It is fun, isn't it? I think it is fun to learn to know the forests that have been thriving for as long as a person has been alive. They thrive without fuss or desire to be famous. They live and breathe in every weather and provide shelter to so very many species of animals.
Forests have value. It isn't the kind of value one finds on the sale racks at Bergdorf Goodman, but, it is value just the same. Most of my friends and associates can feel that value. It is emotional and the forest makes an indelible mark on the memory.
When assessing the forest, except for mosquitoes possibly, there are all kinds of sounds and smells and the air is so easy to breathe. The forest breaths with a person and it is a harmony that can be experienced.
I remember a forest in Eastern Lake Ontario that belonged to the state. I was with the Nature Conservancy and we were assessing for invasive species and their removal. There was an old logging road that wasn't used anymore but it provided for easy access to a wetland area. There were lots and lots of mosquitoes and I wore a net over my face and shoulders. But, the birds were fascinating. They literally would swoop through the air from one tree to the next catching mosquitoes the entire flight and then they would return to their nest. There was lots of bird song and the parents of the hatchlings carried out this task all day long. It was amazing to watch.
We didn't run into large mammals that week, but, there were some tracks from deer. I and one other conservationist worked in the forest for about a week. The sun was hot by the pool at the apartment we had for the summer, but, in that forest it was cool and the air was perfect.
I love the trees. I especially love trees when they are in a forest with a tight canopy like the one I assessed on Eastern Lake Ontario that summer. They provide such service to life. To me they are the most amazing species of plant ever on Earth. They receive the heat from the sun and radiation from Earth, they absorb it, manufacture oxygen and turn a dangerous greenhouse gas, namely carbon dioxide into it's life sustaining respiration.
I think it is time to look at some of the wildlife in the Northern Hardwood Forest. Thank you for the interest in this blog and I wish you a safe and happy week.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Monarda fistulosa
Varieties: (click here) There are two subspecies native to and present in Minnesota noted by the U of M Herbarium - Monarda fistulosa L. subsp. fistulosa, which has mostly branched stems in the inflorescence and longer leaf stalks; and second is subsp. menthaefolia, (known as Mintleaf Bergamot) which has mostly unbranched stems and short leafstalks with leaves more narrowly elliptical with less coarse teeth. The DNR does not distinguish between varieties on its county location list, but the Great Plains are the dividing line between the two subspecies with subsp. fistulosa trending eastward and subsp. menthaefolia trending west and north. Flowers are the same. Photos here are of subsp. fistulosa....
...Habitat: Wild Bergamot likes full sun with moist to somewhat dry conditions. With good moisture and rich soil the plant puts on much vegetative growth and becomes sprawling. Best plant appearance will be with average soil and moderate moisture. Lower leaves are subject to mildew. The plant grows from a rhizomatous root system that produces multiple stems in a cluster, but does not produce stolons, so the plant does not spread aggressively, but simply enlarges the clump. Long-tongued bees and butterflies love the plant....
By Ross Kenneth Urken
Aside from the Arctic, (click here) the Western Antarctic Peninsula has warmed faster than anywhere else on the planet over the past six decades—some 5 degrees Fahrenheit on average year-round and a whopping 9 degrees F in the austral winter. That's not bad news for every species, though. In Antarctica, Gentoo penguins (click here) are widely considered a climate change winner, as they are more adaptable and can change their food stock of choice and expand their range as the ice melts. But ice floe–reliant Adélie penguins (click here), in contrast, have declined on the Western Antarctic Peninsula.
Ultimately, this tale-of-two-penguins paradigm can tell us a lot about which types of species will be most successful amid climate change, according to Heather J. Lynch, an ecology and evolution professor and penguin researcher at Stony Brook University. Species that have a propensity to make adjustments in their habitat and food intake, she says, such as the Gentoo, can better withstand the challenges climate change presents.
By extension, researchers are using this behavioral divergence as a parable for how human beings can be more successful as climate change wreaks havoc on coastal regions with hurricanes and floods. Lynch says that stubborn human beings with an attitude that reduces to "By golly, we've lived on this sandbar for a hundred years and no stinkin' sea level is going to get us moving" tend to have more in common with the Adélie than the Gentoo....
