"The Global Consciousness Project, also known as the EGG Project, is an international multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists, engineers, artists and others continuously collecting data from a global network of physical random number generators located in 65 host sites worldwide. The archive contains over 10 years of random data in parallel sequences of synchronized 200-bit trials every second."
I think we’re living in an extraordinarily stupid era.
Sure, there are ~some~ smart folks, and some genuinely genius things have been, and are being done. But, on the whole, this age is small-minded, and inordinately consumed with a desire to make, by force of law, others behave according to the privately-held sacrosanct tenets of select individuals or groups who are, in effect, writing private law, instead of public law.
Most such individuals and groups are ultra right-wing religious radicals, zealots of the First Order, who, legally mandate others to behave according to their private principles. The ostensible effect is impressing casual observers that the adherent/practitioner believes, because their behavior demonstrates adherence and obedience to those rules and regulations. It also thereby gives automatic imprimatur to them. In such tenets, they see themselves as performing the will of their god/ess, and by extension, being pleasing to the same. It is a form of wholesale cultural appropriation and subjugation.
It is, in effect, a hypocrisy, a type of lip service which has been ridiculed and mocked via memes such as “Jesus is coming. Quick! Look busy!,” and others similarly.
In essence, in its simplest, purest form, it boils down to one group of people wanting to control another group of people, and to force them into submitting to their privately held beliefs, most of which are religiously motivated, and often predicated upon a “thou shalt not” type law.
However, the highest, if not entire, notion of religion is not only freedom, but of self-improvement and self-regulation. Religion ostensibly seeks the betterment of the individual, and by natural extension, the whole, the collective, the corporate, the community.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 9, 2020
Reproduction of an original photograph of Prince George of Greece and Denmark (1869-1957) and Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962). Prince George is sitting to the right wearing military uniform. Princess Marie is standing beside him to the left with her right hand resting on her hip. She is wearing a pale coloured dress and strings of pearls. There is a wooden wall behind them. The photograph is signed and dated. Prince George of Greece and Denmark was the second son of George I, King of the Hellenes. Princess Marie Bonaparte was a descendant of Emperor Napoleon I, an heiress and a psychoanalyst. They married in 1907.
Identify the TRUE statements about Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962), great grand-niece of Emperor Napoleon:
First, let it be known that I am exceedingly glad that Soleimani is dead.
-and-
The Twidiot in Chief is 100% correct when when he tweeted (in part) that “He should have been taken out many years ago!”
Qasem Soleimani, late commander of the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force
Qasem Soleimani, late commander of the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force
Even a broken clock is correct twice a day, right?
Look, Soleimani was a terrorist – plain and simple.
“Qasem Soleimani [was] the
head of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force,
a
U.S.-designated
Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
“General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the
deaths of hundreds of American and
coalition service members and the
wounding of thousands more.”
“The U.S. government, the United Nations, and the European Union have all sanction-designated Soleimani for involvement in either Iran’s nuclear program or the Syrian civil war in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.¹ Furthermore, U.S. Central Command documents declassified in 2015 reveal that Iraqi Shiite militants under Soleimani’s command killed more than 500 U.S. service members in Iraq between 2005 and 2011.² U.S. intelligence has also linked Soleimani to a 2011 assassination attempt of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C.³
“Soleimani was banned from international travel because of his 2007 U.N. designation for his role in Iran’s nuclear program.⁴ Nonetheless, he reportedly flew to Moscow at least three times—in July 2015, April 2016, and February 2017—for meetings with Russian officials.⁵ After Soleimani reportedly traveled to Russia for military discussions in April 2016, the U.S. State Department confirmed that U.N. travel sanctions on Soleimani remained in effect despite the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1.⁵
“Soleimani’s influence extended to Syria as well. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Soleimani oversaw Iran’s military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.⁶ One Free Syrian Army commander told the Wall Street Journal in 2013 that Soleimani was “running Syria. [President] Bashar [al-Assad] is just his mayor.”⁷ During the October 2016 funeral of IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani, Soleimani justified Iran’s role in Syria as repayment for Syria’s support during the Iran-Iraq War. He further argued that it was in Iran’s interests to intervene on Assad’s behalf.”⁸
⁴ “Security Council Toughens Sanctions Against Iran, Adds Arms Embargo, With Unanimous Adoption of Resolution 1747 (2007), United Nations, March 24, 2007, http://www.un.org/press/en/2007/sc8980.doc.htm.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, December 28, 2019
In this Dec. 18, 2019 photo, Joey Covino poses for a photo at his home in Saugus, Mass., with a photo of himself as a 9-year-old boy. Covino was abused by Rev. Richard J. McCormick at a summer camp in Massachusetts in 1981. Covino said the entirety of his adult life had been altered by McCormick’s abuse – failed relationships, his decisions to join the military and later the police, nightmares that plagued him. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Can anyone think of any legitimate reason why child sex offenders should not get a mandatory Death Penalty – with no possibility for appeals?
Sex offenders who prey upon children are incorrigible. They are literally incapable of reform. It would be easier to ask a leopard to change its spots.
In this Monday, Aug. 10, 2015 file photo, Judge Timothy Feeley, left, addresses the former Rev. Richard J. McCormick, 74, in Salem Superior Court in Boston after his conviction of raping Joey Covino as a child, for which he was sentenced up to 10 years. Joey Covino said the entirety of his adult life had been altered by McCormick’s abuse over two summers at a Salesian camp – failed relationships, his decisions to join the military and later the police, nightmares that plagued him. His decision to come forward led to McCormick’s conviction of rape in 2014. McCormick has since plead guilty to assaulting another boy. (Faith Ninivaggi/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
No form of treatment – not even chemical castration – has ever “cured” or eliminated child sex abusers’ compulsion to harm children. Professionals acknowledge that, “no cure exists for pedophilia.” As one organization put it, “No one has been able to find a way to change pedophiles into nonpedophiles.” It is splitting hairs to argue that the term “pedophile” is somehow inapplicable because sexual attraction to, and sexual abuse of, children aged 11 to 14 is categorized as “hebephilia.”
Currently-accepted thought is that child sexual abusers are born with a predilection for being sexually aroused by children. And while that inordinate unhealthy desire can be “cultivated,” per se, it needn’t be acted upon – it needn’t be cultivated.
Sexual preference for children (as in normal, healthy, youthful sexual desire) doesn’t have to result in actual sexual behaviors being demonstrated toward or upon children, and is differentiated from acting upon one’s thoughts – including differentiating between fantasy and reality.
