An op-ed that I wrote for Ace News Room……please give these guys a try…they are trying to be a one stop news site……you will not be disappointed…..
Month: July 2015
Mass Shootings
Just a little something to think about on this Monday morning…….
Since about 1990 NRA has had a full court press to save our “gun rights”…….and the enablers at the GOP have been pushing more and more “gun rights”….you know kinda like open carry, easier acquisition, shoot first laws. etc etc……..
In case you were wondering….how have the mass shootings fair during this full court press by NRA………now with the most recent mass shooting in Louisiana got me asking a question…..is it just me or are these incidents become commonplace?
Take a look at the graphic below and ask yourself if there is a correlation here……
Does anyone else think that these shootings are occurring way to often?
It’s the worst kind of synchronicity: A website that tracks mass shootings in the US had logged 203 through Wednesday. It hasn’t caught up with last night’s rampage in a Louisiana theater, but when it does, that will be No. 204—and yesterday was the 204th day of the year, notes the Washington Post. The Mass Shooting Tracker is a crowd-sourced tool from an anti-gun forum at Reddit called Guns Are Cool, and it defines “mass shooting” as incident in which at least four people were shot. Not all of the incidents resulted in deaths.
A post at Quartz digs in a little deeper to the numbers and finds that 40 of 50 states have had at least one such mass shooting this year, with New York (16), California (14), Florida (14), Texas (12), and Georgia (12) at the top of the list. In its coverage, the Post quotes a barb from the Economist, written after the Charleston church massacre, that has been in wide circulation of late: “Those who live in America, or visit it, might do best to regard [mass shootings] the way one regards air pollution in China: an endemic local health hazard which, for deep-rooted cultural, social, economic and political reasons, the country is incapable of addressing. This may, however, be a bit unfair. China seems to be making progress on pollution.”
Sad that a great society has come to this!
Let The Bastard Rot!
I have written many times about those people with dual citizenship that choose to fight for the other country…….I think these people are traitors and should be dealt with harshly. Then there are those Americans that spy on this country for another country……these people should ROT in prison or better yet ….shoot the bastards.
This brings me to the meat of this post…….Jonathan Pollard….and American that was convicted of spying for Israel against his country……
The US is getting ready to release one of its most high-profile prisoners. The Wall Street Journal reports that Jonathan Pollard, the former Navy analyst who is serving a life sentence for spying on behalf of Israel, could be released in a matter of weeks. The 60-year-old was convicted in 1985 and is up for parole in November for the first time. The Journal‘s sources say he may be released even before then, in part to soothe Israel’s anger over the Iran nuclear deal.
There’s no official confirmation, and after several similar media reports surfaced earlier this month, the Times of Israel spoke to one of Pollard’s attorneys, who sounded skeptical. “We have not received any word, and I would expect that either I or my client would be the ones who would be notified,” said Eliot Lauer. Pollard got caught passing along classified information to Israeli operatives and eventually pleaded guilty. Supporters say his health has been deteriorating recently.
I say screw his…..he is a TRAITOR and deserves no0thing but to rot in prison…….even if he was working for our ‘friend’ Israel…..matters not…..he should receive the harshest punishment we are allowed to administer.
Here is a thought for you to chew on……this is a screen grab from FOX News that was later deleted…….
This from our “good friend” in the Middle East!
Let Pollard rot in prison and shut down the access that Israel has in this country. This is a false flag friendship…….I want NOTHING to do with these people…..PERIOD!
Enough Said?
Where Would Jesus Settle? « Antiwar.com Blog
We all have been exposed to endless WWJD (what would Jesus do), right?
We also have heard a wide array of false prophets tell us what Jesus would say and what God would say about whatever topic is important to Bible thumpers……
Consider the Holy Land these days……and now ask ……….”where would Jesus settle” (WWJS)?
This is an interesting piece….well interesting to me…….
Nine reasons Obama is going to win on Iran. The first: Netanyahu – Mondoweiss
Is Texas still in the hands of the people? The pending takeover must have hit a snag.
This past week has been one of the most boring times…..the MSM had a couple of shootings that they could milk but after that there was nothing but gossip and silliness…….the world is on fire, literally and the best the American MSM can do is some tiff between a couple of overpaid entertainers and some loud mouth politician that has NO hope of a nomination but yet is how news…….
I think I shall forgo stupid and embrace the seriousness of the world’s condition……..
