Mr. Trunbull should stay loyal to the values of his countrymen and arrive at the Oval Office with a full report of the wealth being produced at any Trump properties.

April 28, 2017

...So how should Mr Turnbull (click here) prepare for his first face-to-face meeting with his US counterpart in New York next week?

Mike Green, a former US National Security Council staffer during George W Bush's presidency, says Mr Turnbull should start by watching the powerful right wing Fox News channel, to get a sense of "what's going into the President's head"....

That is fascinating. Australians in Sydney believe FOX News speaks to Trump in a way that will re-elect him. Power. FOX News is power and is inside Trump's head.

NOT.

Trump and greed are inside Trump's head. Mr. Turnbull needs to bring all the insider information that projects wealth for any Trump current investment or the ones to come.

..."[Trump] is not in command of the detail. Most of his information comes from watching Fox TV."

Dr Green, who is now senior vice-president for Asia at the Center​ for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, adds Mr Abe's February meeting with Mr Trump was successful because the Japanese leader focused on convincing the US President "Japan was his best friend"....

Indeed.

..."Every issue is a potential point of negotiating something," Dr Green explains. "If you ask for something, [Trump] sees that as a weakness."...

Intimidation works with allies for "Trump's Art of the Deal."

...Lieutenant General HR McMaster has taken over from Michael Flynn as National Security Advisor, meaning decision making and briefing have become "much more predictable," Dr Green says....

Amazing. The USA was unpredictable. Wow. The only common ground with the USA are the wars and allied commitment.

..."We're actually very frank with each other." 

I think that is a good thing. I like being frank, especially with this White House. It works for me.

Businesses that are living past their usefulness. The Trump economy is about dinosaurs, not the future.

April 28, 2017
By Matthew Yglesias

Donald Trump (click here) attracted a reputation over the years as a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman. He said on the campaign trail that having been “greedy all my life,” he now wanted to be greedy on behalf of the American people — but nobody seriously believed him. Marco Rubio warned that Trump was a “con artist,” and Ted Cruz labeled him “completely amoral.” Liberals, needless to say, were not kinder in their judgments.

From the day Trump announced his candidacy until the day he took the Oval Office, the smart take on him was that he was running on a lark, as a publicity stunt, or to lay the groundwork for some business endeavor....

President Trump is unscrupulous. No doubt about it, but, it wasn't his negative characteristics that bothered the electorate. The Donald Trump electorate, for the most part, are moral to their god, but, unscrupulous and borderline impoverished. Basically, they are desperate people and Trump was there last hope. They are not finding a savior, although many will attempt to be Trump wannabees PLUS. The PLUS is the promises of their new Neocon god.

I was especially impressed with his extra long ties. They are expensive (Nortstrom click here) But, it is one aspect of his appearance that no one can miss and he sells ties. I am fairly sure he wears his own ties. 

...But Trump isn’t failing (his own wealth). He and his family appear to be making money hand over fist. It's a spectacle the likes of which we've never seen in the United States, and while it may end in disaster for the Trumps someday, for now it shows no real sign of failure....

...The day-to-day management of the companies is in the hands of his two oldest sons, while his oldest daughter and her husband (both of whom run substantial businesses in their own right) serve as high-ranking officials in the White House....

• ...the terms of the trust in which the Trump Organization is held allow the president to pull money out of the company at any time.
• Eric Trump says he is giving his father regular updates on the state of the Trump Organization, on a “probably quarterly” timeline but with no specific commitments.
• Donald Trump Jr. is not only a top executive at the Trump Organization but also does surrogate interviews on behalf of the president.

Like Trump said on the campaign trail, "...I could shoot someone and not lose voters." He is getting away with fraud and corruption because it is in the open. 

So, what are Americans and Wall Street learning?

That a man who was CEO, then became USA President that didn't know much about the job, can get away with anything. Billionaires in the USA can get away with anything, including keeping their personal taxes out of the reach of the media.

