Is the Trump circus over yet?

...And it turns out that China (click here) is one of only three foreign nations — the others are Britain and Ireland — where Mr. Trump maintains a bank account, according to an analysis of the president’s tax records, which were obtained by The New York Times. The foreign accounts do not show up on Mr. Trump’s public financial disclosures, where he must list personal assets, because they are held under corporate names. The identities of the financial institutions are not clear....

Joe Biden is correct in stating Americans pay for Chinese tariffs.

May 21, 2019 update

...But that is not how tariffs work. (click here) China’s government and companies in China do not pay tariffs directly. Tariffs are a tax on imports. They are paid by U.S.-registered firms to U.S. customs for the goods they import into the United States.

Importers often pass the costs of tariffs on to customers - manufacturers and consumers in the United States - by raising their prices.

U.S. business executives and economists say U.S. consumers foot much of the bill through rising prices....

Trump's relationship with North Korea is failed and damages USA national security.

October 13, 2020
By Alex Ward

North Korea’s display (click here) of new, dangerous weapons on Saturday made one thing perfectly clear: Over the last four years, President Donald Trump has failed to curb the nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

Trump made a big bet that meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times and sending him flattering letters might convince Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear and missile arsenals once and for all. But during the country’s 75th annual military parade celebrating the founding of its ruling party, Kim made sure to signal to the entire world that Trump has made no progress on that front. In fact, matters have only gotten worse.

Among other revelations, North Korea showed off a large intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could potentially overwhelm US defenses; more trucks from which to shoot ICBMs than previously known; and more advanced shorter-range rockets to more precisely threaten South Korea....

Trump tent cities. The sign says "Unexploded Ammunition Do Not Enter."

29 April 2019

by Edwin Delgado

The US government (click here) has begun erecting tents close to the border with Mexico to house detained migrants – even as Donald Trump likened the influx of undocumented families entering the US to “Disneyland” on Sunday.

Life at the foothills of the Franklin mountains in El Paso, Texas has been rudely disrupted in the last few days by construction crews coming and going near the adjacent border patrol station.

The main frames of two large tents popped up last week. They are expected to hold up to 500 migrants amid a level of chaos at the border that has unfolded under the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Construction crews are now working to prepare the interior of the shelter, which is expected to be operational by 1 May, even as the president downplayed conditions in which migrants are held and appeared once again to support the separation of families crossing the border....

September 17, 2017

...Last November (2016) his family (click here) was one of the 6,000 poorest families here to be selected for a U.S. government-backed humanitarian relief program. The family began receiving a monthly cash transfer of around $60, which it was encouraged to spend on fresh fruit, cereal, dairy products and other grocery staples to supplement a diet that rarely varied beyond black beans and homemade corn tortillas....

...But this summer, as Marroquín watched his corn wither once again, he noticed that the cash was also starting to dry up. The $60 became $40, which became $18. Then he learned that in the last week of August, the program would come to an end, at least a year earlier than its organizers had hoped.

The reason: a decision in April by President Trump to freeze $450 million in U.S. foreign aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — what's known as the Northern Triangle — over what he described as their failure to stem the outflow of northbound migrants....

Since Lincoln, there have been three constitutional amendments to provide rights to African American people in the USA. 

The Voting Rights Act was instrumental in providing brevity to the black vote in the USA.

The USA has increased CO2 emissions under Trump. A good beginning is to move the emissions back to where it was and return the downward trend.

July 8, 2019
By George Brumfiel

Carbon dioxide emissions (click here) in the U.S. are on the rise again after several years of decline, and a booming economy is the cause.

That's according to a report out today from the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm that tracks CO2 emissions in the U.S.

"It appears based on preliminary data that emissions in the U.S. grew by the highest rate since 2010 when we were recovering from the great recession," says Trevor Houser, a partner at Rhodium and an author on the new estimate.

Emissions rose roughly 3.4 percent in 2018, he says....

October 22, 2020
By Matthew Fox

US stocks reversed an early decline (click here) and finished higher on Thursday as negotiations on another round of fiscal stimulus showed progress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that talks with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin were "just about there," adding, "The president wants a bill — that's part of the opportunity that we have."

But obstacles remain for another round of stimulus before the November election, as Senate Republicans have shown little appetite to pass anything but a skinny stimulus deal focused on extending aid to small businesses....

