"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 Thursday, January 17, 2019
In a recently published article entitled “Grey Matter Volume Differences Associated with Extremely Low Levels of Cannabis Use in Adolescence,” in the Journal of Neuroscience, 14 January 2019 edition, pp3375-17, researchers wrote in part that “We identified extensive regions in the bilateral medial temporal lobes as well as the bilateral posterior cingulate, lingual gyri, and cerebellum that showed greater GMV in the cannabis users.”
News items related to that newly published research are focusing upon that singular line as if it’s something negative. Since when did INCREASED grey matter become something dangerous, or cause for concern? Colloquially, the term “grey matter” is used to describe the brain, and by extension, brain power. So let’s examine this matter (no pun intended) in more detail.
But before proceeding further, it bears mentioning that adolescents should NOT be consuming cannabis, neither alcohol, nor tobacco. And try as much as we want, we will not ever stop underage consumption of any adults-only substance. The BEST we can do is to educate them, and others, of potential risks involved in its use – especially and particularly underage use – and deny them opportunities to consume alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. THAT is a strategy which has PROVEN to work, because the trite “Just say ‘no'” has never worked, nor will it ever.
Dr David Robert Grimes is a physicist, cancer researcher and science writer, who was the joint recipient of the 2014 Nature / Sense About Science Maddox Prize and wrote in a brief anti-marijuana article dated 15th May 2017 entitled “The rise of the cannabis cult: don’t believe the hype about medical marijuana” that Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, January 16, 2019
NPR, along with a few other news reporting agencies, has today published a story detailing how the Sackler family – with an estimated net worth of $13 Billion and listed by Forbes as the 19th wealthiest family in the United States – whose privately-held Purdue Pharma falsified, neglected, and purposely withheld information, and aggressively peddled their habit-forming narcotic medication branded as “OxyContin” to physicians, hospitals, and medical colleges as an acceptable, even benign medication for pain relief, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Purdue Pharma President Richard Sackler, and wife Beverly are the biggest narco-traffickers in the United States.
In a 274 page filing, the Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, carefully detailed how the Sackler family carefully and deliberately manipulated, and crafted opportunities with Massachusetts’ legislators, regulators, and others, to sell increasing volumes of the narcotic medicine.
The documents state that in a 2-15-2011 email, after one week of prescriptions doubled the company’s profit forecasts, Richard Sackler wrote to the sales staff that “I had hoped for better results.”
But here’s where an otherwise LEGAL pharmaceutical firm became complicit with international narco-traffickers and street-level drug pushers, rapidly escalated America’s Opioid Crisis, and in the process became equals with terrorists like al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, January 12, 2019
Where’d the idea for “The Wall” come from?
Whose idea was it?
Left to right: Iowa Republican Representative Steve King; Steve Elliott, President of Grassfire.org; Representative Ed Royce, R-California; and Ron De Jong, communications director of Grassfire.org, in 2007, introducing a television ad that asked when a fence would be built along the border.
“I’m not interested in being the construction company that does this, but my little old company has the capability to build a mile of it a day. And so, what I envision is, I want to ask President Trump, ‘How tall do you want it, and you take care of making it beautiful.’ I have also put together an estimate on this, and it’s sophisticated. It’s like six pages long. We could do it. We’re not asking to do it, but our company, I don’t have to hire an extra man. We’ve got enough people, especially in the wintertime, it’s a little slack and we could build it a mile a day.”Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, January 12, 2019
“One phrase in that long article has created an unnecessary controversy. That was my mistake.”
–Steve King, Iowa’s 4th Congressional District Republican Representative on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives speaking about public criticism of his comments made in a New York Times interview, published January 10, 2019
TRANSLATION: That’s like saying, “Oops! I said ‘jigaboo’ when I should’ve said ‘darkie’.”
Here, in context, is what he said: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
Iowa US Rep Steve King speaks at The Family Leadership Summit 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa, a thinly veiled Evangelical political summit sponsored in part by the Helms School of Government at Liberty University. Over several years, Liberty has had their own problems with charges of racism, and the Helms is named after late North Carolina Jesse Helms, himself a notorious racist.
When Steve King speaks about preserving “Western culture” or “Western civilization,” along with an obsessive discussion of birthrates and abortion rates among different ethnic groups, those are Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, January 11, 2019
Corrupt Alabama Republican Politician Ed Henry Pleads Guilty
Ed Henry was a Republican Alabama State Representative from State House District 9, and misused, and abused the people’s trust, and office for personal, private gain.
Ed Henry has decided to PLEAD GUILTY to Federal charges of Healthcare Fraud involving a Montgomery pill mill – a clinic that dispenses controlled substances wrongfully and unlawfully, for non-medical reasons.
According to the indictment, “The practice was a lucrative business venture. In 2014, the practice earned gross receipts of or about $4,352,352.63. In 2015, the practice earned gross receipts of or about $3,292.549.40. In 2016, the practice earned gross receipts of or about $3,087,530.25.”
Earlier, all other involved parties in that case had plead guilty.
ALL PLEAD GUILTY TO FELONY CHARGES
They include:
1.) Dr. Gilberto Sanchez MD (License surrendered) – age 56, of Cecil, AL; 5 counts; plead guilty to drug distribution conspiracy, health care fraud, and money laundering charges
2.) Dr. Shepherd A Odom MD – (License surrendered) – age 78, of Alexander City; 2 counts; part owner of Family Practice, 4143 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL until 2013 when he sold his interest to partner Dr. Gilberto Sanchez MD, though he continued to remain active, and launder money.
NOTE: Doctors Gilbert Sanchez and Shepherd Odom pleaded guilty prior to indictments in late 2017.
3.) Dr. Julio Delgado MD (ACTIVE License; License restricted) – age 56, of Homewood, AL; 22 counts; felony offense, aiding and abetting acquisition of a controlled substance by subterfuge, violation of Federal and State law
4.) Dr. Willie James Chester MD(License surrendered) – age 64, of Pike Road, AL
5.) Steven Edwin Cox NP (License revoked) – age 61, of Tallassee, AL; charged with 24 counts; pleaded guilty to two felony counts: conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and health care fraud.
