Why is the NFL so reclusive about domestic violence by their players?

The NFL has a lot to worry about when it comes to the iconic nature of it's business. It was 20 years ago on June 12th Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered along with her friend Ron Goldman. The NFL is deathly worried that if domestic violence is considered a serious infraction with the league "the shield" will become tarnished and be replaced with a new organization.

One of the more profound statements made by Ms. Dewan Smith-Williams was, "These men have money and they are not used to being told no." 

October 20, 2014

By Jordan Valinsky

With the string of domestic abuse controversies (click here) that have rocked the NFL in the past few months, the league has a bad track record in dealing with these type of allegations. Now, a stunning report from the Washington Post details how bad it actually is.

The newspaper spoke with two NFL wives who endured years of abusive relationships: Dewan Smith-Williams and another who didn't want her identity revealed because her ex-husband is still in the league. Instead of the league acting like a safe haven where the women could come for help, it allegedly brushed their reports under the rug. 

Both women recounted frightening details of what great lengths the cops, league officials and coaches would go to avoid tarnishing the players' or league's image. Perhaps most disturbingly, despite that the stories happened years ago, the women say the NFL isn't doing anything to stop the domestic abuse problem epidemic....

OJ Simpson still holds the record as the only player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a 14-game season. His name is still worth something even after finding himself living behind bars. Simpson holds the record for the single season yards-per-game average, which stands at 143.1 ypg and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The NFL's approach in confronting violence has been prudent, but, remains to resolve the violence with some players. I saw an advertisement today on television about an outreach to women and children experiencing domestic violence. That type of promotion was the money donated by the NFL and it is vitally necessary money.

If we understand Ms. Dewan Smith-Williams and her statement of, "These men have money and they are not used to being told no," the only logical solution is to have the one organization, the NFL, that can control the money these players receive along with fines, be the authority they respect more than any other. The NFL has a unique position in all these instances and can bring considerable leverage to mitigating a household experiencing disharmony.

I would not expect the NFL to seek to leverage any outcomes due to men that brake the law, that is water under the bridge. But, if the NFL would give credence to the spouses and family members that come to them stating there is a problem in their relationship there is a chance, a better than 50-50 chance, violence can be averted.

I believe Roger Goodell stated he has brought together several women advisers to intervene in the growing concern of domestic abuse with NFL players. He could easily have that panel of women develop a parallel program to any of the players to mitigate any concerns that have resulted because of abusive behavior no matter how minor.

A program for spouses and children that hold them in esteem and elevates each one and their visual appearance at games and a fan base to develop in that relationship. We only see the spouses and children after there is bad news. That is no place for them to be in the public domain. 

A successful program prevents violence and upholds the dignity of marriage and family. The NFL should never seek to be invisible in these issues because it is the one authority the players recognize as important in their lives. This can be done and the players can have happy, healthy relationships with wonderful people while cherishing their children and every moment they are young.

This is so ridiculous.

Why did it take 42 days to declare Nigeria free of Ebola?

Any guesses?

Hint: 42 = 21 X 2

It takes 21 days to declare any person in contact with an Ebola patient free of any potential to the disease.

Hint: Nigeria is a country with people moving in and out of it everyday. 

No clue? Really?

Declaring a country free of the Ebola virus is a two step waiting process. The first step is to be sure all the KNOWN potential patients are free of disease. That is 21 days. The second step is to wait another 21 days IN CASE a person came into the country after the 21st of quarantine of KNOWN contact. In other words on the 21st day of quarantine, like that of the folks in Dallas, all the knowns are released from quarantine. But, what if a contact was made only today? Then to be sure the other UNKNOWNS in the country have not come forward with symptoms there is another waiting period WITHOUT quarantine. THAT WAS WITHOUT QUARANTINE. It is a WAITING PERIOD of 21 days after the last quarantine was lifted.

Now I suppose this scenario can go on forever, but, the WHO stated after 42 days a country can be considered Ebola free. The status of the virus is such that there is NO KNOWN SOURCE now in Nigeria. 

West Africa needs the help of the other countries to end this crisis and find methods of preventing and treating future outbreaks.

There was a protocol for HIV health care workers with the discovery of AZT. If a health care worker experienced a needle stick, no matter how minor, they were started for a course of AZT. The research shows it ends the early population of virus so the infection can never take hold. There isn't that type of intervention with Ebola because there isn't any reliable supply of treatment.

