"Earth" by Lil Dicky

[Intro: Lil Dicky]
What up, world? It's your boy, just one of the guys down here. Well, I could be more specific. Uh, I'm a human, and I just wanted to, you know, for the sake of all of us earthlings out there, just wanted to say:

[Chorus: Lil Dicky]
We love the Earth, it is our planet
We love the Earth, it is our home
We love the Earth, it is our planet
We love the Earth, it is our home

[Justin Bieber]
Hi, I'm a baboon
I'm like a man, just less advanced and my anus is huge

[Ariana Grande]
Hey, I'm a zebra
No one knows what I do, but I look pretty cool
Am I white or black?

[Halsey]
I'm a lion cub, and I'm always getting licked (Meow!)

[Zac Brown]
How's it going? I'm a cow (Moo!)
You drink milk from my tits (Moo)

[Brendon Urie]
I'm a fat, fucking pig

[Hailee Steinfeld]
I'm a common fungus

[Wiz Khalifa]
I'm a disgruntled skunk, shoot you out my butthole

[Snoop Dogg]
I'm a marijuana plant, I can get you fucked up

And I'm Kanye West

[Chorus]
We love the Earth, it is our planet
We love the Earth, it is our home
We love the Earth, it is our planet
We love the Earth, it is our home
We love the Earth

[Adam Levine]
Ba-dum-ba-dum-dum, ba-dum-da-di
We are the vultures, feed on the dead

[Shawn Mendes]
We're just some rhinos, horny as heck

[Charlie Puth]
I'm just a giraffe, what's with this neck?

[Sia]
Hippity-hop, I'm a kangaroo
I hop all day, up and down with you

[Miley Cyrus]
I'm an elephant, I got junk in my trunk

[Lil Jon]
What the fuck? I'm a clam!

[Rita Ora]
I'm a wolf. Howl!

[Miguel]
I'm a squirrel, lookin' for my next nut

[Katy Perry & Lil Dicky]
And I'm a pony, just a freak horse, heh-heh-heh
But, uh, c'mon, get on (Get on, yah!)
Giddy up, let's ride

[Lil Yachty]
I'm HPV, don't let me in

[Ed Sheeran]
I'm a koala and I sleep all the time
So what? It's cute

[Meghan Trainor]
We love you, India

[Joel Embiid]
We love you, Africa

[Tory Lanez]
We love the Chinese

[Lil Dicky]
We forgive you, Germany

[Chorus: Lil Dicky, (Snoop Dogg), Meghan Trainor, Lil Dicky & Sia, John Legend]
Earth, it is our planet (It's our planet)
We love the Earth (We love the Earth), it is our home (Home)
We love the Earth, it is our planet (It is our planet)
We love the Earth, it is our home
We love the Earth

Verse 3: Lil Dicky]
I'm a man (Hello?)
Can you hear me? (Anyone out there? Hello?)
I've trudged the Earth for so damn long
And still don't know shit (What's going on?)
I hope it's not a simulation (Huh)
Give each other names like Ahmed and Pedro
And, yeah, we like to wear clothes, girls still look beautiful
And it covers up our human dick (Woo), eat a lot of tuna fish
But these days, it's like we don't know how to act
All these shootings, pollution, we under attack on ourselves
Like, let's all just chill (Hey), respect what we built (Hey)
Like look at the internet! It's cracking as hell
Fellas, don't you love to cum when you have sex? (Ayy)
And I heard women orgasms are better than a dick's (Uh)
So what we got this land for? What we gotta stand for?
Love, and we love the Earth (The Earth)

[Ariana Grande]
Oh, yeah, baby, I love the Earth
I love this planet

[Lil Dicky]
Hey, Russia, we're cool
Hey, Asia, all of you, c'mon
Every one of you from the plains to the Sahara
Let's come together and live

[Choir]
Hum-dum-dum-dae-dum, hum-dum-dum-dae-dum

[PSY]
우-우-우리는 지구를 사랑해요

[Bad Bunny]
Amamos la tierra

[Kris Wu]
我们爱地球

[Outro: Lil Dicky, Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber]
(We love you, we love you)
C'mon everybody, I know we're not all the same
But we're living on the same Earth
(We love you, we love you)
Have you ever been to Earth?
Everyone who is listening has been to Earth, Ariana
(We love you, we love you)
We're not making music for aliens here
Are we gonna die?
You know what, Bieber? We might die
(We love you, we love you)
I'm not going to lie to you
I mean, there's so many people out here who don't think global warming's a real thing. You know? We gotta save this planet. We're being stupid
Unless we get our shit together now

"...the Comeys of the world,..." Huh?

