Donald Trump is playing into Governor Northam's fantasy of making this all go away. It is not going away. There needs to be an investigation of racism at VMI. Northam needs to resign for no other reason in that he is now crippled as a governor burdened with a scandal.
February 3, 2019
By Tom Porter
President Donald Trump in a tweet Saturday (click here) described a picture in which Democrat Virginia Governor Ralph Northam allegedly appears in blackface as “unforgivable.”
In a medical school yearbook photo that emerged Friday, one man, alleged to be Northam, appears in blackface, while another wears a KKK hood.
Northam initially admitted to being one of the men in the photo, then on Saturday withdrew his admission, and claimed that allegations he was in the photo were not true.
Trump on Saturday criticized Northam for the conflicting statements, and for recent comments about a Virginia abortion bill that Northam's critics claim defended infanticide.
“Democrat Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia just stated, “I believe that I am not either of the people in that photo.” This was 24 hours after apologizing for appearing in the picture and after making the most horrible statement on “super” late term abortion. Unforgivable!” tweeted the president....
Trump's pivot into late term abortion is a strategy by Virginia Republicans to change the topics of morality within the Virginia political dialogue. Somehow, late term abortion to save a woman's life is infanticide in the minds of the Virginia Republican Party. That is a sexist statement which nullifies the life of a woman in favor of a fetus. This is once again the twisted idiocy of the Republican dialogue. Somehow find a way to birth a baby while it's mother will die and then grow up without a mother. It is insanity and warped values of human life.
February 1, 2019
Culpepper - Authorities say a Virginia pregnancy center (click here) has been vandalized days after a debate over late-term abortion in the state capital sparked controversy nationwide.
Police said in a statement that the vandalism reported early Friday at the Pregnancy Center of Culpeper included spray-painted messages on the building and signs and a broken window. Images from the scene show the messages include "YOU HATE WOMEN" and "FAKE."
The center is one of the Pregnancy Centers of Central Virginia. The Christian nonprofit's website says it is "dedicated to women and families facing unplanned pregnancy" and doesn't perform or refer for abortions. President and COO DJ Carter says they haven't experienced vandalism before and he's unsure of the vandal's motivation. The organization is changing its name to Thrive Women's Healthcare....
Sunday, February 03, 2019
Saturday, February 02, 2019
Why are so many people upset with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
The reason everyone is upset by the newly elected Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is that she won a Congressional seat away from a long time incumbent Democrat without much money. See, she is the way elections are supposed to work. She put together some information about herself and went door to door to speak to the residents in her district, introduced herself, asked them to vote for her and they did.
She did not have a huge war chest to run ads and send out flyers and the like, she used shoe leather. She is an example of why "Citizens' United" is wrongfully decided. There should be election laws that restrict money in politics to force those seeking election to face the voters. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the very essence of the constitutional political theater that should exist with every election.
She is an average American who decided it was time for a change and when she looked around and found no one ready to fill that space, she decided to fill it herself. She is doing a great job. She earned her place in Congress. She worked hard for it and now she is winning the hearts of Americans in her forthright belief in her ability to bring about the change she ran on.
She is a good person. My favorite statement by her is when she commented on a media article that tried to say she was a millionaire and lying to the public because she had some nice clothes in the early days of her office. She said, “If I walked into Congress wearing a sack, they would laugh & take a picture of my backside,” she wrote on Twitter. “If I walk in with my best sale-rack clothes, they laugh & take a picture of my backside. Dark hates light — that’s why you tune it out. Shine bright & keep it pushing.”
She is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress and I don't know why that is the case, except, Americans are convinced an election costs enormous amounts of money. The USA Constitution clearly states the minimum age for an elected House of Representative member is 25 years old. By 25 years old most adults have attained an education (In her case, she graduated cum laude from Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences in 2011, majoring in international relations and economics.), knows what the meaning of a dollar is, and has made at least one major purchase in buying a car. So, what does it take to be a Congresswoman other than knowing what life is like for her district and willing to make her vote count for those people?
When Rep. Ocasio-Cortez hears about a bill regarding international law and decisions, she actually knows where the country is on a map.
She also doesn't seem too engaged in distancing her constituents either (click here). She has a minimal Congressional website and a newsletter. What better than to reach out to constituents in a newsletter? SHE REACHES OUT TO THEM AND DOESN'T EXPECT THEM TO COME LOOKING FOR HER. Something tells me she holds herself accountable to them.
She is a breath of fresh air. She won without big money and she is anchored in doing the best job she can for her constituents while being accountable to them. I do believe that is called a moral character. She takes herself seriously and works hard to prove herself.
Yep. She is a threat.
Nothing here exonerates anyone.
February 1, 2019
By Jonathan Lemire and Mary Clare Jalonick
Washington — Senate investigators (click here) have evidence revealing the identities behind mysterious phone calls that Donald Trump Jr. had with blocked numbers during the 2016 presidential campaign, just days before he met with a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
By Jonathan Lemire and Mary Clare Jalonick
Washington — Senate investigators (click here) have evidence revealing the identities behind mysterious phone calls that Donald Trump Jr. had with blocked numbers during the 2016 presidential campaign, just days before he met with a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Democrats have speculated that Trump Jr. was talking to his father, who has denied knowing anything about the controversial Trump Tower meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya. But according to phone records provided to Congress, Trump Jr. spoke to Howard Lorber, a New York real estate executive, and Brian France, the former chairman of NASCAR, two people familiar with the records told The Associated Press....
