Texans Sing Same Song, 2nd verse, 2nd verse Same as the 1st

One thing you can’t hide, is when you’re crippled inside.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott leaves the podium after speaking at the 11th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast May 7, 2015 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)

Texas Guvnah Greg Abbot is a goddamn moron, a cruelly incompetent, and corruptly selfish son-of-a-bitch, fucking liar and idiot, whose brain is apparently as crippled as his withered, useless legs.

Cow turds have some nutrient fertilization value for soil, and when dried, can even be burned; whereas on the other hand, he has no value whatsoever.

Texans will have to burn more cow turds to keep warm, since your sorry-ass governor can’t even keep the goddamn lights turned on. But, that’s what you wanted, because you voted for more of it. So, enjoy your fill until January 19, 2027.

And be certain to thank the Electric (Un)Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), a “membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.” They’re similarly corrupt, inept, and in the pockets of the Repugnicunt state legislature, and executive office.

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Frustrated Texans Endure Winter Storm With No Power, No Heat

Thursday, 02 February 2023

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Thousands of frustrated Texans shivered in homes without power for a second day Thursday, most of them around booming Austin, and fading hopes of a quick fix stirred grim memories of a deadly 2021 blackout after an icy winter storm across the southwestern U.S.

The freeze has been

Repugnicunts Want to RUIN the U.S. Economy

repugnant — incompatible, inconsistent, hostile, distasteful, contradictory, abhorrent, obnoxious, odious; originates directly from the Latin term repugnantem (nominative case repugnans), present participle of repugnare, meaning “to resist, fight back, oppose; disagree, be incompatible.”

repugnant (adj.)

early 15c., repugnaunt, “hostile, opposed; contrary, inconsistent, contradictory,” from Old French repugnant “contradictory, opposing” or directly from Latin repugnantem (nominative repugnans), present participle of repugnare “to resist, fight back, oppose; disagree, be incompatible,” from re- “back, against, in opposition” (see re-) + pugnare “to fight” (from PIE root *peuk- “to prick”).

The meaning “distasteful, objectionable” is from 1777; that of “offensive, loathsome, exciting aversion” is by 1879.

cunt (n.)

“female intercrural foramen,” or, as some 18c. writers refer to it, “the monosyllable,” Middle English cunte “female genitalia,” by early 14c. (in Hendyng’s “Proverbs” — ʒeve þi cunte to cunni[n]g, And crave affetir wedding), akin to Old Norse kunta, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, and Middle Low German kunte, from Proto-Germanic *kunton, which is of uncertain origin. Some suggest a link with Latin cuneus “wedge” (which is of unknown origin), others to PIE root *geu- “hollow place,” still others to PIE root *gwen- “woman.”

The form is similar to Latin cunnus “female pudenda” (also, vulgarly, “a woman”), which is likewise of disputed origin, perhaps literally “gash, slit” (from PIE *sker- “to cut”) or “sheath” (Watkins, from PIE *(s)keu- “to conceal, hide”). De Vaan rejects this, however, and traces it to “a root *kut-meaning ‘bag’, ‘scrotum’, and metaphorically also ‘female pudenda,’ ” source also of Greek kysthos “vagina; buttocks; pouch, small bag” (but Beekes suspects this is a Pre-Greek word), Lithuanian kutys “(money) bag,” Old High German hodo “testicles.”

Hec vulva: a cunt. Hic cunnus: idem est. [from Londesborough Illustrated Nominale, c. 1500, in “Anglo-Saxon and Old English Vocabularies,” eds. Wright and Wülcker, vol. 1, 1884]

First known reference in English apparently is in a compound, Oxford street name Gropecuntlane cited from c. 1230 (and attested through late 14c.) in “Place-Names of Oxfordshire” (Gelling & Stenton, 1953), presumably a haunt of prostitutes. Used in medical writing c. 1400, but avoided in public speech since 15c.; considered obscene since 17c.

in Middle English also conte, counte, and sometimes queinte, queynte (for this, see Q). Chaucer used quaint and queynte in “Canterbury Tales” (late 14c.), and Andrew Marvell might be punning on quaint in “To His Coy Mistress” (1650).

“What eyleth yow to grucche thus and grone? Is it for ye wolde haue my queynte allone?” [Wife of Bath’s Tale]

Under “MONOSYLLABLE” Farmer lists 552 synonyms from English slang and literature before launching into another 5 pages of them in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. [A sampling: Botany Bay, chum, coffee-shop, cookie, End of the Sentimental Journey, fancy bit, Fumbler’s Hall, funniment, goatmilker, heaven, hell, Itching Jenny, jelly-bag, Low Countries, nature’s tufted treasure, penwiper, prick-skinner, seminary, tickle-toby, undeniable, wonderful lamp, and aphrodisaical tennis court, and, in a separate listing, Naggie.] Dutch cognate de kont means “a bottom, an arse,” but Dutch also has attractive poetic slang ways of expressing this part, such as liefdesgrot, literally “cave of love,” and vleesroos “rose of flesh.”

Alternative form cunny is attested from c. 1720 but is certainly much earlier and forced a change in the pronunciation of coney (q.v.), but it was good for a pun while coney was still the common word for “rabbit”: “A pox upon your Christian cockatrices! They cry, like poulterers’ wives, ‘No money, no coney.’ ” [Philip Massinger: “The Virgin-Martyr,” Act I, Scene 1, 1622]

See also: https://qz.com/1045607/the-most-offensive-curse-word-in-english-has-powerful-feminist-origins

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And, given the opportunity, Repugnicunts would ruin the U.S. economy.

Even now, in the opening days of the 118th Congress, there’s talk among Repugnicunts of eliminating the Federal Income Tax, along with all other forms of Federal tax, and replace it with a 30% Value Added Tax.

If you think inflation is a bugbear now, just add 30% to it, and see what it’s like. Repugnicunts are such morons.

The reason why, is because that’s what they want to do:

TEAR IT ALL DOWN.

Not repair, not rebuild, not reinforce, not improve efficiency… but TEAR IT DOWN — and hope for the best, then sell off to the highest corporate bidder the skeletal remains.

For example, NOT A SINGLE REPUGNICUNT in the House or Senate voted for Pandemic Economic Relief.

Had the American people not had that money, our economy would have melted down, and suffered a depression even worse than the Great Depression.

But, it didn’t.

In fact, it didn’t even have a recession.

Not even.

So, when the Repugnicunts cry and whine about national debt, not only are they TOTALLY missing the boat, they’re missing the BIG PICTURE.

And here’s the odd thing about it:

They want to cut spending, but don’t want to pay for it — they do NOT want PayGo, or pay-as-you-go. And if they had their way, they’d let America default on its “loans.”

But, there’s an even BIGGER picture that few, if any, ever talk about, and certainly, most probably don’t even understand it. This entry will try to correct that.

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“…the U.S. government’s ability to borrow.”

U.S. To Max Out On Debt Soon, Setting Up Political Fight

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is on track to max out on its $31.4 trillion borrowing authority as soon as this month, starting the clock on

“Moscow” Mitch “The Bitch” McConnell shows what a Son-of-a-Bitch he really is.

You DARE question MY POWER?!?

I’ll show YOU who’s the boss, you little pissants!

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Mitch McConnell

Senate Repugnicunt Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of KY has removed Senators Rick Scott of FL, and Mike Lee of UT from the powerful Commerce Committee in apparent retaliation for Scott’s challenge to McConnell’s leadership, and for Lee’s support of Scott’s effort.

The Commerce Committee has broad jurisdiction over numerous federal agencies, is considered a prestigious assignment, and McConnell had exclusive power to decide whether Scott and Lee would remain on the Committee because it was the third so-called “A-list” committee assignment both held.

Scott is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, while Lee is a member of the prestigious Judiciary Committee, and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Scott had more seniority on the Commerce Committee than Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, who also serves on two other “A-list” committees — Banking, and Environment and Public Works committees — and Lee had more seniority than Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who also sits on the Appropriations Committee and is the ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee.

McConnell replaced Scott, Lee, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — who left the Commerce Committee to take a coveted seat on the Finance Committee — with

Wasted Federal Money: We Are Long Overdue for Change

When examined in context, over the long term, it all begins to make sense (at least to anyone who’s studied the matter at all);

Nixon’s “War on Drugs” was purely a manipulative election ploy designed to obliquely instill fear in the American public, by creating in their imagination the false perception of a massive national crisis (substance use, primarily cannabis, and predominately, if not almost exclusively, among/by college/university students), and to portray them as depraved, and anti-American, because they opposed the Vietnam War, then…

Well, just read what John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s Domestic Affairs Policy Advisor, and convicted Watergate co-conspirator, said to Dan Baum when interviewed by him, for a book he was writing at the time:

“You want to know what this was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: The antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

On November 17, 1973, then-POTUS Richard Nixon spoke at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Bay Lake, FL, to the Associated Press Managing Editors annual conference. During the Question and Answer portion after his address, a New York Times reporter asked him about his role in the Watergate burglary scandal and efforts to cover up that members of his Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP) had funded the break-in.
In response, he said in part, that, “I made my mistakes, but in all of my years of public life, I have never profited, never profited from public service — I earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, that I could say that in my years of public life, that I welcome this kind of examination, because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook. I have earned everything I have got.”

When Nixon ignored the recommendation to decriminalize cannabis made by his hand-picked Commissioner Raymond P. Shafer in the report commonly known as the “Shafer Commission,” properly as the First Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, March 1972, and then

Prediction: Banana Repugnicunts will do NOTHING about Santos/Devolder

Perhaps the most “burning” question in many political observers imagination in the matter of George Santos/Anthony Devolder’s election is:

“How DID this happen?”

I’ll take that question for $1000.

In a word, “apathy.”

Constituents who entrusted their support to him in NYD3 were hypothecated.

Allow me to explain. They pledged their support (as evidenced by their votes), and when the pledge expired following the election’s certification, he took the Congressional Oath of Office, and to their dismay, voters discovered they did not control (own) him. After all, they DID allow him to run under their banner. Had they any control over their own party, they would have never done so… or, at least they want us to believe that.

Frankly, NYCD3 voters have no one to blame but themselves.

One of their several news outlets — no, NOT The Old Gray Lady, but the North Shore Leader — warned constituents long in advance (in September) that he was a fraud.

The metaphorical “voice of one crying in the wilderness” was largely ignored, until it was convenient for the OG to belatedly “pounce” upon the dirty deal done dirt cheap in December… after the election was over, and certified, and hope to draw some belated attention to themselves… long after the fact.

But, ’twas too little, too late, because by then, there was

An Easy Way To Ensure Unbiased College Admissions

Anonymity.

Make ALL applications anonymous.

It’s just… that… simple.

And, it’s EASILY facilitated!

Simply ID the applicant/prospective student by the first letter initials of their name, e.g., ABC, their birth date, e.g., 01022023, and the last four digits of their Social Security Number, or Alien Registration Number, e.g., 1234.

Thus, candidate “Iwannabe Funkybean Gobbledygook” would be IFG01022023-1234, or IFG010220231234, or IFG-01022023-1234, or similarly — even with last name first, GIF01022023-1234, or GIF010220231234, etc. Candidate “Al-Shaz Baraz el Hominy Jones-Smith” would be ASBHJS, ABHJS, or JSASBH, JSABH, or similarly.

It’s just ENTIRELY TOO EASY!

Our brethren in the UK have done so –and– they’ve also made job applications anonymous.

In a news article by Education Reporter Judith Burns published on the BBC News site 26 October 2015, she wrote that “Candidates’ names will be removed from university application forms from 2017,” and cited Prime Minister David Cameron’s OpEd, published in The Guardian Monday, 26 October 2015 02.00 EDT, which in part, read “We have already persuaded big employers to make job applications name-blind. Now universities will do the same.”