February 14, 2020
By Matt Stieb

The president's (click here) personal lawyer is at the center of questions about Trump's handling of aid to Ukraine.

And then all the president's men lied about it.

...“Rudy (click here) — he did all of this,” one U.S. official told the Washington Post. “This s--t show that we’re in — it’s him injecting himself into the process.”...

Either emboldened after his acquittal (click here) in the Senate impeachment trial or comfortable on the show of a longtime friend, President Trump told Geraldo Rivera on his podcast on Thursday that he had, in fact, sent his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. When Rivera asked if Trump if it was “strange to send Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine” and if he regretted the decision, Trump said, “No, not at all.”

“Here’s my choice: I deal with the Comeys of the world, or I deal with Rudy,” Trump said, referring to James Comey, who gave him a “very bad taste” of the capabilities of American intelligence after the former FBI director maintained the independence of the agency in the early days of the administration. Thus, Trump had to “use” Giuliani to solicit foreign interference in an American election....

It wasn't him injecting himself into the process, it was a conspiracy between Giuliani and now admitting to same, Trump to demand a statement from Ukraine's president about an investigation into Former Vice President Biden and his son Hunter.

They conspired. It is just that simple. The conspiracy was more than Trump and Guiliani. It involved others that fronted for Guiliani and provided money besides. They stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Vienna on Russian money (click here).

January 15, 2020
By Mary Clare Jaloonick and Eric Tucker

Democrats released the files (click here) Tuesday as they prepared to send articles of impeachment to the Senate for Trump's trial. The documents add new context to their charges that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Democrats as he withheld military aid....

The only thing that Trump is good at is lying. No one trusts him anymore.

The Seattle Times has a good article to show the degree of protection the hospitals in the USA already engage in to protect caregivers and the public.

On February 11, 2020 the World Health Organization announced an official name for the disease that is causing the current outbreak of coronavirus disease, COVID-19.

This is a Controlled Air Purifying Respirator (CAPR) (click here) used at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett. Nurses and doctors wear the respirator when they have to enter an isolation room. 

...“It becomes a whole different skill”

Once the patient was in the unit, Diaz examined him from the next room using what is called a telehealth system, basically a video call that allows a doctor to speak to and see the patient.

From there, a lot of the work was fairly routine. A rotating staff of 20 nurses, three doctors and personnel from every corner of the hospital kept the patient as comfortable as possible. They took his vitals regularly. They gave him an IV to replenish his fluids.

But the gear the medical team had to wear made these basic tasks difficult. There was the respirator helmet, which came with a plastic faceguard. They doubled up on gloves. The whole outfit got so hot that the nurses had to swap out every four hours at the most....

...an experimental antiviral drug called remdesivir.

Remdesivir has been tested in Ebola patients and proved to be safe but not effective against that virus. Researchers have reported some success using it to treat monkeys who have MERS-CoV, which is another coronavirus. China has begun enrolling COVID-19 patients into a clinical trial of the antiviral, which was developed by the pharmaceutical company Gilead (click here).

The patient’s fever went away the day after treatment, and he began feeling better. It is too early to know how well the treatment will do in others, but the results are promising, Diaz said.

“It is only one case,” Diaz said. “It’s the first person in the world who got this medication for novel coronavirus, but it seems to have worked.”...

It needs to be a court fight. The cities being invaded by Trump's border guard unit are Democratic cities.

This isn't about the elections. It is about the 2020 Census and reducing populations in Democratic cities. It is racism plain and simple.

These raids will only lead to more parentless children and broken families. It is an Anti-American directive.

February 14, 2020
By Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti

The Trump administration (click here) said Friday that it is preparing to deploy elite Border Patrol tactical units to the interior of the United States to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams in “sanctuary cities” and other jurisdictions where authorities are seeking to boost arrests and deportations.