Why those people? Endorsements for his father? Donations for the campaign? It only proves further that Don, Jr. was in a pivotal role with the campaign and then he met with Russians.
It would be nice to think this is all very innocent and these phone calls may be, but, the Trumps have shut down their charity for real reasons of impropriety. No one can call them innocent.
Friday, February 01, 2019
The Republican Party has absolutely no right to capitalize on racism with a president stating that both sides of the issue in Charlottesville, Virginia were responsible for the violence and death there. This is a dialogue for the Democrats to have to clearly delineate the past from the present and the future.
Maybe the Republicans need to pass more estate tax laws instead of supporting a president that wants the USA to capitulate it’s leadership to communist Russia, while dismantling the infrastructure of the USA over a stupid border wall.
Maybe the Republicans need to pass more estate tax laws instead of supporting a president that wants the USA to capitulate it’s leadership to communist Russia, while dismantling the infrastructure of the USA over a stupid border wall.
By Dominic Adams
Flint – Congratulations, (click here) people of Flint – you’re living through the coldest Jan. 31 the city has ever seen in recorded history.
The coldest temperature the city recorded on Jan. 31 was -8 degrees in 1963, according to the National Weather Service.
So far on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019 the temps have dipped to -14.
A record was also broken on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
The record-low, max temperature was 8 degrees and set in 1951.
Flint broke the record for the lowest max temperature when it never got warmer than 2 degrees on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
“One important thing was that it was shortly after midnight,” when the record was broken, according to Meterologist Steve Considine. “Throughout the daytime in Flint the temperature never broke zero.”...
January 31, 2019
By Ron Fonger
Flint - Second-shift workers at General Motors' Flint Engine Operations (click here) are heading back to their jobs Thursday, Jan. 31, while other GM facilities in mid-Michigan will remain idled for now.
GM issued a news release Thursday, saying the engine plant -- one of six facilities to shut down in the region on Wednesday, Jan. 30 -- will resume operations, while second-shift employees at Flint Assembly, Flint Metal Center, Flint Tool & Die, Bay City Powertrain and Saginaw Metal Castings Operations remain off the job for the time being.
GM was among auto manufacturers in Michigan to temporarily halt some operations Wednesday in response to a fire at Consumers Energy’s natural gas compressor station north of Detroit.
The fire initially cut the gas flow from the station, putting Consumers' customers at risk of brief service interruptions in subzero temperatures and prompting appeals for conservation to residential and business customers....
This was going on at VMI? Wow. How did he ever get to be Virginia Governor? His credentials from VMI?
This isn't acceptable. It isn't acceptable from a sitting governor or the institute of which he was educated. There is a lot explaining to do and VMI needs to be reviewed for policies that allow this kind of behavior. This is astounding to me. I cannot believe VMI allowed such horrible racism on it's campus. How many minorities have graduated from that university? How many were enrolled with Northam?
What troubles me the more I look at this mess, Virginia was a member of the confederacy during the civil war. As a matter of fact, Richmond was the capital of the confederacy. I believe there is a bigger problem than what appears. This was condoned by a very prestigious military academy in the USA and it has far deeper roots than simply bad taste.
I am worried there is a culture from the past that is still held in esteem at VMI. I find it hard to believe this is simply an outliar from VMI. If it is an outliar and the governor is a real jerk, then it ends with him, but, this appears in VMI's yearbook. Every yearbook has an editorial staff and this staff looked the other way and/or thought it a really great photo. That means it is institutionalized. That is the real issue here. Why was this simply tolerated as boys being boys. This is really surprising.
February 1, 2019
What troubles me the more I look at this mess, Virginia was a member of the confederacy during the civil war. As a matter of fact, Richmond was the capital of the confederacy. I believe there is a bigger problem than what appears. This was condoned by a very prestigious military academy in the USA and it has far deeper roots than simply bad taste.
I am worried there is a culture from the past that is still held in esteem at VMI. I find it hard to believe this is simply an outliar from VMI. If it is an outliar and the governor is a real jerk, then it ends with him, but, this appears in VMI's yearbook. Every yearbook has an editorial staff and this staff looked the other way and/or thought it a really great photo. That means it is institutionalized. That is the real issue here. Why was this simply tolerated as boys being boys. This is really surprising.
By Marie Albiges and Gordon Rago
Norfolk - A photo from Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook (click here) shows him and another person in racist costumes — one wearing blackface and one a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood, though it was not clear which person was the future governor.
The photo, which The Virginian-Pilot obtained a copy of Friday from the Eastern Virginia Medical School library, comes from the 1984 yearbook, the year Northam graduated.
On the half-page set aside for Northam, there is a headshot of him in a jacket and tie, a photo of him in a cowboy hat and boots and a third of him sitting casually on the ground, leaning against a convertible.
The fourth photo on the half-page has two people, one wearing white Ku Klux Klan robes and a hood, the other with his face painted black. The person with the black face is also wearing a white hat, black jacket, white shirt with a bow tie and plaid pants. Both are holding canned drinks....
