There needs to be federal laws and enforcement.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons needs to join the rest of the Biden Administration to fight the deaths caused by the climate crisis. Federal funding will have to accompany human treatment of prisoners in all states, including the deaths from the climate crisis. I guarantee these deaths don't get counted among those of floods, freezing temperatures, fire and heat.

May 23, 2023

By Aryn Baker

This chart is from 2014, (click here) but, provides insight to the type of exertional problems that exist in prisons. The Texas prison authority can start by  ending exertional movement during very hot days. 

...It’s not just uncomfortable, (click here) it can be deadly. According to research by Julie Skarha, an environmental epidemiologist at Brown University’s School of Public Health, 271 prisoners died of heat-related causes in un-air-conditioned Texas prisons between 2001 and 2019. Many more suffer heat exhaustion each year, reporting dizziness, nausea, heat rashes, and muscle cramps. “With climate change each summer is going to be worse than the last. If nothing is done about this, people will continue to die,” says Dominick, founder of Texas Prisons Community Advocates, an organization that campaigns for prisoner welfare. “We have people going in for unpaid parking tickets and [drug] possession charges, and they end up getting a death sentence because of the heat.”...

The best idea ever coming out of BLM.

Happy Memorial Day to the USA. We have many to honor today. What greater tribute to the men and women who kept us safe and our country one of the greatest ever to exist in this world.

I think this proposed rule by BLM is genius.

This is an opportunity for the public lands to be managed by experts that belong to organizations like Nature Conservancy, Sierra, Defenders of Wildlife, and the controversial Audubon.

Our public lands are vitally important to many Americans. They are also a great heritage and this is among the best times to move in this direction as oil and gas leases are inevitably obsolete.The BLM must protect the conservation aspect of this rule and give priority to organizations lined with professionals as members and administration that can IMPROVE the land, eliminate invasive species, return native flora only to be followed by native fauna as function returns.

Everyone knows the enormous success of Yellowstone National Park. Before it's best outcomes it was known as mismanaged by those trying to make a park out of a wildlife area. This is an opportunity for conservation organizations to bring about far better management of the land to increase its importance to the climate crisis.

I believe using this opportunity to allow oil and gas companies to say they are covered in their atmospheric abuse by continued discharge of carbon dioxide and methane is a gross misuse of public lands. Those that pollute should never be allowed to enter into a conservation lease. Our public lands are not carbon credits to allow continued abuse of our planet.

These conservation leases can be used by organizations to determine if there is proper use of the land and if there is an interest in carbon credits, but, the leases should never be in the hands of corporate interest that pollute. Just that simple.

These leases are a promise to the youngest generation and the ones yet to be born into this remarkable country. I would expect even allies would show an interest in protecting the lands and perhaps participate to be sure nothing worse can come out of the land except better and better outcomes for our people. Our allies have an interest in the better outcomes in the USA. They are suffering under the weight of the climate crisis, too. Allies could establish organizations in the USA to participate. 

I don't see the current employees of the parks such as the park rangers leaving because of the leases. They are valuable to these lands for many reasons, including their longevity of employment. They have a great deal of experience and insight that is not replaceable. I see these leases as enhancements to those already employed by BLM to manage public lands. I am confident there will be controversy that comes out of these leases simply because that many more experts with eyes on the USA lands will bring about scrutiny like no other.

I am looking forward to USA public lands to be the envy of the world once they are properly managed under the conservation leases. 

May 26, 2023

By Amanda Eggert

BLM Mission (click here)

Through June 20, (click here) the Bureau of Land Management is accepting comments on a public land proposal that the agency put conservation priorities — e.g., ecological health and the “resilience of renewable resources” — on equal footing with long-established agency objectives such as livestock grazing and oil, gas and coal leasing.

More specifically, the proposed rule would establish conservation as a “use” under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act in an effort to “protect intact landscapes, restore degraded habitat, and make wise management decisions based on science and data.” As proposed, the new rule would allow the BLM to lease land for conservation purposes to tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, individuals or businesses. According to an Interior Department release, such leases could be used to protect wildlife migration corridors, for example, or establish carbon markets. In the latter example, the BLM might accept payment for a 10-year lease to leave grassland undisturbed for carbon sequestration....

I wish Wall Street would stop trying to make headlines when they don't understand the economy.

May 25, 2023

by Phil Rosen

1. Let's start with the CEO of Goldman Sachs, David Solomon. (click here) He just issued a warning that inflation's not going down anytime soon, and it's going to stay around longer than Americans — and the Fed — want.

On an annual basis, inflation hovered at 4.9% in April, lower than its peak of 9.1% last year but still more than double the central bank's 2% goal....

..Naturally, Wall Street mogul Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan, who's no stranger to credit crunches and bank rescues, said that any further constricting in lending conditions will likely come down hard on real estate....

May 23, 2023

By Rob Lenihan

So, what are your thoughts about a recession? (click here)

The "R" word has been cropping up a lot lately as the general feeling moves away from "if" and more toward "how bad."

A survey conducted by The Harris Poll and HarrisX from May 17-18, 2023 among 2,004 registered voters found that only 21% of respondents believe the U.S. will be able to avoid a recession.

Two-thirds of respondents believe that the economy is heading in the right direction, and the strength of the economy is perceived at below 50%.

The same poll, by the way, said Twitter owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now the most popular political figure in the United States, ahead of former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden....

