The PGA is absolutely correct.

In a press conference Phil Mickelson stated he understood the death of Jamal Khashoggi (click here), but, he was a golfer and this is golf. My understanding is that Mickelson was bought for $125 million before he even begins his first round.

And Jamal Khashoggi was just a journalist. His death was heinous. Absolutely, heinous.

The questionably professional golfers in Saudi Arabia have no moral compass as they are bought by so it can brag they have the best of the best at their golf tournament. 

The PGA is absolutely right. It is not going to lend it's prestige or decades long reputation to a golf outing in a country that has chronic human rights abuses.

The PGA now has a new fresh slate of other golfers that will go forward to find their footing and provide some of the best golf on Earth. 

Murdoch's news media is vastly out of step with peers. Journalism is a peer reviewed profession.

Rupert Murdoch is really scared of losing power. Either that or he has no control over FOX News content. The FCC needs to review their licenses. FOX News is assisting in the violence within the country.

Was FOX News at CPAC to cover the communist take over of the Republican donor pool?

I am quite sure no American news network is permitted to bring adverse influence to our democracy. I was somewhat surprised with all the sanctions against Russia that there was conspiracy against the USA allowed.

Victor Orban spoke to the gathering about undermining America media and replacing with media controlled by the party and/or government. That is a conspiracy to undermine the American democracy. There is nothing else it can be called besides a conspiracy against the USA democracy and Constitution.

Murdoch is giving comfort to the enemy.

Tucker Carlson is grossly out of step with his peers. It is one thing to have some kind of genius approach to the news and it is quite something different to manufacture an alternate truth to gain wealth and imbalance the reality of Americans.

June 10, 2022

By Richard Hall

Carlson (click here) has repeatedly played down the attack on the US Capitol

Assault and attempted murder

I don't understand why no one, that we know of, has been charged with assault and battery, attempted murder and murder on January 6th, 2021. That seems like it should have occurred already.

The Capitol Police have many, many injured and even disabled including those dead. Where are the people that caused these injuries and murder as well as attempted murder. If the FBI can discern the people currently charged with issues regarding the attack on the USA Constitution, they certainly can discern those that caused harm.

The people that assaulted the USA Constitution are not foreign fighters. Gitmo has the foreign fighters.

The USA has laws that apply to people that induce suicide. Suicide can be assigned to the actions of others. None of these officers, either Capitol Police or Washington, DC police were leaning into suicide before they were confronted with the profound attack on them and their values.

The January 6th Committee

7:55 pm 

Kevin McCarthy, minority house leaders has no place in this. He has no right to prebuttal or rebuttal because he could have been supportive to this investigation and wasn't. He ridiculed the two members of the Republican Party for participating. McCarthy has no right to do anything but listen to the evidence and realize how much of a traitor of the USA Constitution he really has become.

Just to speak to the time frame it has taken to put the facts together. This committee is right on track in comparison to the Watergate investigation which took two years to culminate it's findings.

8:00 pm Co-chairman Bennie Thompson (click here) opened the hearing. He reminded the room about the oath all Representatives take.

“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
— U.S. Constitution, Article VI, clause 3

8:08 pm Attorney General Bill Barr on Election Day 2020, states he had a conversation with President Trump stating he did not support a challenge making false claims about an illegal election. Then Attorney General Barr left the Trump Administration because he could not lie to the American people regarding the results of the 2020 Election.

8:10 pm The Co-Chairman Thompson states January 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup to over throw the government of the United States of America. Chairman Thompson states this is not a political dialogue, but, one based in fact. This committee presentation are the answers the American people deserve. Chairman Thompson states our country's Consitution is still in danger.

8:15 pm The Co-Chairwoman Liz Cheney took the podium to speak to the events of January 6th. Her message is the President of the United States of America then Donald John Trump refused for hours to speak to the violence occurring at the Capitol Building. She states the violent mob of January 6th was assembled and instructed by then President Donald Trump. The Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys have been charged and some have pleaded guilty. She lays out the fact there is evidence to back all the statements before us tonight.

"On the morning of January 6th President Trump's plan was to stay in office regardless of the vote of 2020..." President Trump engaged in promoting false information regarding the election of 2020. 

Jason Miller, Trump campaign stated Donald Trump was told he was going to lose.

Alex Cannon was to find any allogations there was fraud. A conversation with Mark Meadows resulted in Meadows stating, "There is on there, there."

8:23 pm William Barr told Trump there was no evidence of fraud. He also told Trump there was no basis for the allogations regarding the voting machines issuing the results of the election than the people. Trump was building a case in the public for speculation in the results from the voting machines. 

8:25 pm Ivanka Trump states she respects Attorney General Barr and accepted what he stated.

Guilliani stated he communiated false information in regard to the Trump complaints about the election. 

Trump spent millions of dollars of campaign funds in spreading lies to the people.

Trump told Justice Department officials to report the election was corrupt. Trump replaced those that would not lie in the US Justice Department. Jeff Clark Letter, Acting Attorney General stated there was information that would challenge the election 2020. The letter was a lie.

Richard Donoghue stated the Clark Letter was basically fraud. Jeff Rosen and Richard Donoghue will report in the hearings regarding the lack of information of invalid election results.

Presidential pardons were sought for the fraud that was being carried out to benefit Trump's claim the election was wrongly decided.

The Former Vice President and his staff informed Trump that there was no basis for the fraud he was asking for in regard to the proceedings of January 6th.

Marc Short stated Vice President Pence was loyal to President Trump but his fidelity to the US Constitution was greater than to President Trump.

John Eastman 

A federal judge has ordered John Eastman, (click here) the Trump lawyer who wrote memos arguing then-Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the 2020 election, to turn over about 170 documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol....

8:36 Chairwoman Liz Cheney laid out the content of the hearings to come.