And Wall Street is learning. There are issues with cheating the customers if they can get away with it escalating. There are plans, as with Marriott (click here), to expand hotels and go into real debt. There may have been plans on the CEO desk for years, but, shortly after the inauguration Marriott announced it's ambitions. And why shouldn't it be ambitious? The Trump Las Vegas Golden Hotel put his organization into the red. Trump received a moratorium on taxes for 18 years. Wall Street is learning PLENTY.

That brings me to the real reason his taxes are kept behind locked doors, it would give his competition ideas. Who wants that?

There is also a political theory rarely looked at because of it's inclusion of criminals, etc. The idea is that if a real revolution is to take place it will probably be scoundrels that are elected.

Scoundrels. People that have cheated, might have a legal record and are thought of as very unlikely political icons. 

The THEORY is that anyone pleasing to the politics of the day that appear to be upright citizens are more likely to be corrupt and crony puppets. That is true in many instances, isn't it? We have seen decades of corruption with the petroleum industry, while it and the coal industry were propagandized as hero to American power and national defense.

The oil imports never stopped. This is what made the economy run? No, energy made the USA economy run, not petroleum, but, the American people taking the climate crisis seriously were attempting in every way to reduce their carbon footprint. They probably don't have to reduce it at all if one takes Scotland as an example.

April 27, 2017
By Gregory B. Poindexter

Wave Energy Scotland (WES) (click here) is awarding a total of £2.84 million (US$3.7 million) to four wave energy technology developers that have been selected to stage No. 2 of WES’s Novel Wave Energy Converter (NWEC) program, according to a press release today from WES.

The NWEC program focuses on solutions to capture wave movement, which will help in the ultimate goal of commercializing marine energy production.

Stage No. 2 is expected to run until autumn 2018 and after its conclusion, WES said teams may apply for stage No. 3 funding to develop a scaled-prototype device for in-sea testing at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney.

This latest announcement from WES brings the total investment by the organization in wave energy technology development to £24.6 million (US$31.7 million) across 56 projects in just over two years....

Scotland didn't wait for Earth's rebellion against carbon to become so severe it barely supports life, it dove right in without concern for profit margins or motives. In my book that defines bravery and morality.

Scotland's energy diversity (click here)

Scotland (click here) is in the enviable position of having fantastic renewable energy potential. Successfully unlocking this will not only secure our climate goals but provide the means to deliver economic opportunities across Scotland, bring social benefits and improve public health. Much has been achieved already. At last count Scotland generated the equivalent of 57% of its electricity consumption from renewables and had reduced climate emissions by 39.5% since 1990....

Little Scotland. Little Scotland has more guts and glory than anyone else. Little Scotland with it's wind energy alone may be able to power the entire of Europe if it's ambitions heads in that direction. Scotland, the country with guts and wanted to become their own sovereign.

Can the USA claim any of the accomplishments of Scotland, heck, no. The USA has the largest historical carbon dioxide deposit in Earth's troposphere and it points a finger at emerging countries.

If Scotland can do this so can the USA.

What do the immoral business dealings of people like Trump do? They seek to destroy the EPA and remove all carbon emissions control programs. They are cowards and have been since the 1960s where political money has been buying the petroleum industry and their refineries a continued life past their "Peak Oil" or USEFULNESS.

Greed. Donald Trump, in the Oval Office, is the icon to greed.

Money is flowing to Flint, Michigan today.

April 28, 2017

After stops and starts, (click here) the state Legislature has adopted a bill to send $100 million to Flint to replace lead pipes.  The money is from the federal government, but had to be approved by state lawmakers.

It was part of a bigger budget bill that was stalled as the House and the Senate deadlocked over how to help Macomb County with a giant sinkhole.  That argument was settled.  And state Senator Jim Ananich of Flint says that’s good news for his city....        

