Scott Walker has Wisconsin on the wrong path.

It seems to me the Democrats have a winning ticket in Wisconsin. Tammy Baldwin has a great voting record in the US Senate and she was bipartisan whenever she could agree with the other Republican Senators. There should be no question as to returning her to the US Senate.

It is unfortunate Tony Evers isn't expanding his lead against Scott Walker. Scott Walker clearly caters to cronies. He is owned by Koch industries and to that reality is the ugly campaign waged a few years ago whereby Koch was able to place their preferred candidates in a race in Iron County with the endorsement of Scott Walker.

March 21, 2014
By Steven Verburg

...Perhaps (click here) more surprised than anyone was one mine booster, labeled “radical,” who appeared aside Gov. Scott Walker at the state Capitol to tout the mine.

At stake is a 15-member County Board that could make monetary and other demands of Gogebic Taconite, which is already deep into a sometimes combative state permitting process over its proposal for a huge iron mine that promises jobs while inspiring worries about environmental degradation....

These people were not interested in the health of the community or the miners that would be hired to work in this enormous mine, so why was there an issue in the first place? Because Scott Walker didn't care either. They wanted the mine to be open and producing profits ASAP.

Do Wisconsin voters remember this level of corruption in their state? Just because it isn't in the backyard of their homes doesn't mean this can be swept under the carpet. There is no forgetting this intrusion into a town's governance. It was a take over by Koch Industries to begin their profiteering.

Wisconsin should have Tony Evers in the Governor's office to clean up whatever corruption accumulated under Scott Walker, who didn't care about BIDS for mines, but, simply assigned his cronies to their demands. 

You'll excuse me but the people of Iron County never approached the topic of opening mines, never set standards for those that would operate the mines or were allowed BIDS to the extent of knowing the health and well being of workers, the amount of minerals extracted every year under A CONTRACT and to what percentage of the sales of the minerals would go to Iron County and the State. Walker never respected the citizens of Iron County to let them decide the future of their land nor did he complain when the Koch's brought dense corruption to their local election process.

This matters. Scot Walker forced the Koch's election blitz in 2014 down the throats of the Iron County voters. That is unheard of in most states in the country. That is corruption and about as nasty as it comes.

Tony Evers had increased the funding to education in Wisconsin. If Wisconsin liked him as their leader in state education they will like him better as a Governor. He understands budget and focuses on equality and equal rights.

In so many of his pictures he looks like a kid himself.

October 15, 2018
By Tom McCarthy

Madison — As required by state statute (click here) on or by Oct. 15 of each year, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has provided the certified amount each public school district will receive from the $4.656 billion appropriated for general state aid for the 2018-19 school year. This amounts to a $72.75 million (1.6 percent) increase in state general aids compared to last year.

General aid is made up of equalization aid also known as the school aid formula, integration aid also known as Chapter 220 aid, and special adjustment aid also known as hold harmless aid. Fifty-three districts met the aid formula’s hold harmless provision, meaning their aid reduction is generally limited to 15 percent of the prior year’s amount....

Equality for Tony Evers has no exceptions. He is a champion for all minorities in the State of Wisconsin.

September 27, 2018
By Ianthe Metzger

...“HRC is proud to endorse Tony Evers for Governor of Wisconsin,” (click here) said HRC (Human Rights Campaign) Wisconsin State Director Wendy Strout. “After seven years of Scott Walker’s attacks on our community, it’s more important than ever we elect a pro-equality governor who will fight day in and day out to uphold the Wisconsin values of fairness, justice and equality. Superintendent Evers has been a tireless ally for LGBTQ Wisconsinites, and he will be a vital voice for the community and all Wisconsinites in the Governor’s mansion. We look forward to mobilizing Wisconsin’s 560,000 Equality Voters this November and working with him to move equality forward across the Badger State.”

“As a longtime champion of LGBTQ equality, I am proud to accept the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign,” said Evers. “Here in Wisconsin, we've watched the LGBTQ community come under attack for the last seven years, and seen all the progress we've made toward equality threatened. I promise to continue to be a strong ally and advocate for LGBTQ rights as Governor, and will make sure that we protect the gains we've made for the LGBTQ community In Wisconsin and push to secure full equality for everyone in our state.”...


