Thank you, Senator McConnell. This is an excellent start.

March 26, 2018
By Morgan Gstalter

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (click here) announced a new bill on Monday that would legalize hemp as an agricultural product.

The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would legalize hemp, removing it from the federal list of controlled substances and allowing it to be sold as an agricultural commodity, according to WKYT.

"Hemp has played a foundational role in Kentucky's agriculture heritage, and I believe that it can be an important part of our future," McConnell said in a statement....

Civil rights vs. Gun rights; those most effected say there is a difference.

50 More Miles (click here)

"March for our Lives, 50 More Miles" blog (click here)

Press Release:

Madison, WI – Standing in solidarity (click here) with the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and taking inspiration from the 54 mile Selma to Montgomery march for civil rights, students in Wisconsin will be embarking on a four day, 50 mile March for Our Lives event. March for Our Lives: 50 Miles More will begin in Madison where participants of five separate Wisconsin March for Our Lives events (Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, West Dallas, and Appleton) will meet on March 24th. Students from across the state will then embark on the 50 mile trek to Speaker Paul Ryan’s hometown, Janesville, WI. Students are urging Paul Ryan, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, to lead Congress in taking immediate action to save lives by enacting sensible gun reform....

March 26, 2018

By Hayley Miller

Dozens of Wisconsin (click here) high school students are spending their spring breaks this week walking more than 50 miles to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) hometown of Janesville to deliver a message: Pass meaningful gun reform legislation now.

A group of students from Shorewood High School, roughly four miles north of Milwaukee, organized the march to call out Ryan for blocking gun legislation reform and to demand lawmakers take immediate action to curb gun violence.

“We started 50 Miles More to keep the national demand for gun reform going after the March 24th March for Our Lives events are over,” according to the movement’s website. “Our generation has grown up watching school shootings destroy lives and then get swept out of the spotlight. We refuse to let this happen again.”...

Ms. Clifford deserved an apology from the President and his attorney. I expect the man who confronted and threatened her to be found.

March 26, 2018
By Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman

Washington — After 61 weeks in the White House, (click here) President Trump has found two people he won’t attack on Twitter: Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.

The verbose commander in chief has posted more than 2,900 times on Twitter since taking office, using the term “FAKE NEWS” to describe everything from the Russia inquiry and allegations of chaos in the White House to harassment accusations, the size of his inaugural crowds and heated arguments with world leaders.

But he has been uncharacteristically silent in recent days — to the relief of his advisers — as a pornographic film star and a Playboy model described intimate details of sexual encounters with Mr. Trump. Stephanie Clifford, known in pornographic films as Stormy Daniels, said Sunday night on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that she once spanked the president with a copy of Forbes magazine bearing his face on the cover.

The fact that the president has not given oxygen to the headlines, however, does not mean that he is content....

Ms. Brown went on to continue her father's work as a speaker and educational consultant.

March 26, 2018
By Emanuella Grinberg and Amir Vera

Governor Jeff Colyer (click here)
64 years ago a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America. Linda Brown's life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world.

...By the time of the ruling, (click here) Linda Brown was in junior high, a grade level that had been integrated before the 1954 court ruling. The family moved to Springfield, Missouri, in 1959. Oliver Brown died two years later, and his widow moved the girls back to Topeka. Linda Brown went on to attend Washburn and Kansas State universities and had a family....She also worked on the speaker circuit and as an educational consultant.

From the Topeka Capital-Journal:

...Brown’s sister, (click here) Cheryl Brown Henderson, founding president of The Brown Foundation, confirmed the death. She said the family would not comment on her sister’s death. Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel of Topeka will handle arrangements.

Linda Brown’s father, Oliver Brown, became the lead plaintiff in the Brown v. Board case after attempting to enroll her in 1951 in the all-white Sumner Elementary School near the family’s home in Topeka....

Why is it beginning to feel like war?

The brave people that work to remove danger from the lives of people are sincere heroes for their willingness and dedication. They didn't know exactly what they were walking into, but, they went anyway. They would not know what they walked into for at least 48 hours later.

March 26, 2018
Julian Borger, Patrick Wintour and Heather Stewart

More than 20 western allies (click here) have ordered the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats in response to the nerve agent attack in the UK, in a show of solidarity that represents the biggest concerted blow to Russian intelligence networks in the west since the cold war.

Over 100 Russian diplomats alleged to be spies in western countries are being told to return to Moscow, in a coordinated response to the use of a chemical weapon in the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence official, and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury on 4 March.

In a sombre statement in the House of Commons, Theresa May welcomed what she said was “the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history”....   

Like I said, there is no such thing as a secure internet.

How are those talks coming on the Korean Peninsula, Vladimir? Trying to guarantee Kim there are ways of dismantling the USA missile defense system? You know, ever since that appearance on Larry King Live when he was with CNN and there was no lag between questions and answers I had a suspicion you had access into at least commercial airwaves. Now, it is military, huh? Well, given Stuxnet was successful, I bet there was a digital signature captured with it, huh? 

The Houthis have ballistic missiles and who hacked the Saudi missile defense system?

The Patriot Missile System is not new to Saudi Arabia. They have had these missiles since the Iraq invasion. So, what happened here?

My first guess is Russia. If Russia can prove the US missile system is inferior in some way, that means countries will turn to Russian arms. But, who sold ballistic missiles to the Houthis?

Airports were the targets (click here).

...The coalition has launched thousands of airstrikes on the Iran-aligned Shiite Houthis, in attempts to roll back rebel gains and reinstate Hadi in the capital Sanaa.
Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Saudi cities, with most of them intercepted by Saudi air defense forces.
The war has so far killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and pushed the Arab country to the brink of mass famine.

Whoever is helping with the delivery of Houthi missiles are now hacking into Saudi defenses. Why are the launchpads still intact in Yemen? Anti-aircraft? I would think the Saudis can 'track back' the ballistic missile launches and remove the launch site. Maybe that is just too much guesswork. If I were the Saudis I'd start guessing.

I bet real money the Israeli misfire wasn't a misfire at all.

March 26, 2018

The accidental firing (click here) of Israel's missile defense system reflects the growing tensions surrounding Gaza. The system may have been calibrated to a higher-than-usual level of sensitivity.

So much for an Iron Dome. I could simply have missed it, but, it seems to me there are fewer incursions into Gaza by Israel since the Iron Dome was instituted. Playing with Israel's air defense is really a bad idea.

I don't believe in coincidence.

March 26, 2018

Saudi air defenses (click here) shot down seven ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militia on Sunday, with debris killing a man in what was the first death in the capital during the Saudi-led coalition's three-year military campaign in Yemen.

Saudi forces destroyed three missiles over northeastern Riyadh shortly before midnight, as well as others fired at the southern cities of Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

Two videos from Saudi Arabia published overnight seem to indicate a serious malfunction in the Patriot missiles that were supposed to intercept the incoming ballistic missiles fired by Yemeni rebels at the capital Riyadh....