Flynn, Guilliani and Powell and others went to the White House to discuss the election. Following the meeting Donald Trump instructed people with a Tweet to come to Washington, DC. This would be the first indication there would be a violent mob at the ready on January 6th. The violence was planned and known to Trump.

On January 5th Steve Bannon stated, "All hell will break loose tomorrow...." He stated it twice and not just once. There was no mistake he knew there was going to be a violent mob on January 6, 2021.

McCarthy communicated he was scared and attempted to ask help in ending the violence and call off the mob.

It would seem today, in the face of the death and injury of so very many within the USA Capitol, McCarthy is a turncoat and rather lie than admit the truth.

General Milley stated Vice President Pence was clear in his orders to bring the National Guard to assist in returning to the USA Capitol.  To Meadows, "We have to kill Americans and the Vice President was making all the decisions. Meadows stated Trump was still in charge."

8:45 pm The members of the Trump administration resigned in disgust.

Hannity was involved.

The House Jan. 6 select committee’s request (click here) to sit with Ivanka Trump is further highlighting the close relationship Fox News host Sean Hannity had with her father’s White House.

A letter from the panel to Ivanka Trump includes portions of text exchanges from Hannity and then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who has since returned to Fox.

In the texts, Hannity recaps just a few points of a broader communications plan for responding to the attack, among other pieces of advice.


“1- No more stolen election talk,” Hannity reportedly texted McEnany, who herself sat down with committee investigators last week after being subpoenaed.

Per the letter, he continued, “2- Yes, impeachment and the 25th amendment are real and many people will quit…”

McEnany reportedly responded “Love that. Thank you. That is the playbook. I will help reinforce…,” though it is unclear what else she may have said....

Jared Kushner is involved and was very glib about resignations of the legal staff of the Trump Administration.

8:48 pm The statement by Chairwoman Cheney turned to those that served nobly to the USA Constitution in the peaceful transfer of power.

8:49 pm Chairman Thompson included in the record a video of the violence of January 6, 2021. On that day, at 11:25 amthe Proud Boys marched in unison to the USA Capitol. At 12:06 pm Trump addressed the crowd that Vice President Pence would stand up for "the good" of the country and the US Constitution. Trump stated he would be disappointed if Pence didn't reverse the election.

12:55 pm the Capitol Police was beginning to experience concern for their ability to protect the US Capitol. 1:05 pm the Speaker and Vice President entered the US House Chamber to conduct the Electoral College Count.

The Police declared the group was in riot at 1:55 pm. The Capitol Police is stating at 2:03 pm there was a breach of the building. 

2:24 pm Vice President Pence was decided to be disloyal to Trump. The crowd began to rant to bring out Mike Pence.

2:25 pm The crypt is breached by the mob.

2:28 pm The West Plaza was flooded with rioters. There was tear gas in the air and the Capitol Police were clearly in trouble for their own lives.

2:29 pm The Crypt security door was raised as the Capitol Police had no control of the security of the building. The chamber where the vote was being certified now had armed agents at the doors barricaded with furniture.

4:15 pm The mob was still within the Capitol building. There was still a crowd outside. The Capitol Police had completely lost control of the grounds. There was some evidence of push back from inside the building from the National Guard.

Tonight, June 9, 2022, 9:01 pm Recess for 10 minutes

At one point the Chain of Command reverted to Vice President Pence. Trump was nowhere to be found and the Capitol was under seige.

The presentation by the January 6th Committee tonight clarified so much I did not know was occurring. It is chilling. The audacity of those involved to overthrow the USA Constitution is profound. There is no pause in their thinking. Only plans. At no point does it appear there was any remorse or even skepiticism to call it off. This was a plan that was to transpire. 

9:11 pm Witnesses and family members of the Capitol Police who lost their lives.

Officer Caroline Edwards - US Capitol Police Officer

Nick Quested

Witnesses sworn in by Chairman Thompson. Their statements are made part of the record.

The first breach was at the Peace Circle and the witnesses were there at that point. Officer Edwards was assaulted by the crowd and knocked unconscience.

The crowd verbally assaulted her and the verbal assault continued the following days. She fells passionately about her job and proud of her ability to protect the Represenatives and Senators that came and went from the Capitol over years of service. She is articulate.

Nick Quested - filmmaker - had been working in DC for some time filming rallies. The Proud Boys were filmed and he witnessed the anger and profanity of the crowd. He saw the mob, heard it and filmed it. He was subpoenaed.

"Stand back and stand by" resulted in exponential growth of the Proud Boys. Possibly tripled. The Proud Boys were strategic regarding the movements of their members. 

Steward Rhodes - Oath Keepers - stated civil war was the only way forward and the Capitol was a goal. Oath Keepers set up quick reaction forces outside the city in case the group needed arms.

Tarrio and Rhodes met the night before of the insurrection. "Premonition" film to inspire those that would attend tomorrow. 2 PM rioters were at the East and West plazas - 2:25 rioters preached the east side doors and continued to the Ways and Means Room. The rest of the building was flooded.

Oath Keepers

Proud Boys 

Members of both groups declared their guilt in their actions at the Capitol. Tarrio was released from jail and Quested met him when released that night before the insurrection and released for carrying certain gun magazines and for burning the Black Lives Matter flag.

Pheonix Hotel 

Tarrio and Rhodes met at (Hall of Legends) parking garage. 

DC was busier than usual and the hotels were full.

Quested thought he would cover Trump's speech. Proud Boys were marching in his estimation about a few hundred members (250 - 300). One police officer was at the barriers at the Peace Circle, it was subsequently breached. The Capitol Police began to place their protective attire as it was becoming obvious there was a crowd of unruly persons. Quested took a break after capturing pictures of the East Side of the Capitol.

The Peace Circle was the front door of the Capitol. Trump "We fight like hell." The crowd was sent to the Peace Circle where the Proud Boys were gathered.

9:35 pm Chairwoman Liz Cheney took time to question the witnesses.

