The Trump White House is corrupt to the core. The "Memo" is more or less a distraction for the Republicans.

Where is the congressional oversight? Nowhere to be found? I can just hear McConnell over dinner with the Transporation Secretary, "Trump is so busy pushing money into the hands of his friends, he leaves us alone for the most part and then complains we are doing nothing."

The corruption is a distraction, the FBI couldn't keep up with it and protect the country, too.

What really galls me about this is that Trump demands loyalty from Americans. They are loyal to corruption. It is criminal in it's intent. So, Trump is willing to spin a web of loyalty to criminality.

18 August 2006
By Sam S. Souryal

...Furthermore, (click here) the obligation of loyalty to persons rather than principles can encourage corruption, promote mediocrity, and demoralize the workers. Ironically, if both workers and superiors were loyal to departmental values, they would, by natural association, be loyal to one another....

With 60 percent of Republicans siding with the President in that the FBI is carrying out a witch hunt, the loyality issues is a profound reality we have to face. The support for Trump is based on false values in the American electorate.

January 31, 2018

...MacGillis found Carson Jr. (click here) constantly hanging around and networking HUD projects in ways that implied some relation to his own businesses. And sure enough, HUD staffers privately expressed concern that he was inviting clients or potential clients to HUD events and “gave the appearance that the Secretary may be using his position for his son’s private gain.”

A report yesterday found that Trump’s infrastructure council is filled with business owners who stand to benefit from the policies Trump is advancing. For instance, Richard LeFrak, one of the developers on Trump’s council, has lobbied against flood-risk regulations that Trump has eliminated. The plan writ large would steer public funding toward privately owned infrastructure projects that would benefit the developers on Trump’s committee, as well as potential members of his own family.

Meanwhile, the Palm Beach Post reports that Trump Realty is expanding its operations in southern Florida.  ...One of Trump Realty’s agents tells the Post that she “is confident the recent tax law will further spur relocations from high-tax states in the Northeast to South Florida.” This was not an exposé of a reporter discovering that Trump stands to benefit from his tax law. It was a casual boast by the business’s manager to a journalist.

These stories are merely the news of the last 24 hours, a day in the life of self-dealing in the Trump administration....   

This is what the American people need to be loyal to, it is real and is why the USA has been the last standing Superpower of the world. It is OUR dedication to education and the American Dream. Our American Brain Trust IS national security.


December 3, 2017
By David Leonhardt

...Much of human progress (click here) depends on innovation. It depends on people coming up with a breakthrough idea to improve life. Think about penicillin or cancer treatments, electricity or the silicon chip.

For this reason, societies have a big interest in making sure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to become scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs. It’s not only a matter of fairness. Denying opportunities to talented people can end up hurting everyone....

The narrower the path to opportunity the greater the risk to national security.

But, to honor those determined to have a blue colored moon, there is this video.

Time stop 1:29 shows a blue colored moon. 

Congratulations.

This is an article from "Space.com" about the next time observers can see a Super Blue Blood Moon.

January 31, 2018
By Hanneke Weitering

Skywatchers (click here for article and video) around the world were treated to a rare Super Blue Blood Moon today (Jan. 31). While this was the first time in over 150 years that this particular type of eclipse has happened in the U.S., Americans can look forward to another "blood moon" eclipse coming on Jan. 21, 2019.

This next immediate total lunar eclipse — when the moon appears to turn red as it passes through Earth's dark inner shadow, or the umbra — will occur later this year on July 27. But that eclipse won't be visible from North America. However, much of the rest of the world — South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia — will have a great view of that eclipse....

It is funny how disconnected people can be about having precise information.

I sometimes like to conduct reality checks with strangers when I know the facts are completely scientific and sound. So, yesterday I was at an appointment and there was another woman in the room and I said, "Did you see the Super Blue Blood Moon recently? 

She said she had and never saw any blue anything. So, in honor of the confused observer, I thought this was a very instructive video.

Same pattern of behavior. It is almost a routine now. No one ever knows exactly where the conflict of interest lies.

It is my opinion, the presidency of the USA is very valuable to Senior Trump and he creates a cloud of ideology around him that hides his personal agenda. I could have written the dialogue in addressing the meeting for the degree of predictable behaviour that occurs with him.

