Abortion should never have been politicized. It is about privacy and the decisions women make with their doctors.

October 24, 2022
By Sudhin Thanawala

A trial to determine (click here) whether Georgia can continue to ban abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy is underway in an Atlanta courtroom. Abortion provider Carrie Cwiak testified Monday that the state's law is confusing and harmful to women's health. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney has scheduled two days of testimony in a lawsuit that seeks to strike down the law. The lawsuit by doctors and advocacy groups argues the law violates the Georgia Constitution’s right to privacy and liberty. The state attorney general’s office responded in a court filing that Georgia’s privacy protections do not extend to abortion because it impacts another “human life.”

A fetus is not human life. The right of an American to live without concern of dying of giving birth is compromised by the Christian Nationalists in the country and on the Supreme Court. They are extremists and do not validate any scientific and/or medical knowledge regarding pregnancy.

For as minor an issue a pregnancy is to most women, it really is not so minor. It is the joining of two sets of chromosomes. I know that sounds inconsequential, but, it really is a major event that can go very wrong at times.

DNA is a powerful thing, we witnessed the power of a virus that is able to penetrate human cells, use them to turn the cells production of the virus into a viral load that threatens and ends life. DNA is a very powerful thing. In that understanding is the right of women to an abortion. There is a lot that goes on becoming pregnant or facing an unwanted pregnancy for a myriad of reasons. It is not a place for politics and the right to privacy for a woman is absolutely safeguarding her life.

When the Supreme Court removed the protections of Roe v. Wade, it removed the right to privacy for women. Women became second class citizens and to that end we are witnessing the end of the USA Constitution and a return to human rights abuses. If a woman is forced to carry a pregnancy it is a human rights abuse. We have said the same in many countries in international relations and to have the same oppression happen within our borders is nothing short of an atrocity against human life on this planet. 

Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights. 

What are people thinking?

The US Supreme Court is now a partisan divide. There can be no misunderstanding. The court is adhering in majority by their own politics.

July 6, 2022

By Zachary B. Wolf

...Next up (click here) could be a complete re-imagining of American democracy, where, if a legal theory based on the word “legislature” is adopted by the Supreme Court, state lawmakers could, in theory, have new power to ignore voters and pick presidents.

The conservative-majority court has agreed to hear a North Carolina case that pits the state’s GOP-controlled legislature against state courts that threw out congressional maps they said were gerrymandered....

...The congressional map drawn by North Carolina’s GOP-controlled legislature to benefit Republicans was thrown out by the state Supreme Court earlier this year. While the state is politically split, the legislature’s map would likely have resulted in Republicans picking up two congressional seats. The state courts ultimately adopted a more even map drawn by experts that could result in Democrats gaining a seat in North Carolina. Republican lawmakers in the Tar Heel State want the US Supreme Court to allow them to ignore the state court and use the GOP-friendly map for future elections after this year’s midterms....

The Supreme Court is no longer a court where Americans can find equity. It is destroying the entire idea of having a country protected from what is basically evil.

No one with a conscience can turn away from environmental protections and protections of women's health. That is all about the vulnerability of life. None of what is being conducted on the USA Supreme Court is about life or about conscience, it is about politics. 

June 25, 2022

By Josh Gerstein

As the shock waves (click here) spread Friday from the Supreme Court’s momentous decision striking down Roe v. Wade, one notable casualty of the ruling became evident: Chief Justice John Roberts.

After nearly seven months of deliberations, Roberts found precisely zero takers among his fellow justices for his incrementalist approach that would have avoided overruling Roe for now, but allowed Mississippi to impose a near ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy....

Why did Robert's peers turn against the ideology of his incrementalism? Because they want it now. Besides, in reality, incrementalism is just as toxic and anti-American as the politics the six justices stand on to defeat the right to an abortion. Incrementalism is clever, but, it is setting the stage for the same destruction of our USA Constitution.

The destruction of the definition of the legislative body of the federal government IS destroying the USA Constitution. The president was never meant to be king. The legislature was set up to carry out the will of the people. The elect the legislature for that purpose. While the head of our government, the Executive Branch with a President as the final decision maker is about the moral content of the people of the country. But, the legislature is where the people have their best opportunity to be heard and have those words acted on.

I refer from time to time to "The New Source Review." It is an EPA delegated authority that is to take in all reports from the people to improve air quality and eliminate danger. The New Source Review is the epitome of the power of the legislature. It reaches out to the people regardless of their race, creed or age and asks if everything is okay? When the legislature becomes a meaningless body of government, the people are giving up their voice.

...“The Act itself (click here) thus provides a means to seek limits on emissions of carbon dioxide from domestic power plants—the same relief the plaintiffs seek by invoking federal common law,’ Ginsburg wrote in American Electric Power.

“We see no room for a parallel track.’...

Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency decision occurred in 2007. I personally added carbon dioxide to the list of gases the USA EPA was to regulate in 2003, the year Bush invaded Iraq. It was that year when Bush came to the Rose Garden, two weeks after my testimony in Raleigh, North Carolina under the LAW of the New Source Review and submission of a 21 page document which included stating the USA military's use of dolphins was wrong, immoral and illegal according to the ESA (Endangered Species Act).

