"The Global Consciousness Project, also known as the EGG Project, is an international multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists, engineers, artists and others continuously collecting data from a global network of physical random number generators located in 65 host sites worldwide. The archive contains over 10 years of random data in parallel sequences of synchronized 200-bit trials every second."
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, April 10, 2021
A gun in every pocket.
Not a chicken in every pot.
No pot there, either.
Not even medical.
The state wants people to kill each other.
But not in the womb.
That’d be wrong.
Shooting people to kill them, is A-OK.
Shooting pregnant women is not.
Might harm the unborn, you know.
Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee has signed NRA-written legislation that allows any adult aged 21, or older, to carry a handgun either openly, or concealed without any special training, education, or permit. Active duty Military Service Members aged 18 to 21 are excepted.
Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the state, including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, have told the Governor that they thought his idea was poor policy, but he ignored them, and signed into law a bill that removes restrictions on carrying firearms, either concealed, or openly.
Despite law enforcement’s opposition to his legislation that would end gun permits in Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee told a gathering from the National Rifle Association that his legislation would “make Tennessee safer.” However, he failed to mention how it would.
A spokesman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation told a Senate committee, “The bureau has been consistent [in opposition] on this from a public safety standpoint.” The TBI and Tennessee Sheriff’s Association oppose eliminating requirements for concealed carry gun permits.
Governor Lee’s Press Secretary Casey Black said, “The ‘Constitutional Carry’ legislation is a key priority in the governor’s public safety package, which is focused on protecting law-abiding Tennesseans’ Second Amendment rights, while also significantly increasing penalties for criminals who steal firearms.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, April 9, 2021
Tennessee’s Republican State Legislators Have Lost Their Minds
Republican-written legislation being considered in the Tennessee General Assembly would kick to the curb over 65,000 unemployed Tennesseans who have lost their jobs due to the COVID pandemic.
Republicans are seeking to cut in half the time frame for collecting unemployment benefits.
Richie Townsend, 39, an East Nashville resident and former bartender at Rolf and Daughters in Germantown, has struggled to find work after losing his restaurant job when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020.
In the time since, he’s held various unstable, low-paying jobs from which he, and others, have been fired over three times, due to no fault of his own. During those times, he has applied for, and has been granted access to his State Unemployment Compensation, a type of insurance paid for by employers, and backed by the state government, which all 50 states have.
Fortunately, he has benefits remaining, but only because of the extensions granted by Congress.
He’s recently started a new job in Franklin, but even as the state told him it is expediting his request for benefits, he’s reached out to his state House member but hasn’t gotten any payments on his latest extension.
“It sounds like an over-exaggeration by our local government to try to react to the fact that unemployment was extended for a year and a half in total,” he said.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, April 9, 2021
News reports this morning are stating that in the matter of the unionization vote at the Amazon facility in Bessemer, AL slightly over half of all ballots sent out were returned.
Of the nearly 5800 ballots mailed out to Amazon employees at their Bessemer, Alabama facility, only about 55% were returned.
Only 3,215 ballots were received by the National Labor Relations Board in the election.
There were 5,867 ballots were sent out to Amazon workers in early February – that’s a 54.798% return rate.
At 1025 CST today, unofficial results were that the “NO” votes on the question of unionization were 1,798, while the “YES” votes were 738.
Amazon challenged 505 challenged ballots, and there were 76 voided ballots.
At the conclusion of the tally, an official from the National Labor Relations Board – a Federal governmental entity – said that “Challenges are not sufficient in number to affect the results of this election.”
The Daily Beast reported that Republican Florida Representative Matt Gaetz sent $900 to his friend Joel Greenberg, a Federally-accused sex trafficker and former Seminole County tax collector who is cooperating with Federal authorities, in two late-night Venmo transactions – a social media mobile payment service owned by PayPal – in May 2018. Over the course of eight minutes the next morning, Greenberg used the Venmo app to send varying sums of money to three young women, which altogether, transactions totaled $900.
Joel Greenberg, LEFT, & Matt Gaetz
In the first of Gaetz’s Venmo transactions to Greenberg, the memo field was titled “Test.” In the second transaction, he wrote Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, April 8, 2021
This matter was just brought to my attention.
The figure 0.3% is 3/10ths of 1% (three tenths of one percent) – NOT “three one-thousandths” as they incorrectly wrote.
Any grade school child should be able to tell the difference.
Note the emboldened text highlighted in purple on the lower portion of the page.
And examine the dates…
NO ONE has caught that gross error since the time it was written – 2 years 4 months 20 days
or 28 months 20 days
or 124 weeks 3 days
or 871 calendar days
and updated –
1 year 7 months 26 days
or 19 months 26 days
or 86 weeks 2 days
or 604 calendar days.
If the folks working in that office are that dimwitted, or lazy – take your pick – what does that say about the rest of the state government?
Remember: Steve Marshall’s incompetency is precisely why former Governor Bentley wanted him in that office, in order to avoid prosecution.
The history of it all is utterly Machiavelian – Steve Marshall fired Matt Hart, a former Federal Prosecutor who was a tenaciously aggressive and fearsome Special Prosecutor for the State, who Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, April 8, 2021
Looks like John let the little head do the thinking for the big head.
He also likes anal sex – something his wife apparently doesn’t give him.
Yes… it’s true:
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill has been caught red-handed in an extra-marital relationship, much to the chagrin of his cult-like followers who were hoping he would campaign for the soon-to-be-vacated U.S. Senate seat held by almost-nonagenarian Democrat-turned-Republican-since-1994 Richard Shelby (b.1934), who has occupied the office since 1986, which is up for grabs in 2022.
“He was such an idiot. And he would talk, just… I don’t know if you ever met him outside of looking like he’s a professional, he’s a total [sic] different person. He’s sometimes funny, and he’s charismatic, and he has a sense of humor… but then, when the real John Merrill stands up, then you’re kinda’ like ‘uggh.'”
– Cesaire McPherson, 44-year old Legal Assistant, and lover to Alabama Republican Secretary of State John Merrill in phone interview with National File about their extramarital sexual relationship
Of note, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service on December 17, 2020 updated their report “Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile” which found that the average age of the average Senator was 62.9 years, while the average age of the Members of the House of Representatives was 57.6. At the time of the report, there were only 3 African American Senators – Kamala Harris, D-CA Corey Booker, D-NJ, and Tim Scott, R-SC. Since Kamala Harris is now Vice President, there are now only 2 African American Senators. And, the oldest Senator in the 116th Congress was Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, born June 22, 1933, who was then aged 85.
Merrill’s official statement said that, “With the end of my term coming up in January of 2023, I have been presented with a variety of options for where my path in public service could lead. I have decided that I will not be a candidate for any office in 2022.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, April 4, 2021
For Christians, today is Easter Sunday. It’s their annual high holy day which corresponds with the Spring Equinox in which they celebrate the alleged resurrection from the dead of their god, Jesus of Nazareth, whom they also call Jesus Christ, whom they believe to be God incarnate, and the “son of God,” even though in their story book, Jesus only referred to himself as “the son of man,” NEVER as “the son of God.” NEVER.
Of course, they’ll fight you tooth and nail in disagreement that Jesus of Nazareth is not their god all while saying “praise Jesus!” and making similar exclamations, but in the same breath, they’ll capitulate and confuse things by saying there’s a “trinity” of three separate divine beings whom they identify as “the Father,” “the Son,” and “the Holy Spirit” whom they claim are not separate, but are separate, and are “co-equal” yet distinct and unique.
Entire religions – actually, “denominations” – have been formed around the various interpretations of those blatantly absurdist claims. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Church of Christ, Church of God, Church of God in Christ, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Cumberland Presbyterian, are but a few, and that’s just here in the United States.
Abroad, there’s Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, Armenian, Coptic Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, Anglican, Anglican Catholic, and on, and on, and on, and on. Some have said there are probably tens of thousands of different denominations and sects of Christianity, while others say there are but a few hundred. And yet, the odd thing is, that while they’re all “doing their own thing” they pray and seemingly ask for “unity” which they call ecumenism.
Bottom line? It’ll never happen. Not until they all give up their own private interpretations, traditions, and everything about their religion.
There’s a long-standing joke – there’s ALWAYS truth in humor, and it serves to remind us of the matter about which it takes light-heartedly, and even Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, April 3, 2021
Legalizing, taxing, and regulating cannabis is a smart move for the same reasons that legalizing, taxing, and regulating beverage alcohol was. Because Prohibition was so phenomenally successful, you know.
But here’s something else to consider: There has NEVER been one documented death from cannabis consumption. Not even one. Ever.
That cannot be said of alcohol.
There is quite a bit of truth in the remark that no government can be a “nanny state” to continuously monitor its peoples actions, and prevent anything bad from ever happening to them.
We must be afforded freedoms and liberties, and part of those freedoms and liberties include risk-taking.
But as far as risk goes, with cannabis, consumption of it has nominal risk in comparison to many other things.
And eventually, we all die, anyway.
Few have ever examined the history of cannabis prohibition, and have simply swallowed – hook, line, and sinker – propaganda from Nixon’s “War on Drugs” machine which was part and parcel of his “Southern Strategy” to win over racist Democrats, aka “Dixiecrats” who eventually became Republicans.
But the history of cannabis prohibition goes back to at least 1937 with the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act, which was passed in response to a wave of anti-Mexican sentiment that was sweeping across America, beginning on the West Coast, and moving eastward.
Harry Anslinger, who lived in that era, and is considered the first head of the Federal agency that is now the Drug Enforcement Administration (a law enforcement agency under the aegis of the Department of Justice), was a virulent racist, and as an excellent propagandist himself, he never failed to miss an opportunity to blame cannabis for every horrible, violent crime, consumption of which he claimed was the root cause of terrible things like:
“Marihuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows and look at a white woman twice.”
-and-
“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.”
Yeah.
There’s probably nothing more that needs to be said.
But there are some things that should be said – such as research has shown that Blacks and Whites consume cannabis at about the same rate, but Blacks are arrested at a significantly greater and disproportionate rate than Whites. That is true in all 50 states.
If unequal enforcement of law that skews against Blacks is not evidence of racism, I don’t know what is.
And with remarks like “…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races,” it’s easy to understand why Harry Anslinger is the root cause to blame.
Schumer Says Senate Will Move Ahead On Marijuana Legalization
By Celine Castronuovo, 04/03/21 12:31 PM EDT
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Charles Schumer of New York has vowed to move forward with legislation to federally legalize marijuana, even if President Biden resists such a move.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, April 3, 2021
Tit for tat.