April 28, 2017
2030.19z
UNISYS water vapor satellite of the USA (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

There are some serious clouds that sprange up at the Indiana - Illinois border in the past hour.

April 28, 2017
By Karen Libby

Springfield, Mo. -- The National Weather Service (click here) has confirmed two small tornadoes in the Ozarks during Wednesday's strong thunderstorms.

A Weather Service survey team says an EF-0 tornado touched down briefly in Barry County near the Missouri-Arkansas border about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.  It had wind speeds of 85 miles an hour near Golden, Missouri.  Trees were uprooted, several fell on homes and several homeowners reported decks severely damaged.

The Barry County tornado was about 100 yards (the length of a football field) wide and was on the ground for about one mile.

A second tornado has been confirmed in Arkansas during Wednesday's storms.  The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-0 tornado in Yell County that had winds up to 85 miles per hour. The tornado ended up having a 50 yard wide path and a half of a mile track. 

The storms caused significant damage to the electrical system and launched restoration work that is expected to last a couple of days....

These aren't minor tornadoes. They have not claimed lives, but, have done significant damage. I am impressed by the width with the velocity of an EF). I don't really think of low velocity tornadoes with wedge like width. It's about a sixth of a mile wide, but, it's track is a mile long. A mile long track for these low grade tornadoes is usually the upper limit. 

The damage is more than I would expect with an EF0.

A vortex system that travels the entire width of North America.

28 April 2017
1030:20z
UNISYS water vapor satellite of north and west hemisphere (click here)

Wow. Just when I thought there was a limit to the size of a vortex, Earth does this. The vortex was joined by the jet stream. Holy smokes.

The straight line winds across the southern USA is going to be at least 15 to 20 mph. The heat of the sun will give that wind energy to maintain and increase.

Those winds are occurring across a round Earth. It isn't simply a flat dynamic. Winds that travel across a round Earth already has the potential to make whirls in the sky. Add wind to that native effect of a round Earth and the potential to high velocity winds is possible. Add water vapor and the potential for tornadoes increases. Water vapor is the heat absorption mechanism of Earth. Water vapor is heat energy.

Is the violence over yet?

April 27, 2017
By Abby Hamlin

Ann Coulter (click here) was nowhere to be found in Berkeley on Thursday, but hundreds of protesters showed up anyway.

The high-profile conservative pundit’s off-again, on-again, off-again speech for Thursday at UC Berkeley was canceled for fear of violent protests, and in the end she never showed. Yet police geared up to deal with fringe political groups and rioters who have clashed there before — at another conservative speaker’s canceled event....

There has to be an end to the violence. A college campus is not a city, it is a learning environment. It is completely wrong to allow violence to exist because the learning environment is destroyed.

I don't see that campus police need to become storm troops.

THE COST of attempting to bring a very controversial voice to the Berkley Campus is more than money, while the money is significant, it is about the safety of real, breathing people. Berkley isn't interested in having a "Kent State Monument" on it's campus.

Ann Coulter sought to inflame the issue rather than reduce the tensions and actions of her loyalists. The violence served her purpose to defame the university leadership as if they were silencing her message.

You've got to be joking. Ann Coulter has been silenced? I don't think so. 

Her speaking engagement was cancelled because of the inflammatory stance she took and the university could no longer GUARANTEE her safety. Ann Coulter is responsible for her own silencing at Berkley. She should apologize to the students that invited her and refund every penny of her fee. She destroyed the essence of Berkley for her own political propaganda aggrandizement and profits to her career.

China launched it's first domestically produced aircraft carrier. But, really, China?

April 28, 2017

China's Defence Ministry (click here) has apologised for allowing a badly photoshopped picture of navy ships and fighter jets to appear on its social media accounts over the weekend.

The dodgy image, which appeared on the ministry's accounts on social networking sites Weibo and Wechat, was meant to mark the navy's 68th birthday.

It included fighter jets soaring over the country's first aircraft carrier, with two other warships steaming along in the background, above two ghostly submarines....