It is differentiated from habitual sexual abuse of children, especially by adult males in a religious order (in this case), who exercised some degree of authority, or control over the children and teens in their “flock” of believers.
How common is sexual abuse of children?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 1 in 4 girls (25%), and 1 in 6 boys (16.6%) are sexually abused before age 18, with the average age of first abuse between ages 9 and 10. The typical pattern is abuse by an adult male acquaintance (60%), which continues for at least 4 years.
As of March 31, 2016, there were 805,781 registered sex offenders in the United States. Many offenders evade detection and their offenses are unknown, along with the actual number of child molesters, which also remains unknown. As well, the root cause(s) of their impulses are largely unknown.
The Catholic Church has not helped to expose or stop such horrific wrong-doing, and instead, has conspired to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, December 12, 2019
Why is Alabama so lousy, and most Alabamians so stupid?
Because the Republican-dominated legislators continue to destroy education.
They don’t care about the children.
Period.
If they did, they’d put their money where their mouth is.
And, they don’t.
Never again wonder why the state and its residents are poverty-stricken, unhealthy, and as a whole, are “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command”… in addition to being Trump voters.
This Is Where Your State Ranks in Education The quality of education still varies widely across the country.
Emily DeRuy, National Journal, January 8, 2016
“Between 2008 and 2014, Louisiana and Alabama both cut higher-education funding by about 40 percent. New York’s funding has only declined 5 percent during that time, making it one of the three states with the smallest cuts.” https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/this-is-where-your-state-ranks-in-education/458784/
Common Core math ‘eradicated,’ Ivey says, after Alabama school board vote
Alabama is stupid because the legislature is stupid.
And the powerful corporate lobbyists continue pandering to, and getting corporate welfare from, the legislators via corporate tax breaks and other “incentives,” when instead, the legislature should be helping the people, and placing them first, instead of dead last.
The Most — And Least — Educated States In The U.S. In 2018 https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2018/02/01/the-most-and-least-educated-states-in-the-u-s-in-2018/
“As for the U.S. states that ranked at the bottom of the list—the least educated ones—see the list of the lowest-five below.
Alabama (Attainment Rank: 45; Quality Rank: 40)
Arkansas (Attainment Rank: 47; Quality Rank: 34)
Louisiana (Attainment Rank: 48; Quality Rank: 47)
West Virginia (Attainment Rank: 50; Quality Rank: 42)
Mississippi (Attainment Rank: 49; Quality Rank: 50)
Jim Jordan is a Republican who has represented Ohio’s 4th Congressional District since 2007.
It – the blatant hypocrisy – would be funny, if it weren’t so sad.
Representative Jordan continues to be an outspoken critic of the Impeachment Investigation which the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (aka the House Intelligence Committee) has been conducting over the past couple weeks. The committee has been investigating allegations that President Trump abused the office of the President and betrayed the American people, and possibly even violated law, by withholding Congressionally-mandated and approved monies specifically appropriated for Ukrainian defense against our common enemy, Russia.
In 2014, Russia invaded Crimea, an independent autonomous territory in the Southern Ukraine bordering the Black Sea, following civil unrest there. At the time, Ukraine was in the midst of socio-political turmoil as a national revolution was under way.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, November 24, 2019
Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to hear some right-wing nutjob talk about “god.” Which one that is, I have no idea. They rarely say. It’s just “god.”
But those same ones, who most often align themselves with the GOP (NOTE: GOP does not stand for “Party Of God”) hold themselves out, or so it seems, as not only paragons of virtue, but morally superior to all others.
What’s especially problematic, is that they purport to know what’s good best for you, and for everyone else. In other words, if you live your life according to their precepts, and dictates, everything’ll be hunky dory, and peachy keen. All will be well in La-La Land.
But please… what ever you do, DO NOT attempt to tell them what to do! You know… because they’re right, and you’re not. You’re an evil Liberal Atheist Democrat, and you need “god.” They are the ONLY ones who’re right, or correct. They’re god’s frozen chosen. And besides, you shouldn’t eat babies. Not even veal.
And Trump… Trump is “god’s man.”
According to them, he’s been “chosen by god for such a time as this,” despite the fact that he’s an habitually chronic liar, sexual abuser, serial divorcer, philanderer, tax cheat, and all-around scumbag.
But again… you know, he’s “god’s man.”
To which I say… well, goddamn.
The Evangelical community in large part perceives this to be a struggle between good, and evil, and their god is in the GOP since they’re right, and no one else is correct. They have an exclusive corner on the truth. They’re doing god’s work, and what they do is god’s will.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, November 1, 2019
Yup.
‘Tis true.
Commander Bone Spurs lavished praise upon a canine trained to work with the Delta Force.
“These dogs are specially selected and trained to handle the most stressful situations while keeping their cool. In the spirit of the Marine Recon motto, these dogs are swift, silent, and deadly. Barking is forbidden. With the secretive nature of their work, much of the information regarding the selection and training of these dogs is classified.”
Barking is FORBIDDEN.
That means Trump is out.
The mother-fucking son-of-a-bitch (apologies to the well-trained military canine) can’t keep his treasonous trap shut, or his goddamn Tweeting fingers of his Twitterific Highness’s mobile phone.
“They are the special forces of military working dogs, attached to special operations forces, such as the Navy SEALS and Army Rangers. Trained to find explosives, chase down human targets, and detect hidden threats, these Multi-Purpose Canines, or MPCs, are also trained to rappel out of helicopters, parachute out of airplanes, and conduct amphibious operations on Zodiac boats. Highly skilled, an MPC named Cairo even assisted in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.”
Again, that leaves Corporal Bone Spurs out of the picture.
The Cowardly Cock-a-doodle-doer chickened out of service in our nation’s Armed Services because his rich daddy found a doctor to say that he was unfit for military duty because of “bone spurs.”
And that chicken shit is now President.
“Four times per year, a team of canine handlers, trainers, veterinarians, and other specialists from the 341st Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas — the home of the Military Working Dog Program — make the trip abroad to buy dogs. They evaluate each dog to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, November 1, 2019
Trump selects a billionairess (Betsy DeVos) to be the Secretary of Education – a woman who has:
• Only attended elite private schools her entire life, has
• Never stepped foot in a public school, and has
• Never even once been a teacher, teacher’s aide, or in any administrative capacity of any school whatsoever, and
• Doesn’t have an advanced degree, and her 1979 Bachelor of Arts undergraduate degree is in Business Economics from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Then, reading scores “suddenly” dropped.