Aralia nudicaulis
A single basal leaf with a whorl of 3 compound leaves at the tip of the long, naked stem. Leaves are compound in groups of 3 to 7, each leaflet is 3 to 5 inches long and up to 2 inches across, generally oval or widest above the middle, with a sharply pointed tip and finely toothed edges that may be a little wavy. Leaflet bases are often asymmetrical. The leaves tower over the shorter flowering stem, hiding it from view. The leaf and flowering stem are hairless and arise from a long rhizome.
Fruit is a ¼-inch green berry that ripens to dark purple.Despite their similar name, (click here) wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) is not related to the true sarsaparilla at all. Unlike true sarsaparilla which belongs to the Greenbrier family, wild sarsaparilla belongs to the Ginseng family. Wild sarsaparilla is a perennial flowering plant that comes from northern and eastern North America. This plant can easily be found growing on creeping underground stems in the woods....
...Wild sarsaparilla has a sweet spicy taste and a nice aromatic fragrant. The leaves, fruits, and roots of this plant are edible, but the roots are by far the most commonly used one. They’re used as a substitute for sarsaparilla, to make root beer, to make syrup, as well as to flavor other foods and beverages. Native Americans also used to eat wild sarsaparilla roots as emergency food, especially during wartime. This is because these roots are a wonderful source of energy....
9 August 2019
By Kimberly M. S. Cartier
July 2019 (click here) might have broken the record for highest monthly surface air temperature, according to a report from a European climate monitoring agency. Temperatures in Alaska, Greenland, Siberia, and Antarctica were the highest relative to a 30-year average.
“July has re-written climate history, with dozens of new temperature records at local, national and global level,” Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, said in a statement.
By Kimberly M. S. Cartier
July 2019 (click here) might have broken the record for highest monthly surface air temperature, according to a report from a European climate monitoring agency. Temperatures in Alaska, Greenland, Siberia, and Antarctica were the highest relative to a 30-year average.
“July has re-written climate history, with dozens of new temperature records at local, national and global level,” Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, said in a statement.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) released the report on 5 August. The report shows that by one metric, July 2019 surpassed the previous record holder for hottest month ever, July 2016, by 0.4°C.
July’s temperature record comes on the heels of reports of Antarctic sea ice extent being the lowest on record, “unprecedented” Arctic wildfires, sweeping heat waves on multiple continents, and a Greenland ice sheet losing 12.5 billion tons of water in a single day....
Cypripedium acaule
Cypripedium acaule, (click here) commonly called Pink Lady's Slipper or Moccasin Flower, is widely distributed across the eastern United States and eastern to central Canada, from Alabama to the Northwest Territories. It produces 2 basal leaves and a solitary flower with purplish brown to green petals and sepals. The labellum is a distinctively inflated pouch, magenta to white, often light pink with darker pink venation; a slit with inwardly rolled edges marks the front of the labellum. It is found in forests and woodlands, often near pines or conifers, and occasionally in bogs or swamps.
Cypripedium acaule is considered globally secure, and is common throughout much of its range. It does, however, exhibit persistently low reproductive rates, caused in part by erratic flowering and infrequent pollination. It can be distinguished from other species with similarly pink flowers, such as C. arietinum and C. reginae, by its basal (instead of stem) leaves.
No, Antarctica is not green. At least not yet.
July 29, 2019
Irvine – Constructed (click here) from a quarter century’s worth of satellite data, a new map of Antarctic ice velocity by glaciologists from the University of California, Irvine and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the most precise ever created.
Published today in a paper in the American Geophysical Union journal Geophysical Research Letters, the map is 10 times more accurate than previous renditions, covering more than 80 percent of the continent.
“By utilizing the full potential of interferometric phase signals from satellite synthetic-aperture radars, we have achieved a quantum leap in the description of ice flow in Antarctica,” said lead author Jeremie Mouginot, UCI associate researcher in Earth system science. “This more detailed representation will help improve our understanding of ice behavior under climate stress over a larger part of the continent, farther south, and will enable improved projections of sea level rise through numerical models.”
To chart the movement of ice sheets across the surface of the enormous land mass, the researchers combined input from six satellite missions: the Canadian Space Agency’s Radarsat-1 and Radarsat-2; the European Space Agency’s Earth remote sensing satellites 1 and 2 and Envisat ASAR; and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s ALOS PALSAR-1.
