The most troubling event in 2017 was the escalation of tensions with North Korea and the USA.

Over the years since Kim Jon Il's death in 2011 we have witnessed the isolation of North Korean leadership. First it was Un's wife that left international society. In 2017, the tensions between North Korea and the USA hit an all time high. The odd thing about North Korea is similar to other countries with nuclear capacity, in that poverty rules the country while sophisticated weaponry drain the national treasury.

The Korean Peninsula and Japan has seen at leave five major storms this year. The satellite was earlier today. There is a hurricane like storm between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. There has been many 'ghost ships' washing ashore in Japan. I would expect that to continue given the impoverishment of North Korea.

The insight one can draw from such foolishness by the USA and North Korea is the fact the people may be facing real problems with a food supply.

Himawari Satellite

31 December 2017

1700 UTC 

December 7, 2017

...In 2017 though, (click here) a number of ships have washed ashore with the crew still alive.

In November, eight men were found alive on a boat at Yurihonjo marina. They said they were fishermen from North Korea who had gotten into trouble at sea.

Another ship picked up by the Japanese coast guard was found to have 10 men on board.

The boats are often rickety and very simple vessels with no modern engines or navigation instruments on board.

Where are they from?

With most of the boats washing up empty or only with dead bodies, it was initially not clear where they had come from but some observers speculated they were North Korean fishing boats that had been searching for king crab, squid and sandfish.

Markings on some of the vessels, in Korean, indicated that they belonged to the North's military which is heavily involved in the fishing industry.

In the recent cases where boats were found with the crew still alive, the sailors confirmed they were from North Korea. One of the boats rescued in November also had a plaque indicating it belonged to the military.

Unsurprisingly, there has been no mention of the missing vessels from North Korea....               

More dangerous temperatures during a holiday.

The Republicans call this governance?

The last time the polar vortex visited was 2013. The winter was wicked and spring for farmers was late.

People have to be reminded about the dangers of carbon monoxide. They should go to places where they are safe and not use any stoves or indoor burning for heat.

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of north and west satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)
December 31, 2017
1230:18z

The Arctic air mass is firmly anchored over the USA. All air movement has been involving the oceans and not the land. The oceans are warmer than land and will continue to induce air movement that carries water vapor into the ice structures of the hemisphere.

The word needs to go out that fishing boats and any passenger ships need to put into the nearest port.

New Zealand is at 11 o'clock. Any such storm in the southern ocean is no match for anyone. There are no land masses to curtail the water's motion.

To left:
Antarctica Water Vapor Composite (click here for24 hour loop )
December 30, 2017
2100 utc

Dangerous waves (click here) are set to hit New Zealand's western coastline on New Year's Day and they may be so high fishers and boaties could be in peril.

Beachgoers are being warned to expect incre

asing large and powerful swells that will rapidly double in height at North and South Island beaches throughout the day.

To right, New Zealand is in the high-pressure trough.
East Australia Water Vapor Satellite (click here)
December 31, 2017
0130z

Metservice said the dangerous swells will suddenly arrive in sets with the potential to catch those near the water by surprise.

Fishing off rocks and crossing West Coast bars by boat may prove too hazardous for the next couple of days.

MetService said the waves had been generated from a deep storm in the Southern Ocean and driven by westerly gales roaring across the ocean south of Australia.

The long period waves would begin arriving in New Zealand waters on New Year's Day before rapidly getting larger.

MetService said if you were planning a west coast beach mission it would best to go to a patrolled beach.

Himawari-9 (click here for 24 hour loop)
December 30, 2017

1600 utc

The intensity is due to the heat transfer from Indonesia. It is not the Antarctica vortex that is the problem. This is a heat transfer event into Antarctica. It is summer there. Any heat transfer can have high winds that cause a change in the air surface interface with the oceans.

This is all simple bookkeeping. There should be a city office dedicated to this purpose.

There should be transparency for the work being done. While some of the work can be considered confidential, it isn't as though the work is not noticeable. A watchdog group can follow the companies working in Flint and record their presence in a home. What they can't record is the work being conducted inside the home.