What’d you expect?
Seriously.
At least she was honest about what she wants to do to you with her money.
“But DeVos understands political interests, and that money is the mother’s milk of politics. And she does expect something in return.
“In a 1997 op-ed for RollCall, she wrote, “My family is the largest single contributor of soft money to the national Republican Party … I have decided, however, to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence,” the piece reads. “Now, I simply concede the point. We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues. We expect a return on our investment; we expect a good and honest government. Furthermore, we expect the Republican Party to use the money to promote these policies and, yes, to win elections.”
Of course, her only “solution” to the problem is to increase school vouchers which purposely drain public tax dollars AWAY from public schools to private schools.
Yeah, that’ll fix it.
Starve the monster.
––//––
Reading Scores on National Exam Decline in Half the States
The results of the test, which assesses a sample of fourth- and eighth-grade students, will inevitably prompt demands for policy change.
By Erica L. Green and Dana Goldstein
Oct. 30, 2019
WASHINGTON — America’s fourth and eighth graders are losing ground in their ability to read literature and academic texts, according to a rigorous national assessment released Wednesday that is likely to fuel concerns over student achievement after decades of tumult on the educational landscape.
Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, 30 October 2019. Photo by Michael A. McCoy for The New York Times.
Two out of three children did not meet the standards for reading proficiency set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, the research arm of the Education Department.
The dismal results reflected the performance of about 600,000 students in reading and math, whose scores made up what is called the “nation’s report card.” The average eighth-grade reading score declined in more than half of the states compared with 2017, the last time the test was given. The average score in fourth-grade reading declined in 17 states. Math scores remained relatively flat in most states.
Only 35 percent of fourth graders were proficient in reading in 2019, down from 37 percent in 2017; Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, October 1, 2019
For the record, while I receive their emailings, I have NEVER been a part of, nor have I EVER in any way supported the Family Resource Council. The reason I receive them is because it’s always good to know what kind of shenanigans your adversaries are up to. And, I’ve marveled, and continue to do marvel, at their, and other right-wingers’ “take back” this-that-or-the-other diatribes. The only problem with that is that they never say how far back they want to take whatever it is they want to steal. Before 18-year-olds had the right to vote? Before the Civil Rights Act? Before Women’s Suffrage? Before Alabama became the 27th state to ratify the 13th Amendment which outlawed slavery? How far back? They never say.
But you see, by creating an “Us vs Them” mentality, they immediately establish a simplistic either/or “we’re the ‘good guys,’ and you’re the ‘bad guys'” mind set, which then also allows them to couch their the language of their argument as if some evil adversary stole something from them, i.e., “take back.”
How can anyone “steal” public schools? Steal from them by denying tax dollars, or funnel tax dollars to private corporations, I can see. But “steal” them? Hardly possible. Of course, that has never been the case – nor will it ever be the case – because no one stole anything.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, September 3, 2019
There’s absolutely and utterly no reason for the senseless gun violence and deaths in our nation which have resulted from laxative gun laws.
Period.
Congress has the authority to act, and efforts to protect our people from such predators is hampered by the GOP, especially and particularly in the Senate.
Full stop.
Offers of “thoughts and prayers” will no longer cut it. Besides, “We the people” do NOT elect national prayer leaders, or religious folks for their alleged ability to call down from the heavens acts by the gods and/or goddesses they purport to represent and/or serve… instead of the people who elected them, who are their constituency.
There’s always truth in humor, and often, satirical illustrations serve to explain the problems sometimes much better than actual explanations of the problems at hand. Comedians such as Dave Chappelle – winner of the 2019 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, awarded annually by the Kennedy Center for the Arts, will be given to him October 27, 2019 – has become renown for his absurdist skits and comedy routines which have included one colloquially known as “The Black White Racist” in which a reporter for Frontline (an actual investigative journalism documentary news show on PBS – see here: https://www.pbs.org/show/frontline/) finds and interviews a blind racist who “has been the leading voice of the White Supremacist movement in America” sequestered in the remote hills of an unnamed rural Southern state.
The skit, recorded when Chappelle was then performing for The Comedy Channel, remains one of his most well-known skits, and may be viewed online here ( ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW):
So, along that line… what if Wal-Mart banned dildos?
Realistically, that idea is not too far-fetched.
Here’s why.
In Alabama, that state’s legislators some years ago – in 1998 – forbade “any person to knowingly distribute, possess with intent to distribute, or offer or agree to distribute any obscene material or any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs for any thing of pecuniary value.” (Code of Alabama 13A-12-200.2)
In 2007, the law was openly mocked by several individuals in the state who challenged its legality on state constitutional grounds, and illustrated its absurdity and invasion of privacy. On September 11, 2009, the state’s Supreme Court ruled against a legal challenge from the owner of a chain of sex toy stores in the state, and the law became settled. And because almost every law has a legal loophole (exception), the Code of Alabama in Section 13A-12-200.4 Affirmative Defenses states that “It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating Sections 13A-12-200.2 and 13A-12-200.3 that the act charged was done for a bona fide medical, scientific, educational, legislative, judicial, or law enforcement purpose.”
But regardless of the law, those items continue to be sold in the state because they’re marketed as novelty or educational items, while garments are sold as costumes. Because the state has refused to enforce the law, the state’s stance amounts to nothing more than hypocrisy. Politicians who run on the GOD ticket have to make themselves look good to their pastoral flock, you know.
Which again, brings us full-circle to absurdity.
What if Wal-Mart banned dildos?
The GOPers in the Congress have taken a passive aggressive stance by refusing to act, which effectively allows deaths from gun violence to proliferate. The mostly-GOP crowd says they’re not going to do anything but offer “thoughts and prayers,” while GOP Senate Majority Leader “Moscow Mitch” McConnell from Kentucky has said he won’t even consider legislation when he made the following remark on a far right-wing extremist talk radio show hosted by Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, September 1, 2019
What the hell!?! Damn!
I was ready to go to bed after wrapping up a blog entry on Joe Biden’s support of the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA) which was responsible for the “measure that allowed dealers to sell rifles, shotguns and ammunition through the mail, and, eventually, the internet. It limited federal inspections of firearms dealers while allowing them to sell guns at gun shows, which helped them grow in size and popularity. And it made it easier for private collectors to sell guns without obtaining a federal dealers’ license, which would play a role in what later became known as the “Gun Show Loophole.””