Then after the death of Justice Ginberg, all those achievements of Americans like me were wiped out by the Robert's Court. I know how it feels to have a Supreme Court that is Anti-American, because they are anti-me.

Yes, besides women's rights which will disappear if Ginni Thomas has her way, there is an entire understanding of how morality lies in the hands of all the people we elect, as well as the justices that sit in the Supreme Court. Please, make no mistake. This election has morality on the ballot and it is not the Republicans that value it.

Today, Justice Thomas voted again for his party. And now he wants to be backed up by his peers. Or, perhaps, his judgement is clouded entirely because Justice Scalia is no longer able to carry him through. Not sure. But, regardless, Thomas has proven himself corrupted and a partisan hack when he once before SHIELDED his spouse from being exposed.

The prosecutors are chasing treason for God sake. What is to question?

October 24, 2022
By Adam Liptak

Washington - Justice Clarence Thomas (click here) on Monday temporarily shielded Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, from having to answer questions from a special grand jury in Georgia investigating efforts to overturn former President Donald J. Trump’s election loss in the state.

Justice Thomas’s brief order was an “administrative stay,” meant to give the court some breathing room to weigh the senator’s emergency application asking the Supreme Court to bar the grand jury from questioning him.

On Saturday, Justice Thomas, who oversees the appeals court whose ruling is at issue, ordered prosecutors to respond to the application by Thursday. Such a request for a response is almost always a sign that the full court will weigh in on the matter.

Prosecutors appear to be particularly interested in any efforts Mr. Graham may have made to urge officials in Georgia, including its secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to address allegations of voting irregularities before Congress was to vote in January 2021 to certify that President Biden was the legitimate winner of the presidential election....

Racism is immoral in all major religions.

The place where racism is practiced within the religion is Christian Nationalists. It is this partisan religion that is sought for votes by the Republicans. That has been the case, this is not a flash in the pan event with Trump. The Republicans have been pursuing the votes of White Supremacists and Christian Nationalists for a long time. The Republicans lack the backbone to stand up for all Americans.

October 23, 2022
By Annie Gowen

Manheim - At the end, after former president Donald Trump (click here) called in to energize the troops, more than 100 people lined up to be baptized.

Some had driven hours for the two-day ReAwaken America Tour in the leafy Pennsylvania countryside. Some had paid up to $500 for VIP tickets. They were 5,000 strong, celebratory but angry about where the country is headed. They said they believed the 2020 election was stolen, that vaccines kill people and that America — both its moral and civic foundation — is headed for complete collapse.

Now they were waiting to be baptized in a black plastic animal trough, leaving the water soaked and shivering — newly cleansed soldiers in their war for America....

If an American votes Republican KNOWING racism is part of the vote, then they are immoral. People have skin and the color in the USA varies according to genetics. That is all it is, genetics. If there are cultural differences it is because of the financial disparity a majority of African Americans suffered so long due to racism, bigotry and oppression. The racism, bigotry and oppression is real. It is part of the reason there is such anger over the division of power in the USA. African Americans are oppressed AND targeted when it comes to voting as well. Between poverty, having to work 2 to 3 jobs and the distance to polling for those that have to take public transportation or don't have the means to get to a polling station at all, the oppression is real.

23 October 2022
By David Smith

Far from entering the midterms (click here) as the party of tolerance, diversity and sincerity, critics say, the Republican party has shown itself to be the opposite

Republicans were in trouble. Mitt Romney, their US presidential nominee, had been crushed by Barack Obama. The party commissioned an “autopsy” report that proposed a radical rethink. “If we want ethnic minority voters to support Republicans,” it said, “we have to engage them and show our sincerity.”

Ten years after Romney’s loss, Republicans are fighting their first election since the presidency of Donald Trump. But far from entering next month’s midterms as the party of tolerance, diversity and sincerity, critics say, they have shown itself to be unapologetically the party of hate....

If Americans are voting Republican this year at the midterms, they are voting for hate, oppression and racism. That is just the starters. Here again and this is Juan Williams who commentates for FOX NEWS. It is not possible to make this up. It is NOT politics. This is REALITY and the fact of the matter is Republicans come with a lot of IMMORAL BAGAGE and they don't care.

October 24, 2022

By Juan Williams

A recent controversy (click here) centered on President Trump is emblematic of a broader trend.

The evidence is piling up that former President Trump, the leading candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is also the leader of a white, Christian nationalist movement....

From the Arab American community. They are worried about the corruption when their children are exposed to bigotry and hate from those that object and lie about the LGBTQ community.

October 21, 2022

The Arab American News Endorsements (click here)

This should be a clear understanding in that even US House legislators are targets of hate, racism and bigotry. It is obvious and it is harmful. 

If Americans are voting Republican, they are voting as an Anti-American. There is no definition better to define the incredible hatred being conducted by Republican lawmakers. They hate the USA Constitution and want it dismantled. They have railed against members of their own party when they stood to protect the US Constitution and bring to just those that would see it ended. Make no mistake, the USA Constitution is on the ballot this November. Absolutely it is.

The January 6th Committee…

 …should be prepared for an outrageous PERFORMANCE by Trump when he testifies. I would expect him to say publicly what was contained in the highly classified documents and lie about it besides. He doesn’t care about the USA. His testimony will be for an audience of a few strongmen in the world. He wants their favor with attempts to harness whatever of their power exists to leverage in his best interests through propaganda, international pressures and even war. 