6.) Elizabeth Cronier NP (License revoked) – age 70, of Montgomery; charged with 15 counts
7.) Stephanie Michell Ott RN (License revoked) – age 42, of Fairhope, AL
8.) Misty Michelle Fannin – Administrator – age 41, of Tallassee, AL, money laundering
11.) Lillian Akwuba NP (License revoked) – age 38, of Montgomery; 28 counts TOTAL; 14 counts Health care fraud, aiding and abetting; 8 counts Controlled substance – sell, distribute, or dispense; aiding and abetting; Conspiracy to distribute controlled substance; Attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud; 2 counts Controlled substance: sell, distribute, or dispense; Money laundering – interstate commerce; Interstate Commerce; aiding and abetting;
12.) Jacqueline Suzanne Brownfield – Billing – age 33, of Wetumpka, healthcare fraud
13.) Akash Kumar – Billing – age 27, of Montgomery, healthcare fraud
Sanders provided bogus diagnoses of mental health conditions for the purpose of allowing Dr. Sanchez to support prescribing unnecessary medications. Sanders also collected cash payments from patients for counseling services even though she knew that Dr. Sanchez’s office would bill the patients’ insurance companies for the same services. On perjury, Sanders testified before a grand jury and falsely claimed that Dr. Sanchez did not require patients to undergo counseling sessions with her. In fact, as Sanders then knew, Dr. Sanchez required patients who received prescriptions for controlled substances to visit Sanders for mental health counseling.
Related News Releases by the Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Alabama:
Dr. Gilberto Sanchez MD, of Montgomery – Family Practice clinic owner – plead guilty in Federal court to healthcare fraud, money laundering, and drug distribution violations, sentenced to 12 years in Federal prison
Dr. Julio Delgado MD, 55 of Homewood
Nurse Practitioner Lillian Akwuba, 38 of Montgomery
Nurse Practitioner Steven Cox, 62 of Tallassee
Nurse Practitioner, Elizabeth Cronier, 69 of Montgomery
Dr. Willie Chester MD, 65 of Pike Road, plead guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the fraudulent acquisition of controlled substances, admitting that he wrote a prescription for clonazepam, commonly known as Klononpin, despite knowing the patient had no legitimate medical need for the medicine.
Delgado and the Nurse Practitioners conspired with Sanchez to unnecessarily and illegitimately prescribe controlled substances to the patients of Family Practice, and committed health care fraud by causing insurance companies to be billed for unnecessary office visits, which only purpose was to refill unnecessary medications, and that Akwuba conspired with Sanchez to launder money.
Ed Henry was charged with one count of conspiring to pay kickbacks and to defraud the U.S., one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, five counts of health care fraud and six counts of paying unlawful kickbacks.
Ed Henry owned MyPractice24 which provided non-face-to-face chronic care management services to Medicare beneficiaries with two or more chronic conditions, and contracted with doctors to provided services who would bill Medicare for the services, then pay Henry’s company a share of the reimbursements from Medicare.
Ed Henry entered into an agreement with Dr. Gilberto Sanchez of Montgomery in 2016 in which MyPractice24 provided various kickbacks to Sanchez and his staff in return for referring Medicare beneficiaries to MyPractice24 for chronic care management services.
Ed Henry also assisted Sanchez in paying kickbacks to patients who enrolled in the chronic care management program which were paid by Sanchez by systematically waiving copays that Medicare required Sanchez to collect.
A corrupt Republican and former Alabama State Representative in House District 9 which includes parts of Morgan, Cullman, and Marshall counties, Ed Henry had a habit of saying very stupid things. He was also the state legislator who led the charge to impeach corrupt former Governor Robert Bentley who later resigned under a plea deal with state prosecutors.
Ironically, Henry was absent for most of the 2018 Legislative Session, and attempted to reassure his constituents that his absence was inconsequential by saying that, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Way to go Mr. President! Way to go!
Don’t let those little snowflakes push you around!
You tell Ann Coulter (the White Supremacist) and Rush Limbaugh (the drug addict) to go to Hell!
Aside from now being aged 72 years – making him the OLDEST president ever to ever accede to the office at age 70 (he’s fond of superlatives, you know, and Reagan was 69 when he became president) – he probably needs Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, January 8, 2019
The Liar in Chief won’t tell his subjects these inconvenient official truths.
—//—
“While cross-border migrants often make headlines, the largest number of illegal migrants settling in the US each year is those who stay in the country after their visas expire.
“According to the most recent reports by the Department of Homeland Security and the Center for Migration Studies, a non-partisan think-tank, the number who overstayed their visas has outnumbered those who crossed the border illegally every year since 2007.
“Canadians make up the largest group of these illegal migrants, followed by Mexicans.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, January 7, 2019
The “Blame Game” is a popular political football not only in our nation’s capitol, but across the nation in statehouses. The “polarization” oft described by news outlets and “fake news” is a direct result of practices used by Republicans, which began in large part with Newt Gingrich.
You know, the Newt Gingrich who was the Georgia Republican having an extra-marital affair while trying to impeach then-President Clinton for a sexual tryst with White House Intern, Monica Lewinsky. Yes, the same Newt Gingrich who divorced his first wife (Jacqueline “Jackie” May Battley, who was his high school geometry teacher) while she lay in hospital recovering from cancer surgery while he was campaigning in hopes of becoming the GOP’s presidential nominee.
That’d be the same Newt Gingrich who next married a Congressional aide (28-year old Marianne Ginther) with whom he was philandering while married to his first wife Jackie, and asked her to marry him before having divorced his first wife, and then married Marianne a mere six months after divorcing Jackie, who also asked her (Marianne) if she would be interested in having an “open marriage” in which he could have a mistress and a wife.
And yes, it’s the same Newt Gingrich who in the exact same pattern, did the exact same thing when he married his third wife (Callista Bisek) by carrying on a six-year adulterous relationship with her, whom was also a Congressional aide, and then later moved to divorce his second wife Marianne after learning she had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and the third wife whom Trump later named as Ambassador to the Holy See, as an ultimate insult, and slap in the face to the Pope, the Vatican, and all that the Church believes in, and stands for. It’d be like naming neo-Nazi/White Supremacist/Holocaust denier to be Ambassador to Israel, or an industrialist to be Secretary of the Interior, or a climate change denier to be administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Wait…
That Newt Gingrich.
