Paul Ryan is a religious bigot. It is just that simple.

The Evangelicals, namely The Kochs, do not believe Catholicism is a religion. 

Minority Leader Pelosi believes it is economic since the Pope opposes the continued destruction of Earth's troposphere by the petroleum industry. The petroleum industry also destroys the land as well as causing cancers in Third World countries such as Ecuador.

You have to realize The Catholics, at the Vatican, have an entire segment of their religious order as scientists. It is not as though the Catholic Church assigned them to become scientists, they were scientists when they became priests. So, according to the right wing of the Republican Party, Catholicism is not a religion.

Religious bigotry.

With Ryan leaving he is now willing to do the bidding for the Kochs and their billions they spend every year to buy the USA Congress. If Ryan was running he would need the Catholic vote to be re-elected or at the very least he would have to be the least offensive a bigot to his electorate. If he was running he would have to tolerate the Catholic priest when he really rather make the Kochs happy.

Oh, but, the Kochs are not Evangelicals. Really? But, the aspect of the electorate that carries their agenda to victory are.

October 23, 2014

Washington — Despite their stated support (click here) for both personal and economic libertarianism, billionaires Charles and David Koch are sending funds through their dark money political network to support a “get out the vote” drive by evangelical Christians who oppose abortion rights and are furious at recent court rulings that allow gay marriage.

Over the past month, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the central hub of the Kochs’ dark money enterprise, contributed $885,000 to CitizenLink, a social welfare nonprofit focused on election engagement. The group was launched by Focus on the Family — an evangelical Christian group that opposes abortion and gay marriage — and was previously known as Focus on the Family Action....

The United States of America now only has one religion and anyone who says differently is confused about reality. The good priest and the Pope should file a lawsuit against the USA Congress for exercising religious bigotry.

There is Freedom of Religion in the USA so long as it is the only religion with billions to buy elections.

Boston will never be the same.

April 26, 2018
By Jim Newell

On April 16, (click here) House Speaker Paul Ryan announced a personnel change among the House of Representatives staff: Father Patrick Conroy, the House chaplain since 2011, who opens each daily session with a prayer and advises members on faith matters, would be stepping down in May.

“As chaplain, Father Conroy has been a great source of strength and support to our community,” Ryan’s office said in a statement. “He is deeply admired by members and staff. Father Conroy’s ministry here has made a difference, and we are all very grateful to him.”

Left out of the appreciative send-off was the fact that Ryan’s office had forced him out, as first reported by The Hill today.

The speaker’s chief of staff had approached Conroy and asked him for his resignation, or he would be fired. Conroy agreed to resign. In his first resignation letter—“Dear Paul, the Peace of Christ!” it opened—Conroy wrote that the “time of my departure is to be determined in conversation with your Chief of Staff anon.” Anon, indeed. In a second letter dated the same day, April 15, Conroy wrote that “after mutual consideration, it is determined my final day will be 24 May 2018.”

There hadn’t been much knowledge of Ryan’s decision until this morning, when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi brought it up in a Thursday whip meeting. Shocked Democrats were in a “furor” over the issue. Pelosi, according to an aide, was given advance notice of the move, but made it clear to the speaker that “she disagreed with this decision.” AshLee Strong, a spokesperson for Ryan, told Slate that Pelosi was consulted on the decision, though the final decision was the speaker’s....

Just to be clear:

February 11, 2016

...And yet, we (that is, Protestants) (click here) have consistently groaned in annoyance each time a fellow evangelical pronounces a recently departed or politically engaged or virtuous Roman Catholic a Christian. When evangelicals cite Mother Teresa as an example of Christian virtue, we inwardly – or outwardly, if we’re brave enough – groan in agony. It hurts our conscience to sit there quietly as more and more evangelicals speak of Romans Catholics as though they are, indeed, fellow Christians....

This doesn't come as a surprise, does it? Hello? Muslim travel ban? White Supremacists? The evidence is in, the GOP went belly up for "Kochs Grand Scheme."

Is the USA military eliminating the 4-F classification on a case by case basis.

The origins of the classification of "4 F." (click here)

Transgender is not qualified to be in the military, but, bipolar has no problem becoming a soldier.

The USA military can create mental health issues, ie: PTSD, but maintaining them in a ready force is questionably advisable.

