Park - When a conservative slate of candidates (click here) won control of the school board here 18 months ago, they began making big changes to reshape the district.

Woodland Park, a small mountain town that overlooks Pikes Peak, became the first — and, so far, only — district in the country to adopt the American Birthright social studies standard, created by a right-wing advocacy group that warns of the “steady whittling away of American liberty.” The new board hired a superintendent who was previously recalled from a nearby school board after pushing for a curriculum that would “promote positive aspects of the United States.” The board approved the community’s first charter school without public notice and gave the charter a third of the middle school building.

As teachers, students and parents began protesting these decisions, the administration barred employees from discussing the district on social media. At least two staff members who objected to the board’s decisions were later forced out of their jobs, while another was fired for allegedly encouraging protests.

These rapid and sweeping shifts weren’t coincidental — instead it was a plan ripped from the MAGA playbook designed to catch opponents off guard, according to a board member’s email released through an open records request.

“This is the flood the zone tactic, and the idea is if you advance on many fronts at the same time, then the enemy cannot fortify, defend, effectively counter-attack at any one front,” David Illingworth, one of the new conservative school board members, wrote to another on Dec. 9, 2021, weeks after they were elected. “Divide, scatter, conquer. Trump was great at this in his first 100 days.”...

Loss of electricity for any reason will kill people.

May 12, 2023
By Monica Samayoa

Amid a record-smashing heat (click here) wave across the Pacific Northwest, residents in Portland, Ore, find shelter on June 27 in a 24-hour cooling center at the Oregon Convention Center.

Portland could see record breaking temperatures over the weekend, (click here) with weather conditions similar to the deadly heat dome event in 2021.

That extreme weather, which killed 69 people in Multnomah County, brought heat to the forefront of the climate crisis in the region and prompted swift action from city and local organizations that promised to help residents adapt. While those efforts have had some success nearly two years later, some say more needs to be done.

Starting Friday, the Portland metro could see temperatures rising into the 90s, prompting the National Weather Service to issue an excessive heat watch through Monday. NWS meteorologist Daniel Hartsock said the increase in temperature is coming from a high-pressure system like the heat dome event that trapped hot air over the region in June 2021. He said the same system is also creating offshore easterly winds, which add to dry conditions.

Hartsock said the average high is typically around 70 degrees in mid-May.

“We’re looking at temperatures 20 to 25 degrees above normal, so that’s definitely not very common,” he said....

People will not abandon pets either. Often not even to save their own lives.

July 8, 2021
By Jon Jackson

The death toll in Oregon's record-breaking heave wave (click here) from last weekend has risen to 116, according to data released by the state's medical examiner on Wednesday. Officials said that many people who died were found inside their homes without air conditioning or fans.

Many people who died during Oregon's recent heat wave lacked air conditioning in their homes. In this photo, people and their pets rest at the Oregon Convention Center cooling station in Portland, Oregon, on June 28....

She is missed.

May 10, 2023
By Phil Helsel and Lindsey Pipia

What happened in 2005? (click here)

A Dutch man (click here) who was suspected in the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway is being extradited to the United States in connection with a fraud case, Peruvian officials said Wednesday.

Joran van der Sloot is serving a 28-year prison sentence in Peru for the 2010 killing of a 21-year-old Peruvian woman.

He was arrested but never convicted in the disappearance of Holloway, who vanished in Aruba in 2005.

Holloway has never been found. The 18-year-old from Alabama went on a high school graduation trip and never returned. A judge later declared her dead.

Van der Sloot was arrested and released in that case and was never charged.

The extradition is the latest twist in a case that generated countless news stories when Holloway disappeared and multiple fictionalized movies and documentaries, some even more than a decade later....

Trump speaks out of both sides of his mouth at once

He backs Russia. He still hates NATO. He is still the same, “There are good people on both sides.” 

Vladimir Putin has a warrant for his arrest because he committed genocide against children. There is no forgiveness in that. Trump is playing his money hand. He wants communists to back him so he can be the authoritarian leader he plans on. He doesn’t care how many elections he has to run in to achieve his goal.