I fully expect Trump to perjure himself adding to his legal liabilities.

The 2022 election is simple.

 It is about the victory over Republican immorality, oppression and surrender to authoritarianism. Financial concerns is a Republican false God. 

I will be blogging more tomorrow.

The research is real. It has been years if not a decade and it is not resolved. It is time to make women’s health care a priority in this country! There is too much disparity between ethnicities. Now is the time to end the CARE gaps.

October 22, 2021
By Wendy Wisner

Black mothers giving birth in hospitals are 53% (click here) more likely to die during childbirth than are Hispanic and White women, according to researchers who attributed the gap at least in part to bias among physicians and the healthcare system.

The United States is in the midst of a maternal healthcare crisis, said Robert White, MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, and lead author of the study. The maternal death rate among US women in 2018, for instance, was 17.4 per 100,000 births, more than twice the figure in Canada (8.6 per 100,000 live births) and the United Kingdom (6.5 per 100,000 live births in 2016), according to the Commonwealth Fund.

"At baseline, our maternal mortality rates are higher than other comparable Western nations, and at the same time, there's a huge spread in the maternal mortality ratio between White mothers and Black mothers, where Black mothers are experiencing maternal mortality about two or three times higher," White told Medscape Medical News....

...Overall, 0.8% of Black women experienced either a death or an injury compared with 0.5% of Hispanic women and 0.4% of White women. The researchers concluded that Black women had a 53% increased chance of dying during childbirth in a hospital, even after adjusting for factors such as insurance type, hospital type, and income.

Snyder states mistakes were made in Flint regarding poisoned water.

October 11, 2022
By Alexis Ware

Genesee County Circuit Court Judge F. Kay Behm (click here) was one of two people nominated by President Joe Biden for federal judicial positions Wednesday, June 29.

Flint - Judge Elizabeth Kelly (click here) dismissed the charges for seven people accused of roles in the the Flint water crisis. Now, former Governor Rick Snyder is asking for the same to be done with his charges.

The decision by Judge Kelly was made because she said the indictments made by the one man grand jury were invalid.

Snyder was not a part of the decision last week because his case is in a different court room. However, following the dismissal, he is now urging his judge to do the same....

Snyder is trying to diminish the crimes committed by him in regard to Flint's water by stating the entire country has a problem with clean water. He says mistakes were made. Were they ever.

The fact of matter is that mistakes could have been avoided if Snyder paid attention to letters from the USA EPA when he was given directions to protect the people. Snyder ignored those letters and allowed the poisoned water to continue to flow into the homes of the people of Flint.

There may or may not be problems with water across the country, but, the Flint poisoning DIDN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN. The people of Flint had clean and high quality water to their homes, it wasn't until Snyder demanded Flint be exposed to contaminated river water that the poisoning occurred. That is very different from water problems in other cities and towns in the USA.

October 11, 2022

Months after charges (click here) were thrown out against former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder for his alleged role in the Flint Water Crisis, he says it’s time to focus on water issues not only in Flint, but across the state and country.

Snyder spoke live on WWJ Tuesday morning about his new cyber security company SensCy. WWJ’s Jonathan Carlson also asked the former governor if he had anything he wanted to say to the people of Flint to “put that issue to rest.”

“Mistakes happened, we reacted and did a lot of good things, but it’s an ongoing healing process,” Snyder said. “I appreciate the Supreme Court opinion. That was a wise opinion that was smart and let’s get this behind us in terms of the legal side and let’s focus in on water issues across, not just Flint, but across our state and across our nation.”...

October 7, 2022

By Ronnie Dahl

...Nessel said the prosecution team, (click here) which is lead by Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, is deciding next steps, including the possibility of appealing the circuit ruling and exploring other types of charges.

It will be a longer sentence next time.

October 21, 2022
By Bernd Debusmann, Jr.

Former Trump (click here) strategist Steve Bannon has railed against the "Biden regime" after being sentenced to four months in jail for contempt of Congress.

Bannon, 68, was convicted in July on two counts - for refusing to provide either testimony or documents to a committee probing the 6 January 2021 riot at the US Capitol.

In addition to the jail time, Bannon must also now pay a fine of $6,500 (£5,833).

He has denied any criminal wrongdoing.

Judge Carl Nichols said that Bannon would be released for the time being, while any appeal to the sentence is resolved.

"Today was my judgement day by the judge," Bannon told reporters immediately following the sentencing. "We will have a vigorous appeal."...

The virus is still around, as well as the variants, there are still vaccines being administered and free at home COVID tests mailed.

October 21, 2022

By Jeff Cox

The U.S. budget deficit was sliced in half for fiscal 2022, (click here) the biggest drop in history following two years of huge Covid-related spending.

Though still large in historical terms, the budget shortfall declined to $1.375 trillion, compared to the 2021 deficit of $2.776 trillion.


The decline would have been steeper had it not been for the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program. Education spending totaled $639.4 billion for the fiscal year, $408 billion higher than estimated.

