…must be recognized for what it is, along with the people that promote it. The faithful of any religion can no longer fall victim to those that pander to them while promoting hate and uncertain futures of Americans.
Friday, June 16, 2023
Every American has a "legitimate state of being" so long as it does not promote crime.
By Paula Reed Ward and Justin Vellucci
State Rep. Dan Frankel (center background) listens along with trial participants and congregation leaders as Jeff Frankenstein (right), CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, speaks to local media after the guilty verdict was handed down against Robert Bowers on Friday in Pittsburgh.
It was almost a foregone conclusion. (click here)
Even defense attorneys for Robert Bowers told the jury that their client did it.
He’s the one who entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill on the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, carrying an AR-15 and three handguns.
He’s the one who opened fire in the synagogue’s Pervin Chapel, in the lobby, on the stairs, near the rabbi’s study used by the Dor Hadash congregation, outside the New Light congregation’s sanctuary and in a basement kitchen.
He’s the one who killed 11 people as they began services that day focused on the Jewish tradition of welcoming strangers.
And now he’s the one facing possible execution for his actions.
A jury of seven women and five men on Friday found Bowers guilty of all 63 federal counts against him, including that he killed 11 people at the synagogue because they were Jewish....
It was almost a foregone conclusion. (click here)
Even defense attorneys for Robert Bowers told the jury that their client did it.
He’s the one who entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill on the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, carrying an AR-15 and three handguns.
He’s the one who opened fire in the synagogue’s Pervin Chapel, in the lobby, on the stairs, near the rabbi’s study used by the Dor Hadash congregation, outside the New Light congregation’s sanctuary and in a basement kitchen.
He’s the one who killed 11 people as they began services that day focused on the Jewish tradition of welcoming strangers.
And now he’s the one facing possible execution for his actions.
A jury of seven women and five men on Friday found Bowers guilty of all 63 federal counts against him, including that he killed 11 people at the synagogue because they were Jewish....
I am confident everyone at the trial were effected by the day, but, the face of Dan Frankel really reflect the moment. Sorrow along with 'when does this hate actually end?'.
The permission to hate has to end. That means candidates for office at any level must denounce fully hate in any form. It can't be acceptable for any candidate to give the most minor permission of it's presence in the American society.
Charles Sykes is Editor-at-Large of the Bulwark.
For most Americans, (click here) including Republicans, the resurgence of hatred against Jewish people is the return of an ancient evil. But Donald Trump, who has refused to disavow his dinner with two of the country’s most virulent antisemites, apparently sees it very differently.
Trump is seldom careful about who he offends — tossing out jibes, insults, and threats with reckless abandon. He is more than willing to lash out at cultural elites and the people he calls “disloyal Jews” who support Democrats. But Trump has been consistent in his reluctance to offend what he regards as a crucial part of the base that he has nurtured over the years. He is unapologetic about associating with overt neo-Nazis, and unwilling to issue full-throated denunciations of antisemitism. Trump is willing to draw this barrage of opprobrium for one simple reason: He believes that he has tapped into something in the American electorate, especially among evangelical Christians, who have ingrained — but complicated — attitudes toward Israel and Jews....
The demand to end hate in the USA must be a part of the political platform of every candidate running for any office. This is not just my point of view, there is common understanding that when influential people lean into the allowance of hate, it takes hold and ignites overt expression of it.
Simon Taylor (click here) was on his way to an appointment in Flatbush when he pulled into a local filling station one afternoon last week. It was a lovely fall day in Brooklyn, but as he began to fuel up, the climate turned sour: Another customer, spotting the skullcap atop Rabbi Taylor’s head, launched into an expletive-laden rant about how much he hated Jews, and then, when the rabbi photographed his license plate, started chasing him with an upraised fist.
Rabbi Taylor, a 38-year-old father of five who oversees social services and disaster relief programs for an umbrella organization of Orthodox Jews, was shaken. A native of England who now lives on Long Island, he wondered if the incident was connected to a mainstreaming of antisemitic rhetoric in America.
“I’ve never had anything like this in New York, and it definitely felt to me like this whole Kanye West thing had something to do with it,” said Rabbi Taylor, referring to the ugly utterances of the hip-hop legend now known as Ye. “All it takes is a couple influential people to say things, and suddenly it becomes very tense.”...
December 9, 2022
by Marc Rod
November 4, 2022
By Michael Paulson and Ruth Graham
Simon Taylor (click here) was on his way to an appointment in Flatbush when he pulled into a local filling station one afternoon last week. It was a lovely fall day in Brooklyn, but as he began to fuel up, the climate turned sour: Another customer, spotting the skullcap atop Rabbi Taylor’s head, launched into an expletive-laden rant about how much he hated Jews, and then, when the rabbi photographed his license plate, started chasing him with an upraised fist.