First thought that came to my mind was the lead sentence in this entry.
The next thought was, “Ban all guns. The motherfuckers obviously can’t handle them, and don’t need them.”
Then, I thought, “Well… maybe we need to make it more difficult for just anyone and everyone to obtain firearms. Something that’d be ‘Constitutionally-approved.'”
They state further that, “Commission regulations provide a test, called the “irrespective test,” to differentiate legitimate campaign and officeholder expenses from personal expenses. Under the “irrespective test,” personal use is any use of funds in a campaign account of a candidate (or former candidate) to fulfill a commitment, obligation or expense of any person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s campaign or responsibilities as a federal officeholder.”
But indirectly?
That’s a horse of an entirely different color.
In the white-collar criminal underground, that’s called “money laundering,” which is the practice of shifting money through legitimate business enterprises in order to make it appear as if the money was obtained legitimately.
And that is but one reason why the FBI encourages accounting majors in university to consider joining their service – because scouring the financial books of businesses and other entities takes a well-trained eye to discern criminal wrong-doing.
With that remark in part, he announced his candidacy to be the GOP’s nominee for President.
Of note, that was also when he’d made his now-infamous remark that, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people. It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably — probably — from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Within a period of 7 days, 35 people were killed, and 64 were injured in 3 mass shootings in our nation.
July 28, 2019 – 5:48 PM PDT Garlic Festival – Gilroy, CA – 3 Killed, 13 Injured
August 3, 2019 – 10:39 AM CDT Wal-Mart – El Paso, TX – 22 Killed, 24 Injured
August 4, 2019 – 1:05 AM EDT – Historic Oregon District, Downtown Dayton, OH – 10 Killed, 27 Injured
Authorities have identified the assailants and weapons used. In each case, the weapons used were military-grade assault style rifles designed for military use, modeled after the Russian AK-47, and the American AR-15. The exclusive purpose of such firearms as weapons of mass destruction is to kill human beings with great ease, and efficiency – to inflict as much carnage and damage upon as many people as possible, in a short period of time. They are ONLY weapons of war, and nothing else. They were NOT designed for any other purpose than to kill human beings with great ease, and efficiency.
The assailants were:
• Connor Stephen Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, OH (Dayton) – deceased;
• Santino William Legan, 19, of Gilroy, CA and Walker Lake, NV (Gilroy) – deceased, and;
• Patrick Wood Crusius, 21, of Allen, TX (El Paso) – captured.
In none of those cases neither “a good guy with a gun,” nor a border wall was effective to either deter, prevent, or stop the deaths and injuries of 127 people.
But those three tragedies were not the only ones.
Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike Dewine addresses Ohioans about the Dayton mass shooting.
Just today – August 5, 2019 – in Brooklyn, the most populous borough in NYC, there was a mass shooting at 216 Buffalo Avenue where 4 people were injured, with no deaths in which “Police confirm a man was shot in the chest, and two women have also been found with gunshots wounds.”
-and-
A shooting with 4 injuries occurred at 5691 Suitland Road, in Suitland, MD.
Yesterday, there were FOUR mass shootings at:
1800 S Kildare Ave in Chicago, one killed, and 7 wounded;
443 E Shelby Dr in Memphis, one killed, 3 wounded;
2900 block of W Roosevelt Rd in Chicago, 7 wounded;
419 E 5th St in Dayton, OH, 10 killed, 26 wounded.
On July 28, the date of the Gilroy, CA Garlic Festival shooting, there were a total of SIX mass shootings throughout the nation.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive website, this year to date, there have been 255 mass shootings, resulting in 275 deaths, and 1069 injuries.
No one is happy about this.
No one.
Kentucky Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proudly displaying the Made-in-China Nike brand athletic shoes which he blames for his fall which ironically, injured his LEFT shoulder. As a child born in Alabama, McConnell also had polio.
The paralytic gridlocked Congress is in summer recess, as GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Here are a few thoughts and three points about so-called “fetal heartbeat” bills enacted by AL & a handful of other states:
1.) Our U.S. Constitution does NOT support the notion that a fetus is a person because – and as the Catholic Church has long taught – life begins at birth, NOT conception. AND, the Scripture clearly states that the Almighty breathed the “breath of life” at which point “the man became a living being” into Adam. So we see clearly from that religious text in Judaic scripture (the Genesis account) that breathing is equated with life, not conception.
For if life began at conception, then “personhood” and citizenship is imbued at that moment (of conception).
An example of the current (2000’s) CRBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad).
What that effectively means, is that a fetus conceived overseas (to an immigrant couple, for example, who later became naturalized American citizens before giving birth), the conceived fetus would be a citizen of wherever it was conceived… EVEN IF the child was delivered/born in the U.S.A. Clearly, that is contrary to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Bastardy is defined as being the offspring (most often as male) of a woman who became pregnant by a man to whom she was not married. It refers to any child born to women not married to the child’s father.
More commonly, it is referred to as a child born out of wedlock. That is, a bastard is any child born to an unmarried woman.
Marriage confers legitimacy. Legitimacy, as the law is concerned, refers to right of inheritance.
In other words, bastardy is characterized by being born to parents whom are not married to each other. It also refers to any child born to a married woman whom is pregnant with, bearing, or having borne or birthed a child fathered by a man who was not her spouse. Those children are also considered bastard.
Simply put, a married woman who is pregnant by another man whom is not her husband is carrying a bastard child.
Accordingly, the Apostle’s Creed states in part, “Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…”
The Roman Catholic Church says “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.”
The account as rendered in the Scripture (Matthew 1:18, 19, 20, 21 – NIV) states that “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.“”
Clearly, the account states that Mary, while married to Joseph, was pregnant, but NOT by him.
So, there you have it.
Jesus is a bastard.
It’s fairly cut-and-dried.
As far as becoming pregnant or born without sexual union, the term to describe that natural phenomenon is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, February 21, 2019
Can ANYONE tell me (or anyone else), exactly WTH is “a legal basis to return to the country” of one’s citizenship/origin?
Asking for a friend, you see.
Hoda Muthana, seated in the foreground, participates in a broadcasting class at Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama, on August 18, 2011. (Image by Beverly Taylor/The Birmingham News)
Seriously.