The same Newt Gingrich who wrote the so-called “Contract with America” which was broken the first day Republicans took the oath of office following their win of the House and Senate – the first time since 1953 – even though they all signed vows that stated “If we break this Contract, throw us out.”
Yeah.
THAT Newt Gingrich.
Now, the Bully in Chief is blaming Democrats because he can’t get his way – which is BILLIONS MORE for a “concrete, rebar-reinforced wall,” which has since devolved into “steel slats,” or even less, a simple “barrier.” Notice how things are changing already? Next thing you know, it’ll be a row of concertina wire spooled across the 1954 miles of U.S./Mexico border.
Frankly, it’d probably be much cheaper, not only in the immediate term, but in the long term, as well. You see, one of the things that NO ONE – not even the Congressional Budget Office, nor the Government Accountability Office – has studied is “how much the upkeep of ‘the wall’ will cost American taxpayers.
But here’s an even more disconcerting thing: The ever-shifting comments of the Current White House Occupant on the matter, which have ranged from this comment from a campaign speech given Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at his Trump Tower office building in Manhattan:
“I would build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great great wall on our southern border, and I’ll have Mexico pay for that wall.”
To one of his highnesses more recent Twitter rants which was:
“Mexico is paying for the Wall through the new USMCA Trade Deal. Much of the Wall has already been fully renovated or built. We have done a lot of work. $5.6 Billion Dollars that House has approved is very little in comparison to the benefits of National Security. Quick payback!” January 2, 2019
Are you starting to see a pattern here?
Promises.
Lies.
Broken promises.
More lies.
Say anything to get elected, or if you prefer, to get into Lady Liberty’s & America’s pants. The net effect is the same.
Look, I’m no fan of either Gingrich or Trump as human beings, and I think that Trump is vastly out of his league in any government, much less at the Federal level, and as President. He’s told more brazen lies than almost anyone can remember, and has sown confusion in our nation, which is not only demoralizing domestically, but makes us look like buffoons in the eyes of our international allies, and enemies. But, to give credit where credit is due, I think Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, January 5, 2019
How Much Money Could Alabama Earn By Legalizing, Taxing, and Regulating Marijuana?
How much money could Alabama stand to realize if it Legalized, Taxed, and Regulated (LTR) cannabis for Adult Recreational Use (ARU), and Medical Use (MMJ)?
In order to make a reasonably accurate estimate, we need certain pieces of information from reliably accurate sources, such as:
1.) How many people would purchase it?
2.) How much tax would be placed upon it?
3.) How frequently would they purchase?
There are other questions, but let’s start by answering those three.
First, let’s determine how many people consume marijuana in the state – adults, of course.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), is an annual survey which first began in 1971 and is conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It’s conducted under the auspices of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, January 4, 2019
“I will pray,” says one.
“I will act,” says another.
The hillbilly common-sense version of that is “Wish in one hand, shit in the other, and see which one fills up first.”
“Thoughts and prayers” alone won’t cut it.
Action is required.
Even the many school shooting victims speak from their graves, though the voices we hear are our own, telling us “thoughts and prayers” alone won’t cut it.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 3, 2019
Having just been administered the Oath of Office for an historic second time, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi D-CA12, gavels the House to order saying, “I now call the House to order on behalf of all of America’s children.”
“I now call the House to order on behalf of all of America’s children.”
Nancy Pelosi of California, a Democrat from that state’s 12th District has made history again not only as the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, but as the first woman to have ever been twice Speaker of the House. She further joins an even more rarefied group – 7 Speakers who were re-elected to the position, i.e. having served nonconsecutive terms.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 3, 2019
“The people… My people are so smart. And you know what else? They say about my people – the polls? They say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody! And I wouldn’t lose any voters.Okay? It’s like incredible! No… they say ‘Trump’ – we love you too, man – ‘Trump’s voters are by far’… You know the ah… I’m at 68, 69%. I’m at 90% – total. Like, ‘will you say “absolutely”?’ I think it’s 68 or 69%. Will you most likely say… That gets into the 90’s. Other guys are at like 10. A guy like Jeb Bush? He has nobody! But he’s like…at… at… I mean, like… they don’t have people! They have nothing! Ahh… Rubio? Soft. They’re all… all soft. All soft. My people? Stay. Ah, by the way, Cruz? Soft!”Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 3, 2019
Feeling paranoid?
Not to worry.
You just think you are.
But it’s true.
YOU’RE BEING WATCHED.
-and-
Did you know?
Even the direction-finding app Waze is owned by Google.
The G will eat your babies.
The G has already eaten your lunch.
And G, you didn’t even know it.
The G is Google.
So, here’s the deal: You THINK you’re searching for something and the search will return UNBIASED results… right?
WRONG!
From Forbes, Mar 5, 2012, 12:34pm: “Google will track what you search for in its search engine facility and then use that intelligence to its advantage.”
But we can go back even further to see where “You’re not the customer; you’re the product.”
In 1973 the artists Richard Serra and Carlota Fay Schoolman broadcast a short video titled “Television Delivers People.” An anodyne soundtrack played while sentences in white text on a blue background slowly scrolled upward. The messages displayed thematically matched the saying under exploration. Emphases were added to the excerpt by Quote Investigator: 1”
Commercial television delivers 20 million people a minute. In commercial broadcasting
the viewer pays for the privilege of having himself sold. It is the consumer who is consumed. You are the product of t.v. You are delivered to the advertiser who is the customer. He consumes you. The viewer is not responsible for programming—— You are the end product.
If you think that anything has changed, you’re WRONG AGAIN.
This time, it’s Google.
And not only is there online Google, there’s now the danger of Amazon’s Alexa listening device, which increasingly is being found to be not only INSECURE, but invasive.
Truly…
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!
Look, I’m not now, nor have I ever been one to be conspiracy-minded, nor any kind of fear-monger. But THIS is not surreptitious, this is BLATANT! Echo/Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Google’s Home Assistant are ALL privacy invaders! Those so-called “smart speakers” are ALWAYS LISTENING! They’re snoops! Blatant eavesdroppers! And the tragic irony is, folks freely give up their privacy to have that “shiny new thing.”