Rabbi Taylor, a 38-year-old father of five who oversees social services and disaster relief programs for an umbrella organization of Orthodox Jews, was shaken. A native of England who now lives on Long Island, he wondered if the incident was connected to a mainstreaming of antisemitic rhetoric in America.
“I’ve never had anything like this in New York, and it definitely felt to me like this whole Kanye West thing had something to do with it,” said Rabbi Taylor, referring to the ugly utterances of the hip-hop legend now known as Ye. “All it takes is a couple influential people to say things, and suddenly it becomes very tense.”...
Antisemitism is not a minor issue. The hate must stop. Regardless of the type of hate of any human being in the USA, must stop.
by Marc Rod
Jewish leaders gathered with senior administration officials yesterday to discuss methods for tackling antisemitism
A first-of-its-kind White House summit on antisemitism (click here) highlighted a growing push inside the organized Jewish community for a national strategy to combat antisemitism — alongside long-standing concerns like antisemitism on campus — according to Jewish community leaders who attended the meeting.
Senior White House and Biden administration officials, led by the Jewish second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, convened a roundtable Wednesday with leaders from 14 Jewish community groups, where each offered suggestions on strategies, policies and programs for combating antisemitism.
According to those present, a push for a formalized interagency strategy to combat antisemitism domestically — also highlighted in a congressional letter this week — came up frequently in remarks from Jewish community representatives. And in interviews with Jewish Insider following the meeting, nearly every one of the attendees expressed support for such a move.
“We think tying all these efforts together, both from security- and non-security agencies, to develop a comprehensive strategy that doesn’t just securitize the issue of antisemitism, but also allows for innovation, new data sets and an opportunity to combat it and all its forms,” George Selim, the Anti-Defamation League’s senior vice president for national affairs, explained. “We think that’s where the future lies on this issue.”...
A first-of-its-kind White House summit on antisemitism (click here) highlighted a growing push inside the organized Jewish community for a national strategy to combat antisemitism — alongside long-standing concerns like antisemitism on campus — according to Jewish community leaders who attended the meeting.
Senior White House and Biden administration officials, led by the Jewish second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, convened a roundtable Wednesday with leaders from 14 Jewish community groups, where each offered suggestions on strategies, policies and programs for combating antisemitism.
According to those present, a push for a formalized interagency strategy to combat antisemitism domestically — also highlighted in a congressional letter this week — came up frequently in remarks from Jewish community representatives. And in interviews with Jewish Insider following the meeting, nearly every one of the attendees expressed support for such a move.
“We think tying all these efforts together, both from security- and non-security agencies, to develop a comprehensive strategy that doesn’t just securitize the issue of antisemitism, but also allows for innovation, new data sets and an opportunity to combat it and all its forms,” George Selim, the Anti-Defamation League’s senior vice president for national affairs, explained. “We think that’s where the future lies on this issue.”...
It is time to call out hatred at every turn. Candidates for office have an obligation to all the people that voted. It is not a pick and choose democracy where only those that voted for the candidate are treated with importance. Every American is important and every form of difference among the more than 330 million Americans must be recognized as a "legitimate state of being" so long as it is not promoting crime.
The hate must stop and everyone is responsible to hold candidates responsible for eliminating hate and recognizing difference in a way that promotes the well being of all Americans in their "legitimate state of being."
This is political. Who doesn't support an aquarium.
...We would encourage people to take a moment to realize the effect that their words and actions have on others. Regardless of the reason, it's never okay to bully somebody for being different; and that includes those who might not agree with you. Calling people names and vilifying them is not going to help anybody, anywhere; and we hope that from this point on, people will take that into consideration before they tweet, post, or say anything hateful and hurtful....
The Republican Party has lost it's moral compass.
This is very bad politics that victimizes innocent people, including children. This is the politics of hate that divides people into groups allowed to hate. Hate is a powerful tool since Trump turned it loose with his victimization politics. That is all this is, hate, nothing more. Hate is being used as a political driver to send people to the ballot box.
What is so incredibly stupid about people that hate for the purpose of politics is that those leading with the permission of hate will turn on the very voters that put them in power. Trump turned on the people of the USA when he entered idiotic ideas like injecting bleach to end the pandemic. His entire handling of the pandemic from the Oval Office was a disgusting display of hate in the worst possible content of a pandemic when people are supposed to strive to survive it and not succumb to it. Trump can take credit for all those that perished in the USA. This country had the highest infection rate and death rate in the world. There is conscience in that at all. Nor is there a conscience in DeSantis' politics.
By Dave Berman, Eric Rogers and Jim Waymer
Gov. Ron DeSantis (click here) on Thursday vetoed a $2 million state budget appropriation for an aquarium that the Brevard Zoo plans to build at Port Canaveral.
Florida Rep. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, had encouraged the governor to veto the funding, which had been in the 2023-24 state budget that the Florida House and Senate unanimously approved on May 5.
Fine's rift with zoo came in the wake of a controversy involving Fine renting the Nyami Nyami River Lodge at the Viera zoo after zoo hours on Feb. 27 for a political fundraising event for his 2024 Florida Senate campaign.