Officer Edwards - There were about 5 officers on that line and there were bike racks. The crowd was mostly in civilian clothes, some with military fatigues and some with bullet proof vests. Joe Banks was talking with a megaphone and talked about Congress and the crowd with orange hats joined that group. Joseph Biggs stated things like pay rates and how the officers didn't miss a paycheck during the pandemic. Officer Edwards stated she was being turned into a villian and requested more people to assist with the crowd to her supervisor.

The first barricade was ripped down and the crowd headed for the bike racks. She was unable to hold the bike racks to prevent a breach. There was a bike rack on the top of her head and she blacked out after her head hit the concrete stairs. When conscious she returned to service and tried to assist at the West terrace where the Senate steps. More people began to over power the West Front and the bike officers came to join the Police. She assisted to decontaminate officers that were sprayed by the crowd and she administered first aid. 

Officer Sicknick (click here) was near Officer Edwards. Officer Edwards reports that Officer Sicknick was under severe distress during the time they were together to attempt to control the crowd. The officers would eventually be sprayed with tear gas from the crowd.

9:46 pm Officer Edwards remembered falling behind MPD line and her breath was catching in her throat as it appeared to be a war scene. Officers were on the ground bleeding. She was slipping in people's blood. She caught people as they fell. It was carnage and chaos. She can't find the words to describe what she saw. She states she was trained to handle individuals and a crowd, but, is not combat trained. The scene she looked upon was a war zone that she was unprepared to handle in any way.

9:49 pm Chairman Thompson thanks the witnesses.

Brain Concussions are nothing to ignore. 

The witnesses are to answer in writing the questions of other committee members.

9:52 pm Eric Barbar was invited by Trump to come to the Capitol that day. John Wright was called to the Capitol after Trump laid out the false acts within our government. Matthew Walter was inspired by Trump to be on January 6th.  There were others stating the same thing. They believed Trump when he stated actions within the government was concerning.

9:54 pm Adjorned for the evening.

The infomation presented by the January 6th Committee is new and considered breaking news.

10:02 pm

January 9, 2022

By Isaac Stanley-Becker

, 

Mariana Alfaro

, 

Rachel Weiner

 and 

Matthew Brown

...Trump resisted entreaties (click here) from his staff to call off the mob, Cheney said, and gave no order to deploy the National Guard. Instead, he issued tweets that were read aloud by members of the mob, according to video presented by the committee, which also showed aides in the office of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the House minority leader, running in fear.

Trump expressed agreement with the chants of his supporters to “hang Mike Pence,” said Cheney, who previewed evidence that the president responded with the sentiment: “maybe our supporters have the right idea.”...

Florida is a racist state.

February 13, 2014
By Robert Beaty

Fort Lauderdale - Florida has a long and relatively unknown history of lynching, (click here) a historian and former Florida International University professor says.

Marvin Dunn, 74, made the remark as he discussed his latest book, The Beast in Florida – A History of Anti-Black Violence with a handful of attendees at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center on Monday. “Florida has a terrible record of lynching,” Dunn said. “Florida has done its best to hide its history.”

Dunn spent 10 years traveling across parts of the central and northern areas of the state to cities where lynching occurred. He said there was more lynching in Florida after the Civil War than in other states such as Alabama and Mississippi because whites, who fought for the Confederates and lost, came to Florida where there was available land. At the time, the state had a large population of free blacks.

“Race violence became a big problem from the very beginning,” Dunn said. Dunn said the leading cause of the lynching or killing of blacks in the state was not sexual encounters with white women but a black man either involved in a murder or accused of killing a white person.

“Many of the victims were not hanged,” he said. “Most of them were shot to death.” His research took him to Marianna in the panhandle to the infamous town of Rosewood, which is west of Ocala near the gulf of Mexico, where an entire black community was wiped out. His research included interviewing witnesses of lynching and descendants of relatives who were victims or who perpetrated the lynching....

It is called "Revisionist History" and it is happening today in the USA. DeSantis needs to be prosecuted for fraud and Florida sued for enforced racism.

DeSantis is enforcing a mind set when it comes to race. He nor Florida's legislature has the right to determine the extent past events form today's society. The injustices of the past are known to Americans and attempt to mute that truth is an assault on Freedom of Speech.

The WOKE laws oppress expression of known grievances the African-American community has with the American society in general. DeSantis seeks to oppression free expression and enforce silence in the history of racist harm. The WOKE laws will impose punitive measures in order to enforce that oppression. It ends diversity training at all levels of society. The laws are harmful and hurtful.

The question is, does DeSantis represent racists' last breath or the beginning of enforced hatred. Where hatred takes hold there will be repercussions in society. One of the reasons diversity training exists is to remove misunderstandings and prejudice. Minority members of society could lose upward movement if hatred is allowed to exist.

I think this is an extension of the same racism noticed by the Supreme Court in relation to the Voting Act of 1964.

DeSantis doesn't like the feeling of being a member of a society that killed innocent minorities and/or oppressed their wealth and opportunity. Laws reversing racism and discrimination is proven not to be enough as segregation is still a reality. This law by DeSantis and his legislators is more of the divisive measures that continue to cause problems for American minorities. This type of legislation will only bring about justification that will allow violence against minorities.

DeSantis is justifying history of White Supremacy. (click here)

...An individual, by virtue of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, bears responsibility for, or should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of, actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, sex, or national origin.

An individual, by virtue of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment to achieve diversity, equity, or inclusion.

An individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin.

Such virtues as merit, excellence, hard work, fairness, neutrality, objectivity, and racial colorblindness are racist or sexist, or were created by members of a particular race, color, sex, or national origin to oppress members of another race, color, sex, or national origin. 

May 12, 2022
By Andrew Atterbury

Tallahassee - Florida’s Department of Education (click here) is explicitly aiming to keep critical race theory and “social justice” out of social studies textbooks that the state will ultimately adopt for its new teaching standards.