The 2022 fiscal year saw $4.896 trillion in revenue against $6.272 trillion in outlays. The outlays number represented about a $550 billion decline in spending but an $850 billion increase in revenue. The revenue total is by far the highest ever for the U.S. government.

Deficits in the previous two years soared as Congress shelled out massive sums to combat the pandemic.

The shortfall hit a record $3.13 trillion in 2020 due to more than $5 trillion in CARES Act spending and other outlays. In 2019, the deficit was $983.6 billion. Prior to 2020, the highest deficit ever was $1.41 trillion in 2009 as the financial crisis came to a close. The U.S. briefly ran a surplus from 1998 to 2001....

This is authoritarian government.

DeSantis' prosecutor lied to please the governor.

The fact is the ONLY time such charges would rise above the local level is if there was more than one voting district involved in separate towns or cities. The state would then have authority to bring charges based on multiple jurisdictions involved. State charges would then carry weight as to the sentence such a voter would receive.

Whether the voter fraud charges are accurate or not is yet to be clarified, but, the local authorities will have to sort through the facts and decide if there is enough brevity for bring a case to court.

Normally, such cases are not considered that serious if in fact they are proven and the charges never rise to the point where they change the outcome of the elections. This is a huge waste of tax payer money.

October 21, 2022

By Miles Cohen

...When the charges (click here) were announced on Aug. 18, DeSantis said at a press conference that local prosecutors had been "loath" to take up election fraud cases.

"Now we have the ability with the attorney general and statewide prosecutor to bring those [cases] on behalf of the state of Florida," he said....

...The judge agreed with the defense's argument that the alleged violations, applying to vote and voting while ineligible, only occurred in Miami-Dade County. Thus, the statewide prosecutor was found to not have jurisdiction.

Statewide prosecutors argued that the alleged crimes were committed in Leon County in addition to Miami-Dade County, because the defendants' applications and votes were later transmitted to the Department of State in Tallahassee.

The defense argued the alleged offenses only happened in Miami-Dade.

The judge sided with the defense, even citing Shakespeare's "Henry VI" in his order granting the motion to dismiss.

"His arms spread wider than a dragon's wings," the judge wrote in his order, in reference to the statewide prosecutor.

"How much wider even than that does [the statewide prosecutor] seek to extend its reach?"

"It is an old truth that all politics is local," the judge added. "[The statewide prosecutor] seeks to stand that old truth on its head"...

The Crist Campaign did the absolutely right thing by accepting the resignation of Austin Durrer.

It is quite different than what was witnessed in the Republican White House 

October 21, 2022

By Alex Roarty

...Crist canceled a campaign appearance on Friday (click here) in Gadsden County, where he was scheduled to stump with U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, according to the campaign. His running mate, Karla Hernandez-Mats, also canceled a separate Friday afternoon campaign event in Tampa.

It is just best to resolve to get new staff when such issues come to the surface.

...Rob Porter, (click here) Hollywood handsome and popular among his colleagues, was enjoying his high-profile job as the president’s top aide. Porter was a rising star until the Trump spotlight revealed his dark side. Two of his wives went public (click here) with accusations of mental and physical abuse. There were photos. Porter took the exit....

We have a right to our documents. ALL OF THEM!

October 21, 2022

By Farnoush Amiri and Mary Clare Jalonick

Washington The House committee (click here) investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol formally issued an extraordinary subpoena to Donald Trump on Friday, demanding testimony from the former president who lawmakers say “personally orchestrated” a multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The nine-member panel issued a letter to Trump's lawyers saying he must testify, either at the Capitol or by videoconference, “beginning on or about” Nov. 14 and continuing for multiple days if necessary.

The letter also outlined a sweeping request for documents, including personal communications between Trump and members of Congress as well as extremist groups. Those are to be turned in by Nov. 4, although the committee's deadlines are generally subject to negotiation.

“We recognize that a subpoena to a former president is a significant and historic action," Chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney wrote in the letter to Trump. “We do not take this action lightly.”

The panel rooted its action in history, listing past presidents from John Quincy Adams to Gerald Ford, who testified before Congress after leaving office — and noted that even sitting presidents have responded to congressional subpoenas....

The Ukraine military needs to provide an opportunity for refugees to leave to safety.

Russia has no right to be anywhere near Kherson or any other Ukrainian border including Crimea. The so called annexation is a phoney ploy to create a reason for Russia to continue to carry out it's genocide. There is no annexation including Crimea. Crimea was taken because by the Russian military after Yanukovych abandoned Ukraine. The Ukraine military was completely disarmed at the time and unable to defend it's borders. It is different now.

Russia is using this fake annexation for Putin's politics. He has to justify the enormous number of dead Russians in his genocide.

October 21, 2022

By Christine Fernando

Four people were killed and 13 others injured (click here) by a Ukrainian strike Thursday on a river crossing in southern Ukraine that was annexed by Russia last month, Russian authorities said.

The strike took place on a bridge over the Dnieper River in Kherson and claimed at least four civilians' lives, including journalists from the Russian TV channel Tamvria, said Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Moscow-installed regional administration in Kherson.

Ukrainian officials confirmed the attack on the bridge but denied Russia's claims that civilians were killed, saying the strike took place after a 10 p.m. curfew to avoid civilian casualties.