USA GDP (click here)

U.S. gdp growth rate for 2021 was 5.95%, a 8.71% increase from 2020.
U.S. gdp growth rate for 2020 was -2.77%, a 5.06% decline from 2019.
U.S. gdp growth rate for 2019 was 2.29%, a 0.65% decline from 2018.
U.S. gdp growth rate for 2018 was 2.95%, a 0.7% increase from 2017.

USA Housing Starts (click here)

Date                               Value

April 30, 2023               1.401 M
April 30,2019                1.28 M

National statistics (click here)

The national average U.S. income in 2021 was $97,962. The median U.S. income in 2021 was $69,717.

Chief executives and nurse anesthetists earned over $200,000 a year on average in 2021, making them the highest paid occupations.

The median male salary in 2021 was $50,391, 27% higher than the median female salary of $36,726.

Male residents of Washington, D.C. made a median income of $83,567, the highest of any state or territory in the U.S. Arkansas posted the lowest median male income of any state at $40,736.

Two-person families have the lowest average family income, earning $75,143 on average. Four-person families earn the most on average by family size with an income of $105,901.

Americans between 56 to 64 years of age earned $83,812, the highest median income of any age band.

Asian Americans had the highest income in 2021, earning a median of $100,572. white Americans earned a median income of $74,932.

Next time financial investment institutions like Goldman and Chase are interviewed be sure to ask how their depositors are doing? Don't ask the CEOs what they think because they are always looking for sympathy and government money.

This is what is bothering the investment banks. 

May 24, 2023

By Tristan Bove

...An asset class recession (click here) means essentially that the economy as a whole would not shrink—and unemployment may not go up much from its recent 50-year low—but markets and asset values would take a prolonged hit, and most of the pain would be focused on those who rely on the value of their investments in addition to or instead of their salaries. Stocks in particular have made up a bigger and bigger chunk of U.S. households’ financial assets in recent years. In fact, Americans haven’t been invested in the stock market at this rate since 2008....

If only Wall Street could find more ways to rob the Middle Class they would feel better. The fact of the matter is there was rampant greed that robbed Americans of their status. It has been a bit of a difficult climb for many Americans to regain their footing after the pandemic, but, there was also an upside. Many Americans; that is many used to working two to three jobs to maintain their household budgets; never had the experience of not working and enjoying the households they worked hard to build.

The pandemic allowed them to breath easy even in the midst of tragedy all over the world, but, that tragedy struck the USA the hardest. I thought the USA House under the competent leadership of Nancy Pelosi was remarkable in it's inventiveness to support Americans through a very difficult time. An impossible time, actually. I am proud of that Congress and the American people. While the extremist population of the country took some of the hardest hits in contracting the virus and succumbing to it, there was a pause in the country that allowed a perspective about life that changed the way Americans valued time and how they spent it.

The current economy is doing fine. People have decided to work again and there are many options for employers that need people including immigrants with visas.

The USA has the largest Middle Class in the world. It is why so many other countries seek to be a part of life in the USA. That Middle Class is economically impossible to stop. Besides the actual magnificence to the American Middle Class a renaissance of sorts has been occurring in bringing equity to minorities and shifting economic opportunity for people normally suffering from the lack of opportunity.

So, basically, while Wall Street and the Republican cronies are spastic about the world, the USA population is stable and mostly flourishing. It is a stabilizing force in the world when so much of the world is experiencing upheaval. That upheaval isn't just the war in Ukraine, but, also climate and the strife that comes with it. 

There is no recession. There has been and maintains a shift in wealth and economic opportunity to facilitate that wealth. Whether anyone wants to realize it or not, the Biden Administration is exercising every attempt to revitalize the Middle Class and opportunity. You know, the NORMAL Middle Class where one or two jobs are all that is needed to balance the household budget so parents can actually be parents to their families.

Life is still not perfect, but, we are getting there and for the first time in a long time, the climate crisis is taking shape as an existential threat to our children and it matters. The petroleum industry is going down kicking and screaming while they wave methane in the face of Americans as the real green energy. We are getting there and it is right, moral and necessary to move away from traditional fuels and into alternative options. A huge shift such as this in energy and transportation is enormous. It always has been, but, it is finally happening and we need to hope it is in time.

We are doing fine. I don't mind if Morgan and Goldman are having spasms of fear. They can deal with it themselves.

There is no justice for the poisoning of Flint, Michigan.

December 9, 2022
By Ed White

Flint - A judge dismissed criminal charges (click here) against former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in the Flint water crisis, months after the state Supreme Court said indictments returned by a one-person grand jury were invalid.

Snyder, a Republican who left office in 2019, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty. He was the first person in state history to be charged for alleged crimes related to service as governor.

Snyder also is the eighth person to have a Flint water case thrown out after the Supreme Court’s unanimous June opinion.

Genesee County Judge F. Kay Behm signed the order Wednesday, a day after the U.S. Senate approved her nomination to become a federal judge in eastern Michigan.

“The charges against (Snyder) were not properly brought and must be dismissed at this time,” Behm wrote, sending the case to a lower court for the final step, weeks after hearing arguments....

Ron Fonger who was so very dedicated to the people of Flint is still writing about them. 

May 26, 2023

By Ron Fonger

Genesee County - The state is suspending road work (click here) and lifting travel restrictions in most construction zones during the Memorial Day weekend but obstacles will remain in place at some active sites in and around the county.

The Michigan Department of Transportation said in a news release on Thursday, May 25, that it should be easier to drive through 81 of its 146 active construction zones as work is paused and lanes temporarily opened....