While the data were spread across 25 years, the pace of signal gathering accelerated in the last decade as more resources were deployed in the Earth’s orbit. As ice sheet science coordinator in the World Meteorological Organization’s Polar Space Task Group, co-author Bernd Scheuchl, UCI associate project scientist in Earth system science, was responsible for acquiring the relevant data from the various international space agencies....
Trillium undulatum
The name "trillium" is from the Latin words "tri" (referring to the fact that the plant has three leaves and the flower has three parts) and "llium" (from the Latin liliaceous, referring to the funnel-shaped flower). The species name (undulatum) is from the Latin word meaning wavy-edged; this is a reference to the fact that the petals have wavy edges.
The plant is also referred to as Painted Lady (not to be confused with the Painted Lady butterfly) and Painted Wakerobin. The latter name reflects the fact that the species blooms about the same time the robins return in the spring.
Painted Trilliums grow eight to 20 inches tall. There is a single whorl of three leaves at the top of the stem. Each bluish-green, waxy leaf is 2½ to five inches long, broadly rounded at the base and tapering to a point.
The single flower appears on the top of the stalk, just above the whorl of three leaves. The flower is usually 2 inches wide. The wavy-edged petals are lance-shaped and have a tapered, pointed tip. The flower is white, with an inverted, deep pink V at the base of each petal. The flower has three green sepals and six pink-tipped stamens. Flowers appear when the plant is 4 to 7 years old or older....It is a very pretty flower. It is easy to understand why it is an indicator species. It is very much alone in it's presentation in many instances. This is a single stalk. it is special to find the flower in bloom. It is needless to say, it is very shade tolerant, although it probably is bathed in sunlight at some time during the daytime as the sun moves across the sky. It is not unusual in a forest to find these plants growing as a solitary individual. If there is a break ever so small in the canopy at some time during the day and the sunlight sends a single beam of light to the forest floor, there will be an individual of some type of plant taking advantage of it.
Yes, there are real people.
There are some people in this world that actually love the forest and do not want to cut it down. AT ALL!
By Sarah Keoghan
Families have been out tobogganing (click here) on the closed streets of Katoomba after one of the biggest snow dumps to hit the Blue Mountains in a decade.
But the "Antarctic winds" made conditions treacherous in the Snowy Mountains, where a man died skiing at Thredbo and a police car was caught up in a pile-up.
The fresh powder caused the 13-vehicle collision on Friday night on Alpine Way between Jindabyne and Thredbo. The road remained closed between 10pm and 1.30pm, with no injuries reported.
Following 15 centimetres (approximately six inches) of snowfall on Friday night at Thredbo, a 68-year-old skier was killed on Saturday after hitting a low hanging tree branch in poor visibility. Police say the South Australian man was skiing with friends when he hit the tree around 10.15am....
This is a description of a rainforest, however, it can be any "core forest" with a dense canopy.
Please think about that a minute. I am not condemning walking paths at all. I just want people to stop to realize the impact movement through a forest can create. Walking paths are important and should be appreciated for the beauty they allow people to have for their own.
July 31, 2012
"The Forest Floor" (click here)
by Rhett Butler
The forest floor of primary tropical rainforest is rarely the thick, tangled jungle of movies and adventure stories. It is actually rather the opposite: the floor is relatively clear of vegetation due to the deep darkness created by perhaps 100 feet (30 m) of canopy vegetation above. The canopy not only blocks out sunlight, but dampens wind and rain, so much so that a visitor to the rainforest may not immediately know it is raining because raindrops are deflected and collected by various canopy plants. Wind is also cut by overhead vegetation.
In undisturbed primary forests, a flashlight may be more useful than a machete since the subdued lighting limits ground growth. Instead of choking vegetation, a visitor will find large tree trunks, interspersed hanging vines and lianas, and countless seedlings and saplings and a relatively small number of ground plants....
There was a fire recently in Oregon whereby part of the assessment stated there were more dead trees than live ones. That is a complicated subject unless you are someone like Trump trying to be a hero to those that are facing complete devastation. He would pin "the blame" on the dead trees. That is not the reason the fire occurred. The fire occurred because of an illegal campsite, otherwise, there would have been no fire.
The real assessment should have read, "There was a lot of dead and decaying trees (soon to become soil) within the forest, but, the dry conditions allowed the fire to ignite and spread regardless of the advanced work of firefighters. See, the illegal campfire was noticed very early on by a forest official, but, regardless of the immediate notice and attempts to extinguish the fire, it spread in no time and was completely out of control and growing in minutes.
