"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."
Archive for the ‘– Lost In Space: TOTALLY Discombobulated’ Category
This belongs… somewhere I do not know. But not in the sense that you don’t know where, but that you don’t KNOW where – because you’ve never experienced it. That is to say, not knowledge itself, but rather comprehension.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, January 12, 2020
For breakfast, I ate a Russet potato which was steamed in the pressure cooker for about 10 minutes. It was kept out of the water by placing it in a basket placed atop a trivet inside the stove-top cooker.
Most often, in any pressure cooker, the food being cooked rests in the water. However, I wanted to find out what the food would be like if it did not.
The potato had been thoroughly cleansed and rinsed in the usual manner some weeks earlier, which for me, includes a capful of common, unscented, household bleach in addition to Dawn® brand liquid dishwashing soap.
My general rule is, all fresh fruit and vegetables get that treatment because:
1.) You don’t know how many people handled it at the store having not washing their hands after toileting, and;
2.) You don’t know about the conditions in which it was grown, if e.coli or other really bad cooties might have been present, or if it “picked up” something in transit.
While recalls of vegetables tainted with e.coli or other pathological bacteria are neither rare, nor common, per se, they are ONLY on the outside of the food, never within. So, every vegetable – including green leafy ones – tubers, and fruits of all kinds – are all Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 9, 2020
Reproduction of an original photograph of Prince George of Greece and Denmark (1869-1957) and Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962). Prince George is sitting to the right wearing military uniform. Princess Marie is standing beside him to the left with her right hand resting on her hip. She is wearing a pale coloured dress and strings of pearls. There is a wooden wall behind them. The photograph is signed and dated. Prince George of Greece and Denmark was the second son of George I, King of the Hellenes. Princess Marie Bonaparte was a descendant of Emperor Napoleon I, an heiress and a psychoanalyst. They married in 1907.
Identify the TRUE statements about Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962), great grand-niece of Emperor Napoleon:
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, December 30, 2019
Where in America can you, I, or anyone, go to be immune from the law?
It’s a “trick question,” or… is it?
And yes, it’s a VERY serious question; in fact, it is an argument of which – believe it, or not – Federal Appeals Court Judges are considering the merits.
POTUS John Adams (1735-1826) c.1800-1815, painting by Gilbert Stuart (175-1828)
One simply can’t imagine the notion – that in our nation, a nation of laws, and not of men, that anyone could be above the law – and yet… here we are.
In February 1775, John Adams published a collection of essays entitled “Novanglus” – popularly known as the Novanglus Essays – where the idea that foundling nation which became “The United States of America” was a nation of laws, and not of men – was first known to be expressed.
James Harrington, oil on canvas, feigned oval, circa 1635, on display at Gawthorpe Hall, Burnley
Historians argue that the idea, or thought, was almost certainly derived from James Harrington (1611-1677), an English political philosopher, whose most renown work, “The Commonwealth of Oceana” (1656) was owned by Adams (3rd edition-1747), contains his signature on the title page, and is found in The John Adams Library of Boston Public Library, and may found online here: https://archive.org/details/oceanaotherworks00harr/page/n5
On page 38 of the work, in the essay entitled “Oceana,” Harrington wrote in part that,
“Government, according to the Ancients, and their learned Disciple Machiavelli, the only Politician of later Ages is of three kinds: The Government of One Man, or of the Better Sort, or of the Whole People: which by their more learned names are called Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Democracy. These they hold, though their proponents to degenerate, to be all evil. For whereas they that govern, should govern according to Reason, if they govern according to Passion, they do that which they should not do. Wherefore as Reason and Passion are two things, so Government by Reason is one thing, and the corruption of Government by Passion is another thing, but not always another Government: as a Body that is alive is one thing, and a Body that is dead is another thing, but not always another Creature, though the corruption of one comes at length to be the Generation of another. The Corruption then of Monarchy is called Tyranny; that of Aristocracy, Oligarchy; and that of Democracy, Anarchy. But Legislators having found these three Governments at the best to be naught, have invented another consisting of a mixture of them all, which only is good. This is the Doctrine of the Ancients.”
So it seems almost certain that Adams derived that idea from James Harrington, but it was Adams’s use of the phrase which popularized it. Of note, Adams also wrote the clause “government of laws, and not of men” in the Declaration of Rights drafted for the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780.
“If Aristotle, Livy, and Harrington knew what a republic was,
the British constitution is much more like a republic than an empire.
They define a republic to be a government of laws, and not of men. [emphasis added]
If this definition be just,
the British constitution is nothing more nor less than a republic,
in which the king is first magistrate.
This office being hereditary,
and being possessed of such ample and splendid prerogatives,
is no objection to the government’s being a republic,
as long as it is bound by fixed laws,
which the people have a voice in making,
and a right to defend.
An empire is a despotism,
and an emperor a despot,
bound by no law or limitation but his own will;
it is a stretch of tyranny beyond absolute monarchy.
For,
although the will of an absolute monarch is law,
yet his edicts must be registered by parliaments.
Even this formality is not necessary in an empire.
There the maxim is quod principi placuit legis habet rigorem,
even without having that will and pleasure recorded.
There are but three empires now in Europe,
the German or Holy Roman,
the Russian,
and the Ottoman.”
George Santayana
The aphorism written in 1905 by philosopher/author George Santayana in The Life of Reason, vol. 1: Reason in Common Sense, seems apropos here:
“Those who cannot remember the past
are condemned to repeat it.”
And so, that begs the question…
How could we have possibly gotten to this so very corrupted point?
Samuel Johnson
Again, let the words of the wise guide us, because when ideas or thoughts are repeated, it re-emphasizes their importance.
Renown lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709–84) expressed that idea as much in Rambler No. 2 (24 March 1750) when he wrote in part that,
“Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.”
It is of unimaginable necessity that it is incumbent upon us to recollect this saying made by a GOP Presidential nominee candidate upon the campaign trail heading toward the Republican national convention:
“I could
stand in the middle of 5th Avenue
and shoot somebody,
and wouldn’t lose any voters…
okay?
It’s, like, incredible.”
POS45
–– Donald J. Trump, then-candidate for the Republican nomination as President, at a campaign rally 23 January 2016 at Dordt College, in Sioux Center, Iowa
On October 23, 2019, WilliamS.Consovoy, an attorney defending Trump against a suit filed by the House of Representatives seeking his tax returns, told the three-judge panel (en banc) of the Second United States Circuit Court of Appeals that Trump was LITERALLY immune from ANY type of prosecution.
Judge Denny Chin asked Mr. Consovoy, “What’s your view on the Fifth Avenue example? Local authorities couldn’t investigate, they couldn’t do anything about it?”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, December 20, 2019
Imagine… being seated at an exclusively small underground club, with a polished onyx table, reflecting a chandelier with 1500 Swarovski crystals, and being served some of the finest cabernet sauvignon wine which sells for $900 a bottle, with only your closest 20 to 30 billionaire and multi-millionaire friends present.