The waiting for FIRST symptoms is the best that can be used currently in treatment of the disease. The release of so many today and the fact a technician on a ship wasn't infected shows there is a degree of protection in prudent technique. I have to say I was not surprised the technician on the cruise ship was negative for the virus. Technicians working with direct blood contract have some of the best of medical technology to prevent contact with that blood. So, when she was found healthy without exposure it all made sense.

She had a limited 'timeline' for exposure that required MINIMAL contact with patient body fluids. When she came in contact with blood into a vile for detection of the virus it was already contained in the technology she used. Her chances of contracting Ebola was very low considering her technique and equipment. But, professionals didn't know that about the disease so they are exceptionally protective of the public in requiring blood tests and quarantine.

What is unknown to medical research requires the highest levels of protection for the public. No one in the public was ever at risk. When nurses care for a patient it is over a much longer timeline with far less technology to assist them unless they are at NIH or one of the other hospitals with biocontainment units.

Nurses when facing these diseases have to don much more protective equipment than is usually found in any hospital in the USA. This may be a reason to revisit "Universal Precautions" and determine when higher levels of protection is needed. But, that is the only place I can think of that needs review. The nurses in Dallas simply didn't have the proper equipment to be safe. Let's hope they get well soon, and the King Charles Spaniel is well, too. 

Perhaps Universal Precautions need to include a course for every nurse in biocontainment and the differences in the equipment and the protection level. Simply the knowledge of the difference will alter bedside technique by nurses across the board. They will be more aware of their own safety. Nurses trained in such technology will also be ready to apply those biocontainment measures should they be necessary.

I would think department leadership should be reading the weekly publication of the CDC about the trend of illness. But, that weekly review should also have a section on threats outside the USA, technology used for those threats and know when it might become an emergency for the USA. Mutation is a primary driver of larger infection rates and if anyone asked a Nursing Vice President what exactly mutation is and how it effects her practice they couldn't tell you. I'd bet real money on it.

Most administrative types would not know what the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" is, but, they could tell you the Hospital Rate for nosocomial infections and where exactly in the hospital it is the most problem.

The certifying agency, The Joint Commission, (click here) is famous for putting more responsibility on the backs of nurses, but, have never demanded a change in working conditions should they be unfavorable for the staff.

Someone needs to tell The Joint Commission they ALSO have to focus on the nurse-patient ratio and the stress levels in nursing with appropriate intervention to reduce them. They also need to require hospitals to pass inspection in Infection Disease Management.

Nursing and their leadership are patient focused and conduct very little research that benefit the nurse community. The nursing profession is really ignored in many ways by it's own leadership. What the profession requires of it's members would never be tolerated by physicians.

Every medical and nursing director in the USA should be required to have a CDC Certification in Infectious Disease, Mutation and Prevention. Such a certification should be renewed annually no different than ACLS for the staff.

No silly online course either. They need to tour NIH and understand the infrastructure that is there to serve every American. The initial course should require NIH hands on experience and that aspect of the certification every five years there after.

"We need travel bans because Ebola quarantines are released !!!!"

This scenario has been typical in the fight against Ebola. It isn't necessarily the families that contract the disease, but, the health care workers surprised by the presentation of the virus in their hospital.

In Spain a nursing assistant died from the virus. It is the intimate contact that comes from caring for someone infected that spreads the disease. Health care workers are at most risk and when they aren't equipped with protective gear a nightmare becomes a reality.

The biggest complaint in West Africa is that burial ceremonies involve preparing the body by washing. It is those that come in contact with the deceased that contract the virus. It isn't casual contact that causes the increase in deaths.

October 19, 2014

By Aliyah Furmin

...Republican lawmakers (click here) on Sunday continued to pile on President Obama’s refusal to ban flights from West Africa amid the Ebola crisis. They also blasted hisappointment of former White House official Ron Klain to coordinate the U.S. response to the deadly virus.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, where multiple people have been infected with Ebola, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Obama’s “biggest mistake” is continuing to allow open commercial flights. “We need to take a common-sense stand of suspending commercial air travel out of these countries … And for whatever reason, the Obama White House doesn’t want to,” he said.

GOP Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania repeated the call for a ban on “Fox News Sunday,” going so far as to say “this is like dealing with terrorism,” adding, “We have to be right 100% of the time, and Ebola only has to get in once.”...