$597 billion USD is the USA budget.

The Chinese military budget (click here) is second in the world. However, it cannot be directly related to the USA budget. China is a communist country and it's "Cost in Production" is very different than the USA. If the USA is spending $1000 on a hammer, the Chinese simply make another one for nearly nothing. The entire Chinese infrastructure and it's internal costs are handled far differently than the capitalism it practices with the world. 

China should stop worrying about over stating it's power, the fact of the matter is it is a respectable force.

The USA government is about governance, not profit.

April 28, 2017
By Jessa Schroeder

As his 100-day mark in office approaches, (click here) President Trump admitted Thursday that his new job isn’t quite all it’s cracked up to be.

“I thought it would be easier,” Trump said in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters that covered a variety of topics, such as his longing for life prior to the presidency as a business mogul and the possibility of a government shutdown.

The former billionaire tycoon conceded that he thought the presidency would be a much simpler task than that of his former work in real estate.

"I loved my previous life. I had so many things going. This is more work than in my previous life,” he said....

All those populous point of views are hubris and very victimizing. Hardly the truth.

The facts are plain, the USA can always be improved on and to that end it is good to have at least two parties for elections, but, for the waste and fraud there is a very complex set of agencies, employees and rules.

The USA government is about national defense which a CEO rarely worries about. The investments the American people make are important and can't really be toyed with to trim some cost here or reduce budgets there. The USA government is as diverse and complex as its people and its states that have rights as well.

Many of Trump supporters wanted to change the country's rules overnight. The budget was going to be tamed and all issues reduced to simple dynamics and resolved. President Trump the leader of a very volatile group of constituents was sincere to them, the problem is they had measured the country, its structure, infrastructure and governance wrong. The USA is not a kitchen table or a curvy couch. It is a magnificent country developed over 240 years.

It is incredible to realize that 240 years ago a group of colonists, hard as nails, fought a guerrilla war as well as a traditional war against a powerful dynasty and won their freedom from colonialism. They were incredible people. They were statesmen and women dedicated to their own idea of freedom and governance. They, no different than their populous electorate today, wanted to be ruled by no king and paying no more taxes.

The USA is very different than its original 13 colonies. Those people from so long ago would not recognize the country they fought for, but, would be proud of the result of their constitution.

Freedom is elusive and can be lost far easier than it was gained. The freedom provided by our constitutional relatives is still here. We have many liberties. We can develop an economy and make it run. We can rise up against oppressive dictates within our country and demand they all be changed to bring in fairness and equity. That is incredible and a perfect dynamic that survived 240 years. That is no mistake and the checks and balances of this democracy guards this country at every turn.

I am not surprised this populous president has an awakening to the power at the top of the Executive Branch. There is no doubt there is incredible power. There is the power of life and death within the reaches of the USA military. For that reason alone there are checks and balances that bring equity to the people, protections of their constitution and their liberties.

While the dream for this electorate was to transplant the power of "The Apprentice," with Trump's children at his side to protect the power to move forward, it is far more complex than judging the outcome of a project.

At some level I believe President Trump threw his hat in the ring because he could bring change that would benefit Wall Street outcomes and return profits to companies that are waning including majestic hotels and casinos. I am sure Wall Street, especially the financial sector, believes the government of the USA is hideous and bloated. I am sure President Trump is no different than many that line Wall Street and believe the government can be cut and curtailed and reduced. "It can be handled." The fact is "It can't."

It is all very curious, however, it is on the heels of the sit down with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

This is sort of the next step in establishing a fund to grow women entrepreneurs.

I think it is a chance for the global power structure to give Ivanka Trump status. As First Daughter and a grown woman with her own business, President Trump was interested in her taking on a White House identity. It is an indulgence the American people are not used to and it is awkward to say the least, but, it also is an acceptance of the power of the USA President and a daughter that is devoted to him and his success.