There have been many people and organizations involved in the effort to bring clean drinking water to Flint. There really should be an office where work orders are filed and residents with comments can file complaints, etc. It is unfortunate to realize there is not a central office where all the information is collected and reports generated.

There should be enough monies to open an office for this purpose. The mayor and council need to answer the filing and provide comfort to all involved in realizing the people of Flint and their children are safe. There should be no neglect of the facts before the people.

December 28, 2017
By Merrit Kennedy

The city of Flint, (click here) which has been reeling for years over lead seepage from its pipes into its tap water, is accused of violating the terms of a major settlement agreement aimed at improving its water quality. Advocacy groups say the city is failing to disclose information about its efforts to replace its lead pipes....

...The agreement was seen as a significant victory for people struggling for years with unsafe water. It originated from a lawsuit filed in January 2016 by Flint resident Melissa Mays and three groups — the National Resources Defense Council, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and Concerned Pastors for Social Action....

...The agreement also requires authorities to examine water service lines for 18,000 Flint households within three years and to replace them if they are made of lead or galvanized steel. They have replaced nearly 5,500 service lines so far, according to data released by the mayor....

...These lapses, the plaintiffs say, raise questions about the city's competence. "If the City cannot collect critical, easily identifiable data and provide it within the agreed-upon timeframes, how can Plaintiffs trust that the City is competent to execute the much larger and urgent task of service line replacement in Flint?"

There has been severe weather in Michigan and the Midwest for more than a week now. It is bound to slow things down during the winter months.

December 29, 2017
By Dominic Adams

Flint, MI - Icy conditions have lead to around 30 crashes throughout Genesee County on Friday, Dec. 29.

The crashes began around 8 a.m., according to Genesee County 911.

A crash on southbound U.S. 23 after the Thompson Road exit is impacting traffic, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

There also are numerous crashes on Interstate 75, Interstate 475 and Interstate 69, according to Genesee County 911. 

A hazardous weather outlook from the National Weather Service called for light snow of with accumulation of an inch or less was expected. 

I trust Mayor Weaver. The coordination of information may not be simple, but, I think she can be counted on to improve the city's performance on reports and transparency.

December 29, 2017
By Steve Carmody

...Weaver says her administration (click here) is "doing all we can" to protect resident's health. The mayor is optimistic her city's lead pipe replacement program will accelerate in 2018.

The service lines connecting homes to city water mains have been a prime source of lead in Flint’s tap water. 

The city has replaced more than 6,000 lead service lines over the past two years.

Weaver expects crews will replace another six thousand lead pipes next year to stay on pace to replace around twenty thousand service pipes by 2020.

“We may be able to come in under that three year time frame,” says Weaver, “So we’re going to continue to work toward that.”

The city still distributes more than 60,000 cases of bottled water each week to Flint residents who don’t trust their tap water. 

The disconnect from the USA Constitution serves their purpose.

The President sits at Mar-a-Lago in violation of the Emoluments Claus while the Republican leadership plots their next attack on the country.

December 27. 2017
By Seung Min Kim and Rachael Bade

...The Wisconsin Republican (click here) has detailed an ambitious effort to dramatically reshape Medicare, Medicaid and welfare programs that the GOP has long targeted as ripe for reforms. But bring it up with key Senate Republicans and House GOP moderates and they blanch — seeing a legislative battle that may not be winnable and that may not be worth it in an election year where control of Congress is up for grabs...

Where is the impeachment?

I now know where I can have direct contact with Donald Trump. This is not a surprise, it is more of Trump's corrupt administration.

Power brokers can sit down to lunch with Trump and play "Let's Make a Deal." That is corruption. The reason Trump gets away with it, is that the entire estate is secure including the members in attendance. The Secret Service has been pushed aside in order for Trump to "Make a Deal" with any of it's members. Trump has become so hostile to the Secret Service they don't have an office to operate out of at Trump Towers in New York City.

