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

Cherokee Nation Winning War On COVID-19

Ah-yoh-gah (aka Little Foot) – Cherokee – 1875

The Cherokees are original residents of the American southeast region, particularly Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Nearly half of Oklahoma rests on land of five tribes whose members were forced west along the Trail of Tears in the 1800s — an expanse with nearly 2 million residents. Eastern Oklahoma’s other tribes are the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole and Cherokee nations.

The Cherokee Nation is a sovereign tribal government. Upon settling in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) after the Indian Removal Act, the Cherokee people established a new government in what is now the city of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. A constitution was adopted on September 6, 1839, 68 years prior to Oklahoma’s statehood.

Today, the Cherokee Nation is the largest tribe in the United States with more than 380,000 tribal citizens worldwide. More than 141,000 Cherokee Nation citizens reside within the tribe’s reservation boundaries in

Cherokee group preparing for a Stickball Game at Qualla Reservation in North Carolina – 1888

northeastern Oklahoma. Services provided include health and human services, education, employment, housing, economic and infrastructure development, environmental protection and more. With approximately 11,000 employees, Cherokee Nation and its subsidiaries are one of the largest employers in northeastern Oklahoma. The tribe had a more than $2.16 billion economic impact on the Oklahoma economy in fiscal year 2018.

The federally recognized tribes include the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band, both in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina. The Cherokee were one of the five “Civilized Tribes” of the east who were removed in the 1830s to land in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma.

The federally recognized Cherokee Nation has a 7,000 square mile jurisdictional area in fourteen counties of Northeastern Oklahoma. It is not a reservation. The Eastern Band of Cherokee, also recognized by the federal government, holds 56,000 acres within the Qualla Boundary of western North Carolina.

Headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation has a tribal jurisdictional area spanning 14 counties in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma.

The Cherokee Nation is the federally recognized government of the Cherokee people and has inherent sovereign status recognized by treaty and law. The seat of tribal government is the W.W. Keeler Complex near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. With more than 300,000 citizens, 9,000 employees and a variety of tribal enterprises ranging from aerospace and defense contracts to entertainment venues, Cherokee Nation is one of the largest employers in northeastern Oklahoma and the largest tribal nation in the United States.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.cherokee.org.
For additional information, see also: The Treaty That Forced the Cherokee People from Their Homelands Goes on View, by Dennis Zotigh; April 24th, 2019, 11:00AM – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-american-indian/2019/04/24/treaty-new-echota/

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“They’ve been following the science”: How the Covid-19 pandemic has been curtailed in Cherokee Nation

While the United States flounders in its response to the coronavirus, another nation — one within our own borders — is faring much better.

With a mask mandate in place since spring, free drive-through testing, hospitals well-stocked with PPE, and a small army of public health officers fully supported by their chief, the Cherokee Nation has been able to curtail its Covid-19 case and death rates even as those numbers surge in surrounding Oklahoma, where the White House coronavirus task force says spread is unyielding.

Elsewhere in the U.S., tribal areas have been hit hard by the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that American Indian and Alaskan Native populations have case rates 3.5 times higher than that of white individuals. The Navajo Nation, where Covid testing, PPE, and sometimes even running water are in short supply, has seen nearly 13,000 cases and 602 deaths among its roughly 170,000 citizens. The Cherokee Nation, with about 140,000 citizens on its reservation in northeastern Oklahoma, has reported just over 4,000 cases and 33 deaths.

“It’s dire, but what in the world would it look like if we weren’t doing this work?’” said Lisa Pivec, senior director of public health for Cherokee Nation Health Services. Pivec leads a team that jumped into action in late February, holding coronavirus task force meetings twice a day, instituting procedures to screen thousands of employees, stockpiling PPE, protecting elders, ensuring food security, and educating residents in both English and Cherokee language. With no guidance on contact tracing available from the CDC early in the pandemic, Pivec researched the World Health Organization’s Ebola response to set up tracing protocols; after the first case appeared on the reservation March 24, she made many of the contact tracing calls herself.

She said the Cherokee Nation has seen no cases of workplace transmission; Sequoyah High School, with rapid testing and masks, reopened for in-person learning this fall; and elective medical and dental procedures have been widely restored.