Hatred of "the other" is not allowed in Wisconsin anymore. Scott Walker sees no end to discrimination of any minority in the state. He is strongly anti-LGBTQ. Why? Hatred. Simply, pure hatred. It could be about imposing religious beliefs ahead of the USA Constitution, but, that is so inappropriate it has no place in conversation. 

There are transgender children all across the USA that need the same education of those that don't face the challenges these children face. Tony Evers founded equality in education in Wisconsin and as a Governor he will be able to do so much more for any minority voter in the state. 

Tony Evers is an accomplished administrator in one of the most demanding jobs in the country and that is education. Wisconsin needs him as Governor.

Last, but, not least Wisconsin voters know Scott Walker has been cheating on his budget. The job growth in Wisconsin since Walker took office is abysmal. I guess depriving job seekers a good paying job is one way to defeat unions.

Scott Walker owned this mess. It was only when legislators like Melissa Sargent went to work on building hope in growing jobs that the Walker downward curve changed. 

July 2013

...As I reflect on heart-to-heart conversations (click here) I have had with the people of our neighborhoods, as well as the thousands of letters and e-mails that I have received, it is clear that as Wisconsinites we value health care for all, quality public education at all levels, protecting our natural resources, and a fair and balanced tax system. These values are what makes Wisconsin great and our community thrive. Not only does this budget fail our progressive values, it is so extreme that it received bipartisan opposition in part because there is an increases our property taxes, and it also creates a half billion dollar structural deficit.

I am more resolved than ever to travel through the 48 Assembly District, and across Wisconsin, to discuss what the real values are of the people of Wisconsin
and how we move our great state forward. If there is anything you would like to have included in future updates, please do not hesitate to contact my office. 

In the last two months, Wisconsin's unemployment rate had inched up and places like Janesville is wondering why.

Moody's Wisconsin Ratings (click here) Wisconsin does not have a Moody's Aaa rating. It just doesn't. There are cities going into debt across Wisconsin and their ratings are dropped to Aa3.

Previous administrations in Wisconsin maintained a AA credit rating. Under Wisconsin the rating fell to Aa1 and fluctuates between that and Aa2 with some cities seeing Aa3 ratings. The Aa1 ratings are usually assigned to specific bond issues, while the Aa2 rating is held for Wisconsin's general budget. That might explain why Wisconsin is paying high debt costs on it's infrastructure.

June 11, 2018
By Tom Kertscher

...Roys: (click here) I think we’re seeing the effects of putting things on the credit card when it comes to our roads. Now we’re spending twice as much on debt service for just basic road repair and maintenance --

Walters: -- 22 or 23 percent.  

Roys: Right. And I think when he (Walker) came in, it was something like 10 or 11 percent....

...To look at what’s happened during Walker’s tenure, we use as a base the 2010-’11 state fiscal year -- the second year of the final state budget under under his Doyle:

State budget year	Amount of transportation debt payments	Debt payments as a percentage of  transportation revenue
2010-’11: Final budget year under Doyle	$197.2 million	11.5%
*2017-’18: Current budget year	$380.2 million	20%
*2018-’19: Starts July 1, 2018	$398.4 million	20.9%

Doubling would be 23 percent, so 20.9 percent is pretty close.

But it’s worth noting that the figures for 2017-18 and 2018-’19 are estimates, though they are based on the 2017-’19 state budget and are not expected to change much....

Jacky Rosen is ready for a vital place in the US Senate. She is on the House Subcommittee of Military Personnel and also the Subcommittee of Air and Land Forces. She is also on the Subcommittee for Energy as well as Research and Technology. She also participated in the House Women’s Caucus. I am impressed, she wasted no time being involved in some of the most important issues of 2018. Wow. 