The deployment, which will send 100 agents from Border Patrol’s highly trained BORTAC teams to embed with ICE agents, comes as the Trump administration has threatened to retaliate against states and jurisdictions that eschew cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Immigration officials said the Border Patrol tactical agents will assist in routine operations and would be deployed to sanctuary jurisdictions as well as other areas where the agency needs help.

In a statement, ICE acting Director Matthew Albence said the BORTAC agents would help alleviate “resource challenges” produced by sanctuary policies....

"The State of Flint Kids"

February 14, 2020
By Ron Fonger

Flint - Advocates for Flint children (click here) say they have made strides in health, nutrition and education in the nearly six years since the city’s water crisis started, but stubborn problems remain for kids who grow up here.

“We realized that as a community what we really needed to do, really the only thing we could do” after the water crisis “was to move forward,” Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha said during a report on the State of Flint Kids Friday, Feb. 24. “We have been leaning on incredible and emerging science of child development ... to build a model public health program to mitigate the affects of this crisis.”...

...Data presented Friday showed the number of Flint 3 and 4 year olds in the Early On preschool has more than doubled since 2014, the year the city’s water source was changed to the Flint River for 17 months. Enrollment in Flint Community Schools has continued to decline from more than 11,400 in 2010-2011 to 4,500 in 2017-2018.

More than 98 percent of children in the city now have health insurance, and more than 26,000 are enrolled in a Medicaid waiver benefit that was part of the federal government’s response to the water crisis.

Doctors have prescribed more than 34,000 fruit and vegetable prescriptions since 2016, using federal funds, and more than 9,000 lead and galvanized water service lines have been replaced using federal and state funds....

Flint, Michigan was in fiscal trouble when Rick Snyder took over the city with his emergency manager. He not only took over the city to protect any schools still in operation, but he also took over the entire city government which was new for the State of Michigan when it's legislature, with Snyder as Governor, allowed it. Any idea that Flint can handle their own school problems and maintain a health program for more than 26,000 affected children (click here), replace water lines while attempting to run a city is not possible. The city was further impoverished by the Snyder Administration when every available asset was sold to the highest bidder. So, the city not only continues to have fiscal problems due to its new status of disrepair, it has no assets to even draw up bond issues to support any city government efforts. Flint is going to be on the federal dollar for some time to come.

I find it troubling that there is a need for a "State of Flint Kids" reporting. This is not a situation that is going to get better, it is a matter of intervening to give the children of Flint half a chance at life. They were disadvantaged by the Snyder Administration and the government at all levels needs to realize the children of Flint will need financial support most probably the rest of their lives. It is best to give them a chance to be successful after their lead poisoning in a method that provides a path to independence and achievement, but, there is a larger possibility they will be disabled for the rest of their lives. Only time and intervention will tell the tale. Some children will do better than others, but, there will be some that will not succeed. That reality has to be faced and a permanent fiscal solution put in place.

Flint, Michigan does not exist in a vacuum. It has the same problems as other cities and needs infrastructure improvements as well. But, Flint also has an issue with violence and that needs to be handled and brought to a minimum. The children can receive assistance, but, they also need to grow up in a city that is benevolent to their best outcomes. Given the problems Flint has and continues to experience, the state and federal governments are going to have to contribute to the enormous disruption Rick Snyder caused to this American city.

Donald Trump is used to Michael Cohen being his FIXER so he is expecting the same thing from Bill Barr.

Bill Barr has done exactly that in the past, but, eventually steps back from the brink of being treasonous. I am confident he knows that he will have the punishment for treason fall on his life and not that of Donald John Trump who should have been removed from office.

At first I thought this John H. Durham thing is probably really benign and not I am not so sure.

December 9, 2019
By Liam Stack

John H. Durham, (click here) a federal prosecutor conducting a criminal investigation into the origins of the F.B.I.’s Russia probe, said Monday that he disagreed with a report released by the Justice Department’s inspector general, which said there was no basis for President Trump’s accusation that the bureau conspired against him during the 2016 presidential election....