The tribe’s Covid response meets the approval of global health leaders. “It’s very impressive. It’s a reminder of how much leadership matters and how even under difficult circumstances, with limited resources, you can make a huge difference,” said Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. “It fits with what I’ve seen in the world. You see countries like Vietnam. They’re not a wealthy country, but they’ve been following the science and doing a great job.”

If the U.S. had acted as the Cherokee Nation did, “we would be doing so much better,” Jha added, “with tens of thousands of fewer deaths, and probably a much more robust economy.”

The Cherokee Nation mounted an earlier and more aggressive response than neighboring states that have waited months — and are still waiting — for a national response. Pivec and other Cherokee leaders remain incredulous at the continued lack of federal leadership.

“It’s as if Russia had invaded the U.S. and the federal government said, ‘Every county should fend for itself,’” Pivec said.

A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Pivec has stewarded the tribe’s public health program for nearly 30 years; in 2016, she helped the tribe become the first to be

COVID-19 Deaths in America Compared

Some have wondered how other diseases’ mortality (death statistics) compares with COVID-19.

To illustrate, their questions can be stated somewhat like “on an annualized basis, how many deaths have historically occurred because of “X” disease when compared to COVID-19?”

Such a comparison examines ONLY death.

It does not examine risk.

“Death as a Strangler”; “Death playing the violin at a Masquerade during a cholera outbreak in Paris in 1831.” 1845, by Alfred Rethel (1816-1859)

It’s akin to asking “who will die?”

Answer: Your death is a 100% certainty.

Or, if you prefer, we know for a hard, cold fact, that you will die. The corollary operative Latin phrase is “memento mori,” translated literally “remember die,” and which translates functionally as “remember death,” or loosely as “remember that you must die.”

Death rates do NOT examine how quickly hospital or healthcare systems have been or could be overwhelmed with “X” disease.

In some localities, New York City most notably, COVID-19 has overwhelmed the healthcare resources of America’s most populous city.

Death rates do NOT examine the disease’s ease of transmissibility.

COVID-19 is spread by breathing. Cancer is not. Heart disease is not. Accidents are not. Cerebrovascular disease is not. Alzheimer’s is not.

Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, etc., are typically chronic (long-term) conditions.

COVID-19 is not, and has often killed in a matter of days.

Death rates do not consider the insidious nature of COVID-19, i.e., that it hides in the body, often not even making its presence known (at least 30-50% of those infected are asymptomatic, i.e., show no signs of infection – not even one, including fever), even after an incubation period that ranges from 2-14 days.

Death rates do NOT examine

“Good morning, America! How are you?”

“Good morning, America! How are you?”

“Don’t you know me? I’m your native son.”

So goes the introductory portion of the bridge lyric to “City of New Orleans,” a song first popularized by Arlo Guthrie in 1972, and later, by Willie Nelson in 1984, though it was written and first recorded in 1971 by Steve Goodman.

If America could answer, she’d most probably say, “I’m sick right now with COVID-19 novel coronavirus.”

And, indeed, as of this Monday morning, 30 March 2020, at 0700, there are 143,055 confirmed cases in the United States, while there are 735,560 globally.

Yesterday evening, I had written that, “at the current rate of

America To Take 5th Place To Australia On Drone Safety

But not in ‘Murka. We’se too smart f’dat!

Why can’t America have nice things?

Because the Republicans are stealing the money to pay for any of it, and giving it to their rich friends.

Authorities in Australia have expressed worries about the number of drones being flown in restricted areas in recent months.

Almost 140,000 air travellers were delayed last week after reports of drone sightings caused huge delays at Gatwick Airport in England. UK police are still searching for the culprits, although they have also raised the possibility that witness reports of the aircraft were mistaken.

The incident “highlights” the need for a drone-spotting capability, Casa spokesman Peter Gibson told the news agency Agence France-Presse.

The surveillance system would be able to spot the types of drone being flown, read their serial numbers and work out where the pilot was located, he said.

Efforts to identify pilots would be aided by the introduction of the registration scheme for commercial and casual drone owners, he added.

Anyone breaking rules could face fines of up to 10,000 Australian dollars ($7,058; £5,600) as well as checks on the safety of their craft.

“2019 will be a drone safety crackdown,” said Mr Gibson.