She does more than support the Affordable Care Act, she holds the line on costs. She wants discrimination in costs of pre-existing conditions and age to stop. As a potential to compete with commercial insurers, she wants private citizens to have the capacity to, and get this, “buy in” to Medicaid. That is an incredible idea as it would provide healthcare coverage as well as improve Medicaid funding. That idea has a great deal of potential that I would like to see explored.

Jacky Rosen has a life to be proud of which includes her spouse that works in healthcare and a daughter in college. She has always been a leader as president of her synagogue before taking a place in the US House. She is impressive in every way and doesn’t shy away from the tough issues and is committed to fiscal responsibility. I like her.

One other issue on the minds of Nevada parents is education. Nevada has been struggling to improve its education performance. Jacky Rosen has sought to be pivotal for Nevada. As a matter of fact in July of 2018 she received the “Champion for Children fAward” as presented by the bipartisan group First Focus Campaign for her unmatched work in providing STEM education funding. She stated in receiving the award that the character of a society is best realized in how it  treats the children. 

Jacky Rosen has not disappointed Nevada to improve it’s educational strength. She didn’t stop with children, she also made sure US Veterans received their educational benefits. Nevada needs her in the US Senate. She makes Nevada stronger.

Stacey Abrams is nearly over qualified  for the office of Governor of Georgia; but Georgia really needs her. Her talents far outweigh her peers. She was writing speeches for congressional candidates since the age of 17. She has been studying economics, social science and political science most of her life. She wore her ethnicity well and stood up for civil rights beginning in 1992. Her professional career took a unique quality when she earned her legal degree at Yale in 1999. And get this, when she went to work as a lawyer it was in healthcare, public financing and tax exempt organizations. Is she ready to set policy for Georgia or what?

Her public career is inspiring when at the age of 29 she was tapped to serve as the Deputy City Lawyer for Atlanta. While serving in the Georgia legislature she served on the Ethics Committee, Ways and Means Committee, and Rules Committee. She knows how to live with a budget without getting tangled up with corruption. She became Minority Leader and instituted reforms as well as stopping a tax increase. Despite ending a tax increase and with her government reform the Georgia legislature passed the largest public transportation funding in Georgia history. She is a dynamo. 

It is impossible to list all the awards Stacey Abrams has won in her life. She loves children and seeks every opportunity to improve their quality of life. 

She needs to be Governor of Georgia. 

Go, Stacey, Go!

Vote!

Vote!

Vote responsibly!

Vote for the national security of the USA!

Vote for the greatest democracy that ever existed!

Vote to save your home called Earth!

Most of all, vote to end hate and return dignity to this country!

The hate is continuing:

Please remember what is happening to our country and our countrymen and women.

November 4, 2018

A man has been arrested and charged (click here) with a Class 3 felony hate crime for making threatening phone calls to a synagogue in a Chicago suburb, the Chicago Sun Times reported on Friday.

The staff of North Suburban Lubavich Chabad in Highland Park reported "a phone call containing threatening statements."

Police have identified that suspected caller as 39 year-old Dean R. West, police say.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, investigators were able to identify and arrest the caller on Thursday. West is currently being held at the Lake County jail on a $250,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on November 8, says the Lake County sheriff's office.

In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh massacre that killed 11 people, police in the Chicago area have increased security measures on religious institutions....

I will return to the signatories of the Kyoto Protocol with Portugal next week. Thank you.

I received an email stating, "The flat earth society has members all over the globe." My reply was, "If they linked hands in a straight line and disappeared on the horizon, would they believe it?"

Sometimes I hear the words, "How did we get here?"

My reply is this, "When George W. Bush became president the issue of BELIEF came to the foreground of the USA's conscience. It lingered there for whatever reason, mostly because people who share beliefs are not alone in the world. Belief is far easier to accept than science. So, to me, the change of the paradigm of BELIEF vs. Science was also very convenient for the petroleum industry."

To me, it seems more like the beginning of a rift valley than any other geological formation.

Field Guide to the San Andres Fault (click here)

Nov. 1, 2018
By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

The San Andreas fault (click here) begins its dangerous dance through California at the Salton Sea, at a spot that seismologists long have feared could be the epicenter of a massive earthquake.