The agency, in recent undated guidance, asked textbook publishers to avoid those topics on top of “culturally responsive teaching, social and emotional learning, and any other unsolicited theories” as the DeSantis administration and Republicans continue to scrutinize what students are learning in public schools, especially on the issues of race and gender identity. Florida already has received national attention after rejecting scores of math books for broaching topics state leaders deemed “impermissible.”...

Florida has a great deal of inquaity in it's society. Now, thanks to the Florida legislature and DeSantis, it can't be talked about in relation to race.

Will this chart even be allowed within Florida's borders under Florida's WOKE laws (click here).

Florida's inequality

The top 1 percent of income earners (click here) have continued to amass a greater portion of all income earned even after the Great Recession, according to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The analysis shows that although incomes took a hit during the recession, the top 1 percent of families have accrued a disproportionate amount of the income gains in each state and the nation. In Florida, the top 1 percent of families earned 39.5 times as much as the bottom 99 percent, as of 2015....

...Florida’s income inequality has worsened

Nationally, the top 1 percent earned 26.3 times as much as the bottom 99 percent, on average. The average income of the top 1 percent was $1,316,985, compared to $50,107 for the bottom 99 percent.

In Florida, which ranked 46th in 2013, income inequality is much worse than the national average. The average income of the top 1 percent of families was $1,543,124, compared to an average of $39,094 for the bottom 99 percent. It was second only to New York, which has the worst income inequality across all states with a ration of 44.4 between the top and bottom average incomes....

Heroes come in all forms.

There is no doubt StarLink saved precious Ukrainian lives when no other power in the world could. Musk gets a pass on his estimation of Twitter. Sometimes things balance out in this world and this is one time it should for Elon Musk.

May 11, 2022

ON MARCH 29, Ukrainian forces rolled into the shattered streets of Irpin, (click here) northwest of Kyiv, littered with blackened wreckage and dead bodies. The destruction had knocked all 24 of the city’s cell towers offline, preventing traumatized survivors from letting friends and relatives know they were safe. “Most of those base stations had significant destruction,” says Kostyantyn Naumenko, head of radio access network planning and development at cellular network Vodafone Ukraine. Just two days later, with help from Elon Musk, the city was back online.

Irpin was reconnected on March 31 after engineers from Vodafone Ukraine arrived with a circular white satellite antenna known by its manufacturer as Dishy McFlatface—a terminal for the Starlink satellite internet service offered by Musk’s SpaceX. The engineers mounted the receiver and its motorized base to a mobile base station on the edge of Irpin whose fiber-optic connection and power had been severed, and attached a generator. Within hours, the city was back online, and so were its remaining residents. “The first thing they are doing is calling relatives to say that they are safe and sound,” Naumenko says....

It is amazing the lies Republicans sign on for.

This report was filed before the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The truth is really easy to find. I didn't need FOX News to find it.

January 8, 2021
By Jim Garamone DOD News

Washington – Once the reality of the assault on the U.S. Capitol (click here) became apparent, National Guard troops responded appropriately and with alacrity, Department of Defense officials said in a phone briefing on Jan. 7.

"Yesterday was a horrible and shameful day here in the capital, and the nation at large," Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said on the call. "The District of Columbia asked the Army for help, and our National Guard responded."

McCarthy, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman and Kenneth P. Rapuano, the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, put the timeline of the National Guard response in perspective during the call.

District of Columbia officials knew of the planned protests and had requested some assistance when the "First Amendment demonstrations" were planned for Jan. 5 and 6, McCarthy said. Based on this request, officials called up 340 National Guardsmen to help. The Guardsmen were assigned mainly to traffic control, Metro crowd control, some logistics support and a 40-member quick reaction force to be based at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

"No other requests were made," the Army secretary said....

Trump's claims have been debunked. It will be refreshing to hear the reports of truth from the January 6th Committee.

December 16, 2021

By McKenzie Sadeghi

...Trump’s claim (click here) is one of many efforts by Republicans and supporters of the former president to shift blame and downplay the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that resulted in four deaths and led to more than 600 arrests....

This is what an official ballot drop box looks like in California.

June 7, 2022

...“It’s sad (click here) to see that we are in Silicon Valley, one of the richest areas in the world, and to see homelessness and food insecurity, and it seems to be getting worse. Possibly going into recession is terrifying. How families with young kids are buying their everyday staples, I don’t know.”...

For me when the economy goes astray, the answer is always develop the local economy wherever possible.

Local produce and meats reduce the overall cost of food. There is far less transportation to market needed and that is only the beginning. Locally produced foods, even refined foods, can add jobs to the economy, expanding the number of consumers and bringing down prices when demand goes up. That's right. In local economies, the demand for more items will bring down the prices simply because the brick and morter needed to produce the products does not increase the cost while high profits are realized.

As local producers receive larger profits due to increased consumer base and larger numbers of items sold, the price will ultimately remain stable or come down as it becomes more efficient with increased production.

What does it cost to purchase and raise one turkey with a non-GMO philosophy? A lot. The purchase of the bird is higher and the personal hours is the same as if there were hundred turkeys. As more turkeys are fed their feed cost drops due to larger purchase of items needed. A bag of corn for one turkey is far more expense than a truckload of corn for 100 turkeys.

So, when the economy seems worrisome look to local merchants and their suppliers to expand their consumer base and increase the opportunity to serve more people. Everyone profits. The producer, the feed supplier, the market where the turkeys are sold. What becomes more efficient is the cost of personnel and the brick and morter that supports the increased production, that includes a truck idling on diesel waiting for more deliveries. The more the truck delivers, the less the cost to own it.

Stop worrying, get busy!

This is our country!

This is our economy!

This is our democracy and not Vladimir Putin's obedient satellite!

Who would do this?

 Example of highly immoral legislators.