If that sounds too far-fetched, think again.
That was a recent closed-door Pete Buttigieg fundraiser in Napa Valley, California.
No, it’s not a joke.
Here are a couple screenshot images of an Instagram posting which has now been removed which shows the South Bend, Indiana Mayor rubbing elbows with the filthy rich and powerful.
THIS was the reason “wine caves, $900-dollar-per-bottle wine, and $5000 selfies” were mentioned in the Democrat’s December debate.
And, no, it’s NOT a joke when he’s called “Wall Street Pete.”
Turns out, there’s a good reason for it.
According to Fortune magazine’s October 4, 2019 article entitled “Pete Buttigieg Takes Lead as Big Business Candidate in 2020 Field,” “Buttigieg caused controversy this week when Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that he had emailed the mayor and his team resumes for campaign positions. The pair overlapped during their time at Harvard and have a number of mutual friends.
“In Silicon Valley, the former McKinsey consultant has attended fundraisers hosted on his behalf by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Nest Labs co-founder Matt Rogers, and Chelsea Kohler, director of product communications at Uber.
“Buttigieg has also racked up donations from a number of top Facebook executives, as well as Scott Belsky, chief product officer at Adobe, and Wendy Schmidt, the wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. He leads the 2020 field in the amount of online donations he’s received online from California tech employees. Biden, meanwhile, didn’t crack the top five.
“Buttigieg, meanwhile, has been making himself known to the Wall Street set. The combat veteran out-raised all of his political rivals in Connecticut during the third quarter of this year, according to Federal Elections Commission filings. Connecticut is the wealthiest state in the U.S., largely because of its large concentration of Wall Street and Hedge Fund luminaries.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Hardly a day goes by without at least one story about firearm violence in America.
Senator Joe Biden as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when he helped write the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act, which overturned 6 Supreme Court rulings, popularized the modern gun show, created the “Gun Show Loophole,” and facilitated mass shootings by allowing guns to be sold through the U.S. Postal Service and Internet.
It would be darkly funny only if it weren’t so true.
But, on the day after Friday the 13th, this past Saturday, December 14th, 2019, while shoppers thronged the Cumberland Mall in search of Christmas gifts in the Atlanta, GA area, the Cobb County Police Department said that, at 1:18PM EST (local time), following an argument, 18-year old Ethan Green was shot in the neck and shoulder while in the food court by 18-year-old Zaire Dhanoolal and accomplice 19-year-old Joweer Ponce.
Both the accused young men are from nearby Marietta, GA, and Dhanoolal was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, while his accomplice Ponce was charged with reckless conduct and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
Police relied upon surveillance video to identify the suspects, which showed that the suspects first pointed their pistols at 21-year-old Anthony Ezell who wasn’t injured, but was considered a victim of aggravated assault because the suspects pointed a gun at him before Green was shot.
That is nothing but purely shameful. Firearms are killing us.
“But,” counter some people, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
Yes, that’s true, but we don’t have to ignore the “elephant in the room” which is the alarming number of injuries and deaths from firearms – deliberate and accident – including mass shootings. It’s nothing short of inexcusable.
Firearm-related violence is at catastrophic proportions in our nation, and gun sickness is the root cause.
In 1981 Gil Scott-Heron prophetically sang a song entitled simply as “Gun,” from his album “Reflections” which lyrics are in part as follows:
“Everybody got a pistol, everybody got a .45
And the philosophy seem to be,
At least as near as I can see,
When other folks give up theirs, I’ll give up mine.
This is a violent civilization;
If civilization’s where I am.
Every channel that I stop on
Got a different kind of cop on
Killing them by the million for Uncle Sam.
Saturday night just ain’t that special.
Yeah, I got the Constitution on the run.
‘Cause even though we’ve got the right
To defend our home, to defend our life,
Got to understand to get it in hand about the guns.
Everybody got a pistol, this mosty be the NRA
Yeah ’cause when it’s time to line up
You know damn well they’re gonna shine up
Everybody…
Point being, that it wasn’t always like this.
And, sad to say,
then-Senator Joe Biden had a direct hand in
relaxing and eradicating hundreds of laws, and
vacating at least 6 Supreme Court decisions by
his advocacy of the
Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA).
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, December 18, 2019
It has begun.
Debate will last 6 hours – 3 hours each for Democrats -and- Republicans.
This is SERIOUS stuff.
It is NOT a “witch hunt,” “fake news,” or any other absurd claim which Trump, his GOP sycophants, or his other blind supporters have made.
AND… “YES!”
Michigan’s U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (13-D) said, “And when your son looks at you and says, ‘Mama, look, you won. Bullies don’t win,’ and I said, ‘Baby, they don’t’ – because we’re gonna go in there and we’re going to impeach the motherfucker.”
Why would she ever say such a thing?
Because our nation’s Intelligence and Investigative services ALL KNEW that the Russians had interfered in our election to aid Trump and get him elected.
Her remarks were made AFTER the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, the CIA, and ALL 17 Intelligence Services concluded the exact same thing – Russians directly interfered in the 2016 General Election to elect Donald Trump.
They – the Russians – were successful.
And WHY?!?
Why did the Russians do that?
Precisely to bring about division and confusion in our nation which is now painfully present.
The Russians have won Phase One of their War Against Freedom – destroy your enemy from within, get them to destroy themselves. Bullets need not be fired, troops need not be dispatched.
The only bomb that been dropped is not just Trump’s election, but the revelations that the man who has long been known to be a skilled and chronically habitual liar – Donald John Trump – lied about what he did, despite overwhelming testimony to the contrary from numerous honorable men and women who have faithfully served in various offices – ranging from our Armed Services, Intelligence Services, to the Diplomatic Corps, and more – in our nation for decades.
Some say that the “Cold War” is over, since the Communists are now apparently gone from Russian government. They claim that since Russia is no longer called the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), that Vladimir Putin, who for many years was the head of the KGB – their Secret Police – (now known as the GRU) and is now “President” of Russia, is some benign benefactor or friendly power to which we should bow.
The lyrics of British rock group “The Who” in their 1971 song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” perfectly and succinctly express the present condition in Russia:
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, December 13, 2019
Recently, the Washington Post published the results of a lengthy, in-depth, years-long investigation into the War in Afghanistan, which were published only after even more years of prolonged court battles.
See: The Afghanistan Papers A secret history of the war
At war with the truth
U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it, an exclusive Post investigation found.
“A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.
“The documents were generated by a federal project examining the root failures of the longest armed conflict in U.S. history. They include more than 2,000 pages of previously unpublished notes of interviews with people who played a direct role in the war, from generals and diplomats to aid workers and Afghan officials.