After a devastating onset, New York is down to single digit deaths. It is not a ghost town.

Source (click here)

 

This article that appeared in the Internatinoal New York Times intrigued me.

October 22, 2020

...Some studies (click here)—including a recent preprint paper examining mouse and human brain tissue—show evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can get into nerve cells and the brain. The question remains as to whether it does so routinely or only in the most severe cases. Once....

What kept me reading was the observation that when SARS-CoV-2 enters cells supporting nerve tissue there are symptoms that are neurological. Those support cells are called the "Blood-Brain Barrier." That barrier protects and also nourishes the brain.

...Some neurological symptoms are far less serious yet seem, if anything, more perplexing. One symptom—or set of symptoms—that illustrates this puzzle and has gained increasing attention is an imprecise diagnosis called “brain fog.” Even after their main symptoms have abated, it is not uncommon for Covid-19 patients to experience memory loss, confusion, and other mental fuzziness....

We know the virus has penetrated into the brain from observations of surgeons attempting to end bleeding and blood clots. But, this "fog" can be permanent damage to the cells that make up the blood-brain barrier. If those cells are damaged they don't heal. The brain however is known to reroute brain function from stroke patients with rehabilitation. The same probably holds true for these patients as well.

At this point in developing a knowledge base of SARS-CoV-2, treatments that work to end the virus, as well as therapies such as rehab, are important to the people. It is really amazing that we know as much as we do. The medical community is nothing short of brilliant.

...That means the effects may be directly tied to the virus itself. “It’s just striking,” Price says. The affected patients “all have headaches, and some of them seem to have pain problems that sound like neuropathies,” chronic pain that arises from nerve damage. That observation led him to investigate whether the novel coronavirus could infect nociceptors....

That is permanent damage. The spread has to end.

THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT REMAINS. THE VIRUS IS ADVERSE TO HERD IMMUNITY BY EXPOSURE. THAT IS A FACT AND NOT UP FOR DISCUSSION.

The article goes on to discuss treatments for these victims. The therapy is still in the lab, but, showing remarkable results. That is all fine and good. But. Any strategy against the virus that includes herd immunity by exposure is incompetent medicine.

I have been seeing the use of face shields along with masks by the public. I think it is brilliant. It provides protection for the face in general, especially the eyes. I applaud the people for their use. Very smart.

There is also a new study about indoor air quality as the northern hemisphere enters fall and winter. The study states even with personal PPE and social distancing the exposure to air quality where there are other people exposure to that air must be limited to 15 minutes.

This new finding will effect office businesses and indoor dining. The USA never faced this problem before and the air quality in buildings is not prepared to provide rapid air exchanges. Where there is the exposure of this type of circulating air there has to be filtration and ultraviolet light to disinfect the air. It will take time for offices to achieve acceptable air quality with SARS-CoV-2 still circulating among the people. Working from home is still a better choice. 

Of course, if the people of the USA make a concerted effort to eliminate the virus from the country, none of this is necessary. Ask New Zealand where their Prime Minister was just re-elected after imposing very stringent rules to end exposure to the virus.

The FDA has approved remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19. I think there is some proven benefit achieved for early diagnosed patients on supplemental oxygen.

...Gilead (click here) says Veklury is approved for people at least 12 years old and weighing at least 88 pounds (40 kilograms) who need hospitalization for their coronavirus infection. It works by inhibiting a substance the virus uses to make copies of itself....

Monitoring will continue on this treatment. There may or may not be a benefit as more data is analyzed. Of course, it is not a treatment for young children.

Known side effects of remdesivir preclude administration.

Remdesivir may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• nausea
• constipation
• pain, bleeding, bruising of the skin, soreness, or swelling near the place where the medication was injected

Trump has made Dr. Fauci a political issue. The truth about scientific decision making appears in an article in the professional journal "Nature."

6 October 2020

By Lynn Peeples

...At the beginning of the pandemic, (click here) medical experts lacked good evidence on how SARS-CoV-2 spreads, and they didn’t know enough to make strong public-health recommendations about masks.