The event drew a crowd of protesters angry over the south Brevard County legislator's stance on transgender issues and push to ban certain therapies for transgender children.
Opponents of Fine at the time questioned whether it was appropriate for such political fundraising events to be held at the zoo. Following the backlash, Brevard Zoo Executive Director Keith Winsten had said he was recommending the zoo no longer rent event space to political campaigns after the 2024 election cycle. The decision would rest with the zoo's board of directors; no policy changes have been made....
Here is the other end of the spectrum.
Upcoming Virtual Events:
June 20 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. | LGBTQIA+ Youth Advocacy Training, learn how to advocate and support the children in your care.
Presented by the Children Advocacy Center (click here) in Genesee and Shiawassee Counties virtually on zoom – LGBTQIA+ Youth Advocacy Training is a two-hour introductory training that covers common terminology and identities within the LGBTQIA+ community. We will discuss identity, intersectionality, the connection between minority stress and health disparities faced by queer folx, and the importance of family acceptance for LGBTQIA+ youth for boosting positive health outcomes.
June 27 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. | Foster and Adoption Myth (click here) Busting for the LGBTQIA+ Community, join us as we dispel common misconceptions and answer your foster and adoption questions.
This is not about Russia.
This is about genocide. There is no looking the other way or ending support for the fight in that country. This is about genocide and what is so remarkable is that a country like China and others support Russia in some sort of idea this is about a border war. It is ridiculous.
I stand with Speaker McCarthy when he stands for aid to Ukraine.
What is troubling is the idea that the propaganda actually works. We are seeing people think the USA is doing too much. They want to make a political issue of Ukraine's defense of it's people. This is not a political issue, it never has been. It is about ending genocide. That willingness to kill extends past Ukraine when one considers the populations of people Ukraine's agriculture supports. The Ukraine agriculture is threatened by the dam collapse. This conflict extends well past the Ukrainian people, it is about the world and how communists believe they have a right to kill at will, ie: Syria and others.
This was never political in nature. Ever. From the time Colonel Vindman came forward with his concerns while the Trump administration was in the Oval Office. This was never a political issue. It is about genocide and how the world views it.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
The Republicans are bankrupting the country.
The White House didn't agree, it saved the country from default.
For every dollar the IRS spends to collect taxes, there is at least a dollar returned until one gets to the upper 90 percentile of income, the return then becomes $2 to $6 return on every dollar spent.
The upper 90 percent are the cronies to the Republicans. The Republicans defunded the IRS and the USA Treasury is diminished with income and increases the deficit. That's right, the Republicans did not decrease the deficit, they increased it.
By Catherine Rampell and Youyou Zhou
The White House and Congress (click here) recently agreed to claw back more than $20 billion earmarked for the Internal Revenue Service. This deal was, ostensibly, part of a grand bargain to reduce budget deficits.
Unfortunately, it’s likely to have the opposite effect. Every dollar available for auditing taxpayers generates many times that amount for government coffers — and the rate of return is especially astonishing for audits of the wealthiest Americans, according to new research shared exclusively with The Post.
The White House and Congress (click here) recently agreed to claw back more than $20 billion earmarked for the Internal Revenue Service. This deal was, ostensibly, part of a grand bargain to reduce budget deficits.
Unfortunately, it’s likely to have the opposite effect. Every dollar available for auditing taxpayers generates many times that amount for government coffers — and the rate of return is especially astonishing for audits of the wealthiest Americans, according to new research shared exclusively with The Post.
A team of researchers at Harvard University, the University of Sydney and the Treasury Department examined internal IRS data for approximately 710,000 in-person audits from 2010 to 2014....
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Trump is an idiot. China and Russia are planning a first strike. What an idiot.
So, Trump not only allowed the spy base in Cuba, he looked the other way when Chinese Spy Satellites were flying over our nuclear missile bases. I want to know what happened in Helsinki. I want to know if he made a deal with Russia and China. We already know Trump was using the USA military for his billionaire allies in Saudi Arabia when he assassinated two Iranian generals, what else was he contemplating for his own purpose?
By Aamer Madhani
China has been operating a spy base in Cuba (click here) since at least 2019, part of a global effort by Beijing to upgrade its intelligence-gathering capabilities, according to a Biden administration official.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the U.S. intelligence community has been aware of China's spying from Cuba and a larger effort to set up intelligence-gathering operations around the globe for some time.
The Biden administration has stepped up efforts to thwart the Chinese push to expand its spying operations and believes it has made some progress through diplomacy and other unspecified action, according to the official, who was familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter.
The existence of the Chinese spy base was confirmed after The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that China and Cuba had reached an agreement in principle to build an electronic eavesdropping station on the island. The Journal reported China planned to pay a cash-strapped Cuba billions of dollars as part of the negotiations....