There is a reason why some campsite fires are illegal. So, don't blame the officials taking care of the forest if someone in the public is not respectful of the rules.
A forest floor is supposed to be moist, humid and easy to breathe. The reason is the canopy. A full canopy will ensure the floor will be moist to maintain the life of the forest and an abundance of food supply for those that call it home. Why the canopy, because while the leaves are soaking up the sun, the trees are transpiring (sweating) the water off their leaves to the air and land below it as it comes from the roots with nutrition to feed the trees. The "transpiration" of a tree when it is in a forest of trees creates a moist environment by it's own metabolism.
"Sleep on the Floor" by The Limineers (click here for official website - thank you)
Pack yourself a toothbrush dear
Pack yourself a favorite blouse
Take a withdrawal slip
Take all of your savings out
'Cause if we don't leave this town
We might never make it out
I was not born to drown
Baby come on
Take all of your savings out
'Cause if we don't leave this town
We might never make it out
I was not born to drown
Baby come on
Forget what Father Brennan said
We were not born in sin
Leave a note on your bed
Let your mother know you're safe
And by the time she wakes
We'll have driven through the state
We'll have driven through the night
Baby come on
We were not born in sin
Leave a note on your bed
Let your mother know you're safe
And by the time she wakes
We'll have driven through the state
We'll have driven through the night
Baby come on
If the sun don't shine on me today
And if the subways flood and bridges break
Will you lay yourself down and dig your grave
Or will you rail against your dying day
And if the subways flood and bridges break
Will you lay yourself down and dig your grave
Or will you rail against your dying day
And when we looked outside
Couldn't even see the sky
How do you pay the rent
Is it your parents
Or is hard work dear
Holding the atmosphere
I don't Couldn't even see the sky
How do you pay the rent
Is it your parents
Or is hard work dear
Holding the atmosphere
The judicial system considers a person charged with a crime "innocent until found guilty by a jury of their peers." However, law enforcement appears to believe the opposite, "guilty until your lawyer gets you off."
That is why the circumstances surrounding Jeffery Epstein's death are so wanting.
This is gross negligence and not just for Jeffery Epstein. I don't know who wrote the protocols for the Department of Prisons, but, every 30 minutes, even when carried out correctly is inviting trouble. In normal psychiatric settings, the protocol is every 15 minutes and many caregivers of those folks will tell you even 15 minutes may seem too long.
Even though there is a protocol, that doesn't mean it has to be adhered to strictly. If every 15 minutes seems to long for a patient then "good practice" dictates there is either a 24 hour observation of the patient or the caregivers change the routine to every 10 or 5 minutes depending on the patient. That means whoever is in charge of the facility may be required to bring in extra help assigned only to that patient or he or she carries out the task themselves.
There is no reason for a person's death because of short staffed shifts. This is the result and it is unforgivable. People charged with a crime are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. Even after found guilty they have a right to good care when it comes to their mental and physical health. Incarceration is very difficult. Being limited to a jail cell when used to flying a jet from day to day is cruel. It is necessary, but, doesn't mean it isn't cruel. That is what prison is, it limits movement. Freedoms are taken away and that to many is punishment enough.
I have no patience with this. It isn't the guards fault, they are trained to carry out the protocols. The blame lays exactly where the policies are written and passed on to the management. It lies with the big bucks, the six to seven figure salary persons. Whoever wrote this policy cared more about their budget than the prisoners in their care.
That is my opinion and I will not change my mind. If a society is going to remove people from their freedoms as punishment for crimes, then after they have served their sentence (as if life isn't short enough) they are to be returned to society, intact and able to work and begin again.
August 11, 2019
By Bill Hutchinson and Aaron Katersky
Jail protocols requiring routine checks (click here) on the wellbeing of accused sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein appear to have not been followed in the hours before the millionaire was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, sources told ABC News on Sunday.
As an inmate in the Special Housing Unit at MCC, Epstein should have been checked on by a correctional officer every 30 minutes, according to Bureau of Prison protocols. But sources told ABC News that protocol was not followed prior to Epstein’s death by suicide.
In recent weeks, the correctional officers' union has complained of understaffing. Those gripes are now part of the investigation into whether the 30-minute checks were happening, sources said.
The two guards that were at the Special Housing Unit where Epstein was housed, were both on overtime. One officer was working a mandatory overtime shift. The other officer was working his fifth overtime shift of the week, a single source familiar with the matter told ABC News. This was first reported by CNN...