So very typical of Republicans, they don't educate even themselves but simply reverberate populous rants. If they BOTHERED to be a LEADER rather than a dog chasing it's next 'culture of fear' bone, they might actually find reasons to be encouraged about the expertise found in the USA.

Now tell me this level of panic wasn't apparent with HIV. The exception this time is the virus is already known and it is known how to contain it. But, there was levels of fear such as "...It is in the tears of the infected..."

Why are those infected with Ebola not contagious until they have a fever?

The reason they aren't contagious until they have symptoms of a fever is because of 'viral load.' When a fever develops it isn't because the virus just showed up, but, because it was successful in replicating and growing in larger concentrations. A single virus in a single tear from a person's eye is not going to transmit the virus, but, body fluids with large numbers of virus has 'the opportunity' to infect others. It isn't one virus that causes symptoms, it is many that infect the body.

He's looking a little gaunt. Someone needs to feed that man. It looks as though he lost weigh because there is so much going on in the world he is probably getting little sleep, too.

See, he would tell everyone he is fine and there is nothing to worry about. When the President is appearing different and he denies it everyone yields to his assessment. 

So, he needs to stop being gracious and take a day or two off and EAT. Isn't there a game to watch or something? 

There is nothing more terrifying to Russia than NATO.

October 20, 2014

...Swedish authorities (click here) also protested to Moscow last month after the country's airspace was penetrated by two Russian fighter jets. Finland, which shares a more than 800-mile border with Russia, last week complained of a Russian naval vessel interfering with a Finnish research ship in international waters. And in September, Canada claimed that its ships taking part in Black Sea naval exercises with Ukraine were buzzed by Russian aircraft.

...“It could be a submarine, it could be a diver using a moped-like underwater vehicle and it could be divers that don’t have any business on our territory -- that’s the range of foreign underwater activity we are looking into,” the Euronews agency quoted Grenstad as saying.

The Svenska Dagensblat newspaper quoted unnamed sources with knowledge of the search, said to be the biggest in the post-Cold War period, as saying the hunt was triggered Friday after the Swedish military intercepted a Russian-language radio distress call from somewhere in the Stockholm archipelago to a receiver in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the main base of Moscow’s Baltic Sea fleet....

October 19, 2014 Time: 19:07. LAST UPDATED: October 19, 2014 Time: 19:57.

Armed Forces finds probable underwater operations (click here - needs translation)

HEADQUARTERS 
The intelligence operation that has lasted for more than two days in the archipelago based on several credible sightings. Over the past few days have made ​​observations at three locations. Armed Forces believes all that much credibility. 

- This means that the intelligence operation now seeks to confirm foreign submarine operations, said Rear Admiral Anders Grenstad, Armed Forces Deputy Director of Operations.

Armed Forces confirms that it is likely that there is a foreign submarine activity in the Stockholm archipelago. It is the second highest voucher on Armed Forces self-assessment scale, which means that the operation continues. Armed Forces' assessment is also based on several observations over the years in the same area at Kanholmsfjärden....

There were exercises and Russian can't stand the simple of idea that NATO is prepared for any possible threat. This is from RIA Novosti.

..."This month (click here) five naval ships from the Royal Netherlands Navy participated in the international exercise Northern Archer in the Baltic Sea. One of these ships is HNLMS Bruinvis. The weekend of October 11th the ships visited Stockholm and spend the weekend there. After the weekend they exercised together with the Swedish Navy. This ended on Thursday afternoon, after which our ships set sail to Tallinn, Estonia, where they arrived on Friday morning," Karen Loos-Gelijns, Head of Communications Royal Netherlands Navy, informed RIA Novosti by e-mail....

This is what Russia is hoping for. A NATO that sees nothing, hears nothing and pretends there is no burgeoning conflict. I suppose as far as Russia is concerned NATO forgot to put out it's "No Trespassing in NATO Waters" sign.

Now that Russia has acted foolishly NATO has to worry about a distress call from Russian naval submarines, of in this case mini-sub, so no one dies in another Russia sub accident.

K-141 Kursk (click here)

All 118 men aboard the K-141 Kursk perished when the Russian nuclear submarine sank in the Barents Sea on 12 August 2000. Kursk was an Oscar-II class cruise missile submarine commissioned into the Russian Navy in December 1994.

Kursk was one of the 30 vessels that took part in the "Summer-X" exercise. The submarine suffered an explosion while preparing to fire dummy torpedoes during the exercise. The leakage of high-test peroxide (HTP) from one of the Type 65 torpedoes was believed to have caused the explosion.