Trump was never interested in the national security of the USA, he was only interested in his own personal security. I think Former Vice President Pence is right, we need to look at the criminal reform law passed under Trump. If Pence sees a problem it needs to be addressed.
There were nuclear secrets found in Maralago. Is there any doubt he was selling information to the communists? Where is the bank roll? Putin was using offshore banks and false companies to move money around.
3 October 2021
By Luke Harding
...Krivonogikh was a business student and worked as a cleaner in a store. Then, in the late 1990s, she appears to have acquired a benefactor: Vladimir Putin....
The same method of deceit occurred with Butina. Where is Trump's bankroll? It is somewhere.
Friday, June 09, 2023
Why was there a collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam?
June 9, 2023
By Eric Schmitt
There is a lot of damage from the dam collapse (click here). Beside the damage there are also people endangered by the incident. The evidence of an explosion before the dam collapse is still not conclusive that the dam was sabotaged or used as a weapon to kill more Ukrainians. The conclusions turn to accusations because this war is so bad and so ill conceived and fought by the perpetrators. This is no different than the gas pipeline that burst. There is no conclusion, especially, when it is incompetence and/or the negligence that war brings to infrastructure.
The nuclear power plant of Zaporizhzhia is now once again a concern and once again the IAEA is the best group of professionals to bring consultation and plans to contain any contamination. With this dam collapse I really don't know how Europe and NATO specifically can simply sit this one out. It is not about war anymore, it is about damage to Earth and the innocent. We need engineers and a "Fukushima Daiichi" strategy.
This war by Russia with a proxy by China is a complete disaster. Russia has no military anymore. Its soldiers are scattering when in battle to save their own lives. It is time to stop this idiocy planned during the years of Trump with hubris from Helsinki. There is no purpose to this war. Just lobbing missiles in the air for the purpose of politics is not only a travesty, but, the Russian people are suffering because of these very dangerous politics.
By Geoff Brumfiel
A major dam in Ukraine has collapsed. (click here) The failure is a grave blow to the region's water supply and is putting further stress on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant....
..NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel is here to talk more about what the loss of this dam means. Geoff, begin with just explaining what happened at the site of the dam.
GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE: This dam sits right on the front lines, with Ukrainian forces on one side and Russian troops on the other. And for months, it's been battered by artillery fire and explosions. Then, in May, the reservoir controls flooded with spring rainwater. It seems like no one was on the Russian side to open the dam's gates up and let some of that water out. So the water level got so high it was spilling over the top of the dam. And then, this morning, it appears that the dam was almost completely washed away. Russia blames Ukraine for attacking it. Ukraine blames Russia for blowing it up. But given all the stress it was under, it's also possible it just collapsed.
SHAPIRO: So the dam was holding back this huge reservoir, and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is right on the shores of that reservoir. What are the implications for the plant?...
While on the topic of nuclear, there is a subtle sabotage to the IAEA.
May 30, 2023
By Timothy Gardner
Washington - Former U.S. State Department and nuclear regulatory officials (click here) on Tuesday urged the U.S. Energy Department to reconsider a plan to use bomb-grade uranium in a nuclear power experiment, saying that its use could encourage such tests in other countries.
The Energy Department and two companies aim to share costs on the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE) at the Idaho National Laboratory and use more than 1,322 pounds (600 kg) of fuel containing 93% enriched uranium....
January 10, 2012
Enriched uranium (click here) is back in the news with a report that Iran has begun creating the stuff at a heavily fortified site in the north of that country. But what is enriched uranium?
Uranium is element 92 on the periodic table–every molecule has 92 protons in its nucleus. The number of neutrons can vary, and that’s the difference between the three isotopes of uranium that we find here on Earth. Uranium-238 (92 protons plus 146 neutrons) is the most abundant form, and about 99.3 percent of all uranium is U-238. The rest is U-235 (0.7 percent), with a trace amount of U-234....
By Timothy Gardner
Washington - Former U.S. State Department and nuclear regulatory officials (click here) on Tuesday urged the U.S. Energy Department to reconsider a plan to use bomb-grade uranium in a nuclear power experiment, saying that its use could encourage such tests in other countries.
The Energy Department and two companies aim to share costs on the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE) at the Idaho National Laboratory and use more than 1,322 pounds (600 kg) of fuel containing 93% enriched uranium....
If one really wants to know about uranium there is an agency within the United Nations that knows just about everything there is to know about uranium. The professional agency that handles the entire world's knowledge of uranium and its current use is the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) (click here).
In an age of bringing society to answer for it's Wall Street permissions of "Forever Chemicals," (click here) I find it really hard to believe this attempt to bring more danger to the world is nothing short of covert and one of those Wall Street "slick" ways to allow profits where they should be FORBIDDEN. Not all profits are good profits for Wall Street and the PFAS movement proves that.
This nuclear focus by people who believe using weapons grade uranium is a good idea is not only wrong headed, but, it compromises national security in that if this begins in the USA it will take hold elsewhere and the IAEA will have no real purpose except to warn everyone of the error of their ways.