He wrote:

“At the Conservative party conference two weeks ago, I spoke about a young black woman who had to put a more white-sounding name on her CV before she started getting called for interviews. Such racism in 21st-century Britain, I said, was a disgrace, and I committed our party to ending discrimination and finishing the fight for real equality. The audience rose to their feet. It was a significant moment. And it provoked three reactions.

“The first was:

Here’s One Easy Peasy Way to Find Truth

Representative Jim Jordan-R,OH4

Have you recently read any crap on Twitter?

It’s much too easy to read plenty of phony baloney malarkey on Twitter.

Of course, that’s not very difficult to do now that Elon Muskrat is actively burning down that house, and welcoming Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, Big Lie promoters, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and other such ilk on board… again.

Here’s but one statement which I recently read on that social media dumpster fire:

“Incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has not authored, sponsored, nor passed one piece of legislation in his 17 years in Congress.”

Of course, there were other surrounding contextual words and remarks, some of which were opinion, others fact (sounds vaguely familiar, eh?), and it was quite obvious that the author had no love lost for Ohio’s 4th Congressional District Republican Representative.

And frankly, neither have I lost any love for that lunatic.

But, on its face, such a claim — that Jim Jordan has

How Long Before A Teacher Shoots Back?

We’ve already started off the 2023 New Year with a BANG!

Abigail “Abby” Zwerner

That’s right, a BANG!

A BIG BANG!

“Big Bang” as in a school shooting — this time, by a 6-year-old boy in Newport News, VA at Richneck Elementary School who opened fire with a handgun in the classroom upon his 25-year-old first-grade teacher Abigail “Abby” Zwerner, shooting her in the abdomen, after the little bastard got into what was officially described by Newport News Police Chief Steve Drewan as an “altercation” with her.

In his official press conference, the Chief said in part, that, “The altercation was between a 6 year old, the student who did have the firearm, and then the teacher, and then a round was fired. Like I said, she suffered a gunshot wound and was transferred to the hospital.”

Abby was immediately rushed to Riverside Regional Medical Center where her life-threatening injuries were treated, and she is now, expected to recover… exactly to what extent and how much, however, has not been made clear.

School Principal Briana Foster Newton issued a statement Monday, January 9, 2023 which, in part, read:

Bakersfield Man Kevin McCarthy Will Utterly Fail as Speaker of the House

The 118th Congress will be pockmarked by confusion, an inability to pass legislation for the people’s benefit, and the Repugnants will attempt to cut Social Security, Medicare, and literally, every program that helps the American people. Kevin McCarthy will not last a year as Speaker of the House, and will be ousted most likely, no later than July 2023. His term in office will be abbreviated, interrupted with a motion to Vacate the Chair, and quickly forgotten. His consistent inability to gather support from among the majority party, causing a meltdown on the opening day of the 118th Congress that led to 15 consecutive votes over a period of 5 days, will be the highlight of his utter failure.

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I’m One of the Last Holdouts Against Kevin McCarthy — and I Won’t Back Down

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Guest Essay by Bob Good
January 6, 2023
Mr. Good, a Republican, represents Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

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Back in the summer, a group of conservatives put together a proposal with extensive changes to the rules and processes that govern how Republicans run the House of Representatives. For example, we wanted regular, rank-and-file members to have more power to amend bills on the House floor. We wanted at least three days to read and consider bills before we were asked to vote on them. And we wanted to limit the scope of bills to a single subject, so we wouldn’t be asked to vote on legislative “Christmas trees” passed on a tight deadline. We made those demands because the people we represent have told us time and again that Washington is broken, and we knew they wanted to see a change in the status quo.

Representative Bob Good, wearing a taupe-colored suit and maroon tie, stands before a black microphone that rises from the center of a polished wooden table in front of a row of brown leather chairs in the House chamber in the Capitol.

What the American people have tuned in to watch this week is a healthy democratic process, working as it was designed to: with members in the same place, engaging in debate, and having face-to-face conversations. Important negotiations often take months or even years in a legislative body. Yet this is the one and only opportunity we have to debate how the House is run every two years, both with the election of a speaker and with the passage of the new House rules.

While some have accused us of acting in our own personal interests, we are standing strong because we believe the United States House of Representatives was designed to be the People’s House where the will of every American would be represented. That is why the selection of a speaker requires the votes of a majority of the House. A majority of the people’s representatives must trust that person to lead us.

Throughout the past few months of negotiation and debate, we have been very clear with Republican leadership that we want changes that empower regular members of Congress, who each represent a district of more than half a million people, to have more meaningful input into how legislation is considered. And some of those procedural changes have been accepted.

We also wanted to

Alabama Redneck Weasel Repugnicant Mike “Rugrat” Rogers Drunk on House Floor

Richard Hudson-R,NC8 physically retrained Mike Rogers-R,AL3 from attacking Matt Gaetz-R,FL1 after he verbally accosted Matt Gaetz following Gaetz’ “PRESENT” vote in the 14th round of balloting for Speaker of the House (SOTH), causing Kevin McCarthy-R,CA20 to lose, late Friday night, January 6, 2023

“Matt, you’re FINISHED!
I’m not gonna forget this!”

Ever wonder what barnyard animals
— pigs —
behave like?

Wonder no more.

Mike “Rugrat” Rogers, a Redneck Repugnicant from Not-So-Sweet-Home Alabama, a slave state, the asshole of Dixie, who misrepresents the state’s 3rd Congressional largely poor, uneducated and easy-to-command mostly-White District was drunk and disorderly, under the influence of intoxicating/spirituous beverage, according to at least one observer who was close enough to smell his breath, when “Rugrat” Rogers accosted Matt Gaetz-R,FL1 and attempted to start a fight with him on late Friday night, January 6th, 2023, after the 14th failed round of balloting for Speaker of the House.

No, Mister Mike “Rugrat” Rogers, YOU’RE the one who’s finished.

You’ve now made your Alabama shit stain mark
to a national television audience,
a global audience via the Internet,
and yourself a permanently indelible pock mark
upon your wretchedly failed party,
and sadly, upon American history.

Richard Hudson-R,NC8 physically retrained Mike Rogers-R,AL3 from attacking Matt Gaetz-R,FL1 after he screamed at and verbally accosted Matt Gaetz following Gaetz’ “PRESENT” vote in the 14th round of balloting for Speaker of the House (SOTH), causing Kevin McCarthy-R,CA20 to lose, late Friday night, January 6, 2023.

Congratulations, Mr. Asshole Weasel Drunk Redneck Mike Rugrat Rogers.

You shouldn’t have been on the House floor under the influence, and you sure as hell didn’t represent Alabama — or, maybe you did!

Alabama is full of assholes like him.

They’re called “weasels,” and are generally considered pests everywhere they’re found. Interestingly, a group of weasels is called

Repugnants FAIL 14 Times in 4 Days From Opening Day

Mike Rogers-R,AL3 is physically restrained from attacking Matt Gaetz by Richard Hudson-R,NC8 after he confronted Matt Gaetz following Gaetz’ “PRESENT” vote in the 14th round of balloting for Speaker of the House (SOTH), late Friday night, January 6, 2023

“Matt, you’re FINISHED!
I’m not gonna forget this!”

— Mike Rogers-R,AL3 screamed at Matt Gaetz-R,FL1 after Gaetz voted “PRESENT” instead of “McCarthy” in the 14th round of balloting for Speaker of the House of Representatives (SOTH), late Friday night, January 6, 2023, which was the 14th consecutive failure in 4 consecutive days by members of that party to elect a SOTH. Gaetz, and 19 other members of the Freedom Caucus, refused to vote for McCarthy for several legitimate reasons, though Kevin McCarthy-R,CA20 used coercive threats, and other unethical and authoritarian-type behaviors to have some of them acquiesce, under pressure from him, to change their votes to FOR him, instead of someone else, or “PRESENT.” Matt Gaetz never did.

No, Mister Mike “Rugrat” Rogers, YOU’RE the one who’s finished.

And you’ve now made your shit stain mark to an national television audience,
and to global international audience via the Internet,
and yourself a permanently indelible pock mark upon your failed party,
and in American history.

Congratulations, Mr. Asshole Rugrat Weasel Drunk Redneck Mike Rogers.

You shouldn’t have been on the House floor under the influence, and you sure as hell didn’t represent Alabama — or, maybe you did! Alabama is full of assholes like him. They’re called “weasels,” and are generally considered pests everywhere they’re found. Interestingly, a group of weasels is known as a “sneak,” a “boogle,” a “gang,” or a “confusion.” And in the Repugnants’ case, it’s confusion. And, that’s exactly what Rogers did — he sneaked up from behind amidst the confusion.

Mike Rogers-R,AL3 is physically restrained from attacking Matt Gaetz-R,FL1 by Richard Hudson-R,NC8 when Rogers confronted Gaetz after Gaetz voted “PRESENT” in the 14th round of balloting for Speaker of the House (SOTH), late Friday night, January 6, 2023

Matt Gaetz was 100% correct when he stated this before the 12th vote:

My colleague from California, Mr. Garcia, knows the incredibly high regard I hold for him. He is a patriot; I deeply, deeply admire him, but I must take some exception to some of the comments he made in his nomination of Mr. McCarthy.

First, he said that Mr. McCarthy has “earned” the position.

You only earn the position of Speaker of the House if you can get the votes. Mr. McCarthy doesn’t have the votes today, he will not have the votes tomorrow, and he will not have the votes next week, next month, next year.

And so, one must wonder, Madam Clerk, is this an exercise in vanity for someone who has done the math, taken the counts, and is putting this institution through something that absolutely is avoidable?

My colleague Mr. Garcia did not say this, but many of my other Republican colleagues have. They believe Mr. McCarthy has earned the position of Speaker of the House because he raised half a billion dollars to get Republicans elected.

Several believe that one earns the position of Speaker by raising enormous sums of money, and there is no doubt that the individual that was nominated by Mr. Garcia is the Lebron James of special interest fundraising in this town. There’s nobody better.

[NOTE: In a Newsweek OpEd entitled “McCarthy Has Earned the House Speakership” by former SOTH Newt Gingrich published 12/16/22 at 6:00 AM EST, he not only confirmed McCarthy’s mammoth fundraising machine of $500 million, but also that fundraising massive amounts of money IS a qualification for the office, and wrote: “Set aside the $500 million McCarthy and his allies raised during the 2022 campaign cycle. Some of his critics seem to think that effort doesn’t count (it should) because he had the power of the conference (and they don’t).”]

But I will suggest that

Mitt Romney Was Correct

Mitt Romney’s remark made at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in 2011, that ‟Corporations are people, my friend,” was then, and remains even now, painfully accurate.

His explanation, however was an abysmal failure, and came nowhere close to explaining why ‟Corporations are people, my friend.”

Essentially, ‟Corporations are people, my friend,〞because their articles of incorporation state something to the effect that they can “… to wit, to do any thing a natural person could do…” That is known as “artificial personhood.”

Cornell University writes the following about artificial personhood, which may sometimes also be referred to as legal personhood, though the two are not always interchangeable — a Natural Person is also always Legal Person, but a Legal Person is not always a Natural Person — which is why there is a differentiation made with Natural Person, and the term “Artificial Person” is much more simple, and descriptive:

“An artificial person is also known as a juridical person; it has a legal name and has certain rights, protections, privileges, responsibilities, and liabilities in law, similar to those of a natural person. In other words, an artificial person is a non-human legal entity that is not a single natural person but an organization recognized by law as a fictitious person. In the United States, an artificial person usually refers to “any entities established under the law of the United States, any foreign country, or a state, province, territory, possession, commonwealth, or dependency of the United States or any foreign country, and as to which the government, state, province, territory, possession, commonwealth or dependency must maintain a record showing the entity to have been established.” Specifically, in a business sense, an artificial person is any form of business association and any other non-governmental legal organization, including a profitable or non-profitable corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, trust, or unincorporated organization.”