Okay, perhaps you don’t have that “shiny new thing,” and if you don’t, GOOD FOR YOU! But Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Dreams are a world of surreality, where anything can, and does, happen.
In our dreams, pigs can fly, cats bark, and trees can speak. But more importantly than the seeming peculiarities such as talking telephone poles, or growing houses, is the symbolism of the objects in the dreams. One thing stands for another.
In our dreams, snakes might not necessarily represent the animal, but may represent deception, or danger. Conversely, depending upon the context of the dream, snakes may represent sexuality, or even money. It is the combination of the context of the elements in the dream, their setting, and actions, in conjunction with the events of our waking lives, that may provide useful information, even unique insight, into our waking lives.
Dreams can be thought of a type of guide to our waking lives, because they often reflect what is occurring, sometimes even with imperceptible events occurring behind the scenes, of which we are naturally unaware.
And, our dreams may also forewarn us of events. For example, in the Scriptural account in the Gospel of Matthew, the Magi, popularly called the “Three Wise Men” (though no translation of the story specifies how many there were) who had come to visit the exiled Holy Couple – Joseph, Mary, and the newborn Jesus, who had similarly been warned in a dream to flee their homeland before the child’s birth – returned to their homeland after their visit, because they were warned in a dream to do so. In chapter 2, verse 12 it states that, “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” (NIV)
The narrative doesn’t say what they dreamed, or the elements those dreams contained, it merely states that they used perceptive insight (were cognizant of significance) given to them while (presumably) in a state of unconsciousness – sleep. In other words, their dreams, as they interpreted, provided useful information to give them, giving meaning (and safety) to their lives at a time of unknown peril.
Cover of the First Edition of the book which introduced the Buck Rogers character by author Philip Francis Nowlan.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Welcome aboard!
Glad to have you in the New Year!
Curious about how the New Year was looking, I messaged some friends in Germany, where it’s 7 to 8 hours ahead of the Central Time Zone. She and their boy were visiting his father over the winter holiday season, where he was stationed on Active Duty with a Special Forces unit.
The “New Year” is often depicted as a babe, a veritable infant, wearing a diaper and banner sash with the year imprinted upon it, while the outgoing year, the “Old Year” (Father Time), is depicted as a decrepit old codger wearing a tattered cloak type garment with a staff.
When I’d earlier messaged my friends, I’d asked if they had any special plans. Not everyone celebrates the incoming New Year, you know. She replied, “Not sure quite what we are doing, there are several parties to choose from.” (Don’t you just marvel at our ability to communicate INSTANTLY to the opposite side of the world!?! Seriously. How great is that!?!)
Several hours later, just about the time when the New Year was dawning in Germany, I sent a message which stated, “How does the New Year look so far? Got any clothes on?🤣”
The reply, “Happy New Year. Hardly. In the hospital. C has a broken ankle.”
Of course, upon hearing such, one would naturally ask, “How’d THAT happen?”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, December 31, 2018
William “Bill” Bratton, was NYC’s Police Commissioner 1994-96, 2014-16, and LAPD Chief 2002-2009
Former New York City Police Commissioner William “Bill” Bratton appeared on a Sunday call-in interview on the radio show “The Cats Roundtable with John Catsimatidis” on WNYM 970 AM (Hackensack, NJ) recently, and was asked about his thoughts on the legalization of cannabis in New York State for Adult Recreational Use (ARU).
He said in part that, “At this particular time, I still strongly oppose it. I think there are too many unanswered questions. We still don’t have effective capabilities in law enforcement to deal with the issue of driving while impaired by the use of marijuana. It is as addictive as any other drug. We don’t really know the full effect of that drug on the development of children. I guarantee that about the same as alcohol is very available to young people, marijuana – particularly the way it’s being proposed in this state in terms of allowing people to grow it in their homes, as well as the widespread distribution of it – young people will be getting their hands on it. There’s the compounding feature of the smell of it. Nobody wants to live in a building, in an apartment building, a public housing project, on the streets, in the parks, with the pervasive smell, which you’ve already started to see an increase in the use of it on the streets. The enforcement lessons of… (unintelligible) There are too many unknowns. And, ah… ” etc.
Fortunately for you, dear reader, I’ve researched the matter, and can address just about all his questions.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, December 30, 2018
TheHill.com is reporting that, once again, outgoing Congress critters are migrating to their Corporate Masters on K Street… the well-worn thoroughfare for lobbyists, and “think tanks” who seek to influence Members of Congress decisions for the benefit of their Corporate Masters, not for for the benefit of “We the People.”
That is not a new phenomenon, has occurred, and continues occurring in the Democratic, just as well as in the Republican camp. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, December 30, 2018
… and other lies.
Just like it’s the Democrats’ fault that Trump screwed around on his wives.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in part that, “Shutting down the government is something that’s widely disliked by virtually every American and I don’t think we’re going to do it.”
But on Saturday, November 17, 2018 Trump said in part that, “If I was ever going to do a shutdown over border security — when you look at the caravan, when you look at the mess, when you look at the people coming in. This would be a very good time to do a shutdown.”
Then, on December 11, 2018 in the White House Oval Office, in front of teevee cameras, and worldwide press, speaking to Democratic leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY) in the Oval Office, Trump said: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, December 28, 2018
Yet another COLOSSAL blunder from POS45, the Idiot in Chief.
This time, his Twitterific highness compromised the identity of SEAL Team 5 members in Iraq by posting a video to his Twitter account of them, faces plainly visible, wearing night vision goggle equipment atop their helmets.
.@FLOTUS Melania and I were honored to visit our incredible troops at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq. GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.! pic.twitter.com/rDlhITDvm1
How much of an idiot does one need to be to do that?
While the POTUS has the authority as Commander in Chief to declassify anything, it is not always good or prudent to do so. And it is painfully crystal clear that his posting was made with reckless disregard for potential security concerns. In other words, NONE whatsoever.