Just like something a petulant 4-year old child would do.
Soon enough, America will let the GOP know how utterly disgusted they are with their bullshittery.
It’ll be at the ballot box.
Their days are numbered, and the end is in sight. That’s why they’re taking such utterly drastic and unheard-of measures, including writing restrictive laws prohibiting voting… i.e., fixing problems that don’t exist – except that the problems are that they lost because they’re fresh out of ideas, and utterly out-of-touch with the American people.
GOP Senators Push To End Major League Baseball Antitrust Status
Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah, and Ted Cruz of Texas have joined calls to end Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption following the its decision to pull the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, April 2, 2021
Protestant Christians of the garden variety Evangelical type think they own God. God is always on their side, and all of their ideas are utterly and absolutely 100% correct and infallible, inerrable, and come from the throne room of Heaven itself. And because they work for Satan, the Democrats are always wrong, and given half a chance, they’ll eat your babies like a suckling pig on a spit, with your blood for a dipping sauce.
That’s what they’d have you believe… because they believe it too. They’re not just “two bricks shy of a load,” they’re full-tilt crazy. They’re conspiracy theorists – note just how many of them voted for Trump, not just once, but twice!
“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, ‘fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.'”
But, “get fooled again” is exactly what happened.
Rock guitarist/entertainer/musician Pete Townshend of The Who had something to say about that matter, as well, and Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, April 2, 2021
So the little “Florida Man” is trippin’ on the illicit street drug commonly known as “ecstasy” while paying to have sex with underage girls, hauling them across state lines, and then, showing nude photographs of them to fellow Members of Congress.
What a family guy!
True “family values,” eh?
Great “conservative values,” right?
Let’s check the list:
✅1.) Child molester
✅2.) Pedophile
✅3.) Child Sexual Predator
✅4.) Child Sexual Trafficker
✅5.) Liar
✅6.) Illicit drug abuser
✅7.) All-around low life
✅8.) “Florida Man”
✅9.) Hypocrite
✅10.) Soon to be ousted from Congress
Hope NOT to see you later, you miserable POSSOB!
We’ll be looking for your next assignment IN FEDERAL PRISON!
There, you’ll likely have the stuffing beat out of you, because in prison, child molesters are the LOWEST OF THE LOW.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, April 1, 2021
Many questions have arisen, and comments have been made, about Georgia’s new voting restrictions law.
Republican state legislators who wrote, passed, and signed the bill into law (Republican Governor Brian Kemp was formerly Secretary of State when he campaigned for the Governor’s office… and as a state official, oversaw his own election… nope, no conflict of interest there, eh?) continue to claim that the “integrity” and “security” of the voting systems in Georgia should be strengthened – as if they were insecure to begin with.
They were not.
The essence of what has happened, as many have observed and stated, is that since Republicans lost in the national election for President, and in the Senate election, they’re changing the rules in order to make it easier for them to win next time.
There was NO fraud, NO irregularities, NO insecurity in the Georgia election, nor in any election in the nation. Period.
So, here for your perusal, is the word-for-word reading of the law, including a screenshot of the law as passed, and Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, April 1, 2021
One of the tenets of law is intentionality, which is the foreknowledge of, and intent to willfully disobey, or violate, law, and often includes recklessness as an element of intent. Intent is part and parcel of motive, and in context, often accompanies an evil, or malicious motive. In law, typically, a person cannot be convicted of a crime if there is no intent. Motive, however, is different from intention, and is irrelevant in determining liability.
Sometimes it’s said that “ignorance is no excuse for the law,” but that’s a mere colloquialism which itself has no basis in law. It’s nothing but a hollow saying, for it has no support in any way. There is such as thing as “willful ignorance,” which is an intentional, and therefore deliberate, act. And, the classic Steve Martin comedy sketch in which he presents his defense to a “foul crime” as “I forgot” is funny precisely because there are crimes which are so inherently gross in their violation – rape, murder, armed robbery, arson, etc. – that no reasonable, or sane person could ever assert that they forgot it was illegal.
Negligence is similar, insofar as there is a risk which is assumed by the offending party, which has the potential to harm another person, or property. Negligence occurs when it is likely that harm will occur from the offending party’s conduct, and knowingly engages in the risk. Again, a deliberate action.
Recklessness requires determining that the offending party should have known they were taking a risk, but the difference between recklessness and negligence is not always clear. An example of recklessness would be DUI – the offending party clearly knows they were taking a risk, and continued with the conduct. Once again, a deliberateness is evident.
However, there are crimes that are not inherently, or morally wrong, and it is impossible for any one person to know all laws. Furthermore, many laws are intricately complex, which further adds to the confusing calculus. Because of that, it puts even the most circumspect and conscientious people at risk of violating laws for which many – including legislators, legal experts, jurists, attorneys, and others – are unaware of their requirements. And in that sense, the traditional protection afforded by determining culpability before conviction is dismissed.
Most folks would agree, I’m certain, that it’s probably not too uncommon for anyone to violate a law unknowingly. And, when such a thing occurs, and someone is arrested for the same – for unknowingly violating a law – when the time for prosecution comes around (if it does), because often, such cases are rapidly dismissed by the state (government) because intentionality is missing.
The state has a responsibility to its citizens to make them aware of the law, so that they can abide by it.
But, in Texas, there is presently a case which will undoubtedly be heard by that state’s Supreme Court (though it must first be heard by the TX Court of Criminal Appeals) which raises that very question:
Can a citizen be held to account for unintentionally violating a law, when the state had a responsibility – which they admittedly failed to do – to notify the citizen of their circumstances before the law, and liability to it?
Crystal Mason
A Fort Worth, TX woman – Crystal Mason – who happens to be Black, was on supervised release for a Federal felony conviction related to tax fraud, when she cast a provisional ballot in 2016. She had been released from prison the previous year. She and her former husband had owned a tax preparation business, and was accused of inflating tax deductions on some returns which they prepared for clients, and eventually plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, and was sentenced to 5yrs in prison, and 3yrs supervised release. She was placed on probation for 2 of 3 other felonies, and received deferred adjudication for the 3rd.
Neither state, nor Federal authorities notified her that she was, by Texas state law, ineligible to vote until the entire term of her punishment was fully completed.
Officials who were overseeing her supervised release testified at her trial that they never informed her that she was ineligible to vote under Texas state law.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, March 31, 2021
He’s a “Florida Man” to be certain, and his Twitter bio states as much. He’s the moral equivalent of Jeffrey Epstein. His “NAY” vote was the EXCLUSIVE – the SOLITARY – the ONLY vote against a human sex trafficking bill. And his flimsy “excuse” or rationale why, is as weak as water. He’ll be out soon as just another worthless, hypocritical, flash-in-the-pan piece of GOP garbage.
Matt Gaetz, On The Ropes From Juvenile Sex Trafficking Investigation, Finds Few Friends In The GOP
by Juliegrace Brufke & Mike Lillis
03/31/21 05:33 PM EDT
In four years on Capitol Hill, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has experienced a meteoric rise to national prominence — one fueled by a close alliance with former President Trump, a penchant for political theatrics and a no-apologies brand of conservatism that’s made him a darling of the right-wing cable outlets.
Matt Gaetz now – with a slicked-back pompadour, and snazzy suit.
Yet this week, facing a federal investigation into allegations of a sexual relationship with an underage girl, Gaetz is finding himself in an unusual spot: On the ropes and virtually alone.
Few of Gaetz’s GOP colleagues are coming to the defense of the third-term Floridian following a New York Times report that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct with — and interstate trafficking of — a minor roughly two years ago. And a number of Republicans, while warning against jumping to premature conclusions about Gaetz’s conduct, also suggested they wouldn’t miss him if he were gone.
“I don’t know anything about this situation other than to say he has certainly made enemies and painted a bull’s-eye on his back,” said one Republican lawmaker, who requested anonymity to speak freely on a sensitive topic. “This appears to be a self-inflicted wound.”
Gaetz has vehemently denied that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old-girl — the central allegation of the Justice Department probe, which was launched under the Trump administration. Gaetz contends that he and his family have been targeted by a former DOJ official in an extortion scheme seeking millions of dollars to have the allegations vanish.
In a series of tweets, statements and media interviews Tuesday evening, he maintained that Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Today, the NCAA is appearing before the United States Supreme Court today arguing about… money.
Yes, money.
This case verges on indentured servitude, and hypocrisy is open, and plainly evident.
But hey… what else is new when it comes to treatment of the impoverished, females, and minorities?
Meanwhile, the BIG BUCKS go to build lavish facilities for the male athletes, not all of which are for training, to the coaches for their $alarie$ and compen$ation, and to build extravagant stadiums and arenas.
Not even a fraction goes to the athletes.
And none of it goes to the students.
Not one thin dime.
Here’s an idea instead of paying coaches eye-popping salaries, how about capping their compensation, and placing about half of the money toward student scholarship?
It’d be an INVESTMENT in education, for that is the primary (hopefully) reason the athletes chose to become students at the university where they play.
And best of all, it would ALL come from the Private Sector, one of many “holy cows” of the GOP Brahmans.
Take To The Court: Justices Will Hear Case On Student Athlete Compensation
March 31, 2021, 5:00 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
by Nina Totenberg
Nina Totenberg at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 21, 2019. (photo by Allison Shelley)
As March Madness plays out on TV, the U.S. Supreme Court takes a rare excursion into sports law Wednesday in a case testing whether the NCAA’s limits on compensation for student athletes violate the nation’s antitrust laws.
The outcome could have enormous consequences for college athletics.
Kinda’ “ironic,” wouldn’t you say, that the QAnon conspiracy theory folks who wrongly thought, and therefore targeted the Democrats for alleged involvement in some global child sex-trafficking cabal have sided with the exact ones who are actually participating in that very activity… Republicans.
Remember: Psychological projection – accusing others of the thing you’re guilty of – is a tool/technique extensively employed not only by the GOP, but in droves by the 45th President.
BTW… Matt Gaetz’ official actions as a Member of Congress are rather peculiar.
Matt Gaetz then…
In 2017, Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Fort Walton Beach representing FL’s 1st CD, was the ONLY member of Congress to vote “NAY” on a law that gave the Federal government more power and money to fight human trafficking – S.1536 – Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1536
THE ONLY ONE.
Vote Question: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act
Matt Gaetz now – with a slicked-back pompadour, cuff links, and snazzy suit.