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Kellyann CONway, why did we spend all this money if Trump didn't state it was going to be WALL? (click here for a description of all eight samples - thank you)
There are only two fence samples that provide a see through section. To answer the impatience of Kellyann Conway with the media; I think the use of the word wall is a poorly decided description of what is possible for the American people to provide at the southern border.
BORDER SECURITY is the most descriptive of what is needed at our borders. Border Security is used frequently by Speaker Pelosi when discussing the issues with the USA southern border. Realizing "Border Security" is used by Speaker Pelosi may be why it gets stuck in the throat of Kellyann Conway.
BORDER SECURITY. This is not a wall, it is a multi-dimensional approach. Mexico will be hard pressed to provide such border DEFENSE for the USA.
The picture above is what the Border Patrol considers important to secure the southern border. That is not a fence. The picture is of TWO see through barriers with an electronically monitored zone between them. There is a paved road leading up to the first barrier on the USA side. A tunnel would work well under that construction.
It is expensive. It cannot be paid for within the definition of a national emergency. It is very expensive and the electronic zone will require regular patrol in order to prevent vandalism. If the picture is what is needed it will have to be built over time with appropriations dedicated every year. I don't see a massive effort to build the barriers and electronic zone in one single effort. The southern border would have to be assessed and the most dangerous addressed first.
Below is a very successful action by the Border Patrol that stopped 200 pounds of fentanyl from entering the USA for distribution. I hope the arrest of the 26 year old results in a trail to the people who loaded the truck and the lab where it was produced.
This was incredible work. I thank the Border Patrol for their bravery and successful intervention to protect Americans from dying. I believe the transportation of the fentanyl tells the tale that the deaths of Americans due to fentanyl laced heroine are intentional. It is murder, not just drug trafficking.
This discovery occurred at a legal USA crossing. It wasn't found in the desert.
January 31, 2019
By Ida Domingo
Roanoke - Customs and Border Protection officers (click here) said they discovered more than 200 pounds of fentanyl hidden in a floor compartment of a truck loaded with cucumbers.
According to NBC News, they also found 395 pounds of methamphetamine, officials said in a report Thursday.
CBP valued the 254 pounds of fentanyl at $3.5 million and the methamphetamine at $1.1 million.
The drug bust is believed to be the largest in history and is more than twice the size of the apparent previous record of 118 pounds which was found in Nebraska in 2017.
Authorities say the truck was driven by a 26-year-old man. He was arrested and charged with possessing drugs with intent to distribute. His identity hasn't been released.
CBP says the tractor-trailer was stopped four days ago in Nogales, Arizona when it was trying to enter the U.S. at the southern border.
Michael Humphries, Nogales Area port director, praised his staff and drug-sniffing dog for the record-breaking arrest....
BORDER SECURITY is the most descriptive of what is needed at our borders. Border Security is used frequently by Speaker Pelosi when discussing the issues with the USA southern border. Realizing "Border Security" is used by Speaker Pelosi may be why it gets stuck in the throat of Kellyann Conway.
BORDER SECURITY. This is not a wall, it is a multi-dimensional approach. Mexico will be hard pressed to provide such border DEFENSE for the USA.
The picture above is what the Border Patrol considers important to secure the southern border. That is not a fence. The picture is of TWO see through barriers with an electronically monitored zone between them. There is a paved road leading up to the first barrier on the USA side. A tunnel would work well under that construction.
It is expensive. It cannot be paid for within the definition of a national emergency. It is very expensive and the electronic zone will require regular patrol in order to prevent vandalism. If the picture is what is needed it will have to be built over time with appropriations dedicated every year. I don't see a massive effort to build the barriers and electronic zone in one single effort. The southern border would have to be assessed and the most dangerous addressed first.
Below is a very successful action by the Border Patrol that stopped 200 pounds of fentanyl from entering the USA for distribution. I hope the arrest of the 26 year old results in a trail to the people who loaded the truck and the lab where it was produced.
This was incredible work. I thank the Border Patrol for their bravery and successful intervention to protect Americans from dying. I believe the transportation of the fentanyl tells the tale that the deaths of Americans due to fentanyl laced heroine are intentional. It is murder, not just drug trafficking.
This discovery occurred at a legal USA crossing. It wasn't found in the desert.
January 31, 2019
By Ida Domingo
Roanoke - Customs and Border Protection officers (click here) said they discovered more than 200 pounds of fentanyl hidden in a floor compartment of a truck loaded with cucumbers.
According to NBC News, they also found 395 pounds of methamphetamine, officials said in a report Thursday.
CBP valued the 254 pounds of fentanyl at $3.5 million and the methamphetamine at $1.1 million.
The drug bust is believed to be the largest in history and is more than twice the size of the apparent previous record of 118 pounds which was found in Nebraska in 2017.
Authorities say the truck was driven by a 26-year-old man. He was arrested and charged with possessing drugs with intent to distribute. His identity hasn't been released.
CBP says the tractor-trailer was stopped four days ago in Nogales, Arizona when it was trying to enter the U.S. at the southern border.
Michael Humphries, Nogales Area port director, praised his staff and drug-sniffing dog for the record-breaking arrest....