He was being who he was, and that is the Caricature in Chief, the Reality Show President, ever-seeking attention to overcome his seep-seated insecurity.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Musicians and artists are the voices of the prophets.
They ARE our prophets.
Their consciences are often our nation’s collective voice of conscience. For many radio stations, the only profit they care about is traded on Wall Street, and their consciences are not tethered to trouble, or pricked by care for others’ problems. Their profit is all that matters, for their god is green and cold, and easily fits into any wallet. It has crowded out natural love in the calculi of their now-inhuman hearts.
And, for one reason, or another, it seems that these days, there are very few voices “crying in the wilderness,” or elsewhere, about social injustice.
But three years ago – in 2015 – musician/artist Chip Taylor wrote a song entitled “Refugee Children.” It should be heard by everyone, though it certainly hasn’t.
Whether one is a believer in the story of the virgin birth, or any god, the basic fundamental element of that ageless story is that a small family with a young pregnant bride were refugees, homeless, with only the clothes on their backs.
Any well-read person, regardless of any religious belief, or not, should be familiar with the story told in Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Of course, the Stock Market is NOT the economy, but for many, it’s the easiest touchstone to consider approximating the economy. And because most Americans are NOT heavily invested in Wall Street, its performance only nominally and indirectly affects them.
However, for those traders whose livelihood depends upon its gains or losses, such as corporate and investment banks, and brokerage houses, speculators, derivatives traders, hedge and other type funds, and the like, it doesn’t portend well.
And then, Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, while vacationing in Mexico, decided to call on Sunday the CEOs of 6 of the largest banks in America (Brian Moynihan of Bank of America; Michael Corbat of Citi; David Solomon of Goldman Sachs; Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase; James Gorman of Morgan Stanley; and Tim Sloan of Wells Fargo), and then Twitterized it ex post facto. The media managers at Treasury decided to inform the public that… “The CEOs confirmed that they have ample liquidity available for lending to consumer, business markets, and all other market operations. He also confirmed that they have not experienced any clearance or margin issues, and that the markets continue to function properly.”
The Current White House Occupant is Mad at Mnuchin, and wants to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell, ostensibly because Mnuchin told POS45 that Powell would be a good choice for Fed Chairman. That’s according to four anonymous people, who were described by Bloomberg News as being “four people familiar with the matter” and speak “on condition of anonymity.” Where I come from, and live, that’s called cowardice. It might be called something else in Trumpanzeeville.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, December 24, 2018
But not in ‘Murka. We’se too smart f’dat!
Why can’t America have nice things?
Because the Republicans are stealing the money to pay for any of it, and giving it to their rich friends.
Authorities in Australia have expressed worries about the number of drones being flown in restricted areas in recent months.
Almost 140,000 air travellers were delayed last week after reports of drone sightings caused huge delays at Gatwick Airport in England. UK police are still searching for the culprits, although they have also raised the possibility that witness reports of the aircraft were mistaken.
The incident “highlights” the need for a drone-spotting capability, Casa spokesman Peter Gibson told the news agency Agence France-Presse.
The surveillance system would be able to spot the types of drone being flown, read their serial numbers and work out where the pilot was located, he said.
Efforts to identify pilots would be aided by the introduction of the registration scheme for commercial and casual drone owners, he added.
Anyone breaking rules could face fines of up to 10,000 Australian dollars ($7,058; £5,600) as well as checks on the safety of their craft.
“2019 will be a drone safety crackdown,” said Mr Gibson.
As well as airports and other sensitive locations, the drone-spotting systems will be installed in other places known to be popular with drone owners such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, December 22, 2018
I’m way ahead of the power curve on that one.
I’ve been washing almost EVERYTHING with a wee bit of soap, water, and common unscented household bleach for a very long time. And I mean EVERYTHING. Including mushrooms.
Blueberries? Yup. Cherries? Yup. Strawberries? Yup. Melons? Yup. Grapes? ESPECIALLY! And yes, that includes avocados.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Here’s but one story from my storied career.
—//—
Once, upon a time, I worked in a CVICU (CardioVascular Intensive Care Unit) in Greenville, MS – a predominately Black populated area, with high poverty, and all the problems that come along for that ride.
A patient came to us from a SNF (Skilled Nursing Facility, i.e., Nursing Home), and was refusing to communicate/talk with staff. I became his Nurse. He was a Black gent, and I cared for him just like I would for anyone else – with dignity, and empowering them to make decisions regarding their care.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, December 16, 2018
As mentioned earlier, the roots of modern corruption in today’s Republican party run deep, even past the Barry Goldwater presidential nomination era in 1964, when racism was fully and tacitly welcomed into the party – because by then, Communists like Whittaker Chambers (1901-1961), and James Burnham (1905-1987) Founding Editor of The National Review magazine, had already been 20 years welcomed aboard, and are still venerated to this day.
We’ve identified the problem, so a solution must be made, for it would be useless to criticize without offering a solution.
Then-President Ronald Reagan, in his first Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981, infamously said in part, that, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” But contrary to his nice-sounding assertion, though specious claim, government is NOT the problem, for if it were, abolishing government, in favor of an anarchy, would solve the problem. And as we’ve been shown and continue to observe, for at least since the time of his presidency, Republicans continue actively destroying almost every vestige of organized and civil government through “downsizing” or “right-sizing” (destructive language couched more comfortably, as “a kinder, and gentler” euphemism), through “starve the monster” (denying money/funding), through abolishing agencies and “outsourcing” tax dollars which are used properly used to fund public programs, and instead diverting them to private enterprise through “charter schools” – like addicts do with narcotics prescriptions – and through dissipation by allowing block grants and the like.
Increasingly, that has become the m.o. – the modus operandi, their way of working – of the formerly Grand Old Party, which claims “states’ rights” as the banner for their justification, when instead, it should be the Jolly Roger.
However, most rational people would maintain that if a problem exists, it should be analyzed and corrected, instead of destroying the institution where a problem may be found. Don’t burn down the house just because the roof has a leak. Either patch the leak, or install a new, and better roof.
Yet today’s Republican Party is Hell-bent upon burning down the house. Such an objective, such a philosophy, and such a mindset is not merely misguided, not just un-Constitutional, it is inherently and virulently Read the rest of this entry »
The article’s subtitle states that “The GOP is best understood as an insurgency that carried the seeds of its own corruption from the start.”
