Month: February 2021

What Has Happened To The GOP?

College Of Political Knowledge

I have written many times that my maternal grandfather was a Republican and worked for Ike in 1956 because he believed that Ike would do a better job for the country……

Here is what the GOP stood for in the 1956 elections…..

How about a comparison of then and now…..

What the Hell happened?

Take a closer look at the platforms of 1960 and 1964…..

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/republican-party-platform-1960

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/republican-party-platform-1964

What the Hell happened to the GOP?

I blame the election of Ronald Reagan.

I personally think that his, Reagan, hateful rhetoric like lumping all welfare recipients as “Welfare Queens” stirred the latent racism that was simmering ever since the civil rights movement…..started the GOP down the path that brought it to Donald Trump and the events that occurred in the Capitol on 06 January.

I have read an article about the devolution of the GOP…..

https://theintercept.com/2016/07/18/the-long-sad-corrupted-devolution-of-the-gop-from-eisenhower-to-donald-trump/

…

the Republican Party of the past at least showed itself capable of responding to domestic and global issues, offering and implementing successful policies to deal with pressing problems like poverty, environmental degradation, and a refugee crisis.

So what happened?

There is no easy explanation, but there are a few key catalysts for the party’s slide into extremism.

Ultimately, the Republican Party’s drift away from inclusion and the public interest and toward a coterie of extreme donors and ideologies does have an electoral cost, one that could force reformation or perhaps the birth of a new political party — just ask the Whigs.

Now the big question is….where will the GOP end up?

For now I think they will stay in the grip of Trump…..and a recent poll confirms my fears…

A majority of Republican voters said if former President Trump were to start a new political party they would likely join, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds.

Sixty-four percent of registered Republican voters in the Jan. 28-29 survey said they’d join a new political party led by the former president, including 32 percent who said they would very likely join.

What could happen to change the course the GOP has set?

It will not be Trump…..he says he is still in control….

Former President Trump will re-enter the political spotlight Sunday when he speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference. What to expect? If a report at Axios is any indication, the speech will be a “show of force” that makes clear Trump is still running the show within the GOP and remains the Republican candidate to beat for 2024. Details and related coverage:

  • One unnamed adviser sums up the theme for Mike Allen as, “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.” Trump will position himself as the presumptive 2024 nominee—though it’s not clear whether he’ll run—and as more powerful than ever. Also expect lots of I-told-you-so about President Biden. And for now, “payback is his chief obsession,” writes Allen, which will take the form of backing primary challenges to Republicans who turned against him.
  • Trump may have a point about his support. A new USA Today poll finds that 46% of Trump voters would ditch the GOP to join a new party with him. Half think the GOP should be more loyal to Trump, even if that means losing more mainstream Republicans, compared with just 19% who think the party should be less loyal to Trump and embrace establishment Republicans.
  • At Hot Air, conservative Allahpundit takes note of other Trump surveys of late, including by Gallup, Rasmussen, and Suffolk. “This makes three polls in less than a month establishing the same two key facts about the current Republican Party,” writes the pundit. “One: There are many more Trumpers than there are anti-Trumpers. Two: There are enough anti-Trumpers to make life difficult for the GOP if things stay too Trumpy.” In Allahpundit’s view, 50% of the GOP is more loyal to Trump than the party, 30% back Trump but not enough to buck the party, and 20% want the GOP to head in a new direction.
  • At Red State, a post by Bonchie digests the recent Trump reports and issues a prediction: “Playing kingmaker may actually be Trump’s ultimate goal over the next four years. While I’d certainly not rule out a 2024 run for him, I think he enjoys the intra-party battle just as much.”
  • Trump, meanwhile, continues to maintain a relatively low profile at Mar-a-Lago. GOP Rep. Steve Scalise told ABC News on Sunday that he visited the former president recently, finding that he “was a lot more relaxed than his four years in the White House.” And in a sign of the loyalty Trump still commands, Scalise refuse to explicitly acknowledge that the election wasn’t stolen, when asked directly.

For those that think “unity” is possible…..WAKE THE HELL UP!

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“America Is Back”

That is the statement that Biden made in his first foreign policy speech.