Gaetz Republican Florida Nay
S.1536 – Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act
Roll Call Vote 695, December 19, 2017, 4:56PM ET
115th Congress, 1st Session
418 YEAS
1 NAY
12 NOT VOTING
NOT VOTING
Bridenstine Republican Oklahoma Not Voting
Brooks (AL) Republican Alabama Not Voting
Cummings Democratic Maryland Not Voting (was sick & getting treatment)
Kennedy Democratic Massachusetts Not Voting
Loudermilk Republican Georgia Not Voting
Messer Republican Indiana Not Voting
Napolitano Democratic California Not Voting
Pocan Democratic Wisconsin Not Voting
Renacci Republican Ohio Not Voting
Scalise Republican Louisiana Not Voting
Smith (TX) Republican Texas Not Voting
Thompson (MS) Democratic Mississippi Not Voting
Note this: Gaetz tweeted that his father was wearing a “wire” by the FBI.
Why would he broadcast that information, thereby spoiling the investigation?
…and my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBI’s direction to catch these criminals. The planted leak to the FBI tonight was intended to thwart that investigation.
No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets…
Republican Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, age 38, a close ally of former President Donald J. Trump, is being investigated by the United States Department of Justice over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him, according to three people briefed on the matter, who also said that Federal officials are investigating whether, or not, Mr. Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, March 28, 2021
Should government exercise control over its citizens to the extent that:
a.) Certain types of private health care is illegal;
b.) Certain people are denied care?
Should your neighbors (aka “the government”) have the right to tell you, and/or your family, what you can, or cannot be treated for by a licensed healthcare professional?
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, March 25, 2021
Yesterday, Cindy Hyde-Smith, a White Banana Republican United States Senator from Mississippi made some genuinely STUPID remarks in a Senate Rules Committee hearing.
She’s the same Cindy Hyde-Smith who not too long ago infamously said “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,” in Tupelo, MS after Colin Hutchinson, cattle rancher, praised her on November 11, 2018.
“In the Senate today, during the Rules Committee’s big hearing on HR1/S1, the “For The People” Act, which among other things would protect the right to vote for ALL eligible Americans, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican from Not Georgia, let us know why she thinks people shouldn’t be able to vote on Sundays, and definitely not in Mississippi.”
First of all, she’s a Banana Republican.
Secondly, she attended a segregated, Whites-only High School.
Thirdly, she’s from Mississippi.
Fourthly, she’s a Trump sycophant.
Need I continue?
But ANYONE can view her remarks in context in the links below. Also, her remarks are transcribed as follows.
Her remarks begin at 2:46:10 as Committee Chair Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar acknowledges Mississippi Senator Hyde-Smith, who then states, “Before we start, I have a question for the Chair,” addressed to Chair Amy Klobuchar, which Chair Klobuchar acknowledges, and bids her to continue, which she does, as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, March 25, 2021
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.
That statement is almost always misattributed to Abraham Lincoln, but there is NO EVIDENCE to support any claim that he ever said such a thing.
President Abraham Lincoln, albumen silver print photograph made February 1865 by Alexander Gardner
Think of it as “fake history.”
It is perhaps the most famous of apparently apocryphal remarks which are widely misattributed to the late, former President.
Despite the various citations as being from:
Lincoln’s “Lost Speech” as a Republican candidate for the party’s Presidential nomination at the Bloomington Convention in Bloomington, Illinois on May 29, 1856, or;
On September 8, 1858 in Clinton, Illinois, an account of which was published in “Report in the Bloomington “Pantograph,” September 9, 1858, which is also extant as ‘Speech at Clinton, Illinois, September 8, 1858’ in ‘The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, v. 3,’ or;
As being from the 4th Lincoln/Douglas debate September 18, 1858 in Charleston, Illinois – there are NO contemporary accounts or records that substantiate any claim that he ever made any such remark.
It’s amazing how little pieces of lead have power to change people’s minds.
I wonder why?
Of course, none of that applies to Alabama’s 5th District Moron Brooks.
Cruz Accuses Democrats Of Playing “Ridiculous Theater” In Proposals Following Mass Shootings
By Celine Castronuovo – 03/23/21 12:47 PM EDT
Cancun Cruz
Texas Senator Cancun Cruz (R) on Tuesday accused Democrats of playing “ridiculous theater” by proposing universal background checks and other reforms following mass shootings, which he claimed would take “away guns from law-abiding citizens.”
Cancun Cruz made his remarks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence that had been scheduled before of the deadly mass shootings at massage parlors in the Atlanta, Georgia area last week and at a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store Monday evening.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, March 19, 2021
This is some of the first proven and confirmed evidence that what we have been told by the experts is 100% accurate and true.
“Typhoid Mary” Mallon (1869-1938), was an impoverished, illiterate Irish emigrant to the United States who worked primarily as a cook, and who became infamous for spreading typhoid fever, which at the time was an incurable, easily-spread, often deadly disease, for which no vaccination existed.
People who DO NOT KNOW THEY ARE INFECTED ARE SPREADING THE DISEASE BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE SYMPTOMS.
It is a REPEAT of the classic example first shown by “Typhoid Mary” Mallon (1869-1938), an Irish emigrant to the United States who worked as a cook (one of the highest paying jobs at the time), and was actively infected with typhoid fever, yet NEVER – NOT EVEN ONCE – showed any signs of infection.
Tragically, however, as was common in the era in which she lived, she had low education and was practically illiterate, and her refusal to heed the advice of experts, and her insistence upon working in kitchens, resulted in the deaths of many people whom she thereby infected with typhoid fever because of her deliberately wanton disregard of advice, and disobedience to the order of law. She, however, claimed that she was being persecuted for being Irish and poor.
And throughout the remainder of her life, and up to the time she died, she never – not even once – ever showed signs of typhoid fever infection. And she did not die of typhoid fever. She died of Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, March 18, 2021
QUESTION: How many people in the U.S. die each day from overdoses involving PRESCRIPTION opioids?
ANSWER: According to recent data published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 41 people/day (14,965) are dying from an overdose involving prescription opioids. This CDC website – https://www.cdc.gov/rxawareness/index.html – provides resources for individuals struggling with opioid drug abuse.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Yes, we all know that they’re jerkwads.
They also believe that the moon is made of green cheese, and that POS45 won re-election. That’s why he’s not in the White House – he’s on permanent vacation pooping into one of his golden toilets at his Palm Beach, FL resort, and playing golf. Because that’s what winners do, right?
And lie about practically everything. He’s a liar, so that almost goes without saying.
He deceived the American public – or, at least attempted to deceive the American public – about getting a vaccination against COVID-19 before leaving the White House.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, March 16, 2021
“We have raised our GDP forecast to reflect the latest fiscal policy news and now expect 8% growth in 2021 (Q4/Q4) and an unemployment rate of 4% at end-2021 — the lowest among consensus forecasts—that falls to 3.5% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023.”
Goldman Sachs lifted its 2021 US growth forecast to 8% from 7.7%, citing new stimulus for the boost.
The bank also expects Biden and Democrats to pass at least $2 trillion in infrastructure spending.
That sum could hit $4 trillion if the deal includes education, child-care, and health-care spending.
Goldman Sachs joined its Wall Street peers in revising its US economic outlook on Saturday, pegging an increasingly bullish forecast to Democrats’ latest stimulus package.
The team led by Jan Hatzius now expects US gross domestic product to grow 8% in 2021 on a fourth-quarter-to-fourth-quarter basis, according to a note published Saturday. That’s up from the previous estimate of 7.7%. The bank’s full-year growth estimate climbed to 7% from 6.9%.
The current-year projection largely hinges on President Joe Biden’s stimulus plan, as Goldman had initially expected a $1.5 trillion deal to reach Biden’s desk. The $1.9 trillion plan signed by the president on Thursday will accelerate the nation’s economic recovery through Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, March 16, 2021
True -or- False?
1.) Approximately 70% of adult wage earners in households that received SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, formerly known as “Food Stamps”) and/or Medicaid worked full time hours (defined as 35+ hours weekly), and about 50% worked full time hours yearly.
2.) 90% of wage-earning adults participating in either SNAP or Medicaid worked in the Private Sector, compared to 81% of non-participants.
3.) When compared to adult wage earners not participating in SNAP or Medicaid, wage-earning adults in either or both programs were more likely to work in the Leisure and Hospitality industry, and in Food Service occupations.
4.) The single largest majority of adult wage earners who participated in SNAP and/or Medicaid worked for employers with Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, March 15, 2021
Idiots abound.
They can be found everywhere. And lately, they’ve been popping up as radicalized right-wing nut jobs.
Remember a dude named “Cliven Bundy”?
He’s the asshole from Nevada who owed the United States government tons of money in back-owed grazing fees and in 2014 instigated an armed standoff with Federal agents and other Federal Law Enforcement Authorities in Bunkerville, Nevada where he resided, who sought his detention over his passive-aggressive response to the matter… along with his failure to pay the Bureau of Land Management the contractually agreed-upon fees for the privilege of allowing his cattle to graze upon BLM land.
Cliven Bundy
He had been illegally grazing his cattle herd on public land since 1993.
Later, he was arrested by the FBI at the Portland International Airport while he was on his way to the Malheur fracas. He had become a patsy for the right-wing extremist movement because of Fox News incessant telecasting of the matters surrounding him, and his movements.
Yeah… THAT’s the Bundy we’re talking about. Apparently, he’s no relation to the mass murderer Ted Bundy, or of the fictional teevee character “Al Bundy” of “Married… with Children.” Though, he could be.
Mr. Bundy recollected once driving past a public-housing project in North Las Vegas several years ago and at the “press conference” said:
“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro… and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids — and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch — they didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for their kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for their young girls to do. And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do? They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”
Bundy has a stable of kids, 14 in fact, all of whom are adults. The eldest is a son named Ammon. He’s an asshole just like his father. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, you know.
Ammon Bundy
Seems that Ammon has gotten himself into more trouble.
This is simply more damnable icing on the corrupt cake.
The things he says, and the way he says them are purposely ambiguous, so that to even an expert witness in syntax, one would not be able to definitively say that he unquestionably stated a thing certain.
That’s how the mafioso talks. They’re deliberately ambiguous, vague, and speak in riddles and figurative language, such as “I hear you paint houses,” which means “I understand that you’re a hit man and kill people.”
Simply read what he says.
It’s as clear as a bell that he’s being ambiguous. But by the same tone, it’s equally clear what he wants.
“Something bad happened. When the right answer comes out, you’ll be praised.”
-and-
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry. And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated. So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state. So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break. There’s no way I lost Georgia. There’s no way. We won by hundreds of thousands of votes.”