As well as airports and other sensitive locations, the drone-spotting systems will be installed in other places known to be popular with drone owners such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-46672940

America Is Under Attack

FaceBook criticism is nothing new. In fact, there’s an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to it, which began, interestingly enough, in 2007 – a mere two years after the company, under CEO Mark Zuckerberg, settled a lawsuit with brothers Cameron, and Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra claiming that he had stolen the idea for the company, which at the time was valued at US$10 Billion. It’s now worth more than 40 times that.

FaceBook’s IPO was May 21, 2012, opened selling at $26.21 per share, and now trades around the $150 mark. The last time it was near that price was June 12, 2017, while the highest it’s ever been was $190.28 on January 29, this year. So this momentary decline is a mere hiccough, or passing fancy of algorithmic computer-based trading, from which humans are largely excluded. FaceBook’s market capitalization, aka 
“market cap” is very nearly $450 billion, which is the total dollar market value of a company’s outstanding shares.

Less than a year later, in 2013, FaceBook was resoundingly publicly criticized for not having protections in place to guard against online stalking, child sexual predators, and bullies after loosening restrictions on

Remember American Nurses: 100 years ago WW I’s first casualties – Edith Ayers & Helen Woods

Mrs. Edith Ayres, Illinois Training School Nurse of the Class of 1913. Mrs. Ayres was the first American female casualty of WWI, and was buried with military honors at her home in Attica, Ohio.

Among the first casualties of World War I were two Army Nurses – US Army Nurse Corps Edith Ayers, of Attica, OH, and USANC Helen Burnett Woods, of Evanston, IL who were attached to Base Hospital 12 aboard the USS Mongolia – a passenger vessel which was converted into an armored troop carrier and hospital for the Army March 1917 – en route to France, and died 20 May 1917. Also wounded was Miss Emma Matzen, of the Illinois Training School, Class of 1913.

Miss Helen Burnett Wood was a Nurse graduate of the Evanston Hospital Training School, and was one of the was the first two casualties of WW I.

At that time, military Nurses held no rank.

Woods was attached to the U.S. Army Base Hospital, No. 12, also known as the Northwestern University Base Hospital, because a majority of its personnel came out of the university. In May 1917, she received her official orders to join the Base Hospital staff on its way to New York where the staff would embark for Europe.

The two women were on the Mongolia’s deck observing various weapons firing and were struck by fragments of the 6-inch gun’s propellant caps which had ricocheted off a stanchion.

Their deaths were so shocking to the nation, especially to their respective communities, that following their accidental, and untimely deaths, a Senate hearing – “Casualties Aboard Steamship “Monogolia”” before the Committee on Naval Affairs – was conducted. {Local file, PDF: Casualties Aboard Steamship Mongolia Hearings}

Mrs. Edith Ayres was a graduate of

Russia Is Not Now, Nor Has It Ever Been, The United States’ “Friend”

Recently, in response to posts of the images herein, some made remarks pursuant to Americans’ involvement in Russian matters. More specifically, they concerned visits by retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn’s December 2015 visit to Russia in December, and Rex Tillerson’s 2013 award by Vladimir Putin.

A: “But not from made up stories…..”

In 2013, Vadimir Putin (LEFT) personally awarded Rex Tillerson (RIGHT) with Russia’s Order of Friendship medal, which is the highest honor Russia bestows on foreign citizens, and is given to foreigners whom the Russian government believes have helped Russia and its people.

Me: “The image of United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Putin is from Putin’s award to him with Russia’s Order of Friendship medal in 2013.

“Here’s another goodie!

“Michael Flynn and Vladimir Putin at a 2015 dinner for the RT news channel in Moscow. RT is Russia’s propaganda “news” agency, along with “Sputnik.” Photograph: Michael Klimentyev/ Sputnik/Kremlin/EPA”

A: “You can also find where Obama and his cronies met with Russians too”

Me: When President Obama met with Putin at the G8 and G20 summits, it was in his official capacity as President and world leader.

“When Mike Flynn met with Putin December 10, 2015, he did so as a private citizen/civilian, because he retired from the Army in April 2014 after he had been fired from his position as Director of Defense Intelligence Agency because, which as Colin Powell had been told by Defense Intelligence Agency director Vincent R. Stewart, was because Flynn was “abusive with staff, didn’t listen, worked against policy, bad management, etc.”