Just as a side note about the cold. I saw a live news broadcast where there was steam coming off the Chicago River. The steam seems counter-intuitive to some. That is water vapor created by the sunlight. That is actual subliming of the ice to water vapor.
When in the Arctic and crossing glaciers while the sun is out, scientists can wear shorts while cross country skiing. Why? it is plenty cold, however, the reflection of the sunlight off the ice heats the air enough to be comfortable in shorts.
When in the Arctic and crossing glaciers while the sun is out, scientists can wear shorts while cross country skiing. Why? it is plenty cold, however, the reflection of the sunlight off the ice heats the air enough to be comfortable in shorts.
Polar vortex: -46C temperatures as Chicago River turns to ice (click here)
I was in northwest Michigan during the winter of 2012-2013 and the Polar Vortex displaced for the first time. A bubble of air came over Traverse City with a temperature of -60 F. I am not saying -46 F is not significant, but, it is 14 degrees warmer than 2013's winter in northwest Michigan.
I always carry a sleeping bag in the car during winter.
No lie. There is one there now. In case of accident by even other people and traffic snares. Snow and drifts that can cause stranding. Three things prudent during severe winter weather; air to breath, contained body heat to stay warm and fluids to drink. Uncertainty can be wicked.
That said, the big talk in the Midwest is “Frost Quakes.” They are a loud “bang” coming from the ground and sometimes buildings. Frost Quakes are caused by freezing water in the ground. Freezing water expands and will disrupt soil around it. In the case of a deep freeze the point at which frozen water disrupts soil structure a loud bang results. What folks, including mayors and governors, need to keep in mind is any damage to anything by the ice won’t necessarily show up until the ice melts.
Frost Quakes are mostly harmless when they occur and primarily take place under ground.
That said, the big talk in the Midwest is “Frost Quakes.” They are a loud “bang” coming from the ground and sometimes buildings. Frost Quakes are caused by freezing water in the ground. Freezing water expands and will disrupt soil around it. In the case of a deep freeze the point at which frozen water disrupts soil structure a loud bang results. What folks, including mayors and governors, need to keep in mind is any damage to anything by the ice won’t necessarily show up until the ice melts.
Frost Quakes are mostly harmless when they occur and primarily take place under ground.
Michael Franti & Spearhead - The Flower (feat. Victoria Canal) (click here for mass shooting archive 2019 - thank you)
December 13, 2018
Gun deaths in America have reached a record high. (click here)
Nearly 40,000 people in the United States died by guns last year, marking the highest number of gun deaths in decades, according to a new analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WONDER database....
Gun deaths in America have reached a record high. (click here)
Nearly 40,000 people in the United States died by guns last year, marking the highest number of gun deaths in decades, according to a new analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WONDER database....
"Innocent and naive"
To begin that is sexist. I don't care if Trump is talking about men as well as women, but, those words are a chronic word choice to assert his superiority to any other intelligence.
He said the same thing about Saudi Arabia, Brett Kavanaugh and others. "Innocent and naive" is how his white, male base thinks about women. "Father knows best."
When Trump employs those words, he is getting ready to make a "new reality" for the country. Those words PROTECT as well as DISCIPLINES.
When "Father knows best," that means he loves you, but, you have it all wrong and have to accept his wisdom. It is his dictator's voice. It is based in sexism.
He said the same thing about Saudi Arabia, Brett Kavanaugh and others. "Innocent and naive" is how his white, male base thinks about women. "Father knows best."
When Trump employs those words, he is getting ready to make a "new reality" for the country. Those words PROTECT as well as DISCIPLINES.
When "Father knows best," that means he loves you, but, you have it all wrong and have to accept his wisdom. It is his dictator's voice. It is based in sexism.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Trump’s Republican House withheld authority from the Special Council? So, the only effective way for Trump to block testimony now from the Special Council is through the Senate. I thought it was interesting how the US Senate issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen before the US House could act after Cohen canceled his testimony.
I suppose the Special Council has all the information it needs already when it comes to Michael Cohen, but, you never know really. And then there is the issue of making unclassified material available to the public that may be an issue for Trump.
I suppose the Special Council has all the information it needs already when it comes to Michael Cohen, but, you never know really. And then there is the issue of making unclassified material available to the public that may be an issue for Trump.
What did they talk about in Helsinki?
Putin is planning a multi-front attack on The West. Europe will be busy with Ukraine and the USA will be held in place by it's near border wars. North Korea is a direct threat to allies and that might just complete the picture with China a grateful servant to secure it's monetary dominance of the world. Israel is hemmed in by interceptor missiles in Syria.
I suppose one could say that is quite an imagination and my response would be, "You betcha and it is all based in real possibilities."
Impeachment takes a while, although it doesn't have to; so the way to work with Trump still in the Oval Office and move the USA to protect itself and allies, is to bring on former Presidents and their assessments.
Estimates value this at nearly a trillion dollars US. A lot of things come to mind of which money laundering is one, but, weapon systems can be easily purchased for that kind of money.
Trump has to be the most gullible idiot on the planet if he isn't clamping down on Russian activity in the Western Hemisphere.