June 7, 2022

..."Simple solution: (click here) Say a particular AR-15 costs $950. Then gun store owners simply need to sell a 'fun-sized' Snickers bar for $950. Then have the customer eat the candy at the store so they can't request a refund. And then sell the AR-15 for $1. Then charge the $10 excise tax," he tweeted on Monday....

The country is trying to find measures to curtail gun violence and the idea of a 1000 percent tax on them would be viable and is filibuster proof. So, Republicans learned of the effort and decided it would be easy for a loophole to exist for gun sellers.

Legislators that are to pass the 1000 percent tax on weapons of war needs to be sure the legislation has no loopholes and/or address them when they manifest.

This example of immorality only goes to show what caliber of legislator sits in Washington, DC that would even brag about methods to circumvent a law that will make it very difficult to purchase a weapon of war.

The question arises as to what would come of the taxes and can it easily be repealed? 

The taxes when collected need to go into the budget that funds programs for police. If repelled it would cause a reduction in monies to law enforcement and there needs to be notice to the public before such repeal laws could be passed.

NO MORE SUNDOWNING! Public notice is the new sundown. It needs to be the type of notice that will allow for 2 years to make the rounds in the states and public comment taken both in physical testimony and/or written. Once the public comment has been collected only then can any legislation to roll back a vitally important tax be voted to rescind it. 

Federal legislators need to make the bills they pass very difficult to reverse. Our country is taking on the appearance of a banana republic and it has to be stopped. This is ridiculous. The Affordable Care Act is a vitally important measure and has been hacked away at by the states and federal Republicans. It is time to make legislation that is passed very difficult to reverse.

Women's health needs is the same in all 50 states. This is nothing but diabolical by the Supreme Court.

The Robert's Court is dismantling the federal government.

June 8, 2022

Gov. Tony Evers (click here) announced Wednesday during a news conference in Milwaukee that he is calling the Legislature into a special session to repeal Wisconsin's 172-year-old criminal abortion ban.

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, Wisconsin's law could go immediately into effect banning abortion at any stage of pregnancy without exception for rape, incest or the health of the woman.

Wisconsin remains one of several states with existing criminal statutes enacted before Roe v. Wade became the law.

"Every single Wisconsinite should have the right to consult their family, their faith and their doctor to make a reproductive health care decision that is right for them. And every single Wisconsinite should be able to make that deeply personal decision without interference from politicians who don't know anything about their life circumstances, values, or responsibilities," Evers said. "We cannot allow our kids and grandkids to grow up in a world where they have fewer rights than we did growing up. That's not the future we’ve promised them. And it’s not the future they deserve."

Evers signed the executive order following the news conference.

The special session is to be held at noon June 22.

The Robert's Court has a systemic agenda and it is to dismantle the authority of the federal government.

...At times, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. (click here) has labored to maintain the Supreme Court’s legitimacy against the gale-force pressures of partisan acrimony and social division. When it comes to voting rights, he has pushed in the opposite direction, presiding over the court’s systematic dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, overriding Congress’s clear intentions and gravely injuring U.S. democracy....

Liars, the new trusted politician.

What does the preference for liars say about the electorate's ability to discern the truth and truth tellers? Why do voters prefer to be lied to rather than standing within a paradigm of the truth? Are candidates mired in the truth facing designer speeches taylored to the emotional preference of the voters. This is crazy, the basis of the USA Constitution is always the truth as demanded by the trial process. Why is the truth so mistrusted? People can't "get there" in their understanding of life? Undereducated? Is the lack of education and reading to current events too much of a drudgery? 

The Working Poor may be burdened with the acceptance of liars because they receive their information about life on the run and fractured. It has to be addressed and in a way that is nonthreatening. Voters need empowerment to move forward with the truth. 

I remember Bill Clinton was praised for explaining the events of the times. I think voters need to be given the truth through explanation and fact in a way that is empowering and not ridiculing. Ridiculing is a strong motivator these days and should be seen for what it is, a distraction from a person's strength of character. Ridiculing is a method that should itself be ridiculed.

It think there is a lot wrong in the motivations of voters.

May 27, 2022
By Richard Wolfe

We are smack in the age of the normalization of lying. (click here)

Not of lies. Of lying.

Lying as a strategy, lying as an ethos. Lying because lying as a modus operandi can reap benefits, even if tainted. Benefits ranging from monetary gain to sexual gratification to power and influence.

Everyone tells lies but only some people are liars. The distinction is important.

The comedian Jon Lovitz used to have a schtick on "Saturday Night Live" wherein he played Tommy Flanagan aka The Pathological Liar. He’d tell an initial lie and then try to authenticate it by telling subsequent lies, each more absurd than the last. After each lie came out, he’d say out loud what his inner mind was thinking, e.g., “yeah, yeah. That’s it. That’s right.”....

This RETREAT from the truth is more toxic and is has become a standard method of maintaining support for Republicans. The Republicans have surrendered to lying. Given their ability to obstruct this is a dangerous paradigm that needs to be addressed. McConnell has been a liar for a long time, but, it also faciliated Trump even during his years in office.

Lying facilitated the problem with the global pandemic we face now in it's second year. There is a lot wrong.

...Enter California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a liar also but a dismally inept one. The kingdom of Flanagandom is denied him because he, McCarthy, often begins by telling the truth. He regains his feet, however, when the perils of his truth saying are realized and he then lies about what he’d said. And then he floats another lie. Repeat ad nauseum.

Impurity of process notwithstanding, Tommy would still beam with admiration....

Does every method of politics have to be unearthed again?

What does this do to the state of play of politics? Voters are voting ideology and not for the candidate? It further divides the people. How does an ideological voter reconcile their candidate appearing under other ideologies as a candidate?

Why not just remove the idea of political party all together? Funding would be diffuse with more candidates funded by their own monies to lead most voting.