Neal Katyal, a Georgetown law professor who was Acting Solicitor General in the Obama administration, said Trump’s use of language is “the way that people in organized crime rings talk. I’ve heard the extraordinary excerpts that the Washington Post has and, at least based on those excerpts, it sounds like Donald Trump is talking like a mafia boss, and not a particularly smart mafia boss at that. This is the way that people in organized crime rings talk, and you see it there.”
“This is, you know, the heart of what the abuse of power that our founders worried about so much is — it’s, you know, the idea that the government official can use the powers of his office to try and stay in office and try and browbeat other officials that disagree with them.”
“So, one question is whether or not a high crime and misdemeanor was committed, certainly the tape makes it sound like it has. The second is whether or not there has been a criminal offense and the federal code 52 U.S.C. 20511 prohibits a federal official from interfering in a state election process.”
Note: We are reposting (with a new introduction) an article from Nov. 9, 2019, written during hearings on Trump’s conversation with Ukraine’s president, as it appears relevant to this week’s impeachment trial.
“Nothing the President said on January 6th was inciteful, let alone impeachable,” the Republican Party is arguing during former president Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, “and in fact, President Trump urged supporters to exercise their rights ‘peacefully and patriotically.’”
Of course, Trump did not directly instruct his supporters to attack the Capitol, stop official proceedings and threaten members of Congress until they agreed to keep Trump in power, despite the election results. That is not how he talks. In the past, Trump has said that, “I did not make a statement that, ‘You have to do this or I’m not going to give you A.’ I wouldn’t do that.” We know from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen that Trump does not like to say things explicitly when they might get him into trouble. Instead, he prefers to communicate indirectly.
Cohen has said Trump “doesn’t give orders. He speaks in code. And I understand that code.” That’s the way that Mafiosi speak to each other, to avoid trouble. In my book on the political economy of trust, I discuss the oblique ways in which Sicilian Mafiosi communicate with one another and how this affects trust and distrust among them, building on the work of sociologists such as Diego Gambetta.
Popular culture shows how mobsters communicate in code when they are worried about being overheard by law enforcement, using indirect language to describe their intentions, so as to make it harder to pin responsibility on them. Similarly, Trump very possibly never said explicitly that Ukraine would be frozen out unless it helped discredit Trump’s potential election rival. Sondland’s testimony suggests that Trump tried to get Ukraine to hurt his presidential opponent through intermediaries using careful language that left no doubt what he wanted, but did so in a way that would preserve a crucial minimum of deniability.
Ambiguity makes it difficult to prove intent.
There is a reason why mob bosses prefer ambiguous language: it makes it harder to prove charges against them. The same is plausibly true for Trump. That is especially so when much of the jury (in this case, Republican senators) have strong political reasons to want to find Trump innocent. Trump has made a very successful career out of speaking in code, and ruthlessly throwing subordinates under the bus when they do what he wants them to do but then gets caught. It’s unlikely that he is going to stop any time soon.
Trump Call to Georgia Lead Investigator Reveals New Details
by Cameron McWhirter
Updated March 11, 2021 10:08 am ET
ATLANTA—Then-President Donald Trump urged the chief investigator of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office to Read the rest of this entry »
Should there be a law (or laws) that addresses these matters?
1.) Should cash transactions involving United States real estate be subject to anti-money laundering laws?
2.) Should Congress examine the money laundering and terrorist financing risks in the real estate market, including the role of anonymous parties, and review legislation to address any vulnerabilities?
3.) Should Congress examine the methods by which corruption flourishes and the means to detect and deter the financial misconduct that fuels that driver of global instability?
4.) Should Congress monitor government efforts to enforce United States anti-corruption laws and regulations?
5.) Should United States elections be free of interference from foreign governments, including any contribution, donation, expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication by a corporation, limited liability corporation, or partnership, and should they file with the Federal Election Commission, under penalty of perjury, a statement that a foreign national did not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indirectly participate in the decision making process relating to such activity?
6.) Should foreign nationals be forbidden from participating in any way in the decisionmaking processes of Corporate PACs and Super PACs?
7.) Shall the Federal Election Commission conduct an audit after each Federal election cycle to determine the incidence of illicit foreign money in such Federal election cycle?
8.) In order to prevent money laundering, and improper spending, should corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities be required to report campaign-related disbursements aggregating more than $10,000 in an election reporting cycle, and not later than 24 hours after each disclosure date file a report of the same with the Federal Election Commission?
9.) Should that report identify each such legal entity and each such beneficial owner who will use that other entity to exercise control over the entity, and the name and address of each person who made such payment?
10.) Should commercial transactions in the ordinary course of any trade or business conducted by the covered organization be exempted from such reports?
11.) Should the integrity of American democracy and national security be enhanced by improving disclosure requirements for online political advertisements in order to uphold the Supreme Court’s well-established standard that the electorate bears the right to be fully informed?
12.) Should regulations on political advertisements provide sufficient transparency to uphold the public’s right to be fully informed about political advertisements made online?
13.) Should transparency of funding for political advertisements be essential to enforce other campaign finance laws, including the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals?
14.) Should digital or online political advertising clearly state who paid for it?
15.) In order to prevent fraud, deceit, and money-laundering, should platforms that sell political advertising be required to maintain records of transactions?
16.) When political advertising is paid for with a credit card by a citizen of the United States who is living outside the country, should they be required to be identified as a United States citizen to the seller by providing the United States address they use for voter registration purposes?
17.) Should broadcast stations, providers of cable and satellite television, and online platforms be required to make reasonable efforts to ensure that political communications made available by such station, provider, or platform are not purchased by a foreign national, directly or indirectly?
18.) Should pre-recorded telephone and video calls made for political purposes announce the political nature of the call at the beginning of the call?
19.) Should shareholders of corporations have the right to know that their money is being spent for political campaigns, and the details of them?
20.) Should Presidential Inaugural Committees be prohibited from soliciting and accepting money from corporations and foreign interests, i.e. should the obtain money or funds from United States citizens only?
21.) Should Inaugural Committees shall file with a report with the Federal Election Commission disclosing any donation by an individual to the committee in an amount of $1,000 or more not later than 24 hours after the receipt of such donation?
22.) In order to protect the integrity of democracy and the electoral process, and to ensure political equality for all, should the Constitution be amended so that Congress and the States may regulate and set limits on the raising and spending of money to influence elections and may distinguish between natural persons and artificial entities, like corporations, that are created by law, including by prohibiting such artificial entities from spending money to influence elections?
23.) Should Americans who are otherwise qualified to serve this Nation as elected officials be able to run for office, regardless of their economic status – or, should only the wealthy and well-connected be eligible?
24.) Should Super PACs be forbidden from coordinating with Candidates – that is, should any payment made by any person (other than a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, or a political committee of a political party) for a coordinated expenditure which is not otherwise treated as a contribution, be treated as a campaign contribution?
25.) Should the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 have teeth in it to financially penalize agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities, and who fail to report?
26.) Should individuals who are required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 be required to detail the financial value of things they give to a Federal or State officeholder – including favorable regulatory treatment?
27.) Should any individual, with authority to direct or substantially influence a lobbying contact or contacts made by another individual, and for financial or other compensation who provides counseling services in support of preparation and planning activities which are treated as lobbying activities if they do so at least 10% of their time, be required to register as a lobbyist?
28.) Should United States citizens who are registered lobbyists be prohibited from receiving compensation for lobbying activities on behalf of foreign countries violating human rights?
29.) Should lobbyists be required to state that they are lobbyists to the legislative branch officials to whom they lobby?
30.) In order to slow the “revolving door” and conflicts of interest from government service to high-level private and lobbying positions, should Executive Branch employees be subject to increased scrutiny and requirements such as a 2-year waiting period before they seek such positions?
31.) If so, should those who willfully violate those provisions be penalized by imprisonment and/or fines if found guilty?
32.) Should an employee of the Federal Government participate personally and substantially in any award of a contract to, or the administration of a contract awarded to, a contractor that is a former employer of the employee during a 2-year period beginning on the date on which the employee leaves the employment of the contractor?
33.) Should a federal agency enter into a contract with a business owned or controlled by a federal employee or any family member of such an individual?
34.) Should the President and Vice President divest themselves of all financial interests, by placing in a blind trust, that are a conflict of interest within 30 days after taking office?
35.) Should the President and Vice President list the value of each liability and asset with any corporation, company, firm, partnership, or other business that they or their family holds?
36.) Should White House employees who receive waivers or authorizations in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 or other applicable law, be required to report them to the Office of Government Ethics, and should those be public records?
37.) Should all designated agency ethics officials and alternate designated agency ethics officials register with the Director as well as with the appointing authority of the official, and should the Director provide ethics education and training to all designated and alternate designated agency ethics officials in a time and manner deemed appropriate by the Director?
38.) Should the head of each Federal agency be required to submit a report to the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate detailing travel on Government aircraft by any senior Federal official employed at the applicable agency?
39.) Should the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of the Air Force, every 90 days (quarterly) submit to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report detailing the direct and indirect costs to the Department of Defense in support of presidential travel, and should each such report include costs incurred for travel to a property owned or operated by the individual serving as President or an immediate family member of such individual?
40.) Should the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 be amended to require reporting not later than 10 days after submitting an application for a security clearance for any individual, and not later than 10 days after any such individual is granted a security clearance (including an interim clearance), each eligible candidate or the President-elect (as the case may be) a report containing the name of such individual to the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate?
41.) Should Senior Executive Branch Employees pledge, and abide by an Ethics oath which includes not receiving gifts from lobbyists during their term of service, two-year waiting period to participate in any particular matter involving specific party or parties that is directly and substantially related to former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts?
42.) Regarding Travel on Private Aircraft by Senior Political Appointees, should funds be appropriated or otherwise made available in any fiscal year to be used to pay the travel expenses of any senior political appointee for travel on official business on a non-commercial, private, or chartered flight?
43.) Regarding behavior by individual Members of Congress, should individual Members of Congress be required to reimburse the Treasury for amounts paid as settlements and awards under Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 in all cases of employment discrimination acts by those Members?
44.) Regarding conflicts of interest, should Members of the House of Representatives be prohibited from serving on boards of for-profit entities?
45.) Concerning prospective legislation, should any Member, officer, or employee of a committee or Member of either House of Congress knowingly use his or her official position to introduce or aid the progress or passage of legislation that would benefit them, their family or any enterprise controlled by them?