“The U.S. government tried to shield the identities of the vast majority of those interviewed for the project and conceal nearly all of their remarks. The Post won release of the documents under the Freedom of Information Act after a three-year legal battle.
“It took three years and two federal lawsuits for The Post to pry loose 2,000 pages of interview records.
“In the interviews, more than 400 insiders offered unrestrained criticism of what went wrong in Afghanistan and how the United States became mired in nearly two decades of warfare.
“With a bluntness rarely expressed in public, the interviews lay bare pent-up complaints, frustrations and confessions, along with second-guessing and backbiting.
News of the Washington Post’s news was widespread, and numerous news reporting outlets and agencies reported on and shared the Post’s findings. One such outlet was The Guardian.
See:
Afghanistan papers reveal US public were misled about unwinnable war
“Hundreds of confidential interviews with key figures involved in prosecuting the 18-year US war in Afghanistan have revealed that the US public has been consistently misled about an unwinnable conflict.
“Transcripts of the interviews, published by the Washington Post after a three-year legal battle, were collected for a Lessons Learned project by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar), a federal agency whose main task is eliminating corruption and inefficiency in the US war effort.
“The 2,000 pages of documents reveal the bleak and unvarnished views of many insiders in a war that has cost $1tn (£760bn) and killed more than 2,300 US servicemen and women, with more than 20,000 injured. Tens of thousands of Afghan civilians have died in the conflict.” …
Imagine that… ONE TRILLION dollars wasted down a rat hole, and being lied to about it all. What could we have done with that money? What would an extra $20 Billion looked like to each of the 50 states? That’s how much they would’ve had were it divvied up that way. Or, expressed another way, that’s a little over $3000 for every man, woman, and child now residing in the United States.
Oh… how about improved our national infrastructure?
Or, how about improved delivery of healthcare to our citizen-residents, their families, children, and elderly?
Or, how about improving and shoring up Social Security Trust Fund? That one could be more easily and readily accomplished by making it a “HANDS OFF!” account, and forbidding use/disbursement of its money for any other purpose than for claims upon it, thus making is solvent into perpetuity. But, Congress likes to use that money as a practical “slush fund” to pay for things that they don’t have the guts to raise taxes to pay for. THAT MUST CHANGE!!
But, nearly 20 years ago, exactly one day BEFORE the now-infamous day of September 11, 2001, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld delivered an address which was broadcast live throughout all DOD installations worldwide, was published on the DOD website, and was entitled “Bureaucracy to Battlefield.
Article 1 – Abuse of Power: 23 Ayes, 17 Noes
Article 2 – Obstruction of Congress: 23 Ayes, 17 Noes
As expected, based upon the evidence, the Democrats have voted to impeach POS45, and the GOP denies anything ever happened.
To be reported to the House.
Committee is adjourned.
The House, with 235 Democratic members, has the majority over Republicans’ 199. Presumably, all Democrats will vote to approve the Articles of Impeachment.
From there (the House), if approved by the House, the Articles of Impeachment would go to the Senate for a Trial, which would be presided over by SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts.
Senate votes to watch:
1.) Mitt Romney-UT, R
2.) Cory Gardner-CO, R, Class 2, up for re-election
3.) Tim Scott-SC, R,
4.) Susan Collins-ME, R, Class 2, up for re-election
5.) Angus King-ME, I
6.) Rand Paul-KY, R
7.) John Kennedy-LA, R
8.) Lisa Murkowski-AK, R, Class 2, up for re-election
9.) Martha McSally-AZ, R, up for Special Election in 2020, appointed to fulfill John McCain’s (Class 3) term, following John Kyl’s resignation. General Election will be in 2022.
10.) Lamar Alexander-TN, R, Class 2, retiring
Senator Alexander issued a written statement about impeachment October 8, 2019 as follows:
“It’s inappropriate for the president to be talking with foreign governments about investigating his political opponents, but impeachment would be a mistake. An election, which is just around the corner, is the right way to decide who should be president. Impeachment has never removed a president. It will only divide the country further.
“If the House impeaches the president, the Senate would be the jury. There would be many twists and turns between now and a Senate trial. Therefore, as a potential juror, I will have nothing more to say about impeachment until all the evidence is presented and all the arguments are made.”
All are GOPers, save Angus King, who defected from the Democrats to become independent in 1993, though like Bernie Sanders, he caucuses with them.
There are 53 GOP Senators, and to convict, and thereby remove from office, requires a Constitutionally-mandated ⅔ vote of members present (Article I, section 3). The VP CANNOT participate.
I sincerely doubt the Senate will vote to convict
– even on Obstruction of Congress charges –
despite overwhelming open evidence that he did,
and his own public admissions that he did.
The Constitution requires a 2/3 vote of all Senators present to convict. If all 100 are present, that’s 67 votes.
There are 53 GOPers in the Senate (and 2 Independents, who caucus with the 45 Democrats), which would mean that, in order to obtain the 67 necessary votes, 20 GOPers would have to vote with the Democrats and Independents (who presumably will vote to convict). And, there are 4 GOP Senators retiring in 2020 – which is important, because they could vote their conscience to convict, and not be concerned about re-election.
Even if all 10 votes to watch (as mentioned above) voted with the Democrats, there’d still be 10 more GOP votes needed to convict, and that most likely ain’t gonna’ happen.
This is STRICTLY a power play, and the ONLY reason the GOP tolerates Trump is because of a line in the Bob Seger song “Night Moves”:
“I used her, she used me; neither one cared.”
However, come November, there’ll be several Senators up for re-election, and five announced retirements, and in at least one Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, December 13, 2019
Thus read Friday the 13th’s headline in the December 2019 edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal in Kentucky.
Why such a votriolic headline?
Shitbag former KY GOP Governor Matt Bevin did this on his way out the door following his re-re-election loss, as reported by NPR:
“Bevin, a Republican who narrowly lost a bid for a second term last month, issued pardons to hundreds of people, including convicted rapists, murderers and drug offenders.
“In one case, Bevin pardoned a man convicted of homicide. That man’s family raised more than $20,000 at a political fundraiser to help Bevin pay off a debt owed from his 2015 gubernatorial campaign.
“In all, the former governor signed off on 428 pardons and commutations since his loss to Democrat Andy Beshear, according to The Courier-Journal. The paper notes, “The beneficiaries include one offender convicted of raping a child, another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner and a third who killed his parents.””
“The Republican pardoned a convicted child rapist as well as a convicted murderer whose brother raised money for Mr Bevin’s election campaign.
“Mr Bevin was defeated by Democrat Andy Beshear in November after a contentious election.
“The flurry of pardons sent shockwaves through the state’s legal system. State prosecutors told local media they had not been consulted on Mr Bevin’s decision, and families of the victims were not notified in advance.