"We do not attack civilians and settlements," said Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern operational command.

The strike comes as Russian and Ukrainian troops appeared to be preparing for major battle over the industrial port city of Kherson. Ukraine has targeted resupply routes along the Dnieper River while Russia has sent as many as 2,000 draftees to the region. Kherson is the largest Ukrainian city that Russia holds and was the first it captured during the invasion....

Netanyahu on Ukraine and the principle of democracy as a standard governance to live by. It is democracy that respects life and freedom, including freedom of religion.

RSV

 There is a major outbreak of RSV in American children. What do adults need to do to stem the spread of possible?

Here is the Iran thing.

It isn't bad enough that Russia is committing genocide, now it is being assisted by Iran.

October 20, 2022
By Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller

Washington - The White House said Thursday (click here) that Iranian troops are “directly engaged on the ground” in Crimea supporting Russian drone attacks on Ukraine’s power stations and other key infrastructure, troubling evidence of Tehran’s deepening role assisting Russia as it exacts suffering on Ukrainian civilians just as the cold weather sets in.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Iran has sent a “relatively small number” of personnel to Crimea, a part of Ukraine unilaterally annexed by Russia in contravention of international law in 2014, to assist Russian troops in launching Iranian-made drones against Ukraine. Members of a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were dispatched to assist Russian forces in using the drones, according to the British government.

The revelation of the U.S. intelligence finding comes as the Biden administration seeks to mount international pressure on Tehran to pull back from helping Russia as it bombards soft Ukrainian civilian targets with the help of Iranian-made drones....

GUILTY!!!!!!!

Why would Russia object to inspections regarding Iran sanctions if it weren't guilty as sin?

20 October 2022
By Patrick Wintour

Russia has threatened (click here) that it will reassess cooperation with the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, if he sends United Nations experts to Ukraine to inspect drones that western powers say were made in Iran and used by Moscow in violation of a UN resolution....

April 7, 2022

By Amanda Macioas

The United Nations suspended Russia (click here) from its seat on the Human Rights Council on Thursday as the world calls out atrocities committed in Ukraine.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield introduced the proposal earlier in the week following accusations that Russian troops tortured and killed Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, a suburb near Kyiv.

The bodies were discovered after Moscow withdrew its troops from Bucha. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the aftermath, which he saw firsthand on Monday, as a “genocide” and accused Russia of war crimes. The Kremlin has previously described its military actions in Ukraine as a “special operation” and has denied targeting civilians....

Russia is a rouge nation. It can probably ranked as a terrorist country along side Iran's Revolutionary Guard. It is called Revolutionary because of the origins of the current country of Iran and it's removal of the Old Guard from power, hence, a revolution. The name came from the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. It has capacity, at least 250,000 military personnel including ground, aerospace and naval forces.

October 20, 2022
By Jonathan Tirone

Russia lost its place (click here) on stage at a key international nuclear summit in Washington next week, as US authorities seek ways to limit the influence of Kremlin-controlled atomic fuel and technology suppliers on the global market.

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Thursday that executives from Rosatom Corp. and Russia’s industry regulator were dropped from the agenda of next week’s meetings in the US capital. White House officials have been considering for months ways to reduce the Kremlin’s influence on global nuclear markets, where state-owned Rosatom continues to be the biggest exporter of nuclear fuel and reactors....

There are several ways to remove Russia (click here) from the UN Security Council to prevent intelligence gathering.

This is the priority of the Gun Lobby.

We have urgent news. 

 

In the Washington Times this week, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said that if her party wins back control of the House this November, introducing and passing several Second Amendment-focused bills will be a top priority.  

 

She said that in the first 100 days of having the majority, the House would look to move forward with: 

 

 National Concealed Carry Reciprocity 

 

 Second Amendment Guarantee Act, which would preempt most local laws on concealed carry and allow for lawsuits if licenses are denied. 

 

 Congressional oversight and legislation regarding major credit card companies' plans to make a Merchant Category Code for firearm purchases.  

 

This can all happen within the first 100 DAYS OF A NEW CONGRESS…but it only can happen if you vote for pro-2A candidates this November! 

They are seeking donations for their 401(c)4 agenda. (click here) 

It better not be a (c)3.

Stop using TIc-Toc because an autocratic leader is spying on you.

Anyone or any country spying on an American or several Americans are planning to do them harm. China is probably working for Trump and/or Putin, same thing really.

Remember when the Patriot Act went into effect. No one had a good night's sleep for at least a year. Currently, Edward Snowden is out of reach of the Free World because he decided to stay in Russia when his downloads to Wikileaks made front page news. I find Edward a bit of a hypocrite. He lives in Russia and advocates Online Rights. Sure. Does that make sense to anyone? 

At any rate, just because Americans like to ham it up on TicToc is no reason to turn one's back privacy and security of personal data. CHINA IS SPYING ON AMERICANS FOR A REASON. 

GET A BLOG ON GOOGLE INSTEAD!

Make videos and get a following on YouTube. 

Vanquish Chinese spying on Americans!