Whatever the political crisis or in this case legal crisis, his cover-up is always the same. Deny the allegations, bring up a cause of the people and blame the Democrats for the issue in the first place. It is always the same. Trump embattled has a singular method of cover-up and I am left to wonder what he gained personally out of his position as POTUS. Sometime in the future, it will all come out, but, only after the statute of limitations and/or contracts expire.


This cover-up is classic Trump. Putin might change his mind about Russian child adoption simply to bolster Trump's standing, but, the fact of the matter is Russia has greatly improved their child death rates.

The USA is off the list in Russia to receive children for adoption. The Russians have decided it is a better strategy to send pregnant women to the Trump properties to give birth on USA soil. Just to close this one loop the USA's child death rate is highest of 20 rich nations. Why? Guns. (click here)

A child age 15 to 19 in the U.S. is 82 times more likely to die from gun violence than such a child in the other countries.

So, if Putin decides he needs to CYA Trump about this meeting, he would be acting in hope of control of the Mueller investigation, not the best interest of the children of Russia.

The idea Trump can legally lie to the press is more than amusing, considering his frequent use of "Fake News." 

I wish Special Council and Former Director Mueller great success in his investigation, this isn't' an easy one. Finding the root cause of the investigation and validating it seems paramount to me. I would not expect much cooperation by Trump. Trump decided he would conduct his interview under oath. Bush and Cheney consented to discuss 911, but, only if there was no oath required.

The country needs you, Mr. Mueller. Please proceed.

January 31, 2018

By Jo Becker, Mark Mazzetti, Matt Apuzzo and Maggie Haberman

...The president supervised (click here) the writing of the statement, according to three people familiar with the episode, with input from other White House aides. A fierce debate erupted over how much information the news release should include. Mr. Trump was insistent about including language that the meeting was about Russian adoptions, according to two people with knowledge of the discussion.

By early afternoon, The Times received a separate statement, from Jamie S. Gorelick, a lawyer at the time for Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser. The statement said little about the meeting, except that Mr. Kushner had “briefly attended at the request of his brother-in-law Donald Trump Jr.”

It left nearly all of the questions unanswered — and seemed to put the onus on Donald Trump Jr. to answer them. Nearly four hours later, the statement that had been cobbled together aboard Air Force One was sent to The Times. The statement was in Donald Trump Jr.’s name and was issued by Mr. Garten.

“It was a short introductory meeting,” it read. “I asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at that time and there was no follow up.”

According to four people familiar with the discussions, Donald Trump Jr. had insisted that the word “primarily” be included in the statement....

It is more tampering for political purpose by the Republicans.

January 31, 2018
By Shimon Prokupecz, Laura Jarrett, Jim Sciutto and Abby Phillip

FBI Director Christopher Wray (click here) sent a striking signal to the White House Wednesday, issuing a rare public warning that a controversial Republican memo about the FBI's surveillance practices omits key information that could impact its veracity.

The move sets up an ugly clash with the President who wants it released.

"With regard to the House Intelligence Committee's memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it," the agency said in a statement. "As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy."...

I appreciate the idea the FBI reviewed the memo, but, it is not worthy of any release. The memo has been tampered with for political purposes. It lacks accuracy.

Quite frankly, Trump asked for such surveillance to occur, because, he placed very controversial figures within his election campaign.

Paul Manafort, who is a nice guy on the surface, is a very worrisome person. Manafort alone would draw attention to any Russian involvement. What are you kidding me? Yanukovych? Give me a break. Trump has been stupid about this entire thing. He knew the kind of work Manafort conducted and then put him in the middle of his campaign. That's nuts. Trump deserves every bit of surveillance and there were and continues to be issues.

It is my best guess Putin suggested Manafort to Trump because of the work he did in Ukraine. It is so very obvious with so many people involved with Russia, Putin was exerting control however he could be accommodated, including the poisoning of the political well on the net. You may as well have had Putin at the podium for the State of the Union address, because, it is so very Un-American. That speech was delusional and simply horrible and lacked a real love of the country. The National Anthem? Those are warning signs about a greater agenda.

The Democratic Response to the State of the Union address was wanting.

It was so wonderful to hear a Kennedy speaking again. They are wonderful people and their involvement with the country is vital for the morality they bring to our vision. "Joe" was great and did a wonderful job, however, there is a chronic problem with Democratic speeches in that they lack specificity. 