Israel and its Neocon lackeys are in full court press to defeat the Iran deal…….the problem is they have no facts and plenty of misinformation at hand to push……
They are pulling NO punches and no lies…..they will say whatever it takes to defeat the deal……but with all their antics and tactics it seems that Obama and Iran will probably win the battle of bullshit…….
There are 9 reasons why Obama will win the debate…..
Nine reasons Obama is going to win on Iran. The first: Netanyahu – Mondoweiss.
Ice, Ice, Baby
It is Summertime in the South…….in my neighborhood it has been over 100 for 10 days……last week it hit 112 and just yesterday it was 107…….so to say that it is hot is a bit of an understatement……all this heat makes one yearn for some coolness……..cool? My ass I want it cold!
And speaking of cold…..I read an article the other day that made me think I could get my wish……and soon……..
In the words of the Starks, winter is coming—and it’s going to be bad. Using a new model to forecast the sun’s activity, scientists predict solar activity will fall by 60% in the 2030s to conditions not seen since a “mini ice age” in 1645. For almost two centuries, scientists have known that the sun’s activity changes on a 10- to 12-year cycle. Each cycle is slightly different, and predicting the sun’s activity has proven difficult thanks to a dynamo caused by fluid deep within the sun. However, after reviewing magnetic field activity over three solar cycles, researchers say they’ve found a second dynamo close to the sun’s surface. “They both have a frequency of approximately 11 years, although this frequency is slightly different,” researcher Valentina Zharkova explains. The new model based on the pair has allowed for “unprecedentedly accurate predictions,” per Science Daily. As if to crush all hope of warmth, Zharkova notes they’re 97% accurate.
That doesn’t mean we’re all going to freeze solid. Zharkova explains that, according to the “double dynamo” theory, two sets of magnetic waves, “originating in two different layers in the sun’s interior,” sway between the sun’s Northern and Southern hemispheres. When they are “in phase … we have strong solar activity.” But when the “two waves exactly mirror each other, peaking at the same time but in opposite hemispheres of the sun,” as is predicted for 2030 to 2040, “their interaction will be disruptive, or they will nearly cancel each other. We predict that this will lead to the properties of a ‘Maunder minimum.'” The Maunder minimum, also known as the Little Ice Age, brought significant temperature drops to the Northern Hemisphere from 1645 to 1715, causing England’s River Thames to freeze during the winter of 1683-84, reports the Telegraph. Haaretz, which puts the dates at 1300 to 1870, reports some countries suffered crop failure and famine. (The sun is already partly to blame for our shortening spring.)
I am sure that there will be a few d/bags that will deny any of this…….there is always a denier hide in the weeds waiting to pop out and spout their crap…….
Personally I look forward to some cold weather…..even if it last for longer than a couple of months….I can not take off enough clothes to be cool ……but I can put enough on to be warm…..
Enjoy the rest of your weekend……..,
Beach Blanket Bingo
The weekend and Chuq will spend a few days of mental calmness……..and as my tradition…..something different than my usual will be posted……
Summertime and all thoughts are of the beach and bikinis, on women not men,…….I live on the Gulf Coast and a beach is about a mile from my house……but I seldom go and for good reason……
In my younger years I had a job taking water samples up and down our 26 mile beach and the results made me very afraid…….solids, fecal, etc…….but that was 40 years ago surely the Clean Water Act has helped clean up our beaches, right?
Think again!
If your response to learning the local beach is closed due to fecal contamination is to wrinkle your nose and lay out your blanket for sunbathing on the sand, you may want to reconsider. A press release on a new study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, notes that scientists have for a decade known what many beachgoers don’t: that the fecal bacteria that lurks in sand can be as much as 100 times higher than what’s in the adjacent seawater. Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa set out to investigate why. To do so, they conducted “laboratory microcosm experiments” involving beach sand, seawater, and sewage.
They found that “common fecal indicator bacteria … showed significantly smaller decay rates in beach sand than in seawater,” essentially confirming the prior research. How does the fecal bacteria get there? A Lake Superior beach monitoring group explains it can be tough to pinpoint exact sources “because of the complex workings of wind, weather, and water patterns.” The bacteria originates with “warm-blooded animals” (think everything from humans to sea gulls to deer) and can get to waterways via storm runoff, leaking sewers, improperly discarded diapers, or even from swimmers who have accidents. The press release notes the bacteria can cause stomach aches and diarrhea.