President Biden gave his first major speech to foreign leaders Friday in a virtual address to the Munich Security Conference. Two big themes: He declared that democracy was “under assault” in the US and around the world, and he stressed that the US would once again be working closely with allies. Coverage:

  • New message: The New York Times sees the speech as a clear break from former President Trump’s “America First” theme. “The trans-Atlantic alliance is back,” said Biden, adding that the US is committed to NATO and “determined to reengage with Europe, to consult with you, to earn back our position of trusted leadership.”
  • A ‘fundamental debate’: Biden also asserted that “we are in the midst of a fundamental debate about the future direction of our world,” per the AP. The debate is “between those who argue that—given all of the challenges we face, from the fourth industrial revolution to a global pandemic—autocracy is the best way forward and those who understand that democracy is essential to meeting those challenges.”
  • Democracy: “We must demonstrate that democracy can still deliver for our people in this changed world,” he added, per Axios. “That, in my view, is our galvanizing mission. … We have to prove that our model isn’t a relic of history.” At another point, he said, “In so many places, including in Europe and the United States, democratic progress is under assault.”
  • China: “We have to push back against the Chinese government’s economic abuses and coercion that undercut the foundations of the international economic system,” Biden said, per the Washington Post. “Everyone—everyone—must play by the same rules.” He predicted competition with China is “going to be stiff,” adding: “That is what I expect. And that’s what I welcome.”
  • Russia: Biden also called out Moscow and pledged to rebuff its efforts to “bully and threaten” other nations. “The Kremlin attacks our democracies and weaponizes corruption to try to undermine our system of governance,” Biden said. “Russian leaders want people to think that our system is more corrupt or as corrupt as theirs. But the world knows that isn’t true.” The Times notes that Biden referred to Vladimir Putin only by his last name, without his title.

Back from what?

From Chaos?

Looks like the same chaotic world that he inherited and we have been dealing with for decades.

Just what are we back from especially on the international stage?

Endless wars…..chest thumping in Asia…..confusion in the Middle East…..and god knows what in the Americas…..so I ask again….back from what?

Any answers?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–22Feb21

Yesterday, 21Feb, was the 56th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X in NYC…..I shared my thoughts on Malcom’s assassination about 2 years ago…..https://lobotero.com/2019/02/22/the-death-of-malcolm-x/ ……and now a letter has shown new light on the government’s role…..

Family members of Malcolm X say they have new evidence that shows that the NYPD and FBI conspired in the murder of the civil rights activist and one-time Nation of Islam spokesman, the Guardian reports. During a Saturday news conference at the site of the Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was assassinated on Feb. 21 1965, three of Malcolm X’s daughters revealed a deathbed letter attributed to Raymond Wood, a former undercover NYPD officer. In the letter, Wood says that he was pressured to encourage members of Malcolm X’s security detail to commit crimes, which led to their arrests days before the assassination. The result was that there wasn’t door security at the ballroom. The letter alleges that the NYPD and FBI conspired to cover up details of the assassination and disrupt the Civil Rights Movement. “I participated in actions that, in hindsight, were deplorable and detrimental to the advancement of my own Black people,” Wood said in the letter, per Spectrum News.

“My actions on behalf of the New York City Police Department were done under duress and fear,” he wrote. Three Nation of Islam members were convicted in Malcolm X’s murder, per Reuters, which notes that some historians and scholars have said that they believe the wrong people were convicted. A 2020 Netflix documentary, Who Killed Malcolm X?, prompted Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to review the case. And following Saturday’s new conference, the DA’s office said that the review is “active and ongoing.” In a statement, per the BBC, the NYPD said it “has provided all available records relevant to that case to the district attorney. The department remains committed to assist with that review in any way.” The FBI hadn’t publicly commented on the case. “Any evidence that provides greater insight into the truth behind that terrible tragedy should be thoroughly investigated,” said Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X’s daughters.

Back in those days the government had its treacherous fingers in many of the events in the days of protests and demands.

Five years ago I shared with my readers something that Malcolm X predicted….https://lobotero.com/2016/05/19/malcolm-x-predicted-the-progression-of-racism/

Malcolm was far more insightful that Black leaders today….the last 4 or 5 years have proven his prediction.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Wfrite, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Happy Anniversary!

I was reminded today by Word Press that this is my 13th year on WP.

13 Year Anniversary Achievement
Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
You registered on WordPress.com 13 years ago.
Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging

I began blogging on 2006 on another site and switched to WP…after not happy with the other site…….