There is no ease of contact by any modern day President. Trump has created a method of securing 'a space' whereby members can approach him to engage a conversation without being over heard by the Secret Service AGENTS.

The media is sugar coating this interview as a great moment when Trump was candidate and leisure. "W"rong!

December 28, 2017
By Charles P. Pierce

...Other people were unkind enough (click here) to point out that the interview was brokered by one Christopher Ruddy, a Trump intimate and the CEO of NewsMax, and that Ruddy made his bones as a political “journalist” by peddling the fiction that Clinton White House counsel Vince Foster had been murdered, one of the more distasteful slanders that got a shameful public airing during the Clinton frenzy of the 1990’s. Neither of those will concern us here. What Schmidt actually got out of this interview is a far more serious problem for the country. In my view, the interview is a clinical study of a man in severe cognitive decline, if not the early stages of outright dementia.

Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen my father and all of his siblings slide into the shadows and fog of Alzheimer’s Disease. (the president's father developed Alzheimer's in his 80s.) In 1984, Ronald Reagan debated Walter Mondale in Louisville and plainly had no idea where he was. (Would that someone on the panel had asked him. He’d have been stumped.) Not long afterwards, I was interviewing a prominent Alzheimer’s researcher for a book I was doing, and he said, “I saw the look on his face that I see every day in my clinic.” In the transcript of this interview, I hear in the president*’s words my late aunt’s story about how we all walked home from church in the snow one Christmas morning, an event I don’t recall, but that she remembered so vividly that she told the story every time I saw her for the last three years of her life....              

I am not impressed with the Trump White House definition of national security.

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)
December 29, 2017
1430.38z

What happened to David Frum? On MSNBC. He is brilliant, but, he looks as though he is suffering from depression. Somone needs to reach out ot him and let him know the world is not coming to an end. And if it does, he is not responsible for it.

These are the holidays. He needs to rejoice with his family for the New Year.

We are Americans. We protect our country during times of big questions. We stand together, not alone. Americans are strongest when we are one. Welcome back, David.

The strategy under Steve Jobs was fraudulent.

This is Wall Street. This is the greed the world wants to emulate. Really?

Apple needs to determine it's liability to the owners of iPhones and reimburse those compelled to purchase new phones. I think the newest generation of iPhone could be discounted to these purchases to allow them to EASILY purchase it. That is, of course, if they still want an Apple iPhone.

December 27, 2017
By Samantha Miller

Apple gets caught throttling (click here) its customers after years of speculation.

The concept of planned obsolescence is unproven as a long-term strategy for continued growth.

How much does the value of eroded trust impact Apple's relatively high stock price?...

The lying appears to be habitual. I would think Apple has an abundant supply of the new iPhone to compensate their customers signing on to past purchases due to poor performance imposed by Apple.

December 28, 2017
By Tae Kim

The market's anticipation of strong sales (click here) from the new iPhones drove Apple shares much higher this year, but now one Wall Street firm says optimism for big upside is not warranted.

Wells Fargo Securities reiterated its market perform rating for Apple shares, saying the latest China export data points to meager iPhone sales growth in the December quarter.

"An analysis of China Province-level mobile phone export data this week reinforces our cautious opinion on Apple's iPhone cycle," analyst Aaron Rakers wrote in a note to clients Wednesday entitled "iPhone-Related China Data Analysis: Implying Limited / No Yr/Yr Growth Thus Far In 4Q17."

The analyst wrote they "currently see limited/no upside potential to our 81.2M iPhone ship estimate."...

Tillerson comes out of the embattled State Department Haley's fumbling.

It is really interesting how "Making America Great Again" is defined by bullying. I happen to think Lavrov is correct. Unfortunately, there is no room in the presidential field in Russia for him.

In the New York Times, Tillerson states he is proud of his democracy (click here). I suppose so. The American Democracy has opened up international markets for ExxonMobile. What is not to like? Being a petroleum industry CEO has never been easier.