In case the right political wing of the USA continues to laugh at the United Nations as a pariah organization, their role in the Zaporizhzhia power plant was vital. The members of the IAEA were not only brilliant in bringing the information to the public, they were absolutely brave enough to go to the plant to report on the structural insults brought about by the war initiated by Russia. This agency is vital to any and all peaceful use of nuclear power. They are also vital to any movement that might be left to denuclearization Earth and the foolish brinkmanship that is carried out by the communists.
The idea weapons grade uranium would be on the loose in the use of power generation is not only dangerous, but, completely unnecessary. In my opinion, the US Department of Energy has been allowed to develop policies as loose as the former President of the USA. This idea is a bad idea and needs to be put away in the annals of stupidity.
All of Wall Street profits are not good ideas. Let's see if I can account for a few of them; the petroleum industry, internal combustion engine, PFAS, attempts to profit off the poor Chinese people allowing it's communist government to seek power over the world rather than peaceful use of monetary power, bringing the f#*^king cyber world into the world while launching artificial intelligence on every phone to gather personal data, and inventing social media which is a threat to democracy. Those are just a few of the aspects of Wall Street of which I would rather have seen eliminated rather than propagated. This use of weapon's grade uranium has to be the ultimate insult to the intelligence of the American people.
By Sarah Zielinski
Uranium is element 92 on the periodic table–every molecule has 92 protons in its nucleus. The number of neutrons can vary, and that’s the difference between the three isotopes of uranium that we find here on Earth. Uranium-238 (92 protons plus 146 neutrons) is the most abundant form, and about 99.3 percent of all uranium is U-238. The rest is U-235 (0.7 percent), with a trace amount of U-234....
Chris Christi had it right. Christi like it or not is the Republican truth teller. No one else is.
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This is the American democracy and not Trump's private access spy agency.
June 7, 2023By Shania Shelton and Kit Maher
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (click here) said Wednesday he was “wrong” about former President Donald Trump, whom he twice supported and advised ahead of the 2020 election.
“Turns out I was wrong. I couldn’t make him a better candidate and I couldn’t make him a better president, and he disappointed me,” Christie told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead,” calling election night 2020 “the breaking point.”
Christie, who announced his 2024 campaign on Tuesday, is putting attacks on the former president – currently the front-runner for the GOP nomination – at the center of his campaign....
The thing about Christi, besides his reasonably honest demeanor, is that he is smart and knows the law. This is not the first time Trump's circle is falling into legal problems. Christi was responsible for the prosecution of corruption in this circle of people before. He knows what he is talking about and he is correct to keep the focus where it belongs and on the one person that not only turned on his party, but, the country exposing some of the most sensitive information within the Executive Branch.
Wednesday, June 07, 2023
This is about Earth you idiots. What is so threatening it requires spies?
The climate crisis is real, not a game. I cannot believe the level of distrust that has to exist in order to try to contain the crisis that is obviously before the world. Arabia should be at the top of the donor list to serve the impoverished countries. THEIR OIL HAS BEEN A REAL PROBLEM!
Don't act as if the petroleum was necessary. It never was. NEVER WAS NECESSARY. Alternative energies and vehicles have been around for nearly a century. The petroleum was NEVER NECESSARY.
By Damian Carrington
...There is a concern (click here) about an obvious conflict of interest with Al Jaber leading the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28), which aims to reduce the carbon commissions in the world by half in the next seven years. However, as Dubai gears up to host the COP28 summit this year, here is a look at its president-designate’s professional achievements which made him qualify for this responsibility....
The United Arab Emirates’ state oil company (click here) has been able to read emails to and from the Cop28 climate summit office and was consulted on how to respond to a media inquiry, the Guardian can reveal.
The UAE is hosting the UN climate summit in November and the president of Cop28 is Sultan Al Jaber, who is also chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). The revelations have been called “explosive” and a “scandal” by lawmakers.
The Cop28 office had claimed its email system was “standalone” and “separate” from that of Adnoc. But expert technical analysis showed the office shared email servers with Adnoc. After the Guardian’s inquiries, the Cop28 office switched to a different server on Monday....
The United Arab Emirates’ state oil company (click here) has been able to read emails to and from the Cop28 climate summit office and was consulted on how to respond to a media inquiry, the Guardian can reveal.
The UAE is hosting the UN climate summit in November and the president of Cop28 is Sultan Al Jaber, who is also chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). The revelations have been called “explosive” and a “scandal” by lawmakers.
The Cop28 office had claimed its email system was “standalone” and “separate” from that of Adnoc. But expert technical analysis showed the office shared email servers with Adnoc. After the Guardian’s inquiries, the Cop28 office switched to a different server on Monday....
This is the message he was so desperately spying for in regard to the upcoming meeting. Let's see if he actually lives up to it.