The United States Supreme Court has reinforced that sense of personhood by and through their decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission which was issued January 2010, which supported the notion of artificial personhood, and granted additional rights to corporations, but few, if any, of the responsibilities.

Some rightfully call it the “money is free speech” ruling, and the primary problem with such a belief, ruling, or ideology, is that, if it is true that money is free speech (it is not), then the poor man has none, and the Constitution was written for all, equally, and so, in that sense, at the very least, the ruling violates the Equal Protection Clause, and the First Amendment.

The essence of the case is summarized as;

Holding: Political spending is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment, and the government may not keep corporations or unions from spending money to support or denounce individual candidates in elections. While corporations or unions may not give money directly to campaigns, they may seek to persuade the voting public through other means, including ads, especially where these ads were not broadcast.

Judgment: Reversed, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy on January 21, 2010. in a 5-4 decision with an opinion written by Justice Kennedy. Justice Stevens dissented, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor.

There are other cases, of course, and this one didn’t just suddenly appear out of nowhere. There were other precedents which prepared the way for it, among which were:

• Buckley v. Valeo (aka The Court’s First Big Mistake) (1976)
• First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (aka The Citizens United of the 1970s) (1978)
• Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life (aka The Nonprofit Case) (1986)
• Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (aka The Good One) (1990)
• Citizens United v. FEC (aka The Worst Decision Since Dred Scott) (2010)
• Arizona Free Enterprise Club v. Bennett (aka The Public Financing Case) (2011)
• McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (aka The Nightmare Continues) (2014)

But, to be absolutely certain, the problem can be traced back even further, to the Civil War era, when before that time, corporations were held to account by focusing upon the Chief Executive who was responsible, and accountable for all aspects of operations, and any failures fell squarely on their shoulders alone. Power and responsibility were natural complements of each other. After changes in laws were made, power and responsibility were separated, and power was concentrated at the top, but responsibility was diffused throughout the organization, so that no one person could be held to account — all the power, and all the perks that came along for the ride, but all the responsibilities were left at the train station.

That all came to a metaphorical head with the collapse of Enron, a once-high-flying Ponzi scheme bankruptcy of an energy company based in Houston, Texas which was founded and headed by the now-late Ken Lay (1942-2005). That firm’s collapse and subsequent bankruptcy was one of the largest instances of corporate fraud then to have occurred in America, and illustrated how the divorcement of power from responsibility was a formula for disaster. Healthsouth, another firm caught up in such a scheme, in which “cooking the books,” i.e., purposely, deceptively, and fraudulently making falsified entries in the firm’s accounting, most often for the purpose of driving up (artificially inflating) the company’s stock prices, which in turn benefited the executives, primarily, but others who may, or may not, have been somewhat privy to the acts… which, at that time, were not in and of themselves illegal, per se, though they were most certainly frowned upon by reputable accounting firms, Wall Street, and others.

Congress put a screeching halt to such abuses by writing legislation requiring the CEO to personally sign for the authenticity and accuracy of all corporate accounting and reports. And that was just a scratch up upon the surface of corporate greed and corruption, which remains prevalent today, more so now in the form of avarice (greed gone wild), than anything else.

Corporate avarice is also the single greatest problem in our nation’s economy, with one very minor example being the difference between the CEO’s pay, and their average employee’s pay — who, on average, made over 350 times the average employee’s pay. In 1989, the average differential was 61 to 1.

In fact, research performed by the Economic Policy Institute found that from 1978 to 2020, increases in CEO compensation far outstripped growth of either the Standard & Poor’s stock market index – 817%, exceeded by 6 times the increases in top income earners’ gains, and grew, on average, 1322%.

Meanwhile, in that same period, the typical employee’s annual compensation only grew a paltry 18%.

When it comes to Wall Street and BIG BUSINESS, it’s more for them, less for you.

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‟Corporations are people, my friend.〞

by Mark LeVine, Director of the Program in Global Middle East Studies at UC Irvine
12 August 2011

Mitt Romney’s friendliness to corporations excuses them from bearing the responsibilities endowed upon them by the rights they are given as ‘persons’ under US law [AFP]

Thank God for Mitt Romney.

In a moment of candour he likely thought would win him much needed support from the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, the presidential candidate explained his thinking to a heckler – who asked why

The Right To Bear Arms

A distinguished citizen takes a stand on one of the most controversial issues in the nation

By Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the United States (1969-86)
Parade Magazine, January 14, 1990, page 4

[NOTE: Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (1907-1995), was first nominated by POTUS EISENHOWER January 12, 1956 to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (often called the “Mini Supreme Court”) to fill the position created by the death of Judge Harold M. Stephens, was confirmed by the Senate 28 March that year, and on 23 June 1969 was nominated to be Chief Justice of the SCOTUS by POTUS NIXON following the resignation of CJ Earl Warren, who was also nominated by POTUS EISENHOWER, and  presided over numerous landmark Constitutional law cases and wrote the majority opinion in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Reynolds v. Sims (1964), Miranda v. Arizona (1966) and Loving v. Virginia (1967). CJ Warren also led the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of POTUS KENNEDY, was Governor of California from 1943-1953, and widely considered one of the nation’s most influential Chief Justices. CJ Burger was known more for his administrative acumen than for his intellect, and in 1974 authored the unanimous decision in United States v. Nixon, which rejected POTUS NIXON’s claim of Executive Privilege in the midst of the Watergate crimes, and eventually chose to resign, rather than face certain impeachment, thereby becoming the first POTUS to ever resign from office.]

Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice, United States Supreme Court, official portrait

Our metropolitan centers, and some suburban communities of America, are setting new records for homicides by handguns. Many of our large centers have up to 10 times the murder rate of all of Western Europe. In 1988, there were 9000 handgun murders in America. Last year, Washington, D.C., alone had more than 400 homicides — setting a new record for our capital.

The Constitution of the United States, in its Second Amendment, guarantees a “right of the people to keep and bear arms.” However, the meaning of this clause cannot be understood except by looking to the purpose, the setting and the objectives of the draftsmen. The first 10 amendments — the Bill of Rights — were not drafted at Philadelphia in 1787; that document came two years later than the Constitution. Most of the states already had bills of rights, but the Constitution might not have been ratified in 1788 if the states had not had assurances that a national Bill of Rights would soon be added.

People of that day were apprehensive about the new “monster” national government presented to them, and this helps explain the language and purpose of the Second Amendment. A few lines after the First Amendment’s guarantees — against “establishment of religion,” “free exercise” of religion, free speech and free press — came a guarantee that grew out of the deep-seated fear of a “national” or “standing” army. The same First Congress that approved the right to keep and bear arms also limited the national army to 840 men; Congress in the Second Amendment then provided:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

In the 1789 debate in Congress on James Madison’s proposed Bill of Rights, Elbridge Gerry argued that a state militia was necessary:

“to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty … Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia in order to raise and army upon their ruins.”

We see that the need for a state militia was the predicate of the “right” guaranteed; in short, it was declared “necessary” in order to have a state military force to protect the security of the state. That Second Amendment clause must be read as though the word “because” was the opening word of the guarantee. Today, of course, the “state militia” serves a very different purpose. A huge national defense establishment has taken over the role of the militia of 200 years ago.

Some have exploited these ancient concerns, blurring sporting guns — rifles, shotguns and even machine pistols — with all firearms, including what are now called

“Saturday Night Live” Dying A Slow, Torturous Death

Do you ever watch Saturday Night Live?

If not, don’t worry. Not many people do… any more.

Like millions of other Americans, I do NOT watch it, and rather, see but snippets of it online every now and then, and occasionally see it mentioned in various news items here, there, and yon.

The reason I ask, is because a thought occurred to me, which is that, even though it’s circling the proverbial drain, it is salvageable.

In fact, in this now seemingly not-so funny time, it could quite possibly rise beyond its highest ratings period, which was its heyday, and perhaps even surpass it. But, the writers now ALL need to be fired. Why? They’re… Just. Not. Funny.

The track the show’s been on is eventually going to land it in the graveyard, and that’s not where longtime producer Lorne Michaels would like it to end up. But, at this point, it seems all but certain. The post mortem would read: Died for lack of humor caused by bad writing.

More to the point, as I pondered the matter, a thought occurred to me:

I do not ever recall having seen any skits or jokes about,
or references to,
the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

That thought occurred to me after reading an OpEd about the committee, which lead with this sentence,

“The U.S. House’s Jan. 6 committee has performed its task with a dignity that verges on parody.”

If you’ve ever seen SNL, even once, then

It’s 🎼 beginning ♫ to ⛄️ smell 🎄 a 🎶 lot 🛷 like…

Yup… Xmas is just a few days away.

Fourteen, to be exact, as this is being written.

And Americans have done what Americans do best — commercialize and capitalize upon the sacred.

I mean, what would Xmas be like without Satan Claws, the Ishtar Bunny, Abdominable Snowman, or Rudolph the Brown-Nosed Reindeer, eh?

Maybe that’s too much mixture of metaphones.

But, “merii Kurisumasu,” to you, anyway.

“Kurisumasu” is Japanese, being, of course, the phonetic pronunciation of Christmas, and “merii” being the phonetic pronunciation of the term recognizing the Virgin of Paloma; combine the two, and you have yourselves a merry little Christmas, dear. No more running of the bulls in Pamplona… which should not be confused with melanoma, nor with Oklahoma. Thank you, Will Rogers — the Sooner State’s Favorite Son… who was a Cherokee, a literal honest Injun, a Red Man — not to be confused with the chewing tobacco. And to you too, Fred McFeely Rogers. What would Big Bird be without you? Kentucky Fried Chicken. And Doumo Arigatou (どうもありがとう) to you, Harlan Sanders. And to Komatsu, and John Deere, we send mounds of earth. Now, get moving.

So, what’s the meaning of all this hegemonic, cacophonic, histrionic, mesenteric, miasmatic mess?

Creativity — pure and simple. It’s something made up in the crevices of my creative cranium using things we know about. It’s the use of reality to make a surreality, a phantasy — a thing like the real, somewhat resembling the real, though its most defining characteristic is that it is unreal… very unreal. And we know it.

But seriously, our Japanese brethren have taken a shining to Xmas (but not The Shining), a virtual twinkling of an eye, and/or lights, and/or toes, candy canes, little tin soldiers, and stockings hung by the chimney with care in the hopes that Saint Nick soon will be there, even though Japan is a predominately Shinto and Buddhist nation, just like Middle Eastern nations are predominately Muslim. Seems they like having something to celebrate in the dead of winter, besides soy sauce, saki, and Sony. Now they have Santa. What would a Buddhist Santa look like?

Maybe something like this?

For the Christian faithful, it’s now the Advent season, an annual celebration which consists of the four Sundays before Christmas, or in Eastern Orthodox churches, the 40 days before Christmas, which will then become Christmastide (being the festival observed from December 24 which is Christmas Eve, Christmas Day is the First Day of Christmas, until January 5, the 12th Day of Christmas, which is the eve of Epiphany), then followed by Epiphany.

Got it?