The Pentagon should be examining satellite data to find out what kind of cargo has been sent to the region lately. Columbia may have the answer and then again with refugees pouring in, Columbia may be overwhelmed to know the particulars of the Russia plan for a near border war with the USA.
30 January 2019
By Daria Litvinova
Russian authorities (click here) have moved to quash suspicions that 20 tonnes of gold are about to be moved from the Venezuela’s national bank to Moscow.
Allegations that a Russian jet which landed in Caracas was due to load an $840 million portion of the country's gold reserves surfaced early on Wednesday.
Venezuela’s opposition-controlled parliament, sidelined by the Maduro regime, said in a tweet that they received information from the Bank of Venezuela that a plane from Moscow arrived to Caracas to “extract at least 20 tons of gold” - 20 per cent of the bank’s holdings.
“We are demanding the Bank [to reveal] details of what is happening. That gold does not belong to Calixto Ortega, [head of the Bank]. It belongs to the Venezuelan people,” the tweet read....
I hate to say I told you so, but, I am telling you. This is more than money laundering, this is a strategic deployment.
Caravan's from the Northern Triad make for an interesting distraction for Trump and Putin evidently.
January 30, 2019
By Madeline Roache
As Washington intensifies its push (click here) to drive Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro from power, Russia's Vladimir Putin has vowed to support his South American "strategic partner" and warned of the "catastrophic" consequences if the United States were to send military assistance to opposition leader Juan Guaido.
When the US called a special United Nations Security Council session on Saturday, focused on the crisis in Venezuela, Russia used the session to warn against foreign intervention in the Latin American nation and accused the US of attempting a "coup".
Russian private military contractors have flown into Venezuela in recent days to increase security for Maduro, according to Reuters news agency.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied the reports.
On Friday, Russia offered to mediate between Maduro's "legitimate" government and the opposition if necessary, saying it was ready to cooperate with all political forces that acted responsibly....
Putin is selling weapons to Venezuela. The region has huge issues now. Russia probably wanted to be paid up front, but, there could have been smugglers acting and the payment is coming after the fact delivery took place.
...Pete Duncan, a Russian politics professor at University College London said: "Losing ties with Venezuela would be a huge blow to Russia. Putin will do his utmost to prevent regime change."...
It isn't like Trump won't lay down cover for Putin either, he will. Trump will deny and make a story for the desperate Russian president. This is trouble. Big trouble and Trump doesn't trust USA intelligence. I'll be darn.
The USA needs to remove any doubt about what it will tolerate from Venezuela. An arms build up will destabilize the region.
I suppose one could say that is quite an imagination and my response would be, "You betcha and it is all based in real possibilities."
Impeachment takes a while, although it doesn't have to; so the way to work with Trump still in the Oval Office and move the USA to protect itself and allies, is to bring on former Presidents and their assessments.
Estimates value this at nearly a trillion dollars US. A lot of things come to mind of which money laundering is one, but, weapon systems can be easily purchased for that kind of money.
Trump has to be the most gullible idiot on the planet if he isn't clamping down on Russian activity in the Western Hemisphere.
The Pentagon should be examining satellite data to find out what kind of cargo has been sent to the region lately. Columbia may have the answer and then again with refugees pouring in, Columbia may be overwhelmed to know the particulars of the Russia plan for a near border war with the USA.
30 January 2019
By Daria Litvinova
Russian authorities (click here) have moved to quash suspicions that 20 tonnes of gold are about to be moved from the Venezuela’s national bank to Moscow.
Allegations that a Russian jet which landed in Caracas was due to load an $840 million portion of the country's gold reserves surfaced early on Wednesday.
Venezuela’s opposition-controlled parliament, sidelined by the Maduro regime, said in a tweet that they received information from the Bank of Venezuela that a plane from Moscow arrived to Caracas to “extract at least 20 tons of gold” - 20 per cent of the bank’s holdings.
“We are demanding the Bank [to reveal] details of what is happening. That gold does not belong to Calixto Ortega, [head of the Bank]. It belongs to the Venezuelan people,” the tweet read....
I hate to say I told you so, but, I am telling you. This is more than money laundering, this is a strategic deployment.
Caravan's from the Northern Triad make for an interesting distraction for Trump and Putin evidently.
January 30, 2019
By Madeline Roache
As Washington intensifies its push (click here) to drive Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro from power, Russia's Vladimir Putin has vowed to support his South American "strategic partner" and warned of the "catastrophic" consequences if the United States were to send military assistance to opposition leader Juan Guaido.
When the US called a special United Nations Security Council session on Saturday, focused on the crisis in Venezuela, Russia used the session to warn against foreign intervention in the Latin American nation and accused the US of attempting a "coup".
Russian private military contractors have flown into Venezuela in recent days to increase security for Maduro, according to Reuters news agency.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied the reports.
On Friday, Russia offered to mediate between Maduro's "legitimate" government and the opposition if necessary, saying it was ready to cooperate with all political forces that acted responsibly....
Putin is selling weapons to Venezuela. The region has huge issues now. Russia probably wanted to be paid up front, but, there could have been smugglers acting and the payment is coming after the fact delivery took place.
...Pete Duncan, a Russian politics professor at University College London said: "Losing ties with Venezuela would be a huge blow to Russia. Putin will do his utmost to prevent regime change."...