If you’re born in the United States, it’s territories or protectorates, then you’re AUTOMATICALLY an American citizen. That includes Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, all U.S. Military bases worldwide, and here’s the list of U.S. protectorates:
American Samoa
Guam
Palau – While an autonomous nation, the United States provides defense, funding, social services, and the American dollar is the currency of exchange.
Puerto Rico
US Virgin Islands
Midway Atoll, Bikini Atoll, Johnston Atoll, Baker, Howard, Wake – all uninhabited islands
No questions asked… except by GOP whack-jobs, like “birthers” and other conspiracy theorists, who hallucinated after drinking the Libertarian kook-ade and concocted some hare-brained scheme to assert Barack Obama was born somewhere else, other than Hawaii.
So, yeah… New Jersey must not be a state, anymore.
And Alabama… well, it’s a state of mind – and a very sad one, at that.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 17, 2019
In a recently published article entitled “Grey Matter Volume Differences Associated with Extremely Low Levels of Cannabis Use in Adolescence,” in the Journal of Neuroscience, 14 January 2019 edition, pp3375-17, researchers wrote in part that “We identified extensive regions in the bilateral medial temporal lobes as well as the bilateral posterior cingulate, lingual gyri, and cerebellum that showed greater GMV in the cannabis users.”
News items related to that newly published research are focusing upon that singular line as if it’s something negative. Since when did INCREASED grey matter become something dangerous, or cause for concern? Colloquially, the term “grey matter” is used to describe the brain, and by extension, brain power. So let’s examine this matter (no pun intended) in more detail.
But before proceeding further, it bears mentioning that adolescents should NOT be consuming cannabis, neither alcohol, nor tobacco. And try as much as we want, we will not ever stop underage consumption of any adults-only substance. The BEST we can do is to educate them, and others, of potential risks involved in its use – especially and particularly underage use – and deny them opportunities to consume alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. THAT is a strategy which has PROVEN to work, because the trite “Just say ‘no'” has never worked, nor will it ever.
Dr David Robert Grimes is a physicist, cancer researcher and science writer, who was the joint recipient of the 2014 Nature / Sense About Science Maddox Prize and wrote in a brief anti-marijuana article dated 15th May 2017 entitled “The rise of the cannabis cult: don’t believe the hype about medical marijuana” that Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, January 11, 2019
Corrupt Alabama Republican Politician Ed Henry Pleads Guilty
Ed Henry was a Republican Alabama State Representative from State House District 9, and misused, and abused the people’s trust, and office for personal, private gain.
Ed Henry has decided to PLEAD GUILTY to Federal charges of Healthcare Fraud involving a Montgomery pill mill – a clinic that dispenses controlled substances wrongfully and unlawfully, for non-medical reasons.
According to the indictment, “The practice was a lucrative business venture. In 2014, the practice earned gross receipts of or about $4,352,352.63. In 2015, the practice earned gross receipts of or about $3,292.549.40. In 2016, the practice earned gross receipts of or about $3,087,530.25.”
Earlier, all other involved parties in that case had plead guilty.
ALL PLEAD GUILTY TO FELONY CHARGES
They include:
1.) Dr. Gilberto Sanchez MD (License surrendered) – age 56, of Cecil, AL; 5 counts; plead guilty to drug distribution conspiracy, health care fraud, and money laundering charges
2.) Dr. Shepherd A Odom MD – (License surrendered) – age 78, of Alexander City; 2 counts; part owner of Family Practice, 4143 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL until 2013 when he sold his interest to partner Dr. Gilberto Sanchez MD, though he continued to remain active, and launder money.
NOTE: Doctors Gilbert Sanchez and Shepherd Odom pleaded guilty prior to indictments in late 2017.
3.) Dr. Julio Delgado MD (ACTIVE License; License restricted) – age 56, of Homewood, AL; 22 counts; felony offense, aiding and abetting acquisition of a controlled substance by subterfuge, violation of Federal and State law
4.) Dr. Willie James Chester MD(License surrendered) – age 64, of Pike Road, AL
5.) Steven Edwin Cox NP (License revoked) – age 61, of Tallassee, AL; charged with 24 counts; pleaded guilty to two felony counts: conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and health care fraud.
6.) Elizabeth Cronier NP (License revoked) – age 70, of Montgomery; charged with 15 counts
7.) Stephanie Michell Ott RN (License revoked) – age 42, of Fairhope, AL
8.) Misty Michelle Fannin – Administrator – age 41, of Tallassee, AL, money laundering
11.) Lillian Akwuba NP (License revoked) – age 38, of Montgomery; 28 counts TOTAL; 14 counts Health care fraud, aiding and abetting; 8 counts Controlled substance – sell, distribute, or dispense; aiding and abetting; Conspiracy to distribute controlled substance; Attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud; 2 counts Controlled substance: sell, distribute, or dispense; Money laundering – interstate commerce; Interstate Commerce; aiding and abetting;
12.) Jacqueline Suzanne Brownfield – Billing – age 33, of Wetumpka, healthcare fraud
13.) Akash Kumar – Billing – age 27, of Montgomery, healthcare fraud
Sanders provided bogus diagnoses of mental health conditions for the purpose of allowing Dr. Sanchez to support prescribing unnecessary medications. Sanders also collected cash payments from patients for counseling services even though she knew that Dr. Sanchez’s office would bill the patients’ insurance companies for the same services. On perjury, Sanders testified before a grand jury and falsely claimed that Dr. Sanchez did not require patients to undergo counseling sessions with her. In fact, as Sanders then knew, Dr. Sanchez required patients who received prescriptions for controlled substances to visit Sanders for mental health counseling.
Related News Releases by the Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Alabama:
Dr. Gilberto Sanchez MD, of Montgomery – Family Practice clinic owner – plead guilty in Federal court to healthcare fraud, money laundering, and drug distribution violations, sentenced to 12 years in Federal prison
Dr. Julio Delgado MD, 55 of Homewood
Nurse Practitioner Lillian Akwuba, 38 of Montgomery
Nurse Practitioner Steven Cox, 62 of Tallassee
Nurse Practitioner, Elizabeth Cronier, 69 of Montgomery
Dr. Willie Chester MD, 65 of Pike Road, plead guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the fraudulent acquisition of controlled substances, admitting that he wrote a prescription for clonazepam, commonly known as Klononpin, despite knowing the patient had no legitimate medical need for the medicine.
Delgado and the Nurse Practitioners conspired with Sanchez to unnecessarily and illegitimately prescribe controlled substances to the patients of Family Practice, and committed health care fraud by causing insurance companies to be billed for unnecessary office visits, which only purpose was to refill unnecessary medications, and that Akwuba conspired with Sanchez to launder money.
