It is time to clean up the mess!

Unions are a beautiful thing. I was a member and a shop steward at one time. My family are union people. We stand for the right things. Fair wages and benefits define the quality of life for Americans. It is right to be union members. It is completely wrong to be a union official and exploit the worker's membership dues.

June 3, 2021
By Robert Snell and Riley Beggins

Detroit - Prosecutors (click here) want former United Auto Workers President Gary Jones to spend more than two years in federal prison for helping steal as much as $1.5 million from union members.

Prosecutors revealing the desired 28-month prison term Thursday also requested Jones pay $550,000 in restitution to the UAW, $42,000 to the IRS and a forfeiture of $151,377.

Jones's lawyer is also expected to ask U.S. District Judge Paul Borman for a preferred sentence later Thursday for his role in a conspiracy that undermined members' faith in union leadership and led to prolonged government oversight....

President Biden calls for strong reform of the filibuster. It is currently abused by Republicans that support the insurgency.

It is about time the Democrats got serious about their constituency. The DNC should scrutinize the voting records of those they fund for a Senate office. What good is a democrat for Congress if they do the bidding of the Republicans? President Biden as the leader of the Democratic Party has the right and a duty to call the shots the way he sees them. This was long overdue. 

If Manchen and Sinema cannot support the return of filibuster rules that were originally intended for the minority to be heard and not controlling the outcome of a vote, then what use are they. Any vote with Republicans is supporting the insurgency. There is no reason to see it any other way. 

June 2, 2021
By Savannah Behrman and Jorey Garrison

Washington - President Joe Biden (click here) appeared to single out two moderate Democratic senators as obstacles to passing parts of his agenda, yet the White House insisted Biden was not being critical of them.

On Tuesday, Biden referenced Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, while he discussed his support for the For the People Act voting rights bill during remarks commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre in Oklahoma.

Though he didn't mention them by name, Biden referred to “two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends."

"I hear all the folks on TV saying, ‘Why doesn’t Biden get this done?’” Biden said. “Well, because Biden only has a majority of effectively four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends. But we're not giving up."...

Britian is hosting the G7 post pandemic.

The Democrats can put through the minimum global corporate tax with the next budget after the G7 passes it into law.

May 31, 2021
By Jan Strupczewski

General view of a working session during the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Chantilly, near Paris, France, July 17, 2019.

Finance ministers from the group of seven rich nations (G7) (click here) will vow this week to support their economies as they emerge from the pandemic and reach an "ambitious" deal on a minimum global corporate tax in July, a draft communique showed.

G7 officials, set to meet in London on June 4-5, will also say that once the recovery is well established, they will need to "ensure long-term sustainability of public finances", which is understood to be code for a gradual withdrawal of stimulus.

The G7 comprises the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada.

"We commit to not withdrawing policy support too soon and investing to promote growth, create high-quality jobs and address climate change and inequalities," the draft communique, seen by Reuters, said....

It is called corruption and the US Congress needs to hold hearings about it.

The gambling at race tracks may have to be curtailed if the industry cannot treat the horses humanly and the races are not run according to the rules. 

This is not Baffert's first scandal. He doesn't the horses. He doesn't love their running heritage. He wants winners. He wants winners at any cost. That is a trainer that cannot be trusted with some of the best horses in their generations. There is no excuses left for Baffert, he has been a trainer far longer than he should have and he knows all the ethical practices with thoroughbred race horses. This was not an oversight, it was a manipulation of Medina Spirit and the cold will never be known to his real capacity as a race horse. As a horse that will be bred, his reputation is scarred for the rest of his career.

June 2, 2021
By Jason Frakes

The New York Times (click here) reported Wednesday a split sample of Medina Spirit’s drug test following the Kentucky Derby confirmed the presence of betamethasone, further jeopardizing the horse’s status as the winner of the Run for the Roses.

The New York Times’ Joe Drape reported lawyer Clark Brewster, who represents Medina Spirit owner Amr Zedan, said the laboratory at the University of California-Davis confirmed the presence of betamethasone, a corticosteroid.

While legal as a therapeutic aid for horses, betamethasone is illegal when found in the blood on race day because it’s considered a possible performance-enhancer.

Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert announced May 9 — eight days after the Kentucky Derby — that Medina Spirit had tested positive for 21 picograms of betamethasone....

Additionally, Santa Anita still had racehorse deaths in the year 2020. Each dead horse had a life insurance policy. Their policy is worth more than their running careers.

There are many people within the thoroughbred industry that sincerely loves the horses, their heritage, and the nitch they have in providing a pastime for Americans. Jockeys put their lives on the line every time they mount a horse to race in some of the best ideas of the sport, but, they are little valued for their sportsmanship or dedication to a breed of horse that has seen its species nearly gone due to the corruption in the industry. Trainers and managers were producing winners that should not be in the winner circles and going on to breed offspring that continued the diminished vitality of the thoroughbred racehorse.

Congress needs to hold hearings on this sport and it's link to gambling and whether or not that endangers the animals as well as the people that like to watch them run and follow a horse's and jockey's career. The public needs to know they are going to a race track with a good reputation and wagering on horses that are honestly displaying their odds to win.

NO MORE DEAD RACEHORSES WHO ARE TOO YOUNG TO DIE OTHERWISE.

December 16, 2020
By John Cherwa

Southern California’s main thoroughbred tracks (click here) had their first racing or training fatality in more than three months when an unraced 2-year-old filly suffered life-ending injuries during morning training at Santa Anita on Wednesday.

Penelope Rose had not run a race and was galloping on the main track when she fractured her right front humerus, the bone that joins the shoulder to the elbow, while galloping. Radiographs showed that the injury was unrecoverable and she was euthanized. As is standard, a necropsy will be performed and reviewed by the California Horse Racing Board.

It was the second training death this year for trainer Eddie Truman. Miss Romania, a 3-year-old filly, died on Feb. 12, also of a fractured humerus....