Are there ethical issues? Maybe. Is she lending her time as a volunteer or is there money involved. While Hillary Clinton was First Lady she was very visible and traveled to countries such as Pakistan where there was a woman Prime Minister at the time.

The FUND being discussed is suppose to be available through the World Bank. I think this is very similar to any Clinton Foundation effort. When Secretary of State Clinton  took office she had already resigned her position with the organization. These are very similar activities. Large pots of money for worthy causes funded by countries as well as large commercial enterprises.

It is rather odd to have the First Daughter involved, but, we already know the First Lady is devoted to her son and he is still in school. Would this normally be Melania Trump carrying all this forward, probably not. Mrs. Trump has a business, but, she is more or less known for her modeling career and not her business savvy.

The optics with Ivanka are not good and it all looks fairly awkward, however, world leaders are interested in giving her a seat at the table to a fund that will benefit women. For now, I think I can respect that and promote the idea of a global movement of capable women moving into positions of power. But, the fund has to benefit the women it was intended. Global leaders are involved, they are seeking monies for this fund and they certainly know how to secure large amounts of monies. It has merit. For now.


April 25, 2017

...Whatever (click here) else can be said about Ivanka Trump, she is a strange sort of American celebrity. It was her first official trip abroad with her new, Hydra-headed roles as First Daughter and assistant to the president on behalf of her father’s administration, and consummate D.C. power-couple-better-half. Then there was the deeper question of whether she was her father’s loyal defender, or somehow, behind the scenes, a positive force, and whether she could be both. She’d been invited to the event by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as precise a polar-opposite world leader to her father as can be imagined. During the campaign, Trump was harshly critical of her, and notoriously didn’t shake her hand at an Oval Office photo op, though now Trump says he simply did not hear her request for a handshake. During that visit, Merkel and Ivanka held a meeting on how to advance female entrepreneurs, and Merkel clearly saw her as a possibly useful emissary....

This is all about optics. Trump plans to act autonomously.

April 26, 2017

By Anna Fifield

Seoul — The U.S. military (click here) started installing a controversial antimissile defense system in South Korea overnight Tuesday, triggering protests and sparking criticism that it was rushing to get the battery in place before the likely election of a president who opposes it.

The sudden and unannounced move came only six days after the U.S. military command in South Korea secured the land to deploy the system, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD.

Moon Jae-in, a liberal candidate who has a strong lead in polls ahead of a May 9 presidential election, has promised to review South Korea’s decision to host the antimissile battery.

If that is true and Trump is seeking to influence elections in South Korea, he beginning to sound like Russia. If there is any cooperation with Russia in influencing the South Korean elections the loop closes as to his involvement in sabotaging the 2016 elections. There is a motive.

The problem is that THAAD is viewed by China and Russia as aggression against them. It is looking more and more as though Trump is a Russian puppet to provide a reason to major nuclear war.

Nuclear engagement is Putin and not China. China only acts in defense of itself. The entire 'Nuclear North Korea' looks like a trap to me and Trump is falling right into it.

“There’s a sense in Seoul that THAAD deployment has been rushed based on the timetable of South Korea’s presidential election rather than North Korea’s threats,” said John Delury, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul....

The comments alone by Congress tells me they are not voting on any type of action toward North Korea. Trump has already stated he is sending a US carrier fleet to the North Pacific. This is all optics and he plans to act alone. He considers North Korea a priority. He does not have the cooperation of China or Russia. 

April 26, 2017

By Burgess Everett and Matthew Nussbaum

...“There’s so many options (click here) that we need to be taking that are a long ways away from a strike,” said Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who is urging the administration to sanction Chinese officials that do business with North Korea. “I have supported putting North Korea back as a state sponsor of terror … no indication yet from the administration.”

President Donald Trump spoke for a few minutes at the classified briefing, according to senators and aides. His comments, said an attendee, were “long at the 30,000 foot, short on the specifics.” Though the session was classified, everything said was already public, the person said.