46.) Should congressionally mandated reports – meaning a report that is required to be submitted to either House of Congress or any committee of Congress, or subcommittee thereof, by a statute, resolution, or conference report that accompanies legislation enacted into law – be made openly and freely available to the public on a Congressional website?
47.) Shall supervisors of paid Congressional employees file reports of outside compensation earned by those Congressional employees with the Ethics Committee of either the House, or Senate, as appropriate?
48.) Should candidates for President and Vice President be required to submit to the Federal Election Commission a copy of the individual’s income tax returns for the 10 most recent taxable years, and should the Federal Election Commission make those documents public record?
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Let’s talk a few minutes about what should, and what should not be.
For example…
1.) • Should there be, and should Federal Judges abide by, “a code of conduct, which applies to each justice and judge of the United States”?
2.) • Should there be a DEDICATED ENFORCEMENT UNIT “within the counterespionage section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice for the enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938”?
3.) • Should it be illegal “for any person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, to corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person from registering to vote or to corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person from aiding another person in registering to vote”?
4.) • Should “a State motor vehicle authority require each individual applying for a motor vehicle driver’s license in the State to indicate whether the individual resides in another State or resided in another State prior to applying for the license, and, if so, to identify the State involved; and to indicate whether the individual intends for the State to serve as the individual’s residence for purposes of registering to vote in elections for Federal office”?
5.) • Should it be illegal for a political party or another partisan organization to send mail to addresses of registered voters whom they have identified as likely to be unfriendly to their candidate, and then use all the undeliverable returned mail to make what is called a caging list to challenge voters when they show up at polls to vote?
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Which one’s which?
Find the M-16 and the AR-15.
And, did you know?
ALL parts are interchangeable on the M-16 and the AR-15.
Every single one of them.
Why is that?
When Eugene Stoner (1922-1997) of the Armalite corporation originally designed the weapon, it was at the behest of the United States Department of Defense which sought a firearm that was lightweight (under 6 pounds) had a high-capacity magazine (30 rounds), and could penetrate BOTH sides of a steel helmet at 500 yards. It was called the AR15, for Armalite Rifle version 15. There had been several previous iterations to the rifle, all of which were intended exclusively for military use.
The .223 caliber round (the bullet, not the shell/casing) had been introduced to market and made available to the civilian market by Remington, which commercially introduced the .222 Remington as a varmint cartridge in 1950 – a round intended for pest control.
Bullets are measured in size, which is called “caliber,” and refers to its diameter/circumference, and weight, which is measured in “grains.” So, a 60 grain bullet would weigh 3.887935 grams.
Sometimes also called “ball ammo,” bullets so described are lead bullets completely covered with metal, also known as FMJ, or Full Metal Jacket. Unlike hollow point bullets – bullets which have a hollowed-out center – ball ammo/FMJ bullets do not expand upon impact. Instead, they penetrate a target and quite possibly even penetrate the object behind the target.
There are also numerous varieties and shapes of ball ammunition which range from “boat tails,” flat nose (sometimes called dum-dum bullets), and ones with truncated cones. Each shape has a specific use, but all are made for one purpose in mind: Penetration.
Though the years, the development of the .223 caliber round, and the Armalite Rifle proceeded. The military was increasingly interested in both.
In 1957, events began to accelerate with development of both. Eugene Stoner had developed a rifle called the AR-10 in response to the Army’s request for a “small-caliber, high-velocity” (SCHV) cartridge – the entire shell casing and round, filled with gunpowder, a primer, and bullet. And that year, the Infantry Board had agreed upon the preliminary specifications, which called for a 6 pound, select-fire .22″ rifle with a conventional stock and a 20 round magazine. The proposed chambering had to penetrate the standard issue steel helmet, body armor, and a .135″ steel plate at 500 yards, while maintaining the trajectory and accuracy of M2 ball from a M1 Garand, and equaling or exceeding the “wounding” ability of the .30 Carbine.
In January 1963, just as the Vietnam “conflict” was simmering slightly below a boil, U.S. Secretary of DefenseRobert McNamara ordered the AR-15 adopted to replace the M14 which had been the standard issue infantry rifle, and standard issue for all branches of service for several years. His decision was based upon Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, March 9, 2021
So they got their clocks unexpectedly cleaned in the November General Election, and now, they don’t like it.
And what do they do?
Change the rules, because they don’t like them any more.
That’s right!
Where, or in what sport does that ever occur – that the losing team seeks rule changes after a loss, because they lost?
None.
Why?
Because respectable teams understand that their losses are exclusively because of poor playing skills, including faulty strategy, bad tactics, and nothing more. And in politics, it boils down to the questions how well have you treated the people? What have you done FOR them to help, and benefit them?
Georgia elections official Gabriel Sterling, pictured in November 2020, pushed back on false claims about voter fraud. But he supports some Republican initiatives to change voting laws, saying it could help elections administrators.
It’s only been 16 years since Republicans last changed the voting rules in Georgia, and… well, read this article by Georgia Public Broadcasting about the matter -AND- the article by NPR in which Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s Chief Operating Officer for the Secretary of State’s office, is interviewed.
“In 2005, the year that Republicans gained control of state government after decades of Democratic domination, HB 244 was a 59-page bill that contained nearly 70 revisions of state election code, including two major changes: adding a photo ID requirement for in-person voting and allowing Georgians to vote by mail without an excuse, and without an ID.
“At the time, Democrats and voting rights groups adamantly opposed both measures. Lawmakers compared the photo ID requirement to Jim Crow laws and warned that Georgia would have some of the country’s most restrictive voting procedures. The addition of no-excuse absentee voting did not reassure Democrats, either. In an eerie inversion of today’s positions, they argued that it would introduce a system ripe for abuse.
““By removing restrictions related to mailed absentee ballots, HB 244 opens a greater opportunity for fraud,” former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, then a Democratic state senator, wrote in an op-ed. “Skeptics might point out that absentee voters have historically voted for Republicans in higher numbers.”
“Among the lawmakers who voted for the bill were Gov. Brian Kemp (then a state senator), House Speaker David Ralston, Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, Majority Leader Jon Burns, Senate Rules chairman Jeff Mullis, Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer (then a state senator) and Reps. Terry England, Sharon Cooper, Ed Setzler, Lynn Smith and Barry Fleming, author of the current House omnibus which is one of the bills that would add an ID requirement to absentee ballots and applications.
“Democrats who opposed the 2005 bill included current Sen. Minority Leader Gloria Butler, Sens. Ed Harbison, Horacena Tate, Kasim Reed and Reps. Debbie Buckner, Roger Bruce, MARTOC chair Mary Margaret Oliver, and Calvin Smyre, currently the longest-serving member of the House, among others.
“Democrats said at the time that requiring photo ID to vote in person would disenfranchise lower-income, older and non-white voters, while pressing the idea that expanded no-excuse absentee voting without an ID requirement was an invitation to fraud.
““This bill would actually open the door wide to opportunities for voter fraud because it allows voting by mail where you present no identification whatsoever,” Democratic Secretary of State Cathy Cox said in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. “So those parts of the bill really don’t jive in my mind in terms of any real effort to crack down on what someone perceives to be voting fraud.”
“Fast forward to 2021: There has been no evidence of widespread fraud with absentee-by-mail voting and, until the 2018 governor’s race, the relative few voters that used absentee ballots skewed older, whiter and more Republican.
“A record number of Georgians participated in the November general election thanks in part to expanded voting rules and procedures pushed by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Demographic changes and a surge in automatic voter registrations have shifted statewide politics to razor-thin margins, and Democrats took advantage of no-excuse absentee voting to flip the state’s electoral votes and both U.S. Senate seats.
“In the elections debate following the 2020 presidential race, the arguments might sound familiar. Former President Donald Trump and other top Republicans have questioned the security of the more than 1.3 million absentee ballots cast by Georgians in the November election, claimed that the state’s method of matching signatures to verify absentee ballots opened the door to fraud, and proposed sweeping changes to fix the system.
“Raffensperger told GPB News that adding an ID requirement to absentee ballots seemed like a logical solution given the complaints from both sides of the aisle.
““A year ago we were being sued by the Democrats,” Raffensperger said in the interview. “They did not like signature match, they said it was unconstitutional and now the Republicans are saying the same thing. Well, you guys are both singing off the same song sheet now, so maybe now we need a verifiable photo ID component with the absentee ballot process.”
“Gov. Brian Kemp supported no-excuse absentee voting in 2005, and by the end of his run as secretary of state in 2018, touted Georgia as a national leader in election law because of the state’s absentee rules, automatic voter registration and at least 16 days of in-person early voting — a distinction that his successor Raffensperger touts at the bottom of every press release.
“But other Republican legislators have changed their stances on the state’s election laws over the past decade-and-a-half.”
–––MORE–––
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record turnout in 2020, with over 1.3 million absentee by mail voters and over 3.6 million in-person voters utilizing Georgia’s new, secure, paper ballot voting system.
Georgia elections official Gabriel Sterling gained national attention a few months ago by pushing back against former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud.
But Republican state lawmakers in Georgia, inspired by those falsehoods, have introduced a handful of bills that would increase barriers to voting for some people.
Georgia Elections Official Gabriel Sterling Responds To Bills That Make Voting Harder
Georgia is among 43 states that are considering similar legislation, according to the Brennan Center.
Sterling, a Republican who is now the chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state’s office, says some of the measures backed by Republican Georgia state lawmakers go too far.
But he argues that many of the proposals could end up helping elections administrators.
There was no widespread fraud in Georgia, he says, but there were small numbers of double voting, out-of-state voting and felons voting. Rules involving photo IDs could make things easier for elections workers, he says.
“In a state like Georgia, where the election is getting closer and closer, every vote’s going to count,” Sterling says. “And anything we can do to make the system more secure and provide confidence to everybody, that’s the kind of things that we need to be focusing on.”
Sterling talked with NPR’s Scott Detrow on Morning Edition about the proposals under consideration and why he opposes the Democrat-backed voting rights bill that passed the U.S. House last week.
Here are excerpts of the interview:
One proposal would eliminate no-excuse absentee voting and add voter ID requirements for absentee voting. This is being characterized by many voting rights groups as nothing more than a response to the fact that Democrats won Georgia Senate races and the presidential race last year and that Democrats used absentee voting more than Republicans. Are they wrong?
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, March 4, 2021
Welcome to the “new” reality.
But, just for a moment, let’s play “What if?”
What if the United States’ failed response (because of the inactions and deliberate failures of the previous administration) was the primary cause of the mutated, more virulent variants?