It isn't like Trump won't lay down cover for Putin either, he will. Trump will deny and make a story for the desperate Russian president. This is trouble. Big trouble and Trump doesn't trust USA intelligence. I'll be darn.
The USA needs to remove any doubt about what it will tolerate from Venezuela. An arms build up will destabilize the region.
The climate anomalies are really adding up to a movement toward a homogeneous climate.
I usually address current issues before the public on the weekends. But, let's get this out there for those sincerely interested in the truth.
Below is a graph that Danish scientists record every year. The first particular graph is from 1958. The graph at the bottom of this entry is from 2018.
DMI Danish Meteorological Institute (click here)
Comparing those two graphs seems obvious to me. I am willing to guess it is not obvious to everyone.
The green line. Oh, wait a minute. I betcha folks are going, so what is this mess? Right? At the top of the graph is a TITLE. "Daily Mean Temperature for plus 80N - with ERA40 climate." 80 N is 80 North Latitude. In the image to the right is a map. Denmark can be noted on that map. What also is noted on that map is the latitude of the Arctic Circle, 66 degrees, 30 minutes north.
So, the Danish scientists have been making measurements of the climate at these high latitudes (North Pole is 90.0000° N, 135.0000° W) since 1958. That is 60 years of a unique record and this year will be the 61st year of such scientific assessments.
Now, as to the assessment part, the green line is a mean (average) over time. It is a standard to measure and compare climate change over time. The green line is applied to the graph every year in the same way. That said, the green line is assigned a name, "climate." Climate is a long term measurement and not a day to day, week to week reporting of the WEATHER. Weather is important to note because we live on a planet with a very active day to day, week to week changes in weather. BUT, CLIMATE IS A LONG TERM MEASUREMENT. The green line is climate.
The blue line across the top is titled, "melt." That is fairly straight forward. That is where the ice at these high latitudes melt. So, noting that CONSTANT in this equation of monitoring climate is to note how much ice is MAINTAINED in any given year. We all know that ice in the artic areas of Earth is what COOLS the climate. So, high fluctuations in that reality could be dangerous to life on Earth.
Now to the 'real time' information that tells scientists what is happening NOW is the red line called "mean temp., Era 40." In viewing both these graphs it is really easy to see the vast difference between the two.
The DEPARTURE from the green line is what tells the tale. The labels of this graph are obvious. Yes? The Y-axis (the left side of the graph) is Temperature recorded in Kelvin (click here for history and comparison between the Kelvin Scale and Fahrenheit and Celsius).
The line at the bottom of the graph; the X-axis: is days of the year. So, day 0 (zero) doesn't matter because there is no day 0 on the calendar used by countries on Earth. The calendar begins with Day 1 (January 1). The zero-day is important on the graph because it is also a CONSTANT in recording and assessing the information. The zero is always in the same place with the graph, hence, the red line is consistently based on the same MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE.
Scientists always conduct QUALITY OF METHOD, QUALITY OF INSTRUMENTS to be sure there is a very high degree of accuracy.
So, to close this entry, the dedicated Danish scientists that have carried out these measurements can easily report there are VERY significant changes in Earth's temperatures in the highest Arctic areas of Earth. The 2018 graph has very few records that dip below the green line. That is not the case with 1958.
2018 is not an anomaly. For all the record heat years, consistently there are records that do not cross the green line or only come close to crossing it.
This is a climate crisis. It is not a lie and what people are experiencing in these next few days in the American Midwest is a climate crisis. Know, that the polar vortex is displaced and meanders now at lower latitudes and not over the North Pole. It is too warm at the North Pole to support the Polar Vortex.
For those folks citing the temperature of Chicago as -12 F and temperature in Antarctica of -12 F; the real question is not that Chicago is frigidly cold, but, why is Antarctica ONLY -12F.
Think about it.
I personally thank the Danish people for their dedication to the truth and providing their scientists with the ability to monitor a very, very important aspect of Earth's nature. I thank the Danish scientists for their dedication to provide such a factual reality. I send my best regards.
27 February 2018
By Jonathan Watts
An alarming heatwave(click here) in the sunless winter Arctic is causing blizzards in Europe and forcing scientists to reconsider even their most pessimistic forecasts of climate change.
Although it could yet prove to be a freak event, the primary concern is that global warming is eroding the polar vortex, the powerful winds that once insulated the frozen north.
The north pole gets no sunlight until March, but an influx of warm air has pushed temperatures in Siberia up by as much as 35C above historical averages this month. Greenland has already experienced 61 hours above freezing in 2018 - more than three times as many hours as in any previous year.
Seasoned observers have described what is happening as “crazy,” “weird,” and “simply shocking”.
“This is an anomaly among anomalies. It is far enough outside the historical range that it is worrying – it is a suggestion that there are further surprises in store as we continue to poke the angry beast that is our climate,” said Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. “The Arctic has always been regarded as a bellwether because of the vicious circle that amplify human-caused warming in that particular region. And it is sending out a clear warning.”...
Below is a graph that Danish scientists record every year. The first particular graph is from 1958. The graph at the bottom of this entry is from 2018.
DMI Danish Meteorological Institute (click here) Comparing those two graphs seems obvious to me. I am willing to guess it is not obvious to everyone.