Michael Flynn (seated LEFT, holding device to ear) and Vladimir Putin (seated RIGHT) at a December 10, 2015 dinner for the RT news channel in Moscow. RT is Russia’s propaganda “news” agency, along with “Sputnik.” Photograph: Michael Klimentyev/ Sputnik/Kremlin/EPA

“After he retired from the Army, Flynn went to work for RT, which is the Russian government-supported propaganda agency. Flynn is also a Registered Foreign Agent with the Justice Department.

“In their January 2017 report “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections,” America’s intelligence agencies reported that RT was “The Kremlin’s principal international propaganda outlet” and that RT America is set up as an autonomous nonprofit organization “to avoid the Foreign Agents Registration Act.”

“Same thing for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson – who has never held public office or trust – he was a private citizen when Putin awarded him Russia’s Order of Friendship medal.

“And let me tell you something and make it EXPLICITLY CLEAR:
Anyone friendly to Russia is

You Voted For Trump Because…

Ben Mallicote, FaceBook profile image –
Any guy with a god, er… a dog must be A-okay.

Ben Mallicote recently shared the following on his FaceBook page.

You may also be interested in reading his blog.

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You voted for Trump because Clinton was going to be in Wall Street’s pocket. Trump wants to repeal Dodd-Frank and eliminate the Fiduciary Rule, letting Wall Street return to its pre-2008 ways.

You voted for Trump because of Clinton’s emails. The Trump administration is running its own private email server.

You voted for Trump because you thought the Clinton Foundation was “pay for play.” Trump has refused to wall off his businesses from his administration, and personally profits from payments from foreign governments.

You voted for Trump because of Clinton’s role in Benghazi. Trump ordered the Yemen raid without adequate intel, and tweeted about “FAKE NEWS” while Americans died as a result of his carelessness.

You voted for Trump because

Answering @chrkirk: Electoral College’s Voting Problems Violates Equal Protection Clause

How Much Is Your Vote Worth?
From: New York Times Op-Chart November 2, 2008
This map shows each state re-sized in proportion to the relative influence of the individual voters who live there. The numbers indicate the total delegates to the Electoral College from each state, and how many eligible voters a single delegate from each state represents.
Source: The United States Election Project at George Mason University.

Having read the article How Powerful Is Your Vote? by Chris Kirk several times, I still disagree with it. The article’s premise is that by using the Electoral College (EC) system, the votes cast in less populated states are somehow “more powerful” than those in more populated states. To posit such an assertion is to demonstrate a wholesale lack of understanding of the system. That is not to say the EC system is perfect, nor that changes to it are not needed; rather, it only acknowledges the author’s fundamentally deep misunderstanding of the manner in which the system is established, and a virtually wholesale ignorance of the Constitution.

Apparently, as evidenced by the graphic seen herein, others are similarly misguided. However, one would expect more from George Mason University. Much more, in fact. However, to understand – as I mention later – the bias is strictly and exclusively from including 2 Senators in the number of Electors. Dr. Mark Newman, PhD, who is the Anatol Rapoport Distinguished University Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Center for the Study of Complex Systems at the University of Michigan correctly writes that “The electors are apportioned among the states roughly according to population, as measured by the census, but with a small but deliberate bias in favor of less populous states.”

According to the Constitution in Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 & 3, Electoral Votes in each state are equal to

Thoughts On Fidel Castro’s Death & American Foreign Policy

Cuban President Raoul Castro – Fidel Castro’s younger brother – announced on Cuban television late last night (Friday, 25 November 2016) that Fidel had recently died, aged 90.

There are powerful lessons in Cuba for America.
Among them:

• When Corporations rule government, corruption inevitably ensues.

• American Foreign Policy has almost always favored Corporate Business Interests, especially in modern history.

• For well over 60 years, American Foreign Policy has largely been a disastrous failure.

The United States had dominated Cuba ever since the island nation became independent from Spain following the Spanish-American War in 1898, and Castro deeply distrusted America for that reason. Shortly after he assumed power in Cuba, at the invitation the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Fidel Castro made his only trip to the United States, and later met with then-Vice President Richard Nixon April 15, 1959 shortly before returning to Cuba. Eisenhower purposely avoided Castro, and specifically played golf that day to avoid any possible opportunity of meeting with him. Within four months of Castro’s trip to Washington D.C., the Eisenhower administration had drawn up a plan to overthrow him.