What occurred instead of justice because of something known as the statute of limitations is typical for Republican scandals, they threw money at it. 

The people of Flint are still and always will be recovering from the poisoning. The children will be scrutinized to their well being and success in life. They will be given every reason to do well, but, will they? Will the lead live up to it's promise of permanently replacing iron in those that were poisoned and susceptible to damage? The facts aren't in yet, but, many strategies are at work to take that reality and turn it into well being and success in the lives the poison touched.

The deaths are forever as are the miscarriages of fetuses. That is a stain in the USA and it's human rights record.

There is one place where justice might still be secured and that is the Department of Justice. They should do a review, if they haven't begun already, to determine if malpractice to facilitate corruption and manipulation to fight the statute of limitations ensued to protect the obviously guilty in the Governor's office.

Basically, why did the Michigan Attorney General turn away from the obvious crimes and cover-up by the Governor?

Someday, when he retires and reflects on his life as a journalist, I hope Ron Fonger will write a book of truth that rattles the judges chambers that facilitated the dismissal of justice for poisoning an American city.

Oh, one other thing. Snyder? Besides his return to some sort of wealth management office or whatever he is doing, came out of his hiding place recently to criticize the passage of the end of "Right to Work." The guy is no one to trust. His politics are corrupt and damage the American Middle Class. All he is doing is playing with a potential to be a Vice Presidential candidate for 2024. I mean some people are never remorseful of their crimes and simply want to commit more.

This is such a joke.

 https://fortune.com/2023/05/24/artificial-intelligence-ai-eric-schmidt-demographic-crisis-babies-labor-shortage/amp/

Computers are going to solve the labor shortage and protect the economy.

Really?

How much do they get paid and who are their customers?

An economy is about people and the services they share. Computers have no economy except when people are involved. 

It will be the war of the Wall Street machines and people will be nowhere to be found. This is a prime example of companies existing even after they are obsolete, ie: petroleum industry. Wall Street is about the control of wealth and no longer about commerce. 

A medical license should never be dictated by political ideology.

...Early childbirth (click here) is especially dangerous for adolescents and their infants. Compared to women between the ages of 20-35, pregnant women under 20 are at a greater risk for death and disease including bleeding during pregnancy, toxemia, hemorrhage, prolonged and difficult labor, severe anemia, and disability....

There is every reason to be prudent in saving the life of a ten year old child. The child was ten years old. The crime is not the abortion, it is the pedophilia.

If the Indiana medical licensing board rules against the good conscience of Dr. Bernard the board will have to come under severe review of it's by-laws, practices and decisions over it's past existence. 

Competent medical practice should be the ONLY concern of any medical board. If Indiana has problems focusing on competent practice it should be dissolved and the members reviewed for the methods they use in their medical/surgical practices.

The USA Surgeon General can carry the burden of determining medical practices for Indiana until the medical licensing board can be reorganized under competent by-laws, practices and decisions. The licensing board will have to be reviewed annually for a time until it proves it is competent in it's by-laws, practices and decisions.

...Adolescent pregnancy (click here) carries high risks for both girls and their babies. Globally, about 50,000 teenage girls die each year in pregnancy and childbirth, while one million babies born to adolescent girls die before their first birthday....

May 25, 2023
By Kim Bellware

Indiana’s medical licensing board (click here) will determine as soon as Thursday whether to take any disciplinary action against a doctor who made headlines last year for performing an abortion for a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim, after the state’s antiabortion attorney general alleged the doctor violated ethical standards and state reporting laws.

Indiana’s Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita for nearly a year has pursued punishment for Caitlin Bernard, an OB/GYN and an assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine who performed the abortion in June 2022, less than a week after Roe v. Wade was struck down, enacting trigger laws.

The stakes of Thursday’s hearing are significant for Bernard, whose lawyers have refuted Rokita’s allegations as baseless and politically motivated. The seven-member board of governor appointees can, by a majority vote, either take no action against Bernard or impose a range of disciplinary measures up to and including the immediate termination of Bernard’s medical license....

Putin's most innocent spy.

May 24, 2023
By James Frater and Jack Guy

People should “avoid contact” (click here) with a famous beluga whale to avoid accidentally injuring or killing it, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has said.

The whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, shot to international fame in 2019 after it was spotted wearing a specially made harness with mounts for a camera, leading experts to believe the whale may have been trained by the Russian military....

The Norwegians are worried and rightfully so, the whale is unable to conduct itself like a Beluga and reproduce. There is a segment of the Beluga population now that is genetically unavailable because of Russia priorities for military reasons. The entire use of innocent animals for military purposes is outrageous. The Russians will try to attach bombs to them and deliver them like moving mine fields. 

Trump harnessed the innocent American minds of the tabloids, but, there is another group of innocent Americans being exploited as we watch.

The religious. They know not what they do.

Freedom of religion is granted in our USA Constitution and there is no reason for any religion to seek to dominate the minds of Americans. Yet, in Iowa, the legislature is taking religion and politicizing it in ways that inhibit American freedoms. My guess is that most of the Iowans are in favor of the values they practice at home. They would like to see that those values are reflected everywhere, but, that is a very dangerous idea when it is laced with the idea the USA Constitution is the enemy and other Americans are not as important within the understanding of the First Amendment.

What is occurring in Iowa and with rampaging politicians like DeSantis is a perversion far more dangerous than any DIFFERENCE we have from one another. The people of Iowa, regardless how simple their focus and benevolent their point of view are victims to those that see the USA Constitution as an enemy focusing only on what can be politically advantageous.