Speaking about his goal upon taking up this new responsibility he says, “This will be a critical year in a critical decade for climate action. The UAE is approaching COP28 with a strong sense of responsibility and the highest possible level of ambition.”
He adds, “In cooperation with the UNFCCC and the COP27 Presidency, we will champion an inclusive agenda that ramps up action on mitigation, encourages a just energy transition that leaves no one behind, ensures substantial, affordable climate finance is directed to the most vulnerable, accelerates funding for adaptation and builds out a robust funding facility to address loss and damage.”...
I really don't care if China is offended when the Secretary of Defense is speaking about peace and democracy.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin vowed on Saturday that Washington would not stand for any “coercion and bullying” of its allies and partners by China, while assuring Beijing that the United States remains committed to maintaining the status quo on Taiwan and would prefer dialogue over conflict.
Golf Courses
There are plenty of golf courses in the USA not affiliated with the PGA. They can take on the same luster and professional status when the interest swings their way. No one needs Doral. No one.
PGA
The Professional Golf Assistant, an American Institution for its entire history, is now affiliated with a direct ally of Iran. How is that even legal?
This is a national security issue.
It is sports washing. It is an unethical strategy to diminish American values uphold by the PGA for decades. Assassination, Freedom of Speech guaranteed by the First Amendment in the practice of journalism, sound moral politics, and women's rights are continuing to be assaulted and eroded. Saudi Arabia and it's inhumanity are not welcome in the USA.
Tiger Woods and real American athletes need to have their own organization that promotes the accomplishment of Americans. It should be called the "American Professional Golf Organization" and allow amateurs to be the foundation to provide a clear moral path for Olympians (click here). The organization will develop momentum and find financial backing.
The erosion of American values in favor of autocratic cruelty leading to adverse human suffering must stop.
The PGA is welcome to move it's headquarters to Tehran.
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi (click here) - jailed and sentenced to 1,000 lashes for "insulting Islam online" - has been freed, his wife says.
In February 2015, (click here) the Saudi Arabian authorities publicly flogged blogger Raif Badawi, sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for 'insulting Islam' and founding an online forum for political debate.
Due to be flogged 50 times every week, Raif’s lashes have so far been postponed on a weekly basis. For the first couple of weeks in January, the authorities cited medical advice given by doctors who examined Raif, who had found his wounds ‘hadn’t healed enough’ for him to be flogged again ‘safely’. Latterly, the Saudi Arabian authorities have refrained from flogging Raif, without giving a reason. He continues to be told on a weekly basis whether his 950 lashes will begin again that week.
Raif has made headlines around the world. But his case is just the tip of the iceberg for the Gulf Kingdom’s appalling human rights record....
Tuesday, June 06, 2023
Disney…
…needs to consider Michigan for its next wonderland home for Mickey and Minny. Disney does not have a northern climate in its collection of theme parks; now is the time.
Everyone except Florida would love to have Disney in the neighborhood. Disney should go north this time.
Monday, June 05, 2023
Social Security
As President Biden contemplates Social Security’s solvency, there is a critical message that needs to be carried forward with any changes except new taxes.
Retirement is not about longevity, but, about function.
When Social Security was first legislated, it was to ensure that older Americans did not suffer through old age, but, aged with dignity and comfort.
US Senator Sanders is spot on in stating aging Americans are about rest and grandchildren. The greatest injustice to Social Security is that it is viewed as a wad of money that Wall Street should have access. That is “W”rong. It is not a wad of money Wall Street can salivate over, it is the result of hard working Americans and their long view of life in the USA.
The last insult Congress carried out to Social Security was making it whole at the age of 72. That is a full seven years from some time ago when full retirement with no penalty was 65 years old.
In a recent conversation with a complete stranger he told me he and his wife NEEDED to have the full income from SSI so they were determined to wait until age 72 to retire. He got tears in his eyes when he stated his wife received her SSI only a few months before she died of natural causes. He went on to say he believed that is what Congress intended. He stated Congress didn’t care about the people but were striving to get SSI payments as close to the death of Americans rather than aging into the Golden Years.
The man absolutely believed that and I think he was right.
For many Americans the Golden Years are not so golden when they are incentivized to continue to work rather than retire. It reminds me of the “Carrot and Stick” approach of capitalism. The Carrot and Stick approach maybe a good way to get consumers to “buy up” and spend more money, but, aging is no joke and for the average American 72 years old for retirement is unjust. It is THAT word that needs to be at the heart of any debate about SSI; unjust.
Expecting to run this country like a business is a strategy that depersonalizes the “human experience “ and treats money like a citizen. It is cruel, depersonalizes the American experience, and creates a false narrative about our country, the needs of the people, and falsely elevates dollar bills above humanity.
It is time for the people of the USA to take back the humanity that was originally written into government programs like SSI and Veterans Benefits. That means there will be new taxes that will come from the only source available, namely billionaires that were facilitated by the American experience and a tiny transaction tax on Wall Street which would never had existed without this democracy.