In other words, it’s the season for some of the holiest, and most important days of the year for many orthodox and Catholic Christians, though some Protestant denominations also acknowledge them. And then comes Lent (which is a 40-day period of fasting and penitence observed by many Christians in preparation for Easter, which in Western churches, lasts from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday — which is the day before Easter Sunday — excluding Sundays, in which time the observant commemorate the fasting done by Jesus of Nazareth while in the wilderness) and Eastertide referring to the Easter season, which occurs from Easter Sunday to Ascension Day, sometimes also called Whitsunday, or Trinity Sunday, which is 40 days in duration, initiating with Easter Sunday. Easter is ALWAYS on a Sunday, because that’s when many Christians think Jesus of Nazareth was resurrected from death, following his execution by the government, and subsequent entombment.

As the story is told, He was never “properly buried,” per se — which as many now consider it, is to have the mortal remains placed in a casket, which is then inserted inside a concrete vault, which is placed in a hole dug into the ground, then covered with soil — and rather, His body was placed in a cave, the entrance to which reportedly had a large rock placed in front of the entrance as a blockade. Archaeologists, experts and others who’ve scoured the area around Jerusalem have found only 4 round disc-type rolling rocks used as tomb covers/blockades among the 900-plus Second Temple-period burial caves, all of which were examined by examined by archaeologist Amos Kloner, and those were reserved for the very wealthy and/or royalty. Much more likely, and much more common, was a stone, which may have been hewn, used as a type of plug, in a manner somewhat similar to a cork in a bottle.

That is similarly attested to by researcher Dr. Urban Cammilus von Wahlde, PhD, of Loyola University, Chicago, IL, a Research Fellow Yale Divinity School, 1979, member Catholic Biblical Association American, Society Biblical Literature, Chicago Society Biblical Research, etc., who authored an article to that effect which was published in the March/April 2015 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Biblical Archeology Review, in a column entitled “A Rolling Stone That Was Hard to Roll,” in which he analyzed the Gospel accounts to determine how such a stone which was reported to have sealed the cave/tomb, and found in particular in the Gospel of John, in the original Greek, the grammar used yielded a detail which supports the idea that the cave/tomb in which Jesus of Nazareth was reportedly buried was sealed with stone in a cork-like manner. Here’s an image of such a type cave/tomb.

Very few tombs in Jerusalem from the late Second Temple period had round (disk-shaped) rolling stones, which were utilized by those of wealth and royalty, and it was much more common to seal tombs with cork-shaped stones, such as the one seen here. The archaeological evidence strongly suggests that the cave/tomb of Jesus — which the story says was the unused tomb of Joseph of Arimathea — would have been sealed with a cork-shaped stone. Photo: Tom Powers.

Before it seems like we’re getting all bogged down before making a point, please… bear with me, be patient. There’s a reason why, and it’ll be plainly evident soon enough. Very soon, in fact. And these religious holy days/holidays must be enumerated in order to understand what will be presented at that moment, when “the reveal” is made.

So, continuing…

Eastertide, sometimes also called Paschaltide, Paschaltime, or the Paschal season, focuses upon celebrating what the Christian faithful say is the

Why Do White Supremacists Worship A Jew?

Am I the only one who sees the dark irony of the inconsistency and hypocrisy of White Supremacists and other racists who say they’re Christian, yet the very religion which they ostensibly espouse was founded by Jews, and based upon the tenets taught by a Jew?😳🤯

The fact that they literally WORSHIP a Jew, yet hate the Jewish people?

Pope Francis: I don’t name Putin because everyone knows I’m talking about him.

Pope Francis was interviewed recently for “America: The Jesuit Review,” a Catholic magazine published by the Jesuits. Francis is the first ever Jesuit pope, which is properly the “Society of Jesus,” hence the name “Jesuit,” though it was founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

Jesuits have a history as reformers, and are considered the “brains” of the Catholic church, insofar as academics, particularly higher education, medicine, law, and science, is important to them. In fact, it was a Jesuit priest, Father Georges Lemaître, a Belgian Catholic priest, theoretical physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and professor of physics at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium — the Université Catholique de Louvain, from where he earned Docteur en Sciences in 1920, and in 1927, earned the Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology — who first came up with the expanding universe theory, years ahead of Edwin Hubble, who later confirmed Lemaître’s work, rather than originating it, as some mistakenly believe. Another magnificent scientific achievement, now considered the scientific standard, is the “Big Bang” theory of the origin of the universe, was also originally proposed by Fr. Lemaître. Additionally, he also served as an artillery officer in WWI. When afterward he began academic pursuits, he studied at the renown University of Cambridge, where he later became a researcher, and an associate researcher at Harvard, and MIT. So, he was definitely no slouch in numerous ways.

But Pope Francis…

The interview was wide-ranging, and covered numerous topics of concern to all, not just to the religious, or to Catholics, which included bishops accused of sexual abuse of children, and adults, and their complicity in those criminal activities, as well as public perception of the church’s lack of concern about spousal/domestic partner abuse.

Toward the conclusion of the interview, Pope Francis was asked about his thoughts on the Russia/Ukraine matter, and made the following remarks.

Editor’s Note: On Nov. 22, 2022, five representatives of America Media interviewed Pope Francis at his residence at Santa Marta at the Vatican. Matt Malone, S.J., the departing editor in chief of America, was joined by Sam Sawyer, S.J., the incoming editor in chief; executive editor Kerry Weber; Gerard O’Connell, America’s Vatican correspondent; and Gloria Purvis, host of “The Gloria Purvis Podcast.” They discussed a wide range of topics with the pope, including polarization in the U.S. church, racism, the war in Ukraine, the Vatican’s relations with China and church teaching on the ordination of women. The interview was conducted in Spanish with the assistance of a translator, Elisabetta Piqué. A transcript of the Spanish text can be found here.

Here is the full transcript of that portion of the interview.

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Gerard O’Connell: Holy Father, about Ukraine: Many in the United States have been confused by your seeming unwillingness to directly criticize Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, preferring instead to speak more generally of the need for an end to war, an end to mercenary activity rather than Russian attacks, and to the traffic in arms. How would you explain your position on this war to Ukrainians, or Americans and others who support Ukraine?

Pope Francis: When I speak about Ukraine, I speak of a people who are martyred. If you have a martyred people, you have someone who martyrs them. When I speak about Ukraine, I speak about the cruelty because I have much information about the cruelty of the troops that come in. Generally, the cruelest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryati and so on. Certainly, the one who invades is the Russian state. This is very clear. Sometimes I try not to specify so as not to offend and rather, condemn in general, although it is well known whom I am condemning. It is not necessary that I put a name and surname.

On the second day of the war, I went to the Russian embassy [to the Holy See], an unusual gesture because the pope never goes to an embassy. And there I said to the ambassador to tell [Vladimir] Putin that I was willing to

Internal Report: Unrest in China’s “iPhone City” will cause 6 million lost iPhones

Apple Could Lose Six Million iPhones
Taipei Times
Tuesday, November 29, 2022, page 12

FACTORY TUMULT: Departure of new workers will negatively affect production much less than official governmental quarantines imposed on existing employees, said a worker at China’s ‘iPhone city.’

Turmoil at Apple Inc’s key manufacturing hub in Zhengzhou is likely to result in a production shortfall of almost 6 million iPhone Pro units this year, said a person familiar with assembly operations.

iPhone 14 Pro Max

The situation at the plant remains fluid and an estimate of lost production could change, said a person who requested anonymity to discuss private information.

Much depends on how quickly Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the Taiwanese company that operates the facility, can get people back to assembly lines after violent protests against COVID-19 restrictions. If lockdowns continue in the weeks ahead, production could be further reduced.

The Zhengzhou campus has been wracked by lockdowns and worker unrest for weeks after COVID-19 infections left Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), and the local government struggling to contain the outbreak.

Thousands of staff fled last month after

iPhone 14, Domestic Manufacture, Free Trade, International Diplomacy & National Security

Apple charges between US$799 for a basic iPhone 14, to US$1599 for a top-of-the-line iPhone 14 Pro Max model.

That’s how much you’ll pay without carrier subsidies, which are typically tied to a service contract, but…

How much does Apple pay for it?

How much does it cost them to make it?

Japanese business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and Fomalhaut Techno Solutions, a Tokyo-based mobile communications equipment analysis firm, collaborated to investigate and issued a report of their findings which were based upon disassembly of three models of the iPhone 14 series, and an estimated cost analysis of the hardware components.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nihon sometimes also spelled Nippon), translated as “Japanese Economic Newspaper,” is Japan’s most widely respected daily business-oriented newspaper, with a total morning and evening circulation of 3.7 million.

iPhone 14 Pro Max

The report found that the total parts cost of Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max, their top-of-the-line model, costs about 20% more than last year’s iPhone 13. The iPhone 14 Pro series has few new features, and is powered by Apple’s A16 processor, which continues the company’s strategy of producing ultra-high performance products, yet prices in the US and elsewhere remain the same, thus ostensibly constricting, or compressing, profitability.

Since its 2018 introduction, iPhone’s flagship “Max” model has cost an extra US$400 to US$450.

Based upon their analysis, Fomalhaut estimated that the total parts price for the iPhone 14 Pro Max is approximately US$501, which is slightly US$60 more than last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max model.

The cost increase in the iPhone 14 Pro series is primarily because of Apple’s “A16 Bionic” chip, which uses a state-of-the-art 4nm (nanometer) production process, currently only available from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), and Samsung Electronics.

Moves Protect Intellectual Property

Headquartered in Taiwan, TSMC is the world’s largest contract chip maker, a major Apple supplier, and is constructing a US$12 billion plant in Arizona near Phoenix. Governor Doug Ducey had initially visited Taiwan in 2017, and again in August 2020 for a 3-day trip, at which time TSMC announced their intention to build a $12B chip foundry in Arizona that year, and shortly thereafter began seeking subsidies. At the time of the announcement, TSMC speculated that construction would begin in 2024.

However, in August 2022, Governor Ducey made a brief construction progress report about TSMC’s Arizona facility, and recollecting his previously visits, stated in part that, “Just over two years later TSMC has completed construction for its main facility and continues to make excellent progress. Along with TSMC’s historic investment, roughly two dozen Taiwanese-based suppliers are finding Arizona is right for investment.”

TSMC broke ground on the project March 2021 and had a ceremonial “topping” celebration, a construction industry term meaning installation of the last beam, with 4000 attendees in July 2022. The property literally went from 1100 acres of tumbleweeds to factory shells in under six months.

But not only is the construction of TSMC’s Arizona facility a win-win for the United States, it also represents a prospective national security matter, because there have been rumblings that the Communist Chinese government could seize the Taiwanese facility.

Speaking in May 2022 at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing, Chen Wenling, Chief Economist at the Communist Chinese government-run China Center for International Economic Exchanges told attendees that, “If the US and the West impose destructive sanctions on China like sanctions against Russia, we must recover Taiwan.”

Her remarks were alarming, and appeared to encourage Chinese military assault, and she warned the attendees that

CDA Section 230 violates Equal Protection Clause & threatens National Security

There’s been a significant amount of handwringing over remarks made by so-called “free speech” advocates who assert that anyone can say anything online “because it’s ‘free’ speech,” and ostensibly protected by the First Amendment.

I demur.

Facebook, Instagram (owned by FB), and Twitter, which are the “Big Three” online Social Media (SoMe) corporate megaliths (that is, if Twitter survives Elon Musk, if not, then TikTok may take Twitter’s place), have increasingly come under fire in the past several years — justifiably so — for turning a blind eye to bad behavior, “speech” in particular (as writing and/or video, both mediums posted on the services), thereby, in essence, becoming purveyors of lies, complicit by their inactions, in aiding and abetting actions of bad actors, consequently harming our nation — a significant portion of which continues originating in nations hostile to American national interests.