“”I’m a big believer in second chances,” Mr Bevin said in a statement to the Washington Post newspaper. “I think this is a nation that was founded on the concept of redemption and second chances and new pages in life.””
Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) on Friday night defendedhis controversial pardonsas reflections of America’s foundational “support for redemption,” a statement that followed a Republican state leader’s call for a federal investigation into Bevin’s actions.
The former governor, who lost his bid for reelection in November, made national headlines this week after he pardoned hundreds of people during his final days in office, including a man convicted of reckless homicide,a child rapistand a woman who threw her newborn in the trash. In one case, Bevin pardoned a man convicted of homicide who wasthe brother of one of the former governor’s campaign donors.
The pardonsoutraged local attorneys and prosecutors, who said they were not consulted during the process. As the backlash continued to build Friday, Republicans in the Kentucky state Senate issued a statement blasting Bevin.
And, as reported by the Courier-Journal, “.”
Kentuckians are outraged, and even his most ardent former supporters are shocked. “Nonplussed” is far too diplomatic a word to describe their thoughts of his actions.
“Bevin was known to issue pardons on July Fourth and Christmas Day during his time in office as a way to mark the country’s independence and holiday season. The individuals who were pardoned in those situations typically were Kentuckians who committed minor crimes and had demonstrated good behavior while incarcerated.
“But before leaving office, Bevin’s pardons included many violent and sexual offenders such as a man convicted of raping a 9-year-old, another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner, a man who killed his parents and a man who beheaded a woman before stuffing her in a barrel.”
While pardons, sentence commutations, and other types of clemency are within executive privilege, they should be righteously and judiciously wielded with wisdom, rather than wantonly abused as returned favors, or reckless examples of personal vendetta, and should be targeted to include resolution of actual or possible miscarriages of justice, such as restoration of voting rights following conviction, or other realistic social/civic benefits.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, December 12, 2019
Why is Alabama so lousy, and most Alabamians so stupid?
Because the Republican-dominated legislators continue to destroy education.
They don’t care about the children.
Period.
If they did, they’d put their money where their mouth is.
And, they don’t.
Never again wonder why the state and its residents are poverty-stricken, unhealthy, and as a whole, are “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command”… in addition to being Trump voters.
This Is Where Your State Ranks in Education The quality of education still varies widely across the country.
Emily DeRuy, National Journal, January 8, 2016
“Between 2008 and 2014, Louisiana and Alabama both cut higher-education funding by about 40 percent. New York’s funding has only declined 5 percent during that time, making it one of the three states with the smallest cuts.” https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/this-is-where-your-state-ranks-in-education/458784/
Common Core math ‘eradicated,’ Ivey says, after Alabama school board vote
Alabama is stupid because the legislature is stupid.
And the powerful corporate lobbyists continue pandering to, and getting corporate welfare from, the legislators via corporate tax breaks and other “incentives,” when instead, the legislature should be helping the people, and placing them first, instead of dead last.
The Most — And Least — Educated States In The U.S. In 2018 https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2018/02/01/the-most-and-least-educated-states-in-the-u-s-in-2018/
“As for the U.S. states that ranked at the bottom of the list—the least educated ones—see the list of the lowest-five below.
Alabama (Attainment Rank: 45; Quality Rank: 40)
Arkansas (Attainment Rank: 47; Quality Rank: 34)
Louisiana (Attainment Rank: 48; Quality Rank: 47)
West Virginia (Attainment Rank: 50; Quality Rank: 42)
Mississippi (Attainment Rank: 49; Quality Rank: 50)
Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said he was surprised to learn that foreign nationals can legally buy guns in the U.S., and said, “I think that they should definitely look at that.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R)
Presumably, the “they” to whom he was referring were Federal lawmakers. You know… folks like Florida U.S. Senator Rick Scott, whom himself was the previous former Florida Governor before being elected as U.S. Senator in the 2018 election.
It’s kinda’ funny when you think about it – Republicans don’t like it when some nutzo with a LEGALLY PURCHASED FIREARM starts shooting up the place. But, what do they do in response?
Bupkis.
Nada.
Crickets.
Speaking of Mohammed Alshamrani, the Saudi terrorist training at Pensacola Naval Air Station who purchased a pistol and used it to kill several military service members on base Governor DeSantis said, “That’s a federal loophole he took advantage of. I’m a big supporter of the Second Amendment – but the Second Amendment is so that we the American people can keep and bear arms. It does not apply to Saudi Arabians. He had no constitutional right to do that, for sure.”
Vice President Mike Pence administers the Senate oath of office to Rick Scott, R-FL, accompanied by his wife Ann during a mock swearing in ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, as the 116th Congress begins.
CLEARLY, Governor DeSantis does not understand Constitutional law, because there’s NO “loophole.” For if a Foreign National comes here, they too have First Amendment Rights, Second Amendment Rights, and they too have rights under law to fair trial. They too have rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, December 8, 2019
Well… duh!
CNN is reporting that “President Donald Trump has continued to use his personal cell phone to make calls, despite repeated warnings from his staff that the practice could leave him vulnerable to foreign surveillance.
“The Democratic impeachment inquiry has resurrected concerns about the security and potential vulnerability of the President’s communications. Witness testimony revealed some top officials repeatedly failed to follow protocol intended to prevent sensitive phone conversations, including those involving the President, from being intercepted by foreign intelligence services.
“Several former US officials have told CNN it is highly likely that US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland’s cell phone call to Trump from a restaurant in Ukraine over the summer was picked up by intelligence agencies from numerous foreign countries, including Russia.
“CNN previously reported that Trump has given his personal number to foreign leaders on multiple occasions, outright ignoring security protocols. According to The Washington Post, Trump handing out his personal line led to one-on-one calls that even top White House aides did not know about.
“The New York Times reported last year that Chinese and Russian spies have listened in on Trump’s calls on his personal cell phone and the President’s aides have told him that Russian spies were listening in on a regular basis.
“Senior officials view moving Trump away from unsecure lines as a lost cause at this point, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, November 7, 2019
Whether one “believes” Climate Change is “real,” or not, is totally a specious argument.
Specious means “superficially plausible, but actually wrong.”
Why is it specious?
Arguing about what causes rain while your roof is leaking is pretty stupid, don’t you think?
And yet, that’s exactly what’s happening.
This map shows federal flood damage claims from 2008 to 2018. Flood risk in many parts of the U.S. is on the rise, in part because climate change is driving more frequent and intense storms, higher seas and extreme rain. Extreme rain in 2013 caused catastrophic flooding in Boulder County, CO, including dangerous flash floods. Similar storms in 2011, 2014 and 2019 flooded much of Holt County, MO. –– Flood Insurance Claims Per 1,000 People, 2010-2018
Some people (Climate Change Science deniers) are arguing about the causes, while the devastation it wreaks continues UNABATED.