The USA Constitution is a very unique and powerful document. It is laced with generosity and not authority. The USA Constitution views the people as those most important and not the authority of the government. While that seems as though the people have the right to HAVE THINGS AS THEY WANT THEM, that is not what the USA Constitution states. In it's generosity the USA Constitution provides a platform for individuality of everyone. It provides also in generous portions TOLERANCE of difference between Americans and the First Amendment teaches us that.

Freedom of Religion is one place where I would expect TOLERANCE to be most at work, yet, today that freedom is creating indifference and intolerance and mean spirited forms of legislation that create victims rather than benevolence to bring about security for all Americans. Hate is replacing the real teachings of religion and it is being sanctioned under the idea the political power has the right to bring about these powers of intolerance and indifference in the name of religious freedom.

In the Supreme Court are religious extremists. They can't see the forest for the trees. The religious extremists are the majority and they believe every aspect of government should be lifted from the individual to allow purity of spirit to ascend to the here after. Really? I thought one of the most extremists in purity of spirit was illustrated clearly in the Bible's New Testament. I thought Jesus Christ was the iconic figure that was the most pure. The lessons of the Bible's New Testament is about a man who God called his son and how he traveled through his life changing the hearts of people by preaching about a monotheistic god and not the many deities the Romans held dear. 

The life of Jesus Christ was not about HAVING IT HIS WAY, it was about purifying the soul through mindful understanding of a moral life of generosity and tolerance. The followers of Jesus Christ did not know plush living with more than ample staples, but, of struggle and sacrifice and being true to that morality no matter the suffering asked of one's heart and mind. Today, that meaning has been perverted by this Supreme Court and those that seek power over the USA Constitution. The idea of Freedom of Religion is not to be intolerant in law of others, but, to allow all forms of spirituality to exist and even the right to be without a spirit god if one chooses.

There are always schisms that occur within religious organizations for ideological reasons, but, the schism occurring in the legislatures of this country is not supposed to exist. The USA Constitution recognizes the right for every American to have a life they cherish. That is not happening in some areas in the USA and unfortunately we have a Supreme Court that is suffering under ethical issues.

It is time to regroup to understand what life in the USA means without a USA Constitution to protect our individuality. It is a precious document and the First Amendment is important, but, not as a means of politics when that freedom is already secure. Legislating hate is highly immoral and causes harm to lives of innocent Americans.

May 24, 2023

United Methodist congregations in Iowa (click here) are leaving the denomination over a split on same-sex marriages and ordaining openly LGBTQ clergy.

The denomination has repeatedly upheld bans on both, but some U.S. churches and clergy have defied them. The Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church approved a new vision last year that allows Methodist ministers to host same-sex weddings and makes way for gay clergy to serve without fear of church charges.

Last year, conservatives launched a new Global Methodist Church, where they are determined to maintain and to enforce such bans. Across the United States, 3,755 churches have parted ways with the United Methodist Church, according to United Methodist News. There's an estimated 30,000 congregations in the United States, with nearly 13,000 more abroad....

There is a movement in some city to help pollinators survive and maybe even thrive.

It is called "No Mow May." (click here)

No Mow May (click here)

Ann Arbor resident Sarah Baird, who is participating in No Mow May, plays with her rescue dog Suki in the tall grass in front of her Harbroooke Avenue home on May 23, 2022.

Of course there are no pesticides applied to prevent toxicity to the pollinators.

With 40 million acres (click here) dedicated to them, lawns are the largest irrigated crop grown in the US. Maintaining them requires significant effort and resources, such as mowing, fertilizing, weeding, and chemical treatments, which can be time-consuming and expensive.

Despite this, lawns offer minimal benefits to wildlife and can even be harmful due to their lack of floral resources and nesting sites for bees, as well as the use of pesticides.

The common association with habitat loss is usually linked to images of bulldozers and damaged earth, yet the loss of habitat caused by well-maintained lawns covering acres can be just as significant as any construction site....

So, the idea is this, if bees have pollen to collect and return to the beehive to produce honey, they will do better. That is exactly what might help. If "No Mow May" participants are seeing bees and other pollinators enjoying the taller plants that are normally mowed down, they will be correct in their focus to give the pollinators a "leg up" this  year.

Bees (click here) feed on and require both nectar and pollen. The nectar is for energy and the pollen provides protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used by bees as larvae food, but bees also transfer it from plant-to-plant, providing the pollination services needed by plants and nature as a whole....

continued...

I think the Biden Administration needs to get started.

The gap in income to the USA Treasury is about two weeks in length. There is no reason to continue the standoff with a GOP that can't get their act together. McCarthy is basically incompetent. It took him forever to be elected to Speaker in the first place, there is no reason it won't take forever to close the gap on the income ceiling.

Secretary Yellen is most worried about US Treasury Bonds paid in June and December. It is those that are finding the shortfall a threat. US Treasury bonds are vital to the health of the USA government and economy. It is time to move forward with measures the White House can carry out because there is just no hope competency will return to the US House soon.

May 24, 2023

By Al Weaver

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) (click here) on Wednesday called for President Biden to invoke the 14th Amendment in order to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default on the nation’s credit as White House and House GOP negotiators race to strike a deal.

In an Fox News op-ed, Sanders said enacting many of the proposed cuts Republicans passed in their debt limit bill last month — and that are on the table now — would be “a disaster,” just as a default would be....