Me? I’ll stick to girl watching and leave the frolicking in the surf to those braver than I……..
Social Security: A Public Service Message
I try to keep my readers up-to-date on things that I think will effect them…….NOTHING is more important to us seniors than Social Security……
We old farts when the subject of Social Security is mentioned our ears perk up and we take notice…….I mean the GOP has got more ideas how to screw the elderly than I have hairs on my butt.
Unfortunately senior citizens seem to get the worst screwing every election……the really sad part is most of them vote for the very people that bend them over……apparently we are slow learners…….
I read an article that predicted a cut of possibly 19% to Social Security and just had to see where it lead……..
Our annual report on the state of Social Security and Medicare was issued yesterday, and from a 30,000-foot view, the AP sees Social Security’s financial health as having grown no worse in the past year. In fact, the program’s retirement trust fund is projected to be able to pay full benefits through 2034; in last year’s checkup, the prediction was 2033. But for 11 million Americans, there was bad news: Unless the dwindling disability trust fund is replenished in short order, their benefits will automatically be cut 19% late next year. That’s because as of Q4 of 2016, revenues would cover only the remaining 81%, reports the New York Times. What that looks like: Instead of an average $1,017 monthly check, disabled workers would get $824, reports the AP. That’s $9,888 per year; the Times notes that beneficiaries’ average salary before disability was $42,000.
The looming insolvency sets the stage for a potential battle between President Obama and the GOP. The president would like to see a portion of the payroll tax revenue earmarked for the retirement trust fund shifted to the disability one. That adjustment has happened before (in both directions), but only with congressional approval. Congress has indicated it’s unwilling to repeat the move without some changes, such as adjustments to the program to cut down on fraud and help the disabled re-enter the workforce. Program trustees painted the “reallocation” as needed but not a long-term solution. The report also indicated there would not be an annual cost-of-living adjustment at year’s end, though that could change. If it doesn’t come to pass, it’ll be only the third year without one since 1975.
All we can do is keep our chin up and vote for those that will protect what little benefits we seniors receive……
Feel The Bern!
Trouble Brewing Across The Border?
Thanx to Trump you would assume that I am referring to our Southern border with Mexico, right?
Well you would be mistaken…..you see there is a problem brewing on our Northern border…..you know the one with Canada…….
It appears the the US and Canada are standing off about ………lobsters.
This might be news to Americans who don’t make their living catching lobsters, but the US and Canada have been arguing for decades now over who owns two islands in the Atlantic between Maine and New Brunswick. They’re called Machias Seal and North Rock, and the islands themselves aren’t of much use to any creatures other than puffins, explains Maclean’s. The problem is that the water around them, called the “gray zone,” is flush with lobsters, and tensions are rising between lobstermen from the two countries. It’s been especially bad lately because lobster prices are rising. “Somebody is going to get killed,” says the chair of the Maine Lobster Zone Council. “We’ve had bad years in the past and got lucky, but this is the worst year I’ve ever seen.”
Both Maclean’s and the CBC explain that locals on both sides of the border have mostly kept things under control for years. (In one high-profile exception, an American lost his thumb in equipment eight years ago while “jostling” with a Canadian over territory, notes Maclean’s.) This year, however, outsiders from Nova Scotia have moved in to fish the waters, too, and they’re reportedly ignoring long-held rules about who gets to work when. “When you’ve got Canadian guys feuding with other Canadian guys, on top of us—that’s a flare-up, too,” a Maine lobsterman tells the CBC. Both governments claim sovereignty, and neither seems willing to budge.
Could this turn into a Blood Diamond sort of thing? Will our fave luxury become known as “conflict lobsters”?
This could dispel the old saying that Canadians are too polite for their own good?
Can America afford yet another conflict it must fight?
The battlefield will contain a couple of bureaucrats from both having an old fashion slap fight…..but will it make the nightly news?
The US Hand in the Syrian Mess | Consortiumnews
There is a mounting evidence that the troubles in Syria has American hands all over it……
Is it possible that all the suffering that is being lived by the Syrian people could be on the hands of the US?
Of course this is something that will never make it to the MSM………for that would be actually reporting the news instead they prefer to regurgitate whatever the government tells them to do…..
Americans will not ever know the truth of things unless they are willing to do some searching for that truth…….and truth should be our only concern…..no matter what it reveals……