Instead, what we NEED TO DO is REBUILD -and- EXPAND our crumbling national Economic Infrastructure to – as much as possible – reduce the influence these events have upon us.
Even BIG INSURANCE companies all agree that the economic losses our nation is suffering CANNOT be sustained without serious lasting damage to our national economy.
The Geneva Association (properly, The “International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics”) is a leading international think tank of the insurance industry, which detects early ideas and emerging debates on political, economic and societal issues concerning the insurance industry.
“Over the last three and a half decades, we have observed a trend of rising economic losses from extreme events globally. Between 1980 and 2017, Munich Re’s NatCatSERVICE reported 17,320 disaster loss events. Of those, 91.2% were caused by weather-related extremes (meteorological, hydrological and climatological events), accounting for 49.2% of the total of 1,723,738 lives lost, 79.8% of the total USD 4,615 billion in reported economic losses and 90.1% of total insured losses of USD 1,269 bn.
“In 2017, weather-related extremes accounted for 97% of total reported economic losses and 98.2% of Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, October 23, 2019
While for many years it has been common practice to exclude some Members of Congress from sensitive Congressional investigations if they are not committee members – such as when Republicans began an investigation into the 2012 attack upon the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya – apparently, Republicans think the rules don’t apply to them, and when things don’t go their way, behave like petulant children.
About 2 dozen House Republicans staged a protest outside the closed-door, secure room committee where depositions were ongoing, and screamed “LET US IN! LET US IN!”
Flanked by about two dozen House Republicans, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., argues that all GOP lawmakers should have access to closed-door depositions in the impeachment inquiry. Committee rules dictate that only those on the panels conducting the probe can attend. Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images
The area is designated as secure — meaning that classified materials and witness testimony is discussed there, and only select lawmakers and a small number of staff are allowed entry.
Republican lawmakers tried to enter with their cellphones, which is a violation of the rules for a secure information facility and a breach of national security protocols. Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33, D) said that the Republican effort to enter the secure area without authorization was Read the rest of this entry »
A visitor rides on a 750-kilogram (1653 lbs) pig at a farm in Zhengzhou city, Henan province, China. Source: ImagineChina via AP Images
But, more to the point.
The campaign of Democratic candidate for Party Presidential Nominee Elizabeth Warren has recently purposely posted a false political advertisement on Facebook.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, October 8, 2019
The unhinged surreality made-for-television game show world that is the Current White House Occupant’s mindset is now laid bare.
Amidst the debacle that is playing out on the world’s stage in the open air of the Washington, D.C. Beltway, Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States has unilaterally taken it upon himself to rule as an authoritarian demagogue, and – as much as possible (legally, or not) – to fire, discharge, or force the resignation of seemingly countless honorable career public servants; to compel the engagement of numerous Federal agencies to perform his private political dirty work, and to stymie Congress as much as possible by claiming either Executive Privilege, or unlimited Constitutional authority under Article 2, despite the fact that the Congress (the House and Senate) is significantly and Constitutionally charged with oversight of the governmental operations.
He has played friendly with America’s enemies, including Russia, China, North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and others, while making enemies of America’s long-standing allies such as Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, and others.
He has abused the power of the Office of the President to unilaterally reveal National Security secrets to the world, and to America’s enemies.
He has treacherously abused, mocked and belittled America’s Intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of National Intelligence, and by so doing, harmed the morale of those revered agencies, but by so doing, has compromised American National Security in the world.
America is not respected in the world any longer. And, it is exclusively because of Donald J. Trump.
This bizarre presidency is like no other – literally, in every way – and despite his campaign sloganeering to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, October 1, 2019
For the record, while I receive their emailings, I have NEVER been a part of, nor have I EVER in any way supported the Family Resource Council. The reason I receive them is because it’s always good to know what kind of shenanigans your adversaries are up to. And, I’ve marveled, and continue to do marvel, at their, and other right-wingers’ “take back” this-that-or-the-other diatribes. The only problem with that is that they never say how far back they want to take whatever it is they want to steal. Before 18-year-olds had the right to vote? Before the Civil Rights Act? Before Women’s Suffrage? Before Alabama became the 27th state to ratify the 13th Amendment which outlawed slavery? How far back? They never say.
But you see, by creating an “Us vs Them” mentality, they immediately establish a simplistic either/or “we’re the ‘good guys,’ and you’re the ‘bad guys'” mind set, which then also allows them to couch their the language of their argument as if some evil adversary stole something from them, i.e., “take back.”
How can anyone “steal” public schools? Steal from them by denying tax dollars, or funnel tax dollars to private corporations, I can see. But “steal” them? Hardly possible. Of course, that has never been the case – nor will it ever be the case – because no one stole anything.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Steven Tyler (right), the 71-year-old legendary lead vocalist of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, makes a clandestine appearance in drag alongside Jennifer Lopez at fashion designer (House of Gianni) Versace’s latest runway show by Donatella Versace – in their Spring 2020 Ready-To-Wear collection – during Fashion Week, recently in Milan, Italy.🤣
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, September 18, 2019
USA Today, ever the paragon of journalistic integrity (hardly), has reported on a young man and woman who were arrested around 11:30PM ET in Nassau County, FL for DUI.
The problem began while they were riding their bicycles.
According to Jordan Culver, writer of the article, an unnamed “Nassau County Sheriff’s Office deputy saw Megan Mondanaro, 35, and Aaron Seth Thomas, 31, riding bikes without lights on around 11:30 p.m. Friday in Fernandina Beach.”
According to the article published September 17, 2019, 6:49PM ET, “Both riders cut into the middle of the road and were nearly hit by a car, which led the deputy to conduct a traffic stop, according to the [Deputy’s] report.”
In the report, the Deputy wrote that when the pair was stopped, he “detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from both of them.”
The news story stated that the Deputy “also noted Mondanaro and Thomas both had bloodshot and watery eyes and were slurring their words.”
The story then states that the two were “arrested on DUI charges and placed in the back of the deputy’s patrol car.”
The arresting Deputy then searched Mr. Thomas’ backpack and found 7 full cans, and 1 empty can, of the alcoholic malt beverage “Four Loko.”
The arresting officer’s report then stated in part that, “While I was outside my patrol vehicle, Megan and Aaron took their clothes off and Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Despite his increasingly bizarre and contemptuous behavior, and bull-in-the-china-shop approach to almost everything, I could support perhaps a few of the President’s efforts and positions, and, I could even overlook some of his behaviors as merely eccentric, quirky, or even slightly off-kilter –– much like his well-known penchant for ketchup on steak.