But in recent months, this desolate location where the North American and Pacific plates rub together has become the focus of intense interest for a type of movement that is less the Big One than the Slow One.

A muddy spring mysteriously has begun to move at a faster pace through dry earth — first 60 feet over a few months, and then 60 feet in a single day, according to Imperial County officials....

November 1, 2018
By Ron Brackett

The county declared (click here) an emergency this summer, the Los Angeles Times reported, to speed up efforts to prevent the geyser from reaching Union Pacific's tracks, a stretch of State Route 111, a petroleum pipeline, and fiber optic telecommunications lines.

The geyser, also called a mud pot or mud spring, has been in existence near Niland, California, since 1953, an Imperial County fact sheet says. It has moved slowly for the past 11 years, but recently, that movement has accelerated.

It's near the southern end of the San Andreas Fault, but the movement is not seismic activity, U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Ken Hudnut told the Los Angles Times....

November 2, 2018

Hollister -- A swarm of earthquakes (click here) along the San Andreas Fault, the largest measuring a 4.1 magnitude, rumbled through the Hollister area and the Salinas Valley Friday morning. CBS San Francisco, citing officials, reports the quakes rattled nerves but caused no major damage.

.According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 4.1 quake hit at 5:58 a.m. PDT 12 miles southwest of the small community of Tres Pinos. It was followed by quakes measuring 3.6, 3.2 and 3.0.

The USGS said the quakes were most strongly felt in nearby Hollister followed by Salinas, Gonzales, Monterey, Carmel Valley and Santa Cruz.

Authorities did not report any damage.Matzuma Li, who lives in the Central Valley took to Twitter, saying the jolt awoke she and her cats.

"Nice way to start the day… A pleasant 4.0 to shake the cats through the roof at 6am," she tweeted.

A reality check.

President Trump stated women like to feel secure. He said that. He said that in relation to the southern border. I don't doubt there are women along the southern border of the USA, but, what happened to the rest of us?

We aren't secure from sexual assault. We aren't secure from gun violence.

Once again, an entire community is traumatized by senseless violence against women. The gun laws in Florida are insufficient to protect the people and these women wanted security, too.

Why don't we count? Why isn't the lessons of the past enough to end the violence of the future?

November 3, 2018
By Gary Fineout and Brendan Farrington

Tallahassee — A gunman killed two people and wounded five others (click here) at a yoga studio in Florida's capital before killing himself Friday evening, officials said.

Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo told reporters Friday night that the man shot six people and pistol-whipped another after walking into the studio, which is part of a small Tallahassee shopping center.

The suspect then fatally shot himself, DeLeo said.

Early Saturday morning, the Tallahassee Police Department identified the shooter as Scott Paul Beierle, 40.

The department identified the two people who were killed as Dr. Nancy Van Vessem, 61, and Maura Binkley, 21.

Van Vessem was an internist who served as chief medical director for Capital Health Plan, the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper reported.

Capital Health Plan issued a statement praising Van Vessem, the Democrat reported.

"As CHP's longtime chief medical director, Nancy has been a guiding, visionary force in our daily work to serve the wellness and health care needs of thousands of families in this community. Her dedication, caring, leadership, humanity, and experience made her one of the most respected, inspiring, and accomplished medical professionals in the state and country. Our hearts are filled with sorrow and prayers for her family. We all have been so blessed to have Nancy in our lives," the company said.

Florida State University President John Thrasher says Van Vessem and Binkley had ties to the university, the Democrat reported.

"To lose one of our students and one of our faculty members in this tragic and violent way is just devastating to the Florida State University family. We feel this loss profoundly and we send our deepest sympathies to Maura's and Nancy's loved ones while we pray for the recovery of those who were injured," Thrasher said in a statement....

Prime Minister Netanyahu is stating Saudi Arabia needs to be given a pass on the Khashoggi murder.

Trump, Israel and Saudi Arabia have to be planning an invasion into Iran. The new sanctions will be followed by military aggression due to Yemen, etc. But, since the murder, Yemen is coming into focus and the war there is being viewed as a human rights issue now.