The explosion completely destroyed the first three compartments. 23 of the 118 crew were left alive in the ninth compartment when the submarine hit the seafloor but they died subsequently due to lack of oxygen.

At least this time it is a mini-sub used for spying rather than a nuclear capacity submarine.

"Morning Papers" - It's Origins (click here)

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

Waning Crescent

13% of Full

26.1 day old Moon

NASA's ongoing assessment by Cassini is leading to the understanding of water that might be contained in our solar system.


October 16, 2014
By Jason Major

...And like (click here) the small zap you may get when reaching for a doorknob or other conductive object, Cassini’s Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) instrument detected a brief magnetic connection and spike in electrons as it passed by Hyperion on Sept. 26, 2005.

“The large difference in potential between the surface and the spacecraft resulted in a flow of electrons being accelerated from Hyperion toward Cassini,” said Tom Nordheim, doctoral candidate at Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), University College London, and leader of the analysis. ”It was rather like Cassini receiving a 200-volt electric shock from Hyperion, even though they were over 2,000 kilometers [1,200 miles] apart at the time.”...

Cast a Real Vote, not one dreamed up by media sources.

The Republican Party is not trustworthy. They have a following by the electorate that is based in so called, 'common sense.' It saves the Republicans from being involved with the people. It saves them the WORK that goes along with being an elected authority. It is far easier to treat the electorate as a child and simply give excuses and catchy phrases to find a reason to vote. 

The Republicans do an injustice to the American people in being that condescending politician. I have to laugh when a Tea Party candidate stated no one should go along to get along. Yet. In the elections of these candidates facts were the enemy and FOX News slogans and complaints won the day. Now, who is going along to get along?

The Republican Party is laced with double standards. And as long as the minorities in the USA allow them to carry the majority of any house in any election there will never be a resolve in their favor. You have to vote in order to be heard and there is no louder truth that Republicans want to oppress than the voices of minorities. 

Senator Chuck Grassley in the video below in 2010 instilled fear in the electorate based in so called 'Common Sense.' He should have been ashamed of himself allowing citizens believe their lives were in danger. This was to be the legacy of the Affordable Care Act according to FOX. "Pulling the plug on Granny." You'll excuse me, but, that is illegal in the USA, except, where a Living Will states otherwise. The implication by FOX and right wing media was that the government would maintain costs of health care by killing off the elderly.

They call it politics. It isn't. It is controlling the electorate in an ignorance that reinforces itself. It was not surprising for President Obama to go to the people and ask for their help. The people responded because he told the truth and didn't hold back on facts. 

It is time to do some talking and vote. Vote for those that tell the truth, believe in revitalizing the Middle Class and the American promise of upward mobility.

Know from here forward tax cuts for business and the wealthy don't achieve anything except a greater burden for the Middle Class and increasing poverty. The Michigan Example. It has to end now.

How many knew that the State of Michigan was among the most business friendly environments in the USA since 1994 and before?

"It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country." 
 –Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis


“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 
–George Santayana (philosopher)

Michigan was an experiment and it failed. Michigan pass a law, PROPOSAL A – MICHIGAN Property and Sales Taxes  -- Adopted March 15, 1994, which has proven to cut taxes, caused calamitous hardship as well as a failing state economy.

Given this reality, I don't know where any Republican can claim cutting taxes stimulates job growth and a healthy economy. This report exams all fifty states and one point and there is an opposite effect to cutting taxes in any long term strategy.

In the figure below, it shows the increase in state funding per student from 1999 to the proposal of 2015. It should be noted, while the spending per student has increased, it has nothing to do with changing policy, it is due to less students in the educational system of Michigan.

Proposal A (click here)

Low taxes and low levels of public services (click here) are not the path to long term economic prosperity.  A special section of the study reviews the relative rankings of all states by per capita income over the period 1929 to 2010.  Its key findings:  the states that were low tax in the beginning of this period were
also low income then, and they remain low income today—none of the bottom 10 in 1929 ever made the Top 10 over the years measured. Pp 34‐36, Table 8).


We are well under the Headlee Limitation,...(click here)

Interesting enough during this same period the GDP of Michigan increased until of course 2008. The recovery in Michigan since 2008 was primarily due to Washington policies. So, while the GDP was increasing in Michigan during this time, the incomes to citizens were decreasing, there was growing unemployment and the state was having tax short falls.