Press Secretaries are very important in Russia. This is more of the same from Putin.

24 May 2023
By Iryna Balachuk

Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov (click here) says Russia will intervene in the event of a popular armed uprising in Belarus to overthrow the regime of its self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko.

Source: Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti

Quote: "This neighbouring country [Belarus − ed.] is our partner, ally and fraternal state. Naturally, the Russian Federation has obligations with regard to ensuring the security of Belarus, which we will do in the face of such an evident threat."

Details: He also called Poland a "hostile" state to Russia, claiming it is now "engulfed in Russophobic hysteria".

Peskov also claimed that Poland is "openly speaking of its intention to intervene directly, including by force, in the internal affairs of a neighbouring state"....

May 24, 2023

By Filipp Lebedev, Lucy Papachristpou, and Mark Telvelyan

London - The director of a top Russian science institute, (click here) arrested on suspicion of treason along with two other hypersonic missile technology experts, stands accused of betraying secrets to China, two people familiar with the case told Reuters.

Alexander Shiplyuk, head of Siberia's Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITAM), is suspected of handing over classified material at a scientific conference in China in 2017, the sources said....

More rampaging against the machine that Putin can't seem to get to do as he wants. The killing didn't work in Ukraine so maybe it will work somewhere else. And if the weapon systems aren't functioning well enough to defeat other's defenses it must be someone's fault and not Vladimir.

China does the exact same cyber facial recognition technology to maintain control over any freedom of expression.

May 24, 2023
By Dasha Litvinova

Yekaterina Maksimova enters a Moscow subway station in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 22, 2023. The journalist and activist has been detained five times in the past year, thanks to the system's pervasive security cameras with facial recognition. She says police would tell her the cameras "reacted" to her — although they often seemed not to understand why, and would let her go after a few hours.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — When Yekaterina Maksimova (click here) can’t afford to be late, the journalist and activist avoids taking the Moscow subway, even though it’s probably the most efficient route.

That’s because she’s been detained five times in the past year, thanks to the system’s pervasive security cameras with facial recognition. She says police would tell her the cameras “reacted” to her — although they often seemed not to understand why, and would let her go after a few hours.

“It seems like I’m in some kind of a database,” says Maksimova, who was previously arrested twice: in 2019 after taking part in a demonstration in Moscow and in 2020 over her environmental activism.

For many Russians like her, it has become increasingly hard to evade the scrutiny of the authorities, with the government actively monitoring social media accounts and using surveillance cameras against activists.

Even an online platform once praised by users for easily navigating bureaucratic tasks is being used as a tool of control: Authorities plan to use it to serve military summonses, thus thwarting a popular tactic by draft evaders of avoiding being handed the military recruitment paperwork in person....

Surveillance cameras are not uncommon in the USA to protect from dangerous intersections and enforce speed limits. Americans really to object in many instances to the presence of these cameras and the traffic fines that result. But, they have also been heroes in places like Boston when terrorists struck innocent citizens enjoying a celebratory event in the way of a marathon. 

However, in Russia these cameras are a nefarious part of life that are more than traffic reporters or heroes to marathon runners, they are the police and enforcement of silence. Putin's propaganda is not to be questioned. Period. No freedom of speech. That is authoritarianism that Americans are not exposed to and quite frankly would cause problems in the USA economy. Begin grateful for our Constitution and the freedoms it affords us should never be a political debate. 

January 30, 2021

By David Chapek

Free speech (click here) is usually considered a constitutional right, which is certainly correct. It’s also often discussed as a human right—also correct. But the benefits of free speech go further. Free speech acts as a gateway toward human improvement and the betterment of society.

How, you ask? It’s simple: innovation.

Most great discoveries and achievements come not through one person’s sole genius, but through collaboration with others. Take, for example, the one and only Albert Einstein. His special theory of relativity was based not on his own solitary contemplations but on discussions with two other innovators, Marcel Grossmann and Michele Besso. Grossmann’s work in mathematics is said to have greatly helped Einstein. Who knows what would have happened had the latter worked alone?

Discussion leads to innovation.

When we are able to discuss and collaborate with one another, we are putting together our own individual gifts and talents (a principle known in economics as specialization) toward a broader purpose—in this case, discovering, inventing, or creating something. And, just as with Einstein, when we are free to collaborate, society is improved....

The Republican agenda of anarchy serves Musk's plans.

The assault against democracy and the free enterprise system are too numerous to mention, but, it is plainly obvious that his antics from the Florida Governor mansion was all political with the aspiration that rolling back history would win the presidency.

May 24, 2023
By Sara Fisher and Mike Alan

Elon Musk (click here) has displaced Rupert Murdoch and Fox News as the king of conservative media in recent weeks.

Why it matters: Fox News used to be the place where conservatives went to break news. But the right-wing ecosystem has turned on the network, leaving Twitter as the center of media gravity for the Republican Party just as the 2024 election heats up....

May 23, 2023
By Dasha Burns and Matt Dixon

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (click here) will announce he is running for president during a discussion with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, three sources familiar with the plans told NBC News.

Musk and DeSantis will host an event on Twitter Spaces, the site’s platform for audio chats, on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET. It will be moderated by David Sacks, a tech entrepreneur who is a Musk confidant and DeSantis supporter....

May 23, 2023
By Charisma Madarang

Amanda Gorman (click here) prepares to speak at the 2020 inauguration of Joe Biden.