We have had enough of cutting into the Middle Class and victimizing those most vulnerable in the USA. We want the USA to focus on the humanness of all of us. It is time to survey the university physicians in this country who treat the most vulnerable and have them talk about the aging of Americans and the appropriate age to set full retirement of Social Security and Medicare.
Friday, June 02, 2023
Wall Street will be naysayers to the expansive growth under the Biden administration because they don't "get it."
By Josh Schafer and Jared Mitovich
...This marked (click here) the 14th-straight month that job creation came in above what Wall Street economists had expected and the largest monthly increase since January.
The data sent stocks higher on Friday as investors continued to expect a pause in the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike campaign will be announced later this month....
Wall Street understands money and the money that comes from the government is especially their concern. The markets are about profit and loss and not about governance.
Let me ask one clarifying question:
"When a President's governance opens OPPORTUNITY to minority populations through sound governing principles, isn't that expanding the economy to include more consumers with more income?"
Former President Jimmy Carter carried out an economic strategy to bring about more opportunity for minorities in the USA. It was mostly rejected as an incompetent economic strategy and the markets and Republicans fought it all the way. It was racist to fight progress in bringing all Americans into the work environment and ultimately the Middle Class and beyond.
May 1, 2023By E. Stanley Godbold, Jr.
As we approach almost half a century since Jimmy Carter (click here) was elected president in 1976, the timing is right to reevaluate his place in history. His and Rosalynn’s legacy will be, as he wished it to be, peace and human rights. As more scholars, journalists and memoirists examine primary evidence and place the Carters in the context of their times, the image of two of the greatest peacemakers of their era emerges.
The turning point in Carter’s life came in 1953 when his father “Mr. Earl” Carter died. Returning to Plains, after resigning from the U.S. Navy to take charge of the family business, Carter was shocked to discover that his father had been quietly giving aid to poor and needy people, both Blacks and whites....
President Biden came into office with the same type of economic strategy. The progression of Biden's economy nearly was identical to Carter's. The reason Biden's administration is successful where Carter's failed is because there is a far stronger recognition of inequality in the USA than before. The change is palpable. Society is going through a paradigm shift.
Biden's strategy is designed to push through change in a way that is unfamiliar to the text book strategies of Wall Street. There is a huge difference between governance and economics of Wall Street. Governance is a matter of confidence that the moral and correct path will bring a change in the country that is benevolent and "good for America." Wall Street doesn't care about what is good for America, it cares about what is good for itself and it's stockholders. Wall Street's focus has NOTHING to do with governance and bringing equity UNLESS the government demands certain performance from companies.
When governance insists on changes that benefit those in society normally ostracized by prejudice it expands the economic markets by bringing folks into them through work earnings, not corporate earnings. The GDP grows and all is good. Not to say there isn't resistance to change, absolutely there is, but, pushing the envelope on that change and enforcing it results in good economic outcomes.
The Biden administration is not taking "no" for an answer and as a result there is incredibly good job growth, more economic purchase power in the markets and Wall Street really has no complaints. Wall Street has grown a consistent amount every month and year. They are making money and plenty of it. Why? Because governance is working, more people are earning and the markets are valuable.
So, while all the Naysayers are complaining about a recession that never happened, they are making money. They are not running away with every dime being generated in the moral working Middle Class, they are making money and the future looks really good for all Americans. The Fed has helped, but, there is plenty of confidence by consumers and that is fueling spending and profits. The growth is good and consistent. There is absolutely no recession in sight and the optimism should continue into the future.
Ya know, I have to laugh at Republicans. They complain about a work ethic that should accompany food stamps and other programs, right? Hello? There is no need for it. Whoever needs food stamps and other programs sincerely need it. You will excuse me, but, "Hey thar, Republicans," everyone is working that wants and can work.
Republican politics is old and boring.
Don't look now America, but, the Republican passed more of their corruption into law.
By Nicola Slawson
Good morning.
The Senate narrowly passed (click here) a bill to suspend the debt ceiling on Thursday night, sending the legislation to Joe Biden’s desk and averting a federal default that could have wreaked havoc on the US economy and global markets.
The final vote was 63 to 36, with 46 Democrats and 17 Republicans supporting the bill while five Democrats and 31 Republicans opposed. Sixty votes were needed to pass the bill.
“Tonight’s vote is a good outcome because Democrats did a very good job taking the worst parts of the Republican plan off the table,” the Senate’s Democrat majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said after the vote. “And that’s why Dems voted overwhelmingly for this bill, while Republicans certainly in the Senate did not.”...
Bernie Sanders' answer to these debt ceiling and insufficient taxes is simple and does not victimize students, the "Make Billionaires Pay Act." If this legislation passed in 2020 the USA would not be facing the problems it has today. The problem with the National Debt is the indulgence of the wealthy by the Republicans. Democrats need to drive home the idea that legislated corruption is real and the IRS as unpopular they are, must be collecting taxes due the USA TREASURY!