Trump backs Russia’s genocide. Russia responded in stating American expats are welcome in Russia to a new village he will build for them. Putin is hoping he gets some real soldiers out of the deal including military intelligence.

The opposite side of the spectrum is Ralph Nader. He always would run for office, too. Now Trump has a following of radicalized anti-American idiots and he will run every election because he can collect monies as a candidate.

Trump is immoral and violent. I didn’t watch the so called town hall, but, did he confess he killed two Iranian generals so MBS didn’t have to surrender? Because that is why they are dead.

Trump is anti-American. He consents to genocide. People can be blinded to the danger in their own lives with someone like that in Republican leadership. If Trump will immorally consent to genocide, with the right participants in his own administration, he will carry out genocide within the borders of his own country. Dear God, wake up. There were gallows on the Capitol grounds. What is so different from the Taliban?

CNN did a disservice to the USA. Ralph Nader needs to demand equal time!

Things are not going well at Zaporizhzhia.

First the people were evacuated. Now it is the workers. No one is taking the danger seriously in ending it, so much as making it worse.

This is genocide. The workers at the plant were made to sign contracts that included a declaration of being a Russian citizen. When a person loses their identity of citizenship it can result in catastrophic outcomes. As examples: 

...Russian exiles (click here) under the Soviet laws of the 1920s, Jews under the Reich citizenship laws enacted by Nazi Germany in the 1930-40s, Kurds in Syria under the “Arabisation” policy of the 1960s, Rohingya in Myanmar after the passing of an ethnicity-based citizenship law in the 1980s... In all these cases people died. This is not a minor problem. 

Ukraine wants it's land back to reestablish the homeland for the people currently under siege or in exile. The Zaphorizhzhia nuclear power plant has been an issue for a long time now and the Russians have proven to be in competent in protecting the people and the world from a nuclear accident. There is every reason to believe there will be an enormous accident. The latest report was that Russian troops were planting bombs around the plant. No doubt to prevent anyone from retaking the power plant and begin competent operations.

The manner in which Russia has conducted itself throughout this latest expansionism episode is through every definition of genocide. People and children were deliberately killed for soldiers hatred of them. Some of the details of the death of these people are horrific. Russians have abducted people and children into it's borders and relocated them into areas of Russia where they have no frame of reference. They are now defined as Russians or at least we think that is the case. There have been public displays of children indoctrinated to speak of welcoming their new status as Russians. Where a child resists they are punished.

The International Criminal Courts have decided there are children killed in the manner defined as genocide. There is just no doubt that Russian occupation of Ukraine in any manner is carried out with genocidal intentions.

The Zaphorizhzhia nuclear plant is being abandoned by Russian troops because of the ongoing war. It is unclear the danger that now exists with workers being evacuated. But, one thing is certain, the Russians are evacuating and abandoning this nuclear plant. It is time Zaphorizhzhia is declared neutral territory and restaffed with competent third party personnel. That will dilute any war intentions and remove the threat to Ukraine of Russian occupation. The plant does not have to be restarted because that would pose a far different danger, but, it does not the attention of competent personnel soon.

Russia has no right to this power plant and is obviously abandoning it. It is time to declare the power plant and land surrounding it as neutral. The IAEA can oversee its operations with approved staff that answers only to them.

May 10, 2023

Kyiv - Russian forces (click here) are planning to evacuate more than 3,000 workers from the town that serves the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, resulting in a "catastrophic lack" of personnel, Ukraine's state-owned Energoatom company said on Wednesday.

Last week, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear power watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said the situation around the Russian-held nuclear station had become "potentially dangerous" after Moscow-installed officials began evacuating people from nearby areas....

...Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. Russia did not immediately comment.

Ukraine is widely expected to soon launch a counteroffensive to try to push back Russian forces, and commentators say retaking the whole of the Zaporizhzhia region is one of its aims....

This was the past. We need not repeat it.

28 August 2022

Kyiv - Russian rocket and artillery strikes (click here) hit areas across the Dnieper River from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials said Sunday, as fears persisted that fighting in the vicinity could damage the plant and cause a radiation leak....