...The tax cuts (click here) were sold as being the key to creating economic prosperity for the state; but, over that period, Michigan’s national rank in per capita income has tumbled from 18th to 35th and the state’s unemployment rate, aligned with the national average in 1994, last year was more than 25 percent above the national average, according to the report....

...Individually, (click here) some of these past tax changes were likely reasonable policies. Collectively however, they now threaten the ability of Michigan to support its public investments, the services that create opportunities for young people, that attract and retain talent, and that are increasingly important in today’s knowledge service driven economy.

In December, 2011, Gov. Rick Snyder issued a special Talent Address. In it, he said, “In the 20th century, the most valuable assets to job creators were financial and material capital. In a changing global economy, that is no longer the case. Today, talent has surpassed other resources as the driver of economic growth.” 

This study agrees that talent is the key to Michigan’s future. Sadly, his administration has not put dollars and priorities behind that sentiment. See the Michigan Future website (www.MichiganFuture.org) for data on educational attainment across the states.

Gov. Snyder and the current Legislature, while making these statements supportive of attracting and retaining talent, have continued to cut taxes, mostly for businesses, and issue tax abatements. (The business tax cuts have been offset somewhat by increases in taxes, mostly on low and middle income 

families through a reduction of the Earned Income Tax Credit, and senior citizens, through the pension tax...

While Michigan was accepting increases in their sales and use tax from 4% to 6%, none went to the education system. Michigan never reexamined the laws that were causing collapse of so many public school systems. The hardest hit are majority minority communities. Michigan simply let the educational system rot under oppressive laws (tax cuts) because they were convinced raising taxes would ruin their 'business environment.'

When people are poor there is a poor economy. Tax cuts to the bone won't bring the economy back because there is no money in it in the first place. The healthiest statement I read to this effect is that business and the people should be equal partners in any government treasury.

"The Buffet Rule" (click here)

Basically, the people are seen as one shareholder in the deposits made to the treasury, be it local, state or federal. So, for each business in the state they are a shareholder to the treasury and the people are one and only one. Businesses ante-up no different than citizens, but, citizens don't carry the cost for a business to exist.

This is an article I could not pass up. I thought it best if I bring attention to these wonderful women.

Dr. Anna Pauline ‘Pauli’ Murray (Nov. 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985) (click here)

Pauli Murray was an American civil rights and women’s rights activist, lawyer and author. She wrote several important articles highlighting race relations during the Civil Rights era including  Negroes Are Fed Up in 1943. Murray was also a founding member of the National Organization for Women, a group that addressed issues of gender equality and women’s rights.

In 1977, Murray became the first African-American woman to become an Episcopal priest. Since her death in 1985, several books have been written highlighting her work, including Pauli Murray: The Autobiography of a Black Activist, Feminist, Lawyer, Priest and Poet....

Septima Poinsette Clark (May 3, 1898 – Dec. 15, 1987)

Ella Josephine Baker (Dec. 13, 1903 – Dec. 13, 1986)

Fannie Lou Hamer (Oct. 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977)

Dorothy Irene Height (March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010)

Anna Arnold Hedgeman (July 5, 1899 – Jan. 17, 1990)

Daisy Lee Gatson Bates (Nov. 11, 1914 – Nov. 4, 1999)

Mary Seacole (1805 – May 14, 1881)

Every one of them could be called feminists. They believe in the empowerment of the individual. They believed all people had the right to determine their own path. They are great women.

Ebola as an election issue? Like the virus, it will run it's course.

Is there an American living in the USA that believe we can't beat this? That is not realistic. If Nigeria can do it, the USA can, too.

October 19, 2014

By Alexandra Stifflin

...“It’s possible to control Ebola. (click here) It’s possible to defeat Ebola. We’ve seen it here in Nigeria,” Nigerian Minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu told TIME. “If any cases emerge in the future, it will be considered—by international standards—a separate outbreak. If that happens, Nigeria will be ready and able to confront it exactly as we have done with this outbreak.”

For the WHO to declare Nigeria’s Ebola-free, the country had to make it 42 days with no new cases (double the incubation period), verify that it actively sought out all possible contacts, and show negative test results for any suspected cases.