To be certain, when he cited corruption, he acknowledged that he didn’t mean to refer to “the kind of corruption that regularly sends lowlifes like Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic former governor of Illinois, to prison,” specifically noting that “those abuses are nonpartisan and always with us,” and excluded another kind of corruption such as “vote theft of the kind we’ve just seen in North Carolina – after all, the alleged fraudster employed by the Republican candidate for Congress hired himself out to Democrats in 2010.”
Rather, he states that the particular corruption to which he refers is not based upon one, two, or even three specific examples of types of corruption, but instead “has less to do with individual perfidy than institutional depravity. It isn’t an occasional failure to uphold norms, but a consistent repudiation of them.”
“A consistent repudiation of norms” – that is the very essence of today’s perversion of the modern GOP, as George Packer wrote.
“The Republican Party, both in this state and nationally, is a broad party. There is room in our tent for many views; indeed, the divergence of views is one of our strengths. Let no one, however, interpret this to mean compromise of basic philosophy or that we will be all things to all people for political expediency.
“In our tent will be found those who believe that government was created by “We, the People;” that government exists for the convenience of the people and we can give to government no power we do not possess as individuals; that the citizen does not earn to support the government, but supports a government so that he may be free to earn; that, because there can be no freedom without law and order, every act of government must be approved if it makes freedom more secure and disapproved if it offers security instead of freedom.
“Within our tent, there will be many arguments and divisions over approach and method and even those we choose to implement our philosophy. Seldom, if ever, will we raise a cheer signifying unanimous approval of the decisions reached. But if our philosophy is to prevail, we must at least pledge unified support of the ultimate decision. Unity does not require unanimity of thought.”
“At the conclusion of the 2017 United States Senate Special Election Run-off, the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office reviewed a formal, routine election report indicating that 140 individuals had been given credit for voting in the Democrat primary election on August 15th and then voting in the Republican run-off election on September 26. This action, termed crossover voting, is an action which would violate the State’s new crossover voting law (Act No. 2017-340).
“… under Alabama law it is illegal to vote in both a party primary and then vote in another party’s primary runoff. In the general election, voters are allowed to vote for candidates from both parties and/or independent or minor party candidates. 66 percent of Alabamians straight party voted in the 2018 election. Alabama does not have party registration, so any voter is allowed to participate in the party primary of their choice.”
He cited Act No. 2017-340, which as summarized on the state legislature’s website as, “Act 2017-340, SB108, amends Section 17-4-2.1, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to voting, to allow the Secretary of State to use electronic poll books instead of printed lists of qualified voters. The act also prohibits any voter from voting in a primary runoff election unless the voter voted in the preceding primary election of the party for which the runoff election is being held.”
The act, which originated as SB108 (Senate Bill) and was sponsored by Senators Tom Whatley, Cam Ward, Clyde Chambliss, Tripp Pittman, Bill Holtzclaw and Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh – all Republicans – states in part that the law will “prohibit a voter from voting in a primary runoff election unless the voter voted in the preceding primary election of the party for which the runoff election is being held.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, December 7, 2018
“He is a challenging individual – it was challenging for me, coming from the disciplined, highly process-oriented ExxonMobil corporation – where everybody sang out of the same hymnal, or you got kicked out of the choir – and to go to work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn’t like to read, doesn’t read briefing reports, doesn’t like to get into the details of a lot of things, but rather just kind of says, ‘Look, this is what I believe and you can try to convince me otherwise,’ – but most of the time, you’re not going to do that.
“We are starkly different in our styles, we did not have a common value system.
“I’d have to say to him, ‘Mr. President, I understand what you wanna do, but you can’t do it that way. It violates the law, it violates treaty.’ He got really frustrated. I think he grew tired of me being the guy who told him, ‘You can’t do that.’Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, December 7, 2018
Baby, it’s dumb inside.
Has anyone banned “Dixie”?
Remember:
Libraries celebrate “Banned Book Week” by encouraging EVERYONE to read books that were once banned, like “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” or, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” because “it highlights the value of free and open access to information.”
Citing the #MeToo movement, and pointing to the line in the song “say, what’s in this drink?,” some radio stations have moved to “ban” the 1949 Academy Award winning song which was featured in the motion picture Neptune’s Daughter, and sung by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams.
Critics decry it as an inference to “slipping a mickey” – an old, colloquial term for a date rape drug – into the woman’s drink.
However, I can’t count the number of times folks have asked me what’s in drinks I’ve made. One of the most notable ones being Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, December 3, 2018
Increasingly, it seems highly unlikely that the mortal remains of John Alan Chau will ever be repatriated to the United States.
Chau was the 26-year-old missionary who illegally invaded North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Island chain east of India in the Bay of Bengal, then was killed while trespassing by the Stone Age tribe members who are thought to have resided there for 60,000 years.
John Allen Chau
So far, police have arrested 7 people, including the 6 fishermen who ferried him to North Sentinel Island.
Chau still didn’t act alone.
Dependra Pathak, Andaman Director General of Police, said “We are investigating the role of at least two Americans, a man and a woman, who met with the man who went to the island. These other two, who have since left the country, were reportedly into evangelical activities and encouraged him to visit the island.”
Though he neither identified them or their organization by name, Police Director Pathak said the two Americans who had Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, November 26, 2018
The late John Allen Chau, a 26/27-year-old thrill-seeking American with criminal intent, who was justifiably killed by the Stone Age tribe members on North Sentinel Island because he invaded their sacred, protected-by-law island, wrote a few notes before his last, and fatefully fatal encounter with the 60,000 year old tribal pygmy aborigines.
John Allen Chau
He instructed the fishermen to deliver his handwritten notes to a friend of his, whom was similarly complicit in his nefariously illegal deeds, and was later arrested with the others.
That friend then emailed John Allen Chau’s mother of what had happened.
That same friend was likely the one who sent the images of his thoughts – his last journal entries – to his mother.
Why did neither the fishermen, nor Chau’s “friend” not FIRST inform the authorities?
Because of the criminal activity involved, and because by so doing would have been a confession/admission of guilt to a felony crime.