That is why the circumstances surrounding Jeffery Epstein's death are so wanting.
This is gross negligence and not just for Jeffery Epstein. I don't know who wrote the protocols for the Department of Prisons, but, every 30 minutes, even when carried out correctly is inviting trouble. In normal psychiatric settings, the protocol is every 15 minutes and many caregivers of those folks will tell you even 15 minutes may seem too long.
Even though there is a protocol, that doesn't mean it has to be adhered to strictly. If every 15 minutes seems to long for a patient then "good practice" dictates there is either a 24 hour observation of the patient or the caregivers change the routine to every 10 or 5 minutes depending on the patient. That means whoever is in charge of the facility may be required to bring in extra help assigned only to that patient or he or she carries out the task themselves.
There is no reason for a person's death because of short staffed shifts. This is the result and it is unforgivable. People charged with a crime are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. Even after found guilty they have a right to good care when it comes to their mental and physical health. Incarceration is very difficult. Being limited to a jail cell when used to flying a jet from day to day is cruel. It is necessary, but, doesn't mean it isn't cruel. That is what prison is, it limits movement. Freedoms are taken away and that to many is punishment enough.
I have no patience with this. It isn't the guards fault, they are trained to carry out the protocols. The blame lays exactly where the policies are written and passed on to the management. It lies with the big bucks, the six to seven figure salary persons. Whoever wrote this policy cared more about their budget than the prisoners in their care.
That is my opinion and I will not change my mind. If a society is going to remove people from their freedoms as punishment for crimes, then after they have served their sentence (as if life isn't short enough) they are to be returned to society, intact and able to work and begin again.
August 11, 2019
By Bill Hutchinson and Aaron Katersky
Jail protocols requiring routine checks (click here) on the wellbeing of accused sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein appear to have not been followed in the hours before the millionaire was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, sources told ABC News on Sunday.
As an inmate in the Special Housing Unit at MCC, Epstein should have been checked on by a correctional officer every 30 minutes, according to Bureau of Prison protocols. But sources told ABC News that protocol was not followed prior to Epstein’s death by suicide.
In recent weeks, the correctional officers' union has complained of understaffing. Those gripes are now part of the investigation into whether the 30-minute checks were happening, sources said.
The two guards that were at the Special Housing Unit where Epstein was housed, were both on overtime. One officer was working a mandatory overtime shift. The other officer was working his fifth overtime shift of the week, a single source familiar with the matter told ABC News. This was first reported by CNN...
The Americans leaving America are doing so in what can be defined as forced emigration. It has nothing to do with immigrants at the southern USA border, but, more about the fact Donald Trump and the Republicans past and present cannot maintain domestic peace because of their cronies in the gun lobby.
Something needs to be done about Moscow Mitch McConnell. He has been an obstructionist for so long he has become demented in placing the USA first and it's people no longer are important to him.
Recently, when there were three mass killings within one week and the casualties easily totaled over 100 people and children; a cold chill ran down the spine of most Americans. The domestic terrorism didn't stop there. It continued with still another man in body armor and carrying weapons of war once again heeding the call of hatred and was ready to mow down more Americans.
I know what the Special Counsel's investigation turned up about Russia and it's ability to turn the internet into an election season nightmare. I know in my bones Putin is attempting to move more and more haters in the USA toward violence. In recent speeches, Trump did little to nothing to cool down the rhetoric and take leadership to a level of compassion with the ability to express political differences that didn't inspire violence.
Forced emigration is a result of real, not imagined fears. I will go so far as to equate what Trump and McConnell does within the realm of the media to the terror in Rwanda that resulted in the killing of millions. We are not there, but, the right wing media certainly is and the power trip of inspiring an internal struggle in the USA is all too tempting.
There was such nervous fear in the USA it has been demonstrated across the country in panic by crowds of people. The latest was a panic in the city of Toledo, Ohio with some guns shots that caused people in the street to panic and run for cover. It is very easy to say the country is not only on edge but, terrified.
Realizing the brevity of the mood of the country after the most recent domestic gun violence, it was extremely reasonable to believe Congress needed to return to DC and pass important and pertinent gun legislation. Every issue could be an autonomous stand alone bill and there should be ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT the country's gun lobby is out of control in demanding such loose gun laws that exist today.