A Florida school (click here) has banned elementary students from reading “The Hill We Climb,” the poem written and recited by Amanda Gorman at Joe Biden’s inauguration as president.

The powerful poem, which was been internationally praised, was one of several works banned at the Miami-Dade County school library after a parent complained they referenced critical race theory, gender ideology, “indirect hate messages,” according to the Miami Herald.

On Tuesday, Gorman addressed the ban, in a statement posted to social media. “I’m gutted. Because of one parent’s complaint, my inaugural poem, ‘The Hill We Climb,’ has been banned from an elementary school in Miami-Dade County, Florida,” she wrote.

“And let’s be clear: most of the forbidden works are by authors who have struggled for generations to get on bookshelves,” she continued. “The majority of these censored works are by queer and non-white voices. I wrote ‘The Hill We Climb’ so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment. Ever since. I’ve received countless letters and videos from children inspired by ‘The Hill We Climb’ to write their own poems.”

“Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech,” the poet wrote. “Together, this is a hill we won’t just climb, but a hill we will conquer.”...

We saw the same prowess with the hacking of the USA elections of 2016 with both the DCCC and the Clinton Campaign.

On the same note, the FBI did really well in basically walking into the GRE through online access. Russia has maintained the idea of being furious through propaganda and sheer brutality as noted in it's methods in Syria. The same methodology was witnessed in Ukraine. This form of so called intelligence interference is about the best developed skill that Russia has when it comes to warfare, other than propagating nuclear weapons.

29 March 2023

By Frank Gardner

Russia's security and intelligence services (click here) have achieved greater success in Ukraine than its army, says a leading UK defence think tank.

Russian spy agencies began preparing for the invasion of Ukraine as far back as June 2021, says a report by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi).

The Federal Security Service (FSB) has quickly dominated populations in occupied areas of Ukraine, Rusi adds....

These are not my entries.

It is my complete confidence this blog was hacked by China or Russian spies. I would say this was the GOP or DeSantis, but, they aren't that smart. I also have been unable to remove them. So. The protest regarding their content does not belong to me but some adverse entity that I has assaulted this blog. 

Google should trace the origins of the posts and send them to the FBI. I apologize for being unable to do that myself. The FBI is also welcome to investigate this on it's own if it care to.

There was only one other time this blog was hacked and it was some time ago. I was convinced then it was Carl Rove. Not this time.

I sincerely have nothing to hide from anyone.
 

The top paying degrees..,

…of graduating college and university seniors are…

S (science)

T (technology)

E (engineering)

M (mathematics)

careers.

That is an amazing photo all considering.

February 2, 2023
By Rachel Oswald

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds an American flag gifted to him by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after he addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Dec. 21, 2022.

Concerned about the potential (click here) for a change in U.S. leadership after the next presidential election, a visiting delegation of Eastern European lawmakers this week called on the Biden administration and Congress to move this year to bring Ukraine into NATO.

Ahead of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius this summer, a faction of member states, led by the Baltic countries and Poland, is campaigning for the gathering to be used to begin the official process of admitting Ukraine to the Western military alliance.

“This is it. This is the year when all stars are aligning,” said Žygimantas Pavilionis, chairman of the Lithuanian parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, at a Wednesday roundtable with journalists in Washington. “We have bipartisan unity on freedom, democracy, and victory of Ukrainians, on our values. We have huge strategic unity of Europeans, who recognized American leadership. So let’s do it like we did it in times of [Ronald] Reagan.”...

24 February 2022 was a much different President Zelenskyy. At the time President Zelenskyy was freely elected by the people of Ukraine, he pledged never to join NATO. He believed it was a stance that would hurt the economies involved. Zelenskyy saw Ukraine as a neutral country willing to engage in economic trade with both the EU and Russia's economic coalition venture.

Then over time and the continued invasion into Ukraine by Russia created the clear understanding of genocide. When a foreign power kills children it is a clear statement that the future belongs to hate and there will be no future for Ukrainians. 

I am confident President Zelenskyy was completely resigned to be a neutral power until it became obvious the Russian Federation was going to destroy ever inch of Ukraine and the people that live there. Ukrainians live in Ukraine, not Russians. The destruction was exactly the type carried out by Putin in Syria. It bacame obvious over time there was going to be no peace, but, only killing for the sake of killing.

15 March 2022
Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger

Ukraine’s president, (click here) Volodymyr Zelenskiy has acknowledged that Ukraine will not become a Nato member, in a significant concession on a day when Kyiv was pounded by Russian shells and missiles and the invading force tightened its grip on the capital.

At least five people were killed in the latest artillery barrage on Kyiv, prompting its city hall to impose a 35-hour curfew from Tuesday night amid further signs that the focus of the Russian campaign has shifted to the destruction of residential areas and civilian infrastructure.

Zelenskiy made his remarks about Nato while addressing leaders from the new Joint Expeditionary Force, a UK-led initiative bringing together 10 north Atlantic countries to create a capability for responding rapidly to crises.

“It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of Nato; we understand this,” the Ukrainian president said. “For years we heard about the apparently open door, but have already also heard that we will not enter there, and these are truths and must be acknowledged.”...

As time marched on and the Free World came to the aid of Ukraine it became more and more obvious there was never going to be a peace between Putin and Ukraine.

4 October 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (click here) has signed a decree formally stating that Ukraine will refuse to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while still leaving open the prospect of talks with Russia under a different president.