Simple "odds" guarantee there will be soldiers with mental health issues. The USA military tries to sort them out when enlisting, but, there are some that make it through to training and combat. Eventually, these folks will provide obvious mental health symptom and it is the holy men that bring them to the attention of the leadership. Normally, when verified as a mental health issue, they are provided a discharge from a VA hospital.

Believe me, if one meets a 300 pound marine with schizophrenia at a VA mental health facility there is a certain gratitude for the physicians and nurses that work with these folks. There is a clear understanding the soldiers need to take their medication and demonstrate a willingness to do so before they are discharged.

That said, allowing recruits waivers to their mental health diagnosis is worrisome. The people mentioned as finding themselves on a battlefield that manifests their mental health problems are not diagnosed. The US military is providing a place in the ranks for those with known mental health diagnosis. Unless these folks are maintained in offices or other benign positions with the military there is no place for them in combat.

I want to also state, the Transgender soldiers in the USA military do not have mental health diagnosis. The discrimination of the Transgender under Trump is thick as pea soup and needs to be contended with.

April 26, 2018
By Tom Vanden Brooks

Washington — The Army issued waivers (click here) over 13 months to more than 1,000 recruits who had been diagnosed and treated for mood disorders and 95 more for self-mutilation, according to data obtained by USA TODAY.

The acceptance of new soldiers with a history of serious behavioral health issues, some of which can be lifelong challenges, came as the Army struggled to meet its recruiting goals. The time period ran from Oct. 1, 2016, through Oct. 31, 2017....

...Mood disorders include conditions such as bipolar disorder and severe depression. Self-mutilation can indicate deep psychological problems.

“Bipolar in most cases is a lifelong challenge,” said Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatrist who retired from the Army as a colonel in 2010 and is an expert on waivers for military service. “It is more of a challenge when you’re younger and is not something you can simply be clear of. You’re often on medication for life.

A history of severe depression raises the risk of suicide, a problem the military sought to minimize in part by eliminating waivers for many behavioral health issues in 2009, Ritchie said.

Last fall, USA TODAY reported on Army documents that showed the service tried to ease the waiver process for recruits with a history of self-mutilation, bipolar disorder and depression. The Army encountered challenging recruiting goals, including adding more than 76,000 soldiers this year. In 2017, it accepted more recruits who had fared poorly on aptitude tests, and it increased the number of waivers for marijuana use.

Sen. John McCain criticized the service for accepting recruits who mutilated themselves....

USA generals are allowed to have a clear understanding of any threats.

If generals feel confident the Iran Agreement is worthy of the time spent to achieve it; then leave it alone. Israel appreciates the fact Iran cannot escalate any nuclear program.

Iran has other problems, in that it acts as an influence in Syria, Lebanon with Hezbollah and Yemen. If further sanctions belong anywhere it is to stem the expansionist ambitions of Iran.

Nuclear weapons are not conducive to expansionism as it scars the land and makes it useless.

April 26, 2018

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph F. Dunford Jr. (L) and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis talk before a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill April 26, 2018

...Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (click here) on Thursday emphasized the value of certain aspects of the Iran nuclear agreement, even as President Donald Trump considers pulling out of the 2015 deal, which he has attacked repeatedly and this week called “insane.”

Without explicitly giving his opinion about whether the United States should stick with the agreement, Mattis said that after reading the full text of the deal three times, he was struck by provisions that allow for international verification of Iran’scompliance. He said that since becoming defense secretary in January 2017, he also has read what he called a classified protocol in the agreement.

“I will say it is written almost with an assumption that Iran would try to cheat,” he said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “So the verification, what is in there, is actually pretty robust as far as our intrusive ability to get in” with representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency to check on compliance.

“Whether that is sufficient I think is a valid question,” he said after Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the nuclear deal was not supported by the Congress. The committee’s senior Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, told Mattis the Iran deal is “working as intended” and that withdrawing would ease Iran’s path to nuclear weapons.

Mattis said Iran’s history of hiding a nuclear weapons program makes it “suspect,” and he noted his concern about other Iranian activities, including its role in supporting Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, and supplying its proxy forces in Yemen....

Guilty of three counts of sexual assault. Did Mesereau fall asleep? Was it to give Cosby a retrial in appeal?