That’s beside his unilaterally-imposed Trade War with China, Mexico, and Canada which continues damaging American families, farmers and industry, and diversion of monies meant for the Military, Coast Guard, TSA, and FEMA to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, September 3, 2019
There’s absolutely and utterly no reason for the senseless gun violence and deaths in our nation which have resulted from laxative gun laws.
Period.
Congress has the authority to act, and efforts to protect our people from such predators is hampered by the GOP, especially and particularly in the Senate.
Full stop.
Offers of “thoughts and prayers” will no longer cut it. Besides, “We the people” do NOT elect national prayer leaders, or religious folks for their alleged ability to call down from the heavens acts by the gods and/or goddesses they purport to represent and/or serve… instead of the people who elected them, who are their constituency.
There’s always truth in humor, and often, satirical illustrations serve to explain the problems sometimes much better than actual explanations of the problems at hand. Comedians such as Dave Chappelle – winner of the 2019 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, awarded annually by the Kennedy Center for the Arts, will be given to him October 27, 2019 – has become renown for his absurdist skits and comedy routines which have included one colloquially known as “The Black White Racist” in which a reporter for Frontline (an actual investigative journalism documentary news show on PBS – see here: https://www.pbs.org/show/frontline/) finds and interviews a blind racist who “has been the leading voice of the White Supremacist movement in America” sequestered in the remote hills of an unnamed rural Southern state.
The skit, recorded when Chappelle was then performing for The Comedy Channel, remains one of his most well-known skits, and may be viewed online here ( ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW):
So, along that line… what if Wal-Mart banned dildos?
Realistically, that idea is not too far-fetched.
Here’s why.
In Alabama, that state’s legislators some years ago – in 1998 – forbade “any person to knowingly distribute, possess with intent to distribute, or offer or agree to distribute any obscene material or any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs for any thing of pecuniary value.” (Code of Alabama 13A-12-200.2)
In 2007, the law was openly mocked by several individuals in the state who challenged its legality on state constitutional grounds, and illustrated its absurdity and invasion of privacy. On September 11, 2009, the state’s Supreme Court ruled against a legal challenge from the owner of a chain of sex toy stores in the state, and the law became settled. And because almost every law has a legal loophole (exception), the Code of Alabama in Section 13A-12-200.4 Affirmative Defenses states that “It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating Sections 13A-12-200.2 and 13A-12-200.3 that the act charged was done for a bona fide medical, scientific, educational, legislative, judicial, or law enforcement purpose.”
But regardless of the law, those items continue to be sold in the state because they’re marketed as novelty or educational items, while garments are sold as costumes. Because the state has refused to enforce the law, the state’s stance amounts to nothing more than hypocrisy. Politicians who run on the GOD ticket have to make themselves look good to their pastoral flock, you know.
Which again, brings us full-circle to absurdity.
What if Wal-Mart banned dildos?
The GOPers in the Congress have taken a passive aggressive stance by refusing to act, which effectively allows deaths from gun violence to proliferate. The mostly-GOP crowd says they’re not going to do anything but offer “thoughts and prayers,” while GOP Senate Majority Leader “Moscow Mitch” McConnell from Kentucky has said he won’t even consider legislation when he made the following remark on a far right-wing extremist talk radio show hosted by Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Hurricane Dorian will be the “perfect storm” to end President Donald Trump’s autocratic regime.
His administration has mishandled the events in Puerto Rico with Hurricane Maria. Those American citizens STILL haven’t recovered, and his anemic administration has kept the FEMA from doing their job.
Maybe it’s because they’re one of his so-called “shithole countries.”
Imagine that. Puerto Ricans are American. But again, his racism is also equally well known.
But he did toss them some paper towels. That’s been a BIGLY HUGE help. Maybe this time, he’ll airdrop a planeload of them from Air Force One to affected areas.
He has wasted the summer break by not campaigning, and all polls show his approval ratings are well under water. With the storm surge predicted from Hurricane Dorian, it’ll be the end of the USS Trumpanzee in Chief.
There’s great irony in the fact that hurricanes come from Africa. And Hurricane Dorian is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Within a period of 7 days, 35 people were killed, and 64 were injured in 3 mass shootings in our nation.
July 28, 2019 – 5:48 PM PDT Garlic Festival – Gilroy, CA – 3 Killed, 13 Injured
August 3, 2019 – 10:39 AM CDT Wal-Mart – El Paso, TX – 22 Killed, 24 Injured
August 4, 2019 – 1:05 AM EDT – Historic Oregon District, Downtown Dayton, OH – 10 Killed, 27 Injured
Authorities have identified the assailants and weapons used. In each case, the weapons used were military-grade assault style rifles designed for military use, modeled after the Russian AK-47, and the American AR-15. The exclusive purpose of such firearms as weapons of mass destruction is to kill human beings with great ease, and efficiency – to inflict as much carnage and damage upon as many people as possible, in a short period of time. They are ONLY weapons of war, and nothing else. They were NOT designed for any other purpose than to kill human beings with great ease, and efficiency.
The assailants were:
• Connor Stephen Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, OH (Dayton) – deceased;
• Santino William Legan, 19, of Gilroy, CA and Walker Lake, NV (Gilroy) – deceased, and;
• Patrick Wood Crusius, 21, of Allen, TX (El Paso) – captured.
In none of those cases neither “a good guy with a gun,” nor a border wall was effective to either deter, prevent, or stop the deaths and injuries of 127 people.
But those three tragedies were not the only ones.
Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike Dewine addresses Ohioans about the Dayton mass shooting.
Just today – August 5, 2019 – in Brooklyn, the most populous borough in NYC, there was a mass shooting at 216 Buffalo Avenue where 4 people were injured, with no deaths in which “Police confirm a man was shot in the chest, and two women have also been found with gunshots wounds.”
-and-
A shooting with 4 injuries occurred at 5691 Suitland Road, in Suitland, MD.
Yesterday, there were FOUR mass shootings at:
1800 S Kildare Ave in Chicago, one killed, and 7 wounded;
443 E Shelby Dr in Memphis, one killed, 3 wounded;
2900 block of W Roosevelt Rd in Chicago, 7 wounded;
419 E 5th St in Dayton, OH, 10 killed, 26 wounded.
On July 28, the date of the Gilroy, CA Garlic Festival shooting, there were a total of SIX mass shootings throughout the nation.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive website, this year to date, there have been 255 mass shootings, resulting in 275 deaths, and 1069 injuries.
No one is happy about this.
No one.
Kentucky Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proudly displaying the Made-in-China Nike brand athletic shoes which he blames for his fall which ironically, injured his LEFT shoulder. As a child born in Alabama, McConnell also had polio.
The paralytic gridlocked Congress is in summer recess, as GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, July 27, 2019
Mainstream media (MSM) has become more like a “reality” teevee show, than a trusted and reliable source of news. Ernie Pyle, Walter Cronkite, and Tim Russert, along with the spirit of “just the facts,” are dead.