There was nothing that the Special Counsel found that would indicate there were issues between agencies of the USA intelligence community that would demand that of a US Prosecutor to scrutinize. There are always culture differences between the agencies and NCTC (click here) is always supposed to bring the best intelligence together from all agencies to result in a comprehensive threat assessment.

I think Durham is duplicating work and at the same time tearing apart the confidence of the national intelligence agencies.

Besides that there is the national threat assessment which the most recent was published 29 January 2019. Perhaps it is just me, but, I can't seem to find the 2020 edition.

RUSSIA AND EURASIA (click here)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has the tools to navigate challenges to his rule, and he is likely to sustain an assertive, opportunistic foreign policy to advance Russia’s interests beyond its borders and contest US influence.

Russia’s Domestic Politics

The Russian economy’s slow growth and most Russians’ disapproval of government officials’ performance will foster a more challenging political environment for the Kremlin, although its centralized power structure and the resonance of anti-American themes will buoy Putin, sustaining his push for international stature and challenging US global leadership.
continued...

There is this however:

February 8, 2020
By Marty Johnson

...In a Jan. 15 letter (click here) to acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, Schiff described the hearing as a chance for the his committee "to provide an unclassified, yet important broad understanding of how threats have evolved and what the nation can expect in the year to come."

Historically, the annual hearing takes place during the first half of the year. Since it includes the convening of the director of national intelligence and the heads of the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and Defense Intelligence Agency, scheduling of the hearing can sometimes take a while.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who is also a member of the Intelligence Committee, told CBS earlier in the week that it was important for the public hearing to happen this year.

"We need the American people to know what the threats are and then justify why we're investing in protecting people from those threats," Swalwell said. "They need to answer to congress and we're going to keep pressing."

Donald John Trump expects all the agencies to bend to his will no different than he expected of President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and PROVE there is a Deep State and Trump is the USA's and the world's savior. He is not interested in the balance of power, global balance of trade or any other national security concern including the coronavirus.

My concern goes beyond reports and hearings, the bozo in the White House is actually "eyeing" a limited nuclear war.

There is a reason he is not signing the New START and has dissolved other nuclear agreements and it isn't because Russia is not honoring them, I don't believe a word Trump says. If Russia is violating treaties where is the proof and why are there not talks to secure the cooperation with Russia. The entire issue with Trump is his blind and quite stupid egotistic ambitions to carry out every nightmare known as the Republican Party.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney occasionally talked about "a limited nuclear engagement." With what and against whom wasn't really the concern, so much as simply the political rhetoric of it all.

Well, Trump went ahead and is going to show Dick Cheney he is so much more a man than Cheney could ever hope to be.

Introducing Trump's ultimate toy he plans to use to rule the world.

February 7, 2020

The Federation of American Scientists (click here) evealed in late January that the U.S. Navy had deployed for the first time a submarine armed with a low-yield Trident nuclear warhead. The USS Tennessee deployed from Kings Bay Submarine Base in Georgia in late 2019. The W76-2 warhead, which is facing criticism at home and abroad, is estimated to have about a third of the explosive power of the atomic bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima....

From the "Bulletin of Atomic Scientists:"

January 28, 2020
By Andrew Fancic

In the unintuitive world of nuclear weapons strategy, (click here) it’s often difficult to identify which decisions can serve to decrease the risk of a devastating nuclear conflict and which might instead increase it. Such complexity stems from the very foundation of the field: Nuclear weapons are widely seen as bombs built never to be used. Historically, granular—even seemingly mundane—decisions about force structure, research efforts, or communicated strategy have confounded planners, sometimes causing the opposite of the intended effect.

Such is the risk carried by one strategy change that has earned top billing under the Trump administration: the deployment of a new “low-yield” nuclear weapon on US submarines....

January 6, 2020
By Josh Farley

..."We're talking (click here) about the center of a city being devastated," he said as an example. "It's not like a pinprick — this is vastly more devastation than you can inflict than with conventional weapons."...

Trump thinks about NOTHING but his personal agenda and a limited nuclear strike is one of them. 

It is all very interesting that in the US Senate's remorse for not impeaching Trump, for political reasons, is drafting legislation that is not veto proof to hem in Trump's ability to kill Iranians at random while calling it an imminent threat. There is nothing more an imminent threat than Donald John Trump.