June 7, 2022
By David Wildstein

A new political party (click here) aimed at attracting moderate voters will test New Jersey’s law banning fusion voting by filing nominating petitions today to create the Moderate Party with two-term Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) as their candidate in New Jersey’s 7th district.

The move would allow Malinowski’s name to appear twice on the general election ballot, giving moderate Republicans – the kind who used to vote for candidates like Christine Todd Whitman and Thomas H. Kean, Sr. – the chance to vote for him without having to do so in the Democratic column.

One of the organizers of the Moderate Party is Republican Richard A. Wolfe, a township committeeman in East Amwell and a former three-term mayor. Wolfe had contributed $4,500 to Tom Kean, Jr. for his 2020 run to unseat Malinowski.

“I felt compelled to help form the Moderate Party because I believe the majority of voters in this country are neither far right nor far left, but instead support positions that are at or close to the center — in other words, moderate positions,” Wolfe said. “These centrist voters feel that their party of choice, whether the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, no longer shares their views.”

Fusion voting – the ability for a candidate to run on multiple party lines and combine their vote totals – was legal in New Jersey until around 1920 when Democratic and Republican party leaders sought to limit the influence of independent candidates. It’s still legal in eight U.S. states, including New York....

A Rapper is not a criminal because he sings about it.

RICO (click here)

The list of federal crimes specified in RICO includes bribery, fraud, gambling offenses, money laundering, financial and economic crimes, obstructing justice or a criminal investigation, and murder for hire. At the state level, racketeering can include crimes such as murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, and drug crimes, as long as they align with the "generic definition of the state offense referenced at the time RICO was enacted."

May 22, 2022
By Evette Dionne

In early January,(click here) Atlanta-based rapper Gunna’s third studio album, “DS4Ever,” debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart after selling 150,000 copies in its first week. It was the seeming culmination of Gunna’s rap ascension: He has hit songs (“Pushin P,” the first single from “DS4Ever,” spawned a viral TikTok trend), an enviable label situation with rap superstar Young Thug, and a much-rumored but never confirmed relationship with pop star Chlöe. But it all came crashing down last week when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis unveiled a sweeping 56-count indictment that accuses Gunna, Young Thug and 26 of their associates of using their music label, Young Slime Life, as a cover to participate in criminal activities....

These charges are not out of line with the national intelligence of The Bloods, as in Crits and Bloods. What do the Bloods have to do with any of this? “Young Slime Life” was formed in 2012 according to current facts and the is affiliated with the Boods.

By convicting the artists that sing within the culture the prosecutors hope to end the long term success of violence. Below is an assessment of the Bloods from the State of Virginia. These gangs are followed because they do indulge in crime. 

The Bloods street gang (click here) has become one of the most violent and notorious criminal organizations, spreading its influence in the U.S. from coast to coast. A traditionally African American gang, Bloods membership today includes Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asians. Blood members are involved in a variety of criminal activities including murder, assault, robbery, and narcotics distribution. Nationally, gang membership in the Bloods has been estimated between 15,000 and 20,000 members.1 Blood sets range from highly organized and structured groups similar to the Italian Mafia to loosely organized cliques with little discipline and loyalty. The Bloods have grown in popularity over the years thanks in part to the proliferation of music, movies, and television shows glorifying the “gangsta” lifestyle as well as social networking sites and the vast amount of information on the gang available on the Internet. Current intelligence gathered by the Virginia Fusion Center and other law enforcement agencies indicates the Bloods are a significant criminal threat to the Commonwealth and will continue to grow in numbers and operational scope....

Interesstingly enough, there is also a case in New York one would not expect to see. A murder story author is indicted for the violent death of her husband.  She is Caucasian, but, she is also a woman. But, her writing exposed her as a suspect when normally that would not pre-determine the murderer.

May 18, 2022
By Mike Baker

Portland - While pondering the best methods for spousal murder, (click here) the romance novelist Nancy Brophy wrote that her career as an author — with steamy stories of romance and betrayal — left her thinking often about killings and how the police investigate them.

A spouse who commits mariticide will almost certainly become a prime suspect, she said in a 2011 blog post titled “How to Murder Your Husband.” The wife, she said, must “be organized, ruthless and very clever.”...

...Seven years later, Ms. Brophy’s husband, Daniel, was brutally murdered, shot twice inside the kitchen of a Portland, Ore., culinary institute where he was arriving for work on a sunny June morning. Now, prosecutors are trying to build a follow-the-string criminal case to prove that Ms. Brophy, 71, killed her husband with the same type of brutal cunning she once speculated would be necessary to evade conviction and reap the rewards — compiling gun components to avoid leaving a trace, attacking when no cameras or witnesses were present and moving to collect on a series of life insurance policies within days of her husband’s death....

The death of Mr. Brophy is not a RICO issue, but, it is an author facing her own fiction as proof of the murder.

Organized crime has always been one of those soft spots for law enforcement where it is often too difficult to prove. The idea of taking down the "real" gangsters at the top is difficult. Law enforcement across the country would love to stop these crimes and taking down the leadership is supposed to achieve it. Considering some of the history of an east coast USA crime family was first the dreamscape of two inmates at Ryker's Island, the idea of ending it is not likely.

The issue should not be the culture or the language or icons of RAP, but, if the monies earned from performances and/or sales of recordings supported crime or co-mingled with monies gotten from crime, then the relationship may be real, but, to assign a song or performer to a RICO statute without a solid link to crime then it is a slippery slope that needs scrutiny.

Matthew said what most Americans think.

President Zelenskyy needs to assemble an elite force to quickly empower the fighting force.

I would like to know why the instructions were needed to begin with and why they weren't issued in Ukrainian? The USA military needs to stand behind the sales.

These are not the basic war weapons. They need instructors. It would be nice to save lives at the front if the weapons could be used.