October 20, 2022

By Emily Baker-White

Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden (click here)

The team primarily conducts investigations (click here) into potential misconduct by current and former ByteDance employees. But in at least two cases, the Internal Audit team also planned to collect TikTok data about the location of a U.S. citizen who had never had an employment relationship with the company, the materials show. It is unclear from the materials whether data about these Americans was actually collected; however, the plan was for a Beijing-based ByteDance team to obtain location data from U.S. users’ devices.

TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said that TikTok collects approximate location information based on users’ IP addresses to “among other things, help show relevant content and ads to users, comply with applicable laws, and detect and prevent fraud and inauthentic behavior."

But the material reviewed by Forbes indicates that ByteDance's Internal Audit team was planning to use this location information to surveil individual American citizens, not to target ads or any of these other purposes. Forbes is not disclosing the nature and purpose of the planned surveillance referenced in the materials in order to protect sources. TikTok and ByteDance did not answer questions about whether Internal Audit has specifically targeted any members of the U.S. government, activists, public figures or journalists....

EVEN THE COMMUNISTS DON'T LIKE COMMUNISM!

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS IN AUTHORITARIAN GOVERNMENTS!!

No search warrant, no civil rights and no freedom of speech. Does anyone actually value what occurs in these countries? 

Why would Putin demand the jailing of Pavel Duroy? He was by every measure a "good Russian." He assisted in social structure of the Russian people. He gave the Russian people something every other country had, the internet and a social media site. So, why arrest him, jail him and ultimately destroy him?

Why?

Because Pavel Durov was a good Russia and was a very smart Russian and shutting down his social website would only result in Pavel Durov looking for another way to launch an underground social media site that would be leveraged against Putin or communism or just plain happiness. THAT IS WHY PAVEL DUROV RAN AWAY FROM RUSSIA. He was a good Russian and it didn't matter. 

December 2, 2014

By Danny Hakim

Pavel Durov at a conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. He created the leading Russian social media site, VKontakte.Credit...

London - When a SWAT team appeared at Pavel Durov’s door in St. Petersburg, (click here) he started thinking about his future in Russia.

He was home alone, and he peered at them through a monitor.

“They had guns and they looked very serious,” said Mr. Durov, once Russia’s biggest celebrity entrepreneur. “They seemed to want to break the door.”

Not long ago, Mr. Durov, 30, was seen as Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg. He founded a social network, VKontakte, which is more popular in Russia than Facebook, and made a splash by publicly offering Edward Snowden a job.

Then the Kremlin tightened its grip over the Internet and President Vladimir V. Putin’s allies took control of VKontakte. Mr. Durov eventually sold his remaining stake for millions and fled Russia in April, after resisting government pressure to release the data of Ukrainian protest leaders....

Shoot them down! Just that simple. Iran is supplying spy drones to Russia.

Iran is trying to show Russia what a valuable ally it is. It is not. Shoot the lousy things out of the sky and away from any human being because they could explode. The drones should be shot down before they enter air space. They are a danger to navigation.

Why are officials timid about defending their air space. People of Free Countries rely on many layers of safety, national borders must be respected. No one knows how this will escalate if the drones are allowed to continue to terrorize the skies.

October 20, 2022
By Emily Rauhala

Brussels - Norwegian officials (click here) warned Thursday that there could be more arrests after at least seven Russians — including the son of a close associate of President Vladimir Putin — were detained in recent weeks for flying drones or taking pictures near sensitive areas, prompting an investigation by the domestic intelligence service.

Norway and other countries are moving to secure critical infrastructure in the wake of the sabotage of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines. Since then, drone sightings have been reported in Norway’s vast offshore oil and gas fields and at Norwegian airports.

On Wednesday, Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store, blamed “foreign intelligence” — and indirectly pointed a finger at Russia. “It is not acceptable that foreign intelligence is flying drones over Norwegian airports. Russians are not allowed to fly drones in Norway,” he said, according to Norwegian broadcaster NRK....

Florida is all in on climate. The Biden Administration is providing vital funding for solar arrays in the state.

October 19, 2022
By Gisele Galoustian

Ian's storm surge was accompanied by sea level rise (click here).

...For instance, (click here) the 62 percent of Floridians (51 percent of Republicans) who today favor increasing the state’s solar energy production appear to have experienced a large increase over past surveys. Driving this spike is a noteworthy convergence of public opinion across income groups: in past FAU surveys, parsing responses to the solar energy question by income revealed a split of 10 to 20 percentage points, whereas now that range is only approximately five points.

Other important survey questions display more stability over time, but as with the solar energy question, are indicative of surprisingly widespread support. For instance, 71 percent of Floridians (57 percent of Republicans) now endorse teaching the science of climate change in K-12 classrooms, and 42 percent (40 percent of Republicans) are willing to pay an extra monthly $10 infrastructure tax to reduce climate change impacts. These Florida levels belie the strong partisan split observed elsewhere....

..."Our Mobile Command Center (click here) is ready to respond and assist with search and rescue along with our other assets. We are here for our community," Lee County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook just before 7 a.m....

October 8, 2022

The death toll from Ian (click here) reached 100 on Friday, making it the third most deadly hurricane to hit the mainland in a decade....

Mohammed bin Salman didn't come into power until 2017.

The take over of this branch of the bin Salman family changed the relationship. The USA should rethink it's relationship with Saudi Arabia. I do not believe that we should be involved with them anymore, except, if the USA doesn't sell them munitions, the Russians will. That would be worse.