Trump is Putin's puppet.

One might ask where we would be without the USA Press Corp. If Trump has his way, the USA media would be his puppet. The fourth arm of government is a free press.

3 November 2018

The killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi (click here) was sanctioned at the “highest levels” of the Saudi government, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, trying to play kingmaker in Riyadh and bolster his credentials in the West.

“We know that the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government,” the Turkish leader wrote in a surprise contribution to Friday’s Washington Post, vowing to “reveal the identities of the puppet masters” behind the murder.

“No one should dare to commit such acts on the soil of a NATO ally again,” Erdogan wrote dramatically. “Had this atrocity taken place in the United States or elsewhere, authorities in those countries would have gotten to the bottom of what happened. It would be out of the question for us to act any other way,” he added, noting that Ankara has already “moved heaven and earth to shed light on all aspects of this case.”

Here comes the Cuban missile crisis all over again and Trump is worried about migrants.

Kindly put this into perspective. Trump just canceled the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force Treaty (INF). Putin made an address to Russia stating it would be gearing up for war. Here we go, Russia's nuclear presence in the Western Hemisphere begins with Cuba.

The meeting and signing have already taken place between Putin and the new president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel. The Castros are out of power. Russia intends to rebuild Cuba and supply it oil. There will be nuclear power plants and new military armaments. Basically, Cuba will be little Russia in the Western Hemisphere.

November 2, 2018

Moscow (Sputnik) - Russia intends (click here) to sign an agreement in mid-November on giving Cuba a loan worth 38 million euros ($43.25 million) as part of the two countries' defense cooperation agenda, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Storchak told reporters on Friday....

It looks like the microwave transmission into the US Embassy staff worked, huh? And where is Trump and Pompeo? Still trying to carry out a war with Iran with a pivotal Saudi Arabia?

November 2, 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel exchange documents following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on November 2.

The presidents of Russia and Cuba (click here) have vowed to strengthen political, economic, and military ties and denounced what they called U.S. "interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign nations."

In a joint statement following talks in Moscow on November 2, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Russia's Vladimir Putin also called for closer integration between Moscow and Latin American nations.

The visit comes at a time of heightened tensions for both nations with the United States.

U.S. officials continue to assail Havana for its alleged human rights violations, while Moscow and Washington have several contentious issues between them -- including accusations, denied by Moscow, of Russian interference in U.S. elections, Moscow's aggressive actions in Ukraine, and its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Diaz-Canel invited Putin to visit Cuba in 2019. He has twice traveled there, in 2000 and 2014, as part of efforts to revive relations with the communist island nation....

It will be a short war unless the USA military has missiles aimed at Russia to intimidate any Cuban launches.

President Obama was ridiculed by Congress for meeting with countries in the Carribean Sea and nearshore countries. Now that the USA is compromised politically, Russia is more than happy to increase it's presence there.

July 21, 2014

Russia's listening station at Lourdes is seen on a photograph taken December 13, 2000 

Moscow and Havana (click here) have agreed to reopen a Cold War-era signals intelligence (SIGINT) base in Lourdes, Cuba.

An agreement was reached during Putin's visit to Cuba last week to reopen the base, Russia business daily Kommersant reported last week. That was confirmed by a Russian security source who told Reuters: "A framework agreement has been agreed....

October 31, 2018
By Stephanie Ebbs

Three years after local doctors in Flint, Michigan, (click here) warned of dangerously high lead levels in children, at least 4 million U.S. households still are exposed to high levels of lead as about half a million kids have tested positive for lead in their blood, the Centers for Disease Control said.

A significant number of children with lead poisoning are showing up in cities around the country, including in Syracuse, New York, where 11 percent of kids tested last year had elevated levels in their blood, according to the local health department.

Just this week, The New York Times reported officials in Newark, New Jersey, began distributing water filters after previously saying there wasn't a lead problem with local water. Drawing parallels to Flint, the Times reported a study found water treatment in Newark was failing and 25 percent of children tested showed elevated levels of lead last year....