April 26, 2018
By Natalie Hope McDonald

It was a long day (click here) of jury deliberations during the Bill Cosby sexual-assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse near Philly yesterday. Last night, as jurors heard Judge Steven O’Neill read back about an hour-and-a-half’s worth of graphic testimony — Cosby’s lead defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau, surprised everyone by catching a few winks.

According to several reports, as the judge reviewed Cosby’s stunning statements about using Quaaludes with women, as well as disturbing details about his sexual contact with Andrea Constand, the woman who claims that the comedian drugged and raped her in his suburban Philly home in 2004, Mesereau sat back in his chair for a quick snooze with his mouth hanging open. This nap time in Norristown went on for an estimated 30 minutes during which no one — not even the judge — commented in any official capacity....

It is difficult to focus on the EPA budget when Secretary Pruitt is reckless.

Scott Pruitt, today, is proving he does not regard the US Congress as important.

Today, Scott Pruitt is proving he is not prepared to answer ethical questions, except, to delegate responsibility for any oversight of his life and department to others.

Scott Pruitt as Secretary of the US EPA should be PREPARED to answer any and all questions put to him. He is under oath and seeks to dodge the truth. At the very least, rather than handing off his responsibilities to others, including his personal accountant, he should be prepared to  FIND THE ANSWERS to the Congress' questions.

There have been thousands of these meetings in the history of the USA. When cabinet Secretaries are asked a question they cannot answer immediately, always offer to find the answer and report back.

Pruitt is treating this legitimate meeting of the US Congress as a trial hearing. That is worrisome. The people have the right to have their questions answered. Those questions are submitted to their Congresspersons to be presented at these meetings. There is a reason these meetings exist and it isn't about legal harassment of a Secretary. Pruitt is not respecting the public trust at all.

Scientists publish their methods and data in professional journals. There is COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY. Pruitt and Flores are deceiving the public and violating the public trust as they provide election rhetoric as fact.

I am completely convinced, Pruitt has done nothing but evade direct questions regarding his violation of the Clean Air Act.

Pursuant to Clean Air Act § 307(b)(1), 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b)(1), (click here) Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, and D.C. Circuit Rule 15, California Communities Against Toxics, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Integrity Project, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio Citizen Action, and Sierra Club (collectively, “Petitioners”) hereby petition this Court for review of the final action taken by Respondents U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Administrator Scott Pruitt in the attached memorandum from William L. Wehrum, dated January 25, 2018 (Attachment 1), and the Federal Register notice published at 83 Fed. Reg. 5543 (Feb. 8, 2018) and titled “Issuance of Guidance Memorandum, ‘Reclassification of Major Sources as Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act’” (Attachment 2).

Pruitt is a liar and those that hand him rhetoric instead of pertinent testimony don't care about the people. Polluters have had decades to modify their effect on the environment and climate. It is more than obvious there is no intention of any industry to modify their operations to reduce pollutants and GHG.

23 April 2018
By Dana Nuccitelli

In doing cost-benefit analyses, (click here) the EPA accounts for all direct benefits and indirect co-benefits of its regulations. Certain industry groups and conservative pundits don’t like that approach, because they care more about polluter profits than they do about clean air and healthy Americans. However, during the George W. Bush administration in 2003, the Office of Management and Budget issued a guidance saying that it’s important to consider co-benefits:

Your analysis should look beyond the direct benefits and direct costs of your rulemaking and consider any important ancillary benefits and countervailing risks. An ancillary benefit is a favorable impact of the rule that is typically unrelated or secondary to the statutory purpose of the rulemaking (e.g., reduced refinery emissions due to more stringent fuel economy standards for light trucks)…

Pruitt wants to disregard this Bush-era guidance and instead consider only the costs and benefits of regulating the “targeted pollutant” (mercury, in our example). They want to ignore the lives saved by also incidentally reducing particulate matter pollution. To be blunt, this makes no sense, unless your goal is to protect polluters at the expense of public and environmental health....

I don't believe the country has been battling against pollutants to the air since the 1955 Air Pollution Control Act and still have old stalwarts to the petroleum industry alive today.

There is nothing productive happening today at the EPA hearing at the cost of the American Middle Class Taxpayer.

New Agricultural Practices (click here) have increased the phosphorus run off into Lake Erie.

- More fall fertilizer applications are occurring rather than the spring. 

When there aren't crops to absorb the fertilizer it can be a runoff due to rain and/or snowmelt.