In all I have posted 16,260 posts and have gotten 80,663 comments.

It has been a great 13 years and I want to thank everyone that has taken the time to visit and comment…..please know that you all are appreciated deeply.

Thank you….

Thank you….

Thoughts On Black History

First let me say here that I am taking nothing away from the people that fought for their civil rights…..their sacrifice and accomplishments are above reproach….and by all means their accomplishments should be taught and learned….but realities need to be taught as well.

We need to take a good look at what was accomplished….

The Civil Rights in the 50s and 60s was an amazing thing to behold….people protesting for a better life and the promise of equality.

Finally LBJ stepped up to do the right thing….but what were his motives?

Honestly the protests as the grew stronger and stronger the old white boys got very nervous….their eyes were on their profits and decided that it was time to head off the coming revolution……people like Rockefeller ( don’t forget he was a major donor into Eugenics) and Ford started dumping cash into endowments for such stuff as arts, dance, education etc…..this was trying to bring the racial tensions to a simmer from the boil of the 60s.

LBJ then rammed through face saving policies as voter rights….and his War on Poverty….

And the peasants danced.

These measure calmed down the situation for now Blacks had a chance to live the ‘American Dream’….(how has that worked out for them?)

What have Blacks gotten since the death of MLK, Jr?

In some ways, we’ve barely budged as a people. Poverty is still too common in the U.S. In 1968, 25 million Americans — roughly 13 percent of the population — lived below poverty level. In 2016, 43.1 million – or more than 12.7% – did.

Today’s Black poverty rate of 21% is almost three times that of whites. Compared to the 1968 rate of 32%, there’s not been a huge improvement.

Financial security, too, still differs dramatically by race. In 2018 black households earned $57.30 for every $100 in income earned by white families. And for every $100 in white family wealth, black families held just $5.04.

Another troubling aspect about black social progress – or the lack thereof – is how many black families are headed by single women. In the 1960s, unmarried women were the main breadwinners for 20% of households. In recent years, the percentage has risen as high as 72%.

https://theconversation.com/black-americans-mostly-left-behind-by-progress-since-dr-kings-death-89956

Blacks were left behind in the 60s and they are still being left at the bottom of society…..that “American Dream” is still just out of reach for many people of color.

So what have the protests of the 50s and 60s actually accomplished for the Black community?

There is still voter suppression, racial injustice, and debilitating poverty…..again I ask what did the movements of the past actually accomplish?

We should celebrate black history…but it needs to be celebrated every day not some month set aside for observation.

We need to rethink the “Black Policy”….

Last summer, millions of Americans took to the streets across the country to protest the violence Black Americans have suffered at the hands of police. It sparked what has been called the largest civil rights movement of our time — one that saw worldwide demonstrations, new demands placed on lawmakers, and white people and non-Black people of color pledging to speak up against injustice, to no longer turn the other way. It felt like the United States might finally be ready to do the work to be less racist.

But after the protests petered out and the anti-racism books were read, many also wondered: Now what?

How do we make up for the 400 years of racism and inequities that Black people have endured in this country? How do we start to fix the systemic problems that have deliberately disadvantaged Black Americans when it comes to acquiring wealth, quality education, and clean air to breathe? This series hopes to start that conversation — and to lay the groundwork for the federal government to take action.

For Rethinking Policy for Black America, a series rolling out over the month of February, Vox talked to policy wonks, lawmakers, researchers, activists, and the communities impacted by these injustices to lay out some of the best policy plans that address inequities in housing, health, economics, education, policing, and the environment. Some are familiar; some are ambitious; not all can be packaged up and sent to Congress for approval today. But they are a beginning, and if enacted, they would help create a truly anti-racist future in America.

https://www.vox.com/22277011/rethinking-policy-for-black-america

Maybe Malcolm X should have been heeded…..https://lobotero.com/2016/05/19/malcolm-x-predicted-the-progression-of-racism/

It seems that Black leaders today are looking for immediate solutions to long running systemic problems…..and in doing so have accomplished very little.

Just some thoughts.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Damn! Is There A New War On The Horizon?

We already have two endless wars….one is approaching 20 years and the other is nearing the 17 year anniversary.

That should be enough, right?

Well apparently the Hawks are gearing the government up for a new future endless war……this time it will be with China.