Republicans define leadership by the ease of economic performance, not, achieving economic growth in the face of a challenge such as the energy crisis caused by the pollution of carbon dioxide and methane. Facing that challenge was not a problem for President Obama. It is sad to realize retreating to old Republican economic strategies are actually welcome by Wall Street.

"Making America Great Again" includes turning greed loose as a priority before the well being of Americans. There is no morality in Trump's Republicans definition of "Making America Great Again."

December 26, 2017
By Vladimir Soldatkin

Moscow (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (click here) told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday that "Washington's aggressive rhetoric" had heightened tension on the Korean peninsula and was unacceptable, the Russian foreign ministry said.

In a phone call, the two men also discussed further steps towards resolving the Syrian crisis and the situation in Ukraine, it added.

I would like to bring focus to the case of one dead 31 year old Jacob Craig.

The police arrive to a man with a gun who is also mentally ill and possibly abusing substances although that was never clear. Jacob Craig pointed the gun at the police officer and now he is dead.

I thought gun laws kept guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. Jacob Craig is soundly stated as mentally ill. What was he doing with a gun?

Jacob Craig could have been in downtown Tulsa when he decided to carry his gun into a crowd when a police officer was apparent. What was stopping this man from killing numerous people with a gun he clearly should not have had in his possession.

I am not saying the police officer had no right to defend himself. The PROBLEM here is the fact Jacob Craig had a gun at all. Our laws and the gun lobby proclaim the requirements to prevent mentally ill people are enough to protect the public. CLEARLY, that is not the case. Where are the lawsuits that demand the mentally ill never obtain weapons? The regulations are clearly not working and not a thing is being done.

This is not simply a fluke case. There have been many others whereby a mentally ill person died by a police bullet because the officer was defending himself or herself. Then there are the issues like Virginia Tech. The laws that require background checks for mental illness or criminal history are obviously unable to protect Americans, and I might add nor those among us that are mentally ill.

When is this going to change? Where did Jacob Craig receive a gun at all? Now that he is dead the case of his death is closed. Why? There is no reason to close the case when in fact he was mentally ill and possessed a gun.

December 26, 2017
By Kyle Hinchley

A man fatally shot by police (click here) after reportedly pointing a gun at an officer while naked on Christmas had a history of mental illness and may have been high on mushrooms, according to his mother.

A Tulsa police officer shot and killed 31-year-old Jacob Craig about 4:45 p.m. Monday in the 1100 block of South Wheeling Avenue.

The officer, whose name has not been released, was responding to a report of a disturbance with a weapon when authorities say Craig approached him while carrying a handgun and wearing no clothes. Police say the officer gave several commands for the man to put the gun down, but opened fire when Craig pointed the gun at him.

Craig was taken to an area hospital and died from his injuries....

The litigation should continue in the face of obvious political corruption.

Scott Pruitt is not competent. He is simply putting a pen on paper without due cause to change the regulations of the EPA. This case clearly shows the corruption he brings to the EPA.

The idea there are jobs that may be effected by environmental law is a reality that plagues the agency. There is nothing one can do about lost jobs and profits because regulations require Americans to be safe from environmental pollution. Excess greenhouse gases are pollution.

No one likes to cause adverse economic conditions because of NECESSARY REGULATIONS. The beautiful effect of the EPA in leveraging regulation to improve the lives of Americans is to realize the number of jobs created by alternative energies over the past decade. When people lost their jobs, their homes and hope in 2008, the Democratic Recovery Act brought new jobs in areas of energy sourly ignored for decades.

Today, there are very viable economic realities that cannot be ignored. Scott Pruitt in his antiquated ideas and incompetent METHODS of determining regulation or the lack of it, is at least as offensive as he claims current regulation is; to the brave new energy world instilled under the Obama administration. There are very viable arguments for a court to consider about the incompetency of Pruitt, his methods and strong partisan discrimination that will cause damage to Americans and their economy.

Just because Pruitt puts his name on a piece of paper doesn't mean the lawsuit ends there, if anything it goes forward with more viability to prove how wayward this administration is without a care about the danger Americans are being placed in.