I agree with every word he said, however, if he would have just referenced potential legislation that can't get out of committee or onto the US House floor and Senate floor for that matter; it would have brought his speech to life. Democrats fall into the habit of relying on their morality to carry their speech; that isn't enough. It was enough in the day of JFK, Robert and Teddy; but, these days Americans want to know what the picture looks like so they can touch it and feel it and try it on for size.

If I were making a speech as a Democratic candidate I would state what exactly I would propose when elected. I would bring my understanding, especially in the US House, of the district I represented and provide clear paths to healthier lives and problem-solving. The Democrats are great people. Their values are rock solid. It is hard to argue with a path forward when it is painted clearly and with INVOLVEMENT by the voters. The way to involve voters is to present an idea and have them scrutinize it. It would bring people's attention to an issue, help them understand it and provide ways to form their opinion so they know where their vote is going.

The Democrats don't have hate to fall back on to drive voters to the polls, but, a real sense of owning the solutions to the problems will bring about involvement that will make a difference. 

January 30, 2018

Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., (click here) delivered the rebuttal to President Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night. Democratic leaders called Kennedy a "relentless fighter for working Americans" in their announcement of his selection. At 37, Kennedy has served in Congress since 2013.

"It would be easy to dismiss the past year as chaos. Partisanship. Politics," he said. "But it's far bigger than that. This administration isn't just targeting the laws that protect us — they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection."

It is wrong to call it a failure of politics, it is far more than that.

It is a matter of competency and priorities set to unite the country. It is far more than simply political divisions.

There is a huge cultural divide the Republicans are trying to instil in the country and to be honest it started with "W" and his "Holy Society." I consider this a very dangerous time for the country and it is very worrisome. I see the gap between the rich and the poor widening and with that comes a "so-called morality" that victimizes the Poor and the Working Poor. It was most readily seen with the reference to the adoption that was supposed to be a humanitarian effort by the cop and his wife.

The politics is hideous. It is carried by a media enterprise that would like to own the world, namely Murdoch and his idea of what is APPROPRIATE for a society. It segments the country into areas that are hideous to the facts we have surrounding us and creates a faux world of information that victimizes people as "good people" and "bad people." In other words, the cop culture.

It is not about religion, it is about the abusive use of religion to form a society outside of it's government.

The speech last night opened with a description of racism I could not believe. It came right out of the Murdoch Hate Speech Book and it was based in complete myth, yet Republicans thought it was spot on. That is propaganda and an unwillingness to act to FIX THE WRONGS OF OUR LAWS when it victimizes citizens. As PROOF is the continued realization that the USA has been incarcerating minorities is far larger numbers than the majority Caucasians. It has been incarcerating them for issues that do not belong in prison, yet alone jail. The USA has been looking seriously at society and the way it impacts individual lives and it is a good path to be on, but, to segregate races of people into lazy and ambitious is not going to get the job done.

Racism is not politics, it is hatred and Trump practices it every day; with the idea of lazy African Americans, pregnant druggies too hopeless to rehab, a border wall that may as well say "Welcome to the United States of Hatred," and religious bigotry toward Muslims. The references are there is different words every day in Tweets that are meant to haunt the conscious of Americans that are entertained by his imagines.

This country is divided in very real ways that is about the lives we live and not about politics. To simply assign the division found in our country to politics is to bury the real problems, the real hatred below the surface. It isn't politics, it is hatred and victimization of the helpless in our society.

Wall Street stroked Trump today with a start that was hundreds of dollars above close and it is notable it didn't stay there. This is the USA where "The American Dream" is dying. It is absolutely dying and it is due to the wealthy and the greedy with Murdoch at the top of the list.

January 31, 2018
By Karen Tumulty, Philip Rucker and Elisa Viebeck

President Trump’s call (click here) for unity met the cacophony of Washington politics Wednesday, as Democrats redoubled criticism of his policies and Republicans acknowledged differences of opinion within their party on immigration.

Trump, in his first State of the Union address Tuesday, called for the two parties to come together — remarks sharply at odds with the combative manner in which Trump has conducted his presidency so far.

The president also outlined an ambitious agenda for his second year in office, from a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, to a four-pronged immigration package, to a pledge to reduce prescription drug prices.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) called Trump’s infrastructure spending request “a big number” that he expects to be discussed when Republicans gather for a party retreat Wednesday and Thursday in West Virginia.....                