The green line. Oh, wait a minute. I betcha folks are going, so what is this mess? Right? At the top of the graph is a TITLE. "Daily Mean Temperature for plus 80N - with ERA40 climate." 80 N is 80 North Latitude. In the image to the right is a map. Denmark can be noted on that map. What also is noted on that map is the latitude of the Arctic Circle, 66 degrees, 30 minutes north.
So, the Danish scientists have been making measurements of the climate at these high latitudes (North Pole is 90.0000° N, 135.0000° W) since 1958. That is 60 years of a unique record and this year will be the 61st year of such scientific assessments.
Now, as to the assessment part, the green line is a mean (average) over time. It is a standard to measure and compare climate change over time. The green line is applied to the graph every year in the same way. That said, the green line is assigned a name, "climate." Climate is a long term measurement and not a day to day, week to week reporting of the WEATHER. Weather is important to note because we live on a planet with a very active day to day, week to week changes in weather. BUT, CLIMATE IS A LONG TERM MEASUREMENT. The green line is climate.
The blue line across the top is titled, "melt." That is fairly straight forward. That is where the ice at these high latitudes melt. So, noting that CONSTANT in this equation of monitoring climate is to note how much ice is MAINTAINED in any given year. We all know that ice in the artic areas of Earth is what COOLS the climate. So, high fluctuations in that reality could be dangerous to life on Earth.
Now to the 'real time' information that tells scientists what is happening NOW is the red line called "mean temp., Era 40." In viewing both these graphs it is really easy to see the vast difference between the two.
The DEPARTURE from the green line is what tells the tale. The labels of this graph are obvious. Yes? The Y-axis (the left side of the graph) is Temperature recorded in Kelvin (click here for history and comparison between the Kelvin Scale and Fahrenheit and Celsius).
The line at the bottom of the graph; the X-axis: is days of the year. So, day 0 (zero) doesn't matter because there is no day 0 on the calendar used by countries on Earth. The calendar begins with Day 1 (January 1). The zero-day is important on the graph because it is also a CONSTANT in recording and assessing the information. The zero is always in the same place with the graph, hence, the red line is consistently based on the same MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE.
Scientists always conduct QUALITY OF METHOD, QUALITY OF INSTRUMENTS to be sure there is a very high degree of accuracy.
So, to close this entry, the dedicated Danish scientists that have carried out these measurements can easily report there are VERY significant changes in Earth's temperatures in the highest Arctic areas of Earth. The 2018 graph has very few records that dip below the green line. That is not the case with 1958.
2018 is not an anomaly. For all the record heat years, consistently there are records that do not cross the green line or only come close to crossing it.This is a climate crisis. It is not a lie and what people are experiencing in these next few days in the American Midwest is a climate crisis. Know, that the polar vortex is displaced and meanders now at lower latitudes and not over the North Pole. It is too warm at the North Pole to support the Polar Vortex.
For those folks citing the temperature of Chicago as -12 F and temperature in Antarctica of -12 F; the real question is not that Chicago is frigidly cold, but, why is Antarctica ONLY -12F.
Think about it.
I personally thank the Danish people for their dedication to the truth and providing their scientists with the ability to monitor a very, very important aspect of Earth's nature. I thank the Danish scientists for their dedication to provide such a factual reality. I send my best regards.
27 February 2018
By Jonathan Watts
An alarming heatwave(click here) in the sunless winter Arctic is causing blizzards in Europe and forcing scientists to reconsider even their most pessimistic forecasts of climate change.
Although it could yet prove to be a freak event, the primary concern is that global warming is eroding the polar vortex, the powerful winds that once insulated the frozen north.
The north pole gets no sunlight until March, but an influx of warm air has pushed temperatures in Siberia up by as much as 35C above historical averages this month. Greenland has already experienced 61 hours above freezing in 2018 - more than three times as many hours as in any previous year.
Seasoned observers have described what is happening as “crazy,” “weird,” and “simply shocking”.
“This is an anomaly among anomalies. It is far enough outside the historical range that it is worrying – it is a suggestion that there are further surprises in store as we continue to poke the angry beast that is our climate,” said Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. “The Arctic has always been regarded as a bellwether because of the vicious circle that amplify human-caused warming in that particular region. And it is sending out a clear warning.”...
There is an issue in Texas with the efficacy of it's voter rolls.
Was someone monkeying around with voter records before the 2018 election? It just seems odd it falls into question now.
January 29, 2019
By Julieta Chiquillo, James Barragan and Robert T. Garrett
The Texas secretary of state’s office (click here) asked several county elections offices Tuesday to hold off on demanding proof of citizenship from people on a state list of 98,000 potential non-U.S. citizen voters because the data may be flawed.
Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole said her office got a call from a state official Tuesday asking her to not send any notices to the nearly 10,000 county voters who appear on the list. Pippins-Poole said the state official told her office that some names on the list had provided proof of citizenship to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which also facilitates voter registrations.
Remi Garza, the county elections administrator for Cameron County in the Rio Grande Valley, said the secretary of state's office gave his office information on Tuesday morning that suggested the numbers they were originally provided "may have been overstated" and that "individuals that had already provided proof of citizenship to the DPS office had been included in the original list provided to the county."