December 26, 2017

By Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin

Since 2010, (click here) the Environmental Protection Agency has been embroiled in an enforcement battle with a Michigan-based company accused of modifying the state’s largest coal-fired power plant without getting federal permits for a projected rise in pollution.

On Dec. 7, as the Supreme Court was considering whether to hear the case, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a memo that single-handedly reversed the agency’s position. No longer would the EPA be “second-guessing” DTE Energy’s emission projections. Rather, it would accept the firm’s “intent” to manage its pollution without requiring an enforceable agreement — part of President Trump’s broader push to reduce the “burden” on companies, he wrote. 

The little-noticed episode offers a glimpse into how Pruitt has spent his first year running the EPA. In legal maneuvers and executive actions, in public speeches and closed-door meetings with industry groups, he has moved to shrink the agency’s reach, alter its focus and pause or reverse numerous environmental rules. The effect has been to steer the EPA in the direction sought by those being regulated.

The United Nation's is working with the USA, not obstructing it. A hissy fit over Jerusalem is juvenile.

If the USA is 22 percent of the UN budget is $1.2 billion over 2 years that means the UN operates on about $5.4 billion every two years or $2.52 billion per year. That is incredible. For the scope of the United Nation's ability, including supporting peacekeepers, the cost is incredibly low.

Nicky Haley is a horrible US Mission Ambassador. Trump can't simply cut the UN membership on a whim. The USA has a place at the UN and it's financial contribution of it's membership is determined by the United Nation through it's rules.

The General Assembly, (click here)

Recalling its previous resolutions and decisions on the scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations, including its resolutions 55/5 B and C of 23 December 2000, 57/4 B of 20 December 2002, 58/1 B of 23 December 2003, 61/237 of 22 December 2006, 64/248 of 24 December 2009 and 67/238 of 24 December 2012 and its decision 68/548 of 27 December 2013, 

Reaffirming Article 17 of the Charter of the United Nations and rule 160 of its rules of procedure, 

Recalling paragraphs 5 and 6 of its resolution 58/1 B, Having considered the report of the Committee on Contributions on its seventy-fifth session1 and the report of the Secretary-General on multi-year payment plans,

1. Takes note of the report of the Committee on Contributions on its seventy-fifth session;

2. Reaffirms that the determination of the scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations shall remain the prerogative of the General Assembly;

3. Also reaffirms the fundamental principle that the expenses of the Organization shall be apportioned broadly according to capacity to pay;

4. Further reaffirms the obligation of all Member States to bear the expenses of the United Nations, as apportioned by the General Assembly, in conformity with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations;

5. Reaffirms that the Committee on Contributions as a technical body is required to prepare the scale of as...

Every member of the United Nations fall under the same rules. I said Trump is scum and he is. The United Nations came together to bring tighter sanctions against North Korea and what do they get in return? The other countries receive disloyalty and demeaning of the United Nation's mission. Either Trump wants these measures achieved through the UN Security Council or he doesn't. But, to demean and ridicule those who stood with him and turn around and insult the United Nations by removing THE MEMBERSHIP DUES; he is empowering North Korea to continue it's path.

December 25, 2017

The U.S. government (click here) says it has negotiated a significant cut in the United Nations budget.

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said on Sunday that the U.N.'s 2018-2019 budget would be slashed by over $285 million. The mission said reductions would also be made to the U.N.'s management and support functions.

The announcement didn't make clear the entire amount of the budget or specify what effect the cut would have on the U.S. contribution.

U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said that the "inefficiency and overspending" of the organization is well-known, and she would not let "the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of."

This is another reason to impeach Donald Trump. The Republicans are putting the country at risk to continue to allow Trump his rampage from the White House. He should have been impeached as soon as he was inaugurated because of the violation of the emoluments clause. Republicans are selling the country to the highest bidder and not governing. Trump should have been gone a long time ago and it didn't take Mueller to achieve it. 

GOT THAT?

The Republicans are allowing Trump to stay in the Oval Office to sign their corrupt legislation. That is the truth. The Republicans do not have loyalty to the USA. 