John Durham's career is over. He probably doesn't know it yet, but, it is over. Why? Because he actually is indulging the idiot in the White House.

Donald John Trump is not fit for office and with that reality he has called up the idea of a Deep State. It is so important to him that he is willing to destroy the USA federal government in the process to win another election and continue to scheme to be the USA's first dictator as is Duterte.

Bill Barr and all the other pawns in the Trump administration play along because they believe they have control. They don't. They are pawns in a very sick game that is only known to the imagineering of Trump. 

The deployment of a weapon that can begin a nuclear holocaust in the world is pure idiocy. There is nothing that Trump won't do to stroke his own ego. Nothing.

The USA intelligence agencies are never perfect. Never. There is not a Director of the FBI and/or the CIA that has not sat in front of Congress because of culture issues within their agencies. That does not mean there is a Deep State, it means there are times when power is misread by agents and they depart on their own idea of their jobs.

The CIA and FBI will never be perfect. They weren't designed to be perfect, they were designed to work to protect the USA and it's citizens. If anyone believes Durham actually has something to say, they are wrong. The only thing Durham can take credit for is ruffling the feathers of all those in the CIA and FBI and most probably every international agency that the USA cooperates with and caused some degree of chaos.

Just because an employee of a USA intelligence agency entered wrong information to the FISA court does not mean it is a Deep State so much an agency with power that can appear to be toxic to Americans when such employee tampering happens. This is not a unique situation, what is important is that the information is caught in DUE PROCESS and stopped. It is why there is due process written into the USA Constitution in Amendment Five (click here).

John Durham is wrong. He is nothing but a political pawn in the Trump Administration and a figment of Trump's ego. There is absolutely no reason for his investigation. NONE. Ask President Zelenskyy about the covert methods of Trump and Durham will find out any work in examining the USA intelligence network is futile and only causes problems with securing intelligence. Agents will be asking is this okay to report or act on or isn't it? 

You'll excuse me, of course, but with n investigation of Russian wrongdoing in the USA elections whereby Michael Flynn is known to be befriended by Vladimir Putin directly and communicated with Vladimir Putin directly; I would do everything within my power to secure a FISA warrant, too and chock it up to being a patriot if my actions were found out and considered illegal.

MICHAEL FLYNN IS NOT GOING TO WALK. 

GOT THAT?

When a former General of Military Intelligence is willing to sit down at a party with Vladimir Putin and expect to be viewed as a benign entity in the Trump Administration; he's got another thing coming; independent prosecutor or no independent prosecutor. Why does anyone believe the judge in this matter has stated to Flynn at his sentencing hearing, "You sure you don't want to provide more information to the government?" Because Flynn completely violated every oath he took within and outside the USA military.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DEEP STATE AND THERE NEVER HAS BEEN !

Boohoo, the Deep State did it to him. (click here)

Michael Flynn lied to the very government he took an oath to protect. The defense is making more of the Strzok issue than exists. Of course, further investigation by an independent prosecutor will prove the Deep State was at work all the time. Trump has turned the proceedings of THE LAW in the USA into a melodrama.

February 20, 2020
By Josh Gerstein

Amid ongoing turmoil (click here) at the Justice Department, a prominent member of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team surfaced in a court filing on Wednesday to defend the government’s prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Just one day after President Donald Trump publicly slammed the targeting of Flynn and a longtime Trump adviser, Roger Stone, fueling a furor that apparently led four prosecutors to quit Stone’s case, Brandon Van Grack submitted a written pleading urging a judge to reject Flynn’s effort to have his prosecution thrown out on the grounds of “egregious government misconduct....

The judge has postponed the sentencing until further notice by the court. The judge should execute the sentence and let the appellate courts have it if there is new valid information.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope all that read this blog is doing something special for the one they love, like dinner and a movie or flowers delivered at work or that special jewelry trinket he or she will love as a remembrance of a special love between two people. 

The Impeachment Cover-Up Demands a Call to Action! | Rev. Dr. William J....(click here for Twitter account - thank you)

I find Bishop Barber to be an incredible motivator. I find him a remarkable speaker when it comes to clarity on morality.

Childhood Poverty Costs US $1.03 Trillion in a year, study finds (click here)

It would have been better to remove him from office.