In turn, Chau’s mother – Lynda Adams-Chau – then contacted the United States Consulate in Chennai, a city of about 8.8 million, and capital of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India.
The Consulate then contacted law enforcement authorities.
Chau KNEW he was committing a FELONY ACT under Indian Federal Law.
According to the reports of the 6, or 7 fishermen he bribed to ferry him to North Sentinel Island – some of whom were his religious friends – he, and everyone was knowledgeable of his criminal intentions, and actions.
They were ALL arrested after they ferried him to the island AT LEAST 6 times.
If there was an analogous American equivalent to his criminal deeds abroad, it might be have snuck in to the White House unawares, and then, after six days, finally making his presence known.
As Andaman Director General of Police, Dependra Pathak CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED, John Allen Chau’s selfish motives were Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, November 26, 2018
John Allen Chau
Many news-telling organizations are uninformed and completely WRONG in the stories they write about American John Allen Chau who was recently killed on North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands chain in the Bay of Bengal, east of India.
1.) John Allen Chau was NOT a “missionary” of any kind. He was about as much a “missionary” as fictitious group The Blues Brothers – Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi – in their absurdist 1980 comedy movie, who in character claimed they were “on a mission from God.” Chau NEVER made any such claim.
Instagram obituary of John Allen Chau, 27, by his family.
Chau’s verbatim description of himself on his Instagram account was: Following the Way.
Wilderness EMT.
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver.
Outbound Collective Explorer.
Perky Jerky Ambassador.
Snakebite Survivor.
Outbound Collective is loosely, unofficially affiliated group of people who describe themselves as “a relatively small, but well-balanced team. We come from a variety of backgrounds and outdoor interests. …united by a shared passion for the outdoors.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, November 25, 2018
Instagram obituary of John Allen Chau, 27, by his family
NOTE: This story, at least as it’s being told by most American news media outlets (sometimes also known as MSM, or the Main Stream Media), is sparsely incomplete, at best. While it’s not the purpose of this entry to castigate, criticize, or deride them, it is worth noting that they, like other outlets, make determinations of what viewers want to read, or don’t want to read, and publish what they think viewers want to read. Determining and discerning those two items is the job, in large part, of editors and publishers. The purpose of this entry is to inform readers, as fully as possible, from the widest variety of sources, details of the story which remain largely untold by most American news media outlets. Your comments are welcome. –ed.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands chain showing North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal, off the east Indian coast.
Perhaps by now you’ve heard of the tragic and bizarre death resulting from the deliberately premeditated, most likely illegal, and profoundly stupid acts of John Allen Chau, a 27-year-old Alabamian, who’d recently moved to Vancouver, Washington with his mother Lynda Adams-Chau. As a self-described “adventure tourist” who lived part-time in an isolated cabin in California’s Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, he was killed by Stone Age tribesmen while trespassing on North Sentinel Island, in the southernmost Bay of Bengal among the Andaman and Nicobar Islands chain east of India.
The Sentinelese, who are thought to be direct descendants of the first humans who emigrated from North Africa 60,000 years ago, are called one of the Earth’s last “uncontacted” people, and by Indian law, it is illegal to even attempt to contact them, much less to make contact with them. The Indian government vigorously protects the Sentinelese people who neither use any form of money (one of the earliest forms of money used in commercial transactions appeared in Egypt and Mesopotamia – the cradle of civilization – by the third millennium BCE), who by law cannot be prosecuted, contact with them is forbidden, as is entry or attempted entry into any area they populate or inhabit.
Their protection is so jealously safeguarded by Indian law, that even taking videos of the Sentinelese people is prohibited. In 2017, the Indian government clarified in the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) that the Andamanese, Jarawas, Onges, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shom Pens had been identified as “aboriginal tribes,” that they are protected under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, and as such, videos showing them cannot be uploaded on any social media or the Internet, and that they would legally seek “removal of these objectionable video films from YouTube and initiate action on those who uploaded these video clips on social media platforms.” Even the Indian navy is forbidden to encroach near North Sentinel Island, in an effort to protect the isolated, reclusive, often violent tribe.
Such protection is not granted exclusively to North Sentinel Islanders, and in 2012, the Indian government made illegal any advertising promoting tourism of the Andaman and Nicoman Islands area relating to aboriginal tribes. The law states in part that, “Whoever enters these areas in contravention of the notification under section 7 {prohibiting entry into reserve areas} for taking photographs or making videos shall be punishable with imprisonment up to three years.” The law and protection is so strict and so great, that violations of other sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) can also be added the list of offenses for anyone who violates the law.
The Sentinelese people’s population has never been accurately, correctly or properly enumerated, and relatively little is known about them. During India’s 2011 Census, enumerators found only Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, November 25, 2018
SHOTS FIRED!
Black Man With A Gun!
Birmingham, AL metro area showing Hoover, south of Birmingham, and the Riverchase Galleria mall, south of Hoover.
“They took out the threat. Our plan works.”
– Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis describing how uniformed HPD LEOs killed Emantic Fitzgerald “EJ” Bradford, Jr.
It was a Black Friday in more ways than one.
Gunfire erupted late Thanksgiving night around 10PM Central Standard Time in Hoover, Alabama, a small suburb south of Birmingham and part of the Greater Birmingham Metro Area.
It was Black Friday eve at Riverchase Galleria – the state’s largest shopping mall – where holiday shoppers where amassed for huge sales and deep discounts at local and national retailers, many of whom have had a presence there for the over 30 years its been a Jefferson County jolly green sales tax giant.
“The Threat,” Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr., has been neutralized. “Our Plan works,” said Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis.
A 21-year-old Black man identified as Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., of Hueytown, AL, was observed fleeing the shooting scene while brandishing a handgun, was engaged, shot and killed by a uniformed Hoover police officer, according to Hoover Police Captain Gregg Rector.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis, said, “Thank God we had our officers very close. They heard the gunfire, they engaged the subject, and they took out the threat. That threat could have materialized into a lot more people being injured. Thank goodness that did not happen. We have a plan and our plan works.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, November 22, 2018
iPhone 6 screenshot showing maximum memory capacity (128GB) reached, and proportions of memory used by category
Not to worry… my iPhone’s got you beat.