Why would I say this?

There are those that are beating the drums of war for the US and for Japan……

China toughened its language against Taiwan, warning that “independence means war.” A few days prior, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry reported 15 aircraft from the Chinese air force inside its air defense identification zone. This uptick in saber-rattling suggests the military challenge posed by China will likely continue, making it one of the Biden administration’s top priorities. Unlike the Trump administration, with its transactional approach to alliances, the Biden administration may find U.S. interests can be best served through strategic engagement with its allies, on this issue as elsewhere. In particular, part of the military challenge posed by China might be answered by turning to its longtime ally Japan and firming up one of the most intrinsic aspects of the United States-Japan alliance: warfighting.

The U.S.-Japanese relationship has deep roots. Perhaps due to the cultural strength of pacifism in Japan or the legal limits on what Japan’s Self-Defense Forces can do, however, the military aspect of the alliance has often been underemphasized in favor of broader strategic discussions about the stabilizing aspect of the alliance or economic and diplomatic cooperation. Beyond calls for greater interoperability, the specifics of the alliance’s military dimension are rarely highlighted despite the fact that the institutional relationship between their militaries and defense establishments are extremely complex, with several areas of possible improvement.

The United States and Japan Should Prepare for War with China

Of course that is just one publication’s opinion…..but I do not believe that it is that far from the fact.

What makes me think that the hammer is about to drop?

DC’s top War Hawk….Sen. Cotton…..

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Thursday called for a new US policy on what would happen in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Currently, the US arms Taiwan through weapons sales and maintains a policy known as “strategic ambiguity,” which means the US is not guaranteed to intervene if Beijing moves to take the island.

Cotton said he wants to make it “crystal clear” that a Chinese incursion on Taiwan means war with the US. “The United States needs to be clear that we will not allow China to invade Taiwan and subjugate it. Case closed. No further debate,” he said at a Reagan Institute event.

“Replace strategic ambiguity with strategic clarity that the United States will come to the aid of Taiwan if China was to forcefully invade Taiwan or otherwise change the status quo across the [Taiwan] Strait,” Cotton added.

The hawkish senator said the US should establish “red lines” for China that would “require a response” from Washington. Examples of Cotton’s red lines include China seizing Taiwanese-claimed islands, a Chinese invasion of a regional ally like India, or if Beijing permits an attack on US troops or allies by North Korea.

Cotton made the comments while he presented his plan to take on Beijing economically. In the plan, Cotton called for an economic decoupling from China. “Our economy has become far too entangled with China’s, providing the Chinese Communist Party with leverage over the US government and industry. It’s past time we decoupled from China,” he said.

Cotton’s report came after the US Chamber of Commerce released a study that said the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would see a one-time loss of as much as $500 billion if US companies halved foreign direct investment in China. Besides the hit to the US’s GDP, decoupling with China would give Washington and Beijing less reason not to go to war if a naval incident happens in the South China Sea, where the US has stepped up its military presence and frequently sails warships.

(antiwar.com)

The US sends in the Navy to probe the enemy….

A US warship sailed near the Chinese-claimed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Wednesday. The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Russell made the provocative passage, conducting what the US calls a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP).

The US started conducting FONOPs to challenge Beijing’s claims to islands in the region in 2015. These maneuvers were stepped up during the Trump administration. In 2020, the US carried out nine FONOPs in the South China Sea, a record high.

Wednesday’s FONOP marked the second of the Biden administration. Earlier this month, the USS John McCain sailed near the Paracel Islands, another archipelago in the South China Sea, after the warship steamed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

The Biden administration has also been sending aircraft carriers to conduct exercises in the South China Sea. Last week, two US aircraft carrier strike groups entered the waters. The USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Nimitz held rare dual-carrier drills, a signal that the new administration has no plans to curb US military activity in the region.

(antiwar.com)

Even NATO is thumping its macho chest as well…

In an effort to stay relevant, NATO is looking towards Asia to join the US in countering China in the region. During Friday’s Munich Security Conference, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made it clear that Beijing is a top priority of the alliance.

“The rise of China is a defining issue for the transatlantic community.
With potential consequences for our security, our prosperity and our way of life,” Stoltenberg said. “This is why NATO should deepen our relationships with close partners, like Australia and Japan, and forge new ones around the world.”