“It’s a very serious situation. As I knew before I went there,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I knew all about it. I didn’t hear anything new because I have been heavily briefed.”

Added Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.): “It’s good to get everyone together. I’m not sure I would have had it ... I knew what was discussed.”

The administration briefed House members afterward at the Capitol. No explicit explanation was given for why all 100 senators were hauled to the White House, though Trump's appearance was likely part of the reason. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accepted an invitation from Trump to move the briefing from the Senate, where such briefings are typically held, to the White House, according to spokesmen for McConnell and the administration....                          

Russia is interfering in German elections.

26 April 2017

The Friedrich Ebert (click here) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundations were targeted by hackers in March and April this year, Feike Hacquebord of IT security company Trend Micro told Reuters news agency.

A hacker group, dubbed “Pawn Storm” by the company, set up a server in Germany from where fake email were sent out to employees of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which is associated with Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democrats.

According to Mr. Hacquebord, a computer in the Ukraine was used in attempts to spy on the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is linked to the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The cyber spy group, also known Fancy Bear or Apt 28, apparently targeted the foundation’s employees with email phishing tricks and attempts to install malware....

It is a global strategy by Russia. KGB. Putin.

April 26, 2017

...In the Netherlands, (click here) Dutch authorities counted paper ballots in a recent election by hand to prevent foreign governments—and Russia in particular—from manipulating the results through cyberattacks. In Denmark, the defense minister has accused the Russian government of carrying out a two-year campaign to infiltrate email accounts at his ministry. In the United Kingdom, a parliamentary committee reports that it cannot “rule out” the possibility that “foreign interference” caused a voter-registration site to crash ahead of Britain’s referendum on EU membership. And in France, a cybersecurity firm has just discovered that suspected Russian hackers are targeting the leading presidential candidate. “We are increasingly concerned about cyber-enabled interference in democratic political processes,” representatives from the Group of Seven—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.—declared after meeting in Italy earlier this month. Russia, a member of the group until it was kicked out for annexing Crimea, wasn’t mentioned in the statement....

...What’s novel today is that 1) the Russian government does seem to have revived its Cold War-era “active measures” against the political systems of rival countries; 2) the digital era has afforded the Kremlin and other state and non-state actors new tools in such efforts, from phishing attacks against campaign staffers to fake news distributed through social media; 3) the targeted countries are especially vulnerable to this type of sabotage at the moment; and 4) targeted countries aren’t sure how to respond to this modern form of political warfare.

As the Russia expert Fiona Hill once told me, Vladimir Putin, in apparently ordering a campaign to hack and leak Democratic Party emails, didn’t create toxic partisanship or deep distrust of government in the United States. Instead, he exploited this political dysfunction by turning the strengths of an open, technologically advanced country into weaknesses. Barack Obama’s belated retaliation against Russia at the end of his presidency, and the beleaguered congressional investigations into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, speak to the U.S. government’s profound struggles to process Putin’s challenge to the soft underbelly of contemporary democracy....

...In February, Macron’s campaign reported thousands of attempted hacks of its computer servers and accused Russian state media outlets of spreading slanders about Macron, including an article in Sputnik—headlined “Ex-French Economy Minister Macron Could Be ‘US Agent’ Lobbying Banks Interests” and based on an interview with a pro-Russia French lawmaker—that aired rumors about Macron’s sexual orientation and personal life....

France is far more open about lifestyles and sexual identity. Europe has some of the most incredible schools for children that are transgender. A scandal in Russia is not necessarily a scandal in France.

Mr. Macron needs to address the truth and avoid any appearance of discrimination regarding the sexual identity of voters. People want the truth and it is that desire that creates the so called scandals. 

12 April 2017
By Joe Watts

Germany has warned Russia (click here) it must come to the negotiating table if it wants any other country to help bear the huge financial burden of rebuilding war-ravaged Syria.