The decree, signed on Tuesday (4 October), officially formalises Zelensky’s comments on Friday (30 September) that Ukraine is ready for dialogue “but with another president of Russia”.

Reacting to the decree, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will continue to carry out its “special military operation” for as long as Zelensky blocks negotiations. Peskov added that “We [Russia] will either wait for the current president [Zelensky] to change his position or wait for the next president to change his position in the interests of the Ukrainian people.”

The decree is a response to Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts on 30 September, none of which are actually under full control of Russian forces. Indeed, the Kremlin has since said that it will “consult with local communities” to finalise where the borders of these “annexed” regions lie, despite the annexation having already been ratified by the Russian parliament....

The Free World took the genocide seriously. They opened their borders to refugees of all ages and gender. But, how was this genocide going to resolve without land called Ukraine? Putin obviously was never going to accept the people of Ukraine having the sovereign right to citizenship of their country. As far as he was concerned there were Ukrainians and only the right of Russia to the land.

I think the reality of Ukraine has shattered any understand and hope this would end with mutual agreement to stop the war. The Free World was morally invested and replied to the requests of President Zelenskyy as only it could and that was to affirm the lives of Ukrainians are important and they have right to a citizenship on the land known as Ukraine.

President Putin brought this war and it's current status on himself. Tens of thousands have died on both sides of the conflict. The Free World did not instigate this genocide in order to confront Russia. The Free World has been completely defensive in all it's support to end the genocide. 

Ukraine is welcome into NATO to assure the continued existence of Ukraine and it's people. There is a future for the children of Ukraine. They are allowed to exist. 

ARC Automotive, Inc….

 … is killing Americans with a detective air bag. Just that simple. The government wants them to recall their defective airbags that have so far killed two Americans. The airbags explodes with such force, the container it sits in becomes shrapnel that flies into the person in the seat causing injury and death. In other words if the crash doesn’t kill you the airbag will.

Put, the Tennessee company out of business and it’s CEO in prison for two counts to date of manslaughter!

Republicans currently in office care for nothing other Republicans out of office say.

Republicans don't believe in expertise, they believe in power and the games they can play with it. Governance is about expertise and bringing the best outcomes to the country and the people.

While people live their lives, carry out happiness with their children, plan weddings and friend parties, their government is supposed to be taking a backseat to all that and DOING THE WORK that goes along with maintaining quality of life for Americans. Government is not supposed to be the headlines of the day, so much as the boring truth of the uninteresting event of governance.

The current problem with the debt ceiling as I understand it, is some taxes have been deferred and that has resulted in an income short fall. The taxes are supposed to be collected by fall or the beginning of the new fiscal year when the budget will then balance. In the meantime, the Republicans can call up the deferred taxes in legislation to end the debt limit demands if they were willing to inconvenience friends and donors.

But. 

Instead.

...The GOP, (click here) dominated by MAGA fascists and backed by extreme right-wing billionaires, is using “legislative terrorism” and the threat of a global financial crisis to impose $4.8 trillion in unpopular spending cuts to social safety net benefit programs, undo Democratic legislative victories like the Inflation Reduction Act, and undermine the transition to renewable energy while blocking any new taxes on the wealthy.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is captive to the MAGA House Freedom Caucus, whose votes were critical to his narrow win as speaker. In exchange, McCarthy agreed to MAGA demands to block raising the debt ceiling and force Biden and Democrats to cap discretionary spending at 2022 levels. MAGA House members could care less if a default triggers an economic recession and results, by some estimates, in the loss of six million jobs, a surge of unemployment to 7%, and a steep hit of pensions and 401K plans, endangering retirement security for tens of millions.

Fanatical MAGA GOP House members seem gleeful at the prospect of wreaking havoc and creating a recession. They think angry voters will blame Biden and the Democrats and reward Republicans with a victory in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections....

In case there are people in the USA that don't "get it." THIS IS NOT GOVERNANCE, it is however politics.

The most benevolent answer to this crisis is to allow a debt ceiling increase and bring about smooth sailing knowing that the budget will balance in the near future. However, let's imagine for a minute that the Republicans crash the economy and in a few months the additional income to the USA treasury now has no real place to go because the original purpose is dead in the water. What would that look like? A tax payer refund? I doubt that. But, it would go unsaid and all of a sudden the USA House can spend without notice by anyone on all their favorite wealthy giveaways, including a huge tax cut for the highest income Americans. You know, their donors.

McCarthy is not a leader, he is a puppet. It is time for him to act responsibly and bring about smooth sailing for all the programs for all Americans.

Don't forget. This crisis is also leaning toward communist favoritism. The USA debt impacts the international community. Those impacts may very well include the USA military and NATO. 

Hello?

Anyone paying attention?

September 22, 2021

By Jeff Stein

...The backchanneling by Mnuchin and Paulson (click here) — who had previously worked together at Goldman Sachs — reflects the widespread alarm among economists and U.S. business interests about the consequences of an unprecedented default on the federal debt. If the United States was unable to borrow money to pay all of its bills, a number of economists have predicted that it would lead to a calamity that could trigger a meltdown in financial markets and plunge the economy into recession. Republicans have refused to help Democrats approve a new debt ceiling suspension despite approving three such measures during the Trump administration, under which the national debt rose by roughly $8 trillion.

Yellen has recently warned that the debt ceiling must be raised or suspended by some time in October or the country’s fiscal situation will be severe.