At the end of 2020, NATO released a report that called for the alliance to increase its focus on China. The report said NATO should build stronger relationships with countries in Asia, like Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, what it calls “like-minded” countries.

The report says NATO should consider forming a partnership with India, a country the US has been stepping up military cooperation with. The US, India, Japan, and Australia form the informal alliance, or dialogue, known as the Quad, a group NATO is keen to work with. The Quad is seen as a possible foundation for a NATO-style military alliance in Asia.

(antiwar.com)

This may seem like some sort of “War Game”….but it looks like they are searching for some sort of response to justify an action that has been building up.

This all smells like a new “Gulf of Tonkin Incident” in the making.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Texas Debacle

By now everyone in the US has some idea about the catastrophic failure of the Texas electric infrastructure…..we all have seen the pics of broken water pipes and freezing weather…..the deaths and the agony that it has produced……and the reports are that Texas was very very close to a meltdown completely…

Texas was “seconds and minutes” away from an even greater catastrophe when the decision was made to bring in what were supposed to be rolling blackouts, according to officials who operate the only standalone power grid in the lower 48. Officials at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said Thursday that when a winter storm took more than half of its winter generating capacity offline early Monday just as demand was surging, operators had to act fast to prevent a worst-case scenario—equipment catching fire and substations blowing—that could have left many Texans without power for months, the Texas Tribune reports. ERCOT chief Bill Magness said that if operators hadn’t followed emergency procedures, the grid would have been overwhelmed, causing infrastructure damage that would have led to an “indeterminately long” crisis.

“The operators who took those actions to prevent a catastrophic blackout and much worse damage to our system, that was, I would say, the most difficult decision that had to be made throughout this whole event,” Magness said. He said a blackout where “we have to start the grid from scratch and power could be out for an indeterminate amount of time” is the “disaster scenario that’s our central job to avoid,” per BuzzFeed. So much power generation was knocked offline that the blackouts lasted far longer than expected. By Thursday, some 325,000 homes and businesses were without power, down from 3 million a day earlier, the AP reports. Senior ERCOT director Dan Woodfin, when asked how regulators could stop this from happening again, said one of the biggest problems was natural gas wellheads freezing up. (The cold weather has also caused a water crisis.)

This was a disaster of their own making.

You see the Texas infrastructure gurus decided that they would not be part of the nationwide electric grid…..so they did not have to follow federal regulations and the lack of concern in the past made this disaster possible…..plus they cannot borrow power from other states because they want to be self-sufficient (and how did that work out for these idiots?)

Texas seems to always have the idea of secession in the back of their politician’s narrow minds…….https://lobotero.com/2021/01/19/is-there-a-texit/

I see that conservatives are blaming clean energy for the problems in Texas…..7% of the energy comes from wind….BTW apparently they do not know that the energy in Antarctica comes from wind so that blows their idiot lie out of the water…..

Stupidity of deregulation and ill prepared is the problem….in other words the slugs in the state legislature.

Going it alone is not always the best idea…..just ask residents of Texas.

Then there is Se. Cruz that could have used this as a teaching moment for his kids to give them a sense of community instead they went to Mexico for a vacation.

And yet he will NOT be held accountable for his actions…..just like his butt buddy Trump is not held up.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo

Those Biggest Mistakes

We have a new president and time for me to return to my dreaded history lessons.

Throughout history there have been mistakes but some are more “huge” than others.

These are the ten biggest according to the article…..

One look at the past and we will find that history is filled with many stumbling blocks. The path walked by our forefathers was not always smooth. They had their fair share of mistakes and blunders. Some of these blunders started as tiny mistakes, but with time they grew to be big enough to change the course of history. Let’s take a look at the biggest mistakes ever made in history.

10 Of The Biggest Mistakes Ever Made In History

These are not the only “mistakes”…..

As they say those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. What you’re going to see below are the 25 biggest and most embarrassing mistakes ever committed in the history of mankind.

We all don’t want to repeat them, of course. To ensure that, it’s our responsibility to know them and learn from them. Let’s start with…

1. In 1788, the Austrian army accidentally attacked itself and killed 10,000 men of its own men.

25 Most Embarrassing Mistakes Ever Made In History

These are considered the decisions that changed the world forever…..mistakes if you will….