Depriving the USA Treasury the money to function through "taxes due" is corruption. Plain and simple. If the USA Treasury had the monies to function for the country, the students would not be victims either.
...“The legislation (click here) I am introducing today will tax the obscene wealth gains billionaires have made during this extraordinary crisis to guarantee healthcare as a right to all for an entire year,” said Sanders. “At a time of enormous economic pain and suffering, we have a fundamental choice to make. We can continue to allow the very rich to get much richer while everyone else gets poorer and poorer. Or we can tax the winnings a handful of billionaires made during the pandemic to improve the health and well-being of tens of millions of Americans. In my view, it is time for the Senate to act on behalf of the working class who are hurting like they have never hurt before, not the billionaire class who are doing phenomenally well and have never had it so good.”
“As more than 160,000 Americans have lost their lives and millions more have lost their jobs, it is unconscionable that the super-wealthy are getting even richer in the midst of this crisis,” said Markey. “Despite overwhelming need, Republicans continue to look for any excuse under the guise of deficit reduction to cut vital support programs like jobless aid and health insurance for the most vulnerable. The American people pay with their lives every day for the criminal negligence of the Trump administration to combat the coronavirus. It is time the country’s wealthiest do the same off with their profits.”...
The Republicans are corrupt to the core and we all know it now.
President Biden will sign the bill to protect the country from default. Why? Because he doesn't want to have to worry about forcing more elderly into homelessness when their Social Security checks stop coming. Did the Republicans care about that? No. They care about cutting Social Security and forcing citizens to work longer into their retirement years so the grave is closer to cutting off monthly checked Americans worked hard to achieve.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
There needs to be federal laws and enforcement.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons needs to join the rest of the Biden Administration to fight the deaths caused by the climate crisis. Federal funding will have to accompany human treatment of prisoners in all states, including the deaths from the climate crisis. I guarantee these deaths don't get counted among those of floods, freezing temperatures, fire and heat.
By Aryn Baker
This chart is from 2014, (click here) but, provides insight to the type of exertional problems that exist in prisons. The Texas prison authority can start by ending exertional movement during very hot days.
Monday, May 29, 2023
The best idea ever coming out of BLM.
Happy Memorial Day to the USA. We have many to honor today. What greater tribute to the men and women who kept us safe and our country one of the greatest ever to exist in this world.
This is an opportunity for the public lands to be managed by experts that belong to organizations like Nature Conservancy, Sierra, Defenders of Wildlife, and the controversial Audubon.
Our public lands are vitally important to many Americans. They are also a great heritage and this is among the best times to move in this direction as oil and gas leases are inevitably obsolete.The BLM must protect the conservation aspect of this rule and give priority to organizations lined with professionals as members and administration that can IMPROVE the land, eliminate invasive species, return native flora only to be followed by native fauna as function returns.
Everyone knows the enormous success of Yellowstone National Park. Before it's best outcomes it was known as mismanaged by those trying to make a park out of a wildlife area. This is an opportunity for conservation organizations to bring about far better management of the land to increase its importance to the climate crisis.
I believe using this opportunity to allow oil and gas companies to say they are covered in their atmospheric abuse by continued discharge of carbon dioxide and methane is a gross misuse of public lands. Those that pollute should never be allowed to enter into a conservation lease. Our public lands are not carbon credits to allow continued abuse of our planet.
These conservation leases can be used by organizations to determine if there is proper use of the land and if there is an interest in carbon credits, but, the leases should never be in the hands of corporate interest that pollute. Just that simple.
These leases are a promise to the youngest generation and the ones yet to be born into this remarkable country. I would expect even allies would show an interest in protecting the lands and perhaps participate to be sure nothing worse can come out of the land except better and better outcomes for our people. Our allies have an interest in the better outcomes in the USA. They are suffering under the weight of the climate crisis, too. Allies could establish organizations in the USA to participate.
I don't see the current employees of the parks such as the park rangers leaving because of the leases. They are valuable to these lands for many reasons, including their longevity of employment. They have a great deal of experience and insight that is not replaceable. I see these leases as enhancements to those already employed by BLM to manage public lands. I am confident there will be controversy that comes out of these leases simply because that many more experts with eyes on the USA lands will bring about scrutiny like no other.
I am looking forward to USA public lands to be the envy of the world once they are properly managed under the conservation leases.
By Amanda Eggert
More specifically, the proposed rule would establish conservation as a “use” under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act in an effort to “protect intact landscapes, restore degraded habitat, and make wise management decisions based on science and data.” As proposed, the new rule would allow the BLM to lease land for conservation purposes to tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, individuals or businesses. According to an Interior Department release, such leases could be used to protect wildlife migration corridors, for example, or establish carbon markets. In the latter example, the BLM might accept payment for a 10-year lease to leave grassland undisturbed for carbon sequestration....
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