It’s entirely plausible.
Otherwise, how to explain that the United States, with the world’s 3rd most populous nation – China and India each have WELL OVER 1 BILLION MORE – has ABSOLUTELY THE WORLD’S WORST COVID-19 INFECTION RATE?
Other nations, most notably New Zealand, have had phenomenal success in keeping the disease at bay, relatively speaking, as have a few other nations, including China, India, Greenland, Australia, other Scandinavian nations, and… well, you get the picture.
Perhaps there should’ve been a sign:
Choose One: Your Life, or Your Freedom.
“When Will It End?” : How A Changing Virus Is Reshaping Scientists’ Views On COVID-19
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chris Murray, a University of Washington disease expert whose projections on COVID-19 infections and deaths are closely followed worldwide, is changing his assumptions about the course of the pandemic.
“Let me explain to you why it is hard and why it is going to take time. I think it is important to understand what we have inherited, because it defines the situation as it currently stands. Entire systems are not rebuilt in a day or in a few weeks. To put it succinctly, the prior administration dismantled our nation’s immigration system in its entirety.
“When I started 27 days ago, I learned that we did not have the facilities available or equipped to administer the humanitarian laws that our Congress passed years ago. We did not have the personnel, policies, procedures, or training to administer those laws. Quite frankly, the entire system was gutted.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, March 1, 2021
This morning, bright and early around 0300 (that was the timestamp upon it, I was blissfully asleep then), I received an email from a friend and his better half whom are expats in Kitahiroshima on the island prefecture of Hokkaido, in northernmost Japan, near where her parents reside.
He wrote in part that “Vaccinations for coronavirus have started here but only for those with the highest priority (which makes sense).”
In that message, he also included a copy of an email communique from the United States Department of State which read in part, “The United States Government does not plan to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to private U.S. citizens overseas.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, February 22, 2021
(L-R ) Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sylvia Garcia help distribute food at the Houston Food Bank on February 20, 2021 in Houston, Texas. – Texans are in need of aid after an unprecedented and deadly “polar plunge” burst pipes and left millions in the US state shivering without power or clean water for days. (Photo by Elizabeth Conley / POOL / AFP)
You KNOW things’re bad when a renown New York City Progressive Democrat has more chutzpah, and gets more things done for Texans than does their ne’er do well, out-of-touch privileged U.S. Senator Ted “Cancun” Cruz.
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Updated 3:51 PM ET, Monday February 22, 2021
(CNN) – Last Thursday, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) announced her plan to raise money to help victims of the extreme weather — and power grid failure — in Texas.
Obviously, the most important thing here is that millions more dollars will go to Texans still struggling to find potable water and deal with the damage from last week’s deep freeze. (Ocasio-Cortez also traveled to the state over the weekend to see the situation firsthand.)
“It would not be too far-fetched to imagine (unless the Texas State Legislature asserted otherwise, and chose not to protect the people, but industry instead), that in the future, if such deliberate failures to act to prevent catastrophic loss in Texas – primarily as loss of human life, but property loss, as well – would be subject to litigation by others against the offenders – that being the entire spectrum of participants, ranging from Power Generators, Investor-Owned Utilities aka Retail Electricity Providers, and ERCOT as the esrtwhile ne’er do well pseudo-manager, and perhaps even the Public Utility Commission of Texas for allowing it all to happen under their watchful eyes.
“Ultimately, of course, the responsibility lies with Texas politicians who have horrifically and bitterly failed their constituents… again, and in magnificently resplendent fashion – making this catastrophic fiasco their magnum opus of failure.
“And there is precedent for the same. Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE), the primary electrical utility and NatGas service provider for California, was sued recently, and consequently filed bankruptcy because of the sheer volume of lawsuits filed citing PGE’s deliberate failures to act in a preventative manner to secure their power lines to prevent fire, which in turn caused massive wildfires in the state. To assert that affirmative corporate responsibility is somehow tortuous or onerous to justice or jurisprudence is beyond the scope of the pale. And ERCOT is a well-known name in Texas.”
And, have you noticed?
The ERCOT website, ERCOT.com has remained off-line for several days, and at last check, moments ago, remained off-line.
Fortunately, however, there is a thing called the “Internet Archive” which has a “Wayback Machine” that caches and “makes images” (copies) of websites worldwide. So the ERCOT website isn’t truly gone… even though they might wish it to be.
But ERCOT and Entergy… deserve to be punished for their failures.
The buck stops here.
$100M Lawsuit Alleges Negligence By Power Company, Grid Operator Led To Texas Boy’s Death During Winter Storm
The family of an 11-year-old boy who died in the freezing Texas weather last week has filed a lawsuit against the state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and power company Entergy, alleging that gross negligence led to the child’s death.
The lawsuit alleges gross negligence by the power grid operator and the electricity provider, saying it led to the death of 11-year-old Christian Pavon.
The boy died Tuesday after spending the night in his frigid mobile home that lost power.
The lawsuit says Christian died of hypothermia, and the family is asking for more than $100 million in damages.
Medical examiners have not yet released his cause of death.
Entergy released the following statement on the lawsuit:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in our community. We are unable to comment due to pending litigation.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, February 20, 2021
Update: Saturday, 20 February 2021 NOTE: TO THE READER: As you read any story anywhere mentioning, involving, or written by Donald V. Watkins, Sr., it must be borne in mind that he is now a Federal Convict, and along with his son, Donald V. Watkins, Jr., was found guilty of numerous charges.
“Donald Watkins Sr. was convicted of seven counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy.
Donald Watkins Jr. was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, February 19, 2021
Imagine for a minute, if you can, what it would be like for your elected Representatives and Senators, at either the State, or Federal level to literally “undo,” or attempt to “undo,” an election that was in every way conducted properly (meaning ethically, honestly, and openly, in accordance with all applicable laws), simply because they didn’t “like” the way The People voted – the results or outcome of the election wasn’t to their suiting, or liking.
The Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney and the Georgia State Attorney General’s Office are both investigating that matter in order to determine what, if any, election-related laws were broken in the course of that phone call, which may include “the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election’s administration.”
The audio taped recording of the Trump-Raffensperger phone call is quite likely much worse than any of the numerous covert so-called “smoking gun” audio tapes of Richard Nixon’s presidency. Nixon’s numerous recorded conversations with staff, and others, including of his phone calls, which detailed his involvement in the numerous crimes of the Watergate burglary/break-in, also revealed him to be paranoid.
And cockamamie conspiracy theories aside – especially and particularly the one of “The BIG Lie,” as told by the former President – NO ONE made any overt, or clandestine effort or attempt to “steal” any election from anyone. PERIOD.
But the point of the matter is this:
There are
GENUINELY
now-ongoing efforts
to literally “undo”
the results of honest elections
in the United States.
No, this is NOT a joke… and, NO this is NOT a conspiracy theory.
It is a documented fact.
What does it say for democracy and the democratic process if the expressed will of the people is somehow, overridden, undone, or cancelled?
Yeah… it’s that “cancel culture” thing.
And it is Republicans who are doing it.
Remember the thing about “psychological projection” – a morbid behavior in which people deny or defend in themselves the very characteristic or behavior they abjure and detest in others? It’s a type of “blame shifting,” and a refusal to accept either reality or responsibility.
Read for yourself the following 2 news items to learn what GOP-Banana Republican types are doing in some states.
Marijuana Foes Deploy New ‘Playbook’ To Thwart State Legalization, Upend Election Results
Efforts to thwart voter-approved marijuana legalization in Mississippi, Montana and South Dakota are evidence of a “playbook” that reflects new legal strategies and greater willingness among local government officials to nullify election results, experts say.
Those efforts – led by anti-marijuana politicians and other opponents – threaten to stop or delay the implementation of new medical and recreational cannabis markets that would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in sales a year.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, February 18, 2021
The Texas Interconnection, which covers 213 of Texas’ 254 counties, is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Counties NOT included: Bailey, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cochran, Dallam, El Paso, Gaines, Gregg, Hansford, Hardin, Harrison, Hartley, Hemphill, Hockley, Hudspeth, Hutchinson, Jasper, Jefferson, Lamb, Liberty, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Marion, Moore, Morris, Newton, Ochiltree, Orange, Panola, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Sherman, Terry, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur and Yoakum. (Total = 41)
By now, you’ve likely read or heard numerous stories of Texans’ suffering because of electrical power outages, that are now becoming rolling blackouts.
And, perhaps as well you’ve read that deregulation has been a significantly influential part of the problem.
And then, you may have also read or heard that failure to properly insulate and protect against wintry weather conditions has been the preliminary finding of a root cause analysis.
But you may also wonder why other states or nations which regularly experience much colder temperature extremes don’t have the same kinds of problems that Texas has.
Scandinavian countries, Minnesotans, Michiganders and Mainers all regularly have much cooler temperatures and wind power, but their windmills and electrical power grids don’t stop operating like the ones in Texas did. And Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, and other European nations also regularly have cold weather that doesn’t shut down their power grid. So, what gives?
The weather-related failures of Texas’ natural gas (NatGas) infrastructure that has resulted in this present and most unfortunate crisis, are because NatGas pipelines froze in the very time of year and season in which they are most heavily relied upon.
Again, states and nations with much colder climes don’t seem to have the kinds of problems that Texas is experiencing. And there remains at least 42 signatory nations with permanent, year-round research stations in the Antarctic, which also have electricity. So again, why exactly did natural gas pipelines freeze in Texas? Water is the primary thing that freezes, right?
With single-digit temperatures, Texas’ Natural Gas pipelines froze up because there was moisture in the gas. Like moisture on the exterior of an iced beverage glass, cold temperatures cause moisture to condensate, and once liquefied, then exposed to freezing temperatures, gas pipelines were literally blocked with ice, and in some cases, the compressors lost power. It’s common for Natural Gas to be stored underground, which is also where it originates. So in its “raw” state, or untreated condition, it is not uncommon for water – either as liquid, or vapor – to be present in the unrefined gas, which in turn, must be “dried out,” or dehumidified to certain levels in order to be salable and usable.