We all make mistakes from time to time. Luckily, most times when we screw up, the consequences of our mistakes range from the trivial to the nonexistent. We might feel a bit embarrassed and chagrined at our missteps, but more often than not, life just goes on, and the world neither notices nor cares that we messed up. Most of the time, that is. However, sometimes mistakes – even tiny ones which seem trifling at the time – could end up having huge ramifications. As in altering the course of history or changing the world kind of huge ramifications.

Those mistakes that shaped the course of history are the subject of this article. On the one hand, not all of those history altering missteps were catastrophic. Some of them actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, producing beneficial results that made the world a better place. Indeed, you and your loved ones have probably already benefited from some of these fortuitous screwups, and your physical wellbeing and that of those you care about is indebted to some of the mistakes described here. On the other hand, many more of those screwups were anything but helpful. Instead, most of them led to disaster, brought about great harm and destruction, and left a lot of suffering and misery in their wake.

10 Major Historical Mistakes That Changed the World Forever

More history to come.

Watch This Blog!

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Saturday’s Health News

A little FYI for this weekend……

First news about the virus and all the social distancing which is causing many mental problems…like depression and confusion…..

But what is it all about….some say that people worry about missing out…..on what we are not quite sure…..

We begin 2021 still in the midst of a pandemic: still social distancing, still self-isolating, still wearing masks, still feeling as if life is on pause. These restrictions, as necessary as they are, mean that most of us are living in a limited environment with limited activities to occupy ourselves, to satisfy our need for meaningful experiences.

The repeated denial of even the possibility of such experiences results in profound moments of boredom directly related to the pandemic: COVID-boredom.

After almost a year of pandemic restrictions, many of the social and cultural distractions meant to occupy and entertain us are proving inadequate. A number of people I know have confessed they have been unable to fully binge TV programs because it felt pointless.

Even watching the news, which in times of crisis can border on compulsion, has become monotonous. We are presented with the same basic stories, the same series of facts about the virus, the same fears and concerns, repeated over and over with only minor differences. This is why fake news and conspiracy theories have thrived. They have become “more psychologically pleasing and convenient [than reality]” and make “simpler sense than a complex phenomenon.” Having to live the reality of life under COVID-19 is proving baffling.

https://theconversation.com/depressed-or-bored-how-covid-boredom-intensifies-the-fear-of-missing-out-153037

Personally I am having no problem….since my forced retirement I have become a hermit….do not feel that I am missing anything.

But that is just me.

I am an insomniac and drink at lot of coffee while doing research….some have told me that it could be hazardous to my health….all that caffeine…..

So when I read a recent study on the effects of coffee on health was at least some good news….

Fill up that mug: Having one or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day may reduce your risk of heart failure, new research suggests.

There was one caveat, however: Decaffeinated coffee doesn’t appear to provide the same protection as caffeine-rich blends.

…

… drinking one or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day was associated with decreased long-term risk of heart failure.

https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-failure/news/20210209/daily-coffee-tied-to-lower-risk-for-heart-failure#1

Just a few thoughts on health on this weekend.

Be Well…..Be Safe…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–19Feb21

We have continuous wars because of one thing…..PROFIT.

But who are these profiteers?

The U.S. ruling class deploys the military for three main reasons: (1) to forcibly open up countries to foreign investment, (2) to ensure the free flow of natural resources from the global south into the hands of multinational corporations, and (3) because war is profitable. The third of these reasons, the profitability of war, is often lacking detail in analyses of U.S. imperialism: The financial industry, including investment banks and private equity firms, is an insatiable force seeking profit via military activity.

The war industry is composed of corporations that sell goods and services to the U.S. government and allied capitalist regimes around the world. Investment banks and asset management firms hold most shares of every major public war corporation.

Consider Parsons, a corporation that sells goods and services pertaining to construction, command and control, espionage, and day-to-day military operations. Parsons’ initial public offering in May 2019, valued at roughly $3 billion, earned it an industry Corporate Growth Award. The top holders of Parsons stock are investment banks and asset management firms—including the familiar Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street.

Who Are the Ultimate War Profiteers? U.S. Air Force Veteran Removes the Veil

These companies own our legislative branch…..as well as our executive branch….so until this changes we can look forward war after war.

“War Is Good Business….Invest Your Children”

To resurrect an old poster from the 70s.

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”