- The use of broadcast application not incorporated into the soil

The same principle applies. If the chemicals applied to the soil are not incorporated into it; the chemicals will runoff due to weather. I don't think the USA government wants to stop the rain or snowfall, does it, because then the wind has to be contended with. These practices need to be regulated.

- No till farming increased in use leaving the chemicals applied on top of the soil/crop stubble. 

The argument exists that the indifference of the USA Government to the climate crisis and the incidents of drought and flooding has an agenda to the outcome impacts on people and resources available to them. It isn't as though the USA was never told of the outcomes. I take that observation seriously. Little to no mitigation exists while people die regularly from tornadoes and hurricanes. This is ridiculous. One of the reasons strong storms were even monitored was because people died in the thousands with the occurrences. The science regarding storms, climate and it's outcomes is a well established practice within the USA government. The purpose has always been to save lives.

The precautions that saved lives were carried out by observation of the storms and warnings provided. The people were then expected to act to save their own lives. In the case of climate, the job of the government is far less passive, but, requiring legislative actions to change the course of GHG emissions of which the USA is among the leaders of the emissions and it leads First World countries in emissions.

The climate concerns presented by USA scientists extends back nearly a century and the USA government has not done enough to end the heating trend that increases due to GHG. Instead of acting to save lives, the government has largely purposely ignored its responsibility in favor of political cronies. I do believe that is Quid Pro Quo.

Scott Pruitt has no character. He has power and the will to be corrupt. Scott Pruitt removes EPA personnel because he practices 'the idea' (not written law) of loyalty. Whistleblowing (legislated law) is not loyalty.

2724 earthquakes in seven years in Oklahoma. Where is the liquefaction?

April 9, 2018

Covington, Okla. -- Earthquakes (click here) are rattling part of northwest Oklahoma where more than a dozen temblors have struck since Friday. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded an earthquake of preliminary magnitude 4.3 at 5:22 a.m. Monday, nearly an hour after a magnitude 3.3 quake struck the area near Covington, about 55 miles north of Oklahoma City.

Garfield County Emergency Management Director Mike Honigsberg says there are no reports of injury or severe damage from any of the quakes, which have ranged in magnitude from 2.4 to 4.6. The magnitude 4.6 earthquake that shook Oklahoma on Saturday was also felt in neighboring Kansas and Missouri, according to the USGS. 

There have been 4 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 2.6 to 4.3 between Covington and Perry in northern Oklahoma in the past 24 hour. #okquake https://t.co/JwfpIrHgSb pic.twitter.com/qUsjjC7g7L

— USGS in Oklahoma (@USGS_Oklahoma) April 9, 2018

 Thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma in recent years, with many linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and natural gas production. State regulators have directed several oil and gas producers in the state to close injection wells or reduce volumes....

Oklahoma hasn't seen the worst of series of earthquakes yet. At least no rivers have been reported as having disappeared.

River Disappears in Costa Rico After Earthquake (14th July 2011 - click here)

River in Eastern Mexico Disappears Overnight, Experts Blame Sinkhole (click here)

September 25, 2010

The Iska River in Slovenia (click here) vanished overnight. Residents reported hearing loud crashing and drumming sounds during the night and woke up to find the river was gone. Fish were found flopping on the dry river bed. The river may have moved underground after a crack opened in the riverbed. However, no earthquake was reported. 

Regulations? Really? In Oklahoma? Amazing. The question demands an answer. When does a Republican majority state decide regulation is necessary? When the Republicans have disregarded scientific findings to prevent tragedy and the scientists were correct.

August 10, 201

...The state has been shaken by 448 magnitude-3.0 and greater (click here) quakes so far this year, down from the 558 it experienced in the same time frame in 2015, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Increased regulation on wastewater disposal related to oil and gas extraction could be one reason behind the decline, said Robert Williams, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey. Wastewater disposal is linked to quakes in Oklahoma and other states.

Regulators this year increased restrictions limiting wastewater disposal and expanded the area in the state those constraints cover, Williams said. At the same time, a decrease in oil and gas activity led to a smaller volume of water being disposed of, also potentially contributing to fewer quakes, he added.

The extraction of oil and gas in hydraulic fracturing — also known as fracking — likely does not contribute to a rise in earthquakes, but wastewater disposal associated with the activity does, said Jefferson Chang, a geophysicist for the Oklahoma Geological Survey at the University of Oklahoma....