“In a manner certain to antagonize the Cuban people, we used the influence of our Government to advance the interests of and increase the profits of the private American companies, which dominated the island’s economy. At the beginning of 1959 U.S. companies owned about 40% of the Cuban sugar lands – almost all the cattle ranches – 90% of the mines and mineral concessions – 80% of the utilities – and practically all the oil industry – and supplied two-thirds of Cuba’s imports.”

Remarks of then-Senator John F. Kennedy at a Democratic Dinner, Cincinnati, Ohio, October 6, 1960, from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library

Acknowledging that it was a “glaring failure of American foreign policy… that our own shortsighted policies helped make,” then-Senator John F. Kennedy, remarked at a Democratic Dinner, Cincinnati, Ohio, October 6, 1960 that Cuban regime change under Castro “ended in the overthrow of the brutal, bloody, and despotic dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.”

Ironically, under Batista, the twice-president tyrannical military dictator of Cuba, the idyllic island nation was

How TRUE is “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command”? You’d be surprised… or, maybe not.

Remember how ANGRY some folks got when Michael Weisskopf (b.1946) of the Washington Post wrote on February 1, 1993 (link to original article with the WaPo’s editorial addendum) that the simple-minded evangelical groupies of Jerry Falwell (who himself died in 2007), Pat Robertson (b.1930), et al, that:
“The gospel lobby evolved with the explosion of satellite and cable television, hitting its national political peak in the presidential election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.

“Unlike other powerful interests, it does not lavish campaign funds on candidates for Congress nor does it entertain them. The strength of fundamentalist leaders lies in their flocks. Corporations pay public relations firms millions of dollars to contrive the kind of grass-roots response that Falwell or Pat Robertson can galvanize in a televised sermon. Their followers are largely poor, uneducated and easy to command.

“”The thing that makes them powerful is they’re mobilizable,” said Seymour Martin Lipset (d.2006), professor of public policy at George Mason University. “You can activate them to vote, and that’s particularly important in congressional primaries where the turnout is usually low.”

“Some studies put the number of evangelical Americans as high as 40 million, with the vast majority considered politically conservative.”

[ed. note: The excerpt, which has frequently been distilled to “largely poor, uneducated and easy to command,” is provided here in full proper context with leading and following sentences, not merely excerpted, in order to thoroughly show proper context.]

It’s true.

Folks don’t get mad because of falsehoods.

They get mad because of truth.

It’s true.

According to the United States Census Bureau (USCB), in 2015 (22 years AFTER that was written), 32.5% of the American public aged 25, or older, have a Bachelor’s Degree (Table 1.), which is CLEARLY a minority. Thus, we see automatically the “largely” part of “uneducated.”

The USCB has also performed research on income, which is similarly delineated and categorized by education. For the year 2011 (18 years AFTER the remarks were made), and those aged 25+ with at least a Bachelor’s Degree, the average income was

Hillary & Trump: Two Deeply Flawed Candidates

By many accounts, the 2016 Presidential Election year is a complete campaign in the ass. Two deeply flawed candidates manipulated and exposed deeply flawed processes in both major political parties, not the least of which is for the GOP, how to vet their candidates more thoroughly, and have the ability to remove them from official party candidacy, and for the Democrats, how to maintain candidate neutrality, and prevent party officials from influencing candidates of the top officials’ choosing toward nomination. I predict many much-needed changes on the horizon for both parties… following the November General Election.

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by Gary Cosby, Jr.
Used with permission

WARNING:  This is a long post. It is also my final political post before the election.

I am not an editorial writer but today I am going to play one on Facebook. First, let me say, everyone is welcome to comment; however, if your comment uses foul language or is abusive to anyone else, your comment will be deleted. One of the great problems we have today is our lack of ability to disagree and still have civil discourse; therefore, we will practice it or be censured. Keep in mind, this is my opinion and you do not have to agree with it. Thank your First Amendment rights for that.

By now, we all know this presidential election cycle has presented us with the two poorest candidates in memory, perhaps in all of American history. Certainly there have been poor candidates running for one party or the other throughout our history but not facing one another in the same election.