...Authorities last week began distributing iodine tablets to residents who live near the Zaporizhzhia plant in case of radiation exposure, which can cause health problems.

Much of the concern centers on the cooling systems for the plant’s nuclear reactors. The systems require power to run, and the plant was temporarily knocked offline Thursday because of what officials said was fire damage to a transmission line. A cooling system failure could cause a nuclear meltdown....

This is not about setting a sports endurance record...

...this is asking human beings to live in an oven without a temperature gauge. That is not governance. That is neglect!

May 7, 2023

Vietnam has recorded its highest ever temperature, just over 44C (111F) (click here) - with experts predicting it would soon be surpassed because of climate change.

The record was set in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, where officials warned people to stay indoors during the hottest times of the day.

Other countries in the region have also been experiencing extremely hot weather.

Thailand reported a record-equalling 44.6C in its western Mak province....

This is what a politician in the 21st century looks like.

Her work is perfection. (click here) She connects all the dots. She brings the natural world's harmony to impact a state's economy with a livable future and safe environment for generations of Washingtonians. 

SHE and those like her are the future. Without these magnificent leaders I am afraid so much will be lost. She is not only very climate and natural world saavy, she is a woman with an understanding of life that only women carry in their hearts and minds.

May 10, 2023
By Shauna Sowersby

Elect Hillary Franz (click here)

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz (click here) announced Wednesday that she will run for governor of the state of Washington in the 2024 election. The gubernatorial run announcement came one week after Gov. Jay Inslee announced that he would not be seeking a fourth term as governor.

The announcement also came a week after Attorney General Bob Ferguson said that he would be “exploring a run” for governor in 2024. 

“My office has been on the front lines of our changing world. I know what it means to take bold risks to make big progress because there isn’t time to wait,” Franz said in a tweet Wednesday when she made the announcement. “We’re facing many challenges, but we can tackle them, together.”...

All of these negative feedback loops were discussed for decades by scientists.

The dialogue regarding the climate crisis has never been more pressing, but, looking across the front pages of news media, no one would ever understand the urgency. Today's reality has been predicted and lectured and researched for decades by scientists around the world. 

The scientists had the answer. The petroleum and coal industries portrayed all sorts of nightmare scenarios and politicians caved. The weakness of the political resolve to prevent disastrous outcomes has been a testament to the lack of strength of people to latch onto survival in the face of greed.

COP 3 (click here)

01 - 10 Dec. 1997

Third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 3), December 1997
The COP 3 took place from 1 to 10 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan.

Figures: Summary for Policymakers (click here)

May 9, 20

By Matt Simon

...The figure above (to the right, click here)) shows statistics extracted from the CNFDB, and provides a comparison with those numbers reported annually to the National Forestry Database (NFD). This chart shows the high variability in both number of fires and area burned in Canada per year....

...In fact,(click here) over 100 wildfires are burning across Alberta, Canada, right now, forcing nearly 30,000 people from their homes—an “unprecedented situation” in the region. The annual area burned in Canada has doubled since the 1970s, says Mike Flannigan, a fire scientist at Thompson Rivers University. (He wasn't involved in either of the new studies.) “A warmer world means more fire,” he says. “As the temperature warms, the atmosphere gets very efficient at sucking moisture out of dead fuels. So it means more fuels available to burn, which leads to high-intensity fires, which are difficult to impossible to extinguish.”

Northern boreal forests are the largest land biomes on the planet. When they burn, they release greenhouse gases from both vegetation and carbon-rich soils, which the first new paper, released in March, quantified. In fact, burning boreal forests spew between 10 and 20 times more carbon than fires in other ecosystems. Typically, the blazes account for 10 percent of global fire CO2 emissions annually, but they contributed 23 percent in 2021, thanks to severe heat waves and drought.

“We are facing a dangerous positive feedback between climate and boreal fires,” says lead author Bo Zheng of China’s Tsinghua University. “The slow recovery of soil microbial communities in forests after extreme wildfires weakens carbon sinks, and makes it difficult for them to fully absorb the large amount of carbon dioxide released during combustion.” That, Zheng adds, “will increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and promote global warming, further increasing the likelihood of extreme wildfires.”...