Paulson met with McConnell in his office in the U.S. Capitol last week and discussed the debt limit standoff, two people familiar with the exchange said. Paulson primarily listened to McConnell’s views on the matter, as the Senate GOP leader made clear he was not bluffing about Democrats having to raise the debt limit without Republican support. Paulson expressed in the meeting a high degree of concern about the dangers and likelihood of a federal default and its implications for the global economy, the people said. Paulson worked closely with McConnell and other lawmakers in 2008 to address the financial crisis....

The Republicans pride themselves on appearing to be impressively prudent about tax dollars.

NOT!

There is nothing impressive about this:

...Paychecks and pensions could be canceled or delayed (click here)

The U.S. military has 1.3 million active-duty troops, 800,000 reservists, and 700,000 civilian employees. Active-duty pay varies widely, ranging from just under $2,000 to over $17,500 per month.

There are also more than 2 million veterans entitled to retirement payments. The median veteran pension is $1,756 per month.

After a default, the government may have to miss or delay these payments.

Healthcare and other benefits at risk

Active-duty soldiers are entitled to benefits such as medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage, a housing allowance, a retirement savings plan, and school tuition assistance.

About 8.5 million veterans receive similar benefits, including disability payments, low-cost health insurance, and tuition and mortgage assistance. Another 450,000 households receive survivor benefits because they are the spouses and/or children of fallen veterans.

According to the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the average disabled veteran receives $1,428 per month in disability payments while a veteran in school gets $1,740 per month for tuition.

All this assistance could be halted during a default.

National Security Risks

In their recent article, “Debt-Ceiling Brinksmanship Weakens US National Security,” former Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel argue that America’s military might is due in part to our economic credibility.

They write that, in a default, “Bipartisan commitments to the national security needs of friends and allies would be impacted. … Funding for essential civilian and defense modernization efforts would be undermined.”

Similarly, the Military Officers Association of America warns that missing paychecks and cutting benefits could worsen the relationship between troops and the government in the long term.

“There must be a mutual commitment between those who serve and our nation: Any loss of trust and confidence in the value of service could prevent current and future generations from wanting to serve.”

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of “debates” that seem important to people in Washington but don’t matter much to regular people. The debt ceiling debate isn’t one of them. If the U.S., for the first time in our history, defaults on our debt obligations, every American will pay the price....

Now, is not the time to be playing God with American lives and those of our allies. The USA is impressing the world with it's agility to carry out military prowess that may very well end a genocide against an innocent and primarily neutral country. 

This debt ceiling thing is ridiculous, childish and EMBARASSING !

Honestly!

Our veterans have put their lives on the line for this country. Current military families receive benefits covered by the USA budget and current debt ceiling needs. They ARE NOT TO SUFFER!

Jerks!

AI has no clue about ongoing research. It is incompetent to carry out real progress in business or society.

Just sayin.

"AI" is not the future. It is however the past. It will diverge from reality.

May 17, 2023
By Elizabeth Ireland

A $10 million commitment from InnerScience Research Fund will drive research on data collected to learn more about the biological effects of meditation.

The nonprofit InnerScience Research Fund (click here) has committed $10 million to UC San Diego over the next five years for research on how meditation may slow the progression of serious terminal and chronic illnesses, it was announced Wednesday.

InnerScience studies the “biological and physiological effects of meditation on the human body.” The funds for UCSD will be directed to research on how the practice may affect the body and brain, and how it could potentially be used in clinical settings.

“At InnerScience, our goal is to be able to empower individuals with the tools to heal and thrive,” said Andrew Wright, board member and senior advisor for the nonprofit. “Our vision is a world where meditation becomes an integral part of the standard of care in treating illness and disease.”...

A different kind of pollution.

...As Amir Husain, (click here) Founder and CEO of SparkCognition said, “[Artificial intelligence], it’s a form of software that makes decisions on its own, that’s able to act even in situations not foreseen by the programmers. Artificial intelligence has a wider latitude of decision-making ability as opposed to traditional software.”...

There is no human being involved in the decisions these software companies sell.

I am curious, does "AI" ever say, "Oops" that decision is toxic to humans."

ChatGPT (click here) is the new artificial intelligence phenomenon taking the world by storm, and I have two stocks capitalizing on the AI boom.

ChatGPT offers the ability to produce human-like text and converse with people, and my picks are strong buys on an uptrend.

Boasting award-winning solutions, I have a small-cap stock with a strategic partnership with Microsoft and a stock at the core of powering ChatGPT.

Up double-digits YTD and over the last year, with sustained growth and consecutive earnings beats, both companies have benefitted from investor demand and tailwinds from a strong network.

As seen in Seeking Alpha’s factor grades, excellent fundamentals showcase a top tech and communications stock as one of the best stocks gaining exposure to ChatGPT.

There is no caution here. It is all full steam ahead, damn the potential regulation, let's get this done now before take over of the world is not possible.

ChatGPT is a growth engine for incompetency.

Computers, no matter how "AI" they are, work in decisions processes that are electronic. Sorry, folks, but, real research that matters is not carried out on electronic dummies or electronic Earth environments. Real scientists taking real measurements based in centuries of academic principle and ethics is about humanity and it's future. This Chat mess is just that, "a mess," and will result in very sorry scenarios. It is time to rein in the AI mess and return sanity to to society.

The decisions these AI systems are making is void of human intelligence that is ongoing and in notebooks all over the world. Published articles in professional journals can take two years or more to pass through peer review and make it to the journals. In those years there is ongoing research that builds on the previous knowledge to be printed. All these AI programs are making decisions on years of old information.