He stated and never has substantiated that the deaths of Iranian generals was due to an imminent threat. There is no use in including that language because Iran is never an imminent threat to the USA. Iran does not have the capacity to wage a war against the USA. Iran can be a threat to some extent to allies in the region, but, they all have their own national defenses for such IMMINENT THREAT. There is absolutely no reason for the USA to enter into any war posture with Iran, the idea Iran can actually cause the USA harm is a hideous political trick.

February 13, 2020
By Claudia Grisales

The Senate (click here) approved a bipartisan resolution to curb the president's war powers when it comes to Iran — a rare rebuke and effort to reassert Congress' authority,

The vote was 55-45 — with eight Republicans joining all Democrats to pass the measure. The tally fell far short of the two-thirds needed to override a presidential veto.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine led the charge on the resolution, which would ban the president from ordering any new offensive strikes against Iran. It would still allow the president to order strikes in cases of self-defense against an imminent attack.

Early on, the legislation garnered three Republican co-sponsors: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah. And at least one other GOP member, Todd Young of Indiana, said he would support the measure, with other Republicans signaling they would vote yes as well.

"The resolution just says no war with Iran, unless you come and make that case to Congress. And if you make the case to Congress, in front of the American people, and we all have the discussion, ask the tough questions and conclude, sadly, it's in the national interest, that's one thing," Kaine told NPR. "But if we're not even willing to have that discussion, we shouldn't be forcing people to risk their lives."...

When is this corruption going to stop? Never?

Does anyone actually believe that Jessie Liu was ever going to have a job in the Treasury department? With all the Russian oligarch stunts pulled by Munchkin, does anyone actually think a former US Attorney that lead the case against Roger Stone would be allowed to have a high profile Treasury job?

Of course not.

February 13, 2020
By Katilin Collins

The US attorney (click here) whose nomination for a top Treasury Department job was yanked because she ran the office that oversaw Roger Stone's prosecution has resigned, an administration official tells CNN.

Jessie Liu, who previously headed the US attorney's office in Washington, submitted her resignation to the Treasury Department, effective Wednesday evening. She went to the Treasury Department with the intention of filling a Senate-confirmed position, which is no longer available after her nomination was withdrawn earlier Wednesday, the official said.

The revoked nomination -- paired with the mass withdrawal of the career prosecutors from Stone's case on Tuesday -- punctuated a stunning cascade of developments set into motion on Monday....

There are currently 44 US Attorney Jobs (click here) open in the USA. That is nearly one in every state.

12 in Florida where Trump's Mar-A-Logo is and where the massage parlor he likes so much existed (click here).

Another 11 in California.

Two from Texas where the border fence is considered a problem.

Two from Georgia.

Four from New York.

Three from Pennsylvania.

One from New Hampshire, Vermont, Kentucky and Alaska.

With all these openings, including Washington, DC; Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA), Attorney Adviser, which was posted on February 12, 2020; a talented attorney such as Jessie Liu should not be resigning.

There is one Assistant US Attorney for New York open for more than one year. 

IF YOU DON'T HAVE US ATTORNEYS TO PROSECUTE (and there are a good number of criminal prosecutors) then there isn't a whole lot of use for the Courts either. I also don't understand how in one day 4, 5 and 6 job vacancies are posted at once. What is the issue? No one wants to work for the US Attorney Offices under Trump and Barr?

February 11 - 1
February 21, 2019 - 2
March 27, 2019 - 1
April 1, 2019 - 2
April 24, 2019 - 1 Supervisory AUSA in Vermont and is still open
July 8, 2019 - 1
July 18, 2019 - 1
October 16, 2019 - 1
October 30, 2019 - 1
November 25, 2019 - 1
December 12, 2019 - 1
December 20, 2019 -3
January 8, 2020 - 6
January 9, 2020 - 4
January 10, 2020 - 1
January 16, 2020 - 5
January 21, 2020 -1
January 22, 2020 - 1
January 23, 2020 - 1
January 27, 2020 -1
February 3, 2020 -1 
February 7, 2020 - 1
February 10, 2020 - 2
February 11, 2020 - 1
February 12, 2020 - 3
February 13, 2020 - 2

When Trump complains publicly, the world becomes more harassed and dangerous for those he complains about.