The standard mask for use in health-care settings is the N95 respirator, which is designed to protect the wearer by filtering out 95% of airborne particles that measure 0.3 micrometres (µm) and larger. As the pandemic ramped up, these respirators quickly fell into short supply. That raised the now contentious question: should members of the public bother wearing basic surgical masks or cloth masks? If so, under what conditions? “Those are the things we normally [sort out] in clinical trials,” says Kate Grabowski, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. “But we just didn’t have time for that.”

So, scientists have relied on observational and laboratory studies. There is also indirect evidence from other infectious diseases. “If you look at any one paper — it’s not a slam dunk. But, taken all together, I’m convinced that they are working,” says Grabowski....

Wear the masks, they work to protect human life. The cloth masks is better than paper. Paper is better than nothing. I saw a really nice mask in Walgreens. They were manufactured by "Hanes" and they were cloth that could be washed and worn again and again. It is just nice to know so many companies that have flourished in the USA for decades and possibly a century are on the side of the American people as we progress through treatments and strategies to vanquish a very dangerous virus.

Americans should not surrender to a killer no matter the form it takes.

I also need to thank Chris Christie to make it clear letting down one's defenses in wearing masks, social distancing, and hand hygiene is the worst thing that can happen to an American. I am glad he made it through to the other side of the infection of this virus. He is a decent man and I believe the truth means something to him, especially when looking at his career as a US Attorney.

All Americans need to heed the warnings of scientists and moral political persons.

The New York Post is Un-American.

Joe Biden can't take a breath without New York Post pretending there is a scandal involved. The news media has become a rag with it's exploitive articles. There is no reason to address their nonsense. They are attempting to make money at the expense of our democracy. 

If they want to destroy their own reputation, there is nothing in their way.

Joe Biden said (click here) that America was an “idea” that the country has “never lived up to.”

The former vice president made the comments on Brene Brown’s podcast on Wednesday during a discussion about the legacy of slavery and the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice.

“America was an idea, an idea,” the Democratic presidential nominee said. “‘We hold these truths to be self evident.’ We’ve never lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it before. And I just think we have to be more honest. Let our kids know, as we raise them, what actually did happen. Acknowledge our mistakes so we don’t repeat them.”

I am not going to review their claims anymore.

The United States of America is an idea. That is stated in the history of this great country. When considering all the corruption currently in the White House it is obvious Americans not only have a clear choice but they have to admit they have not lived up to the expections that protect this democracy.

No proof any law breaking occurred.

The latest edition of FOX News defame Joe Biden campaign is all third person. The people involved with supposed business dealings have no standing. They are emails between third parties. There is no there there.

I am confident Joe Biden’s name appears in innumerable emails throughout the world but that doesn’t mean anything. There are no crimes committed.

Perhaps FOX News needs to provide better coverage of the business dealings of the Trump family in China and the Middle East to begin. That family has made enormous amounts of money while occupying the White House. Trump’s twitter feed provided excellent cover to many money schemes by his family. 

The best indication of an elected official and corruption is the money trail. The only time Joe Biden has increased his wealth in measurable ways was when he left the Obama Administration after completing 8 years of a Vice President.

And, Mitch McConnell did do something to his hand, but, what? What is he hiding.

Purple glove syndrome would explain the bandage on the thumb if that was the only place to start an IV. A loading dose of Dilantin can cause darkened skin if done through an IV in the hand. If it is Purple Glove Syndrome he had a seizure requiring ongoing therapy.

The American people need to have a government that reflects the care it takes of the people, not of it's financial markets.

There were 787,000 US weekly jobless claims last week. That is a lot of people without an income to their households. That alone is scary when realizing the Republicans have no intention of passing an aid package to the people. They are however expected to vote on the most radical judge ever to sit on the USA Supreme Court that discards women's lives for the sake of a fertilized egg. In case the Republicans haven't checked recently, there is no shortage of Americans in the world.

• Number of births: 3,791,712
• Birth rate: 11.6 per 1,000 population
• Fertility rate: 59.1 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44
• Percent born low birthweight: 8.3%
• Percent born preterm: 10.0%
• Percent unmarried: 39.6%
• Mean age at first birth: 26.9
• Number of vaginal deliveries: 2,581,992
• Number of Cesarean deliveries: 1,208,176
• Percent of all deliveries by Cesarean: 31.9%

No USA Senator during the confirmation hearings of Coney-Barrett asked if she was aware of the maternal death rate when considering the availability of abortion rights. Did they ask her if she is aware the maternal death rate is grossly underreported because of the absence of a check off box on the death certificate indicating it is related to a recent pregnancy? And what has Coney-Barrett done to seek out the quality of life issues for mothers and pregnant women while involved with her sect organization? Nothing. She gives speeches and attends meetings of right-wing extremist organizations much like her late boss, except it is the distaff side of the universe she is obsessed with.