For example, Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller testified that, among other things, shortly after being elected, the President lied to the Special Prosecutor, and attempted to exert “undue influence” on Federal law enforcement, in order to protect himself and his allies.
Robert S. Mueller, III (b.1944), FBI Director 2001 – 2013
At any any other time, in any other administration, a decorated Marine officer, Special Prosecutor, and former FBI Director who testified that the President of the United States was a as-yet-unprosecuted Federal felon who encouraged and benefited from an attack upon American democracy in selfish pursuit of political gain would bring the nation to a screeching halt.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Abolish all “social safety net” programs along with all Progressive, New Deal, and Great Society eras’ legislation, agencies, and bureaus, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Clean Air Act of 1970, Clean Water Act of 1972, including reversing Roe v Wade, and repealing the 17th Amendment.
Return America to the “good ol’ days” of a dog-eat-dog, wild-wild-West, unmitigated, unregulated free-for-all.
Face it, many – if not most – GOPers think FDR a pariah, a veritable scion of the dread “socialism,” and LBJ as traitor to the “Lost Cause.”
The GOP is winning – hands down – the rhetoric game. And they’ve allowed it to be ratcheted up to 11 with the 45th president. And if things continue as they have been, he’ll cruise to re-election just as handily as he did before.
Most everyone in the world who has been paying even the least bit of attention, knows full well what he’s capable of saying… er, scratch that. He’s a loose cannon, and as unpredictable as a bull in a china shop, who’ll literally say anything, for any reason, at any time. Just be assured it’ll be an utter wreck by the time he leaves. And he’ll deny he ever did anything.
And the people are completely stupefied and stymied – frozen, like deer in the headlights – by the proliferation of it all. The multiplication of mass media, their advertising-funded talking heads – network, or not – are concerned exclusively with eyes on the set, and website click-bait revenue, and nothing more. It drives ratings, and increases the price they can ask for advertising.
For them, it’s all about the green.
Money.
And that’s the game the GOP plays… in part.
Fear is the other.
Simply let some GOP sycophant say something like “those illegal-alien loving, socialist Democrats are gonna’ take away your jujubees, make harvesting honeycomb illegal -and- raise your taxes!,” and POOF! Just like that, the lemmings are running off… to the voting booth, with a voter guide published by some coalition of religious fanatics who have jumped on the exploitation of victimization bandwagon and falsely claim that the “Big Bad Wolf” of Washington is going to take away their religious freedom, and force their children to be sacrificed to Molech.
But instead, they’ve only laid out their genuine imitation faux sheepskins to be fleeced by the wrong god – the one whose hair they comb every morning. Their shepherds are simply wolves in sheep’s clothing, living in multi-million dollar mansions, flying in their privately owned jets, and living the high life, all financed by the impoverished, and laid upon the broken backs of those whom they claim to heal – all while paying no taxes.
If the Democrats would simply STOP responding to every vacuous, puerile comment made by the pablum-puking infantile Idiot in Chief, and were to take command of any debate on matters of public policy, and explain to the people how they will either be harmed, or positively helped in very concrete ways, they would quickly gain the confidence of many disaffected registered voters who now sit on the sidelines stewing in silent disenfranchisement.
But the sway of stupidity, and the siren song of public opinion, drives the ever-shifting winds of change. And the sands of time fall through the hourglass just as timelessly as it has marched on for the last 50 years and more.
I can understand the immense sense of frustration which was the motivating animus that propelled Trump into the Oval office.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, July 22, 2019
Here’s a Question for You, the reader:
Do you think it’s possible that within our government, practically unknown to most, that deep within the machinations and operations of the wheels of government – the agencies, the bureaus, the watchdogs – that keep America safe and secure, ensure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare of our nation, with liberty and justice for all… do you think that it is beyond the pale to imagine that there are Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, July 8, 2019
Alexander Acosta’s resignation letter
UPDATE: Sunday, 14 July 2019 – Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, who was intimately and directly involved in the Federal government’s non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein, whom Acosta granted immunity from prosecution in lieu of his guilty plea to felony charges by the State of Florida of solicitation of prostitution from an underage girl, has announced his resignation 12 July 2019, to be effective one week later, 19 July 2019.
–//–
Yesterday (Saturday, 07 July 2019), after his private Boeing 727 landed in New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport from Paris, multi-millionaire hedge fund manager and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was arrested by the FBI-NYPD Crimes Against Children Task Force on at least one charge related to sex trafficking. He will be held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center – a nearby high-security Federal jail which has held notorious criminals like international narcotrafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman – until the Federal indictment against him will be unsealed Monday in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, in Manhattan.
The news release of th indictment against him states in part that “JEFFREY EPSTEIN, 66, is charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.”
The beginnings of Epstein’s downfall occurred in 2005 when a 14-year-old girl told Palm Beach police that an older man named “Jeff” had molested her at his residence, which was an unmistakably unique two-story pink mansion on a dead-end street. From that point, police investigations found a pattern of behavior involving nearly 30 young girls, many whom told him they were under age at the time of the offenses.
The Florida State Attorney’s Office in Palm Beach claimed the victims’ testimony wasn’t credible because they were young girls, and only filed one felony count of soliciting underage prostitution against Epstein. In 2006, Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter accused prosecutors of giving special treatment to Epstein and referred the case to the FBI. Thereafter, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami drafted a 53-page indictment against Epstein, and an 82-page prosecution memorandum.
Under a controversial plea deal in 2007 with Alex Acosta, then U.S. Attorney in Miami, Epstein plead guilty in 2008 to charges by the State of Florida of Read the rest of this entry »
– former VP Joe Biden, in his first primary “debate” appearance among the 20+ Democratic nominee wanna’ be’s, on the second night of the two-night event in Miami, FL, Thursday, 27 June 2019
Truer words were ne’er spoken.
He’s right.
Your time is up, Joe.
Gotta’ move on.
Joe Biden is a dinosaur, a relic from a different age, but it has nothing to do with his age.
He claims to be a Democrat, but his track record speaks for itself.
When then-Vice President Biden made a ceremonial appearance on the Senate floor Monday, December 5, 2016, in response to the 21st Century Cures Act, which had a major portion of the law renamed after his late son Beau, who earlier died from brain cancer – The Beau Biden Memorial Moonshot – which allocated $1.8 Billion for cancer research, he was asked by a reporter what his plans were after leaving office, and if he had other political ambitions, Mr. Biden flippantly dead-panned saying, “Yeah, I am. I’m going to run in 2020.”
The reporter responded asking, “For what?”
Mr. Biden replied, “For president. What the hell, man! Anyway…”
When he was later asked to clarify his remark, Vice President Biden attempted to retract his remark by saying “I’m not committing not to run. I’m not committing to anything. I learned a long time ago fate has a strange way of intervening.”