They have turned the presidential debates into bad Saturday Night Live skits. In fact, I doubt the writers of SNL would have been able to dream up anything this hideous. The American political scene will never be the same and

Known vs Unknown: A Voting Rationale

Someone opined that they hoped the 2016 GOP Presidential nominee would be elected.

I couldn’t disagree more.

Here’s why:
As we have suffered, never before has there been a more grotesque figure campaigning for the noble office of the President.

The candidate has never served in an office of Public Trust, nor ever served in any Elected Office. There is literally no shred of evidence of governing competency, much less experience, in any Public Office, and though our Constitution states that the minimum eligibility requirements for the office are to be “a citizen of the United States… the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States,” we have never elected an individual as President whom has never served in any capacity of Public Trust, nor Elected Office.

And so, in that regard, the candidate is a significantly Unknown Quantity. That can be, and often is, fraught with enormous peril.

We expect

Are There Any Good Choices In The 2016 General Election?

There are NO GOOD choices in this General Election.

We have:
The Devil We Know vs The Devil We Don’t Know.

We also have:
Choosing the lesser of two evils is still a choice FOR evil.

Granted, someone WILL be elected, and granted further, s/he won’t be liked by those whom didn’t vote for the winner.

The two major party’s candidates are almost universally disliked within and without the parties. And that is a very sad state of affairs. It is, in large part, why there was such enormous support for Bernie Sanders… who is the opposite side of the same coin as Trump.

What concerns me most about Trump is that he seems

McFat Like Me: Wanna’ Soup Or Size That?

McD’s began rationing French Fries Wednesday morning, December 17, at it’s 3100 Japanese locations as an emergency airlift of 1,000 tons of spuds and an extra shipment by sea from the U.S. East Coast set sail.

Industrial Food Manufacturer McDonald’s continues to spread diet-related disease internationally. 
Getty Images

The highly processed frozen spuds are deep-fryer ready, and a leading U.S. export. Folks in the Land of The Rising Sun love their French Fried spuds, and eat more than 300k tons of the imported American tuber annually, according to USDA figures. Of particular note, most of Japan’s locally grown potatoes are eaten fresh.

McD’s continually denies any responsibility, role or contribution to increased obesity, either in America, or abroad where they conduct business. But increased rates of Japanese obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, suggest not conspiracy, but wanton disregard for, if not flagrant violation of, Japan’s Ministry of Health 2008 ‘Metabo Law’ that requires men to maintain a waist line less than 33.5 inches and women less than 35.4 inches.

A McDonald’s in Japan

The American Fast Food Industry was introduced to Japan in the 1970’s, and since then, consumption of rice in the daily Japanese diet has decreased and been replaced by bread, meat, dairy products, hamburgers, French fries, milkshakes and doughnuts.

Similarly to America, one of the time-honored Family Values of enjoying freshly prepared food at home has declined, and consumption of Industrially Prepared Food, and use of video games has risen.

Even though the Japanese diet still includes much more fish having omega-3 fatty acids, the adoption of a more ‘Western Diet’ is causing health problems. O3FAs are thought to protect against heart disease, and on average, the Japanese eat much less food high in saturated fat than Americans.

The Japanese government has quickly acknowledged the damaging health effects of Industrialized Food Production, which is known as the Standard American Diet, and has moved to disincentivize their citizens from becoming obese like Americans.

Japanese people have historically enjoyed a high life expectancy, very nearly 80 years, although in recent years, their increase in longevity has slowed to 1.2%. The Japanese health care system provides Universal Coverage primarily through local government or employer insurance, and the system is foreseeing dire financial trouble because chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure, high glucose levels and cholesterol will significantly burden the system.

As the Japanese population ages and their health begins to deteriorate, the workforce will not be large enough to cover those health costs. The government sees an opportunity to cut costs by lowering rising obesity.

cnbc.com/id/102275074

bu.edu/themovement/2011/05/29/the-fats-on-fire

An International Dialogue on the Recent Tragedy of an English Nurse’s Suicide

Over the past year, I have established friendship with a young man whom is an Irish resident. We share several common interests, among them our religious faith – we are both Catholic – and the creative arts – he is an active musician, while my musical talents & skills have taken a respite.