When a woman has ambitions to achieve the status of Supreme Court Justice, it is only right that woman has a proven track record of understanding Americans most at risk for danger, disease, and impoverishment. This nominee knows nothing of that but only how businesses complain about their costs shave profits from their stockholders.

The Affordable Care Act is a requirement for those most at risk for danger, disease, and impoverishment. It is vital for the survival of women. 

February 13, 2020

By Nina Martin

The last state (click here) to adopt the checkbox on death certificates, West Virginia, finally added it in mid-year 2017 prompting this new MMR data. The CDC also admits that there have been some misclassification of maternal deaths due to checkbox errors and are working with states to make the data more reliable and accurate.

...Now, here it was, (click here) from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System: 17.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018 — an estimated 658 lives lost. It was worse than the last official calculation, 12.7 deaths per 100,000 births, and it placed American maternal health outcomes where experts suspected they would land, worst among wealthy nations, and 55th among all countries, ahead of Ukraine but just behind Russia.

The new U.S. rate was widely assumed to reflect the cutting edge of maternal mortality research. But as the Illinois experts quickly discovered, there were gaping holes. The rate didn’t include the types of cases they had been reviewing that day — suicides and drug overdoses, which may not seem like it at first but are often linked to pregnancy and childbirth. It didn’t include new mothers who had died more than 42 days after giving birth, missing a huge chunk of relevant deaths. It underestimated the deaths of women 45 and older as well as those whose pregnancies had been overlooked by doctors and coroners....

Madhya Pradesh is the largest state in India. Its translation is "central province."

October 22, 2020

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (click here) announced that as and when a Covid-19 vaccine is ready, it will be made available for all people of the state free of cost....

India is not talking about an empty gesture. Seven billion in tight-fisted funds are being held exclusively for the purchase of the vaccine.

October 22, 2020

The government (click here) has set aside about Rs 500 billion ($7 billion) to vaccinate the world’s most populous country after China against the coronavirus, according to people with knowledge of the matter....

The article brings up the fact India has the second largest population in the world. So then, how will the early vaccines be distributed and who will complete the vaccination of their entire country first? It opens up the questions who is vaccinated first, the largest country in the world or the most out of control country in the world and if combining both those characteristics, India is in first place.

At any rate, the talk of a vaccine leaves a lot of questions to be answer, namely who gets the vaccine first? Medical personnel eligible to wear PPE and needed if the vaccine proves faulty or young adults that will be able to provide a very robust response to a vaccine to determine if the immunity is sustainable over time? The answer seems obvious to me, young adults most able to survive the virus as statistics prove, are the most desirable recipients in the first tier of the vaccinated.

Electric cars are the wave of the future.

This is South Korea and I am sure they would love a flying car that can fly over the DMZ into North Korea. They probably would like stealth technology as an option. But, globally I don't see the flying car catching on as it would interfere with drones, kites and general peacefulness already invaded by airports and jumbo jets. But, the electric car is the future. 

October 14, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group (click here) appointed Euisun Chung as group chairman on Wednesday, cementing his succession from his octogenarian father in a move likely to give impetus to the world's fifth-largest automaker's push into electric vehicles and flying cars....

GM has unleashed its electric super-truck, the Hummer EV. I could not be happier. This venture into an Electric Super Hummer began over a decade ago by former Governor Ahhnold Schwarzenegger.  It is somewhere on this blog. GM C should consider making the former governor their spokesperson.

Of course, there is Elon Musk and his own version of the super truck. Stocks to his companies are expected to increase with this new electric era in the USA.

I am tired of the high handed character assassination.

And this has nothing to do with "Me Too." Cal Cunningham's wife loves him and there is no indication there will be anything going on with Cal Cunningham other than apologies to his wife, friends, and the people of North Carolina.