In response, pumps which were used to deliver Natural Gas then slowed down. The Diesel engines which were used to power the pumps refused to start. And from there, it was a cascade of failures – a “domino effect” – one power plant after another went offline. Even 1 of Texas’ 2 nuclear reactors went dark, hampered by inoperable equipment. And to be certain, the nuclear power plant wasn’t “crippled” in the sense that it was incapable of operations, but a decision – in the interest of safety – was made to shut down the plant because a critical component – a sensor – was not working because of the cold temperatures. Further complicating matters, the NatGas that was available was prioritized for heating residences and businesses, rather than for generating electricity.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
“The measurement of moisture in natural gas is an important parameter for the processing, storage and transportation of natural gas globally. Natural gas is dehydrated prior to introduction into the pipeline and distribution network. However, attempts to reduce dehydration result in a reduction in “gas quality” and an increase in maintenance costs and transportation as well as potential safety issues.. Consequently, to strike the right balance, it is important that the water component of natural gas is measured precisely and reliably. Moreover, in custody transfer of natural gas between existing and future owners maximum allowable levels are set by tariff, normally expressed in terms of absolute humidity (mg/m3 or lbs/mmscfh) or dew point temperature.
“Prior to transportation, water is separated from raw natural gas. However some water still remains present in the gaseous state as water vapor. If the gas cools or comes in contact with any surface that is colder that the prevailing dew point temperature of the gas, water will condense in the form of liquid or ice. Under pressure, water also has the unique property of being able to form a lattice structure around hydrocarbons such as methane to form solid hydrates. Ice or solid hydrates can cause blockage in pipelines. In addition, water combines with gases such as Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to form corrosive acids. Water in natural gas also increases the cost of transportation in pipelines by adding mass and as water vapor has no calorific or heating value it also adds to the expense of compression and transportation. When natural gas is sold, there are contractual requirements to limit the concentration of water vapor. In the United States the limit or tariff is expressed in absolute humidity in units of pounds per million standard cubic feet (lbs/mmscf). The maximum absolute humidity for interstate transfer is set at 7lbs/mmscf. In Europe, bodies such as EASEE-gas make recommendations on the maximum permissible amount of water vapor in the gas. EASEE-gas has approved a limit of -8°C Dew Point, referenced to a gas pressure of 70 Bar(a). This recommended limit is generally being adhered to in the gas industry across Europe.”
Equinor, a Stavanger, Norway-based international energy company, engaged in exploration, development and production of oil and gas, including wind and solar power. They sell crude oil and are a major supplier of natural gas, with activities in processing, refining, and trading.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Right Wing Political Pundit-Radio Entertainer Rush Limbaugh caught Hell for one of his caustically outrageous diatribes… again. This time, his target was a woman. Next up, children.
A portion of the Wikipedia entry on Limbaugh, which has since been removed.
Hell yawns wide to receive his rotted, cancer-riddled, tone-deaf, racist, drug-addled corpse.
Good riddance.
Just desserts, you know.
He had no pity for others.
Others will have no pity for him.
The racist son-of-a-bitch got what he wanted: “A medal for smoking cigars.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, February 17, 2021
“This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America. Our wind and our solar got shut down, and they were collectively more than 10 percent of our power grid, and that thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis. It just shows that fossil fuel is necessary.”
The chart below, from the United States Energy Information Administration, shows that in Texas, Natural Gas-Fired electricity generation is BY FAR – by at least TWICE – the SINGLE LARGEST SOURCE of electrical power in Texas.
It is NOT Nonhydroelectric Renewables, which supplies only 8679 thousand MWh while Natural Gas which supplies 19,890 thousand MWh.
Yeah.
But wind turbines are the problem – according to Governor Abbott and other nuts.
It happened on YOUR watch, Governor Greggy-poo. Therefore, it’s YOUR fault.
It’s YOUR FAULT
because
YOU DID NOTHING
TO
PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING.
Simply put, you did NOT look out for the welfare of your state’s citizens.
You FAILED.
In a series of Tweets, Dan Crenshaw, Texas Republican U.S. Representative for CD2-Houston stated what many agreed is the problem – there’s no insulation in natural gas pipelines in Texas. Thus, they were freezing up, and creating problems.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Texas Electrical Energy Deregulation map The Texas and Dallas deregulated energy service areas are divided into six Transmission and Delivery Utility (TDU) Companies. Those TDUs are: • Texas New Mexico Power Company (TNMP) • Sharyland Utilites • AEP North (American Electric Power) • AEP Central • Oncor (most of DFW, Dallas-Fort Worth included) • CenterPoint (Houston and surrounding areas)
While it’s cold – and yes, it’s a Polar Vortex (see the motion gif showing 2 months of daily changes at the bottom of this page) – it’s NOT like the Polar Vortex of February 2019.
But if you’ve been wondering WHY Texas is having problems delivering electricity right now with a relatively minor cold snap moving through much of the United States, and other states aren’t, wonder no more.
Texas has a DEREGULATED energy/electrical power grid.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, February 16, 2021
More Compelling Evidence That Senators Are Members Not Of Congress, But Of The Cult of Trump
Banana Republicans in the United States Senate are a bunch of spineless jellyfish.
And… Kentucky Senate Minority Leader Moscow Mitch “The Bitch” McConnell is their leader.
An Impeachment Manager Says Republicans Privately Told Her She Made A Compelling Case To Convict Trump, But They Acquitted Him Anyway
• Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) was a House manager in Trump’s second impeachment trial.
• She told CNN some Senate Republicans privately told her she “made the case” for conviction.
• But she said they already planned to acquit Trump and didn’t want to “stand out on a limb” by convicting.
A House impeachment manager says Republican senators told her privately that she “made the case” to convict former President Donald Trump, but they still voted to acquit him.
Delegate Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat from the Virgin Islands, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Monday about the interactions she had with unnamed Republican senators during Trump’s second impeachment trial last week.
“I had Senators, even after we presented, who stopped me in the hallway, Republicans, who said that we had made the case, but yet they were going to vote to acquit the president,” Plaskett said.
Plaskett said she tried to win these senators over by saying they could vote to acquit Trump, but not vote to disqualify him from holding office in the future – a vote which would have taken place after conviction, and only requires a simple majority.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, February 16, 2021
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Joseph Story (1779-1845), Daguerreotype portrait by Matthew Brady’s Studio c.1844/45
Joseph Story (1779-1845) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, nominated by President James Madison, who served in office from February 3, 1812 until September 10, 1845.
He was also: Republican Congressman from Massachusetts, 1808-1809; Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1811-1845; Acting Chief Justice, 1835-1836, 1844; Professor of Law Harvard University 1829-1845.
The United States Constitution states in part as follows:
Article I, Section 3, Clause 7:
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Article II, Section 4:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Justice Story wrote about the matter of impeachment at great length, and in part wrote that:
§393. It is obvious, that, upon trials on impeachments, one of two courses must be adopted in case of a conviction; either for the court to proceed to pronounce a full and complete sentence of punishment for the offence according to the law of the land in like cases, pending in the common tribunals of justice, superadding the removal from office, and the consequent disabilities; or, to confine its sentence to the removal from office and other disabilities. If the former duty be a part of the constitutional functions of the court, then, in case of an acquittal, there cannot be another trial of the party for the same offence in the common tribunals of justice, because it is repugnant to the whole theory of the common law, that a man should be brought into jeopardy of life or limb more than once for the same offence. A plea of acquittal is, therefore, an absolute bar against any second prosecution for the same offence. If the court of impeachments is merely to pronounce a sentence of removal from office and the other disabilities; then it is indispensable, that provision should be made, that the common tribunals of justice should be at liberty to entertain jurisdiction of the offence, for the purpose of inflicting the common punishment applicable to unofficial offenders. Otherwise, it might be matter of extreme doubt, whether, consistently with the great maxim above mentioned, established for the security of the life and limbs and liberty of the citizen, a second trial for the same offence could be had, either after an acquittal, or a conviction in the court of impeachments. And if no such second trial could be had, then the grossest official offenders might escape without any substantial punishment, even for crimes, which would subject their fellow citizens to capital punishment. [emphasis added]
§394. The constitution, then, having provided, that judgment upon impeachments shall not extend further, than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold office, (which, however afflictive to an ambitious and elevated mind, would be scarcely felt, as a punishment, by the profligate and the base,) has wisely subjected the party to trial in the common criminal tribunals, for the purpose of receiving such punishment, as ordinarily belongs to the offence. Thus, for instance, treason, which by our laws is a capital offence, may receive its appropriate punishment ; and bribery in high officers, which otherwise would be a mere disqualification from office, may have the measure of its infamy dealt out to it with the same unsparing severity, which attends upon other and humbler offenders.
How the cowardly, weasel-like jellyfish of a man “Moscow Mitch, the Bitch” McConnell could POSSIBLY use the word “vindicate” in reference to the United States Constitution is beyond the scope of imagination – however derelict and perverted it may be – and it is definitely most perverted.
McConnell wrote “Our job wasn’t to find some way, any way, to inflict a punishment. The Senate’s first and foundational duty was to protect the Constitution.” -and- that “The text is unclear” about impeachment, whether “the Senate can try and convict former officers.”
McConnell had also earlier written a “dear colleague” letter to his fellow Banana Republicans in the Senate, in which he wrote in pertinent part that “I am persuaded that impeachments are a tool primarily of removal…”
His mind is like concrete – thoroughly mixed, and permanently set.
The cases of Tennessee United States Senator William Blount – impeached July 7, 1797, on charges of conspiring to assist in Great Britain’s attempt to seize Spanish-controlled territories in modern-day Florida and Louisiana, tried December 17, 1798–January 14, 1799 – and Ulysses Grant’s Secretary of War William Belknap – who tendered his resignation March 2, 1876 only moments before the House impeached him, was tried March 3–August 1, 1876 – demonstrate very clearly that officials may be tried on impeachment charges after they’re out of office. Or else, it completely absolves any official of any responsibility for any act of criminal wrong-doing while in office. It is the intellectual and moral equivalent of saying “so-and-so doesn’t live in Texas anymore, and moved to Minnesota 10 years ago, so s/he can’t be tried for murder or any crimes committed while residing in Texas.”
To assert as much is so absurdly preposterous that it defies imagination.
It’s an ethically reprehensible, morally wrong and judiciously untenable to deny anyone – including society – justice. And that is, in effect, what has happened with Donald Trump; society has been denied justice for the reprehensible, morally repugnant, and outright illegal acts of Donald Trump while in office as the President.