Nigeria had 20 cases of Ebola after a Liberian-American man named Patrick Sawyer flew into Lagos collapsed at the airport. Health care workers treating Sawyer were infected, and as it spread it ultimately killed eight people, a low number next to the thousands of cases and deaths in other countries. Nigeria’s health system is considered more robust, but there was significant concern from experts that a case would pop up in one of the country’s dense-populated slums and catch fire....

Senator Ted Cruz is a prime Republican example of how they pander to the populous ideas in order to be the man for the job. Cruz stated, "A travel ban is a political no brainer."

Okay, is there an American alive that wants American policy to reflect the political desires of a US Senator or do they really want policy that works? Cruz also stated, "Obama should be rolling out the experts and he isn't." I suppose the director of the CDC is chump change, huh? Then of course, everything is politics for Mr. Cruz and the Medical Doctor with exactly the perfect experience for the job in the year 2014 is simply a political hack and Obama should not assign a political hack to such an important position.

Do I detect a double standard? A travel ban is a political no brainer, but, assigning a political hack to a place on the cabinet is counter to the country's best interests. It is amazing how slick some folks think they are.

No election endorsement in 2016.

October 29, 2014
By Matt Taibbi

...I was shocked (click here) to hear him say aloud in the second debate that the richest people would not have their tax burdens reduced, especially since he spent the entire primary season running as a supply-sider who would create growth by cutting taxes on capital gains, interest, dividends, and eliminating the estate tax, cuts that overwhelmingly favor the very rich....

...When Obama tried to nail him on his record on contraception, noting that Romney had suggested that employers should be able to decide whether or not to allow insurance coverage of contraceptives, Romney effortlessly replied: "I don't believe employers should tell someone whether they could have contraceptive care or not. Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives."...

This is an article from 2012 in Rolling Stone. Romney is 'out there' because he can be, because he is bored with his life without politics and because he may be the only 'closely reasonable' candidate when the primary season comes to a close.


Think about all the other so called 2016 candidates and tell me there is one, just one, that isn't so extreme on one topic or another that Romney just might be the one left at the end of GOP primary season that really delivered on moving the party closer to the center.

McConnell won't keep the filibuster, otherwise, the Democrats could protect everyone from the evil within the Republican Party. That is why it is important to get out the vote. GET OUT THERE. No joke.

They'll repeal completely The Voting Rights Act. They return DOMA in different language and include personhood legislation. The American people will become very burdened with a Republican majority in both houses.

The repeal of any law will require a simply majority and it probably can be achieved with both houses a majority Republican. But, when that begins to happen the people won't put up with it when it comes to Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. 

Any repeal of such laws would be a travesty. Medicare Part D was passed to improve the lives of those needing medications. That was passed during the Bush White House and it has benefited Americans who needed help. If the Republicans cut benefits and pull a "Ryan's Approach" they will be thrown out of office in 2016.

Mitch McConnell even defrauded himself when addressing the Affordable Care Act in Kentucky. He stated he would fully repeal Obamacare at the federal level, but, would agree to a website for the Medicaid expansion in Kentucky. That is a Republican talking out of both sides of his mouth.

Impeaching President Obama.

It can't be done.

USA Constitution

Article 1, Section III 

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Two-thirds vote would require 67 US Senators would be required to impeach the President or anyone else for that matter. It is just right wing lies and political rhetoric.

This was posted a year ago, in 2013 on Facebook.

A Letter to the Editor in the Billings Gazette.

October 19, 2014

The stated purpose of the Affordable Care Act was to reduce the persistent increase in the cost of medical insurance while guaranteeing adequate coverage. On that it is succeeding beyond all expectations.

I am aware of a small, 15-person business that has always provided the best medical coverage for their employees that is saving $10,000 a month by joining the state exchange. The reason — a statewide pool spreads the risk more broadly and the same coverage is much less expensive. Competition from the co-op also helps.

Yes, there are some who have to pay more. For the most part, they are businesses who employ over 50 people who now have to provide adequate medical insurance for their employees. They didn't have to before. It is hard to feel sorry for them; they should not be able to gain a competitive edge over their competitors by not providing health insurance.

The other group is those who received inadequate coverage. Even though they paid less in premiums, it did not help much when they got sick or injured.

The worst tragedy is the truly medically needy. They were supposed to be covered by an expansion of Medicaid. But the Supreme Court said the federal government could not mandate this coverage and Montana's Republican Legislature refused to expand Medicaid in Montana.