Writing in the Global Security Review, June 10, 2019, in an article entitled “Facebook, Compromised: How Russia Manipulated U.S. Voters” — the second of a four-part series — Sophia Porotsky detailed how Russia, as a malign foreign actor, sought, and continues seeking, the downfall of the United States.

“Russian Information Warfare content on social media attempts to subvert Western democracies in five ways:

1.) Undermine public confidence in democratic government;
2.) Exacerbate internal political divisions;
3.) Erode trust in government;
4.) Push the Russian agenda in foreign populations, and;
5.) Create confusion and distrust by blurring fact and fiction.

Russian propaganda on social media can be divided into four themes:

1.) Political messages intended to foster distrust in government (e.g. allegations of voter fraud, corruption);
2.) Financial propaganda (i.e. create distrust in Western financial institutions);
3.) Social issues (e.g. ethnic tensions, police brutality), and;
4.) Doomsday-style conspiracy theories.

“Information warfare content is generated and disseminated through channels that fall into three attribution categories:

1.) White (overt);
2.) Grey (less-overt), and;
3.) Black (covert) channels.

They propagate a blend of authentic, manipulated, and fake stories and they feed off of and reinforce each other.”

Among the numerous sources cited was “Russia’s Approach to Cyber Warfare,” a paper written by Michael Connell and Sarah Vogler published March 2017 by the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) — an 80-year, independent, nonprofit research and analysis organization dedicated to the safety and security of the nation that informs the decisions of Navy, Marine Corps and DOD leaders as the Department of the Navy’s federally funded research and development center — which stated that,

“Russia views cyber very differently than its western counterparts, from the way Russian theorists define cyberwarfare to how the Kremlin employs its cyber capabilities.” Part of that difference is that the Russians “conceptualize cyber operations within the broader framework of information warfare, a holistic concept that includes computer network operations, electronic warfare, psychological operations, and information operations.”

And as part of their overall operations in that realm, not only does Russia “employ cyber as a conventional force enabler,” they integrate cybercriminals, hacktivists, and other nefariously malign non-state actors into their overall operations scheme, a practice also undertaken by “China, Iran, North Korea, and other cyber adversaries.”

That information is further borne out by the writings of Professor Dr. Mark Galeotti, PhD, who in June 2022 was recently banned from travel to Russia, wrote an OpEd in the independent news journal The Moscow Times, published December 22, 2017, that, “It is hard to sustain a serious claim that NATO tanks are about to surge eastwards – though some of the Kremlin’s more fanciful propagandists do try – but the virtues of the “secret battlefield” of intelligence work is that it is precisely covert.”

Dr. Galeotti is an internationally-recognized expert in security politics, intelligence services and criminality of modern Russia, is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow of the Institute of International Relations Prague, an Associate Fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, Honorary Professor at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, Honorary Professor at University College London, and Executive Director and principal in Mayak Intelligence, a London-based consultancy specializing in, and primarily focusing upon understanding organized and transnational crime, war, politics and history in Russia. Dr. Galieotti is also a contributing member of the Network of Experts of the independent civil-society organization Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

The root cause of such problems, wrote David J. Smith in “How Russia Harnesses Cyber Warfare,” published in Defense Dossier, American Foreign Policy Council (August 2012: Issue 4), 9,” is inherently based in, and the natural outcome of,

Life Imitates Art — The Man Who Planted Trees

The forest doesn’t need us.

It was here before us, and it will be here after we leave.

The forest will survive despite our abuses of it.

We are the ones who need the forest.

 

“The Man Who Planted Trees”
A short story by Jean Giono
Featuring the Paul Winter Consort & Jean Giono
Narrated by Robert J. Lurtsema
The work won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1987.

“The Man Who Planted Trees” is 1953 fictional short story by French author Jean Giono, who in a 1957 letter to a Digne, France city official wrote, “Elzéard Bouffier is a fictional person. The goal was to make trees likeable, or more specifically, make planting trees likeable.”

The book, which was translated into several languages and distributed without charge, was so well received that many thought it was a true story, thus somewhat necessitating such a letter.

The story illustrates the magnitude of difference that one person can make to the earth.

“The Man Who Planted Trees” tells a tale of Elzéard Bouffier, a simple man of determination, who, after losing his wife and son, retreated to a desolately remote part of France, which land he thought “was dying for want of trees.” So, with his dog and sheep as his solitary companions, he began his life’s work — daily planting one hundred acorns.

Over 30 years, laboring in peace without interruption, and in complete anonymity, Elzéard’s planting of trees resurrected and transformed a once desiccated landscape, relentlessly ravaged by winds, and forsaken by people, into a verdantly vibrant, vigorous, and thriving region, filled with people and life of all kinds.

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Life imitates art.
—————————

Manipur man converts barren land into 300-acre forest

Meanwhile, Loiya is certain that the task of growing a forest and nurturing it is going to be “a lifelong mission” although he now works in a pharmacy to earn a living and to sustain his family.
Published: 13th November 2022 12:41 PM — Last Updated: 13th November 2022 12:41 PM

IMPHAL: A 47-year-old man in Manipur’s Imphal West district has converted barren land into a 300-acre forest with a wide variety of plant species in 20 years.

Moirangthem Loiya, who hails from

Herschel Walker campaign to Trumpublicans: Stop “deceptive fundraising” in Senate runoff

Why is Herschel Walker surprised?

Seriously… WHY?

The GOP (Grand Old Party, a Republican moniker which emerged c.1854) is no more, and is not even a mere shadow of its former self. It is LITERALLY the FGOP — Formerly Grand Old Party, or OGOP, Once Grand Old Party.

Today, it’s the POT (Party Of Trump) — a natural-born liar, swindler, cheater, chiseler, defrauder, narcissistic, racist, xenophobic, duplicitous, unpatriotic, treasonously treacherous traitor who will LITERALLY DO ANYTHING to get what he wants, everyone and everything else be damned — and his servile sycophantic boot-licking, pablum-puking puerile punks.

They’re ALL ass-kissers — as POS45 (Piece Of Shit 45) described his subservient anointed Ohio Senate candidate J.D.Vance while campaigning with him September 17, 2022 saying, “J.D. is kissing my ass he wants my support so bad“ — and mendaciously monolithic morons.

The last genuine Republican may have very well been the now-late Arizona Senator John McCain who so despised POS45 that, while in his last days on Earth, still in office and dying from glioblastoma, a brain cancer that typically kills its victims within 16 months +/-, that he gave specific orders FORBIDDING PO45 from attending his funeral.

So, for Herschel Walker, that poor fool-as-a-tool used by POS45 and the OGOP — a Black man, at that — it’s just another example of how the worthless scum who fly that elephantine banner treat Americans.

The “I love the poorly-educated” voters who cast their ballots for anything with the letter “R” beside their name (which instead ought to be a “T”), are unthinking “Concrete Block Republicans” who would literally vote for a concrete block instead of anyone in any other party, demonstrating that they’re vacuous prattling imbeciles who neither think, nor attempt to think, and very much vote for anything that flies that modern political jolly roger.

Moreover, it’s ABUNDANTLY CLEAR that PO45 will be VERY MUCH trying to buy his way back into the White House, and continues demonstrating his deliberately deceptive, swindling, chiseling, cheating ways.

It’s just pure putrid MAGA effluvium on the Trump Dump garbage scow.

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Herschel Walker’s  campaign to Republicans:
Stop〝deceptive fundraising〞in Georgia U.S. Senate runoff

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/walker-calls-gop-deceptive-fundraising-georgia-race-rcna57136
November 14, 2022, 1814 CST
By Marc Caputo

Republican politicians and associated committees are sending out desperate fundraising emails begging the GOP faithful to help save America by getting behind Herschel Walker in his Dec. 6 runoff against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia.

But what’s not immediately clear to recipients is how little of that money is going to Walker’s campaign: just a dime for every dollar given by small donors.

Walker’s campaign, which has trailed Warnock’s in fundraising throughout the election, is asking fellow Republicans to stop their fundraising practices — or at least to start sharing more with the candidate.

Herschel Walker during his Unite Georgia Bus Stop campaign rally in Norcross, GA, September 9, 2022.
Photo by Demetrius Freeman / The WaPo

“We need everyone focused onwinning the Georgia Senate race, and deceptive fundraising tactics by teams that just won their races are siphoning money away from Georgia,” said Walker’s campaign manager Scott Paradise on Monday.

“This is the last fight of 2022, and every dollar will help,” Paradise said. “The companies and consultants raising money off this need to cut it out.”

The campaign said it first noticed the problem Saturday when

States’ Economic Recovery From COVID-19 Pandemic Is Widely Varied

The good people at GoBankingRates.com have compiled a short list of “States Whose Economies Are Failing vs. States Whose Economies Are Thriving,” which was written by Certified Financial Planner and Registered Investment Adviser John Csiszar, who, following his graduation from UCLA with a B.A. in English and a specialization in Business, worked in the financial services industry for 18 years.

Mr. Csiszar also earned the Certified Life Underwriter designation, while simultaneously working for a major, full-service Wall Street broker-dealer, and forming his own investment advisory firm, which managed over $100 million in client assets, in addition to providing investment advisory services, financial planning, and other related services.

His financial specialties include performing financial analysis, risk-avoidance strategies, long-term savings techniques, capital preservation tips, personalized investment advice, and daily budgeting.

In addition to that stellar financial profile, he further demonstrated diverse entrepreneurial skills by opening and managing a boutique travel company, and is a published author of 5 educational books on topics ranging from information technology to the element aluminum which are aimed toward the young adult market. He has also written extensively for numerous renown publications, and has authored several thousands of articles on personal financial planning, and financial services.

In his most recent article for GoBankingRates.com, “States Whose Economies Are Failing vs. States Whose Economies Are Thriving,” he lists 15 states each in 2 categories: States Whose Economies Are Failing, and States Whose Economies Are Thriving. The general purpose of the article and enumeration is to examine how states are faring in their economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. By examining 60% of the 50 states, it provides a relatively decent picture of the overall state of the states, and how they are each faring as individual parts of the greater national economy.

He notes specifically that because “the U.S. is such a large country, with a wide diversity of states and economies, the recovery is

Excerpt from “So Help Me, God” by Former Vice President Mike Pence

Thirteen days after the 2020 election, I had lunch with President Trump. I told him that if his legal challenges came up short, he could simply accept the results, move forward with the transition, and start a political comeback, winning the Senate runoffs in Georgia, the 2021 Virginia governor’s race, and the House and Senate in 2022. Then he could run for president in 2024 and win. He seemed unmoved, even weary: “I don’t know, 2024 is so far off.”

A common housefly alit and remained for several minutes upon Vice President Mike Pence’s head, Wednesday, October 7, during the 2020 Vice Presidential debate at the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, with Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee.

In a Dec. 5 call, the president for the first time mentioned challenging the election results in Congress. By mid-December, the internet was filled with speculation about my role. An irresponsible TV ad by a group calling itself the Lincoln Project suggested that when I presided over the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes, it would prove that I knew “it’s over,” and that by doing my constitutional duty, I would be “putting the final nail in the coffin” of the president’s re-election. To my knowledge, it was the first time anyone implied I might be able to change the outcome. It was designed to annoy the president. It worked. During a December cabinet meeting, President Trump told me the ad “looked bad for you.” I replied that it wasn’t true: I had fully supported the legal challenges to the election and would continue to do so.

On Dec. 19, the president mentioned plans for a rally in Washington on Jan. 6. I thought that would be useful to call attention to the proceedings. I had just spoken with a senator about the importance of vetting concerns about the election before Congress and the American people. At the White House on Dec. 21, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan led lawmakers in a discussion about plans to bring objections. I promised that all properly submitted objections would be recognized and fully debated.