Recently, on his FaceBook page, he had shared a news story, which was in response to the news of the tragedy of the suicide of the English Nurse who had been involved in an international prank, and later found to have committed suicide.

While the volume of dialogue was principally between he and I, there were other respondents, some of whom were situated on the opposite side of the globe, in the Southern hemisphere, in Australia, where the prank originated.

As I returned to the post to read the other responses, it occurred to me that they were civil in tenor, and it was that aspect of the dialogue which was perhaps the most enjoyable, and which – as I perceive it – has remained sorely absent in many so-called online “forums.” The lack of civility has also taken a toll in politics, even on a worldwide basis. And that loss of civility is wholly and entirely regrettable.

So, it is because of the presence of civility – which is an acknowledgement of respect for another person, even though there may be vastly differing perspectives – that I wish to share the dialogue. For respect of others’ privacy, and because their identities are not germane to the topic, their names are redacted.

Young Irish Male: ‎Female 1, we were just talking about pranksters last week and how pranks really can destroy a persons life. This is just one example. Very sad story.

Nurse who took Kate prank call at hospital found dead
www.independent.ie
KATE Middleton said she was deeply saddened yesterday by the apparent suicide of a nurse who fell victim to a hoax during her stay in hospital.

Female 1: Oh i know..isn’t that just terrible! I put a video on just last week…i don’t know if it was real or not but it showed

Here’s a bank where Mitt Romney has no money. Ironically, it’s American.

Smack-dab in the heart of rural, working class, coal-mining America.

Oh… the irony!

American Corporate Corruption: Wal-Mart Bribed Mexico Government Officials

Sam Walton spins in his grave.

It was only a matter of time, I suppose, before the eventual or inevitable happened.

Since the United States Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are persons, there should be no reasonable argument against arresting the corporation.

The problem is, how to do that?

The Chief Executives are not the corporation, so ostensibly, they couldn’t be arrested.

But then, could those Chief Executives be charged with criminal behavior for the actions of the corporation?

However, if we consider the The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1, et seq.) which is part of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the elimination of some of the most important provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act, we might wonder if Republicans would have any problem eliminating the FCPA, since it addresses accounting transparency requirements under the and bribery of foreign officials.

It will definitely be interesting to see how Congress decides to handle this case.

—

Wal-Mart Hushed Up a Vast Mexican Bribery Case

April 21, 2012

By DAVID BARSTOW

MEXICO CITY — In September 2005, a senior Wal-Mart lawyer received an alarming e-mail from a former executive at the company’s largest foreign subsidiary, Wal-Mart de Mexico. In the e-mail and follow-up conversations, the former executive described how Wal-Mart de Mexico had orchestrated a campaign of bribery to win market dominance. In its rush to build stores, he said, the company had paid bribes to obtain permits in virtually every corner of the country.

The former executive gave names, dates and bribe amounts. He knew so much, he explained, because for years he had been the lawyer in charge of obtaining construction permits for Wal-Mart de Mexico.

Wal-Mart dispatched investigators to Mexico City, and within days they unearthed evidence of widespread bribery. They found a paper trail of hundreds of suspect payments totaling more than $24 million. They also found documents showing that Wal-Mart de Mexico’s top executives not only knew about the payments, but had taken steps to conceal them from Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. In a confidential report to his superiors, Wal-Mart’s lead investigator, a former F.B.I. special agent, summed up their initial findings this way: “There is reasonable suspicion to believe that Mexican and USA laws have been violated.”

The lead investigator recommended that Wal-Mart expand the investigation.

Instead, an examination by The New York Times found, Wal-Mart’s leaders shut it down.

Neither American nor Mexican law enforcement officials were notified. None of Wal-Mart de Mexico’s leaders were disciplined. Indeed, its chief executive, Eduardo Castro-Wright, identified by the former executive as the driving force behind years of bribery, was promoted to vice chairman of Wal-Mart in 2008. Until this article, the allegations and Wal-Mart’s investigation had never been publicly disclosed.

Pure Joy

A few weeks back, I enjoyed an outing with a neighbor, and we later returned to make s’mores.

Honestly, the chocolately, marshmallow, graham cracker cookie treat is a fairly new thing for me, having discovered them less than a year ago, when they were introduced to me by another friend who was ecstatically telling me about how delicious they were.