Vocational Schools can receive Pell Grants.

$5920.00 is the maximum Pell Grant for any student. I suggest those seeking a career or in need of a new career should apply.

Vocational schools can be a bit precarious if it is a private institution. They may take your money, but, will you sincerely have a job at the end of any vocational training. There are also private schools requiring high tuition as well, especially in the areas of Pastry Chef and the like, basically high demand in the marketplace.

Public Community Colleges frequently have vocational programs. It is wise to check local public Community Colleges for programs before diving into a private vocational school.

Here is another great American newly out of the hospital that was completely forgotten in the President's speech.

January 30, 2018

Italy, Texas (AP) — Officials say a 15-year-old girl (click here) shot at a North Texas high school is out of the hospital and back with her family a week after the shooting.

In social media postings, the Italy (IT’-lee) Independent School District says its students were told Monday that the girl is continuing her recovery with her family at an undisclosed location. The district says the family is optimistic about the girl’s recovery but asks for continued prayers for her.

Authorities have not released her name.

She was shot multiple times Jan. 22 in the Italy High School cafeteria. A 16-year-old boy who attended the school has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He remains in juvenile custody.

Italy is 42 miles (68 kilometers) south of Dallas and has about 1,900 residents.

It was a lone wolf attack. THERE ARE TOO MANY GUNS ON THE STREET.

December 24, 2017
By Julia Manchester

...El-Mofty (click here) allegedly opened fire on police officers in three different locations in the state's capital on Friday. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were reportedly investigating whether the shootings could be considered an act of terror. 

Houlton said the attack in Pennsylvania and another case in which a suspect was arrested on terror-related money laundering charges “highlight the Trump administration’s concerns with extended family chain migration.”...          

Propaganda or no propaganda?

Invoking "Old Glory" as a unique agenda is irrelevant. Bringing up judges is to say something will change when legislation about the flag burning is challenged and defeated.

Trump is attempting to build nationalism. No different than Putin's Russia.

During the 1984 Republican National Convention, (click here) respondent Johnson participated in a political demonstration to protest the policies of the Reagan administration and some Dallas-based corporations. After a march through the city streets, Johnson burned an American flag while protesters chanted. No one was physically injured or threatened with injury, although several witnesses were seriously offended by the flag burning. Johnson was convicted of desecration of a venerated object in violation of a Texas statute, and a state court of appeals affirmed. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, holding that the State, consistent with the First Amendment, could not punish Johnson for burning the flag in these circumstances...

We have seen this misinformation before. Whoever is advising him is making much out of nothing.

April 26, 2016

FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) CEO Marchionne: (click here) "We ran the optimization exercise with a very clear view of not losing one unit of sales for Ram and not losing one unit of sales for Jeep."

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed Tuesday after months of speculation that the automaker plans to move production of its Ram pickups  to Sterling Heights from Warren and move production of a Jeep SUV to Toluca, Mexico, from Belvidere, Ill....

July 28, 2016
By Brent Snavely and Matt Dolan

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (click here) plans to spend $1.49 billion to retool its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant so it can build the next-generation Ram 1500 pickup truck there after it stops producing the Chrysler 200.

The investment plans were disclosed today  in Lansing when the Michigan Strategic Fund board approved a tax break valued at $11.38 million over a 15-year period to help secure the automaker's commitment. The board unanimously approved the request after about a 15 minute discussion....

I will tell you what is going on here. It is called a shell game to 
"Make Trump look Great Always."

Chrysler is not doing anything differently. As a matter of fact Chrysler figured out it would cost less to improve the plant in Warren, Michigan opposed to Sterling Heights, Michigan.

There is absolutely nothing coming back from Mexico to the USA. Wall Street loves this guy. They showered every elected House and Senate member with campaign contributions to let them know Trump is the man they need to follow.

I hope the union has the bonus being issued by Chrysler in writing as they do the profit sharing plan, because, after all the lies are discovered the company might change it's mind about the bonus.

Wall Street CEOs are happier than pigs in shit. Maybe that is being harsh on pigs. The CEOs don't know what to do with all the money they have now that the tax structure is changed, so to prevent issues with exceptional profit margins, they are giving it away as a tax deduction.