June 6, 2022

Soldiers desperate for advanced arms (click here) to match those of Russian forces have resorted to Google Translate to decipher the instructions for their new tools. And the U.S. issued seizure warrants for two planes owned by a billionaire tied to Putin....

NATO needs to let Ukraine fight the war it needs to fight and that very well may be taking down Russia's munitions within Russia. It is obvious NATO is not fighting this war, but, it is unethical to sell weapons to a country and then tell it how to use them limiting their ability to conduct war. That is a bit insane. Why help through sales, if the conditions on the weapons' use results in the loss of soldiers and valuable advances against the enemy?

June 6, 2022

By Karoun Demirjian

 and 

Julian Duplain

 

Russia escalated its assault against Ukraine (click here) on the battlefield Monday, pummeling a city that has emerged as a key battleground in the east as Moscow expanded sanctions against those who have condemned its actions during the war.

The fight for Severodonetsk has “worsened for us,” Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region, said in a televised interview. Russian forces have been shelling and expanding their footprint in the city, though Ukrainian troops remain in control of its industrial zone.

The creeping losses come as the West scrambles to send Ukraine more firepower as fighting in the country’s eastern Donbas region intensifies. On Monday, Britain said it would send rocket launch systems that can be used to strike targets up to 50 miles away despite threats from the Kremlin that it would retaliate. The announcement follows a pledge by the United States to send Ukraine similar weapons....

It is genocide Ukrainians are fighting. In some ways, it is more so that the soldiers are dying as well. 

June 2, 2022

By Dan Lamothe

Colleville-Sur-Mer, France — The top Pentagon general (click here) said Monday that Ukrainians are “experiencing the same horrors that the French citizenry experienced in World War II at the hands of the Nazi invaders,” drawing a direct comparison between Russia’s invasion of its neighbor and a conflict fought on the nearby beaches of Normandy 78 years ago.....

It is very strange to have Russia pervert its meaning of victory in WWII. We were all part of the Allied Forces. Putin's politics has created a Russia no one recognizes anymore.

Sedition

I am slightly concerned about the doubt placed over the indictments by the Department of Justice regarding it's charges of sedition conspiracy. There has been a history of these charges from time to time in the country when someone becomes concerned about militias and enormous numbers of guns. The indictments before this were mostly reversed in the courts. There are reasons for that. One of the reasons is that regardless of all the preparations by militias to destroy the USA government the prosecutors needed to prove the plans could succeed.

18 U.S. Code § 2384 - Seditious conspiracy (click here)

It is one thing to prepare to climb Mount Everest and it is quite something else to actually accomplish it. That is a fairly good analogy of the previous charges of seditious conspiracy. 

This time it is different. 

The people charged with seditious conspiracy are also White Supremacists. They have a reason for their hatred. That reason is not a valid one, but, simply a belief system that is false but very powerful to motivate young men to find their identity within hate empowered by weapons of war. Standing alone White Supremacists are not sincerely a threat to a government regardless of their belief systems and armaments. 

The difference this time in the charges of seditious conspiracy is that the people who took part in the violent attempt to coupe the 2000 Presidential Elections actually could succeed. The groups and others outside the groups made their way into the Capitol when no one besides the US House and Senate and support staff were authorized to be there.

The mob made their way into the Capitol, caused harm to US Capitol Guards, caused the death of one directly and four others indirectly when they took their own lives. 

August 2, 2021
By Jan Wolfe

The District of Columbia's police department (click here) on Monday said two more police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol have died by suicide, bringing to four the number of known suicides by officers who guarded the building that day....

...Four people died on the day of the violence.

A Capitol Police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the following day. More than 100 police officers were injured....

...During emotional testimony last week, four police officers told a House of Representatives special committee that they were beaten, threatened, taunted with racial insults, and thought they might die as they struggled to defend the Capitol against the mob.

This time on January 6, 2021 the well laid plans nearly succeeded with nooses at the ready to hang those that did not cooperate with the mob. The power within basically unarmed rebels was exceptional. It was organized. It even had a spiritual leader among the leaders that day. For all intents and purpose the mob took over the US Capitol and stopped the peaceful transition of power in counting the Electoral College Votes. 

Truly that day, it was the people within the legislature and the Vice President that thwarted the rebellion. The power structure within the USA Constitution was upheld, although the rebels would say they won because the Electoral College Vote was not completed until January 7th. The Former Vice President Pence never adjorned the session of Congress, but, simply delayed it until it was safe to return to the chamber. The count was within the Congressional session that began on January 6th and the USA Constitution was upheld and maintained the power of the USA Government.

We, as a country, now know it is possible to end the USA Constitution and we don't need a Constitutional Convention. If the rebels were armed it very well could have succeeded although when the National Guard arrived that ended the uprising. It is duly noted the conspriacy also included the inability to call up the National Guard. That is very high level cooperation with the mob. The organization of the ambitions could have been successful. Here again, it was Former Vice President Pence that was able to break through the log jam to call in the National Guard. If the National Guard had not arrived we might be looking at a very different scenario.

Those currently charged with seditious conspiracy were remarkably successful. It was the patriotic and loyal Congresswomen and Congressmen that stood their ground to complete the Electoral College count that protected the proceedings and upheld the USA Constitution.

So.

This time the charges of seditious conspiracy filed by the Garland Department of Justice may see a jury finding those charged as guilty. The circle was complete and their success had a very strong possibility. Because they did not succeed was due to another group of people that saw things differently. The USA Constitution was protected, the next time it might not be and those charged are definitely guilty of the crimes they were indicted with today.

If someone wants to feel vitally important to freedom do it at the USA Capitol. Indeed.

June 3, 2022
By Melissa Nann Burke

Washington - Police said they arrested a Michigan man (click here) outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday morning after he was found with a fake badge, a BB gun, body armor, high capacity magazines and other ammunition.

U.S. Capitol Police said they arrested Jerome Felipe, 53, of Flint outside the Capitol after he presented officers with a fake badge that said "Department of the INTERPOL" on it.