On Dec. 23, my family boarded Air Force Two to spend Christmas with friends. As we flew across America, President Trump retweeted an obscure article titled “Operation Pence Card.” It alluded to the theory that if all else failed, I could alter the outcome of the election on Jan. 6. I showed it to Karen, my wife, and rolled my eyes.

Plainclothes United States Capitol Police behind a barricaded door on the Floor of the House of Representatives, aim at an insurrectionist — one of thousands on January 6, 2021 who ransacked and destroyed government property and offices at the U.S. Capitol Building at the oblique request of then-POTUS Donald Trump in his failed conspiracy attempt to remain in power by providing several slates of falsified Electoral College Electors, then inciting violence during the certification process — following his re-election defeat in the November 2020 General Election to the Democratic Party’s nominee, former long-time U.S. Senator, then Vice President, Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

On Dec. 30, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley announced that he would

Is Charles Grassley REALLY older than the Chocolate Chip cookie?

Yes, it’s TRUE:

Iowa Republican Senator Charles “Chuck” Grassley, now aged 89, (b.1933) was born before the invention of the chocolate chip cookie (late 1930’s).

And — believe it, or else — Iowa voters returned him to the nation’s Capitol to serve warm a seat another six (6) years in the United States Senate.

So, when was the chocolate chip cookie invented?

For that answer, we find this:

“The original recipe was created in the late 1930s by Ruth Wakefield who famously ran the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts. The delicious mix of crispy cookie and melted chocolate chunks first appeared in

About Joe “Maserati” Manchin’s Yacht

Soft-pedaling journos who suck up to their subjects (the folks about whom they regularly write), have changed their tone on Joe “Maserati” Manchin III’s yacht, and have taken to calling it a “houseboat.”

That’s just wrong — just plain wrong — on so many levels, and you’re about to understand why.

First, some websites assert that the term “yacht” is superfluous, or supererogatory, that the term is ambiguous, and open to interpretation.

WV Senator Joe “Maserati” Manchin III on his yacht “Almost Heaven” speaks to protesters in kayaks below. The vessel’s name, and its hailing port (home port) are clearly visible.

I demur.

That is most certainly NOT the case.

The United States Coast Guard establishes guidelines for vessels, which are Federal laws and regulations that vessel owners MUST follow, one of which is that if a vessel exceeds a certain length from stem to stern (front to back) it must be registered with the USCG. As well, there is an organization — the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) — that similarly ranks and characterizes vessels, which establishes standards for vessel construction, as well as the standards set by the American Boats & Yacht Council (ABYC).

If a vessel is longer than 26 feet, it MUST be registered with the United States Coast Guard. That is the law. If under 26 feet long, it may, or may not, be required to registered with the USCG, depending on the state or locality of the owner’s residence (home port). In almost every state, boats under 26 feet in length must bear a registration number on the exterior of the hull, typically toward the bow, whereas with USCG-registered vessels, a vessel’s name and hailing port must be marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull. A “hailing port” is the location from which the vessel is typically harbored (parked). In the case of Joe “Maserati” Manchin’s yacht, it’s named “Almost Heaven,” and is from Charleston, WV. When the yacht was previously named “JENNIFER ANNE,” its Hailing Port was ANNAPOLIS, MD.

“Almost Heaven” was formerly owned David and Jennifer DeLancey, who then named the vessel “Jennifer Ann.” An article about the Jennifer Ann was written by Ken Ringle, April 25, 2004 and published in the Washington Post, which described the vessel.

“Today the DeLanceys live afloat on the Jennifer Ann. You could call it a houseboat, but that would be like calling Air Force One a plane. Within the sunny, air-conditioned confines of the custom-built, 65-by-20-foot, three-story steel hull, David has packaged more space and amenities than most apartments and condominiums, and many houses. The 1,500 square feet of interior living space embrace 3 1/2 bedrooms (including a 14-by-20-foot master suite), 3 1/2 bathrooms, and a bright and open living/dining area (complete with a granite dining table) where the DeLanceys have comfortably entertained as many as 50 people to

Joe Manchin III…. blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

The $12 million man who lives on a yacht docked on the Potomac River, the Democratic Senator from West Virginia, Joe “Maserati” Manchin III, should just shut his whiny yap.

When Henry Ford invented the mass-produced Model T, doubtless there were people whining about losing their jobs in the buggy whip factories, including the factories’ owners.

The thing is, however, that Henry Ford paid VERY WELL, much more so than many others at the time. And for that reason, many sought to work in his factories… and did.

So when yacht-living-large Multi-Millionaire Maserati Manchin starts crying about coal, or jobs lost through advancement of scientific technology, it’s hardly worth noting. And yet, if it weren’t for the

Laws That Don’t Apply To Wealthy People

Benjamin felt a nose nuzzling at his shoulder. He looked round. It was Clover. Her old eyes looked dimmer than ever. Without saying anything, she tugged gently at his mane and led him round to the end of the big barn, where the Seven Commandments were written. For a minute or two they stood gazing at the tatted wall with its white lettering.

“My sight is failing,” she said finally. “Even when I was young I could not have read what was written there. But it appears to me that that wall looks different. Are the Seven Commandments the same as they used to be, Benjamin?”

For once Benjamin consented to break his rule, and he read out to her what was written on the wall. There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran:

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

After that it did not seem strange when next day the pigs who were supervising the work of the farm all carried whips in their trotters. It did not seem strange to learn that the pigs had bought themselves a wireless set, were arranging to install a telephone, and had taken out subscriptions to John Bull, TitBits, and the Daily Mirror. It did not seem strange when Napoleon was seen strolling in the farmhouse garden with a pipe in his mouth-no, not even when the pigs took Mr. Jones’s clothes out of the wardrobes and put them on, Napoleon himself appearing in a black coat, ratcatcher breeches, and leather leggings, while his favourite sow appeared in the watered silk dress which Mrs. Jones had been used to wear on Sundays.
— excerpt from Animal Farm (1945), chapter X, George Orwell’s (1903-1950) novel

John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 2005 Official Portrait

Today, Tuesday, November 1, 2022, United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary order that

A Story of American National Interests… as told by a Piece of Bacon

THIS! is honest to goodness COUNTRY BACON !!😋

THIS! is honest-to-goodness COUNTRY BACON!!😋

NONE of that mass-produced, factory-farmed, Made-in-China, Made-for-China gobbledygook.

This does NOT need refrigeration!

And, these pieces are also cooked, of course.

Oh! And you KNOW, that since 2013, Smithfield Foods, in Smithfield, VA, a formerly-American-based company, has been OWNED BY THE COMMUNIST CHINESE “Shuanghui Group” (now known as “WH Group” because it sounds more “American,” you know) because Smithfield’s Wall$teet corporate owners sold their American birthright for a paltry bowl of porridge — a mere US$4.72B.

You DO recall that China is a Communist nation, don’t you?

WH Group’s “global headquarters is strategically located in Hong Kong, with regional headquarters in China and the U.S.,” while the “Headquarters Shuanghui Development in Luohe, Henan Province,” China, and WH Group’s U.S. Headquarters of their Smithfield Foods division is in Smithfield, Virginia.

WH Group is also one of the LARGEST FOREIGN OWNERS of American farmland, with 146,000 acres, and that separate sale (as part of Smithfield’s holdings) was worth US$500M, according to the USDA.

Put another way, 146,000 acres is 228.1252 square miles… that’s nearly 20% (18.79% exactly) of the entire state of

If You Live in Alabama…

You should know this:

IN LESS THAN 90 DAYS, YOUR CHANCE OF BEING KILLED IN ALABAMA WILL INCREASE.

WHY?

 

On March 11 this year (2022), Republican Governess Kay Ivey signed into law House Bill 272, which was proffered, and supported by the state’s GOP legislators, to wantonly arm the citizens, WITHOUT requiring proof of anyone’s ability to demonstrate competency, or properly handle, the concealed firearms they will soon be allowed to carry EVERYWHERE THEY GO. The law will become effective January 2023. 

(see: https://legiscan.com/AL/text/HB272/id/2544995/Alabama-2022-HB272-Enrolled.pdf)

Of the 29 total votes against HB272, 3 were Republican, 2 Democrats did not vote, 2 Republicans were absent, Yeas totaled 70.

 

Even our Armed Forces, at the most fundamental level, MANDATE that EVERY SERVICE MEMBER demonstrate competency with numerous firearms, and other weapons of war.

 

But not in Alabama.

 

Guns… EVERYWHERE YOU GO.

 

EVERYWHERE.

 

Schools.

Hospitals.

Nursing Homes.

Worship Centers.

Grocery Stores.

Birthday Parties.

Libraries.

Pharmacies.

Retail Stores.

Restaurants.

Gas Stations.

Convenience Stores.

Work Places.

Doctors’ offices. 

 

Except for

Elon Musk, Paul Ryan, and Bernie Marcus walk into a bar…

Headlines…

Home Depot Co-Founder Bernie Marcus on President Biden: “What the hell does he know about economics?”
by Brian Sozzi, Anchor, Editor-at-Large
Friday, October 14, 2022 at 12:11 PM

Paul Ryan Makes Bold Prediction About Trump And MAGA Lovers Won’t Like It
by Ron Dicker
Friday, October 14, 2022 at 7:14 AM

Musk: I can’t keep paying for Ukraine’s internet
Reuters News Agency
Friday, October 14, 2022 at 10:03 AM

Journalism these days has sunk to new lows.

Much of what passes for “news” these days very well could have been ripped from

Do NOT feed these foods to your dog!

If you,
your loved ones, or others,
have a canine companion,
there are certain “human” foods that you
MOST DEFINITELY
DO NOT
want to feed to it.

For example, onions, garlic, etc., are Alliums, which is to say that, they’re in the Allium genus. Essentially, that’s ALL onion-type vegetables, which includes leeks, shallots, scallions, chives, wild garlic, wild onions, etc.

They’re TOXIC to dogs.

Here’s another especially potent one: Xylitol. (zy-lih-tall)

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener in many “human” foods, such as chewing gum, and in some so-called “low cal” foods.

Xylitol is HIGHLY TOXIC to dogs. It’s like fentanyl is for humans — it is SO POTENT even the smallest, teeny tiniest bit can kill.

Here’s another one: Chocolate.

Dogs are not capable of

Unqualified Georgia GOP Senate Candidate Hershel Walker a 2022 Herman Cain Redux

History repeats itself, we’re told.

… but only if we ignore it, wrote George Santayana.

George Santayana in Rome, 1944.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

– George Santayana (1863-1952), Spanish philosopher writing in his 5-part book “The Life of Reason” Volume 1 “Reason in Common Sense,” (published 1905-1906)

One only need look at Georgia to see that GOPers are doing it again.

What are they doing again?

“It” is using the same old failed plays to win.

This time they’re using Hershel Walker like a subway token, just like they did Herman Cain.

They’re parading an utterly unqualified, out-of-touch-with-reality, ultra-wealthy individual as a candidate for high-level elected public office at the Federal level.

Hershel Walker, love him, loathe him — or ambivalent — has never held any elected office, much less held an office of public trust… just like another recent failure who retired to a palatial Florida estate which doubles as a high-priced “Members Only” club. So, why would ANYONE in their right mind imagine that Hershel Walker — in any way, shape, or form — would somehow be “qualified” to be a United States Senator from Georgia?