Don't forget that when you vote for state legislators. Most Republicans would rather push their hardworking but poorer constituents into bankruptcy when they get sick or injured rather than accept federal dollars to insure them. That is just heartless and cruel.

Thomas E. Towe

Billings

This letter to the editor reflects the reality of pre-Affordable Care Act and post-Affordable Care Act. The law was suppose to change things. The insurance companies can't gouge members but maintain a 15% profit over expenses. The people of the USA are suppose to have the opportunity for health care regardless of their past health history. The American people are suppose to live healthy lives. The Affordable Care Act is going to make angry the companies that simply disregarded their hourly workers as a burden the company had rather than supplying the needs of their employees.

Those that complain about their health insurance choices in the year 2014 were resigned to having a poor policy with poor coverage within a certain cost. The lower the cost of the insurance the better they liked it and didn't worry about the actual coverage and the perils that could follow. "I'm a health person, why should I have to carry all this preventive care?" 

Good question, now ask oneself and see if the answer isn't more beneficial than flying by the seat of your pants every time a health issue surfaces.

I would think Blue and Pale Blue states would be interested in what CAN be done regarding GMOs.

In order to move our country forward there needs to be a strong progressive voice to bring the changes many citizens long for. If I were running in a state where GMOs are available, which is nearly every state, I'd be talking about the concerns of the people. Simpy being part of the group of concerned citizens can bring about enthusiasm for change throughout the country when NGOs begin their campaigns. No one that I have noted has harnessed all that political energy. This is not an artificial issue. It is real. Ask Phil, he'll tell you how American health is impacted by GMOs.

I would hope US Senators and US House members would be sensitive enough to at least ask the question, "Is anyone concerned about GMOs or is everything good with the US food supply?"

North Dakota is a problem for the rest of the country. Besides the oil trains we all know about, there is the disaster of crime rates that can't be stemmed.

This video is from 2012 and is more civilized than many that come out of North Dakota. He obviously is a nice man and concerned for others. I am sure things have changed somewhat from 2012, but, the petroleum drilling is ridiculous and outrageous. Besides the obvious social challenges faced as a method to survive there are many more problems.

October 5, 2014
By Sari Horwitz

...But there is a dark side (click here) to the multibillion-dollar boom in the oil fields, which stretch across western North Dakota into Montana and part of Canada. The arrival of highly paid oil workers living in sprawling “man camps” with limited spending opportunities has led to a crime wave – including murders, aggravated assaults, rapes, human trafficking and robberies – fueled by a huge market for illegal drugs, primarily heroin and methamphetamine.

Especially hard-hit are the Indian lands at the heart of the Bakken. Created in 1870 on rolling grasslands along the Missouri River, Fort Berthold was named after a U.S. Army fort and is home to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation – known as the MHA Nation, or the Three Affiliated Tribes.

‘Like a tidal wave’

“It’s like a tidal wave, it’s unbelievable,” said Diane Johnson, chief judge at the MHA Nation. She said crime has tripled in the past two years and that 90 percent is drug-related. “The drug problem that the oil boom has brought is destroying our reservation.”...

The native tribes are caught in the middle of a devastating reality on their lands. It isn't just crime, it is an incredibly high cost of living.

The article above was from the 5th of October. Did I say things probably improved since 2012? It would seem not. 

Rhetoric or fact?

I don't know about anyone else, but, my belief in my government conflicts with the political rhetoric and it gets annoying. 

So, given there are elections coming up soon, I decided to do an assessment of the talking points of Republicans and decide if they have an ounce of decency, integrity and loyalty to the people of this country or whether I am as right as rain.

The immigration issue and the southern border entry below begins to spell out how very wrong the Republicans are when it comes to USA policy. They expect right wing media to make the elections favor a set political standard and they simply buy into it with campaign donors and cronies.

I know partisan politics exists because people see things differently. Like the gold or silver standard for USA currency. It was a valid issue of the day and people voted as they saw fit. But, the voting that occurs in 2014 have no relevance to the issues we face as a country. The right media is wrong and it is my sincerest hope they can be as honest with themselves as Mr. Charles Gilbert was when he confronted reality as opposed to his trumped up imagination by 'infotainment.'

The porous border of the USA south. NO AMNESTY! Yeah!

I have been reading newspapers for as long as I can remember. Within the past decade the concern for our southern border grew, but, it wasn't because of illegals taking jobs; it was because people crossing the desert were dying.

This is an article about a man reformed from hate to compassion and the desire to be legal rather than vigilante.