The country’s Foreign Minister said it is impossible for Russia to alone pay for Syria's regeneration and that Moscow will have to ensure there are no more pictures of “children murdered by poison gas” if it wants to be a respected international partner.

Speaking following Boris Johnson’s failure to win strong backing for new sanctions on Russian and Syrian figures, German chief diplomat Sigmar Gabriel said there could be no “solution overnight” to the conflict....

The weather has been wicked.

A Moderate Risk of Severe Thunderstorms is Forecast Today and/or Tonight

Severe thunderstorms (click here) are expected across the Lower Mississippi Valley Wednesday. Tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds should focus from northeast Texas across southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana primarily during the afternoon hours. Isolated severe thunderstorms may extend as far north as Illinois and into the central Gulf States during the overnight hours.

Tornado forecast for today.

The tornado map by NOAA is exact. The current water vapor image shows extremely dangerous air over the same places noted in this map.

At Least 1 Dead (click here for video) as Widespread Flash Flooding Swamps Raleigh, North Carolina

26 April 2017

1330:18z

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the USA (click here for 12 hour loop)

Santuary cities push back against federal requests or changes in law that require local law enforcement agencies to do the federal government’s job of enforcing immigration law.

April 20, 2017

By Glenn C. Smith

It was bad enough (click here) when candidate Donald Trump questioned the impartiality of the federal judge hearing the Trump University lawsuit. (Trump said that the judge’s ethnic heritage would make him biased.)

It was even worse when President Trump accused the federal judges temporarily halting his travel bans of purely political motivations and limited intelligence.

But it was especially disheartening last week to hear disrespect for a federal judge from the mouth of Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions — who is, after all, the nation’s highest-ranking law enforcement officer. After Hawaii-based U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson issued a temporary restraining order against the administration’s second travel ban, Sessions complained that “a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific” could issue a nationwide decree. The remark was eerily reminiscent of Trump’s earlier dismissive tweet that the U.S. district judge who stopped his first travel ban was a “so-called judge.”

Not that federal judges should be above legitimate criticism. These jurists deal with vital, and at times life-threatening, issues; federal judges need to hear well-informed and zealously advocated contrary views both inside the courtroom and out....

I suppose I could make excuses for bad manners in saying Hawaii is the fiftieth state of the country and it hasn't gotten the swing of things yet, but, that would be nothing short of an insult to Hawaiians.

Hawaii is every bit a state of the country as Alaska or Delaware, the first state of the the fifty. When a judge makes serious decisions in Hawaii he or she knows full well they are impacting the entire country.

What Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions do is use the so called "Bully Pulpit" to invoke fear that something worse is coming because the judge(s) didn't perform well enough and to their standard. Too bad. The Bullies of the White House have to get used to playing fair and working well with others. This is a democracy that has grown over 240 years into an incredible economic engine, expanded it's size seven times it's original inception and has grown in population by 132 times from 2.5 million in 1776 to over 330 million today.

As a matter of fact the USA would have a population about the size of Japan without immigration from it's earliest times.

United States Congress, (click here) “An act to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,” March 26, 1790

The point is the Trump White House is about 'originalism.' Going back in time. Taking the country all the way back to the "US Constitution" and nothing more. I doubt they even appreciate the "Bill of Rights." And Hawaii wasn't even known to exist in 1776, 

The country is not capable of running on laws ONLY from within the USA Constitution. It is romanticism. It is a feeling and not a practical approach to governing. The Trump White House does not believe in laws, they believe in actions. The USA is an incredible work of governance and not a piece of art. It is a rock solid country that does not make navigational changes with the ink of a pen. The USA makes incremental changes and slowly redirects it's course. The Bullies are not going to cause this country to collapse overnight, especially when the country's laws is based on a rock solid constitutional basis.

I still believe the Democrats need to explain how Sanctuary Cities work to prevent and deter crime and provide the statistics to back it up. Otherwise, they are looking as though they back criminals that don't belong within the borders of the USA and not the law EVERYONE ELSE FOLLOWS.