October 18, 2022
By Craig Whitlock and Nate Jones

The picture (click here) of President George W. Bush leading an aged Saudi King Abdullah by the hand through the gardens of his Texas ranch in 2005 has become both iconic and symbolic of the U.S.-Saudi relationship. For over 40 years, the United States has walked hand-in-hand with Saudi Arabia through the thicket of Middle Eastern crises.

More than 500 retired U.S. military personnel (click here) - including scores of generals and admirals — have taken lucrative jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments, mostly in countries known for human rights abuses and political repression, according to a Washington Post investigation.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, 15 retired U.S. generals and admirals have worked as paid consultants for the Defense Ministry since 2016. The ministry is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, who U.S. intelligence agencies say approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, as part of a brutal crackdown on dissent....

Holding hands is a cultural issue with the former Crown Prince. It was a different time not long ago when the USA and Saudi Arabia were friends. However, a branch of the bin Salman family took over control and placed the current Crowned Prince, Mohammad bin Salman in power. This Saudi Arabia is more close to Russia then the previous leadership ever was. I am not making excuses, that is a fact.

The USA military is a unique entity in the world and it is sought after as a mimic to other countries. Being American is unique and it produces an incredible military. I honestly don't believe any other country in the world can mimic the USA. The soldiers of the USA democracy are incredible and every person in this country has a debt to them for the protections they receive.

Any military authority that went to work for Saudi Arabia before MBS would not compromise the USA's national security. There was just a different understanding then. With Trump in office there was an emergence of cooperation with adverse leadership around the world, including the Phillipines, Russia, China and countries like Saudi Arabia that had a change in leadership. Trump was a new danger to national security, only at the time there was no Republican willing to impeach him and the danger to the USA national security continued to the point where highly classified documents were hidden from the American people, even today.

Below is the kind of assault against the USA Constitution that Trump demanded from US Attorneys. 

October 18, 2022
By Salvador Rizzo and Rachel Weiner

A jury on Tuesday found Igor Danchenko (click here) - a private researcher who was a primary source for a 2016 dossier of allegations about former president Donald Trump’s ties to Russia - not guilty of lying to the FBI about where he got his information.

The verdict in federal court in Alexandria, Va., is another blow for special counsel John Durham, who has now lost both cases that have gone to trial as part of his nearly 3½-year investigation. Durham, who was asked by Attorney General William P. Barr in 2019 to review the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016, is sure to face renewed pressure to wrap up his work following the verdict.

Trump predicted Durham would uncover “the crime of the century” inside the U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies that investigated his campaign’s links to Russia. But so far, no one charged by the special counsel has gone to prison, and only one government employee has pleaded guilty to a criminal offense. In both trials this year, Durham argued that people deceived FBI agents, not that investigators corruptly targeted Trump....

Fusion GPS was a partnership of very experienced journalists with credentials that withstood scrutiny. Christopher Steele was a very good choice in asking for his experience and his connections to learn more about Trump's relationship with Putin and Russia. There were issues that came to the surface, but, the GOP once AGAIN decided to play politics with national security and insisted on discrediting Steele's work rather than following the evidence to validate it. 

...Fusion, (click here) in turn, subcontracted with Christopher Steele, a retired MI-6 officer with considerable expertise on Russian matters, to use his contacts in Moscow to find what he could about Trump’s connections to the Russian government. That work led to the compilation of Steele’s dossier, written up in the style of an intelligence report and based on unnamed sources, that contained a variety of serious charges against Trump....

Here we are today with a Mueller Investigation and now January 6th Committee under the same damn stupid pressure from the GOP that wants to deny the existence of a dangerous element of American politics in Donald Trump. THE SAME DAMN THING!

The GOP in the USA is corrupt. End of discussion. No one should be voting for Republicans that not only will side with Trump, but, sides with the entire dictator culture of White Supremacists and Christian Nationalists in the style of Viktor Orban. Americans, get over it. This entire episode with the GOP is about the worst scenario in American history. The GOP is sacrificing the USA Constitution in favor of a dictator modeled after Orban.

But, to get back to Saudi Arabia. There needs to be a change in relationship. OPEC voted with Russia. It favored profit over human lives and that is beginning to be the character issue with Saudi Arabia. 

What do we know about Russia and it's communists?

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS.

What are we seeing with Saudi Arabia?

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS. 

No one is safe in a country where that paradigm rules the day, that includes Orban.

October 18, 2022

In this photo (click here) provided by Ibrahim Almadi, Saad Ibrahim Almadi sits in a restaurant in an unidentified place, in the United States, on August 2021. Almadi, 72, who is a citizen of both Saudi Arabia and the U.S., was arrested in Saudi Arabia last November and was recently sentenced to 16 years in prison over tweets critical of the Saudi government.

Dubai - An American citizen (click here) has been arrested in Saudi Arabia, tortured and sentenced to 16 years in prison over tweets he sent while in the United States, his son said Tuesday.

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a 72-year-old retired project manager living in Florida, was arrested last November while visiting family in the kingdom and was sentenced earlier this month, his son Ibrahim told The Associated Press, confirming details that were first reported by The Washington Post. Almadi is a citizen of both Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials....