November 1, 2018
By Zahra AhmadFLINT, MI-- 

A TV judge (click here) made good on a promise and returned to Flint Thursday to distribute bottled water. He also promised to keep bringing in bottled water until every lead pipe is replaced.

"This fight is not done. We are back and we will continue to come back," Judge Greg Mathis said."The clean water will continue to flow in, even if I have to pay out of my pockets when the donations stop, we're going to keep the cases of water coming until every lead pipe is replaced."

Mathis, along with Flint clergy, other community organizers and citizens, caravanned from Detroit to Flint - collecting bottled water along the way to distribute in Flint.

"I'm angry that we've been abandoned and neglected after the struggle, the lobbying, after securing $200 million in state and federal government funds and we're still being told to drink the water," Mathis said. "I want you to channel that anger to Election Day."

Mathis' rally took place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 1 at Quinn Chapel AME Church, 2101 Lippincott Blvd. in Flint. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver was in attendance as well as 5th District Congressman Dan Kildee....

The October jobs report reflects hurricane recovery.

September saw 50,000 lost jobs in North Carolina and an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 jobs were lost in Florida from Hurricane Michael. This is probably reflecting a rebound. The actual jobs created over those lost was 118,000. If these are jobs lost the 250,000 is about 180,000 or less depending on the recovery in NC and Florida.

I don't know why everyone is so thrilled with a 3 percent increase in pay either. Three percent of the minimum wage still leaves the working poor, poor.

Considering the October job growth is across all sectors, that is a return to function of the infrastructure after the storms.

Just as a note, a friend of the family, a 37 year old power line worker from Wilmington, NC died. (click here) The family was unclear as to why, but, the doctor's reports said it was the heart. He left a wife and children behind. He will be missed. They didn't come any nicer a person.

Life is still not back to normal for many people in Wilmington. I read the recent letter from the Chancellor at UNCW and the school had sustained $140 million in damages. The university has support from many, including alumni to try to bring the campus back. It takes time.

That’s is a lot of damage. Those buildings were fairly new and built like fortresses. I haven’t seen the campus since Florence, but, I cannot imagine $140 million in damage. There were many buildings erected within the past 15 years and built to last 100 years. The entire campus must have been devastated. There were four maintenance men that stayed during the hurricane. They probably have stories to tell.

Nov. 2, 2018
By Robert Schroeder

...“In one line: Solid across the board, (click here) though hard to read the trends behind the weather noise.” — Ian Shepherdson, chief economist, Pantheon Macroeconomics

Jason Furman, who ran the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, said he didn’t see anything bad in the October numbers, citing strong wage growth and a bounce-back in job growth from last month....

DEA: spike in drug deaths led by opioids

November 2, 2018
By Bart Jansen

Washington – Prescription drugs (click here) including opioids were responsible for the most overdose deaths of any illicit drugs since 2001, according to a report the Drug Enforcement Administration released Friday.

In addition, heroin-related deaths nearly doubled from 2013 to 2016, a trend exacerbated by the mixing of heroin with fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, the report said. Drug traffickers are disguising opioids as counterfeit prescriptions, in a marketing strategy, the report said.

“This report underscores the scope and magnitude of the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States,” Acting DEA Administrator Uttam Dhillon said in a statement.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the report confirmed that transnational drug cartels and foreign drug labs working with street gangs are flooding communities with heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamines.

While the 164-page DEA report covered statistics mostly through 2016, preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that overdose deaths began to decline last year, with opioid prescriptions falling significantly, he said....

The Debt Ceiling hasn't been an issue for the past two years. There is a reason.

On December 9, 2017, (click here) the outstanding debt subject to limit was at the statutory debt limit. The following business day, Secretary Steven Mnuchin notified Congress of his determination that a “debt issuance suspension period” (DISP) would begin on or after December 11, 2017, and last until January 31, 2018. On January 30, 2018, the Secretary determined the DISP would continue through February 28, 2018. On February 9, 2018, the President signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123), temporarily suspending the statutory debt limit through March 1, 2019, rendering further use of extraordinary measures unnecessary....