Tillis's politics are superficial as opposed to the damage he does to the people of North Carolina. Tillis has reached into the pockets of North Carolinians to allow them to pay for the tax cuts for million-billionaires past in legislation after Trump took office. 

Thom Tillis has voted to end the Affordable Care Act; the health care insurance that allows college students to stay on their parents' policy while they complete their education. Tom Tillis has already voted to end protections of the people of North Carolina when it comes to their health and well being. If they ever had a pre-existing condition, they get no health insurance, except what they can pay for in cash. We are going through a global pandemic whereby the USA has the highest infection rate of SARS-CoV-2 and the highest death rate from that virus in the entire world. It is unconscionable and highly immoral no matter what religion a person abides by to take health insurance from Americans.

His immortality doesn't stop there. Thom Tillis may say he is pro-life, but, he is voting for a woman for the Supreme Court that wants to charge a woman receiving an abortion with murder with execution as a resolve to scare the living hell out of people. And forget the idea of getting an abortion, regardless of it's medical necessity in another country because if a woman comes back after an abortion she will face the same fate as if she had a backstreet abortion in the USA.

Where did privacy go in the USA?

It would seem as though Tillis doesn't have much of a moral voting record at all. He opposed lowering prescription drug prices and voted to reduce educational funding. While Tillis was a member of the NC House and went on to be Speaker in 2011, under his watch, the NC State Legislature became more ideologic than ever in it's history. He lead votes that removed vetoes of the then Governor Bev Purdue budget proposals so he could decide about the budget his way.

The 31-19 vote ended a bitter debate between Democrats and Republicans about how deeply to cut spending in light of high unemployment and the slow pace of recovery from the last recession....

...Perdue on Sunday became the first North Carolina governor to veto a budget since the state’s top elected official obtained veto power in 1997.

She argued the one-cent temporary sales tax should have been extended another year to fund education. She and other Democrats objected to the General Assembly budget cutting a further $124 million in funding for local education on top of $305 million cut in previous years.

They said the extra cut would cost thousands of teachers and teacher aides their jobs and worsen the state’s unemployment rate, which at 9.7 percent is above the national average....

Tom Tillis has been hurting North Carolinians since he first took office in that state in 2006. He votes with Republicans. In the US Senate, he has done little else. He is not bipartisan and his use of the military to TRICK the North Carolina public in believing he is a champion for their causes is a hoax.

Tom Tillis supports the military, but, who doesn't. The USA military is responsible for a significant chunk of the NC economy with Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Pope Air Force base and the list goes on with many National Guard at the ready for backdoor drafts.

Thom Tillis is a climate denier. He is currently trying to change his image on that by stating the climate is a problem and that people contribute to it BUT he has no solutions to end it. That crisis is only one he backs without having a plan. He backs Trump on every national emergency ever dreamed up by Trump, including a faux emergency at the USA southern border that has occurred because funding for the Northern Triad countries has been cut off. So the people of that region of the world are once again coming north to find work and to feed their children. Children by the way that were removed from the custody of their parents only to be kept in cages alone and scared of their future. 

That is the real Thom Tillis. A man that believes the rich should get richer and hand him the money he needs to win elections so he can perform their scut work.

As far as the "Code." There is none for men or women that served this country and have gone into private life. The truth be known men and women in the military have a divorce rate of 35 percent over their lifetime. So, this issue with marriage visited on Cal Cunningham is not new to the USA military.

The people of North Carolina have to resolve the issue of "sexual morality of married folks" vs. corruption with their elected officials. They need to ask themselves if losing their health care, educational funding, and paying higher tax rates of the Middle Class are worth all the moralizing by the very candidate they should get rid of. North Carolinians has to elevate themself above the fray and do what is right for them. Marriage troubles of any kind should not be on the ballot. Health insurance, drug costs, education, national security, safe alternatives for women's' health as well as improved conditions for military housing NEEDS TO BE ON THE BALLOT THAT WILL DIRECT THEIR CHOICES. After November 3, 2020 reality will dictate buyer's remorse if Tillis is still in office.

December 3, 2018

Washington - The Pentagon(click here)  is failing to ensure that all military families have access to safe, quality housing, according to a new government watchdog report....

So, before Tillis uses a few veterans, he needs to learn how to take care of them and current serving soldiers and their families.