December 27, 2017
By Jeffery M. Jones

Washington, D.C. -- Americans (click here) once again are most likely to name Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as the man and woman living anywhere in the world they admire most, as they have for the past 10 years. The pair retain their titles this year, although by much narrower margins than in the past. Obama edges out Donald Trump, 17% to 14%, while Clinton edges out Michelle Obama, 9% to 7%....

In Gallup Poll, Donald Trump wasn't even on the radar before 2015.

President Obama exceeds all other admired men and Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman. The media reports Trump gossip and bombast. His statements have no basis in truth. I think the Democrats need to stop believing Hillary Clinton is poison to their message. Hillary should have won the 2016 election. That is not poison.

Former Secretary Clinton has always been admired. She is always popular. What occurred in 2016 was a crime. There was a thumb on the electorate scale through dishonest and illegal means. Director Mueller would never simply waste the country's money for the sake of a job. His investigates are providing indictments that hold up to judges. Every voter needs to realize the USA had an election altered by nefarious people. That is serious. It is the country. The Democrats need to stand in the breach and hold on tight. 

Hillary Clinton has been dedicated to the country. She is a great woman and always will be. She is not evil nor criminal. Any complaint about Hillary Clinton for political hubris has never held up and never will.

Another tribute to American women is Oprah Winfrey.

...Oprah Winfrey Finishes in Top 10 for 30th Time

Hillary Clinton has finished in the top 10 26 times, the fifth most among women. She trails two of this year's other top 10 finishers -- Queen Elizabeth II (who holds the record for women, with 49 appearances) and Oprah Winfrey (named for the 30th time, third behind former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's 34 appearances and ahead of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' 28 during their lifetimes)....

The Democrats are seeing excitement among women within their ranks. I read a local free newspaper stating the candidates for office on the Democratic side are all women. Women are excited about taking the initiative to become a familiar face with the people of their districts. There is a great deal of pride to be found in the young, minorities and women candidates emerging with the ambition to win. It is a great party. The only success by Republicans to degrade any Democratic candidate is through media. Democrats need to overcome the media assault. It can be done. Alabama speaks eons to the awakening of the electorate.

Being a corporate sellout has made all the difference in the world for Jason Saine.

December 11, 2017
By Lynn Bonner

State Rep. Jason Saine, (click here) a Republican from Lincolnton, will be the next chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

ALEC is a conservative group backed by corporations that proposes model legislation for state legislators to introduce.

Saine will serve a one-year term beginning January 1, an ALEC spokesman said in an email.

Clothing makes the man evidently.

December 10, 2015
By Jim Morrell

N.C. Rep. Jason Saine (click here) on Monday defended spending more than $19,000 in campaign money on clothes, including some from a custom tailor in Charlotte.

Saine, a Lincolnton Republican, cited the spending on his most recent campaign report. It was first reported on The Daily Haymaker, a conservative website.

Saine spent $17,908 on clothes from Tom James Co., which bills itself as “the world’s largest manufacturer of custom clothing.”...

Good 'ole Jason can handle conflict of interest just fine.

January 8, 2017
By Jeff Moore

Raleigh — Republican state lawmaker Rep. Jason Saine (click here) of Lincoln County has been named to the Federal Communications Committee’s (FCC) Intergovernmental Advisory Panel.The Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC) is a two-year advisory panel that will focus its efforts on recommendations to the FCC on broadband and wireless infrastructure deployment, Universal Service programs, consumer complaints processes and public safety issues. It may be renewed for an additional two-year term at the discretion of the FCC.In an interview Saine said he looks forward to the opportunity to work with federal regulators and help them shape policy around broadband and wireless infrastructure, an area in which the lawmaker has been active in the N.C. General Assembly.”The IAC serves as an advisory board to the FCC to relay some of the challenges that state and local governments face with broadband deployment,” said Saine. “It provides a nice platform to interact with federal decision-makers on some of the policies that they’re setting forth and how they work and how they don’t work....