The next day later, in an appearance Tuesday, December 6, 2016, on “The Late Show” with host Stephen Colbert, Mr. Biden said in part, that “I’m a great respecter of fate. I don’t plan on running again. But to say you know what’s going to happen in four years, I just think is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, April 21, 2019
And based upon the outcome, we could get fuct for a lifetime.
Think about it…
Only 5ive people decide the fate of a nation with very nearly 329,000,000 people – which is the 3rd most populous nation on Earth.
5ive.
Just 5ive Justices, that is, who are appointed to life-time jobs – which, when first written, was NOT in the clause which states in Article III Section 1. that “The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.”
When the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) was formed by the Constitution in Article III, and after the first U.S. Census was taken in 1790, there were found to be 3,929,214 people in this land.
Fast forward 230 years.
In 2017, New York City’s estimated population was 8,622,698.
Los Angeles’ estimate was 3,999,759.
Chicago’s was 2,716,450.
Houston’s was 2,312,717.
Phoenix’ was 1,626,078.
Philadelphia was 1,580,863.
San Antonio was 1,511,946.
San Diego was 1,419,516.
Dallas was 1,341,075.
San Jose was 1,035,317.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, April 14, 2019
Think about it… a massive global industry and multi-cultural international enterprise with tens, hundreds of thousands or perhaps even millions of employees, producers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and customers with ZERO Government regulation of any type, on anyone for any reason – no taxes, no regulatory oversight, nor requirements of any kind whatsoever, where a willing buyer and a willing seller meet each other.
And yet, the government seeks to eradicate it (even though their “efforts” have done exactly the opposite), by strengthening Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, February 7, 2019
Emantic Fitzgerald “EJ” Bradford Jr. was shot and killed by a Hoover Police Officer on Thanksgiving night 2018 inside the Riverchase Galleria mall.
The word “vomitorium” describes an exit in a coliseum, and stems from its Latin root word “vomus” which means “to spew forth.”
Spew is what this report does.
And exit is what AL AG Steve Marshall does in regard to this case and matter.
From page 23 of the 24 total pages:
“First, a reasonable person could have assumed that the only person with a gun who was running toward the victim of a shooting that occurred just three seconds earlier fired the shots.”
Right… assailants with guns run TO the scene, just like cops. (sarcasm)
WRONG!
The AG’s report contains an error of the First Order by presuming that ordinary citizens would behave like Law Enforcement Officers (LEO) and run TO the sound of gunfire.
Most folks run AWAY from gunfire.
“A reasonable person” would do similarly.
Which, I suppose, would mean that LEO’s are therefore NOT “reasonable.”
Again, that is contradictory to the AG’s report which presumes that reasonable people run TO the sound of gunfire.
That also makes everyone on the scene who fled, unreasonable.
And on page 8, the report states “The officers engage Bradford, who stands holding a gun and then, unlike others at the scene, runs toward the gunshots.” (emphasis added)
The AG’s claim not only contradicts his later assertion, it does NOT even make logical sense, because Read the rest of this entry »
Frankly, he’s a genuinely serious threat to National Security.
Think of him as a domestic enemy. Seriously.
FBI Director Christopher Wray (left to right), CIA Director Gina Haspel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, prepare to testify before the Senate intelligence committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, 1/29/2019.
On Wednesday, 30 January 2019, POS45 rejected the sworn testimony of our nation’s top intelligence leaders that Iran is still complying with the nuclear agreement from which POS45 withdrew our United States. In other words, he’s practicing hypocrisy.
His lies, bull-in-a-china-shop and my-way-or-the-highway authoritarian, heavy-handed approach to governing has not worked, and will not ever work. America doesn’t want a dictator, anymore than we want a king. Our government is comprised of people willing to get in, roll their sleeves up, and do the work TOGETHER that needs to be done, and has been done, and continues to be done to make America great and even greater.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, January 28, 2019
VANDERBILT CORRUPTION
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a corrupt organization.
There’s no other way to put it.
Medicare fraud was perpetrated by physicians… not just once, nor in one area.
Then, an incompetent RN killed a patient.
And the entire organization – from the top down – deliberately covered up the event, and lied about how the patient died.
Following a patient death and other frauds which were covered up by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the once-respected, formerly venerable organization is now on the ropes.
Then, they fired an ethnic minority surgeon whose opinions they didn’t like.
The next part of their history will likely include a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) lawsuit.
Now, the VUMC is hurting for Nurses. Seriously hurting.
In one day, recently, at least 12 RNs left just one unit.
That single action alone jeopardizes Patient Safety at the hospital.
But who could blame the Nurses? Who would want to work in such a miserable, fraud-ridden environment?
Consequently, VUMC Human Resources is using unprecedented methods to attract new Nurses.
But the thing is, they don’t treat their people well, much less their patients, so why would anyone want to work there… or be a patient there?
Would you want to go to a hospital that had a shortage of Nurses?
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, January 26, 2019
Roger Stone Federal Criminal Indictment raises more questions than it answers.
It has now become clear that GOP dirty trickster Roger Stone, may have worked with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and Guccifer 2.0, an ostensible Russian hacking entity or operation which likely operated directly under the auspices of the Internet Research Agency, a Russian cyber counter-intelligence unit, aka “troll farm,” to influence the outcome of the 2016 General Election for GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Roger Stone is the same one who Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign fired after discovery of a personal ad he and his wife had placed in “Local Swinger Fever” a swingers magazine & website. The ad read: “Hot, Read the rest of this entry »
The account to which the song refers, is found in the Old Testament book of Genesis, chapter 5, verse 27, which states that, “Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.” (NIV)
But more recently, the World’s Oldest Man, Masazo Nonaka, who was aged 113, has died overnight. That according to his family, granddaughter Yuko Nonaka, who called the family doctor, who in turn, officially pronounced his death.
Of her grandfather’s death Yuko said in part that, “We feel shocked at the loss of this big figure. He didn’t have any health problem. He went peacefully and that’s at least our consolation.”
In April 2018, the Guinness World Records certified Masazo Nonaka, then aged 112 years and 259 days, as being the World’s Oldest Living Man.
Masazo Nonaka was certified by Guinness World Records as the Oldest Living Man April 2018.
Born July 25, 1905, he grew up in a large family – six brothers, one sister – in his youth was a lumberjack and farmer, married in 1931, and fathered five children. He succeeded his parents in owning and operating Yado Nonaka Onsen, a hot springs inn at the foot of Read the rest of this entry »
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 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
Bill Bratton, Ex-NYC Top Cop, Says Pot “Addictive”
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).
William “Bill” Bratton, was NYC’s Police Commissioner 1994-96, 2014-16, and LAPD Chief 2002-2009
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 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 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 »
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.”
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.