January 29, 2017
By Gene Demby

...But the available data (click here) on crime, immigration, and safety in cities does not support the premise for the president's actions. News outlets and researchers pointed out during the presidential campaign that immigrants who are in the country illegally are less likely to commit crimes or be incarcerated than the general population. The American Immigration Council noted in a 2015 study that the recent period of rising immigration to the United States from 1990 to 2013 also corresponded with plummeting crime rates across the country.

This past Thursday, a new study conducted Tom K. Wong, a political scientist at the University of California-San Diego, found that there are broad benefits for local jurisdictions that resist cooperating with federal immigration enforcement — they are safer in the aggregate and enjoy stronger economies. "For the first time we're kind of seeing that crime rates are lower when localities stay out of the business of federal immigration enforcement," Wong said....

Is available data the best data? For years there have been complains from those that work with crime in America that the statistics aren't as good as they should be. If that is the case, then are we seeing our cities for what they actually are? The police are probably the best litmus test of the statistics, in that they work those statistics and can tell if they seem accurate or not.

But the data available, is the data available and the information garnered from it is accurate enough for courts throughout the country. Reputable organizations work with these statistics and helps direct policy and money. There is no criticizing the statements of any legal action if the government purposely prevents accuracy.

The tail wagging the dog.

It is my opinion DC needs to get used to a far slower process in any aspect of the federal government. It is the way Donald Trump likes it. Donald Trump will respect his underlings, but, be pushed into carrying out their directives is nothing he will tolerate. He wants control because his base wants him to have control. Remember, this is an anti-mainstream administration. A work day is not going to be one that is so called 'normal.'

Donald Trump wants a smaller bureaucracy that he can manage. He wants hands on decisions without questions. He is not going to expand into 530 empty seats, he will probably eliminate them. 

April 25, 2015

By Lisa Rein

President Trump’s Cabinet secretaries (click here) are growing exasperated at how slowly the White House is moving to fill hundreds of top-tier posts, warning that the vacancies are hobbling efforts to oversee agency operations and promote the president’s agenda, according to administration officials, lawmakers and lobbyists.

The Senate has confirmed 26 of Trump’s picks for his Cabinet and other top posts. But for 530 other vacant senior-level jobs requiring Senate confirmation, the president has advanced just 37 nominees, according to data tracked by The Washington Post and the nonpartisan Partnership for

Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition. These posts include the deputy secretaries and undersecretaries, chief financial officers, ambassadors, general counsels, and heads of smaller agencies who run the government day-to-day.

That’s less than half the nominees President Barack Obama had sent to the Senate by this point in his first term.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who has publicly expressed frustration with the process, has routinely peppered the White House Personnel Office for updates and called Trump directly to press for faster action on filling vacant jobs at the Interior Department, said two people familiar with his contacts, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity for this report because of the sensitivity of hiring discussions....           

Here we go again.

Financial reform via Goldman. When will Republicans have a 12 step program that works?

What would I look for this time? 

Hm.

How to write the TPP permanently into financial reform.

The only thing sincere Americans need to know is governance and protection of local economies. We are doing fairly well on that, I think. But, Wall Street wants control of that money 💰. There is over reach of government in there somewhere.

I know the bill is corrupt when financial reform is brought forward while there is a huddle about war going on.

Here is real genius. Scott Walker is asking Medicaid recipients to pay a monthly fee and there will be a limit of four years enrollment. The idea is that if a recipient gets used to paying the state they will develop behaviors over four years that translates into "good behaviors" and not "bad behaviors." Tell that to a senior citizen on a limited income. Also, if recipients have "skin in the game" they will be more interested in controlling costs. Here is one of the first steps to the Republican 12 Step Financial Program. 

HEALTH CARE is NOT TRANSACTIONAL!!!!!!!!!