...“I decided I wanted to go down to the border and kick some ass,” Gilbert says. “I’m your typical angry white male. I’m conservative. I’m pissed off at the double-standard in the media. I’m that guy.”...

...Over the next three years, he invested at least $10,000 in equipment. His girlfriend’s garage is filled with the stuff: camo gear, two-way HAM radios, $3,000 worth of night-vision equipment, a camo Polaris ATV, a Yeti cooler with a bumper-sticker reading “Extremely Right-Wing,” books on tracking and avoiding ambushes. He’s still got his handguns and his long guns. He’s still got his vest with the LED flashlights, the first aid kit and the pockets with extra ammo. At first the experience was exhilarating; the sense of mission very real.

“It reminded me of the camaraderie in Afghanistan,” he says. “The sense that we were making a positive contribution.”...

...But as Gilbert (click here) became more deeply invested in hunting immigrants, some things he saw started gnawing at him.

“You get down there and you begin to see humanity,” he says. “You can set up here and watch Fox News and say ‘these alien bastards, we need to shut the border down.’ But what I saw coming through Brooks County was humanity.” Once, he says they rescued a pregnant woman in her 20s—tired and desperate—who gave birth hours later while she was in a detention center....

...And there were the dead bodies—some 300 corpses have been reported in Brooks County in the last three years alone. Once, Gilbert found a man in his late 20s or early 30s limply resting against a tree. His eyes had been plucked out by vultures. The sight shook him.

“Apparently this country was worth dying for,” he remembers thinking. “I had a hard time not feeling profoundly upset by that.”...

Charles Gilbert (third from left, standing) and another man with holstered firearms.

...“Taking people into custody like that, it’s against the law,” he says. “These people have done it and gotten away with it for so long they think nobody’s gonna ever call them on it.”...

...“There’s something wrong here with the fact that the Border Patrol is using TBV as an interdiction force,” Cottrell says. “I witnessed that from the very first time I went out from the time that I left the group. They are essentially unlawfully detaining people. That is part of the reason I left.”

Over the summer, new militia groups—much less organized than TBV—began cropping up in the Rio Grande Valley in response to the influx of Central American children and families. After a Border Patrol agent opened fire on a militiaman with a group called Camp Lonestar in Brownsville, the agency put out a statement distancing itself from militia activity. The Border Patrol’s position was fairly unequivocal: “Forced detention can be viewed as a criminal offense and violators will be referred to local, state or federal prosecutors for possible legal action.”...

My experience in reading about the USA southern border was never about illegal people coming to the USA to take American jobs. It was always about the humanity and the lack of it even when 'wet backs' made their way into Texas or California or Arizona farmlands. 

The issue to me was always about why are they coming here if Mexico was a decent place to live. It was our southern neighbor and it's citizens were leaving their homes and families and traveling a very rough and dangerous journey to work for pennies. 

These folks were never going to displace me or anyone I knew. They didn't have a trade and for the most part didn't read or write. These people were in abject poverty and looking to find a way out. Even for the small pay they received in the USA and the horrid working conditions they still believed their lives were improved. 

That focus has never changed for me and Catholic priests were known to take them into shelter providing a place to be healthy and hopefully functionally literate. The argument in California has always been about providing help and not about punishment for their efforts to be in the USA.

Since, the year 2000 with the assignment of Bush to the Presidency, the southern border has become a political scapegoat and the USA has spent billions in fences and adding Border Patrol and even placing National Guard in Texas. 

Sure there are bad guys and Mexico would like to stop them as they sell drugs illegally in the USA. But, they aren't the majority of the people who come to the USA. The drug cartels will make it into the country no matter what anyway.

While reading this article I was reminded of how completely out of touch this man was. I believed he was sucked into his angry state by right wing media. He never bothered to read the articles and reports I read. He knew all he needed to know by listening to right wing media that carved out this caricature of an American ending any border crossings.

Now, Ebola is crossing the southern border through the invasion of the Islamic State according to right wing talkers.

This story about Charles Gilbert and his experience with the southern border of the USA is so very typical of the political right wing that leaps at opportunistic rhetoric that drives the naive to the polls. They think they are voting for a moral right to be angry when all they are voting for in reality is air; right wing media air. Don't they ever get angry about that? Or is it so embarrassing when the truth is known they simply slink away into their own neighborhoods and friends and pretend to be relevant for all the wrong reasons.