Sure, the Constitution states that the only qualifications to be Senator are as follows:

“No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.”
[U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 3, clause 3]

That bar is low enough that anyone — literally, anyone — could be a U.S. Senator. And according to that low standard, even a convicted felon still imprisoned could be a U.S. Senator. How preposterously absurd is that?!? Hershel Walker, as most anyone who’s been paying attention for the past several years, ought to know that

Concerning the Supreme Court, Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Who Wrote This?

“…the woman contemplating a first trimester abortion is given absolute and nonreviewable authority over the future of the fetus.”

. . .

“Roe took from state lawmakers the authority to make this choice and gave it to the pregnant woman.”

READ THAT AGAIN.

“…the woman contemplating a first trimester abortion is given absolute and nonreviewable authority over the future of the fetus.”

-and-

“Roe took from state lawmakers the authority to make this choice and gave it to the pregnant woman.”

Imagine the utterly unmitigated gall, total temerity, and absolute audacity of anyone who would take “from state lawmakers the authority,” the “absolute and nonreviewable authority” — otherwise known as rights under law — and give it to We The People… and to women, at that! Such brazenness! (The reader should detect STRONG sarcasm.)

Again, who wrote that?

Here are some identifying details.

It was authored by

Making Spaghetti? Here are some PRO TIPS to help make it BETTER!

Spaghetti! Who doesn’t like it?

Spaghetti is an easy-enough meal to prepare, and it can be as simple, or as complex, as one desires.

And despite that, as some things often are, they can be deceptively simple, or even challenging to master.

While with recipes, whether found online, on boxes, or in magazines and books, there seems to be a somewhat straight-forward approach to making certain dishes, even with renown and very popular ones, sometimes, the “Whys & Wherefores,” i.e., the rationales, the reasons why one does a certain thing a certain way, are typically omitted. And, that can be to the detriment of a burgeoning cook, or aspiring chef.

So, we’ll set out to, at least in small part, make a correction… at least as concerning spaghetti.

1.) Salt

Salt the water which the noodles boil in — HEAVILY, not a mere sprinkle, or a dash, or two. Lay it on!

Why?

Salt is hygroscopic, which means that it draws, or attracts, water.

And the noodles should be cooked to an “al dente” consistency, a translation meaning

A Sad American First: Two Years After Trump Negotiated with Terrorist Taliban

Once, a long time ago… (Isn’t that how fairy tales start out?)

Two years is almost like forever when it comes to matters politick. But it should be noted, that the overall conditions for diplomatic talks with international terrorists is a definite first in American history. Just as much as having a POTUS work against you by every boastfully callous public remark he makes. Never before has the Department of State and the Office of the President been at odds with one another.

That is, until that maladministration of Mr. I-know-more-than-the-generals-do.

And, it’s mostly true that each new administration has some degree of “learning curve” to move beyond the lingering effects of the prior administration.

And in this case, it was two years.

No one drives forward while gazing in the rear-view mirror.

That’s NOT what rear-view mirrors are for.

Rear-view mirrors enable drivers to briefly scan behind them to see if there’s anything of which they need to be aware. Is a rapidly-approaching vehicle in your lane of travel, or not? Is an emergency services vehicle needing right-of-way? In short, rear view mirrors enable drivers to be alert for changes they may need to make in response to activity behind them.

And in a very similar manner, that’s the purpose of a retrospective — to determine what was good, and what could have been better.

It’s been two years since the Biden administration began. There’ve been some hiccups, some failures, and now, there are signs of success. But it’s taken two years just to get out of the mess the previous administration made and left for the next.

So, how accurate is that remark?

Let’s look in the rear-view mirror!

In an article published November 18, 2020 in The Diplomat, freelance journalist Sohrab Azad, who covers Afghanistan, is based in Erbil, Iraq, and founder of Advocates for a Prosperous Afghanistan, an advocacy group in Washington, DC, wrote in part, that,

Afghanistan One Year After Taliban Took Control

Taliban: We brought “freedom and independence” and rid Afghanistan “of foreign occupation, injustice and oppression.”

The man whom the Al Jazeera journalist interviews, Anas Haqqani — the youngest son of a jihadist commander who fought the Russians and the Americans — is a known terrorist with direct ties to al-Quaeda, and is in the direct lineage of a group of Afghan Islamist guerrilla insurgents known as the HAQQANI NETWORK. For 20 years, the HAQQANI NETWORK has been responsible for the most brutally horrific terrorist attacks throughout the world, often, but not always, using suicide bombers.

Encyclopedia Brittanica writes this about the HAQQANI NETWORK:
The “Haqqani network [is a] Pashtun militant network based in eastern Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The Haqqani network originated during the Afghan War [following Russia’s invasion] (1978–92), and, after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, it participated in an insurgency against U.S. and NATO forces and the Afghan government.”

Person (relationship to Anas Haqqani)
• Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani (DECEASED father, founder of the HAQQANI NETWORK)

• Khalil Ahmed Haqqani (uncle — AKA Kahlil ur-Rahman The United Nations sanctioned him for association with al Qaeda & Taliban.) NOTE: THE UNITED STATES TREASURY HAS A $5M BOUNTY ON Kahlil Haqqani.

• Sirajuddin Haqqani (brother) NOTE: THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT HAS A US$10M BOUNTY ON Sirajuddin Haqqani.

The website of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has a page dedicated to the terrorist group known as the HAQQANI NETWORK.

ODNI writes this, in part, about the group:

“The Haqqani Network is a Sunni Islamist militant organization founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani, who emerged as a top Afghan warlord and insurgent commander during the anti-Soviet war; he was a member of the Hezb-e Islami faction led by renowned mujahedin commander Younis Khalis. Jalaluddin later allied with the Afghan Taliban as that group’s Minister of Tribal and Border Affairs when the Taliban held power in Afghanistan during the mid-to-late 1990s. He was a known associate of Usama Bin Ladin and was recognized as one of Bin Ladin’s closest mentors during the al-Qa‘ida founder’s formative years in the 1980s Afghan war. Sirajuddin Haqqani, Jalaluddin’s son, currently leads the day-to-day activities of the group, along with several of his closest relatives. Sirajuddin in August 2015 was named as a deputy to newly appointed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammed Mansur—cementing the alliance between the Haqqanis and the Taliban.”

For his part, in a July interview with German news magazine Der Spiegal this year, news of which was published by Ariana News, Afghanistan’s only 24/7 news network and the nation’s leading independent news station, Haqqani said that

Do Doctors have First Amendment Protection from Anti-Abortion Laws?

Are Physicians Protected by the First Amendment?

Are Patients protected by HIPAA, the Patient Privacy Law?

Can just anybody, or even the state, sue, or arrest and charge with a crime anyone who discussed abortion, was referred for, or had an abortion — even if it was out of the state of the patient’s residence?

How “long” is the “long arm of the law,” and can it actually investigate, charge, prosecute, and punish physicians and/or patients for receiving private healthcare advice and/or services?

Suddenly! Yes, suddenly — as in acutely, and even cataclysmically-like-an-earthquake so — physicians and other healthcare professionals seem to find themselves between a proverbial rock, and a hypothetical hard place.

The reason why, is because 6 GOP-nominated radicals on the still-9-member Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) {Those justices are: Alito, Thomas, CJ Roberts, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett.} have completely ignored judicial precedent — which is the “holy grail” of jurisprudence that helps form the foundation of law itself, and thereby give stability to civil society — and overturned at least TWO rulings of an earlier court — Roe v Wade (1973), and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) — in their 6-3 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022).

The Roberts Court, April 23, 2021
Seated from LEFT to RIGHT: Justices Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor
Standing from LEFT to RIGHT: Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Photograph by Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

Of course, overturning even century-old precedent has been the characteristic hallmark of the Roberts Court. Since becoming Joker in Chief Justice in September 2005, he has presided over 20 reversals of well-established precedented opinion, some dating as far back as 1911. If, in the law, nothing is TRULY ever settled, and any court now, or in the future, can simply overturn any law or decision with which they disagree — regardless of how long it’s been in effect, and regardless of what their confirmation testimony was — then our nation’s foundation is insecure.

There are numerous Constitutional problems with the 6 radicalized jurists’ decision, not the least of which is that, by returning to the states the ability to decide abortion law (or any other law over which Federal law has presided), it completely ignores undermines and usurps the essential tenet of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which is that Federal law has ultimate authority over any other law by a state, or locality.

To add insult to injury, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas — long known as “The Silent Justice,” because from Wednesday, February 22, 2006, until Monday, February 29, 2016 — 10 years — he NEVER spoke one word at hearings — wrote in Dobbs that judicial activists could also overturn other recent cases such as Griswold v. Connecticut, Obergefell v. Hodges, Lawrence v. Texas, and other decisions with which they personally disagree.

On page 3 of his opinion (page 119 of 213 of the entire document), he wrote in part that,

“…in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is “demonstrably erroneous,” Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U. S. ___, ___ (2020) (THOMAS, J., concurring in judgment) (slip op., at 7), we have a duty to “correct the error” established in those precedents, Gamble v. United States, 587 U. S. ___, ___ (2019) (THOMAS, J., concurring) (slip op., at 9). After overruling these demonstrably erroneous decisions, the question would remain whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the myriad rights that our substantive due process cases have generated. For example, we could consider whether any of the rights announced in this Court’s substantive due process cases are “privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Justice Thomas continued in part by writing,

“That 50 years have passed since Roe and abortion advocates still cannot coherently articulate the right (or rights) at stake proves the obvious: The right to abortion is ultimately a policy goal in desperate search of a constitutional justification.”

He predicates his entire opposition to the ruling in Roe upon but one idea: His distaste for the term

WIN Failed, But Government Cheese Won

Losing WIN, and Feeding the Poor:
Ford, Carter & Reagan have important lessons to teach us.

Remember Gerald Ford, and his WIN — “Whip Inflation Now” — campaign?

 

It was a failure.

The two premises of that effort — encouraging increased individual savings, and reducing personal spending — were not merely ineffectual, they were also justifiably ridiculed because they did absolutely nothing to lower prices.

 

In a TRULY free market economy, not only is government allowed to compete, but prices, as others and I have continually said, are controlled by the seller, NOT the buyer. The SELLER is the one setting prices. 

 

For example, if Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, Marathon, Valero, and Phillips 66 (in the TOP 10 largest oil companies globally by revenue) were to reduce by 25% their consumer prices of gasoline & diesel fuel (and, they could), that would significantly change, at least on some level, the volume of sales/consumption. 

 

Yet the study of economics also tells us that merely lowering prices will not always increase consumption to a certain price level. Consider bananas; if more folks ate more bananas, their prices ~might~ decline, but only modestly, and certainly not by 25%.

 

Though agricultural production has some similarities to industrial production, it fundamentally relies upon a renewable resource to satisfy demand (including an often-fickle, and increasingly angry and uncooperative Mother Nature), where as oil does not, because petroleum is a finite resource.

 

And THAT is PRECISELY WHY others and I maintain that establishing a windfall profits tax (WPT) could be used to help consumers -and- companies that rely upon petroleum for their existence, because it would return TO THE PEOPLE a ~fraction~ of the excessive portion of the rapacious profit made by Big Oil companies which are paid to their executives, overlords, and Wall Street wheeler-dealer shareholders.

 

• Congress first enacted a WPT in 1917 which ranged from

GOP Grooming

“Grooming” is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days; from serial sexual abuse to personal hygiene, “grooming” has become a favorite Word of the Day by the GOPT — Grand Old Party of Trump.

And well it should, because that party specializes in projection, an abusive manipulative psychological distraction technique that casts blame for a problem upon one’s opponent, or enemy, claiming that they are the ones doing the very thing the accuser is doing.