Not being a big fan of marshmallows – I genuinely don‘t like them in any form – I reluctantly tried them.

Okay… no big whoop.

I still don’t like s’mores.

BUT!

This young lady obviously does!

Isn’t she the cutest?!?

The Important Purpose of Veterans Day

Soldiers of the 353rd Infantry near a church at Stenay, Meuse in France, wait for the end of hostilities. This photo was taken at 10:58 a.m., on November 11, 1918, two minutes before the armistice ending World War I went into effect.

Today is Veterans Day.

The important purpose of Veterans Day is a celebration to honor America‘s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Annually, since November 11, 1918 – the day an armistice, or temporary cessation of World War I hostilities between Allied nations and Germany became effective, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – America has celebrated what is now known as Veterans Day.

Half kilo of coffee

Ever notice how most coffee sold in the USA is 12 ounce size? This is marketed and sold in Germany.

Good night, sleep tight; have pleasant dreams tonight.

Hey! Who ate my cheese?!?

Breakfast of Champions with the King

Murfreesboro, TN Civic Plaza

Also doubles as ampitheater

Katydid, Katydead

It’s a dead bug.

Eye of Round roast, vegetables

Served up. Everything was just fine! Vegetables had texture, and the meat was able to be pulled apart.

Hamburgers and bread

Breakfast… for what it’s worth.

God’s Gift to Your Morning

I figured if I waited long enough, fortune would turn in my favor

Remember the other pic?

Sunrise in Alabama

I travelled to Murfreesboro, TN that morning for a 9AM appointment.

Marijuana and Schizophrenia – A Clear and Unmistakable Link… ignored in America

There is a significant and growing scientific body of medical evidence that marijuana use contributes significantly to schizophrenia – a particularly debilitating mental health condition that strikes during the most productive years of one’s life.

Medical marijuana anyone?

Maybe you’d prefer your mental health, instead.

It’s a shame that mental health professionals and other researchers in the United States almost wholly ignore the vast, longitudinal (long-term) and increasing body of evidence that conclusively demonstrates that marijuana DIRECTLY contributes to schizophrenia.

Of course, the elemental breakdown between reality and perception most characteristic of schizophrenia does seem to be present in this latest (and I believe ill-fated) and contradictory decision by the Mexican government to legalize small quantities of all illicit narcotics, including cocaine, heroin and LSD.

While this recent decision allows “small amounts” for “personal use,” apparently it doesn’t allow manufacture, sale or distribution of large amounts. However, “small amounts” always come from “large amounts.”

Complicating matters, the Mexican government has a long-time, well-known and rightfully-deserved reputation for corruption at all levels.

Mexico has continually been a “Third World” nation in the Western hemisphere. For years, in hopes for a better life abroad, their people have

Black Children are an Endangered Species – the Face of Modern American Genocide

The majority of abortions

are performed in

ethnic minority communities.

The majority of abortions performed in America are upon ethnic minority women. Would that be called "ethnic cleansing," or "genocide"?

The Centers for Disease Control define abortion as a procedure “…that was intended to terminate a suspected or known intrauterine pregnancy and to produce a nonviable fetus at any gestational age.”

At ANY gestational age?

What about during labor? That’s any gestational age.

But then… would it be murder, instead?

A 30-year study by the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute revealed that

America is like a Diamond

The issues facing the American people are myriad.

America is much like a diamond.

As a natural product, every genuine diamond has flaws – some more pronounced than others – which are their defining hallmarks. Yet like every diamond, no matter the size, its value is deemed high enough to expend whatever time, capital and effort necessary to manifest a hidden beauty that sparkles when exposed to even the dimmest light of a flickering candle.

America IS that city upon a hill, a light upon a basket set high as an example for other nations to follow. And try as some have to extinguish that light, to lower that standard- through whatever means – they have not succeeded, nor will they succeed.

The American spirit is indomitable.

Our form of governance, though perhaps the youngest among the nations of the world, is the most enduring. Smelted in tyranny’s crucible, cast in unity’s form, strengthened with justice, and ever-tempered with mercy, America is a light to the paths of the world’s people, shining brighter and brighter ’til the perfect day.