February 12, 2020
By Phillip Rucker, Robert Costa and Josh Dawsey

President Trump (click here) is testing the rule of law one week after his acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial, seeking to bend the executive branch into an instrument for his personal and political vendetta against perceived enemies.

And Trump — simmering with rage, fixated on exacting revenge against those he feels betrayed him and insulated by a compliant Republican Party — is increasingly comfortable doing so to the point of feeling untouchable, according to the president’s advisers and allies.

In the span of 48 hours this week, the president has sought to protect his friends and punish his foes, even at the risk of compromising the Justice Department’s independence and integrity — a stance that his defenders see as entirely justified.

Trump complained publicly about federal prosecutors’ recommended prison sentence for one of his longtime friends and political advisers, Roger Stone. After senior Justice Department officials then overruled prosecutors to lighten Stone’s recommended sentence, the president congratulated Attorney General William P. Barr for “taking charge” with an extraordinary intervention....

California cannot exist without the "Mountain Messenger." It is a historic building with a glorious past and dedicated future.

The Mountain Messenger recaptured by Carl Butz (click here). 

Enjoy a newspaper (click here) that traces its origins to the California Gold Rush and visit the historic building where it has been published since the 1850s. With roots dating to 1853, the Mountain Messenger continues that tradition by covering today’s news in this gold rush town. Whether covering Sierra County government, local events, or even the local sheriff’s blotter, Editor/Curmudgeon Don Russell and his staff provide a uniquely local slant on the community.

Purported to be California’s oldest weekly publication, the Mountain Messenger is published weekly in Downieville and is Sierra County’s only legal publication. The Mountain Messenger dates to 1853 and began publication as the Gibsonville Trumpet in the former mining camp of Gibsonville, Sierra County. The paper was sold in 1855 and moved to La Porte, then in Sierra County and renamed The Mountain Messenger. In 1864 the paper moved to Downieville where it has been continuously published since....

Former Governor Bill Weld received 1 delegate from the Republican New Hampshire Primary.

He would have been 211 years old today.

The last number of USA troops impacted with brain injury due to concussive force of Iranian missile strike is 109.

February 11, 2020

By Ryan Pickrell

President Donald Trump on Monday (click here) doubled down on his assertion that the injuries suffered by US troops during an Iranian missile attack on US forces are "not very serious.

Retaliating for the death of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the hands of the US military, Iran fired over a dozen ballistic missiles at US and coalition forces in Iraq in early January. In the immediate aftermath, the president announced that "no Americans were harmed" and moved to de-escalate tensions.

Since then, the number of US troops diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injuries has steadily risen to 109, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Symptoms of a TBI can be slow to manifest and sometimes harder to detect than other injuries. The Department of Defense has offered this as an explanation for initial misreporting on injuries....

Traumatic Brain Injury in Professional Football: An Evidence Based Perspective (click here)

So in professional football TBI is an issue, but, when it comes to professional USA soldiers it is not that serious.

Now Trump and his attorney general doesn't care at all if their corruption is completely transparent.

Kidnapping a therapy dog is a rather serious crime. Companion Animal theft is a crime.

January 25, 2019

By Jessica Kwong

President Donald Trump's (click here) former adviser Roger Stone, who was arrested Friday morning following an indictment by special counsel Robert Mueller, allegedly told radio personality Randy Credico he would take away his therapy dog if he cooperated with the Russian probe.

According to Mueller's indictment, Stone, who faces charges of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements, made the threats to Credico by email around April 9, 2018. Person 2 refers to Credico, who was allegedly an intermediary between Stone and WikiLeaks, which released a trove of hacked emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign during the 2016 presidential election.

"You are a rat. A stoolie," Stone allegedly wrote to Credico. "You backstab your friends-run your mouth my lawyers are dying Rip you to shreds."

Stone also wrote that he would "take that dog away from you."

Credico's therapy dog is a white Coton de Tulear called Bianca.

On or around the same day, Stone wrote: "I am so ready. Let's get it on. Prepare to die [expletive]."...

Any threat, actual kidnapping or worse of a therapy dog should be far more severe than the law renders as justice for a household pet.