Trump and his Republican Congress didn't want the debt ceiling to be an issue.

They suspended it.

Marsha Blackburn is no friend to women that have faced sexual assault (rape).

March 4, 2018
By Annie-Rose Strasser and Josh Isreal

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) (click here) on Monday openly admitted that she opposed the latest reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) because it included protections for LGBT, Native American, and undocumented victims of domestic violence....

She is in Big Pharma's back pocket. She is not only a Washington insider, she is the leader of the Washington insiders.

July 12, 2018
By Dudley Taylor

Anyone watching (click here) the U.S. House of Representatives over the last few weeks would be hard pressed not to notice the flurry of activity on bills related to the ongoing opioid crisis.

In total, House committees tossed out 90 bills that members of Congress – led by Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn — then touted in a stream of press releases as the silver-bullet remedies for American families ravaged by opioid addiction.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to politics in an election year.

The stark reality is that Blackburn has led a large group of our elected officials in Washington that are bought and paid for by the opioid industry....

Unintended consequences? This is the type of legislation she is writing? Why would anyone trust her?

September 2, 2018
By Waylon Cunningham

Senate candidate (click here) and Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee did not author the legislation that critics say has weakened the Drug Enforcement Agency’s ability to combat the opioid crisis, but she did co-sponsor and forcefully advocate for it on the House floor.

Her stance in recent months has been more demurred.

At a Nashville summit on the opioid crisis held last week and pressed on the matter, Blackburn said any negative impacts to the DEA caused by the bill were “unintended consequences.”...

Marsha Blackburn was against any involvement with the Opioid Crisis, probably made is worse, until Trump made an issue of it on the campaign trail.

Marsha Blackburn was against it before she was for it. She is untrustworthy. $he is untrustworthy no matter the issue.

March 15, 2018

Washington - Today Congressman Marsha Blackburn, (click here) as the lead sponsor, introduced the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 2.0 with Representatives Tim Ryan (OH), Tom MacArthuer (NJ), and Ann Kuster (NH).  This updated version of CARA will authorize approximately $1 billion in new funding to fight the opioid war and increases criminal penalties on manufacturers that don’t report suspicious orders or keep proper diversion protocols in place.  In addition, it places a three day limit on initial prescriptions for acute pain, provides enhanced first responder training and funds the expansion of specialized courts to treat our nation’s ill-served Veterans.  This bill will serve as the House companion to bipartisan legislation recently introduced by Senator Rob Portman (OH)....

I find it hard to believe Tennessee would return Marsha Blackburn to the Washington, DC government. She was responsible for leading the government shutdown. (click here)

Vice President Pence should not be stereotyping the Stars of film and television.

To begin the MOVIE INDUSTRY has made important films that provide jobs to local citizens in nearly every state in the country. In addition, the people involved in politics are Americans who happen to be popular on screen and television. Television is such an outdated word, too. But, to demonize Oprah Winfrey is just plain wrong and it won't get him votes he wants for the candidates he is endorsing. 

These people that are very talented and bring entertainment to the public are global citizens that bring the best of the USA to audiences everywhere. Foreign countries love to mimic the USA's film industry. It provides profit to the country and adds to the GDP, but, "Going to the Movies," is a Middle Class comfort and provides a venue for the development of a wide range of emotions. It is the only place I know where a child can take a ride on a train to the North Pole.

So, I value these people. They are incredibly talented and their fame did not happen overnight. If Oprah knocked on my door, I would pledge to vote but also let her know how much she is valued in such a door to door effort, how brave she is to step into the political arena and while I had her attention I'd tell her exactly what is occurring in my day to day life that just isn't fair.

Vice President Pence is making big mistakes by defaming people that love this country and it's people.