Nothing  like spreading oneself so thin that simply voting conservative is better than thinking for high-value targets, like the Koch's campaign contributions. That is especially true when privatizing the public schools is paramount to turning the USA into a profit machine for private industry.

October 17, 2017
By Lynn Bonner, Jane Stancill and David Raynor

...Johnson said campaign contributors (click here) have not influenced his thinking.

“These are things I have learned from my own experience,” he said. “If I disagree with the policy, I’m not afraid to say ‘no’ to anyone who gave me money.”

Charter Schools USA CEO Jonathan Hage contributed the maximum amount, $10,200, to Forest and Republican former Gov. Pat McCrory in the last election cycle. Charter Schools USA is a for-profit charter management company.

Hage gave smaller amounts to legislators. From 2014 to 2016, he gave $5,500 to Republican state Rep. Jason Saine of Lincolnton, who helped sponsor a new law that allows companies to employ the teachers in the schools they manage. Before the change, teachers had to work for the schools’ boards of directors. That law also allows charter schools to grow faster and authorizes the state charter school office to help the schools open NC Pre-K programs.

Saine is on the board of directors of West Lake Preparatory Academy, a Charter Schools USA school set to open next year in Lincoln County.

Republican legislators don't have to think. They simply vote the party line and solicit contributions for election and re-election. There is nothing to it. A legislator can be predictable to their contributors because that is all there is time for.

Acting as Chair for ALEC will be the first time Saine ever had to write legislation. He always had it done for him before. I doubt he will be a Chair, so much as a salesman.

And then there are the White Supremacists among the NC Legislator. It is simply a question as to how to contain them until it is socially okay again to be more verbal.

April 13, 2017
By Colin Campbell

...At least one House Republican legislator, (click here) however, is denouncing Pittman’s remark and voicing support for Lincoln.

“There’s no excuse for making that kind of blanket statement that’s incredibly offensive,” said Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincolnton Republican who chairs the powerful House Finance Committee. “Sometimes people say something they don’t mean, so I hope that whatever statement that comes next is apologetic.”...

A gaff. Comparing Abraham Lincoln to Hitler is a gaff. Interesting.

...Saine says Pittman’s comment harms the legislature’s reputation. “The public perception of elected officials is tarnished every time there’s a gaffe like this, whether it’s on the left or the right,” he said, noting that Pittman was a hot topic Wednesday morning in Saine’s hometown barber shop. “I’d rather talk about issues and things that are important, and when someone goes rogue like this, it’s certainly newsworthy.”

Should House leadership take action against Pittman?

“I don’t really know what our options are,” Saine said. “I have a feeling the folks that are going to go to the polls in 2018 will certainly remember this. I’m not sure that it’s up to us to dole out any punishment.”

Saine said the NC GOP is still the “Party of Lincoln,” and he’s a fan of the 16th president.

“He is a symbol of our party,” he said. “We certainly respect and hold high on a pedestal Abraham Lincoln.”

Democrats were quick to pounce on Pittman’s comments and criticized Moore’s silence on the issue Wednesday.

“Speaker Moore has remained silent after yet another outrageous comment by Rep. Pittman,”...

Don't they look wonderful? The Obama ladies look wonderful. The Prez is very much himself.

Barak Obama 
@BarakObama

On behalf of the Obama family, Merry Christmas! We wish you joy and peace this holiday season.

Are you for real? Joy and Peace? Prez, are you still living in the USA? There is no joy and peace anywhere! Hello?

There is no reason to pass an infrastructure bill when there are no workers. The USA construction industry is winning bids on projects, but, do not have enough workers.

The construction industry is rushing through work with fewer workers leaving behind poor quality as they move to the next project.

There will no doubt be plenty of lawsuits filed due to the shortage of construction workers.

The Trump Tax is the largest corporate welfare bill ever passed by the Republican majority US Congress.

This is called dangerous.

I have a holiday gift for the USA.

The return of:

TRUTHINESS

A Visit from St. Nicholas. (click here)

By Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!