A therapy dog relates to the mental health and/or emotional stability of a human being. That is far different than a pet. A therapy dog allows otherwise disable people to conduct their business as usual. The law allows for the importance of therapy animals and in that lies an understanding of the depth of meaning to the dog's life as well. 

February 23, 2018
By Ceylan Pumphrey, Esq.

There are some states that specifically address the theft of an animal. (click here) In these states, the charges and penalties are usually provided in the statute. For example, Michigan has a statute specifically making it illegal to steal or confine a licensed dog. The penalty for conviction under this statute is imprisonment in county jail for 60 to 90 days and/or a fine of $50 to $100.

In states where animal theft is not specifically addressed, stealing an animal is usually encompassed within the state's theft or larceny laws. In these states, the penalties and sentencing for theft are usually determined based on the value of the property that has been stolen. And while pet owners don't like it, pets are considered personal property under the law. Previous convictions can also play a factor when determining the penalties for stealing an animal.

If you've been arrested for stealing an animal, it's a good idea to contact a local criminal defense attorney who can explain the laws of your state and the possible penalties for being convicted of pet theft....

That said, the Trump administration is out of control. There is nothing good or decent about this administration and now it is obvious.

February 12, 2020
By Quint Forgey

A key witness in Roger Stone's trial (click here) is defending the quartet of prosecutors who withdrew from the federal case against the controversial Republican operative, accusing President Donald Trump of targeting the attorneys with a "vile smear job."

"As the son of a man who spent 10 years in prison, I have consistantly [sic] opposed incarceration," Randy Credico, a longtime Stone associate and colorful New York radio host, tweeted on Wednesday.

"That being said, Trump's vile smear job on the 4 DC prosecutors were appalling and ominous," he added. "In my experience, I found them to be professional, moral, ethical and non partisan.

Credico's social media post came after the Justice Department on Tuesday backed off a prior sentencing proposal for Stone, a longtime informal political adviser to Trump. The president had been critical of prosecutors' initial recommendation, which called for Stone to serve a prison term of seven to nine years....

THE TAMPERING by the attorney general Bill Barr and Impeached President Donald John Trump of Stone's sentencing extends past the understanding that of special treatment because he is Trump's life long buddy. It goes to the very center of justice in the USA. High profile cases frequently become a focus of how justice is rendered in this country and Roger Stone belongs in prison.

I find Mr. Credico's reaction more than interesting. I think it reflects the way citizens in the USA think about the scales of justice. I think he is typical of Americans familiar with the brevity of the law and rather than justice, injustice.

These actions by Barr and Trump mark a new low for the GOP when I thought they couldn't go any lower than the Impeachment Trial.

I hope Mr. Credico will continue to speak about the way justice is administered in the USA. What is occupy with US Attorney office in the country is just wrong. There is no MAYBE, it is just wrong.

He won't do it.

Even with Putin insisting to extend the New START, Trump won't do it. He hates the black man that negotiated it, signed it and saw it come into effect. I strongly suggest Russia and the USA draw up a New START II and move forward while there is still a year until the end of New START.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) (click here) was signed April 8, 2010, in Prague by the United States and Russia and entered into force on Feb. 5, 2011. New START replaced the 1991 START I treaty, which expired December 2009, and superseded the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), which terminated when New START entered into force....

February 10, 2020

...The New Start treaty, (click here) which limits the United States and Russia each to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 delivery vehicles, is set to expire Feb. 5, 2021. A five-year extension procedure was included in the treaty, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia has urged the United States to begin talks to implement it. Unfortunately, the Trump administration seems to be in no hurry. An extension is in the interest of both sides: The treaty provides for intrusive verification and ensures stability in nuclear arsenals.

If New Start lapses, both countries will be free to deploy more nuclear warheads and build new generations of weapons and delivery systems. While both have been steadily modernizing nuclear forces in asynchronous cycles, they were adhering to New Start limits. All bets are off without it. Russia has lately boasted of new programs such as a hypersonic glide vehicle, and the United States has confirmed deployment of a new, low-yield nuclear warhead, the W76-2, on a submarine-based ballistic missile. These developments are but a hint of what will come with unrestrained nuclear competition....