Ed Henry was charged with one count of conspiring to pay kickbacks and to defraud the U.S., one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, five counts of health care fraud and six counts of paying unlawful kickbacks.
Ed Henry owned MyPractice24 which provided non-face-to-face chronic care management services to Medicare beneficiaries with two or more chronic conditions, and contracted with doctors to provided services who would bill Medicare for the services, then pay Henry’s company a share of the reimbursements from Medicare.
Ed Henry entered into an agreement with Dr. Gilberto Sanchez of Montgomery in 2016 in which MyPractice24 provided various kickbacks to Sanchez and his staff in return for referring Medicare beneficiaries to MyPractice24 for chronic care management services.
Ed Henry also assisted Sanchez in paying kickbacks to patients who enrolled in the chronic care management program which were paid by Sanchez by systematically waiving copays that Medicare required Sanchez to collect.
A corrupt Republican and former Alabama State Representative in House District 9 which includes parts of Morgan, Cullman, and Marshall counties, Ed Henry had a habit of saying very stupid things. He was also the state legislator who led the charge to impeach corrupt former Governor Robert Bentley who later resigned under a plea deal with state prosecutors.
Ironically, Henry was absent for most of the 2018 Legislative Session, and attempted to reassure his constituents that his absence was inconsequential by saying that, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 3, 2019
“The people… My people are so smart. And you know what else? They say about my people – the polls? They say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody! And I wouldn’t lose any voters.Okay? It’s like incredible! No… they say ‘Trump’ – we love you too, man – ‘Trump’s voters are by far’… You know the ah… I’m at 68, 69%. I’m at 90% – total. Like, ‘will you say “absolutely”?’ I think it’s 68 or 69%. Will you most likely say… That gets into the 90’s. Other guys are at like 10. A guy like Jeb Bush? He has nobody! But he’s like…at… at… I mean, like… they don’t have people! They have nothing! Ahh… Rubio? Soft. They’re all… all soft. All soft. My people? Stay. Ah, by the way, Cruz? Soft!”Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 3, 2019
Feeling paranoid?
Not to worry.
You just think you are.
But it’s true.
YOU’RE BEING WATCHED.
-and-
Did you know?
Even the direction-finding app Waze is owned by Google.
The G will eat your babies.
The G has already eaten your lunch.
And G, you didn’t even know it.
The G is Google.
So, here’s the deal: You THINK you’re searching for something and the search will return UNBIASED results… right?
WRONG!
From Forbes, Mar 5, 2012, 12:34pm: “Google will track what you search for in its search engine facility and then use that intelligence to its advantage.”
But we can go back even further to see where “You’re not the customer; you’re the product.”
In 1973 the artists Richard Serra and Carlota Fay Schoolman broadcast a short video titled “Television Delivers People.” An anodyne soundtrack played while sentences in white text on a blue background slowly scrolled upward. The messages displayed thematically matched the saying under exploration. Emphases were added to the excerpt by Quote Investigator: 1”
Commercial television delivers 20 million people a minute. In commercial broadcasting
the viewer pays for the privilege of having himself sold. It is the consumer who is consumed. You are the product of t.v. You are delivered to the advertiser who is the customer. He consumes you. The viewer is not responsible for programming—— You are the end product.
If you think that anything has changed, you’re WRONG AGAIN.
This time, it’s Google.
And not only is there online Google, there’s now the danger of Amazon’s Alexa listening device, which increasingly is being found to be not only INSECURE, but invasive.
Truly…
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!
Look, I’m not now, nor have I ever been one to be conspiracy-minded, nor any kind of fear-monger. But THIS is not surreptitious, this is BLATANT! Echo/Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Google’s Home Assistant are ALL privacy invaders! Those so-called “smart speakers” are ALWAYS LISTENING! They’re snoops! Blatant eavesdroppers! And the tragic irony is, folks freely give up their privacy to have that “shiny new thing.”
Okay, perhaps you don’t have that “shiny new thing,” and if you don’t, GOOD FOR YOU! But Read the rest of this entry »
The article’s subtitle states that “The GOP is best understood as an insurgency that carried the seeds of its own corruption from the start.”
To be certain, when he cited corruption, he acknowledged that he didn’t mean to refer to “the kind of corruption that regularly sends lowlifes like Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic former governor of Illinois, to prison,” specifically noting that “those abuses are nonpartisan and always with us,” and excluded another kind of corruption such as “vote theft of the kind we’ve just seen in North Carolina – after all, the alleged fraudster employed by the Republican candidate for Congress hired himself out to Democrats in 2010.”
Rather, he states that the particular corruption to which he refers is not based upon one, two, or even three specific examples of types of corruption, but instead “has less to do with individual perfidy than institutional depravity. It isn’t an occasional failure to uphold norms, but a consistent repudiation of them.”
“A consistent repudiation of norms” – that is the very essence of today’s perversion of the modern GOP, as George Packer wrote.
“The Republican Party, both in this state and nationally, is a broad party. There is room in our tent for many views; indeed, the divergence of views is one of our strengths. Let no one, however, interpret this to mean compromise of basic philosophy or that we will be all things to all people for political expediency.
“In our tent will be found those who believe that government was created by “We, the People;” that government exists for the convenience of the people and we can give to government no power we do not possess as individuals; that the citizen does not earn to support the government, but supports a government so that he may be free to earn; that, because there can be no freedom without law and order, every act of government must be approved if it makes freedom more secure and disapproved if it offers security instead of freedom.
“Within our tent, there will be many arguments and divisions over approach and method and even those we choose to implement our philosophy. Seldom, if ever, will we raise a cheer signifying unanimous approval of the decisions reached. But if our philosophy is to prevail, we must at least pledge unified support of the ultimate decision. Unity does not require unanimity of thought.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, November 26, 2018
The late John Allen Chau, a 26/27-year-old thrill-seeking American with criminal intent, who was justifiably killed by the Stone Age tribe members on North Sentinel Island because he invaded their sacred, protected-by-law island, wrote a few notes before his last, and fatefully fatal encounter with the 60,000 year old tribal pygmy aborigines.
John Allen Chau
He instructed the fishermen to deliver his handwritten notes to a friend of his, whom was similarly complicit in his nefariously illegal deeds, and was later arrested with the others.
That friend then emailed John Allen Chau’s mother of what had happened.