McConnell claims that Trump can be tried in other courts, and cites Justice Story’s writing that:
“There is also much force in the remark, that an impeachment is a proceeding purely of a political nature. It is not so much designed to punish an offender, as to secure the state against gross official misdemeanors. It touches neither his person, nor his property ; but simply divests him of his political capacity.” –– §406, chapter X, book III, p289
“And the final judgment is confined to a removal from, and disqualification for, office ; thus limiting the punishment to such modes of redress, as are peculiarly fit for a political tribunal to administer, and as will secure the public against political injuries. In other respects the offence is left to be disposed of by the common tribunals of justice, accord- ing to the laws of the land, upon an indictment found by a grand jury, and a trial by jury of peers, before whom the party is to stand for his final deliverance, like his fellow citizens.” –– §407, chapter X, book III, p290
But, rest assured: Trump is completely free and clear of any charges related to impeachment. However, there are other charges at the state level which he may face for things he did while in office, including most notably, attempting to persuade Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger to manipulate the results of the election in that state to throw the election to Trump’s favor. The Fulton County District Attorney, and Georgia State Attorney General are investigating that matter.
1. To clear of accusation,blame,suspicion, or doubtwithsupportingarguments or proof:“Oursocietypermitspeople to sueforlibel so thattheymayvindicatetheirreputations”(Irving R. Kaufman). 2. To defend,maintain, or insist on therecognition of (one’srights,forexample). 3. To demonstrate or provethevalue or validityof;justify:Theresults of theexperimentvindicatedheroptimism. 4. Obsolete To exactrevengefor;avenge.
(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.)
1. to clearfromguilt,accusation,blame,etc, as by evidence or argument
2. to providejustificationfor:hispromotionvindicatedhisunconventionalattitude.
3. to uphold,maintain, or defend (a cause,etc):to vindicate a claim.
4. (Law)Romanlaw to bring an action to regainpossession of (property)underclaim of legaltitle
5. (HistoricalTerms)Romanlaw to bring an action to regainpossession of (property)underclaim of legaltitle
6. rare to claim, as foroneself or another
7. obsolete to takerevenge on or for;punish
8. obsolete to setfree
(Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014)
1. to clear, as from an accusation or suspicion: to vindicatesomeone’shonor.
“Moscow Mitch, the Bitch” McConnell is a Banana Republican from Kentucky, Senate Minority Leader, the biggest weasel in Washington, D.C., and an ardent, though oblique, supporter of the Cult of Trump.
Acquittal Vindicated the Constitution, Not Trump
wsj.com
Sunday, February 14, 2021
by Mitch McConnell
January 6 was a shameful day. A mob bloodied law enforcement and besieged the first branch of government. American citizens tried to use terrorism to stop a democratic proceeding they disliked.
There is no question former President Trump bears moral responsibility. His supporters stormed the Capitol because of the unhinged falsehoods he shouted into the world’s largest megaphone. His behavior during and after the chaos was also unconscionable, from attacking Vice President Mike Pence during the riot to praising the criminals after it ended.
President-elect Donald Trump leaves a meeting with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, at the U.S. Capitol November 10, 2016 in Washington, DC Zach Gibson/Getty Images
I was as outraged as any member of Congress. But senators take our own oaths. Our job wasn’t to find some way, any way, to inflict a punishment. The Senate’s first and foundational duty was to protect the Constitution.
Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina joined Republican Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and all 50 Democrats in voting GUILTY to convict. But, 57 votes was 10 shy of the 2/3 required by the Constitution in order to convict.
The Senate Minority Leader Moscow Mitch McConnell had the temerity, audacity and unmitigated gall to actually give a brief speech on the Senate floor following his “NOT GUILTY” vote for Donald J. “Loser” Trump, which follows at the conclusion of this entry.
Senate Minority Leader “Moscow Mitch” McConnell who wrote email to his Senate minions saying,
“Colleagues, as I have said for some time, today’s vote is a vote of conscience and I know we will all treat it as such. I have been asked directly by a number of you how I intend to vote, so thought it right to make that known prior to the final vote. While a close call, I am persuaded that impeachments are a tool primarily of removal and we therefore lack jurisdiction. The Constitution makes perfectly clear that Presidential criminal misconduct while in office can be prosecuted after the President has left office, which in my view alleviates the otherwise troubling ‘January exception’ argument raised by the House.
“Given these conclusions, I will vote to acquit.
“Mitch”
Yeah… that Kentucky heathen not only voted to acquit the POS45, aka Liar in Chief, leader of the Cult of Trump, but passed the buck.
Not guilty, not guilty 2x, guilty. Alcee Hastings was impeached and found guilty of on charges of perjury and conspiring to solicit a bribe, and was removed from office as a Federal judge in 1989. He’s been a United States Representative for Florida’s 20th Congressional District since 1993.
Here’s the thing, though: For a man who claims to have an interest in historicity for the purpose of the Senate, he is DEAD WRONG about his opinion that, as he writes, “I am persuaded that impeachments are a tool primarily of removal…”
As a matter of history, there has been of late at least a moderate amount of discussion and news made about an historical matter involving circumstances very similar to this one (in which the impeached individual is no longer in office), insofar as the two individuals impeached had ALREADY been resigned from, or otherwise out of office when their impeachment occurred.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, February 12, 2021
“Trump told us to do it.”
Trump’s MAGA supporters rioter-insurrectionists who were assembled at the White House Ellipse Park January 6, 2021 quickly became violent exclusively because they believed that Trump was asking them to do so – that they were doing his bidding.
“He said, ‘Be there.’ So I went and I answered the call of my president.”
House Impeachment Managers cited social media posts, recorded video, and court documents which reflected as much.
“I Answered the Call of My President.”
Impeachment Managers also extensively documented that several months BEFORE the election, Trump was laying the groundwork for convincing his cult of followers that the November presidential election was fixed, and that his victory was stolen because of Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, February 12, 2021
The third-rate lawyers trying to defend Trumpanzee, aka “POS45” and formerly as the “Liar in Chief” from charges of Inciting Insurrection, were given 16 hours to make their case.
They quit after 4.
Remember: Charles Manson did NOT kill anyone, yet he was convicted of murder.
The Senate’s RINOs will likely NOT vote to convict their hero.
Donald Trump (sipping Diet Coke soda pop through a straw, like a goddamn 4-year-old child) during the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at Waldorf Astoria October 20, 2016 in New York, New York.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, February 11, 2021
Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins
A significant number of the American people have been bamboozled, swindled, and otherwise cheated and lied to for at least the past 40+ years, at least since 1980, and beginning in earnest in January 1981 with the Reagan administration.
In actuality, the Republican party’s seeds of destruction were sown in 1964 at the Republican National Convention in Daly City, California when then-New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller warned the assembled delegates that
“The Republican party is in real danger of subversion
by
a radical, well-financed,
and
highly disciplined minority.”
He was given 5 minutes to address the delegates, but was booed for over 16 minutes.
Why?
He was seeking the inclusion of language in the official party platform which would have said,
“The Republican Party fully respects the contribution of responsible criticism, and defends the right of dissent in the democratic process. But we repudiate the efforts of irresponsible, extremist groups, such as the Communists, the Ku Klux Klan, the John Birch Society and others, to discredit our Party by their efforts to infiltrate positions of responsibility in the Party, or to attach themselves to its candidates.”
One would think that such language condemning and repudiating the Ku Klux Klan, Communists, John Birch Society members, and others, would have been welcomed.
Ku Klux Klansmen rally in support of Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, the GOP 1964 Presidential nominee. Image: Universal History Archive/Getty Images
But, it wasn’t.
That was the year Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was the party’s Presidential nominee.
That was also the year the GOP suffered one of the greatest losses in American political history.
A mere 6 states – Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina – voted for Barry Goldwater.
Lyndon Baines Johnson won in a landslide with 486 Electoral College votes to Goldwater’s 52.
The Popular Vote was just as decisive:
Johnson 43,127,041 (61.1%), to Goldwater 27,175,754 (38.5%).
The next quadrennial election cycle proved to be a harbinger of things to come.
Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse
In 1968, Alabama Governor George C. Wallace – a stridently biogted racist and segregationist, at the height of his hatred of Blacks – campaigned on the American Independent ticket against Republican Richard Nixon of New York, and Minnesota Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, who had been LBJ’s Vice President. That year’s election was equally decisive in its victory, but what may be most interesting, is the fact that as a 3rd Party Candidate, the openly racist, bigoted Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, though he was a Democratic governor, campaigned on a platform of racial segregation as a Presidential candidate on the American Independent ticket – and commonly, though incorrectly known as a “Dixiecrat” – won 5 states (AL, AR, GA, LA, MS) and their 46 Electoral College votes, along with 9,901,118 Popular Votes, for 13.5% of all Popular Votes cast. It remains the strongest showing of a 3rd Party candidate in American political history. Not even John B. Anderson in 1980, or Ross Perot in 1992 won any Electoral College Votes, though Ross Perot made a good showing among the Popular Vote with 19,743,821, or 18.9% of all Popular Votes cast, and in 1996, Perot secured 8,085,294 Popular Votes, which was 8.4% of all Popular Votes cast, though he never won any Electoral College votes in any election.
Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski
Wallace’s strong showing among those 5 Southern states in 1968 was resounding evidence of how pervasive, ingrained, and embedded – how thoroughly infiltrated – the message of hate, and he as its chief messenger – along with the Ku Klux Klan, Communists, John Birch Society, and other such elements as then-New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller had mentioned at 1964’s RNC convention – had become in the South. Sadly, Nixon did nothing to help, and rather, relied upon a “Southern Strategy” to win over those very voters – the racist bigoted “Dixiecrats” who had become enured with the Ku Klux Klan, Communists, John Birch Society members, and others – to welcome them into the fold of the Republican Party.
Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” was the creation, per se (it was more an anthropological and demographic analysis of long-term trends than anything else), of Kevin Phillips (b.1940), a brilliant, if not genius (matriculated Colgate University aged 16, graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, spent his junior year at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh, where he knew more about Scottish history than his Scottish classmates), Harvard Law-educated man who authored the 1969 book “The Emerging Republican Majority“ in which he detailed an ethnographic political strategy that capitalized upon, an exploited alleged hostilities between the Irish, Italians, and Poles, and Jews, Negroes, and affluent Yankees to achieve its goals. He later abandoned the GOP in the 1990’s after becoming grossly disaffected by them.
Having now authored over 13 books, the premise of his first book “The Emerging Republican Majority,” was the presumption that most voters “still voted on the basis of ethnic or cultural enmities that could be graphed, predicted and exploited. For instance, the old bitterness toward Protestant Yankee Republicans that had for generations made Democrats out of Irish, Italian, and Eastern European immigrants had now shifted, among their children and grandchildren, to resentment of the new immigrants – Negroes and Latinos – and against the national Democratic party, whose Great Society programs increasingly seemed to reflect favoritism for the new minorities over the old.”