"Moscow" Mitch McConnell's answer to returning early to pass legislation beyond the ability of a veto; was that there is no sense to return to DC for such issues, it would only amount to people earning points while not getting anything done. Does anyone actually believe if nothing was done and it was a bunch of grandstanding those legislators would be returning to DC in 2020?
"Moscow" McConnell is demented. He no longer sees the people as important and because of his power-hungry obstructionism, he only sees the politics as if there is not a thing wrong in the lives of Americans. It is all just politics.
"Moscow" Mitch is dangerous and incompetent. He sided with Trump in doing nothing. Trump stated it was only a short while and the legislature would be back to pass a bill for background checks. Does anyone believe that is going to happen? It is well a month before serious legislation will take the floor in the US Senate and it won't be the background check bill the US House has already passed waiting for a vote in the US Senate and signature by Trump.
The American people have serious issues before them. This is a dangerous time for the country and for the people. Americans need to take their fears seriously and know they are correct and demand action NOW. The longer the American people are placed in danger, the more and more the current legislators refusing to act now really don't belong there.
Donald J. Trump and "Moscow" Mitch McConnell don't care about the people of the country. They care about power and their way to maintain it. It is time the American people get serious about their lives, their safety and living comfortably in a country previous generations fought and died for. Any working poor is a completely hideous reality. It is time Americans become fully vested in a country where they are safe and their government does care beyond their wildest imaginations about them.
I've had enough of dead Americans in the streets of the USA. I hope you have.
Something needs to be done about Moscow Mitch McConnell. He has been an obstructionist for so long he has become demented in placing the USA first and it's people no longer are important to him.
Recently, when there were three mass killings within one week and the casualties easily totaled over 100 people and children; a cold chill ran down the spine of most Americans. The domestic terrorism didn't stop there. It continued with still another man in body armor and carrying weapons of war once again heeding the call of hatred and was ready to mow down more Americans.
I know what the Special Counsel's investigation turned up about Russia and it's ability to turn the internet into an election season nightmare. I know in my bones Putin is attempting to move more and more haters in the USA toward violence. In recent speeches, Trump did little to nothing to cool down the rhetoric and take leadership to a level of compassion with the ability to express political differences that didn't inspire violence.
Forced emigration is a result of real, not imagined fears. I will go so far as to equate what Trump and McConnell does within the realm of the media to the terror in Rwanda that resulted in the killing of millions. We are not there, but, the right wing media certainly is and the power trip of inspiring an internal struggle in the USA is all too tempting.
There was such nervous fear in the USA it has been demonstrated across the country in panic by crowds of people. The latest was a panic in the city of Toledo, Ohio with some guns shots that caused people in the street to panic and run for cover. It is very easy to say the country is not only on edge but, terrified.
Realizing the brevity of the mood of the country after the most recent domestic gun violence, it was extremely reasonable to believe Congress needed to return to DC and pass important and pertinent gun legislation. Every issue could be an autonomous stand alone bill and there should be ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT the country's gun lobby is out of control in demanding such loose gun laws that exist today.
"Moscow" Mitch McConnell's answer to returning early to pass legislation beyond the ability of a veto; was that there is no sense to return to DC for such issues, it would only amount to people earning points while not getting anything done. Does anyone actually believe if nothing was done and it was a bunch of grandstanding those legislators would be returning to DC in 2020?
"Moscow" McConnell is demented. He no longer sees the people as important and because of his power-hungry obstructionism, he only sees the politics as if there is not a thing wrong in the lives of Americans. It is all just politics.
"Moscow" Mitch is dangerous and incompetent. He sided with Trump in doing nothing. Trump stated it was only a short while and the legislature would be back to pass a bill for background checks. Does anyone believe that is going to happen? It is well a month before serious legislation will take the floor in the US Senate and it won't be the background check bill the US House has already passed waiting for a vote in the US Senate and signature by Trump.
The American people have serious issues before them. This is a dangerous time for the country and for the people. Americans need to take their fears seriously and know they are correct and demand action NOW. The longer the American people are placed in danger, the more and more the current legislators refusing to act now really don't belong there.
Donald J. Trump and "Moscow" Mitch McConnell don't care about the people of the country. They care about power and their way to maintain it. It is time the American people get serious about their lives, their safety and living comfortably in a country previous generations fought and died for. Any working poor is a completely hideous reality. It is time Americans become fully vested in a country where they are safe and their government does care beyond their wildest imaginations about them.