That same friend was likely the one who sent the images of his thoughts – his last journal entries – to his mother.
Why did neither the fishermen, nor Chau’s “friend” not FIRST inform the authorities?
Because of the criminal activity involved, and because by so doing would have been a confession/admission of guilt to a felony crime.
In turn, Chau’s mother – Lynda Adams-Chau – then contacted the United States Consulate in Chennai, a city of about 8.8 million, and capital of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India.
The Consulate then contacted law enforcement authorities.
Chau KNEW he was committing a FELONY ACT under Indian Federal Law.
According to the reports of the 6, or 7 fishermen he bribed to ferry him to North Sentinel Island – some of whom were his religious friends – he, and everyone was knowledgeable of his criminal intentions, and actions.
They were ALL arrested after they ferried him to the island AT LEAST 6 times.
If there was an analogous American equivalent to his criminal deeds abroad, it might be have snuck in to the White House unawares, and then, after six days, finally making his presence known.
As Andaman Director General of Police, Dependra Pathak CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED, John Allen Chau’s selfish motives were Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, November 26, 2018
John Allen Chau
Many news-telling organizations are uninformed and completely WRONG in the stories they write about American John Allen Chau who was recently killed on North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands chain in the Bay of Bengal, east of India.
1.) John Allen Chau was NOT a “missionary” of any kind. He was about as much a “missionary” as fictitious group The Blues Brothers – Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi – in their absurdist 1980 comedy movie, who in character claimed they were “on a mission from God.” Chau NEVER made any such claim.
Instagram obituary of John Allen Chau, 27, by his family.
Chau’s verbatim description of himself on his Instagram account was: Following the Way.
Wilderness EMT.
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver.
Outbound Collective Explorer.
Perky Jerky Ambassador.
Snakebite Survivor.
Outbound Collective is loosely, unofficially affiliated group of people who describe themselves as “a relatively small, but well-balanced team. We come from a variety of backgrounds and outdoor interests. …united by a shared passion for the outdoors.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, November 25, 2018
Instagram obituary of John Allen Chau, 27, by his family
NOTE: This story, at least as it’s being told by most American news media outlets (sometimes also known as MSM, or the Main Stream Media), is sparsely incomplete, at best. While it’s not the purpose of this entry to castigate, criticize, or deride them, it is worth noting that they, like other outlets, make determinations of what viewers want to read, or don’t want to read, and publish what they think viewers want to read. Determining and discerning those two items is the job, in large part, of editors and publishers. The purpose of this entry is to inform readers, as fully as possible, from the widest variety of sources, details of the story which remain largely untold by most American news media outlets. Your comments are welcome. –ed.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands chain showing North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal, off the east Indian coast.
Perhaps by now you’ve heard of the tragic and bizarre death resulting from the deliberately premeditated, most likely illegal, and profoundly stupid acts of John Allen Chau, a 27-year-old Alabamian, who’d recently moved to Vancouver, Washington with his mother Lynda Adams-Chau. As a self-described “adventure tourist” who lived part-time in an isolated cabin in California’s Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, he was killed by Stone Age tribesmen while trespassing on North Sentinel Island, in the southernmost Bay of Bengal among the Andaman and Nicobar Islands chain east of India.
The Sentinelese, who are thought to be direct descendants of the first humans who emigrated from North Africa 60,000 years ago, are called one of the Earth’s last “uncontacted” people, and by Indian law, it is illegal to even attempt to contact them, much less to make contact with them. The Indian government vigorously protects the Sentinelese people who neither use any form of money (one of the earliest forms of money used in commercial transactions appeared in Egypt and Mesopotamia – the cradle of civilization – by the third millennium BCE), who by law cannot be prosecuted, contact with them is forbidden, as is entry or attempted entry into any area they populate or inhabit.
Their protection is so jealously safeguarded by Indian law, that even taking videos of the Sentinelese people is prohibited. In 2017, the Indian government clarified in the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) that the Andamanese, Jarawas, Onges, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shom Pens had been identified as “aboriginal tribes,” that they are protected under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, and as such, videos showing them cannot be uploaded on any social media or the Internet, and that they would legally seek “removal of these objectionable video films from YouTube and initiate action on those who uploaded these video clips on social media platforms.” Even the Indian navy is forbidden to encroach near North Sentinel Island, in an effort to protect the isolated, reclusive, often violent tribe.
Such protection is not granted exclusively to North Sentinel Islanders, and in 2012, the Indian government made illegal any advertising promoting tourism of the Andaman and Nicoman Islands area relating to aboriginal tribes. The law states in part that, “Whoever enters these areas in contravention of the notification under section 7 {prohibiting entry into reserve areas} for taking photographs or making videos shall be punishable with imprisonment up to three years.” The law and protection is so strict and so great, that violations of other sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) can also be added the list of offenses for anyone who violates the law.
The Sentinelese people’s population has never been accurately, correctly or properly enumerated, and relatively little is known about them. During India’s 2011 Census, enumerators found only Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, November 25, 2018
SHOTS FIRED!
Black Man With A Gun!
Birmingham, AL metro area showing Hoover, south of Birmingham, and the Riverchase Galleria mall, south of Hoover.
“They took out the threat. Our plan works.”
– Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis describing how uniformed HPD LEOs killed Emantic Fitzgerald “EJ” Bradford, Jr.
It was a Black Friday in more ways than one.
Gunfire erupted late Thanksgiving night around 10PM Central Standard Time in Hoover, Alabama, a small suburb south of Birmingham and part of the Greater Birmingham Metro Area.
It was Black Friday eve at Riverchase Galleria – the state’s largest shopping mall – where holiday shoppers where amassed for huge sales and deep discounts at local and national retailers, many of whom have had a presence there for the over 30 years its been a Jefferson County jolly green sales tax giant.
“The Threat,” Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr., has been neutralized. “Our Plan works,” said Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis.
A 21-year-old Black man identified as Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., of Hueytown, AL, was observed fleeing the shooting scene while brandishing a handgun, was engaged, shot and killed by a uniformed Hoover police officer, according to Hoover Police Captain Gregg Rector.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis, said, “Thank God we had our officers very close. They heard the gunfire, they engaged the subject, and they took out the threat. That threat could have materialized into a lot more people being injured. Thank goodness that did not happen. We have a plan and our plan works.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, August 20, 2018
If the GOP and POTUS have their way, your cell phone GPS, cell phone clock, Internet clock, atomic clock, communication satellites, and countless other devices reliant upon accurate timekeeping which are not even owned by you could go awry. Even our power grid could suffer.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, June 24, 2018
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s wife Bridgette apparently committed suicide Sunday morning, June 24, 2018, and his office issued a statement which in part said, “We are saddened to report that Bridgette Marshall, wife of Attorney General Steve Marshall, passed away this morning after a long struggle with mental illness.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and now-late wife Bridgette at their Albertville, AL home.