At least they didn't dissolve this one in acid. But, at the age of 72 he will die in a Saudi prison and most probably under harsh conditions.

This is a problem for the USA and it has yet to develop a policy regarding immigrants to the USA with continued ties to radically different governance than they becomes used to as citizens here. I believe this is a growing problem and it needs to be taken head on within the USA State Department to develop relationships with these people to prevent such heinous issues such as being jailed for speaking openly in the USA about someone like MBS.

I think the freedom of speech such immigrants find in the USA only sets them up for danger when they return to see family. There is an American, Paul Whelan (click here), currently jailed in Russia for spying. He went there quite innocently to attend a wedding. Paul Whelan is a very bright man, worked in security after he served in the USA as a Marine (click here). Such people are noticed by these extremist countries and watched. When their presence in a hostile country occurs they are arrested for no reason, except lies. Lies are legal tender in places like Russia and Saudi Arabia. People die in these countries for absolutely no reason. 

Russia arrests people like Paul Whelan because he is viewed as an honorable American that will carry great sympathy with the American public. Then political pressure comes to bear in the USA and Whelan becomes a chip in an international game for exchange of prisoners. That is why Paul Whelan is in a Russian prison and no other reason.

So, while there was a time in America when international relations was open and prosperity was linked to economic advantages for both countries, that door is closed. No, it is not closing, it is closed and primarily by dictators willing to see the Free World come to an end. Not just willing, but, desirous of seeing the Free World come to an end.

The Late President George H. W. Bush used the phrase, "family of countries" when carrying out international relations and seeking peace and prosperity. He did that as a USA ambassador and he carried it into his presidency. That held for some time, but, there is no longer that priority. Russia had destroyed every aspect of peace and prosperity as advocated by the USA when it began genocide of Ukrainians. The break down of such a dynamic actually began when Putin invaded Crimea and lit the Donbas on fire.

I would not call this a return of the Cold War, the players are different. Russia is no  longer the USSR and NATO is larger. It isn't the same. I sincerely think NATO has an opportunity to become disengaged with these countries and find autonomy rather than dependency. It is sad, but, it is true that men like Orban and Putin are in power in countries that embrace war as if the past can be resurrected.

The world is very different. There are problems with countries today we didn't face a short time ago. Communists are not benevolent by nature. And now, Saudi Arabia is looking more as if it has lost principles of international relationships and instead wants to be a strong man country.

For decades, (click here) the United States has operated out of bases and facilities throughout the Middle East. As security priorities have changed and relationships with host countries have evolved, so have the locations and needs of U.S. forces in the region....

Some of what the USA is seeing with issues presenting themselves with Saudi Arabia is Russia's influence due to OPEC. Russia's allies don't like the idea of USA military power anywhere in the Middle East. We are there to protect our allies in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Saudi Arabia has been an ally, but, that is changing. Old men like peace, young men like ideals. That is the problem with MBS. He is an ideological leader that refuses to allow freedom of speech surrounding his name. 

It is strange. The USA intercepts ships carrying munitions from Iran that would ultimately target Saudi Arabia, yet there are reasons to change American policy with the kingdom.

Along the Persian Gulf there is Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the UAE and don't forget Kuwait. Then there is India. It will be very difficult to separate from Saudi Arabia and it's relationship with our military. 

Why Saudi Arabia wants to vote profit over human lives in backing Russia within OPEC is more a character issue with MBS. I cannot say is he not leading the country well domestically when it comes to changing from an oil based economy to a service based economy. Saudi Arabia has transformed a segment of it's economy that never existed before and the reason is Peak Oil and the climate crisis. 

In all sincerity the problem is MBS and his need for control in an immature manner. I think he needs to stop being a bully, quite frankly, because I don't see stability in Saudi Arabia if the USA abandons it.

The real question is how does the USA engage peace over war in the Middle East? That is the basic problem. Israel has been working hard to build benevolent relationships in the region and has succeeded to a greater extent. I don't think MBS or Egypt understands the stabilizing force Israel is as they sympathize with Palestine. I am not saying abandon Palestine, that isn't it. But, Israel is a valuable partner in the stability of the region.

I think the problem with Saudi Arabia is MBS. It was for the Khashoggi murder and it is for the recent jailing of Saad Ibrahim Almadi. I think that is where the USA should seek pressure to bring about a better relationship with Saudi Arabia. The problem is MBS. Israel has to be brought into the picture regarding any shift in USA presence in the region and it may be that will bring about a different stance. Israel is the key player here and the USA cannot make moves without our strongest ally.

Freedom of Speech is on the chopping block with all these leaders. Real lives are being destroyed because of the hatred of Freedom of Speech. Freedom of Speech is happening. It is called the internet and the future has little tolerance for dictators. MBS needs to rethink the future of freedom in Saudi Arabia. It just isn't letting ladies drive automobiles.

There is another issue that Israel might be able to cast light on and that is the families seeking justice pursuing Saudi Arabia. There needs to be a change in policy, but, it must be carried out well and in a way that doesn't cause greater destabilization leading to unwanted wars. If there are such wars, the USA could be pulled into them.

While engaging Israel, get the advise about former USA military leadership and jobs in places like Saudi Arabia. I am quite sure Israel has strong opinions.