Trump and the Republicans have instilled corruption systemically and no different than Roger Goodell, the CEOs are attempting to "shine everyone on." That is all this is. It is corruption of the government by Trump's financial professionals in his administration.

January 11, 2018
By Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit -- Citing President Trump's and Congress' new tax law, (click here) Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Thursday that it's going to move some of its production back from Mexico.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will invest more than $1 billion to modernize the company's Warren Truck Plant in metro Detroit, adding 2,500 jobs and moving production of its Ram Heavy Duty trucks from Mexico.

The changeover is to be complete in 2020.

The company said that the new federal tax law made the shift possible. That legislation, signed into law in December, cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.

Fiat Chrysler also announced $2,000 bonuses that will be paid in the second quarter of this year to 60,000 hourly and salaried employees in the U.S., excluding senior leadership. Those bonuses are to be in addition to any profit sharing or performance bonuses the employees would receive this year.

"These announcements reflect our ongoing commitment to our U.S. manufacturing footprint and the dedicated employees who have contributed to FCA's success," Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a statement. "It is only proper that our employees share in the savings generated by tax reform and that we openly acknowledge the resulting improvement in the U.S. business environment by investing in our industrial footprint accordingly."...

Is he still talking? Oh, the immigration law that doesn't apply to Russian Pregnancy Tourism.

My pet peive; the robbing of the poor of their children to serve the middle class and upper class. Don't do anything about poverty and the working poor, simply displace their children to 'great Americans' that want their children.

Trump made a huge error in bringing up Syria and the US Casualities there. We don't belong there and now Turkey is fighting the USA rebels.

January 30, 2018
By Jamie Dettmer

Turkey’s latest military incursion (click here) into northern Syria which it says is aimed at reining in Kurdish separatists will speed up the return of Syrian refugees to their homes, Turkish officials say. But Kurds are fearful Ankara plans to use the returnees to displace them and engineer a population shift.

Kurd officials say Ankara wants to re-shape the demographics of the borderlands in a bid to establish a “corridor of stability” populated by fewer Kurds and with Sunni Arab refugees currently in Turkey taking their place.

That would weaken the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara dubs an affiliate of Turkey’s outlawed Kurdish separatists, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)....

Turkey has a large number of refugees and there is a problem with violence because of it. There are currently at least 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. But, Turkey has frequently attacked the Kurds because PKK is considered a terrorist organization. The Kurds have been instrumental in ending Daesh in the region. Turkey cannot start another war with the Kurds simply because it believes the refugee crisis will be ended.

Turkey should be grateful to the Kurds for the very fact they defeated Daesh without any help from Turkey.

Trump cannot stand the idea that South Korea and Japan might be burgeoning into peace talks with China and North Korea. Peace with North Korea is not on Trump's political agenda. He has a lot of generals in his administration that have known the Korean War and have a desire to continue the tensions. It is ludicrous for the USA to attempt to end any peace talks with North Korea. Trump is about his politics and that is exactly what his speech today has conducted.

The USA is in danger because of Trump's administration and election committee. That is the truth and it is not being addressed tonight. The country has lost many of the people that were within it's brain trust under this administration. That is dangerous. Trump is not a good president and is a problem for this country. The US House and Senate need to impeach.

Something new here? Singling out Black and Hispanic citizens as lazy until Trump took office is racism.

The trend in USA employment is headed downward.

...Over the year, (click here)  job growth totaled 2.1 million, compared with a gain of 2.2 million in 2016....

The US Labor Department always discusses jobs added each month, but, there are significant job losses as well.

The wealth of Wall Street is not the picture of the country.

The picture in December of most any year is always better than any other month of the year because of the holidays. The overall view is different.

Another interesting measure is the labor force participation rate: which in the last quarter of 2017 shows chronic low rates.

Predictions for 2018 are not much better. (click here)

Oddly enough, December 2017 didn't meet expectations. Nearly 25 percent below expections. The largest gain in employment was food service workers.

Non-farm (click here) payrolls in the US increased by 148K in December of 2017, below market expectations of a 190K. Solid gains were reported in construction, manufacturing and health care while retail trade continued to cut jobs.

In 2017, payroll employment growth totaled 2.1 million, compared with a gain of 2.2 million in 2016.