By blaming another, it keeps observers distracted from what the accuser actually is doing, by busying themselves with investigating whether, or not, the one being accused is genuinely guilty as charged by the accuser, or not.

As a longtime and ardent observer of matters political, I have absolute certainty that you’re keenly aware of such actions.

Of course, existence of a former chargé d’affairs of a

Voting Rights as a Constitutional Amendment

The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times.

Of those 27 amendments, there is but one solitary matter which has consistently appeared over the years.

And similarly, there is but one matter which has consistently been problematic for the United States.

That solitary matter has been addressed in the Constitution, to be affirmed, confirmed, and reaffirmed, time, and time, and time again.

And that single, solitary matter, is voting.

Exactly 5 of the 27 amendments — or 18.5% — to the U.S. Constitution have dealt with matters related to voting. If by the number of instances in which the matter is addressed is any indication of its importance, there is NO MORE greater matter to civil society, and by extension, to our democratic republic, than voting.

And yet, as evidenced by the corollary to those same amendments, voting has been, and continues to be, the single most abused, and misused tool of those who attempt to wrest power AWAY FROM the people, and accumulate it to unto themselves, and/or their favored political party.

Voting gives POWER TO THE PEOPLE; and that is precisely why some do NOT want We The People to have power, as our Constitutional Democratic Republic mandates.

Here are the amendments to the Constitution, as they read, which have all dealt with matters of voting.

Beginning with the:

South Dakota GOP Governor Kristi Noem: “Every life is precious.”

When asked today (Sunday, 03July2022) by Dana Bash, CNN News Anchor, and Chief Political Correspondent about the matter excerpted and linked below, South Dakota’s GOP Governor Kristi Noem refused to answer a direct question about a real-life situation, if it were to have occurred in South Dakota.

The matter is a very real one, and it is the tragic sexual abuse of a 10-year old girl who became pregnant as a result of that abuse, and was referred by a Child Abuse physician in Ohio to an OBGYN colleague in Indiana.

These matters, while previously in the realm of the fictitiously surreal, as in “The Handmaid’s Tale” — a dystopian 1985 novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, in which a militaristic totalitarian theocracy has overthrown the United States government, as the story’s plotline explores themes of the women subjugated by the extremist, oppressive government, and the various ways by, and through which they gain agency in that society — sadly, have now become reality.

“Praise God!” -OR- “God Damn!”? You be the judge.

Today (June 26, 2022), the much-expected, leaked Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (19-1392) was publicly released on the Supreme Court’s website [see: https://www.SupremeCourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf], which the unjust Justice Samuel Alito summarized thusly:

“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113, and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey, 505 U. S. 833, are overruled; the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

The 6 right-wing radicals similarly ignored the Constitution’s 9th Amendment, which is the statement that unenumerated rights exist:

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

Six Justices, including the Joker in Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and ultra-right-wing radical extremists Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett — all whom were nominated by Banana Republicans — overturned a very-nearly 50-year precedent.

By so doing, they made themselves out as liars, because ALL of the 6 in public testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, asserted that Roe v. Wade, a decision issued on January 22, 1973, was “settled law.”

• In 2020, Amy Coney Barrett was asked

Would another “government cheese” type program work today for meat?

Hearken back about 2 years, or thereabouts, when the COVID pandemic was descending into its deepest throes in our nation, when news came out of South Dakota that employees at a meat processing plant there in Sioux Falls began to suffer rampant infection with the viral disease. 

 

Around March 25, 2020, the first news of an infected employee was shared with the Argus Leader’s FaceBook-based tip page when an anonymous tip was sent that an unnamed employee had tested positive for the disease. They published the story online the next day at 0735 with the straight-forward headline “Smithfield Foods employee tests positive for coronavirus.” (see: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2020/03/26/smithfield-foods-employee-tests-positive-coronavirus/2914475001/) 

 

The Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, though a company spokesperson, Keira Lombardo, Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs, had confirmed to the to the paper the veracity of that claim, and asserted that the unnamed employee was being quarantined for 14 days, with pay, at their residence, and would not be permitted to return to work until given medical clearance to do so. The exceeding majority of employees there were immigrants, and refugees from all over the world – including Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Nepal, with over 80 different languages spoken in the plant – most of whom did not speak English, and rumors had been circulating of other employees who had earlier fallen ill and were hospitalized with a mysterious disease. 

Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods pork processing facility in Sioux Falls, SD, where the American COVID-19 pandemic first began to escalate among immigrant & refugee employees characterized as “front-line” workers. A company spokesperson said a majority of meat they export to China are so-called “underutilized” products that are allegedly not consumed in the U.S.

 

In the 3-week period that followed, positive cases of coronavirus among plant employees rapidly escalated from 80, to 190, then to 238. And by April 12, with 644 confirmed cases, the number of infected individuals at the plant accounted for about 55% of all cases statewide, with a per capita concentration of 182.25 per 100,000 — far exceeding those of more populous neighboring states, greater even than Chicago, and Seattle — while Sioux Falls’ population was a little over 192,000. Ultimately, the number of positive cases continued skyrocketing, and eventually had at least 761 positive employees.

 

After the 1st confirmed death, and under mounting pressure from Republican Governor Kristi Noem, and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, both who wanted the plant to close for 2 weeks, officials at the plant announced that

Big Brother is NOT the Government, it’s CORPORATIONS

Yeah… it’s fixin’ to get POLITICAL — as in ALL UP IN YO’ BIZNISS!

Almost EVERYONE complains about Congress, but not everyone votes. Some don’t for religious reasons, some don’t because that RIGHT has been voided by the government, others just don’t give a shit because they say “no one listens to me, anyway,” and for the greatest part, they’re correct. With a Representative-to-People ratio of 1-to-766,000, there’s no question — you’re NOT being heard, and they don’t care… or else ongoing & necessary would’ve happened long ago.

BUT!

There IS a group(s) who ARE listening to & watching you… all WITHOUT your knowledge.

You could call them “Big Brother,” but it’s NOT the government… it’s private enterprise — corporations not only in America, but worldwide.

Yeah.

You see,

Let’s Talk Taxes!

We have a crazy economy, for sure.

And, it seems to be working best, and most, for the über-wealthy, the out-of-touch-with-reality “multi-billionaire class” type folks, and their corporations. You know… the ones who pay little-to-no income taxes upon their vast wealth.

Those are the ones who have no idea what a gallon of milk costs, what diapers cost, what childcare costs, and who, instead of going to Disneyland, Dollywood, or down the road for vacation, dish out million$ from their morbid exce$$ to fly to outer $pace ju$t for fun, or buy boats so big that they won’t fit under a bridge on an inland waterway where they’re built so they get the government to temporarily dismantle the historical landmark just to sail through it, etc.

We’re talking about folks like Jeff Bezos and his Amazon Corporation, Elon Musk and his Tesla/SpaceX corporations, the so-called “Oracle of Omaha” CEO of holding company Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Warren Buffett, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founders Larry Page & Sergey Brin, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and Bloomberg founder/owner Michael Bloomberg, all who round out the Top 10 Wealthiest People in America.

These are men who are individually, each worth more than the entire GDP of Iraq — U.S.$201,472,000,000 — and 163 other nations in the world.

And combined, they’re worth U.S.$1,346,600,000,000 — between the GDPs of Spain (U.S.$1,439,958,000,000) & Mexico (U.S.$1,285,518,000,000), ranked 14th & 15th, respectively, internationally, of 216 nations.

According to Forbes, their wealth is practically unimaginable, which “membership” in the Top 400 grouping now requires a minimum net worth of $2.9 billion, up $800 million from a year ago.

As well, the vast majority of them are greedy, also according to Forbes, which wrote,

“The 400 wealthiest Americans saw their collective fortune increase 40% over the last year,
to $4.5 trillion.

What hasn’t increased?

Their generosity.

The number of Forbes 400 members who gave away more than 20% of their net worth since last year’s list,
dropped from 10 to 8,
while those who gave away less than 1% of their wealth went from 127 to 156.”

Imagine that, eh?

I got mine, good luck getting yours.

They’re probably cheapskate tippers, as well. Not at all like the anonymous folks who leave a $1000 tip for a $25 meal, or skinflints who chisel the pizza delivery driver.

What an attitude, eh?

But, let’s talk about income taxes, which are not paid by such folks, who craftily, and legally — yes, legally — hide their money from the tax man through various mechanisms, some of which frankly, are abusive, such as

Gas prices got you feeling pinched?

Here’s everything that Congress has done about the matter.

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Yeah.

Bupkis.

Nada.

Isn’t that what Congress specializes in doing — NOTHING!?

But, in all fairness… Congress (the House) did pass legislation about hair styles.

That’s NOT a joke.

Or, is it?

H.R.2116 – CROWN Act of 2021 — “An act To prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture or style of hair.” — was referred to the Committees for Judiciary; Education and Labor; Budget. In a roll call vote held on 03/18/2022, the act was Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 235 – 189 (Roll no. 82).

And to compound problems, the Mass Media hasn’t done a good of their job of reporting on what exactly HAS been done… as in what bills have been written, and sent to committee. And there have been some, with full information — including the text of the bills — about which are linked herein to the Congress.gov website.

Of course, Republicans have little of any substance to offer except for “tax cuts,” which is their standard tune, and their answer to all of life’s problems.

Yeah.

But, do you ever get the feeling that you’re being manipulated by the Mass Media?

That’s because YOU ARE.

Is there anything else it could be called when full information and details of bills that could help We The People are purposely omitted from being reported upon?

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In an article headlined “Gas prices are near record highs. A fuel tax holiday could give consumers some relief.” NPR reported today (Friday, 18 March 2022) that “the Georgia House last week approved a bill to suspend the state’s 28.7 cents a gallon motor fuel tax through the end of May.”

Given that the Energy Information Administration shows that taxes account for only about 15% of the price of gasoline and diesel fuel, a so-called “tax holiday” would hardly provide any substantial relief, if any at all.

Jeff Davis, a Senior Fellow with the Eno Center for Transportation — a Washington, D.C.-based non-partisan think tank founded in 1921 by traffic safety pioneer William Eno that examines transportation issues across modes and levels of the federal-state-local government chain — is also the Editor of the Eno Transportation Weekly, and said that cutting the federal gas tax really won’t save drivers much money.

“Well, you know, we’re paying

Why Russian Oil Should Be Sold Worldwide

I’ve done a 180º on the matter of selling Russian Crude Oil & Natural Gas (NatGas), and placing economic sanctions upon that nation.

I think that President Biden (POTUS BIDEN) should even consider INCREASING importation of those Russian fossil fuels.

Further, I think that we should be pursuing “business as usual” within Russia.

Matter of fact, so should the peace-loving world, particularly and especially all European nations.

Why?

Number one, embargoes, economic sanctions and other physically non-violent means are

Assassinate Vladimir Putin? Or Try Him in the International Criminal Court in The Hague?

Vladimir Putin sits at the end of a 40-foot-long table in the Kremlin for 2 reasons:

1.) So the men at the other end can’t smell the fear in his breath, and;

2.) So they can’t see the cowardice in his eyes.

Vladimir Putin is an evil man, and an International Terrorist.

For that reason (being an International Terrorist), the CIA, our military intelligence, and other such officials in our government are EXEMPT from Executive Orders

Here’s What POTUS BIDEN Should Do Regarding Putin

I wish — with ALL MY HEART — as a show of solidarity and unanimity with the Ukrainian people, and as a fearsome show of force, might & power — including as a warning to the world, that POTUS BIDEN would:

1.) Order NON-STOP, 24/7 air superiority strikes by aircraft to fly out of Ramstein AFB, Germany (near Kaiserslautern) including use of long-range heavy bombers including the;