The current assault on Earth by the petroleum industry is taking it's toll. It is the method of horizontal drilling while dissolving rock causes permanent instability in the rock.

In 2016 there was enormous earthquake out of Oklahoma which affected many states all the way to Iowa. The question remains as to the long term impact of the "fracking" process.

September 3, 2016

Pawnee, Okla - A 5.6 magnitud.e earthquake (click here) centered near Pawnee, Oklahoma Saturday morning was felt in seven states, including Nebraska and Iowa.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake happened at 7:02 a.m. 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Social media reports indicated several aftershocks throughout a large swath of the Great Plains from as far north as Little Sioux, Iowa down to northern Texas. It was also felt in Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas.

Betty Golmanavich of Omaha told WOWT 6 News the quake rattled her furniture and shook her home near 84th Street and West Center Road. "I was in my basement working on my computer and then all of the sudden my chair started rocking back and forth. I thought what the heck is going on. I’ve never felt anything like this. We were trying to figure out what was happening to us at first.”...

The December 3, 2016 earthquake cracked the North America craton. That created instability in the continent never before realized. The long term effects of fracking can go two ways, but, more than likely will be a combination of both.

When the Oklahoma quakes create liquefaction (quicksand/sinkhole) of the land it may isolate the effect on the craton. There should be every measure possible to end hydraulic fracturing. It introduces highly erosive chemicals that are also toxic to humans into the land. That introduction is permanent as the rock fractures and traps that water into the cracks it creates. The chemicals will continue to erode the land at thousands of feet deep until all the chemicals have reacted and there is no potential left.

There is no such thing as safe "fracking."

Caucasian Evangelicals sell their souls for political gains in the USA. Pence is "The Trump Whisperer."

March 27, 2018
By Eugene Scott

...According to a recent CNN poll, (click here) 4 in 10 white evangelicals, or 40 percent, believe the women involved in reports about Trump’s alleged infidelities. The share who believe Trump is a bit lower — 36 percent. An additional 24 percent are unsure.

But white evangelicals’ decreased faith in Trump’s fidelity may not lead to significant drops in disapproval of Trump — and it certainly is not likely to keep them from voting for the GOP.

After Sunday’s interview, David Brody, co-author of “The Faith of Donald Trump: A Spiritual Biography,” tweeted:

“Attention mainstream media: if you think the Stormy Daniels #60Mins interview on @CBSNews is going to move the needle downward regarding evangelical support for @realDonaldTrump, you would be dead wrong. Don’t expect any change.”...

Perhaps the spiritual corruption that exists among the Caucasian Evangelicals is justifiably dulled by their influential Vice President. Sins need justification when their hold on power is affirmed by policy changes. It would appear to the American voter that Donald Trump is the extremist, but, the truth is more than Vice President Pence is directing the ship.

If Pence were to ever take the Oval Office, the tone and policy would never change. The difference is that he would never meet with women alone and he is faithful to his spouse without a prenuptial agreement.

October 16, 2017
By Ella Nilsen

The power struggle between populist hardliners and moderate generals (click here) in the Trump White House is well documented. Vice President Mike Pence has largely stayed out of the drama, while quietly becoming one of the most powerful people in the Trump administration, according to a new profile of Pence from the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer.

Mayer’s piece shows that behind the scenes, the vice president has made a huge mark on President Trump’s policy agenda, while putting himself in a good position for his own presidential ambitions. Mayer writes that Pence’s influence has shaped White House policies far more than that of other important members of the administration, including Breitbart executive chair Steve Bannon or Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. In particular, Pence’s longstanding connection to libertarian megadonors Charles and David Koch — former political enemies of Trump — has helped shape the current White House.

Pence and Trump are two very different men. Pence is a devout evangelical who doesn’t dine alone with other women unless his wife is present. He made his name in conservative politics as a talk radio host and enacted hardline policies during his time as Indiana’s governor, mandating burials for fetuses and essentially allowing businesses to discriminate against gay people. Trump is a bombastic billionaire who famously bragged about groping women and publicly espoused pro-choice and pro-same-sex marriageviews. Mayer’s piece includes moments where Trump mocked Pence’s socially conservative views and his tendency to pray in the White House....