Employment in health care increased by 31,000 in December. Employment continued to trend up in ambulatory health care services (+15,000) and hospitals (+12,000). Health care added 300,000 jobs in 2017, compared with a gain of 379,000 jobs in 2016....

And were the jobs added high paying jobs? The blue lines are for the month of December and the gray lines are for the 2017 average.

Leisure and hospitality employment continued to trend up in December (+29,000), adding a total of 306,000 jobs in 2017. This industry accounted for 15 percent of all total nonfarm jobs added in 2017. Employment in food services and drinking places was little changed in December (+25,000). In 2017, employment in the industry increased by 249,000, after rising by 276,000 over the prior year.  

And what no American will hear tonight is the increase in the homeless population. It is up because of the loss of good paying jobs, replaced with low paying jobs and housing is far too expensive. When Trump was inaugurated I stated to watch the homeless rate. Here we are and it took no time at all.

December 6, 2017
By Christopher Weber and Geoff Mulvhill

Los Angeles — The nation's homeless population increased this year (click here) for the first time since 2010, driven by a surge in the number of people living on the streets in Los Angeles and other West Coast cities.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its annual Point in Time count Wednesday, a report that showed nearly 554,000 homeless people across the country during local tallies conducted in January. That figure is up nearly 1 percent from 2016.

Of that total, 193,000 people had no access to nightly shelter and instead were staying in vehicles, tents, the streets and other places considered uninhabitable. The unsheltered figure is up by more than 9 percent compared to two years ago.

Increases are higher in several West Coast cities, where the explosion in homelessness has prompted at least 10 city and county governments to declare states of emergency since 2015....

The 2017 family income numbers won't be in for a while yet, but, under President Obama 2016 was a record high.

Real income per capita measures the per person income. The household income reflects more than one wage earner.

...Current Average Income (click here)

The 2016 nominal median income per capita was $31,099. The mean income per capita was $46,550. The Census Bureau reports those in the Current Population Survey, Table PINC-01.

Real median household income was $59,039 in 2016. That's the first time income exceeded the 2007 level of $58,149. It's also slightly higher than the 2015 income of $57,230. The first increase since the Great Recession was in 2015. All are reported in 2016 dollars. The Census report household income in Table A-1.

The federal government uses the median household income to establish poverty levels. That determines eligibility for Obamacare subsidies and welfare programs. 

Real median family income was $72,707 in 2016. That's higher than the 2007 peak of $71,024 (as measured in 206 dollars). It's also more than the 2015 level of $71,590. The government uses the family income for statistical purposes, such as reporting the poverty threshold....

This is the definition of household and family. Households can have other than a family living within them.

A family (click here) consists of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption residing in the same housing unit. A household consists of all people who occupy a housing unit regardless of relationship. A household may consist of a person living alone or multiple unrelated individuals or families living together.

When an employee receives a raise, they expect to see it in their paychecks not their deductions.

This is interesting. Health care insurance is too expensive. The companies are pricing themselves out of business. There is no reason why large corporations such as these can't self-insure. They should. 

Amazon had over a half of a million employees

JP Morgan Chase and Company has another quarter million employees

Berkshire Hathaway has over 350,000.

That is easily over a million people. I am confident the three corporations can find good health care options for their employees.

Illustrated in the graph above is the employee contribution for health care insurance. The wages are not keeping up with the cost of health care insurance subscription costs. While the country is looking toward increasing the minimum wage it only makes sense that prudent CEOs look to the final outcome for their employees as their wages increase.

I am not saying these companies pay minimum wage as Walmart does, but, just that as minimum wages increase other wages increase to keep pace with it. This decision is impressive and I look forward to hearing more about the final outcome and decisions.

January 30, 2018

By Mike Snider

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (click here) are combining efforts to improve health care and lower its cost for their hundreds of thousands of U.S. employees. 

The three companies announced Tuesday they are teaming up to explore "ways to address healthcare for their U.S. employees, with the aim of improving employee satisfaction and reducing costs," according to a news release about the venture.

An independent company, which "is free from profit-making incentives and constraints," they say, will initially tackle technological solutions to deliver "simplified, high-quality and transparent" health care to employees at a economical prices.

"Tackling the enormous challenges of healthcare and harnessing its full benefits are among the greatest issues facing society today," Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder said in a statement. "By bringing together three of the world’s leading organizations into this new and innovative construct, the group hopes to draw on its combined capabilities and resources to take a fresh approach to these critical matters."...
            