I've had enough of dead Americans in the streets of the USA. I hope you have.
I have complete sympathy for their decisions. Please vote from a distance. It will be a chance to change the course of the country.
This escalation in gun violence occurred after the assault weapon ban expired in, I think it was 2004. That was 15 years ago, nearly a generation. The USA has been experiencing a SHIFT IN IT'S BASELINE when it comes to violence, especially gun violence. The children born and growing up in a violent gun culture doesn't know anything else. The people in this article do remember when the USA was a mostly safe and pleasant place to live. Fifteen after the expiration of the assault weapon ban, this country is not the same.
August 7, 2019
By Lisa Belkin
Eleanor Pelta (click here) has secured Polish passports for herself and her two sons. Stephanie Schwab is planning an escape route via Spain. Elie Jacobs has begun to keep enough cash on hand to buy last-minute plane tickets to Israel for his family. Alex and Aussa Lorens are applying for work visas in Australia, while Josh Lewin is aiming for New Zealand.
And Kami Lewis Levin already has her bags packed and tickets purchased. She leaves next week, with her husband, three children and a dog, for a new home in Costa Rica.
Americans are not flocking to the exits, but some of them are thinking about it, and some are talking about it, and at least a few are acting on the idea. Google searches for terms like “how to move out of America” spiked this past weekend to levels not seen since November 2016, right after the presidential election, and last seen a decade ago during the Great Recession. And in dozens of interviews after the massacres in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, people who were born here spoke of their crystallizing desire to leave....
August 7, 2019By Lisa Belkin
Eleanor Pelta (click here) has secured Polish passports for herself and her two sons. Stephanie Schwab is planning an escape route via Spain. Elie Jacobs has begun to keep enough cash on hand to buy last-minute plane tickets to Israel for his family. Alex and Aussa Lorens are applying for work visas in Australia, while Josh Lewin is aiming for New Zealand.
And Kami Lewis Levin already has her bags packed and tickets purchased. She leaves next week, with her husband, three children and a dog, for a new home in Costa Rica.
Americans are not flocking to the exits, but some of them are thinking about it, and some are talking about it, and at least a few are acting on the idea. Google searches for terms like “how to move out of America” spiked this past weekend to levels not seen since November 2016, right after the presidential election, and last seen a decade ago during the Great Recession. And in dozens of interviews after the massacres in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, people who were born here spoke of their crystallizing desire to leave....
White Supremacists/Nationalists'Alt Right are on the move. New Zealand, the USA and now Norway.
August 11, 2019
By Lefteris Karagiannopoulos
Sandvika (Norway) - An attack by a gunman (click here) at a Norwegian mosque on Saturday will be investigated as a possible act of terrorism, police said on Sunday.
The suspected shooter at the al-Noor Islamic Centre near the Norwegian capital - a young, white male carrying several guns - had expressed far-right, anti-immigrant views online, assistant chief of police Rune Skjold told a news conference.
How did Trump's hate dialogue about immigrants find it's way to Norway?
"We're investigating this as an attempt at carrying out an act of terrorism," he said.
The suspect had been apprehended after the attack, in which shots were fired but no one was hit, with one of the people inside the mosque having overpowered him before police arrived.
"These people showed great courage," Skjold added....
...The attacker, who has not been named, was also suspected of killing one of his own family members, a young woman who was found dead at his home, police said earlier...
His family probably tried to stop him.
By Lefteris Karagiannopoulos
Sandvika (Norway) - An attack by a gunman (click here) at a Norwegian mosque on Saturday will be investigated as a possible act of terrorism, police said on Sunday.
The suspected shooter at the al-Noor Islamic Centre near the Norwegian capital - a young, white male carrying several guns - had expressed far-right, anti-immigrant views online, assistant chief of police Rune Skjold told a news conference.
How did Trump's hate dialogue about immigrants find it's way to Norway?
"We're investigating this as an attempt at carrying out an act of terrorism," he said.
The suspect had been apprehended after the attack, in which shots were fired but no one was hit, with one of the people inside the mosque having overpowered him before police arrived.
"These people showed great courage," Skjold added....
...The attacker, who has not been named, was also suspected of killing one of his own family members, a young woman who was found dead at his home, police said earlier...
His family probably tried to stop him.
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