...Even so, (click here) the film-going public, as well as the motion picture artistic community, demands authenticity. While going on the road comes with a price, there is no substitute for the screen-filling landscapes in Arizona and Utah that made westerns such as “The Searchers” unforgettable, or the gritty docks operated by longshoremen in Hoboken, New Jersey, that made “On the Waterfront” a classic. The film industry’s need for genuine locations also means more dollars in state coffers.

Each state has unique characteristics that make it attractive to filmmakers, and with that in mind, 24/7 Wall St. has tapped various resources to find out what is the best movie filmed in every state.

If Donald Trump is bemoaning his interruptions to his campaigning agenda he should end his hateful rhetoric that drives his base into violence against "the other."

I might point out this reality. Candidates for president of this country are on the road at times for two years after they announce. Poor Donald has to make a choice between his road campaign and the attention the president should give to the Executive Branch.

I think these weeks of campaigning is his reflection on that reality. He says he wants to help Republican candidates. I think it is his way of campaigning, period.

He is so toxic a personality, he will probably be challenged for the RNC nomination, even as an incumbent.

A Texas woman stated she is voting for Cruz because he has memorized the US Constitution. I could not find a You Tube where he recites it.

Ted Cruz is no different than any other Texas government lawyers, he loses most of the cases he tries. He won two and had mixed results with another of the nine arguments at the Supreme Court. He completely lost six of the extremist agenda of Texas government.

The Republicans have been running on the Supreme Court at least for two years. The Texas government is so oppressing that it is among the most impoverished state in the country with a lack of sincere sophistication. I believe Texas still has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy rather than having many Planned Parenthood office in the state to help young men and women decide their path into economic security.

March 3, 2016
By Robert Farley

An ad from a pro-Ted Cruz (click here) super PAC says, “Ted Cruz argued nine cases in front of the Supreme Court, and won.” He did not win all nine cases, as the ad implies.

We’ll get into the details of each of the cases, but here’s the CliffsNotes version: Cruz won two cases, and the rest were either losses or partial victories....

Why did the people charged in the Mueller investigation turn to Russia?

What impresses me about the Mueller investigation is the change in the person being interviewed after the session.

Every person that has been interviewed by the Mueller investigation becomes a far more humble person after their interview. That has been true with all the "Trump Tough Guys," including Paul Manafort. It seems to me these folks have some kind of public/business image to protect and project their best tough guy image at the beginning of their involvement with the Mueller team. After their interview their posture changes and they realize they have been playing with their citizenship in the USA in a way that endangers the country.

Most Americans, with the exception of the members of the US Military, take their citizenship for granted. The USA is a great country. Most Americans don't realize how incredible a country it is when it comes to the rights of it's citizens. That is not to say the USA is exceptional in that reality, most of our allies have similar, if not equal to, freedoms in their country. That reality in many ways is ensured by our military as well. But, when it comes to confronting "the law" it is a real eye-opener. I think that is especially true with the wealthy.

Americans can accumulate wealth without question or exception. That can blind an American to the day to day struggle experienced by so many others. That is their right. It is their right to be comfortable and distant. But, when something becomes evident they have violated a law of one kind or another and take their guilt lightly, there is an awakening that is more than interesting when it finally hits home.

One by one the interviewees of the "Donald Scandals," including those of Southern New York, have their moments when the reality is faced after their lawyers' state everything they can do has been done. The most recent scandal is surfacing with Roger Stone. He is belligerent and hiding in the corner behind lawyers so it will be interesting to realize he may also have that full reality of the weight of "the law" once he faces his interview.

I have no doubt the interview is something to be feared. It is probably very weighty and the reality of it while within it can be alarming.

Read the emails:

November 1, 2018
By Michael S. Schmidt, Mark Mazzetti, Maggie Haberman and Sharon LaFraniere

Newly revealed messages (click here) show how the political operative Roger J. Stone Jr. sold himself to Trump campaign advisers as a potential conduit to WikiLeaks, which published thousands of emails in 2016 damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign....

Roger Stone came forward. No one solicited his services. Why? Why would he come forward with an agenda that was to assault the political process of the USA? Why, Russia? I find that an overwhelming character of this investigation, these folks were involved deeply with communists. Why?