It’s more stuffed than you are.
Or, more stuffed than your Thanksgiving turkey.
Or your turducken.
Seriously.
“Turducken,” is a word-blend of turkey, duck, and chicken, which is a de-boned dish of the three fowl combined, which is then cooked.
And it’s just barely Thanksgiving morning!
But that’s GigaBytes, and you’re human bites – it’s not an “apples-to-apples” comparison.
And, that’s okay, because we often compare disparate items. You know, like oranges to truck stops, or oxygen concentration ratios to seat cushions.
Anyway… the human stomach’s average capacity is about 1.5 – 2 Liters.
Maximum capacity is 3 – 4 Liters.
Put in perspective, the upper end of the maximum capacity of the human stomach is the equivalent volume of TWO 2 Liter soda bottles.
The low end of the average capacity of the human stomach is about 75% of one 2 Liter soda bottle – 1.5 Liters.
In fact, the human stomach – which essentially is a muscle sac, and when empty, is about the size of your fist – can expand to hold up to 4 Liters of food. That’s more than 50 times its empty size.
Of course, some folks’ stomachs are bigger.
Seriously.
Bigger body = bigger stomach.
And you’ve certainly heard the age-old adage “big feet, big… need big shoes.”
But, even though you, and others may be quite hungry – famished, even – this Thanksgiving, you probably won’t quite be eating like wolves… even though you may wolf your food down.
Law Enforcement Officers in Shelby County, the county SOUTHEAST of, and immediately adjacent to Jefferson County – where Birmingham, the state’s most populous city, is located – arrested the 38-year-old young shop owner for violating Alabama’s Controlled Substances Act, after sending samples of his wares to a state forensics laboratory for analysis.
Jefferson and Shelby counties, Alabama
Compared to Alabama’s other 66 counties, Shelby County is more well-to-do (Shelby County’s median household income is $72,310, while the state’s median household income is $44,758), “well heeled,” more highly educated (41.4% of the residents aged 25+ have a Bachelor’s degree AT LEAST, while only 24.0% of the state at large does), etc., than almost any other county in the state.
So, one would hope – indeed, expect – better, more well-informed Public Officials.
But then again, the state continues reeling from the aftershocks of the corruption scandals of the convicted former Speaker of the House, Mike Hubbard, and a veritable host of other predominately GOP lawmakers who were similarly indicted, and either plead guilty to, or were convicted by Federal, and/or State authorities for numerous felony offenses, ranging from healthcare fraud, to mail fraud, and other corrupt, illegal and deceptive practices.
Alabama, being what it is – an inflexible, hard-line, bipolar political state which has swung to the far end of the Republican political spectrum for many years – duly elected to a full term the weak, former Marshall County District Attorney Steve Marshall whom was appointed by corrupt Governor Bentley to fill the unexpired term of the Attorney General’s office vacated by Bentley’s appointment of Luther Strange to fill the unexpired term of Jeff Sessions, whom was nominated to be US Attorney General by President Trump.
Just like voters did the same for Kay Ivey, the former Lieutenant Governor (who historically and practically has no influence upon state affairs) who succeeded to the Office of Governor upon Bentley’s resignation, for the final two years of his second, and final, unexpired term.
One would rightfully, and justifiably be concerned about anything and everything done by the corrupt Governor Bentley – especially political appointments – and turned away such all such appointees during the General Election. But apparently, the state’s voters didn’t see things that way.
The level, depth, breadth, and width of insanity, asininity and corruption in the state is quite simply, stupefyingly breathtaking.
Frankly, all this is so unnecessarily confusing. Even Alabama’s Controlled Substances Act has such significant variability and discretion that criminal charges have used to include the weight of butter (it has been) in calculating criminal offenses. It’s the proverbial indictment of the ham sandwich.
This tomfoolery of a law enforcement shell game could be absolutely, totally, and completely resolved fully and completely – 100% – by legalizing, taxing, and regulating cannabis for Medical, and Adult Recreational use. It’s just that simple. We’ve seen it before. We’re seeing it now. But Alabama is ever the “stick in the mud” – or pig sty – take your pick.
So… having briefly come up for air, here we go again, back into the “deep dive.”
The plant genus known as “cannabis” has two predominate subtypes:
1.) cannabis sativa, and;
2.) cannabis indica.
While a third subtype – cannabis ruderalis – exists, it’s more like a dwarfed version which produces practically nothing of any value, so it’s largely ignored.
Women and hemp, date unknown, likely late 1800’s.
Cannabis sativa, and cannabis indica are both called “marijuana.” By the way, the word “marijuana” is actually a derivative of a slang name given to it some years ago by Mexicans. It has more accurately been known for a much longer time by its proper name, cannabis.
Hemp is also cannabis. Hemp is most often cannabis sativa, because the sativa variety grows very tall, spindly stalks. In contrast, cannabis indica is a short, shrubby type plant.
Spreading hemp to dry in Kentucky, 1898.
Historically, hemp has been grown and used for its fiber content for eons throughout the world, and in America. And notably, during WWII, it was grown for rope production as part of the war effort by the tens of thousands of acres in Illinois and Kentucky. During that time, in 1942, following an embargo on the supplies of manila and abaca fiber used in rope-making supplied from the Philippines, the United States Department of Agriculture, produced a film called Hemp for Victory, which encouraged farmers – especially those in Kentucky – to grow hemp to help the war effort. It was seen as patriotic thing to do.
On the other hand, “marijuana” is defined as cannabis sativa (and cannabis indica) which has a greater THC content than 0.3% by weight.
Marijuana is consumed for euphoric effects induced by THC.
Marijuana has CBD -and- THC.
Hemp has MOSTLY CBD.
Cannabis that has greater THC content than CBD content is typically “marijuana,” because the two strains are not consistent, and each strain (hemp or marijuana) produce one, or the other (CBD or THC) in greater abundance comparatively.
Of course, the Stock Market is NOT the economy, but for many, it’s the easiest touchstone to consider approximating the economy. And because most Americans are NOT heavily invested in Wall Street, its performance only nominally and indirectly affects them.