Felipe, who is a retired New York City police officer, also made a statement that he was a criminal investigator with the agency, according to police....

There are mental health problems with the BB gunman. I honestly never heard of high capacity BB guns. Do they sell this stuff at Walmart? Nice looking car. The Soap Box Derby occurred on Saturday in Flint.

Flint Soap Box Derby (click here)

June 2, 2022
By Jake May

Flint - Soap box cars will soar down Chevrolet Avenue in Flint again this year. (click here)

After a two-year pause amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Flint Soap Box Derby returns from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 4 at Chevy Commons.

This year’s return to racing will celebrate the beginning of summer with an emphasis on community and collaboration said Kevin Cronin, executive director of the Flint Soap Box Derby....

There were recent shootings in Flint and people were injured and one death. The CDC is recommending masks for indoors in Flint and in 10 other counties.

A civil suit was postponed becauase a juror came down with COVID (click here). The effects of the lead poisoning is measureable.

May 19, 2022

Math achievement for school-age children in Flint decreased (click here) and the proportion of children with special needs increased as a result of the Michigan city’s water crisis during 2014-16, according to a new University of Michigan study.

Those are the main conclusions from research that for the first time examined data concerning the effects of the lead-in-water crisis on the academic outcomes of school-age children.

Still, there was little difference in the academic outcomes of school-age children living in homes with lead pipes compared to those in homes with copper pipes, suggesting that community crises may have effects on health and well-being beyond those tied directly to exposure to lead in the water supply.

Authors of the report matched student-level longitudinal data from the Michigan Department of Education, via the Michigan Education Data Center, and data from household-level service line inspections conducted by Flint’s Fast Action and Sustainability Program....

May 9, 2022
By Steve Carmody

A federal judge has given Flint residents more time to file a claim (click here) for a share of a $626 million legal settlement tied to the Flint water crisis.

Monday morning, U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy extended the deadline for people to file a claim until June 30. The original deadline had been this Thursday.

More than 50,000 people applied to be part of the settlement of damage claims against the state of Michigan, the city of Flint, McLaren Flint Hospital and Rowe Professional Services. But as of last week, only about 13,000 claims had been filed.

As Special Master Deborah Greenspan oversees the Flint water settlement claims process. In a report to Judge Levy, Greenspan recommended extending the deadline.

“Some individuals have...expressed confusion about the settlement process and mistakenly believed that registering for the settlement was sufficient to recover under the settlement and did not understand that they also needed to submit Claim Forms and Claims Materials.”...

The ill juror was dismissed (click here). Recovery from COVID could take weeks if not months, so it was the best decision. The deterioration of math scores for the children of Flint is a result of brain injury. That is what has occurred with the lead poisoning. It caused brain injury.

June 5, 2022

The Flint Registry (click here) says it’s kicking off a summer of outreach with a citywide mailing that includes a reusable tote and information for city residents.

Approximately 40,000 totes are being mailed to Flint households by the organization, which registers individuals exposed to lead during the city’s water crisis and matches them with available health care and other resources.

Now in its fifth year of operation, Flint Registry was created and funded by Congress in 2016 and is supported by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health....

June 2, 2022
By Ron Fonger

There’s a narrow question that the jury (click here) will have to answer at the conclusion of a civil trial tied to the Flint water crisis.

But beyond determining the culpability of two consultants for Flint’s lead-contaminated water, there’s a subplot that’s just as important to a broader audience as the trial enters a new phase on Tuesday, June 7

What information has and will the trial in U.S. District Court produce about how the water crisis unfolded and why it was allowed to linger for so long?...

The appeals court should uphold the preciding judge's decision, otherwise they will have to disavow the testimony already submitted. If the appeals court allows the demands by the defendents the case may have to be reassessed and charges refiled. The timeline to charges will have to be allowed if the appeals court disavows the current testimony.

May 24, 2022
By Steve Carmody

A federal appeals court (click here) has scheduled a hearing for five former government officials seeking to plead the fifth to avoid testifying during a Flint water crisis civil trial.

Former Governor Rick Snyder, former Snyder aide Rich Baird, former Flint emergency managers Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Early and former Flint city official Howard Croft don’t want to testify in open court.

On the stand Monday, Croft told the judge in the Flint bellwether trial he would invoke his right against self-incrimination if called to testify.

The five men are all facing criminal charges related to their handling of the Flint water crisis.

Since all five did not invoke their Fifth Amendment right during pre-trial depositions for the bellwether trial before they were indicted, U.S. District Judge Judith Levy said they could not use it now.
e
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments on their appeal. A three judge panel in Cincinnati, Ohio will preside over a court hearing on the appeal July 28....

What bothers me about the idea the emergency managers alone was responsible for the Flint Water Crisis, is the new job description. Who wrote and enforced the new job requirements of the Emergency Managers? The definition of an Emergency Manager was changed under Snyder to be more invasive to the organization of a mayor and council. Snyder ran his election campaign on the idea of cities being financially responsible. When he took office all the parameters of Emergency Managers changed from focusing on school funding to taking over the mayor and council. I think the charges are short changed. There is far more responsibility by the Governor involved in this Flint crime. So, while the Emergency Managers carried out fiscal changes they were doing it with new job descriptions generated by Snyder. 

June 2, 2022
By Ron Fonger

Michigan water regulators (click here) were unwilling or unable to challenge emergency managers appointed by former Gov. Rick Snyder as Flint prepared to change its water source in 2014, a former state monitor of the city’s water system says.

Adam Rosenthal, an employee of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, made the charge in a videotaped deposition played for a federal civil court jury on Wednesday, June 1.

Rosenthal answered yes when asked if his “ability to implement your duties and responsibilities were superseded by ... the emergency managers.”

“What I understood was the emergency managers were in control of everything,” he testified....

Good night.