The state initially told Cameron County that about 1,500 of the nearly 1,600 names on their list had been placed there in error. The state then called Cameron County and said they had given them the wrong number, Garza said....
January 29, 2019
By Julieta Chiquillo, James Barragan and Robert T. Garrett
The Texas secretary of state’s office (click here) asked several county elections offices Tuesday to hold off on demanding proof of citizenship from people on a state list of 98,000 potential non-U.S. citizen voters because the data may be flawed.
Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole said her office got a call from a state official Tuesday asking her to not send any notices to the nearly 10,000 county voters who appear on the list. Pippins-Poole said the state official told her office that some names on the list had provided proof of citizenship to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which also facilitates voter registrations.
Remi Garza, the county elections administrator for Cameron County in the Rio Grande Valley, said the secretary of state's office gave his office information on Tuesday morning that suggested the numbers they were originally provided "may have been overstated" and that "individuals that had already provided proof of citizenship to the DPS office had been included in the original list provided to the county."
The state initially told Cameron County that about 1,500 of the nearly 1,600 names on their list had been placed there in error. The state then called Cameron County and said they had given them the wrong number, Garza said....
States Rights
Donald Trump has a fatal flaw to his border wall. It is "States Rights." No one understands their borders better than the states themselves. Even though the USA sovereign borders are the authority of the federal government and eminent domain can be used to obtain the land for a wall, that is the exact problem Trump doesn't seem to understand. He understands "The Wall" is an emotional issue with his base, but, to actually have a workable plan requires information from the states affected by "The Wall." The lack of research and insight into what actually works will bolster the idea of States Rights and competing plans for the USA sovereign border.
The Democrats need a spokesperson and the best person for that job is Beto O'Rouke. He knows Texas, the state with the longest exposure to the USA southern border. He is clear and concise to what will work and what won't. Texas does not want interference by the federal government, but, it needs the support of the federal government in providing border security when the state cannot provide a budget for it's plans.
November 26, 2018
By Megan Keller
Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) (click here) said Monday the U.S. should follow its own standing immigration laws in dealing with the caravan of migrants attempting to cross the border.
"Let’s do this the right way and follow our own laws," O'Rourke, who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the recent midterms, wrote in a post on Medium. "Allow asylum seekers to petition for asylum at our ports of entry."
"They must do so peacefully and follow our laws; but we must also ensure the capacity to effectively and timely process those claims (right now 5,000 waiting in Tijuana and only 40 to 100 are processed a day)," he continued. "Those who have a credible fear of returning to their home country (as determined by a U.S. judge) will be able stay until their full asylum request has been determined....
The Democrats need a spokesperson and the best person for that job is Beto O'Rouke. He knows Texas, the state with the longest exposure to the USA southern border. He is clear and concise to what will work and what won't. Texas does not want interference by the federal government, but, it needs the support of the federal government in providing border security when the state cannot provide a budget for it's plans.
November 26, 2018
By Megan Keller
Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) (click here) said Monday the U.S. should follow its own standing immigration laws in dealing with the caravan of migrants attempting to cross the border.
"Let’s do this the right way and follow our own laws," O'Rourke, who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the recent midterms, wrote in a post on Medium. "Allow asylum seekers to petition for asylum at our ports of entry."
"They must do so peacefully and follow our laws; but we must also ensure the capacity to effectively and timely process those claims (right now 5,000 waiting in Tijuana and only 40 to 100 are processed a day)," he continued. "Those who have a credible fear of returning to their home country (as determined by a U.S. judge) will be able stay until their full asylum request has been determined....
The current critics of the new prison and sentence reform law are wardens of prisons and the reformers that work with inmates. The problem with current releases of prisoners from prison is not its correctness, most state such reform is long overdo. The criticism is money. Inmates walking out the front doors of prisons now do not have enough money to prevent recidivism.
Most of these inmates were on programs planned for the length of their prison terms. Not only are these inmates ill prepared for their release, there is little support outside of prison for them. Just as a reality check, people wrongfully convicted of crimes like murder have recourse through the courts, but, these inmates having served far longer sentences than appropriate may not have that option.
Most of these inmates were on programs planned for the length of their prison terms. Not only are these inmates ill prepared for their release, there is little support outside of prison for them. Just as a reality check, people wrongfully convicted of crimes like murder have recourse through the courts, but, these inmates having served far longer sentences than appropriate may not have that option.
It is easy to criticize Elizabeth Warren’s tax plan, but, when doing so how does Mike Bloomberg and Howard Schultz plan to pay down the national debt so many generations are not burdened with their greed. In the USA, there are “sundown” options to end such measures after they have served their purpose. I don’t want to hear how tax laws are not the way the wealthy get and keep their wealth, otherwise, why do it in a way that burdens American taxpayers with continuing going debt? I thought million-billionaires had wealth because they had a corner on invention and innovation, not because they embrace “easy street.”
Basically, when does the wealthy care about the country enough to realize their own adverse effect on others paying higher tax rates? One more time, why does Warren Buffet pay a smaller percentage of his income than his secretary?
Basically, when does the wealthy care about the country enough to realize their own adverse effect on others paying higher tax rates? One more time, why does Warren Buffet pay a smaller percentage of his income than his secretary?
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