Why put on airs, the Kochs should have an office in the West Wing with corruption this dense. Are any of these staffers in violation of lobbying laws (click here)? They bounce back and forth between government and Koch employment. That sounds like a violation to me and quite possibly at the state as well as federal government.

...Many of Pence’s former political staffers have gone on to work for Koch Industries and their affiliated advocacy groups, and some have come back to work in the White House; a former Pence staffer named Marc Short now serves as the head of legislative affairs in the White House, and has close ties to the Koch brothers. Pence also helped boost Cabinet members including DeVos and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, both Koch favorites....

This is why Populist candidate are dangerous.

Even Israel has stated ending the Iran nuclear deal is foolishness. The leadership of Iran sees Trump's willing to bend like a willow to his populous constituency as a real asset to reconstitute their nuclear program.

April 26, 2018

...Under Macron's proposal, (click here) the United States and Europe would agree to block any Iranian nuclear activity until 2025 and beyond, address Iran's ballistic missile program and generate conditions for a political solution to contain Iran in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long called specifically for canceling a core "sunset clause" that removes caps on Iran's nuclear projects after a number of years.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani, however, appeared to immediately throw cold water on Macron's efforts Wednesday.

“I have spoken with Macron several times by phone, and one time in person at length. I have told him explicitly that we will not add anything to the deal or remove anything from it, even one sentence. The nuclear deal is the nuclear deal,” he said during a conference in the northwestern city of Tabriz. He suggested Macron has no right to amend an agreement signed by seven nations....

Iran is not going to jeopardize the agreement. It works to Iran's benefit to adhere to the agreement. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having trade and release of monies with and to Iran in the agreement.

The release of monies and trade resumed are exactly what these agreements are supposed to do.  The agreements are supposed to build CONFIDENCE in what were enemies. The reason there is supposed to be growing confidence is to bring countries like Iran on board to the international community promoting peace and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The idea a USA president is using a treaty that leads to balance and stability of global power as a political volley to his voters is stupid and outrageous.

The conservative judges of the Supreme Court is only interested in the President's legal authority, not really the merits of the case.

April 24, 2018
By Joel Rose

...Haitham Dalati (click here) is a refugee from Syria who resettled in Connecticut last year after a federal judge put the first version of the travel ban on hold. Dalati and his wife hoped that their daughter and grandchildren would join them within weeks.

More than a year later, they're still waiting.

"This is so horrible for us," Dalati said. "I don't know now whether America is good or bad."

The U.S. is granting fewer visas to immigrants and admitting fewer refugees from around the world. But Muslims have been disproportionately affected....

The nightclub murderers in the USA are citizens, not immigrants. They buy their guns legally and then put a mark in history by killing innocent people. It has little to do with immigration. Omar Mir Seddique, also known as Omar Mateen was an angry American.

The problem with these "lone wolf" incidents in the USA is the ready accessibility of military style weapons.

April 5, 2018
By Jane Coston

...This evidence dramatically changes (click here) the mass shooting’s narrative; politicians and individuals across the political spectrum had positioned it as an anti-LGBTQ hate crime. Instead, the new evidence suggests, the Pulse nightclub shooting was intended as revenge for US anti-terror policies abroad.

The evidence emerged during the trial of the shooter’s wife, Noor Salman, whom the federal government charged with aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice. Federal prosecutors argued that Salman had helped her husband plan and orchestrate the attack. She was acquitted by a jury last Friday, a rare occurrence when most defendants accused of terror charges accept plea deals and the average conviction rate in such cases is above 90 percent.

The shooter’s motive was apparently revenge for United States bombing campaigns on ISIS targets in the Middle East. He had pledged allegiance to ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and during the Pulse shooting posted to Facebook, “You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes. ... Now taste the Islamic state vengeance.” In his final post, he wrote, “In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the usa.”...

France's compassion was exploited when the Paris attacks took place. It was a vulnerability the French never conceived as a potential to violence. Immigrants to Europe have to be better vetted, too. The passport laws are too generous.

The French have become focused on ending the violence and perhaps this law will help, but, there is a larger picture in that terrorists, no matter the terrorist, seeks out weaknesses in a country's national security. That is what occurred in Paris. France and Europe, in general. Stronger laws are needed to know exactly the potential for violence an immigrant may be planning.

Europe has a different proximity to North Africa and the Middle East. They need to understand those that come to their country better, before allowing them to roam free within it's borders.