CIA Director Pompeo Says Russia will influence the 2018 elections. "I haven't seen a significant decrease in their activity," he said.

I thought it the CIA Director's job to identify the people involved in subverting our government and end it. I find it very odd the CIA Director can't control the Russia subversives to the USA elections when the influence is online access and the USA has invested so heavily in internet monitoring.

Is Pompeo saying the multi-billion dollar complex to detect terrorist activity is a waste of time? I think Pompeo appreciates the effect of Russian influence in USA elections and looks the other way.

Why hasn't the activity ended or DECREASED since the very valid understanding the Russias effected the 2016 elections? As a CIA Director how can he state he is proud of an agency that can't even protect the integrity of foreign influence in our elections?

Pompeo has stated he has unleashed and unburdened the CIA. What the heck does that mean? What burden aren't they carrying anymore?

29 January 2018

The director of the CIA (click here) expects that Russia will target the US mid-term elections later this year.

Mike Pompeo told the BBC there had been no significant diminishing of Russian attempts at subversion in Europe and the US.

He also said North Korea may have the ability to strike the US with nuclear missiles "in a handful of months".

The US intelligence community has said that it believes Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

Mr Pompeo, who briefs the president most mornings, dismissed as "drivel" recent claims that US President Donald Trump was not up to the job.

The director's conference room on the seventh floor of the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is lined with pictures of former directors and the presidents they served.

And Mr Pompeo is clear about his vision for the CIA under President Trump....

Congratulations to USA Today for bringing forth an issue that is more than a PR problem.

This state level medical review should be happening in every state when any medical-surgical practice becomes this dangerous. When protocols are breached there are all kinds of problems, besides infection. At what point does a victim of such crimes become a threat and find themselves not only under the influence of unwanted, dangerous medication, but, have their life in jeopardy when waking up to the attack?

The Cleveland Clinic is a world class hospital. One incident such as this does not change that reality. What changes such a reputation are cover ups and administrations that treat these incidents as trivial. These victims are real and need to receive the dignity and ethical standards of the best of medicine and not the worst. Hiding problems destroys quality treatment. 

This was a very dangerous reality. USA Today really did a great job at bringing the truth to light.

January 30, 2018

By Jayne O'Donnell

The Ohio Board of Medicine (click here) is investigating two alleged rapes by a former Cleveland Clinic colorectal surgeon following a Jan. 5 USA TODAY article and has subpoenaed Cleveland Clinic medical records for other procedures done by the surgeon in the same time period, USA TODAY has learned. 

Surgeon Tomislav Mihaljevic, who started as Cleveland Clinic’s CEO Jan. 1, is also now chair of a “conduct review” committee established after the article was published to review “serious incidents of harassment and misconduct to ensure appropriate action is taken.”  New committees are also developing policies on how to assess physicians’ conduct and govern the use of chaperones.

Williams was never charged with a crime in the cases of the two alleged rapes.

Chris Forshey, the medical board's investigations supervisor, interviewed a woman last week who suspects she could have been assaulted and asked to remain anonymous due to the nature of her allegation. Jennifer Davis, the woman's sister in law and a former Cleveland Clinic registered nurse, filed a medical board complaint on the alleged victim's behalf on Jan. 16....                      

Here is something real.

T

Greatest eclipse happens at the same instant worldwide, but our clocks say different times. Chart by Fred Espenak. (click here)

Is it the first Blue Moon total eclipse in 150 years, as some social media memes are now claiming? It is … if you’re not considering the whole world, but only the Americas.

I think Fred Espenak has the most important chart to the viewing of the "The Blue Total Eclipse Supermoon" will occur on January 31, 2018. The recent past has been a unique time for North America, especially the USA, with the total eclipse of the sun on August 21, 2017. So, tomorrow should be a really interesting event indeed. The best viewing is going to be the west coast of North America. No doubt California will make it fun.

Advertisers for the Superbowl can easily ask for their money back.

Fire, Goodell!

NOW!

Why bother watching the Superbowl. The winner has already been decided and the rings are probably already engraved. Jerry Jones was right to oppose the renewing of a five year contract extension, which included Goodell's own private jet. Enough is never enough.

It is a very sad day in the USA to realize everything is about money and more of it. This is ridiculous.