Former GOP Attorney General, and repeat AG candidate Troy King said in part that, “We offer our deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers for Attorney General Steve Marshall and his family and pray that God’s grace and peace and hope will enfold and sustain them,” and ordered all his campaign advertising temporarily ceased, adding that his campaign effort has been “paused.”
To be certain, suicide is tragic. We’ve seen far too many. And the recent deaths of Chef Anthony Bourdain, and Designer Kate Spade have once again, brought to the fore of discussion the problem of suicide.
Alabama prisons, like other prisons nationwide, are chock full of those with mental illnesses. We can thank Ronald Reagan and the GOP for that misguided plan.
Alabama’s first Governess, Lurleen B. Wallace, advocated for superiority of mental healthcare in Alabama, and while not without problems, Alabama boasted a mental healthcare system of which it could be, and was, justifiably proud. Partlow, Bryce, LBW in Decatur, and numerous other facilities throughout the state cared for those whom were unable to care for themselves because of the severity of their disability and ill mental health.
Now, in Alabama, and throughout the nation, mental health is a joke. And neither the GOP in Alabama, nor national GOP show any signs of changing.
“Thoughts and prayers…” are all the GOP has to offer. That’s all they had to offer following the mass murders in Las Vegas, and other schools. Their pietistic platitudes are meaningless, and worthless.
Alabama, like the national GOP, has allowed mental health to deteriorate. Their values are valueless, worthless, and meaningless. They do NOT value life, they value birth. For if they TRULY valued life, they’d pay for it, they’d support research upon it, learn how to preserve it, protect it, and prolong it for those whom are living and breathing. They don’t care about the living. They care about those who don’t breathe. The unborn. Once you’re born, you’re on your own. Good luck! That is NOT life affirming, it is NOT life valuing! It is degrading, and dehumanizing! It is the “Law of the Jungle,” where “only the strong survive.” It is as much a gladiatorial match as any. Only this one is played out in Congress upon the American people as victims.
Professionally, and personally, I have seen and cared for more cases of mental illness and mental health than any ten people combined, at least.
Here’s an example of one case of mental illness – you’ll need to see the image in context to understand it, and I’ll not explain it here. You MUST go to the site to read the description (click on the photograph to go to the site) – for I’ll NOT “spoon feed” you, or others whom can feed themselves.
I recall also the case of a young man in Tennessee whom was my patient in a secure facility where he will likely spend the remainder of his life, and die. Like some animal in a zoo on display, he was paraded on the Dr. Phil show, whom mocked and derided him, rather than seeking to understand why the system failed him from childhood, knowing that he very early on showed signs of serious mental illness, and yet continuously FAILED him to the point at which he, as a teen, bludgeoned his mother to death as she slept, and attempted to burn down the house where she, he and his brother lived, as his brother was sleeping.
I recall at least FIVE High School friends, and at least one Professional colleague whom committed suicide. One while in HS. Another after he returned home from the Navy. Another whom did so shortly after graduating. Another who took his life in the back seat of his family’s car. Another who felt she couldn’t live. A Professional Nursing colleague took her life. There are others, but I’ll spare you.
There are medications to treat depression, often the root cause of suicide, one which is showing IMMENSE success which is a novel, off-label use of an anesthetic called ketamine. UAB led the nation in demonstrating efficacy of that medication to practically instantly reverse suicidal ideations in those who showed up in the ED (Emergency Department). Now, it’s being used nation-wide, and is being developed for intranasal administration.
What’s Alabama doing about it?
Not one goddamn thing.
Bupkis.
It’s a GIANT FUCK YOU to everyone concerned.
EVERYONE.
Including those who do NOT suffer from mental illness.
So DO NOT EVER tell me that the GOP in Alabama, or elsewhere, has any sense of care for the living, for THEY DO NOT.
Or else… we could’ve had this problem solved by now.
But Alabama?
Alabama is still stuck in the 18th century.
It’s the PERFECT time for the ALGOP to tell the people how and why they care, and what they plan to do to correct matters of mental health.
But, they have no plan.
They don’t care.
They.
Just.
Don’t.
Care.
They care more for a big mule than a human.
Do NOT vote for Republicans in November.
And for those whom would mindlessly scold me, as if they have some moral superiority, I have this to say:
“My maternal Grandfather committed suicide while my mother was pregnant with me.
“My life has been touched by suicides more times than I care to count – at least a dozen.
“I purposely DO NOT talk about my private life, because it’s MY PRIVATE LIFE.
“But I hardly think anyone in a position to scold me, my friend, especially given the fact that as a RN, EMT & Firefighter, I’ve seen more death and suffering in my life than most people will EVER see in theirs.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, December 21, 2017
Members of Congress as virtual royalty,
have raised their pay 9 times over 9 years,
but raised Minimum Wage only 3 times in 18 years.
While Congress now pays themselves almost
3x the Median Household Income,
since 2000,
Inflation has totaled 37.4%.
And with 72% subsidies, Employer Contributions,
and other
luxurious perks unavailable to the Average Citizen,
including full Retirement Vestment after 5 years,
and 72% subsidy for Healthcare Insurance in Retirement,
their Healthcare is practically free.
And you’re paying for it.
But yours is not.
And you’re paying for it, too!
Members first received $6 a day in 1789, today they get $174,000 annually, in addition to phenomenal perks, health insurance, and retirement… all at taxpayer expense.
Most such individuals and groups are ultra right-wing religious radicals, zealots of the First Order, who, legally mandate others to behave according to their private principles. The ostensible effect is impressing casual observers that the adherent/practitioner believes, because their behavior demonstrates adherence and obedience to those rules and regulations. It also thereby gives automatic imprimatur to them. In such tenets, they see themselves as performing the will of their god/ess, and by extension, being pleasing to the same. It is a form of wholesale cultural appropriation and subjugation.
It is, in effect, a hypocrisy, a type of lip service which has been ridiculed and mocked via memes such as “Jesus is coming. Quick! Look busy!,” and others similarly.
