Mass Shootings 11-7-2017

7, November 2017                 Mass Shootings

Another mass shooting in Texas - prayers, flowers, sober speeches, lowering the flag  . . . heaven forbid this is not the time to discuss gun control. The Texas shooter was convicted by the Air Force on charges of beating his wife and step-son (50% of mass shooters are guilty of domestic violence), but they failed to enter the offense into the national database and voila Kelley was able to purchase a military style weapon. 

After the Las Vegas shooting the consoler in chief, said “we are not going to talk about that today.” 

Curious of the Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock state of mind, Stanford Lab’s plans to examine his brain to determine what could have motived him to commit such a heinous crime. What an incredible waste of time! 

Perhaps, Stanford researchers could better invest their time examining the brains of lawmakers who enable such tragedies to occur on a daily basis. When will these legislators put the welfare of the public ahead of their careers? What will it take to move these people cursed with a stone heart to challenge the insidious power of the NRA? Are the rights of “sporting enthusiasts” who get their jollies chasing and killing God’s creatures (birds and animals) more important than the lives of innocent men, women and children? If Australia could initiate sensible gun control following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that resulted in a dramatic decline in gun crimes why can’t we do the same or better?

General Kelly 11-7-2017

7, November 2017                       General Kelly

The White House chief of staff, General Kelly, the administration’s so called disciplinarian, has been a huge disappointment defending slavery, the dark stain of American history.

The Civil War was an effort to maintain the status quo, to preserve the enslavement of African Americans.

Contrary to Kelly’s false depiction of General Lee as an “honorable man” Lee fought to preserve slavery. During the civil war, captured free blacks were incarcerated in chains. After the war ended Lee campaigned to evict black people from his native Virginia.

General Kelly also made the preposterous claim that the Civil War resulted from a failure “to compromise” implying that there was nothing inherently wrong in enslaving blacks.

Confederate monuments like those honoring General Lee, have no place in contemporary America. They should be demolished and tossed into the dustbin of history. To do anything less, is to honor those who sought to dishonor the US Constitution that “ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.”

Republican’s Benghazi 11-7-2017

7, November 2017                  Republican’s Benghazi

A leading Africa analyst, HORACE CAMPBELL, shed new light on the role of U.S. Special Forces in Africa. Under the guise of fighting terrorism, the U.S. and France are in fact protecting their commercial interests. The death of four U.S. Special Forces follows six years after the U.S., France and Britain invaded and destroyed Libya.

Last year President Obama said that the attack on Libya was the biggest mistake of his presidency. In the same year the British Parliament released a damning report that admitted the invasion of Libya was based on lies. The morally challenged French developed an alliance with the terrorist group, al-Qaeda, to overthrow Gaddafi. More and more African countries are expressing anger and frustration over the presence of foreign forces. What the people of West Africa desperately need are funds for reconstruction, health clinics and housing to raise employment for their youth. It makes little sense for the United States to be spending $100 million to build a base in Agadez, in Niger, where France already has a military base. France is heavily invested in Niger which provides 75 percent of its electricity needs utilizing Niger’s huge reserves of uranium. Concerned over growing Chinese influence in the region, France orchestrated a coup d’état overthrowing Mamadou Tandja, the president of Niger. It is time for US citizens demand all US forces withdraw from Niger and surrounding African countries.

Texas Shooting 11-6-2017

6, November 2017                        Texas Shooting

Another mass shooting, prayers, flowers, sober speeches,  lowering the flag  . . . heaven forbid this is not the time to discuss gun control. After the Las Vegas shooting the consoler in chief, said “we are not going to talk about that today.”

Curious of the shooters state of mind, Stanford Lab’s plans to examine the brain of the shooter to determine what could have motived him to commit such a heinous crime. What an incredible waste of time! The shooter was convicted by the Air Force on charges of beating his wife and step-son (50% of mass shooters are guilty of domestic violence) , but they failed to enter the offense into the national database and voila Kelly was able to purchase a military style weapon. 

Perhaps, Stanford researchers could better invest their time examining the brains of lawmakers who enable such tragedies to occur on a daily basis. When will these legislators put the welfare of the public ahead of their careers? What will it take to move these people cursed with a stone heart to challenge the insidious power of the NRA? Are the rights of “sporting enthusiasts” who get their jollies chasing and killing God’s creatures (birds and animals) more important than the lives of innocent men, women and children? If Australia could initiate sensible gun control following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that resulted in  a dramatic decline in gun crimes why can’t we do the same or better?

Cruz Silenced 11-2-2017

2, November 2017                           Cruz Silenced

The feisty, no nonsense mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, was silenced, denied an opportunity to testify before the House. She had been extremely critical of the lackadaisical Trump administration’s response to the devastation caused by hurricane Maria. It seems likely that the White House leaned on compliant lawmakers to prevent Cruz from voicing more criticism of FEMA and the White House.

Borrowing from Trump’s playbook, Cruz took to Twitter to denounce FEMA’s lack of response to the urgent needs of the people of Puerto Rica.

The Republican majority, for the second time canceled the hearing, with no date for it to be rescheduled.

To add insult to injury, a $300 million no-bid contract was awarded to Whitefish Energy, a tiny company based in the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in Montana.

A leaked copy of the contract prohibits the federal government from auditing Whitefish's work and shields it from other details of the company's records.
"In no event," the contract says, will the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, FEMA, the Comptroller General of the United States, "or any of their authorized representatives have the right to audit or review the cost and profit elements" of the deal.
How convenient!

Trumpty Dumpty 11-1-2017

1, November 2017                                Trumpty Dumpty

Sheriff Mueller and his posse of law men are closing in for the kill. Paul Manafort and Trump are cut from the same cloth – followers of the 11^th commandment – look after thyself. Given the choice of spending years in prison or “ratting” on his Republicans, he will undoubtedly choose the later. If Manafort sings, this will likely trigger a cascade of events bringing us closer to the “big fish”. Another of the “basket full of deplorables” is Rick Gates who was indicted and George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign was has pled guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about a Russian contact. Both are likely to cooperate in exchange for a lighter sentence. It’s likely the astute Mueller will charge the duo with state crimes to circumvent a possible presidential pardon.  Neither are known for their political skills but merely for the Russian and Ukrainian contacts which strengthens charges of Russian collusion. Remember, Trump was loath to criticize Russia and even shared Israeli state secrets with the Russians.  A major concern is “the master of the art of distraction” might initiate a war with North Korea to rally Americans around the flag.

But if all goes according to plan Trumpy Dumpty may have . . .

Trumpty Dumpty 11-1-2017

1, November 2017                       Trumpty Dumpty

Sheriff Mueller and his posse of lawmen are closing in for the kill. Paul Manafort and Trump are cut from the same cloth – followers of the 11^th commandment – look after thyself. Given the choice of spending years in prison or “ratting” on his Republicans, he will undoubtedly choose the later. If Manafort sings, this will likely trigger a cascade of events bringing us closer to the “big fish”. Another of the “basket full of deplorables” is Rick Gates who was indicted and George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign was has pled guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about a Russian contact. Both are likely to cooperate in exchange for a lighter sentence. It’s likely the astute Mueller will charge the duo with state crimes to circumvent a possible presidential pardon.  Neither are known for their political skills but merely for the Russian and Ukrainian contacts which strengthen charges of Russian collusion. Remember, Trump was loath to criticize Russia and even shared Israeli state secrets with the Russians.  A major concern is “the master of the art of distraction” might initiate a war with North Korea to rally Americans around the flag.

But if all goes according to plan Trumpy Dumpty may have . . .